Aporeu chronicles Issue 12:The Fate of the Gilded Gull
Stories from the adventurers
This week
The two longest stories I have ever gotten.The Fate of the Gilded Gull
<written in dwarven script> Mother, First and foremost, I am alive and well. I thought you would like to know this in advance, before reading the rest of my letter. I apologize for not writing sooner. I trust you and father are well. Have Elre and Hrill calved yet? And how is Oriff’s leg?After I left Kathra’s circle, I made my way to Arnheim (which is up there as you probably know) and joined the adventurers guild. I hope you of all people will understand this life choice, even though you might have had different hopes for me. I know you and father lived this life so that your children would not have to. But the reality is that I must do something, something more meaningful than herding our rothé, or learning from Kathra and her friends. I know in my soul it is my destiny, nay, duty to the world. I will have to learn to live with the fact I might never see my beloved animal friends again, and try to find happiness in my new life. I did persuade a few spiders to come with me on this quest. I don’t think they understand the meaning of this, but as long as I keep them well fed they will probably stay in my backpack or pockets.
You may be pleased to hear, that I have already made friends. Non-animal friends, I mean. I finally start to grasp what you and father were going on about throughout my childhood; camaraderie and bonding through the hardships of the adventuring life. It is truly remarkable how fast these things go.
At the guild, I was teamed up with an assortment of people. One is a weird kind of elf who seemed to glow a bit, called Cor’Torin. He doesn’t talk that much (which you know I prefer), but he can forge great destructive magics. Another is a very talkative and frankly pretty rude tabaxi female, called Jade on the Mountaintop. She seems one to keep out of trouble. I liked her though, as her animalistic smell makes me feel more at ease. There is also a human monk, called Elena. She is light on her feet, really good with a staff, and also nice. She has a bag that fits many things, even though dimensionally it wouldn’t fit at all. She even let me use it for stuff I found. And the last… oh this one never shuts up. His name is Dr Vasilievski (I now realize I don’t know his first name, which is a bit weird considering the rest is on first name base). He gathers exotic ingredients to make elixirs and wields the power of the gods. He is also very good at selling things. I think father would have a hard time bargaining with this eloquent human. He is a very friendly person, and hard to dislike. I trust him with my life, but not with my gold, as father would say.
It is with these people that I would literally embark on my first adventure. We were called in by some leader from the adventurers guild, named Lornan. A gnome of apparent importance (he turned out to be the merchant guild master, a master Underhoard) was arguing with master Lornan when we entered his office, the latter visibly relieved by our arrival. The guild master, however, seemed not very impressed. Frankly, I thought he was right. Not knowing these people yet, it seemed impossible to me to successfully complete a mission commissioned by such a high-ranking persona. Now I know better. Dr Vasilievski was full of confidence about our abilities though, declaring us the best of the best (which was odd, considering he had only previously seen one of us in action). The guild master told us about our quest, which seemed to involve locating a lost ship and its captain. Our search area would be the eastern shore of Pyker lake. Master Lornan pushed us to take the safest route, which was to follow the shore on a shallow boat. I half-heartedly tried to opt for the land route, but knew master Lornan was right. The prospect on going on a boat did not sit well with me though. The open sky here is unsettling enough, but losing the stability of the earth beneath my feet is something else entirely. Still, I had signed up for this myself, so I must go through with it.
On our way to the ship Cor’Torin seems to encounter some trouble about a malfunctioning bow. Smooth as he is, Vasilievski manages to calm the angry elves, heals one of them and sends them on his way with some story about a bear. He does that well; twisting the truth, using a mix of half-truths and blatant lies. Once on the Albatros, a small but thankfully stable vessel under supervision of captain Rewis, we encounter yet another source of trouble. Jade, who seemed even more anxious than I was to board this ship, appeared to have participated in pit fights the past few weeks, and has beaten up some people who unfortunately worked on this ship. Yet again, the doctor steps in with a good story, and things end well enough. Meanwhile, Elena and I have found a way to calm Jade. Seems tabaxi are not that different from other cat species in that aspect. And of course, the feeling of fur on my fingers, and the pulsing warmth of life under my hands, calms me too.
After some time following the shore, I spot some movement on land. I am not alone with this perception however, and we quickly warn the captain about the drakes that definitely spotted us too. As I have encountered some kind of drake before, I am immediately wary. Even though we speed up, there is no way we can outpace the things. And they know it, aggressively following us with their leathery wings. Crossbows are fired, a giant magical potion bottle is summoned, darts are thrown, while the dodging and weaving drakes make their way towards us. I glance at the ship and deem it stable enough. Then it happens. I feel my hands and feet changing, my bulk thickening, horns growing. I feel how my voice is reduced to only mm-sounds, but it doesn’t matter. No one would be stupid enough to stand in my way. The drakes land on the ship, one targeting our magician Cor’Torin. I can’t really see what the rest is doing at this point, as the deck is full of sailors, but I charge over the metal latticework and gore the drake with my horns; killing it on the spot. I turn around and see one of the sailors falling, some of my newfound friends being hit by the drakes’ filthy breath weapon, Elena taking the worst of it. On the back of the boat, Jade seems to be in trouble, dropping her pointy sword in the water. And, surprisingly, jumping after it to save it. No other drakes are to be seen; we seem to have fought them off quite skillfully. In my strong rothé form, I help the doctor with pulling poor Jade back on board, before reverting back to being a dwarf again. Sadly, one of the sailors (coincidentally one that Jade had fought in the pits) has died in the fight. The doctor performed the last rites, before tossing him overboard (which is apparently a proper seamen’s burial). As she had lost her weapon in the fight, Jade was allowed to take up the dead men’s sword.
We rest, and sometime later we spot a ship that has stranded on the rocks. There is no doubt about it, this must be the Gilded Gull. I also spot a cave nearby, and my excitement grows. The cave could be a great hideout for surviving crew members. I can’t wait to feel the earth close around me again. More than I realized, I had missed the snugness and darkness of home. Days here are just so… exposed. Why did you never tell me how light it is? How did you manage when you were new to the surface?
Anyway, captain Rewis supplies us with a rowboat and gives us 12 hours to finish up our investigation. The Doctor bargains for more time, and I subtly inform the captain he might not survive the way back without us, but he is adamant about it. I actually would not mind much to make the journey back on land, but then again, this is a lot faster, I have to admit.
We make our way to the ship. Elena agrees to stand watch, while the rest searches the ship. Doctor Vasilievsky and Jade will investigate the captain’s hut, while Cor’Torin and I inspect the hold. Unfortunately, the ladder is gone or broken, so we have to climb down. We fasten a rope to the base of the mast to aid our climb, but alas, I fail to notice a loose board and fall down ungraciously into the hold. Luckily, the fall bruised more of my dignity than my body, so I start to look around in the cargo hold for a bit while Cor’Torin inspects a jammed door. Most of the cargo seems to be intact, except for a crate that smells like fruity decay. Not really interested in vintage wine, and not really able to help with the jammed door, I decide to call upon the help from my spiders. As the circle taught me, I start to perform a ritual to give me the voice of the animals. It takes some time, but it can be really useful. After I feel the voice within me, I fish Stick out of one of my pockets, and Spin from my backpack. I ask them to see if they can find anything broken, shiny or out of place and report back to me. They soon come back, telling me about a broken crate I did not notice, filled with bolts of expensive silks. Dear mother, I have to admit that something of father in me took over. I opened the crate, but most of the fabric was already ruined. I managed to salvage one bolt though, and made sure it would not be missed. I am not sure what to do with it yet. Selling it here seems like a terrible plan. I wouldn’t want to make an enemy out of the merchants guild. Kathra would probably kill me for that.
But I digress. Cor’Torin had somehow used his awesome magics to get to the other side of that barred door, and had found a surviving crew member, named Joyce. She told a terrible tale. She said the captain was ‘touched’ by a sea monster, and became delusional with grandeur. Other crew members started to change into lobster-people. She had managed to lock herself up in the room to ensure her survival. Then the captain had purposely crashed the ship into these rocks.
Troubled by this story, we climb up again. Our friends doctor Vasilievski and Jade had found a similar story, deduced from the captain’s log. As a group, we decide to leave Joyce on the beach, while we explore the cave. I’m so excited. Even though it’s a pretty watery cave, and lacks the ‘weight’, it is good to see a proper ceiling again. Because stealth is appreciated, I melt into steeder-form, and start to walk on the walls and ceilings just because I can. This seems to be a good call, because a number of lobster people scurry around in the cave just around a corner and they do not notice us yet. Cor’Torin works his fiery magic, I creep to the back of the cave, marveling about my sticky legs, then bite the head off an unsuspecting Lobsterman. And another. Then they start to move. At some point Elena is next to me, and Jade is caught in a net and dragged into the water. Cor’Torin does some icy magic. Then I see doctor Vasilievski, rising up from the water like the god of water himself. He finishes off the lobsterman who is drowning Jade, then pulls her out. It’s good the lobsterman are all defeated, because I would surely have been caught unawares, being awestruck by this epic moment.
We push open the huge metal door at the back of the cave, only to find another in the next room. The moment we close our door, the other seems to unlock. Someone pulls a lever, a bead drops down and suddenly we find ourselves in a waterfilled room. Mother, I do not know how I managed to keep a cool head. Steeders are no swimmers, nor are dwarves. I manage to stick my legs to the walls, and notice Elena has found a weird panel with little plates and buttons. She randomly presses some, then two plates light up in yellow. I immediately know what to do, whereas Elena seems pretty clueless. I swear to all gods mother, I never imagined those stupid little games father used to play with me to ‘sharpen my mind’ would ever come to use. Be sure to thank him, for it probably saved our lives. I work on the puzzle, which takes painstakingly long to enter and confirm. At some point a school of fish has swum into the room, which attack us all with their razor sharp teeth. I manage to bite some while waiting for the third code to confirm. When this one comes through (with two yellow, whereas the previous was three yellow), I have vastly narrowed down the possible number of solutions. I pick one, enter it, confirm and bite some more fish while waiting. And lo! It was the right code! We swim through the door, upwards, to the light.
Coughing and spluttering, we emerge from the water into a strange metal room with beautifully detailed merpeople statues. The stonework is exquisite, and I am sure uncle Bearn would have loved to study it. As it is, we mostly ignored them. We open the closest door, where a relentless heat and a couple of lizardfolk await us. Jade, who is up front, can apparently communicate with the beasts. After some arguing, we leave the room. She tells us they wanted more heat for their eggs, which we cannot give. We go to the other door, and find another weird place with buttons and levers and lights. One of the switches seems to deal with temperature, so we turn it up to maximum. Jade moves back to the lizardmen, who happily give us some sulphury smelling paste. I’m not really sure what to do with it, but Jade insists that I take some. I’m also not really sure exactly if Jade or Elena kept it safe for me, but they both have water-resistant backpacks, so that’s that.
In the button room, we figure out how to proceed, so we do that. Not much later, we find ourselves eye to eye with a twisted, merman-like creature, announcing himself as the ships’ former captain. He went on about ‘having cast off his mortal form’ and some more maniacal nonsense. Apparently he thought he was destined to rule the seas. We, of course, could not let this happen. A battle took place. It was brutal. The captain controlled waterlogged zombies, who were easy to hit but hard to kill. Jade was hit hard by the captains magical trident, and fell unconscious not much later. One of the zombies tried to drown Elena. And I, of course, spent most of my time on the wall in steeder-form, biting the captain from behind. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that my friends could summon such powerful allies, yet both Cor’Torin and doctor Vasilievski did so at virtually the same time. Suddenly, two large elementals were fighting on our side; one water, and one air. It was thrilling, and terrifying at the same time. The power of those things… but I don’t think I have to tell you that, mother. You probably have seen one of those in your time. Later, I understood that it was eminent that their concentration would hold, otherwise the creatures could turn upon us too. But the gods were definitely on our side. After we had weakened the captain, the large water elemental crushed his skull. A fitting end, for someone who claims mastership of the seas.
We sailed back to Arnheim and reported to the guild. Apparently, Cor’Torin had managed to stuff the body into his backpack. We had hoped it would be the capstone of our evidence, with the crewmembers eyewitness account and the captains log, but alas, when the body was removed he looked definitely human. Nevertheless, we got our reward of 50 gold pieces. 60 actually, as the guilt master of the merchant guilt paid us to keep silent about the captains role. Or, well, they asked us to keep silent and doctor Vasilievski suggested the monetary reward. You see mother? I think he and father would get along great. Anyway, since Cor’Torin and the doctor both acquired a nice item during our quest, they decided to donated their money to me, Jade and Elena, leaving me with a profit of over 100 gold pieces. And that is not counting the silks. Not bad for a day’s work huh?
Dear mother, know that I love you and father, and that I miss you, and home. I eagerly await your response (don’t forget to include updates on the herd!). Just send it to the adventurer’s guilt. Your faithful daughter, Ranra Surefoot.
The Adventures of the Catlady
For my brother Spark, to tell him what happened to the Fate of the Gilded Gull.After my last adventures in the woods, I was looking for some different scenery and by wonder there was a mission about a lost boat! It was called the Gilded Gull, which reminds me about the Azure Butterfly boat we have a home. Lovely how those names go, isn’t it?
Oh Spark, I do have to warn you, this story is going to be a long one. It has all these mysteries about Gods, and sea monsters and caves and elementals.. So I am sorry if it is bedtime already, but it took me forever to write down this amazing adventure and I don’t want to leave even one bit out! Anyway, I really wanted to take this mission, because the only other time I have been on a boat I just slept all the way. So this time I met up with my fellow guild members, to find out that the Doctor was going to be in the same group! Not strange, after all, he helps people in emergencies and this mission needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. Apparently some other team made it worse, so we were here to save the day!
Oh the Doctor told me something very interesting again. I was admiring the golden locks of another party member when he said that he loved his own white hair more. So I was wondering how his hair turned white. You will never believe it, but his Goddess did! His Goddess already gives him all these cool magical powers, and then she can also make you look amazing! I wish I had a God that would do that for me. Although I wouldn’t want to be a white cat.
The new faces in this group were as interesting as last time! There was a small yet strongly build dwarf lady who caught my eye, named Ranra. She didn’t seem to like my statements about her size, but she seemed to like me for being a cat. Isn’t that cool Spark? That people just like me for being me?
Then we had another fascinating member, called Cor’Torin. Who apparently looks like an elf “today”. I don’t know why he wouldn’t look like an elf tomorrow, but to me he just seemed like… himself? He had this strong aura of magic power around him, and I can tell you already that he used some amazing spells to save us!
Last and not least, we we’re accompanied by the lovely yet brutal Elena. Her arms and hands are probably more deadly then my own claws, so I was glad she was on our side when she rained down her fists on the enemies.
We had a chat with the still sick Lornan, I really think he should get one of the potions of the Doctor to heal his annoying coughing. He always seems to interrupt our talking, so I think it’s quite rude of him to not take care of himself. Lornan told us that Master Gaxif Underhoard wanted us to find the location of the missing boat the Gilded Gull, and preferably also the Captain Rapheal Serracana. It had been on lake Pyker, and hadn’t been seen in a while.
Gaxif, by no surprise, was this tiny gnome man, who was standing on a desk while making weird demands. We weren’t allowed to touch the ship or the cargo, or the captain for all that matters. But he didn’t care about any of the crew members. We were allowed to do whatever we wanted with their belongings. Don’t you think that’s rude? That would be saying that I only would care for the Doctor to return, and not his comrades who were there with him. Nonsense..
I didn’t get to complain though, because with some smooth wording of the Doctor I understood his plan. We would still take whatever we wanted and tell something else to the Gnome. We managed to get a crew and boat that would sail us around to find the other boat. This was the Albatross. I’m quite sad this boat hasn’t a coloured name. It should have been “The White Albatross”. Ha, missed opportunity.
I don’t remember who we talked to, but when we left with the Albatross under the lead of Captain Rewis, we had figured out that there were lobsterman, walking sleeping people on the docks and also a possible sea monster! Don’t you think that is THE BEST ADVENTURE EVER?! I was scared to go on the boat though, not because of the sea monster but because I was scared I couldn’t swim. Luckily both Elena and Ranra knew exactly what to do. While I was holding on for the first 15 minutes, they scratched me behind my ears and I finally could relax.
When I then finally could have a look around on the boat, I notice two very familiar faces. It takes me a second to realise, but then it hits me, unlike the hits they couldn’t touch me with. For the last three weeks I have been doing pit fights, I know you don’t like fighting brother but I had no money and I wanted to be stronger for my next adventures. So I fought a lot of the times, and I persuaded these two drunken man to fight me. Because they were so drunk I couldn’t hit them, but it also made it very easy to wear them down and dodge them. They were tired in no time, and that got me a 100 gold pieces!
Now they were here, on the same boat as me… And I was scared… So I went to the Doctor, telling him that I went pit fighting with them and had won a lot of money. The Doctor immediately walked off to them, and I was so scared that I didn’t even want to look. A couple of minutes later he returned and said that he had talked to Gared, the guy who had looked the most pissed at me. Then the Doctor wanted me to admit that I got my ass kicked, and that they are strong man. I was so confused, and I asked him why he said that even though we all knew that they are super weak and I wouldn’t lose to two men like that.
Then the amazing knowledge from the Doctor came through again. He explained to me that sometimes you have to tell a ‘white lie’ as he calls it. I asked him what the difference is between a lie and a white lie, and wondered if it had anything to do with his white hair. Apparently it does! If you have white hair, you can tell white lies, that are beneficial for yourself or your friends. Maybe now I do want to have a Goddess who can change my hair, so I can tell white lies for my friends.. What do you think Spark?
Anyway, the Doctor said I should just stick with the white lie, and everything would be fine. So I did. It didn’t end up being fine for Gared though. We all spotted some weird lizard things that seemed to be able to fly, and Ranra was quick to point out it were Drakes that were readying up to attack. We tried to warn the captain and make the boat go faster, but they fly so incredibly fast that we had to fight them. The Doctor summoned a gigantic flying potion bottle, that seemed to pour very painful liquids over them, and also tried to shoot them with his bow but missed. I couldn’t really do anything except trying to hide and shoot, but I never tried to hide on a boat before so that failed, as did my shot. Mr. Cor’Torin was trying to do something with fire, but I think he was also trying to make sure that he wouldn’t put the boat on fire so nothing happened. I’m amazed by how he thinks about those things. I probably would’ve lit everything on fire, by accident.
While I was disappointed about my arrows missing, Elena very precisely hit a dart in the face of one of the Drakes close to her. And while I was amazed by the dart, the next part you can’t predict. The. Dwarf. Turned. Into. A. Cow! A FREAKING COW! Alright, afterwards she told us multiple times it’s called a Rothé, but I still think it’s a cow.
With the five drakes now getting close and trying to dodge, it gets more hectic when both fronts are preparing for confrontation. The Doctor uses a spell I haven’t seen before, but it seems to have worked and make them worse at... doing things? Maybe they are now all clumsy drakes. That would be nice.
I try to hide again, but miserably fail, but luckily one of the drakes is being quite obvious about his
dodging manoeuvres and I manage to hit it hard in the shoulder while it ducks. Then horrible things
happen, apparently drakes breathe… not-fire? It’s something more like poison, but it also stings like
acid. Whatever it is, it’s not nice and it kills Gared in an instant.
Told you he wasn’t strong. At least now I only have to keep the white lie up for one stupid drunk man. I don’t even know his name, that’s how unimpressive he is.
After the horrible breaths both Elena and me get grabbed and dragged close to the edge of the boat. I am dangling on the edge while I see the Cow pierce a full drake on her horns, which just drops lifeless on the floor. Elena is fighting the drake that is dragging her with her quarterstaff and elbows. I didn’t realize those could be used to hit too, but she seems to hurt the drake with them.
Then, just when my feet are about to slip off the boat, the gigantic flying potion bottle flies over the drake and pours some nasty painful liquid over it and it immediately dies and falls down. It’s grip loosens so I manage to stay on the boat and jump backwards a bit. Then I jump after another that is close to me and the Doctor and claw at his wings, in the hope it cant fly away anymore. Then an precisely aimed fire bolt from Cor’Torin hits his other wing and it doesn’t seem very happy anymore. It turns away and tries to escape, and in a rush I try to stab it with my rapier but it slips out of my fingers and falls into the water. Before I can think, I am already flying through the air after it. When the water hits, I realize I don’t know how to swim and I can’t seem to find my rapier. In my panic I look up to see the Doctor already throwing out his rope and I barely manage to grab it before the boat sails away too far. Together with Ranra, still as a cow, they pull me up.
Drenched and cold I saw Ranra become her cool dwarf self again, and after that we together take a look at the pierced drake on the deck. We talk a bit while stripping it for any useful stuff. I collect one of it’s big talons of his claw while Ranra takes care of the organs.
Then Ranra shares with me some interesting facts. She has some pocket spiders. Ever since I helped out saving Karl and his brothers, I am not too fond of spiders so I was weary and asked about it. Apparently if you hang out enough with spiders, you become immune to their poison! Isn’t that cool? I haven’t inquired about it in more detail yet, but I definitely will. I would love to be immune, I still remember the stinging pain in my left paw of that ugly spider last time.
Her pocket spiders don’t really seem to want to have the drake meat, so Ranra states its poisonous. My paws move within a second and just flip the stripped down drake body overboard. No one is getting poisoned today. Apparently that wasn’t what they wanted though, so the Doctor is upset with me for a bit, but luckily not for long.
Then the Doctor and I realize Gared is dead, so I help him out with giving him a good rite to bid him a good travel to the afterlife. I love seeing what the Doctor does, it’s different every time. But this time I just helped with stripping him down of his earthly-goods. We split the gold between the two of us, bid him farewell and then ask the captain if I can keep his short sword because I lost my rapier in the fight. He agrees, so now I have the short sword of my former rival. I think I need to engrave his name in this or something, to thank him for all his money and his sword.
So we take a short rest while I scrabble down basic notes about what happened so far, because I don’t want to forget anything about this adventure. I don’t really pay attention to what the rest is doing, but I do find out that both Elena and Cor’Torin also are in possession of a water-sealed bag that fits basically anything. I got it last time from the guild, for writing about my previous adventure. I told them I didn’t really need it, but they insisted. It’s strange, because I am just writing this for you Spark, but they love the stories so much they publish them in the guild newspapers too. Isn’t that amazing? You are going to be in the adventures stories too! They will know your name in the Guildhalls! It’s almost like you are here with me!
But this adventure isn’t even halfway done yet, after a while we spot a boat that is smashed onto a rock and next to it seems to be a rock cave. After some talking with the Albatross crew, we figure out that they are scared and weak and don’t want to wait any longer then 12hours. Even after the smooth wording of the Doctor, and some treats from Ranra, they refuse to stay any longer. So we rush onto the shore and start taking action, no time to lose.
I find some tracks from the gangplank from the boat, heading towards the cave entrance. With that knowledge both Elena and me are standing watch while the Doctor, Cor’Torin and Ranra explore the boat to find any clues or even survivors. After a couple of seconds, when they disappeared onto the boat, I hear the Doctor scream if anyone can pick a lock open. I look at Elena to check if it’s okay if I go, and before I can actually ask, she already nods and says I should go. It’s almost like she could read my mind. Is she as scary with her brain power as her hands? Because that would be dangerous. So I sprint down, to find the Doctor in front of the door of the captains cabins. I try to open the lock, but it has been awhile since I did this. I think last time was with you Spark, when we tried to pick open the door to the trapdoor to the attic of Tranquil Thunder. I don’t even remember if I opened that one or not, but at least this lock didn’t want to go. I apologized to the Doctor for being useless, but he just shrugged and smashed the door open with his war hammer. He was a bit careless with it, and some wood came falling down, so we both had to dodge this. Both unhurt we got into the room and looked around for items or clues. All the doctor found was a moldy piece of cloth, which he seemed very proud of. I found the journal of Captain Rapheal Serracana, which had some interesting passages about him wanting to gain the power that the Sea Gods had promised him, to then take over the world. I would call that a madman in my book.
I also found a small chest with a lock on it, which I managed to open in one go. See? I haven’t lost it. I just needed to warm up again. In there was 15 gold and 3 potions. So of course I gave the Doctor 5 gold, kept 4 myself and gave the other 6 pieces later to the other 3 party members. Then I also promised the Doctor that we would look at the potions later, he is fascinated by elixirs you see. He wanted to do that right there and then, but I told him we could do that later at the guildhall. He also said he wanted to have one, but I had found it, so I just put it in my bright green bag to disappear in whatever void it contains. The Doctor was sad, but he understood. He is truly a close friend, don’t you think?
When the Doctor and I go upstairs, we find Ranra a bit bruised who has collected some really nice silk and mentions some nice wine. Also Cor’Torin managed to rescue a woman named Joyce, and she tells that the captain had steered the boat onto the cliffs on purpose! I told you he was a madman, right?
Then the Doctor interrupts and states such a thing is called “a dick move”, and this a very special one. Namely the “driving boat into cliff-dick move”. Apparently it is something that is considered to be an action that is extremely rude, and in this case it is specifically driving a boat filled with friends into a cliff. Fascinating don’t you think? I am trying to think if I know any other “dick moves”, but I don’t think so yet. Maybe in my next adventure I will find more!
Joyce tells us more, but I am not really listening. There was something about a tentacle sea monster, which I still want to see, and people turning into lobsterman! Which I think is both equally cool. Luckily Joyce wasn’t touched by the lobsterman, so she was safe and we sent her back to the Albatross.
After debating the order of entering the cave, I go first to sneak up on any enemies we can find. I’m followed by now a spider-dwarf, apparently its called a Steeder, but we call her Clickclack anyway. I am really really not comfortable with having such a big spider close to me, but despite that I manage to be sneaky and silent anyway. I peek in a room, to spot six gigantic lobsterman, I signal it through to the rest and we get a surprise attack on them. I shoot at one, waiting for the perfect moment to show a soft spot in between the scales, immediately killing it off. I hide afterwards, and let Elena pass but she can’t really do anything without there being light in the cave.
Then Cor’Torin is being the epic magic user he is, and cooks a lobster alive which makes the room filled with delicious prepared seafood scents, while two other burst of fire hit two other ones badly but it doesn’t kill them. The doctor comes running in with a torch and drops it so he can do a spell, a bell-spell as I recognize it now. But unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to ring any bells for the lobster next to him.
I run out of my hiding spot and prepare a clean shot on any enemy that is distracted by one of my team members, and Elena immediately follows up and distracts another lobsterman. She stands next to it, which makes it turn and I get a clean shot under it’s scales, again it drops to the floor in a second. Elena prepares herself for any other lobsters that might be hiding in the dark, while behind her on the wall misses Clickclack is rushing over to another lobster. She jumps on its neck, biting it hard and after a couple of seconds the venom comes pouring out of its scales and it just melts away under her. I am definitely shaking and am very happy to have this spider on our side, and not be my enemy.
Then reinforcements of the lobsters appear out of the water, which catches me off guard and I get hit, but luckily not grabbed. Elena also gets hit, and Misses Clickclack quickly jumps over a net that has been thrown into her direction. And I kid you not, in the corner of my eye, Cor’Torin is just standing there, glowing with some sort of magical armour, which just seems to make all the attacks of the lobsters miss. I wish I could have that, that would be amazing. It sparkles every time it deflects something, and it made me think of you Spark, but I am glad you weren’t there. The team already had me to worry about.
Because another lobster throws a net at me, and I wasn’t fast enough, so I get stuck and try to cut it open, but it’s no use. The Doctor uses his bells again on a lobster, and I get dragged into the water with the net. I can’t see anything that is going on anymore, all I hear is more water splashing around me. I am just fighting to hold my breath while I’m clawing at the net, and it seems to take forever to open it a bit.
I feel a piercing pain in my side when the lobster next to me hits me with his trident. It’s so unfair! How would I be able to dodge that if I am underwater, I can’t swim, stuck in a net and I was already hurt? The water is turning more red by the second and I don’t know how long I can stay conscious anymore.
Then I hear more water splashing and I look towards the shadow of the lobster in the water, scared for another trident coming for me. But that wasn’t the case, the lobster started to sink to the bottom and the next second my net starts moving upwards and I am lifted out of the water by the Doctor who is FLYING ABOVE WATER. He must be a god, or his amazing Goddess must have blessed him. Later on he told me he took his flying elixir, he told me about them before but I totally forgot. He really looked like a sea god at that second. He saved my life Spark, AGAIN! How can I ever repay that? In pain and in the puddle of my own blood I just lay on the floor, and wait for the air to fill my lungs again. After awhile I gather enough strength to cut open the net I am still stuck in, and cut of a small piece to keep with me. To remind me that I would have never made it without my friends protecting me. Aren’t friends amazing Spark? I hope you are still playing around with Violet Stone and Fang of a Snake, they always were nice to you weren’t they?
The Doctor healed me up, as if I didn’t owe him enough already, while the others found a weird symbol on a wall and open door. Then a part starts of the adventure where I am not quite sure what happened most of the time. There was a door with a wheel on it, and with some epic strength of the Monk and Misses Clickclack the door was opened. We went through and got into another room with a lever and buttons. I ask what we should do, and nobody really knows. So I ask if I should pull the lever or not, there isn’t really anyone rejecting the idea so I pull it. A second passes and some fog releases from the ceiling while a marble is shot at the floor. Both the Doctor and Elena try to grab it, but they bump heads and the Doctor seems more hurt then Elena.
The marble shatters on the floor and then water starts pouring into the room. I am having flashbacks to the net but there is no need to swim here, because there is no air left. I panic, but I don’t know what to do with the buttons either. I start looking for clues on the walls, but there is nothing. I try to stay close to the Doctor, because I know he has some spell that can take away some water. I hope he knows how to time it, so I signal the number two to him. That is how long I will probably be able to hold my breath. He nods and signals 1,5 back at me. That puts me at ease, so I try to help more but there isn’t really anything I can do. Misses Clickclack is pressing buttons that flashes colours and Elena helps at the start too.
I don’t even want to disturb them, because I am just going to get confused anyway. I realise there needs to be come correct code to get us out of here, but I don’t understand how to get the code. Then out of a opened up pipeline a swarm of piranhas appears. They all go for the Doctor. I try to claw at them, Elena stabs them with darts, Cor’Torin hits them with his crossbow and the Doctor is bleeding but trying to hide behind his shield. Even Clickclack manages to eat a couple while she waits for a code to be checked by whatever magic is behind it. Almost at the same time as the fishes are killed, Clickclack managed to find the correct code and the door opens into a room with more water. We quickly swim through, to find ourselves in a pool, and reach for the surface and I grasp for air. After dangling on the edge of the pool for a bit, after everyone else got out, I finally also pull myself up and look around. There are some weird statues of mermaids and mermen in the corners of the room and there is a panel with buttons and levers again, and a door with a window. I peek through but cant see anything, we decide to go that way and I find three lizardman. At first I am a bit confused, but after a sentence I realise they only speak Draconic. So I lift my paws up and start talking back. The leader is called Ss-go-away, which I think is an amazing name. He talks to me and wants us to leave, or we need to help. I ask what they need help with. Apparently they have eggs and are waiting for their babies to grow up! Isn’t that the cutest?! But the room, even though I’m sweating, is too cold for the eggs to grow. So if we can find a way to consistently heat the room, they will become our friends! I ask the rest if they can do anything, but they can’t. So I apologise and offer them some of the cooked lobster Cor’Torin made earlier. They appreciate it, but still want us gone. It’s weird, if I were to give anyone food, why wouldn’t they want to be friends with me? I even speak their language.
We left, and went back to the panel. I didn’t pay attention, until all of a sudden it became boiling hot. So without thinking I sprinted back to Ss-go-away, asking if it was warm enough for him now. And it was! Two of his friends were kneeling at my feet and he gave me a pouch of yellow pasty stuff. Apparently if you eat it you stay really nice and warm, or you can make a big fire out of it. I thanked them, and then he thanked me because now they would be able to breed more and take over the world. That worried me a little, so I told the rest, while also giving a portion of the yellow paste to Clickclack and Cor’Torin because they figured out the weird panel thing.
Then the Doctor and me went ahead in the other direction, to find a trapdoor above swirling water. After more pressing of buttons, the directions of the moving water changed, then it changed to purple, and then it was drained. The Doctor went down the ladder and found a fan that was still moving, I yelled it at the rest and they did more pressing button stuff to make that stop. We all climbed down and found a tunnel into a big water room, and when we climbed up into the middle, a bright light breached through the surface of one of the four pools in the room. A blue grey scaled merman came out of the water, being supported by waves of water and holding a massive trident. Both the Doctor and me started talking to it, and we figured out that it was Captain Rapheal Serracana. He claimed he had been blessed by the Gods or something, and also wanted to take over the world with his crew. I told him we murdered all his lobsterman-crew, but he didn’t believe me. So I just waved some last portion of the cooked lobster in front of him, and he went mad. I probably shouldn’t have done it. But at this point I was hurt, tired, and I thought it would count too if we just brought the corpse of the captain back. I mean, the Gnome from the Merchant guild had stressed how important he was, but he didn’t want to come back. So bring him back dead, seemed fine to me.
Cor’Torin jumped over some of the water pools in the room and all of a sudden there were blue pale arms sticking out of the water, grasping for him, but luckily he jumped high enough. I was quickly to react and just fired a shot at the Captain, it hit him and hurt him, but it also pissed him off. I was so struck by how strong this Captain seemed to be, that I didn’t notice that the Doctor who had been standing next to me, had ran off further back. When I did realize, the shining blue trident of the Captain was already hurled towards me. I swear Spark, it was like looking at sea lighting! It had all these tethers to him in blue and green lines, and as soon as the trident hit my shoulder I fell back and it was just black.
“Death hasn’t come for you yet!”
The familiar voice of the Doctor brought life back to my body, and oh my goodness I was almost tipping of the edge into either a pit or into water. I owe this man more then my life by now, at least three times over! The same second as he pumps life back into me, he breaks a shiny crystal with a scream and a water elemental, Swimmy, appears next to one of the pools. I don’t see the Captain anywhere, and I realise the trident isn’t in my shoulder anymore either.
The Captain then appears out of another pool in the corner, where Elena just runs up to him to smack him hard in the face. Misses Clickclack crouches down, to then soar through the sky to get behind him on the wall to bite him with her nasty venoms. A zombie comes up to me and grabs me, while I am still on the floor trying to figure out what happened. What is actually happening?! Then wind howls next to me and another crystal is broken by Cor’Torin this time, an air elemental, Floaty, pops up next to me while Cor’Torin escapes from another waterzombie. I don’t know what to do so I just stab at the waterzombie standing over me with my Gared-short sword. It hurts him badly, but doesn’t kill him. I hear water splashing and see in the corner of my eye a fight between Swimmy and the Captain, seeming to be in the favour Swimmy.
Next to me in the water some weird wavy spikes of water come rushing out of the water, and for a split second I am extra grateful for not being in the water again.
I turn my head around and I spot Elena being held by another waterzombie and she is pushed underwater. He is trying to drown her! Isn’t that insane! How can they know that works?! When I am looking away, I feel the waterzombie tugging on my legs and dragging me towards the water as well. I start to panic and I struggle but it doesn’t work. Then a crush of wind from Floaty hurls over me into the face of the zombie, and he just explodes in the burst of the wind. Now I owe my life to Cor’Torin too, because he summoned Floaty! I am so useless Spark, I think I shouldn’t adventure with anyone. But I want to tell the stories of how cool they are…
So more coolness, the Doctor is being chased by zombies and he manages to block an attack with his shield. He looks up at me in panic though. Earlier he explained to me that some spells require concentration, and when he gets hurt, he can’t concentrate. I feel like the elemental is a concentration thing spell, so I immediately run on the edge and shoot arrows from above and get the zombie down to the floor. The Doctor planted his war hammer in the face of the zombie to make sure it wouldn’t get back up again and then the best thing in this whole adventure happens. Swimmy, the water elemental, makes the merman Captain DROWN. How epic is that?! He kept screaming that he controlled the sea and it’s waters, well he can’t seem to control this much power though!
Then some uninteresting things happened. Cor’Torin brought back the body of the Captain with us to the Gnome from the beginning. We also left Swimmy behind with Ss-go-away, explaining to him that taking over the world isn’t an option and that Swimmy will be watching them from the water pools. So if they do anything wrong, Swimmy will murder the eggs. Of course they don’t know that Swimmy will disappear after an hour, so this idea is amazing. It was the Doctor’s idea of course.
So we go meet up with the Gnome and the Doctor takes the lead in the talking. Which is fine by me. At this point I’m just tired. Then Gaxif says something interesting, because he doesn’t want anyone to know that it was the Captain Rapheal who turned into the merman thing. So he pays us extra to tell no one that it was the Captain! Don’t you think that makes for a good story Spark?
We got 50 gold each, then another 10 gold to not tell anyone, and because both the Doctor and Cor’Torin got some cool magical items we got their money split up. So that makes a nice total of a 100 gold pieces, and some nice potions on the side. Amazing how you get money for not telling anyone, but I never said I wouldn’t tell anyone. Is that one of those white lies the Doctor talked about? Or is that just being silent when it’s needed? I should ask next time.
Well Spark, I hope you will tell everyone in town about these four heroes I travelled around with. As the Doctor said, “They send the best of the best”.
Your loving sister,
Jade
Told you he wasn’t strong. At least now I only have to keep the white lie up for one stupid drunk man. I don’t even know his name, that’s how unimpressive he is.
After the horrible breaths both Elena and me get grabbed and dragged close to the edge of the boat. I am dangling on the edge while I see the Cow pierce a full drake on her horns, which just drops lifeless on the floor. Elena is fighting the drake that is dragging her with her quarterstaff and elbows. I didn’t realize those could be used to hit too, but she seems to hurt the drake with them.
Then, just when my feet are about to slip off the boat, the gigantic flying potion bottle flies over the drake and pours some nasty painful liquid over it and it immediately dies and falls down. It’s grip loosens so I manage to stay on the boat and jump backwards a bit. Then I jump after another that is close to me and the Doctor and claw at his wings, in the hope it cant fly away anymore. Then an precisely aimed fire bolt from Cor’Torin hits his other wing and it doesn’t seem very happy anymore. It turns away and tries to escape, and in a rush I try to stab it with my rapier but it slips out of my fingers and falls into the water. Before I can think, I am already flying through the air after it. When the water hits, I realize I don’t know how to swim and I can’t seem to find my rapier. In my panic I look up to see the Doctor already throwing out his rope and I barely manage to grab it before the boat sails away too far. Together with Ranra, still as a cow, they pull me up.
Drenched and cold I saw Ranra become her cool dwarf self again, and after that we together take a look at the pierced drake on the deck. We talk a bit while stripping it for any useful stuff. I collect one of it’s big talons of his claw while Ranra takes care of the organs.
Then Ranra shares with me some interesting facts. She has some pocket spiders. Ever since I helped out saving Karl and his brothers, I am not too fond of spiders so I was weary and asked about it. Apparently if you hang out enough with spiders, you become immune to their poison! Isn’t that cool? I haven’t inquired about it in more detail yet, but I definitely will. I would love to be immune, I still remember the stinging pain in my left paw of that ugly spider last time.
Her pocket spiders don’t really seem to want to have the drake meat, so Ranra states its poisonous. My paws move within a second and just flip the stripped down drake body overboard. No one is getting poisoned today. Apparently that wasn’t what they wanted though, so the Doctor is upset with me for a bit, but luckily not for long.
Then the Doctor and I realize Gared is dead, so I help him out with giving him a good rite to bid him a good travel to the afterlife. I love seeing what the Doctor does, it’s different every time. But this time I just helped with stripping him down of his earthly-goods. We split the gold between the two of us, bid him farewell and then ask the captain if I can keep his short sword because I lost my rapier in the fight. He agrees, so now I have the short sword of my former rival. I think I need to engrave his name in this or something, to thank him for all his money and his sword.
So we take a short rest while I scrabble down basic notes about what happened so far, because I don’t want to forget anything about this adventure. I don’t really pay attention to what the rest is doing, but I do find out that both Elena and Cor’Torin also are in possession of a water-sealed bag that fits basically anything. I got it last time from the guild, for writing about my previous adventure. I told them I didn’t really need it, but they insisted. It’s strange, because I am just writing this for you Spark, but they love the stories so much they publish them in the guild newspapers too. Isn’t that amazing? You are going to be in the adventures stories too! They will know your name in the Guildhalls! It’s almost like you are here with me!
But this adventure isn’t even halfway done yet, after a while we spot a boat that is smashed onto a rock and next to it seems to be a rock cave. After some talking with the Albatross crew, we figure out that they are scared and weak and don’t want to wait any longer then 12hours. Even after the smooth wording of the Doctor, and some treats from Ranra, they refuse to stay any longer. So we rush onto the shore and start taking action, no time to lose.
I find some tracks from the gangplank from the boat, heading towards the cave entrance. With that knowledge both Elena and me are standing watch while the Doctor, Cor’Torin and Ranra explore the boat to find any clues or even survivors. After a couple of seconds, when they disappeared onto the boat, I hear the Doctor scream if anyone can pick a lock open. I look at Elena to check if it’s okay if I go, and before I can actually ask, she already nods and says I should go. It’s almost like she could read my mind. Is she as scary with her brain power as her hands? Because that would be dangerous. So I sprint down, to find the Doctor in front of the door of the captains cabins. I try to open the lock, but it has been awhile since I did this. I think last time was with you Spark, when we tried to pick open the door to the trapdoor to the attic of Tranquil Thunder. I don’t even remember if I opened that one or not, but at least this lock didn’t want to go. I apologized to the Doctor for being useless, but he just shrugged and smashed the door open with his war hammer. He was a bit careless with it, and some wood came falling down, so we both had to dodge this. Both unhurt we got into the room and looked around for items or clues. All the doctor found was a moldy piece of cloth, which he seemed very proud of. I found the journal of Captain Rapheal Serracana, which had some interesting passages about him wanting to gain the power that the Sea Gods had promised him, to then take over the world. I would call that a madman in my book.
I also found a small chest with a lock on it, which I managed to open in one go. See? I haven’t lost it. I just needed to warm up again. In there was 15 gold and 3 potions. So of course I gave the Doctor 5 gold, kept 4 myself and gave the other 6 pieces later to the other 3 party members. Then I also promised the Doctor that we would look at the potions later, he is fascinated by elixirs you see. He wanted to do that right there and then, but I told him we could do that later at the guildhall. He also said he wanted to have one, but I had found it, so I just put it in my bright green bag to disappear in whatever void it contains. The Doctor was sad, but he understood. He is truly a close friend, don’t you think?
When the Doctor and I go upstairs, we find Ranra a bit bruised who has collected some really nice silk and mentions some nice wine. Also Cor’Torin managed to rescue a woman named Joyce, and she tells that the captain had steered the boat onto the cliffs on purpose! I told you he was a madman, right?
Then the Doctor interrupts and states such a thing is called “a dick move”, and this a very special one. Namely the “driving boat into cliff-dick move”. Apparently it is something that is considered to be an action that is extremely rude, and in this case it is specifically driving a boat filled with friends into a cliff. Fascinating don’t you think? I am trying to think if I know any other “dick moves”, but I don’t think so yet. Maybe in my next adventure I will find more!
Joyce tells us more, but I am not really listening. There was something about a tentacle sea monster, which I still want to see, and people turning into lobsterman! Which I think is both equally cool. Luckily Joyce wasn’t touched by the lobsterman, so she was safe and we sent her back to the Albatross.
After debating the order of entering the cave, I go first to sneak up on any enemies we can find. I’m followed by now a spider-dwarf, apparently its called a Steeder, but we call her Clickclack anyway. I am really really not comfortable with having such a big spider close to me, but despite that I manage to be sneaky and silent anyway. I peek in a room, to spot six gigantic lobsterman, I signal it through to the rest and we get a surprise attack on them. I shoot at one, waiting for the perfect moment to show a soft spot in between the scales, immediately killing it off. I hide afterwards, and let Elena pass but she can’t really do anything without there being light in the cave.
Then Cor’Torin is being the epic magic user he is, and cooks a lobster alive which makes the room filled with delicious prepared seafood scents, while two other burst of fire hit two other ones badly but it doesn’t kill them. The doctor comes running in with a torch and drops it so he can do a spell, a bell-spell as I recognize it now. But unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to ring any bells for the lobster next to him.
I run out of my hiding spot and prepare a clean shot on any enemy that is distracted by one of my team members, and Elena immediately follows up and distracts another lobsterman. She stands next to it, which makes it turn and I get a clean shot under it’s scales, again it drops to the floor in a second. Elena prepares herself for any other lobsters that might be hiding in the dark, while behind her on the wall misses Clickclack is rushing over to another lobster. She jumps on its neck, biting it hard and after a couple of seconds the venom comes pouring out of its scales and it just melts away under her. I am definitely shaking and am very happy to have this spider on our side, and not be my enemy.
Then reinforcements of the lobsters appear out of the water, which catches me off guard and I get hit, but luckily not grabbed. Elena also gets hit, and Misses Clickclack quickly jumps over a net that has been thrown into her direction. And I kid you not, in the corner of my eye, Cor’Torin is just standing there, glowing with some sort of magical armour, which just seems to make all the attacks of the lobsters miss. I wish I could have that, that would be amazing. It sparkles every time it deflects something, and it made me think of you Spark, but I am glad you weren’t there. The team already had me to worry about.
Because another lobster throws a net at me, and I wasn’t fast enough, so I get stuck and try to cut it open, but it’s no use. The Doctor uses his bells again on a lobster, and I get dragged into the water with the net. I can’t see anything that is going on anymore, all I hear is more water splashing around me. I am just fighting to hold my breath while I’m clawing at the net, and it seems to take forever to open it a bit.
I feel a piercing pain in my side when the lobster next to me hits me with his trident. It’s so unfair! How would I be able to dodge that if I am underwater, I can’t swim, stuck in a net and I was already hurt? The water is turning more red by the second and I don’t know how long I can stay conscious anymore.
Then I hear more water splashing and I look towards the shadow of the lobster in the water, scared for another trident coming for me. But that wasn’t the case, the lobster started to sink to the bottom and the next second my net starts moving upwards and I am lifted out of the water by the Doctor who is FLYING ABOVE WATER. He must be a god, or his amazing Goddess must have blessed him. Later on he told me he took his flying elixir, he told me about them before but I totally forgot. He really looked like a sea god at that second. He saved my life Spark, AGAIN! How can I ever repay that? In pain and in the puddle of my own blood I just lay on the floor, and wait for the air to fill my lungs again. After awhile I gather enough strength to cut open the net I am still stuck in, and cut of a small piece to keep with me. To remind me that I would have never made it without my friends protecting me. Aren’t friends amazing Spark? I hope you are still playing around with Violet Stone and Fang of a Snake, they always were nice to you weren’t they?
The Doctor healed me up, as if I didn’t owe him enough already, while the others found a weird symbol on a wall and open door. Then a part starts of the adventure where I am not quite sure what happened most of the time. There was a door with a wheel on it, and with some epic strength of the Monk and Misses Clickclack the door was opened. We went through and got into another room with a lever and buttons. I ask what we should do, and nobody really knows. So I ask if I should pull the lever or not, there isn’t really anyone rejecting the idea so I pull it. A second passes and some fog releases from the ceiling while a marble is shot at the floor. Both the Doctor and Elena try to grab it, but they bump heads and the Doctor seems more hurt then Elena.
The marble shatters on the floor and then water starts pouring into the room. I am having flashbacks to the net but there is no need to swim here, because there is no air left. I panic, but I don’t know what to do with the buttons either. I start looking for clues on the walls, but there is nothing. I try to stay close to the Doctor, because I know he has some spell that can take away some water. I hope he knows how to time it, so I signal the number two to him. That is how long I will probably be able to hold my breath. He nods and signals 1,5 back at me. That puts me at ease, so I try to help more but there isn’t really anything I can do. Misses Clickclack is pressing buttons that flashes colours and Elena helps at the start too.
I don’t even want to disturb them, because I am just going to get confused anyway. I realise there needs to be come correct code to get us out of here, but I don’t understand how to get the code. Then out of a opened up pipeline a swarm of piranhas appears. They all go for the Doctor. I try to claw at them, Elena stabs them with darts, Cor’Torin hits them with his crossbow and the Doctor is bleeding but trying to hide behind his shield. Even Clickclack manages to eat a couple while she waits for a code to be checked by whatever magic is behind it. Almost at the same time as the fishes are killed, Clickclack managed to find the correct code and the door opens into a room with more water. We quickly swim through, to find ourselves in a pool, and reach for the surface and I grasp for air. After dangling on the edge of the pool for a bit, after everyone else got out, I finally also pull myself up and look around. There are some weird statues of mermaids and mermen in the corners of the room and there is a panel with buttons and levers again, and a door with a window. I peek through but cant see anything, we decide to go that way and I find three lizardman. At first I am a bit confused, but after a sentence I realise they only speak Draconic. So I lift my paws up and start talking back. The leader is called Ss-go-away, which I think is an amazing name. He talks to me and wants us to leave, or we need to help. I ask what they need help with. Apparently they have eggs and are waiting for their babies to grow up! Isn’t that the cutest?! But the room, even though I’m sweating, is too cold for the eggs to grow. So if we can find a way to consistently heat the room, they will become our friends! I ask the rest if they can do anything, but they can’t. So I apologise and offer them some of the cooked lobster Cor’Torin made earlier. They appreciate it, but still want us gone. It’s weird, if I were to give anyone food, why wouldn’t they want to be friends with me? I even speak their language.
We left, and went back to the panel. I didn’t pay attention, until all of a sudden it became boiling hot. So without thinking I sprinted back to Ss-go-away, asking if it was warm enough for him now. And it was! Two of his friends were kneeling at my feet and he gave me a pouch of yellow pasty stuff. Apparently if you eat it you stay really nice and warm, or you can make a big fire out of it. I thanked them, and then he thanked me because now they would be able to breed more and take over the world. That worried me a little, so I told the rest, while also giving a portion of the yellow paste to Clickclack and Cor’Torin because they figured out the weird panel thing.
Then the Doctor and me went ahead in the other direction, to find a trapdoor above swirling water. After more pressing of buttons, the directions of the moving water changed, then it changed to purple, and then it was drained. The Doctor went down the ladder and found a fan that was still moving, I yelled it at the rest and they did more pressing button stuff to make that stop. We all climbed down and found a tunnel into a big water room, and when we climbed up into the middle, a bright light breached through the surface of one of the four pools in the room. A blue grey scaled merman came out of the water, being supported by waves of water and holding a massive trident. Both the Doctor and me started talking to it, and we figured out that it was Captain Rapheal Serracana. He claimed he had been blessed by the Gods or something, and also wanted to take over the world with his crew. I told him we murdered all his lobsterman-crew, but he didn’t believe me. So I just waved some last portion of the cooked lobster in front of him, and he went mad. I probably shouldn’t have done it. But at this point I was hurt, tired, and I thought it would count too if we just brought the corpse of the captain back. I mean, the Gnome from the Merchant guild had stressed how important he was, but he didn’t want to come back. So bring him back dead, seemed fine to me.
Cor’Torin jumped over some of the water pools in the room and all of a sudden there were blue pale arms sticking out of the water, grasping for him, but luckily he jumped high enough. I was quickly to react and just fired a shot at the Captain, it hit him and hurt him, but it also pissed him off. I was so struck by how strong this Captain seemed to be, that I didn’t notice that the Doctor who had been standing next to me, had ran off further back. When I did realize, the shining blue trident of the Captain was already hurled towards me. I swear Spark, it was like looking at sea lighting! It had all these tethers to him in blue and green lines, and as soon as the trident hit my shoulder I fell back and it was just black.
“Death hasn’t come for you yet!”
The familiar voice of the Doctor brought life back to my body, and oh my goodness I was almost tipping of the edge into either a pit or into water. I owe this man more then my life by now, at least three times over! The same second as he pumps life back into me, he breaks a shiny crystal with a scream and a water elemental, Swimmy, appears next to one of the pools. I don’t see the Captain anywhere, and I realise the trident isn’t in my shoulder anymore either.
The Captain then appears out of another pool in the corner, where Elena just runs up to him to smack him hard in the face. Misses Clickclack crouches down, to then soar through the sky to get behind him on the wall to bite him with her nasty venoms. A zombie comes up to me and grabs me, while I am still on the floor trying to figure out what happened. What is actually happening?! Then wind howls next to me and another crystal is broken by Cor’Torin this time, an air elemental, Floaty, pops up next to me while Cor’Torin escapes from another waterzombie. I don’t know what to do so I just stab at the waterzombie standing over me with my Gared-short sword. It hurts him badly, but doesn’t kill him. I hear water splashing and see in the corner of my eye a fight between Swimmy and the Captain, seeming to be in the favour Swimmy.
Next to me in the water some weird wavy spikes of water come rushing out of the water, and for a split second I am extra grateful for not being in the water again.
I turn my head around and I spot Elena being held by another waterzombie and she is pushed underwater. He is trying to drown her! Isn’t that insane! How can they know that works?! When I am looking away, I feel the waterzombie tugging on my legs and dragging me towards the water as well. I start to panic and I struggle but it doesn’t work. Then a crush of wind from Floaty hurls over me into the face of the zombie, and he just explodes in the burst of the wind. Now I owe my life to Cor’Torin too, because he summoned Floaty! I am so useless Spark, I think I shouldn’t adventure with anyone. But I want to tell the stories of how cool they are…
So more coolness, the Doctor is being chased by zombies and he manages to block an attack with his shield. He looks up at me in panic though. Earlier he explained to me that some spells require concentration, and when he gets hurt, he can’t concentrate. I feel like the elemental is a concentration thing spell, so I immediately run on the edge and shoot arrows from above and get the zombie down to the floor. The Doctor planted his war hammer in the face of the zombie to make sure it wouldn’t get back up again and then the best thing in this whole adventure happens. Swimmy, the water elemental, makes the merman Captain DROWN. How epic is that?! He kept screaming that he controlled the sea and it’s waters, well he can’t seem to control this much power though!
Then some uninteresting things happened. Cor’Torin brought back the body of the Captain with us to the Gnome from the beginning. We also left Swimmy behind with Ss-go-away, explaining to him that taking over the world isn’t an option and that Swimmy will be watching them from the water pools. So if they do anything wrong, Swimmy will murder the eggs. Of course they don’t know that Swimmy will disappear after an hour, so this idea is amazing. It was the Doctor’s idea of course.
So we go meet up with the Gnome and the Doctor takes the lead in the talking. Which is fine by me. At this point I’m just tired. Then Gaxif says something interesting, because he doesn’t want anyone to know that it was the Captain Rapheal who turned into the merman thing. So he pays us extra to tell no one that it was the Captain! Don’t you think that makes for a good story Spark?
We got 50 gold each, then another 10 gold to not tell anyone, and because both the Doctor and Cor’Torin got some cool magical items we got their money split up. So that makes a nice total of a 100 gold pieces, and some nice potions on the side. Amazing how you get money for not telling anyone, but I never said I wouldn’t tell anyone. Is that one of those white lies the Doctor talked about? Or is that just being silent when it’s needed? I should ask next time.
Well Spark, I hope you will tell everyone in town about these four heroes I travelled around with. As the Doctor said, “They send the best of the best”.
Your loving sister,
Jade
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