Sailing Master Kate Highwater

Kate Highwater / Manami Inoue
Sailing Master
Ninja

Carousin': 2
Plunderin': 5
Swashbucklin': 2
Wenchin': 3

Background

Raise a glass, me jolly lads, to the greatest crew what sailed the Seven Seas! Led by Captain "Red" Ned Morris, th' rouges and scallywags manning the Jolly Rancher are the finest, the fiercest, and the most shipshape crew in all of creation. Yer exploits are known th' world over, bringing the crew fame an' enough gold to keep you well for a bunch of scurvy seahands. And now you're nearly at th' end of your quest for the Blood Jewel, ye can feel it! Worth thousands of dubloons, ye think it would keep the crew for at least ten years. In celebration of yer continued good fortune, Capt'n Morris has declared tonight a revel, an' while work t' find the Jewel is welcome, this is a night for rum and tobacco. The Capt'n has left the plannin' to his First Mate Nathaniel Teach for the night. So here's t' the Jolly Rancher and her crew; any landlubber or bilge rat what doesn't give you quarter will end up prayin' they be given th' chance t' walk the plank rather than cross ye!

. . . all right, that's enough. Whew! If you can keep that up, no one will be the wiser.

You are Manami Inoue, the last remaining member of the Tortoise Clan. Your clan is the adaptable clan, most known for its exceptional flexibility, magnetism and psychological self-protection. Sadly, the Tortoise were wiped out a decade ago in the Clan Wars. There are rumors that your clan's destruction was due to the Monkey Clan, but rumors are only that.

In fact, it is possible that you are the only ninja now left alive.

After the Clan Wars you decided to put your skills to other uses. You joined the Jolly Rancher fairly early as their Sailing Master after the captain proved himself to be a capable pirate in his own right. You asked he and his crew to bring back the rarest set stone he could find within a week and he fulfilled his task, bringing you a ring with a vivid green stone you believe is peridot, one of the rarest gems in the world. From that day forward, you swore your service to him, confident that he would be a good leader.

Since then, things have gone well. The proud words your captain uses to fire up your crew aren't far from the truth. The crew is first rate, and they live and eat well because of it. The ship is in tip-top shape. Your hearties get along as well as any pirate crew, and work as smartly as a well-oiled machine. Other crews you've run across have either given you quarter or been no real trouble, increasing your bounty and occasionally your crew through recruit.

Like Stede Hawthorne, the Quartermaster. He was brought onto the ship soon after you were. At first you wondered if a ship of this size really needed a captain, first mate, second mate and quartermaster, but you found his presence comforting. He seems so stable, so dependable. Self-assured, too, and with an ability to see the pragmatic side of things. You might enjoy getting to know him more. On the other hand, he might find you hard to read, emotional or overly mysterious. It's hard to say.

Speaking of the unknown, you've wondered where your ring has gotten to lately. This morning you came back to your room after your shift and found it missing, a small tied burlap sack in its place. You opened it and found a bottle seemingly carved in a crystalline substance, and it contained a sweet honey and floral scented alcoholic drink. You'd think it was a gift if it wasn't for your ring being gone, and the idea that someone has been in your room unnerves you. Besides, you consider that ring a symbol of your loyalty to the Jolly Roger.

Yes, being the Sailing Master has its advantages. You're effectively indispensable on the ship, and have brought the Jolly Rancher countless riches. The captain looks quite highly upon you; he says you're worth your weight in gold. He couldn't find a better navigator if he kidnapped 'em. You do wonder, though, how you make as good time on your trips as you do. You've noticed the Second Mate lingering around certain areas of the ship with some very strange workings enough that you've begun to wonder if he has made . . . improvements on it, somehow. Now, you're no boatswain, but if he has changed the ship in some way you would be quite interested in learning more about these changes.

And then there's the matter of the Blood Jewel. Worth thousands of dubloons to the proper buyer, the gold it would garner could secure the crew's future for a decade or put you up for life. But that's not your reason for wanting it. Rumor has it that the Blood Jewel is no jewel at all, but a dragon's egg. If this were the case, and if it were fertilized, secreting it away and having it hatch might be your only chance to keep the ninja clans from dying out entirely. For a ninja clan to be successful it needs to have a powerful kami (or spirit) at the heart of its spiritual focus, and what would be more powerful than a dragon? It would mean creating an entirely new ninja clan from scratch, but there may be few enough ninjas that there would be no one to argue with you over it. If it does turn out to be a dragon's egg, you hope to keep it for yourself. And if that means using your ninja skills, you'll do it, though doing so in public would make it obvious that you're a ninja and possibly draw the attention of others who know of your clans.

But tonight is a night of carousing, a hard-earned reward for your work. As is the Captain's right, he has chosen to spend the night enjoying himself rather than keeping the crew in order, handing over that task to his First Mate, Nathaniel Teach. This doesn't mean that he won't make the final decisions on any important matters, of course, especially about the Blood Jewel. For now, however, we eat, we drink and make merry! Three cheers for the Jolly Rancher and her crew!

Who You Know

• Sam Bellamy - Quiet and thoughtful.
• Edward Blackfellow, Second Mate - A man who's been a leader.
• Calico - The ship's (supposedly talking) cat. The captain found her soon after his encounter with the Sky Devil.
• Grace Duguay, Helmsman - Cheerful and friendly. Good enough at her job, she does not know the oceans as well as you.
• Flintlock Jack, Master Gunner - An intense man who seems to care about honor.
• Pele Giggs, Boatswain - A little odd, but good at his job.
• Stede Hawthorne, Quartermaster - A steady, reliable sort. He appeals to you.
• Thomas Kidd, Cook - A great cook, and a warm and chatty guy.
• Siofra O'Malley, Cooper - A freespirited, personable woman.
• Lady Charlotte Marlow - A well-to-woman who's taken to piracy.
• Tully Morgan, Lookout - A woman who knows herself.
• "Red" Ned Morris, Captain - A charismatic, able captain.
• Mary Rackham, Carpenter - A bit of an unknown.
• Bloody Christian Read, Surgeon - As good a doctor as a carouser.
• Nathaniel Teach, First Mate - A smart, learned man. You are slightly surprised he is a pirate.

Abilities

• Mysteries of the Deep - Your engimatic nature leaves you immune to any power that reads your thoughts or emotions. This power may be used in concert with others; feel free to ask the GM if it is an appropriate circumstance.
• Undertow - Your sheer magnetism helps convince others of things. Once per game you may make a suggestion to someone else and, provided it does not go directly against their nature or goals, they will try to fulfill it. They will not put everything else aside to do so, but they will be happy to work towards that as though they thought of it themselves; they will not be aware of your influence.
• Water Command - Your innate understanding of the aquatic realms makes you an exceptionally good plunderer. You have been given a +1 Plundering score, reflected above.

Items

• Unusual Bottle of Wine - A sweet, flowery-smelling wine in a crystalline bottle.