Savage Tide

Chronicling the adventures of Gustave, Glaive, Garland and Crimson, on the Southern Seas near Sasserine.

21.1.08

Summary 11: The Rum Rampage

Captain’s Log. Entry number 41: Glaive Gangsworth

Tis quite beautiful on the waters today. The crew is as happy as ever, what with me opening up the rum keg for all last eve. That delightful beverage as brought so much joy to my life. Even at times it has been used as a weapon of improvised choice. For you see I am the true creator of the rolling rum. By the time anyone reads these words, my invention has likely become a technique used in every war battle fought, with each general claiming it is his own invention. Allow me to take yee back to the time where it all began.

My crew members: Garland, Gustav, Crimson, and Isabella had just fought a hard battle. Thanks to my incredible guidance, we had easily emerged victorious, even though four of our hirelings had turned on us, having being working for the enemy all along. I had already sent the assassin Gustav to scout the immediate area, so we knew the threats surrounding us. Our mission at the time was one of revenge for some and one of profit for others. The paths to both led somewhere on the other side of several doors. On the other side of once door we heard the sounds of Lotus Dragon thieves training. While another we heard the growls of worgs of whom which we would later tame. The former was our chosen course. With our magic and muscle already taxed to the limit, we needed a plan to take them out, while minimizing actual hand to hand combat. Crimson and I both thought of somehow using the rum barrels we had earlier passed as a weapon. Though Garland baulked at the idea of wasting so much rum, we collectively thought of creating an explosion by rolling a keg into the training room and having it explode, thus leading to the rolling rum. Using my infinite knowledge of crafting, I was able to create a perfect fuse. We decided to apply this to the other three barrels as well. It took more time than was necessary however as we had to stop part way through in order to mop up Garland’s tears.

Once the task was complete, the Assassin readied himself to open the door and dive aside as Garland and Crimson rolled the rum into the room. Tis a shame I was out of view to see the last look on the trainees faces as the rum exploded in their midst. The destruction was much greater than we could have hoped for. All six Lotus Dragons had been thrown against the walls, with not a single one of them surviving the blast.

Down a hall we had earlier passed, a chorus of squawking birds filled the air with an alarm call, as though our bomb had not been enough to alert everyone to our presence. Not wanting to make the scene to suspicious, we recovered and placed two of the dead Dawn Council members at the door of the training hall, to make it look like it was them that were attacking. From there we moved on to the room where the bird calls were coming from. It turned out to be a dining hall with caged parrots screeching at the top of their beaks. With cold precision, Gustav shot them all dead, before moving to the kitchen door. The Man of a Thousand Corpses was then taken quite surprised as he was doused by a pot of burning liquid upon opening the door. Gustav writhed on the ground from the boiled poison, whose origin was from a kobold and his grapeshot catapult. Crimson was the first to scold the kobold, saying we were Lotus Dragons come to check on him. After explaining to Churtle that the base was under attack by the Dawn Council, we were able to gain her confidence. And we did well to do so, as the Assassin had been ready to add Churtle to his body count.

The kobold said that Emil Dracktus was the true leader of the Lotus Dragons and that he was fairly certain that the betrayal on the Blue Nixie had been a ruse. Regarding this particular hideout, Anzak and Vanthus had fled to rendezvous with Dracktus at Kraken’s Cove. Churtle also warned us of one part of the underground complex called the Crucible; a place similar to the deadly underground of Parrot Isle. After we garnered as much info as possible, we escorted the cook to a nearby inn above, telling her to lay low until we came back for her in a few days. There was little convincing needed as the walls around the kobold were literally exploding around her.

Using further intelligence from our recently acquired ally, the five of us moved to the door in the training room that would lead us to Rowyn, should she still be around. The door led to yet another training area with more dummies of Gustav, a chair, and a set of handcuffs. This last Crimson unsurprisingly added to her inventory. On the other side of the only other door in the room came the sounds of chains dragging along the ground. With what little battle experience at the time we had acquired, we had already figured out that anytime one opens as door, one is likely to get hit by someone or something readying some sort of attack action. The flying, boiling, poison filled, kettle being the most recent example of this. Given this inevitable upon anyone entering the room, I came up with the idea of tying one of the remarkably realistic Gustav dummies up in front of the door. Myself and Isabella, the only two spellcasters. Took cover as Garland pushed the door open and darted aside. Sure enough, a tentacle shot out of the opening to grab our Gustav puppet, and drag it into its maw. With that, the Assassin and Garland moved in to menace the now familiar foe. Crimson moved in to aid Garland while he yelled out to me that there was an opening for me to move in and blast the beast away with a spell.

And that was when my brother tried to kill me.

His words lured me into a perfect opening for the ragadesa to strike out at me. And it did with a toothy-mouthed glee. I remember having time for a half scream before the monster’s tentacle ground me to a pulp.

But I survived using nothing but my force of will.

It was Crimson’s loving eyes that I awoke to. Seeing her, I knew two things: that my friends had succeeded in downing the monster. And that my monster of a brother had failed in his subtle attempt to kill me. Not wanting to let anyone know, I simply dismissed the incident as an accident, as was the case when my brother had killed Gustav in that friendly stabbing mater when we had faced the zombies.

There was reason for such a powerful beast such as the ragadesa in this particular room as it was guarding a particularly important map. On the wall was a layout of all of Sasserine, with red, blue, and gold pegs scattered all around. It didn’t take us long to realize that red meant and enemy, blue meant and ally, and gold meant a source of income. There was also a bunch of maps indicating upcoming shipments of monsters, drugs, and other unsavory materials. Naturally my brother and I began thinking of ways to profit from this last info. The most glaring thing in the room though was a simple message painted in large lettering on the wall. The lettering had our names next to the message "VANTHUS, FIX THIS NOW."

No sooner did we read those words when we heard banging coming from the next room. Garland positioned himself in front of the door while kicking it open, just as a bugbear zombie came charging out. All of us tried to place our blades in the way to aid my brother's defense, but alas the zombie was obviously trained by the Lotus Dragon’s. For, like them and all their minions, the zombie easily found a hole in our defense and smacked Garland with a mighty spiked ball.

Indeed, I think back now on all the thieves and beasts we have faced thus far, and we have sadly found neither armor nor skills that have yet to fend off even the tiniest of crab claws from finding purchase on our flesh, despite all our many battles. It seems we are a cursed lot of sorry souls. Alas I’m getting off track. Though the undead took some pounding, we eventually downed it thanks to the Gangsworth’s skills.

With all the racket we had been making, it was a wonder that no reinforcements had yet to arrive. And so it was no surprise that we heard the sounds of shouting guards from back the way we had come. We had naturally brought our rolling rums with us, and so prepared a setup of one of them. We placed a rum barrel in the doorway where Crimson had picked up the handcuffs, distanced ourselves, and had the Assassin prepare a fiery bolt. And indeed five Lotus Dragons came into view, kneeled down, and prepared to launch their bolts. Their fingers only got hallway to the triggers before Gustav’s bolt hit the rolling rum to send fiery death all around. There had been a sixth Dragon trailing behind, but his screams became that of pain as our blades rushed up to pierce his heart.

Searches of the remaining rooms did not come across Rowyn, only her escape route through a grate, thanks to a potion. Our discoveries did turn up a rather vast library of books of erotic tales, along with an eye-catching wardrobe collection. All of these, including the books, Crimson would later take for her own collection.

Gustav and his keen eye also found a secret door. Fearing a trap, we allowed Garland to knock open the door. As though we had cast an augury spell, my brother was indeed struck by a poisoned dart. Unbeknownst to us, Crimson seemed to have skills in the ways of wound analysis as she recognized that Garland had been infected with the deadly black adder poison. Before anyone could intervene, she placed her lips on the dart wound and sucked out all the toxin before it could harm my brother.

After that brief drama, we all went to investigate the contents of the room. The most interesting things were three chests. Using his instincts, Garland bashed open the first chest while standing upon it. This triggered a deadly spike trap in front of him, narrowly missing the gems he carried with him always. The second chest he bashed open however triggered another poison dark trap. I swear my brother jumped into its path, hoping to get the same medical treatment from Crimson; which he indeed received much to my jealous eyes. The last chest sadly was a poison gas trap. Its effects were none as we all managed to vacate the room to allow for it to dissipate harmlessly. All together we found several vials of poison, three statuettes, and 8000 gold of Lavinia’s fortune.

Despite all that had been discovered, I decreed that it was not enough. My friends insisted we should leave, but with the possibility that at least Rowyn was about, I declared that the search would continue. But in the end, we found that she and everyone else had fled. We were only fortunate to hear some stragglers rowing away. Their words spoke of a possible return in the future. Yet I demanded more information than that.

Leading everyone back to the upper level, we ran to a nearby dock area where we thought the Lotus Dragon’s might emerge. Sure enough, two suspicious looking characters were just standing around. Before even a few words of parlé could be exchanged, Crimson simply asked if we five could stand around looking suspicious as well. Shrugging their shoulders, they simply blasted the monk with two quarrels. Two more of their allies climbed up to join the fight, but it was pointless. Our skills far outmatched their, and the battle as over before it had even begun. The ultimate prize being that two of the four Dragons were still alive when the fighting was over. It was at that moment that I decided we would get some serious answers from these prisoners. How strange it was at that moment that their boss Dracktus had given Garland and I, licenses to kill them.

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