The charmed enforcer grins widely at Aurelia, eyes roaming over her exposed skin. "The boss has turned in for the night, but, uh, we'd be happy to keep you company."
Roz sidles up to Aurelia and lightly strokes the mesmerist's stomach. "Oh, that would be wonderful! It's such a cold night, we could use a bit of warming up. Why don't you come put your torch between our legs and light a fire, if you catch my meaning!"
The other man chuckles, enraptured by Roz's more mundane charms. "Ooh, I like the little one. She's got spunk!"
Aurelia smirks "Oh, she's got more than just spunk I can assure you."
Aurelia slides her hands over Roz's curves before she starts to twirl around her slowly, entering into a Varisian dance to capture their attention.
As Aurelia dances around her new "friend" she asks "Tell me, do you like ? Roz and I have two ready for the taking."
At the word, "Peaches," Roz's top is suddenly yanked down, causing her sizable breasts to spill forth. "Oops! Clumsy me!" she giggles, silently thanking the faeries for once and hoping the distraction will be enough.
Vox moves through the water in near silence and climbs efficiently up to the narrow windows. Assuming the way is clear she jimmies the latch until the window opens and slips inside.
Vox unlatches the window and slips into Devargo's throne room. The darkened chamber is empty, save for the little house drake in its birdcage. The drake growls and thrashes its tail in agitation. "Psst! Hey! You have to let me out of here! Please, I beg of you!" the tiny dragon hisses in Common.
Nicoleta knifes through the water and spiders up the side of the boat alongside Vox.
She smiles up at the house drake. "Tell us something that'll help us and we'll let you out after we kill Devargo," the dhampir bargains.
Her eyes search around the room, like the elf next to her, the darkness being no hindrance at all.
”This ship’s hold is full of spiders! Devargo keeps some sort of monster down there that can control them. There’s a trapdoor in front of his throne, and he drops those that anger him down below so the spiders can feast!” the drake says. Sure enough, Nicoleta finds the door. There doesn’t seem to be anything else interesting in this room save for stairs leading to the ship’s lower decks.
***
On the aft deck, the two enforcers are thoroughly caught up in Aurelia’s and Rozalia’s seduction. The charmed man puts his hands on the mesmerist’s hips and sways with her, while the other is more direct, roughly grabbing the oracle’s exposed breasts and planting kisses along her neck. Roz gasps and moans softly despite herself.
With a silent nod in the direction of the stairs, Nicoleta moves to head below.
The stairs lead down to a hallway lined with many doors. At the south end of the hall, an opening drops 7 feet into the bilge. A slimy knotted rope hanging over the edge provides clammy access to and from the bilge.
The monk looks around the hall at the doors available and her eyes rest on the double doors at the end of the corridor. She taps Vox's shoulder and points towards them.
"If I was an arrogant a&$~$*@," she says without a single trace of irony, "I'd trap the door. We should check."
By 'We' she clearly means Vox as she lets the elf precede her to the door.
Vox discovers no traps on the doors. Crates and barrels, and furniture in need of repair are scattered around this cramped hold. The contents of the crates and barrels here are mostly food, water, and firewood. There is little of actual value.
Since Devargo is apparently not here Vox gives the room a swift once over and turns back to the corridor to investigate the other doors.
Vox does not notice any traps, nor hear anything behind any of the doors.
"I thought for sure that with an ego like his, that he'd be behind the double doors," Nicoleta says, obviously annoyed. She moves to the door nearest the double doors. She gestures at it silently and once Vox determines that it's safe, she opens it quietly to peer inside.
Three narrow privies line the wall here. There is nothing else of interest.
The next door opens onto a drug lab. Two large wood-burning stoves are built into the curving wall of the ship’s hull here. Each is fitted with an iron bar on which dangle several cauldrons. Firewood is stacked to the north in a haphazard mound. Dozens of empty glass vials sit atop the mantle of each stove.
The strange, bitter smell in the room comes from the cauldrons, which are boiling down a mixture of alcohol, water, and dream spider venom into several doses of the drug—a process that takes several hours. Among the empty glass vials on the mantles are six not-so-empty vials, each of which contain a dose of shiver (worth 25 gp apiece).
Vox closes the door quickly before the fumes waft too far. "In sea later." She murmurs before moving on as an unpleasant thought strikes.
"Does he sleep in the spiders?"
"Let's hope not," Nicoleta responds with another shudder. "Although if he does, it would simplify things," she continues, hefting her vial of alchemist's fire meaningfully.
This foul-smelling room is empty, save for a mound of filthy straw seething with vermin.
To the east, a single low desk sits against the wall of this room. A large wooden door marked with a painting of a spider stands in the southern wall, beyond which you can hear skittering noises. Another smaller door leads north.
Pressing her ear to the door, Nicoleta can hear faint noises of somebody moving on the other side.
Vox pulls out her bow and nods to Nicoleta to open the door, slowly.
Nicoleta points towards the door where she heard someone moving and nods her head. She takes a steadying breath and begins counting down with her fingers. When she closes her fist, she attempts to open the door quietly and slowly.
This wooden chamber is clean and dry. A four-poster bed with ornately carved posts and gauzy drapes rests against the far wall, while a single dresser and a round table and chair fill out the rest of the room. A wooden sea chest sits at the foot of the bed.
Devargo Bavarsi sits at the table, going over some paperwork. He looks up in surprise. ”What the—?”
Vox starts shooting.
Nicoleta moves into the room quickly place herself right next to the spider-themed crime-lord.
However, attempting to hit the man while he's rising from his chair proves to be more difficult than she'd like to admit.
Devargo cries out in pain as the arrows pierce his side, but he dodges Nicoleta’s attacks. He shouts for help before stabbing the dhampir with his poisoned gauntlets.
Vox drops her bow and closes into melee with her elven blade, cutting at the crime lords arms.
Aurelia continues to dance and play with the man, acting the part of the tease and not letting him get too handsy with her. "Ah ah ah! not so fast, what' the rush?" she asks, dancing around him seductively and letting the excitement build.
"It won't do you any good to yell out, you sadistic bastard! No one cares about you!" Nicoleta says with a sneer, ignoring the pain burning through her arms and legs.
Devargo parries Nicoleta's strikes, but Vox slices across his back with her curved sword. The crime lord curse and turns to the drow. "I'll kill you!" he snarls before stabbing her with his poisoned blade.
Undeterred, Vox delivers another powerful slice down his face and the front of his chest! Blood flies as the man crumples to the floor.
A key on the crime boss unlocks the sea chest in this room. Inside are numerous treasures: a jasper studded amulet (worth 500 gp), a gold necklace fitted with emeralds (worth 600 gp), a mother-of-pearl horn (worth 50 gp), a ring of feather fall with cameo of a dragonfly worked in jade, a scroll of blur, an elixir of love, two pouches of dust of appearance, and six sacks containing 100 gp each.
***
Back above deck, the distracted guards do not hear the muffled sounds of combat coming from within the ship's hold. Aurelia's mark laughs and allows her to draw things out, enjoying the teasing dance. The other enforcer continues to be rough with Roz, pinning her against the ship's gunwale as his hands roam over her body. The oracle gives the mesmerist a look, letting her know she's okay for now.
Vox ignores the sting of poison to draw her blade cleanly across the Crime Lord's throat.
"Your song is sung no more." She murmurs. "Let's put him on his throne. That should send the right message."
The elf proceeds to do exactly that, placing the crime Lord on his throne and jamming his own spiked gauntlet through his wrists to pin his hands to the throne. As a final touch she cuts out the man's tongue and leaves it lying on the floor in front of his body.
She then moves to destroy the shiver still, tipping all the liquids out into the water below. Finally with the valuables gathered and the remaining rooms thoroughly searched the two assassins regroup in the throne room.
"Get down there woth the loot." The elf commands, "I'll get their attention in here and hopefully the others have enough sense to run."
Once Nicoletta and the loot are safely put Vox locks the door before taking a deep breath and letting out a bloodcurdling scream. She waits just long enough to hear the footsteps above and slips put of the window, pushes it shut behind her and retreats into the water, well pleased with the nights work.
The scream finally gets the attention of the lustful enforcers. Cursing, they quickly extract themselves from the women and rush to open the doors to the throne room. Roz gathers up her discarded clothes and hustles to Aurelia's side. "That's our cue! Let's get out of here!"
Not having to be told twice, Aurelia dashes away from the men with Roz and keeps running until they are clear. She and the fey-queen wait at the designated rendezvous location for Vox and Nicoleta to arrive. When they don't show immeidiately, Aurelia grows worried and chews on her nails. "Should we go back? Do you think they are okay? Should we have gone downstairs?"
Rozalia keeps tugging on her top, which the faeries seem insistent on trying to rip off of her again. "They're big girls. They can handle themselves. Just give them a few more minutes."
The dhampir quickly shakes off the effects of the poison and begins seeking out the corpse's valuables.
Once they've gathered up the spoils of assassination and have returned the man to his throne, Nicoleta can barely resist letting out a small giggle of excitement.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're kinda sexy when you're deadly?" she asks the elf, before making her way to the window.
Nicoleta and Vox meet up with Aurelia and Rozalia several minutes later, dripping wet and carrying a large sea chest full of valuables! "I guess that means it went well?" Roz asks.
Aurelia looks relieved to see the women and starts to relax when they show up. "Everything go okay?" she says, looking them over for wounds.
"Awww... were you worried about me, Sweet-cheeks?" Nicoleta asks with a leer. "I do have a boo-boo that you can kiss and make all better."
She glances around, watching for any pursuers before turning back to the ladies. "But not here. Let's get back to our rooms."
Aurelia folds her arms defiantly and lies "No. I was just, uh," she looks the other way. "Yes. We should go. Let's get a move on!"
You quickly make yourselves scarce, heading back to your rooms to celebrate your victory in privacy. The next day, rumors are swirling about the King of Spiders being found dead on his own throne, raising the question of the future of Eel's End.
Cressida Kroft contacts you later that day. She seems rather pleased. "I heard Devargo Bavarsi met his end last night. I get the feeling that you ladies had something to do with it. Of course, I can't, legally, award you any more gold for something I'd rather not admit to knowing about. Instead, for going above and beyond in Korvosa's service, I'd like to award each of you the drake’s mark, a medal that symbolizes that you are champions of Korvosa. Thank you for your service."
The house drake you rescued introduces himself as Majenko. He promises to serve Nicoleta and Vox for a year and a day in thanks.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're kinda sexy when you're deadly?" she asks the elf, before making her way to the window.
Vox gives Nicoleta a predatory grin, white teeth flashing in dark skin. "Only kinda?" She replies in a husky voice.
------------
"Minor wounds only." Vox dismisses any 'boo-boo's. She does seem to take a shine to Majenko however, and takes him home, where Tobias and the drake soon become fast friends.
Iolaire, who visits Kroft with the rest, does her usual attempt to fade into the background but accepts the medal anyway. Later, while she's going about her daily tasks of shopping and so forth she is oddly talkative, chatting with all and sundry and expounding on the death of the Spider King and the mysterious vigilante with the white hair and bow who killed him so spectacularly.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're kinda sexy when you're deadly?" she asks the elf, before making her way to the window.Vox gives Nicoleta a predatory grin, white teeth flashing in dark skin. "Only kinda?" She replies in a husky voice.
The dhampir responds with a simple shrug of her shoulders and a sly wink.
She swats Aurelia lightly on the bottom and takes Roz by the arm. "C'mon, Sweet-Cheeks, you've got a boo-boo to kiss and then we've got some loot to sell tomorrow."
Aurelia jumps at the swat, squeaking loudly. "Yep. Looks like you are perfectly fine."
She looks over hesitantly at Vox "Let's go. I'm hungry!"
--------
Aurelia wears her medal proudly "You see this?" she asks later, holding it up when they are all away from Kroft and celebrating again. "We're HEROES!" she laughs loudly and pours another glass of wine for Io. "Why are you so quiet all of the time, Red? I think you need to spend some more quality time around the ladies."
While you are out celebrating your latest victory, a disheveled man approaches Nicoleta. He is lean and muscular, with piercing green eyes. Unfortunately, he’s a mess—he hasn’t shaved or changed his Korvosan Guard uniform in days, and he reeks of stale sweat and ale. ”Neffi! I thought I recognized you,” he slurs. ”It’sh me, Grau. From Shandpoint? Lemme buy you a drink, Neffi. Several drinks.”
Rozalia leans over to Nicoleta. ”Hey, that’s Grau Soldado! The third part of the love triangle with Vencarlo and Sabina, remember? Looks like he’s seen better days.”
"That's the guy they were dueling over?" Nicoleta whispers back. She looks him up and down. "He must clean up pretty good, 'cause I wouldn't slap an arse over him right now, much less fight someone with a sword."
She raises her voice.
"Sure, if you want to buy me drinks, I'll be your Neffi," she says with a grin. She leans back in close to Roz. "If he wasn't a member of the guard, I'd say let's just roll him and let someone find him in the morning, but I guess we're heroes now so we should keep an eye on him."
"Where ya sleeping tonight, Handsome?" she asks him.
”Whichever flophouse will take me in,” Grau says, he sits next to Nicoleta and orders two ales. He raises his mug. ”Cheers, Neffi. Though there isn’t much cheer to be found here lately.” He chugs his drink and sighs.
”Thish city’s gone to Hell. First the king’s death, then the riotsh...It’s too much! I love Korvosa, and now all I can do is sit by and watch her die...”
Vox watches the conversation from inside her hood with a slightly bemused expression. Her method of helping the city tends to involve cutting out the cancers, not the aftercare...
Aurelia stands by Vox and Roz letting "Neffi" do the talking. She leans in an whispers to them "Think we're going to get some dirt?"
"If we want dirt, this guy's got enough all over him," Nicoleta answers as she scrunches her nose up at the smell.
She turns back to give an exaggerated eye roll. "Well ain't you just a whiny b$%~#?" she says with as much disgust as she can muster. "Why don't you just go out and roll in some of the shit in the gutter to complete the picture." She shakes her head and takes a drink of the ale he purchased for her. "On second thought, by the smell of you, you already did that."
She turns back to her companions.
"I tell ya, Ladies. With what we've seen of the Korvosan Guard lately, there ain't a single one of 'em worth the trouble to piss in their boots." She raises an eyebrow in thought. "Except for that Craft woman. The one in charge? She looks like someone I wouldn't kick out of bed." She gestures over her shoulder at Grau. "This dipshit shouldn't even be wearing the uniform." She takes another drink and watches her friends eyes for a reaction from the man.
”What?!? You would dare inshult me like that?” Grau slurs in disbelief. He stands up and draws his weapon, a gleaming mithral longsword, pointing it at Nicoleta. ”You have impugned my honor! I challenge you to a duel!”