Dues for the Dead (DM Lerus)

Content that the crowd appear to be cajoling the Black Fist guards into doing their jobs and removing Klaven from the equation, Utar glances over to Graxx and Neya, giving them each a nod before tilting his head towards the ship with antlers, indicating his next destination. He assumes that for their part, Graxx and Neya will be attempting to negotiate a price with the new Captain of Klaven's old ship.

Staying in place until the Black Fist move into pick up Klaven, Utar then heads towards the Alces, waiting to see if any sailors can point him in the direction of Captain Hulbard.

Graxx looks in shock as Hermenor knocks out his former Captain.

Graxx thinks to himself regarding Hermenor's comment.  "I just didn't want to have to drag his big body all the way to Hurn..."

Graxx smiles to the crowd and gladly accepts the flower.

Graxx humbly raises his hands.

"Thank you thank you, everyone!  The true heroe here will be Lieutenant Hurn who will handle this deviant.  Make sure to tell Lieutenant Hurn when you see him how thankful you are for him cleaning these docks!" says Graxx.

Graxx nods to Utar acknowledging the message as he watches Hermenor's crew leave.

Graxx turns to Neya.

"Surely, they won't be setting sail immediately right?  Do you think we have time to lug this big fella over to Hurn before he wakes up before we go speak with them?" asks Graxx.

If Neya is in agreement Graxx will let Neya carry his backpack and pull Klaven's arms over his shoulders and try to wear him like an extremely heavy hiking backpack and carry him to Hurn.  The whole time Graxx will be wishing he brought Glory.

Up until Klaven is hauled up and dragged away, Doozey stayed on fairly on guard. But if there was truly to be no more 'justice' to met out, then he'd find himself wandering over to Utar's side to complete their earlier task. "Well that was something, wasn't it Mr. utar?" Doozey idly asked, but without much expectations of much of answer. 

As for Taters, the by then bloody mawed beast would fly over to follow his charges, ready now more than ever... to provide assistance! 

"We essentially barged into their business out of nowhere. I'd say they are a spoiled for choice, right now. So, we should have enough time to hand him over to Hurn," Neya assures Graxx while she takes his bag and he hefts Klaven.

Thrusting Graxx and Neya to wrap things up as they see fit (with Taters as support), Utar turns his attention back to the Alces. Doozey joins him and they stop right in front of the ship with antlers as its figurehead. A small crew of three tend one of the smallest sailing vessels presently docked in Phlan. The ship has a single mast with sails and a lone ballista up front. There are rows of seats on either edge of the deck, which can surely be used by either rowers or passengers. The aftercastle is small, and you imagine it can't house many more than the three crew members you see on board at the moment.

One crew member scrubs the deck. She is a robust looking human female, likely in her 40s. The second crew member is coiling some loose rope. He is a teen-aged half-orc male still growing into his body. The their member is a balding male orc, built in the general top-heavy manner most full-blooded orcs are. He looks to be in his late 30s or early 40s. Utar would know that this means this orc is nearing his last decade of natural lifespan.  

(@MB & @Ori: If you feel like your characters might know something about ships, go ahead and roll a history or survival check to get more details on the ship itself. If you are proficient with water vehicles, you may roll with advantage.)

Meanwhile, Graxx tries to manage both the small amount of fame that came to him after beating a local bully and the weight of said bully's unconscious body. Neya agrees that they can risk paying a visit to Hurn without having to worry about Hermenor leaving town immediately, and so the duo starts to move toward the Black Fist outpost nearby. It is then, and only then, that the two guards that had been watching the scene from afar decide to approach Graxx and Neya.

One of them has a smile on his face. The other says: "Nice job out there. The lieutenant will be happy. Here, let us give you a hand." They proceed to help Graxx carry Klaven to the outpost. Distributing all that weight between three people speeds up the ordeal. Once at the outpost, one of them heads inside and comes back a minute later with Lieutenant Hurn in tow. The dwarf speaks: "Great news, I hear. Nice work, Graxx, my boy. Let the guards here take care of locking up Klaven and head inside so we can talk." He looks at Neya and gives her an awkward wave in greeting.

Assuming Graxx and Neya follow the given instructions, Hurn meets with them inside and asks for a retelling of the events. He has some crumbs stuck in his beard but seems to be in good spirits. His office is just as messy as before. One piece of parchment, in particular, seems to be quite 'fresh' relative to the others piled nearby, which are wrinkled and stained by food remains.

Utar doesn't suppose that he would know that much bout the vessel before him, save that it seems a little small.  Still, if they were basically hugging the coast until they reached their destination, that seemed fine.  The small ballista might dicourage any overly curious locals, so seemed like a decent addition to the craft.

Survival - 14

Judging by the relative ages of the crew of the vessel and the younger half-orc member of the crew, Utar wonders whether they might be a family of sea-farers and is suddenly hit by a pang of guilt.  If they hired onto this mission and something were to happen, well, that would be two families within Phlan with missing members, likely caused by CRAP's actions... he pushes the thought away, failure to act might result in more loss, more grief, to more families, and nothing had happened to this one, yet.

Insight - 25

Calling up to the crew on deck, "We hear this is the Alces and we're looking for Captain Hulbard.  We're looking to hire a vessel and her crew for a job; permission to come aboard to discuss it?"

(OOC - That 'yet' seems a lot more ominous now I read it back than I meant while writing it.  On balance though, given our record, I'm leaving it in.  For his insight check, Utar is just looking to see if they are dealing with a family unit here.)

Graxx smiles at Lieutenant Hurn and nods in agreement.

"Yes, yes it was just as you said.  Klaven was easy to find and was being the loudmouth he is.  I said some words to him and you were right again.  The elf Hermenor prodded Klaven into taking up an old fashioned brawl with me."

Graxx sighs.

"The problem with that was it was perfectly legal.  I put him down fairly quickly but I made sure to punch him in the ribs and body so that his face would show no marks for when you paraded him.  I then taunted him a bit and thankfully he took a swipe at me with some vial!  I imagine it was full of poison!  That gave me a reason to bring him to you!" says Graxx.

Graxx laughs.

"I then made a point of announcing to the people that we needed to take this deviant to the just Harbormaster!  To the wise Lieutenant Hurn!  That you would not take well to hearing of such acts on your docks!  The people were thrilled, Lieutenant Hurn!  They were shouting praise to "The Champion of Lieutenant Hurn!"  I made sure they knew who was pulling the strings and they were thankful.  I would say they will be thanking you the next time they see you out and about.  I would go out and meet the people while it's fresh on their minds."

Can Graxx read any of the fresh parchment?

Perception:  20

For Doozey, it had been quite a while since he last stepped on a proper vessel, let alone properly examine one. But their never had been a mountain too high, a dungeon too deep, or waters too vast to disuade him from following whatever leads picked over the years. Still, it would take a hot minute for him to fully process all that was visible from the docks and try to make mental notes on what he maybe should inquire into from the crew's perspective, if only for a refresher.

Survival: 9.

As far as the orc blooded crew mate, he'd learn some time ago not to presume too much regarding familial ties, as racial ones were just as important, if not moreso. Life... wasn't exactly easy for most orc blooded folk in settled lands, besieged as they often tended to be by both sides of the fence. And with that thought in mind, he couldn't help but look up to Utar, and then down at the ground furrowing his brow and cupping his chin in thought. 

Though the moment of introspection was not to last, as he'd soon find himself looking up once more hearing Utar reach out to the crew, prompting him to fold his hands behind his back and look professionally neutral.

DM's Screen:

AT THE ALCES

Doozey opts to stay silent and pensive while Utar extends his greetings to the crew of the Alces. The tall orc slowly approaches the edge of the boat closest to Utar and has a good look at him. He is broad-shouldered, and would have sported quite the envied physique in his youth. That said, his age has begun to show in the roundness of his belly and sides a bit, as well as his balding head. The orc is shirtless, proudly displaying a shoulder-to-shoulder tattoo of the same antlers that adorn the front of his ship. He replies: "I'm Captain Hulbard. Who are you and how have you heard my name?" Assuming the required information is shared, the two other crewpeople watch as their captain invites Utar and Doozey onboard and points to a couple of small barrels and the deck: "You may sit. Welcome to the Alces. How may I be of assistance?" His long tusks intervene with the lip movements required by the Common language such that it gives him a certain quirk or accent which is commonly observed among full-blooded orcs who have the need to speak in tongues other than Orcish.

@Doozey/@Ori:

@Utar/@MB:

AT HURN'S OFFICE

Hurn shares in Graxx's excitement while the human retells his story. "This is tremendous work! Not only did you deal with a rising threat to our docks but you did so swiftly. I ought to hire you more often!" He wags a finger toward the barbarian: "Nice touch mentioning my name too." He now raises his hand: "And it sounds my hunches on Hermenor were right... a true win-win-win type of situation. Let us hope the elf is more manageable than his predecessor."

Once the excitement dies down a bit, Hurn holds his side of the bargain: "I assume you trust your companions here," he gestures toward Neya, "but in an abundance of caution I will mention this just once." He lowers his voice significantly: "Rumor has it one of the jailers at Grimshackle may be more malleable if given the proper incentive. His name is Iorg Brokenjaw." Hurn pauses for a moment and shows a tiny bit of second-hand embarrassment before adding: "He is a dwarf, like me."

A moment later, Hurn asks if there is anything else he can do for you. He seems to have liked Graxx's idea of going outside to receive the public's praise while the memory is recent in their minds.

@Graxx:

Utar makes the necessary introductions from their position on the docks. Placing a hand on his own chest then indicating Doozey.

"My name is Utar. This is Doozey. We have a mutual friend in Markoth... Fat Mar from the Laughing Goblin."

Taking the offered seat once aboard the Alces. Utar elaborates on their relationship with Fat Mar and on the job offer.

"Markoth recommended you as a reliable sort. Not one to leave a job half finished. We've a job that requires hiring a vessel and a crew. On the face of it, it should be simple. Sail our party down the coast, wait for our return, return us all back to the city. There's more to discuss of course, goes without saying and nothing is ever as simple as when you lay it out in fine weather, but the most important point is this: we want to be ready to sail soon. Tomorrow or the day after. Could that be done?"

(OOC Think I have the dates right, but might not. Happy to be corrected.)

Graxx is pleased.  He does not want to risk spoiling or messing anything up so he decides to not ask of anything.

"Win-win indeed Lieutenant!  This has been a great day.  Thank you for the information.  I hope you enjoy your stroll shortly.  Until we meet again."

Graxx nods toward Neya and begins to walk out the door and go in search of Hermenor.

"Iorg Brokenjaw..."nd this Library.  This sounds like something Doozey would like.  He'll have to mention it to Doozey as soon as he sees him." Graxx thinks to himself.  Where might this lead to him.

Doozey for his part had been content to curtly nod, but otherwise contented himself with following Utar's lead. If there was anything missing out in terms of warnings or reminders to give, then he would try to be ready to do so at a moment's notice. And while he had not expected any duplicity out of the crew, be it over sailing [;-)] their abilities or trying to mask concerns, the stoutling would keep his usual careful eye out for such all the same.

Insight: 10. 

(@Lerus: Does Doozey get the impression that the creature we faced could topple this ship as well, or would that be another check?)

Meanwhile, now that Graxx shoulders weren't occupied at the time, Taters swoops down from some high perch just outside the office and perched on there. 

Neya follow Graxx out the door and returns his bag to him.

"I wonder how the new captain is handling his sudden promotion." She says as she looks for a ship that's suddenly is under new management.

Perception: 8

EXITING HURN'S OFFICE

Graxx wants the exchange with Hurn to be almost as swift as the dwarf himself, lest any unnecessary suspicions arise. The tribesman thanks the lieutenant for the information and vacates the premises. Neya silently follows.

Outside, the monk shares her first words since being approached by the Black Fist guards. Her intention is to then start looking for Hermenor but can't help being a little curious about Klaven. She delays her search for a few moments as she visually confirms that the goliath, along with the two guards, is no longer just outside the outpost. This should indicate that they have already started to move Klaven into a prison cell somewhere.

ON THE ALCES

"Markoth, yes." Hulbard says to Utar. "A big-hearted man with an even larger mouth." He smirks. "Not many folk here in Phlan are willing to sit down and talk with me, let alone hire my ship. Orc raiding bands live too close to the city for the townsfolk to place their trust on me so easily." He sighs. "But I guess you'd know a thing or two about that yourself." He lifts his coin purse and jiggles it. "Emptier that what I'd like it to be, so I'll listen to your proposal. It sounds straightforward so far, but if you admit there is more to it, then I'll have to listen to the whole story before making my decision. What is it you are not telling me yet? Is there fighting to be expected?" He points at the ballista and then at his own arm "If so, ol'Betsy and I can lend a hand for an extra fee, but the lady and the kid will stay out of it. They are good sailors but lousy fighters." The brown-haired women was walking by, though a few yards away from the conversation. Hearing his comment, she then makes a point to take a small detour so she can walk right behind Hulbard and smack the back of his head. She smiles and keeps walking. The half-orc teen laughs in the background. "No respect for their captain," he chuckles.

He looks at Doozey, a bit suspicious of the halfling's silence, and then turns back to Utar; "Timing is not an issue. The Alces can be ready either tomorrow or the day after. Now, please elaborate."

@Doozey: 

Nodding along as Hulbard speaks, Utar can see why Markoth recommended the captain so highly.

"If I'm honest, we're expecting trouble on arrival and then I'd expect it to continue until we leave. If you're worried about your crew and don't want to put them in harm's way, I understand."