Under the onslaught of Grak's bombs, the Rahadoumi sailors scream the screams that one only hears from burning animals. Most of the sailors drop to the desk, another felled by the deft bladework of Ordrax and Ravenna, perhaps foreshadowing that these two will become an effective team.
The final Rahadoumi sailor throws down his shortsword and raises his hands. "Enough. I surrender. Please do not kill one so pathetic as I..."
As the sailors facing you surrender, your attention turns to the wider battle. Those who succeeded at a DC 10 perception check see Captain Harrigan moving toward you across the deck, apparently chasing two Rahadoumi officers who are racing toward the cabin that lies beneath your feet. Harrigan carries a cutlass in his right hand and what appears to be a beating human heart in his left. A sailor is sneaking up behind Harrigan, apparently intent on slashing the captain with the ornate scimitar he carries.
Raush rises from the floor with a grunt of pain, nodding in thanks to Wade. As the sailor cowers, he looks at him with disdain. "Pathetic indeed, that you merely beg for mercy. Bribe, cajole, keep some dignity and wrestle what you want from us, weakling. I say we throw him to Besmara's judgment."
The vanara keeps an eye on the captain but says nothing. Having his gratitude but being his flunky? No, I won't.
A look of pleasure comes across Grak's face as he sees the sailors succumb to his bombs. He's too busy admiring his handiwork to notice what else is going on.
Veltisiel casts a wary eye at the captain, assessing the situation, and distractedly calls to Raush, "You can leave him to me, if you like. I can always find some use for him! I have a few theories on soul magic that I've been eager to test. "
Meanwhile, a debate rings through his mind.
Hmmmm…. What would be to our benefit? We could warn the captain, and possibly gain his favor in the process. Or we could let the sailor attack him. What would that lead to, though? Best-case scenario, he is killed and-
another mental voice interrupts his thought process,
And what would that lead to? It's not like we'd just be free after. More likely, Plugg or Scourge would assume command of the Wormwood, and we'd be even worse off. It's not like it would be hard in any case, just step next to him and warn him. then a third voice jumps in, But then we're no more than a lackey, it adds, before the first voice jumps back in, Okay, okay! We'll likely get rewards if we warn him, and if we don't nothing will happen. Are we in agreement? he asks, gaining begrudging agreement from the other two, Great. I'm assuming control then.
Veltisiel, focusing primarily on dodging the soldier next to him, steps away, "Behind you, captain![color=red] Prismatis![/color] Look out!"
As he steps away, he sends a wave of pulsating color out. While his primary target was the sailor that was trying to attack him, he also angled the spell so that it would catch the soldier sneaking up behind Captain Harrigan.
The man sneaking up on Harrigan collapses to the deck, conciousness obliterated by Veltisiel's spell. The officer also succumbs to the spell, but is able to resist its worst effects. The woman stops her race across the deck and stands stunned, her eyes looking blindly about.
Still pressed by enemy sailors, Ravenna lashes out with another jab of her rapier.
... to no effect.
Ordrax move slightly over to place the enemy between him and the Ravenna.
Veltisiel takes aim at the stunned officer, loosing a crossbow bolt aimed at their face.
Captain Harrigan gives Veltisiel an approving nod before striding forward and smashing the other officer with the basket of his cutlass. The woman falls to the deck, insensate.
Ordrax and Ravenna strike down the surrendering sailor. Despite Ordrax's weak blow, the sailor falls.
The fighting continues at the front of the ship, but your area is calm for the moment.
Harrigan looks up at those on the higher deck. "You lot hold the wheel from any that tries to take it back, and if anyone heads for those boats, see they don't make it."
Grak moves closer to a boat and loads his crossbow, watching for anyone trying to escape or retake the wheel.
"'lright, let's think about this later." Casually, Raush chops the surrendering sailor to make him faint.
Ordrax takes his shot at anyone trying to flee.
Our nascent pirates take up positions guarding the launches. Sure enough, an officer and four soldiers appear from a hatch onto the deck, intent on fleeing in one of the ship's boats.
Grak launches a crossbow bolt at the officer, striking the woman.
Raush puts down a surrendering sailor, while Ordrax misses the officer with his shot.
Veltisiel casts a spell and suddenly the floor under half the pirates is slick and impossible to stand on.
If any of the sailors stay standing, Veltisiel shoots a spark of lightning at them. If not, he targets the soldier not on the grease.
The three Rahadoumi sailors lose their footing and hit the deck, but the lightning misses the soldier.
The sailor who is not rolling around on the deck like a greased pig works feverishly to loose the launch. His commander, the officer with the boarding pike, steps toward the obviously dangerous spellcaster.
But the pike stabs empty air as Veltisiel dodges.
Two of the greased sailors manage to crawl and slide their way out of the grease spot.
Round 5 begins, your turn.
With the threats nearby handled, Ravenna shifts and advances on the sailors by the grease pit, brandishing her rapier menacingly.
Ordrax makes his way out and around the Pole arm sailor. He knows that she will gut him if he gives her the chance.
As he comes into her space he swings his mace for her knees. He knows that he is within her reach and therefore can not effectively defend against his trip attack or so he hopes.
Like her minions, the officer falls to the deck.
Veltisiel grimaces as the pike strikes him, but maintains his cheery facade, "Well sorry there, lass, if you wanted to get up close and personal with me, you only needed to ask!"
He slips inside the pike's reach and sends a bolt of lightning at the officer before she can retaliate, careful to not let his guard down as he flanks with Ordrax.
Whirling his staff around, Raush leaps forward to bring it back on the officer who just stabbed the wizard. "Your lifeboats won't help! Your only hope is to pledge yourself to Besmara!"
Raush connects solidly with the officer.
Seeing the group of pirates fall down, Grak gets excited by a potentially easy target. He drops his crossbow and gets ready to throw a bomb. When he looks back up, he is a little disappointed that one of them has moved, but he still throws the bomb at the one still stuck in the grease.
The sailor closes to Veltisiel takes the full brunt of the fire splashing onto him, screaming before he sinks into unconsciousness.
Faced with so much opposition, overwhelmed by magical fire and grease, giant simians, and sneaky stabby pirates, the officer loses her resolve. She casts her pike to the deck and sinks to her knees.
"Enough, mates. This is not a battle we can win. Better to live for another day."
Seeing their commander surrender, the prone sailors sink to their knees as well.
Looking out over the deck, the battle seems to be winding down in other areas as well. Your attack on this ship, the Man's Promise, has been successful. You are truly pirates now.
ordrax watches as the others clean up the rest of the defenders. once they all surrender he keeps his eye and ears open to notice who is taking what.
Grak smiles, proud of himself for causing so much damage to the pirates. He picks up his crossbow and looks around wondering what to do next.
Raush rifles through the lifeboat, wondering whether the officer was just escaping or trying to save anything.
Lucky for Wade, he doesn't find anything magical other than the officer's boarding pike, which would be pretty uncomfortable to hide.
As the fog of battle clears, you find yourselves victorious. The prisoners are paraded before Captain Harrigan and the cheering crew of the Wormwood. Soon enough, a party begins as the Captain meets with his senior officers to divide the booty. Fine food and drink from the hold of the Man's Promise is passed around. Fine tropical liquors, spiced meats, and even fresh fruit and preserves are a step above what the cook and cook's mate have been feeding you. About an hour into the party, the Captain returns to the deck to hand out the loot.
"I want to take a moment to praise our new recruits what secured the wheel and the stern, and what prevented the escape of a band of cowards. Also praise to Kip, who secured the weapons stores of the Man's Promise. Each of you shall receive a 150 gp share of the booty as taken from the ship. For the team what took the stern castle, there be some potions and extra gold. For the cook's mate what fought against the rascal what tried to get the drop on me, this magic amulet from the Captain. For the lot of you, this fine magical sticker."
Veltisiel pulls his fellow rogues aside during the celebration, "The captain has been awfully generous recently. However, I think he still owes us for our lives. What do you lot say to pocketing the ship's treasury? I hear the captain keeps it in his quarters, but I reckon we could get in and out without anyone noticing, then we can stash the goods somewhere that can't be connected to us and jump ship when we make port. Then we've got a chest full of gold to live our lives with."
"Generous, aye. Perhaps, if Plugg and Scourge met with an accident or several, this ship wouldn't be bad at all. I'm not so certain about that offer, though. Not now. Doing something like that requires having the support of a large part of the crew, in case things go south."
I agree. We need to plan for such a move and right now is not the time. We need friends and knowledge of the target before we take action. Patience is needed...
"Still, this is definitely a victory!" Ravenna says with a broad smile. She waves her rapier in a flourish, then grimaces and says "ow" as the strain on her recently-lashed back gives her a twinge.
"And now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go eat until I burst."
Another ship? This could turn out profitable, especially if he hands it to Plugg.
"Hey, I said I would sing, I never said I was any good at it! But if you're looking for a spar, I'm here for you."
Grak's eyes get big as he takes his loot. He had never owned a magical item before and his mind raced as to what he might be able to do with the potions given adequate supplies and a place to work. He stashes the potions and gold in his belt pouch and puts on the amulet. Smiling, he congratulates his companions on the fine job they did.
When he gets a moment, he goes up to Veltisiel. "I liked that enlargement spell you used on Raush. If I can see your spell book later, I might be able to duplicate the effect with a potion."
Looking around, he seeks out Grok. "Come morning, I'll be getting my equipment back," he says with a smile while patting his belt pouch. "Unless you'd rather take care of business now," he adds.
To Grak, from Grok: "Oh, Honey, I'll take your money right now if you like, and you can take more than that, if you know what I mean. Let's go see what the Quartermaster's store might have for you."
Veltisiel, seeing his hopes of a master heist not go through, spends his time trying to win over more crewmembers as allies, with varying success.