Bryson turns and goes back on the deck to see the situation there.
Those who go up the ladder to the deck are passed by a whirlwind of velvet and lace; Lavinia throws herself into Ghirrak's arms and whispers...
"I'm glad... You're alive. I had heard.... you had been eaten..."
Up on deck, you can see Spinnaker Jon leaning against the mainmast while Lord Avner leads the sailors in a round of cheers.
You can see Kaskus Kiel tending to several men laid out on the deck, but don't see any of the other Jade Falcons. What looks like the jelly like remains of the creature slowly dribble into the scuppers and overboard. A large burn mark chars the deck where Bryson left his flaming sphere. You can just see the Blue Nixie close abeam to starboard; the fog is still pea soup.
Frowning at Avner, Jon comes over to you.
"Looks like victory, eh lads and lassies?"
He lowers his voice.
"I'm sorry t' say I have t' take back everything I thought about ye laddie," He starts, looking at Bryson.
"When I went up th' ratlines t' drop the mainyard, I saw it were already rigged to drop at a trice. Whoever it is has a deft hand wi' acid."
He looks at Annie, appearing a little worried.
"I hope ye don't mind lassie, but I promised the crew a triple ration o' rum fer t'night."
Without a word Ghirrak scoops Lavinia up in his powerful arms, holding her close as she sobs into his chest.
"I'm alright darling, it'll take far more that some acid jelly to get rid of me," he says with a smile as he looks into her eyes.
Sense Motive
"We dealin' with a real killer here, huh? Looks like that snake Avner ain't the worst of our troubles. What we gonna do about it?" Bryson waits a beat. "I'm gonna help Kaskus."
Annie ran over to run and help Kaskus as she saw him tending to injuries. With the danger over above, she should go below and gather everyone around for some healing blessings from Cayden Cailean too.
"Kaskus, is anyone critical? Otherwise I'll go check below. One poor woman definitely was burned and will need special attention." She heard Jon's words to Bryson and couldn't resist a worried glance up at the lines and sails above. She smiled as he mentioned his promise to the crew. "It's not a problem at all, Jon, once I see to them that's hurt. Although with what you just said, I think I'll keep my toasts to the brave god at a more sober level tonight so it'll be easier to keep an alert eye and ear out for trouble."
Annie gathered all those with even minor scrapes from the scuffle around her for a quick burst of healing power from Cayden Cailean, then ran below to see to the woman and any other injuries with another burst of energy
No-Eyes Bellamy pokes his head over the Crow's Nest.
"Is it over?"
You see Professor Urol Forol poking about in the flotsam left on the deck as the ooze flows away. You see that there are several skeletons of unfortunate mariners caught previous to it's attack on you. A glint of a ring catches your eye...
Bryson will jump overboard while changing into an octopus to retrieve the items.
OK. Also, I'd forgotten that I was helping Kaskus so will probably be too busy to notice what Urol is doing.
Kaskus welcomes Annie and Bryson warmly and together they deal with the wounded left by the fight with the creature. There are fifteen wounded, four critically. For two it was too late.
When Annie channels, the golden radiance washes over the gathered casualties greatly easing most of the walking wounded. The critically wounded remain unconscious however; but they don't seem to be in danger of dying anymore.
Spinnaker Jon breaks up Avners impromptu celebration with orders; he sets the crew to work cleaning up the debris, shifting the wounded and beginning the task of hoisting the mainyard back to it's proper place in the rigging.
Down below, Lavinia broke free of the embrace when she realized the women, even the wounded, started gossiping to each other. Drawing Ghirrak into the ladder well for more privacy, she resumed kissing him until Annie flew by them (with an apology) on the way to channelling another healing burst to the injured belowdecks.
"Are you hurt? That creature... it was monstrous! To be eaten that way..." She shudders at the thought.
Annie called on Cayden Cailean to heal the passengers as she gathered them around her. As she tended to those who still had injuries, she chatted with her best effort at brainless cheerfulness about how kind Lady Lavinia was, her concern and love for the common people, and how hurtful it was to her when scions from other powerful families tried to make her life difficult.
"You know how some nobles can be," she said with a smile, broadening her Shadowshore accent a bit, "they've nothing better to do than gossip about those that actually live their lives. Folk like us are too busy with all that needs to be done to make good people suffer gossip and prying into their lives." She smiled a bit. "Too busy making sure the gentry are comfortable. Hah! But Miss Lavinia is worth it. Worth protecting from the likes of worthless nobles who don't know how to manage the simplest child's chore. We know better, don't we?" She patted the woman's arm gently, avoiding the area she'd just cleaned and bandaged. "There, that ought to be better. If we look to have a calm evening, I'll see if Cayden can't manage some more healing for us. Keep it clean and let me know if you start to feel a little feverish or the redness doesn't go down."
Ghirrak holds Lavinia in a close embrace, returning her kisses passionately.
"I'd be lying if I said it didn't burn a bit touching that thing, it essentially starts digesting you the second you touch it, which is pretty disgusting."
He reaches up to brush a lock of hair out of her face, looking deep into her eyes as he smiles.
"But I'm fine now sweetheart, and more importantly the innocents on board are safe, ironically, you're responsible for us being able to react in time. A dream about you made it....difficult to sleep, it's why I was up on deck trying to cool off."
The women nod and agree with you as you tend to their wounds.
But after you rejoin the party on deck you remember that there was something ... reserved in their attitude. And you realize it was aimed at you and your partners, and not Lavinia!
Still, you wonder as you watch the newly widowed Mrs. Trendit weep over the cavas covered skeleton of her husband; could it be natural? You failed to keep them safe after all.
Lavinia is clearly pleased at your health and your words; I'll spare you the details of your PDA before she sighs and reluctantly breaks free. You both have to go back on deck. There is a funeral to be held.
As you clean up after the action, roll call reveals that Mr. Trendit and Seaman Jessini were killed in the battle. Their skeletons are untangled from the flotsam, sewn into canvas bags and weighted with iron shot preparatory for burial at sea.
That's odd, you lost two dead, but you find six skeletons!
On closer examination, you find 51 Crowns and 4 gold Sovereigns in the tangled mess. You also find 4 rings and an armored gauntlet; one of the rings and the gauntlet is enchanted.
Would you like to say a few words for the burial? Jon can do it if you like.
Annie stops as pauses on her way to the upper deck as she realized the women's attitude toward her was reserved. It threw her for a moment, but considering the lost crew, maybe it wasn't unfair. She began to move forward again, determined to show they would do all they could to get everyone to their destination safely.
Now came the sad and backbreaking work of cleanup.
Annie looked sadly over the wrapped figures, some known, some unknown. While Cayden Cailean was mostly about action, bravery and camaraderie, the noble battles he supported often led to loss as well.
"The loss of good men like Mr. Trendit and Seaman Jessini can never be anything but a tragedy," Annie said sadly as the crew and passengers looked at the canvas covered bodies. "I feel a sense of personal failure, as I was unable to heal them or somehow protect them from their fate as we fought that cruel monster. But they died doing what they could to protect their ship, their crew, their friends and loved ones. I honor their bravery and courage, and their desire to protect and preserve what they loved. I will vow, myself, to do the same, in honor of their memory and sacrifice. I will do everything I can to protect this ship, this crew, and these mens' friends and loved ones. It's all I can do to repay my failure to protect them."
Annies words are clearly moving to the assembly; tears are plentiful.
With that, accompanied by a mournful song by seaman Skald, the planks are tipped up and the weighted bags holding the pitiful remains slide overboard. A triple ration of grog is shared out and the widow is taken below by the other women to be comforted as best they can.
The sails are raised and the anchors weighed, and the ships finally resume their fateful voyage south.
The ship is gloomy the first day, but little is demanded of the crew in fine sailing weather. Gathering up the fallen sail is all that Spinnaker Jon asks.
The next day the work of a ship returns to normal as the mainyard is hauled back up to it proper position and it sail spread and properly rigged again.
There is a lot of carpentry work to be done to repair the damage to deck, railing and hull; The mainyard's fall cut three feet down into the ship. Old splintered wood must be removed and new planks cut and fixed. Luckily there is a jungle full of trees ashore, and the shore party makes quick work of the search.
More and more, Dgrim is being relied upon as a watch stander. Especially the Middle watch; his darkvision is roundly agreed upon to be a boon to the ship.
Mrs. Trendit has no children, and her skill seems to be as a cook. The women of the ship gather around her in support. She is appreciative of your efforts. Oddly, the women in general seem to be somewhat disapproving of the performance of the crew. Perhaps more disturbing is the rumor that Lord Meravachi is "comforting" the widow as well.
Warm words and kissing are exchanged. She really likes your word and deeds this day. After much affection, she reluctantly breaks free and departs for her ship.
While helping prepare the bodies (ours and the unknown pirates), you come across a couple of items that are enchanted in some way. One is a pair of gauntlets and the other is a pewter ring.
No clue as to what they do though.
A week passes...
Wind and wave are fair as you sail further south, always keeping the jungles of the mainland on your right.
Having anchored a few miles off shore for the evening, you are just having a pleasant meal on the open quarterdeck (a fine night for it) when a light catches your eye.
"Light ho! Off to starboard!" Called the lookout.
Rushing to the rail, you see a red light just descending into the treeline of that peculiar white/green island three miles off.
You know the white color of the island is due to large sheets of spiderwebbing positively festooning the whole island.
Then a yellow light lifts over the treeline before falling again. Then a white light up, then down again.
A distress signal.
"Whoever it is is probably in trouble from the spiders that live there. Its gonna be fight all the way to them and back, but they are in need."
"We might be able to make use of these here things."
A few attempts to identify them
Gauntlets
Ring
Gauntlets
Ring
Gauntlets
Ring
It takes several days of examination and experimentation, but you discover that the gauntlets are old. Very, very old. They turn out to be of Azlanti construction, and more than three thousand years old as far as you can tell from the design.
The enchantment laid upon it appears to prevent any kind of corrosion or rust, but the protection doesn't seem to extend to it's wearer. Wearing them do provide a boost to your strength and agility however.
The ring is more difficult, and takes nearly a week to figure out.
It is a plain pewter ring of little apparent worth, and very difficult to tell it is enchanted at all.
It is almost by accident you discover that the ring seems to prevent the wearers mind from being read, prevent lies from being magically discerned and even mute the very alignment aura to a vague neutrality.
"Then let's go help them." Dgrim turns and yells at Jon. "Take us over there!"
Spinnaker Jon frowns at the water between the ship and the island.
"Hm. Too shallow fer the ship. Break out the longboat boys!" He details six sailors to man the oars.
"Now Mister Dgrim has volunteered to lead the rescue party," He playfully punches Dgrim in the arm. "Any of the other officers goin'?"
Breezes are pretty light this evening, so you're probably going to be rowing the whole way.
Sailor:
Bryson will go.
After an hour or so of rowing, you reach the island. There is no sign of anyone on the narrow beach, but you see a narrow inlet that feeds into a lagoon you can just see through the strangly heavily spiderwebbed forest.
The crew becomes a little nervous at the numerous tiny red eyes that can be seen in the reflected light of your lamp. For a heart stopping moment you seem to be wedged in the inlet, but Dgrim works her free in a fine example of seamanship.
Once inside, you see the lagoon is about a hundred yards in diameter, fringed by a jungle draped in sheets of white spiderwebs. In the middle is anchored a crude raft and topped with an improvised hut...
"Ahoy! Ahoy, in the boat!"
Calling to those in the longboat as it enters the lagoon, a half-elf stands up and waves a bit of tattered white cloth to grab his potential rescuers attention. Careful to maintain his balance on the makeshift raft, the sun and wind burned castaway keeps a wary eye on the shore while the boat moves into the lagoon.
His tanned face and sun-bleached rusty brown hair are covered by what appears to be a handcrafted palm frond hat of dubious style. Under a shirt of polished mithril he's wearing a patched, stained, and well worn cotton tunic and pants, which weren't top quality before his recent travels. Now they are little more than rags. Sitting next to him is a large backpack, a composite bow, a string of medium sized yellow-scaled fish, and a set of four hollowed out coconut halves partially filled with water.
Praise the gods! I'd thought I'd never get off this abyss forsaken rock."
Turning toward the shore, he waves his fist and shouts at nothing in particular, "Sorry to disappoint you creepy little eight-legged swine. Life won't be the same without our little dances and chats. But I can't say I'll miss it much."
"There's something not right about this. Ah don't trust this at all."
You can... feel... it in the jungle all around you with no one source; a malign intelligence. It seeks to trap the soft prey. It's sleepy now, but its only dusk. You are pretty sure full night and it will be fully awake.
The sailors are getting spooked. They are Shaken right now, but it won't take much more to throw them into a panic.
Survival
Knowledge: Nature
Sense Motive
Bryson tells the crew, "Be easy. Ah'll not lie. There is something out there, but mah guess is its at rest right now. Let's here this one out then we'll be out of here real soon."
Diplomacy to help them maintain.
Brysn calls out to the half elf, "Stranger, you got 2 minutes to convince us not to turn around and leave you here. And ah suggest you keep your voice at a nice even level while you do it."
The ragged half-elf puts his hands out in a calming, placating gesture. He offers a smile though it's barely noticeable under the scraggly patchwork of beard.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, friends. You wouldn't leave a poor soul stranded on this desolate rock would you?"
His eyes look imploringly to the one who spoke as well as the other men in the boat.
"Perhaps an introduction would make you feel more at ease. Philip Pharlan, formerly of the The Dancing Walrus, an ill fated ship who met her fate not far from this very shore. By skill and the sheer luck of the gods, I managed to make it to this bit of land, only to find it inhabited by a nasty bunch of arachnids bent on maintaining the integrity of their very non-diverse domain."
His eyes flick back with a worried expression to the shore as he mentions the local fauna. Quickly returning his gaze to those in the boat he offers another broad, hopeful smile.
It's the Law of the Sea; you have to rescue the shipwrecked guy.
Failure to do so would be very unpopular with the sailors.
Very.
Very.
Unpopular.
The dwarf moves toward the stranger and greets him. "No, we wouldn't leave a poor soul stranded here. Don't mind him too much...he's just skittish." Dgrim motions to Bryson. "I am Dgrim Urnidukr, of house Urnidukr in Sasserine."
Hands eager to be gone grab Mister Pharlan (and any baggage he might have with him) into the longboat and begin pulling for the inlet out of the lagoon. The oars maybe splashing a little more than they might in their eagerness.
Bryson sits in the boat being mad at the newcomer. He tries to look tough, but only looks like a sulking child.
You see dozens of those little spiders swarming the webs overlooking the inlet. Are they... trying to extend the web down to cover the inlet?
Perception
Settling into the boat, Phillip offers his hand to Dgrim. "Many thanks friend. You're not taking on dead weight. I've crewed a bit in my day, so I'm happy to pull my share on deck if you need an extra set of hands."
Settling his gear in the longboat he points out a reef hidden just below the surface. "You want to keep a couple of degrees to port heading into the channel. There's a reef that'll snag us for sure otherwise."
With Mr. Pharlan's pointers, Dgrim helms the longboat through the jungle overgrown inlet. There is a moment when Dgrim realizes that the webs are lower than when he came in, and manages to heel the mast over to miss being snagged.
There is an alien clicking in the trees as you finally row free of the island.
You don't recognize the sounds as anything natural; they sure weren't the usual sounds of jungle insects (and strange you havent been bothered by mosquitos).
Crossing the intervening three miles of ocean is made easier by a light breeze, which allows you to sail when the rowers grow tired.
You can feel it in your bones. Someone (or someTHING) just cast a spell to change the weather.
When you get back to the ship at anchor, you are all hauled aboard by willing hands and given a bowl of warm stew and grog.
Spinnaker Jon (probably the Captain) eyes Phillip and asks; "Well laddie, now that yer rescued, what's yer story? How'd you get all the way down here?" You see the sailors (and not a few passengers) crowd around to hear.
You see another ship anchored about a hundred yards off. It looks in better shape than this one, though both fly the same house flag.
Knowledge: Nature
Knowledge: Nature
The sounds coming from the jungles cause Bryson to be concerned. However, this is not the time. He vows to return later.
Bryson's Read Weather spell did not tell him of any large winds. Even though it is less accurate due to the ships moving, he should have had some indication of the change in wind strength. Bryson waits until Phillip has told his story then tells Spinnaker about it.
Read Weather: This spell allows you to precisely forecast the weather at your current location for the next 48 hours, providing you with advance warning of storms, blizzards, tornadoes, and other such meteorological phenomena. It applies only to the weather that would arise normally and naturally, and does not take into account any magical occurrences that might change the weather of an area. [ooc]
"Captain Jon, someone's messing with the wind. We ought to get ready for some rough waters."
Phillip offers a quick bow to the captain, flourishing his palm frond hat as if it were something of the highest court fashion. He offers a warm and friendly smile as he starts his tale.
"My many thanks to you and your crew captain. Another week or two on that foul island and I would have either gone mad or been spider food for sure."
"The tale of how I ended up stuck on that rock isn't a short one captain, but I'll give it my best." He pauses a moment to catch his breath and let the others gather around. Was everyone is settled, he continues.
"I grew up in Sasserine, son of a furniture maker in the Noble District. Although we certainly weren't of noble blood, the ladies of the court appreciated my father's talent for working with wood. Business was good and life was pleasant despite the usual pitfalls and dramatic tragedies we so often associate with our own youth." He pauses to grin and flash a knowing wink to one of the younger crew members, "But like many o' you on this fine vessel, I heard the call of the sea. I spent a bit o' time at the university, trying to learn about the world and it's mysterious wonders through books and lectures. But a drier more uninspired life, one would be hard to find outside the halls of government."
"So despite the tears of my mother, and worried objections of my father I signed up as swab aboard the Fins of Silver. Sea was a solid merchant ship under the good Captain Walter Ricks. For three years I crewed Ricks. Learned, worked hard and eventually was Bosun."
His eyes drop to the deck and his voice takes on a hint of sadness as he continues, "Those were fine, carefree times for certain. You lads, can understand I'm sure. The open sea, clean air unsoiled by the smells of the city. But as so often happens good things come to an end."
"We were set upon by pirates. Ol' Egil Blacksails, himself. The Fins she burned that dreadful day an' Captain Ricks now rests at the bottom of the sea. I was knocked unconscious during the fight, and woke to find myself chained to a seat at the oars of Trader's Bane. I spent another year working the oars and feeling the pirates lash."
"Eventually through luck and a bit of good planning, I escaped and jumped ship to join The Dancing Walrus. A decent enough schooner, but with an owner who had no right to be on the sea. A scholar, and treasure hunter he was. And not tight lipped enough. Apparently word got out that gold and treasure were his goal and every scoundrel in port managed to get signed up as crew."
Brushing a finger past his nose he says, "Now I could smell trouble as soon as we set sail. A couple of years crewing for Blacksails, gives a man certain instincts about trouble brewing. I tried to warn our scholarly captain, but he would have none of it. Then about a month ago, the weather turned rough." Shaking his head he creates a dramatic pause before continuing.
"It was a good solid blow that broke over us that night, an' it was the perfect chance for some o' those scoundrels to take the ship. But as is so often the case, greed and evil ended up tearing itself apart before it saw much success. You see there were multiple factions among that sorry crew and they tore each other apart even while the wind and waves battered our ill-fated ship."
"While the others fought, some o' us tried to save the ship, but with only a handful of crew on deck, it was hopeless. The storm had us off course and sure enough we ended up on a reef, breaking up against that bit of land you just pulled me from. A few folk managed to make it to shore, but the sea, she was punishing those for their treacherous ways because them spiders were waiting there for any poor man who stepped foot on the shore."
He shivers a bit as his hand unconsciously slips to the hilt of his short sword. "My university training and natural affinity with the ocean saved me that night. I managed to pull enough wreckage together for a small raft and slip it into the lagoon. There I could be safe from the breakers and those critters. The wreak of the Walrus was still off shore so I was able to go out during the following day after the weather cleared and recover a few extra supplies before she broke up completely."
"From then on it was just me against those bloody spiders." He glances wearily over his shoulder to the island. "Crafty devils they are. Always trying to get out to my shelter, either by creating their little web boats to float over, or using the wind to carry them across the open water. Sometimes they'd just sit there along the shore an' watch me. Red eyes glowing in the darkness. The only saving grace was they don't like the sun much. Being careful, I could sneak ashore and get water and a bit o' fruit. But I'm sure if left there much longer they would have figured a way to get me sooner or later."
"So there you have it lads. I'm glad to be aboard and willing to earn my passage to the next port o' call." He smacks his lips together, "But bein' as how I haven't had a taste of rum for weeks it wouldn't be too much to ask for a sip or two to wet the throat. It seems I've worked up a fierce thirst with all this storytelling."
"Captain Jon, someone's messing with the wind. We ought to get ready for some rough waters."
Listening closely to Mr. Pharlan’s tale, Spinnaker Jon absently waves at Bryson reassuringly.
"…signed up as swab aboard the Fins of Silver. She was a solid merchant ship under the good Captain Walter Ricks…"
The older hands nod, knowing the ship and captain.
"We were set upon by pirates. Ol' Egil Blacksails, himself.”
The crew grimaces and mutters darkly. They’ve all heard of Blacksails too.
"… A scholar, and treasure hunter he was. And not tight lipped enough. Apparently word got out that gold and treasure were his goal and every scoundrel in port managed to get signed up as crew."
All the crew leans in at this point, listening raptly. Spinnaker Jon claps his hand to his head and groans, knowing what the word “Treasure” means to sailors.
“… I managed to pull enough wreckage together for a small raft and slip it into the lagoon. There I could be safe from the breakers and those critters…”
The crew laugh and nod at this; for tales of foiling an enemy with seamanship is met with hearty approval. They ply Philip with more rum.
"Crafty devils they are. Always trying to get out to my shelter, either by creating their little web boats to float over, or using the wind to carry them across the open water…”
Spinnaker Jon’s face goes dead white at this. He slowly turns to Bryson.
”They… they can’t actually do that… I mean… over the ocean… Can they?”
No way! It’s purely impossible.
Unless they are super intelligent, and can use magic.
Knowledge: Nature
"Ah guess most anything's possible for giant magic spiders. Like changing the weather so that ship's wreck on their shores. Capt, you should get the ship ready."
Phillip gladly holds out his cup for another splash of rum which he downs in a couple of quick swallows.
"Ahhh! That's a sure sight better than the brackish water I been livin' off of. My many thanks for your generosity lads."
Noticing the captain's sudden concern he starts to speak, but then clamps his lips shut as the dark-skinned half-elf responds. Pausing to think for a minute he scratches at his scraggly beard and then says, "You know, I hadn't thought about those bugger's messin' with the weather. But I wouldn't be surprised."
"A downright menace to the seas." He adds quietly flashing a dark look toward the web covered island.
Returning his attention back to the captain and the others he shakes off the dark memories and says "So captain, you've heard my tale. If I might ask what brings you and the crew of the...'er...ummm...What's the name of your fair ship?"
"I'm relatively sure giant spiders aren't controlling the weather. There may be a druid or withc of some kind behind it."
Noticing Spinnaker Jon looking upwards and swearing softly (but with feeling), you too look up to see, descending on the ship by the hundreds trailing lengths of silk on the breeze, thousands of hand sized spiders.
As shrieks and shouts erupt from the sailors and passengers, chaos erupts as people start to panic. You see that some spiders must have dropped aboard already, given some webbing already in evidence. The helmsman seems to be cocooned already, and you see spiders swarming over some crewmen, being subdued by their paralytic venom.
Shouting for order, Spinnaker Jon grabs you.
"Alright, listen up ye swabs! Get forward and free the anchor! Slip it or cut it, just get it done! Then get to the wheel, unwrap the webs and fend off the spiders! I'm going up the lines and get us a sail t' catch the breeze! And someone shoot a flare or somethin' t' warn the Nixie! On the double now lads!"
With that Jon swarms up the ratlines like a spider himself, knife between his teeth.
And if that weren't enough, the spiders manage somehow to douse both anchor lights.
At the same moment.
Leaving you in pitch blackness.
Surrounded by thousands of tiny red eyes.