Gozzran 2
Sanita and Fharn get up early, packed and ready to go. Everyone is there to see them off. The Baron actually offers Fharn a traveling gift. It appears to be a book and the Baron says to the mage with a wink. "When you feel like you have achieved some level of competence in your job, feel free to come back. I feel that we have much to discuss." Sanita gets some elven way bread from her step mother who looks on disapprovingly as the Baron hugs his daughter.
The trip to Grayhaven passes without incident.
The Steamboat is arriving as you do. They will be spending the next day unloading and loading and will leavie on the morning of Gozzran 4.
Gozzran 3
Shopping!
Grayhaven is a small city and the goods here are defintiely skewed towards metal and smithed items.
Any weapons and armor costing less than 6000gp can be purchased here (75% chance)
The items in town are.
(In Progress)
Arcane Scroll (False Life, Acid Arrow) (300gp)
+1 Silver Gauntlet (2322gp)
Ring of Swimming (2500gp)
+1 Cold Iron Throwing Axe with Returning and Plant Bane (20316gp)
Potion of Fly (750gp)
+3 Light Hammer (18301 go)
Divine Scroll ( Remove Blindness) (375gp)
+3 Studded Leather (9175 gp)
+3 Tower Shield (9180 gp)
+5 Flaming Rapier of Speed (162320 gp)
Mantle of Faith (76000gp)
Greater Ring of Inner Fortitude
+5 Studded Leather (25175gp)
+4 Banded Mail (16400gp)
+3 Splint Mail with Improved Fire Resistance (51350gp)
With a blush, laugh and a bow, Fhârn accepts the gift. "Thank you! I'm sure - I'll do my best to practice my craft." When they arrive to Grayhaven at the same time as the steamboat, he can't help but thank his lucky star. He had a feeling that they might have been stuck in the little town for a while if the boat hadn't timed so well.
Sanita thanks her father's wife (she never refers to her as any sort of mother!) profusely for the elven way bread, puts it in her backpack, and promises that her and Fharn will enjoy it tremendously on the trip.
She gives her father a gigantic hug, trying to make him go 'oof'. She gives her grandmother a much softer hug.
As soon as they are down the trail, she turns to Fharn. "Would you like some waybread?" She asks with a smirk.When they get to Grayhaven, Sanita will break a few pieces off and feed them to pigeon, curious what type of poison her father's wife had baked into it.
While they are in Grayhaven looking around, Sanita will look in the magic shops to see if they have used spell books, and if so, what spells they have.
Arcane Scroll (False Life)
+5 Flaming Rapier of Speed
Fhârn politely declines Sanitas offer. "Ehm. I fear they may be too salty for my taste... "
Sanita finds the following spellbooks after 1 day of searching
Spellbook 1 (1105gp): Displacement, Slow, Daylight, Nondetection
Mirror Image, Knock, Levitate, Eagle's Splendor, Create Pit, Disguise Other, Magic Mouth, Gust of Wind
Magic Weapon, Expeditous Retreat, Hypnotism, Chill Touch, Urban Grace, Color Spray, Ray of Sickening
Spellbook 2 (90gp): Identify, True Strike, Expeditious Retreat, Silent Image, Animate Rope
Spellbook 3 (945gp): Beast Shape I, Invisibility Sphere, Slow
Invisibility, Whispering Wind, Spider Climb, Spectral Hand, Arcane Lock, Bestow Weapon Proficiency, Misdirection
Vanish, True Strike, Hypnotism, Pro Law, Ray of Enfeeblement, Detect Secret Doors
With the frost of winter on his breath, Dante rides through the gates at Oleg's with his miserable companions rolled up in his winter blanket and looking somewhat like children, mounted behind the large warrior.
His armor coated in frost the cold doesn't seem to bother Dante at all, having spent entire winter campaigns in weather like this.
"Hey! I need some hot water and food over here!" He shouts as he rides in.
While intrigued by the offers available, Fhârn is uncertain if their budged allows them to acquire it.
Sanita and Fharn pass on the spell books, while they have a nice selection, none of the spells are on their list, or they already have them.
Gozzran 4
Sanita yawns as they get up early and head to the boat. At least it's a sprint ship, which means the trip down river to Silverhall will be quick. "Well, we might have better luck in Silverhall, it's not so concentrated on smithing. There were some nice things for sale in Grayhaven, we should remember that should the kingdom get rich enough to need some heavy hitters with enchanted weapons. Obviously that stuff won't be for sale, but other things similar should be." She comments to Fharn as the ship pushes her back against the blanket covered crate she is using as a backrest.
"Indeed. Right now their pricing is a bit out of our league ..." he replies and moves up to the prow. The childish joy of watching the ship racing over the waves had yet to lose its glamour.
Gozzran 4The ship in dock is once again the Tailspinner and Captain Regina Rikert welcomes you on board once again. "I trust everything went well?" she asks. The ship takes off, this time going downriver. The only difference is they don't use the sails this time around. You reach the the campsite where the Awzera River joins the Gray River, and even though you think they could make more distance that day, Regina pulls the ship over to the campsite you used on the way up. In response to any questions she acknowledges "We won't make Silverhall before dark and this ship is hard enough to pilot in the day." Fharn and Sanita have a few hours to explore the land around if they wish before the sun begins to set.
Fhârn nods in understanding. "Yeah, I'd prefer to arrive late and dry instead of early and drowned. Sanita - what do you say - shall we take a look around? There is still plenty of sun left today, and a quick look around sounds more fun then just sitting here waiting for nightfall." He fetches Hestor and leads the horse off the ship to a spot with green grass right next to the campsite. When they are off the ship, he leans in closer to Sanita and asks "Could we trust Regina and her crew enough to leave some of our things behind ? While exploring is fun and all that, I rather not haul around a mule loaded with gold or get robbed for my troubles..."
Sanita nods, and responds in a softer voice. "They will watch the mule. And the saddle bags can stay on the ship with the other cargo. Any loss of cargo is covered. Father and Grandmamma are paying them for our passage after all. I think the platinum however should stay with us, no need to tempt people, after all. They are only human." Sanita says with a wicked grin. "Let's not take the horses either. I'd hate to get a few hours away on horseback, and then somehow get stranded on foot. We can look for some herbs and plants for alchemy. If you know any healing, you'll recognize a lot of them."
Once they enter the forest, Sanita waits for Fharn to be distracted by something, then takes a quiet step away and blends into the trees from head to to.
"Right. Makes sense. I'll let you handle them then!" he replies. "I'm not a healer, but I know enough alchemy to separate the weeds from the useful plants." When they leave, he mutters a quick incantation to conjure a translucent field of force around himself in lieu of strapping on his armour. But one cannot be too careful ...
Whistling softly, Fhârn decides to make the most of their short trip and enjoy the tranquillity of the forest. When he turns to examine and pick one of springs earliest flowers, he notices that Sanita has disappeared. "Showoff ..." His eyes wander over the scene, trying to pick her out. But the trick she pulled in the stables was still decently fresh in his mind, so he didn't fancy his chances. Neither Munin perched on his shoulder can get a bead on her. *Sigh* Should I vanish and head back? That would certainly annoy her ...
A voice whisper's in Fharn's ear. "I'll stay within 30 feet of you, but this way, if there's anything hostile here, you can play gentleman in distress, and I can come in and shove steel in it's back if it bothers you." Sanita's voice is filled with mirth as Fharn hears the bushes move some to his right.
Spring is in the air, flowers are in bloom and the temperature is perfect to hike around a bit. You are on the east side of the river and the terrain is slightly rolling hills. During heavy rain, the area shows signs of obvious flooding. On the other side of the Gray River the terrain is definitely more mountainous and the river has cut a deep bluff. Because the area is near to a commonly used camp site for the river travellers, edible berries have been picked clean in the area but it looks like no one has seriously looked for herbs.
As the afternoon wears on, you decide to turn back having once again come close to the Gray river about a mile north of your campsite.
"Mast over the hillock, could be they're in trouble, or they could be planning on a little piracy, or they could be doing something illegal. We should check to see..." Sanita whispers to Fharn and Munin. "Come on Munin, let's go see what we see.."
"Right. Be careful - if you get in trouble and need a hand, make some noise and I'll be right behind you. Fhârn whispers back, both to Munin and Sanita. The raven himself nods and dismounts from his masters shoulder, ready to follow Sanita in her tracks.
Sanita and Munin make their way to the top of the hill. Beyond in a shallow cove they see a group of around 2 dozen men milling about. They have obviously just disembarked from two rowboats which as you watch are heading back to a black longship. The longship has the figurehead of black crow, one claw merging into the ship, the other claw exteded outwards ahead.
It's hard to make out count how many men remain on the ship but you would guess it at 20. It is armed with a light catapult.
Most of the men on the shore seem to be wearing leather armor, crossbows and shortswords but there are some exceptions. One man stands out from the rest. He is a big man carrying a Falchion with both hands. One carries a net in his left hand. One carries a strange looking sword.
The other has no armor at all, is heavily tanned and tattooed and carries a staff.
The big man with the Falchion seems to be in charge and is currently organizing them.
Of more interest, is a brightly colored bird that doesn't fit in.
It is currently flying above the ridgeline, almost directly above where you are hiding.
Sanita thinks that if she even breathes that bird is going to see her. Munin immediately recognizes what the parrot is doing, he has had to do it for Fharn many a times. It's flying a scouting pattern. And Munin thinks its about 6 seconds away from seeing his erstwhile master.
Munin regards the ship with interest. *Caw* River pirates, or other loose folk no doubt. Atleast they picked a glorious emblem. He can't make sense of the specifics, but ... That clownish bird was certainly up to no good. And he couldn't let it find his master.
Munin carefully jumped a bit away from Sanita in the underbush - to not let his stunt reveal her position. Then with startled cries, he took flight, heading in a direction taking him away from both the ship, Fhârn, Sanita and their steamboat. He could circle back later, after he dealt with the clown-bird. If the foolish fomp chooses to follow ... *Caw*! "*CawCawCawCaw CawCaw CaaawCawCaw Caw*"
Eh? Fhârn stood up from the log he had been sitting on with a start. His bond with Munin had abruptly shifted towards darker emotions. But not fear or anger, the things that would indicate a fight or trouble. It was worry - which in it self was worrisome. Then came the caws. In his head, he quickly translated the cipher - H, I, D & E ! Not to be the one to argue, he quickly dove into the underbush and, as silently as he could, whispered the incantation of disappearance.
Sanita grins at Munin. Good work boy, give the parrot something to look at, distract him from Fharn and me. Sanita scans the men, looking for anything memorable or identifying (insignia, tattoo's, etc).
Sanita then waits for the Parrot to be obviously distracted by Munin before moving.
Munin breaks from cover, directly in front of the parrot and the colorful bird immediately flies after the raven.
Fharn can see the parrot now, chasing his familiar and both he and Sanita are safe from being seen. The parrot only chases Munin for about 10 seconds until there is a sharp, warbling whistle from a man on the black longship who has extended his arm. The parrot immediately breaks of pursuit and starts to head toward the man who whistles.
If you stay hidden for a few minutes you see the rowboats get to the longship and are hauled up and attached to the sides. The longboat begins to make its way downstream towards the campsite, but it isn't traveling nearly as fast as it could. As the ship begins to make way the group of people on land begin to move quickly towards your position.
Knowing she only has a minute or so at most before the men reach the rise, Sanita backs out and stealths down toward where she left Fharn.
"Fharn?! Fharn!" Sanita hisses in a stage whisper. "Two dozen men from a longboat, the Raptor's Revenge. They're going to attack the camp. Go back and warn them. I'll hide up here and let them pass, and then hit them from behind when they're close to the camp. Tell the crew to be ready to attack them when I distract them. The longboat is coming on the river with a Druid or Ranger, someone with an animal companion Parrot."
Sanita then stops making noise and sinks into the bushes, waiting to hear Fharn respond. If he doesn't, she'll go warn the crew herself, using her fast stealth to get there faster.
Munin just narrowly fails to avoid the colourful clown-bird, but whatever it had in store fails to bring him down. Very well you buffoon! *Caw*! Annoyance and spite quickly became the dominant feelings projected trough the bond and Munin twisted in the air to retaliate to his attacker.
"All right!" comes the reply. River pirates! Should have guessed. It is a time honoured tradition after all ... Quickly he casts the Message cantrip on Sanita. "Munin should circle back here - and since we will be gone by then - return to base camp. Should you see him before that, please take care of him!" With those words, Fhârn takes off as fast as he can, relying in the Vanish spell to keep him hidden until he is out of sight.
The Parrot catches Munin before he quite gets away and their is a flurry of activity before the Parrot is called off. Munin is convinced that he got the better of it, although both birds missed with their beaks.
Before the men set off, Sanita hears the man with the staff say a few words in Draconic.
Sanita easily avoids being spotted as she goes to where she thinks Fharn is.
Fharn breaks away and heads back to camp.
Soon the men come over the hill. They are moving carefully and warily and she needs to make a Stealth (with a +5 circumstance since you have time to find a good place to hide) check to avoid their notice.
Sanita will wait until they are 60 ft past her, and then she will begin following them. She'll take her mutagen while following, since they move slower than her. About a minute before they get into position. When they are just out of charge distance from the camp, she'll sneak closer to the last man in the group and shove her rapier into his kidneys.
As the pirates move past Sanita, she gets the sense that all these men are alert for trouble. Nevertheless they pass by without noticing her and she is able to follow unobserved. They are moving cautiosly so it takes them 40 minutes to cover the distance. Sanita remembers a creek shortly before you get to camp which is a natural landmark. She figures that she can probably get the last straggler as they go up the creek bed and the others won't notice. To her surprise they use the creek bed to form up.
The man with the falchion speaks. "OK, you lot. This is the big time, now. Remember what we come for. The Captain don't want the Rickert lass harmed. So you Redbone, you and your lot." He motions towards the man with the net and 5 others standing nearby. "Make sure that you take her and any passengers that don't resist hostage. Anyone else we can kill. Remember, the Ship's the key. Either we take the ship or we buy the lieutenant time to examine her engines." The tatooed man interrupts at this point. "I'd do just as well at that job as that booby." he says, drawing chuckles all around. The man with the Falchion also chuckles but merely says. "Mr. Remish, show some respect for your betters." Then he pauses and says. "Do It!" The one they call Remish speaks Draconic and Sanita can tell he's casting a Shield spell on himself. While he does that the rest look ready to charge, although 5 of them are clustered around Remish. He continues to speak Draconic and a small flaming red dragon appears in his hands. He throws it upwards and it streaks over the treetops, exploding about 450' above your heads. As the fireworks go off all but the 5 surrounding Remish charge out of the creek towards the camp, yelling at the top of their lungs. Remish's group follows close behind. One of the hapless fellows following Remish is the last to leave the creekbed and Sanita darts forth and dispatches him with ease.
Fharn arrives at the camp. The haste he arrives in draws a few concerned stares. Captain Rickert's eyes take you in and notice that Sanita is not with you. Concerned, she asks. Fharn, where is Baron Kalnath's daughter?"
Sanita slips into the bushes and moves at her best non running speed toward the boats. As near as she can tell, the ship and crew should have had 30 minutes to prepare for the ambush, so they should give the pirate crew quite a surprise. She cuts through the woods, still blending in but moving with quiet alacrity.
She'll follow the charging men, trying to move up behind the net men to be able to hit them from behind when they run into the teeth of the counter ambush.
Fhârn merely holds up one finger to Ricket, signalling her to wait while he catches his breath. Dam! I'll need to get some more exercise... All this boating and accounting seems to have taken its toll already! He takes a quick look around to see if he can't spot Munin, but the raven doesn't seem to have arrived yet.
Finally, he speaks. "I wouldn't worry about her right now - you see, we had the 'luck' to spot some river pirates further up. Santia is tailing them - and I went ahead. I'd say - unless they spot her, they will be here in *hmh* ten to thirty minutes. Depending on the pace they keep. Oh, and they are about two dozen - the ship was called the Raptor's Revenge. Does that ring any bells?" He pauses to catch his breath once more, temporarily out again after his warning. "Your crew, can they handle weapons? If so, I suggest we start digging pitfalls, setting up tripwire and other pleasantries. Otherwise - I'll guess you just have to take your chances navigating in the dark ..."
He waits for the Captains reply, but as soon as they decide on a course of action he grabs a crewman at random. "You there! Help me get into my armour ..."
Sanita's attack goes unnoticed by the 4 pirates with Remish.
For a second, Sanita thinks the tatooed magic user is going to look back, but his intent seems to be ahead.
For a brief instant, Captain Rickert's face betays a great anger. "Pirates! The Raptor's Revenge, I know well. She's an armed merchant vessel, although I had heard she was recently sold. A sorry day that she's found her way into the hands of pirates. She sighs. If they have the Revenge, then if we fight them here on the ground they can take the Talespinner from the river. I'd say run, but I can't leave the Baron's daughter behind, and I'm loathe to let pirates dictate my actions. Fharn, I have 20 men. I need a minimum of 10 if I can have even a slim hope against the Revenge. And I'll need them now, to get the ship going." She starts barking orders and soon Fharn finds himself surrounded by 10 sailors. The Captain tells them. "Men, the pirates think we are surprised. But they haven't realized who they face. Fharn, here, has extensive experience in situations like this. So listen to what he says and you'll come through this alive and with such a story to tell your grandchildren." Fharn, she takes aside and gives two potions. "Fharn, these are potions of Touch of the Sea. They won't allow you breathe water, but you'll be able to quickly swim through it. Get Sanita and get her to the ship. I can't have her endangered. The men can fade into the woods once she's safe."
The Captain and 10 sailors board the ship. The Captain goes into the engine room while the sailors start to raise the sails. It takes 15 minutes to prepare the ship for sailing but soon the Tailspinner makes its way out into the river.
In the meantime, Fharn has donned his armor with the help of a sailor named Squib. The remainder start to lay traps and make cover to hide behind. The sailors are armed with heavy crossbows and daggers.
"We will head to the ships as soon as Sanita is safe." And the pirates slain... Fhârn replies as he surveys the scene. "His" men seemed to have crossbows - so range was their game. He didn't like the odds of unarmed sailors with daggers against pirates in close quarters. He would have to do something against that. Either we go for the ranged game, or ... we even the odds! "You there! Run to the ship before they cast off - there must be boarding pikes or something similar around - see if the Captain can't spare some!"
Speaking of the good captain... She was right, the pirates didn't realize he was there - they wouldn't expect someone clad in steel to be waiting for them. And he preferred if it stayed that way. Subtlety wasn't his strong suit, but as with many things, the arcane arts could provide an answer. "This might make you more comfortable with the arrangements of command ..." he mumbled and cast his spell - Disguise Self. In a silent spark of magic, Fhârn the Obvious Armoured Warrior was gone and Captain Rickert's deep voiced sister took his place. "All right men! Time to get to work!" Fhârn called out to the men in his normal voice, a horrible mismatch to his now seemingly female body.
"You four! I want a concealed ditch along these lines - a half a foot deep and wide is enough. But hide it well, I want the pirates falling on their faces as they charge!" He stroked his chin, slightly amused that he could still feel the stubble of his beard. "And you three, I want some other distractions set up. Tripwires, snares and other nasty stuff. You're sailors - you should know knots. Surprise me! And the last pair of you - you're going to rearrange the campsite. I want tents hammocks and clothlines set up so that there are no clear lines of charge! Every second those blasted scum spends navigating is another second we can spend turning his sorry ass into a pincushion!
Himself, Fhârn decided he better get a good overview of the battlefield. I would pay good money to have Dante here right now ... Another blade wouldn't hurt, and I suspect he could have done a better job rallying the 'troops'! He backtracked a few hundred feet and put up his Alarm spell, hoping to get an advance warning of the pirates approach. Only when he returned did he allow Squib to help him into his armour. "I've got another task for you Squib." he said to the man as they were almost finished. He reached into his backpack and retrieved his personal Potion of Cure Light Wounds as well as one of the potions the Captain gave him. "Take these - this one is a healing potion. If Sanita should go down - give it to her. She is a trained healer, and if we need anyone standing when this is over it is her - she will be able to patch us together! The other one is for swimming - give it to her too! Her skills might be needed on the ship too ..."
When the preparations are complete (he will work his men as hard as he can without tiring them - fatigued men could spell doom in the combat to come!) he sits down and gathers them again. "Okay - here is the plan. It is quite simple really. We will live and they will die. But alas, the devil is in the details ..." He pauses and laughs, trying to relive some of the tension. "Our preparations will ensure they can't easily rush us - allowing our crossbows an advantage . I've sett up so they will mainly be funnelled to one place, that I will attempt to hold - buying you a few more seconds of fire. Now, try to shoot anyone in robes first. And anyone that tries to flank or bypass me. And for the love of everything holy, don't shoot Sanita!" He pauses again, trying to gauge the morale of the 'troops'. "Now - I've also set up a ward that should alert us when they are close. I'll immediately attempt to confirm it with my magic - and then use this scroll" He waves the scroll around, making sure everyone sees it! "If you see me using it - be prepared! But I am not omniscient - so try and keep your eyes open! If anyone spots the pirates before I do, utter the phase - 'It's going to rain'. And don't speak about the freaking weather for the rest of the day - okay? Don't want any false alarms."
He inhales, refilling his exhausted supply of air. "Not - on to the seating arrangements. I'm going to sit here nonchalantly on my hammock. If we are lucky, they mistake me for the Captain long enough. You seven will join me, spread out and positioned so there isn't a non-trapped straight line between you and the forestline. The last tree will be acting outflank. I want you over there-" he points to a decent hiding-place that will allow them to quickly get into a flanking position, probably perpendicular to the path of the pirates. "- and you hide as well as you can. As soon as battle is joined, harry their flanks and move up and try and help Sanita. Your job is to make sure the pirates can't get creative with their positioning - and when we bloodied them sufficiently - that we can drive them into the sea!"
The sailors set to their tasks with a fervor, the confidence in Fharn's words building their own. Munin soon arrives with news that the pirates are advancing cautiously, Sanita is undiscovered by the pirates but he also has lost track of where she is. The enemy ship seems to be waiting just out of sight. The captain has plenty of boarding pikes and soon all of your sailors have one, including Fharn if he wishes. As the estimated time of arrival of the pirates arrives, Fharn surveys his command. He's convinced that they will be unable to charge, indeed he's put enough obstacles in their path that movement between the camp and woods (about a 60' expanse) will be reduced by 25%. Everyone of his men appears to be unawares but has a concealed boarding pike available with a move action to pick up, concealment available with a 5' step and a concealed loaded crossbow available with a move action to pick up. He's also arranged some surprises for the pirates.
Well, well this is starting to look good. And ordinary. Excellent! Fhârn thinks to himself as Munin makes his report. "Head to the Captain and keep her updated on the situation, Munin."
Sanita will wait until the men charge, and then will attack the next one in the back line. As she attacks him, she'll let out a duplicate of the whistle the parrot responds to. She's assuming the parrot is watching and will leave to tell the ship to come up river when the men attack, hopefully fooling it into coming to her will delay the ship and his master coming up the river.
Munin flies to the ship, which he finds to be in a state of organized chaos. Everyone is having to multitask. The wheels on the side aren't turning. the Talespinner seems to be relying on her sails and instead he finds that on both sides of the ship a panel behind the wheels has been slid aside. the ship seems to be trying to show its starboard side upriver towards the expected attacker.
Before Fharn's alarm goes off everyone sees from the treeline a small red dragon rocket quickly up into the air and detonate about 400' above the trees. The next round Fharn's alarm goes off and seconds later pirates start pouring from the trees. The pirates are all armed with leather armor and shortswords except for two exceptions. On the northern flank in a small knot of pirates is a man that had two nets, one in both hands. He and 4 of the pirates seem to be heading directly for Fharn, exclaiming "There she be, mates. Get her." Near the middle is a big man leading the charge towards your sailors. As they approach, 1 of the pirates next to the net guy triggers a trap and 1 of the pirates next to the big guy triggers one.
The one near the big guy fall over prone and lands flat on his nose and a rake that had been concealed.
As they've been trained your 7 sailors take shots into the northern half of the charging pirates. 5 of them hit. 3 of the crossbows fly into the northern group, taking down one pirate and wounding another and the guy with the nets. The other two hit and wound pirates near the center. The three sailors you have secreted in the bushes wait patiently.
Sanita takes out the pirate she has been stalking and lets out the shrill warbling whistle. Several of the pirates stop and look around expecting that somehow their captain has unexpectedly joined them. "Look out there's one of them in the woods behind us!" One of them cries. Near the end of the round another group of pirates appear near the treeline. One of them is a tatooed red skinned man wearing very little armor. He gestures and a small red dragon appears in his hands and shoots towards one of your sailors and explodes.
The sailor ducks out of the way and emerges slightly singed.
About this time Munin sees the Raptor's Revenge come sailing out into view, but instead of facing an opponent docked and defenseless they find the Talespinner ready for them. Both Captains simultaneously cry "FIRE!" A heavy balista bolt comes from the Talespinner, being shot through the opening beneath the wheel.
Both siege weapons hit.
One of the sailors on the Talespinner is near where the plunging shot hit but he ducks down avoiding the majority of the spray of splinters that come from the damage. One of your sailors in the crow's nest shoots his crossbow at the enemy ship's commander.
Several crossbow bolts are fired from the pirate ship and some of the sailors start to take drop.
Munin sees Captain Rikert pull a compass out and as she concentrates on it a wave of positive energy bursts from her.
Munin notices that not only the crew are being healed by this positive energy burst, but the Talespinner is as well.
Enraged the Captain of the opposing ship flicks his hand and the parrot on his soldier flies towards your ship. About now there is a warbling cry from the shoreline
the bird looks confused for a second but continues to head staight towards your ship.
Ship Fight Status after first round
Talespinner 591 / 600
Talespinner Crew 112 / 130 (1 crewman dead, the man in the crow's nest)
Revenge 592 / 600
Revenge Crew 180 / 180
Distance between ships 180'. Parrot is now 60' from your ship.
Munin narrowly avoids the shower of splinters spraying all across him, more due to a small frame and luck then any particular skill. While the view from the crow's nest was nice - and he didn't even have to fly on his own! - he was starting to question his choice of vantage point another burst of arrows passed by him. Luckily, they weren't trained on him and once more he avoided a pincushion-related fate.
When his keen eyes spotted the rivalling bird crossing the distance he immediately knew what to do. I'll plunge him into the river - the fish can feast on him! With a mighty* "*CAAAAW*!" he swooped down from the crow's nest at the parrot!
*actual impressiveness may wary.
At least they are not going for subtlety - or bringing bows. That is nice. Looks like we will have the first strike on the melee front as well. Fhârn remarks to himself as the pirates start to pour out from the woodline, armed with short blades. And I wish I had an greater aptitude for Evocation about now. *Sigh* Quietly, he stood up and grabbed his large 'quarterstaff', not wanting to ruin the disguise so early by speaking. They will notice soon enough. I'll just hope the men recall what I said about unarmoured men on the battlefield. He affords the red-skinned newcomer a quick glance before turning his attention back to the netters. He couldn't really afford to get caught up. It would no doubt be painful - and he could hardly help out if he was snagged in their webs. No, they have to go. Snapping his finger, he pointed towards them - once more hoping the sailors could take the cue.
Behind his back, the naval part of the battle seems to have started with a bang. But that was hardly his concern for now. First the land, then the sea. One thing at a time! Ready to do his part, Fhârn stepped forth and waited for the enemy to get in range. Their side seemed to hold all the ranged weaponry, except one hopefully soon-to-be-dead mage, so he expected his foe to close. And some might even make it! He stepped forth a few feet and readied his weapon.
The initial strike was not one of his best, Fhârn had to admit - but it would have to serve. The 'quarterstaff' nevertheless struck a glancing blow, and fuelled by controlled fury and arcane energy - it left a bloody impression nevertheless. Alas, it was but an foreboding of what to come!
The second slice shattered any illusion of the weapons nature. The huge gap it left in its target left little doubt that it was actually quite a bit sharper then a quarterstaff. So did the spray of bits and pieces jettisoned from the poor pirates ribcage. Better. Better indeed! Maybe one of them will slip on it ...
Sanita grins fiercely as she pulls an alchemist's fire from her hip, and throws it at the man with the nets.
"Woohoo! Time to have a barbeque! Someone spit that colored chicken over there! I bet it'll taste good with barbeque sauce!" She screams in a voice like a little girl at a party, her face brightly lit with glee at the chaos she's causing in the enemy line. "Fharn, wherever you are, a hundred gold says I get more of these idiots than you do." Her slit pupil'd eyes are a golden yellow, and her skin (blending in with the light cover she's in) has a scaled pattern to it.
Sanita throws a bomb at the pirate netter, hitting him dead on. All of the pirates surrounding him get splashed by the fire, the one that had been previously hit by a crossbow actually goes down. The big pirate with the falchion yells. "Remish! Get the alchemist. The one with the nets stumbles out of the fire, dropping one of his nets and drawing and drinking a potion.
One pirate stumbles on a trap and falls on his face. The others continue to charge forward. The Sailors let Fharn bait them in and then with a 'Huzzah' they pick up their boarding pikes and charge, few of the pirates in the northern half escape taking damage, and one pirate actually goes down under the onslaught. Fharn kills the hapless pirate that was running up to him.
Remish's group of pirates split into a respectfull distance from each other as they full move towards Sanita. Remish himself moves forward and casts a spell, speaking the verbal components in Draconic. Another red dragon streaks from his hands this time at Sanita. It detonates in her hex.
For the ship battle this proves to be uneventful in terms of ranged fire as everyone is reloading their crossbows/ siege engines. However the Revenge tries to reduce its distance to the Talespinner as Captain Rickert tries to keep her distance. She is hampered by her intent to stay within 60' of the dock.
In her haste to try and outmaneuver the enemy ship she gets a little to close to shore and the Talespinner momentarily stops. The Revenge drives down upon it at ramming speed, aiming for the back half. It doesn't arrive yet but it looks like its going to get a clean shot.
Captain Rickert is able to cast a Bless in addition to piloting the ship as she curses under her breath.
Munin flies straight at the parrot, but it swerves at the last instant. It changes its target from Captain Rickert to Munin as it begins to fly after the Raven.
Blessing his good luck and their high spirit, Fhârn steps forward to deal with what appears to be one of the pirates commanders. Cut of the head and all that ... He glanced around him, contemplating Sanita's offer. Well - he wasn't a gambling man. But ah, what the hell... Considering the pirates seemed decently supplied he wagered he could plunder them to make up for his bet should he lose. If I sink their ship - many points will that be worth ? "Al-right then! It's on!" Fhârn cried out, betraying the disguise with his hilariously mismatched voice.
He swings his poleaxe at the netter , crying out a taunt as the heavy blade cleaves the air and hopefully continues on to do the same to the pirate. "I¨m sorry, the only thing you will be getting is a bone-tight shave!"
Munin sweeps close past the parrot and nabs one of its colourful tail feathers in the flyby. With feather in beak and laughter in his heart, Munin loops around and cries out his amusement. "Clown-bird can't catch me! Nannananannanana! cHawcHawcHaw!"