3SC's Skull & Shackles IC

[DarkOne-Rob]

"smells like giant rats are not the only vermin we'll risk meeting down here today."

Jarred smiles at Lodan's comments. "I knew there was some fire in you, man! We'll just have to play exterminator again, like we did yesterday!" he jokes as the two men harass Bansion.

The swabs don't fare as well, with...Aretta Bansion also up for a bout of punishment.

As the woman takes the lash Jarred makes eye contact with Lodan and Jack Scrimshaw, the smile on his face dripping with malice for Bansion.

Next up are Kana and Lodan...

Jarred sees the two fall and is about to move to gather their limp forms in his arms when Plugg makes his announcement. With one eye to the first mate he lifts Kana easily while motioning for Hiss to grab Lodan.

Spoiler: Draconic

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"Help me with that one, ally. Before anymore blood is shed let us protect those who would aid us later..."

At the final challenge and demonstration of gold "prize" Jarred's breath catches. After some long, internal struggle (during which his eyes remain glued to the first mate's pouch of coin) he takes a deep breath and shakes his head. Turning to Petaba, Thysh, and Catrina he mumbles, "I don't trust him enough to risk my hide for his entertainment. Let's see if any of the rest of the crew will take his challenge, and if not then...maybe..."

The internal struggle seems to come to the front again, and he groans angrily, "Ugh! But the gold! Argh!" With a spit off the side of the deck he carries Kana down below decks, his face awash with conflicting emotions. "Damn this thrice-owed debt! I need that coin!" He hastily places Kana in a hammock before returning to the deck, hunger in his eyes as he looks to see if anyone else has taken the challenge...

[Space Lawyer]

Petaba

Healing Tanner and the other one could wait. For now, a scheme was hatching in Petaba's mind. The crew looked restless with the departure of the most likely fighters from the newcomers. Petaba steps forward, but still armed and armored, clearly not intending to fight.

"Comrades and otherwise, do not be disappointed! Your entertainment has not yet departed. No, not at all! You see, our mighty combatants must refresh themselves for taking on such a mighty fighter as your own Owlbear! Look at this giant of a man, his fearsome visage! Who among you would want to fight such a man without being prepared in both mind and body? And would you rather see a scuffle on this floor, two men simply grabbing at each other like children with one exhausted and the other chained, or would you like to see a proper fight?" Petaba steps up onto a nearby barrel, making sure everyone can see him. "I tell you now, with but a moment, you will see the most spectacular fight you've seen yet on this ship. You've seen him about, making wicked comments. You even saw him set fire to grog on his first night here! A man of extraordinary violence and foul temper, who will give you a true show. You will see the fighting strength of Jarred the Dragon!"

[DarkOne-Rob]

Jarred returns to the deck only a moment before Petaba finishes his speech, and catches his newly appointed moniker. With a broad smile and enthusiastic, "Hah!" he steps up beside the half-orc. "I wasn't sure you liked me - good to see that there are others with a head for drama and show!" he mutters to the other before dramatically ripping off his ragged shirt, baring muscles and shaking his mane of red hair dramatically free. Taking a deep breath he spits a burst of fire in a ten-foot cone into the air before shouting, "Alright! Let's do this, 'Birdman!'"

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Let's go with an Intimidate check on Owlbear. If anyone else wanted to aid it would be welcome, particularly Petaba since he gave such a great introduction...

Intimidate (1d20+3)[17] (untrained, possibly with a bonus from the magical display of draconic-nature...? )

[Farmerbink]

Catrina is more than a little shaken as the 6th dawn breaks over the Wormwood. The sudden an unexpected punishment of the night before followed by the firm rebuff from 'the Badger' has left her doubting herself and her abilities more than ever before. As such, when sent to catch rats with Thysh, Catrina doesn't even register her small friend's presence until they're both belowdecks. There, she uncomfortably begins to ease back into her usually-flippant banter, despite the occasional awkward interruption of passing runners.

At the end of the day, a few handfuls of rats get tied into a bag and dumped over the rails, eliciting a begrudging nod of acceptance from the first mate. He seems to like quiet Catrina; the realization draws an irritated scowl to the girl's face.

---

Eyes wide with both apprehension and a bit of sympathy, Catrina visibly shakes her head to the negative at Pluggs 'offer.' Hells bells! He'd rip my damned arms off for real!

Her expression waxes a hair more concerned until Petaba steps forward to make his declaration. Catrina looks confused for a moment, as if trying to consider Petaba's intentions, before melding into a confident smirk. She doesn't raise her voice, but mutters to herself, "That aughta be fun to watch..."

[Space Lawyer]

Petaba

"Alright, everyone! We have a fight on our hands!" Petaba shows his own purse, with a hefty supply of gold in it from the bilges! "Your First Mate Plugg has offered a cash prize to the winner, but that doesn't mean you can't get your own out of this! Place your bets now! Will it be the dragon or the owlbear? Petaba takes a piece of chalk and begins scratching down any wagers.

[3SecondCultist]

The crew gathers around as Petaba makes his declaration, apparently quite interested in seeing the Owlbear and the Dragon fight now that they have not one, but two people on deck actively promoting it. Plugg eyes the half-orc with a skeptical air, but seems willing enough to wait for Jarred's return after he and Hiss have dropped off Kana and Lodan belowdecks. By the time Jarred's profile is visible through the doors, a large circle has formed around the Owlbear, who is being unshackled. The big man looks up at the aasimar, his gaze ponderous. There is no doubt that he does not want to fight Jarred. And yet the touch of the first mate makes him flinch, and reluctantly the scarred man makes his way into the makeshift ring, hunching his shoulders and adopting a brawler's stance. As the dragon-to-be eyes the Owlbear, it's clear that something in his gaze seems to frighten the man, but he is nonetheless ready to fight.

The bets are in before the match begins. "Put me down for 12 gp on the Owlbear," says Jaundiced Jape, who looks at Jarred with an ugly sneer. "And me as well," Tam Tate chimes in. Before even a minute is up, the odds have been set: 2 to 1, in favor of Plugg's pet. None of them have seen Jarred fight before. A few of Petaba's allies have put their faith in the aasimar, however, and there is a modest lump of gold on Jarred's side of the table. The first mate still holds onto his purse, and his eyes never leave the two fighters. He signals Scourge, who leans up and rings the Wormwood's serpentine bell to start the match.

The Owlbear is surprisingly quick for a man of his stature, but Jarred is slightly faster. Before the unarmed man can close the gap, the aasimar has grown a pair of wicked looking talons, raking over his opponent's flesh and rending long gashes in the Owlbear's muscles. The big man cries out in agony, his fears confirmed as his blood is the first to splash the deck. Many of the crew - especially those who had previously bet on the slave - wear expressions of modest surprise. It seems a few of them took Petaba's announcement to be a figurative one. Still, the Owlbear remains standing. What was once fear has been twisted into a fighter's resolve, and he unleashes a devastating counterattack. The first blow his Jarred in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him and throwing him down to the ship's planks. It is followed suit by a second fist that comes down in a vicious arc, and a resounding crack can be heard as the blow breaks bone and nearly knocks Jarred out of the fight completely. But Jarred is not done. "Just one more hit!", he can hear from Petaba, who watches the fight with interest. With a cry reminiscent of his draconic ancestors, he lashes out in a final, last ditch attempt to bring his assailant down with him. He is fortunate, as the claw connects with the Owlbear's face, causing even more catastrophic damage. Wailing in pain, the muscled brawler backs away, pushing his way out of the ring and forfeiting the match. He doesn't see Jarred collapse from the pain, his eyes closed.

In the span of a few seconds, it is over. Plugg looks after his pet with disgust. Dropping the purse at the feet of the unconscious Jarred, the first mate stalks off without another word. Petaba steps forward and chants a healing spell over Jarred. "You did well, dragon," he whispers. "There is one man still on the field, and so we have a winner!" The crew look to one another, unsure as to the status of the victory. But Petaba's cry is taken up by Jack Scrimshaw and Crimson Cogward, both of who bet on Jarred in the first place. As the money changes hands, the voices of the crew echo over the waves, proclaiming the victor's name.

"JARRED THE DRAGON!"

[Starbin]

Scaled barbarian

As the bodies fell to the deck and were moved aside, the beast watched with little emotion. It looked about, wondering where dinner was, when The long haired one arrived and issued a challenge. The scaled beast turned to gauge the chained man, an eager light in its eyes. Before it could step forward, however, the red haired one touched its arm, whispering in the gutter language. Glaring at the red-hair, the beast hissed in frustration... but reluctantly grabbed the weak one by the belt and threw the body over its shoulder. Stomping to the cots, the lizard tossed the man onto one of the beds. It looked around for items of interest for a moment, then returned to the main deck.

It arrived just as the red head was stepping forward into the ring. Growling, it moved forward to watch, shoving aside those in its way (interestingly enough, those that already didn't care for the lizard). The battle was swift and bloody, and at the end, the red hair was victorious. The lizard watched for a moment, then turned back to the food and grog. Moving to the barefooted woman, the beast used her to hide an attempt to drop its grog overboard.

Spoiler: OOC

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Trying to avoid the grog ... with help! Stealth vs DC12 - (1d20+4)[10]

Spoiler: Status

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HPs: 8/13
AC: 12
F +3 R +1 W +1
Perception +6; Sense Motive +0
Effects: Grog! -1 Con

EDIT: And that should end Hiss' time on the ship ...

[DarkOne-Rob]

As Petaba's magic brings Jarred back to consciousness his eyes pop open. After only a breath to listen to the triumphant cheers of his allies, Jarred realizes he has won! With the same, evil smile on his face he leaps up and crows loudly! Taking his sack of gold the red-head holds it high and yells, "To the victor...the spoils!" With a grin he reaches out to Petaba and slaps his back happily. "Well challenged and assisted, friend. Today you and I enjoy the spoils of battle! Come, let's see to the fallen and drink the ship's vile excuse for liquor!" Turning back to the crowd he basks in the mix of adulation and shocked awe as he watches the ship's first mate leave in embarrassed defeat.

With a happy sigh he turns and takes both Petaba and Hiss by the arms, saying, "Gentleman, thank you for your aid this day. It is good to know that even on a wreck like this one there are allies to be found. Now, come. Kana needs aid, and I cannot give it - I will owe you two favors, Petaba, and one to our mighty scaled friend. Had I fallen I feel confident you would have avenged me on the field of battle!" As Hiss steps aside to enjoy the nights meal Jarred continues below decks, his smile never faltering. Once below decks he directs the half-orc to where Kana lies and waits for her to be roused by the man's magic.

"It seems today was difficult for you, cook's-mate. We will do what we can to help you tonight - remain here and rest. I will bring you dinner. Can you see to that one?" Jarred points to where Hiss has deposited Lodan. "He has started to come around and present himself with strength. I believe it would be well for him to owe a favor..." After waiting a moment for Lodan, Jarred repeats his offer of dinner and then makes his way to the mess deck.

Once there he basks in the glow of the crowd, enjoying the attention. To the questions from the other crew members he explains, "A warrior never shares every weapon in his arsenal - fight beside me and you may see more of the dragons in me!" Otherwise he spends his time telling and retelling exaggerated stories of battles he has fought ashore, before being press-ganged. When the crowd begins to settle into the quiet rhythm of the night, he brings food and water to those below decks and then ends his night happily counting his winnings.

Before collapsing to bed he looks in on his sister. "You have been quiet today - is all well?"

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Jarred will bring food to Kana and Lodan after all the healing has been done (and won't bring them grog). Speaking of which - (1d8+1)[8] (healing from Petaba)...

At dinner Jarred drinks the grog, making a show of downing it in one long pull in spite of the vile stuff.

Grog: (1d20+2)[7] vs DC 5 or minor addiction
(1d3)[1] Constitution damage
+(1d4)[3] Charisma
(1d8)[4] hours of fatigue

He will entertain the crew for the evening - Perform (Oratory) (untrained) (1d20+5)[23] (includes the +2 for Jarred influencing ship members but not any bonuses from Grog-Charisma (modified to 24 after including the Charisma bonus).

[n0ble]

Kana sputtered and scowled as the half-orc's healing magic surged through her. She used a forearm to clear the blood from her mouth while cursing in Druidic.

Spoiler: In Druidic

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By the scrotum of Tamoreus'. Forgot the sting.

She turned her scowl to the Red-hair "You look like sh!t, someone else's blood I'm guessing? And sh!t on being a cook's mate, name's Kana. No more a cook's mate then that boozing whale blubber pretending to be a cook" Despite her complaints she hungrily wolfs down most of the food he brings her. She grimaces at the chewiness of the dam stuff. Too much gristle to gnaw through. "F!cking Kroop was sh!ttered on rum and cassie."

After finishing her meal she moves over to Lodan and heals him by placing a hand on his whipping wounds. As the Red-hair repeats himself, Kanna goes back to chewing the fat off some gristle. Cant see much strength in getting your @ss kicked. The irony of the thought is not lost on the druid. Still. He'd owe me I suppose.

After the Red-hair leaves to go back up to the topside noise, Kana warily eyes Lodan from across the room, taking his face and arms in for the second time in two days. She turns back to the bone and hunches over it, as if to guard it. After peeling the last bit of gristle from it she looks up at him again and realizes she's staring at him. "So. Wana f!ck?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Cure light wounds on Lodan: (1d8+1)[9]
I can roll for Petaba's CLW as well if need be.

[Farmerbink]

Catrina stands by, smirking confidently as the uneasier brute faces off against her brother. A flicker of uncertainty- no, sympathy? passes over her face as the hulk clearly demonstrates reluctance. The surprise that marks most of the crew's expressions is conspicuously absent from Catrina's- as she is at least passingly familiar with her brother's abilities.

Later in the evening, after dinner has been distributed, Catrina joins her brother in revelry at his success. "Perhaps they'll think twice about provoking you in the future!" she offers as an exclamation.

She raises her voice after dinner, calling to Rosie, "Cusswell! Do you know 'The Gorgon's Bride?'" The fiddler strikes a tune, and Catrina joins in- lending a rough but naturally pleasant voice to the tune.

Spoiler: Grog and night action

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(1d20+6)[20] vs DC 12 sleight of hand to ditch the booze.
(1d20+3)[13] untrained perform (sing) to assist Jarred or entertain the pirates.

[Space Lawyer]

Petaba

Petaba spins his single piece of gold. It was almost nothing, but there was little sweeter than gold earned without effort. He takes his cup of grog and goes to stand beside Shikivah. A bit of body language has her angling her body to shield him from sight, and he tries to dump the poison. Regardless of the outcome, he slinks off to bed. The day had been exhausting.

Spoiler: Roll

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Sleight of Hand: (1d20+3)[11]

[WalkingTheShade]

Reifier reified

Once he's woken up, Lodan is a bit confused to see Kana standing over him instead of Fane. "Huh, hi there?"

Lodan accepts Jarred's invitation. While eating, he's tempted to raise the stakes on Red's tales with even more egregious lies. Yet he contents himself with rolling his eyes. "You know, kicking the ass of the only crew-member possibly worse-off than us might just have earned only a gratuitous enemy. Now, good news is, Red looks like a bully to the crew and from the way they're looking at him, these fine upstanding sailors really enjoy being on a bully's good side." Tasting the food, he's also tempted to state that Kana's whipping may well have been the first actually justified and deserved one. Since she healed him, seeing her foul cursing mood and that she's watching him with her usual scorn, he contents himself with forcing the food down. "Not that bad actually. I mean, it is edible, right?" Smart thing to say, that.

He's thinking of calling on Tilly Bracket (with the excuse of cleaning her wounds to create some, let's say, intimacy between them) when Kana's question takes him by surprise. Lodan chokes on gristle. He looks behind him, just to clear any possible ambiguity regarding who she's adressing. He turns back to her, manages to spit whatever got stuck into his airway back into his bowl. In-between ongoing coughs, he manages to place, "huh, right, I mean... Great... I mean... Gods, wait a minute..." Still coughing, Lodan gets up, walks away from the group, and goes to grab some grog. He comes back with two cups and sits next to Kana. "Want one?" He downs a cup in a single gulp. Before Kana can answer, he reassesses the direness of his predicament and downs the second cup. "Necessary to wash my throat. After you, m'lady," says Lodan, getting up and showing the way to a deck below.

Spoiler: Grog rolls

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Fort, (1d20)[2] vs Addiction DC 5.
Fatigue, (1d8)[4].
Charisma bonus, (1d4)[4].
Constitution damage, (1d3)[1].

[Sen isSaqqara]

Spoiler: Rollae Grogicus

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Fortitude: (1d20)[6]
Con damage: [roll]1d3[\roll]
Cha bonus: [roll]1d4[\roll]
Hours: [roll]1d8[\roll]

Thysh finishes her day's work carefully, expecting to treat the day as any other. When she makes her way to the grog table that night, however, she finds herself undergoing a nearly religious experience. The grog hits her hard, and despite her willful attempts to keep the drink's mind-fog at bay, she decends into it with a vengeance. Yet this time, there is something waiting for her in that misty mindscape: a will to act. Plans bloom and fail in a sudden flurry, building on one another and growing for one another's remains until one glorious and obvious course of action lies in her mind's eye.

Feeling oddly chipper for her usual drunk self, Thysh makes her way over to the Quartermaster, seeing her out wherever she might have gone. She chooses her words carefully, trying to make sure that none of them is actually a lie. It's an old talent of hers: twisting the truth into what she wants people to hear.

"Hello there, friend. I don't suppose I could get some help from you with something? I've become aware of a whole bunch of sharp edges along the ship's hull that could hurt someone quite badly. I'd like to go down and fix them, to minimize the pressure on the ship's surgeon, but I'd really need a chisel or something like that. Would you be the right person to ask about that?"

[3SecondCultist]

Thysh

Grok, for her part, is busy drinking with Kroop, who mutters more than a few incomprehensible things himself. As the reverie that surrounds the Owlbear's defeat continues, the cook and quartermaster have sequestered themselves on the foredeck with a few skins of rum and stories that make less sense throughout the evening. Still, the half-orc turns to stare at you when you ask your question. "Wha...? Store's closed and locked for the evening, little blue one. Come back in the morning." With that, Grok turns back to a particularly raucous re-telling of the fall of the Black Drake off the Cannibal Islands.

Still, you cannot help but wonder whether the half-orc is telling the truth. Surely, a trip to check whether or not the drunk quartermaster has really secured her stores might be worth it...?

Spoiler: OOC

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Assuming Thysh actually wants to go infiltrate the quartermaster's store, that'd be considered a 'Steal' action, with a Stealth check on your part to avoid detection.

[Sen isSaqqara]

Spoiler: Stealthy Rolls

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Stealth:(1d20+2)[5]

Thysh sits with the cook and quartermaster for a time, keeping an eye on the other crewmembers. She waits for a good time to try sneaking down to the stores. She is also listening to the Quartermaster's story, as she has never heard it before, and is genuinely interested. Perhaps it is this deficiency of attention that will cause her eventual downfall.

In time, she makes her move, taking her leave from the storytelling and winding her way down to the deck. She takes another pitcher of grog, but doesn't drink it. She just swishes it around drunkenly, using it as a prop to complete the illusion of her complete inebriation, not that that illusion needs much work, nor that it is all that much of an illusion.

She walks quietly over to the storeroom door, ducking out of sight as she evaluates how best to open it. The lock looks complex, but it eventually occurs to her to simply try the handle. The door opens, and she supresses a grin. The storeroom extends before her, and right beside the door is the chisel she wants. She smiles properly, but her joy is interrupted by a distinct *ahem* from behind her. She turns to face two crewmembers, Tam and Maheem, examining her.

"Well, hello gentlemen! What can I do for you?" Thysh gives them a smile, swinging her grog with the question and trying to look as innocent as possible.

[3SecondCultist]

Catrina, Jarred, Lodan, Petaba, Thysh

One week. One full week ago today, you awoke to Scourge's ugly mug over you. And today is further proof that life aboard the Wormwood is not likely to change all that quickly. Despite your best efforts - or perhaps in spite of them - you can see several of the officers cracking down even harder on the rank and file of the ship this bright morning. Badger Medlar, one of your fellow swabs, has been personally requisitioned by Peppery Longfarthing, the ship's mage, to 'help in an experiement' in her laboratory cabin, leaving you short-staffed. And although the bilges have been cleaned, it would appear that yesterday's brume has stained much of the main deck and several sections of the gunwales. As such, Master Scourge has assigned the majority of you with swabbing the decks, along with Crimson Cogward, Aretta Bansion, and Fipps Chumlett. The latter pair mostly keep to themselves, not wanting to infringe on what is increasingly becoming your entourage's majority aboard the ship. Scourge is not shy about looming over you, however, his evil eyes always going back to rest on Thysh. "... looking forward to the Bloody Hour," you can hear the thin man mutter under his breath.

Indeed, given the ever-increasing popularity of both Catrina and Jarred, it's hard to see any unfriendly faces on the ship, aside from your taskmasters. Most of the swabs and even a few of the riggers, are quick to clap both of the red-headed sailors on the back for a most entertaining evening, with extra praise going to the sorcerer for his brutal bout with the Owlbear. Scourge is more than happy to assign the victor of last night's melee with carrying messages around the ship's decks, saying that 'such a hardy man can surely withstand a little exercise'. Jarred is accompanied only by Rosie Cusswell, the halfling doing her level best to keep up on her shorter legs and cursing Scourge out colorfully throughout the work shift. As for Catrina, she is silently handed the same bucket that she's been given the past few days, as the bosun grins at her through yellowed teeth.


Hiss

Plugg awaits you on the deck when you arrive after eating the pitiful excuse for morning rations; the first mate is in conversation with a second party, a thin blonde man with an excess of knives. "Just make sure Krine's ready to take them out soon, Kipper. Can't have us an unprepared crew when the captain catches up with his prize," the cloaked first mate says to his associate. 'Kipper' simply nods, giving you a long and even look before darting away towards the back of the ship. Plugg points noncommittally at several unruly messes of tack, not to mention a few piles of lines. You are no stranger to the task ahead.

"Come on then, you great scaly beast! These ropes aren't going to coil themselves up!" Looking around, you can see a few other members of the crew nearby, gathering their holystones and starting to swab the decks. At least you will not be alone today.


Kana

Although last night's 'activities' were certainly a change from the first span of evenings as the cook's mate, the morning brings the same task. Kroop snores loudly from where he lies amidst strewn pots and pans, waking only to confuse your face with that of Grok. Apparently, the man has completely lost track of his surroundings, and believes you to be the very same quartermaster. His chickens cluck loudly, demanding to be fed... and they're not the only ones. Although the breakfast biscuits have all been delivered, you know that if you do not want a repeat of last night's lashings, you will need to do better today.

You notice that Grok stands not far away, rifling through her stores with a small logbook in hand. The half-orc looks distinctly troubled, but does not take the time to speak to you, as she appears to be taking an in-depth inventory of her things. Given the shop's immediate proximity to the galley, it's hard not to get in each others' way, but you'll have to manage; Grok looks distinctly displeased about something. Asking her about it seems... unwise, to say the least, and you have meals to prepare.

[Sen isSaqqara]

Thysh is well aware that she's in trouble. Deep in trouble. She begins the day as usual, but quickly abandons any pretense of work and sneaks away. She has work to do this day.

Spoiler: Thysh's Last Stand

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Stealth: (1d20+2)[13]

Unfortunately, wherever she goes, she cannot escape the watchful eye of Scourge, and she finds no good opportunity to slip away. She seethes, but keeps her head down for the moment and attempts to do the day's work.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Jarred looks to Rosie with a genuine smile as they are assigned to work together. "I'll race you - first to deliver ten messages wins!" he jokingly challenges, deliberately speaking loudly enough to be heard by the leadership as he makes light of the assignment. Rosie's response is to dash off at full tilt, clearly motivated by the playful notion of making a game out of the morning's work. Jarred finds the work flows easily as a result - she covers some of the worst messages, her curses as she passes him full of mirth and vigor.

Jarred notes the tension in the officers as he reports and finds himself especially curious about Grok's concerns. In between messages he momentarily looks in on Kana in the kitchen and asks, "You hear anything interesting? Something is up, but I haven't found out what - how are things down here today?"

[n0ble]

Kana had woken up on the lower deck right next to Lodan, accidentally elbowing him in the face in an effort to try and get away from his prone form. "Sh!t." She started off at a half walk , hoisting up her britches and doing her armour up again as she did. Sh!t sh!t sh!t. Her profanity isn't just borne out of a need to get topside as quickly as she can. She didn't really want to think about the night before. Cant afford to with things to do. 'Sides, man might be able to swing a sword but his mutton daggerwork could use some practice The thought is accompanied by a vague feeling of accomplishment. It goes some ways towards cheering her up a little bit as she makes her way topside to receive orders.

Anything resembling happiness is extinguished when she finds Kroop insensibly drunk again. Any number of expletives and violent thoughts cross her mind as she sets about trying to clean up the pots and pans. The day is much in the same as the last for her, to the point that she barely cares about the half-orcs presence. Instead she silently fumes through the assigned duties Wonder that this sack of blubber doesnt get whipped. F!cker deserves it. By the Lusca her scars itched. It didn't help that whatever was in the bilges was back as well, as minute sparks flicked in between her fingers as she did the dishes.

The Red-hair found her at a good time, after she's done the all the dishes and was feeding the birds. Kana gave a shrug that somehow seemed tense "Sh!tty. But what isn't on this boat." She nods in the direction of the cook, now sitting in a chair with a rough blanket draped over his sides. "Second time this week." She gave another shrug at his question, first question "Grok was in here earlier lookin over some sort o' stat book. Seemed like sh!ts gone missing from her lockup"

[DarkOne-Rob]

"I'll see if I can rustle up some help for you," Jarred says as he turns back to his work, his face a wash with mixed emotions and thoughts. "It can't be good to have the quartermaster missing something...I should check on Catrina too - make sure she is forewarned..."

As he passes several of the friendly crew members he mentions Kana's need, making it clear that without a hand she won't have a good meal ready for everyone. "It would be better for everyone if you give her a hand when you have a moment - I don't like eating poorly. Go see what you can do to help," he says, not threatening exactly, but leaving little room for argument.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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If it is possible to get Kana a +2 bonus from an NPC swab, Jarred will do what he can to make that happen. If a social-skill roll is needed to make this happen, here you go: (1d20+5)[11] (all skills have equal modifiers and are untrained)

As he passes Catrina on one run he mentions Grok's inventorying, and makes it clear that she should check herself for anything she shouldn't be found carrying. "Best to not give the officers an excuse to accuse any of us of theft. Make sure you are clean, sis..."

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Jarred also checks his items to ensure that he only has what he is supposed to have - items bought back from Grok, his mirror, the cash prize from fighting Owlbear, etc...

[WalkingTheShade]

Frontally elbowed

Lodan's woken up by something hitting him in the face. "Joana? What the f!ck?" he mumbles, shaking sleep away. Sitting up, he hardly sees a woman getting away from him. "Oh," says Lodan, remembrance washing over him. At least, he'd got around to getting that done before being whipped to death. He lies down, trying to scrounge a few more minutes of sleep.

Once on deck, he silently gets to the task at hand, trying to position himself as far from Bansion as possible. Lodan's in a good mood today. Even yesterday's grog seemingly tasted better. He concentrates on the task at hand, trying to get it done as fast as possible. Hearing Jarred's call to go help Kana, Lodan's tempted to follow before remembering how she got away from him in the morning. To each his own, right? Might be better to finally check on Tilly this evening. Lodan sees her run across the deck and gives her a winks. Then, he breaks into a shanty while going on with his work.

Oh, we'd be alright if the wind were in our sails,
We'd be alright if the wind were in our sails,
We'd be alright if the wind were in our sails,
And we'd all hang on behind!

So we’ll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
An’ we’ll roll the golden chariot along!
So we’ll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
An’ we’ll all hang on behind!

---

As the end of day approaches, Lodan realizes with resignation that his efforts are not enough. He's out of breath and there's still a lot to do. Thus, Lodan is both surprised to realize that some crew with a bandana has come to his aid. The man spits on the deck while giving a subtle look towards Scourge, then nods silently to Lodan. His help is just enough to get their work done as the Bloody Hour rings once again.

Spoiler

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Working diligently, (1d20+4)[8], with help from Cogward for a 10.

[Farmerbink]

A distinctly irritated Catrina takes the proffered bucket with no attempt to hide her frustration. Let him enjoy his petty victories- it's not like it matters anyway...

With a grimace, she nods at the first mate. "Aye, sir..." and descends towards the bilges. Somewhat happily, Catrina finds herself working side by side with Giffer. She spends most of the day regaling her swab-mate with nonsensical exaggerations of Jarred's and her own "experiences" in he bars and taverns of Port Peril.

During the middle of one such story, Scourge himself appears in a doorway, frowning fiercely with a rat's tail pinched between his grimy fingers. "Best believe there's a lash in it for you if I find another... he growls with a glare. Wide-eyed, Catrina realizes she's been shirking and taking presumed success for granted. Just after, Jarred passes through, warning Giffer and Catrina of the brewing unpleasantness is the ships store- adding a totally different, higher stakes concern to the day.

With Giffer's eager help, they just manage to clear the area before bloody hour. A nervous Catrina stands before Scourge, sweating profusely under the heat and oppressive glares. She only dares to breathe a short sigh of relief when the bosun (apparently reluctantly) accepts her work as satisfactory. Whew... dodged that bullet...

[Starbin]

Scaled barbarian

When beckoned, the creature walked up and stood silently, eyes staring blankly as it waited for the long-hair to speak. The last bit of conversation caught its attention, however, eyes narrowing at the human with numerous knives. It starred unblinkingly as the human hurried past, then turned back to the long-hair. It seemed piling ropes was the task for the day.

---

While coiling and stacking ropes into piles, the lizard seemed distracted, eyeing the people around it more. Every other day, the beast had been above the deck - today, it was surrounded by multiple moving figures. At a few points during the day, the creature would approach it's working companion, Ratline, hissing a number of times and pointing at the ropes. Rudimentary, but it should have been obvious the creature was reaching out ... albeit somewhat menacing.

When the red-hair ran by at one point, pausing to nod at the black-scaled creature, it hissed at him. Once the man swaggered over with a grin and a greeting, the lizard was silent for a moment. Then glancing around, it leaned forward and hissed again, but this time with a series of harsh guttural sounds, just loud enough for the red-hair to hear.

Spoiler: Draconic

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"Ware ssselvesss ... ssssomething planned by long-hair ... Kippper and Krine ... watch themssss ..."

Spoiler: OOC

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So working normal to influence Rat-boy.
Dex vs DC10 - (1d20+2)[10] = more lashes, I'm sure!
Intimidate vs Rat - (1d20+12)[13] .. +4 size difference, maybe?
EDIT: Seriously? I'm getting really tired of this +12 bonus being pointless more often than not.

Spoiler: Status

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HPs: 14/14
AC: 12
F +4 R +1 W +1
Perception +6; Sense Motive +0
Effects: none yet

[DarkOne-Rob]

Jarred's grin gets even broader as Hiss finally speaks to him! He responds in kind, using the sibilant language of the dragons he so adores,

Spoiler: Draconic

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"Agreed. The quartermaster is upset over something - be sure nothing stolen is found on your person this day..."

After speaking, he looks thoughtfully at the other swabs working hard on the deck and nods as a decision is made. He dashes off to continue his message-running, but returns in the early afternoon and mentions to each of them a cautionary word. "Things are up, and Grok is checking her inventory. Don't get caught holding onto something you cannot explain today - it may be a keel-hauling for you if they find something 'stolen' on your person..."

[Space Lawyer]

Petaba

Petaba gets to his work glumly. There would be lashings for him tonight. Rather than give excuse for further whippings though, he works hard, making sure that his little area of the deck was spotless. By the time he was done with it, the wood wouldn't have been out of place in royal bedchamber.

During the day though, he finds a bit of time to quickly head to his bunk, and make a thorough check of his belongings. If he wasn't going to give the sadists in charge an excuse for a beating, he certainly wasn't going to give them one for a keelhauling.

[Starbin]

Scaled barbarian

The lizard hissed again, then retrained to work. It wasn't pretty, but it should be sufficient ... if the small man's rapid nodding was any measure of success.

Later, the beast would check it's possessions, which should be easy enough - a blanket and a metal club.

Done.

Spoiler: OOC

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Just responding ...

Spoiler: Status

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HPs: 14/14
AC: 12
F +4 R +1 W +1
Perception +6; Sense Motive +0
Effects: none yet

[3SecondCultist]

The day passes largely without too much worry; even though you've all been assigned varying degrees of menial tasks, there is not a single one of you who has failed or otherwise neglected their duties to the point of exhaustion or being liable for whippings. By the time the ship's bell rings to bring the crew to planks for the Bloody Hour and the evening meal, there is generally a good atmosphere in the air. The friends you've already made among the Wormwood's crew are happy to help you, or are otherwise coerced into serving in your shadow, with Ratline the halfling visibly sticking right behind Hiss despite his obvious discomfort. He clenches all seven of his collected fingers and thumbs together into fists - something about 'sticking right behind the shark', no doubt - but watches the lizard with a mixture of respect and fear as the night progresses. When Hiss is whipped into unconsciousness, he is more than happy to help drag the nagaji's body away from the mast and towards the hammocks on the lower decks to sleep it off.

After a few minutes of inactivity from the lower decks, a few of the sailors grow impatient. Eventually, they drag out both the cook and his first mate. The 'evening meal' is little more than watery slop, and is late to boot. "Gozreh's piss, this stinks to high hell!" Aretta Bansion tips her bowl over the side in disgust, and soon there is a clamor and general grumbling among even the more affable members of the crew. The general consensus is that whatever the pair did to the food, it is not up to the satisfaction of anyone eating dinner tonight. As such, Scourge soon arrives on the scene, and personally takes a hand in lashing both Kana and Kroop. Strangely, Plugg is absent. One might expect the Wormwood's first mate to at least give one of his trademark scowls at the proceedings, but he does not stand on the sterncastle as is his custom. In fact, he only appears until after the last lash has been administered.

"Ladies and gentlemen, sea dogs all, it would seem as though we have a thief aboard. Last night, the sailor that goes by the name 'Thysh' broke into the quartermaster's store, in search of items unknown. Thankfully, it would seem we have a vigilant crew, and two of our number were able to catch her in the act." Plugg wipes a line of angry sweat off his brow as he nods to the figures of Maheem and Tam Tate, both of who smirk knowingly in the gnome's direction. "We may be nothing but humble pirates, but we still abide by rules! The shipboard articles are clear. Breaking the rules of the sea in such a fashion... well, that must be answered! And you know how we deal with thieves? Keelhauling! Bring the rope." Slippery Lonegan and Bansion are quick to get the rigging set up for the punishment, and before long Thysh has been trussed up around the waist, arms, and legs, hanging over the side of the ship. Slowly, the spellcaster is lowered towards the choppy waves.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'll be rolling the damage for this evening's punishments in the OOC thread. Zeno, I've sent you a message about this, but since I'm using the 'slow' keelhauling, Thysh will have an opportunity to cast air bubble on the round before she is lowered into the water. That means to cast cure light wounds and the like, she'll only have to deal with the standard 'injury' Concentration checks (I'm treating the barnacles as ongoing damage, so half that value will be added to the DC 11 check to cast at any point during the process).

Don't forget to roll the DC 20 Reflex saves every round as well to take half damage from the barnacles!

[DarkOne-Rob]

Jarred waits and watches as the Bloody Hour seems to go out with a whimper, his face showing distrust and concern. "Something is very wrong here..." he mumbles to no one in particular as dinner starts. After taking a bowl of the...food... he makes a face and continues, "Well, something else is wrong, other than tonight's meal. I was worried about Kana and Kroop today - I guess no one was able to get free to help them..." He eats halfheartedly but takes none of the grog yet, just in case he can avoid it tonight. He is disappointed that his ally and the cook are whipped, but waits to help until after seeing if either of them pass out from the ordeal.

When Plugg finally appears and makes his announcement Jarred stays seated, shock and disbelief on his face. As the ropes are brought, Thysh tied, and the punishment begun he stays still as a stone, watching in stunned silence. As she finally goes beneath the waves he mutters, "Maybe if one of us had messed with the ropes...Yeah, next time..." and nods resolutely.

[WalkingTheShade]

Weak of heart

"Gozreh's piss, this stinks to high hell!"
"It's not like adding your breath on top is going to help it smell any better," answers Lodan. With the exception of a few sniggers, that fails to stop the crew's call for blood. Lodan just shrugs. He's surprised not to hear his name being called for whippings. He flinches when Kana's turn comes. Lodan hesitates to go help her afterwards, but stops in his tracks after a couple steps towards her.

When Thysh's turn comes, Lodan sits on the main deck, avoiding a view of either process or result of the keelhauling. "With my luck they'll just find a reason to ensure I'm the next one," he complains out loud, to no one in particular.

[Sen isSaqqara]

When her name is called, Thysh hands her deck of cards to Catrina and moves to the bow, lifting her arms to make it easier to tie her. Her face is largely untroubled by any sadness or fear, instead she in consumed by the will to somehow survive. Whatever alcoholic urge drove her to action last night is now replaced by the urge to defy fate and live through this experience. After all, she had been planning on being keel-hauled at some point, today was just sooner and less prepared-for than expected.

When they leave her arms untied, she stifles a sigh of relief. This might be doable after all... As she is lowered towards the water, she breathes a quick prayer and request to one of her favorite sea-goddesses, and feels the rush of a divine answer just as her head would otherwise be covered by the waves. An air-bubble around her face will let her channel healing magic as required, giving her a much better fighting chance.

She manages to turn her back to the hull, to protect anything vital, but the barnacles drag along her spine, shredding skin and muscle. The pain is almost overwhelming, but she keeps her head well enough to keep a grasp on her magic, at least for a time...