On the day when the party decides to hunt for the general, Valeria arrives with a new scroll in hand. "According to the locals, we now have the location of the General. Let us hire a fisherman to sail us there shall we? perhaps we can also rent his fishing equipment? that will be a splendid afternoon! if we catch this fish, it would make for a wonderful trophy in Onara's pub! at first sight of the large fish, Bimble can give us all the ability to breathe water with this scroll here, in case an accident happens. I also bought us all flotation devices, just in case..."
"I am not much of a swimmer." Sara informs, but everyone already noticed that from her attempts in the well.
"Then we need to invest in swimming aids as well... I know just the potion. Let me fetch it at the village."
Out on the boat, Eregos tries to look for signs of the General to try and point the group in the right direction.
Capricia's quiet, possibly even sullen as the group goes about its business in hunting the General. "Got to admit, I'm not sure how I feel about this," she comments to Sara. "If we're successful, I suppose we earn some kudos in the short run. In the long run, though, we've rid the area of its local legend, making life here a little more dull."
[poc]crap, missed that, Thanks Eregos! Can we use Val's inspire confidence on this one, it would bump your perception up to 25[/ooc]
"But we'll be the new local legends. Capricia the Sharp battled long into the night, straining against all, unwilling, No Unable, to give in until the deed was done." she smiles softly but with delighted possibilities "Or we could start a new one, maybe the ghostly dutchess mourning the loss of her fish husband?" Sara tries to help
She tries to figure out how to lure a general to their nets, and fails miserably.
Valeria takes a walk along the shoreline to observe the plants growing near the lake, trying to remember which types are favored by fish life.
Week 1 of fishing reveals little about the General, although Bimble does get a decent understanding of the lake and some of its inhabitants, both above and below the waterline. Sara manages to track down a number of "General sightings" and starts to focus your search on specific areas. (2 success this week)
Meanwhile, progress on farm improvements (basic) are completed, and progress on a new pub is looking good.
Capricia's heart isn't truly in the hunt for the General, but she knows the others are gung-ho about the enterprise, so she does her part. She rides her horse around the lake every other day, keeping an eye on the water and spying it out from the highest nearby vantage points, be it a low hill or tall tree (which she climbs carefully if she must).
By the end of week two, you successfully narrow down it's probably location to a deep trench between two cliffs.
Anyone want to try catching him? Actually hooking the General requires a successful DC 17 Profession (fisherman) check, which can be attempted untrained; each attempt represents 1 hour of fishing.
Sara is unnaturally excited about the prospect of catching a fish, any fish really, so tries her best.
She has been asking about fishing from anyone who will tolerate her questions, then on the day with Capricia's reluctant guidance. She gets a nibble...
"Bimble! I think she hooked it! go ahead and cast that water breathing spell on us all in case he tips the boat!!"
Meanwhile Val quaffs her potion of 'Touch of the Sea'...
The fish is indeed hooked, but all of the accounts of the fish being 6-10 feet fall considerably short of reality, however: the General is nearly 20 feet in length! The massive beast regularly feeds on deer, otters, and even the occasional angler, but the lazy beast spends weeks at a time buried in the mud of the lake bed.
As such, you quickly realize your fishing gear is useless here. Valeria acts quick to down a potion, as the large fish comes for your boat.
""Oh... Capricia you might have been right." Sara admits, as she downs one of the potions and pulls her rapier. She expects to end up in the water.
Valeria moves next to Bimble in order to receive the water breathing spell. She then begins a song to inspire her friends!
*♫ "So they quaffed their elixirs to breathe in the sea
And they weighted their ankles to drop fathoms three..." ♫♪
Sveng travels along to Baron Okerra's with the others, making himself into a sliding shadow behind Valeria. A dutiful, quiet, imposing, enigmatic force behind her.
Sveng tags along and aids with some magic when need be, but otherwise seems very distant from the whole endeavor. He instead pours over a myriad of journals and notes, tidying up and cross referencing and doing all sorts of work while the others search for the fish. When it arrives he sighs, standing up to help them fight it.
Capricia drinks her potion of touch of the sea and stands at the ready, falcata in hand. She's hoping to get at least one chop at the monster fish with her weapon of choice before ending up in the water.
The giant fish swims for the boat, jumps out of the water, and tries to pull Sara in.
Sara is grappled, but manages to stay in the boat.
Sveng's eyes turn black, but this time seem to drain the color and life from the very air itself. "Arnyktuan!"
The old fish's eyes cloud up.
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Eregos drinks his potion of touch of the sea, then moves across the boat drawing his falcata to get close to the General.
Capricia gets in a quick slash on the belly of the beast, but it's not the devastating strike she'd hoped for.
for
Sara lets out a startled yelp as the General nearly swallows her. "THIS. IS.. oh gods... NOT... owowowow... HOW THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO GO!!![/b]"
Sara tries to stab the general repeatedly, but being eaten makes her even less effective than normal.
Valeria continues her song, and grabs the crossbow off Sara's back.
*♫ "And Crumb spied a treasure box, stout and tight-latched
And it looked quite peculiar, with two lines attached..." ♫♪
Capricia makes a nice slice on the belly of the General. A couple more like that may be enough to stop it.
Then the General flips back into the water, gobbling up Sara just before doing so, swallowing her whole!
Eregos leaps the railing and slices with his falcata.
Fishing is the worst Sara's mind screams as she is gobbled up by the thing she was eager to hunt. Oh hells below, it smells so bad her mind continues to try and distract her from the imminent death she is facing.
She tries to wiggle, kick, WILL her way out of this creature but the general has his snack and won't give it up that easily. I will haunt you forever the bloated sack of... her mind is normally good at insults. Normally.
Sveng twists his new black ring, and it faintly glows with a light-sucking energy. "Egaem oluud!" He then raises his hands, fingers crooked out sharply. "Tirol hcajs!" His fingers move manipulatively in a way that looks like he's trying to constrain something through puppeteering.
Sara feels magic twist around her, trying to pull her out... but did it work?
Capricia feels Bimble's magic wash over her, and she manages a second slash at the giant catfish!
for
*************************************
Capricia dives over the side of the boat into the water, taking the fight to the bard-devouring bottom-dweller!
for
for
Valeria continues her song, adding, *♫ "And now a voice rumbled from just overhead
'Drop my locket, you knaves, or you'll soon be dead!'" ♫♪
She drops the crossbow and dives into the water, drawing her rapier and angling it towards the tail section of the behemoth! (avoiding the large Sara-shaped belly bump...)
Capricia does just barely manage a second slice, but barely is good enough!
Sveng's help is of limited value, but it is of value. The magical liberation does not free Sara from the mouth of the giant fish, but it does cause the swallowed Sara to be regurgitated back into the creatures mouth. She is still grappled, however, and the effort to escape knocks her unconscious (as she was at 0 hp). The shadow trap, though, works wonders, anchoring the fish in place.
Capricia jumps in on top of the fish and slashes again and again, cutting Sara free, and ending the life of this legendary fish.
Knowing that the touch of the sea potion will only last one minute, Valeria dives towards the bottom of the lake to search for The General's lair. She breathes in the clear lake water thanks to Bimble's waterbreathing enchantment.
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Capricia helps Sara swim back to the boat, marveling that her plucky friend is still alive after her ordeal. Bimble's quip connects solidly to her funny bone, and the normally stoic redhead starts to laugh.
"Indeed, you've got the fishing story to end all fishing stories!" she tells Sara. "We've just got to embellish the details a bit. Something along the lines of 'The Baroness's baker was sugar and spice and everything nice, so the General couldn't help but swallow her whole. But then Sara cut her way out with a carving knife...or maybe dug her way free with a wooden spoon!'"
Capricia does what she can to secure the kill.
Eregos grabs the fish and attempts to haul it towards the boat while Capricia helps the unconscious Sara back there.
"Sara...? SARA!!"
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Sara flops limply and silently as the other concentrates on talking to her, searching for ships, and getting the fish on the boat.
Before she departs underwater to inspect the nearby lake features, Valeria tries to shake awake Sara, using a little bit of healing magic.
Sara's eyes pop open, and she gasps in a lung full of NON-FISH GUTS breath. "oh... I don't like fishing, I think, let's not do this again." she sits while the others do the rest of the work, helps get her clean, and cheer her up with a lovely story.
"We won, that is all that matter... I wonder how it is going to taste?" there is no question that there will be a huge fish fry tonight, Oh no, there will be, and Sara plans on eating more than her share too.
Eregos grabs the fish and attempts to haul it towards the boat while Capricia helps the unconscious Sara back there.
The tale of the General scuttling a noble pleasure barge is surprisingly accurate; 80 feet below the surface of its hunting grounds, Valeria finds the remains of this once-beautiful ship. Searching the muddy remains turns up four bottles of bloodberry gin (worth 100 gp each), a ruby-and-sapphire wedding ring (worth 1,000 gp), and a deck of illusions in a teak box; decades of water damage have rendered the box into twisted garbage, but the cards within are in good condition, if slightly stained.
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Capricia realizes just how much she appreciates having Sara around as a friend, being alone and far from home as she is. She wants to give the baker-bard a giant hug but...the whole fish guts things. Instead, she gives Sara a patronizing pat atop the head...also slimy!
"I'll help with the fish fry," she promises. "I've gutted and cleaned my fair share of fish back home...though never anything this big! Do we intend to stuff and mount the head in the refurbished tavern? Show me where to start hacking and I'll lop it off with my falcata."
Her gaze shifts to Eregos. "Unless you'd like to do the honors?"
Taking another final look at the still-intact General, she asks aloud, "Do they make full-body aprons?"
Eregos grabs the fish and attempts to haul it towards the boat while Capricia helps the unconscious Sara back there.
Eregos shakes his head. "I know nothing of gutting and filleting fish, so the honor is all yours. I just wish I'd been a bit more useful in taking it down - my performance was less than ideal."
"Yes, have to mount the thing's head. Good Idea. That way I can make obscene gestures at it every time I go in the place... when children are not around that is."