Anatoly, Belinna and Zossrov visit the ship's armory to gird themselves in leather armor and knives and cutlasses for battle. They join the away team in the rain on deck.
Dingus repairs his robes best he can with sail cloth and coarse thread, then joins the others ready to get the mission underway.
Jim gives some final basic order leaving Hinsin in charge and then the away team makes their way through the choppy surf and pounding rain back through the jungle to the cyclops ruins in the black coral cliffs. It's a bit chilly underground in sodden clothes, but nothing dangerous is encountered as they team makes its way to the sea caves where the Fearsome Tide remains black coral encrusted and silent in the dark.
Kaul lumbers ahead on point.
As they approach the Fearsome Tide, the thug becomes more prickly and battle ready;
"Hur. Right... guess Ol' Kauly is in first? We takin' the fight tae the weirdos or want me tae draw em out like?"
Jim shakes his head. "I have my doubts they'll come out. Take point anyway--if they do, I'd rather know of it early." He peers into the darkness. "Any sign of how Tide got in here, Kaul?"
Zossrov replies, "Well, I'm thinking that the sea caves were open until this weird black coral blocked it all up. Just like the entrance from the cyclops' ruins we had to smash through."
Kaul leads the way back aboard the black coral entrapped ship.
Kaul lopes at the head of the group; Lopper gripped in one paw.
The brute constantly looks here and there, snorting as he sniffs the air, then moving on;
:
Kaul halts and tracks his hook paw skyward, whispering a warning to the others;
"Hur. Eyes to the Tide's sails lads. One o' them jade-bat-spy beasties..."
Dibbet's eyes the perched sentinel with disdain;
"Hate them wee basterds... Ruins the element o' surprise!"
The salty oracle spits once, then nods toward the rest of the group;
"Am guessin' when ye were loadin' fer the return bout we did'nae consider engagin' the enemy at distance? Know Jimmer's got his bow... Kauly's got them javelins 'e never uses... Anyone else? Ding what you got up yer sleeves?"
"Arrows, mates. Dingus, shed a little light on the subject, but save your magic for the main event, hey?"
Dibbet's eyes the perched sentinel with disdain;
"Hate them wee basterds... Ruins the element o' surprise!"
The salty oracle spits once, then nods toward the rest of the group;
"Am guessin' when ye were loadin' fer the return bout we did'nae consider engagin' the enemy at distance? Know Jimmer's got his bow... Kauly's got them javelins 'e never uses... Anyone else? Ding what you got up yer sleeves?"
"I got fire, I got force, I got lightning. You just let me know what you want and it's yours".
The scaly mage then casts light on the end of his spear, and prepares to follow.
Dingus complies and looks at Jim. Jim looks back at Dingus. Everyone else squints upward into the darkened tattered shrouds looking for the whatever it is that Kaul's whispering about.
Jim snorts. "On second thought, Dingus, some of your vapor vipers might not be taken amiss here. Kaul, where is the little blob?"
Kaul points upward with a impatient scowl and a sigh.
"Hur. Right where I said it was. By the sails..."
The thug's then turns his baleful gaze toward Anotoly;
"Them without night eyes got an excuse. You ain't... Sharpen up or Lopps will... Hur."
Anatoly raises an eyebrow. "That the bat? I thought bat was long stick, no?"
Kaul fails to see the funny side of Anatoly's wit, but is snapped from his belligerence by a stamp on his toes from Dibbets.
"Less o' it ye grumpy fecker, 'Toly is a might more civilised than yer bad self... 'Sides we all got our uses... Sharp blades an' sharp wits all have their place!"
The grumbling oracle quints sailward...
:
Nods... then gives the group a detailed pointer of the jade bat's position for all to work from;
:
Zossrov sighs and saying nothing, nocks an arrow and fires at the jade lump. The arrow hits it, but doesn't seem to do any harm. Nonetheless, the bat is dislodged and drops from the yardarm to swoop through the hatch into the ship.
"Come on--they know we're out here now." Jim follows Kaul up on deck.
The away team quickly follows the retreating spy-bat into the ship. Once again they reach the lowest hold where the strange glowing circle in the floor spins and wobbles. Everyone jumps through and find themselves floating to the floor of the weird metallic domed room. The gas machine remains mangled off to one side and the door opposite it is still open after the bat's retreat.
Kaul grunts a cynical;
"Hur. Element o' surprise is gone then... Reckon we'll soon have company!"
He lopes forward toward the door, axe readied and senses sharp;
:
Everything is pretty dark with only a glowing green strip near the floor providing light. Kaul and Jim lead the way with Dibbets and Dingus following and Zossrov, Anatoly and Belinna trailing behind. The pirates make their way through the oddly shaped rooms that seem to spiral in like a nautilus shell. The crew reached the crystal room that once powered the place without seeing anyone. The weird machines remain smashed though some of the broken parts have been moved around.
The opposite door opens easily revealing another queerly shaped room. It is about fifty feet long by thrity wide and pinches slightly midway where a catwalk about twenty feet long crosses a pit filled with inky fluid.
On the other side, hellishly lit from below by the glowing floor strip is a creature of nightmare: This crab-like horror has a lamprey mouth, twitching eyes on its legs, and several blisters along its back that hold human brains. "You should have stayed away,” it hisses.
Keelhaul Kaul-
Madman Jim-
Dingus-
foe/crew
"I know. Tell me if this tickles".
Electric Boogaloo.
Dingus draws his new bauble from his cloak, and concentrates on sending his lightning bolt through it. He then tries to find something, or someone to hide behind.
The lightning bolt passes right through the horror.
Jim glances at Dingus. "That thing really there?"
Kaul growls a warning;
"Ain't sure... Ain't convinced... That feckin' jade-bat is hovering o'er it, and that bridge ain't convincing Ol'Kauly neither..."
The brute stays put;
"Step light an' target the bat!"
Dibbet's scowls, trying to spot what Kaul's keen senses have;
:
"Ding - target the thing iffen ye can... The wee one - nei the brain backed abomination!"
"Grrr! This thing is useless as my wand of magic missiles. I should just chuck both of them into that water'.
Then the others speaking gets through to him...
"OK. I think it's broken, but I'll give it one more try".
Recharging the little robot
Kaul's growl gives everyone pause. Dingus targets the little jade creep with another bolt just as the wall panel next to you slides away revealing another trio of the melted looking humanoids. Their skin hangs in gooey loops with flotsam stuck to it. They strike the flank of the party. Dibbets ducks below a gummy fist and Zossrov steps aside, but Anatoly gets clobbered and grabbed up by a minion.
Dingus' bolt arcs across the chamber and hits the jade bat. The creature leaps off the wall sparking before exploding in a shower of sparks. The illusion of the horrible brain backed menace flickers out of view.
Jim closes with the glue ball on Anatoly, blade out.
Round 2
Kaul flashes a hard grin and lopes back toward the dope menacing Dibbs. He brings Lopper to bear with malicious intent;
"Hur! Now its our turn... Rip 'em a new-new one lads!"
:
:
Round 2
Dibbets hobbles backward away from the fray as the brutal thug and flotsomoid clash.
Once clear he once again calls forth indifferent winds to gird his form;
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Round 2:
Already wreathed in his protective whispers of fetid wind, Dibbs looks around and takes measure of whether any of his mateys are bleedin bad enough for his attention. If not, then he holds his hand, but not his tongue "Thass the way lads, feck 'em proper like."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The crew leaps at the ambushers. Jim tries to help Anatoly ramming his sparking rapier into the creature injuring it. His blade sticks to the creature. Kaul defends his wee mate with a heavy ax blow. Belinna defends herself against her assailant striking it. Zossrov joins Jim against the grabby one. Unfortunately, their cutlasses don't appear to do much, but at least they retain their grip. Anatoly struggles, but his sticky strangler holds on as well.
Kaul receives a retaliatory slap from his foe The hand sticks to the half-orc's face a moment before he tears free leaving most of a mutton chop on the gooey creature. Belinna is struck as well and twists away. The last gooey grabber jerks toward the pit of dark fluid with Anatoly in tow. Zossrov hits it again, but only manages to lose his cutlass as the thing splashes into the weird pool with Anatoly and a pair of swords stuck to it!
Round 3
Bellowing in pain and anger as one of his beloved bugger-grips are torn from his noggin, Kaul lashes wildly at his flesh-wax tormentor:
"BAAAAAAASSSSSTERD!"
:
:
Jim takes a short step to close with the nearest one, and suddenly his hand isn't empty any more. He gives Belinna and Zossrov a quick grin as he stabs at the glueball.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Dingus steps back a bit, and casts "Mage Armor" on himself.
Growling through gritted teeth as 'Toly is dragged off, Dibbets looks to put himself in a spot to lend aid. Limping over to where his mate is being dragged off to the dark pool he reaches out and tries to yank back...
The skinny sorcerer takes cover casting a protective spell. With a flurry of zipping slashes, Jim cuts the pathetic creature down. Kaul goes mad at the dastardly depiliation and lops off a head with extreme prejudice. Dibbets ducks under the falling corpses to make a grab for Anatoly, but is too late as the other half-orc is pulled under the dark water. The halfling jerks his hand back as the surface boils with what appeasr to be a swarm of leeches or tiny eels.
Round 4
Lop-chop-sided, Kaul scowls at the ominously bubbling pool. The scarred thug shifts closer to Jimmer;
"Hur... Get the feelin' we'll be seein' 'Toly again... Leastways summit wearin' his skin... Poor basterd. When it comes we need tae fight smart Jimmer... You stick 'em and I'll lop it!"
Kaul then puts some distance betwixt himself and the swordsman, readying to set up a flank...
Not sharing his mate's lack of faith Dibbets screams at Dingus "Set tha feckin waters afire Dingus... we ain't feckin losin him" reaching to the side and between the air to conjure a lance of electric force crackling into his hand...
"Anything not 'Toly comes out of that water, Dingus, you burn it down." Jim glances at the door through which the glue balls entered.
Zossrov crouches next to Dibbets with bow pulled, but despite hopes and suspicions, nothing further stirs the waters. Belinna looks fervently into the dark water. "Is he gone?"
The open doors reveal a small featureless room beyond. The bridge seems to be thr only way forward.
So you want me to light it up captain"?
Dingus looks at Dibbs the eagerness plain on his face.
"Lightning, if you've got it. Kill those leeches--we can patch up 'Toly if we get to him quick enough."