Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 228 (Patreon)

A little rough, needs some polish. But the main story won't change.

Before anything else happened, Ozzy carefully removed the glass spheres from the smoke, nestling them into the salad so they wouldn't roll around. It was stressful, being that close to so many fragile bombs. Which reminded him about the one he'd naively brought back to the Splinter. Hopefully his idea of how to use the deadly bombs would placate Woodrat when he found out that Ozzy had brought one aboard.

They needed to clear one hell of a lot of the sargasso weed to free the ship, and using sails and muscle to pull it that far was a longshot. It was Mariah who had argued against trying the sails and a narrow trough. "Whether it works, or doesn't work, you put stress on the mast, on the hull, on the ribs, and who knows what other parts of the ship. And what about the auric? That's not something you can just blow some smoke on and reshape like you do with wood." Eventually it was agreed that cutting down deep into the salad to clear a passage would have to be done.

Ozzy had considered the use of rollers to move it. He'd need to drag back a lot of masts to turn into rollers and then get the ship under them and leaning to one side. But that line of thought immediately failed because he didn't have a hard enough surface for the rollers. The dried vegetation would just crush under the weight. So, they were back to the huge task of clearing an unknown depth of vegetation until the channel was deep enough to float the ship.

The task of clearing that much dead weed was a lot easier if you had a mist that ate anything it touched. The ammunition from the warship was going to solve a couple of Ozzy's problems. But first, he had a sparkling treasure chest to deal with. But why not share the fun with his Captain? The thought put a big grin on his face.

Woodrat was below decks repairing damage to the ship. He'd found unsound wood in a half dozen of the ribs and several timbers. Using good wood brought back by Ozzy from other wrecks, he was working for hours each day to improve his ship. Woodrat had sailed with many different captains. Some insisted on using the best wood. They bought extra supplies of it in port and employed several wood wrights on their ships. Such ships had hulls that were black and shiny, full of imbued smoke. That was Woodrat's goal with the Splinter. He was working to make all parts of the ship as good as it's golden hull.

Mariah dropped down into the hold, not worried in the least about the fall, landing on her toes. "You need to come up top. Your Mate got into some trouble and he's on his way back." She seemed more amused than alarmed.

"I notice you aren't running to help out your fellow crewmember, so what is it you're hinting at woman?"

Mariah ignored his question and leaped back up to the deck. Winds picked up Woodrat and deposited the captain there as well. He stood up, scowling and went to the poop deck. He saw Ozzy in the distance, dragging something back as usual. The man was more packrat than most cargo masters he'd served under. Using the spyglass, he brought the image of his mate closer to him. Behind Ozzy, towed by his Trammelian Chain, Woodrat saw the skull and hide of an immense lizard, over ten-yards long. "Dear god, what sort of trophy did he dig up?". Then he zoomed in on the chest his Mate was carrying. It was obviously a treasure chest, made of dark wood and golden metal, the whole thing glowing. "Dear gods, did he kill that damn thing?"

Mariah laughed at him. "Best close your mouth before something flies into it."

Woodrat, Mariah, and their new lookout were waiting for Ozzy as he walked up to the ship. "Sorry for taking my time, captain. I ran into a few critters that wanted to play. This one had a nice hide so I brought it back for you. And it had a little chest as well."

Mariah put her hand on the skull and shuddered. "This beast was a monstrous thing, and above your level. It had over 25,000 smoke!" Woodrat was measuring the hide, wondering where he could display such a trophy. It was longer than his cabin. And too hard to make a good rug.

Ozzy quickly ran over to the ship and jumped aboard. "Excuse me captain, need to take care of something before I tell you a story." Woodrat was still staring at the skull and hide. Would the skull work as a figure head for the ship? Mariah saw Ozzy jump into the hold, and then back out, carrying a large sack. He jumped off the far side of the ship, and ran to the edge of the smoke. Curious, she followed.

"And what has you in such a hurry?" She saw him push a glass glove into a hole he dug in the turf.

Ozzy actually looked embarrassed. "Well, I might have done something potentially bad and I'm fixing the problem. Let's head back."

Mariah touched the top of the globe and froze for a moment. Ozzy was fifty feet away and walking fast. She ran after him. "You brought a globe of acidic mist into the ship? And tossed it into the hold like it was some trinket? Do you know how deadly that can be.?!"

Ozzy kept walking. "I just might have an inkling of what they can do. Like I said, I have a small story to tell."

Ozzie opened up the chest and started pulling out items one by one.

Monstrous Ironhide Treasure Chest: After opening, this small chest will disappear, but a   tatoo will appear on the owner’s bicep. Once a day it may be summoned or   dismissed, along with what is held inside. Some forms of imprisonment or some   places may prevent this effect. Size: 1' deep x 2' long x 1.5' high.

 -Needle tooth Dagger. Made from the sharp tooth of the Imperator. This   dagger does double damage to any opponent who is not protected by plate   armor, or an armored hull.

 -Sealion Vest: A heavy vest commonly worn by sailors for protection in   battle. Made from the quality pelt of a an adult Sealion it gives no   hindrance to swimming, and actually increases the wearers speed. It provides   protection equal to a normal Hull. (+10 mitigation.)

 -Golden Beard’s Comb: One of many golden combs commissioned by Captain   Goldenbeard. The stylish mariner valued his looks greatly. These combs were   enchanted to keep him well-groomed and styled. After a day’s use a captain   will not only look their best but gain +1 Aura and +2 CHR.

 -Lustrous Pearls of Queen Iskaria: The islands of Iskaria are known   for their large, man-eating oysters. These pearls are often purchased at the   cost of the divers' lives. This double strand of over 100 flawless pearls was   worn by Queen Lemoria, whose ship was lost at sea to the attack of a Diluvian   Kraken.

 -1000 golden shellcoins.

Ozzy looked at the items, and then handed the comb to Woodrat, the dagger to Mariah, and the vest to a flabbergasted Derrick.

"I don't deserve this, sir. I've only been a member of the crew for two days! I haven't earned any shares."

Ozzy insisted he take it. "It's yours. We have a saying in the conjunction, 'Need before Greed'. Now, this isn't an adventuring group like we have down there, but mighty close to it. I'd rather you wear it than we stuff it in a treasure chest and it helps no one."

Mariah slid the dagger up her sleeve and simply said, "My thanks."

Woodrat was already combing out his beard and hair. "Did I mention how much I've enjoyed sailing with you, Mr. Ozzy? If not, remind me tomorrow to say it again."

Ozzy held up the string of pearls. "Now these I'm keeping and taking home." He put the coins and pearls back into the chest, which promptly disappeared. It felt like someone poked a thousand needles into his bicep over the next ten seconds. "Damn! That stings." A small tattoo of a chest had appeared on his arm.

Mariah had produced a bottle from somewhere and was pouring alcohol into four flagons. "Shares are distributed, now I want to hear a story, and make sure to embellish and lie about things like a proper sailor."