STEVE the dragon turtle, following a brutal steam attack on Watc, makes some dire warnings in draconic. Draconically proficient Ander infers that maybe the little dragon aboard the shipwrecked Dusty Reaver is a close relation worthy of protection. Draconically proficient Ash suspects maybe it is treasure that is important to STEVE.
Sqyylarr contemplates whether it would be sporting to further smash the webbed druid merfolk lady, but she looks entirely helpless and Sqyylarr gives her a pass. For now. Unless things don’t pick up. Soon.
Ash and Barika each take a momentary glance into a couple of closed cabins wherein wait new potential enemy combatants. Mutual passes are given.
Ten, jostled by the unexplained steam eruption, forms a circle of power to cover their anticipated harrowing escape from within the ship.
Topside, Watc ducks out of sight on the opposite side of the wreck. STEVE does not pursue. Watc lefty-loosies the spanner on one of the blue glowing nuts around the base of the astral throne, but the ratchet spanner spins uselessly. A reversing switch on the spanner bites and quickly spins the first nut away from its bolt and into Watc’s pocket.
The party, covered by Ten and Sqyylarr, slips out of the ship to the topside. Ander warns them about STEVE the angry, stingy dragon turtle loudly complaining about treasure thieves. Ash takes up a chat with STEVE.
STEVE focuses on preventing treasure theft. If STEVE is being completely honest, it would be best for the intruding party to leave posthaste, to use a draconic expression. Ash agrees, just as soon as the party collects a bit of scrap wood completely unrelated to treasure. Barika peeks over the side at STEVE and confirms: both dragon and turtle. Ten and Sqyylarr see to the recently diminished health of Watc.
Watc removes the last three nuts. Ander reduces the throne to a more manageable size. Ten, of legendary duo Ten and Peller, mage-sleight-of-hands the mission objective into his cloak. The party withdraws leaving STEVE in peace with his precarious shipwreck, his druidic merfolk acolyte, his rooms of bypassed encounters, and his dragon babby.
Back aboard the skiff, Sqyylarr places the dragon compass into the unreduced astral throne’s dragon-compass-shaped recess. It clicks satisfyingly into place, but nothing amazing happens. There remains an empty mount for the missing sapphire purloined from Captain Billy Badger by Ulrozax, the sticky-fingered wizard, so long ago.
Cartographer Watc creates a return treasure map for Crazy Eyes with the annotation: Beyond here there be STEVE.
