Startup 54: Sunk Cost

Rova 9, Evening

The Saber’s Kiss lay like a fallen beast, overgrown with bone white coral that seemed to be slowly devouring it. A massive, clean gash ran down the side of the hull, the result of Kelizar’s breath eating through the unenchanted wood. The voices echoing out of the hole made it impossible for me to see it as anything but a mouth; a mouth we were about to enter willingly.

“Come back, Drusilla.” Came a single clear voice over a chorus of moans, “We missed you.”

Varossa ignored the voices completely, drifting about fifty feet away from our point of entry. She could obviously hear them based on her initial reaction, but she seemed determined to ignore them as long as possible. Maybe she thought she was the only one hearing them?

It would have been nice to be able to sweep my eyes over the ship and pick out the enchanted items, but Detect Magic was an extremely common and easy to cast spell. If the hidden compartment wasn’t lined in lead, it would have been rendered useless to most competent inspections the moment he put a magic item in there. It seemed safe to assume that a sorcerer with a harem of sorceresses would have at least one person available to give the walls a once over.

I’d asked Varossa once how she could be so sure Kelizar hadn’t taken it, and her response had been that it wasn’t in his hoard as of three years ago. Given her adamant refusal to let the dragon see her face, I suspected this wasn’t her first attempt to retrieve the horn.

Got as far as the hoard three years ago, or paid someone else to do it. Got caught, got killed. That’s what I’ll assume unless something else comes up.

••••••••••

The day before

“I’ll need to know the layout.” I said, “There is basically no world in which we want to be in that ship longer than we have to be.”

“A floor plan and your estimates for where the target is concealed, at minimum." Syl said. “We can plan out a pattern for a quick sweep.”

“It’s a retrofitted Andoran Hawk.” Varossa said, as if that was all the information we needed. “The most likely locations are within the interior walls or at the bow and stern.”

Cog slapped a clean piece of paper down in front of her.

“If you know it, draw it out. Not everyone here has that sort of thing memorized.” Cog said, “mark the places you think are most likely. While you work, tell me: is the key magical, or do we need to worry about breaking it if we get rough?”

“Good point.” Varossa said, “We are looking for a horn, about the length of my forearm; it’ll be made out of either silver or bronze. It’s enchanted, so there shouldn’t be too much tarnish and it’ll be hard to seriously damage without concerted effort. We might be able to blow up the whole thing and pick through the wreckage. You can see magic, can you not?”

“No.” Cog said firmly. “It’s likely the spirit or spirits are contained in the ship. They’ll come out if we do that, and will almost certainly be angry. There’s also at least some chance that the spirits will latch onto or feed upon a strong magic item like that; that’s how you get curses.”

“Yeah, no.” I said. “It was worth discussing but remember: we don’t want to shit in Kelizar’s lawn.”

Cog raised one eyebrow.

“Or release some kind of roaming monstrosity upon the sea floor.”

He nodded, satisfied.

••••••••••

I had only the faintest hope things would be that easy, but it was worth a shot. Even if my scout was immediately obliterated, we’d have some idea of what not to do. I deliberated over whether I should use a first or second spell slot, but decided to go with the stronger and smarter option. With a sweeping gesture, the ambient magical energy and seawater congealed into an eight legged form. (Summon Monster 2)

I ordered the octopus-shaped elemental to swim in and examine that area inch by inch. Thankfully I could speak Aquan now, because I didn’t have time for pantomime. Summon Monster 2 would only last about a minute, but if it survived that long I could send Ve’ra or my shadow puppet to do a more thorough investigation. While we watched it swim away, I decided to ask the obvious question.

“Who is Drusilla?” I asked. “It’s clear you know a lot about this shipwreck.”

I knew Varossa was some kind of clone made from binding magic, whose memories would return to the original upon ****, but she didn’t know that I knew. I wanted to know what cover story she’d come up with almost as much as I wanted to keep my knowledge close to the chest.

“My sister resembled me. She died here.” Varossa said, “Pay attention to the task at hand.”

I didn’t get any additional information from Autopilot, who was monitoring my elemental. I probably wouldn’t have noticed the faint cracking noise, our only warning, without the help. The coral bed within the ship broke as a humanoid form stood up from the deck, a figure which was all jagged edges and hard surfaces. It lurched for the elemental, which jetted across the room to avoid the swinging fist. (Opposed Perception 17+12=29. You are not surprised)

Possessed Lesser Coral Golem missed Small Water Elemental

“Look at me, Drusilla!” The voice roared. “You can’t ignore me!”

Time slowed down, confirming that the ghost was indeed a clear and present danger. The voice didn’t seem to be coming from the golem, so I was guessing we’d have more than one problem on our hands soon. I decided to take advantage of one of the quirks of initiative to have a quick conference.

I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who understood everything, thanks to Autopilot, but thankfully we’d already discussed most of the high points. We did a lot more gesturing and waving arms, but I’ll summarize for the sake of clarity.

“What do you say?” I asked. “I guess we could try a siege, but I’m pretty sure that would just piss it off. It’d take a while, too.”

“Despite your fixation, we are not here for the spirit.” Varossa said. “It’s just an obstacle.”

“You could try talking to it.” I said, “Whether or not you are who he thinks you are, that ghost doesn’t seem to care about the rest of us. We might be able to find the goods while you keep him distracted.”

Varossa grimaced at the thought, pursing her lips as she looked down at the ship.

“Will that stop the constructs?” Sosima asked, dubious. “Besides, the time may have already passed. The spirit is already angered.”

Damn it. I should have just made the Catrina swim.

“Isn’t it worth a shot?” I asked, “Keep your weapons loose, but if you can get us thirty seconds I bet the rest of us can at least narrow our options down.”

“Fine!” Varossa spat. “I’ll play the part.”

I ended my turn by calling out Ve’ra and swimming forward carefully. Varossa swam down slowly, as she was no longer a mermaid. When she reached the big gash in the side of the ship, she cupped her hands around her mouth and called out.

“Halid!” She said, “I’m here to talk.”

I mentally ordered my elemental to play defensively, dodging without any attempt to attack back. I threw up two fingers, which I’d chosen as the signal for the faster and riskier search pattern B. Lubo and Creed made for the bow while Sosima and I headed for the stern. I was well aware of the conventional wisdom about splitting up in a haunted structure, but no one would be more than one round of movement away. The elemental continued to dance with the coral figure in the background, leaving us to our work for the moment.

I stretched my fingers, creating sheathes of jagged darkness around my hands. Moments later, Ve’ra’s hands grew into huge, perfectly tangible talons.

“Oh fuck yeah!” Ve’ra said, laughing, “That’s the stuff!”

(Second level spell: Shadow Claws cast x2)

The already rotted wood seemed to disintegrate with decay as the claws made contact, allowing Ve’ra and I to rip great chunks out of the walls. I didn’t bother keeping a careful watch, trusting Sosima to track any large gaps in our search. If we broke the seal on the hidden compartment, it would be as visible to me as a bright light shining through a crack.

“I knew you survived.” The ghost, Halid, said, “Always so clever. The captain should have listened to you.”

The ghost’s voice was omnipresent, with no clear source. It seemed to resonate throughout the entire ship, and though he was speaking common he was perfectly audible through the undersea environment. I couldn’t understand Varossa’s responses, not without the benefits of Autopilot translating from a few feet away.

My team was careful not to touch the coral; it was dark blue despite the near-complete lack of light, so I was almost certain that it was completely saturated with necromancy. Unfortunately, it was also covering half the surfaces in the ship. Ve’ra and I broke apart every exposed inner wall without finding anything, and by the time that my elemental disintegrated we met Lubo and Creed near the middle of the ship.

They’d taken similar precautions and hadn’t found any more success. I double checked, and there wasn’t a flicker of any school of magic save the dark blue of necromancy. The coral golem stood perfectly still after the elemental vanished, making no move to attack the new wave of far more destructive intruders. In fact, it crawled back into the hole it had formed and fused back into the coral bed.

“I don’t want to talk about the captain anymore.” Halid said petulantly, “Why didn’t you ever come back? It’s been so long. Why now? Is it because you finally learned magic? I know you always wanted to. That was an impressive elemental.”

I looked around at my companions and then grudgingly at the coral. It would almost certainly elicit a negative response. Sosima jabbed a thumb at Varossa, raising an eyebrow. We listened in on her chat with the ghost again, focusing Autopilot upon her for a more complete picture of the conversation.

“Halid, I’m sorry to say this, but you’re dead.” She said gently. “It’s not good for you to still be here.”

Another figure stood up from the coral, though this one was clearly more than a puppet. He was surprisingly well preserved, recognizable as a middle aged man with long, wispy black hair that didn’t even cover the top of his head. He wore a long brown coat, cracked and rotting from years beneath the waves.

“Then please, be with me one last time.” Halid said, pleading. “Just come inside. Let me kiss you once more before eternity. I always knew you were too good for me.”

Varossa, still floating almost a dozen feet outside of the underwater hulk, recoiled. With all of her gentle sympathy evaporating in an instant, she seemed close to gagging as she looked down at him. Halid held out his arms, pleading. He truly seemed ready to let go, if he could leave with the knowledge that the woman he’d loved still loved him. (Opposed Sense Motive 15 + 10 =25)

Varossa looked at me, pleading. I nodded and gestured for her to come on in. It was gross, but we’d be there if he tried anything. Being nice and seeing him off was the obvious play. Her nostrils flared as she shook her head once, disgust clear in her face.

“Did you have any luck finding it?” She shouted, muffled but audible.

“No, ma’am.” Creed shouted back. “Looks like it’s under the coral, if it is here at all.”

“What?” Halid said, looking around and noticing Creed for the first time. “Who is this? What are you looking for?”

“Ugh.” Varossa said. “Then this was a waste of time.”

I waved my arms at Varossa frantically. I could not have been saying no more clearly.

“You…” Halid said, voice small, “You weren’t here for me at all.”

“I can’t risk getting closer; he’d no doubt try to keep me captive. Use the bombs, I suppose.” Varossa said. “The coral seems to be the key to his power. Disrupt that without shattering the hull, and finish the search.”

Creed immediately opened his pack and pulled out a few alchemical satchel charges, which I’d specifically asked he not bring. We didn’t want to damage the ship, we didn’t want to piss off Kelizar. It seemed that Varossa’s regard for my needs extended about as far as those she had for Halid.

“Stop ignoring me!” Halid roared. “Is this man why you never came back? You just replaced me?”

Water surged into the ship, as if the great maw were inhaling. My hand, resting upon the edge of the gash, suddenly flared with an **** burning sensation.

You have been burnt by a dragon’s breath weapon. 23 acid damage.

Will Save 4 + 8 =12

Failed save vs Traumatic Memory

Breath weapon? Oh shit. Now he’s pissed.

••••••••••

“It’s a good idea to bring along Sandara,” Cog explained, “but remember that ghosts aren’t actually put to rest if you disperse their body.”

He drew a simplistic representation of a cloud with a stick figure in the middle.

“Positive energy will neutralize a ghost, rendering it incapable of even communicating,” Cog explained, “The problem is that the free floating soul is continuously drawing in negative energy for as long as it has unbroken tethers. It’ll draw in a new cloud of energy within a few days unless you break those tethers by giving it solace.”

“I’ll see if I can bring along an expert.” I promised, “For the sake of the argument though, if we beat down the ghost then we won’t have anything left to worry about except normal deep diving problems?”

“Not exactly.” Cog said, “This ship has lain undisturbed for years near a ghost. It’s probably formed a few haunts.”

“Yes, yes,” Varossa said, “Large deposits of negative energy that form into echoes of traumatic events or patterns of behavior. We can have Miss Quinn or Lubo handle those, no? There’s no “precious” soul to worry about there.”

She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed with my intention to do an exorcism. She just wanted to get in and get out. She seemed to know at least a little bit about my mission log, but that didn’t mean she cared about my objectives.

••••••••••

“We aren’t getting out this way!” I yelled, yanking my burning hand back. “Uncover the hatch leading to the deck, we need an exit strategy. Lubo, Ve’ra, handle the ghost.”

Technically Lubo could probably punch through the haunt emulating Kelizar’s breath weapon, but it seemed wiser to use our limited supply of positive energy beating back the enraged ghost. Halid didn’t seem like the sharpest tool in the shed, but he seemed to be the nerve center for this haunted ship. I wasn’t certain Ve’ra would be able to interact with him, since I didn’t know if they were both on the same wavelength, but it certainly seemed worth a shot.

You just couldn’t string the poor guy along for five more fucking minutes!

Lubo expanded into her wereshark form and swiped one clawed hand through the ghostly figure. As she did, a cold blue light flared out of her palm and left a line of blistering ghostly flesh behind. Ve’ra brought her own claws to bear, leftovers from the search, and where the shadow claws tore his ghostly flesh it unraveled into ghostly ribbons. They were small injuries, like scratches from an enraged cat, but they were clearly causing him pain.

Halid’s look of confused betrayal, already horrible on his dead face, fell away as he lost all vestiges of humanity in a surge of wrath. His eyes rotted away in seconds, his jaw went slack, and he moaned with rage.

“Emrys!” Sosima said, “incoming!”

A series of cracking noises filled the submerged hold as a dozen of the coral constructs ripped themselves from the walls and floor.

One of them isn’t too bad; my water elemental could hold them off without too much trouble. A dozen, though… looks like time for an area of effect.

I thrust out both palms towards the bow of the ship, releasing a pulse of cold. A cloud of icy slush formed in front of me, engulfing half the hold. As the ice froze, it expanded, displacing a large amount of water all at once.

I was knocked off balance by a surge of surprisingly warm water, slamming me against the bulkhead. Sosima and Lubo were stabilized by Vishgurv’s magic and Ve’ra hardly noticed, but unfortunately Creed was in the middle of prepping demolition charges.

He slammed against the armed explosive charge.

I flailed against the wall as my eyes and ears were overpowered with sound and light. I was once again knocked head over heels by the shifting pressure. Only in the detached clarity of a frozen moment was I able to process what happened, taking what felt like an eternity to understand.

I saw Creed flung away from the bomb, the front half of his body charred. An inner bulkhead that had been covered in coral a few minutes before had a massive hole punched through, with shattered coral constructs scattered about. The weight of the ship itself shifted, a vibration I felt through the water rather than heard thanks to the ringing in my ears.

Sosima plunged her old grindylow spear into the chest of a construct that was struggling out of the ice. She kicked it off, back into the slush, and repeated the process with another construct. Lubo feebly struggled out of the far end of the cloud of acid haunt, no doubt pushed through by one shockwave or another. Halid pressed his hands against the wall, and it was only when I saw my familiar’s claws flailing at his arms that I realized he was holding Ve’ra by her shadowy throat.

A surge of strength flowed through me, (Divine Favor, +2 to attack and damage) and I lunged forward to drag Halid off of Ve’ra. I couldn’t quite get a grip on him, even with my claws, but I did distract him enough for Ve’ra to get loose. Halid pushed forward, embracing me, and I could feel a filthy coldness permeating through my skin. Into my body.

Will save vs Malevolence 15+8=23

You are not possessed

Oh fuck no. None of that.

The world outside the ship was turning. Lubo and Varossa drifted out of view as the weight of the ship shifted. I glanced around, and caught a flash of orange magic mixed in along with the dark blue.

This has all gone to shit, but that doesn’t mean we can forget what we are here for. Probably shouldn’t leave Creed’s corpse laying around, either.

“Sima, get Creed!” I yelled, “Leave the coral! Ve’ra, hold him off!”

If he’s dead, I’m taking Jerry’s fee out of your share of the treasure.

I swam for the flash of orange, and the moment Sosima pulled her spear back I called up a six inch wall of solid ice to block off that half of the ship. I was more prepared for the shockwave that time, bracing myself against a bulkhead. Between the wall and the slush, we’d have at least a minute or two to get out.

I dug through broken shards of coral and wood, eventually uncovering a silver horn from the wreckage. I shoved it into my shirt, where it tingled with warmth.

“Alright everyone, let’s go, go, go!”

Ve’ra was wrestling the ghost, but he had about a foot of height on her and the muscles that came from a life of hard work. I assumed that’s why she wasn’t having much luck, anyway; it might just have been that ten years of bad vibes were a lot stronger than one spell point from me could provide Ve’ra. Either way, he’d get out long before his pets.

I kicked off the wall and ripped open the hatch leading up to the deck just before my claws finally disappeared.

“Get out this way!” I shouted down.

I saw Creed’s body rapidly repairing itself, proving that he was still somehow alive. I belatedly remembered something about him having some kind of limited regeneration, but he was still limp when I saw his self healing sputter and stop. He wouldn’t be back on his feet without a lot more healing, and Lubo wasn’t about to get scoured by ghostly dragon breath again on his behalf. I rushed over to the far side of the ship, where the ship was teetering towards a cliff. I used the last of my third level spells to renew my Undine form. I was now on a hard timer of one hour to get out of the water.

I gathered elemental cold into my hands and created the most artless, simplistic construct I could imagine: a long wedge of ice, formed in such a way as to extend from the cliff and catch the shifting shipwreck. (2 spell points: Frost Shaper’s Path, enlarged creation) The ice forming my improvised doorstop crunched and cracked under the pressure, already straining to hold the weight by the time the wave of released heat and pressure passed over me. The fragile material wouldn’t hold up long, but all of my people were already out of the ship. Besides, I kind of needed the ship to break open like an egg at this point.

I looked out at my team and saw them huddled around Creed, whose body was convulsing under a cold light emanating from Lubo’s hands. It did not seem like Vishgurv’s healing was as pleasant as Besmara’s. At least, I sincerely hoped that was the problem; if Lubo was fucking around at a time like this I’d kill her myself.

I called an illusion of my voice near Varossa; it wasn’t real, but it also wasn’t blocked or distorted by the water. (Ghost Sound)

“Varossa!” I called, “Back to the ship!”

I sent a mental command to Ve’ra, ordering her to share the exact location of the ship with Halid, and to make it clear that was where Varossa was going.

If you don’t want to be used as bait, I suggest you deal with the damn problem when it comes up.