the Groom moves out and along the wall (to K-12) and fires a bolt wide of the dino.
4/5 bolts
the Grooms shot flies wide as he tries not to hit Kaul in the frenzy of falchion and fang. The dino lays into the burly thug, but can't seem to get a good strike past the wily rogues defenses. Its partner appears to be elsewhere.
Round 1:
Seeing the oversized scaly chicken launch out of the shadows and begin savaging Kaul Dibbs shakes his head Bloody hell, first skeeter men an now big-arsed chickens. He stumps closer so he can intervene if needed... bloodied skeeter man head still dangling from one fist.
Round 1
Dodging bites and bolts, Kaul launches another hack at the dino...
:
... but is too distracted by the threat of "deadeye from the watery guy"
Round 1:
Jim hustles around the burning bug to Kaul's side and lunges at the raptor on him.
Dingus reaches into his bag of tricks, and to nobody's surprise pulls forth a two headed vapor viper.
Loving Force fang caress.
the Groom drops the crossbow and moves up to a flank with Kaul (J-14) drawing his blade as he does.
Another blast from Dingus and a well-placed rapier in the gizzard finishes off the rampaging dray dino. Its companion fails to show and perhaps already fell to the Spawn of Ghlaunder which continues to burn at your feet. All is quiet again in the smokey village.
Jim cleans his rapier before sheathing it. "Well, that was a mite easier than the last few of those we faced. Anything else out there going to try for us?"
As he pushes the dead dino with his boot, Kaul grins up at Jimmer;
"Hur... Give the isle a few minutes and we'll have somethin' else trying to skewer, eat or breed wi' us hur-hur-hur!"
Feeling his body a tad battered and bruised Kaul looks to the healers in the party for a blessing;
"Took a decent knock from this fecker... any blessings goin' lads?"
Spitting on the dino's corpse Dibbets is forthright "Skeeter head onna pole in the middle o' tha village then lets get us gone.... I'm tapped out Kaul, ye might look tae the drowned one... unless you want a poke o' me stick?" Standing like a macabre diminutive scarecrow before having a lightbulb moment "Say, where the feck did Half-Inch scarper to this time?"
Kaul nods;
"Hit me with yer healing stick Dibbs... then we'll find Half Inch..."
Casting your memory bak, you don't recall Half-Hitch actually left the house with you. You imagine he's likely back there hiding under the couch or something.
Giving Kaul a wee jab with the pointy end ( 13 charges left), Dibbs starts the slow stump back to the mayor's house.
As you approach the manor you glimpse an anxious face and then Half-Hitch opens the door and after carefully looking up and listening a moment, he grins as he hefts a sack nearly as big as himself, "Just grabbing some grub for the journey home, mates."
"Is it safe? Can we just get out of here now?"
Jim listens for clinking as Half-Hitch hefts his haversack. "I surely hope it's safe, mate. I had my druthers, we'd be at sea now."
After the healing Kaul shakes off the cobwebs, cracks his neck and knuckles and grins as Half-Hitch appears;
"Ain't often I agree with Half Inch, but he's got the right idea sure enough... Iffen we're tae clear land, best we take everything we fancy is o' worth..."
He rubs his scarred chin in thought...
"How much you reckon them cultists are worth tae a slaver or brothel? Tainted meat or a fervent treat hur-hur-hur!"
:
"Over and above any moral objections to slavery any of us might have, getting them there may be a mite problematical, being as we're severely lacking in the ship department. Unless they have one concealed hereabouts?"
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"Why kill the golden goose? We sell them and get a one time pay off. Or we come back yearly to collect our tribute. We can even make it all nice like, take care of anything that is harming them and keeping them from prospering. In return, we take a share of their goods to market. And well, I guess if they don't produce enough, then we make up the difference, with a pound of flesh."
"Aye, I'm with Jimmer. Feckin raft will be crowded enough wivvout havin tae stare at inbred the whole way back." rubbing his mangled leg to work out the kinks as he walks Dibbets is looking forward to wet land ahead, given the adventures they'd recently had on land.
"Less get back tae the raft quick like n' make sure its still there."
Kaul shrugs his burly shoulders;
"Hur. Whatever yee's think is good 'nough fer me lads... just thinking how we can top out our profits... But I likes Groomy's idea o' making this a regular stop fer tribute..."
Agreed that you've had enough of the strange village for now though it might be worth a raid later on, you gather what you can and head through the smoke to the gates. No one comes out to check as you remove the heavy wooden bars and exit out into the marshland surrounding the compound.
"Best we get back to the cave. I'm hoping no one's run off with our raft."
Leaving the smokey, quiet village behind, you make your way back to the beach and sea cave without any problem. The raft is in the same condition you left it and you are left to determine which direction you'll be heading.
Sentinel Island and Ollo are the closest likely settlements to the west and east respectively. However, heading to Ollo will mean braving Sahuagin infested waters. Freeport is about twice the distance northeast past The Smoker.
"I'd prefer to avoid the sharkmen, myself. Though Sentinel Island will take us farther from Freeport, I'm thinking we can find passage home there."
Leaving Raptor Island and the village of wierdos behind, the crew crowd on their raft and drift eastward. The goblin built raft looks more like a random collection of flotsam, but holds together well enough. A steady drizzle and unseasonably chill weather accompany you, but little wind. It takes over four days before you see the two barren peaks that frame the two-story stone fortress in the dim morning light.
All is still as you paddle toward the deserted docks except the gentle crash of the breakers and the call of sea gulls. Suddenly a loud ringing from the belltower breaks the quiet! It rings five times before a large winged form slips from the low clouds into the tower and all is eerily quiet again.
After four days on a crowded raft with the rest of the freebooters, Jim is looking forward to elbowroom. "Feckin'...I am tired of this s*@%e! Just once I'd like to make a peaceful landfall, go drinking and whoring for a week or three...."
"Ye gots my vote Jimmer" grumbles the diminuitive ornery halfling. His wine ran out about a day ago and Dibbets is plumbing new depths of despair. His weathered eyes squint at the winged form as it enters the lighthouse "But whatever the feck it is less still pull up at the dock..."
Perception:
Blinking fast paced before using the back of a weathered shivering sunburnt hand to work some life into his eye sockets Dibbs puts down the strange sight to his lack of drink and onset of the D.T.s
"I'm ready to get off this piece of trash raft as well". "Maybe they'll have areal ship on this island". "Plus I've heard every shanty and bad joke you guys have so many times my head is about to explode". Dingus then picks up a paddle, and actually attempts to speed their progress.
At the site of land even Richard get's excited. He slithers off the raft, and swims directly behind it trying to push it along with his head...till a big fish nearly swallows him whole, then he retreats to the middle of the raft.
You reach the old dock anxious to get off the crowded raft and stretch your legs a bit. No one comes to greet you nor are any other boats to be seen.
Dibbs stumbles onto the dock and stretches out, joints popping and crackling like dry bones being crushed underfoot. Spitting into the water he adds "Summat ain't right here mateys..."
Kaul eyes the lifeless dock curiously and whips out his coco-nut;
"Hur... Feel wrong tae you o' great one? Or are there trinkets and tributes to be had??"
:
The moody monkey scowls at Kaul through shiny little mica chip eyes, "Even wood head know sumting wrong, so what else new?"
Smiling at Tum-Bobblehead's crack and gradually warming to the coconutted sentinel Dibbs pipes "Well I ain't feckin gettin back on the raft until we at least figger out iffin there's any booze in there - so ye ken come wiv or stay." and starts his laborious stump towards the lighthouse.
"Hold up, mate. Let's get this raft up where it won't blow away on us; I'd not care to be stranded here."
The Groom will help with the raft, pulling it up past high tide.
"No monsters or people.....or boats. He pulls his crossbow off his back and snaps a bolt into place. "...Like all the people left with all the boats because of all the monsters."
He peers around and sniffs at the wind.
Dingus steps ashore stretching and stumbling trying to get back his land legs, while Richard stretches his scales.
Dibbets assists in the beaching of the raft, but then continues his lighthouseward stumping.
Jim loosens his sword in its sheath, picks up his bow and arrows, and follows the limping halfling.
the Groom smells a familiar scent...blood. Taking a closer look at the boards of the rough hewn dock, he spots a tint of red in the puddles. Blood has recently been spilled and a lot of it.
He's about to mention it to the others when a strange high whistling sound comes from the belfry and a winged form leaps from the tower. It circles above and again gives its weird whistle something like a cross between an elk call and that of an eagle.
Dibbets-
Keelhaul Kaul-
Madman Jim-
The Groom-
Dingus-
Lonesome whistler
Round 1:
Muttering under his breath "...bloody...feckin...arse-rodgerin..." Dibbets calls upon the wind to shield his form as he squints skyward.
The creature circles about 50 feet overhead and the Groom shudders as it passes above him, almost as if the day were warm and sunny instead of cool and drizzling and the creature had passed between him and the sun.