The Grey Rover

The Grey Rover rolled into the ocean over 50 years ago from the keelworks in Battan, one of many two-masted schooners to roll off the line into the merchant fleet. Her deck measures 65 feet with a 20 foot beam, and she weighs in at 50 tons. She can make do with a crew of 5, and she spent her early years hauling ores and metal all over the Dunhill coast, sometimes making trips to Fellport or the Barbary Coast for a sale.

Pirates captured her after 4 years at sea and pressed her into service. They retrofitted her hold to accommodate more sailors while still holding a fair amount of cargo. She served for a few years, then ran aground in a storm one night. The pirates limped her to shore and tried to patch her up, but the damage took her to the bottom of a secluded cove before morning's light. There she stayed for almost ten years, until one of her crew got rich enough to bring her back.

Captain Pete hired a wizard to raise her out of the water and repair her hull. The sea water had burned away her varnish and turned her hull and deck a light grey color. The wizard tried to match the color with driftwood gathered from the shore, but when he used fabricate and mending to make the Grey Rover whole again, he ended up making a mottled camouflage pattern in various shades of grey. Even the mast changes color as it climbs, getting lighter toward the top. This made Captain Pete deliriously happy, and he paid even more to refinish her correctly, outfit her with new sails and rigging, and get her out on the open water once again.

Captain Pete helmed her for thirty-two years, through all manner of piracy, storms, and adventures. She even sailed straight into Fellport Harbor one night, where the crew came ashore, stole as many barrels of booze as they could carry, then escaped into the night before anyone could stop them. But Old Captain Pete's luck ran out on a raid up the coast between Fellport and Dunhill about 4 years ago. A band of mercenaries ambushed the crew, forcing all but the unconscious Captain Pete and his fool of a healer Vadym Burza back to the Grey Rover and into the night. The mercenaries captured Pete, Vadym, and two others who volunteered to stay behind and help protect them, bringing them to Fellport for trial. Pete hung from Execution Wharf until dead, while Vadym and the other two served two years in prison.

After some tense negotiations among the remaining officers, Oya Stormqueen took command. She immediately finished one of Old Pete's projects and installed a Fog Gem, a large magical smoky quartz which has the power to cloak the Grey Rover in fog for up to 3 hours per day. Between that lovely little device, the meticulous upkeep of the nearly-silent pulleys and rigging, and the natural camouflage of the mottled grey hull and fog-colored sails, current rumors speak of the Grey Rover, the ghost of the sea.

Current Crew:

• Captain Oya Stormqueen, an Okulari woman Bard of Swords who favors thunder spells
• Bosun "Cutter", a large human woman Battlemaster noble who wields a massive tulwar sword
• Lt. "Webby", an aquatic elf woman Druid with an attitude, sharkskin armor, and a trident
• Lt. "Filch", a human man Scout Rogue who fights his internal demons in silence
• Lt. "Pike", a shirtless dwarven man Berserker who once served the Forgefather
• 20 sailors organized into 4 shifts of 5 for round-the-clock sailing and watches as needed

Part of T.W.Wombat's #City23 project. See the Fellport Index for all entries.