Hoi! a new passenger? that wasn't part of the deal! the captain grumbles as he marches irritably towards the boat, barking unusually harsh and pointed orders to his crew as they quickly cast off, and begin navigating the mist shrouded waters.
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Whispering into the message spell
::Hmmm. Colorful tongue. As bright as her hair. Be careful, She reads minds. I'm Ash, failed physician and well educated fellow. Tiefling, if you know what that is.::
addressing the girls
::So. Once we land? Any plan? The captain's been pretty handy in the few fights we've had with his axe. Perhaps we can keep the boat intact? in case we need to use it at some point? and then burn it later? I've got one last ... summoning vial ... prepared today, and some methamphetamine, and some adrenaline.::
Ah, but Captain, I take up such little room and I do love a man who wields the fickle currents and eddies which make many lesser ichthyic wives. Surely someone such as myself would sooner become lost on your ship than become a burden.
Whispering back
::Well met, Ash. I have only heard of your kind, both race and profession, but you are the first I have known.
::I, well, I summon those to assist me in delivering our Master's vision. He sees purpose in my, passion, but, as noted I am on a short leash as it were.
::Well met all of my new family. I'm afraid I was only informed of your delivery to these beasts but recently. What is this about burning boats? I do enjoy boats so and the Captain looks like a vastly entertaining man but if his life and livelihood should meet the bottom of the sea to further our purposes, so be it.
::Well met. I am Leo. Welcome to our Knot. The women enjoy talking. They can fill you in. The oaf sleeping by the side is Gridlock. He's not been feeling well since our escape. But he's quite strong, so best not to anger him.::
Gridlock continues snoring in his sleep.
Aye, fine. One more mouth to feed for a few hours.
he goes back to skillfully navigating the ice flows, with a little more ease as the boat sits higher in the water, unladen from its previous burden.
Settles in her corner of the ship
Well I have no interest in getting my dress wet
Begins summoning her Eidolon, unless someone tells her not to
::Well met, Neji. I am Temperance. I am a Kitsune sorceress and enchantress and generally handle the talking.::
::The captain has been moderately useful, but his crew are weak. They should be easy to take out. Our orders are clear on that. The orders for the boat are a little more flexible, I'd say. Let's hide it for now, sink or burn it later.::
Making eye contact with Forsythe
::I'm guessing Izzbit is feeling cramped in that chest you've locked him in. I think his coming out to play would be a good opening gambit. If the crew freaked out over a few elementals, I can only imagine how they'll feel when he's dripping acid all over them.::
::In combat, I'll focus on putting the crew to sleep. I doubt the captain will be susceptible to these minor enchantments I've mastered, but those weak willed fools should drop like daisies.::
::Helli Neji, I am Victor Moreau. I have a prescience about the future and use that to stab people when they don't see it coming.::
Neji's process of summoning her eidolon begins simply enough but ends with her opening wide invisible doors, smiling and repeatedly drawing more and more essence to her chest. The otherworldly substance seems to at first trickle then pours on her, rippling outwards until it pools over her, engulfing and building to a larger creature. Soon the new fetal creature corrects its naked self, stretching like a cat after a long nap in the sun, to it's full of 6' 2" height.
Clearly a reflection of Neji, but more half-elf lust demon with smoldering blue runes delicately crossing her body and face finally culminating to a master rune on her forehead. Flame-red hair, tan and toned, black eyes, claws and sharp teeth, this succubus-like Neji enjoys the moment of perfect comfort, stoking her skin, stretching her feet and petting her hair like a fine suit.
She states in a notably lower tone that seems to linger longer than it should,Oh that is sooo much better. How I missed you my dear.
Then reaching into her backpack pulls out some cold-weather clothing and begins dressing
Mildly distracted she whispers
::I see just fine dear and I know nothing of this pet, but my suit was away because I was bad, but now? Now I am complete again.
::Temperance, what a beautiful creature you are. I hope you are not the definition of your name.
::I do not recommend releasing elementals on a ship this size unless they are potentially air or water, and the very idea of an acid slobbering creature sounds simply dreadful on my maiden voyage. Although I like your style dear, perhaps now is better is a better time to live up to your name. This man will deliver us surer than any here and when his purpose is done so shall he.
::For now we enjoy this fantastic freedom and refreshing weather.
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Hello, small one. If our Lord bids you join us, then I gladly accept his will. May your venture with us be more successful than your last appeared to be.
I am Forsythe; servant of the Dark Lord [I touch my Asmodean holy symbol]. Although I don't normally prefer the company of the ... living ..., these compatriots have proven themselves effective.
Temperance, when the time comes, I will be ready to release Izzbit and to strike down the captain as quickly as possible.
As we travel and, eventually, approach our destination, I will be next to Izzbit's (unlocked) chest... Ready to open it as a move action and call him forth.
And I agree the Captain is going to be hard to take down with spells (stupid Barbarians). Our best bet is to alpha-strike him as quickly as possible, and I'll try to let Izzbit take whatever first blows there are.
::Your darkness will be welcome and if he does invite rage into his heart, being another with a passionate soul, I know how to calm the beast::
Ah, Forsythe, yes the living can certainly be irritating, but without them you would run out of your eventual friends, no? Well, perhaps you will soon have less of one more of another to put a, smile, on that face?
As Neji talks to Forsythe she unconsciously rolls a small blue ball of fire, no bigger than a coin, between her knuckles. Then starts staring off dreamily at the mast and rigging
shaking the small ball of fire away, I stride confidently towards the Captain, playing with my hair as I talk,
So, Captain, how long have you been leading this crew, running these currents? You are quite brave to go where you go and deal with whom you deal. A lesser man would sure stick to well known and certainly safer ventures.
Go away weird creature. Take your magic and your wicked ways and keep your distance. as you talk, you examine him, realizing he's talking about magic in general, not any spells you've cast now. You recognize some typical ulfen hex-wards around his neck, and tattoos up one arm in ulfen knots, meant to ward the user. He's likely got two potions, one conjuration, one transmutation. can't tell more without a closer examination. but that appears to be all the magic he carries.
::I can see subtlety is not your strong suit, Neji. Maybe dial it back a little until we get closer to landing, then dial it back up? We don't want to distract the captain too much from his task or annoy him to the point he does anything about you.::
The captain settles back to his work, and the dark hours pass quickly. By midnight he's slowing down, and says in a hushed tone to you, A'right we're here. Aldencross be but a few hours walk up the suthern shore.
With no dock to pull abreast of, he gets as near the shore as he can, the shallows being a bit deep, but a quick swim ashore. the captain comes up to Leo, Well it ain't been no fun hauling y'all about, but you've come in handy. Be off with ye'
::Subtlety was hardly the point my dear, his tattoos are wards and it looks like he potentially has a potion of healing and perhaps bulls strength. I recommend we keep them from him::
Your tone worries me, Captain, and it hardly seems timely for an evening swim, but better to be safe than sorry.
I start gathering my things and look for opportunities when the Captain is occupied or can be made occupied to cast Mage Armor and Shield
::Forsythe, you ready to unload your...special...luggage? I'm ready to sing a little lullaby.::
I cast Mage Armor on myself and move to the back of the boat, ready to start casting sleep as soon as Forsythe opens her skele-chest. And I didn't say it earlier, but my rule would've had me cast mage armor as I approached the bugbear dock, so I've used up 2 spells today.
After Armor and Shield, I cast and hold Touch of Fatigue waiting for the Captain to rage.
Gotta love a man who knows how to take the initiative
Whispers to Forsythe ::Let's see what treasures you have locked away darling. It appears a man couldn't wait to start unwrapping; shocking I know::
Victor reveals his concealed hand crossbow, and shoots the captain. tagging him in the shoulder. as his eyes bug out in a , "what are you doing?" moment, Forsythe pops open the latches on his chest. out rises a bloody acidic skeleton, to the horror of the crew. One of the crew collapses, and another rushes over to check on him. Before the shouting starts, the night gets plunged into darkness. Neji flanks the Captain, and lands a fatiguing touch on him, which Captain Kargeld shrugs off in his rage.
Kargeld lands a hideous blow on Leo, nearly causing his knees to give out, as he shouts obscenities and orders his men to attack. Some of them rush over, drawing swords as they feel their way along the railings to advance. Falling with drawn swords on Gridlock, who oddly hasn't roused himself during the fight. Forsythe cleverly pilfer's the Captain's greataxe though, dropping it overboard as Izzbit moves in and attacks, its claws gouging acidic scratches in the captain's flesh and armor.
Ash swings at the crew, but is off balance, and even with the blind crew, can't hit. Victor's second bolt catches the Captain in the back as he's surrounded by Neji and Leo, with Loran's fiendish dachshund nips at the Captain's feet.
Kargeld trades blows , and slashes Leo across the neck, drawing two hatchets from his belt, sending Leo crashing to the deck. You want my ship, do ye!? I killed my brother to take her, and I'll kill all of you to keep her! he bellows, roaring in triumph.
Even so, He's burned crispy, along with some of his crew, as fire washes over them, and Forsythe launches an Admonishing Ray point blank, knocking Kargeld in the back. Bleeding and bruised, he's still standing
Kill the ones on the ground if you can mates!, He commands his crew, as they advance, some of them slashing wildly in the dark at Forsythe and Ash, while others grope around on the deck for the foe they heard fall, and the foe they know is laying down.
after sorting things out on the ship...
You're close now. Just a few miles from here sits the small market town of Aldencross, and less than a mile from there is the watchtower of Balentyne - your goal. Already Sakkarot's horde gathers and prepares to move. WIthin two weeks, they will be in a small valley north of the lake, awaiting your signal. Fire the rocket into the air at just the right moment and you will take the first step towards claiming vengeance against Talingarde.
Destiny has taken you here. Destiny has given you a mission. There is no doubt that the future of this green and pleasant land lies in your hands. You could go to that town right now and warn them of the plots of the sinister Cardinal Thorn. You could give yourselves up and face the justice you deserve. You could turn back from the horror and the slaughter that you are going to inflict upon these Mitran sheep. This is that moment. This is the turning point. After this, there is no going back. Anyone eager for redemption?
I think this is a great time to break open the rations. I don't know about everyone else, but my throat is parched.
I thought not. Come, my friends. We have work to do. We must burn Balentyne.
Such an eager goat. Neji, personally, has no interest in betraying the Master or redemption; he and other similar forces have offered so much more than any Mitran ever could. But I am only one unstable Gnome in a pack of miscreants. Not to mention we are doing my favorite thing, burning things down, so I'm kinda biased
Seeing Forsythe eyeing captain as future pet
Forsythe, darling, sorry for the hole in his chest, but have you considered perhaps raising.. is that what you call it? I've never been good with the lingo..our Orc friend over there? pointing carelessly towards the slightly uglier and more ashen Grid
I put on an aire of bored and clearly feigned indignation (no roll needed)
Enmity? For little old me? Oh, I am the picture of harmless. Unless of course denied that which I truly desire.
starts laughing while looking at the Kargeld's smoking chest taking a swig of whiskey
Isn't that right Captain? Oh, sorry. My Dear man. I forgot. You're too heartbroken to respond
I believe Talingarde is at hand, thanks to the fine work of recently deceased, but our dear Leo looks due for the spas and Temperance a well deserved nap. Forsythe, no offense meant, but you always look in need of some creams, mostly in the face region, so hard to tell, but based on your performance I guess also could use a rest before we march ever forward.
I can guard the deck while you rest and recover,Neji retrieves a wand and taps herself I feel fit as a fiddle.
*yawn*
I'm exhausted after casting sleep so many times. I'm truly sick of that spell. But with so much practice, I feel like I might be able to tap into a little more powerful magic. Maybe after a good night's sleep I'll be able to work it out.
Also, I don't mind all the blood and gore and think it makes sense to sleep here tonight rather than on shore, but maybe a bit of cleanup is in order before we nap? Hate to run afoul of a paladin patrol while sleeping on a boat covered in blood and filled with bodies. We should've kept one of the grunts alive to do the work for us and then slit his throat when he finished.
*yawn*
Tempy starts cleaning up some of the blood and gore with prestidigitation, avoiding Forsythe's work area while she raises Grizzbit. She encourages Leo, Ash, Neji, Loran or anyone else that isn't occupied with other activities to weigh down bodies and dump them if they aren't of value to Forsythe.
Assists in Prestidigitation of the deck.
I believe these boats have ballast we may re-allocate into the sea chest, that should act as sufficient weight to pull these worthless husks to the bottom
Leo stoically does most of the heavy lifting, even getting some stones from shore to shove down the throats of the dead men and weigh them down.
There's not much ballast to this ship unfortunately. But its all ours now. From what the captain was saying, this isn't the first time someone's killed for her.
Then I nominate we rename her the "Widow's Wake." That seems far more suited than some chilly hammer. No woman would care to have that name. What is it with Nords and an obsessive need to name their cudgels? And after 100 variants of cold no doubt. Must get boring up there.
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I'm speaking after we've rested for the night, I've raised Grizzbit, we've cleaned / taken care of the boat, etc.
Well, comrades, it seems like it's time for us to go into the Lion's Mouth. I say we head into Aldencross and set up base. It's a market town, so there should be provisions available for us.
We have a number of persons adept in the gathering of information and should be able to discover some information about Balentyne, including some methods of infiltrating the watchtower hopefully.
I will use the circlet to take on the guise of a human female merchant. Clothes not too luxurious, but nice. A little road-worn.
We have things to sell that will be difficult to carry... Like all of Kargeld's equipment. I vote two people go into town, buy a cart, come back to load it up, then we all go in as a merchant caravan. We can sell everything, find an inn, and go from there?
Grizzbit will take up his predecessor's spot in a lovely chest on the cart. I wish I had a way to disguise him better.
During my night watch, I meditate on the captain's fighting prowess as well as my own fighting difficulties of balancing mind numbing rage and clarity arcane so requires. It seems clear to me that one should just find purity in that rage and focus on casting to then return the task at hand.
In the morning I practiced with the greataxe in both hands, but never seems to be comfortable with the weight of the swing, then as a fluke I take the two handed axe in one hand. Although not coming down quiet as hard it does seem more comfortable with my style.
Now wearing the Captian's armor, wielding his Greataxe and with a large banana over the glowing forehead rune
How do I look? Let me see, um....Aye Lassy, we are but a simple merchant ship. Off to town to profit on our hard earned spoils
Smiling proud
Huh? Well? Anyone?
Looking around to crickets and seeing no one is amused as I am at my awesome pirate outfit and clearly spot-on accent
Finnne, you're right, I am just too fantastic and would attract far to much attention as half the town would want to join our kick ass crew.
In a dramatic huff, I take off the armor and dismiss my Eidolon, and activate the circlet so I appear as a plain-to-the-point-of-boring, mousy human girl.
Looking to Forsythe,
Come mother, a new town awaits
I will go into town with you two. The three of us should be able to get a mule and a cart or something.
You set out for Aldencross come sunrise. As dawn breaks, you walk for a few hours, before seeing some signs of civilization. A few farms and pastures show you that you're getting closer, and you manage to purchase a cart and mule from one of the outlying farmers with some of the loose coins from Kargeld's chest for 28gp.
Making your way back two hours to the landing site, you manage to get everything unloaded and onto the supply wagon, and have some stew for lunch before setting out in earnest for Aldencross. You try and moor the Widow's Wake as best you can before leaving it.
Arriving in town in the midafternoon, the quaint town leaves its mark on your souls, peaceful and quiet, almost sleepy little hamlet of no more than a few hundred homes dot the land along the River Tyburn. Disguised, you set about getting some rooms at an Inn, and looking to sell your wares in the market.
Surprizingly, for a hamlet of its size, there's only one inn that caters to travellers - The Lord's Dalliance. Its a pleasant enough place with strong smelling drink and delicious odors of food and bread being cooked in the kitchen. After your winding sea journey up the Eastern coast of Talyria, anything better than iron rations makes your mouths start watering for some fresh cooked food.
In the market you find several small traders peddling their goods, some that show an interest in the horns and seal skins, some smiths very interested in the mithril scrap that you have, eager for such an exotic material to make some side projects with.
You ask around and find there's an apothecary in town, cutting hair and selling all manner of potions at The Coiffed Quaffer. A scribe's shop, The Silver Quill, with a fine selection of 1st and 2nd level scrolls, and a few shops in the market that have some minor magical odds and ends for sale along with their more mundane wares. [/b]
[i]Poking in to the Lord's Dalliance, dancing girls and comely bar maids ply some soldiers, eager to earn a share of the king's gold. You feel a moment of wonder, asking yourself if they see through your disguises, worrying if they'll realize you're escaped convicts from the south, conspiring with bugbears to break the Watch Wall with a handful of Asmodean worshipers, then realize how ridiculous and unexpected something like that would be.
By evening when the rest of the group returns from selling and haggling in the market to the Inn, you've secured yourselves rooms (getting two rooms for a week) and splurge on some dinner (a small banquet for the Knot.
Hanging around the bar, listening to rumors that afternoon at the Dalliance, you hear that there's a pack of dwarves in town, led by a grumpy short fellow named Barnabus Eisenbauch. They're here to fix up the watchtower or so one man's heard. A hard working fellow that Barnabus -- just don't challenge him to a drinking contest. He'll drink you under the table every time.
According to another patron, a raven arrived at the rookery last night! He seemed excited at the prospect of it carrying important news, though he doesn't have any clue what message it carried.