Rush will continue to fight the flames with his magic, but seeks out Captain Tap when he gets the chance. Rush speaks in a low voice, Not to question your orders Captain, but how are we to pilot a second ship when we barely have enough crew for the first one? Are we going to tow it the entire time?
Rush is able to put out the majority of the flames with his magic, though the ship seems to be damaged beyond repair. It lists to the side, and seems structurally unsound. However, Belliott leads the crew over the planks onto the ship, and simply rips the door leading down off of its hinges.
After a short rescue mission, 14 hearty pirates are pulled from the sinking ship and brought onto the Chelish ship. They are all coughing and choking...some even retching...from the smoke inhalation. But, they seem able.
One man comes forward to the officers, his hands on his knees as he breathes heavily. He has a moustache that would no doubt be famous, were he not covered in black grime and soot. You have my thanks, sirs...I'm Elyas Astorio. You have my blade, sirs...should...should you have one to spare, that is.
Rush withdraws his comment to the captain in light of these new found 'volunteers'.
Belliot! See to these sick pirates. Rum, rations, and rest.
Now, Elyas Astorio, tell us your tale!
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Yes sir! Belliott snaps too, his chest still heaving, as he'd entered a rage at some point during the combat. He begins ushering the new recruits across and begins bellowing out instructions.
Elyas nods his thanks. You have my thanks, sir...these are good men, not fit for a death by fire. When they go, I'd see it at the end of a sword, or by the teeth of the very sea that we live by.
Ain't a whole lot to tell. That's our ship, there...officers are all long dead. Most of us are cooks, swabs, or were working the bilges, so we weren't up in the original fighting. These ones came up on us fast and hit hard...their captain was like a ghost of death, the way she waded through us. Formally trained, if yer askin.'
Well! You're in luck! We have recently just acquired a fine new ship, and so, we're hiring! Good pay, no slavin', and the captain's fair.
With a smile, Elyas glances over to his old ship, then to the new one. Then you've got a new crew, sir. I'll vouch for them all...for what that's worth.
First Mate, take the ship under your command, and while you're at it, giver her a new name. We'll split up the new fellas between the two ships to speed up introductions.
Turning to the rescued sailors. As it happens, we are on our way to find a beached ship we heard tell of, not too far from here. Perhaps a bit of plunder.
A quick search of the new ship seems in order. See what she's got in her hold. And what we can learn from the captain's quarters.
Rush the wise is correct. We shall search the hold, but first, Rush please see to any of the crew that were hurt in this scuffle. I'd like a full report of casualties.
Elyas sets to, saluting the Captain before rushing off to get his men gathered and take stock of whom needs what.
Jack, Rush, erm...Malvessa. Come to this map and let us consult.
Tap spreads the map on the captain's table. As you can see here, we have a ways to go, and the Chelish ship will have barely enough crew to sail her under good circumstances. If we encounter another pirate, or some bad weather Tap glances at Rush we will lose her, no doubt.
The prudent course is to consolidate our gains. We instead head back to Rickety's. Go ahead and fit our battering ram and deposit this Chelish ship for a proper pirate retrofit...who knows from whom it was stolen, and then set back out for the prize. I think this is a prudent course, but I'd hear ye opinions before calling out the order.
I agree. Why risk what is already a fantastic haul? A fish on the hook is better than two in the sea.
But what about the burned ship. Is it worth saving you think?
Saving? No. We couldn't even sail it if we could. Loot it?
Well, no time like the present.
Jack goes over to look over the burned ship. Indeed, now that he's had a closer look, he doubted it was worth much at all. Still, it was worth seeing if there were anything worth looting.
Jack looks the captured Chelish ship over. He's pleased with it.
She'll be called Sea Harpy, as long as I command her.
Rush comes to the table with some of his own reports. Only superficial wounds, Captain. Nothing that won't heal up on their own with some rest.
At the hint about weather, his eyes cloud over (pun intended) and he tells the group...... .... about the upcoming weather over the next 24 hours.
About returning to Ricketty's, No objections, Captain. Place is becoming like a second home, almost. And we seem to have had improper amount of good luck with recruiting crew there. Should we tow the wreck behind us to salvage parts or let her sink?
How long do you think it will stay afloat Rush.
Rush sees clear weather on the horizon, so a trip back to Rickety's would be easy enough. You can pull enough parts/pieces off of the sinking ship to make some salvage, but not enough for plunder. And, the ship is too burnt out to tow back - it's sinking as you look at it, wondering. Basically, you get some rope, length of sail, a few empty crossbows and cutlasses, some small tools, and a stack of good wood.
The Chelish ship has plunder in its hold . Christened as the Sea Harpy, this ship didn't have much in the way of loot, save for what the captain kept on her person.
4 magical potions - 2 of CLW, 1 of Bull's Str, 1 of align weapon
Magical cloak of resistance +1
spiked gauntlet (nonmagical)
Magical +1 chain shirt
Rush looks over at the wreck, opening his mouth to answer before seeing it has almost completely submerged. He closes his mouth, turns around, says Never mind, Cap'n.
You make it back to Rickety's without incident, and are indeed welcomed as old family come to visit. Rickety himself comes out to the Oncoming Storm, as per usual protocol and stomps aboard. Ahoy, cap'n! Permission to come aboard! He laughs to himself, as of course he is already on board. Looks like you've got yourself a fine haul - of Chelish make, looks like. Lemme' guess...this need a refittin;?
Aye. And silk sails and a ram to fit.
Rickety snorts and nods. Fair 'nuff. We'll get ta' working on it then. Gonna' be a few days at least, but we'll get started today. Are ya' stickin' around and waiting, or back off ta' get another one? He winks, half joking.
Well how long before you can install the ram on the Oncoming Storm? You've had a few days to work on it. I'd prefer to not have another contest without it!
After making another agreement with Rickety, to match the original cost, you head back out, striking west to skirt along the south of Motaku and the smaller isles beneath it. The weather is closely monitored and clear, and near the end of the second day out, you come upon what your carpenter tells you is "Windward Isle", the home of Tidewater Rock.
The mile is about 2 miles long and 1 mile wide, and seems to be almost entirely surrounded by rough shingle and gravel beaches. There's a harbor at the south end of a hill on which stands a tower that rises like a solid block from the sea at the edge of this island. The pounding surf rolls around its base and partially covers the steps that lead up to its front gate. A few arrow slits pierce its walls here and there, and a single shuttered window opens high upon the face of the fortress. A roof of metal shingles rises from its battlements where sentries keep lookout and siege weapons stand ready on corner turrets.
There are three seafaring ships in the harbor, though none seem as substantial as the Oncoming Storm.
Remind me Captain, if you would. What is our goal here?
We are heading out to the wreck I believe. To plunder it. Not interested in tangling with the lady of Tidewater Rock unprepared. Though, perhaps, we should consider sending her a gift of some kind before we go.
You strike out across the bottom of the large Motaku Isle and strike north, heading between the large Motaku to the east and Besmara's Throne to the west. The days are largely miserable, as storms hit the seas, soaking everyone to the bone and rocking the ship endlessly on its trip. When you arrive at the preordained spot, per the map, you see little there. You reckon you're in water about thirty feet deep, but the bad weather recently has left it a bit murky. Lining up a mountain with the angle of the noon sun, you mark the spot, and drop anchor.
The map says that a ship went down here, and you had been told that there was treasure most likely untouched by pirate hands. But...well, it's at the bottom...so, who's diving in?
You strike out across the bottom of the large Motaku Isle and strike north, heading between the large Motaku to the east and Besmara's Throne to the west. The days are largely miserable, as storms hit the seas, soaking everyone to the bone and rocking the ship endlessly on its trip. When you arrive at the preordained spot, per the map, you see little there. You reckon you're in water about thirty feet deep, but the bad weather recently has left it a bit murky. Lining up a mountain with the angle of the noon sun, you mark the spot, and drop anchor.
The map says that a ship went down here, and you had been told that there was treasure most likely untouched by pirate hands. But...well, it's at the bottom...so, who's diving in?
Emerging from below deck, Sunyata walks over to the edge of the rail, and pauses a moment mid-stride to look overboard at the spot the captain spoke of. A few sailors were pointing at where the ship would have been and indeed her seasoned sight could spot a dark shadow deep beneath. Born to the sea, a 30 foot dive was an easy task she could do without blinking.
Cap'n I can dive in to take a look. Whatever's down there, it's not that deep, and easy enough to reach.
[b]Having seen Jack almost drown, anyone have a handy dandy air bubble spell? Otherwise, I've got these air bladders... Hold you over with another breath of air for a few more seconds. Let's see. I've got 6 of these suckers.
That's a good idea for searching while down there. I'll use whatever we got, an' hope it's worth the fuss, or hasn't already been gotten to.
Sunyata looks down the length of the boat vaguely skeptical.
Rush will pull out the Wand of Air Bubble and tap anyone who wants to go down. Rush himself will only go with if the Captain tells him to.
Jack shrugs and says, I'll go down too.
After receiving the treatment from Rush, Sunyatta and Jack head down into the depths. Though not very far underwater, your proximity to the surf and the breezy day makes it a fair challenge of a swim. Still, you make it down to the bottom, and to the remains of a sunken ship. There's a layer of sand and silt over much of it, but you can see the normal type of tools, goods, and mundane weapons that one would find on a pirate ship. There seems to be little more of note on the surface, but there is a door that looks like it would go into the captain's quarters, and a way below...as the ship is completely separated into two parts.
Śūnyatā gestures to Jack to go through the door and tries to manuever herself but gets entangled on a set of ropes of the sunken mast.
She tries to correct and tries again to go deeper towards the door. She breaks loose of the entanglement and heads towards the door.
Jack shrugs, and then dives into the water, and his shoulder slams into something hard. The waves toss him around, and he swallows water.
Jack bludgeons himself on various parts of the ship as he makes his way down. Then, he drifts back up and away, apparently having trouble with his own buoyancy as it tries to drag him back up to the surface. Still the pair make it to the ship, and Sunyata tries the door as Jack thuds into the wall beside it. Bubbles stream out, but they don't appear to have any effect on his air reserves, magically boosted as they are.
The door, however, is barred - from the outside.
Śūnyatā brought her crowbar, an always useful tool when going down to the depths to open up a sunken ship... Good thing I brought this along, to ope chests, but doors might work too. She briefly studies the barred door, and tries to spot any traps and find where the door looks weakest.
She pulls out her crowbar off her hip to go to work...
Śūnyatā gestures at Jack to come help her, and tries to pry open the barred door with the help of her crowbar.
Sunyata nears the door and takes a look, but doesn't see any traps evident. It looks like the thing was hastily barred, so it would be easy enough to pry it at the point where the board was nailed in place.
Jack's head clears, and he manages to swim down to Sunyata. He points to the door, though clearly Sunyata is already pulling out a pry bar. He pushes her out of the way, grabs it and starts prying open the barred door. After a few moments of grunting and straining in his air bubble, he sheepishly moves over for Sunyata.
Seeing how Jack struggled, Śūnyatā imagines the door to be really stuck, she tests it a bit with her hands...
It feels heavily stuck so she uses her crowbar and gives it her biggest strongest effort to bust it open.
On the last pry it didn't seem as hard as she thought it would be, maybe being under water made it more pliable.
Jack struggles with his buoyancy again, rising up as he tries to pull at the end of the crowbar. The crowbar slips out of his hand, but Sunyata grabs it and gives him a reprimanding look. As if to indicate how it was to be done, she puts her feet on the jamb and pries back with all of her might. The wood creaks ominously, then comes off with a snap! Sunyatta is forced floating back a bit, and the door swings open to show darkness from within.
There's stirring in the darkness, though, and from it comes a scarred and battered corpse, covered in barnacles! The thing appears to have once been human, but is now quite dead...err, undead perhaps, as it opens milky eyes and rushes at you, it's stained teeth wide in a hungry snarl!
Behind it, move of the humanoids shift about, one even holding onto a greataxe.
Up top, Rush has begun getting rope ready to haul up anything the scavenging crew may find.
From up top, you can see some bubbles, some movement, but that's about it. You're sure everything is just fine...