13th of Pharast: Portilla Sends Its Regards
A Summer's Day to Enjoy
The weather is perfect as the ship sails along: there is not a cloud in the sky, the sun radiates the warmth of a summer day, and the sea mildly pushes the ship at a steady pace. The group is finding new ways to enjoy the day: Alex tries to make himself useful in nothing but his breeches, enthusiastically mopping the deck while taking in the sun. Poppet strolls along the deck taking in the sights (including the shirtless Alex), and enjoying the warm breeze on her face. Whenever she has downtime like this, she immediately thinks of her cards; they gave her a sense of order and purpose when doing readings, but she did not feel comfortable taking them out in front of the rest of the crew, so she folds and spreads her fingers incessantly. Lo attempts some fishing, and Tarian sits with Mastodon in the hopes of picking up some of the Kishian language.
Myne decides she wants to go for a flight, and as she contemplates turning into a gull again she catches Roth's eye. He smiles at her, and a thought occurs to her. She approaches Roth, and with a grin, asks him if he wants to go for a flight. She knew that the ranger would enjoy seeing more of the sea, and a bird's eye view was the best way to do so. Along with being a nice flight they could also scout ahead and explore the seas. Roth gives her a grin, knowing that the druid could carry him in one of her forms. She had been getting better and better at it; her crowning achievement being a giant falcon that she transformed into to fly to Kassen, even carrying Rauros with her. Even though Roth was light, he thinks of the burden of being carried, so he asks Myne for a moment to remove his outer armor, and rushes below deck. A couple of minutes later he is back with just his light clothing on, and his new bow and a single quiver of arrows, grinning with excitement.
Myne transforms into a giant falcon, and Roth climbs on, making himself as secure as possible. She takes off into the sky, with Roth hanging on tight: the sensation of flight is new to him, but he is filled with the exhilaration of it as he looks down on the sea, feels the wind in his hair, and experiences the stomach-dropping sensation when they are picked up by a current of air. He soon gets comfortable with being a passenger, and is able to hang on with only his legs, enabling him to look out far ahead of them. He sees a formation on the horizon, and points it out to Myne, who gives him a blink and heads for the object Roth pointed out. When they get closer to the formation, they see that it is a small beach island, and with a shared look at each other they decide to land and check it out.
The island is small and seemingly deserted; Myne transforms back into herself to feel the soft, warm sand on her feet, and she and Roth stroll along the beach side by side in silence. The two had spent many hours together alone, preferring the company of the other over the rest of the party, and they always seemed to fill the time with silent companionship as they each enjoyed their surroundings and the presence of the other. They break the silence when Myne sees something lodged in the sand. When she pulls it out of the sand to examine, she sees that it is an ivory drinking horn with copper ends.
As Roth leans over to examine the horn, Myne looks up at him, and they have a moment where time seems to slow down as they look at each other. The ranger and the druid: the head and heart of the wild. Myne takes a shuddering breath, and tries to say something, but the moment is gone as something on the horizon catches Roth's attention. She follows Roth's gaze and sees what he sees: a strange patch of fog in the direction of where their ship should be.
Roth says in a quiet voice, "There is not a cloud in the sky; that fog is not natural. I think we need to fly back, immediately."
Myne sighs, "I agree. But this was nice while it lasted."
She shapeshifts, Roth jumps on, and they take off into the sky as fast as Myne can fly.
The Ship in the Fog
Aboard The Duchess of Wati, the group and crew see the mysterious fog creeping up from behind the ship, and they also see it with some apprehension, considering how nice the day has been. Alex does not detect evil forces, but Poppet can feel the magic in the fog as it begins to creep closer to the ship.
Pythos is at the helm, and when he sees the fog he shouts out, "I have never seen anything like that, it's moving faster than we are!"
Soon the fog overtakes the ship entirely, and they are lost in it, unable to see much of anything past it. Poppet feels the strong magic envelop her, and she shivers with anticipation.
Captain Kamara looks around shifty-eyed and says, "I know this fog...keep your eyes peeled; we may not be alone in these waters."
Suddenly, Alex detects an evil presence behind the ship: the fog was magical, and an evil presence was hiding in it. Considering the other dangers they had experienced at sea, the group heads to their quarters to put on their gear and prepare for anything that might be in the fog with them.
Suddenly, Ellete shouts out that she sees the outline of an approaching ship, and soon it is close enough for them all to make out the flag: black cloth with the symbol of a white squid, its tentacles spread out in all directions.
Captain Kamara has an annoyed expression as she eyes the flag and says, "That squid-faced bastard! Prepare for attack, they will likely try to board the ship! That is the Lady Sedna, and I know her captain well. Do not let him get inside your mind!"
Tarian drinks a Potion of Countless Eyes, and stealths behind some barrels to wait for the right moment to strike. Poppet casts Life Pact on the group, and then Heroism and Mage Armor on Alex, Enlarge Person on Mastodon, Nereid's Grace on herself, and Companion Life Link on Ellete. She felt as prepared as she could be considering they had not even seen their enemies yet, and waits hesitantly for them to show themselves.
The crew and group do not have long to wait; the ship creeps closer, and when they are within boarding distance they see a line of pirates about to swing over to their ship when in range, shouting and brandishing their weapons menacingly at the group.
Captain Kamara shouts to the crew, "I need either their captain or first mate taken alive, I want answers!"
As she shouts this, the pirates from the other ship begin to swing over and board, and Tarian, Poppet, and Ellete spot an imposing figure standing at the helm of the other ship clothed in black robes with tentacles hanging down from his jaws and sporting long fingers and claws for hands.
Captain Kamara shouts out as she points, "That be Captain Bruzo, watch yourselves!"
It is this creature that makes the first attack.
Alex feels an immense amount of pressure and evil trying to invade his mind, but he manages to fend it off. When he shakes it off he drops to his knees to say a prayer to Iomedae. Poppet casts Fortune on Mastodon, and Ellete attempts to cast Starlight on Bruzo, but it misses. Three pirates come at the group, one attacks Poppet, and the other two miss Alex and Mastodon. Tarian readies an action to shoot Bruzo when he gets a clear shot while Lo casts a zone of Confusion on Bruzo. The confusion affects everyone nearby, including the dozens of pirates that are still on the ship. In their confusion, they begin to attack each other. Tarian takes his shot at Bruzo and hits in a vital spot, making Bruzo bleed. Alex attacks the pirate on him and hits once, and then gives a pause as he sees a giant looming shadow over him. Through the crowd of people, a large hulk of a man holding a giant spear is making his way through the mass of pirates. Upon seeing Alex, he lunges out, but misses. Roth and Myne are flying fast towards the fog, unsure of what they will find when they arrive but preparing for the worst. Back on the ship, Rauros attacks and kills the pirate attacking Poppet, and Mastodon kills the pirate attacking him.
Bruzo decides to concentrate his efforts on a new target, and gets into Lo's mind. He makes Lo fear that everyone around him is an enemy, and Lo shrinks in fear from the crowd of enemies surrounding him. Poppet senses some kind of ward around Bruzo, at least shielding him from martial weapons, and casts Dispel Magic on him, removing a shield that had been blocking some of the damage he would have sustained. Ellete then casts Lesser Confusion on Bruzo, but it fails. The pirate attacking Alex hits him with his scimitar, and another pirate pushes through the crowd to attack a paranoid Lo, who tries to swing wildly at the adversary but misses. The pirate does not miss his attack on Lo, while Tarian tries to fire another crossbow bolt at Bruzo but misses. In his paranoia, Lo tries to run away from the pirate, who takes a swing at him as he runs. In his panic, he lashes out at Rauros who is fighting nearby, Blinding the bear permanently. Alex hits and kills the pirate that he is fighting, and the looming figure misses with his spear against Alex as well. As Myne and Roth strain to reach the fog, they begin to see the outlines of objects from within, and Roth readies his arrows to launch an air assault on whatever they find. Meanwhile, although Rauros is now blind, he still manages to use his senses to root out another pirate and kill him with a flurry of blows from his claws and jaws. Mastodon attacks another pirate that has joined the melee and kills him with one savage blow as well.
Bruzo sees Mastodon's destructive force against his crew and jumps to his mind. He burrows deep and plants a throbbing headache that cripples the barbarian. Mastodon screams out in agony and grabs his head as he tries to get control of the pain. Seeing the damage that the charmed Lo has done to Rauros, Poppet quickly casts Dispel Magic on Lo as he crouches in a corner. Ellete casts Cure Light Wounds on him as he seems to lift from the paranoid fog. The pirate chasing Lo catches up to him as he regains his senses and hits Lo hard. Tarian takes another well-aimed shot at Bruzo with the crossbow, hitting him square in the chest. Lo casts Hold Person on the pirate attacking him, making the pirate freeze where he stands. Alex shouts out to Kamara who is fighting nearby, and points at the looming figure, wanting confirmation that this hulk of a man was the first mate.
She nods the affirmative and shouts, "That be Tyr Durian, first mate!" and Alex takes careful swings with his sword to disable the pirate rather than kill him.
In response to the blows Alex deals to the first mate, he shouts out, "You! I will crush you!" and swings his spear, this time connecting with Alex.
Roth and Myne fly into view and witness the chaos of the melee between the two ships below. Myne takes a quick arc to view everything about the fight that they can, and they immediately pick out the malevolent figure on the opposite ship. Roth takes aim at him, and fires off two arrows that land in the wood with a *thunk* at Bruzo's feet; the adjustment to this new mode of fighting while mounted is too much to hope for a perfect shot, and he gives a grunt of displeasure at missing the surprise air attack opportunity. As they fly directly over Bruzo, Myne is happy that she can still cast her spells in her animal form, and casts Summon Nature's Ally IV, summoning a Giant Scorpion in midair. When gravity catches up to it, the scorpion drops out of the sky to land on top of Bruzo, and in agitation it begins snapping its claws and stinger at the shocked Bruzo. On the ground, Rauros attacks another pirate, seemingly unaffected by the blindness in his rage to seek out new targets. Mastodon, being freed up from the last pirate that lays dead at his feet, decides to make his way over to the other ship to take out the captain. He grabs hold of a nearby rope, and attempts to swing over, but he fouls up his swing horribly, and must land back on the ship he started on to avoid falling into the sea.
Enraged at the sudden air attack, Bruzo looks skyward at the falcon and the ranger riding astride it, and concentrates his efforts on the falcon, Take one out, and they both fall.
Without notice, Roth is suddenly sitting on top of Myne's shoulders in her half-elf form. Roth takes one look at her as she starts to fall out from underneath him, and he sees that she is pale white and unconscious. Roth lets out a scream for Myne, and grabs hold of her with his legs, wrapping them underneath her arms; she feels limp and lifeless underneath him. As they fall out of the sky towards the rigging, Roth tries to grab hold of any part of the ship he can to lessen the fall. He manages to snag part of the sail, but he loses his grip and they fall with a *thud* to the deck of the enemy ship.
Poppet watches in horror as Myne and Roth fall out of the sky and land on the deck of the enemy ship in a heap. Through Ellete she casts Silent Image, creating the illusion of part of the sails and rigging falling in between her comrades and Bruzo, blocking their bodies from his view. Poppet then sends Ellete out to the other ship to check Myne and Roth's conditions. Ellete looks at Roth first, who seems to be slowly coming to: she hears him let out a groan of pain. Ellete flutters around Myne's pale and still body; she appears to be dead, but as Ellete checks her over more closely she sees that Myne might be alive, just in some kind of deathlike state. Tarian gasps as he sees Myne and Roth drop out of the sky, and redoubles his efforts to take down Bruzo, but his shot misses. Lo continues to play Inspire Courage while the pirate that was trying to attack him stays in his frozen state next to him. Alex smacks the first mate with the pommel of his sword, landing a heavy blow to the side of the man's head. Roth slowly comes to, and gets up to his hands and knees, shaking off the pain from the fall. He looks around and sees Ellete hovering over the body of Myne and immediately looks to the azata for answers.
The little azata shouts above the din, "She might still be alive, ranger!"
Her words send a wave of relief through Roth, but shouting and the sounds of fighting from around him brings him to his senses, and he shouts back to Ellete, "We have to find a defendable position!"
He pulls Myne's limp body to a well-hidden corner of the ship and stands in front of her, drawing his bow to defend Myne and Ellete. Up at the helm, the scorpion strikes Bruzo with its stinger, and Rauros slashes through another pirate. Mastodon makes a successful swing to the other ship, and begins to run towards Bruzo.
The scorpion irritates Bruzo to no end, and the fact that he could no longer view his fallen prey through the illusion was enough to set him on edge. With a blast of psychic power, he throws the scorpion in the general direction of Myne, Roth, and Ellete. The scorpion flies through the illusion, making it disappear, and Roth pulls Myne out of the way of the incoming scorpion just in time. It flies over the edge of the ship, dropping into the water. Poppet rushes over to Lo to heal him, and the pirate next to him continues to be frozen in place. With the illusion gone, Tarian takes a better shot at Bruzo. While playing his lute, Lo pulls out a dagger and stabs the frozen pirate in the face, never missing a note during the coup de grace. Alex smacks the first mate with the flat side of his sword, dropping the huge man to the ground unconscious.
Alex shouts out to Kamara, "Captain, he's down!"
Roth takes a shot at Bruzo, landing an arrow on him while Rauros kills the last pirate on their ship. Mastodon reaches Bruzo, but his swing is so wildly off that his sword flies out of his hands, and across the ship, landing with a clang far out of reach.
Seeing one part of his fallen prey alive, Bruzo decides to focus his energy on Roth again, getting into his mind and delivering piercing pain to his head. Roth screams as the pain takes over, making him see stars. Poppet casts a cure spell on Roth through Ellete while Tarian swings to the other ship, firing an arrow that misses Bruzo. Lo casts Blind on Bruzo, and he screams as he loses his sight, on top of already looking ragged from the blows he sustained thus far. Suddenly, a gun blast rings out, and Bruzo's head explodes all over his ship. The group looks around for the sound of the blast, and sees Captain Kamara holding a smoking pistol in her hand.
With every pirate from the invading ship incapacitated or dead, the group moves quickly to swing to the Lady Sedna. Alex's swing over nearly ends in disaster, but Mastodon pulls him up, and they all rush over to Myne, Roth, and Ellete. From Ellete's assessment, Poppet is hopeful that the half-elf is still alive, despite her appearance. Poppet looks her over, and sees that she is under a necromantic spell, in a catatonic coma that has every appearance of death that lasts for hours.
Poppet reassures the worried group by saying, "She's fine, she is under a spell that she just has to sleep off. Get her comfortable, and by tomorrow she should wake up. In the meantime, I need to rest so that I can recover my magic and heal Rauros's blindness."
When Myne's condition is disclosed, Tarian turns to Captain Kamara and asks her about who will take over control of the Lady Sedna.
Tarian tries to negotiate for the ownership of the vessel, trying to claim a share of what was fought for, but Captain Kamara refuses to even hear his request, "Pythos will be taking this ship, and it will sail alongside the Duchess back to Portilla. The president owns this ship; Portilla controls all these shipping lanes."
Tarian pushes again for some part of the ship, saying, "We helped procure the ship for the President then, should we not expect some kind of compensation?"
Kamara grins and says, "Mr. Griffin is President of Portilla, and he controls all shipping lanes, as well as the pirate activity. Normally I have a contract to go to and fro as I please, which I am in possession of right now. This is why I wanted the first mate alive, Bruzo would have been difficult. I want answers, I want to know why my contract is not being honored."
Tarian asks, "Is there anything that we can do to aid you in finding out information regarding your contract, then?"
"No, this is between me and the President...my husband."
She looks down again at the forlorn body of Myne, giving the group time to give a wide-eyed look at the Captain at her remark, and says, "We should not attempt to move her to my ship. Since this vessel is now under my control, she can rest in the crew's quarters on this ship. Both are going to the same place now. I suggest you decide who will stay on each ship. Once we get underway again we shan't be stopping until we reach Portilla."
Roth picks up Myne in his arms and says, "I'll take her to the cabin area, I think I'd like to stay with her on this ship as well."
Tarian steps forward saying, "I'll help you get her to the cabins."
Roth and Tarian take Myne below deck, and make her as comfortable as possible on one of the bunks before returning to the rest of the group. Tarian takes the opportunity to scope out possible loot on the ship on the way back to the deck, and when they reach the deck again, he watches with some jealousy as Pythos examines the body of Bruzo, pulling a chain shirt, a cloak, and a ring off him. Captain Kamara then gives Bruzo a proper Captain's send-off by putting his body in a rowboat and sending it out to the sea. Alex, Poppet, Ellete, Mastodon and Lo head back to the Duchess, while Roth and Tarian follow them over to gather their gear and belongings and head back to the Lady.
Back on the Duchess, Rauros seems to be anxious and agitated: not being able to sense Myne and being blind had made the bear fearsome to approach. Poppet reaches out tentatively, places a hand on his head and tells him that Myne is okay, but unreachable, and that she would heal him of his blindness in the morning. He seems to soften at her touch and her words, and he allows her to lead him below deck to the crew's quarters to rest. The bear had earned the right to sleep there; he had single-handedly killed five pirates. The two ships set off with their assorted passengers, and Captain Kamara is eager to see the Harbor of Anessi since she knows that it is only another five days' travel away.
14th of Pharast: Interrogations and Awakenings
The next morning on the Duchess, Poppet heals Rauros of his blindness, and the bear gleefully licks her face in thanks for the restoration of his vision. First mate Tyr is also in the land of the awake, but is unhappy about the situation, considering he is tied to a post below deck. Captain Kamara glares at him while Alex, Poppet, Lo, and Mastodon look on, knowing that an interrogation is coming.
Kamara paces around Tyr like an agitated tiger, and when she finally looks at him again, she says, "Alright. Spill it. You know who I am, you know my ship is under contract-"
Tyr grins and cuts in, "Was under contract, sea wench."
Kamara gives Tyr an exasperated look and says, "Speak some sense or I start taking fingers."
Tyr laughs at Kamara and says, "Your contract was up last time you came through, and He never renewed it for you."
Kamara lets out a roar of frustration and says, "Strap this shite to the bow, and see how he laughs then!"
Alex steps forward and says, "Torture is something I cannot condone."
Kamara turns on Alex and says, "He be my prisoner, knight, on my ship."
Alex stands his ground and calmly says, "By my God I will not allow this."
Kamara deflates under Alex's demeanor and says, "Okay knight, you are a just individual so you decide what to do with this man."
Alex nods and says, "Captain, interrogate this man with no torture."
Kamara puts a hand up in the air, and in an offhand voice says, "I have no need of this man. I have already received all I need from him, so you do what you please."
Alex requests that he be imprisoned and treated fairly until they reach port, which Kamara agrees to, untying Tyr and leading him to a cell.
Late in the afternoon on the Lady, Myne's eyes flutter open and she slowly takes time to assess her condition and location. She could not remember anything after reaching the fog with Roth, then the image of a strange cloaked figure with tentacles under its hood creeps into her mind. She shudders at the thought, and pushes it out of her mind, concentrating instead on her surroundings. She hears the sound of water around her, sees the familiar interior of the ship's crew quarters, notices that she is laying comfortably on one of the bunks with a blanket (no manacles, so at least she isn't a prisoner), and breathes a sigh of relief. She carefully rolls over and sits up; the world momentarily swims out of focus from the change of position, and when she is able to get her senses under control again she sees Roth looking back at her from his seat on the opposite bunk, wearing a relieved expression.
She smiles at him, seeing that he must have been sitting there for some time waiting for her to wake up and asks, "What did I miss?"
Roth furrows his eyebrows and says, "We thought we lost you...you looked like you were dead. Bruzo must have done something terrible. You and I… we fell out of the sky when he attacked you with some kind of mind spell. We managed to fend off the attacking ship, and Captain Kamara has taken control of it. We are on that ship now, being commanded by first mate Pythos who is following the Duchess to our destined port. A day has passed since you blacked out… how do you feel? Poppet said you would wake about now from the spell's effect, but your appearance until now has been…unnerving."
Myne stretches, and she sees a few more stars in front of her eyes, but recovers quickly saying, "I think I'm okay, I will have to take it slow today. Thank you, Roth. Was our fall out of the sky at least a graceful one?"
Roth shudders as he recalls the fall, but lets out a little laugh and says, "No, not really. Come on, let's get you something to eat and drink."
15th-17th of Pharast: The Duchess and Lady Come Home
The rest of the time aboard the Duchess and the Lady passes uneventfully. The weather is perfect for sailing, and the group feels the full force of tropical, sun-soaked seas and beaches. Poppet cares for Rauros in Myne's absence, ensuring that the bear is given the attention he would normally receive under Myne's care. Myne makes a full recovery, and even takes a flight over to the other ship to see Rauros and the rest of the group.
Alex takes the time to give Myne a quick hug, saying, "You had to go flying off again, didn't you? Don't scare me, you should have just never left the ship in the first place!"
After spending time with the group, she flies back to the Lady to finish the journey.