Tales of Faerun

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine watched from her perch atop Argyros's head with grim satisfaction as the Kraken was destroyed in the vortex of her Implosion spell, ink and blood swirling in a small whirlpool where the beast had been only moments before. Unfortunately, her pleasure was short-lived as its hold on the Sea Compass evaporated, returning the vessel to its formerly upright state. The frigate rocked violently back into position, and as it did so, it tossed Argyros from its hull and into the crashing waves. The dragon only barely managed to gain air under his wings before his head went completely underwater, and the Doomguide shrieked as she clung to his slippery horns, the world rocking to and fro below her as the silver struggled to gain steadiness and altitude.

 

Meanwhile, Abby went crashing into the main mast along with Nawen and Conall, who were all slung in that direction by the loosened rigging. Zorica lost her footing entirely, slamming face-first onto the wet deck with a painful and audible smack. Even Shalena was thrown back into the wall of her cabin, and once she knew the beast was finally dead, there she stayed, slowly sliding down the wall until she seated herself on the Sea Compass's deck, her legs at an odd angle in front of her, her cutlass still in hand.

[mickdude2]

As far as days go, this one in particular had not quite gone in Vee’s favor. A wonderful mornings nap was ruined by a rather large man blocking his sun. It was further ruined by the chains clapped on Vee’s wrists, and the (In Vee’s opinion) unnecessary bag over his head. Not two days into his excursion to Escalant, and all of Vee’s grandiose plans of adventuring were ruined by a couple Thay slavers. It wasn’t bad enough that Vee’s morning nap was ruined though; his afternoon nap was made impossible by the rocking of a seemingly unstable boat.

 

Now Vee had always loved water; he was one of the few in his family that not only enjoyed swimming, he actively sought it out. He had been on boats before and loved it, even as they threw him off the boat. But this? This was a different beast entirely. Blindfolded, chained, and hobbled, the poor gnome couldn’t do much more than just be thrown around. When the boat slammed to a sudden halt, Vee breathed a sigh of relief- then began screaming as the world started exploding around him.

 

The first thing he felt was a sudden, arm wrenching tug as the post his arms were chained to was torn asunder. There was a flash of light as his blindfold-bag was pulled off his head, which was quickly smothered as his head went underwater. In the murky darkness of water and boat parts, Vee could do nothing more than follow the current left over from powerful tentacle strokes in the water. Stunned from the shock of water, and still hobbled, the poor Gnome was thrown around as just another piece of flotsam.

Just as spots began swimming in his vision, Vee’s head broke above the water. It was all he could manage just to pathetically wriggle his way to the nearest remains of the ship. The Kraken, meanwhile, had turned its sights to juicier prey (juicier prey, of course, being the Sea Compass). Vee, clinging to the remains of what seemed to be a chest, cared little for the fate of the other ship. In fact, Vee cared little for the proceedings of the world and dearly wished to return to his morning nap before the morning was over. Just as Vee was closing his eyes, however, the ship in the distance exploded in a fury of light and sound, and… A dragon?

 

With all hope of a nap gone, and with much more interested affairs just a short swim away, Vee began a pathetic little doggie paddle towards the commotion, riding out swells that easily crested his little dinghy. As he approached, the massive beast under the waves writhed and rolled in agony, tossing up fiercer waves and splashing Vee with larger samplings of the seawater. Just as the ship looked to be going over, and just as Vee began to fear his swim would be lengthened considerably, the waters stopped. The awful churning of the waves suddenly calmed, and the great tentacles of the beast slipped under the sea almost sleepily. By now, Vee was nearly up against the boat, almost close enough to reach out and touch. As the boat rocked back and forth, a large silver dragon roared overhead, knocked over by the force of the uprighted boat and beating his wings harshly to remain airborne. Upon his back seemed, to Vee, to be an insane woman clinging to the dragon’s back.

 

Summoning his voice, the gnome let rip with all his little lungs could manage above the beat of the dragon’s wings-

 

“Oi, ye fookin’ crazed lass! T’e fook was ‘at?!”

Edited July 28, 2015 by mickdude2

[josh900]

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.

[FreemasonGamer]

Having been knocked off his feet and tossed around when the Sea Compass tilted violently after being released from the leviathan's dying grasp, Rameses sat upon the soaked deck while watching Argyros soar overhead. Glancing around, the genasi released the heaviest of sighs before shakily sheathing his blades; with the threat gone and his magically-induced courage no longer necessary, he only thought of two desires. Firstly, Rameses wanted to plant his feet on solid earth as soon as possible; secondly, he wanted to find the nearest tavern and drain his coin purse of contents for the strongest drink he could afford. Though, his thoughts were interrupted when a formation of tangled seaweeds and aquatic plant life crawled onto the deck and began to spout jokes spawned from a sense of humor typical of only one man.

 

"It took more luck than a sane man gambles with to swim with a kraken." Rameses noted to Leif once he realized that it was him beneath the entanglement of vegetation.

 

When the violent outbursts of someone still in the water reached Rameses's, the genasi scowled and rose to his unbalanced feet before wandering—staggering, more like—over to the edge of the deck. Peering over the remains of the railing, Rameses saw the strangest of sights; a smallfolk man floating on a chest that occasionally bumped against the hull of the Sea Compass.

 

"It seems we have a halfling overboard..." Rameses called out to his companions in a fixated tone, "Someone, grab a rope or something."

[AurianaValoria1]

Conall jumped to his feet with a wince of pain and moved to grab one of the ropes so the man overboard could be pulled onto the deck. As he peered over the side of the ship, he noticed that the soaked victim did not appear to be one of Shalena's crewmen, "Hey...I think this is a survivor from that other ship the kraken took!"

 

"Pull him aboard quickly!" Rhaine called as Argyros let her slide down his neck and back onto the deck of the Sea Compass.

 

It was at that moment that Shalena's outrage exploded all over the party. She gesticulated wildly with her cutlass in hand, sweeping it towards the side of the vessel and indicating Laothkund in the distance, "You see there! THERE is where we part ways, dear Doomguide. No small thanks to you and your comrades' hair-brained idea to go gallivanting all across Faerun and gladly putting MY ship at risk while you're at it, the Sea Compass is in no shape to go any further. You're going to get me to the harbormaster in town and that's where I'll stay to get a new mast for it and more than SIX MEN TO MAN IT!" The half-elf wiped a blood-red lock of hair out of her face and sneered, "So much for all that treasure you promised. I'm sorry to say that saving the world doesn't satisfy me like it apparently does you and your friends. My men and I want gold and rum, and both have been scarce ever since I let you rope me into your idiotic mess."

 

The captain took a few moments to breathe, putting her hands on her hips and looking up at the clearing sky above them before adding, "If you're lucky, I'll change my mind about you and see you in Delthuntle in a month's time. If not..." she shrugged, eyebrow raised, "Then I guess you'll be paying someone else to ferry you and your merry men across the Sea of Fallen Stars."

 

Before Rhaine could say anything in response, the captain whirled on her heels and vanished into her cabin, slamming the door behind her. Zorica rubbed her forehead as she moved to stand beside the helmeted Doomguide, "Well...looks like we'll be going farther inland."

 

Rhaine's lips pressed together tightly, "Looks like."

 

Argyros huffed, snorting through his flared nostrils, "I can help move us to harbor, as the pirate queen demands, but I'll need some help."

[FreemasonGamer]

Rameses assisted Conall in lowering the rope down towards the waterlogged gnome's reach below, and the genasi was honestly impressed with Conall's performance. Within the last few days prior to their voyage, the werewolf in disguise had come the closest to death because of Silithus's antics; in spite of that, he had managed himself quite well in the battle with the kraken, and Rameses would have lied to himself if he didn't acknowledge his admiration of such endurance. Once the rope splashed down into the surf next to the floating gnome, the genasi turned his head just as the captain released her verbal fury.

 

While Rameses hardly saw it as the Doomguide's fault—or anyone else's for that matter—that the kraken had attacked the Sea Compass, he knew that there wasn't any questioning or persuasion to be attempted in regards to Shalena. At the very least, Rameses reckoned that most of her outward 'frustration,' to word her demeanor as lightly as accurately possible, was the result of the ship's condition; what wass a pirate queen without a functioning vessel, after all? After the furious woman stomped her way into her quarters and slammed the door shut behind her, Rameses straightened his posture and patted Conall's shoulder. Surely the man could handle hauling a gnome up on his own.

 

"Inland seems to be our only feasible move at this point, with or without the captain's command..." The genasi sighed, rubbing his eyes. While he had no serious wounds of any sort thanks to the abundance of healing spells cast during the fight, he still felt sore and exhausted mentally.

 

Glancing towards Argyros and all his draconic magnificence, Rameses ushered a long, quiet whistle of awe before resting his palms on the hilts of his blades tiredly.

 

"If Conall can hoist that gnome fellow up, I reckon I could lend my help elsewhere. What do you need assistance with, mighty dragon?" Even despite the situation at hand, Rameses managed to amuse himself with a halfhearted attempt at humor.

[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.

[mickdude2]

Vee clung desperately to the barrel as it was raised at a painfully slow crawl upwards. With his legs still shackled, only his grip on the barrel lip kept him from splashing back down to the waters below. The deck was a flurry of sound, from well intentioned (if not corny) jokes to an outburst from an extremely upset woman who kept going on about something Vee cared little for. All along his steady ascent, a similarly steady stream of curses and profanity flew from his lips.

 

“Fer fook’s sake, an’ bah Baervan, ye lot are kookieh ‘en a Droow on drugs, ye are! ‘Ho te fook tossle’s wit’ a fookin’ kraken, goo’ quession! ‘Ho te fook goes sailin’ in a fookin’ kraken lake, be’er quession!”

 

To Conall’s credit, he wasn’t even tempted to drop the gnome back into the water. Only after the werewolf-in-disguise had finally brought the load over the rail that Vee shut up. Before him lay the most diverse and, if he were to be honest, misfit bunch of beings he’d ever lay eyes on. It was an odd assortment of wings, snouts, claws, and more than a couple that defied definition. Also, to Vee’s wonderment, a man-child of sorts was sitting, giggling in a pile of seaweed.

 

“Droow on drugs in’eed!”

 

Vee shook his head, recovering from his initial shock, before standing upon the barrel he had risen with, to be able to see the man who had dragged him up. Brusquely his arm shot out, open palmed in greeting.

 

“‘Ello lad. VEE NOBWRENCH, atch’ye service. An’ ye are…?”

[AurianaValoria1]

Argyros peered at Rameses with shining eyes, his voice rumbling an answer, "I can push the ship along, but I need someone at the wheel to steer."

 

Nearby, Conall glanced down at the waterlogged gnome who so proudly made his acquaintance, "Conall Whitefang, goodsir. Pleasure to meet you. But I see you've been shackled here," the paladin's eyes narrowed, "Let me see if I can't get that loose for you." He took his boot knife and wedged it into the lock of the shackles about the gnome's legs. After a few good twists, he was able to pry them apart, but at the cost of his knife; the tip shattered with the effort. Shrugging, he threw the broken tip and knife overboard, considering it a small sacrifice if it meant freeing the former prisoner from his unlucky bonds.

 

Meanwhile, Rhaine removed her helmet and shook her half-wet hair loose, "Is he all right?"

 

"Looks to be," Conall replied, checking the gnome over carefully for wounds, "Tymora's been watching this one."

 

After a few moments, Nawen spoke up, "I'll be belowdecks getting the horses calm and ready for departure." Rhaine silently nodded to her as the drow ranger then promptly left the activity of the deck to go tend their mounts.

 

Noticing Lucas leaving the deck in a whirl of frustration, Zorica followed belowdecks soon after, concern on her face as she looked for the squire. "Hey, Lucas! Are you..." she trailed mid stride as she then saw Azuris in his sad state in his room. "Whoa," she jogged over and knelt over the warrior, looping her arms under him to help pull him up, "Easy now, let's get you back in that bunk. We're almost to land." Glancing to Hexol, she scowled at the kender, "Why didn't you help him?"

[josh900]

Azuris made a noise half between a groan and a gag as Zorica help him up. "He had a.... very different idea on what helping is." He mumbled.

 

"I did try!" Hexol said in a defensive tone. "Buuut he said I was just making things worse and to leave him alone... so I did."

 

"Trust me," Said Azuris, "It was for the best." He reassured the half-drow as he sat back down on his bunk.