After tending to the girl, Ayako follow sher companions.
A slippery boardwalk clings to the side of the fishery, held together by barnacle-thick pilings that have been worn halfway through their thickness at the waterline. The wooden planks here creak and groan as you step on them.
The dock is very slippery. As long as you navigate it slowly, there’s little chance of disaster but if you were to move faster, you might slip and fall. In addition, the old wood does not seem to be able to support much weight. If you were to stand in one spot for too long or if you were to group together, the wood might collapse.
Once you get near the end of the pier, you get a better view of the ship moored to the end of the dock. The name "Kraken's Folly" is painted on the side of the barge although most of the lettering has peeled off with age. The rotten deck of the this ancient barge seems to be barely intact, its hull worn and thick with seaweed and barnacles. The barge 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. A single wooden door leading into the aft cabin bears a crude painting of a red fish on its surface.
Nadya feels a creak beneath her feet and takes a closer look at the boardwalk, "We need to be careful. This walkway to not maintained. We need to move slowly, but not linger in one place. Too fast and we will slip off, too slow and even the weight of one of us might cause it to collapse and drop into the water." Nadya keeps moving, slowly, but moving forward.
She's right, I best watch my step. Calling ahead to his companion,Sabastian slow down.
Ayako slows her steps and makes sure to keep spread out from the others.That ship looks like it couldn't support a child, much less Lamm.
Ayako's statement rings true. The barge looks like it is in even worse shape that the walkway. The rotting deck probably won't support any of you.
Despite the darkness and the rain, you make out a large dark form gliding beneath the surface of the water. You estimate its length to be about 8 feet. Tiora's statement about the sharks appears to be accurate.
"Ayako is right. That deck won't support any of us. Not only that, but it looks like there is an eight foot long shark down there waiting in the water. We might need to find another way down."
At his companions' remarks, Sebastian stops in his tracks. Switching his attention from looking for movement, he looks around at his surroundings. The barge does indeed look like it would collapse in a stiff breeze, and the shadow in the water doesn't look friendly.
Turning back, he shakes his head. "This is useless. Wake the bloody half-orc and feed him to the shark if he doesn't talk. I can swim to the damn underpier while Giggles keeps the shark entertained."
Very well, no reason to risk ourselves any more than needed. Ayako will head back with the others to Giggles.
It would be best if we searched these rooms and villains, as I suggested earlier. Col complains.
Col spends five minutes quickly sorting through the three henchmen's belongings and the cabinet that Giggles was going through. All together he collects the following items:
Off Yargin: wand*, acid (2), tanglefoot bag (2), thunderstone, leather armor, dagger, light crossbow with 10 bolts, garnet amulet*, cabinet key
Off Hookshanks: studded leather armor (small), kukri (small), disguise kit
Off Giggles: studded leather armor, light shield, flail, cabinet key
The cabinet contains six small pouches, four of which contain 50 cp. The remaining two each contain 50 sp.
Wand of acid splash (27 charges)
The garnet amulet is worth 100 gp.
Ayako furrow sher brow at the strange wand. I do not know what this might be. Hmm...
Perhaps we can check the room with the desk and slatesthat was blocking the door. We should be able to get in via the walkway room.
"Oh really now, just turn out the dead men's pockets? How very noble of you, Col."
"It shoot balls of acid is what it does," huffs Sebastian. There was something unnerving about Ayako, and he didn't like the way she was holding that wand.
Men! Is that the only thing hey can think of?
Perhaps we can check the room with the desk and slates that was blocking the door. We should be able to get in via the walkway room.
This is the fishery’s office. The slates on the table are covered with transaction records, addresses of customers, and other accounting notes. Scrolls stored in the cabinet appear to have messily compiled notes of previous months' records. The paperwork could probably be used to prove legitimacy of the slurry business should any Guard attempt an inspection.
Fool of a boy Col thinks and goes over to Ayako. Let me give you a hand with that, reaching for the wand.
Col takes out a small alchemist kit, dropping a clear liquid into a beaker, he then rubs a small white piece of paper along the wand and drops the paper into the beaker with the water. It takes about 4 seconds for the paper in the beaker to turn a dark black. It is definitely magical, perhaps what Sebastian says is true but I really cant tell.
"What do you mean 'perhaps'?" says Sebastian indignantly. "He pointed it at me and gobs of acid narrowly missed my head! The wall still has marks from where it hit, for gods' sake!" He throws an arm out, pointing back into the room where Hookshanks had fallen.
In any event, I will try to rouse Giggles.
Ayako applies some simple first aid to Giggles and after a few minutes his one eye slowly opens. The grin on his face quickly turns to a frown when he sees that it is your group that aroused him and not his comrades.
"I might not be tha' smart but I knows tha' ya be needin' somethin' from me. Otherwise, you'd of stuck me by now. Seein' tha' yous are all bein' so generous. Maybe we can come to some arrangement where we all leave this place alive, eh?"
Well letting you go is alright by me. What we need to know is how do we find Lamm without going through that hole in the floor.
Giggles replies, "Gaedren uses a skiff ta get ta 'is den below. Since he be down dere, 'is skiff be docked underneath as well but dere should be a second skiff anchored out back as well. Jus' watch yer step. Hurhurhur. Dere's a water entrance under da north side of da fishery. When you be done with Gaedren dere, maybes ol' Giggles will start 'is own orphanage. I got good people skills. Hurhurhur."
I think seeing if the queen needs a court fool would be better.
Col approaches Giggles and asks, is there anyone else down there with him or anything down there other then sharks? Col waits for an answer and then asks, Are there any traps?
Giggles answers Col, "Gaedren trusts no one. He keeps 'is own company. Da only one down dere with 'im would be 'is pet gator, Gogglegut. Oh and tha' boy we sent down da hole. Never got 'is name. Don't care 'bout dese bastards anyways. Gaedren loves ta play with da bad kids in da playround. He plays real rough though. Hurhurhur."
"Traps?...Naw. Gaedren ain't got no talent fer traps. He wouldn't trust anyone else ta set one up neither."
Well we best get going then.
Nodding his head in ascent, Col picks out a tanglefoot bag and the thunder stone from the recovered equipment, and places them on his belt. He then purposely walks over to Giggles while he says One last thing before we go, and Col punches the half-orc again. I'm not leaving this one awake to stab me in the back. When the party is ready he begins to make his way to the skiff.
Col knocks out Giggles again with a punch to the jaw and the party heads back around to the dock. A brief search reveals an old skiff stowed away hidden under the dock. It was concealed well amidst the rain and shadows but since you knew what you were looking for, you were able to find it. It is a tight squeeze for the four of you on a boat made for two, but it holds and you make your way around to the northern side of the fishery.
A narrow space exists under the fishery, with about four feet of room between the floor of the building above and the languid, foamy river water below. Wooden pilings support the building, and moss and cobwebs hang thick from ropes and rusted chains between them. A wooden walkway floats on the river surface, winding along the inner wall of pilings that supports the building’s frame above, leading from the sodden barge to the east all the way west to a wooden door that leads into an understructure below the fishery’s landbound half.
You find another skiff moored to the underpier when you arrive (Most likely the one Gaedren Lamm used). The large shadow of a shark swims in lazy circles under the fishery here.
The darkness has no secrets from Ayako and she peers about, looking for where Lamm might be hiding. She is rather concerned about the shark, hoping Lamm doesn't keep it as a pet.
Look, there is a door over there.
A door? I can't see anything, a little light please.
Ayake moves her hand in a brief dance and a small ball of light appears.
The bobbing water reflects the light and creates an eerie dancing web of shadows amidst the multitude of dangling moss, ropes, and chains. Thunder and lighting flash nearby further heightening the mood for your showdown.
Col removes a flask filled with a greenish liquid from his belt pouch and consumes the contents. He then gets out of the skiff crouches and stealthily makes his way towards the door.
Ayako follows Cole and the others to the door.
Last to examine the wand, Nadya chuckles softly "What do you know. Sebastian is right. It is a wand that casts a spell called acid splash. Rather nasty as Sebastian learned. I have no idea about that amulet though. Might just be a piece of costume jewelry."
Down below, Nadya refreshes the light spell on Sebastian's dagger and follows everyone toward the door. I hope that I will finally have answers. She keeps silent and gets ready, expecting one of the men to break open the door.
"Let's end this," says Sebastian as they arrive at the door. Waiting for everyone's assent, he shoulders the door open, dagger in hand.
Sebastian swings open the door.
The air in this large room is somewhat chilly and stinks of the river, no doubt thanks to a huge opening in the floor that drops away to the river shore five feet below. Several pilings emerge from the waters to support the roof above, with mossy ropes slung between them. In two places, rusty manacles hang from the ropes over the water. From one of the sets manacles the limp body of a young boy hangs by his ankles. In the other set of manacles, a rotting foot, is all that remains. Two five-foot-wide walkways cross the hole’s edge to the other side of the chamber, where a collection of old cabinets, lockboxes, and piles of clutter are strewn about. Chipped porcelain plates, a cracked goblet, badly rusted silverware, an old wooden shield with a crossbow bolt embedded in it, the odd dinged helm, and other “treasures” litter the floor of this entire chamber. Three tables, their tops heaped with additional clutter, stand amid this mess, while just west of that a wooden door seems to provide access to a walled-off section.
Gaedren Lamm, hunchbacked thieving snake, plague on Korvosa’s forgotten children, and all-around despicable wretch, sits at one of his tables and sorts the previous day’s catch, painstakingly examining, appraising, and cataloging everything. He quickly turns around when he hears the door open. Lamm is a jaundiced and bent corpse of a man, his eyes yellowed and skin speckled from age. You see his left leg carries a pronounced limp as he stands. He wears only a gray cotton robe.
He shouts, ”Who are you?! How did you get down here?! Wait…some of you look familiar. Ayako, is that you? Pretty as ever I see. And you brought a friend.” He glances in Nadya’s direction. ”You look very familiar too. Were you one of my Lambs as well? Have you come back to your shepherd?” He sneers at Col and Sebastian. ”I don’t recognize either of you? Have I wronged you in some way? If I did, I don’t care. I have no use for you. Unless you’d be willing to replace my guards you obviously were able to bypass. Girls, if they decline, shank them and you’ll gain my favor. I’ll treat you real well after that.” He chuckles.
”But if you’re thinking of taking on this old man here. Don’t get too hasty.” Moving with surprising speed, he grabs the end of a rope that was tied next to him. Following it along the ceiling, you see it’s the rope holding the boy above the pool. ”Be careful now, I’m not as young as I used to be. You wouldn’t want me to drop him now would you. I’ve been torturing this child all night and Gobblegut is not very patient. He’s been waiting for his meal and I bet he’s real cranky right now.”
Gaedren’s free hand slowly reaches behind his and finds a crossbow laying on the table and he aims it in your direction. ”Now, shall we have some fun?”
Gaedren fires his first shot into the water, narrowly missing the alligator, but the attack against it enrages the creature and it bellows and begins to thrash around.
When she hears the words, Nadya's memory snaps back to a hundred nightmares. More age worn, but unmistakable in its malice, she is certain it is the voice from her dreams. She resolves to do what she can to save the child. Moving carefully, Nadya steps over the boards, half watching for a trap she is sure has been set to flip her into the gator's pit. "Not one of yours old man!" she cries. But her greatest malice is saved for Gobblegut and she turns a harsh stare on the gator, hoping that if Lamm does drop the child, that she'll still be able to help save him.
Ayako doesn't even bother gracing Lamm with anything more than the look of someone quashing a dirty bug clambering over the table. She whispers softly and traces a symbol in the air, a little bit more magical energy leaving her and wrapping around her allies.
Nadya successfully curses the gator which then darts towards her angrily. It clambers against the edge of the pool but can't get enough purchase to pull itself out onto the slippery walkway and falls back in the water with a loud sploosh. However, it's only a matter of time before it succeeds.
Col quickly realizes he can reach the child and shouts,[b] I'll get the child[b] as he deftly climes the closest piling.
Sebastian is surprised at what he sees when he lays eyes on Gaedren Lamm. He had expected someone more imposing or sinister; this old man just looked like a pitiful beggar, decrepit and lame. But his hateful speech, the evil that falls from his lips, mark him as plain as day as the author of Korvosa's suffering. When Sebastian looks at the boy dangling from the chains, memories of Vincent flash back through his mind. Ignoring the frenzy in the waters below, Sebastian charges across the walkway toward Lamm. With a howl of rage, he flings his dagger at the hand holding the rope.
Gaedren howls in pain as Sebastian's dagger pierces his hand causing him to release the rope.
Gaedren panickedly fumbles with reloading his crossbow with an injured hand then fires back at Sebastian with surprising accuracy.
"No! Stay back!"
No Col thinks as the child begins to fall. Without thinking he reaches out and grabs the child.
Ayako steps forwards a few paces , her sling whirling above her head. No more waiting, Lamm. Time for sleep it is long past your bed-time.
Nadya's eyes go wide as the gator moves in, but she breathes a sigh of relief as it is unable to find a good purchase. "Let's see about keeping you down there until we're able to take care of things up here Gobblegut." She casts a spell on the gator and moves around the edge toward Lamm.
Gobblegut leaps up again to assail Nadya who's harassing it with spells and it appears as if it will succeed but at the last moment it slips and tumbles back into the murk.
Hanging on tightly to the child Col climbs down the piling to the deck below.
The bolt from Gaedren's crossbow flies true, punching a hole through Sebastian's armored jacket and burying itself in his side. Sebastian stumbles forward, howling in pain even as he draws his blade. "You snake! You disgusting worm! You are the vilest sludge from the darkest depths of the Abyss, you rotten pile of human filth!"
Sebastian's stream of insults is cut off by more pained wailing as he over-extends his strike, aggravating his wound.
Col swings down onto the walkway and leans the unconscious child up against the wall.
Gaedren stumbles out of the way of Sebastian's strike. At the same time he drops his crossbow and pulls a dagger out of his belt in a swipe across Sebastian's chest but fails to connect.
"I've thrived in this filth for more years than you've been alive boy and I'm not about to let you change that now."
Sebastian gets the sense that Gaedren was once a skilled rogue but now his age has crippled the cruel old man's abilities.
Nadya shoots another dirty look at the croc, "Don't you have a nice fish down there to go catch?!?" A vision of flashing teeth intrudes on her thoughts. Have I seen this gator before? She continues around the edge of the walkway, stepping in behind Lamm.