The Unknown: A Game of Fear, Ignorance, and Adventure

[Zemalac]

Electricity split the air with a flat crack, hitting the assassin's crossbow, arcing to her body and eventually grounding itself in the deck. To describe the assassin's reaction as a collapse fails to do justice to the movement: it seemed as though she was trying to run and had gotten her limbs mixed up, with the end result tumbling into an ungainly heap on the deck.

She tried to load her crossbow and failed, spasming fingers unable to work the mechanism. "Fuck it," she said, and drew a knife, setting her back against a bulky crate.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

A smile appeared on the wizard's lips. The lightning hit its mark. There was little doubt that it's victim would be flopping on the deck like a fish out of the water by now, in fact Raven was so confident that he decided to simply walk up to where the assassin fell and retrieve her for the long awaited interrogation.

He sheathed his sword and made his way around the crates, signaling to Reeko and Marneus that the target was down.

"We got a live one here lads!" he said out aloud to Reeko who was worryingly chanting something long and repetitive.

 

[MasterSqueak]

Marneus walked over to where Raven was, holding his sword.

"Enough of your foolish mumblings, elf, the assassin is already down."

Standing beside Raven, he stared into the dark, noticing a spasming body leaning against a crate.

"Surrender, and we may not kill you."

Of course, Marneus had no intentions of killing her. Not until she had been interrogated, at least.

 

[Zemalac]

The assassin looked up at the men standing over her, the knight and the wizard, and grinned suddenly.

"Wow," she remarked, "second time today."

Then, without warning, she opened her mouth wide and screamed, "Help! Rape! Help! Kidnapping and RAAAAAAAPE!"

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Raven raised an eyebrow!

This was certainly a new tactic, for an assassin

"For the-!!..love of the gods....WILL YOU SHUT UP!!!!" Raven stopped short.

"Enough of this tomfoolery!, if you don't stop your yelling I am going to zap you like a bug" Lightning sparked from his hands as he spoke.

Raven paused for a second and decided to carry out his threat anyway. He faked a turn towards the knight but shot another bolt at the assassin instead.

 

[Dragonrabbit]

Reeko stopped chanting and watched the assassin, observing Raven and Marneus. He moved slowly towards the men and the downed assassin.

As he approached the assassin opened her mouth and started to scream, "Help! Rape! Help! Kidnapping and RAAAAAAAPE!"

Reeko giggled, a funny one this one is.

Suddenly, Raven shot the woman again. Reeko jumped back and shouted, "Veki akyz!" He recovered, a rare lapse in form for the elf. He slunk back, waiting to see what was going on in Raven's head.

 

[Saskwach]

Through the floorboards Jonas had heard a rather confusing commotion. Every inch of his body had wanted to go out and face the attempted murderer, but he had stayed nonetheless. No second attempt would pass him. Now, after several seconds silence, he heard screaming from an unfamiliar voice. A grin flickered across his lips. Jonas was not a vicious man, but a dark part of him hoped that the vile assassin was suffering.

 

[MasterSqueak]

Marneus chuckled, before doubling over in roaring laughter.

"How original!"

He suddenly stopped laughing.

"You amused me, so I will not kill you for that. But make no mistake, do that again and I will kill you. Slowly and painfully."

He looked to Raven, a grin hidden behind his helmet.

"I believe they make poisons for that kind of thing, should we get the elf to make us some?"

 

[Zemalac]

"You amused me, so I will not kill you for that. But make no mistake, do that again and I will kill you. Slowly and painfully."

The assassin, gasping for breath after the second lightning bolt, rolled her eyes at the knight's pronouncement. "Aye, because you weren't already planning on killing me," she said, sarcasm dripping off every word. "I'd watch what you say, sir knight, and where you're seen right now. Remember that burner I fired off? In full view of all the waterfront taverns, full of sailors who don't want to see their ships alight?"

She grinned. It was a disconcerting expression: there was an edge of geniune, delighted happiness to it that really should not have existed given the circumstances.

"Guess where those sailors are right now? And guess what they'll think if they see a few adventurers surrounding one poor girl shouting 'rape?' And of course everyone knows the trouble adventurers get into when they're in town..." She laughed. "Think fast, gents. I can hear 'em coming down the dock."

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Raven groaned as the assassin's words dawned on him. Yet again this foe was proving to be more resourceful by the second, there seemed to be no end to the tricks up this girl's sleeve as she appeared to be on the verge of escape. There had to be a way to limit this assassin's abilities and they had to come up with a plan soon

"Think fast, gents. I can hear 'em coming down the dock."

"I'll give you something to think about" growled Raven as he held out his hand and commanded the wind. "I should end your existence now but you are worth more alive than dead"

"No!, instead I'll starve you of your precious air. I shall draw the breath out of your body; your lungs will empty and your throat will tighten, the wind will depart from your life demands and leave a void in your soul, you will claw for breath but you will receive none, your world will go narrow and you will loose all sense of colour and perception, you heart will beat faster and faster craving for life, until you shut down. A slumber to be awoken when ready"

Raven heard yelling and shouting coming from the pier. Sailors undoubtedly made aware by the commotion and screams were coming to investigate, just as the assassin predicted. He turned his attention back to his spell, the air around the ship seemed quiet and calm but the air between the sprawled assassin and the mage was swirling with malcontent. He didn't have time to complete the incantation, there was little time left for that, he only hoped that what little of the spell was enacted would silence the assassin till the appropriate time came.

To be sure though he turned to the knight. "Take her downstairs, relieve her of her weapons, bind her and gag her and lock her in the brig if there is one. Hurry!. The elf and I shall try to stall the sailors"

 

[Dragonrabbit]

"The elf and I shall try to stall the sailors."

Reeko's face slowly slid into a smile, he had a plan, a good one... at least he thought as much of it. He walked over to Raven and started to talk to him in a hushed tone.

The roar of the sailors, coupled with his blood loss, and the confusion of the current situation were taking a toll on Reeko, but he was stronger than to be without a plan given the situation.

After informing Raven of his plan, Reeko set to work. He jabbed two fingers into his wound and started to rub blood all over himself.

This'll be a fun one I think.

 

[Zemalac]

The assassin opened her mouth, which was a mistake. She was planning on either responding to Raven or shouting again, but which one would never be known. Her mouth gaped open and closed like a fish out of water as the wizard's spell sucked the air from her lungs.

"Take her downstairs, relieve her of her weapons, bind her and gag her and lock her in the brig if there is one. Hurry! The elf and I shall try to stall the sailors."

Marneus heaved the assassin to his shoulders and carried her to the hatch, where he barely managed to get out of sight before a small mob appeared. It was a certain kind of sailor who approached the gangplank of the Cepolada: specifically, they were the ones who were sober enough to figure out that this ship was both where the burner had been fired from and where someone had recently been screaming.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

The wizard stared after Marneus as he scrambled for the lower decks with the assassin firmly secured on his shoulders.

"Part one is done....here comes part two", he muttered to himself as a group of sailors emerged over the gangplank.

Raven glanced over towards Reeko and gave a quick nod as if to say "showtime"

The elf dug into his wounds and began covering himself with his own blood before lying prone on the deck. "Hurry, they are almost upon us" Raven whispered as he quickly grabbed a nearby sheet of cloth and hastily draped it over Reeko's body.

The footsteps grew closer.

Raven towered over the motionless cloth silhouette of Reeko, head hung low and eyes closed, muttering softly in an archaic language, as if he was praying. The heavy footsteps against the timber decking suddenly stopped; the sailors were standing right next to him. The wizard could suddenly feel their questioning stares fall upon him. He opened his eyes and slowly turned to turn to face the small gathering, managing to conjure up his best 'surprised and startled' voice in the process.

"Gentleman!" Raven began politely after recovering from his startled expression "This ship is for the crew and the expedition members of the Cepolada only; if you're neither, I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave"

 

[MasterSqueak]

Down below deck, Raven's spell lost its grip. The assassin opened her mouth to scream anew, and received a tap to the head from the armored fist of an alert Marneus. "None of that, now," he muttered.

He found the brig, which was a small and somewhat disturbing room in the depths of the ship. It had an iron grate to separate prisoners from captors, and at some point in the not-too-distant past someone had decorated it by hanging rat carcasses from the ceiling.

Tossing her on the floor, he checked her thoroughly for weapons. He relieved her of the crossbow on her back, and the crossbow bolts in her quiver. However, an assassin likely had hidden weaponry.

He picked her up and shook her, causing a pair of knives to fall out of her sleeves, and several bundles to shift. Removing the bundles yeilded burners like the one she had fired off, and a few flayers that he winced at.

Still not done, he checked her boots, and found two more knives. Throwing her to the floor, he noticed a glint of metal sticking out of her belt. Taking it, he realized it was yet another knife, barely an inch long.

He left the cell, feeling he had found all weapons she could have been carrying, and shut the gate.

 

[Zemalac]

"This ship is for the crew and the expedition members of the Cepolada only; if you're neither, I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave."

"Aye?" someone said from the middle of the crowd. "An' leave ye to keep launchin' burners at our ships?"

There were brief, angry mutterings from other quarters of the crowd, before they were silenced by the captain of the Cepolada.

"Watch your mouth," Grummond snarled, pushing his way out of the crowd. "Master Cid is a mage, and I'm sure he wouldn't need anything like burners to set your hide alight." The burly orc clapped an arm around Raven's shoulders and growled in his ear, "Now, master wizard, tell me what the hell is going on here."

Behind him, the sailors muttered and craned their necks to try and see what was on deck.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Raven paused to look at the sailors and back at Grummond.

"Well Captain, there have been several incidents that occurred while you were away. One of which involves a female member of our crew and a drunken elven sailor who sneaked aboard the ship. It turns out this painted elf, in his incoherent state, took it upon himself to act inappropriately with the young lass"

he paused to clear his throat

"Master Marneus and I were awoken to the cries coming from the deck as was probably half the port. By the time we got here the drunken sailor was behaving in quite an unstable and violent manner and was physically harming the girl. I fired a fire bolt as a warning for him to cease his activities but he did not heed it. Master Marneus immediately took a more active approach. He assaulted the elf....and..." Raven's voice trailed off. "Well you can see for yourself"

He pulled back the cloth covering the lump on the deck to reveal the motionless figure of Reeko. Only he was barely recognizable now; his body was smeared in blood, his skin was pitch black with the exception of his tattoos, he appeared unearthly and sinister; nothing like the soul that boarded the ship in Buron.

"We could not save him" Raven began again. "Marneus took the girl downstairs for treatment and I remained on deck, trying to identify this elf but his pockets did not hold any information regarding his identity. With that a mystery I decided to wait and see what the captain decided before taking any further action. While I waited for the captain, I thought it best to conduct a prayer for the deceased, in accordance with a commonly known Sunset Jungle funeral ceremony...just without all the hopping and the pineapples and that's when you all walked aboard"

 

[Dragonearl]

Alexis was startled as his previous inquiry was met with a wide eyed painted elf who bolted through the door muttering "doctor..healing balm..apothecary" under his breath.

"What the?" the dwarf uttered out aloud. "That hardly answers my question you fool!" he called out shaking his fist at the disappearing elf

"You in there, how's the boy doing?" Alexis knocked on the door again hoping to grab the attention of the gnome.

There was no response. Alexis sighed and looked about, the others including the one armed man and a new face- presumably a new member to the expedition -stared back at him. He was about to respond curtly when a scream interrupted his thoughts, ""Help! Rape! Help! Kidnapping and RAAAAAAAPE!"

"Right!...well" he began by tugging at his shirt. "I am going above deck to see what's happening up there. It sounds like a party is brewing" he excused himself and made his way to the ladder that lead to the top deck when he saw the man in armor emerge from the hatch to stand before him. A woman was slumped on his shoulder. The knight did not utter a word as he turned and proceeded to walk down the passage heading towards the ships brig

"What is going on up there?" he asked scratching his head before climbing up the ladder to see for himself.

 

[Zemalac]

The sailors made superstitious gestures as Raven unveiled Reeko's changed body, green tattoos standing out in lurid detail against skin black as pitch.

"Damn," Grummond said. "Don't know of any elves with skin that color..."

"It's a shadow elf," volunteered one of the sailors crowding around. "Nasty buggers. Heard they come from the dead land."

"Ye heard wrong," said another. "Everyone knows shadow elves don' have black skin; they got black tattoos."

"The hell are shadow elves?" demanded a third, who clearly wasn't part of the "everybody" the previous sailor had referred to.

And someone more artistically inclined suggested, "Maybe the green is his skin, an' the rest is the tattoos?"

"No, they got black skin," disagreed the first. "Why'd they be called shadow elves otherwise? 'S like...maths, or something. Shadow is black."

"Shadow don't have color," said the artistic sailor, and the argument devolved even further from there.

Grummond rolled his eyes and turned his back on the crowd. "So then, that explains the screaming," he said quietly to Raven, "but what about that burner people saw?"

Down below decks, Doctor Nexaddo waited for a reply from the one armed man, and received not even a mumble as an answer. The door that had been thrown open by the elf was still ajar, and through it he could see a gnome hunched over a body.

A fellow gnome--finally somebody that should know what is going on!

Jemalkin dashed through the doorway without waiting further for a response from the one-armed man. He kneeled down next to the body, and spoke to the gnome already there; "I am a doctor, sir, and I?ll do what I can for the..." he glanced down "...boy, but could you explain to me what happened here?"

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

"So then, that explains the screaming but what about that burner people saw?"

Raven turned to Grummond.

"Burner?" a confused look passed over his face momentarily before his eyebrows shot up in recollection. "Oh that!, no that was no burner. That was a Dragon Breath spell I tried to cast on the elf, very useful for repelling personnel at close distances but also very hard to control. I had to ditch the spell into the sea in the end, master Marneus was quicker to the draw than I was.

You see, the people have misinterpreted what they saw; when the Dragon Breath spell is collapsing it gives the impression and residue characteristics of a burner in flight but what it really is is just a decaying spell. I could give you a demonstration of what that is like if you wish but I don't think any of your ships would get lucky a second time" he gestured to the onlooking sailors.

"I do apologies for using a fire based spell in a port in the first place though, it was a knee-jerk reaction when I saw what was happening. Rest assured that from now on I won't be flinging fire bolts willy-nilly in the presence of such flammable objects and I assure you to the best of my abilities that no Verdan munitions were fired within the vicinity of this ship"

 

[Saskwach]

Spoiler

I didn't notice that question! Whoopsy-daisy.