Awareness came to him in stages. First, darkness filled his vision. Sounds came next. He heard the moaning and snoring of many people as well as a heavy clinking. Footsteps patrolled from somewhere, leather on wood. He could smell the fetid odor of bodies packed together for too long along with the smell of sickness. He felt odd. Like he was aware of everything on his body. His clothes felt scratchy. He opened his eyes.
In the dim light the filtered from the door and through the planks, he could bodies. He was worried that he were in a dumping ground or crypt. Many of them looked sunken and thin. He was surprised when he noticed many of them breathing. They all seemed to be dressed in the same thing: tattered clothes that looked like burlap. His head pounded. A moan escaped his lips as he put his head in his hands. He felt a clean shaven head. Moving one to his face, he found no beard, either. Looking at his arms, he noticed his skin was tanned. His arms were lean. His body was the same and he was covered in the same burlap clothing the others wore.
“Hello?” he croaked in a dry voice. He was startled when hands clamped his mouth shut and someone rasped in his ear. “Are you crazy, lad? Don't be talkin' so loud ya call the guards.” He flailed and the hands grew tighter. “I swear, I'll kill ya meself if ya don't quiet down. You call them over and they'll beat us all out of spite.” He stopped moving, willing himself not to move. The voice came again. “Better now?” He nodded. “Fine. I'll let ya go but ya start that again and I'll save meself trouble down the line and just finish it.” The hands released his face and he turned.
Behind him was a man who looked to be in his thirties. Despite how cadaverous the others looked, he had a barrel chest and a stomach to match. His arms large with corded muscle under skin that had seen many days in the sun. Like himself, this man was bald and clean shaven. His dark eyes reflected what little light filtered in. He cocked his head to one side. “Who are ya, lad?” he asked.
“Me?” came the reply. “Oh, I'm...uh....I.....” he trailed off. Who was he? Where was he? “I don't know,” he said finally. “I can't remember anything until this moment.” The other man prompted, “No name? Nothin'? What does it say on your profile?”
“'Profile?' I-” he was cutoff as a screen filled his view. It was a black rectangle with a white border. Gold lettering populated it with a picture of a man to the right.
NAME: Madike
HP: 100 (base 50 +10*(CON+STR MOD))
STM: 100 (base 50 +10*(AGI+CON MOD))
Level: 1
Exp: 0/1000
STR: 10
AGI: 10
CON: 10
INT: 10
WIS: 10
CHA: 10
LCK: 10
Abilities: N/A
Skills: N/A
“Madike,” he said, reading the name out loud. He studied the portrait. The man had the same build and skin color as he did so he took that to be himself. His face looked angular with a short chin, thin lips, and a nose with a long straight bridge. His eyes were bright and hazel giving him an earnest look. He surprised himself when he imagined the screen going away and it did, his eyes falling on the other man again. “I guess my name is Madike,” he said, shrugging.
“Can't say I've ever heard a name like that,” other man put his hand to his chin, thinking. He then held out his hand. “Name's Caiden Howarth. Call me Cai. Most people do,” he said, shaking Madike's hand. “So,” he said, staring at him again. “Where do you come from Madike?”
“I don't know,” he replied, shaking his head. “How long have I been here?”
“That's the damnedest thing. You just appeared.”
“What?”
“It be true! I swear on my mother's grave,” he put his hand over his heart. “Ya see, they've not be opening that door since we left, save to knock some heads around.” He nodded to the barred door and the hall beyond. “And ya can see, we don't have a whole lot a room ta be hiding people.” Madike contemplated this. He had no memory to counter this, though. He shrugged again and asked, “Where are we anyway?” Cai's face darkened. “This be the Fairhavens Company Debtor's Ship Penance.” Seeing the blank look he was given, he continued. “It be a ship full of anyone unlucky enough to have gone into debt with them. Or unlucky enough to have Fairhavens think they are owed by them. They round 'em all up and send them to one of their plantations.” He sighed. “Then they work themselves ta death.” Madike thought on this. “Let me guess,” he started. “They are 'paid'” he made air quotes earning a confused look. “a wage the goes to paying off their debt. However, they have to pay from room and board, food, medicine and the like so they never actually pay off the debt?” Still looking confused, Cai nods anyway. “That be true. Me uncle went onto their ship years ago. Never seen the man since.” He sighs. “Da gods must really hate ya to have them put ya on this ship.” Madike shrugged and asked, “Why are you here now? Are you looking for your uncle?”
“Ah, no,” came the reply. Cai looked sheepish. “I actually do have a debt with the company.”
“Oh?”
“I started a tavern in a small port called Salyn with a loan,” he said with a sigh. “Everything was fine until...”
“Until?”
“Until da port was raided,” he finished darkly. “One day, just as da sun were coming up, black sails appeared on da horizon. Da militia tried to set up a defense, but dere were too many of the blaggards. Da last I saw of da militia captain was him running into da wilderness beyond town.” He sighed again. “We surrendered shortly after dat. Da pirates took everything a value. My tavern was cleaned dry and I had nothing ta pay the loan with.” He stared directly into Madike's eyes as he said, “Forgiveness and understanding isn't high on their list.” He went silent.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Madike shook his head again. He needed to figure a way off of the ship if he was to have any chance at...what? He had no real options as he didn't even know why he was here in the first place. He was on a prison ship and, if Cai is to be believed, he simply appeared there. What would the command crew do if they found him?
As if to answer his thoughts, footsteps approached the barred door. “Alright, you filth,” came a ringing voice from the other side. “Take your food and be done with it. You worthless lot aren't worth anything to us dead!” A large platter of some type of bread and a large wooden bucket of water were pushed into the room. Moans and shudders came from the bodies around them but most seemed too weak to move. Using his finger to indicate that he should stay in place and remain quiet, Cai jumped up and grabbed the food as the jailer moved on. He came back with both and whispered, “Here, ya take half of these. Dunk some in da water and give it to that half of da room. I'll take this part by da door. Savvy?” Madike nodded and started dunking the hard rolls in the bucket. He swiftly ran them to the others in the room, pressing them into their hands. Most simply moaned more but others were able to mutter a soft “Thank you.” Between the two of them, they were able to pass out the food quickly until only one roll remained. They looked at each other. Cai opened his mouth to say something but Madike held his hands up and shook his head. “I'm not hungry,” he said nodding to the bread. “Go ahead and take it. I should be fine.”
“Are ya sure, lad? It's not like they feed us often,” he seemed hesitant but after another nod from Madike, he sat and began to eat. “Cai, something seems off,” he stated.
“Hmm?” he replied, his mouth full of sopping bread. He took a huge swallow. “What do ya mean, lad?”
“Well, this group is supposed to be working on a plantation soon?” he received a nod. “These people can't sit up much less walk. How are they supposed to do any labor?”
“Uh...hmm,” Cai considered the issue.
“Come to think of it,” Madike pressed on. “why are you so healthy?” He seemed taken aback. “I only came aboard in the last port. These people,” he waved his hand to indicate the room at large. “and the ones in da other holds were onboard before I came. I was one of the last.” He looked at Madike. “That's...that's...”
“Odd.” he agreed. “Something isn't right.”
A notification popped up in front of his vision again. Instead of a black rectangle, this one looked like weathered paper in a leather bound journal.
QUEST: Something Fishy
I've just arrived on the ship Penance and met with another prisoner named Cai. He tells me that we should be headed for a plantation to work off our “debts” but no one here seems to be healthy enough for any type of hard labor. I must find out what's actually going on.
OBJECTIVES:
Find out where the Penance is going and what the intentions are of the crew.
REWARDS:
500 Experience
“Right,” he said, closing the screen. “I need to find out what's going on.”
“What?” Cai asked, perplexed. “How are ya going to do that? You're stuck in here like the rest of us.”
He didn't answer. He just looked around the room trying to set his mind to the problem. He needed to find out what was going on so he needed to get to the deck at the very least. He was stuck in a room with other prisoners. He needed a way out of the room and a way to not be noticed. His eyes fell on the now empty platter and bucket. He pointed at them. “When will they be back for those?” Cai looked at them and considered it. “Shouldn't be too long. Why?”
“Will they enter to get it?”
“Nah,” he said shaking his head. “We'll need to put them by the door.” He cocked his head as Madike beamed at this. “Wha?”
Footsteps sounded outside the door again. Madike had his back pressed against the wall beside it. They paused just putside and he could hear the jailer curse softly. “HEY!” they yelled. “Bring those back over here!” More moaning greeted these words and they cursed again. He sat quietly, waiting for his chance. His heart skipped as he saw the jailer's hand reach in and grope toward the platter. Without wasting time, he grabbed the arm and yanked as hard as he could pulling the jailer off balance and ramming his head into the bar. He bounced back, stunned and Madike yanked again, pulling harder keep him in place. He nodded to Cai on the other side. He grabbed the jailer and kept him against the door while Madike reached for the belt. Moving around, he felt a ring of heavy keys and grabbed them just as their prisoner started moving again. He nodded at Cai again who brought his fist down on the back of the man's head. He went limp.
Madike immediately began working on the lock. In a minute he found the proper key and was able to open the door. “Drag him in,” he said to Cai. As the body cleared the door way, he closed and locked the door again and began to remove his clothes. “Get those clothes off of him and put these on him,” he ordered, dropping his scratchy shirt and working on his pants. When he was done, he looked over his new set of clothes:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEMs RECEIVED:
Sea Dog Uniform Shirt
Chest
Armor 1
Durability: 7/50
Sea Dog Uniform Pants
Legs
Armor 1
Durability: 4/50
Sea Dog Boots
Feet
Armor 1
Durability: 10/50
Length of Spar
Club
Damage: 1-5
Durability: 16/50
He had blinking dot in his lower right. He focused on it.
COMBAT LOG:
UNARMED STRIKE hits SEA DOG for 12 damage (base 6 x2 sneak attack).
UNARMED STRIKE hits SEA DOG for 7 damage (base 7).
Caiden uses UNARMED STRIKE on SEA DOG for 10 Damage (base 8 plus 2 skill)
SEA DOG is defeated. 20 experience gained.
CHARACTER:
NEW SKILL ACQUIRED!
Brawling: Fighting without weapons takes either precision or brute force. You prefer the latter option. Each skill adds 1 point of accuracy and damage while fighting unarmed.
Looking over the log, he realized the armor from the clothes hadn't helped since he struck his head. Plus, it looks like he got a new skill. It was good since the club didn't seem like it'd be very useful. Making sure everything was secure he stood. “Cai, I'll be back as soon as I can.”
“Ay, lad,” came the reply. “Be careful out there.” Madike nodded as he unlocked the door. Opening it quietly, he peeked his head out and looked in the hallway. No one was there. He stepped out, closed the door, and locked it. He was on his own.