Harmony knows better than to protest out loud when Plugg gives the order to go down to the bilges. But it is by far the most distasteful thing she's had to do so far. Maybe I should count my blessings that I've had three days and "only" a whipping...but this is going too far. Do they have any idea what sort of filth floats in those waters? No. I'm not going. Nuh-uh. Never in a million years. Gritting her teeth, she nonetheless follows the others below decks although she makes absolutely certain not to go into the bilges yet. And will try to avoid it as much as she can. On the way down to the bilges, she tries to get some more information regarding the whispers about Jack Scrimshaw having gotten bitten. She tries to chat a few words with each crew member she passes, and tries to see if they have any information about what exactly Jack had said.
Regardless, whenever they arrive at the bilges, she hems and haws and looks quite uncomfortable. "Are you sure we need to go down there? It's...you know...*filthy*", she gestures a hand at the hatch leading down, grimacing. "Maybe we can just like, pour a barrel of rum down there to disinfect everything?" Yes, she's trying everything she can to get out of this.
When Artevious spoke of Jack Esmarelda gave him a sideways glance. "Really? Think he'd rather throw his lot in with us?" She asked.
"I do indeed! I made his acquaintance that first night. I daresay he's an artist's soul, and hasn't had it blackened by the likes of Scourge."
I looked down into the bilges and steeled myself against its reek. Plus, it was mightily hot down there. When Harmony recoiled about the task, I did my best to assuage her doubts. "Perhaps there are some crates and whatnot you could stand upon as we searched. But pouring a barrel of rum down there will only add to the stick, and maybe threaten to ignite from the torches we'll have to bring down there."
Gall casts a quizzical look back toward Harmony as he quirks a brow, eyeing her up and down. "If yer feelin' a mite skittish, lass, ye can stay on that ladder while the lot of us slog through it. Unless ye want us to give ye a minute to get some thick booties on, aye?" He suggests with a bemused smile as he starts down the ladder himself. "It probably ain't nothin' more than rats down here, anyhow. Don't get yer britches in a bunch."
Harmony mumbles something to herself.
"I will absolutely not refuse that offer. I will happily stay on the ladder. I will provide...some sort of...valuable watch duty...or something."
Gall, hearing the woman's quip in reply with his keen ears, bursts into hearty laughter and he shakes his head. "Don't ye say that too loud now, or the crew here might try and see for themselves!"
"Ah, if you're concerned about your booty, your best bet is to bury it upon an island of which only you know the whereabouts."
Covered in two days' worth of sludge, bilge, sweat and worse, Cueta just shakes her head as she makes her way down the ladder, letting out a large guffaw as Artevious speaks. It was funny, mostly because Cueta wasn't sure if the man was joking or not.
You don't see anything distinct, but there is certainly some movement in the water that would suggest something is there.
Indeed Jack had been bitten it would seem. The Stitchman had seen to his injury from what you manage to over hear. Jack had mentioned some eerie writing on the wall, as well as a sharp piercing pain through his leg. Some people say Jack's got a wild imagination, but no one's actually been brave enough to see for themselves yet.
The water in the bilges is uncomfortably hot today, and the smell is enough to make anyone gag. A quick survey of the area will reveal the words Cueta had carved into the bilges during her time down here. A few forgotten and waterlogged crates are stacked in the corner as well as a few that look to be a bit better sealed.
Cueta goes down the ladder after Gall. Pausing near the top, she nudges Gall with her foot, and speaks in a low, quite voice. "There's something down there. Wait."
As soon as her hands had touched the ladder, the whispers had started, massaging the back of Cueta's mind, old words of power. "Paireti eze nwaanyị, ka m na-ahụ ụzọ m iro, n'ihi ya, ka m wee ziga ha, gị."
Touching the claw dangling from her neck, a burst of light illuminates the bilges, casting aside the shadows.
"Follow my lead..."
Cueta watches the movement in the water, and when it gets close, she jumps from the top of the ladder, aiming her pike at the enemy under the water."Now!"
At Cueta's request, Gall pauses at the bottom of the ladder before he can reach the water, feeling a bit foolish. Looking around before he descended should have been first priority, not poking fun at crewmates. He takes a quick peek around, trying to spot what Cueta had earlier. Not that his attempts have much time to come to fruition. As soon as she leaps off the ladder, he swings himself out of her way to clutch the side of the ladder and drop into the bilge water beside her.
"What we talking about?" Esmarelda asked the group as they spoke to Harmony. The lost look on her face told them she had not heard what the bard has said. "N-nevermind..." She said when she noticed she was the only one who didn't know.
She hurried after Gall and Cueta, though she didn't have a weapon and casting a spell without a sure target was a bad idea. But she did need to be down there in order to target anything with a spell. "I really hope this is just rats." She said as she looked around. "Catching rats is simple." She commented, remembering the day she had caught the rats as her task and not even Plugg could complain.
Harmony stays at the top of the ladder, looking down into the bilges. Her first action is to make a few gestures and speak a few arcane words, casting dancing lights and sending four glowing spheres of light into the bilges to illuminate it. "Hopefully you can see a little better", she says, though it's not like it was dark before. But additional light is scarcely harmful. "See anything down there? By the way, if it's rats: ew." She looks thoughtful for a moment. "Although -- if we kill some, Gall could always slip them into Maheem's food." Yes, Maheem. He deserves some payback from earlier. I don't think I would take the chance with Scourge or Plugg quite yet. On the off chance that they have some sort of magic to check their food, I would really rather not have more lashes.
Esmarelda, Cueta, Gall, Artevious, Creature, Harmony
With so many people in the water now, the ripples in the water all mesh together, making it impossible to identify any specific movement. The water of the bilges is filthy and difficult to see through, giving whatever it is a place to hide.
She had it and then it was gone, into the shadows and the shifting water. Gripping her boarding pike, Cueta surveys the room, waiting for the creature to make itself known.
"Still! Be still!"
Staying as wary as I could, I moved into the waterlogged hold. It truly was an unpleasant place, but now thankfully well-lit through the use of Cueta's and Harmony's magics. I held my cutlass out, ready to slash at whatever may be lurking in these fetid waters.
Gall does as Cueta suggests, but keeps his eyes peeled as he tries to make out whatever is stirring up the water below them.
"I'm not moving." Esmarelda stated as Cueta shouted her orders. Though she does ready herself to cast a spell at the first hostile thing she see.
As you hold your positions, the waters seem to go still. The only sounds you can hear are the dull thuds and muffled shouts from above along with the creaking of the ship and lapping of the waves outside. The light flickers eerily across the top of the hot, murky waters as you wait.
Though you aren't kept waiting long before three giant rats that would rival Conchobhar Shortstone in size come lunging towards those in the water, followed by two more of their disgusting companions.
Orange rat bites at Cueta!
The attack misses!
Orange rat bites at Esmarelda!
The attack misses!
Orange rat bites at Gall!
The attack misses!
Orange rat bites at Gall!
The attack misses!
Purple rat seems a bit slow on the uptake, and manages to attack one of the support beams. Anyone in the water can see it's got a large growth on the side of its head.
Once their attacks are finished, you all realize that the water is giving them some amount of concealment. No wonder they hide in there!
"It *is* rats! I told you: ew!" Harmony cries out as the creatures make their presence known, causing her to recoil in disgust. "You guys can handle them, right? You have like, three skilled sword arms." Momentarily, she reconsiders. "Well, between four and six if any of you are ambidextrous." With everyone else already downstairs, she descends halfway down the ladder so it's easier for her to join in the fray if necessary, but stays just short of actually touching the waters. She guides the four dancing lights to hover just above four rats (the purple rat is left without one) to highlight their positions.
Rats! Unusually-sized rodents surged out of the muck at us. I sloshed over to the one threatening Esmeralda and took a swipe at it with my trusty cutlass.
I felt my blade slice into the overgrown rat nicely. "True enough, Harmony! One sword arm is enough for me, though."
"Thank you handsome." Esmarelda said as Artevious's blade cut into the rat.
Words of Arcane power came from Esmarelda's lips, but she fumbled just at the end. "Damn.." She muttered as she lost the spell. "I need room to cast, if they stay on top of me I can't be sure I'll get a spell off." She informed those around her.
Unlike all of those around him acting with some form of finesse or another, Gall simply rears back a cestus-clad fist and tries to squash the nearest rat flat. Even if it meant getting shoulder deep in the muck of the bilges in the process.
"See if ye can't circle 'round behind one of 'em. If we can gang up on 'em, they'll go down quicker."
Boxed in by three rats, Cueta is unable to swing her pike. She thinks about trying to squeeze past Esmarelda to the port side of the ship, but quickly dismisses the thought. Too dangerous. Instead, the sailor adopts a defensive posture, hoping that one of her allies can open up space for her to shift into.
"Space! I need space!"
You easily concentrate on your lights as you cling to the ladder. It's hot, smelly, and gross down here. You'll probably want a bath later. Too bad there are no baths on this boat...
The spell fizzles, and all you are able to produce is a few slimy drops of what appears to be jello which promptly splot into the water harmlessly.
After getting a good look at the rats, you easily identify them as Dire Rats; a filthy rodent who carries filth fever. Filth fever is a disease that sets in a day or two after exposure. Infect people often become clumsy and less hale as the disease progresses.
Gall recognizes the over grown rats as Dire Rats, and that they are carriers of filth fever, though you do not know the details of the disease.
Artevious' blade catches the rat under the chin as it rears up to hiss as Esmarelda, slicing cleanly through the rat's throat. The beast falls, splashing into the water as bright red blood stains the already muddied water.
===============================
Boxed in by three rats, Cueta swings her pike at the rat to the stern of her, but her pike drags along the ceiling, catching a beam and stopping her mid-swing. Realizing that she can't get the angle she needs, Cueta brings the pike down around Gall aiming the pike past the big man at the rat on his other side.
"Space! I need space!"
I spared Esmarelda a dashing grin as I held my cutlass at the ready. Now that I could see them, I steeled myself for the counterattack.
Spend 1 panache point and make an attack roll. If this beats the attacker's roll, then it automatically misses. If I have at least one panache point left (which I will), I may make an immediate action attack against the attacker.
Despite the lack of space, Cueta manages to skewer one of the Dire Rats with her spear. The rat flails as it falls back off the spear head and falls into the water, twitching in the throes of death.
Seeing Cueta handle his initial target and the other (purple) rat still gnawing away feebly at the support beam, he redirects his attack towards the next (green) rat. His weaponized fist bashes into the rat's head. Judging from the way it lies still, it likely isn't going to be causing any more problems for the party.
A splashing in the water announces the arrival of a new rat near Artevious. Due to the concealment the rat's have in the murky water, no AoOs are possible!
Red rat bites at Artevious!
The attack misses!
Orange rat bites at Cueta!
The attack hits!
Round 2
Her attention turned towards the stern of the Wormwood, Cueta never even sees the rat coming. Crying out as she feels a sharp pain pierce her calf, the Mwangi spins and kicks her leg free from the vermin's bite. Stumbling backwards, Cueta brings her weapon around and siezing the rat up, jabs with her pike...
The murky waters confounded my ability to keep my sword between the rats and my person, but the newest rat that appeared was unable to bite me anyway. I slashed back at it, mindful of its sharp teeth.
Gall grimaces a bit as he gets splashed in the face with a bit of the bilges brine, but he turns to finish the job. After all, that purple rat is still snarling and gnashing its teeth, even if it is only at the pillar beside him.
Harmony keeps an eye on the fight, staying up on the ladder to avoid being drenched with bilge water. She tries to keep the area well lit with her magical lights, and pays attention so that she's ready to join the fight if it really seems like it becomes necessary. "Ow! Cueta, that looked bad! Are you all right?", she calls out as the inquisitor whirls around to attack the rat just bit her.
"Still have no room." She said before she tried her spell again hoping that this time she may be able to get something done! So far she hasn't been able to do a damn thing. Come on Es be useful! She told herself as she tried to finish the spell.
More of the gelatinous slime slides off Esmaredla's hands in into the waters below.
Cueta's pike once again finds its mark, easily piercing through the soft flesh of the (orange) Dire Rat. It takes only a quick shake of the spear head to free it from what has now become a corpse.
Despite it's peculiar choice of target, the (purple) rat nimbly steps to the side, avoiding Gall's potentially devastating punch.
Once again, Artevious' blade strike true, slashing the (red) rat through the heart with a well placed thrust of his blade. The rat screeches its last sounds before it's swallowed by the murky waters.
Despite being the last one standing, purple rat and his large growth protruding from his pitiful face continue to gnaw at the wood. He looks a bit thin, like he hasn't seen a decent meal for a while.
"I almost feel sorry for it", Harmony says from her perch on the ladder, watching the purple rat and its misguided antics. If I were a wizard, maybe I could find a way to commune with it and make it my familiar...alas, I'm not, she thinks to herself. Nor do the others seem like the type, either. Perhaps it's just best to put it out of its misery. A more scholarly minded person might consider studying what sort of growth it is that ails the rat, but for the moment, Harmony is just made queasy by the place where all the ship's filth drips down to and ultimately ends up. "Should we feed it or something, or just end its pain?" she calls out to the others, but only scant moments after she says that, a light bulb goes off over her head. "We could catch it and slip it into the officers' quarters when they're sleeping!" Well, that idea lasts another few scant moments, before she slumps a little. "Yeah, probably not a good idea. Not relishing the thought of getting caught and whipped again."
Stepping backwards, Cueta spins to see one rat still up, the one just knawing at the wood. She's about to bring her pike up to end it, when Harmony calls down from the ladder. Cueta lowers her pike into the bilge. "It seems to be addled. But no threat to us."
Esmarelda looked the rat over from the distance she was at. "I think that would really depend upon what the growth on it's face is. I mean if it is going to kill the poor thing anyways it may be better to end it's pain now... Can anyone tell what that thing is?" Esmarelda asked as she looked around to her friends.
"I don't know much about medicine, either human or animal", Harmony answers, abstaining from the issue on her own part, and looks around for if anyone else is better positioned to answer the dilemma.
Gall, finally snapping out of his fight-or-flight instincts, takes in the poor rat's physical state. After a quick glance around the bilges tells him that all the others are taken care of, he frowns thoughtfully and does some quick thinking. Maybe he can puzzle out what is wrong with the rat.
"Just, eh... Hold on a tic. I'll see if I can't calm the wee bugger down, maybe we can make a friend here." One hand slips into one of his pockets as he beckons to the fairly enormous rat. "C'mon, then, ye silly thing. Ol' Gall's got a treat for ye, if ye just calm down and swim on over here."
"Let's see if we can establish a bit of communication with it...everyone but Gall back off a little bit, give it some space..." Harmony instructs from the ladder, trying to help out with managing the situation a little.
The fighting seemed mostly over, except for one with something on its face that wasn't a threat the entire fight, yet managed to escape several swings at it. Now the rest of my companions seemed interested into a pathetic creature. I shrugged, not really having any affinity with rats, sickly or no.
Instead, I stayed wary for other threats lurking in the bilge waters.
The malformed and malnourished Dire Rat looks hesitantly between Gall and Harmony as he ceases chewing at the wood of the ship. He sniffs about and slowly moves forward, pausing every few steps to rear back on his hind legs and adjusting his course. As he gets closer, you can all see a white film covering his beady little eyes.
As far as Gall can tell, it's either a tumor or a swollen, puss-filled injury of some sort that's progressively gotten worse over the years. You can easily deduce that it's likely done some damage to his brain, but are unsure if it's causing any discomfort or pain.
Cueta notices that some of the crates behind you are labeled as grain, and that there's a hole through the top back corner large enough for a Dire Rat to fit through.
My heart breaks a little for the thing...life isn't exactly a picnic being a rat on a pirate ship in the first place, let alone being settled with an affliction like that... Harmony looks at the dire rat with empathy clear in her eyes. Still, she's not a veterinarian nor does she have access to any healing magic either, so she's at a loss regarding what to do. She keeps looking over the rest of the group in the hopes that one of them might be able to present a solution to this dilemma.
"I believe we can report a resounding success to Mister Scourge," I offered. "I daresay he would be hard-pressed to find anything wrong with our performance this morning, wouldn't you agree?"
I grabbed one of the carcasses by the tail and began moving or the ladder, since it occurred to me that leaving them in these waters to rot would only make the bilges an even more unpleasant place. "Unless you have further business down here, I believe it best to head topside. Shall we go?" I offered Esmarelda a hand to help her up the ladder with the one not holding vermin.
Cueta backs off as Harmony suggests, and leans on her pike, breathing heavily. The words come to her then, whispers in the back of her mind. Holding her hand to the wound on her leg, Cueta intones the Pirate Queen. "Malkia wa maharamia, nipe nguvu ya kuendelea mapambano yako, keep me juu ya mawimbi kutuma hazina na adui zenu kwa Besmara Chest."
Amazed as the bleeding stops and the bite closes shut, Cueta smiles, for surely Besmara was smiling on the Mwangi today.
Going to her hiding place, Cueta pries the board loose and removes the axe.
"I'll need a rat left down here. And a bottle or something similar, if you can trade for it, Esmarelda."
Handing the axe to the young woman, Cueta continues. "So, your scarf, my bow and arrows, a weapon - a rapier if there is one, or perhaps a shortspear or dagger, if there isn't. And a bottle - the bottle is important. And anything else you can get in trade, I suppose. Good luck."
Hiding one of the rat's corpses behind the mast Cueta follows Artevious up the stairs. "The addled rat, perhaps we should bring it some dinner. Or leave a crate of grain there - the rats came from there to begin with."
Gall beckons the poor creature over before carefully moving to scoop it up out of the brackish water and cradle it under one arm like a baby. He frowns thoughtfully as he inspects the growth on its head, but makes no effort to vocalize his thoughts on the matter. Disgusting as the beast might appear, most of them were equally soiled by the water in the bilges by now, so he cannot fault it.
Two fingers slip to behind one of its ears and scratch affectionately there as he steps toward one of the crates Cueta mentioned. Sure enough, they are labeled as containing grain and he moves to try to tear the top off of another unopened crate. Perhaps there will be food enough within for this one to get a decent meal finally. "Don't ye worry 'bout this one gettin' dinner. I'll see to that, soon as Fishguts gets done makin' it. And if it ain't too much trouble, lass, I'd appreciate ye gettin' my sword back, as well. It'll be the bloody big one."
If there is grain to be found within the crate, he carefully deposits the creature within and pats one of its haunches fondly. Only then does he set the top back on the crate. If not, he simply makes a bit of room for the rat within by moving some of the contents aside before doing the same. Better to keep it in a safe place where it cannot menace any other pillars.
As he moves to catch up to Cueta and Artevious, beckoning the other two women with him, he quietly asks the Mwangi, "Ye got some sort of plan in yer head what you don't mind sharin'? We could be a fair bit of help, maybe."
Cueta looks around to make sure that no one can listen on her. "Not a plan, exactly. More a... a partially formed idea. The writing I did has made its way through the crew - I'm sure you heard whispers of this on the way to the bilges this morning. But we've got to keep it up. I'm going to bleed the rat, use the blood to write something... somewhere... that will put fear in the crew, and Scourge, Plugg, and Harrigan. And I've got the boy - Jakes - his locket hidden in the bilges. I'm not sure how, but that is going to be very useful. And I'm sure there's more to do, to set the crew on edge... Any ideas?"
Combat is a sweaty task at the best of times, and even worse in the sweltering heat of the bilges. After the adrenaline starts to edge off, the hot temperatures start to weigh down on you.
Though Artevious certainly feels the heat, he manages to bear it well with no ill effects.
The heat presses down on Cueta, leaving her feeling breathless and dehydrated. She'd swear she was getting a sunburn, though maybe that's just the hot water lapping at her legs.
Esmarelda begins to feel a touch light headed from the heat. A headache starts to form and she suspects if she spends much longer down here she may just collapse to heat exhaustion.
Even the most seasoned sailors can succumb to the heat of the bilges on a hot day, and gall is no exception. You begin to feel the same unhealthy discomfort of a man who has spent too much time in a sauna and your sweat simply cannot keep up with you body's cooling demands.
Avoiding combat and staying out of the water has certainly given Harmony and edge on combating the heat of the bilges.