Elsie curses as the Grinder prepares to loose his missile at the group. Still unsure whether Tella's magic would be effective she slips into a defensive stance, ready to move should her magic indeed fail.
The stooped fellow, putting the bottle aside, calls up with a slurred voice, "You again? What can I do for yer? Hang on a moment..."
...something else is moving down there in the gloom - two things in fact, something mechanical skulking in a corner... and, rushing towards the Grinder through the junk strewn across the floor, something simian.
"You can convince whoever is coming that we are no threat, then afterwards, we can get you out of this death trap. I fear that the ropes will not hold for much longer," Tella says.
Varian recognizes the effects of Tella's mind tricks and is awfully glad. The thought of a firebomb exploding in the upturned ship was terrifying. "Yes, let's go somewhere safe, please!"
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"Okay... okay... I'm coming up... no need to be worryin' about ol' Scat - he's with me... he's mostly harmless", the Organ Grinder - his pendulous nose swinging comically as he struggles up the ladder - allows the bald monkey creature to clamber onto his shoulder. Clambering up to the deck where the group wait, the Grinder is out of breath - and clearly quite inebriated - as he stands there, "So gang... what's the plan?"
"First, we need to get onto some ground that isn't about to drop into the Lyme. I fear that the ropes are about to give way. If you would be so kind as to accompany us up the stairs," Tella asks the man while praying that the charm holds this time.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Varian starts to go up the ladders and such back upward. He wasn't one to like sunlight, but it was better than drowning in a watery coffin.
Elsie trails along behind Varian, electing to keep quiet here. She knew little of charm magicks but enough to know their hold was a fickle one.
I will just keep an eye on you Grinder...a very close eye...
"Good idea!!! I was thinking on paying the Family to get the Limpet held down again... the Canker eats away at the bindings over time", the Organ Grinder, a stooped man with breath that smells worse than Sister Lyme on a particularly humid day, points towards the ladder upwards... at which point, the monkey like creature perched upon the Grinder's shoulder bites down hard through the man's garish clothing...
...and, just like that, Tella's 'command' of the man's loyalties evaporate - the Organ Grinder's eyes suddenly focus as he realises that he is stood right in front of Tella, "Hey???!!!
At the sudden exclamation, Lord Varian looks back to see a very angry Organ Grinder once again. "Oh no you don't! Take this!"
Varian feints a strike, but it's only a ruse. Taking advantage of the distraction, he quickly tries to grab the bottle slung from the Organ Grinder's belt!
Varian has no trouble snatching the offending bottle away. He only hoped there weren't more where that came from.
Elsie, expecting exactly the same betrayal from the ever-shifty man, steps smoothly next to him and thwacks him smartly on the back of his skull!
Tella groans and rolls her eyes as the monkey undoes her work.
"I will not be thwarted by a too-clever monkey," she growls before her eyes glow and she blasts the monkey's mind with an overwhelming feeling of "not amused."
The 'monkey', now that Tella has the opportunity to see it 'up close', is a vile little creature: a bald, pink-faced monkey, with clever fingers, and a long mangy tail covered in balding patches. The thing has an altogether unsettling human look about it, right down to its fez and clown’s costume. Unnatural, the creature seems to be a homunculus created in the form of a monkey with a human face...
...and is unmoved by Tella's mental onslaught.
Meanwhile, having more luck against the very human and rather drunk Organ Grinder, Lord Varian lifts the flask from his opponent... and Eliseera, sap quickly to hand, slams her foe against the side of his skull.
...screeching that what Lord Varian has taken is not to be trifled with - and is very definitely the property of the Grinder - the vile man swigs back a vial of something fiery, and spews out flame across the group...
...and the vile homunculus jumps from the Grinder's shoulder - and leaps into the network of beams holding the ceiling in place - screeching madly, it moves from sight...
Elsie dodges around the side of the Grinder, ducking the flames adroitly, before again striking the vile man's temple with her sap.
. Lord Varian dodges the worst of the flames, and is amused as the Grinder insists the orb belongs to him. "This is yours, you say?" Varian waves around the fiery ball. "Here, have it back!"
Bluffing an attack with the orb in his right hand, Lord Varian instead attempts a wicked hook with his left.
;
He then steps back to give Darc some room to attack.
Tella huffs as the man's wretched familiar shrugs off her strongest attack. Only to give a surprised shriek as fire engulfs her.
Flames burn her clothing and lick at her skin, but the blood of fiends flows in Tella's veins. With a sweep of her magically imbued hat, she extinguishes them leaving only a circle of glowing embers around her. In several places, the edges of the holes in her clothes still smolder.
"Well, Mister Grinder, you have my attention," she says as she sends four white-edged black bolts at him.
Eliseera misses as she tumbles around in the confines of the boat... but Tella and Lord Varian are both more than a match for the drunkard.
Taking the brunt of the flame from the Grinder, Darc furiously flails at the stooped man... yet, with the oscillating movement of the boat as the combat rages, he can't land a single blow. He is quick enough though to push the homunculus aside as it drops from the rafters... sending it screeching down the ladder and into the depths once more...
...and again, resorting to fire, the Grinder belches a gout of flame at the group. Irrespective of the damage to the friends, the eruption of fire in the boat starts to cause structural damage.
"Oh leave this fool for the Lyme! We need to get out before this damned thing falls off," Tella tells the others as she starts climbing out after taking the full brunt of the man's disgusting smelling fire breath.
"I am not letting this one get away that easily!" Elsie exclaims as she continues her attempts to knock out their quarry, landing a solid blow.
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;
"There's no time to run!" insists Varian. He again bobs and weaves in, trying to make it difficult to see where he's attacking from. This time, he strikes not with his fists but with a roundhouse kick!
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Unfortunately the attack is not very accurate.
Eliseera's blow connects well, sending her foe reeling somewhat... and, as Tella starts to climb upwards with the boat shuddering dangerously, Lord Varian jumps at the Organ Grinder. But, even though his enemy is drunk and staggering, he misses - and worse still, lands awkwardly and tumbles to the lower level...
With Darc too slow to stop him, the Organ Grinder slides down the ladder - and moves towards the door... with Darc jumping down after him. Yet, before Darc can swing at the awful man, the bald monkey creature jumps out of the shadows again... and, sinks its fetid teeth into Darc's exposed arm.
Suddenly pale, Darc collapses to the floor...
Elsie curses as Varian falls out of sight -- her attention fully engaged on the Grinder she fails to see what befell -- and with a well practiced flip, tumbles in mid-air and lands again next to the Grinder.
Hearing the fight turn against them, Tera climbs back down and sends a volley of arcane bolts at the horrid monkey thing.
"Staying in this place is a horrible idea," she shouts to her comrades.
"You damned drunkard!" Falling downward embarrassingly, Varian has little recourse but to get back up on his feet. He is ready to attack Scat should that creature come near.
;
Landing next to the Grinder, Eliseera smashes him once more with her sap... and still, despite the beating he has received, he staggers on - beyond Varian's reach. And, yet again, slides down the ladder - landing at the very bottom of the boat.
...and, as Tella fires a salvo of missiles at the homunculus - which barely notices it as it slips beneath the floorboards, the door next to the slumbering Darc crashes open. Beating its chest, a partially shaved ape roars at the group.
Tella slides down the ladder to where Darc and Eliseera are.
"Lord Varian, can you get back up here? We need you to carry Darc," Tella calls out to the strange man.
As she begins weaving the spell, she looks to Eliseera.
"Can you carry me if I cast a spell on you to make you fly?"
Eslie pales as she sees the unconscious form of her friend laying on the floor. She can only nod wordlessly in response to the young woman.
"Fine, fine, but we're losing our chance to interrogate this Organ Grinder!" Lord Varian picks up Darc's body and tries to climb to Tella.
The boat, shuddering and shaking as the sound of whipping rope outside tells of an increasingly perilous state, starts to become noticeably dimmer... it isn't immediately clear why until Tella sees a small collection of jarred beetles fall from a shelf nearby - the sound of glass shattering accompanies momentary tiny blasts of white-hot gas as the pyrebeetles within explode on impact.
...deciding to leave the Organ Grinder to his fate, and not to join him in the inevitable plunge into the Lyme, the group start to climb - Lord Varian, struggling with Darc's immobile form, being smashed by the ape as he turns away...
...and, mindlessly following what must be prey, the ape moves to the bottom of the ladder - gurgling an unnatural roar upwards, the shaved and scarred creature starts to climb...
Elsie briefly considers using her magical rope here to assist with the climb, but discards the idea. There was simply not enough time. Nodding as she sees Varian gather her unconscious friend she quickly scurries up the ladder next to Tella. "I am ready."
Having received a fly spell from Tella, Lord Varian does his best to try and fly upward with Darc.
Tella frowns in concentration as the Limpet rocks. She touches Eliseera and eldritch power flows into the woman.
"Fly Eli! FLY!" Tella clings to the other woman and looks to the advancing ape.
Elsie needs no encouragement as she attempts to fly back up the bowels of the Limpet....though her form definitely needs some work.
As the friends climb, Tella's spell imbuing them with the arcane power of flight, the situation in the boat becomes increasingly dire - the sound of whipping ropes and splintering wood becomes increasingly loud until the death throes of the Limpet become a constant scream... upwards they fly as, all around, pyrebeetles within their falling jars start to ignite fires... and, from far below them, the Organ Grinder can be heard, in between shouting obscenities after the group, shouting to Scat to climb...
In what feels like minutes, but must surely have been nothing more than ten seconds, Eliseera and Lord Varian are towards the top of the ladders... and, now carrying the slumbering Darc between them, are making their way into the chamber where the Organ Grinder had so clumsily stitched a minotaur and ankheg together... and where the disembodied head resided in its jar. The light here is dim, there are few surviving pyrebeetle jars, yet one thing is immediately obvious... the large bell jar in which the snake-haired creature has fallen from its bench, and smashed into thousands of jagged fragments... and of the 'medusa'? There is no sign.
"Great, another monstrosity set free. The terrors that haunt this city have no end!" He glances around quickly for an attacking threat.
But unless he sees anything, Lord Varian continues to fly up and out as quickly as possible!
Elsie quickly realizes if the medusa was free it would gain a perverse pleasure in seeing them go down with the ship, as it were. Squinting her eyes nearly closed as she continues her uneven ascent she cries out, "Don't look around! You will turn to stone!"
Elsie quickly realizes if the medusa was free it would gain a perverse pleasure in seeing them go down with the ship, as it were. Squinting her eyes nearly closed as she continues her uneven ascent she cries out, "Don't look around! You will turn to stone!"
"Good point!" agrees Lord Varian. Agreeing he's better off averting his gaze, he heads up with Elise.
Eliseera's advice to Lord Varian is swift, and wise... with urgency as the boat suddenly lists to one side, Eliseera leads the group up - past the dead gargoyle at the foot of the ladder, past the remains of the lion trophy above the door... and out into the cool evening air. It is fortuitous that Tella has given the group the gift of flight for the boat has become nearly fully detached from the complaining timbers of the pier - and the gap between the door and the nearest pillar of the pier is about fifteen feet... and increasing by the second.
Floating out across the gap, and to safety, the group narrowly avoid being showered by splinters - or being struck by the rapidly untangling ropes - as the Limpet finally, with a horrific groan of timber bent beyond its caacity, frees itself from its pier... and, almost in slow motion, crashes down into the impassively slick waters of the Lyme. The fires that had started to catch, each the sign of the violent death of a pyrebeetle, are rapidly extinguished as the boat - hull facing upwards - momentarily seems as though it may actually float in the water... There is no sign of the Organ Grinder though nor of any of the other inhabitants of the boat... and, in a strange yet typical juxtaposition for the city, life in Castorhage - the bustling of the markets behind them, river traffic ferrying goods to and from the island, the clanking of the Chain Ferry - carries on ignorant or uncaring of the dramas that have occurred here.
Elsie alights upon the far end of the pier, too shaken by the close call to enjoy the sensation of flight. Turning her gaze to the surface of the Lyme scanning for any signs of survivors she softly asks Varian, a noticeable tremor in her voice, "Please tell me you still have the Living Fire flask, Varian."
Setting down the party's warrior friend, Lord Varian begins to watch as the remains of the Limpet sink into the water. "It's quite beautiful if you don't think about it, watching the fires meet the water. And that ship, it almost floated." He starts shaking Darc, to see if that might help wake him up. "Hey, Darc, can you hear me?
Eliseera's plea refocuses the lord on the task at hand. [b]"The living fire, why yes, I do still have that. I wasn't about to give it up so easily." He shows off the item he snatched. "Do you think it is any different from the other that we retrieved? Perhaps we can compare them. I fear we may have lost our lead, though, with the Organ Grinder having become the Ocean Grinder."
Lord Varian will try to assess the living fire.
Lord Varian uses his Infernal healing wand once more on himself, Tella, and Darc.
Tella, unusually quiet, shakes as she clings to Eliseera. In a city full of death, she'd been lucky and had avoided it for the most part. This had been far too close. IF they had remained just a moment more, the Lyme would have taken them.
It takes her a few moments to regain enough composure for her to let go of Eliseera and join the conversation.
"Th-thankfully, we have a couple more. The windmill that you mentioned, the 'Family' that madman was raving about, and Grast of the watch."
Looking down at her ruined clothes, Tella lets out a sigh.
"If I am honest, I do not wish to look into any of those right this moment. I am tired, and I can only cast a few more spells before I am left with only my minor magics. If you wish to pursue this, I will go with you, but I am in need of a bath, a change of clothes, and some rest. I dare say we all are."
Elsie allows the young woman to cling to her, knowing full well her magic had saved all their lives. Sighing softly she responds, "Yes I agree we should rest. We should inform the Watch of what occurred but my first thought is to get my friend here back home," pointing at her slumbering friend. "We can wait until whatever poison running through his veins has run its course." Turning her gaze back out over the Lyme she adds, "Should we meet up at the Red Dragon again?"
"No, I don't want to be alone. Can you come with me back to my flat, please," Tella asks, looking scared and embarrassed.
Elsie turns back to look at the young girl who came so nearly close to death. She really is scared...and alone. I know...I know what it feels like to be alone...and afraid...
She motions for Varian, a look of compassion on her face rarely seen by others save Darc. "I know you can safely see Darc back to the Inn, right? I just...I have been in her shoes...when I was young, and scared..." She leans forward to give the Lord a kiss on the cheek. "Take good care of him Varian. He has watched over me for many years and I know he is in good hands."
The group, taking time to catch their breath and to make sure that the sleeping Darc is at least comfortable, may have lost their main line of investigation as the Organ Grinder plunged into the unwelcoming embrace of the Lyme within the Limpet - but they have many other things that could yield further information. Tella starts to list them out; the 'Family', Mahaas and Grast - the Officer of the Watch under whose authority Mahaas is being held, the 'Windmills' and, as Eliseera suggests, the flasks of living fire.
Taking the flask from the Organ Grinder and the one previously taken from Mahaas, the group examine what it is that has caused the flurry of fiery deaths within such a short period of time. Warm to the touch, the ceramic flasks are sealed with a scorched metal cap... and, as each flask is gently handled, the weight seems to shift within it as though something is moving in response to the way in which it is handled... there can be little doubt that whatever is in the flasks is living.
Whilst Eliseera and Lord Varian are considering the flasks, Tella is watching the slowly sinking boat and thinking about the 'Family'. The Family, even to those from beyond Festival, is a name that resonates... stories of protection rackets, of shady deals and of trade in the less palatable commodities of Castorhage abound... few know who the Family are although it is well understood that Festival is theirs... and that, despite the name, the organisation is likely more than a single bloodline.
As Tella muses over the facts, she hears banging on the hull of the boat... growing quieter as the current of the river takes the stricken vessel, and drags it inexorably away from the pier.
After several moments of thinking, she turns to Lord Varian.
"After you see to Darc, can you meet me at my home? We have several things to discuss," she says.
Once she has her answer, she and Eliseera head to her flat in one of the better districts of the city. Once inside her surprisingly spacious home, it's clear that Tella is drained. Though not particularly hurt, she looks as if she'd stayed up two or three days straight.
"Thank you Eliseera. I didn't want to be alone after the past couple of days. Is there anything that you want," she asks as they walk through the door.
As Eliseera gives him a kiss on the cheek, Lord Varian suddenly feels quite embarrassed! Though he's good at hiding such feelings. He acts as if he is indifferent to such affections.
"Of course, Eliseera. Darc is a loyal and strong warrior. I will take him to the Red Dragon. I have no doubt he will recover swiftly in such familiar environs."
He listens approvingly to the banging sound as the ship descends into the water. "Justice claims her toll in the end. This city is better off without that laboratory generating further monstrosities."
Tella's offer to meet at her flat leaves Lord Varian uncertain. With Darc incapacitated, Lord Varian needed more than ever to assume his alter ego. "Like yourself, this experience leaves me uncertain. While it was certainly bracing to fight, I did so mostly in the confidence that Darc would rescue me from my excesses. Now it seems I had to rescue him. I think I shall retire to my home. Perhaps we can reconvene at the Red Dragon tomorrow?"
"If that is what you wish," Tella replies in a glum tone.