The Painted Lady
Session Two of Blood and Water Campaign

Sunday, 21 Dark Days 204 [continued]

“Help me, Misgon,” weeps Ravenna into the youth’s shoulder. Misgon rocks the sorceress backwards and forwards. He is little more than sixteen seasons himself. He can bend metal with the power of this mind and make fire leap from his fingers, he hasn’t got a clue how to handle this. He pats her gently on the back. In truth he is feeling a little queasy from the rocking of the ship.

Sensing this, Ravenna takes Misgon back up into the fresh air. She tells him of what she saw in her Mínaris induced vision at Castle Rock last month. She explains what she will become – a monster, a lizardine cannibal. “That isn’t going to happen,” says Misgon forcefully. “I won’t let it.” Misgon’s belief in his own abilities has increased markedly since they first met. “And it isn’t just me,” he quickly adds. “There’s Dralcarnus, and all the druids, and Quenqurial and the elves. There are plenty of people who would be willing to help you.” Ravenna smiles, but casting a glance over at Elias, she is not so sure that is the case any more.

Drasha comes over to Elias at the rail. The paladin is not feeling well, and the thought of breakfast is making his stomach do somersaults. Drasha puts a hand on her shoulder, and leans close to whisper to him. “I have been thinking, Elias,” she says. Elias’s mind races to wonder what she has been thinking about. He is almost relieved that she has been thinking about Ravenna.

Drasha says, "Ravenna is fragile, Elias, despite appearances. The disappearance of her parents and the discovery of the nature of her mother are not easy thinks for any one to cope with. She stretches herself too thinly. She has opened her mind to magic to a dangerous degree. Coupled with what you say happened in the Great Dark, I fear for her soul. After all you and Ravenna have been through, it is difficult to realise that she is still barely more than a child. She was not ready for all the things that she has seen, and all the things she has had to do. But Misgon is also little more than child. Ravenna, seems to trust him. He could be the key to bringing her back to the Light."

Elias turns and sees Misgon comforting Ravenna. Perhaps his wife is correct. Perhaps he won’t have to take Ravenna to task about this, if Misgon can help her through it. Drasha says that she will talk to Misgon.

By the time breakfast is over, the Bashardis have given up making passes at any of the women on the ship. Drasha is married, Ravenna is obviously a fruitcake and Jessica is just downright terrifying. Jessica has taken to eating alone and to spending much of the rest of the day exercising. Fallor cannot understand this. His three companions are so unlike him. Each is a complete loner. Torr seems to spend all his time with his owl, and Jonus is one of life’s observers, forever flying around on currents of air and zipping miles away from the ship before returning. He tries to make friends with Jessica, but she seems to be of the opinion that emotional attachments are dangerous. Fallor cannot understand this way of thinking.

“So are you a great drummer?” asks one of the Bashardis (probably Guiseppe). Fallor says that is probably the greatest drummer the Üganthé have ever seen. Guiseppe says that there is always after dinner entertainment. “Sergenté is normally persuaded to sing.” Apparently Sergenté is an accomplished singer in addition to his other talents, his voice is spellbinding. “Of course,” Guiseppe continues, “it isn’t anything until me and my brothers join him on the banjos.” – “You play the banjos?” Fallor asks. “My friend,” says Guiseppe, “We are among amongst the greatest banjo players on this ship!”

In the evening, Guiseppe is proved to be right. After dinner, with the cookpot fires still burning, Sergenté is persuaded to come forward and sing. Every person on the boat is present except Simian Black, who prefers the solitude of the tiller on occasions such as this. Sergenté’s voice is fantastic. Ravenna detects that it is somewhat magical, but she cannot tell quite how. Not magical in the same way that Fallor is, or Alessandre was. It is quite bizarre. After a few minutes the Bashardis leap up with their banjos and join in. Of the three, Guiseppe is by far the worst. He seems to be playing with ten thumbs. Giacomo is a masterful player. However, the combined effect is only to detract from Sergenté’s singing. The lad picks up the tempo, drowns out the banjos and a impromptu dance begins. Ravenna and Misgon hit the dance floor, while Guiseppe gives up on the banjo and asks the captain to dance. Jonus watches closely. Fallor goes into a solo Üganthé war dance that threatens to fracture the deck of the ship. All in all, a pleasant evening and Ravenna is beginning to feel more at ease with herself.

Vítday, 22 Dark Days 204

In the morning, Ravenna asks Black whether they fish from the side of the ship. Black says that they do. To keep Ravenna happy, Black pulls Giacomo from his job swabbing the deck and asks him to teach Ravenna how to fish. Giacomo is delighted to be able to put down his mop and spend the day with a beautiful woman. He begins to explain fishing to Ravenna.

“Fishing,” he says, “is not about catching fish. It is a state of mind.” He sits on the deck, by the railing and ties some twine to his toe. He then drops the other end in the water. “Now, you do the same,” he says. Ravenna is perplexed. “Don’t we need a rod or some bait?” she asks. Giacomo smiles and shakes his head slowly. “No, no, of course not,” he says, “Fishing is all in the mind. If you are completely relaxed, that relaxation passes down the line and into the water. The fish sense the vibes and that’s when they bite.” It doesn’t sound right to Ravenna, but then she has never fished before so what does she know?

After two hours, she has to admit that Giacomo’s way of fishing is certainly restful. Despite the fact that it is Dark Days, the sun is out and surprisingly strong. She still has her cloak on against the breeze, but if not for that it could be a day in Gathering. She catches nothing, and does not expect to catch anything. Then suddenly there is a tug from Giacomo’s line. The man looks up sleepily, “What’s going on?” he asks, as if this has never happened to him before. There is another tug and Giacomo is pulled toward the railings with great force. He straddles a rather vicious wooden support that catches him in the unmentionables. His cry alerts the rest of the ship’s company that something is amiss and many come over.

Ravenna stands and looks over the side to see that Giacomo has caught, and sees it climbing up the side of the ship toward them. It is an enormous lobster, at least four feet long and with pincers that could easily encompass a Man’s neck. It looks a little ticked off. Giacomo gives a cry of alarm and stumbles to his feet. The knot connecting the twine to his tow is so tight he cannot remove it. He tries to run away, but he is still tied to the heavy lobster and cannot get far. Ravenna prepares a spell while Fallor draws his mighty sword.

“Wait!” says Guiseppe. “This is Giacomo’s catch surely. Do not rob him of the glory! Allow him to face it in honourable combat.” And he throws his brother a mob. “Oh thank you, brother,” says Giacomo sarcastically. “This will be character building,” says Wolfus. “As the eldest I think you could do with some character.” – “You are not the eldest,” Giacomo begins but then he sees huge feelers appear over the side of the boat, screams, tries to run and falls over.

Ravenna casts a sleep spell. It has no effect. Fallor readies his sword. Ravenna casts the spell again and the lobster loses consciousness falls off the ship and drops into the water. It is then that both Fallor and Ravenna realise that the creature is still attached to Giacomo. The sailor yells with surprise as the weight of the falling lobster drags him across the deck, straight past Ravenna and Fallor, over the side and into the water with a resounding splash. Fallor and Ravenna tried to grab him, but only succeeded in grabbing one another.

Jessica who has been watching events runs up and jumps into the water to save Guiseppe who is evidently being dragged under by the unconscious lobster. Fallor yells, “I will cut him free!” – “No!” yells Little Bobby Proudfoot, “Save the lobster! That’s good eating!” Fallor jumps in. Guiseppe looks around, feels a little left out and follows Fallor yelling “Beach party!” Wolfus grins, then affects a look of disapproval. Yes, he would love to join in, but as the eldest he couldn’t possibly lower himself.

Under the sea, Fallor uses his mighty strokes to grab the giant lobster and return to the side of the ship where Ravenna has lowered a rope. Jessica swims beneath Fallor to the drowning Guiseppe, whom she cuts free and pushes to the surface and into the welcome arms of his brother. Fallor in the meantime has climbed up the rope and throws the lobster onto the deck. Now it begins to come around. Fallor punches the crustacean into unconsciousness.

Dinner in the evening is a sumptuous affair. The lobster is boiled in an enormous pot. The sight of Bobby Proudfoot using a two-handed lump hammer to smash open the shell for the diners (while singing an ancient hobbit lobster-cracking ballad) is enough to work up an appetite. Giacomo is the hero of the hour. Although happy for the attention, it will take a long while for his toe to heal.

Terday, 23 Dark Days 204

Elias is pleased to see that Ravenna is displaying less evil signs. He and Jonus have been keeping an eye on her, and the black stain on her aura seems to have diminished a little. Perhaps this is because she is occupying her time, and seems to be enjoying herself. After yesterday, Ravenna is determined to become a successful fisherwoman, like Giacomo. However, she is making some changes. She has built a fishing rod, and she is using a morsel of lobster as bait.

“It will never work,” says Giacomo, but he is unwilling to fish with her today, preferring to use his injured toe as an excuse to shirk all his duties and spend the day sleeping. However, he is soon amazed when Ravenna lands a tuna the size of Fallor. In fact it takes the Üganthé and Elias to help her land it. They eat well again in the evening.

After dinner, Jonus notices that Sergenté is sitting by himself at the bow. It is a clear night, and he is looking at the stars and making notes on a wad of scrolls, weighted down to the deck. “What are you looking at?” the air cleric asks. Sergenté looks up from his reverie. “Very worrying,” he says, and asks Jonus what he knows about astronomy. Jonus confesses that it isn’t much. “You see Dementer?” Sergenté asks. Jonus looks up, every Urovan can find the bright red star. “It is getting bigger,” says Sergenté. The lad says that he has been making observations for months now. He has no explanation, but it is worrying him. Dementer has been associated with many things, including Calafax, but it is often considered an evil omen by his people in Calclafique.

Jonus is very interested. But the stars are not the only show on this evening. The night is so clear that the electric rings of Iourn are clearly visible in the sky. They flash together and it looks as though some are even touching the sea. “Would you like to get a closer look at the stars?” Jonus asks, and proposes to cast a ‘Fly’ spell onto Sergenté and go with him into the heavens. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” is Sergenté’s reply. Soon the pair are soaring up, until the ship is a dim pinprick on a light on a dark ocean.

From this height it is possible to see the dark cliffs of land little more than five miles to the west. The land is still Norandor, although it is further south in that country than Jonus has ever been. But Sergenté is looking at the stars. He is overjoyed with the power of flight. “I am surprised you don’t spend your entire day aloft!” he exclaims. “The spell doesn’t last long,” explains Jonus. “What?” asks an alarmed Sergenté, “how long?” Jonus tells him not to worry. He is quite safe, as they have at least an hour. The pair spend almost that long flying toward the stars before they safely return to the vessel.

Zephday, 24 Dark Days 204

The weather takes a turn for the worse. The coaster rocks from side to side and the party spend much of the day either below decks, or on the surface hanging onto the rail for grim death. As a result very little transpires on this day.

Caladay, 25 Dark Days 204

The Vernal Equinox has arrived. Somewhere in the Úngorn forest, Arvan is making his bid to become a member of the inner circle of the Order. If successful he will pick up the title of druid. If Nicos was here with his scrying mirror, Elias could have watched the entire thing. But Nicos is not here, in fact Nicos is there, watching Arvan. That is assuming the druids haven’t kicked him out of their glade for setting fire to things.

The Bashardis are making breakfast this morning. Little Bobby Proudfoot is reportedly ill with his bunions and it is left to the three brothers to make the first meal of the day. To say they are atrocious at it is a chronic understatement. In the end, Ravenna (who is herself about as domestic as an international airport) pitches into help them. She sends Giacomo off to catch some fish (he doesn’t), and asks Guiseppe to boil some water (he burns it). Wolfus doesn’t join in – as the eldest, he is above such things.

Little Bobby’s illness however, is a cause for concern, and the party investigate the true reason for the hobbit’s incapacity – could it simply be congenital laziness? However, when Ravenna, Jonus and Fallor go to see him they discover that his bunions are indeed worse than before. In fact, it looks as though he jumped in a pair of wasp nests, and then worn them as carpet slippers for a fortnight. Despite the discomfort, Bobby is quite chipper, and strangely serious.

“Something is coming,” he says ominously. “Something bad. I can tell, you know. My family has always had the Sight, always been able to see into the future! It’s my bunions, you know!” The party is utterly underwhelmed by this revelation, although Fallor seems absolutely fascinated. Ravenna discreetly checks to see if the bunions are magical, but they are not.

“It’s true, I tell’s ya!” cries the hobbit. “The worse the bunion’s get, the worser the bad thing that’s going to happen, and these bunion’s have never been this bad, and they’re not at their worsest yet! There is evil stalking this ship! You mark my words. We won’t get past Genbasson without something terrible happening!”

With the exception of Fallor, the party openly scoff at Bobby. Simian Black certainly pays him no mind, and before they can ask the Bashardis of their opinion of the prognosticating bunions the three brothers are exceptionally excited about something else entirely.

“Big fish!” yells Giacomo! “Very big fish!” corrects Wolfus. The coaster lurches as something brushes up against the side of it. Looking over the port side the party see an enormous creature. Half as long again as their vessel, it is gigantic. It’s cavernous mouth could swallow two people in one go, and it is wide open, sieving the sea for food. “Sucker fish!” yells Guiseppe to the captain. “Can we go?” Captain Montague looks down at the creature. “You know how dangerous it is, boys?” The Bashardis chuckle as one. “We fear no fish, Milady,” says Wolfus affecting a bow.

“What’s going on?” asks Ravenna, “Is that a whale?” Giacomo shakes his head. “No. Fish. Whales have tails that go up and down, fish have tails that go side to side.” Ravenna eyes him suspiciously. She may have believed him if he hadn’t mimed the movement of the tail. “Who’s coming with us?” asks Guiseppe to the party.

“Go with you?” asks Fallor. Guiseppe nods. “We are going to collect the sucker fish that sick to the side of the big fish. I think that’s why these fish come up to boats, so sailors can go down and get the fish. We’ll just drop down onto its back and pull off the suckers. Then we can make a big stew of them.”

Only Fallor is willing to go with the Bashardis down the ropes and onto the back of the giant fish. He has taken their word that this fish is not a people-eater. On the slippery back, he is standing knee deep in sea water and moving at a speed of four knots. After a few minutes of surfing the fish, and trying to look suave the four set to work. Guiseppe sticks his head into the gaping maw of the fish, just for a laugh.

After half an hour and (miraculously) with no accident, the four return with several dozen sucker-fish. It is made into a stew by Sergenté and the crew eat well again that evening. For some reason these fish taste even better than the lobster. At the evening meal, the brothers have an announcement to make. Guiseppe, after several minutes of arguing with Wolfus, is chosen to make their case.

“We were thinking that things have been a bit dull recently,” Guiseppe begins, “so we thought that tomorrow would be a good day to re-enact the Tournament of Sultan Yamarrarrarra….how many ‘maras’?” – “Three,” says Giacomo sagely – “Of Sultan Yamarrarrarrahan! – that’s not right.”

“Who?” asks Ravenna with interest. Simian Black looks unimpressed, and Bobby Proudfoot seems to be a looking for any excuse to ascribe a disaster to his prescient bunions. “Sultan Yamarrahan,” says Guiseppe, “surely you have heard the story?” The party say that they have not, and Fallor is very keen to hear the tale. “Well,” says Guiseppe, amazed to have an attentive audience, “Yamarrahan was Sultan of Junos, a long, long time ago. He had this beautiful daughter, whom he wanted to marry off, but he would only give her to the greatest man in the land. So he held this enormous tournament, the winner of which would have his daughter’s hand in marriage. Obviously this was a very popular tournament as this princess had beauty surpassed only by the ladies present here today! Among the entrants to this contests were three identically handsome, and roguishly heroic brothers. They entered the competition as one man, and kept cleverly swapping places when one got tired. That way they were able to win the Tournament and capture the Princess’s heart!”

Guiseppe suggests that he, Giacomo and Wolfus compete against a team of three members of the party in three different events. What events? “Well, I thought the three most traditional events for tournaments: archery, sword-fighting and banjo-playing.” Ravenna is suspicious, “Banjo playing?” Guiseppe is adamant, but then Simian Black rather unhelpfully steps in. “That doesn’t sound right. What about climbing? We can attach ropes to the mast and every one can race to the top!” Guiseppe looks at the mast and turns green with vertigo. “Climbing?” he despairs.

It is quickly decided. Tomorrow the tournament will begin at dawn. The team of Giacomo, Guiseppe and Wolfus will battle the teams of Torr, Jessica and Elias, and Fallor, Fallor and Fallor (the Üganthé is mighty enough to take part in all events). The events will be archery, climbing and sword fighting in that order. The beautiful princess will be played by Captain Montague (who else?). Ravenna will act as a referee. As the party go to bed they reflect that the Bashardis conspire to make shipboard life anything but dull.

Sharday, 26 Dark Days 204

Two hours after dawn, the re-enactment of the Tournament of Sultan Yamarahan begins! To the accompaniment of at least one and a half well-played banjos, Ravenna announces the order of battle. In the first round Wolfus, Torr and Fallor will compete in the archery. A target will be positioned at the prow. Archers will score one point for hitting the rim, ten points for striking the scoring zone, and twenty points for a bull’s eye. Each will take three shots. In the second round, Giacomo, Elias and Fallor will take place in the sword-fighting. They will battle with ‘harmless’ sticks in three rounds. Elias against Giacomo, Giacomo against Fallor and Fallor against Elias. The first person to drop his stick is the loser. In the third and final round, Guiseppe, Jessica and Fallor will shin up a rope to the top of the mast. The first person to reach the summit is the winner. In the event of a tie, the matter will be decided on the playing of the banjo. Despite being a team of one, Fallor is considered the favourite.

But what of the prize? The winning team will be excused from all ship board duties for one week! The Bashardis seem very excited about this, although Black can’t understand why as they never do anything anyway.

Let the tournament begin! Sergenté picks up a target and moves to the prow. It is not an archery target, but a number of stuffed sacks sewn together into an appoximation of Simian Black. The Bashardis giggle madly before doffing their caps to the captain. Wolfus, kisses her hand and promises that he shall be the one to marry her. The Bashardis are really getting into this.

Wolfus takes the first shot and hits the edge of the target. One point. He tries to look as though he meant to do that. Torr comes next. He quickly cheats like a veteran by casting a ‘true strike’ spell. Ravenna instantly counterspells it, but Torr’s shot is so good it is still a bull’s eye! Twenty points. Then Fallor hits dead centre as well. After the first round, Fallor and Torr tie for the lead with Wolfus an alarming third. The Bashardi does little to improve his standing in the second round, as he hits the edge again. This time Torr doesn’t use his magic, and gets a solid hit for ten points. Fallor strikes the edge, so it is two points to Wolfus, twenty-one points to Fallor and thirty points to Torr in the final round! Wolfus pulls an amazing shot out of the bag and hits it full centre. Torr realises that he needs a solid hit to be sure of victory. So he cheats again, casts ‘true strike’ and gets a bull’s eye. Fallor too hits dead centre, but Torr as one on points.

Or has he? Ravenna points out that Torr cheated and the wizard’s last score is removed from his total! Fallor is victorious. “I can’t believe I still lost,” says Wolfus. “Arthritis,” says Giacomo picking up a stick for the sword-fighting round. “That’s what comes of you being the oldest and all.”

It’s Elias versus Giacomo! Both swordsmen do their best to disarm their opponent. Stripped of his magical paraphenalia, Elias is quick to point out how rubbish he is at all this. A fact that is born through as Giacomo disarms the paladin with a flourish and does a quick dance of victory. This joy is short-lived however, as it takes about thirty seconds for Fallor to make mincemeat out of Giacomon. The Üganthé stands head and shoulders above Giacomo and simply sunders his stick in two with his incredible strength. Two minutes later he has done the same think to Elias. Fallor is victorious again!

Round three is the climbing. Ropes have been stretched from the top of the main mast to the foc’sle and to two points on the sturn. Jessica, Fallor and Guiseppe will climb arm over arm up the ropes the summit where a hovering Jonus will declare the winner. Ravenna is ready with a ‘feather fall’ spell in case the worst happens. Guiseppe, who is mortally afraid of heights, is not so sure about this, but he is willing to give it a go for the fair hand of the princess. They are ready, steady and off. Fallor and Jessica are evenly matched. Jess goes off first, but Fallor moves faster and closes on the young girl. However, the mighty warrior of the Üganthé misjudges his swing and loses his rhythm. Jessica reaches the top first as the victor. And what of Guiseppe. Ravenna caught him with her spell when he plummeted to the ground after reaching the half-way point.

The tournament is over! With two victories out of three the winner is Fallor. Fallor basks in the glory. The Bashardis are not too unhappy. As Fallor wasn’t employed to do any work on the boat anyway, him doing nothing will not mean more for them to do! A great party ensues.

Morday, 27 Dark Days 204

Still five miles from the shore, The Painted Lady passes the city of Marden and the estuary of the Mark. They have finally left behind the county of Norandor where so much has happened to them. Elias finds himself quite glad. He tried to leave once before, more than a month ago now, but didn’t quite make it. Now he really feels as though his journey is beginning. As for Drasha, leaving Norandor means leaving Umbria, but she remains silent.

Sunday, 28 Dark Days 204

It is a dark and murky day. The sea is rougher than normal and the spray is cold. The use of the cookpot is getting dangerous, but Proudfoot is determined to keep the hot food going for as long as possible. Through the dark and the murk the party can see Simian Black standing at the rail of the ship looking out into the gloom.

When Elias approaches him the man says, “You can’t see it, but Genbasson is out there. Only five miles away. I wouldn’t put it past one of those savages to swim aboard and put a knife in the captain. We should all keep watch tonight.”

Black’s words, combined with Proudfoot’s bunions make for a mood that matches the weather on the deck. It is remarkable how quickly the weather can change. It was fairly warm for yesterday’s ‘tournament’, now it looks as though winter is almost upon them.

As Ravenna warms herself by the fire, Elias walks over and sits down. He apologises for shouting at her a week ago, but he says that he is afraid for her. He is afraid for what she has done in the past, and worried that such a thind could happen again. Ravenna understands, but she is more concerned about her parents. Who is her father? she asks Elias and Misgon. If she was all ready born when her parents were married then Thorik is not her blood father, so who is? Does she even have a father? Was she part of an experiment on the part of the Potentates to create a sorcerer? Why is she so special to Elsabette Morketh? She has so many questions and no answers.

In the evening, they have a raucous party in the warm of the captain’s cabin. Guiseppe, tries to teach Fallor to play the banjo. “If you hold it with the strings facing you, it’s much easier,” says the inept musician. Guiseppe plays a quick ditty that sounds like a strangled gopher. Fallor nods, takes the banjo and plays it with a fluid skill that impresses even Giacomo. “Rubbish!” says Guiseppe, snatching it back.

That night a fog descends on the boat and Bashardis are given shifts to keep an eye out for anything in the waters. The Bashardis are put on watch during the night to look out for dangers in the mist. The party reflect that, their time on the The Painted Lady has been a pleasant one. They feel secure here. Which makes the piercing scream that wakes them all just after midnight, all the more surprising.

The cry came from the deck above. Tumbling from their hammocks, everyone races up the ladder to the deck. All around is a heavy mist. “It sounded as though it came from the foc’sle,” says Captain Montague emerging from her cabin. “Who is out there?” asks Elias. The captain’s eyes dart around and fall on Wolfus and Giacomo. “Guiseppe,” she replies. Jessica turns and runs off into the mist, trusting her abilities to protect her. The rest of the group follows more cautiously.

Jessica races along the deck, her senses alive to the night. Visibility is down to just five feet in front of her. She has almost reached the prow when her feet slap down into a dark puddle of something that isn’t water. A man’s shape lying on the shrouded deck. Coming closer Jessica peers into the gloom. Had it been anyone other than this young girl, the sight would have turned the stomach. Even Jessica has never seen anything like this. Guiseppe lies dead before her, and he met his end in the most grisly fashion. Scores of six inch nails have been hammered into every inch of his body. The deck is awash with his blood, and his face is contorted into a rictus of horror.

In the time it takes Jessica to regain her composure, the rest of the group is upon them. A wail goes up from Wolfus and Giacomo at the sight of their brother. Captain Montague’s eyes widen in surprise and grief, and for a moment she is Guiseppe’s grieving friend, rather than his captain. But only for a moment. She pulls herself together with a great self control. “Is everyone here?” she snaps. A quick head count tells them that no-one is missing. “Black,” she says, “take a sail cloth and wrap up Guiseppe. Help him Sergenté.” The implacable Black nods.

“This happened only moments ago,” continues Montague. “The murderer may still be on the ship. Giacomo, Wolfus: listen to me. I want you to take your brother back to my cabin and lock yourselves in. The rest of us – four teams. Two atop, two below. We’ll search every inch of this ship. No one goes anywhere alone, no-one goes anywhere in pairs,” she pauses, “We have to accept the possibility that one of us could be the killer. We will all meet back at my cabin in an hour.”

They prepare to leave, but Ravenna slumps to the ground. She is looking at her hands. Could she have done this? Jonus scans her with a detect evil incantation. Her aura is pretty bad. The darkness is almost overwhelming the rest. Ravenna stands and walks up Elias. “Elias,” she whispers to him, “I can’t remember coming up onto deck. I remember being outside Montague’s cabin, but I don’t remember how I got there. I could have been on the deck all ready.” Elias fixes her with his gaze. “Do you think you could have done this?” Ravenna looks at the body now wrapped in sail cloth. “I don’t know,” she says. “It’s not impossible.”

An hour later the ship has been searched, but nothing has been discovered. Everyone is squeezed into the captain’s cabin. Any suspicion regarding Ravenna is not raised. Instead the group is thinking how, and why. “Guiseppe cried out once and then he died,” says Torr thoughtfully. “Those wounds were all extremely fresh.” Jessica agrees. Guiseppe could not have been dead for more than moments before she found him. “So how was it done? How did all those nails enter him simultaneously?” voices Jonus. “If it was a mage, then it was a very powerful mage.”

“It wasn’t you,” says Misgon quietly to Ravenna. “Even if you had the will, you don’t have the powers. You could not have physically done this.” Ravenna feels a little better for that and squeezes Misgon’s hand. “And why do it?” asks Elias. “Why kill Guiseppe Bashardi? Did he have any enemies?” The two remaining brothers are too distraught to answer, but the captain reports that he did not. “This was a random killing,” says Jessica. Random? On a ship five miles from the shore. Someone did this who was just passing? “A Genbassi,” says Black, “it has to be.”

Jonus susepcts Ravenna, and after the meeting has broken up, he talks to Elias. “She might not have been conscious when she probably did it,” he says to the paladin. And tells Elias about her dark aura. Elias confirms this with his own powers. Jonus things that this dark force someone took control of Ravenna’s body without her realising.

“If doesn’t work like that,” says Ravenna when Elias tells her of Jonus’s suspicions. “There is no second entity living within me, Elias. There is only me, what I am and what I will become.” Elias suggests that they tell the captain about her… affliction. Ravenna is against the idea. “Tell her what? We will not tell the captain about this, Elias!”

Vítday, 29 Dark Days 204

Nothing happens during the rest of the night. In the morning the enormity of last night’s events is still sinking in. Guiseppe, fun-loving, banjo-murdering Guiseppe, who couldn’t climb a rope to save his life is dead. Jonus is still eyeing Ravenna suspiciously.

In the night, Misgon and Ravenna both independently thought that the three magical items Ravenna brought back from the Great Dark might be responsible. Of the three, the green Nether Gem is the only thing that radiates evil. Ravenna will not give it up, however, although there is a voice in her head telling her to use it to animate Guiseppe’s body. She asks Misgon to take her away from temptation.

Elias talks to Captain Montague about the ship and the brothers. She said that she was given the ship by the brothers’ father, Silvio Bashardi. He didn’t consider his sons responsible enough to own it, and they agreed with him. Silvio committed suicide not long after he gave me the ship, the captain imparts. He hanged himself. “Perhaps he knew something was after him and his family and tried to put it off the scent,” Elias ruminates. Although why anyone would want Guiseppe Bashardi dead is beyond him.

Jonus and Sergenté are amazed that Elias has a crude map of all the northern world (copied from a book in the possession of Hadala Klazid, no less!). It contains continents they have never seen before! Jonus lays the map on the deck and casts a ‘Chimes of Finding’ spell that enables him to find the vague location of anything. However, he cannot find Guiseppe’s killer anywhere in the northern world. Perhaps in the southern world, perhaps a Mannenite?

This line of enquiry leads to some very searching questions as to Ravenna and Elias’s adventures with the rest of the Chosen of Narramac. During the rest of the day the pair retell everything that happened to them since they won Narramac’s grand quest. They speak of the elves and of Karatath. After all, Ravenna point out, there’s no point keeping it a secret. Preparations still need to be made to oppose the dark lord. He has only be delayed, not defeated. This talk takes all day, and the Captain is amazed by the tale, as is Fallor who intends to make a great song of it.

In the night, the captain splits them into four teams. One will be on the aftcastle with the tiller and one will guard the other two who will be sleeping. They will swap around every two hours. Nothing else happened last night, but the killer may return this evening for any one of them. Little Bobby confirms this. "The bunions are still bad," he says, "and they are getting worse. Worse is still to come!"

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