Bellandra heard Durik's call "Ono why golden fingers still moving?! Magic frens, help!" She recalled the skittering noise of the vampirates in the eastern corridor and realized these must be their leftovers. Ghosts, vampirates, and now animated metal fingers - it certainly seemed like were encountering a variety of ways for the unliving to gain life of sorts. Were the aboleth and Beckett drawn to such things? Is that why they were also interested in her shipkin and in Cliodhna?

She looked briefly back towards Durik and Gilius, ready to assist him if it seemed necessary. If her knowledge from the book of puzzles and traps revealed anything about the moving fingers, she would tell them. Holy water might help, she thought, if the fingers were undead, but if they were another kind of animation - a golem of sorts mayhap - it would not.

But then she saw the black cat dart ouf of the western passage and then felt the unearthly drain of more vampirates incoming, several if the strength of the drain was anything to go by. Ha, fanged ones, she thought, the little one has fangs sharper than yours.

She hear Grog'tial's call "wait for the cupcake" and held back a moment, waiting for Argy's action. Now that she was back to full mobility, she planned to spring round the corner of the corridor once the explosion had gone off, ready to shoot remaining vampirates with blessed bolts from her hand crossbow, but also ready to dodge back around the corner if too many had survived and were aiming weapons at her.

If a few survived at close range she would engage them with her cutlass.

If for whatever reason Argy could not act or the explosion did nott succeed, she would still proceed to go around the corner but with even more care, aiming to pick off some of the vampirates and then dart back, then repeating that until they were all dealt with.

If she heard any Crew plan other explosive or area attacks, she would try to stay clear of them, and of any cave-ins.

She would try to coordinate her fired bolts with any she saw from Grog'tial, aiming to finish off any injured enemies but otherwise aiming at d

If the vampirates were all dealt with and the corridor remained passable, she would then proceed with others towards room 9, keeping watch for any traps or further enemies.

Kyp shall ready his trident and walk south to the little enclave on the bottom of the beach since the corridor seems pretty crowed and he would only hinder the conflict there.
When he gets to the mouth of the enclave he will look for any danger, then look for any passages.

If there is nothing of note he will say "Dang... well lets see if this darn trinket shows anything" and then uses the magic mirror trinket he got from the ship looking for anything of note (hopefully a secret passage so some of the crew can flank the vamps.)

Aylar will check the medallion for any ill-energies, before carefully picking it up with a rune-gloved hand, on alert for any potential reaction from the ship. If it is indeed be similar to the Denuvo equivalent, clearing the shadows in the hold would be easy enough. Still, this ought to wait until the cove is fully clear of any resistance. He judges it be more beneficial for him to stay posted at the nest for the moment, and will reinforce everyone's charms to resist the drain to the best of his ability, as well as use his perch to scan the premises for any other enemy signs beyond the vampirates currently about to be engaged with Crew. If he happens to discover anything or anyone else, he will give warning.

In the dire event of the Crew needing additional melee support, be it due to increased enemy numbers or being ambushed he will use his Locket to teleport to their location and strike enemy in the back, especially if the fire oil be still in effect.

"Both mage and Captain are dead. Continuing enemy cleanup, after that taking care of any possessions, including their vessel," he reports to Clíodhna. "All quiet on the Ship?"

Mission 6 - Turn 6
*Turn Ends 11:59PM UTC, 5 December 2024.*

In order of initiative (this post): Aylar, Devin, Karnstein, Argy, Grog'tial, Bellandra

Aylar: (roll dice*4) [Fire oil lasts until Turn 9]
You regard the medallion lying on the floor of the Crow's Nest with caution. You check for any ill-energies through your charms and senses. It seems neutral enough, but you make sure to pick it up only with a rune-gloved hand. The ship immediately comes alert to you and you pause. It is not nearly the same as you sense from the Ship, this is less sentient and much more just an access for control over the shields and perhaps some greater sway over bound crew. If it be indeed similar to the Denuvo equivalent, clearing the shadows in the hold should be easy enough. Still, this ought to wait until the cove is fully clear of any resistance.

You judge it more advantageous to stay where you are at the moment, reinforcing Crew's charms to resist any drain while staying alert and scanning the area for any other enemy signs beyond the vampirates currently about to be engaged with Crew. You note the three ice forms SW of you, outside the sea cave entrance near what was labeled 'Nexus' (1) on the map.

"Both mage and Captain are dead. Continuing enemy cleanup, after that taking care of any possessions, including their vessel," you report to Clíodhna. "All quiet on the Ship?"

"Aye," Clíodhna responds. "Although I cannot say the same among the ghosts on Captain Baldbeard's ship. Aeshma be sensing a disruption. It may be nothing more than a gambling disagreement, but I've boosted the wards and Cap'n Rummyfangs has our own phantoms on alert." He senses she wonders what had him somewhat flummoxed earlier, but judging it not to be of importance currently, will wait until his report later.

Devin: (roll dice*3) [Moonbow expires Turn 7]
You get to your feet and help Argy up. "Be ye injured, Argy?" you ask, looking her over quickly. "Me apologies, there be not time to warn ye." You nod as she thanks you and note gratefully that she appears unharmed.

You swiftly look toward the ship to see Captain Baldbeard's sharks have taken out the vampirate crossbowman and Aylar standing in the Crow's Nest, with no sign of the Vampirate Captain. You nod to Captain Aylar, then rapidly spin back to look at the tunnel as the cat comes running. You are already readying the Moonbow as you feel the slight edge of an attempt of a weakening drain begin and your items and senses warn you of the approach of undead.

You turn to Grog'tial as he yells out to wait for the cupcake. "Grog'tial, I be not as familiar with tunnels as ye," you say, attempting to leave space for Grog'tial to shoot also, but ready to switch to rapier and dagger to defend if needed. "Will the cupcakes collapse the tunnel? Be we too close if that be the case?" Grog'tial considers a moment before answering he thinks it shouldn't.

Argy throws the cupcake and quickly dodges back, giving you and Grog'tial clear lines to shoot as Count Karnstein comes up alongside. The cupcake goes off, and the area of the bend in the tunnel is obscured as ice, frozen dirt and rock are stirred up by the explosion. You keep your eyes on the area and catch sight of three vampirates heading towards Crew rapidly, spiderclimbing over the upper wall and ceiling. With the speed of long practice you draw and fire the Moonbow. *Success* One of the vampirates vanishes in a flare of light, the ash turned to moondust before also vanishing.

Next to you Grog'tial is about to fire when the sentient Cat O' Nine Tails Count holds reacts to the two vampirate's proximity.

Count Karnstein: (roll dice*4)
Having jumped back to avoid the crossbow bolt, you scan the ship and are pleased to see Baldbeard's sharks eviscerating the vampirate crossbowman, until his head comes off and he turns to ash. It looks like Aylar has finished the Vampirate Captain as you notice the drift of ash away from him and out over the water.

With that taken care of, you are navigating your way around the tangle of Devin, Argy and Baldbeard when that black cat comes streaking past you with a hiss, and you step back quickly to avoid colliding with it. You see Devin stiffen and spin around, bringing up the Moonbow and your charm flares. Turning, you count six vampirates gathering at the first bend of the tunnel ahead, two on the walls and one on the roof. You are about to douse the Cat O' Nine Tails in holy water and use it off-hand as a makeshift aspergillum when you hear Grog'tial call out something about wait and see Argy pull a cupcake from her pocket. You decide it might be best not to rush forward quite yet, especially when you hear Devin inquire if the cupcake might make the tunnel collapse. You now have a living heart to take care of ... no need to be too hasty.

In the aftermath of the cupcake, three vampirates suddenly appear out of the lingering fine particles of pulverized ice, rock dust and ash. They spiderclimb the ceiling and upper wall incredibly fast. As you grab your holy water one of them flares with brief bright light and vanishes into ash. Before you can douse the Cat O' Nine Tails it reacts, reaching out with its tentacles to pluck the two vampirates from the ceiling then bashes them back and forth against the walls, ceiling, ground and each other, dazing them before throwing the stunned vampirates back down the tunnel. They barely stagger to their feet when a crossbow bolt streaks by, followed by Baldbeard's sharks.

Argy: (roll dice*2) [Fire oil lasts until Turn 9]
As Devin helps you back to your feet you greet him with a faint smile: "Thanks, matey, ye saved me life..."

Your charm flares to life and you turn to see the vampirates bunched up in the curve of the bend ahead, just begging for a surprise treat. You quickly pull a magdalena from your pocket and step ahead to throw it, then dart back behind Devin and Grog'tial where you stand ready to greet any vampirates that make that far with your flaming pan.

The cupcake goes off and the explosion sends ice, dust and some pieces of vampirate flying as it reverberates and shakes the tunnel. A portion of the ceiling and walls crumble, catching some of the vampirates. Before things settle to where you can see the results clearly, three vampirates suddenly appear from the icy dust and some ash, coming fast. Devin shoots one, then Count's Cat O' Nine Tails grabs the other two and whips them back and forth against the hard rock and ground before tossing them back down the tunnel.

Grog'tial: (roll dice*6)
Things happened so fast that before you can actually realize what the ribbon returning to you means for the fate of loyal and trusting Icy McIceface, your dirk and charm flare to life and you spot a mass of vampirates pouring in and pausing at the first bend of the westward tunnel. You see Devin get to his feet and help Argy up before he casts a quick glance at the ship, no doubt to determine if another bolt is coming Crew's way anytime soon. Count Karnstein is starting to step around them to head into the tunnel and Captain Baldbeard whistles back his sharks and looks ready to proceed as Argy takes one look at the waiting vampirates and pulls a cupcake from her pocket with a grin. You desperately call out before anyone can rush in, "Wait for the cupcake!"

Devin turns to you. "Grog'tial, I be not as familiar with tunnels as ye," he says. "Will the cupcakes collapse the tunnel? Be we too close if that be the case?"

You look the tunnel over quickly, calculating its makeup, the material, what you've seen of Argy using the cupcakes previously, and the odds before you answer. "The tunnel's not reinforced or shored up, but it looks to be mostly stable. There will probably be ice and some loose rock to dig through but the entire thing shouldn't collapse." Now you hope you're right.

Argy quickly throws the cupcake and darts back behind you. You ready your crossbow and step forward to where you have a mostly unobscured view of the tunnel, considering it is getting crowded with Argy, Devin, Baldbeard, Count and yourself all crammed into the end. The cupcake explodes and ice crystals, frozen dirt and rock dust fill the back bend of the tunnel, making it hard to see. Suddenly three vampirates are scurrying fast towards you reminding you of large spiders (shudder). Devin shoots one and it vanishes in a flare of light. You are about to shoot when the Cat O' Nine Tails comes alive and seizes the other two as they come into range, battering them about on the walls, ground and ceiling before power tossing them back into the rubble at the bend of the tunnel. You immediately shoot as they stagger to their feet. *Success* [Luck!] Your first blessed bolt hits the hip of a vampirate and spins him around, exposing that sweet back shot. *Success* Your second blessed bolt takes him through the back of the heart and he explodes into ash. You step back to reload with two more regular blessed bolts as Baldbeard's sharks come spectrally swimming in midair past you, eager to take apart any remaining vampirates. As the dust settles you are relieved to notice you were correct in your assessment of the tunnel. It remains intact with only a few larger rocks and some rubble to navigate around.

Bellandra (roll dice*4)
You see the black cat dart out of the western passage and then your rabbit's foot increases its glow as you feel the beginings of the unearthly drain of more vampirates incoming, several if the strength of the charm's glow is anything to go by. Ha, fanged ones, you think, the little one has fangs sharper than yours.

You hear Grog'tial's call "wait for the cupcake" and hold back a moment, waiting for Argy's action. Now that you are back to full mobility, you plan to spring round the corner of the corridor once the explosion had gone off, ready to shoot remaining vampirates with blessed bolts from your hand crossbow.

After throwing the cupcake, you see Argy dart back out of the way, clearing the way for Devin, Grog'tial, Count Karnstein and Captain Baldbeard. As the explosion reverberates down the tunnel corridor you spring around, raising your hand crossbow to see the area of the bend clouded with floating ice and dust debris. Suddenly three vampirates emerge from the cloud. Devin's shot eliminates one in a flare of what looks like moonlight. *Fail* You shoot only to have your target snatched away by a couple of the Cat O' Nine Tails tentacles, which your bolt luckily barely misses. It bashes them against the tunnel walls and ceiling a bit before throwing them back down the corridor. Grog'tial dual shoots one, rendering it to ash.

You are reloading another blessed bolt when Captain Baldbeard's sharks swim over and around you and proceed down the corridor to tear and rend pieces of vampirate. Disgustingly you notice that a couple of the now disconnected arms are crawling down the tunnel towards you.

(Continued below ...)

Mission 6 - Turn 6 (... continued from above)
*Turn Ends 11:59PM UTC, 5 December 2024.*

In order of initiative (this post): Baldbeard, Kyp, BenKii, Gilius, Durik, Crew

Captain Baldbeard: (roll dice*4)
Huh...there was never a more inevitable end for someone. All the questions about Nerissa, the treasure, your crew, whether or not one of them had sold you out to her, bounce around in your head. There will be time for those thoughts later. Breathing out, you put them aside for now, and whistle to your sharks to return from the ship and focus on the western passage in the direction you originally were moving.

Looking up as your bell tinkles and glows, you see the vampirates gathering at the bend of the tunnel ahead. You barely take a step before Grog'tial shouts out, "Wait for the cupcake!" Seeing Argy's grin as she comes forward with the explosive baked good in her hand, you deem it prudent to do just that and pause. The explosion fouls the air and you scent the sharpness of pulverized ice, the earthiness of frozen dirt and the slight metallic heaviness of rock, along with the foulness you are recognizing are vampirates.

As the air begins to settle, three of the creatures come scuttling out of the mess along the ceiling and walls. Devin's bow takes care of one and you raise your holy water and cudgel, but the Cat O' Nine Tails grabs the other two in its tentacles, shaking and battering them about before throwing them back. Grog'tial shoots one before your sharks air-swim past to tear into the other and any survivors. You see two of the disembodied arms crawling towards you and stride forward to douse them with your holy water, but it seems while the flesh bubbles and peels back, they are still alive somehow ... until Argy comes up from behind you and pan burns them into ash.

Kyp: (roll dice*3)
You ready the Trident and walk south to the little sandy enclave on the bottom of the beach (upper 10) since the corridor seems pretty crowded and you judge you'll only hinder the conflict there. Once there you scout for any danger then look for passages. "Dang," you say to yourself, seeing nothing. "Well lets see if this darn trinket shows anything." You pull out the cracked Handmirror and turn around, looking into it as it looks over your shoulder. *Success* Instantly you see the hidden outline of a concealed door. Gleefully you approach it, only to find it locked by some sort of puzzle slider.

Captain BenKii: (roll dice*3)
You were so sure "The Look" was a "for sure thing" but now you wonder if maybe you were told wrong. You move to the western tunnel, hugging the left wall and await the results of Argy's cupcake. After the explosion and aftermath, you follow the spectral sharks to the bend of the tunnel with the Count and Captain Baldbeard, using your musket to shoot the head off one of the vampirates trapped under some rock rubble, turning it to ash. You look around. If you are careful, the Crew should be able to make it through the tunnel after moving aside a few rocks.

Gilius: (roll dice*2) [Fire oil lasts until Turn 9]
"Bloody well done, Durik! That way seems clear now," you tell your half-orc matey.

Feeling better having warmed yourself back up, you go south to join the others while keeping an eye to the rear to make sure no vampirates are sneaking up on you. There are none you can detect. You notice the cat has gone back to watch your back trail also. You arrive at the western tunnel and follow the others past the rubble.

Durik: (roll dice*3) [Fire oil lasts until Turn 9]
The moving appendages scare the hell out of you. Is it a shadow servant as Devin warned? You jump back and quickly move towards the rest of the Crew, keeping your eyes on the golden finger and toe nails as they continue to move a bit, then pause, but constantly creep after you. You prepare your sack in one hand, ready to catch them if they attack, while also readying your cudgel to knock them away.

"Ono why golden fingers still moving?! Magic frens, help!"

After shooting a vampirate, Devin quickly glances over his shoulder. "Holy water, Durik!" he tells you. "Pour it over them and we hope it be freezing them to the ground until we be done with this fight and can tend to them."

*Success* You splash them with 1 holy water and breathe a little easier as it sizzles, confirming they are cursed, but also causes them to then freeze to the icy ground ... for now.

You catch up to the Crew in the tunnel and help them move some of the larger rocks and rubble out of the way, then prepare your cudgel as the Crew finally enter the Plaza. (7 on the map)

Grog'tial, you face a growing feeling of loss as you confront what it'll mean that Icy is no longer wearing the ribbon.

As the Crew enter the plaza (7) the devastation becomes clear. Tables are broken apart into icy chunks of shredded wood and everywhere are shards of ice and broken crossbow bolts. Crates stacked at the north wall between the stairs to the barracks (6) are torn apart with food spilling out and smashed bottles of ale and rum littering the area. There are two piles of ash in the middle of the room near a small chiseled down block of ice, all that remains of Icy.

Everything is quiet. Nobody is left in the barracks (6) or in the upper tradecraft area (upper 4), but Crew soon discover that what was labeled as 'houses' on the map are cells, the more numerous southern ones serving as nests for Ice Spiders, much to Grog'tial's horror. The vampirates evidently breed them to have living life energy to drain when needed. While the upper northern cells must be reserved for prisoners when they had them. Across the openings of the southern plaza are thick locked iron gates leading to the lower tradecraft and beach areas (lower 4, 3, 10). Finally there is a locked metal door at 8, supposedly leading to the mines according to the ghost's map.

(roll dice*5) Satisfied that there are no enemies seemingly remaining near them, the Crew heads for the vault. Once there they find a door with puzzle lock instead of a key or pickable lock. Bellandra steps up to study it with Devin. Once Devin determines it isn't trapped, Bellandra uses her study of the Book of Puzzles and Treasures to try to crack the lock. It takes her two tries, but she succeeds and the Crew carefully enter the vault. There are treasure chests, gold and jewels everywhere! As Captain Baldbeard's eyes light up at seeing his treasure once more, he approaches, only to see it all fade away. The treasure in the vault is an illusion!

*Hypothermia rolls: All Crew are currently safe, but increased time in the cold is beginning to narrow the margin of safety.

"Uggg, a dumb puzzle"

Kyp looks at the sliders and decides to telepathically reach out to Bellandra and describes the puzzle and ask about potential solutions. If Kyp gets no answer he will try to solve it himself.

Captain's Log Mission 6 - Turn 6:
By the time I got to the hallway to deal with the vampirates, the crew had already dispatched them all with ease. Turns out this crew really does know how to deal with these soul sucking things. I did see one gasping for help under some rocks so I blew its head off. There! I did something! Go team! Continuing down the hall we finally reached Captain Baldbeard's treasure except that there was no treasure at all. It was some kind of hologram that merely tricked us that his treasure was in this room. Intuitively, I believed the most logical place to search next would be the vampirate captain's ship. Perhaps she stowed the treasure there.

Captain BenKii suggests that the crew rendezvous with Captain Aylar and search the vampirate captain's ship as that would be the most likely place such a large cache of treasure could be concealed. While waiting to move to their next location, BenKii will perform squats to stay warm.

After checking with his dirk that the illusion is really just an illusion (because his paranoid mind knows that the best way to hide something is right where it is, but then disguised as not being there), Grog'tial studies the map. "No use in all of us standing around in the same spot. Some of us should check out the Headquarters and Offices. The captain came from that direction, so even if we don't find the treasure there, chances are that there'll still be some good loot. We can check in with Aylar on the way."

If Argy mentions anything about the bat spotting the ice forms near the Nexus, he suggests that some others can check out that area. It's unlikely for the treasure to be hidden outside the cave, but if those are ice elementals, then they must be guarding something important...

Bellandra had gazed at the crawling disconnected vampirate arms and was glad to see Baldbeard and Argy reduce them to ash.

If Bellandra heard Kyp's request she would think about Kyp's description of the slider and would communicate any hint or solution her knowledge of puzzles would provide.

While thinking about Kyp's puzzle, Bellandra also wondered about her recent performance. She had failed to dodge the vampirate bolt in the eastern passage, had hit but not finished off the vampirate on the beach, had failed to shoot a vampirate in the western corridor, and had needed two tries to unlock the door. Mayhap just bad luck, mayhap something more. She resolved to check her gear in case anything seemed cursed or otherwise off.

Once the illusion was in the vault was revealed, she commented, "Why make an illusion inside a locked vault? And one that dissipates so easily? Be on yer guard, this may be meant to distract us." She looks around trying to spot a trap. "Be sure to keep the door open, so we be not locked inside this vault ourselves."

"Me agree with dis, suspicious"
"Also how would illusion remain if mage dead?"
"Maybe real tresure elsewhere"

If you hear my request I would have described it, but if you ask I shall describe it again.

Good point, no need for Bellandra to ask again for the description. I will edit the post.

Kyp has telepathy with marine creatures, and with Clíodhna because phoenix can use it with all. Bellandra is not a marine creature and so cannot hear you.
Bellandra can heart speak her ship kin and Clíodhna, but not Kyp or other Crew.

Very good idea to keep in mind, and intelligent of Bellandra to think of it. ;) However this time it is a combination of luck card, dice rolls and the fact that the enemies are leveling up.

Note for all Crew to consider:
As we approach the Weirding Sea Crew will be facing more intelligent, higher level enemies with better gear and tactics. You won't be able to single shot everything anymore. Wounds or getting hurt will happen and bandages and heals are probably going to be more valuable than trinkets. While there is still a place for fun and hilarious moments, you'll want to pay more attention to tactics and working together to combine your weapons and strengths. It is coming time to start thinking about possible consequences and who might get hurt or even killed if someone just runs off amok with a crazy scheme in the middle of a mission or battle. And there are some enemies who will try to make or influence some to do just that. Just a friendly GM warning, you're experienced now and the aboleth and Beckett are getting serious about hunting the Cursed Crew down.

Like maybe set as sentinels to guard against any other ships or longboats getting into the cave without being trapped ... kind of like Icy was ....
So this is the part where the GM says "Are you really sure you want to go picking that fight?"

"Or maybe, just maybe, we leave well enough alone and not fight the giant ice monsters. I for one would prefer not to have my arms ripped off by a bunch of big ass abominable snow things. Ya know... just a thought."

"Well mateys, unless some of ye magic ones can find treasure, we have to search big cave, for example east."
"We all go together or we split?"

"And maybe Kyp could check waters, for example at 15+21? Not sure if too cold for him tho"

"Also, can someone deal with evil golden fingers?"