A few short weeks ago, your group of six adventurers came together for a common goal. For whatever reasons, every one of you has agreed to a plan to capture a ship, and use it to wreak havoc on the surface of The Shackles, a notorious region of the Arcadian Ocean off the coast of Mwangi.
Between the six of you, the mermaid Sinmara has taken charge, enforcing her authority by her possession of the Chime of Besmara, a mysterious brass chime she refuses to explain the origins of, but insists is an unholy relic of the Pirate Goddess herself.
You've made your way to the shallows near Bonewrack Isle, a hellish pit of monsters that you, thankfully, have no intention of exploring. As if by providence, you've discovered a ship nearby, bearing the name of the Man's Promise. It seems to have run aground, but its crew have nearly fixed that. If you can make it there before it leaves, it should be trivial to take the vessel for yourselves, shouldn't it?
"This is it!" the armored mermaid exclaimed with glee. Below the surface, their words had no chance of reaching the ears of the oblivious sailors on deck over the sea breeze and the lap of waves against its hull. "They're dead in the water - sharkbait." She flashed a toothy grin at her two piscine companions in question. "They have numbers but I wager most of 'em will pose little threat to us. Any airbreather we get off the deck is as good as dead, so strike hard and fast." She gently caressed the needle-sharp prongs of her trident, mind racing at the imminent carnage. "This will be our first true fight together, so we should all make sure we each know our role. I'll be on deck, calling forth the drowned dead and ensuring these fools learn the fury of Besmara - as painfully as possible." She lazily displayed the skull-and-crossbones mark of the pirate goddess on her palm. "And you?" she said, turning to the one floating beside her.
"I'll be softening them up for you, then providing suppressive fire," the inky-haired sea elf responds, grinning and patting his hefty hand-cannon. His expression suddenly turns serious as he adds, "You may not want to be standing ahead of me when this thing goes off."
"You think the shallows here are deep enough?" growls the large, scarred shifter, as his gills disappear, replaced by swimming fins on his forearms and bare back. "And do we come from the beach, or the water? I can hit the deck fast, and hard, but I'd rather not get surrounded."
"My drowned crew will help with that. They're capable enough in a fight to handle a few swings with a cutlass - should help us avoid getting overrun," Sinmara replies.
The stone of Ligeia's expression cracks into mock dismay at the name of the ship. "Man's promise?" She mutters, turning towards Sinmara. "That certainly won't do, sister. We'll have to rename it." Her mouth spreads into a smile, one far too wide that betrays her razor-sharp teeth. "Man's blood comes to mind."
At Sinmara's continued discussion of roles, Ligeia lets out an exaggerated sigh, feeling forced to put aside her ideas of fun. With a frown, she looks out towards the boat. "I do believe they'll be setting off soon. Perhaps I should go and... delay them? Give our friends time to get into position." She smiles. "And then strike from within. After all, can't have them trying to run off before we're finished with them. That's the true 'man's promise'."
Kyanos smiles devilishly and remarks to the rest of the crew, "This ship can bring us riches or ruin. I can break the wills of these petty humans and ensure it is the former. If one wishes, I can reach into their mind as well, but unlike for
the landwalkers, it will be entirely beneficial."
"Ocean's Revenge, maybe? And I'll just wait for an attack order, then. Though I'd vote for blood over shackles; I doubt we'll need a dry-land crew."
Looking at the ship, you would hazard a guess that, while not trivial, it would be very possible to simply climb the side of the ship.
The monstrous shark of a man stares at the bottom of the ship from his vantage point under the waves, eyeing the formless figures moving about near one edge. He gives an inhuman growl, more a rumbling in the water than anything else before turning to the de facto captain of the group, "Do you want me in the water or on deck with the slaughter?" The primal hunger burning in the predatory eyes, ready to prepare for the bloody hunt to come.
"Bad luck to rename a ship," Coranzen mutters. "Although I suppose if we really do have Besmara's blessing, luck will be on our side regardless."
After hearing from the rest, he begins carefully approaching the ship without prompt; getting directly under it from the deep, then swimming up from below toward the rear. He waits below the water and watches Sinmara expectantly for some kind of signal.
The bloodthirsty pirate-to-be smiled at Ligeia's suggestion. "Your voice will lull them into comfort. Take the lead then, and infiltrate the ship. We will not be far behind."
She turns to Kyanos. "I wouldn't have brought a mind-bender like you along if I feared to have your thoughts touch mine. If you have a technique to bring me victory, then us it." She allowed the gillman to touch her, using whatever strange hypnotic powers he possessed to make her stronger.
"For now, Hai-Jun, join us aboard. We can always retreat to the water if needed... or dive in to feed," Sinmara replies to the Tien wereshark.
Beckoning to the others, she swam forward to beneath the ship's deck. Once the others were in position, she began her preparations. From within an oiled leather pouch, she produced the skull-festooned chime of Besmara, its gleaming silver surface untarnished by exposure to seawater for so long. She swung the bell as if to ring it, though no sound emerged from the object. A churning eddy appeared in the water before her, stirring up the muddy seafloor as from clear water emerged the sodden form of a long-rotted corpse. Faded Chelish colors were barely visible on the body's tattered remaining clothing. Three more times she did this, each time bringing forth a new member of the zombified dead, all of them concealed out of view in the shadow of the ship's hull beneath the water.
"Moment of truth," she murmured to her allies. "Use your magical preparations now - we strike in mere moments." With that, Sinmara prayed to the pirate goddess to bring her favor in battle, and to give her movements the swiftness of an ocean typhoon.
Kraol floated silently, eyes above the water, waiting for a signal.
Ligeia nods to Sinmara with a wicked grin, and makes her way up the beach through the water, before moving onto land in the shadow of the ship. Leting the sand and water combine to make her hair look disheveled, she lies in wait for some sailors to come within earshot, before calling to them.
"Over here." she cries, and as they approach, Please... I'm stuck. I've been out of the sea for too long and the waves are stronger than I am now. I can't swim back out. Would you bring me aboard when you leave, and toss me off into the sea?" She smiles seductively, a look that betrays nothing of her nature, but rather, suggests that the reward for their rescue of her would be untold pleasures. "I'd really appreciate it."
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The monstrous sharkman swims to join Coranzen in the shadow of the ship, grinning at Sinmara's preparation order. He shifts back to his human form, only temporarily to rid himself of his fins which will be unnecessary in the coming battle, and cause his head to morph into an even more terrifying visage as his maw grows massive and teeth multiply rapidly.
In combat ready form, he begins gathering the sea's power into and around himself, muttering in the esoteric language of the Druids, his legs growing stronger, his hide growing tougher. He let out another rumble as two powerful limbs sprouted from his shoulder blades, forming into a pair of dangerous tendrils. His transformation continued, this joints sprouting jagged bone spikes as his muscles bulge, even the tips of the newly grown tendrils sporting spear-like barbs.
With one final prayer to the Pirate Queen, his body grew, doubling in size as the magic converts the surrounding water into flesh and bone. Dwarfing the rest of his companions, Hai-Jun focused his senses, staring up to the wooden vessel as he waited for Sinmara's signal.
Kyanos floats alongside Kraol, and places a hand om his shoulder while muttering, "This will keep you safe, although not for too long. Make use of it while you can."
As Ligeia waits for the sailors to come by, she notices another group approaching from the shore, carrying a small boat with them, presumably to sail out to the ship proper. Three humans, a male and two females, a female halfling, and a male half-orc. She pleads her case masterfully, and the group believe her immediately.
The short one pipes up first, turning to the human man. "Mermaids is good luck, y'hear. We take 'er on and the ship's ours, eh?"
"What, and get her killed? I'm not risking that," the man, who seemed to be their leader, replied. "We'll send someone to pick her up once Plugg and Scourge are dead."
By the sound of it, the group have been planning some sort of mutiny.
"Wait," Ligeia calls as they begin to move towards the ship. "Perhaps I can help you.. It should be only fair, if you'll rescue me from this situation. Besides, I fear neither bloodshed nor pain. Especially in the name of new friends. Speaking of which, my name is Ligeia." Her eyes flick between each member of the party in greeting, with a smile on her face, before returning to the leader. "Now, tell me, who are the men you seek to kill?"
The half-orc man speaks up in response. "There's two men in charge of that ship. Bald one with a goatee, that's Plugg. Long beard and a whip, that's Scourge. We kill them, and that's the end of it."
Ligeia cocks her head. "If there's only two of them, you needn't be concerned for my safety. What did they do?"
The green-skinned man throws his head back in laughter. "It's not that simple when they run the whole ship. The only soul on board that girl that doesn't want us dead is the cook!"
Ligeia studies the would-be mutineers for a moment, thinking that their plan is probably poorly-thought-out at best. As noble as their motives may or may not be, it seemed as though they had no idea where the loyalties of the rest of the crew would lay. Still, infighting would give the rest of her own crew time to get into position...
"Okay," she says after a moment. "Let's go. I'll help you with your problem and you can help me with mine."
For lack of a better option, the group quickly accepts Ligeia's offer. The rowboat they brought with them seems to fit six people well enough, though the mermaid's tail takes up a fair bit more space than a pair of legs would. The half-orc takes both oars, and by the looks of it, the ship is less than a minute away.
Unfortunately, any hope of a surprise attack, at least by the mutineers, is quickly dashed by the unmistakable sound of cannon fire. The first shot lands several yards away from the boat, but the force is nearly enough to capsize the tiny vessel.
"Hang on, little mermaid," calls the human man, "It's going to be a rough trip!"
Ligeia glares daggers at the ship as it fires towards them. "You'd dare fire on me?" She murmurs, rage building in her dark heart. "How fitting that the last act of the 'Men's Promise' should be a terrible mistake."
Turning towards the Half-Orc, she tries to keep the venom from her voice. "Stay on course, I'll see if I can give them a better target."
Looking over the side of the boat into the ocean, Ligeia's eyes spot the wreck of a warship in the depths. She studies the image for a second, burning it into her mind, before letting her eyes refocus on the surface of the water. "Rise one last time." She commands the forgotten ship. "Rise and strike fear into the hearts of cowards."
After a moment, a ship looking strikingly like the one that Ligeia saw under the waves comes from the fog to the north, on a direct course for the ship currently firing on them.
She smiles at the crew in an attempt to settle their nerves. "Help, in a manner of speaking, is on the way."
"Besmara's balls, what have you done?" asks the human woman.
"Izzat a Chellish ship?!" asks the halfling.
"BOOM!" answers the cannon.
Several of the pirates in the rowboat take cover, but quickly realize it's not coming towards them this time. It seems Ligeia's ruse worked, and those aboard the ship are scrambling to deal with the new threat.
"THAT'S OUR CUE, BOYS!" Sinmara cried with glee. "ATTACK!" It seemed her words were not merely directed at her fellow pirates, but at the four drowned zombies lurking woth her beneath the waves. At her command, the sodden corpses grabbed planks, chains, and rails, clambering sluggishly up onto the ship's deck. Behind this first rank of shambling undead was their captain, her fiery red hair shimmering in the bright light. Her tail vanished as she ascended to the deck, morphing into a pair of legs well accustomed to the rocking motion of a ship's deck. The function of the leather strap about her tail now became apparent, as it morphed alongside her armor to accomodate her new shape, forming a pair of thigh-high black leather boots.
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Hai-Jun laughs to himself as the order is given and reaches a powerful, long arm up to grab the side of the boat, the rest of his limbs moving to lift his now massive body up out of the sea. The boat tips slightly and the wood groans under the staggering weight, water cascading down his monstrous form as he pulls himself to full height. The sun behind him, Hai-Jun's terrifying visage casts a dark shadow over the disoriented sailors as he hefts his sharp blade. "Who fires upon our wayward sister?"
Ligeia's face lights up as the corpses begin climbing up the side of the boat. "Oh! The actual cavalry has arrived!" She smiles at the horrified faces of the others in the rowboat. "Move quickly, my friends, before others take your opportunity for revenge."
As the rowboat moves closer to the ship, Ligeia leaps off (into the water first, if the crew is too afraid to approach) and begins clambering up the side of the ship after Hai-Jun.
Determined to reach the deck and fire off a shot before his allies end up in the line of fire, Coranzen pulls himself up the side of the ship with expedient grace and surety.
Kraol swims forward, leaping from the water onto the boat, next to a crewmember, with a roaring splash—and immediately, before anyone can get a good look at who or what he is, tries to pull that person back over the edge, into the water.
Well, here goes nothing I suppose," Kyanos mutters to himself as he climbs up the ship.
The boat reaches the side of the ship, and all but one of the mutineers starts to climb the side. The last, one of the human women, instead spends a moment concentrating, perhaps on some silent spell.
The other human woman has a bit of trouble gripping the hull of the ship, and doesn't quite make it up.
Coranzen hurries to the nearby stairs, drawing his culverin and quickly bracing it against the rail. "Move out of the way!" he shouts to Ligeia and the two who arrived with her. He gives them a moment to get out of the way as he taps his bandolier to load the hand cannon, then a deafening blast consumes the deck with shrapnel and blackpowder.
Pirate 1
Pirate 2
Pirate 3
Pirate 4
Pirate 5
Pirate 6
If the mutineers and Ligeia don't move, then...
Mutineer 1
Mutineer 2
Ligeia
Kyanos stares at the crewman closest to Kraol, cerulean eyes flashing with intensity, and says in a voice with the power of a crashing wave, "Freeze, I command you."
Ligeia quickly moves out of the way of Coranzen's blast, finding a place to stand, further from the chaos. Narrowing her eyes at one of the sailors, she whispers to him, her voice carried on the waves. "You belong to me," she says simply.
Karol moved to the other side of the ship, kicking the man there as hard as he could.
Kyanos easily binds the weak-willed pirate in place before he has a chance to react. Kraol, meanwhile, charges across to the other side of the ship and effortlessly kicks a hapless human off the edge into the water.
The mutineers' leader shoves the nearest pirate down the stairs belowdecks, giving himself some room. The two mutineers caught in the range of Coranzen's blast dive out of the way in time, but Ligeia can't squirm out of the way on her tail.
Three of the pirates caught in the blast are blown away, left bleeding and unconscious on the floor of the deck. Another, perhaps luckier, soul, is torn completely to shreds, killed in an instant by the massive hunk of weaponry. Yet another is left bleeding, but standing, still clinging to consciousness despite his wounds.
Then there's the bald man. Despite taking the full brunt of the attack, he remains standing, completely unfazed by the blast that destroyed lesser men.
With some luck, the redheaded human woman finally pulls herself up to the deck. She surveys the carnage from Coranzen's attack with a grimace. The other one, rather than climbing, seems to begin floating directly upwards, and takes a vantage point roughly twenty feet above the ship.
The paralyzed pirate remains paralyzed.
The pirate nearest Coranzen draws her cutlass and swipes at him in retaliation, just barely connecting and drawing blood.
Another one, nearby, sees the giant shark-man as a greater threat, but can't put a dent in his scales with her puny dagger.
The injured pirate, not willing to risk another blast from Coranzen's death machine, finds that his only path to escape is into the captain's quarters. He rushes over and tries to force his way into the locked door.
It does not work.
The implacable bald man doesn't even notice the insubordinate next to him fleeing, or perhaps just doesn't care. Instead, he grabs a cutlass from the corpse lying next to him, giving him one in each hand, and steps forward to strike.
The ornate cutlass in his right hand strikes one of Sinmara's zombies, cutting a massive gash through its rotting flesh.
The pirate that Kraol knocked into the water swims away. Perhaps he thinks being marooned on the island is a preferable fate than whatever waits for him if he attempts to climb back aboard.
"Surround him and tear him apart!" Sinmara cried, pointing her trident at the bald human. Her sodden undead groaned and shuffled forward, moving to encircle the man. Their arms flailed out, mighty blows raining down on him from all sides.
Inhaling deeply as a deep grin spreads across her face, Sinmara launched into a tirade to end all tirades. "You call yourselves pirates, you limp-legged shivel-bellied sniveling little weaklings? I've seen jellyfish with more backbones than you lot! You're gonna toss down those cutlasses, drop to your knees, and BEG that this ship's new captain spare your miserable, worthless lives!" Something unholy reverberated in her words. The tongue of a siren is meant for beautiful, enticing temptation, a soothing balm for the ears. Nothing had prepared the sailors for this utter reversal, a fiery lash of hateful rebuke - an appelation made literal as the force of her words rippled forth as searing, blistering flame.
The monstrous sharkman chuckles at the pirate's futile attempts to harm him. His voice rumbled passed endless rows of razor-like teeth as he addressed the somewhat foolish woman, "Cute. You may live, for now." Seeing the other figure before him strike at Coranzen, Hai-Jun turns his head and roars. The long blade drops the second woman's shoulder, followed shortly by the bone crushing jaws and barbed tendrils, The towering creature intent on eviscerating and devouring the land dweller.