"Yes indeed, how did you guess!! Dillyu responds with a chuckle. "That's exactly why she's called Three Earrings, as I'm sure you'll find out for yourself soon!! And do not fret, my friend. You had the courage to jump into the fray and try to save us, and although two of our crew fell, that was not your fault. We are safe now, enjoying some rather mediocre whiskey, while cruising out on the open sea. How bad is that?"
"If I may ask, where do you two hail from and what brought you to Flora Isle?"
Markus, who has been sipping his whiskey with joy, joins the conversation. "Well, I would define ourselves as mercenaries I guess. Traveling the roads in search of coins and some worthy adventures that might be sung by bards !" he says with a large smile. "I am pretty sure we have all our reasons to be on the road, but so far the group seems to work well together. Have you hear about any work that would need some mercenaries ?"
Lazarus simply chuckled as Alyndra would hold onto his arm and he would nod and smile at the man and his complement. "Truly is." As the man spoke of them picking a great place for them to spend their after wedding time together in the best spot, Lazarus would let out a quick laugh but just as soon as it came, he went silent. "Yeah. Very... festive." He would look around and then back to his wife "Well, I think that we are currently traveling with some friends of ours. A very interesting bunch but like minds attract the same."
Alyndra sort of laughs at the man's probing questions to her husband's heritage, giving an unhelpful shrug before taking the change in subject in stride. She knew if Lazarus cared for the man to know, he'd have answered himself. Her chuckle turned genuine in a dark sort of laugh at his joke about their choice in honeymoon locations. "We sure know how to pick them, yes."Nodding at his name, the half elf couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the name of the Captain. Glancing about as Lazarus mentioned their friends, Alyndra nods to him in agreement with a pleased smile before she cranes her neck to see where Bosko and the rest were, still feeling a tad more close to the rather endearing bugbear. "We're not exactly your usual seafarers so land might be a bit more welcome than staying out at sea. At least for me. I suppose we're just going to be looking for the next job. Hopefully together with Bosko, Sunita and Markus still, but we'll see where the gravity takes us. Where is this Captain Three Earrings steering us all by the way?"
Boerth answers, "The sea is a thing that grows on you. Some folk never take to it, but many folk who are wary of it are eventually drawn into its magic. Those of us who do take to it find it to be a world of endless opportunity and adventure, and a place where you can sometime make your own jobs happen. At any rate, I don't know what the captain's plan is here; it's no doubt changed since we left Flora Isle, but I s'pose we'll find out soon enough what she's got in mind."
Bosko
Dajarkal nods, "It is good to hear that you are one of those who broke free to live a life of peace. You seem like one who has chosen not to waste that gift of a new life away from evil and chaos. As for these folk, I'm less concerned for their plight than I am of the imbalance that's clearly taking hold out here in this part of the sea. Something unnatural seems to be taking hold in the deep, but I don't know what that is. However, these villagers should not suffer because of it, so it's good that and your friends were here to help them."
Sunita and Markus
Dillyu takes a long swig and answers with a smile. "Mercenaries, eh? Travelers in search of coin and worth adventures? You sound like the rest of us!! That's the life, isn't it? Making your own way, moving from place to place and finding opportunity wherever you can find it? As for potential mercenary work... nah, I don't know what I'd recommend for ye... Out here, the work seems to find us, or least it seems that way!"
As you're chatting and passing the time away, while the Wavechaser rocks gently on the open sea, one of the sailors, a dark skinned human with a muscled physique approaches each of you and informs you that the captain would like to see you in her cabin.
Assuming that you follow him, the man leads you down into the lower deck and into the captain's quarters.
Upon entering, you see a tabaxi who's hunched over a wide table, puzzling over a map pinned to its surface by a half dozen knives and daggers. Several golden rings glisten on her paws as she traces potential paths through the ocean. She glances up at you with her emerald eyes as you open the door, and her feline face spreads into a sharp-toothed smile that is equal parts cheerful and unsettling.
“Ah, welcome,”she purrs. “You are the heroes from the pretty village, yes? Welcome aboard Wavechaser. We have much to discuss about the sinking isle—and the treasure we can find if we return.”
The tabaxi captain answers, "Yes, treasures. There is gold to be had where we're going, and I intend to share it with all of you, since you were so helpful in helping us escape from the island. You all seem quite capable, and I could use your talents. Help me, and there could be a nice sum of money coming your way."
Lazarus would shake his head as he glanced off to the side, seeing the water and then just as quickly looking back to the conversation at hand. "Yeah, not really one for these 'sea fairing' ways to be completely honest. Maybe a lake or pond, something smaller and less 'unknowable depths'." He would take in a deep breath before continuing. "Whatever it is, hopefully it'll be a welcomed distraction or land."
"You want return to Island that sinking to find gold?", Bosko says a bit warily.
"How you know of gold? Why not get gold before island sink, when safe?", he asks curiously, trying to meet the gaze of his companions and determine what they are thinking. It seems Sunita is happy to go, but needs permissions for some reason.
"How Sunita talk with parents and siblings when stuck on boat? Why need permission?", he asks of her.
"If new clan go into danger, will go, protect", he adds finally, thumping his chest twice with a large hairy fist.
"You want return to Island that sinking to find gold?", Bosko says a bit warily.
"How you know of gold? Why not get gold before island sink, when safe?", he asks curiously, trying to meet the gaze of his companions and determine what they are thinking. It seems Sunita is happy to go, but needs permissions for some reason.
"How Sunita talk with parents and siblings when stuck on boat? Why need permission?", he asks of her.
"If new clan go into danger, will go, protect", he adds finally, thumping his chest twice with a large hairy fist.
Sunita threw an arm around Boskos waist with a grin, " You - Brother, Laz and Alyndra are Mum and Dad and Markus.........he's either that weird uncle or maybe another brother."
" Not permissin, I'd just rather stay with you lot...you need quite a bit of protecting it seems."
Markus smiles "yeah we are an odd family I guess" "coming back to what you were saying, I am always interested by gold. There are a few project that I am working on" Markus said while tapping on his backpack. "But I am also interested on how an island could sink like that. If this is a weapon, I need to study it"
Captain Three Earrings smiles at your generally positive response to his proposed idea.
To Lazarus, he says, "Not everyone is a born "sea farer," but that generally falls aside whenever there's treasure involved. Just think of it as a way to help provide for you and your wife, maybe make some extra gold you can use to buy her a nice present, or extend your honeymoon. I hear that congratulations are in order for the two of you! Think of this as my wedding present to you."
To Bosko, he says,, while "You'll make a good addition to the crew for this little adventure we'll be having. I can see that you're a real salt of the world type fellow. Honest, hard working and eager to help your fellow man. That's exactly the kind of qualities I look for in my crew. You know, you and I aren't that much different. We're both possess that independent, but reliable Menagerie Coast spirit."
"As for the treasure... It't not so much about finding treasure ON that little island, it's a little more complicated that that. I'm not sure we can save Flora Isle, but we can try to save those poor innocent souls up on deck from any further trouble caused by those nasty sea devils, and at the same time, get a bit more wealthy in the process."
To Markus, he says, "Well, who isn't interested in a little more gold? We all have projects, don't we, and usually takes gold to make them go 'round, right?"
"And interesting that you should mention a weapon... It just so happens that those sahaguin do have a weapon that is, in a way, at the bottom of all this... no pun intended. I intend to take it away from them, and that... my friends... is where you come in."
"So, if everyone is on board, so to speak, then we can get into more details about my plan."
"A fair question," the tabaxi captain replies to Bosko. "And to be truthful, it is a little more complicated than what I just described, but we won't let that deter us. Since you've all expressed your willingness to accompany me with this task... at least most of you," she says, quickly shooting a smile towards Alyndra, "I will expand with the necessary details."
"As you have seen, the Sauaghin have no love for surface dwellers. In fact, the Sharkfeather sahuagin and the people of Palma Flora have been at odds for generations, since Palma Flora hosts an annual shark-hunting festival, which it seems the sahaguin are no fans of."
"Recently, though, a feisty young female sahuagin named Selachai recently took charge of the Sharkfeather clan. She carries a magic scepter which has become a conduit for unearthly levels of magical power that she now wields. It was she who somehow caused an earthquake that was powerful enough to drag Flora Isle under the waves. I don't know how, but that isn’t important."
"What is important, is finding a way to delve beneath those waves and take this scepter from the young sahaguin leader. Doing so would stop her from causing any more chaos, and the relic itself would doubtlessly sell for a pretty penny. You help me recover the scepter, and I'll offer you a total of 500 gp as your one-third share, with the other two shares going to my crew, and to my ships general upkeep."
"Of course, as Bosko has pointed out, being surface dwellers yourselves, you would likely be at a natural disadvantage if you were to take on Selachi and her clan in their native habitat. However, that's a problem to which there might be a solution. There are a number of nearby ports where we can dock, unload these refugees, and see if we can find you some gear that could help you take on the sahaguin in their lair; namely items that would allow you to breathe underwater."
"So we not miss out on Shark Hunt. Just we be hunt Sharkfeathers", Bosko whispers quietly as he ears perk up at the thought of breathing water and exploring under the sea.
"If such thing can be, would gladly explore under water", he adds with eagerness.
He looks to Alyndra and Lazarus, whom Sunita called Mum and Dad. Assuming this meant she saw them as their leaders, he directs his question most towards them.
Sunita mused, " So....now that the sahuagin have been successful in stopping any future shark hunts....do you think they will stop their attacks? Just from what I saw they seem to have a fairly close bond with sharks I can understand why they were pissed about the festival."
" Drylander here so I might be well out of line, but I could see a few of the horse breeders back home getting fairly vengeful if someone started organising horse hunts on what they consider their territory..."
" Just don't want to stir up more trouble and get more people killed, sahuagin...human or otherwise...treasure is good but not at that sort of cost."
Captain Three Earrings listens to Sunita and acknowledges her reasoned, well-articulated opinion. She then answers with a respectful tone.
“You speak as one who knows the horrors and seriousness of battle. You are not alone in that logic, and if only more folk shared a similar wisdom, the world would be a much less chaotic place for all of us.”
”However, having grown up far away from the sea, you have not felt the blood-chilling fear that the drone of a conch shell out over the fog-shrouded swells often brings. We know this as the sound of a sahaugin hunting horn that calls to raid and battle.”
”There’s a reason why we coastal dwellers call sahaugin ‘sea-devils,’ for they have no compassion, as you saw earlier. I can appreciate your analogy, but sahaugin are not like innocent horse farmers, they slaughter entire crews of ship and decimate coastal villages indiscriminately, and without reason or remorse, and they telepathically use sharks to aid in their slaughter, as just saw back there. Ask my crew member Dillyu, who had his own parents killed in a sahaugin raid, if he thinks it would be best if we left them alone.”
”Would you not fight for those who cannot defend themselves, like the frightening refugees up on deck? You are clearly a person of strength and experience, but anyone who has grown up on the water will attest, restraint against the sahaugin does nothing; it still brings blood. I say we do our part to help lessen the danger these emboldened sea devils are displaying, and earn a bit of gold in the process.”
"That true", Bosko says to Darjarkal. "Although I not been with clan for long time now. But we not suffer curse as other's of kind do".
"Still some not trust though. But try do good. Help folk when can, as once was helped", he adds.
He looks around the boat. "Help folk like here", he adds.
Markus, who has been sipping his whiskey with joy, joins the conversation. "Well, I would define ourselves as mercenaries I guess. Traveling the roads in search of coins and some worthy adventures that might be sung by bards !" he says with a large smile. "I am pretty sure we have all our reasons to be on the road, but so far the group seems to work well together. Have you hear about any work that would need some mercenaries ?"
Currently Playing: Regdus Ironfist (Greyhawk) Lvl 1 Storm Sorcerer ; Goraseth Drerjoxian (Icespeak) Lvl 3 Paladin Oath of Glory; Lerak (The Wild Beyond the Witchlight) Lvl 3 Barbarian Wild Magic
In Pause: Grimnir " Shadow-Feet", Lv 11 Owner of "The Basilisk & the Monk" (OotA) - Kurma Kappa, Lv 8 Priest of Oghma (ToA)
Currently DM'ing: Princes of Apocalypse >> Tomb of Annihilation
Lazarus simply chuckled as Alyndra would hold onto his arm and he would nod and smile at the man and his complement. "Truly is." As the man spoke of them picking a great place for them to spend their after wedding time together in the best spot, Lazarus would let out a quick laugh but just as soon as it came, he went silent. "Yeah. Very... festive." He would look around and then back to his wife "Well, I think that we are currently traveling with some friends of ours. A very interesting bunch but like minds attract the same."
Lazarus Ryder - Adventures Abound in Wildemount
Alyndra sort of laughs at the man's probing questions to her husband's heritage, giving an unhelpful shrug before taking the change in subject in stride. She knew if Lazarus cared for the man to know, he'd have answered himself. Her chuckle turned genuine in a dark sort of laugh at his joke about their choice in honeymoon locations. "We sure know how to pick them, yes." Nodding at his name, the half elf couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the name of the Captain.
Glancing about as Lazarus mentioned their friends, Alyndra nods to him in agreement with a pleased smile before she cranes her neck to see where Bosko and the rest were, still feeling a tad more close to the rather endearing bugbear. "We're not exactly your usual seafarers so land might be a bit more welcome than staying out at sea. At least for me. I suppose we're just going to be looking for the next job. Hopefully together with Bosko, Sunita and Markus still, but we'll see where the gravity takes us. Where is this Captain Three Earrings steering us all by the way?"
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
Alyndra and Lazarus
Boerth answers, "The sea is a thing that grows on you. Some folk never take to it, but many folk who are wary of it are eventually drawn into its magic. Those of us who do take to it find it to be a world of endless opportunity and adventure, and a place where you can sometime make your own jobs happen. At any rate, I don't know what the captain's plan is here; it's no doubt changed since we left Flora Isle, but I s'pose we'll find out soon enough what she's got in mind."
Bosko
Dajarkal nods, "It is good to hear that you are one of those who broke free to live a life of peace. You seem like one who has chosen not to waste that gift of a new life away from evil and chaos. As for these folk, I'm less concerned for their plight than I am of the imbalance that's clearly taking hold out here in this part of the sea. Something unnatural seems to be taking hold in the deep, but I don't know what that is. However, these villagers should not suffer because of it, so it's good that and your friends were here to help them."
Sunita and Markus
Dillyu takes a long swig and answers with a smile. "Mercenaries, eh? Travelers in search of coin and worth adventures? You sound like the rest of us!! That's the life, isn't it? Making your own way, moving from place to place and finding opportunity wherever you can find it? As for potential mercenary work... nah, I don't know what I'd recommend for ye... Out here, the work seems to find us, or least it seems that way!"
As you're chatting and passing the time away, while the Wavechaser rocks gently on the open sea, one of the sailors, a dark skinned human with a muscled physique approaches each of you and informs you that the captain would like to see you in her cabin.
Assuming that you follow him, the man leads you down into the lower deck and into the captain's quarters.
Upon entering, you see a tabaxi who's hunched over a wide table, puzzling over a map pinned to its surface by a half dozen knives and daggers. Several golden rings glisten on her paws as she traces potential paths through the ocean. She glances up at you with her emerald eyes as you open the door, and her feline face spreads into a sharp-toothed smile that is equal parts cheerful and unsettling.
“Ah, welcome,” she purrs. “You are the heroes from the pretty village, yes? Welcome aboard Wavechaser. We have much to discuss about the sinking isle—and the treasure we can find if we return.”
Sunita looked intrigued, " Treasures?"
The tabaxi captain answers, "Yes, treasures. There is gold to be had where we're going, and I intend to share it with all of you, since you were so helpful in helping us escape from the island. You all seem quite capable, and I could use your talents. Help me, and there could be a nice sum of money coming your way."
Sunita relaxed against the railing, " I'm happy to be of service if Mum, Dad and the rest of the kids are."
Lazarus would shake his head as he glanced off to the side, seeing the water and then just as quickly looking back to the conversation at hand. "Yeah, not really one for these 'sea fairing' ways to be completely honest. Maybe a lake or pond, something smaller and less 'unknowable depths'." He would take in a deep breath before continuing. "Whatever it is, hopefully it'll be a welcomed distraction or land."
Lazarus Ryder - Adventures Abound in Wildemount
"You want return to Island that sinking to find gold?", Bosko says a bit warily.
"How you know of gold? Why not get gold before island sink, when safe?", he asks curiously, trying to meet the gaze of his companions and determine what they are thinking. It seems Sunita is happy to go, but needs permissions for some reason.
"How Sunita talk with parents and siblings when stuck on boat? Why need permission?", he asks of her.
"If new clan go into danger, will go, protect", he adds finally, thumping his chest twice with a large hairy fist.
Sunita threw an arm around Boskos waist with a grin, " You - Brother, Laz and Alyndra are Mum and Dad and Markus.........he's either that weird uncle or maybe another brother."
" Not permissin, I'd just rather stay with you lot...you need quite a bit of protecting it seems."
Markus smiles "yeah we are an odd family I guess"
"coming back to what you were saying, I am always interested by gold. There are a few project that I am working on" Markus said while tapping on his backpack. "But I am also interested on how an island could sink like that. If this is a weapon, I need to study it"
Currently Playing: Regdus Ironfist (Greyhawk) Lvl 1 Storm Sorcerer ; Goraseth Drerjoxian (Icespeak) Lvl 3 Paladin Oath of Glory; Lerak (The Wild Beyond the Witchlight) Lvl 3 Barbarian Wild Magic
In Pause: Grimnir " Shadow-Feet", Lv 11 Owner of "The Basilisk & the Monk" (OotA) - Kurma Kappa, Lv 8 Priest of Oghma (ToA)
Currently DM'ing: Princes of Apocalypse >> Tomb of Annihilation
Captain Three Earrings smiles at your generally positive response to his proposed idea.
To Lazarus, he says, "Not everyone is a born "sea farer," but that generally falls aside whenever there's treasure involved. Just think of it as a way to help provide for you and your wife, maybe make some extra gold you can use to buy her a nice present, or extend your honeymoon. I hear that congratulations are in order for the two of you! Think of this as my wedding present to you."
To Bosko, he says,, while "You'll make a good addition to the crew for this little adventure we'll be having. I can see that you're a real salt of the world type fellow. Honest, hard working and eager to help your fellow man. That's exactly the kind of qualities I look for in my crew. You know, you and I aren't that much different. We're both possess that independent, but reliable Menagerie Coast spirit."
"As for the treasure... It't not so much about finding treasure ON that little island, it's a little more complicated that that. I'm not sure we can save Flora Isle, but we can try to save those poor innocent souls up on deck from any further trouble caused by those nasty sea devils, and at the same time, get a bit more wealthy in the process."
To Markus, he says, "Well, who isn't interested in a little more gold? We all have projects, don't we, and usually takes gold to make them go 'round, right?"
"And interesting that you should mention a weapon... It just so happens that those sahaguin do have a weapon that is, in a way, at the bottom of all this... no pun intended. I intend to take it away from them, and that... my friends... is where you come in."
"So, if everyone is on board, so to speak, then we can get into more details about my plan."
Sunita listened eagerly....though part of her mind was wondering about the whole underwater issue....
Bosko accepts the arm around the waist from Sunita, although is visibly a little uncomfortable. He is not used to such physical affection.
“I clan brother”, he repeats rather proudly.
“If this more complicated, tell more”, he says to the Captain a little confused, after they have detailed the basics of their plan.
”If not on island, under? Do not fight well under sea, those things have upper hand there”, he suggests.
"A fair question," the tabaxi captain replies to Bosko. "And to be truthful, it is a little more complicated than what I just described, but we won't let that deter us. Since you've all expressed your willingness to accompany me with this task... at least most of you," she says, quickly shooting a smile towards Alyndra, "I will expand with the necessary details."
"As you have seen, the Sauaghin have no love for surface dwellers. In fact, the Sharkfeather sahuagin and the people of Palma Flora have been at odds for generations, since Palma Flora hosts an annual shark-hunting festival, which it seems the sahaguin are no fans of."
"Recently, though, a feisty young female sahuagin named Selachai recently took charge of the Sharkfeather clan. She carries a magic scepter which has become a conduit for unearthly levels of magical power that she now wields. It was she who somehow caused an earthquake that was powerful enough to drag Flora Isle under the waves. I don't know how, but that isn’t important."
"What is important, is finding a way to delve beneath those waves and take this scepter from the young sahaguin leader. Doing so would stop her from causing any more chaos, and the relic itself would doubtlessly sell for a pretty penny. You help me recover the scepter, and I'll offer you a total of 500 gp as your one-third share, with the other two shares going to my crew, and to my ships general upkeep."
"Of course, as Bosko has pointed out, being surface dwellers yourselves, you would likely be at a natural disadvantage if you were to take on Selachi and her clan in their native habitat. However, that's a problem to which there might be a solution. There are a number of nearby ports where we can dock, unload these refugees, and see if we can find you some gear that could help you take on the sahaguin in their lair; namely items that would allow you to breathe underwater."
"So we not miss out on Shark Hunt. Just we be hunt Sharkfeathers", Bosko whispers quietly as he ears perk up at the thought of breathing water and exploring under the sea.
"If such thing can be, would gladly explore under water", he adds with eagerness.
He looks to Alyndra and Lazarus, whom Sunita called Mum and Dad. Assuming this meant she saw them as their leaders, he directs his question most towards them.
"We go?".
Sunita mused, " So....now that the sahuagin have been successful in stopping any future shark hunts....do you think they will stop their attacks? Just from what I saw they seem to have a fairly close bond with sharks I can understand why they were pissed about the festival."
" Drylander here so I might be well out of line, but I could see a few of the horse breeders back home getting fairly vengeful if someone started organising horse hunts on what they consider their territory..."
" Just don't want to stir up more trouble and get more people killed, sahuagin...human or otherwise...treasure is good but not at that sort of cost."
Captain Three Earrings listens to Sunita and acknowledges her reasoned, well-articulated opinion. She then answers with a respectful tone.
“You speak as one who knows the horrors and seriousness of battle. You are not alone in that logic, and if only more folk shared a similar wisdom, the world would be a much less chaotic place for all of us.”
”However, having grown up far away from the sea, you have not felt the blood-chilling fear that the drone of a conch shell out over the fog-shrouded swells often brings. We know this as the sound of a sahaugin hunting horn that calls to raid and battle.”
”There’s a reason why we coastal dwellers call sahaugin ‘sea-devils,’ for they have no compassion, as you saw earlier. I can appreciate your analogy, but sahaugin are not like innocent horse farmers, they slaughter entire crews of ship and decimate coastal villages indiscriminately, and without reason or remorse, and they telepathically use sharks to aid in their slaughter, as just saw back there. Ask my crew member Dillyu, who had his own parents killed in a sahaugin raid, if he thinks it would be best if we left them alone.”
”Would you not fight for those who cannot defend themselves, like the frightening refugees up on deck? You are clearly a person of strength and experience, but anyone who has grown up on the water will attest, restraint against the sahaugin does nothing; it still brings blood. I say we do our part to help lessen the danger these emboldened sea devils are displaying, and earn a bit of gold in the process.”
Sunita nods grimly.