Donomsail finally sees the Halfling (you know now that he's f***ing GLOWING!), and grabs Polli's hand as she takes to the air to get to him as quick as possible. "I sees 'im. Come on, we be stoppin' his evil plans."
"Is he evil or just swimming?" Polli asks followed with a "Oh, I guess that answers that." when an arrow flies from the Siren to thud into the halfling.
Polli is flown down by Dony and flings a slew of glowing balls at the swimmer as well (in warning)
The images Valeria receives, while slightly distracting, gain her no new information regarding their foe.
Marisan dives into the water and with strong strokes begins moving towards the glowing figure. Valeria's arrow sink into the diminutive figure. Harmony's harpoon, however, misses and Polli's arcane missile impacts upon a defensive spell and does no damage. Donomsail and Polli move closer, as does Tessa.
Like a spider, the small figure moves up the hull of the Wavecrest, clinging to the side and looks to be drinking a potion of some sort.
Round 11
Harmony surfaces, "Wavecrest, repel borders! Port side!" Then she attempts to charm the little devil.
Marisan continues to swim towards the saboteur!
Val scowls at the little creature's tenacity and begins firing arrows more seriously.
Polli frowns as her lovely magic balls are just blocked by nothing. "Well then try and block these" two new magic balls of bright lightning rolling in on itself shoot out at the halfling.
Tessa finishes closing the distance between the Siren and the Wavecrest and flies like a bullet straight at the monster climbing aboard. Landing in a run, she closes the distance and thrusts her rapier into it.
Tessa flashes through the air and strikes at the halfling as he clings to the side of the ship. Valeria's arrows thud harmlessly into the side of the Wavecrest. Marisan arrives at the scene of the battle just as Polli's balls of lightning appear. The halfling manages to dodge one of them completely, but the other strikes him fully. To the mage's dismay, however, the diminutive figure seems resistant to that type of damage.
Harmony's spell seems to have an effect, though. The halfling looks down at her with a friendly expression, reconsidering throwing the ceramic vial in his hand.
Round 12
"He's mine!" Harmony yells. "Stop attacking!"
"Hey," She continues, in a much more friendly tone. "Would you mind passing me your bag? We don't want anything nasty to happen to you by accident do we?"
"Lightning resistant" the mage mutters in annoyance. She is about to see how well he deals with a fireball, no matter the damage that will do to the ship, when Harmony grabs the little one's mind.
The halfling climbs down to the water line. "I wouldn't give my bag to anyone else, but you've got ... There's something about you I trust," the halfling says with a lecherous wink. He shifts and slips his bag from his shoulder. "Here, let me just ..." He reaches in and pulls what looks to be a thin shawl made of very fine lace from the bag as he hands it over.
"Gotta take care of that incompetent water slut," he says as he tears it into shreds which melt away through his fingers. "She was supposed to keep y'alls occupied until I could finish this job."
He shakes his hands in the air to remove the last vanishing threads of the garment before looking back at the bard-mermaid. "So what should we do next?" he asks, looking her up and down with no subtlety whatsoever.
Ready to cast protective magic on her allies Donomsail waiits patiently, somewhat happy that for once there's a battle that finds none of them injured.
"Tessa!" Harmony calls quietly, pushing the bag through the water towards her fiancee. "How about you and I go for a swim together?" She suggests. "You can leave your weapons, you won't need them where we're going." She sells the story with a wink and what she hopes is a flirty flick of her tail.
The halfling looks between Harmony and the other ships. "Yeah, I guess I've got time for a bit of the nasty before I finish this job," he says with a leer and dives down into the water to follow Harmony.
Tessa looks over her shoulder at the bag and moves to scoop it up, watching with interest should things go sideways. "Careful..." she says to herself, poised to leap over in an instant should a problem present itself.
Polli flies down to stand next to Tessa, hopefully with Donosail's hand still entwined in hers. "He ripped up the shawl. I assume by 'water slut' he meant Sefina. Which means she is out there dying somewhere. Dony might have enough magic to keep her alive long enough to make a new one... Might."
Harmony takes advantage of her greater swimming speed to teasingly lead the halfling across the bay. "I know a nice secluded grotto." She says with a smile, keeping her distance in front of him as she leads him to Sefina's grotto...
In short order Harmony has led the halfling through the water to the nereid's grotto. Sefina is nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, I know dis place," the halfling says, his eyes narrowing as he looks around. "S'where that water slut hangs around." He chortles a bit. "She was over on dat rock when I nicked her shawl. Got all blubbery too." His voice shifts to a mocking falsetto. "'Oh, please, Sir, I'll does whatever you likes if you'll give it back,' she says." He laughs rudely again. "Yeah, she did a few things for me." His humor vanishes. "But the one thing I needed her to do was to keep you lot busy." He shakes his head in annoyance before looking again at Harmony with growing avarice. "But you and me could have a bit of fun before I head back to finish off them other boats." He waggles his greasy eyebrows at her. "I could show you some of the things I had her do for me."
Harmony wants nothing more than to ram her harpoon through the disgusting creep's body repeatedly, but that seems somewhat unwise at this point so she musters the most convincing smile she can.
"Well we could, but breathing might be problem. How about we head back to the ship, you can get do your work for Harrigan and then we can relax once you're done?" She swims a little way ahead and looks back teasingly. "Say, how about a bet. If you can make it onto the ship's quarterdeck before I do, I'll do whatever you want. And if I get there first, you do whatever I want? Deal?"
She just about waits for him to accept before swimming off...
The halfling grins an ugly grin. "Whatever I want?" he questions then chuckles quietly. His grin vanishes. "Wait!" he shouts out as Harmony knifes through the water. "How did you know I was working for Harrigan?" The bard is already out of answering distance and the small man dives into the water to follow after her.
Harmony arrives at the Wavecrest - where everyone else is waiting - only moments before her admirer.
Where she makes a show of climbing, slowly, back onto the deck.
When Harmony reaches the deck of the Wavecrest she finds her fellow Siren officers waiting for her as well as Captain Darimar - his trident held at the ready in his hands.
"Is that the morceau de merde that tried to blow up my ship?" he asks, pointing at the swimming halfling with the barbs of his weapon. "If so, I want him alive when you're finished with him."
"Was she still alive?" Polli asked Harmony, with a firm iron in her voice suggesting what they should do to this man if she isn't.
"If she be livin' still, I needs ta git ta her quicklike. We canna let her be dyin'. Who be comin' with me?" Donomsail looks around at everyone, aware that they are needed elsewhere and ready to go alone if necessary.
"We deal with him first." Harmony says firmly. "You're welcome to him Captain, as long as you question him thoroughly. He's working for Barnabus Harrigan - who has been trying to sabotage this whole thing. He's a despicable little creep, please, just get him!" She sounds terribly tired.
"I will" Polli tells Dony, squeezing her hand. "not much I can do to him, captain, unless you want me to burn down the ship."
The halfling climbs over the railing and on to the deck a moment later, scuttling like a spider. He looks around the gathered group and his lustful gaze at Harmony transforms into suspicion.
"Hey, what gives?" he asks.
~~~~~
With Captain Darimar's aid, the halfling is quickly captured. And with Darimar's assurance that he'll pass along whatever he learns from the man in the morning, you leave him in the pirate's assumed capable hands.
Polli and Donomsail check the grotto again, but there's still no sign of Sefina. With nothing else, the cleanup of the dinner party finishes and you return to the Siren.
- Day 286
While the other two captains set sail the next morning, Captain Darimar and the Wavecrest remain. You receive an invitation to his ship once the morning meal has been handled.
"I've questioned the halfling ... at length," he says with dark eyes when you greet him on the deck of his ship. "His name is Myskur Marquardt, also known as 'The Eel'. His specialties are sabotage and assassinations. You were correct in that he was hired by Barnabas Harrigan to embarass you. From what I gather, he's been working from some hidden area underneath your fortification. He has a temporary lab there."
He gazes out over the bay.
"I'm taking him with me. I have ... plans for him. I'm leaving this afternoon, but I would still appreciate being introduced to the nereid that dwells in your bay."
"We can make no promises there." Harmony replies firmly. "This 'Myskur' destroyed her shawl last night. If she is not already dead she will be weak indeed and she is not in her grotto. I do not know where else she might be. If you wish to leave a message for her then we will happily pass it on, but we Sirens will not stand for her being put through any more. She has suffered enough at the hands of men."
Her posture is absolutely unflinching and Tessa can see a glint in her eyes that suggests Harmony is almost looking for a fight.
"No, she's not in her grotto," Darimar replies, raising one hand to point to a spot near to one of the few piers that have been constructed near the fort. "She's there and I had only hoped to speak with her." Looking across the water, Harmony and the others can indeed see Sefina in the water where the man was pointing. She seems to be watching the two ships.
He turns abruptly as some of what Harmony revealed soaked in. "He did WHAT?" he demands, rage filling his face.
After confirming the Eel's destructive actions, Darimar's expression clouds. "Then my plans for him have changed. Is there anything else you wish from him? For fate has decreed that he won't survive the journey to Port Peril. In fact, fate has decreed that his remaining hours will be quite painful."
"I will speak to her." Harmony replies, "But if she says no then you must respect that Captain."
She incants a spell and leaps from the side of the ship, her legs morphing into a tail as she dives.
"Hey," She says gently. "One of the Captains wants to speak to you. He's very upset about what happened to you. If you don't want to then that's fine, you don't have to. I'm glad you're ok."
As Harmony approaches, Sefina retreats a bit. She can see that the nereid definitely looks worse for the wear. Even wet her skin looks dried out and there are hollows under her eyes.
"I'm ... ok. The vile man destroyed my shawl, but I managed to make another," Sefina replies. She raises her chin defiantly. "I'm sorry if anyone got hurt. I did what I had to do to survive and I don't care what anyone else thinks of me. I don't even care if anyone is mad at me, including this captain that wishes to speak with me."
"I don't believe that." Harmony says gently. "I know you better than that. But the Sirens care about you, all of us do. Dony and Polli came looking for you last night to help you and... I'm sorry. Sorry for what I said. What he said... what he did to you. I'm sorry Sefina, very sorry."
Harmony swims right up the nereid, cups her cheek in one hand and gives her a gentle kiss - little more than a brush of her lips on the nereid's. "I am sorry." She says softly. "Forgive me?"
Val breathes a visible sigh of relief when she gets her hat back and immediately places it on her head. Taking Meiying's hand into her own, she mutters, "I'm the only person on the Siren with wings and the only senior officer who couldn't fly over there... starting in the morning I'm practicing with these things until I get them working..."
Val is up early practicing jumping from the rigging and then gliding around on her wings. By the time others arrive on deck she seems to be gaining some control, and even learning to prolong her flights by flapping.
Despite her newly developing ability, there is a tinge of jealousy as she watches Harmony jump in to the water and turn into a mermaid.
that's my move and she already used it last night...
She considers jumping in to help the captain with whatever it is she's up to, but decides that, given the unique relationship the captains had been cultivating with the fairy, she'd better not get overly involved. Still, her trust for the fairy is low after the previous night's betrayal and the hand on her bow can't help but remain tensely ready as she waits for the captain's return.
Polli asks Dony to fly with her some more after the bad little man is caught. In the open sky, under the pale moon, Polli will tell Dony of the horrors that were in her head, how her intellect and imagination picked the one thing that would break her more than anything.
Donomsail Lishoni
Not the lovely woman she had lost her heart to but a twisted version of her, corrupted by her grandfather, burning away her humanity by torturing her once love.
As she finishes the tale, she talks of the now.
"I know it was my mind, I KNOW it. There is nothing I know stronger than that fact. But your voice whispered wicked hate and pain for so long, I couldn't control my reactions."
She holds Dony's hand in a vice, so scared admitting this weakness would show Dony how thin she really was. That her strength was nothing but paper. That is would make her love her less, if she loved her still... "I made this cloak, to shield my mind more. I practiced every night with illusions and nightmares. My mind is stronger. I promise... I mean I hope it will be enough... but I do promise to keep trying."
Tears are pooling behind her glasses. She closes her eyes for a moment, causing them to overrun and steam down her cheeks. "Would... Would you... give me another chance?"
Harmony swims right up the nereid, cups her cheek in one hand and gives her a gentle kiss - little more than a brush of her lips on the nereid's. "I am sorry." She says softly. "Forgive me?"
"There is nothing to forgive," Sefina answers with a frown and a shake of her head. "I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough."
~~~~~
Moving closer to the ship, Sefina looks up at all the faces that are watching her with a mixture of curiosity and wariness - all but one. Captain Darimar hands his trident to one of his officers and, without hesitation, dives into the water to surface at a distance Harmony recognizes as just out of range of the fey's fascination effect. He says something to her in a language that Harmony doesn't recognize. Sefina laughs in spite of her somber mood and replies in the same language, giving him a coy look.
They converse for a while longer before Sefina turns back to Harmony. "Captain Darimar would like to visit my grotto," she says with a knowing look. "Thank you for introducing us." The two take their leave of the bard and move off through the water towards Sefina's home.
~~~~~
Harmony climbs out of the water and goes to stand by Tessa, although she isn't cruel enough to give her fiance a hug while she's still dripping wet. "Think we've done enough?" She asks, "You're going to be a Pirate Lord Lacey."
--------------------------------------------
After leading an exhaustive search for the Eel's lair under the fort Harmony takes a few days to relax before getting the ships books in order - there's quite a collection of things to be sold and working out fair prices takes some time.
Folding her arms in mock outrage, she says "What? Going to be? I already am, Vi. This is just a trivial act to make it official."
"Of course you are sweetheart." Harmony replies, standing on tiptoe to put a kiss on Tessa's cheek and then wrapping an arm around her.
After a couple of days of excavation in the tower's basement, your labors reveal a wide hall leading to an ancient room.
A domed ceiling rises above this perfectly circular chamber. Golden glyphs and runes spiral down from the dome and across the room’s floor, forming a raised circle around a pale blue disc. A large brass door leads farther east.
Polli recognizes the circle as the focus of a permanent teleportation effect matching one you discovered in the cyclopes ruins, but it's currently broken. With another day's worth of labor she easily repairs it to allow instantaneous travel between the two locations.
Past this room is another ancient cyclopian ruin. An oblong chamber opens beyond this immense brass door. The sunken floor resembles an amphitheater with multiple stone columns supporting the ceiling overhead. A small pool of water covers the floor near the eastern wall, surrounding a giant statue of a cyclops warrior that reaches almost to the ceiling. Completely out of place and scale in the room is a portable alchemists lab that's set up in the corner.
Scouring the rest of the rubble underneath the fort produces no other hidden rooms or secrets and you relax into a short respite.
- Day 302
This day finds you back in Port Peril for your very first Pirate Council meeting.
The Pirate Council meets in a large chamber in Fort Hazard itself. The Hurricane King typically sits at the head of a long oaken table in an overly ostentatious chair with a high back carved with images of sea monsters coiled around ships, while 30 smaller, less extravagant but still rather comfortable chairs are positioned around the table (15 to a side). No one sits at the far end of the table, where a second enormous chair sits — this chair is reserved for Besmara herself, should she ever decide to attend. Food and alcohol are served in quantity during a Pirate Council — the meal is quite fine, serving almost as a bribe to encourage the pirate lords to attend in the first place. Several other, smaller tables sit against the walls of the room—these are for minor pirate lords who do not actually have votes, but who are still welcome to provide feedback and opinions during the meeting.
A typical council meeting begins a half-hour before the food and rum is served—and typically lasts a half-hour after the meal begins and the effects of the rich repast and fine rum begin to have their effects. Eventually, the Hurricane King calls the council to an end by rising and declaring the meeting adjourned, usually leaving more than a few agenda items on the table for the next meeting.
During a Pirate Council, the chairs at the central table are reserved for pirate lords who have full votes. Tessa, Marisan, Valeria, Polli, and Donomsail each have been provided a seat at the main table. While Harmony is directed to sit at one of the side tables.
It's rare that every lord attends every council and that's the case with this particular meeting. The meeting is headed by the Hurrican King - Kerdak Bonefist. Also in attendance is Avimar Sorrinash, Mase Darimar, and Cerise Bloodmourn - the pirate lords that approved your seats. Tessa Fairwind, Arronax Endymion, and the Master of Gales.
Pirate lords that you haven't yet met are introduced to you as Delemona Burie (a female human from Lilywhite), Hardluck Massey (a male human from Pex), Jolis Raffles (a male halfling from Slipcove), and Wide Olga (a female human from Oyster Cay).
Once everyone's broken their fast and the conversations are well underway, Bonefist finally calls the meeting to order, ready to bring up the first item on the agenda. Interestingly enough, this directly concerns you all. It seems that normally new pirate lords only earn a quarter share of the tithes from Sargava, but some of the pirate lords (specifically, Arronax, Delemona, the Master of the Gales, and Tessa Fairwind) are impressed enough by you that they think that you should earn full shares. Tessa herself, in fact argues that you're worthy of full shares. Kerdak seemingly isn't impressed and feels that you should go through the same multi-year process that every other new pirate lord has in the past.
Harmony eats and drinks sparingly, using the plate more as a prop to conceal any reactions than anything else. I never understood why Mother and Ka-chan liked being able to speak mind to mind, but it really would be useful right now."
Taking advantage of something she has seen others do she leans in to Tessa's ear and speaks quietly. "Have Polli speak she should be able to browbeat a vote or two for you." Unfortunately she is the best one for this task, but supporting Tessa means not stepping in just because.
Tears are pooling behind her glasses. She closes her eyes for a moment, causing them to overrun and steam down her cheeks. "Would... Would you... give me another chance?"
They are together again:
Once she is done she brings Polli's face closer to her, her lips pursing as they meet Polli's and the rest of everything becomes nothing in her mind. Her Pollli is back and anything else becomes unimportant to her.
Floating above the rolling waves and under the clear moonlight, the world becomes right again, as true love prevails. aka Polli is happy and warm, melting into a kiss she has wanted so much. She will teleport the two of them to their room and tentatively shower the lovely and delightful Donomsail Lishoni in her affection, like someone relearning how to ride a bike and who wants VERY much to get it perfect.
Val attends the gathering in her natural form, gliding on her jet-black wings to the fort above most of her companions. Just before entering, she pauses for a moment to cast a spell that will aid her in understanding, and exploiting, the subtleties of what was going to take place .
Since she is still growing accustomed to fitting her wings into furniture designed for humans, it takes her a moment to get settled in to her new seat but she seems comfortable by the time the food arrives. She listens carefully to all that happens, studying each word and each speaker in turn, as she learns how the council functions and how she should function in it. When time comes for a vote on their standing, she looks first to Polli--hopping the Sylph will put her commanding presence to work convincing someone to change their mind--and then to Harmony. To the latter, she silently says, [You are denied a vote, or a 6th of our vote, I suppose, by your choice, but you have been welcomed to provide feedback and opinions... your words might sway someone if you wish to give them?]
[It's not my willingness that is the problem.] Harmony sends back. [This is a meeting of the Lords, I may not be permitted to speak.]
In the debates someone said something to set Polli off, despite orders to keep her mouth shut.
"Trumped up Hussies?!?" the wizard snaps in cold anger at whoever said it, she wasn't really paying attention and they all are a bit fuzzy "In less than a year, we've broken all who went against us, won that race on our first try, Hells you 'gave' A CYCLOPS infested island, it even had CYCLOPS MUMMIES, all of who are now dead, Again some of them... I don't give a flying shit about shares, but I dare any to say we are LESSER than any other f*#*ing ship."
"I think what my companions is trying to say..." Harmony steps in, using the opening Polli rather wonderfully created. "Is that the newest Pirate Lords have overcome remarkable challenges, and in doing so have performed great service to the Shackles as a whole - as well as revealing a pirate captain as, if not a traitor, then a man willing to deliberately engineer the death and destruction of members of this esteemed council simply to satisfy a grudge..." She makes a point of catching Darimar's eye.
"These services are more than many captains achieve in their first year, or even first several in some cases. I imagine that is why the Lords have recommended an increased share."