The night eventually passes and your last bit of sleep before dawn finds you waking to a much more tolerable rhythmic motion. The ship must have changed course and the waves, although still large, are further apart and much less upset than they were last night. The rain has stopped and is replaced by intermittent, chilly banks of thick fog. The wind still gusts but is much less volatile and dangerous. You make it up to breakfast and find the usual fare and drink present. Ziller is already eating breakfast with a tired Captain Billings, Zimba the southerner sergeant and weapons master, Blic the halfling lookout and finally Sorel the half-elf, half- easterner human sailor. Shanny’s tea is still there and ready to combat queasy stomachs but this morning the motions of the ship are much more steady and acceptable. The halfling commander takes his time to talk with each you about your training to date and the skill sets and needs you have in addition.
You each get plenty of time to speak with him about these matters and after the morning meal, everything is settled. The bow specialists will train with Blic, who as it turns out was sergeant in the halfling army before their homeland was destroyed and he joined the Hatmarin. Caelvanna and Griffo will begin training with Blic, as well as Thalion. The Sylvan elf has decided and had already planned to become specialized with the bow for awhile now. Ulrich has spent most of the first week praying and meditating with and offering his ministrations to Jovak. The dwarven general is doing much better now and so Ulrich will now begin his nautical and sailor training with the crew and his martial training and weapon’s exercises with Zimba. Both the southerner sergeant and Ziller himself will switch off handling Bog’s specialized longsword training. When not handling internal ship’s business and training with the burly half-orc Bogdan, Ziller will be supervising the half-elf Sorel as he offers his experience and training in the stealthy arts and various methods of assessment, observation and cunning to both Lauranna and also Thalion. It appears that Emm has the invitation of working with the gnome woman and Billy’s sister Tamara on learning about various holistic and natural remedies and curatives. Every member of the party also has the option of continuing their regular martial and nautical training if so desired.
~ Day 8 progresses along steadily and the first day of specialized training is supplemented by the need for the continued maintenance and attention to one’s balance. The big rolling waves and gusty bursts of wind finally begin to die down towards the end of the cold and cloudy day as Hazara begins her pre-evening assault on a very dark western horizon. The wind still pushes in from the west more than before, the captain and his crew struggle to sail the Seahawk west save for brief times when they can find relief from the wind and tides. A thick bank of dark fog has formed in the west and the usually powerful and evoking sunsets are relegated to near nothing and pass quickly to bring in the night.
Dinner comes and is its normal, welcoming drink and fare, made enjoyable again by the return of the mellower seas and conditions now that the storm has passed. The day’s training was long and hard but very fruitful and rewarding. You’re all impressed at just how experienced those you train with are. They have a discipline and exacting natural that portrays a lifetime of training and service. There’s definitely much more to this crew of old soldiers and sailors than meets the eye. Even the other passengers you all sail with are all skilled individuals of one kind or another. Gentleman Billy comes from a wealthy family of merchants and is retired master thief. His older half-sister, the Lady Tamara, is an accomplished thief and adventurer and speaks many different languages. She is the wife of the elder half-elf that was shot by the female assassin back on the trail. Master Jarrel is a very wealthy trader and former spy and operative of the Allied Alliance that served under Ziller during the Great War. It turns out that uncle Ziller was a full colonel of Allied Army Intelligence before he became the overall commander of the Hatmarin Division. He was assigned to serve with Jovak during the Great War. Jovak was not only a general of the Allied Armies and a huge war hero in his own right, but a dwarven high lord and the former leader of the Obsidian Order, a specially-trained and very secretive group of dwarven cleric-fighters. The older gnome woman and her male counterpart are brother and sister and both descendents of a royal gnomish bloodline. Lady Jennynia is an accomplished alchemist and a skilled holistic healer as it turns out. Her brother, Master Najania is not just an engineer and astronomer of great renown among his people but is considered the leading authority in ancient archeology and technologies. The very old and venerable nobleman Ziffiris, another near victim of the assassin and also on the road to recovery in the hold, turns out to be the former sage of the royal court and advisor to the now past and always benevolent King Karagonia the First. He is a very old man and reputed to have knowledge in the arts of magic and illusions.
Regardless of their race and station, they are each of them renowned individuals of their own people and also veteran members of the Hands of Balance. They have all of them sworn to fight the corrupt King Karagonia the Second and the true puppet masters of the crown. They are all advocates, supporters and would-be avengers and protectors of the people. Each of them share in the continued hope to one day end the people’s sufferings and persecutions and would see them returned to a life of true peace and prosperity as it was before the war. Now that you have officially joined with the Hands, just as your benefactors, you feel that you are now a part of something that is both righteous and empowering. You find that many of your anxieties and uncertainties are now offset with the new hope and growing desire to strike a real blow, and not just for the people but for yourself. You cannot help but wonder and think of what the near future will bring, and it is these very thoughts that take hold to sway and tease you as the time to turn in for the evening again arrives. The calmer seas, the hard physical and mental training and the hearty dinner recently consumed invites a longer and deeper sleep than previously possible. The previous nightmares and flashbacks from the trail still linger but remain absent of enough detail and profligacy to interrupt tonight’s voyage through dreamland and the night passes without incident.
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~ Day 9 finds you awaking to strangely calmer seas than you’ve felt since just before dawn. You emerge from your bunks, cots and hammocks to head to breakfast and are greeted with very different conditions when you emerge on deck. There is a ominous grey fog everywhere that surrounds the Seahawk and it seems the winds have died down substantially. Hazara’s normally mighty and prolific golden rays of sunlight appear unable to penetrate the thick, gloomy mists and there is tension evident on the visages of the sailors not witnessed since that dreadful night you first boarded the Seahawk. The morning meal is quick and businesslike and nothing but the poor weather conditions are discussed. Billings and the crew seem anxious so breakfast is finished and the day’s training begun. He states that because of the very limited visibility, they could potentially come within a few hundred feet of a ship or another contact before noticing. He asks that you not yell or call out and not make any unnecessary loud noises as such. Training is modified accordingly and the day’s duties and errands get underway. In addition to many of the loaded heavy crossbows seen lying about for easy access, Gramps and Bradley are manning two newly-installed ballistae halfway down the port and starboard rails of the forecastle. The tension is noticeable throughout the day as the bad weather doesn’t lift. Most of the sailors remain quiet about it but old Gramps admits that the fog and very light winds could be taken as portents of bad things to come.
Regardless, the crew go about their regular duties as you conduct your training. The day seems to drag on, and other than a near collision with what appeared to be a large sea creature of unknown type and disposition, it proceeds otherwise uneventfully. Mighty Hazara is again hidden from view as the day comes to end and she slides down toward the western horizon. It seems impossible to know the exactly time or even what direction and speed is being made, but by the look on Billing’s and his officers’ faces, it must not be satisfactory. The evening is ushered in and dinner, much like the morning meal, is quickly confronted and completed. Billings hopes that sometime during the night the thick sea fog will break open enough for them to see the stars and get their bearings. He admits to be concerned that they might have already sailed too far north. He does not want to approach the main islands of Sprice Tridents from the north, due the treacherous reefs present nor being spotted by the natives there. He goes over emergency procedures of what to do if they strike a reef or impact a ship or other object. Dinner reaches its conclusion with an uneasy feeling and you find yourselves hoping that the fog will lift and give the crew an idea of where they are and hopefully how far away from the rendezvous point you are at present. Both tired from the day and meal, you retire to your bunks for the night...
... The calm seas are surprisingly troublesome to those trying to reach the realm of sleep. Every time the Seahawk creaks or makes an unexpected noise, the following silence is deafening. When sleep finally comes, it’s fitful and lacking at best. The night creeps desperately slow. Sometime well after midnight, just as most everyone is finally coming to terms with their uneasy sleep, your bunk, cot or hammock lurches. You snap awake, unsure if what has just happened was real or a dream. Before you can be sure, a scream from somewhere up on deck rips open the silence of the night, followed in quick succession by at least two whistle blasts and the warning cries of other sailors…
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Declared Actions?
Questions?
OOC: ok gang, no need for an initiative roll here so please just post declared actions. All pms have finally gone out: *** Please read those before responding here! ***
~ Of the sleeping locations notated, those in the the forecastle or stern castle would be able to respond quicker than those sleeping down in the hold, say in about half a round versus a round. The longer time coming from the hold indicates the steep stairs to the landing above the galley and then up either the port or starboard cargo ramps that lead up on deck.
*** Please be sure to note your character's sleeping locale (if not already done). Also make sure that (where applicable) all new stats, Thac0, prepared spells, etc. are listed on character/battles sheets ***
As always, let me know if you need any further clarifications. Please be sure that your character sheets have your new stats and any current spells noted!
HPs/Status: Bog 16/16 ; Caelvanna* 15/15 ; Emm 7/7 ; Griffo** 17/17 ; Ulrich 13/13 ; Lauranna 6/6 ; Thalion* 9/9
WIH (primary/secondary): Bog – longsword; Caelvanna – short bow (reg. arrows fired-15, silver arrows fired-6); Emm – scimitar/SC ; Griffo – longsword/shield (reg. arrows fired-15); Ulrich – staff/SC; Lauranna – short sword/SC ; Thalion – longsword/dagger (SC = spell component/spell to cast)
M.O./Location 1: Bog, Thalion*, Griffo*, Caelvanna* , Emm , Lauranna ; Ulrich (all at breakfast in the stern castle)
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