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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tokiwong" data-source="post: 1544887" data-attributes="member: 961">Chapter 5 - Part 3Dais opened his eyes, and sat up quickly startling the normally unshakeable night elf.  She peered curiously at Dais, “I guess you are stronger then you look, and there just might be some merit to Thane’s faith.”“Huh, what happened, I am not dead am I?” Dais replied with a serious look of worry.“No, far from it, you killed the shark but you were almost drug to the deep, but the captain decided to not be a coward and swam back to get you, thankfully she is a stronger then she looks,” she smirked, “Thane had no healing magic left, and called upon his immortal directly, and channeled her divine power through him, and into your wounds.  By the way you looked a mess when the captain brought you aboard.”“Wow I am sorry I missed it all,” Dais mused, instinctively looking to his arm, and seeing not a single scar he smiled, “I will have to thank Thane again for his help.”Lain handed Dais a cup of water, “Drink, everyone is resting for now, Thane said he needs his spells, and the captain wants to make sure you are in tip top fighting condition.”“Thanks,” Dais took the cup and drunk it down in two quick gulps before standing and stretching, “I feel great, actually.”Lain smiled, “Well you are tougher then most lowlanders I have met, and strong as a bull.  But for a moment I was worried…”“Really?” Dais sounded surprised.“Yeah I thought you might die before you had a chance to repay me for my troubles,” she grinned as she opened the door.“Thanks for caring,” Dais laughed.“Just be sure to warn me before you do something incredibly stupid,” she said as she left the first mate’s cabin.Despite the confusion and the attack by the shark, Ayala was able to grab the potions of water breathing that Captain Fletcher had promised would be in his cabin along with one hundred and fifty gold coins, quite a decent haul.  She of course would hold on to the booty till she could find a proper time to properly divide the treasure in an equitable manner, or so she claimed.By the next morning the crew of the Radical Dream was ready to press on with the task at hand.  Captain Celeste was slightly unnerved that the ghost of Captain Fletcher had yet to return, but it was of little consequence now, she had made an accord with the spirit and she would see it through, unless a better opportunity came along.  Gus, Hon, and Rat stayed aboard the craft, while the rest drank the potions of water breathing and then descended to the wreckage of the Stingray.This time Dais was armored and ready to face any dangers of the deep.  Lain seemed nervous under the water, while the rest of the crew managed well enough to the adjustment of breathing underwater with some relative ease.  Osan seemed to revel in the opportunity to see the wonders of the sea floor.Ayala swam towards the captain’s cabin as the others followed, their weapons drawn the battle with the shark still fresh in their minds.  Just beneath the raised afterdeck a door hung open on slowly rusting hinges leading to the upper companionway.  On the right was the shattered remains of the door to the captain’ cabin and on the left the door to the officer’s cabin.  Debris floated in the water from the damage this area had suffered from the attack and the more recent battle with the shark.Captain Celeste gestured for Dais to head don the stairs that sat in the middle of the upper companionway between the two doors.  Dais silently moves forward into the darker lower deck, his weapon ready for anything as he entered a large bay like deck where rows of ballistae sat pointing outward waiting for an enemy that truck without warning.  Large ballista bolts lay scattered about the floor, the deck was in a state of disarray.  A soft glow in the far corner of the deck drew Dais attention and that of his companions as they followed him.  The ghostly form of Captain Fletcher floated over a body crushed by a ballista that had toppled and slid in the confusion of the vicious melee.The Captain turned his head to the party, “Oh there you are,” his voice strangely unaffected by the water, “The sea-men stripped her clean, even took the bodies of my men.  Well most of the bodies,” he turned a forlorn look to the body crushed under the ballista.“I have another boon to ask of you, I know we agreed on just the gem mate,” the ghost focused his gaze on Captain Celeste, “but I have no wish to linger here in these waters so far from my homeland.  If you would so oblige an old salty dog, I would be grateful if you could return my corpse to Seagarden,” the ghost finished.Captain Celeste mulled over the words, “How much is it worth to you?” her voice gurgled in the water.“Them creatures stripped my body of me effects mate,” Captain Fletcher replied sullenly, “I am good and dead bub, and if you can retrieve me effects they is yours.  What say you to that?”“You have yourself an accord, children of the Dreaming Isles deserve to have their last wish honored,” Ayala gurgled once more.Dais nodded, “This won’t be easy, but with some help, we should be able to handle it.”“Aye,” the tiefling gurgled, as he moved to assist Dais.  Lain sighed and tried her to best to help as well, while Thane and Captain Celeste scanned the room for any more dangers, especially sharks.  The ballista slid off the crushed body of Captain Fletcher with a loud thump and crash as it tumbled over.Captain Fletcher smiled, “Aye mates you done a good a thing, I owe you plenty for that favor, more then I can possibly share.”Lain furrowed her brow, “Right,” she rolled her eyes and then turned her head quickly as a sound tickled her elfin ears.  She turned slowly towards the stairs leading down to the next deck as a warbled gibbering filled her sensitive ears.  “Silence…” she hissed to the others, “we are not alone!”As Lain pointed to the stairs, three creatures swam up lazily into the hold.  There bodies were humanoid in shape and taught moist skin pulled tightly over muscle and bone.  Their eyes glowed a vicious yellow, and snarling mouths filled with black and yellow sharpened teeth, and a lolling black tongue.  The creatures fixed their gaze on Lain and her companions and rushed to attack jetting quickly through the water with their powerful legs and arms.Lain unsheathed her scimitar as the first of the three creatures crashed into her trying to bite into her soft ebon flesh.  She rolled with the impact and used her scimitar to deflect the vicious and savage assault.  Dais was too slow as the second of these strange watery creatures bit into his neck with its black and yellow teeth, digging deep into his flesh.  For a moment he felt his muscles stiffen but he was able to fight off the feeling and draw his longsword and ready his shield as shook himself free of the savage unnatural creature.Thane whirled on his heels and recognized the creatures for what they were, ghouls of the sea, the watery damned, undead corpses of vicious sailors and pirates who had been cursed by the Old Man of the Sea to linger forever beneath hi watery depths for all eternity.  Thane grimaced and raised his heavy mace over his head as he tried to strike the final advancing ghoul but the water ruined his aim as he missed and raised his shield to fend off the strike of the charging undead.Osan kicks forward in a spring through the water and lands a vicious kick on the creature trying to rend poor Lain to bits.  The forceful blow sends the creature hurtling backwards into a ballista as it scrambled to reorient itself snarling.  The creature hissed, “You will suffer for that, tiefling… oh you will suffer…”“What the hell are these things?” Lain shouted desperately as she lunged at the speaking ghoul.  Her blade sank into its cold damp flesh but it did not seem to mind the injury, as it grinned looking her in the eye.Ayala stood her ground and began to sing, her voice rippling through the water in rushed yet soothing tones.  Her song gave courage and strength to her companions as she leveled her crossbow preparing to fire at the closest ghoul.  Dais turned on the ghoul as it bared its blood stained teeth, he lashed forward with a vicious swing, nearly severing the creature’s left arm clean off as it stumbled back from the vicious blow.  The ghoul hissed and leapt forward once more, but Dais was ready and raised his shield against the clumsy attack as he pressed the attack.The lowlander soldier wasted no time and ran the creature through with his blade, grabbing the damned creature by the neck and pushing it to the floor.  The glow in its eyes dimming as he stood over the twice dead corpse.  Dais glanced over his shoulder and saw Thane stumble backwards from the claws of the ghoul, but his effort was wasted as he tripped on a large ballista bolt on the floor and floundered to the ground right next to the corpse of Captain Fletcher.Ayala released a bolt from her crossbow and caught the creature harrying Thane in the neck.  It looked up with a scowl, “Tsk, tsk wait your turn… I will feast on you soon,” the ghoul hissed. Ayala winked, “Oh you tease,” as she worked to reload her light crossbow.  But she relaxed her pose as the ghoul cocked its head in confusion, an expression that would be sealed on its face, as Dais’ blade severed its head with a skill strike.  He then helped Thane up, as he turned and glanced quizzically to Lain who laid face down in the floor, while Osan crouched next to her body with a whimsical smile.Thane broke the silence as the three twice-dead ghouls floated in the watery hold, “Is he dead?” he said as he rushed to her side.“No, she is alive, jut paralyzed it seems, she can’t move a muscle, the creature slashed her face and then she just fell over not moving.  It was the funniest thing I had ever seen, I would have stopped to laugh if my life had not been endanger at the moment,” the tiefling replied.“So she is alive, how long will she be like that?” Dais replied.“Too long,” Lain groaned as she rolled over, “if you ask me, and thanks for enjoying my plight, Osan.”Thane smiled, “I am just glad you are alive, the Dawn-Bearer be praised for our success.”Ayala shrugged, as she walked forward, “Well we lived, not that there was any doubt, but now what?”Captain Fletcher rose up from the second lower deck, “There are holes in the bottom hold of the Stingray, looks like them dirty fishmen made their way in and out though them,” he says with a scowl.Dais nodded, with a healthy smile of wonder, if only his brother Baile could see him now, a the bottom of the sea aiding the spirit of a privateer an hunting down mysterious fishmen.  It would be quite the tale, as long as he lived to tell the tale.</blockquote>

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