Within an hour the party is fully loaded and underway in the "Heart of Oak" as the ship has been dubbed by Miroslav. Both Greek farmers and characters man the oars and the winds are favorable.

Miroslav estimates that the party will be in the capital in just under two days.

After about 8 hours in the winds pick up and the oars are pulled in and the vessel pretty much can run on a skeleton crew. Miroslav brings out all the items collected form Armin's gear and the gold and motions that it is time to figure out not only what these things are but who they will go to.

items of note:
finely wrought mail shirt
small gold lion statue with some obscure writing on the underside
gold ring with a flame shaped ruby inserted into the fitting.
hammer that looks to be of Dwarven manufacture
An incredibly thick yet light cloak
scimitar of excellent quality
2 Potion of healing
a very well crafted dagger
a rather large pearl
a gold ring with inscription in Farsi

In reply to Nestor (msg #1):

Mages don't row boats. Balthazar takes this opportunity to go off and memorize detect magic, then casts it on the pile.

All but the cloak and hammer give off a faint glow indicating there is an enchantment of some kind attached to them.

Giving a look of passing indifference over the items. "As I said before, I have a wand with which I may determine the precise nature of these..." With a smirk in the direction of Balthazar he continues, "I am willing to do so, if the Magus will take a turn at the oars next time."

His face becoming serious again, "I am willing to make use of this, but would ask for first choice of the goods, since I am offering to use my wand. So that everything is aboveboard I will tell everyone what each item is before I make my choice so that everyone knows that I am not hiding anything. Do we all agree?"

******NEXT STEP*******
OCC: Just to keep things going, if everyone agrees with his terms he will do the following:

Removing a wand from a sack at his side he steps forward and begins to concentrate as he makes use of it -- he uses them on the items in the following order (if Balthazar tells him which items are NOT magical, he'll not waste time and charges on either the cloak or the hammer):
finely wrought mail shirt
small gold lion statue with some obscure writing on the underside
gold ring with a flame shaped ruby inserted into the fitting.
a very well crafted dagger
hammer that looks to be of Dwarven manufacture
An incredibly thick yet light cloak
small gold lion statue with some obscure writing on the underside
gold ring with a flame shaped ruby inserted into the fitting.
a rather large pearl
a gold ring with inscription in Farsi
scimitar of excellent quality

As he determines their magical nature he describes them clearly, so that everyone can hear what they are.

OOC: If there is some resistance to his offer, he waits until the debate is over before proceeding.
*******

Balthazar agrees to the terms, and also informs him about the cloak and hammer.

Balthazar also asks Loukas earlier on, "Can you tell us who your uncle was, and why Alexander killed him?"

He nods and replies to Balthazar, the look on his face turns sour, "My uncle was a soldier. He thought he served the Throne... As you have all seen now, serving the Emperor, even when one is hired for 'piece work', is a tricky thing. Particularly, this Emperor."

Jaleh the sometimes sailor, sometimes courtesan walks up to Loukas as he speaks of his uncle and lays a hand softly on his forearm. She says something to him in a tone to soft for others to hear.

She then walks away without giving him a chance to answer and starts to climb the riggings.

When Jaleh whispered in his ear he shook his head and chuckled resignedly. She walks away before he can say anything to her face, but to her back he says, "Then, I owe you a drink, my dear!" He continues watching her for a second or two, but from the blank look on his face it is clear that he is not admiring her rather admirable backside. Shaking his head again he turns back to the the rest of the party.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:38, Tue 29 Sept 2009.

"Unless some of these objects may provide us some way to turn around these events I have nothing against such terms." says the young paladin

"Choose, Loukas," says A'kos with a nod from where he sits at the oars.

Loukas pull,s the small plain looking wand from his pack and inspects it for a moment before passing it in a flourish over the first item...the mail shirt. Then all the rest. Nothing happens physically as the wand is passed over the objects but Balthazar can feel the magic in the air.

As he passed the wand over each item Loukas announces its properties:

-finely wrought mail shirt...enchanted for more protection +2...

-small gold lion statue with some obscure writing on the underside..figurine of wonderous power, will turn into a real lion on command...

-gold ring with a flame shaped ruby inserted into the fitting....ring of warmth...

-scimitar of excellent quality...enchanted for extra sharpness +2...

-2 Potion of healing...

-a very well crafted dagger...very light and deadly sharp +2...

-a rather large pearl...pearl of wisdom...

-a gold ring with inscription in Farsi...ring of spell storing...

When he has finished he looks around at the others, and reaches for the dagger "I will have this."

Is there anything in the ring of spell storing at the moment?

"I would take the figurine - 'tis an item that suits me," says A'kos, pulling upon the oar as he speaks.

Jaleh smiles as she sees A'kos claim the lion figurine. She looks about at the other items and grabs up the thick cloak. "Where we may be head, this is the greatest treasure of all. I know the ring gives warmth but rubies clash with my skin. This cloak on the other hand looks warm!"

The big Rus looks over the loot and his eyes fall on the finely crafted hammer but he decides against claiming it. He looks at the other gear and says..."I am well enough equipped."

He looks at the two healing drafts and then says..."I will hold one of these for use by all. I suggest another take the remaining draft and keep it safe and be ready to give it to whoever needs it the most as I will do."

"So we are in agreement then?" asks A'kos.

"Aye... I say Roderychus ought to bear the other healing potion. I suppose we shall find a market for the rest of this gear in the Rus capitol... Unless Roderychus or Jean wishes to take from the lot?"

A'kos grins at Jaleh.

"A lion for a lion!" he laughs, and puts the figurine into his pack.

"I will carry the pearl, it may enlighten the path we should take. Also, someone should wear that mail shirt and carry the scimitar, for both are mighty arms. Regarding the potion, I think it would better benefit the group if it was carried by someone who cannot provide us healing in some other fashion."

The young paladin adds after a moment of thought "It would also be for the best if all those objects were distributed among the group, even if you have no desire to keep them. We cannot foresee how they may be useful later on, that ring may be crucial for someone to survive, that well-crafter hammer might hold some significance we know not at this point... I could go on about each, but I believe you understand what I mean."

Jaleh steps forward and picks up the remaining healing potion. "Wise words Roderychus! Since I am not often at the fore of battle, it might be best if I hold on to this if there are no objections?"

"Aye, yes, I support Jaleh's bearing of the other healing potion. Roderychus, unsurprisingly speaks wisdom. I bear a good blade already, and appreciate the irony of bearing Armin's, but the one I have was a gift from my uncle and I would not give it up yet. As to his armor, chain mail is too heavy for a sailor."

Alright, then the remaining items are:



Balthazar is absolutely fine with taking, err carrying, these :)

Um, also I'm still drooling over the potential of the spell-storing ring.  Are there spells already in it?  How many spells can it hold?

Edit: just re-read the house rules and it says m-u's can only wear leather, padded, and studded leather.  I assume then that the finely wrought mail shirt would interfere with his spells?
This message was last edited by the player at 16:14, Fri 02 Oct 2009.

In reply to Balthazar the Hedonite (msg #23):

Loukas smirks at Balthazar's comment, "It is fine with you if you take the rings, but if you can not use the other things, why should you bear them? You're going to need all of your strength at the oar and the extra weight will only add to your difficulties, no?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:57, Fri 02 Oct 2009.

"Ha, HA!" laughed A'kos.  "Young Loukas seems to have taken on the role of Captain of this ship of fools!"