"Moving against Plugg and Scourge may be difficult, however, if some of their supporters were to 'mysteriously vanish' during a rough storm. Who would be to say that Besmara just weren't reclaiming what already rightfully belong to her? The ship will be hectic tomorrow, I say we make sure we have at least one friendly near us at all times, if he have to tell some of the crew that is more friendly to our cause, then do so, just be careful whom your tellin' and only tell those you think will be able to keep their lips shut."
As recognized by both Holgur and Kelly, the next day begins with the weather having already begun to cause some difficulty. The two men weren't the only ones to recognize the oncoming storm, as the morning bell is rung early and everyone is given a rigging job to help fight the weather.
So, Plugg and Scourge are not completely worthless as sailors Holgur thinks as he climbs up the riggings.
Profession (Sailor)
Con Check
But the chaos on the deck as the entire crew tries to work the riggings makes him reconsider. They seem to get in the way of the actual riggers more than anything else. Holgur and the others spend much of their times bellowing instructions over and over again to the hands below. Simple things! They can't even get the simple things right.
The less than skilled assistance effectively impedes those up above and, if anything, makes them work all the harder to prepare for nature's wrath. The tasks are made no easier by the fact that Holgur must be wary with so many of the hostile riggers nearby and with all the commotion. If they were going to make a move on him, this would be the time.
Dex:
Ciera nervously looks at the approaching clouds and joins in with the rest of the crew to batten down the hatches and get everything ship-shape. As she works she keeps a careful eye on the hostile crew, however, in the bustle it seems that the rivalries have been temporarily put aside as they all work to prepare for the coming storm.
The abnormal motion brought on by the storms waves wakes Kelly shortly before the alarm is sounded. As the crew scrambles to the deck, Kelly makes sure to strap his weapon on, and he keeps his eyes open, both to detect any hostile intent, and to find a group of ‘friendlies’ to stay near as the morning’s work begins.
The work is actually a welcome relief from the dank stink and heat of the bilges. While he works, Kelly takes advantage of a few lulls to look around and see if there are any 'hostiles' who are isolated, friendlies who are alone, or any other who might be trying to sneak off during this time of choas.
Even though Kelly finds an opportunity to slip away from the rigging to have a look about, hardly anyone else does. The rest of the crew seem to be focused on making sure the rigging and sails are under control. The storm continues through the night, and so does the work. After having spent an exhausting full day working the lines, you will all need to keep it up.
The effect of the wind is magnified on those up in the riggings. For as much as he hates this kind of work and these conditions, Holgur is glad that he is up in the upper masts. Were this work left to one of the green crew members it could well bring on disaster. Just a few mistakes might bring down the sails, or worse, the riggings themselves.
Where every sailor fears going down with the ship, it is a worse fate to be adrift on a crippled vessel that cannot raise its sails. But Holgur takes heart in the fact that they are close to land and he knows from experience that he can survive a few days in a life-boat. The challenge is to make sure he gets into a life boat. The second challenge is to see that the others in the lifeboat are not enemies.
With all that on his mind he pours himself into his efforts. The hours drag on and when his tasks are finished Holgur realizes that he has exerted himself too greatly. Even the descent down the ropes taxes his limbs. This is no state to be in when there are enemies watching.
Profession (Sailor) working diligently if possible
Con check
Ciera laughs as the storm's winds lash about her, moving easily over the narrow spars and swinging easily between ropes. Her mood buoyed by being given a respite from the tedium of knot and rope work, she works hard as the rain lashes the ship.
Rope Master:(A rogue with this ability can move at her normal speed when using rope on a Climb check, can take 10 when using Acrobatics to move over narrow surfaces even when in danger or distracted, and gains a +4 bonus when determining the DC to escape bonds when she ties up a creature.)
As soon as his side of the rigs calmed enough to tie down for a minute, the wind would shift to the other side, causing the whole process to begin again. This back and forth meant that even though he may have had a chance, there was no opportunity present during this squall.
Turning his attention back to the ropes Kelly again starts to work the ropes to keep the ship from turning its side to the wash.
The work is exhausting, Kelly was able to keep ahead of the work enough to sneak away a few times, but paid the price for it later as he had to work four times harder to catch up every time he would sneak away. As the day draws on he gets more and more tired as his muscles ache and his hands are torn raw from working the wet rope.
Belor stumbles on his way up the stairs to the deck above. Realizing that he is quite useless working on the rigging he will try to cast a spell to make the task easier for the others. Belor raises his hands into a fury of arcane gestures.
The spell seems to have no affect on the brutal winds of the storm.
Frusterated by the lack of his spells effetiveness Belor exherts all of his strength and trys to tackle the riggings again at night. But doesn't do a much better job this time around. This line of work just isn't for the like of Belor.
As the storm rails on, the night grows only longer. Dusk blending with the heavy clouds to produce an inky blackness to the violent winds and rain that pummel the ship. Flickering and swaying lanterns can only weakly keep the darkness at bay for the small patches of deck where they hang. Periodically, large flashes of lightning cause spots before your eyes, and as you blink them away the crashes of thunder could almost cause one to think that when their vision clears the ship will have been torn asunder. As the four of you work together to grab some looses lines that have made the deck even more treacherous, a flash of lightning hints at something near the sides of the ship.
Working throughout the storm proves to be exhausting. As the night wears on, Kelly can only hope that the gale begins to abate soon. As his eyes grow blurry with both the weather, and fatigue...
...Kelly can't quite stifle a yawn. Kelly keeps working, his first indications that something is up is the shouts of others. As he becomes aware of danger he snaps to react, his reaction dulled by the haze and his exhaustion.
Perception:
Exhausted from working through the storm Ciera can't stifle the yawn that seems to encompass her whole body.
Perception
Initiative
The spots clear from Holgur's vision at a fortuitous moment and his jaw drops. He absently releases his grip on the rope and straightens his posture then bellows "There, on the side! Squid! Tentacle! Grab your weapons!"
The pirate quickly looses his flail from his belt and steps away from the others. "Spread out! Don't bunch together!" He hopes that his words carry over to the entire crew over the sound of the wind, but he doubts it.
"Boarders on starboard side! Enemies on starboard side!" Holgur puts every ounce of his breath into trying to alert the crew to the threat that has just appeared.
Surprise Round: (Only Holgur and enemies go, and remember you can only take one action in a surprise round).
Holgur -
Starboard enemies -
Port enemies -
Belor -
Kelly -
Cieran -
With his flail loosened, Holgur steps forward in a low crouch and whirls the chain for momentum. Then with a quick shuffle-step he advances toward the sea-creature until only a few feet separate them. He feints a movement to his own left, hoping the monster will move opposite and into the path of his weapon, then throws out the chain. But the enemy clearly reads his intent and easily dodges the attack.
Attack
With a large head and numerous teeth, these unsightly creatures resemble goblins from the waist up and a greasy octopus below. The one Holgur advanced on swings its spear in retaliation, while it calls to one of the others that climbed over to help. The last one on the starboard side steps up to Belor, and attempts to run him through. It catches the man unawares, and jabs him hard.
The three climbing over the port side all move to face off against Kelly and Cieran. The first one misses Kelly by a wide margin, while laughing at its ally, though, the second one has better luck. The spear digging into the man's forearm. The last one left takes a swipe at young Cieran, but just nicks the young man's armor.
Round 1:
Cieran -
Holgur -
Starboard enemies
G1 - Attacked Holgur
G2 - Moved to Holgur
G3 - Hit Belor
Port enemies
G4 - Missed Kelly
G5 - Hit Kelly
G6 - Missed Cieran
Belor -
Kelly -
Ciera flicks her wrists, releasing the daggers from their sheathes. Stepping forward she stabs at the creature, pulling her blow at the last moment.
Feint:
Holgur throws caution to the wind, especially since it seems there's so much of it available. Considering he's already at a disadvantage without his armor, he grips the flail with both hands and swings his weapon from left to right, hoping to hit the first one and carry the strike through to the second. He smacks the first one a crunching blow to the shoulder, but wasn't expecting it to react as bad as it did, as his swing misses the second one.
The first one struck by Holgur, looks very shaky and weak on its... tenatacles, and decides that maybe it didn't want to keep on fighting. It squirms back off the side of the ship back into the waters. The other one beside Holgur tries to stab him with its spear, and follow up with a bite. With the departure of its ally, the thing is reluctant to even approach Holgur. Despite its concern, the constantly writhing tentacles of the lower half cling and grasp weakly at the big man's legs.
The little one attacking Belor, also strikes out with all of its many attacks. It stabs and nips at him, but they seem to be wildly ineffective combatants, the always writhing underfoot tentacles do manage to get in Belor's way. This causes him to tumble to the deck.
The two on Kelly now adopt a rivalry in their attacks. The one that missed last time leads with his spear, weakly poking the carpenter. In his exultation, he is too busy talking back to his tribemate to get a good bite, but his tentacles trip up Kelly, knocking him over. As he falls to the deck the other one leps at him, spear and teeth bared eager to show up the other one once again.
The last one, despite the crude attempt at being thrown off by Cieran's feint, is actually duped by the very simple change of direction. It doesn't know quite how to react, going after the young man as best it can. It just jumps at him spear point and teeth flashing.
Round 1:
Belor -
Kelly -
Cieran - Feints G6
Holgur - Hits G1
Starboard enemies
G2 - Misses Holgur
G3 - Trips Belor
Port enemies
G4 - Hit/Trips Kelly (2 dmg)
G5 - Hit/Bit Kelly (2 dmg/2 dmg)
G6 - Hit/Bit Cieran (3 dmg/3 dmg)
Ciera, surprised at the creature being taken in by her ill-timed feint, nevertheless spins and strikes at the creature with her two blades.
Attack:
Attack:
Dam:
Kelly's senses finally kick in as his fatigue addled mind allows him to process what is happening around him. This is a mixed blessing as the pain of his wounds also comes into focus. Looking for succor for his wounds, he pulls out a phial and downs its contents.
Fresh new pink flesh weaves itself across his wounds, stopping his bleeding, however the magic isn't sufficient enough to heal over the top of the wounds leaving the new flesh exposed and tender. Kelly coddles this supple new flesh as he rolls up to his feet. Through the confusion, rain, wind, writhing tentacles, and pain, Kelly is surprisingly lithe as he gains purchase on the deck.
Belor hits the deck hard but comes to his senses quickly. He attempts to stand up knowing that he is quite useless on the ground.
Afterwards Belor moves slightly back so he can cast his magic. He looks toward the squid thing and lets out a terrible scream audible to only the creature.
As Belor decides to risk standing up next to the little creature, it strikes, but it is a weak hit, just a grazing cut along the stormborn's arm. It doesn't stop him from stepping back and letting out a painful screech that dig into the things brain, causing it to try and regain its center.
Kelly quickly quaffs a potion, drawing a jab of the spear that almost undoes what he just healed. It was enough of a distraction though, to allow him to stand up as they recovered from the strikes.
Round 2
Ciera swings with her knives, way off with the first, but easily compensating for the second. The blade drives into the thing's greasy little throat, splitting it wide, and dropping it to the deck.
Holgur swings at the last one beside him, hoping to drop him as fast as the last one, but he only manages a strong glancing blow. Effective against the weak creatures, but still just not quite enough.
In return the slimy thing wraps some of it's every squirming tentacles around his feet and pull him down as it shifts closer to the rail, before it sets on him with spear and tooth. Even with the advantage, it finds Holgur to be a difficult target.
The same thing happens to Kelly, seeing its teammate pull the man down before attacking, it does the same. Though it actually has less effect than the other against its target. It decides to also make its way toward the side of the ship.
The last one, switching over to attack Cieran, has no luck in trying to trip the young man, and just as poor luck in connecting with a single attack.
Round 2:
Belor - Stood up, stepped back, cast
Kelly - Drank an IInfusion, Stood up, stepped aside
Cieran - Killed G6
Holgur - Hits G2
Starboard enemies
G2 - 4 damage Trips Holgur
G3 - 4 damage Dazed
Port enemies
G4 - Trips Kelly
G5 - Misses Cieran
Belor raises up his hands and attempts to cast a spell toward the dazed squid. But the spell dissipates almost as soon as it starts to conjure.
Surprised by the lack of effiency of his spells Belor will move a little bit farther from the squid as it has already done a number to him.
Ciera smiles as the slimy thing drops to the ground, its tentacles still moving strangely in its death throws. She sways easily out if the way of the next creature's grab and slashes forward with her two blades.
Attack:
Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
...
Kelly scuttles backward, getting some space from him and the creature that keep sending him to the deck. As he does, he frees his pike from its place.
Kelly then quickly quaffs a phial with a cloudy grayish liquid, moments later a translucent disc of energies coalesces near him, aligning itself toward the nearest threat.
"What the [expletive] are these things?" Even after having been struck by one of them, Holgur is not certain that the creatures are not some manifestation of his fatigued mind. He decides to deal with them in his own subtle way by smashing the nearest one's head with his flail. But again, the rolling deck foils his attack and the monster does not even need to move to avoid it.
Attack vs C10
Belor tries to conjure up some magic, but it fizzles weakly, the small spark of electricity unable to even near its target
As Kelly tries to move away from the squid-goblin, it manages to cut a gash in his calf as he moves backwards. It was a small cut, but they have all been adding up.
Cieran swings with both knives flashing, but it just avoids one as its rubbery skin is thick enough to ward off a cut from the other
Holgur swings wildly from his place on the deck, not even risking getting up and giving it another swing at him. The effort of swinging while on his back almost negates his efforts.
In return the little creature attempts to spear and bite him again, and with its usual lack of success it decides it is better off leaving. It slips over the slide after its attacks and into the roiling waters below.
The one that Belor had dazed before decides to follow suit and takes its chance while the enemies are not nearby.
The annoying thing won't just let Kelly get away like that. It moves forward and toward the rail, just missing with its spear but chomping solidly onto the man's arm. The number of injuries he's taken really beginning to wear him down.
The last one tries to also tender an offensive retreat, first grasping at Cieran's legs but failing. It spears the young man hard, then offers a half-hearted bite as it steps toward the railing.
Round 3:
Belor - Cast Jolt, moved away
Kelly - Prone, Crawled away, drank shield extract
Cieran - Missed both attacks
Holgur - Prone, Missed
G4 - Bit Kelly
G5 - Hit Cieran
Belor will quickly regain focus and turn towards the remaining squids.
As Belor moves he conjures up some electricty and launches it towards one of the remaining squids.
Ciera slips back avoiding the lash of the strange creature's tentacle as it attempts to trip her. However, her movement brings her into the path of its flashing spear and, as it pierces her side she stares down at the wound before collapsing to the deck.
Kelly closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath, concentrating on his wounds for a moment, as he does the wounds begin to knit, staunching the blood loss for the moment.
He then takes a chance again and tries to scramble to his feet.
Once on his feet Kelly maneuvers back, getting a bit of distance before the creature gets a chance to follow. In that brief moment he snatches a vial from his belt, breaks the seal to allow the two chemicals to mix, and flings it right at the creature that has been attacking him.
In his haste the throw goes long, however it lands right between the two creatures, and the heat from the blast scorches both of them.
Holgur clambers to his feet as quickly as possible and takes in the scene. He does not see Ciera and is concerned that the creatures might have killed him. Kelly look to be in bad shape as well. Belor does not seem to be threatened directly by these things.
Once he is standing, Holgur bolts to the port side of the ship to back up Kelly as best he can.
Emboldened by the diminishing numbers, Belor pushes forward a little and fires at the one that just dropped the lad. His little blast of lightning just misses the thing.
Despite being a flurry of spear, bite and tentacle, these things aren't good at any of them it would seem. He is able to stand again, as the critter jabs its spear into the deck beside him. Backing up he hurls his vial, and it explodes in the space between them. They both turn away from his thrown object as it explodes, managing to avoid the brunt of it.
As they realize they are the only two left, and having been singed and are now outnumbered, they both hop over the rail into the churning waters below. They quickly disappear below the surface.
When Holgur rounds to the other side of the ship he sees Ciera, motionless on the deck and yells to Kelly to alert him. "Oi! The ladd it down! Can you patch him up?" Of course he notes that that Kelly is on unsteady legs himself.
The other thing he notes is that, but for Belor, none of the other crew put in a hand against these things. He motions for Belor to approach and then gets close to Kelly. "Ye all will see that the others left us to fight on our own. I wonder if that was on order of Plugg and Scourge. Yer help is appreciated, Belor. Just know that you might have made enemies with the others by helping us."
Kelly clutches at some of the worse wounds he sustained, it seems that his alchemist abilities have stopped most of the bleeding, and the remainder were already clotting. He rushes over to where the lad had fallen and snatches the last of his phials containing a reddish liquid and begins administering it to an unconscious Cieran.
Just then it strikes Holgur that no other crew were involved in the fight. In fact, none of them seemed to even notice the carnage. The only evidence that it occurred at all are the wounds, rent clothing and bloody weapons in its wake.
Ciera woozily climbs to her feet rubbing the wound that Kelly's ministrations have healed. "Thanks fer that Kelly. What were those things?"
"One of the most troublesome pests I've seen on these seas is what they were."
The storm continues, even though the fight no longer does. You can hear shouts every once in a while above the raging weather, but none of them are understandable. Most likely the hollering of orders across the deck. The weather appears to be backing off a little, and should pass by morning, but that doesn't allow anyone time to slack now. After a few more hours of work in the storm, there is a hard jolt, and the whole ship shudders. The sound of protesting wood can be heard from the starboard side, and the ship lists heavily that direction. It doesn't return though, it holds at about a thirty degree angle on the starboard side. The winds push it further that direction, but it won't go, the only movement comes from the jostling caused by waves slamming against the sides of the ship.
Kelly as the ship hits something, or something hits the ship, Kelly holds on to the nearest line to keep from tumbling over, he borrows some choice explitives from Rosie's vocabulary as he head starbord aft to try and gain a view of what is causing the ship to list to such an extend. He carefully moves to the raling, half sliding and half falling across the wet deck.