Spelltide: Changing Seas

Name: (Bi)ru Rusha-(Gu)tha
Race: Wilmian
Class: Armsman
STR: 16 14 DEX: 16 18 CON: 14 INT: 14 WIS: 18 20 CHA: 12

Wilmian Physiology: Wilmians can swim in the water as fast as they can walk on land, and breathe equally well in either environ. Wilmian eyesight, adapted for underwater activity, has continued acuity even in low light conditions. However, Wilmians who spend too long on dry land without submerging themselves in water can find themselves succumbing to landsickness.
Wilmian Shapeshifting: Wilmians are saturated with transmutational energy, and thus have a chance of throwing off the effects of externally based magics that transform them. In particular, the waters of the changing seas can no longer transform them at all. Additionally, all Wilmians can use this energy for either disguise or camouflage.
Wilmian Upbringing: The Wilmian lifestyle grants a great deal of experience with outdoor skills, and exposure to a number of languages.
Unusual Exposure: Armsmen are familiar with a great number of weapons that most others might never use. They are proficient with all martial weapons and a growing pool of exotic weapons. You are familiar with the waveblade.
Combat Trance: For a limited amount of time, Armsmen may slip into a trance where their awareness of weaponry as a concept grows. While in this trance, they gain a bonus on some combat related checks as well as perception checks and certain appraise checks.
Combat Reflexes: With enough training, you can react to openings your enemies give you with enough speed that you can still react to the next opening.
Scholar of the Past: You make a study of ages long gone. You gain a +1 trait bonus on knowledge (history), linguistics, and knowledge (geography). In addition, you know one bonus ancient language.
Quartermaster: You know how to maintain a storeroom. You gain a +1 trait bonus on appraise and disable device checks, and on craft checks to maintain or repair existing objects.

EQUIPMENT: 1 Gold, 12 Silver, 4 Copper
Waveblade, Shark Leather Armor, Reinforced Shell Buckler, Explorer's Outfit
Masterwork Backpack, Waterproof Bedroll, Loose Robe, Slippers, Shovel
Waterproof Case, Journal, Book of Letters, Papers, Ink Bottles, Inkpen

You are (Bi)ru, a valued member of the community in Rusha. Your job, at least until now, has been to sort and store the goods brought in by the salvage teams and traders as well as maintain the pumps that keep fresh air in the dry chamber, where you store books and the like. Now the job will fall to (Ta)ru, your creche-mate. After demonstrating the function of the pumps and how to perform a maintenance cycle, you stop at the coral that marks your creche mother's gravesite. With a quick thanks to (Gu)tha, you turn towards Verdanlamp and set out. Legs jetting like your lesser cousins, the octopus, you travel the ten miles between your village and the docks of the fortress in only a few short hours. Waving to the guards to assure them that you are an expected visitor and not another attack from the deeps, you use one of the ladders set aside for this purpose and climb aboard the dock. From there, it doesn't take long to identify the Gentle Hand and approach the gangplank. You are shown to your bunk, and directed on where to store your equipment, after which you have liberty to explore the town or otherwise entertain yourself until preparations are complete and the entire crew is on board.

To pass the time until then, you:

[X] Go shopping for
-[X] Write-in
[X] Get to know
-[X] the crew
-[X] the captain
-[X] your bunkmate
[X] Explore
-[X] the battlements
-[X] the wharfs
-[X] the shore
[X] Look for a
-[X] hot meal
-[X] cheap drink
-[X] good library


Please vote for as many options as you wish. The most voted options will occur first, until time runs out.

Having stowed your gear, you briefly greet one of your bunkmates, a small human by the name of Teritha, who is arranging her own gear into the space she's been given. Half your height, she still has packed a considerable bulk compared to your own gear. Along with the large shield and armor she's packing away, she seems also to have brought several sacks full of various things. Right now she's organizing what looks like an array of flasks, carefully packing them away with cloth to stop the ceramic from rattling with the motion of the ship. From her cheerful chatter, you get the impression she's expecting the expedition to be something of a festival chant. You can't quite bring yourself to remind her that such stories usually have a fair amount of danger for the people actually in the tales.

You leave Teritha behind to head out onto the deck, and get the attention of Captain Smythe, making sure she knows you've laid bunk. The dwarf, talking with a big human you don't recognize, uses her hands to quickly adjust her braids in an approximation of the wilmian signal of acknowledgement without breaking her conversation. The color and texture of her beard and head hair would make that grudging acknowledgement, but you make allowances for her lack of nuance. You explore the deck and make yourself known to as much of the crew as you can, making certain they know you're here, and available if they need an arm overboard. You get a good impression of the names of the crew already on duty, and feel confident you can repeat the information later if required.

Greetings made, you decide to stop in at Verdanlamp's library. Last time you were here, the history you were seeking was being restored due to water damage, and you're hopeful to taking a quick look at it. You page through quickly and take some relevant notes, before going to the maps section and doing up a quick transfer sketch of the river you'll be taking. That's when you hear the ship's bell, so you set everything back where you found it and begin your return to the Gentle Hand. On your way out of the library, you bump into a weaverling who apologizes profusely for the collision. It is with some awkwardness that you each realize you are both walking in the same direction afterwards, and this is when you introduce yourselves to each other. Upon hearing Chirrt Gentlehand's name, you realize that you will soon be crewmates. You reintroduce yourself with a bit more joy, and continue on your way.

As you begin your journey the next morning, you focus on:

[X] Putting your all into the tasks that Captain Smythe sets you around the hull.
[X] Bonding with the other members of your expedition.
[X] Going over your notes and writing down what you can recall of the region you're going to.
[X] Practicing with your waveblade to stay sharp.