josh900

"There was a kraken down there?!?" Leif asked in a shocked tone of voice. "Could you at least, try and act serious for a few minutes?" Lucas asked, quickly losing his temper due to Leif's childish behavior. Leif's response in his elderly man voice only made things worse. "Back in my day we were always serious, seriously so! Couldn't go ten minutes without running into some random boogy that wan'ted to eat ya! But then they went and changed the rules! Streamlined it they say, made it easier for the newcomers to come on in and wreck the place!" "What in all the hells are you talking about!?!?" "I want a muffin!" "I can't deal with this!" Lucas finally yelled in frustration, walking away to leave the half-elf to blabber on to himself for some time until Shalena's outburst pulled him from his routine. Feeling somewhat responsible for the ship's current state due to certain events involving some very angry priestess of Umberlee several years ago, he decided to take the matter of the ship's repair into his own hands, the very least he could do all things considered. ---------------------------- A few minutes later Leif made his way to the captain's quarters and slid a piece of parchment beneath the door and knocked. "I'm not taking no for an answer! Just hand that to the harbormaster when we make it to port, I'm picking up the tab for the repairs, it's the least you deserve for all your troubles and as a way of thanking you for allowing us to use your ship." He said, hoping that Shalena was listening on the other side. ---------------- Meanwhile Hexol crawled out of the barrel with a look of disappointment. "Aww... is it over already?" "Oh thank the gods!" Replied an utterly pitiful Azuris, who had been thrown to the floor, and didn't have the strength to pick himself back up.

After picking himself back up, Lucas looked around for any signs of the Kraken. "Okay... now we killed it." He said, shooting a relieved smile at Rameses. But as soon as he let down his guard, a rumbling growl from the railing put him back on edge as he watched a disgusting mass of plant life rise from behind the railing. Lucas began to worry that it was perhaps another of the Kraken's tentacles rising from the water, but that fear instantaneously evaporated when a clump of it began to move like a mouth and spoke in a growly voice. "Heeeey you kids! Howabout you come over here so I can give you some caanndyyyy... Come on now, don't be shyyyy. Come float with meeee, we'll aaaall float down heeeraahahahahah!!!" Lucas's expression was certainly not one of amusement. "So we won't have to go saving you after all it seems." He said in a curt manner as Leif awkwardly climbed back over the railing. "I dunno about that, swallowed quite a bit of water while i was down there, might need someone on standby in case I need emergency mouth to mouth ya know." Leif said with mischievous grin. "Little above everyone's pay-grade don't cha think?" Lucas retorted without hiding an ounce of the bite. "Nah," Leif said dismissively as he lay on his back, "I'll let the pretty ones do it for free." He chuckled.

Not knowing who Abby was calling "Knight-person" Lucas only realized she meant him when the rope hit his body. He had half a mind to inform her of her mistake, but the extreme tipping of the ship made it more important to brace himself. -------------- The frenetic rage and energy of the dying Kraken was making things rather difficult on Leif, the billowing ink only added to the difficulty, though not by much due to his inherited darkvision. While careful planning certainly wasn't his strong point, he knew an opportunity when he saw it, and this one looked like a rogue tentacle spearing right towards him. Kicking off the Kraken's hide, he twisted his body around in a somewhat complex maneuver to dodge the oncoming tentacle, and slice his blade through it's slender tip with ease. As the tentacle reared back in pain, Leif made a grab for the severed tip. "Don't try and start a game of grab-ass with me chief, I play to win." Leif thought with a smirk before he began the incantation. Despite it's complexity and his lack of experience with the spell, years and years of studying dusty tomes and being forced to memorize them by heart, calling up this obscure information from his brain wasn't too difficult. Despite the skill however, it was really only dumb luck that he managed to complete the spells incantation, for as soon as he released the piece of tentacle, it's original host slammed into Leif, knocking him into the depths below. The spell was cast however, and from the floating piece of tentacle, erupted a blackened mass of much larger ones, each measuring twenty feet in length. They slammed into the Kraken's hide and coiled around it, wrapping around the base of it's own tentacles and twisted around them, doing their best to hold them in place as the mass pummeled the Krakan's body, some even burrowing into the wounds made by Lief, widening the wounds and tearing through the skin. While it certainly wouldn't kill the creature, the hope was that it would force it to release it's hold on the ship completely, and would be defenseless against a truly mortal blow.

The tilting and the crashing of the ship caught Leif's attention who moments before the attack, had fixed himself a warm cup of tea. With cup in hand, he made his way up to the deck of the ship, fighting against the tilting of the ship, and adjusting his cup with the ship's movement as he walked to avoid spilling it. "Alright now, what's with all the rack-" He spoke before witnessing the chaos around him, tentacles flailing about with members of the crew desperately battling them back. To this sight, Leif reacted in a rather odd manner, by letting out a laugh and calling out. "Ah alright, yeah you kids have fun." as though he were watching a bunch of rambunctious children playing outside. As he turned back down the steps, Lucas nearly crashed into him as he tried making it up to the deck to aid in the fight. "Little above your pay-grade don't ya think?" Leif asked when he saw that Lucas was armed with his mace and shield. "At least I can try to help!" Lucas retorted, noticing Leif's lack of care for the current situation. "And that's better than standing around.... sipping tea." He said as he pushed his way past Leif, and moved out onto the deck to help fend off the Kraken's tentacles. With a groan Leif let him move by. "Alright alright, I'll be up in a sec." He growled before slamming back his tea while he walked back down the steps, heading to where his weapons lay. ---------- The wreckage and carnage above deck nearly stunned Lucas as he looked around, desperate to find somewhere he could help, that desperation was quickly evaporated as the warm glow of Rhaine's Blessing washed over him. With his resolve strengthened he spotted Abby fending on a tentacle all on her own and rushed over to give her what little aid he could. --------- Leif descended the stairs all the while speaking in a mocking tone. "No Leif, You're crazy! There's no curse put on you by a vengeful god of the sea, it's all just bad luck! Ignore crashing on an island full of werewolves, ignore the vampires infested ship, the Githyanki sinking your escape boat, IGNORE BECOMING A WALKING APOCALYPSES FOR THE STINKY FISH MEN! IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD LEIF!!" His train of thought was interrupted however by a rather odd sound coming from the area that Azuris was being kept, poking his head into the room, he let out a laugh as he watched Hexol roll around the room with the rocking of the ship, while rolling inside a barrel as Azuris languished about in his own vomit, begging for an end to it all. "Azuris!" Hexol's muffled voice came from inside the barrel. "You gotta try this! I shoulda done this a long time ago! Everything's spinning even more than it normally is! Wooooo!!!" Unfortunately, Azuris was in no condition to respond in any way other than with a dry heave. -------------- With the Steam of Anguish in hand, Leif walked back up to the deck, all the while muttering about his hated of squid. "Too damn slimy, never goes down right, like a big, chunky booger or something, maybe I just didn't have it cooked right or something." He spoke as he sliced his hand on his sword's not yet steaming blade and then wiped the blood up his forehead and to the back of his scalp, sticking his blood smeared hair up on end. A Water Breathing and a ​Fire Resistance spell and a few punches to the wall to get himself prepped later, Leif stepped out onto the deck and ignored the mass of tentacles that coiled around the ship, instead he marched right over to the railing and sat down on it with his back facing the water. "Any of you folks ever had calamari? You'll be having some tonight!" He yelled out before tipping himself back to fall into the water head first. Years of swimming in the giant tubs of Candlekeep were finally paying off as he looked down below, embracing the pain of the stinging of his eyes and hand, letting it grow from a minor announce, to outright angering. With the size of the great Kraken, spotting it wasn't at all difficult, even in the dark waters, and so spotting his prey, Leif sprung into action but even as he kicked off the boat and began his speedy swim over to the creature, he still had not yet thought of how exactly he was going to deal with it. With it still stunned by Argoyros's breath, Leif's approach went unnoticed, giving him the chance to get as close as he needed. By now the blade had heated up to it's top temperature and boiled the water around him yet didn't cause him any sort of discomfort due to his choice of protective spell earlier. With both the sword's enchanted strength to it's user, and his own rage induced strength, Leif rammed the blade straight into the Kraken's hide with enough force to even puncture dragon hide were he not forcing past water resistance. With an opening made, Leif withdrew his blade from it and used it as a grip to keep himself from floating away, he repeated the process again, using the punctures to climb across the Kraken's body, hoping to reach it's giant eye and deal a decisive blow.

Cair arched a brow after catching his own bag and saw that Bella had received a bag of coins as well. "Oh sure, pay the lass who if had her way, never woulda brought these things back here. I swear." He muttered under his breath before sitting down to count out the coins. All too prepared to take matters into his own hands should the payment be light, his knowledge of mathematics coming into play as he had made a note to write down the going rates of every item that they had returned. He and his crew were going to get their ten percent, one way or another.

"So far yeah, Deal ain't over with though, me and me boys still need to get paid." Cair explained to Bella. "I'm just hoping the Baron's not the stingy sort." He said with a sigh, thinking of how easier this would all have been without anyone's interference, They simply could have taken the ten percent that they were owed and have been done with it. His own group had split up when they found the village after the raid, half went with him to find the bandits, and the greener members who had yet to experience battle had stayed behind to help with the villages repairs. Bad experiences with other land-owners put Cair on edge, the rest of his men were certainly feeling the same way. "Sooo if he don't pay.... What's the tha plan?" Rowan whispered to Cair so that Bell couldn't hear. "Weeee'll worry about that later, let's just hope Mirchaud's not the argumentative type and umm... get everyone ready just in case." Cair whispered back, patting Rowan on the shoulder as he went off to collect the others, leaving Cair to bite at his thumbnail as he watched Mirchaud converse with his fellow Swadian.

On board the ship, Azuris was dealing with the rocking of the waves in his usual manner, poorly and with a bucket nearby all the while uttering obscenities that impressed even members of the pirate crew. Hexol meanwhile, found the new Thri-kreen absolutely fascinating, and had been following him around quite a bit. When his more recent conversation turned to cake, the Kender made a declaration. "We need to get him some cake when we get to the city." ---------- Leif sat against the deck railing a short ways away from anyone else, engrossed in a book, looking completely at home on the vessel.

The next morning Cair was quickly eating his breakfast when Bellatrix approached him and asked for his name. "Well I'd imagine that you'll be calling me less pleasant things under your breath until your convinced that you're in the wrong and will then stop calling me bandit in the middle of a crowded pub." He said, motioning to the other people sitting around. "But since you asked so nicely," He started with a wide and forced smile, "it's Cair, Cair Mac Naidh of an isle a fair bit 'o distance to 'tha west that likes to keep to it'self and out of Calradia's business." He answered her. "So now it's your turn 'afore I come up with titles for you as well." He said before resuming his meal.

"Think they'd be more happy to killing you afore me there big guy." Cair chuckled at the Nord before returning his attention to the woman. "Aye I did say that, but I did then say you could get on with your business so long as you left the goods to me and me boys. And to be fair, we didn't chase ya, just happen to have ended up in the same place is all." He said as he took the parchment back. He stuck his tongue in his cheek when she called him an outlaw. "Well... How's about that I'm a special assignment as a sort of privateer? Privateer being a sort of thief of thieves, so's my job to take what they took and take it back to those it was originally taken from, if ya get my meaning. I'd wave the officials in yer face but umm... well of course I wouldn't have em on me when I need em." He added out of the corner of his mouth. "Look, I'm behind as is so how's about I level with ya? I wouldn't trust me either, some funny sounden fella comes outta the woods demanding your gain, I'd trust em as far as I could throw em, but the town of Amere needs these pretty badly alright? They're a right bloody mess right now and they're gonna be hurtin for a long while without em. It ain't far off so you send someone over there to talk to the chief and ask about me, and he'll confirm my story, and then we can move forward from there, eh?" He asked with a cautious smile, hoping that this wasn't about to get any uglier than what most of the nearby company was.

"Iii'm sensing a bit of hostility aimed my way." Cair said with a smirk. "Might be that my memory isn't all that good, But I seem to recall sitten patiently afore you lot started the fight." He said before taking a swig from his drink. "So if ya wanna call the guards then go right ahead, I'm not the one who entered the city with an angry Nord and stolen goods." He said with an innocent look on his face. "Speaking of which," He was reminded as he dragged his chair over to the group and sat astride the backrest with his arms crossed on the headrest. "You wouldn't happen to still be in possession of em would ya? Or if ya already pawned em off, I'd like the name of the merchant you sold it all to. Grabbed enough of what you left behind but, still missing some things from the list." He said as he pulled a piece of parchment out from his pocket and placed it onto the table. The parchment listed off as small assortment of modest goods, tools and fabrics mostly. Several items on the list had been marked off yet a few of the more expensive ones still remained. "That is unless of course," Cair continued "you're the heartless types that's not about to inconvenience yerselves for a bunch of recently raided villagers with nothing but the clothes left on their backs, and more than a few with less." He said, hoping that this request would go a bit better than the last one he made to this group.

Cair could hardly believe his eyes, somehow him and his group had managed to wind up in the exact same tavern as those that annihilated the gang of bandits they had previously been traveling with. And yet here they were, ready to tear into each other's throats not but a few feet away. "Well.." He spoke aloud after the dust had settled. "See you folks are celebrating you're victory just right." He snickered, not too concerned about whether they would attack him or not, after all it was them that started the fight to begin with, he would have been more than happy to have kept their previous meeting all peaceful-like.

Though still half-asleep when they left the inn, the rather sudden appearance of a Thri-kreen gave Lucas the start he needed. "What...what's one of those things doing here?" He asked, not remembering the name of the species. "I could guess." Azuris grunted as he watched the small Thri-kreen hold onto Rhaine. Leif watched on with an arched brow, finding the entire display rather curious. "Huh.... That's a talking bug person." He observed after a pause. "Well that's.... different."

"So what are we doing? Could pick em off, run back, pick the next off." Rowan whispered to Cair as they watched the group while hidden behind the trees. "Ooor... How's about we don't ruin the reunion that's going on there and let this one slide eh? We'll grab what they leave behind, might find enough coin to buy back what's lost anyways." Cair explained as he drew away and started to walk back to their camp. "Gratitude doesn't put food in our bellies ya know, we need coin for that, and we ain't gonna get much if we keep buying stuff for other people ya know." Rowan said as he followed Cair. "You never know, we might get ourselves a hero's welcome when we return with the town's goods, might even throw us a feast ya know?" "And if all they do is shake our hands and send us on our way?" "We'll figure something out, don't you worry." Cair said cheerfully, hoping to keep Rowan's spirits up in an attempt to keep him from doing anything stupid.

"No." Azuris answered the girl's question, rowing tired of her bothering him with inane questions. Feeling sorry for the poor girl, Leif got up from his own table and moved to sit on the opposite of where Azuris and the Mulhorandi girl sat. "Ahh you'll have to forgive him, Miss. He's not a big talker you see, going for the strong silent type I think." He said with a smile. "More like the, I don't want to be bothered, type." Azuris said irritably. "There's that too." Leif replied. "Anyways, you look like you're wanting to talk so, what's life like in this place? Seems kindaaa....kinda dull to be honest. Not that I've seen much but, judging by the welcoming party we got earlier, folks like us must not come through here very often huh?" He asked the girl, hoping to save her further frustration by trying to strike up a conversation with Azuris.

As the colorefully dressed woman walked next to Azuris, he looked at her out from the corner of his eye as she asked what he thought of the wine in her thick accent. Wishing to be left alone, his answer was rather curt. "it's fine.' He grunted before returning his attention back to his meal. Lief watched on from his own table and couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. The girls obviously wanted something from the group, and it would be interesting to see how long it would take the poor girl to realize that Azuris wasn't a sociable person as he himself had learned over the past couple of days.

While Azuris, Leif, and Lucas followed the rest of the group to the Inn and were thankful for a warm meal and cold drink, Hexol found himself separated from them as per his usual habit and began to explore the town, his pockets expanding out along the way.

The second Komolov reached for his bow the field erupted into chaos. To say that fifty arrows were let loose all at once would certainly be an exaggeration, however the near constant stream of them was certainly a sight to behold. Under the cover of the arrows, Cair scrambled back into the treeline, barely escaping Komolov's arrow which had passed close enough that Cair could swear he felt the feathers tickle the side of his face. "Well that went well!" Yelled out a member of Cair's crew as he let loose another arrow before moving back to the next tree. "Don't wanna hear it Rowan!" Cair screamed as he bolted between the trees with his men, further into the woods. They weren't about to meet these folk head to head, spread out as they were. They had set up camp not too far from the tree line on the far side of a creek bed, the uneven footing and steep hill on the far side where they had made their camp provided them with the terrain advantage should they be followed in further. "Call me paranoid again Ennis! Go on and do it!" Cair growled angrily at the large, blonde haired bowmen that was crossing the creek next to him. "Yer'a right and bloody paranoid sow!" Yelled Ennis as he started the climb up the hill. "Wasn't the bandits that charged us, but these folk! Cha ever think to tell em ya wanted to return the goods to the village ya daft bastard?" "Lets not curse each other for past misfortunes." "How's about for yer stupidity?" "Well if it makes ya feel better.... I might just join in that." Cair replied with a laugh as the rest of his men joined them up on the hill and made a grab for their swords and shields. "How's about I call for a parley when they get here eh? Maybe uhh...talk things over some more?" Cair asked hopefully. "I don't think they're tha talken type, Mac Naidh." Ennis said with a scoff. "Could be when they're not in the fighten mood." Cair said with a shrug as him and his five other men erected a shield wall.

Righto, then I shall get to work with naming Cair's crew then XD. And Mac, go back and read where people are before you have Bjorn start swinging his axe around, Cair's crewmen are hidden in the trees, nowhere near the group and they most certainly wouldn't have let Bjorn get even remotely close to them.

"Comfortable's more like." Cair answered with a grin, not taking the warrior woman's bait. "Asides, your business wit' em'll be faster than ours, so you go on ahead, we'll wait right here and watch for any surprises."

"Aye, me boys can let em loose faster 'an I could tell em to." Cair answered. "Of course, these arrows are a might bit expensive so's we're not too eager to waste em without good and proper cause ya see." He said as he squatted down and picked a leaf up from the ground. "But seeing as you's folks are after their bounty how's about this? You go right on and take their heads for the claim, me and my boys get the coin and goods they got scattered about the place, and we all keep our bits and pieces where they are, that sound good? Doubt you folks have carts enough to carry it all anyways." He said as he twirled the leaf around with his fingers.

As the fighting died down and the attackers seemed to quarrel with one another, Cair decided that the time to make his entrance was now, before they could collect their breaths. He gave a short, shrill whistle to his men, signalling them to ready to loose their arrows before he stepped forward from the tree-line, a good ways away from the attackers while his men kept themselves hidden behind the trees and brush as bet they could while still having clear shots at the attackers. "Well that was a bloody bit of business wasn't it?" He spoke loud enough that they could hear him from his distance. "Commendations all around." He said with a playful bow. "Ya see a man with an ugly mug. give em a kick for me would ya? Bugger owed me some coin he wouldn't pay back. Oh wait..." He said after a pause, "They all owed me coin, well that settles that then! Do me a favor and move away from the bodies or you'll be facing down a good fifty arrows in yer guts, a wee bit more bite than what those saps could give I think you'd agree." He said with a grin so large that it could have been spotted even in complete darkness.

A short ways from the clearing, hidden within the trees Cair Mac Naidh couldn't help but snicker. "A good day to die eh? By the boils on me grans flappy arse cheeks, who in all the piss in the well says something like that?" He said in his native brogue as he watched the horseman leap off his horse and onto one of the bandits in the clearing. "Oh, that type of person." He said with a laugh as the fight began. "So are we gonna help them orrr?" Came the voice next to him as they watched from the safety of the trees. "Naah, I never liked em anyways. Once the rumble's done I'll offer em a chance to surrender, survivors ain't gonna be in the state to keep fighting I'd bet. Two birds with one stone here, get of these pigs and get a fat cut of loot after. Just tell the boys to get ready, this won't last long methinks." He explained with a smirk, enjoying the sight of the bandit's being slaughtered like the beast they were.

Zaph was certainly enjoying the attention from the young ones, spreading out his wings and prancing about as if on show, Azuris and Bob meanwhile were feeling the exact opposite and were grateful for when the ankle biters were dispersed. When Rhaine asked the group on their opinion on stopping and resting Leif hopped off of Zaph and approached. "Not like we're in a rush or anything right? Couldn't hurt to rest a bit, clean the wounds and all that." He suggested. "Keep moving." Said Azuris. "We're gonna attract too much attention here." He said as he kept his head down, trying to avoid the gazes of the chattering women nearby. "Us, or you?" Leif asked with a laugh. "Both." Azuris grumbled under his breath.

Azuris was in poor spirits for the duration of the journey to the town, and upon reaching it his mood turned even more sour at the amount of attention he was apparently receiving. "Well this is just great." He muttered. "Not one to be the center of attention are ya?" Leif asked with a grin as he rode atop a prancing Zaph, who was apparently trying to receive some attention of his own. "I like my peace and quiet." Azuris mumbled, sinking a bit into Bob's saddle. "Think you picked the wrong line of work then." Leif laughed as Zaph moved on ahead. "No... The line of work picked the wrong guy."

Eventually excusing himself from the campfire, Leif retired to his tent for the night. Withdrawing his journal and self-inking quill, he reclined up against his pillow to jot down the days events when a familiar cracking sound took his attention. He leaned forward and lifted his pillow to see the cracked and splattered egg below. "Well if this is a war you wish to wage, dear Abigail, then I shall joyfully meet you on that field." He said with a smirk. ----------------- ----------------- The morning came and a slur of swears and profanity came with it from Azuris's tent. The damage was worse than what he had originally thought after Lucas healed the damaged skin. He had hoped that perhaps he would have been able to save some of his facial hair and perhaps style it in a goatee or something similar but no, much of his upper lip and chin had been peeled off from whatever had damaged him. And so with a growl and a re-ignited fury towards the events of last night, he drew his shaving razor. ---------- Hexol was happily eating his breakfast and was the first to spot Azuris as he stepped out from his tent. His fork clattered onto his plate as he gawked at the approaching and clean shaven Azuris. "I knew there was a face under there!" Hexol yelled out happily. "HAH HAH HAH!!!" Azuris screamed out a mock laugh. "Aren't you funny? Try another one and you'll be wearing that." He growled, pointing to Hexol's breakfast as he sat down nearby. At that moment Lucas walked out of his tent but stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Azuris's face. "Huh... So it was all to hide the dimpled chin then?" The twitch in Azuris's face was rather telling. "It stopped the comments about it, that's for damn sure." He muttered, terribly missing his beard.