After my attack, for the record.
Satinder attacks the sailor viciously in the back, slicing across his back but he turns in time, causing a glancing blow.
She then slides in between the lady that seems to be giving the orders, and gets back-to-back with Faengrim.
"Faengrim, how come you are here? I thought you were our lookout on top?
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As the battle continues, Satinder throws a glancing blow at her foe before slipping between the leader and Faengrim, getting back-to-back with the shark-kin. The lead raider responds by slashing at the first mate, leaving a minor cut across her upper arm. Chumtooth swings at his target, laying the man low with a single blow before turning and biting the other raider, sending him to the floor as well. Faengrim kills the man before him with a sweeping blow that neatly removes the man's head from his body. Dantes maneuvers into a better position for spellcasting. The guard looks on anxiously, wondering if he should fill in the gap. From above, more ballista bolts fly into the crowd outside. Still the raiders come, filling in the gaps and striking at Faengrim. The leader of the raiders blanches, looking worse for the wear, her movements slowing somewhat.
Chumtooth steps forward to face the lead raider.
He swings his morning star and gnashes at her with his blood-stained teeth.
"I was, but all the fun was down here." He returns the sailor's cut with a roar and a slash of his own.
Greatsword: mwk, fav enemy (human), lead blades
Dantes points past Faengrim, sending a stream of sparkles into the midst of the invaders. It explodes, sending glitter throughout their ranks.
Casting glitterdust, targeting the group beyond Faengrim and bringing the radius right up to the wereshark-kin. DC16 will save of they are blinded. Plus, they are all shiny now!
As Satinder finally gets to the position she wants, she grins and distracts the leader so Chumtooth can get in the perfect strikes. As they land on her back, she uses the chance to drive her own blade deep into her shoulder, and twists.
"GIVE UP!"
She shouts the command, as forcefully as possible, but doesn't expect the the woman to listen.
She doesn't even want her to listen. This is war, and there will be no mercy!
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The sergeant steps forward, swinging at the leader and biting deeply into her flesh. Satinder's sword sinks into the woman's shoulder as the mate calls for her surrender, but the woman merely grunts in reply. Beneath the onslaught, the raider leader is clearly fading fast. Chumtooth's morningstar connects with the leader, his bite missing by only inches, but the attack is sufficient to bring her down. With their leader downed, the remainder of the raiders are defeated with minimal casualties and no losses on the part of the defenders, who send them routing.
A close examination of the body of the leader reveals that her flesh is covered with tattoos, forming what appears to be a map! The map depicts the outlines of several small islands. A stylized half sun sits to the right of the islands, while simple images of a monstrous eye and the face of an aged, bearded king are to the left. Beneath the map are five lines of crude verse:
From blue bight’s embrace
Spy the Grave Lady’s prize tooth
With the Dawnflower’s first kiss
Climb the Captain’s wayward orb
To claim old king’s hoard
Kroop speculates that this could be a map to the fabled lost treasure of Captain Cyrus Wolfe.
Standing over the body of their fallen leader, Chumtooth pounds his chest and shouts in a booming voice towards the retreating raiders.
"Chumtooth holds the Rock! Chumtooth will kill any who try to take it! Run dogs, or die!"
He looks down at the tattooed woman's body with an eye of appraisal. "Bring her body to the ship. Her head will be added to my trophies, and the map-skin preserved. We must prepare to leave with the dawn, to find healing magic for the boy."
Dantes stands by quietly during the celebration of the victory. His curiosity is piqued by the tattoo. He starts to pull his journal book to copy it when Chumtooth makes his declaration about preserving the skin.
"I will have to study this. The eye could reference a defender. The legends say Captain Wolfe summoned some sort of creature to guard Mancatcher Cove, where his treasure is said to be hidden. And these may be references to Pharasma and Sarenrae."
"If we can study this, and figure out where it is, this could be remarkable for us."
While celebrations start, Dantes follows the tattooed body. He takes time to copy the tattoos into his notebook, just in case the curing process damages the skin.
Faengrim lets out a powerful roar at the fleeing raiders. His blade and fangs bloody from piercing the flesh of his foes. They will not soon forget him.
He looks over the skin-map "I recognize those islands. I could get us there."
"Faengrim, you do not recognize this creature? It is a fabled defender, summoned from the deep seas itself to defend the treasure of the Wolfe.. "
Satinder shivers as she remembers the stories told to her by her uncle.
Faengrim smiles his big, shark toothed smile. "And when we defeat it and gain the treasure, our legend will grow."
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Dantes, with the charts on board the Kiss, you can plot the course to Mancatcher Cove. It will take about 2 days, assuming good wind. On the other hand, the nearest settlement that might have something to help the boy is Bloodcove, a small city to the southeast, about 3 days sail (again, assuming good winds).
"The treasure will wait a few days. Make sail for Bloodcove. Bring the boy with us, so that we can give him the medicine as soon as it is found."
"You heard the captain!", Satinder bellows.
"Bloodcove, on the double."
Faengrim looks unsure at first, but then wholeheartedly follows orders.
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The trip to Bloodcove is fortunately uneventful and you arrive with barely enough time to spare. Mardus' condition grows more and more grave and you fear for his life, but by some miracle of fate, he manages to hold on until you find a healer that can remove the infection. He survives but has a permanent limp to remind him of his brush with death.
On the return trip, Dantes spends time studying the charts and comparing them to the map and feels certain that he knows the way to Mancatcher Cove.
"It makes perfect sense! Mancatcher Cove, at last!" He jabs a thick thumb at the map. "Do we need to make any preparations before we go?"
Chumtooth spends the uneventful journey skinning and dismembering the tattooed woman's corpse. Stripping it of all gear, clothing, and jewelry, he sets to work. He mounts the skull on the Skull Rack, boils the face and scalp down to a shrunken head to add to his collection. He also stretches out the tattooed portion of the woman's skin and tans it, so as to preserve the map. He tosses the rest of the meat, bone and offal unceremoniously into the sea, wisely not partaking of the envenomed flesh.
After assigning a swab detail to scrub the blood from the deck, he calls the officers into his cabin, where he has laid the woman's gear out on the table for their inspection.
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Isabella had on her person:
a +1 rapier with a hilt guard in the shape of a writhing purple sea snake
two masterwork daggers
an amulet of natural armor +2
a headband of alluring charisma +2
a magical pocket astrolabe of unknown origins, and
a non-magical brooch in the shape of a shark, made of a strange, silvery metal with blue-black whorls
"Choose your prizes," Chumtooth says to his officers holding his hands out in a gesture of magnanimity over the items on the table. He makes no move to claim any item until each member of the party has made their choice.
Hopeful that it will lead to greater treasure, Dantes carefully takes the magical astrolabe.
Faengrim will be the last to take something, but he has his eye on the Amulet of Natural Armor.
Satinder's eyes lit up upon seeing the loot of the captain they have vanquished.
She looks at the other, and is quick to speak out and take the rapier.
"None of you fools would even know how to use this properly," she simply states, before swiping the blade left and right and carressing the sea serpent.
"Many will fall before this, I swear it." she speaks more softly, and lets the blade taste her blood.
"Know... Your... Master..." she whispers, as the blade slices her lower arm.
Chumtooth claims the headband, tying it around his forehead and temples. He bears his teeth in what one might suppose to an attempt at a dashing, roguish grin.
"Handsome, am I?" he asks the others.
"Log the rest and place it in with our treasure," he says, "unless you each wish to claim another prize."
"Well I rather fancy this brooch." Faengrim shows his sharky grin as he picks up the shark brooch of the odd metal. "If no one else wants it...?"
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As you are preparing to sail to Mancatcher Cove, you are approached by the Sergeant, who carries a watertight chest. "We found this under the tiller in one of the longboats the pirates used to come ashore," he explains. Inside are six carefully wrapped vials, each containing what looks like seawater. Dantes eyes the vials and tastes one, declaring, "Potions of water breathing!"
”We should each take one of these,” Chumtooth says, reaching into the box and retrieving one of the vials. He looks to the officers to do the same.
"I don't need one." Faengrim reminds the others that he can acclimate to the aquatic environment. "But I can hold on to one in case one of you needs it."
After the others each take a potion, Dantes will take the remaining ones and add them to his pouch.
"Might be useful," Satinder calmly states, and then pours one over in a smaller, more easily concealed flask.
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The trip to Mancatcher Cove is uneventful, and you come upon the island in the early afternoon. All seems quiet.
Chumtooth squints his eyes against the afternoon sun as the ship approaches the island. Unable to make out any real details, he calls up to the crow's nest. "Look Out, what do you see?"
"We must face them. If we do not, they will attack our ship while we are on the island."
He addresses the helmsman. "Turn to intercept them!"
"They attacked our new home. Let's feast on their bones."
Faengrim will be the first to cross board the enemy ship.
Satinder ponders and thinks of the outcome. She will quickly turn to their quartermaster and see what he has to say.
He's a smart one, that one!
"Agreed, captain. Best we deal with any threat now when our guard is up, rather than have them ambush us after we've dealt with the treasure guardians!"
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The Kiss of Vengeance wheels about, setting course on the other vessel. After a brief game of repositioning, each vessel has time for two broadsides before closing for HTH combat. After the brief volley (glossed over for purposes of keeping the game moving along), the two vessels crash together as the crew scrambles aboard the enemy ship!
Dantes musters his arcane power and surges into him and his fellow officers, and forming it with an arcane phrase and gestures.
Faengrim fires into the crowd of enemy sailors as he gets to the boarding plank.
Comp LBow: MW
Chumtooth runs to towards the ramp, harpoon in hand. As he comes to a stop, he hurls it with violent force towards the group on officers on the bridge.
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Initiative
Enemy crew
Faengrim
Enemy captain
Chumtooth
Satinder
Dantes
The enemy crew opens with a volley of arrows at the heroes, none of which hit! Faengrim returns fire as he moves, but misses as well. The enemy captain moves towards the gangway. Chumtooth hurls his harpoon at a crewmember, slamming it home and eliciting a cry of pain from the crewman.
Satinder braces for impact as the two vessels crash into eachother, and lets out a terrifying howl in echo with the captain.
She readies her blade, and follows the others, looking for a strategic point to strike.
A few moments before the impact, Satinder launches a volley of arrows from her shortbow, as much intended to harm as to harrass the other ship in keeping their head down.
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Satinder launches a volley of arrows at the other vessel, causing the opposing sailors to duck and cover. Dantes casts haste over the officers and two lucky crewmembers. Across the vessel, as the two ships crash together, the opposing crew fires short bows at the officers. Satinder is hit for 2 points of damage, but none of the other attacks connect!