Jammers:Turn 24, Chapter 6 Summary

The Ongoing adventures of my Spelljammer PBEM game.

Here's the Jammers web address:

http://jammers.s5.com/

Comments, questions always welcome:)

----------- = Meanwhile, elsewhere...
*********** = Later...

IC:
Date/Time: Morning, 9th day of the 8th Month, 5049 OC

After an eventful evening the Company of the Silent Star have a
council on the deck of their ship over breakfast, a pleasant morning
with the brightly colored gullions wheeling and calling slowly
overhead.

Allagan relates his and Sekeht's efforts over the past few weeks to
make contact with Gwardolith.  Allagan further speculates that maybe
Gwardolith may have been
behind Ferric's poisoning.

Allagan says, "Why don't we hunt down Bosil and the rest of the Red
Masks?  There can't be that many more of them. It would be best if we
removed before
anything unpleasant befalls any of us."

Standing quickly, Dhebun takes the stem of his pipe from his mouth,
his eyes smoldering with barely contained anger, and then looks
straight up at Holland. "You know what I say, Holland, though I am
hardly the boldest or most often heeded among our company. The Red
Masks have long been a menace to Bral, or so I have heard tell, and
if we end them I do not think many will mourn."

Those that are looking in Pate's directions can see him roll his eyes.

"In particular, I want Bosil!  That son of a Rukh must brought to
justice!  I promised him there would be a reckoning, and a dwarf does
not swear such an oath lightly. The very thought that he still lives
after the insult he dealt us is almost beyond bearing. And, by MAHL
this I know for certain, if we do not deal with him once and for all
he will deal with us!" Dhebun unclenches his fist and closes his eyes
tight. After a moment he continues in a calmer tone.  "My question is
do we have the might to take on the Masks and win?"

Holland replies, "That is an interesting question."

Allagan says, "The Red Masks weren't that strong to begin with and
they lost a lot of their members during the Rat War. I bet Bosil is
one of the senior members now. I think we can take them on and win,
we just need to apply ourselves."

"It's a thieves guild, not an army. You can't just march in and
destroy the bulk of their forces and have it be over. If you tried
there would be a bounty on
your head and a pack of assassins on your trail until you were slain.
Right now we are just a freelance group hired by the halflings. A few
of the Masks have
personal vendettas against us but we are not a threat to the
organization as a whole. If we were to attempt to eradicate them we
would find the entire resources of an underground organization and
its contacts against us."

Billy nods in agreement.

Vais speaks up, "I think Ferric's on the right track. Though it
worries me that two of our Bralian natives disagree here. In these
matters they, along with Billy and Italapate, are our best local
guides. At least the head of the Red Masks is not one of the
Underbarons."

Allagan thinks for a minute and then replies, "Maybe we don't need to
destroy all of the Red Masks, just the leaders like Bosil. If we
remove the head, the
body will die on its own. The other Guilds will move in and divide up
the remains."  Allagan asks Ferric, "Would that be a better plan?"

"I don't know that we need to worry about the Red Masks presently."
Ferric answers. "Wasn't Bosil just the commander of those
mercenaries? I believe he is working on his own as a personal
vendetta against us. He no doubt has the blessings of the Masks but
they are not necessarily involved themselves. From the story the thug
gave us it didn't sound as though there were any others planning
this, most likely there were only spotters relaying information to
him.

"Hoom, I agree. Bosil has made clear his intentions against us; as
for the rest of the Masks, I do not favor moving against them at this
time." Nilaroo adds.

Holland shrugs his shoulders and looks at Billy, "What do you think
Billy? Would the Halflings be able to help us with some targeting? I
mean, find out Bosil's location and the location of any other Red
Mask leadership?"

"Even with the whole of the resources available to the Halflings'
Guild, we would not able to eliminate these pests. I don't think we
are capable of such a feat." Billy scratches his face with the gnawed
end of a chicken bone. "Finding Bosil or any other of the Red Masks'
leaders is as difficult as finding a specific rat in a sewer.
Difficult, but not impossible. Maybe we could get the Axe on this if
he is still willing to work with us... Or at least *for* us."

Holland shakes his head, "I don't think we should have anything
further to do with Radick, we can't trust him."

"Now see here, _Cap'n_," Pate speaks up. "I don't want to hear you
bad mouthin' Rad! None of you took the time to know him like I did.
If you want to know what's up with him, I'll talk to him... but you
can't tell me not to have anything to do with him. If I see him, I'll
do what I want."

Holland replies, "Italapate, I am referring to professional dealings.
He said that he would contact us if he received any leads on the
fellows we are looking for; but from what Nilaroo says, he knew about
Anson being on Bucca's Deep and never told us. We can't trust him
professionally, if you wish to have personal associations with him,
by all means, go ahead."

Leaning against the side, Talus comments, "Here's a bit of news to
add to that fire you got burning against Rad. He met with Dougal and
passed on some info and now Dougal's packing up to go on a long
journey. Perhaps 'Pate, Grigree and myself should go see what Radick
does know."

Holland closes his eyes and shakes his head for a second before
opening his eyes, "Yes, perfectly trustworthy. Did you hear what he
told Dougal?"

"Nope. I thought it wise to stay quiet and hidden. When they split up
we went after Radick but lost him." answers Talus.

Turning to Kain, Talus tosses him a medallion, "Thanks for the
loaner, it came in really handy."

Holland watches Kain catch the medallion and then says, "Maybe
someone should go talk with Raddick with that there medallion handy.
That way you can find out what Raddick is thinking even if evasions
are what comes out of his mouth."

Talus flashes a quick look at Holland and then speaks softly to Kain,
"Friend, I trust you'll learn from your mistakes. Other than Holland
getting you to bug Radick with that mind speech he's got no reason to
dislike us - don't give him one."

Vais says, "Isn't there a difference between the two? The mind
talking has the appearance of invasion, but actually doesn't, and the
recipient knows it occurred. The medallion's mind read actually is an
invasion, but the victim isn't usually aware of it." Vais looks at
Kain, "Is that not a fair evaluation?"

Kain answers, "Yes, ah, it is."

Allagan says, "When we went with Holland to check out that magic
tattoo parlor the owner said he had the sign of the Red Masks outside
his door to show he was
under their protection." Allagan asks Billy, "Do you know what this
sign or symbol is?"

"Yes I do, Allagan," Billy replies. "Their symbol is a red veil.
Shops paying for their protection usually drape such a veil over the
mantle of their doors, just along the top. They also leave such veils
behind at assassinations they wish to claim credit for, and
burglaries they are proud of."

Freneth shrugs his shoulders, and puts in, "This one does not truly
understand what the Red Masks are. They are another tribe?"  He looks
around for confirmation.

"Yes Freneth, they are like a tribe." Ferric answers. "They steal
from people unless they are paid not to. They are sneaky, murderous
bullies for the most part."

Billy smiles. "Freneth, your innocence is refreshing." Billy explains
in a low voice, "The situation in big villages like Bral (which we
call 'city' or 'cities' if you mean more than one) is different than
the small village where you came from. In cities you can say that
everyone belongs to the same tribe, though many to not have any
loyalty to their city or fellow city dwellers. Within each city there
are many smaller groups (which in your tribe you may call the
'hunters' or the 'shamans' or the 'chiefs') that do different things
for (and sometimes against) their city. In this case, we have the
'group' of the halflings which protects and watches over the trading
and bartering of many people in the city, and you have the Red Masks
group, which instead of helping the halfling group or any of the
other groups, they want to hurt and kill all the groups and make
themselves the new chiefs of the big tribe of Bral."

"So," Freneth says, "to clarify, they would make themselves the
leaders of the hunters, by hurting or killing any other that would
hunt? This seems odd."  Freneth thinks for a moment, then says, "It
is similar to how Yeti and some of the other animals choose leaders.
The one that can intimidate the other is the leader, yes?"

Sighing, Freneth says, "This place is odd, not what the elders said
of the heavens."

Allagan asks with a slightly confused look on his face, "So we should
just go after Bosil?"

"Yes, that is what I suggest." says Ferric.  "With the stunt he just
pulled the other Masks will feel that he deserved whatever we do to
him. They might not like it but I am betting they will not react to
our dealing with him.  Of course that supposes we are able to find
him.

Allagan says, "Then why don't we do that then? How fast can we find him?"

"This one does not much care about the Red Masks, but this one
believes that the one called Bosil needs to be dealt with.  Bosil has
spat in this ones, as well as Master Ferric's and Master Nilaroo's
faces." Freneth goes on to explain the ambush that had been set up,
which eventually leads back to the Brotherhood.

"Master Nilaroo discovered that one of those the Company seeks is a
member of our new allies, and that one has returned home," Freneth
turns to Nilaroo, "Where was this place?  This one still has troubles
with the odd names in this place."

Holland interjects, "Are you talking about Anson from Pirtel?"

"Hoom, yes, we are.  And as well, we found that we were not the only
members of the Brotherhood seeking Anson, although he is on Bucca's
Deep, not Pirtel." Nilaroo replies.

Holland frowns, "Let me guess.. Radick? He is becoming a nuisance all
on his own."

Nodding his head in agreement, Freneth says, "Anson-of-Pirtel.
Anson-of-Pirtel's axe was also interested in finding Anson-of-Pirtel.
Book Deep?  Is this not where Anson-of-Pirtel lives now?"

"Did you not tell me that he owns a sail shop?" Ferric asks. "Perhaps
we should find him quickly before someone else finds him and his
information. With the characters we are up against these days it is
quite possible that a conversation with his shade will be required
should we tarry over long in visiting his shop.  At least one us with
a tatoo should make inquiries with him."

Holland continues, "So Anson is on Bucca's Deep; or at least he used
to be. Well, I still need a few days in port to finish my library
research and I believe Leera is in the same situation.  If I leave
now, I will have to restart the research from scratch and I am not
too thrilled with that idea.  So, I propose two alternatives.  One,
we wait until Leera and I are finished with our research and then we
all head out to Bucca's Deep; or Two, Leera and I stay behind on Bral
while the rest of you head off to Bucca's Deep and pursue this lead."

Holland asks the group, "What do you think?"

"What rush off and leave behind two of the helmsmen." Ives shakes his
head at this "Besides it would leave you to vulnerable what! I don't
think you'd survive being kidnapped a second time. I too would like a
few more days to finish up my research on Blackjammer and his
cutlass."

"I agree," states Billy. "Splitting up would be a mistake. Maybe we
could look for Bosil while you finish up your research." Billy looks
at Leera. "Bosil will always be here, but Anson may not be around
long if others are also looking for him." Billy looks back at
Holland. "As soon as you finish your research, we should head out to
Bucca's Deep."

Holland says, "Well, if there are no objections, why don't the
information collector's start sniffing around about Bosil's location.
Leera and I will continue our research and we will see what happens."

Dhebun turns to Billy and says, "I would come with you Billy, if I may?"

"Sure, Dhebun," says Billy. "Does anyone else want to come along?"

"This one would come as well, if is acceptable," interjects Freneth.

Dhebun puts an arm around Freneth, smiling. "Wouldn't dream of doing it without
you Anzhal."

Ferric adds, "Speaking of visits I am reminded that the gentleman
Argonui said he would be paying us a visit around noon today. He
claims to be a storyteller who wants to immortalize us with his work.
I have not heard of him nor do I know the truth of his words so
perhaps one or two of you would be able to use your spells to divine
the truth of his words or the purity of his intentions?"

Holland replies, "I don't have any such spells available right now."

Holland adds, with a point at Kain, "But Kain and his medallion might
help you out with this storyteller fellow."

Holland replies, "Speaking of assassins.  What do you think Ferric,
of the possibility of this Gwardolith character being the one that
put a bolt in your back?  He was there that night when the Twisted
Thumb was raided."

"Anything is possible." Ferric shrugs. "Unless someone can divine an
answer magically or find proof by more mundane methods I could not
act against him in good conscience. All we can do is keep our eyes
open and our guards up."

Leera relates the happenings at the ball. She mentions the notables
the group met, and tells of her conversation with the prince.

She recounts the encounter with Lady Moune, and also tells Ferric
that "We met you're favorite scoundrel there, as well. I'm sure it
was an oversight that made Diadan Cartan forget to have us pass on
his best wishes to you...." She grins.

"No doubt." Ferric grimaces. "I need to find a good teacher here on
the Rock or perhaps garner enough treasure to hire one from a
groundling world. I will undoubtedly have to face Dougal again at
some point and given his nature I would not rule out a duel with
Cartan or one of his senior blades either." Ferric shakes his head.
"Of course I'll need to steer clear of him until I have had several
years training with a master instructor. A reputation as the Rock's
most deadly duelist does not come easily."

Holland looks at Raken and Allagan, "Can either of you perform a
divination to find out such information?"

Allagan replies, "No. That is beyond me, sorry."

Raken shakes his head, "It is beyond me, as well."

Leera adds, "Nor do I. Oquid?"

Leera's apprentice shakes her head as well.

As the conversation is beginning to settle down,  Seguld and Mhuire
come up to the deck. Ignoring the crew, Seguld escorts Mhuire to the
gangplank and watches her as she moves off the ship. As she begins to
move along the dock, Seguld waves farewell.

Turning to the others, Seguld finally notices the crew is meeting and
moves to join them. "GreetingsAndSalutationsMyFriends,
Comrades,AssociatesAndShipmates." Seguld speaks aloud in a rather
cheery voice.
"ThereIsNewsIWishToShareWithYouAsItImpactsTheCrewAndCompany"

Pausing slightly for the others to finish absorbing his comments, he
then continues, "Due to the importance of this announcement and
commentary I will try my best to speak in a manner which allows the
best possible understanding and comprehension. For those of you who
are unaware, the young gnome who has just departed is Mhuire
Wrenchlove, one of the most talented designers and and builders
within the Keep of Gond.  I have been involved with her...." Seguld
blushes, "I mean we have been working together on the BERTHA project
for Ives. It is with great and eager anticipation that I wish to
accept this position as the Inventory and Acquisitions Manager for
the Keep of Gond, but to do so I will need to formally retire from
active duty with the Company of the Silent Star, so
unless there are any objections I will be heading below to begin
collecting my gear so I can relocate to the Temple this afternoon."

Holland shakes his head and mutters, "First Deigatt now Seguld, who
is next?" Directing his attention towards Seguld Holland asks, "Are
you sure about this?"

Seguld nods yes.

Holland shrugs, "Well, it is your decision."

Seguld moves to the hatch but pauses before descending and turns to
Holland. "This change in my standing in no way voids or nullifies the
current pending
obligations that exist from our previously negotiated deal, and I will be
expecting your future decisions to be handled professionally."

Date/Time: Morning, 9th day of the 8th Month, 5049 OC
--
"We sleep safely in our beds, only because rough men stand guard in
the night, ready to visit violence upon those who would do us harm."
H.G. Wells.

Paul Westermeyer,  westermeyer.3@???.edu
Phd Candidate, History, Ohio State University
Instructor, Humanities, Columbus State Community College