Difference between revisions of "JesseLowe/PirateMonkeySession02"

Latest revision as of 21:47, 8 June 2010

• Back to Session 1: Shore Leave

This one's from Captain Kaizoku's perspective.

Monkey and Kaizoku are standing outside a tailor's shop in one of the Lookshy market squares, in the lower city. They've just finished discussing Monkey's foray into transvestism.

Monkey looks good in green.

Monkey points at a stall where some amphorae are being unloaded. "Didn't you say you need some liquid?"

Captain Kaizoku is looking around for a trading house in which to buy up more of the rarer goods stolen in the raid. Sucking in a breath, he patiently explains "Liquid ASSETS monkey. A ship is worth a lot, but you cannot spend it."

At the far end of the market you see a Guild merchant prince's mansion. It's probably your best bet for cornering the market on anything. If you play your cards right, you might even get him or her to help you.

Monkey scratches his head. "But wine's liquid. And it's definitely an - HEY, WAIT UP!"

Monkey catches up with Captain Kaizoku.

Monkey says, "Wow, big building. Wonder what the view is like from up top...."

Captain Kaizoku looks over to Monkey. "Now, I'm going to try some sophisticated dealings with this Guild prince Monkey. If there's anything you don't understand, remember it and ask me after we leave. But if he has his men try anything violent, go wild on them." With that futile gesture complete, he bangs on the door of the mansion and waits for the doorman.

Almost before the captain's fist falls to his side, the door opens, revealing an opulent and shadowed hallway. The doorman is a slightly built Easterner in pale green robes. He looks you over quickly and bows a moderate depth.

He says, "What may this humble servant do for you, sir?"

Captain Kaizoku returns the bow, but not as deeply. "I would speak with the prince of this mansion, of a matter of both profit and sensitivity" he replies evenly.

Monkey gives the doorman a big grin.

The doorman opens the door wider and and gestures for you to enter. "I will inform Lord Rivers of your visit. Please wait in the antechamber." He ushers you into a well-appointed room just to the left of the hall, where a veiled servant serves you a light wine in beautiful wooden vessels.

The servant waits by the door while you wait on the furniture. About ten minutes later, the doorman reappears. "Lord Rivers will see you now."

Monkey says, "Errr, is this one of those 'sit still and smile' occassion like last time?"

Monkey looks at Captain Kaizoku inquisitively.

Captain Kaizoku says "Of course" and follows one step behind the manservent, putting his glass down. "And yes, it is Monkey" he replies quietly. "And don't use any names unless I use them first."

Monkey nods and smiles and follows the Captain. Demurely.

The doorman leads you up a flight of stone stairs, robes swishing gently against a slight draft, and ushers you into a wide room. Tapestries adorn the walls and an open door to your right leads to a balcony overlooking the market.

Captain Kaizoku puts his hands behind his back and stands at the balconly, looking over it. "A good enough view?" he asks Monkey.

Also standing on the balcony is an old man, tall and thin, dressed in rich silks from the South. He turns as you walk out and bows -- barely. "I am Rivers, of the Guild. I understand you wish to speak of... business."

Monkey ponders.

Captain Kaizoku returns that bow just a hair deeper. "Indeed. I have goods and information, the latter will help inflate the value of the former, and of your goods as well" he offers. "Certain luxury items will be in short supply soon, and you can be the first to know of it."

The merchant prince's eyebrows rise a good inch. "May I ask how you come by this information? And shall we speak inside?"

The Storyteller rolled on something.

Captain Kaizoku follows the prince inside before replying "Pirates have just looted a treasure ship headed to the capital for a certain upcoming celebration. I am the first person to make landfall aware of this fact."

Monkey stays on the balcony.

Lord Rivers walks over to a large table in the center of the room and unrolls a fresh sheet of silk. He indicates a chair, and sits in another.

Monkey looks around to make sure that nobody's looking. And <woop>.

Monkey disappears.

Lord Rivers says, "I imagine you are, Captain. Very well. What sort of arrangement are we considering, here?"

TonyC [to Apollonian]: AFK.

TonyC decides that saving the world takes priority over chatting and disappears.

The Storyteller . o O ( We'll go to telling for the moment, over playing it out. What does the Captain want?" )

Captain Kaizoku takes the offered chair. "Now, the time is right to buy up certain silks and wines and other things. I wish to see the prices rise as high as possible, and I believe so do you."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( To buy up and hoard more of the goods looted from the ship in order to raise the prices and force House V'neef to empty its coffers more, then flood the market after they've committed a lot of resources to replacing the stolen goods )

The Storyteller . o O ( So are you just offering this to him or do you want something from him? It's very valuable information, so just giving it to him will probably make him wary. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Also, are you using any Charms? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( To make a deal regarding the sale of the goods... he'll hold them and buy more, then split the profits when the time comes to sell. And yes, Harmonious Presence. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay, roll Wits + Bureaucracy + the dice from HP. )

The Storyteller rolled on something.

TonyC takes a break from saving the world and wanders in.

TonyC [to Apollonian]: Back.

You rolled 9 dice on Wits + Bureaucracy + charm >>> {8, 1, 10, 8, 2, 4, 7, 9, 9}.

The Storyteller . o O ( Ooohhh, yeah, he's persuaded. )

Monkey climbs up the roof to the highest point in the building and stays there for a few minutes enjoying the view.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( And he'll make it clear this is not a one-time deal... that there will be more times where he gets this sort of information in advance. )

Lord Rivers' suspicion crumbles before Captain Kaizoku's persuasive words like sand before an onrushing wave. Within minutes of hearing the proposal, he has dispatched letters to factors all along the coast and has ordered that his people personally buy up all the stock that they can in Lookshy.

He also offers to help you liquidate any of the goods you might have, immediately, at a good price.

Monkey walks down the roof leisurely, whistling, back toward the balcony.

Captain Kaizoku steeples his fingers and smiles thinly as the arrangements are made. "Excellent, my lord. I look forward to a long and profitable association" he says. "I fear other business calls out of the city, but I will return within the month"

Lord Rivers nods, feverishly thinking of other things. "Very well. I look forward to seeing you again, captain."

Monkey rolled on something.

Monkey peeks back from the balcony, hanging upside down.

Captain Kaizoku extends his hand. "Until then." he says, confident that this information will remain secret, lest Lord Rivers lose his edge. He looks around for Monkey and bites on his lip as he sees him hanging down, dress doubtless flopping over his head. Monkey flips down.

You say, "I believe we are done here Monkey, so we will move on to our next errand..."

Monkey nods.

Lord Rivers shakes the captain's hand, then motions to one of the several messengers who are now milling around to show you out the door.

The Storyteller rolled on something.

The Storyteller rolled on something.

The Storyteller rolled on something.

Captain Kaizoku departs at a good pace, and doesn't address Monkey until they are well down the street. "Do you understand the plan?" he asks Monkey for some reason.

Monkey walks behind the Captain, eyes wide.

The Storyteller . o O ( Any other business you want to conduct in Lookshy before leaving? )

Monkey says, "Buy liquids? Yes, but how are we going to drink them all?"

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( No, the rest of the business is doing up fruit crates to hold the artifacts in for the trip up to Nexus. )

Monkey says, "I saw a couple of really nice ships rounding the cape."

Captain Kaizoku lifts an eyebrow. "Oh? What were they like?"

Monkey says, "Are you sure we couldn't just go now and take one of those ships?"

Monkey says, "Warships. The kind that has been chasing us for a while."

The Storyteller . o O ( In any case. You meet the officers back at the boats. Everyone's been fairly successful in their errands, and they've just finished boxing up the loot. The same old men are still working on their nets. )

Captain Kaizoku hmmmms. "No, we are not. We are going to be telling people our ship is in various places. Then they'll get distracted by the time we're ready to take a ship. You know what happens when you stand watch?"

Monkey says, "I saw them dumping something, or maybe it was someone jumping off. But they aren't staying though. They kept going downriver. So if we want to take one of the ships, we should move quick."

Monkey says, "No? Oh well."

The Storyteller . o O ( The purser has found a decently fast ship to take you east to Nexus. It's run by fairly competent captain working for a company of adventurers, eager for profit. The ship will leave at dawn tomorrow, or a little after. )

You say, "But it is interesting that they dumped something. How fast can you get there and back?"

The Storyteller . o O ( It'll take about three hours round trip. )

Monkey says, "In this outfit? Might take a while? I can't swim fast with all these clothes on."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Greets the crew and informs them that his plan has gone well, and that he's pleased with the ship. )

Monkey twirls for the officers. "People here dress in the darnedest thing.s"

There's a good bit of muffled snickering, but overall the officers are appreciative.

You say, "Then I think we'll take one of the ship's boats out for a cruise in the meantime. Master at arms, you're with Mr. Monkey and I."

You say, "In the meantime Mr. Mate, see if these fisherfolk would like to become boat owners after we leave""

The men quickly unload one of the boats, and you push off. An hour and a half of rowing later, you arrive at the cape, near where Monkey thinks they dumped... whatever it was.

The Storyteller . o O ( Make Percpetion + Awareness checks. )

Monkey looks around.

You rolled 4 dice on Per >>> {1, 10, 8, 10}.

Monkey says, "I don't think whatever it was is here still. Hey, maybe it sunk. Or if it's a person, maybe a shark ate him. Want me to swim down and see if I can find the shark?"

The Storyteller . o O ( Captain, you see what looks like a body floating in the water off to port. It's already half eaten, of course. )

Captain Kaizoku draws his blade and points to the body. "Perhaps later Mr. Monkey, but that half will do first. Go and fetch it"

Monkey looks down at the dress.

The Storyteller . o O ( Monkey, roll Strength + Athletics. You need two successes. )

You say, "WithOUT the dress"

Monkey shrugs and _was_ about to jump when Captain Kaizoku said it.

Monkey takes the dress off first then.

Monkey rolled on Str+Ath..

TonyC [to Apollonian]: Hey, whatchooknow, 2 successes.

Monkey swims toward the body and drags it back toward the boat.

TonyC [to Apollonian]: Does it smell yet?

Monkey dives in like a fish and hauls the corpse back to the boat. He climbs back in as the Captain and the Master at Arms gaze at the grisly sight.

Apollonian [to TonyC]: Oh yes.

Captain Kaizoku instructs "Put the hook out for him, Master at arms" as he keeps an eye out in all directions for trouble.

Monkey makes a face. "Pheeeyuw."

Monkey says, "Must been dead for a while. He's smelly now."

Captain Kaizoku turns his nose up at the sight. "The Realm's navy rarely dumps bodies at all, much less so close to shore... There must be a reason."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Looks the body over for anything unusual. )

Make a quick Intelligence + Medicine roll.

You rolled 2 dice on Int >>> {4, 6}.

TonyC [to Apollonian]: I want to say plague, but I'm not sure if Monkey will know that much.

Apollonian [to TonyC]: Make a roll.

TonyC [to Apollonian]: No medicine. Straight Int roll.

The Storyteller . o O ( You can suggest it, but neither of you can tell the difference between this body and a perfectly healthy, albeit dead and half-eaten, specimen. )

Monkey says, "Well, maybe it's plagued. Or maybe this sailor was cursed."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Can he check with Lore or Sailing to see if it was a sailor or non-sailor? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Sure -- make a Perception + Sailing check, difficulty 3, to see if his hands bear the calluses of a sailor )

TonyC [to Apollonian]: The corpse is nobody I know, right?

You say, "Sea animals aren't so quick to eat a plague-ridden body Mr. Monkey."

Apollonian [to TonyC]: Correct.

You rolled 8 dice on Per + Sail >>> {8, 3, 8, 5, 5, 10, 5, 1}.

Monkey says, "Hey, maybe it's someone the Guild wants to make disappear. Like in the plays!"

The Storyteller [to Captain Kaizoku]: You realize that not only was this wretch -- male, btw -- not a sailor, but was manacled for a very long time. He has grievous scarring on his wrists and ankles.

You say, "The Guild doesn't use warships Mr. Monkey, and they would not have anyone but a galley slave in chains. A ship full of prisoners could be very useful. Can you identify the ships if you saw them again?"

Monkey nods enthusiastically, "Sure!"

TonyC [to Apollonian]: Of course, we'll have to see whether Monkey's memory next week is as good as it is now. :)

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Which way were they headed? Up to Nexus or down and out into the sea. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Nope, just mark those ships for when the crew gets to Nexus. )

TonyC [to Apollonian]: I searched my mind, but can't think of anything that's immediately important.

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay. The rest of the stay in Lookshy goes smoothly. The captain of the ship you've booked passage with informs you that it's a seven-day journey -- it'd be quicker, but he has a few stops along the way. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Both of you make a quick Perception + Awareness roll )

You rolled 4 dice on Per >>> {7, 7, 2, 5}.

The Storyteller . o O ( About halfway through the voyage, you realize that you're being followed by a small ship with a black sail. Before you can do anything about, though, the river pirates attack. So we'll pick up there next time. )

Monkey says, "Arrr."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Do you have information how big the ship we're travelling on is, or is that info for next time? )

The Storyteller . o O ( The ship is a decent-sized merchant brig. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( OK. I'll clean up the log and get it to you shortly. )

TonyC [to Apollonian]: Hmmm, I don't think I have my Flame Pieces with me. Nor was I expecting trouble.

The Storyteller . o O ( look on Savage seas page 55 -- the Coastal Trader. )

On to Session 3: White Soul Weeping