The wood elves produce a standard that is quickly removed from a pole and ran up a rope of woven metal to the top of the metal mast. It has a green tree on a silver background.
The grey robed figure scuttles away from the dock as quickly as possible--seeming to think asking for a ride is not so good an idea anymore.
Variel speaks, "We will take about an hour according to this elderly gnome to get this thing checked out. He claims to have no memory of anyone alive today. Said he worked for King Horseborn--King of the Unified Human Lands."
Horseborn. That was a long time ago...
After the gnome works about the ship and the Variel follows asking questions, the ship is prepared to get underway. Master Bopart comes aboard to confer with you and relate some knowledge from the monastery.
Variel has a quick conference from the low deck of the metal ship up to the rest of you on the high deck of the clipper. "We are ready for action. The gnome would like to know if we are going after the witch ship?"
Thalas, Master Bopart, and the keeper of the Slipstream confer and relate the following history of the elemental forces in the world--
"It appears the elemental forces of fire and water have been in conflict for many years. The forces of earth and air have been drawn into this conflict reluctantly in the past. Elves were often called the children of air, and the forces of air have been known to favor the fire side. Dwarves were often called the children of earth, and have been known to favor the water side. The elves were obviously gifted their ship linked to an air spirit due to the air connection. The witches have a ship linked to the fire spirits and forces. The wood elves have a ship powered by both fire and air spirits."
So, after this sinks in, Variel asks an important question:
"Do you wish to pursue and attack the witch vessel powered by the elemental forces of fire? We have no party to any massive elemental war, but our concern is this Black Citadel. Can we afford to make them hostile by sinking their ship? We have been neutral in the world for many decades. I am sure the witches can be defeated. Is the aim to destroy their ship, or does your vendetta require the death of them all?"
He adds, "The gnome claims he can sink any ship from ten bowshots away."
The problem is that we think they've got slaves aboard. Windfavor said he didn't see the rowers, but there may be innocents on either ship, so sinking them before we know who's on them is a problem.
Elorin has a look that says if they are not killed by the ocean she will make damn sure they meet their gods face to face. Though she remains silent as any words right now would betray her calm.
Going neutral is all well and good, but sit on the fence too long and you will get splinters in your arse.
Eirel smiles and thinks for a moment at his own joke, before continuing in a more serious light.
If there is anything I know in my own time, and Gozreh knows I would normally run from conflict, but there is a time for thought and a time for action. These wood elves need help, and if we are in a position to help them, then we should. If there are slaves in that ship, then we have a moral obligation to preserve life, lest we forsake our commitment to the forests that give us life and sustenance. If we are going to declare war on these people, then we do it properly though, letting no information go back to our enemies as to what happens this day. Whilst it would be a shame for the ship to be sunk, we must take it as a possibility.
Then we are agreed. The witches must die. Not their guards, not their slaves. They can surrender and be spared, for the moment.
If there are any to save, we will save them. We take control of both ships. Our wise priests can then decide what is best to do with the ships, once there are no people on them. Then, they decide what to do with any people, once they're on our ships.
Somebody tell the gnome.
Master Bopart nods at your words. "I understand your resolve. You should be rather evenly matched, but I wish you the best. The witches are rather unpleasant and have tried our hospitality. They performed black magic on our grounds with their corpses--I did not like it all."
The wood elves come to a fateful decision after consulting with the gnome. "If our ship is not to be used to sink the ship, it is not worth it to risk it in a boarding action. With a low deck it is ill-suited for that. I will go with you, but my companion will return with the gnome. I do not trust him to find his way to our lands without help, despite his claims to know all the lands that touch the sea."
Master Bopart nods at your words. "I understand your resolve. You should be rather evenly matched, but I wish you the best. The witches are rather unpleasant and have tried our hospitality. They performed black magic on our grounds with their corpses--I did not like it all."
Then why would you tolerate it? Do celestials come here and cast their white magic? Only then does Seltyn realize his mistake. That was not as respectful as it could have been. Not that there was that much respect going around in the first place.
The wood elves come to a fateful decision after consulting with the gnome. "If our ship is not to be used to sink the ship, it is not worth it to risk it in a boarding action. With a low deck it is ill-suited for that. I will go with you, but my companion will return with the gnome. I do not trust him to find his way to our lands without help, despite his claims to know all the lands that touch the sea."
I suspect the gnome is not idly bragging. Be careful of him. Was he the guardian of your boat? Ours was an elf, just like us.
As for your offer, brother, we would be glad to have you with us. You understand that this is all or nothing. Tell us how you plan to help, and together we will be of service to all elves, not just some. We must sometimes act as one people, not just branches of a tree.
If your grievances with the witches are anything like ours, then join us in settling this account. You are very welcome here.
As the warchief transfers to the Slipstream, the gnome and monk prepare to sail the 'Divine Hammer' to the wood elf sanctuary.
The war chief opens a small pack and seems to examine a seemingly impossibly large variety of weapons tucked in his small pouch. He seems to prefer a rather large glaive and composite bow he somehow produces from the small pack.
The warleader: "We are ready. The gnome said it was nice to make my acquaintance and wished me great luck."
As you prepare to depart to go your separate ways, the gnome shouts:
Master Bopart appears to have spoken with the wood elf monk, and is accompanying him to the wood elf sanctuary. Before departing, he responds to Seltyn: "As a matter of fact, we allowed the divine magic of Labelas Enorath to be worked on our soil. We did tolerate that."
The crusty monk looks pointedly at Thalas.
"Well, I wish you luck. I fear I cannot dissuade you from this errand. As we say here, 'Fair winds and following seas'."
With that, the two vessels prepare to go their separate ways.
The Slipstream pulls away from the Divine Hammer and heads after the witch vessels. The Divine Hammer begins to lift out of the water and swiftly take off as series of metal legs on the bottom of the vehicles seem to support the vessel as it takes off at a rapid speed. Although the Slipstream is fast, it becomes obvious it would have no chance of catching the metal ship, even with the wind spirit rushing the ship through the water.
The Slipstream quickly catches the wind and takes off at its own incredible speeds. The windspirit quickly stirs up the water around the ship, and a fine spray of water seems to be in the air as the spirit seems to delight in occasionally pulling surface water up into the air.
Windfavor comments: "A somber bunch, those monks. No fun in that port I am sure. Probably not a single bawdy tavern on that hill."
Does Wil have any powers? I may have missed it in your posts but I thought I would ask for clarification. That way I can plan my strategy based on what he can and can't do. :)
Thanks!
Wil sharpens his blade and readies his gear for the coming combat, he looks to Suny and see's that she is still maintaining a distance from everyone. He finished sharpening his sword with his whetstone and sheathed it before slowly approaching her. He leaned on the railing of the Slipstream and watched as the water rushed by at an increasing rate. He bumped her shoulder with his shoulder in a comradely way before speaking, hoping to snap her out of her distant stare. "What are your thoughts Sister, i'm here to listen as I promised."
Suny jumps at the contact from Wil as her gaze flicks from the metal-Gnome-boat and its marvels to him. She notes the others and her posture again grows defensive as she leans against the rails, eyes down cast and hands fidgeting behind her back.
"Well...um..." Though she speaks her native tongue well, her feelings, thoughts and emotions have her still at a loss for words.
Wil didn't stare at Suny when she spoke, instead allowing her the chance to compose herself without feeling scrutinized. Besides he had his own uneasy feeling something wasn't right within his own being, what it was he wasn't sure. "I won't push you further, when your ready I will listen completely. Until then I will be below setting up an infirmary." He turns and, unless stopped, gathers up his gear and moves below deck to find a room to accommodate working on the injured.
Suny nods, though she does nothing more towards Wilaml. Just turns and watches the rolling sea...
Elorin speaks to one shot. Not caring who is close enough to hear her. "One shot, you and I have a job to do this day. I know you can hear me and I know you can tell how I am feeling right now. Do not fail me and do not falter in your mission. They will die. They will all die."
Any on lookers would swear they could see fire in her eyes and ice in her heart. If such a thing were possible.
Elorin begins to sing:
Suny wanders closer to Elorin...tapping her bare feet upon the deck in time to Elorin's tune. Eventually happily humming along in time and tune to the music/song.
(^_^)
Seltyn chuckles at Windfavor's observation. No, I suppose not.
1) He asks the older elf about the ships' armaments, and any estimate he may have on their numbers.
We need to start casting a large number of spells, starting at one minute out, before we close. We have to judge our speed and be accurate in our timing. We should approach from their bow, just after twilight, to have the visual advantage.
He asks if a gust of wind spell would be useful, or not needed.
2) Once he's talked to Windfavor, he asks the wood elf how he plans to help. He hopes that the big longbow the warrior carries will be a part of his plan.
3) He reminds the divine casters that even orisons like guidance, resistance, and virtue, while minor, can still make a difference. Any advantage, however small, is still an advantage. Cast them on yourselves or others, if you have a round free to do so, once we've cast protection from evil on everyone we can. Elorin an I will make 5 invisible; our pilot and the 4 boarders.
Speaking to Elorin, Eirel softly speaks with conviction
We all have a job before us. That your rage currently drives you is powerful young elf, but be careful it does not consume you. As the wolf cares for her young and for her pack, she does not kill more than she has to in the achieving of her goals. Find the balance and you will prevail
As the Slipstream gets underway, Thalas stares out to see once more: brooding over the upcoming fight.
Seltyn asks Eirel to go up top and keep an eye out for the witches's ship. While he's up there, he can soak our sails with create water.
All we can do is try to be ready for anything.
As the Slipstream gets underway, the ship quickly makes up for lost time. The moon is slightly under a quarter moon, so there is little light to see by when it turns dark. Nevertheless, the watchful captain, Windfavor, picks out what he identifies as two ships anchored ashore in the shadows. It takes a few moments as the sails are reduced and the ship closes for the others to pick out the new ship, a large vessel with no sails and two large structures with a long mast at the front. The two ships are completely at a stop in the shallows of a cove anchored about fifty feet offshore. To approach the Slipstream will have to reduce sail to creep closer to the shore.
"We can try an ambush at night in closer quarters, but the mobility of the Slipstream will be neutralized by the shallower waters, or jump them as soon as they hit the open sea tomorrow."
Windfavor picks out what appears to be about five sentries on the deck of the larger, newer vessel.
"Master Windfavor or Eirel, is there a skiff or dinghy aboard that we could use to take over there? If we could get close enough to board, a surprise attack at night would only favor us and help the Slipstream from taking damage during a daytime assault when the full complement of this other vessel is awake and ready," Thalas asked, not yet willing to cede their current advantages.
"I can be swimmin' ahead, like I done last time...." Suny offers...then pauses as she thinks.
"Here? D'ye think they've another one of them..'Hags'...about? That might be why they's so cozy. There's some critter happily swimmin' under they's boat waitin' ta pounce on folks."
There are capacity 6 elven canoes aboard.
"I can be swimmin' ahead, like I done last time...." Suny offers...then pauses as she thinks.
"Here? D'ye think they've another one of them..'Hags'...about? That might be why they's so cozy. There's some critter happily swimmin' under they's boat waitin' ta pounce on folks."
Or maybe 3.
We've no real advantage, dark as it is. I say we head back to sea and see where they go. They'll know we're coming, and they might dump the row boat and try to outrun us.
They won't. We make the rules, now; not the monks, and not them. They will learn that we are not a people to offend lightly. We attack from their bow. They'll try to ram us. We have to give them the slip, and board quickly. Our invisible warriors must find the witches first, and cut them down without mercy. The rest may surrender or die.
Let's get back to open water, and wait for the right light. What do you say?
Suny listens intently to Seltyn...thinks for a moment and then nods her head in agreement.
Thalas quirked an eyebrow. "No real advantage? It's dark, but we can see far better than their human servants and guards - and they're asleep and unprepared for an attack. How is that not an advantage compared to letting them see us come in the middle of the day and giving them time to prepare? I had not thought our previous encounters in which the enemy was allowed to prepare to be particularly successful," he countered Seltyn. "We are outnumbered and likely not as powerful as the witches themselves or their metal craft: brute force is the way of the Dwarf, even when stealth, guile, and the element of surprise make for a stronger ally."
He wore his combat gear, his armor was polished and his weapons were sharpened for the coming conflict. He watched the vessel with his one eye, noting its silent bobbing in the shallow bay and feeling like something was off. When Seltyn made his decision he nodded, whether it was in agreement or not was unclear. "If your attack is going too well, you're walking into an ambush." He pauses for a moment. "Or perhaps you got lucky."
He didn't look to Thalas as he spoke, his voice was flat and lifeless as he was distracted with watching the distant vessel. "Your right partially, but the last time someone struck unprepared it cost them their life. So either way we roll the dice, so we strike now with our preparation's in place and hope they are surprised or we strike tomorrow. It matters not when or where we strike because in the end we will be fighting them all..."
"Does invisibility work on objects? Like say a lifeboat?"
Azlain had been quieter than normal in the time since his rebirth. Frankly, he didn't understand it. Why would the god of his people bother rescuing him? He appreciated it. Hell was waiting for him and he definitely did not want to go back, but why would a god care about that?
He was so used to being in pain that the cramping discomfort in his back didn't register for quite a while. Eventually, he took off his tunic and unwound the thick network of bandages he'd become accustomed to wearing. He no longer bled constantly, so he might as well be rid of them.
That's when he discovered that his wings had regrown.
They were weak and atrophied, and many of the feathers were broken from being painfully confined beneath the bandages, but they were there.
Azlain's breath caught in his chest. He felt dizzy. He collapsed in shuddering tears.
He prayed.
Elorin's focus is purely on her target. She turns to see the looks of doubt on those around her. "We strike under the cover of darkness. We can see better, we can kill better. A sleeping foe can not defend themselves and we have the added cover of invisibility. If they are prepared for attack tonight then they are prepared for attack in the morning and a sea chase provides us with no advantage."
She was not asking. Nothing of her demeanor showed she would listen to anything but agreement and addition to the plan. She did not even look as if she was looking at them. Her eyes may have been in the direction of the group but her gaze was elsewhere. Somewhere dark and previously familiar to her.
Seltyn listens carefully, and is persuaded.
I still smell a trap, but it is true that they'll be waiting for us, regardless. We're not likely to take out all the sentries before they can sound the alarm, but we can get close and discharge our killers while they're not all prepared. You will be invisible and hasted for a few rounds. Get to the witches and kill them before they can enspell us.
Looking for siege weapons on either ship, and whether or not they're manned.
We fire on anyone we can see until we're close. The boarders will then become invisible for 4 minutes or until they attack, and hasted for about half a minute. The rest of us will attack from the ship. We should stay out of the water, and whatever they may have in it.
Casters, start with Protection from Evil, and follow up with whatever orisons you can spare before we close. Get out any potions or scrolls you need, and use them in good order. Elorin and I will cast invisibility over 3 rounds, at which point our boarders get aboard. The rest of us will do archery and support, and give the enemy a visible target, so our invisible folk can get to their leaders.
he'll drink the potion of Mage Armor, then cast shield on himself (2 rounds), then start casting PFE, then Invisibility on Windfavor (2 more rounds). Then he'll cast Message, to include the boarders and Eirel (1 more round).
Right next to them, Admiral, as fast as we can do it.
Everyone else, cast spells or else fire arrows until someone makes you invisible.
Thalas casts Bull's Strength on both Wil and Azlain, then Bless on everyone. He then uses his hoarded scrolls of Bull's Strength on himself, and Cat's Grace on Elorin to support her archery.
Elorin will drink Mage armor potion and will cast invisibility on two members of the boarding party.
*Edited*
"I cannot rush into an uncharted, unsounded cove that has the appeareance of frequent shallows."
Thalas thinks the Slipstream should remain hidden and out of sight, and the party can take a canoe in, casting their buffs at the halfway point before reaching the Citadel's ships.
True enough.
Slipstream=200 long by 50 feet wide
Fireforge=300 long by 70 feet wide
No detailed map as details only visible within low light vision range.
Cove is about 1300 ft wide and 400 feet deep. Ships anchored close to shore.
The decks of the ships are about 20' above the water.
The sea elf appears with a large assortment of ships stores. It appears salted fish, and barrels of limes were a popular commodity long ago. After tasting the fish, Windfavor finds they go down easier on the salty crackers he finds in another barrel.
"We definitely aren't going to run out of food anytime soon."
Then we can bide our time. We can keep them in sight, and see what they do.
If you are determined to see this done tonight, then give me some of the fish and other meats. I might have a little magic I can weave over them.
We do not have to go there in person in order to get scouting information. I might be able to summon some sharks or other larger fish in order to get them to check the cove and then report back
Wil hadn't thought of that, using sharks and fish to scout... It was unique, creative and a perfect excuse to remain at a distance. If there was a hag in the water then she may find herself having to amuse some hungry fish...
Righteous.
"Eirel was it? Your idea is not only creative but astounds even me as I wouldn't have thought to do something like that. I agree fully with the idea of scouting in such a creative way. It may not tell us what all is on the boat but at least we will know what is below and around it."
Do you have a scroll?
Windfavor takes out a potion. "This allows me to create a bubble of air with me underwater. I used one of these on our very first mission. Maybe I could use it to scout if Eirel has problems making sea friends."
It was over a year ago, but Windfavor used a potion to carry a small elven rogue with him underwater and set up a sniping position.
With the fish and Eirel's unique talents, he begins to find a small sea lion interested in him.
With all due respect, I would not have you anywhere other than at the helm, as much as is possible. None of us can sail this ship like you can.
Let me talk to Suny. She might wear a stitch of armor, and swim for us, if need be.