Dantes sneaks along behind Chumtooth, regularly imbuing him with additional arcane might.
Move to position on map, standard action to give Chumtooth a +2 enhancement bonus to strength for one round.
Satinder sees Chumtooth tear through the first opponent even as she herself guts hers.
"One-one, still tied friend!" she shouts and switches her attacks into the remaining human foe, as she sees the dogs come out from around the hut. She lunges closer to herself, making it easier to swipe in defense.
"Arcanists, have anything that will scare or fry dogs?" she cries out in general.
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Satinder's blade bites into her next foe, eliciting a yelp of pain, but the man remains on his feet. Behind her, Dantes further enhances Chumtooth even as the bigger man swats and then engulfs his opponent, literally biting the man in half!
The man remaining near Satinder strikes at her with his spear, but misses. The others move closer to her, another stabbing at her and having more luck. Victoriana directs the ball of fire to follow her foe. but he easily evades the flaming sphere.
The dogs snap at the captain, one of them grabbing her leg within its jaws, but it fails to pull her down.
Victoriana creates a second flaming sphere on one of the other pirates, then bounces the first one into the same target again.
Chumtooth flings the severed torso to the ground and rushes to aid his captain. As he closes the distance, he swings his morning star downward at one of the attacking dogs.
Satinder takes the blows and spits blood even as she kicks the dog that tried to haul her down.
When Chumtooth steps up, she releases some of the tension in her legs, as she was making ready to sprint away. She shifts low, her weight on the other foot as she pretends to step back, lunges quickly inside the mans armpit and stabs and twists.
She takes a small step back, and sighs.
"Take the wolves out! They try to drag you down, and will go for your throat!" she shouts commands at every one of her sailors.
Dantes quietly pads around one of the huts to where he hears Satinder calling out orders to bolster her with his arcane forces.
Double move to current location on map.
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Satinder swings at the man, dropping him in his tracks as Dantes moves in to support her. Chumtooth brings his morningstar into the skull of the nearest dog, but the agile animal twists at the last second, turning a deadly blow into a solid hit on it's front left leg. It yelps in pain, but keeps advancing, despite a bad limp.
Moving to a more advantageous position, a slaver slashes at Satinder, even as others approach. The blow goes low, the captain parrying the blade with a grin. Victoriana manifests a second flaming sphere, keeping the first one on the original target, but again the man manages to avoid injury. The second target is not so lucky and suffers a bad burn (though not enough to drop him).
The dogs press the attack, threatening to overwhelm Satinder and Chumtooth. As the dog moves in close, Chumtooth swings his morningstar at the animal, staving in its head. The other dog grabs hold of Satinder's ankle, savaging the flesh, but it still cannot pull her down!
Victoriana leaves the two spheres in place, and moves to heal Satinder.
Chumtooth swings his morning star at the dog attacking the captain.
He lunges down with his teeth, biting.
Satinder feels the blood loss creep up on her, and she starts to feel weak. Her eyes are ringing, and these...
"DAMNABLE MUTS!!" she cries out, as they once again bite her leg. She shakes her head, while disengaging slowly into Chums side.
"Victoriana or Dantes, do you have any way to keep me in the fight?" she says while striking the man down in front of her, while avoiding the counter blow.
As the flowing magics are healing Satinder's wounds, she grimaces and nods in thanks.
"Press on! Let none that stand against us survive." she says with a roar, while looking at those that are even now rushing into the fight to aid the defense.
"Those that do not SURRENDER, will be A SNACK for my GIANT KURU!" she shouts in between blows, while locking eyes with every one of them not yet engaged in the melee.
Dantes comes to a stop next to Satinder, casting a spell to bolster her strength in case the fight continues past her warning.
Casts Bulls Strength on Satinder.
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Satinder swipes at the man before her, dropping him to the dirt, and then shouts to the others in an attempt to intimidate them. She withdraws slightly, only to feel Dantes' hand on her shoulder as he casts bull's strength and she feels a surge of strength through her body.
Chumtooth slams the dog nearest him, and then snaps at it, swallowing the creature whole.
The slavers pause at Satinder's challenge, then each of them lays down their weapon and raises their hands in surrender. One whistles sharply and calls off the dogs. moving to restrain them.
Chumtooth surveys the surviving slavers with a look of menace, the blood of dogs and men dripping from his chin.
"Bring out your treasures, NOW."
His tone leaves no room for argument or discussion.
Dantes follows groups that may leave to bring out treasure; he intends to spy on them in case they try hiding valuables while out of sight of Chumtooth and Satinder.
Chumtooth stalks down the rows of captive slavers and slaves, alike, looming over them due to his magical growth.
"You may choose to join our crew now. Captain Morne makes this offer one time only." He points an enormous finger toward Satinder.
"If you join, you will work with us, fight with us, and share in the treasure we take. If you do not join, you leave your fate to Captain Morne to choose. You have three breaths to make your choice."
Dantes comments to Satinder and Chumtooth "It seems we have no takers. I have to admit, I originally did not seek the life; I was gang pressed along with you. But I've grown to enjoy it and find it quite liberating. I am reluctant to do to any of them what was done to me, though." As always, he gives a deferential nod to Satinder acknowledging her role as captain, and that his comment is only opinion and advice.
"Those forced to join cannot be trusted," Chumtooth replies, nodding. "What to do with these tangi pepipoaka? Sell them, eat them or feed them to the sharks, says this one!" Chumtooth adds with a contemptuous tone and a thumping fist to his chest.
Squealing piglets
Satinder, while appearing to be the stout captain on the outside, is a bit taken aback by this refusal to join the crew. It was true what Dantes said, none of them had chosen the life, but she had grown quite accustomed to it and loved the freedom.
"What say you, lady Victoriana? I would like to hear your insights on the matter, before making my decision." she says calmly, while her mind races.
"These are slavers," Vic responds, "Nasty work, but it also means they're pretty good at puttin' a value on life, to the 'sclusion of all else. So I say we leave them with that little value, and take everything else—besides the coin, we grab their weapons, the lumber they made their house from, an' any clothing and tools they've got on 'em. Then we burn it all, take it, throw it overboard, I don't care which way, but we'll be leaving them in an interestin' position."
"You got a point there. The slavers will be left with their lives, and nothing else. The slaves will be given a chance to earn their keep, and can buy their freedom and voyage to a nearby city by working on the Kiss."
Satinder waits for the others to nod, and fels emboldened by the support.
When she sees the look in Chumtooth's eye, she says in a harsh tone: "If ANY dares to fight back while you take everything from them, Chum my brother, you can tear them limb from limb for everyone to see you are the fiercest warrior."
She then turns around, and whispers in Kuru
[spoiler=Kuru]I killed two humans. Has the little lass beaten the mighty Kuru warrior?"[/b] with a tone of playful anger in her voice.
"Chumtooth killed two men and one dog," he replies. "Neither Chumtooth nor Satinder killed five." He shakes his head slightly, as if their game were interrupted without a clear winner. "Satinder fought well," he adds, in a tone of respectful admiration. "Satinder has the courage and ferocity of a Kuru."
"So..." Vic ponders to the captain, when she gets the chance, "Seeing as we've just picked up some locals—you think they know of any other slaver camps nearby where we can pull the same shtick?"
"This sounds like a good plan, Vic. It seems to me our attack was wel executed, but not flawless. In the future, should we encounter more resistance..."
She looks at her own wounds, slightly closed thanks to the restorative spells that have been woven on her.
"I say we try to more islands, so we get some decent exercise in and have some loot to sell, thhen go back to a port and try to cash them in. What say you?"
"If we free the slaves and do not sell them, we lose their worth in gold. If the slaves are brave and wish to fight with us, then we gain crew, and that is good. The last ones were all weak; all cowards," Chumtooth replies; his last words tinged with contempt.
"If we are hunting slavers, hunt the ones who have sold their slaves and are carrying gold and treasure."
"I agree that we could use some more time before going to port again. I'll consider my compliment of spells for our next endeavor."
The more remote islands we hit, the more likely we are to find some ruins... Dantes strokes his beard, trying to recall if any rumors of ruins in this area. Knowledge (local)
"Perhaps we should check out some of the coastal islands." Dantes offers to his captain. "Perhaps there are isolated outposts we can raid that aren't on the maps. In addition, I've heard stories of ruins in these parts that may still hold concealed treasure from an earlier age." The dwarf tries hard to not show that the latter is what he is really after, but fails miserably. He gives a slight, deferential bow to Satinder to emphasize that it is only a suggestion.
Satinder nods, and waves towards the ship.
"Onward, to fame and infamy!" she shouts, even as she giggles internally at her own flamboyant exterior.
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Following Dantes' directions leads the group to a small, nearly-uncharted island thick with jungle. It takes you but a few hours to cut a swath through the undergrowth until you reach a cluster of ruins. There isn't much left of the ruins above ground, but a nearby passage to an underground tunnel seems inviting.
"There is treasure here?" Chumtooth asks Dantes, his voice tinged with doubt. He peers into the darkness of the tunnel, allowing his eyes adjust to their natural preference for dim light, and looks for anything of note within.
"That is what I've heard, or rather, deduced from what I've heard. It is a bit of a long shot, of course. But if I am right, it may be quite lucrative. But we need to be wary of guardians that may have been left behind, or particularly nasty flora or fauna that may have taken up residence."
"Flow-rah or Faw-nah? What do these words mean?" Chumtooth asks puzzled.
"Stuff to kill", Satinder says shruggingly while she steps further and in front of Chumtooth.
"But no worries, friend. I will protect you, just like you protect us all."
She chuckles, and sees if Dantes or Vic has anything to add before they venture forth.
Chumtooth gives a low grumble, stows his harpoon, and takes his morning star in hand.
"Let us see what flow-rah tastes like when freshly killed," Chumtooth says, moving into the tunnel with the captain.
"Well," Vic adds, "An' flora burns. Let's go."
Dumah nods in agreement with their assessment. "Stuff to kill and burn, prior to the pillaging."
Satinder points to the left.