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The storm rages on - but with the winds giving way to a steady downpour of rain that pools in the warping wood of the top deck. The boat comes to a tenuous balance in the unsteady sea and it seems as if the heaviest battering is past.
As many of you struggle to get to your feet, the door to the lower decks swings open and the First Mate steps out into the rain. He sees the obvious pain in a few of your faces and laughs with a hint of professional disdain.
"Looks like you've taken the worst of it. I'll hand it to you, you certainly are brave. Have any of you a serious injury?"
The familiar face of the ship's doctor appear next in the door frame.
"No worries. Let me have a look, then. No use staying in agony now." Killick says, eyes squinted to see through the heavy rain and judge your conditions.
Azora -6 NL damage
Nino -4 NL damage
William -6 NL damage
Tasarë "Willow" -2 NL damage
Conig -6 NL damage
Karlos -4 NL damage
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Willow gently waves Nino’s wand away, demurring politely, “It’s kind of you to offer, but I’m fine. Honestly! Maybe if it blows up again, and we get knocked about some more, but for now time and a careful stretch is all I need, I think.”
As she demonstrates, gently testing her bruised limbs, she smiles with the infuriating cheerfulness of a sapling who hasn’t even made it halfway through her second century. In the middle of a form, she considers Killik and Mallick, and wonders. Coincidence, or are they getting cosy?
She recalls that Velagon is still sticking to his story, but it can’t have been the captain, at least, and she’s not sure about the others. Question Azuretta again? Or Shira or Anera, if either of the latter is inclined to talk to the Pathfinders again. Especially the cook.
One thought leads to another. Killik didn’t say that Anera didn’t come to get something to settle or sleep off an upset stomach, did he? Not that she couldn’t just not have taken it, but could someone else have seen her if she actually did?
Aloud, Willow says, noticing that poor Ulamon is much the worse for wear, “Before worrying about me, perhaps the poor navigator could use your help, Nino?” She pitches her voice so that the solicitous ship’s doctor can also hear.
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Getting up, William thanks Nino. "Thank you, I should be fine, but thank you." After Willow suggests Nino go help the navigator, William remarks, "Yes... but be quick." Once that is done, and before the crew comes up from below deck, he ushers all of the Pathfinders to talk, and begins speaking in a low voice.
"Ok... I have the beginnings of a theory. It's missing a lot, and I don't have any experience with mysteries, so it is very likely wrong, but it's something.
"So, we know that Azuretta and Velagon both claim to have seen the captain and the first mate below deck, but we also know that they weren't. Plus, neither Thanzeril nor Snig mentioned them at all." He pauses for a moment, collecting his thoughts.
"So, what if Azuretta and Velagon were working together? With everyone else asleep or dealing with the pirates, Than and Snig would have been the only ones who would be witness, so Azuretta drew them away, leaving Velagon open to kill Sephriel? Then all they would need to do was invent the Captain and First Mate below deck to throw us off!"
"Now, it's missing a motive, it isn't very neat, and it doesn't explain anything else seen or heard that night, but it's the best idea I've got."
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Perhaps it is the way Killik closes the door behind him, stepping out with crossbow swinging behind his back --- or the way Mallick steps aggressively towards Azora and Willow, but something is clearly not right in the rain.
Conig -6 NL damage
William
Azora -6 NL damage
Karlos -4 NL damage
Mallick
Nino -4 NL damage
Killik
Tasarë "Willow" -2 NL damage
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William steps down from the aft deck, using the railing and his cane as support. Once he gets down there, he turns to face the two. He holds both his hands, and his cane, behind his back, and once he gets down there, you hear a faint snikt. He then says calmly, "Gentlemen! What seems to be the problem?"
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He pauses for a moment, collecting his thoughts.
"So, what if Azuretta and Velagon were working together? With everyone else asleep or dealing with the pirates, Than and Snig would have been the only ones who would be witness, so Azuretta drew them away, leaving Velagon open to kill Sephriel? Then all they would need to do was invent the Captain and First Mate below deck to throw us off!"
"Now, it's missing a motive, it isn't very neat, and it doesn't explain anything else seen or heard that night, but it's the best idea I've got."
Willow listens attentively to William’s theory. “I like that quite a bit, but…”
She gives the pieces of the puzzle another quick mental shake to see where her own instinct is leading her.
Perhaps it is the way Killik closes the door behind him, stepping out with crossbow swinging behind his back --- or the way Mallick steps aggressively towards Azora and Willow, but something is clearly not right in the rain.
Her gaze flashes back to the door belowdecks, seconds too late. … someone tricky, with some magical talent, a friend who hinted at mutiny, and an opportunity with the storm to soften us up!
“Savoured Sting save us all,” she breathes.
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Conig's shot is more of a warning as it skims across the deck. William races down the stairs to confront the two bad actors. Azora sparks her weapon and it sizzles in the hard rain, ready for action. Karlos decides just to knock 'em out and ask questions later, and his powerful swing nearly guts the first mate. With a vengeful look in his eye, Mallick draws his scimitar and goes straight for Willow.
"You talk too much." He gasps between labored breaths.
Conig -6 NL damage
William
Azora -6 NL damage
Karlos -4 NL damage
Mallick -15 damage
Nino -4 NL damage
Killik
Tasarë "Willow" -2 NL damage -9 damage (11 total)
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Mallick never quite reaches Willow thanks to Karlos' quick strike that severs an artery. Nino positions himself in front of the other foe.
Dropping his crossbow in the muck, Killick stares at the growing pool of blood on the windswept deck and raises one arm to the skies as the other clutches his holy symbol.
"BESMARA, HEED MY CALL!"
With a pulsating wave that alters the flow of raindrops around him, a greyish plume of energy reaches out, causing your bones to ache and your minds to reel.
Killik
Tasarë "Willow" -2 NL damage
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Conig -6 NL damage
William
Azora -6 NL damage
Karlos -4 NL damage
Mallick -31 damage <dead>
Nino -4 NL damage
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With a vengeful look in his eye, Mallick draws his scimitar and goes straight for Willow.
"You talk too much." He gasps between labored breaths.
Willow is, to put it mildly, not best pleased by Mallick’s assessment of her character, nor his surprising speed as she narrowly avoids being disembowelled by his sudden strike at her instead of those who’ve managed to fill their hand with steel already.
“True,” she quips, but before she can further annoy the mate by explaining, But only because someone on this ship seems obsessed with stabbing elves, and no one wants to talk about it, Karlos’ quick reflexes save her.
Nodding her thanks, Willow slips around the huge man, drawing the knife at her hip as she goes to join the others surrounding Killik.
As the pirate invokes his goddess, Willow grits her teeth against the wicked energy Killik channels, feeding the pain to fuel a desperate lunge.
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Willow has trouble moving and poking as the boat slowly rocks. Conig takes enough time to dead-aim his ray. William's chill touch easily envelops the foul priest but he is able to brush aside the ifrit's spear thrust with his holy symbol. He can do nothing more as Karlos' sword splits his torso open and his blood quickly pools around your feet.
The door suddenly opens from below and the Captain stops in his tracks, reviewing the ghastly scene at his feet.
"What is going on! Have you killed another of my crew?" Focusing his gaze around the gathering of Pathfinders, he spots the first mate's limp form as well.
"Two dead? This has become a massacre on the high seas! What say you for yourselves?"
Hand upon the hilt of his sword, he awaits an answer for a moment, but another look of horror washes over his face. "Wait. Where is Ulamon? Is he the fourth victim of yours today?!"
Killik -28 damage <dead>
Tasarë "Willow" -2 NL damage -3 damage
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Conig -6 NL damage
William -3 damage
Azora -6 NL damage -3 damage
Karlos -4 NL damage -3 damage
Mallick -31 damage <dead>
Nino -4 NL damage -3 damage
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Turning to face the Captain, William is visibly sweating. "Ok, I know this looks bad, but for the record, they attacked us first. Also, we didn't hurt Ulamon, he just hit his head during the storm." He looks at Mallick and Killik. "It was kind of strange. I asked them what they were doing, but they didn't respond, almost as if they were..." He trails off.
He spins back around to the Captain and asks, "I know you told us you didn't go down below deck. But we need to know: are there any gaps in your memory at around that time? Try to remember as much as you can."
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As the others bring Killik down, Willow stops overdriving her body, and immediately feels the electric tingle of all her muscles twitching as they relax to normal. Captain Veane’s appearance does not make the moments it takes to recover any more pleasant.
Not this again, Willow thinks, as the captain voices his protests. As William and Karlos start to explain, despite herself – well, it’s a bit difficult to say whether she smiles as such or bares her small teeth.
“We’ll have to search them, their hammocks, and their sea chests,” Willow suggests, primarily to the Pathfinders, and then she’s back to herself again.
“We can explain most of it, Captain,” she says calmly , “though as I just said… At all events, these two attacked us as soon as the worst of the storm blew over. We were getting too close to realizing who must have killed Sephriel.”
She takes a breath. If she’s wrong, things can still get even messier, but, “Both Azuretta and Velagon said they saw you and Mallick conferring in the hold just before we found Sephriel murdered. As you reminded us, that’s impossible. The timing, the probability that they would both be lying… Mallick would have to have been there, and I’m sure there are spells and such that would have helped Killik disguise himself.”
She stops herself from an impromptu disquisition on magical theory that several of the others on deck would be better able to deliver anyway. She also has enough tact not to be too blunt in reminding the captain that it’s unlikely that she and the other Pathfinders, not being generally murderous lunatics nor sailors, would have killed Sephriel and then decided to start working through the Mermaid’s crew.
“May we continue belowdecks, out of the weather?”
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Captain Veane's hand nervously squeezes his pommel as he listens to your groups explanations. He also notes Nino's routine healing on the group, wondering if he is being set up for a renewed attack.
"I will admit, I had an impression that Mallick might have had designs on this ship, but I wouldn't dare risk mutiny by accusing him openly. Not before this day."
He shakes his head in disbelief as to the events of the past 24 hours then steps back onto the stairway and invites you downstairs.
"Killik, on the other hand, never struck me as anything more than a mercenary. A man of opportunity, shall we say. I respected him, and he me, as long as the pay was prompt."
Several of the other crew stands in the galley as you enter. Anera waits by a table holding the dwarf cook's still form and Thanzeril stands solemnly in the doorway of his master's cabin. Sensing a turn of events, they stand in silence as you pass.
The captain opens the door to the crew's quarters and stands over the medic's foot locker.
"It is probably locked (or worse), I'll give you the honor."
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Willow looks the locker over, taking the captain’s words to heart.
“Just in case, I don’t suppose anyone’s got nimble fingers for locks?” she asks. “Not that I mind trying, but otherwise I might ask one of you stout fellows to take the more direct approach to opening this.”
This last to Karlos and Nino especially, before she gives the lid to the chest an experimental lift. As she does so, she looks up, adding, with a glance back to her colleagues, "Speaking of opportunity, Captain, I think you were probably right about Mallick. The last halfway to civil thing he said to us was a thinly-veiled suggestion of mutiny, wasn't it, Conig? I wonder if part of the whole mess was to undermine your command, not least among the guardians of the Spire, when they demand an explanation."
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There is no obvious lock, and everyone agrees that it perfectly safe to open. So Willow tips open the lid, enabling a glowing purple sigil inside that erupts with a flash of putrid energy.
Inside the footlocker are the regular mundane items, but also a hefty haul. A number of valuable art items, jewelry, and two bars of platinum (altogether worth about 90 gp) betray the medic's likely motive. Simple profit.
Captain Veane takes a long hard look at the paltry sum that likely drew the medic into the mutinous plot. The sum total of his and the rest of the crew's lives (not to mention the Pathfinders aboard) in the eye of a mercenary cleric of Besmara.
"We can verify with some divination once we reach port. But things do seem quite clear now. Let us have a peaceful journey to the spire and try to put events behind us. If there is one thing I have learned after so many years on the seas, even the darkest sky will clear, and the ocean is but an unending palette."
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There are a few days left to sail to the spire, but they are rather uneventful.
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In the morning - two days following the squall and your confrontation with Sephriel’s killers - the Throaty Mermaid arrives at the Mordant Spire as planned. An enormous, extravagant elven galleon meets the smugglers’ vessel a mile from the shore, sending a smaller boat between the ships as an envoy. Captain Veane explains the events of the journey since Magnimar to the small band of masked elves who come aboard. They nod solemnly, and seem unusually calm given the cold-blooded murder of one of their diplomats. As Veane ends his story, another figure climbs over the ship’s rail onto the deck.
Sephriel.
"Do not dismay. You are not seeing a spirit from the beyond." He bows to you triumphatly. "I never leave the Mordant Spire for human lands without ensuring that a double, a clone if you will, awaits me in safekeeping."
Sephriel steps forward and addresses the assembled Pathfinders directly.
"I thank you for hunting down and uncovering my "murderer". I now have a better idea of who the Mordant Spire’s enemies are and who can be trusted." He offers a letter of credit made out to the Society in the amount of 450 gp. "For your troubles"
The cadre of elves cast spells transforming the upper deck into a makeshift grand hall, complete with tables and spreads of food and wine.
"Enough of the intrigue and the bloodshed. It is time to celebrate our fledgling alliance. Please join me for a gathering in your honor. Of course Captain Veane, gather your crew, as they are quite welcome as well."
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After a lavish elven meal for the entire crew and the Mordant Spire envoys, Sephriel and his retinue depart for their island home, and the Throaty Mermaid sets sail for Riddleport, where the you can easily catch passage back home to Absalom.
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At some point over the next two days, William goes into Sephriel's quarters, telling the Captain that he's packing Sephriel's things so they can be removed more easily. During this, he slips the coin into Sephriel's coin pouch .
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After Sephriel steps out and explains the situation, William goes wide-eyed, and looks at the dead Sephriel, specifically at his coin pouch. Well... that is... less than ideal.
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Conig chimes in upon being referenced, Hardly thinly-veiled Captain. He called into question your leadership. Conig paces behind the group some more and reloads his pistol. The last thing we need is to be caught unprepared in another ambush.
Over the last part of the course to the Spire, Willow has ample opportunity to reflect on what makes a person a killer. Ambition, sometimes, and gold, apparently. It’s a sobering meditation to incorporate into her regimen of target practice as she gradually shakes off the lingering effects of Killik’s magic.
Eventually, though, the sight of the Mordant Spire on the horizon is almost enough to banish such thoughts, if not for the loss of Sephriel. That is, until the canny devil reveals himself in the welcoming party. Willow’s jaw drops briefly in a most unflattering lapse until she remembers herself. The diplomat’s explanation only provides further fuel for the young Pathfinder’s curiosity about the Spire – which instantly climbs higher on her list of places to visit properly one day – and all things arcane. That’s beyond handy. I’m going to learn how to do that! … Someday, at least.
After Sephriel steps out and explains the situation, William goes wide-eyed, and looks at the dead Sephriel, specifically at his coin pouch. Well... that is... less than ideal.
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Later that night, Willow daringly nurses a whole two glasses of wine over the course of the evening , gossiping with the Mermaid’s hosts and catching up with members of the crew and her colleagues under happier circumstances than investigating a murder.
She makes a concerted effort to track down Conig to make sure that he isn’t out of pocket after the division of the spoils, since Killik had had the audacity to charge for his misleading insinuations.
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Karlos is at first shocked at Sephiriel's apparent re appearance, then realizes the tricky magicks that powerful mages and such wield. he sits down with the rest and celebrates with them.
]b]Well, this could have gone a lot worse, I suppose. To many more successes![/b] he says, holding up a full tankard of ale.