A Device Infernal IV

 

A Device Infernal

Chapter IV: Champignons

Now Lord Alabastre went to a lot of trouble sending Shad Le Duc and his hounds and those spellcasters and all those men and all them boats against little old Salteon.  Now that might seem like an awful lot of trouble for being rebuffed by one girl, even though it was Vangeline.  But Alabastre, like many young grandees had never been denied anything their heart desired. They had never had been told the word NO.
 
So when Vangeline and the Com’dor both told him no and all of the suitors and then all the folks at the faire said no, he didn’t know how to accept it.  And then he had to run off like a scared bullywog.  Well, the hate just welled up inside his proud breast and became all-consuming
 
So he started the war everyone was fretting about by seizing Fort Flumens so he could let that Mivior fleet come up the Deep.  Then he sent that cruel spell to trap Vangeline.  Then he come after her and all her kin and all her friends, all the way up to Salteon that was burned to the ground.  Can’t imagine what he would a done with Vangeline had he captured her but it surely would have been wicked.
 
But that’s what heroes are for and Vangeline was lucky to have whole of posse of them to try and save her. So they set off up the Crimson Bayou to find Lazar Mirande, the conjure man who might know how a thing or two about them crystal lilies that might restore Vangeline.  Even though Shad and his hounds and those spellcasters and all them men and all them boats came chasing after them, our heroes sure outsmarted them and got away clean.  

But once they got up on Bayou Crimson, things got mighty strange.  Of course, the first thing they run into was them fi follet will o' wisps.  But then they ran into to them mushroom folks, running along the shore screaming for help that something was trying to eat them.

Turned out it was some big slugs that come bursting out the ground and started chasing them.

Then there was a big ole matre slug, with might big snapping jaws and poisoned tail.

Now Placeed did mention that between all these creatures, there was a pretty good mushroom and escargot etouffee could be had.  But they all decided it weren't right to be eating mushrooms that big, especially seeing as how they talked.  So Fiddlesticks conjured up one of his little devil friends and it went off to slow down the matre slug. It must of caught that big slug by surprise for it tore into the thing.

There was nothing to stop the other slugs and they fell on one of the mushroom folks and tore it to shreds, gobbling down the pieces into their circular maws.

Now Sabeen brought the Virago right up close to the shore and they called out for the two remaining mushroom folks to hurry over.

Placeed thought up the idea of using some of the salt from cooking to shrivel them slugs.

He gave some to Dewy who flew on over and dumped onto one of the slugs and it shrieked as it shriveled into a mass of ichor.  Soon enough, gunfire from the rest of the party brought down another.

Now by rights, Fiddlesticks' little imp shouldn't of lasted more than a moment fighting off the big matre slug.  But sure enough, the little thing more than head its own and began driving the big slug back.

Skeeter pulled the two mushroom folks onboard and Sabeen took the boat out away from shore.

Just as they were fixing to sail off, up springs a swamp creature, all covered in nasty weed and swamp grass.

As the first creature pulled itself onboard, another popped its head out the water.

Maksen used his battle axe, a family heirloom, to cut into the first creature.  After that, everyone who could shot at the beast and it fell over board, but not before laying heavily into the crowded deck.  The second beast tried to do the same but met the same fate.

Just as they were finishing with swamp creatures, several very loud shots rang out from the woods nearby.  The one remaining small slug and the big ole matre slug fairly exploded from the impact of the shots.  Of course, what was left of Fiddlesticks' imp fell too in the crossfire. A moment later, a half dozen big ole hobgoblins came out of the forest, all wearing green uniforms and carrying what would have been heavy wall guns to ordinary sized folks.  They called for the boat to return.

They thought these might be the imperial soldiers who were looking for Servan and Jbili so they didn't rush back over to the shore.  Fiddlesticks thought they might be a help on this dangerous bayou.  So he levitated on over to them and tried to convince them to join the party.  The hobgoblin's leader, Captain Sharf reluctantly admitted that he and his men had gotten lost in the swamp and asked for help returning to Fort Flumens. Fiddlesticks told Sharf they were heading up the bayou and needed help. Unfortunately, the word "deserters" slipped from Fiddlesticks' mouth.  The eagle-eyed Sharf notices Servan lurking the boat.

He grabbed Fiddlesticks by the collar and lifted him clean off the ground. Sharf yelled to the Virago to put ashore.

Sharf then handed Fiddlesticks to one of his soldiers.  The fiddler tried in the worst way to escape but couldn't free himself from the hobgoblin's ironlike grasp.

One of the soldiers must have known a spell or two, for suddenly a wall of stone sprang up in front them, providing a strong bulwark.

Sabeen slipped the Virago in amongst some of the rocks in the middle of the river, gaining some cover from the hobgoblin's heavy shots. Both parties began to exchange fire.

Brother Maksen, calling upon the power of St. Sankari managed to dispel the hobgoblins' magic stone wall. Without cover, one of the soldiers was downed by several bullets.

Coralie cast an entanglement upon the hobgoblin holding Fiddlesticks.  In a moment however, the green-coat broke free and Fiddlesticks along with him.

Maksen then cast a Blinding Light spell upon the two, immobilizing both but stopping the hobgoblin from carrying Fiddlesticks off.

Sabeen grew worried for their shots were only having limited effect on the large hobgoblins, despite dispelling their cover.  She was particularly worried when the huge hobgoblin sergeant turned his seven-barreled heptigun on the ship.

Before he could fire, she sent a storming wind against him.

The blast drove him into one of the slug holes from which he struggled to get up its muddy walls.

In the meantime, Fiddlesticks was able to recover his vision while his captor could not.  Again levitating, the fiddler headed for the heavy brush on the banks of the river.

Sabeen once again sent a fierce wind, this time against the spellcaster.

It drove him in on top of the struggling sergeant and both became stuck in the slug hole.

Fiddlesticks managed to reach cover in the brush.  Leon brought the boat forward to reach the fiddler.

As Fiddlesticks made the last dash toward the boat, Skeeter threw several large handfuls of crawdads into the air forming a sort of cloud, like wheat chaff in the wind, that interfered with the shots of the soldiers.

Suddenly, several horns sounded from the jungle.  A vast host of lizardmen came charging through the mushroom stand.

Sharf grabbed his surviving soldiers and they scrambled furiously into the woods away from the lizardmen.

Part of the lizardmen headed toward the Virago, leaping into the water and swimming towards the boat.  Sabeen was able to pilot away from their pursuers while Leon coaxed the boiler into a great head of steam. The boat easily outpaced the swimming lizardmen while avoiding the shots from their blow-gunners.

The two mushroom men, Stalk and Mushmush, were very grateful for the rescue, although they mourned their friend, Moldus. They asked to be let off the boat a few miles further on.  Along the way, they told the party what little they knew about Lazar Mirande.  They said they weren't sure if he was a necromancer bokor or a more benign houngan spellcaster.  Either way, they said they just had to look for the great trees and the pillars in the water to find him. They left the two off the boat as requested.  In gratitude, they gave the party an old Elven breastplate, shimmering with magic.   The party agreed to give it to Maksen.  

Then they sailed on.  Soon they began to see a cloud of black smoke from up ahead.  As they rounded a bend, they say a large boat fully engulfed in flames.