Estelle simply swims back up to the top of the water.
She looks sad.
The Whale takes the spear without so much as a yelp of pain, but cannot withstand the onslaught of Asami's little halfling-sized fists. She punches him in the eye hard enough to pop the orb, then punches in the exact same spot, feeling bone shatter and give way to something squishy. The Whale shudders and spasms, releasing Asami in his death throes.
COMBAT OVER!
The enemies are dead, but so is one of your crew. After a few seconds, Sandara's paralysis finally wears off and she slumps against the wall, panting hard and shivering. She's heavily battered and bruised, and looks partially malnourished.
"I... can't h-heal... my... my holy symbol..."
Asami rises from the pool last; her size reverts to its normal hulking stature, and she kneels beside Sandara.
”Do you have any idea where it is?”
Estelle looks confused, ”Didn’t you pick one up? I could have sworn you did.”
She taps her chin, I think the grindy with the hat had it?”
”Here,” says Asami instead, reaching into her pocket and retrieving the holy symbol that she definitely remembers that she has. ”It never made it off the ship.”
We’ll mourn the dead later. First we ensure we don’t join them.
Estelle moves over and pokes the evil caster lady, then searches her.
Then searches the not deeply submerged parts of the cavern.
Maybe there is something here to help against that swarm?
The witch frowns to herself.
Sandara takes her symbol back from Asami and wraps her arms weakly around the bigger woman's neck. "Thank you," she murmurs. "You didn't have to come back for me. I... thank you." She stays there for several long seconds, clearly relishing the touch of someone who isn't waiting to skin and eat her.
Finally she pulls away from Asami and clutches the holy symbol, plain driftwood carved with the Jolly Roger that is Besmara's sacred sign. Sandara raises it aloft and mutters, "Pirate Queen, your devoted suffer under the blighted wounds from unworthy creatures. Show 'em your power."
Shimmering gold light, like torchlight flickering off a pirate's treasury, spills across the party and heals some of their wounds. After the light fades, she does it again.
All but Asami's wounds are fully healed, and the brawler at least looks much less worse for wear.
Sandara glances around and frowns. "Don't suppose any of you have seen my hat?"
----
The octopus has already decomposed back into the ectoplasm that formed it for the summon nature's ally spell. The Whale has nothing on him but a loincloth and a hole in his head. The Brinebrood Queen, on the other hand, has a few very handy items.
First off, she'd been wielding an oversized harpoon that definitely radiates magic, as does the wand that had rolled out of her limp hand. She's also carrying some other valuables, as follows:
- two masterwork Small daggers inside a lobster pot
- a masterwork Small silver dagger
- a rusty masterwork cold iron sickle (treat as having the broken condition)
- a scrimshaw blade of great workmanship depicting an octopus worth 125 gp
-12 other Small blades of varying quality and shape worth about 10 gp
- a magic potion
This is a wand of summon nature's ally II. It has 11 charges remaining.
The potion is of cure moderate wounds.
Asami gives a smile that's all teeth. Her flesh is warm, if bloody, beneath the thin veneer of ghoulwater.
She's grateful for Sandara's touch, too.
"It was spending three days on an island with ghoul fever, horrible mantis monsters, and grindies, or spending that time with Plugg. We all needed the vacation."
Most of her wounds heal most of the way; she hardly seems to notice, and in truth, she somehow doesn't look all that different with or without bloody gashes and tears.
"One of the grindylow stole it. Unless it's important, we'll have to leave it."
The witch’s eyes glow as she quietly studies the magical items.
She shrugs, ”The harpoon is hella fancy and valuable. I have no need of it, but I will take a backup weapon. Miss Sandara, may I have my switchblade back?”
Draxxie's glad to see the end of Mama Grindy and her big boy, and even gladder to see Sandara more-or-less in one piece, but she's not ready to celebrate anything yet.
"We lost Samms. And we'll mourn fer them. But not just yet. Sandara, we were sent 'ere by Plugg to find fresh water. But when we saw a grindylow on the beach wearin' yer hat we knew there was a chance that we could find ya, an' we had to come an' try. The f+~$er wi' yet hat is probably still in these caves, if ye got any fight in yer still.
An' there is fresh water on this hell of an island, but it draws swarms of blood-drinkin' insects. We had to run from 'em.
Mebbe Mama Grindy's wand c'n help, eh?"
Draxxie takes the thing and studies it.
"Anyone wanna try wavin' it around an' wishin'?"
Estelle nods over at Odium, ”Give him a try at those items before we do something more wildly stupid than normal.”
Though what level of stupid is more than normal is yet to be determined…
Oduim sniffs disdainfully with a look that says figures I'd know what these are and not you lot and says what they are.
Sandara puts her hands on her hips and stares at Samms' unmoving form grimly. "I love that hat. It carries the blessing of Besmara on it. I've had it since--" She swallows the rest of the sentence and blinks away tears. "Nevermind. It has sentimental value, is all. Maybe some practical value too, but we need to get that water and get back to the ship. I don't trust Plugg to keep his word and stick around, even if they do need the water. Let's make haste back, yeah?"
You spot movement at the end of the tunnel connecting this cavern to the rest of the grindylow's cave complex. Multiple grindy faces peer into the cavern's carnage with pained expressions. When they see you seeing them, they squeak and scatter, slithering away as fast as their little tentacles can carry them (which is not fast).
It appears you have put the fear of the gods into them by slaughtering both their queen and their champion.
The witch points down the hallway the scurrying sound is coming from, "Well, the rest of this clan is running away. I expect they would fight if we cornered them but... I don't think any of us really want to? And probably not enough valuables left in the caves for even pirates to worry about. Odium should keep the wand, Asami the potion."
The last part is just made as a statement as the more confident than ever (which doesn't mean much still) young woman moves to the exit of this cavern.
"Oh yeah, we need to burn Samms or take them back. If not, ghoul. I wouldn't even wish that on an enemy."
Asami ponders, her gaze showing a moment's calculation as she glances between Sandara and the cave with the retreating grindies. She clears her throat, plants her feet, and stands proud. She speaks slowly and forcefully toward the tunnel.
She waits, arms folded, chin high.
----
There is a deafening silence after Asami's booming decree. Several tense moments pass, until finally a small figure slithers into the light from the party's light spell. The grindylow is clearly wearing Sandara's tricorne hat. The grindy plucks it off his head and holds it up to the party from about fifteen feet away, clearly quivering from tip to tentacle, his face set in a permanent cringe.
Sandara stomps up to the grindylow, snatches the hat, and boots him in the wigglies, sending him scurrying away with a yelp. "Now git!" she snaps. "And if you lot ever attack another pirate ship, Asami'll learn about it and come for the rest of you!" The grindy's wail of terror can be heard for several seconds as it slithers faster than you've ever seen one of these things slither.
She walks back to the party in a huff, gripping her hat. She pauses a moment with her hands on her hips, looking at the party. "You saved me. You didn't have to. I'm afraid I have nothing I can give you two" she nods at Oduim and Estelle "but I think you could use this." She walks up to Draxxie and gives her the hat. "I think it fits you best, and you being a fellow follower of the Pirate Queen and all, you'll definitely find it useful." She claps Draxxie on the shoulder. "Thank you. All of you."
She walks up to Asami and kisses her, then whispers in her ear so only she can hear.
"Your 'thank you' is gonna have to wait until we're alone back on the ship."
As soon as she says it, her entire face goes beet red, and she says, perhaps a little too loudly, "OKAY TIME TO GO."
A thorough search of the cavern finds even more treasures hidden in nooks and crannies, particularly scrimshawed 'art.' While most of these items are either simply curious or disgusting (at least one scrimshaw is made of what is obviously a humanoid's femur depicting grindylow sex acts that would have made even Carlosss get grossed out) some are actually valuable. You find:
- the jawbone of a shark carved with scrimshaw images of a vast octopus eating whales and containing a dozen silver and gold rings hammered into it worth 250gp
- a huge hooked tooth from some colossal sea creature with a seaweed-plugged cavity containing six pearls, each worth 75gp
- a whale skull weighing 25 pounds whose scrimshaw carvings function as arcane scrolls
- on the net holding down Sandara and Samms are eight silver ingots weighing 4 lbs and worth 20 gp each
- the rest of Samms' and Sandara's equipment, including her armor and rapier
- 4 crossbow bolts (magical)
- a silver spearhead (useless by itself, but can be re-crafted onto a spear to make a silver spear)
- an iron bracelet that is a twin to the lesser bracer of archery you found earlier, making them a complete set now
- 211 sp
- 136 gp
These are +1 crossbow bolts.
The spells scrimshawed onto the whale skull are alter self, black tentacles, blur, color spray, daylight, enlarge person, hypnotism, slow, touch of idiocy, and vampiric touch.
As you walk, Sandara explains to Draxxie about the tricorne.
The caverns are empty as you move through them. Even the corpses have been removed. You can occasionally hear frightened whispers around corners and in the deepest shadows, but no grindylows come to accost you as you leave. Without being attacked every other cavern, you make it out of the caves quickly.
You now find yourselves out in the evening air. The sun has not quite set; you have perhaps twelve hours until dawn, when the Man's Promise is set to leave with or without you. (Assuming Sandara's pessimism doesn't prove to be correct and they haven't left already.)
Asami guffaws as her lover delivers retribution, and returns the whisper on their way out.
[spoiler=Sandara "Only"]"Guess that means we can't do the thing with the hat anymore."[/spoiler]
"Wonder how many artists I killed today," ponders Asami grimly as they eye the various creative pieces. "Or avenged."
---
"Night on the island..."
She looks sour.
Estelle perks up a bit as they start searching the cave and find quite a few nicknacks. She happily scans any for magic, taking a look at the arrows first.
When they find the massive skull she looks at it oddly, then her eyes go wide, ”Holy s+%+balls! Someone carved literal spells into this skull!?! Can you imagine at all how useful that is? Let me figure out what we have, there seems to be… eleven different spells.”
”Why, some might even help us take out that swarm. Or at least make it easier to burn them up.”
”And on that note, I really think we should just keep going. Get the water and get off this hell island. Take Samms with if you want, but I wouldn’t take any chances with them coming back and trying to kill us.”
"A watery grave beckons us all" Draxxie replies with a note of sadness, before beaming joyously at Sandara's gift.
"For me? And it turns into a jollyboat? That's f+$&in' awesome!" She's about to give Sandara a hug but knows better than to get in between the priestess and her demon lover.
A short spell verifies Estelle's assessment of the skull. "I c'n cast a few of those. That's a sweet trophy. We ought to stick it to the front of our ship, when I'm Captain. Like make a masthead with it."
"Them bolts are magic. Nothin' too fancy though."
"Now, if'n we're lucky, them swarms will have gone now an' th' ghoul will still be chained up. But we'd best rest up somewhere, go take a look-see before dawn. Do bugs sleep?"
Asami nods. "We could take the boat, row out far enough that nothing on the island is likely to get us, and sleep in... relative safety. Most of us. We'll take it in shifts."
"Bugs sleep, and different bugs come out. We located the water, even if we haven't secured it. We can take another run at it in the morning, or we can tell Plugg to not be a p**** and just let our mages create water from thin air. I don't know if I even trust the well on an island that's half ghouls anyway."
Estelle frowns, then draws out a small map of the island in the sand (presuming at this point since we have looted the caves we are now outside).
”Listen, I am freaking tired too. But this plan makes zero sense. The boat is on the other damn side of the island. And, in fact, we literally have to walk past the water source and bug swarm before we get to it. Unless we want to risk wandering around more unexplored parts of the island, of course. Then tomorrow morning, when Plugg has promised to leave, you expect to row back ashore, walk halfway across the island again, get the water and then drag it to the boat and then get on the ship? The logistics are baffling me, sorry.”
She takes a breath as her speech was getting a bit riled up, ”We gotta sleep, it’s gotta be here or on the way to the water. Nothing else makes sense. Otherwise let’s just get the water now. We have fire flasks.”
Asami points at Draxxie's new hat.
"That boat," she clarifies.
Estelle nods, then frowns, then smiles while responding, ”A good thought. Only limited by the fact it only works for eight hours and at least most of us need that much sleep before we can get any more magic. But if you are able to handle watch by yourself, it could work out!”
"Ship leaves in twelve anyway," Asami reminds. "We're not getting more than eight and managing the water and getting back to the boat. I'll stay up, and if I feel myself passing out despite my best efforts I'll kick one of you awake."
Estelle exhales and then just drops it.
That was my point! We don’t have time to sleep. F#$&. Whatever.
Her inner thoughts are chattery as usual, but eventually she just cuts herself off and tries to get some rest when allowed.
Draxxie murmurs a prayer to Besmara and tosses the tricorne into the lapping waves. Before it even hits the water it erupts into a moderately-sized jolly, complete with four oars and a small sail. The party clambers aboard, their lost crewmate in tow.
Immediately Sandara begins praying. After about ten minutes, she murmurs a prayer aloud and waves a hand over Samms. There is a faint shimmer around their body, and then it vanishes. Sandara flops back, looking exhausted. "Besmara gave me enough power for that. Their body won't decompose, at least for a few days. Plenty of time to give them a proper burial."
The night passes slowly and, thankfully, uneventfully. A few times during the night, Asami could swear she catches glittering eyes watching the boat from the mouth of the cave, but it's too far for even her fiendish vision to make out.
In the morning, everyone but the brawler feels well-rested and after a few minutes to commune with deities, familiars, and/or inner balls of seething fury and drinking songs, everyone is ready to go.
Estelle wakes to the gentle rocking of the waves. It honestly was the best night’s sleep she has had since…
She tries not to think of way back then, too many hard memories may flood back.
The witch begins signing back and forth with the ivy wrapped around her neck, it’s little tendrils responding to her motions. It does not appear to be any language that anyone else understands.
She watches for sunken dangers and gives suggestions as they attempt to longboat around the island.
And then her blood boils! Literally, as fever strikes her body. She then recalls the mosquitoes from a day ago. Quickly casting a spell, the witch tries to cool herself off with seawater and fight the undeath creeping closer.
Asami grunts and nods at Sandara. Any proper burial is more than many pirates get, but after all the effort it took to get to them in the first place, it would be unceremonious to just dump them into the ocean.
Once everyone's awoken, she and Draxxie row them back to shore under Estelle and Sandara's watchful eyes. The yellow in the tiefling's eyes is glowing a little less bright than usual, and some of her blinks last several seconds, but her arms don't stop moving.
Estelle takes the lead and rows the jolly with shocking speed, gaining a fair bit of time as dawn is still a couple hours away when you pick up the second jolly and barrels. The currents allow you to swing southward down the shore of the island even faster. Now all that's left is to get to the well and hope the "fort" around it is clear, now...
You hike up the hill to the lookout point, and find two things. One, the ghoul that had been hanging by a noose is missing, the rotting cords frayed and snapped. Two, there appears to be a trail of footprints heading northward, tiny spots of congealed blood dotting them all the way. It would appear that as soon as the ghoul got free, when the insect swarm returned, it attacked the ghoul and forced it to flee.
Asami leads the way with the barrels. If her pace keeps up, maybe you'll just make it after all...
The druid, apparently invigorated by a good night's rest on the jolly, picks up the rest of the slack, and all the water barrels are filled and divvied up between the two jollies in record time. Dawn is just now cresting the horizon, making the infinite expanse of the Fever Sea erupt in glittering morning light.
The witch’s body twitches as they row back to the ship. She dreads what they will find, almost hoping that as they get closer it will just sail off. Whatever horrors the island has, they could certainly probably be more manageable than Plugg.
She becomes quite quiet as they get close, hands clenching and loosening.
Yeah. Sure. Now back into the f$~$ing pirate’s nest. This is gonna be so awesome. Mmhhhmm.
Asami huffs as she hefts the last barrel onto the boat; she glances around at her compatriots, the faraway in her look fading as she resolutely brings herself out of survival mode.
She exchanges a look with Sandara, then at Estelle.
"Don't mention you're sick," she says, suddenly, flatly, urgently. "If I were Plugg, I'd shoot you dead and toss you overboard as soon as it crossed your lips. Fight it as best you can, and if you don't make it, I'll throw you in the sea myself before you can get back up. But not a word to anyone who doesn't already know, even after you've recovered. Chin up. Don't groan. Work through it."
The group sails around the eastern jut of the island and back toward the Man's Promise. To their alarm, the ship's anchor isn't dropped, though the sails aren't yet unfurled to catch the wind and really move. It takes some effort but the party manages to catch the slow-moving ship. When you're within about a hundred feet, you can hear voices yelling from the deck. When you're within twenty feet, a sound like a thunderclap rings across the clear sky and the sounds from the ship fall quickly silent. You can hear Plugg's voice bellowing, but the sounds of wind and waves make it hard to make out.
"You lily-livered, mutinous dogs! This is my ship now, and I told you to drop sail! Those freaks had their chance to get back here with water, and they failed! Now unless you louts want to join Conchobar here as a pile of blood to get swabbed off the deck, you best be following your captain's orders!"
Estelle frowns and tries to speak over the waves, "Do they not see us? We should uh... try to catch up maybe? Or just let them go."
Her last sentence seems hopeful.
"Think he just shot Conchobar," she snarls. "Sounds like he wants to abandon us and at least a few others tried to fight him about it."
She snorts.
"Wanna go up there and join 'em?"
Estelle shivers and barely squeaks out a response, ”no.”
Asami glances back island-ward.
"It's that or an infinite number of ghoul mosquitos and no rations," she points out. "I'll be first over the side. If anyone can eat a bullet and be fine--"
"--it's me."
Estelle scratches her barely infected skeeter bites, then nods. ”Ok. I am in. F&#~ his ass up if he tries to stop us.”
She weaves her hands in a familiar way, eyes glowing briefly before the witch points at Asami, Odium and Draxxie. Painful bony protrusions burst from their skin, providing protection and enhancing physical strikes and bites.
"Hell yes, Estelle!" Draxxie grins hugely at the waif's display of fighting spirit. "Ow! S&&@ that spell! Besmara's teeth, it's good though! Get's ya ready fer a frenzy!"
"If some o' our mates are mid-mutiny, I'm all fer it! Shove that magic harpoon down the bastard's throat, Fox!"
Draxxie loosens her cutlass in its scabbard and checks her pike is secure. She poises, tensed and ready to launch herself up the side of the Man's Promise.
Poised for a fight, the party clambers up the side of the ship and onto the deck of the Man's Promise.
The deck of the Promise is divided into roughly two sides. On one side stands Plugg, Scourge, Fipps, Sy, Narwhal, Jape, and four of the five Rahadoumi sailors who threw their lot in with the new "captain."
On the other side, the unmoving form of the gnomish fop lies in a pool of blood, with Cog kneeling over him, his jaw clenched in fury as he stares daggers at Plugg. Behind him are gathered Rosie, Fishguts, and Shivikah, as well as one of the Rahadoumi sailors; apparently someone managed to flip one of them in your absence.
Standing between the two sides is a very confused, conflicted, and terrified Owlbear.
And to great surprise, Maheem stands near Conchobar. He looks conflicted, looking down at Conchobar then back up at Plugg. But when the party clambers up to the deck and he looks upon Oduim, who had saved his life against the grindylow only a few days before, his jaw sets and his fists clench as he turns to face Plugg, chin raised defiantly.
Plugg sneers, ”So you’ve turned your back on your captain as well! Have you ever seen such a pathetic band of mutinous dogs? And here’s the architects now! Fine then. I’ll have all your guts for garters!” He raises his pistol, and all Hells breaks loose.
[color=green]ROUND 1
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (26/26 hp, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 3 (0 dmg)
Mr. Plugg (0 dmg)
Fipps Chumlett (0 dmg)
Crimson Cogsward* (0 dmg)
Maheem (0 dmg)
Rahadoumi Sailor 5* (0 dmg)
Owlbear Heartshorn (*?) (0 dmg)
Draxxie (27/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 4 (0 dmg)
Rosie Cusswell* (0 dmg)
Slippery Sy (6 dmg)
Master Scourge (0 dmg)
Narwhal (0 dmg)
Rahadoumi Sailor 2 (0 dmg)
Asami (14/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Conchobar Shortstone* (?? dmg, downed, status unknown)
Fishguts (0 dmg)
Jaundiced Jape (0 dmg)
Shivikah* (0 dmg)
Sandara Quinn* (0 dmg, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 1 (0 dmg)
Estelle (29/29 hp)
[/color]
Oduim immediately rushes over to Conchobar and checks him. Seeing he's not dead but on the brink, he immediately casts stabilize.
The 3rd Rahadoumi sailor, the one who sneered at Draxxie's attempts to make nice previously, rushes down to the brawler and gets a cutlass to the arm.
Mr. Plugg decides to take advantage of Asami's state to fire off his pistol. The sound of a thunderclap is accentuated by Asami's other arm whipping back and a shot of searing agony as the bullet lodges in her bicep.
Fipps only seems to have eyes for his former friend, Maheem. The big pirate lumbers across the deck and aggressively shoulders past Owlbear with an "Outta my way, ye useless half-wit!" and stabs at Maheem, but he brings up his own cutlass just in time to deflect the swing.
Apparently feeling like Maheem and the others can take care of Fipps without issue, Cog rushes Slippery Sy to give him the business end of his own blade, putting an impressive gash on the gap-toothed murderer.
Maheem meets Fipps's blade, but he also parries the incoming blow, leading to a stalemate as they clash steel over and over.
The Rahadoumi sailor who sided with your group turns to wave briefly. "I do not think we were introduced!" he calls. "I am Rashid! A pleasure to make your acquaintance formally! Now let us gut these honorless dogs!"
He strides into a flank with Maheem and tries to take advantage of Fipps's split attention, but the portly pirate is shockingly agile and easily dodges Rashid's cutlass.
Rashid shrugs helplessly and says, "Okay not a great first impression, I admit, but I will endeavor to do better."
Meanwhile, Owlbear clutches his club, looking fearfully from Asami to Plugg, clearly unsure what to do.
[color=green]ROUND 1
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (26/26 hp, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 3 (0 dmg)
Mr. Plugg (0 dmg)
Fipps Chumlett (0 dmg)
Crimson Cogsward* (0 dmg)
Maheem (0 dmg)
Rashid* (0 dmg)
Owlbear Heartshorn (*?) (0 dmg)
Draxxie (27/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 4 (0 dmg)
Rosie Cusswell* (0 dmg)
Slippery Sy (6 dmg)
Master Scourge (0 dmg)
Narwhal (0 dmg)
Rahadoumi Sailor 2 (0 dmg)
Asami (14/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Conchobar Shortstone* (?? dmg, downed, status unknown)
Fishguts (0 dmg)
Jaundiced Jape (0 dmg)
Shivikah* (0 dmg)
Sandara Quinn* (0 dmg, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 1 (0 dmg)
Estelle (29/29 hp)
[/color]
"Owlbear! Hey, big lad! Ya momma's here look!" Draxxie hooks her thumb towards Asami. "An' all o' her friends!"
"Now. Let's frenzy!" Draxxie grins from ear to ear, adjusts her new tricorne to a more jaunty angle, and belts out a fightin' song...
"Quest! Set a course to the battle
Speed is our weapon of war
Plugg will pay with his ichor
Blood, mutilation and gore
This is a mission of murder
Death is the freedom you crave
We are the agents of slaughter
Swift is the path to the grave!"
Plugg curses as Asami knocks the bullet off-course using the bone spurs on her hands.
Owlbear seems confused by Draxxie's reference to his mother, and looks uncertainly between Asami and Plugg.
Rahadoumi Sailor #4 really lives up to his potential by moving up to Asami and missing terribly with his cutlass.
Rosie rushes around Fipps, barely pausing from his opportunistic swing that leaves a bloody groove in her leg , and barrels headlong into Rahadoumi Sailor #1, burying her handaxe in his side with a bellow of fury.
Sy raises his blade at Cog, but then pauses, as if waiting for something...
Master Scourge steps down into a flank, his yellow teeth locked in a rictus grin as he brings his handaxe down on Cog's back.
Now with his master's aid, Sy drives his cutlass into Cog's guts.
Yet, somehow, Cog doesn't go down.
Despite no allies to flank with, Narwhal piles onto the big Varisian with his own sword, but with a roar of anger, Cog smashes the blade aside with his own. Bleeding from back and front, spitting up blood, Crimson Cogsward bears the brunt of three attackers and still stands.
Rahadoumi Sailor #2 moves past Rosie, taking a handaxe to the abdomen for his troubles and flanks with his buddy to slash her in the back. Rosie is looking rough.
[color=green]ROUND 1
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (26/26 hp, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 3 (0 dmg)
Mr. Plugg (0 dmg)
Fipps Chumlett (0 dmg)
Crimson Cogsward* (18 dmg)
Maheem (0 dmg)
Rashid* (0 dmg)
Owlbear Heartshorn (*?) (0 dmg)
Draxxie (27/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 4 (0 dmg)
Rosie Cusswell* (11 dmg, Inspired Rage)
Master Scourge (0 dmg)
Slippery Sy (6 dmg)
Narwhal (0 dmg)
Rahadoumi Sailor 2 (0 dmg)
Asami (22/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Conchobar Shortstone* (?? dmg, downed, status unknown)
Fishguts (0 dmg)
Jaundiced Jape (0 dmg)
Shivikah* (0 dmg)
Sandara Quinn* (0 dmg)
Rahadoumi Sailor 1 (5 dmg)
Estelle (29/29 hp)
[/color]
"FOR NANA!" she bellows, throwing a couple of jabs at the nearest unallied sailors--which both go wide.
She's just glad Sandara is behind her and Conchobar is on the floor, or that could have gotten the wrong kind of bloody.
Both Asami's swings go wide. You can see something resembling relief cross the sailor's face; he clearly thought the massive oni-blooded woman would be much more of a threat. He does seem a little confused by your battle cry.
Owlbear, though, is not. He hears it, and something shifts in his face. The confusion falls away, and he looks scared but resolute.
"Nana," he murmurs. He hefts his big club up and brings it down on Fipps Chumlett's head with a loud CRACK! It doesn't quite drop the portly pirate, but he does teeter in place for a second, seeing stars.
Plugg bellows in rage. "What are you doing, you useless idiot?! STOP THAT!!"
Owlbear responds to his oppressor by snarling. He then sees that Rosie is in dire straits, and steps into a flank with one of the enemy sailors to help her. "LEAVE TINY LADY ALONE!" he barks. The sailor yelps in alarm at the big feather-dotted man now menacing him from behind.
Fishguts, looking more sober than he has in weeks, strides toward Fipps with a frying pan in his hand and an angry-looking hen on his shoulder. "I need ta level with ya, lad," Ambrose says severely. "I f%~~in' hate you an' yer idiot boss almost as much as I hate Harrigan. An' that's sayin' somethin'!"
With shocking agility, Ambrose ducks past Fipps's clumsy opportunistic strike and gets to the other side of him before smashing Fipps in the face with the frying pan. You can hear bones crack in the pirate's face as he collapses to the ground with a groan.
Jaundiced Jape, ever the craven bully, decides to go after one of the two targets already close to death, and settles on Rosie. He slides up to her and swings his cutlass at her throat. She manages to duck just enough that it takes her on the collarbone instead, but leaves a horrible gash across her shoulder and chest that bleeds profusely. And yet... she still stands. Screaming rage and defiance at Jape, enough that the yellow-tinged half-orc actually cringes away from her.
Not to be left out of the fray, Shivikah finally draws her blade and strides up to Plugg, swinging with a bellow of fury at him, but he bats aside her cutlass with a sneer. "Pathetic," he growls.
Seeing her allies get pommeled in multiple directions, Sandara makes an executive decision. Rushing up to the north, she grasps her holy symbol and raises it aloft. "Besmara, grant your healing to the worthy!"
Not only do some of Rosie's wounds close, Conchobar wakes with a groan. "Gods," he mumbles. "What the Hells was that--? GAH!" He realizes the ship is mid-combat and sits up with a start.
With his quarry now partially healed, Sailor #1 looks less than enthused about attacking Rosie. His swing is half-hearted and easily deflected by the bellowing halfling, who is now singing (surprisingly deep) harmonies with Draxxie.
[color=green]ROUND 1
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (26/26 hp, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 3 (0 dmg)
Mr. Plugg (0 dmg)
Fipps Chumlett (16 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Crimson Cogsward* (18 dmg)
Maheem (0 dmg)
Rashid* (0 dmg)
Draxxie (27/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 4 (0 dmg)
Rosie Cusswell* (8 dmg, Inspired Rage)
Master Scourge (0 dmg)
Slippery Sy (6 dmg)
Narwhal (0 dmg)
Rahadoumi Sailor 2 (0 dmg)
Asami (22/27 hp, Bone Fists, Inspired Rage)
Owlbear Heartshorn * (0 dmg, Inspired Rage)
Conchobar Shortstone* (8 dmg, prone)
Fishguts (0 dmg, Inspired Rage)
Jaundiced Jape (0 dmg)
Shivikah* (0 dmg, Inspired Rage)
Sandara Quinn* (0 dmg)
Rahadoumi Sailor 1 (5 dmg)
Estelle (29/29 hp)
[/color]
Estelle first looks to the wounded 'allies'.
I guess they aren't really allies, but they are definitely not enemies. And anyone who stands between me and someone trying to kill me is worth helping. I think I'll heal...
Nevermind. Apparently it was a really good idea to save Sandara. That's a useful ability she has.
The witch then considers her options, frowning and fiddling with the weapon on her belt.
Nodding to herself she begins a soft chant, weaving her hands together her eyes begin to brighten into their normal glow. She nods to Asami, "Make some space for yourself, please. Things are about to look a lot smaller."
Asami starts to feel funny.
Oduim rises from where he'd been kneeling next to Conchobar, takes a step aback, and starts casting a spell.
Sailor #3 swings at Asami, but she blocks the cutlass with the bony protrusions jutting from the flesh of her forearm. A tiny line of blood trickles down from where the blade just barely caught her flesh, but the brawler doesn't flinch. The sailor, however, does.
Shivikah isn't quite so lucky. Plugg glances irritably at her failed attack, drops the pistol from his hand, and draws out his cat-o-nine-tails and a really, really badass-looking cutlass, which he promptly uses to open up an ugly wound across Shivikah's belly.
Cog makes his fury known with a roar as he hacks down onto Slippery Sy's collarbone with his cutlass, cracking bone. The murderer's nickname is no longer metaphorical as the whole front of him is now covered in blood. He takes one look at his ruined torso and collapses.
Maheem slips through the crowd to stand at both Rosie and Shivikah's side, but appears torn as to who to help. Draxxie's song is deep in his brain, and on instinct he goes for the greatest number of threats on one person, chopping ruthlessly down at Sailor #1. He buries the cutlass into the man's guts, sending a single small rope of intestine poking out as the man collapses with a groan.
Not to be outdone, Rashid rushes past the fallen form of Fipps Chumlett and hopes over the still-prone Conchobar to square off against Sailor #4 and hopefully protect Conchobar long enough to stand up. He hums along to Draxxie's song but clearly doesn't know the words. Nevertheless, it's enough to put some fire behind his swing because he cuts a long groove across Sailor #4's chest
[color=green]ROUND 1
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (26/26 hp, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 3 (0 dmg)
Mr. Plugg (0 dmg)
Fipps Chumlett (16 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Crimson Cogsward* (18 dmg)
Maheem (0 dmg)
Rashid* (0 dmg, Inspired Rage)
Draxxie (27/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Rahadoumi Sailor 4 (8 dmg)
Rosie Cusswell* (8 dmg, Inspired Rage)
Master Scourge (0 dmg)
Slippery Sy (14 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Narwhal (0 dmg)
Rahadoumi Sailor 2 (0 dmg)
Asami (22/27 hp, Bone Fists, Inspired Rage)
Owlbear Heartshorn * (0 dmg, Inspired Rage)
Conchobar Shortstone* (8 dmg, prone)
Fishguts (0 dmg, Inspired Rage)
Jaundiced Jape (0 dmg)
Shivikah* (8 dmg, Inspired Rage)
Sandara Quinn* (0 dmg)
Rahadoumi Sailor 1 (12 dmg, unconscious and dying)
Estelle (29/29 hp)
[/color]
"Sail away, set sail into the blue horizon
Ride the waves, that guide our destiny
Sail away, today we fight and there will be
No mercy for those with no grave
No grave but the sea!"
A wicked glint in her eye and a wide grin on her lips, Draxxie casts her gaze about the deck. Fixing to make some room for Conch, she coaxes the innate magic of her musical voice and fills the injured Rahadoumi enemy with dread...