OOC: Sorry Logan, but I am going to NPC you for a couple of rounds in order to get the other players involved.

I'll let you make the fort save though. :D

Logan attacks with his rapier and short sword, hitting with the second weapon (6 hp).

Shefton shows no sign of moving from the corner.

End of round one

The corrupted priest responds with a series of savage attacks, but the rogue nibly dodges them.

Logan strikes and manages to inflict a small wound with his short sword again (3 hp).

End of round two

The savage creature slices through Logan's tunic and a thing bead of red appears across through the gap(7 hp). The creature raises up its arms in triumph and moves in for the feast...

...only to receive Logan's blades through its heart and throat (16 hp). Father Feres spasms and wriggles up the blades, and manages to bite Logan's cheek (7 hp & make another DC14 save if you passed the other one!). Then it slumps down on the cold steel and is still.

The rogue slips the creature from his swords and then jumps away in order to avoid the spray of acid that always sprouts out of these creatures when they are killed... but not appears. Instead the thing that had once been Father Feres lies on its back on the galley floor.

Father Feres' stomach churns as the... whatever it is inside seems to fully wake up. Suddenly the unfortunate man's corpse explodes sending a spray of rancid flesh and blood other the entire room, covering both Logan and Shefton from head to toe. Inside the middle of the blast four bloated humanoid figures appear, each about 4' tall and almost as wide. The creatures are grossly fat and smell terrible. They squeal in an apparent mixture of surprise and terror, and then start launching themselves at the two rogues in the room.

The rest of the party (Alohan, Kinstal, Angati, Celene, Kassius & Kibeti) have finally responded to the sound of the combat and reach the small room as this time, all of them crowding inside it just in time to respond to this new challenge.

OOC: Okay, no map for this one, just go for it in melee - sorry, no missile combat possible Kassius due to the tight quarters and lack of head space. Celene, if you do ranged attacks then your targets will have soft cover and be involved in combat.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:02, Mon 20 Feb 2017.

<START OF PLAYERS ROUND ONE>

HIT POINTS & MISFORTUNE
Alohan  AC:17/T16/F13 HP: 52/52 <MF USED>
Kinstal AC:23/T14/F21 HP: 77/78 <MF NOT USED>
Angati  AC:22/T13/F20 HP: 56/56 <MF NOT USED>
Logan   AC:21/T16/F16 HP: 24/39 <MF NOT USED>
Celene  AC:10/T10/F10 HP: 29/29 <MF NOT USED>
Kassius AC:19/T15/F14 HP: 35/37 <MF NOT USED>
Kibeti  AC:21/T14/F17 HP: 42/42 <MF NOT USED>
Omi     AC:14/T14/F12 HP: 28/28 <MF NOT USED>

Blob Monster #1 AC:14/T11/F14 <MF NOT USED>
Blob Monster #2 AC:14/T11/F14 <MF NOT USED>
Blob Monster #3 AC:14/T11/F14 <MF NOT USED>
Blob Monster #4 AC:14/T11/F14 <MF NOT USED>

(De-)Buffs
Whole Party
None
Alohan
None
Angati
None
Logan
None
Kassius
Gravity bow until round 62
Kibeti
None
Celene
None
Omi
None

<START OF PLAYERS' ROUND ONE>

Celene recoils for a moment at the sight of the viscera covering the galley. She comes to her senses quickly and casts a spell to slow down the four abominations.

---

Free :  | Swft :  | Move : None | Stnd : Cast Slow | Full :

DC 18 will save or be slowed.

---

HP: 29/29 |  AC: 10/10/10  | CMD : 12 | Saves: +4/+4/+9

Special Notes:

  (De)Buffs :
 Conditions :
  L0 Spells :
   - Unlim. : Dancing Lights, Daze (DC15), Detect Poison, Drench, Flame Burst,
              Light, Mage Hand, Message,
   - 1/day  : Detect Magic, Light, Prestidigitation
  L1 Spells :
   - 08/10  : Burning Disarm (DC 16), Burning Hands (DC 16),
              Charm person (DC17), Enlarge Person, Grease (DC 18), Hydraulic Push,
              Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Summon Monster I, Vanish
  L2 Spells :
   - 5/6    : Create Pit (DC 19), Glitterdust (DC 19), Scorching Ray,
              Summon Monster II
  L3 Spells :
   - 2/4    : Slow (DC 18)

  Abilities : Flame lance (8/8), Wand of Magic Missile (41),
              Wand of Alter Self (25), Wand of Cure Light Wounds (50)

Logan is momentarily stunned by the sudden turn of events.  "What the frac!" the rogue yells as the priest-beast explodes, taking in the new combatants.  "Shefton!  Stand up and fight these things!  I need you alive to figure out what happened to the Father!  Those couldn't have been ordinary dates!"

With the arrival of his allies, Logan circles the foul-smelling meat creatures, aiming to find a avenue to exploit.

---

5' Step, trying to get flanking with allies
Two-Weapon Fighting.  39 damage, if can sneak attack.  Otherwise 17 damage

---

HP: 24/39 AC: 21/16/16 CMD:19  F2 R12 W4

Abilities: Invisibility, Resiliency, Smite Evil

---

20:00, Today: Logan rolled 13 using 5d6+1.  Short Sword Damage.
20:00, Today: Logan rolled 26 using 5d6+6.  Rapier Damage.
19:59, Today: Logan rolled 18 using 1d20+10.  Short Sword Attack.
19:59, Today: Logan rolled 21 using 1d20+10.  Rapier Attack.
19:56, Today: Logan rolled 17 using 1d20+2.  DC 14 Fort Save 2.
19:56, Today: Logan rolled 20 using 1d20+2.  DC14 Fort Save 1.

Angati saw the mess with all the gore dripping from the wooden planks and the four creatures in the middle in almost disbelief. She blinked, pulling herself together, and activating the small time blinks that allowed her to conceal herself as she moved towards the creatures to try to take the front and work a bit as a wall to give Logan time to work his thing from behind.

---

HP: 56 |  AC: 22 | CMD : 15 | Saves: 4/4/5
Free : | Swft : | Move : | Stnd :  Time Flicker

---

Special Notes:

  (De)Buffs : Time Flicker (3 minutes blur) 20% miss chance
 Conditions :
  L1 Spells : 3+0/6+1 CLW, Ill Omen, Protect from evil, Obscurring Mist, Divine Favor, Summon Monster ,Sanctuary, Liberating command
  L2 Spells : 2+1/4+1 Oracles Burden, Cure Moderate Wounds, Spiritual Weapon, Restoration Lesser, Instrument of Agony
  L3 Spells: 3+1/4+1 Cure Serious Wounds, Bestow curse, Summon monster III
  Abilities : Misfortune, Fortune, Starlight Agility (dodge), Time Flicker (3/3 minutes blur),Temporal Celerity

Celene casts her spell and two of the creatures instantly slow. Celene does her thing and a third is also affected.

Logan takes the initiative and strikes before the creature unaffected by the spell has a chance to react - despite its skin being resistance to his blades he fells it in one attack.

OOC: These creatures have DR 5/something, and the 'something' is not 'magic' since that is what Logan's blades are.

Angati activates her protection ability and then gets in position so that Logan will have flanking next round.

OOC: Kinstal, Alohan & Kassius to play.

Knowledge checks:

07:15, Today: Celene rolled 17 using 1d20+6.  Planes.

07:15, Today: Celene rolled 8 using 1d20+7.  Knowledge Arcana.

Celene searches her memories of the many dreary hours of training spent in the temple of Wee Jas for some hint of what these creatures might be.

She remembers the lists of demons that she memorized and is certain that these nasty little brutes are 'dretches'. These among the lowest and least powerful demons that live in the abyss, but they do have a resistance to all weapons except those made of 'cold iron'. They can also use their smell to their advantage (stinking cloud) and cause fear in the weak minded. Celene doubts they are going to be able to offer up much resistance to her and her friends, but if there were a whole host of people infected with this terrible infliction then things might be different...

"Kanapapiki! W'at is DIS?" bellows Alohan as he enters the cabin, "W'AT BE--" but the loin-clothed native cuts off his rage and launches himself into the air from the short set of descending steps. He extends a flying double-kick toward the bulbous face of the thing attacking Shefton.... and then lands deftly on the far side of the bloated, stinking abomination.


09:32, Today: Alohan Nuari rolled ... ((24, 15)). Flurry of Blows.
09:34, Today: Alohan Nuari rolled 5 using 1d6+2.  1st Damage.
09:37, Today: Alohan Nuari rolled 3 using 1d6+2.  2nd Damage ?

HP: 52/52 AC: 17/16/13 CMD:19

Abilities: Spring Attack, Flurry of Blows

OOC: Is it possible that Alohan's accent has gotten even stronger with the new player? :)

Alohan lands a series of solid blows on the pudgy little demon but it is just like pounding a slab of meat. The dretch squeals and protests but doesn't seem hurt by the attacks at all...

Operating on the assumption that Celene shared her knowledge of the foe's vulnerability to cold-iron:

Kassius hurried behind the others following the sound of more combat. It's never just one thing at a time. He thinks to himself as he runs, bow in hand and albino jungle cat at his side. With Celene's helpful information, he reaches into a special slot in his magical quiver, drawing out arrows tipped with cold iron.

---

Kassius
18:48, Today: Kassius rolled 21,15,11,6 using 1d20+8,1d20+8,2d6+4,2d6+4.  Rapid shot attack, damage.
Assumptions: I am within 30 feat for point blank shot, and I can target a foe without soft cover. If the former is not true, subtract 1 from hit and damage. If the latter is not true, subtract -4 to hit.
17 damage vs AC 15+ and DR/cold iron, or 11 damage vs AC 21+

---

HP: 35/37  AC 19 (FF=14, Touch=15),
Swift Action: activate Animal Focus
Full Round Action: Rapid Shot one of the foes
Saves+8/+11(+12)/+6
Spells Slots: 1st: 4/5; 2nd: 4/4;  Animal Focus Minutes Left: 4/6, Door Sight 6/6
Current Buffs: Animal Focus (tiger), Gravity Bow

---

Kibeti
18:50, Today: Kibeti rolled 15,10 using 1d20+7,1d6+7.  charge attack (bite) attack, damage.
10 damage vs AC 15+
Full Round Action: Charge dretch that Kassius shot (unless dead, in which case, charge a different foe)

---

HP: 42/42 AC 21(19) (FF=17,Touch=14), Saves+7/+9/+6
Current Animal Focus: bull(+2 str)
Current Buffs: None!

OOC: Well... originally I said that it was too cramped quarters for Kassius to use his bow, but it really isn't going to effect the final result, so...

Kassius sends two arrows towards one of the disgusting blobs and cold iron plunges deep into its belly. The wretch squeals and clutches at the fetching on the shaft as it falls over backwards, its dirty reddish-brown life's blood leaking from its chest. Within a few seconds of it hitting the decking it is motionless.

OOC: Please cross off 2 x cold iron arrows.

Kibeti knocks his target over, biting at its face and ripping off chunks of foul tasting flesh. This small demon is quickly overcome.

The galley is slient. Covered in blood, guts and feces, but silent.

OOC: Sorry Kinstal, but you just miss out. If you want a chance to swing your sword when 'Murder Machine Inc' is in a combat, you need to be quick about it.

Shefton slowly lowers his meat cleaver. He is covered top to toe in cleric entrails and holds up his arms to study the mess on them. "What the frac people? What the frac?"

OOC: Ohhh! Roleplaying time! Yes, yes, I know. A necessary evil at best.

Celene steps forward tip toeing over the larger spots of gore and bloated corpses. "Shefton, do you have a ledger that kept track of the larder? We need to find out all we can about these dates and whether any more food came from the same supplier." she said rather curtly "Alohan, we should get some men down here to take care of these corpses the faster we can cleanse the galley the better. If we can we should purify any food we can before it is consumed."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:45, Wed 22 Feb 2017.

"Ledger? What? I just cook the food! It was the first mate who arranged the purchase of all the food... but I can tell you that the *dates* (OOC: not figs) were bought something special - not that I think that they caused..." he waves around the room. "...this! I bought them myself AND I kept them under lock and key the whole time in the spices cupboard. Only three people have the key to that cupboard. Me, the captain and the Amella."

Celene looked at her companions "It seems we need to have a conversation with Amella." she said to the others before turning back to the cook "Who sold them to you?" she asked.

"I dunno," says Shefton sheepishly. "I mean, it was more like I bought them. I just got them from some merchant in the High Market in the Noble District. Top quality he said! They were expensive enough. Anyways, why are you so sure it was the dates?!"

Celene stared at the cook thinking for a few moments. "It could be a coincidence that the Father came in asking about the dates. I'm not ready to rule them out completely. The likeliest scenario is that something or someone on this ship caused the Father's condition. Had he been infected prior to disembarking the likelihood of him reaching gestation during the trip would be low. We must proceed under the assumption someone is trying to sabotage us from within."

Celene's pleasant demeanor disappeared and her eyes drilled into the young cook "Tell me everything you remember about this merchant. His name, what he looked like, his mannerisms, no detail is too insignificant." she said sternly

Assuming Logan clued us in to Feres' last words.

Whoops, I'll work on my reading comprehension :-! However, the arrows are durable, and hence recoverable.

Kassius recovers his arrows with a grimace, carefully wiping dretch guts off of the shafts and cleaning the arrow before returning them to the quiver before returning to the conversation.

"This is just the latest disaster related to food. The sharks were attracted by rotting food, the water poisoned, and now this. We should check the entire food supply with a fine tooth comb. That seems to be the common link."

After a long pause and lingering gaze across the crimson splattered cabin, the Captain of The Sea Wyvern mutters to himself in his native tongue, [Language unknown: "N ei red fi Dinof een One! Oul et eeilwi a ticillntinotrom hise lote ou i andwilven n staredtra in oreallpre."] He glances at the gruesome mess located where Father Feres last stood. His mutterings slowly getting louder and louder... [Language unknown: "T ichwh usrire oneioumen k naioriac at ckiconur o eenme Ect Str."] ...until his voice can now be easily heard by everyone in the room, [Language unknown: "Sehe Ng toes ilsspaiepe, latnotine'setiveere, mioulo'chweha our! Leswerstr Prla ionomeshe but nte hatss rom hoprwhur at ceekcebe sonie ek ti u een ain."]

The 6' tall, nearly-naked islander imperiously moves to the doorway and bellows, Lil'ridd!  Lil'ridd!* Bringing your small self here dis verr'y time is NOW!  Making crew to cleaning dis being your job!"

OOC: * = Lilith Veldirose



Alohan turns his lean, muscled body to reply to the half-orc,"Yes. Checking all dat dee co-coo-nutt head Rask be doing is most worthy idea. Angati praying for cleansing for pantry is most worthy idea also, I am for thinking."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:49, Thu 23 Feb 2017.

Angati nodded, but it was absentmindedly, she watched as Omi, walked around the blood and even avoided sucking on it, and then carefully climbed back on her shoulder while her sister looked in horror at the resulting scene. "I can't purify food or drink... I am afraid... only create water, that's all... but this is most dire indeed".

"Huh? 'Ask'? He didn't ask for any dates. I never gave him any dates. *If* he even really ate any, he must've stolen them from the spice cupboard," says Shefton emphatically.



"I dunno," shrugs Shefton. "He was just a normal merchant." He looks at Celene and sees how resolute she looks and lips his lips.

"Well... now you mention it. He was a foreign type, ya know? He was one of those Emirates people, from Ylarium. That's where they grow dates. I hadn't seen him in the market before. Hmm... I mean, I guess it is possible he set me up. Thank goodness I didn't eat any of the dates! I was saving them for a special desert," he pauses, then continues sheepishly. "...for you... but it is all ruined now..."





Lilith Veldirose, the red headed tomboy sailor is summoned and appears in the doorway. She'd been below decks when the combat started, and what with being thrown around by the hydra's tricks, she hadn't managed to reach the deck before the fight was over. She is shocked by the mess in the galley, but follows the captain's instructions quickly by organizing some of the colonist to clean up the mess - she doesn't use the crew - there are now only four regular sailors left and they are needed on deck to patch things up.



Following Kassius' instructions, the contents of the spice cupboard are carefully pulled out and brought to deck so they can be inspected in the sunlight. It is found that about one third of the dates have been adulterated. They have been carefully sliced open and small black spheres about 3 mm in diameter pushed inside them. It would have been easy enough to eat them without noticing when eating a date.

Urol, with Celene's assistance, conducts a quick analysis of the black spheres. They find out that they dissolve in acid, then conduct a carefully inspection under his special 'close seeing' glasses after cutting one in half. They have growth rings, and they have been cut from a larger natural product and then polished.

"Humph. They look like little pieces of polished 'mother-of-pearl'," says Urol finally. "But mother-of-pearl isn't black of course!"

It would've been easy enough to hide some of these in ANY of the food on board, and a 'purify food' spell will not be enough to deactivate them.

"Those aren't mother of pearl. They are pieces of one of those black pearls used to cause the Savage Tide. The one that was lost in Kraken's Cove; they must be slicing off sections to attempt pinpoint targeting of the disease." Celene was aghast at the harm that could be caused practically without notice. "We need to extend the search beyond the food. We need to scour every inch of this ship in case someone aboard slipped the pearls into the dates." she said a with deepening look of concern on her face.

When Logan learns of the adulterated dates, he returns to Shefton to offer his apologies for jumping to conclusions regarding new cook's role in the mess.

His mind, however, still is on the threat facing them.  "Urol, these shards of the pearl...do they need to be consumed to have an effect?  Is there anyone to detect them other than close visual inspection?"  He looked to Angati and Celene. "Are they magical?  Can you detect them, now that you know to inspect it?"

He looked over the ship, and thought about the numerous hiding places available on board.  "The number of places where someone could hide something like this...even a small bag could hide dozens of these; enough to curse us all, at least!  Should we...should we interrogate everyone on board one at a time?  Who would hate us all enough to do what happened to Father Feres..."

Logan trails off, as he realizes the answer is, at this point, probably dozens of people.

Celene did as Logan instructed and cast detect magic on the dates.

The knowledge of detecting such evil, arcane or physically, is beyond Alohan, but he stands silent and thoughtful in consideration of Logan's thoughts about the crew.

OOC: May Alohan do some type of Knowledge check about his crew (perhaps a Sense Motive would work better?) as he thinks about their personalities and behavior?
[C] Sense Motive       : +00