actions?
"Let's get to the ship first... if it is taken then the folk here will be trapped!"
At the moment, the raiders don't have the strength to rush the ship, but the ship cannot break free. You can approach from the river side and board the ship from there. After asking permission, of course.
"When we get there I can stand at the base of the gangplank as a deterrent and deal with any that approach."
While saying this Sho readies a potion vial.
"When the pirates ready to charge me I shall drink this protection potion, I should be fine after that.
[ooc]The potion is a shield of faith potion +2.]/ooc]
Oh dear, A fighter, a merrow... aquatic ogre.. and quite a few troops at the ship.
Made too anxious by the sight of the overwhelming numbers to take in any useful details, Criek has to wait for his companions to fill him in.
"Acquatic...ogre? So...it can swim...out to us? Oh dear."
Trying to focus on solutions -- "The hawsers -- can we reach them to get the boat free? Or would that just leave the pirates to focus on the tower?"
"Let's board the ship river-side... Make sure the folks on there know we mean no harm... From there we can work out how to get the boat free", all the time, Sharae is looking for things that are holding the boat ashore...
You manuever the craft to approach on the side opposite the dock. It is now fully dark.
A voice yells Strange craft off the port bow
You see a figure leveling a crossbow at you
"Oh great...
How should we reply..."
Oh dear. Hello! Anody calls out. We are... my word what are we... Adventurers! Yes we are adventurers out of Torch and we saw that you were under attack and thought we would help. We'll put up our hands! Look. No threat!
Positioning herself next to the Professor, Sharae casts light upon her Starknife and raises her hands to show that neither her nor her friends are a threat...
"We are travelers from Torch, and mean no harm."
"We...we just destroyed their reserves, down stream, and scuttled their craft!" offers Criek.
"You look like you need assistance. We don't like pirates."
The figure aims at anody, and is about to fill him with crossbow bolt, when the other voices of the chime in. Keeping aim he decides to pass the decision up the chain of command.
Captain, they claim to be friendlies
Another figure looks over the rail at your, shining a bullseye lantern at you.
Well, they ain't orcs, and they don't look like bandits. What be yer names, and quick about it. As ye can see , we be a bit busy for social calls.
"I'm Ayla Noya Aiba from Torch."
Sho bows.
"I am Nemina Sho, most recentely from Varisia."
Professor Anody Gearon at your service. Of Absalom University, by way of Torch
The light shines on anodya professor! While i can see the value of education, we don't need a lesson here. Can ye fight, little man? it then rests on sho, ayla and mel. Now these three look useful. And two are ladies[/b] then the light redts on criek. oh no, not another ratling. One's enough. Still three fighters... he muses.
ok, ye can board. RATTY! a scrawny ratman runs up.
yess capn. Me helps?
aye. Here is one of ye folk. Make sure he doesn't get in he way. And look after the prof ere. Ye might lern something. Ha!
He looks at the other crew, let em board
ropes and ladders are thrown down.
Letting one of the others haul him up Anody responds I'm actually quite poor in a fight. But I like to think I can be of some use. What is happening here Captain. Who are these people attacking an Iomedean fort?.
Criek sighs to himself -- I appear to have worn out my welcome before even arriving! -- and climbs up the rope ladder after his friends.
"And, er, what is your role on board ship...'Ratty'?"
Ratty looks at creik and says
The captain says
i haven't the faintest idea. River pirates, aligned with a tribe of orcs. Don't know why they are attacking. He loot here would not be worth the effort.
He looks at ratty. look after your kinsman, ratty, and the professor here as well. And keep ye bombs ready. They may make another rush. The rest of you come see.
yes capn, hee hee hee. I do dat thing. ratty replies
He turns to creik
More tomorrow. Fairly tired
Criek gapes in astonishment for a second before trying to suppress a giggle.
Criek winks to Anody, "This way, I'm told." and follows Ratty.
Some place with a good vantage point I hope. Anody says nodding to everyone on board and following Criek. Letting that necromancer get away was very upsetting
Sho puts away the potion vial and climbs on board the craft.
Climb take 10=14
"Well then shall we see these villains. I should be able to do a great deal of damage to these scum."
You soon see that the captain seems to be a bit of a sizist. If you are below five feet, and you're not a dwarf, you not as important. Why a dwarf exception. Have you ever seen an angry dwarf. They'll cut you off at the knees.
Despite this he seems to be fairly competent. The issue he says is the two hawsers, both made of steel chains, covered in leather. As you look over the railing your see the dock beside the ship, with the two chains. There are also a fair few bodies littering the deck, both raider and sailor. Looks as if the fighting got a bit intense at some point.
It was down to knives and belaying pins at one point, but we threw them off. Problem is we have nothing that can cut the chains, and there is no cover on the dock, so if you try to operate the mechanism to release them, you get pin cushioned faster than a goblin eats garbage.
He suddenly tenses. DOWN and he flings himself to the deck. An arrow whistles past him and embeds in the mast behind him. embeds six inches in!
Abador give him piles
He pulls himself up.
So we need the chains released and then we can pull away and escape. I'll pay yers 100 gold apiece if ye could do that little thing, and free passage north.
So do you stand up defiantly at the rail, or use your cover? (Sho, Ayla and Sharae. Mel uses cover.)
Meanwhile Anody and Creik meet with ratty, who has set himself up a point of cover that allows him to throw things at the dock without being feathers by arrows. A hatch nearby leads below.
Yesss, is is ratty's place, yesss. Throw bombs, fix crew, yesss
He looks at Anody and says in a normal voice
So did the show impress you professor. Sorry for the deception, but the captain likes to feel superior. He really does pay me well, as isn't a bad person. Anyway, my lab is down there, if you want to look.
He looks at both of them
So how did you end up here?
Hmm, well Sho has an intelligence greater than 3 so he shall use cover while observing the pirates.
The pirates are behind a barricade of barrels and rocks. These look burned, as if they have had a powerful flame droped on them for an instant.
In looking Sho attracts some atention
The arrows all miss, but come close.
When Sho notices the arrows he shouts.
"They are using fire arrows, get them off the ship!"
Sho will attempt to plan a route to the enemy using as much cover as possible. They will need to be occupied if we want to get anyone to the hawsers.
"Can anyone see a way we can get to the pirates? We need to distract the archers so the hawsers can be removed."
"We'd best think up some better options before our friend Sho tries to take the barricade himself. Ratty--er, is there another name we can use amongst ourselves--it looks like you've already tried laying down suppressing fire on them? Did it seem to faze them at all? Anody, what about that glitter spell of yours?"
"If I had a minute to mix another invisibility extract, I could potentially sneak down and undo the lines unseen, but I don't know that we have that much time?"
"...besides the which, Ratty, what is this ship's relation to the fort there? If we do manage to release the ship, will they be overrun?"
Oh. Well, the pleasure is all mine. Some tallfolk do have a regrettable view of us, I do agree with that. How long does it take you to mix an extract Criek, if it's a minute or so then that is not much time at all. I can cast Invisibility on someone as well. Two people should be able to do what they need to to free the ship but...
Anody pops back out The ship seems to want to flee, which is all well and good, but are we not going to try and help the poor fellows in the fort? I can turn one or two people Invisible and they can get the chains off and then maybe we can attack the people who come out to try to assault the ship?
Sharae, feeling terribly exposed on the deck, ducks behind the rail and calls to the captain, "Is anyone injured?"
The captain speaks
To Sho @ calm yerself down, yer idiot. It's just poison
To sharae @ Thank ye lass, but the men I have left are well enough. Pity the poor ones below he indicates the dock
It's the Rat! Get Him!
Arrows fly at creik (who has +6 to AC due to cover, and a further +1 as ratty pulls him down: total +7 to AC)
One arrow draws blood
plus poison Fort DC 12, if fail lose 1 con, 1 wis, 4 rounds, 1 save
Ratty says A little silly, but brave. Drink this. He hands both creik and Anody a vial each. Antitoxin he explains. He then offers creik another vial. Healing (cure light wounds 1d8 +5 if you accept, creik)
The mechanism, as ratty can explain is rather heavy, needing strength able to lift fifty pounds to operate. So no to mage hand.
Criek cries out as the arrow bites into his shoulder, then slumps to the deck. "'Just poison', your captain says -- what concern he shows for his crew!" he exclaims to the other ratfolk, accepting the healing extract. "A neat effect--" he offers, contemplating the empty vial, "--I shall have to ask you how you manage to make this work for me. ...once we've dealt with these pirates."
Ratty says Captain is not interested in helping the fort. They are big tough crusaders he says, look out for themselves. He just wants to get away. No profit in dying. Spose you could persuade him otherwise.
"His ship, his choice -- i understand that's the way it works, at least? Anody, if we're to leave the fort behind, perhaps I should remain here to help bomb as many of the pirates as possible, for the fort's sake, and you could make Sho invisible to go release the hawsers? If they really take that much force to move, I'm even a little concerned about my own ability to release them." Not to mention a little anxious about the idea of going down on the dock among them -- last time I tried anything of the sort, those zombies caught up to me quick!
well, not just his choice. We lost half the crew in the first attack. But we cost them. They don't have the numbers to storm us. So stalemate. At least until the orcs finish playing.
Releasing the ship should not be an issue Captain. I can make Sho or Ayla invisible and they can release the chain, and six hundred gold for our little group would be very well appreciated. But I think I can speak for everyone that leaving the fort to it's fate would weigh on our conscience. I propose that I turn one of the strong people in our party Invisible. They go down and release the chain, then you pretend to start escaping. When the raiders rush out to try and stop the ship we will take the lead and you help us cut them down. Then , we will head on to relieve the fort! And if things go badly we can always flee on the ship!
Staying behind cover, Sharae watches as the Professor attempts to convince the Captain to assist in relieving the fort…
It is not our place to ask the Captain to risk the life of his crew in this endeavour… if he helps as we will help him then all is well… but it is his journey to choose.
The captain claps his hand together, beams at the party.
good, good. You seem very smart for a shorty. Must be that extra learning to be a professor.So, you begin, yes?