CH. 6: Clockwork Horrors

[HorizonsDream]

Jocelyn pats Noah on the back, but she can't help but be amused by the whole situation. "I get in trouble, and you are punished for it."

[Breila]

Ouragana looks for a bunk that seems unoccupied and deposits her backpack there. The she goes to the upper deck and knocks on the right one of the doors completely to the aft. "Master Thaddeus?" she asks. "The captain told me to report to you"

[JadedDM]

"There's nothing for you to do right now," Terra tells the elf. "The captain will issue you duties once the ship is under way." That settled, she heads back upstairs.

Noah hangs his head. "I suppose it's just for a few days," he says, resigned. He searches for a free bunk and sets his possessions on top of it.

After knocking, Ouragana hears a voice call for her to enter. Stepping inside, she finds herself in a small private bedroom. There's a queen sized bed with expensive red sheets, several bookcases (all filled with various books) and a desk with some alchemy equipment on it, as well a a number of scrolls and maps. A small porthole lets in some sunlight, illuminating the room.

Standing at the desk, pouring over the maps, is a young human male with red hair and fair skin. He wears fine red and gold robes. After a moment, he turns toward her, his violet eyes widening slightly with mild surprise.

Thaddeus.png (398.43 KiB) Viewed 9475 times

"Ah, hello," he says. "The captain sent you to me? I assumed you were one of the crew, but I've never seen you before." He's surprisingly young, not more than a year or two older than Ouragana herself, if that.

[Breila]

"You are right, Sir" Ouragana answers. "I just came aboard. You surely know that the captain does not take passengers, but only people who help sailing this beautiful vessel. So she told me to go see you, since I am a storm sorcerer. I am surprised, though, I thought I knew everyone at the academy who was in or near my year, and I'm not sure if we've ever met."

[Jenara]

"Fair enough." Arei comments as she departs, "You are taking a swim Val? Too cold and too salty for me, but I'll keep an eye out and hold your things."

[JadedDM]

"Well, most of my classes were with Professor Blackwell," Thaddeus admits. "And I really didn't get to socialize much, due to my frequent private tutoring sessions."

Ouragana recognizes the name Blackwell, although she never took any of her classes personally. Professor Blackwell was well-known for being the utmost expert on battle magic; spells that harm or even kill opponents like Magic Missile and Burning Hands. As Ouragana eschewed all such spells, she never took any of Blackwell's classes.

He turns away from her, back to his maps, and adds, "In fact, it's thanks to the professor that I was able to get this job, despite the fact I only graduated a year ago."

[Breila]

"I see" Ouragana answers. Seeing Thaddeus turn away from her, she asks: "Would you prefer me to join you at the chart table or should I leave you to your task?"

[HorizonsDream]

"You might actually like it," Jocelyn points out to Noah as she sets her stuff on a free bunk. "I'm going to get a feel for the deck," she says as she exits to go up above again to explore the deck a little by herself.

[JadedDM]

Thaddeus lifts his head again and looks over his shoulder at her. "Oh...right. Excuse me, I'm not used to having an assistant. Uh...do you know how to read maps?" he asks. "I'm just charting a course to our destination--northern Mond." He takes a step to the side to show her.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn returns to the quarter deck. Here the sun is shining brightly and numerous people work to get all of the cargo loaded. Up above, seagulls squawk at each other as they fly overhead.

[Breila]

"Yes, I have been trained in navigation" Ouragana says as she approaches the table. "My focal points were navigation and seamanships, because I thought I would largely work on ships much smaller than this, so I would need to help out in the mundane tasks of sailing."

She looks at the maps carefully and begins a discussion of the possible routes, recalling weather patterns of the area and other relevant issues (nerd talk). She wants to impress Thaddeus, but clearly respects him as her superior officer.

[JadedDM]

As it turns out, Ouragana was aware of a minor current in the area that would increase their speed slightly and get them to their destination faster that Thaddeus had not even been aware of.

"Many thanks," he says, as he rolls the chart up. "The captain will be quite pleased with this. Would you take it to her for me? I have a few more loose ends to tie up before we depart," he asks, handing the scroll to her. "She's probably up on the forecastle, overlooking everything."

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(OOC: I'll rule that Ouragana's help gives Thaddeus a +2 bonus to his navigation check.)

[Breila]

"Of course" Ouragana says and departs to find the Captain. She doesn't hurry, though, to be able to admire the fine ship.

"Madam?" she asks when she finds Sierra and it seems like she has a moment to spare. "The course is plotted, Thaddeus asked me to bring this to you."

[HorizonsDream]

Jocelyn tries not to get in the way of any of the people working, as she walks over to the bow of the ship to look over. She doesn't expect to find much, but she does enjoy looking out over the water.

[Nuke]

Val takes the tour, she has never seen a ship so massive and is awed at every turn. She doesn't even speak as her jaw hangs open.

Eventually, Arei snaps her out of her stupor.

"Yes, I need to see Mist, and get cleaned up. I might even share a snack." Handing the bulk of her possessions over, she says "Thanks". The half-orc moves to the sea-board side and once again whistles. Carrying only her new trident, she dives into the water looking forward to a ride.

Sorry, long days and a new girlfriend!

[JadedDM]

The captain looks at Ouragana with a bit of surprise. "Already? I thought it'd take another hour," she admits, accepting the scroll and unfurling it. Looking it over, she nods to herself. "This is good; it will shave off a few hours from our trip, at that."

Jocelyn, meanwhile, stands on the deck at the railing, looking off at the horizon. She spots Val descend the ramp onto the docks and then hop into the sea, before meeting up with Mist for a swim further out.