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Twisting and turning underwater, Jim dodges the jaws and tail. Then a momentary parting of the curtain of mud reveals a pulsing artery on the werecroc's flank, and the Taldan does not hesitate to drive his lethal blade home.
The dead crocoman shifts back to a wholly human form as it sinks and lolls over murky riverbed before it begins rolling slowly downstream. Kaul reaches the river bank and hauls himself up. Bleeding, elongated bite marks overlay his map of older scars. The witch is nowhere to be seen.
Kaul lies in the cool mud, feeling that old familiar pain course through his bitten and bloodied body.
He chuckles to himself, then shifts to a sitting position as he see's Dibbs approach;
"Hur... That were a close 'un matey. Big Basterd 'ad Ol' Kauly good an' proper..."
The thug grimaces at his wounds, then scowls;
"Where's Jimmer?"
As if on cue, the Taldan breaches the surface and shakes the hair from his eyes. "Got him! Though I fear I've used a year's worth of good luck, shaking the b1tch's spells. Where is she?" He swims for shore, eventually emerging as he relinquishes the magic of the ring.
"Shifted scaly an scarpered... cowardly wench" slapping Kaul around a bit...
CSW+CMW:
..."Ye reckons we should head on an try n' find wherever the buggers make camp?"
Kaul takes his lumps from Dibbs knowing the good they do outweighs the sting.
With his woulds healed and a fresh set of scars, Kaul grunts in agreement at Dibbs' plan;
"Hur... Ol' Kauly could try an' sniff 'em out. From now on in... iffen I reckon they ain't the right sort me and Lopps are takin' the inishative!"
"I'm thinking we should go back and take a look at the lighthouse, mates. This lot seemed fairly eager to keep us from there."
Despite his shipmate's keenness to hunt out the dangerous tribe, Jim once again advises caution and focus on their mission. Kaul's quick sniffing around reveals that the trail tapers out into the bush and the scent of the lizard warriors indicates that they came from different directions. It would likely take quite some time and effort to further pursue the treacherous Karikanti.
Shrugging his shoulders Dibbets accedes to Jimmer's thoughts and agrees "Roighto then.. less head back then."
Kaul balefully stares into the bush and nods slowly;
"Hur. Reckon yer right enough... She'll keep... eh Lopps?"
The thugs waggles the axes head in a strange acknowledgement, then heads off with his mates...
Heading back along the trace through the verdant dripping jungle, the crew eventually stumble back across the rotting timbers of the town and back onto the overgrown streets. They take a bearing on the tall lighthouse up a steep slope around the bay from ruined town. As they draw nearer, they get a better look at the structure under the afternoon sun.
The great lighthouse looks to be a cyclopean artifact by the massive stone block construction and scale. The keeper's house is much more recently constructed, but in far worse condition. The upper floor of the wooden addition has collapsed in several places and the windows are obscured with grime. A stone wall surrounds the grounds, but has toppled over in several places. The metal gate is rusted and one side hangs off its hinges. The place looks quite unoccupied.
With a slight edge to his voice Dibbs challenges "All in together eh? Best we keep tight" but still looks for Kaul and Jimmer to expose their fleshy bits in primacy by taking up a stumping rearguard.
Jim and Kaul lead the way over the old cracked fieldstone walk to the front door. The door appears in quite good condition and functional despite the poor general condition of the weathered structure.
Jim shrugs. "If something in there kills me, make it pay." He steps up and raps on the door.
Kaul nods in acknowledgement of Jim's request.
Behind his back he shakes his scarred noggin as he grumbles an' aside to Dibbs;
"Hur. See this is where we're goin' wrong. Being all polite and dip-low-matic like - just ends in us gettin' the rough end o' things..."
The brute grips his fell ax and readies himself for trouble...
There is no answer...
In the silence that follows his knock, Jim shrugs again and tries to open the door.
It turns out that it is locked and Dingus and his manky goblin hand isn't around.
Kaul flashes a smug grin, and taps Jimmer's shoulder with his claw;
"Hur-umm. Think me an' Lopps got this..."
The thug awaits the opportunity to bring his hatchet to bear upon the door...
The door collapses like balsa wood under the keen edge of the heavy boarding ax and a terrible high pitched scream is heard from the threshold.
Kaul pauses and looks back at his mates , his grin even wider;
"Hur. Now that's a pretty sound. Breakin' o' wood, then a keening! Hur..."
The thug hefts his ax as he cracks the remnants of the door free with his equally menacing mekaniclaw and steps inside...
"Let's give this one a chance to talk first, hey?"
Dibbets lets the others through the portal first, before following after... as long as they haven't dissolved into a puddle of goo.
As he steps inside Kaul is mindful to let his magical boots do the watching...
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Most would give pause at the unearthly shriek, but Kaul only moves forward chuckling and belatedly inspects the floor for traps. No traps are found in the musty, dirty entrance hall. On the left, a corridor leads into the east wing of the house. On either side of the corridor opening the walls are bare but some pieces of wood in the corner near the window indicate that a small wooden table or chair once stood there. Ahead, another corridor leads towards the rear of the house and into the lighthouse. On the right, a broken staircase climbs to a splintering balcony which overlooks the hall. Under the stairs at the rear of the hall a third corridor leads west.
The room to the west was once a library, with bookshelves around the walls. Most of the bookshelves are broken now and in many places have come away from the wall altogether. Those few shelves still intact are empty but there is a pile of books in the southwest corner that sports a ring of red-capped mushrooms. A widow overlooks the bay.
To the east is a dining room with long broken table resting upon broken legs on the floor with chairs smashed and piled by the fireplace. A door leads to the kitchen which is dirty and damp, with patches of grey mold and a few cobwebs on the floor, walls and ceiling. In the corner is some iron cooking equipment with a chimney above. Next to it, under the
window, is a cracked and discoloured stone sink. To the side of the sink a small, closed wooden cupboard is fixed to the wall about 5’ above floor level.
A low opening leads to the scullery which has suffered the effects of damp and decay more than most in the house. Mould grows in patches on the floor, walls and ceiling; there are many cobwebs, though
even these appear to be decaying. A large copper boiler, dented, split, corroded and empty, stands under the window; a small heap of crockery shards is on the floor beside it. Stairs lead down into the darkness of what is presumably a cellar.
The ground floor of the lighthouse has been partitioned into sleeping chambers and a study and stairs in the hall lead to the upper levels.
As they make their way through the place Dibbs turns up his nose a tad, but the closed cupboard above the sink draws a bit of interest. Calling out to one more vertically endowed the halfling asks "Oi Kauly, gi' 'er a tap wi' Lopper an see what falls out eh?"
At the stairs downwards he similarly asks his companion "Whass down there? - cellar or summat else eh?"
Jim listens intently for any sign of movement before proceeding, incidentally looking for any tracks in the mold and any sign that the stove has been used recently.
Kaul approaches the cupboard and following through with Dibbs' request the thug brings his axe to bear...
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Indeed Jim does find evidence of recent passage through the building, two main trails of disturbed dust and scuffed floors. One leads from the front door through the dining room and kitchen to the stairs in the scullery. The other runs back from the kitchen and dining room across the entry hall into the western library window overlooking the bay. He notes an untarnished lantern on the floor near the window.
The stove does appear to be in working order though neither it nor the cracked basin appear to have been recently used. Neither will the cabinet or china it held ever be used again after Lopper reduces all to ruin in a cacophony of destruction.
"Likely someone downstairs from the scullery...let's go." Jim lights the lantern, if possible, and makes his way down the scullery stairs.
Kaul stomps a couple oversized centipedes dislodged from a nest under the sink during the destruction of the china cabinet and follows Jim down the stairs with Dibbets in the rear. The crew enters what was obviously a wine cellar. Wooden bottle racks — mostly broken — line the north and west walls to a height of 6’. There appear to be no intact bottles left in the racks though there are several with broken necks. Broken bottles cover the floor beneath and near the racks. Against the east wall, at the foot of the stairs, are two large metal storage bins which appear to be empty.
Kaul eyes the storage bins with an expectant grin at his shipmates; tapping Lopper with his claw...
"They look empty to me, mate. Let's see if there's some sort of hidden way in." The Taldan begins a quick search for concealed entrances.
Kaul shrugs his no-neck and joins the search;
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Jim and Kaul easily find a trail across the dusty cellar floor to a secret door on the other side of the room.
The secret door opens to darkness...
Kaul eyes the darkness with a grin;
"Hur. Looks foreboding eh? Hur..."
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The activated secret door swings open revealing a dark room beyond. Kaul's nightsight clearly makes out the details dimly sketched by Jim's lamp. This room was obviously a second cellar, but equally obvious, it is now used for an entirely different purpose; a first impression is that it is looks more like a barracks. Ten single beds (crude affairs — little more than thin mattresses on boards) stand with heads to the opposite wall, each with a small wooden locker at its foot. In the center of the flagged floor is a long wooden trestle table on its side with the top facing the door. There are about a dozen scattered stools round the table and two nearby casks. Next to the casks is a large wooden bin. Above it, hanging on hooks on the wall, are a large ham, a long string of sausages and a small side of meat.
Kaul barely has a chance to make his observation before five guards leap up from behind the table releasing crossbow bolts. In the dim light however, only one bolt hits Kaul as he takes cover behind the door frame.
Keelhaul Kaul-
Madman Jim-
foe-
Jim steps out of line of sight of the door and murmurs to the others, "Let 'em come to us, hey?" Blade in hand, he prepares to perforate anyone who gets too close.
Just in case one slips past his guard, the Taldan prepares to parry.
Kaul heeds Jim's words at a bolt lodges itself into his thigh, shifting back into wine cellar with a growl ;
"Hur... We needs tae prize 'em out o' there! Any majicks or such Dibbs?"
Kaul's realizes that the veteran Aspis mercenaries aren't going to blow their quasi-fortified position despite Jim's optimism. He calls to his short companion for some ruse to draw them out. While Dibbets ponders , a light appears in the barracks room. A woman's voice, vaguely familiar, is heard, "Who's there? You're trespassing and will be dealt with painfully."
Kaul chuckles;
"Hur. Painfully. Hur. Them lilies don' know what pain is eh Lopps?"
The axe's fell head shifts back and forth in the negative...
"Trespassing, is it? Normally that'd be a fair cop, but not today. So how about you tell us who you are and what you're doing here, hey?"
"I asked first, didn't I?" Chanting ensues.
"So you did, but I think we have the advantage here."
Kaul glowers, his patience waning...
"Talkin' ain't gettin' us nowhere Jimmer... How bout I wade in an' test their mettle like? Loops'll turn that table tae kindlin'..."
Jim's assertion is met with a sudden cloud of stinking gas that leaves him nearly blinded and gagging.
Keelhaul Kaul-
Madman Jim-
foe-
Fort:
Breathing the stink in like it wasn't nothing Dibbs snorts before hacking up a stirring wind back in the other direction...
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Kaul too breathes in the stench, and growls an exhale;
"Feck this. I'm goin' in..."
The thug hefts Lopper and piles through the door on the heels of Dibb's wind...
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