Adventure 4

       As the adventurers laid in their swaying hammocks, the coffee finally wore off and they had the chance to sleep before their departure tomorrow, where they would embark on finding a new harbor and securing the location for the South Zephyrian Trading Company. Midst the calm ocean setting, Dali was in a fit of terror as she dreamt:
     
       She was just outside of a farm, that looked like any other until she walked closer to the fence. She noticed all the farm animals were bipedal, not much different than her elegant, lizard-human hybrid race of the Vishkanyas. As she leans in to hear the whispers of humanoid-cattle she is repelled as they whisper "just for the masters...waiting for the masters...masters are coming" but can't hold attention too long as her head jerks towards where someone was screaming her name: it was Skrim. The male ratfolk had a leash around his neck, and was clawing at the ground to try and stop being pulled into the barn behind him. He yells repeatedly for her to run, and uncontrollably, she does just that.
   
       It was then morning and the ambassador/amateur innkeeper, the ever-pleasant but down on himself Therion, had made them a meal made from hardtack and ham, and a drink of his own creation. Kahlo, made from rum, light coffee beans, coca and banana was just up Quinn and company's alley (all but Castillo, who couldn't stomach it). Sitting down in the long, ranch-style inn, Chuntaka noticed Skrim isn't at breakfast. Back in the open sleeping room, Skrim could not be wakened. As the rat rolled to the side the fox noticed a dart in the side of Skrim's neck, no longer than 3/4". He pulled it out and Skrim slumped in his hammock, no sound could be heard save for Kane, Skrim's  riding husky, whimpering, knowing that something was wrong with his master and best friend. By this time everyone had made it back to the hammocks. Talking about what to do, Quinn notices a similar dart in the neck of Dali, who becomes dizzy and has to take a seat when it's pulled out. Upon everyone freaking out looking at each others necks, they notice Castillo and Quinn don't have one, only Chuntaka and the other two. Bringing the three darts to the magic shop after Chuntaka and Dali recover, the potionsmith whispers intently that they are arcane in nature, but would need much further inspection to figure out what they do, given most of the animal-hybrid adventurers didn't react too badly.

       Therion giving his promise to take after Skrim, the party leaves for the dock to pick up their adventure gear. Upon arrival Captain Saber asks where the rat was, and after the party hinted that his sickness was not natural, Verdana threw a fit yelling at them to not let Skrim stay alone on this island. Chuntaka and Castillo bolt towards the inn, competing against each other for Verdana's approval. The challenge is too much for Castillo, resorting to tripping and pushing the kitsune out of the way, which the fox-boy dodged easily. Back on the dock with the unconscious Skrim, Verdana was standing her ground against Uncle, stating that there was no way the ratfolk wasn't getting on board with them.

       Once on board the Athan Miere with New Zephyr behind them, Captain Saber cheered up a bit, but before he could tell the crew what was in store, Chuntaka asked to see him in his quarters. In the dim light the kitsune brawler revealed the gleaming golden box with the serpentine cat embellished upon it. After answering Saber that he had found it in the monkey's alarming huge treasure trove, the captain answered Chuntaka's questions. This was the spice, a drug for the wealthy and privileged, unlike any other. Saber did not know what it did, or how much it actually cost, but he was delighted to know what it actually looked like. He told Chuntaka they were headed for a small, caved island in search for the burnt orange, black and bright yellow tea leaf-shaped spice. Telling the crew and adventurers they were trying to go in to business for themselves, trading spice across the seas, becoming wealthy and affording a fleet of ships, they went on to play liar's dice until they arrived at the island.

       Chuntaka, being mischievous and cunning by nature, went on a campaign to infuriate Castillo by flirting with Verdana, the windfinder of the Athan Miere. Castillo was pushed to the point of making a bold move on Verdana, who wants nothing to do with him. As she prepared a spell to cast on him, he took the opening to attack her lips, landing a kiss before he was teleported onto the sailboat being pulled by the Arythean ship, slamming into the deck from 50 feet up. The rest of the adventurers, along with Captain Saber, joined him on the small sailboat when the island cave was in sight. Saying that these islands, and land in general, were damned, the captain did not accompany them, but reminded them of what they're looking for. Walking into the cave circumscribed by azure-blue waters, Dali lit the way with her dancing lights and the sunrod the party received in their adventure pack earlier. They reached a beach inside the large cave entrance, which a flock of giant crabs was hiding in. After a gritty battle of shooting off claws and escaping pincers, the party agreed the only way further into the cave was to dive into the water. Dali and Chuntaka volunteered, swimming 60 feet under before reaching the beach on the other side, made completely of pummeled rock. After telling the others where to go, they reached the cavern with little problem, reaching the rocky inner shore and shining their lights over their head.

       What they found looked like a last stand and a massacre mashed up together. Skeletons laid about that showed exactly what they were doing in their final hour. Two had dice cups still turned over, four more had bottles in their hand around a campfire long gone out, human bones scarcely piled in the cauldron from no doubt their last meal. As the adventurers' eyes lock in on the treasure, they saw a pirate captain still embracing his treasure horde as if it were a warm bed. Quinn O'Malley's curiosity got the best of him, going over to the dice cups to see what their rolls were, and to his surprise the hand grabbed him. As the skeleton crew reanimated back into life, the dead captain announced no one is getting near his treasure, given it's rightfully his even in death. Chuntaka, Quinn, and Castillo leapt into a swashbuckling fight, the strikes of the kitsune, the gunslinging of a buccaneer, and the dazzle of a rapier/dagger combo against the rusty cutlasses of the long dead. Dali began to cast offensive spells, felling the bones of those touched, as the onslaught of the massive skeleton crew ensued. Panic comes to Castillo when the bones of a scallywag skeleton began to rise again shortly after cutting it down. O'Malley used his cutlass and pistol as Chuntaka engaged the captain. The damned man swung at the fox with a large falchion, and Chuntaka answered with furious swipes, leaving the captain in pieces as the other skeletons turned to dust. The adventurers began to look around, Chuntaka and Quinn finding a pair of skeletons with their heads together, one bullet hole entering a skull and exiting the other. Quinn grabbed the pistol and rifle, broken as they were, and hoped he had better luck the next time he repaired a firearm. Dali warned the party the treasure had a curse on it, sensing the magic that came from within the trove. Castillo, Quinn, and Pokko the monkey paid little heed as they laid out the items and had Dali check them individually. She found only one truly cursed item, a topaz the size of a man's fist, in which Quinn and Castillo argued couldn't possibly be cursed because it's so large and worth so much.

       Finding the pirate treasure of a lifetime consisting of magical weapons and a ring, gold and rubies, the crew swims and walks their way back to the sailboat where Saber waits. After explaining there was nothing in there that resembled spice, the captain is even more puzzled about what the spice is, saying that the box it's in on the ship is too light, and has wards and magic all around it. As they climb back on to the ship, Skrim is just gaining some consciousness, Kane licking his face from the spot he hasn't left the entire time. With a bit more loot, and a lot more questions, they begin to circumnavigate the chain of islands looking for a harbor for the expedition of spice, and the seemingly untrustworthy but profitable South Zephyrian Trading Company.

Adventure 3

       As the sun rose up and the adventurers groaned, the captain opened his cabin door and asked "up early or out late?" with a hearty laugh. He then told them that the crew was taking the morning off to recover, all but Verdana the windfinder, who was dead-set on reaching the dock of New Zephyr before they ran into any more pirate trouble. Skrim instantly fell asleep in the crow's nest, while Chuntaka went to look for a bottle or two to help pass the morning along. Quinn began talking to Verdana when Castillo and Dali exclaimed that there was something climbing the side of the ship that was attached to their fishing poles. Quinn quickly got a shot off from his pistol, then went to swing on a rope to the lower deck to engage in battle. A giant octopus boarded the Athan Miere, and began to wrap and tentacle-slap everyone on deck. Skrim attempted to jump from the crow's nest on top of the sea creature, to no accord, fumbling 80' to the wooden ground below as the sorceress showed off her new abilities of ranged touch attacks. The battle was quickly over, as Chuntaka used his lightning-quick fists to indent the brain of the giant octopus. Mid-afternoon rolls by and the crew comes up laughing, talking about the amount of steamed octopus the ship is going to have tonight. In a game of liar's dice that evening, 500 gold and a bottle of dragon's punch whiskey laid on the line, collected by Quinn in a 2-pip bluff showdown.
 

       By the next morning they could see land in the far-off distance, jutting into the azure sky. Mid-afternoon they docked on the island claimed as New Zephyr. The dock and inlet were barely wide enough for the slip-stream design of the Athan Miere, making it clear to the adventurers why the current setup was not satisfactory. The island was a more primal land than they were used to, with lush forest creating a wall where the white sand beach ended. The water was as light a blue as one could describe, and the small settlement did not look out of place- being that all the structures were made from deforested trees and thatch. The settlement itself was no bigger than most town squares, hosting an open market, a blacksmith in the open air, a shack hosting a variety of magical items, and an inn, all in front of a low-lying megaplex lacking in windows as well as multiple doors. First stop was the magic shack, where they met an old woman under a thatch roof held up by four small tree trunks, with impromptu shelves taking up every bit of spare space in the abode. Buying alchemists fire and potions for the job ahead, the woman began to whine about the monkey in this area that stole everything shiny it could get its hands on. Without hesitation, an orange, wiry monkey snatched some gold out of Dali's hand when giving it to the woman for her wares. Chuntaka threw a knife, attempting to stop the monkey, but luckily failed, as Quinn and Castillo put their heads together and agreed that following the monkey to his nest of shiny things (undoubtedly gold and precious items). Quinn laid a trap the monkey couldn't resist, shiny stones on the ground. As the monkey jetted off, hands full, the adventurers ran after it. Running up and down fallen trees, across rivers and thick underbrush, Chuntaka is the first to climb after the monkey when they finally reach its tree. The entire crew climbs the tree, gazing upon a treasure horde like no other they've had the privilege in taking part of. Among the gold, copper, and precious metals, all identifiable by the adventurers, the only unknown item was a small, golden rectangular box with a strange clawed, serpentine but feline insignia on the top sliding piece. Chuntaka quickly put this in his robe as the monkey, Pokko, took O'Malley's hat and began to chew on it. As he took it back from the small tamarin monkey, she climbed up on Quinn O'Malley's shoulder and fit perfectly. With a new familiar with a pirate-esque lust for the shinier things in life, they head back to the settlement not far away, but invisible because of the vast forestry. Skrim climbs a tree and looked overhead, seeing the bald mountains in the distance and the insurmountable jungle this chain of islands possessed.

       Back at the settlement, they walked past a large fence made completely of stripped rain forest trees, with a group of men coming through its only gate with seemingly nothing in their possession. Dali and Skrim followed the men back to the large, windowless building. Trying to gain entry to the guarded door, they were quickly shunned, and reunite with Chuntaka, Quinn and Castillo who were dropping raw materials off at the blacksmith. All together, they head to the inn, where they met Therion, the innkeeper. Only having wine to serve, Skrim made the old man's life difficult until he lost his temper and Skrim simmered down. Therion told them the settlement had only been there two months, him being the ambassador for the South Zephyrian Trading Company, but not busy enough given there weren't that many visitors. Therion was convinced this was to be some day the best vacation spot in the world, and he would have a world-class resort ready for the influx of wealthy travelers. The inn was not ready yet, having only a one-story tavern at the front and a large room full of hammocks and lacking walls right behind it. The roof was made out of an oiled windsail to keep out the rain, and hung from the ceiling were mosquito nets, making the gentle breeze of the mild tropics blow gently over every patron of the inn. Talking to Therion long into the night about a manner of enlightening things, he offered them a drink made from the beans here, called coffee, which was exported heavily to cities. As he was pouring everyone a small teacup-full a lady walked in, accompanied by Uncle, who chimed in asking Therion to pour her a cup. They all sat at the inn's largest round table, Uncle clearly taking the position of silent sidekick which was strange to the adventurers. She introduced herself as Lady Kaliska, current president of the South Zephyrian Trading Company, and their employer. Her poise, calculated answers, and casualness of what goes on on the island made some of the party very suspicious, but nonetheless no one backed out, especially after she claimed their reward would be a percent of the profit made on the island if they succeed. Wanting to oversee the loading of cargo onto the Athan Miere, she bids them goodnight and walked out the door. Therion broke the silence offering the "lads and lady" a stay at his soon-to-be resort, costing them only the promise that they'll tell their friends about his establishment. Chuntaka walked out the door to the dock to find Verdana, who was shouting orders at the SZTC soldiers carrying the cargo up the gangplank. Chuntaka asked if she had a moment, and they walked together. After they were a good distance away on the beach, he reveals the tiny, golden box. Before even pulling it out all the way, it's shoved back in by Verdana's hand. She spoke in a harsh whisper "they would kill you for much less, don't show this to anyone and get rid of it safely as soon as you can." 

       Telling him that the island is cursed, as every Arythean has repeated to the party at one time or another, Chuntaka walks back to the inn to join in another game of liar's dice, or sygerrik d'aemar ("game of deceit") in the old tongue. After everyone's lust for gambling is temporarily quenched, Castillo walks out to talk to Verdana. Audible to the entire patronage of the inn, he is shot down again and again by the windfinder, telling her "you have braved much on the high seas, as have I, but you have never felt a storm like me." After resorting to yelling at him, Verdana goes back on board the Athan Miere and tells Castillo to go away. Laying in hammocks under the over-sized awning in the moist air, Dali usurps the sound of the ocean and trees, asking why Castillo is so bad at women. He says that he falls too hard, and does things that even scare him, but promising her that "Veridana" will soon be his, as he is already hers. Dali tells the tale of her fleeing her homeland to save her life, as her family is taken down one by one for political power. Skrim interjects, saying that she's safe here from that, but not safe from anything else, these traders were not to be trusted. They all agree they've only been told half-truths and partial lies by the SZTO so far. In the morning they will set out on a small sailboat to navigate the gorgeous, but choppy, waters of the islands in search for a decent harbor. Unknown dangers await as they finally pay back their end of the bargain, with heads spinning of endless possibilities and the rush of coffee, they try to fall asleep. 

Adventure 2

       Over breakfast the merchant man asked for the adventurers to call him uncle, and that he worked for the South Zephyrian Trading Company, a well-connected company of vessels. The job that he generously put on the table for the rag-tag crew, he announced with little remorse, is a very dangerous one. They're headed for a newly discovered chain of islands, in the middle of tumultuous seas that hinder navigation (except for those skilled or determined enough), to embark on a search for a better harboring bay. The current harbor of New Zephyr, the settlement established by the SZTC, was hardly worthy of the high-priced goods from the isle, being it a small inlet that can barely fit an Arythean schooner. Uncle said there had been attempts to search the islands, but there had been indigenous hostility when they reached close enough to shore, among other complications (like that of the SZTC sacrificing themselves to the dangers, hence why they hired a motley band of dockside dwellers). As Skrim asked what exactly they were exporting, the merchant gleamed calculatingly before answering: "there is a rare and desired spice, among exotic wildlife for the most wealthy of pet-lovers and palettes." He continued to explain that the bigger the operation was, the more a chance of it going awry, thus why he picked up a small operative in a trade port instead of hiring an army or professional mercenaries. Just as he invited them to a tour of the ship, the woman in silk garments that was standing on the platform walked in with the captain. The captain, an Arythean man grizzled with the look of someone who has never been out of the sun, greeted the adventurers with a hearty handshake, and introduced himself as Saber. The woman began to introduce herself as Verdana, an Arythean windfinder, before the flashy duelist, Castillo, slid to his knee to meet her hand with his lips. As he began to profess that he has only seen candles in his life, and that she was like looking at the sun for the first time, he pulled the same rose out of his sleeve from his failed attempts the night before and offered it to her. She incredulously stared at him for a second before saying he smelled of a man that had been hanging in the lowest form of dockside culture there is. With that Skrim, Quinn, Dali, and Castillo began to stroll about the ship. Seeing that the entire crew, male and female, had stripped to their pants to reveal brown, tanned skin and black tattoos, Castillo replicated. As the rest of the gang were confirming their reasons for not adhering to the new dress code, a tall, bipedal fox climbed out from the galley, bottle in one hand and scratching his face tufts with the other. The lizard woman, the ratfolk, and the kitsune took each other in for a moment, before a crewmen laughed and said that the fox had come on board in the most peculiar of ways: a princess far west had traded the crew of the Athan Miere 50' belts of silk, a hot commodity among tradesfolk, in exchange for smuggling her out of her land. When the crew of the Athan Miere opened the basket in which the princess was supposed to be stowed in, all they found was a kitsune named Chuntaka, passed out drunk. When the crew began to beat him in anger, he fought back using his fists as well as two kama, all the while spinning kicks high and tripping kicks low to clear the room of any adversaries. At this sight the crew still standing began to rejoice, telling him that his fighting style was great. A friendly exchange of kicking, kneeing, elbowing and grabs went long into the previous night.

       A day of fishing and bathing in the wake of the boat ensued, while Verdana wove spells to create wind, making the ship go faster than any ship the adventurers had even seen. A freak sea storm hit and everyone went inside for a dinner of caught fish and fruit. The sleeping quarters were a labyrinth of net hammocks, wherein every scrambled for the topmost bunks. Being the slowest to understand the dilemma, O'Malley laid on the bottom-most bunk, only for his back to hit the floor. Skrim did the same thing, but didn't bottom out due to his small size.

       The crew woke up to yells, and scrambled to get on the deck to see what the crewmen was yelling about. There was a ship on the horizon, and it looked large. The crewmen closest to Quinn assured him the crew was ready, and always prepared for the worst. All hands on deck, the crew paced around making sure everything, including the three cannons, muskets, and potion bottles, were all in order. Within a few hours the ship had come up alongside them, turning at the last moment to strategically place their ship within 10 feet of the Athan Miere. The captain of the pirate ship announced through an amplifying horn that they were after their ship, and were also curious to see if Arythean women were so tan beneath the silk trousers. As the pirate crew laughed loudly and smashed their swords against the side of their ship, Quinn and a crewmen took the opportunity to fire off some shots, to no accord. Before anyone could react, alchemists fire was thrown on the deck of the Athan Miere, heavily wounding a crewmen and catching Dali on fire. When the crew was over their shock, they saw the pirates had thrown rope bridges across using grappling hooks, and were attempting to board. With the ship so close, a cannonball was too dangerous to let off, so the crew of the AT had to fight man to man to fend off the siege. Dali, rolling out the fire, began to cast spells on the oncoming crew as Quinn, Chuntaka, and Skrim (riding his Husky, Kane) rushed to the rope bridges to fight the oncoming pirates. Holding them off to the best of their ability, the pirates were too great in number to stop completely. The fight came aboard the Athan Miere, Quinn firing his secondhand pistol, Chuntaka slicing with his kamas, Skrim and Kane charging the bridge, all felling opponents left and right. The pirate captain attacked Verdana solely, draining her of energy and sleeting her with ice. She fought back, poisoning his breath and throwing him back with her power over the wind.

       As the fight raged on, Quinn got a chance from battle to fire his pistol and slice his cutlass simultaneously, cutting a rope bridge and sending the pirates on it to the depths. All of the sudden Verdana ordered for the crew to retreat from the bridges, as a wall of wind and water shoots up, severing the remaining ropes and throwing Skrim's small rat body 30 feet into the air back aboard the ship. The Athan Miere then teleported to the other side of the pirate ship, going in the opposite direction. The crew of the Athan Miere switched the sides of the cannons, which were far enough away from the target to use now. The AT was now severed from its captor and was going in the opposite direction, so the ships were not going to be side by side for long. Castillo, Dali, and Skrim swung to the other ship from ropes hanging from the sails, where Dali caught fire to the ship, Castillo pushed over barrels of kerosene and gunpowder, and Skrim skimmed over their loot, taking a sword and musket. The pirate captain turned his attention to the newcomers, but before he could attack, Verdana teleported on board to stop him. As he approached the windfinder he was blown nearly to particles; 50 feet away, Quinn had lit the wick of the cannon with his flint-pistol, aimed true, and slaughtered the pirate ship, killing the captain. All back aboard the Athan Miere, the crew realized none of their own were killed, and began a celebration that would last the whole night.

     With drink aplenty, and an influx of gold due to their contracts, a friendly game of liar's dice quickly turns into a high stakes, winner takes all battle of who is the best bluffer, and who can smell out a fable when they hear it. Because of their voluminous drunken game, they're kicked out of the dining hallway by Captain Saber, who calls them scally-scum who better be able to work tomorrow, and Verdana yells profanity that they won't soon forget. On the deck they go, sitting on the wooden floorboards with their own bottles, playing more and more rounds where small fortunes are won and lost in the lamplight. As some are shaking their heads and others laugh heartily at the weight of their purses, it's quickly hushed by a unanimous groan as they see the sun peeking up over the horizon.