Bazzle takes the pole-hook and shoves it into the water to be used as an improvised punting pole! With this technique, he finds it easier to push the barge to the side, rather than trying to paddle.
The Stinging Imp continues its approach.
Paddle Paddle Paddle, the pear shaped woman keeps them along the river still.
Vandomir huffs and puffs. H looks to the sky and wishes that meatballs were in the forecast. He continues rowing to try and keep the skiff upriver.
Success
Aster and Vandomir continue to keep the skiff/barge/raft/punt from falling downriver. It's up to Rexandi and Bazzle now to move it further across the river.
Rexandi lets the shadow merman keep pushing while she throws her voice magically behind the Stinging Imp.
A growly, harsh whisper of Rexandi pitching her voice down sounds from somewhere in the dark behind the Imp. "They're distracted! Go, now!"
Bazzle pulls the pole up and brings it around to grab onto a point in the bridge. He uses it to pull them on.
Bazzle pushes against the last pillar the barge was passing in order to give a boost to reach the next one. It's a weak push, but it's just enough for the merman to start making headway.
The Stinging Imp seems to be stalling.
With Vandomir's lovely strength spell and the fact Aster's legs are not needed for this movement exercise, the paddling continues.
Vandomir struggles to keep rowing, but with Milani's name on his lips, he keeps the paddle moving and the vessel upstream...
Fail
Save vs fatigue
Success
Rexandi lets the merman continue pushing and casts another illusion, this time a vague minor image of a small group of people sliding off the shore and into the water behind the Stinging Imp, as if to cross the waterway behind the ship while it's trying to chase down the Ravens' small craft. The figures are hard to make out in the dim light but they do seem to create small splashing noises and ripples in the water as they slide into the water.
Aster continues to paddle against the river, while Rexandi's merman pushes the raft almost to shore. However, Vandomir's fatigue is starting to catch up with him, and he can't paddle fast enough to fight the river. If Bazzle doesn't do something to keep the raft upriver, they could lose so much of their progress.
The Stinging Imp is still stalling, but less so as they start to put together that there are illusions about.
Bazzle switches back to use the pole to push the boat.
Bazzle and the merman push the raft across the river, but although they manage to reach the other side, the river pushes them downstream. Thankfully, the Stinging Imp is stalling, but now that the raft is out from under the bridge, it can be seen by the Dottari.
Now on the other side of the river, the Ravens could opt to ditch their craft and go ashore, but they'd miss the sewer entrance.
The objective of the game is to get from one side of under Bleakbridge to the other side of under Bleakbridge, by rowing in a barge across the river. You will have to fight the current in order to avoid being swept out to sea, but still be making progress to get across. You will also have to avoid being seen by guards or nearby ships, getting overly fatigued, and you may have to handle some unfortunate random events.
Each character is in a barrel on the corner of the barge. They are equipped with an oar for rowing, and in the center of the barge is the pole-hook, which is easily within everyone's reach.
Characters will need to paddle in order to get the barge to move, but the characters must divide their directions in order to avoid being swept out to sea. Some characters will need to paddle upriver, while some characters will need to paddle across the river. Paddling is either a full-round action or a move action, and uses a Strength check either way.
Paddling upriver enough to fight the current for a round requires two DC12 Strength checks.
Paddling across the river requires any number of DC8 Strength checks, with the more successes meaning faster progress.
Paddling as a full-round action is a regular strength check, but paddling as a move action carries a -4 penalty.
The game is won when the barge has 5 successful DC8 strength checks to paddle across the river, AND has not lost an upriver paddle check (or did and then recovered).
When the DC12 strength checks to fight the current of the river fail, the barge starts following the river and is no longer underneath the bridge. The game cannot be won until the barge gets back up the river, which requires a DC15 strength check per failure. Failing this DC15 strength check does not incur an additional failure. If the barge fails to fight the current 4 times (without any successful attempts to bring it back upriver), it is swept out to sea, and will be discovered by the Scourge of Belial automatically.
When you fail a strength check, you must make a fortitude saving throw against fatigue. (Aster, you can ignore your first failed fort save, but the next failed save after that will impart the fatigued condition despite your immunity.) The DC starts at 10.
Each round, a single character can opt to use the pole-hook to grab onto a pillar. Doing so requires a standard action (or full-round) to make melee attacks with this 15ft reach improvised scythe. Damage is not required. Upon a success, the barge does not move across the river that turn, but the wielder can automatically bring the barge upriver by up to 2 fails. Do note that paddling and then using the pole-hook is only feasible if you have the Quick Draw feat.
Creative approaches are welcome. For swim speeds, you'll need a minimum of 30ft to get any value out of it, and you'll have to make swim checks. Grappling hooks, adamantine arrows with ropes, crank crossbows, spellcasting, all of that is welcome.
Good luck! Ask questions if you're unsure.
"Blast, we're spotted," mumbles Rexandi. She hurls deeper darkness onto the Imp to give the team at least a little time to get away.
The steady grind takes its toll. Struggle as she might, she cannot push the boat back upriver.
With Rexandi's merman pushing upriver, the barge reaches the far side of Bleakbridge. Skritt who've been watching the whole thing quickly help everyone out of the barge and into the sewers, before dragging the whole craft inside. They cheer your success, and ask questions regarding how they might improve the whole thing.
"Great work!" Rexandi says enthusiastically to the skritt. "We need to come up with a better way to deal with the current, it kept pushing us downriver and making it hard for us to get across. Obviously we can't just leave a line running across all the time, maybe we can figure out some... pulley or something to help drag the boat across."
She glances back toward the river as the team makes its escape and gently bites her lower lip, then murmurs to herself, "I didn't know when I created that shadow of a merman that he would be so... shirtless."
Bazzle smirks and makes eye contact with Rexandi, "And sexy apparently."
"We ladies can have our heads turned, too," blurts out Rexandi with an angry blush. "Especially when you've got nobody."
Bazzle chuckles "No shame there." He winces when she mumbles again.
"Oh, I didn't notice." Aster admits. "Too old I guess to be tempted by pretty things." that our her particular inclinations run in a different direction. She bumps lightly shoulders with Rexi "You have us, which is a lot better than nobody." she reassures though she also understands completely.
Vandomir too would have kept rowing upstream...
Fail
Save vs fatigue
Success
The Skritt take Rexandi's input seriously, and begin asking her a million different questions and suggestions about improving the raft, which is just part of the Skritt way. They also mention their lack of understanding of the sex appeal of mermen, and ask questions and make guesses regarding what it is about the merman that Rexandi finds attractive. No subject is off limits to the Skritt, who debate with each other endlessly to bring about a functioning understanding of the world. Soon they are trying to find a solution to Rexandi's problems, which become personal and overwhelming almost instantly. Yet Skritt are keenly aware of body language, as it is a significant part of their own language, and try to make Rexandi feel more comfortable by speaking about her problems in Skrittish instead.
"Let's move further in. Let's see if they are gonna chase. No reason to bring one group of enemies to where we are going to pick a second fight."
The Stinging Imp is a small vessel capable of traversing the river, and short enough to pass under Bleakbridge. While it does come over to take a peak at the sewers, the Dottari guard have no ambitions to enter the sewers. They simply look into the opening gate, and then go back downstream to the docks.
Rexandi blushes and seems quite embarrassed and frustrated with the Skritt's insistence on making a big spectacle of her personal disappointments, though she refrains from chastising them or making a scene.
"You're right of course, Bazzle," she says eventually, glad for the chance to turn the topic to something else. "Do we want to enter the Holding House from below? It might be a better way to sneak in than coming up elsewhere and then trying to figure out an entrance above."
"I think they turned off. We want to get to the target while our distraction is still in full swing. Yes below. The sewer entrance the boys up top will making them think twice of heading out the front. They are more likely to shelter in place I hope."
The group slink through the sewers, going through Redroof, and around into Old Kintargo. It's quiet, with no disturbances other than the dripping of water and the occasional rat. The Skritt have already instructed the Ravens where the sewer to the Holding House is located. At this point in time, the Salties and Street Performers are likely beginning their battle. The entrance to the Holding House is a slimy pit of human waste, which opens up 5 feet above. A small, rusted iron grate keeps rats from getting to the wooden lid above, but someone with Thieves' Tools can easy remove it.
Bazzle pulls out his tools and sets to work.
Bazzle easily disables the grate, taking it off without any issue. He even manages to do it without any unwanted rusted noises.
Vandomir draws and nocks an arrow, ready to respond should they be discovered.
Once they are all out of the sewer and into the bathroom Aster will ask quietly. "Do we Hurry or slow and quiet?"
Bazzle shrugs, "The more you take out quietly the less come running when they all know we are here."
"Okay then" Aster says before shifting to her big rat form. Pear shaped club foot Aster is never quiet unless she is sitting down, so dire rat Aster is their only hope for silence.
After casting lesser restoration to remove his fatigue, Vandomir will attempt to the climb.
As Vandomir climbs up and lifts the wooden lid to the toilet, a small bomb tied to a string swings into and rolls down the loo and onto the awaiting gang. The bomb erupts in a puff of green smoke with a foul smell. Vandomir, Aster, and Bazzle feel kind of sick to their stomachs, but the smoke fades very quickly, and nothing else bad seems to happen.
Aster is well aware of this concoction. Rat poison. Designed to poison Dire Rats, but works on rodentfolk, wererats, and even regular people. It's a contact and inhaled poison, which prevents the creature from stopping any bleeding both externally and internally. It could last a couple hours, up to a day. Normal scrapes and scratches are dangerous.
"rat poison." Aster tells the others "Made to make wounds not close properly, so any simple scratch can kill in time."
"I'm afraid that I am powerless to aid in shrugging off this poison."
Slowly, after checking for any movement, the Ravens emerge from the sewers as quietly as they can manage. They gather their bearings in a bedroom, which they know to be the Warden's Quarters. The bedroom is fairly simple, with a double bed, comfy reclining chair, the loo, and a small writing desk. The area is dark, though several unlit candles are found throughout the room. A single closed door leads to the Warden's Office. It is locked, but to prevent access from the other side of the door, thus, opening it is a very simple matter.
Bazzle looks around.