"Mountain-born-friend, now attention."
"See that? The tiefling says that Plugg and Scourge tried to get her killed! You ever see anything like this before?"
Nope.
There is a sudden flurry of activity around Tamesis after she reports to Captain Harrigan. A couple of crew are sent into the bilges to investigate, led my Mr Plugg. Sure enough, Aretta's body is found, having bled out in the interim. Tamesis is given a brief questioning, with her concerns about Plugg and Scourge being dismissed entirely, as the two provide excuses to counter her accusations. At the end of it all, Harrigan hands down his sentence, "There was a fight, that's fer sure. Can't say who started it, though. I made it clear, though: Killin' a member of this crew means a keelhaulin'. Toss her in the sweatbox fer now. We'll get to her tomorrow. Everyone else, get back to work."
Aretta's body is thrown overboard, and Tamesis is locked in the sweatbox, to await her punishment the next night.
Upon seeing the contents of the locker, Baolus steals the agate and the coins and before he leaves, he uncorks the wine, takes a long sip and then piss inside to refil the bottle. With a smile of satisfaction, he rejoins the others.
While preparing the lures for fishing, Baolus watches as Aretta is sent to the bilges and notices that she is carrying more than a share of daggers. He tries to warn Tamesis but gets no chance before she is also sent down there.
He doesn't see when she emerges, but once he hears about what had happened, he makes sure to let the other crew members to know about what he had seen.
He's going to keelhaul her tomorrow, Kehlysch thinks as they lead Tamesis away to the sweatbox.
So? replies the Bulge.
She's been helpful. She's been strong. She's one of the few people on this boat we didn't have to convince not to kill me. She killed that crazy Aretta-woman, who would've tried to knife me sooner or later.
Strong, but not smart, counters the Bulge.
It doesn't matter. If we abandon someone who could be a friend, we won't have any friends...ever. We need to figure out if we can get her free at some point, and not end up keelhauled ourselves.
Sven watched the tiefling he brought away with a sour look on his face. She was going to die, and there wasn’t much that could be done about it. And all she had done was defend herself. Life was, he reflected, not fair. He ran through the possibilities on what to do, and the best he could think of was freeing her so she could flee during the night. But how to free her? He had no skill in such tasks. Maybe Baolus? He seemed like the kind of person who could pick a lock. Though that was asking the man to risk death too.
With a shake of his head he got back to work. He couldn’t shake the idea that it might be wise to abandon ship when the time was right.
Tamesis bares her teeth at Plugg and Scourge as they come to take her away. Even as they march her off, she speaks to them, directly, "You know the thing about daemons? We like to eat souls. Mark my words, I'm going to feast on yours, slowly. I bet they're delicious."
She shows no fear, even going so far as to step into the sweatbox herself, grinning at the bastards who tried to have her killed as they close the lid.
As she waits, she plots. When they take her out, they'll have to tie her up. If she makes a break for the edge before they get that far, she should be able to get into the water and away. She's faster in the water than anyone else aboard the ship, save for Blue and Kel, and she has enough faith that they won't chase after her (or if they do, they'd probably just join her). From there, try to get back to the shallows, find a place to rest up, maybe build a raft, get back to civilization...
Madiya is so focused on her backbreaking job and so lost in her memories that she doesn't even notice the commotion and the murmurs of dissent among the crew until nighttime - and Tammy's conspicuous absence. Once she asks around and finds out what happened (to the disbelief and slight ridicule of the others), she's filled with sadness and dread. The sooner they all get off this ship, the better.
Of course! Ship is missing tengu jinxeater, must be cursed.
Sven went up to Scourge once it looked like he could talk alone.
”Hey, boss. I get the feeling that you don’t like me. That’s good and all, you’re choice. But neither of us like that tiefling. Getting tired of her bullying everyone on the ship and showing me up by cheating with her magic. I’m looking forward to her keel hauling tomorrow, but neither of us get to see it if she dies overnight. Can she get healed up from those knife wounds first? Hate to miss the show.”
Sven’s heart hammered. He’d never been very good at lying, but this was one of the few ways he could help her. At the very least they could now try to spring her out of the box at night. Or maybe by some arcane trick she’d survive the morning. But he didn’t know what else he could do.
Scourge fixes Sven with an evil sneer, "Even if she does bleed out, we can still have some fun with her body. But maybe we'll still need someone livin' to keelhaul if she's not available. Maybe you just volunteered. Or maybe the blue girl? Or the fish man? Maybe one of them Bonuwats? Or Quinn? I'm sure we can find someone to play with..."
”You know what? You do you. You obviously have more than enough experience with this. I’ll just...get back to work.”
The death of Aretta Bansion at the hands of Tamesis Kieran, and Teamsis's impending keelhauling, becomes the talk of the ship by dinnertime. Rumors abound about exactly what happened, though everyone agrees that Tamesis was in rough shape by the time she was sealed away in the sweatbox. There are murmurs of discontent among the crew, though no one speaks out loud of any plans to stop the keelhauling.
The next day starts off somber, with work assignments being handed out after the morning meal. Glances towards the sweatbox are common. Late in the afternoon, though, a new energy engulfs the ship. From up in the crows nest, a shout is heard,
"Ship ahoy!"
After brief confirmation, Harrigan turns the ship to give chase. As the Wormwood pursues its prey, everything else seems to fade away. There is no time for Bloody Hour this night, as every action aboard is bent towards catching up to the other ship.
By dawn, less than a mile separates the two ships. After a quick meal, a flurry of activity begins. Orders are barked out, assignments given. Riaris Krine gathers the 5 remaining PCs at the sweatbox. Once everyone arrives, she opens the box and allows Tamesis to climb out. She hands Tamesis a potion and proceeds to give the group their orders for the upcoming battle.
“The ship’s wheel is on the aft deck, just below the sterncastle. You’re going to grapple over, kill the guards on the sterncastle, take the wheel, and guard the ship’s boats. Kill anyone who tries to get away on one of the boats. Don’t move from the wheel until the fighting’s done, or you’ll have to answer to me. Oh yeah, as we get close, it’s going to get foggy. Just stick to what I told you to do. Demon, Giant, you two are in charge. Make sure the rest don't die tying to get aboard."
During the last hour, Baolus and Kroop are ordered to slaughter half a dozen pigs and throw the carcasses overboard, to attract sharks.
As the Wormwood closes with the enemy ship, and comes within range, crossbow bolts start flying from both ships. At the same time, banks of heavy mist suddenly envelop the enemy ship...
Without a ranged weapon of his own, Sven waited until the ships became close enough. Grinning like a hungry wolf, all of the stress and anger of his pressganging vanished. This is what he had come to sea to do! He threw the grappling hook, and by luck or fortune it was a perfect throw.
Climbing was certainly harder in his armor, but he made it across without issue. He arrived on the deck of the enemy ship, raised his hammer, and roared out a wordless challenge.
Round One:
"Ya uln 'bthnk nnn-ftaghu uaaah" Kehlysch intones in the strange gurgling tongue, as he kneels and draws his hands slowly up the sides of his body, meeting at the top of his head.
Round Two:
"Ya uln nnn'bthnk ng-lloig uaaah" Kehlysch intones, making fists of his hands and crossing his arms over his chest.
Round Three:
Assuming one of the opposing ship's armed crewmen is within 35 feet, Kehlysch unleashes a spray of acid at them.
Round Four:
Kehlysch spits another jet of acid at an enemy crewman.
Round Five:
As the ships come together, Kehlysch ignores the grappling hook, and instead runs down to the gang plank laid across amidships.
Madiya can't really make out any targets through the fog, so she doesn't bother with ranged attacks. Instead, she pulls out her rapier and starts praying on it. As the other ship draws closer, she releases her built up energy, then channels some into her blade, making it spark with electricity just as her fists had before.
Then, as the ships come together, Madiya throws her hook - adequately.
Tamesis is confused when her box isn't opened the night of her scheduled punishment, and she wonders at the muffled sounds she can hear through the box. When the lid is finally opened, the confusion is clear on her face. along with relief.
She drinks the potion gratefully, feeling the healing energy rush through her, and nods to the orders as given. Once left to their own devices, she does attempt to make a plan.
"So, Sven, Madiya, and Baolus should be the first over. Kel, Blue, and I will hang back and provide covering fire. Once we have a beachhead, we'll follow over. Does that sound good?"
While the fight approaches, she goes to retrieve her bow and arrows, as well as her spell component pouch. When the other ship comes within range, she pushes her magic power into her bow, and opens fire.
When the ships draw alongside each other, she does her part by tossing a grapple and tying it off, but stays on the Wormwood, for now. Instead of jumping over, she fires a potshot at one of the defenders.
Sounds good to me. Honestly I don't like my chances of making it across on rope or jump based on how well I did last time. I would hate to take a swim in those shark infested waters. Maybe I stay back here providing covering fire until a more secure way of crossing over is found?
Round 1
Buhayra pulls her canteen and with a little shaking takes a swig of the rum she has been squirrelling away over the past few days.
Round 2-4
Peering through the fog Buhayra spies the shapes of enemy bodies and begins to open fire with her cold blasts.
Baolus nods at Tamesis's plan. "All good, Red, all good." He then tried to find something to throw at the other crew, like the flask that Tamesis just now emptied. Meanqhile, he notices Buhayra taking a sip from her canteen and after her shudder, he is certain that what is inside is not orange juice. "What the hell, Blue?"
Coming close to her, he takes the canteen from her hands.
With the canteen in his hands, he smells the contents before tossing it towards the other ship.
He then tosses the flask in his other hand. That wouldn't probably kill anyone but perhaps could hurt at least...
Finally, with only his tied grappling hook in his hand, he gets an idea, throwing it far higher and more directly.
Quickly recoiling the grappling hook, he throws it this time to actually latch on something. And then jumps over to the other ship, smiling with the opportunity to have a good fight.
As the ships close in on each other, the group opens fire. Kehlysch's acidic spittle goes wide on each spray, as do all of Baolus's thrown objects. Tamesis manages to land two hits, while Buhayra manages one. Their combined efforts are enough to bring down one of the sailors on the other ship.
Once the grapples are tied off, Sven and Baolus make their way over in their own ways, while the rest of the party stays behind.
Sven lifted his hammer and charged at the nearest foe. A hapless sailor, whose last sight would doubtlessly be a six foot tall Ulfen warrior, hammer covered in frosty mist, screaming as he charged. Sven swung with all of the skill and enthusiasm he could muster. And while the former could arguably have been said to be lacking at times, the latter he had in abundance.
"Haha! Surrender! But not too soon!" He yelled, grinning, as his hammer connected.
Baolus moved up the stairs to face another sailor, pulling the grappling hook he threw by the rope. When it was in his hands, he used it as a weapon against the still confused sailor.
"Haha, well said Sven!"
Once Baolus clears the landing area, Tamesis fires one more shot across the gap before jumping over herself.
Seeing Tamesis make the jump to the other ship, Kehlysch gets a running start and does the same.
Kehlysch unleashes a gout of acid at the enemy crewman directly in
front of him.
Hey! That's mine!
Overcoming her fear of falling for a moment to attempt to recover her property Buhayra lines herself up with an area of the ship that is a little bit closer and takes a running leap.
Landing on the other side Buhayra takes a moment to summon her floating shield of ice.
She then opens fire on the next closest member of the enemy crew.
Madiya starts to climb over...
Sven's mighty hammer turns the sailor next to him into a pancake in a single blow. Baolus is not so lucky, as the grappling hook catches on the man's armor, causing no damage.
Kehlysch's acid spittle and Tamesis's arrow both sail through empty air, but Buhayra's blast strikes true, ending the sailor previously damaged by Kel's acid.
The Rahadoumi sailors respond to the invading force in kind, rushing to engage with Sven and Baolus. Two sailors move up, one stepping over his fallen friend. The third takes a shot at Buhayra with his crossbow from the opposite rail.
Through the fog, the sounds of battle ring out. Clashing blades and screams. Occasionally, a splash as someone gets thrown into the water.
Just for a moment, the fog parts, and the group can see Captain Harrigan and two of the officers carving a path through the Rahadoumi, rushing madly for the cabin doors just below the aft deck.
Sven saw that the captain was in danger, and a thought flashed through his mind. If the captai died...Plugg or Scourge would take over!
Sven risked being stabbed, shoved the man in front of him out of the way and charged at the captain’s assailant.
”Cap’n! Behind ya!” He shouted even as his hammer connected. He would die before he allowed Scourge or Plugg the satisfaction of being captain!
Tamesis immediately draws her bow up to shoot at the captain's assailant, only for Sven to jump over the rail and block her shot. Snarling, and without the protection of her meat shield, she moves away, up the stairs, and shoots at the enemy that Sven abandoned.
"Sven, you idiot! Get your ass back up here! Let someone with a bow handle that kind of thing!"
”Ha! Can’t hear you! Battle is too loud!” Sven’s laughter echoed through the fog as he swung his hammer, caught up in the pure joy of a chaotic melee.
Baolus notices the man behind the captain but decides that, if he is the captain, he should be able to handle this kind of stuff. He then jumps over the rail, landing behind the man that was fighting Sven, flanking with Buhayra.
Kehlysch moves over to engage the last pirate behind Baolus, near the ballista.
"Ya uln shugg-or wghah'n uaaah," he intones as a concentrated blast of seawater rushes from his extended hand towards the sailor, lining up the jet with the intent of pushing the man overboard.
Madiya moves up to the nearest sailor and stabbifies him with her electrified rapier, smiling at the smell of singed clothing and flesh.
Buhayra takes a 5' step to the Southeast and again fire upon one of the enemy crew.
While engaging in combat she keeps her eyes open for the hip flask that Balous rudely flung on board the ship. For the time being she is not actively searching for it to the detriment of other activities, just kind of passively looking.
Sven's hammer connects and flattens the Captain's attacker. Harrigan looks at Sven and gives a small nod of acknowledgement, before continuing belowdecks.
Between Tamesis's arrow and Baolus's grappling hook, the sailor falls to the deck in a bloody heap.
Kehlysch takes a sword to the gut, but manages to get his spell off. The Rahadoumi man goes flying off the side of the ship, and can be heard hitting the water below.
His screams can also be heard, as he meets one of the sharks.
Madiya rushes up to the last standing sailor and runs her through with her rapier. The light fades from her eyes even as her body spasms from the electricity.
There are no remaining targets for Buhayra to attack, so she is free to search for her flask, which she finds easily.
Sven finds himself on the deck, away from his group. He can hear the sounds of battle elsewhere belowdecks, and maybe on the deck, but the fog is too thick for him for him to make out any engagements.
In the water, the screams stop abruptly.
As the battle lulls, Tamesis marches over to Buhayra and snatches the flask out of her hand, "Go help Kel, he's hurt. We'll talk about this later."
With that, she tosses the flask back over to the Wormwood, never breaking eye contact.
Sven looked around, suddenly alone. In the brief lull he thought to himself...wasn’t there something I was told to do? Right! Take the wheel and guard the boats! He held his ground to watch the boats. Easy enough now that the enemy sailors were being cleared off.
He was bleeding from the blade that slashed across his back, but he was focused! Just another scar to tell the story of his glory. It was as he always said, if something was worth doing it was worth bleeding for.
Kehlysch watches with relief and satisfaction as the blast of water sends the sailor overboard. The moment is short-lived, as a searing burn spreads across his chest and abdomen.
I'm cut...bad! Kehlysch thinks to himself as he looks down at the bloody mess of his shirt.
You still live, replies the Bulge.
Not much lo... Kehlysch stops mid-thought and looks around suddenly to see if any other enemies were in sight. Seeing none at the moment, he relaxes.
If he had struck me any harder, my guts would be lying on the deck!
He did not, replies the Bulge again in tone implying the matter settled.
"Is everyone alright?" Kehlysch asks his companions, with no small amount of effort. "I've been cut...but I'm still standing."
"Here." Madiya moves over and lays a hand on Kel's wounds, using her holy energy to heal them up some. Then, she gets ready to defend the stairs on the far side of the ship.
"Thanks," Kelhysch replies, giving Madiya a nod.
It hurts less, but the wound hasn't closed completely. I'd better steer clear of melee if another fight breaks out, Kehlysch thinks to himself.
The strongest life eventually succumbs to death, the Bulge replies cryptically.
"I can help too. Apparently I'm supposed to."
Buhayra shoots a glare back at Tamesis as she heads towards Kehlysch.
Buhayra also lays a hand casually upon Kel's shoulder and channels her cold energy into healing his wounds, accepting the cost of the healing herself.
After healing Kel, Buhayra looks quizically at the ballista at the stern of the boat.
Anyone know how to use these things? They are pointed outward, but can you imagine how awesome it would be to shoot one at someone trying to rush our position up here? Or get into a life boat?
"Ooh, ballista! I know how to use that! If we can turn it around..."
With no enemies to fight, Baolus takes the sword of the two sailors that were dead at his feet. He hooks his grappling hook on his belt and wields both swords, one in each hand, but in an obviously weird way.
"So...we wait, right? He asks to confirm.
”Thank you,” Kehlysch says to Buhayra as the last of the pain melts away, and the wound on his chest closes.
Tamesis nods at Baolus, "Those were the orders, yeah. Hold on to this section, and guard the boats. If you want to go doen there with Sven, be the front line against the stairs and be next to the boat, that might not be a bad plan."
From belowdecks comes the sound of an explosion. One can only wonder about what exactly has happened, though the ship does still seem to be floating...
"Not a bad idea, Red!" Baolus replies, as he moves towards the unguarded stair and boat. Hold his pilfered swords by the tip of the blade, he then prepares to throw it, much like a dagger, to the first enemy to come close to the boat.