Upon arriving below deck, Coloua approached Ella and the merman's corpse. "You mentioned you were interested in the physical biology of this creature? Does this mean that you are interested in any kind of physical or partially physical form that is different from yours?"
"We can be improved on." Ella says simply as she places the corpse on a below deck table, moving to her area of their cohabitation to get her notebooks and vials, then starts quickly dissecting, sketching and storing various parts. The eyes, gills to lungs transfer, and epidermis are her main focuses.
Answering a question about why she is moving so quickly, even if it isn't asked, she'll state "The others will not like the mess or smell." meaning Godfrey and Ileosa. Part of her adapting to working as a team is trying to not take over their sleeping spaces with cut open dead things.
Ileosa looked to Godfrey when Ella spoke about them and said "It is odd how she just assumes that and odder still that she might very well be right." Then she gave a wave to the group.
"I'm going to go try any find something to do on this boat." Ileosa said. "As... these creatures are taken care of and I don't want to be around when Ella beings her little, experiment. Cut away dear Ella, and enjoy yourself." With that she stepped away.
Godfrey listens to Coloua's answer, though he has only moderate success at suppressing a grimace as her 'pet' crawls back inside of her abdomen. Swallowing his swiftly rising gorge, he nods appreciatively to her words, "I hadn't an idea that your methods were so very different. Mine own are more akin to the works of wizard that you mention. Arcane formulae which are rather more a means to an end. They control a force, but it's an abstract control as opposed to anything -for lack of a better word- visceral. It's a cerebral art, where by learning the rules one can bend reality to one's whim."
He glances at the hole in the wayang's sleeve into which the centipede had disappeared. A twitch at the corner of his eye betrays the conflict raging in the magus' mind as his noble decorum battles with his hunger for any and all arcane advantage he can glean. "I think I might well take you up on your offer. If nothing else, a better understanding of your methods makes for good strategy. I'll join you shortly, after I ensure the crew properly dispose of whatever mer-corpses that Ella doesn't sequester below."
To Ileosa, "Hard to believe, certainly. I wouldn't have expected Mitrans beneath the waves. But when one has been subjected to their insipid prattle regularly for years and you hear the same drivel spewing from a dying merman's mouth, you are left with little else as a theory."
Ella, while slicing delicately through the layers of fat and skin, looks up at the others that are talking. "We need to remember when we are the ones hunting them. Just in case. Better to kill all the ones who could, then leave one to rise up later." a practical discussion of mass slaughter.
Ileosa gave Godfrey and inquisitive look as she asked "I guess Mitrans are everywhere... but then again it is surprising to know there are some beneath the waves. However, what did he say to you as he died?"
Coloua, still watching Ella carefully, is fascinated by the intricacies of the body. "I may need your expertise in the future. At the moment if we were to run into any undead I might be able to impose my will on them, but through talking with my friend I feel like it is slowly trying to teach me to create my own." She takes a look at the body parts being set on the table "If I reach that point, perhaps you could help me decide which bodies would be most effective as minions."
Ella stops and looks at her companion, mismatched eyes taking her in, as if trying to decide whether she is serious or trying to poke fun. A full minute of silence before the larger woman decide, Serious, so nods. "That would be... nice." she admits before turning back to her task.
Coloua continues to watch Ella at work, interested in the makeup of this new creature, and savoring the sight of sentient life being reduced to piles of different types of meat and bone. "This may sound like a strange question...but what do you intend to do with him once you are done?"
Ella considers the question, and doesn't find it strange at all really. She pulls her claws out of the thing's open chest along with its thicker heart that a humans. Running her forearms across her brow, she answers "Parts could be used to formulas, but we don't have adequate amounts of salt. So overboard, unless you have a use for it?"
"Overboard works, but I'd like to take a few pieces myself before it's disposed of." When Ella is finished, Coloua will collect up some of the brain tissue, the heart, and a softer piece of the muscle tissue with her to her hiding place.
Ella doesn't object at all, finishes up, chucks the corpse, and then settles down with her journal to make notes and diagrams.
The sailors take their time coming back up to the deck. But sure enough in the middle of your talks and before Ella begins hauling corpses away, one of the men checks on the situation before ushering everyone else up on the deck. There is a begrudging thanks from the captain and his echoing of Godfrey's orders and quickly the men begin to make the ship clean once again of the Mitran filth that washed over it's providence.
One of the men make their way downstairs before quickly turning about as he sees Ella butchering one of the warriors in the corner. No questions are asked of the situation except from the Captain's offhand comment that he has no issue with her twisted ways so long as she plans on cleaning up after herself.
However, it is some time later that a small pool of blood is found in a sack hidden off in a corner. The crew only found the scene due to a bit of blood tracked away from it by one of the rats that had fallen upon her hidden sweet meats. The ball of rats eagerly fighting each other and in turn killing a few of their own due to mistaking the fresh blood to that of the meat they were lured in by. The Captain lashes one of the sailors for his ineptitude at keeping his boat free of vermin. Perhaps it is because the meat itself is in no shape to be identified, but no further commotion is brought up about the incident.
Two full days pass fairly uneventfully before on the morning of the third, the Captain is seen stroking his chin. He comes up to the group of you at breakfast and smiles a twisted little smile at you all. "Aye, we appear to be a little light on our fresh water I think. We are passing Seal Isle and there is a stream that feeds into the bay there. We'll take on water there. I'll send a party to the shore. Of course, that means we'll spend a day in some of the richest fur seal hunting grounds all along this coast. I'm thinking of organizing a little hunting expedition. Interested? he says quietly to the party of villains.
Coloua, still saddened by the loss of her leftover sweetmeats, looks around at the group.
At least I got to give some of it a try before the rats got at it
"I'm not sure how useful I would be on a seal hunt, but if the rest of you want to go it's better than sitting around here. Unless there is something I can do on the ship, I might as well join you."
Ella considered killing the man for referring to her studies as twisted. And then considered again killing him for not preparing well enough for the voyage and wasting their time with a 'diversion.'
But that is pretty normal for Ella, the consideration of murder in the face of stupidity. And she understands the others might wish to stretch their legs after being cooped up for so long.
So no murder, just waiting for those with words to answer.
"A seal hunt you say?" Ileosa asked as she gave him a small smile that could easily be taken as excitement. Leaning a bit foreword in her seat Ileosa continued. "Rather kind to invite us on such a thing."
Intrigued by Ileosa's interest in the captain's offer, Coloua pays close attention to the interaction. "It's quite generous of you to invite us along considering we would all then be sharing the profits."
Ileosa looked to the group and gave a nod before she looked back to the Captian. "A hunt sounds quite nice, unlike you and your sailors Captian I was not crafted to sail the waves. A treck upon land, even for a moment, would be nice." She told him with a smile. "I'm sure the others would enjoy it too."
Seeing Ileosa's nod, Coloua assumes everything is on the up and up, but shoots her a quick questioning glance wondering exactly what that nod meant. Looking around at the group she states "As I mentioned, my skill set is not well suited for hunting beasts, but I would be happy to join everyone if just for a change of scenery."
Having spent the preceding few days bored out of his mind at the unchanging view of the coast and the water, Godfrey grins cheerfully at the captain's suggestion. "A welcome idea, assuming it will not cause an undue delay. We've a task to complete, and it wouldn't do to risk our pay. What, pray tell, does one hunt with? A sword seems... altogether too messy. Particularly if you are trying to keep the pelt in one piece."
The Captain listened to the group with a satisfied smirk until Godfrey spoke up. He sneered at the man's words. He spit on the ground "Delay? You'd rather us run out of water and grow sick? It's a small delay at best, you'll get where I'm taking you quick enough. I always complete my contracts." he said angrily.
He looked at the group "Listen up, aim for the head. You gotta cut off the heads and bleed em anyways so you can skin em up right and collect the most of the pelt. If you gotta aim for the body, a single thrust of the blade or a single arrow or bolt is preferable. Less damage to the pelt. Still, most fences don't care about a hole or two. It's the ragged tears that kill the price. Hard to work around that." he said before looking at Ella specifically.
"I'll admit, I admire your handiwork with them claws of yours ya beast. But if you're gonna hunt with us, use a spear or something." he said grinning.
Ella decides not to rise to the man's bait, though she considered heavily. When the time comes, she will have both her spear and her javelins.
Coloua smiles back at the captain, excitement in her eyes. All she really has for a hunt are her plague wand and her crossbow, but she's not sure she wants to waste what few bolts she has on seals.
At least I could always keep watch for threats or scout for more seals. In any case this will be a new experience, and those are always welcome
"So...when do we head out?"
Ileosa grinned at Ella as she looked between her and the captain. Then waved it off and spoke calmly to the captain. "Mind not our friend here." Ileosa said as she gestured to Godfrey. "He can be very particular. That combined with lack of knowledge on something, in this case sailing, can lead to such comments." She explained.
"Now when shall we meet up for this hunt?" Ileosa asked.
Godfrey scowls at the captain, readying a retort but is cut off by Ileosa before he can show the man the rough side of his tongue. He bristles at her comment, shifting the scowl from the captain to her. He opines icily, "Let us just say that some of us have a different sense of duty then others. If the captain can assure us that this will not cause an undue delay, then I have no objection. As I said, the diversion is welcome, but when a man gives his word, he is no man if he fails to follow through. I merely do my due diligence."
He listens to the captain's speech in a (huffily) dignified silence. He acknowledges the advice with a curt nod. "If we can find a cluster of them close together, I should be able to disable the lot of them for quick and mess-less killing. Even better if we can lure them all into a tight space."
The Captain seems to find Godfrey's words to not be bothersome. "A captain is a poor sailor if he can't make his deadlines. We've got the time." is all he says further on the matter.
He looks at the others "We'll be there by evening. I'd not normally hunt at night but we're in the middle of mating season so we have to hit hard and fast. It'll take the sailors two days to fill the water barrels while the rest hunt." he said giving them the timeline of the delay.
"That means we'll be able to take our two jolly boats out for three hunts." he says giving them the parameters of the hunt.
With him updating his passengers, he heads back to the crew and actively ignores the party if they make any attempts to get him to speak more on the matter, yelling at them he's busy getting the boat there as quickly as possible so that the delay is as short as possible and fresh water is refilled before they run out.
Sure enough to his word, come morning the Captain is standing at the front of his ship with his eyeglass out practically salivating at the scene. Seal Isle is in full view and the Frosthamar is brought to weigh anchor far enough out to not run any of the seals off.
Two men are left on the ship to fill the holds with fresh water as Captain Kargeld loads up his ship with four of his men. He nods to the others and waits for them to drop their boat and head out before he'll head out himself.
Coloua jumps in the boat with a huge grin, looking forward to the day of not just a break from the ship, but an entirely new experience as well. Slouching around the slums and charnel houses of her youth was fine, as was the time spent in the Cardinal's manor, but ever since she joined her new acquaintances on this ship she's done more new things than ever before.
She sets herself in the rear of the boat, letting the bigger stronger folk man the oars and uses her various eyes (Wayang and centipede) as well as her ability to levitate out of the boat periodically to help spot and chase down the seals.
With her muscles sore from wooden decks below, Ella spends time stretching in the morning air before putting on her armor. The large amazonian half orc(disguise still in place) draws the eyes of boat bound sailors, as she is quiet fetching in the places these men care about, if one could just ignore the tusks, I will kill you eyes, and her ever present clawed gauntlets.
When she finishes, she straps on her breastplate and javelins, grabs her iron spear, and then waits for the others.
When they arrive...
"This still seems unwise to me." repeating a discussion she made the night before "Leaving the cargo with only a few men guarding, just for some profit." she grunts, eyes moving to the captain as he readies his 'jolly' "I do not trust that man."
She does wish to split up though, better lose the cargo than one of their knot. In the boat, she'll lay down her spear and take up an oar.
"I don't trust him either, but we either leave the cargo guarded by only 2 men or we let this man we don't trust out of our sight to be able to arrange who knows what. Which is worse?"
"We do not need to trust him." Ileosa reminded Ella as they gathered their things. "I do trust you all to keep you eyes open of course." She explained. "I think he might mean to kill us..." Ileosa whispered to them, "so maybe one of us should remain behind, ensure the cargo isn't dumped overboard?"
"I doubt that he intends to dump the cargo. If anything, this man is too greedy for his own good, and why dump valuable goods when he could pocket the Cardinal's payment and then sell the goods to a different buyer." Coloua whispers back to Ileosa, "I feel that the biggest risk we face here is that he intends to kill us, strand us, or arrange something now to be able to do one of those later. Staying together and keeping him in sight seems to be the best option in that case."
"Four sailors and one captain... That is one for each of us..." Ileosa pointed out. "You're right we'll need all in on this. Triss you stay close to Ella and Godfrey. And no one goes anywhere without someone else beside them." Ileosa said.
"Let's go, it is poor manors to keep one waiting. Even more so when they've invited you to something."
Never one to hunt in his former life, Godfrey prepares for the seal slaughter as if it were any other battle. With sword at his waist and a sling carefully stowed in its waxed leather pouch with its bullets, he is as ready as any nobleman could be. Boarding the boat with legs still unsure of being on the water, he takes a seat without tipping the boat. "Stranding us seems the most likely prospect. He saw our fighting prowess and I doubt he'd risk that unless he can stack the odds further in his favor. All the same, I doubt he would risk his livelihood by dumping his employer's servants. It would poison his business for the future. Word of mouth and all that." He mimics Ella by taking up an oar. "No, I think it much more likely he's simply greedy and looking to make any extra gold that he can. So long as it doesn't interfere with our tasks, I personally have no qualms with him padding his pockets. That said, caution is well warranted as he's a slippery eel of a sailor."
Triss makes her way onto the jolly boat a bit late, her eyes still squinting against the sun and the shine off the waters. She looks around and nods at the group. "Don't worry, we should be fine. Two strong rowers such as yourselves and me at the helm, no seal shall escape our grasp!" she says laughing defiantly.
She looks over at the Captain and his motley crew of sailors and spits."I refuse to lose to that sorry excuse for a Captain. Come, we'll make him practically green with envy at our haul!" she says as the boat finally hits water.
The haul is excellent for the first day. With Triss offering as lookout and pointing out targets the entire group manages to snag a seal a piece. The jolly boat is laden down with the extra weight of some fantastic specimens. Truly these pelts will be worth a small fortune.
The water around the boat is a bit murky with blood and the seals seem to start to disperse and makes it difficult to hunt any further. Triss whistles to the group to pack it in and she starts to tie down the haul to keep them from disappearing from any misadventure.
The Captain offers the group his usual displeased stare. However, Triss's insult does not go unnoticed and his disposition sours even further, one eye squinting down before he turns his back aggressively and brings his men to action!
Between hurling insults and orders at his men, his boat makes it into the water and off they sail in a different direction to make sure that the two groups don't scare away all the prey.
The party prepares to set course to come back and show off their haul and to see what the Captain managed. However it seems that fate has other plans for the group. With Triss preoccupied with securing their haul and preparing the boat to head back, it leaves the group watching over their surrounding area.
It's Ileosa's keen senses that notice something is amiss. She hears a small splash and turns about hoping that perhaps a stupid yet curious seal has come to check out what is going on. However, it's hard to mistake these two large shadows even in the murky bloody waters as seals. She quickly alerts the crew in time before the creatures can get the drop on them!
There is a large thud and the boat begins to shake and almost capsizes. But with Ileosa's warning, the party manages to prevent anyone from falling into the icy waters.
Immediately on the boat being rammed, Coloua begins to float into the air in order to steady herself and get some range on the creatures. While ascending, she studies the creature carefully.
While getting out of the creature's immediate area, Coloua calls out to the group "Watch out! These bunyip things get enraged when there's blood in the area, and if you can keep it from roaring it would be a good thing as it has some kind of magical ability to cause fear"
"Ella, see if you can jump on top of them. When you do dig both claws in and Do Not Let Go." Ileosa instructed her before she called upon Asmodeus' power, a gleam in her eye as she lined her crossbow up.
With one of it's prey escaping to the sky and it's packmate having failed with ramming the boat, the second Bunyip surfaces as it races closer to the jolly boat. Stopping about fifteen feet from the boat, it sucks in some air before letting out a supernaturally loud roar!
Icy water sprays into her face, a huge nasty creature roars its hate at them, and the large woman smiles, roaring her anger right back. For a brief, adrenaline filled moment she considers doing just as Ileosa said. leaping and rending. But sense won over blood lust... today at least.
Kneeing and slicing with all her strength, she finds flesh on the breast's kin.
Godfrey gasps reflexively as the icy water of the northern seas drenches him. Cursing, he has little time to think of fearsome nature of the creature in front of him as he draws his blade. He immediately begins to chant in the harsh Draconic tongue, "Shlogn di faynt mit blits!" His already fiercely glowing blade begins to crackle with tendrils of energy and the scent of ozone blends with the briny seas air as he swings at the fierce beast trying to kill them.
The moments go by in practically a blur. Suddenly Bunyips have appeared and one slammed into the boat before the party could react beyond being alerted to. Everyone managed to grab hold of the boat and prevent it and themselves from being capsized.
Coloua quickly flies up into the air and warns the party of the creature's abilities while Ileosa begins issuing advice. She quickly calls upon the powers of Asmodeus before the second Bunyip surfaces and lets out a unnaturally loud and powerful roar.
Ella seemingly unfazed, dips both hands into the Bunyip's back and rakes up it's back painfully. Godfrey stumbles a bit as he recovers from the ear drum bursting roar, however with a second swing of his blade crackling with electricity he manages to pierce the heart of the creature and watch as the electricity does it work causing blood to come frothing up from the creatures mouth!
He collapses upon the side of the boat, rocking it aggressively once again.
Triss having barely secured the haul, clasps her ears screaming in terror. She shakes her head and looks up locking eyes with the remaining Bunyip before turning the opposite direction and diving into the water to attempt to swim away!
The icy cold water hits her like a ton of bricks and upon surfacing she appears to be stunned and starts to sink!
Damn her. I thought she was a sailor and here she is sinking as soon as she hits the water. She's been useful so far though, and will probably continue to be so
Coloua immediately starts to descend, watching the unconscious woman as her gear slowly overcomes the body's tendency to float in the salt water.
She's a pretty one too. That dark skin is much nicer than those other annoying elf folk. Swimming in winter water is something I've never done before, who knows I might like it...and if not...FEED YOUR PAIN!
As soon as her feet hit the boat, she dives towards Triss to try and keep her from fully submerging.
At least she's on the opposite side of the boat from that critter.
Ileosa, who had started off so well, completely froze in place as the cry from the creature shook her to her core.