0. Prelude

[dmw71]

You are all old, mostly lifelong friends, and form an odd collection, really. There's a dwarf, an elf, a halfling, and four humans of mixed professions. Yet, for whatever reason, the lot of you work. You've been though many trials together and have always come out stronger on the other end. This journey you all agreed to, you each privately hope, will be no different.

Then again, none of you have attempted anything like this before...


---


A nearly 300-mile route, by sea, only successfully navigated a handful of times in known record, and never by the captain who began posting crew-recruitment flyers a week or so ago. At first, the idea was simply dismissed by your group and was never a consideration.

The captain's plan, which many (yourselves included) considered impossible, was to transport a crew of 14 people to Riddleport in 14 days. None of you knew anything of Riddleport, nor any first-hand experience traveling any distance by sea, but your collective interests began to be piqued over the course of several days as you sat and watched the captain remain steadfast in his commitment. He would show up in your local tavern, night after night, hoping for people to answer his call, only to be met with only feigned interest and a complete lack of commitment. The captain would sit and patiently field any questions about the journey; detailing the seaworthiness of his ship -- the Devil's Mistress -- and discuss how the weather conditions are forecast to be ideal when he launches in two days. "The prevailing winds and currents will be strongly in our favor," he stated confidently, "-- and the night's sky promises to be clear, making for easy navigation by night." He explained how he has a crew of four proven sailers, with whom he's made many journeys, and he knows their capabilities and limitations. "I ain't in the business of makin' promises, and me crew knows better, but 'tis as close to a sure thing as me willin' to make.".

The idea of the seven of you signing on was proposed in an almost joking manner, and no one can even remember who was responsible for first mentioning it over breakfast one morning, but slowly the discussions became more purposeful. Soon, you were each more seriously considering it.


On the eve the captain was scheduled to set sail, his crew arrived with his ship -- the Devil's Mistress.

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The beautiful, double-masted caravel sat docked in bay overnight, and the four-man crew put on an effortless demonstration of their capabilities, securing the ship and putting her to bed. While unsuccessful so far in recruiting anyone to actually join his crew, the captain did bring a fair bit of business to your hometown, by hiring dozens of locals to help with loading of cargo and also arranged for pairs of guards to be posted at the dock around-the-clock to secure his pride and joy.

The next morning, mere hours before he was prepared to set sail, the captain continued his recruitment efforts from the docks. "You needn't know how to sail," he assured people that stopped by to leer at the magnificent waterborne vessel. "Me crew and I can train ye, and we're fully supplied," he promised. "We're lookin' fer some extra arms, to manage some menial tasks," he started when asked why the extra crew was needed. "And, potentially, for some protection."

While his last line about possibly needing protection at sea managed to drive off most the crowd, it had the opposite affect on the lot of you; drawing you even closer. You were all reaching the age and level of achievement in your relative courses of study when it was time to set off and make names for yourselves. Journeying 300 miles by sea was never a consideration before the captain's arrival, but the temptation was proving to be strong.

"You will make history!" he proclaimed excitedly in a last-ditch effort. "Bards will spin exploits of your tales for ages."

---

"Is time," a deep voice barked out from aboard deck. The captain, still without volunteers, nods dejectedly and turns to make for his ship. That's when the two guards currently standing watch over the ship indicate their willingness to sign on. "Let our watch continue," they said proudly.

"Only seven short..." the captain explains to the two unfamiliar guards as the trio pass where you're all standing. "At least it is a lucky number," one of the guards offers.

Seven open crew positions. Seven of you.

With the opportunity quickly expiring, you all begin to nod in collective agreement. "We're in!" you shout confidently, making sure to capture the captain's attention before he orders his ship to be released from the dock. "Well, I'll be..." he proclaims excitedly. "We made our number!"


"Let's set off!" he orders his crew, and the Devil's Mistress smoothly departs from the dock and begins drifting out towards sea. Its destination: Riddleport.


You watch longingly as the only place any of you have ever called home begins to fade in the distance.

[dmw71]

Once the ship has been routed in the proper direction and has the wind at its sails, the captain gives some standing orders to his crew before excusing himself to meet with his volunteers. "Yer each gonna be given some tasks," he says matter-of-factly, but everyone is assigned something they're capable in.

"Conservatively," he explains, "we can travel two-miles per hour. Conservatively." he repeats. "Right now, we're probably traveling at least twice that." he remarks, noting the ships current progress. "My crew is prepared to work 10-hour days, every day, so we should be able to travel 25-miles per day." he says, but he seems a bit unsure of his math. "Again, those are conservative numbers," he assures everyone. "If we meet this 25-mile per day average, we'll reach Riddleport a full two days early, but never count on that."

---

Life at sea comes easier for some than others. Dagg, Elias, Sasha, and Pendleton are escape any effects from the rocking motion experienced, and Bingus steadies his stomach after only a handful of hours. Welby and Morgan have more difficult time adjusting. Welby, the halfling is able to capture his sea legs after a day-and-a-half of misery, while it takes Morgan basically two full days to recover... and, once she has, it takes less than an hour for a member of the captain's crew to begin spending an exorbitant amount of time and attention on her. While Morgan is more than capable of taking care of herself and successfully fends off the unwanted advance, the captain quickly intervenes and promises no further incidents.

The group learns quite a bit more about the ship they're traveling on over the next couple of days. The captain explains that his type of ship -- a caravel -- typically sports three square-rigged masts, he elected to go with only two to help with fast tacking and maneuverability. Plus, a three masted ship would require a crew of closer to 10, and he can easily get by with a crew half that size. The one less mast also cuts down on the overall weight of the ship; his measures barely over 50 tons, while many others of a similar kind weigh three times that amount.

Its hull is roughly 80-feet long, with a width of 20-feet. Cooking is done on deck with small coal braziers, and his experienced crew knows to supplement the usual "hard-tack" biscuits and salted meats with the occasional lemon or apple to avoid scurvy.

His official crew members live on deck, sleeping under canopies in times of inclement weather. Below-deck, while mostly reserved for cargo does contain five small cabins -- one for the captain, one shared by the two volunteer guards, and the seven of you must decide how you will be divided amongst the three remaining cabins.

The captain reports that the average speed of the Devil's Mistress was roughly 4 1/2 miles per hour, with bursts of up to 10 miles per hour when the current and wind conditions were optimal. The ship is operating well ahead of schedule.


It's the morning of day three...

Estimated Miles

• Traveled: 90
• Remaining: 185

My original plan was to have the group actually arrive in Riddleport to start the game, but as I began to type out some backstory, I thought it might be fun to have a brief sea adventure first.

We'll kind of blitz through it, but feel free to use this time to ask any questions you may have about... well, anything.

[GreyWolfVT]

Dagg "Eh well as for rooms I don't take up but maybe half the space most of the normal size folk do so I can share a room with two of ya." the dwarf states. "As for this ship it's a nice one yah got here captain. Though I prefer to stay on solid ground. Anything I can do to help make sure we are ahead of schedule so I can get on to some solid rock soon rather than later tell me and I'll do my best to get it done." the dwarf stands there serious look and all. You can tell he means business.

[Zhym]

Pendleton can't believe his good fortune. He gets to begin his field work with a sea expedition!

He indulges his insatiable curiosity whenever he gets a chance, asking questions of anyone who will answer. How does the rigging work? Which ropes control which sails? What are the functions of each member of the crew? He ingratiates himself with the captain and soon learns how to decode navigational charts, read the tides and the winds, and determine the ship's location. A quick study (and not all that handy at manual labor), Pendleton is soon assisting the captain with his navigational calculations.

Between navigational readings and calculations, Pendleton asks the captain about any encounters he has had, especially with exotic sea life. Has the captain observed any mermaids, sirens, nixies, or—Pendleton would ask in awed, hushed tones—perhaps even dragons? Occasionally the young man nods and scribbles in a small notebook he always keeps in his shirt pocket.

[LtTibbles]

Elias "I'll bunk up with you Dagg, if anyone else is thinking of joining us just make sure you can keep your meals down I don't want to be losing anymore sleep than I need to from late night scrambles to the deck." He chuckles softly under his breath before adjusting his cap and taking in the ship. "I can't believe we're actually doing this, leaving home, hitting the high sea's on a whim like some children's tale. I wonder what'll be waiting for us in Riddleport, hope we can make a fortune out there."

[OGRE MAGE]

Sasha flits around deck in her normal, unamused fashion. She watches as the human male mirrors the captain, learning what he can.

First of all, I'm not bunking with any men and I'm sure as heck not bunking with that dirty dwarf!

It makes sense to me for the females to take one cabin, so that settles it then!

Sasha is interested in who this person with the deep voice is that is commanding the captain. She does her best to find out any "inside" information from that person or any of the other crew members.

[GreyWolfVT]

Dagg "Dirty? Me I aint dirty. Notice the gleaming plate armor lass, the neat beard and me clean face. Bawk all yah want lass." the dwarf starts to talk a bit differently when worked up as it would appear. Dagg marches off like a proud soldier, with what one might call smoke coming from his ears. Grumbling all the while eventually he comes back to hear what the captain has to say.

[Alethan]

Welby comes up from below deck, still not feeling terribly well. "We short people wasn't meant to be on the water," he mumbles before leaning over the port rail once more.

Between bouts of sickness, he manages to keep an occasional eye open for any vessels behind them that might be following. Anyone who pays him any attention would note he seems unusually nervous.

[dmw71]

Sasha emphatically states that she and Morgan, the two women in the group, will share one of the cabins, leaving the remaining five members to decide how to share the two remaining spaces. Elias agrees to bunk with Dagg, leaving Bingus, Pendleton, and Welby left to the last remaining cabin.

Cabins: Portside
#1: Captain's Quarters
#2: Donald, Gregory (Guards)

Cabins: Starboard
#3: Morgan, Sasha
#4: Dagg, Elias
#5: Bingus, Pendleton, Welby



(This can be modified if you guys agree upon some other arrangement. Feel free to hash out any changes in the 'ooc' thread, but publicly announce any changes to the above in character.)


I'll have another high level post coming soon, but want to give AleBelly and ToniXX a chance to chime in before responding to any specific posts already made.

[dmw71]

The group spends the first two days aboard the Devil's Mistress largely staying out of the way; admiring the efficiency and organization of such a small crew.

First is Raleigh, the Captain whom the group met ashore. He was elected to the rank of captain by the crew, for reasons which quickly become obvious -- his decisiveness and command are to be respected.

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Next in command is the Quartermaster, Reis, the man with the deep voice. He works well with Raleigh and clearly has the respect of the rest of the crew.

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Kennit holds the rank of Sailing Master, whose primary responsibility is navigating and sailing the Devil's Mistress. His tasks are performed largely independently, but he does still take the occasional order from Raleigh.

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The hull of the boat and its overall condition are compliments of Anton, the Boatswain. He takes great pride in his work, and actively seeks out preventative maintenance tasks.

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Meals aboard the ship are prepared by Avi, who's quite skilled and, especially considering the working conditions, is able to turn out flavorful food. Morgan and Welby, while struggling with their motion sickness, also quickly learned that Avi serves as the crew's doctor, working with natural remedies.

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Every crew member, from the Captain on down, are skilled sailors and riggers, and there is great redundancy in task coverage, with almost every role able to be filled by another if needed.


Watches are kept around the clock, with separate teams designated to watch the portside and starboard sides of the ship. Reis and Kennit form one team while Anton and Avi make the second. Each team is responsible for patrolling one side of the ship -- portside or starboard -- for five hours, then alternate sides after the five hour mark, so as to not spend too long watching any one side. Captain Raleigh himself perform regular, two-hour long dog watches when needed.


Aside for Anton's untimely pass at Morgan[/], the crew is extremely respectful of the group and Donald and Gregory, the two guard volunteers.

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Gregory.png (36.96 KiB) Viewed 1162 times

[dmw71]

DAY THREE
Captain Raleigh assembles the complete group of volunteers. "Time to start earning yer keep," he starts.

"First, yer gonna need to keep yer armor below deck," Raleigh demands of his new volunteers. "and yer not to carry 'em, but ye can stow yer weapons on deck."

"Understood." he informs, not asks. A quick survey of the actual ship's crew reveals that everyone, Captain Raleigh included, do not wear any armor while on board. Nor do they carry any weapons other than a simple daggers, which double as tools for routine tasks. "Ye can get properly outfitted in a moment," he says, speaking most directly towards those members of the new volunteer crew wearing metal armor. "Even the animal skin needs to come off," he says, indicating those wearing leather armor. "Ain't able to swim in it, and it quickly becomes heavy when submersed in water." he says, politely providing a justification for his demand, though it's commonly understood that an explanation isn't needed.

"Now, ye have had a couple days to see how things work 'round here, and how we operate. We run a tight, lean ship, so the extra hands are welcomed. If there's someone ye know you'd like to work wit', make it so. If ye need help, I'll assign you."

"You, wit' all the questions," he says, pointing directly at Pendleton. "Yer wit' me."


---

Everyone else, feel free to pick a crew member to assist.

[Alethan]

Having already spent some time with him, and wanting to be closer to his restorative concoctions, Welby decides to see if he can be of any use to Avi. He also has a bit of experience in a kitchen, so he's comfortable in those environs.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sasha speaks up.

I know about wood and woodworking. I think I might be able to assist Anton with his work. As long as he can handle working with a female. I have learned over the years that some men can't.

[LtTibbles]

Elias inspects his attire when the captain mentions the requirement for armor to be stowed in the hull. "Aye aye Captain, if it's all the same I'll assist Kennit, if I'm gonna be on this vessel I'd like to know how to work it."

Elias will wait for the captain's departure before heading down to store his armor, but will keep his weapons up on the deck with the rest, making sure that everything is properly secured before making his way to Kennit and introducing himself.

[Alethan]

Before assisting Avi, Welby likewise stores his armour and weapons accordingly - armour near his bunk and his sword and bow on deck. He wears his dagger, though, like the other members of the crew.

[AleBelly]

Bingus is over his sea-sickness, but still suffers from a lack of appetite, further straining his already thin frame. Not suited much for physical labor, and not needing to stow armor or weapons, he sees if Kennit will take a second. A job above deck reduces his motion sickness and allows him to puff on his beloved pipe without his two short roommates complaining too much.

He rubs his bruises frequently. "Short doors and the bumpy ride have laid a hurtin' on me" he says. He neglects to mention that half his bruises are from sheer clumsiness.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sasha thinks to herself for a moment and then shows the group something incredibly rare for her.........a smile.

I just remembered, ships are female.

[GreyWolfVT]

Dagg stows his sword and armor and other items in his room and carries only his dagger. "If it is alright I'd be glad to work with Reis and help him other wise if not then I'll work with Gregory and Donald."

[ToniXX]

Morgan is fine with the prospect of bunking with Sasha. She removes her plate armor and stows it in their cabin, along with her weapons and shield.

She returns up top and states that she'd be willing to help anybody that needs a second pair of hands.

[dmw71]

The assignments are agreed upon.

Aside from the Captain, whom will be shadowed by Pendleton, and all other crew members receive two new assistants. Reis, the Quartermaster, will work with Dagg and Gregory; Kennit, the Sailing Master will be assisted by Elias and Bingus; Sasha and Donald will trail Anton, the Boatswain; while Morgan and Welby will try their hands with Avi, the ship's Steward.



Update on travel progress tomorrow.