Bellandra was delighted by the owl-gargoyles. Small kin! Flying kin, no less! She nodded to the departing owl wishing it good fortune.

When they had arrived in the bushes she was glad to sense the owl still nearby. And then she sensed her carved kin aboard the fluyt. She whispered quietly to the others "I sense me kin aboard, one which be the figurehead but is not yet awake, and three more in crates below with two awake. There be at least three drunks below as well, guards mayhap, besides that one orc ye see abovedecks. Methinks we should disable those drunks before I try to awaken the figurehead, if we succeed we may be able to sail the fluyt out of the harbor."

She heard Durik's suggestion to go after the orc and was about to agree, but then she saw the woman and boy, with the boy beckoning towards them, and halted. Who were these now, and how had the boy noticed them? Since she had not sensed the boy or woman before she thought they were not shipkin at least. But then she recalled the illusion Cliodhna had cast aboard the Ship, and realized the boy was none other than her - the old woman must then be another of their allies, although she was unsure who it was. "It seems we be having more of our friends with us," she whispers to the others, "Then Durik, I agree, let us then all move in, but silently and stay alert and be ready for trouble. The guards here may be drunk, but let us ensure they do not call in reinforcements. Watch ye for traps too."

Bellandra planned to move as silently as possible towards the fluyt's gangplank, nodding at the boy and the woman, and then up onto the ship. She would have weapons ready. If she reached the orc guard, her first thought was to knock the orc from sleeping to unconscious, but she was willing to kill the orc as a backup option. If the orc was dealt with, she would then move stealthily belowdecks with the others.

While moving, she would keep her senses alert for any updated information either from her kin aboard the ship or from the owl gargoyles. She would try to briefly relay any new information to those close to her. If she detected any traps while moving she would stop to deal with them.


[phaolo, best wishes for resolving any troubles!]

(sorry I have some troubles atm)
Durik is going to follow Bel and protect her.

I hope your troubles clear up soon. Best of luck!

-----
Mission 5 - Turn 1 Admiral Cliodhna grins and gestures with one hand, and her long hair is now short curls tucked under a dark scarf while her visage, figure and clothing is that of a waif of a human boy. She can't help throwing a wink at Captain BenKii and a small smile at Count Karnstein. ;)

Bellandra, Durik, and BenKii were on the edge of the treeline ready to board the fluyt looking for the captive wooden being. This was going to be tricky to get in and out but the Captain was sure that the three of them could get it done.

BenKii will follow Bellandra's lead stealthily into the fluyt. She would surely know which way to go to find her kin. He will stick to the shadows as much as possible trying to stay undetected but if he were to be discovered then he will hope that his disguise would be enough to fool any guards that find him. If they encounter any locks, he will use his lockpick on it.

Mission 5 - Turn 7
*Turn Ends 11:59PM UTC, 28 October 2024.*

(roll dice*3) Captain Jac's crew and the Saucy Siren ladies have done their parts well. The crashed wagon of rum and ale is swiftly looted and used to fuel more brawling and an all out party spills into several nearby streets. The fire has been completely put out. After several Harbor Guards are assigned to patrol the area, the rest are assigned to assist the Port Town Guard in an attempt to regain control.

(roll dice) The Ship remains undisturbed. The glamour remains intact. (Glamour lasts 9 turns, 3 turns remaining.)

Kyp - Harbor: (roll dice*3) You assure the admiral you are all alive and explain what happened. Clíodhna softly sighs then tells you to leave the items on the Ship and she'll investigate them later. Meanwhile she reminds you to watch for any ships incoming and check on Zephyr and the carver. You apologize to Mort and Pearl, grab the golden skull coins and deposit your loot on the Ship before you and your companions head back out of the Naval Harbor. Mort decides to accompany you. Once out of the harbor to the west you surface. In the distance you see two ships approaching, one is a warship.
-----

Team 2/Prison Team - Aylar, Argy, Grog'tial, Baldbeard, Karnstein, Devin, Gilius:
In order of initiative: Argy, Aylar, Karnstein, Devin, Baldbeard, Grog'tial, Gilius

Since the first initiatives have to wait on Devin's action, I will do that first and then others will follow in order.

Devin: (roll dice*8) You nod then signal a suggestion for someone above to bring down some of the drugged wine. You finger your lute and concentrate while playing the most soporific lullaby you know. *Success* (A natural 100, before your Luck bonus. GM sighs. So much for them resisting.) Both half-orcs' heads drop immediately onto the table and their cards. The human guard standing near the table stumbles and lies down on the floor. You send the cat to scout below as you quietly open the barred door. While you wait for the cat's report, you carefully scout the wooden door. The door is locked but you find no traps. You hear no movement or anything beyond the door, but you do see some dirt tracks coming inward, indications of a possible tunnel or earthen floor on the other side. You point them out to the others.

(roll dice*2) The cat has reached below. There are no guards. There are eight small cells currently empty and one large cell. Inside the large cell is a large spider in the upper right hand corner with a golden band around its 'waist.' There are three spider silk wrapped prisoners lying on the floor against the back wall inside the cell with it. They look unconscious. You relay the information to the others and move silently downstairs scouting for traps on the way. You find none.

Argy: (Argy is currently on vacation, but PM'd the GM her intentions.)
(roll dice*4) You are sneaking downstairs to follow Captain Aylar when you see Devin's signal and go back up to grab two bottles of the drugged wine. You come back down to stand over the guards with your pan, then sigh as Captain Aylar hushes the woman prisoner and dose the guards with the drugged wine instead, leaving the bottles on the table. You pocket the guards' coinpurses then turn to look at the wooden door Devin is investigating. He signals there are no enemies but points to dirt on the floor. You pat your cupcakes you have ready in your other pocket, remembering Grog'tial mentioning once about using them to collapse tunnels. You heft your pan, ready if any enemies come through that door.

Aylar: (roll dice*4) You give Devin the go-ahead signal to Charm/Sleep the guards and prepare to dash in to assist in melee if anything goes wrong. Once the guards are taken care of, you see Devin investigate the wooden door. He signals no traps and no movement beyond the door but points out the dirt tracked on the floor. This door looks exactly like the one you encountered downstairs in the H1 Harbor Guard Tower the last time Crew were here.

You hear a sudden frightened intake of breath and turn to see Count Karnstein has woken a human woman prisoner. She is scared. You quietly inform her that it be a breakout operation, but otherwise hush until the coast be clear. (Taken from previous posted intent, Turn 3.) *Success* She calms enough to answer Count's questions in a low trembling voice. As the others come into the room you see Gilius has joined you. He silently and cautiously comes close to quietly report that the carver is secured and Bellandra, BenKii an' Durik be near the ship.

Devin quietly reports there are no more guards, but that one of the cells below contain three spider silk wrapped unconscious prisoners and a large spider. You sneak downstairs, letting Devin scout for traps first. Once down you see eight empty cells off to one side. Across from them is a large cell with iron crossbars which prevent the very large brown spider (1.5m/5ft long, 1m/3.3ft wide body without including the legs) from squeezing through the bars. The spider watches you from a web in the upper right corner of the cell. A golden band is fitted snugly around its 'waist.'

Count Karnstein: (roll dice*5) You shrug and wave your hand in a "be my guest" gesture in response to Devin. After Devin sleeps the guards, you search them and take the cell keys off the belt of the human guard on the floor. You unlock the two occupied cell doors and wake up the human woman in the first cell. She is afraid of you and doesn't know who you are. Luckily you slap a hand over her mouth before she screams and Captain Aylar's quiet words calm her somewhat and hush her. She would be pretty if she wasn't so dirty and her clothes now torn and grimy. You notice that even in her ragged condition she is wearing golden bracelets but no other jewelry. Strange the guards didn't take those. You ask how many more prisoners there are and in a terrified whisper she tells you there were three more prisoners they took downstairs. After that there were horrible screams and then silence.

You are too busy questioning the woman to see Devin point at the dirt tracks, but you do hear him whisper about the spider downstairs. You leave the other prisoner sleeping and quickly follow Aylar and Devin down the stairs with your saber ready in one hand and the cell keys in your other hand. You come into the room to see empty cells on one side and a large cell with cross-hatched bars on the other side. Inside the cell unconscious and wrapped in spider silk are the three prisoners the woman upstairs told you of, and a very large brown spider in the upper right corner looking at you.

Captain Baldbeard: (roll dice *3) You pick up the pewter wolf head ring and pocket it. You use your charmed comb to comb the garlic pepper out of your beard. *Success* The comb works and as you descend the stairs, a stake in one hand and your cudgel ready in the other, 69% of your olfactory sense returns. Once down in the first level of the dungeon, your nose tells you that the dirt is indeed from an earthen tunnel somewhere beyond the wooden door and that the vampires must have come through it just after sunset. You hear Devin's whisper about no guards below, but there is a large spider in a cell and three unconscious prisoners with it. Devin, Aylar and Karnstein are proceeding quietly down the steps.

Grog'tial: (roll dice*4) You grab the box of teas, the hand-crossbow and bolts, the golden key, the transfer orders and the log book. After reloading your crossbow with one regular and one armor piercing bolt, you are crossing the room to alarm trap the door leading outside when Gilius arrives breathing deeply from running so fast. You tell Gilius about the large number of dispatched vampires, and the 5 remaining guards who're likely down below. You take the runed dagger from the floor and finish rigging weapons against the door to make a ruckus if that door is opened, warning the prison team that they can expect company. That done, you head downstairs.

You are ready to take up position where you can have a clear shot, but the guards are already down. Count Karnstein is talking to a frightened human woman prisoner. Argy and Captain Baldbeard are near an old wooden and iron bound doorway to the right of the stairs. You note the wooden door looks exactly like the one you saw at the bottom of the H1 Harbor Guard Tower that Queen Origi demanded open for her and remember the tunnel beyond it. The door here pretty much confirms your suspicions about that tunnel. You notice Devin pointing at dirt tracked in on the floor. You see Gilius reporting to Captain Aylar and make your way over to whisper quietly about the small golden key in your possession, then take up a position to cover both the wooden door and the stairs down. You have just settled into place when you hear Devin softly say there are no more guards down below, but there are three prisoners bound in spider silk in a cell with a large spider! Then Devin, Aylar and Karnstein pass you and start down the stairs.

Gilius: (roll dice*6) You run quickly and make it inside the prison door breathing hard. Grog'tial comes toward you and tells you about the large number of dispatched vampires, and the 5 remaining guards who're likely down below. You see Grog'tial start to lean weapons against the door you just entered as a rigged alarm as you follow Captain Baldbeard downstairs. As you cross the storage area of the first level below ground, your druid senses pick up an unnaturalness in several beings. It reminds you of what you felt with the carver. You doubt the others would be able to pick up on it or know how to deal with it and you judge it is a good thing you came. You try to sense where the unnatural energy comes from. (per PM) *Success* It is the same energy, and it is coming from the levels below you.

You enter the first prison level and silently and cautiously get close to Aylar. "Aye aye, cap'n. Carver secured t'the ship," you report. "I came 'ere t'help. Bellandra, BenKii an' Durik be near th'ship. What's the matter 'ere? What's grabbin' ye so long? Any difficulties? Need 'elp?"

Just then you notice Count Karnstein questioning a human woman prisoner. She is wearing golden bracelets like you heard the carver wore before Captain BenKii used a small golden key to remove them. You heard Bellandra cautioning Captain BenKii, "Captain BenKii, careful with the bracelets, they meant nothing good for the carver, neither will they for us methinks..." Those bracelets give you a very wrong feeling and the woman and the other still sleeping prisoner are both suffering the same unnaturalness as the carver, but not as long yet. Just then Grog'tial comes over and whispers about a small golden key he found in the captain's office which he now has in his possession.

Devin informs Aylar softly that there are no guards on the last level down below, but there is a large cell with three unconscious prisoners wrapped in spider silk and a large spider in the cell with them. Devin, Aylar and Karnstein quietly leave to descend the stairs.

(Loot available: If anyone wants the guards' weapons there are; 2 daggers, one long sword, two cudgels. The human guard wears a vampirate symbol on a thong around his neck. Aylar, Karnstein and Grog'tial would recognize it.)

-----
Prison, Ground floor:
Prison, Storage level below ground:
Prison, 1st Prison level below ground: Argy, Baldbeard, Gilius, Grog'tial
Prison, 2st Prison level below ground: Aylar, Count Karnstein, Devin

(Carver team continued below ...)

... Mission 5, Turn 7 continued (Prison team action above).
*Turn Ends 11:59PM UTC, 28 October 2024.*

Team 1/Carver Team - Bellandra, BenKii, Durik:
In order of initiative: Durik, Bellandra, BenKii

Durik: (roll dice*4) Durik asked Bellandra, "Bel, shuld we go on de fluut? Me can make the sleeping orc more sleepy. Maybe other guards won't notice during the ruckus."

You decide to follow Bellandra to the fluyt ship and protect her. At the gangplank to the other ship you meet a boy who is smiling at you and an old woman with Aeshma's voice. The boy winks at Durik and Durik remembers Clíodhna changed herself into a boy as a disguise. The old woman with Aeshma's voice hands a rum bottle to Bellandra saying something about a sleeping potion. Then the old woman wags her finger at Durik and Captain BenKii. "Not for you two to drink," she tells you quietly but with all the authority of a grandmother expecting to be obeyed.

You follow Bellandra quietly up the gangplank and see the dozing half-orc. You quietly give him a small knock on the head to keep him asleep, then watch as Bellandra forces some of the rum you were told not to drink down the half-orc and makes him swallow it. After that you follow Bellandra down another two decks until you can hear three drunk voices and dicing a little ways past the bottom of the next stairs down. The rest of this ship is dark and quiet.

Bellandra: (roll dice*5) You are delighted by the owl-gargoyles. Small flying kin! You notice that like regular owls they are silent and deadly fliers. The owl you carried swiftly goes after the closest bat and it isn't long before he joins you again to land in the tree by the warehouse.

"I sense me kin aboard, one which be the figurehead but is not yet awake, and three more in crates below with two awake. There be at least three drunks below as well, guards mayhap, besides that one orc ye see abovedecks. Methinks we should disable those drunks before I try to awaken the figurehead, if we succeed we may be able to sail the fluyt out of the harbor," you tell Durik and Captain BenKii.

You are considering Durik's suggestion to go after the half-orc when you see the old woman and the boy. The boy beckons to you. It takes you a moment, but then you recall Clíodhna's casting an illusion and realize the boy is Clíodhna. You can tell Captain BenKii is counting on his guard captain uniform and might not realize it is the admiral herself you are quietly approaching, which means the old woman must be another ally. Sure enough, as you draw closer the boy smiles and winks at Captain BenKii as the old woman hands you the rum bottle. "Sleeping potion in the rum," she says quietly with Aeshma's voice. She waggles her finger at Durik and Captain BenKii, "Not for you two to drink."

You move silently as possible up the gangplank and onto the main deck and Durik knocks the dozing half-orc out and you get him to swallow some of the sleeping potion rum. With that taken care of, you move belowdecks. The first deck below seems empty and you can sense your awakened kin are yet two more decks below. You descend another deck and hear and see nobody. The next deck downstairs you hear the drunken voices and the rattle of dice. The three sailors are dicing and drinking and one is slurring his words badly. Your kin must be in the crates you barely see just a little ways beyond them. The rest of the ship seems dark and quiet.

Captain BenKii: (roll dice*5) You follow Bellandra's lead stealthily to the fluyt, sticking to shadows as much as possible. You are approaching a waifish boy and an old woman. You straighten your guard captain uniform and prepare to impress them with your command attitude and disguise when the boy saucily winks at you! *Fail* You begin to wonder about your captain's charm and if devious Devin has somehow gotten to this boy when the old woman speaks with Aeshma's voice. You finally remember the admiral becoming a boy. Just how many forms does the lady admiral have anyway?

The old woman with Aeshma's melodious voice speaks softly while handing the rum bottle to Bellandra. "Sleeping potion in the rum." Then the old woman wags her finger at both you and Durik. "Not for you two to drink." With that the boy smiles and begins to escort the old woman back to the scruffy smuggler ship at the end of the dock.

You follow Bellandra and Durik quietly aboard. Durik gives the sleeping half-orc a knock on the head to keep him unconscious and Bellandra gives him some of the sleeping rum for good measure. The three of you sneak two decks down without encountering anyone. However on the next deck down you can hear three drunken voices, one really slurring his words, and a dice game in progress. The rest of the ship seems dark and quiet. You hope your disguise will be enough to fool them.

-----
Fluyt ship, 2 decks down: Bellandra, BenKii, Durik

"Now, why would they put it in there if they need 'em alive? Clearly not to guard 'em." - Count is thinking aloud in the vicinity of Aylar and Devin while looking at the spider inside. "Look at that band, wench upstairs had golden bracelets. Ye reckon 'tis a prisoner too? Could be an enchanted person. Lemme try somethin'."

Question: is this band like a cloth band or metal band?

Count will use figurine to summon a spider inside the cell.

If result is a really big spider (comparable to one inside), he will first try to make it engage in a courtship display with the other spider.

If successful and summoned spider is a female and the other is a male, will want to lure it close to the bars, so it'd be easy to remove band and/or stab it through bars. Otherwise female will try to incapacitate dazzled male.

If successful and summoned spider is a male and the other is a female, will try to make it surprise attack it and incapacitate during fertilization process. (note that apparently some species wrap the female in silk before to prevent being eaten after)

If unsuccessful and spider is aggressive, will try to pick a fight with the other spider.

If result is a moderately big spider, but significantly smaller that the one inside, will try to provoke the other spider to come near bars. If the other spider remains unfazed by its presence, will order it to start unwrapping prisoners.

If result is a small spider (say tarantula-like), he will try make it sneak up to the other spider and observe its reaction. If it's aggressive will try to lure it near bars.

If result is a really small spider, Count will give up and wait for Grog'tial to come and shoot the big spider.

-----

If the spider's behavior is obviously ferocious towards intruders, Count will attack it through bars should the opportunity arise. Unless others have better ideas and will oppose to it.

If they have a key and there's a good chance to do it through the bars or the spider is somehow incapacitated, Count will try remove band first.

If the spider does not show any signs of aggression, Count will lean toward leaving it be and/or removing the band if they have a key.

When the doors are open and big spider inside is dead, Count will proceed to unwrap prisoners. If spider isn't dead, he will do the same, but carefully watching the spider all the time with saber ready to attack.

[Count will summon spider inside the cell to check the other spider's reaction and maybe get some advantage before freeing/killing it.]

Proper post coming later, but some initial thoughts / intended actions. => urgh, sorry, feeling wretched, not going to get around to it; hopefully this intent is enough.

Grog'tial has arachnaphobia; after Devin's report, he'll take great care not to go downstairs. Which is a shame, since I suspect he'd recognize this particular spider from the Necromancer's living quarters (eh, or maybe not; GM says it was too dark to even see its color - oh, plus we demolished that fortress, so that spider probably didn't survive, so never mind).

Grog'tial will ask Devin to try and unlock the door to the tunnel (assuming that the first key would fit), and will direct Argy to collapse the tunnel to prevent more vampires from coming in that way, providing his Dwarven expertise to point out the best spot for doing so. He'll fight any enemies appearing, same as before.

Grog'tial will unlock the golden bracelets from the prisoner with the golden key, if directed to do so by Gilius. For the spider, he'll hand the key to someone else.

Captain's Log Mission 5 - Turn 7:
Over by the fluyt an old woman and a boy waved us on. Were they allies? Bellandra seemed to think so. Me and Durik followed her to these individuals. Turned out, the boy and grandma were Admiral Clíodhna and Aeshma. Ha! I knew it the whole time. Aeshma gave Bellandra a bottle of rum mixed with some sleeping potion. We can definitely use that for any guards we may face. The orc on deck had been doubly knocked out with a bonk and a drink but now we had to deal with 3 half drunk guards playing some dice. They were the only thing standing between us and the wooden prisoners. I have a plan!

"Bellandra," said BenKii in a hushed voice. "hand me the bottle o' rum. I'll go over to those soldiers with the rum and offer them a drink. They're drunk enough that I think me disguise will work. But just in case, be ready to strike if it all goes bad.... Again.... Ok, don't think about that. It will definitely work this time... Probably."

If Bellandra agrees, BenKii will drunkenly swagger over to the guards and offer them a drink. He will say to them, "Evening gentlemen. No need to stand at attention for your superior officer. I be celebrating this evening as well. Mind if I join in your game o' dice? I brought rum. Lots of it." *pretends to drink* "Good stuff mates! Be a shame not to share it with me fellow guardsmen."

If it worked then BenKii will pour them all a drink. If no cups are present then he will pass the bottle along to the guards to share.

Once they are knocked out he will then loot the bodies for anything of value. Special weapons, keys, stuff to sell, etc.

Like the bracelets, you can tell it is a crafted metal band with ugly black runes engraved in it. (roll dice) If the Count checked, the bracelets on the woman were similar and surprisingly heavy and tight, not able to be easily cut. This golden 'belt' is even larger and thicker.

Kyp sees the warship

Kyp reaches out to the admiral telepathiclly

"Uhhhh we may have a problem, two ships are coming into the bay, and one of them is a warship."

Kyp also looks out for Zephyr and the carver and looks for any ways he can help around the bay.
If Kyp doesn't see anything urgent Kyp will try to prepare some weapons on the ship incase we have to engage the approaching ships.

I updated previous post.

Admiral Clíodhna reminds Kyp of the plan to have himself and Pearl swim out, staying carefully unseen beneath the waves, and use the leftover acid paint on any metal fastenings on the bottom of the ships. That should erode them and cause the ships to leak and start to sink. With that the crews should be too busy to try to fight. She suggests starting with the warship first. ;)

I will nae have opportunity this weekend to do a full post yet, but I would like to state that after assessing the situation on the lowest level Aylar would very much like to check in with Gilius and see if he be amenable to parley with the giant spider (as he be a druid) and get it to surrender the prisoners peacefully in exchange fer its freedom from what he by analysis of things seen assumes be gold-band forced aboleth slavery.

"Ohhhhhhh ya I forgot that was the plan. Must have hit my head harder than I thought"

Kyp changes his mindset to the task of putting the acid on the metal fasteners on the approaching ships with Pearl and Mort.