Alidelia listens to the group discussing witches, nodding along and voicng her agreement.
"Well, they aren't actually in the mine proper. Most of the inhabitants of the upper levels of the mines tend to stay away from the deeper parts. From what we can tell, the gnoll tribe controls the entirety of the fortress protecting the entryway into the mine, but don't make their way deeper except in small patrols."
"They can tal, yes, but most of what they say is crude threats of imaginative violence. The gnolls inside the fortress layer have actually been a threat to the city and the surrounding desert in their raids to get meat and slaves, so we'll be doing the people a favor by eliminating the tribe."
Yasmin nods. "Easier to talk with gnolls after we bust them up a bit, if you ask me--especially if we don't want their witch leader to get too many magical spells set up. If we put them in a bad spot, whoever's left might be smart enough to run away!"
"Some observation may be in order," John offers. "If we can identify a schedule or pattern in their raids or patrols we might be able to eliminate enough of them in small groups that the witch will have no choice but to negotiate. Or, at the very least, that would lessen the number we'd have to deal with during an attack on the fortress."
"I'm not sure there will be any peaceful resolution with the gnolls, but previous experience has taught us that if the leader of a gnoll pack is taken out the pack usually moves location until such time as another can be chosen." Alidelia says, picking up on the question between the discussion.
"Khuhr is our primary initial target for breaking the resolve of the barbaric gnoll pack. If we can make our way into the fortress and remove the head of the pack it'll make it easier for us to clear it out and establish a base camp for further exploration into the mine."
Captain Zekeriss has seemingly fallen into somewhat of a reptilian food-coma, having consumed quite a large percentage of the food on the table.
Alidelia laughs and gestures to the group assembled.
"It seems as if my good friend Zekeriss has had her fill. It is getting somewhat late, so unless anyone had any other matters, I believe we will retire for the night. We have a long journey ahead of us after all."
Yasmin nods as the festivities wind down. "Thanks so much for a fabulous meal!"
She heads back upstairs and waits to see if Crag returns. While she's there, she'll spend some time staring up at the stars.
If nothing unusual happens, Crag eventually returns and they will retire for the evening.
John nods in acknowledgement of Alidelia's words, and pops the fish eyeball into his mouth before standing. He quietly follows the others out of the dining hall, his half-finished Thuvian brandy still in hand, but before they all split up he asks their employer, "are there any expectations of our time during the journey or are we we free to do as we see fit until we arrive? And, uh, if the former, where, when, and to whom are we to report?"
At the announcement that the mealtime was over, Anovat -- who eats rather slowly -- speeds up to shovel in the food remaining on his plate. (He is now eating slightly less slowly.)
Finally, he gets up, and if they haven't left yet, he thanks Alidelia and Captain Zekeriss. He goes up top to see what the view is like. Spying Yasmin, he walks over to her and tries to strike up a conversation.
"Do you know that feeling that some people get when they stand on the edge of a cliff? Most people feel fear, but for some, that fear feeds an exhilaration. That's what I feel right now when I look over the water. This ship is like a floating cliff, and the water below a dangerous expanse to fall through until the end."
Yasmin is startled to hear Anovat beside her, but recovers quickly and smiles cheerfully. "I guess you and I feel pretty similarly, then. Cliffs are scary and exhilarating!" She turns her gaze from the sky to the water. "The water, though, it's really not that bad if you can swim. Can you swim? Or do you just sink to the bottom?"
Anovat smiles pleasantly.
"I can swim.
"Out here, though... it may not matter.
"You?"
"I guess I'm okay at swimming. I like climbing better. Or flying! But when the summer heat is beating down, there's nothing quite like dipping into some cool, refreshing water." Yasmin closes her eyes for a moment and soaks in the thought.
"So . . . where are you from?"
"I was raised in the Mindspin Mountains. I was raised my a dwarf named Berolt who, at first, wanted me to be a druid like he is. But my talents lay in different areas, and Berolt was wise enough to see that.
"Now, I just travel where the stones take me.
"What about you?"
Alidelia obviously appreciates the question, and answers easily.
”You are guests aboard the ship, and won’t have any required tasks until we arrive in Solku. As to who you report to? I am your immediate contact with the company, although both Travis and Truther, your actual employers, will meet us at the company’s hesdquarters when we make it there.”
"I'm from Qadira--grew up in the Akbar nomadic band before leaving to find my own way. Turns out I'm pretty good with a scimitar! Not to mention I lucked out by becoming friends with Crag--he's a fierce one! I was doing fine amongst a company of soldiers but after some changes in command, I needed to find a new path. And now here I am! Excited to see what Solku has in store."
John nods to Alidelia again and then follows some of the others up onto the ship's deck. Once there, he finds a place to sit and quietly stares up at the stars. While he does, he listens to Anovat and Yasmine's conversation, taking note of details that potentially could be useful in the future, such their abilities to swim and climb.
The rest of the night after you attended the dinner with the captain is quiet, with Alidelia and her aid retiring to her quarters for much of the next few days. She is appraochable for any questions or concerns you may have, but does not seek any of you out and seems to be quite busy making preparations and the like. Busy life she must lead, you think.
Within the next few days, you reach the opening of the Elemion River and make your way past the first few hours of it before Captain Zekeriss's ever-present voice can be heard crying out in alarm.
"All hands on deck, we're under attack!"
As you emerge on deck, you see a large crcodile in the midst of climbing aboard the side of the ship.
Quickly making his way on deck, Emercy quickly looks around and spots the massive croc. "What in the blazes?! By Torag, he's a big fella, isn't he? Ah well, the bigger they are, the more shoes you can make out of 'im." Strapping on his shield and drawing his warhammer, Emercy readies to take on the giant animal.
John closes his eyes for a moment as people clamor about the deck around him. When he opens them again his irises and pupils are gone, replaced with solid orbs of pearlescent white.
"Oh dear."
Anovat thinks that if he had completed his druidic training, he might have been able to convince the croc to look for food elsewhere. But he didn't finish, so he prepares himself to use the skills he did finish training for.
Anovat's rocky fingers change shape, elongating slightly and forming sharp, stony claws as he cautiously approaches the beast.
Yasmin and Crag hurry above deck. ”More crocodile? Yummy!
The crocodile launches itself forward onto the deck proper, and its jaws snap around the waist of an unsuspecting sailor who screams and falls to the deck, limp. The croc roars and smashes the body aside before turning towards its next victim.
Anovat, in his advancement towards the rampaging beast, notices a handful of abnormal movements in the water on the other side of the boat from the croc. With a few seconds of looking he sees five figures swimming under the water towards the side of the boat, attempting to avoid notice.
As he lumbers towards the beast, his heavy footsteps pounding on the smooth wood, he spies something over the far side of the boat.
"Look out! There are more things in the water over there!"
Distracted, Anovat turns back to the crocodile and pauses his advance to make sure he doesn't blindly run into it's lethal jaws. He casts guidance on himself.
With a practiced leap, Yasmin hops onto Crag. Taking on the aspect of the tiger, the halfling-roc tandem try to fly behind the croc and then strike!
;
;
Emercy quickly moves to aid the halfling and her bird, setting up flank for them both. "We've got ya now, ya overgrown pair o' boots!"
Trusting that the others have the situation with the crocodile under control, John begins the process of summoning a mud elemental to aid in their fight against whatever’s swimming along next to the ship.
Yasmin and Crag both hit the croc, and it roars again loudly before making an attempt to bite at Yasmin. It misses horribly, its bite going way wide of the quicker halfling.
As John watches, three obviously elvish figures climb aboard the ship on that side, pulling out javelins and tridents as they reach the deck.
Irritated that he missed horribly the last time, "Be still, ya blasted, overgrown, beast!" Emercy continues the assault upon the croc, hoping to be more successful.
"HA-HA! Take that!" he taunts, landing a solid hit on the reptile.
Seeing Yasmin and Emercy confronting the crocodile, but nobody confronting the three humanoids that have boarded the ship, Anovat veers his course to intercept the first one.
He surmises that the opportunity for diplomacy has passed.
Yasmin and Crag go to town on the crocodile.
;
;
;
;
The combined damage of the group does quickly take the croc down the rest of the way, felling it easily enough.
The elves cry out in anger as the beast falls, two of them lashing out at Anovat with their tridents, and the third tossing a javelin towards Emercy.
Only the one trident hits Anovat, stabbing into him.
From the top decks where the captain was, two more elves appear, leveling javelins at the unsuspecting John.
Only the one trident hits Anovat, stabbing into him.
Anovat grunts in pain as the three points pierce his stony skin. Meeting the eyes of the elf who stabbed him, he grimly responds with his claws.
As John's summoning reaches fruition, a small gloopy figure made of mud materializes at the top of the stairs to the upper deck and swings a thick tendril of muck at the elf closer to the rail.
While the creature does its work, the wizard waggles his fingers and hurls a glob of acid at the other elf.
John's elemental arrives on deck, and immediately follows his orders. The strike smashes the elf into the railing of the stairs, and she slumps lifelessly to the deck. His acid attack does hit, but has significantly less impact on its target.
Four elves remain, their weapons and faces displaying clear hatred for the interlopers.
Crag flaps over to the new threat of elves. "Get off our ship!" she cries, leaning forward with her scimitar in the air. Sword and beak strike at one of the boarders.
;
;
As he heads for the nearest elf, "Ya might want ta listen to her, elves, if ya know what's good for ya. Which, by me guess, ya probably don't." Raising his warhammer up high, he brings it down quickly toward the enemy.
Yasmin and Crag manage to take one more elf down, but the boat rocks just as Emercy swings his hammer and it swings wide of the target. The elf hisses in his face and laughs before wildly dancing away from his attackers and diving off the edge of the boat. The other one wuickly follows suit, weapons clattering to the floor before she too is over the edge of the railing before you can stop her.
A cry of alarm and pain arises from the upper deck where the other group of elves came from, and you hear two voices becoming more heated over the sounds of the boat and the end of combat.
John turns on his heels and hurries toward the upper deck to investigate the source of the heated voices. The small mud creature he summoned trots sloppily after him.
Anovat checks the sides and bow of the boat, to see if any more distractions are forthcoming. If he doesn't see anything, he'll follow John and the others up towards the upper deck.
Yasmin and Crag follow Anovat, hovering just inside the edge of the boat. "That's right you elves! Leave us alone!" They don't follow--Yasmin is not bloodthirsty and holds back Crag. They do linger with Anovat to see if the threat is really gone before catching up to what's happening in the upper deck.
With a curious look about him as the elves just all of the sudden up and leave, "Really? Is that it? Where are ya goin'? I was just about to kill ya all. Blast." Noticing the others moving with a sense of urgency, Emercy follows right after them.
Captain Zekeriss stands at the wheel still, but Alidelia is laying on the ground a few feet away from her. Her aide is by her side, attempting to clean the blood off a wound in her stomach.
Zekeriss sees you arrive and quickly speaks.
"One of those bastard elves got a good stab in." she says, pointing to Alidelia.
"Do not worry, the wound is not deep or grievous, it will not kill her. The poison on the pirates' blades will, however, and we need to get her help immediately. Any of you have any skill at treating poison?"
"Poison? Oh no!"
Honestly, Yaz didn't know a damn thing about poison. She did know how to pray, though, and tries to aid everyone's efforts with her minor primal magics.
Crag caws and screeches, clearly upset.
"Poison?! Did I hear poison?! Blast! We'll be havin' none of that!" Throwing his shield and his hammer upon the ground, Emercy immediately moves over to Alidelia, lowers himself to his knees, and begins tending to her. "I don't suppose ya have a healer's kit on board, do ya, Captain?"
Emercy does what he can to aid Alidelia but finds himself a bit concerned it may not be enough.
Wordlessly, Anovat kneels down to assist Emercy in his ministrations.
During their work, the oread casts detect poison on Alidelia's wound.
Emercy's attentions apparently manage to stave off the poison after a while, and Alidelia lays back against the deck in relief.
"Ah, those elvish bastards. Always been a problem up and down this river, but they've never gotten me like that."
She makes her way to her feet, pushing away any attempts to help her.
"Don't you worry about me, I'll be fine in a day or two. By the time we get to Solku I'll be right as rain."
Zekeriss laughs under her breath at Alidelia's words, but manages to keep any words to herself.
"Shall we keep moving, then? Everyone okay and healthy?" she says, a bit of sarcasm beneath her voice.
"I'm glad you're feeling better, Alidelia. Let us know how we can help while you rest and recover. On the bright side, we did snag ourselves another crocodile meal." She nods her head toward the slain crocodile on deck.
Anovat looks over his shoulder into the water the elves escaped into before turning back to Alidelia.
"Why do they attack you?"
The captain answers your question before Alidelia can, her words full of venom.
”For what other reasons do pirates attack ships? The greedy bastards can’t help themselves when they see a wonderful ship such as mine.” She laughs at Yasmin’s words before continuing.
”True enough lass. I’ll see what I can do about getting the crew cook to cook him up and have him ready for dinner tomorrow.”
Alidelia speaks up now, her voice strengthening with every moment.
”We’ve had issues with pirates and other incidents over the years, never been a serious problem for any of our journeys. As it wasn’t here. Now, unless anyone else has any questions I’d like to get a move on. Only a couple of days left to Solku, and I want to be properly rested when we get there.”
Crag is more vigilant during the remainder of the journey, having seen a threat with his own eyes. Yasmin continues to be excited by the adventure. She insists on attempting to prepare the crocodile herself this time, trying to learn from the crew cook.
She does a pretty good job given that it was her first time. (Perhaps in truth, the crew cook continued to do much important prep work!)
When John learns that the elves were using poison, he walks over to the elf that was killed by his summoned elemental and retrieves their weapon from the deck. Being very careful not to cut himself, he gingerly examines the weapon to see if it too is poisoned (and, if possible, determine how long the poison with remain potent).