Having negotiated a terrific payment of gold blocks ranging at the value of 250,000 gold coins with the Phoenix Court of Lothern in exchange for the first Everqueen’s Tiara known as the Aster Feather, Marco Colombo returned to his ship with a spring in his step.
“All aboard lads, the money is ours!“ Colombo cried. “Señor Montero, raise the anchor! Signore Petrochilo hoist the sails! Mr Bill man the helm! Monsieur Chambeau clear the rudder for use!”
“Aye aye Capitan!” Colombo’s crew set off from the Straits of Lothern with their bounty in tow and plenty of supplies to fill their guts with. Once they were far enough away from Asur monitoring, Tullaris Dreadbringer was removed from the cubbyhole in which he had hidden and spoke to Colombo, “You chose to keep me then?”
Colombo: “Yes, I figured I could use someone with your set of skills moving forward. I hope you don’t mind not rotting in a cell for the rest of your life.”
Tullaris: “And the treasure?”
Colombo: “All on ship, nothing can stop us now.”
Tullaris: “And now that you have this treasure, where is it we are actually going, captain?”
Colombo: “How far East have you been executioner?”
Tullaris: “I’m not sure. It’s all relative to whether you consider Naggarond as western or eastern I think.”
Colombo: “Well, we’re going pretty far East, that I can tell you. Next stop, the Kingdoms of Ind!
……………………Some Time Later…………………………………….
Colombo’s ship sat motionless in the open sea, somewhere off the Bay of Araby. The winds had died and the ship would scarcely sail without losing plenty of load. Tullaris Dreadbringer was lying on the ship’s bow fiddling with a rope as the bright sun shone overhead, trying to keep himself from killing Señor Montero who was presently vomiting for the third time today from sea sickness. He wasn’t sure how long they had been at sea but it must have been quite some time given the tan he was developing, a truly unusual event for a Druchii to experience. Their supplies were running low, having run out of rum and beer about a week ago and likely to extinguish their supply of water in a matter of days.
As his crew sat exhausted on deck waiting for the tide to pick up, Colombo stood up top on the bridge, desperately alternating between his maps and compass and peering to the horizon with his spyglass. He swore up and down that they were nearing Sudenburg where they could restock but all his predictions had been disproven thus far.
Finally tearing the rope apart from frustration, Tullaris rose to his feet and paced updeck towards his captain. “How goes the navigation Captain?”
Colombo: “This makes no sense! We passed those Elf Ruins ages ago, we should have entered the Gulf of Medes by now…. I don’t know anymore. How are you faring? Is that voice of yours under control?”
Tullaris: “I’m trying Captain. We hunger for a good slaughter though.”
Colombo: “And I promise we’ll get you one. Once we come into Sudenburg I promise I’ll set you loose for a day or two on some unsuspecting villages just outside town. How does that sound to you?”
Tullaris: “Sounds like a plan, if only you had taken my advice and resupplied at Sartosa like I said you should. We wouldn’t need to worry about mooring then.”
Colombo: “And as you will surely recall me saying before, docking a ship full of treasure at a dwelling of scum and villainy like Sartosa is just asking for trouble.”
Tullaris: “Oh come off it, half your crew are or have been pirates at some point, you even picked that Mr. Bill up at Sartosa. They’re good for navigating uncharted waters since merchant sailors only tread in marked lanes you said.”
Colombo: “Exactly, that’s how I know not to trust pirates Tullaris.”
Tullaris: “You don’t trust your own crew?”
Colombo: “With this kind of bounty in the hull? No, definitely not. Why do you think I keep you around after all? You don’t make for the best drinking partner but I know that you wouldn’t hesitate to massacre the lot of them in the event of a mutiny.”
Tullaris: “And what makes you think you can trust me?”
Colombo: “Ha, because you’re predictable my friend. While I certainly find you Drau-chy a weird bunch with your constant want for suffering, especially compared to your more regal kin, I must admit it makes it quite easy for me to keep you on side.”
Tullaris: “Of course that ‘want for suffering’ as you call it could include you, Marco….and it’s Druchii for what feels like the millionth time…”
Colombo: “Well yes, but, where would you be without me aye? A fugitive serial killer stuck on the open ocean with no way to land or to quench his addiction. Regardless of my thoughts on you lot, you’re a driven man Tullaris. And driven men are simple to keep in check so long as their goals are sated.”
Tullaris: “Whereas you are nothing but a godless one.”
Colombo: “Am I? Come, let me show you something. It’s not like the wind’s picking up anyway.”
Colombo took Tullaris down the bridge’s steps to the captain’s quarters. They were largely much like most of the ship; damp, rotting and rather confining with the only big difference to other sleeping areas being the presence of a bed rather than bunks and a table at which he could eat. However, Marco Colombo drew Tullaris’ focus to another area of the room, a small corner in which a vanity table with a gold-encrusted mirror stood. However, upon drawing closer Tullaris discovered this was not in fact a vanity area at which ladies would apply makeup and don their wigs, it was an altar. He drew his fingers along the gold trim until he found a single word carved into the mirror’s edge; a name unfamiliar to him but known to all humans “Ranald”.
Tullaris: “Why am I not all that surprised? What is this, an altar to some kind of money god?”
Colombo: “Close but not quite, he’s the god of luck and good fortunes.”
Tullaris laughed for a moment before responding “Well your god doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers then.”
“Given you’re not killing some innocent Sudenburg peasants right now, it would seem that neither is yours.” Colombo responded snidely, obviously slightly offended for having his god mocked like that.
“SHIP AHOY!” Signore Petrochilo called out from the crow’s nest. Colombo and Dreadbringer returned to the deck to find their crew speculating. “I must be going mad. It’s a giant scorpion!” cried Señor Montero having finally stopped vomiting. “No, no you buffoon. It’s a floating pyramid!” snapped Mr. Bill. Colombo extended his spyglass and peered through it towards the strange vessel.
Colombo: “I’m afraid it’s much worse than that, it’s a Khemrian warship and it’s gaining on us!”
Mr. Bill: “But how can something so big even float, let alone sail captain?”
Tullaris: “Ever heard of a Black Ark sailor? It’s driven by magic.”
Colombo: “But why are they even after us? Unless…”
Marco Colombo darted downstairs with a key in hand to inspect the vault in which the elves had placed the treasure. He unlocked the door, stepped inside and picked a single block of gold up. He turned it over and the inevitable struck, it was covered in hieroglyphics!
Colombo: “Damn Elves!”
Colombo returned to the poopdeck and revealed the stolen gold to Tullaris.
Tullaris: “Sure you prefer our more “regal” cousins now Marco?”
Señor Montero: “But there is no way we can outsail something moving that fast capitan.”
Tullaris: “Not without ditching a large chunk of our cargo. That’s for sure.”
As Marco Colombo and his crew deliberated on what to do, King Amanhotep left his sarcophagus inside the central pyramid and joined his crew on the deck of the Curse of Zandri which was crewed by hundreds of skeleton oarsmen, three Screaming Skull catapults, 12 ballista crews, 4 Necrolith Colossi (Bone Giants) armed with ethereal bows, a handful of liche priests and no less than a mighty Necrosphinx at its bow to sink any vessel which came into close range. At the rear of the vessel was a scorpion-like tail containing a great gym at its tip capable for acting as a prism for the light of Ptra, thereby focusing the incandescent energy of the sun into a devastating beam of light to strike at his foes. How could Amanhotep possibly be thwarted in his attempt to reclaim his long-lost stolen treasure?

….

• Love React: Marco Colombo gave the order to jettison all unnecessary cargo as the Khemrian warship approached from the distance. The crewmen moved below deck and began throwing barrels of food, gunpowder and cannonballs overboard, knowing well enough that this would make them defenceless should the Tomb Kings catch up.

The ship began to pick up pace as more and more barrels were abandoned but this paled in comparison to the enemy vessel’s combination of magical flotation and rowing prowess. And so Tullaris turned to Colombo as if to say the inevitable. Without the elf saying a word, Colombo responded “No. We cannot do that.” Tullaris sighed to his gold-obsessed friend and uttered the truth “We’re going to need to ditch some of the treasure.” “Do you have any idea how long it took us to secure that score? I would sooner die than give it up.” Colombo retorted. Suddenly, a blast of solar energy was fired across the waves from the tail of the Nehekharan ship and hit the water only 30 metres behind Colombo’s ship, causing an immense splash as tons of water flew everywhere, even soaking the ship’s back-decks. “Looks like your wish will be answered then.” Tullaris said before sitting down to call his captain’s bluff. “There’s no way we can escape without abandoning a large portion of the treasure.” “How much?” Marco enquired nervously. “Half of it at least, maybe more…maybe a lot more. It’s hard to tell when they have magic on their side.” The Khemrians fired again, this time lobbing a volley of screaming skulls overhead, it wouldn’t be long until one of these artillery pieces hit their target and once they did, it would be over. “Che cavolo… Oh okay…let’s do it!” The crew followed Marco Colmbo downstairs and after unlocking the vault with his key, they all proceeded to throw hundreds of bricks made from Khemrian gold overboard. Fortunately, the plan worked and the ship began to pick up speed quite rapidly. They sailed for some hours with the Khemrian warship vanishing further and further back into the horizon until finally, they had truly escaped the Tomb Kings and what’s more, the port of Sudenberg was coming into view. As Tullaris Dreadbringer and the crew celebrated not being sent to the Galleon’s Graveyard, Marco Colombo returned to his quarters to lament his lost treasure of which only 85,000 golds-worth still remained on board.
….

• Angry React: As the Tomb Kings ship approached our heroes vessel, Marco Colombo gave the order to jettison all unnecessary cargo except munitions. However, no matter how much they tried to lighten their load and get the wind on their side, their ship barely sped up at all in comparison to the prowess of the skeleton rowing crews. The Curse of Zandri came more and more into view and then…it struck. It’s scorpid tail lit up and blasted a beam of solar energy across the water which pierced straight through the masts of Colombo’s ship.

As the masts fell and fires began to spread, Tullaris suggested that they abandoned the ship in favour of the lifeboats. However, just as they began to hoist the rowing boats’ pulleys and lower their escape vessels into the water a second tragedy struck as both rowing boats on either side were suddenly shredded by volleys of screaming skulls.
The Tomb Kings continued to approach as hails of bone giant arrows and ballista bolts prevented anyone onboard Colombo’s ship from even trying to move until finally, the Curse of Zandri came into boarding range. Tullaris lifted his blade, Mr Bill handed rifles out to each of the sailors and after offering a final prayer to Ranald, Marco Colombo loaded his trusty crossbow for one last valiant stand as skeleton warriors boarded the ship. They fought heroically, each destroying at least a handful of skeletons while Tullaris’ blade cut through many, many more.
However, Amanhotep grew bored of their fighting and so motioned for the Necrosphinx on the bow of the Nehekharan ship to plunge its blades into the galleon, sending it sinking to the ocean floor. With Marco Colombo and his crew all dead, King Amanhotep commanded the necrolith colossi and a hundred skeletons to submerge themselves beneath the waves, take a walk along the ocean floor and carry the treasure on board the sunken galleon back to shore. ….

• Laugh React: As the Tomb Kings warship approached, Marco Colombo ordered the impossible. “Señor Montero, change course for that vessel over there!”

Everyone reacted with shock as Colombo took the helm and proceeded to turn his ship in the direction of King Amanhotep battleship.
“But capitan, we are hopelessly outgunned. We only have 6 cannons on each side!”
“Then you know what to do Mr Bill, load them to the brim!” Colombo continued as his crew ran below decks to arm what few munitions they have with Señor Montero telling Signore Petrochillo that “El capitán se ha vuelto loco!”
Tullaris approached the almost gleeful Colombo as his captain spoke “What did I tell you, friend? Battle is upon us.”
“And do we have any chance of victory?” the executioner asked inquisitively.
“I don’t need chance my friend, I have good fortunes.” Colombo responded as he tightly gripped his serpent-shaped talisman of Sotek which he gained from his many adventures in Lustria.
The ships came closer together and the Tomb Kings vessel began to fire its solar beam at the galleon as Colombo only shouted “Keep us steady….steady I said!”
They continued to sail towards the King’s battleship, taking more and more fire as they approached while Tullaris begged Marco to consider an alternative strategy “Whatever you think is going to happen…it won’t. Turn around or we all die now!” but Marco only continued to smile with a mad delight in his eyes when suddenly, a miracle struck as an immense whirpool appeared between the two ships. “Now!” Colombo cried as his ship turned on its axis, providing his crew with a perfect opportunity to fire a broadside at the opposing ship, crippling their oar-rowing teams. As the Tomb King’s reeled over the damage they took from cannon blast they lost control of their vessel, drifting closer and closer to the whirlpool as the necrosphinx and necrolith colossi fell off the ship’s decks one by one until finally, the whole undead warship was drawn into the eye of the storm and sent straight to the Galleon’s Graveyard.
With their foes dealt with and his ship still intact, Colombo continued to smile at Tullaris in a gloating manner. His faith in Ranald had been rewarded.
(As this is a literal Deus Ex Machina and therefore a rare and unlikely event, each vote for this option only equals half an equivalent vote for other options)….

• Sad React: As the Tomb Kings ship approached our heroes vessel, Marco Colombo gave the order to jettison all unnecessary cargo except munitions. However, no matter how much they tried to lighten their load and get the wind on their side, their ship barely sped up at all in comparison to the prowess of the skeleton rowing crews. The Curse of Zandri came more and more into view and then…it struck. It’s scorpid tail lit up and blasted a beam of solar energy across the water which pierced straight through the masts of Colombo’s ship.

As the masts fell and fires began to spread, Tullaris suggested that they abandoned the ship in favour of the lifeboats. They hoisted the rowing boats’ pulleys and lowered their escape vessels into the water to flee from the approaching warship.
And so Marco Colombo and his crew abandoned their ship with whatever scraps of food and gold blocks they could carry in their pockets, leaving their ship and their treasure to be taken by King Amanhotep as they all rowed toward the shore’s probable direction, knowing well enough that nothing but desert awaited them……..

• Wow React: As the Tomb Kings ship approached our heroes vessel, Marco Colombo gave the order to jettison all unnecessary cargo except munitions. However, no matter how much they tried to lighten their load and get the wind on their side, their ship barely sped up at all in comparison to the prowess of the skeleton rowing crews. The Curse of Zandri came more and more into view and then…it struck. It’s scorpid tail lit up and blasted a beam of solar energy across the water which pierced straight through the masts of Colombo’s ship, completely immobilising it.

The Tomb Kings continued to approach as hails of bone giant arrows and ballista bolts prevented anyone onboard Colombo’s ship from even trying to escape until finally, the Curse of Zandri came into boarding range. Tullaris lifted his blade, Mr Bill handed rifles out to each of the sailors and after offering a final prayer to Ranald, Marco Colombo loaded his trusty crossbow for one last valiant stand as skeleton warriors boarded the ship. They fought heroically, each destroying at least a handful of skeletons while Tullaris’ blade cut through many, many more.
Eventually King Amanhotep grew bored of their fighting and the pointless casualties which would need reviving and so he boarded the ship himself to strike a bargain. Amanhotep approached Marco Colombo as the Dreadbringer threatened to decapitate the Tomb Monarch only to stand down when two necrolith colossi aimed their massive ethereal bows straight for his head.
And so the fighting ceased as Amanhotep’s crew were provided access to the lower decks to take the stolen treasure in return for not killing all of Colombo’s crew where they stood. The Tomb Kings took the gold, all of it, and left on their magical warship once more, leaving Colombo’s crew stuck on their immobilised ship.
But fate was even crueller to Marco Colombo this day as a new problem arose, a Dark Elf warship on the horizon! With absolutely no way of steering his galleon or even turning it so that its cannons may fire on the approaching ship, Colombo simply sat and waited for the Druchii ship to arrive, for its purpose here was rather obvious to him.
They waited for what felt like an age until finally, the Dark Elf vessel reached them and fired its harpoons onto the still-lying galleon, thereby allowing the Black Ark Corsairs to board the ship. And so a second great melee emerged as Colombo and his company fought against the better-trained Druchii sailors as best as they could while Tullaris slaughtered dozens of his former kin under his Khainite rampage.
However, all this stopped when Colombo was suddenly grabbed by the Druchii’s leader, a ship’s captain with ambitions to become a Fleetmistress known as Drane Brackblood, and had a cutlass pressed to his throat.
“Submit, or I cut this dog.” Drane spoke menacingly. Tullaris wanted to fight on, his blood boiled as the voice of Khaine screamed at him to continue his slaughter yet he knew he couldn’t, not if it meant Colombo’s death. Tullaris dropped his greatsword and allowed himself to be taken into Druchii custody while Marco Colombo and the remaining members of his crew were cuffed and brought onboard to be sold into slavery.

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