"Welcome." Ileosa said respectfully as she stepped up. "You may call me Ileosa." She added in the same tone. "We do have a few weapons and armors that we might be able to trade. As for food and such, I will have to ask the captain. The finery we happen to carry is ones from this area, so I don't believe you'll have any interest in those." She honestly said.
"My friend here seems to be very interested by your items." Ileosa began as she looked over the item, then looked to the group. "Would you all please bring up that armor and weapons we got not too long ago."
Without a word, Coloua gives a small curtsy and heads below deck, just like a good little handmaiden. She returns shortly hauling a stack of 12 spears, struggling a bit to handle them because of her small frame.
Ella nods to Ileosa and goes down to the hold to retrieve the gear along with Coloua. In case things go badly she'll ingest her mutagen once down there, increasing her strength while hiding her physical changes behind the illusion. She carries the remaining items that Coloua didn't get with ease.
Godfrey smiles to the newcomers as they board, eyes already running over them and their equipment. His eyes settle on the fantastic spiral-shape horn carried by the chief and he whistles softly. He shifts his attention to first Triss and then to Coloua. He nods a reply to her enthusiastic question, and her implied question, "I believe we might, my dear. We'll have to see what these fine gentlemen are willing to give and take."
He watches as the goods are brought from below, his mind running over possibilities. If we could lure them below.. same as before.
The Shaman listened carefully and smiled. He began speaking again in Yutak to his Chieftain who seemed pleased by what the Shaman had to say. It was when Godfrey stepped forwards that he waved the older man to stop.
He stepped forwards and stared at Godfrey. His eyes looked over him, staring holes into Godfrey's body as he looked from one article of clothing to the next, to the jewelry, and even his boots. He turned his head and pointed at Godfrey. He spoke back to the Shaman, his tone more serious than happy as before.
The older man pursed his lips, looking like he wasn't pleased with what he was about to do and then stepped forwards. "You said you did not have good finery. This is what my Chieftain is looking for, what this man wears. He wishes to trade for your clothes, we can offer some of our own if you do not have more." he said, less asking than stating fact.
Godfrey returns the chief's look warily, unsure what to make the intense scrutiny of the tribal. The change in tone does little to settle his nerves, but the shaman's translation brings a hint of a sly smile to the arcanist's face. With a bow to the chief, Godfrey reaches his hands to his sleeves and tugs. The finery, seemingly from the finest clothier to be found in Talingarde, disappear and in their place common-place, functional travelling attire appears. With a grin at his admirer, he slips the translucent tubes he was holding back on and in their place appear rough fur and leather gear uncannily like that of the chief. Godfrey repeats this performance a half dozen more times. Each time he replaces the sleeves, a new outfit more outlandish then the last appears in its place.
He replaces them one final time, returning to the black satin breeches, navy doublet, and fur mantle that had been his initial outfit. "As you can see, my friends, there is finery to be had after a fashion. But no normal finery... no. Instead, something that is potentially much more useful to you." Godfrey makes a show of appearing saddened as he slips the sleeves of many garments from his forearms another time, "I would be loathe to part with them, but I can see you are most eager to retain such a thing for yourselves. Sadly, I have no spare and so you would ask a great deal of me to relinquish my own. They are a comfort and a reminder of my long-lost home, so I'm afraid that it will take a great deal to convince me to part with them."
"But, of course, were you to do so I'd be happy to share a number of my finest and favorite outfits that you might have a base from which to work. After that, well, the sky and your imagination is simply the limit. Surely such a thing is worth quite a bit to you, so that you may appear as dashing as you please while still being safe from the elements?"
There is some pause and staring as Godfrey bowed. When he reached up to his sleeves however, hands gripped weapons as they assumed he were tricking them while pulling daggers. Instead, there is shock and awe on the Chief's face while the Shaman believes a spell has been cast and is now looking at you with that back glowing look in one's eyes of someone concentrating with Detect Magic.
It is a few tense seconds as Godfrey proceeds into pagentry before the Shaman begins speaking again quietly to tell the Chieftain what is being said and what he understands is the item.
The chief nods and holds out his hand. He waits till Godfrey has handed him the magical item and then proceeds to don it himself. He looks at the shaman and tries to mimic what Godfrey had done and with a bit of mimicry explaining, he soon makes it change once or twice. The chieftain's chest swells in pride and he appears to be 'peacocking' a bit in front of his men.
There is some debating and demanding from the Chieftain towards the Shaman but eventually they agree on the price. The Shaman seems reluctant but with some convincing the two of them manage to work together to put what they wish in a pile and then place the rather splendid narwal tusk in front of the pile.
To the side, they have placed the pile of seal furs and three walrus tusks.
Triss comes forwards and inspects the offering and values of the stuff before coming back and carefully whispering her glee and exuberance at their naivety when it comes to bargaining.
Coloua looks at the piles and bounces up and down a little, clapping her hands quietly. "Oh Mistress! Master! These pretty pieces are so much nicer than that cold boring steel we had." She strides over to lean in to Godfrey and gets up on her toes to whisper "Based on what Triss said, it might be worth it for that big piece. I have no need for any of the items we have on offer so it's up to you. It's your personal item that seems to have swayed them. If we get that big piece I can take a better look at it and see what is so exciting about it."
Godfrey watches with satisfaction as his demonstration does its work on the chief. If I had a another few trinkets, I'd have these rubes swimming home with little else to show for it. Granted they have little enough worthwhile in trade.
Leaning in to listen to the whispers of the disguised Coloua, he smiles and replies, "Of course we'll be gathering these pretty pieces, my dear. I'm sure we can make you something nice from them." With a genial smile, he nods his agreement with the deal. It will sting, to lack those finer clothes for a time, but the price will be well worth it.
Ileosa smiled slightly as she watched the chief put on this display. She found it rather humorous but spun it off as if she was just happy to see them happy.
"I am sorry, I did not include the clothes that where in use." Ileosa tried to explain to the shaman. "I was not sure they would wish to part with them but I am glad to see things turned out so well. I do hope your chief enjoys his purchase for years to come." She said.
With both sides seemingly pleased with the trade offerings (except for the Shaman who barely hides his contempt for his Chieftain training so much for fancy clothes), the two make peace and collect their newfound belongings.
Captain Kargeld lets out a breath of relief once the tribals are out of any firing range he knows of. He shakes his head "Glad you lot are happy with your ivory. A single misspoken word or laugh can set those a$*$!~$s straight for blood. I can only assume it's that pride and savagery that is the reason they still war with Talingarde." he says after the matter.
The rest of the day goes by uneventfully and soon the new dawn rises. They pilot along their course till the sun starts to set once more. It's around when the sun reaches the edge of the horizon when the temperature starts to plummet. An hour passes and soon it's freezing, another passes and ice starts to form on the rigging.
It is the season for the north to be cold but the sudden frost is alarming. The crew begins to brace for a very cold evening.
Ella stands on the deck, considering her formulas and decides in the morning she will prepare a mixture to ward off the freezing temperatures.. Too bad she hadn't thought of that in the first place.
Ash rubs up against her leg, and lets out a small 'I am cold, do something about it now' meow. Always his humble servant, she scoops him up and under her coat. A small purr gets an answer of "Yes, I agree. This spells trouble... again. I'll suggest taking turns keeping a watch tonight to the others."
"You should have a bit more faith in us captian. We have done rather well as of late." Ileosa said with a small smile his way before she motioned for their new treasures to be taken down below.
When the cold began to set in however, Ileosa wrapped her cloak around her shivering. "Yes... it is unsettling... something might be magical about this cold... Godfrey, Coloua, Ella, do any of you see magic within this weather? Or know of anything that could do this?"
When Ileosa asks, Coloua pulls her damaged seal pelt out and wraps it around herself and walks over to study the rigging.
"We are rather far north, so sudden cold can't be entirely unexpected." Godfrey pulls his cloak tighter around himself as he steps closer to the rigging alongside Coloua. Despite his skepticism, he acquiesces to Ileosa's question and casts his spell. As he studies his surroundings for magical auras, he inquires of the captain, "Is this weather unseasonable? It came upon us quickly enough that we are concerned about an unnatural cause. Such a thing might threaten us... and your ship."
After studying the till growing ice, Coloua turns back to the others. "This definitely does not seem natural. It is coming to quickly and doesn't follow normal patterns of ice growth. On top of that it has some sort of arcane quality but I cannot tell exactly what is causing it." She looks worriedly up at Godfrey. "Are you getting anything out of this that I missed?"
Ella places one clawed hand on the railing and looks out into the dark, but even with her unnatural eyesight she could see nothing out there. "Wouldn't manipulating the weather to this degree take a wizard of great power?"
Godfrey frowns as he studies the shimmering in the ice around him. "It's not entirely unusual weather for the time of year, but it did onset rather rapidly. And I'm not sure that I follow the precise nature of the magic yet, but it's certainly magical in origin. How or why are elusive, of course. We should be on our guard regardless." True to his word, he draws his sword and he continues to scrutinize the ice. "While that's true, Ella. It's not clear they did manipulate the weather. A localized ice effect would be altogether simpler. That's also setting aside some creature instead who can manifest even mind boggling complex arcane effects as a matter of course."
With the icing of the rigging starting to spread, the sailors of the ship start producing torches and elevated braziers in an attempt to combat the cold. A slat of metal is dragged up in the center of the boat and wood is brought forth to make a bonfire.
It isn't until all of the sources of heat and light are brought to full roaring potential that suddenly the weather itself seems to rebel against the ship and it's occupants.
Ileosa and Godfrey begin trying to explain the magic in play. Speaking of how spirits of the elemental planes can sometimes have a physical effect on the material plane when they manifest. The sudden roar of the bonfire behind them sparks worry in Triss She looks around as if trying to find something "The fey are fickle little blighters, iffin there is one about they might be angry we're fussing with their fun."
While the group is watching carefully outwards, it's Ella's eyes that catch sudden movement and she suddenly looks up skyward. Up on the mast, an evil little bastard is spotted. His hands weaving, fire in his eyes.
Ella feels the cold sting as ice crystals form and spikes of ice jut from her armor growing at an alarming rate. She centers herself for a moment and the cold is gone through sheer force of will.
"Up there!" Ella points and yells to the mast. The cold digs deep but somehow doesn't dig deep enough.
No matter what the creature is, it is obvious it is an enemy, just a tad far away enemy. Wings means her trying to climb the mask to get to it would be foolish... so... good thing she has a spear.
At Ella's shout, Coloua glares up at the creature.
Hoping to damage it enough to bring it down to the deck she grabs her little bone fetish and starts bending it in strange shapes mercilessly while she growls at the evil little bastard.
Realizing what the creature is, Coloua calls out once she is done with her bone fetish. "It's an ice mephit. Watch it carefully, it doesn't just have some magic it has a breath attack as well."
The ice mephit cries out in pain and anger. He starts screeching, his voice like the bitter cold, cutting into your core "How dare you strike Kiliketz, master of ice! Come my minions kill the mage!" he says before unleashing three magic missles at Coloua.
Coloua grins like a shark as the three missiles smash into her, and crouches down, looking wildly around.
"I think he is unhappy with you" Ella points out unnessicarly to Coloua and suggests she can use her as cover if she wants. Then she readies for an attack from ice creatures, pulling and drinking her special brew to make her bigger and tougher.
As the ice creatures come from her companion Ella lashes out with her claws.
"It's a Fey? Of course it's a damn fey." Ileosa hissed through her teeth. "Why? Why is there always something?" Ileosa said as she got her weapon out. Taking a moment though, Ileosa cast a spell upon her weapon.
"Think we can shoot it out of the sky?" She asked the group as she took aim.
"I don't know if I can, but you are a better shot." she points out as she considers the anatomy of... something....
The ice elementals begin to make their move. With the urging of their master they rush forwards and two of them proceed to bodily slam into Coloua!
Small little Coloua manages to dodge one of the elementals but stepped right into the blow of the second as a large chunk of ice comes crashing down on the back of her skull. The force of the blow sends the women's sense reeling.
Coloua laughs as the first elemental misses and strikes out with her stick...
...and in her excitement her shot goes wide as well. Unfortunately she doesn't see the one approaching her from behind. When that blow lands she falls to one knee, her manic grin slowly fading as she slowly straightens back up with a confused look on her face. A strange crawling effect starts under her skin and her spiral scars start pulsating like a heartbeat and her eyes start to glaze.
Godfrey looks to the little creature cackling in his roost and barks a laugh, "You've miscalculated, little goblin. There is more then one mage here, master of mice." Speaking the languages of dragons, Godfrey blade begins to throw off sparks of electricity as the smell of ozone fills the air. Dashing up to one of the nearby ice creatures, he pivots and swings his blade in blurred black arc in a vicious chop. As he strikes, there is a sharp clap of thunder that matches the flash of lightning discharging
Godfrey's blade digs into the crystal deep before the electricity blows it apart. The final elemental runs forwards and smashes into Coloua soundly. Suddenly there is an explosion of ice shards and that elemental is missing. In its place is the Captain, his muscles bulging and his great axe dug into the deck. He looks around wildly, mad with fury! "HOW DARE ANYONE INVADE MY SHIP!!!" he bellows in fury!
Kiliketz screeches in anger "How dare you mess with my fun! Kill them all!" before swooping down and opening his maw wide let's forth a blast of ice!
Coloua crumples in place as the elemental rushes her and lies in a heap at the group's feet.
Ella sees the little one go down and red follows.
Ileosa took the shot she had been waiting for. Loosing a bolt at the creature while it had its mouth wide open, shooting the bolt down its throat.
The Fey shrieks in pain as he is hit solidly with a bolt. The elemental seems to take it's time before suddenly swiveling and slamming its icy body into the Captains side opening up a wound.
In the swirling chaos of the melee on the deck, only Ella's bellow of rage manages to draw Godfrey's concentration for any length of time. Seeing her standing over Coloua's prone body, Godfrey snarls and turns his attention back to the fey hovering out of ready reach. He draws his sling, letting his blade fall to the deck as his feat. Whirling it, he launches a lead bullet at the snickering creature with a grunt.
The Captain turns his attack to the jagged ice crystal buried in his side, he kicks outside to push it out of him and up comes that Greataxe once again shattering the foe before him.
The Fey seems to be considering as he flies around the ship looking over everything before coming back to his starting position again.
Ella looks around quickly for things to kill and deflates a bit when the only one left is a horrid fey thing that is OUT OF REACH! Growling, she stares at it letting her mother's magic reach out to it.
Ileosa loosed another bolt while the fey creature had been in flight, this missed greatly.
Godfrey swiftly reloads his sling with another bullet, cursing as he watches his last shot miss wildly. He whirls the sling into a blurred arc and, when he judges the moment right, looses it at the wily fey.
The mephit flipped and circled around the projectiles sailing in his direction. He stopped to point and laugh when a throwing axe was hurled by the angry Captain. The blade slammed into the creature's side and he let out a scream in pain as it unseated itself and clattered to the deck.
The little fey fumed up above them. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU SPOILED MY FUN. YOU'RE BORING...BORING MORTALS!" he screams before slapping his ass at everyone in a taunting manner and started flying away cursing.
Ella fumes for several moments, her shoulders rising and falling in fury as she breathes. She manages to pull herself together, seeing Coloua still bleeding on the group. "Triss!" she calls, scooping the little witch up and bringing her quickly to their cleric.
Ileosa gave an annoyed sighed as the creature flew away. She put her weapon away as Ella ran with Coloua with Triss, and was rather pleased to see her doing so without needing to be told.
"It is always something." Ileosa said as she walked over to Godfrey and motioned for him to follow her to Ella, Triss, and Coloua. "You know, why can't this just be a simple ship ride..."
Incensed beyond the point of reason, Godfrey quickly reloads and whirls his sling to launch one last lead bullet at the fleeing imp in a fit of pique. "Vile creature! You'd best keep running."
Snarling angrily after his departing foe for a long moment, Godfrey's focus is only broken by the alarmed cry of his companion. Rationality restored, Godfrey looks in alarm at the small and prone figure in Ella's arms. "Will she be alright, elf?"
Triss watched the thing sail away as she began to set down her violin. Her eyes widened as she saw Triss bring Coloua over. She began looking her over "It looks like the bleeding slowed, she'll live...of course, it'd be a good idea to apply a lil magic for our own little blighter yah?" she said looking at the rest of the group and seeing they are all unharmed.
She began tracing her fingers over the worst of the wounds and bright blood red light shimmered and disappeared behind where her fingers danced. The blood receded slowly back into the wound and she looked on expectantly along with the rest.
As the mephit flew away laughing, quickly after Godfrey in his fury sent a stone flying and the sudden cursing and screeching as the mephit began zooming off faster told the tale of the rock finding it's mark.
Meanwhile the Captain runs up to the bow of the ship and continues cursing back at the Mephit till it's cleared the ship and then he spits on the ground and stomps back tiredly to get his throwing axe and greataxe.
He looks around and snarls "WHERE ARE YAH YAH BUNCH OF COWARDS, GET OUT HERE AND CLEAN ALL THIS UP BEFORE I TAKE THIS AXE AFTER ONE OF YAH NEXT FOR RUNNING!" he said, his anger still trying to well up with him.
He takes one look at the group in their huddle and gives a nod of respect before goes storming off to patch his own wound.
Coloua looks up at Triss with a weak grin and nods at her. "Thank you. I don't know what else to say, I'm not really used to people giving a damn." She climbs out of Ella's arms and down to the ground. "That was an interesting ordeal. It gave me quite a bit to think about, but right now my mouth feels very dry. Thank you again, I owe you." She hobbles over towards the mast and starts chewing on elemental chips to moisten her tongue.