Well at Least I’m a Magic Pirate Now

Sarenith 10, Sunday, Day 7

I felt my Keep Watch spell end hours later. Everyone in the hold was still fast asleep, so the girls and I figured we had a little time left. With that in mind, I picked up the Spellguard Bracers from their hiding place and started identifying what my magic items actually did while Sandara prayed to recharge her magic and Syl waited for something interesting to happen, tapping her foot the whole time. 

I could identify items myself by casting detect magic and inspecting them, though I’d have more difficulty the stronger and more complex the item was. The reference document implied there were stronger spells for identification, but I was stuck with using a cantrip and Autopilot’s best guess. I started with the Spellguard Bracers. 

(DC 19. Hidden Spellcraft 20+6=26 critical success, time required halved) The dyed blue leather and silver studs were fairly commonplace for an item like this. Spellguard Bracers are useful for their ability to stabilize magic in adverse conditions, substantially improving the margin for error while casting spells and reducing the chance of a miscast when badly distracted, for example during combat. Getting a set comissioned would generally cost around 5,000 gold, we could probably fence them for 3000 no questions asked. Rates would be better if we had an interested buyer or a reliable contact to sell them to. 

The bracers grant the wearer a +2 bonus on concentration checks made to cast defensively. Three times per day, the wearer can choose to roll a concentration check to cast defensively twice and take the better result.

Well that was a rush. I shook my head to clear it of the torrent of information. It certainly seemed like a useful thing to have on hand, assuming I started getting into fights. Too much of my character sheet seemed focused around fighting, even if I seemed kinda bad at it; it was almost certain to come up eventually. On the other hand, 3000 gold pieces seemed like a boat load of money. Actually, that seems like a decent standard of comparison. Might as well get more of an idea of the economy here; autopilot, how much does a ship like this cost? A lot? I’ve never been in the market for one. More than 3000gp, that’s for damn sure. (Appraise 10+2=12) Fair enough. 

“Alright. Not bad.” I murmured, “The bracers keep you from losing a spell when you get distracted. They seem pretty valuable too.”

Syl rolled her eyes. “If they are magic items with a persistent effect, of course they are valuable. Those things cost more than most people earn in a year to create, and proper artificers aren’t exactly common. The only reason they aren’t even more expensive is that they tend to be durable enough that rich folks can buy them secondhand.” Ahh. I quickly confirmed the highest tier reward for my mission teaching the power of friendship. 

Befriend 3/6/10 crew members from the following list before (day 30): caulky tarroon, Owlbear Hartshorn, Ambrose Kroop, Cut-throat Grok, Sandara Quinn, Rosie Cusswell, Crimson Cogward, Conchobar Shortstone, Slippery Syl, Jakes Magpie, Fipps Chumlett, Jack Scrimshaw, 

Reward: 1 exp sudden Coaxing Spell/ 1 exp, Advance Pay, Boots of Authority / 1 exp, craft magic arms and armor

Yep. Magic item crafting. Forget selling my spells, if I can get rich even quicker by selling equipment I’m doing that.

“Yeah.” I lamented, “I could make a mint, but I don’t have any legitimate explanation for having the damn things. I bet the officers would just confiscate them.”

“From you? Probably,” Sandara agreed. “Lucky for you I happen to know a guy who could get it in front of First Mate Longfarthing without any questions asked; she’s a sorceress, she’d definitely want them. He’d want a cut and so would I, but you could probably come away with around two thousand if she wants them?” 

Syl’s eyes lit up at that. “Nice. A big pile of cash for minimal effort sounds like a good deal. Plus as long as you’ve got those, there’s a chance someone will notice and lift them off you.” I was inclined to agree. 

“Yeah,” I assented, “talk to your friend. Gauge interest first, before we hand them over. No sense passing them around if the deal isn’t going to go through.”

I moved on to the necklace; I was already pretty beguiling myself, so I was hoping that a magic item would help bring that to the next level. I focused on the necklace and chanted.

(Dc 22, Secret Spellcraft check 5+6=11 failure) The aura is enchantment based, so it most likely affects minds, and seems steady and outward facing. It’s probably a persistent, passive effect that impacts those around the wearer. You don’t know more than that. Rerolls are locked until your spellcraft improves. 

“Dammit.” I complained. “This one is a little more tricky. It’s almost certainly valuable, but I can’t make out details. I’m sure as hell not selling something if I don’t know what it does, so I guess it’s going back into storage.” Hopefully whenever I level up that will make my spellcraft better? I can take another crack at it then. 

Sandara left to make the sales pitch sight-unseen, but I stopped Syl before she left too. “Wait. I also have this stuff. You mentioned you used to be a dealer, right?” I pulled out the small satchel of drugs I’d bought from Grok. “Do you think you could sell any of these?” 

She looked over them with professional interest, “hmm. I don’t know these ones.” She admitted. “Are they mushroom based?”

Wait. Did she just make a skill check? A popup in the corner of my eye implied as much, stating “Allied skill check: Failure.” That makes sense I guess. She has her own character sheet now. I wonder what that feels like for her? Will she be getting intrusive thoughts? Eh, I’ll leave that for later. Might as well answer her questions. Take it away, autopilot! 

“They are. My clan grows them underground, and people like me come to the surface to trade for supplies.” I explained before picking up the tin of bachelor snuff. “I’m surprised you don’t know this one; it’s pretty common. Bachelor’s Snuff? A dose about this big, taken nasally, makes a man sterile for one to three days.” 

“Ah,” she said with a smile, “that explains it. I always took care of my own tea, so I didn’t really care if the guy brought his own.” (Intellect 12+2=14 Night tea is a common herbal contraceptive taken by women.) 

“Regardless, it almost always sells well.” I continued, picking up the next tin full of dark grey powder. “This is called Vigilance. We sometimes use it to keep watch or listen in on conversations. It massively enhances the senses for a few hours, but also leaves the body numb for around twice as long.” 

“Doesn’t exactly sound recreational, though it might be useful as an anesthetic.” Syl pointed out skeptically. “Why do people take it?”

“My clients mostly aren’t stressed college students; that stuff usually sells well but you can only ask so much for it.” I responded, “adventurers will pay 25 gold for this stuff, and some captains like to give it to their lookouts if they expect trouble. Seeing someone on the horizon before they see you is definitely worth the investment when it works.” She shrugged, conceding the point. 

“If you want recreational, this stuff is called Magesight.” I pulled out the second to last tin, “It lets just about anyone who inhales it see magic. Not exactly useful unless you know what to look for, but magical auras are really beautiful and it has a soothing effect. It’s nice for a relaxing night staring at a potion bottle.”

“What about this one?” She picked up the tin of Slaver’s Drops, small black pellets. Yeah, autopilot. I’m curious about that one too. 

“They are a sedative that also increases the mind’s openness to new information. You become more observant and tend to make large leaps of logic while under the effects, but you’re also much more susceptible to to mental influence from magic.” Very not incriminating. I also note that you didn’t call them by name. That said, if I get something else like the seal I might want to see if I can get someone to pop a few pills before I use it. 

“They aren’t exactly my normal supply, you know,” she argued skeptically, “like you said. I’m used to students with more of daddy’s money than sense.” Well I have an answer for that!

“From what Sandara mentioned, when the money is flowing on a ship like this there is a lot to go around.” I countered, “On top of that, what exactly about this crew has led you to believe they are all bastions of common sense and frugality?” 

She conceded the point with a shrug. “I’m willing to give it a shot, but what kind of cut will I be getting?” 

I would like as much of her cut as possible to consist of me fucking her. Autopilot, make it so. “So, my thought was that you would serve as the point of contact for the sale of my product, in return I’d allow you to avail yourself of my services in bed.” (Diplomacy 4+4=8. Fail!) 

“Look,” she replied, deadpan, “you may be pretty but I’m sure as hell not going to pick up a whole side hustle where I’m exclusively paid in dick. Not when I’m already hard up.” Ok so she isn’t completely irrational there. 

“Alright then, how about a twenty percent cut for you? Plus, every twenty gold pieces you sell we can have a roll in the hay. Seems fair, right?”

“Yeah, sounds about right.” She agreed, “I can accept that, but you’d better actually be good in bed. If you turn out to be terrible; I’ll need to renegotiate my pay.” 

“How about this?” I proposed, “I’ll pay you that way upfront, as soon as we can manage; that way you will know what you’re getting into.” (Diplomacy 20+4=24 critical success)

“So you can be reasonable!” She chided me, her mouth stretching into a smile, “Alright. You have yourself a deal.” 

We shook hands, as we were both perfectly happy with the arrangement. Alright! It’s a date. 

••••••••••

Kroop arrived for the morning shift bursting with nervous energy, muttering curses as he threw on his apron. He stalked up to his book of recipes and started flipping through before acknowledging my presence. “Hey kid,” he said without looking at me, “I don’t suppose you have any knowledge of lobstering? The ship is stopping in port, but the captain wants to drop a couple boats off at a reef to try to catch some lobsters.” 

He stalked around the galley for the rest of the morning, ranting about how unreasonable it was to leave a small team in the jollyboat for a day just to catch a few wet bugs. I can’t remember most of it, because as he spoke I was distracted by a popup on my HUD. 

Timed Mission: Sareneth 11

Capture a Reefclaw, dead or alive: 1 exp, Relationship Stabilizer

Reefclaws. Autopilot, talk to me. Reefclaws are an aggressive aquatic abberation which resemble crustaceans. They are animalistic but moderately intelligent and consistently violent against intruders. They are considered a delicacy in several coastal nations, and are weak enough that a few able bodied hunters can generally kill one without any notable injuries. (Intelligence 19+2=21 success)

I finished my internal discussion and refocused on my boss around when he started calming down. “… so naturally procuring food is our job as cooks even when the whole idea is damn stupid. Long and short of it is that one of us is going to be cooking solo for a day and restocking the larder in port, while the other is out on one of the rowboats trying to catch lobster until the Wormwood comes back.” He sighed before asking apologetically which job I wanted. 

Normally I’d be inclined to try the one that seems less dangerous, but that mission would get me to Level 2. Is it worth the risk? “I think I could manage the lobsters but not if I’m going alone. So could I maybe get some people to come along to assist?” 

“Probably one or two people.” He guessed, “Assuming you can get them to skip out on a day of leave. I doubt we’ll be able to get the captain to force anyone to help you.”

“Cool. I’ll do that then, I guess. Can I canvass for volunteers while we pass out biscuits?” Hopefully my party will be easy to convince, and I know of at least one guy who probably didn’t have any plans for the day.