The only discovery you make while speaking to the crew is that nobody else seems to have much interest in Chult beyond dropping cargo off, spending a few days relaxing in the city, and leaving.
And at the moment, there's apparently someone in the water, so the crew's a bit distracted.
Hey, someone was in the water! Enri didn't know who, exactly, or why, but he was going to at least investigate before making a decision about what to do next.
Enri trips in his rush to peer over the railing and he stumbles into a crewmember who is dashing by with a coil of rope in his hand.
Raff's tortle eyes give him surprisingly keen vision, and he quickly spots what looks like a young man clinging to a piece of wreckage. He looks close to dead, but still seems to have some fight in him - at the sight of the ship he seems to kick weakly to head in your direction.
Meanwhile other crew members are rushing to furl the sails, and another few crew begin preparing a small rowboat for departure off the side.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Fenrir barely even glances up from what he's doing (actual deck swabbing for once) at the call, assuming it's the Tortle causing trouble again. When he does, he realizes that Raff is actually in front of him, on his feet, and looking in the direction of the commotion. Turning to see what's going on, Fenrir notes the cleric rushing toward a rowboat being maneuvered by the crew.
They seem to have things handled.
So, Fenrir goes back to doing what he does best - being paranoid - and sets himself on watch. He's played the game of setting people up as traps to lure in victims a number of times himself.
Mortimer's volunteering finds him quickly bundled into the boat with two of the stronger-looking crewmen (a blue dragonborn and a goliath) and lowered into the water. The sea is, fortunately, not too rough, and within a few minutes you've reached the half-drowned crewman, who croaks something that sounds like "help."
((Roll athletics to help pull him up into the boat without tipping over))
Fenrir's paranoia is, at least, wrong in this case. At least, as far as he can tell. There do not seem to be any pirates waiting for them, at any rate, nor do any of the disturbances in the water seem to be anything but the churning of the seas, rather than some fish-based monstrosity preparing to strike.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
((I, for one, am glad that Fenrir is so paranoid!))
Mortimer tries to leave most of the pulling up of the man to the crew as his scrawny stature is rather apparent while next to the hulking sailors, but he helps where he can. Once the man is aboard, Morty places his hands on the man's chest and murmurs a quick prayer to Kelemvor as he works his magic.
It doesn't take much effort to get the man out of the water, and Mortimer wisely staying out of the way for the most part keeps the boat from rocking too much. As the spell is cast, the young man seems to come back to himself somewhat, and after coughing up a little water, he begins to look around the surrounding seas wildly. "Is it gone? We have to get out of here!"
Mortimer, you notice that along with a rather ragged set of clothing, the young man has what appear to be manacles on his wrists and feet.
Ignoring the manacles for the moment, Mortimer tries to keep the man from growing too agitated while gesturing for the sailors to row them back to the ship. "Calm yourself. We haven't seen anything out of the ordinary in days. We're going to need you to be less cryptic in your harbinging of doom."
"The dragon turtle! Haven't you seen it?" The man continues to look around, but Mortimer's words of assurance seem to have calmed him somewhat. "Came out of nowhere. I've never seen anything like it..."
He trails off, lost in some memory. His eyes snap back into focus. "Do you have anything to eat? I've been floating for days."
Within a relatively short time, the rowboat is back at the ship. A rope ladder is lowered down for the crew, along with some ropes to haul the rowboat back up. The young man is too weak to make the climb himself, so he stays in the boat while it is hauled up. Fargrim barks an order to some of the crew to fetch something to eat and drink, and confronts the young man.
"Well laddie, it looks like you've had something of an experience. I don't suppose you could enlighten me as to who you are, and perhaps how you came to be wearing manacles."
A crewmember passes a flask of water and a few hard tack biscuits to the young man, who wolfs them down swiftly before speaking.
"My name is Selu. I was part of a group of workers heading for Fort Belurian when we were attacked by a swarm of the undead. I don't know what happened to the others, but I fled into the jungle. Somehow, I had the ill fortune to stumble into a camp of pirates. They promised me aid, but when I woke up the next morning I was in chains. They intended to take me back to Jahaka Anchorage in the south, but as we made our way around the coast, we were blown off course by fierce storms." He pauses to take another deep drink of water. "On the way back, we were attacked by a massive creature - a dragon turtle, I heard someone yell. The ship never stood a chance. The chain that ran through my manacles broke free, and I was able to escape in the chaos - but there was nowhere to go. I clung to some wreckage and hoped for rescue, but I confess I did not expect it to actually happen. You have my thanks."
Selu looks at Raff like he's just grown two heads. "You should count yourself lucky that you've never seen one! It was terrifying! Big as a mountain - as a small island, even! When it moved, the whole ship rocked. And when it attacked..." he trails off, shuddering.
Fargrim places a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "Well lad, I have good news for ye. We shan't suffer the same fate."
Raff, here's what you know about Dragon Turtles:
To get a dragon turtle, you put a giant turtle shell on a dragon. They are immense creatures, who favor blasts of steam instead of fire, and are immensely difficult to kill - particularly in the water. They are terrifying creatures which you really shouldn't mess around with unless you have treasure to offer in exchange for safe passage.
Which, funnily enough, matches up with what you've heard about Aremag. Aremag is a dragon turtle who patrols the bay of Chult, effectively acting as a tollbooth for Port Nyanzaru that Port Nyanzaru would prefer not to have. Considering where you're headed, it is entirely likely that you will get your wish of seeing a dragon turtle soon.
Mortimer and Fenrir:
As all this is going on, Mortimer notices something that strikes him as a bit odd. Namely, that the mention of a savage dragon turtle does not seem to have caused the crew to display any signs of surprise, fear, or dismay.
Fenrir, as you listen to this nonsense, you can almost hear the White Wolf whispering in your ear. "How exactly is old Captain Rimebeard so confident about their chances with a dragon turtle on the loose, eh?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Was it Aremag? I bet it was Aremag!" Raff clicks his claws together. "You're lucky to be alive, mate! A Chultan pirate captain that didn't know about Aremag, preposterous!"
Belated insight check on the shipwrecked sailor's story: 7
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Fenrir is, obviously, extremely unhappy with all of this. As he stands looking down on the conversation, his frown continues to deepen. The stranded man and his shackles don't worry Fenrir much - he had earned the name 'Chainbound' much as he hated it. Things happened, sometimes shackles were involved. But as they speak, Fenrir's gaze drifts away, and he tilts his head as though listening to something else. Hearing the whispers of his Wolf, Fenrir turned his attention to the captain instead.
Fenrir tended to dismiss hierarchy as a matter of course - unless he was at the top of it - but for the first time Fenrir began to consider the captain as a leader. His experience with dwarves told him that, unlike most other peoples, they didn't actually care about his size. Perhaps an extra few feet didn't mean much when you were already low to the ground.
Now, Fenrir considered the familiarity with which the captain had treated that dragon/hafling monstrosity. And here was another dragon...?
Staring hard at the captain, trying to work things out, Fenrir wished more fervently than ever that his Wolf were truly here; not just echoing whispers in his mind.
Fargrim laughs at Raff's comment, while Selu looks vaguely horrified. "Chultan pirate captains don't have to deal with ol' Aremag much - ain't a shock to hear one thought he could slip on by without paying." He winks at the terrified man. "Fortunately, like I said - that ain't gonna happen to us." The rest of the crew laughs too.
"That said," Fargrim continues, "If we're close enough to be running into Aremag's leftovers, then we need to be sharp. Crew, you know the drill. Get us back underway, and we'll hit Port Nyanzaru "
A chorus of "Aye Captain" is followed by a flurry of activity, with some crew getting back to the business of running the ship, while a group of three heads down into the ship's hold.
"You there... Raff, was it?" Fargrim waves the Tortle over. "I don't suppose you can speak Draconic or Aquan, can ye? It might make the whole process a bit easier."
Raff
Saru's story checks out to you, in that 1. there are lots of pirates in Chult, and they aren't shy of taking slaves, 2. Aremag definitely will sink your ship if you don't give him tribute, 3. Those sure are some manacles Saru's wearing, and any ship transporting prisoners wouldn't be stupid enough to try sneaking by Aremag.
Fenrir
Your wishes that the Wolf was not just whispering in your mind as (probably) a memory go un-granted. The Captain is hard to read, but apart from not mentioning the dragon turtle - what was the name Raff had said again? Probably not important - he'd been pretty straightforward so far.
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((Make an investigation roll to see if you manage to find anything out))
((Investigation: 5))
The only discovery you make while speaking to the crew is that nobody else seems to have much interest in Chult beyond dropping cargo off, spending a few days relaxing in the city, and leaving.
And at the moment, there's apparently someone in the water, so the crew's a bit distracted.
Raff snaps to attention, looking for who's overboard and why.
Perception: 21
Hey, someone was in the water! Enri didn't know who, exactly, or why, but he was going to at least investigate before making a decision about what to do next.
Investigation: 8
Enri trips in his rush to peer over the railing and he stumbles into a crewmember who is dashing by with a coil of rope in his hand.
Raff's tortle eyes give him surprisingly keen vision, and he quickly spots what looks like a young man clinging to a piece of wreckage. He looks close to dead, but still seems to have some fight in him - at the sight of the ship he seems to kick weakly to head in your direction.
Meanwhile other crew members are rushing to furl the sails, and another few crew begin preparing a small rowboat for departure off the side.
Mortimer heads for the rowboat. "If there's room, take me too! I can heal him if he needs it!"
Fenrir barely even glances up from what he's doing (actual deck swabbing for once) at the call, assuming it's the Tortle causing trouble again. When he does, he realizes that Raff is actually in front of him, on his feet, and looking in the direction of the commotion. Turning to see what's going on, Fenrir notes the cleric rushing toward a rowboat being maneuvered by the crew.
They seem to have things handled.
So, Fenrir goes back to doing what he does best - being paranoid - and sets himself on watch. He's played the game of setting people up as traps to lure in victims a number of times himself.
Perception: 12
Mortimer's volunteering finds him quickly bundled into the boat with two of the stronger-looking crewmen (a blue dragonborn and a goliath) and lowered into the water. The sea is, fortunately, not too rough, and within a few minutes you've reached the half-drowned crewman, who croaks something that sounds like "help."
((Roll athletics to help pull him up into the boat without tipping over))
Fenrir's paranoia is, at least, wrong in this case. At least, as far as he can tell. There do not seem to be any pirates waiting for them, at any rate, nor do any of the disturbances in the water seem to be anything but the churning of the seas, rather than some fish-based monstrosity preparing to strike.
((I, for one, am glad that Fenrir is so paranoid!))
Mortimer tries to leave most of the pulling up of the man to the crew as his scrawny stature is rather apparent while next to the hulking sailors, but he helps where he can. Once the man is aboard, Morty places his hands on the man's chest and murmurs a quick prayer to Kelemvor as he works his magic.
((Athletics: 19
Cure Wounds @ level 1: 10))
It doesn't take much effort to get the man out of the water, and Mortimer wisely staying out of the way for the most part keeps the boat from rocking too much. As the spell is cast, the young man seems to come back to himself somewhat, and after coughing up a little water, he begins to look around the surrounding seas wildly. "Is it gone? We have to get out of here!"
Mortimer, you notice that along with a rather ragged set of clothing, the young man has what appear to be manacles on his wrists and feet.
Ignoring the manacles for the moment, Mortimer tries to keep the man from growing too agitated while gesturing for the sailors to row them back to the ship. "Calm yourself. We haven't seen anything out of the ordinary in days. We're going to need you to be less cryptic in your harbinging of doom."
"The dragon turtle! Haven't you seen it?" The man continues to look around, but Mortimer's words of assurance seem to have calmed him somewhat. "Came out of nowhere. I've never seen anything like it..."
He trails off, lost in some memory. His eyes snap back into focus. "Do you have anything to eat? I've been floating for days."
"We'll get you something once we're aboard the ship, clean water too. Captain Frostbutt will probably want to hear about what happened to you."
Within a relatively short time, the rowboat is back at the ship. A rope ladder is lowered down for the crew, along with some ropes to haul the rowboat back up. The young man is too weak to make the climb himself, so he stays in the boat while it is hauled up. Fargrim barks an order to some of the crew to fetch something to eat and drink, and confronts the young man.
"Well laddie, it looks like you've had something of an experience. I don't suppose you could enlighten me as to who you are, and perhaps how you came to be wearing manacles."
A crewmember passes a flask of water and a few hard tack biscuits to the young man, who wolfs them down swiftly before speaking.
"My name is Selu. I was part of a group of workers heading for Fort Belurian when we were attacked by a swarm of the undead. I don't know what happened to the others, but I fled into the jungle. Somehow, I had the ill fortune to stumble into a camp of pirates. They promised me aid, but when I woke up the next morning I was in chains. They intended to take me back to Jahaka Anchorage in the south, but as we made our way around the coast, we were blown off course by fierce storms." He pauses to take another deep drink of water. "On the way back, we were attacked by a massive creature - a dragon turtle, I heard someone yell. The ship never stood a chance. The chain that ran through my manacles broke free, and I was able to escape in the chaos - but there was nowhere to go. I clung to some wreckage and hoped for rescue, but I confess I did not expect it to actually happen. You have my thanks."
"A dragon turtle?" Raff seems excited by the prospect. "I've never seen one of those!"
Nature check: 0
Selu looks at Raff like he's just grown two heads. "You should count yourself lucky that you've never seen one! It was terrifying! Big as a mountain - as a small island, even! When it moved, the whole ship rocked. And when it attacked..." he trails off, shuddering.
Fargrim places a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "Well lad, I have good news for ye. We shan't suffer the same fate."
Raff, here's what you know about Dragon Turtles:
To get a dragon turtle, you put a giant turtle shell on a dragon. They are immense creatures, who favor blasts of steam instead of fire, and are immensely difficult to kill - particularly in the water. They are terrifying creatures which you really shouldn't mess around with unless you have treasure to offer in exchange for safe passage.
Which, funnily enough, matches up with what you've heard about Aremag. Aremag is a dragon turtle who patrols the bay of Chult, effectively acting as a tollbooth for Port Nyanzaru that Port Nyanzaru would prefer not to have. Considering where you're headed, it is entirely likely that you will get your wish of seeing a dragon turtle soon.
Mortimer and Fenrir:
As all this is going on, Mortimer notices something that strikes him as a bit odd. Namely, that the mention of a savage dragon turtle does not seem to have caused the crew to display any signs of surprise, fear, or dismay.
Fenrir, as you listen to this nonsense, you can almost hear the White Wolf whispering in your ear. "How exactly is old Captain Rimebeard so confident about their chances with a dragon turtle on the loose, eh?"
"Was it Aremag? I bet it was Aremag!" Raff clicks his claws together. "You're lucky to be alive, mate! A Chultan pirate captain that didn't know about Aremag, preposterous!"
Belated insight check on the shipwrecked sailor's story: 7
Fenrir is, obviously, extremely unhappy with all of this. As he stands looking down on the conversation, his frown continues to deepen. The stranded man and his shackles don't worry Fenrir much - he had earned the name 'Chainbound' much as he hated it. Things happened, sometimes shackles were involved. But as they speak, Fenrir's gaze drifts away, and he tilts his head as though listening to something else. Hearing the whispers of his Wolf, Fenrir turned his attention to the captain instead.
Fenrir tended to dismiss hierarchy as a matter of course - unless he was at the top of it - but for the first time Fenrir began to consider the captain as a leader. His experience with dwarves told him that, unlike most other peoples, they didn't actually care about his size. Perhaps an extra few feet didn't mean much when you were already low to the ground.
Now, Fenrir considered the familiarity with which the captain had treated that dragon/hafling monstrosity. And here was another dragon...?
Staring hard at the captain, trying to work things out, Fenrir wished more fervently than ever that his Wolf were truly here; not just echoing whispers in his mind.
(( Insight (I think?): 3 ))
Fargrim laughs at Raff's comment, while Selu looks vaguely horrified. "Chultan pirate captains don't have to deal with ol' Aremag much - ain't a shock to hear one thought he could slip on by without paying." He winks at the terrified man. "Fortunately, like I said - that ain't gonna happen to us." The rest of the crew laughs too.
"That said," Fargrim continues, "If we're close enough to be running into Aremag's leftovers, then we need to be sharp. Crew, you know the drill. Get us back underway, and we'll hit Port Nyanzaru "
A chorus of "Aye Captain" is followed by a flurry of activity, with some crew getting back to the business of running the ship, while a group of three heads down into the ship's hold.
"You there... Raff, was it?" Fargrim waves the Tortle over. "I don't suppose you can speak Draconic or Aquan, can ye? It might make the whole process a bit easier."
Raff
Saru's story checks out to you, in that 1. there are lots of pirates in Chult, and they aren't shy of taking slaves, 2. Aremag definitely will sink your ship if you don't give him tribute, 3. Those sure are some manacles Saru's wearing, and any ship transporting prisoners wouldn't be stupid enough to try sneaking by Aremag.
Fenrir
Your wishes that the Wolf was not just whispering in your mind as (probably) a memory go un-granted. The Captain is hard to read, but apart from not mentioning the dragon turtle - what was the name Raff had said again? Probably not important - he'd been pretty straightforward so far.