Reckonings: Umberlee's Belly

[Le Noir Faineant]

Anders will leave the ether sphere and return to see what happens at the battle...

[Want to know what you others do first before I post. ]

[Nathan of the FoS]

[The astral construct was unable to follow Harrin through the ship's ER, so it had to blast a way through the ER version of the hull--it may yet get here shortly. In case you haven't guessed, this is Harrin using his phantom shift ability to take advantage of the Demon Cutter's half-sunken status in the spirit world. The Demon Cutter is already sinking low in the water because of the additional weight. Approximately half of the crew are now--to a greater or lesser degree--trapped underwater. Questions, comments and screams are always welcome.]

Ah...that's not good.

If Harrin is forced to flee or to lift the phantom shift for some reason, what happens to the water? Come to that, exactly what's going on with the phantom shift--has the ship been taken into the ethereal, or is this just some kind of trans-dimensional suturing where the conditions present in the Ethereal Plane now manifest themselves in the Prime Material*, too?

*Yes, Ravenloft's not truly Prime Material, but you know what I mean.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

OOC: It's more the latter. From how I read the description, everyone is now interacting with the ethereal resonance version of the Demon Cutter, which (you may or may not recall from prior posts from over a year ago) has been slowly filling up with water since it arrived in Saragoss. As Harrin is intimating, this is representative of something from the Demon Cutter's past. The water is purely ethereal, and if Harrin cuts off the Phantom Shift effect, the water will disappear. Harrin's also hinting that the effect will end or change if Shadross confesses what he's so ashamed of. He may be incorrect that Shadross is the source, but then again, the water was first spied flowing out of the captain's cabin shortly after the PC's arrived in Saragoss.

I haven't heard from Matthiasstormcrow, but I'm hoping he's still around somewhere to handle this. Holiday festivities almost over there, Cortez?

[Nathan of the FoS]

* Sariel takes 18 points of damage and loses 4 Con. He stands to lose 2d6 more Con in a minute if he doesn't get more help.

Are circumstances such that Sariel can make a Heal check on himself to give himself two cracks at making the Fort save?

[DeepShadow of FoS]

[OOC: Could have done this as a cut scene, but I like it better here. Keeping the tension built up and all that.]

Toby and Arbrund aboard the Smiling Serpent

It was a funny thing, to look out at people who didn't look back. They knew someone was there, of course, but they mostly told people apart by uniform and build, and they couldn't see the eyes staring so intently, studying every gesture and nuance not hidden by the layers of cheesecloth. Something stirred in his breast, a predator's disdain for his prey...

Duke Arbrund Velthrann shook his head to clear it of the intruding thoughts. He had given his word to Cortez, and he meant it: he was not a danger to this crew. He forced his thoughts to other things, and fought the maddening quiet with the question that had nagged him for over an hour since the meeting in the mess.

"When did you first get sick, Toby?"

The former First Mate of the Night Pearl didn't answer at first, but Arbrund knew he understood the question. Toby had already worn out his anxious anticipation of the fight with Harrin and now sat in contemplative rest in one corner of the gunnery cage, saving his strength for what might break loose at any moment.

"S'bout a day after I...left the Night Pearl. Maybe two--you know it's hard to tell at the start."

Arbrund nodded thoughtfully, then remembered Toby couldn't see the gesture. "I wondered as much. Strange, isn't it? We all started getting sick around the same time. Not Braen, of course, but all the others. When we were occupied with...with what Harrin had done to us...another crew snuck aboard and stole the food cupboard, right out of the pantry. You remember that enchanted cupboard?"

"Oh, do I ever!" Toby nearly groaned with delight at the memory. "I've never got full on so little, and the taste--"

"It was all that and more," Arbrund agreed, fleeing the memories even as he plunged ahead. "Y'know, I didn't think of it until I saw all these men down with red ache from flea bites and scratches: we had more than our share of those before that cabinet was lost, and no one barely scratched. Matter of fact, I don't recall scratching for fleas until after my third meal of barge-bread and wine."

Toby lowers his head, pondering the older man's statements but not quite comprehending. "You think the food in this place makes people sick?"

"No...it wasn't the native food that made everyone sick; it was the Night Pearl's food cabinet that made everyone well. I think it cured disease."

Toby's head snapped up, and though each man wore a blindfold Arbrund could feel the younger man's gaze boring into him, so he pushed further:

"Didn't Helrus say it protected you from those other fish-men, the enemies of the sahuagin? They had poisoned weapons--I've seen them paralyze people just as the sahuagin do--and yet you fought them off after getting cut four times. Call me crazy, but I think the food cupboard protected us from a lot of things...and I think the folks who stole it knew more about what it was saving us from than we did! And that's the very reason we need to get it back, for Cortez and his men...for everyone."

Toby started to nod faster and faster as the realization set in. He lowered his voice to a whisper to speak to Ciera, when the strains of an ominous eerie sea chanty drifted in and lifted him to his feet. By the time Arbrund had realized what had happened, he was stumbling out the door after the vague outline he hoped was Toby.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

* Sariel takes 18 points of damage and loses 4 Con. He stands to lose 2d6 more Con in a minute if he doesn't get more help.

Are circumstances such that Sariel can make a Heal check on himself to give himself two cracks at making the Fort save?

As I read it, you don't get two cracks:

Every time the poisoned character makes a saving throw against the poison, you make a Heal check. The poisoned character uses your check result or his or her saving throw, whichever is higher.

[Nathan of the FoS]

* Sariel takes 18 points of damage and loses 4 Con. He stands to lose 2d6 more Con in a minute if he doesn't get more help.

Are circumstances such that Sariel can make a Heal check on himself to give himself two cracks at making the Fort save?

As I read it, you don't get two cracks:

Every time the poisoned character makes a saving throw against the poison, you make a Heal check. The poisoned character uses your check result or his or her saving throw, whichever is higher.

Well, yes, he failed the first save, but when the time comes for the secondary damage to kick in he gets a second Fort save to avoid that. Can I use the Heal check there?

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Sorry about the delay. Where is everyone?

Yes, you can use a Heal check on your second save, and take whichever is higher.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Peregrine and Marta...and an Uninvited Guest...

The awkwardness hanging between Peregrine and Marta is abruptly severed by a hasty knock at the cabin door. Moriarun pokes his head in, flushing with equal parts fluster and embarrassment.

"Lord Inquisitor, there's a woman here to see you. She says it's most urgent, but won't tell me why."

"It is long past 'urgent,' young man," says a gravelly voice behind him. "Calamity is upon you all, but my message is for the Inquisitor alone--"

A ragged crone pushes past Moriarun with a strength that belies her withered frame, and he stumbles against the door to reveal a growing throng of onlookers drawn by this latest singular spectacle. Their curiosity fails to reveal what Peregrine can see in an instant: this is no mortal woman. Beneath her frail facade stands a bat-winged harpy, her vulture legs covered only in feathers and her woman's torso naked even of those. Whether in jest or respect, she wraps her "cloak" of wings tighter around her bare breasts and bows low.

"Ah, the Grand Inquisitor himself. I know how abrupt this must be for a man of your...vision...and certainly you can see at a glance how delicate this matter really is. Your crew have been infinitely hospitable, but they lack your acuity. I can only plead that we speak a moment in private."

[I'd start in on her message, but I'm not sure Peregrine would even let her get this far. If you'd like to interrupt her with words or weapons, feel free; otherwise, you'd better find someplace to talk or be prepared to trade double entendres with her...]

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Ah, the Grand Inquisitor himself. I know how abrupt this must be for a man of your...vision...and certainly you can see at a glance how delicate this matter really is. Your crew have been infinitely hospitable, but they lack your acuity. I can only plead that we speak a moment in private."

As his gaze falls on the "crone" Peregrine stands, so quickly that Marta loses her balance and almost falls behind him. He reaches toward the old woman, hand gripping as if for the hilt of a sword...

And nothing happens. Peregrine changes the motion of his hand to reach behind him, steadying Marta, so smoothly than none--save perhaps the harpy--notes the false move.

Speaking now in the language of his birthplace*, Peregrine replies, "Thou and thy sisters are kind to visit me, Avenger. If ye seek to bring the penitent beneath the lash, I am here, but be warned; I will resist you, and I will instruct those here with me to do likewise. If thou hast a message of some other import, speak it plainly."

* Moriarun and the crew won't get a word of this, but Marta might if she speaks Darkonese, although his accent and grammar are definitely weird for someone who learned Oerth Common as Darkonese. I've been thinking of Darkonese/Tovagian as Greek, so when he refers to her as "Avenger", what he's actually saying is "Tisiphone."

EDIT: I didn't like what I had hear previously--it rang false. So...I changed it.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Shadross returns to a Demon Cutter under a one-man siege.

[DM's note: I'm playing Shadross here as best I know how, just to keep things moving. I'm assuming that Cortez and Sariel are busy getting all the Sea Gypsies to safety while this is going on; insert some conversation where Cortez tells Shadross to wait for him and Shadross ignores him.]

With the sahuagin in retreat, Shadross vaults out of the water to land on the deck and take in the situation.

"Worked so well last time, you brought another rag-dolly for support." Shadross keeps his eyes low,* feigning disinterest.

"What'n'a say, Shaddy?" the scrag mutters, his beetle-black eyes stalking the elf across the deck. "Ah dressed up for th'lady."

"Ciera? Here I thought you were here for your rematch."

The scrag backs away as the elf draws near, finally backing halfway down the sterncastle stairs until he's waist deep in plunging water and eye level with the elf.

"That's a good oaf;" Shadross says with an approving nod, "head to the binnacle. Hate to waste all that valuable troll blood out here."

The sea troll snorts a rivulet of vile fluid from its nose. "Y've bigger problems'n me. Nothin's dead'n buried 'ere, Shaddy, n'even secrets. Jus' tell m'one thing'n I'll go: who's lashed t'the wheel?"

The sea troll nods its hoary head up and back at the sterncastle, and despite himself, the elven captain finds his eyes drawn by the suggestion of his long-buried secret. The half-formed figure at the wheel is blurry, slumped in defeat and wracked with grief, but after all these years Shadross can't help but recognize the young man who would win his loyalty.

Mistaking Shadross's disbelief for distraction, Harrin lunges awkwardly up the stairs, but Shadross is more than prepared for him.** The elf's enchanted rapier pierces both of the creature's lungs before the ghost realizes he's been hit, and after two more hits, the sea troll's limp body is washed down the stairs and out of sight. Left behind standing where the sea troll stood,*** the ghostly pirate captain shakes his head and laughs.

"That brute can't die on a sinking ship, fool! I best fetch 'im 'fore he hurts someone!"

* I'm playing Shadross careful, but it's technically unnecessary here. Having reviewed the rules, I've discovered that Harrin cannot use gaze attacks while possessing someone. I'm retroactively declaring that all of Harrin's sucessful gaze attacks in the previous fight with Shadross were as a ghost. I'll look and see if this changes Shadross's charisma damage.
** Shadross wins initiative, makes a full attack, taking 2, and gets 4 hits for 17 damage each = 68. The troll is knocked unconscious and falls down the stairwell. On its initiative, it regenerates back to consciousness (0 hp) and flees deeper into the ship.
*** Harrin ejected when the troll was knocked unconscious--a move action. After that, he used a standard action to gaze attack Shadross (Shadross takes 4 Charisma damage and 1 hp), and a five-foot step to drop through the deck.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

(Thought I'd toss this out; more to come ASAP)

Peregrine Trades Words With his Guest

"T'was merely professional courtesy, Inquisitor," she replies archly in the same language. "We've long admired thy work, though until tonight we had to do so from afar. What surprise to find the hands of a master pruner turned to artless grafting! Of course, we had not anticipated thine involvement with this latest case of reluctance among the Legion. Our roles differ greatly and we are sorry for it. With the lands now connected, thou needn't concern thyself with mere shepherding, dear Shepherd. Surely others in the core who might remove thy distractions and let thee get back to thy divine mandate.

"As I said before, I'd hoped to give thee a discreet warning about where thy new pastime was heading. I shall reveal it publicly if thou wishest, but for the sake of diligence, I must wonder why we speak a private tongue if thou hast no secrets..."

[Nathan of the FoS]

(Thought I'd toss this out; more to come ASAP)

Peregrine Trades Words With his Guest

"T'was merely professional courtesy, Inquisitor," she replies archly in the same language. "We've long admired thy work, though until tonight we had to do so from afar. What surprise to find the hands of a master pruner turned to artless grafting! Of course, we had not anticipated thine involvement with this latest case of reluctance among the Legion. Our roles differ greatly and we are sorry for it. With the lands now connected, thou needn't concern thyself with mere shepherding, dear Shepherd. Surely others in the core who might remove thy distractions and let thee get back to thy divine mandate.

"As I said before, I'd hoped to give thee a discreet warning about where thy new pastime was heading. I shall reveal it publicly if thou wishest, but for the sake of diligence, I must wonder why we speak a private tongue if thou hast no secrets..."

"I know very little of agriculture," Peregrine says grimly, "but of grafting and pruning, grafting is obviously the more difficult task. Any fool with a blade can prune, as thou most surely knowest, Avenger of Slaughter. As for secrets, it is a wise man who knows his own heart--much less the intentions of his fellow-man. Speak or depart; thou and I have too much to do to bandy words."*

OOC: This assumes that the other people present aren't following the conversation; if anyone seems to understand what Peregrine and Tisiphone are saying (taking 2 on Sense Motive gives 36) he may decide to honor her request for privacy.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

The Crew of the Sinking Demon Cutter... and some Uninvited Guests...

Duranc sloshed through the lower deck of the Demon Cutter, his eyes darting back and forth between the torrential stairwell and the battened doors before him. At this rate, there would be barely enough time to free all the marines before the water level rose over their heads. He tried not to imagine all those men swimming against the current to escape, and focused on releasing the storeroom doors. The rising water strained against the doors even after the batten bars and wedges were removed, but he forced a crack apart and set the wedges again for the water to pour inside and reduce the pressure. After a moment a face appeared on the other side, and eager hands helped him open the door a little more.

"Who's there? Duranc, is it, from the Bane? What's going on? Who battened us in? The doors just...closed...all of a sudden. Are we sinking?"

"I'm not sure...the doors all battened, all at the same time, when the water appeared. I'll need your help to free the others before the water gets too high."

With a clatter of boards, a nine-foot tangle of green limbs and grey hair tumbled down the stairs to sprawl motionless in the aisle. Duranc ignored the straining men trying to lever the crack wider and stared as the limp mass drifted by, bleeding and twitching...and groaning. Before those inside could get him to explain, Duranc wrenched the door open by a mighty effort, only to throw himself inside and let the water slam it shut. Moments later, the explanation was unnecessary, as the creature behind him slammed itself into the door with deafening force.

"T-t-troll!" Duranc stammered, as the others set to battening the door from the inside this time. Still speechless, he pantomimed the creature's size and disposition before pausing to retch out of the open porthole.

Introductions passed quickly; Duranc knew Red Skaldos from shore leave and Ghost by reputation, and everyone knew Ratling. The others were Klem Vinders and Dellen Galfrayne--both seasoned marines--and a topsman by the name of Tally "Talisman" Firth. Duranc considered asking what all of them were doing in a storeroom, but then they'd ask again what he was doing off the Bane, so he skipped it. With the pressure building on the door, the troll's attempts to open it grew more frustrated until it gave up and began battering it out of the frame. Even here, the water cushioned the blows, but they could see the door wouldn't take much more.

"What's put the black mark on us!?" Tally demanded.

"All the other doors are battened," Red said with a sigh. "We're the best pickens for the brute until he find his thumbs!"

Just as long cracks began spurting water into the room, another voice in the aisle gave them hope, and the men sent up a cheer.

"Bloody brilliant, breaking into the one room without people for you to eat! After Harrin pays up, I just might keep you as a pet."

Another cheer drowned out by the creature's roar, and the men are about to scream for their captain, when Duranc and Red called for quiet.

"Wait!" they hiss together, holding up their hands. The others fell silent as much from the eerie symmetry of the moment as much as the urgency, and a glimmer of recognition passed between Duranc and Red. As both of their eyes glanced back to the doorway in front of them, they exchanged another look and spoke together again. "Silence. No matter what happens."

Enrapt by the sheer oddness of the situation, the men and boy followed the sounds outside in silence: the creature's gurgling roar as it dashed back down the aisle, thrashing and splashing as it went; its sputtering and more gurgling as their captain sliced it open mercilessly; the final wet gasps as the creature struggled back down the hall toward their door, Shadross slicing it open every few feet as he followed.

"Oh Harrin!" Shadross called, "Fine job you did keeping track of your pet. Right about the 'not dying,' wrong about the hurting part, the only one hurting here is him! I'd like to just sheathe my sword in his brain, but then we couldn't have our rematch!"

"Y'never answered me!"

The unseen speaker had apparently surprised their captain, because Shadross backed up against their cracked door and swore under his breath. Hands more eager than knowing moved to open the door and save Shadross, but Duranc held up his hand again and Red blinked away tears as he shook his head in silence. The mysterious voice outside sank almost to a whisper, but they could hear it clearly through the battered door as it drew close to their captain.

"Who's lashed to the wheel o'this phantom ship what haunts ya? Speak up, and save yer men from drownin' in the sea of your own guilt!"

Heartbeats pass as the men listen, torn by curiosity and their respect for the intimacy of their captain's secrets. Finally they hear the name, and share a gasp of horror: "C-Cortez!"

"But whys'at fill ya with such dread, Shaddy? As I heard it, Cortez tried to kill hisself, lashed to the wheel of a sinkin' ship, all 'cause a pirate killed his pap, and your kind soul rescued him, e'en after he tried to kill ya in his rage and grief. What secret horror must it hold for ya, that ya spend every day on that sinkin' ship?"

Their captain mumbles something, and the mysterious voice clucks in his ear.

"What was that again?"

"I was the pirate!" Shadross groans through clenched teeth, swiping and splashing fruitlessly at his foe. "It was my men that plundered that ship! I didn't know it at the time, but he told me how his father died, and I knew!"

Ratling starts to cry out in disbelief, but Ghost clamps a bronzed hand over the boy's mouth. Red's knees fail him and he slumps against the wall to avoid slipping underwater entirely.

"Ah, Shaddy. That must have felt good to say. Makes my want to bare m'soul right back at ya. For starters, I lied. Confession won't take away this beautiful nightmare you've brought on your men--they're stuck with it until they die, which ought not to be long now. Scut me but that felt good to say! Here's another, while I'm feeling loose in the tongue: I'm going to borrow your flesh now, just like I promised, and now's I know how to play you the better, I think I'll go find that wee lady and scut her but good for what she did to Draga! I daresay I've gone so long without a woman's company, I might make smoke came out of her ears, or yours even! Your a kind soul to share your pleasures with me, now as I always say, don't fight it; the shame is like the pain--you only feel it the first time!"

The brief scuffle outside is mirrored within the tiny room, as the listeners grapple in silence against each other, some desperate to save their hero and the others knowing they can't save him. Finally Shadross stands up, sloshes over to the troll which flinches away, and speaks:

"No eating until I get back, 'pet.' I need 'em alive for my bargain with Cortez!"

[Okay, I'm playing things a little loose here, but I feel pretty safe in my assumptions. Harrin is taking no chances of giving Shadross the swimming advantage: he's flying horizontally overhead--where Shadross can only hit him while standing up--and he's got using readied actions to take cover in the solid bulkheads every time Shadross takes a swing. Even when lower, Harrin is uninhibited by the water because his charisma is high enough to ignore lesser ranks of ethereal resonance. That puts Shadross at a severe disadvantage, because the waist-deep water is not deep enough to swim and use his cloak effectively, but deep enough to give him penalties to attack and halve all his damage. On top of that, the water is deep enough to force Shadross into manta ray form for the fight, giving him additional penalties as his wings slosh uselessly behind him.

All this means that Shadross is set up for a world of hurt, and Harrin's giving it to him. His first attack didn't work, and Shadross closed his eyes, but Harrin simply switched to deliberate distractions. Shadross's second save failed and he lost another 2 points of Charisma. By my count, that puts him at 1, which IMO is enough to have him nearly hopeless for the interrogation by Harrin. Then comes the final burst of aggression which prompted the next two saves in one round, and the next round Shadross failed both saves and lost seven points, which should put him at 0 even if my math was severely off. Once Shadross is comatose, Harrin owns him but good.]

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Cortez reined Cutter hard to the left, dashing in tight circles around the growing knot of men that clambered for the cargo nets of the Bane. Seeing Sariel covering their haggard retreat into the boat, Cortez dashed for the Demon Cutter, but stopped short as his second-in-command came out to meet him. Standing on the slime, Shadross waved his arms widly to get Cortez's attention.

"It's Harrin, Cortez, he's taken the whole boatload of them! He's filled the Cutter with some kind of phantom seawater and is threatening to let them drown unless you let Draga go!"

Cortez clucked softly, though whether he's calming his charge-happy horse or his terrified friend he's not himself sure. He steadied Shadross with a flinty gaze and spoke slowly.

"Tell me, Shadross, you think Harrin really wants a leash again?"

"W...what?"

"Well, you know him best, of all of us. I need leverage on him, and I don't think he really wants Draga free. I think he wants freedom for himself, and he thinks that Draga's the only one what can give it. But Ciera says Harrin's best chance of getting out of here is while Draga is not himself. So far we've underestimated Harrin, and it cost us dearly. What say we stop fighting him, and start trying to buy him?"

"B...but the Cutter..."

"I know, I know. He's got us over a barrel and no mistake. We've got one way to minimize damage, and that's to keep him from freeing Draga. We need a different offer. Ciera says Harrin's got three hours until Draga's with it again and Harrin's hopes of freedom fizzle. We need to convince Harrin to get out of here before that happens. When you go back, see if he'd be amenable to a different offer."

Shadross looks at Cortez blankly. "Amenable?"

"See if Harrin would free the Demon Cutter in exchange for the Smiling Serpent."

"What?! That's your--our only free ship! That's our freedom!"

"Not with Harrin breathing down on us. Don't let on how badly he's got us in a bind, or he'll waste time gloating and we'll lose the chance to be rid of him."

"I-I won't let on. But...Harrin...he'll not budge without crew, nor tack nor rigging. If he's to be free of Draga, he'll want to really be free."

Cortez scoffs and looks down as if studying Cutter's mane. "He's already brought his crew: I'm not feeding the Sea Gypsies at my table after what they did to Ciera. She says they're still under his control, so let him keep what's his...but don't tell him that. Make it sound like we're sorry to see them go, so's he doesn't know he's doing us a favor.

"I won't..." Shadross nods with mounting enthusiasm.

"Well, go on, then. We can't keep him waiting, or he'll suspect we're pulling something."

Shadross nodded mutely again and backed away over the slime to climb up the anchor chain. Cortez leaned low as if whispering to his horse, and on the far side of the Cutter, Ciera put her hand to one ear....