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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4929979" data-attributes="member: 3285">Lady Quay: Part 3 – Master of the FathomsThe winds were sparse, causing the Lady Quay to drift.  “What do we do when we get there?” Kham was hanging from a makeshift hammock, swinging to and fro with the ship’s motion.“What we’re being paid to do,” said Sebastian.  “Find whoever is supplying the Essence Ingots and kill them.”“Since when do you talk so callously about killing people?” Vlad proceeded to whittle a piece of wood, for lack of anything else to do.  Sebastian stared out at the ocean. “You weren’t the Stranger in Carcosa for years.  Maybe centuries.”Kham rubbed his throat. “Was it that long?” “It’s impossible to tell.  I did many unspeakable things over and over again until I no longer understood their significance.” Sebastian’s tail flicked behind him.  Vlad couldn’t help but notice the poison stinger at the end.  He looked at Kham as he addressed Sebastian.  “You’re not mad?”“Mad?  Unbalanced, perhaps.  But angry?  No.  Why should I be?  I made the decision and Kham made his.  You brought me back.  That’s enough.”“Things are different, that’s for sure,” said Kham.  “I feel like the whole world has changed. Like it lost its spark.”“Almost as if we’re cursed?” Sebastian allowed a tiny smile to creep across his ashen lips.  “The King in Yellow was your patron, as he was mine.  He has withdrawn his protection from us.  Arcanis is a little grayer because of it.”Vlad shook his head.  “Now you’re both scaring me.”Suddenly, a blast of greenish slime washed over them.  Before Vlad could react, a suckered tentacle slapped around his torso. Four other sailors yelped in horror as they too were enveloped.“Ah crap,” was all Kham got out.  Then Vlad was in his place, dripping with slime.  A moment later and the giant octopus shoved off the ship, dragging the four screaming sailors into the ocean with it.  Kham clambered on to the ship, dripping with seawater.  By switching places with Vlad, he’d slipped out of the octopus’ grasp and into the water.  “You’re welcome,” he said to Vlad.Vlad wiped slime out of his eyes and spat.  “What the hell was that?”Sebastian never moved from his position, as if nothing had happened.  “That’s strange,” he said quietly.“You mean the fact that I nearly just died and we lost four crewmen?” Vlad asked in disbelief.Sebastian shook his head. “That octopus had a symbol on its head.”  He fished out the sextant they had retrieved from Drak Scarbelly’s gut many moons ago and held it up.  “It’s the same symbol that’s on the sextant.”It was a symbol of a skull-like octopus with five tentacles.  It was the symbol of…”Who lives in a grotto down under the sea?” sang Kham.</blockquote>

Verification