Chapter 15: With Uncertain Ends

[Elvis]

Thul walks over to the gnome and holds out the stein, grasping it from the top and lower it to within his reach.

"A drink for the dead."

He leaves more than half of the ale for the gnome.

Thul's mind flickers back to Calyree's face for a moment.

He motions towards the cluster around the oathbound. 

"May he never return."

Thul makes his way back to his place, a cloud of white smoke billows around his mouth before being snatched away by the salty sea wind.

[Jeff]

Sem Darlesh gives Thul a genuine smile, but doesn't take more than a single swig of the beer. His eyes widen at the rest. "I'm much more accustomed to wine....we Zils don't have the constitution for dwarf spirits, but I'd at least consider convert." He gives the heavy stein back to the Karrn. "Thank you."

[Darren]

Kal takes the offered badge. "Interesting," he says. "You say this was in the fiend's hand? It was his marker to prove he was a member of the Sentinel Marshals. Perhaps some piece of him still remains. He may not have been a vampire for long."

Kal rubs his chin, looking down at the grey face. "How many questions do we get?" he asks of Belarin and Histra?

[Ken]

"Five," says Belarin, his attention on the skull. "Tell me what you'd like to know."

[Darren]

"I need to know if my brother Marin still lives..."

[Joe]

Streko comes up to Kal and Belarin, but he looks over at Histra. "Do you believe this one will be cooperative or will he be a liar and deceiver?"

[Dave B.]

Shorak grabs a piece of fruit from the kitchen after cleaning himself up and notiicing that nobody is about below, decides to check above before going to sleep. Seeing what is about to play out on deck, he finds a place out of the way, not too far from Thul and squats down to listen and observe.

[Ken]

Belarin asks the first question. "Where and when did you last see Marin Jaeren?"

[Jeff]

Jul 23, 2018 23:04:59 GMT -4 Joe said:

Streko comes up to Kal and Belarin, but he looks over at Histra. "Do you believe this one will be cooperative or will he be a liar and deceiver?"

"I am...uncertain," Histra answers, and doesn't seem to like the fact. "In life, this man was not a known enemy of Belarin, therefore it should have no reason, no agency, to lie to him. But two manifestations of this man's conscience mind has existed. One was undead, one was not. I do not think the spell can pierce the veil of undeath, however..."

Jul 23, 2018 23:56:18 GMT -4 Ken said:

Belarin asks the first question. "Where and when did you last see Marin Jaeren?"

The dead eyes rove in their sockets even as mouth opens and speaks with an unmistakably dead voice. "In the Undercity of Stormreach. Sul, the 15th of Aryth in the Year of the Kingdom, 998."

Histra nods at this. "Today is the 19th. This corpse can only speak from when it lived. It will offer nothing from its time as a vampire thrall of Krez."

[Ken]

Belarin nods at Histra's explanation, then he offers Kal an apologetic shrug. "Worth a try," he says.

He asks the corpse the second question, "What did you hear about the plans of Major Krez?"

[Jeff]

The head answers the second question: "Major Krez intends to claim the Eye for the Order of the Emerald Claw."

Histra places a hand on Belarin's shoulder. Her voice is gentle but slightly admonishing. "Such a question is too general. The dead do not give thorough answers. You must frame questions to be more specific to what you seek. Narrow it down. Ask what you think this man would have known."

[Ken]

Belarin frowns - he knows he should have phrased that differently. He looks over to Thul, who is sitting down and enjoying the show, and to Melethos. "What about you, Captain? Melethos? Any tactical questions you'd like answered?"

[Elvis]

"Ask it what route Krez is taking to reach the Eye."

[Brian]

“The route,” Melethos says, agreeing with Captain Thul. “Also, any unusual safeguards Krez has put in place on his ship.”

[Ken]

Belarin asks his third question, "What route is Krez taking to reach the Eye?"

[Dave W.]

"I was hoping we could learn what drove him to forsake his Oath. Perhaps that is also too general."

[Jeff]

At Adamant's words, Histra looks quietly at the warforged. He can sense she has something to say to him, but holds off for now.

Jul 24, 2018 12:36:26 GMT -4 Ken said:

Belarin asks his third question, "What route is Krez taking to reach the Eye?"

"The Eye does not relate our orders," the dead mouth says, addressing the third question. "But Marin believes the vampire has no choice but to follow the western coast by airship."

[Ken]

The mention of Kalarian's brother surprises Belarin. He looks at Kal and says, "He says he saw Marin several days ago in Stormreach - but that's when this fool was alive."

To Melethos, he says, "Let me flip your question around, if you don't mind, especially since the ship's elemental seemed to be acting up."

He asks the corpse the fourth question, "In your estimation, what are the tactical vulnerabilities of Krez's airship?"

[Darren]

"Remember," Kal says, "it is the living Marshal who is answering you now, not the vampire." Kal glances over at Histra to confirm what he is saying. "The Marshal may not have known Krez's plans or route beyond what he learned while trying to track him. Which it sounds like he and Marin were trying to do. If we want to know what they know, our best bet may be to find Marin. He must have been attacked by Krez directly, or at least brought to him to be raised. It may be worth asking him about how he died...."

[Jeff]

“I have not seen the Northern Wraith. In this land, I believe its vulnerability must be the one all airships share: Xen’drik itself, and the disorder the Dark Six have cast upon it.”

[Dave B.]

Shorak speaks up. "Should we ask if he heard of any other factions taking our route in search of the eye? Or have we run out of questions?" he asks Belarin and Kal.

[Ken]

"I don't know if that'll be much help," says Belarin to Shorak. "We know that there are plenty of rivals. Let's go with Kal's suggestion."

Belarin asks his final question. "What were the events leading up to the moment of your death?"

[Jeff]

"We found Emerald Claw knights guarding an entrance to the Undercity in Grindstone. Close to the Temple of Vol. We believed Major Krez would sleep in a crypt near the temple, so we dispatched the guards and went below. Our hired guide betrayed us, and we found ourselves quickly lost in the maze of tunnels."

The dead man's mouth stops for a moment, seeming like it has nothing more to add. But then it goes on. Histra, intrigues, walks closer. And while Belarin is too focused on the speaking head to notice her, others around them can see utter surprise on her face as the answer continues.

"We fought carrion crawlers," the dead man continues. "Cloakers. Kobolds. Tried to trap us. We prevailed but needed rest. Krez appeared with his foul hangers-on. We could not face them all. I laid hands upon Marin. Commanded him to run. I drew Krez away. Marin was...left, to fight the lesser undead. He is strong, he can handle them, but he cannot face the vampire alone. Nor could I, I know. Yet I had my faith, would protect my soul. Marin trusts too much in valor alone."

The ragged monotone voice grows weaker, and Belarin feels his spell coming to an end.

"Krez...cornered me. In a chamber. Of deep water and refuse. A crawler issued from an opening. Tentacles...I was paralyzed. Krez laughed at me. He blasphemed Dol Dorn as he drew his sword slowly...across...my neck." The mouth spasms, almost lifelike.  "Told me he find Marin next, and then Marin's brother. Said I would help him. He drank from my wound. He drank my life."

The dead Sentinel Marshal says nothing more.

Histra takes Belarin's hand. "I have never heard the dead speak so much, willingly, for a single question."

[Joe]

"His spirit remained pure," Streko suggests. "Even as the monster stole his life and used his remains to blaspheme all he believed in, the Marshal's soul remains true. Something to make sure the Denieths know about so that his family may honor him properly. It also seems wise that we locate Marin quickly, or Krez, whichever comes first. We must dispatch the vampire completely and utterly for all eternity, before it can hurt anyone else."

Streko whispers a prayer to Olladra, hoping she can assist the departed soul to a better place.

[Dave W.]

Adamant places a hand on Streko's shoulder when the halfling finishes his prayer, "Thank you."

"If this is true, then this Marshall did not break his Oath. There is some solace in that. Do we know his name? I would include him in a prayer at dawn as well as the tiefling Damaia"

"We must decide if we still on the quest for the Eye? We can only have one primary goal. It can be the Eye or rescuing Marin d'Deneith"? Both may be goals but we should be clear which is primary."

[Darren]

Jul 25, 2018 14:40:10 GMT -4 Dave W. said:

Adamant places a hand on Streko's shoulder when the halfling finishes his prayer, "Thank you."

"If this is true, then this Marshall did not break his Oath. There is some solace in that. Do we know his name? I would include him in a prayer at dawn as well as the tiefling Damaia"

"We must decide if we still on the quest for the Eye? We can only have one primary goal. It can be the Eye or rescuing Marin d'Deneith"? Both may be goals but we should be clear which is primary."

"We still seek the Eye," Kal says, still staring at the unmoving head of the former Marshal. "I would very much like to know Marin's fate, but it won't matter of Marin is alive or dead if Krez or someone like him gets the Eye. I believe what he said," Kal says, looking up at Adamant and gesturing to the fallen vampire. "Marin is strong and can handle himself. He's either alive, or he died fighting. I'll either see him again further down our path, or I'll see him again in Dollurh. Our plan has not changed." Kal stands, looking down at the body. "Burn it," he says, then considering where he is he adds, "or dump it overboard if we cannot."

[Brian]

“Find a safe spot,” Melethos says, “and I will burn the body.”

[Jeff]

Brack has steered the ship in silence for a time, but seeing discussion of goals rise up again, he calls out from the stern: "You also need to decide—soon, by morning—if you still wish to take the third route* I presented to you, the shortcut. Or simply take the longer but surer way around."

"Larest was all for that," Sem says quietly to no one, staring at the deck. "But he always wanted to go to Last Chance. I told him we shouldn't."

*The green route below:

[Dave W.]

"We now know for certain that we are behind several groups. I think the third route is our only option if we hope to succeed."

[Ken]

Belarin leans back after the fifth, and lengthy, answer from the corpse. Sweat drips down his forehead, and he squeezes Histra's hand. "That ... took more out of me than I expected." He looks at Histra. "Amazing." Slowly, he gets to his feet.

Jul 25, 2018 15:57:55 GMT -4 Dave W. said:

"We now know for certain that we are behind several groups. I think the third route is our only option if we hope to succeed."

"I agree," he says. "Time and caution are not our friends on this journey. There's another thing we need to talk about..."

He steps forward and speaks, shifting his attention to Kalarian, Melethos, and Thul. "The situation on the beach was owlbear shite. We all did our different things, and we were lucky to have survived. I know that we like to discuss a lot of big decisions as a group, but when it comes to a life-and-death fight...? Regardless of any other decisions we make, when we get into a fight, we need a commander, someone to keep us on the same page. Kal, Melethos, I respect both of you immensely. You know that. Thul, I don't like you at all, but you're a smart soldier with a lot of experience. I think one of you needs to declare yourself as, I don't know, battle commander, fight master, or warlord. Whatever. But we need a leader for these situations.

"There. I've had my say on multiple topics. Yay, me. You all decide on the rest while I take a nap." Still holding Histra's hand, he heads for the stairs leading below.