One thug points at Airk's room.
The other says, "Yep, pretty sure that was him."
Lars is telling the truth as far as anyone can tell. It's pretty obvious he's not a fighter or criminal, he has no gear, fisherman's hands and fisherman's stink.
Cladissa sighs with a note of frustration. "Did he have a statue with him? Something like a figure with a bow? Made of gold?"
"Who?" one of the thugs asks.
"Not that I saw," the other one says.
Argor hovers towards the room, and says over his shoulder to the others, "Keep an eye on them."
He then enters, and studies whatever it is he can find.
Hrimnagel gathers the notes on the desk, and shows them to Argor when he enters the room. Together they look over the documents.
These notes reveal that just over a century ago, during Absalom’s Mithral Age, a fleet of Taldan ships sailing from Oppara attacked the City at the Center of the World. This was no full-salce invasion led by Taldor's most experienced and well-trained troops, but rather a random assemblage of enthusiastic youths gathered under a banner of fiery rhetoric and misguided overconfidence. Led by the charismatic orator Graycen Taleb, the young, bored nobility of Taldor piled aboard several merchant galleys hastily outfitted for war and set sail, convinced of their holy destiny to sack Absalom in the name of the empire.
One young noble, Vaydren of House Lasar, dismissed his parents’ forbiddance and stole the family’s ship, renaming it Vaydren’s Might, and joined the invasion fleet. Worse, he also stole the family’s idol from the house shrine—a one-foot-tall, golden statue of the god Erastil known in House Lasar lore as The Sniper. Though he believed it would bring him luck, Vaydren, his crew, and his ship joined the rest of the fleet as permanent residents of the Flotsam Graveyard when the Absalom navy greeted the ill-equipped and vastly outmanned invaders with neither mercy nor quarter.
The notes also reveal that Airk and Dargo found the location of Vaydren’s Might: 1,500 yards offshore in the Flotsam Graveyard, beneath a one-mast ship known as the Iron Tide. The Iron Tide is recognizable by its mast, which still protrudes above the green waves of the harbor, and is carved into the likeness of a woman clutching dangling, iron chains.
Argor returns to the main chamber, sifting quickly through the notes as he quickly catalogs the information. "It would seem that the idol most likely rests at the bottom of the harbor, aboard a sunken vessel beneath the old Iron Tide. It is about 1,500 yards from the coast near the Graveyard. I suggest we head there, these men likely have little more to offer us."
Hrimnagel also finds a locked metal box in Airk's room.
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Mattera listens to Argor's description and nods. It was interesting that the note he received already knew their destination. It seems the pathfinders knew more than they had let them know at the beginning of the mission, again. It sort of irked him to understand that his faction wasn't willing to share this kind of information directly, it always seemed to be on the sly. But every employer had their quirks. "I suppose we'll just have to go and get it. I just wish I had remembered to bring a spear. If the idol is just lying there, I'd be surprised if it isn't unguarded. We'd better hurry though. I'm sure Dargo is there, or has found it already."
Cladissa's eyes widen. "We're going to have to go underwater?" She looks extremely uneasy as she contemplates trying to swim with her new wings dragging behind her. The discovery of the water breathing potions do little to ease her discomfort.
Hrimnagel barely knocks open the locked metal box in Airk's room.
"I found seven water breathing potions. Maybe one of you spellcrafters want to double-check the labeling for all of them. Wouldn't want to ingest a hidden vial of poison." Hrim announces.
"Should we summon the authorities and recover his body in the nearby cave? There was a murder." He asks if briefed on the interrogation.
"Hey Mattera, maybe one of the fishermen could sell you a spear. They've probably got a few."
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Mettera puts a comforting hand on Cladissa's shoulder. "I can't say I'm a big fan of water myself, but I kind of saw this coming. You could always just fly over the water, but you might not be able to see very well. Well in any case, breathing underwater sounds better than drowning. If it's not too deep, we can just walk on the bottom. I'm a lot heavier than I was, so I don't know how well I'll swim."
To Hrim, the Tian shook his head. "I doubt any here will have the kind of heavy spear I'd like best. Maybe we'll be able to find a shop between here and where we're going. If not, I'll just use the ole tetsubo. I'm sure I can make some hurt even under water with it."
"The problem, Mr. Black, lies in the physics of the weapons primary functionality. The resistance the water creates will heavily dampen the force of your swings with the weapon. Hrim is right, we should procure you a thrusting weapon for this venture. Where as I have an altogether different problem..."
He chants some words of magic before opening his spellbook near a candle. The shielding around himself shimmers for a moment before fading once more from sight.
After he reviews his spellbook, he sighs and hands it and his scroll cases over to Rutai. "Quickly now, return these to Verde Heights, and store them away safely. They will not do me any good beneath the waves. Then immediately head to the Flotsam Graveyard and meet up with us there."
Argor then hands out the elixirs within the chest, one to each member of the group, 2 of them to Cladissa, and one to Rutai. "Do not consume these until we are prepared to enter the water. Cladissa, you will likely wish to coax your feline to drink one as well. Mr. Newblossom, I would suggest you continue to keep your...familiar...stowed within yourself, assuming it can subsist without air while within you?"
A heavy fog hangs thick in the harbor, making visibility very poor. It will require some navigational skill to find the wrecks you are looking for amongst the hundreds of scuttled ships in the Floatsam Graveyard.
While everyone is preparing, Hrim flies to his favorite gnome weapons dealer and purchases that underwater crossbow that he's been needing an excuse to buy.
Then, he leads the Freaks to find the wreck we are looking for amongst the hundreds of scuttled ships in the Floatsam Graveyard.
Cladissa takes the potions and exchanges a look with Cole who mrows dubiously.
Stowing the elixers for the time being, as the others set about reallocating magics and procuring boats and spears, Cladissa fetches the Absalom guards. She turns the thugs and the bartender over to them informing them of Airk's murder and his body's location. She looks at Lars with a narrowed glare that sends him running, though he may be needed to supply a statement to the officials about where he got that pendant.
With that work done, her nervousness returns about the prospect of diving under the water.
"This is going to be so unpleasant," she comments to no one in particular.
After procuring a boat, and the items they would require to complete their underwater venture, the team heads out into the bay. Hrimnagel has little trouble locating their goal, despite the heavy fog.
Out of the fog rises the prow of a ship, jutting from the waves at an incline. Seaweed and gull droppings decorates across the vessel, and the verdigris-encrusted brass nameplate reads Iron Tide. The mast of the Iron Tide protrudes from the water at a steep angle, and behind it rises the mast of a second ship, straight as an arrow, piercing the fog and beginning somewhere below the first ship.
All that is visible above the water are the forecastle of the Iron Tide, its mast, and the forward mast of Vaydren’s Might. The mast of the Iron Tide is carved into the likeness of a strong, proud human woman, her hands curled around a rusty, iron chain that dangles motionlessly from her fists.
Through the mist, the Pathfinders can make out the vague forms of two men standing on the forecastle of the Iron Tide. Mistaking the Pathfinders for allies, they wave them over. The men appear to be more mercenaries, and are armed with rapiers.
Before the men are able to realize that they're not the group they were expecting, Cladissa focuses on the closest with her slumber hex.
saves
Hrim flies to the side of the mercenaries while pulling out his magic bow. He stays within point blank range.
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"The problem, Mister Constantine, is not that I don't understand the physics. I suggested the spear in the first place. It's a matter of convenience. If we are not in a terrible rush, I'd be happy enough to pick up a longspear. If not, I still have full confidence that I can handle anything we run into in the harbor."
Mattera gets himself in position, ready to do what is necessary. It likely shouldn't be his call what happens here, although he wants to place himself in the front if the action takes place. Stepping out of the shuttle onto the Iron Tide, the Tian holds pulls out his new longspear in case the goons tried to rush him.
When Cladissa makes her move, it seems the forethought was a good one. They have swords, they should try to rush him. It's just a matter of time.
Argor smirks as he eyes the lackeys, who are clearly too dimwitted to tell that the group of Pathfinders are not here as friends.
Even still...perhaps I should use their ignorance to our advantage and run them off.
Argor folds his arms into his robes and hovers up above the men, remaining just within the obscuring fog. "Gentlemen, your duties are concluded in this venture. I represent the employer of Mr. Mar, and while thus far he has performed as instructed, it has come to our attention that he intends to betray the individual we represent, much like he did with Mr. Jarigan. Only this time, he intends to pin the blame on his hired hands, that would be you. Unless you wish to die for this traitor, I suggest you take this one and only offer of generosity, and leave this place in a peaceful manner. Otherwise, we will have to assume you are in league with him."
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While the others shop, Nyugusk pulls out various flasks and beakers and brews a new mutagen, to have it fresh when they get to the boat.
As they approach the boat he drinks his new mutagen, just as the previous was about to wear off.
When they pull up beside the larger boat, he begins to flap his dragonfly wings to hover just above and in front of Mettera, and readies his accordion arm to strike if either if them attack.
"If you pay us more than Dargo, and make sure he never leaves this ship alive, we'll leave you in peace. Otherwise, it's gotta be blood, we can't have our reputations tarnished as turncoats...we'd never work again," the older looking of the two men responds to Argor.
"And what is the traitor paying you for your services?"
"12 gold a piece per day. We'll piss off for 15 each," the man offers.
Cladissa's wings open wide and a few hard beats sends her over the mercenaries' heads. She perches on the ship's bow, claws digging into the rust-covered statue to steady herself.
"That seems fair to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. And your reputations will not be tarnished by me," she says, gauging their reactions to their extreme appearances.
They clearly have heard of the Freaks before, which is not unusual, considering their celebrity status in the city. They nod to her response, waiting for gold to materialize.
She dips into her pouch and retrieves three platinum pieces. She flips them in their direction one at a time.
"Now that that business is concluded, I believe you were going to, what was the phrase you used? Piss off?" She gives them a smile that bares her pointed teeth.
The two mercenaries nod and turn away, going to the other side of the Iron Tide. They go down into a smaller craft moored against the wreck and row away into the mist.
Thinking about it after they left, "In hindsight, we could have paid them more to tell us exactly where Dargo is and who else is with him."
"Ah well, but where's the adventure in that? Into the drink, right?" Hrim exchanges his number one bow and arrows with the underwater one and bolts and readies to down the potion of water breathing.
"Indeed, Mr. Avaldamon," Argor says with a smirk at how easy it was to send these men off. "Let us keep in mind how easily their allegiances are swayed in case there are more of these mercenary wretches present later."
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The Tian let the mercenaries go, although he would have preferred beating them down and keeping the money for himself. He hoped this wouldn't become too regular of an occurrence. "Regardless of the convenience, we should move below decks to see into what we purchased entrance." Mettera moved across the deck to the entrance below decks and prepared to enter in, barring any objections from the rest of the team.
Cladissa begins to fret now that it's time to go underwater. "I didn't study the wings of water fowl. I'm not a diving bird. My wings are going to be damp for days. And the salt..." she forces herself to stop and shakes her head.
She shuts her eyes and screws up her courage. "Sorry. Lets go." She uncorks the first potion and gulps it down, then feeds the next one to Cole. Her wings fold as tight as they can to her back and she wades into the water at the entrance.
Seeing a door to the forecastle, Cladissa moves up to it, sniffs, and listens before touching the handle.
Lowering her voice, she points out the door. "I can't hear anything in this direction. And it doesn't smell like anyone's moved through here. Check it out?"
"Indeed. Let us be thorough in our efforts."
He looks to Mettera and motions to the door. "Mr. Black, if you please?"
The bowsprit bisects the upper crew’s quarters. The room is bare in decoration, the only adornment being four empty hammocks hanging from the rafters. The room reeks of brine and rotting wood.
"A waste of time, then. I suppose it had to be checked, however. Just as those pair of doors across the way..." Argor says as he points across the water to the other set of doors.
Hrim offers, "let me take a look in the water."
Hrim flies over to the far wall to stealthily enter the water on the main deck away from the noisy Freaks. He stows the water breathing potion and just holds his breath for the quick swim. Then, he slowly follows his nose scouting the wreck and looking for tracks.