Willem nods and begins to study the Fire Sprites, "Emma, I can not engage the Fire Sprites unless y'all trust my precise shooting to hit them?" In addition, he keeps his periphery on the doors next to him for any more surprising "guests".
However the noise of combat and the band are most likely interfering with Willem's perception.
Coaltongue Map
Coaltongue General Info
Despite the absence of their mistress that summoned them from the Dreaming, the three fire sprites chitter with rage and surge forward to attack the constables at the entrance of the Wizard's Room, flying towards them with fiery wings and needle-sharp teeth from extended maws. Here and there the carpet and plush chairs nearest the sprites smolder but do not catch in open flame. With audible snaps they try to chomp down on the arms and shoulders of both Gemma and Anneca, their chittering turning to a high-pitched shrieking. Yet despite the uncomfortable heat and violence of the creatures their attempts prove feeble; both female constables in the vanguard ward off the bites with trained martial expertise.
Arthur knows that he can't risk shooting the halfling at this close range. Instead, he pulls his truncheon out and brings it down, trying to catch him on the skull. Reacting to the poison, his abdominal muscles contract. While he manages to score a hit, it does not put the foe down.
Emerson takes a deep breath and channels his inherited power to close up Arthur's wound. The poison is virulent and is difficult to counteract, but he does offer some healing to his friend.
"Don't let me get in your way Willem. Have at them!" Emerson steps out of Willem's way to give him a better shot of the sprites.
Reeling with rage from the betrayal, Anneca briefly considers blasting away at the fiery creatures -- but the chaos of battle would make it quite hard to hit any of the tiny sprites. After pushing down this initial impulse, she realizes that Gemma is right. "Got it. I'll slow her down, at least, but I might not be able to kill her on my own." She carefully takes a few steps backwards into the area that Emerson has just vacated, then turns and runs down the corridor to the stairs that will lead her down to the next level. "Need some gold," she mutters to herself as she looks around for the eladrin woman. "Gonna jam it in her heart, see her teleport out of that."
As the constables' fight with the fire sprites and Ilton continues, Duchess Ethelyn of Shale floats there for several moments outside the aft portals of the Wizard's Room, watching them impassively. Betrayer of her brother the King, complicit in the murders of five in that room alone, and seemingly the mastermind as to the rebel's assassination attempt earlier in the day. Yet for all of this, she shows neither enjoyment nor sorrow, simply a resigned acceptance as to her zealous mission. A strange series of dolphin-like chirping sounds echoes up from below her, and Ethelyn simply nods to the unseen being; with ease the tentacles lower her down and away from the constables' view.
In the hallway itself, Willem and the others see no other guest quarters doors open up to their left or right - apparently the sprites and halfling assassin are all that face them, though there is no way to be absolutely certain without a thorough search. What they do know is that besides the Duchess herself, the handmaiden Sorkana represents their greatest threat they have...and she is at large somewhere in the engine room below them.
That all said, Anneca remembers in her studies that while fey can do this largely at-will, eladrin elves are limited in their abilities of the fey step, needing to fully rest before each attempt. It's possible Sorkana cannot do this again today, though you cannot be absolutely certain.
Caught up in her thoughts of countering Sorkana and having retribution, Anneca rushes through the port-side bulkhead hatch that was partially open, finding the stairwell down to the engine room that she remembers from her tour. She hears voices as she starts to descend...
"...they's all taken care of mum and the furnace room is clear," says a man in engineer's garb and who carries a large bloodied wrench in his calloused hands. He stands below her and to her right next to a mostly open hatch door that separates the engine boiler room from the furnace room.
"Right, and I've already disabled the boiler alarm," says a second "engineer" in a faster-paced voice, a similar-looking wrench in his hand though unbloodied. Anneca also notices he bears the same kind of bulbous-head wand that Sorkana is holding at his belt.
"Good," replies Sorkana with a slight hurried rush to her voice. "Now we have no time to spare. We must seal the furnace..." Sorkana stops as her more normal appearing blue eyes look up sharply at Anneca at the top of the stairwell.
Both henchmen stare at the enemy constable, gripping their wrenches tightly.
Coaltongue Map
Coaltongue General Info
Ilton snarls at the slash down his already bloodied white coat, threatening Gemma with his blade. "You want to play, girl? Let's open up a few holes in you to stick things in eh?" The halfling assassin appears to lunge at Gemma but redirects his blade back to Arthur with amazing speed, batting away his truncheon first and then stabbing him in the left shoulder. Arthur was quick, however, and leaned back just as he was struck, the point of the blade not entering in too deep. With another snarl of frustration at his attacks not bringing the grenadier down, Ilton continues to fight.
"I got her! Ostman, go on!" Waving his heavy steel wrench threateningly like a club, the rebel saboteur named Jenner walks to the stairwell and moves up several steps, swinging a vicious underhand swing at Anneca. The attack was quick and low, causing Anneca to take a near-crippling impact to her upper shin. Reeling from the blow, she looks to her left and notices the crumpled and bloodied body of one of the true engineers wedged between the stairwell and the boiler stack, his skull split open.
The other saboteur named Ostman moves quickly to the hatchway that separates the boiler room from the furnace room, opening it with raw strength. A blast of heat fills the already hot boiler engine room, suggesting the furnace is at full stoke or beyond normal tolerances. He watches menacingly as his fellow hits Anneca with his wrench with a loud crack, though the height of the stairwell and the metal railing keeps him from "That's it Jenner! Take her knees out! I'll be right back to help you!" He moves into the room beyond for whatever next step of sabotage has been planned with their mistress.
Sorkana merely stares at Anneca irritably as her henchmen move to action, dipping her free hand in the satchel at her belt for something. She draws forth a Jiese Gem that looks remarkably similar to the one around the torc that the suicidal bomber Garrys was wearing earlier, though to Anneca this one seems to pulse brightly as if alive or sentient. As Ostman has already opened the hatch door she resolutely walks forward and through it into the furnace room.
Tactical Map, Berth Deck
Tactical Map, Engine Deck
The band is well into the first stanza of the Risuri Anthem as the 'King's Bodyguards' detachment of the R.H.C. stand in their customary places behind the King. Ifris, as usual, is directly behind King Aodhan, almost literally the human shield to protect his back from harm. Anya Landreth always takes her place to the King's right, and Cealena Kirby on the left. It has been this way for well over a year now that Ifris has been on this "honored" detail.
Standing there as she is as the orchestra's music fills her ears, her mind wanders to what the anthem means to her. Interestingly, the music still stirs something patriotic and dutiful within her. So why does she increasingly loathe her near unique and valued status as one of three constables who ensure the King's safety?
Perhaps it is as she stated to poor Willem Muhnee earlier on the deck. That the politics of the Constabulary are present and constant, and that the "simpler days" were back during the war when they were too naive and young to know any better. Perhaps the politics of Slate Branch are getting to her, the dealings with Kirby and Landreth as they fawn and preen for position and status slowly depriving her of real purpose. Watching good honest men such as Muhnee have their careers wither and die before they had a chance to prove themselves. Certainly as a "four-nine-eight" constable she had to prove herself to the naysayers of the veteran constabulary who preferred the older ways of apprenticeship to the job, but that never really impacted her directly.
No, Ifris knew deep down that her dissatisfaction with the Constabulary is much about the same cause that drove her to resign her full commission from the Navy and apply for the R.H.C. in the first place. She was unique in Risur, an oddity and a weapon, something to be valued and studied, but never wasted. Even if the war had never ended, Ifris was certain her talents would never be put to use on a battlefield again - not even to stay on the seas on a proper warship - and she would never have a chance to fulfill the purpose of a true soldier. Writing her journal and her thesis, teaching at the academy after the war...these would be the only opportunities she would ever have. As Willem would probably say, she could not abide at being left in the pasture because her coat was a unique color.
So she left the Navy and joined the Constabulary, where her unique talents would be put to real use for the service of Risur. Proud of her admittance and gaining her badge, she was ready for some real assignments of quality. When Director Price-Hill personally called for her transfer to Slate Branch for the King's personal detail, she did not question the importance of the assignment, thinking there could be no higher duty than to ferret out the King's enemies and keep him safe on his travels. Little did she know that her "assignment" was nothing more than a glorified honor guard detail.
Ifris Lanvaldan, Constable and King's Bodyguard, inspects carriages and trails behind the King and his retinue, even as Willem, Emerson and this group of green "four-double-nines" foils a real assassination plot just an arrow's shot away from her. The constables of Flint Branch were doing the true work, while Ifris was little more than dressing on the meal. It was hard to comprehend sometimes.
Suddenly her brooding thoughts are interrupted by a soft whisper at her ear, a whisperspeak message directed to her. She leans to her left around Aodhan and looks sharply to those singing the anthem in the front row, and sees the face of her speaker even as his words are heard in her ear. Though it has happened before on two or three occasions, Ifris is still surprised to find it is none other than Director Price-Hill himself, an uncharacteristic look of stress and irritation upon his face.
"Constable Lanvaldan. The Principal Minister asked Inspector Delft to send the newer constables down below decks, to find the Duchess of Shale and ensure her attendance at our King's speech. They have failed to do this...I do not know if these newer constables have issues of quality and punctuality, but I certainly expected a war veteran such as Muhnee to follow a simple set of instructions...no matter...please go below on the double-quick, recover the Duchess and return her to her assumed place immediately! Her absence is being noticed. Use the foredeck stairs please."
Anneca feels the pain rocket through her leg as the saboteur bashes her in the leg. She shouts in alarm to the others that there are more attackers than expected. "Two more down here!"
__________________
Ifris was never one to scrutinize opportunity, even if that headstrong determination is what got her collecting dust here in Aodhan's prodigious shadow in the first place. The Director's request is another such opportunity, but more importantly it is a relief—however temporary—from the position as window-dressing. Ifris steps aside to Anya, giving her a knowing nod and motioning to the vacancy behind the king's back, followed by a quick gesture in Price-Hill's direction. She needn't say more as she departs; the two soldiers speaking the same nonverbal "language." Discretely extricating herself from Aodhan's retinue to insinuate herself into the crowd with gentle application of shoulder and hip and dutiful stare. She knows Muhnee doesn't relish being relegated to the position of highly-polished errand boy, but that wouldn't impede him from being the best godsdamned errand-boy on the ship. Something doesn't add up.
Making her way through the crowd, Ifris recognizes the difficulty she's having in hearing her own footsteps—or even the voices of the crowd—over the band. If something were delaying Muhnee and the others below decks, there'd be no way for anyone topside to hear. That thought has Ifris' pace hastening. Submerged paranoia about this entire operation going too smoothly comes bubbling back to the surface as Ifris' social anxiety heats to a boil, pressed as she is just so between throngs of spectators. If roles were reversed, if she blamed the chip on her shoulder on Aodhan, this is when she'd act.
Once she's halfway down the foredeck stairs, Ifris picks up her pace and enters the gun deck. Rows of cannons flank either side of the spacious floor, each row briefly drawing her attention and reminding the former marine of her service during the war—such as it was. The quiet of the gun deck compared to the upper deck strikes Ifris the wrong way, enough so that her first steps off of the stairs are slow ones. Glancing back up over her shoulder, Ifris eyes the stairwell, then back to the gun deck's open space and plentiful shadows. Where was Muhnee?
hp 12/12; AC 18/14T/14FF; CMD 18; +3F/+3R/+0W
Conditions/Effects: None
FA: Speak
MA: Five foot diagonal step back to AL7
SA: Attack Ilton with sabre
Gemma simply cocks her head to the side at the hafling’s comment and then takes another sabre strike.
She is intent on finishing off her foe and hopes that Willem is able to take out the fire sprites so she doesn’t get attacked again from the side. To her dismay, however, her strike does not hit it's mark. She then hears Anneca’s call of alarm and instantly starts to recalculate the fight in her head in order to give Anneca the help she needs.
Willem can take out the sprites. Arthur isn’t too bad off and can keep using his truncheon. If Emerson trades places with me, I can get to Anneca downstairs. He’s closer but I don’t know how fast he can move and his pistol fire might cause problems in the boiler room. I don’t know. I have to get to her without taking a cut to the back. If I leave, it’ll be three against three. The hafling’s already taken some damage. I don’t know how hardy the sprites are though. I have to take the chance. That damn fey isn’t leaving this ship.
Gemma calls out to her comrades again, feeling confident that her plan will work. “Arthur, can you please forcefully subdue our traitor here?” She then casts a quick glance to Emerson and then to Willem. “Emerson, if you would kindly take over and assist Constable Wilde while Willem gains the upper hand over those sprites.” She knows that all it would take is one missed hit on the foes or one that hits too solidly on a constable for the plan to unravel, but all she can do is hope for the best. Preventing the ship from exploding is the most important objective right now. And she knows nothing can be done about Ethelyn.
She takes a step back, closer to Willem, so that she can make her way towards the stairs and Anneca. “I will be there shortly. Try and hold them off.” Gemma yells to her hoping Anneca is able to defend herself in the meantime.
All I have to do is grab her, right? Just grab her and hold her so she can’t get away.
Gemma wiggles the toes on her right foot, feeling the sensation of the small gold band around her third toe. She easily remembers the day her sister came home with it and held it out in her hand for Gemma to take. Her sister had gotten one for herself as well, but chose to wear it on her left, third toe. Despite all her scruples, Gemma never questioned where her sister got them or how she paid for them. It didn’t matter. It was one of the few things in the world that made her truly feel safe.
That fey is not leaving. I swear by my sister and all of Lanjyr, she is not leaving. I’ll kill her if I have to before she gets away. I don’t care how it looks. Damn, soulless fey.
Willem watches Anneca run by him, "Where are you - ?" Then Anneca's call for help comes from the stairwell, "That is why you don't go runnin' around and stir up them hornets. We have enough hornets to deal with. Stick together!"
Willem aims his Pepperbox pistol as fiery sprite as Gemma steps in the way, "Gemma don't -"
Willem fires his Pepperbox pistol but thanks to his military training, life on the spread, and fine aim, the round finds its way past Gemma without touching her, but she definitely heard the wooooshhh and rapport of Willem's pistol of the round leaving his pistol and passing by her ear.
Willem shakes his head as he rotates his barrel to chamber the next round and replies to Gemma, "Ok, I'll stay here and you go help Anneca."
Coaltongue Decks Map
Coaltongue General Info
Willem's crack shot past Gemma's ear plunges directly into the chest of the fiery sprite creature in front of them, causing it to wail in pain as it falls to the floor by the open doorway. Fire around the fey grows dim and dulls in color, causing the other two sprites to chitter and shriek in renewed rage. Both sweep forward into the hallway space vacated by Anneca and Gemma, focusing their fiery teeth upon the remaining female constable for either moving away from them or perhaps confused as to who downed their friend. In any case, both sprites try violent but predictable attacks upon Gemma, which she deftly blocks with her sabre.
Tactical Map, Berth Deck
Tactical Map, Engine Deck
Emerson is not as trusting in his pistol skills as Willem is but he has to do something. Arthur is clearly in trouble facing two foes at once. Emerson tries to even the odds, at least for a moment. He draws forth more power from within and asserts his will over Ilton.
”Fall!” he says as he points to the Halfling. Amazingly the little would-be assassin falls prone.
”Are you fething crazy woman? “
Arthur takes the opportunity of the prone Halfling to strike out at the Sprite in front of him. He connects with his truncheon, but not as hard as he would have liked.
Anneca doesn't have a lot of good options at this point. She shouts for help. "They're trying to blow the ship! Down here!" Even if the other constables defeat the murderous waiter and the sprites, that won't help if Sarkona blows the entire ship to pieces. "They've damaged the failsafes!" She takes a few steps back and tries to shoot the saboteur with a blast of her firearm. Even though he is only a few feet in front of her, she misses with the shot. Hitting him was only one of her concerns, though; the first was trying to get him to remain careful when approaching her, and the second was hoping that the sound of gunfire might attract some more attention. She reaches down and pulls out a vial of alchemist's fire, knowing that she won't have much of a chance to reload her weapon.
Arthur’s strike upon the fire sprite next to him lands with a satisfying clunk to the creature’s head, causing it to yelp and spin around as if swooning in the air – it would seem almost comical as if from a puppet show, except that the stakes here are truly life and death.
Coaltongue Map
Coaltongue General Info
Ilton shouts a barely intelligible curse at Emerson, unable to even attempt to rise from the floor of the small guest quarters. With shortsword still in hand, the assassin reaches inside his bloodied coat for a prepared vial of milky liquid; he pops the stopper off of the top and hastily consumes it, even as Arthur raises his truncheon and brings it down hard upon his foe. Unfortunately, Arthur’s violent swing to brain Ilton misses his head by mere inches and raps off his shoulder, bruising his collarbone.
Snickering, the halfling tosses the vial aside as first his body and then his head disappear from view, a rude gesture with his free hand at Arthur and Emerson the last thing they see of the wretch where he lay upon the floor.
Probably due to her scatterblast shot at the enemy saboteur before her or perhaps even due to her shouting, Anneca hears the challenging voice of another female from some paces distant, heard behind her and through the door to the forward area of the berth deck. ”Who goes there? No one is to be below decks at this hour – announce yourselves immediately…or I shall fire!”
Anneca recognizes the voice as the Risuri marine Divianne Athel, who was stationed on duty by the two doors to the firedust magazine rooms during their tour earlier.
Meanwhile, the engineer saboteur called Jenner pats his studded leather jerkin for signs of shot from the scatterblast, only to find that the shot went high and wide right. He glares at Anneca with the clear intent of murder on his mind. ”Think to pelt me? To burn ME? I’LL CAVE YER SKULL IN I WILL!” He leaps forward up the steps between them and lets fly with a wild sideways swing to the right side of her head - it clips her across the cheek and nose, sending blood flying against the stairwell railing and across the floor of the berth deck.
Unfortunately for the constables, neither Sorkana nor Ostman can be seen or heard, other than they seem to be at-large in the large furnace room beyond the boiler engine room where Sorkana had first fey stepped down from the berth deck. A brief shout of pain may be heard echoing up from the engine deck to the berth deck, but anything else is very much unclear…
Tactical Map, Berth Deck
Tactical Map, Engine Deck
Gemma hears the words of her fellow constables and understands their concern. However, despite the hafling turning invisible before her eyes and the imminent threat in front of her, Gemma sticks with her decision. She knows that if the actions of sabotage are completed, many more lives could be lost other than just their own. And she cannot allow that to happen.
“Sorry, gentlemen. I have all faith that you will succeed. Hopefully, Anneca and I will as well, otherwise all may be lost.”
Gemma then makes her move, back and past Willem, and through the open door that should have stairs leading down to the boiler room.
The fire sprite nearest to Gemma lunges and takes a snap at her back shoulder as she turns to move away, but snaps into empty air as the constable is too quick for it.
Willem nods and replies to Gemma, "We will call ya if we run into problems and on your way to help Anneca, look for a speakin' tube or some sort of alarm device for just in case we can no longer be discreet."
After the Sprite attempts to attack Gemma as she leaves and moves past Willem, the sprite is now face to face with a smiling Pepperbox pistol.
The round barely misses the sprite whizzing past its ear into the room behind it and Willem's smile is temporarily lost in frustration, "SH?@!" Willem rotates the barrel for the next round.
Coaltongue Map
Coaltongue General Info
Both fire sprites continue their enraged attack against the humans their mistress has summoned them to fight. The one wounded by Arthur takes another lunging leap to bite at his neck, but is deflected back by his truncheon; barely staying aloft at the blow to its head, the exertion causes it to fall unconscious and falls in a heap at Arthur's feet, a puff of dim flame and smoke still surrounding it. Similarly, the other sprite that Willem just missed moves in to threaten both he and Arthur. It chooses to take a chunk out of the grenadier's back, but his jaws close only on sturdy leather and a metal stud, causing the creature to snarl and spit as the taste of the armor was not to its liking.
Of the halfling assassin, Ilton, there is no sound or sign of him...but it does not take a skyseer's vision for the constables to conclude they have not seen the last of him either.
Tactical Map, Berth Deck
Tactical Map, Engine Deck
”Well this is just great!” The other constables can hear Arthur mumble some creative curses to himself while he nimbly sidesteps the remaining sprite to get a better angle on the invisible Halfling. He pulls another sphere from his pouch and lobs it at the last seen location of Ilton. It’s not a direct hit but the amount of flames created in such a small space must mean that their foe was affected.
The Sprite takes another bite at Arthur but its attacks fail miserably.
Emerson pulls forth the new pistol he acquired from the assassin earlier in the day, points it at the back of the Sprite attacking Arthur and pulls the trigger. The projectile flies true and strikes the creature in the upper back. The force at this range is so great that it crumples to the deck like a sack of potatoes.
"Willem, can you see if this Heatward Gem is movable? We may be able to put it to good use in the Engine Room."
Anneca takes another step back, summoning all her fury into magical energy. She drains the fire out of the alchemical vial, using it to fuel the spell. A burst of flame explodes from her raised blunderbuss, forcing him to jerk hard to the railing. With no place to go, she douses him in near-liquid flame. The flames catch on his clothing and flesh, turning him into a smoky avatar of fire. She steps back to yield the floor of violence to the rapidly-approaching Gemma. "Show him some real steel!"
The three constables in the hallway hear what sounds like a gurgling last breath of a dying man coming from the open guest quarters, though they are not at the doorway to know from exactly where...
Above them in the cage is the heatward gem next to the enchanted light globe that illuminates the hallway. Though they cannot easily detach the cage from the deck grate that it is attached to, there is a small cage door that appears to easily open, so that the gem can be renewed or replaced.
A man in the stairwell is fully on fire and screams horribly, the light from the fire clearly seen from the two female constables just above on the berth deck. Strangely to them, that is not the most disconcerting element that they feel, for both Gemma and Anneca think they feel the deck under their feet shudder slightly and hear a groan of metal somewhere underneath them, even as the heat intensifies and the whoosh of steam exhaust can be heard from the direction of the stairwell and the boiler engines beyond...
A lone constable on the move distinctly hears the sounds of a gun blast from somewhere below her, as well as another woman shouting instructions at what sound like intruders from an unknown location. A lingering rumbling can be felt aft, though from what source is unknown. Above the constable, the Navras orchestra playing the anthem is at full pitch, making it very unlikely anyone on the top deck is aware of potential trouble...
Coaltongue Map
Coaltongue General Info
No sounds are heard now from the open guest quarters room by the three constables nearby. The wretched halfling probably expired by the sounds of it...but perhaps not...
"I say again - you are NOT to be down here! Show yourselves immediately or I WILL open fire!" The marine guard sounds a bit closer to the door with the stairwell beyond, and lets out a shrill sound from a signal whistle. It is unlikely, however, anyone will hear it with the band playing up on the main deck.
"AHHHHH!" Screaming from the pain and horror of being ignited like a torch, the saboteur named Jenner retreats down the stairs, as he is unable to drop or roll on the metal stairs. He runs back into the boiler engine room near the port side, slapping at himself in a futile manner to put out the flames. Eventually the fire does diminish, but the man is very badly burned. Even so, he puts a charred hand on a metal valve wheel near the port-side of the rear boiler and begins to turn it counter-clockwise.
"Ostman! GO! Finish your task and slay the enemies of the true Risuri! Remember our Lady and GO!" Sorkana can clearly be heard shouting her instructions, doing something in the furnace room and then walking towards the forward part of the room near the firegem bins.
"JENNER!" The other saboteur called Ostman calls out to his comrade in a low deep voice, moving with purpose back into the boiler engine room to where he can see the other man, an urgent concern in his voice. "Aww Jen I'm sorry but we'll get em...that's right Jenner! Close it off!" Ostman swings his wrench around like a club and sets himself to cover both the stairs and doorway, ready to smash the head open of any who approach there. "C'MON YOU #%&!s! LET'S SEE WHAT YER MADE OF!"
Tactical Map, Berth Deck
Tactical Map, Engine Deck
Gemma is finally able to get to Anneca and move past her. She can see that Anneca hasn’t fared so well in her fight and is glad to come to her aid.
She looks to Anneca briefly. “Do what you can to heal yourself and let’s get back in it! How many do you think there are?” Gemma doesn’t really care how many there are. Whether it’s three or thirty makes no difference. She must do what she can to save the ship and, in turn, keep the king from harm. But it is information to keep in the back of her mind as she moves forward into the fray.
As she makes her way quickly but cautiously down the stairwell, she sees a man on her right as she nears the bottom. Seeing the large wrench he swings around in his hand, she can only assume that he is not on their side and goes after him with her sabre, hoping to quickly strike home and gain the upper hand.
With her first cut, she does indeed strike well...a vicious cut right across the man's shoulder. Not enough to take him down, but certainly enough to make him bleed.
Just as Gemma moves down the stairwell and brings up her sabre, the hulking Ostman swings his wrench to shatter her ribs. However, the brute force of his attack also shows that he does not have much skill, and Gemma easily deflects the wrench with the metal guard of her sabre as she ripostes with her own attack.
"Willem, I found a latch on this cage. Go help the girls and I'll grab the gem."
”You think any of us are falling for that, you f$%*#@* midget? Well think again!” Arthur pulls the last of the bombs in his satchel and throws two with almost supernatural speed. Since he can’t see his foe, he chooses the center of the rug in the guest room as a likely target that should do enough damage to all within the 10’ blast radius. WHOOOOSH…..THUMP…..THUMP!!!!
He squints his eyes during the explosion to ward off any errant fragments that might come his way and wonders if the idiots upstairs can feel or hear any of this. Morrons
After the bombs detonate he rushes forward and closes the door to prevent the invisible Halfling from escaping. If he survived the blast that is…..
"You guys go on ahead. I'm going to make sure this chump doesn't make it out of this room alive."
Emerson turns his back slightly while the bombs go off, all the while reloading his pistol. He holsters it quickly and pulls the Heatward Gem from its cage, dropping it into his duster pocket. He starts to move in the direction of Anneca and Gemma but yells back to his office mate.
”Great! We’ll be back! Assuming the whole ship doesn’t explode first!”
Arthur notices the first bomb takes an awkward bounce to his left and lands up on a fine oaken writing table next to an old-style quill and fine parchment, while his second and last bomb stays on the carpet where he intended it to go.
As the thump! thump! of both bomb blasts goes off while Arthur closes the door, he cannot help but think he hears a pitiful moan from somewhere in the room followed by a sharp curse. The door feels warm to the touch and there are several splits in the wood from the closer blast, but it does hold shut in the doorframe for now.
Anneca pulls out the pellets from her belt and quickly reloads her weapon so that she can get back in the fight. Her body aches from the brutal assault with the wrench, but that will be irrelevant if they blow to kingdom come. She holds the firearm in one hand, drawing out the vial of healing liquid that she took from the assassins earlier in the day. Getting ready to drink it and return to the fray, she shouts an answer to Gemma. "Those two and the eladrin! I think there might be a guard down there still fighting!"
__________________
The sound of shouting and gunfire coming from belowdecks sends a chill down Ifris' spine. Back tensing, she brows furrow and eyes go momentarily wide. There was a time—not all that long ago—that she experienced a sensation like this when out at sea. Five years gone, those memories come rushing back when the pitch and yaw of the ship, coupled with cries of combat reverberate all too well through the pages of history.
Ifris is running before she even realizes it, instinct and reflexes taking over where rational thought and caution once reigned supreme. Running, not up and away from the danger to alert security, but ahead and towards the sound of battle. Ifris only gets a few feet before springing into the air over the ladder shaft, kicking off an adjacent railing to throw herself at the ladder. Her hands grip the rings and boots scuff the sides as she slides down through the shaft and down to the next floor where the shrill whistle of a marine just rang out.
As the berth deck comes into view, Ifris leaps off of the ladder. Amber colored motes of light swirl around Ifris' hands again as she springs through the air, coalescing into geometric damond shapes that glitter and trail behind her clenched hands. Soon, those points of light soon solidify into something else entirely.
Plates of force the color of sunlight on a summer afternoon begin to form inches off of Ifris' body. Segmented plates over her arms, angular pauldrons, a curved chestplate with segmented abdominal guards, greaves resembling the armored plates of some giant insect—both oragnic and inorganic in appearance—with a lattice of diamond-shaped light plates like some sort of luminous chain at the joints.
A diamond-shaped shield composed of multiple plates of golden light forms in Ifris' hand and slams into the floor with a shower of sparks as the soldier lands in crouched posture. She looks up, quickly, black hair falling down to frame her face as pieces of a golden helmet of light snap into place around her head, leaving a roughly chevron-shaped space where her eyes and the bridge of her nose can be clearly seen.
As Ifris stands, glowing plates of light around her right arm swirl and pivot into position as a two and a half foot long blade of energy snaps into being, extending out off of her forearm, seemingly hovering around and above her clenched fist.
"Willem, can you see if this Heatward Gem is movable? We may be able to put it to good use in the Engine Room."
Willem shakes his head no and looks at Emerson with a puzzled look, "Emerson, I am a soldier and constable. Do I look like I know what to do with the gem?
"Willem, I found a latch on this cage. Go help the girls and I'll grab the gem."
Willem nods in agreement, "Now that's more like it! Be careful!"
He then moves to help Anneca and Gemma while looking for a communication tube or alarm, "Ok Gemma and Anneca, the aft is under control and I am hear to help."
Willem looks for who they are fighting and sees if he had line of sight.
Coaltongue Map
Coaltongue General Info
Though the door is closed and Arthur put in both of his remaining bombs to snuff out the vile little assassin, he cannot help but think that is not the last he’s seen of him. Arthur thinks he might hear some faint sound of rustling from within the room, but he cannot say for sure…
From Willem's vantage point as he arrives to the open doorway of the downward stairwell, he sees Anneca is clearly trying to ready herself for a renewed fight down below in the engine room. He cannot see Gemma or her attacker from where he is, but the sounds of combat from the bottom of the stairwell are clear to him. He also hears some type of commotion on the other side of the closed hatchway door where Anneca is at - as he was approaching the shouting seems to be authoritative and a distinctive military tone to it.
As Ifris Lanvaldan brings herself to full stance by the forward ladderway, the marine honor guard known as Corporal Divianne Athel cannot but help to stare at her openly with her mouth open. As a fellow marine, Athel knows full well who the constable is, and what the stories about her from the last war are. ”Lieutenant…I mean Constable Lanvaldan! Here!” Athel has taken up a firing position with cover behind some barrels, aiming her Pemberton musket at the closed doorway leading aft towards the port-side stairwells. ”There’s intruders m’aam! They’re just on the other side and won’t declare themselves…I was on solo duty guarding the magazine rooms when I heard the shots fired at the aft V.I.P. rooms!” Athel has her musket at the ready, prepared to fire into the door at the first sign of opening or order given.
What cannot be overlooked is that the silvery arcs of lightning-like energy in the Capacitor are much more present and active now, bathing the entire forward areas of the berth deck in silvery light…
Still burned with bloody blisters across his face and arms, the saboteur Jenner continues to turn a metal wheel valve counter-clockwise, his determination clear despite his painful injuries and the fight by the stairwell just paces away from him. Clenching his jaw as he gives the wheel valve a final turn, he takes the strange brown bulbous-head wand in his other hand and touches it to the valve – from Gemma’s position she can clearly see the metal wheel almost instantly rusts from contact with the wand, flakes of rusted metal falling to the ground in a small heap on the engine deck floor. With a final touch the saboteur smacks at the rusted wheel with his wand hand, snapping it off with ease. ”I got one down Ost! The other’s over starboard side!” He looks at his fellow Ostman expectantly, clearly hesitating if he should join the fray or move on to his next act of sabotage.
Sorkana’s whereabouts are utterly unclear, as she was last known to be in the furnace room forward of the boiler engine room. For Gemma, the waves of heat emanating from the open hatchway to the furnace room has clearly elevated over the time of the tour when the ship was actually at speed…and she hears some sort of groaning of metal from there as if under tremendous strain.
Tactical Map, Berth Deck Aft
Tactical Map, Berth Deck Fwd
Tactical Map, Engine Deck Aft
_________________
Brows furrowed, Ifris regards the unusual discharges of energy with momentary concern. Without an engineer, however, these mysterious discharges are of less immediate concern than the idea of armed insurgents in the below-decks. Ifris breaks into a run, boots slamming on the metal grating below as she clears the ladder. With her blade-laden hand, she gestures to the Corporal to watch the door as she moves into position. When she reaches the end of the grating, Ifris comes to a momentary stop, feeling the tingling surge of adrenaline running down her arms and burning in her chest. "Be ready for anything," Ifris warns the Corporal.
Willem remembers the Coaltongue tour and map that there is a ladder at the front of the ship on the berthing deck level. He enters the little room where Anneca is and whispers to her, ::Anneca, keep 'em busy, I am goin' to sneak up on them from behind. There is a ladder up front and please excuse me?:: Willem goes through the door next to Anneca {AI 15} and enters the crew berthing deck running to the front ladder {at AL 20} or as far as he can go.
"GO ON JEN! I GOT YOU COVERED!" With a snarl the big man takes an overhand swing at Gemma's right shoulder to try and shatter it, but once again she parries it easily with her sabre, sending the wrench aside to bounce against the metal railing. With her sabre protecting her right side however, Ostman shifts his stance and takes a step to directly block her access off the stairwell, giving Jenner time to escape.
Ifris sprints across the berth deck to the far port-side doorway where marine guard Athel has heard the disturbances - she knows the door opens outwards towards her, with the hinges on the side away from her, making whomever opens it an easy target for her golden blade. Athel nods once to her and steels herself, reading her musket to give Ifris supporting fire. Suddenly the door opens...
As Willem whispers to Anneca and then throws open the door into the main part of the berth deck beyond, he takes a step inside to find his comrade-in-arms Ifris ready to run him through with a blade made of golden energy, her body and free hand encased in similar armor of amber-colored light. He's always heard about her "gift" but has never seen it up close...and certainly not on the receiving end. Almost secondarily he sees a Risuri Marine just several feet away under cover of some stacked barrels, a loaded musket aimed squarely at his chest - he remembers her as the hapless marine guard who was posted at the forward magazine doors during the tour earlier, quipping to Petty Officer Aughtbrook that she hoped to snatch something to eat before all the food was gone.
Willem quickly sees both that Ifris and the Marine are ready to do him in, he raises up his hands in a surrendering position while pointing his pepperbox pistol at the top bulkhead and quickly identifies himself, "Constable Willem Muhnee and we are under a sabotage attack! We have no time for proper challengin' procedures and follow me if you want to save the King, and ship!"
Anneca glances over at Ifris as Willem fills her and another marine in on what has occurred. She's met the war hero a few times, but never had much of a conversation with her. "Come on, let's go!" She drinks the vial of healing magic to overcome the injuries, warming her body with vital strength. She steps behind Gemma and raises up her blunderbuss to open fire upon the saboteurs. "Duchess Evelyn's handmaiden is trying to destroy the ship," she explains over her shoulder. "She is an eladrin!"
Gemma continues to fight with her opponent, pleased that she made the first hit and even more pleased that he hasn’t made any. She shouts back to Anneca before striking at the man again. ”Anneca! The other man has a wand that he’s using to rust the valves to keep them open! We need to shut the system down if we can’t get to the eladrin!
She then makes a vicious strike upon the man named Ostman. It is quick and near lethal and exactly what she had been hoping for. Her steel digs deep into the man's shoulder and across his chest, causing him to bleed profusely. She hopes it will be enough to down him so that she can move on to the next target before everything gets blown to bits.
"Nay, Ifris and Marine follow me, I will explain on the way out of here" With the look of frustration on his face, "Trust me or at least until we reach our next goal?! Willem starts heading toward the ship's fore ladder well to the engine deck at the front of the ship.
On the way, in the middle of the ship or the main berthing deck, staying clear of the metal grate in the center of the ship for air circulation, and out of ear shot, Willem quickly explains, "There is a bottle neck at the ladder well where Anneca and Gemma are fightin', we'll never get down there 'til Gemma and/or Anneca are dead. In addition, if we come from the opposite direction such as the front of the ship, not many people can fight a (2) front battle. Thirdly, they are trying to blow up the ship by causin' the steam to build up. It will be worse than or almost as worse than if the magazine blew up. If we shut down the boiler, there will be no or little more steam generated and if I remember the tour and map correctly, the fire box is in the room below the front ladder well to do just that. Lastly, Emerson and Arthur are finishin' up securin' the aft of the ship and retrievin' the Ship Wizard's Gem. At which time, they can offer the ship or Anneca and Gemma aid."
Willem then speaks to the Marine using his knowledge of military procedures, "And Marine, if your orders are to sound general quarters in event of an attack of any sort, then you must do your duty! We Constables were told to be discreet but the military does not follow RHC mandate. This is a flag ship of the Risurian Fleet with the King on board! If you were also told to be discreet, then follow us but be ready to sound general quarters or abandoned ship if things continue to worsen!"
Willem said more than he wanted because of the time crunch but he needs them to follow him and/or sound general quarters if ordered to do so.
"Muhnee," all business. A look through the door to the sounds of combat has Ifris briefly questioning whether or not the others should be left behind, but Muhnee knows his peers—with the exception of Emerson—better than Ifris does. "I'm not an engineer," sounds more apologetic than informative as Ifris turns from the door to follow alongside Muhnee, "So unless you want me to cut the engine in half, I don't know how much help I'm going to be with that part. How many hostiles have we confirmed?" In spite of Willem's mention of the ladder, Ifris looks to be heading to the nearby stairs; whether that is to split up and come at the below deck from two directions or some other internal reasoning isn't clear.