The expected time to reach Mitrik was about four days. They made good time initially, and late in the day made their first stop at the town of Padstow. The crew made for a sailor’s inn, while two of the new recruits escorted Master Thurl to a meeting with some local merchants. After Thurl made his arrangements, the three returned to the ship and resumed their voyage.
Late that evening, the captain called for the ship to be anchored for the night. The crew retired to their quarters below deck, while Thurl took to his small cabin at the stern of the ship. Cassius took the first watch, while the other escorts settled down to sleep on the deck. The young knight watched as a few ships passed in the night, some heading upriver, others down.
A sound came from the bow. Cassius thought he heard something near the anchor rope. He looked toward the bow, but saw nothing. Now alerted to possible danger, he went to wake up the fighter and the rogue. “Thought I heard something!” he said as he tried to rouse the others.
But as he spoke, he heard something behind him. Something–or someone–had plopped down onto the deck from the anchor rope! Immediately, Cassius drew his sword and shield, then cried “We have trouble!” He advanced toward the intruder. Now he could identify it: a large snake. Worse, a cottonmouth–highly venomous.
The snake struck at the knight with a lightning-like attack. Its fangs bounced off Cassius’ protective armor.
The rest of the party, awakened by Cassius’ cry, were drawing their weapons. All had removed their armor, and realized they didn’t have time to don it. They would have to fight as they were.
Cassius again swung at the snake with his longsword. The snake was too low for him to reach. It reared its white-mouthed head and bit again at the knight. This time it bit deeply. The knight gasped in pain. The snake’s venom quickly took effect, and the knight felt himself seriously weaken.
Now Tobi, who had quickly drawn and loaded his crossbow, took a shot at the snake. Barely visible in the dark and low to the deck, the snake remained undamaged as the bolt whizzed over it. Cassius, suffering from the venom’s debilitating effect, swung at the snake but missed once again. The snake slithered away from the wounded knight and tried to bite Groose. The half-orc was lucky that the bite failed to wound him.
The elven wizard listened for a moment, trying to determine if there were any other attackers, but heard none. He then turned his attention to the snake, drew his shortbow and shot an arrow at the reptile. He too missed his targed, as did Groose, whose sword blow went wide, and Arya, whose crossbow shot grazed the reptile’s scales but did no damage.
Another bolt from Tobi’s crossbow finally found its mark, and the snake flinched as it was struck by the rogue’s projectile. Cassius, summoning his courage, shouted, “For Hieroneus!” and slashed at the snake. Again he failed to strike the creature.
The snake crawled around the mast of the ship, leaving a bloody trail, and bit at Enox. The reptile’s fangs pierced the elven wizard. He shuddered as he felt the burn of venom, but the dose was low enough for the wizard to shake off its effects. Quickely Enox dropped his crossbow and drew his rapier. “Die, foul serpent!” he exclaimed. His thrust was less effective than his war cry, as the snake remained unscathed.
Groose and Arya were once again ineffective in their attacks on the snake. Cassius stepped up to ship’s mast, then swung around it at the snake. He missed the snake but hit the mast instead. Now the snake slithered toward Arya and attacked. The cleric’s armor deflected its fangs.
“Now we’ve got you!” Enox shouted. The snake was now flanked between several members of the party. And still his attack managed to miss the reptile, as did Groose’s attack. “No moonlight,” the half-orc grumbled.
But Arya drew her mace and swung, clobbering the snake! The badly wounded reptile began to crawl away, trying to reach the ship’s rail and go overboard back into the river. “Who needs moonlight?” she replied.
The dying reptile presented a seemingly unmissable target. Yet Tobi’s next shot missed again. Cassius squeezed around mast and tried to attacked the snake as it turned tail. He almost fumbled his sword in his wild attack, and managed to trip over Groose in the process!
The snake had reached the ship’s rail. Groose whacked it as it tried to escape. This time, his blow connected. The snake flailed briefly, then lay still.
From the doorway of the cabin at the ship’s stern, the party heard a voice. “I hope we don’t run into any more snakes,” Thurl clucked. Cassius tried to laugh along with him, but the effect of the snake’s venom still affected him. Eventually, he managed to shake it off.
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