(G73 28/11/09 BG - GF(GM), AP, ON)

DAY 136 cont...

Nobby and Shlump didn't waste any time in the afternoon though and went straight to the
shop of Darsh 'Dirty Dave' Tuskhunter. Here they divided up the Sea Wyvern's booty and decided
what to sell and what to keep.

The spent nearly two hours with Darsh and at the end Nobby noticed that he was hiding something
so she talked to him privately.
He revealed to her that only that morning, someone had been trying to sell the Wyvern to him!
When asked who it was, he revealed that it had been the same man that had been in the shop
the day before buying the Break Enchantment scroll.
Since Eriss had been with Shifty that day when he had purchased the scroll it didn't take
much detective work from Nobby to put all the clues together.
Darsh continued 'Since Rollo and Lady Lavinia had already been in to my shop yesterday and
the Nixie and the Wyvern were the only two ships in harbour right now, I chatted to them for
a while and when I assumed both ships belonged to Lavinia, the druid corrected me and said
that your ship was joint owned by him, yourself Miss Nobwinkle and a gent by the name of
Shifty.
So imagine my surprise when someone came in this morning trying to sell it.
He presented some documents to me, but to be honest the ink looked fresh on them and I was
not convinced. Then the conversation went something like this :
'These are the legal papers to the Sea Wyvern down in the harbour. I will sell this ship
to you for two thousand gold.' he said.
'Oh right. Let's see.', says I looking them over.
Seeing them as forgeries I say, 'Well, I'm sorry, but I don't buy ships at any price.'
'For twelve hundred gold?' says he?
'Well ok then;, says I 'Lets have a look at it!'
'No!', he cries. 'Take it now, or I'll burn it and sail away with my other one. I cannot
go back to it as it holds too many bad memories.'
Well, I was utterly flabbergasted at that and told him to get out! He then swore and left.
Now I'm telling you this in confidence my dear! You promise no harm will come to my shop
or to the village over this?'

Nobby promised and thanked Darsh for his information and wondered where she could find the
nefarious rogue? She found me though, and I asked if Darsh had maybe been mistaken
and Shifty was only trying to sell his share? But Darsh had been very clear, Nobby thought,
Shifty had been trying to sell the whole ship!
I then asked for directions to the corrupted glade as I wished to fly out there and
take a look at it for myself.

Yesterday evening, the merchant ship 'Fortune's Child' had arrived in port and Crispy
and Veddic talked to the locals about it. The captain was a Sasserine man called Hayder
Kaysho and his second in command was the wizard Shelly Drakesbane. They then talked to
the captain about trade and among other things he let Veddic know that he had a set of
magical full plate which he could let go at a cheap price (since it was off a dead elf
and was a bit 'leafy' in design).

A party was being organised in the new park, drink and food were being taken there by
the happy locals and tents and shades erected. There was also a pit roast that filled
the area with the smell of succulent cooking pork.

People gathered to eat and talk, and one of the topics of conversation for the fellows
was who was staying and who was going. Eventually it seemed that Olander and Eriss had
poached Meree, Falah, Kelech and Skald from the Sea Wyverns crew. Eriss was very
apologetic to Nobby and promised to sent some people to the ship in the morning to
replace those lost.

Avner also sought Nobby out and said to her,
'Listen. You are the only one on the Wyvern that I even remotely trust
since that druid went to be with Lavinia. I need help finding Father
Feres! He's stolen all my gold and ran off with it, the little sneak!'
Nobby asked how this could be and he replied,
'I trusted Feres to make a few arrangements for me while we were here
and gave him access to my funds. He's taken three hundred gold.'
Nobby was sure she could imagine what sort of 'arrangements' they were but said she
would see what she could do!

As the evening wore on, Veddic noticed Parrie hanging around with some of the teenage
locals, wearing make-up, drinking and smoking!
He decided to teach her a lesson and persuaded Shlump to go and 'come on to her'. This
Shlump dully did by using the only method of seduction a half-orc knows. Grabbing her
and getting his parts out!
Parrie screamed in terror and ran away as fast as her legs could carry her, but appeared
half and hour later as a sobbing heap before Nobby.
She didn't get quite as much sympathy from the gnome as she'd hoped though and eventually
sulked off somewhere else. Nobby did have words with Shlump and Veddic however.

A few hours later Willy Reach arrived and sought out Lady Such and they immediately
began to have a blazing row. Veddic and Crispy arrived to hear the tail end of it and
in time to trade a few insults with the angry gnome before he stormed off.
The argument had been about him making promises on her behalf over the payment and
how she could not afford to pay it. She had also threatened to cut off all funding
to his Orgone Accumulator project which had made him incandescent with rage.
Shlump wisely followed him to the tavern though, where he saw Willy appear to hire
a number of thugs.

Just as he was turning to go back and warn the others he met Veddic coming the other
direction taking a drunk local girl back to his room so he could have his wicked way
with her!
(As a personal aside I must say that I am utterly astounded that the priest treats women
so poorly, while Crispy ,the pirate, has been treating Made so well! It's almost as if
they have reversed roles!)

Shlump did warn the others though, and then waited outside the park gates to see
what happened next. An hour or so passed and midnight rolled past.
His patience was rewarded though because eventually Willy Reach and six thugs arrived
coming through the area of newly and partially constructed houses.

Shlump was then dismayed to hear clanking and rumbling coming up the street and then as
Willy shouted 'Get them Nuts!', a huge metal construct lumbered into view.
Shlump shouted to warn the people in the park and battle was joined!

It started with Willy throwing one of his smokepowder grenades at the half orc that
exploded at his feet sending nails and metal shavings everywhere. That and the sight
of the advancing construct sent Shlump running around the side of one of the new houses.

Veddic had followed the attackers, startled from his slumber by the passing of the
construct, and when spotted was shot at by a couple of the thugs. Nobby went to the
gate with Eris and shouted at Willy to stop what he was doing and prepared her magic.

Crispy jumped the park wall and skulked around the side of one of the empty buildings
but was stabbed in the back by a young roguish lass with a sabre. He turned to shoot
her with his crossbow, but seeing the fear on her face, knocked her out with a punch
on the chin instead.

Meanwhile Shlump had gone full around a house and attacked Willy from behind, knocking
the gnome senseless with the pommel of his sword, but not before the gnome had hurled
another bomb at Nobby and Eriss.

Nobby tried a Sonic Lance spell on the construct, but like Eris's magic before her, this
had no effect on the thing. Eris attacked one of the thugs instead and killed on of
them with a Combust spell.

Veddic had chased off the two thugs that had attacked him and joined in at the main
fight, just in time to see the construct pick up the limp body of Willy and lumber
away from the park. Eris cast a grease spell on the ground that slowed it right down
and Veddic attacked it with his chain.

Eris then remembered she had just been given a wand of Acid Arrow and began to use
it on the construct, showering it in bursts of acid that seemed to work away at its
metal armour and making stinking clouds of vapour rise from it. Some also splashed
onto Willy's skin but he was still too badly injured to notice.

More Acid Arrow's followed, and more blows from Veddic's chain and when the thing
struggled free from the grease it only managed a few steps before it was cast again
at its feet and it fell over. It crushed its gnome master under its weight and that
combined with the acid that was washing all over it meant that Willy had finally met
his end.

Next the injured and battered construct flailed around on the ground for a moment
before suddenly going still. It seemed like anything might happen, but when it started
to emit a high pitched whine that grew higher in pitch everyone nearby ran for it.
Half a minute later the thing exploded, taking out the sides of several of the
nearby buildings. The victorious allies picked themselves up and dusted themselves
down before cautiously going to peer into all that was left of Willy and his
construct - nothing more than a smoking crater.