The Ghost Ship Of Vesper
Jayce looked at the selection of necklaces that the jeweler was showing to him, with a keen eye to a shadowy man in the corner of the room.
“Do you have anything with sapphires encrusted in the pendant?” inquired Jayce.
The shopkeeper nodded and turned his attention to one of the display cases, bent over, and begin to search through his inventory. Jayce carefully shot a nod to the figure across the room, as he placed himself between the shopkeeper and him.
“What have I gotten myself into this time?” Francis thought to himself as he took a set of lockpicks, and a dagger out from his pocket. Paying careful attention to the shopkeeper, and the diversion Jayce was creating, Francis slipped the dagger between the top of the strongbox. He slid the dagger back and forth searching for a trigger that could set off some sort of trap. After a few moments of delicate searching, he felt a small trigger towards the left corner of the strongbox. He pried the lid open just enough so he could see how the trigger was connected to the lock. He then took out a pair of wire cutters and carefully cut the copper wire that would set the trap off.
“No… none of these will do sir. Tell me, what sort of sapphire bracelets do you have? I’d prefer they be silver.” Jayce said to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper nodded, and walked Jayce over to a different display case. Francis nodded at Jayce, and began to pick the lock that was on the strongbox. After a few moments of turning the tumblers the lock popped open. Fearing the clicking sound alerted the shopkeeper, Francis looked across the room towards Jayce. Jayce shook his head, and continued on with his diversion. Francis carefully and quietly opened the strongbox and began to stuff his pockets with gems, rings and necklaces; taking extra caution not to drop any or make a sound. Once the strongbox was empty, Francis nodded at Jayce, and made his way around the shop, acting as if he were an interested customer.
“No I don’t think any of these will do my friend. Thank you for your time.” Said Jayce to the shopkeeper. Moments later, Jayce and Francis exited The Shimmering Jewel.
“Here you go Jayce.” Said Francis as he handed over a few handfuls of gems. Jayce smiled and inquired: “Where are you going to unload these Francis? I don’t think it would be a good idea to try and sell these to the provisioner. He might be wise as to where they came from, especially once the jeweler notices them missing.” Francis smirked, and replied: “I have a fence that I’m meeting on the docks. I’ve done business with him before, I trust him.” Jayce nodded, as he pointed down the street and the two went their separate ways.
After a short walk, Francis was upon the Vesper docks. The smell of fish and saltwater was especially pungent this afternoon. After a few moments of scanning the docks, Francis spied his fence. He walked over to where he was standing, and greeted him.
“Mikhail, how have you been?” Inquired Francis.
“Eh, things have been better. Not a lot of business lately.” Replied Mikhail.
Francis smirked as he patted his pocket. The sound of gemstones and jewelry clanking together put a wide smirk on Mikhail’s face. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, Francis handed Mikhail most of the jewels and gemstones. Mikhail in turn handed Francis a pouch containing a large amount of gold coins. Francis smiled as he took the pouch, and inquired:
“Same place as usual Mikhail? I think Jayce might be planning something in Minoc as well.”
“I think we can work something out, Francis.” Replied Mikhail as he smiled.
The two were about to part ways, but something on the docks drew their attention. A few of the sailors were pointing out to sea. Francis scanned the ocean, and a mysterious vessel that was adrift caught his attention. After a few minutes of starring, he walked over to one of the sailors, and inquired about the ship. One of the sailors handed Francis a spyglass as to get a better look at the ship: The vessel was in a state of great disarray. The masts were tattered and torn, barnacles and seaweed covered most of the ship, there was much structural damage to the bow as well. No one could be seen on the deck of the ship. Francis tried to see if there were any markings or colors that could clearly identify the ship. After scanning the side of the hull for a few moments, he made out the word “Celeste.”
“I can see Celeste on the side. What’s so special about that vessel?” Francis inquired to the sailor as he handed the spyglass back to him. The sailor peered through the spyglass again, and a look of fright came across his face. He then turned around, and started running into town. A second sailor who was there replied:
“The Celeste was a merchant ship… She disappeared out at sea over one-hundred years ago; was headed here from Nujel’m. Been somewhat of folklore since then… What happened to her? Where has she been?”
A look of awe came across Francis’s face. He turned around to ask the sailor a question, but the sailor was already fleeing into town as well.
As the ship drifted ever closer to the docks, a shroud of fog began to fill the area. Francis decided not to stay around and see what would unfold next.
“I need to get to Minoc and tell Jayce about this… Perhaps there is much treasure on board that ship…” Francis thought to himself as he made his way back into Vesper…
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