S3 Ep6

Full Episode

Dirty Twenty Recap

### Life Goes On

The group, now full-fledged members of the Flotilla, begin to fall back into their normal routines. For the time being, the Flotilla is briefly anchored at a structure called the Arc Decor-- regarded as the oldest standing structure in Ios. The Arc is a stone dome, peeking out of the surface of the water. There is an air of mystery to the Arc's history, though; Ios's First Age was wracked by civil war and unrest, and the Arc Decor is where a rebellion leader, Nihlus, first rallied his forces. Additionally, the group wakes to notice that one of the Flotilla's military ships, the Bulette, is missing. Perhaps it was sent out on a mission of its own?

Snibbles cares for their drake egg, as well as Fin's; as both eggs required heat to develop correctly, it made sense to keep them together. They also keep a nightly watch for more return parties from the Trials. It appears that 3 parties returned, but the remaining 4 out of the total 8 seem to have been lost. Rory has been keeping close to Snibbles, with no particular quarters to call her own. Val has resumed working at his father's shop, and Balthier tends to his own egg. Fin, after his night of ~~demon~~ Ruby summoning, wakes up late. Eventually, the group's various routines bring them all back to Snibble's workshop. Fin asks if there is a pawn shop aboard the Flotilla, showing the group his ruby; he says that he found this under seedy conditions, and it's probably best to get it out of his hands as soon as possible. In the meantime though, Snibbles resumes working in their shop, Fin nurses his hangover, Val prepares some tea, and Balthier accompanies Rory to the Thunder Bucket on an errand. At the Thunder Bucket, Rory speaks to the bartender; she'd like to join a ballet company, if there is one. The bartender states that he doesn't know of any ballet dancers, but signs Rory up for a slot to perform with one of the Thunder Bucket's bands regularly. Balthier and Rory return to Snibbles' workshop, and the group takes note of the development in their eggs; some of the scales appear to have changed color slightly, and there has even been some movement in them. This conversation is cut short, however, by the sounds of alarm bells. A voice calls out through the Lucane's intercoms: **Set to Condition Three throughout the ship; I repeat, set to Condition Three throughout the ship. This is not a drill.** Condition Three is known to be an indicator the ship is battle-ready and standing by. The group rushes to see what's happening outside, and are greeted by the sight of two ships on the horizon: The Bulette and an unknown, large, iron-clad ship, armed to the teeth with cannons. The ship appears to have suffered some damage, and is hauled forward by the Bulette. The lettering on the side of the ship reads The Solitude.

### Battle Plan

Eager to see what the fuss is about, the group seeks out Admiral Damask or other authorities. They note that the ship is likely being searched, and they'd love to venture aboard. Balthier hears the Admiral mention Infinis by name, which piques his interest; additionally, the 5th Company of Metal Drakes, one of the Flotilla's Task Force teams, has disappeared onboard. They ventured in, and then all contact with them was lost. The Solitude, meanwhile, has been led into a strategic position between the Remus and the Lucane, which both stand ready to fire their own weapons at a moment's notice. Fin and Balthier speak to Damask, asking to go aboard to search for the missing Drakes. She tells them that "hostile fish people" have taken over the boat, and the situation seems dicey. However, she relents, and the group gets ready to go. The plan is to recover their people, and negotiate with the population onboard. Fin makes the first move, using leftover wax from Snibble's workshop and his Boots of Spiderclimbing to scale The Solitude and plug up a few of their cannons. Next, the rest of the group sails to The Solitude's rear end and boards quietly.

### In Solitude

The group boards the ship and walk immediately into a small room. They find a ledger, which indicates that this was, perhaps, a prison ship that transported criminals. In the next room, the sound of squelching footsteps can be heard, but the doorway is blocked by a bookcase. Snibbles recognizes the language that the figure in the next room is speaking: it's Undercommon. Balthier gets a decent look at the creature through a crack in the bookcase/doorway, and disguises himself as one of them. However, he makes sure that his disguised form lacks a tongue. He also casts Comprehend Languages. What follows is a perilous, yet expertly executed, game of charades in which Bal pretends to be a member of this fish-person clan, bringing "prisoners" (the rest of the group) to their leader, who they quickly learn is called Koo Ka. Bal pretends to know where he's going, and the group eventually does make it to the top deck, where Koo Ka is attended to by several of his henchmen (henchfish? henchfishmen?) Koo Ka claims that he is a God, and that this ship belongs to him. One Suggestion spell from Balthier puts an end to that stubbornness, though. He "suggests" that all of the fish people clear out and find a new ship to occupy, as this one lies between two Flotilla military ships and is going to be sunk. Koo Ka begins rallying his forces and withdrawing from the boat. Finally, the group takes a moment to breathe. Looking around, they find several bodies-- clearly Flotilla members, and most likely what remains of the 5th Company Metal Drakes. Val finds that one still has a heartbeat, and begins to tend to her. The only place left to clear out is the navigation deck up top, and Fin, Bal, and Snibbles climb up. There is a small group still there who haven't gotten the memo that the fish people are clearing out, and Bal narrowly convinces them to climb down and rejoin Koo Ka. As the remaining fish people descend the stairs, Val and Rory hide. Val disappears into thin air with the help of his Nature's Mantle, but Rory has a harder time concealing herself. The fish people approach her aggressively, and she attempts to communicate her peaceful intentions through interpretive dance but rolls a Nat 1 on her Performance check. It really had been too easy for the group until this point, anyway. Combat commences. However, the DM's hope for a challenge withers as combat concludes without the fish people having landed a single hit on the party. Fin finishes the last of them off by saying, "Watch this." Cue a Nat 20 with nearly max damage. We all lose our minds.

### A Rock and A Hard Place

The group sweeps the rest of the ship, making sure there are no other Metal Drakes or stragglers to be found. All seems clear until they reach the ship's prison; there, they find a group of people, locked behind bars, on the verge of death. From a nearby ledger they discover that these people were, at one point, criminals. However, they can't do much harm in their current state, so the group releases them and carries them to their dingy. Also in the prison are three tubes, filled with some kind of fluid. One person is locked in each tube, and the ledgers indicate that these three were, at one point, highly dangerous magic users. There is a human man, a human woman, and an elven man. The ledgers indicate that their names are Samuel Anderson, Theodora Swanson, and Inialos Grejeon, respectively. They were all charged with serious crimes. They are bound with their hands behind their backs and a locked mechanism around their mouths, as well as a nearby button which appears to trigger a failsafe that will dump any of the prisoners into the ocean below at a moment's notice. They are all awake, aware, and watching the party closely. Clearly, there is a decision to be made.

The group attempts to get a feel for the three; Bal says that he is connected with an influential family in the Flotilla, and implores the group to be cooperative. After all, no one aboard the Flotilla necessarily needs to know what they've done. If they will only cooperate and not threaten their safety, perhaps their own safety can be secured by the Sinclaire House. (*Valanthe Greatly Disapproves.)* The humans indicate that they understand and are willing to cooperate, but the elf's body language is cold and hard to read. After more discussion, they decide to release the prisoners one by one. Samuel Anderson is the first. He asks who the group is, and they don't have a clear answer besides "a task force" and "diplomats". Samuel sounds rough around the edges and comes off a little rude, but the group (sans Val) deems him trustworthy enough to unshackle. Next up is Theodora, who immediately has a lot to say. She's, well.... bubbly, for certain, but despite her ramblings, the group again deems her alright. Bal moves to press the button to release the third prisoner from his tube, and at this point, Fin asks Val what he thinks about what's happening. Val seems to think that the situation is already unfolding and is, to a degree, out of his hands. After all, they can't really just leave these people here. Val ask Bal if he really is going to hide the crimes of these people, and Bal says perhaps, but not if everyone disagrees. After more discussion, they do release the elf. They undo the lock on his mouth, and ask if he plans to do them harm. Inialos's answers are sarcastic and cold, but they decide he's probably just kind of an asshole, rather than actively murderous. Inialos does cock an eye at Rory when Bal calls her by her name, and asks, *"Ah, is that what you're going by these days, Voula?"* Rory is immediately troubled, and Snibbles quirks an eyebrow. Who is Voula? Inialos, registering their confusion, claims that he must have been mistaken. Snibbles explains that Rory is a being of mechanical nature, found weeks ago at the bottom of the ocean. They ask how old Inialos is, and he takes a moment to think before answering; around 900 years old. The Voula he knew was not mechanical; yes, he must have been thinking of someone else. Balthier consults the ledgers and finds that Inialos has been imprisoned for at least 812 years. The group questions him a bit more on his life and find that he was imprisoned for a crime related to the elven rebellion, that he knew Carinth, and that the Voula he knew was a ballet dancer for the Emperor's High Court, way back in the day. Rory, overwhelmed, takes this opportunity to flee to the dingy.

After a little more discussion, the group collects on a dingy and makes their way to the Flotilla. There are reports to make and bodies to explain and crimes to tell about or hide-- however, Baradad greets them immediately and says that the drake eggs are hatching right now!!! It's time!!! And naturally, what a perfect way to end the episode. Tune in next week!