Star Metal Marauders- Highway Harvest

“I’ll toss 5 gold in the pot. I say the Captain is trying to get out of the shadow of a famous parent.”

Quote from ChoirOfFire >>

[So far, the clear favorite in the "worst upbringing" contest is Frangipani, but there's one contestant remaining! Could she be the dark horse? Lol]

Bjorn processes the unknown words Frangipani used in her tale, estimating what they probably mean instead of just asking. "Brought up like an animal, were ye? A hunting dog, not a person?"

Frangipani looked at Bjorn uncomprehendingly, " Perhaps, I'm unsure of the difference."

" I like dogs....they''re like seals but they lick you more."

Frangipani weighed in on the Captains heritage, " Hmmmm.....well she likes tentacles.....and her relative is weird looking and smells bad......she's probably a Scion of the Abyss banished to this world from the Gaping Maw Ocean of the Abyss for being too nice."

As she rests with her eyes closed in the cart a smile tugs at Sorsha's lips as the speculations about her past are in full swing. 

Bjorn laughs nervously. "But you never ate people... Dryskins are, ah, cows and such, yes?" He finds something to adjust on the cart, to pull himself out of the conversation.

To no one in particular, he mumbles, "the Cap'n surely wouldn't have let a monster into the crew..."

He lets out a startled cry as his fidgeting uncovers Barnacle Ruhm napping with his bag of eyeballs.

Sparhawk, catching Bjorn's reaction, feeds off of it a bit, just to poke some fun at him, "I don't know, from what I've understand, if Frangi's people and parents eat their young... I wouldn't put it past them to consider one of us a tasty  delacacy....of course from time to time, kinda how we view lobster.  We might be eating one of her cousins Vars!!"  He smiles and winks at Frangipani, making his fingers open and close like lobster claws as he watches Bjorn hurry away. Such fun to prank the prankster. 

Frangipani begins to open her mouth then stops and leans forward to tossle Bjorns hair, " I would never eat you Bjorn......unless you were already dead and not going to be revived.  And I will use my healing to make sure that never happens."

She specifically avoids any mention of the jambalaya she had prepared earlier.....

Vars raises an eyebrow at Eberk's theory, "Now wouldn't that be something...." He shakes his head before saying, "Nah, I'd say she was born a pirate, and was waiting for her chance to become captain. Perhaps she was even next in line, maybe she was even the captain's daughter... but we all know what happened with the beast of the sea. Thats how she ended up with this sorry lot as a crew." He says the last bit jokingly, then raises his voice so that she can hear, "Right Sorsha?" He is pretty confident that his guess is correct. 

Eberk listens to Vars give his theory. Under his breath, "Damn, that's way better than my guess."

Vars, catching Eberk's remark gives a wry smile, "Remember I said I was born a pirate too... well, it takes one to know one I suppose..." He turns back to Sorsha, expecting an answer. 

"Hey, that's just my guess! You can't steal my guess, especially without putting in a bet!" Bjorn's nerves seem to have settled now that there's a possibility he could lose a gamble.

“See, the entertainment value of this discussion is priceless. Worth every gold piece!” Sparhawk smiles, feeling like the morale is high once again. Their gonna need it with the bugbear.  “Mission accomplished Captain!”

Vars gives Bjorn a flat look, “You do realize there is a difference between a sailor and a pirate right?” He glances in his purse, checking how much gold he actually has, “My bet is five gold. Happy?” 

“Don’t you worry Vars, we got plenty from our bandit friends. “ Sparhawk smiles.  “Your playing with house money”. 

You exchange stories and guesses as you travel up the road towards Mirabar. As the day wears on, the sun filled morning gives way to cloud covered gloom in the afternoon. After traveling about 8 miles the traffic on the road seems to pick up a bit. Mostly smaller groups from outlying farms with carts of produce, mostly heading towards Luskan. You  reach Blackstone’s crossing where the road to the east crosses over the river. A larger caravan have stopped here and have set up a makeshift market of sorts. Mostly foodstuffs and gear for cold weather. Furs and the like. An older woman with some children are working on a pot of stew. The kids arranging stools made from stumps as people stop in to eat.

“Shall we subtly ask these fine folk if anyone has seen our friends?” Sparhawk asks quietly.  He keeps his eyes open for anyone who may be suspicious or watching them.  In particular, similar in clothing to the bandits that attacked them at the wizards house.  
perception. 11

Eberk turns to Frangipani, "My dear, might I have some money from our stores? I spent my last 10 gold paying off the guard at the wizard's home and I have some light shopping I would like to do." To the rest of the group, "If anyone would like to accompany me, feel free."

"I think I'll let you continue with your betting a while longer before reavealing anything you don't already know about my past." Sorsha says with a slight grin, still resting in the cart with her eyes closed, Ruhm snoring at her side. 

As they reach Blackstone’s crossing Sorsha sends out Ruhm again to make another scouting tour of the road ahead to Mirabar, looking for a bugbear.
"Yes, go ahead Eberk, but keep it brief, we want to continue as soon as possible." She says with a nod to the dwarf.

Frangipani hands over the cash and follows along...

Eberk sets of into the market area, looking out for an suspicious activity that could be related to their current job.

Insight/Perception: 23