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<blockquote data-quote="MarauderX" data-source="post: 1905898" data-attributes="member: 9990"><p><u><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">Session 23: River of Tribulation</span></strong></u></p><p></p><p>With all of the passengers safely on board, the Lorleena’s Cutter left the castle docks of Kargam. Karyssa took the longest to settle down as she found something new to complain about every minute. Her maids ran about the deck of the ship making requests for absurd things that she needed, and soon enough the party and the entire crew was ignoring them. </p><p></p><p>The party watched Galadin and his assistant Enus as they guided the large ship slowly up the river. Galadin pontificated about the number of hazards in a river, that the ship had such a deep draft that there was bound to be things they would hit on the bottom. Ships this large could usually go upstream as far as the town of Wilheim, but many did not as they feared becoming stuck on sandbars and other hidden dangers below the surface of the river. </p><p></p><p>Galadin seemed to be sipping some liquor during the day and he became increasingly worse as the afternoon waned into evening. They stopped the large ship for the night, and one lieutenant and his crew silently checked over the ship as the party members joined them in a rotating shift. They passed through the Kargam marshes and the next day it was found that there were several problems with the ship and that they would likely need to stop at Jennum, the first town outside of Kargam, for rope, nails and a few other extras for the ship. </p><p></p><p>Varekai found that many of the young members of the crew lacked the knowledge of knot tying and that the lieutenants weren’t checking over their work. He quickly changed that, teaching different groups of the crew how to use knots and which to use for tying up prisoners and the like. The stop at Jennum was to be short, but already many of the passengers were eager to spend time away from the ship. An hour visit turned into two before they could leave. </p><p></p><p>The next day the ship ran too close to a shoal that turned out to be covering a rocky bank beneath. The ship shuddered then jolted to the side. Galadin, Enus, the crew and the party all bustled to the bottom of the ship and pushed each other aside to see the broken wood of the hull pushed inward and water gushing in to fill the ship. Jerrin pushed the gawking passengers and crew aside and began casting an incantation while standing ankle-deep in water. The experienced crew members were hastily hammering nails into boards over the gap to stop the water, but still it flowed. Jerrin used his magic to meld the wood to seal the wooden hull closed. Galadin clapped the Halfling on the back and cheerfully told him he would do more than simple mending from now on. </p><p></p><p>The party agreed with Galadin and Enus that they should stop at the next town, Mestar. They arrived late just as many of the open merchants were closing, but they reopened as they saw the large ship full of passengers stop to unload them. The party, minus Alex, eased their way into the small grouping of buildings and noted that many of the trade caravans that had been in Kargam were headed upstream following the more difficult trail that followed the river. A theatrical group started setting up props for a small show when a lumbering man approached them. </p><p></p><p>He had the look and dress of a man from the northern barbarian tribes, and he spoke slowly while looking at his feet. After a few tries, the party finally understood that he was asking about the Lorleena’s Cutter and that he wanted to talk to Yuri. When he heard that Yuri was dead he seemed confused. He turned and lumbered away between a few buildings and Quentin shadowed him as he joined circle of others with the same look and dress. The barbarian talked to the obvious leader of the group, a tall strapping man with long flowing blond hair. The man was handsome and two strong barbarian women flanked him as escorts. Quentin listened to the lumbering man explain that Yuri was dead and watched the blond man’s expression change from indifferent to agitated. He shushed the stuttering man and with a motion the group fell in step behind him as he led the way to meet Thovaas.</p><p></p><p>The large blond man towered over Thovaas and buffed his chest out. His arrogance was backed up by the crowd of other barbarians that closed in behind him to form a muscled wall. The blond man asked where Yuri was, and seemed skeptical that Yuri wasn’t on the ship. The man demanded payment for the ships protection as they traveled to Kargam, and no matter who commanded the ship they would have to pay for them for their services even though there was no trouble – one ruby each. Thovaas had no idea what he was talking about. </p><p></p><p>The man’s voice grew louder and his face redder. Thovaas stood his ground just as Quentin struck the blond barbarian from behind and darted behind the nearby building. From the roof a spike bore deeply into the shoulder of one of the barbarians and Varekai stood triumphantly at the edge of the building. The barbarians attacked Thovaas at the blond man’s direction. Then the barbarian leader struck out after Quentin, followed closely by one of the women who cast a spell to close his new wound. </p><p></p><p>The barbarians closed around Thovaas and struck him several times with heavy blows as one of them targeted Varekai. Jerrin began casting and brought forth a lion which promptly sprinted to pounce on the nearest barbarian. Varekai leapt through the air at the barbarian archer, his foot leading to try to strike him down, but missing he landed on his feet and squared off with him as he drew a sword. Alex jumped from the Lorleena’s Cutter and sprinted down the dock to see the battle begin to unfold. </p><p></p><p>Quentin circled the small square building on short stilts with the barbarian leader swinging his sword in furious arcs. The woman was close behind, and Quentin saw the large man become even stronger as she invoked the strength of a bull using Kord’s name. The other barbarians had concentrated on Thovaas and many of their blows glanced off of his armor. Alex fired at them with his bow before maneuvering closer for an opening from the rear. Jerrin’s form grew to that of a leopard before charging in to attack the other female healer. Thovaas gave up some ground, swinging his sword as he stepped away from the barbarian axes. </p><p></p><p>Varekai pushed his way into the barbarian crowd, drawing their attention from the paladin. He was struck time and time again with wicked blows as he struck back with his painful fists. As they wore him down, Varekai’s eyes suddenly flickered red, then his fingers elongated into sharp claws and fur sprang up all over his body. He, Alex and Quentin dealt out damaging blows by surrounding and flanking their opponents. First one, then another and another of the barbarians fell, but the fight wasn’t through. </p><p></p><p>A crowd of onlookers in the village watched the fight, and at first a few shouted for them to stop. At the beastly changes and other creatures forming around the battle, no one dared approach to break it up. Karyssa watched from the bridge of the Lorleena’s Cutter with Fisselle at her side. </p><p></p><p>Jerrin changed back to his Halfling form to heal Thovaas as he and the blond barbarian leader cut devastating gouges into each other. The enraged man’s sword found two openings in Thovaas’s armor, and shock of pain and loss of blood knocked the paladin into unconsciousness. Tempest, at Jerrin’s command, jumped at the barbarian and drug him to the ground as the woman healed him again, and Jerrin summoned forth a hippogriff to attack. Alex and Quentin moved in to continually flank the remaining barbarians. The hippogriff sunk both of claws into the woman and flung her aside to get at the barbarian leader, tearing apart her spine in the process. </p><p></p><p>At the loss of his men and the healers, the barbarian leader surrendered, and the remaining follower dropped his axe and backed away from the party. Tempest, Varekai, Thovaas, Alex, and the hippogriff gazed down at the prone barbarian leader and watched him squirm. The villagers and travelers watched in a hushed semi-circle around the battleground, and after a minute one of the elders meekly spoke up. </p><p></p><p>Thovaas ordered the barbarians to be held as prisoners in the village’s makeshift cell, a 15’ deep mud pit several hundred yards away from the village. They were dragged there by the only two village lawmen and Thovaas sentenced them to be held in the pit for ten days time. Alex searched over the bodies and found a collection of gold and took a valuable emerald from beneath the leader’s belt. Jerrin spotted a simple silver necklace on one of the women, soiled with her blood, and detected the barbarian leader’s sword to be infused with an arcane magic. Thovaas wiped the blade on the tatters of barbarian furs before sheathing it and slinging it over his back. </p><p></p><p>Varekai waited until later to question the barbarians, throwing a bottle of wine into the pit as a peace offering. The bitter barbarian leader was suspicious but answered Varekai’s questions honestly and promised again not to seek revenge on them. As they spoke, the leader’s eyes opened wide and Varekai whirled to see a figure behind and to his left. The man smiled and introduced himself as Captain Askar, and that he had interest in the Lorleena’s Cutter. He claimed the ship was half his as he patted a piece of parchment close to his chest, and that he had been hoping the ship would come this way as Captain Yuri owed him much. Upon hearing that Yuri was dead he grinned and said that the ship would be all his. With nothing more to say Askar strolled away silently into the darkness. Varekai, spooked a little, made his way back to the others and told them of the encounter. </p><p></p><p>The group drank and ate with the townsfolk and ship passengers around the well, and new torches were sparked as a theatrical troupe put on a fine performance. The group retired to sleep on the ship and Galadin, as usual, was the first to wake and inspect the vessel before leaving. In the afternoon Karyssa asked the captains to join her and questioned them about the fight, adding her own wispy adjectives as Fisselle wrote everything on a long roll of parchment. Galadin’s demeanor had changed, and he said that they could change up shifts to travel at night, as the river was narrower but deeper. He and Enus traded six hour shifts and Galadin no longer smelled of wine or whiskey. The ship made good speed and they stopped briefly in the next town Fordham for a rest. </p><p></p><p>* * * * *</p><p></p><p>Again they traveled day and night between Fordham and Desteel, and clouds darkened the sky. A drizzle turned into a hard rain as the sun set and lightning began to draw arcs from the sky to the ground. In the flashing brightness several crew members saw something on the river behind them and called for others to confirm what they saw. A minute passed before the next streak of electricity flashed, and the silhouette stunned them all. </p><p></p><p>Headed straight toward them, only a few hundred yards away, was another ship. But this ship was a ghastly dark grey, with ripped sails and broken planks. No crew was visible, and the way it quickly closed on them was unnatural. The crew shuddered and headed inside, away from the sight and the storm. The party made their way to the deck and watched as the next flash of lightning revealed the other ship was only fifty yards away and was pulling alongside the Lorleena’s Cutter. Jerrin called upon the power of the lightning as the ghostly ship closed from the side and a lightning burst pounded the grey hull of the ship. Instead of splintering wood and the gushing of water into the other vessel, the hull disbursed in a cloud-like fashion, and that was when Varekai and the others noticed that the ship was not rippling the water like the Lorleena’s Cutter, but seemingly floating on the water. </p><p></p><p>At the helm of the ship a cackling figure materialized. Alex winced at the sight of it, a rotting ghostly form that matched the description Varekai had given them of Captain Askar. As they pulled closer and closer, Jerrin struck the ghost with a bolt of lightning before it soared through the open air between the ships to attack. A crew of skeletons sprang up from the ghostly deck and began chattering and rattling their bones to invoke fear. Thovaas invoked the power of Heironious to send many fleeing to the ghostly lower decks before the ships met. Galadin watched them approach, dumbstruck as they boarded. </p><p></p><p>Jerrin brought down lightning twice more on the ghost, and the strikes smashed through the deck of the ship. The ghostly Askar flew down and descended to try to assume control of Thovaas’s body. The paladin fought off the ghost several times before succumbing to its will. Alex struck Thovaas with a bag of gooey tanglefoot, locking him in place on the deck. Quentin and Varekai struck at the skeletons, drawing attacks away from the downed Galadin. </p><p></p><p>The skeletons tore away at Varekai’s form, and even though one had snapped its rusted blade at the hilt, it still hit Varekai with surprising force. Quentin charged one of the skeletons, hoping to knock it overboard, but ran into its shield and bounced backward. Tempest chewed first one leg then another from another of the skeletons as the others worked in tandem to deal with Askar’s ghost. A final smiting blow dispersed the ghost, and it diffused into the rainy night. </p><p></p><p>The skeletons continued their assault as the ghost ship pulled away from the Lorleena’s Cutter. Galadin was healed as the last of the skeletons was torn apart by the party. A quick fix was applied to one of the holes in the ship’s deck as fearful passengers watched from below. Galadin was taken inside where he carried on about his near-death experience, and Enus directed the crew to continue with the other repairs. Quentin returned to the quiet quarters where the mysterious guest passenger still sat quietly, and at his entrance the hooded head turned slowly to inspect him. The two servants in the room huddled together in fear on the floor, and Quentin tried to reassure them with a soft voice.</p><p></p><p>The night was long after facing the ghost ship, mostly to quell the passengers and crew. The next days passed resting from the fight and repairing the ship. Galadin advised only proceeding during the once again, as the river was becoming more difficult to navigate with the deep draft of the Lorleena’s Cutter. Soon they reached Desteel and stopped to outfit the ship as well as let the passengers and crew have some time to venture on land. </p><p></p><p>The ship left the next morning and after several days they reached Malton, a small village that had sprung up around a popular inn. Parting from there the ship made its way toward their goal, Wilheim, as the moon waxed overhead at night. </p><p></p><p>Two nights out from Malton a commotion was heard below decks. Several party members sprinted to the deck below his normal resting corner and heard a growling behind the door of a locked cabin, followed by the pleading voice of an elven woman and the commanding bark of an elven man. The growl turned into a barking wail as whatever it was inside the cabin began thrashing and throwing itself against the wall hard enough to crack the wood. If nothing was done soon it would escape, whatever it was.</p><p></p><p>Varekai raced to fetch the others, bringing Alex and Quentin as Jerrin and Thovaas were woken and gathered their things in case there was trouble. Again in the cabin the thrashing could be heard and now all the passengers and crew nearby were awake with fear. Alex picked the lock and gingerly cracked the door open to allow Jerrin to enter. Inside the party saw the huge hybrid form of a werewolf. It thrashed about more as the man and woman in the room began to argue. Jerrin calmed the beastly lycanthrope just as the man exclaimed that he had spread the disease on purpose, changed shape and moved into the hallway. Once there he howled loudly and passengers gawked in fear, but then some began a transformation of their own. </p><p></p><p>Many more werewolves appeared in the crowded hold, shedding their human fears and began attacking any others next to them, and mayhem erupted on the rest of the deck. Some passengers didn’t know where to go as their only exit was blocked by the party as they fought the werewolf man. The woman who had been arguing shifted form to attack him as well, and soon after Varekai transformed into his alternate shape. As the fighting continued many passengers were wounded and killed by the werewolves that now struck at anything that moved with a vicious frenzy. Alex used a smoke stick, and the confused targets stepped out of the cloud to face one another again. </p><p></p><p>A crocodile materialized on the open deck and bit on the head of a werewolf before spinning to pry it loose from the body. Varekai howled and struck down one of the werewolves as he launched himself into the fray, flexing and commanding respect from the other werewolves as he toppled one of the foes. The crocodile struck again to grapple and kill another. The werewolf man fell to the combined attacks of the party and the werewolf woman and soon after the others were subdued. </p><p></p><p>Varekai and the female werewolf then stared each other down, vying to be the leader of this new pack of wolves. After several tense moments Varekai controlled his anger and shifted slowly back to his human self. The elven woman did the same and inspected the dead elven man she was arguing with. Jerrin and Thovaas healed several of the passengers that had been attacked and they forced the remaining werewolves into a corner.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MarauderX, post: 1905898, member: 9990"] [U][B][SIZE=4]Session 23: River of Tribulation[/SIZE][/B][/U] With all of the passengers safely on board, the Lorleena’s Cutter left the castle docks of Kargam. Karyssa took the longest to settle down as she found something new to complain about every minute. Her maids ran about the deck of the ship making requests for absurd things that she needed, and soon enough the party and the entire crew was ignoring them. The party watched Galadin and his assistant Enus as they guided the large ship slowly up the river. Galadin pontificated about the number of hazards in a river, that the ship had such a deep draft that there was bound to be things they would hit on the bottom. Ships this large could usually go upstream as far as the town of Wilheim, but many did not as they feared becoming stuck on sandbars and other hidden dangers below the surface of the river. Galadin seemed to be sipping some liquor during the day and he became increasingly worse as the afternoon waned into evening. They stopped the large ship for the night, and one lieutenant and his crew silently checked over the ship as the party members joined them in a rotating shift. They passed through the Kargam marshes and the next day it was found that there were several problems with the ship and that they would likely need to stop at Jennum, the first town outside of Kargam, for rope, nails and a few other extras for the ship. Varekai found that many of the young members of the crew lacked the knowledge of knot tying and that the lieutenants weren’t checking over their work. He quickly changed that, teaching different groups of the crew how to use knots and which to use for tying up prisoners and the like. The stop at Jennum was to be short, but already many of the passengers were eager to spend time away from the ship. An hour visit turned into two before they could leave. The next day the ship ran too close to a shoal that turned out to be covering a rocky bank beneath. The ship shuddered then jolted to the side. Galadin, Enus, the crew and the party all bustled to the bottom of the ship and pushed each other aside to see the broken wood of the hull pushed inward and water gushing in to fill the ship. Jerrin pushed the gawking passengers and crew aside and began casting an incantation while standing ankle-deep in water. The experienced crew members were hastily hammering nails into boards over the gap to stop the water, but still it flowed. Jerrin used his magic to meld the wood to seal the wooden hull closed. Galadin clapped the Halfling on the back and cheerfully told him he would do more than simple mending from now on. The party agreed with Galadin and Enus that they should stop at the next town, Mestar. They arrived late just as many of the open merchants were closing, but they reopened as they saw the large ship full of passengers stop to unload them. The party, minus Alex, eased their way into the small grouping of buildings and noted that many of the trade caravans that had been in Kargam were headed upstream following the more difficult trail that followed the river. A theatrical group started setting up props for a small show when a lumbering man approached them. He had the look and dress of a man from the northern barbarian tribes, and he spoke slowly while looking at his feet. After a few tries, the party finally understood that he was asking about the Lorleena’s Cutter and that he wanted to talk to Yuri. When he heard that Yuri was dead he seemed confused. He turned and lumbered away between a few buildings and Quentin shadowed him as he joined circle of others with the same look and dress. The barbarian talked to the obvious leader of the group, a tall strapping man with long flowing blond hair. The man was handsome and two strong barbarian women flanked him as escorts. Quentin listened to the lumbering man explain that Yuri was dead and watched the blond man’s expression change from indifferent to agitated. He shushed the stuttering man and with a motion the group fell in step behind him as he led the way to meet Thovaas. The large blond man towered over Thovaas and buffed his chest out. His arrogance was backed up by the crowd of other barbarians that closed in behind him to form a muscled wall. The blond man asked where Yuri was, and seemed skeptical that Yuri wasn’t on the ship. The man demanded payment for the ships protection as they traveled to Kargam, and no matter who commanded the ship they would have to pay for them for their services even though there was no trouble – one ruby each. Thovaas had no idea what he was talking about. The man’s voice grew louder and his face redder. Thovaas stood his ground just as Quentin struck the blond barbarian from behind and darted behind the nearby building. From the roof a spike bore deeply into the shoulder of one of the barbarians and Varekai stood triumphantly at the edge of the building. The barbarians attacked Thovaas at the blond man’s direction. Then the barbarian leader struck out after Quentin, followed closely by one of the women who cast a spell to close his new wound. The barbarians closed around Thovaas and struck him several times with heavy blows as one of them targeted Varekai. Jerrin began casting and brought forth a lion which promptly sprinted to pounce on the nearest barbarian. Varekai leapt through the air at the barbarian archer, his foot leading to try to strike him down, but missing he landed on his feet and squared off with him as he drew a sword. Alex jumped from the Lorleena’s Cutter and sprinted down the dock to see the battle begin to unfold. Quentin circled the small square building on short stilts with the barbarian leader swinging his sword in furious arcs. The woman was close behind, and Quentin saw the large man become even stronger as she invoked the strength of a bull using Kord’s name. The other barbarians had concentrated on Thovaas and many of their blows glanced off of his armor. Alex fired at them with his bow before maneuvering closer for an opening from the rear. Jerrin’s form grew to that of a leopard before charging in to attack the other female healer. Thovaas gave up some ground, swinging his sword as he stepped away from the barbarian axes. Varekai pushed his way into the barbarian crowd, drawing their attention from the paladin. He was struck time and time again with wicked blows as he struck back with his painful fists. As they wore him down, Varekai’s eyes suddenly flickered red, then his fingers elongated into sharp claws and fur sprang up all over his body. He, Alex and Quentin dealt out damaging blows by surrounding and flanking their opponents. First one, then another and another of the barbarians fell, but the fight wasn’t through. A crowd of onlookers in the village watched the fight, and at first a few shouted for them to stop. At the beastly changes and other creatures forming around the battle, no one dared approach to break it up. Karyssa watched from the bridge of the Lorleena’s Cutter with Fisselle at her side. Jerrin changed back to his Halfling form to heal Thovaas as he and the blond barbarian leader cut devastating gouges into each other. The enraged man’s sword found two openings in Thovaas’s armor, and shock of pain and loss of blood knocked the paladin into unconsciousness. Tempest, at Jerrin’s command, jumped at the barbarian and drug him to the ground as the woman healed him again, and Jerrin summoned forth a hippogriff to attack. Alex and Quentin moved in to continually flank the remaining barbarians. The hippogriff sunk both of claws into the woman and flung her aside to get at the barbarian leader, tearing apart her spine in the process. At the loss of his men and the healers, the barbarian leader surrendered, and the remaining follower dropped his axe and backed away from the party. Tempest, Varekai, Thovaas, Alex, and the hippogriff gazed down at the prone barbarian leader and watched him squirm. The villagers and travelers watched in a hushed semi-circle around the battleground, and after a minute one of the elders meekly spoke up. Thovaas ordered the barbarians to be held as prisoners in the village’s makeshift cell, a 15’ deep mud pit several hundred yards away from the village. They were dragged there by the only two village lawmen and Thovaas sentenced them to be held in the pit for ten days time. Alex searched over the bodies and found a collection of gold and took a valuable emerald from beneath the leader’s belt. Jerrin spotted a simple silver necklace on one of the women, soiled with her blood, and detected the barbarian leader’s sword to be infused with an arcane magic. Thovaas wiped the blade on the tatters of barbarian furs before sheathing it and slinging it over his back. Varekai waited until later to question the barbarians, throwing a bottle of wine into the pit as a peace offering. The bitter barbarian leader was suspicious but answered Varekai’s questions honestly and promised again not to seek revenge on them. As they spoke, the leader’s eyes opened wide and Varekai whirled to see a figure behind and to his left. The man smiled and introduced himself as Captain Askar, and that he had interest in the Lorleena’s Cutter. He claimed the ship was half his as he patted a piece of parchment close to his chest, and that he had been hoping the ship would come this way as Captain Yuri owed him much. Upon hearing that Yuri was dead he grinned and said that the ship would be all his. With nothing more to say Askar strolled away silently into the darkness. Varekai, spooked a little, made his way back to the others and told them of the encounter. The group drank and ate with the townsfolk and ship passengers around the well, and new torches were sparked as a theatrical troupe put on a fine performance. The group retired to sleep on the ship and Galadin, as usual, was the first to wake and inspect the vessel before leaving. In the afternoon Karyssa asked the captains to join her and questioned them about the fight, adding her own wispy adjectives as Fisselle wrote everything on a long roll of parchment. Galadin’s demeanor had changed, and he said that they could change up shifts to travel at night, as the river was narrower but deeper. He and Enus traded six hour shifts and Galadin no longer smelled of wine or whiskey. The ship made good speed and they stopped briefly in the next town Fordham for a rest. * * * * * Again they traveled day and night between Fordham and Desteel, and clouds darkened the sky. A drizzle turned into a hard rain as the sun set and lightning began to draw arcs from the sky to the ground. In the flashing brightness several crew members saw something on the river behind them and called for others to confirm what they saw. A minute passed before the next streak of electricity flashed, and the silhouette stunned them all. Headed straight toward them, only a few hundred yards away, was another ship. But this ship was a ghastly dark grey, with ripped sails and broken planks. No crew was visible, and the way it quickly closed on them was unnatural. The crew shuddered and headed inside, away from the sight and the storm. The party made their way to the deck and watched as the next flash of lightning revealed the other ship was only fifty yards away and was pulling alongside the Lorleena’s Cutter. Jerrin called upon the power of the lightning as the ghostly ship closed from the side and a lightning burst pounded the grey hull of the ship. Instead of splintering wood and the gushing of water into the other vessel, the hull disbursed in a cloud-like fashion, and that was when Varekai and the others noticed that the ship was not rippling the water like the Lorleena’s Cutter, but seemingly floating on the water. At the helm of the ship a cackling figure materialized. Alex winced at the sight of it, a rotting ghostly form that matched the description Varekai had given them of Captain Askar. As they pulled closer and closer, Jerrin struck the ghost with a bolt of lightning before it soared through the open air between the ships to attack. A crew of skeletons sprang up from the ghostly deck and began chattering and rattling their bones to invoke fear. Thovaas invoked the power of Heironious to send many fleeing to the ghostly lower decks before the ships met. Galadin watched them approach, dumbstruck as they boarded. Jerrin brought down lightning twice more on the ghost, and the strikes smashed through the deck of the ship. The ghostly Askar flew down and descended to try to assume control of Thovaas’s body. The paladin fought off the ghost several times before succumbing to its will. Alex struck Thovaas with a bag of gooey tanglefoot, locking him in place on the deck. Quentin and Varekai struck at the skeletons, drawing attacks away from the downed Galadin. The skeletons tore away at Varekai’s form, and even though one had snapped its rusted blade at the hilt, it still hit Varekai with surprising force. Quentin charged one of the skeletons, hoping to knock it overboard, but ran into its shield and bounced backward. Tempest chewed first one leg then another from another of the skeletons as the others worked in tandem to deal with Askar’s ghost. A final smiting blow dispersed the ghost, and it diffused into the rainy night. The skeletons continued their assault as the ghost ship pulled away from the Lorleena’s Cutter. Galadin was healed as the last of the skeletons was torn apart by the party. A quick fix was applied to one of the holes in the ship’s deck as fearful passengers watched from below. Galadin was taken inside where he carried on about his near-death experience, and Enus directed the crew to continue with the other repairs. Quentin returned to the quiet quarters where the mysterious guest passenger still sat quietly, and at his entrance the hooded head turned slowly to inspect him. The two servants in the room huddled together in fear on the floor, and Quentin tried to reassure them with a soft voice. The night was long after facing the ghost ship, mostly to quell the passengers and crew. The next days passed resting from the fight and repairing the ship. Galadin advised only proceeding during the once again, as the river was becoming more difficult to navigate with the deep draft of the Lorleena’s Cutter. Soon they reached Desteel and stopped to outfit the ship as well as let the passengers and crew have some time to venture on land. The ship left the next morning and after several days they reached Malton, a small village that had sprung up around a popular inn. Parting from there the ship made its way toward their goal, Wilheim, as the moon waxed overhead at night. Two nights out from Malton a commotion was heard below decks. Several party members sprinted to the deck below his normal resting corner and heard a growling behind the door of a locked cabin, followed by the pleading voice of an elven woman and the commanding bark of an elven man. The growl turned into a barking wail as whatever it was inside the cabin began thrashing and throwing itself against the wall hard enough to crack the wood. If nothing was done soon it would escape, whatever it was. Varekai raced to fetch the others, bringing Alex and Quentin as Jerrin and Thovaas were woken and gathered their things in case there was trouble. Again in the cabin the thrashing could be heard and now all the passengers and crew nearby were awake with fear. Alex picked the lock and gingerly cracked the door open to allow Jerrin to enter. Inside the party saw the huge hybrid form of a werewolf. It thrashed about more as the man and woman in the room began to argue. Jerrin calmed the beastly lycanthrope just as the man exclaimed that he had spread the disease on purpose, changed shape and moved into the hallway. Once there he howled loudly and passengers gawked in fear, but then some began a transformation of their own. Many more werewolves appeared in the crowded hold, shedding their human fears and began attacking any others next to them, and mayhem erupted on the rest of the deck. Some passengers didn’t know where to go as their only exit was blocked by the party as they fought the werewolf man. The woman who had been arguing shifted form to attack him as well, and soon after Varekai transformed into his alternate shape. As the fighting continued many passengers were wounded and killed by the werewolves that now struck at anything that moved with a vicious frenzy. Alex used a smoke stick, and the confused targets stepped out of the cloud to face one another again. A crocodile materialized on the open deck and bit on the head of a werewolf before spinning to pry it loose from the body. Varekai howled and struck down one of the werewolves as he launched himself into the fray, flexing and commanding respect from the other werewolves as he toppled one of the foes. The crocodile struck again to grapple and kill another. The werewolf man fell to the combined attacks of the party and the werewolf woman and soon after the others were subdued. Varekai and the female werewolf then stared each other down, vying to be the leader of this new pack of wolves. After several tense moments Varekai controlled his anger and shifted slowly back to his human self. The elven woman did the same and inspected the dead elven man she was arguing with. Jerrin and Thovaas healed several of the passengers that had been attacked and they forced the remaining werewolves into a corner. [/QUOTE]
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