Bellandra agreed with BenKii's suggestion. She herself would likely rouse suspicion, since she would look alike to the carvings the drunk guards were supposed to be protecting. But BenKii might pass for someone from their forces that they did not know. She whispered. "Aye captain, I agree, this be yer moment. Good fortune to ye, I shall be close."

For the moment Bellandra would stay hidden and watch BenKii's ruse unfold. If it seemed like the guards saw her, she would pretend to be a drunk tagging along with BenKii ("Oh Cap'n, be these yer mates? That wine was soooo good, let's share it (hic)!") while keeping her form as much as possible in the shadows. Instead, if it seemed like BenKii was in trouble she would try to strike the guards unconscious from behind while they concentrated on BenKii.

When the guards were dealt with, Bellandra would investigate the crates, trying to use her sense to contact the shipkin within. She would keep weapons ready in case of a trap.

If the shipkin were secure, and assuming no alarming information was relayed from them or from the owl gargoyles, at this time she would also try to awaken the one carving that was not yet awake. She would mentally speak to it, "Awaken, fair carving. I be Bellandra, a friend and kin. Ye be a being of wood, one that others sought to trap to their service. Ye be here among others of yer kin. We be here to set ye free."

Bellandra would next try to awaken the figurehead shipkin, speaking to it similarly to the carving, but adding that "Like ye, I was to be a figurehead for a ship, yet I found life of me own, and so can ye. Please, my kin, seize this fluyt, and sail it out with us."

If, instead, there was some trap or enemies arrived, she would battle the enemy with help of BenKii and Durik. If there was an opportunity during the battle to disorient the enemy, she would try to awaken the shipkin, and would ask it to rock the fluyt to throw the enemy off balance - she would briefly warn BenKii and Durik first.

"Me hopes you convince 'em better dis time"
Durik is ready for a quick head bonking if Benkii's deception fails.

"Also, Dakka has to release archer soon. Since ye don't want him hurt, I'll send into sea when we escape"

[verified with GM the cat can get through the crossbars and there is a suitable rope in the storage area.]

Devin would try to determine the spider's demeanor and caution against possibly antagonizing it unnecessarily until they can determine better both the condition of the prisoners and if the spider itself is truly a threat if they move cautiously.

Devin sends the cat in cautiously to check on the prisoners and further test the spider's demeanor and aggression level. If the prisoners are alive he reports their condition to the others.

If Captain Aylar has voiced a question to Gilius or stated a need to check with the druid, Devin nods in agreement and would relay the message if Gilius has not yet come downstairs. Meanwhile he sends the cat to fetch rope from the storage area which he will use to rig up a slip loop. If needed or if Gilius cannot commune with the spider and it continues to be non-aggressive, he would instruct the cat to set the loop so they can use the rope to draw prisoners close to the door and be ready if the spider does turn aggressive. Once the cat is no longer needed below, he will send it upstairs to watch their backs from the ground floor and if any vampires may have made it past the bed blocks to come down from upstairs.

If the spider does respond to Gilius or it seems he will not be needed to help deal with it, Devin will return to the wooden door on the level above. He will inspect the door for traps again before cautiously trying the keys, remaining wary and ready in case of attack. If the keys do not work, he'll use his lockpicks. Once the door is unlocked, Devin will make sure the others are ready and to stay out of Grog'tial's line of fire as he opens the door.
- If there are enemies, Devin will fight, priorities as before.
- If there are tunnels, he will inspect and clear any traps before allowing the others inside. He will also look for tracks and any information, then defend Crew and attack enemies with priorities as before. He will not support going further down those tunnels or splitting the team further with the time on both the distractions in town and the glamour on the Ship running out.

[Devin tries to determine the spider's demeanor, sends the cat to check the condition of prisoners and then fetch a rope which he rigs into a slip loop. He relays Aylar's message to Gilius and has the cat slip the loop around prisoners if needed, then sends it above to watch their backs. If the spider is not aggressive or is otherwise handled and he is not needed, Devin would attend to the wooden door, checking for traps and fighting enemies as necessary.]

After having reported the situation to captain Aylar and understood his request, Gilius quietly and silently walks down to the lowest level. He spots the spider and begins to concentrate on it. He tries to sense if it is an illusion, if the spider is real. And in case it is real, he tries to sense if the unnaturalness feeling he got comes from it. He tries to sense if it is the result of a metamorphosis (be it willing or unwilling) and if the spider is a threat.
He also will try to feel for any unnatural impurity within it, and if detected, he will try to make use of his quartz crystal to cleanse it.

If it's not a threat, Gilius will try to communicate with it, soothe it, make it feel that the crew means it no harm and can help it. He will ask for the prisoners to be released, and will propose to free it from this prison too.
If agreed, he will get the door opened and release the prisoners and / or remove the golden band on the spider, depending on its reaction. If he has time, he will also use his magic to heal the prisoners if needed ; and in case the spider was another victim being shapeshifted and the shapeshift stops, he will also heal him / her if needed.

If it is a threat, he will report it to the others and warn them that the spider is dangerous and it can't be helped with.

Mission 5 - Turn 8
*Turn Ends 11:59PM UTC, 31 October 2024.*

(roll dice*4) The addition of the Harbor Guards has made a difference. The rampant mules are caught. The brawling and disturbances are being brought to a halt, with several drunks being dunked in the harbor and some perpetrators being hauled off to the town jail. The Saucy Siren ladies catcall from the sidelines while covering for Captain Jac's crew sneaking away. *Success* None of Captain Jac's crew are caught.

(roll dice) So far the Ship remains unsuspected and the glamour remains intact. (Glamour lasts 9 turns, 2 turns remaining.)

Kyp - West of Harbor: (roll dice*4) You swiftly swim out to the slowly oncoming ships. The warship is a frigate, a fast and maneuverable escort ship. The other is an armed merchant galleon, probably here to pick up the carver, prisoners and figureheads. Mort and Finn patrol around while you and Pearl use the acid paint on the frigate first and then the galleon. *Success* You are able to cover about 85% of the frigate's fasteners and 46% of the galleon's without being detected. The acid starts to go to work but you know it will take a little time before the results are seen. You return stealthily to guard the inlet and Zephyr and the carver while keeping an eye on the ships.
-----

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

Aylar: (Per post and PM'd intent) (roll dice*6) Clíodhna informs you mentally that the sound levels of the disturbance in the Port has halved. There are no more bats, they seem to have been slain or driven off by large owls back towards C52. She tells you that Kyp reports two ships are incoming, one is a warship. So far the Ship remains unsuspected and the glamour remains intact, but there are only two turns left until your glamour can no longer be held by the Wards alone. You feel the time counting down and your mind turns to getting the Crew and the prisoners on route to the Ship.

You quietly voice an intent to ask Gilius and see if he be amenable to parley with the giant spider as he be a druid. You see Devin nod in agreement and signal that he will have your message relayed. Meanwhile you stay to monitor the situation and give combat assistance if the outcome turns hostile. Devin has the cat check the status of the prisoners and reports they are alive, but paralyzed with venom. He sends the cat to relay your message and fetch a rope just in case it be needed. Once Gilius assures you the spider is another prisoner and Count unlocks the cell door, you enter and help Count with unwrapping the prisoners. There is a satyr, and full Fey and half-nymph females. Gilius informs you he and Aeshma will have to work to heal and purify them from the bracelets on the Ship. They will need Cure Poison potions before they can be awakened, so each of these three will have to be carried back to the Ship. You can barely sense an uneasiness in the Crew charm weave.

Devin: (roll dice*10) You observe the spider, it is simply staying in the corner watching. You caution against possibly antagonizing it unnecessarily and send the cat between the bars to carefully check on the prisoners while you continue to observe the spider's reaction. *Success* The cat tells you the prisoners are alive, unconscious and lightly envenomed, but only paralyzed, not dying. The three prisoners are Fey or part-Fey with magic. You report the findings to Captain Aylar while sending the cat to relay Aylar's message to Gilius, and then to the storage area to retrieve a rope while you see if Gilius can commune with the spider to surrender the prisoners peacefully. *Success* The cat relays the message and brings you a suitable light-weight rope and you rig a slip loop.

Once you see the spider is taken care of, you return upstairs to the old iron-bound wooden door. You inspect it again for traps before trying the keys Aylar gave you, keeping to one side and ready in case of attack. *Success* There are no traps and the keys work. You signal Argy, Captain Baldbeard and Grog'tial to be ready and make sure to stay out of Grog'tial's line of fire, then quietly open the door. The door opens to reveal a small approx. 8ft(2.44m)x10ft(3m) space with two tunnels running off it from a common opening to the West. From there one tunnel turns south and the other north. You carefully inspect the space and beginning of the tunnels and find no traps. You see boot tracks in the dirt of the southern tunnel, and rat tracks coming from the northern tunnel. You signal to the others it is clear but remain on alert and do not support going further down those tunnels or splitting the team further with the time left running out.

Gilius: (roll dice*7) You recognize the black cat and realize it is a familiar. As you are a druid you can communicate with it. It relays Captain Aylar's message and understanding his request about the spider, you take the golden key from Grog'tial and quietly descend to the lowest level of the prison. There you concentrate your abilities on the spider. *Success* You sense it is suffering, hungry and in pain. The golden bracelets and the band around the spider are definitely the source of the unnaturalness you feel. There is a great wrongness about them and the spider is another unwilling prisoner here. You attempt to communicate with the spider. *Success* If you release it from the band it will gladly leave this place and let you have the prisoners. It was forced to paralyze them with its venom and to cocoon them. It would very much like to go hunt the rats in the tunnels instead. You agree, and ask Count Karnstein to unlock the cell door with his cell keys. Once that is done you use your key to try to unlock the band and release the spider. You use your pendant to heal/purify the spider from the ills of the band. *Success* You are able to unlock the band and heal/purify the spider by 62%. The rest will heal with time. The spider exits the cell and scuttles upstairs seeking an exit through the tunnels.

Afterwards you turn your attention to the prisoners which Aylar and Count Karnstein are working to unwrap. You use the key to unlock the bracelets on each one once their hands are freed from the spider silk. There is a satyr, a fey looking female, and a half-nymph female. However you only have enough power left in your pendant to heal/purify one of the five prisoners (2 above, 3 unconscious here - you may choose 1). You and Aeshma will have to work on the rest back on the Ship. Each of the three prisoners here will need Cure Poison potions before they will be able to be wakened from the venom, so will need to be carried back to the Ship.

Grog'tial: (roll dice*5) After hearing Devin's report, you take great care not to go downstairs but pass the key to Gilius instead. You are perfectly content to remain alert right here with Argy and Captain Baldbeard. You see the black cat turn and dash up the stairs past you to the storage level, and a very short time later trot back down dragging a light-weight rope back downstairs. *Fail* You feel nervous with a slight headache coming on and your fingers tremble somewhat.

When Devin comes back upstairs shortly after, you ask him to try and unlock the door to the tunnel. He nods, but checks the door once more for traps before signaling you to be ready and trying the keys. One key works and Devin stands to the side carefully out of your line of fire as he quietly opens the door. It opens onto an empty approx. 8ft(2.44m)x10ft(3m) space. You see two tunnels running off a common opening point to the West. One tunnel going south and the other north. Once Devin inspects the area for traps and tracks, he signals you that it's clear. Moving into the small space, you use your dwarven expertise to assess the construction of the space and tunnels. *Success* You are able to determine that one of Argy's cupcakes wedged into the roof brace crossbeam just inside that opening should collapse all three openings, cutting off both tunnels from the prison and each other. You turn to point it out to Argy when a large brown spider scurries past you in the room! It doesn't pause, but quickly disappears down the northern tunnel. Recovering from the shock of not having heard it sneak up on you, you point out the best spot to Argy and quickly exit back into the prison room, crossbow ready! *Success/Luck* As you bring up your crossbow, you notice your dirk is glowing. Your hands shake a bit as your nervousness and headache increases.

Count Karnstein: (roll dice*8) You retrieve your spider figurine from your pocket as Devin cautions against possibly antagonizing the spider unnecessarily and cautiously sends the cat between the bars to carefully check on the cocooned prisoners. Devin reports they are alive, but paralyzed with venom. The black cat leaves, darting across in front of you on its way to the stairs up. Gilius soon comes down and concentrates on the spider. He tells everyone it is an unwilling prisoner, hungry and in pain. Gilius asks you unlock the cell door with the keys. First you put your figurine in the cell and summon your own spider. *Success* A large hare-sized spider appears (you don't know the gender) and you urge it closer to the large spider. The large spider watches but doesn't move. You unlock the door and Gilius moves into the cell to unlock the band around the large spider's waist and attempt to heal it. You move into the cell with Aylar to unwrap the prisoners but carefully watch the large spider with saber ready to attack. *Success* It's difficult, but you are slowly able to unwrap the prisoners. There is a satyr, a fey looking female, and a half-fey female. *Fail* Unfortunately the moment Gilius is done healing the large spider, your spider becomes a snack. The large spider then quickly scuttles out the cell door and heads for the stairs up. Gilius unlocks the prisoner's bracelets but informs you that they won't wake until given Cure Poison potions due to the spider venom, so these three prisoners will have to be carried to the Ship.

Argy: (Argy is currently on vacation, but PM'd the GM her intentions.)
(roll dice*3) You hoist your pan and your pepper grinder as Grog'tial asks Devin to unlock the wooden door. Devin checks for traps again then signals you to be ready before he unlocks and opens it quietly. Beyond is a small area with an open into a tunnel that goes north and south. Devin checks it for traps and inspects the dirt before he signals to Grog'tial that it is okay to enter. You see Grog'tial go in and look it over carefully, then he jumps back as a large brown spider scurries past him and heads into the north tunnel. You notice Grog'tial looks pale. He points out a place for you to put your cupcake and moves quickly out of the room and away from the tunnels. You enter the room looking up at the ceiling as you pull a cupcake from your pocket. Devin gives you a wink and lifts you up easily so you can place it, then you both exit rapidly and Devin closes and locks the iron-bound wooden door again. *Success* A few minutes later there is a muffled boom and the sound of things collapsing beyond the door. The rumble startles awake the second prisoner, a halfling female with hazel eyes and a long blonde braid. Her eyes are sunken and her rumpled clothing hangs on her too thin frame.

Captain Baldbeard: (roll dice *4) You keep watch on both the wooden door and the stairs up in case anything sneaks down the stairs behind everyone. Once Devin unlocks and opens the door, you take a deep whiff. You scent the rat/vampires from hours ago, but only the faint scent of human and half-orc from a few days ago and nothing immediate in the area. You nod, satisfied that no enemies are nearby, until the scent of spider assaults your nose right before one runs past you and startles Grog'tial on it's way into the north tunnel. After Argy's cupcake goes off beyond the door, you smell a lot of disturbed dirt, but nothing else of note.

Note: Both prisoners in the upper prison still have the gold bracelets on. The three unconscious prisoners will have to be carried back to the ship. They will not wake until the spider venom is out of their systems.

(Loot available: 2 daggers, one long sword, two cudgels, 1 golden rune belt, 3 golden rune bracelet sets [5 once the two prisoners upstairs have them removed], spider silk wraps.)
-----
Prison, Ground floor: Cat (watcher)
Prison, Storage level below ground:
Prison, 1st Prison level below ground: Argy, Baldbeard, Devin, Grog'tial
Prison, 2st Prison level below ground: Aylar, Gilius, Count Karnstein

(Carver team continued below ...)

... Mission 5, Turn 8 continued (Prison team action above).
*Turn Ends 11:59PM UTC, 31 October 2024.*

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

Bellandra: (roll dice*7) You agree with Captain BenKii's suggestion. "Aye captain, I agree," you whisper. "This be yer moment. Good fortune to ye, I shall be close." You sneak quietly down with Durik behind you, ready just in case.

Once the guards are dealt with, you investigate the crates and see no traps. You try to contact the shipkin within and get acknowledgement back from two of the crates. You quickly motion towards a nearby crowbar to Durik, who quickly opens the crates. Inside you see three wooden figureheads strapped in with locked restraints, two are awake. Looking around you see a key hanging on the nearby bottom mast. You quickly unlock the restraints and a pretty carved lady in a Grecian gown and laurel wreath gets up, soon joined by a knight with sword and shield. The lion rampant, being a typical feline, is still asleep. You speak to it mentally, *Awaken, fair carving. I be Bellandra, a friend and kin. Ye be a being of wood, one that others sought to trap to their service. Ye be here among others of yer kin. We be here to set ye free.*

*Success* It takes a minute before the lion opens one eye and yawns. *Hmmm. What now? A bell wakes me?*

The lady giggles and the knight rocks the crate with his shield. *No, cat-brain. The Lady Bellandra calls you forth. Stand and be counted, Lion. We be called to fight.*

At that the Lion opens both eyes and bares its teeth, jumping gracefully out of the crate. The knight nods proudly and turns to Bellandra, bringing his sword up to his shield and bowing, before coming to attention. The lady figurehead giggles again.

Afterwards you try to awaken the fluyt figurehead shipkin. *Like ye, I was to be a figurehead for a ship, yet I found life of me own, and so can ye. Please, my kin, seize this fluyt, and sail it out with us.* The other shipkin aboard add the strength of their intent and voices to your own and soon you hear what sounds like a distant human voice.

*Success* *I am here, I hear you. An Owl is speaking to my Swan half. I will come with you, but lock the sailors in the brig below at the stern before we go.*

The knight and lion quickly agree that would be best. The lady bats her eyes at Captain BenKii and smiles. Bellandra, you hear the Owl Gargoyle tell you that things are getting quieter in the town, the fighting is being stopped.

Captain BenKii: (roll dice*9) "Bellandra," you say 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."

Once at the bottom of the stairs you see two humans and a half-orc at a table dicing and drinking. You drunkenly swagger over to the guards and offer them a drink. "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." You pretend to drink, spilling just a little to make it look good. "Good stuff mates! Be a shame not to share it with me fellow guardsmen."

*Success* (Wow, a 99/100, they must be really drunk!) :P The half-orc slams down an empty tankard onto the table and one of the humans tips over a bottle to see only a few drops leak out. He grins and quickly grabs the rum bottle out of your hand and pours some for the half-orc before taking a swig straight from the bottle himself.

"Oi! Pass it here!" the other human says, and a tug of war ensues. For a moment you are worried the bottle is going to go tumbling and break, but the first human lets go and the other sailor guzzles some down. The half-orc tumbles from his stool with a loud snore and the others laugh. Then the first human passes out. The second human hiccups and blinks several times before his head hits the table and sends the dice off onto the floor. They roll a perfect snake eyes. You loot the bodies and the table for a few coins, a rusty knife, a pet mouse that bites down on your finger until you drop it and it scurries away, a snotty rag and a lot of lint.

Durik: (roll dice*4) "Me hopes you convince 'em better dis time," you say. You sneak as quietly as possible following Bellandra down the stairs, ready for a quick head bonking if it fails, and watch in amazement as Captain BenKii pulls it off and all three sailors fall asleep. You see Bellandra go over to three nearby crates and concentrate. Then she motions to you and points at a nearby crowbar. You grab the crowbar and leverage your great strength to open the crates. You watch as Bellandra unlocks the restraints and see a beautiful carved wooden human lady in a Grecian gown with a circlet of leaves in her hair, and a carved wooden knight in armor with a wooden sword and a shield get out. Then a huge wooden lion yawns and leaps out of the last crate. Bellandra looks happy.

"Dakka has to release archer soon," you tell Captain BenKii, who is looking at his bitten finger. "Since ye don't want him hurt, I'll send into sea when we escape"

Loot: There will be plenty of time for looking over the entire fluyt's manifest AFTER you sail it out of the Naval Harbor and escape. Best not to be stupid and get caught.
-----
Fluyt ship, 2 decks down: Bellandra, BenKii, Durik

"Time to go," Devin tells Argy, Captain Baldbeard, Grog'tial and the prisoners. He will look over the prisoners and hum a Calming Charm for them, including Grog'tial if he notices his nervousness. If the GM determines the nervousness is enough or should anything be close enough to trigger Devin's goddess-enhanced senses, he would try to determine if something is wrong or off besides the bracelets Gilius spoke of.

Devin will check in quickly with the cat and then go back downstairs to report on the tunnel situation to Captain Aylar and the others, before offering to help with the prisoners once he knows the situation. Knowing the properties of spider silk, if this is the appropriate type he will fold up the spider silk wraps into several condensed bundles tied tightly with the light-weight rope on his back under his lute or wrapped about under his waistcoat and sash. Then he will pick up the Fey lady and carry her over his shoulder, keeping his rapier free in case needed for fighting.

He will untrap the front door and ease it quietly open, sending the cat ahead to scout and reporting the results to the others.
- If the cat reports clear, he will switch the Fey lady into his arms as if carrying her drunkenly home from a good time and encourage others to act similarly until at the Ship.
- If resistance or fighting occurs, Devin will try to place the Fey lady down somewhere shadowed or hidden and safe quickly, then fight while keeping a defensive eye on her.
- If that is not possible or the fight must be on the run, Devin will use shadows, bardic charm, illusion or dirty tricks as necessary.
- Priorities are now to defend the unconscious Fey lady he carries, defend Crew as needed, with those carrying prisoners or in more dire need first, then attacking enemies as best he can without endangering his charge or fellow Crew. Lightsheen if necessary. Moonbow reserved for boss, Shadows or dire circumstance.

[Devin checks with the cat, loots the spider silk and carries the Fey lady. He has the cat scout ahead back to the Ship. Various conditional fight priorities listed.]

-
OOC: Devin will gladly loot the spidersilk and welcome the reinforcement to his armor (or new) that he knows his Lady of Stars can do with it. Please, Fair One! Devin will serenade ye most sweetly and consent to numerous fittings without complaint! Devin might also suggest that with this haul several may wish to beg such boon - if I've calculated this right. *wink*

Well that was quick! LOL. I figured you would know what it was for. ;) Does this mean Devin is willing to procure whatever else she might require for this boon? Besides the serenading, maybe a foot rub .... I'm sure she can think of something. :P

Note to Crew: Time to pay attention. After over a decade, Devin knows (too darn many) of my tricks, and Aylar is an experienced player. Both of them know when it is appropriate to loot (maybe not before the area is cleared/when enemies are still about to surprise Crew) and what/who might be worth looking at to loot, as well as what might be best left alone. There ARE cursed items in this game, you saw a couple last year. Just because Aylar knew how to be very careful in handling that sword, and had it checked and placed in warded locks, doesn't mean he doesn't have to fight it and roll every time he handles it. Some things GM may not always show in thread. Just because something is listed as available to loot, doesn't mean you should, especially when it doesn't feel right. You now have six people with different skills to check things out, three of which are usually on Mission with you - Devin (goddess-blessed Bard), Gilius (Druid), Aylar (Charms detect); and aboard Ship - Aeshma (Witch/Aasimir), Refyx (Alchemist) and Clíodhna (Sorceress, even though her Phoenix part is weakened currently). Things are about to ramp up here. Time to start being careful and smart. (I'm honestly not trying to get you killed.) ;)

Grog'tial frowns at his humming dirk and informs Devin (and/or Gilius and Aylar if they've come up already) about it - "someone be playing tricks with me mind!" - he remembers the swirling shadows on the ring, with all the connotations that has for him, and shows it as a possible source, hoping one of these magic-understanding people knows a way to make it stop, even if just temporarily.
(ooc: I figure this fits with Grog'tial's knowledge, and would've been done even without the GM's warning. I'd actually been worrying about the cursed coins which Kyp had been collecting, but that was after I'd already picked up that ring.)

Grog'tial will help carrying prisoners, preferring not to expand his cure all potion, but giving it to a prisoner if it looks necessary to make sufficient speed with getting back. He keeps a constant lookout for the two guards which are unaccounted for, and will fight as before.

[Grog'tial informs magic users on the team about his mind being influenced, hoping for a boost/containment, and helps carry prisoners.]

Captain Baldbeard also offers to carry one of the unconscious prisoners, with the intention of acting like they're his drunk friend if they are stopped for anything. He keeps in mind to ask one of the more magically inclined about the pewter ring he currently has, later when all is safe.

After seeing all these wooden figures becoming alive, Durik wondered if they'd get angry if they saw him cutting trees and putting logs on the fire during winter O_o'

Anyway, he talked to Bellandra:
"Bel, ye have control the ship now? We shud put sailors in cells, ye say? Sure"
Durik did as instructed, even if he first checked if there were other enemies aboard (and took them out if necessary).

"How we signal others dat we ready with no suspicion? Shud I inform Ciolna outside, since she disguised?"

[Is Grog'tial wearing gloves? I see none listed in his inventory.]

Devin would look at the ring but he will not touch it, especially if it looks as described. He would first test to see if Grog'tial can put the ring down on the table and back away then have him pass his dirk over it or flick a single drop of holy water on it and watch the reaction.

"Grog'tial, why would ye pick up a beshadowed item when we both know how we met? Where did ye get it from?" If Grog'tial tells him, Devin will shake his head. "Anything from vampires usually not be worth the risk, especially powerful ones." He motions to Grog'tial's dirk. "From now on, check yer dirk before picking something up. It nay detect everything, but even in the sheath it seems to warn ye a fair bit and be a good first check. See if ye can put that ring on the table and let's be seeing how much mischief we be in."

Devin will check his moonstone, feather, and concentrate on his inner senses. Arcana check, are there symbols on it that he might recognize from lore, legends, lays or travels? If so, and if it is as Devin suspects and the dirk, holy water and/or Devin's own items or senses react, he would ask Grog'tial for his dwarven expertise on whether it be safe to open the wooden door again without it causing collapse or structural damage to this room or tower foundation. (dice roll I'm sure.) If the answer is affirmative, Devin would carefully unlock and open the door, then urge Grog'tial to only use a regular crossbow bolt to pick up the ring and shoot or fling it thru the door. After Devin would once again shut and lock the wooden door, ask Grog'tial how he is feeling and have him checked over by dirk and Devin again and if now clear then proceed downstairs as before. He would advise Grog'tial to see Aeshma or his Lady of Stars once back aboard to make sure there are no aftereffects.

If Grog'tial cannot put the ring down or get rid of it, then Devin would see if Gilius or Aylar and the charms could help, or else they will have to wait for Aeshma or his Lady of Stars to relieve Grog'tial of the cursed item.

Devin would mention the ring as a caution to the others, then admit he doesn't like leaving the bracelets behind to possibly be used again, but he can't figure out how to get rid of them except perhaps by Phoenix fire and he doesn't know if his lady is recovered enough for that yet. He would look to see Aylar's reaction then proceed as previously posted.

[Devin tries to check the ring and teach Grog'tial some tricks for safer looting. He tells Grog'tial to check with Aeshma or his lady to make sure there are no aftereffects.]

-
OOC: Devin means to teach and show Grog'tial a few tricks, not to make him feel ignorant.
Was there anything in the documents Devin looked over that gave any clue how to permanently get rid of black iron or the bracelets without a convenient hobbit and volcano? Anything thrown into the sea could be picked up by minions and returned to the aboleth.

He isn't. I figured since he mostly tries to fight from a distance, others had greater need of gloves.

"A what-now item? I'm a dwarf who's taken up pirateering. It was shiny and looked valuable (and probably powerful). Of course I pick it up!" (Also: Let us use the trinkets of the enemy against him!) :P

But alas for that last thought, I guess Grog'tial will follow Devin's advice (insofar as possible). He inspects the door and finds that it should be safe to briefly open. Now let's see if this ring wants to leave willingly...

"Time to go" Devin's words seem to awake Argy, who was a bit absent-minded. Probably it was the effect of the tea she had drunk before disembarking(she had added a few drops of rum to her cup to make it taste better...). Argy shakes her head and smiles to the halfling prisoner. She will help escorting the prisoners, or escorting the crew mates that are carrying unconscious prisoners, watching out for ambushes and traps, and opening or closing doors in the party's way out.
If she notices any patrol, she'll warn the rest and hide out of sight, ready to knock them out with her pan if the party can't talk or sneak their way past them.