Member
|
Post by Lockdown on May 25, 2017 17:30:53 GMT
The remainder of the trip to Koolari island is uneventful. You're able to spend a bit of time bonding to the pokemon you've acquired, and caring for the eggs that rustle ever so slightly now and then, indicating that they are close to hatching indeed.
Finally Koolari Island comes into view over the horizon. It's a fairly large island, slightly rolling hills, carpeted by fields of sugar cane, and broken up by stands of trees. Closer to shore you can make out a number of bays that have been converted into ports, and a sizable amount of activity going on. Standing tall here and there are the distilleries and processing houses for rum and sugar. Right on the docks sit the warehouses, while to the south of the main port area sits a small shipworks, for repairs and minor retrofits.
The majority of the ships aren't flying colors of one sort or another, and they seem to be either loading up on cargo, or putting in for repairs. As you pull into the pier you're met by a stuffy looking man wearing a trimmed coat and tricorn hat. "My I have the name of the captain of this vessel and any cargo you wish to declare? Oh, and that will be a two-hundred Beli docking fee of course." Lurking behind him are a pair of burly gents, each one with a sap and a cutlass stuck through the sashes they wear in lieu of belts.
|
|
Member
|
Post by JPThunda on May 30, 2017 17:33:47 GMT
A smile crossed Gladius's face as they pulled into port on Koolari Island.
At the call from the apparent harbormaster, Gladius vaults over the railing of the ship, landing heavily on the pier just a few feet in front of the man and the larger guys behind him. As Gladius raises himself up to his full height following his meteoric descent, Aquila flys down from the crow's nest, perching on his shoulder.
He smiles at the man in the hat and folds his arms. "I'm the Captain of this ship, name's Gladius," he said, still grinning. Then he half-turned back toward the ship, hollering up to the others.
"Hey, is there any cargo we wish to declare?," he asked, keeping close watch on the harbormaster and his muscle out of the corner of his eye.
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
Apr 10, 2024 12:51:43 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jun 4, 2017 0:30:05 GMT
Victor leans over the railing and studies the trio for a moment, quirking an eyebrow. "No cargo to declare friend, but you're mistaken on the docking fees, it's five hundred beli on this run of wharf. Cap'n we can spare that for a man with a blind spot and a fine taste in hats, surely?" Victor encouraged in a relaxed tone.
Zl38MZRp4d6 Charm4d6
|
|
Member
|
Post by Vazad on Jun 4, 2017 13:11:06 GMT
Ezra nodded as Stone spoke, this was good sense. Butter up the authorities, get the man to look the other way. That was a good way to go, he just hoped the crew actually had the loose cash to pay to grease the palm of the supposed harbormaster. He continued to work in the background, making sure the boat was properly lashed to the dock and settled in. Ezra knew that too many cooks often spoiled the broth and he really would prefer that they were able to dock without issue.
|
|
Member
|
Post by Lockdown on Jun 7, 2017 16:34:15 GMT
The man stiffens a bit when Victor corrects him, but relaxes at the tone and the amount of Beli being suggested. "Mmm, I suppose that this blasted heat has me a bit muddled. Five hundred beli and we'll trouble you no more for the week Captain Gladius." The two bully boys behind him look a little relieved at not having to attack a guy that massed twice what they did, or a man wearing full plate armor. The gentleman with the tricorn holds out his hand expectantly with an oily grin.
|
|
Member
|
Post by JPThunda on Jun 7, 2017 17:26:15 GMT
Gladius gave the man a hard, discerning look, clearly assessing him. Then he looked at each of the men behind them, giving each a hard stare.
"Hmm...," he hummed, as much a growl as a hum. He reached back for his money, taking out 500 Belli. "Alright," he said passing off the money.
|
|
|
234 posts
|
0 likes
|
Dec 12, 2017 10:45:02 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by HeadPikachu on Jun 7, 2017 18:18:01 GMT
Gina sighed in relief whenever the island came into view; she wasn't one to get seasick, but she did prefer dry land to the ocean any day. Maybe she just needed to get her sea legs...Regardless, she was hoping for a nice, quiet day of choosing a new ship, ditching this one to be returned to its rightful owners, getting stocked up, and hopefully nothing bad happening. Maybe they could even get a drink and a nice meal at a pub; after delivering the barrels of rum, of course.
With Victor and Gladius handling the harbormaster, Gina chose to aid Ezra with properly docking the boat. It felt a little strange to be on this side of the dock, instead of just watching it from land like she normally did, but she supposed she might as well get used to it. As Ezra finished up, she headed back down to the quarters, where she had set up the egg warmer and said eggs, keeping watch over them with Dolly. The Chatot took over the role of Momma Bird quite well, being very careful when roosting and making sure they all stayed in place. Gina pondered if the eggs would be fine in her little pocket dimension; transporting the eggs and egg warmer via her little gift would make things a LOT easier, but she was hesitant to risk harming the crew's future partners. Maybe just carrying the eggs and placing the warmer in her wormhole would be better...Regardless, she'd have to talk to the others and figure out exactly when to move everything, and whether or not they should just carry it all with them as they did their business.
Gina returned topside as Gladius and Victor were finishing up, Dolly now on her shoulder, and waited for them to finish up and give the all-clear to talk freely. She didn't want to accidentally cause more trouble with a simple question. Once the Harbormaster was gone and all was well, the bard joined Victor at the railing, speaking with them both. "Hey, what are we going to do about all our stuff? Are we just going to carry it with us or try and leave it on the boat until we get a new one?"
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
Apr 10, 2024 12:51:43 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jun 10, 2017 13:19:56 GMT
"We take it with us." Victor rumbled softly. "Get Wu's spices where they're going, then find us another ship and keep moving. If Gladdy is feeling particularly ballsy we could try and sell our Marine vessel, Koolari might support that kinda business but it won't necessarily be easy." With that he headed down the gangway and folded his arms across his chest beside Gladius. "Docking fees here are actually a hundred beli, he was looking to scam a bit for himself and his boys anyway. Better to drop a bigger bribe and keep'em quiet for longer while we're here. Worst case scenario, now that we've wet his appetite, is he'll try to shake us down for more later. By then, our business here should be done, and we can move on." With that he disappeared into the hold and started hauling the spice casks out.
|
|
Member
|
Post by Vazad on Jun 10, 2017 14:14:20 GMT
When he and Gina had finished making sure the ship was completely docked and Victor and Gladius had placated the harbormaster Ezra turned his sights to getting the spices ready. Moving the barrels over to the entrance of the hold so they were ready to be removed once the men were gone. He nodded at Stone when he arrived and began assisting with hauling them out. In the back of his mind he kept waiting for the shoe to drop, he'd have to keep an eye out.
|
|
Member
|
Post by Lockdown on Jun 13, 2017 22:25:34 GMT
The Harbormaster and his muscle leave, and the group is free to quickly unload the casks. It only takes a bit of fluttering lashes from Gina to get directions to Shaw's distillery from one of the locals. Moving through town, you see that there's quite a lot of people out and about drinking. Your first thought is that perhaps there's a festival happening, but a lot of the people seem more bored than jovial. And once you get past the initial bustle of the docks, most of the activity you're seeing appears to be of warehouses being offloaded. The amount of materials moving into the different distilleries and warehouses however is substantially less.
Shaw's Brewing is a well-constructed facility, smaller than others but proudly hosting a golden stamp showing a bottle crossed with a sheaf of sugar cane on the corner of the shop's sign, a symbol of top quality rum throughout the Blues. The door opens easily, a merry little bell ringing as you enter the offices at the front. They're rather sparsely staffed at the moment, only one scowling old man sitting in the back, thumbing through a paper, with a small flask at hand. He looks up and his scowl deepens. "If you're here to buy, my stock's already been reserved. If you've got issue with that..." He line of sight drifts up ever so slightly, and you see an Ariados calmly clinging to the ceiling right over the doorway, "My friend there will have issue with you."
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
Apr 10, 2024 12:51:43 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jun 13, 2017 23:13:24 GMT
Victor thunked one cask down, then a second on top of it. "Gentleman Wu said you ordered ten barrels of rum spices, hopefully you don't take issue with that?" He rumbles. "Was never one for the stuff myself, prefer good food to drink that burns." Shooting the spider over the doorway a look and shaking his head, he plodded back out of the door to fetch more of the stuff, rotating out with Gladius and the others. "Somethin' feels off bout this town. Wasn't like this before."
|
|
Member
|
Post by Vazad on Jun 16, 2017 23:01:41 GMT
Ezra carried a cask himself, he struggled with it compared to the other two, not to mention Gina being able to carry half of them with her powers. He wondered how all of these strange abilities worked, he really needed to figure out more about them. As he brought in his keg he warily glanced at the watch spider. Passing it to Stone as he stacked everything up he stepped to the side inside the store, looking around as he prepared to help the others. He nodded at the man behind the counter as he did so.
"Nice shop you've got here."
|
|
|
234 posts
|
0 likes
|
Dec 12, 2017 10:45:02 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by HeadPikachu on Jun 17, 2017 7:40:51 GMT
Gina nodded to Victor, then went below decks to gather up the goods...And figure out how in the world to carry all four eggs. Normally, her hammer space would be a great solution, but Dolly had CERTAINLY not liked her little experiment last year, and if it was that unpleasant in there she didn't want the poor baby pokemon's first encounter with the world to be dark and frightening. The egg warmer had straps, so she could carry that on her back, and she could carry two eggs in her arms...Ah-ha! Using the sheets from the cots, Gina rigged up two slings to carry the eggs in by tying the corners of each sheet together. Gina then slipped each one over her shoulders so they formed an X-shape crossed over her chest. Nice and secure, and she could keep the eggs safe and sound while keeping her hands free! The clever barmaid gently placed two eggs into each sling(her and Ezra's on her right, Gladius's and Victor's on her left), adjusted the sling length with more tying, used the excess side fabric to cover up the eggs well, and headed back above-deck to grab what spices she could.
Already weighed down with the eggs(unless one of her crewmates offered to aid the pokemon nanny), Gina couldn't very well CARRY a cask herself, especially since Ezra seemed to be struggling with just one! However, these casks were decidedly non-living, and could have no complaints to being stored in her hammerspace. Their size would prove a bit of a problem, but she should be able to make it work. In the storeroom, the woman formed what appeared to be a hole near the floor in the air that lead into...The night sky? Space? It was hard to see beyond the opening, but appeared infinite to the uninformed. To Gina, however, she could see exactly what she had in there, how much space she had, and that there was only really enough room for three casks before she risked breaking something. Like her guitar. As if this was a completely normal thing, Gina rolled three casks into the aether, stuck her head inside to make sure everything was secure, then closed the portal.
Gina kept fairly quiet on the way to the brewery, Dolly on her shoulder, the pair simply observing the town and its unusual amount of drunkards...Even on busy nights Gina hadn't seen this many drunks, and usually the ones she had seen were either far more or far less happy than these. They were drinking it like one would a glass of water. At least they were as easily persuaded as the drunks back home, simply using a bit of womanly charm to get directions through town from some of the more sober ones. Two of them tried to direct her to their home at first, but after seeing who she was with, they were persuaded to give the PROPER directions. Once there, Gina decided to let Victor and Gladius do the talking for now; outside the distillery, the barmaid removed the three casks from her hat and rolled them in casually, following Victor and setting them up beside where he set his. Dolly kept a wary eye on the Ariados above the door, nervously chirping and floofing.
|
|
Member
|
Post by JPThunda on Jun 18, 2017 6:06:19 GMT
Gladius had been left to handle a quartet of casks himself, which proved initially challenging to gather up...but once he had them up and balanced, it wasn't so bad. Putting them down would be another matter entirely, so he patiently waited for Victor to relieve him of a brace of casks before bringing his remaining two inside.
"Not really lookin' to buy, at least not right now. It's a little early to get into my cups, and I ain't got a good reason to celebrate yet," Gladius said, setting down his casks. "What's got you sold out? And why's everyone in town already hitting the bottle like it's the end of the world?," he asked bluntly.
|
|
Member
|
Post by Lockdown on Jun 20, 2017 21:08:15 GMT
The man squints at the casks, before giving a grunt of recognition, seeing the seals burned into the wood. "Huh, okay then. Apologies, but the current situation's got a lot of people sour." He gives a short whistle, and a large beetle-like pokemon emerges from the adjoining room. Hefting four casks, two under each arm, it quickly removes them from the front office. The man folds the paper he was reading and gets up to approach the group. giving an appreciative nod to Ezra. "Anyway if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm Shaw." He gives a short humorless laugh when Victor observes that the town has changed, before looking at Gladius.
"Good, you know how to keep your head on straight. And you probably saw all the field hands spending the last dregs of their pay. Things have well and truly gone to shit out here." He holds out a hand. "Wu had some paperwork for me as well didn't he? I've likely got enough left to make the payment needed. These spices may be for the last run of my private stock unless something changes soon.." He grumbles to himself, before looking back up at Gladius. "What's happening here is the damn grass-types on the island have gone completely out of their damn minds! They're attacking anyone who tries to go out into the fields to harvest sugar cane, or that goes to chop down trees for the wood for barrels. So the field hands sit around, drink up what they an afford and bitch about things. The Marines can't be arsed to do anything since we're not a "high priority location". The local Marine Captain even told me it was probably some fluke mating season frenzy and it would pass!" He slams his fist down on the table and sanrls. "Damnit when a Budew tries to take a group of three men apart on its own, that's not a "mating season frenzy"! It's not even the right time of the year for that anyway!"
|
|
|
6,670 posts
|
92 likes
|
I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
|
Apr 10, 2024 12:51:43 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Robot on Jun 21, 2017 12:08:37 GMT
"Musta been a sight to see." Victor commented on the Budew as he digested everything Shaw put forward, handing over his writ for payment. It would've taken something pretty intense to stir up all Pokemon across a type like that, and Grass-Types were pretty placid to boot, the thought of something so docile it'd let you carry it around uncaught laying into superior numbers in a frenzy was a bit disquieting.
"Any odd rumors on the island around the time this happened, or a third stager spotted 'round these parts? Could be that sommat new took charge."
k|bNSExK3d6 Gen Edu (Thinking on precedents for this sort of thing.)3d6 Gen Edu
|
|
Member
|
Post by Vazad on Jun 22, 2017 4:26:26 GMT
As Ezra listened to Shaw explain the village's woes his mind flicked back to the map and the metallic green object they had found. Had they checked if Koolari was indicated on the map? He couldn't remember now and felt it wasn't in the best taste to talk about it in front of people. As much as he would prefer not to get involved it might be worth it to look into this. After thinking for a moment he said. "That's pretty callous of them. You'd think they would want to help a little. If the town goes their base wouldn't last all that long I'd think." He thought to himself that maybe the Marines have something to gain from all of this. What else might be behind it? He wracked his brain in an attempt to think of something. 12 Pokemon Edu.
|
|
Member
|
Post by JPThunda on Jun 26, 2017 3:03:53 GMT
"That figures for Marines," Gladius said, crossing his arms, "but I wonder what would make them act like that? The pokemkn, I mean...hmm...," he grumbled, humming to himself. Gladius's eyes wandered as he strained his brain, eventually falling on Victor, and an idea struck him. Gladius walked over to him.
"Hey, I was just thinking...if they're short on wood for barrels, and the Marines aren't any help, this might be the perfect time to sell our ship and buy a new one...don't you think?," Gladius asked with a grin, pleased with what he thought was a very savvy business idea.
|
|
|
234 posts
|
0 likes
|
Dec 12, 2017 10:45:02 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by HeadPikachu on Jun 27, 2017 0:58:56 GMT
Following Victor's lead, Gina handed over her own writ for payment to Shaw, remaining quiet as the others brainstormed what could be causing the disturbance in the Grass-types. Maybe some weird pokemon thing? Maybe some even weirder occult thing? The barmaid didn't have the foggiest idea, but she did have a feeling they'd end up getting involved somehow. After all, with Gladius proposing selling their old ship, having to find and stock a new one would take some time, and trying to help the townsfolk out might prove useful in the future...Especially if the Marines caught up to them.
|
|
Member
|
Post by Lockdown on Jun 27, 2017 19:05:09 GMT
"It sure as hell wasn't a fun time for the cooper's boys, lemme tell ya," Shaw nods to Victor, even as he the large beetle comes back out with a strongbox, setting it on the counter with a heavy thud. Shaw begins working on the lock as he continues to speak. "Rumors? Not really... there was a storm a few weeks ago, stronger than normal. Had a herd of Tropius fly through a day or so after. That's about when the grass types started going nuts. No signs of any particularly powerful mon though, the island's not really got the resources to support something like that." He pauses in the act of opening the lid. "One odd thing though. After the storm, the local captain got a visit from one of his ilk, some blue-haired asshole with an obnoxious voice. The local Captain, Dreynald, started putting out some patrols after that. Said it was because he'd heard about the possibility of some pirates hiding out on the island." He snorts. "Bullshit, if he wanted to find pirates all he'd have to do is walk into one of the taverns. And no pirate with two lobes to rub together would hide out near the middle of the island..." He shakes his head and begins pulling out neat stacks of Beli. He perks up a little when he hears Gladius mention selling their ship. "If you've got good wood to sell, I'm sure the coopers would be willing to take it off your hands. Hell, with the shortage of product right now, there's been some pretty fierce competition among the cargo carriers, and a few crews have even been forced to sell their ships after some sabotage to take out competition went down. Of course if something isn't done about the mon out there, then we'll either have to hire a bounty hunter to try and clear them out permanently, or the Marines will be brought in to keep order, and that'll completely tank our business with pirates and freebooters." ȴɩɡɐțȏɣɗɘɢȏɣɨɟɔȏɞɕȏɑɔɗɐɥɘɞɡȏɘɢȏɥɔɡɨȏɟɔɒɤɛɘɐɡȝȕɝɑɢɟȪȏȸɣȏɓɞɔɢȏɢɞɡɣȏɞɕȏɢɞɤɝɓȏɛɘɚɔȏɝɔɢɣɘɝɖȏɑɔɗɐɥɘɞɡȏɦɗɔɡɔȏɜɞɝȏɑɔɒɞɜɔȏɘɝɒɡɔɓɘɑɛɨȏɣɔɡɡɘɣɞɡɘɐɛȏɘɝȏɞɡɓɔɡȏɣɞȏɟɡɞɣɔɒɣȏɣɗɔɘɡȏɔɖɖɢȝȕɝɑɢɟȪȏȱɤɣȏɕɞɡȏɘɣȏɣɞȏɑɔȏɐȏɢɟɔɒɘɕɘɒȏɣɨɟɔȏɞɕȏɜɞɝȏɡɐɣɗɔɡȏɣɗɐɝȏɐȏɢɘɝɖɤɛɐɡȏɢɟɔɒɘɔɢȝȝȝȏɞɓɓȏɘɝɓɔɔɓȝȫɑɡȭè ȖȬȲǤȳȢǝȥȢȞȯȡǝȯȲȪȬȯȰǩǝȰȢȞǝȰȱȬȯȦȢȰǝȪȬȯȢǝȱȥȞȫǝȞȫȶȱȥȦȫȤǝȢȩȰȢǩǝȱȥȞȱǝȰȬȪȢȱȦȪȢȰǝȪȬȫǝȴȦȩȩǝȟȞȫȡǝȱȬȤȢȱȥȢȯǝȱȬǝȡȢȣȢȫȡǝȫȞȱȲȯȢǩǝȬȯǝȱȬǝȰȲȭȭȬȰȢȡȩȶǝȨȢȢȭǝȢȵȱȯȞǪȰȭȢȠȦȞȩǝȭȬȨȢȪȬȫǝȬȯǝȢȳȢȫǝȭȢȬȭȩȢǝȞȫȡǝȞȯȱȦȣȞȠȱȰǝȰȞȣȢǝȣȯȬȪǝȥȲȪȞȫǝȥȞȫȡȰǫǹȟȯǻè
|
|