-Posted with Wayfinder
Keelhaul Kaul-
Madman Jim-
Dingus-
Shadowy snackers
rest
The conversation gets no further as Smollet cocks an ear and grabs Bigget's sleeve. Everyone stops to listen, but only the running river is heard as it passes the moored riverboat. Hurg still stands in the doorway lit only by the flame of a lantern and the captain's stove within the cabin. And then with a gargling cry he disappears from view as three small dark shapes leap upon him and he tumbles out of view from the doorway!
Surprise:
"Feck it" is heard to sputter out the halfling's mouth before his first thought is to illuminate the situation by putting some glow on his head...
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Leering gap mouthed at Faruq with a maniacal gleam in his eyes, Bigget slurs a grunt or two before moving out the door drawing his prized Lopper as he does. Blinking to adjust his sunken eyes to the change from light to dark he picks out the nearest of the ratty bastards and tries to open it from clavicle to testicle...
Lopper: for
The light spell creates a rather inappropriate halo effect around Smollet's head, but brightens the shadowy cabin. Bigget bursts out of the cabin and barely dodges another pair of the creatures that drop from above. He hacks one with Lopper but it follows after him like some sort of sick needy puppy making mewling sounds.
The light of Dibbets halo reveals that the things are about the same build as the halfling, but shriveled and shrunken into a blackened husk of a halfling. Their dark leathery skin is painted with the likeness of an articulated skeleton, but worst of all is the distended mouth and sharklike rows of pointed teeth. There are wet fleshy sounds from the prostrated form of Hurg as three of the creature finish him off.
The captain exclaims in a choked whisper, "Fay-gee!"
Round 1:
With a growl Dibbs vitriolically spits "Feck it... fecking feckers fecked fecking Hurg" before grimacing and adding explosively stepping out of the cabin and calling on Gozreh's wind to gird his form.
Estabo and Faruq draw their blades, but like Smollet, they cannot pass through the narrow door which is blocked by Bigget who struggles with the undead cannibal halflings.
Sweating and shaking in the grip of the jungle fever*, Jim advances to M4. "Bigget! Pull back and let us at 'em! Cap'n--what kills 'em?"
Estabo's eyes roll a bit wildly with fear as he replies, "Zey already DEAD! Chop zem to bits and don't let zem get ze teeth in you!"
Dingus rolls out of his hammock the room spinning beneath him and weakly makes his way to the front. If he can see anything through the doorway, he'll shoot off a Vapor Viper from his ring.
VV
Round 2
Surrounded by the cannibalites Kaul shifts sideways to allow the others to unleash hell , whilst he brings his trust ax to bear on the nearest foe :
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Fevered, but still cognizant of the dire situation, Vors and Wu Fang clamber out of their hammocks to join the others. The sorcerer sends a trio of spectral snake shots at the wounded faygee, but still it snaps at Bigget. The besieged half-orc steps out of the doorway and amidst the pygmy ghouls devouring Hurg. Lopper comes down on another chunking deep into its chest, but that's not enough to destroy it.
The little nippers swarm the orc. Two of the three spring from Hurg's remains to clap their distended jaws on the intruder. The badly hacked up and blasted one catches Bigget from behind with a particularly vicious bite and latches on as well.
The remaining faygee pushes into the doorway to chomp at Vors with its fearsome jaws. Smollet notes that some bilious green substance appears to smeared over the teeth and rictus lips.
Seeing that Jimmer's feeling a bit off-colour, Dibbs tries to keep his spirits high and lunch in his gut with a touch of mystical dutch courage...
...as Jimmer feels a burning in his gullet like he'd just downed a snifter of gutrot Smollet adds "Out an among 'em Vorsy"
Thinking that he already sick enough, he doesn't want one of those nasty little buggers to bite him, Dingus summons up his shimmering snake skin armor.
: Round 3
Nipped and gnashed by the wee ghoulies Kaul does what comes natural... he keeps on hacking wearing a jigsaw grin as he does!
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Vors learns that indifference tastes like burning while Wu Fang girds himself in snakeskin. The captain takes a defensive stance within the relative safety of the cabin depending on his hired hands to defend him. Faruq makes no move to come to his fellow grayskin's rescue and stays near his captain. This leaves Bigget to fend for himself against fayjee mob.
He ignores those gorging themselves on his calloused hide and gigs one in the doorway between himself and his mates.
Dibbets doesn't fault the Captain for his reticence to join the fray, but sneers at Faruq's cowardice. He adds with a simple growl "We fall, who ye think they're eatin next?"
"We fall, who ye think they're eatin next?"
"I'm thinking they won't have much of an appetite left after they choke you down," Faruq sneers back.
"Thanks, mate...." The Taldan goes after the one between him and Kaul, his training and experience more than compensating for the fever burning through him.
Seeing that it's up to him to aid his mate, Vors jabs the deadite in the hatch. It's pretty torn up, but takes no notice of its condition as it pushes forward with its unattached mate looking for a bit of porc to sample. They are blocked by their brethren however, who continue to tear at Bigget with oversized maws. The bleeding half-orc feels a slight numbness near one bite before the pain reinvigorates him.
Round 3:
Snorting derisively Dibbets just casts a glance to the Captain that seems to say Fecker'd probly chuck ye out as kibbles iffin he could save his own hide before turning back to the fray. Seeking to gird loins and hearts to action Dibbets spits on his hand and puts voice to song "So help me Vors, I'm bully in the alley; Way, hey, bully in the alley" stepping forward to deliver a prodding to the wee faegee before him that there's more'n one midget on deck wi' a sting in his tail...
Dingus brings another two-headed vv online from his ring, towards the one at the door, then looks around for a way to leave the cabin, and join the fray without having to pass through the crowded doorway.
VV
If that took down the one in the doorway, Jim pushes out to where it was and goes for the one grappling Kaul. Otherwise he continues to attack it.
Smollet prepares a dollop of extreme indifference and moves up to deliver, but a sailing serpent arrives first and the hungry halfling husk shatters. Vors steps through and rams his blade through an old skull crushing it like a dried gourd and freeing Bigget from one of his gnawing nuisances.
Freed up a bit by Vors' charge, Bigget hooks another biter that thinks the tough orc-kin is bait. The feeding frenzy continues with the two remaining fay-jee gnawing hungrily as another joins the Bigget buffet.
Seeing the wee buggers falling off Dibbs calls to Vors between his song "Clear a line Vorsy, I'll keep the nugget up."
Dingus weakly squeezes out of the cabin (N5) and uses the last of his ring's power to welcome the one in O3 with a VV.
VV
Things are still gummed up at the hatch. Smollet beckons Vors to clear the way while the lithe young sorcerer slips out and releases his snakes. The captain and mate hold their positions waiting for the hired hands to deal with the threat.
Round 4:
Jim takes a quick step forward, striking at P3 if it's still up, or at N2 if it isn't. "Told you...to pull back...you fecking idiot...."
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Round 5
Bitten, bloodied but still insanely belligerent, a grinning Kaul punches his hook deep into the noggin of a cannibalite:
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The dinner table turns on the mini-cannibals once Vors finishes what Wu Fang started. Another toothy horror falls. Heartened Bigget plows another with his great hook splitting the jerky flesh from stem to stern. Smollet steps up to smack his mate while the last nipper continues to feed its eternal hunger. With only a single fayjee left, Bigget manages to fend the jaws off a moment.
Clapping his hands in appreciation Dibbs exhorts "Jus one more mateys... gettim down."
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As Jimmer skewers the last wee deadite, and a healing wave washes over his scarred hide Kaul chuckles;
"Hur! NOW that's how ye do it Vorsey!"
The thug hooks a cannibal corpse up and lobs it towards the feet of Faruq with a lopsided leer;
"Up fer choppin' it now fancy-dan? Hur! Don' worry yer silk panties... it won't bite... now..."
Kaul hacks a grim chuckle and eyes his shipmates...
Dingus happy the adventure is over, doubles over, runs to the side of the ship, and empties whatever was left of breakfast, before dropping to his knees, and crawling back to his hammock.
The faygee's jaws keep snapping even with more than a foot of steel through its brain pan, but Vors whips it off the bit up half-orc and overboard into the dark river flowing past.
Faruq scowls at his fellow orc-kin and kicks the dried husk aside. "Well, at least you're of some use-"
The captain holds up a hand to quiet his mate and moves over to inspect the torn and bloody mess of his dwarf engineer. "Zees is no good. We need ze engineer to keep ze boat running."
Hair on his neck bristling to give Faruq a serve, Dibbets finds his desire also quelled by the Captain's words... figuring that the point had been made most demonstratively through the comparative uselessness of the candied half-orc. Running a weathered hand through his scraggly hair Dibbets asks "Ye gots no inklin o' wha works below like? We needs some way tae gets back an' movin eh? Otherwise we goin tae be stuck wi' the current."
Dibbets muses on whether he thinks the ship could be rigged to take sail and the weather conditions had been favorable to take them upriver on the air alone...
Jim indicates the body. "Here, he isn't going to come back as one of those faygee, is he?"
Smollet's assessment is that the Bon Ton Rouler is all top, no bottom. There's no way sails would work on the awkward riverboat.
At Vors' question, the captain shakes his head. "Zey take ze remains of zome victams to reanimate wi' ze dark rituaals, but zey not rise again by zemself. Let ze river take zem sough."
The dead are cleared off the deck including Hurg; the captain doesn't seem that sentimental. He then notes in response to Smollet's query, "I know a little. We take a look tomorrow. I think I can start her maybee and zen we just hope nothing break."
Faruq calls for double watches through the night. He and Vors will start, then Vors will switch out with Smollet, then the mate will switch with Kaul. Obviously, the skinny Tian is of no use and Vors is given a reduced watch.
Nodding a bit of hope at the Captain's words Dibbets adds "Hope so, cos there ain't by nei way this tub'd take tae sail... an I dinnae feel like rowin."
Perception:
Kaul pays no heed to the mate's jibe, merely chuckling at the empty threat. When receiving healing from Dibbs, the thugs whispers a grumbling threat sat the other half orc's attitude;
"Feck Farook. His sh1te smells the same as ours... Reckon by journey's end him and Lopps will be havin' a chat... hur-hur..."
Back on deck the scarred brute is all business, beady eyes peeled for more trouble:
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Faruq takes the aft end of the boat and leaves the fore to whoever is sharing his watch. The watches pass quietly with only an occasional splash from somewhere in the darkness or loud thrashing in the overgrown jungle on the nearby shore.
Smollet and Bigget take the last watch in the wee hours and after a bit of grousing from Bigget take their stations. On the foredeck, Bigget feels a twitching in his nutsack and pulls out Tum-Bobo for a look. The little wooden idol leers at him. "Good ting you not get eaten up by dem fayjee nippers. I don tink dey like de coconut, but no telling wid dem."
Bushy eyebrows furrow as the coconutter is liberated from his sack, but Smollet doesn't overtly speak out against it. Instead he moves himself slightly aft and away, so the Bobblehead's vendetta against him doesn't colour whatever he's going to do for / to the nugget.
Kaul's eyes narrow at Tum's whispers and his paw finds Lopper's ancient handle.
The thug hisses at Dibbs;
"Hsshhhh. Smoll... Hurg's 'atch... there's summit else 'ere!"
Kaul jabs his hook toward the hatch that slowly opens...
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Smollet has already removed himself to the aft of the riverboat and hears not Bigget's warning. The thug freezes perched on the foredeck above the slowly opening hatch. Orcish darkvision reveals a human boy creep out and move to the covered cargo deck totally unaware that he is being watched.