Riptide Episode 109: Fates Worse Than Death

> "The Riptide Pirates' fight with Captain Widow reaches its entangled conclusion." -*Episode 109 official description.*
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## Fates Worse Than Death

### Characters

Chip, Jay Ferin, Gillion Tidestrider, Captain Widow, Arachnid Pirates, Queen, Gryffon, Zamia Aramoia, Igneous, Starling

## Summary

The Riptide Pirates continue their fight with Captain Widow and the Arachnid Pirates. Through ups and downs, close calls, and chilling reveals, the fight finally ends with the fall of the Arachnid Pirates and the "death" of Captain Widow.

## Episode Events

While down, Chip's heart gets ripped out and swallowed by Captain Widow, rendering him dead. However, due to Captain Widow's "blessing," Chip becomes conscious again, though it is implied he is Undead as he is still ghostly pale and does not breathe. And, of course, because his heart is still missing from his chest. It is revealed that Captain Widow has taken the hearts of all of her crew and that they still reside within her, preventing them from staying dead, just as she had done to Chip. This way, she says, Chip and the rest of the Riptide Pirates can continue fighting like they have wanted. She also warns that if they were to try and reverse this in an effort to permanently kill the Arachnid Pirates, it would threaten Chip's life as well.

Queen continues to be noticeably panicked about the music being played by the Arachnid Pirates's violinist, Josias. They confess to Chip that they recognize the song and the musician from somewhere from before they were cursed, so the violinist must know something.

After Gillion continues to land attacks on Captain Widow, she finally returns with a shot of webbing. This prompts Charlie to roll a nat 20 DEX save for the first time ever (probably), so Gillion eats the webbing.

Igneous and Zamia successfully take down Eurydi; Jay takes out Gardak (by neutering him); and Gryffon takes out Glutto with the Infrared Laser Beam Cannon. Captain Widow starts to take the fight a bit more seriously, but her concentration is broken when Star charges into the room. Star gives Gillion a vial of three marbles and claims that they are necessary to defeating Captain Widow. Predictably, Gillion eats one of the marbles, granting him the effects of a long rest.

When Captain Widow attacks Gillion, it is noted that the magic she uses is not necrotic, but instead, it is similar to the magic of the Black Sea. Later, it is explained that she has such magic in her and has mastered it. Jay is unable to identify it as it is completely unfamiliar to her. Grizzly says that she is "so corrupted," so this likely means such magic is the manifestation of the Corruption that has overtaken the Black Sea, which is usually characterized as black ichor.

Following the captains' orders, Gryffon aims for Captain Widow's eighth heart and blasts through it. As a result, Gardak's body "melts," confirming that he will not come back from the dead. The crew becomes uneasy as the hearts reshuffle since it is unclear which one belongs to Chip. However, as they continue to land attacks on Captain Widow, she gradually weakens. She tries to bring back her remaining crew, but fails.

Despite previously failing twice this episode, Gillion casts Prophetic Screw-up and finally succeeds with an 11, thus healing the Riptide crew. He then proceeds to smite and stab Captain Widow, killing her ("thrusting into her in front of her wife") as he aims at one of the hearts and desperately hopes it does not belong to Chip. This severs the soul strings she had control over, but as she "dies," she insists that the Dread Queen will return and that she will be with her. Thankfully, the heart that Gillion eviscerated belonged to the sorceress, as her body also melts away from existence.

Queen suddenly smacks Josias with their oboe, sending them flying across the room, thus knocking them unconscious and ending combat.

Gillion rips out a heart from Captain Widow's body, and while it does melt away, no one's physical body follows. Chip panics and tells Gillion not to rip out hearts, saying, "That could've been me!" Jay agrees and tries to calm everyone down by taking deep breaths, but this only causes Chip to spiral more because he doesn't breathe as an Undead. Eventually, Gillion concedes and says he'll just watch the hearts as Jay inspects the sac that holds the Dread Queen. When she approaches it, she sees an unfamiliar figure inside that has a hood and glowing green eyes. It backs away from view when it notices her.

Star and Zamia cry as they hug each other, celebrating their reunion. Chip decides to let them have their moment since they haven't seen each other in some time.

After Jay identifies Chip's heart with Locate Object, the Riptide crew stab all the other hearts to prevent the Arachnid Pirates from coming back. Zamia is unfazed by the gore, but the others are a bit disgusted. Star tries to help fix Chip, but she is unable to because of the unfamiliar magic. Zamia expresses her gratitude towards the Riptide crew for rescuing Star, but adds that she and the Survivors cannot help anymore. Igneous explains that they are unequipped to handle the problem of the hearts and the Dread Queen, but says that the Riptide crew can come see them at the hideout at any time. The Survivors then leave.

Chip continues to grapple with his new Undead status. Gillion expresses his concern as he asks, "We're still cool, right? I know you've seen me smite a lot of people like you. But I just want you to know that- no matter what happens..." Chip promises that they're still cool and they dap each other up.

The sac noticeably beats, prompting the red glow that surrounds the Spider Lily Capital to die down. As Gillion and Jay discuss how to handle the sac, Chip investigates the Emperor's chambers and finds the Emperor's journal that talks about the goddesses and how "the prophetic hero" will free him and his people from the Corruption of the Black Sea. The notes become more erratic, showing how the Emperor's mind was deteriorating from Corruption. However, there are notes talking about captains who controlled him to capture survivors for nutrients before he became a monster.

Chip uses the Compass given by Niklaus to try and find life, but it just points at him and the rest of his crew. Presumably, he tries to goad Niklaus into appearing as he points out that he'll be unable to complete his end of their deal if he's dead. In response, the Compass hums and begins to move, directing Chip back to the throne room as it pulls him towards the egg sac. He follows it and becomes enveloped by the sac and disappears. Inside, he finds a body that resembles a doll, but their chest is bleeding as it beats. Beside it is a hooded figure that looks very similar to the merchant seen at the steps of the palace in Episode 106: Corridor of Chaos. They hold a pulsing heart that is "bigger than average." When they pull their hood back, they are revealed to be none other than Niklaus himself.

## Transcription

**No full episode transcription currently available. When available, it will be posted on the JRWI Website.**