Not wanting to have the same fate befall him, Markizio casts a quick spell to protect himself as he follows his captain.
"Hold on big guy! Don't get eaten. You probably taste terrible anyway."
------------
HP 51/51
AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17
Conditions: shield so AC=23
Melee (+1 keen falcata): +7 = +1(magical) +3(base) +3(STR)
Melee Damage (+1 keen falcata): 1d8+4 = +1(weapon) +3 (str), 17-20, x3
3/5 arcane pool
Spell used: alter self, glitterdust, magic missile, shield
Kung's rage overcomes him in an instant when the beast lifts him into the air, his pegleg twitching odd rhythms that can't be heard for lack of decking to tap against. "Kung not you dinner. You be Kung's dinner!" He flexes his considerable muscles, fueled by his rage, attempting to break free of the beast's grasp.
Kung immediately moves to the nearby mast, where he climbs into the rigging to strike at the beast.
HP 59/65
AC 16, touch 9, flat-footed 15 (+6 armor, +1 dex (grappled), +1 natural, -2 rage)
CMD: 21 (+5 BAB, +7 Str, +1 Dex (grappled), -2 rage)
Fort: +12, Ref: +11, Will: +7 (+2 rage)
Conditions: grappled, rage, Str damage: 1
CMB: +10 (+5 BAB, +7 Str, -2 grappled)
CMB vs grapple: +12 (+5 BAB, +7 Str)
Melee (+3 furious greatsword): +15 (+5 BAB, +7 str, +3 enhancement, -2 power attack, +2 rage)
Melee Damage (+3 furious greatsword): 2d6+21 (+10 str, +3 enhancement, +6 power attack, +2 rage)
7/13 rds Rage remaining
Jane calls out "It's weak to cold and resists fire!"
She lobs a bomb at the center mass, well away from Kung.
Kung struggles against the vine wrapped around him in vain, it's too strong to force open.
3rd round is now on. The party can go.
Marnir clings to the rigging with his legs, wrapping his thighs around the thick ropes to allow him to hack into the plant creature that continues to crush Kung. "Get off my bosun! he shouts as he brings his axe down on the viney tendrils.
|
Hearing Jane's declaration about the weakness of this thing, Ghilda unleashes an Icicle on the beast.
----------
Round Three
- Standard Action:
HP 53/53
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 16
Active conditions: None
Melee (+1 Brine's Sting): +6 = +4(base) +1(STR) +1(weapon enhancement), 18-20, x2
On a successful hit that deals damage, the target must succeed at a DC 14 Fortitude save or take a –1 penalty on attack and damage rolls for 1 round as salty brine drips painfully onto the wound. A new saving throw must be made each time the weapon deals damage. On a successful critical hit against a creature with the aquatic or water subtype, the target takes an additional 3d6 points of damage as its flesh cracks and withers from dehydration as salt crystals form around the wound.
Melee Damage (+1 Brine's Sting): 1d6+4 = +1(weapon enhancement) +1(STR) +2(Weapon of Awe)
Ranged Touch (Icicle): +7
Ranged Touch Damage (Icicle): 1d6 + 3
6/7 Icicle; 3/5 Channel Positive Energy
Spells used: Weapon of Awe, Prayer
Kung struggles against the creature's grip as he sees the sharp beak draw closer and closer. He focuses his effort and tries to force and squeeze his way out. "Kung... not... dinner..." he repeats with less vocal power than before, as his lungs find a reduced capacity under the creature's grip.
Clearly not able to break free of the creature's grasp at the present, he looks the creature in the eye--or what he guesses to be an eye--and lets out the loudest yell that he can muster with his restricted lungs; a yell without words, just simple vocal volume backed with his own fury.
HP 59/65
AC 16, touch 9, flat-footed 15 (+6 armor, +1 dex (grappled), +1 natural, -2 rage)
CMD: 21 (+5 BAB, +7 Str, +1 Dex (grappled), -2 rage)
Fort: +14 (+2 luck), Ref: +13 (+2 luck), Will: +9 (+2 rage, +2 luck)
Conditions: grappled, rage, prayer, Str damage: 1
CMB: +12 (+5 BAB, +7 Str, +2 luck, -2 grappled)
CMB vs grapple: +14 (+5 BAB, +7 Str, +2 luck)
Melee (+3 furious greatsword): +17 (+5 BAB, +7 str, +3 enhancement, -2 power attack, +2 rage, +2 luck)
Melee Damage (+3 furious greatsword): 2d6+23 (+10 str, +3 enhancement, +6 power attack, +2 rage, +2 luck)
6/13 rds Rage remaining
Seeing her first bomb hit, Jane decides to lob another.
5 damage splash, DC 14 Reflex
Markizio went up the rigging as he heard Jane yell out.
Without missing a beat, he funneled some of his magical energy into his blade. The falcata was instantly rimmed with an icy edge.
Markizio struck the plant thing with a vengeance.
-------------
HP 51/51
AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17
Conditions: shield so AC=23
Melee (+1 keen falcata): +8 = +1(magical) +4(base) +3(STR)
Melee Damage (+1 keen falcata): 1d8+4 = +1(weapon) +3 (str), 17-20, x3
2/5 arcane pool
Spell used: alter self, glitterdust, magic missile, shield
There is a loud Thud as Marnir severs the vine binding Kung and he lands back on the deck heavily.
Jane, Ghilda & Markizio all hammer the beast, it recoils from the damage, Ghilda & Markizio both can see it takes more damage from the cold.
More of your crew are pouring onto the deck. Red Mary bellows orders to her ballista team and begins turning one to aim at the beast.
The Beast seems uncaring at the lose of one vine, simply taking another from the selection around it and attaching it to it's self as a replacement.
It then lashes out at the people around it, seeking more food to make up for the snack stolen from it.
Beast: (50% miss chance due to blind. Low is a miss)
This attacks Markizio and misses him.
This attacks a sailor.
He screams as he's lifted in the air by the vine, blood being drained from him.
Miss.
Miss.
4th round. The party can go now.
Jane throws another bomb at the tangle of vines and sees it trying to attack people but poorly missing. "Poor thing, It can't see us."
"Get everyone out on deck, attack with with everything we've got!" Marnir roars down at Ghilda, hoping the first mate is coordinating the crew on deck. He turns back to the creature and continues to hack away at it with his axe, the blade chopping down as if he were cutting planks from a log.
Careful to avoid the flailing tentacles, Markizio redoubles his effot and swings once more with the enchanted falcata.
He titters on the rigging and slashes the plant beast.
critical?
HP 51/51
AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17
Conditions: shield so AC=23
Melee (+1 keen falcata): +8 = +1(magical) +4(base) +3(STR)
Melee Damage (+1 keen falcata): 1d8+4 = +1(weapon) +3 (str), 17-20, x3
2/5 arcane pool
Spell used: alter self, glitterdust, magic missile, shield
|
|
Ghilda fires off another Icicle on the beast. "Give it everything you've got! ATTACK!!!!"
----------
Round Four
- Standard Action:
HP 53/53
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 16
Active conditions: None
Melee (+1 Brine's Sting): +6 = +4(base) +1(STR) +1(weapon enhancement), 18-20, x2
On a successful hit that deals damage, the target must succeed at a DC 14 Fortitude save or take a –1 penalty on attack and damage rolls for 1 round as salty brine drips painfully onto the wound. A new saving throw must be made each time the weapon deals damage. On a successful critical hit against a creature with the aquatic or water subtype, the target takes an additional 3d6 points of damage as its flesh cracks and withers from dehydration as salt crystals form around the wound.
Melee Damage (+1 Brine's Sting): 1d6+4 = +1(weapon enhancement) +1(STR) +2(Weapon of Awe)
Ranged Touch (Icicle): +7
Ranged Touch Damage (Icicle): 1d6 + 3
5/7 Icicle; 3/5 Channel Positive Energy
Spells used: Weapon of Awe, Prayer
Kung lands hard on his back, losing his breath briefly before he stands up, gripping his greatsword tightly.
In his traditional "once bitten, never shy" fashion, the angry half-orc moves back to the mast and begins climbing into the rigging to get another attack in.
HP 59/65
AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+6 armor, +3 dex, +1 natural, -2 rage)
CMD: 23 (+5 BAB, +7 Str, +3 dex, -2 rage)
Fort: +14 (+2 luck), Ref: +13 (+2 luck), Will: +9 (+2 rage, +2 luck)
Conditions: rage, prayer, Str damage: 1
CMB: +14 (+5 BAB, +7 Str, +2 luck)
Melee (+3 furious greatsword): +17 (+5 BAB, +7 str, +3 enhancement, -2 power attack, +2 rage, +2 luck)
Melee Damage (+3 furious greatsword): 2d6+23 (+10 str, +3 enhancement, +6 power attack, +2 rage, +2 luck)
5/13 rds Rage remaining
Jane, Ghilda & Markizio again hammer the beast, which is starting to look rather battered now. Dragging the unfortunate sailor with it the Creeper tries to withdraw along the overhear vines.
Marnir & Markizio can take an AOO as it moves passed you on the vines.
It does lash out again, trying to take more food before it escapes.
Beast: (50% miss chance due to blind. Low is a miss)
Hit.
Another sailor screams as he joins his comrade in being snatched away.
Miss.
Hit. Attacking Markizio so it misses anyway.
|
|
Ghilda keeps it up lashing out with Icicle.
----------
Round Five
- Standard Action:
HP 53/53
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 16
Active conditions: Prayer
Melee (+1 Brine's Sting): +6 = +4(base) +1(STR) +1(weapon enhancement), 18-20, x2
On a successful hit that deals damage, the target must succeed at a DC 14 Fortitude save or take a –1 penalty on attack and damage rolls for 1 round as salty brine drips painfully onto the wound. A new saving throw must be made each time the weapon deals damage. On a successful critical hit against a creature with the aquatic or water subtype, the target takes an additional 3d6 points of damage as its flesh cracks and withers from dehydration as salt crystals form around the wound.
Melee Damage (+1 Brine's Sting): 1d6+4 = +1(weapon enhancement) +1(STR) +2(Weapon of Awe)
Ranged Touch (Icicle): +7
Ranged Touch Damage (Icicle): 1d6 + 3
4/7 Icicle; 3/5 Channel Positive Energy
Spells used: Weapon of Awe, Prayer
Markizio took a swing at the fleeing monster, "Leaving so soon? C'mon, stay for dinner. I feel like a big salad."
-------------
critical?
HP 51/51
AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17
Conditions: shield so AC=23
Melee (+1 keen falcata): +8 = +1(magical) +4(base) +3(STR)
Melee Damage (+1 keen falcata): 1d8+4 = +1(weapon) +3 (str), 17-20, x3
2/5 arcane pool
Spell used: alter self, glitterdust, magic missile, shield
"Yeah, that's right! Run!" Marnir yells as the vine creepature tries to escape. He brings his axe down on the thing again, trying to stop it leaving with his crewman.
Seeing that it's running off, Jane tries to hit it one last time with a bomb.
5 damage splash, DC 14 Reflex
The beast thrashes wildly for a second or two as the damage it has taken is completed with Jane's bomb, it crashes to the deck like a dead tree limb. Falling apart as the consciousness that animated the many vines that made up it's body fades away.
Most of the remains in it's core are rotted leather, or scraps of rusted armor, however one thing has survived the years well, a still perfect Spear is lodged deep in one of the beasts larger central vines.
A +1 Keen Spear to be exact.
Jane's bomb blows the creature into it's constituent parts and Marnir grips the rigging tightly as the corpse falls apart around him. He climbs down from the mainmast and starts to check on the crew. "How many injured?" he asks, looking round to make sure that the wounded are being helped.
Markizio jumped down the last couple of feet from the mast and joined his captain. Concerned about the crew, it was hard for him to hide his preference for Kung. The two had struck a friendship and he didn't want any harm to come to his peg-legged friend.
He joked, "Kung, you taste so bad that thing spit you out! I think you need to do something about your diet or something."
tag?
Markizio kicked around the junk that fell out of the giant plant creature. The spear caught his eye, "This is a beauty. We should not sell this. I think the big guy deserves it."
------------
The rest of the night passes quietly, if nervously, marked by very, very alert guards patrolling the deck.
As the first light of dawn peeks into the darkened cove from the east, the jungle cliffs come alive with patterns of shadow and light in a thousand fanciful, ever-shifting shapes. When the sun is fully up, the cliffs will return to their normal appearance, but for these few moments they are almost magical with this display of shadow art. In the shadowy half light, a group of caves and crevices on the cliff face takes on the appearance of a grinning skull. As the morning sun illuminates the shadow
that resembles the skull’s mouth, a previously unseen glint of gold sparkles brightly in the sunlight, as if the skull has a gold tooth.
Jane looks at the shiny skull. Starting to aproach it, Jane casts "Detect Magic" and looks for traps.
"We wait and see what the morning brings us, first mate. Didn't that riddle say something about first light?" he replies to Ghilda. Marnir makes a final tour of the deck before turning in for the night.
Dawn the next morning is peaceful, for which Marnir is grateful. A cry of surprise from the watch brings him on deck to see the skull-like caves in the rock face. "Is that the Grave Lady's prize tooth?" he thinks out loud, pointing to the glittering rock in the skull's mouth.
Dawn the next morning is peaceful, for which Marnir is grateful. A cry of surprise from the watch brings him on deck to see the skull-like caves in the rock face. "Is that the Grave Lady's prize tooth?" he thinks out loud, pointing to the glittering rock in the skull's mouth.
Up and awake and ready to find some treasure, markizio prowled the deck for any sign of this riddle.
He smiled at his captain as he points out the tooth, "That's it. It's got to be. Let's go down and investigate."
He added, "The crew should remain on alert. There's no telling when the sea devils will come back."
---------
You can easily take positions to note the location of this shadow image so they can locate it again when it disappears a few moments later as the sun rises. A search for the “prize tooth” quickly locates a large deposit of pyrite, or “fool’s gold,” that has been set within a crevice so that it reflects the light when hit by the morning sun.
It is obviously not a natural feature of the island. Thirty feet above the beach, two caves open into the cliff face where the skull’s eye sockets would be. Ascending to these caves reveals the rotten stub of a wooden boom (invisible from below) that was likely used to hoist heavy loads up to the caves.
Which of the caves are you checking first? I'll call the west cave 1 and the eastern cave 2.
Markizio's joke brings a smile to Kung's face as he recovers on the deck, weary from his exertion. "Kung keep eat the same; stay taste bad!" Clearly shaken by a close call that was closer than he's used to, his smile remains, grateful to have a good friend to help his spirit up. He helps the rest of the officers and crew with the cleanup in the aftermath of the attack, but his attention never really strays too far from the vines above.
When Markizio presents the spear, the half-orc takes it to hand. "Kung like all weapons; give it try."
Kung awakens early, having tossed and turned throughout the night. When the morning watchman cries out, his greatsword is almost immediately in his hands, his eyes probing the canopy above for threats. It takes him a moment to follow arms where they point to realize that it's not a threat. He gently drops his arms as he gazes at the skull in fascination.
"Did pirate find this, or make this? If find, how lucky! If make, so much work! And now gone!" He exclaims as the sun moves past the point of illuminating the features. "How do that! Only see it for short minutes! It magic. Must be magic." He keeps looking from the sun to the cliff walls; whether he's trying to see the skull again, or hoping to see new images appear amongst the shadows, is not obvious.
He leaves the decisions about exploration to the others, not even trying to interpret riddles.
"I think the poem wants us to 'climb the captain's wayward orb. Someone mentioned something about Captain Wolfe losing his right eye in battle. It would make sense that we go into the right hand socket. Does that sound right?" Marnir asks, checking with the others that his logic is right.
Markizio recalls the poem and his knowledge about it, "Easy. It's the right eye. The treasure is in the right cavern."
He turns to crew, "Keep your eyes open. I think we are gonna bring back something nice to share with all of you."
"I think the poem wants us to 'climb the captain's wayward orb. Someone mentioned something about Captain Wolfe losing his right eye in battle. It would make sense that we go into the right hand socket. Does that sound right?" Marnir asks, checking with the others that his logic is right.
Jane watches as these guys bicker. "Well, one of us have to put it in there... Might as well get on with it."
She moves to put the gem into the open eye socket. Does see sense any traps along the way?
A narrow earthen opening ascends into the cliff above. The cave mouth is a tight fit behind the screening vines and roots, but it looks accessible with a little effort.
The tunnel climbs to a point just below the island’s surface. Sunlight filters faintly through a rent in the earth above, where a gargantuan tree grows down into the rocky soil, its prodigious root system blocking any further progress ahead. The fissures and crevices in the bark of the tree’s trunk, just visible at the roof of the tunnel, vaguely resemble a wrinkled human visage with a craggy crown upon its brow, while the spread of roots below seems like the hoary growth of an ancient beard.
This is the “old king’s hoard” referred to in the map, marking the spot where the treasure was buried. Searching among the roots finds further confirmation in a humanoid skull tangled among the root tendrils, its
hollow eye sockets directed toward the earthen floor.
The ground here is rocky soil that must be laboriously excavated with spades and picks. After descending 10 feet, you reach the bedrock of the island and hit a 6-inch-thick layer of wooden planks laid across the pit bottom.
The removal of the wooden planks reveals a sinkhole descending into the rock. It drops thirty feet to the still, dark surface of water below. The broken remnants of a wooden platform and stair cling to the wall, but the structures themselves have long since rotted away and dropped into the inscrutable depths.
Digging up where the treasure was supposed to be has revealed that someone has already taken it, where the treasure supposedly was is now under water. No prizes for guessing who now has Cyrus Wolfe's hoard.
What are you doing?
Jane looks down at the bottom of the sinkhole. "Well, do you guys wanna go down and see whats down there, or go back and poke this skull in his other eyes."
A long climb, a request for tools, and many hours spent digging down into the island reveals nothing but a long drop into dark water. "Well, s@@#!" Marnir exclaims, wiping sweat from his brow and leaving a trail of dust and mud across his forehead. "That feels like a wasted effort."
Then his eyes light up. "Captain Wolfe seems to have been a bit of a trickster in his time. What if his 'hoard' always looked like this? What if there's something beneath that water?" He stops to look around at his friends. "What if we go down there and have a look at what's still there? Those structures," he points to the rotted remnants of the stairs and platform, "must have led somewhere. Who's with me?" he asks, with a level of excitement normally reserved for boarding actions and drinking.
Markizio nodded at his captain, "Well, I'm not turning away now. Not after my shirt and pants are all filthy with mud."
He looked at the hole, "But that is underwater. I can turn into a gill-man again but what about the rest of you? Do we have potions to help?"
"If you show me how you do that changing into a gillman thing, I'd wager I could do it too," Marnir says pensively.
"If you show me how you do that changing into a gillman thing, I'd wager I could do it too," Marnir says pensively.
Markizio nodded, "I would be glad to captain but the spell only lasts a few minutes. I think our best bet is for Ghilda to pray to Besmara to grant all of us the ability to breathe water>"
He turned to Ghilda, "Can you do that now or do we wait for your morning prayers?"
"Good plan," Marnir agrees. He checks the pocket on his bandolier which contains his last potion of water breathing, making sure that the container is still intact. "We have a few potions left I think, maybe we should keep them for emergencies."
Kung, who collapses into a worn-out heap at the end of nearly any battle, looks hale and refreshed after digging for hours to uncover the empty treasure hoard. "Markizio, you shirt dirty." He smiles, then wipes a small bit of sweat off his brow and listens as all discuss their options.
"Kung still have potion. Had two, now just one."
Ghilda, refreshed from her sleep and her time meditating, listens to the banter. "I can share this spell with us all - can Jane make more potions of water breathing, just in case?"
Chorley instinctively preens at Markizio's clothes, vaguely upset that the fancy lad's garments are soiled.
Markizio stopped cleaning his clothes for a second to provide his opinion, "I have a potion that I can use. I think your spell should be used on three people giving them approx 4 hours of water breathing. The other two will drink the potion, which provides 10 hours of water breathing."
He sighed, "Hopefully, we can get down there and sort this thing out in four hours. If not, we'll have to come up and try again when your spell is available."
-------------