Builder Arcana:  12

(Not adding guidance as it does not seem like a check he would have been prepared to make.)

James will thank Cog for the chat before he turns in for the night. When he is in his hammock, James will zone out to check in on Nox to see how he is doing before calling it a night.

Birel doesn't bother socializing with anyone, going to bed early.

James: Now that meal time has passed you find Nox is out of the cage that he had been confined to and is free to flit about Caulky's room.  She meanwhile is busy drawing sketches by candle light before getting some shut eye.  Every few minutes or so she looks up at the novelty of Nox's existence and gives him a few chirrups through pressed lips. 

"What do you think Stow?  It isn't much, but I call it home...and the Capt'n takes good care of me and protects me.  He can protect you now too.  Just be a good bird and don't go nosing around places you shouldn't.  There's lots of traps around the captain's and officer's quarters...I don't think you are big enough to set one off, but if you did it would definitely end a pretty little thing like you.  Yes it would...yes it would. Whose a pretty little thing?  You are, yes you are..."

Her voice raises into a higher register as she begins to speak to Nox with the same kind of baby speech that humans always invariably take on with animals.

After about 30 minutes or so, she blows out her candle and turns over on her hammock, heading into the sweet arms of sleep.

So no posts since yesterday, I am going to take that as assent to move forward with our little story here.

As day breaks on the 4th day of your journey on the Wormwood, you come out on deck to find an eerie stillness.  The wind and waves are becalmed, and the ship does not seem to be moving very quickly.  While the sun has only just crested above the horizon the heat is already beginning to build, and between it and the humidity it seems it will be a very uncomfortable day if the wind doesn't pick up.

On the poop deck near the wheel you see the  captain in a close conversation with a woman with fire red hair and freckles dotting her cheeks.  She is nodding and leafing through a book.  

Plugg meets you as routine dictates, and sets about assigning tasks for the day.

"Right, we might be becalmed, but there's still work to do.  And riggers, be quick on the sails today.  Peppery'll be trying to kick us up some wind, but we need to make the most of what we can get."

 Actual duties assigned will be added in next post to prevent issues with dice roller that occurred in previous day's duty assignments.

 Varus: Rigging Repair - DC 10 Acrobatics or Athletics checks to climb, DC 10 Sleight of Hand Check to repair damaged ropes

Ventus: Line Work - DC 10 Strength or Dex check, DC 10 Con Save to avoid exhaustion

Builder: Rat Catcher - DC 10 Stealth, Survival or Dexterity check to catch enough vermin

Birel: Hauling Rope and Knot Work - DC 10 Athletics Check, DC 10 Con Save to avoid exhaustion

James: Repairs - DC 10 Dex check to sew sails, splice rope, and repair wood splintering

Sericea - Fishing: DC 10 Survival Check to fish - Kroop is drunk today, but not insensibly so.  Yay!

Go ahead and post your work rolls and take your one daytime action.  That will take us to a little after midday, which is where my next post will take place timeline wise.

 James wearily makes his way up to duty call feeling the effects from the rum. Once he was giving his daily job he heads off to try his hand at repairs again. He doesn't think today's repairs will go any better then yesterday's, but he will work diligently at the task. 

Dex Check for repairs: original roll was a 2

James will be spending too much time either trying not to loose his guts, or spilling them over the side of the ship to get any work done today.

Builder tries to catch rats, while looking for a chance to influence Jaundiced Jape...

Stealth:  20

Persuasion:  20

"You have to be one of the biggest males on this ship."  Builder says to the half-orc.  He goes on to help Jaundiced Jape with whatever task he is doing.

Sericea feels clearer-headed than she has in days, though her stomach still feels a little inside out. (No exhaustion, still some con damage)

In the morning, as everyone is heading to their jobs, she gives Ventus his coin purse back (30g).

She heads to the kitchen to see Ambrose. He seems nervous about the turtle soup fiasco, and tells her to fish for the day's dinner. She dons her straw hat and heads to the deck. Fortunately growing up on an island meant that she knew how to cast a line. As she stares into the deep waiting for a fish to bite, she tries to mentally reach out into the water. She can almost feel the fish swimming through it, and she guides her line towards them. Cast Shape Water.

DC10, using spell attack bonus from shape water: 6

Unfortunately, she still doesn't quite have the hang of it, and she scares away some of the fish.

While she is waiting for another school of fish, she tries to get close to the poop deck, where the captain and the red-headed woman were talking. She tries to overhear any conversations about the ships location or heading, or the captain's plans.

Daytime action: Sneak, perception check - poop deck: 4

Varus wakes up with another pounding head from the rum, choosing to focus on his work to mitigate the effects.

Athletics to Climb: 20

Sleight of Hand to fix: 7

Partial Update: Results for those that have posted daytime actions already.

James: The ropes seem to be swimming and squirming in your hands as you work to mend them by whipping them with smaller pieces of line or cover them over with tar.  You have a very difficult time making any kind of progress, but seeing you struggle Barefoot Samms Toppin comes over and helps while making conversation.

Rolling again for your advantage from the help: [roll]1d20+4[/dice] Messed up the tags...sigh.

16

"So what can you tell me about that cute blue guy that you came on board with?  He was a lot of fun last night...how wod a lass go about gettin' into his hammock ya think?"

Builder: (Persuasion check did not meet the DC to adjust a hostile mob, but very close) Jape looks down at you and grunts.  He makes a few hand signals that you don't understand, but a human female you have heard referred to as Tilly is standing next to him and translates for you.  " 'e says he don' want no trouble from you, but if you make some he will make sure Scourge knows.  'e takes some time to come aroun' to people 'e don't know.  Don worry to much about't."

(There are more NPCs than I have colors...ahhh!)

Sericea: It is just not your morning.  The fish seem skittish, and by the time you manage to make your way to the railing near the poop deck to fish the conversation between the captain and the woman that you gather is Peppery has come to an end.  The red haired woman leaves the poop deck on the opposite side of the ship from you and climbs up into the riggings.  Facing directly into the main sail she makes a few hand gestures and the sail fills for a moment with a breath of wind.  From this distance you can't really tell what she is doing, but it must be something that allows the wind to blow as the boat slowly begins to move through the becalmed water.

From this distance and with only being able to see the effects and not any of the components, we will make this a DC 11 Arcana Check: (everyone is on deck for this display, so anyone that is proficient in Arcana can make this attempt)

 The harder job of rating her power level will require a higher DC, lets say DC 16 Arcana Check for this spoiler:

 Varus: Despite the general queasiness and melange that you feel, the work passes simply enough.  You feel confident that by the end of the day no one will be able to complain about what you accomplished in repairing the rigging.

Birel cracks her neck and goes about her work today as well as she can, tying knots and hauling rope.

 Unfortunately, she's not used to tying the complex knots that these pirates need for the ship and does a poor job of it.

Arcana check to see understand Peppery's actions: 6

James looks up from his work as Barefoot Samms Toppin talks to him, "Blue guy? Oh, you mean Sir. Floatsalot. Honestly I don't really know much about him other then he can play some music. I guess you could just ask him directly, or maybe ask for a private music show I guess." James shrugs, "Thank you for the help. I'm not very good at repairs."

A bit woozy from the liquor, Ventus works twice as hard to make up for any mistakes he might make while affected by the liquor's after effects.

Dex: 22

Con Save: 14

Ventus, since you have advantage if you are working diligiently I am going to make your second dex roll before I make the next thread update:

Ventus Dex w, advantage...9 or 19.

Update coming in about 30 minutes when I finish typing it up.  Maybe longer...house work to do.

*Okay, that was a lot longer than 30 minutes...lol...sorry, wife wanted to go see a movie.*

As the day wears on and the sun begins to beat down more and more incessantly the temperature rises and tempers get short.  Plugg is rarely out of sight and is constantly over the shoulder of crew members.  He sneers at those that are not getting work done diligently, or those taking one to many breaks to go to the water barrels.

It is a little past mid-day when a sudden scream of alarm can be heard from below decks.  A bedraggled looking older female gnome with a single eye comes limping up from below deck, gripping one leg tightly as blood oozes between her fingers.

"Plugg!  There be somethin' down in the bilges.  Bit me it did!  Nasty bite too, nearly took my leg clear off."

Sandara rushes to the gnomes side and eases her down to the deck where she can see to the wound.  A pale old human with long shock white hair framing his sallow face wanders by, but seeing that Sandara has the situation in hand he walks away and into the officer's quarters.

"Easy there Giffer, you'll be okay."  Sandara's hand floats about a foot above the wound, holy symbol clutched in its grasp.  A soft green light emenates from the center of the symbol and the bleeding stops.  As Giffer removes her hand the bite mark has sealed up and looks like a week old wound.

Plugg wanders over and inspects the wound with a sigh.  "Probably some kind of vermin...Ambrose no doubt bought spoiled grain that he brought on board...they've been forced out of their hidey-hole by the heat of the day." His eyes wander about the crew looking for a likely sacrifice to go investigate.  Finally falling on James in a conversation with Samms Toppin, he walks over and grabs him up by the arm.  "You there!  Gather up yer friends and go down into the bilges to investigate.  Bring back what did this dead or don't bother coming back above deck."

*Your party has been "invited" to go down into the bilges to look for whatever bit Giffer Tibbs and kill it.  Make what preparations you feel you need and when you head into the bilges I will let you know what you see.*

Builder has the group pause as they go below decks, then moves to his hidey-hole and brings out the weapons he found that first day.  "We may want to have more than just our hands when we go down there."  He explains as he hands out three maces and takes a dagger for himself.

DM: I see this hidey-hole as something he actually made with his tools, knowing the ship's construction, so he was able to build a small cubby in an area of the ship, then use mending to fix the area so it could not be detected.

After James gathers everyone and tells them what is happening he makes his way to the quartermaster, "Um... Excuse me Miss. Did you happen to procure a greatsword by chance, and if so my I borrow it? Plugg kind of voluntold me and a few others to check the bilges and I'd rather not go in unarmed if there is something down there."

Birel follows James to the quartermaster as well, "I had a couple of handaxes. I can pay you for them, I'm not going down there unarmed."