"That's... laughter? Oh heavens..." usually when someone is laughing so hard, like a true belly shaker, the watchers want to join in. But that thing writhing about makes Lilly want to look away more than anything else.
The cleric instead concentrates on a space near it and starts casting for another creature to join them for the fight.
Maia heads to the opposite side of the creature from where Bukis went. Once there, she tries to stab the creature (even though she doesn't expect that to be very effective). As she moves, she calls out, "Mighty Akaleesh, now is your chance to reign down fire and spells while the creature cannot flee from you!"
Bukis takes advantage of Maia's distraction, swinging his scythe for a deadly attack. "Laugh now."
Is it the creature's laughter? The icky sticky black residue Estian has to step on? The creature's thousands of horribly sharp teeth? Or just his own ineptitude? Who knows, but Estian swings his saber at the devilfish with no grace whatsoever.
Akaleesh swoops across and breathes a cone of fire over the devilfish as it writhes awkwardly. Maia makes a small cut before Bukis launches a massive overhand blow and rams his scythe through the creature's bulbous head.
The huge creature writhes, and then falls still. With preparation, planning and a little luck you have slain the mighty devilfish!
Akaleesh lands and starts squealing in delight.
"We killed it! We killed nasty devil fish!"
A huge rat pops into existence suddenly, all ready to tear into the mightly devilfish, only to look back at Lilly with obvious disappointment. "Sorry about that. You could gnaw on its corpse a little if that would make you feel better?" but it does not and the rat disappears again without comment.
That awkward moment passing, and Lilly is joining the Akaleesha's celebration with a jubilant dance and impromptu song of 'ding dong the devilfish is dead' "Your home it Yours again, mighty Akaleesh!"
Maia joins in the celebrating, first singing a counterpoint to Lilly's improvised song and then praising each of her companions in turn for their contributions to the victory. The mighty Akaleesh's praises are, of course, especially poetic, and accompanied by playful scratches behind his ear.
As emotions come down, she stands staring at the carcass for a moment then quietly asks, "Does anyone know how to butcher a devilfish? If it tastes at all like an octopus we could get some good meals out of this... plus, I've heard stories from sailors about finding rings and coins and things inside of fish... as big as this thing is, who knows what it could have swallowed... maybe we should check its belly too?"
Akaleesh accepts the praise, clearly seeing it as his due. "Rewards! Mighty Akaleesh promised you rewards! Will bring soon!" He spreads his beautiful wings and flies away.
Butchering the devilfish is unpleasant work and turns up very little apart from partially digested pieces of vaguely humanoid shape. The only thing of any value is a metal bracelet that has survived the creatures stomach - it would likely be worth fifty gold pieces if you could find someone willing to buy it.
Still, you have defeated and killed what must be one of the most dangerous predators inside the Eye, that's going to make you and your crew significantly safer. You return to the Devil's Due with a large amount of seemingly palatable meat and quite a story to tell!
Apart from that strange forest and its angry fey inhabitant you have done a thorough job of exploring the island. Now that the devilfish is gone it may be time to start exploring the other islands within the Eye.
That night, at the end of dinner, when everyone is sated and sleepy, Bukis walks up to their leader. "What next? Still trapped" He says simply as he stands there waiting for an answer.
Lilly is curled up on the floor of the captain's cabin, happy as a lark, with a belly full of devilfish and a very soft snore.
Estian is more than a little reluctant to dig into the devilfish pot stew, but the picky Andoran eventually digs in and finds himself liking it more than he'll ever care to admit.
Maia sits up in the bed and smiles at the others gathered in the cabin. “I think, after that, we’ve earned a day of relative safety... tomorrow why don’t we spend the day with crew? We can work on the morale a little more and figure out what supplies we still need to get the ship seaworthy again. How’s that sound?”
"It sounds wonderful. We need to wait for Akaleesh to return anyway, so we might as well kick back and prepare for the next foray. I'm afraid we'll have to go further out than we have so far ..."
With all of the immediately available supplies used Brelkar agrees that the day can be a rest day and the crew take full advantage of the time. With a crew composed largely of seamen there is still a lot of industry, including a little painting and a lot of minor tasks, but the pace is much slower and conversation, ribald jokes and general fun continues throughout the day.
Captain Maia is her usual charming self and concentrates her work on some of the more stubborn ex-slavers, bringing one of them firmly around to her way of thinking with a little (or perhaps a lot of) flirtation.
Akaleesh arrives near midday - the sun making his wings look particularly fabulous. "Gifts, for slaying nasty octopus!" He declares grandly, swooping in to drop two wands in Maia's hands. He alights next to Lilli and nudges her with his head.
"Scratches?"
-----------------------------
The rest day does the entire crew good and as the sun dawns on the eleventh day inside the Eye, crew morale has never been higher.
Lilly nuzzles against the little dragon with a delighted laugh "A hero's worth!" the ginger assures him, alternated between tickles and scratches, and a snuggle thrown in because one must at times like this.
There is a very interested young former 'passenger' that shyly watches the cleric and her friend pass the time in playful fun. Lilly catches her eye and beckons her over with smiles, introducing lady to dragon (with dragon's permission of course) and teaches lady just where the mighty dragon likes his scratches the best.
Bukis looks at the dragon as if he's expecting it to turn on them, either that or he's trying to figure out how to turn it into a meal. However he won't antagonize it as he realizes that, for whatever reason, others like him. He will spend the down time they currently have trying to ingratiate himself to the former slaves as they continue to do odd jobs around the ship.
Lily and Bukis are able to sway a number of the former slaves between them. Although a couple of malcontents still mutter the Devils' Due is rapidly taking on the air of a happy ship!
The next day you set off on a thorough tour of the island to ensure that there's nothing you have missed. It is a long and slow day, slugging through the debris but useful. Apart from the timber forest, which you steer well clear of, you seem to have picked the island clear - a fact which the Father and Mother confirm when you stop by to speak to them.
"You have searched the best sites." The Father confirms in his deep voice. "There are two more islands to the north. The nearer one is uninhabited as best we know and the Witch claimed the furthest as her own when we repulsed her. If you need more supplies we can trade for them, if you have anything else that we need. The witch has sent her shark men on many raids however - she likely has a cache of supplies of her own."
The Mother looks up from where she is stroking Melindi and dangling her feet in a deep pool. "I am glad you have become friends with Akaleesh. He is a valued ally and a friend of ours."
-------------------------------------------------
As the sun is setting you return to the Devils' Due and even in the twilight it is clear something is wrong. There is no activity on deck - not even any light. It's as though everyone has vanished...
"Eh, it doesn't happy to be one of you's birthdays, does it?", Estian ponders as the eery silence and lack of activity wraps itself around his senses. Instinctively, he draws his weapon. "It sure ain't mine ..."
"This is bad" Lilly gets her mace out, clearly wanting to run on the ship to find out what happened NOW. But is smart enough to know taking this slow would be better.
"Very bad..." Maia concurs. She draws her shortsword as she inches forward. "Bukis, Estian, please take the lead, Lilly and I will be right behind you... and keep your eyes peeled. I'm not sure what happened here, but something did it and it might still be here..."
When you cautiously make your way onto deck it is clear that there has been a battle of some sort here. Three sahuagin bodies lie dead on the deck, as do two human corpses. One of them is Trinan and he has a note 'attached' to his chest with a small dagger.
“Sail away intruders. Death awaits you if you try to reclaim my prize!
Cekerite, Queen of the Storm”
You conduct a thorough search of the ship and find no other bodies, but all of the tools and other useful items seem to have been taken. A quiet hail greets you when you return to the deck and looking over the edge you find a dozen of your crew, gripping make-shift clubs and spears and looking terrified.
"It's you captain!" One of them calls out. "Those sharkmen came back, loads of them. Two big four armed brutes too! We fought them but then this little creature came along and Brelkar just stopped fighting! Lightfoot told us to run and he stayed behind..."
By Rovagug's burning testies ... Estian has troubles translating his frustration into words, but going by the heavy frown that has settled on his forehead, it's clear that he's boiling with anger on the inside. "You did good. There's no shame in running when the alternative is certain death ..."
Unlike the sailors, Estian wants nothing else but to take a rowboat and make his way to this 'queen' so that he can return the favor by ending her miserable life. She messed with the wrong Andoran. "I know she'll be expecting us - she spat in our faces to ensure we'll be running straight into her arms, but this can't stand, this won't stand."
Bukis looks at Estian when he makes the comment about going after the queen. "Agree, but need plan. Else is dangerous." But he does have his Scythe at the ready, just in case.
Maia sighs and shakes her head. "Every godsdammed time it seems like we're getting ahead this place jerks the ground out from under us."
When the hidden crew reveal themselves, she quickly puts on a calm, collected front. "Yes, you did well to stay alive," she praises the crew. "Let's get a quick head count... I see two dead and it sounds like Brelkar and Lightfoot are missing... is everyone else accounted for? And who had enough wits to count the sharkmen? I need more than 'loads' if we're going to come up with a plan."
Lilly starts moving through the sailor, checking for wounds, listening to horror stories. She'll pull them all in for a channel to clear up as much as she can.
"Two big ones with four arms and maybe another ten but we killed three." Jeren says. The big man seems to be the one who has kept this particular group together. "And the witch. She snapped her fingers and Brelkar froze. She's got some pretty serious magic Captain."
Lilly's channel closes a few gashes and smooths away bruises and a number of other minor injuries, leading to sighs of relief all round.
"They didn't want the ship Captain." Jeren adds. "Her sharks never attacked Brelkar at all. I think she wanted him specifically - to build something maybe?"
"If she has one of ours, we have to try. Powerful or not." Lilly says with a steady conviction, obviously her heart is ready to do or die trying. She looks up to her friend, the captain, worried her pragmatic side might seep through.
”Okay... seven sharkmen, plus two of the four-armed ones, good,” Maia answers maintaining the stoic expression she had seen her mom use so many times in her official duties. “does anyone have any idea what the four-armed ones might be?” She pauses for a moment to see if anyone has an answer before adding, “now, how’s that head count coming? I want to know exactly how many and who are unaccounted for.”
"Never heard of or seen any sharkmen during my time at sea. I do know of the gillmen of Absalom, but sharks they ain't."
Lilly thinks as she prays wounds away.
Maia suspects that these four-armed sahuagin must be some sort of mutant or advantageous branch of evolution. They are likely the leaders of the tribe, since it seems to be based on primitive contests of strength.
The headcount, once it is done, comes to twelve of your twenty four man crew. Including the two dead that leaves ten kidnapped men, including Brelkar and Lightfoot...
"たわごと..." Maia mutters as she reflects on the headcount.
She stares off to sea for a moment then takes a deep breath and declares to everyone who is there, "well, obviously we need to rescue them. Do any of you know how to carve javelins or spears and darts from branches? And who knows where Akaleesh the Mighty is?"
"They took our tools, but I can try and help them make something." Lilly says with some doubt, but moves the crew off to find something suitable.
”I think the Mother and Father have more tools... we may have to go see if they’ll let us use them, or if we could buy some of them for the bracelet...”
Estian frowns at Maia, but doesn't say a word. It's pretty apparent he can't do that. "That sounds like a good plan. I do hope they aren't spying on us, and us visiting them two will bring them trouble ..."
With few other choices you sleep for the night, taking care to set a strong watch, and are up early the next day. Thankfully the ship's boat remains intact so you have a built in method of transport to Cekerite's island.
It is a fairly long trip and you have to skirt a very large reef which is no doubt the territory that Akaleesh and the devilfish were originally contesting before you shifted that fight firmly to the tidepool dragon. Beyond are two islands, a larger one to the east and, further away to the north, a smaller island which bears the only signs of habitation you've seen in the Eye apart from the Father and Mother's well concealed home. . A large building has been constructed out of timber, roughly lashed and nailed together into rickety looking walls. It even has a roof and although smoke issues through half a dozen places it is a great effort of industry in the damp climate.
You beach the boat behind what little cover you can find and move forwards cautiously. Before you is a long channel that seems to have been dug out of the island itself. A hundred feet or more long it snakes out from under the longhouse and winds its way to a large pool in which a fin can be seen, circling lazily.
Four huts dot the landscape between the pool and the longhouse. Three which are little more than heaps of driftwood and another more square one on the edge of the pool. Each hut is set some way from its fellows and there is no sign of life anywhere apart from the shark in the pool and the smoke from the longhouse.
"now we know why they wanted our tools and a carpenter." the cleric tsks disdainfully at their attempts at construction.
Maia nods at Lilly's remark then very quietly says to everyone gathered, "if there's one in that pool alone we should try to kill it while it doesn't have any reinforcements... Mighty Akaleesh, could you please fly overhead for us and see if you can spot anymore of the sharkmen?"
"be careful" Lilly gives him a quick scratch.
Akaleesh climbs into the sky and makes a rapid pass in each direction before swinging back down to meet you.
"No nasty sharkmen outside." He reports, "Lots of fins in water though. Little sharks! Or maybe big sharks!"
"Which water?" Maia asks the dragon, being very careful not to show her frustration at the vague report.
"Nevermind," she continues somewhat dismissively, "as long as this one's alone we should try and deal with it alone. We'll have to deal with it on land though, if we try to fight it in the water it'll be way too easy for it to get away if we're winning. Mighty Akaleesh, do you think you could fly over that one that's alone and breath fire on his fin, then fly straight towards us? They seem to lose their tempers really easily, maybe it'll chase you right up on to land and towards us without thinking clearly about it. Then we can jump it before it gets to you."
"There is one in the pool or just a shark?" Lilly is confused.
"No shark men." Akaleesh says slowly, addressing Lilli (who is sensible) rather than Maia (who doesn't understand). "Lots of fins in water. Just sharks, not nasty shark men! Good eating! Shark men in wood huts - nasty stink! Come, come!"
At his urging you advance cautiously to the top of the driftwood ridge and see the rest of the camp laid out before you. A large pool has a big, rather rough hut next to it with a crude balcony. From the pool is a deep looking channel that leads to another, much nice looking building which straddles the channel easily. Between these two larger dwellings are three smaller huts that seem more like piles of driftwood than real structures.
Akaleesh is right, there are a number of fins visible in the pool - but no sahuagin. At the moment...
"Lots of sharks..." Lilly gulped "Well as long as we don't jump in the water we can leave them alone, I'd think." then she smiles "That would leave them for our hero dragon to munch on later."
Looking at the houses "Do we try and go to each, hoping to thin as many out before we sound an alarm, or strive straight toward the bigs ones in hopes to deal with the leaders before they can organize the rest?"
Keeping a low profile, Estian grips the edge of a worn-out water-logged plank and peers at the 'village', hoping to somehow stumble upon a brilliant thought or impulse. "We don't have an alchemical bomb of sorts, do we? We could have our heroic friend Akaleesh drop one on their huts, fly on over, and taunt them from afar. Surely a contingent of them will chase after Akaleesh, even if the odds of catching him are less than zero. What I'm trying to say is that the numbers currently aren't favoring a direct assault and we're dealing with a foe that can be tricked ..."
Maia's misreading of the situation fouls her mood a bit and she seems to be sulking a little as they move closer to get a better look. She doesn't say anything at first when the others start discussing a plan but eventually remembers that she's the captain and has to help.
After thinking for a moment, she offers, "we should stay far away and try to circle around to see the real building from the other side. No matter how we proceed, we should know whether or not there's a way in and out over there, and whether or not there's more sharkmen over there. Once we figure that out, we can come up with a rescue plan."
"stake out the fancy house, yes captain." Lilly bumps her friend's elbow and gives her a grin then moves with the others, only marginally quietly.
Maia gestures further out, anticipating that they’ll need as much distance between themselves and the sharkmen as possible if they’re to have any hope of successfully sneaking.