[Now to return to Fenrir and his fine friends who had just obliterated a pirate base on Hammerhead Island and although they had not found their target - Hrarnok Sharkchum, they were confident he could not be far away.]
DAY 491 (6th Flamerule)(July) cont ...
From the dead bodies that littered the pirate caves, Veddic raised 16 skeletons and stuffed them all into his Bag of Holding. It was starting to get a little crowded in there.
Meanwhile Fenrir went scouting, flying across the island, while invisible, to take a look at the town. Built almost entirely out of wood, it was an impressive size for a town that serviced (Fenrir assumed) only pirate ships.
He saw a group of people down at the docks and a man that looked like a Harbourmaster, but it was not Sharkchum. He then flew around until he spotted a building that looked like the finest dwelling in the town - like an island Governor's mansion. Built of wood is sprawled across a large, palm tree shaded, compound. It was heavily guarded too, with a dozen men at the gates and main door.
While Raz and Veddic walked along the forest path to the town, Fenrir entered the mansion garden and looked through some windows.
In the living room he saw three men. One was large, hairy and richly dressed. Another looked like a cleric of Umberlee and another was ever bigger than the first, and less hairy.
There was also a woman dressed as a tart, whom was addressed as 'Blamange'.
Fenrir called, 'Sharkchum's a poofter!' from outside the window. The biggest man went to it and looked out.
'What do you see, Tunny?' asked the other.
Suddenly a pirate called Carver, who Fenrir recognised from the caves, burst through the doors, yelling, 'we are attacked! The caves are being attacked by wizards and barbarians!'
'This isn't like last time when you were all drunk and thought a kraken was in the caves and it turned out just to be a fat seal?'
'No my lord!' pleaded Carver, 'Many are dead already! They killed Jonas and Kid Wombat and the Wedding Killer, oh and Little Jimmy Kidneys!'
The cleric left, going to his temple. The other two men went to nearby armour stands and started strapping on their fullplate armour.
Fenrir, thinking it would be a good idea to fight them before they were ready, burst through the window and attacked. Sharkchum and Tunny were not pushovers though, they turned into their hybrid wereshark forms and as the battle continued, they cased Fenrir into the hall and backed him into an alcove under the stairs.
Fenrir killed many of the wereshark guards as they entered the hall in waves, using blasts of his Eldritch Cone to sweep the area, sending blood and guts everywhere. Somewhere in the melee, Blamange was also killed.
Next to fall was Tunny. Although they were landing telling blows on Fenrir and he was badly injured, he was still able to use his Eldritch magic. Sharkchum kept at him, but was taken down by a Painful Slumber spell. Three minutes later Veddic and Raz turned up, stepping carefully over the piles of bodies that littered the smoking ruin of the main hall of the mansion.
They decided to leave, and Sharkchum was bundled onto the carpet with Veddic while Fenrir and Raz used Wind Walk. They flew west for five miles, but looking east they could see that they were being followed. Four manticores slowly gained on them, but when Fenrir turned back and killed one, the others flew off.
An hour later they saw sails to the east, three ships. They flew up into the clouds and hid for a while, and when they descended to take a look around they saw that the ships were now directly below them.
Fenrir took the Bag of Holding with the barrels of oil in it and headed down, staying invisible. He then firebombed the ships, setting the sails and decks on fire and sending the sailors scurrying to the pumps. Some return shots were fired, but nothing hit.
Fenrir turned invisible and they headed back into the clouds. Hours later, after flying north, they found a small island, not much more than a lump of sand half a mile across with a few palms on it. Here they landed, surprising a group of puffins that nested in the rocks on the shore.
It was noon though, so they didn't stop, but flew on and after another six miles they found another island similar to the first.
At two o'clock they made camp in the centre of the island, using the sixteen skeletons as guards.
Fenrir tied Sharkchum and then woke him up.
'You seem to have me at a disadvantage gentleman,' said Sharkchum who was apparently well spoken.
Fenrir talked, and threatened, but did not break through Sharkchum's calm demeanour. When he started stabbing the pirate though, Sharkchum took action, turning into a shark so that his bonds fell loose. Fenrir started kicking the shark, and instructed the others to do the same.
I find it hard to imagine the scene to be honest. Three grown men kicking a shark to death. Fenrir stopped. 'Oh, is he dead?' he wondered.
Veddic checked, and amazingly Sharkchum still lived. He healed him then cast 'Charm Person', poor old Veddic once again suddenly remembering he had a spell that would have been useful at the start - and would have at least have saved him the indignity of kicking in a defenseless sea creature!
Sharkchum turned back into a man and greeted his new friend. He still did not like the look of Fenrir and Raz though and started to back off out of the camp. Veddic may have used a Charm spell, but he was not as diplomatic as Fenrir and his simple threats had little effect.
Sharkchum was charmed, but he was not stupid. He ran for the seaside.
Fenrir decided to hit him with everything and channeled all his magic into a blast that literally blew the pirate to bits.
'Oh,' mused Fenrir, as they picked through the pirate lumps for clues. 'I thought he would survive that.'
Luckily for them (very luckily!) they found a scorched and bloodstained letter that was addressed to 'Blackthorn, druid of Silvanus'.
It was now five in the evening. Two ships were seen in the south, heading for the island. Somehow they were being tracked. Fenrir went to take a look, they seemed to be burnt up, but still seaworthy.
Back at the island they put the skeletons back in the bag, then flew for a while (Veddic had no more Wind Walk spells). Once it was dark, they unfolded the magic boat and spent the night on it.
They were untroubled by pirates, manticores or anything else so perhaps it had been only Sharkchum that had been tracked.
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