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As Sven climbs up to the deck of the ship he whistles through his teeth (the remaining ones)
Heyhey, not bad, Cat! So, where's the rum?
The other pirates also look expectantly at Cat and Winter.
Meanwhile - above in the crow's nest, Mercus snickers
I bet Winter will preach a sermon now about sowing and harvesting, heh!
Cat flashes a smile at Sven in response to his remark.
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"Are his words lost on you, child? I happen to find Winter's teachings to be very inspiring. Every flock must have someone to lead them, Winter may not always bear the headwinds, but I support his decisions. He is a good man, and this world would be better for more of him. So tell me, Mercus, have you ever prayed to any of the Divines?"
Sable smiles as he watches the young human for a moment while they converse. He turns to his raven and speaks in Elven.
Winter notes the expectant looks of Croats men, and decides it best to get everyone on the same hymn sheet.
"Welcome aboard this fine vessel. You have been invited here because there is an opportunity for us to work together to have share in a great bounty. It seems the former owner of this ship was a man set upon an evil path who didn't see the good sense in hospitality or doing right by his neighbour, and his pursuit of untempered bastardry has seen him end up providing a feast for the sharks and crabs that inhabit this Bay. It is a sad fact that he led many other men to an equal fate."
"By now, you all know who I am and what I stand for. You know the names of my friends and family here, and you know of the deeds we have done, and importantly, you know why we have done these things"
"I work for the cause of the greater good, Erastil guided me to Riddleport, and it was there that my eyes were opened to the enormous tasks ahead of me, the task of working for charity and welfare, that I do what I can and what I must to ensure basic food and shelter should be available to the destitute. Look to the works of St Casperians, where vile men preying on the weak and destitute were driven out so the poor souls could be provided a chance to better their sorry lot in life and earn honest toil. The funds from that drawn from my own pocket, the coin mattering less to me than seeing the value of mens souls freshly shining and renewed with hope... think about that for one day it could be you and yours lying destitute upon a street, and wouldn't you pray for me to be there at that time to welcome you home with open arms?"
"So here we sit on a boat, on an island that is crawling with nastiness and evil, the real sort of Evil, not the base nastiness of one man to another, bit the primordial Evil from the depths of the Abyss. And here are my stalwart friends again ready to drive it away"
"Croat and some of his men have ventured forward into that den of Evil, and are quite possibly in grave danger. Those men are your friends, family, and brothers. Those men need you to do the right thing and stand by them. To do so though, you must stand by us, guarding this ship whilst we advance to drive off the Evil and liberate its victims, and making this ship ready for our return and withdrawal from the Island in due course."
[b]"We reap what we sew, gentlemen, what fruit will your seeds bear?"[b]
Mercus smiles
Told you he will! then he looks at Winter and muses but you're right. He's a good man...if he is man at all. His skin looks like alabaster and his eyes have the colour of the large ice formations the Ulfen tell of in the taverns. the boy seems a bit surprised by own thoughts and comes to a concluding question He is no human, is he?
The worrld? The see nothing of the worrld, only what theirrr weak eyes can detect and their weak earrs hearr - we know that therrre is much morre out therrre.
----
During Winter's short speech, the expressions of the pirates change drastically. From greed to stalwart resolution.
Feck, he's right. We can drink rum later, now we have to do what we can to help our friends!
Sven says and lets his gaze wander over the ship
Trust us, this ship will be save and ready to leave the island as soon as you're back!
"Then good fortune will surely smile on us all"
Caterine smiles at Winter's seeming ability to coax the goodness from hearts of black and looks to fall in behind him on way to shadow and death.
Sebastian hearing noise on deck, comes up from below. Under his arm is the Captain's Log or The Book of Grudges as he has taken to calling it. It is a big book...it seems the Captain was very meticulous on how he planned many and various retribution. Coming back into the sunlight, he takes in the crowd of resolute thugs all gazing at Winter ready to follow him. He leans over to Caterine and whispers, "Welcome back. So....did I miss anything?"
Kabal slung the amulet around his neck and checked his weapons while Winter gave his sermon. He didnt have much use for the gods but he had to admit he appreciated the healing powers Erastil imparted to the priest. Plus it looked like Winter had turned the hearts of these men and that had to be a good thing for them. Slinging his pack back onto his shoulders he nodded that he was ready to roll out.
Bree lets out a quite sigh, disappointed that the peaceful moment has passed and it is now once again time for violence. She slides each of the four daggers she has hidden about her body out to check them once more before sliding them back into place. She checks her crossbow and counts her bolts, taking inventory of what weapons she has at her disposal. Finding that everything is present and accounted for, she moves to stand a few feet from Kabal, putting distance between herself and Korax as the bird descends from the crow's nest and offering Sable what she hopes is an apologetic smile at her obvious continued discomfort in the presence of his familiar.
Mercus follows Sable down the mast and the boy even reaches the deck before the witch
Flying is all cool, but a monkey is faster on a ship, heh.
As he notes Kabal's grim determination, the smile on his face freezes and he tightens the strap of his helm.
Once everyone is ready your small heavily armed group marches toward the cliff once more. Sven, Samaritha and the other pirates remain behind on the ship.
Close to the sea cave you come upon a place of battle:
Bodies of pirates and akatas litter the ground - at least twenty humans and about thirty of the alien lions have lost their life here. Pruple vultures sit on the bodies and glare at you, obviously they have already occupied the site.
That minus the men who went with Sven... Mercus calculates for a moment oh...guess Croat has only about a dozen left.
Caterine's face is grim enough, but it is more with concern for her own life rather than the loss of the pirates. "Lets leave the carrion to the birds... we've enough death ahead of us to not worry with seeking out more"
Pressing onwards, alarmed by the carnage behind you, you quickly reach the bluff with the cave in it. A ragtag band of Croat's men, all heavily wounded have made up a small camp next to the big rock Samaritha used as vantage point. One of the men spots you and raises his arm
Stop! Who's there?
Your gods damned saviors, thats who it is. None of you boys recognize us? Get Aaron or Croat then.
Kabal stood with his arms crossed on his chest and that 'brook no argument' look writ plain on his face.
Winter leaves the conversation alone. If the party is being asked questions then they aren't facing the evils of these caves... its what dwells in the silence and darkness that weighs on his mind...
Instead he looks to the depths of the inky darkness.
Croat an' Aron? the pirate turns around and points at the ledge
Went this way, some hours ago. We couldn't follow, the blue monsters, ye know, they attacked us and we wouldn't help much in a fight now.
Acrobatics
You boys do look like you got into a tangle with something alot meaner and whole lot uglier. Still, by the number of dead akatas back there you gave a good accounting of yourselves. Scars well earned. We're going in.
Kabal waited until it was time to cross and then made his way across the precarious edge.
Acrobatics -
Acrobatics:
Though her hands turn clammy at the thought, Caterine steps towards the ledge attempting to swallow her fear and make the passage without plummetting to her doom. To her surprise even more so than to her team-mates, she makes the trip without perilously tumbling.
Sebastian spends a little too much time looking over the edge, until he nearly loses his balance. Expending a little more concentration, he follows the others without mishap.
More or less ...catlike... you make it back into the darkness of the sea cave. The walls glisten with dampness and Mercus can't avoid a deep sigh
Home sweet home...
The silence in the cave is nearly complete, only the monotonous sound of the waves forms an underlying melody.
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”So then, a little caution in our progress. We shall remain slow and steady to avoid walking into dark acts of treachery. No doubt traps and ambushes have been laid in wait, especially now that the Drow have had a pirate sortie come down here and they no doubt suspect a second wave of rescuers which has lost the initiative I’d hoped we might gain by the delay in us returning”
”Bree, I’d like you up front checking for what traps might lay in wait for us. I will follow behind you and periodically sense ahead of us for magic and the presence of evil. Between your clever mind and roguish cunning and the gifts I channel from Erastil we might avoid any treachery”
Bree nods her head to Winter's request, a dagger in each hand she waits for his word to move out. Already she is scanning the area ahead of them, looking for any sign of ambush or trap.
Caterine follows as Winter requests, with newly won whip in hand.
Kabal falls into place near the front of the group with his trusty falcata in hand and shield held tight in the other. He kept his eyes peeled and was looking forward to killing some evil drow.
As you move around the first corner, back into the room where you killed the two drow guards during your first visit, you suddenly hear a voice from the right hand tunnel
Aye - look who's 'ere!
Behind a barricade made from rubble, debris and several pirate bodies, you spot a straw-haired pirate who's waving his cutlass. A moment later the man is pulled aside and Aron appears behind the makeshift barricade
Ha! What are you doing here?
"Looks like we're here to save your arse Aron... what in the nine hells are you doing here?"
Winter remains vigilant, avoiding discussion... the Demon clealry weighing on his mind.
Yeah well, you gotta do what the boss tells you, heh! And I already knew that you like my arse, your eyes have betrayed you all the time on the ship, hah!
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Kabal grinned at the typical shite talking despite the roles seemingly being reversed...this guy should be checking out Cat's arse...or Bree's bosom for that matter...hahaha... He chuckled aloud at his own thoughts and tried to sober up. This was neither the time nor the place for those thoughts. He wished some drow would show and distract him.
Smirking "Careful now... you've also seen the welts this can leave" holding up her coiled whip "Where's Croat?"
Bree waits patiently, ready to continue her scouting but not until the group is ready to move again. In the meantime, she stands point and continues to watch and listen.
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In the back, Sebastian turns to Mercus. "Don't think they are just leaving us in the back. You got a very important job. While Kabal and Winter are chopping up dark elves it is your job to make sure nothing sneaks up behind us. Got that. Don't get too caught up in the yelling and clashes of steel, or the crack of Cat's whip or the flames that Sable conjures...forget all that. These Drow are sneaky and these passages twists all about, so concentrate on the area around you and don't let them catch us unawares. Come the end of this you will have a fine tale to tell."
The boy nods, grins and winks at Sebastian
How come you think I was thinking they were leaving us in the back? I've heard tales of the warlords of old, they always kept their best troops away from the initial onslaught - you see, we are the elite!
Aron shrugsand points at the darkness that leads further into the cave
Yeah well, he went that way, while we barricaded here, next to that freaky bird-girl. She's screaming in a fashion that turns your balls to ice, every now and then - if you ask me, this whole cave is a ghost train, hah!
"Then let us move onward, our talk will only herald our arrival"
Winter nods to Bree to resume her checking and pulls the party in so they can continue 'caterpillaring' forward.
Kabal shook his head but grinned at Sebastian and Sable's schooling of Mercus and was glad to hear the boy's positive outlook...most lads and some men wouldve soiled their shorts at half of what he's seen but he maintains. He'll make a good soldier...if he survives long enough...
at Aron's remark he couldnt help but ask What bird-girl?
Bree nods to Winter's signal, but seeing as the others aren't quite done talking to Aaron and his men yet, she waits until they are gathered. She too is a bit curious to hear about the bird-girl.
"Bird who what now?"
Yeah well, behind us is a cave, but we can't enter it - a force field or something... noticing Mercus' arched eyebrow he adds Hey, I'm no wizard - it's some kind of invisible barrier...anyway, imprisoned in that cave is a thing, half woman, half bird and she looks pretty sad...and dead...don't ask me what she wants, she just moans and laments all the time.
Winter stops abruptly.
"I think I know what that is about..."
Winter plucks the ring from his pocket, and walks towards where the birdwoman is supposed to be.
"Disquiet spirit, I come to free you from your sadness" he calls ahead as he approaches.
Aron arches an eyebrow and looks at you as if you were demented
Hey buddy, you don't have to marry her right now, ye know, she's got lots of time I think, why don't the two of you meet later when...
he stops abruptly as the the ghost suddenly begins to materialise behind the invisible barrier.
The body of a flightless bird with the head of a most beautiful woman. She looks at the ring and tears begin to run down her cheeks...
Oh feck, this is crazy!
Aron mutters behind you.
Having no idea what Winter was doing; Kabal couldnt agree more with Aron.
No sh1t bub...but Winter knows what he's about.
"I bring this token as a sign we come as friends."
Winter looks for what might be keeping the barrier in place.
Caterine watches in respectful silence.