“All ahead full!” Varien shouted as he steadied himself at the wheel of the Tide-Runner . Mentally, he was calculating the angle of his attack against his unseen foe, knowing that every measure of his skill as a pilot would be called into play the moment his quarry revealed itself. He only hoped that his fog-shrouded opponent was the overconfident sort. The sterncastle of the St. Asmod’s Hope was in a bit of a state. Its deck was still encrusted in magical ice from Erwen’s ice storm spell, and strewn with the broken bodies of the aft gunnery crew. High above in the mizzen-top nest, Erwen struggled to control the yowling, hissing feline form of the polymorphed liondrake, getting raked with its tiny claws for his trouble. “Ow!” Erwen frowned. Off the port bow, Theryn raced across the waves towards the approaching ship. He deftly scaled the curved side of the ship’s hull and righted himself atop the deck railing, taking in the scene. “Hello there,” he said. It was a target-rich environment. The forecastle of the ship was a veritable hub of activity, with two complicated-looking ballistae on swivel mounts being worked on by four large aquatic-looking trolls –skrags to Theryn’s eyes—hunched over and sweating through their pirate blouses as they ratcheted back the bolt-throwers. There were two skrags to each mounted weapon, which looked as though they had been installed recently and hastily, judging by the fresh drag-marks on the forecastle deck and their pristine-white paint jobs, which did not match at all with the heavily varnished darker colours of the pirate ship. Behind the skrags, a group of humans worked on a mangonel, winding a torsion engine made up of a several twisted ropes and hauling heavy stone balls into position in the catapult’s bucket. Supervising the operations were two ogres wearing robes adorned with totems. The ship’s bowsprit pointed out over the waters above the ship’s fiendish figurehead. In the nest at the sprit-top stood a lookout, a dark-skinned elf wearing a wide tricorne hat and cradling an odd-looking crossbow-like weapon in his arms. Not at all eager to remain in such crowded quarters, Theryn launched himself up the bowsprit, dodging a skrag’s claw as he nimbly dashed along the mast towards the sprit-top. Theryn struck him with his quarterstaff and then cracked him upside the head again, stunning him. Theryn turned to the glaring gunnery crews and stood his ground, daring any of them to approach. From somewhere amidships, another magic-user stood in shock at the sight of the ice storm eruption at the stern and the sounds of magical explosions. “We’re being boarded! Defend the captain and the helm!” she shouted. Several pirates within earshot dropped what they were doing and began rushing back towards the sterncastle. The magic-user cast Melf’s Acid Arrow and fired at Siegfried. Her attack was off the mark, the shimmering green arrow splashing against the decking, some of it hissing as it spattered him. Before him, Captain Mange leaped to his feet, standing toe to toe and eye to eye. Siegfried noticed the bugbear was holding the hilt of a cutlass, its surface dotted with crusty barnacles and rusty patches. There was no blade, however. “Captain, you appear to have lost the pointy end of your cutlass,” Siegfried said. Captain Mange winked and growled something in Aquan, and ethereal green smoke began to belch from the empty cutlass guard, swimming with ghastly, ghostly visages as it took on a roughly blade-like shape. With a swordsman’s flourish, Mange filled his off-hand with a second cutlass. Its blade also shone with ethereal energy, bits of it seeming to wink in and out of existence as it turned in the Captain’s skilled fist, catching and reflecting the light. “For me?” Siegfried said. “Oh, you shouldn’t have. Captain Mange, usually a captain’s sword is presented upon surrender. Are you surrendering after all? It would save both time and pain.” Captain Mange couldn’t help but smile. “Well then, swabbie. Which one do you want first?” “Oh, I’ll be having them both,” Siegfried smiled back. Captain Mange went on the attack, spinning his swords expertly as he advanced on Siegfried. The half-orc ducked the first swing, not trusting his shield to block such a ghostly blade. As the cutlass sliced the air before Siegfried’s face, he heard a sound like a chorus of voices moaning “arrrrrr” as the blade whipped past. Siegfried managed to avoid the Captain’s second swing, but the third got past his defenses. Captain Mange plunged his ghostly cutlass into Siegfried’s body to the hilt. A wave of psychic pain wracked Siegfried to his very soul, but the half-orc remained stoic, not wishing to betray any weakness before such an unworthy opponent. Captain Mange then feinted, turning and tumbling out of Siegfried’s reach across the icy deck. A crewman mounted the stairs and made his way carefully towards Siegfried, waving a hooked harpoon menacingly. Siegfried parried the blow without effort, sighing. “Sit down, kid, the grown-ups are talking.” Above him, Erwen perched in the crow’s nest, eyeing the drow. The Halfling tried to shove the drow off the mast-top, kicking him in his shins, but the drow stood his ground. Erwen frowned, thought for a moment, and then smiled as he wildshaped into the form of a killer whale. The drow had time to gape astonishingly as the mizzen-top nest shattered into splinters beneath the weight of the sea creature. The cat screeched and leaped for the mast-top, digging into the wood with its claws. The orca and the drow began to tumble to the aftcastle below. Struggling to regain control of his ship amid the chaos, Captain Mange only had time to shout, “fire at will and send that ship to the depths!” as he stood at the helm, unaware of the growing shadow around him. The St. Asmod’s Hope continued forward with no change to her course or heading. The forward gunnery crews launched their weapons. The mangonel stone overshot its target. The ballistae fired sizzling bolts of electrical energy. One shot missed entirely, fizzling in the waters of the starboard bow, but the second bolt struck the Tide-Runner amidships, electrical energy playing over its surface. Standard ballistae also fired bolts at the sailing ship, striking the ship’s hull. Varien smiled. His time had come. “Crew! Come about, grapnels at the ready, and prepare to catch the wind!” He spun the ship’s wheel with all his might. The Tide-Runner groaned in protest but obeyed Varien’s command, turning above in the water nearly 180 degrees, its stern swinging alongside the St. Asmod’s Hope bow in a well-executed maneuver that put the starboard side of the ship within boarding distance. There was a cheer from the deck of the Tide-Runner as the crew began throwing their grapnels and hooks at the deck, rail and rigging of the St. Asmod’s Hope , securing the way for a boarding party. “We call that a Luskan Slide,” Varien said proudly, stepping back from the wheel. “Loud Laurel, you have the conn!” Loud Laurel’s eyes above her veil sparkled with admiration. “You did well, mate,” she barked in a measured tone as she took the wheel. “Now, go claim your prize!” Varien raised Fiendsbane overhead. “For the life on the lands and the life on the seas!” he shouted as he rushed towards the St. Asmod’s Hope . Falling in beside him were sailors and deckhands carrying axes and crossbows. At the bow of the Tide-Runner , Varic’s eyes clouded over and he began chanting in Primordial, as though he was calling out to the storm’s eyewall for justice. The storm replied as bolts of lightning began to crash down on the forecastle of the St. Asmod’s Hope , blasting the skrag gunnery crew. The hairs on Theryn’s neck stood up on end as the electrical energy played over the shock ballistae at the bow. The doors to the Tide-Runner’s aftcastle shot open as Quartermaster Berrick strode out defiantly onto the deck. The gnome was strapped into a humanoid mechanized construct fashioned of clockwork joints and reinforced metal plates that swayed as it tottered forward. Its right limb terminated in a sort of mechanical gaff that rotating menacingly, while its left forelimb featured a repeating crossbow seated in a mounting rail above the machine’s clawed hand. The construct belched steam from a power apparatus mounted on the rear of its chassis. Its clawed lower stabilizers dug into the deck with each threatening step. “WHO’S BEEN DEPRECIATING THE VALUE OF THIS ASSET?” Berrick shouted above the din of his construct with murder in his eyes. “IT’S TIME TO REASSES YOUR PROFIT AND LOSS RATIO, YOU PIRATE SCUM!” “All right, Bethany, you know what to do,” he whispered to his crossbow as he joined the fray. Gully Blackwater picked up the severed head of Chauncy the Chull and hurled it onto the deck of the St. Asmod’s Hope in defiance. Yeemik cheered the Halfling on. Blasts of musket fire rained down from the drow snipers. A shot missed Theryn by mere inches. The second drow aimed at Loud Laurel on the helm. Varien threw up his shield and deflected the musket ball. Loud Laurel’s expression towards Varien softened. The third drow was too busy falling to the deck to do anything but scream. At the helm, Captain Mange’s blood pressure began to rise as he noticed that the lead gunner on the Tide-Runner was wielding the staff that used to belong to his First Mate. His right eye twitched as he watched bolts of lightning caused havoc and chaos amid his forward gunnery crew, and took horrified note as Chauncy’s chewed and severed head skittered across the quarterdeck like a split watermelon. He heard gunshots as a valiant paladin surrounded by glowing ghosts deflected a sniper’s shot from killing the helmsman. Beneath him, a killer whale-shaped shadow continued to grow. Siegfried’s words echoed in the Captain’s head. I am more reasonable than my crew, who you’ll be making acquaintance with in mere moments. Siegfried placed a hex on Captain Mange and whispered in his ear. “Whilst you’re looking around at what you’ve wrought, point out your bosun to me. I may have a job opening for him in just a few minutes.” With that, Siegfried hacked at Captain Mange with gusto. The bugbear staggered back, but kept one hand on the wheel. “Let me tell ye something about the chain of command aboard me ship, lad. It’s the chain I beat ye with until you recognize who’s in command!” “No, you’re boring me,” Siegfried said and turned contemptuously away, walking down the stairs and ignoring the feeble attempt of the nearest pirate to lash out at him. “Well, that’s me insulted yet again,” Captain Mange said under his breath. Siegfried looked around and spied the door to the aftcastle. He tested it and found it locked fast. Listening at the door, he thought he could hear the sound of women giggling and whispering to one another. Siegfried tried the door. It was locked. Siegfried turned and shouted to Varien aboard the other ship. “The Captain’s useless! The Devil Behind Thrones is here below deck!” At the St. Asmod’s Hope’s forecastle, one of the ogre mages glared fiercely at the jeering skirmish line of Tide-Runner would-be boarders. He began growling a shamanic chant, weaving his hands together in an intricate pattern. His hands began to glow like a fire poker. “No, no, no!” Bob shouted at the mage, firing off a counterspell to negate the ogre’s attack. The ogre mage’s partner, standing nearby, grunted a counterspell of his own to deflect Bob’s magical intervention. Swirls of magical negating abjuration energy met one another in mid-air over the space between the two ships, sizzling and sparking as they canceled one another out, allow the first ogre’s spell to go off as planned. “Well, darn,” Bob muttered. A Wall of Fire blazed into existence along the Tide-Runner’s starboard side, rising 20 feet in the air in a sixty-foot line. The firewall obscured the pirate ship. One of the Tide-Runner’s sailors screamed in agony as he was burned to a crisp. Alec cast absorb elements . Sweat began to gleam on his bare chest as he stood before the fire and flames, his hair blowing back in the searing wind. The second ogre mage squinted and spied Theryn on the bowsprit of the Tide-Runner . “I’ve had it with these muthoukhtueruddin monks on this muthoukhtueruddin plane!” He cast banishment on Theryn. The monk blipped out of existence and found himself trapped in an eerie, spectral void. “The Devil Behind Thrones is where?” Varien shouted back to Siegfried. Siegfried gestured at the closed door in front of him. Varien grasped a rope, nodded to Loud Laurel, and swung around the edge of the wall of fire , doing a barrel roll in mid-air before executing a perfect three-point landing, slashing his sword in the direction of the forward gunnery crew as he cast fireball . A deck wizard attempted to counterspell Varien’s spell, but was unable to negate the incoming fireball . The forecastle of the pirate ship exploded in a blossoming ball of flame. In an instant, the human crew manning the mangonel were dead, burned to cinders. One of the ogre mages shrieked and lost concentration, causing his wall of fire to wink out of existence, leaving a charred scar along the deck of the Tide-Runner . Alec flew into a rage, grabbed another free rope and launched himself over the side of the Tide-Runner , bellowing as he swung into the thick of the battle. He landed on the forecastle deck as the fireball dissipated and aimed his hand crossbow at the ogre mage. He fired two bolts into the creature’s thick hide. The ogre shrugged off the attack. Bob twinned a guiding bolt spell and fired one at each ogre mage. The radiant attacks struck home on their targets. Bob also quickened a firebolt and sent it flying into the second ogre mage. The ogre managed to maintain concentration. “I admire this ogre’s mental fortitude!” Bob called with a shake of his head. “Ha!” the ogre called out. “Remember my name: Ugrok the Unflinching!” Over his shoulder, Siegfried heard the sound of a deck wizard beginning to cast a spell. “Stop that, you’re embarrassing us both.” He said as he cast counterspell . The deck wizard’s spell died on her lips. “Make yourself useful go downstairs, pull out the Devil Behind Thrones so we can kill the shadowfeller!” Siegfried said to the wizard. “Hurry up, you’re wasting my time!” With a battle cry and a hiss of steam, Berrick launched his construct over the gap between the ships and landed with a clockwork banging sound amid the pirates. “My stock is rising!” he shouted, “and I’m here to do two things: buy and hold!” He fired his crossbow at the nearest skrag. He fired a second round at the ogre mage which thunked into the rail next to his head. “Quartermaster Berrick, you may begin your appraisal of our new ship at once!” Siegfried cheered. Captain Mange shook his head in disbelief at his sudden reversal of fortune. As he opened his mouth to bark orders to his dwindling crew, the killer whale landed on him, splintering the deck beneath his feet and driving him into the planks. He was knocked prone beneath the whale’s immense bulk. There was a significant creaking sound from both bone and deck at the point of impact. The bugbear struggled impotently against the gigantic sea mammal. There was a wet thud as the falling drow impacted on the deck nearby. The pirate deckhand drove his harpoon into the prone killer whale’s blubber. Orca-wen thrashed about on deck, grinding Captain Mange’s broken bones beneath him. He bit down on Captain Mange. The bugbear howled in agony. Orca-wen rolled to one side over the screaming Captain. Varic called down another barrage of lightning on the forecastle, blasting Ugrok and a nearby skrag. The stunned drow sniper on the sprit-top nest shook his head to clear away the ringing sound, and then sighted his musket on Varic. “Varic, get down!” Mourning Dove shouted as the drow fired, his shot missing. The second drow sniper attempted to shoot at Alec but instead grazed the foot of a skrag. The aquatic troll cursed and shook his meaty fist skyward. The third drow sniper fired at Varien but missed. The fourth drow scrambled out of the way of the orca, but Orca-wen slapped him powerfully with his tail, knocking him off the aftcastle deck, where he landed on the aft deck near Siegfried. Siegfried smiled. “Sir,” he said in Elvish. “How many ballistae do you have on this deck?” The drow glared and aimed his musket at Siegfried, taking a shot that went wide. Siegfried clucked his tongue and shook his head. Then he withdrew three knives from his pocket and cast animate objects , then extended the spell to encompass the stack of seven stone mangonel balls stacked in a brass monkey near the unattended weapon. “Kill the weakest,” Siegfried commanded his animated entourage. Instantly the seven stone balls levitated and whipped towards Ugrok the Unflinching. The first stone knocked the ogre’s head clean off. Ugrok’s headless body toppled over to fall on the deck with a crash. The rest of the mangonel balls flew in several directions, slamming into the second ogre mage, buffeting him mercilessly. Siegfried’s three knives flew at the hapless drow sniper, but only one found its mark. Siegfried stepped towards the drow. “Now, make yourself useful. Get this door open for my incendiary friend over there.” He pointed at Varien to illustrate his point. The drow glared darkly at Siegfried. Varien rushed across the main deck and hopped up onto the quarterdeck. His spirit guardians savaged any pirates they encountered on the way. His shield deflected several hammer attacks. Varien quickened a scorching ray spell. Three rays shot out from his shield, blasting a pirate and the deck wizard, and finally the second ogre mage, killing him. “What am I here for, then?” Quartermaster Berrick shouted from inside his construct as the ogre fell dead at his feet. “Where is the Devil?” Varien shouted at Siegfried, his eyes wild as the flames on his mantle licked at the air above his shoulders, and the spirit guardians continued their orbit around him.” Siegfried stepped aside and indicated the locked doors. “He’s all yours, buddy.” He then stepped behind Varien to confront the approaching pirate horde, murder in his eyes. Alec turned about and swung his mercurial greatsword at the nearest skrag, slashing the monster mercilessly. He slashed the skrag a second time, but the skrag dodged. His third strike hit home, spilling the skrag’s guts onto the deck. Cleaving through the aquatic trolls remains, Alec slashed at another skrag pirate, dealing the creature a terrible wound. Bob watched the bow of the pirate ship become a maelstrom of blood, guts, and animated cannonballs as his brother shredded skrags with his sword. To his right, he could see a cadre of pirates chasing Varien, who was charging ahead, his sword aloft. Siegfried stood astride the quarterdeck like a sentinel out of someone’s nightmare, his shield and axe at the ready to turn all attackers aside while his scarf flapped in the breeze majestically. He cast fireball on the squad of pirates amidships. Desperately, the remaining pirate deck wizard tried to counterspell Bob’s attack, but her skills were no match for Bob’s sorcerous abilities. There was an incredibly loud explosion as the fireball burst among the pirates, catching seven pirates in a blast of magical fire. Instantly the remaining pirates on the main deck were turned to ashen statues that blew apart in the wind. “Blow the man down!” Bob cheered. The Tide-Runner crew stood agape watching the utter destruction taking place across the deck of the St. Asmod’s Hope . “Eighteen dead?” One said, eyes wide. “In eighteen seconds!” Another replied. Theryn reappeared from the void several yards from where he had disappeared, some thirty feet in the air. He rode the curvature of the sail on his way down and looked about in confusion. “This isn’t where I hitched my horse!” he called out. Landing on the deck, he attacked the nearest skrag pirate with his bo staff, stunning him. He turned and struck another target with his staff. He followed up with a flurry of blows, bashing the pirate with unarmed strikes. He took off for cover behind a mast, evading the ineffectual claws of the pirates. Berrick maneuvered his construct to the stunned skrag, slamming the creature with his electromechanical limbs. “Pursuant to the laws of the sea, regulation 21.x.5, I hereby crush your skull!” Berrick shouted as he battered the aquatic troll. Captain Mange moaned in pain as he tried to lever the immense bulk of the killer whale off his body. “Bugger off!” Mange shouted as he slashed at the killer whale with his cutlass ineffectually. Yeemik swung on a rope across the gap to board the St. Asmod’s Hope and landed amid the skrags, slashing at the stunned creature three times, cutting it apart where it stood. A pirate deckhand came to the aid of Captain Mange, wedging a gaff beneath the whale to leverage the creature out of the way. “Lad, you’re the bosun now!” Mange wheezed. Varic called down lightning again on the bow of the ship, blasting two of the skrags with electrical energy. Orca-wen bit at Captain Mange again, tearing the bugbear’s flesh. Blood began to run from the captain’s mouth. “Crushed from above by a falling whale,” Captain Mange wheezed and then blinked in disbelief. “Oh gods, it’s just like that Vistani fortune-teller said!” The remaining skrags closed in on Alec, armed with their tridents. “Tridents, my one weakness!” Alec said as he took a bite from the skrag, who followed through with a trident stab to the barbarian’s guts. The second skrag savaged him again with bites and stabs. “Kill those who threaten my allies,” Siegfried sent his animated cannonballs after the skrags attacking Alec. Four of them slammed into the attacking skrag, bashing him soundly and sending him reeling. Siegfried called out to the drow snipers. “Those gunmen who seek continued survival and employment in the morning will drop their guns on the deck immediately! Do so and you’ll have employment on my ship.” He then sent his three knives after Captain Mange. The knives riddled Captain Mange, two of them thudding home in his chest. Captain Mange staggered back, spitting blood between rueful chuckles. “Too late, I realize me children were me true treasures,” he gasped. He fell back, dead. The drow nearest Siegfried drew a bead on the half-orc. “So tell me, if I kill the Captain of this ship, does that make me captain?” Siegfried asked aloud. “It’s not like deposing a king!” Alec shouted. “I serve the Devil Behind Thrones, not that mangy bear,” the drow growled in Elvish. He cocked his musket. “Pity,” Siegfried said. “If that’s how you truly feel, I regret your decision. Tell the devil to make room.” He lashed out with his axe, lopping off the dark elf’s head. He rushed up to the pirate nearest Captain Mange’s corpse. “And how about you good sir?” The pirate growled. “Let it never be said I didn’t try to look out for the hired help,” Siegfried said, stabbing him again and kicking him over the side. The man broke his neck as he bashed the side of the hull on his way down to the sea. Siegfried patted Orca-wen’s nose. “You did good.” He sat down heavily on Captain Mange’s chest. “I’m spent. The rest of this job I leave to you. I’m going to need a moment.” “This isn’t a sprint,” Varien called out. “It’s a marathon!” There was sporadic musket fire from the crow’s nests, as though the drow weren’t trying too hard to aim accurately. Varien turned and kicked open the door to the aftcastle. The chamber was luxuriously appointed, draped with silken scarves, heaped with pillows, and in the air was the scent of vanilla. Candles were ensconced on the walls, illuminating a collection of tiny ships in bottles. On the floor were rich area rugs, and a large captain’s desk covered in paperwork. Off to one side was a bearskin rug atop which were positioned two purple overstuffed chairs, and there was a fine china setting that held what looked like a lobster dinner, interrupted. Framing the rear of the chamber were floor-to-ceiling leaded windows that gave a panoramic view of the pirate ship’s wake. In the centre of the room was a magnificent bed built as much for sensuality as it was for sleep. Sitting on it were two nubile women of great beauty. They were naked except for thick metal collars around their necks. They made no attempt to cover themselves as they kneeled suggestively atop the silken sheets, regarding the interloper with appraising eyes. One of them, a brunette, tossed her hair said in Celestial, “My hero, are you here to rescue us?” Varien frowned. These women were almost too beautiful. Fiendsbane began to rattle in Varien’s hand. The women traded looks with one another. The second one, a blonde, smiled cruelly. “I’m Ciamanthe, and this is Ashraen,” she said, indicating the brunette. Her perfect brow furrowed. “And you, my poor hero, are going to die.” There was a metal clanking sound as the women’s collars began to unfold over their shapely forms, covering them with magnificent plate armor. They stood up in tandem, wings sprouting from their backs as they pulled out black-bladed longswords. They beheld Varien with their terribly perfect beauty, wicked helms covering their heads while allowing their hair to flow freely. Varien smiled. “We all meet our deaths, but for one of us, that day is not today.” In his hand, Fiendsbane began to glow. “Hopefully your master reveals yourself before you meet yours.” Varien’s spirit guardians tore into the two creatures, sparking off their armour with radiant energy. The paladin backslashed Ciamanthe with his weapon, blasting her with a radiant smite. He followed through and with his shield shoved Ashraen. The beautiful creature took his shield bash and gave no ground. “First you catch my shield, then you catch my blade,” Varien shouted as he slashed at Ashraen with another radiant attack. The two women again exchanged looks and smiled darkly as they moved towards Varien. Ciamanthe licked her full red lips as Ashraen purred, “Now then, my heartsweet, headstrong hero, it’s our turn.”