If a tied man could scratch his head, the pirate would be doing that. "Well we don't have proper magic if that's what ya mean. We've got some salves an' sitch that provide a bit of healing."
After tying the pirate down, Jayse gives a final warning as he searches the man's body for anything useful. "Our deal still holds, but you forfeit it if you try to sabotage it in any way. If we survive - and I plan on surviving - we'll be back to work out the specifics of how we'll present your case to the surviving villagers." He does this as he pats the man's body down.
Jayse finds some coins, a skrimshaw trinket attached to a leather thong around his neck, and a small shiv tucked in his boot. When shown the shiv, the pirate, with sock in mouth, does his best "Well how did that get there?" look which fools no one.
Leaving the coins but pocketing the shiv, Jayse points the trinket out to Ushari, "That thing mean anything to you?"
If it doesn't, Jayse looks around the forest. "I say we go back for Straehan, but I don't have a good idea of how we should proceed. Since we don't know where he is, we should sneak to the last place Fin saw him. Maybe we can get to him before we have to confront the rest of the pirates. But lets do it quietly. Maybe we'll get lucky and run across a few more stragglers."
Ushari gives Jayse a look saying Do I look like a stuffy priestess to you? before she takes the trinket and quickly examines it .
Once finished, she whispers ”If we can get to the cave, then I can use my Coin to find him.”
Findelgwing uses her message cantrip to answer, "Fin lead."
She then slips out of hiding and begins leading the others back towards where she suspects the cave entrance was, explaining it was north-west of where they fought.
Ushari sees no significance to the trinket, "Probably just a keepsake."
Straehan staggers through tunnel, not wishing to be found by the pirates or whatever had been trying to chew on his raw throat. He's fairly sure the wound has ceased bleeding but he doesn't stop to check. He slowly becomes better at navigating in the darkness while dizzy. He trips less and is more quiet. Eventually, he fancies that his eyes must be adjusting to the dark because he sees things in more detail. Belatedly, he realises he is approaching a lit area, and there are sounds - the echoes of voices and movement, perhaps a sharp-voiced command.
Oh no.
The little gnome tries to disappear into a crevice in the wall.
Straehan becomes part of the wall. A pirate carrying a small brand for light moves past him towards where the gnome was chained. As soon as he's out of sight, Strae creeps out and moves forward - stopping in a branching passage. There is a bit of light showing down two of the tunnels. Echoes bounce down the tunnels. He sees motion down the main branch and hears the clink of weapons. Pirates, most likely. Deciding evasion is his best course, Straehan moves cautiously down the darkest corridor, searching for a good hidey-hole.
Jayse and Ushari follow Fin into the twilight, heading north. Their moves are slow and cautious, always flitting from hiding spot to hiding spot, eyes alert for threats or any hint of the enemy. As they skulk north past the heart of the village, they catch neither sight nor sound of the pirates. The village, from their furtive looks, appears abandoned. They carefully angle in around a stand of trees, almost parallel with the northern-most tents that hug the cliff and a bit north of the smoldering remains of the tent where Fin and Straehan held their last stand. All is quiet, eerily so. Only the crackling of wood at the different fires can be heard.
ORDER:
Map: Mining Village
32|36
32|32
24|24
-10|28 Staggered
Fin takes a few moments to cast spells on herself as you all survey the surroundings.
ORDER:
Ushari makes ready to proceed further, then something flashes on her mind...
Skitter!
She holds her hand up and whispers, "Where is Skitter?" She then scans the village grounds for any sign of her music box.
Given the darkness and the mist, Ushari cannot spot Skitter anywhere.
"Last I saw it was back by that tent where we were first ambushed. I'd prefer if we could try to find Straehan first, though. Surely Skitter can be repaired... I'm not sure the same can be said of Straehan."
On hearing the news of Skitter's apparent destruction, Ushari stares back at the tent where Jayse had indicated he was still laying. Several tears roll down her cheek, and she softly sobs for a moment.
She then looks at Jayse, tears still glistening in her eyes, and softly responds, "No, you're right. We need to find Straehan first."
"I'll do my best to help you recover him."
Our valiant heroes painstakingly skirt the northernmost tents, checking them briefly to ensure there are no more pirate surprises to emerge from them. They creep not exactly stealthily along the rockface, triggering a minor tumble of rocks. Everyone winces at the sound.
After long moments without pirates rushing out, they move on - watching the village. It appears empty. As Ushari rounds the corner of the cliff, near the burned out tent where Straehan was last seen and the filleted corpses of at least two pirates still remain, she signals silently for everyone to freeze. Barely illuminated by the bonfire in the 'cove', she just manages to catch sight of a pirate hiding in the tree. Intent on picking his nose, he somehow has failed to spot her.
ORDER:
Map: Mining Village
32|36
32|32
24|24
-10|28 Staggered
Findelgwing draws a bead on the pirate and waits until Jayse and Ushari are ready so that they can all unleash at the same time.
ok
Ushari holds her hand up, forstalling Fin's shot. She holds up her hand and a soft glow emanates from it as she looks to the tree where the lone pirate guard lurks.
She whispers a prayer, and then points at him...
Ushari casts her spell but it seems to have no effect. Fin, not waiting for the pirate to react, steps into the open and fires an arrow. It stirs the branches as it lodges in the pirate's shoulder eliciting a loud grunt from the hidden pirate.
Straehan wedges himself into a crack where a vein of silver once resided. Far more quickly than he thought possible, the pirate returns at a run from the tunnel where the gnome was imprisoned. Given how slow I'm moving, it shouldn't surprise me.
He hears the echoes of angry whispering and then a few pirates immediately sweep through the tunnels, searching high and low. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who they are looking for.
Whether it is due to their hurry, the minimal light granted by their feeble torches, or Straehan's perfect hidey hole... the pirates sweep past twice and fail to find him. A sharp order from their leader has them heading out back out the main tunnel.
Straehan waits long moments until everything is silent before he risks pulling himself from the crevice. He is coated head-to-foot in soot and rock dust. I can't dodge them forever. Time to switch tactics.
Slowly, the black smeared gnome creeps along the corridor, a modest plan (or an opportunity to sew chaos), forming in his mind. His befuddled senses are on alert and he creeps down the far corridor. As he enters the better lit area, his fear increases. Everything could end with a simple mistake.
Straehan arrives at new construction - a locked gate blocking the cavern beyond. In the weak light of the fire therein, Straehan can make out the slumped and disheveled forms of over a dozen men and boys. Trying not to alert them yet, he pulls his pick out and tries to finagle the lock...
The door creaks open drawing the attention of a dozen pairs of eyes. Straehan steps in and closes the gate lightly. He musters himself to his full height and tries to sound confident even as he whispers urgently to the prisoners.
"I'm Straehan. WE are here to rescue you... I've got friends on the outside and they'll be coming soon." He hopes silently, "But I need you to hide me while we talk, and put a watchmen on that gate."
Several of the men exchange looks... and nod. Straehan almost sobs in relief.
Jayse lets his blade dissapate, drawing his crossbow from off his back and firing.
Jayse takes three long strides to get a clear view of the tree-bound man, levels his crossbow, and sends another bolt into the pirate.
The pirate in the tree screams out your location. There is a moment of silence before groups of pirates, rush out from positions on both sides of the tree. They are all carrying bows.
The smirking mage appears behind his men, "Pair off. FIRE!" A wave of arrows launch at his command.
Arrows rain down, striking all three heroes. Boo smiles and fires a weaving bolt of electrical energy which jolts Jayse. He croons, "Prepare for bladework, boys!"
ORDER:
Map: Mining Village
28|36
24|32
19|24
-10|28 Staggered
HIT DAM
HIT DAM
HIT DAM
HIT DAM
HIT DAM
HIT DAM
Jayse
An old miner binds the wound on Straehan's neck with a greasy rag while the weary gnome lays out the situation for the village leadership in grim detail.
"... the gate is open; you can run for it. You'll have to get past the pirates and they've got a bastard of a wizard with them... but you can try. OR you can sit in here and hope my friends win this fight for you."
Some of the miners openly grumble at the implied insult. Strae tries not to smile before nodding, "So I take it some of you want to handle this problem not run from it... which leads to your third choice. You can fight with me."
The village leader, Zathur, looks at the gnome and tries to be polite. "Master Straehan, you aren't in any shape to fight. You can barely walk. No offense meant."
Straehan favors him with a grimace. "You're right. I'm in lousy shape. But my eyes and ears still work, and you'll need those. And I'm a sorcerer. If you can GET me to the fight, I'll give them something to worry about. I didn't come this far to sit this thing out. I've killed a couple of pirates so far and I mean to finish off a few more. But I need one of your people to carry me... and we need to get your folk armed, if possible. I'm assuming you boys know how to handle picks and shovels if not your bare fists, right?" Their response is a ripple of chuckles.
"Good. I'm assuming your tools are somewhere in the mine? So... we need to cover the entrance and get every weapon we can find." He pulls out his little used dagger and hands it to Zathur. "Here's the first one. I won't lie to you, this is going to get bloody. If we run into any pirates before we are ready - we have to kill them quick, otherwise we'll be fighting them for every inch here. Are you ready?"
The desperate, abused miners are ready for a fight. Straehan is carried like a child by one of their burliest members. He leads the way - always watchful and aware.
The small group make it to the main intersection, thankfully with no sight of pirates. Straehan sends two across into a pocket in the rock on the other side as another three sneak across the gap and then sprint deeper into the opposite tunnel to gather their improvised weapons. Long moments go by as the gate guards anxiously wait. When they return bearing armloads of shovels and picks, the tools are quickly dispensed.
"Now what?" whispers the village leader.
"Now we hide, listen, and wait for the right moment. If a pirate comes down here - jump him. Otherwise, keep your ears open." Straehan looks at his over-sized porter and raps the behemoth on the chest. "I'm relying on you to get me where I need to go. We've got to stay ahead of everyone else. My magic is better that way."
The large man merely nods. To build his confidence Straehan spends one of his few remaining spells girding the miner with magical protection.
Their plans set, they divide into two groups and hunker down around bends in the corridors, ready to strike.
After what seems like an eternity, just when Straehan is about to suggest they blitz the pirates waiting outside the mine... they hear the faint sound of yelling followed by trampling feet, the ring of metal and shouted orders.
The miners leap to their feet carrying Straehan aloft inadvertently. He takes a moment to watch the men - looking at the set of their shoulders and the determination in their eyes. He judges them ready and hopes he isn't wrong.
"Let's go. Fast and quiet men. Follow us."
The Porter, at a dead run, just clears the entrance of the cavern. Pirates are everywhere.
Straehan hunts for a good target before finding the one he wants. He conjures a ball of fire and hurls it at the mage grinning in the wrong direction....
RANGE: 120' Ranged Touch Attack
DURATION: 3 minutes or 3 rnds
TO HIT:
EFFECT:
Save: None
With a certain amount of satisfaction, you see an explosion wipe the smirk off Boo's face... to be replaced by a passing look of alarm followed by irritation and concern.
ORDER:
Map: Mining Village
28|36
24|32
19|24
-10|28 Special
Ushari sighs in frustration and her face grimaces as the arrows rain down on her and her companions...which then breaks out in a smile as she sees the mages face explode in a ball of flame.
Straehan...it has to be Straehan!
She knows now the time to fight is now. Also she needs to make the mage see her as a threat. And she knew how to do that....
She raises her hand up and her birthmark glows, encompassing her companions with a divine blessing.
Jayse drops the bow, stepping forward in hopes of drawing the pirates away from Ushari. Gotta keep our healer safe...
Finding a spot that will hopefully provide difficult footing to those trying to flank him, he drops his bow and spits out the fire waiting in his belly.