On the guard captain's corpse Mighty finds a ring with 5 keys, a pouch with 1 silver coin and 4 pieces of eight, and a set
of 3 different sized lockpicks, and a strange odd amulet that looks like a VO hooked together. Mighty sets aside the other half-orc leather armor to pick up on the way back to the Ship.

As the zombie doctor was temporarily incapacitated by Pugwash's crosbow bolt, Bhrigu attempted to slice off the head of the damned doctor after good captain Baldbeard's cudgel managed to scrape only a part of its briny brain. However, he had made the mistake of ignoring the the cook whose galley knife flew towards him slicing the rope with which Cap'n Rummyfangs had just caught the doctor. In a desperate attempt to defend himself he deflected the knife by throwing the sabre forward and the momentum sent him tumbling over Larissa who was mumbling about something like tying the zombies and dipping them in the seawater.

When he regained his composure, Bhrigu saw the cook climbing the mast and approaching Cap'n Rummyfangs. Down here, however, the doctor was pinned to the mast by Foggy's trident. While Bhrigu grabbed his trusty sabre and approached with the intention to slice the zombie's head off, Bellandra's suggestion of tying him up seemed more interesting. "Maybe we can learn something of value if we incapacitate it instead of straightway disposing of it" he thought. Bhrigu decided to help Bellandra in tying the doctor up, but at the same time was ready to strike with his sword if anything went wrong.

Aylar wipes his cutlass on a piece of captain's clothing, and spares the dead vampirate a look, trying to ascertain her rank. Having arrived to whatever conclusion and listened to everyone meeting back up, looting, and deciding on their current destination, he'll opt to presently stay near the tower. "I want to see if there's anything in there that lets us on why she was 'ere, and whether this be spelling future trouble or boon fer us," he says, scratching at his chin in thought. "There should be more than enough of ye fer the wheel, but if ye be still not back once I'm done with the tower, or if there be any sudden trouble asking us to pick up the pace, I'll join ye near the wheel ether to assist or relay message".

[Cap'n Barfdeck Rummyfangs - Boarding Crew / Aboard Ship]

It all happened so fast! For a brief moment, Cap'n Rummyfangs was relieved when Pugwash shot a crossbow bolt from the Crow's Nest above and managed to pin the Zombie Doctor to the deck by its foot. Baldbeard was quick to seize the moment and swung his cudgel at the zombie's head, but succeeded at removing only the back part of it's undead brain, perhaps rendering it half intelligent? Then, as Cap'n Rummyfangs tightened his rope about the Zombie Doctor's misshapen head, hopeful that Bhrigu would strike a fatal blow, his rope was unexpectedly sliced, almost sending him flying back because he'd been tugging at it to keep the Zombie Doctor immobilized. And just like that, his rope strategy had failed.

Cap'n Rummyfangs suddenly caught sight of the second intruder who he'd believed was in hiding. Far from it! It was no other than Zombie Cook, armed with a rope-cutting tachi and now moving towards him with incredible Felinoid speed! His eyes locked on Cap'n Rummyfangs as he bared his fangs and began to climb.

In the blink of an eye, he processed several options and needed to pick one and act fast! Fighting another Felinoid creature was no easy task, let alone a zombified Felinoid! As tempting as it was, Cap'n Rummyfangs did not climb higher up the Main Mast. For one, this would lead the enemy straight to where Pugwash stood in the Crow's Nest and he did not want to do that. Pugwash and his crossbow bolts could come in handy from where he stood.

Another tempting strategy would have been to slide across towards the Fore Mast by means of the sails and the ropes that held them together. But with Felinoid claws, both he and Zombie Cook would risk permanently damaging the ship's sails with their collective claws and sharp blades, so that was also out of the question.

Cap'n Rummyfangs recalled Polly having mentioned something about certain cursed items having the ability to be used twice when onboard the Ship, since they could be recharged by its spectral energies. He was also quite familiar with the tachi which Zombie Cook was in possession of. It was a formidable sword with a pronounced curve compared to his Rapier, but not very suitable for indoor fighting. Whereas the tachi's fighting style is more focused on fluid combinations of slashes and draw-cutting attacks, his Rapier's slim pointed blade was best designed for thrusting and footwork lunges.

For better or for worse, Cap'n Rummyfangs put his plan into action! As Zombie Cook climbed up the Main Mast, the Felinoid pirate decided to leap down, from the Fighting Top onto the Quarter Deck, hoping he could count on his Felinoid ability to land on all fours. From there, his plan was to be chased by the Zombie Cook towards the Commissioned Officers Quarter and eventually, into his personal cabin!

"I can nah believe I am bein' mad 'n doin' mad things again!" he muttered to himself.

With the door shut, but not locked, Cap'n Rummyfangs willed his patchwork rugs to transform himself into a "harmless" disguise... And what could be more harmless to Zombie Cook than him barging into these quarters and seeing before him a Zombie Cook Assistant! The undead remain unbothered by other undead, do they not?

Cap'n Rummyfangs hoped that his disguise would momentarily confuse the Zombie Cook and should the moment for a sword fight arise within such tight quarters, he'd also hoped that his Rapier would prove more useful than the undead's tachi.


*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Cap'n Barfdeck Rummyfangs: Felinoid pirate / +1 agility, stealth / -1 constitution / permanent +1 hit (unless stunned or incapacitated) / Rapier +1 strike chance / 2 x rum concoctions for adrenaline rush / 2 x wooden stakes / 1 x holy water / 1 x rope / 1 x "harmless" disguise / weakness: loud noises (except roar of the sea & ship's cannons)

"That there been a fine jolly idea arr, matey, but now that there Foggy 'as come to 'elp an' 'e be pinned, it be fairly easy to do it. Let's tie 'im up fer good that will allow Foggy to take 'is trident back while keepin' 'im prisonner."

Gilius gets near Bellandra and helps her tie the doctor up against the mast.

"Oh, an' well done, Foggy !"

Once (if) the doc becomes tied up against the mast, Gilius will check his hands to make sure that no knife nor any edged object stays hidden and could help him cut the rope and get free.

Pugwash is most alarmed to be left alone in the crows nest. Armed only with a crossbow and no room to move, Pugwash is little match for an agile felinoid zombie. A bolt through the head won't stop a zombie, an attempt to pin it to the rigging has too high a chance of hitting Pugwash's crew-mates tying the zombie doctor to the mast.

Thinking to himself that cats hate water, Pugwash wonders it the same applies to zombie felinioids. If that is the case, and the zombie cook keeps climbing, Pugwash's only option is to use his Crystal Flask of purification to pour water on the zombie once it nears the top. With luck, that will startle the zombie and cause it to lose its grip on the rigging.

Assuming of course the flask contains water and that Pugwash didn't neglect to fill it earlier. Pugwash was once told that the Crystal Flask was his lifeline, but never believed it would be so literal.

------------

Pugwash. Dwarf
+1 Crossbow of Piercing, an Ability to Rapidly Reload, and a Crystal Flask which will purify and desalinate liquid twice per day, this is very important to him as it can be a lifeline but only has enough for 2 long drinks a day.
Glass Eye, Farsight and +1 Dexterity

Argy shakes her head: "We be not blowin' the 'ole tower. The walls are thick. If no smoke or light are seen through the windows, the sound will be 'nough muffled. Bet'r option than clumsy manual efforts."

Mission 1, Turn 5 - (Tower team,)
Current Turn will end 7 PM UTC, 26 September unless action posts allow action to be moved along sooner.

Cracker took off into the night, heading for the dim light of the south towers and the building barely seen just beyond and between them.

Argy showed one of the cupcakes to Grog'tial: "Tis will give ye all the brute strength ye need to d'sable the chain. But not right on the chain, ye fool. Brekin' a polley, lever or axis be 'nough to render the 'ole thin' useless. At least for a few 'ours, till they fix it, but we need no more."

Durik accepted the Cupcake, and moved to eat it. "Oo thanks u tiny. Me feel better already. Wait, dis not carrot, no?" O_o

Argy nimbly moved to snatch the cupcake back before Durik could eat it. "Don't, ye fool, if ye appreciate yer teeth, and the rest of the head..."

(roll dice) Durik moved to eat the Cupcake and bit into ... nothing. The quick halfling had snatched the Cupcake away and put it in her satchel. Facepalming, Argy quickly stepped away from Durik.

Grog'tial shook his head. "That's probably for the best - an explosion here could very well be heard in town, alerting the Denuvo! I'm sure we'll manage to wreck things without one! I'll go disable the chain - Mighty or Durik, I'd appreciate one of you tagging along in case we need brute strength to disable the mechanism. Let's all meet up here at the gate afterward to head to the longboat and back to the ship. Unless anyone wants to press on over land to be able to approach the Denuvo from the quay instead?" After waiting a moment, Grog'tial proceeded in the direction Cracker went, sticking to the shadows and listening carefully for potential other guards, but generally moving along at a brisk pace.

Argy shook her head, stealthily following him. "We be not blowin' the 'ole tower. The walls are thick. If no smoke or light are seen through the windows, the sound will be 'nough muffled. Bet'r option than clumsy manual efforts."

Aylar finished wiping his cutlass on a piece of captain's clothing, and looked over the dead vampirate. (roll dice) There was no telling her actual age, but either her experience had not been that great to not sense all of them, or perhaps the other half-orc and human scents in the tower had confused her as to how many of them there were.

"I want to see if there's anything in there that lets us on why she was 'ere, and whether this be spelling future trouble or boon fer us," Aylar said, scratching at his chin in thought and nodding toward the tower door. "There should be more than enough of ye fer the wheel, but if ye be still not back once I'm done with the tower, or if there be any sudden trouble asking us to pick up the pace, I'll join ye near the wheel either to assist or relay message."

Aylar entered the tower. It was clear from the meter thick passage into the tower that the tower walls were made to be sturdy and defensible. In the light from a lantern hung by the doorway he saw the entire ground floor area was actually divided into low storage room areas with lots of firewood, supply crates and barrels, tarps, ropes and sundries. To the left along the sea-facing west wall of the tower were stairs going down. Taking the stairs to the right he ascended into an approximately 12m x 12m open room with hefty support beams every 4m, about 2.75m high. It had a large fireplace, several tables with either benches or chairs, a cooking area further back and several doors off the room around the edges. One of those doors on the east wall was open to reveal stairs going up. Just at the bottom of those stairs was a half-orc guard with a sack over his head, he had been hamstrung and pierced from behind and was quite dead.

Mighty strode over the dead half-orc guard to follow Queen Origi up the stairs. He reminded himself to take the armor when he came back down. On the second floor he saw a row of 4 beds against one wall and 4 against the opposite wall, all with locked chests at the foot of the beds. It looked like it was only one of several rooms like it going down a hallway. He grabbed a torch hanging on the wall and continued to follow Queen Origi through a side door and up the stairs to the roof.

(roll dice) On the roof, the albatross was still unconscious, but breathing. Mighty carefully lowered the crab claw (roll dice) and helped Origi lay the albatross on it and secured him with a portion of the oiled tarp and straps from the mangled harness. With nothing more to see, they proceeded back downstairs.

Durik looked at Argy in confusion. Why had the little one offered a treat only to snatch it away? It had looked so good. He followed Grog'tial and the halfling still wondering. Durik would help littler ones with his great strength then they would go back to the Ship! Dakka must agree since Dakka wasn't so heavy anymore.

(roll dice) Cracker returned from scouting the area flying fast and headed straight for Mighty. He cocked his head, eying the albatross tied to the Crab Claw, then spoke quickly into Mighty's ear. "Big ogre sleep in building with chains and big wheel and horses and oxen. BIG ogre, bigger than Mighty. Other towers empty."

(roll dice) Grog'tial, Argy and Durik had approached the southern west wall tower carefully, but no guards seemed to be near. It became obvious the southern towers of H1 must be gun towers, using the commanding height to guard the seaward entrance and Naval Harbor with a two tier system of several cannons each and were probably only manned during drills or battle. (roll dice) Proceeding cautiously to the southern building their noses began to pick up the pungent scent of manure and they heard the shifting of some larger animals from the eastern section of the building. As they neared it they could begin to see the building was divided into three sections, a stable or barn on the eastern side, and in the middle section a very dim light from a banked forge showed through an opening to some sort of blacksmith or machine shop and the probable location of the mechanism. Then from a window in the western section they heard a loud snort and snore. The blacksmith, it appeared, was asleep right next door.

Down in the town a bell began to toll. The team stopped to listen, then relaxed as they realized it was the clock tower bell tolling the hour. That soon changed however as it tolled twice, then silenced. The Ship had pulled in just after midnight and it had taken the Crew a little over a half hour to launch the longboat. They had already taken over an hour on the shore, and there was only 3 hours left to board the Denuvo, accomplish the mission and get away before dawn would reveal them. Time was quickly running out.

(Edit - misspelling of name)

Mission 1, Turn 5 - (Aboard Ship)
*Current Turn ends midnight UTC, 26 September*

As Foggy impaled the Zombie Doctor on the Trident and drove it into the Main Mast, (roll dice) Bhrigu righted himself and quickly moved to help Bellandra lash it to the mast with her rope. Gilius also moved to help, using the Staff to break the zombie's hand holding the paring knife, causing the zombie to drop it. He then checked the other hand for possible weapons it might use to cut the rope.

Cap'n Barfdeck Rummyfangs processed several options through his mind, he needed to pick one and act fast! There was a zombified Felinoid climbing quickly toward him, a seasoned fighter by his look, fangs bared in obvious challenge. As Zombie Cook hooked his claws into the bottom of the Fighting Top, Cap'n Rummyfangs leapt from the Fighting Top for the Quarter Deck. (roll dice) The Zombie Cook slashed out before leaping to follow him, and Rummyfangs felt the breeze of it's passing and the close shaving of his tail as he somersaulted in mid-air before reaching with all four paws for the upcoming deck, (roll dice) absorbing the impact through his Felinoid limbs and immediately taking off at speed over the Quarter Deck rail and into the Commissioned Officers Quarters.

(roll dice) Count Karnstein had not been prepared the first time the undead Cook had leapt over him to the Quarter Deck and up into the rigging before making the Main Yard, but not this time. Seeing Cap'n Rummyfangs launch himself for the Quarter Deck, the Count was ready. Holding firmly to the line with one hand, his other drew his saber and slashed out with a cold lethal experience, deftly avoiding fouling or cutting the other lines as the Zombie Cook leapt to intercept the Felinoid pirate.

(roll dice) The undead Cook hissed as Karnstein's saber scored down his his flank and hip leaving a deep blackened icy cold scar. (roll dice) The Zombie Cook managed to land on its feet as Cap'n Rummyfangs leapt over the rail, but it was apparent it could barely use its right rear leg.

Hearing the hiss and the Cook's landing behind him, Cap'n Rummyfangs streaked into his cabin and shut the door. "I can nah believe I am bein' mad 'n doin' mad things again!" he muttered to himself.

With the door shut, but not locked, Cap'n Rummyfangs willed his patchwork rugs to transform himself into a "harmless" disguise... And what could be more harmless to Zombie Cook than him barging into these quarters and seeing before him a Zombie Cook Assistant! (roll dice) The patches on his clothing considered a moment, then the patch on his shirt reanimated and flew to his oldest, somewhat shaggy rug taking a patch of his fur from his chest with it! The Patch, with fur, stitched itself into the rug and the energies in the room rose, transforming it into a wretched shaggy and barely furred zombie cook assistant napping on the floor! Rummyfang's coat proceeded to turn into a cook's assistant chef coat and his breeches likewise transformed. (roll dice) The Ship's energy now concentrated about Rummyfangs. There was a strange itching and he realized the stitches Polly used to repair his clothing were writhing and pulling on more of his fur! Then the putrid smell hit his nose and Rummyfang's looked down to find his beautiful fur fallen in great patches all over his floor as Polly's careful stitches came undone.

Hissing again the undead Cook maneuvered to bring his tachi to bear on Count Karnstein, (roll dice) but Captain Baldbeard had been watching the Cook ready to react. Remembering the hunk of his glorious facial hair falling to the deck, Baldbeard charged up the Quarter Deck stairs (roll dice) and brought his cudgel down on the middle of the zombie Felinoid's back, cracking its spine and flinging it back down to the deck. (roll dice) The Zombie Cook quickly flipped to land on its single good leg facing the dwarf, (roll dice) but the Count had used the time to slide down the line and now used Baldbeard's distraction to sever the zombie's head from its body.

Seeing its ally slain, the Zombie Doctor began to howl and fight against the rope as Bellandra, Bhrigu and Gilius were trying to hold it tight and tie it. The zombie was extraordinarily strong, but it was still held to the mast by the Trident as well. Foggy was trying to pull the Trident free, but it was imbedded not only in the zombie, but deep in the Main Mast where his charge had driven it.

"Someone shut it up or kill it!" Polly ordered in hushed tone. She had flown to the Main Yard, to try to be heard over the howling without having to screech. Looking up at Pugwash she nodded, "Nice shot. Keep a weather eye out for trouble and our longboat. If the others don't get back here soon we may have to send Kyp to swim over after them, or risk being revealed and having to leave them."

-----
GM's Note - Cap'n Rummyfangs had been told by Polly (in private) that the Patches could not change him into something he wasn't, not much bigger, nor much smaller, nor a magical being. Here though he was on the Ship and the Ship used it's own energies to augment the transformation. This is by no means usual ... usually the Patches change the clothing, and can use spectral energies to disguise the being in them until someone gets close enough to notice the scent of laundry or the spectral 'hologram' of the image. Thus the simpler the disguise (clothing only) the better the chance it will work closer up. For a joke I rolled to see what the Patches would do with the "rug" bit. The joke ended up surprising me! LOL. It was quite a dice roll for the Patch to transform the rug, but it also cannot animate that which is not living. ;)

LOL! Cap'n Rummyfangs remaining true to his nature without even trying. xD I'm just glad Zombie Cook continued to chase me and poor abandoned Pugwash wasn't attacked in the Crow's Nest. Good thing Cap'n Rummyfangs is surrounded by an awesome crew! ;)

Captain Baldbeard wonders at the efficacy of keeping a half-brained zombie undead for the sake of obtaining information. To test whether the half-remaining brain left any sense in the ex-doctor,

Captain Baldbeard steps up to the mast, keeping a wary eye on both of the zombie's hands for the slightest threatening movement, trying to keep a safe distance while still exuding a threatening malice of his own, lifted his cudgel to the zombie's face and snarling in his growliest whisper "Shut yer mouth if ye wanna keep yer head".

If the zombie shuts up, all good, if not, then the cudgel will be used to split open its neck (did the doctor have a beard to separate from his head as well? I see no description).

Tower team, Grog'tial

Hearing the snore coming from the western side of the tower, Grog'tial smiles a nasty smile (he's discovering that he's enjoying getting back to hands on work, after such a long time working through others, followed by the frustration of his long fruitless hunt for his half-brother), and motions to Durik and Argy to keep moving quietly. Luckily, having come from the northwest, they're already on the west side of the tower, far from the animals, with the wind blowing their way, so none of them should cause any ruckus. He locates the entrance to the west side of the tower, and stands in that entrance for a moment to make certain there's only the one figure and familiarize himself with the layout of the room. The size of the blacksmith he'll discover there doesn't seem to faze him much, as he just blinks once, and then positions himself carefully next to the ogre. He proceeds to efficiently cut the throat of the ogre with his new dirk, clearly having done this before as well, as he's positioned himself in such a way that not a drop of blood sprays onto him.

"Okay team, let's create some havoc, and get out of here." Grog'tial proceeds to the machine room (habitually standing in the entrance to carefully check out the next room before proceeding into it) and takes stock of the mechanism. If he judges it to indeed be safe to do so in here, he nods ascent to Argy to use one of the cupcakes, as the halfling is clearly very excited to be trying it out.

Tower team, Durik

Durik followed Grog'tial as silently as he could.

He had never seen an ogre before (they tend to prefer the mountains to the ocean) and he though:
*Woah das huge orc! We be the tinies now.*

He then noticed Grog'tial sneakily approach the creature, but he couldn't do anything to stop him:
*What Grog be doing, he crazi! We be needin' Mighty (and Foggy) for dis*
(still thinking)

He stood ready to charge in case anything went wrong.

Tower team, Argy

While the rest are taking care of the ogre, Argy proceeds to place one of the cupcakes in a weak element of the mechanism. However, she doesn't light the fuse yet.
After doing so, she checks if their companions did their part properly. If trouble arises, she will hide and prepare the other cupcake, but will only throw it as last resort (as it might not be very safe to do such thing in this situation)

Assuming that the action at the Ogre goes as planned,

Grog'tial takes a careful look around in the machine workshop when he enters there. "Erm, Argy," he says, "this building here isn't nearly as sturdy as the towers! The sound of the explosion might still be contained, but between the embers in the forge and all the other flammable material here, I see a real risk of an explosion causing a big conflagration. That's not quite the stealthy approach we're going for here!
Shall we make a deal that if you keep your cupcakes to yourself for now, you get to blow up the Denuvo with both your cupcakes before we sail away from there? Should be much more satisfying to strike a blow against DRM that way too, savvy? Now help me out with figuring out a different approach to disabling this here mechanism, eh?"