@vlad Riordan yells as Vlad tries to hook his rope, "Helfrost and hades half-man, you obviously can't hit the bloody broad side of a boat. Get with it...Can't throw but you climb like a frackin' squirrel. Now get over there and start chucking some darn vegetables at this girl."
@bessie As Bessie manages to hook the rope on the second throw Riordan nods a little, "Not bad wench. Now start your skinny arse climbing...You call that bloody climbing?... I've seen frackin' horses that climb better than that!... Stop collecting food and climb you scurvy dog!... At least she can swim... Helfrost and hades, you made it! Wench, I'm so impressed I could kiss you. I've never seen anyone with so much tenacity. You climb like a frackin' mule but you're as bloody stubborn as one as well. Now get over there and throw some vegetables. Cook's mate, you'll be boarding too. Get out there.
When his turn comes, Guiullaume steps up, with some trepidation. Climbing rope is *not* my forte. This could get...ugly.
Finally, mercifully, a hunk of rotting vegetable dislodges Guillaume's hand and he falls into the water. Fish-like, he turns and streaks to the ship, at home in the water in a way he had never been on ropes. In moments, he was back aboard ship.
Beket takes the heavier armor off of his form, remembering that he should really focus a bit more on how to climb a rigging rather than show off how skilled he is at swimming in the blue waters below. Watching the rest of his companions falter, flounder, flail, and squirm, it gives him some confidence in the fact that he may not immediately be made a fool of.
It takes two tries for the large man to snag the boarding hook upon the boat and immediately thereafter, he begins to climb upwards. A grimace on his face, he prepares for the worst barrage of rotten fruit to hit him.
Beket falls deep into the water again, having made little to no progress so far. Frustration begins to mount but watching Bessie fail and climb again and again keeps him in focus. "If that damn plucky cleric can do it, so can I!"
With only one more spill into the drink, Beket finally hauls his tall, muscular form over the railing and stands amongst his mates. Visibly irritated, he licks the salt water off of his lips and mutters softly to himself. "I swim better than I climb."
@guillaume: "Good grief fish boy! Get back down there. Weren't you paying attention to mule girl! She didn't quit, she's got grit. Now act like you have a friggin' pair and try it til you get it!" Then Guillaume properly chastised went back to do it again. Sadly it takes him at least as many tries as Bessie. The entire time Riordan berates Guillaume. When he finally makes it across the rope, Riordan says, "That's a bloody sad job fish boy. Pull yourself together and pray to Besmara that frackin sailors on the ship we take just roll over and give you time to get to em."
@Beket: "Get with it big man... My sister's got a stronger frackin' grip than that... " When Beket falls the second time, "That was quick you bloody lug, now get back up there and try it again... Now that's what I'm bloody talking about. Next time don't be so stupid and do that the first time. Now take that orc sized brain of yours over there and throw some frackin' vegetables."
Bessie waves a hand in acknowledgement, and slowly picks herself up off the deck. As she hears Riordan's calls, she would smile, but for the fact the "mule girl" is the kinda thing that can stick with you.
She grabs some vegetables and flings away, trying to get as close to Guillaume and then Beket as possible without actually hitting her friends.
A goblin, crow, mule, two fish and a... hmmm, I wonder what animal Nasifi is... walk into a tavern... Actually what kind of animal is Nasifi?
Nasifi delays as long as she can. The swimming and throwing aren't something she sees as a problem, but the climbing as going to do her in. Before jumping into the water she downs a vial from her belt pouch. Within a moment she feels its effects as greater strength and power courses through her limbs and body.
After her swim to the launch, she throws the grappling hook. It flies perfectly and finds to mark on her first attempt. After that, climbing the rope goes about as badly as she imagined it would.
She can't figure out how to transition from the launch to the rope, and takes a couple of dunkings before she can even get started. Once she does manage to get out onto the rope things improve though. Only once does she have more trouble before she's back on the ship.
Well, Riordan was right about one thing: Vlad's pitching arm left something to be desired. At least he didn't have to feel too bad knowing that the chances of him hitting one of his comrades with the veggies he was tossing was pretty small. Still, he hated to watch them go through this.
@nasifi "Great gouga-mooga woman, you gonna climb that frackin' rope or give it a hand job? Get goin!... I ain't ever seen anyone catch a bloody turnip like that. That ain't no complement. Do it again... Do you frackin' people just like playing in the bloody water?... I think you and orc for brains over here went to the same school. Next time, don't frackin' think about it, just climb across the bloody rope like you jus' done.
It takes the rest of the day to get everyone through the drill. After the first couple of hours, Mr Scourge rounds up those not actively climbing and leaves about 4 to throw vegetables. Everyone else gets put to work on regular duties. Around lunch time Mr Kroop brings out biscuits and apples for everyone. The apples are a bit soft and mealy but sweet nonetheless. Evening comes upon everyone and jokes and stories are told and retold about their experiences trying to get across the rope.
Over the next three days, Scourge gets meaner, if that is possible. He starts watching the Peril Crew, particularly Beket, like a hawk. He looks for most any reason to punish you and everyone takes a thump from a ships line at least twice a day and each of you feels the lash at least once during this time period. Mr Scourge has apparently taken a huge dislike of Beket and goes out of his way to make trouble for the man. Beket feels the lash daily, sometimes more than once. Scourge's cronies are found to be attempting to cause rifts between the rest of the crew and the Perils.
Day1:
After the whole "boarding school" experience (har har), Crow's glad to back to a routine, even if Scourge is being even meaner than normal. In between tasks, he works on trying to get along with the sailingmaster, Longfarthing. The woman knows her sheets!
Eve 1:In the evening, he takes what pleasure he can get from the rum
before another evening of tales of derring-do.
Noticing that others have managed to get more of their gear from Grok, he also asks if he can grab a few more bits and bobs (going for his bandoliers and the stuff in them, it's all harmless).
Day 2:On the second day, Vlad feels like he doesn't want to earn more ire than he needs to from Scourge and focuses a bit more on work, to leave the cavorting for the evening.
Eve 2: As the day winds down, he starts coming up with stories his might use to sway more favors among the crew.
He has his ration of rum
and decides to share it with Quarne, the surgeon and carpenter. Again, impressive work during the storm, but also nice to have a ship's doctor on your side.
Day 3: On the third day, he's back among the rigging, again focusing so he doesn't catch the lash.
But either he's been working himself too hard, or the rum is catching up to him.
Eve 3: The rum is needed to dull the pain a bit. It's not too bad (I don't think), but it left him a bit achy.
Hopefully, Quarne took enough of a liking to him to help with anything that can't be easily fixed with a healing spell. He works on a few more tales
but apparently the pain, or the embarrassment, is distracting enough to keep him from anything special that night.
The insults were just about what he expected them to be and he silently cursed the fact that he had not spent more time climbing the cliffsides back home. "There has to be spells that will make this easier." Beket thought to himself when he finally made it to the other side of the ship and pulled himself over the side. Frustrated, his irritation was quickly vented upon his fellow crewmembers that were trying to climb up and board their ship. Friend or foe, there was no mercy from the large man as he tossed over the rotten produce with hard throws. Afterwards though, there was almost a moment of unity as the members of the ship shared stories about their attempts to cross the rope. With a grin on his face, Beket eagerly shared the stories he had and the thoughts he had when a rotten tomatoe caught him in the mouth. It almost tasted as bad as Bleepos smelled.
The next three days were hell though. Scourge's anger at Beket seemed to get worse and worse. There wasn't a day that went by where the man's lash didn't taste the Mwangi man's flesh. Those around him could tell that Beket's patience was growing thinner and thinner and his glares at Scourge were growing more and more murderous. Work was passed thinking of how good it'd be the day that he was able to sink his teeth into Scourge's flesh and rip it out. He'd let the little goblin eat his tongue and if they could capture him alive, he'd keelhaul him just like that first day. It seemed like his cronies were trying to rally allies to their cause; a dangerous thing indeed. Something was going to happen soon, Beket felt, and they needed to make sure that their allies were theirs.
On the first day after the boarding lesson, Nasifi cuts corners at work to produce another packet of Alchemist's Kindness for Fishguts since he seems to be in greatest need of the insurance. The hectic day leaves her tired and the rum that night hits her hard. She spends most of that evening being very friendly toward Jack Scrimshaw, who she had really enjoyed hanging out with previously. She even paws at him some in case he has a hard time picking up hints.
The next day she sticks to work given how the rum had affected her the night before. She slips Jack Scrimshaw a little extra food while doling out dinner by way of apology (or favoritism depending on the results of the previous evening). That evening she takes it easy with her rum, stringing out for a long while. She also chats with Badger Medlar a bit.
The third evening she again tries talking some with Caulky Tarroon, which goes no better than the last time.
Bessie does her best to keep Scourges sour mood from impacting her attitude, but having the Peril crew under his lash angers her. But it is clear that Besmara has a plan, and this is the price.
Bessie uses her channel and spontaneous cure light wounds as needed each day to heal those subject to Scourge's lash; friends and those not aligned with Scourge.
As she talks with other Peril Crew members, she continues to try and keep track of their location at sea. It is always good to know where you are. She will continue to speak of Besmara to all the crew, reminding them of their ultimate service to the Pirate Queen.
On her first night she will take a look at the unidentified potions, and what she assumes to be holy water created by a follower of Desna.
She will spend the rest of her night talking with Beket, reminding him that Besmara brings strife and that now is not the time to out-fight Scourge. Be patient and Besmara will reward him with an opportunity for payback. She promises to stand by the big man until that time comes. They are the Peril Crew, and they will achieve greatness or die trying, together.
The second night she will provide Crow and whoever he is flirting with pints of ale created with Enhance Water. Then track down someone that is being courted by Scourges cronies and try to keep them friendly to the Peril crew.
On the third night, she will provide Crow and whoever he is flirting with pints of ale created with Enhance Water. Then track down Tibbs, as it seems he is always getting himself bitten washed overboard or otherwise hurt.
After that she will see if Nasifi is with Scrimshaw, and if not, go see what is going on, a little girl talk and bonding.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Guillaume spends a productive few days chatting with various crew members, especially Barefoot Sammie, whom he's taken quite the shine to. And also drinking rum like it's (fresh) water. He tries to avoid doing anything that'd draw attention, but still gets the lash a time or two.
Vlad is able to get his bandolier and its contents from Grok. Longfarthing and Quarne are very approachable by the charismatic half-orc. He gets some good face time and learns from Longfarthing that they are in fact trolling the fire sea for merchant vessels. As for Quarne, he expresses disgust with Scourge but seems of a mind that the sergeant in arms position always attracts the sadistic. Even though he gets along fine with them, there seems to be an unspoken distance between them. Vlad is pretty sure it is because they are officers and he is merely a sailor on the crew.
Beket moves about the ship doing his work and helping his fellow Peril crew to counter the ill will being generated by Master Scourge. The first evening, to a back drop of pirate stories courtesy of Vlad, Beket speaks primarily with Brackett. He quickly finds the man has quite the sense of humor. They discuss the situation on the ship, which Brackett thinks is going sour. He even hopes they find a merchant soon in hopes that a little directed violence will break the tension on board. They then share a bawdy joke or two as they see Nasifi and Scrimshaw sneak away into the dark. (indifferent > friendly)
The second day of work is hard with Scourge striking out at those he gets near. That evening, the two sides continue their social networking, posturing for some inevitable clash in the future. That evening Nasifi, Bessie, and Beket befriend Badger Medlar. Once they break the ice, they find Badger is just a crotchety old man but one who enjoys a good conversation. They part not necessarily as buddies but with a much less prickly relationship. (unfriendly > indifferent) Guillaume in the meantime finally breaks down Sammie's flirting objections and they drift off to a private area.
On the third night there is all sorts of excitement. Beket and Guillaume find themselves speaking with Conchabar. Beket speaks of solidarity on a ship and teamwork, Guillaume ties in with his and Conchabar's work in the rigging. (indifferent > friendly) Somewhere halfway through the evening Nasifi and Caulky come to blows. They're not sure what started it but before they can react, Vlad has stopped his song and stepped in to break the two ladies up. He steps away with Caulky and Bessie is there to step away with Nasifi. Later, Vlad heads back to his perch rubbing his cheek indicating his attempts to calm the situation were not as successful as he would have hoped.
The following morning, everyone gets their work assignments. Today, Master Scourge assigns Beket, Jape, and Bansion to the bilges. Everyone else heads to their typical jobs. Beket is the last assigned to the bilges so that he is the last to head below. Before he hits the ship's ladder Mr Plugg stops him. "Watch yer'self Beket. You've been scowling more than usual. I want to make sure you don't stir up trouble down there. Master Scourge, search him." Master Scourge steps up and pats Beket down, removing any weapons he finds. With a nod to Mr Plugg, the first mate steps aside and allows Beket to pass below. In the bilge works get started with an unspoken animosity floating between Beket and the other two.
It seemed that, the lashes and pain notwithstanding, the Wormwood was slowly becoming a more friendly ship. If only the officers would do anything about the damn schism that was building but they were on a different tier above them. Who gave a damn what the swabs and riggers were doing as long as the food was good and the ship continued on its course. This morning though, it seemed that things had changed. Beket wasn't assigned to his usual duties under the watchful eyes of Master Scourge. Instead, he was to be sent below and alone with a number of the man's cronies. He was about to take a step towards the ship's ladder down below when Mr. Plugg stopped him and mentioned that he needed to be patted down and have his weapons removed. Bessie certainly saw that there was a moment there were Beket certainly was weighing whether he should bite the first mate's nose off right now but after a moment, he'd let out a breath and lift his arms. "As you wish, sir."
The bastards were finally making a move and despite himself, Beket felt himself grinning. The others were a little more out of their depths if they didn't have their weapons on them. Beket just needed a moment to grow his own. Following the others down, he gave a nod to the original members of the Perils Crew before disappearing below deck. He wasn't a fool, two on one was still relatively poor odds.
Down in the muck, Beket put himself to work. There were no words passed between him and the other two, though he did watch them as carefully as he could. Like the rats they had slaughtered down here before, Beket was one to fight more viciously if he was cornered.
It seemed that whatever ambush was being prepared had been setup awhile ago. The bilge was filthy and far more awful than usual. Sweat poured down his face as he worked in the muck, having to wipe his eyes of it multiple times.
Watching as he did, Beket noticed that each of the men had a dagger tucked into his belt line covered by his shirt. Down below they began to heave at the bilge pump. Beket on one side, Jape on the other. Just a minute or two into working the handle Jape says, "Stop loafing Mwangi, I'm having to do all the pumping."
Bansion walks over and shoves Beket, "You trying to slime by bugger? think you can just shirk your duties and make the rest of us do your job? Get to work."
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Even through the dim lighting and the sweat that was burning every time that it got into his eyes, Beket could see the daggers hidden underneath their shirts. There was a momentary scowl upon his face before he closed his eyes. Looking up at the ceiling above him, he prayed.
"Blessed Besmara, the wicked b~!$+ that you are, please bless these men with the intelligence that just because there is two of them. Let this awful day just go by and let there be no..." It was then that he heard Jape speak up to him and his prayer stopped. It seemed that the goddess of pirates was wanting a lesson to be taught today. Bansion followed over next, shoving the large man and to his credit, Beket did take a step back. Looking between the men, a low growl left his lips.
"You think I'm a fool, don't you. That I don't see the knives on your belts. Boys, perhaps I can persuade you from this course because you think you have me at a disadvantage..." Stay that distance away from Bansion and Jape, his whole body would shudder. The veins in his neck grew tenser and larger as his dark skin mixed with a shade of grey. The dark eyes that were watching them rolled back in his head, slipping down as the darkest blacks. His impressive size only grew that much more as muscles twisted and knotted to accomodate his new form. There was something else though, something falling into the water. Bansion would look down to see teeth slowly floating by him, human teeth. Canines, molars, all of them were washing by to the pump.
Turning his head back towards Bansion, Beket's shark-like appearance would be complete when he grinned. Fresh and bloodied, the row of sharp teeth glimmered in the dark. Squaring his shoulders, Beket spoke again in that deeper, primordial voice. "...as you can see...you are not. Now...get back to work before I eat you."
They both stepped back, visibly shaken. They drew their weapons, "Y-y-you're not making it out of h-here alive freak!" Bansion yelled.
Beket's dangerous grin would become positively murderous then when the men drew their weapons. The shake in Bansion's voice drew the Seascarred's attention first, those cold and merciless eyes watching him for a moment. "Dinnertime first then, then work I suppose." Lashing out towards the man, his jaw opened impossibly wide and went to smash down upon the sailor's flesh. How long had it been since he hunted? How long had it been since this side of him had been sated? It was time for violence, to show Master Scourge and his lackeys exactly what would happen to those who struck against the crew.
Crow saw the trap being set. When they took Beket's weapons, it was a dead give away. He was a little worried about the big man for a moment, but then he saw his grin. Ha! Not sure they know who they're dealing with. He almost felt sorry for the would-be assassins... almost.
Bessie sees Beket being patted down and the look on the big man's face. She'd be on guard and ready, just in case.
Besmara shall be paid in blood today. They were smart to split us up. But made a really bad choice of targets, two on one isn't fair....they would need at least three to even the odds. I just hope Beket lets the fools live. Cap'n will be mad if we lose crew. Guess, I will be doing some healing. Bessie smiles at what she imagines Beket will do to the two cronies and says a prayer to Besmara for his safety.
As with most days Nasifi is down in the kitchen and pantry, separated from the rest of the crew. She has no idea what is going on up, and then down there with Beket.
Bansion lets out a cry of pain and then both men fall upon Beket. Bansion's strike goes wide as he recoils from the bite. Jape gets closer but the blade gets turned by his armor.
Beket recoils back, tasting that coppery warmth upon his tongue. The black eyes focus in on Bansion, studying him as the man pulls away. Jape gets close, dangerously close in fact, but the horn armor turns the blade away effectively. The large Mwangi man continues to move, taking step by step to try and get himself out of that predicament. As he does though, he continues to focus his attacks on Bansion.
Bessie continues her prayers to Besmara, and keeps an eye out for any sign of trouble down below. She truly believes that Beket can handle himself, and truly hopes that he doesn't kill Scourge's cronies. She has curative magics at the front of her mind.
Bansion cries out from the savage bite and retreats to the edge of the bilge space. Undeterred, Jape lashes out with his dagger and gashes Beket across the chest.
Again Beket steps onto the ladder and lashes out, teeth snapping at Jape. Again, Beket tastes blood and half-orc flinches back from the Mwangi's ferocity.
Jape's half-orc heritage kicks in and he roars while slashing, "Die you monster!" The dagger bites deep and Bekets blood flows so that the bilge water is now tinged with red from all three combatants.
Beket throws caution to the wind and rushes up the ladder, keeping it between him and jape. The extra cover is sufficient to avoid another slash from the dagger. Reaching the top, he shoulders open the trap door and rolls out onto lower deck.
Bessie was busily shirking her duties and keeping an eye on the bilge door when Beket came bursting out. Jape followed quickly but as his head appeared above the opening Bleepos came out of no where and menaced the half orc so sorely that Jape fell back into the bilge.
Apparently, the officers were directed to stay off the lower deck for none came to inspect, an odd occurrence as they usually checked for loafers down below. Bessie healed Beket and then headed up before she could be missed. Beket rested and waited an appropriate amount of time before heading above deck. Just in case he was needed, Bleepos continued to chase rats on the lower deck.
At the bloody hour, no one saw the lash. The Peril crew did notice Jape reporting to Master Scourge but nothing came of it. Quarne was seen sewing up Jape and Bansion later, after the crew was released to their rum ration.
The next day, Beket is put back to swabbing the deck and the routine goes on as before. The breeze is up which is nice, as the sun beats down on the deck of the ship. It's hard boring work through most of the day but in mid-afternoon, Vlad spots a sail on the horizon. "Ship ahoy!" he shouts and points in the direction of the sail.
Captain Harrigan, who was walking the deck, pulled his spy glass and after a heartbeat of consideration he strode over to the wheel and shoved Mr Plugg aside. "We're dining on merchants tonight!"
The Wormwood wheeled around and caught the wind lurching in the direction of the sail. The other vessel seemed to notice the Wormwood a little too late. It turned and fled but as the day wore on it became evident that the Wormwood would run her down. The Peril's were pretty sure it was due in part to Mistress Longfarthing. She went about casting a few spells, the exact nature of which they were not sure but they guessed it had something to do with the strong following wind they had.
As they get closer they recognize the other ship as a Rahadoumi trader. The Rahadoumi were known to have a contingent of marines on the ships so the fighting would be hard. An hour out from the expected boarding Mr Riordan opened up the armory and began to hand out weapons.
Riordan begins breaking the crew up into boarding teams. He rounds up most of the Perils (Vlad, Bessie, Nasifi, and Guillaume) and herds them onto the poop deck. "You four will board from the aft. Take the other ship's helm and keep them off their longboat."
Finally, as arrows, bolts, and ballista are fired in a rapid exchange; the deck of the Rahadoumi ship is suddenly covered in fog. "Prepare to board!" Riordan yells. The two ships close and the Peril crew can just make out a two tiered poop deck on the other ship with two marines at the wheel and two on mounted heavy crossbows.
Bessie would move to the lower deck and cast bless upon the entire Wormwood crew as the ships draw close, then move to a position at the rails. She will also pull her flag from her bag and tie it to the strap of her healers kit which is slung over a shoulder across her body.
Bessie has her light crossbow at the ready and is using the rails as cover. She looks around at the Peril crew,
Besmara has blessed us this day with strife and the offer of plunder, we shall offer the blood of our foes to the sea and treasure to the Pirate Queen. I will heal us and keep us in the fight. If you get hurt, come to me or call out. I stand with you.
As the ships close and the boarding ropes and sails get tangled, Bessie begins citing Besmara's holy text and calling doom upon the other ships crew.
Know this! You who stand against us - that we are blessed by Besmara and your blood shall be an offering to the Sailor's Doom if you dare stand against us, Besmara shall drink your blood and your corpses shall feed her beasts! Her torrent of threats and curses only gets darker from there.
As they begin to close the distance and it becomes obvious they will overtake the merchant ship, Vlad goes over to the quartermaster. "Hoping this won't get you in trouble, my dear, but I'd fair a lot better if I had me armor," he says with a charming grin.
Feeling significantly better protected, Crow begins to rev up the crew that can hear him. "This is what we're here for, lads and lassies! They won't know what hit 'em!"
As they reach 120 feet of range, Guillaume spends a moment concentrating. He draws water to himself, from the sea and from the very air, and then launches it in a torrent at one of the Rahadoumi bowmen.
He leans on the railing, preparing his next shot, and eagerly awaiting the chance to dive into the sea and swim to the ship.
Nasifi grabs a crossbow and takes up a position on the poop deck along with the others. She's not thrilled about the attack on the Rahadoumi ship, but she has always figured something like this would come up eventually. She was now on a pirate captain's ship after all.
It doesn't rattle her, Nasifi had seen a few skirmishes in the militia, and she knows what part in the coming fight she can best play. She takes a position near the back of the poop deck and crouches behind the railing. She waits there with her crossbow loaded and ready until the other ship's deck is within good range and visible, then fires her crossbow, choosing the crewman at the nearer mounted crossbow as her target.
The boats come along side one another and boarding hooks fly. The Rahadoumi sailors work to chop the lines but the Wormwood crew keeps them coming and as soon as the ships are close enough, Wormwood pirates begin leaping across led by Captain Harrigan. The Peril crew looses a volley, Guillaume hammers a sailor in the chest but Nasifi's and Vlad's shot fail to find their target. The heavy crossbowmen let fly as well. Their shots hit but are merely scratches.
Slowly the ships are drawn tight and the battle begins in earnest. The Peril crew find themselves facing a gap of 10-15 feet between them and the enemy poop deck. (The heavy crossbow deck sits about one foot higher than the Wormwood poop deck. The helm deck is about 2' below the Wormwood poop deck).
(Peril crew actions)
While the grazing shot from the crossbowman makes Nasifi want to return the favor to him, she's needed for other things now the boats are close and roped.
She moves down the railing closer to the other ship and primes a bomb. Nasifi knows she's not worth much up at the front of the boarders, but she can make their crossing easier and faster.
She lobs her bomb at the sailor placed to oppose the boarders to clear the way for them.
Bessie continues her blustery rant, and targets the mounted crossbowman again.
Once the crew on the lower decks start boarding, she will drop her crossbow and draw her shield and rapier.
Vlad also pulls his cutlass. "Remember the orders!" he calls out as the two ships move closer together. "Don't let them get to their longboats."
Gathering elemental power to him, Guillaume fires another blast of water at the Rahadoumi sailors.
Nasifi's bomb hits with a roar, sending flames around the sailor but no one else is struck. Like her companion, Bessie hits her intended target. Guillaume however, is just misses his intended victim. The fog on the other side is stirred by those leaping across and the fighting. this allows you to catch glimpses of those engaged in combat.
the sailors on the helm deck grip their short swords and take cover behind the stairs as best they can (+2 AC). The two on the crossbows return fire. The shot at Nasifi goes horribly awry but the shot at Bessie his horribly accurate. The crossbow bolt buries itself in her upper left chest near her shoulder.
Vlad growls deep in his throat. "That's no way to treat a lady." He takes a few steps back to get a running start and tries to leap to the other ship.
Bessie takes cover behind the rails and calls upon the power of Besmara to heal herself Amanxeba alula
The blood still flows and the pain simply fuels Bessie's resolve. She draws out her rapier as planned while continuing to take cover.