Dragon Warriors 2:14

Criggen Varrus (10^th July 2013)

The Dragon Warriors

Aethelfrith – Thane

Sir Erich of Barton – Knight

Hillson – Warlock

Nazir al Khalid – Barbarian

Solaran – Elementalist

Karban Telos – Sorcerer

Mutiny? (Days 40-51 (120-131))

After about a week of travelling by sea under a steady wind, the companions made good headway around the cape and began their journey southwards towards civilisation again. They had cleared Glissom Sound and evaded the pirate hordes of the Bloody Bitch and had begun to show signs of relief when the acting captain advised them that they were running low on water and may need to put in to take on more supplies. This situation was resolved by the magic users putting their heads together and providing some plain food by way of magic.

Unfortunately,  just as they thought they only had a few more days left at sea, a storm arose which lasted two days, during which time they lost their way temporarily. Fortunately, according to their charts and the stars, they had actually made a good distance southwards under the heavy winds. The crew had begun to get a little more nervous now and were often seen huddling together in hushed conversation.

Sir Erich, Solaran and Hillson decided to take the acting captain to one side once the storm had died down to find out what was wrong. They found out that the crew were not happy. They had seen too many strange things happen and had met with too many dire denizens upon the waves; they were basically concerned about the levels of pay they were going to be getting on arrival at port, as even the amount they were promised by the previous captain (which had included danger money) was not enough, as this trip had proven more dangerous than they had ever imagined. Sir Erich and Solaran ran some quick calculations based on the rate of pay that the acting captain said they had been promised by the previous captain, offered the crew an extra 1/3, which was accepted, but came out only marginally out of pocket (by a total of 2 silver florins!).

The ship finally arrived outside the port of Criggen Varrus late on the evening of the twelfth day since they had set out from the Trickster’s cove. There were no pilots available to tow the cog into the harbour until the following morning so the crew and adventurers slept aboard the vessel at sea for one final night.

Criggen Varrus (Day 52 – early morning)

The following morning (day 13 at sea since leaving the cove) the pilot boat made its way out of the harbour towards them. They paid the fee to be towed into a suitable quay and docked with little fuss. The party immediately set about paying the crew for their services, but split the money in two; half now and the final payment the following day when the next full week was up – this was to stop them splitting as soon as they got their money, leaving the adventurers to unload the cargo on their own.

The sailors, overseen by Aethelfrith, Hillson, Sir Erich and Karban, were ordered to unload the cargo onto the dockside whilst Nazir and Solaran headed off to find a cart and warehouse space in which to store it until it was sold. This was quickly accomplished and the cargo was soon stowed away safely at a nearby wharf. The crew were given leave to go ashore, which they all did except for the acting captain and one sailor. They would be given their settlement the following morning when they returned to the ship.

The rest of the day was spent looking for merchants to buy their wares and a buyer for the boat itself.

Bar-room Brawl (evening)

Once everything had been sorted for the rest of the day, the adventurers split into two groups and set about either exploring the town or waiting for the merchants to arrive to sample the wares.

Aethelfrith, Karban and Nazir headed off to the nearest tavern as they had won the toss of the coin as to which group would venture out first. Whilst they were gone, several merchants arrived to take a look at what was stored in the warehouse. After negotiations had taken place, the goods were packed up and taken by cart to an armourer’s storehouse. The party were paid for half of the goods on the promise of the balance the following day; backed up by a notice of good faith.

Meanwhile, the other three had found a suitable drinking establishment and had set to feasting and enjoying themselves with aplomb. Over the course of the evening, Karban had attracted the eye of one of the tavern serving wenches. He thought it was because of his dashing good looks that he had accomplished this feat, but Nazir and Aetheflrith kept him on the right track by mentioning she was only being his best friend because she wanted him to spend more. As proof of this they showed him how she interacted with the rest of the patrons.

Towards the end of the evening, one of the other bar patrons decided he had taken a disliking to Karban and suggested that he left the tavern. Thinking that this might be a fight over the attentions of the bar maid, Karban stood his ground. Nazir and Aethelfrith folded their arms and awaited the outcome of the fracas. The drunken patron swung a punch at Karban but missed, but the wily sorcerer did not. Fists flew between the two assailants and the altercation grew when two bouncers moved in to break the fight up. Unfortunately the drunken thug’s companions decided to join in the fight too and it became a three-way fight between Karban, the thug and three of his cronies, and the bouncers.

Nazir and Aethelfrith decided to make their way out of the bar, signalling to the barmaid that they would call the watch. Karban, realising the attention had somehow slipped away from him, escaped the clutches of both the bouncers and the thugs and made his way outside too.

Upon reaching the street, they found that they had been followed by six more of the rowdy thug’s gang. They prepared to fight as Aethelfrith joined in from the rear after placating the bar maid and calling for the watch.

Not wanting a repeat performance of the last time they were in a street fight back in Glissom, no-one drew their weapons. The fight itself was over very quickly. The drunken yobs were no match for three seasoned adventurers in full armour and two were knocked unconscious very quickly. The rest turned on their heels and ran just as the watch arrived, who just took one look, saw that there was no real issue, shrugged their shoulders and left without a backwards glance.

New Beginnings (Days 53-59)

The following morning, the merchant was good to his word (and written contract) and turned up to pay the remainder of what he owed for the merchandise. He made a deal with Sir Erich to get some plate armour sorted for him, so he adjusted the costs accordingly. The armour would be ready for him in about eight days.

A short while later, all but three of the crew arrived and were fully paid up for the services of the last four weeks. They left without a backwards glance, most likely in the hope that they would never see that particular cog and its owners again. A few hours after that, two more of the crew turned up for their settlement, but that still left one who did not appear.

On the sixth day of carousing (the party had split into two groups – they took it in turns to either look for a buyer for the ship and guard it overnight, or spend the day feasting and drinking as was their wont), Hillson, Sir Erich and Solaran were out on the town. Hillson was approached by a man in the tavern they were frequenting and was offered a drink. Not one to turn down a free beer, he quickly partook of the offer and began to talk to the newcomer. Their conversation slowly got around to the selling of the cargo ship; this man said that he might know of a buyer, so he asked if he could give it the once over before reporting the details to his contacts. The three companions agreed to accompany him to the docks so he could give the ship his careful scrutiny.