Your men quietly nodded their heads and went about following your orders. Oliver and Kulee went off together to make a more through search of the area while Tayang had his men return their plunder to the ship Nyx opted to stay with you, taking her dagger out just in case there was any trouble as the two of you entered the chapel.

Sure enough the place was desecrated. In your head you could imagine how this temple would've looked normally; a few roars of pews with an altar at the front where a priest would give his sermons. There was a large pool of water behind him, and two doors that likely lead to offices in the back. But now the pews had been pushed up against the walls or destroyed, and what remained of the clergy here were splattered about the room and walls as if a mad artist had decided to redecorate the interior of the chapel with their remains. Blooded bodied parts of both bone and flesh were shaped into strange twisted effigies, with arms artificially lengthen with thighs and the remaining legs from the knee down bound together at the ankles and wrapped around the bloodied and dismembered waists of the remains. These literally twisted looking arms were then forced to stretch upwards, almost making a circle, and inside that circle were the severed heads of the bodies. However you would easily notice two things with these severed heads, the first one was that they had their eyes torn out and they have been scalped, exposing their brains. And nailed to their brains were presumably the victim's eyes as well a mysterious additional amount, perhaps out of some strange literal interpretation of Kos' blessing.

As for the victim, the elven girl was the only one who didn't seem to have suffered the same mutilated fate as the others. However her beaten and bloated body laid strewn upon the altar, her eyes open yet frozen in horror. She was alive but not responsive. As you came closer, you would see something that Nyx did not, due to the relative darkness of the room. A message written in blood, now drying, on the wall over the pool of water, which was not yet tainted.



Your men were quietly looking around for anything worth taking. Having checked the back rooms, Tayang reports that they are surprisingly untouched. While it definitely looks like there was a struggle, whoever was here didn't seem to ransack these rooms and there weren't any other survivors back there. One was an office, had a desk that was knocked to the side which was likely used to barricade the door, as well as a lot of books of various lore and information. Could be useful for trade or just light reading. Some letters, some journals, and a small locked box. From the sounds inside of it, it was likely a box containing the temple's offerings. The other room seemed to be a supply room, which the rest of your men were looking through. Nyx stayed in the office and was paging through the Books for anything important.

Sure enough, the interior of the chapel looked more like a charnel house than a place of worship. Just as Nyx had described, the butchered corpses of the clergy were strewn about, shaped into hideous effigies dedicated to Kosm. There was only one survivor, an elven priestess who, judging from what Talogan could see and what had been written on the wall, had been forced to endure something truly terrible. Talogan made it no secret that he, like all hobgoblins, hated elves. His flag depicted him standing on an elf skull. He allowed no elves on his ship unless they were prisoners. He always attacked elves first in battle, even if it was a tactical error. But what the servants of Kosm had done to the priestess churned Talogan's stomach with no small amount of vigor.

The sight he had been greeted with as he and his crew entered the chapel reminded Talogan of the first and most important lesson he had learned in his life. One of the few lessons from the time before he came to the pirate's life that he still acknowledged after the events that brought him to the sea. This world, and all other worlds, were wracked by chaos and despair. Maglubiyet saw this and took it upon himself to set these matters to right. But he couldn't do so without first having complete and total command over all that exists. And until such a time as then, there would be many more sights similar to what lay before Talogan now.

Talogan looked past the elven priestess to see a pool containing what was most likely holy water. Thankfully, the water appeared to be without taint. He'd have someone collect that soon enough. Talogan walked over to Tayang and listened as he reported what had been found. "Books, journals, letters, and a locked box..." Talogan said as he glanced towards the corpses littering the chapel. Chances are one of them had it. "Secure the holy water, Mr. Iron Guts." Talogan said while gesturing to the pool behind the altar. "I have a key to find." With that said, Talogan began moving from body to body in search of the key to the locked box.

Finding the key was surprisingly easy. While none of the gory effigies had any clothes for you to search, the scattered remains of their garments meant that it was mostly just a matter of turning over the right piece of refuse. As Tayang and the other men filled various bottles and containers with the holy water, you’d find the key in what appeared to once be part of a priestly robe. It was part of a key set, with two fairly mundane looking keys and one slightly more intricate naturally the more detailed key opens the locked box, which contained 5 gold, 23 silver coins, and 116 copper coins (8.46 GP total), as well as a small potion tucked squarely inside. It contained a crimson liquid similar to that of your standard healing potion, but this one seemed to actually glow.

Soon Tayang would approach you, your crew having gathered up anything of worth. “Managed to get roughly three gallons of holy water. If we get back to Red Shard we can buy a bulk of flasks for about 24 vials of Holy Water. Nyx grabbed a bunch of books, I’m assuming they’re important, and we managed to find assorted holy stuff in the back. Ritual things and assorted silver holy symbols. I know whatever sea god this temple did worship isn’t your deity Captain, so we just plan to flog em off as loot. Not much else to salvage from the bodies.” You knew that Tayanng was about as grizzled as you are when it came to facing these sorts of horrors. While most of your men were trying to advert their eyes from the grisly scene, Tayang felt no real sense of horror here. Was no different than what you might see on a battlefield, or after one.

Talogan quietly thanked Maglubiyet that he didn't need to sift through the corpses for long. With the key set in hand, Talogan made his way to the office where he found Nyx still looking through the various books and papers that were kept there. "If you find any holy scriptures, burn them." Talogan ordered, before moving to the locked box and using the most intricate key of the set to open the box. There was a modest amount of coin in the box, but that wasn't what made Talogan lift an eyebrow. There was a potion bottle in the box, the contents of which seemed to have a glowing property about it. From what he could tell, it was most likely a healing potion of greater power than usual. More than that he could not tell. He lacked the knowledge of how to use Detect Magic or Identify and Nyx didn't have either of those spells on hand as well.

After taking the potion and closing the box, Talogan walked back into the chapel to observe the rest of the crew on their search. Though as he watched, Talogan would often find his eye drawn back to the elven priestess. Earlier, he had been unshaken as the scene inside was described to him. But now, though he refused to show it, Talogan was almost as shaken as his crew had been. Not by the horror of what had been done to the slain, but by what had been done to the survivor. As much as he hated elvenkind, as much as he loathed the devotees of non-goblinoid deities, not even she deserved what had been done to her. When Tayang left to do a final tally of the loot, Talogan walked up to the altar and placed the healing potion down next to the priestess. "This isn't nearly enough to heal what you have been through." Talogan said. "But I hope it can be a start, at least." With that said, Talogan turned away as he heard Tayang footsteps approaching.

"Report." Talogan said as he met his first mate at the doorway to the office and supply room.
“Managed to get roughly three gallons of holy water." Tayang reported. "If we get back to Red Shard we can buy a bulk of flasks for about 24 vials of Holy Water."
"Perfect." Talogan said. "That should be more than enough to suit our needs. What else?"
"Nyx grabbed a bunch of books, I’m assuming they’re important, and we managed to find assorted holy stuff in the back." Tayang continued. "Ritual things and assorted silver holy symbols. I know whatever sea god this temple did worship isn’t your deity Captain, so we just plan to flog em off as loot."
"No." Talogan said "If we sell them, they'll likely end up in the hands of their worshipers again. Keep the silver. We can powder it for the creation of more holy water should we ever need more. Destroy the rest. Did you find anything else?"
"Not much else to salvage from the bodies.” Tayang replied.
"What about locks?" Talogan asked "I found a trio of keys, but I've only used one so far."

"Powdering the silver eh? We'll have to head back to Red Shard and get the right tools, but I'm sure that ought to be easy enough. Scrap the the other stuff lads." Tayang orders the others, who proceeded to smash the various ritual devices that weren't simply made of precious metals. When you mentioned your key set, Tayang shook his head. "Can't say there were anything locked that we couldn't just smash though. Some of the chests were locked but my axe was able to cut through em easy enough." It would seem like there was nothing else left to do. But before you could command the crew to leave, Kulee burst through the door. "Captain! Ships on the horizon! Mix of fishing ships and orc warships!"

Sure enough if you looked outside, you could see the faint shapes of ships in the distance. But their banners were easy enough for you to identify even from afar. Orc warships pride themselves are their ostentatiously detailed masts that made sure everyone could see their colors and know their intent. There were at least three of them, behind what would appear to be six or so much smaller fishing boats, likely belonging to the fishing hamlet. Based off the winds and their direction, the ships would be here in a matter of minutes. Your crew grabbed the loot and met you outside. Tayang looked at you. "Orders captain? If we leave now I think we might be able to shove off before they could reach us. But if they give chase... Shit, I don't know about our odds."

As he walked out of the temple, the look of frustration on Talogan's face was the most visible aspect of his appearance at the time as he glared at the orc warships on the horizon. Just as much as he hated elves and holy men of non-goblinoid deities, Talogan also despised orcs. The thought of fleeing from them made Talogan feel ill. But he knew that was what he had to do. Their numbers were too great. If he ordered an attack, his crew would almost certainly mutiny against him. And even if they did follow his orders, attacking three orc warships head on would mean certain doom. Talogan couldn't afford to risk death while he was under orders from the Mighty One himself to investigate the shipwreck south of Red Shard, not by anything that wasn't at the wreck at least. As much as it sickened him to admit, they needed to leave.

"Get the loot aboard the ship!" Talogan ordered the crewmen who had come ashore. Moving fast, Talogan boarded the Kraken and spoke then to Hector and Johnathan. "Mr. Hector! Mr. Johnathan! Begin preparations for our departure!" Talogan ordered. With that said, Talogan went below deck, retrieved the oil flasks from the arsenal, and brought them topside in case they were required. Once all the loot and all the crew were back on the ship, Talogan gave further orders. "Lift the anchor, cast us off, and bring us to full sail! We make for Red Shard!" Talogan ordered. "Ms. Orocho! Keep an eye on those warships. If it looks like they're in pursuit and are getting too close, throw a gust into the sails! The rest of you, to your places! Make sure this ship is running smoothly and we'll have a better chance of eluding them! Now move!"

Your men moved as swift as the eastern winds as they loaded up the plunder onto the ship, drew anchor, and sailed off from the fishing hamlet. And not a moment too soon. Most of the ships were heading straight for the hamlet however one of the orcish warships. It's mast had crossed axes and it seems like it was giving chase, so Nyx threw a gust of wind into the sails to give the ship much needed speed. Everyone else was busy manning the riggings and making sure the sails were catching as much wind as they could, but soon Hurrik shouted down towards you from the crows nest. "Captain! Storm's coming!"

Sure enough the southern clouds were growing dark, with streaks of lightning in the distance. It wouldn't be long before the Kraken would be caught in the storm. There was time yet to avoid it, however the orcish warship seemed to be doing the same. It was going to put the crew in a tight spot: they either try to brave the storm, or try to avoid it at the risk of sailing close enough to that warship that it may get into range to battle. And if the battle raged for too long, the storm may catch up to the two ships regardless. The crew looked towards you for your orders, for once you set them down a path there was no turning back.

From the bridge of the Kraken, Talogan watched as the second fleet he had seen today made port at the fishing hamlet. Save for one. A single orcish war vessel had peeled off from the rest of them and was now in pursuit of the Kraken. For a time, it looked to be gaining on them. But a single gust of wind courtesy of Nyx was able to put more than enough distance between them for a nice clean geta-. "Captain! Storm's coming!" Hurrik called from the crow's nest. Talogan looked towards the bow of the ship and saw the storm that lay ahead, dark clouds swirling, thunder rumbling, lighting cracking the sky. As the crew looked to their captain for orders, they would see a zealous look appear on his face. The religious fanaticism he was known for bubbled to the surface as he stared intently at the approaching maelstrom. For though his crew looked ahead and saw a storm, Talogan looked ahead and saw a sign from the Mighty One himself.

"He is watching." Talogan said. "Maglubiyet is watching. And he is displeased." Talogan then turned his gaze away from the storm and looked to his crew. "Mr. Fishbones! Hard to starboard!" Talogan ordered. "All hands prepare for battle! Ready your weapons! Hoist the black flag! Tie on your lifelines and ensure they are secure! And prepare the oil! The Mighty One has his eyes upon us, and I'll be damned before let him see naught but a display of cowardice from the warriors of this ship!" With that said, Talogan moved across the vessel to where the lifelines were kept and tied one of them around his waist. Once he had made sure the lifeline was secure, Talogan went to stand at the prow as the ship turned away from the storm and towards the orcs. As the warship came into view, Talogan recited a prayer in the goblin tongue that formed a Shield of Faith around him in preparation for combat.

You could sense a wave of unease wash over your crew. They were bloodied by battle already, but this would be the first time most of them have ever taken on an orcish warband. Most of them have killed sure, and fought warriors of their equal, but orcs were a whole different foe. However shortly after you gave your orders Tayang was quick to follow up and start delegating tasks to your men. "You heard him men! Prepare for battle! John, Hector, arm your bows! Hurrik, give us fire! Derrick, Oliver, you two with me!" Everyone scrambled to their positions and got themselves readied for battle. You could see Nyx casting a spell over herself, creating some mage armor. Kulee whispered a prayer as he turned the wheel of the ship and head in the direction of the orcs.

It would only take a minute before the ships would threaten to clash. "They're aiming to ram us!" Hurrik shouted out in warning. Sure enough those orcs were going straight towards the prow of the ship. Orc warships had an armed front precisely for these sorts of maneuvers. However Kulee wasn't about to let them get it easy; with the winds pushing from the west he maneuvered the ship in such a way that the two vessels would sail past one another. The orcs threw javelins while your crew returned fire, however, neither attacks managed to harm anyone aside from the ships themselves. "This is it! Get ready!" Kulee shouted as the winds from the storms gave the Kraken the tailwind it needed to move with a burst of speed, enabling to to move around to get parallel to the orcish warship.

"This is it lads! You've plundered and bloodied your blades before, but today you'll prove to the gods your worth!" Tayang shouted as the two ships collided together, jostling everyone on both sides. From your position you could see that the orcish warship had at least ten warriors on it, as well as many galley slaves chained to the side manning the oars. A mixture of dwarves, gnomes, and halflings. They were obviously abused and malnourished but don't seem eager to fight, keeping their heads down. Of the orcs, one looked like something akin to it's captain, given his fancy horn pouldron.

Talogan finished his prayer just as the two ships collided. After taking a moment to steady himself, Talogan marched up the deck, calmly drawing his rapier and unhooking his hand crossbow from his belt as he went. Talogan came to a stop as he drew level with Oliver. He took his place at the railing next to his crewman and surveyed the orcs arrayed against them before glancing towards Oliver. "Mr. Collins." Talogan said as a halo of blood red light began to glow dimly around the pirate captain, shining brighter with each passing second. "I suggest you cover your ears." With that said, Talogan looked back at the orcs and unleashed Maglubiyet's divine power upon them. "DOGS OF GRUUMSH! COWER AND DESPAIR!" Talogan roared louder than even the greatest claps of thunder from the approaching storm. "MAGLUBIYET HAS COME FOR YOU! AND WITH HIM, YOUR DOOM!" With his declaration delivered, Talogan turned towards the leader of the orcs and raised his rapier tip first towards his foe, openly challenging the strongest of the greenskins. "Deal with the underlings!" Talogan called out to his crew. "The leader belongs to me!"

Oliver had his hands full but he used the palms of his hands to cover his ears as you shouted out your challenge to the orcs. You could see a few of them snarl at you, but most of them started to seem doubtful. They steeled themselves for battle regardless, but you can smell the hesitation mixed between their various other odors. Shortly after you announced your challenge Derrick, the ship's good doctor, charged off the Kraken and smashed his oil flask into the face of one of the startled orcs. "First blood!" He roars as he follows up with a slash across the orc's chest. It was a shallow cut compared to how he had smashed oil and glass into the orc's eyes. Not one to be showed up, Oliver also charged off the ship, trying to do the same thing. However the orc he fought was able to avoid the flask, likely due to his iron will, but still took a nasty cut across the face by Oliver's scimitar. "I'll make a necklace from your teeth!"

The captain of the orcs glared at you, shouting his own challenge as he charged towards you. His orcish aggression allowed him to clear a fair distance, far faster than you'd expect such a lumbering monster of a man. He was even able to leap high off his ship onto yours, bringing his axe down to your body. However inches away from the blade connecting to your head, you could see the glint of your magic shield throw off the orc's blade, causing his axe to narrowly miss you and cut into the hull of the Kraken. The orc snarled at you and roared. "Surrender and you will be taken prisoner! Fight, and you will feed our hogs!"

From the other side of the ship, Hector steadied himself as he released a bolt from his crossbow which was able to land right in the temple of the orc that Oliver had attacked. He cheered at taking the first kill of the battle. "Hooha! That one's mines!" Oliver, pissed and annoyed that Hector stole his kill again, raised a foul gesture at him. "Fuck off ya dickless swab! Stop stealing my kills!" Hector just chuckled as he moved to take cover behind the mast, getting rather close to the orc captain who was in the midst of dueling you. Meanwhile Nyx had Nox fly to servery the battle while she summoned a Gust of Wind, this time to blow the enemy away. She managed to launch three orcs off the ship, and one slammed against the side and nearly crushed a gnome galley slave. "Three down! You lads better keep up!"

Kulee grabbed his anchor off his back and with Nox's wind at his back, he leapt off the ship right behind the orc that Derrick had attacked. His attack was very similar to the orc captain, except this time Kulee succeeded in killing the orc, crushing his skull underneath the achor's head. "Derrick, duck!" Dropping his maul Kulee picked up the corpse and threw it at the orc behind Derrick. However the literal dead weight was rather cumbersome and weight, and the corpse just uselessly fell in the space between Derrick and the orc.

At this point the orcs began their counter attack, though they were already on extremely bad footing due to a mixture of your fearful presence, and your crew's rather hard hitting opening. The orc near the ship's prow was practically scared stiff, but he spotted Tayang and thought him an easy foe. He took out his javelin, and even with a bit of a shaky hand he was able to hurl his spear and strike Tayang in the shoulder. The dwarf just grunted and broke the javelin shaft off. Another orc tried to follow the same lead, but now with Tayang's full attention he was able to easily avoid the spear. One of the frighten orcs took a wild swing at Oliver. The blow connected, but thanks to Oliver's scale armor, the force of the axe was blunted and failed to do any harm.

The other orcs who fell into the water struggled to escape it, two of them already sinking. The third managed to reach safety back onto the boat, but dared not to get closer to you beyond his own safety. The last one who had nearly been knocked overboard pushed past Nyx's wind and charged at Derrick, figuring that the smaller human would be an easy target. However Derrick saw him stomping over and was able to duck underneath the orc's wide swing. "That all you got greenskin?"

Seeing that Kulee had left his post, Johnathan ran up to steady the ship's wheel. But he would still contribute to the battle as well, using the wheel to steady his crossbow as he sends a bolt into the shoulder of the orc who had attacked Derrick. With his pride on the line, your first mate refused to only allow his crew and you to bare the burden of battle. Taking a mighty leap off the Kraken, Tayang lunged at the orc who had failed to hit him with a javelin. Tayang brought the orc low with his hatchet, and finished him off with and upward stroke which cleanly decapitated the orc warrior. Not finished with just that, Tayang threw his off-hand hatchet at the only orc who had managed to harm him. His weapon cut the orc's chest as the dwarf drew his backup hatchet. "I'm going to kill you slowly." Finally Hurrik calmly looked down at the battle from above. He drew two arrows and sent both of them to the orc attacking Derrick, both hitting but only one doing damage as the first arrow was foiled by the orc's thick hide armor.

Talogan watched as his foe charged him with the speed and aggression he had only ever seen in orcs like the one bearing down on him. Talogan watched as the orc reached the railing of his warship and cleared the five foot gap between the two ships to meet Talogan on the Kraken with a devastating downward swing. Talogan made no effort to dodge, instead simply allowing the power of Maglubiyet to shield him from the blow. "Surrender and you will be taken prisoner!" Barked the orc. "Fight, and you will feed our hogs!"
"You still believe you can kill me?" Talogan asked as he squared off against his opponent. "Even after witnessing the divine power of the Mighty One swat aside your strike as if it were nothing? No. It is not I who shall die today. It is you!" With that said Talogan lunged forward and stabbed at the orc's neck. But rather than allowing such a fatal blow to land, the orc attempted to deflect the attack. Though he succeeded in deflecting a lethal hit to the throat, Talogan's rapier still connected with the orc's collarbone. And while he had the orc distracted with his rapier, Talogan also shot the orc in the gut with his hand crossbow.

As they continued to duel, Talogan glanced about at the surrounding battle to see how things were going. So far, the Pirates of Maglubiyet's Kraken had a solid lead in the fight. Three orcs lay dead already and all they had achieved in return was wounding Tayang, an act the first mate ensured the orcs paid a heavy price for. Three more orcs had also been blown off the deck by a timely Gust of Wind from Nyx. Only one of the orcs had managed to get back on the boat so far. 'That's what happens when you don't use lifelines.' Talogan thought to himself before raising his voice to be heard over the battle. "Ms. Orocho!" Talogan called. "Have Nox distract any orc that Mr. Iron Guts tries to attack!" Having said that, Talogan prepared for the next exchange of blows between himself and the lead orc.

By the next flurry of blows, it would seem that your crew had taken the advantage. Derrick managed to dodge the orc's axe and in a rather masterful exchange of blows, decapitated the orc much to his own surprise. He held the creature's head aloft to show the crew of his success. Kulee was also rather successful in his own right, picking up his maul and finishing off one of the orcs after Oliver had sufficiently weakened him. Unlike Hector, Kulee didn't bother to gloat before moving onto the next one. As ordered, Nyx sent Nox to assist Tayang, who was easily able to finish off the only orc who had harmed him, and in turn finish off the orc who had taken a blow by Kulee and Johnathan's bolt. All that was left was the orcish captain, who didn't even seem to care that his crew had been slaughtered to the last men. The ones who fell overboard did not seem to surface, and likely ended up drowning in the ocean.

And despite it, he still fought and even exchanged insults with you. "Your god is a blind delusion of a dying man." The orc said in a stern yet steady tone as his axe ripped right through your holy shield and slashed you across the face. If he had been much closer, such a blow might've decapitated you. "You cannot even begin to understand the true forces in control here. But you will see soon enough, when your corpse is delivered into the darkest depths. And there you will see the truth!" From above, with all the orcs dead, Hurrik drew his arrow and aimed for the captain. However he had heard your initial orders to leave the captain to you, so silently he waited for your signal to release his shots.

"Those nobles have a lot of fine clothes stored on this ship."
"They certainly do, Talogan. Though some of these pieces seem more foppish than fine to me."

The greataxe struck Talogan's face with tremendous force, knocking the hat from his head and the amber-tinted spectacles from his face.

"Ridiculous hats. Oddly shaped shoes... I don't even want to know why that barrel has shoulder straps. And just look at these spectacles. Why are the lenses tinted?"
"Probably because they find it fashionable."
"Truly?"
"I believe so, Velvezal."

Talogan looked to where the hat and spectacles had landed on the deck. The hat was alright. The orc had been aiming for Talogan's neck, so the axe blade had gone nowhere near the hat. However, the spectacles did not fare as well.

"Here, hold still a moment."
"What are you doing?"
"Just hold still, Talogan."

The blow had cut the spectacles in two. And while one of the lenses was only slightly cracked by the fall, the other lens had been smashed to pieces and its frame had been bent all out of shape.

"Hmm..."
"Velvezal?"
"The color of the lenses goes with the color of your skin quite nicely."
"Truly?"
"I believe so, Talogan."

When he looked back at the orc, any trace of the usual cold stoicism that adorned Talogan's face was gone. In its place sat a blistering fury that would give even a rampaging tarrasque pause. Talogan leaped forwards, dropping his hand crossbow and producing a dagger in its place as he went. With a furious bellow, both blades began to glow as Talogan stabbed them into the orc. Once they were in as far as he could get them, Talogan twisted them both ways for good measure before yanking them free. "KILL HIM!" Talogan roared to his crew. "KILL HIM NOW!" Gone was the exchange of sharp blades and sharp words. Gone was any thought of single combat with the strongest foe. All there was now was the overwhelming need to see this wretched greenskin DIE.

At your command, two arrows sunk into the orc's shoulder. One had found flesh while the other was stopped by chain and hide. Hurrik looked down from above, his demeanor stoic as ever as he drew two more arrows. "Aaaaaah!" Derrick shouted as he jumped across the gap between the ships once more, having tossed aside his scimitar to pick up one of the dead orc's greataxes. His opening attack was foiled due to his battle cry, however his follow up managed to cut the kaptain's shins. He snarled but turned to you. "Even if I may day... So will you!" He roars as he brings his axe back down onto you. However thanks to a combination of your holy shield, your fury, and your own competence in swordplay, his blow failed to connect. After which your crew were quick to descend upon the lone orc, shooting bolts of steel and magic, slashing with cutlass and spears, and finally finishing the orc was none other than Tayang, who threw his axe right into the back of the orc's skull, splitting his helmet and causing him to fall to the ground. Derrick was quick to chop the orc's head off just for good measure.

The battle was won, and so far everyone seems to be in fairly good condition sans yourself and Tayang. "W-We did it! We killed em all!" Oliver would shout in cheer as everyone else seemed pretty happy at how the battle had turned out. Derrick looked over to you, taking out his healer's kit. "Captain, sit down so I can treat ya. You're bleeding all over!"

The battle was over. Talogan didn't care. He and his crew had claimed victory. Talogan didn't care. They weren't out of danger yet though, the storm was still there and would be upon them in under five minutes. Talogan didn't care. Ignoring the request of the ship's doctor, Talogan moved to where the orc's head had landed, the axe still embedded in the back of its skull. Dropping his rapier, Talogan took hold of the axe handle and lifted he head into the air. Then with dagger in hand Talogan unleashed a fury very much at odd with his usual stoic demeanor upon the severed head. Cursing and swearing in both common and goblin, he stabbed furiously at the dead orc's face with the dagger, raining down blow after blow until the orc's head could no longer be recognized as a head. With one last wrathful cry, Talogan cast the head back onto the deck of his ship and then fell silent. His face contorted with rage as his breaths came out in violent ragged huffs. But as the moments passed and his emotions calmed, Talogan's breathing evened out and the anger left his face, leaving a sorrowful look in its wake as he looked once more to his shattered spectacles. Finally, his face returned mostly to its usual stoic expression as he looked to his crew and began giving orders.

"Free the slaves and gather what loot you can." Talogan said. "Move quickly and make sure we have enough time to evade the storm. Mr. Iron Guts, I want a full report of what was taken from both the warship and the hamlet within the hour. I will be in my quarters if anyone needs me." With that said, Talogan retrieved his dropped weapons, re-donned his hat, and carefully picked up the pieces of his spectacles, making sure he had every last shard before untying his lifeline and making his way below deck. Upon entering his quarters, Talogan sat down at his desk and lay the pieces of his spectacles on the table in front of him. Talogan then spent the next hour staring forlornly at the broken remnants of the last gift he had ever received from her. The pain of his injuries faded quickly to a dull ache, but the captain failed to notice under the agony of wounds deeper than any weapon could hope to reach.

As you unleashed your fury against the decapitated orc, the rest of your crew were quick to avoid your anger and went to work. The slaves were released, most of them only interested in freedom. They assisted your crew in plundering the ship's stores though it was mostly spare weapons, materials to maintain the ship, and a rather meager supply of rations. Enough for the orcs but hardly any for the slaves. It took about half an hour before the plunder was gathered and both ships were heading towards Red Shard, avoiding the storm. You could make out the vague barkings of Tayang as he ordered the men to ready themselves to deal with the storm and you'd feel your ship shaking as the waves grew harsher and violent. Fortunately however this was as worse as it got as your crew was able to expertly navigate away from the storm and would make it to calmer waters.

After almost an hour since you left there's a knock on your door. "Captain. Iron Guts reporting in." Once allowed inside Tayang would give you a brief rundown of the plunder, a status update on the crew, as well as the estimate time to Red Shard. "56 gold, 130 silver coins, and 301 copper coins, three units of dried fish, four units of salt, six pounds of assorted silver holy symbols, a crate of books, three gallons of holy water, and four units of sailing canvas is all we managed to grab from the hamlet. From the orcs we've grabbed twelve usable greataxes, a set of Chainmail, ten units of wood, three units of dried meats and hardtack, and the entirety of the orc's warship. We've already covered up it's emblem and the slaves are operating it right now. Three dwarves, six gnomes, four halflings. All of them from the Majadan, sold by slavers to the orcs. Most don't have any skills beyond labor but they're eager to live a new life in Red Shard." Tayang looked directly in your eyes.

"Now, as the captain I figured I ought to let you know that while Doros outlaws slavery within it's borders, they've also no obligation to liberate any slaves that reach it. And with Red Shard being on the fringe of the law as it is, tis still viable for you to return them to Silvermane for some compensation. Additionally the orc's ship is still in usable condition. It lacks anything in the way of storage space even compared to the Kraken, but it's fast and sturdy. Ships like these are designed to ram into other ships and scuttle em before their warriors go for the boarding. Of course like anything orc made, it's cheap, so we're looking at maybe two thousand gold if we sell it to Silvermane. And finally, at our pace we'll reach Red Shard by early morning, before the sunrise. Storm's still next us but it seems to be moving north so we won't have to worry about it so long as we stay our course."

"Captain. Iron Guts reporting in."

Talogan looked up from the shattered spectacles as he heard his first mate call through the door. "Enter." Talogan bade the dwarf while retrieving a small case from the corner of his desk, in which he stowed the remains of the spectacles as Tayang entered the room. "Report." Talogan ordered, now mostly returned to his usual cold stoicism. Talogan listened intently to the report, nodding occasionally at the mention of details he found particularly important. The combined haul they had taken from the hamlet and the orc ship had been the biggest they had taken in quite some time, not mention that this was the second day in a row that they had taken a prize. Talogan was sure that this was no fluke of circumstance. This was the work of Maglubiyet, no doubt blessing his faithful paladin with a bountiful harvest to allow for a few more useful purchases in Red Shard before challenging the shipwreck.

There were also some decisions to make. As Tayang mentioned, slavery was banned in Doros, but freeing slaves was not a legal requirement. Especially in such a lawless place as Red Shard. If they so desired, they could sell the slaves off to Thersa Silvermane for a tidy profit. Talogan decided against such an action. Despite the very agreeable price he'd probably get for them, the slaves were helping them row the even more valuable orc warship back to port and Talogan made a point of always showing leniency towards those who assisted him to encourage future victims to do the same. There was also a choice on what to do with the ship itself. Tayang said it could probably fetch a good two thousand gold pieces if they sold it. But depending on how much they got for the rest of the loot, Talogan wondered if hiring a new crew and having them man the orc warship to bring a second vessel under his control would be worth the investment. As he thought this over, Talogan asked his first mate a question.

"You mentioned that most of the slaves have no skills beyond labor, did you not?" Talogan asked. "Is that to say that there are a few among them who are talented at more than just hard work?" Talogan was always on the lookout for potential recruits to his cause. Especially ones that were a little more unique than what he could hire at the havens with little more than a bag of gold. Granted, that sort of potential was unlikely to be found here, but that didn't mean there was no potential at all.

"Dwarves are mountain born. While they were mostly craftsman, smiths and such, they've received some training in classic dwarven combat training. None experienced in a real fight, but it won't take me long to get them familiar with the basics. Once we return to Red Shard I can have them convert the greataxes into battleaxes, which ought to cover equipment costs if we plan to arm em. Gnomes are tinkerers, or so they say, not much beyond that. Halflings are stout and hardy but more used to tilling a field than sailing on the open waters. Would take em a while to get their sea legs." Tayang summarized. Just outside the window you could see the orc war ship manned by the former slaves. Most of them have taken to change out from their rags and don a mix-match sets of clothing and bits of leather armor. It was almost comical seeing how many small races were trying to operate such a large vessel. Like watching children at work. The dwarves seem to have already taken it upon themselves to "lead" the group, though the three dwarves seemed to also be bickering among each other. The gnomes were notable scattered about and seem to be struggling with the oars. The halflings stayed together and were more or less in sync, and still having difficulties rowing as it took two halflings to man one oar.