C1E12 — What Lies Beneath

Sirenixia's Account
After slaying the guards of the pirate’s cave, we took a moment to collect ourselves and plan. The creature which had emerged from within a pirate was troubling, as was the brief glimpse of madness delivered by its draconic babbling. I’m glad it didn’t lead me to harm any of the others.

It was my first real interaction with Nix as we discussed our next course of action. They seems utterly lacking in morals, and I suspect I may have to kill them, but I do yet know enough to pass judgment, and they are helpful in combat. They also seem capable of changing their appearance at will. I do not know if it is a simple illusion or a more complete shapeshifting, but it allowed them to live among the pirates as one of their own for days. I will have to take care with my friends going forward. If any of them remain after I finish my duty.

I proposed we go silently and kill the pirate in their quarters while they slept. It seemed to me the most efficient way to remove the threat and continue to rescue the captives. Nix proposed convincing them to join us against the others who were beginning monstrous transformations. Apparently, it has been a source of tension within the crew for some time. I thought such a plan was needlessly risky, but while we debated, Agate sent Jasper to wake one of the pirates in the next room and draw him to us, hoping to interrogate him and convince him to join us.

With Nix’s help, we were able to capture him for questioning. The pirate, Willam, could tell us little of the transformation occurring among his crewmates, although he did know that the boson, Price, might be our best bet at getting the non-monstrous crew on our side. Nix took the lead with questioning and took a more frightful and threatening approach then seemed warranted. I had no intention of letting Willam live; he confessed to murdering many during his work; but justice does not require cruelty, and Nix was certainly cruel.

As Nix left to find Price, I stepped forward to try and comfort Willam, who had descended into almost incoherent panic. Coherent, he would have been valuable in our effort to convince Price to help us, but it is difficult to comfort a dead man. He tried to flee, and I did not hesitate to strike him down. It was a good clean stroke, and he did not suffer long. What I did not expect was the strong negative reaction of my friends. Trindak grappled me, and all but Jamra seemed aghast. They seem to think it murder to carry out justice against a confessed killer attempting to escape and threatening our lives. They are fools. Killing them is no different from eradicating the troglodytes in the granary. Both are thinking creatures, but both kill and steal without remorse, and will continue to undermine society until justice is delivered.

Orentha took the body and left. I do not know what she did with it, but she seemed greatly distressed. I am surprised someone as seasoned as Orentha took it so hard, but I suppose many have not before been confronted so bluntly by the harsher forms. It is unfortunate but required for civilization to continue.

There was little time for the rest of them to debate the merit of my actions, since Nix quickly found Price. They tried to bring her to us, as they had done with Willam, but Price witnessed the carnage still in the entrance and was on guard. Rather than bring her to us, Nix was forced to speak with the now awoken human pirates to turn them against the monsters. His words seemed to sway Price, but the others were less accepting, and they were forced to duel one of the veterans of the crew. I could not see the fight, but left it in Nix’s presumably capable hands until he fled back to us barely alive, and we stepped forward to pick up where he left off.

We made quick work of the enemy. A burst of flame from Jamra incinerated most of them, and our weapons and spells took care of the rest. Only Price remained. She had been wise enough to refrain from raising her weapons against us and seemed inclined to help us fight the monsters. On our side, only Orentha had been wounded, and it was barely a scratch. One was able to flee and alert the creatures in the next room before we dispatched him, but Price assured us we were in no hurry. We took the time to scout a little of the surrounding area, and I was able to confirm that the pale creature in the northern chamber was indeed undead. It was wise that we avoided confronting the creature.

At some point during our brief respite, Agate and Nix began to converse. They claimed Agate had tried to attack them during the previous fight, and told her if she tried again, it would be the last time. I had not noticed until Jamra spoke up for Agate, but upon hearing this, I joined the others in confronting Nix. Even if Agate did send a bolt near Nix, I could not allow them to threaten her life. The other agreed, and Nix had no choice but to back down. I was again reminded that I must be ready to end the shapechanger the moment he steps too far out of line.

Before continuing to find the captives and kill the remaining pirates, Price told us of her captain fall. Of his discovery of some artifact, and the beginning of his transformation, and his speaking of strange words in draconic. “That which dreams beneath.” A strange phrase, made more troubling by the sacrifices the captain began making, drowning and bleeding prisoners at a shrine he crafted in the cove at the back of the hideout in order to “feed her and let her drink deep.”

There was little time to consider the meaning of this though. The remaining pirates knew of our presence, and the prisoners were in danger. I led the way forward into a room that seemed to serve as both a prison and sacrifice chamber. Five the beasts were hiding in the shadows and caught me by surprise. Trindak and I avoided most of their attacks, but one landed a powerful blow from behind, nearly knocking me to my knees. Luckily, the others came behind to support Trindak and me, and we pushed through. One of them fled out the back into the cove, and we gave pursuit.

Emerging into the cove, four human guarded the entrance while the captain and four monstrous acolytes stood in the shallow water on some sort of shrine. Three prisoners lay face down in the water. It was clear they were in the middle of a sacrifice. I moved forward, throwing firebolts as I went, but I was slowed by my wounds from the previous ambush and caution for my life. Rushing in fearlessly helps no one if it just gets me killed. The others also did what they could to attack the captain and prevent the completion of the ritual, using what ranged attacks they could muster.

It seemed we would be too slow, but Orentha rushed forward and threw a bottle of acid she had collected from the black pudding, breaking it across his back and melting through his skin. But as he collapsed, the captains body began to writhe, similarly to the berserker we’d fought at the entrance. The monster that emerged from within his corpse was far more terrifying though, a huge, scaled, draconic creature. It turned and spewed forth a vast surge of burning acid, felling Orentha and disintegrating the human pirates Price had convinced to help us. I was lucky to be just outside the blast, but a light spatter still stung against my face.

Facing the giant beast and four acolytes, Orentha bleeding on the ground, and myself wounded and running low on resources, prospects seemed poor. I was amazed to see Jasper pouring a healing potion into Orentha’s mouth, bringing her back to us. I think Agate may have more power than she realizes.

With Trindak and Oretha taking the lead against the monster, Jamra and I were able to dispatch the remaining acolytes. Without their support, we were able to wear the draconic abomination down to the point where I could drive my sword up through its skull and end it. The acolytes slew two of the prisoners before we were able to stop them, but we were at least able to save the first mate, if barely.

After taking a moment to catch our breath we began searching through the reckage of the battle and the remains of the pirate hideout and their ship. Most of the squad seemed intent on looting the place, but I was more interested in finding the source of the pirates corruption. I found only three things, and I do not know the significance of any of them.

The first, and perhaps most troubling, item I found was a small orb attached to the hilt of the dead captains sword. It seemed to be calling me, and I felt a strange kinship with it. It promised power, and freedom from restraint. Release of the rage in my soul. The dark voice from deep within, so quiet since mt arrival in Guavira, urged me to take it. It said I could use the orbs power to protect and vanquish evil, as the Code commands. Its voice was sweet in my mind, its reason alluring.

I reached out for the orb, but at the last moment I remembered Torinn’s lessons and regained myself. The contamination in my blood brings dark impulses, but they should never be heeded. I often fail to maintain the level of control he expected of me, but this time, my will stood strong. It would be safer in the hands of one who’s soul is not stained red. I let Trindak take it. I do not think he carries the same darkness I do inside of me. With him, it will be close enough to study without risk, and dispose of should it reveal an evil more deeply hidden.

The second and third things are, I suspect, related. I noticed engravings on the altar in draconic that read, “Bakrimanthis, the Whispering Dread.” The name has the ring of a Great One, though it was unknown to me. And as I turned out towards the cove to gaze at the sea, I glimpsed a large, scaled creature deep beneath the waves, slowly sinking back out of sight, as if falling back into a deep slumber after the pirates rituals began calling it forth. Its presence worries me greatly. I should inform the Order of its presence, as well as any of the local authorities who may have some power to combat such a being.

Beyond the creature in the depths, there is another loose end that will need to be dealt with before leaving the island. The pirate Price has not yet met justice for her crimes. She did assist us in slaying the greater evil, but it was done so only for self-preservation, and she has already admitted that she intends to find a crew and return to piracy as soon as she can. She even had the gall to offer us positions on her crew. I would have dealt with her already, but after battle with the captain I was in no condition to confront her relatively unharmed person. But once I have recovered, I should not delay. If she agrees to return with us and turn herself in at Guavira, I will stay my blade. I believe at least Jamra will support me should violence be required. He has been quite eager to kill the pirates since we have been here, and supported me in my action against Willam. I fear the others may not take it well if it come to that. But I will not forsake my vows while I still control myself, and I cannot let a murderer go free to continue in her ways.

Jamra's Account
Again we dithered. There’s no point in it but Sirenixia, Orentha, and Nix continued to bicker. Finally Nix stood and seemed to get a move on. In a minute or two he was back with one of them. Again they all talked and talked and talked, as if any of it mattered. I just watched the one they had brought. He was afraid. It showed in his eyes and I could smell it on his clothes. The longer I watched the more he flinched and scraped. It was growing desperate. It knew. Finally the pressure grew too much and it bolted, jumping to run from the room. I moved to finally end it, but Sirenixia was faster. She was kind too, cleaving it’s head from it’s shoulders with one stroke.

And then we dithered AGAIN. Orentha and Agate were offended by something about it, as if Sirenixia had not done them a service. Agate stormed off, but when I looked back Sirenixia had calmed and was focused again. Good. There were more. Nix went back to fetch them, but his clever plans were too clever by half. After half a moment of talking he came running back, bloodied and afraid. No matter. The dithering was done and we advanced into the chamber. I burned more of them, four at once this time. They barely had time to scream before they were gone, leaving nothing but ash. Orentha ran across the room to engage their leader. Sirenixia dueled the one Nix had argued with. I know he was talking, saying something but the words were worthless. Sirenixia struck and he staggered back, turning to run. My bolt took him in the back before he could escape us.

As I turned to deal with the last of them, Orentha tried to wave me down. She had made some bargain with her. She can't see it. Can't see what they are. I could see the tattoos, twining high on her arm. My shoulder itched. But then, before I could deal with our delay, Nix returned jabbering something about Agate having tried to hurt him. The little prick was wasting more time, now threatening a child. I tried to be as calm as I could in explaining his place. Then again, is he really so different from the ones on the floor?

At last the dithering was done and we moved into the next room, swifter now. It was empty at first, only swinging chains and open cells. The chains... They clanked the same songs. Clink clink clank... hopes have nearly sank... clink clink clatter... row, now, FASTER... That was when they struck again, from the shadows, leaping onto Sirenixia. For a moment the danger was great and the room seemed to take on a purplish, otherworldly cast as I lost yet another friend to the chains and the blows and the awful tearing, but she was strong! She was strong and she was not alone and I had fire. It deserved to be shared. We all rushed in then, even the turncoat, except for Nix, who cowered behind. Mercifully there was no call for dithering as the remnants of our enemies bolted, running out to the shore. There we saw him. The captain.

He was surrounded by his crew and the turncoat called out to her friends as we fought. My eyes were only on him though. The infection at the heart of this wound. Finally, as his sacrifices mounted he revealed what he always was. A great beast of searing acid and leathern wings. My friends turned their eyes aside, pained to look at it but I truly felt relief. I knew then that I was not mad. The monster was revealed and it was as I had always known it to be. We fought hard and paid a heavy toll, even as the beast took care of most of his crew for us. Sirenixia and Trindak both fell, nearly slain by its noxious breath, but Agate cared for them, reviving them while Orentha held its attention by leaping up to smite its neck. Agate hurried over to the pirate vessel, dragging a cannon around to face the monster. But before she could fire it was Sirenixia that struck the final blow, silencing the last of the crew and spinning round to slice its head free of its neck.

After that things were quiet, for a time. We all panted from exertion as Agate searched the holds of the ship, piling high the pirates ill-gotten gains. Then she spoke, talking about the crew she would pick up into the next port, offering us a place, as if she would live through the next ten minutes! I was ready to put an end to this and I knew Sirenixia felt the same, but Orentha of all people wanted mercy! It was absurd. It was wrong. She doesn't understand and neither does Trindak. Agate is one thing, she's a child, but they should know better. Against my desires I abided by Sirenixia's proposed solution of bringing her back to Guavira and handing her over to the guard. At least I would see her hang and if she did not, well I could right matters myself if need be.

I was bone-weary when we returned to the city, the five of us barely enough to bring the Inheritor into dock. I was eager to get off that thing, valuable as it was. There was some small pleasure in returning what was left of her crew to Captain Harker, but all I could really do was stare at her scars and mutely nod when she offered to be of help. I wanted to give her the Inheritor, swap it for the damaged Second Best. I can't pilot the one we have now, it's too ugly, too hateful. Maybe giving it to her, letting her get back to the sea will help something, but... we haven't really fixed anything here. I know that. It's not something that can be fixed, not any more than I could put her eye back in her head. It's just blood and pain now and any good left is caked over with dirt and muck. I wish I could fix it. But I learned over six long months that my wishes are never granted.

Nix's Account
Three days is hardly the longest I’ve spent undercover. Still, these past three days have been probably some of the more unnerving. I managed to infiltrate the pirate’s crew easily enough, but they’ve all been keeping to themselves. Unusually so for pirates safe at their home base. There seemed to be some sort of discord between two factions, one of which has been developing bizarre scaley growths on their skin. I was unable to locate the prisoners at all, and it wasn’t until the third day when I got any idea of just how much was wrong here. I was able to finally push further to the back of the cove, where I saw the captain and a few of the other crew, all scaled, commit a grizzly sacrifice of one of the prisoners. The ritual made my skin crawl to watch. Clearly there’s something else going on here, but I didn’t find out what until later.

That evening I was put on guard duty at the cave entrance. I was by this point trying to figure out exactly what my options were, when opportunity came knocking in the form of that same group of individuals who seemed to be working with Jambis Dartheur. One of them, the monk Orentha, attempted to eliminate one of the guards stealthily, but was not having much luck. I gave her as much assistance as I could without blowing my cover, but shortly the rest of their group burst in and combat ensued. At that point, I felt it prudent to help the would-be rescuers, and joined the fray. The battle revealed the inhuman nature of one of the crewmen, who fell only to rise from the skin of his former body, now appearing as a great mass of scaled skin. Victory was, however, eventually ours. The group confronted me, and I revealed my true self to them. Orentha was somewhat less than happy to see me, almost taking my hand off with the dagger she had stolen from me at that first encounter. I explained to them why I was here, and brought up my idea of joining forces with the uncorrupted pirates. The group seemed suspicious, but was willing to at least allow me to grab one of them for questioning.

I did so, and began interrogating him. He seemed more than ready to spill, as I had surmised. He was less than happy about the new element taking over the group. It was at this point that Orentha decided to intervene in the interrogation. Skilled fighter though she is, she clearly has no experience with interrogating and proceeded to begin inflating our captive’s ego. I could see that this had potential to cause trouble for us down the road, so I attempted to restore control of him by showing him my true form. I have to say, his utter fear surprised me. A changeling’s form is certainly unsettling, but hardly worth getting that worked up about. He became almost incoherent with fear, and of no further use to us. The group asked me to go retrieve the person I judged the pirates would trust. Price was the clear choice, so I went to go see if I could persuade her to come, when for whatever reason the dragonborn, who’s name was Sirenixia, decided it was necessary to cut off our captive’s head. A rather pointless exercise, since it would only hurt our chances of convincing Price to help us, but nevertheless I went to retrieve her. There was always the possibility that she would listen if we were convincing enough.

And here is where it all began to go straight to hell. I managed to wake Price, and convinced her to follow me back to the entrance. Here I discovered that in defiance of all common sense the group had made no effort to hide the bodies killed during the struggle. Price’s suspicions were of course raised, and she demanded that I speak my mind in front of the rest of the pirates in the sleeping area. I weighted my options, and decided that I had a better than average chance of convincing the rest of them to mutiny. Price certainly seemed to consider my words, as did several of the others. Unfortunately a loyal crewman saw no reason to betray his captain, and instead took it upon himself to challenge me to combat. A one on one fight with a man who is clearly better suited to this kind of fighting was not what I had in mind, and I was very nearly killed before I was able to make my escape back to where the rest of the group was. Fortunately they had at least enough common sense to enter combat as the enemy pirates closed in. I was standing back, trying to catch my breath while still helping from a distance, when suddenly a blast of magic hit the wall directly next to me. Their little tiefling had shot at me. Not out of fear, or a miss-aimed attack, it was clearly a deliberate attempt on my life. I had no choice but to flee past the ensuing conflict, and further into the cave.

This is where things got truly strange. The chamber I entered contained some sort of spirit of a woman, who had been abandoned. I was unsure if she was friendly, and if she was not I was in no fit state to fight her, so I had no choice but to try to talk to her, to convince her that I was of no threat. In talking to her I discovered that she had been with the captain, and that he had left her to die in this cave. The clear despair in her voice and eyes got to me. I hate people who leave their friends to die, and leaving your loved ones to die is truly despicable. I promised I would do what I could to free her, and she told me that the only way she could be free is if the captain was dead. I promised I would see it done, and she seemed to become placated. Returning to the group I discovered that the battle had ended, and all the pirates but Price had been killed. The tiefling girl was still there, hiding behind the genasi. I made it a point to tell her that I do not take being attacked very lightly, and that should she do so again there would be consequences, and the whole group turned on me as one. They ignored what I told them of her attack, making repeated threats on my life should I bring harm to the child. Apparently they see no harm in this little girl with her strange magical gifts who would strike a weakened individual who posed her no threat in the back. No matter. If they want to be fools, they can go on being fools until their mistakes find them in their sleep. Still, I have to say I was impressed by Orentha taking charge of the situation. She kept her head far better than the rest of the band, even going so far as to give me a healing potion so that I could better assist her team. Such a decision speaks highly of her skills as a leader, more so than I would have been willing to give her credit for.

After this little exchange, we made our way further into the fortress, fighting through the rest of the pirates as we did so. Eventually we came to a cove, where the captain and a few of his acolytes were performing some sort of ritual with the remaining prisoners. We fought our way to him, and eventually killed him, only for his body to undergo some sort of transformation into a bizarre looking giant bipedal lizard of some sort. A long and deadly fight broke out, with many of the members of squad 13 getting knocked unconscious, but victory was eventually ours. After the captain’s defeat, I returned to the place where I had discovered the spirit, only to discover her gone. Wherever she is now, I truly hope she found peace.

Orentha's Account
After our first encounter in the cave and the revelation about the potential of monstrous pirates, we needed to come up with a plan. I advocated for trying to get the pirates on our side to fight against the captain since it seemed that they didn’t all agree with him. Agate and Trindak supported this plan, but Sirenixia and Jamra wanted to kill all the pirates. Sirenixia’s position I could understand - I believe her code surrounds ensuring  justice - but Jamra’s reaction worried me more. There was a far-off look in his eye that told me he wouldn’t see reason with anything regarding these pirates.

While we were debating, Agate sent Jasper off to lure one of the sleeping pirates to us. We ambushed him and sat him down for questioning. Nix and Sirenixia tried to intimidate more information out of him, but the more they pushed him the more I worried he would shout for help and wake the rest of the crew. If we wanted the pirates on our side to face the captain, we needed Willam to not be scared to death of us. We needed to convince all of them that it was in their best interest to help us.

I tried to appeal to Willam’s ego to convince him that the captain wasn’t fit to command his crew. Willam revealed that he agreed, but that the right person to put in charge was Price, the boson. He also revealed in his babbling that he had cut throats in the past, and I felt Sirenixia go stiff next to me. Damn it.

Before either of us could act however, Nix decided to frighten the man even more than was necessary and transformed into some pale, featureless person. I was startled - I had thought Nix had similar transformative gifts to Agate - but I didn’t recognize what his - their - true form was. Willam nearly died from shock and bolted for the exit. Faster than any of us could react, Sirenixia swung her sword with one quick movement and severed Willam’s head off.

I stood there in shock. The man may have committed crimes in the past, but this wasn’t even an execution - this was murder. Nix didn’t seem too bothered and went into the other room to retrieve Price. I moved numbly to remove the body from the chamber. If Price saw that Willam had just been murdered by us, she would never trust what we had to say. As it was, our odds of getting out of this situation without killing everyone involved was dwindling by the second.

I remained outside the cave while the others talked to Price. I don’t know what they said to her. I was sitting on the rocks next to the men we had murdered, and the feeling of goodness I had experienced after we helped the orphans was gone. I felt like I was cursed to be surrounded by killers. Though, I supposed that wasn’t a fair judgment. It was Sirenixia and I that were the killers. I had once admired Sirenixia's loyalty to goodness and justice, but now I worried that she was more fanatic than faithful. I had no excuse for my own actions, however.

I was stirred from my reverie by sounds of fighting, and entered the cave to find Nix nearly beaten dead and the others rushing in to the next section of the cave. Clearly, Nix’s attempt at diplomacy hadn’t worked, and I ran inside to help the others. Jamra made quick work of most of the pirates, incinerating them with blasts of fire. Sirenixia, Trindak, and I were able to take out the rest. When the last pirate fell, I sprinted to Price and stood in front of her protectively. She had tried to turn the others to our side, and I wasn’t going to let Sirenixia or Jamra kill her for nothing.

Our attention was drawn to Agate and Nix, who were arguing in the other room. Nix stood over Agate intimidatingly, and all I heard of their conversation was Nix warning her against attacking them in the future.

My blood boiled at their threat to Agate, but fighting here would get us nowhere. We needed to resolve this soon if we wanted to find the missing crew members. I repaid them the favor of our first encounter and held a dagger to their throat. I told them that, for now at least, we were on the same team. If they threatened Agate again, none of us would hesitate to take them out. In my other hand I produced a healing potion for them. They looked like shit, and we needed them conscious for at least some of the battle that was sure to come. They looked surprised, but took the healing potion and stood down.

We walked to the next room which was full of more of those draconic pirates. We were able to defeat them, but not without taking a few hits. We continued on the path and came to the cavern’s exit on the other side of the island. There, we saw the pirate captain and a few of his men standing in a shallow pool, surrounded by three floating figures of what must have been Harkin’s missing crew members.

As the captain continued the ritual, I rushed forward despite my fear and threw at him the vial of black pudding I had collected a few days before. The vial broke against his back and burned through his clothing and flesh. I was hopeful for a moment, before his skin ripped open to reveal a massive draconic creature much larger than the one we had previously faced. I realized how foolish my move had been as it stood over me and sprayed some kind of poisonous gas into my face. My throat burned and I fell unconscious on the beach.

Agate, though, had prepared for this to happen and had given Jasper healing potions to disperse to us. I came to consciousness as Sirenixia and Trindak attacked the creature from both sides. I rushed forward to help them and together we were able to slay the captain. We pulled Harkin’s men from the water, but unfortunately the only one that survived the ritual was the First Mate. At least we could reunite him and Harkin.