A face appears above the railing as one of the boarders tries to pull himself aboard the Drake. He is met with Marnir's axe.
Seeing the guys start to board the ship, Jane lobs another bomb at the same person. Trying to get this boat of floaters flushed.
5 damage splash, DC 14 Reflex
Vakarla is flying towards Markizio at what she thinks is a safe height when Niobe hits her with a targeted Dispel magic. With a shriek of surprise and fear Vakarla hit the deck with a thud!
Marnir welcomes the Wrecker to the Unbound Drake in typical fashion, an axe to the face. The Wrecker manages to cling onto the rope.
More howls erupt from the longboat as Jane hits with another hissing concoction.
Kung & Markizio still have actions this round I believe?
Marnir pushes a surge of magic into his axe blade on the backswing, pausing briefly to chant the first lines of his war song, before bringing his axe back down in a two-handed slash.
Kung & Markizio still have actions this round I believe?
Seeing the Wizard fall to the deck is too much for Kung's instincts. He sprints over to her slumped figure and swings with all his fury.
Vakarla shrieks again as she's nearly cut in two.
Marnir sends one Wrecker to the water with a wail of despair, the shark fins are already closing in as blood stains the waters.
The Teal Wrecker scrambles aboard, going into Rage. Marnir Has another coming up the rope for him, ignoring the fate of his fellow Half-orc and howling for blood.
Vakarla (-49) looks up at Kung and tries to cast a spell at him.
Everybody else can go again. Though things may change depending on weither Vakarla's spell works.
With another magic missile ready at his fingertips, the magus just waited until the half-orc b~$#~ started casting again.
He released the missiles just as she spoke some arcane words...
-------
HP 51/59
AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 19
Conditions: shocking burst
Melee (+1 keen falcata): +9 = +1(magical) +5(base) +3(STR)
Melee Damage (+1 keen falcata): 1d8+4 = +1(weapon) +3 (str), 17-20, x3
+2 dam if arcane strike, -2/+4 if 1H power attack
4/6 arcane pool
Spell used: fireball, magic missile, magic missile
Vakarla's (-66) spell fails again as the vindictive Markizio punishes her cruelly.
The rest of the party can now act.
"You should have learned from your friend down there!" Marnir says in-between stanzas of his war chant. Shifting his attention he tries to sever the rope the boarders are using, preventing them from getting on his deck.
Seeing that the other boats people have started to come over the edge of the ship, Jane tries to finish off the two in the yellow boat. Tossing a bomb at the purple one.
5 damage splash, DC 14 Reflex
Kung & Markizio still have actions this round I believe?
_____________
"You not wreck us; Unbound Drake wreck you!" Kung's eyes go wild as his peg-leg dances in-place in its familiar rhythm.
Kung strikes hard at the other half-orc, his blade swinging in multiple slashes as he attempts to end the combat early.
HP 75+14/75
AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+6 armor, +3 dex, +1 natural, -2 rage, +1 haste, -1 inspired rage)
Fort: +12, Ref: +12 (+1 haste), Will: +9 (+2 inspired rage)
All saves: (+4 vs. spells/-like abilities, superstition)
Conditions: rage, battle cry, haste, inspired rage
Melee (+3 furious greatsword): +18/+11 (+6 BAB, +7 str, +3 enhancement, -0/-2 power attack, +2 rage, +1 morale (battle cry), +1 haste)
Melee Damage (+3 furious greatsword): 2d6+21 (+10 str, +3 enhancement, +6 power attack, +2 rage)
Ranged (javelin, amentum, 50'): +9 (+6 BAB, +3 dex, +1 morale (battle cry), +1 haste)
Ranged Damage (javelin): 1d8+8 (+7 str, +1 whetstone)
14/15 rds Rage remaining
Kung cuts Vakarla into pieces with two mighty blows.
Once she is dead the remainder of the Wreckers surrender quickly.
Once the fight ends you all blink as the very waters around you change dramatically. Where the supposed merchant ship was lies a reef. Chasing the merchant would have driven the Drake onto the reef catastrophically.
Now the waters are clear you can also see two ships wrecked and resting on the bottom, one being the missing Lady's sting. The Wreckers tell you quickly of the location of their island base, hoping to curry favor.
"This is... quite an operation," says Niobe, obviously a bit taken in by the complexity of the gambit. "Cap'n, would you like me to go below and survey the wreckage of the Lady's Sting?"
Treasure: The wreckers’ base contains cargo and supplies worth 6 points of plunder, primarily consisting of leather, spices, timber, and various ships’ equipment.
The base also contains three longboats and a crude alchemist’s laboratory in one hut.
Vakarla’s sea chest lies buried under a thin layer of sand beneath her bunk, and can be found with a successful DC 20 Perception check.
The unlocked trunk holds a mithral dagger set with aquamarine gemstones worth 900 gp, a Shackles ensign, 320 gp in mixed coins, and Vakarla’s spellbook. The spellbook contains all of Vakarla’s prepared spells, all cantrips, knock, wall of force, and water breathing.
A DC 25 Perception check discovers a golden statue of a wasp wrapped in oilcloth and stuffed in an empty barrel, the Golden Vespal, stolen from the Lady’s Sting.
Jain points. "More loot over here.
"Kung, how about you cast an eye over these 'volunteers'?" Marnir suggests, casting a wary glance over the suddenly-friendly wreckers as he puts his axe away. "If they seem to be useful and trustworthy we can take them on. If not..." He leaves the sentence to tail off, the implied threat clear.
"Aye, see if you can find anything of interest," he replies to Niobe. "Come back if anything happens though, don't want you getting stuck down there on your own. And see if you can work out what that at other ship is. It'd be mighty helpful if it's the Brine Banshee."
Markizio looked over the dead illusionist, "Pretty neat set up she had going here."
He turned to Niobe, "Is is safe for you to go down there alone? I can transform into something more aquatic and go down with you?"
-----------
Niobe says in reply to Markizio, "I can almost certainly out-swim anything down there! Even just to get away if I have to."
She steps up to the edge of the ship and strips off some of her extraneous gear, though for caution's sake she retains her weapons and armor. She clambers up on to the railing and then leaps into the air, arms extended above her. With a sparkle and a twist that takes less than a second her legs merge and form into a powerful, sparkling, scaled fishtail. She bends in midair, dives into the water with a small splash, and then with powerful strokes of her tail diminishes as she swims with great speed below the clear tropical waters.
She spends several minutes weaving in and out of the wrecks, going in through windows, popping out of doorways, then vanishing under a deck once more. Finally, after about half an hour of searching, she makes her way back to the surface and pokes her head above the water.
"Nothing left but barnacles, cap'n," she shouts up to the crew above. "The Wreckers probably already did the business on these."
She waits for someone to let down a rope so that she can be hauled back up onto the ship.
More half-orcs for crew. All strong; all raw. Good. Kung looks over the new recruits and suggests that they be accepted as crew. "Kung think they our kind of crew. Strong, good for hard work, and good to fight. No problem they see Unbound Drake better than boring wrecking crew."
Spies:
When you return the Golden Vespal to the House of Stolen Kisses as proof of their revenge against Vakarla’s wreckers, Dindreann lives up to her end of the bargain, and tells you that one of the temple’s patrons, a half-elf scrimshander in Drenchport named Jaymiss Keft, claimed to have knowledge of a spy operating in the Shackles.
You should seek him out to learn the name of this spy.
Brine Banshee:
If you ask Dindreann about the Brine Banshee, she tells them that
she knows of someone with information about the lost ship. Since you have already defeated the wreckers and returned the Golden Vespal to the
temple, Dindreann gives you this information for free.
She tells you that a retired ship’s doctor in the port of Ollo named Haneilius Fitch claims to have a means to locate the Brine Banshee, but is looking for someone to bankroll his expedition.
So, two directions to sail for, what is the party doing?
The lack of further treasure on the wrecks is disappointing, but unsurprising. With Kung taking control of the new recruits Marnir follows Jane's course, taking them back to Dindreann and the House of Stolen Kisses.
Prepared this time, Marnir is able to focus much more on their business than the other distractions of the Calistrian temple, and gladly receives the information she provides.
"I think we should take a trip to Ollo first," he suggests as the crew return to the Drake. "If we find the Brine Banshee for that creepy halfling, we'll have more ammunition to go after these spies."
"Sooo... we need to find Dr. Fitch and see if he's up for one last sea voyage?" says Niobe. "Ollo... let's see... that's one of the bigger cities, right? Ruled by one of the rich captains, no doubt."
With little time to add to his wardrobe due to all his spell inscribing, Markizio absently nodded, "Sure captain. We're going to both anyway so Ollo sounds fine."
From 'Isle of the Shackles'.
Ollo:
The largest and oldest surviving town of Shark island is Ollo, a miserable place of tumbledown hovels surrounded by dilapidated warehouses and the seediest of brothels, gambling houses, and taverns to be found in all the Shackles.
Avimar Sorrinash is the undisputed lord of Ollo and captain of the dread brig Blood Moon, infamous for its crew of werewolves.
Avimar himself is rumored to be a werewolf as well, and he is known for indulging his evil crew after successful forays at sea with horrific orgies of destruction on the island—when the moon is full, these
foul lycanthropes rage across the jungles outside town, hunting down wild boar and other game, including unwary visitors to Ollo who foolishly wander past the town’s tall log walls after dark.
A percentage of every single copper piece brought into Ollo eventually finds its ways into Sorrinash’s stuffed coffers, and the Free Captains who use this port are obliged to fly his fanged skull flag.
Jane looks from the stern of the ship.. "This looks like a s&+# town.... Do we have to stop here?"
The port of Ollo is a foul and wretched place, and its miserable residents are sullenly close-mouthed.
They’ve as much to fear from their bestial pirate lord Avimar Sorrinash as from sahuagin raids, and questions from outsiders are often met with anxious and suspicious silence.
A successful DC 15 Diplomacy check made to gather information is necessary to learn the address of Haneilius Fitch’s surgical offices.
Haneilius Fitch is a gray haired gentleman with a Taldan accent, who introduces himself as a retired ship’s physician. If you ask him about the Brine Banshee, Fitch claims to know nothing about the ship.
He's not being truthful about his lack of knowledge.
Currently Fitch is indifferent to you, some Diplomacy DC16, or Bluff DC20 to sweeten him up seems to be in order.
Looking at Lord Avimar, Jane tries to talk to him. "Lovely town you've got here."
smiling slightly "You know it would be nice to know some stuff about this place."
Kung is put off little by the slovenly setting. Chalk Harbor was little better, and he only ever saw the worst parts of Drenchport. Life on the Unbound Drake was the most comfort he'd known; discomfort was more his natural state.
While Kung had no reason to disbelieve the supposed surgeon, he still could recognize that the other officers were not done with questions. He attempts to aid the others as best he can, hoping that he can generate some rapport through a common background.
"Kung like you surgery place. Very like surgery man that do Kung leg when Kung little. You ever do peg-leg like Kung?"
Ollo seems like a nightmare of oppressive rule, it's people living in fear, unable to enjoy their lives. Wary looks greet the officers of the Drake, and Marnir feels eyes watching him from every doorway and alley.
Haneilius Fitch’s whereabouts are easy to discern. Marnir is happy to let Jane take the lead talking to the doctor hoping that her streetwise nature and knowledge of alchemicals would be enough to put the doctor at his ease.
Jane's knowledge of alchemy, and her mercantile family background soon have Haneilius Fitch on familiar ground. He relaxes somewhat, offering you all a strong brew of tea.
The discussion of alchemy soon turns to more important matters though. Fitch holds up a sealed glass tube containing a human leg bone suspended in preservative solution.
“This tibia previously belonged to Vargus Brack, one of my old shipmates.
Vargus was grateful to be rid of it—he’d have died of gangrene if I hadn’t amputated his leg.
It’s a good thing I kept it as a specimen, since he was an officer aboard the Brine Banshee when she last sailed.
Vargus and I were good friends—he came to visit me the last time the Brine Banshee was in Ollo, as he always did when he was in port.
He mentioned in passing the course the Brine Banshee would be taking, and said he wouldn’t be back for some time.
The Brine Banshee had an abundance of riches aboard her, and together I believe we can salvage them. Are you interested?”
Although Fitch knows the Brine Banshee’s course, he needs magic to find the exact location where the ship went down.
Fitch explains that there’s a magical ring that can be used to find a corpse, provided the wearer already has a piece of the body.
He goes on to tell you that he knows of a pirate captain who wears
just such a ring, called the ring of the iron skull.
This is where you come in. You have a ship of their own, and are strong enough to take the ring of the iron skull from its current owner.
Fitch has Vargus’s leg bone and knows the route the Brine Banshee took. Fitch tries to barter a deal with you: he wants an equal share of the Brine Banshee’s treasure.
He doesn’t care about magic items; he just wants enough money to live the rest of his life in modest comfort.
In exchange, he’ll tell you who has the ring and guide you along the
Brine Banshee’s course until they find the ship.
What are you doing?
Markizio wrinkled his nose, "This Ollo place... just sucks."
He remained quiet as Marnir and Jane talked their way to Finch.
Once the proposal is laid out, he replied, "Wait a second. We put our lives, the lives of our crew on the line, and only get half. I tell you what. We'll make you a partner in this deal. You get an equal part the same as the rest of the officers, meaning you get 1/6 of ALL treasure, including magic items, which we will buy from you if you do not want."
He concluded, "How does that sound?"
Kung starts to think about the division of treasure that Markizio lays out, and clearly has trouble with the math. His face screws up in consternation as he tries to work out what is the better deal, then finally relaxes. Markizio smart; trust Markizio "Markizio right; this best way." He says this almost as if he knows what he's talking about.
Niobe adds, "Besides, you've been sitting on this information for a while now; you probably won't get another offer from a crew that can make this happen. With your information and our resources we'll all come out ahead!"
"Um... you didn't say who the current owner of this magic ring was. Someone nasty, I'm guessing?"
"If there's as much treasure as you say there is, then an equal share with the other officers should be more than enough to see you through," Marnir says, backing up his first mate, presenting a united front to the surgeon.
Fitch nods his agreement. "Tell you what. Throw in a free ride to Quent and it's a bargain!" He makes a very expressive gesture. "As I've told you. The money's for my old age, and I'm damn well not living my last years in this s#+&hole!"
Once he reaches an agreement with you, Fitch tells you that the Ring of the iron skull is in the possession of a pirate named “Milksop” Morton, who regularly sails his sloop Dryad’s Grave between the Smoker and Shark Island. Fortunately for you, the Dryad’s Grave is due in Ollo within the next week. If you can accost the ship before it makes port,you can acquire the Ring of the iron skull and find the Brine Banshee.
The Dryad’s Grave’s greedy captain, Milksop Morton, is an independent, unaligned pirate who does not hold a Shackles letter of marque. He seeks to make a name for himself and earn quick profits by extorting the
hard-won plunder of other independent pirates not sworn to powerful pirate lords.
Markizio smiled as the deal was closed.
he turned to Kung, "I'm glad you thought this was good deal. You know I'm always looking out for you."
Once the name is given, he shook his head, "I heard of this fellow. The Dryad’s Grave’s greedy captain, Milksop Morton, is an independent, unaligned pirate who does not hold a Shackles letter of marque. He seeks to make a name for himself and earn quick profits by extorting the hard-won plunder of other independent pirates not sworn to powerful pirate lords."
He added, "So he's unaligned with anyone and does not hold a letter of marque so he's fair game. We should get him before he comes into port. Maybe we can set up an ambush of sorts although it will be hard to hide the Drake in open waters."
He posited, "Is there a chance to borrow this ring?"
"His ship is named Dryad's Grave? That's just cruel," says Niobe with a pout.
"I wonder if we can redress the Drake to look like another ship. Or maybe use an illusion!"
Jane looks over the ship. "It's not that bad of a name." turning back to the Drake... "It might cost some money, but I'll see what I can do."
It's a days sail to the south east from Ollo when sails are sighted on the horizon. As the ship draws closer you can see the distinctive figurehead described to you by Haneilius Fitch. The Dryad’s Grave’s figurehead is carved in the likeness of a bare-chested, goat-horned satyr with muscular arms thrust forward as if diving into the ocean, its mouth open in a silent scream of anger and pain.
The Dryad's grave is making straight for you.
What are you doing. Waiting to see what they do, attacking straight away?
The approach of the Dryad's Grave stirs Marnir into action from his daydreaming on the quarterdeck.
"Hands to action stations!" he calls, turning to the senior officers before continuing. "We should be ready to fight, but if we can get hold of this ring without too much killing then all the better. We should see if we can strike a bargain with this coward, but if not I'm sure we'd be very happy to take it by force. Unless there are any other ideas?"
Markizio started getting ready, "Not that we need any justification really but how about we let them make the first move. If it's a hostile move then we just take his ship and his men and be done with it."
The latest successes had clearly given a Markizio a sense of superiority.
He added, "Still, we should get ready for him to attack if his past actions are any indication."
As the enemy ship approached, the magus cast one of his defensive spells conjuring up a translucent shield next to him.
-----------
HP 59/59
AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 19
Conditions: shield so AC=25
Melee (+1 keen falcata): +9 = +1(magical) +5(base) +3(STR)
Melee Damage (+1 keen falcata): 1d8+4 = +1(weapon) +3 (str), 17-20, x3
+2 dam if arcane strike, -2/+4 if 1H power attack
6/6 arcane pool
Spell used: shield
Something about the bowsprit bugs Niobe. Is that a ramming device? she wonders silently.
On Marnir's orders, Kung helps rally the pirate crew to prepare for battle. "No board yet, no siege weapons. Wait for order!"