Jask shoulders his own emptied pack, distributing a healing potion to every member of the expedition. "Use these only as a last resort if I can't reach you in time. My spells come back every day, healing potions don't. Shall we get underway?"
Haloniel nods his head in agreement. He says, "Let's go."
"Have fun on the shipwrecks!"
"Have fun on the shipwrecks!"
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Haloniel will be keeping an eye on the group's back trail as they move along.
Julian places the curative in his backpack and nods thanks to Jask.
"I hope not t'be needing either, but I am grateful for both."
Your journey through the jungle goes unnoticed, and within a few hours you arrive at the eastern coast of the Shiv. A few wrecks, mostly old and decrepit things, scatter the rocky coastline. One particular wreck, however, draws your eye. What must have once been a massive pirate warship has broken into two pieces, its figurehead of a howling demon with carved waves around its waist drawing your attention.
Jask inhales sharply at the sight of the ship. "That's it. The Brine Demon. Hopefully that devilspawn Kinkarian died aboard his craft, or we may have quite the foe aboard this island."
"Hmph... if he did or didn't he never returned to the Shackles. Besides, he was only marginally successful, and given what you have said, probably largely due to your former employer."
Knives is clearly unimpressed with Kinkarian.
"Still, his wreck might be our salvation. Look for what proof you want, I will be keeping my eyes open for salvageable ship parts so that we can leave this rock."
Haloniel looks the scene over trying to figure out the easiest way to get to the ship.
The easiest way to the Brine Demon would be to climb the rocky shoreline approaching the ship and then enter the man-sized hole in the side of the ship left by its turbulent stop.
"You have any objections with my taking point once we get to the hole there?"
Knives asks Mordack as he gestures to the man sized hole on its port side.
Haloniel maintains his position as rear guard as the group moves towards the wreck. He also checks out their back trail from time to time. He keeps his sling staff loaded and ready to go, though he will switch to having a throwing dart as his ready weapon once he enters the wreck.
Aersten scans the others with him at the cave.
Eeny, meeny, miney... "Sasha, you and I are going to get some wood. I want to get some lengths at least four to six feet, sharpen them to a spear point, and set a line of them at the entrance to the cave." He turns to the others. "I don't intend on taking very long at this. Are you okay with staying here?"
Bayani has an arrow nocked as they approach.
Julian nods and takes point, cane sword drawn and ready.
"Well, here is to hoping we just find parts and still dead skelletons onboard."
So saying, he ventures into the hole.
Aersten scans the others with him at the cave.
Eeny, meeny, miney... "Sasha, you and I are going to get some wood. I want to get some lengths at least four to six feet, sharpen them to a spear point, and set a line of them at the entrance to the cave." He turns to the others. "I don't intend on taking very long at this. Are you okay with staying here?"
Sasha nods and grabs her weapons. The others shrug at the thought of staying here, as they don't seem too fond of the idea of going back into that jungle.
Bayani has an arrow nocked as they approach.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Knives steps forward into what must have once been part of the hold of the Brine Demon. A few human skeletons lie scattered across the room, several of which seem to have been in the process of looting the rotting chests that lie haphazardly throughout the room. Most of the loot seems to have been washed out through a large hole in the floor several feet across, which blows a goodly amount of seawater through every time a wave strikes the underside of the ship.
A few fat golden coins still reside in the fingers of the dead crewman, a dozen gold pieces in all. They seem to have died when the ship crashed upon the rocks, the pirates still wearing their cutlasses at their hips and rotting clothes upon their backs.
Bayani switches his arrow for a blunt arrow.
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Knives sheaths his cane sword for the moment. After all, if they stand up again it will be more effective to use it as a club than a sword.
Using a low voice, he signals the others to come on board.
As Haloniel follows the group inside the ship he scans their back trail yet again.
Haloniel also unloads and stores his sling staff. He then readies a throwing dart and concentrates for a moment. The tail end of the dart lights up like a torch.
As Haloniel follows the group inside the ship he scans their back trail yet again.
*dice omitted*Haloniel also unloads and stores his sling staff. He then readies a throwing dart and concentrates for a moment. The tail end of the dart lights up like a torch.
Haloniel sees nothing of interest before he takes a step into the ship.
Knives sheaths his cane sword for the moment. After all, if they stand up again it will be more effective to use it as a club than a sword.
Using a low voice, he signals the others to come on board.
*dice omitted*
The chests are all unlocked and overturned, and you can see no traps attached to anything inside the room.
"Hmph, so far either the rumors of his hitting treasure on this run were exaggerated or Besmara has claimed it for herself. I'll be takin' the gold that remains, part to give to Besmara when we finally hit open ocean again, part to split among us brave souls that ventured this far."
So saying Knives collects the paltrey few remaining coins and looks for a way further up or out of their present room.
Haloniel comments, "I don't think these guys would have been trying to loot the chests if the Captain was still in control of things. So my guess is that the Captain was either dead or had fled some time before the ship washed up here. We need to keep our eyes open for signs that other people have been salvaging things from this wreck before we got here though."
Bayani carefully enters, keeping the blunt-headed arrow ready, but relaxing slightly as he keeps a watch out for the possibility of an unexpected attack.
On the far side of the room, Knives sees a staircase. As he approaches the staircase he hears what sounds like the screaming of drowning men from behind him. As he turns to look he sees the crew of the Brine Demon still very much alive, the hold filled with water as they clutch their throats and succumb one by one. And that's when he realizes he can't breathe himself.
He falls to his knees, spluttering and coughing like a man who has come close to drowning, although there isn't a drop of water inside the wreck. He looks up and sees the others looking at him cautiously.
Haloniel asks, "Are you ok?"
Julian takes a deep breath of air when he can finally stop coughing, the vision of the past passing.
"... <cough> yes <cough> yes, I am now. I think Besmara just showed me <coooUUUghhhh><cough><COUGH> a vision of what happened to these poor lads. Drowning is not a pleasant way of dying."
He looks with newfound sympathy at the corpses around him.
"This wreck is as cursed as the rest of this island. Let us be done here as fast as possible."
Haloniel replies to Knives, "I have no argument with that."
Turning to Jask, Haloniel asks, "Can you tell if any magic is active here?"
Haloniel replies to Knives, "I have no argument with that."
Turning to Jask, Haloniel asks, "Can you tell if any magic is active here?"
Jask nods. "I have no spells prepared to detect magic, but I have a spell to detect undead ready, which could tell us a few things about the ship in general."
Jask backs up to the entrance, entoning a few arcane syllables and making a gesture. For about thirty seconds he concentrates, then slowly resumes his normal posture. "Well that isn't good. It seems that was likely not a vision from Besmara, Knives. What you experienced was a haunting. Likely the poor souls who drowned here in the hold. We shouldn't have to deal with a manifestation here in the hold for another day or so, but I could sense further auras coming from deeper within the ship. So be on your guard, everyone."
Great... this island and its wrecks just keep getting better and better...
"Can you tell if giving the bodies a proper burial will help set them at peace? If so, then I'll not be moving further than here until these souls are either layed in the sea or in the ground."
Knives shudders again, the feeling of water around his head fresh in his mind.
"I have a spell to detect magic, but only once per day. I'm still at the level of 'dabbler' in the arcane arts, unfortunately."
Jask shakes his head at Knives. "That spell isn't that focused, I'm afraid. It wouldn't be a bad idea, however. It could be that the spirits of these men are haunting the wreck because they were never given a proper burial. However, I couldn't say whether they would prefer the sea or a grave."
Julian considers for a momemnt.
"Most pirates pay at least lip service to Besmara, and many of the funerals we had on my ship were at sea. That said they were typically accompanied by decent shares of treasure, deep at sea, and with their captain presiding in leu of priest, given one was rarely on board."
Knives gestures at the bodies.
"These poor lads already had their shares of treasure taken, either by salvagers or by Besmara herself. Their captain is either dead aboard or has left them to rot, and I ain't no priest. Oh, and we don't have a vessel capable of getting to the correct depths really. Besides," Knives shudders, "I think given their deaths that they've had enough of the water. Besmara will understand if they are interred on shore, and Pharasma's rights may do them more good given their... state. If I was them, a nice dry portion of land might be where I would want my bones to rest. If they have any identifying marks or letters left, let me see them. All back in the Shackles presume them dead already, but confirmation might help any grieving widows or mothers finally make peace."
Haloniel comments, "Burial on land could be a problem as the shore is rocky and I don't think we have any shovels. I suppose we could use the cutlasses as a make do for that, but it could be rough going. As for burial at sea, I think the water is too shallow for that, but I am no expert in such matters. Another alternative is to get as much as we can off the ship and then burn it. Knives would know best if that would destroy too much of a potential resource."
All told, the ship is in pretty poor shape. The Brine Demon is split in two about the middle, and while the masts are still intact the hull has been split in many places along the rocks. Some components could be salvaged, but overall the ship is spent.
"This wreck is little more than a tomb at this point. Other than the masts themselves there would be little point in trying to use the rotting wood here. I have no problems with burning what is not too wet to catch fire, but not as a funeral pyre for these men and the others. They need to be put to rest properly. You are right about the waters around here, they really are too shallow to give these men a proper burial, even if we had a boat to do it from. It might take time, but I think that if Jask, you and I work together we can at least get them to a point to bury them. Perhaps we can find something more suited to digging if we look a bit more, but if not their rusted blades will have to do."
Haloniel says, "Hopefully we can find some shovels then. Let's go further into the ship."
"After you, then. But mind Jask's warning."
Knives shakes his head.
The sooner we get off this wreck the better. And this island for that matter.
Haloniel puts his throwing dart back in his quiver. Then he draws his morningstar and concentrates for a moment casting light on the morningstar's head. That being done, Haloniel goes up the stairs.
The stairs emerge into a long central passage, with several open doorways on each side and set of stairs going up and down on the far side of the passage. The smell of salt water and must pervades the ship, mostly concealing the smell of corpses from the wreck of the Brine Demon.
Knives looks down the hall and examines the rooms that are open, from the hallway though, given he is not eager to go through another drowning haunting again.