"I hate to ask at such a time, but...your friends. Did they...I mean...are there any indications..." He pauses. "Is the colony in danger from whatever ill fate befell them?"
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As the tension quickly escalates on the beach, your thoughts are interrupted by the clip-clopping of hooves on the cobbles. The tall shadow of Sir Kheiron looms over the situation. "Lord Brycen re..." he pauses as he senses the tension. He looks several ways before continuing. "Lord Brycen requests that the lot of you come for a meet about sending out some scouting parties tomorrow." He points up the beach to where Lord Brycen and Harrolyane seem to be having words, with Imogene the prisoner woman standing behind and off to one side. Come to notice, all of the prisoners seem to be unshackled and (with the exception of Imogene) helping in the labours.
"Never would believe I'd be so blasted grateful to get my hooves on dry land again," he mutters before raising his voice, and asking, "Things are good here? The animals on board ship just started acting normally again. The handlers are busy getting food and water into them. We lost a few chickens, but it could have been a lot worse."
"Shoulding the whole Pathfinder group going? Or Shoulding maybe some stay on Pathfinder Big Boat to making sure nothing happens?" "Pathfinder Gray asked for all of you," Kheiron shouts over.
Who brought the food from the galley for both of you? "A sailer named Timmus. He's already been questioned, his belongings searched, and we believe him to be clean. The poison could have been slipped onto the plate itself before the food, or onto the forks. There are traces of poison on both as well as in the food. Timmus told us he passed by a dozen or so colonists, sailors, and soldiers on his way to his Lordship's cabin, and had stopped first to give Captain Theodric his meal. The assassin could have poisoned the food while it sat unattended, although that would have meant being back here in these corridors and the Captain doesn't remember seeing anybody back here. If the assassin had the power of invisibility, however, well, he could be standing right over there." (points to random corner)
"You have the full co-operation of myself and all my men, unless gods forbid one of them is behind this. Whatever you need is yours, and at this point, no questions asked."
To Biter:
"Colour Spray is a nice spell, but it may be cumbersome with the close quarters we'll no doubt be facing. I do not know of this light of lunia spell you mention, and true strike is a useful one shot spell. We may need you to pick off enemy ballistae-men or gods forbid if they have spell casters of their own. You should decide though if you want to act the archer or the meleer, and then prepare either colour sprays or true strikes, not both. If you want archery, we can put you up in the crow's nest. Talk to Andrells."
"There will be no 'putting people to the sword' on this ship, sir," Sir Kheiron says gruffly. "They are under constant watch, and your belongings are safe."
As for Gregor's query concerning the prisoners, he is directed towards the centaur. "Well, sir, they are all men and women who were given the choice between swinging from the gallows and journeying to the end of the world. Have no fear, though, they will be strictly monitored and disciplined throughout the voyage. As for their exact crimes, ask me again later once we're underway. If you'll excuse me, I must see to their preparations. Please climb aboard and find a berth for yourself."
Sir Kheiron seems to share Rorse's assessment of their performance. He comes over once the ship is clear and you don't have to hang on for dear life anymore. He gathers the prisoners together along with the rest of you as Lilo and Hickory make their way down below. Well, well...well done, friends. Well done, indeed. That was close there at the end, but it looks as if we're free and clear. I dare say our Chelish spies have been identified. Too bad they were able to signal the Chelish ships, but that was no doubt inevitable. I see you have already begun the process of looting bodies, a time-honoured tradition of adventurers, I know. Just a thought, but a time-honoured tradition of seafarers is to give the captain first pick of the bounty, and offering Lord Brycen a choice selection would be a very wise move on your part as well. Like I said, just a thought. It was an honour to fight with you all, today.
Eriniyes is directed to the crow's nest with Rommin. Really early the next morning, when you're taking your positions, Sir Kheiron comes to Eriniyes and Rommin with the flask from the rum keg. This is alchemist's fire. It was decided that we wouldn't stock it on board, as the risk was just too great, but since we have it, do either of you think you could hurl it the thirty or forty feet a Chelish ship is likely to get to us?
Sir Kheiron scowls. Searching peoples' belongings without proof of suspicion is distasteful, but I suppose not as distasteful as being betrayed tomorrow when we're at the Arch. Sir Kheiron orders soldiers to begin searching belongings, including all of yours (). It takes an hour, and there are many unhappy people, though nobody protests more than one would expect, given the circumstances, and some are all too happy to prove that they have no incriminating evidence in their packs. Thereva uses it as a perfect excuse to show off her few little baby outfits to Eriniyes and Corvus. Once the soldiers have finished with the lower hold, they move up to search the soldiers' and sailors' belongings. Sir Kheiron apologizes to the colonists for the intrusion on their privacies, and thanks them for their co-operation. He heads up the ladder, leaving you to your discussions.
Hobart does not detect any poisons. The mood on board ship takes a serious turn to the grim as soldiers begin searching foodstuffs, supplies, and anything else that could have been booby-trapped with one of those flasks. The fact that they don't find anything does little to improve the morale. Down below, it seems that the party's quick actions were able to minimize the damage. The fire didn't reach the mast and only the soldier hurt in the initial blast sustained any serious injury. Twenty minutes or so later, a soldier comes to summon the lot of you up on deck to meet with Sir Kheiron. You find him up on the fore deck. He clears the deck of soldiers and colonists before speaking. Well, I suspected that there would be a spy on board, and this seems pretty conclusive proof. Of course, that flask could have been planted back in Absalom when we took those rum casks on board, but we also cannot rule out that somebody broke into the vault room, probably when we were refitting the ship and most personnel were up above deck. I wonder if this was meant to happen now, or afterwards if we made it through the Arch. I would be most interested in learning of your suspicions as to who could be behind it.
Then there may be more sabotage like this. Hobart, if you've finished tending to the wounded, please accompany me. Any of you with skill detecting tampering or sabotage as well. Sir Kheiron leads all those indicated to the upper hold and into one of the doors at the front. The door was locked and guarded and leads into a triangular room with shelves and piles of crates containing many things of value. A canvas-wrapped bundle on one of the shelves emits streams of light between loose folds. Several small boxes are labeled as various seeds. Here is also where the rum is stored. Kheiron offers the casks to you gingerly for inspection. Corvus has a look at the seals of the various casks. Perception She points to two of the casks, indicating that their seals have been broken and remade. On Kheiron's direction, she moves them out of this room and carefully rebreaks the seals and pries the lids off, with Hobart standing by with create water if necessary. Disable Device 1 She gets the lid far enough off for you to see a glass flask somehow stuck onto the underside of the lid. As she lifts it clear, the flask detaches and falls to the floor, shattering and spreading fire everywhere. Corvus Reflex save She takes 1 point of damage from the splash of the fire.
As she opens the second cask, she manages to catch the flask before it hits the floor. She exhales a long deep breath as she hands the flask to Kheiron.
The shouts of alarm and "FIRE!" quickly draw attention from above you. Soldiers stampede down the ladder, only to see that the fire is contained and almost nobody is seriously hurt. Some soldiers withdraw to the upper decks. A few minutes later, Sir Kheiron makes his way carefully down the ladder.
I know you are trying to get cozy with the prisoners, and it's admirable that you want to reform them, but you should know, their presence on this expedition has been bought and paid for, and not by us. We were supposed to get a much tamer group of prisoners - an arsonist, a grave robber, a vigilante, and a Chelish operative, though that guy was not my first choice, but at least we would have had a good idea of who our spy was then. Instead, somebody paid off a magistrate to let those prisoners keep rotting in jail and sent us a pile of murderers and rapists to repatriate in the New World. Just keep an eye on them.
Sir Kheiron sighs and looks weary, though whether it is due to a long day or Rorse's company is uncertain. Sir Rorse, he replies diplomatically to the first thing Rorse says, I appreciate you bringing your concerns to...oh hang it. He drops the diplomacy. Just how stupid do you think we all are? I suppose we should take it as a validation of our performance that you actually think we're going to try to make it through the Arch, let alone all the way to Arcadia, like this, stuffed to the gills. The Desert Rose and the Cloud Climber are waiting for us in a small cove on the north side of Kortos. We'll be there in the wee hours of the morning, where we'll transfer over all the supplies and personnel destined for the other two ships. As far as any Chelish spies on shore in Absalom are concerned, we are being led by an unpredictable and inexperienced commander who doesn't listen to his advisors or understand how things work at sea. Maybe they saw us heading east instead of west and will think that we've gone back to Cassomir for back-up, or even better, given up the whole idea. In any event, our arrival time at the Arch is now in question, which is the best we could hope to achieve at this point. As for letting you know if something needs doing, you can count on it. We will be counting on your skills and abilities, as well as those of your companions, when we encounter actual trouble and when we arrive in Arcadia, but until then, please...PLEASE...just leave things to the team of very smart people who have been planning this expedition for almost a year! No, I take part of that back. There is something valuable you can do in the meantime; I need eyes and ears down below to find our on-board Chelish spy.
Lord Brycen is in conference with the captain and first mate and not to be disturbed, so Rorse is forced to settle with Sir Kheiron, who can be found in his "cabin". Sir Kheiron's "stall" is to be found at the aft part of the upper hold and looks essentially like part of a stable that was hastily walled in. You can smell straw and manure and hear the bleat of sheep and clucks of chickens coming from the next room. There is no bed or hammock in this room; rather, a large sling is suspended from the ceiling, though Sir Kheiron is not currently in it. Good evening, Sir Rorse. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?
It doesn't take a great number of years to commandeer a baker's cart and ride it at a gallop through a crowded market square and trample fourteen innocent shoppers to death. The mother sobs; Sir Kheiron sighs softly and pats the woman on the arm. The fact that he is so young is probably why the magistrate chose to send him with us rather than the gallows. At least with us, he'll have a chance to redeem himself and earn a place back in Taldor society. Ma'am, these adventurer's seem keen on watching out for your son for you; I give you my word that all prisoner's will be well treated under my care. He pats her on the arm again and clops over to the prison guards that brought the train. He speaks with them, pointing at the woman several times. Corvus spots some coins change hands. A man in a naval uniform comes to the edge of the railing next to the gang plank and shouts, All aboard! All aboard!!
Sir Kheiron returns Hobart's stern gaze. As I understand it, she was not denied passage; her children were. It is a dangerous voyage with limited space and limited food supply; not the place for a ten-month old infant. There will be another voyage next year. If our efforts at establishing a colony are successful, she is more than welcome to book passage on the resupply ships. He smiles. I will even leave word that she is not to be charged for the fare, if that will also please you, but as for coming with us now, this ship is on a tight schedule and departs in less than fifteen minutes. Its departure will not be altered to allow a mass murderer to bring his mother along for his sentence. If that is not acceptable for you, well, here's the shore. You're welcome to stay behind. |