"Gobtopusses?!?! No! They are grindylows, you glorious--" she stifles the rest of her rant about Tessa's intelligence to focus on the now "They will try and trip you with their tentacles, and then eat you. Armor, bones, bile, all of it. Anything and everything... they really have an amazing digestive system."
"We should clear the center so we can fight together" she snaps at no one in particular after a quick look at all the creatures speckled everywhere. She steps away quickly from the one looking hungrily at her feet and sprays a delightful array of colors at the two who came out of nowhere
"Azadi, that one has a dead right eye!"
Azadi steps away from the grindylow that Marisan is fighting and fires a blast of cold at the creature Polli indicated...
Looking at the abomination in front of her Donomsail is grateful for the advice given by Polli as she has never seen such a creature before. "Avoid the tentacles, donna get eaten by it, no problem. Gozreh, ek vra dat u woede hierdie wese tref. Ek wil dit nie seermaak nie, maar ek wil ook nie daaraan beseer word nie."
+ -2 to attack 1 rd.
Tessa quickly drops one of the slimy creatures with her blade and Marisan drops two more with her lethal feet. Polli's chromatic blast catches two of the beasties off guard and they drop to the deck with a squelching sound. Azadi sends a blast of cold towards the foe Tessa is still facing and it staggers, but doesn't fall.
One of the creatures ambles towards Donomsail and attempts to trip her with its tentacles, but fails. It also stabs at her with its spear, but that attempt fails as well. Another of beasties attempts the same strategy with Polli with almost the same results. The exception being that it succeeds in drawing blood with its spear.
The foe facing Tessa rolls away across the deck and drops off into the dark, churning water. The remaining octopus-like thing moves up to Harmony and all of its attacks are rebuffed.
Tessa looks behind her to the bow where she sees both Polli and Dononsail flanked by Gobtopusses. She turns back and sees only one facing Harmony. Last night's warning is easily remembered now. I shall warn you that you must keep her safe. If harm comes to her then the one that has requested my aid will be very displeased
She groans as she tries to figure out what to do. She knows she should run to the bow, surely Harmony can handle a single Gobtopuss by herself?! She wants to be a pirate after all...
She shouts "Marisan! They need you in the bow! Help Polli and Donomasail, I'll be right behind you!" she spins and thrusts Wayfinder through the chest of the Gobtopuss next to Harmony.
When it falls she places a hand on Harmony, looking her up and down. "You're okay? You're not hurt, right? It didn't touch you?" she gasps, terrified.
After her unsuccessful attack Donomsail will move 5' towards Polli to avoid being flanked by the Grindylow.
"I'm fine." Harmony replies and indeed she is, having fended off the creatures spear with her new sword and even landed a hit of her own. "We need to go and help the others!"
Tessa still hesitates but watches Harmony hold her own and dashes forward to help Polli. She calls back to Marisan "Marisan! Help Donomsail!"
Nodding in satisfaction as the color drop two of them, Polli turns just in time to see one of the creatures drive a spear into her gut. She flings a curse at the thing, a vile one about its heritage.
She wants to step away from the creature to blast it safely with magic, but Donomsail is right there and she refuses to abandon the other woman to spears and tentacles.
Stepping in front of her she pours fire into the bastard.
Azadi looks just in time to see one of the creatures sink it’s spear into Polli’s abdomen. He scowls and blasts its spear with freezing water, causing it to become incredibly slick.
Harmony strikes a telling blow on the goblin/octopus attacking her, but Donomsail's attack is unpracticed and misses.
Round 2
Tessa dashes forward and drops the creature threatening Polli. Marisan does the same for the one attacking Harmony.
The greasy thing attacking Donomsail manages to dodge most of Polli's flames, but loses its spear as Azadi's spell makes it too slick to grasp.
Seeing the odds stacked against it and having no weapon in hand, the lone creature scrambles to the railing and drops over the edge.
It takes almost no effort to dispatch the two unconscious foes and the battle is won.
Combat Over!
The enemies dispatched, everyone returns to the greater threat of the storm, laboring long into the night.
You labor against the wind and the rain till the early morning when the sky begins lightening and the storm begins to break. Just as you begin to relax, through, there's a shuddering lurch and the entire ship shakes and shudders. With a grinding of wood it tips to starboard and its movement ceases.
A quick investigation proves everyone's fear. The Man's Promise has hit one of the coral reefs. Even worse, she's been holed in the main hold area. and water is streaming in.
Captain Plugg immediately sets some of the crew to disassembling some of the deck to use the planks to repair the damage.
As the repairs are being handled, Plugg calls for Master Scourge to perform a quick roll call because of the storm. The task is done and it's discovered that there are two crew members missing.
Sandara and Jack are not on board the ship.
Marisan grins in satisfaction as the gobtopuses are swiftly dealt with. Unfortunately, there is no time to celebrate as she is working in the rigging!
The next day, she grimaces when the ship hits the reef. "By the stars! Who is driving this thing, anyway?"
Her frown deepens when she hears Sandara and Jack are missing. "Azadi, check the water! They may still be nearby." The brawler scans the horizon for any place they might have taken shelter.
In the early dawn light, Marisan can make out many coral reefs and a small island about a half-mile off.
"Belay that!" Master Scourge calls out as Marisan directs Azadi into the water. "We've got more important issues to deal with."
"That we do," Captain Plugg adds. "When we were holed, it also damaged our fresh water barrels. We now only have about half of the fresh water we should be carrying."
He indicates the six of you. "You all ... Take the longboat and the intact water barrels. Make for that island and find us some drinking water. In forty-eight hours the Man's Promise continues on to Port Peril whether you're on her or not. So make it quick."
Marisan glares at Plugg, then looks to Tessa for guidance.
"What?!" Tessa growls in protest to Scourge. How dare he suggest to leave Jack and Sandara behind. What if it had been her? She suspects foul play immediately upon his response, but she holds that bit of information to herself.
"More important than saving lives? We have plenty of time before high tide rolls in! Azadi is absolute s~~! with a hammer anyway! All he needs is fifteen minutes, Captain. Just let him swim around and meet us at the island over there. Jack is a craftsman and his help would be triple that of the rest of us. Every life matters, Master Scourge!"
Plugg steps close to the woman and raises his leather and steel weapon. "I'll not be wasting any time on a futile search for two incompetent sailors lost in a storm hours ago," he snarls at Tessa. "Now get your frilly ass on that boat and get us some water!"
Azadi cocks an eyebrow when Tessa declares her belief in the value of each life.
well, Marisan is definitely having a good influence on her...
”I can swim faster than they can row anyways, Captain,” Azadi offers, ”I won’t cost them a single minute!” He begins jogging across the deck while still speaking—careful to keep Tessa between him and Plugg—and without waiting for a response he dives overboard and disappears beneath the waves.
Plugg glares at Tessa without sparing a glance for Azadi.
"You have forty-eight hours, Lacy Ass," he says in a low voice. "We probably won't leave till then." He sneers at her before turning his back and shouting at the crew that are pulling up wooden planks.
It’s one thing to stand up to Scourge, but she’s not going to speak back to Plugg right now. ”Aye, Captain.” is all she says, not turning away until after he does. She hears the splash of Azadi diving overboard and turns to gather the others up. ”Come on, let’s go. We don’t want to make any more trouble right now. Let’s gather some supplies before we get going.”
With the enemy officers gone, she leans in and whispers [smaller]”Has anyone seen anything suspicious on the ship with areas closed off or generally unavailable? Do we think they are stashed away aboard somewhere? Should we do a quick search before leaving?”
Harmony shakes her head and wanders across the deck, speaking quietly to various crewmen as she does so. Tessa provides a wonderful, if inadvertent, distraction and by the time she and Plugg are done Harmony is already in the rowboat.
As they head for the island, Harmony explains what has gone on. "So... this is it I think. One way or the other we're going to face a reckoning soon. Plugg just proved that he's incompetent, and right now he needs all the crew to keep the ship floating. But the moment that's over there's going to be a purge, men like him can't stand being weak. When we get back I think we have to act - we have the numbers and I've told our friends on board to be ready. It's going to be tough, but I don't see it getting better than this - not now Plugg has proved so clearly that he's no seaman."
She pauses and then speaks again. "I need to level with you all. My name isn't Violet. It's Harmony, Harmony Mai d'Valois. Tessa and I have been pretending because I'd have been far too valuable as a captive if Harrigan had found out who I really am. So I'm sorry about how I've lied to you all, I hope you can forgive me."
Tessa grimaces when Harmony broadcasts her identity to the other people on the boat, not thinking this was a good idea. Assuming that whoever could send cherry tree dryads to a ship thousands of miles away could also probably listen in. She chimes in "AAnnnnnd I'm Contessa Steele and I'm from Taldor as well. See? Small world? I've not been lying to you for the most part, except when it comes to Harmony's name."
She claps her hands loudly, hoping to change the subject. She doesn't agree with this plan to tell everyone her real name and thinks its utterly stupid, even though she understands her motives she doesn't agree with it. "Excellent. Introductions are done. Let's not dawdle. Marisan, Donomsail, Polli, let's start rowing, shall we? Jack and Sandara could be out here on the island, though that sounds awfully stupid for them to send us if that is the case. More likely there is a trap out here meant to ensure we do not return. Be on your guard, everyone."
A huge ridge towers over the island’s western portion. A single raised tor glowers across the isle at the imposing ridge, with miles of jungle lying between the two.
The waters around the island are crystal clear, but the island is surrounded by coral reefs, which lie between 5 and 25 feet beneath the surface. Despite the beauty, however, the tides around the island are vicious, particularly along the western shore. Even on calm days, the waters are rough.
With the exception of the swamp to the east, the majority of the isle is covered in thick jungle—considered dense forest with heavy undergrowth. The rocky cliff that towers over the island to the northwest is some 500 feet high and covered by trees in many places, particularly the more shaded northwest slopes. A single path ascends the cliff as well, leading to a stockade atop the summit. Simple steps have been carved into the cliff and the vegetation has been cleared along the path.
As you approach in the longboat, you can see that all along the perimeter of the island there are twisted “statues” made of sinew-twined, scrimshaw-covered skeletons. These
statues lurk in the shallows of the sea and on the edges of lagoons, and hang from palm trees on the fringes of the jungle. No two are alike; each is the product of a
twisted imagination.
From your location, you can see what looks like the remains of an abandoned fishing village at the edge of the swamp that occupies the lowlands between the ridge and the tor.
As they row over, Tessa considers the possibilty that Sandar and Jack are already here. "I don't think Sandara and Jack were overtaken the by the storm. I don't put it past and Scourge and Plugg to push them overboard however. Assuming Azading finds nothing, perhaps they are here on the island? Why they would kidnap them and stash them on the island only for us to go search the island seems a bit off to me though."
"Why else would they disappear?" she turns to Polli and asks "Can Gobtopusses swallow people whole? Maybe they were eaten?"
Once they make shore, Tessa hops out and begins to search the area.
Azadi grabs the front of the longboat when it draws near to shore and helps guide it in.
”Well, I was going to welcome you to Azadi Island, or Liberty Island,” he says with a wry grin, ”but given the settlement up on that ridge I think we might be too late to name this particular island. Anyone know of any charted settlements around here?”
He frowns looking at the macabre scrimshaw and adds, ”we might be able to ask the residents if anyone washed up on shore, but they might not be super welcoming...”
Donomsail rows silently listening to the confession of Vi "No, Harmony. Seems we all keep some sort o' secrets, no wonder we're all pirates. Quite a fitting fate fer us." Once they reach the island Donomsail helps pull the boat onto the beach and starts looking around for any obvious sources of fresh water. "Any idea where a fresh water source is, maybe a small waterfall or a fast stream maybe?"
Azadi laughs. ”For these?” he scoffs gesturing towards the barrels, ”I can fill these in like five minutes. I wasn’t about to mention that to Plugg though when he was getting ready to give us some time off the ship.”
”I was going to fill them right before we headed back, but I can do it now if you’d prefer.”
"Not now." Harmony decides, grateful that no-one seems to be taking her news badly. "If we need to escape the island we don't want to do it in a boat weighed down with huge amounts of fresh water."
As they reach land she murmurs words under her breath and when she looks up both eyes are violet.
”You got it, Captain,” Azadi answers Harmony, as he helps Marisan pull the boat ashore.
”So, do we head up the path, or do you want us to scout something else first?” he asks the purple-eyed woman, ”I could check along the coast in either direction- if I do it from the water the overgrowth won’t slow me down.”
"Let's check the village out first." Harmony says. "I wouldn't want to be half-way up the hill and attacked from behind." Perhaps its being on land, but she's standing taller and taking command quite naturally as Azadi defers to her.
Tessa was perfectly fine letting people talk among themselves, but the bit about Captain catches her attention. She looks to Harmony first, then to Azadi. She repeats quite curiously, ”Captain?”, seeking clarification.
Harmony shrugs. "I told you, Azadi thinks I'd be good at it. I thought we agreed." She adds, pouting slightly.
Tessa puts her hands on her hips and turns to face her girlfriend "Just so we're clear Harmony, what did we agree to exactly?"
"That kissing was a good thing and you wanted to sleep in the Captain's bed." Harmony replies, still pouting and looking through her eyelashes at the same time. "I thought you meant with me...?"
Tessa nods along says "All of those points are accurate." she opens her mouth to clarify exactly on what the misconception is here, but she promptly closes it as she takes not of the other individuals eagerly watching their conversation. She instead decides on "We will continue this discussion at a more appropriate time, Captain." she says as she puts emphasis on the title before turning away from Harmony and glaring at Azadi.
Azadi’s jaw drops when Harmony and Tessa start talking about sleeping together.
what in the hells... there really is only two women on the whole dammed ship who are interested in men, and they’re both at least twice my age... and why are they all into Tessa... of course, now with her apparently making long-term sleeping arrangements, maybe it might be worth thinking about chasing Sandara, if we can find her in one piece... or Marisan, I wonder what she thinks about this development...
The young undine ignores Tessa’s glare and turns to see how their Mwangi companion feels about this new development.
As he considers this news, he begins walking towards the trailhead at the edge of the jungle, and calls back, ”yes, Captain.”
Narrowed eyes and barely controlled rage at the evil s+#@ of a captain's refusal to look for the lost. She goes over her spells in her mind thinking, considering, continues to do so on the bow ride over. Muttering an off-hand "You are forgiven for being a noble." since she was only half-listening she assumes the apology was for that appalling fact and not the name change.
Then the flirting and half bickering "Stop!" she snaps "Whoever kills Plugg can be captain. Until then PLEASE pay attention that people might need our help and stop thinking with your hormones for ONE F$$+ING MOMENT!!!" the mage yells, then shakes her head and moves on.
It doesn't take more than ten or fifteen minutes to search the village. Calling it a village is probably a bit of a stretch as up close you can see that it consists of a small gathering of collapsed mud huts. It doesn't look like it's seen humanoid habitation in decades. The search turns up nothing of interest.
An overgrown trail heads off into the mire of the swampland.
Tessa turns to Polli, considering her comment. "As much as I'd like to accept the offer of whomever kills Plugg can be Captain, I do not think that a fair path for most of you."
Tilting her head slightly towards Polli, she asks "You're asking me to pay attention that people need our help. Are you inferring that I do not that Sandara and Jack's disappearance seriously? I find this mildly offensive as I feel that I've done just about everything possible to ensure we could find them. I've stuck my neck out every-time someone needed help and the insinuation that you think I would prioritize other things about that is mildly insulting."
Tessa sets off searching the beach for signs of tracks from anything, hoping whomever took the two came this way. Fifteen minutes later she finds nothing and announces loudly "Well, no Gobtopuss tracks. That rules out them being kidnapped and eaten by Gobtupussy? Gobtopie? Gob-Hey Polli! What's the plural form of Gobtopusses?"
Azadi is clearly shocked by Polli’s outburst, but manages not to show how amused he is by it too. A few minutes later, as they’re searching the remains of the long-empty village he approaches the sylph. ”Hey, everything okay?” he asks before quietly adding, ”I get frustrated with everyone thinking with their privates too... although, I guess, I’ve been guilty of that at least once since we got conscripted...”
”Anyways... I think maybe we should be thoughtful about who we call captain... picking someone because they killed someone else is how you end up with someone like Harrigan, or Plugg. You’re probably the smartest person on the ship, it would be nice to have a captain who was willing to listen to what you know...”
Polli stops and glares back at Tessa "I don't care, Contessa Steele, what you find mildly insulting. Not in the least little bit. If you are prioritizing so greatly, then please LOOK!"
She walks off to keep searching.
As Azadi talks she says softly "i liked him" then he starts talking about captain again and she stops and glares "I don't care who is captain. Not now, not ever. At this moment all I care about is finding Sandara and Jack. And if we don't, seeing that sniveling ass dead as quickly as possible. Am I clear?" she snaps the question coldly. Then starts yelling their names.
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Before Polli can stomp off and huff and puff, Tessa reaches out and grabs a hold of the sylphs shirt. "Hold on a moment please. There are two corrections I'd like to interject before you get pissed off at me, raise your voice and stomp off in frustration."
"One. You do not get to call me Contessa. I normally correct this with a bop to the nose, but this one is on me and I accept that. I know I said that is my name earlier, and it is, but that doesn't mean you get to call me that. You can call me any other manner of name you find insulting except any reference to a whore and I will not take offense. Is that fair?"
"Two." she says, letting go of Polli and squaring off to face her eye to eye. She lets the frustration from before fade away and takes a deep breath, straightening Polli's clothes where she grabbed them. "I'm sorry I offended you. I was not trying to start an argument with you and, believe it or not, I was simply trying to state I was frustrated by your comments and wanted to communicate that to you so you understood. If you would prefer I not communicate this to you in the future and just stay pent up with frustration I will try that approach instead."
"We all need to work together to find Jack and Sandy. This Captain talk is premature and we shouldn't even concern ourselves with it right now. You're right, I was wrong. I should be focused more on the search."
"I'm sorry."
Azadi looks down at his feet. ”I’m sorry,” he mutters, ”I had no idea... but, listen, for now, at least, you like him... it’s not liked until we know what happened. We’re on the far side of the island and we were making really poor time for a lot of that storm... there’s a good chance that when they went overboard they were within swimming distance of this island...”
yelling is a terrible idea... we’re definitely going to attract the attention of whoever carved those skeletons... screw it, they’re our friends, or in some cases maybe more...
””
”What do you think, Ca... Harmony? Should we push on down this path through the swamp or follow the coast?”
As Tessa grabs her, Polli looks like a thunderstorm about to explode. Clouds of fury in her eyes, winds suddenly swirling around her, sparks dancing across her skin.
I'm sorry
Polli blinks at the last part. Blue eyes shocked and realize she's being a bit more emotional than sense allows for. She relaxes by sheer will, enough to say, quietly "The whore thing was a mistake, nothing more. I explained that.... Tessa than, I misunderstood." the calmness is costing her though, and she starts to look away, searching with her s%$!ty eyes. Pulling off her glasses she'll clean them even though there are no smudges. "Where could they be?" in a tightly controlled voice, asked to no one in particular.
Her worry and frustration are bleeding off her, "I hope so" Polli answers Azadi softly. As he starts yelling, she gives him a look of thanks, continuing her unwise shouts as well.
Azadi looks around thoughtfully. ”We can’t really split up safely on an island this size...” he announces to nobody in particular, ”and to try to follow the coast would be painfully slow for all of you... unless you took the boat...”
”If they washed up unconscious the coast would be the place to look for them... if they’re conscious or someone found them, that fort on the ridge would be the most likely place to find them, I think... unless maybe grindypusses got them... Polli do you have any idea where to look for those things? Would they take prisoners, and if they did where would they hold them?”
With the currents as she was witness to on the short boat ride over and with the tides the way they are, Polli gets the sinking feeling that the two missing sailors wouldn't have washed up on this island at all. There are probably other islands nearby, but out of sight from your current vantage point.
Perhaps other islands would be visible from a higher altitude?
"They..." she croaks a bit from yelling "They are intelligent creatures, meaning capable of thought, not higher mathematics. So it is possible. But usually they just... eat"
Her mind, while being distracted with worry, has also been whirling with charts and tides and then with a pop she realizes "They can't be here. The tides are wrong..." Polli's eyes go wide then looks about as she thinks "They could be close though, another island maybe. There!" she points to the fort on the rocky cliff. Turning to the others "We need to go to a higher elevation to see if there are any other islands close enough for them to have... survived." she frowns at her own word "I can calculate once we are up there."
Obviously she wants to turn and hurry toward the steps, but she knows she needs help. Looking to each of them, breathing for control, she'll ask simply "Will you come with me?"
"Please"
Tessa nods "Higher elevation, smart thinking Polli." Tessa sticks two fingers in her mouth and whistles loudly so everyone can hear her. " Polli says we need a better view, so we're going up there." she points to the tall cliff ahead of them. "Let's get moving, folks. We have no time to spare."
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”If they’re on the island,” Azadi answers before Tessa begins thinking out loud, ”that’s probably the best place to check, and if they’re not on the island that’s the best place to look for...”
He doesn’t get to finish his thought, though, before Tessa cuts it off with her whistle. ”I agree with Tessa,” Azadi says with a bit of a frown after she starts barking orders, ”what does, uh, everyone else think?” He says ‘everyone’ but he looks to Harmony for direction.
”We should figure out what order we’ll travel in...” he advises, looking down the overgrown path. ”I know I’m not as dangerous as Tessa or Marisan, but I have the best eyes, and I’m pretty tough... I’ll go first if that’s okay?”