Barrett returns from a successful morning of negotiating and shopping, with a spring in his step and a spark in his eye which you haven’t seen for a while…probably since before Iris’ death.
He lets you know that he’s secured passage for us to the Roaming Isle aboard the Iskra Lowe, the private ship of Lady Daressin. She has apparently become quite a trader in the last three years, often making purchases in Waterdeep and selling them at smaller ports on smaller outlying islands. Barrett didn’t meet her, but he knows that Lady Daressin assumed leadership of Snowdown about 15 years ago. According to the harbormaster’s clerk, she is fairly pleasant to deal with and has brought relative prosperity to Snowdown and Caer Westphal. She is with the ship at the moment but doesn’t usually travel with them. Don’t know if she’ll be sailing with us, but Barrett suspects she will. Barrett also lets you know that her captain is Jule Linithed, a thirty-something woman who is well respected despite her age. She has the loyalty of her crew and runs a very tight ship. (Barrett didn’t meet her either, but he’s sure we will on the voyage.) Then Barrett goes into an unnecessary amount of detail about the ship and how lovely it is. He’s clearly smitten. He mentions that her crew is very efficient; certainly more than any other merchant or navy ship he’s ever seen. It was a little strange, but he didn’t detect any magic or control or fear or anything…just a lot of efficiency.
[5:59 AM]
Finally, Barrett tells you about the first mate, Viltil Hethrin, a red dragonborn who’s the one Barrett talked to. He seems pleasant enough but is certainly a no-nonsense kinda’ guy. He seemed a little aloof from the crew and has a goliath who passes his orders on to them from him (a typical naval arrangement) but he seems to have their respect. He was impressed by our crew’s skills, which I offered in exchange for our passage. Dhann may need to do some cleric-ing, Z may need to mend some sails or do other artisan things, Elyana is on the hook for providing a cask of grog for the crew, Barrett will be helping as navigator, carpenter or topsman, as needed. (Tabitha…I couldn’t think of anything specific Tabitha could do on a ship, other than have Midnight fly ahead as a lookout…but I didn’t mention that.) Space is a little limited, as they already have four passengers on this voyage. Two nobles, a cartographer, and one other. They only have four guest cabins total, with two of them spoken for. That means you four will get to split two cabins and Barrett is slinging his hammock with the crew. There looks to be about 40 crew total. I told he we didn’t have any cargo, just a few personal bags. Here’s a few other excerpts from Barrett’s conversations with Mr. Hethrin:
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“We'll not be underway for a few days more at least. You should also know that we do make frequent stops at some of the smaller islands. We're a trading ship primarily and we have good to trade with some of the more remote settlements." "We treat our guests with great respect and expect the same. The captain will likely invite you to dine with her at least once on the voyage. Formal attire is suggested, but not required per se. That cask of grog would be much appreciated, I'm sure. Also, you will be assigned to specific regions of the ship. The hold and certain other areas are considered off limits. It is a small rule but one we feel is important. Safety and all that. I'll happily send a message or a crewman when we are a few days from departure. I expect we won't be too much longer. We look forward to having you aboard."