Tides of Death: Episode 42

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==Recap==
===~21st February, 1515===
The Crimson Fists discuss events that occurred in lair. They sail back to base at Sulfer Island. Archie spends time on the boat in order to gauge if everything is different. He feels more confident with his punches. Saol is convinced Telemaki is a fraud. 
The party, with in tow, stops at Dardens#Krayton Island to celebrate the meeting. As they dock, the harbormaster is shaking with fear because he recognizes them as The Crimson Fist. John Winters demands taxes, but 5% less than The White Prince takes. Seymour still avoids John. In the town square, they visit The Damp Cat. While they drink, Nilrem attempts to decipher the papers from the Headmistress of the orphanage [ToD S2]. John orders drinks and spreads word of a tournament with 50 gold award, and puts the gold on the table. 
A farmer woman asks about the gold and the tournament but doesn't recognise them. Nilrem heads to the blacksmith and asks for iron dust for a wizard, he runs and Nilrem shoots him with 2 , then pulls him inside and stabilises him. An overlooker sees what's happening and bolts, Nilrem doesn't kill them. 
Mayor and 2 soldiers visit the tavern. The major Roy introduces and says the taxes are at his office and welcomes them to the Island. Nilrem returns, grumbling about running and Magic Missles, the Major recognises them as Nilrem the Magnificent; Archcaptian John Winters, Captain of the Sees; The Dark Heretic Saol of The Seven Seas; The Crimson Fists himself, First-mate Archie and Captain Butts. Nilrem sends one of the guards to attend to the blacksmith.
Mayor says month and a half ago, The White Prince's ship came, collected the soldiers and things, then left. A similar thing happened on the island over. They paid 20% taxes, John sets a new rate of 10%. They take their share now: 3k silver and 150 gold. John demands they see the Priests of town, any priest of Astair is welcome to leave for the Inner Ring, but he wants to spread the word for all islands on the Outer Ring- if The Crimson Fists find followers of Astair, there will be no mercy. 
Nilrem miraculously finds a teacher in the bar and asks who the smartest student is. The teacher complains there are no smart students. They connect on an intellectual level until Nilrem grows bored and sends him off, and then offends him. The teacher attempts to slap him with a glove, Nilrem uses a Wand of Fear, and people in the bar run out screaming. John goes back into the tavern right in time to see the disarray.
After a quick talk, John drinks and observes a strange light on the ceiling. He climbs to the roof and sees a young girl with a torch, lighting the roof on fire. She calls him a murderer and says she saw them kill Little Timmy, the blacksmith. John misses her with a dagger, she runs and he puts out the fire. 
John notifies Saol of the new laws, Saol disagrees and wants a harsher way to deal with priests. The Captain writes a deed for the owner of the bar because he didn't have one, and stamps it with the bartender's blood on his fist. No-one comes to the tournament. 
===22nd February, 1515===
Archie is tasked with getting into abandoned guard buildings. He's unable to break the lock so he pries the doors off the hinges. He finds nothing of value inside. Saol rounds up followers of Astair, their neighbors share who they are. He firsts visit the house of an old lady, after a few seconds of talking, Nilrem loses patience and shoves her. Saol drags her into the center of the town and holds a speech about being the new leader of faith in this community. He orders all devoted followers to either renounce devotion to Astair or they will be sent to the Inner islands. For everyone else, Nilrem offers 1 silver per name of a devoted follower. They get 50 people on the list. 
===23rdFebruary, 1515===
The priests and followers reconvene to hold a sermon. The head priestess says she doesn't recognize the rule of The Dark Heretics and pirates, or monkeys. Saol guts her. When the sermon continues, Nilrem kills one with Magic Missle, and the sermon breaks. 10 people renounce their faith. 20 go to the docks, and 20 remain there. Saol questions those remaining. 
Saol signals to Nilrem to fire off the . They all die. Saol talks to the people, says he offered them mercy, which is more than The White Prince did. They lined the worshippers that want to leave, mutilate them horribly, then sent them to the Inner Ring.
===28th February, 1515===
The party continues to sail towards Sulfer Island. They notice something strange is going on, all the ships are docked, no fishing boats. Once they pass Kolrogia, they signal and ask about the ship. The island answers with "Dragons sighted. Come dock." They get the same response from Dardens#Summerland. 
Once they pass Port Ferris, John takes out a spyglass and sees no flags of The White Prince. They decide to dock on their pirate ship and talk to the dockmaster. He notifies them a dragon has been sighted and White Prince has packed and left before that.
John tells him the Outer Ring belongs to them now. "You and ?" asks the dockmaster. John denies it, says taxes are split in half and they are looking for recruits. Saol says that the dragon is theirs, and it will cause no problems. 
Captain asks about the owners of nice ships on the dock, they are owned by the 2 ladies Butterworth, he sends Archie & Nilrem to find and collect taxes. Dockmaster informs them Lady Chroma has thrown herself from her tower, her son, Lord Chroma, now owns the Island. Nilrem remembers that is the kid they robbed (ToD 02). Saol wonders how to quickly deal with the clerics. 
Archie & Nilrem go to collect taxes. Nilrem pays halflings to open the gate and they let themselves into the house. The lady at the door freaks out and calls the guard. Nilrem tries to bribe the guard, but he's unsuccessful, so Archie knocks him down in one hit. They go to the parlor and take some drinks while they wait for Lord Chroma. 8 guards walk in with the Lord, and he immediately commands the guards to arrest the intruders. 
The guards slowly back away. Nilrem offers a seat to Lord Chroma, and informs him they've been here before when they've stolen from his mother, and they are responsible for his arm in a sling. After some persuading, the Lord sits and shuts up, Nilrem demands half the taxes that The White Prince has previously collected, and if their ships bear the mark of The Crimson Fists, the dragon/god Telemaki will have no quarrel with them. The Lord is out of this depth and claims The White Prince will protect them and seal away Telemaki again, then asks the head of the guard for consultation. He agrees to pay the taxes. Nilrem demands he makes a sizable donation to the Orphanage in the name of Nilrem The Maleficent. He also offers a job to the head of the guard, she declines. He also informs Lord Chroma that anyone barring the inverted symbol of Astair can be trusted to collect taxes.
Saol decides to take over the existing power hierarchy and rehire the guards to get legitimacy.
==Experience==
No exp this episode. 
Category:Tides of Death Episodes