75. Death Begets Death...

* Late in the night of Harvestide 39, the party had fought off the assault of the sea fury, but she'd slipped away before they could deal the final blow. They swim back to the Drunken Dragon, its hull battered and its steering oar destroyed well beyond repair (with half of it having been catapulted away for good measure, when Pyt tried to his the fleeing sea fury with it). 
** Tensions are high on the ship. The sea fury isn't done with the party yet, and so long as they remain on the water, they remain the prey. 
** Aerendyl goes to his room and begins his Trance, so that if the party can buy him four hours, he'll be able to wind walk them away quickly. 
** Meanwhile, the others begin offering magic items to Alric, who volunteers to try and swim the rest of the way to the Southern Margraviate, hoping the sea fury is indeed following Aerendyl and so won't notice him in the sea, all because there were 13 of them in total and Aerendyl's spell would only work on himself and 10 others. 
*** This was perhaps only slightly less reckless than his first plan: to kill himself and one other volunteer and then have Aerendyl reincarnate them later. 
** Alric was also ready to try carrying another volunteer on his back while he swam, but then Pyt came up with the idea of putting Poop the brownie in the iron flask. 
** Clwyd starts a short rest. 
* With the phasing moon almost waxing full overhead, the party gather on the deck of their battered ship, ready to do what they could to buy Aerendyl four hours. They looked out to the dark waters around them and the full dark beyond that where their night vision couldn't help them, even after Wilfred activated their driftglobe to shed a daylight spell above the ship to aid their sight (figuring that the fury already knew where they were anyway). After an excruciating 15-minute silence, the sea fury attacks again. 
** A swirling maelstrom from a control water spell appears directly under the Drunken Dragon, the force of it further tearing up the already-damaged hull. Wilfred quickly dispels the effect. 
** The sea fury reappears some time later and this time Wilfred spots her right on the edge of his darkvision. Again she casts control water and again Wilfred dispels it, fast enough to prevent damage this time, after having spotted her. The fury darts back under the water and out of the range of Wilfred's sight. 
** When she appears next and does the same trick again, Pyt jumps into the water, polymorphs into a giant crab and physically pushes the ship out the maelstrom. Again and again he does this for the full hour the spell lasts, the sea fury repeatedly ducking in and out of range to cast control water, slowly, slowly, chipping away at the ship's hull.
** Pyt bought Wilfred enough time to get in a short rest and use his arcane recovery. So when the next control water whirlpool, this time the gnome jumps into the water, polymorphs into a giant crab, and pushes the ship to safety. 
** Crab-Wilfred buys them another hour by weathering the damage of the maelstroms and repeatedly pushing the ship to freedom. Pyt was able to sneak in his own short rest here thanks to Wilfred's work.
** By the time there was only an hour left on Aerendyl's rest being completed, Wilfred was no longer a giant crab and was all but magically tapped out. Pyt could inspire but was severely lacking in spell slots himself. 
** Clwyd took to the water, thinking the ship wouldn't last the hour if the sea fury just kept sniping at them like this. The goblin intended to take the fight to her, hoping a well placed synaptic static would scare the fury off for the night, or at least for the hour. Cap of waterbreathing activated, Clwyd starts swimming around under the Drunken Dragon, gradually widening her sweeps out as she goes. 
** Wilfred had them all linked in a telepathic bond, but it ran out some 30 minutes after Clwyd jumped into the water. Still, she didn't return. Wilfred and Pyt begin to worry. 
** Clwyd's sweeping search has taken her well away from the ship - she can no longer see it, even with her hellfire-enhanced sight. Still, she doesn't spot the sea fury anywhere. But the vengeful fey hadn't fled. She was just hiding, waiting, ready to ambush. 
** And when the sea fury did strike, Clwyd didn't see it coming. Fierce claws lashed out, carving deep grooves into any chink in Clwyd's magical armour ensemble. The goblin weathered the storm well though. But before Clwyd could flee or even give any kind of sign to the others, the fury struck Clwyd with her death glare, and so Clwyd began to die. 
* Some time after that, a tidal wave strikes the ship, battering its hull and casting Wilfred and Cill down to the deck. Pyt kept his feet under him, and so he saw the shadow of a figure flung onto the deck. It struck Wilfred hard, slamming him against the Drunken Dragon's deck rail. When his vision at last clears, he sees Clwyd before him, blood oozing from deep gashes in her face and neck, more of it pooling under her armour, spreading out from her to mix with the sea water on deck. She coughed and blood bubbled on her lips. Wilfred cursed her for being so stupid, then feebly tried pouring a healing tincture over her mouth. But it was far too late for that, and Clwyd said as much. She was going to die here. With her last words she tells them to make sure they get out of this mess, and says to Pyt that she'll see him on the other side. Pyt smiles through his sadness and says he hopes not. Their crew watch on from near the door of the deck cabin. Her head rolls back, the breath leaves her, and Clwyd dies. 
* The crew take Clwyd's body inside, then all of them brace themselves for the sea fury's coming assaults. 
** Their spell slots were done now and 30 minutes had never seemed like such a long time before. 
** Cill goes down to the ship's hold, ready to patch any leaks that spring with a bit of magic. The crew stand buy to row as needed. Wilfred starts reading the wind and wave currents as best he can, hoping to carry the ship out of any coming whirlpools by manipulating the sails, even without a steering oar to help. 
** Another control water spell appears below them and Garret neutralises it with his own casting of the spell. 
** Then another comes, and another, and another. And each time, the crew rows, the hull is battered near to full destruction, Cill mends leaks as frantically as he can, Pyt inspires the lot of them, and Wilfred gets them out the whirlpools with some timely deployments of the sails. 
* Aerendyl finishes his Trance and rushes out onto deck. Another control water whirlpool whips up at that moment but the elf dispels it quickly, his reserves full once more. He frantically starts going over plans he's thought up during his meditative rest, but there's no need for anyone to stay behind any more, they tell him. He can carry them all away with his wind walk spell. And then they show him Clwyd's body, laid out on their wooden sofa over sheepskins from half a world away, where he hadn't spotted her as he'd rushed onto the deck.
** Pyt convinces Poop to go into the iron flask. 
** Cill checks their heading, intending to follow Fui'fui's instructions for how to get to the Southern Margraviate. 
** Aerendyl casts wind walk and as he does, they fold up the Drunken Dragon. 
** And then they fly away, high over the sea, beyond the reach of the sea fury's rage, and they get away at last. 
* Hours later, in the glow of pre-dawn false light, Cill alights them all on a sand bar, a hundred miles or more from where the sea fury had attacked them. It turns out that Cill is a bit of a nosy guy at times, and he happened to have gone through Clwyd's stuff at some point during his stay in her room. As such, he knows well the location of some letters she's left for them all. 
The first of Clwyd's letters is addressed to Aerendyl, Pyt, and Wilfred, written in Common:Dear Wilfred, Pyt, and Aerendyl. If you’re reading this, either I’m dead or you’re going through my things without permission. Please stop if it’s the latter. I probably can’t say I’m pleased to be dead, but if I died doing something stupid like saving you all, then it’s because I believe in you to finish what I’ve started: Kill Madog. Never forget that he’s a complete shit. You won’t stop him by making a deal or negotiating a surrender -- either he dies, or he fucks up enough of the seas that you come to blows with him anyway. I haven’t been hiding any secrets from you that might help you stop him but keep looking through my things. There’s a letter written in Goblin that should help you secure the confidence of any goblins willing to take a stand against Madog. Remember that I wrote it, so you might need to use some of your own wit to seal the deal. Wilfred: Thanks for looking out for me over the years. Your idea of what was best for me might not have lined up with mine, but I’m glad you were thinking of it anyway. I leave to you any books in my possession, as well as my collection of Weird Magic components. I’d recommend not learning to use them, as it’s not a pleasant experience, but if you need to then you need to, and I’d never begrudge you that. If you ever get used to wearing armour, you can have my mithril half-plate, but I think it might be best to sell it off. Aerendyl: I’m sorry we weren’t better friends, given how much we have in common. I respect how straightforward you are, and I trust that you’ll help the others carry out the job. To you I bequeath any and all money and precious objects in my possession at time of death, as I know you’ll put them to good use. If you don’t have any ideas on how to turn that into anything useful, consult the back pages of my notebook. You’ll need someone to translate, but it’ll net you a profit if you need it! If there’s anything of mine that you want to keep you company when you’re on your own at night, it’s yours. Pyt: Read carefully, because you’ve actually got shit to do. Now that I’m gone, you’re in charge of making us look good in Infernal circles, and if you dare die in a way that makes us look stupid, I’m going to spend the rest of eternity getting my revenge. Gather up my blasting rod, the manual of bodily health, and anything else you think Lady T might feel owed, and make sure it goes to Nix ASAP. Check inside the left sleeve of my robes - there’s a small vial of crushed black pearl. You’ll be able to use this to cast a nasty piece of Infernal magic, if you practice hard enough. In the unlikely event that I hold lands, titles, or ships upon my death, these transfer to Pyt. To me, that makes the most sense, as he’s the only one of you that speaks any Goblin, and he’s hopefully got some shred of credibility in the Hells. I ask the other two of you to help out managing this, as he’ll probably need it. Either throw my body in the sea or burn it if you can’t. Leave the Charm of Branwen on my body when you do -- it’s a bit of a dick move to not do that. I can honestly say that despite the fact that it has literally killed me, travelling with you lot was a decision I’m proud to have made, and would make again in a heartbeat.Until the next life, Clwyd 
The next letter Clwyd had left was addressed to Nix, written in Infernal, and sealed with wax. Cill encourages them to read it, saying he can just mend the seal afterwards anyway. They consider not doing so for a moment, but then think it might have something damning written in it, either about Pyt's desire to renege on his deal, or regarding the party in general. Cill proves to be a bit of a pro at this sort of thing and the letter reads as follows:Nix,I have no idea what the process of assuming my new form is like, but I’ve seen Joline and I assume it’s roughly as pleasant. I doubt I’ll be able to settle up my own affairs from this world, and I’ve asked my comrades to hand this to you. First off, they’ve been told to hand over anything that our Lady may have given me over the years. If they don’t do that, they’re fucking you over. Whether or not you actually care about this I don’t know, but you’ll at least know if they’re dealing with you honestly. Secondly, Pyt has been told to carry out my remaining affairs in this world, including assuming any lands, titles, and ships. I figure this makes things easiest for you if you need to take an interest in any business I died before completing. Third, you might be able to sort out a deal with the gnome if you catch him at the right time, which could well be soon after my death. Given his magical prowess, he’ll make a good catch. I wouldn’t bother with the elf - he’s got his own stuff to deal with. I think that’s about everything I can come up with -- I’d hope the others are honest with you if you have any more questions. See you downstairs, Clwyd 
* The last letter is unsealed and is addressed 'Dear Aunt,' written in Goblin. Clwyd had never mentioned an aunt to them before. The group thinks it sounds a bit too personal and so opt to not read it. 
* Pyt checked the sleeve pocket as she'd said, but it turns out Clwyd had sold of the crushed pearl months ago. They take her noteworthy items:
** Her blasting rod
** The carved fox skull that housed the trapped spirit of Phigalia, Mother of Trolls
** Her billowing cloak of protection
** A ring of swimming 
** A cap of waterbreathing
** A set of mithril half plate
** A dwarven masterwork shield from Tortuga's Iron Quarter, which Alric takes solemnly. Nobody stops him.
** The Manual of Bodily Health, now inert after Clwyd used it, as it would remain for the next 98-ish years.
** a tiny, silver bird cage, worth 100gp -- the spell component for casting soul cage. 
** An undead eye suspended in emerald, worth 150gp -- the spell component for casting shadow of moil. 
** Sets of brewer's, tinker's, and alchemist's tools
** The black hardcover notebook Clwyd had been scribbling in for as long as they'd known her.
** 800 platinum coins, 14 gold coins, 3 silver coins, and 7 copper coins. 
* After that, Wilfred uses prestidigitation to clean her body up and then Aerendyl places her in the water. The elf then casts a tidal wave spell to carry her out to sea and they watch as she floats away over the waves. 
* With Clwyd seen off as she'd wished, they all assume their wind walk forms once more and Cill continues leading them over the horizon, towards the Rumidian Southern Margraviate.Category:Part Five