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JollyDoc's Serpent's Skull-updated 11/6/2011
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<blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 5653290" data-attributes="member: 9546"><p><strong>The Red Mountain Devil</strong></p><p></p><p>“You’re sure it’s her?” Arioch asked.</p><p>“No, I’m not sure,” Agnar shrugged, “but who else shipwrecked us here, left us to die, turned the captain into a ghoul, and just happened to be researching some ancient ritual involving magic stones that shoot lightning into the sky?”</p><p>“I see your point,” the summoner conceded. “So what now?”</p><p>He turned to the others. The other castaways stood in circle in the middle of the Thrunefang encampment. Some of them looked nervous, and all of them looked uncertain about the events of the past few days. </p><p>“I want some payback,” Nessalin was the first to answer.</p><p>“What about getting rescued?” Gelik asked. “The lighthouse is almost ready!”</p><p>“Then it will still be ready in a week,” Nessalin snapped. “You can stay here if you want.”</p><p>“Actually, I don’t think that’s a bad idea,” Arioch interjected. “I’m not about to let Ieana get away with this either, but I don’t think all of us need to go after her. Some should stay here and keep working on the lighthouse. If the rest of us aren’t back within a week, then someone needs to signal a passing ship and be able to tell the tale of what happened here. Ishirou, I think you should be in charge of this group, not because I don’t feel you’re capable of coming with us, but because I think you are best able to defend the others if there are any more Thrunefangs still out there.”</p><p>The old sailor thought about it for a few moments, then nodded silently. </p><p>“So who else is going?” Nessalin asked.</p><p>One by one, others raised their hands: Jack, Agnar, Gorak, Lyrissa, Zavasta…and Jask.</p><p>“You??” Agnar asked, shocked. “Why are you going?”</p><p>“To protect the others from you,” the priest replied simply.</p><p>“It’s settled then,” Arioch smiled slightly. “We leave immediately.”</p><p>____________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>The group set out along the coast, heading generally south and east, towards a distant mountain with a reddish hue. That seemed to be the source of the strange weather they’d observed. It turned out not to be a short trek, however. It took many days, monotonous slogs punctuated by the occasional discovery of another derelict shipwreck, or the sudden, unexpected attack by some of the local wildlife. Finally, they reached the red mountain, which was really not much more than a high bluff that overlooked a sheltered bay. Four stone monoliths that appeared as jagged stalagmites of rock protruded from the grass at the edge of the cliff. A weathered, snakelike rune was carved into the inner face of each of the stones, all of which faced a three-foot-high pyramid-shaped block of stone at the center of the four surrounding spires. The vegetation and soil that surrounded the pyramid had been trimmed back and excavated to expose the strange block fully to view. The peak of the pyramid had a cup-shaped indentation, and channels ran down the four sides into empty basins at its base. </p><p></p><p>“It’s exactly like the pictograms depicted,” Agnar remarked. </p><p>“So now what?” Nessalin asked. </p><p>“Well first we need some blood,” the priest smiled, “from an intelligent creature. I nominate Jask.”</p><p>“I’ll do it,” Nessalin volunteered before another good priest/bad priest argument erupted.</p><p>The magus took his rapier and pricked his palm with the tip.</p><p>“Next?” he asked Agnar.</p><p>“Smear it on each of the runes on the pillars,” Agnar instructed.</p><p>Nessalin nodded and placed his palm on each the sigils in turn.</p><p>“Now we need snakes,” Agnar said.</p><p>“Covered,” Arioch replied.</p><p>The summoner then proceeded to conjure up a writhing viper out of thin air.</p><p>“Outstanding!” Agnar nodded. “Hold it up to each of the pillars. It’s supposed to lick the blood.”</p><p>“I’m not entirely comfortable with this pagan ritual,” Jask said.</p><p>“What a surprise,” Agnar snapped. “No one asked you to come. Ieana came here, and she performed this same ritual. If we’re going to find her, we need to retrace her steps exactly.”</p><p>“It’s going to be ok,” Arioch reassured the Sargavan. “Let’s just get it over with.”</p><p>“We need water in a metal bowl or container,” Agnar said as he looked around. “Gorak, your helm.”</p><p>The big barbarian looked confused.</p><p>“Take your helmet off,” the priest sighed, “and go get some water in it. Don’t spill it.”</p><p>Gorak nodded and hurried off. He returned a few moments later with his helm full. Agnar took it from him and poured it atop the central pyramid, where it ran down the four channels to collect in the basins below.</p><p>“Ydersius!!” Agnar then shouted as he tossed the helmet aside.</p><p>Suddenly, tremendous bolts of lightning arced up into the sky from the surrounding stone monoliths. All of the castaways were hurled to the ground by the shockwave, their ears bleeding as their drums ruptured. The ground began to shake as a sound like thunder, more felt than heard, emanated from the lagoon below the bluff. Jack crawled to his feet and peered over the edge. To his utter amazement and shock, he saw the waters roiling and receding out to sea, exposing rocks, flopping fish, and several sunken ships to the air. At the base of the cliff, a pair of large stone doors previously hidden by the water, slowly and noisily ground open as the water level lowered. </p><p>“You have to see this!” Jack shouted as he turned towards the others, but then something else caught his eye.</p><p>A monstrous creature was rising up above the other side of the bluff on great, leathery wings. It was otherwise reptilian, and roughly the size of a man, with clawed talons and an oversized jaw filled with fangs suited for ripping and tearing. As the others started to stand, the creature let out a deafening roar and dove towards them.</p><p></p><p>The monster swooped low and slashed at Jask just as the cleric reached his feet. He was knocked reeling, tumbling dangerously close to the edge of the bluff. Agnar couldn’t suppress a soft chuckle, and silently prayed that the bothersome holy roller was dead. As the creature banked and wheeled for another pass, however, Arioch tore open a rift in the sky before it. The whirlwind form of an air elemental came rushing out and buffeted the beast, making it veer off course towards Lyrissa instead. As it moved in, Jack appeared out of nowhere, running and leaping into the air, attempting to grab the monster’s legs. It swiped viciously at him, sending him spinning away. Lyrissa managed to get her pole arm up and slash at the beast, but it still bit down hard on her arm. She cried out in dismay as she felt herself being lifted into the sky, but then a second elemental answered Arioch’s call, and the pair of them hammered into the winged devil from both sides. It shrieked and wheeled away again, heading for edge of the cliff, attempting to escape. At Arioch’s command, the elementals pursued. They easily closed the distance with the monster, but as they drew near, it turned on them, ripping one of them out of the air. The second one, however, beat it mercilessly about the head as it grappled, until finally, it fell screeching towards the jagged rocks below.</p><p>____________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Several ledges, each connected by rickety-looking rope bridges, led down into a rocky cleft to the beach below. The castaways slowly picked their way down the hundred-foot descent to the seaweed-covered rocks and tide pools where the lagoon used to be. The sandbars between the pools weren’t very far apart, but as the group began jumping cautiously from one to the next, Agnar lost his footing on the slippery rocks and plunged into one of the deeper pools. With his armor and gear weighing him down, the priest began to sink. Though most of the water in the lagoon had receded, waves still washed over the rocks and pools, and the current was strong. Agnar found himself struggling desperately as it pulled him deeper and deeper. Then he saw the shadowy form swimming towards him out of the murk. The shark opened its jaws and rolled its eyes up as it struck.</p><p></p><p>When he first saw the blood appear in the water, Gorak did not hesitate, but simply dove in. Whether it was out of a sense of duty to save his comrade, or just a basic instinctive reaction to bloodlust, he couldn’t say. What he did realize much too late, however, was that he had never learned to swim during his time on the open plains of the Stolen Lands. He promptly sank like a rock. </p><p>“Why does it seem like I’m the one who always has to save these idiots?” Jack sighed as he stripped off his shirt and plunged into the tidal pool.</p><p>“I keep asking myself that same question,” Arioch muttered.</p><p>The summoner shook out his sleeves, and began a calling. A moment later, a pair of red-skinned porpoises with dorsal fins that were hooked and barbed, and teeth like those of a barracuda, appeared and dove into the water.</p><p>“What…what were those…things?” Jask asked.</p><p>“Hell-spawned dolphins,” Arioch replied.</p><p>“Oh,” the priest said, “that’s what I thought.”</p><p></p><p>The fiendish dolphins rammed and harassed the great blue shark, forcing it away from Agnar, and allowing the priest to kick frantically towards the surface. The shark turned on its attackers and tore at them viciously. The water frothed with gore and blood, and out of the murk swam Jack, his sabre clenched in his teeth. With the shark distracted, the rogue grabbed his blade, and then shoved it into the gills of the huge fish. The shark heeled over and began to sink slowly towards the bottom, the hellish dolphins quickly following, eager to feed. Jack glanced up and saw that Agnar had safely reached the surface, while below, Gorak was slowly being pulled out to sea by the current. Jack swam down, uncoiling a rope from his belt as he went. He caught up to the big barbarian, who in turn grabbed the rope and wrapped it around his waist. Jack then swam upwards for all that he was worth, but his chest burned, and he knew he was not going to make it. Suddenly, the terrifying dolphins were at his sides, lifting him upwards. His head broke the surface just as his breath gave out, and behind him, Gorak came up sputtering as well. Agnar was already back up on the sandbar, and Zavasta cast another rope out to Jack and Gorak, hauling them back into calmer waters.</p><p></p><p>“You’re injured,” Jask said as he kneeled down next to Agnar.</p><p>“You have a flare for the obvious,” the necromancer growled.</p><p>“I’d be happy to help you,” Jask shrugged. “All you have to do is dismiss your undead servant.”</p><p>He looked over to where the skeletal form of the Shiv dragon crouched on the rocks.</p><p>“Go to Hell!” Agnar snarled.</p><p>“I thought that’s how you’d feel,” Jask smiled. “Just thought I’d offer anyway.”</p><p>He got up and strode away, leaving Agnar bleeding on the sand.</p><p>_________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Between the exposed sandbars and the open stone doors at the bottom of the lagoon lay the front two-thirds of a wrecked ship upon the rocks. Its bow was still mostly submerged, but its ruined midsection was propped up on a ridge of slimy shoal. The sides of the wreck were thick with seaweed and barnacles, and dozens of crabs clattered around on the deck. The group clambered across the listing deck, spotting an open hatch that led below decks as they did so. Jack glanced down as he passed, and saw what looked like the remains of a galley. On the far side of the seaweed-draped room, he could just see a door propped open by a rotting chair. </p><p>“Wait a minute,” he called to the others.</p><p>“What now?” Agnar barked. “We don’t know how long those doors are going to be open, or when this place is going to be flooded again! You may not have noticed, but I don’t swim so well.”</p><p>“It won’t take long,” Jack said as he lowered himself through the hatch. “I’ll be right back.”</p><p>Jack was on a mission, one that he said nothing of to his fellow travelling companions. He’d insisted on searching every shipwreck they’d come across since being marooned on the Shiv. He’d both hoped and dreaded finding what he’d been looking for ever since he took passage aboard the Jenivere…his father’s colors. It had been awhile since he’d heard of any sightings of One-eyed Clyde, and Jack had come to believe that his father might truly be dead like the rumors alleged. So far, he’d found nothing, but that didn’t stop him from continuing his search. Now he crept towards the open door behind the galley, and pulled it slowly open.</p><p></p><p>Once a fine cabin, perhaps even the captain’s cabin, the chamber was in ruins. The furniture, including a crushed desk and a bed, lay in a heap near the bow, and seaweed and other tidal life glistened on the walls. A layer of seawater covered the floor, deeper near the bow than by the door. Suddenly, the water erupted in a fountain as a small creature leaped into the air. It was vaguely humanoid, but had wings on its back, and on the whole, looked to be made of pure liquid. A tricorn hat was perched jauntily on its head.</p><p>“Stand tall, sailor!” the creature commanded. “Report on this damnable low tide!”</p><p>“Umm, excuse me?” Jack asked.</p><p>“Get the barnacles out o’yer ears, boy!” the creature snapped. “I asked fer yer report! That be an order!”</p><p>“Umm, I’m sorry, er, Captain…?”</p><p>“Ekubus!” the creature barked. “Cap’n o’the Salty Strumpet! Who be ye?”</p><p>“I’m Jack, Jack Clyde,” Jack answered. “You wouldn’t know if your crew included a man called One-eyed Clyde, would you?”</p><p>“Never heard o’im!” Ekubus said. “Me last First Mate got himself carried off by that winged devil topside! Now, what o’ this low tide? This be the second time it’s happened in a fortnight!”</p><p>“Really?” Jack asked. “Did you see another person…like me the first time?”</p><p>“Nah, not like ye!” Ekubus shook his head. “Was a funny lookin’ critter what came down from the ledge and swam over to them scary doors, then went inside like a damned fool!”</p><p>“Funny looking?” Jack asked. “How so?”</p><p>“Well, it had a snake head and a snake tail!” Ekubus shrieked. “That were funny lookin’ enough fer me! Just ask Patrick and Krusty there. They’ll tell ye the same!”</p><p>Jack looked around and saw a forlorn looking crab and a starfish lying on the deck. They didn’t look particularly communicative.</p><p>“I’ll…take your word for it,” he replied to Ekubus. “Why did you say that those doors were scary?”</p><p>“Don’t ye think underwater doors with pictures o’ vampires on’em is scary?” Ekubus said.</p><p>“Uh…yeah, I guess I do,” Jack agreed.</p><p>“Then I guess yer head ain’t made o’ wood!” Ekubus snapped. “Now, go take care o’ this low tide, and leave me t’me work!”</p><p>With that, the odd little creature dove back into the surf.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JollyDoc, post: 5653290, member: 9546"] [b]The Red Mountain Devil[/b] “You’re sure it’s her?” Arioch asked. “No, I’m not sure,” Agnar shrugged, “but who else shipwrecked us here, left us to die, turned the captain into a ghoul, and just happened to be researching some ancient ritual involving magic stones that shoot lightning into the sky?” “I see your point,” the summoner conceded. “So what now?” He turned to the others. The other castaways stood in circle in the middle of the Thrunefang encampment. Some of them looked nervous, and all of them looked uncertain about the events of the past few days. “I want some payback,” Nessalin was the first to answer. “What about getting rescued?” Gelik asked. “The lighthouse is almost ready!” “Then it will still be ready in a week,” Nessalin snapped. “You can stay here if you want.” “Actually, I don’t think that’s a bad idea,” Arioch interjected. “I’m not about to let Ieana get away with this either, but I don’t think all of us need to go after her. Some should stay here and keep working on the lighthouse. If the rest of us aren’t back within a week, then someone needs to signal a passing ship and be able to tell the tale of what happened here. Ishirou, I think you should be in charge of this group, not because I don’t feel you’re capable of coming with us, but because I think you are best able to defend the others if there are any more Thrunefangs still out there.” The old sailor thought about it for a few moments, then nodded silently. “So who else is going?” Nessalin asked. One by one, others raised their hands: Jack, Agnar, Gorak, Lyrissa, Zavasta…and Jask. “You??” Agnar asked, shocked. “Why are you going?” “To protect the others from you,” the priest replied simply. “It’s settled then,” Arioch smiled slightly. “We leave immediately.” ____________________________________________________________ The group set out along the coast, heading generally south and east, towards a distant mountain with a reddish hue. That seemed to be the source of the strange weather they’d observed. It turned out not to be a short trek, however. It took many days, monotonous slogs punctuated by the occasional discovery of another derelict shipwreck, or the sudden, unexpected attack by some of the local wildlife. Finally, they reached the red mountain, which was really not much more than a high bluff that overlooked a sheltered bay. Four stone monoliths that appeared as jagged stalagmites of rock protruded from the grass at the edge of the cliff. A weathered, snakelike rune was carved into the inner face of each of the stones, all of which faced a three-foot-high pyramid-shaped block of stone at the center of the four surrounding spires. The vegetation and soil that surrounded the pyramid had been trimmed back and excavated to expose the strange block fully to view. The peak of the pyramid had a cup-shaped indentation, and channels ran down the four sides into empty basins at its base. “It’s exactly like the pictograms depicted,” Agnar remarked. “So now what?” Nessalin asked. “Well first we need some blood,” the priest smiled, “from an intelligent creature. I nominate Jask.” “I’ll do it,” Nessalin volunteered before another good priest/bad priest argument erupted. The magus took his rapier and pricked his palm with the tip. “Next?” he asked Agnar. “Smear it on each of the runes on the pillars,” Agnar instructed. Nessalin nodded and placed his palm on each the sigils in turn. “Now we need snakes,” Agnar said. “Covered,” Arioch replied. The summoner then proceeded to conjure up a writhing viper out of thin air. “Outstanding!” Agnar nodded. “Hold it up to each of the pillars. It’s supposed to lick the blood.” “I’m not entirely comfortable with this pagan ritual,” Jask said. “What a surprise,” Agnar snapped. “No one asked you to come. Ieana came here, and she performed this same ritual. If we’re going to find her, we need to retrace her steps exactly.” “It’s going to be ok,” Arioch reassured the Sargavan. “Let’s just get it over with.” “We need water in a metal bowl or container,” Agnar said as he looked around. “Gorak, your helm.” The big barbarian looked confused. “Take your helmet off,” the priest sighed, “and go get some water in it. Don’t spill it.” Gorak nodded and hurried off. He returned a few moments later with his helm full. Agnar took it from him and poured it atop the central pyramid, where it ran down the four channels to collect in the basins below. “Ydersius!!” Agnar then shouted as he tossed the helmet aside. Suddenly, tremendous bolts of lightning arced up into the sky from the surrounding stone monoliths. All of the castaways were hurled to the ground by the shockwave, their ears bleeding as their drums ruptured. The ground began to shake as a sound like thunder, more felt than heard, emanated from the lagoon below the bluff. Jack crawled to his feet and peered over the edge. To his utter amazement and shock, he saw the waters roiling and receding out to sea, exposing rocks, flopping fish, and several sunken ships to the air. At the base of the cliff, a pair of large stone doors previously hidden by the water, slowly and noisily ground open as the water level lowered. “You have to see this!” Jack shouted as he turned towards the others, but then something else caught his eye. A monstrous creature was rising up above the other side of the bluff on great, leathery wings. It was otherwise reptilian, and roughly the size of a man, with clawed talons and an oversized jaw filled with fangs suited for ripping and tearing. As the others started to stand, the creature let out a deafening roar and dove towards them. The monster swooped low and slashed at Jask just as the cleric reached his feet. He was knocked reeling, tumbling dangerously close to the edge of the bluff. Agnar couldn’t suppress a soft chuckle, and silently prayed that the bothersome holy roller was dead. As the creature banked and wheeled for another pass, however, Arioch tore open a rift in the sky before it. The whirlwind form of an air elemental came rushing out and buffeted the beast, making it veer off course towards Lyrissa instead. As it moved in, Jack appeared out of nowhere, running and leaping into the air, attempting to grab the monster’s legs. It swiped viciously at him, sending him spinning away. Lyrissa managed to get her pole arm up and slash at the beast, but it still bit down hard on her arm. She cried out in dismay as she felt herself being lifted into the sky, but then a second elemental answered Arioch’s call, and the pair of them hammered into the winged devil from both sides. It shrieked and wheeled away again, heading for edge of the cliff, attempting to escape. At Arioch’s command, the elementals pursued. They easily closed the distance with the monster, but as they drew near, it turned on them, ripping one of them out of the air. The second one, however, beat it mercilessly about the head as it grappled, until finally, it fell screeching towards the jagged rocks below. ____________________________________________________________ Several ledges, each connected by rickety-looking rope bridges, led down into a rocky cleft to the beach below. The castaways slowly picked their way down the hundred-foot descent to the seaweed-covered rocks and tide pools where the lagoon used to be. The sandbars between the pools weren’t very far apart, but as the group began jumping cautiously from one to the next, Agnar lost his footing on the slippery rocks and plunged into one of the deeper pools. With his armor and gear weighing him down, the priest began to sink. Though most of the water in the lagoon had receded, waves still washed over the rocks and pools, and the current was strong. Agnar found himself struggling desperately as it pulled him deeper and deeper. Then he saw the shadowy form swimming towards him out of the murk. The shark opened its jaws and rolled its eyes up as it struck. When he first saw the blood appear in the water, Gorak did not hesitate, but simply dove in. Whether it was out of a sense of duty to save his comrade, or just a basic instinctive reaction to bloodlust, he couldn’t say. What he did realize much too late, however, was that he had never learned to swim during his time on the open plains of the Stolen Lands. He promptly sank like a rock. “Why does it seem like I’m the one who always has to save these idiots?” Jack sighed as he stripped off his shirt and plunged into the tidal pool. “I keep asking myself that same question,” Arioch muttered. The summoner shook out his sleeves, and began a calling. A moment later, a pair of red-skinned porpoises with dorsal fins that were hooked and barbed, and teeth like those of a barracuda, appeared and dove into the water. “What…what were those…things?” Jask asked. “Hell-spawned dolphins,” Arioch replied. “Oh,” the priest said, “that’s what I thought.” The fiendish dolphins rammed and harassed the great blue shark, forcing it away from Agnar, and allowing the priest to kick frantically towards the surface. The shark turned on its attackers and tore at them viciously. The water frothed with gore and blood, and out of the murk swam Jack, his sabre clenched in his teeth. With the shark distracted, the rogue grabbed his blade, and then shoved it into the gills of the huge fish. The shark heeled over and began to sink slowly towards the bottom, the hellish dolphins quickly following, eager to feed. Jack glanced up and saw that Agnar had safely reached the surface, while below, Gorak was slowly being pulled out to sea by the current. Jack swam down, uncoiling a rope from his belt as he went. He caught up to the big barbarian, who in turn grabbed the rope and wrapped it around his waist. Jack then swam upwards for all that he was worth, but his chest burned, and he knew he was not going to make it. Suddenly, the terrifying dolphins were at his sides, lifting him upwards. His head broke the surface just as his breath gave out, and behind him, Gorak came up sputtering as well. Agnar was already back up on the sandbar, and Zavasta cast another rope out to Jack and Gorak, hauling them back into calmer waters. “You’re injured,” Jask said as he kneeled down next to Agnar. “You have a flare for the obvious,” the necromancer growled. “I’d be happy to help you,” Jask shrugged. “All you have to do is dismiss your undead servant.” He looked over to where the skeletal form of the Shiv dragon crouched on the rocks. “Go to Hell!” Agnar snarled. “I thought that’s how you’d feel,” Jask smiled. “Just thought I’d offer anyway.” He got up and strode away, leaving Agnar bleeding on the sand. _________________________________________________________ Between the exposed sandbars and the open stone doors at the bottom of the lagoon lay the front two-thirds of a wrecked ship upon the rocks. Its bow was still mostly submerged, but its ruined midsection was propped up on a ridge of slimy shoal. The sides of the wreck were thick with seaweed and barnacles, and dozens of crabs clattered around on the deck. The group clambered across the listing deck, spotting an open hatch that led below decks as they did so. Jack glanced down as he passed, and saw what looked like the remains of a galley. On the far side of the seaweed-draped room, he could just see a door propped open by a rotting chair. “Wait a minute,” he called to the others. “What now?” Agnar barked. “We don’t know how long those doors are going to be open, or when this place is going to be flooded again! You may not have noticed, but I don’t swim so well.” “It won’t take long,” Jack said as he lowered himself through the hatch. “I’ll be right back.” Jack was on a mission, one that he said nothing of to his fellow travelling companions. He’d insisted on searching every shipwreck they’d come across since being marooned on the Shiv. He’d both hoped and dreaded finding what he’d been looking for ever since he took passage aboard the Jenivere…his father’s colors. It had been awhile since he’d heard of any sightings of One-eyed Clyde, and Jack had come to believe that his father might truly be dead like the rumors alleged. So far, he’d found nothing, but that didn’t stop him from continuing his search. Now he crept towards the open door behind the galley, and pulled it slowly open. Once a fine cabin, perhaps even the captain’s cabin, the chamber was in ruins. The furniture, including a crushed desk and a bed, lay in a heap near the bow, and seaweed and other tidal life glistened on the walls. A layer of seawater covered the floor, deeper near the bow than by the door. Suddenly, the water erupted in a fountain as a small creature leaped into the air. It was vaguely humanoid, but had wings on its back, and on the whole, looked to be made of pure liquid. A tricorn hat was perched jauntily on its head. “Stand tall, sailor!” the creature commanded. “Report on this damnable low tide!” “Umm, excuse me?” Jack asked. “Get the barnacles out o’yer ears, boy!” the creature snapped. “I asked fer yer report! That be an order!” “Umm, I’m sorry, er, Captain…?” “Ekubus!” the creature barked. “Cap’n o’the Salty Strumpet! Who be ye?” “I’m Jack, Jack Clyde,” Jack answered. “You wouldn’t know if your crew included a man called One-eyed Clyde, would you?” “Never heard o’im!” Ekubus said. “Me last First Mate got himself carried off by that winged devil topside! Now, what o’ this low tide? This be the second time it’s happened in a fortnight!” “Really?” Jack asked. “Did you see another person…like me the first time?” “Nah, not like ye!” Ekubus shook his head. “Was a funny lookin’ critter what came down from the ledge and swam over to them scary doors, then went inside like a damned fool!” “Funny looking?” Jack asked. “How so?” “Well, it had a snake head and a snake tail!” Ekubus shrieked. “That were funny lookin’ enough fer me! Just ask Patrick and Krusty there. They’ll tell ye the same!” Jack looked around and saw a forlorn looking crab and a starfish lying on the deck. They didn’t look particularly communicative. “I’ll…take your word for it,” he replied to Ekubus. “Why did you say that those doors were scary?” “Don’t ye think underwater doors with pictures o’ vampires on’em is scary?” Ekubus said. “Uh…yeah, I guess I do,” Jack agreed. “Then I guess yer head ain’t made o’ wood!” Ekubus snapped. “Now, go take care o’ this low tide, and leave me t’me work!” With that, the odd little creature dove back into the surf. [/QUOTE]
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JollyDoc's Serpent's Skull-updated 11/6/2011
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