"If that's you desire. I'll have on of my lieutenants show you where you can rest for the evening. In the morning you can be off. I'll see about having your man sent back to his boat unharmed."
The next morning comes quickly, especially after the evening of food and wine by the bugbear feast. You are awakened early by one of Sakkarot's lieutenants, Roak. "It's time you were off."
The bugbear leads you back to the boats where Kargeld and his men stand ready to push off, appearing as though they have not slept well. Sakkarot comes to see you off once again, silent as he watches you load back into the boats. As they begin to push away, Kargeld comes up and whispers to Price. "I don't trust that one, he has a look of intelligence in his eyes. Bugbears shouldn't be smart." The boats slowly pull away and make their way to begin crossing the great body of water that is Lake Tarik.
Gwyn boards the same boat as Xanos, watching the receding camp until it disappeared in the distance. As the crew was bedding down, she found Xanos.
"May-- May I speak with you for a moment?"
Xanos set his case down, it's contents shifting and hissing slightly reminding her that he was carrying the remaining two mechanical snakes and a masked monster inside it. In his usual slow, deliberate way he sat down upon it, bringing him roughly to eye level with the small woman.
"Of course, Gwyndolin." he rumbled leaning his new spiral horn staff against his shoulder. "Sit. Tell me what troubles you."
As they begin to push away, Kargeld comes up and whispers to Price. "I don't trust that one, he has a look of intelligence in his eyes. Bugbears shouldn't be smart." The boats slowly pull away and make their way to begin crossing the great body of water that is Lake Tarik.
Price pats the Captain's arm and then lets her hand rest casually on it. "He's a crafty one alright. But that's the reason we could make a very profitable deal with him and walk away with our skin intact. You must be my lucky charm, Captain. I'll have to find a way to repay you." Her smile, like the hint in her words, is far from virginal.
Am I really that short?
Gwyn sits on the deck in front of the imposing necromancer while wondering at how she had failed to notice that the man was almost twice her height. Her cheeks flush with color and her eyes are fixed on something to the right of Xanos' chest (the one that holds stuff besides organs.)
"I-- I'm tired of being scared, and weak. Whenever we face something big and scary, I want to run, run somewhere and hide. It happened against those wet, walking corpses in the dungeon, and again when we were coming into port with the bugbears. It even happened when they first brought us to Banderscar. I was scared, and it was only the puzzle of getting out that kept me from losing my wits and breaking down."
Eyes like a starry midnight looked up at Xanos' face. She seemed more like a shy girl that had led a sheltered life than someone conspiring to overthrow a kingdom.
"Is there any way that you can make me stronger? Some spell or potion?"
"There are many such magics, but no matter how you are altered or enchanted there will always be things more powerful than you. The source of your fears will not disappear because of any spell. That would necessitate a more profound transformation."
"What would it take, then? If I fear being weak, and dying, what would it take?"
"Fear of death is a logical response in many cases. It is the mind's natural impulse to protect itself from danger. Removing death and weakness as a source of fear may be enough, but if it were me, I would go further."
"Fear of death is a logical response in many cases. It is the mind's natural impulse to protect itself from danger. Removing death and weakness as a source of fear may be enough, but if it were me, I would go further."
"How?" Gwyn's eyes light up, her mind beginning to look at this as a puzzle, and not a quick fix. She was beginning to wonder what Xanos was capable of. Something in the gleam of her eyes shouted that she wanted to pick this puzzle apart. No, she was relishing the chance to pick it apart.
A sweet, innocent smile spread across her face. The kind of smile she had right before wicked things began to happen.
"When the goodly citizens of talengarde took it upon themselves to kidnap me from my home and lock me up in Branderscar, they did it because they were afraid. They locked their fear in a cage, bound it's hands with chains and silenced it with a mask. Those things were the tools of their convictions in their attempt to overcome their fear."
"This did nothing to the fear itself. It still exists and is still a threat to me. Now that I am free of that place, I have chosen to take on the symbols of those convictions and make them a part of the fears they never conquered. The mask, the chains, the hands, all calculated tools to take the things they did to me and make them sources of my own power. As they come up with new symbols to fight me with, I will make those my own as well."
"In essence, I chose to become an embodiment of the fears I fought against. In a very real way, fear dictates the terms of my own transformation. The fears I struggle against are external. Yours are internal. That is the only significant difference in our plights. It may be possible for you to do something similar to what I have done. All you need to do is become the symbols of the fear."
Gwyn's mind turns over Xanos' words. The last sentence hangs in the forefront of her consciousness, beckoning, calling with a siren song.
"If I fear death then I need to become a symbol of death. Is that something you can help me become?"
Xanos smiled.
"Indeed I can."
Interesting, I should also look into turning my inner shell into something more
Bah, what need have thou of becoming a symbol of death. My form is more than enough to cause fear amongst thine enemies and I have merged it with thy own. As your power increases, you shall be able to draw upon more of mine.
I will honor the pact. I have every intention of keeping up with my researches. But I can not always have you with me. Even if I avoid careless mistakes like last time, if I am awakened, it takes time to assume the form. If I can make myself less vulnerable, then not only can I not be hurt, but you will not loose your anchor.
Ha ha ha. Mayhap thy position hath some merit. Very well. T'would be well not to have to find a new host in order to reach this plane. Mine own interest doth lie in keeping you alive. In thine extra curricular researches remember; What is dead may never die, but rises again harder and stronger.
Cain stands a few feet behind the strange half-elf who's seemingly talking to himself... if not out loud. He shakes his head and claps the Fargo on the back, "We gotta get you a girl, man."
Xanos smiled.
"Indeed I can."
"What must I do, and when can you begin?"
Something about the firmness in her tone rings of authority, leaving little doubt that she would go through with whatever Xanos had planned.
Gwyn, above all craved power.
"The power of death lies in the weaknesses of life, the things it is entirely dependent on. The mind, the heart, the lungs and the stomach, primarily. Of those, which would you consider to be strongest in you?"
Gwyn chuckles as she considers the question.
"My mind."
"Which is weakest?"
Gwyn loses herself in thought for a moment as she pondered the question. A long moment passes as the water lapped the side of the boat.
"I'm not sure. All of them determine fortitude and physical strength in some way, and I am lacking, very very much so, in those two areas."
"Physical strength is nothing. It is temporal and transient."
"The physical purpose of these parts of us is not what you should be focusing on. The metaphysical is far more important to our discussion. Fear is a spiritual thing before it is a corporeal thing. Your transformation will be much the same. Therefore, our choice must also be based on the metaphysical. Analyzing you from that perspective will tell us where the cause of your fear lies."
"The mind deals with reason and willpower. The heart governs courage and conviction. The lungs, communication and persuasiveness. The stomach with drive and desire."
"I have never seen you lack in desire or persuasiveness, and you state that your mind is quite strong. That leaves the heart as the source of your fear. Would you agree?"
The small thief's head nods slowly. Her eyes light up as if a whole new world lay before her.
"Yes. You're right. I've-- I guess I've never thought of it that way before."
Gwyn looks out, or tries to, but winds up looking at the wood that made up the hull.
"Is that the reason Thorn has us attacking Balentyne? To weaken Talingarde's heart? To weaken their conviction?"
"Precisely."
Xanos steeples his fingers as he thinks, which is an odd thing considering that one of his hands is disembodied and transparent.
"You seek mastery of your own heart in order to conquer death. That can be done. You must understand though that if you choose this it will be difficult and painful, and by the time you are done you will no longer be able to call yourself human. You may still be able to walk among them, but that is where the similarities will end. They will be little more than prey to you."
"Is that what you wish?"
"All power has a price. If the price for this is my humanity, well, I really wasn't using it anyway."
Gwyn looks back at the towering wizard and grins at her joke.
"They saw me as nothing more than a target for their derision or an object for their lust. I don't see why I should see them as equals. Besides, what has being human gotten me other than a one-way ticket to Banderscar?"
"I long ago came to the conclusion that humans as a species had a rather baseless and overinflated opinion of their own importance."
"Tell me, Gwyndolin, are you familiar with the affliction Sanguinus Vampirus, known more commonly as vampirism..."
The normally placid Price begins to stalk the decks, alternately looking at the shore ahead and the one they just left. After an hour, she approaches Odenkirk. "Captain, would you please bring the boats closer together? I need to run something past my team."
When the boats are close enough for easy communication and she has the attention of her teammates, Price calls over "Oi! I hate to say it but I've got a bad feeling about this. Thorn led me to expect... well... let's just say I expected the Bugbears to be a bit more 'problematic'. This went easier than I imagined and easier than Thorn said it would. And he isn't often wrong. It just doesn't smell right. So we need to be ready in case there is mischief afoot on the far shore. I've got a plan."
She turns to Odenkirk, "With your permission, Captain, I'd like to request that when we land, you bring the boats in close together and as quick as you safely can. My team will be waiting on the bows. We'll hit the beach hard and make sure no nasty surprises await. If everything is fine... well, chalk it off to feminine paranoia. If everything isn't on the level, we'll be in a better position to handle it and your boys can be ready to back away from shore if that becomes necessary."
Price addresses everyone in the conversation, "Does that sound workable? Are we in agreement?"
Price watches the shore approach, "OK, people, gear up and get ready for a fast landing. I'd rather we were over-prepared for nothing than under-prepared for whatever. Cain, you are on point. Hard and fast."
Price leans with her back against the rail as the boat pulls in to shore. She spares a worried glance at the land before bestowing a happier look on Odenkirk. She practically purrs, "Well, Captain, it seems we're almost out of your hair for the present." She spares a long glance at Gwyn in the other boat before turning back to Odenkirk, almost apologetic. "I know I'm not the prettiest girl at the dance but I'm hoping you wouldn't object to giving me a kiss... for luck perhaps or as a small payment for your many services?" Her smile turns less demure and her voice drops to a more intimate tone. "I'd rather hoped to reward you more thoroughly, Kargeld, but the lack of a cabin made that difficult." Price undoes a button on her dress, clearly opening the door for an embrace with a little extra.
Price plays the wanton, pressing against the captain, curling around him, enjoying his wandering hands, and kissing with a barely checked savagery. But one hand never strays from her mace. When they part, she isn't unimpressed. "Oh my. A man of many talents, I see.." Before he can answer she whips the mace around and drives it into his ribs, trying to kill him with a single blow.
Once boats are brought together cast mage armor.
Once the Boats reach the shore cast Enlarge person
Ready action to drop disguise once Price swings.
Cain listens intently to Price's plan, nodding at the end.
It's not easy to mask his usual pre-fight energy… at least, it's easy enough to try to channel it towards the slowly-oncoming shore.
At the Shore…
Price watches the shore approach, "OK, people, gear up and get ready for a fast landing. I'd rather we were over-prepared for nothing than under-prepared for whatever. Cain, you are on point. Hard and fast."
Again, Cain nods, though he gives a quick glance over to Gwyn, Fargo, and Xanos on the far boat. As his eyes find their way back to the shore, he pulls out one of the vials he picked up back at Thorn's.
Then it was a waiting game. He stood not quite flanking Odenkirk, hopefully seeming to give the big human the Captain's vantage point of the oncoming beach as he stands – arms crossed – ready for anything.
Price's ruse was good. Would have fooled me, anyway…
As she leans in for the kiss, Cain pulls the vial's stopper and downs it in one shot. As the warmth of the magic spreads to his limbs – and he feels his body begin to expand – Cain unleashes the caged beast.
That thing lurking within him had been locked up for weeks… peeking out from behind Cain's disguise as it watched these humans walk unprotected. It had been one long exercise in patience and restraint. Now, Cain let go of that restraint.
The beast roared from his core, howling as it expanded through his body in counterpoint to the potion's magic. Bones snapped. Muscle and sinew stretched, doubled, and corded. Teeth fragmented into sharp daggers.
Finally, the wolf could hunt!
The huge beast draws his blade in a flash, then surprises Odenkirk by trying to kick the mans' legs out from under him.
Shulme remains withdrawn and taciturn throughout the trip as the weather continues to obscure the heavens.
He takes his place next to Cain as the boat approaches shore, leaning on his spear. As he hears Price begin her spells, he begins working magic of his own in his strange tongue, in a whisper that nevertheless carries uncannily to the ears of all present, seeming to focus more on the approaching land than on Odenkirk and Price.
Necessary for the forms of the infernal hierarchy, Price finds the requirement to 'pronounce her doom' just a bit too theatrical for her tastes. Nevertheless, she does so. "Asmodeus demands your destruction, oh faithless brigands! And I am here to carry out his will. Fall on your blades, if you wish - but none shall escape these boats alive, I swear." Her mace falls swiftly and decisively.
Gwyn positions herself towards the front of one of the boats, and pulls her one her knives out to check it's sharpness just after Price locks lips with Odenkirk.
Right after the seductress bludgeons Odenkirk with the wicked mace, Gwyn spins around and tries to lessen the number of men that would be prepared for her.
Figures.
As the shore grew closer, Xanos casually sipped from a small teacup and studied his book, whispering small incantations.
At the moment the Captain felt the bite of his allies weapons, the tall wizard vanished into thin air and the chest he has sat upon unlatched.
In his place, the masked thing unfolded itself from the box in a decidedly unnatural way.
"Kill them all." a disembodied voice whispered.
Odenkirk can't help but overhear as Price speaks. He listens intently, a concerned look on his face. When she turns to him, he takes in her words, staring intently into her eyes, a feral gleam in his eyes. He eagerly gives his consent, "Of course."
As the boats comes together, gliding towards shore, he grips the haft of his axe, his knuckles white from the tension. When Price leans in, his eagerness is clear. He embraces Price with such a savagery that it seems he may well not stop there. The grin on his face as Price finally pulls away clearly shows his intentions, intentions which have clearly distracted him as Price's mace swings into his side, causing him to gasp in pain.
Suddenly a flurry of activity happens as our villains respond to the signal. Cain, having sprouted fur and fang, draws his sword and trips the injured Odenkirk to the ground while Shulme calls upon his power to grant him strength in combat.
Fargo/Teon drops the illusion, revealing his fused from to the crew. Xanos summons a spell of invisibility, dropping his diguise as he unleashes his undead minion. And Gwyn attempts to impale a sailor, though he barely deflects the small rogue's blow.
The crew starts to respond, but in fear. Giant wolfmen, giant infused demon, ghostly necromancers raising the dead, Asmodeus's name invoked to their destruction, they prepare to fight to the death, but only in fear of the alternative.
Cain
Gwyndolin
Price
Shulme
Teon
Xanos
Odenkirk
Odenkirk's Men
OK SM
The masked creature stepped out of the box drawing a metal bar from within the neck hole of it's lose robes. It stepped into the nearest sailor and swung with inhuman savagery.
Gwyn drops into a more balanced stance and strikes like a viper. She lets a small smile curl one of the corners of her mouth when this blow is a little more accurate, and much more deadly.
Gwyn draws her other dagger and stabs the first deep into the sailor, injuring the man but not enough to deliver his final rest. Odenkirk's men discard their oars as they stand, drawing their shortswords as they do.
Slave: OM6
Gwyn: OM4
Teon: OM1, OM2, OM4, OM5
Cain: OM7, OM8, OM9, OM10, OM11
Price: None
Shulme: None
Seeing an opening, Gwyn snaps her blade forward a third time, and tries to keep calm as the man towers above her.
Shulme whirls around and strikes, seeking to finish the job with his spear, but the point goes wide as Odenkirk reacts far too quickly and beats it aside. The sorcerer frowns in silent concentration as he prepares for the captain's counterstrike.
The huge werewolf lashes out brutally at the prone Odenkirk with blade and tooth.