Lixie looks at the bottle in the box and then carefully at Kaul. "He does look a bit worse for wear." She shrugs. "I'm glad it was of use. It would have been nice to have but I really just wanted to make sure Zincher didn't get it."
"Return the other one and their weapons," she orders as she steps away. "Our contract is fulfilled," she adds as she steps away.
Jim looks a little startled. Wait, that worked? Then he glares briefly at Kaul before nodding. "It's definitely out of his reach. Let's get the feck out of here, mates. Time we were about Herself's business, hey?"
Corliss, too, is surprised by this turn of events.
Hey--does this mean I can ask sweet Lixy out on a date? After his mind has--inevitably--wandered in that direction, the Besmaran's devotion to his goddess resurfaces and he tries to figure out how this could be (Must be!) some sort of trick.
"The Queen's blessing upon ye," he says to the present Lixy with a courteous bow, holding back the urge to ask, "Hey--where be yer hot twin?" He touches his own leg, though, endowing the 'Queen's blessing' (aka guidance) upon himself before trying to figure out what's really going on here.
"Hey--where be yer hot twin?"
She replies, chuckling over her shoulder "Lixie? Taking care of the books. She's the one with the head for numbers."
Corliss senses that she is amused by a private joke but doesn't sense any misdirection.
Kaul's eddying gaze remains affixed on Lixy, but he slowly nods an acknowledgment to Jimmer;
"Hur. Aye... Bloody tides to sail... Once Lopper is returned to me grasp."
Lixy disappears through a door behind the bar as Grund appears on the casino side. He's got an Erin-no at his shoulder and another holds Lopper and Storm-eye's blade. The one with the weapons jerks his head to the main doors and waits for the sailors to meet him there before he returns the weapons. Grund grinds his teeth with frustration but says nothing as he's pushed out the door. Ed close behind.
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Jim returns Corliss' rapier and takes back his own. "Let's get back to the ship. I want this town in our wake sharpish, hey?" And if we're really lucky, some gang of miscreants is going to try to rob us on the way back.
”Does that mean no fireballs”.
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Corliss takes his magical rapier back from Jim with a nod. Garn! Me hopes it didn't pass its curse on to Jimmer...but then again, 'tis probably me who be cursed--or just can't fight one lick--and not me blade.
Reunited with his fell hatchet, Kaul mugs a grin toward the erin-no handling the exchange;
"Hur-hur. Ye tell yer Mistresses that they ain't seen the last o' me, but Ol' Kauly'll be the last thing they see... Hur-hur-hur-hur..."
The bloody bosun lets Lopper's gaze affix the would be messenger as he lumbers off with the rest of his crew.
Once they are back aboard the Bloody Fortune, Captain Belinna gives Ed and Grund a hard look. "Glad to see you back but you'll be staying below decks until we depart."
Ed nods. "Fine with me." He glances nervously around and asks Grund. "You don't think any of those little devils followed us, do you? Popping up when you least expect it. I am happy to get out of that nightmare." Grund glowers but doesn't say a word as the pair head to the crew quarters.
" That was quicker than I expected. Everything go well? Should we prepare to set sail now?" Belinna asks the officers.
Jom nods. "'Fraid we'd better, 'fore anything else happens. This place has been bad luck for us, hey?"
When he gets the chance, Corliss casts detect charm and scans the crew (but especially all the returnees) to make sure their minds are their own.
Kaul emits a hacking chuckle at Corliss' caution;
"Hur. Canny mate, like the cut o' yer jib. Be no point in checkin' fir curses tho... Likely we already are...Hur-hur-hur-hur..."
Jim nods. "'Fraid we'd better, 'fore anything else happens. This place has been bad luck for us, hey?"
"Riddleport does seem quite a bit rougher than Freeport even. I'd be glad to put it aft. The tide will start rolling out soon so what say we make ready to sail?" Belinna asks.
"Aye, Cap'n!"
Kaul nods in agreement;
"Port O' Riddles'll keep. Lets get gone an' find some trouble o' our own makin'..."
Dingus misses much of the conversation about the next destination... as long as there is a fine clothing market.
He spends the first couple of hours back aboard making sure that all his garments and fashion accessories are in order. He is disappointed to find some fine moth-eaten holes in his Gold Velvet Turban, so makes a note to find some camphor to keep things fresh.
With an ebbing tide and stout land breeze, the Bloody Fortune makes an easy and swift departure from Riddleport and into the Varisian Gulf. It occurs to Jim that they didn't leave completely empty handed: the ruby-capped vial that contained the aqua vitea is likely worth a small fortune to a collector. The ruby cap itself is likely worth a couple thousand coins.
There is a full moon above that winks through the thick cloud cover as the ship passes the Devil's Elbow. The crew not on duty have gathered in the galley to take advantage of the heat from Estabo's stove and share tales from the last few weeks in Riddleport.
Ed and Grund appear tired but a bit more relaxed once they are far away from the Golden Goblin though they don't appear too eager to talk about it. Talk eventually turns to future plans. Belinna opines that fat merchant ships likely lie to the south toward Cheliax but recalls that the crew mentioned Queen's business to the north in the Ulfen lands.
"Aye, we're for Halgrim Port, and hopefully success convincing White Estrid to do something about Aesha's base on that island--Chalky? Something like that. It'll come to me, hey?"
It is two days easy sailing around the eastern finger of the Calphiak mountains and out of the Varisian Gulf through a passage between Rivenrake Island and the mainland. Ancient Thassilonian ruins appear on the shores to each side but dominating it all is a stern woman's face carved into the summit of one of the tallest mountains on Rivenrake and gazing south at the ruined bridge that intermittently spans the archipelago leading south to Magnimar. Part of her face has sloughed away exposing chambers and halls bored within the mountain like an anthill.
The ship sails around the north side of the island behind the baleful glare of the monument as you enter the exposed waters of the Steaming Sea.
Jim shades his eyes with one hand as he peers at the mountain. "Hey, Cap'n? I've a thought. If the fishing here is decent, can we put in here for a few days? We got some good loot out of that old watchtower--mayhap Kaul, Dingus, Corliss and I can find something valuable in yon mountain while the crew does a bit of upkeep on the Fortune."
Belinna follows Jim's gaze. "I've not been this far north before but I've heard tales. I had a mate once that talked about "Angry Lady Mountain" and that we'd do well to stay far from it. Old elf tales have a bit more to say about this area. They say that the lady on the mountain was a powerful warlord that summoned demons and created her army of twisted soldiers from vats of living flesh." Belinna shivers a little.
"I know you can take care of yourself, Jim. But be careful. Hey?" she gives a slight smile as she mimics her first mate.
"I don't know that I would eat any fish that we pulled up around here but running some drills wouldn't do the crew any harm after a couple weeks lazing about Riddleport."
The Bloody Fortunes makes a course correction to follow the coast of Rivenrake Island in a counter clockwise direction around the western coast to pass under another half-collapsed span of the great bridge called the Irespan in Magnimar on the south side of the island. Just beyond the crumbling piers of the monumental bridge is the rubble of the ancient city directly beneath the stony face of the great warlord. The harbor has long silted in. Belinna calls for the ship to drop anchor in an area sheltered from the Steaming Sea so that a jolly boat can be sent to shore.
Corliss rubs the bump on his head, hoping to remember any tidbit of information he might've heard about 'Angry Lady Mountain' or its previous inhabitant, the warlord who ruled the place.
Corliss' bump hasn't proved particularly helpful in recalling things but he does sense something familiar with Belinna's description and the things they saw in that ancient watchtower that the evil elves had occupied.
He wishes that he had had a better look at that mesh map from the ruined tower before Dingus stashed it away for his wardrobe.
Dingus sits quietly in his room and pulls forth the mesh map from the ruined tower. He turns if first one way then another.
Lets see now if I cut a hole right here it would make a nice Pancho... but they're not really in style. If I cut it lengthwise and sewed it together it could be a nice sash... or perhaps a turban.
He then gathers it up and heads up to the deck.
"Kaul! Kaul! Help... I need your fashion advice".
Luckily, Dingus shows up soon after asking opinions about incorporating the metal mesh into his latest project. Corliss convinces him to spread it out to admire and the overlaid maps come into view.
Corliss was a bit lost in Sheila Heidmarch's eyes at the time but the map jars his memory a bit. The basemap is ancient Thassilon which has been written on with charcoal to portray the contemporary coastline and cities. Corliss can tell by this that their current location is the capital of the ancient kingdom of Bakrakhan which was ruled by the Runelord of Wrath.
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Kaul emits a hacking chuckle;
"Hurrrr. Look at the cut o' me Ding... Ain't no point in askin' Ol' Kauly for advices. But iffen ye is... What 'bout a shroud?"
The brute eyes the map warily;
"Runelord o' Wrath? Hur. Sounds like my kinda ruler... Hur-hur..."
"No doubt, mate. Capital city, though--might be some worthwhile goods to be found." Jim shakes his head, then gets a thoughtful look. "Hey, Cap'n--got a blank logbook I can use? Those Pathfinders will pay for information, I hear, so maybe if I take some notes we can get a bit of extra coin for little effort."
"I'll do you one better!" Fairweather interjects. " While you were away, I had some time to further search the ship for items to liquidate to pay the docking fees in Riddleport." He gives Dingus an uneasy look. "Hey, Captain's orders and I didn't touch any of your clothes, Dingus. Anyway, turns out that you all did have a pair of synchronized scrolls ! (recovered from the Groom at some point) So you've got a way to communicate with the ship and I'll scare up a scratch pad for notes as well, Jim."
"Good thinking! We can let you know where we are, too."
The jolly boat is loaded and made ready for departure. "You want a drop off?" Belinna asks."Lola and Onzu can row you out and just send a note when you want to be picked up. Unless you think you might be in a hurry to leave."
The Taldan shrugs. "Could be, but I'd rather keep the crew safe."
Lola and Onzu row the expedition team toward the shore. It soon becomes obvious that the bay silted in long ago as the muddy sea floor comes within half a fathom below the keel. At the landing, the crew find an abandoned launch leaning against a crumbling wall above the tide line. With a wave from the rowers and Lola grunting, "good luck", the crew disembark.
A path leads inland, weaving between mounds of rubble that overtop walls that barely rise to knee height. Eventually, the gang arrives at a street intersection cleared of rubble. Tattered canvas flaps in the slight breeze, the remains of an encampment. The fragments of cloth are splattered brown from old blood and the wind carries the stench of decay.
Jim sniffs at the air. "Well, something's active here. Dingus, does Richard feel like doing a bit of scouting?" Knowing his blade is always close, Jim has his bow ready.
"Oh yes... Oh yes... Richard verrrry Sneaky... and he might just find a jungle rat to munch on".
"Ssssss!".
Slither... slither...slither.
Perception (Low-light vision & scent).
Richard gives Dingus a spiteful glance as he is laid on the cold ground. We're nowhere near a jungle and it's too cold out here for me to think.
Nonetheless, the serpent sluggishly moves forward testing the air with his tongue. He slithers between the bits of wind strewn debris and points out a russet stained mound of canvas and then a trail leading north and then slithers off behind some other rubble and reports there's another body back there.
Kaul shoots a beady glare at the cloth stained with aged viscera;
"Hur. Wonder what 'appened 'ere? Ain't too pretty..."
Lopper bobs in agreement.
It is obvious that something bulky and smelly is covered by the canvas. Cutting and pulling it away reveals a pile of body parts and broken equipment. The rotting remains look to be hacked apart by something like a sharp axe. Weird tearing bite marks are seen on the body parts as well. The shovels, buckets, and small carts in the heap appear to have been treated in a similar way.
"I'm wondering, too. Let's see that body that Richard found--mayhap there's some clue to be had on it." Jim scans the area for tracks from who--or what--did this.
The ground is trampled by many feet, but Jim can make out a strange indefinite barefoot print among the scuffs and boot prints. It is human-sized but ends in a pair of elongated claw-like toes.
Richard is found behind the rubble coiled on a rock trying to warm himself in the weak sunlight. The body of a woman lies nearby with one leg missing and claw slashes across her back. The leg was cleanly severed and it appears she crawled away from the massacre before bleeding out. She still has a pouch on her belt which contains a metal compass like the type the Pathfinders carry and a blood-soaked journal. Most of the journal is illegible now but a few clean passages are discovered written in Taldane:
"...Xin-Bakrakhan... Alaznist’s capital city of the Thassilonian nation of Bakrakhan. We’ve only scratched the surface of these ruins and expect to find much more before our work..."
"Legend has it that there are treasures... along with deadly horrors of the ancient empire. That stern carving ... the face of Alaznist, unlamented ..."
" ...an impressive free-standing domed structure, made of fitted tan stone, remarkably well preserved—unnaturally well preserved.
There are two possible entrances on a pillared portico, ...discovering it during the excavation. Our work has consisted almost exclusively of moving away debris so the temple..."
Dingus pulls his robes tight against his skeletal frame and shivers.
"Why did we come here again"?