Skulls and Shackles pt 1: The Wormwood Mutiny (IC)

[thegoldenfedora]

Grayson Wilkes

"I have some gear that was taken, but without a lock, I'd rather Grok hold onto them where I know they will be safer. If I can get a lock I'll gladly take whatever I can get, particularly my carpentry tools. It would be nice to have something to do besides beating rodents."

After they have seen Grok and his companions are finished. Grayson hoists the carcass up to the deck and plops it down in front of Scourge.

"Took care of your pest problem, funny thing about scrawny rats, they tend to end up like this." With that he grabs the rats leg and heaves it over the boat in one motion. "If you'll excuse me I'll get back to work." and with those parting words he seeks out the crew member who seems to be struggling the most and lends his weight to the task, forcing his body to work even though he was being threatened by exhaustion.

[HappyMerecat]

Thellan

Thellon tags along not wanting to impinge on Alistair's friendship which could be valuable.

"I could use my gear as well. I think if I hadn't had borroweda weapon killing those freak rats someone would have died and I am the one they call the Rat Catcher. The less rats the better."

Spoiler: Crunch

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Diplomacy to convince Grok. (1d20+5)[9]
Perception (1d20+5)[11] to get an idea of the kind of stuff they have there

[theasl]

Gale immediately thinks of her musket, but no - that would be far too impractical to have around, and the half-orc seemed trustworthy enough to not mess with it, if she'd given Alistair's gear back untouched. Maybe her axe...it's not quite as well-built as this one, but it's better designed for use on a ship, she thinks. She asks the group still collected belowdecks: "Anyone want this axe? It's not quite built how I'm used to, and clearly I wasn't of much use with it down there", blushing a little in embarrassment. "I'd prefer to get my own, but Grok might not agree if she sees I already have one."

Spoiler: ooc

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Grayson gets first dibs if multiple people want it, from OOC thread.

[aberratio ictus]

Alistair Notelgamore, esq.

With the others in tow, Alistair visited Grok's store once more.

"Thanks." he simply said when he saw her first, with a wink. She would know what he meant, and that it all went according to plan. "You know, I shouldn't just leave that rapier and armour lying around. How much for a good lock?" After all, he did have some money now, and he couldn't just keep on asking favours.

[theasl]

Gale leaves the axe with the rest of the group as she follows Alistair to the quartermaster's store. Leaning against the side, she waits for Alistair to finish before speaking up, looking quite pitiful with all her wounds: "I had an axe with my gear...the pack with the musket. Could I get it back? I could use it up there in the rigging in an emergency, and if they decide to send us down to kill some more rats or spiders maybe I won't be so useless..."

Spoiler: ooc

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ok, no response means you can fight it out Grayson gets it.

diplomacy? (1d20)[12] lol

[thegoldenfedora]

Grayson Wilkes

Grayson lets the others inquire with Grok and get their answers first, using her reaction to gauge his chances at success before stepping up.

"Is there any chance I could get a lock? I hate to overstep here but it would be helpful in my endeavors to raise money for other purchases. If it is too much to ask, you also have my carpentry tools and I would be happy to do a little work to help you out. Surprisingly, I'm more than just a 'lumber'ing brute."

Spoiler: diplomacy if necessary

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(1d20-1)[16]

[PallentisLunam]

Grok lays out several crude padlocks and their matching keys. "Everybody gets a lock when they sign on. Guess you lot missed that part of joining up," she says rather sheepishly with a hint of apology in her voice. The locks are nothing to write home about but they seem fairly sturdy and the keys fit and turn well. "There should be empty lockers in the hold that you can claim for yer kit. As fer better locks, well, tha'd just be tippin the rest o' them off that yew got something worth takin'."

She takes Alistair's gear promising to keep it safe for him. Grok rolls her eyes at Grayson's joke but it's obvious that she find his humor endearing and she hands him his tool belt. Gale is able to recover her boarding axe as well, but Grok seems to sour a bit at the way Thellan is eyeing up her store and tells him off, offering an excuse that if all the new sailors come bursting up from below armed to the teeth there'll be talk of mutiny.

---

Back above deck there are more than a few sets of wide eyes as Grayson presents the kill to Scourge. "There'r no rewards fer doing yer job on this ship!" he shouts impotently at Grayson's back. Over the course of the day the storm comes and goes in bands and the Wormwood seems to be tracking along in its. Barnabas and Plugg are on the poop all day and seem to be in great spirits. The crew performs admirably in their duties and all are bone tired when the call for dropping anchor comes. Anika is forced to bring up and serve the meal all by herself as Fishguts either never came out of his drunken stupor all day or if he did immediately started drinking again and never got out of bed.

Spoiler: OoC

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Nighttime activities my commence. My apologies if I missed anyone's actions, just let me know and I'll try to get them into the story.

Also on an unrelated note I am on vacation for the next few days and might not be able to post quite as regularly. I will be back in the action proper next week (around the 17th give or take a day or two).

[theasl]

Exhausted from the day's events, Gale doesn't even try to socialize, heading to sleep immediately after the usual drink.

Spoiler: ooc

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con damage (1d3)[1]
fatigued time (1d8)[2]
cha bonus (1d4)[3]
fort save (1d20+4)[9] - 1 for con damage = 8

heal 1 hp for a good night's rest ><

[Ravenica]

Anika
Humming to herself in satisfaction over her daily chores she heads back below deck to find Mr. Fishguts. When she does she tried her best to leverage the insensible man into bed. Without even a second thought she does not hesitate to use her power to push him to sleep, taking advantage of his state to sow thoughts of protecting her and poking around in his dreams to improve his opinion of her.

Spoiler

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OOC stuff.

If necessary to get him asleep shes casting Sleep DC 16, Sow thoughts to protect her DC 16, Dream Leach DC 13 to improve her diplomacy check with him in his dreams, and lastly Oneimancy to perform the diplomacy check in his dreams (1d20+3)[23] (+4 if he fails the dream leach check)

[aberratio ictus]

Alistair Notelgamore, esq.

Although he would have loved to socialize with Grok and the others again, the exertions of the last days were beginning to take their toll on Alistair, so he headed for an early sleep.

[HappyMerecat]

Thellan

Thellan laughs off Grok telling him off in a friendly way. He knows he will get his gear at some point ... or some gear. For now he has a knife.

Thellan mostly observes what others do in the evening to get a feel if any games of 'chance' are commonly played.

[thegoldenfedora]

Grayson Wilkes

The day had been too much excitement for Grayson, he couldn't even bring himself to drink and took a moment where others were getting rowdy to toss his grog overboard.

He tosses his returned tools to his locker and promptly climbs into his hammock.

Spoiler: stealth

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(1d20+1)[19]

[PallentisLunam]

As his companions turn in for the night, Thellan combs the deck for some entertainment. He spots a few tests of skill, as befitting pirates the challenges are brutal and failure is painful. Fore and aft pirates race up the masts with one hand tied behind their backs and given their inebriation more than one falls hard to the deck. On the main deck pirates arm wrestle on an overturned barrel covered with broken glass and rusty nails.

There is of course also gambling. Some sailor bet on the outcomes of the skill challenges, but there are also games of pure chance. It would appear that there is only one deck of cards and one set of dice among the entire crew. As such each has a rather dense crowd packed around the players.

[HappyMerecat]

Thellan

Cautious about joining such lethal games and reluctant to join a more traditional game in such a place with no popularity, Thellan mostly watches, then he gets an idea and searches for three cups and something to use as a pea to start up a shell game. If an opportunity presents itself, especially with a drunk individual he will try to steal a few cons.

Spoiler: Crunch

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Sleight of hand (1d20+10)[27] if the opportunity presents itself

[PallentisLunam]

The savvy pirates know a classic con when they see one but several are drunk enough and confident enough in their own abilities to throw down a few coins at Thellan's crate. However it quickly becomes clear that their confidence is misplaced and that Thellan's hands really are quicker than their eyes. Without a hard and fast cheat to point to the few sailors willing to challenge Thellan grumble and wander away after a few tries at spotting the pea.

Spoiler: Results

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Thellan makes 24 silvers off of the crew.

---

The next morning the storm has continued on its way while the ship lay at anchor through the night. Assignments are passed out as usual and the ship begins to settle into what is becoming its daily routine. Thellan is back on rat catching duty while Alistair and Grayson are put to work fixing storm damage. Gale is assigned to scurrying about the rigging, tending the wormwood's myriad smaller sails. And Anika finds herself in quite a bind. Fishguts is still completely insensible with drink, awaking only to top up, and the stores of fish are low.

Spoiler

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Daytime actions may commence. Tasks as follows:

Spoiler: Thellan

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A DC 10 Stealth, Survival, or Dexterity check.

Spoiler: Alistair & Grayson

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A DC 10 Profession (Sailor) or Dexterity Check. Grayson may substitute his woodworking skill if he desires. The DC is the same.

Spoiler: Gale

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A DC 10 Profession (Sailor) or Dexterity Check and a DC 10 Constitution Check

Spoiler: Anika

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A DC 10 Profession (Fisherman) or Survival Check and a DC 10 Profession (Cook) or Intelligence Check, both made at -4

[HappyMerecat]

Thellan

Back hunting rats, Thellan does his best to sneak up on the little creatures.

Spoiler: Crunch

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Stealth (1d20+8)[21]

[Ravenica]

Anika

Feeling like the world is against her Anika is in a foul mood all day. She snaps at anyone who dares to even look at her funny as a petulant child.

She focuses on catching the fish, remembering her previous failure.

Spoiler

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working dilligently, survival +1, +4 for dilligence, - 4 for the penalty)
(1d20+1)[12]

She then makes her way down to try her hand at soup again, staring daggers at pot, as if daring it to foul things up for her.

Spoiler

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int check +3 - 4 for penalty (1d20-1)[0]

She hopes she caught enough fish, worrying about it all day, only to find that the distraction has lead for her to dump the wash water into the soup. She stares appalled and considers jumping ship, to take her chances with the fish...

[theasl]

Still hurting from the day before, Gale keeps her head down and does the best she can in her sorry state.

Spoiler: rolls

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work diligently prof (sailor) (1d20+11)[12] auto success
con check (1d20+2)[15] not sure if the +4 from working diligently applies here

[thegoldenfedora]

Grayson Wilkes

Still a little sore from the previous day, Grayson is happy to have a task that he is so used to. He grabs his tools and goes to work. Despite having worked so much with Alistair, Grayson still feels uneasy around the Chellish officer and he keeps his head down to work.

Spoiler: ooc

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working diligently (1d20+12)[31]

Also, if it looks like Anika is going to be whipped, Grayson is going to step in and try to take the beatings in her stead so that a child does not get whipped

[aberratio ictus]

Alistair Notelgamore, esq.

Feeling a lot better the next day, Alistair went to work. Grayson didn`t seem to be in a good mood, so he mostly left him alone despite being assigned to the same task - repairing the damages the storm caused around the ship.

Whenever he found the time, he strolled by Rosie, trying to cheer her up with a quick joke or funny word.

Spoiler: actions

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Rolling profession (sailor): (1d20+5)[14]
trying to influence Rosie: (1d20+9)[28]

[PallentisLunam]

The day passes rather uneventfully. Thellan rounds up more than enough vermin to avoid the ire of the officers. Gale manages to scamper skillfully through the rigging, doing the same. Grayson earns an envious sneer from Plugg as he goes about making himself useful to the ship's carpenter/surgeon, one Habbly "the Stitchman" Quarne. Alistair builds on his previous conversations with Rosie. The halfling seems to take a liking to the Chelish navy man's sense of humor. Even Anika does fairly well for herself in the early part of the day, catching enough fish to serve for dinner.

Throughout the day Sandara steals brief moments with each of the new sailors and passes on the blessings of the Pirate Queen. Wounds and ailments are cured in moments as the divine gifts work their wonders upon the sailors' bodies. By the end of the day Sandara is utterly spent but her allies are as fresh as they were that night in the Formidably Maid that seems so long ago. Anika's luck seems to have run out after her success at fishing and she manages to utterly ruin the meal. However it is still edible, barely, and, perhaps due to her night time dream meddlings or the fact that cooking is actually Fishguts' job, the crew's outrage is directed at Fishguts rather than her. The drunken cook is hauled up to the mast and soundly flogged by several crew members with the heavy mooring ropes that lay coiled about the deck.

Spoiler: OoC

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@theasl Working diligently can only be applied to a single roll, therefore if multiple rolls are called for in a day you must decide which roll to apply the bonus to.
Sandara has healed all HP and ability damage for the party.
Alistair has made Rosie Helpful. Alistair gains 400 XP

Night time actions may commence. There will be an event tonight so anyone wishing to go to bed early (not sure why, but just in case) please hold off for the moment.

[theasl]

Feeling much better, Gale returns to the rigging for the night after the customary drink, hanging (literally) with her rigger friends. She spends a lot of the evening with Ratline, chatting about her exploits over the past few days...and conveniently omitting her failures...though all bets are off as the drink kicks in.

Spoiler: ooc

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con damage (1d3)[2]
fatigued time (1d8)[2]
cha bonus (1d4)[3]
fort save (1d20+4)[23] - 1 for con damage = 22

cha check to influence ratline (or diplo or whatever, they're all the same): (1d20)[16] + 1 for cha bonus = 17

[thegoldenfedora]

Feeling a bit more himself, and a little more at ease after the drink, Grayson decides to try his hand at gaining allies. He goes and finds the one eyed gnome he had met before.

"I suppose we haven't been properly introduced, I'm Grayson, how long have been on this boat?"

Spoiler

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diplomacy (1d20+5)[15] including the+4 from helping him out earlier

[aberratio ictus]

Alistair Notelgamore, esq.

In the evening, Alistair continued with his daily ritual to subtly get rid of the rum Grok served him, then, as usual, he sat with her, trading jokes with Rosie and Tilly Bracket as well from time to time.

Spoiler: Sleight of hand

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Taking a 10 on the sleight of hand check again to get rid of the vile brew

But really, he had his eyes set on Jaundice Jape. The half-orc was probably a good ally to have, and Alistair had seen the short look of respect on his face when he had sidestepped his attack. Maybe... it would be worth it.

After a nod towards Grok, Alistair took out his Chelish navy dagger, flipped it around dexterously, then flipped it back. It seemed Jape respected when someone was skilled in what they did, so maybe he could use that to impress him.

The former navyman leisurely walked over to the grey-skinned half-orc, simply gave him a curt nod once he took note of him - he supposed since Jape was a mute himself, talk wasn't going to win him over - then threw his dagger a short distance into the air, only to catch it nimbly and let it wander around his fingers, turning it around and throwing it again, performing some tricks with sleight of hand. If he failed - well, maybe it was at least funny to Jape.
That would be worth it. Wouldn't it?

Spoiler: Rolls

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Performing some knife tricks to impress Jape:(1d20+7)[23]
Influence Jape: (1d20+9)[11]

[Ravenica]

Anika

Relieved that the pressure was taken off her but feeling guilty about Mr. Fishguts treatment, Anika looks around for Grok to help her haul him below deck. After she finds her she asks politely, "Mrs. Grok, madam, can you help me take poor Mr. Fishguts below to his bunk?". Without waiting for an answer she hoists one of his arms over her shoulder and begins dragging him to the hatch.

Spoiler: If Yes.

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Going to try and convince her to give back my stuff. Diplomacy(1d20+3)[23] will edit for the roleplay the interaction, if no I'll figure something else out XD

[HappyMerecat]

Thellan

With money in hand Thellan looks to join a card game where he will only cheat a little.

Spoiler: Crunch

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Profession(Gambling) (1d20+4)[16]
And take 10 on sleight of hand for 20.

[PallentisLunam]

The evening begins as many others have and the normal sorts of diversions breakout on deck.

Ratline, Tilly, and Gale all hang from the rigging, enjoying each other's company and talking of the past.

The gnome Grayson approaches shakes his hand warmly enough and introduces himself as Conchobhar Turlach Shortstone and replies that he hasn't been around much longer than the newest lot of "recruits". However it becomes quickly apparent that Conchobhar's personality is as loud and garish as his outfit and the conversation quickly turns sour for the both of them.

Jaundice Jape watches Alistair's performance with a look of mild boredom. When the navy man is done Jape produces a knife of his own and performs some equally handsome tricks before flicking the knife towards Alistar like lightning. The bronze blade embeds itself, quivering, in the wood of the boat just a hair from Alistair's hand. Jape then performs a remarkably rude hand gesture towards Alistair and not even bothering to retrieve his knife walks off.

Grok helps Anika drag Fishguts back to his berth. The quartermaster takes pity on the little girl and unlocks the store to allow her to retrieve her things. As the two head back towards the deck they notice Plugg and several of his boys leading the big, feathered man up the stairs by a chain attached to an iron collar around his neck.

Thellan's rather successful scam is unceremoniously interrupted when Plugg and his entourage emerge from below decks. There are whistles and cheers and chants of "OWLBEAR! OWLBEAR!" as the main deck is rapidly cleared. Pirates hang from the rigging and line the rails all around as Plugg shouts over the din. "Thought we all might be in tha mood fer a bit o' sport!" The crew roars its approval.

The big collared man, obviously the "owlbear" rears back his head and screams, "Fishing's a spurt!" He looks around with a stupid eager expression as the ship rings with cruel laughter. Clearly it is lost on him that he is the joke rather than having told a joke.

"Well then..." Plug says clearly playing for the crowd and encouraging them to mock his pet. "How bout a match, boys?" he calls. "Maybe one of our new comers versus the owlbear!" It's at this point that the new sailors realize that Beniel and Salazar have both made themselves scarce this evening, only associating with Plugg and Scourges boys. They don't seem to be on Plugg's list for getting pummeled. Pluggs eyes lock with Grayson's, "How 'bout you, Stumpy."

Spoiler: OoC

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Ratline is now Helpful. Gale gains 200 XP.
Grayson has negatively influenced Conchobhar.
Alistair has failed to influence Jaundice Jape. If not for Alistair's knife tricks Jape would have been negatively influenced.
Grok agrees to return Anika's gear.
Thellan fleeces the crew for 1 gp and 14 sp.

[HappyMerecat]

Thellan

Thellan looks the the owlbear curiously. "What do we get out of it? And what are the rules?"

[thegoldenfedora]

Grayson leaves the gnome to himself, feeling a slight relief that he did not have to consider such a tasteless person as an ally. He thought about how he may even one day be able to punt the gnome overboard and that thought brought a smile to him.

That smile quickly turned to a scowl though as Owlbear was brought up. The sight of a man trying so hard to be included and being treated so poorly for his efforts set his teeth on edge.

His pity disappears as Plugg calls out to him. His shoulders tense and he rises slowly to the challenge.

"I suppose I can't blame you Plugg," he speaks painfully slow, the monster aching to rip Plugg apart, "You weren't there for when I told Scourge. I will repeat it for your benefit." his murderous eyes lock with Plugg's. "You will not call me that."
Through his own rising fury he can barely hear Thellan's words, he tries to make it out, but his own blood pumping drowns out whatever he was saying. Grayson was sure it was important, he just couldn't get himself to care. He slowly walks forward,

Some part of his anger came from the realization that if he didn't take this chance, they will pit his other allies against the man. Another part came from how inhumane this Owlbear we being treated. He supposed he was even a bit angry that he hadn't been able to contribute to his allies due to his own failure at communication. But the true source of his anger came from that one word that Plugg had called him.

"If it means pummeling your pet to explain that to you, so be it." he takes his shirt off and tosses it to the side, the scars of shark bites and whip marks covering his body.

Spoiler: ooc

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Ooh snap he's done it now!
How much time has passed since Grayson had his grog? I'm assuming it's less than five hours and that Grayson is still fatigued from it. If so, oh well.

[PallentisLunam]

"Tha rules er: no magicks, no tricks, no holds barred. As fer what's in it for you." Plugg flicks a pouch from his belt out onto the deck. It hits with a heavy crash and spills over scattering a few gold coins. "One hundred crowns ta tha winner, plus bets!"

The crowd cheers wildly when Grayson accepts the challenge. Plugg chuckles and puts a hand over his mouth. "Oh my, something I cannae do? We'll see bout that." Plugg reaches over and removes the chain from the Owlbear's neck. "Tear 'im up."

The big feathered lug lumbers forward with his fists raised in a sloppy guard.

Spoiler: OoC

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It has been about an hour since the meal and the grog.
I'm not really going to bother with a map for this one however if you want to try something tactical you are on the main deck of the ship so feel free to apply some imagination. Without further ado... ROLL FOR INITIATIVE (Just Grayson really)
Owlbear: (1d20-1)[1]
Welp, by definition Grayson goes first.