Our intrepid heroes (or anti-heroes, whichever) sailed off around the southern coast to Absalom where they set out to purchase provisions for their ship. Lunjun and Proteus sold off a bloodstone Quadren taken from the dwarven warehouse in Diobel and used it to purchase enough food for everyone to eat for an additional 15 days (common rather than poor meals, each 1.5 silver), cheap sailors clothes (commoner’s outfits) so the slaves had a spare change of clothes, better sailors clothes for the recruits + three spare (traveller’s outfits), and 1 reasonable lieutenant’s outfit (explorer’s outfit). They also purchased 8 cutlasses for the recruits (plus one spare), another 10 barrels of water to cover them for the same amount of time. The extra decent outfits are for when a few of the indentured sailors (slaves with a prospect of freedom at the end of the voyage) convert.
You can read my thoughts on character wealth levels and its relationship to outgoing expenses over here. Sounds thrilling, I know.
Anyway, so they make their purchases and set sail.
Lunjun attempts to strike up a conversation with the tattooed Mwangi who owns the pet rat. The Mwangi silently scowls at him until an exceptional success on a Diplomacy check causes Lunjun to happen to know (and mention) an obscure Mwangi god known as Shimye-Magalla (a juniform of Desna and Gozreh).
The man is startled by this and says, “How you know I’m Bonuwat?”
“I can tell,” said Lunjun. He rolls Knowledge Geography and on a decent success then proceeds to mention how he knows the Bonuwat are exceptional sailors and good fighters that often best the Bekyar (a demon worshipping enemy Mwangi group).
The man introduced himself as Boano and his rat as Boniboni and from that point on ceased to be surly and difficult – which is handy because he may have been trouble later on.
Commander Archer then asks Lunjun to teach Haylei (the ship’s brat and lowly midshipman) how to write in Common. Lunjun does this by teaching her how to forge which is quite successful at getting her motivated. Proteus gives them the various port passes for them to practice their duplication efforts.
Commander Archer is then approached by A’isha Hala, the Aasimar ‘freed’ slave, who coos to him about how she’s anxious about berthing with the other sailors and how the three tieflings in particularly unnerve her (she is careful not to say anything about Lhye, though). She implies that she has had to serve as a courtesan slave from a young age. Commander Archer stammers a bit and then offers her his quarters. She then spends her time on the Quarterdeck gazing off at the afterail.
Haylei makes a few comments about how she feels lonely having the midshipman’s berth because she’s used to sharing her bed (paupers share beds or sleep in piles to stay warm). Commander Archer kneels down to tell her she can berth with the lieutenants for now if she would like. He can’t offer A’isha the Midshipman’s berth because that, ironically enough, puts her on par with the officers and confuses the lines of authority whereas the loan of his cabin to a noble-seeming lady is just the captain being kindly or lusty.
Anyway, Haylei whispers in Varisian to him that she doesn’t trust A’isha and that he should be careful because A’isha has ‘knife eyes’.
Commander Archer then excuses himself and convenes a meeting where its decided that he will wait with Second Lieutenant Marxus belowdecks but by the door. Lenny will continue to keep an eye on the conscripts (running the tieflings up and down the rigging until they stop using the lubbers’ hole and threatening them if they don’t obey her). Proteus will crouch upon one of the spars of the mainmast with his light crossbow in hand. Lunjun will continue to teach Haylei in the Midshipman’s berth. Lhye will speak to A’isha using his position as a tiefling to help her ego trip her up.
First Lhye uses Charm Person whilst she is facing away. With that he manages to learn her sad cover story. Proteus gets yet another exceptional success and figures out that the woman is a cunning sociopath and figures out that she’s probably an alchemist by also putting together her movements and a peculiar chemical scent that she still exudes even under her womanly scent (due to all her time spent with chemicals).
Lhye manages to convince her to try some soothe syrup after pointing out how terrible seasickness can be. At first she’s suspicious (suggesting that the Charm Person didn’t move her to Friendly and instead only to Neutral so she started pretty low) but she drinks it. It’s a potion of Delusional Pride and it makes her all the more arrogant. He starts making digs about her inability to cope and the small strides she’s made thus far and goads her into admitting that she was a Master in the Katapesh Poisoner’s Guild (Proteus deduces it’s a lie, she was likely a Journeyman) and that she had important contacts in Cheliax and Taldor. He manages to figure out that she sold guild secrets and that was the cause of her enslavement.
Completely enraged now, she storms off calling for Archer and that is when Lhye casts the Sleep spell on her. The tieflings laugh from the rigging. A few other sailors go to assist her, knowing only that the beautiful lady collapsed, but Lhye threatens to kill them if they touch her. Archer simply states that this is on his order.
There’s a bit of consternation that she may be able to poison them using old meat slime or what-not and that she may have casting abilities even without access to a formulae book (perhaps a multi-classer). Second Lieutenant Marxus suggests that they break her hands just to be sure. Archer can’t bring himself to order that per se so he simply orders that they use the manacles to keep her down below and ‘deal with it’.
Proteus therefore positions her hands over the steps (at Marxus’ suggestion) and puts a belt in her mouth to keep her from screaming out too much and Lieutenant Marxus smashes the bones in each hand with 6 damage apiece.
And there we ended the session with the ship filled with shocked silence.
They’ve also managed to hit Level 4! Despite being on the Slow Track. I think I give them too much experience points.
No comments:
Post a Comment