The Gem Sea Sailors

[elonin]

Thadeus

Thaddeus having heard of employment to be had in the port city walks off of the deck of the Rising Heart with all of his posessions on his back. Being new to this town Thadeus does his best at finding market street and hopefully his new employer.

[SilentNight]

"Perfect," Salmaan says, "They'll be dead within the week.

[Kuma Da]

Edward Farrington

"I'm hardly a fighter, but I might be interested in this venture. It'd give me a chance to stretch my legs. Get out of port for a bit." And I have always wanted to make a few overseas connections. It's a shame to be stuck in this little corner of the world... "If you wouldn't mind taking a businessman along, I could see that your vessel makes back some of what you invested in it."

[The_JJ]

That is, of course, very desirable. My father left with big debts, and those can't have spend all those jewels. Gav! You still here?
Yessir?
Take these fellows down to the Topaz Forever, and give the captain this. He scribbles on a piece of paper. Okay?

[SilentNight]

Salmaan will hurriedly follow Gav when he leaves.

[The_JJ]

Well, Salmaan find a two masted ship in the midst of being loaded. The crew is all very tan with black hair and brown eyes.

[ColonelFuster]

Menchi looks about at the crew, getting on deck almost immediatley and patting people on the back. Breastplates and holy symbols didn't seem to be in style, so inevitable questions were answerd with "I'm the navigator."

[The_JJ]

Spoiler

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Anyone who wants to roll a prof. sailor check can now

[ColonelFuster]

PROFESSION SAILOR CHECK KABAM! (1d20+10)[26]

[The_JJ]

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The crew seems very experienced and orderly. The ship itself is neither the fastest, nor the most manuverable, but it looks like it could take a pounding in a fight. It doesn't have any big weapons, but the railing has a few swivels on it for heavy crossbows, presumably in the hold.

[SilentNight]

Salmaan looks over the crew with a distrustful eye, particularly the taller ones. She calls her companion up to the stern, introducing it to the crew so they don't accidently shoot it.

[Kuma Da]

Edward Farrington

Edward follows Gav as far as the Topaz, making a mental memo of where it sits moored, then quickly turns down a side-alley. It's bound to be sailing soon, but before it does he has a few matters to attend to. After all, it would be a shame to waste that space in its hold.

For the DM:

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I don't want to slow down this thread with numbers and role-play-haggling (which takes forever PbP,) but Edward's going to visit a few connections of his and see if he can't finagle some financial backing for the Topaz. He won't be telling them about its express mission; instead he'll be telling them that the ship is sturdy, well-defended, and that any trading it does he will personally supervise. It's sure to turn a profit. He offers them a percentage return on any profits it makes on this venture scaled based on how much they invest in it.

After he takes care of that, Edward will hurry over to his family manse and pick up his stash of equipment (after all, he hardly carries a crossbow on his person when he's walking about town.)

Relevant rolls might be:

Bluff: (1d20)[2]+10
Diplomacy: (1d20)[15]+8

[elonin]

The following presumes that the advise given to him was not more specific than "many employers can be found on Market Street".

Thaddeus makes his way onto market street looking for a way to turn his talents into further coin. Knowing that it's unlikely for a "job posting area" to be found, the halfling decides to go to one of the taverns in the area of market street. While he deems it a suitable place to meet those wanting to hire one of his ilk; he's also thirsty and is looking forward to a draught.

[The_JJ]

Thaddeus stops as a man in badly fitting chainmail leads a ragged crew of misfits out of a house in front of him saying... So, Ozy hired you? That's sooo cool. Where are you going? Did he hire anybody else? He told me to go looking for a wizard earlier. Are any of you wizards? Did you see the swords he has? It's an actual Nappareh set, katana, dai-katana, wakizashi, tanto.

Salmaan calls up her companion, which causes several polite comments. The crew then nods to each other. Ozy's found us some good helpers. a older sailor says sagely. The others nod.

Edward finds some finacial backing, riding on his families reputation. He comes to the ship with a small chest of gold, (1000 gp.) to be spent in any way to help add to profits.

[elonin]

The halfling stops the man wearing the ill-fitting chainmail. Pardon me Sir, did you say that you are seeking to employ a wizard?

[SilentNight]

Relieved to see one of her own people, Salmaan says, " By the gods yes. Come on, we need more rational people."

[The_JJ]

Well there's Ozy, just back there. He's looking to hire, I think. Ozy!
A voice calls from the house. Yes?
There's a wizard out here. Looking for a job.
Ozy's head pokes out of a second story window. Gav... nevermind. Um, just hire him. Same deal as the others, ok. They can catch him up to speed. He disappears into the house again, muttering about something.

[elonin]

Thaddeus

The halfling looks back when Gav points him toward Ozy, then back to Gav when Ozy makes his reply. He walks to stay with this new group trying to walk faster to accomidate the stride of those he is following. Hi Gav, I'm Thaddeus Finn. As I've already said I'm a wizard, a transmuter actually. I'm good at what I do but not exactly the most experienced that might be found.

[Kuma Da]

Edward

Edward hires a rickshaw to take him back to the docks. It's not terribly fast, but it sure beats lugging a chest full of gold across the city. Especially when you can hire men for that.

As he steps out onto the pier, Edward pases a few extra coins to the rickshaw team, taking care not to hide the display from any bystanders. People tend to like a generous man more, even if they've never been on the receiving end of that generosity. After a moment's consideration, he presses a few more coins into their hands.

"You guys hit a bar after work, right? Buy everyone a round on me."

Tucking the chest full of gold under one arm and lugging his gear with the other, Edward makes his way onto the deck of the Topaz.

[SilentNight]

"Great," says Salmaan, brightening up in the presence of someone her won height. "We're after the Crows. We need to kill them, quickly, and you're going to help. Where are you from?" she adds.

[elonin]

have I heard of the crows?

[The_JJ]

elonin

Spoiler

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Notorious pirate gang.

[elonin]

Thaddeus nods with adknowledgement at the mention of the crows. Though not born in a port city, he's been traveling long enough to know about that gang. Are you familiar with the Mistshales? It's region of the mainland. It's a valley that is roughly shaped like a hand. I grew up in an area right of center away from the thumb.

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The_jj if you don't like my use of your land please pm me.

[SilentNight]

Salmaan replies, "I'm from Svend Weir on the coast, pleased to make your aquaintence."

[elonin]

Well met Svend Weir, I am Thaddeus Finn, a transmuter.

[ColonelFuster]

Now that introductions are done, Menchi calls everyone up to the quarterdeck and lays out his giant atlas, turned to a page where the surrounding area is shown in some detail.
"Now, who can tell me what they see?"

[SilentNight]

Salmaan

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This is assuming I can and that the map is pretty local.

"Not much, and Island, that we're docked at, and some ocean. And I'm pretty sure the Crow's would have been found already if they were here. Even humans are smarter than that. My guess is Northwest but that's just my gut talking. What do you all think?"

[ColonelFuster]

Menchi scratched his head and flipped around to a page with even more surrounding area.
"I'm not really one for following my gut...."

[The_JJ]

The main land is just to the northeast. Around this island there is a small chain going off to the southwest, all of them well inhabitied. There are numerous clusters of islands everywhere, but since when isn't there? However there is an area, just northwest of where you are notorious for pirates taking advantage of the constant Menoah/Indigo Wars in the area.

[ColonelFuster]

"...but the book says northwest, too."
Menchi's eyes start twinkling as he starts to sketch a quick course to the northwestern area, avoiding any reefs and disputed areas, largely ignoring the others as he works on the navigation.