Kallant grabs the chest and returns to the fighting deck, because it shortens the time. When he gets the chest to the captain, he unlocks and opens it.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the mix of blasphemous curses and fervent prayers, the ship slowly turns around, and while still not fast enough to escape the beast, at least you're facing away from the island now.
Briande quickly rummages through the chest, pulling out a pair of vials in shaking hands.
"SOBA! HERE!" she calls, her voice cracking in desperation. Soba, his transformation finished, turns towards her, growling and snarling, his body steaming in the cool night air. He looks like a large, monstrous badger, roughly the size of a bear, with the attitude to match. He approaches, and Briande tosses a vial towards him, which he crunches in his oversized jaws and swallows, glass and all. She tips her own potion back and swallows it as well. Soba grows, going from an already intimidating 5 feet at the shoulder, to double that. The boat lists slightly at the additional weight, but Briande and Soba barely seem to notice.
"Support Soba but stay out of his way," she orders, running up to the tiller and shouting orders to the few crewmembers who are still capable of following them.
Behind the ship now, the ravener snarls and tries to swim back around to the side to get at Melii, who is peppering it with arrows.
Morvan glances at the beast that was Soba, things falling into place for the unusual strength he'd shown, before he moves over to the fallen Urashu and casts a spell to get him back on his feet - eventually.
Urashu breathes deeply, then quickly looks around. He nods in thanks to Morvan standing over him, but the rest of the scene doesn’t appear as friendly. Where the heck did that bear come from? Still weak from the attack, he pulls a potion vial out of his pack, exercising extra caution to not drop it on the rocking ship.
Well, that could have gone better, Kizziar reflects. I should probably just stay out of the way for the moment. He continues to circle invisibly as his burns from the acid slowly begin to disappear.
Kallant sees the acid on the deck and casts Resist Energy. Then, he sees if the beast is Chaotic.
Melii cries out in pain as the ravener's claws tear into her. "I could use assistance!" she shouts, focusing on trying to dodge the monster's attacks.
Under the Captain's guidance, the crew works with better cohesion, though damage to the ship's rigging from the acid prevents easy escape.
Soba doesn't seem to mind though, and charges into the ravener with a barking snarl.
But the ravener sees the beast coming and easily ducks the charge, sending Soba headfirst into the lake. The dragon dives down underwater to deal with its new prey.
Morvan moves to a point on the boat that allows him to be within 30 feet of any edge, mace carefully held in his hands. He channels power into it to enhance it's strength, and he then says, "Everyone, be ready for it to come back up! Captain, how long can Soba hold out underwater?"
Melii hurries to Morvan's side, readying her bow to shoot the ravener if it comes back up.
Kallant pulls out his longbow again and fires another arrow.
Urashu pulls off the stopper and drinks the potion of cure light wounds.
Kizziar watches the water, looking for bubbles or ripples which might indicate the creature's location and depth.
"AGAINST A WHATEVER THE F~+# THAT IS THAT IN F&+$ING WATER?!?! HOW LONG DO YOU THINK?" the captain is panicking slightly, her eyes wide and darting, though she is still doing her best to steer the ship away from the island.
Out in the water, Soba's head emerges briefly, gasping and spewing water, before being dragged back down.
Lacking any other options, Kelvar waits for the creature to resurface.
Melii keeps her bow trained on the water.
Without any real ways to contribute to the underwater struggle, Kizziar remains airborne and invisible, observing the water.
Urashu will pull out his second potion and drink it.
Kallant readies to fire another arrow at the chaotic creature when it breaches the water.
The crew and Briande continue pushing the ship away from the island, getting further and further from the underwater struggle. Even with tears in her eyes, the captain does what she must do to ensure the safety of those left under her command.
The water stills and the bubbles dissipate as the ship pulls away from the spot where Soba went overboard.
As the bubbles still and dissipate, Morvan risks a glance at Briande. Soba was clearly an important member of the crew, and it would hurt losing him. After all, he seemed a valuable member of the crew.
Turning his attention back to the water, Morvan watches, waiting to see if the creature would surface again.
Still invisible, Kizziar swoops down and perches on one of the ship’s masts, ready to take off again if the monster returns.
Urashu casts protection from evil on himself.
Melii continues to keep her bow trained and ready for the ravener to surface.
Kallant holds his bow ready to attack the sea monster.
The ship continues to pull away from the island, though you wonder if it will be fast enough as you see the ravener's head burst back up through the water some distance behind you.
Urashu stays in the middle of the ship, his injured overcoming his curiosity. He gets into a defensive position, certain that the ravener could catch up to them if it wanted to. “Captain, is Soba still fighting, or is this ravener coming after us unimpeded?” It might be too direct of a question, but the answer would determine his next action.
With how far back the ravener was, Morvan kept a careful eye on it. It would likely blast the ship with its breath weapon again if it caught them.
"Spread out - don't get too bunched up. If it fires that breath weapon again, we want it to avoid hitting all of us at once."
Kallant readies his longbow with his head on a swivel.
Melii likewise keeps her bow nocked and ready, moving to be sure she's as far from the others as possible.
Kizziar remains on the masthead and waits to see what the others will do.
"What do you think?" she half snarls half sobs at Urashu's question, lip curled and blinking tears away. The ship is moving at a fairly decent pace now away from the ravaner, which surges after you, covering the distance in a distressingly short amount of time.
It is a mere dozen yards away before it suddenly stops dead, the wave from its momentum actually pushing the ship further away. It roars, sounding pained, then turns around and disappears underwater, leaving just a few faint ripples to show that the terror had been there at all.
Urashu only relaxes his stance when he is sure the ravener is gone. “I think Soba just saved us; and even with the help I almost didn’t make it. I am grateful for the service... and the sacrifice.”
Urashu says the words gently, but does stay where he is, giving the captain plenty of space.
Morvan breathes a sigh of relief as the ravener turns back. "The creature must be bound in some way to the island - it cannot journey too far, or else it will possibly fall into true death - instead of whatever half-undeath state it is in."
Eyeing the Captain and her rather foul mood, Morvan cautiously approaches her and says, "Captain, I would like to thank you for your quick actions in saving the lives of many. It is my regret that we were unable to do anything to save Soba. Should you and your crew need time to grieve this evening, we will keep a watch for you."
Kizziar flickers back into visibility and glides down to the deck, his wounds steadily disappearing. Well, that was unexpected. I hope we aren’t delayed by any further disturbances, he thinks to himself, watching the humanoids’ grief with contempt.
Kallant stows his longbow still a little disorientated from the encounter.
Melii approaches the captain with Morvan as well.
"I am sorry for your loss. If you desire, I can try to call forth Soba's spirit so that you may speak to him one last time."
Urashu flinches at Melii’s offer. I thought that would be impossible. How powerful is she?
“I think Soba just saved us; and even with the help I almost didn’t make it. I am grateful for the service... and the sacrifice.”
The Captain wipes angrily at her eyes, scrubbing the tears away.
"Captain, I would like to thank you for your quick actions in saving the lives of many. It is my regret that we were unable to do anything to save Soba. Should you and your crew need time to grieve this evening, we will keep a watch for you."
"That... that would actually be appreciated. We'll get further away and then drop anchor..." she sighs, trying to focus.
"I am sorry for your loss. If you desire, I can try to call forth Soba's spirit so that you may speak to him one last time."
Her face registers a brief moment of shock and hope before she composes herself.
"I... I would appreciate that. After we get further away, and are in a safer spot. Thank you."
She gives a shuddering sigh and then composes herself, face once again stern and commanding. With a last inscrutable look, she begins giving orders to the sailors, who resume their duties, if more somberly than before.
The ship sails through the night, maintaining a northeasterly heading until morning arrives. One of the few benefits of sailing on a lake is the ability to set anchor almost anywhere, as even at it's deepest the lake only goes to less than a thousand feet, which is easy enough for most ships to carry. As morning comes the crew is rotated to work on repairing the battle damage or resting (re: getting numbingly drunk).
The Captain approaches Melii, her confident demeanor offset by her unusually hesitant steps and the fragrant smell of smoke coming from whatever drug is currently in her pipe.
"I'm ready whenever you are," she says slowly, taking deep steady puffs.
As the Captain approaches Mellii, Morvan motions Kallant, Urashu, and Kizziar to different parts of the deck to keep watch - Kallant to the bow, Urashu to the stern, and Kizziar to the top of the mast to keep an eye on things from above. He himself takes up position in the center of the ship, to react to wherever he is needed quickly.
Melii nods and leads the captain into the Hellknights' quarters. Having already performed her seance for the morning with her companions, the circle of candles remains in place. She bids the captain to kneel in the center as she kneels in front of her.
"Have you brought something of his with you? The more personal the possession, the easier it will be to call to his spirit."
Once she has an object of his, Melii begins to chant, calling out to Soba's spirit, beseeching him to return to this plane to speak with the captain one more time.
Kizziar flies up and settles invisibly on the top of the mast. He scans the horizon for threats, somewhat bored by the monotony of the assignment.
Kallant keeps watch.
Urashu takes up his assigned post.
You can feel the moment that Soba enters your body. Even dead, the energy and rage that he possessed during combat makes your nerves thrum with energy and you immediately start sweating. You/Soba shift uncomfortably as he settles into your body.
You give a nod to the Captain and Soba fully comes forth.
"Soba...?" she asks hesitantly.
"Hi,"you/Soba replies the voice short and flat and deep.
Briande breathes slowly again to compose herself and blinks rapidly to make sure no tears fall.
"Are you ok? How do you feel?"
You/Soba consider the question for a moment.
"Yes. Wet. Cold. I lose?"
"No. No you saved us," she says encouragingly.
You/Soba smiles ferally, grunting in pleasure.
"Good," he laughs, trying to shift your body, but only causing it to twitch uncomfortably. He looks irritated by this.
Briande doesn't say anything for a moment, just watching your/Soba's face, seeing the emotions that cross it.
"When you get to where you're going, don't forget me, ok?" she finally says. You/Soba look at her, head cocked.
"No. No forget. Wait."
"Yeah. I'll be there eventually. I still have work to do. But I'll come be with you eventually," she says.
He nods, pleased.
"You won't lose," you/Soba declares confidently.
You can feel the connection start to fade as Sobas soul is pulled away by the astral river.
"I go. Wait. Love," you/Soba grunts, finally figuring out how to move your body at least a little and clumsily headbutting Briandes chin.
"Love" she replies as Sobas spirit departs.
You groan slightly in pain as your body reverts from the uncomfortable contortions that Soba put it through and relaxes. You take a moment to ground yourself, rubbing your palms against the grain of the wooden deck and making sure your mental identity is fully in place before looking up to the others.
"Thank you. I appreciate that beyond words," the Captain tells you, looking calmer and more focused, even if tears are still obviously in her eyes.
"It's the least I could do," Melii replies, her voice still a little hoarse from Soba's guttural growls. She still seems a little shaken after housing the spirit inside of her.
It takes another 4 days to finish jury-rigging repairs and get to Thrushmoor. Nothing more untoward than a few mild showers happens the rest of your trip. The crew doesn't fully recover mentally from the attack, being subdued and prone to zoning out when not on duty, but they are still more than able to perform their functions adequately.
You finally glide up to the docks of Thrushmoor. While normally a dim, damp town, the sky is unusually clear and bright, making it look gray and washed out.
As the crew is busy doing post-docking things, and the Captain is speaking with the dockmaster, a thin, suspicious looking woman approaches.
"Morvan Fellis and associates?" she asks, her voice somewhere between softness and a whisper.
Kizziar observes the woman curiously, looking for any good or magical auras or anything else of note about her.