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poisonbite01
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The Bourbon Buzzard. It wasn't a new ship, nor was it a famous one. It wasn't an awe-inspiring vessel that towered above the others, a or a slickly-designed boat designed to track down pirates and destroy them without mercy. It was a little thicker than most ships, with worn sails, wood that was slightly different colors, and few weapons. Still, it wasn't a bad ship. It had come cheap and it was a reliable ship-for-hire that had served in several naval campaigns, tracked down a few reputable bounties, and lived through more than a few famous storms. It was a solid ship, that was the best way to put it. It had a rather frequently changing crew, but a little over half-a-dozen of the twenty or so minimum crew had been on that boat for years.
Shushanuu, a skilled cook and warrior-mage known for using a heavily-reinforced mop as his primary weapon. He was a huge, muscular Darfellan, a race of semi-aquatic natives of the colder climes that looked like a barbaric human and a killer-whale fused together.
Durok, a squat Orc who wielded an enchanted hammer. He was the first mate and as fair as he was strict.
Toulouse and Loose-fist, rivals and brothers in all but blood, are quick-fingered pickpockets and skilled mariners, even if neither clears three feet in height. The first is a fair halfling with black skin and glittering blue eyes, and the other is a Goblin with dark-green hide and ears that have far too many pears stuck in them.
Telea, a half-giant woman big enough to punch a ship's mast out of its moorings, is the navigator, and loves her ship almost as much as Carrn loves it.
Speaking of Carrn, he's the ship-wright. As skilled with a mallet and nails as he is with his war-pick, the beefy, tan-skinned dwarf takes pride in his ship. It may look a little rough, but it won't fall apart, and its better reinforced than some of the heavily-armored frigates out there.
The captain of the ship is an odd individual as well. A rather fat lizardfolk warrior dressed in mail and wielding a mace, Sheng Swamp-strider commands respect even if his chubby, double-chinned countenance wouldn't do so. His crew appreciates him for more than just his authority in times of need, but also for his ability to channel deadly magic through that mace of his, and turn a large, blunt weapon into a flaming maul of destruction, or an electric blast that knocks grown men off their feet.
A new crew had come on, since some of the old regulars had gotten a bit old or had decided to retire with their earnings from their last merchant-guard gig. A few had died, but on the open seas that can happen, and the entire crew had finished mourning long ago. Now, a fresh batch of would-be adventurers and mariners were coming aboard. Mostly half-elves and humans, but Sheng saw a half-orc tossed in there, and...an Aventi? Curious...
However, he was not particularly worried about them all. Durok had handled the majority of the enlistment process. No, it was their most recent funder that peaked his interest. A gnommish explorer, paying for an entire crew to travel straight out into the open ocean? It was an interesting and potentially lucrative operation.
Carrn, on the other hand, was fed up with it, and stomped over to the brown-and-green scaled commander.
"Captain, I request permission to speak a touch freely."
"Granted." Sheng's diction and cadence was quite the opposite of the surly dwarf's. While Carrn's was as gruff and guttural as to be expected from a dwarf, Sheng's was in control and almost lilting, as if he'd spent years honing his reptilian mouth-parts to communicate as clearly as possible.
"Are yeh out of yer bleedin' mind, captain? We are headin' out into uncharted waters, and yeh give me a crew o' fresh out of the sack pups?"
Sheng raised an eyebrow at the odd idiom, but chalked it up to the ship-wright's heritage. No one else save the original crew knew of Carrn's... unique gifts, but after almost nine years of sailing with the bulky carpenter they were still learning new quirks to his unusual upbringing and background.
"I'm sorry to inform you, Carrn, but you know I didn't sign up any of these. Durok did. If you have a complaint, take it up with him." Sheng had to contain the chuckle that almost rolled out around his forked tongue when the braid-wearing warrior glared at him in annoyance. After a few moments, though, Carrn let out a sigh and shook his square-chinned head.
"Bleeder'd probably toss me into the brine again."
"And you still haven't installed that ladder yet. It'd be terrible if you couldn't climb back in."
Carrn let out a barking laugh at the crack, and rolled his powerful, bare shoulders. "Bah, it doesn't matter, I'll whip them into shape. I'll have to make sure they can swim first, though." Now it was Sheng's turn to laugh, and the two companions enjoyed a moment of companionship even amongst the loud noises of a new crew banging around on the deck, preparing to cast-off later that day.
"Well, I better get back to work. Tell me there ain't anymore surprise pups on this voyage."
Sheng's suddenly awkward glance up at the crow's nest was all Carrn needed to hear before his face turned as red as the setting sun.
"CARRN! GET CRACKING! SECURE DECK! NEW CREW! MOVE MOVE!"
The shouting voice of Durok turned Carrn's attention away from the sheepish captain, and the dwarf tossed up his hands in defeat. "We're all gonna nap with the seaweed, ain't we!" He stormed off to go kick a cabin-boy in the backside for bending too far into the hold, then started shouting about improperly secured lines.
Sheng knew the dwarf didn't mean much of what he said. He was a bit pessimistic and not a big fan of unknown hands messing with his ship. Carrn was as close to a third in command as the ship had, with Durok being First Mate, but the dwarf would never go against the captain or Durok for that matter. The three had been through far too much in almost a decade out on the ocean. Once again the lizardfolk spell-blade cast his eyes about for the last of the crew, curious to meet their patron...
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