[color=00a99d][center][h3]Maréngo - North Sea[/h3][/center][/color]

Greed can make even the most reasonable man do extraordinarily unreasonable things. It can make him act against his own self interest and regard his peers as nothing more than tools and steps to use and step on in pursuit of his desires. And if he's not careful, he might be swept away in the tide of his obsession, such was the case with Captain John Redgale and the crew of the Devil's Providence. All signs pointed to a monster hurricane moving into their path but they refused to lose an entire week of sailing. They had heard rumors of slow and fat merchant ships passing through the North Sea and wanted a cut. Attempting to outrun the storm was a fool's errand but they tried anyway for the promise of riches. The winds alone threatened to capsize the ship and tore the sails to shreds before the crew could tie them down. One rogue wave took five men overboard in a single swipe. The next wave reached for the heavens and Maréngo fell to his knees, his palm to the sky as he cried out to Leathe for salvation, for mercy in the wake of his captain's deadly sin. He begged for his life and clutched the amulet around his neck, a symbol of the god he beseech carved from driftwood and strung on a leather cord. In the next instant the towering wave swept the whole galleon away like a child's toy as it crashed down on doomed sailors below.

Darkness engulfed Maréngo for a moment and he was sure he'd died until he opened his eyes and found himself floating below a carpet of splintered wood and cargo. With burning lungs he made for the surface and gasped for air as another wave swept him away. The waves slammed into a section of mast and didn't think twice about clinging to it for dear life hour after hour as the storm raged around him. Just as he began to make peace with his looming death, the waves carried him into the eye of the storm over a small archipelago. By chance or by the will of his god, Maréngo didn't waste time pondering. He moved like a man possessed and steered his poor excuse for a life raft toward the island chain. 

Within an hour of his landing on the beach, the storm descended once more and battered the island, ripping tree branches clean off, throwing sand all about, all the while the wind howled like a demon as the rain pelted the half drowned sailor. He prayed once more for his salvation and eventually fell unconscious with the amulet clutched tightly to his chest. He awoke to a late morning sun and devastation all around. Entire trees uprooted, branches and leaves scattered all around, and no other land but the archipelago in sight. Maréngo searched the island but found no one else. He alone had survived the sinking ship, but that didn't mean he was safe in the slightest. 

[b][center]==========[/center][/b]
[color=00a99d][center][h3]Maréngo - City of Gullian, The Faded Lantern[/h3][/center]
[/color]
It was almost two weeks before a passing ship happened to pass by and the man in the crow's nest spotted him waving his arms on the beach. The ship was headed for the city of Gullian and so that's where Maréngo decided to celebrate his miraculous survival. He had planned to make his coin last a bit until he could find a proper job but that plan lasted a whole three days. Women and wine took the lion's share of his coin before he even stepped foot in the Faded Lantern. He passed a brawl in his way in and smiled to himself. Something told him this was going to be an interesting night. Low on coin, he thought to try his hand at a gambling table.After all, he'd cheated death twice already before the full moon. Perhaps his luck would hold. 

He spotted an empty seat around a card table and made himself known by clearing his throat with a friendly smile.
[color=00a99d]"Mind if I join you lads for a few hands?"[/color]
One of them looked up and chuckled with a thumb gesturing to the front door.
"Only if you don't try to stiff us like the last one."
Maréngo laughed and made a point of shaking out his sleeves.
[color=00a99d]"You won't find a more honorable man in all the 9,"[/color] he replied, lying through his teeth.
Satisfied, the man gestured for him to sit down and dealed the pirate in. Cards were always a favorite of Maréngo's or the blend of luck and skill. More often than not he even played fair, not out of any moral obligation, but for the thrill of a fair game. In this case he made off with a good bit of coin which he immediately took to the bar after shaking hands with the other men at the table, wishing them good fortune in the future. 
[color=00a99d]"Bartender!"[/color] Maréngo called with merriment in his tone, [color=00a99d]"A glass of your best for one of Leathe's favored."[/color]
The boast seemed to get the man's attention and they exchanged words. Maréngo sipped his drink and told the man his story between customers. Once he was done, Percy as the bartender introduced himself, directed the pirate upstairs to who was apparently a friend of his. 

Finding her wasn't hard given the bartenders description of her. He put on his best smile as he approached the table, leaning on an empty chair but not yet taking the seat.
[color=00a99d]"Evenin' to you. Your friend at the bar said you'll be needin' a crew for a job, a big one at that. My sword and the skills of a sailor are yours if my pay is mine."[/color]
He grinned and patted the cutlass on his hip for emphasis.

[hider=Dice Rolls]
1d20 (16) gambling
1d100 (4) gold won[/hider]