The sea goblin before you could barely get a shout off before you were already upon him, burying your blade through his scale armor and giving it a painful twist. The green goblin coughed up blood onto your coat, but in defiance tried to plunge his javelin through your gut as well, though his pained and exaggerated movements allowed you to easily avoid his attack and ready yourself to duel your opponent. However at the same time, the goblin you saw from the corner of your eye managed to move faster than your crew, who could only shout a warning as it came to flank you. Derrick was the fastest and managed to catch up to the goblin and slashed at it with his cutlass, however the goblin turned his attention from you to fend himself from Derrick's blade. Tayang shouted the order to Shuffle, a technique you know well.

In narrow spaces like this it wasn't advised to have only the front line armed with melee weapons and fill the back line with crossbows and such. In the chaos of combat, the time it takes to change weapons could mean the difference between life and death, and thus what was more important wasn't how fast one could change their weapons, but change their positions. As Derrick was the first in, he started to retreat to make space for his allies to fill the spot and get an attack off the sea goblin. However. As he turned the sea goblin thrust his javelin right through Derrick's chest, doing some serious damage. Tayang cursed and told him to hang back as Oliver followed up and got some payback for Derrick, slashing his cutlass across the arms of the sea goblin. The rest of your men proceeded to attack the sea goblin behind you, sufficiently distracting it to allow you to focus entirely on the enemy in front. One of said enemies, a sea goblin who fled from the surface, tried to hurl a javelin at you however thanks to your protective barrier the javelin bounced off thin air and stuck into the ceiling without even a twitch on your part.

Talogan growled in frustration as a sea goblin landed a grievous strike on Derrick. Derrick's skill in mundane healing made him one of Talogan's more useful crewmen. His death would mean the crew would have one less healer to fall back on when injured. Talogan would not be having any of that. Talogan drew a dagger from beneath his coat as he wrenched the rapier free of the sea goblin he'd just impaled, allowing the internal wounds caused by the initial attack to bleed freely and end the goblin before he could summon the strength for another attack. Talogan then turned to the sea goblin fighting his crew, swiftly finishing it off by plunging his dagger into the back of the goblin's neck. Talogan then turned to the last goblin and began calmly walking towards him. "Did you think he forgot you?" Talogan asked in goblin "Maglubiyet never forgets those who turn their backs on him. And when your traitorous soul is brought before him, you will learn in the worst of ways that he also never forgives".

In one swift, brutal potion, you slay both sea goblins who were flanking you with ease. Both goblins fell at the same time as you approached the last one, who had armed himself with a wicked looking trident made of coral. Seeing you quickly dispatch the two others without hardly a scratch, as well as your words, made the goblin visibly shake. And it was while you were distracting it that your crew members attacked it. Hector's shot ended up missing due to him trying to avoid you, but Johnathan manage to shoot the Sea Goblin right in the unarmored thigh, causing the sea greenskin to stumble. Oliver stepped up behind you, picking up the dagger on the table to fling it at the Sea Goblin, however the blade end up bouncing off the enemy's armor. Finally Tayang jumped onto the table, his short but stout figure allowing him to easily fight in the relatively compact spaces as he swung both his axes towards the goblin's head. It was then that the sea goblin mustered something akin to courage and managed to block Tayang's attack and stabbed his face. Unfortunately for the sea goblin, Tayang wanted this to happen. While he did get a cut across the cheeks, in that same moment Tayang had managed to lock up the Sea Goblin's tridents with his axes.

"Got him captain! End this dastard!"

Seizing the opportunity presented to him, Talogan thrusted his rapier towards the sea goblin's heart for the killing blow. But while Tayang had trapped the trident's points, the haft was still free to move. And move it did, deflecting the rapier up into the sea goblin's shoulder rather than the heart, and deflecting Talogan's follow up attack with his dagger entirely. It seemed this one would not succumb as easily as the last two. Never the less, the sea goblin would still succumb. Whether it be to Talogan or to his crew.

Knocking your rapier away after you had cut into his shoulder, the sea goblin tries to slash his trident across your face. Fortunately, Tayang was quick to intercept the attack first, knocking the trident up into the ceiling before burning his other axe into the neck of the sea goblin. With a swift kick the creature was decapitated and fell dead to the ground. "Heh. I'll be be pilfering his pockets soon. Shall we head on deeper captain?" The rest of your crew took a quick moment to pilfer the bodies and check the chests. The two chests here appeared to have some elven shortbows in one chest, while the other was filled with arrows. One quiver Oliver pulled out specifically. "Hey captain, this looks like silver arrows!" The rest of the crew checks the area ahead, with Derrick coming back to inform you that this level is clear, though they're hearing some commotion downstairs. "Wanna us to go down or loot this level? Might be something 'ere."

As the rest of his crew performed a quick sweep of the deck for loot, Talogan regarded the sea goblin corpses with a look of disdain, contempt, and grim satisfaction on his face. Three more traitors had been dealt with, their souls consigned to the plane of Acheron, where Maglubiyet would reward them as traitors deserved. But there were others still on the ship. Others that the Mighty One had sent him to bring death for their abandonment. Others that were most likely trying to get away down below. So when his first mate asked whether they should proceed deeper or stay and loot the current level, Talogan only had one answer. "We go down" the captain ordered "There are still foes aboard this ship, and I have no intention of letting them leave alive. The treasure can wait. With me, men!". With that said, Talogan led the way deeper into the vessel.

The men left the loot alone, aside from pulling any usable bolts out from the dead sea goblins. As you'd approach you would be able to hear the sounds of sea goblins smashing parts of the ship, as well as the slow spout of water filling it's interior. You could recognize their efforts easily; they're trying to sink the ship. Indeed, if they could make the ship take water, they wouldn't even need to fight you. They could let the ocean swallow you up or simply attack you while you and your crew were drowning. And even if they couldn't kill you here, if they do enough damage even your crew wouldn't be able to patch up the damage before the ship would be lost, taking both it's cargo and possibly your lives.

As your crew went deeper, there was some benefit to the ship taking water; the noise would mask your approach even en mass. Carefully your group would move ever closer as you could hear more sounds of wood being broken and the gruff voices of the goblin leaders. As if there heresy of their mere existence wasn't bad enough, they didn't even speak a language that was either common or goblinoid. As best as you could guess, it was some sort of Abyssal or Infernal Language. Still in their carelessness they'd leave themselves susceptible to ambush. Hector looked to you and spoke quietly. "Want to sneak closer captain, or should we try and get the jump on em now?"

Talogan couldn't help but feel sickened by the sound of the sea goblins speaking. They had truly abandoned everything they once were. Their god, their honor, even their own language had been cast aside. It made Talogan want to charge the cowardly wretches and slaughter them all then and there. But he held his anger at bay. As much as he wanted those traitors to know their doom was approaching, Talogan knew wasting this opportunity for an ambush would be a foolish mistake. The sea goblins had grown careless in their haste to escape, Talogan refused to grow careless in his haste to see them dead as well. "We will sneak closer" Talogan replied quietly "Their final moments will be of surprise and fear". With that said, Talogan adopted a stealthy posture and led the way towards the source of the sounds the sea goblins were making.

The sea goblin's bickering would ultimately be their downfall as their argument masked the sound of your approach. By the time one noticed you and your group approach, you were already close enough to strike them before they were ready to mount and offense. The ground was slick with water, nothing unusual for a seasoned pirate such as yourself, as you and your crew would spring their attack against the unprepared enemy.

As he stealthily led his men deeper into the ship, the utter disgust Talogan felt for the sea goblins only increased as he heard them arguing among themselves. It seemed that they had also given up their discipline as well. Had they been true warriors of the Mighty One, they would be working together efficiently, ready to face the approaching enemy. Instead they were arguing chaotically among themselves. Their shouting drowning out the oncoming footsteps of Talogan and his crew. When they finally did notice, it would be too late for them. As he turned the corner, Talogan caught sight of the last four sea goblins. Talogan crept forward until there was 15 feet between himself and the sea goblins. He then rose from his stealthy posture and channeled a display of the divine power they had so foolishly turned their backs on. He began to emit a halo of blood red light, his blades began to glow with crimson radiance, and when he spoke, his voice boomed and echoed with holy power. "YOU CANNOT ESCAPE HIM! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT HIM!" Talogan roared in goblin "FOR YOUR TREASON AGAINST HIM, YOU CAN ONLY DIE! SUCH IS THE WILL OF MAGLUBIYET!". As the display dissipated, Talogan moved forward and to the side, seating himself on a barrel so as not to be in the way of his crew's bolts. "Focus fire on the sergeants!" Talogan ordered.

Your vicious commandment had it's intended affect. Seeing the red glare frighten the sea goblins, perhaps not into submission, but certainly took away whatever air of defiance they had in them. Only one of the sea goblins seemed to muster the courage to face you, but before he could even take a step your crew unleashed a hail of crossbow bolts into him. Many found their way through his scale armor, two even shooting him in the neck. He clutched his mortal wounds with fury and determination, intending on wounding you before he would die. Or at least that was his plan before Tayang's axe flew into the side of his face and finished him off. "FINISH THESE SLAGS OFF LADS!" Tayang roared after slaying the sergeant, charging into the group and slashing one of the still stunned minions in the chest with his hatchet. Oliver charged in alongside Tayang while the others stayed back, reloading their crossbows to help from afar and not clog up the no doubt thick melee that's to come. The Sea Goblins were still stumbling to recover from the surprise attack, allowing you to easily join in the fray.

Douse the flame of hope. The first tenant of the Oath of Conquest and the easiest to fulfill. Talogan's ambush had caught the final four completely off guard, and his display of Maglubiyet's divine power showed them that any thoughts of victory or escape were delusions of near death desperation. Though one of them still remained defiant it seemed. One of the sergeants, determined before the end to get at least a single scratch on the hobgoblin regarding it with a gaze of cold stoicism and barely concealed disgust as he rested on a barrel in front of it.

Rule with an iron fist. The second tenant of the Oath of Conquest. Words and displays of power only got you so far. The defiant sergeant was proof of that. Those who face conquest ultimately have two choices: Yield or die. Those who do not fall in line are made an example of. Much like the defiant sergeant, who fell to a squall of crossbow bolts and a hatchet to the face, leaving behind only those who rightly feared their approaching end.

Strength above all. The third, final, and most important tenant of the Oath of Conquest. You shall rule until a stronger one arises. Then you must grow mightier and meet the challenge, or fall to your own ruin. Talogan knew not how long the sergeants had led their men. But he did know that their weakness in the face of Talogan and his crew and their inability to grow strong and meet the challenge meant that their reign was at an end and their ruin was at hand. Talogan stood from his barrel and made his way to the last sergeant, who was too paralyzed with fear to do anything but stand and await the end. In once swift motion, Talogan buried his rapier and dagger into the sergeant's chest. Talogan then gripped the handles harder as he sent divine magic into each weapon, which in turn transferred it to the sergeant. The sergeant screamed its last as radiant energy incinerated its body from the inside out. When Talogan finally decided to withdraw his blades, the sergeant stopped screaming and fell to the ground as a smoking corpse. Talogan then stepped over the dead sergeants and positioned himself behind the remaining sea goblins, readying himself to end the battle with a final pincer attack.

In a swift motion you smited the Sargent before he could regain any of his will to fight. This left the last two sea goblins a mix of deranged and fearful. In their panic they took out their weapons and made wild swings at you and your crew, but their panicked attacks failed to inflict any arm. With deft precision your men took out one of the sea goblins, shooting him with crossbow bolts before decapitating him with a slash of a cutlass, leaving the last one to you. The sea goblin had tried to stab at your head, a very predictable move, and still couldn't muster up any sense of logic or preservation to even consider running away in any sensible manner.

Seeing the swift and brutal demise of their last leader drew the two remaining sea goblins deeper into fear and despair. Their desperate attacks found no purchase and one of them was feathered with bolts before losing its head to a cutlass. Only one sea goblin remained. Its doom certain as its fear and despair were so great it clouded any thoughts of retreat. But rather than strike once more, Talogan shone a ray of hope into the sea goblin's hopeless situation. "Enough" Talogan ordered "Cease your attacks. But be ready to end this if need be". Talogan then addressed the sea goblin in their native tongue. "I'm feeling generous, traitor" Talogan stated "So I will let you leave here alive, on the condition that you bear a message to your false master and traitorous kin. Tell them that Maglubiyet will find them all in time. Tell them that his judgment will be harsh. Tell them they will experience woe beyond comprehension. And tell your master that they shall receive a penalty fifty fold worse for daring to steal servants from the Mighty One. Now take this message and go!".

Between the magical fear you inflicted and the very real fear of being outnumbered and killed, the sea goblin squeaked a response to you in goblin. “Y-Yes! I will go! Thank you!” The sea goblin dropped his trident and ran. Your men made room to allow him to go, but Tayang ordered Oliver and Hector to follow him and make sure he doesn’t try anything funny on the way out. Wiping a bite of blood off his cheek the dwarf turned to you. “Think that’s all the goblins Captain. Damage to the inside hull isn’t too bad, plenty of time to plunder the ship. Strange that there are so few elves here though considering how stocked up they are.” Tayang motioned towards the barrels lining he wall. “Shall we look for survivors captain, or begin looting?”

Talogan sheathed his weapons as the last sea goblin dropped its trident, thanked the captain for his mercy, and fled. "And should anyone ask" Talogan called after the sea goblin "Tell them you were beaten by Talogan Malgrogar and the pirates of Maglubiyet's Kraken!". Once the sea goblin was gone and followed out by Oliver and Hector, Talogan turned to Tayang as the dwarf asked what they would do next. "I will search for any survivors" Talogan said "The rest of you start looting. Mr Iron Guts, you're on corpse duty. Once you've taken everything of value from the dead, bring them topside. I have plans for them. And when you see Mr Collins and Mr Hector, tell them to get back down here and bring the cargo up on deck". Talogan then turned to Derrick and Johnathan. "You two go secure the cargo on the floor above" Talogan said "And none of you forget about the weapons. Sharp steel is more valuable than even the most precious of trade goods". With that said, Talogan went to go look for anyone else who might be lurking about the ship or failing that, anything else that might be of value.

Your men went about the business of pillaging the ship of useful resources, starting with weapons, then valuables, and finally cargo. While not unusual for you to sell plundered trade goods for coin, your ship was unfortunately not exactly a freight vessel, and a lot of the usual trade goods do not sell very well in small quantities, even if you paid nothing at all to obtain it. In the meantime you search the rest of the rooms for any survivors. The other rooms appear to be sleeping quarters mostly with hammocks, though one presumably captain's quarter had a bed. It was here with diligent searching you would notice that the captain's bed was not entirely built into the ship's floor. This itself wasn't unusual, what was however was that there appeared to be indention in the floor as if the bed was suppose to be placed in the indents in order for it to be stable. The fact they were moved out caught your attention.

Moving the bed aside you'd only see plain floor until you again spot a false floorboard, and lifting it up revealed a handle. You managed to find a trapdoor hidden underneath the captain's bed, and possibly with more valuables within. Or dangers. Your men were still busy moving cargo topside with only Tayang within earshot as he painstakingly strips the goblins of their armor, a somewhat difficult task due to their unusual construction.

As he went from room to room in search of anything that may be of interest, Talogan pondered how much the exact worth of their latest haul would be. First there were the captives. So far, they had only found four of them. But that didn't mean there weren't any more hiding on the ship. After all, there were six beds on this floor of the ship. That meant there were two more elves possibly hiding somewhere. The elves looked like they would be worth at least 20 gold a head among his Ransom Broker acquaintances. So that meant from the captives alone, Talogan was looking at an impressive 80 to 120 gold piece haul. And that was before loot was taken into account. Weapons and armor were always a welcome find. If not for their use to the crew, then for their use to those with more gold than steel. Valuables needed only their name to explain why they were just as welcome as arms and armor. They were the bread and butter of many successful pirates. As for cargo, Talogan wasn't expecting much. While this was a merchant vessel, it wasn't a freighter. Still, what cargo they did carry could still have its uses. Maglubiyet's Kraken always appreciated extra food in her stores, especially fish that her helmsman could use for one of his much loved soups. The rest they could sell on. Even if it didn't get much, profit was profit.

Talogan pulled himself from his thought as he noticed that something was out of place in the captain's quarters. After some careful searching, Talogan discovered a hidden trapdoor under the bed. No doubt there would be something interesting beneath. Possibly something dangerous too. Deciding to wait until the less well hidden areas of the ship had been swept and his crew was reassembled, Talogan moved the bed once more. This time, he positioned it so that one of the legs of the bed was on top of the trapdoor to keep any potential hiders in the room below from sneaking out when no one was around. With that done, Talogan ascended to the floor above where their first below deck skirmish had occurred. Loot had already been discovered on this floor. Specifically, a chest of elven shortbows and a chest of silver arrows. But that didn't mean there wasn't more to find.

By the time you arrive to the upper deck your men had cleared out most of the weapons and chest, except the ones locked behind a metal steel grate. Hector and Derrick were taking an axe to the wall trying to hack the door off it's hinges, though your sharp eye would allow you to realize that the key to opening the locked bar door was literally on the other side. Your men had been so focused on the treasure and the door they didn't bother to check the surroundings inside, allowing you to deftly swipe the key and open the door without wasting any more time. Inside were two metal chests, certainly something valuable in these. Unfortunately the key you did have would not open this chest, and no one else in your crew is particularly well versed in lock picking tools. Tayang would soon return to your after stripping the corpses of their equipment, but reports no keys or any similar objects aside from some pearls and coral, trinkets which could be sold as part of the plunder. Chances are one of the elves would have the key to these chests, and an even greater chance would tell you that the captain of these elves would likely keep it on his person.

Eventually your men would finish looting what they could from the vessel. In total, ten sea elf shortbows, two hundred or so shell tipped arrows, twenty which are treated with alchemical silver, two regular steel daggers, an elven shortsword, a steel longsword, and a bronze axe. They also found two more longswords in the upper quarters of regular steel quality. As for plunder off the sea goblins, roughly twenty usable sea stone javelins and five salvageable sharp horn tridents. The real treasure was their scalemail armor, which the crew had taken careful caution to not damage too much so that they themselves could salvage it. It would take Tayang a few days to get them properly fitted for your crew, but with seven sets of scale mail, almost everyone in the crew could get one, sans Nix who doesn't do armor. Finally as for cargo plunder, it would seem that the sea elves were mostly shipping textiles. The crew was able to obtain twelve units of Flax Cloth, six units of animal hide, ten units of wool, and three units of raw silk. They also plundered the larder and managed to obtain two units of salted pork, four units of cram bread, and a unit of cheese. They also managed to find an uneaten loaf of Coimas, a special type of elven bread. It kept as well as cram bread, but remained sweet and flaky instead of tasteless and hard enough to bludgeon someone to death.

Talogan reached the top of the stairs to see Derrick and hector busily working on a door that was much more secure than any other seen in the ship. Talogan was just about to sigh over the futility of his crewmen's actions, but stopped when he noticed something that looked like it would be important. After ordering his men to hold, Talogan took a closer look and found a convenient key just inside the bar door. After claiming the key and unlocking the door, Talogan found that the two chests contained within were unlocked by a different key. A key most likely carried by the captain. Talogan made a mental note to get someone proficient with thieves tools on his crew before a lock with a less easily locatable key was brought to bear against them. With no other loot to be found on that part of the ship, Talogan went to make his rounds in the dining area and finally above deck. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be found there that hadn't already been found.

When the loot was gathered up and all brought topside, Talogan regarded it with and satisfied expression on his face. The ship had yielded a good haul. The amount of weaponry they found was nothing to scoff at. Not to mention the suits of scale mail taken from the sea goblins. Once Tayang had made the necessary adjustments, there'd be enough armor for each crewman interested in such things. It didn't take long after searching through the cargo to find out that the elves were textile traders. Though the mystery chests received much more attention from the crew. Talogan could already hear them wagering over what would be found once they were opened. The plunder from the ship's larder would see the stores of Maglubiyet's Kraken much better stocked at the end of the day that it was at the start. Especial interest was taken in the Coimas loaf found among the rest of the food. All in all, the taking was good and it could only get better. "Get this all onto the ship and then assemble below deck where we faced the last of the koalinth" Talogan ordered "I found a trapdoor in the captain's quarters. Chances are it's where the last two elves are hiding, so be ready if they resist, and try to take them alive".

Once everything was secure on their ship, Talogan led his crew back down into the elven merchant ship to where he found the trapdoor. "Dr Boulder. Mr Collins. Move the bed out of the way and open the door" Talogan said as he drew his rapier "The rest of you be ready in case anyone below decides to sally forth as the trapdoor opens".