The Butcher of Gadobhra

Chapter 197: Dead Man's Chest

The Splinter maneuvered over to the fancy chest floating in the smoke, and Ozzy hoisted it up and placed it down in the middle of the raft. It wasn't large, only A couple of feet wide and tall, with a curved lid attached with two hinges. The wood was polished and dark. The fittings, hinges and lock were made of bone. In the keyhole was a key carved of bone with a small grinning skull on one end.

Woodrat whistled and scratched his head. "This is a classic! I've heard of a Dead Man's Chest, but never seen one. I expect there will be some fine items inside. Don't you worry none, I'm a fair Captain. Loot will be divided evenly between Officers and Crew."

Ozzy rolled his eyes. "With of course, the Captain getting first pick?"

Woodrat turned the key of the chest, "Well, of course, that's ship's law. 'The Captain shall have first pick of all loot secured from each battle and shall decide how to fairly divide the loot.' How else would you do it?"

"I have no problem with that, Captain, but I'm a little hazy on Ship's Law and may ask you a few questions from time to time. But for now, let's see what we have."

Woodrat turned the skeleton key in the lock, and the chest popped open.

Captain's Coat and Hat (+2 CHR, +2 PER)

Made of light grey sharkskin, this leather coat and matching Tri-Corn hat have been worn by many since their creation centuries ago. A bit worn and tattered from battle they might be, but that only adds to their charm.

Golden Hoop  (+2 Radiance, +1 Charisma)

Made from a rare material not normally found in the Smoke, this large hoop earring has a burnished glow that stirs the lust for treasure in any pirate's heart. Made in the mysterious lands of the Conjunction and crafted under the Sun, this piece of jewelry still holds that ball of fire's radiance.

Veteran's Spyglass (+1 to Perception when used.)

A well-crafted spyglass made by a master glass smith.

Trammelian Chain

Living chains made from the finest of smoke by the Smokewrights of Trammel. This particular enchanted chain was crafted from the smoke of the pyre of the Last Anchor Lord, Chenraj. Some of the Anchor Lord's spirit is still said to lurk in the magical links, granting abilities to it's wearer. Recommended to be worn around the lower arm, but where you put your links is up to you.

Dead Man's Chest

A peculiar chest made from the bones of a navigator. Ideal for storing things that you don't want found. If the chest and key are separated, anyone holding the key will know the direction that the chest lies in. (But not how far.)

This chest contains the Treasures of Captain Blackfetter along with the following mundane items:

3 pair of leather paints, dyed black

2 pair of cloth paints, striped red and black

1 pair of boots, worn

1 pair of socks, needing darning

2 fancy ruffled shirts, black

1 common sailor's shirt, grey

1 wide leather quartermasters’ belt

1 fancy sword belt and sheath

2 eye patches, left and right

1 wooden leg

Woodrat's eyes roamed over the items and their descriptions. "Well, this just gets better and better. I'll give Blackfetter a word of thanks for this lovely loot."

Ozzy reached into the chest and picked up the coat and hat. "It really is nice stuff. I'll take the coat and hat as my pick. I'll have a ship of my own someday, and these will come in handy. Good for wearing around town and going to parties."

Woodrat's mouth fell open in surprise, and then he grew angry. "I believe sir, that we agreed that as Captain I got first pick!"

Ozzy looked at him with a straight face. Not one that would have fooled Ben, but good enough to deceive Woodrat. "Oh, we did Captain Woodrat. And you took first pick when you grabbed that fancy sword. Just going by Ship's Law sir."

"Dash it all man, they won't even fit you!"

Ozzy held up the much too small coat to his chest. "Well, I could rip off the sleeves, make a nice vest out of it. I think they are wearing that style in Vienna this season."

"Conjunction nonsense! Hand them over and I'll let you have the next two picks!"

Ozzy paused to think it over. "We'll that's just barely fair as you're getting two picks up front, and then giving me two. But throw in half the clothing and we have a deal."

"Agreed!" Woodrat spat into his hand and they shook. The next few minutes saw them sorting through the clothing. The only bits of clothing that fit Ozzy were a pair of striped paints, the sailor's shirt, and the quartermaster's belt. The belt had a number of hooks and ties for small pouches, with a number of pouches and a small satchel attached to it. Woodrat was beside himself with joy at having a full set of clothing for the first time in years. The Captain's Coat and hat would have made him look at home on any large ship. On a 16-foot raft, he was a tad overdressed.

With Woodrat's help, Ozzy put on the earring. The captain had to bear down on Ozzy's ear lobe with his wooden dagger, and he cursed quite a bit about lazy crew who had more hull than was good for them. But he finally made a hole and fitted the earring.

The chain was another matter. "How do I wear this chain on my forearm like it suggests? Seems a bit impractical."

Woodrat shook his head, laughing. "You don't wear chain down in the junction? Fairly common here in the smoke. Let me wind it for you." He took the chain and started at Ozzy's wrist, pushing one end tight on the inside of the arm, and then wrapped the short length of chain around his forearm in a careful spiral. "There, that will look good. Now think about wearing the chain on your arm, and breath out a little smoke."

Ozzy did, and the chain stuck to his arm. Then it started getting hot. Woodrat jumped back quickly. "Oh, this will be a good one! Flex your arm a bit, but otherwise hold still and try not to scream."

That was when the pain hit Ozzy. The chain was glowing and growing hotter and hotter. Even with torture resistance, it was almost too much to bare. It went on for only a few seconds, then eased off. The chain was gone, and in its place his skin held the tattoo of the chain that had been there a moment ago. Woodrat poked his arm and Ozzy yelped in pain.

"Yeah, it will be a little tender for a couple of days. Don't use it until after that. That's a nice bit of chain. You should be able to summon it with just a little smoke. Good for fishing even, if you can conjure it thin enough. I'll show you have to use it when it's not so tender and we'll see what sort of length it has."

Ozzy rubbed his arm, already getting a feel for what he could do with it. "What are we doing with the chest?"

Woodrat laughed. "Our best treasure is some spare clothing and the metal bits from the wreckage, but maybe someday we can fill it with gems. Still quite useful. I can put it on the ship, and it will stay there and not get knocked overboard. All in all, a fine day's adventure. Scared the hell out of me, I was sure we were dead men."

"And we have another treasure to attend to, Mr. Ozzy. Check your Logbook, the fate's were generous with us."

Capt. Woodrat

You have claimed the sword, Blackfyre, and by doing so gained the quest 'Seven Captains Ablaze'. You may only relinquish either the sword or the quest by your death and someone else claiming the sword. If you die, and the sword is not claimed, you will join the ranks of the Charred and gain the quest 'Seven Blackened Captains'.

You have gained the Captain's Perk: Stout Rigging. All chains in your ship will be of double strength for the normal cost of smoke. This increases both the speed of your ship and the morale of your crew.

You have earned 1000 experience that may be spent on skills used in the battle and 15 core skill points.

Crewman Ozzy

You have claimed a Trammelian Chain, and bound it to your own smoke. Chenraj is pleased.

You have begun to grasp the concept of the chain and begin to meld it with the skills Chain Drag, Meat Hook, Throw the Chain, and Chain Making.

The cost to upgrade Chain Making to Smoke Weaving is decreased from 5 to 2.

The cost to upgrade Throw the Chain to Chain Binding is decreased from 5 to 2.

You have earned 1000 experience that may be spent on skills used in the battle and 15 core skill points.

After a few minutes, Woodrat began looking at the mast, or rather, what was left of it. "Damned if the bastard didn't make a mess of things. That was a lot of heat and smoke the two of us put out to not join his crew, and now we get to fix the ship again. I think if you can hold the top half steady, I can affix the two pieces together and then add some reinforcement to the cut. Very clean cut, no splinters and just a bit of char."

"Once we get the mast up, we'll see if you can't make some chain for the sail, and we'll get some heat into it. I don't won't to be without a sail. Too many unhealthy things in this part of the sea."

Ozzy easily lifted the top half of the mast and held it in place. "I'm guessing once the sail is in place, we go back to fishing?"

Woodrat smiled. "That we will. While I'm happy to be alive, and happy to be able to have another chat about cashing in some more points, it's fishing that will put smoke in our bellies."

Ozzy couldn't argue with that, he just wished the things tasted better.

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