Marisan closes the distance and thrusts with her trident and spots of coral begin appear on its chitin. Tessa joins her and her blade slips beneath the creatures armor twice. With the amount of damage the creature has taken, it should be dead, but it continues to fight on. Donomsail holds back, hoping that she won't need to use too much of her healing. Valeria moves in to stab at the creature from behind and finally it falls.
Combat Ends!
With the huge creature defeated, you can finally approach the wreck.
The first thing you notice is the corpse still lashed to the wheel on the poop deck. The figure is garbed in the coat of a captain with its hands tied to the wheel. Examining it closer reveals that most of his effects have rotted to the point of uselessness. With the exception of his rapier , an amber ring , and a platinum-plated compass around his neck.
The other aura here that Polli notices is coming from the wheel itself.
"How in the hells did that thing get so big? Never have I read anything..." Polli wants to look at it, study it to find out why, but bleeding corpses underwater make seeing basically useless AND attracts way too many predators. So she sighs heavily like the universe just conspired against her personally.
She instead swims down to the ship and helps to identify the things that need it. "This is a lovely wheel, well other than the aesthetics of it of course. Why do pirates have to decorate Everything in skulls?"
”Pirates want to be feared,” Val answers Polli, ”but men aren’t usually very creative so they just cover everything in skulls and assume that’ll scare people.”
Donomsail says a prayer over the corpse of Captain Jalhazar and then you continue your investigation of the wreckage.
The moldering sails hang lifelessly from the mizzenmast in the chill, dark water, never to be touched by a breeze again. Right below the poop deck is the Captain's cabin. Double doors open into an opulently appointed master cabin. Three curtained windows at the stern hold shattered panes of glass. A large desk remains bolted to the floor; the other expensive fittings have been thrown about. The captain’s charts and papers are illegible, despite being inside waterproofed pouches. In a side cupboard, crystal glassware and fine porcelain plates are completely smashed, but underneath rests a tray of Taldan silverware . Lying under the large bed is a teak wand .
Moving further down, the main deck has been swept clean and the railing is smashed in several places. Only broken stays and snapped ropes remain to indicate that two longboats were stored next to the steps to the quarterdeck. More to the rear, you find nothing but rotting goods in the ship's stores and larder. You push past the wedged door to find a stove and shelves of pots and pans. A thick layer of oil congeals near the ceiling. The putrid corpse of the cook lies facedown here, his legs trapped under a heavy bench. Past that is the rear crew's quarters. A crowd of suspended hammocks obscures vision in these quarters, along with overturned chairs and scattered clothing. Searching about turns up 77 gp in assorted coins and other personal items, as well as a board game called Wyvern’s Race with pieces finely crafted from citrine and bloodstone .
The next level down is the gun deck. Bones and partial humanoid skeletons litter this deck. Unusual, pallid crustaceans cling to the ship’s timbers near the gaping hole outside. Polli quickly identifies the lurking threat here - a darkforest anemone. Once identified, it's a simple matter to avoid it. There's nothing of value here, however, other than the broken debris of numerous ballistae. Behind the gun deck is the armory and a pair of cabins. The armory is behind a locked door, but the lock is so corroded that it takes almost no effort at all to break it open. Most of the wooden weapons here are sodden and warped, and only six ballista bolts are undamaged .
One of the cabins appears to have been an officers' quarters. Sea chests and wooden furniture lie scattered about. The putrefying mortal remains of a peg-legged man (possibly Vargus Brack?) rests on the floor. Within the chests you find a stash of 168 gold coins and a potion . The other cabin looks to have been a general passenger cabin. An upturned sea trunk lies in the corner of this sparsely furnished room. The trunk contains ten female noble’s outfits and other feminine garments, but all are severely water damaged. At the bottom is a jewelry case holding necklaces and other jewelry .
You move down to the lowest level - the cargo hold. Broken timber and smashed boxes litter the floor of this cargo hold. Clusters of barnacles and slimy marine growths infest the walls and other exposed surfaces. As you start to search through the debris, there's movement in the darkness and another great white shark appears!
Combat Begins!
Round 1
"We Are playing this." Polli says firmly as she holds up the board game. Giving each of you a look at dares you to say otherwise.
As the huge shark comes their way, Polli casts the spell she was considering casting before.
"Sharks hate anything getting near their eyes. Tessa, trying hitting one of them if you can."
"More sharks! How many sharks are left in these waters? Don't they know the Sharkslayer is among them!" Tess boasts, advancing to the shark and attempting to plunge her rapier into its left eye.
Tessa stabs at the creature with her blade. The blow is true, but seems to affect the creature less than she'd assume. Polli's lightning appears and zaps the shark. Donomsail watches and waits.
The shark twists and snaps its huge rows of serrated teeth at Tessa, but she manages to pull back just in time.
Marisan swims forward and stabs at the shark with Zul.
Val takes advantage of her strong, beautiful tail to swim behind the shark, studying it as she moves. Once in position, she stabs it with her shortsword.
Tessa frowns when her attack doesn't do what she would like it to do. Sooooo she critically strikes the shark in it's face with her rapier in an attempt to get its attention.
"Do NOT get bitten, Tessa! Or we'll never hear the end of it from the other captain." Polli snaps, feeling guilty still about the cutting and faking.
She mutters and weaves until four orbs speed through the water at the shark.
Marisan stabs at the shark, her trident sinking into the creature. No coral appears around the wound, though. Valeria joins the fray with her shortsword, sinking it into the almost-boneless beast.
Round 2
Tessa places two perfect strokes with her blade, but the creature lives on. Donomsail continues to wait for her healing to be required. Polli's balls of lightning send arcs of electricity into the shark and she accompanies them with bolts of mana.
The shark turns and snaps at Marisan, but she also avoids the nasty, sharp teeth.
A school of glowing and shimmering fish collesce from the debris. Their movements are hypnotic and it's difficult to look away from them.
Tessa is read to strike another critical blow but as she swings she slows her attack and just stares at the pretty fish. "Oooooooh!" she remarks, fascinated by their hypnotic movements.
Marisan stabs at the shark twice.
something's not right here... this shark should be dead by now, and it hasn't actually hit anyone at all... and now weird glowing fish coming from so near where the shark was hiding...
With Polli's light spell still glowing, and her shortswords at the ready, Val swims into the darkness, looking and listening for any signs of someone, or something, that might be behind this...
"What?!!? Why in the hells are you staring slack jawed at a bunch of freaking FISH?!?" Polli yells at the berry. And then Val the mermaid starts swimming off "Where are you GOING?" she snaps as she continues her magical onslaught on the shark
Marisan continues to stab at the shark as blood begins spilling into the water. Valeria, suspicious of the nature of the shark moves further into the hold. In the back she sees another shape - a strange shape. A huge fish with tentacles.
Round 3
Tessa stares, transfixed at the shimmering fish, unable to tear her eyes away. Donomsail frowns and points to the shark, seemingly wanting to say something about it when Polli hits it with another set of arcane missles and realizes the same thing - the shark isn't real.
Marisan turns from the shark to look at Polli with blank eyes. She swims at the sylph and impales her with her trident!
"an illusion... I f&+@ing hate illusions." Polli mutters. As Marisan starts to swim closer she says "Maybe we should cover the berry's eyes to brea-" the rest is lost to a screaming gurgle as the blade slams through her gut.
Fear fills her eyes, but not for herself. For the cleric by her side. With a trident still in her she reaches out to grab her love and cast them both to safety.
The pain is too much and her magic fizzles.
"The real enemy is back here!" Val hollers.
Not liking the prospect of trying to swim past the creature's tentacles, she drops her swords onto the debris below her, draws her bow as she studies the creature, and fires an arrow it.
As her arrow sinks into the creature, she flits her tail and moves five feet back away from it.
Marisan turns her trident on Polli and Valeria sends an arrow into the tentacled monstrosity.
Round 4
Harmony's ear wakes up to Doni's babbling in her ear about Marisan killing Polli while being under foul enchantment and that Tessa is no help at all and would she please come down and help?
”Sh!t... this is an illusion too... I’m checking what’s behind it...”
gods, I wish I hadn’t dropped my swords... I guess if I die I won’t need to worry about coming back for them...
With her bow at the ready, Val swims through the illusory wall.
Past the illusory wall, Valeria finds the the hold continues on for another twenty feet and at the far wall of this portion of it is another aboleth.
"There's another tentacle monster, or the real tentacle monster...I hope...back here!"
Studying the new creature, Val fires again.
Harmony stands on the quarterdeck racked by indecision. It sounds as though everything below is going horribly wrong, but she knows exactly how many precautions the group took before they went below and she has nothing beyond a single waterbreathing potion... but Tessa is down there and Marisan has gone mad, which means the rest of the group are almost certainly in critical danger.
Harmony is, frankly, terrified but she is above everything else loyal and the decision is rapidly made. "Owlbear, I need a bag if ballst, as heavy as you can lift." That should be enough to make me sink pretty fast...
As the huge man lumbers below Harmony quaffs the potion and speaks into the earring. "I'm coming Dony, hang on. Everything is going to be all-right."
Owlbear returns with a mighty bag and puts it on the gunwale at Harmony's command. "Maheem, you have the ship! Owlbear, push me!"
With a mighty shove Harmony and her bag of ballast splashes into the water and rapidly sink into the depths...
If you die Contessa Steele, you are in so much trouble!
Marisan resists Donomsail's attempt to paralyze her.
Tessa snaps out of it, shaking off the fascination just in time to see Marisan's trident stuck inside of Polli? What's going on. We need Harmony!
Tess swims to where Valeria says the monster is, searching for their real target to attack.
Tessa breaks free from the facination of the fish and follows Valeria through the illusory wall and into the presence of the real(?) aboleth. Donomsail's spell fails to bind Marisan. Polli attempts a spell of her own, but is hampered by the blood coming up in her lungs.
The tentacled monstronsity rushes forward to lash at the slayer with said limbs.
Harmony holds tight to her ballast and tries to think heavy thoughts. Her head is killing her from the rapid change in pressure...
Before the effects of the attack become obvious, Val pushes herself backwards with a swish of her glorious tail and continues firing arrows at the disgusting tentacle fish.
Marisan looks at Tessa, but memories of their time together rush to the forefront of her mind, giving her the extra boost of willpower to break free of the aboleth’s control. With an angry yell, she swims at the monster to stab it!
The trident sliding out hooks an intestine, leaving the sylph bunching up into a floating ball of pain as yesterday's meal leaks into her insides. As the Marisan of Death swims off straight toward Tessa, the wizard raises a shaky hand to blast the warrior in hopes to at least alert the berry of approaching violence.
But sense returns, the tridents goes into the enemy instead of the friend. Polli's hand shifts and the lightning bolt streaks into the tentacle beast.
Valeria's flesh begins transforming into a clear, slimy membrane.
Marisan turns her trident on the abomination, sinking it deep into the creature and Valeria contributes arrows towards its demise.
Round 5
Tessa continues the assault, stabbing at the creature. Donomsail hovers over Polli, pressing her hands to her belly as she says a prayer of healing.
The sylph then sends an even bigger bolt of energy into the creature which stiffens up as its muscles all contract. A moment later and the creature grows still.
At that moment a frantic and panicky looking Harmony appears, holding on to a large bag of ballast.
”Help!” Val calls out as she races helplessly back to her spell casting friends, ”what’s happening? Help me, please, I’m turning into slime...Am I going to dissolve?”
Calming herself she stoically ask, ”am I going to die?” before quietly adding, ”I haven’t gotten laid in week... what a terrible time to die...”
With the aboleth dispatched, you continue your exploration of the wreckage.
The next target is the hold itself. Most of the shop’s cargo and provisions remaining here disintegrate when touched, but several timber boxes hold ivory .
At the rear of the revealed hold, you find what appears to be the ship's brig, evidenced by the metal grille in the door itself. With the damage to the stern, the door's hinges have been sheared, but a heavy lock and chain still hold the other side of the portal. It takes a bit of work, but you pry the door clear of the frame.
Stacked in the brig are plain wooden crates bound with iron and stamped with a merchant house seal. Polli identifies the seal as that of the Deeptreasure Mining Company in Sargava. The crates are nailed shut. A little more work reveals that they're filled with gold and silver ingots .
With that, you've finished your looting of the Brine Banshee.
Polli's pain is pulled away by Dony, which Polli gives the other a long hug of thanks. Interrupted by the panic in Val's voice and the arrival of a Harmony being slowly squished by the pressure.
She rushes over to help but... doesn't know anything about what is going on.
Harmony arrives, checks as best she can in the near darkness that everyone is not dying/dead and then releases her bag of ballast and starts swimming back towards the surface. She retains enough presence of mind to do so fairly slowly, trying to ease the terrible pressure pains in her head, but by the time she regains the Siren's deck she is still bleeding from both ears.
Thankfully a curative spell restores her hearing and she is able to smile with the rest of the crew when the gold bars are brought up from the depths.
Marisan apologizes to Polli for attacking her while mind-controlled. She feels bad for Valeria and hopes Donomsail can fix her affliction.
Polli manages to not flinch as Marisan swims toward her, but just barely. "The experience makes me wonder why more of our enemies don't s!%$ their pants when we show up." her deep frown shifts a little toward sad and irritation at herself. She nods to the woman, then swims toward the rest of the group.
As her body stops changing, Val breathes a small sigh of relief. When she notices Harmony swimming slowly towards the surface she swims up to her and offers, ”thanks for coming to help us, Cap’n, why don’t you let me help you.” Wrapping her slimy arms around the changeling’s waist, she begins swimming quickly towards the surface.
”You came down so fast, you’re not used to the pressure yet, it’s best to get to the surface as fast as you can or it’ll be just as painful going up.”
During the swim up she continues, ”it might not seem like you did much down here, but things really turned around right when you arrived... I know sailors have a reputation for being superstitious, but that’s not nothing, Cap’n. Marisan was having her mind controlled, and Tessa was hypnotized, but as soon you got close they both broke free... call it luck, call it whatever you want, but we’re better when we’re all together.”
Once Harmony is safely topside, slimy mer-Val plunges back to the depths to help with the treasure recovery. She tries to stay where the crew won’t see her while things are being loaded onto the ship. Afterwards she pulls Tessa and Dony aside and says, ”the air feels bad on this slimy skin... I think I’m going to stay in the water... maybe you can drop a hammock overboard and I can lash it to the rudder to sleep in? Then tomorrow, Donm, if you’re willing, maybe you could prepare a bunch of spells for curing curses and dispelling magic and that sort of thing and we can see if any of them work?”
- Day 152
The morning arrives and Donomsail greets the dawn with her preparations to cure Valeria. When she announces that she's ready, her and Polli lower one of the jolly boats to give the woman a semblance of privacy as they attempt to remove her affliction.
She attempts a number of lesser spells first to no effect. When she invokes magic to remove disease, the slayer feels her skin return quickly to normal.
"Thank you, Donm!" Val says holding back tears of relief as her flesh returns to normal. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate that, and..."
"Well... I don't want to push my luck at all, this is amazing, and I'm so grateful, but I'm kind of having a separate, personal, issue, and... uh, if you had prepared any other spells to try, like ones for getting rid of curses, or restoring damage that's not from wounds, do you think maybe you could still cast them for me?"
During the swim up she continues, ”it might not seem like you did much down here, but things really turned around right when you arrived... I know sailors have a reputation for being superstitious, but that’s not nothing, Cap’n. Marisan was having her mind controlled, and Tessa was hypnotized, but as soon you got close they both broke free... call it luck, call it whatever you want, but we’re better when we’re all together.”
Harmony nods, or it may just be her trying to shake the pain out of her ears, but she seems to have listened at least a little bit.
--------------------
Once Val has been returned to normal and is able to sleep on board ship again Harmony orders the course set for Port Peril. "If the winds hold we can fit the new wheel as we go." She comments, "But I don't want to take any chances, not with the Regatta coming up."
Tessa's inevitable protest is brushed aside gently but firmly by the sailing captain. "Drenchport is out of the way and much smaller than Port Peril. We couldn't shift the plunder that we've accrued for anything like its true value and we'd advertise that we're loaded with loot and ready to be attacked by anyone who likes their chances. We have a certain amount of reputation but we aren't that famous yet. Port Peril is the only sensible place, and we need to let the good doctor off somewhere reasonable too."
Any more protests are silenced with a finger on the lips. "Hush, my mother won't bite. But if you keep complaining then I might." A kiss follows to soften the rebuke and remind Tessa of exactly what she might risk missing...
With the treasure retrieved from the wreckage of the Brine Banshee, you set sail for Port Peril. Along the way, the ship's wheel is refitted with the salvaged one from the sunken ship. Both Tessa and Harmony spend some time getting used to the Siren' new handling and she's a quick responder now. Nimble and able to turn on a copper it seems. If you enter the regatta, it will surely improve your chances of winning.
- Day 156
You arrive at Port Peril towards the close of the day. The taverns and ale-halls along the docks gearing up for the night's business. You won't be able to begin disposing of your trade goods until tomorrow. An evening of relaxation is before you and the crew is excited to take leave.
'The man you questioned after is here.'