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Ben took the following from the loot:
- Potion of cure serious wounds
- wand of cat’s grace (7 charges)
- acid (2)And handed the wand of invisibility over to Lidia warning her that "This wand casts an expensive spell. Do not use it lightly."
Though I should probably post that over in gameplay I'd rather do it here to make it easier to track who gets what.
Ulretha looks down at his own, numerous wounds. "I could use some of that, too," he says as Ben starts to heal himself up.
"And I'd much rather perform guard duty than row or fish."
"This little sewer dweller said she had accomplices. These others don't think they're the ones who were named but I'm betting there actually were some. Before we lock her up in your cabin, we should put on a little show for all the crew. We'll stage an execution and see if anyone shows their hand."
If the rest of the group goes along with the plan, Ulretha will have her bound hand and foot, gagged and bent over the rail with everyone on the boat gathered to watch the next time they are anchored.
He raises Aggrimosh high over his head and even higher over hers. "This is what happens to anyone who tries to kill me!"
Then, he brings the hammer down violently, but instead of smashing her skull, smacks the railing before leaning down and whispering something in Milena's ear.
Ulretha looks down at his own, numerous wounds. "I could use some of that, too," he says as Ben starts to heal himself up.
In response, Ben performs the same ritual on Ulretha.
Ben watches closely to see if Ulretha actually does something lethal, prepared to step in if necessary.
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And handed the wand of invisibility over to Lidia warning her that "This wand casts an expensive spell. Do not use it lightly."
Lidia takes the wand gently and warily, like she's afraid she might break it. She looks it over curiously. "Ok, I'll be careful with it." she says dutifully, then tucks it away in a side pocket of her quiver. Once on deck, she pulls off her own chain shirt and pulls on Melina's mithril one instead, then twists and bends around a little, testing it out. "Wow, this is way lighter than mine was. It looks newer too."
"I got the my old chain shirt at a trading post a couple years ago. I had to trade nearly a hundred skins for it. I'm pretty sure that bastard cheated me, but I didn't have much choice, since I didn't have any coins. It'll be nice not having all my clothes discolored with rust."
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"This little sewer dweller said she had accomplices. These others don't think they're the ones who were named but I'm betting there actually were some. Before we lock her up in your cabin, we should put on a little show for all the crew. We'll stage an execution and see if anyone shows their hand."
"Ulretha, think about it. If you were her accomplice, would you speak up if we were about to execute her here on deck with everyone watching? You'd keep your mouth shut, and be glad that we were killing her, since she's the only one who can incriminate you." says Lidia.
She scans the deck. "Where's Kioshi?" she asks balefully.
Ben, as always blunt, approaches the matter directly (though politely).
"Kioshi, our captive has named you as one of her allies on board ship. I would like you to confront your accuser."
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Kioshi looks at Lidia and nods.
"You know I am glad that I was allowed to enter here and learn and eventually help." he says with a smile.
Lidia just glares at Kioshi furiously and tensely, like panther preparing to pounce.
But then Ben appears at her shoulder and disrupts her before she can say anything more. Her first reaction is to look up at the big half-orc in annoyance, but then she quickly lets it boil out toward Kioshi instead.
"That's right. We found a stowaway who practically killed Ben and Ulretha while YOU --- YOU were up here playing with MAPS!"
She takes a bold stride into the room and with a sweep of her arm clears the table of all the charts, sending them whooshing and fluttering to the wall and floor.
Ben shakes his head, a bit at loss with how to deal with Lidia's CONSTANT drama.
Thyste is reminded that not a single one of them would be useful in quiet thief work, but mostly watches quietly.
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It takes 9 shots of healing to get Ulretha back to a comfortable point of health. He took A LOT of arrows.
"He's already confronting his accusers," Ulretha points out from the back of the group. His bulk fills the doorway and blocks out the sunlight coming in from outside.
He, for one, is pleased by Lidia's actions. She's saving him from doing similar things. Although he would have flipped the whole table rather than just casting everything off it.
I heard teens were like this. I wonder if I was like that as a teen? Do I treat her as a kid or an adult? I wonder if any of the sailors on board are fathers and could give me some advice. Thought I'm not really her father. Probably what being a step father is like.
With that thought, Ben resolves to seek out a teen savvy parent and get advice.
Ben gulps when Ulretha is done. Nearly a third of the charges gone already!
Wow, it takes a lot to heal a big guy like that.
"I'm not accusing him. It's Melina that has made the accusations and she is not to be trusted. I'd like to see what she says and whether it jives with the truth."
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Kioshi looks at the drama with some shock.
”Ehh.. what?! I ... I don’t even know who Melina is. You ... you guys were in a fight? I am so sorry! I should have stayed with you!“ he says looking at Lidia and the maps.
”But ... but have you thought about me being involved in anything criminal with the crew now?!“ he asks with some insecurity in his voice.
”I I don’t even know what to say to be honest! I ... I mean what ... “ and he stops mid sentence looking at Ulretha, Thyste and Ben to see what they think.
Thyste shrugs.
”I mean, we pretty much told you we were about to be in a fight and you insisted on being anywhere else but there, so I hope you understand that we might be a little suspicious of your motives,” she points out.
If we weren’t in a place where there’s some semblance of law, I’d have slit your throat and tossed you to the vultures. It’s not worth the doubt.
Ben nods his head at Thyste's point, eyeing Kioshi speculatively with mouth stretched thin and eyes squinted.
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“Let’s just search this place to see if anyone was down here. Any clues would be good!“ he says.
Kioshi thinks for a moment.
”I really thought I had checked everything down there and was so disappointed that I didn’t find anything that I just wanted progress and came back here to finally be able to check out this place!“ he says apologetically.
”Look guys! I am on your side. I might be socially awkward and do strange things in your eyes but I am a good person and I would never betray anyone!!“ he says with some frustration now.
”I knew that I would never be liked in a group but these ... these accusations are ... are sad!!“
He seems to be really down.
”What do you want me to do to prove it to you?“ he asks silently.
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Lidia grabs the hair on top of her head, like she's afraid the top of her head might blow off.
"You didn't find anything? Kioshi, when you opened that trap door, a snare grabbed you and dragged you into a hole and left you dangling by your ankle in the dark. Did you think that was normal?" she says in a voice filled with scorn and derision.
"Here's the thing Kioshi. Many of us like our private time and tend to go off alone, disappearing for hours on end."
Ben levels a pointed look at Lidia.
"But! But, when the going gets rough, and if there is a chance at danger or conflict, we stick together and help each other out. Your leaving when things were dicey was a bone headed move if you want to be a member of the team. Dive into maps all you want, but not when we are exploring a trap riddled hidey hole with the potential of bumping into an attempted murderer. Surely you can see the sense in that, right? What in blazes were you thinking?"
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"You know what? I believe him. No one who was actually dangerous would come up with such lame excuses," Ulretha says.
"And I still say he can come with us. We're bound to get hungry on the trip and he's sure to get himself killed early on. Maybe we should see if we can plump him up first, though."
The gnoll has become bored with the confrontation and wanders away, going to make sure that Milena is properly secured so she can't cause any more trouble.
Ben's only response to Ulretha is "I wish I could say he's kidding."
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He apologetically looks at Ulretha and Ben ”I .. I am really sorry guys! Plea.. please do what you think is right. I .. Ehh .. I am weird and surely deserve this judgement of yours. I am so sorry... “ he says softly and after looking at Thyste and Lidia lowers his head.
It almost seems as if he’s sobbing and when he looks up again a couple of tears are visible on his face.
*sigh*
"Well, you were not the only one accused. We should also confront the others on her list. Her ridiculously long list, might I add."
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He apologetically looks at Ulretha and Ben ”I .. I am really sorry guys! Plea.. please do what you think is right. I .. Ehh .. I am weird and surely deserve this judgement of yours. I am so sorry... “ he says softly and after looking at Thyste and Lidia lowers his head.
It almost seems as if he’s sobbing and when he looks up again a couple of tears are visible on his face.
Lidia watches this display with distaste and suspicion etched deeply into her face. As the others turn and go back onto the deck with the coxswain, Lidia steps up and speaks quietly and intensely to him, alone.
"I don't know if you were working with Melina or not. But she's been caught now, so these attempts on our life should be over now. But I'll tell you this -- if anything suspicious happens from now on, just know that I'll be watching you. And if I find out you tried to hurt any of us, I'll put an arrow through your eye and spit on your corpse."
Her message delivered, she gives Kioshi one last glare, then turns on her heels to leave as well.
"Wipe your nose." she adds as she goes back out into the sunlight.
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Coxwain replies in a firm and calm tone, "I have never met this woman and have never conspired with her. My loyalty is to this ship and my commanding officer. I, however, am the first mate and did not realize that we had a saboteur on board. I would like to thank you all for finding them so quickly. The captain was right to put you all in charge. What information can I offer to get my name or the names of any of the crew of the list."
"Did you know about the hidden trap door into the bilges?" asks Lidia.
As she asks this, she watches carefully for any sign among the crew that news of this secret compartment might be a surprise.
She then turns to Melina.
"Melina, you say Kioshi was an accomplice of yours. Describe Kioshi."
Ben stays quiet for a little bit, knowing that he is too honest and tends to blurt out his thoughts as they arrive. He also busies himself scanning the other faces among the crew and such (how many of them are there?)
"When was the last time someone went down there and who was it?"
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Lidia has now turned her attention to Melina, hardly listening to the coxswain.
She steps forward and gives her a swat on the top of her head.
"I asked you a question. Describe Kioshi. And I have other questions for you."
"What exactly are you saying the coxswain did for you? And what did Kioshi do for you?"
"Once the ship left Trunau, did you ever come out of the bilge, or did your accomplices come to you for instructions?"
”Oooh, you nailed him. Do me next!” Thyste says, seeming giddy. She waves her hands around at the rest of those gathered, imploring them to let Melina be the next speaker.
She will, in fact, shush anyone else that tries to speak.
”Okay, yep, she can do me just as spot-on as Kioshi—so she’s definitely been snooping and could have named anyone to sow dissent,” she says, grinning.
Then, she blinks.
”Wait. Are you into me?”
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Lidia steps away and speaks privately to Ben, Thyste and Ulretha.
"I think she's lying. At least about the coxswain and probably Kioshi too."
"I wonder about the cook still, though. Someone probably did dilute the drug for the gorilla. And that trap door is in the same room as the gorilla -- I could easily see Melina catching the cook in that room when he came to do the feeding and talking with him out of sight from everyone else. And how would she even know about them drugging the gorilla if she wasn't working with someone? We were poking around this ship for a couple days and only guessed there was some sort of animal in there, we didn't figure out any of the specifics on our own. I don't think she could either."
"What do you guys think?"
"Could be. The problem is that we have no evidence. None. Zilch. And she does seem to be glib and motivated to disrupt us as best she can, so nothing she actually says can be trusted. We need to keep searching and watching... I should have realized that when she accused Kioshi."
Motioning to the hapless magician, he adds, "Unless he is a REALLY good actor, there is no bloody way he would knowingly be part of something like this and not somehow accidentally blurt it out. Heavens save us if our lives were ever in his hands - or mouth."
”I mean, either that or she didn’t want to get splattered against the wood and lapped up by a gnoll,” she points out.
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"Maybe." admits Lidia. She glances back over her shoulder, and her eyes narrow.
"I can't put my finger on it. I just get this feeling like she's up to something. Beyond being a liar and an assassin, I mean."
"One thing I do believe her about though. I think her main motivation was revenge for killing Skreed. There was nothing glib about the hate in her eyes when she told us that."
Thyste nods. ”War makes a lot of widows... and some of those widows are armed.”
”And some of those widows are lonely and looking for something small and soft to hold.”
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Ulretha listens in, closely without appearing to care. "Good thing I didn't start trusting anyone. I can just keep on," he says.
"And it's even more reason for us to guard her. We trust us, but no one else. We should check the captain's quarters again, just to make sure there are no secret ways in and out of it. Then, we know she can't get out and when her partner makes a move to help her, one of us will be there to stop him," he continues.
"Unless you think the captain will let us proceed to more aggressive questioning of the crew. We could do it one on one until someone breaks."
From the way he says it, he may or may not mean that metaphorically.