Count Karnstein inspected the finding with interest. "Given the circumstances under which this trinket was acquired, I'd say it's a good probability fer it indeed bein' sort o' protective amulet. Albeit we can't really know fer certain what it's purpose be, shouldn't hurt to try." Next he smoothened up his cloak, finger combed his hair, then stood in the middle and loudly cleared his throat.

"Lads 'n lasses, I 'ave somethin' important to tell ye. And I'd recommend y'all to listen as it directly concerns our imminent adversaries 'n could be crucial to yer survival."

Count paused for a second 'til everyone was quiet.

"Thank ye fer attention. When ye think o' vampire, ye naturally imagine an awe inspiring, mysterious, powerful, intriguing, eerie, fierce, imposing, vicious, menacing, glorious, fascinating and deadly creature fancying in blood of only most exquisite maidens. Devilishly handsome, dashing and bold fiend wit' a face of a nobleman. Crème de la crème among supernatural. Aye, I don't blame ye. We all know and love those thrillin' legends 'n stories. Some fillin' the 'earts o' most fearless men wit' dread. Some causin' young wenchies cheeks to blush 'n knees to weaken. Some..."

Audience didn't look particularly impressed. Some yawning, some exchanging baffled glances. Even Polly looked slightly exasperated, though it could be just coincidence as it always looked like that. Only half-orcs seemed truly get into it, listening with utmost attention.

"Get to the point." - said unidentified voice.

"Aye, aye, the point. Point bein' this ilk we are 'bout to encounter is nothin' like it. Right scum they are, o' the vilest sort. Sadly, fer how obnoxious they could be, these wretches still are quite a fearful foe. Ye see, as a thrill-seekin' member of upper society I had me fair share o' dabblin' into occuIt 'n forbidden. What a jolly coincidence it be that I just once happened to read a very old book from the land o' me ancestors, which among others described fiends very similar to what Polly told us about these so called vampirates."

"If that's right then most important thing ye need to know is that these wretches can suck up yer life force - which is a thing they feed on 'n which gives 'em strength. Aye, sneaky bastards don't even need to bite ye. Blast, ye might not even realize what's happenin' to ye until it's too late."

"Second most important thing is that, similar to the real vampires from legends, they can be messin' wit' yer heads. Now, I wouldn't expect mongrels like that be particularly good at this, but still we need watch out and keep an eye on any suspicious behavior of our comrades. None should ever be left alone."

"Last but not least, fer a vermin they are, they can crawl any surface, be it floor, wall or ceiling. So keep yer eyes open."

"Their Captain and Mage should be a different story. I don't know what could one like 'em be able to do exactly, but should be safe to assume that at the very least they can do what regular vampirate can - only better. Meanin' powerful drainin', regenerative and mind stirrin' abilities. Vampiric magic most likely cold based - that'd be just me guess though."

During the last sentence Count put a hand on his Saber of Frostbite.

"That said, I believe it's obvious that avoidin' detection should be our top priority. But in case it'd come to fight, good thing is all the traditional anti-vampire remedies should work 'ere too. And we 'ave quite a few of those, includin' stakes, water and anti-vamp grenades. Not to mention our regular weaponry - 'cause vampirate or not won't do much when it's head fall down."

Durik sat down to rest a bit after the mission.
The comfortable swaying of the ship quickly cured his land-sickness.
And Dakka became much lighter to carry.

He decided to try the new mug to celebrate the first victory, so he asked Argy:
"Culd tiny give Durik a beer for this, pls?"

After listening to the count he said:
"Durik tinks this be a mission for sneakies even more than tower."
"We stronk can't smash bones, too loud. We shud be joinin' from ships if ye discovered."
"Or we use stakes only maybe."

He also inspected a bit the Denuvo's plans and said:
"Weird, de Denuvo has firepit.. on a ship?? And above esplosive barrels?"

In any case, he decided to wear the new orc clothes and armor he found (after asking Polly if she could patch it).

Polly had wondered where Count Karnstein was headed with his oration in the beginning, but then bobbed her head as he continued and explained things about the vampirates' ways. "Crawl any surface ye say," Polly bobbed her head again. "That be accounting fer the rumors they can swarm a ship by suddenly coming over the hull then. Best be keepin' a close eye on any surfaces above ye or around yerselves then."

Turning to Grog'tial she said, "The Ship be having the same number of decks total as the Denuvo. The Denuvo be bigger, heavier, but she also rides lower in the water. The boarding planks will be only slightly lower on our end, Main Deck to Main Deck. Any of the fighting tops, fore, main or mizzen, should suit yer crossbow, but if ye be asking about it for yer shell then nay, blowing it from the fighting top will nay reach the Denuvo nor the main deck. Fer the shell to work on any aboard the Denuvo ye'd pretty much need to be aboard it yerself."

Next she turned to Mighty. "Remember, we be going in sneaky, unseen until we be nigh on the Denuvo. To launch the longboat we would have to become visable to any watch on the Denuvo deck. To not be visable we would have to drop ye outside of the harbor and wait fer ye to row all the way in. We already be short on time before dawn when everyone could see us, and we could lose both the longboat and ye if it go wrong and we be having to run for it."

Polly cocked her head at Durik. "Aye, their galley be having a firepit, right above their powder storage." Next she eyed Argy. "Argy, ye be familiar with galleys and cooking. Leaving a cupcake in the galley should nay be too out of place. Only at the very end though, and only if ye think it safe enough and ye and the Crew aboard can make sure ye all get away in time. Three minutes, remember."

Returning her attention to Durik, Polly told him she could patch the clothing for him after the raid on the Denuvo, but he would have to clean it first. She looked over the other tower team members as well, except for Argy and Grog'tial all had blood on them. "Ye might be wanting to quick like wash and change a bit, unless ye be wanting the vampirates to smell the blood on ye and come looking," she suggested to them.

(Luckily the zombies didn't really bleed, just oozed some undead goo.)

[Cap'n Barfdeck Rummyfangs - Boarding Crew / Aboard Ship]

"It be sometimes best to let the Patches be pickin' what be harmless and doable. Tis obvious they be enjoyin' the trying it fer ye tho." Polly chuckled in the only manner a parrot could, by bobbing her head and clacking her beak. With those words, she gave Cap'n Rummyfangs some insight as to how his cursed patchwork rugs actually worked. Then, with the wave of her wing, his Assistant Chef Outfit faded away at the Patches returned his clothing to their former glory, along with most of his fallen fur. Most..., and the Felinoid pirate was quite content with this modest most.

"The stench is coming from below decks. We'll find whatever turned them down there." Cap'n Baldbeard gestures to his Felinoid crewmate. Polly also asked if we could track this stench and to avoid consuming any of the Ol' Nick's, unless we too wished to be turned.

Cap'n Rummyfangs accompanies Cap'n Baldbeard by his side, in tracking the stench from the decks below. With one paw on his Rapier and moving ever so cautiously, he kept his Feliniod vision on extra alert for anything that may stir from within the shadows. There was muttering about fungus and possible theories of Pugwash's cow and chickens being contaminated...


*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Cap'n Barfdeck Rummyfangs: Felinoid pirate / +1 agility, stealth / -1 constitution / permanent +1 hit (unless stunned or incapacitated) / Rapier +1 strike chance / 2 x rum concoctions for adrenaline rush / 2 x wooden stakes / 1 x holy water / 1 x rope / 1 x "harmless" disguise / weakness: loud noises (except roar of the sea & ship's cannons)

Following up on Polly's advice, Aylar cleans up as thoroughly as he's able to, even pulling up an extra bucket of water to pour over his head in case some blood mixed up with his hair unseen. That done, he fills up his empty wineskin with more seawater, and takes a quick trip to his room to fetch a whetstone, which he then dutifully sharpens his axe with.
If there still be stakes left, he'll take a couple more. If not, but there is access to any suitable wood to fashion them out of, he'll do so himself, and make a couple of smaller stakes while he's at it (just the right size and shape to perhaps inconspicuously jam between some steering wheel spokes). To his delight, there be an entire bounty of new things on the deck table: while he is entertained by the fliers, only the grenades truly interest him out of the table offers - he'll snatch one, and take Bhrigu on his offering of a vial of holy water, if he still be offerin' and has any extras left, that is.
If there is still time left after the preparations are done, he'll let Polly know about the tunnel under the tower, hoping to perhaps get her perspective on it - even though he ultimately doesn't consider it important in the upcoming raid, he is still curious. With the captain turning out to be their servant, perhaps vampirates be using it for something more than simple smuggling?

In the upcoming boarding, he'll opt for the agile route.

Kyp noticing that people are prepping to board the other ship thinks and comes up with an idea to have an idea on how to have a good surprise raid.

"We could take heavy objects wrapped in clothes and tied to a rope, we can swing these onto the ships deck and because of the clothes it wouldn't make much noise. Meaning we might be able to climb and board quietly."

"Also, anyone have an extra gear that would be useful for me to have during the invasion? Seems like others have been getting resources and I haven't much more than my trusty sword and some ropes."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyp Everswim
Inventory
+1 Rapier of Cold
Fishing Net I wear around my waist like a belt - 8 ft, can be used to net fish or entrap enemies.
Repaired net/rope.

Abilities:
Curse Weapon - Fishbowl ability
+1 Trapping skills
influence marine life
Teleport to any water source with people/stuff I carrying (once per mission)
cause tsunami within sight of water (3 uses max)

SPECIAL GEAR AVAILABLE on deck table by Main Mast: 5 Anti-Vamp Garlic Gas grenades, 4 holy water inked fliers

Anti-Vamp Garlic Gas grenades (best used in interior spaces), burns their eyes and drives them crazy and the Holy Water would burn/eat into their skin, so the reaction would definitely be to overwhelm their senses and cause them to blindly flee or be stunned depending on how much of it got on them.

There were 24 stakes originally, 2 were used. There are no more stakes left for Grog'tial to take, he had taken half already. (BTW, if the crossbow bolts are wood shafted, they are already technically 'stakes'.) The remaining holy water was used in making the grenades and fliers.

Special inventory that may apply (not including Cursed Weapon Items):
Pugwash = 2 inked fliers he intends to wrap around bolts.
Grog'tial = 2 stakes, 7 stake-bolts now remaining, twine.
Aylar = small sharp belt ax, 1 stake, (roll dice) sharpens 3 more stakes (total 4), 2 smaller stakes, 1 Garlic Grenade.
Argy = two knives, a spoon, a pepper grinder, Cure Disease broth.
Durik = 2 large stakes, lockpicks, matches, knife, stole 5 bandages from infirmary
Bellandra 4 stakes (used her rope)
Bhrigu 2 stakes, Saber of Repel Undead.
Larissa Pouch w/garlic powder, anti-slip boots, 3 Healing Potions, 2 Sleep Potions (from alchemy kit can make more with time).
Rummyfangs 2 stakes, 1 holy water, 1 rope, 2 rum concoctions for adrenaline rush.
Captain Baldbeard 2 stakes, 1 holy water
Count Karnstein = currently holds the VO amulet? (Not sure if Mighty handed it to him and he did not hand back or if he intends to use it to pass a Crew member off as a servant.)
Mighty = Cracker, Monkey, set of 3 different sized lockpicks.
Foggy = Crow, 2 Bottles of 'Pirate Pete's Pain-Killin' Rum'

Distractly hearin' t' some natter about vampires 'n without action in sight, Foggy returns t' the Gun Deck t' check readiness once again. "Grount t' Foggy in case ye needs me t' squash bats, or wants some Pirate Pete's Pain-Killin' Rum" he said.

Origi gets washed and dressed in her most elegant-but-practical royal fineries. "Yes, you guys should wash immediately. No, I don't care if it helps you avoid vampirates. It's just that you all stink. Actually, you were already stinking before we even started this mission if I recall. .." She grabs two grenades, two flyers, then eyes the amulet. "Would look good around my neck, donchathink?"