[IC] Keratia: Story of the Surf, Tales of the Deep

[Lucius Cypher]

Kulee and Oliver seem pretty excited when you mentioned staying on land for the next few days until payday. More money was always good, and the crew would enjoy spending some time off dockside instead of roughing it out on the open seas for days or even weeks. At some point during the conversation a few of your other crew members would return from their rooms in various stats of euphoria. Tayang himself seemed to have returned with more women accompanying him than he had started with, and seemed quiet red as he goes to order a round for himself and his lady friends. Hector and Johnathan returned to the table trying to straighten out their attire, unaware of the makes up stains on some of their body parts. "Aye captain, what are y'all talking about?" Johnathan asks as he orders himself a fish pie and flagon of beer. Hector whispers something to the lady he was with as she smiles and leaves, and you could see that he had slipped her a gold coin. Afterwards he looked over to you with a dumb smile. "Say captain, you got any lovers anywhere? Guy like you could probably find quite a comely lass at any port!" The others just looked at Hector with a mixture of annoyance and fear. They never bothered to ask you about your love life, largely out of professionalism. A man should not kiss and tell after all, but it seems like Hector had been quiet drunk and had his lips loosen in more ways than one.

[rush99999]

Kulee and Oliver's excitement at staying on land for a few days didn't come as a surprise to Talogan. It had been quite some time since they had last been on land, and the knowledge that they would be staying for more than one day would undoubtedly be music to their ears. When some of his crew returned, Talogan greeted each of them with a nod. "I take it you've had a successful evening Mr. Iron Guts." Talogan said as he noticed that Tayang had returned with more women than he left with. Although Talogan didn't personally have much of an interest in that sort of thing, he could not help being impressed with the amount of women drawn in by his first mate's performance.
"Aye captain, what are y'all talking about?" Johnathan asked as Tayang went off to buy a round for himself and his newfound entourage.
"We were discussing what comes next for us." Talogan replied. "Mr. Collins has suggested heading north to take advantage of the impending war and perhaps claim a few bounties from rival pirates. Mr. Fishbones doesn't think much of the idea though. He's suggested we see if any officials are willing to pay us to do their dirty work for them. For now though, I intend to keep us in Red Shard until the end of the month a few days from now. Then, once I've paid your wages, I plan to take on some new crewmen. Particularly anyone proficient with thieves' tools. It's about time we had someone on the Kraken who knows their way around locks and traps." Talogan then smoked his pipe and drank some rum as he listened to the crew's thoughts on the matter.

Then Hector spoke up.

"Say captain, you got any lovers anywhere?" Hector asked. "Guy like you could probably find quite a comely lass at any port!"
If any of his present crew were insightful enough, they would notice that Hector's words had ever so slightly cracked Talogan's usual expression of cold stoicism. Though he tried to hide it, and though he did so reasonably well, Hector's question had an effect that could cast quite a bit of doubt on the truthfulness of what Talogan said next. "No, and I never will." Talogan replied bluntly. "So do not ask about it again. Any of you." With that said, Talogan smoked a little more of his pipe, finished the last of his rum, and then stood up. "I'll be back in a moment." Talogan said. "Have someone bring me more rum." Having said that, Talogan walked over to the bounty board to look at the curious poster and see if anything else interesting lay hidden under the fresher posters.

Rolls and Info

Action: Talogan lies to his crew, rolling a 16 in the attempt.

[Lucius Cypher]

Despite the silence of his compatriots, Hector didn't seem to understand your words and was about to speak again. Fortunately Kulee used his considerably large hands to cover Hector's face and push him into the embrace of his female companion, effectively silencing him and ending the otherwise awkward topic. Meanwhile at the bounty board, you'd easily see that an old poster. On it was a somewhat crude drawing of what you'd assume to be an orc, who has half his face covered in some sort of black paint, or perhaps it's suppose to be a cloth. Underneath the portrait was more information: Captain Goreguts Blood-Waters, wanted dead or alive by the nation of Doros, 5000 GP bounty. There wasn't much other information, but Goreguts was the only other bounty here worth this much. The other notices were more for chores such as needing extra hands for fishing, someone hiring miners, and a missing persons notice for 100 GP if the person is found. Appears to be some young man named Robert.

Finally, there was one thing that would catch your eye. Something familiar. The symbol of Maglubiyet, the Bloody Axe, draw on the corner of a relatively new bounty-notice. The request on this notice simply asks for anyone to investigate a shipwreck south of Red Shard. There was no given reward except that whoever finds the wreck may keep whatever is there. There wasn't even any information about where to report back after an investigation was finished. The request was far too vague and with no reward no one would bother looking into it beyond curiosity, but surely there was a reason why Maglubiyet symbol was drawn on this particular notice. It was no mere doodle either; the details were far too accurate for this to simply be a childish drawing of a regular bleeding hatchet, and looks far too similar to your own holy symbol to be coincidence.

[rush99999]

"Velvezal. Why are you still sitting down? The fight's over. Get up already...Velvezal?"

As he browsed the various posters on the board, it took all Talogan had to not search through all of them at a frantic pace as he desperately tried to find something to take his mind off that accursed question.

"Did you seriously fall asleep during a fight? You do not conquer the sea by sleeping."

Hector's words had brought memories to the surface. Memories Talogan did not enjoy recalling in the slightest. Memories he really wished hadn't even been made in the first place.

"Talogan."
"You can't seriously expect me to believe fighting a few koalinth tired you out that much."
"Talogan."
"I've seen you take far worse than that and still have the energy to finish the fight. Wake up already."
"Talogan!"

He noticed two items of interest on the board. One was a bounty for Captain Goreguts Blood-Waters from Doros and the other was a 100 gold piece reward for finding a missing person named Robert. Talogan checked that poster for further information, less out of a desire to pursue the job and more in a vain attempt to derail his current train of thought.

"It's no use, lad. She's gone."
"Gone...Gone?...No. No! That can't be right! You're wrong! You're lying! She said she was fine! She said she just needed to sit down for a moment!...You're wrong! You have to be!"
"I wish I was, Talogan...I wish I was."

Then he saw the axe. All other thoughts left his mind as he zeroed in on the symbol he was all too familiar with. The holy symbol of the Mighty One, drawn in great detail on the corner of a notice requesting that someone investigate a shipwreck to the south of Red Shard. Talogan realized at once that this was a sign. Maglubiyet himself had taken an interest in this wreck, and had called upon Talogan to go to investigate it. "Your will be done, Mighty One" Talogan said as he took the poster from the board.

"...She wasn't supposed to die like this."

When he returned to the table, Talogan had a look on his face that his crew knew well. It was the determined face of a man on a mission and the fanatically glinting eyes of someone with a freshly stoked religious fervor that that the crew always saw when Talogan interpreted something as a divine missive. Talogan put the poster down on the center of the table and sat back down in his seat. "There has once more been a slight change of plans." Talogan declared. "We will still be spending some time off here for a few days. But first we will be investigating a shipwreck."

[Lucius Cypher]

Most of your men, including Tayang, were chatting around the table being merry when you returned with the bounty. When they looked at you most recognized your look. That religious fervor that most knew to respect and/or fear. Most of them sobered up, even Hector who was face deep in bosom, dismissing his woman to talk business with you. The first to speak of was Oliver. “Shipwreck huh? So we gotta go south but this bounty don’t even have a map. We just suppose to walk along the coast, or what if it’s already in the ocean?”

It was Johnathan who had potential insight about the ships location. “Aye, remember Red Shard is build into a cliff. Down south is even steeper cliffs which’ll block northern winds, and a bunch of rocks below. Wouldn’t surprise me one wit if some greenhorn sailors ended up losing control of their ship, crashed into the rocks by wind and waves.” Tayang nods at Johnathan’s words. “Aye. When we spotted land there were some cliffs off to the south. But if that’s were the wreck is, no way we can risk bringing the Kraken near those stones, else what we’ll join those sods in an ocean grave. And hells know how tall those cliffs are.”

“What if we took smaller boats?” Hector chimes in. “Spotted a couple of small boats in the docks, not like anyone is using them. We take maybe two or three, just enough to get a couple of us near the shipwreck. We can control smaller boats easy in rougher waters and if all works well, we just row the boats back to the Kraken with our loot.” The Kraken did lack smaller boats, so the possibility of plundering a few from the docks could provide an option to reach the shipwreck by sea without risking the Kraken. If you wanted to risk stealing anything while in Red Shard. “Maybe Nyx might have a spell that’ll help?” Kulee suggested.

[rush99999]

Talogan shook his head at his crew's suggestion to steal smaller boats from the docks to reach the shipwreck by sea without risking the Kraken. Were this an ordinary port, Talogan would have immediately approved of this thinking. But doing something like that around a haven was liable to cause the place to stop doing business with him, or worse, if it turned out he took from the wrong person. "While I would suggest such a course of action myself elsewhere, I'd rather not risk souring our relations with any of the havens unless we absolutely had to." Talogan said after taking a puff of his pipe and a sip from his fresh mug of rum. "What's more, with the haul we gathered from the elven merchant vessel we encountered at sea, we have more than enough money to purchase some smaller boats rather than steal them."

[Lucius Cypher]

The group seems to think that was a better idea. "Aye, one or two extra boats ought to be a good investment for the Kraken eh?" Hector says. Most of the group seem to agree, though Tayang had some questions. "Captain, what do you suppose we'll find at this wreck? I mean, I'm sure you got yer reasons, but do ya think there's anything worthwhile there? Possible dangers even?" The crew grew a bit silent. Normally they would simply accept the captain's orders and follow through with it without question, but these things concerned them as well. "Aye, maybe we ought to do a bit of scoutin first?" Oliver suggested. "After all, we ain't even certain if this wreck is where we think it is. Mayhaps we ought to send one or two of us scouting around for anything that might lead to the wreck, if one even exists, before we go chasing shadows." The rest of the group murmured in agreement before looking back to you. You were the captain after all.

[rush99999]

This time, Talogan nodded his head in approval of his crew's suggestion to learn more of where the wreck could be and of any potential dangers in the waters along the coastline south of Red Shard. "A fine suggestion, Mr. Collins." Talogan said. "It wouldn't do at all to waste our time searching for the shipwreck in the wrong place. We would also do well to learn all we can about the dangers we will find in those waters. The more we know, the better prepared we'll be. Mr. Collins, you and Mr. Hector will be the ones to do this. Go out tomorrow, learn what you can, and report back to me." Talogan then turned his attention to his first mate. "To answer your question, Mr. Iron Guts, I believe whatever we find on the shipwreck will be well worth the effort. And I am almost certain we will also encounter at least a decent amount of danger along the way. Serving the will of Maglubiyet it rarely a safe endeavor, but those who conquer in the Mighty One's name are rewarded for their success."

[Lucius Cypher]

Your crew members seem satisfied. Hector groused a bit about having to go scout, but his fellows simply jeered at his laziness and threaten to steal his woman if he can’t be bothered to muster up the will to work. All in good fun. Soon Nyx would arrive having finished her shopping and joined the crew for a drink. There was naught much else to do in the pub though more people would arrive. Most were locals, fishermen and potters, though there were a few rough looking folks who knew to steer clear of your crew.

Eventually at some point a pair of Halfling’s would begin to sing in the tavern, doing decently well but it made the now quite drink Johnathan approach his captain. “Aye Captain, ya good at dem words singing stuff yar? Aye about we show these shorties what a real sea shanty is!”

[rush99999]

Talogan smoked his pipe and drank his rum as his crew was finally satisfied with the plans for their venture south. As the crew playfully browbeat Hector into mustering the will to work, saw the door to the tavern open to allow Nyx entry. "It seems another of our number returns." Talogan said as Nyx approached the table. "I trust you found what you were looking for, Ms Orocho." After exchanging further pleasantries, Talogan turned Nyx's attention to the poster on the table and briefed her on the plans that had been made.

Sometime later, a pair of halflings raised their voices in song. They sang with an agreeable talent in Talogan's opinion, though getting drunk with a ram in Gransys was hardly something he'd sing about, regardless of whether it was the truth or not. It was then that Johnathon approached his captain. “Aye Captain, ya good at dem words singing stuff yar?" The pirate slurred drunkenly. "Aye about we show these shorties what a real sea shanty is!”
Talogan thought for a moment then nodded. "Very well." Talogan said as he put down his pipe and mug. "This will be my first time singing in common for quite some time though. So bear with me."

In the end, that didn't matter though. What came out of Talogan's mouth next was nothing short of a masterpiece as he sang a song he thought of off the top of his head. He sang of the voyage's most notable event. He sang of how Maglubiyet had led his ship to the elven merchant vessel. He sang of how he and his crew slaughtered all the koalinth on board, leaving only one alive to carry a message of doom to his fellows and false masters. He sang of the prizes taken from the ship. All the while, Talogan seasoned the shanty with just the right amount of exaggeration to make the feats performed by himself and his crew that much more impressive while still being believable. And in accordance with Sea Shanty Law, he also included an easily memorable and often repeated line that his crew and anyone listening could sing along to. Talogan then ended the song by singing of the prizes that were sure to come, as he and his fearless crew had been called upon once more to do the Mighty One's bidding on the seas of Keratia.

Rolls and Info

Action: Talogan shows all within earshot what a real sea shanty sounds like. He rolls a Natural 20 in the attempt.

[Lucius Cypher]

Despite how vicious and obviously criminal your song was about, to the patrons of the Salt Rock tavern it was nothing more than an epic poem of your adventurers, possibly embellished. The halfling musicians quickly conceded to your shanty and cleared out, allowing you and your crew to dominate the entertainment for tonight. The rousing rambling music earned your more than just a hearty cheer but also five gold worth of tips, and the amusement of the pub owner who waived the tab for the drinks for you and your men for tonight.

Speaking of which, it quickly became night. Guardsmen made their rounds and made sure the patrons and pub owners were aware that it was getting late. Most of the pub goers and dock workers returned to their homes to sleep off the booze. Tayang, Hector, and Oliver opted to buy themselves a room tonight at the Salt Rock to sleep with their women, while the rest of the crew decided to head back to the Kraken and sleep in their hammocks. There was still a room available at the Salt Rock if you wanted a clean and comfortable bed (with additional benefits if you’re willing to pay for it), but otherwise your crew waited for your decision before heading back. Twas late after all, the time for thieves and criminals.

[rush99999]

All in all the performance went exceptionally well. They sang with such skill, that the halflings were unable to compete and left to sing elsewhere. By the end of the song, the entire tavern's attention had been captivated by the shanty and the story it told. No doubt, by the end of the week, Talogan Malgrogar and the Pirates of Maglubiyet's Kraken would have bolstered their fearsome reputation a little with this tune. Already it had increased their treasury by 5 gold pieces and covered their tab for drinks at the bar.

When night came and the guards made their rounds, Talogan knew it was time to retire for the night. As he finished the last of his pipe and rum, Talogan pondered where he would stay the night. At first he considered getting a bed at the tavern. It was closer, and it offered a more comfortable bed that the one in the captain's quarter's. But ultimately, Talogan decided to sleep in his ship. It was free, he found his sleeping arrangements on the Kraken more than enough in terms of comfort, and he needed to write down the shanty before he forgot how it went. And so, after bidding those who decided to remain a good night, Talogan led the way back to the ship.

[Lucius Cypher]

You bid farewell to the Salt Rock and the crew staying there, while the rest of you and your men returned to the docks. There were only a few distant torch lights showing the guard patrol as the crew quietly walked back. But along the way, you hear a sharp and loud pop. Johnathan heats it as well as his ears perk up. “I recognize a squeak like that captain. Pry bar. Sounds like someone’s fixing to break and enter something. Wanna check it out?” It was a town full of thieves and the lawless. It would only be inevitable that there would be some thievery.

[rush99999]

Talogan stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the sounds of breaking and entering, raising his hand as he did to signal the rest of his crew to halt. “I recognize a squeak like that captain." Johnathan said as he drew level with Talogan. "Pry bar. Sounds like someone’s fixing to break and enter something. Wanna check it out?”
"Nothing to lose from taking a look I suppose" Talogan replied. "We'll have to approach in stealth to avoid spooking the thief. So if you're wearing scales, hang back out of earshot but be ready to come if I call." With that said, Talogan adopted a stealthier stance and crept towards the sounds.

Rolls and Info

Crew Orders: Talogan orders all crew members in scale mail to keep out of earshot but ready them selves to come to his aid.
Movement: Talogan approaches the sounds of infiltration as stealthily as he is able. He rolls a 6 in the attempt and activates Saving Face to provide a bonus of +1 for every ally within 30 to a maximum of +5.

[Lucius Cypher]

Everyone but Nyx wore the heavy scale armor obtained from the sea goblins, so they stayed in the shadows but also away. They had their weapons out ready in case this encounter turns violent though, with Kulee and Johnathan armed with their scimitars while Derrick loaded his crossbow. Nyx drew her dagger and was ready to follow your lead, casting a Friends spell on herself in order to help either convince the thieves to back down or intimidate them, whichever you would go with. Though your own ability to be stealthy wasn't too great, it seemed like the criminals didn't expect anyone coming this way and didn't hear you. Once you were close enough, you could spot two burly orcs armed with maces with another orc with a large axe who just finished prying a door open. They speak something in orcish, a language you recognize but don't have a functional understanding. Whatever they say they go inside of the building, barely leaving the door closed as they entered. Nyx whispers to you. "Breaking and entering. If we cause too much of a stir the guards might come and put us in a difficult situation. Should we leave it to them or see what these ruffians are after?"

[rush99999]

Through a combination of the intruders not keeping a lookout for trouble and his ability to keep himself from failing when his allies were watching, Talogan managed to sneak close enough to the sounds to see a trio of orcs prying open a door and walking through it after exchanging a few words in the orc tongue. "Breaking and entering." Nyx whispered to her captain. "If we cause too much of a stir the guards might come and put us in a difficult situation. Should we leave it to them or see what these ruffians are after?"
"Those orcs kindly opened the door for us." Talogan replied. "So I say we do them the courtesy of letting them get what they came for in return. Once they're gone we'll take a look around the place ourselves and take anything that catches our interest."

[Lucius Cypher]

Nyx nods and waits in the shadows with you. You two watch the door for a good ten minutes before the orcs come out. One of them is carrying a large box narrow box, leather bound and ornate. It looked like the sort of box you'd use to carry something valuable, there was even a notable lock on it. The other two orcs walked out with fairly large barrels that took both arms to carry and big enough to hide one or even two human bodies inside of. But the orcs being orcs, they could carry this with a fair amount of ease as they didn't bother to even close the door and just headed in the direction of the docks with haste. Nyx looks over to you. "Shall I stay and keep a watch while you and the boys go peruse?"

[rush99999]

Talogan watched as the orcs came out of the building 10 minutes later with their loot in hand. As much as he disliked the orcish race, he allowed the trio of orcs to leave with their loot. It was the polite thing to do after they opened the door and granted him and his crew an opportunity for some extra gold. "Shall I stay and keep a watch while you and the boys go peruse?" Nyx asked as she looked away from the leaving orcs and back at Talogan.
Talogan nodded in response. "Try to keep out of sight though." Talogan said as he motioned for the rest of his crew to fall in "If someone sees you loitering here, they might cause unnecessary problems. If the coast isn't clear tap on the door with your mage hand." With that said, Talogan led the way into the building, standing aside to let the others in before shutting so people would be less likely to suspect something was up. "Dr. Boulder, stay here." Talogan ordered. "Make sure the door stays closed and listen for any tapping. That will be a sign from Ms. Orocho that there's possible trouble in the alleyway. The rest of you, fan out and see what there is that could be worth the effort to steal."

[Lucius Cypher]

"Aye aye captain." Your crew would say quietly as you guys heist the warehouse. Nyx hides in the alleyway, and easy task for her thanks to her small size, while Derric stays posted by the door to listen for any signs. That left Kulee and Johnathan to help you look around. It was dark, not an issue for you but an issue for your crewmembers who lacked darkvision. Fortunately Johnathan's pipeweed habit came in handy here as he had a few tindertwigs (Matches) which he gave to Kulee as illumination. Just barely bright enough to see the inventory, but not so bright that it'll shine outside of the warehouse.

So far what most of the boxes contain were basic carpentry materials. Crates full of wooden planks, barrels full of nails, boxes with carpentry hammers and saw blades. There was a few boxes of what would appear to be steel ingots, but even Kulee, a goliath, had trouble carrying one box on his own. "Damn thing weights three hundred pounds or something." Johnathan found some birch tar, handy for waterproofing the ship or making torches. They weren't runny enough to be used as oil bombs though. "Smells like pitch. Got a whole create captain. Think we oughtta finesse it?"

Rolls and Information

Roll Perception.

[rush99999]

There was a part of Talogan that felt there was more to the warehouse than met the eye. But it was late and drowsiness was starting to dull his senses, so he decided to take what he could before trouble came along rather than waste too much time searching for something that might not even be there. "Mr. Johnathan, take the pitch." Talogan said. "Mr. Fishbones, you take a crate of the steel. You and I should be able to lift it together. Quickly now, we should not linger any longer than necessary."