Seaside 3: A load of carp

[Recaiden]

If Omiko ever intended to use them to navigate to the free isles, that might worry her more.

The ship is sadly unfinished, hard to maneuver (It doesn't have a rudder yet, you see, and turns only the way a spaceship might, by running the propulsion in different directions and ratios), and would likely flood and sink, stonelike, in very rough weather. But it wouldn't be harmed by being at the bottom of the ocean. No seats or cabins, but you're welcome to set your treasures down below-where-the-deck-should-be and perch on a crystal hull spar.
And it still powers up now when its captain sets a hand on the engines. She calls to Noah to weigh anchor, and the vessel gets under its clumsy way.

On to(wards) Inside!

[Earl of Purple]

Flotsam Beach

Now she sees the sorry state of the ship, Iythronyl abandons her previous plan to try and maroon Omiko and Noah and steal the vessel for herself. It's nought but a floating hull, and its propulsion and steering requires devices she doesn't recognise. Far easier to let them take her to Inside, and try to find a way forward from there. Either to the Free Isles, or as an officer aboard a trading vessel. She won't stray far from her meagre supply of treasure, however; it's all she has in the world, and without it she would have to start at the bottom.

[Reinholdt]

[Demon Season]

Ilpholin recovers her breath but stays lying down for the moment. Her head hurt something fierce and there was no point in standing up and aggravating a possible concussion. Not until she's healed a little at least.

"We could try dunking it in molten silver."

[Murkus]

[Dungeonside]

"Yes yes, two weeks. It's in my calendar." Kirk may not be any sort of warlock, but he knows not to mess around with entities like this. "And Tina, get a knife. It's probably a better tool than anything you're carrying right now."

He turns back toward the other boat and walks toward it. He scales it again and looks for it's captain. "Congrats, you're free to go. I'd advise against working with this troupe of idiots in the future."

Fettina scoffs. "Yeah, I'll tie my hair up with a bone and call myself 'Uk' too."

[Morty]

[Demon Season]

Wenomir glances towards Kal.

"I didn't know you were part-dragon. The corruption doesn't affect dragons, that's true. It seems to apply to all of them, and I've given up on understanding why. My idea was to get more dragon scales for a container, then put it in a safehouse. But you can hold on to it in the meantime." He looks back to Ilpholin. "Molten silver could work. What I'm concerned about is... we saw what it did when it got scratched. When destroyed, it might corrupt everything in a wide radius. But silver might prevent it."

[Shadowcaller]

[Dungeonside]

The guardian flies after Kirk as he moves up to the captain, who is still tied up at the spot he left her.
As the guardian moves by Kirk's side, it assumes the form of what appears to be a lightly dressed gnoll with huge raven wings and fur as black as midnight. Its eyes two green glowing orbs.

"W-what? I can leave, but what happen-" The captain starts when the guardian reaches out with its claw, instantly stretching it the distance between her and the prisoner to tear the humans throat out unless somehow stopped.

"I changed my mind. I do not want more loose ends."

[Demon Season]

The container Wenomir have used for the essence have several cracks in it now. It appears like it is melting a bit. Better do something about that.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Demon Season]

"Don't you fellows have a dragon as a patron? I heard Heroes' Hearth has a dragon for a patron too. Maybe you could ask for a donation."

Kal shrugs.

[Gullara]

[Dungeonside]

Kirk blinks in surprise, but otherwise masks a reaction. ****ing spirits. "Well that solves that then." Without any more ceremony he'll get off the boat the same way he came. "Right then, we're just leaving then." He looks back at the guardian. "For now."

[Reinholdt]

[Demon Season]

"Mister Squiggles has a place in his workshop where he melts down silver for the mortar shells we could use. But until then, you might want to at least put it in that glove we painstakingly took from that gnoll I didn't kill. Despite having no less than three opportunities I might add." Ilpholin very lightly nods towards the box that doesn't look like it'll hold much longer.

Convincing dragons to donate silver would be terribly appropriate if they can be persuaded. In the meanwhile, the boat starts reaching the mainland, a little lower than it should. It's not sinking like that Jack Sparrow fellow's boat, but it's good they're getting back. They should make it to the docks next post.

Wait. Mortar shells?

[Morty]

[Demon Season]

Wenomir decides not to comment on gnolls, as he carefully lets the staff head slip from one dragonscale glove to the other.

"We did receive a lot of help for a dragon, yes. Not sure if he'd be willing to send some of his scales. Heroes' Hearth is another option, and one of our members became a dragon recently. Given the rate this crap eats through dragon scale, we'll need all we can get. All the more reason to dispose of it more quickly. What do you need mortar shells for?"

[Ashen Lilies]

[Demon Season]


"...yeah I'm kind of curious about that as well, actually."

[Earl of Purple]

Dark Beach

The beach, as its name suggests, is constantly shaded beneath a cliff of black granite, and the water off the coast is a phenomenally dark blue, nearly black at times, but the reason why most sailors shun this stretch of the coast is the beach itself. It's a sandy beach, but the sand is black, even when dry. Which makes the little jolly boat floating in from the sea so clearly visible, as it is made of white wood. The boat hits the shore with a crunch of sand beneath its keel, and hits at an unusually high tide- the boat won't be drifting off for quite a while, if at all.

The little rowboat is empty, besides a few unusual objects littering the bottom- a wooden peg-leg, carved from maple wood, an empty silver hip flask missing the stopper, a broken lantern, and a powder-horn made from walrus ivory. The only other item of interest on the beach is a cutlass, which arrived with the boat- the blade is embedded into the vessel's prow. The cutlass is a vicious looking weapon, with a slightly serrated edge near the cupped brass hilt. The guard has been shaped into a leering skull, with chips of ruby set into the eye sockets. The blade is made of polished steel, and a shark's tooth hangs from a leather thong tied to the pommel. The cutlass emanates an aura, drawing to it the ruthless and greedy.

[Shadowcaller]

[The Escape from Demon Island!]

They have successfully escaped the island!
Now there is just the demonic essence to deal with. The glove which Wenomir have placed it in seems to hold just fine, but what if the essence leaks out of the hole in the glove? Might need to secure it more.

((You can probably skip me from now on, unless I decide to butt in.))

[Dungeonside]

"For now." The spirit agrees. "I will be seeing you two soon."

Then it turns back into a black feathered cloud of darkness and flies off.

[Reinholdt]

[The Escape From Demon Island]

"For when I stomped on the buggers' nests hard enough and often enough that they think to turn the tables by coming after me and mine. I'm not going to be unprepared when they decide to bring the fight to me. Besides, Mister Squiggles' suit doesn't just hold him together. There's enough demons to kill that a giant mecha spider firing silver mortar shells is completely justified." Ilpholin's gaze grows more distant and more hateful the more she explains, bitterness seeping into her voice at every turn. But it all vanishes as they reach the dock! Hooray.

Best get off the ship now though. There are repairs that need done before the patchwork job falls apart and the boat sinks entirely. Ilpholin gets up and gets off, offering a hand to anyone else stepping off as well. "Should we swing by Heroes Hearth first?"

[Morty]

[The Escape From Demon Island]

Wenomir frowns slightly. He understands why Ilpholin has become so fanatical about demon-hunting better now. But he's not sure if she wants to talk about it...

He has no time to consider that, anyway. He steps off the boat and takes a look around.

"Might as well. I've been planning to take a look at the place anyway."

[UncleWolf]

[Flotsam Beach]

Noah tilts his head. "Well, with your ship probably not in this dimension, I'm fairly sure that makes you neither." he says, perhaps a bit callously.

[Goblin Ship]

Will nods and goes to stand up. He wavers, woozy, but manages to get across the room without smashing into something. He'll even pick up TTN's camera drone if it lets him again. He wishes the goblins would just tell him what they did but whatever. In a few minutes and only one or two stubbed toes, Will gets back to the top deck. He shivers a bit as the wind blows. He might have left his shirt back in the lab where the doctors left it.
"Hi Titania." he says cheerfully, waving his new arm.

[Goblin Ship]

After giving him back his shirt, one of the Factor's assistants appears with a list of features Will's new arm has.

"We've integrated the energy weapon into it. To fire it, open your palm, place your other hand on your new arm's elbow and squeeze. There are small pressure plates on the outside of your hand that can extend a cutting edge, a serrated edge, a screwdriver and a hook."

Goblin Ship

TTN's head looks up at Will when he returns, and she'll take the drone from him gently as the assistant lists off the features. "Truly impressive work." She admits, sounding sincere somehow despite her monotone. "Plasma or laser energy? And will the battery need to be replaced after a series of shots?" She asks, curious about it.

[Deathkeeper]

Goblin Beach

Does the hook shoot out on a chain though? He doubts it. Still cool though.

Well, there's one way to find out. Will plays with his arm and fingers a bit trying to find the tool buttons, but once satisfied he points his arm well away from the ship and everyone in it (and the island for that matter), and presses the firing plate.

[Morty]

[Goblin Ship]

The arm fires a bright red beam of plasma. Some goblins turn their heads to look at the sudden display, they go back to their business.

"It's plasma. The battery from that bunker should last for a while, but it'll run out eventually."

[UncleWolf]

Goblin Ship

TTN looks at the display of the weapon built into the arm and after a brief moment of consideration gives a small nod. "I am most definitely impressed by how well you have integrated the battery." She admits, truly believing the technician was deserving of praise for the work. "However, now that this is finished, what can you tell us of where we are to be left off?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Goblin Ship]

Will smiles, putting his arm down.
"Yeah, everything looks good. I'll come knocking if it runs out of juice, I guess." muses the lad, himself curious about where they are headed.

[Morty]

[Goblin Ship]

"We've got a pretty long way to get home," the Factor says. "We can leave you at any port along the way."

"The closest big one would be Itiki," the Blight Doctor observes. "It's a goblin port, but... they're not like us. They're green and live above ground."

[UncleWolf]

Goblin Ship

"It sounds as if you disapprove of those sorts of goblins." TTN observes carefully, crouching down in order to speak with the others easier without forcing them to look all the way up at her head. "Is there something the matter with them or a reason we should not go there?"

[Deathkeeper]

Goblin Ship

Will smiles.
"Oh, like the goblins back home. They were nice. Nice enough I guess." they didn't beat him and rarely stole more than anyone else, which was all right in his book.

[Morty]

[Goblin Ship]

The Factor shrugs.

"More like they don't like us. But they won't bother us. It's a normal port in any respect."

[UncleWolf]

Goblin Ship

"Ah, yes. A veritable hive of scum and villainy too I presume?" TTN asks, actually sounding amused over something for once despite her usually monotonous tone. "Please, take us there and we shall see what fate has in store for us."

[Deathkeeper]

[Goblin Ship]

Will nods, moving over to TTN and leaning against her metal frame. With her protecting him, he has the utmost confidence in their odds. He'll probably stay there a bit, amass some money until he can take his pick somewhere else.

[Celticbear]

Dark Beach

The beach, as its name suggests, is constantly shaded beneath a cliff of black granite, and the water off the coast is a phenomenally dark blue, nearly black at times, but the reason why most sailors shun this stretch of the coast is the beach itself. It's a sandy beach, but the sand is black, even when dry. Which makes the little jolly boat floating in from the sea so clearly visible, as it is made of white wood. The boat hits the shore with a crunch of sand beneath its keel, and hits at an unusually high tide- the boat won't be drifting off for quite a while, if at all.

The little rowboat is empty, besides a few unusual objects littering the bottom- a wooden peg-leg, carved from maple wood, an empty silver hip flask missing the stopper, a broken lantern, and a powder-horn made from walrus ivory. The only other item of interest on the beach is a cutlass, which arrived with the boat- the blade is embedded into the vessel's prow. The cutlass is a vicious looking weapon, with a slightly serrated edge near the cupped brass hilt. The guard has been shaped into a leering skull, with chips of ruby set into the eye sockets. The blade is made of polished steel, and a shark's tooth hangs from a leather thong tied to the pommel. The cutlass emanates an aura, drawing to it the ruthless and greedy.

Near the rowboat, a small man appears. He is dressed in a purple suit, and holds a black cane that blends with the darkness. His hair is a shaggy black which hangs down to his shoulders, and his face is painted like that of a skull. With a twirl of his cane, he clacks it on the ground, and looks around, a wave of black magic emanating from him in a cone.

So, no invisible snoopers. That just leaves you and me, Doctor Jones says to himself.

My my, aren't you pretty. Tugging at my heartstrings like that was a nasty peace of work. But you've peaked my interest! I assume you're intelligent? Doctor Jones continues as he walks closer to the rowboat. After saying his peace he attempts to hop on.

If so, what say we have a little chat afore I pick you up?

[Earl of Purple]

Dark Beach

If there had been something invisibly lurking, unmentioned because not everyone could see it, Doctor Jones would now be feeling a bit silly.

The cutlass doesn't respond to the small man's request for conversation. Even if it is intelligent, it doesn't reply.

[Celticbear]

Dark Beach

Doctor Jones grunts, and says: Fine then. Silence will make what comes next easier.

At that sentiment, Doctor Jones makes an attempt to pick up the sword.

[Earl of Purple]

Dark Beach

The sword resists being pulled from where its blade is lodged in the wooden prow.

Instead, the sword forces Doctor Jones to watch something. He can block it, if his defences are sufficient to stop such mental intrusion, but if he does the sword won't budge until he lowers said defences enough that the vision gets through.

The vision shows Doctor Jones holding a preteen child and a dagger, and he knows the child is his- if he has any real children, it will be the one he is proudest of. If he does not, he'll know they are everything he wants in a child. The vision continues with Doctor Jones slitting their offspring's throat, and the child dies as they bleed from the wound- but it's not blood they are bleeding. Molten gold is flowing from the wound, in fits and spurts, as the child makes their last gasps of air.

If Doctor Jones sees the vision, and feels approval, or at the least is not disgusted with his actions in the vision and could see himself obeying such a ruthless gold-lust, he succeeds in pulling the sword free of its wooden resting-place.