[IC]Adventures on the Inner Sea[PF]

[Erloas]

With the crew standing down and everyone holding the four of them walk away, turning down the main road and quickly disappearing into the night.
The crew rotations mean there are a few rested for the watch. After getting everything settled you retire to the cabins to get some rest. The rain picks up for a little while, then lightens up, and ends before you get up the next morning.
Nothing happened over night.
The town seems pretty normal at first view in the light, some other ships around the docks, people moving about their days. You think you can see the same ship from earlier docked part way across the bay.

You've got a decent idea where to go to finish your primary job, but selling the other cargo you picked up will take more time.
Some of the crew seem eager for a little bit of shore leave and a bit of coin to go with it.

Spoiler: OOC

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So I'm going to be on vacation from then 22nd to the 31st and unlikely to have much of a chance to post. Might be able to do a little bit of conversation but wouldn't count on anything.
If you've got anything you want to sell or buy it will be standard values, with the exception of the cargo, but everything else I've given values to like gems, standard magic items, armor, etc.

If you would like to work new characters in find a good way to introduce them. Feel free to set up some background or even to get them involved. I'm sure if there are any minor issues with characters we'll get them fixed without changing much, not that I expect that. Of course if you would like to introduce them in some other fashion after leaving town again let me know what that is so I can work it in. And if we all just wait until after the holiday that is fine too.

[Daishain]

Ariadne addresses the crew, "This place is dangerous, it would be safer to rest and relax on board, and then get a real shore leave after we return from this trip, where we will formally divvy out the profits. I will not force people to remain onboard however."

"If you do leave the ship in a port this rough, do so in groups of at least four. You leave as a group, you stay together as a group, and you return as a group. I don't want to hear about people just wandering off, whether or not they end up getting beaten senseless in an alley. So watch out for each other, and don't start trouble. In addition, anyone who gets so drunk they cannot walk unsupported back to the ship will face disciplinary action after they sober up."

"If you understand these terms and still wish to leave, see the quarter master about obtaining some coin. Bear in mind that whatever you take will be recorded and count against your share at the end of the voyage. I suggest taking a weapon as well."

Ariadne will make sure that enough people are staying to watch the ship, and task a few men to go with her and any of the senior officers as they seek out the contact for the delivery.

[samduke]

you take care of the cargo captain I will stay here with enough crew to guard the ship while you are out.

[Erloas]

With the directions you got before the trip and the light of day it doesn't take too long to find the company you're looking for. A rather non descript medium sized warehouse near the docks with a simple office on one side. Talenn's Imports and Exports.
After a brief conversation verifying this is the right place you send the crew back to pick up the goods and drop them off. Much of the crew has went off into town but enough to get the jobs done are still around. After dropping off the goods the half-elf running the shop, Talenn, looks over the crates, checks against a sheet, and once it is all accounted for gives you a bag of coins with the right amount.

Main delivery finished you've now got a bit of time to figure out where to get rid of your other cargo and look for goods to pick up.

[Daishain]

Ariadne finishes up at the delivery site and moves on after confirming the payment. She starts asking around for merchants that regularly purchase the sort of goods they have on hand. She figures that there must be plenty of people who deal with such in a port like this, the real challenge would be finding one that won't try to cheat her too badly.

As she and the others turn a corner, she spots someone following them from the corner of her eye. Taking a second look she stops and smirks. "Valkin? I figured you would end up in a place like this sooner or later."

The stranger was a human man. Tall, but thin and wiry, with fair skin, and not so much as a single follicle of hair to be seen anywhere on him. He's wearing a set of silken robes, white with streaks of blue and silver. Its remarkably clean for these streets. He tilts his head, "I can't really say the same, I figured you'd be dead by now, knifed and tossed overboard by someone tired of your prattling. I didn't end up here by choice anyways, I want off this stinking rock, and you're going to help me. You owe me after all."

"I owe you? Pray tell, what are we talking about now?"

"When last we saw each other, I needed help with those ugly little runts, and you just walked off."

Ariadne raises an eyebrow as she responds, "I told you they were peaceful, but easily offended, and that touching their sacred tree in particular would have consequences. What did you do with that information? You went and urinated on the thing. Getting you out, even if I was entirely sure I could, would've required killing innocents, and you were likely to survive what they had in mind as punishment anyways. So yes, I walked off, and in spite of that, here you are, not too worse for the wear. Seems like I made the right decision."

"By the gods, I don't know what kind of captain thought you were worth putting up with, but I don't really care at this point. Look, you know very well I'd be an asset to any ship I'm on, easily worth another fifty hands flapping belaying pins around. I need passage with a ship and crew that I can actually trust, but those are in short supply around here. You however would never sign on with pirates or assassins, so that's close enough. Please, for old time's sake, put in a good word with your captain."

Ariadne gives a quick look at anyone that seems about to correct Valkin's error, instead she looks thoughtful, "You're exaggerating your worth as usual, but tell you what, lets put that silver tongue of yours to good use for once. We have goods to sell, find me the best deal to be had in this city, and I'll see what I can do. Have a look at the manifest."

Valkin snorts, "You want me to do your shopping for you? Fine, lets get this over with."

From here, Valkin takes the lead on selling the remaining goods while Ariadne observes.

Spoiler: OOC

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Diplomacy check (V) (1d20+12)[32]
Sense Motive (A) (1d20+12)[24]

[samduke]

While drinking at the local tavern, Jesica overhears some of the locals talking about a ship having arrived over night that might be looking to take on extra crew. Paying for her drink she heads down to the docks to inquire about work aboard the vessel.

[Erloas]

Araidne and Valkin head back to the ship to look over all of the goods they have to sell and once Valkin gets an idea of what he has to sell heads back out. He starts out hitting a couple shops and while no one bats an eye at trying to sell goods of questionable origin, none of the shops are big enough to buy much of any given good. They suggest if you're looking to unload a lot of goods at once to hit up some of the importers/distributors who have the warehouse space to store stuff and the cash on hand to buy that much at once. So you check back with Talenn and hit another similar shop to see what you could get. They're willing to take the stuff, but they'll only pay less than wholesale prices, because wholesale prices is what they sell to retailers for. After some talking and quick calculations Valkin comes up with two options. Take the extra time to visit shops all over town selling small amounts, thinking you can make about 530gp, but take a few days, or sell to one or two wholesalers for 250gp but be done in a few hours.

Jesica heads down to the docks and finds the ship with a fair amount of activity and goods being unloaded.

[samduke]

approaching the ship Jesica notices someone in authority, and inquires to Olivia as to the prospect of hireing on o the ships crew.
Olivia responding with the fact that Jesica would need to wait for the Captain to return as it would be up to the Captain to hire on Jesica.

*Olivia once things are offloaded she will get things reorganized for any new load that might come to the ship.

[Daishain]

Ariadne leads Valkin and the others back to the ship, telling the crew to finish offloading the remaining goods, and start transferring it to the wholesale vendor Valkin had picked out. Looking to Jesica she asks, "And who might you be?"

While Ariadne oversees things at the ship, Valkin heads off again at her behest with a few of the crew to look into her next request. Finding worthy targets to hit now that the crew had a little experience under their belt. He heads for the nearest tavern to start.

[samduke]

Ariadne leads Valkin and the others back to the ship, telling the crew to finish offloading the remaining goods, and start transferring it to the wholesale vendor Valkin had picked out. Looking to Jesica she asks, "And who might you be?"

While Ariadne oversees things at the ship, Valkin heads off again at her behest with a few of the crew to look into her next request. Finding worthy targets to hit now that the crew had a little experience under their belt. He heads for the nearest tavern to start.

Dressed in an Explorers Outfit with her armored shirt barely showing the Aasimar turnning to face Ariadne the rapier and shield at her side. My name is Julia Elen Sarah Irene Corsica Anastasia said Jesica, I overheard there might be a ship in dock that possibly was looking for extra crew. I came down here and talked with that - pointing to Olivia - woman and she said that I needed to talk to the captain about getting hired on and if my obvious fighting talents are not enough for you I do have some skill at crafting weapons, knowledge of how mechanical things work. Lastly I have certain mystical powers. Now then am I good enough to join?.

[Daishain]

Ariadne taps her lips thoughtfully. "That is quite interesting, assuming you speak the truth of course. I mean no offense by that, we are in a port full to the brim with liars after all."

"Tell you what, you say you are something of a weapon smith. I would like to hire you to start working on restoring a pair of cannon that we recovered recently. They took some minor salt water damage sitting in an old wreck. Talk with some of the crew while you're doing that, get a sense of how this ship is run. I'll check on your work before we leave port, if I'm impressed with the results, and you still wish to stay, you'll have a place with us. If not, you'll still get paid for the value of the work you do. Fair enough?"

[samduke]

looking at Ariadne, I have not the proper tools for fixing cannon, do you have them?

[Erloas]

Looking over the cannons, it looks like most of what they need is some elbow grease. Wire brushes, and some wood tools to fix the base is what they require. Getting them mounted requires some adjustment to the hull will take a fair amount more work, but it isn't anything really complex. Adjusting the walls to be able to shoot out, and some railing and chains to keep them in place while firing are what needs to happen. Chains, hooks, bolts, wood, are the primary needs, all easy to find but will take a bit of time to do. You'll also need gun powder to actually shoot them.

In looking for rum to purchase you find the distilleries on the edge of town close to the forests. The barrels are 60gallons for 10g each, wholesale, and weigh 480lbs each. 40 barrels will be 19,200lbs, right in the middle of a medium load for your ship. It will take several hours to get the order and get it loaded, putting you into the evening.

Valkin's trip to the taverns is of mixed success. The taverns are relatively empty this time of day, so it's easy to get into conversations and listen to others. What becomes very clear is that there are no "Mediogalti Pirates" as a group. There are a lot of pirates that call this port home, but they are in no way organized. They don't work together, and they seldom attack each other, but that is mostly because of the increased threat from other well armed ships and that they aren't usually carrying that much of value. The ships tend to go fairly far afield to find targets. So while you hear a lot of shade being thrown at other ships, it's hard to judge if they're really incompetent or if it's just occupational rivalry. Like you would expect, the more powerful the captain and crew the bigger the ship they control. Trying to spy out a very specific target will take some time but it could be done, just not in a couple hours. There are some ships coming and going every few hours, some are very clearly pirate.

[samduke]

jesica set about cleaning up the cannon and fixing them one each side of the back end of the forecastle
Knowledge (Engineering) (1d20+6)[19] , Craft (Weaponsmith) (1d20+15)[21] , Perception (1d20+9)[29]

[Daishain]

Ariadne makes a decision and makes the arrangements for the Rum exchange, focused on getting ready to depart this place with the morning tide.

Spoiler: OOC

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If none object, I'd suggest taking on 40 barrels of the Rum. Shouldn't cause us too much in the way of maneuverability issues. Instead of having Valkin spend an extended period chasing unpromising leads, how about we just observe the ships leaving port at about the same time as us, see if any heading in roughly the right direction might be worth following for a bit.

[optimumsquare]

Bodaku wanders the fish market, the suns first golden rays just cresting the horizon. True he wanted his pick of the days catch, but he was also troubled. He had a disturbing dream last night. A lost shark, cut off from its pod, starving. It swam under cursed stars, misfortune following it wherever it went. Soon it would die. Surely this was a vision from the spirits but Bodaku knew not its meaning. Sharks could be pure hunters, a balancing force in the world, or they can be gluttonous eating everything they can until there is nothing left. Which one was this? And how would Bodaku know it?

"Please coin," comes the beggars voice. Without really thinking of it, Bodaku tosses some charity before turning away. He stops.

There was something familiar about that voice. The deep tones, the abrupt cut-off at the end of each sylable. An accent. The same accent as Bodaku. Bodaku turns towards the stranger.
The beggar is a half orc, although one bent with shame and desperation so that he didn't carry himself with the he ferocity his kind were known for. He is covered in the clothes of a sailor who has fallen on hard times, but just underneath the tattered rags are the signs of Bodaku's home. A sharks necklace, the ritual scaring on the bicep, but most of all the facial tattoo. The gaping maw of a sharks jaw has been tattooed around his mouth and his tusks have been filed to points.

"You are a far way from our islands." Bodaku says

The stranger looks up, confusion stirring in dead eyes. "You know my language?"

"Our language. How did one from the islands find himself brought so low? Begging for scraps. Have you forgotten how to hunt?"

There is a flash of defiance that is quickly stifled. "I have not forgotten. I just- things have not worked out since I left the islands. I'm begining to think- This is jut better, that is all."

A hungry shark swims under cursed stars. An omen for good or for ill. Whatever the case, Bodaku did not have it in him to leave a fellow islander to this fate. "Come with me. We can find you a more suitable position than collecting these odd bits of metal the foreigners love so much. What is your name?"

The half orc appears nervous. "Mek'meh."

[samduke]

Seeing the return of the captain and her putting the new girl to work on the cannon was a relief to olivia, wandering over to the captain as she makes deals for some rum to be brought to the ship. Captain I would advise that if we can make it out in time to catch the evening tide rather than wait for early morning if we can. However while the loading is going to take a bit of time those cannons of ours need a few things I shall return shortly

Olivia departs the ship to go purchase gun powder (2 barrels for each should do for now, incendiary shot and chain shot 6 of each should be enough to go along with the standard shot we have already.

once that is done Olivia will return with the goods to the ship

[Erloas]

Repairing the cannons will require essentially an oversized gunsmith kit for 60g, and another 25g for the wood, bolts, and other miscellaneous parts, and replacement ramrods. Jesica can make the purchases and get the cannons in safe working order in about 4 hours of work with a bit of help from the crew. Assuming you picked up that stuff you would have the job done by the time the rum is loaded. [and using your existing rolls]

Getting them mounted to the deck will require about 80g worth of chains, hooks, rails, and other sorts of goods. If you want to put them above deck that will require about 8 hours of work, if you want to put them below deck that will require about 12 hours of work and an extra 10g worth of parts. On deck is a lot more exposed to the elements and enemy actions but will be easier to order the crew or crew yourself and be ready. This can be started today but can't be finished until tomorrow, but can be done while at sea.

Olivia's trip to pick up powder and shots will be easy enough. There are 10 and 30lb kegs of powder, and each of these cannon's shot takes 1lb of powder. At 15g per pound that puts the kegs at 150g and 450g. Chain-shot is 30g each, grapeshot* is 10g each. [These prices are from the book and cheaper than the SRD] [*there are no incendiary firearm/cannon shot that I can find. There is a Shot Brazier in the book that can be used to heat any regular cannonball, but it is 1200g so I'm assuming that isn't what you're looking at. You're free to buy one if you want, it's a relatively large purchase at this point so want to make sure]
That purchase can be done today with little issue.

The rum distilleries are easily located and they've got barrels in stock. The delivery comes in a few carts which start showing up soon after the deal is made and gold is paid. They give a few sample to try of the different types and they do seem very good.
By the time the last of the barrels are delivered and stored away it is early evening. There is maybe an hour of light left at this point. The port is deep enough that your ship will have no issues regardless of tide. Though it has been a little while since any other ship has left dock. There are a few other ships of similar size in dock and seem active enough that they are likely to leave soon, but if that is during the night or early the next day isn't clear at this point, short of talking to the crew or keeping a direct eye on them. Not too hard to see once they're actually set off.
The crew has returned to the ship as per instructions. Some would like to go out again but just having some shore leave was good so they won't complain no matter the choice. Though they're clearly looking for some guidance on the new people showing up on ship.

[samduke]

After cleaning the cannon jesica takes the time to attach the various chains and blocks to give the optimum angle of fire for the best range of the cannon, Cutting slots out of the sides of the ship below the top deck and affixing them with leather straps and rope so that they can be opened in a hurry and fast shut when not in use.

[optimumsquare]

Bodaku leads Mek'meh back to the ship by way of the local market. The two have opposite reactions to the crowd. Bodaku revels in the crowd, delighted by the diversity. Mek'meh shies away, clearly overwhelmed and claustrophobic in the press of bodies. Though the giant half-orc is at least a head taller than Bodaku, he seems to shrink in on himself while Bodaku is larger than life in his gregariousness. Bodaku makes a few purchases, mostly food and spices for the crew.

After the shopping, he presents Mek'meh to the crew. "Olivia, Adrienne. I present to you one of my tribesman. I believe he would make a fine addition to our crew. Say hello Mek'meh."

"Hello." Mek'meh says softly.

"He has been on boats his whole life and can swim fast as a marlin. Shaddup likes him to."

"Dinner!"

[Daishain]

Ariadne looks up at the newcomer. "Strong but quiet type I take it. Very well, since Bodaku vouches for you, welcome aboard. There's a woman below deck working on our cannons, chances are she could use a bit of extra muscle moving them around. How about you find a berth and then go help."

[optimumsquare]

Mek'meh nods and goes to help (I'm assuming your referring to Olivia here). He goes down to help move the cannons but at the sight of the four armed women, lets out a slight squeak.

[Daishain]

As people gather back onto the ship, Ariadne makes a point of introducing the new faces to the officers and to the crew. "We're taking on a few new people. Mekmeh here is an associate of Bodaku, he's already proven he's as strong as he looks by hauling around those cannon we picked up. I haven't seen him angry yet, but I suggest not finding out soon. Jesica has done a fine job of getting those same cannon closer to a usable state, and appears to be an excellent fighter as well. Lastly, we have Valkin. An ice Mage with a silver tongue. He's already earned the ship and therefore you a good bit of extra coin, so do try to put up with him."

"We're leaving either tonight or on the morrow. I leave the choice of which up to you, since I understand if many of you would prefer another night of rest before dropping sail."

[samduke]

Oliva wandering over, Captain, I dont care to stay here any longer than needed, I dont have a good feeling about this place. we should sail as soon as we are able.

[optimumsquare]

"I also have a bad feeling. Almost like, for reasons entirely beyond our control, we've been away from sea for too long. Let us go."


"Where are we going?"

"SQWAK! And will there be dinner?"

[Daishain]

Ariadne looks around, "Very well then, make ready to set sail, lets leave this place behind us."

[Erloas]

By the time you get every one rounded up, get the cargo secured for the trip and do a last check of provisions it is dusk. There are no issues and you leave the docks and work your way out of the bay and towards the open water. You've got two choices heading back. Mostly straight east and south of Nuat Island, more directly into the wind but an area you've been through before. Or you can head more north east and go above and around Nuat Island, a bit longer of a trip but probably not that much slower since you're not tacking into the wind quite as much, you haven't been that way yet so you don't know the waters quite as well.

Also are your plans to just run defensively, only reacting to other ships if they seem like their closing in a way that suggests they might be preparing to attack. Or are you going to be more assertive, looking for and scouting any ship that could potentially be pirate.

Spoiler: OOC

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Sorry I've been slow to respond. I've been a bit unsure how I wanted to progress going forward and my days off suddenly got very full (very good thing) so had a less time to decide what to do.

[samduke]

Olivia takes first watch at the helm as the ship leaves the harbor, while scanning the horizon in all directions

[optimumsquare]

Bodaku works in the kitchen, yelling at whoever is stuck working with him.

Me'kmeh avoids talking to others, completing each task silently.

Shaddup is hungry.

[Erloas]

After discussing your route you decide to head back to the east. It is a fairly dark night with only a sliver of moon in the sky. With the wind coming out of the east you start tacking the ship right away but keep plenty of room between you and the shore. You're about clear of the islands by the break of dawn and as the light starts to come up you see a ship to your aft. It seems to have came from the smaller surrounding islands, rather than having followed you out of port.

They seem to have been running dark during the night, without torches or other light sources on the deck. With the lighting you can only see the silhouette of the ship, there are two main masts. The ship is a several hundred feet away at this point.

Spoiler: OOC

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(1d20+7)[15]

(1d20+10)[23]
(1d20+9)[25]