Startup 55: Crisis Management

Rova 10, just after midnight

Sound carries pretty well in water. It’s not clear, true, but the medium is a lot denser than air so it can travel quite a distance. For example, as I swam as quickly as my Undine arms and legs could take me I could hear the drumming of rain above me on the surface. I could hear Sosima beside me, grunting with the effort of hauling Creed. Perhaps most importantly, I could hear the crunch of the Saber’s Kiss falling to the foot of an underwater cliff.

Ve’ra’s shadow body was already long dead by then, beaten to **** by a stronger spirit, but she’d done her job. I felt time stop when we were around halfway back to the Enterprise. I took a deep breath to steel myself and looked over my shoulder.

Halid floated in the water behind us, starkly visible even in the darkness as if he’d been photoshopped into the center of a black screen. He stood as if he were on solid ground, body unnaturally still even compared to the normal slow motion on my turns. In the distance, glinting in the moonlight, I saw bleached white coral constructs leaping between undersea peaks.

Fuck. It’s Bonewrack all over again.

I swam forward, glancing back each turn. Slowly, steadily, Halid closed the distance. He always appeared to be perfectly still, but he grow larger and larger each time I checked.

••••••••••

“What if he does get loose?” I asked, “I’m going to avoid it if I can, but anything could happen.”

“He’ll wander off, looking for whatever kept him here.” Sandara said, butting in before Cog could answer, “If he’s protecting a treasure on the ship or something, he probably won’t leave regardless.”

“Unlikely.” Sosima noted, “No real dragon would leave a treasure horde lying around their territory unclaimed. Unless it was this mysterious key, of course.”

“If it’s the horn, then it’s probably already cursed.” Cog said, “Bring it back to the ship and we can figure things out. We might want to rig it up to a net and leave it in the water, though. Assuming we can’t immediately put the soul to rest. It’ll definitely follow us if we steal its anchor.”

“So we can use the anchor as bait?” Syl said, smiling, “In that case, there’s hardly any chance of failure. You can just bring the ghost back to the ship. If plan A doesn't work, find its anchor and break it loose. We can lure it in and break it down here.”

••••••••••

In the distance, flashes of light arced beneath us, electricity illuminating a small legion of coral beasts. The sources of those flashes were small, fish tailed people leading teams of warriors. Kelizar’s guards were outnumbered, at least two to one, and scattered. Their only real advantage was superior mobility, since the constructs were too heavy to swim well.

In retrospect, I need to consider risk management a little bit more. Breaking the ship might have been a bad move. I really can’t just leave now.

As Halid crept ever closer to our heels, I realized pretty quickly that we wouldn’t make it home before he caught us. He seemed to be ignoring any countercurrents or eddies that knocked us off track; I wasn’t much of an expert on those, so I usually didn’t even notice we were caught in one until I saw the ship lurch to the side in the distance.

I took over swimming duty for a turn, freeing up autopilot to cast Ghost Sound.

“Varossa!” I said, “He will catch us at this rate, but I think he is only after you. He might ignore the rest of us if he doesn’t see you.”

“I’ll figure something out, Drusilla.” Halid’s voice carried through the water with perfect clarity, just like his body. “I know you’re scared, but we will be together again once these men are out of the way.”

Varossa glanced back at me, and slowed down just enough to let me catch up with her. Once I was nearby, I created a verticle disk of cloudy ice behind us, an undersea wall that any normal person would need to swim around. It immediately drifted upwards, but I only needed a few seconds. Once Halid couldn’t see us, I reached out and used the last of my second level spells to make her invisible. I kept swimming of course, wanting as much distance between me and the ghost as possible.

At the beginning of my next turn, I stopped and turned around. It took me quite a while to figure out how to salvage this situation, and none of my options were good. The short term pragmatic plan would be to send Halid on a wild goose chase, but that would almost certainly get someone killed. Probably no one I knew though, so it was still a little tempting. Instead, I went with a substantially riskier play.

“Hah!” I crowed, with all the false smugness I could manage, “I’ve teleported Drusilla back to the Enterprise with orders to set sail immediately. You’ll never see her again.”

I spoke in Aquan, the only language I knew that could hope to reach his ears underwater. Even if he didn’t know the tongue, it was likely he’d understand the tone.

“Oh, I will,” Halid answered, his voice distorting oddly, “but you won’t.”

He rushed past us, and in his wake he created a current which pulled us all back towards the ship, and more importantly towards the army of constructs. (Opposed Bluff 10+15+5+5=35)

Sandara, you’d better have followed the damn plan. I do not trust Emmanuel to be the sole line of defense for the ship.

••••••••••

Cog leaned against the Enterprise’s mast, centering himself. Being sidelined so completely irked him. It wasn’t as if he were a show off; if anything Cog hated being the center of attention. He just hated waiting around. That was half of why Cog had decided to go into field work: the opportunity to directly shape the world around him.

The merfolk formed a cordon around the Enterprise, detaining them until Kelizar arrived. In all likelihood, the dragon would turn around and head right down to the ship once he knew Emrys was down there. Emmanuel, as an outsider and a servant of Pharasma, could be blamed for the deception easily enough, but only for as long as nobody could speak to one another without his interpretation.

None of that would be Cog’s job, however. He wasn’t great at talking, at least not compared to someone silver tongued like Emrys or Sandara. He met Syl’s eyes, and she stopped pacing for a few moments to raise an eyebrow.

“I hope Sosima comes out of this alright.” Cog said calmly. “Emrys has that new teleportation trick of his; there’s not much that could pin him down anymore.”

A bit of the tension bled out of Syl’s shoulders. She walked over closer to Cog, so as to avoid being overheard. Sandara and Emmanuel were keeping watch, just in case Kelizar or the ghost showed up. All the smallfolk had transferred to Gobron’s ship for the foreseeable future, with Rosie as acting captain and Conchobar as her second.

“Yeah.” She said, “There’s just a lot riding on this job. He might do something stupid if it means getting that horn, and if anyone else gets hurt he’d stay back for far too long.”

“You say that as if he doesn’t have insurance.” Cog said with a snort. “I don’t exactly approve of his methods, but Jerry could almost certainly bring Emrys back.”

“That would cost us everything!” Syl said. “His services aren’t cheap, and there’s no way we could pay the debt in time then!”

“That’s doesn’t sound like losing everything to me.” Cog countered. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Syl looked at him as if he’d suggested setting sail without Emrys.

“That’s not rhetorical, Syl.” Cog said. “Seriously. What is the worst that could happen?”

“Emrys dies and loses his magic: all of it!” Syl said, “We’d still be in the hole, too. I’ve read the contract. The debt isn’t canceled until he pays it off in full, he just gets a somewhat easier payment plan.”

Cog raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.

“We?” Cog said, “So you wouldn’t abandon him?”

“Of course not!” Syl said, eyes blazing.

“Neither would I.” Cog said. “I think we’d be safe assuming Rosie, Aaron, Filli, and Rowe would stick around. Those are just the ones I feel completely certain about; most of the crew would stick around for at least a while. He’s already got a job lined up in Fairwind’s fleet if he wants it. Guarding the coast isn’t as glamorous, but he could pay our wages while he gets back on his feet, maybe take up binding or study wizardry. That’s the worst that could happen.”

It was at least partially a lie. There were always worse things that could happen, but Cog was laying out the worst realistic scenario. It gave Syl something to anchor to that wasn’t half as bad as the malformed specters in her mind. She relaxed her shoulders, letting out a long breath.

“He’s a numbers guy.” Syl said, “I don’t know if he’d actually stay on a ship if he lost his edge. More likely that he’d sell the Enterprise and use the money to pay off his debt or start some other business.”

“Or just start carrying cargo.” Cog said with a shrug. “He does seem like he has a nose for deals.”

They relaxed like that for a time, building the next chapter of Emrys’s life for him. No doubt he’d have several objections, starting with the assumption he’d fail, but Cog liked to consider success to be a pleasant surprise. After all, **** was the only thing anyone was promised with any certainty.

The figure arrived without fanfare, a dark silhouette rising over the side of the ship in utter silence. The pale moonlight passed through him, casting no shadow even as it illuminated his too-pale face and soaking hair.

“Drusilla?” It yelled, “Where is she? Where are you hiding her?”

••••••••••

Emmanuel stepped forward, hands held out as if to embrace the ghost. He was relaxed, pulling a cigar out of his suit and lighting it. Sandara felt a cool, soothing breeze flow out from the skeleton. It felt like the calming magic from that annoying little lizard Ethyl, and Sandara shrugged it off just as easily.

“Sorry man,” Emmanuel said, “It looks like you’re at the end of your rope. You want to talk about it?”

The ghost’s eyes focused on the psychopomp, the hollow caverns narrowing to slits as he did. The ghost squared off, obviously ready for a fight. Cog and Syl both drew their blades, though Cog’s was probably more for moral support than anything else. Ghosts couldn’t be touched with nonmagical weapons.

“You can’t take me.” The ghost said, “I’m not done yet.”

“You are.” Emmanuel said, walking towards the ghost. “I’m sorry, but you’re gonna need to let this life go now. You’re a young enough guy that I can probably get you reborn if you’re still this attached. I can get you a sweetheart deal if you come willingly.”

“Reborn?” The ghost said, perking up, “Resurrection?”

“Something like that, yeah.” Emmanuel said. “What do you say? Come back to the office with me and I can hook you up.”

He held out one bony hand in invitation, and for a moment Sandara thought everything would just work out. Unfortunately, the ghost shook his head, seeming to shake off the calming aura.

“No. No, that’s not how your kind work.” He said. “It’s a trick!”

The floating, waterlogged corpse lunged forward, seizing an entirely unphased Emmanuel. Dark energy crackled off of the ghost’s hands, burning away the cream colored suit but leaving the skeleton beneath unharmed. Emmanuel grabbed the ghost by the waist, groaning.

“None of that!” He said firmly, holding the struggling ghost in place, “I prefer to save this one for the ladies, but it can’t always be helped.”

The skeleton pulled the spirit in close, planting his teeth against the corpse’s rotting lips. Sandara could feel a quiet hum of positive energy radiating from the skeleton, and the ghost started to struggle even harder. The Catrina’s kiss was a deadly weapon, though the psychopomps wouldn’t describe it as such. Its use would send any soul directly to the court of Pharasma, bypassing procedures and annoying everyone involved, but absolutely ensuring the target was as dead as it was possible to be. It took eighteen seconds and was primarily a spiritual compulsion.

Not bad, as long as he doesn’t slip away. I think a curse might be in order for that.

Sandara figured that a curse of misfortune upon the ghost, weakening its will, would all but guarantee its successful capture. She shook loose her Jolly Roger and began quoting Iron Turpin’s famous last words to the Chelish governor that hung him.

Unfortunately, as a ghost, their foe could influence the world around him in ways that aligned with the life he’d lived. It seemed like this particular spirit hadn’t been all that emotionally attached to the Saber’s Kiss in particular, allowing him to feel at home upon any ship. In turn, the rigging on the Enterprise recognized his authority and dropped down a loop of rope that wrapped a noose around Emmanuel’s neck before tugging him into the air violently.

“Fuck!” The skeleton cried, proving once and for all that as a skeleton he didn’t need air. “You’re just making this harder on yourself, man!”

Sandara shrugged and started in on plan B. She raised her flag and a series of small holes appeared in the ghost, as if he’d had a taste of grapeshot. The spirit staggered back, reeling with pain, and focused instead on Sandara.

“Come on you whoreson!” She said, “You don’t want Pharasma? Let’s see how you like Besmara!”

She tensed and dove to the side as the ghost swooped towards her. Syl dove in to intercept, her silver knife flashing in the moonlight and sparking against ghostly flesh that blackened but never broke. Cog barked orders at the crew, who’d been gawking at proceedings up to this point. A few of them ran below and a couple started climbing to cut the rope holding the reaper at bay.

The ghost struck Syl with a mighty backhand, black miasma pouring into her. She bared her teeth in pain as the flesh his hand passed through rotted in seconds, but lunged forward again with another strike. If Syl was going all in, it would have been a disservice for Sandara to do anything less. She rushed forward, converting one of her strongest spells into a ball of pure positive energy that Sandara drove into the ghost’s side like a shank.

He howled in fury and pain, his entire form flickering as he barely held onto cohesion. With a parting kick towards Syl’s nose, the ghost flew into the sky. He left behind Syl, writhing on the ground as blue-black decay spread across her face. Sandara glanced up at the damn skeleton, who was still struggling like a fly caught in a spider’s web.

Useless. Ah well, we can deal with the ghost later. Syl’s gonna get an infection at best if I don’t see to her.

Sandara rushed over to Syl, inspecting her wound. In all likelihood most of the flesh would recover with a proper dose of healing magic, thankfully, but there was a real chance of scarring. On a positive note, it would be pretty damn easy to get her a matching glass eye if this one was ruined.

“Drusilla’s in my bed, you pathetic sack of shit!” Cog roared into the night sky, “Said that she’d need me after seeing a pathetic wretch like you today. Once you clear off, I’ll be able to go show her how a real man treats a woman.”

Cog, however, seemed quite a bit more determined to get the ghostly bastard on the first try. Sandara glanced up into the sky and saw that the ghost in question pause, turn, and return. Cog held his bone knife out, proffered like a holy symbol.

“Sandara.” Cog said. “Don’t banish it. I’ve got a plan.”

••••••••••

The away team and I were dragged backwards into a battlefield. As I’d guessed, the humanoid masses of coral were not very dangerous offensively. They were, however, extremely sturdy. I saw a few of them shrugging off jets of superheated steam from a sorceress, not even breaking stride as they leapt for Kelizar’s guards.

Nearly the entire reef had stood up and wandered off as a single mass. I had no idea where Kelizar’s lair or his people were, but assumed that the constructs would find something innocent to trample given enough time.

I swam towards the nearest team of defenders, only to feel a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw a mass of illusion magic that could only have been a still-invisible Varossa. I didn’t have a chance in hell of understanding her garbled words without seeing her face, but I could guess.

“I’m helping them.” I said. “This is our fault, and there’s not much we could do back on the ship. I’m pretty sure the mermaids have seen us, anyway. If you don’t want to help, see about getting Creed to Gobron’s Ship. Conchobar should be able to heal at least a little bit. Sosima, Lubo, you’re with me.”

I phrased it as an order, but I was keenly aware that either of the gillwomen could have easily refused me. They hadn’t signed up for ten to one odds.

Well technically Sosima did, but that was under duress. I can’t exactly consider the ghoul siege as precedent.

The two fell in line to either side. Lubo’s clothes were bleached and torn by acid, but she’d fully healed herself since the haunt. I checked her character sheet the next time my turn came around; she’d run through most of her stronger healing spells, and unlike Sandara couldn’t channel positive energy. In fact, the only spells she had left were cure light wounds and her domain spell: Lesser Confusion. Unfortunately, I didn’t think that these constructs had enough brains to get confused.

I was running low on magic as well; I still had most of my first circle spell slots, but I’d fired off all of my second and third circle magic. I didn’t really know what I’d be contributing to the defense, since the constructs on the ship had been more hindered than harmed by my frost blasts. That would have to do.

I honed in on a group of constructs closing in on a merman hacking away at a coral man with a trident. It was slow going, but seemed to be doing more than his commander’s magic. While I swam towards the topless mermaid, I drew up frigid energy from the abyss and unleashed a large scale blast of cold upon the masses. They staggered and were covered with frost, hampering their movements but dealing no lasting harm.

Nope. Lots of staggered constructs, not a single notification about damage. I’m firmly on support here until I can figure out a better idea.

“I’m here to help.” I clicked at the mermaid officer, “Where do you need us?”

“We’re heading off their advance and trying to drive them south.” She said, only pausing for a few moments to glare suspiciously. “There’s an open plane where we’d have the advantage.” (Diplomacy check 15+13=28, success)

In the distance, a full throated roar rumbled like thunder through the water. I couldn’t see him, but I fervently hoped that was Kelizar on his way. I didn’t want to meet anything else big enough to make a sound like that tonight.

Ideally I wouldn’t have even met him tonight, but what can you do?