Giggles crumples to the floor bleeding heavily from his wounds. The man with the wand smiles, "Oh good, you've taken out the trash, now perhaps Gaedren will pay me more."
"You'll get NOTHING from Gaedren now! He's DEAD!" Jolon cries.
He looks to the left and right, trying to determine the best course of action, and then dashes back around, barging past Cecil on the way to attempt to flank the pair of enemies by the door.
Yargos blanches and begins looking extremely worried. "Dead? That won't do at all." Realizing how close Jolon and Alyosia are getting to him he thrusts his wand at them screaming, "Stay back! I'll use this you know!"
"Sire-ray! Confound it, why won't this blasted thing work? I paid too much gods-damned money to let this thing not work!" Yargos begins shaking the wand while holding it like the throat of someone he wants to strangle. Realizing the wand won't work for him again for some time he pulls a flask out of a pouch on his belt and readies to throw it.
Giggles continues to slip away on the floor.
See Jolon come barrelling down the toward her, she presses herself against the wall to let him pass. As he passes, she say, "Push him out the door, I'll help cover your back from the tiny one!"
Cecil has no idea what spell the mage was trying to use. It probably wouldn't be any help in a fight anyways.
He does, however, shoot a ray of frost at the guy while he's distracted. His cantrip isn't very powerful, but he hopes he can distract the guy from the heavily armed companions bearing down on him.
Gamon moves towards the "mage" and takes a hearty swing at him as he attempts to pull a bubbling flask from a pouch. The mans arm, contorted at an odd angle to grab the flask, barely deflects the blade from his throat.
"Got it!" Jolon says as he dashes by, moving towards the man with the wand.
The gnome jumps in the way of Gamon's swing, "Hey pal, the one you're fighting!" His tune swiftly changes as Gamon's swing cuts a large gash across his chest. He squeaks and runs past his companion . "Sorry, Yargos, you're on your own!"
Yargos, for his part, pales and looks at the group arrayed before him, swallowing audibly.
Jolon advances, pointing his sword at this Yargos.
"Tell me, Yargos...what loyalty do you HAVE to Gaedren anyway? Do you really want to follow the old man down there?"
He jerks his head to the side, indicating the bloody froth coming up from the water.
"There's still time for you. You can leave, you can try to make things right...and when your time comes and you stand before Pharasma, you'll have no regrets. But if you're so eager to commit to this course, then this blade will send you to her now."
Yargos emits a high-pitched shriek before rushing out the door dropping several objects in his wake.
Nearly braining himself running through the door he only just manages to crawl through nearly on his hands and knees to escape.
Cecil lets out a pent-up breath.
"You know what? I don't even care anymore." he says. Then, suddenly, he becomes incredibly agitated. "S@@@! He could have told me where she is!" he exclaims, running over to where Yargos fled. "Dammit!" he growls. He stoops and picks up the dropped items. "Better take Jolon's advice... Or I'll find you... bastard."
"Yeah, I'd not believe it a real wand if I didn't see the aura on it." he comments, tucking it away for now. He'd have to have a colleague look at it later, it wasn't the time right now.
Picking up the keys, he holds them out. "Let's go free the kids." Cecil says. "I hope we find my daughter."
Aloysia sets to checking the door near Cecil for traps and any other forms of unhappiness.
Then, she moves back to where she found the coffer and starts investigating that for locks, traps, etc.
The vials picked up earlier smell absolutely vile, though it is a common unguent known as 'vermin repellent'. Inside the coffer are 20 small packets, each containing a dose of shiver.
This foul-smelling room seems to be a combination bedroom and study. A wooden bed with a lumpy mattress stands against the east wall, while a round table heaped with dirty plates, bread crusts, stained goblets, fruit rinds, and scuttling cockroaches sits nearby. At the foot of the bed sits a large strongbox; a slightly rusted lock secures it and a moldy ledger with pages rippled from moisture sits atop its lid. A sagging dresser filled with moth-eaten clothes well past their glory days is in one corner. What appears to be a wooden hatbox surrounded by a small cloud of flies sits atop this dresser.
The footlocker is opened with the iron key from Gaedren's corpse. Inside the items are individually wrapped and tied with twine.
There doesn't appear to be a way up to the upper floor of the fishery except through a hole so small even a Halfling would have trouble fitting through it. Looking outside you see Hookshanks and Yargos have left the secret door to the ship wide open in their frenzy to flee.
Jolon smiles grimly at Yargos' retreat. There'd been too much death already this night. A breeze flutters around him and he feels a sense of rightness and familiarity as he sheaths his sword. His mother must finally have found peace, or smiled on him or...something. With this newfound power he was only beginning to test, he wasn't sure of anything.
He walks over to Aloysia and observes her opening the door, wincing in disgust at the squalor Gaedren apparently lived in. Then she opens the hatbox and he gasps in shock.
"Not this year, not yet!" he says, tracing a spiral on his chest. "This...this head has been rotting for weeks! If that's...if that's Zellara's head, then who did we speak to at the house?!"
Cecil comes in the room and witnesses head in the hatbox. He looks at the rest of the group. "I told you, there were illusions over EVERYTHING in that house!" he quips. "Though I am not surprised she came back to demand revenge. This looks personal."
The deck is clearly the most magical thing in the room, though several other objects glow as well. It has a moderate divination aura, though it is just this side of a strong magical aura.
"I suspect that this deck was how Zellara managed to reach out to us beyond the grave." Cecil says.
He scratches his chin. "May I carry the deck for now? I think I can identify it given enough time... And I am getting ideas for my next novel. "
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"Hmm, shiver, I can probably use this on a target," she says to herself.
Heading into the room with everyone else she peers around at the filth. When the hatbox is opened, she says, "Well that's unexpected! And creepy...I don't particularly like the idea of the dead talking to me." As she finishes the statement she tosses the valuable coffer in with the pile of other valuables the group has found.
Aloysia turns to Cecil, "Go for it, I certainly don't want to hold on to it. However," she picks up the key-shaped dagger, "I would love it if you could give this a look over! Also, Lamm's dagger too. It looked awfully fine!"
As she looks at the pile she notices the brooch and racks her brain to see if she remembers seeing anything like it before.
Gamon shudders at the sight of Zellara's head, looking away immediately before asking, Is there anything else you're noticing as magical, Cecil? If not we should likely just pack up what we want to take and move on.
"Ah, yes. Let me go over this all." Cecil murmurs, re-casting detect magic and looking over the rest of the gathered equipment.
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Jolon lowers his head and prays.
"Wise one, be at peace this night. Know that your murderer stands before Pharasma in judgment and the poison of his corruption will harm no one ever again. May Pharasma and your ancestors look on you with honor when you stand before them at the peak of the Spire, and may you find your reward in eternity. So let it be."
He extends his hand towards the severed head at the end of the prayer, and hear's the end of Alyosia's quip.
"It takes some getting used to, I'll admit. Though the dead have been talking to me for a few years now. My mother was here, just now...I felt it. She was proud of me for avenging her."
He turns back to Zellara's head.
"We should see if we can find the rest of her. We can't send her to the Great Sky like this."
Jolon starts looking to see if there's more of Zellara's body just...lying around. Gaedren seemed like the kind of despicable man who'd do that.
Looking around there you cannot find any indication of Zellara's body. Considering Gaedren's favorite pet is Gobblegut you can only guess that's where she ended up.
Jolon glares at no one in particular.
"We need to kill that alligator. He likely ate Zellara's remains."
"It's not going anywhere right now." Cecil says, tucking the Magic Missile wand into his belt and carefully putting the Harrow Deck into his pocket. "I need to find my daughter first."
Jolon frowns but nods.
"You're right. Before we tend to the dead, the living must be protected. Lead the way, Cecil."
You follow Hookshanks' and Yargos' trail of fear out the door and up to the secret door in the hull of the ship. Dark and dank, the ship’s hold smells of mildew. Several barrels, crates, and other containers lie stacked here and there. Dust and grime cover the floor, except where river water has collected in puddles. You hear scuttling and see four spiders the size of cats working their way towards you.
"Watch out! Drain spiders!" he shouts, drawing his new wand." Their poison isn't bad but they can swarm you quickly!"
Cecil will give the wand a flick and test fire a Magic Missile at the closest of the spiders.
Gamon quickly moves to the front of the group at Cecil's shout, sees two tiny spiders right next to each other and attempts to crush both with the flat of his axe, failing miserably.
A bolt of blue energy leaves the tip of Cecil's wand and pummels one of the spiders, but it still seems agitated.
Aloysia, mildly distracted by the concept of fancy armaments is a bit slow to react to the group moving about. "Do you boys mind if I take this fine dagger?"
As she studies the dagger, the sound of the others leaving the building finally snaps her to attention. "Oh, I'm coming!" she says as she puts her old dagger in her backpack.
As they get to the secret door and open it she says in response to Cecil's wand us, "What's going on in there? I can't see anything!"
Jolon follows after Cecil and draws his blade again. Upon hearing Gamon swing at the creatures Cecil had just identified, he squeezes in after him and takes a swing at the spiders Gamon just tried to hit, his half-orc eyes seeing just fine in the dark.
Jolon manages to squish the spider that had been hit by the force bolt, the other nimbly leaping away from the blade at the last second.
The spiders begin to swarm Jolon and Gamon, each lunging from far out to administer their poison.
Jolon and Gamon's armor keeps the venomous vermin away from their skin.
Cecil resorts to standing back and letting the two meleeists handle the spiders, he'll worry about them if they start to get past Jolon and Gamon somehow.
Aloysia steps up behind Gamon to get a look at the room. She tries to line up to stab at the spider on the left, but just can't see him well enough to get in a swing.
Gamon barely sidesteps two spiders, lashing out at one with his axe, but again failing to connect.
Jolon turns his attention to the next spider within reach. He takes a swing at the critter. It agilely skitters away as the blade whuffs harmlessly through the air.
The spiders continue their attack, this time getting up close and personal.
Gamon swats one spider out of the air on reaction, before turning his attention to a second.
Seeing her opportunity arise, she strikes before the opening is lost.
Jolon takes another swing at the spiders.
Gamon swats one of the spiders before it can reach him, and though Aloysia is able to stab the second it still lands a quick bite. Jolon misses as the spider comes in allowing it to bite him and dump some of its venom into his veins, stealing some strength from his body. His follow-up swing flattens it entirely.
Aloysia again sets herself in position ready to strike at the next opportunity.
Cecil's ray freezes the spider in its tracks. One applied boot later and all that is left is swiftly melting ice dust.
The group climbs the stairs and winds up in a cabin of the ship. The air in this room is thick and musty. Thick sheets of cobwebs hang from the walls and mounds of blankets, cushions, and straw clutter the floor.
Another spider stands before the doorway and moves to attack as you ascend the stair!
Cecil opens up with his oft-used cantrip before they close into melee and make aim harder.
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Jolon grunts in pain and can feel his sword grow heavier in his hand as the venom saps his strength. Nevertheless, he readies himself to fight the next spider.
Gamon steps up with another swing, lashing out with a low strike in an attempt to catch the spider's many legs.
Cecil's ray strikes the ceiling causing a small shower of rotten boards to drop on your heads.
Gamon and Jolon are able to crush the spider in a flurry of gizzard goo and chitin before everyone makes it to the deck outside. The rotten deck of this ancient sailing ship seems to be barely intact; its hull is worn and thick with seaweed and barnacles. The ship is held together primarily by the layers of old rope that lash it securely to the pilings that support the fishery and the nearby boardwalk. The rickety walkway leads along the ship’s starboard, a foot below its railing. A single wooden door leading into the aft cabin bears a crude painting of a red fish on its surface.
Moving slowly on the ever-groaning boards of the boardwalk is a harrowing experience knowing you recently chased a shark away from the cold, cold waters 13 feet below your boots. Opening the first door you come to you find yourselves in a small office.
A wooden desk sits in one corner of this room, its side preventing the western door from opening all the way. The table is heaped with dozens of slate boards covered with chalk scrawls, while to the east a cabinet slouches against the wall.