The spray of broken waves rained down on the party like a gentle mist, leaving faint droplets on the surface of their skin. Walking down the pier, Adwonus gazed across the Bay of Andor; the Lower District of Herrod spanned across the opposite side, a thick mass of thousands of buildings. Several ships were docked this side of the bay, but then, nearly the entire coastline of Herrod was docks. Sails fluttered in the sea winds. The pier was rather sparse of people at the moment, a lull between business hours.

Dwalin spoke, "Knowing Herr Johannes, they'll probably be gone shopping for at least another hour." "Great," Adwonus groaned. The other party members had gone to explore the merchants for supplies. Taisiya was looking at all the different ships, curious as to where they've been and what they've seen, "Actually, I was hoping to find something interesting myself. Like perhaps in there." She pointed to a ship docked nearby, it's curved sails and foreign woodwork clearly hailing from far away lands, Shan-tai most likely. It wasn't a very large ship, for half of the deck was enclosed in a cabin, but it had certainly traveled far to reach here.

An old man from onboard saw the adventurers. Hastily, he shuffled across a plank and onto the pier. Their guess was right, for he was distinctly Shan-tai. His eyes were squinted, his whole face seeming to droop with age, only made older by his wispy gray hair and beard. The old man spoke in simple common though his accented voice reflected his age, "Ho there young ones!" "Hello," said Taisiya brightly. "Might you three be interested in exotic wares? Goods and things from all over Tel'Gia. Good prices for young men and lovely woman!" "Sure, why not," Adwonus replied while the others nodded in keen interest.

"This way. This way," the old man said as he led them to the ship. The deck was nothing to look at, piles of fishing net, ropes, and crates, but a pathway carved through it to a large cabin at the rear. The old man opened the cabin door, releasing the scent of incense and exotic fragrances, "In here. Come see!" Adwonus stepped inside, the area lit by lanterns about the room. Indeed it was a kind of merchant shop! Piles of strange and foreign things lined the walls, some piles too dense to even begin digging through.

The old man walked behind a counter near the door, disappearing as he crouched to search for something. A younger Shan-tai man was in here was well, trying to straighten up some of the junk. He pushed his shaggy black hair aside and spoke in a strange language, fast-paced and song-like in tone. Standing up, the old man responded in similar speech, before turning to the adventurers, "You like tea, yes? My granddaughter Jiao makes excellent tea." "Sure," Taisiya said. The old man then shouted loudly and sharply in his foreign tongue across the room, toward a door at the back. His attention returned to the party, his voice switching back to a kind, soft tone, "Please, sit!" He gestured to a small table. "Don't mind my grandson Chen. My grand-kids are kind; they stay behind while the rest of crew makes delivery."

Dwalin perused through some of the piles as they walked through, pausing a moment to study the stonework of a statue half as tall as he was and probably twice as heavy. Adwonus sat down, followed by the others, their eyes still lost among the curiosities. Through the rear door, a young Shan-tai girl walked out holding a tray of tea. She wore flowery silk robes, her black hair combed straight down the back. Silently, she placed the tea in front of them, and proceeded to fill three clay cups.

As the young girl disappeared into the back, the others sipped their tea. It was comfortably warm down the throat, spiced with flavors they'd never had before. Dwalin drank his in a single gulp – dwarves don't sip. "It's good." "You like, yes?" the old man said cheerfully. "Yea, it's delicious," Taisiya replied. "It's. . . It's. . ." Her head suddenly became very dizzy. Lethargy swept in like a dense fog, and she felt unexpectedly tired. Dwalin and Adwonus were also shaking their heads. Adwnous muttered, his speech slurred, "Is this liquor or something?!" "No," the old man said plainly. "That the poison. You'll go to sleep now, ok?" Adwonus stood up sharply and reached for his axe, "Why you!-" Apparently he stood too fast. Instantly, he collapsed on the ground with a thud, followed by the sound of Dwalin and Taisiya's heads falling on the table. Then, everything went black. . .


Taisiya slowly woke. The fog in her head was disappearing. She tried to move, but soon realized her wrists were tied together. Sitting on the ground, hands tied behind, her back uncomfortably leaned against a pile of junk. She glanced to the side and saw Adwonus and Dwalin next to her in the same circumstances. They were also regaining consciousness. The sound of a drawn sword caught her attention; the young Shan-tai man, Chen, pulled out a sword from its sheathe, and Taisiya immediately noticed it was her sword! He studied the blade closely, looking gratified with his new weapon. Dwalin's axe rested on the small table beside him. Adwonus' pair of axes were farther, sitting on the counter; the old man was appraising one of them with keen interest. Near the exit stood the young girl, using a mirror in one of the piles to tie her hair into a ponytail. She had changed out of her robe into a worn leather armor – and didn't look nearly so innocent anymore.

The old man spoke, "When the crew gets back, we'll sail across the bay, sell them on slave market. Men should get laborer prices; woman will get much more." Chen said, "We'd make a lot more if we didn't pay the pirates that slave exchange fee. Can't we just sell them on our own?" "No grandson. Maybe when Red jack was around. Not with new Pirate Lord though. Too dangerous. Now, make sure they no get up, ok?" Chen leaned on the edge of the table, glancing down at the three prisoners, soon to be slaves. Adwonus suddenly chuckled. "What is it?" Taisiya asked in a hushed voice. "I was just thinking," he replied with a wide grin, "I think I'm going to avoid tea for a while!"


{Grey Stars represent player weapons; all other equipment is on your person}
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:49, Sun 14 Dec 2014.

Dwalin wispers to his companions "I think we should wait to try and escape. Maybe the others will leave us. Wait adwonus, don't you have a knife on your  boot?" If one of us could move by your leg and get it, then we could fight back./"I think we should wait to try and escape. Maybe they will leave us. Wait adwonus, don't you have a knife on your  boot?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:15, Tue 16 Dec 2014.

"We need to get that one to stop watching us first..." Taisiya murmered under her breath, but took a meaningful glance in Chen's direction. "And I want my baby back." She knew their time was short to be able to free themselves.

"Adwonus if you have got that knife you have got to let one of us get to it."

Chen swung his new sword through the air, testing the weight. The tip snagged the edge of the pile of junk – it was rather cramped in here. "Hey, watch where you swing grandson!" snapped the old man. Chen apologized in his native tongue, or at least it sounded like an apology. The party sat with wrists tied together. Taisiya detested the ropes around her wrist, but at least their legs weren't bound. Potentially, they could stand and move, though she doubted they'd have very long after that.

Jiao finished tying her hair into a ponytail, and proceeded to tightening the straps of her leather armor. Dwalin noticed the daggers she had tucked away as she moved. So much for innocence. The old man spoke sharply to her, "Go get more rope. Don't like that their legs free." Jiao promptly bowed and stepped through the door onto the deck.

In reply to DM Ryan (msg # 4):



The half orc looks to the party members and moves to his boot behind Dwalin's arms. He whispers to him."It's in the right cuff."

Dwalin looks at chen, watching for when he isn't looking directly at them. He slowly moves to adwonus's right leg and tries to get at the knife to cut the bindings off of his hands. (if and when I manage to get the bindings off, I would try to cut adwonus's  off and pass him the knife)

Taisiya carefully watched between the old man and Chen and to what they were paying attention to. Every once in a while she made a face when Chen did something with her sword that she disapproved of.

Dwalin had an itch under his beard in dire need of scratching. This only motivated him further to cut his bonds. Adwonus brought his leg near Dwalin who plucked the knife always stashed in his boot – handy little thing {Sleight of Hand: 13}. Chen saw the glint of the blade. "Tam alai kwhai!" he shouted at the dwarf in his foreign tongue. Dwalin hastily began cutting through the bonds behind his back as Chen lept to his feet. The Shan-tai man started rapidly shouting, then stomped Dwalin in the face with the sole of his boot {Hit: Dwalin takes 5 Dmg}. It left a streak of dirt, for the soles were damp with seawater and grime from the ship.

Taisiya watched vengefully as the foreigner held her sword while shouting and kicking, and especially as he pointed it as Dwalin, poking him threateningly in the chest. Chen talked back and forth with his Grandfather at a furious pace; though the party couldn't understand a thing, they could still catch "Jiao, Jiao!" amidst the chatter. Yet despite the bruising beneath his facial hair, Dwalin still smirked as the ropes fell off his wrists, completely cut through, knife still in hand. He was free.

[Combat Rounds Enabled]
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:28, Thu 18 Dec 2014.

Dwalin hands the knife to adwonus and runs at chen, slaming his sheild into him

03:51, Today: Dwalin Grayhammer rolled 24 using 1d20+5.
03:53, Today: Dwalin Grayhammer rolled 4 using 1d4+2.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:56, Sat 20 Dec 2014.

Hastily, Dwalin tossed the knife toward Adwonus and it landed beside him on the ground. Chen shouted in his foreign tongue, fast paced and impossible to understand. Still sitting upon the ground {Prone}, Dwalin slung around his shield and slammed it upward into his captor. The edge of his shield caught the ribs, causing a satisfying crack as the lowest fractured {Hit: 4 Dmg}. "This one loose!" he finally cried in common through gritted teeth.

"Just kill that one," shouted the old man. "Dwarf not worth much anyway." Chen flipped the sword upside down and drove it downward like a stake. Dwalin rolled to the side, lest it pierce him through the chest, but it was a moment too late. The blade cut into the dwarf's gut, leaving a streak of red near his abdomen {Hit: Dwalin takes 4 Dmg}. Taisiya watched her own sword draw a friend's blood.


This message was last edited by the GM at 12:08, Sat 20 Dec 2014.

In reply to DM Ryan (msg # 10):

Trapper grabbed the knife and sliced his bonds open with the blade. It wasn't the first time he'd been tied up. With his hands free, he leaned over to taisia and cut her free as well. (I think thats all the action I can do. If not, I will rush over to the table and grab my axes. still armed with the knife.)