Seeing all her friends in mortal danger, Ialda loses control of her emotions and flies off the handle. "This creature dies now," she bellows at the top of her lungs, dropping her sling behind her and pulling her flail once more. She moves toward the monster and prepares to hit it with a vicious blow.
Power Attack
Damage
Ialda leaps first the stairs then over the prone Aeronniell, and jumps toward the creature, bringing its flail down on the creature's immense head, a disturbing crunching sound, as she literally cracks its skull open, as the creatures falls to the deck unmoving, its arachnid legs spread out!
Vark looks at Kowaru, "Impressive.." then looks down at the rapier on his side and his non-wounded body and then back at Kowaru's wounds, "You wanna dance, orc?"
Aeronniell watches as Ialda leaps over and obliterates the giant bug-creature with her flail, then lets out a deep sigh.
She curtly nods at the green-skinned woman. "I don't think I have anything left... go... finish Vark... or get him to surrender!"
Aeronniell then crawls toward the body of the most senior looking sailor.
"Leaves have no choice but to blow where the wind takes them, brother," Kowaru replies to Vark. He leaps at his persistent foe, and grabs him about the waist.
Grapple Vark!
CMB Roll:
Sputters blood from his lips.
Round 9 Vark's Turn:
Kowaru's move surprises Vark, as he yells, "Get the hell off of me!" He drops his crossbow, draws his rapier and tries to stab Kowaru, but the half-orc's hold has him off-balance and he misses terribly. "Aaaaagh, damn it!"
Ialda sprints back up the stairs, trying to help the half orc, grappling with the ship's captain. She swings her flail with all her might. "Leave Kowaru alone!"
Power Attack
Damage
Possible critical
Damage
Kowaru is temporarily blinded by the spray of blood, bone, and brain matter, as Vark's head explodes holds under the pressure of Ialda's mighty flail blow!
As she lands the telling blow, all her fire and vigor leave her body. She pretty much collapses by the body of the sailor. "Sorry, Kowaru. I know you wanted a chance to talk to him. I lost my head when I saw that big creature getting ready to eat everyone down there." She shakes her head to clear the cobwebs and tries to focus her thoughts again.
After a few seconds of silence, you hear a yell from the water, "Is the fight over? Can I come up now?" You recognize the voice as Kern's.
"Sure, come onboard, if you want. Fightin's done. Try not to slip in the remains..." the barbarian rasps out exhaustedly to Kern.
Kern climbs up and throws up upon seeing the bloodbath. After he recovers, he asks, "Are your friends ok?"
With the danger ended, Aeronniell will check Xarethi and Chez to ensure they are merely unconscious yet alive.
Heal (Xarethi):
Heal (Chez):
"Yes... Xarethi and Chez are okay. They need care. If I just had a healer's kit, I could bandage their wounds. But - most of their bleeding has stopped already."
The elf rests against a crate, holding her side where Vark's arrow hit her and closes her eyes to rest for a moment.
"I don't think I can swim right now, maybe not even climb down..."
Kern walks the over deck, trying not to throw up anymore, "Damn, what happen to Vark?? I only recognize him by the tattoo on his arm. Guess I don't have to worry about him comin' afta me for squealin', eh? Make sure to never get on any's of your bad sides. You peoples are brutal!"
Kowaru drops to a knee after Ialda's mighty blow pulps Vark's skull, panting in exertion. One hand trembles as he brushes away the bits of bone and gore that showered him. The monk is silent for a long while, his eyes closed in meditation.
"It is alright, Ialda," Kowaru says weakly. "Vark's soul was too far down a path to change direction. A sword can be forged by any smith, but not even a master can unforge it. Still, the loss of any diminishes the world. You will be reborn, Vark - I suspect as a monkey or parrot, so teach you humility for the path you chose in this life."
Kowaru aids Aeronniell in moving about the deck of the Nixie, grimacing as he sees the injuries sustained by everyone on deck. "We will need to go below decks at some point. I doubt there are more crew - they would have come to assist Vark - but we should not run into any resistance now that their leader is dead."
Kern smiles, counting the bodies and two unconscious sailors, "No, Man who Speaks Much, this is all of them. You should be safe."
Suddenly, Kern realizes Chez is down, "Hey, how's the pretty blonde guy doin'? Is he dead? If so, you still gonna honor his deal wit me, right, for helpings all ya and such?"
"We honor our deals, Kern. We will see you are taken care of, and you get your share of the loot. You don't know if Vark kept any healing draughts around the ship, do you, Kern?"
"Thank you kindly, glad to hear it. Well, as a matter of fact, I knows Vark kept 2 vials on on him at all times and one of them was for healin'. He always said one can't be too careful. And the other one, he said, was for if he need to dive overboard. Don't know what that meant. I think he mentioned he had some spare ones in his cabin but I never been there, only he and Ketrana were allowed there. Hey, speakin' of which, I don't see her body ups here. Where is she?"
"We've seen none who resembles a female so far. Is she normally on the ship? Kowaru, you might want to check Vark for those potions. We have together everyone up and running again."
You find that his armor and sword are of the best quality around, he wears nice jewelry and a waterproof pouch containing 2 vials:
Masterwork studded leather
Masterwork buckler
Masterwork rapier
Light crossbow
Gold earring
Silver ring
Vial with what appears to be saltwater inscribed with an "S"
Vial with what appears to be milk inscribed with an "H"
Small metal key
In her search, Aeronniell comes to wrap her hands around the potion bottles. Opening the stopper, she takes a sniff and dares to taste the barest sip of either vessel.
Surely he wouldn't keep poison on him, would he?
Identify potion by taste - DC15 + potion caster level
"S":
"H":
Uncertain what the taste of the first one indicates, she swirls it around and considers it further
"S":
"Aeron, who looks worse for wear, Chez or Xarethi? I think we should give the healing potion to the one who could help us deal with this Ketrana. According to Vark she is probable downstairs waiting to ambush us."
"They are both just barely unconscious, although I fear Chez has the more serious wound. They will both live with care. As always with these potions, the results are unpredictable..."
Aeronniell considers the options, then remembering it was Chez who rushed to into the path of the rhagodessa, she mouths a silent apology to Xarethi as she feeds him the milky potion.
After Chez chugs the potion and is up on his feet, Ialda directs the remaining members of the group. "Chez, get your blades. It's time for us to go to the lower deck and see if this female is located down there. Even if she isn't, I'm sure the information we are searching for is located down there, Are we ready?"
Ialda leads the capable party members below deck, where they find the Officer's quarters and the Captain's cabin. Below that is the hold where the party finds numerous cages holding exotic parrots, monkeys, a panther, and an empty and very large cage, seemingly forced open. In the middle of the cages lies the bloody body of a female pirate, literally bit in half. The rest of the ship is clear with no one else on board.
After consuming the potion, Chez rises to his feet a little unsteadily. "Thank you m'lady. I have definately had better days."
Chez gathers his swords and looks around at the carnage and sighs. "I really should have been up here helping from the start."
Seeming a little less cheerful than normal, he proceeds with the party in the depths of the ship.
"If there is anything here, I'd bet Vark is enough of an egomaniac to keep it in his quarters. Let's find what we are looking for, take everything of value from the bodies, collect our people and get out of here. We need to do something with the animals, too. I don't want them to suffer. Wonder if the Lady needs a monkey or panther? Any ideas about them?" Ialda begins a careful search of the captain's quarters.
Kowaru shakes his head in disapproval as he sees the cargo that Vark had been transporting. "This is what your hubris has led to, Vark. Your death, and the deaths of nearly all your crew." He looks at the rest of the group that had ventured belowdecks. "What should we do with the animals? The parrots and monkeys could be released into the wild, but I'm concerned about letting loose a panther so close to a city."
In the Officer's quarters, you find a hidden sack of coins, totaling 40 gp.
You do an extensive search of the Captain's cabin and find the following:
A leather pouch with the letters "LV" embroidered containing 100 pp
Three vials of milky white liquid all marked with an "H"
A coffer containing 100 gp under the bed
A ring with the Vanderboren crest on it, hidden in the headboard of the Captain's bunk with a piece of parchment threaded through the ring
When you unroll the parchment, it reads as follows..Ring Note
"Perhaps there is a nature cleric that could provide a safe home for the creature. I'd hate for such a majectic beast, which belongs in the jungle to be threatened."
Ialda calls the others over after her search. "Looks like this might be what we are looking for. Anyone know what this parchment might mean?"
Aeronniell, exhausted, waits on deck with Xarethi, attempting to nurse both her wounds and the injuries of the sorceress.
As she waits for the others to search, she calls down to them after a few moments.
"If you find any money that isn't Lavinia's, perhaps we can send someone to bring back some bandages or supplies?"
After Gathering the items, and continuing the search below deck, Ialda returns to the main deck. "There were more potions downstairs. Cn you test them to see if they can heal you two?"
Xarethi's eye's flutter open and she manages to detangle herself from the unusual position she had collapsed in.
Using her spear, she leans heavily on it and climbs back to her feet.
"Hello? Anyone here?"
She holds the cloth of her shirt against the wound, hoping that the bleeding is not too severe.
"Hey there, missy." Xarethi sees the face of Kern leaning against the railing of the boat. "Everyone's ok, they're below decks searching the boat. My, oh my, good to have ya back. Would have been a waste for someone of your beauty to leave us so soon." Kern smiles, as he admires Xarethi's form.
Kowaru joins Ialda in the captain's quarters, bearing a handful of gold coins. He examines the parchment the green-skinned half-elf mentioned, cocking his head as he read its contents. "Nothing immediately reveals itself to me, sister. Did you find that with the signet ring? If so, then perhaps Lavinia might know the answer to this koan."
Xarethi looks over the corpse of the spider thing and shudders. Then she leans heavily on her spear and looks over at Kern. "Everyone else is okay, I hope."
Ialda hands the potions to the two other ladies. "Drink up. We needyou hale and hardy to help get all this gear and the animals back to shore."
Xarethi and Aeronniell drink the potions () and leaving you with one potion of healing. You then grab any gear/treasure and row yourselves back to the docks, where most of the sailors working give you the thumbs up for doing the community a service. Chez pays Kern, either from his personal funds or party fund, and he thanks you for your work and promises to never engage in shady business again. He takes his gold and walks into the nearest whorehouse he sees. Though wounded, you are pretty good to walk and you make your way to the Vanderboren estate, where Lavinia greets you. She immediately calls for a healer's kit to be brought to bandage those of you wounded and calls for Kora, her halfling servant, who has some skill in healing. Lavinia then pauses and asks, "By your bloody state, I assume you "had words" with Vark and his men. What I told you about him was true, was it not? Were you able to recover my ship and the payment?"
Ialda hands over the stash she found in the Captains quarters. "I assume this is yours, Lady. He did not parley with us, so we had to result to force. Your boat is still moored in the Harbour. Also here is a ring and a strange note we found. Perhaps you can help identify it. Also, one last thing, Vark had a number of exotic animals caged on the ship. D you have employees who could be charged with seeing the beasts are taken care of? There is a panther as well, so they should take care...even though he is caged, transporting him wont be the easiest job."
Would any of you mind if I held onto this? It's quite a fine rapier."
Once arriving at Vanderboren's.
"M'lady, we indeed had a chance to confirm his role in deceiving you out of your funds. He was an unsavory cad whose time met the lethal end he most certainly was destined for. His crew was indeed a bit more skilled than we anticipated and some of us, including myself nearly perished alonside the likes of his crew. The combined might and skills of our group is very notable, as are the honor and integrity of its members. It was a priviledge to not only provide this great service to you, to right the wrong that was done, to put an end to a vile snake of man, but also to have served along side of these fine people."