Under his breath: "You'd better."
Myri stops and turns with a look of minor confusion. "Why not? We're in a city right? I'm sure there aren't any bears or giants or ogrekin or anything like that here, right?"
bluff:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 +1 optional
Sense Motive DC 11 or 12, it's probably fairly obvious she isn't really that naive about human natureMyri does return and sit with her back to a wall, eyes closed. She sighs, opening them and looking over again at the two elves. "Sorry. I guess I was running away again. I will try to do that...um, less often."
Lio carefully tilts Shalelu's head back, partially onto her lap as she is still sitting on the edge of the baths, she then carefully pours water over Shae's head, rinsing out the shampoo, without getting any soap in Shae's face. Her touch is gentle, almost teasing.
Sense MotiveLio looks over at Myri, in elven, asks "Why do you run away?"
Ninjers!
Sianghams
Ameiko
Goes for the boat - run
Shalelu
Goes for the hatch
Buttersnips
To Hit
Damage
SA Damage
Then run
Zaiobe
Goes for the hatch
Spivey
Grabs Reta
Reta
Then runs if she can
Lio carefully tilts Shalelu's head back, partially onto her lap as she is still sitting on the edge of the baths, she then carefully pours water over Shae's head, rinsing out the shampoo, without getting any soap in Shae's face. Her touch is gentle, almost teasing.
1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13 Sense MotiveLio looks over at Myri, in elven, asks "Why do you run away?"
The look of confusion on Myri's face is now obviously genuine. The pink tinting her skin may be for a number of reasons. It takes her some time before she replies. "Um, because I get embarrassed? It's uncomfortable? Maybe because I don't have the confidence to...Anyway, I think I'm getting better. But..." she sighs. "I guess I'm just not used to..." She seems to be having trouble expressing her thoughts, or maybe forming a conclusion. Take your pick.
The look of confusion on Myri's face is now obviously genuine. The pink tinting her skin may be for a number of reasons. It takes her some time before she replies. "Um, because I get embarrassed? It's uncomfortable? Maybe because I don't have the confidence to...Anyway, I think I'm getting better. But..." she sighs. "I guess I'm just not used to..." She seems to be having trouble expressing her thoughts, or maybe forming a conclusion. Take your pick.
"Used to...?" Lio asks, slipping back into the water to rinse off any errant soap.
Bluff:
Hrunndalf waits until Lio and Mel have climbed to safety before following them. In the meantime, he shouts Ulf's name several times at top volume, giving him a last chance to be rescued if he should be hiding amongst the treasure.
Once on deck, he moves away from the fire, again waiting for everyone to depart the wreck, one way or another. He draws upon his divine power to strengthen him for the imminent swim.
Rhost moves to the final black-clad figure, and Makes His Presence Felt.
The look of confusion on Myri's face is now obviously genuine. The pink tinting her skin may be for a number of reasons. It takes her some time before she replies. "Um, because I get embarrassed? It's uncomfortable? Maybe because I don't have the confidence to...Anyway, I think I'm getting better. But..." she sighs. "I guess I'm just not used to..." She seems to be having trouble expressing her thoughts, or maybe forming a conclusion. Take your pick.
"Used to...?" Lio asks, slipping back into the water to rinse off any errant soap.
Bluff: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Myri and Shalelu Sense Motive DC 11:Lio's expression indicates that she thinks she is making Myri uncomfortable, especially as all of her scars and tattoos are visible. All of a sudden Lio is very self conscious. What was she doing visiting a bathhouse so publicly? Why had she thought this was a good idea? All she was doing was making Myri uncomfortable. Lio feels very selfish, just because she wanted to spend more time with Shae, she was monopolizing Shae's and Myri's time together. And worse, she hadn't even thought about her scars or the way she looked for nearly the entire time, and her appearance was clearly making Myri unhappy.
Sense Motive:
Myri, continues to look in Lio & Shae's direction, but her eyes become unfocused, staring at a point somewhere beyond the room they are in. She sighs, "Not used to...I guess making decisions, standing up for myself, being in control of a situation, trying to portray...um, leadership qualities? I don't know, even in team exercises, I've always been by far the youngest so I've always had others I could...well, rely on for answers if I really, really needed them, you know?" Her eyes refocus on the two elves and she smiles. "I think I'm getting better though. ...anyway, I..." She seems uncertain again for a moment, possibly just looking for something to say, "I really am happy to have the two of you as friends. ...and you seem to be really, really happy together. Thank you for letting me tag along tonight." She continues to smile at the other two.
Lio grins at Melinda, and once she is sure the tall girl is also headed out, heads to the exit quickly.
Melinda, having made a similar check on Lio, goes in the same direction.
Myri also heads out, trying to make sure Lio has enough light to make it through the hold ...
But the hold is no longer dark. Above, the ceiling of the hold starts to glow cherry red, and flames lick through it. The heat continues to grow. It looks like the deck could collapse into the hold at any minute.
The way in front of Kalimac blocked, he holds for a moment when he can get out.
Zaiobe flies back in through the hatch, her wings almost impossibly close to her body, dodging past friends and bric-a-brac to arrive next to Melinda. She grabs hold of the sorceress.
Shalelu races back in, fighitng her way through the tight quarters.
Alaric goes out through the hatch.
Before going up, Hrunndalf shouts a word several times at top volume. Then he climbs up through the hatch
The way at last clear, Kalimac makes his way to the hatch.
From just below the deck, Hrunndalf takes a deep breath and bellows a word several times at the top of his lungs.
There is a pause, and a strange change it is momentarily difficult to put your finger on. Then you realize that the occasional shouts coming from the shore have momentarily ceased.
And then resume again. Louder:
“Gröf ræningjar!“
“Höfuð að skipa!“
“Eld örvar!“
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The last black-clad enemy steps forward and stabs into Reta with the siangham, opening a wound in the just-healed goblin.
But Reta traps the weapon in her body, and as her foe is trying to free it, she sticks her dogslicer through his solar plexus and out his back. The last enemy on deck dies spitting blood, silently and without words – in fact, no one heard a single noise from any of them for the length of the battle.
The foe dispatched, Buttersnips races for the canoes, blurring as she moves. She arrives at the canoe long before anyone else possibly could, and starts preparing it for departure.
Rhost checks his blow against the now-dead enemy.
Zaiobe dives back through the hatch, her wings close to her body as she attempts to thread the narrow confines below.
Spivey grabs Reta. For a moment, it looks like the delicate butterfly wings will be unable to bear the weight. But then, Reta’s lift up off the ground, and the azata starts slowly flying towards the shore, straining under the load.
Ameiko runs at top speed toward the canoes.
Shalelu races back down into the hold. She arrives next to Myri, and quickly looks over the situation. Assessing.
Alaric is attempting to follow Shalelu's orders to the best of his ability. He gets onto the deck and heads for the canoes.
Hrunndalf emerges onto the deck and draws upon his divine power to strengthen him for the imminent swim. Then he waits to see how events develop.
Below, with crisp efficiency, Shalelu says:
”Myriana. I think you’ll be able to make it out in time. Go, and I beg you do NOT come back into the hold for me.”
”Zaiobe, you have a decent chance of getting out with Mel before the deck caves in. Go.”
”Lio. Annwyl. I don’t think you’re going to make it out before the ceiling collapses. Unprotected, the odds are good that you will immediately fall unconscious or die. I have a spell that will protect you from some of the damage. Come as far as you can towards me; I’ll move to you and cast it. If the ceiling falls, I should be able to stay conscious for at least six seconds, and very possibly longer. We’ll have a chance of both getting out.”
”And you cannot talk me out of coming.”
Meanwhile, volleys of arrows begin raggedly striking the ship, fired from the shore through the thinning fog. They are blind shots, and nearly all of them end up in the water. But simply because there are dozens upon dozens being shot, some few strike home.
Rhost -2
Hrunndalf -6
Buttersnips -5
Kalimac -6
Melinda -6
Reta -6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~...A......~~~~~~~
~~~~~~..FFFFF.......CC~~~
~~~~....FFFFF.........IB~
~@HR....FFFFP...........~
~~~~....FFFFF.........~~~
~~~~~~..FFFFF.......~~~~~
~~~~~~~~..........~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ -> Exterior (water)
@ -> Hatch to lower deck
P -> Mast (on fire)
CC -> Canoe
F -> Area which is on fire
. -> 5’ Open Space
B -> Buttersnips (in canoe)
I -> Ameiko (in canoe)
R -> Rhost
A -> Alaric
H -> Hrunndalf
Description: The wooden bier has become fully alight and burns brightly at midship, and part of the deck has caught fire. It looks likely to collapse soon. Beyond, in the water, you can see the kayaks that brought you here have been cut loose, and have already drifted a long way away. Tied off the stern of the ship are two canoes, which apparently brought four dead black-clad, masked figures you see on the deck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~OOOOOOOOOO~~~~~~~
~~~~~~OOOOOOOOOOOOOX~~~~~
~~~~OOOOOOO...OOOOOXXX~~~
~K.....SY..ZP..L...XXXXX~
~~~~OOOOOOO.M.OOOOOXXX~~~
~~~~~~OOOOOOOOOOOOOX~~~~~
~~~~~~~~OOOOOOOOOO~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ -> Exterior (water)
@ -> Hatch to upper deck (where Alaric is)
O -> Treasure piles (impassible)
P -> Mast
X -> Mist
. -> 5’ Open Space
K -> Kalimac
M -> Melinda
L -> Liothonae
Y -> Myriana
S -> Shalelu
Z -> Zaiobe
The hold is now lit by the glowing ceiling.
Below, with crisp efficiency, Shalelu says:
”Myriana. I think you’ll be able to make it out in time. Go, and do NOT come back into the hold for me. That’s an order, soldier.”
”Zaiobe, you have a decent chance of getting out with Mel before the deck caves in. Go.”
”Lio. Annwyl. I don’t think you’re going to make it out before the ceiling collapses. Unprotected, the odds are good that you will immediately fall unconscious or die. I have a spell that will protect you from some of the damage. Come as far as you can towards me; I’ll move to you and cast it. If the ceiling falls, I should be able to stay conscious for at least six seconds, and very possibly longer. We’ll have a chance of both getting out.”
”And you cannot talk me out of coming.”
Lio does not argue with such logic, also, there really isn't time to argue, though she might want to. She double moves toward Shalelu.
Rhost dives off the ship.
Rhost intends to swim out to one of the farther kayaks, hopefully arriving before his Rage entirely expires.
The capital-P Plan is to pick someone up, go to a second person, drop into the water, help them into the kayak, swim to another kayak, and repeat. Whether or not the morning's pear-shape intervenes is another question entirely.
Swearing under his breath with lots of looks back at the hatch, Alaric reluctantly makes for the canoes.
One last look back at Lio, and then Mel obeys Shalelu, moving to Zaiobe.
Once out of the belowdecks hold, Kalimac takes a quick look at pear-shapedness of it all. Then, figuring that Shalelu generally gives good advice, makes his way to the canoes by the quickest and safest route he can manage.
Hrunndalf waits at the ship's prow until everybody has emerged from belowdecks, then dives and swims for one of the drifting canoes.
Alaric makes it to the canoes.
Rhost dives into the water and begins swimming with strong strokes towards the distance kayaks.
Hrunndalf waits, watching to make sure everyone is off before he dives into the water.
Only Kalimac emerges from the hatch immediately, and races towards the canoes.
Buttersnips and Ameiko launch their canoe.
Spivey and Reta continue to slowly fly towards the kayaks
A random arrow strikes Buttersnips.
A random arrow strikes Hrunndalf.
The fire on the deck begins to spread uncontrollably. Kalimac is caught by the very edge of the flames as he runs.
A large part of the deck suddenly caves in.
Myriana races towards the hatch.
Zaiobe folds Melinda into her arms and launches herself. Squeezed and carrying Melinda, she is moving at one-quarter speed. It is still faster than Melinda would be moving on her own.
Liothonae and Shalelu race towards each other. Shalelu casts a spell on Liothonae when they meet.
The ceiling, entirely aflame, caves in on them.
Zaiobe and Melinda are just in front of the spreading collapse.
"Kalimac!" Ameiko shouts out. "Tell Hrunndalf to get the hell off the boat! All he's doing is putting everyone in danger - we're going to have to wait for him to catch up swimming or someone's going to have to come back and pick him up unless he moves NOW!"
Kalimac nods, turns to the Ulfen oracle and shouts, "הרוננדאַלף, באַקומען אַוועק דעם שיפל! איצט!"
Her own voice teasing, "Well, you can't have it that hard. I'm not even the most beautiful woman in the caravan."
Her hands creep up, behind his neck, and she leans in, whispers "But I am pleased that you seem to think differently."
More of the deck collapses. The fire spreads.
Myriana, Zaiobe, and Melinda all speed towards the exit.
Liothonae and Shalelu start climbing out of the ship through the destroyed area of the deck.
Kalimac makes his way out of the fire.
Kalimac makes it to the canoe, and the dip in the water necessary to get in puts him out. He takes no further fire damage. He and Alaric launch towards the shore.
Rhost continues to swim towards the kayaks. Buttersnips and Ameiko paddle towards shore. Spivey and Reta keep flying.
Myriana emerges from the hatch and dives into the water.
Zaiobe and Melinda come out soon thereafter and fly towards shore.
Shalelu and Liothonae climb out over the side and into the water.
Did Hrunndalf heed what Kalimac said? It is moot now, as everyone is off the boat and he leaps off as well – but not before the leading edge of the now fast-moving fire catches him.
A random arrow strikes Hrunndalf.
Hrunndalf enters the water and begins swimming strongly.
Alaric's shoulders slump with relief when he sees Melinda safe.
He pauses to concentrate, then touches Kalimac's shoulder.
"Just in case we have another nasty surprise waiting for us on shore," he mumbles.
Without much further incident, you all manage to make it back to the shore, one way or another, arriving by ones and twos. You can still hear the shouts of Ulfen warriors over the water and over the hills, but their chances of finding you immediately seem small, as the disintegrating ship behind you will have left no traces of your presence, and a few kayaks drifting away say nothing of direction. Nonetheless, it may seem wise to vacate the vicinity soon.
Many of you are wounded to one degree or another, ranging from Rhost, who has a mere scratch, to Reta and Kalimac, who bear significant wounds, to Liothonae, Buttersnips, and Hrunndalf, who are deeply injured, to Shalelu, who has taken an amount damage that would likely have killed anyone in the group save for herself or Rhost.
And you found no trace of Ulf.
Mel looks around at the group, expecting that Alaric will see to those who are injured shortly. "Well... this doesn't seem the best place to discuss everything that was wrong with that. Do we want to find Uksahkka and see which of the people that helped her arrange this sold her out? Or do we want to leave her out of the loop?"
Hrunndalf fights the urge to leap to the rescue as the burning planks collapse, and follows the orders of his superiors.
If necessary, Hrunndalf casts Fog Cloud up to two times during the escape to throw off pursuers and block line of sight to the archers. He uses the remaining spells to administer emergency aid to anyone who is badly injured.
At the first opportunity upon regrouping on dry land, he addresses Shalelu in particular, but within earshot of the group. "Apologies for breaking the stealth. I had not expected my voice to carry through planks, fire, mist, and celebration. If Ulf had drowned under our very noses... Nevertheless, it was an irresponsible risk to take."
He makes a subdued and spent impression, though there is also a certain electric unrest to him, as if the battle had... unlocked... something deep within him.
Later, to Alaric: "I suppose it's my turn now to receive a lecture on choices and ramifications."