Chapter 8: Wistful and Weathered

[Dave W.]

Adamant sees Kal go to their cabin and for a moment conciders retrieving his shield. No,[/i] he decides, admiring the heft of his greatsword, perhaps this situation calls for more offensive behavior.[/i] Adamant manages a hummpf at his pun.

"Kal, I'll take point to the galley." Adamant moves up the hallway and turns the corner.

"What have you found, Tangat? Besides this disturbing new smell?" Adamant peers in the open doorway but stays back from it. "Perhaps we'll not risk being too offensive; let's wait for the others."

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We're not in tactical movement, but I'd like Adamant to end up in the square directly south of Tangat, looking through the doorway. He will stand guard at the doorway and wait for the others to gather up before going in.

Perception check?

[Ken]

Belarin moves a step farther into the galley, both to allow Condign more room to pass through and to provide covering fire should something come out of the kitchen to attack Adamant.

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Concealment from Shadow Walk fades away.

[Brian]

Condign spreads out into the galley. He approaches Adamant from the opposite end of the room.

"You have the best view," he says to Adamant. "Can you see what has our canine friend so upset?"

[Darren]

As Kal comes up, sharrash in hand (I assume), he immediately goes to Tangat, reaching out a hand to the wolfdog's head, trying to calm him. While he is aware of his surroundings, it is clear that he is primarily concerned for his friend's well-being. "Peace, Tangat," he says soothingly. "Peace. What is it? What has you so concerned, my friend?"

[Jeff]

Streko finds he can't quickly move on from the wounded women. The bitten woman is mostly non-responsive, seemingly in a trance. Like she's been hypnotized. And the woman thrown through one of the bunks is clearly unconscious and in bad need of healing. He tends to her first, knowing she's the most gravely injured.

Adamant is the first to move in front of Tangat and look into the open door of the galley. What he sees he doesn't understand at first: the entire kitchen area seems to be spattered with green and purple paint. But no, there are large bubbles and protrusions in it. By the time Belarin, Kal, and Condign come up behind him, cautiously looking around, they realize they're looking at some sort of mold. Somehow quickly dispersed. It even seems to be roiling of its own accord.

Lying on the ground, stirring beneath a layer of the hideous slime, is Garrel, the portly dwarven cook. He's alive, but contact with the fungus can't be healthy...

Tangat seems subdued by the stench alone. The mold reeks of earthen decay and alchemical acid. He seems a mite bit happier and calmer with Kal there now.

[Ken]

"By the Shadow..." Belarin says softly. He seems reluctant to take a deep breath so close to the odd, moving mold. In a louder voice, he continues, "I didn't think it was possible to loathe Krez more than I already did. Damn, I wish I knew of a way to teleport Garrel out of there...

"And of course, every second we spend here is another second that Krez causes more havoc on this ship." He says in a quiet, somber voice to this friends, "We cannot save everyone. If we can't get Garrel free quickly..." He lets his voice trail off, but his eyes make his meaning clear.

[Brian]

"Another trap," says Condign as he stands next to Belarin. "Another delay. Krez does not want us somewhere, doing something--he wants us occupied here." The tielfing sighs. "But there is nothing we can do about it. The dwarf can not be allowed to die without a fight." He pauses to think. "If we threw a rope to him, do you think he would be able to grab it. We could then draw him out?"

[Darren]

"As much as I am concerned for this dwarf's safety, we must also consider the safety of the rest of this ship. That mold looks like it is spreading. It must be contained. But dammit, where is Krez?" As Kal studies the room, bits of lightning and fire leap around his hands unbidden. Kal's agitation is clearly getting the better of him.

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Jeff, can we have a map that shows the galley and the mold? Is it in isolated pools, or covering the entire room? Is it possible to target part of it without targeting the dwarf? Is it possible to walk any distance into the room without contacting it?

[Ken]

"We can't blast the whole area without killing Garrel," says Belarin in an increasingly impatient tone, "which I'm sure was part of Krez's intent, since he could have gutted this poor bastard in an eyeblink."

He quickly searches his memory, trying frantically to identify what type of fungus or ooze they're facing. Giggling voices try to distract him, but he angrily dismisses the figments. This isn't a beast playing with its prey, he mentally commands. So shut up if you won't assist.

A second later, the warlock comes to a decision. "Let's see how reactive this thing is, then." He pulls out the warped, disturbing-looking wooden wand that he collected from the kobolds' treasure-trove below Sharn. "It's not as though this spell was ever going to hurt a vampire, anyway...." He says to Condign, Kal, and Adamant as he takes aim, "If this gunk recedes at all from Garrel, be ready to grab whatever exposed flesh you can and drag him out!"

A jet of foul-smelling, greenish mist streams forth from the wand's tip.

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Belarin makes a Nature check to identify the mold: 1d20+8=14
If he believes that they're looking at green slime, he'll fire ray of enfeeblement from the wand at a mass of mold adjacent to Garrel. If he believes it's a different creature or (as seems likely from the roll) he's not sure, he'll aim the ray directly at the mold that's covering Garrel.
Attack vs. Fortitude: 1d20+5=20
Damage: 1d10+2=12 = 12 necrotic damage, and the mold is weakened until the end of Belarin's next turn.

[Dave W.]

"Umm, gentlemen? What should we do with this mold? The only thing I can think to try is to run in and grab Garrel and get out. I'm willing to try but is that wise? But perhaps it won't affect me? It may take it a moment to realize it should attack me."

"I assume my sword will not be particularly effective."

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Sorry lost a few days again... Wow, it's been a long time since I had to deal with mold.Does it look like giving Garrel a new saving throw would help him? I seem to recal molds making you save or bad things would happen... course the last time I dealt with molds may have been 2ed.

[Jeff]

As Adamant, Belarin, Condign, and Kal speak, looking into the galley, Garrel stirs some more. Then they hear him gasp for breath. His voices sounds strong, and he starts coughing violetly. "Gods bedamned, what is....?"

Belarin really can't tell what this mold is, but the more he stares at it, the more he thinks it's not an ambulatory creature. It may just be mold, albeit a swiftly dispersed kind. Its color and texture is hideous, but not like anything he's ever seen before. He's heard stories of colorful fungi in the depths of the earth in Thelanis, but never had the displeasure to see any firsthand. But he doubts this is anything like that.

When he fires the green ray from his wand, the mold covering Garrel goes from slimy and wet to dry and dusty. It turns brown and merely clings to him like pollen. The dwarf himself seems to slacken and moan at this.

A few moments later, a disembodied voice carries across the hold, easily reaching everyone's ears even beneath the rumble of the storm and the crash of the waves outside. You haven't heard Krez speak too much, but the power of his voice is recognizable.

"I do hope you're enjoying my bag of tricks. It has been a pleasure visiting you in kind."

Only seconds later, a cloud of white mist issues from the brig, across the hold from Shorak. The air instantly becomes cold. He and the other crewmen behind him instantly tense and ready their weapons. Histra suddenly rushes outside the door to Morsha's cabin, thumping her staff on the floor loudly. She starts to reach into her pockets for something.

"Mistform!" she says matter-of-factly, speaking more to Shorak than anyone else. "Be ready, drow. I will dispel the mist and we can face him flesh to bone."

The mist rolling across the hold seems to slow. As it lingers above the corpse of Rosh, it actually seems to absorb some of the dead dwarf's exposed blood.

Refresh, as always.

[Dave B.]

Shorak backs up to be next to histra, boomerang at the ready and his short sword in his other hand. Eyeing the mist, Shorak calls out to his friends. "You may want to return to hold! The guest of honor appears to be making an appearance!"

[Brian]

Condign hears Krez's words and curses. Gesturing to the warforged, he asks, "Can you get the dwarf out? Maybe if that neat weapon of yours can change into a long hook? When you are done, join us as quickly as you can?"

He looks to the others. "The rest of us need to get back toward the captain's room. Krez is obviously not here." Then to Belarin: "Histra is back there."

[Ken]

Belarin looks at Condign with a glare. "Yes, I know." His facial muscles then relax and he says again, though in an apologetic tone, "Yes, I know, Condign." He looks at the three of them. "My friends. Adamant, save Garrel if you can, then join us. Condign's idea is sound. Kal, Condign, if you can get Krez near the brig, I can put him in. Whether he stays there is another question. Let's make this bastard dance to OUR tune."

With that, Belarin begins to move quickly down the portside passage. Abruptly, he stops in front of Histra's cabin and pounds on the door with the pommel of his dagger. "Arthegon ir'Serell!! Awaken! Your granddaughter is in danger! Act now or your desires die with her!"

Without waiting or even expecting a response, Belarin continues down the hallway.

[Joe]

"I do hope you're enjoying my bag of tricks. It has been a pleasure visiting you in kind."

"Damnable vampires! May the flesh rot off their dead bones." He looks around at the women, ensuring they are all, at the very least, stable.

He turns to the one least likely to pass out. "Lock this door behind me and let no one in unless it is the Captain of this vessel, myself or one of my friends. You will know them by thier leacherous ways. I jest. However, until it is safe, you MUST remain here and remain quiet until you are summoned. Am I clear? Your lives depend upon this."

After which, Streko leaves the cabin and heads up toward the bow and, he suspects, an annoying vampire named Krez.

[Darren]

"Hm," Kal grunts. He watches as his friends dash off, one-by-one, towards the new threat. He pokes his head slightly inside the galley door. "Do what you can for him, Adamant," Kal says. As he moves away, he throws a glance over his shoulder and waves his arm towards the room, spreading fire over the mold, but being careful to avoid the dwarf on the floor. "Hurry back and meet up with us in the main hold. I fear we have yet to see the worst Krez has in store for us." Kal then moves off quickly to see what the new surprise is.

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Kal will use Burning Spray to hit as much of the mold as he can without hitting the dwarf. Then he'll move up the right side hallway towards the main hold.

[Dave W.]

Adamant nods to his friends, "I will do what can be done for the cook. Go find Krez and I will be along shortly. I will try to time events so that I arrive just in the nick of time."

The warforged looks around the galley and assesses his resources.

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No, Brian I can't change my weapon again until we have a short rest. It's a good idea but I've used the power and we're not really out of this encounter.

Here's what I would like to do: Adamant grabs a pair of stools.. those aren't chairs, right? they're stools laying down? I can make it work with chairs but I'll have to smash them a bit... and uses them as stepping stones. Flip them over so the seat part is on the floor and then just step between the legs.

Using two I can probably get to Garrel. Then just squatting down to grab the dwarf and drag him out of the kitchen. Then a Heal (+6) check to see how he is or if it looks desperate enough go right to the lay on hands.

If the GM thinks that Adamant thinks that will work then lets do that.

Sorry, late for work... gotta run... let me know what you think.

[Jeff]

Kal sprays fire across the galley, then dashes back out and joins Belarin and Condign as they race towards the front of the hold. Adamant is left to figure out how to help Garrel. He seizes a couple of chairs (yeah, not stools), flips them over, and places them just beyond the doorway. He places his feet on them, one at a time, like stepping stones...hearing a crunch as the armrests crumble under his weight, but he manages to reach the stricken dwarf and lift him up, then step back out of the galley.

A quick assessment tells Adamant that the dwarf is still very much alive, but he's probably breathed in plenty of that mold...

Garrel opens one eye weakly and peers up into Adamant's gemstone eyes. He smiles feebly, his face and beard dusted with the brown remains of the mold. "...And I can't even...thank ye with a meal..." Then he passes out.

In the main hold, Shorak readies both weapons, unsure of the best method of attacking a vampire head-on. Histra strides up boldly beside him, lifting a handful of ash-black powder from a pouch, readying as if to throw it. "When I say so," she says, "Strike."

But the white mist before the human and half-drow doesn't advance any further, and Shorak can almost see a pale face appear within it, not quite substantial, looking back at him with red, hate-filled eyes. "All the courage in the world will not save you from the storm to come," Krez says. "But should your gods see you to port, we will meet again. Everyone you hold dear will fall by my hand."

Histra smirks. "Melodramatic."

At this point, Condign, Kal, Belarin, and Streko rush into the main hold from the port-side hallway, where they see the white mist roiling at the center of the room. The mist shifts, and you can all hear Krez's voice snarl, "The Devourer will have you!"

With that, the white mist swirls into a vortex and suddenly rushes past the tiefling and both humans as if on a harsh breeze, chilling them as it sweeps through them. Belarin, Condign, Kal, and Streko can feel the vampire's malevolence pass through them as if it were a shard of ice. They gasp from the sensation, but they're unharmed as the white mist shoots up the stairs beyond the corridor and is gone, up above.

Histra lets out a deep sigh, seeming relieved and utterly exhausted.

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And so Chapter 8 is about to end! A little suddenly, I know.

I'm going to end this Chapter 9 with a summary of what comes next without doing a blow-by-blow for the next few hours of in-game time—I think it would drag on a bit needlessly. And that's all I'm skipping ahead, the next few hours. Basically, the next day will begin with Chapter 9. Remember, this whole battle was in the middle of the night.

So go ahead and post your next actions, but the battle is over and there are no more enemies about. I'll summarize developments shortly.

[Ken]

Belarin shudders as the chilling mist rolls past him and the others. When it disperses, he's relieved to see that Histra, Shorak, and the crewmen are unharmed.

He sheathes his dagger, walks over to Histra, and places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "So... you scared him away, did you?" he says with a smile. But his eyes show deeper concern and appreciation.

He then looks back across the floor, his gaze lingering on Rosh's mutilated - and now blood drained - body.

"Krez has made his first big mistake, Kal," he says to Kalarian, although his eyes don't leave the corpse. "Before, the crew didn't have a vested interest in fighting Krez. It had been our fight. Now it's theirs as well."

Stepping away from Histra, Belarin removes his cloak and places it over Rosh's body. "We'll take care of him later once we know the ship is secure."

[Brian]

Standing near Belarin, Condign goes to sheath his sword. . .but again remembers he has no sheath.

"I doubt that is the last we will see of him," the tiefling says sharply. "But for now, I need to rest. I am still feeling weak from that red ooze thing that tried to eat me."

He claps Belarin on the shoulder, then nods to Streko. "I will make sure our warforged friend is well first." Then he heads off down the hallway.

After he has seen to Adamant, Condign tries to get some well-needed rest.

[Jeff]

Histra tries to smile. She holds up the ash-like substance in her hand. "A bluff," she says to both Belarin and Shorak. "If I am suitably prepared, I do have a way to dispel a vampire's mistform, but I was not prepared. This is just ash, but I was hoping Krez didn't know that. Only vampires more powerful than him can assume mistform freely. Krez, I think, cannot. Which means if I forced him to assume his corporeal form, he'd have been stuck fighting us." Now she smiles for real, and it is an evil smile. "He knows he'd be outmatched against all of us. So he fled." She glances at Condign. "We will see him again, yes, if we survive the storms without our dragonmarked captain..."

She turns and points back at Morsha's cabin. "The captain will live, for now."

[Darren]

"The crazy warlock is right," Kal says, clapping Belarin on the shoulder. He looks around the hold, at the sorry state of the room, of the people inside of it. As he speaks, he begins to stalk around the room, his voice gaining in intensity. "My friends, we fought the enemy on his home ground and we bloodied him. He attacked us on ours and was forced to retreat. We are gaining ground with this foe and we will prevail. We have been hurt here today, that cannot be denied, but we have shown the enemy how strong we are and this," he gestures around the hold, "this cannot stop us. Come, my friends, there is still work to be done. We must see to the well-being of this ship and her crew. There will be little rest for any of us tonight...."

Kal grins, then begins to move about the ship, offering whatever help, support, encouragement and inspiration he can to those who are cleaning up the damage caused by the attack.

[Ken]

Aug 9, 2011 11:14:13 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Histra tries to smile. She holds up the ash-like substance in her hand. "A bluff," she says to both Belarin and Shorak. "If I am suitably prepared, I do have a way to dispel a vampire's mistform, but I was not prepared. This is just ash, but I was hoping Krez didn't know that."

Belarin turns back toward Histra as she finishes speaking, delight on his face. "You bluffed him?! Histra, that's... that's magnificent." His emotion is sincere, similar to the pleasure of a someone who discovers that his favorite meal suddenly tastes even better with the addition of an unexpected spice.

He steps toward Histra, and she can see the desire in his gaze.

Aug 9, 2011 14:54:18 GMT -4 Darren said:

"Come, my friends, there is still work to be done. We must see to the well-being of this ship and her crew. There will be little rest for any of us tonight...."

He catches himself and says, "Yes, yes, indeed... well-being of the ship. Work to be done. Little rest of any of us..." With a smile, he turns away from Histra again, but not before muttering to her, "...if we're lucky."

He walks back the way he had come, saying to Condign, "I'll go with you. Now that we have a few minutes, I may be able to deal with that mold...." He then focuses his efforts on decontaminating the kitchen as thoroughly as possible.

[Joe]

Streko moves over to Histra. "My Lady, we need the Captain as healthy as possible as quickly as possible. Is there anything more you believe I can do to facilitate that response? She may be the only one to get us all through this storm unscathed. Do you have any suggestion?"
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Streko will administer to any and all who need assistance before he even considers resting.

[Jeff]

The storm rages on, but Spindrift and the rest of the crew weather it like the professionals they are. The Merrow heaves this way and that, and you have the strong suspicion that if Captain Morsha was up and about, it would be easier for them. The rain hammers on, but the thunder and lightning soon abate.

The battle has ended, such as it was. A cursory, then thorough search reveals no more surprises. Rosh has been murdered, several crewmen injured by a vampire but will recover, and the cook, Garrel, is sick but he, too, will probably mend under the eye of a healer like Streko.

Kal:

"We are gaining ground with this foe and we will prevail. We have been hurt here today, that cannot be denied, but we have shown the enemy how strong we are and this...this cannot stop us."

This earns Kal withering glares from the two crewmen lingering near Morsha's door. They eye Rosh pointedly as Belarin places his cloak over the body.

Histra kneels and examines the foul-smelling remains of the ooze, which still stain the floor. "A bloodrot," she says, though none of you have ever heard the term. "This is Seeker work. Followers of the Blood of Vol." A look of distaste crosses her face: a necromancer disapproving of another necromancer's work. "A vile process to create these creatures. Acid is used to overcome and digest a living subject, during which it is delivered into undeath, quite against its will." She glances at the remains of the crate the bloodrot was contained in. You can see tatters of a shiny inner lining. "They seek the blood of the living, so it would have burst out eventually. Better now than later."

Sem Darlesh, Larest, and Starg come down. They look rain-soaked and weary. Larest looks a bit frazzled, his handsome features softened by what might just be anxiety; he wrenches the circlet from his brow off and sighs deeply. Starg looks subdued. Sem has a blackened eye, and he's holding a broken crossbow bolt. "Bastards almost killed me..." he's saying through gritted teeth and furious eyes. He looks like he's ready to curse someone else, then stops when he sees the cloak-draped form of Rosh.

Several crewmen venture down and take stock of the situation as well, learning what you've learned, seeing what you've done. In turn, Sem relates what occurred above during Krez's intrusion:

A wyvern with a halfling rider was spotted and continued to attack. Spindrift and the Merrow's crew brought him down at last—the wyvern crashed to the deck (the loud sound you heard), and the halfling assassin on its back was torn from the saddle and then cut down with blades. The halfling's body is still up on the deck, under guard. Histra seems quite interested in the dead halfling.

The wyvern, wounded and screeching, evidently struggled back into the air and disappeared, leaving its dead rider behind. Anng, who never once left the ship's helm, despite his grief and rage, was the only one to see what drifted above the Merrow Down during this whole assault: an airship. This seems to have been Krez's means of catching up with the Merrow, and it is therefore likely the airship is in league with the Patriot.

"But Khyber, they're dragon-shit mad for flying the skies in a storm like that!" Anng later says of this. "Believe it or not, it's safer to travel the sea by sailing vessel than any sky-flung airship. The Thunder Sea sends more airships into the depths than any proper ship."

A pall of misery and quiet wrath falls over the crew when they all learn of Rosh's fate. The dwarf was like a grandfather to them all, and you hear a chorus of oaths levied against the Patriot and its vampires. Of course, you also mentally hear what they're not saying: Would any of this happened had you not assaulted the Karrnathi ship?

With help, Syrdan has revived Lerrhana. The elfmaid nearly drowned, but was saved by your efforts and that of what you can only think must be a water elemental—and that it was somehow a friend or ally to Morsha. But you'd never heard of an elemental aiding a ship before. Never. They're usually bound to elemental vessels, quite against their will, and the Merrow doesn't appear to be such a vessel. Unbound elements are dangerous, and usually angry.

Above all, the crew is concerned for Morsha. A very potent poison was delivered into her system, though the wound that could have killed her has been healed by Streko. Histra explains that she used a necrotic solution of her own to kill the poison itself...but now Captain Morsha must survive that substance. Histra says that the fight is now the captain's to make; her body will either overcome the necrotic draught, or will not. Even if she survives it, it may take a few days. Histra will have to watch over her often.

Streko:

"My Lady, we need the Captain as healthy as possible as quickly as possible. Is there anything more you believe I can do to facilitate that response? She may be the only one to get us all through this storm unscathed. Do you have any suggestion?"

Histra looks at Streko. "There is nothing you can do. Her only affliction now is the potion I administered her, and if you tamper with its effects, you will likely deliver her to Dolurrh personally."

Streko is then left to attend to the injured women and to Garrel. Everyone else has minor wounds that not a single man cares to have looked at. Condign and Belarin return to look at the mold in the galley. It will indeed be a rough night.

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My next in-game post will begin Chapter 9. You can post a little more in here if you want for any last-minute dialogue. Otherwise, anything not yet addressed will be addressed in the next chapter.

[Dave W.]

Garrel tries to say thanks to the tall warforged, "No thanks are necessary Master Chef," Adamant says. "Just rest," he adds as Garrel passes out. Adamant looks down at the dwarf, "Good listener."

Adamant snaps up the greatsword and starts trotting towards the hold only to meet Condign and Belarin. 

Later as Belarin clears the kitchen, Adamant sits in the galley cleaning his longsword. "I had expected Krez's attacks to be more vicious; more direct. Surprising us with molds and oozes, attacking with crossbows? Clever military tactics. And shipping the ooze in a crate was an obvious nod to our attack on him."

"We can expect more feints and redirection from him. He's not just clever, he believes he's clever. We should watch for that."

When things are quiet, Adamant will offer some prayers for the fallen, especially Rosh.

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If it appears to be useful, Adamant will use lay on hands on the Captain and/or Garrel.

[Dave B.]

Shorak puts away his weapons, seeing that the fight is pretty much over. He quietly returns to Morsha's side. He covers her with a blanket from the bed, intentionally hiding the tattoos and takes one of her hands in his.

For as long as he is allowed to, he will sit by her side, whispering to her, to comfort her and hopefully encourage her to fight her way back to health. Urging her to survive with his words and his presence.