Facing two of the toughs Diana thinks for a moment and then announces. I know. Why don't you attack him!
Edward moves to the west, dodging elbows that go back from drawing punches.
Little animal Caulky, where are you?
The rough-looking man fighting Jaina ducks out of the way of her first blow, but her second connects solidly with the side of his head and he collapses to the ground, unconscious! Edward, still invisible, sneaks forward and spot Caulky the Tortoise cowering under an upturned chair not far away...but he's still got some ways to go between him and his target, and there's fighting all around. Diana calls up her magic and charms one of the toughs facing her, who - already afraid of your group - lunges down onto the floor and up at the other in a blind panic! He only lands a glancing blow, and the other man yelps and moves out of the way, but staggers on some spilled grog.
Recovering his balance, the man scowls. "This witch is causin' all sorts o' trouble! C'mon, Bert! Snap outta it!" He tries to swing his own crude club down on Diana's head. The oracle sees sparks as the improvised weapon lands.
Across the room, Isaac is engaged in what can only be described as a duel with Pierce. The other pirate captain is still moving more quickly than seems humanly possible, his longsword flickering and jabbing like quicksilver. "Atouchthere! Andthere! Andthere! HAHA!" Isaac isn't able to bat away the flashing sword, and Pierce opens up bleeding slashes on the Silvermane's upper arms!
Caulky the tortoise hides in her shell.
Initiative
Caulky (hiding)
Isaac, Diana, Edward, Jaina<-----
Brawlers
Pierce
Pierce: HP: 52 | AC/T/FF: 19/15/15 | F+6 R+8 W+5 | CMD: 21 | demoralized until round 5, hasted until rd. 8, bull's strength on
Toughs: HP: 25 green, blue, and yellow | AC/T/FF: 15/13/12 | F+6 R+6 W+2 | CMD: 19 (20 vs. disarm, dirty trick, steal) | all demoralized until round 5; green is a pig until round 8
Caulky: A tortoise until rd. 9
for
for
for
for
for
Edward, seeing Isaac hit, decides to try and disarm Pierce.
The weapon likely is yanked from his hand, and flies toward Edward, who grabs it with his free hand.
Gotcha.
Edward then heads towards Caulky.
Jaina will run up to the nearest drunken brawler accosting Diana and punch him in the back of the head.
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Isaac growls as he takes the damage. However, when Edward liberates Pierce's sword, the new Free Captain gains a smirk. "Ye wer' sayin'?" He slashes at Pierce again!
Diana withdraw from her two attackers, moving towards the turtle. As she does she looks about for other who show interest in her group
Edward snaps his fingers and Pierce's longsword flies out of his hand - leaving him looking startled and rather silly - and lands in Edward's hand! Diana hustles forward and arrives next to the floating sword; she doesn't see anyone else who shows much interest in your group, as the rest of the taverngoers are embroiled in their own fights. She does, however, see the turtle right nearby! Isaac manages to land a stinging (but not dangerous) blow on Pierce, as Jaina moves up to the two thugs menacing Diana and takes a wild swing at the nearest one. She misses, but does attract his attention; he and his buddy turn to fight her instead of Diana, and Jaina dodges two wild swings with table legs/bottles. Pierce, meanwhile, scowls as he spots his sword floating on the other side of the room, and makes an arcane gesture - but fumbles his spell! He hops off the table and starts pushing through the fray away from Isaac.
Pierce: HP: 52, 8 NL | AC/T/FF: 19/15/15 | F+6 R+8 W+5 | CMD: 21 | demoralized until round 5, hasted until rd. 8, bull's strength on
Toughs: HP: 25 green, blue, and yellow | AC/T/FF: 15/13/12 | F+6 R+6 W+2 | CMD: 19 (20 vs. disarm, dirty trick, steal) | all demoralized until round 5; green is a pig until round 8
Caulky: A tortoise until rd. 9
for
for
Seeing Pierce moving away Diana decides to try to admonish him before picking up the turtle.
Jaina grins, cracks her neck, and starts throwing punches. She pulls some of the force behind her blows--after all, it was just one hell of a bar fight.
Edward steps 5ft west, then slightly shoving the turtle towards Diana's feet with his own. Making a small gesture, he casts grease upon the marked area.
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Isaac swings at Pierce as he flees. He then looks up at the chandelier and decides to make his move. Stepping onto the table, he then jumps up to the chandelier.
Grabbing the chandelier with his free hand, he swings forward to get in front of Pierce.
With grace and a fluidity hardly seen, Isaac flips in the air and lands in front of Pierce, his hat landing back on his head, cutlass pointing at the other Captain. "An' wher' do ye think ye be goin'? We still hav' our figh'."
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Isaac manages to smack Pierce with the flat of his blade as the other captain moves away, and Pierce staggers again as Diana's two rays slam into him. One of the toughs staggers as Jaina delivers a quick flurry of blows to him, sending him crumpling to the ground with blood streaming from his nose (unconscious, but in no danger of dying). Edward nudges Caulky the turtle toward Diana as he conjures a patch of grease, and Isaac throws himself through the air with the greatest of ease to swipe at Pierce again, who dodges his blow.
Back across the room, the one remaining drunkard grabs a tankard of ale and attempts to hurl it in her face, but she manages to bat his arm down just in time. Pierce, meanwhile, snarls in exasperation when faced by Isaac. "Ohwouldyougiveitupalready?" he exclaims. Making a few gestures to quick to follow, he throws his hand at Isaac and a blast of swirling colors burst forth, but the captain of the Silver Shrike manages to turn his face away just quickly enough to avoid being dazzled! Pierce is staggering slightly after the blows of the last few seconds.
Pierce: HP: 52, 44 NL | AC/T/FF: 19/15/15 | F+6 R+8 W+5 | CMD: 21 | hasted until rd. 8, bull's strength on
Toughs: HP: blue unsonsc., 25 green, yellow | AC/T/FF: 15/13/12 | F+6 R+6 W+2 | CMD: 19 (20 vs. disarm, dirty trick, steal) | green is a pig until round 8
Caulky: A tortoise until rd. 9
Calling across the room as she hoists the turtle in one hand Diana asks her captain Is there a goal here captain, or are we just havvin fun? She indicates Pierce and asks Do you want that one put down or no? She seems ready to casts another spell.
Edward starts a round of Inspire, crafting a poem of epic bad-assery the crew has accomplished so far.
Seeing an opening in the crowd, and seeing Pierce within reach, Jaina opts to ignore the drunken fool remaining and go for him instead.
I mean, anyone who draws a sword on my captain better be ready to lose a hand.
She shoves her way through the crowd, right after Pierce throws a spell, and lunges for his arm.
As Diana waves the turtle around (its little arms and legs kicking futilely), Jaina grabs Pierce and puts him in an impressive armbar. Just as Diana shouts out her question, the front door of the inn bursts open, and a slightly motley but nonetheless uniformed gaggle of men and women pour in and start laying about themselves with saps.
“Alright, alright! Break it up! This is the Guard, you’re all gonna be spendin’ a night in lockup fer brawlin’,” the leader bellows.
Pierce, wincing through the armbar, stops struggling against Jaina. “You uh...you know, there’s a hidden back way out of this place. What say we call an honorable truce and we can all head out of here together?” He glances from Jaina you Isaac. “I’ve been in the Port Peril lockup before, and I’ve no wish to return!”
As Pierce is pleading with Jaina, Edward casts message on his friends.
"We -could- let lady Piercia go....but she -did- slash our captain with that fancy sword of hers."
It's mine now, though."
(Edward bends through his knees slightly, pressing the sword against the table's central bottom to hide it)
Diana heads up the stairs for now. Once she moves she casts Levitate, just in case she needs it later.
Isaac nods at Pierce's offer and sheathes his sword. "Ay'. I didn't wan' to be fightin' ye anyways. We can talk this ou' onc' we escap'. I woul' be mor' than happy to explain why this figh' be happenin' in th' firs' plac'."
Turning to Diana, he says, "Don't los' tha' turtl', Diana. We need 'er aliv'."
Pierce grins. "Glad you're a reasonable man, Cap'n Silvermane. Quick now! You and your crew follow me." He turns and (assuming that Jaina does release him) leads you all toward a nook at the top of the stairs.
The captain of the Salty Flagon presses on a panel in the woodwork of the stairway's landing, and manages to pop it open. Leading you all inside, he replaces it and scurries down a short ladder at the end of the cramped hallway into an alleyway behind the tavern. None of you stop for several blocks, until you're all far enough away from the tavern not to seem suspicious...well, any more suspicious than anyone else in Port Peril.
"By the gods! That was a hair-raising fight!" Pierce says, catching his breath. He grins at you all. "You're quite the salty crew. My congratulations on how you handled yourselves - what d'yeh say, should we call a truce?"
Edward remains invisible for the full remaining length of his invisibility spell, using the chaos of the escape to (hopefully) mask the sword held low.
Outside, he whispers a message to Jaina (assuming she had a backpack on her)
"I need to strap something on your back if you don't mind."
(trying to hide the sword between backpack and clothing)
As Diana runs she is mindful that her prisoner will only remain in turtle form for a total of 7 rounds.
Jaina does let Pierce go so the party can make their escape.
Isaac gives a small smirk to Pierce. "Ay'. Ye ar' quit' tough yers'lf. A truc' is indeed call'd. Didn't wan' to figh' ye. This all go' started wit' a misunderstanding'. An'..." The Free Captain points at Turtle-Caulky. "...'er. She be on' o' Harrigan's crew. Sh' be puttin' drugs in drinks, knockin' 'em ou' an' press gangin' 'em. It's how Edwar' an' I be par' o' Harrigan's crew. An' we don't wan' 'im to kno' we be ou' o' his service."
My good captain speaks truth. We've no wish to fight you and would be better allies than enemies.
Pierce chuckles. "No hard feelin's, eh? I don't mind a good scrap now and again, and your crew can certainly deliver! You say this turtle's one of Barnabas Harrigan's crew? Will 'she' be - "
Pierce is cut off as, just then, Diana's enchantment wears off, leaving her hanging onto the arm of a disheveled and frantic-looking Caulky Tarroon. "Let go! Let go of me, you witch!!" Despite her struggles, between Diana and Jaina, it's easy enough to hold her.
Pierce raises an eyebrow. "Well! I see you have things well in hand, as it were. Far be it for me to come in betwixt two other Free Captains who are still in the process of...er...resolving a dispute. I think I'll take my leave, if you don't mind. But if you ever need someone with a head for danger and you've got a serious prize in the offing, don't feel shy about seeking me out! The Salty Flagon'll be docked in Port Peril for a few days yet. I'd be happy to raise a glass in more civilized contexts, as well." He offers to shake Isaac's hand before departing (assuming you don't detain him for anything).
How still woman. Or do you fancy being a slug next time? Diana threatens. Captain, I say for her crimes against free men she deserves to die. That is unless she repents openly and becomes useful.
Edward, if still considered invisible (7 minutes from moment of casting),
He'd refresh message if it's gone, and whispers everyone to pretend they don't hear him in the coming speech to Caulky.
Edward then tries imitating a sinister female voice, standing about 7 feet from Caulky.
"Oh Caulky, sweet Caulky, i have vatched you for a long time now.
Yes....if they kill you now, your soul is mine to collect.
Vhile i have many vonderful terrors to subjugate you to, i could use an agent to do my work. All you need to do, is forsake Harrigan, and work for a patron much larger than him. Harrigan is walking the path of the dead man, he is a soul ripe for vonderful torment."
(short silence)
"These mortals unknowingly serve my purposes already, but i vant someone with your skills of finesse and deceit. Obey me, Elyzabel, lord of Deceit and Chaos. Join this ignorant crew of pawns as my agent, and in time, i can orchestrate your rise to power, wealth and respect, befitting a queen. Should you accept, merely confirm this woman's words, hold your palms on your chest as you do. I will be in touch, should you do so."
"I'll be watching......."
Pierce raises an eyebrow. "Well! I see you have things well in hand, as it were. Far be it for me to come in betwixt two other Free Captains who are still in the process of...er...resolving a dispute. I think I'll take my leave, if you don't mind. But if you ever need someone with a head for danger and you've got a serious prize in the offing, don't feel shy about seeking me out! The Salty Flagon'll be docked in Port Peril for a few days yet. I'd be happy to raise a glass in more civilized contexts, as well." He offers to shake Isaac's hand before departing (assuming you don't detain him for anything).
Isaac shakes Pierce's hand as he leaves. He then turns to Caulky.
He hears Edward's message and the bluff he makes. He then steps to Caulky. "So, I be havin' a few questions, Miss Caulky. An' ye will answ'r 'em. Understood?"
Caulky quails when Diana threatens her, but she nearly jumps out of her skin when Edward's spectral tones come from (seemingly) nowhere at all. Now she clutches onto Diana, and though Isaac's not terribly threatening after that performance she nods eagerly.
"Please, please, don't kill me! I don't want to die and go to hell...I never knew I was that bad, I don't want to be eaten by this Elyzabel fiend! I'll answer any questions you ask."
x10 minutes, then unfriendly (though maybe still cooperative!)
Edward is smiling with mischief, and laughing on the inside.
Awesome! She fell for it.
Although, i won't know for sure if it fully worked, unless she offers to join up.
Never knew you were bad? Doya even know what you are about? Its kidnapping and shanghaing and ruining lives it is. You can start by givig up whatever drug you were using.
Isaac narrows his eyes at Caulky. "Does Harrigan kno' tha' we be her' or tha' we escap'd his crew?"
Caulky glares at Diana. “You think I like drugging drunkards and hauling them back to the Wormwood? You can’t imagine the beating that’s in store for me if I fail. When Plugg took off with you lot in the Promise, we were down to a skeleton crew, so everyone was forced into extra shifts. I’m not even Harrigan’s cabin girl anymore, I’m just a swab like the rest. The drug’s in my vest pocket—oil of taggit, I still have a couple vials.
“As for you lot...” she turns to Isaac. “Of course he knows. What did you think would happen when Plugg didn’t show up with the ship here as promised? He’s been cursing Plugg for weeks, but after your lot cracked the Rock it became clear that Plugg wasn’t involved. News filters in slowly, but it’s been coming. I heard about your letter of marque on the streets today myself. I assume Plugg’s dead?”
Isaac's eyes soften when Caulky shares her plight. He's still wary of her.
At her question, Isaac responds with, "Ay'. He be dead. Scourg' an' thos' who sided wit' 'em be marooned. Iff'n it mak's ye feel any better, I beliv' Plugg be trying' to be a Cap'n as well." He thinks for a moment an' says, "Ar' ye interest'd in a proposition? One regarding' yer potential futur'?"
Its better to take a beating than ta do some things lass. Still, I'd give ya a chance too if we want it. Join us instead? Your lot has to improve, right?
Caulky looks at Diana and Isaac like they have two heads. “What are you talking about? Of course I’m on yer damn crew now, didn’t you hear the fiend? I never heard of this Elyzabel, but I’m not about to take the risk of gettin’ offed and eaten by her!” Her face falls suddenly. “Oh, no—you all did hear the fiend, right? It’s not just me? Besmara’s blade, she didn’t possess me or anything, did she??”
Fiend? What fiend?
Jaina, having been the strong, stoic and silent type this whole time, finally speaks up. "Harrigan poisons folk to bring 'em aboard?"
"Sounds like someone generous with the purse strings. Gods know when my old captain needed new crew, he just sent his meanest crew out to wallop a few poor sods on the back of the head and drag them aboard."
"...he still sounds like he deserves a punch in the dangly bits, though."
Edward takes some distance, preferably behind something unseen by Caulky.
Perfect, she took the bait. A pair of extra hands could benefit the team. Plus, everything we pry away from our shanghai'ing nemesis, is welcome.
Edward dismisses his invisibility, and comes walking around the corner.
"Hey guys, what did i miss?"