The ships were almost alongside each other.
“Things will get violent in a few moments,” Renald told Draya and Psycho. The pair looked to their right to see the sailors readying grappling hooks to tie the two ships together and enable boarding. “You might want to take him below.” The captain looked down at the goblin.
Draya lifted Gromphy’s limp form from the deck and cradled him like a child in her arms. She couldn’t move the magical trunk back into his inventory, so she kicked it closed and watched as it locked. Draya ran with the goblin clutched to her chest through the assembling fighters and down a flight of stairs to find a safe place for the crafter during the fight.
Psycho stayed above, still trying to find a few targets to take out, but everyone was hiding as they pulled alongside the doomed ship. “You better put that away,” a strong female voice said from behind him. Psycho turned to see Ellanay walking up the steps to the forecastle. She held her moon blade in one hand with a teardrop shield in the other. By the ranger’s estimation, they were a day or two from a full moon when the paladin’s powers would be at their peak. Still, the sword gleamed in the moonlight and looked as sharp as Diamond Etcher. “I hope you sling steel as well as you fling arrows.”
Psycho smiled as he put his bow away and drew his katana, eager to fight side by side with the elf maiden. “I know how to handle a sword.”
She grinned at him. “I hope so.”
Psycho wasn’t given time to determine if a double entendre was intended as Serenity lurched sideways toward the pirate ship as grappling hooks pulled the two vessels tight. Despite his incredible dexterity, Psycho nearly fell to the deck. Ellanay laughed at him and ran for the ship's starboard side.
Battle cries sounded as the Serenity crew leaped over their railing and assaulted the seemingly empty ship. It didn’t stay that way for long as pirates jumped out from behind barrels, up from hidden hatches, and down from the billowing sails.
Besides the pirate soldiers, spell casters opened fire on the invading crew, and several men fell to fireballs, Stunning attacks, and Entanglement spells. Half of Renald’s meager forces left the fight in the first round; most were not dead but wouldn’t get up for several rounds. Cloudspark’s crew was larger, and due to the increased difficulty of the mission, they were all level 12 or above. Psycho began to wonder if they were going to fail after all.
He watched the first few interactions between the fighters as he scrambled to get into position and saw Renald’s forces take heavy losses. The ranger understood why Jace had wanted Esther on this mission; her blades would have turned these pirates into mincemeat, and the Slashing Immunity her armor gave her would have let her walk through their ranks untouched. Psycho reached the railing and wondered if it was worth jumping across when the tide changed.
“I smash and bash!”
The berserking dwarf made a dramatic entrance into the foray, charging headfirst toward half a dozen pirates that all outclassed him. Psycho thought it was suicide, but over the short fighter’s head leaped a mass of white fur as Snowy crashed into the waiting defenders, crushing them to the deck. In all the excitement of the chase, the ranger had almost forgotten the winter wolf. The dwarf followed, smashing and bashing the fallen pirates further into the wooden panels.
“Aha, argh!”
Picket also attacked the soft spot in the ranks. He was a level or two above the defenders, and his itchy sword hand finally held his cutlass. He slashed, ducked, and spun through the pirates with reckless abandon. Psycho and Ellanay followed suit, leaping across the short gap between ships and hitting the left flank that was trying to close in on the chaos in the center. The paladin was only level 13, even or slightly below most of the fighters, but she couldn't be stopped in the moonlight, with her blade and armor glowing with added enchantment. Psycho also made easy work of the lower-level pirates, and the route was on.
When the defending ranks thinned, Psycho kept his eye out for their actual mission. Jace had given him a description of Onan, the second son of King Neptudah, and the handsome, blonde fighter should be as obvious as a fish out of water in this motley crowd of scraggly, dark-bearded pirates. He eventually found him locked in combat with Ellanay toward the ship's rear end.
Psycho threw off the few attackers who dared get near the powerful ranger and raced through the roiling crowd. A few magical attacks hit him, one attempting a Stun, the other bathing him in acid. He saved against both, sheathed his sword, and returned fire with his bow, impaling one spellcaster and toppling him off the ship.
The other spell caster was a witch, and once she saw the ineffectiveness of her spell on the high-level ranger, she turned her attention to the other elf in the crowd. She had partial cover behind some barrels, and Psycho had no shot unless he stopped and aimed. He didn’t have the time. “Ellanay!” He cried.
The paladin momentarily stepped away from her fight with Onan and felt the witch’s curse approaching from the left. She raised her magical shield in that direction, which allowed her to save against the spell but opened her to attack from her melee opponent. The merman was level 16 and finally had an opening for his sword. The elf cried out in pain as the blade slipped through her armor, and she fell Dazed to the deck.
Psycho was still 30 feet from the pair and wouldn’t get there in time, so he stopped and raised his bow as the merman prepared for his kill. “Onan!” the archer shouted, still needing a few seconds to prepare his shot. The would-be pirate looked up, instantly recognized his adversary's skill, and leaped for the ship's side, his body transforming as he jumped.
Psycho was up for the task, having already selected Pinning Shot. The arrow lanced through the air and skewered the tail fin of the fleeing man. His sideways momentum halted, and he was carried backward ten feet until the arrow sunk into a thick post, hanging the merman upside down by his tail like a prized catch. The ranger followed his shot, leaping up two flights of stairs to get a better angle on the witch. He turned to fire again behind the barrels, but she wasn’t there, and his shot thudded into a keg of ale.
A sinister cackle brought his attention to the rigging just above his head. “I saved my best spell for last, elf,” she cried. Psycho adjusted his aim up and back, letting fly before even seeing the witch. When his eyes did focus on her, he saw the woman lower a magically constructed, single-use tower shield, his arrow harmlessly bouncing off to the side. As the guard dissolved off her arm and she brought both hands forward to cast, Psycho knew he couldn’t Dodge this next spell.
He didn’t have to. A fireball blasted the witch from her perch, and she was dead before hitting the water on the ship's far side. Psycho turned back to Serenity to see that Draya had returned to the deck after safely hiding Gromphy below. She lowered her dragon staff and waved toward the ranger. Psycho returned the gesture in thanks and spun toward Ellanay.
The elf maiden struggled to rise; her Dazed condition already ended. Psycho offered his hand, but she shrugged it off, getting up on her own with her eyes focused on Onan hanging by his tail. “I know you are skilled enough to have killed him. Why leave him alive?”
Psycho looked confused. “He is my mission. I’m looking for his younger brother, likely somewhere on this ship. Didn’t your leader tell you why we were helping you?”
Ellanay laughed. “Captain Renald Malcolm tells us things? What reality do you live in? His?”
She was fully erect now, and Psycho still had his hand awkwardly forward. He brought it back. “Sorry. I guess I’m too used to my leader. He rarely keeps us in the dark and trusts us to go on missions on our own.”
She turned from the inverted, struggling merman to look Psycho in the eyes and smiled. “Must be nice. You’ll have to introduce him to me sometime.”
“I’d love to,” the ranger said, drawing closer to the paladin. “But, you better know ahead of time, he is an orc.”
She laughed again. “Do you really think I don’t know who Jace Thorne is? Renald doesn’t let us out often, but I’d have to be living under a rock not to know that.” She paused. “Anything I need to know about you?”
Psycho frowned, wondering what the maiden would think when she discovered he was a quarter-orc. Any fantasy playing out in his mind about a future with Ellanay disappeared, and he remembered his mission. The one Jace had trusted him to complete. And here he was, flirting like Esther. He turned from the paladin sternly and strode toward Onan.
His actions stunned Ellanay, and she wondered if it was something she had said. She was about to call after him when a motion to her right caught her attention, and she saw Draya running up the steps to their position. “Oh, good,” she said, slightly out of breath. “You caught him.” She started to rush past Ellanay, but the elf caught her arm firmly, stopping her short.
“Is he okay?” the paladin asked, nodding toward Psycho.
“Uh, I don’t know,” the mage answered. “I didn’t see him in the fight. I assume he didn’t get injured against these lower-level pirates.”
“No,” the elf shook her head. “I mean, is he okay? Does he have some trauma he is working through?”
Draya laughed. It seemed like all of Jace’s companions had issues from their past. The skilled player had a talent for freeing unique characters from the game, which usually came with consequences. She wondered how much of this she should share with Ellanay. “Well, you don’t get the nickname ‘Psycho’ for no reason.”
Ellanay thought about this and shrugged. She turned to follow Draya toward the captive, with Snowy close behind. They found Psycho squatting to get down to eye level with the stuck fishman. “Where is your brother?”
Onan was Securely Grappled, not Helpless. As long as he didn’t struggle, he could talk. With his tail pinned, he couldn’t transform back into a human. “Who wants to know? What business is it of yours, elf? Since when have forest dwellers had dealings with us, merfolk? Let me go. You’ve defeated the pirates, and you can have the ship. If you don’t release me, my father. . .”
“Your father,” Psycho interrupted. “Does he know what you’re doing? Does he know your plan to usurp his throne? Or were you planning to donate the riches you earned from these pirates?” Psycho would need to render the merman Helpless to root through his inventory and was willing to bet he’d find a fortune.
Onan was suddenly less talkative.
“I thought so. Now, where is your brother?”
He remained silent.
“Snowy,” Psycho said, turning to see the wolf and two women standing behind him. He had built a relationship with the animal and had sensed she was there. Draya and Ellanay parted to let the familiar through. “If you get his scent, can you find his brother?”
<If I must,> Snowy replied, cautiously walking up to the smelly prey. Fish was food for cats. Wolves preferred red meat. Still, Snowy bared her teeth and got close to the pinned merman. With the wolf’s chilling breath against his upturned face, Onan did struggle now. He failed his roll and was rendered Helpless, swaying gently back and forth like a pendulum.
Snowy bit him gently to stop the movement and took a reluctant whiff. After a few moments, she pulled away and took a long breath of the sea air. It was partly to clear the strong fish smell and partly to detect any similar scents nearby. <Yes,> the wolf said in Psycho’s mind. <He is on board below deck.>
The ranger nodded. “Draya,” he turned to the mage. “Follow Snowy and rescue our prince.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied, taking off after the wolf.
“What do we do with him?” Ellanay asked. The wind had started Onan swinging again, and the Helpless character was powerless to stop it. The paladin tried not to become hypnotized by it. Merfolk had an innate ability to charm surface dwellers, and even inverted and trapped though he was, Onan was not ugly and had a captivating presence. She cast a protection spell on her mind and focused on the ranger.
“I don’t know,” Psycho said. “Jace did not say what to do with the older brother afterward. It isn’t part of our plan.”
“May I ask,” Ellanay said, “what is your plan?”
Psycho saw no reason not to tell her. By the time he finished, Onan’s Helpless condition had expired. “So my father is in league with the Aden Clan,” he said. The two elves were so taken with each other that they had forgotten he was there. “He dishonors our people by bargaining with pirates and stealing my bride.”
Psycho laughed at him. “What are you doing? You are on a pirate ship working with the most notorious captain in the realms. And you have ignored your people’s promise to Tamar. How does that bring honor?”
Onan laughed. “I am stealing from these pirates, and I’ve made them no promises. As for Tamar, where is she? You say the Aden Clan has her, then bring me to them. I shall fulfill my duty if I must.”
Ellanay scoffed at him. “It sounds like you’ve missed your chance, and these good people have found a more willing mate.”
On cue, Draya and Snowy led a weakened young man up the steps to the back of the ship. He wore loose pants and an embroidered vest set with yellow gemstones over a bare muscled chest. Draya couldn’t keep her eyes off him. It was a good thing they hadn’t brought Esther.Psycho knew it must be Shelah, and to prove it, the man exploded in anger when he saw his older brother. “You trader!” He ran up to kick Onan’s head, and no one stopped him. The merman started swinging more violently, preventing a second kick. “When our father hears about what you’ve done . . .”
“Our father!” Onan called back. “Our father! Have they told what he is doing right now?”
The confused look on the young man’s face let Psycho know Draya had not explained their mission to him. “That can wait,” he said. “For now, what shall be done with him?”
“Cut him down and throw him in shackles,” Shelah replied. “I will commune with our gods to determine his fate.”
“Are you a priest?” Psycho asked.
“I am,” Shelah replied.
“Good. Our crafter needs aid. Perhaps you could heal him before we take you to your father and Tamar.”
“I would be glad to,” the young man said. “Though a potion of healing and restoration would be appreciated.”
“I think we can manage that,” Psycho said.
A few minutes later, they were below deck on Serenity. Draya had placed Gromphy in a hammock hung near the back of a storage room. She had administered a restoration potion, and the Goblin’s mana was back at full, but he was still unconscious. Renald, Picket, and Keyvan also joined the group. Psycho noticed the party had leveled up to 14 after defeating Cloudspark and his crew. The halfling druid had already attempted to aid Gromphy but didn’t have the right spells.
Shelah was at level 16, like his brother, and two rounds after stepping up to the sleeping character, the master crafter stirred in the hammock. The merman had been hesitant when he saw he was meant to revive a goblin but knew he didn’t have the luxury of xenophobia since his own race was often mistrusted.
Upon waking, Gromphy didn’t have the Dexterity necessary to exit the hammock gracefully and required Draya’s gentle aid to find his footing on the wooden floor below. Once again, he felt woozy and needed another potion to restore his balance.
“Are you well enough to travel?” Psycho asked once it appeared Gromphy had his bearings.
The goblin hesitated in response, his eyes rolling up into his head. The ranger waited a few seconds until Gromphy returned his attention to the group. “My apologies,” he said. “Gracie demanded an update as to our progress. I informed her we had a few tasks yet to complete. They encountered resistance, prevailed, and are waiting for us now. We hath a few minutes to continue. Have we vanquished the pirates?”
“Yes,” Psycho replied. “They are all dead or captured.”
“The mage captain too?” the goblin asked.
Psycho looked confused. “Yes. Your arrow killed him. I didn’t think that was possible. It was quite spectacular.”
Now, Gromphy looked puzzled. “A single shot?” he clarified. Psycho nodded. “That canst be. The Maker hath not blessed me with that much skill.” He thought about it for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. “No matter, we can thus proceed to our next task in these waters.”
“Actually,” Psycho said, “I think we are done here. The Travel node is in the next room. If Gracie told you where Jace is, we can be there in seconds.”
Gromphy smiled. “Dost thou not realize why I accompanied you on this volatile mission?”
Psycho gave the crafter a blank stare.
“Tis not for my love of the sea.”
“The Frosthold,” Draya said, remembering their earlier conversation. “You want to use the merfolk’s mana source to purge the stone core of lava.”
Gromphy nodded.
Psycho looked confused. “What does the Frosthold have to do with this mission?” He had been eager to prove himself useful when Gromphy requested a cold mana core but hadn’t dug into why. When he had asked Draya, the mage had started a long, magical explanation that the ranger didn’t fully comprehend. He trusted Draya and Gromphy’s skills, but Jace put him in charge of this mission, and he knew they needed to return to their leader as soon as possible.
“We need to do it,” Draya insisted. “This is our only chance to fix it.”
Psycho didn’t spend any effort trying to understand what was broken. “Do we have time?”
“Gracie advised their situation has not escalated to a critical stage,” Gromphy said. “We have time if we cease this banter and make haste.” He turned to Shelah. His crafter powers could discern other characters' abilities and powers, and the merman was easily identifiable. “Wouldst thou be willing to offer aid? Is thy kingdom far from here?”
Shelah nodded. “It is the least I could do. After all, Onan would still have me locked in the pirates’ hold if it weren’t for you.”
“Good,” Draya said. She turned to Renald to see if the captain would ferry them a bit farther. He nodded. “Then let’s go.”
