Tides and Tribulations #12

The group spreads out and explores the Sinker. Everyone was kind of doing their own thing this time around. On-going GURPS adventures set in the beautiful and evocative Bay of Spirits setting by Randy M. at Roan Studios.

GURPS: Tides and Tribulations

Session 012

Go Your Own Way

231210

The group had been shown to their room on the 2nd floor of the Sinker, a halfway house, inn, and tavern, tucked away at a secluded little spot on the Middle Bay.

Jens sinks into a chair and takes off his boots. "So, friends, now what?"

Nilas sits on one of the bunks and starts thumbing through some books he has brought up from downstairs.

Ragnar sits on the different beds, testing them out

The beds, for being bunks, seem relatively comfortable, much more comfy than Ragnar is used to.

Ragnar picks the firmest one and plants himself. "I'm not sure what's next, but I think we better watch our backs here."

Jens snorts. "Well, we're chasing assassins. I don't feel safe anywhere on land."

Ragnar shrugs. "I feel safer with my feet on solid ground, but yeah, it's more dangerous."

Jens says "Well, we're doing this to get justice for you and your father. How do you want us to proceed?"

Bro' Bob sprawls in another chair, one leg over the arm and shrugs, "I don't know what else we can do for leads at present, but I think this could be a valuable location to know and be known."

Ragnar nods. "I guess we could see about making some friends here, but that's not really something I'm good at doing."

The taproom was pretty empty at this time of day, but the barkeep did mention that lunch would be served in a couple of hours.

Though this room does not have any windows, the steady rain can be heard on the roof above.

Jens shrugs and points at the ceiling. "Doesn't seem like the best day for it at the moment."

Ragnar nods. "Then maybe a nap is a good idea. Can't get too much sleep when you're on a hunt."

Jens nods. "Sounds good to me. Maybe the rain'll let up later and I can run down and check on the boat."

Bro' Bob adds, "And I'd like to check on Mother Carmel and get my gear off of it"

The group spends the majority of the day in their room,. Derrin brings up a tray of lunch food in the early afternoon and Jens and Bob make it back down to the shore to check on the Kittiwake and Carmel. Both are doing just fine.

Everyone gets a nap in and Nilas catches up on some reading, mostly trashy fiction and poorly written poetry, nothing of any real value.

Throughout the day, there is limited traffic in the hallway outside the room door, but there is some. Finally, 6pm rolls around, and a quiet, distant bell can be heard ringing for a moment.

Jens stretched and rose. "I guess that's the signal for things to get rolling downstairs. Shall we?" He sits and starts putting on his boots.

Ragnar "I definitely could eat!"

Nilas nods. "Yes, food would be nice right now. Calla's tears weigh heavily on the day today. Perhaps we can make a few contacts here. It never hurts to have leads. While this place may be a bit rough, doesn't mean that we can't use it to our advantage if needed."

Nilas says, "We need to find leads on the Crimson Talons. We need to help Ragnar seek justice for his father's death. After that, once we settle up with Tabor, We can go wherever we want to"

Jens chews on Nilas' words, then nods. "Very well, I will do what I can. Shall we, mates?"

Ragnar stands. "Let's go."

You head back downstairs and see several of the tables occupied, though there are plenty of tables and places at the bar to sit. Derrin nods at you from his usual place at the end the bar and and the barkeep, Borris, curls his lip up and turns away.

Nilas says, "There was some drama earlier between Ricard and that lady over there, perhaps we should grab something between them and pick up on some conversation?"

Nilas sees that most of the people, the men at least, are armed with knives or shortswords, though some do not appear to be armed at all.

The majority of the people in the dining room are not armed by anything more than a knife in most cases, though two fellows do have shortswords. An older burly man in the corner has a sword, though he looks more like a bounder or guard than a patron. He is not eating or drinking anything. A musician near the fireplace plays lively music and a juggler is dancing around tossing colored balls in the air.

Nilas says, "maybe we should leave the heavier gear in the room?"

Jens waves a coin to get Borris' attention and asks for a mug of the local specialty.

Ragnar looks torn. "Guess a hand axe might be too much?"

Borris takes the coin, fills a mug and slides it down to Nilas.

Jens looks at Borris, then at Nilas, then at Borris. He sighs and pulls out another coin.

Nilas will leave his spears and back pack in the room, but keep his other equipment

Ragnar just has knives as well.

Jens asks Derrin if he's had a chance to ask around for jobs for him.

Nilas says, "Well friends, do we want to sit at the bar or a table?"'

Bro' Bob looks around, "Table"

Nilas takes a seat at the table near Ricard and Lord Cedric unless Bob has a better idea

Ragnar joins Nilas

Bro' Bob suggests, "Let's watch the door. If our quarry comes in i want to spot them before they do us"

Nilas says, “good point.”

Bro' Bob moves to a table near the end of the bar. "This gives good coverage of most of the room, along with the door and stairs," he says quietly

Most of the patrons seem focused on their meals and drinks. Several of them give you passing glances but not much more.

Nilas leans over and waves at Ricard. "Hello again sir, I hope that your day has been well"

Bro' Bob shifts around in the chair a bit before getting up , turning it around, and sitting backwards, straddling the back of the chair to face the table

Ragnar keeps quiet and watches everyone while sipping some water from his waterskin

"Aye? Oh, hello, yes, a fine day, spent some time reading and journaling in my room," Rickard replies. He shuffles a deck of cards as sits at the table.

An attractive young server brings food and drinks over to the table. "Here ya go, loves, let me know iffn I can get anything else for you." she says.

Nilas smiles and thanks the young maiden

Jens watches Derrin leave, wondering where he is going.

Derrin has just moved back to make more room at the bar. He is standing in the corner.

Nilas says, "Ricard, you seem well known around here. I heard of some rumblings near Grebechyr. Have you heard of anything going on beside the plague upon the crops?"

"Yes, the crop blight in Grebeschyr, nasty business, I had hoped to do some trading there later in the spring, hopefully it's cleared up by then. I wonder though, if those Starling Lords are covering something up. You never can tell with that lot," Rickard says, narrowing his eyes.

While Bro' Bob napped earlier in the day, he again dreamed of going to Grebeschyr. Every time hears the name of the town, he feels drawn there for some reason.

Derrin, having been busy earlier when Jens spoke to him, comes over to the table. "Jens, my friend, I am sorry, the patrons are all eating dinner, I have not had a moment to talk to anyone about jobs yet, I will do so, for you, but you must give me a day or two. The boss doesn't like us badgering the customers too much. But I will talk to some folk, I promise you."

Nilas frowns. "I have been wondering that myself Ricard."

Ricard asks if anyone wants to play cards after their dinner is finished.

Jens smiles. "Thank you, my friend. I understand completely. Hopefully we can come up with something before my friends and I have to leave."

Nilas says, "I'm not much of a gambler, I don't even have much coin to play with"

While dinner goes on, Bob, Ragnar, and Nilas all notice a young, tough looking fellow with a younger companion enter the Inn. They are not familiar at all. They look around then go over to Derrin at the corner of the bar. They speak for a few minutes, then head back out into the rain.

Bro' Bob shakes his head "No" saying, "Thanks, but I'm more of a drinker than a gambler, and I definitely don't mix the two," raising his mug in a friendly toast

While dinner goes on, Jens notices an attractive woman in red with fur around her shoulders giving him the eye when her companion isn't looking.

Ragnar stands and starts to leave

Rickard gets up and heads over to Roderick's table on the other side of the room. The two start playing a game of cards, laughing loudly.

Nilas says, "I could try to play with them, at least get into conversation with them"

Jens shyly blushes

Nilas says, "Where is Ragnar going?"

Ragnar heads out the front door. It is still raining outside, though not very hard, it is starting to get dark as well. Ragnar sees the two men heading off to the right toward the outhouse.

Nilas says, "Maybe the druid returned?"

Jens sidles up to Derrin. "So, who are the couple at that table over there? Do you know them?" He indicates the lady in red and her friend

Derrin looks over to where Jens is motioning. "Ahh, yes, that's Avekin Windport, from the Gut, and his wife, Cyneste."

Jens nods. "Fine lookin' woman."

Outside, Ragnar sees them pass the outhouse and keep going. 

Nilas says, "should we follow Ragnar? or let him be?"

Bro' Bob replies, "Leave him be for now - he's been indoors all day and probably just needs to breathe"

Jens shrugs. "I imagine he'd have tried to alert us if somethin' was up. Might be just drainin' the bilge."

Ragnar does not think the others notice him following so he procees a bit for now with caution. Ragnar loses sight of them around the corner of the outhouse, but sees them again as they are going around the corner of the building ahead.

Jens does remember that the outhouse was located out the front door and to the right, the way Ragnar seemed to head.

Nilas says, "I"m going to see what I can do with the card guys here..."

Jens nods. "Good luck!"

Ragnar continues carefully

Nilas walks over to Ricard and Roderick. "I'm not much of a card player, but I have to learn sometime, right?"

Ragnar continues to follow the two fellows, he loses them again for a moment around the side of the building, when he looks they are gone, though there is a door leading back into what must be the kitchen area of the Sinker.

"Mind if I watch and learn?"

agnar does not think they could have made it to the far corner of the building, not without sprinting at least.

"Oh yes, of course, especially if you are buying the next round!" Roderick says, slapping Nilas on the arm!

Ragnar pauses to look around

Nilas laughs. "Yes, I suppose I could at least do that"

Nilas hands the serving girl 3 copper coins

"So, who's your favorite tonight?" Roderick asks. There is an abrupt thump under the table as Ricard gives Roderick a harsh glare, gritting his teeth.

Ragnar only sees the muddy back area of the inn. A small wagon is pulled near the door, it's back tarped. There are muddy foot prints all around this area, it is difficult to tell if any of them are very fresh, though, due to the rain.

Nilas suddenly becomes curious and concerned

Ragnar gets to a good hiding spot to watch the wagon

Nilas says, "now gentlemen, you can't leave a Callast in the dark like that"

As dinner winds down, Bob notices that most of the patrons, though they seem familiar with each other, begin to head back up to their rooms. A pair of men from the bar head to the door, probably heading to the outhouse as well.

Nilas says, "Favorite for what? Cards, a fight? A lady?"

"Yes, cards. Between me and Rickard here, who do you think is the more skilled opponent," Roderick says.

"You know I always beat you, you scamp!" Rickard says, boasting.

Nilas shrugs. Looks like Rickard got the best of you all earlier today:

The musician and the juggler are wrapping up their performance.

Bro' Bob leans over and says quietly to Jens, "Keep an eye on the Callast - don't forget he's been on an island with nobody but his teacher for the last 6 years. I doubt he learned much about card sharps. Or he's better at it thean any of them. Anyway, I'm going to check on Cousin Ragnar."

The move over to the bar to eat and drink some as the dining room crowd is thinning.

Bro' Bob heads to the door

Ragnar hides behind a pile of firewood under a tree near the backdoor of the Sinker. He can see the wagon and the backdoor clearly.

Bob heads out the door and sees the two men headed toward the outhouse.

Nilas watches and tries to learn the game while trying to carouse with the 2 men.

Jens leans back and takes a long pull on his drink.

Bob is sure they do not notice him as they pass the pisser and head around the corner of the building.

Nilas says, "is there anything interesting going on around these parts? I know that there has been trouble in Grebechyr and we were headed there to help. But we also had some problems out in Piper's Quay and I wonder if they are related."

Jens' keeps an eye on Nilas. He notices that Avekin Windport moves from his table to the bar.

Before he realizes it, Cyneste Windport is standing right behind him, her hand on Jens' shoulder. "Hello, there, you're not a regular here."

The two men deal Nilas in, telling him this round is only a copper.

From his vantage point, Ragnar sees two more men that he recognizes from inside come from around the corner toward the back door of the Inn. Ragnar continues to watch

Jens scoots his chair back and bumps into the nice lady. He immediately stands. "Oh, please excuse me, ma'am. Totally my fault."

She shifts her hand to be on Jens' chest. She smiles and smells good. She's definitely  putting the moves on Jens while her husband is at the bar.

 Bob watches as they go around the far corner of the building, losing sight of them.

Ragnar sees the two men go into the backdoor of the Inn. Just after they go in, he sees Bro' Bob appear around the far corner.

Ragnar sees they paid no attention to the wagon and just went inside. 

Ragnar emerges from his spot and heads toward Bro Bob

As Bob rounds the corner he sees that the two he was trailing are gone. He sees a side door leading into the kitchen area of the Inn and a covered wagon parked near the door. Farther along, he sees Ragnar appear from behind a pile of firewood.

Jens' has that warm, tingling feeling he's gotten a few times before. It is not an unwelcome feeling. "Would you like to come up to my room with me, I've got something I need you to take a look at." She says, winking.

Cyneste's husband, Avekin turns and sees her talking intimately with Jens. "Dear, I am heading down now, will you be joining me? Oh, I guess not." he says, shrugging. He turns and heads up the stairs.

Jens looks somewhat frantically for Nilas or Ragnar or Bro Bob, but none of them are near at hand.

Jens smiles and says "Well, I suppose that would be all right. Please, lead on!"

Cyneste leads Jens upstairs, following her husband, though not that closely. When they get to the top of the stairs, Avekin is nowhere in sight and Cyneste leads Jens down the hall to a room near his. She opens the door, leads him in, closes and bars it behind her.

Rickard and Roderick cheer raucously as Nilas wins his first hand at the game of Crowns.

Nilas smiles. HE is slightly concerned that they men may have been referring to Jens being solicited by the woman, as to whom "Their favorite" was tonight.

They slide him their two copper coins and deal the cards again. This time, they start to explain the complex betting scheme that goes along with the game. Back in Gawl Hole with his mentor, Callast Xern, he had learned the game, but they did not do much of the betting.

Nilas will continue to play, but keeping a look around the tavern room

Nilas notices that his companions are no longer in the room, only the workers and one couple remain.

The minstrel gets up and begins to play again, the juggler remains at the bar, drinking, his show clearly over.

Nilas thinks to himself, 2 more hands, and then he will go outside, saying that he has to perform an evening ritual to Calla to make his leave.

Outside, in the rain, Ragnar and Bro Bob come together near the back door. Ragnar explains that he had followed the other two from earlier, but lost them, then he saw two more men, the ones that Bob was following, they came around and went into the backdoor of the Inn.

Nilas plays well for the next couple of hands, which takes about 10 minutes. He does manage to lose his last silver piece though.

Nilas says, "IF you will excuse me Gentlemen, I appreciate the lesson, but I am late for my evening ritual blessing to Calla"

Ragnar explains what he was doing to Bro Bob, "So, not much to say and now I'm wet. Ready to head back in and dry off?"

Bro' Bob nods, "Okay, I'm going to hit the head first, then join you"

Ragnar nods and returns inside

Ragnar heads back to the front door only to bump into Nilas coming out at the same time. Bro' Bob heads into the outhouse.

Nilas says, "Oh hello....I was just coming out to see where you guys went"

Session Notes

This session was like a free-for-all with everyone doing different things in different areas of the inn. Totally cool with that, it was fun and with a smaller party, wasn't too difficult.

Cast of Characters:

Brother Robert (Bro' Bob) D'Nagien, a young Enibrian monk and archer - played by Amergin K

Jens Marko, a young Captain sailing his dory all over the bay - played by Arne J
Callast Nilas Orkan, a young priest of Calla the Storm Goddess - played by Mike B

Arline Vaughn, an ex-pirate seeking a different kind of life - played by Sofia

Artur Boscson, a wild and angry woodsman looking for adventure - played by Zach G

and GMJasonGURPS as the DM