28: Now we see the violence inherent in the system

[Ebiris]

[14:01] <@Ebiris> Onwards you sail towards Griffin Reef, the island slowly but steadily growing larger. The some seen billowing up from it seems to thin out as the hours pass, becoming less and less visible, as if whatever fire produced it is reduced to mere ashen embers. The tedium of travel is broken by a seagull swooping down for a meal several dozen feet from the Fisher Princess, catching a good sized fish in its sharp beak and starting to angle upwards... only to go askew in a spray of blood as it suddenly plummets, the fish flopping from its beak and diving into the water!
[14:01] <@Ebiris> OOC: roll perception if you're paying attention to that event
[14:03] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+5 Trucy is at least
[14:03] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+5 Trucy is at least and gets 17." [1d20=12]
[14:03] * @Henrietta is focused more on the island ahead and on combatting the distraction from the pain of her wounds.
[14:04] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+10 sure
[14:04] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+10 sure and gets 21." [1d20=11]
[14:05] <@Rudy> "Henri, is it possible for people like me to learn how to, you know, heal people?" asks Rudy, gingerly.
[14:05] <@Ebiris> "Birds have been having bad luck fishing around us," Trucy remarks with a chuckle, watching as the stricken gull sinks under the waves with a weak squawk before she likewise turns to regard the destination.
[14:05] -> *Lucie* The fish looks like an ordinary mackerel or something like that, but for its jaw which distended hugely to tear out the bird's throat, and sharp spines that seemed to erupt from its scales as soon as it was bitten.
[14:05] * @Henrietta startles. "Hmm? Whatever do you mean, people like you?"
[14:07] <@Rudy> "I mean, people like me! I'm like a mage of some kind, I suppose, so, uh..." Rudy wrings his hands. "I know priests can fix people right up, but what about mages?"
[14:08] * @Henrietta purses her lips, mulling the question over. "Actually, yes. My mother mentioned this, I believe. You know how there are these wands that priests can use, if they don't have a potion on hand?"
[14:09] <@Rudy> "I understand that something like that exists, yep."
[14:10] <@Henrietta> "Why, a mage just like yourself can easily learn how to use them!" Henrietta says with a bright smile. "Oh, certainly, the priests would tell you stories of how you need to be devout and all that rubbish, but it truly takes merely a focused, healthy mind, I assure you."
[14:11] <@Rudy> "Would being devout help, though?"
[14:12] <@Lucie> "Not in my experience," Lucie says, idly leaning on the rail and looking out at the island.
[14:12] * @Henrietta considers this question as well, unpalatable though it might be. "Well, since it's all superstition, I don't see how it can hurt. I'm fairly confident you would make such wands work for you whether you are devout or not, however."
[14:12] <@Rudy> "I'll get you to show me someday, because if there's anything I hate more than getting hurt, it's watching other people get hurt." Rudy pauses. "Well, people I like getting hurt."
[14:14] <@Lucie> "Lookin' to learn more powers you don't understand how you can make work then, Rudy?"
[14:14] <@Henrietta> "A noble sentiment," Henrietta says in approval, wincing as she moves a bit too quickly. "Very well, we will schedule that first thing upon return."
[14:14] <@Ebiris> As time passes the island comes into greater focus, looming large as it juts up in the centre of the forbidding reef. Ahead you can see the stacked grey cliffs of the island's North face, festooned with green and blue heather and pocked with caves and crevasses, with smooth rocks at the base resting before the dangerous reefs upon which the gentle surf breaks. Perched almost in the middle of the clifftops is a solitary tower of grey stone, perhaps a lighthouse but far less grand than the ones marking the coast of Salerno.
[14:15] <@Henrietta> "My, a pirate lighthouse!" Henrietta exclaims, mildly surprised that they went to such lengths.
[14:16] <@Rudy> "If priests can do it, it's probably safe," affirms Rudy. "Anyway, fixing people up is pretty tame compared to summoning weird monsters... well, duh. Trying to sail around here in the dark, you'd run aground or hit a reef or something and fail right away."
[14:16] * @Lucie scans the tower for inhabitants. Maybe someone to watch for visitors, if these pirates are the paranoid type?
[14:17] <@Ebiris> "Yeah, the lighthouse works as a warning but without the charts anyone who isn't part of the Collective's still gonna hit the reefs well before they hit the island," Trucy adds, going to climb up the mast and adjust the sails to Callum's commands in readiness for the careful maneuvering ahead. As the boat veers East in search of the safe pass through the reefs and sandbanks warding the sea around the island, a bright flare of light suddenly detonates atop the lighthouse, bright enough to sear the eyes of any unlucky enough to be looking directly at it!
[14:18] <@Glenn> "Gah!" Glenn exclaims as he rubs his eyes. "What the hell was that all about?"
[14:18] <@Lucie> "Signal tower. Figures. Hope they're curious enough not to sink us before we land when we get there."
[14:19] <@Ebiris> "That was pretty excessive," Trucy grumbles, rubbing her own eyes.
[14:19] * @Lucie grumbles quietly, shaking away the afterimage.
[14:19] <@Henrietta> "Is that... normal?" Henrietta wonders with another wince.
[14:19] <@Rudy> "Should we.. signal back?"
[14:20] <@Ebiris> OOC: you can roll perception btw Lucie, sorry
[14:20] <@Lucie> "Doubt it's for us."
[14:20] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+10
[14:20] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+10 and gets 19." [1d20=9]
[14:20] -> *Lucie* It's too far away for you to make out any people atop it or around it, and the windows are all shuttered.
[14:23] <@Ebiris> OOC: Callum's gonna roll Sailor to guide the boat through the reefs, Grant and Trucy will aid. If anyone else wants to aid or has some other way to help by all means go for it.
[14:23] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+6 I'll aid
[14:23] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+6 I'll aid and gets 7." [1d20=1]
[14:23] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+4 Trucy aids
[14:23] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+4 Trucy aids and gets 15." [1d20=11]
[14:23] <@Lucie> OOC: I guess I can keep an eye out for unexpected reefs, otherwise likely no help
[14:24] <@Ebiris> OOC: roll perception DC 20 and it'll count for a +2 bonus
[14:24] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+10
[14:24] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+10 and gets 21." [1d20=11]
[14:24] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+3 Grant
[14:24] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+3 Grant and gets 20." [1d20=17]
[14:24] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+12 sailing away~
[14:24] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+12 sailing away~ and gets 30." [1d20=18]
[14:27] <@Ebiris> Tracking through the safe pass marked on Vanthus's sea charts, Callum's gaze is one of implacable determination, his hands locked to the wheel and his son looking between the map and the surrounding waters as he calls terse instructions, the unassuming fishing boat steadily winding its way towards the heart of the Collective's secluded port. Trucy deftly furls and unfurls the sails to aid in maneuverability, while Lucie calls out warnings when a reef or sandbank gets too close. The island is rounded at a distance to navigate its undersea shield, the cliffs to the West starting to grow shorter as you wind South. But as this occurs, a cry is heard from your right! Up on the descending cliffs to starboard, a figure is seen at the edge of a crevasse in the rock, jumping and waving wildly as he calls for help, the distance muffling his voice to near obscurity.
[14:29] <@Rudy> "Good heavens! What's that man on about? Hey there! What's the fuss?"
[14:29] <@Ebiris> OOC: roll perception
[14:29] <@Lucie> "How'd he get himself up there, anyway?" Lucie wonders, taking a goood hard look at his surroundings...and, perhaps also relevantly, at the seabed between their little ship and his cliff.
[14:29] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+10
[14:29] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+10 and gets 16." [1d20=6]
[14:30] <@Henrietta> "Can we get close enough to help?" Henrietta calls over to Callum.
[14:30] <@Ebiris> The seabed is an undulating landscape of deep valleys and tall sandbanks, oft capped by reefs of colourful coral. Swimming would be quite simple, but the boat would founder rapidly if it tried going straight at the cliffs.
[14:31] <@Ebiris> "Not a chance, lass!" the fisherman calls, "Those reefs'd tear the bottom right off the 'Princess!"
[14:31] <@Ebiris> The man on the cliffs continues to yell and scream himself hoarse, barely heard cries for help.
[14:33] <@Lucie> "'less one of you plans to swim out there to help the mysterious stranger, I say we move on," Lucie says. "Don't see any reason to trust the locals as far as I could throw a stone. Could be some kind of scheme."
[14:33] <@Henrietta> "Well... what is our best option of helping him?" Henrietta asks, clasping her hands.
[14:33] <@Rudy> "But if we could actually help him, he might help us get around the port," points out Rudy. "We need someone to swim out there and talk to him! And I can't swim."
[14:34] <@Ebiris> "What help does he need? Is he a prisoner? Is there a monster in the caves?" Trucy asks, looking over curiously.
[14:34] <@Rudy> "Maybe he needs to get down?"
[14:34] <@Henrietta> "Can we... get close enough to hear what he wants?"
[14:35] <@Lucie> "You got some monsters can swim, right? Send him a squid or something."
[14:35] * @Henrietta blinks at Lucie's suggestion. "Squids can't climb cliffs, can they?"
[14:35] <@Ebiris> As everyone watches, a heretofore unseen figure makes itself known, previously difficult to see thanks to its green attire blending with the moss and lichen on the cliff-face, the figure clambers up onto the same ledge and begins viciously setting upon the screaming man, who's cries take on an altogether different timbre of terror and pain!
[14:37] <@Rudy> "Oh, no!" Rudy raises his hands, and with a sudden gust of wind, an air elemental sallies forth to save the unfortunate man!
[14:37] <@Henrietta> "That's horrible!" Henrietta exclaims. She raises her voice. "Jump down and swim over to us!"
[14:42] <@Ebiris> The unfortunate man draws a blade that glints in the sun, trying to hold off his attacker but clearly taking the worse end as his attacks either miss or are ignored completely. He falls just as the air elemental enters the fray, catching the aggressor by surprise as it bends over the fallen! The two battle furiously for a moment, the elemental hitting fast and often but seemingly to little effect, battering its foe this way and that but everything being shrugged off before its brought down by a vicious headbutt and barehanded swipe, evarporating into wisps of air!
[14:43] <@Rudy> Rudy soon dispatches a dolphin to recover the unfortunate man in the hopes that he can yet be saved...
[14:43] <@Ebiris> OOC: the man's up on the cliffs 80 feet above the water
[14:44] <@Lucie> "Unless someone's got other ideas here, I suggest we move on with a lesson: nobody goes anywhere alone on this island."
[14:44] <@Henrietta> White-faced and with her gaze fixed upon that cliff, Henrietta doesn't responds.
[14:44] <@Glenn> "...agreed," Glenn says with a frown as he continues looking at the spectacle above.
[14:44] <@Rudy> OOC: Ah, it sounded like he fell off
[14:45] <@Rudy> "I can agree with that," replies Rudy, grimacing. "What a dive."
[14:45] <@Ebiris> Victorious, the attacker kneels over his victim, body convulsing as the Fisher Princess sails on and past the grim scene...
[14:47] <@Ebiris> Curving into the bay, the pirate port is finally opened to the Fisher Princess. To the West lies a long shingle-strewn beach, curving South to shield the long and narrow harbour of the Collective, undulating sandbanks barring most of its access from any other directions but the sliver you sail down. Towards the South a sturdy caravel lays at anchor, a mighty bronze fist on its prow and a name plate reading 'Steadfast Red', but of other boats? It's now that the true calamity that has befallen Griffin Reef becomes apparent.
[14:47] <@Ebiris> The interior of the bay is choked with debris, the water stained dark with oil and ichor, only a few blackened spurs and ragged sails bobbing on the water like blankets hint to the fates of the other pirate vessels. The pier still stands, but barely, docks partially collapsed and blackened from fire and smoke. A small shanty town rests on the Northern beach, perhaps half a dozen wooden structures that look to have seen better days, smoothed path leading up into the caverns that infest the Northern cliffs of the island. Even from a distance, several corpses are seen strewn around the harbour, looking to have perished violently.
[14:49] <@Lucie> "Not one of our better days, is it?" Lucie observes.
[14:49] <@Henrietta> "We were too late," Henrietta says sadly. "And that remaining ship must belong to Vanthus, then."
[14:50] <@Ebiris> "You think he's still here?" Trucy asks, looking faintly sick at the devastated scene ahead.
[14:51] <@Ebiris> "I dinnae like this," Callum states. "'Tween this, that man on the cliffs, those merpeople, and the albatross... we shoulda turned back days ago."
[14:51] <@Glenn> "Let's hope so, if only so we can still capture him, Trucy."
[14:51] <@Henrietta> "Yes, the man on the cliffs!" Henrietta exclaims. "If they are still fighting, then yes, he must still be here!"
[14:52] <@Rudy> "Doubt it. Would want to take his loot and split, I'd say," notes Rudy, slumping. "Capture? Capture. How cute. Let's see if there's anyone here who hates him."
[14:52] * @Glenn rolls his eyes. "You know what I meant."
[14:53] <@Henrietta> "If that caravel is not his, then whose is it?" Henrietta asks Rudy, pointing at the ship to the south.
[14:54] <@Rudy> "Why don't we go see? Best case, it is, and we'll tidy this up right quick."
[14:54] <@Lucie> "Not going anywhere 'til the job's done. Look, there are two options here: Vanthus won and that's his ship, or he got chased out and whoever's on that ship wants him dead. Could be of use to us if there's someone willing to talk, in that latter case."
[14:56] <@Henrietta> "Then, well, let's go there!"
[14:56] <@Rudy> Rudy begins to work on summoning Myra in preparation for their eventual assault!
[14:56] <@Ebiris> Sighing mournfully, the rotund fisherman brings his boat towards the leftmost pier, the sound of scraping wood heard loudly from below as the boat passes over the sunken hulk of one of the Collective vessels formerly moored her. Ahead in the small cluster of buildings you can begin to make out details. Seperated from the rest is a squat cobblestone building with stained glass windows, while closest to the pier are two wooden ones, one leaning off kilter and surrounded by corpses, two behind an improvised wooden barricade and looking severely mauled, several around them riddled with crossbow bolts, and... wrong. These figures are twisted and deformed, like the merpeople from before, with strange shrunken limbs, extra joints boasting claws or tentacles, even one with knobbly twisted black horns projecting agonisingly from his head. They all seem to be wearing similar red armbands with a symbol of two clasped fists.
[14:58] <@Henrietta> Henrietta's preparation is another casting of Mage Armor, to be on the safe side. And if it takes her attention off the unnatural corpses, all the better.
[14:59] <@Lucie> "More I see of the local life, more I wonder if the captain's right about these waters being cursed," Lucie mutters. She scans the makeshift town for any sign of inhabited dwellings. Movement behind windows, a light on inside, anything.
[14:59] <@Ebiris> "It looks like the Collective was fighting amongst themselves... but I've never seen beastmen like that," Trucy looks somewhat sick at the sight immediately off the boat, seeming reluctant to disembark. "It's like they were warped."
[14:59] <@Ebiris> OOC: perception Lucie
[15:00] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+10
[15:00] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+10 and gets 26." [1d20=16]
[15:00] <@Glenn> "It could be some alchemist messing around, or a group of them, with mutagenic alchemy. Those two that attacked us had seemed to react to my change when I transformed, didn't they? Or was I just imagining it?" Glenn hazards a guess.
[15:01] * @Lucie gives Glenn a skeptical look. "That mean we have to watch for you going batty on us someday, Glenn?"
[15:02] <@Glenn> He shrugs. "I hope not...but I can't give you any guarantees. I'm still learning my craft, understand. I could always come upon an incredible failure of epic proportions..." Glenn admits.
[15:02] <@Ebiris> There's a lot to hear and see amidst the carnage, a seagull is glimpsed further down the pier, lying on its side and cawing weakly as it rotates on the ground, flapping its wing uselessly for its other wing has been replaced by a grotesquely humanoid hand, weeping sores and strange tendrils erupting from its feathers. From past the two buildings by the pier a constant crunching and slurping sound is heard, interspersed with rasping hoots. The building opposite the one with the dead clustered around it has its door knocked off its hinges, liquid staining the doorway and a strong smell of alcohol emanating from within.
[15:03] <@Ebiris> "We should leave. Now," Callum looks pale as the ship comes to rest.
[15:03] <@Henrietta> "Maybe we can... set the other boat on fire, and then leave?"
[15:04] <@Lucie> "Have to know he's dead," Lucie insists. "But I'm with you on putting a torch to anything that'll burn. Think whatever's going on here, we don't want getting off this island."
[15:05] <@Rudy> Once Myra is with them and ready to inflict horrible injuries on all who stand between them and Vanthus, Rudy straightens up and shoulders his crossbow. "We have to at least try and figure out where Vanthus buggered off too, if he's not here. Or confirm his, uh, fate, if he is," he notes. "If we could burn the whole place, I suppose I'd be satisfied, but we should at least check out the ship
[15:05] <@Rudy> that's still afloat."
[15:05] <@Ebiris> "We doing that first?" Trucy asks.
[15:05] <@Henrietta> "Yes. Please!"
[15:06] <@Rudy> He glances at Callum. "Not quite what we expected," he admits. "Nobody would blame you for leaving, but we need to get back, see. How'd danger pay sound to you?"
[15:06] <@Lucie> "We maybe want our ride waiting a bit out into the water, just in case someone unfriendly shows up and marches down the pier?"
[15:08] <@Ebiris> Callum seems quite happy to comply, steering the Fisher Princess in a wide arc between the two ravaged piers, although wincing at the scraping sounds heard from under his boat which mercifully abate once away from the ravaged inner bay and towards the ship safely moored away from the carnage. The Steadfast Red has its prow painted that colour behind the fist ornament, a massive claw indentation marring the wood but seeming only superficial. "Yeah, I can do that," he nods. "We'll say an extra eighty gold for every day we spend here." Nobody on the other boat appears to register your presence as you draw alongside, an easy climb up onto the other deck.
[15:09] <@Glenn> "Let's make this a short one day then," Glenn says as he gets ready to climb.
[15:09] <@Rudy> "Yeah, reasonable enough," replies Rudy. "Anything come after you, and you shout, okay? So we can come save you!"
[15:09] <@Henrietta> "It sounds very reasonable," Henrietta agrees, more than happy to be dealing with finances and negotiations than mutated dead bodies. "We ran into unexpected problems, and you should be well-compensated for that."
[15:10] * @Lucie eyes the boat. "More fists. Bet this boat's for the dead uglies. Hope there's no one left onboard."
[15:11] <@Rudy> "How're we gonna get up there?"
[15:11] * @Henrietta gathers her courage and tries that climb onboard that looks so easy!
[15:12] * @Lucie follows. Henri shouldn't be taking the lead in her condition.
[15:12] <@Ebiris> Trucy clambers up onto the deck herself with little effort. "Nobody around. Figure if anyone was they'd have sailed away from this hellhole, right?" she surmises, looking over the wide deck. It's a fair match for Lavinia's Blue Nixie, perhaps a bit bigger. Two large ballistae are set to the sides of the prow, and bombards are set to the rear before the aftcastle. The sails are furled for the moment, anchor set down to the side.
[15:12] <@Rudy> Rudy follows the obvious demonstration, clambering up after the girls show him how it's done.
[15:12] <@Rudy> And Myra's there, too!
[15:13] <@Henrietta> "Maybe Vanthus wanted to make sure everyone he betrayed was dead, this time around, before he would leave," Henrietta posits. "In any case, if we find nothing in the hold, let's try to light it on fire and sink this ship."
[15:13] * @Lucie summons her own aura of protection, just in case they find something still alive onboard. (OOC: have three hours of this per day, assuming I only used the one for the earlier fight)
[15:14] <@Ebiris> OOC: sure
[15:15] <@Ebiris> "Rather than walk down into the hold filled with monsters, lets open the cargo doors instead?" Trucy suggests, pointing to the two large square trap-doors fore and aft of the mast, going to the winch that controls the aft one and starting to wind it, making the doors rise up ever so slowly...
[15:15] <@Rudy> "That's... so many people," murmurs Rudy. "Damn... I suppose he'll be headed back to Salerno, where he'd.. try and meet up with the Lady?" He bites his lip.
[15:15] <@Rudy> He also raises his crossbow, ready to shoot anything horrible that rushes out the doors!
[15:16] * @Henrietta keeps by Trucy's side, flail held protectively.
[15:17] * @Lucie has her own weapon ready as she waits by the opening doors.
[15:18] <@Ebiris> By herself Trucy takes a little while, but the door is soon cracked open enough for people to see down into the hold, sunlight streaming down for illumination. It seems empty of threats, at least, stacked quite high with lots of elegant wooden furniture, mostly fine chairs and dining tables, along with a few classy looking harpsichords and pianos. The only signs of life are a few dead rats.
[15:19] <@Henrietta> "I guess that leaves the cabins?"
[15:19] <@Lucie> "You'd expect more treasure from pirates," Lucie mutters, indeed looking for the cabins now.
[15:19] <@Ebiris> "You sure this is Vanthus's boat?" Trucy asks, walking over to peer down. "That looks like pirate booty to me."
[15:19] <@Henrietta> "Pirates steal pianos?"
[15:20] <@Rudy> "This is possibly the least exciting pirate treasure I've ever seen," notes Rudy, eyeing the pianos.
[15:20] <@Ebiris> "Well, yeah," Trucy blinks. "Some boat full of classy Anowian furniture sets sail to trade in Jovar, pirates jump it, take the loot?" she shrugs. "Makes sense to me."
[15:20] <@Glenn> "Vanthus probably plundered anything that was exciting when he made his getaway."
[15:21] <@Rudy> "Bastards," mutters Rudy, following after Lucie.
[15:22] <@Henrietta> "But why leave it like that?" Henrietta wonders out loud, having decided to stay by Trucy's side throughout this expedition. "That furniture looks like it would burn really well, and we know some people still survived on the island. Why wouldn't Vanthus just set it on fire before leaving, if he did leave?"
[15:22] <@Ebiris> Lucie heads below the aft deck in search of the cabins, finding several cramped cabins filled with hammocks and chests, and to the rear a larger cabin with a proper bed and a nice chest of drawers and dresser with a gold-lined mirror, looking rather in keeping with the nice furniture down below.
[15:23] <@Rudy> "Maybe he died already? Maybe he decided to get away sooner rather than later? Who knows?"
[15:23] <@Lucie> Well, doesn't that just beg to be rifled through? It does!
[15:23] <@Ebiris> OOC: roll perception for searching
[15:24] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+10
[15:24] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+10 and gets 25." [1d20=15]
[15:26] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+12 go, myra!
[15:26] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+12 go, myra! and gets 29." [1d20=17]
[15:28] <@Ebiris> The chests mostly just have clothes and personal effects in them - letters from sweethearts and family, simple trinkets. Of more use are a few potions found, simple healing draughts. In the more opulent cabin the drawers have some fine clothes within, as well as screeds of revolutionary literature and navigation charts. Some currency is found amidst everything, but not a particularly huge haul, still a tidy little sum. There's not much in the way of luxuries like jewellery or the like, aside from the nice furniture. According to the ship's log, the Steadfast Red just got back from interdicting Imperialist traffic on the Jovar trade route, and lost several crew in fighting off a patrolling dragon. They set in here three days ago, finding the port too crowded to moor properly so had to settle for out at the bay's edge while they conducted repairs and gave the crew some shore time.
[15:30] <@Henrietta> "I have a torch and some oil," Henrietta tells Trucy as the others search the ship for evidence of what transpired and anything useful. "Would that be enough to start a fire strong enough to destroy the ship?"
[15:30] <@Lucie> "Don't sound like a band of jumbled-up monsters from this," Lucie concludes after scanning the logs and literature. Not sure what's about onshore, but I don't think it started on this ship."
[15:31] <@Ebiris> "I guess..." Trucy looks unhappy, "But isn't it a waste?"
[15:31] <@Henrietta> "Can you bring it back all on your own, if we helped?"
[15:31] <@Rudy> "I don't really see much point in burning it now," admits Rudy.
[15:32] <@Ebiris> "If you include those two?" she jerks a thumb at the Fisher Princess alongside. "Maybe..." she looks around uncertainly. "It's a big ship, so everyone would need to pitch in, but... maybe?"
[15:32] <@Lucie> "Nor do I. And it'll be a beacon to whoever's alive onshore. Let's check the town?"
[15:33] <@Rudy> "We'll think about that later," decides Rudy. "Yes, let's go."
[15:33] <@Henrietta> "Alright, let's take a look there," Henrietta agrees.
[15:34] <@Ebiris> In short order everyone relocates to the fishing boat and it once again draws up to the crumbling pier, the dock area much as it was before.
[15:35] * @Lucie disembarks, looks around the settlement. She nods to the building with the stained-glass windows. "First?"
[15:35] <@Henrietta> "As before, stay at a safe distance and shout if you need help?" Henrietta tells the fishermen. "Our magic can travel quite the distance."
[15:37] <@Ebiris> "Got it," Callum nods, starting to navigate back over towards the other intact vessel. Past the massacre just off the pier and the two buildings there, a small shack surrounded by a trampled fence and clotheslines of hanging silk stands, the silk seeming stained with smoke and a strange greasy yellow liquid, jagged rents in the fabric visible as it dangles on the line. Opposite that is another leaning structure where the gnashing sounds emanate from, a path between the two leading to the caves while one veers out to the stone building.
[15:38] <@Henrietta> And if she ever needed another incentive to try and nurse herself a bit back to health, this is certainly it!
[15:38] <@Henrietta> roll 1d8+1
[15:38] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d8+1 and gets 3." [1d8=2]
[15:39] * Ko-Ratisanepiclevelduskblade is now known as Kotono
[15:39] * ChanServ sets mode: +oa Kotono Kotono
[15:41] <@Lucie> "Shall we find out who--what's making those sounds?" Lucie wonders, not sounding too enthused about the prospect. "Might be someone's still alive fighting them..."
[15:42] <@Henrietta> roll 1d8+1
[15:42] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d8+1 and gets 8." [1d8=7]
[15:43] <@Rudy> Rudy pinches shut his nose. "Myra can probably take it," he notes. "We could send her in first and follow after?"
[15:43] -> *Lucie* You happen to notice a shadow glimpsed momentarily through a gap in the hanging silks, as if something or someone was moving around on their far side opposite you.
[15:44] -> *Rudy* Myra happens to notice a shadow glimpsed momentarily through a gap in the hanging silks, as if something or someone was moving around on their far side opposite you.
[15:44] * @Lucie nods, hefts her mace. "On with it, then--wait, what was that?" Lucie points to the rows of hanging silks, where she thought she'd seen something like movement.
[15:44] <@Rudy> Myra whispers something in Rudy's ear. "There's definately something in there. Hey, you, in there! If you're not a freak, come on out! Otherwise, we're gonna come in!"
[15:45] <@Ebiris> Nobody answers Rudy's invitation...
[15:45] <@Henrietta> "Even if you are really hideous, as long as you don't try to eat us we can discuss things!"
[15:46] <@Ebiris> The slobbering noises from inside the other structure stop.
[15:46] <@Henrietta> "Is that a yes?"
[15:46] * @Glenn stays quiet, knowing his unspoken suggestion of throwing a bomb to smoke the creature(s) out would be ill met if actually spoken.
[15:46] <@Rudy> "Hey, Glenn! Why don't you just throw a bomb?"
[15:47] * @Glenn looks at Rudy in surprise! "I thought you guys were against me throwing bombs?"
[15:47] <@Rudy> "I'm surprised you didn't think of it first, frankly."
[15:47] <@Glenn> "I just figured you'd tell me no!"
[15:47] <@Rudy> Rudy rubs his head. "Sometimes I forget you're even here... why? It's not my house."
[15:48] <@Lucie> "Let's make this very clear, then," Lucie announces for the mysterious being's benefit. "If you can hear and understand us, come out now or go up in flames."
[15:48] <@Henrietta> "We did give that mysterious pirate person plenty of warning," Henrietta adds.
[15:48] * @Glenn just sighs and prepares a bomb. "Just tell me to throw it if you want me to."
[15:48] <@Ebiris> In the doorway a figure appears, barechested and with the Lotus Dragon tattoo prominently on his left arm, his body covered in strange orifices best left unmentioned, one of his legs horribly stunted to give him a hobbling gait. From his clawed fingers hang fishbone fragments, while his mouth opens into a twisted fanged leer. He tries to speak, but only hoots and rasping noises come out, struggling to verbalise anything until he finally manages, "Come... come to the feast...!" and breaks off into snorting wet giggles.
[15:49] <@Rudy> "Ah! Myra, kill it!"
[15:49] <@Ebiris> OOC: init
[15:49] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+6
[15:49] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+6 and gets 11." [1d20=5]
[15:49] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+2
[15:49] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+2 and gets 9." [1d20=7]
[15:49] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+5 mutant dragon
[15:49] <@Glenn> roll d20+4
[15:49] * +Hatbot --> "Glenn rolls d20+4 and gets 13." [d20=9]
[15:49] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+5 mutant dragon and gets 19." [1d20=14]
[15:49] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+5 m-ra
[15:49] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+3 ???
[15:49] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+5 m-ra and gets 25." [1d20=20]
[15:49] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+3 ??? and gets 9." [1d20=6]
[15:49] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+4 me!
[15:49] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+4 me! and gets 6." [1d20=2]
[15:50] * Glenn is now known as Merc
[15:50] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+3 Trucy
[15:50] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+3 Trucy and gets 21." [1d20=18]
[15:50] * Joins: Glenn (~k@c-98-197-243-233.hsd1.tx.comcast.net)
[15:50] * Ebiris changes topic to 'Myra > Trucy > Mutant > Glenn > Lucie > ??? > Henrietta > Rudy'
[15:50] <@Ebiris> OOC: Go Myra
[15:51] <@Rudy> Myra eagerly obeys and dashes forward to remove the abomination from Rudy's sight!
[15:51] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+8 chargechomp -1 PA
[15:51] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+8 chargechomp -1 PA and gets 26." [1d20=18]
[15:51] <@Ebiris> OOC: hit
[15:51] <@Rudy> roll 1d6+6
[15:51] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d6+6 and gets 11." [1d6=5]
[15:53] <@Ebiris> Myra's prehensile jaw extends out and tears off half of the man's tattooed arm, exposing the bone and cracking it at the bicep in a bloody red mess! Trucy looks disgusted, "I'm not getting near that!" she cries, settling for throwing her dagger instead!
[15:53] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20-1 into melee
[15:53] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20-1 into melee and gets 12." [1d20=13]
[15:53] <@Ebiris> roll 1d4+1+1d6 hits flat-footed
[15:53] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d4+1+1d6 hits flat-footed and gets 6." [1d4=3][1d6=2]
[15:54] <@Ebiris> Her dagger impacts the warped Lotus Dragon in the forehead, making him rock back! But impossibly he doesn't fall despite the blatantly lethal wound, instead savaging Myra with his own teeth and claws!
[15:54] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+5 bite
[15:54] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+5 bite and gets 14." [1d20=9]
[15:54] <@Ebiris> roll 2#1d20 claws
[15:54] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 2#1d20 claws and gets 20." [2#1d20 = 11, 9]
[15:55] <@Rudy> OOC: missmissmiss
[15:55] <@Ebiris> But Myra's unearthly flesh is sufficient to resist the bite, while his claws flail only into empty air!
[15:55] <@Ebiris> OOC: Glenn
[15:56] * Glenn throws the prepared bomb, because hey, it was prepared! He does make sure to lob it so that the splash doesn't hit Myra though.
[15:56] <Glenn> roll d20+6
[15:56] * +Hatbot --> "Glenn rolls d20+6 and gets 8." [d20=2]
[15:56] <Glenn> ooc: ah well
[15:57] <@Ebiris> roll 1d8 miss direction
[15:57] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d8 miss direction and gets 1." [1d8=1]
[15:59] <@Ebiris> The bomb falls just a bit short, detonating at Myra's feet to ignite both combatants!
[15:59] <@Ebiris> OOC: roll splash damage?
[15:59] <Glenn> ooc: splash is flat 7 damage
[15:59] <@Ebiris> The mutant howls as it goes up in flames, falling in a charred heap at the feet of the lightly roasted Myra!
[15:59] * Retrieving #dunes modes...
[15:59] * Ebiris changes topic to 'Myra > Trucy > Glenn > Lucie > ??? > Henrietta > Rudy'
[15:59] <@Ebiris> OOC: Lucie
[16:00] * @Lucie waits, glancing around to see if the noise of the fight attracted for abominations. (OOC: guess I'll hold until something else pops its ugly head in)
[16:00] <@Lucie> *for = more
[16:02] <@Ebiris> A loud barking is heard as the shadow behind the silks makes itself known, a bulging shaggy dog rushing forward! Its jaw is impossibly wide, long tongue lolling out and slavering viscuous mucus, panting as it dashes while a second malformed head emerging from its haunches barks an unceasing cacaphony into the air, the mutated canine rushing straight towards Lucie!
[16:02] <@Ebiris> OOC: you can act before it reaches you
[16:03] * @Lucie swings at the horrid creature's head. Well, one of its heads. Either will do!
[16:03] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+4
[16:03] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+4 and gets 23." [1d20=19]
[16:03] <@Ebiris> OOC: hit
[16:03] <@Lucie> roll 1d8+2
[16:03] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d8+2 and gets 3." [1d8=1]
[16:04] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+6 charge
[16:04] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+6 charge and gets 10." [1d20=4]
[16:04] <@Ebiris> Lucie momentarily shuts up the barking of the second head by panning it with her mace, while the slavering beast lunches for her leg to take a bite, only some deft footwork keeping her limbs safe!
[16:04] <@Ebiris> OOC: Henrietta
[16:05] * @Henrietta bravely steps in to smash the mutant dog's spine with her flail, closing her eyes at the moment of impact.
[16:05] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+7 let's flank~
[16:05] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+7 let's flank~ and gets 27." [1d20=20]
[16:06] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+7 hmm
[16:06] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+7 hmm and gets 15." [1d20=8]
[16:06] <@Ebiris> OOC: crit
[16:06] <@Henrietta> roll 2d10+8
[16:06] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 2d10+8 and gets 21." [2d10=6, 7]
[16:07] <@Ebiris> Henrietta does as he expected and more, her flail crushing the warped hound's spine as if it were made of paper, splintering ribs and pulping organs as she completely flattens it in the middle! Whatever foul alterations drove its new existence, they're utterly insufficient in the face of such an attack!
[16:08] <@Rudy> "Myra, go check out if there's anything worthwhile inside," orders Rudy, eyeing the bodies distastefully. "I'm getting way too used to this sort of thing."
[16:08] * @Henrietta peeks at her handiwork, before turning away abruptly.
[16:09] <@Lucie> Peers around the hangings, toward the source of those unpleasant sounds. Maybe someone's still alive on the other side? Someone not entirely chewed to death?
[16:09] <@Ebiris> Inside the dwelling inhabited by the deformed Lotus Dragon, Myra finds a thoroughly ransacked fish store, the smell of seafood and salt almost overwhelming, most of the fish half devoured and scattered around the floor which is slick with fishguts and blood.
[16:10] <Glenn> "Geez, whatever caused all these mutations sure was indiscriminate about it..."
[16:10] <@Rudy> Myra returns to report failure! "Nothing there either," notes Rudy. "You think it's possible it could happen to us?"
[16:10] <@Ebiris> Behind the silks Lucie finds another dog, looking like the one that just attacked except without any mutations and quite dead, fairly chewed up likely by its warped counterpart.
[16:10] <Glenn> "If we find Vanthus, he'll probably be part octopus or something."
[16:10] <@Henrietta> "Oh, not the tentacles again!"
[16:11] <Glenn> "Well, maybe a squirrel instead?" Glenn offers, after jumping at Henrietta's heartfelt exclamation.
[16:11] <@Ebiris> Trucy gingerly retrieves her dagger, wiping it on the ground to try and clean it. "How do you think it spread in the first place?"
[16:11] * @Henrietta shudders.
[16:12] <@Lucie> "Hrmph," is Lucie's eloquent summary of the general state of the town. "One building had a barricade of sorts out front, right? Resistance formed up there, maybe. Check inside, see if there are survivors hiding?"
[16:12] <@Henrietta> "He did it before, except with zombies. Maybe it's the same?"
[16:12] <@Rudy> "Maybe through the sea? The fish?" Rudy nods. "Let's check it out."
[16:13] <Glenn> "I have no idea. I honestly didn't think this sort of mass mutation was even possible in the first place," Glenn answers. "If it was through alchemy, this sort of thing usually only works on the alchemist himself, not others. The chemicals would just make someone else vomit until they threw the concoction all out..."
[16:16] <@Ebiris> Clambering over the shoddily made and already quite battered barricade, Myra sees the two pirates who fought a bitter last stand here, unmutated but their bodies desecrated by shredded skin and bones crunched between powerful jaws. Their weapons lie forgotten at their sides, crossbows and quivers of bolts, a scimitar and a longsword that clearly availed them insufficiently. Although the six mutated corpses nearby still testify to the ferocious struggle given. Past them the building appears to be a wood store, planks fit for ships stacked up neatly all around, except the pile nearest the door which is half tumbled over.
[16:18] * @Lucie scans for any other interior rooms, signs of survivors, anything.
[16:18] <@Ebiris> It's just a big shed filled with wood. There's a shelf on one end with some carpentry tools on it, but there's not much to tell otherwise.
[16:20] * @Lucie shrugs. "Anybody was in here, they're meat now. Keep moving."
[16:20] <@Rudy> "Where too next? You think maybe we should try and work our way around to where that cave was? There must be another way in."
[16:21] <@Ebiris> "Another body in here," Trucy peeks into the shed opposite the wood store. "Smells like Lucie's old hangout," she wrinkles her nose at the overwhelming stink of alcohol, "And... hey, there's a trapdoor under that body, too!"
[16:21] <@Henrietta> "There are two more buildings here that we really should examine, first," Henrietta suggests. "After that, how long do you think it would take to make it to that cave?"
[16:22] <@Lucie> "Rather clear the buildings first before we go cave-diving--eh, Trucy?" Lucie follows the girl's lead, hangs her weapon at her belt and shoves the body aside.
[16:23] <@Ebiris> The body is unmutated but similarly damaged and gnawed on, another pirate looks like by the attire. The ground is slick with blood and spilled booze, shelves broken and bottles smashed all around. The trap-door's a simple wooden thing with an iron ring handle on it placed in the corner.
[16:23] <@Henrietta> "Is anyone alive down there?" Henrietta asks, raising her voice.
[16:24] * @Lucie grabs the ring and hauls up the door.
[16:24] <@Ebiris> "Go 'way!" a voice calls up, as Lucie finds the door refuses to budge. "Yer not gonna eat me!"
[16:24] <@Rudy> "We're not monsters! We're people!"
[16:25] <@Henrietta> "Do we talk like the things who tried to eat other people?" Henrietta counters. "Do we slobber or drool? I think not!"
[16:25] <@Rudy> Myra ambles away for a moment and makes herself generally inconspicuous.
[16:25] <Glenn> "We also have a nice boat!"
[16:25] <Glenn> "Which can take you back to the mainland!"
[16:25] <@Henrietta> "We have real food, too!"
[16:26] <@Lucie> "That's right. Two choices here: you stay down there 'til you starve, or you get out here and talk to us."
[16:26] <@Henrietta> "There is the choice of being eaten by freakish monsters, too, once we leave," Henrietta points out for completeness's sake. "So it's really three choices."
[16:27] <@Ebiris> "Don't matter! Monsters'll come if'n I open that door!" he roars back in an anguished voice. There's a pause for a moment, however as he digests that next part. "Boat? Aye! Get away!" rummaging is heard from below followed by a scraping metal sound before the trap-door bursts open, revealing a flushed red-nosed figure dressed in a red shirt, a short sword held unsteadily in his other hand as he squints and winces his bloodshot eyes. "Aaah, too bright... fuck..." he groans, breath stinking of alcohol even more pervasively than the stuff spilled all around you.
[16:28] <@Henrietta> "Light is like that," Henrietta agrees. "We really are not people-eating freaks, as you can see!"
[16:28] <@Ebiris> "Boat!" he latches onto that, scrambling up and then slipping on the wet floor, trying to grab onto Lucie for support.
[16:29] <Glenn> "Can you explain what happened here at all? What caused all these mutations?"
[16:29] * @Henrietta is secretly happy that Lucie is the one the drunk, unkempt man is latching onto, and inconspiciously takes a step back.
[16:30] * @Lucie isn't entirely unused to being around sloppy drunk men, but that doesn't mean she wants him all over her! She hauls him to his feet, then takes a few obvious steps away.
[16:32] <@Ebiris> "Ohhh, fuck, it was terrible!" he moans despairingly, staggering and leaning against the wall after Lucie helps him. "I was... I was just havin' a wee drink! Heard some commotion up on the Hercules..." he staggers then towards the door, emitting a tortured groan as he sees the state of the Collective port. "Oh, Hera... that were it there," he points at a blackened spur poking up from the water. "Thought it were a fight I did."
[16:33] <@Henrietta> "Was it that creep Vanthus?"
[16:33] <@Lucie> "It was. Look, was anything strange happening here before the fight broke out? In the days before, even. Any visitors?"
[16:34] <@Ebiris> "Vanthus?" he blinks and burps, thinking deeply for a moment. "Aye! Aye, that guy! Had the real pretty girl... aww, why're the good ones taken..." his stomach rumbles loudly after his burp and he looks faint, leaning on the side of the building for support before he notices the half dozen dead men by his feet. Abruptly he doubles over and vomits, although it's almost entirely liquid that he evacuates...
[16:35] * @Lucie edges away even further!
[16:35] * Glenn imitates Lucie.
[16:35] * @Henrietta takes another step back and gives Glenn a considering look. "Don't you have something to clear his mind?"
[16:36] <@Rudy> "Gods! Man, you need to eat something hearty and have a rest. Let's get back to the boat," suggests Rudy. "Tell us about Vanthus on the way."
[16:36] <Glenn> "I left my last batch of alchemist's kindness with Kora, in case Lavinia wanted to get stinking drunk, sorry."
[16:36] <@Henrietta> "Which boat?"
[16:37] <@Ebiris> "S'hungry," he moans as a few more spurts of vomit splash on his boots, forcing himself up and rubbing the back of his wrist over his lips. "Urgh... Anyway, looked like Vanthus and Cap'n... Cap'n... Poirot! Aye. Folks were runnin' and shoutin', then it all went tae fuck!"
[16:38] <@Lucie> "Vanthus didn't cause this nightmare himself, then?" Lucie follows along, keeping a healthy distance from the man,.
[16:40] <@Rudy> "Poirot's a collective captain?"
[16:41] <@Ebiris> "D'know..." he blinks, starting to tear up. "All happened at once, big booms and fires on the ships, and then this flash of... something fucked up on the Hercules." He shudders and points at the corpses to your feet, "They were runnin' tae help the Cap'n, but then... everyone just started bein' sick and shakin' around." He pauses and wipes at his eyes, "Not ev'ryone, mebbe. But the ones that did, they just went fucking wild! Brother and friends hackin' and tearin' at each other!"
[16:42] <@Henrietta> "It came from the Hercules, then? Some sort of... poison? And the blast send it into the air?"
[16:42] <@Lucie> "Did you seen anyone run inland? If so, where? Are there hiding places elsewhere on the island someone might flee to?"
[16:44] <@Ebiris> He shakes his head weakly. "I ran an' hid," he points to the trap-door, before spotting the corpse near it. "Louis wanted to hide there as well once I was down, but I could hear them hootin' and slaverin' tae kill everyone. I didnae open the door for 'im," he groans morosely, dropping his sword and putting his head in his hands, despairing.
[16:46] * @Henrietta isn't quite sure what to say to that.
[16:47] <@Rudy> "Would've got you both killed. Sensible man," replies Rudy, fingers crossed.
[16:48] <@Henrietta> "Do you think more might have hid like that, in the other buildings?"
[16:48] * @Lucie looks away. "Let's check the last building just to be sure before moving on?"
[16:49] <@Ebiris> He shrugs patheticly. "That or they died... or turned into them," he mutters, before rounding on Lucie with wild eyes. "We've got to get out o' here! If'n ye've got a boat, use it!"
[16:49] <Glenn> "Sorry, we have things to do here still. Do you want to follow us along, stay locked in your cellar or try to brave your way to the ship on your own?" Glenn asks the panicked man.
[16:49] <@Henrietta> "We do?"
[16:50] <Glenn> "Well we haven't finished searching that last building!"
[16:50] <@Lucie> "We're here on a job. Not leaving 'til it's done. Seemed safe enough in the cellar, though. If you like you can stay there, we'll come back for you when we're done."
[16:50] <@Ebiris> "D'ye at least have any food, first?" he asks weakly.
[16:50] * @Henrietta has rations in her backpack! And she's more than happy to share a day's worth!
[16:53] <@Ebiris> He accepts Henrietta's charity gladly, biting into the preserved jerky with the enthusiasm of a starving man! He chews and swallows several bites, "I've been so alone... I dinnae want tae wait in there again," he wipes at his brow and then picks up his sword again. "Should've fought for my comrades the first time. Mebbe Louis'd still be alive..."
[16:53] <@Henrietta> "Maybe someone still is!"
[16:53] <Glenn> "Let's hope,"
[16:54] <@Lucie> "Oh, someone is. The killer on the cliffside."
[16:55] <@Henrietta> "We are not taking him."
[16:56] <@Rudy> "But we'll take him on!"