Varus rushes over to Birel, swinging both handaxes at the rat.

Attack: 25 Damage: 7

Attack: 24 Damage: 5

Builder's dagger flies wide, sinking into the wood of the wall behind the rat.  Birel however is able to quickly finish the creature with a few deft axe swings.  The sounds of squeeking die away and you are left in an uncomfortably warm and humid hold with several dead rats of various sizes.

*Combat is ended.  You can now decide what you would like to do next  if anything RP wise, after that (sometime tonight or tomorrow) I will be posting our next bloody hour.*

The rats do not carry anything loot wise, but you do have 6 dead giant rats (beasts of small size) and 18 dead rats (beasts of tiny size) whose corpses are not entirely destroyed, if there is anything you would like to do with them.

Birel starts scooping up rats and putting them into piles. "What do you think we should do with the bodies?"

"I say we throw them into the ocean, as that's the only place they'd get eaten, the little devils." Ventus calls from his place on the lower deck, refusing to go down into the bilges and be near the larger rats.

"Oh come on Ventus," Birel laughs, "They're not going to hurt you anymore."

Builder climbs down and retrieves the dagger he threw.

"Do you wish to keep the maces I handed out earlier, or should I replace them in the hole I created?"  He asks the others.  "Also, are we not suppose to bring one up to show the captain what we were sent to do is done?"

James picks up one of the more intact giant rats and tosses it up  and out of the bilges. "We can't really just leave them down here. Sure the rats that aren't dead will eat them, but then we will just have this problem again. I say to let the cook have them, after we prove there was an issue."

Birel nods and starts scooping them up and tossing them up. "Better to bring them up than leave them down here."

Sericea grimaces at the rat corpses floating in the water, but then she remembers how poor a job she did of finding fish earlier. "Well, I suppose the food can't get any worse around here, I guess some fresh meat wouldn't hurt!"

The party gathers sufficient corpses to show Plugg of evidence of the completed job, and Sericea gathers the rest (with some help) to take to Ambrose as a substitute for fresh fish.

As you come out victorious onto the middle deck you are met by a smiling Grok.  "Well, that was quick work.  I have to say I am impressed.  So, you lot borrowed that big plank of a sword and one hand axe I think righ?  I don't like makin' a huge deal outta stuff, but like I said...I'm not goin' in the box or worse getting keelhauled for accusal of stealin.  You get the coin to buy these out from me and I'll give you a right fair price."

She stands in the way of the hatches heading up to the main deck, intending to ensure that the loaned equipment is returned.  (If you would like to discuss the sale price or make any skill checks to convince her to leave the gear with you or obtain others you may retconn that in.)

Sericea heads to the galley to check in on Ambrose.  He smiles as he turns to her, bleery and red eyed indicating that he has indeed been in the hooch, as always.  But fully ambulatory despite the powerful drink.

"Lass!  Its good to see you back so early.  Di'ja get the fish?"  He notices the pile of rats in her arms.  "Oh, I spose not then eh?  You know those aren't fish doncha?"

The rest of the party head up on deck with the heads of two of the giant rats.  Plugg is there to greet you.  "So, none of you died down in the bilges.  Maybe you aren't a useless bunch of carbuncles stuck to the side of the hull then.  Well, what are you waitin' for?  Get back to yer duty stations, jobs aren't done for the day!"

*There are a couple of different RP prompts in here, so I am going to leave it there for tonight.  Interactions that you guys start will be responded to tomorrow...and bloody hour once those are resolved.*

Sericea carries the rats into the galley, her mind spinning about her newfound ability to seemingly control water and ice. When Ambrose speaks to her it takes a moment for her to remember the situation with the fish.

She puts on a sheepish grin and acts as if Ambrose has just made a delightfully witty joke. "Oh of course, I'm not that wet behind the ears! It's just that I had such bad luck fishing today, what with the poor weather..." (she gambles that he has spent the whole day belowdecks) "We did clear out the bilges though, and so I was wondering, does that cookbook of yours have any recipes for giant rat?"

Builder would just return to his work.

"Just um... one question," Birel asks before going above deck. "I'm not sure if you would be able to sell it to me, but how much would it be to get my longbow back?"

Sericea: Kroop fixes you with a knowing look and smiles.  "To warm for the fish to want to come out of the water you reckin'?  Alright then.  We'll do what we can, won't be the first time I've tried to pass rat off as something more palatable.  It's more work though, you are going to have to help out here.  Start by skinning those rats and gutting them.  Nothing will give the secret away quicker than fur in the stew, so make sure you do a proper job.  After that we'll see how much meat we can get offa them and what we can do with it."

You are going to get a second chance at salvaging your work rolls for the day Sericea.  Make a Dexterity (Cooking) check for me.  With the quality of the supplies in the kitchen you do get to add your proficiency bonus to this.  Roll poorly and the Captain will know that the kitchen tried to serve him rat.  That probably won't go well.  Good luck.

Birel: Grok nods, thinking back on the bow.  "It was a nice one, I remember.  Come on back and let's take a look at it." She leads you through the galley to her shop, where she goes to a barrel of staves and pulls out your longbow, unstrung for storage.  "Fine craftsmanship.  You said you made this yourself?  Rightly nice, I like a woman that has a craft.  Normally I would want 75 for something like this.  But your lot has been good to Kroop and the others so far, and you seem like good folk."  Her finger runs down the scrollwork of the bow arm as she ponders.  "I don think the captain got too close of a look at this, so if it were to go at a lower price it probably wouldn't raise any eyes.  Tell you what, 50 gold and a favor later on.  Don't need anything just now, but sometime later.  What do you say?"

You are in to bartering with her now.  She has given what she feels would be a fair price, but you might be able to get her lower with RP and the application of a social skill (likely Persuasion, Intimidation, or Deception).

Since daytime task rolls have already been resolved we are just looking to take care of these RP things before we move on...The rest hang out for me...if you have any RP you would like to do have at it.

While Birel barters with Grok, James will take a minute to zone out and check in on Nox to see how he is doing.

As you connect with Nox you are immediately assailed by a feeling of pure contentment.  At first you are unable to see anything, as if his eyes are squeezed shut; but as you take control and open the eyes you see the face of Caulky Tarroon up close.  She apparently has had a moment of a break from her shipboard duties for the day and has come to her room to hold Nox.  As you watch she extends a single finger to softly brush over your (Nox's) head; the feeling is intoxicating.  As she pets you (him) she hums a simple melody to herself.  Your (His) eyes again close involuntarily as you (he) lean into the finger and continue to enjoy the pet.

Nox seems quite happy with his current arrangement, but has nothing of import to share with you except that scritches feel good.

Birel breaths out slowly, not concern so much about how to lower the price but knowing that it's okay. "Just got to figure out how to get that kind of money when I'm kind of trapped on this ship. Not like we're getting paid for this," she mostly laughs to herself.

Grok smiles and nods in understanding.  "True, no money until there be booty.  But there's always ways to make a little coin.  Hog Lob an' Arm Wrestlin'.  Heave too if've got the stomach for it, but honestly I've seen to many fall on that and not get back up.  If you don think you can win yerself you could always bet on someone else."

She looks out the window of her shop to make sure no one else is listening in. "And don't tell nobody I said this, but if you were to come into property that used ta've been somebody else's cause they didn't secure their locker proper...well, less they can prove yer the one that stole it...right?" She winks at you, but then her smile falls realizing she may have given you an idea counter to what she was implying.  "But don't go stealin' in here.  I knows what I've got.  And everything here is rightly the captain's.  You don't steal from Harrigan and keep breathin' air."

"Oh, I would never," Birel says. "You run a very fair shop. I would never do anything like that to you. Especially since something tells me I would be dead before I got the chance."

James zones back in scoffing, "Spoiled bird." he says more to himself. He leans the great sword up against a wall and steps back from it turning to Grok. "Thank you for letting me borrow that, it really came in handy."