the Groom doesn't show up in time for chow and Estabo sets some food aside for when he does arrive. The crew aboard settles down for their night routines and Jim borrows the book from Dingus to take a look.
As the party waits for what seems like an inevitable raid by the cultists, Corliss takes the opportunity to speak with his roommate.
"Arr, Jim--there be a matter I been meanin' to discuss with the crew...only the rest o' the crew don't strike me as the 'discussin' kind.' I been havin' lady troubles lately...with Bessie. Seems she's a bit piqued with ol' Corliss. Me healin' channels barely work--gotta use up more o' me power iff'n I wants to heal more'n one o' the crew, an' I flat out lost me weather-related powers. I think Bessie's tryin' to send me a signal...that I'm her servant, not the half-arsed healer for a bunch o' pirates. Just thought someone oughtta know afore ya go entrustin' me with some important task."
"On the positive side, it feels like some o' me ol' memories are beatin' on the other side o' a locked door, an' I just needs to find the right key to let 'em back in."
After a pause, the Besmaran reports what spells he's got left: "I can bless the crew, cast doom on a foe, align a weapon, an' mayhaps dispel any bad magic them cultists might conjure. I be flat out o' healin', though."
Dibbets settles in with some grog and his various explosive articles that occasionally direct their percussive fury towards the enemy. Using the grease from his forehead as make-shift gun oil, he muses to his nuggety companion "Heh... iffin tha bastards come like, it'll be like normal. Feck load o' screamin, some blood and then mebbe we keep pullin through eh? Mebbe we should be doin summat tae keep tha softer bugger onna crew frae tha pointy bits?"
Dingus willingly hands over the book to Jim... then stands... or sits watching him while he reads it to see if anything cool happens when he does so.
Dibbets gives some thoughts to the safety of the rest of the crew, what with the baiting of cultists and all. The crew is all ushered below decks for the night including the Captain who is given Dingus' quarters temporarily. Dibbets, Kaul, and Corliss take up the watch while Jim moves to the captain's quarters to study the Book of Dreams under the eerily unblinking gaze of Dingus.
As Jim takes a closer look at the book, he believes that it is an old Desnan text that discusses dream symbology, rituals and spells. The leaves bound into the front of the text are quite different in style and substance. The author is intentionally obscure about names and places using only the first letters. He describes how he and his partner M_ first grew interested in dream interpretations and traveled throughout a country called V_ seeking dream lore from the folk wisdom of the native people, ancient libraries and temples, and even contact with the spirits of a lost empire.
The text is vague, but something led the author finally to what must be Freeport and something he just calls the stone. Rituals performed on it tore the veil between this world and the realm of dreams and nightmares. The text rambles on a little after this, but Jim isn't sure what to make of it. L_ is mentioned quite a bit, but it's unclear if this is a place of person.
As Jim draws to the end he feels his eyes dropping and notes that Dingus seems to be suffering the same lull from Jim's recounting and the flickering lantern light.
Will save
Will Save
It is so warm here next to my masters skin. I don't have a care in the world.
Knowledge: Arcana
Dingus lazily opens his eyes and takes in the strange surroundings. He shakes Richard to wakefulness, and questions the similarly drowzy Jim...
"Wow! That was some trip. What did you do with the Book"?
Outside the captain's quarters, Corliss, Kaul and Dibbets idle away the hours of watch with a bit of banter between Kaul and Dibbets and Corliss staring over the rails reflecting on what his mysterious goddess wishes of him. Dibbets is the first to notice a shadowy form approaching down the dock.
"Comeone Jim... Richard... Let's see what's going on".
Dingus makes to rise, and go outside to check on things.
Dingus opens the door and leads the way out onto the deck. It is night time and the full moon hovers hugely overhead. It looks to be half the distance it normally appears in the sky. The city of Freeport glitters silently nearby and the sea around the ship is silent and still.
At first it appears no one is on watch, but then a luminescent figure is spotted on the bow. At your cautious approach, it seems to be Belinna singing to the moon, but her voice is muffled and indistinct. She turns suddenly and smiles. She says something, but you can't make it out. Still smiling, she walks over to Jim, throws her arms around his neck and kisses him!
Jim starts, but not so much that he doesn't kiss back before pulling away a little. "Um, this might not be a proper time or place for such things, hey?" He glances over at Dingus.
As Jim looks over to see what Dingus makes of this, a distant howl is heard from the east. A glance through the thicket of moon-silvered masts detects what at first appears to be a tidal wave rising silent and deadly from the sea beyond the docks of Freeport, but it doesn't foam at the crest and the face is still as stone. It seems to be a barren rocky cliff face rising high above the masts as it somehow comes nearer.
Belinna shivers as she presses closer to Jim, then catches herself and steps away as another howl sounds louder and nearer.
Corliss, too, perks up when Dibbets points out the approaching figure.
Kaul calls out a greeting to the Groom as the inquisitor comes into view and walks to the side of the ship. The tall, black-clad figure doffs his widebrimmed hat to snap off some of the moisture that constantly drips from it. "Ahoy, Kaul," he replies in a sepulchral tone and heads up the gangway. "Anything more about that Spider you were asking about?"
The Taldan blanches as things fall into place. "Feck! Wasn't that the bookseller conjured up the dog that killed him--the book took him to the dog, and it did the same to us! Dingus, Cap'n Bel--look sharp!" He draws his rapier.
Dingus leers at Jim and Belinna's indiscretion, then makes an obscene hunching of his hips gesture at them.
He then begins to look around, for something out of place, and sends Richard up the mast to look around as well.
Dingus Perception
Richard Perception
Belinna appears offended at Dingus' lascivious display and stalks off down the stairs to the lower decks. Richard begins climbing the mast as Dingus peers about looking for dogs in the dark. He doesn't notice the shadowy beast that emerges from the darkened hatch that Belinna just disappeared into. The creature is four-legged and nearly four feet high at the shoulder with a heavy-jawed head and a thick tail. No other details can be made out of the dark form. Only the frightful howl it releases hints at its pedigree. The fearsome noise tears through the sailors stirring up a sheer terror that verges on panic.
Jim keeps his wits about himself, turning to face the supernatural hound.
Dingus Will Save
Richard Will Save
"Is that supposed to scare us? We've seen a lot scarier stuff than you".
The hardened sailors and serpent are unfazed by a little howling.
Dingus-
foe-
The hound-shaped shadow leaps forward at Jim before he can react and bites him. The jaws close on Jim's arm and pull at him before he breaks free.
Blade sheathed in a corposant glow, Jim attacks.
Even under the huge moon, the deck dances with dim shadows that gather around the umbral beast. Jim's lightning blade discharges as it pierces into the darkness which swallows the electric light, but jerks painfully away from the crackling blade. Jim's quick follow up misses the heart of the darkness only slashing at shadows.
Dingus just assumes since it looks like a shadow it's undead, and casts "Disrupt Undead" at the creature.
Ranged Spell Attack
Damage vs. Undead
"Die.....!!! Again!!!!
Dingus makes a snap decision, which appears to be wrong as the creature is unaffected by the gray ray. It leaps again at Jim catching his leg in its dark maw! Jim twists and pulls free, grimacing at the bloody tear in his trousers.
"Dingus, light it up with that hand of yours!" Advice given, the Taldan presses his attack despite the bite.
Jim's parry as the beast presses is off at first, but he quickly refocuses and shouts an order to Dingus as he strikes true a second time.
"Oh yeah! Great idea... super shadow vs. super light".
Dingus brings out the withered hand and casts daylight.
"Close your eyes"!
The scene changes abruptly as bright light shines forth from the hand concealing the moon and anything beyond the deck of the ship. The shadowy creature is clearly contrasted within the light like an ink stain on clean white parchment. It spins at the light giving a threatening rumble and then hurtles at Dingus!
His target fully visible at last, Jim stabs as soon as it turns away.
As soon as the dark creature turns its attention, Jim drives Storm-eyes' blade into the creature's back. With a crackle of electricity, the shadowy form ruptures and fades away into the light. All is quiet again on the deck. Beyond the brightly lit deck of the Bloody Fortune nothing is seen now other than heavy clouds above, around, and below.
Dingus closes his eyes and screams shrilly as the creature of darkness turns it's attention on the skinny sorcerer.
"Jim! Jim! Am I dead"?
The Taldan shakes his head absently. "Don't think so, mate. This doesn't look like Seawraith to me, hey? Can you look for witchery about?"
Dingus manages to open an eye after Jim's assurance and peers around again. It is all so strange, but he thinks that they may no longer be totally on their usual plane of reality. It kinda reminds him of their drug trip in the Mwangi Expanse a while back. Unfortunately, he doesn't know that much about the other planes,. Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be much to this plane besides the boat they're currently on.
"Let's see where that dog came from." Jim leads the way to the hatch, blade still out.
Jim is perhaps surprised and perhaps not that beyond the hatch is a descending spiral staircase. It appears to be the same wood as the ship, but this is definitely not part of the ship as becomes clearer as the stairs descend for what must surely be a greater distance than the depth of the ship.
"Well, that's not reassuring. Fancy a walk?"
"Anything more about that Spider you were asking about?"
Elsewhere, the Groom eyeballs Kaul and Corliss. Not getting any response, the Groom shrugs, "Then it sounds like you haven't learned much more than myself. Where's Jim and Dingus?"
Dingus hitches up his Mint green robes, and starts down after Jim. "Careful Jim... I hear something".
Perception... (Any advantages for being snake blood sorcerer?)
"D-d-down below, checkin' out that book," Corliss stammers. It's obvious that the Groom freaks him out; maybe he feels his goddess has sent the unnatural fellow on a mission of vengeance against him.
the Groom fixes Corliss in his steely gaze. "What book? Weren't you giving the Book of Secrets to Millant?"
the Groom fixes Corliss in his steely gaze. "What book? Weren't you giving the Book of Secrets to Millant?"
"Aye, but it caused some troubles in the city, so we kinda...took it into protective custody, as it were."