Log The Fifth

Harrimast has smiled down upon us and blessed us with the back breaking weight of many a shiny coin.
We had to sit and wait out that spider's curse, but 'twas actually a blessing. It gave us a time to catch our breath and make a few plans. As the webbing dissolved, the cowardly goon that had escaped our blades tried to escape, but Kemby's hands were quicker and we had him tied and gagged in no time. He started trying to bargain for his freedom, but a swift smack to the head and he stopped being a bother. Now that we was out and able to move around we decided to check out the other room in this dank basement. Not much to report about that room. Bunks and seating for chow....and a fist full of coin!! Seems that this be where those craven cowards be hiding some of their loot. Not a kings ransom, but enough that a body be hard pressed to spend it all in a single night. And some fool had locked a bird in one of the chests. The poor thing looked about ready to expire and had barely enough feathers to tickle your bottom with. Still, Mistress thinks that ole copperpot would appreciate such a creature and it only seems proper that a band of mighty pirates like ourselves have us a proper pirate parrot.
After securing our new found loot, we started heading down the stairs, still on the look out for that bastard Fosey. Mistress started down first, quiet as a mouse with steel boot walking across a hold filled with broken bottles. As she turned the corner near the bottom, she runs into a pair of guards. Now these guards must have been awaiting us since instead of turning mistress into chum, they start quaffing some potions and letting us have time to set up. By the time that I finally pushed me way down to the cave, these two be moving faster than humming birds on abyss dust and they was giving us a fair pounding. The captain and I managed to corner one of the bastards and cut him down with nary a trouble. Unfortunately, that gave the other one a chance to lay a beating on mistress and she had the breath knocked out of her. For once she wasn't in danger of dying, but you could see that there was no desire in her face to do anything more than sit and think for a spell. It took us a few more seconds and some panic, but Kemby had a good hand on that blade and we sent the last goon to sail on the ship of the dead. We was catching our breath when we notice that there be a door set into the far wall of the room. Now the captain made a damn fine argument for no one being in there, so we open the door and start poking around. Well, I damn near crapped me pants when I saw captain Bowman sittin' there, calm as can be, inviting us in for wine. That bastard Fosey was standing behind her, trying to lay a beating on some poor soul that was chained to a wall. And the fellow called Drake also be skulkin' around in the back. And the room was a damn strange one as well. Too many strange snake carvings on the wall and they seemed to move around the longer you stared at them. And about a dozen of the strangest looking birds that I done ever see. Just sitting in these gilded cages looking bored.

So captain Bonny starts chatting with Bowman there. She seemed to think that we was already dead folk and we had done her a wrong by coming this far into her den. Now we's tried to argue that her goons wasn't a listenin' to us, but she would have no part of that. I guess that she had had enough of us all, since she picked up her blade and started suggesting that we all get read to die. And then all hell busted lose. Seems that the captive that Fosey had been pickin on wasn't ready to lay down and die. He done pulled a blade from somewhere and Fosey's back was laid open for all to see. Mistress and the little goblin fellow all join in and Fosey was cut to pieces where he stood. Captain Bonny laid a quick cut on Bowman and then started to sound the retreat. Too bad that none of us could follow that command. Kemby stood in the doorway trying to protect the captain and I took a withering hit from the bitch's blade and felt the fight just slipping out of me. I managed to cover the room in a boiling fog, but I couldn't get the energy to move my feet out the door. I could see Kemby still holding the doorway and the sounds of fighting coming from all sides of the room. I quaffed down one of them potions we found and after I got that rush of energy I was up and fightin' again. Drake slipped out the door and started trying to lay his blade to the captain, but the fool couldn't hit a damn thing. I was trying to slash Bowman into chum, but it seemed that the captive was the hero of the day and was laying such a brutal series of cuts onto Bowman that she was forced to use some strange magic to save herself. There was a flapping of wings and then she was gone. So we go rushin out after Drake and a few quick swings drop his sorry ass. Twas only after he be lying their dead that we notice that he seemed to be even more dead than he ought to be. Looks like Bowman was summoning the dead to do her biddin'.

Seein' as we had a few minutes before the fog settled, we started talking to our new acquaintance. And a strange tale that he had to tell. This elf done claim to be a cousin to the Lucien that we been looking for these last days. He starts telling us that his name is Lucius and that them stupid goons grabbed him when he was trying to stage a rescue of old Lucien. He was dragged into this place and had a good number of reasons to hate Fosey. I be guessing that it be Fosey that done clip the top of his ears like that, but I wasn't going to be asking too much since he seem to be a might touchy on the subject. And as we always say, the enemy of your enemy is your friend, so we gots no ill will towards the man. And by the time that the fog has cleared enough for us to go alooking through the room, the captain has already offered Lucius a spot on the crew. And he picked the right time to join up. As we start searching the place and questioning the fews cowards that are still left alive, we done find so much treasure that we had to send runners to the ship to gather enough crew to carry the loot away. There was a few traps that we had to avoid, but in the end, we walked...no, we staggered away with enough loot to buy us a new ship if we was so inclined. When we gets back to the ship, I spent much of the day sortin' and organizing the loot and wasn't privy to many of the goings on. But as dawn come up, we find that Lucien has been out most of the night and has found where old Lucien has been hidden. This elf must be our good luck charm, for we managed to spring old Lucien with only a sly word and a clever spell. The captain made himself look like that bastard Fosey and we just walked onto the manky sloop, demanded Lucien and walked off withhim. Smoothest operation that I ever saw.

So after a joyous reunion, the captain heads off to find Flint and tell him the good news. He comes back a bit too quick tellin' us to grab our blades and come a runnin'. When we finally get to Flint's room and open the door, we find that Flint is not going to be joinin' us on any treasure hunt. Something done split him open and spread his insides all over his outsides. We did see a painting of some type on the wall, which showed a skull, with 5 stars over it, same as was on his map. Well, we had no choice to take poor Flint back to the ship and take care of his burial. I managed to convince the crew that I had some idea of what to do for gnomes, but really I was just looking for an excuse for the captain and I to get away from the ship and bury some of our loot.

Once again, if you be readin' this I ain't puttin' no hints to the location of the treasure here. I figure if you lets us die then you deserve to be losing that treasure.

And turns out that I was wrong, Flint will be joinin' us after all. Lucien was demanding that his ashes come with us, to be scattered over the treasure when we find it.

I really be hoping that we be findin' the treasure and not whatever creature done turn Flint inside out.

Jee-to, quartermaster, Lady's Favour