As Polli applies as much pressure as she can to her gushing stab wound she whispers to Tessa "please stab him. Through the throat, if you would so we don't hear him whimper as he dies."
With Dony apparently too shocked to immediately begin healing Polli, Val pulls out her wand and tries to stop the worst of the sylph's bleeding.
While se works, the slayer also continues to scan the room and its entrances for any signs of further foes.
Polli whispers a heart felt "Thank you Valeria." with only a small pained glance at her quiet lady love.
Tessa's rapier was already halfway towards the man's chest when Harmony calls for a halt. She tightens her muscles and pulls back before plunging the weapon into his body, a grimace obvious on her face.
Thoughts that Harmony doesn't get to call a halt here instinctively fill her mind and she almost ignores her and proceeds with the attack anyway. Taking all of her restraint, she holds.
When Polli whispers to her, she looks down at the blood gushing out of wizards body and slowly moves her head back to eyelevel with the sylph. She nods once to her before turning her attention back to answers of Harmony's questions.
Poised to strike, she waits for him to finish talking so she can stab him in the throat. Repeatedly.
Doni meets Polli's gaze with shame as she realizes that she's let her lady love suffer. With an abject apology, she speaks a prayer to Gozreh and presses warm hands against the worst of the wounds. In moments, the sylph's skin is unmarred and the pain is gone, replaced with a sense of comfort.
In response to Harmony's questions, Harrigan looks at the others suspiciously. He slips his weapons into his belt and moves to speak in a hushed voice with the bard.
"There are a couple more furies upstairs, but the rest of the defenses are downstairs on the wall. Except for Gilbrok the Tongue - my witch. He's in the tower above the barracks. That whore of a mage - Doloruso - I put in irons after she returned. She failed me and lost me m' ship. I have plans for her. Oh, such plans."
He leans in closer, his smell almost overpowering. "As far as treasure goes, my treasury is over there," he says, pointing towards a side door in the warehouse. "There's not a lot in it right now. Almost everything I've won has been used to pay off the bloody Cheliax. I do keep some trophies in my room upstairs, though. Some of them are worth quite a bit of coin," he chuckles. "But most of my worth I carry on m'self. You can never really trust anyone, you know?" He looks around at the others again.
"Quite right too." Harmony replies. "What have you been doing with Cheliax? It must be quite the plan, coming from you." A little flattery makes the process much easier and he isn't going to be alive much longer so it biting her tongue is a small enough sacrifice to make.
Val uses two more charges from her wand on herself before slipping it back into her efficient quiver. Then she subtly adjusts her position so that she can easily step back into a flanking formation with Tessa when the time to end Harrigan's miserable life comes.
Shooting a glance at restrained redhead she silently encourages [It might be worth avoiding his mouth and throat; if your love doesn't get all the information we need before he dies, Dony may be able to get it from him afterwards.]
Harrigan smiles wider, showing off yellow teeth. "I'm going to be the magistrate of the newest Cheliax colony - The Shackles," he says with glee. "They've got an armada on the way. Once we take Port Peril, I've got a secret map that will lead us right past Fort Hazard's defenses and right to Bonefist, himself. We cut his throat and then you're looking at the new ruler of The Shackles. It's a hell of a sweet deal." He looks Harmony up and down with clear intent in his gaze. "You could be the first of my ladies. You're not bad looking and ya got nice t~#$."
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they’re not that nice… Val momentarily thinks to herself as a pang of wildly misplaced jealousy washes over her.
"And have you got the map with you?" Harmony asks coquettishly, folding her arms under her cleavage to amplify it a little. "I bet you keep it with you at all times right?"
"Could I take a look at your weapons?" The bard asks sweetly. "They must be excellent work. I'd love to try holding them, you could tell me what to do."
Once she has his weapons Harmony steps back and nods to her companions. "That's enough. Finish it girls."
While Harmony speaks, the swashbuckler stays poised and ready to strike as soon as she's finished gleaming the information from the soon to be dead man.
As much as Val's comment makes sense, her wizard specifically stated the throat and Tessa agreed with the location.
She doesn't give it a second thought once told to finish it, letting Wayfinder find its way directly into Harrigan's throat. Repeatedly. "That's for Polli."
After providing the man with a new way to breathe, she continues her onslaught into his chest if necessary. With each stab, he adds another comment and another and another until he's finally down, concluding "And that's for everyone else you've sent to the cat, keelhauling and the many other unnecessary forms of violence."
Once down, she spits on his bloodied body and turns away as she closes her eyes to control the rage that had built up in her.
"Traitorous b...!" Harrigan snarls out before Tessa's blade stabs out and cuts his words short. With the red-head's rapier and Valeria's shortswords, the weaponless man is soon prone on the floor; His life's blood staining the wood a darker color.
Within the magical bag that was stored in his glove you find numerous parchments outlining the plans he discussed for the Chelish invasion as well as floor plans for Fort Hazard showing a secret entrance.
~~~~~
He was telling the truth that the nearby treasure room was almost empty. Opening it up with one of the keys on his ring reveals a room filled with scattered empty chests. Only one remains with anything remotely valuable. Inside it are scattered coins and jewelry .
Climbing to the third floor, you are quickly accosting by three furies that seem quite suprised to see you here. They raise their bows threateningly but don't fire. "Harrigan! You said you'd deal with this refuse!" one of them calls out towards the stairs. "What are our orders?!"
Unsurprisingly, there's no response.
"Dead." Harmony says firmly. "So I'd watch who you call refuse. I'm well aware of where you fall on pecking order in Hell. So if you want your time here to continue, then put a civil tongue in your heads!"
Val sheathes her shortswords and lifts her hat just far enough to end its magic. As her extra arms transform back into glossy black feathered wings she smirks and asks, "I wonder if they know where they fall on the pecking order in this tower?"
Putting just a little tension on her bowstring she stares at the devils and continues "if you're ready for orders, start by explaining what your duty here is and who you've made your deal with."
"They are hellspawn, so killing them wouldn't do anything but send them back." the wizard covered in blood says clinically "We could instead bind them to a toilet. Since we are the subject of 'duty'" she talks to Harmony, loud enough for the furies to hear, but not to interrupt Val's discussion with them.
"Darling, you don't want me to stick their pointy thing into you and make you a sponge like I did to Harrigan. Your new orders are surrender peacefully and answer our questions lest you be dead in about fifteen seconds."
The furies' wings flex and fold in agitation and their hands grip their bows tighter as one of them - the leader, you assume - glances at her companions nervously and you feel as if a conversation is taking place. "It seems that our existing contract has come to a conclusion," she says to you, lowering her bow only slightly. "If you have something to offer we will consider a new agreement. Otherwise, we will take our leave." The other two devils shoulder their bows and step back slightly. "The offer would have to be equitable, though. We do not feel inclined to present our necks for your boots simply because you've defeated Harrigan."
Not to be outdone, Val looks at her companions and (almost) telepathically says [We’ll have to tread lightly if we want to get any information or service out of them. They’re ready to flee at the first sign of aggression, and I’m pretty sure they can teleport. Polli, do you have any idea what kind of things these devils might want?]
Turning her attention to the apparent leader she asks, ”What were your terms with Harrigan, perhaps we can match them?”
Harmony smirks rather pointedly but leaves Val to do the talking. It seems likely that her master gunner will end up inheriting the Siren once she and Tessa retire, so it makes sense to let Val flex her wings now.
At the death of Harrigon she gives the berry a soft smile, a rare occurrence lately.
Months ago, the wizard that was Polli would try and convince her friend that harnessing devils would end in nothing but misery and regret... but the grindstone that was life has broken her in many a way. "Furries are warriors, but not beholden to honor or decencies. Offer them battle and to look away as they play with their prey... and you probably will get a deal."
Taking note that Harmony declines to lead the negotiations, Tessa holds her ground silently and let's Val continue to talk with Polli's additional information.
She furrows her brow at Polli's statement once it sinks in however, lowering her voice and whispering "Look away? Are you insinuating there is something wrong with playing with your prey? I think it's entirely appropriate and should be applauded."
"What our terms were with Harrigan are entirely irrelevant," the apparent leader says with a slight smile.
"You are a pirate as well, I assume? A typical agreement with a person of your sort would be along the lines of ..." She silently consults with her companions before turning back to Valeria. "For the duration of one year, commencing from our moment of accord, we would travel with your ship and join you in conflict. Time in port would be our own. Every third captive would be turned over to us for whatever purpose we choose. Private accommodations would be provided for us on-ship. And our time on-ship that's not spent in battle is our own as well."
She narrows her eyes to gauge Val's reaction to her proposal.
"Would this be acceptable?"
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”Captives, not new recruits?” Val clarifies before silently consulting with her companions.
[As much as I like the idea of having a supernatural gun crew that looks like me—and I really like that idea—I don’t like the idea of people being tortured on our ship without their consent… should we make a counter-offer or just get rid of them? If we do counter what are we comfortable offering?]
Harmony holds out her hands in a gesture that says clearly 'this is your problem' but responds none the less. [For what its worth, I would not condone torture.]
Val nods her understanding to the captain then turns her attention back to the furies. “Our ship is not like Harrigan’s,” she explains, “we don’t torture anyone, unless they ask for it nicely. What we can offer is battle. When Cheliax’s navy arrives there will be war, and we’ll be at the heart of it. There will be enough killing to satisfy even your hungers, plus the chance to extract some revenge on the nation that has bound and enslaved so many of your kind… Serve me for year and instead of being hidden away in some tower hoping for a fight to arrive you will fly into combat at my side… plus, whenever we do condemn someone to execution one of you can carry it out.”
"we're talking about skinning people as they scream for hours, then torturing their children in front of them as they finally die... that kind of playing with their prey, not taunting them as you stab them." Polli whispers back to Tessa as the other silently communicate with their breasts.
"Oh. That's horrific." Tessa responds, realization sinking in as she shakes her head. "That's not what I considering playing. We won't get behind that at all."
The spokesfury's slight smile shifts to a smirk and they all take another half-step away from you.
"We're not asking you to torture anyone, but the weak must be punished. Those who cannot succeed in the glory of battle deserve whatever fate the victor chooses to mete out. If you're not strong enough to take your role seriously, then perhaps you're not worthy of our service." She glances back at the others in more silent communication before turning back to Val. "We will settle for no less than one captive in five. If that is not acceptable to you, then we will find someone strong enough to be worthy of us."
[If any of you have magic prepared that can prevent teleportation you should get ready to use it. If we let them teleport away they'll look for a master whose aims align with theirs, which means we'll likely see them again fighting with the Chelish navy.]
"By that logic, we should be punishing you for your weakness right now instead of having this conversation," Val answers the spokesfury with a smirk of her own. "The fate we choose for those who lack the strength to stand against us is the opportunity to join us- to both become stronger themselves and add to our strength. True strength isn't the power to punish weakness, its the power to make the weak strong. Join us and become strong. Or, you could flee and spend the rest of your days knowing that you are too weak to fight us and deserve punishment rather than glory."
"By your own words, then, you lack the strength to be truly victorious," the leader replies. "Our decision is made for us, it seems." Her grin widens. "Until we meet again and I'm sure we will." She spits on the floor in front of Val and all three of them snap their wings closed around their bodies. There's a loud crack and they vanish.
~~~~~
With the furies having escaped, you set about clearing the top floor of the keep. There's no opposition to be found here and you eventually find yourselves in Harrigan's private room.
This moderately sized room is furnished with a dresser and some shelves. A huge four-poster bed occupies the southern end of the room, while bookshelves along the walls hold a few dust-covered leather journals, strange coral-encrusted skulls, ships in bottles, nameplates from ships, and other nautical-themed treasures and trophies.
~~~~~
With Harrigan defeated, the remaining rabble defending the keep quickly capitulate and Harrigan's fortress is now yours. There are only two remaining persons of interest. The first is Gilbrok the Tongue (Harrigan's pet witch) - a thoroughly vile man, who while obsequious, still comes across as lecherous and leering. The second is ... Adelita Doloruso, the envoker you battled on the deck of the Wyrmwood. You find her clad in only her smallclothes and bound in chains in one of the prisoner cells in the lower part of the fortress. Harrigan clearly doesn't accept failure well by her appearance. Her body is bruised and battered, one eye is swollen shut, and the hook that replaces her left hand has been removed and hung on a nearby wall.
~~~~~
"He kept Remove Disease potions on hand from his bed." the wizard doctor shakes her head "Was it for the quality of partners he had or because he himself was such a cesspool he'd infect them with a variety." it was a rhetorical question of course. Polli collects the journals, just in case they have anything worth note in them. She'll read them later, a way to avoid dreams.
Polli's mind might be a scattered and shattered mess, she recognizes wanting nothing to do with the witch man. So with a flat iron voice, she tells him "If you ever touch me or anyone who doesn't wish it, I will summon all three of the furies and give you to them as a parting gift."
In the dungeon, she works at treating her wounds, cleaning and resetting things before Dony does her better job at making all of them disappear. "He is dead, and despite once being on different sides of a battle, we bear you no ill will." after a moment's pause she adds "Your magic was very impressive."
"Indeed." Harmony agrees, having left Gilbrok the Tonuge to Tessa and Val to dispose of as they please. "We would likely have a place for you on the Siren, if you were willing to serve under a new captain. That said our methods are very different to Harrigans, so if rapine and pillage was the impetus for your time on the seas you should not join us. We will let you go either way." She pauses for a long second. [b]"Unless you were foolish enough to give us a reason not to."
Tessa takes Val with her to handle Gilbrok, removing him from the equation before he can cause any trouble. Afterwards, she spends some time scouring their new fortress in search of cheese. "What kind of pirate doesn't have a good stash of cheese on hand in their fortress? Seriously? I'm sure there's a secret stash of it here somewhere."
"I would not trust eating anything from this place!!!" Polli yells from where ever she is, mentally feeling the potential vomit storm that might be coming from eating suspicious cheese.
Val helps dispatch Gilbrok quickly then searches him and his dwelling for any further items of importance (or value), then returns to where one of the captains is offering the wizard a very important decision.
Her body may be battered, but Adelita's spirit appears to be intact. She narrows her eyes at Harmony's offer. "It would be interesting to serve on a ship that simply sails the seas, asking politely for merchants to hand over their coin and goods willingly," she says, her sarcasm dripping and worthy of Polli. "Unfortunately, I don't believe such a ship exists, including yours. Only those that are strong and willing to take that which they desire survive in the Shackles."
~~~~~
The Tongue is easily dealt with and cheese acquired before you return to the Siren to find that it hasn't had a peaceful time of. A smaller ship approached not too long after the officers entered the cave. The crew drove them off, but soon after than a trio of winged women appeared in the sky and rained deadly arrows down on them. The few archers they had as well as the heavy weapons crews finally forced them to retreat, but not before much blood was lost and one of the sails was shredded.
~~~~~
You make the needed repairs and set sail for your isle, hoping the majority of the ships that had gathered there still remain. You'll need every ship you can muster if the Shackles is going to hold off a Chelish armada.
"Then you are free to go." Polli tells the mage, knowing that Harmony will allow that, because that is her captain and she trusts her in these matters. "Once I have these wounds cleaned of course. The differences between us and him are vast, but in your mind accept that when quarter is asked for, quarter is given." the other mage says with as much softness as she can before snapping "and STAY STILL, for the ever f~*@s sake, or I'll never get this done!"
Val remains outwardly stoic at the decision to free the mage but silently points out [I fully support offering freedom and redemption to anyone who's ready to change their ways, but turning loose people who still consider us enemies so that they can slither back to Cheliax and attack us another day is going to come back to haunt us- especially when we do it with people who can cast spells like she can. She killed Harmony and could have easily killed several more with a single spell.]
When they get back to the Siren and discover that allowing the furies to escape has already yielded consequences her mood sours. She doesn't say anything about it, but she grabs her wand and moves about the ship making sure that all the wounded are healed.
While Harmony and Polli are identifying and inventorying all the magical goods they extricated from the tower, Val has those who surrendered brought before her one at a time. She studies each one and questions them about their loyalties and their willingness to serve new masters. Then she compiles a series of lists: the surrenderees who could be trusted to staff a Siren-loyal tower, the surrenderees who could be trusted to serve on the Siren (where there’s more supervision), the surrenderees who shouldn’t be trusted to serve at all, and the current Siren crew members who could be trusted to run things in the tower while they’re away.
Once her work is done she reports to the captains with it.
With the wounded treated, Polli suddenly has nothing to do, so she finds the roof of the fool's caste, and sits on the edge feeling the salt wind twist around her.
Her mind is a tilting ship in a fury of emotions, the most prominent two are hate and lust. "better to stay away from them, until something needs to die." the wizard mutters to herself. Her trust in herself died long ago, and with each failure comes less trust in others as well. So solitude is best.
"Attention on deck!" Harmony calls, her magically enhanced voice cutting through the hubbub of drinking, cheerful talk and at least one series of rather loud gasps coming from the cable tier.
"Well that's one happy ending at least!" She comments to laughter when the gasping dies away before raising a hand for silence. "Sirens, friends. It has been the honor and privilege of my life to lead you all for the last nine months. It's hard to believe that we have been together less than a year! We've survived together, fought together, bled together and made sure that the entire Shackles know our names!" The largely drunk crew roar their appreciation at this and Harmony grins widely at them as her hand snakes into Tessa's.
"Now I never intended to become a pirate. It wasn't until a certain red-headed captain appeared and stole my heart that I made up my mind. And I should say that she was very... convincing." A crude gesture causes another wave of laughter and she laughing allows the whistles and whoops to go on.
"We have defeated Barnabus Harrigan and proved ourself the deadliest, the best and by far the sexiest ship in all of the Shackles! But all good things have to come an end, for me at least." The crew falls silent, some collective instinct warning them that something important is coming.
"To that end I am delighted to announce that the Siren will be setting course for Tidewater Rock. Captain Steele wants to spend more time with her wife! But seriously." She continues, holding up a hand for silence once more. "We both wish you all good fortune, fair winds and fat prizes under your new Captain, Captain Valeria Korvin!"
Ok, perhaps she should have at least mentioned this to Val first, but Harmony has always found that the best way to get her way is to simply do things and not bother asking for permission!
Polli is standing alone in one of the shadows on deck. Whispers and wants dancing behind her intelligent but exhausted eyes. With glares aplenty to anyone dumb enough to want to talk to her.
One of Harmony's speeches brings her out of her thoughts, and by the end, a weight the size of the earth itself settles in her gut. Covered in spikes and leaking acid.
Trust... what was that? Help, yes of course we will. Family... she swore that was said once. Now...
Shaking her raven head, she frowns the frown of all frowns and goes below deck to her room.
Val’s jaw drops open.
Looking with shock at the captains—or former captains—she silently stammers [What? I… but…] Her eyes drop to their intertwined hands and she smiles warmly and nods. [Thank you. I’ll expect an invitation to the wedding, and the celebrations of your children’s births. Wherever you settle, I hope you find true happiness. And should you ever need help in your new lives, remember that the Siren and those who fly her colors are ready to help you.]
With a mighty flap of her ebony wings, the slayer leaps off the deck and soars up to the crow’s nest. “That’ll be Cap’n Blackwing from now on,” she declares with her outstretched wings glistening in the sun. “Tomorrow there’ll be promotions to make, and preparations to begin for our glorious pillaging of the Chellish navy when they come, but for tonight… my first official order as your captain is to gather the rum, and the cheese, and whatever instruments you might have and give these two the send off a pair of badass, Shackles storming, revenge taking, Pirate Lords deserve!”
Seeing Polli disappear below deck, the new captain decides to give her some space during the celebrating but notes that she’ll need to talk to her soon.
The celebration of Harmony and Tessa's departure goes on long into the night and while not as boisterous as some ships, the crew of the Siren can hold their own in the drinking and debauchery department.
The next day is spent sending out rallying messages for the Chelish invasion and then you're off to say your final 'Goodbyes' to the co-captains at Tidewater Rock.
~~~~~
It's a total of eight days later when Val, Polli, Donomsail, and the rest of the crew arrive at Port Peril under new leadership. There is already a huge gathering of ships hovering near the harbor as almost everyone with power in the Shackles is gathering their forces to fend off the Chelish fleet. With the notable exception of the Pirate King, himself, Bonefist. He is steadfast in his denial of the threat and his closest lackeys are following suit.
Even without his support, though, the massed armada of pirate ships is an impressive sight. Grudges have been set aside in the face of a greater external threat and blood enemies sail side by side to the agreed-upon point of interception.
- Day 354
Two days later and the enemy fleet is in sight.
It's obvious by the changing of ship headings that a resistance such as this was not foreseen by the commanders of the enemy forces, and this is quickly taken advantage of by the ruthless pirate commanders. It's a bloody and brutal engagement. Very little quarter is asked and even less is given. At the end of the day-long engagement, though, it's the Free Captains of the Shackles that prevail.
A good portion of the Chelish invasion forces are successful in fleeing back towards their homelands, but the Free Captains capture enough ships to offset their loses and then some. Before the gathered captains go their separate ways, however, Tessa Fairwind calls a meeting of the brethren to discuss what to do with Bonefist. He's lost the support of the gathered captains, but who would claim his title is anything but decided.
A number of individuals indicate that Captain Fairwind should step up and grab the hat of leadership, but others mutter that Captain Violet or Captain Steele would be perfect for the role, unaware of their plans to leave. Some indicate that they would support Captain Blackwing and her newfound fleet.
"Do you want to come with us Polli?" She asks, "You and Dony are welcome, you know that. My parents have resources, significant resources. We can protect you from Dony's father, or whoever else you're worried about." She doesn't mention the twins by name.
---------------------------------------------------
"I have no intent to rule." Harmony declares firmly. "Remember I am not a Free Captain, merely captain of a fine ship. Your votes would be best used elsewhere." While personal loyalty would have her suggesting Val, her mother supports Fairwind and Harmony knows far better than to underestimate her mother's political acumen.
Polli stands in her narrow cabin. Her life is lining the shelves built into every nook. A wonderfully carved sylyh, bone hairpins taken from would-be sea queen, lots of books both bought and plundered, so on.
The wizard doesn't turn around when Harmony comes in, and stays silent for a moment, whether to gather her words or to consider it as an option, no one knows. "Her father has her scent, as the others have mine. If we... left, out of reach, do you think they would just go away?" her shoulders tighten, her hands wrap into fists. "No. They would make those we care about suffer." the word drips in pain and hate. "We will end this... somehow. No worries, no... obligations... from you or the berry. Not anymore. no matter the promises made. Now... please leave me the hells alone."
----
At the assembly, Polli crosses her arms and stays quiet.
She pulls back slowly. "I wish you the best of luck. And the invitation is always open."
"I have words." Tessa says, stepping forward among the gathered.
"I stand before you now and tell to you all that I am the one that should claim the title and lead you to a new era. My dedication, loyalty and vast exploits all lay the foundation for now, my moment ascension."
Looking around the room at the other members, she takes the time to look them each in their eyes and says as she slowly moves in a circle "I know I can count on some of you and I know I could call in chits on others for your backing, deserved or not."
Tessa slowly shakes he head and explains, "Alas, I will not be your Hurricane Queen, for there is another that is more deserving of this title. Sher has my support and I would like all of you to join me in putting you full support behind her, so that we are all united on this front."
"Council members, please I pledge that we all give our support to the next Hurricane Queen..."
Tessa slowly turns and extends her arm and fingers to point, "... to Tessa Fairwind."
This is not the moment to mention she would be leaving, that would come later.
As the Siren sits in the harbor at the Island of Empty Eyes with allied ships gathering around her to sail out against the Chelaxian navy, a sweet young mermaid swims up onto the deck. As the sentries on duty move to surround her she transforms into a mousy teenage Mwangi girl. "Please," she pleads, "I need to speak with Lady Blackwing."
The ship's incumbent captain glides down from the sterncastle and scrutinizes the girl for a moment before asking, "what business do you have with me as we prepare for war?"
The girl fidgets nervously and quietly replies, "well, ma'am, I think maybe I'm supposed to learn from you?"
"Learn from me?" Val answers in surprise, "if you've come to learn from me, why are you hiding who you truly are?"
A smile cracks on the girl's face. "Because," she replies, "like you, I have learned the value of discretion. My name is Azira Tal-Shirin and I believe we have many things in common." As she speaks, she transforms again, this time into a pretty Kelishite woman with dark hair and eyes, sun-bronzed skin, an athletic figure, and a large pair of black feathered wings.
Val steps closer and runs a hand along one of the other woman's wings as she unabashedly inspects her. After walking all the way around her and checking her from every angle a smirk grows on the buxom slayer's face. "Well, Azira Tal-Shirin, I'm sure we can find something for you to do around here."