With the second choker down, Brood stalks over their fallen foes to retrieve his daggers. With Gezza's direction, the elf hauls the dwarf into the small hut protected by the stockade, kicking the door open with one foot as he struggles beneath the dwarf's bulk and stink.
"You're sure he's not dead? He smells pretty dead."
Brood kicks the door, already ajar, fully open.
Inside is a single chamber, crowded with a large amount of furniture, including a comfortable bed, a small writing desk, cooking gear, and several barrels of rotting food.
Unfortunately, Brood quickly realizes the smell isn't in fact Cargas. The stench of rot is overpowering in the room and flies swarm everywhere, particularly around the hooded corpse hanging from a chain off a beam in the middle of the room. A stool lies on the floor nearby.
With a dark grimace, Brood sets Cargas down and waves the others back. "Got a body in here. Coward hung himself." Turning back to the dangling corpse, Brood tosses a dagger and watches as the tip disappears into the base of the rope, severing it and causing the body to drop to the floor.
Careful not to touch the body, he grabs the rope at the severed end and drags the body clear from the structure and begins to make his way past the outer ring of the enclosure.
Cargas drools and probably poops his skivvies a bit. He's out of it.
The body hits the floor ... before Brood can move in to grab the rope it jumps to its feet!
Round 1, Init 15
AC = 17
HP = 19/19
Weapon Equipped = Longbow
Condition(s) = None
AC = 13
HP = 3/19
Weapon Equipped = Meatpaws and Teeth
Condition(s) = None
Nim sighs in relief as Magilla manages to stay on his feet. He darts a glance at Budos, and nods wordlessly, in thanks for the dagger in the choker's side.
As the ape drops from the branches, Nim can see how beat up he is, and moves to heal the creature, without thought. When Brood brings another danger into their midst, Nim decides instead to help who he can to retreat.
He moves beyond Cargas, stopping just behind him in the limited space, and brings Gozreh's heal to bear on the mostly dead dwarf.
"You keep lying around, you'll give fungus time to grow."
The half-orc signals the gorilla to keep its distance from the deadish body newly sprung to life. The ape seems to have no difficulty climbin back up into the tree, as he occasionally rubs his neck from its recent assault.
Brood frowns and groans, "You have got to be kidding me." With an angry growl rattling in the back of his throat, he rips his cutlass free again, sends a current of magic into the blade, then steps up to the undead thing with a furious horizontal cut.
HP: 15/15
AC: 16 (15 T / 11 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +3/+3/+3 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep)
Arcane Pool used: 3/4
Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ]
Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ]
Spells Prepared:
Cantrips (2) - acid splash, flare, read magic
Level 1 (0+1) - magic missile [X], shield [ ]
Ongoing Effects
arcane pool (1/10 rounds): +1/+1
Gezza moans as Nim's healing hits the dwarf. "I was pretty deep in his innards. I think fungus might be the nicest thing growing in there!"
Cargas, though feeling *much* better* continues to drool into the sand.
"Besmara's barnacles, this place just keeps getting worse." Bud chucks his reclaimed spear and draws his axe as he wonders how few of them will actually make it back to the ship.
Gezza: 4*
Cargas: 24
Sicarius: 16
Budos: 16
Nimrod: 15
Antagonist: 13
Seeing the apparently not-dead man rise to its feet, Brood steps forward and nearly cuts it in two! Surprised that the creature doesn't fall again, he's nearly bitten on the shoulder, though he barely is able to get a bracer up in time.
Worse, the cloud of flies seems to think the elf will be a better meal, and flies forward, biting him as he tries to fend them off.
Behind him, Bud steps up and jabs ineffectually, while Nim tries to get Cargas back on his feet.
DM: 17
Brood swats absently at the flies, though his disgusted scowl plainly communicates how revolting he finds the sickening swarm and stench. Still, the elf brings his cutlass around in another brutal arc before escaping the buzzing throng of flies and pushing past Bud.
HP: 10/15
AC: 16 (15 T / 11 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +3/+3/+3 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep)
Arcane Pool used: 3/4
Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ]
Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ]
Spells Prepared:
Cantrips (2) - acid splash, flare, read magic
Level 1 (0+1) - magic missile [X], shield [ ]
Ongoing Effects
arcane pool (2/10 rounds): +1/+1
Gezza grabs the still unconscious Cargas and drags him away from the flies as fast and as far as he can!
Budos backs away from the flies and the dead man, as far as he can while still protecting Cargas and Gezza. "The dead won't make good crew, not unless we're all dead and that ain't a solution."...Yet adds Budos silently.
Gezza: 4
Cargas: 24
Sicarius: 16
Budos: 16
Nimrod: 15
Antagonist: 13
Outside, Gezza drags Cargas away, Budos and Nim backing up with him.
Inside the chamber, Brood cuts down the undead, apparently sending the man to a more permanent death. He retreats, but is happy to see the flies seem content to continue to hover around the corpse.
Cargas continues to drool into the sand.
"Damn flies. Anyone have any alchemist's fire?" Brood looks down at Offal and considers patting the drooling dwarf down to see if he has anything that might help, but the elf seems to think better of touching him as he leans low enough to catch a noseful of Cargas' scent. Shaking his head, he looks to Bud, Nim and Redfingers instead.
"No fire from me and my colorful spell won't do much against a bunch of flies. I suppose we could try to set a fire and smoke them out. But I think that works with bees. No idea what it'll do with flies."
Gezza will begin treating Deadly Wounds for Cargas, using two hits of his healer's kit. , restoring 1 HP per level of Cargas (2) plus 1 for my Wisdom modifier. This will take an hour's work, though!
"I ain't got nothin' and we need to rest badly. Maybe we can drag the corpse out and the flies will follow it?" Bud cuts a hooked branch and uses it like a grappling hook, casting until he can throw it on the body from outside the wall. Once hooked he'll drag the body away from the shelter and over the wall slowly and hope the flies follow it.
With some effort, you manage to get the flies -- and the body -- out of the room.
Brood mutters once more once Bud has cleared the body and its buzzing host from the structure, "Damn flies." Shaking his head at the mess and the state of the dwarf, the dour elf hauls Cargas into the shelter once Gezza indicates it's ok for him to do so.
"So, what? We spend the night here now?"
Bud keeps dragging the corpse clear of the area, hoping they can secure themselves inside the gate.
Gezza nods, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers."I can provide care for all of you as if you were my patients onboard. I think I have enough supplies to see to you all. Should help you recover faster."
While the others convalesce in the shelter, Brood shrugs off Redfinger's care, spoiling what help the sawbones might have given, and busies himself looking around the stockade yard before practicing his forms with his newly acquired cutlass. While his routines aren't particularly complex, the elf does move with a gracefulness that his thick shoulders and bulky form wouldn't otherwise suggest.
By the time he's done, he's worked up a sweat and comes back to the shelter to see how Gezza and his other patients are doing. "Nasty things, those beasts that hid in the trees. The dwarf going to make it? They do us the favor of crushing his voicebox at least?"
Magilla takes some time to coax out of the tree, but eventually heeds Nim's call. As Gezza begins his ministrations, Nim stays by the ape's side, calming him from backing up, and shying away from the carpenter's touch.
"Good man, Gezza. Thanks for working on Magilla." He reinforces the name several times over. Eventually, Magilla looks at Gezza when Nim says his name.
Nim finally steps away from the ape, and moves outside to take watch, keeping his bow out, and hoping hard that they're done for now with savage attacks.
"The dwarf going to make it? They do us the favor of crushing his voicebox at least?"
Gezza sighs and leans against the wooden wall of the stockade. "No such luck. I'm afraid his ability to speak will outlast much of the rest of his organs. He's ornery enough to persist as a floating disembodied voice, I think." Gezza wipes his hands distractedly. "Damnation. I never thought I would miss the pitch of a deck. I always thought I was landbound after my tour of obligation."
Entering the lodge, you discover as you get your bearings that it contains a number of supplies: a suit of leather armor, six spears, and eight finely tailored courtier’s outfits .
The clothes are Chelish in style.
You notice a silver ring, carved with cavorting dolphins, in the pocket of one outfit.
In addition, the lodge contains a spice cabinet holding 5 pounds of pepper in waxed bags , a silver tankard , and a silver locket depicting a beautiful, buxom young blonde woman .
Safe in the stockade, the night passes mostly uneventfully, though you do find yourself under constant assault by various biting, stinging insects who infest the island. You wake in the morning with a number of small itchy spots, a reminder that life at sea has something to recommend it.
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"Cargas, this is spice. You and Kroop are going to be learning to use it!"
HP 11/12
Bud shows the dolphin ring to the crew, "Look, more treasure."
Budos is grateful for the sleep and more pleased at the survival of all the crew. It had nearly been a disastrous first day on the island.
The morning brings an itchy reminder of their tropical setting. "Cursed bugs, let's find water and get back to the ship, there must have been a well nearby this stockade." Bud searches around the stockade for a path leading to water.
As the night passes, Brood can be caught on several occasions passing Sandara's holy symbol from one hand to the other contemplatively as he stares absently at a corner of the shelter. Gezza's comment is enough to draw something of a twitch from his lips, an almost grin that didn't quite form.
Cargas rouses himself not too long after Gezza's ministrations restore his ability to breath clearly again. Eventually, his lungs cough and sputter to full function, and he sits up. He blinks, looking around.
"What the piddlespot hit me? Was that your mum, Brood? She has big hands like that and likes to be on top," Cargas notes, his fingers gingerly touching his tender neck. He crawls himself until he can lean somewhat upright against a tree.
"Piddlespot me. This place makes me wish I was taking the lash from Scourge. It hurt less than this piddlespotting s&%*stains that grace this isle."
Cargas slaps at some flies, but is too tired and grumpy to respond to the comments about spices. Salt, after all, *is* a spice in Cargas' world and nothing was better nor could one use too much.
Fort
"Here's the water, now we just have to haul it back to the ship."
Upon discovering the spyglass set into the southern wall, Bud looks through it and attempts to direct it back towards the eastern shore only to discover that it's fixed in place. He continues watching the provided view as he wonders why a person would fix it viewing that location.
You're not sure why it was fixed in its position, but presumably the occupant wanted to see something in that direction.
As you look through, you see a glimpse of a pair of grindylows cavorting in the dark seawater of a cove.
One of them is wearing Sandara Quinn’s tricorne hat.
Brood frowns at Offal. "You're a necrophiliac? Makes sense. Nothing living would hazard the stench." He slips the holy symbol into a pouch on his belt then and walks over to Bud fiddling with the spyglass. "See anything?"
"Look, it's them little squid buggers playing in the cove, the spyglass is fixed on that place." Bud steps back for Brood to view the squid buggers.
Brood takes a peek through the spyglass and when he stands back up, a vengeful frown darkens his face. "I say we get the dwarf on his feet and go pay them back."
Magilla makes his way down from the tree, itching and scratching in plenty of places. He doesn't seem to mind too much, as he moves effortlessly from branch to lower branch.
Nim finds his way to the creek, and drinks deeply. As everyone gathers around the spyglass, he takes his turn looking through the spyglass.
When the others have taken their turn, Nim looks over the spyglass, and tries to figure out how to remove it from its mount, in order to claim it for the ship's business.
He looks over the still injured folk, and readies to use Gozreh's gifts to heal up his own a few times.
Nim looks over Cargas, and shrugs sheepishly. "Sorry, mate. Gozreh has only seen to provide me roughly three renewals a day. You manage to survive today, and we'll try and get you up to snuff tomorrow."
Hearing about the grindylows, Nim slams a fist into his open palm. "We came looking for the squidies, it's the squidies we should deal with next. That, or just concentrate on getting water back to supplement our stores. Probably the water first, eh?"
Brood shakes his head. "Squids first. Make sure there's none left to harry the ship and we can fetch the water and make repairs at our leisure."
Bud relaxes as the healing runs through his veins and then sets to removing the spyglass, taking extra time if needed.
"I'm with Brood and Nim, lets get those squid gobbos before they get another chance at us. Maybe we'll even find our lost mates."
"I'm with Brood and Nim, lets get those squid gobbos before they get another chance at us. Maybe we'll even find our lost mates."
Cargas watches his captain attempt procuring what he wants.
"Yeah, I'm still pretty wrecked. I could use another day of rest. Why don't we collect water today, then visit the squids tomorrow? That way we'll visit them when we're fresh?"
Cargas nods to Nimrod after his healing.
"You're helpful to have around. And your monkey is more tolerable company than some." Cargas' eyes flit to Brood. "Anyway, I appreciate your help. You done right by me and I'll do the same for you." Cargas offers his hand to Nimrod.
Cargas then gets up on his feets and readies to begin the portage of water back to the ship, whether by lugging some now or going back to the scull for the barrels and begin to bring them back.
Profession (Porter) - best way to lug water
"You're helpful to have around. And your monkey is more tolerable company than some. Anyway, I appreciate your help. You done right by me and I'll do the same for you."
Nim clasps hands with Cargas, giving it a good squeeze. "We've been in this together this long, it's good you threw in with us when Plugg called for Magilla's slaughter."
"I know now I put you all at risk for having done that, so Magilla and I are in your debt. I'll try and avoid being pushed to my limits, next time."
Nim looks to Brood and Bud, waiting for their response to the dwarf taking the leisurely route of water bearing.