To The Island!

[OGRE MAGE]

The Open Sea

After dropping the smaller craft off, the Twisted Fate heads back towards the dock with their full hold and a prize the townies weren't expecting. As soon as the ship is spotted, several folks rush down to the beach to welcome her in. Once word goes out about the several hundred pounds of meat that is also being dragged into shore, the entire town breaks out in a loud cheering and yelling.

Fitz watches as the captain brings the ship up to the docks to unload his cargo. The first thing he has his men do once they are tied off is to release the bluntskull carcass and float it into shore. A crowd of hungry looking townsfolk gather to drag the dead fish up onto shore to be processed. The people dont look as starved as the captain was saying initially, but every single one of them looks very appreciative to see so much food being brought into shore.

A rather large human woman shows up with a huge filet knife and starts hollering out orders to the others as she digs elbows deep into the huge catch. Everyone nearby helps with this chore while the sailors get back to their own business of unloading their ship. The common folks on board aid the captain with some of the smaller items, carrying them down the long floating bamboo dock to the sandy beach and beyond.

The captain looks upset about something as he continues calling out orders for everyone to grab an item as they disembark the ship. He looks down at Fittz with an inquisitive expression, but holds his tongue for a moment.

Actions?

Drakkar dwarven fighter (Holy_Rage)
Fitz gnomish illusionist/thief (Hedgeknight)

[OGRE MAGE]

Having arrived on deck, the Dwarf answers the Captain's silent summons.

[OGRE MAGE]

Captain Quark approaches Drakkar on the deck as the passengers are disembarking. "There ye are master dwarf. Say, are ye a stone worker by any chance? I have this tower on the beach, ya see." He points to the lone stone structure on the beach, a squat round 2 story tower with a burnt thatch roof that appears about to tip into the surf as it was clearly constructed too close to the constantly shifting sands. The building quality of the structure appears poor at best, even from a distance. It is only a matter of time before the thing falls over into the water completely.

"Do ye think ye could help with such a problem, sir? I would put ye in charge of the whole operation of moving it, or tearing it down completely, whatever ye deem the best fix. I have gold. Take a look and name yer price if yer interested. No need to let us getting off on a bad start stop ye from making a few coins while yer here, eh?"

[Holy_Rage]

Drakkar offers a gruff nod at Fitz as he eyes the diminutive figure, shielding his eyes momentarily against the sun's glare. He then fixes the Captain and after a long moment of silence, he finally growls: "This derelict tower be poorly built even by Human standards. I work nay stone regularly; I prefer gold and gems, but any Stone Kin worth them pick should be able to appraise an' fix such shoddy buildsmanship, if such is even possible."

The Dwarf suddenly points a stubby finger at Fitz. "I would have the Gnome see to the higher parts of dat ruin. He can climb where I mind little to do so. Ye speak wise words, Captain. If bloated fish be nay my thing, let none say Drakkar would shy away from honest toil. I will see the ruin and name a price soon after."

Turning to Fitz, he bellows: "What say ye, fellow Longspearan? Mind showing them Humans what the Short Folk can do and earn some gold?"

[hedgeknight]

Fitz was about to ask the Captain if he could recommend something for him to do, but when Drakkar offers his help with the tower, and asks Fitz to join in...

"Well now, that sounds like the kind of problem Yeomanry folk can fix right up! I'd be glad to help...say, for a few coins and maybe a place to bed down. Oh, and some decent food."

[OGRE MAGE]

Captain Quark laughs at the gnomes polite demands.

“Tell ye fellas what. Take a look at it and figure out what can be done. If ye decides ye want to do it, ye can sleep inside the place fer free till the work is complete. There are extra hammocks inside, and ol’ Clinton won’t mind a little company.”

“I can’t speak much fer the local grub. Randall’s stew is pretty bad, but it’s cheaper then Nehru......I mean ta say......Nallissa’s rations. There will be smoked fish enough for every person here fer several days, so ye can take advantage of that while it lasts. It makes me glad that we were able to bring that meat in fer these downtrodden folks. Ye should be proud of yer hand in it as well. Anyway, back to the construction job. Name yer price and if it sounds fair enough, the job is yers.”

[Holy_Rage]

"I knew ye had it in ye, Gnome. Yeomanry folk and especially the Longspear stouts got the icy breath of the Jotens in them. Let's get seein' that tower first; some smoked fish though first is in order. Three days' worth of provisions for food and water should be good.", Drakkar nods approvingly to Fitz.

"Who be dat ol' Clinton ye spoke of, Captain?", he grunts a question to Captain Quark.

[OGRE MAGE]

Quark smiles down at the dwarf.

"Clinton......Clinton Bigsby is me scribe and bookkeeper. He lives in that tower and keeps me business endeavors in order from here on the island. He keeps ta himself, mostly and dont say much otherwise. He aint the friendliest chap, but he is real good with the numbers. He is also my third cousin."

[Holy_Rage]

"Right. Always nice to talk business with someone tallyin' the gleamin' gold chunks so dear to many. Anythin' else we should know, Captain, before we embark on our task?", Drakkar offers impassively, stroking his beard as he eyes Fitz and the salted fish chunks lying about in a corner of the deck.

"Master Gnome, anythin' else we might need or ye wish to discuss before we set foot on land finally?", the Dwarf turns and asks Fitz too.

[hedgeknight]

Fitz

"I can't think of anything right off the top of my head," Fitz replies, looking back and forth between the Captain and Drakkar. "But I am eager for a bite and a drink and to meet this Clinton fellow."
Fitz smacks his head and wheels around.
"Oh yeah, how much are we getting paid for this job, Captain? Did I miss that part?"

[OGRE MAGE]

Quark looks down at the gnome. "I said ta name yer price, friend. As long as it don't break me, I think we can come to a fair agreement, eh?"

He sees Drakkar eyeing the fish and hears the gnome mention eating, again.

"Ye can take as much o the fish as ye like. Ye certainty earned it. Eat yer fill and look me offer over. Let me know what ye think. I'll be here, at least until me row boat is returned."

[hedgeknight]

Fitz shrugs and fires off, "How about 1000 gold? Ya know, 500 each."
He smiles and looks up at the Captain and then at Drakkar and then back at the Captain and then back at...well, you get the gist.

[OGRE MAGE]

Quark starts laughing.

"1000 gold? To fix a tower that I have about 200 stuck into it? No thanks guys. I will find someone else ta do it for a fraction o the cost."

"I was hoping that ye might at least look at it first, but I aint in the mood to become a victim of extortion."

[Holy_Rage]

Drakkar rolls his eyes and sighs pointedly. "Ye would be a fool to leave hagglin' over matters of stone an' masonry to anyone but a Dwarf when one is around, Captain. I say ye speak sense. Let us see what be the actual damage to yer property before we start pushin' gold wit' our tongues."

Turning to Fitz, he adds: "How about we actually check if the tower be salvageable... or beyond rescue first. Some honest toil, y' know."

[hedgeknight]

"Sounds good to me, Drakkar! Whatever you say, I'm in!"

Turning to Captain Quark. "Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers, good Captain. I just threw out a number. If you had said you only had 200 in the old tower... But anyway, what Drakkar said."
Fitz smiles good-naturedly; he really didn't mean to insult anyone; he actually knows nothing about construction.

[OGRE MAGE]

Quark nods again once the gnome has his say.

“Fine then. Have ye a look an let me know what ye think. I was thinking an offer of about 500 gold would be more reasonable, but ye can decide once ye sees it fer yerselves.”

The captain leans down and speaks much more quietly.

“Truth be told, I think it would look good for ye to do some hard work that would benifit the town and let the folks see ye doing it, too. Them invading Stonegut dwarves has everyone here in an uproar since they barged ashore. Ye seem like a decent fish, master dwarf. Ye have a disagreeable way about ye that I find......somewhat.......agreeable. I don’t want to see ye and yer hill kin here treated wrongly because of a mistaken association with them other dwarven rascals.”

[hedgeknight]

I had typed in 500 gold and was about to submit, and then changed to 1000 for some reason...maybe it was the whiskey

Fitz nods and says, "Right on, Captain! Let's go Drakkar. We can stop off for a quick bite before taking on the tower, okay?"
Fitz is already walking toward the smell of food, his belly grumbling.
When out of earshot of the Captain, Fitz says to Drakkar: "Ever heard of these Stonegut dwarves the captain was talking about? I'm wracking my brain, but can't really place them. Wonder what they have done? The captain used the word 'invading' > doesn't sound good, does it?"

[OGRE MAGE]

Whiskey makes a man greedy apparently.

I hope we didn't lose HR, but he did say he was sick recently, so I will give him a little more time before pressing this action.

[OGRE MAGE]

Beachtown?

Fitz and his new dwarven friend take their leave of the captain, agreeing to have a look at this falling tower and get back to him with a price.

It is easy enough to spot on the beach, as it appears to be the only stone structure that was built here so far.

As the pair make their way down the long floating dock, they find a rather huge gathering of townsfolk on the beach, huddled around the ongoing fish carving frenzy. There has to be at least 50 people gathered on the beach near the cook fires, all of them helping cut up and process huge chunks of meat from this amazing gift. Drakkar gets a few nasty looks as they pass the mostly human crowd, but none of the onlookers pay much attention to anything other than their celebratory filet fest. The people here all look a little down on their luck, but all of them seem very content at the moment. There is evidence of hardship and hunger, but the several hundred pounds of meat on the beach seems to have raised spirits here considerably. People are walking away with literally arms filled with fish meat to prepare for themselves and their families. Small fires are being started in several places around the town and the cook fires and smokers at the edge of the beach are stoked and loaded solid.

With the rest of the town nearly deserted as the frenzy builds, the duo make their way towards the tower. Fitz spots the tavern in the tree just past this tower almost immediately.

Treehouse (tavern) action can be found here if that is where you would like to find a meal: viewtopic.php?f=446&t=6325

[hedgeknight]

Fitz

The smell of fried fish makes Fitz's belly grumble so loud he figures Drakkar can hear it.
"Hey Drakkar! What say we get us a bite o' fish before we go look at the tower? This smells delicious!"

Without waiting for the Dwarf, the Gnome wanders off toward a one of the cook fires and looks for a plate or something similar to get something to eat. After a few seconds, Fitz asks whoever is closest, "Hey there! Ain't this something? Can a fellow get a plate of crispy critter? I have coins to pay for it."