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Kellowurth Krampusnacht

Gray skies lighten but the cloud cover refuses to dissipate as a seemingly endless snowfall blankets the crown town of Kellowurth in the ivory dustings of winter's droppings as waves of black water wash against the sculpted stone pillars of the city's piers and the tall ships docked there. Also, in the dark harbor that constitutes Slaughter Bay is the processing plants servicing the whaling guilds as they bring back their kills to be turned into meat and oil and anything else that can be rendered from the carcasses, they bring back from the wild open seas of the Oceans of Murder in which the ships of the whaling industry pry their bloody trade. While they call themselves whalers cetaceans are not the only manner of sea creatures as a ship will occasionally bring back a sea serpent or a turtle dragon as their kill with the top kill being a kraken which will quickly cement a given crew of a the victorious vessel as krakerjax but as successful as such kills grant their whalers it often comes with a terrible price as it often marks a vessel to denizens of the deep as folks to especially target and orctopi tribes have an earned reputation of being especially adamant of turning such vessels into ghost ships in revenge.

While many who live amidst the forest of towers and longhouses that constitutes Kellowurth's overall architecture and the majority of domiciles offered to those that dwell here the whaling industry is not the only venue to wealth one can ascribe to as the Dragon Fang mountains and the mines of minerals both precious and mundane contained within that rely on ships coming in and out of Kellowurth of the trader variety as mundane as it is also helps to keep coinage flowing into the coffers of the merchant princes that maintain various businesses catering to the wants and needs of the masses even as the fisher folk provide sustenance with their own findings for what meager wages they can eek out of the environment even with the undermining of the shadow guild taking their cut of every trade that exists within the crown-town, its Lord Mayor and City Council handling the service of governance for the populace even as local militias struggle to maintain some semblance of order as they hire themselves out as guards to whomever can meet their exorbitant price of protection. Undercutting these hired sentinels are the masked urban adventurers who call themselves "Watchers" have formed a society of vigilant individuals to keep others safe without looking for any recompence in return. Individual security is fleeting at best as only those with the coin to pay for bodyguards or otherwise pay off the brigands associated with the guild of shadows to leave one's business in peace can afford to sleep soundly as even if one has nothing worth stealing there are those that would kill just for fun or just to keep their murder hobo skills as otherwise as sharp as the very knives they constantly carry are all too common a daily occurrence.

A tall individual with the countenance of a goat but standing upright like a human or an elf stalks the back streets in a general attire one expects of the traditional modern interpretation of Sinter Klaus although this individual is far is too much on the thinner and muscular side to be confused with Father Frost in way shape or form and that's taking the wicker basket he carries like an oversized backpack and the spike "enhanced" whip he carries as his cloven hooved feet take secured steps in the freshly fallen snow leaving behind footprints far more common to the beast folk who toil under their human masters although that is not to say elves or dwarves are any more congenial. An elven prostitute passes by the creature as it stands in a perched crouch on an archway of ancient stone which causes the bestial male form to harshly whisper a single word: "Naughty" as it takes aim at the elven woman with his whip. The whip catches her around the throat unawares and he roughly hauls her up towards himself as she draws a dagger to defend herself and tries to stab her assailant which only angers him further as he confiscates the combat knife from her grasp and uses it to slit her throat before stabbing her in the hear with it and deposits the corpse in an alleyway before it goes on its own merry way to find another victim as the street lamps alight with green or purple fire seemingly at random as the sky overhead as the snow keeps drifting down in its relentless torrent.

Another prostitute, this one a chimera of elf, human and orc in a crimson hooded cloak with white fur to keep her warm even as the red leather corset and kilt she wears under it leaves little to the imagination as her green skin, pointed ears and bloody red hair makes her mixed heritage all too obvious as individuals whose heritage is much less mixed look upon with some disdain as her red leather boots carry her through the snow-covered streets. She is soon joined on her excursion by a much larger figure both in terms of height and girth and like her is a kind of chimera but he is of the beast folk but has one bloodline in common with the whore as he is combination of orc, bear and wolf with green fur covering his body as he wears leathers charcoal grey in hue that look like they were tanned from the hide of a great white shark with a cloak to match and a cane of storm charred oak carved to resemble the head of a thunderbird at its pommel as the whip wielding murderer jumps from rooftop to rooftop to stalk them both. He has all the hallmarks of a warrior and a priest, a priest of nature and especially the storm but a priest none the lest.

"Grand Yule, Cassandra," The wolf-bear says to the prostitute as he tries to put an arm around her shoulders. "It's been getting dangerous out here."

"I manage well enough, Herzog von Hexenholz," Cassandra Deluxe says with a smirk and does not stop the druid-ranger lord from his attempt. "So unless you're horny with coin to spare, I am in need to keep working."

"Well, that was one of the reasons for my approach I shan't lie." Herzog Kodyax von Hexenholz states matter-of-factly. "I was looking for Amy Ivy but I'm not exactly piccy."

"Amy found a spell book after a young elf wizard journeyman decided to provoke Bludpyg for his own amusement and ended up getting himself killed." Cassandra relates. "Been trying to add wizard to her resume ever since."

"And I killed Bludpyg last week to boot." Kodyax says with a shake of his wolfen head. "Fucker tried to rob me with one his collections gangs."

"So that's how Bloody Mary got his head to display in her grease pit?" Cassandra asks to which Kodyax just nods and she whistles while shaking her head ruefully. "I was wondering how my older sister got it. She's not amazon enough to cleave the head herself I knew that. I wonder how long the meat lasted, after she fed the bodies to the grinder that is."

"I dunno but I did get a free burger out of it so I'm not complaining." Kodyax says with a shrug of his shoulders. "But I did give her some gold as an investment for her to start her place up so that could just be one of the dividends as well."

"You did some krakerjaxing a ways back didn't you?" Cassandra asks as they go towards the docks. "I thought you were more of a Sea Lord than anything else."

"Krakerjaxing and piracy," Kodyax readily admits. "Plenty accuse me of being a Robber Baron, and while they'd be absolutely right, legally there's no way of proving it. But I do have a ship for krakerjaxing that I invested in and it's paying dividends ever since. It's the reason I have an excess beacon tower as my residence."

"A beacon tower or one of the bungalows that I heard some folks have underneath them as the clockwork keepers maintain the lanterns aloft?" Cassandra asks as they reach the docks and enter a pedestrian covered stone bridge network that serves the lamp keys as a private boardwalk in its own way as the Krampus jumps onto the roof in an attempt to pursue them with murderous intent. "What was that?"

"We're being followed." Kodyax growls and slides his cane into his belt before drawing an arquebus from a special pocket in his cloak whose hammer is directly behind the powder well which glows red and pulses with eldritch anticipation of the trigger being pulled. "The plans for under-gunner breech loaders were an investment that have save my life more than once above and below the waves."

"I thought you had to be a master craftsman to be able to access those things?" Cassandra asks as he takes careful aim and fires.

"I am," Kodyax responds as something drops into the water from above before he opens the gun and tears open a paper cartridge to reload it. "And a crack marksman as Bludpyg found out the hard way."

"I thought you needed a stabilizer for one of those things!" Cassandra cries out to which Kodyax just smirks and nods.

"Thing kicks like a mundane mule," Kodyax freely admits. "But I have the strength to compensate. My aim rarely fails."

"Bludpyg was a pure blood cousin of mine," Cassandra freely admits. "He was an arrogant fucker who would boast of orcish superiority. There's a sizable hole in his skull now. I take it you made him your prey?"

"Yup," Kodyax admits as he puts the arquebus back in its pocket and takes his cane from his belt to lean on it. "I needed target practice anyway." He then takes out a pair of platinum cons out of a pouch on his belt. "How long will this cover?"

'A month," Cassandra answers honestly. "Especially if I get room and board as a bonus for good performance."

"Sure, I have an extensive pre-paid cover at Bloody Mary's Café." Kodyax says to which Cassandra smiles and nods to him conspiratorially.

"Greeting, Herzog von Hexenholz!" A clockwork butler calls out to the pair as they approach the one tunnel towards one of the beacon towers that Kodyax approaches like he owns the place, which he does. "May I take it this young lady will be spending the evening with us?"

"Yes, Alfred," Kodyax says with a smirk to Alfred Cogsworth the automaton majordomo of his tower. "I want you to meet Cassandra Deluxe who will be staying with us for a little bit as a comfort companion."

"Ah, so she will be spending much time downstairs for the mattress mambo action you have been craving these past few weeks?" Alfred honestly inquires to which Cassandra giggles as the lack of filter amuses her greatly.

"Yes, Alfred, I take it the glass house below is sufficiently heated like I asked?" Kodyax inquires then turns to Cassandra. "Al came with the tower when I bought it. The automatons have no filter but I sort of expected that."

"Before they sold off the towers to make coin, the towers were more or less fully automated, or so I heard." Cassandra states. "Heck, even the glass bungalows underneath were added for aesthetics and living accommodations more than anything else." Kodyax gives her an odd look to which she replies. "I was hired as a comfort companion to the gnome engineers that built them."

"Master von Hexenholz has been hunting sea monsters as well." Alfred states proudly "By the way, sir, the city council has issued some bounties that I sent down to your domicile to peruse and consider."

"Thank you, Alfred," Kodyax says with a broad smile that worries Cassandra. "Not that I need the money but the captain's council of Kellowurth occasionally issues bounties on sea monsters that have set up dangerously close to the docks and other municipalities of the crown town."

Kodyax and Cassandra walk to a circle of runes carved into the floor that glow green as Kodyax dances around them in a clockwise series of pirouettes that Cassandra copies as they make their way to the center and once, they get there a flash of light engulf them both that somehow transports them elsewhere. The domed facility was definitely underwater somewhere, that much Cassandra didn't need to be told but shapes far above them were vague at best and undistinguishable at worst. The facility was a domicile designed to accommodate one person, maybe two if they were intimate with a moon pool as the only other way to access the outside world save the teleportation circle they had just used to get here.

Sea creatures mundane and fantastic parade outside the glass house as if it did not exactly exist and the variety of wildlife that could be seen was astounding. The house was situated on a stony mound on the bottom of the bay with the moon pool connecting to a water filled tunnel that connects it with the outside world. A fully functional kitchen and larder dominates one quarter of the facility with a master bedroom taking up another quarter, a fully functioning bath another quarter and an observation area that doubles as a kind of den taking up the final quarter for the facility. Trophies from a lifetime of piracy and exploration decorate the facility with models of submarines and zeppelins as well as tall ship-blimp hybrids on display as a bizarre helmet resting on a table before the moon pool in the middle of the room with proper access reserved for the observation quarter only for reasons own only the main dweller knows.

Cassandra looks at the helm curiously as it is fairly weird looking even for Kodyax to possess as it looks like a mask-helmet combination made from gray leather like the hide of a shark and rendered to appear to be the head of a great white shark, which startles Cassandra as she picks the masking helmet as one of those very creatures makes its presence abundantly apparent by swimming overhead as she makes a grab for the thing in question. He explains that it is a "shark mask" as he terms it and is a creation of his own devising and construction enchanted to allow him to breath underwater and make his attacks made while wearing it all the more vicious. The explanation is satisfactory to Cassandra who know Kodyax has a penchant for crafting bizarre things to help him in his work and on occasion on a completely random whimsical flight of fancy.

'One of the tall ship-blimp hybrids catches Cassandra's attention as it looks like it could be a floating or flying fortress with twin towers at the rear with cannon stations that can move like turrets and twin rows of cannon decks the upper one having cannons point at the utmost front and rear of the ship but instead o sails the three masts of the man o' war are ensconced with the air bladder of a massive blimp; the crow's nest in the middle being flanked fore and aft by two more turrets containing a single cannon in each, as opposed to the rear towers whose turrets each contained a pair of cannons, and all three masts support twin propeller engines of massive proportions to facilitate movement in the air, and the plaque that accompanies it says "Iron Cloud 13"and nothing else although she recognizes the model itself as the handiwork of Abraham Blackstar, a sexless eunuch of a chimera combining aspects of dwarf, badger and wolverine into one awesome package. Brom Blackstar is well known as a friend of Kodyax von Hexenholz and among those who run in piracy circles it is well known that Brom is Kody's Quartermaster and chief engineer as there are few individuals as closely associated with Kodyax than Brom, but it is also well known that anyone that harasses Brom will answer to Kodyax at some point and usually at the pointy end of his broadsword as Kodyax takes umbrage to anyone impeding the work of his best and closest friend and confidant. Kodyax trust Abraham implicitly and that trust has not once proven to be unfounded as Abraham has been one of Kody's earlies and most loyal of followers and while on the surface it would seem they are master and servant the truth is Kodyax never treats Abraham as a mere servant or even just a member of his crew but as his most loyal and fiercest friend in whom he has absolute confidence in his competence knowing full well the Brom will never betray him their bond is just that deep and has become that intrinsic between them. The model in question just looks like some crazy project Brom would come up with and Kody would invariably back and do his best to see it come to fruition even though it is something Cassandra has never seen before and there are few vessels that have come into port at Kellowurth that she has not see or heard of so something of this magnitude is interesting, nothing worth losing anything important over but intriguing none the less.

"Hey, Kody," Cassie asks, holding up the model of Iron Cloud 13 as she makes her inquiry: "What's this? I mean it looks like something your buddy Brom Blackstar would come up with but what exactly is it?"

"That is a prototype model for a ship Brom came up with." Kodyax explains with a smirk before groping her breasts. "It's a work in progress he's developing but any more than that I am reluctant to part with to anyone that is not involved with its construction and testing at present."

"I know this idea of combining a tall ship with a zeppelin is the new thing," Cassandra softly inquires, "I wasn't aware that Master Blackstar ha jumped onto the trend."

"Oh, he has a few ideas," Kodyax states as a shark shaped submarine with a pusher screw in the tail but otherwise is almost a working replica of some version of Captain Nemo's Nautilus that Kodyax just smirks and points at as Cassandra looks at wild eyed. "Case in point, that is the Dark Shark." He picks up the model on his desk where the Iron Cloud 13 model sits. "Another of his ideas that I invested in, one that has returned dividends I can assure you."

"Someone actually managed to build something that works underwater?" Cassandra asks incredulously to which Kodyax just laughs.

"That project was completed maybe five years ago." Kodyax states. "It looks like it's headed for his secret workshop."

"So, he does have a forge in the Dragon Fang mountains?" Cassandra says with a nod. "Who gets access?"

Kodyax smirks and taps the side of his muzzle: "Only those that need to know. And yes, I'm one of them. I had business in town so I am not with them, otherwise you're looking at the Captain of the Dark Shark. The places I have been able to access with the aid of the Dark Shark have nothing short of amazing."

"I saw there were new pieces in the Explorer's Club recently attributed to you as their donator." Cassandra states. "You raided some sunken temple to get them, didn't you?"

"Guilty as charged." Kodyax admits proudly. "I still need to go back to that one sunken temple of Tsathoggua. There are artifacts I saw there that need to be put in the protective custody of a museum rather than lay at the bottom of the Oceans of Murder for anyone to find and plunder."

"What do you mean?" Cassandra asks fearfully as the tone Kodyax took with his last statement was ominous to say the least.

"I reserve the right to be mistaken," Kodyax states grimly with no trace of mirth or jesting in his expression. "But I'm sure that either the plans for some doomsday device or a working to scale model is present there. The deeper we got the more evidence we found of at least traces of Dagonite occupation. I had to kill at least one patrol of orctopi which forced me and the crew to beat a hasty retreat back to the Dark Shark. Karl was almost killed but we managed to drag his dying body back to the sub and get out of there. His wounds were so bad I almost couldn't heal him with my magic."

"Oh, dear!" Cassandra states as she knows how much Kodyax takes it personally when his subordinates are severely wounded under his command. "How is he now?"

"Recovering," Kodyax growls, "But on the mend. You know I don't normally prepare a lot of healing spells but even the wands I crafted struggled to keep him from knocking on death's door. I know I'm not a healer, I'm an explorer, a hunter of the dark but I still take it personally when the tendrils of the void reach out to try and confiscate anyone who trust me as their master and commander. I know I can't do this alone and value every soul that chooses to follow me into the darkness and make sure that those things that dwell there can't rise and threaten those who cling to the light for their salvation and some measure of security to conduct their daily lives. I know they knew the risks when they signed on to be part of my crew but it still falls on me to do everything I can to make sure they return from the darkness." He heaves a heavy sigh before continuing. "They call me mad, and in some ways, I guess they're right but someone has to face the nightmares and keep them at bay. I'm just better equipped to deal them than most that' all."

"I've seen what you let Explorer's Club display," Cassandra states. "It boggles my mind as to how you face such things and don't turn into a psychopath of some sort." Kodyax gives a self-satisfied smirk at that to which she just shakes her head. "OK, your penchant for killing anyone that crosses you and tries to shake you down or otherwise tries to bend you to their will aside I mean usually those that end up dead by your hands deserved it."

Kodyax just smirks and sits down at a table that has scrolls and folders galore as Cassandra makes her way into the bedroom to strip and wait for him to come and use her as he paid for her services. For his part Kodyax looks over the papers presented for him and finds a set of mystical schematics among the paper that intrigues him. The new runes have the writing style of one Lateefa Zulu, a fellow chimera and sometime lover of his that is a combination of elf, hyena and cheetah who walks the twin paths of gunslinger and magus and are just the sort of thing she would come up with.

Lateefa writes of a system that combines an enchanted magazine pouch with special runes carved into a breech loading firearm that would teleport a paper cartridge from the pouch into the firing chamber of the gun and allow for more expeditious reloading of such an enhanced firearm. The prospect has many merits to Kodyax who cleans his firearms as he looks over the schematics and nods his approval. He would have to reforge his firearms to integrate this but it's worth doing if it all works out and Kodyax knows Lateefa well enough to know this is worth doing as she values his affections enough not to try and screw him over, especially if it meant she might not get screwed in the bedroom by him for awhile as they have such a solid "friends with benefits" relationship.

Cassandra is laying naked on the bed when Kodyax joins her and insists on undressing him as part of her service to him which he does not argue with and takes every opportunity he can to lick and suckle at her breasts which she absolutely does nothing to stifle since she enjoys just how he stimulates her by doing so, especially when he strokes her crotch while doing so and drives her to climax without breaking a sweat doing so after she removes his shirt and runs her fingers through his green fur. After she takes off his boots she starts lowering his leather trousers to reveal his canine cock already out of its sheath and ready for action and without any prompting on his part she helps herself to it, bobbing her head up and down its length to make sure its firm enough to violate her folds and lays on top of him so that he can help himself to her snatch which he does eagerly as he feasts on her cunt. Tribal tattoos accentuate her naked body including one that slightly disturbs Kodyax when he notices it but chooses not to say anything for the moment and that make Cassandra as she saw the dark expression on his muzzle briefly and a part of is ashamed as he must of figured out that the one goat like tattoo just above her crotch is an orcish tribal tattoo referring to the goddess Shub-Niggurath a tattoo she had rendered to try and invoke the protection of the deity who is known to sometimes look with favor on prostitutes.

While Kodyax does not approve of the mark, the deity is one he finds to be dangerous to follow but he understands why folks like Cassandra get it and for that reason he chooses not to raise his voice in protest over the tattoo. He paid for her sexual services and that is what he is getting in spades as she impales herself along his length and smile lustfully as her breasts jiggle as she rides his pole and drives him further and further to climax. The only concern she has at this point is whether or not she will exact a price for her protection in that she will make sure Kodyax impregnates her with his seed but she will worry about that if that consequence ever shows up.

An orctopi amazon swims by and sees that one of the glass houses has at least one resident home which causes her to smirk and approach closer to see who is in residence so that she make a nice sacrifice to Father Dagon and Mother Hydra when she is attacked from behind by the same Krampus Kodyax shot earlier as he wraps the nail like thorns of his whip around her midsection and then yanks it free to completely eviscerate her before swimming back to let a megalodon chomp on the remains as a kind of snack. Inside his residence, Kodyax sees the megalodon devour the disemboweled orctopi and knows he has to kill it before it goes on a feeding frenzy and attack some poor defenseless fisher in the waters above to continue to sate its ever present hunger and unloads himself inside of Cassandra before getting dressed and donning his shark mask before taking up his arquebus and a machete as Cassandra sits on the bed and while she is disappointed at first the massive shark above her soon scares her enough to try and hide underneath the covers and hope the megalodon doesn't see her and decide she might be another tasty serving. Taking care of sea monsters like that is his job, Cassandra says to herself, she does not need to be involved but little does she realize that the Krampus is watching and deigns this a perfect opportunity to make yet another kill as the druid-ranger is going to be distracted so he can swim in and kill the prostitute while the warrior priest is busy playing trophy hunter.

Kodyax swims out with grim determination, knowing full well that between his training, the enhancements he installed into the mask itself and the enchantments that he has with the firearm itself that he should only need one shot to kill this thing but he has the machete in case he needs to follow up with a melee strike. Megalodons are big nasty sharks but at the same time Kodyax knows that for all their size and strength sharks, especially bona fide sea monsters like a megalodon are the dumbest predators he has ever taken down and his arquebus is made to take out things like this which is why he chose that as his main weapon. The mask he wears is letting him breath underwater just as well as if he were a shark himself and it only fuels the predatory nature of what he has trained himself to be.

Determined as he is on the task at hand, Kodyax is distracted enough to not see the Krampus swim down the tunnel after he had swum out of to get to the prostitute inside the glass house where Cassandra has gotten brave enough to peak out from under the covers to see her client do the killer instinct thing, she knows he does so well. The last thing Krampus knows he needs is for his prey to hear him and then go running around trying to find a place to hide which will mean it will take him way too long to hunt her down and murder her, giving Kodyax enough time to make his kill and come back and rescue the prostitute from his deadly mission of righteous indignation. Lashing out with his whip, Krampus wraps the bladed ribbon of leather around Cassandra's throat and grins as makes his recall yank and watches with grim elation and satisfaction as her neck turns into a fountain of blood whilst her head bounces off the mattress and the Krampus howls in raucously sinister laughter.

Kodyax returns home just in time to see Cassandra's head come off as the Krampus yanks back his whip and cleanly serrates her head from her shoulders and in witnessing that he gets severely pissed. Quickly and quietly, he reloads his arquebus and lines up a head shot and as the Krampus arches its back to laugh Kodyax spreads his own sinister smile upon his muzzle as he marks the beast as his prey and all his training on lining up the perfect headshot comes into play right here; right now as he made sure he loaded an explosive bullet into the chamber with a meteor shot in his box in case he needs a follow up shot. When the Krampus turns around to leave in triumph its eyes go wide as it stares down the barrel of Kody's gun and there can be no denying the fact that the hunter has it dead to rights and the druid-ranger elicits his own mocking laughter as he pulls the trigger and lets the bullet fly straight and true where it burrows itself right between the demon's eyes and explodes.

The bullet splits the demon's head in twain but just as quickly it knits itself back together again as it staggers on its feet and struggles to remain standing as Kodyax just loads the other bullet into the firing chamber as he sort of knew that one bullet was not going to be enough as he fixes his dagger beneath the blade as a bayonet and takes aim once more and again prepares himself for battle as it may take him using his firearm like a spear to finish the job and he is fully prepared to do just that as he whispers silent prayers to the sanctity of nature's truly awesome power so as to grant it even more devastating striking power to damage this soul less thing and send it back to Hell where it truly belongs. With grim determination he pulls his trigger once more which sends the bullet hurtling down the barrel of his arquebus and racing towards the target like some miniature rocket with a payload of nature's fury which eventually splits into micro meteors that slam into the demon like and an angry storm of shooting stars.

Fires of righteous indignation alight as the fragments impact with the demon's body, igniting its fur with the holy angry of nature's fury as the primal power Kodyax is able to infuse into his weapons courses through the thing's being wreaking havoc as only the blessed bane of a druid enacting vengeance for wrongs done to himself and those, he cares about can bring to bear on any unworthy monster that dares stand against him and strike down those under his protection. The Krampus screams a violent curse at the druid-ranger for daring to oppose it in its own unquenchable thirst for vengeance; to punish sinners for their transgression and ultimate righteousness in doing the murderous work he performs and the service it does to the souls of all who cower within society's walls and care not to pay the price in acting with only the purest thoughts and actions to keep themselves pure and saintly for the betterment of all. But in his heart, Kodyax knows the words of the Krampus are nothing but vicious lies designed only to justify the evil that he does and make the families of those it victimizes feel guilty for the unholy punishment doled out to their loved ones not for any true righteousness but the sheer sake of unbridled violence that he and others of his sort would perpetrate on the innocent and the guilty equally as ultimately it does not care for the morality it ascribes to its actions; only the vicious slaughter and the evil pride and pleasure it gets for enacting such atrocities.

Krampus scores a wicked blow on Kodyax with its whip as the druid-ranger rushes forth with the bayonet affixe3d to his arquebus leading the way as he ploughs into his foe with his own righteous indignation and drives the blade of his dagger deep into the torso of his latest foe. He follows up his initial thrust with an equally vicious slash to the demon's neck which almost severs the head right then and there but it barely clings to life until Kodyax follows up with a vicious uppercut with the reinforced stock of his weapon. The severed head still screeches curses to Kodyax as the headless body still tries to fight on and whip the wolf-bear to death for daring to attempt to impede its wicked will to punish the guilty especially on this most holy of nights. The fact this is the season and indeed the very day of the winter solstice also known as Sol Invictus and Yule is not lost on Kodyax who continues to laugh and shake his head as since he is a druid, he is a priest of nature itself and thus this part of the cycle of season is extremely well known to him but his faith is very different from the cruel religion that spawned the Krampus which is cause for Kodyax to chastise the Krampus for imposing its faith on him and those around him as just because the faith it belongs to has followers in the millions does not give it the right the impose the tenets of its religion on others and especially on him as he is a priest of a faith alien to the Krampus with no desire to abandon what he believes in favor of some flash in the pan faith that he believes will eventually fade as worship of nature and older gods eclipses what it touts as sacred scripture that Kodyax himself sees as only lies meant to enslave the foolish.

Harsh words of condemnation are whispered upon the wind as the ashes of the Krampus as a phantom rush of air sweeps them away into nothingness; not even a skeleton is left behind when all is said and done which greatly disappoints Kodyax as the thing could have at least left him something he could make into a trophy for his troubles as he shakes his head ruefully and heaves a heavy sigh as a further expression of his utter disappointment. Cassandra's corpse is laid out with care with the two platinum coins placed over her eyes as he builds her a driftwood coffin and places her head between her legs once the body is put in securely before he takes it into the moon pool and through the tunnel to lay it in a common crypt in a secluded grotto just within the Dragon Fang mountains and before he leaves, he scribes a scroll detailing whom is interred here and tacks it to the coffin lid. He then scribes a note to give to a messenger crab to be delivered to her sister notifying her of her sister's passing.

After laying her to rest, Kodyax dives underwater; the grotto has two entrances with the other being a sewer connection known only to shady merchants and members of the Guild of Shadows; to swim to another grotto, one known only to himself and those deigned worthy to be members of his crew that can only be accessed underwater by design as Brom Blackstar does not like uninvited guess disturbing him while he is trying to work and build his experimentally fantastic designs. Upon surfacing, the druid-ranger is first met with a quartet of musket barrels, each one held by a chimera that mixes together the blood of gnomes, ferrets and raccoons into a seamless whole all dressed in leather armor like himself but the one has top fur like the furless ones in the style of a bowl cut, another has his parted down the middle nice and neatly to look extra sharp, one has his top fur arching from his head like a pair of angelic wings while the forth is devoid of any such extra adornment to his noggin. This armed challenge to his presence lasts but a moment as they recognize just whom is visiting the workshop and recede, bowing to Kodyax as they do with the one who has the bowl cut, Moses Zechariah Stooge profusely apologizing for their actions with the other four: Lawrence Albert Stooge (the one with the wing tips), Shempatrick Donovan Stooge (the one with his head parted down the middle) and Karl Edward Stooge bowing their heads and addressing Kodyax as the boss in agreement with Moe in their concurrence to their previous actions to which Kodyax just smirks and commends the quartet for their vigilance.

While they are known collectively as the Stooge brothers only Moses and Karl are actually brothers with Moe being slightly older than his brother Karl with Shemp and Larry instead being their lovers with Shemp being the lover of Karl and Larry sharing a bed passionately with Moe respectively, a fact that sometimes gets them in trouble with others but not with Kodyax whom doesn't give a piranha's tail what their sexuality is as long as it does not interfere with their duties, which for the most part it does not. Collectively they have a reputation for incompetence which is largely well earned but as foolish as they may be, to their master, Kodyax they also exemplify the expression that fortune smiles on fools albeit the fact that they often succeed in spite of themselves usually occurs through a true Rube Goldberg series of astoundingly unlikely of occurrences that are a marvel to behold and to Kodyax can be exceptionally entertaining to just sit back and watch as it unfolds. It is for this alone that remain gainfully in his employ as their antics are often just the distraction that Kodyax needs to pull off some of his bolder and utterly gonzo gambits as the confluence of events, now matter how improbable they may seem to be able to occur, let alone how undeniably stranger that they do go off with a kind of insane clockwork precision that defies logic and reason at the best of times.

Sitting idly in the expansive lake that the grotto affords Abraham to work with is a massive man o' war vessel like the model that caught Cassandra's attention back at the underwater dwelling where she met her demise although currently it is still only a framework that is being compiled into the makings of an actual vessel sea worthy and ultimately air worthy or so that is the plan of most everyone involved in this ambitious project. Bulky automatons are busy adding substance to the skeleton under the direction of a bestial humanoid that is another chimera, this time made by combining a dwarf with a badger and a wolverine that is well known to Kodyax as Abraham Blackstar himself whose presence fills the wolf-bear with pride as the ranger lord gives a hearty wave to the alchemist-inventor who returns his greeting enthusiastically as Brom is always to see his old friend no matter how busy he is as Kody is the one paying the bills to keep this project going at full steam. Abraham leans on a boarding pike dressed in leather armor like Kodyax and the Stooge brothers which Kodyax himself designed and all members of his crew has been issued as a matter of course including the shark mask more to make sure that if one is knocked overboard into the drink the enhancements of the armor and the mask will keep them alive long enough to be rescued or swim to an area that is safe enough to rest and figure out how they are going to get themselves back to civilization and rejoin the crew and thus go on another adventure as sometimes the accident that put them in peril in the first place was of nobody's fault save being a member of a pirate crew and the intrinsic dangers of such a profession and lifestyle.

Assisting Brom in his direction is another chimera that is a combination of goblin, rabbit and squirrel using her magic to lift heavy objects for others to take and put into place as well as inspect the work being done to make sure it is being done properly so that the construction of the vessel goes along smoothly. Physically she is a short, green furred bunny woman with the broad tail of a squirrel and her name as the rest of the crew know her and call her is Amy Ivy an individual who walks the twin paths of a wizard and an investigator and in that capacity, she often serves the rest of the crew by fact finding for rumors of things they would want to pursue in terms of recovering and gathering resources and new methods of constructing the materials needed to do a given job. She looks over at Kodyax and gives him a lustful grin as some of the times she is a very willing participant of his pursuits in terms of sexual Olympics along some of the other females on the crew as she licks her muzzle and rubs her own crotch with the ringed staff she uses as her spellcasting focus to which the wolf-bear just smirks and winks to her before shaking his head and moving on.

While Brom and Amy have his attention yet another chimera of the feminine gender, this time a combination of elf, cheetah and hyena carrying herself with all the bravado of an over-confident gunslinger, walks up behind Kodyax and reaches around grope his crotch and press her breasts into his back before moaning loudly and lewdly. Kodyax again and sighs as this is something he has come to expect from Lateefa Zulu a combination of magus and gunslinger who combines her twin paths into a single dedication as much as possible. He reaches back and grabs her ass which causes her to walk around to his front and give him a passionate kiss as like Amy, Lateefa often wants to be in a situation where the two of them are completely naked and doing the mattress mambo in a random act of passion, although unlike Amy, is able to maybe have offspring with him and this consequence of her actions is something a part of her is not only accepting but is desirable as something to have happening to her and as an experiment to produce.

For his part, Kodyax enjoy the "friends with benefits" relationship he has with not just Lateefa and Amy but also when she agrees to be in his embrace Takara Yamaha whom he does not see and is a little concerned by her absence even as he accedes to Lateefa's desire to be given a passionate kiss. He follows up the kiss to her muzzle with kisses to her breasts which either causes her to expose her breasts and encouraging him to do more with her body or get subconscious and nervous and take a step away even if she will later approach him completely topless and jiggle her breasts in his general direction in a manner most enticing. Lateefa's cheeks go red and she does step away sheepishly with a guilty grin upon her muzzle as while this may not have been something she was expecting it is something she very willingly presents for his use of her body for their mutual pleasure.

Phantom giggling is heard before Lateefa finds herself openly groped by black furred hands that both Kodyax and Lateefa know belongs to the charcoal gray furred chimera of hobgoblin, tiger and vixen named Takara Yamaha the swashbuckling bard that acts as a ninja mage to aid the rest of the crew in areas of espionage and information gathering for their mutual benefit. Kodyax crosses his arms and taps his foot indignantly which causes Takara to shrink from her open playfulness and Lateefa gives him a look that non-verbally conveys volumes of gratefulness as while she knows that Takara greatly desires her romantic affections to Lateefa she would much rather have Kodyax as a plaything than Takara even if what Takara wants from Lateefa in terms of relationships is what Kodyax wants from Takara and in the mind of Lateefa she would rather have two of them in bed with him rather just them having a night of passion together. Kodyax kisses Takara on the forehead as Lateefa just smirks and gives them both a hug as Amy whistles a catcall from her own position as Brom quietly chuckles as there is rarely a dull moment when the Captain is on deck and for the most part this is just how they all just get along and accomplish miracles.

"So, Captain von Hexenholz," Takara coos seductively. "What brings you to the workshop? I bet if you asked her nice enough, Teefa could join me in two girls show for your entertainment."

"I came to see how the Iron Cloud was coming along, Taki," Kodyax fully admits. "But anytime you want to give a special private show I'd be up for it."

"The only two girl how I want give the captain is in bathing or bed, Taki," Lateefa returns with a smirk to which Takara gives a bow to show how much she is reluctant to acquiesce to what she knows Lateefa intends to follow through on her request as she continues with: "And we give him the option of joining in with us especially if we can make a sex sandwich with Kody as the meat and the two of us as the slices of bread."

"I like the sound of that," Kodyax admits before Takara nervously takes a swig of sake and smiles deceptively warmly even if both the other two know internally, she is panicking right about now.

Faceless horned gargoyle with a spade like tail that only accentuates the dangerous look to accentuate the clawed hands and feet that Kodyax instantly recognizes as nightgaunts monstrous minions working for the very forces Kodyax opposes with all his being and the squadron of them descending from the ceiling and startles everyone in the chamber itself. Roughly twenty-five of the things in total invade the workspace as Kodyax draws his pistol and quickly fires off a round as they descend and upon seeing their leader draw and fire everyone else also draws their pistols except the Stooge brothers who raise their muskets and fire as one. The bullets fired by the brothers dangerously ping and ricochet about the chamber like lethal pinballs before taking down two nightgaunts.

Lateefa draws twin flintlocks and fires them at a single nightgaunt felling it expertly as it crashes to the ground in a heap. Amy and Takara take up muskets themselves as Brom takes out an arquebus and takes aim as Kodyax brings a blunderbuss to bear. Brom arches an eye ridge in Kody's directi0n before firing his arquebus and taking out a single nightgaunt with a well-placed headshot. Kodyax blasts a trio of nightgaunts with his blunderbuss but they remain in flight as they land and surround him to try and lacerate his body with their claws only to have one of them get its skull caved in from a vicious uppercut with the reinforced stock of the blunderbuss.

The nightgaunts strip him of his firearms only to be rewarded by getting raked by his own claws which forces them to step back; an action that allows him to draw his basket hilted broadsword and his much shorter but no less lethal and still basket hilted small sword which Kodyax affectionately refers to a Scissor and Razor the twin blades he has used in duels too countless to be given a definitive accouterment. The nightgaunts cock their heads but still press forth their attacks which is the worst thing they could have done as Kodyax uses the small sword to disembowel the one attacker before neatly and decisively decapitating in two quick and powerful strokes before doing the same to the other in short order. Both basket hilts are rendered in such a way as to suggest that the legendary kraken has chosen to wrap itself around the hilts of both blades in keeping with his usage of the titanic octopus as his own personal pirate emblem which will be featured on the air bladder and the very flag of Iron Cloud 13 once it is fully constructed which Brom marks ruefully in his mind as he shakes his head at the captain's provoking tactic.

Takara smirks and shakes her head before chanting in the tongue of the Dragonlands from which she hails and tosses shuriken of pure energy at the one nightgaunt still approaching her that she wounded but moments ago. Lateefa smirks and chuckles before chanting in the tongue of Kongo continent where she hails which causes her pistols to glow with eldritch energy before she fires twin bullets of pure magical force that strike their target unerringly. Brom just shakes his head as Amy stares dumbfounded before she recovers herself takes out an egg with runes written on its surface in crayon the she tosses in the air at one of the nightgaunts who whacks the egg with its tail that releases a swarm of purple hued mosquitoes of pure energy that kamikaze their way into it and bring it down.

Kodyax invokes the power of nature's fury which causes a spark of electricity to arc its way through the remaining pack of nightgaunts which prompts them to flee but not before the brothers unleash another volley that finishes off four of them as the rest flee for their very lives Kodyax sheathes his swords and heaves an angry sigh as he glowers at the remaining nightgaunts as they flee in terror. Without saying a word, he marches off to the Dark Shark which is docked nearby and descends inside. Lateefa, Takara, Amy and Brom all look at each other and share a look of concern as it's obvious that Kody is pissed at something but they have no idea what.

Brom really can't leave his post as he is supervising the automatons but the three ladies rush off to the Dark Shark and look for Kodyax. They find him in his state room with a bottle of wine that he is drinking as they walk in on him but his glance to them tells them that he was expecting them to follow him as there are four chairs before him each with their own glass of blood red wine pored and set in front of them. Amy is the first to sit as she is very curious to hear what the captain has to say followed closely by Lateefa and then Takara who is now uncomfortable how her black striped gray fur makes her stand out amidst the opulent finery of this state room of a veteran pirate lord.

"The pack of nightgaunts were the second unpleasant surprise I have had today." Kodyax states as he pours himself another glass of wine and tops off Amy's glass as well as she had so eagerly imbibed upon sitting down. "The first was a visit from the Krampus who murdered a humelforc whore I like playing with in my underwater bungalow." He looks over at Amy. "I want details."

"On the case, boss!" Amy says enthusiastically with an emphatic nod. "How soon do you want me to start?"

"Soon," Kodyax says plainly. "Report back to me within a week with whatever you have and if you get nothing, tell me where you looked for answers and what you learned."

"I have ideas where to start," Amy says with nervous confidence. "How much grease am I allow to apply?" She deftly catches a pouch of a hundred gold coins each minted with the image of an octopus upon them. "This is a good start; I'll make an accounting log of how the money was spent."

"I may need access to the Arcane Academy." Kodyax states to which Lateefa coughs indignantly before he looks over at Takara. "I also want an audience with Grandmother Spider."

"What sort of inquiries do you need to make?" Takara asks as she sips her glass of wine. "Do ypu trust me to ask on your behalf?"

"I echo Taki's inquiry," Lateefa states as she takes a draught of her wine. "The headmaster is more persnickety about access than he was and old age has nothing to do with it after he accidently committed suicide and returned as a specter."

"The nuances may be lost if you ask in my stead but I trust both of you." Kodyax admits openly as he eyes them both in all seriousness. "I am looking for information on known or seriously suspected lairs of the elder things and the mi-go here in the Dragon Fang." Kodyax looks at Takara especially. "What does Grandmother Spider know about projects the Dagonites might be up to? Has the great old one made any stirrings late? What shenanigans has Rathus and his horde been up to?"

"I'll add that to my list of questions to ask around about." Amy states and writes it down in her notebook. "I want to know that myself."

"You're still concerned about what we found in that sunken temple of the Frog God aren't you?" Takara asks as Lateefa's eyes go wide.

"I forgot about that fiasco," Lateefa says openly. "Karl has been having trouble sleeping lately. His dreams are haunted."

"Join the club on that front," Kodyax says with a heavy sigh. "Teefa, I know the academy has been tinkering with some of the artifacts we brought back that were too dangerous to display. If they found out anything interesting, I want to know."

"You think something may be brewing?" Lateefa asks in all seriousness to which Kodyax gives a deep nod and Takara shudders

"You have discovered something in the dream realms beyond the walls of sleep, haven't you?" Takara asks poignantly to which Kodyax grimly grins. "I may need to join you one of these nights."

"Finally agreeing to give the captain what he really wants from you?" Lateefa teases to which causes Takara to go rigid and nervously exclaim. "No!" Which causes Lateefa to chuckle wryly. "I think we really do need to give him that two girl show."

"Oooh!" Amy exclaims. "Can I join in to?"

Lateefa sees the mortified look on Takara's muzzle and is endlessly amused before replying with: "I think that would be a capitol idea!"

"What have I gotten myself into?" Takara asks herself ruefully.

As much as she swears to the contrary, Takara knows all to well what she feels when she indulges in the activities and allows herself to be enveloped by the affections Kodyax lavishes on her when she chooses to sleep with him and the fact that she actually enjoys it no matter how much she loathes to admit it even to herself scares her no end. Grandmother Spider groomed her as a kunoichi since she was a teenager and after too many pillow killings, she told herself she was actually truly a lesbian and her seduction of foolish males was just her training at work. Kodyax loves her honestly and without any expectation of reciprocation, his professions of affection and love are genuine in regards to her and she hate the fact that her own heart resonates with his frightens her no end as it calls into question the lifestyle she has found so comforting for so long.

Seducing Kodyax was Grandmother Spider's last assignment for her which as far as the old woman knows is exactly what she is doing now even if Takara herself finds herself honestly finding him the most attractive male she has encountered in any capacity and the fact that she finds herself wanting to lay with him is a part of her she does her best to deny exists even if actually does exist and if the order came down for her to murder Kodyax in his sleep, this is a command she could not carry out. A part of her knows eventually this order will be issued and she dreads its issuance as it will mean she will finally feel the need to break with her clan connections and become an independent operator which also scares her half to death which why she dreads it so much. All these thoughts swirl in her mind as she drinks her wine and contemplates Grandmother Spider to gather the intelligence Kodyax wants and considering she is more or less overdue to report in with Grandmother Spider setting up a meeting should not be difficult.

Grandmother Spider has actually been monitoring her agent for some time now and the fears Takara harbors in her heart of hearts are ultimately unfounded as the general interest in Captain von Hexenholz she had had been satisfied in spades. In fact, Grandmother Spider wants to help Kodyax as much as possible as his overall self-assigned mission to defend the world from the threats that plague him in his nightly nightmares falls in line with the tenets of the clan to keep the world safe from tyrants beyond who destroy and enslave all for their own, largely inscrutable, needs and desires. As far as Grandmother Spider is concerned, Herzog Hauptman Kodyax von Hexenholz is an ally in their struggles, not an enemy and thus any aid she cand render to further his work is something she is more than prepared to offer with Takara as he agent of agency in monitoring his plans and if need be to help steer in the direction he needs to go in order to make his quest to vanquish the terrors of the night and the deep for the good of all a reality.