[Nexus] Sencardia

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt's floating orb hums a little in response to the bubble of time. Not that Rein notices right now, just thankful for the reprieve. He's not exactly strong as it is and I seriously doubt he would have been able to hold on to humorously flailing guy if not for the help. As it is, Rein steels himself and flies up to the ship with renewed vigor, going to fly above and then lower Bax and himself down onto the deck.

Hopefully quick enough. It now seems that every second used on this guy is a second more the other ships get.

[Time for Never]

Reinholdt's floating orb hums a little in response to the bubble of time. Not that Rein notices right now, just thankful for the reprieve. He's not exactly strong as it is and I seriously doubt he would have been able to hold on to humorously flailing guy if not for the help. As it is, Rein steels himself and flies up to the ship with renewed vigor, going to fly above and then lower Bax and himself down onto the deck.

Hopefully quick enough. It now seems that every second used on this guy is a second more the other ships get.

That would be correct. The enemy combatants appear to be closing in, much faster than before. Even a chronomancer as powerful as Deveric cannot slow time across the board. Only pockets of time manipulation are possible unless you're a particularly strong deity. As it is now the ships will be within firing distance in another 5 minutes or so.

Reinholdt will surprisingly be successful in his endeavors to keep the man alive. Bax doesn't notice when he's safely back on deck as his eyes are held firmly shut and he's practically bawling.

"OH HELP ME, GODS! I CAN'T DIE, I'M FAR TOO HANDSOME"

...He's not really that handsome.

After realizing that he's not going to perish, at least yet, he profusely thanks his savior.

"I'm in eternal debt to you stranger! Thank you!"

"I don't need you to sit about, Bax. If you don't load those cannons we'll all be dead yet!"

[Reinholdt]

"Just... don't get shot or something. You're no good to me dead." Reinholdt can't abuse him as a minion or a footstool or a back rubber or whatever if he gets shot!

He turns to the Captain. "I don't suppose they're going to surrender and offer us tea? Or just loot us and go on their way maybe? What can I do to help?"

[Time for Never]

"Just... don't get shot or something. You're no good to me dead." Reinholdt can't abuse him as a minion or a footstool or a back rubber or whatever if he gets shot!

He turns to the Captain. "I don't suppose they're going to surrender and offer us tea? Or just loot us and go on their way maybe? What can I do to help?"

"It's good that you can keep your sense of humor in predicaments. And no, they're going to demand us to surrender and if we refuse offer us cannonballs as a response."

The enemy was close to being in firing range. They began to split up in an effort to completely encircle the Hydrangea, a tactic that would see the ship trapped. It wouldn't be impossible for Leandre to ram the brigs however should they attempt to bar passage.

"Which is why we'll take the first shot, hopefully gaining an advantage. The smaller boats shouldn't have much in the way of firepower nor will they have a fortified broadside. This frigate of theirs will pose an issue however."

Taking another glance at the enemy's position, Leandre finally lets out the command.

"Fire Starboard!"

One of the 5 brigs takes several unfortunate hits to its masts and bow, killing a dozen men. It stops advancing for the time being. 4 shots ring by another ship, just barely grazing it, doing minimal damage. A further vessel sees the center of the deck torn asunder by random lightning.

Returned fire is the answering call from the remaining pirate ships which hits the sails, shredding the forward-most one. A few men get hit by a well-placed shot.

"Fire Portside!" yells Leandre, enthusiastically.

The frigate was the primary mark of this volley. Being larger it took more direct hits to its hulls which caused a moderate amount of damage. Despite this it kept moving forward, seemingly unfazed.

Frowning, Leandre pulled out his spyglass and took a look at the aftermath. Cannons were being aimed directly at the stern, right towards him.

"Get down, mates!"

What seemed like rolling thunder slammed into the nearby area, causing splinters to fly in the air alongside anyone too slow to avoid the cannonballs.

[Reinholdt]

"It's the only thing keeping my other senses at bay." Rein replies.

Reinholdt goes to pull Leandre out of the way as he dives for cover, if he isn't already moving. Which I personally doubt, but that's how it goes anyways. He gets some splinters thrown his way, but most bounce off his clothing layers.

He looks around briefly before settling on going to fly up to the crow's nest. He's always been better with higher ground and better visibility. Unless there is no crow's nest or it's been knocked over. Then Rein will just have to settle for a high point amongst the sails. Less ideal, but it'll have to do.

From there he'll concentrate on trying to figure out which boat or boats are commanding the rest. Probably the frigate, but it could be a decoy.

How many ships are there again?

[Time for Never]

"It's the only thing keeping my other senses at bay." Rein replies.

Reinholdt goes to pull Leandre out of the way as he dives for cover, if he isn't already moving. Which I personally doubt, but that's how it goes anyways. He gets some splinters thrown his way, but most bounce off his clothing layers.

He looks around briefly before settling on going to fly up to the crow's nest. He's always been better with higher ground and better visibility. Unless there is no crow's nest or it's been knocked over. Then Rein will just have to settle for a high point amongst the sails. Less ideal, but it'll have to do.

From there he'll concentrate on trying to figure out which boat or boats are commanding the rest. Probably the frigate, but it could be a decoy.

How many ships are there again?

1 Frigate, 2 schooners, and 5 frigs for a total of 8 ships in all. 1 of the brigs has been destroyed by a random lightning strike, and another 1 has been rendered incompetent for the time being which leaves 6 left. The frigate has taken a good amount of hits, but seems to be fine despite this.

Leandre was the first one to dive for cover and is unscathed from the hits and the crewmen all got to safety in time for the most part. Some are blinded by splinters impaling their eyes.The ship fairs a bot worse though - 1 cannon and 2 swivels have been knocked out of the fight.

The crow's nest is actually OK for the time being, so Renholdt can get comfortable (aside from the occasional lightning which may unnerve him a bit). If Reinholdt is has an espescially keen eye he might be able to notice a man on the frigate patrolling the ship yelling commands at his subordinates. He wears a tricorne hat with green vestments. As far as he may tell the frigate is the flag ship.

"Quickly fellows! Back to your stations before we get hit with another barrage!"

The remaining three brigs will continue in their efforts to surround the Hydrangea. 2 of them unleash yet another round of fire, this time with chainshots. Spinning cannonballs connected by a thick chain fly towards the masts. Some hit the forward sail instead, tearing it apart, while the rest miss.

"Bloody scoundrels."

Observing the damage, Deveric declares his irritation.

"Something needs to be done and quickly, lest we risk the chance of becoming immobilized indefinitely."

Leandre nods his head in agreement.

"Agreed, but what do you propose?"

"Weaken the rest of those brigs before they flank us..."

He turns his head towards the main ship, pointing.

"...and then ram the Frigate. I'll board the ship and take out the captain with the help of Reinholdt if he so chooses."

Instead of yelling incredulously, Leandre just stares at his companion blankly.

"Ram it you say? That's... ridiculous.

Yet that might just work. Aye, we'll do that."

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt would be happy to help!
Though he can't really hear them much from up there and would disapprove of the plan anyways. Seems far too gung-ho 'get stabbed with swords' than he likes. Melee is overrated.

He would agree with taking out the captain, though maybe he can do one better. Pulling an AK-47 out of his hammerspace, he uses the crow's nest to steady himself a bit, taking aim at the frigate, before firing, looking for wide sweeping hits over specific targets.

Now any normal bullets probably would get all messed up by the wind and such and the sniper kitty knows this. Of course, this weapon is a magical one he picked up in that Purple Dragon's tomb he raided. It shoots lightning. And near as he can tell, despite being advanced enough to have skyships, this world hasn't solved the lightning problem yet. So he suspects it'll be highly damaging.

Maybe even enough of a shock to frighten the other ships for a second or two. After all, they're trying to raid a ship which appears to have mastery over this very storm. Well some anyways. Nothing's really stopping the normal lightning from hitting them.

[Time for Never]

Reinholdt would be happy to help!
Though he can't really hear them much from up there and would disapprove of the plan anyways. Seems far too gung-ho 'get stabbed with swords' than he likes. Melee is overrated.

He would agree with taking out the captain, though maybe he can do one better. Pulling an AK-47 out of his hammerspace, he uses the crow's nest to steady himself a bit, taking aim at the frigate, before firing, looking for wide sweeping hits over specific targets.

Now any normal bullets probably would get all messed up by the wind and such and the sniper kitty knows this. Of course, this weapon is a magical one he picked up in that Purple Dragon's tomb he raided. It shoots lightning. And near as he can tell, despite being advanced enough to have skyships, this world hasn't solved the lightning problem yet. So he suspects it'll be highly damaging.

Maybe even enough of a shock to frighten the other ships for a second or two. After all, they're trying to raid a ship which appears to have mastery over this very storm. Well some anyways. Nothing's really stopping the normal lightning from hitting them.

His suspicions would be correct: there is no lightning-resistant defensive technology yet in this world. So if one were to have an AK-47 that can shoot lightning it would be highly-damaging to whatever target befalls its anger. Had Deveric known that his cat friend had such objects he would have gone with a different approach.

He looks up as Reinholdt pulls out his lovely little toy.

"What is he trying to do?"

"I do not know."

[Reinholdt]

My apologies. I had meant to indicate that he does in fact fire it, just after aiming a little first.

*pew pew pew*

Although it's probably no where near as cute sounding.

[Time for Never]

My apologies. I had meant to indicate that he does in fact fire it, just after aiming a little first.

*pew pew pew*

Although it's probably no where near as cute sounding.

The elemental-projectile(s?) will completely engulf the frigate alongside the schooners, assuming those were his targets of course. The schooners immediately get blown apart, leaving nobody alive. The frigate on the other hand appears to somewhat resist the weapon at first. That is until the electricity comes into contact with a stockpile of gunpowder/explosives, which instantly cause the ship to explode.

"Hahaha, I'll be damned! That little guy did it!"

The crew begins to cheer in good spirits and dancing. The tides had turned.

"Excellent work there, I agree. I've never seen anyone, sorcerers aside, use lightning to their benefit."

Deveric glances at the remaining enemies.

"It's not over yet though, we need to press the advantage."

"Let's remedy that shall we? Men, load the guns once more!"

The sailors begin to move back and forth, passing cannonballs down a line to the operators. All was finally going to plan. However, right before they could get a chance to shoot, another chainshot bombardment rains down on the sails, this time hitting the crow's nest mast breaking it in two.

[Reinholdt]

I'm not sure actually. I'll have to ask the guy who gave the magic item to me.

Reinholdt's in the midst of turning his sights to the other boats when his perch gets hit and taken out. Suddenly unsteady, a stray lightning shot fires upwards as he falls with the nest. Before it can get too far, he grips his weapon and forces himself to jump out so as to not end up in an even further unfavorable position. He mostly just works on avoiding the fallout of the falling mast before making his way back down to the deck.

Seems they aren't as afraid as he'd hope. Well, guess he'll just have to reassess the situation and do something to fix that. He looks to see which of the brigs had the gall/guts to screw with his sniper's nest.

[Time for Never]

I'm not sure actually. I'll have to ask the guy who gave the magic item to me.

Reinholdt's in the midst of turning his sights to the other boats when his perch gets hit and taken out. Suddenly unsteady, a stray lightning shot fires upwards as he falls with the nest. Before it can get too far, he grips his weapon and forces himself to jump out so as to not end up in an even further unfavorable position. He mostly just works on avoiding the fallout of the falling mast before making his way back down to the deck.

Seems they aren't as afraid as he'd hope. Well, guess he'll just have to reassess the situation and do something to fix that. He looks to see which of the brigs had the gall/guts to screw with his sniper's nest.

As it turns out, it was the brig from before, the one that had become temporarily immobilized, that had fired at Reinholdt's location. It was now back in the fight and joining the other 3 brigs in their efforts to obtain revenge for the captain's death.

Leandre sighs.

"We really needed that nest, you know."

"What's done is done. Worry about it after we've finished here. Focus fire on those two for now", commands Deveric.

Rain continues to freeze those under its descent. A handful of men begin to cough, showing the first signs of sickness. Leandre takes to the wheel and begins to turn the ship to face two of the brigs which happen to be closer together than the others.

"Fire Starboard when loaded, mates!"

By this time the brigs had effectively made a ring around Leandre's sky vessel which might have boded poorly had not two of them taken a deadly assault of grapeshot, vaporizing those on board and pulling the planks from the ship. Only two left now.

[Reinholdt]

Nothing so warming as cold, cold revenge.

Reinholdt will approach the edge of the ship, switching out his AK-47 for a wand via his hammerspace and using it at one of the brigs. It's a pretty classic fireball wand with a fwoosh and a boom. Might not be the best choice in the freezing rain, but Rein's decided he wants to stick with an elemental theme today, just for show.

And Reinholdt does love a good show.

[Time for Never]

Nothing so warming as cold, cold revenge.

Reinholdt will approach the edge of the ship, switching out his AK-47 for a wand via his hammerspace and using it at one of the brigs. It's a pretty classic fireball wand with a fwoosh and a boom. Might not be the best choice in the freezing rain, but Rein's decided he wants to stick with an elemental theme today, just for show.

And Reinholdt does love a good show.

Assuming it's regular fire, the flaming missile will be extinguished almost immediately. Of course if the wand produces a game of thrones wildfire-esque magic, which is more likely, it would destroy his target. The brig would be engulfed in a searing pillar of roasting death and kill most of the crew.

[Reinholdt]

I think it's more likely the middle ground. Not some wimpy spurt or missile, but not wildfire power.

Wildfire's scary... ._.

[Time for Never]

I think it's more likely the middle ground. Not some wimpy spurt or missile, but not wildfire power.

Wildfire's scary... ._.

Absolutely, that stuff is horrifyingly effective. That was an awesome scene though!

In light of this, the fireball will have waned a fair bit before reaching the hapless boat. The impact causes an immolation on the front portion of the boat, spreading around by the flailing and burning prey. If it weren't for the rain the ship would most likely be completely defenseless, but as it is the rain finishes off the fire before more damage can be done.

That's fine though, because another volley is almost prepared to be launched. Deveric gives off a slight smile

"This is a nice change of pace. For once I don't need to do everything - I can just sit back for now."

"Isn't that what you normally do?"

"Your jokes are ever so brilliant" mocks Deveric dryly.

[Reinholdt]

Hmm... not horribly unexpected. Let's see, what else is there? Water, earth, air, heart? Well he supposes he could...
*lightning and thunder*

Reinholdt shifts back into a cat and flees under some boxes. These guys seems to have it handled and are mopping up well enough. It's cold and wet and loud out there.

[Time for Never]

Hmm... not horribly unexpected. Let's see, what else is there? Water, earth, air, heart? Well he supposes he could...
*lightning and thunder*

Reinholdt shifts back into a cat and flees under some boxes. These guys seems to have it handled and are mopping up well enough. It's cold and wet and loud out there.

"...That was rather underwhelming."

No matter, it was under control now anyway. Targeting the pre-injured foe, Leandre commands the take down of the pest. A final volley will find its way into the side of the ship and see to its destruction. Seeing the hopelessness of the situation, the remaining pirates will turn tail and sail off into the sky. They had won.

As per typical sailor behavior, a victory means for a hearty celebration. Everyone on board aside from Deveric and possibly Reinholdt will be dancing and cheering in rambunctious fashion.

"The cowards turned tail and ran!"

"They got what they deserved!"

"To the best crew in the 12 skies!"

"Where's the rum?!"

And so on and so forth for the next 30 minutes or so. After enough time had elapsed Leandre rallied his workers for repairs and organization.

"Alright lads, that's enough for now. You all can celebrate more once we have docked and are safely out of raider territory."

The storm had lessened a bit but was still enough to inspire distress.

[Reinholdt]

Whoa whoa whoa.
No amount of distress from a storm can interfere with this.

Reinholdt peeks his head back out. "Did someone say rum?" He asks, looking around to see if there's any actual rum or if he'll have to wait til later cause of the rum-blocking captain. Darn repairs.

[Time for Never]

Whoa whoa whoa.
No amount of distress from a storm can interfere with this.

Reinholdt peeks his head back out. "Did someone say rum?" He asks, looking around to see if there's any actual rum or if he'll have to wait til later cause of the rum-blocking captain. Darn repairs.

Absolutely not! Leandre's guests aren't some sort of peasants after all - the repairs are for the workers.

"There's plenty of rum, my friend! Right below deck is where we store all of our alcohol, so help yourself. Go down the stairs there and take a right. The room will be the second one on the left."

While Renholdt gets himself wasted on booze, Deveric will decide to speed things up a bit. Moving over to where the repairs are taking place he will create another time-pocket, this time speeding up the movement instead of slowing it down. After 20 minutes or so 10 hours of fixing takes place. By this time the Hydrangea should be capable of moving towards its destination once more, though it will be slower than before.

After retiring from his work Deveric will go to the stern of the ship and look outwards. Seeing his buddy looking disconsolate, Leandre comes up to him.

"It looks like you could use something to drink. Want some mead?"

"I'd prefer wine, I'm not a fan of other alcohol. I'll take some if you have it though."

"Of course. I'll be right back."

In a few moments, Leandre returns with wine in hand.

"Here you go: one crimson grape wine! I would stay and chat but I need to actually captain my ship."

"Yes, yes, I know. How far out were we before the attack?"

"Without further surprises we should be arriving within a couple of days."

"Sounds marvelous."

[Reinholdt]

As far as Reinholdt's concerned, booze is never wasted, so long as it's his.

His player thinks he has a problem and should seek help.
But that's a major understatement.

Reinholdt will shift back to human form and grab some rum to carry back up to deck. Or rather, to just off the deck, in a doorway peering out at it. Some shelter from the rain.

[Time for Never]

As far as Reinholdt's concerned, booze is never wasted, so long as it's his.

His player thinks he has a problem and should seek help.
But that's a major understatement.

Reinholdt will shift back to human form and grab some rum to carry back up to deck. Or rather, to just off the deck, in a doorway peering out at it. Some shelter from the rain.

Without further ado, the characters will continue on to Venreth. After a few hours the rain subsides and a clear night replaces the chaos of earlier. Deveric retires to his room and board to get some rest after using up much of his energy from the time warping. Leandre continues to sail through the night, hoping to recover any lost time.

If Reinholdt wishes to sleep and fast forward to landing at their destination (for real this time) then he may do so. If not that is fine as well.

[Reinholdt]

With all this time skipping, Reinholdt might get dislocated...

Fast forward time. The rum helps things go quicker.

[Time for Never]

With all this time skipping, Reinholdt might get dislocated...

Fast forward time. The rum helps things go quicker.

Don't get dislocated! That would certainly not be a good thing to happen. Keep on drinking the rum and enjoy the convenient flash-forward of time. Leandre will go and inform Reinholdt and Deveric that they had arrived.

"Time to go, we're finally here mates. Guards will be coming up on board soon to check for masks. Make sure you have it on or they will detain you."

It took less time than predicted. Within 36 hours the ship had landed at an old dockyard that looked to have been at one time grand. Now it was decrepit and had fallen into disarray. A resolute cobbled road stood the test of time and led into a city that matched the ruined harbor. It wasn't as abandoned as it was rundown however. Men in masks patrolled the streets with weapons sheathed. A few merchants even had setup stalls here in an attempt to earn their share of loot from treasure hunters. This was the safe haven of Ferdand, one of the few outposts set up down in this gods-forsaken land.

Two guards began to walk up the ramp. They began to inspect everything, making sure that there would be no way that the Hydrangea would bring back any sort of contaminate to Sencardia. Waving over a third person, this time a magi, they began to form a magic forcefield around the ship, isolating any possible germs.

Deveric puts on his mask and goes to get Reinholdt.

"Ready?"

[Reinholdt]

Human form Reinholdt takes another swig of rum first, before putting on his mask and replying. "Ready."

Of note, when he started taking a swig of rum, he was right in front of Deveric, yet when he finished, he was four feet to Deveric's left. No, he didn't move. He just seemed to flicker there. Probably his whole personal space/time unraveling. The time skips just accelerated the problem reaching him at this point in his timeline.

Not that he notices such a minor thing. If Deveric's that ready to move out, then let's go! There's treasure to be had!

[Time for Never]

Human form Reinholdt takes another swig of rum first, before putting on his mask and replying. "Ready."

Of note, when he started taking a swig of rum, he was right in front of Deveric, yet when he finished, he was four feet to Deveric's left. No, he didn't move. He just seemed to flicker there. Probably his whole personal space/time unraveling. The time skips just accelerated the problem reaching him at this point in his timeline.

Not that he notices such a minor thing. If Deveric's that ready to move out, then let's go! There's treasure to be had!

Deveric's not quite sure if what he saw took place in his head or not. He blinks once in confusion, but Reinholdt doesn't mention anything of it so Deveric assumes that he was seeing things. Still, he'll make a mental note of it.

"Mmmm... right then. Let's get started."

Leaving the room, Deveric heads for the stairs, passing scurrying men on the way. The topside is in much the same turbulent state as below. Sailors on bent knees scrub the decks, crates, railings, cannons and everything in between. Plague-hunters patrol every inch of the ship, using detection magic on the surfaces of objects to look for hints of pestilence. If they were to find anything of worry it would mean trouble for the people on board.

"There you both are! I was beginning to think you guys grew an attachment to the Hydrangea. Unfortunately however, we have wait for them to finish up what they're doing before you can leave."

Leandre points at the guards as he talks.

"Don't panic though. They should be done here shortly... unless of course they find anything. Which they won't! I keep my ship immaculately clean at all times."

He sounds a bit defensive at that last part.

"Of that, I have no doubt. Still, these hold ups can cause one to lose his patience after a while."

Commotion can be heard taking place below. Suddenly one of the guards emerges gripping a struggling sailor. The man in front makes a beeline for Leandre with the victim in tow. The guard punches his captive in the stomach when he tries to make a run for it. He then turns to the captain and speaks in an altered voice.

"Are you aware of the disease this man carries?"

Leandre looks to be taken aback. Worry lines crease his face and he frowns in thought.

"Err, no I'm not. Is it, is it incurable?"

After a second attempt to escape the death-like grip on his arm, the sailor takes a kick to the knee which puts him down for the time being.

"At this point it has spread too much on him. He can't go back with you."

"What?! Let me go you hellion! I'm not sick, so get off of me!"

The man tries to struggle again, this time in desperation. His eyes grow wide in panic as he redoubles his efforts. Another punch to the stomach causes him to fold over on the ground in agony. Leandre pinches the bridge of his nose in concentration.

"And there isn't anything you can do to rid him of the disease? This is the best you can do? Come on, somebody must be trained in healing around here!"

After being silent through the entire conversation, Deveric decides to finally speaks up.

"Excuse my interruption, sir, but is this the only person on board with signs of sickness?"

Leandre turns his head to look at his friend in confusion. The guard now directs his attention to the speaker.

"Yes. Fortunately for you all, this man has just recently caught the germs responsible for the plague."

Deveric nods his head in satisfaction. The captive now losing hope, looks up with pleading eyes.

"So once you remove him we can continue on our way, correct?"

Now understanding what his friend is implying Leandre begins to grow angry.

"You can't be serious, Deveric. He's one of my crew, I can't just abandon him like this! If they work on my ship it's my responsibility to see to their protection!"

The Chronomancer is now ignoring him for the moment. The guard's eyes dart back and forth between the two as things begin to heat up.

"Please, don't let them take me awa-"

"That is correct."

[Reinholdt]

"So... have you tried washing them off? Sterilizing him and such? Or maybe removing the offending limb? Don't suppose it's concentrated in one area like that..."

Reinholdt tilts his head a little. "Is he actually sick or does he just have germs on him?"

Making sense of all this is a little hard sometimes, but then Reinholdt likes more details than most people.

[Time for Never]

"So... have you tried washing them off? Sterilizing him and such? Or maybe removing the offending limb? Don't suppose it's concentrated in one area like that..."

Reinholdt tilts his head a little. "Is he actually sick or does he just have germs on him?"

Making sense of all this is a little hard sometimes, but then Reinholdt likes more details than most people.

Details are always handy and fun! Well they're handy at least. Keep in mind that I'm not exactly a Pathologist, but I'll do my best.

"Unfortunately that's not how it works. If he's not sick now, he will be momentarily. The pathogen responsible for the disease travels at an unnatural rate, spreading through the body in a couple of hours at most. It isn't until shortly later that the effects begin to take effect."

Deveric steals a quick glance at Leandre. He seemed to acknowledge that his friend was right but didn't want to admit it. The sickly person began to shake his head in near hysteria.

"This is correct. By our analysis, he caught it about half an hour ago. By now it's probably spread into most of his organs. In fact he was allegedly spotted wandering outside the harbor without his mask on which resulted in his contamination. It was practically inevitable. It's simply not safe to keep him on board any longer."

Commotion began to stir in the ranks of the crew as they noticed the group talking about the man. Whispers turned into angry shouts after one man accused the guards of brutality. Leandre tries to keep the discussion at a reasonable level as he thinks of solutions.

"What about sterilization like the cat suggested? Surely there's at least a temporary solution?"

"We can sterilize, it's called fire. Flames are about the only thing we can use to discard the germs permanently."

Leandre grows quiet at the seriousness of the situation.

"I'm sorry that it must happen this way, but there's nothing else that can be done where he walks away unscathed. At least this way it'll be over in an instant instead of an agonizingly slow death."

The mob begins to grow angrier as they realize what's happening. One man throws a bottle at one the guards, hitting him in the back. In response the two other guards rush over to try and detain the person responsible. Resisting, the man is joined by several of his comrades who proceed to beat the surrounded guards.

"Oh ****."

[Reinholdt]

"QUIET!"

Reinholdt shouts, whipping out a wand and targeting mister plagued, firing a blast at him of all people. He doesn't think the sick one will expect it coming.

To be thoroughly specific, it's an item designed to turn fleshy things, like him, into stone. Make him into a nice statue.

"Near as I can tell this plague doesn't attack rock. Some day, when there's a cure, he can be changed back and healed."

[Time for Never]

"QUIET!"

Reinholdt shouts, whipping out a wand and targeting mister plagued, firing a blast at him of all people. He doesn't think the sick one will expect it coming.

To be thoroughly specific, it's an item designed to turn fleshy things, like him, into stone. Make him into a nice statue.

"Near as I can tell this plague doesn't attack rock. Some day, when there's a cure, he can be changed back and healed."

The man solidifies into a stone version of himself with frozen, outstretched hands pleading to his captor. At this site everybody grows quiet. Still even. None of them, save Deveric, had ever seen somebody turned into a statue before. The fighting stops and the assaulted guards compose themselves and back away from the crew while they're distracted. Leandre looks especially shocked.

"What the hell was that?" asks one of the astounded seafarers.

"Before anybody overreacts you should know that Reinholdt is correct. The bacterium is incapable of attacking non-living mass. He just saved that man's life - twice now, actually."

If Reinholdt studies the man, he'll notice that the statue-man was Bax. Surely he owes his savior a huge amount of repayment now. Whenever he is back to normal that is. By now most of the observers had begun to come back to their senses.

"At least now this man has another chance."

"In that case I saw we give three cheers to Reinholdt the Graciousness!"

"Aye!"

"Agreed!"

In unison the people on board begin to celebrate.

"Reinholdt, Reinholdt, Reinholdt!"

Seizing their chance, the three plague-hunters leave the boat and go back to their stations at the dockyard's gate. Leandre commands for a couple of men to move Bax below deck for safe keeping.

"You sure are full of surprises, friend." states a smiling Leandre.

"Indeed you are. That is the second time now that you've done something to impress me. I certainly hope that this isn't the last time."