As the situation takes a turn for the civil, the thug's shoulders slump and Kaul moves out of the way to allow those more diplomatic to plot their course, grumbling as he goes.
Eyeing Bjorn with a musing eye, Dibbs chews on an errant few threads of his mustache. Cottoning onto a thought he queries Drake "Any chance o' takin doon payment on me tots fer the next few weeks? Feel like ha'in a drink wi tha vit man here... less 'e ain't man enuff tae match slugs wi' 'is betters"
"You can have your share as soon as this night." Drake says. "We owe you for your assistance. I wasn't aware you were signing on though. Figure you'd be wanting to get on to your own ship."
Bloody Bjorn gives Dibbets an odd look, opens his mouth as if to reply and then just holds his thought.
Markessa answers Jim question. "Don't know what the big plan was, just did what I was paid to do: Pick up goods in Freeport and bring them out to the drop off here at Moak Harbor. One time, Whitecoat came with us and had us drop the arms overboard in a nearby cove. A particularly big and ugly sea devil came up and they exchanged words, not in Taldane or any human tongue. I think we were bound for another one of those encounters this time given that Whitecoat was gracing us with his presence again."
Kaul's scarred brow furrows into a scowl;
"Well I ain't throwin' in with ye Drake. Bloody Fortune's a better fit for me an' Lopps... Less dis-cerning like in being red-'anded. Hur."
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Corliss listens stoically as the others speak. He's surprised that his rescuers aren't technically part of the crew of the ship that promises to get him back to semi-civilization. His loyalties rather split, he looks to Jim first. Seems like a fair, sane man and a fine sailor to boot. Then his gaze turns to Kaul: a bloodthirsty brute with little concern for life or the opinions of anyone other than his Lopper. He looks at Dibbets: small, battered, disheveled, but still full of a strange self-confidence. His gaze falls upon the mage Dingus, alternatively adjusting his robe in the absolute wrong (WRONG!) direction and fiddling with his snake. And then he again looks at Kaul, thinking he'd make a much better friend than enemy. The priest wondered briefly if he'd been as callous a soul as the half-orc before his nearly deadly accident that had erased the memories of his early years as the pirate known as Blackboots. It was a distinct possibility.
Captain Drake and his crew seem competent, but...it was this other rag-tag crew that had actually helped get his sorry arse out of captivity and off the hellish isle. He turns to Jim and quietly asks, "This ship o' yours--the Bloody Fortune--she already got a healer?"
"That's Dibbets, but he prefers spending his time aloft. Why? If you're interested in a berth, I'll definitely put in a good word for you with the captain."
"Aye...I'd appreciate that. It were a grim few days I spent in that cage, an' I spent a good many hours prayin' to Bessie fer some sort o' rescue. Then you lads show up out o' the blue. Divine intervention or damned good timin'. Either way, I be in yer debt. I think Besmara wants that I should throw in me lot with yer crew."
"One small thing I forgot to add, but 'fore we get to that Markessa's said something interesting." Jim turns his attention back to the attractive mercenary captain. "Sounds as though Whitecoat wasn't exactly forthcoming with his plans, hey? I've heard tell that sea devils prefer the deepest dark--last time you did a drop, was it a moonless night?"
"--last time you did a drop, was it a moonless night?"
"Sure. Can't check my logs at this point, but I believe it was just over two months ago, early Rova."
"And is there a moon tonight?"
"And is there a moon tonight?"
Captain Drake replies, but Jim already knows the answer. "Just a couple days from the New Moon. Might catch a sliver before sunrise. That's all."
Dibbs responds to Drake "Ain't signin... am drinkin. Yer stores is here an' mine ain't... hence the question fer liquor. Iffin yer forthcomin, me an the pansy Bjeern 'ere goan gets tae tradin slugs..."
"So if those are the goods we saw in the cave, seems to me that--were we feeling a mite full of ourselves--we could set up an ambush for the sea devils, and perhaps bag Whitecoat in the bargain."
Kaul mugs a grin as Dibbs' attempts to negotiate a drinking competition;
"Hur. Iffen it come to pass, my coins on Dibbs..."
Then at the prospect of an ambush, the thug's attention is properly piqued;
"Kauly can be nice an' quiet like. Sneaked up on plenty in the past... Then LOPP!"
The thug chuckles grimly as he remembers the recent ambush of the one armed man...
"An ambush, ye say? Hmm...well, I be relatively stealthy meself, at least fer an alleged man o' the cloth. Count me in!"
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Drake looks pained at Dibbets explanation. "Sorry, I don't speak halfling, but sounds like you want to buy the prisoner some drinks?" The captain looks utterly confused at this point. "He and Markessa are going to the brig and they'll get nothing more than water and tack until we hand them over to the Admiralty. I'm sure that their cooperation will be taken into account, but looks to me that they were willingly conspiring with the Consortium in a heinous attack on Freeport."
He mutters shaking his head. "and i thought Syncopit was weird. I swear too much time in the crow's nest bakes your brain..."
He turns to Jim with a sigh. "And what are you thinking, Jim?"
Drake's refusal of Dibbets half baked plan is met with a "Faegh" and wave of the hand.
Jim appears lost in thought so Drake prompts him again. "So Jim, do you have a plan?"
Kaul shifts back into Drake's line of sight with a scarred scowl and a fake cough;
"Hurumm. What ye askin' Jimmer for? Ol' Kauly got a fool proof plan... Like I says sneakin' an' butchery is my bag like. Worked a treat back there on the isle. Got the drop on a one-armed loon an' LOPP! Noggin' an' neck ain't no longer connected..."
The thug flashes a satisfied grin;
"Ye want this done right... Then talk to me an' Lopps..."
Jim shakes his head and comes back to himself. "Sorry. One more thing to ask the captives 'fore we go getting in place--did Whitecoat know that we'd been chasing after their shore party? If so, he'll figure out that we saw the weapons and armor, and he might be in a position to warn the sea devils. If that happens, Kaul, you won't be sneaking up on someone unawares." He continues to ponder.
"All right. I've got something, but we'll have to move fast. First, Cap'n, can any of your cannoneers put together a little bomb for us? If this works, there'll be something of poetic justice to it, hey? And we'll need something that makes a bright light. We get there, mine the supplies, and touch it off when the sea devils show up. Even if we don't get any of 'em, we'll still leave 'em with damaged goods, hey? Then we light 'em up, move in, and kill. Have to set up something to cover a retreat, should there be too many for us--another bomb, maybe."
Markessa replies. "We didn't suspect anything for sure until last night. Once we found the lighthouse abandoned, we thought maybe it was Karikanti or some local pirates. I don't think Whitecoat knew anything for certain until you came at us this morning."
Drake nods and calls for some sailors to lock the pair up below decks. Then he nods to Jim. "It's worth a try. The sea devils deserve some pay back. Those arms you're talking about must have gone down with the ship though and I don't know about setting a bomb off underwater. We have some sunrods for signalling that should be bright enough and a topside explosion shouldn't be too difficult. At least a small one."
Before the prisoners are led away, it is revealed that after the odd incident with the speeding jolly boat the previous night, Whitecoat decided to investigate the hideout at the lighthouse. Finding it abandoned with only signs of violence and the contraband arms, Whitecoat had a tender bring it all aboard the White Moon overnight. There might be some empty crates and trash remaining in the smuggler caves beneath the lighthouse, but little else.
Intrigued by Jim's idea, Captain Drake exits to cancel his last command and orders the sails doused. The crew is disciplined enough to keep their grumbling to themselves. The Captain then has Jim take a sounding to answer his own question and records a reading of over 16 fathoms. The bay runs deep which likely explains why Moak Harbor was the first port on Shark Island and perhaps why it fell so quickly to the sahuagin.
Musing along Jim's thoughts Dibbs rubs his bearded chin. Haltingly he offers "Ye wants tae take a shift doon? I could manta up an be fairly right... but tha bastard sea'll get moighty dark once I'm down a ways..."
Corliss listens quietly to the back-and-forth. "Ain't got their whole armory, but we got samples o' their weird wares--I took some o' their special armor an' a blade to use 'til I got back my own stuff!" The priest glares at Markessa and her Ulfen minion as he speaks those last three words.
Kaul cranks a no-neck look at the seas;
"Hur... Work's fer me. I an't riskin' Lopps in the deep tho... Will use me Red Claw most likely..."
To empahise the point the thug scratches his noggin with the heavy claw of his metal paw;
"Hur... How we breathin' then?"
Dibbs gives Kaul a wink and clarifies "Ol' salt beard's got that covered aye? - bit o' indifference'll see ye roight"
"At the very least, we'd best go below and bring up as much of the gear as we can, to keep it from the sea devils."
With the problem of breathing below the surface resolved, the mates prepare to dive. Captain Drake offers a long cable with a net at the end and warns the dive team to keep the load light as it will be a long haul back up to the surface. Dibbets casts a spell on his non-aquatic adapted companions and leaps over the side. His manky leather cloak flares out into manta wings and the the halfling appears to turn into a ray at least from above. A triangular fin breaks the surface to investigate, but the shark doesn't appear interested in its apparent cousin.
Jim follows immediately with the Sea Pact Ring, breathing spell and shark tooth amulet to aid him.
Kaul hands one of the boarding party his dread hatchet;
"Lose Lopps an' its yer life. Iffen I don't come back... give it to the Bloody Northman... Reckon he's only one who'll wield Lopps proper..."
The thug then grins as a fin breaks the surface, then invokes the boon of his shark totem;
"Hur. Them sharkies swimmin' with me now..."
The scarred brute leaps overboard with a mako grin.
Drake looks over Corliss and offers him the shark tooth amulet. "You'll probably do better with this then. It's a loan, but if you bring me up something nice from below, I'll consider a trade."
"Fair enough. Me thanks, Cap'n!"
Corliss hops over the rail a bit gingerly, like he believes there's something inherently wrong about leaping off a perfectly seaworthy ship and into the unforgiving sea.
Jim drops through the shark-infested waters with a hint of trepidation, Hope this amulet thing works, or I'll have my hands full.
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Dingus takes one look at the threatening fins that cut the bay here and there and decides that he IS NOT going into the water. Corliss is the last one in and the crew follows Kaul down. The metal claw drags him down already, but the muscular thug dives after with increasing speed as his Shark tattoo glows faintly. The Manta-ling is next and Jim gains webbing between his lengthening toes and fingers as the Sea Pact does its work. Only Corliss lags behind as the others move as easily as fish through the water. At the moment, the sharks that pass ominously near pay no mind to the uninteresting forms that have entered the water.
Jim surfaces briefly and calls up to the wise sorcerer. "Say, Dingus--can you use that claw thing of yours to make a gold piece glow? I'm thinking we'll need more light than the sun will grant us below."
Concerned about the depths he's never explored before, Jim asks a boon of Dingus and his mate tossed down a penny touched by the Hand of Glory. Of course, its light is barely noticeable in the light of day.
;
Jim dives again and catches up to Corliss who is steadily kicking his way deeper. Meanwhile, Kaul and Dibbets draw near the broken ship lying on the sea floor still surrounded by a haze of disturbed sediment. Sharks great and small circle the recent wreck. A trio of long, sleek blue sharks laze about the wreckage, but apparently have been disappointed in finding any corpses to feed on for they immediately turn toward the red-clawed surface creature descending toward the ship.
Keelhaul Kaul-
Madman Jim-
Corliss
foe-
Jim and Corliss remain unnoticed some 60 feet above.
Corliss digs into his spell component pouch and pulls out what appears to be a crude kazoo. He keeps swimming so he'll just be within range if Jim gives the go-ahead to his planned action.
"Sound burst 'em, Jimmo?" Looking around nervously at the many other sharks circling peacefully, the priest adds, "Or be that another o' me really bad ideas?"
Corliss nods and casts the spell, blowing into the tiny kazoo, which gives off a sound akin to a screaming baby female sprite drowning...or thereabouts. He points at the Kaul-bound sharks, trying to catch at least two in the area of effect.
Manta-bbets watches coldly and cautiously, wary that he's less able to contribute with his supple form...
Jim nods. "Focus on one--if you can wound it, the others will turn on it." He continues to swim down.
Jim cuts the distance to join his mates while Corliss frantically paddles down as fast as he can . Dibbets circles around yet unnoticed by his fellow fishes.
As the sharkies draw a bead on the brute and his Lobster Claw of Doom, Kaul mugs a grin and beckons them in;
"Them sharkies likely think the same Jimmer... Hur..."
The thug moves downward toward the wreck
Kaul swims down fast as a shark through a breech in the hull forcing his enemies to come at him singly. The first shark snaps at him tearing at chain mail and leaving a mark. Jim and Dibbets float near while Corliss kicks down as fast as he can which doesn't match his allies enhanced swimming speed.
Corliss stops descending and aims his spell, hoping to catch more than a lone shark in the ensuing sound burst.
There is an eerie and piercing shriek that emanates from around the two sharks outside the hull and cause Jim and Dibbets to cringe. It leaves the two sharks disoriented and drifting a moment.
Jim streaks towards the disoriented sharks and neatly puts his rapier through one's jet-black eyeball.