Altai spends a few days engrossed in the workings of the mecha-owl, sending all sorts of useless messages to anyone who'll listen. "Just making sure it works."
I found message; it's 0 level and you whisper to somebody 100 feet away.
Yih...."magic pigeon" is a 4th level wizard spell. In Palladium rpg.
Oso will loiter and listen to some more of Beldan's improbable tales while trying to learn to speak Stig.
"Not a cavefish then. Jess drunk."
;)
Elgan looks over Altai's shoulder at the inner workings of the brass owl with a dubious look on his face.
"Dat's sum reel fine wurkminship Chere'. Naw doubt 'bout dat. But, um,.. wooden a reel aminal be a little mo'e, ah dunno, reliable? Not taw mention easier??? Dey's a gift frum deh goddess dat ah kin ask fer, it wooden be no trubble."
There's some last minute preparations; they give over charts to the volcanic isle, as well as directions to the river delta near the troop muster, and the ship lurches away from dock
Pip is belowdeck, seasick, puking his guts out. ;)
and south into Jeklea Bay.
The skies are red in the morning.
Two easy days go by, and two easy nights, with nothing more than a humpback whale and calf sighted other than the odd seagull.
On the third night, the lookout spots a burning ship on the horizon, to the southsoutheast, about as far away as a man can see from you.....
Riese stands beside Tom as the boat prepares to leave the port, relaying Tom's ideas as to what needs doing next as orders in a loud, authoritive (and mildly annoying) voice. He seems to have acquired a large captain-like hat with a prolific amount of feathers and buttons upon it. "Heave to, lads! We sail for the Isle in a quarter hour and our preparations must be complete! Secure that cargo in the hold! By Mystra, you look quite good today Tom, I assume you will be driving? The ship, I mean. Oh, taking the wheel then."
Pip is belowdeck, seasick, puking his guts out. ;)
For Pip:
Mac-Fuirmidh Cithern
2,800 g.p. cost;
grants +2 perform string, and....if you have 4+ ranks in perform, you can do CLW, sleep, and mage armor; total of 3/day any combination of them.
2,000 more g.p. and it's a steel guitar, ready for underwater use.
I'm serious.(I switched it around a little bit from the Magic Item Compendium).
Burning ship?! Where!? Oh. Ok, off of the right side. Starboard? Oh you are so smart in sea-lore and sailing Tom. Bring us closer to the ship! There may be people in need of saving and the Regulators are here to do so!
"What are we going to do with whoever we find by the wreck? It's not like we can take them with us to the sauhaguin base."
*hic*
"YO! HO! HO! and a ... bareel 'e room!"
*BRAAAAAP*
Tom spins the wheel hard port, and the ship judders (eat your heart out Chia Mieville!) off to the left.
Port.
Whatever.
Shiver me timbers!!!
You're within a good tidy step (about 1200 yards) and then you see that the burning ship has come as if to grips with another ship....both smaller vessels a bit than your own....and you see the second ship go up in flames...there's two manner of flaming men (couldn't resist) aboard the new fire ship; those that are running around screaming, and those that seem to be stalking about their number, veritable human torches, and cutting them down mercilessly with blade or axe...
one of your sailors makes the sign of St. Cuthbert over his heart, and whispers a prayer.
Tom looks to Riese, a little shaken; then "hey, Riesy....my wife's got a little sister has come of marrying age.....what do you think? Like to meet her?"
"If dere be yellow sails, dere be Slavers."
Oso gathers his kit and stands by the rail looking for what's left of the burning sails.
In the black of night, you see naught but fire on both ship's set of sheets...
“Damn…” breathes Beldan.
“Well. Guess we better go help some people. How best to do that without our own boat – ship – burning to the waterline?” He looks about at the others.
A faint sound of retching comes from the bulkhead
"Sweet Yondalla's jumblies make the rolling STOP!"
Oso casts light on his sword.
A faint sound of retching comes from the bulkhead
"Sweet Yondalla's jumblies make the rolling STOP!"
You can be allright if'n you want now; I thought you might be jacked up for a few days'n'all.
"Pip you in, I cun fly one more with me, you or Beldan if you upchucking stops the music and songs?"
Pip comes up looking haggard.
"Naw I'm up for it Oso." He grins weakly
"I'm kidding ya' Riese....aw, cor..I hate burning ships..."
You had me worried, Tommy. I am growing quite fond of you and would be most...distraught.....let's get closer to that ship. I will be nigh useless against those fiery men but perhaps I can work to save some of the crew instead. I shall have to ponder a way to 'fight fire with fire', as the saying goes. Maybe I can develop my spells to burn at a higher degree than even creatures of flame are used to.....*trails off in a litany of theory and elemental babbling*
Elgan stares hard at the burning ship.
"Ah haven't met no fire critter what cared fer lightning. Ah kin keep 'em busy. An ah have a favor dat'll allow meh ta resist deh flames,... fer a bit. A'll try tah keep 'em occupied. Although ah t'ink it maight be better tah cast the temporary fire immunity on Gittik 'er Stiggy, Ah'm good in mah animal forms, but dey is better!"
"Huh. Burning men on a burning ship. That's unexpected, I'd say."
"Now, Gittik, have you ever wanted to experience what it's like being huge? Ridicusly big, strong and fast? And being able to swim like a fish and breathe normally underwater? If you have, this just might be your lucky day."
“Are you going to turn him into a shark?”
"Oh, no nonono." Altai's grinning like a naughty schoolboy. "Something much, much nastier. Or better, perhaps. It's all about perspective, I guess."
In answer to Altai's inquiry....
you've heard an old salt talking about a certain Sea Prince Merchantman about fifty years agone....pressed into pirate hunting by factors politic...who took to the sea as charged, and whose initial voyage was unpleasantly unsuccessful. Gradually, the ship neared mutiny as the days turned into weeks with no coin nor quarry, and so.....the pirate hunters slipped into piracy themselves.
When caught, this captain and all aboard were immolated on their ship by those selfsame factors politic who charged them with this dubious task; and that selfsame pirate called out to "what powers that be to give a just revenge, even if those powers be the very forces of HELL!"
And whatever devil that lives under an unforgiving sea heard him, and gave him free reign to burn any and all he came upon to the waterline.
They're wraiths of flame; like unto skeletons but girded in the burning flames of hell....
the battle you're creeping up on.
how do you guys want to approach?
and...
you're about 300 feet away, nnw of the battle at this point starting now; your ship is moving about....50 feet per round. i.e. plenty of time to buff and whatnot.
"Should we sail a bit closer?" Beldan asks. "Maybe not too close..."
"Now, Gittik, have you ever wanted to experience what it's like being huge? Ridicusly big, strong and fast? And being able to swim like a fish and breathe normally underwater? If you have, this just might be your lucky day."
"You turn me anything bad, me gut you."
Elgan begins keening, and his skin turns the darker color of tree bark as his goddess grants him his request. .
"You turn me anything bad, me gut you."
"Oh, it'll be extraordinarily bad. Trust me, you'll love it."
"You want me gut you? Me like be me - you go look like big fish, me stay like me."
"Um, ah, yes, I see your point." Altai's suddenly looking a little nervous, dropping the smug grinning. "No fish involved - you'll just become bigger and stronger for a little while. Much bigger and stronger, to be precise."
"You make me big like Stiggy?"
"Oh yes. Except that this is a greatly superior formulae, so you'll be stronger, faster and tougher than giant Stig. Incidentally, you'll also be green and scaly, with huge claws and fangs; however, you'll return to your normal form in 7-8 minutes or so."
It's elementary, dear Gittik....(I think) enlarge person works on humanoids. A troll is a giant. Furthermore, polymorph apparently makes one polymorphed into a troll into the giant type, upon whom enlarge doesn't work, a giant not being a humanoid in anything but form...
(takes off snooty gamelawyer glasses)
Yeah; the combo doesn't work; I can see why it was designed that way...
making tarrasques fetch your slippers....hmmmph!