The Gaming Den

"Well," Sir Puppykicker remarks as he dusts himself off and gets back up. "I reckon we'd better get back on the decks and check out what this racket's about." He hauls Dappa back to his feet. "And you, boy, if you happened to see anything that we didn't through that black door, you'd better spill it now."

"Very well," Dirk agrees.

"Owner?" The genie storms. "I am no useless owner-aboard! This ship belongs to the Riddling Reaver. I am the pilot, you wretched, lubberly... landsman. And you've hurt my pet, you... you sausage-shaped porous plaster."

The genie points at Willie and a bolt of flame leaps from his finger to Willie's chest. There is a bang and a flash, and when they pass, Willie has been transformed into a tiny monkey!

"Let's see how you like being small and furry in a cruel world for a while," says the genie, before vanishing with his pet in a puff of the same purple smoke he arrived in.

Your mind and senses remain intact, and although you will only gibber incomprehensibly if you try to speak, you can gesture as well or better than any human. Your wounds and gear are both missing, but your tattoo remains. You feel remarkably agile, and the ship is a lot roomier to someone of your new size.

A battered and bruised Sir Puppykicker, Dirk O'Killitwithfire, and Dappa emerge on deck to find a similarly banged-up Manstaff and Bajinga having a meal of cheese and salt beef. Some distance to port, a ship is sailing away from the Twice Shy, its aft structure badly damaged.

"Well, I don't know what I saw," says Dappa. "I thought I glimpsed something moving in that purple stuff, but there was no chance for a good look. It seemed furry. I suppose it might have been a large beast of some sort, but it seemed to move very quickly for something of its size – it must have been bigger than an ox, or my eyes deceived me."

Bajinga Ladyparts [SKILL: 12, STAMINA: 22/23, LUCK: 10/11]
Sword, Backpack, Rope, 9 Provisions, Silk Clothing, Shield, Mail, Bow, 12 Arrows, Knife, Gaff Hook, Leather Gloves, Lantern, Sextant, Compass, Naval Charts.

Dirk O'Killitwithfire [SKILL: 12, STAMINA: 18/22, LUCK: 11/12]
Spear, Backpack, Rope, 10 Provisions, Silk Clothing, Shield, Mail, Bow, 12 Arrows, Knife, Gaff Hook, 2 Gold Pieces, Grappling Iron, Lantern, Leather Gloves, Throwing Dagger.

Dirk von Facestabber III [SKILL: 12 STAMINA: 19/24, LUCK: 11/12]
Axe, Backpack, Rope, 10 Provisions, Silk Clothing, Shield, Mail, Bow, 12 Arrows, Giant Snake Tooth, 6 Gold Pieces, Lantern, Throwing Dagger, 2-Man Tent.

Manstaff Cockbeard [SKILL: 10, STAMINA: 11/14, LUCK: 7/8, MAGIC: 13]
Staff, Backpack, Rope, 9 Provisions, Silk Clothing, Shield, Mail, Bow, 12 Arrows, 5 Gold Pieces.
Creature Copy x2, Illusion x2, Levitation x2, Luck, Shielding, Skill, Stamina x4.

Sir Puppykicker [SKILL: 11, STAMINA: 8/16, LUCK: 10/11]
Sword, Backpack, Rope, 9 Provisions, Silk Clothing, Shield, Mail, Bow, 12 Arrows, Drugged Half-eaten Apple, 2 Gaff Hooks, Leather Gloves, Blanket, Throwing Dagger, Lantern, Eagle Tattoo.

Willie Johnson (Monkey) [SKILL: 6, STAMINA: 4, LUCK: 9/10]
Cobra Tattoo.

Willie gibbers indignantly at the injustice of it all, but settles down eventually. He points to the last door in the corridor and waits for Dirk to catch his meaning.

"Purple stuff? Was that in one of the decks?

"There's a glass statue in the hold, some assembly required. There's also a chimera in a box down there or I fail at riddles."

"We found this big box nailed to the floor in one of those cabins, with eye-holes and the stool that makes it an open invitation to peep into....didn't trust the look of it at all. Tried poking a hook through it to fish for a bit, but didn't feel anything. Looks like a trap if you ask me....sounds like the type that would suit that Reaver guy's sense of humour.

"Then there was this pitch-black doorway. Dirk and Dappa took a brief look in them.....there's some mighty big cavern on the other side (and apparently something moving that only Dappa saw), but we didn't trust that portal enough to go all in. Only got in as far as our rope allowed, with me holding the rope on the other side.

"That glass statue you mentioned sounds interesting. Did you bring it with you?"

Dirk salutes his fellow adventurers on the deck before adding, "Perhaps that beast Dappa saw was the creature you mentioned, Manstaff." If you remember the riddle, perhaps you can tell us what it [the riddle] was?"

"What has the head of a jungle king, the body of a hill-climber, the tail of a legless lizard, and the breath of a winged hoarder?"
It's a big box, too.
Oh and there's also salted fish in barrels. Rats have helped themselves to the contents of one -- they're also bitey -- but the other three look good.

"Sounds like a chimera to me," Dirk agrees. He sits down and joins the others at the table, eating a meal from his Provisions (they still restore 4 STAMINA, right?)

You return to the corridor and open the next door. The cabin seems to be a gallery. Pictures on the walls mostly depict heroic battles and scenes of daring. On the far wall hangs a larger painting, covered by a black cloth.

Eating and talking continues. Dappa seems skeptical that what he saw was a Chimera. 'It was far too shaggy,' he says.

Shoving some food into his own mouth, Sir Puppykicker gets up and brushes off the crumbs.

"I can't believe Willie and Facestabber haven't come back up after all that racket earlier....makes me think they might be in some trouble. Think we should got check on them?"

"Whatever that thing was, hopefully we don't come across it. At least on its terms," Dirk O'Killitwithfire says to Dappa before turning to Sir Puppykicker. "That sounds like a plan to me," Dirk replies to him. "Anyone else care to join us?"