Chapter 15: With Uncertain Ends

[Dave B.]

Shorak lends a hand with the supplies as well. Once he is no longer needed he follows Thul's lead and cleans up as best he can and lays down to rest. This outing has been quite tiring and he does not feel his jovial self at the moment. Resisting attempts at conversation and not offering a word of his own.

[Jeff]

Brack listens to Kal and Melethos first but only acknowledges them at first. "Clearly, we're not getting the food stores I was hoping." He sighs. "Just as well. Kurra's got the..." His voice trails off. "More important stuff. Whatever. I hope you like fish."

When all the crates are carried down to the cargo hold, Kurra shoos away anyone who tries to stay involved, as she seems particularly keen on privacy in her cabin.

Finally, the captain speaks to both human and tiefling, and anyone else who wishes to hear. "I'm sorry to hear about the professor. Very sorry. He and I had an arrangement, and your passage on this boat has been arranged. I'll get you to the designated mouth of the Hydra, as planned, provided my own rules are still observed. Which means while you're my passengers, you're also my crew, and we'll see this through together."

"It was evident from the start that Larest was taking an aloof role in your expedition, no matter what. Like a financier who's along for the ride merely to keep an eye on his investment. Which is all to say: I don't care who leads you, as your goal is not mine. Mine is this voyage. Yours lies beyond it."

Sem pulls himself back to his feet and walks over. "Yes, Kal. I'm happy to see you take the reins of the expedition, if you listen to good counsel. You're too young to have all the right answers, so I hope you'll consider the advice of Zil scholar....and, I guess, a minotaur."

Starg, seeing himself referenced, just turns and nods. Kal knows he has Starg's support already.

[Ken]

Watching Histra struggle without a spell focus, Belarin hands her the wand he retrieved from the nycaloth. "Take it, Histra, please."

[Jeff]

Histra ignores Adamant's offer—mostly out of a need to concentrate on her task than to disregard him—and just shakes her head at Belarin's. She has already begun her spell, and though an arcane focus makes it easier, she clearly knows precisely what to do. Both human and warforged see her work with both a small vial of seemingly fresh blood, a pinch of yellow-white dust, and a strip of withered humanlike skin.

The body of the slain bugbear, the horribly rended but otherwise intact one, suddenly jerks to life. To a mimicry of life. But then Belarin and Adamant watch as the creature stiffly sits upright and begins to pull at its own wounds. There is no pain, only a dispassionate tearing of its own flesh, until soon hair and skin has been pulled free of some of its bones. Belarin's stomach turns sour watching this self-mutilation, while Adamant feels less viscerally ill and more spiritually scoured. Once enough of the bones have been revealed through the gaping wounds, Histra shuts her eyes and whispers more arcane words. Within seconds, the glistening red muscle, and all the flesh, begins to fall away from the bones completely. Soon it is merely a bugbear skeleton free of its flesh-form, glistening from the blood but otherwise lacking in debris. At its feet is a pile of hideous flesh and gore.

Belarin suspects Histra's spell of animating the dead does not include the flesh-shedding, but that it might be some ir'Serell-specific trick.

Histra points to the water as she watches the red-wet skeleton, and it then it marches into the sea. A minute later, it comes back out, relatively clean now.

"It will dry soon," she says to both Belarin and Adamant, then points to the canvas bag. "There will be minimal smell, and no risk of disease. We can keep it within. A sentry for the voyage."

[Darren]

Kal offers Grafth a nod. "Agreed," he says. "We will continue to maintain our end. To a safe journey," he says, raising his hand as though offering a toast.

Kal sits down next to Sem. "Of course I will take your council," he says. "I think I would be lost without it. So, what was Larest's plan after this? Is there anything I need to know that I don't already know?"

[Jeff]

Brack looks out across the water, towards Belarin, Histra, and Adamant. "When they get back here, we go. And we do need to talk about that, too. Our next destination." He looks to Melethos and Kal. "That longship," he says, gesturing then towards where the tieflings disappeared. "Do we need to be concerned about it? Do you know where they're going?"

He pauses. "I must add, they will not have seen this ship yet."

[Brian]

Jul 18, 2018 10:06:46 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Brack...looks to Melethos and Kal. "That longship," he says, gesturing then towards where the tieflings disappeared. "Do we need to be concerned about it? Do you know where they're going?"

He pauses. "I must add, they will not have seen this ship yet."

“You need not worry, my lord Captain,” Melethos replies. “They will cause no trouble...yet. They also search for the Eye, but I do not know the route they take. If they eventually prove a problem...” He shrugs. “We will deal with them, as we deal with any problem.”

[Jeff]

The shifter looks at Melethos. "Rule four, remember: Call me captain or Brack, not lord."

Sorry, I'd forgotten to address Streko's axe questions: The axe-blade is way too wide to fit into his haversack. It's effectively 20 lbs. VERY heavy weapon. Where does Melethos intend to keep it?

[Brian]

Melethos nods his head. “Of course, Captain. My apologies.”

[Dave W.]

Jul 18, 2018 9:01:16 GMT -4 Jeff said:

[description of icky spell]Belarin's stomach turns sour watching this self-mutilation, while Adamant feels less viscerally ill and more spiritually scoured.

"That was... unpleasant. I sometimes worry for you..." Adamant says to Histra, "though in truth I worry after all of my friends."

"So, if you will have the... ummm... well, sentry... lay down on the tarp, I will wrap it and get it into the boat."

[Jeff]

Histra gestures toward it, and the bugbear skeleton lies itself down amid the canvas. "It will not resist being rolled up, nor attack anyone I do not order it to."

She offers no suggestions concerning the headless body of the Sentinel Marshal, which is both very stiff now and very heavy (still clad in armor).

[Dave W.]

Jul 18, 2018 15:46:52 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Histra gestures toward it, and the bugbear skeleton lies itself down amid the canvas. "It will not resist being rolled up, nor attack anyone I do not order it to."

She offers no suggestions concerning the headless body of the Sentinel Marshal, which is both very stiff now and very heavy (still clad in armor).

"Thank you," Adamant says and begins to fold the canvas around the bones. He ties it up and sets it in the boat."

Looking at the Oathbreaker, Adamant realizes the weight and awkwardness of the thing. "I think the thing to do is remove the armor and carry it up separately." He glances at Belarin, "Unless you think it better to leave the armor on the beach?"

"In any case we need to remove it." Adamant works to remove the armor.

---

I'm assuming there's some undergarment... Adamant will try to reduce the weight as much as possible but not the last layer assuming it's cloth. If necessary, he'll strip the body naked but I'm guessing that won't be... otoh, the vampires, they can be wacky sometimes...

[Jeff]

Histra winces distastefully as Adamant begins to handle the body, in a way that a normal person would regard the undead. The detached head makes the paladin's body seem much less human now, but Adamant notices that the hand is still clutching something in a closed fist, a death-grip.

"The only need for this body is the interrogation, isn't it?" she says. She touches Belarin's arm. "Or you can interrogate it now. Or I can. Then consign this body to the fire."

[Dave W.]

Jul 18, 2018 16:28:40 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Histra winces distastefully as Adamant begins to handle the body, in a way that a normal person would regard the undead. The detached head makes the paladin's body seem much less human now, but Adamant notices that the hand is still clutching something in a closed fist, a death-grip.

"The only need for this body is the interrogation, isn't it?" she says. She touches Belarin's arm. "Or you can interrogate it now. Or I can. Then consign this body to the fire."

Adamant doesn't notice Histra's reaction but pauses when he notices the hand is holding something. "Umm, Belarin... sorry to interrupt... but he is holding something... before I go further, can one of you see if you can sense magic?"

While he waits for their report, he dims his eye-gems and focuses his own perception of the unseen.

---

Oh, good, Adamant gets to gross Histra out for once...

So Adamant will use one use of Divine Sense. This should expose celestials, fiends, or undead (I bet I know where one of those is) within 60'. More importantly for this instance, it will detect any concecrated or desecrated object or place.

[Ken]

Belarin says to Histra, "Let's wait until we're get back on board before we question him... it."

After Adamant calls his attention to the closed fist, Belarin focuses his sight on it, looking for arcane auras.

____________________

Sorry to keep you waiting. Belarin uses Eldritch Sight to examine the paladin's remains.

[Jeff]

Whatever the dead hand is gripping radiates a very slight abjuration aura. Most likely some preservative magic.

[Ken]

"Open the hand, please, Adamant," says Belarin. "It doesn't appear to be anything dangerous."

[Brian]

Melethos goes about assisting Captain Brack and Kurra with shipboard activities. While working, he ponders the mystery of Orvak and his hold over his fellow tieflings.

__________________________________________

Still in Seattle. We leave on the cruise ship tomorrow.

However, tonight, Joe and I will get to meet one another for the first time. Looking forward to it. All I have to do now is find a 4'3" halfling carrying around a haversack....

[Dave W.]

I’m going to assume Addys Divine Sense doesn’t detect anything about the hand; if it does I’ll redo the post.

Jul 19, 2018 21:56:20 GMT -4 Ken said:

"Open the hand, please, Adamant," says Belarin. "It doesn't appear to be anything dangerous."

Adamant kneels down by the dead Oathbreaker and pries the fingers open one at a time.

[Jeff]

So tight is the grip that Adamant is forced to break a couple of the fingers in extracting the object. And when he finds himself holding a silver-gold metal badge displaying the chimera emblem of House Deneith. The badge of a Sentinel Marshal. Clutching this was the man's final act before death.

Sorry, yes. Adamant detected nothing undead, fiendish, or desecrated.

[Dave W.]

Adamant frees the badge and holds it for a moment or two, “do you suppose he clutched this at the last out of regret for what he had become? I suppose we could ask.” He pauses. “I think Kal should have this.” Adamant passes it to Belarian.

“I should finish here so we can get moving.” Adamant resumes stripping the body of its heavy armor. When that is done, he will roll the body in the tarp and tie it off. Body and armor get stacked in the longboat.

[Ken]

"We'll show that to Kalarian," says Belarin. "Then we'll conduct the, uh, interrogation."

[Jeff]

Jul 16, 2018 10:23:08 GMT -4 Elvis said:

Once the supplies have been stowed and the boat turns towards it's next destination, Thul heads back to his hammock.

The healing spells closed his wounds, but did nothing to clean the gore (his, the demon's and oathbound's). Thul spends his time cleaning it from his face and then his gear.

He eats and drinks just enough and then crashes. Leaving the others to debrief the captain and the others. 

Just when Thul has finished washing, and removed his blood-spattered clothing, and steps back into the galley to find some food and drink, he sees Kurra sitting there at the table. A large lidded stein sits on the table top beside her. She gestures for him to take it.

"A dwarf who forgets her promise is not a dwarf worth knowing," she says, then shakes her head. "Tonight, some shit fell on you folks. This might help. And take your time with it, if you can."

After a pause, she turns to go. "I'm quite sorry to hear about the professor. I don't know how well you knew him, but I do know his gold placed you on this ship, to whatever end." Another pause. "We'll talk about your knife when we're miles from here and have more natural light, aye?"

[Jeff]

A short while later, Belarin, Histra, and Adamant are back on board the Dragonfly. Brack takes charge of the rowboat; you're not even sure where it's kept.

The long rolled sheets of canvas lay before you. Histra removes the bugbear skeleton and slips the attached bones into a larger bag of her own which she fetches from her bunk area. Starg and Sem look on but say nothing; they're used to her undead creations.

Which leaves the bulkier remains of the Sentinel Marshal, head and body and armor. Brack points at this. "Whatever you need to do with...this, do it soon. And do it here. Don't take that mess into the cargo." Although commanding, the captain's tone is light; he seems somewhat sensitive to the shift in circumstances.

Then he walks back to the helm and this time the single sail of the Dragonfly unfurls and catches some wind. The shifter doesn't seem too concerned about navigating in the dark. However, the soft faerie glow surrounding the vessel has by this time faded away.

[Elvis]

Thul retrieves his pipe kit from his pocket as he sits at the table. He packs the bowl of his dwarven-made stone pipe and motions towards the stein. "Plenty there for two." he says. "I prefer the open air when I smoke."

[Jeff]

"You don't think I have my own cask of this stuff?" Kurra answers with a smirk. "No, all yours. But if you want air, go be among those who'll require more slaying in due time."

[Ken]

Jul 22, 2018 9:35:48 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Which leaves the bulker remains of the Sentinel Marshal, head and body and armor. Brack points at this. "Whatever you need to do with...this, do it soon. And do it here. Don't take that mess into the cargo." Although commanding, the captain's tone is light; he seems somewhat sensitive to the shift in circumstances.

Belarin nods. He says to his companions, "Might as well get this over with, so we can all get some rest. Or try to." He looks at Histra to ensure she's comfortable with this, and then he says to Kalarian, "Kal... you should see what he was holding." He indicates the Deneith badge that is now in Adamant's hand. "You should sit next to me for this. You'll likely have better questions to ask."

After taking a few minutes to arrange the corpse and place its head so that it's touching what's left of the neck, Belarin again looks to Histra to see if he's doing this correctly. Necromancy is relatively new to him.

Once he's comfortable, he sits down on the deck, facing the Sentinel Marshall's skull. He removes Valk's Tongue and waves the dagger in intricate motions before the corpse. For a moment, he feels as though he's still wearing the lich's bracelets in Dolurrh. He shudders as a chill - unrelated to the breeze - runs through him, and he maintains his concentration as he completes the incantation.

_______________________

Belarin again invokes Whispers of the Grave.

[Elvis]

Thul climbs top side with his stein. He finds a spot not too far from the warlock and oathbound. He lights his pipe and tastes the ale. 

Thul has had dwarven ale before, but this is truly good.

Nursing the ale and relaxing with his pipe, he watches the show.

[Jeff]

Thul has subconsciously ranked the beers and ales he's had in this long life. And this Mrorian Roc easily makes the top five. (It's hard to top Karrnath's famous Nightwood Ale, but nostalgia always makes that one better.) It's somehow both earthy and creamy at the same time, and leaves a bitter but satisfying taste in his mouth.

Sem looks at the Karrn and manages a weak smile. The gnome looks eager to find joy in anything at the moment.

Histra is quiet and gives Belarin only minimal direction. "Your magic comes from somewhere else altogether," she says, "So trust your instincts rather than to precision." She stands beside him, though, and remarks quietly: "I do wonder if the animating spirit will cleaves to this one's former self, or his last self."

When Belarin enacts his magic, the ash-faced head opens its eyes and stares into space. A soft hiss can be heard as the warlock's magic forces air through the severed windpipe. The dead awaits a question.

[Dave W.]

Adamant hands the Deneith badge to Kal, "This is from your House I believe."

Jul 23, 2018 11:13:43 GMT -4 Jeff said:

[Histra] remarks quietly: "I do wonder if the animating spirit will cleaves to this one's former self, or his last self."

"That is an interesting question. I should like to know what caused him to abandon his Oath. I suppose we will see."