Mistydeep River Dock Foreman
Location
Ta'Vaalor Mistydeep River Dock, at the southern tip of the town. Lich Room #10381.
Description
The foreman is wearing trim black pants tucked into half-boots and a sleeveless black leather tunic that leaves his arms bare, revealing muscles bulkier than most elves. A shark-tooth earring dangles from one ear, and his left forearm bears a tattoo.
Actions
You can ask him about the sea, Charl, Niima, dock, tattoo, and halflings. (Also about crates, but that question was added later for warrior training.) You can also wave, bow, and smile at him. He'll react differently to women than to men.
His History
His name is Kashael Merwythe. The foreman was shipwrecked on rocks far to the East in his sailing youth, and rescued by a fair young girl, who revealed herself to him as Niima. He spent more than a year in her company before another ship passed that he could hail, and she ordered him home. When he returned to Ta'Vaalor, he sailed the ocean for many more years in search of her again, sometimes taking risks which endangered the crew and vessel, in hopes of being rescued again.
These risks eventually caused the merchant guild to ban him from sailing on any of their vessels, but because of his knowledge of the sea and the shipping lanes, they gave him his current position as dock foreman of the Mistydeep River Dock, in which he has been for longer than the memory of any but Elves. The sea still calls to him, even so far inland, and he frequently sees the sea as he stares at the river.
The hard work of sailing has left him burlier than most Elves, and his habits are somewhat loud and unrefined. He still fears the wrath of Charl that stranded him the first time, but his love for Charl's daughter has not diminished over the years. He is most often good-natured and joking, occasionally harassing passing adventurers into giving him a hand loading and tying up the ships.
Ambient Scripts
A merchant vessel coasts up under too much sail and scrapes along the wood of the dock. The foreman yells out, "I hear the docking tax is going up today!"
A line of longshoremen unload a ship of its cargo, stacking it neatly to one side. The transfer proceeds smoothly, even though an inspector keeps track of every crate, cask and box.
A ship lies heavy in the water, still tied to the dock, and there is little activity aboard it. An officer of the ship stands at the rail frowning as a young elven bard saunters toward the ship, whistling a sea chanty.
The foreman shouts to you, "Don't just stand there, Fulmen, grab a line and help tie up that ship!"
The foreman turns to you and gives you a nudge, saying, "What do you call a dwarven yachting club?" He laughs, "I don't know, I've never seen one!"
A fast cutter sweeps up the river, and small figures jump out of it and lash it quickly and expertly to the pilings. Looking curiously like children from a distance, the halflings gawk at the stately city before them.
The dock foreman gazes sadly off into the distance and murmurs, "I still hear your song."
An old riverboat limps up to the quay slowly, its old and tattered sails unable to catch much of the fresh breeze.
Pieces of driftwood and shattered rigging slap rhythmically against the dock, rising and falling with the wind-driven waves of the river. The foreman glances at them and makes a warding gesture against the wrath of Charl.
A sailor on an arriving ship throws a coiled line towards the dock and shouts to the foreman, who catches and lashes it down.
The cry of a gull pierces the quiet solitude and mingles with the gentle sound of the river's waves against the quay. The foreman looks up at it with some concern, saying to no one in particular, "Not often you see sea birds this far inland.
Origin
Kashael Merwythe, the dock foreman, was written by Fulmen's player, as the result of a contest in late Oct/Nov of 2005, and originally coded by GM Bernt, who remarked back then that it was a lot of fun to code the gender-specific responses.