Grunval attacks the one destroying the boat.
I may not be a normal dwarf obsessed with rocks, but I'm not great at treading water either...
Everybody aboard stabs at the tentacle that poked through the dinghy. The base of the tentacle darts back underneath the boat, it’s tip severed. The remaining flesh flops around like a fish out of water. Speaking of water, the hole that the Grindylow left is letting in large amounts of water.
Anatha misses with her spear, Hanzir with his pick. Grunval is able to knock out another Grindylow.
Kaylee moves with her bow to attack.
Above the din of the battle, you hear the cracking of wood from the other raft.
A Grindylow strikes Kaylee with its spear.
Another attacks Anatha:
Alvin tosses a vial to Hanzir and tells him to feed it to Gnixgnox. As he does, another Grindylow swings at him and cuts his arm.
"We need to get out of this boat before it sinks! Also the people on the Diademe are still fighting. They need our help. Finish these last two off quickly and then lets pull ourselves up to the ship!"
Anatha one again raises his newly captured spear in hopes of running the Grinylow infront of Alvin through. Die fiend!
Hanzir takes the potion and pours it down Gnixgnox's throat
Hanzir then drops his pick and grabs Anatha and switches places at him so he can get closer to (live) grindylows:
"Look after Gnixgnox!"
Finally Hanzir draws his greatsword:
"Which one of you pieces of fish shit are next?"
Hanzir takes the potion and pours it down Gnixgnox's throat
Gnixgnox's head jerks around wildly as he takes in the situation. He grabs his lance and stands up.
Grunval focuses on the grindylow threat.
I think I will take swimming lessons after this
Gnixgnox, you are at full.
Grunval misses with his arblast and Anatha with her bow.
The Grindylow surrounding your raft disappear into the water as the raft beside yours begins to sink deeper and deeper into the water. As the water flows up to your ankles, and the rope dangles across the Diademe, the screams from the other raft fill the sky.
You can try to climb the rope.
You can try to jump into the water and ave the other raft.
Or you can do something entirely different.
Anatha grabs the bucket at the bottom of the boat and begins to bail water out over the side.
"I can't swim...at least not right now...Can we get closer to the ship? If we make it along side getting on board should be easier I think right?"
Grunval attempts to staunch the water's flow into the boat while Anatha bails water out of the boat.
"One bucket is not enough, damn it!"
"Get on board the ship and guard the rope!"
Gnixgnox switches places with Kaylee and stabs at the grindylow at the prow of the other dinghy.
Hanzir, reacting to the danger facing the second boat runs across
and swims over to the other boat. Avoiding where he sees Grindylow.
The sounds of battle continue aboard the Diademe. Screams from humans and Grindylow alike echo across the brightening dawn.
Hanzir, as you land on the other dingy, you realize it is very close to sinking beneath the waves. Two men are down on the deck of the boat below you, the others, struggle to attack the surrounding Grindylow and kill one, but another man is struck down.
Kaylee and Alvin begin to bail out your dingy and Alvin yells to Grunval and Anatha,
"We w w will keep b b bailing...
It seems that their bailing efforts are matching the incoming water flow.
Hanzir will tell the survivors on his boat:
"Start bailing! Leave these gindylow shits to me!"
He will then swing his great sword down on the grindylow at the front of the boat:
Gnixgnox jabs spear at the same grindylow that Hanzir is attacking...
..and screams in frustration.
He hurls his lance as hard as he can onto the Diadem.
"Help Hanzir out with ranged attacks, and then start following me up the rope! I'll secure the top so the rest of you can climb up!"
Gnixgnox then prepares to climb the rope.
You hear a high pitched scream that you recognize as that of a Grindylow as soon as your lance disappears from sight atop the ship.
That is not going to go well. Grunval, when he is ready for us you should go first...that way when I fall I won't take you with me.
Anatha hurls his spear at the nearest Grindylow harrassing the boat. Seems like there will be plenty more where that came from.
After watching the spear fly wide and sink into the ocean below Anatha will grumble and work on getting out his bow to continue providing cover fire.
Damn water, Damn Grindylows. I guess I need to give climbing a try.
Grunval grabs the rope and tries pulling himself up.
Hanzir successfully strikes down another Grindylow that was trying to drag the dead sailors into the water. The other three Grindylow drag the body of a sailor into the water and disappear. The water has continued to fill the raft. (2 rounds remaining). The last remaining sailor of that ship, Alayne, is ashen faced as she begins to say:
We should abandon this raft and get up to the Diademe.
Anatha misses with her spear and Grunval tries to pull himself onto the rope but trips as he does and wastes his action.
Seeing that there is nothing else for him to do here really he will start working on getting up the rope.
After his last pathetic attempt to climb Grunval tries again.
this is embarrassing
Hanzir quickly grabs his pick and climbs up the rope
Laughing at the unpredictability of life, and how Gnixgnox told everyone that HE was going to secure the top, and that they should give Hanzir some ranged support (and an extra chuckle that he doesn't have any ranged weapons), the gnome draws his axe and swings it at any grindylow he sees.
As Gnixgnoz and Hanzir make there way up the ropes to the top of the ship, you see the crew of the ship on deck gasping for breath as the last Grindylow jump overboard. Many dead crewmen and Grindylow lie strewn about the deck, bodies mangled and blue-green and red blood mixing together in pools across the deck.
The rest of the rescue team members are able to make there way aboard the ship after some struggling with climbing. After reaching the top, Alayne shouts to everyone,
"Grab the boats and pull em' up before they sink."
After some stuggling with the water filled boats, they land atop the Diademe.
From below the deck a shout echo's across the ship:
"Is the battle over, did we defeat those slimy squid raiders?"
"Yes"
Who is that? Hanzir wonders.
Anatha clutches to the bench seating as the soggy boat lifts out of the water alongside the Diademe. The craft sways lazily in the breeze, making his perch above the water feel extremely precarious.
From his perch he looks out over the side of his boat to survey the water below and ensure the Grindylows are not regrouping for another push.
Those sea creatures nearly sank our little boat. What a way to begin a journey eh?
Grunval finds his footing on the ship and stares at the ever uncertain sea.
A few men and women come up from below decks and see the carnage aboard the ship. A woman feints at the sight of all the blood. Another runs up to a man who had previously been fighting and hugs him. About fifteen men who fought stay standing aboard the ship. Alvin quickly rushes to the aid of a man who is bleeding severely from his thigh.
One man walks to Alayne and says with heavy breath:
"Thank you for taking on so many of the Grindylow, it gave us time to make a push to recapture the deck. Without you, we would certainly have perished."
Alayne looks down,
"We lost too many..."
The man turns to you guys,
"Thank you so much, any of you need medical attention?"
Alayne mutters to herself under her breath.
Gnixgnox retrieves his lance and then goes over to comfortingly pat Alayne's hand.
"They died well. Keep in mind that aside from saving the sailors on the Diademe, the supplies aboard this ship are going to aid the entire community at the fort in Altheria.
"Are you injured?"
"I hate those things!"
Hanzir then sits down and starts cleaning his equipment as best he can.
"I'm hungry." he thinks.
"I am okay, but I did lose a spear in the fight. Is everyone okay with me looking over the dead grindys to see if they have anything of value?"
Not seeing anything threatening in the water, Anatha will turn from the railing and begin searching the bodies of the dead grindylows. He stows the first spear he comes across for himself, but the others he begins stacking in a neat pile.
Alayne looks toward you, leaning down to do so, and then looks away without saying a word.
Anatha gathers about ten spears into a pile aboard the deck.
The man talking earlier addresses all of your rescue party.
"You folk should probably get back to the Diademe and report the situation."
Using some of the rafts from the Diademe you are able to sail back to the Maribosa without any event. When you come closer the the Maribosa, you hear yelling from aboard the ship. As you climb up the ladder you see Jaspar red faced and sweating like crazy shouting at the Captain.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN "THEY JUST TOOK THE RAFTS AND WENT!!!"
I wonder if the brig is nice this time of year
As Hanzir gets back aboard the Maribosa from the ladder, he just says to Jaspar:
"You can stop worrying about us, Boss."
"We're back, a little worse for wear."
"We lost some of our crew to Grindylow."
"But more of them than us died, I can tell you!"
"And anyway, we saved the Diademe and most of her crew."
"And all her cargo."
Then he heads below decks, and as he does, he says to Jaspar:
"It was a bit tiring for us to rescue your ship."
"You can thank us later."
"Myself, I a little lie down."
"The rest of us probably need a kip too!"
Then Hanzir goes to have a nap in his cot as if he had just been doing some manual chores.