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As Roscoe falls, Wardak smirks. "One down." Striding forward, she lunges at Amut--now the most convenient target, since Jinhong darted around the edge of the staircase--but slips on some of Roscoe blood. Her strikes go wide, and she comes up with a snarl. As she does so, a brilliant eagle appears in the hold with a shriek.
Initiative (bold may act)
Roscoe
Waheeda Wardak (-14)
Thundering Spirit
Quintillus
Amut
Gnome and slaves
Jinhong
Room on Fire: 5/6 (count at end of round)
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The celestial eagle appears behind Wardak with a shriek, and though she manages to beat back its first blow, its second scores open a wound on her shoulder. She's turning to face the bird when the Thundering Spirit, full of righteous wrath, slashes at her.
Or, more accurately, damn near beheads her. A kukri drops to the ground with a clatter as Wardak, looking almost disbelieving, reaches up to the red flow at her throat. Then she collapses to the ground on top of Roscoe, dead.
In the cabin, the flames from her burning papers are leaping higher and higher, dangerously close to a wall hanging. A few of them are starting to drift from the brazier toward the floor, still ablaze, as well.
Initiative (bold may act)
Roscoe
Thundering Spirit
Quintillus
Amut
Gnome and slaves
Jinhong
Room on fire: 5/6 (count at end of round)
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Amut rushes over the two bleeding bodies for the brazier, calling over her shoulder as she goes. "Dandy," she calls for attention, meaning the gnome. "Can you patch them up? Start with our colleague of course, but I'd hate to see the captain die."
Staring at the mound of papers, she wishes she still had power left to chill the air with her hands. Alas, we may still have been fighting that hound in that case. She does what she thinks second-best. Trusting to the toughness of her Janni-inheritence, she reaches into the fire with both hands and pulls out as many papers as she can, clutching them to her chest to smother the flames.
--
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Rilla rushes over to the two bodies. "With your permission?" She glances at the Thundering Spirit, still holding his wand. She taps Roscoe, and a few of his wounds close up.
Amut hauls some of the papers out of the brazier and smothers them quickly and harmlessly against her chest. There's still quite a pile in the brazier, though, and the flames are leaping ever higher...and now one of the wall hangings has started to burn!
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As most of you fumble ineffectually at the flames, Quintillus's eagle swoops into the room and begins beating out the flames on one of the wall hangings with its wings (a quite impressive sight). Roscoe manages to find a heavy blanket in the hold . The Thundering Spirit, searching Wardak, quickly comes up with a heavy key that looks like it might work on the slaves' manacles!
It's also clear to both him and the gnome, Rilla, that Wardak is well and truly dead. "Not gonna shed too many tears over that," Rilla mutters, stepping over the body into the room. She sets about fighting the fire herself, seizing the blanket off the small bed to do her work with.
Rilla is, it turns out, much better at fighting fires than most of you are.
Successes: 2/3
Ship Sinks: 7/10
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Although Roscoe is no expert at fighting fires, the blanket is simple enough to use, and within a few more seconds, he, the eagle, and Rilla have managed to extinguish all of the flames!
Suddenly empty of immediate threats, the hold of the At Sea falls somewhat silent, with only the sound of the lapping waves and both your and the slaves' labored breathing. Your heads are spinning; it is, after all, only a little more than a minute since the fighting broke out on the upper deck. Now, though, you have time to study what you managed to recover, free the slaves (if you wish to), and take stock.
The documents that Amut managed to pull from the brazier are badly charred, but they appear to be some sort of set of instructions. You think you can make out the partially burned name of a minor noble family, in a placement that looks like the end of a list. More importantly, though, the document is signed: a single, stately signature in Taldane that reads, "Muhlia."
Quintillus, on the upper deck, hears your pilot, Zigil, call out. "So? 's all safe up there now, or what?"
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"Well, that was exciting," Amut understates as she checks her cloak for damage and puts it back on. "Well fought, everyone." Checking the papers, she mutters to herself "If this was worth burning by a slaver captain, it's probably worth turning in to the Venture-Captain and Lade Darchana, don't you think?" She aids Jinny in the search of the captain's quarters, then help the freed slaves climb up the rope. "We have a row boat over there, we'll take you back to Absalom."
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"Her!" Zigil, the dwarf, growls as she clambers over the railing onto the main deck and surveys the scene of the battle. "Looks like everything up here was about as exciting as I thought it'd be. Glad I stayed away."
The key on Wardak's body unlocks the slaves' manacles, and a quick search of the rest of the ship reveals little of interest or value. With Zigil giving curt instructions, your team (along with the catty Rilla) make ready the sails and keep an eye on the ship as she guides it carefully through the Ships' Graveyard and into port. Once there, she says goodbye to you all, taking the freed slaves under her wing in a surprisingly tender turn. The ship itself, meanwhile, is impounded by city officials. There's also a liveried servant waiting for you, sent by Lady Darchana in anticipation of your success to escort you in a coach back to her manor.
Lady Darchana Madinani listens with concern to your stories. She seems pleased by your success, but is clearly worried by the presence of a resourceful spy interested in Absalom. "I'll authorize the bounty for your capture of the At Sea at once," she says, beginning to write in a ledger. She looks up, pausing, her pale face breaking into a slight smile. "Pathfinders, you have done a great service for Absalom today. The full extent, naturally, may never be known or recognized by the sleeping masses, but know that the Pathfinder Society can count on me as a friend and ally, and I hope that I may call upon you again in the future, should the need arise."
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"Thank you, Lady Darchana. It is not the fame that drives us to this work - at least not this time, but the knowledge that we've helped stop a threat that could disrupt the stability of Absalom. I am honored to count us as your ally and friend. If I may, I suppose there is a lot I could learn from someone in the Arcanamirium and the Low Council - both in the realm of magic and diplomacy. Could I impose myself to treat you to lunch some time this week?"
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Lady Darchana seems sincerely grateful for your help, but gently deflects Amut's inquiries. Once you're back in the Grand Lodge, Rilla recounts her experiences to you and Venture-Captain Valsin. "I got separated from my group when we were scouting out a target in Okeno, and captured by a group of gnolls. While imprisoned, a heavily veiled person--a woman, I think--visited the gnolls and took an interest in me. She took blood samples a couple of times! Given what I've heard about magical spying...I suspect it might be for those purposes."
Valsin nods. "Aye, that makes sense, Rilla. It's good to have you back."
"And my team?" the gnome asks, hesitating.
Valsin drops his eyes. "No contact," he says grimly.
There's a heavy silence for a moment, and then Valsin sighs and turns to the rest of you. "But still...Lady Darchana seems quite pleased with your work, and the news that you've brought is important, if not comforting. I suspect that this 'Muhlia' is Pasha Muhlia Al-Jakri, a former ally of the Society and the assassin of Baron Jacquo Dalsinine. What she's doing against us now...I shudder to think. But with your help," he smiles grimly, "at least we'll be prepared. Go back to the dorms, to your homes, and get some rest--you've earned it!"
FIN