Between Jorzan's marksmanship and Kelne's heroic hanging-from-the-ship combat maneuvers, another aboleth shudders out a burbling death cry and begins to sink in a spreading pool of it's own horrid blood! That's three of the aberrations that the party has dispatched.
The boat lurches suddenly to the left as the monster appears on deck mid charge, rushing toward the port bow!
"RAAAAAAAWR! SMAAASH FISH!"
The monster flies at the aboleth, pummeling its fishy face with a great fist.
The boy imagines a shield protecting the monster against the aboleth's attacks.
@Feral Boy and @Monster:
The aboleths, as a race, have not lived this long by being foolhardy. Half a minute into this attack on your ship and they have realized that not only will this ship's crew and passengers not be so quickly bullied into giving up what the ancient sea-creatures want, but they also are quite capable of defending themselves. All five of the remaining aboleths are now underwater, and three of them have begun spellcasting incantations. The fourth, heavily damaged, has away from the ship and under the waves a bit, while the fifth dispatches the last stingray with a ruthless and casual scorn.
Only the summoned elementals remain on deck, fighting, but neither proves up to the task of striking either Kelne -- whose superior strength allows him to parry the lightning elemental while still dangling off the boat -- or Tanel, who simply ducks under the pressurized punch of the air elemental.
The Captain, getting her wits back, shouts to her crew; "Man the sails! Ready the wheel! Druids, counter this foul magic that holds us still! The Song of Sarain can outrun these beasts if we can get free, so don't waste your time on summonings!"
ROUND 4--
________________________________
IN EFFECT ON SIR JUSTAHL:
BLESS WEAPON: Longsword is Good aligned, auto confirm crits vs. Evil. 1 min/level.
DIVINE FAVOR: Gain +2 on attack and damage rolls. 1 minute.
EAGLE’S SPLENDOR: Gains +4 to Cha for 1 min./level. 1 min./level.
HASTE: +1 Dodge, +1 to hit, +30ft move, extra full round attack.
______________________________
AC: 28 HP 71/71 (100%)
______________________________
With the Aboleths out of range for him, Sir Justahl will move to the Captain or other injured crewman and Lay on Hands for damage healed, removing any Shaken or Diseased condition as well.
Karthan turns and casts Magic Missile - no metamagic - putting Magic Missiles into each of the casting aboleths, the better to interrupt whatever it is they're attempt to do, which, since it hasn't happened yet is probably a summoning of something...
A4
A6
A8
A8
For his move action, he will draw his Wand of True Strike.
The primary purpose is to force Concentration checks on their summons.
Karthan sends bolts of pure force careening down into the water, hammering into the Aboleths, but none of the ancient beasts cease their waving of tentacles and burbled chanting.
Fortunately, they are too busy to disturb the ship's resident cleric and druid, who seem to have successfully countered whatever magics were keeping the ship still. With a giant creak and groan, the Song of Sarain begins to move again. The captain barks out more orders. "That's fine work, boys! Now give us a good wind and we're off! Don't let 'em come 'round!"
Justahl has saved one of the Sailors, but another continues to lie on the deck bleeding out, over by Kelne.
With no more of the aboleths in range, Tanel spins to confront the air elemental that has been harassing him this whole time. "You know what, mate? I have had about enough! Of! You!" The last two words in Tanel's shout are each punctuated by brutal swings of the Bennaladi's halberd and he cleaves the outsider cleanly in two, destroying it utterly.
One enemy vanquished, Kelne hauled himself back over the railing and bodily shoved at the lightning elemental, intent upon regaining firm footing on the deck.
Tring to out the dangerous foes down as quickly as possible Jorzan sends two more arrows targeted at the most wounded creature he can see, these shafts designed to tear right through any protective coating the Aboleths have.
2 Razortusk arrows vs AC 9:
Damage:
@Jorzan:
Kelne climbs up to the deck again and is about to attempt to run right through the lightning elemental when the creature does his work for him! It makes a terribly clumsy swing at the warrior's sword and misses, stumbling over the fallen sailor on deck, and drifting several feet away.
The boy touches the fur of the monster's back and yells something, gibberish, but you can almost imagine he'd said, "Go get 'em, boy!"
As the monster climbs the railing around the deck, you can see his stubby fingers lengthen, webs of skin growing between them.
The monster drops from the side of the ship, effortlessly moving through the water to attack the aboleth. However, it is still a strange environment for him, and he can't seem to connect with the foul creature.
Something strange happens. Two of the aboleths, as if on a signal of some sort, simply disappear into the deep, their silence somehow horrible as they swim down. The klutzy lightning elemental zaps down to the dying sailor by Kelne, heedless of the northman's attacks, and kicks the seaman into the water, where another aboleth awaits to grab the body and haul it down to some unspeakable fate.
On the port side of the ship, the Feral Boy has drawn some unfortunate attention to himself as an aboleth there has decided he will make an interesting test subject. So far, though, the kid is proving far too agile for the aberration to get its gigantic tentacles on. This aboleth is the only one visible above the water; all the others have either retreated or are underwater.
Karthan swaps the unused wand of True Strike with the Unseen Servant and fires a crossbow at Aboleth #7. Hoping like heck that the darkness is giving enough concealment to make the shot a surprise.
To Hit
Damage
And now you know why I like that wand of True Strike. :)
ROUND 5--
________________________________
BLESS WEAPON: Longsword is Good aligned, auto confirm crits vs. Evil. 1 min/level.
DIVINE FAVOR: Gain +2 on attack and damage rolls. 1 minute.
EAGLE’S SPLENDOR: Gains +4 to Cha for 1 min./level. 1 min./level.
HASTE: +1 Dodge, +1 to hit, +30ft move, extra full round attack.
______________________________
AC: 28 HP 71/71 (100%)
______________________________
If there is no opportunity to rescue the sailor, Sir Justahl gets his hasted self over to where A6 is attacking The Boy and Smites (#2/3) it!
Smite Attack: for a possible cutting damage.
Sir Justahl makes it over to where the Feral Boy is dancing -- almost literally -- around the enormous tentacles of the aboleth and delivers a giant hacking slice to the thing. At that same moment, the ship gives a sickening lurch and suddenly starts off again. She's only moving about half-speed, but the sails are still filling. You'll be flying along in no time.
Seeing nothing else to do, Tanel rushes forth beside Sir Justahl and attacks the beast attacking the Feral Boy.
Tanel and Justahl both rush to the Feral Boy's aid, taking big chunks out of the aboleth that is harassing him.
With all but one of the enemy underwater Jorzan picks out the one remaining target still above water and lets fly with two more arrows, this time seeking to drain the creature's strength
2 Razortusk arrows:
Damage:
This time his shots fly true, both arrows streaking out of the darkness and puncturing the rubbery flesh in exactly the right place to weaken the aquatic terror.
Kelne stood poised for long moments, on the verge of diving in after the sailor. But it had all happened too quickly. Neither aboleth nor man was even visible in the darkness, and the water was their element. To dive in would be to cast his life away and leave Cassandra with one less defender in a hostile world.
Swearing vehemently, Kelne turned his attention to the lightning elemental, hacking another chunk out of it after his earlier strike. It wouldn't be sending anyone else down into the depths if he had anything to say about it.
The aboleths seem clearly to be on the run, despite being further harried by your stout defense of the ship and its passengers. Your vessel is beginning to pick up speed.
The Monster, still thrashing under water, once again strikes at the wicked abomination, but misses as it wriggles nimbly in its natural environment.
Slam
Seeing the aboleths in retreat, the boy lets out a deep sigh of relief and plops onto the deck, exhausted from the physical and mental strains of combat.
Far away, under water, the aboleth misses its chance to defeat its surface dwelling foe as the monster disappears in a flash.
Having been slashed terribly by Tanel and Justahl, the final aboleth away from the side of the ship and slinks down in the crystal water until it is little more than a shadow. The lightning elemental vanishes in a burst of light, leaving the stink of burnt ozone wafting indelicately behind it. There is groaning and head-shaking from the sailors that Justahl healed, partially from pain, partially from the shock of hovering on the brink of becoming some bizarre and unnatural underwater aberration.
There is also an unspoken sadness felt about the man lost.
But the Song of Sarain is cruising along once again, even faster than before since the ship's magic-users are keeping the wind enhanced. A heavy and watchful silence falls on the deck of the boat as crewmembers set immediately to the task of cleaning blood off the finely varnished wood.
The captain gives each of you a grateful look, then retires to the rear deck to pilot.
Two days to shore.
As the battle comes to an end a wave of anger and guilt washes over Jorzan 'That man died because of Me' keeps repeating over and over through the shadowdancer's mind. Leaping nimbly down from the mast Jorzan makes his way over to the Captain "Captain, you have my deepest thanks for the bravery of you and your crew and my most profound apologies for the loss of your crewman. I have no idea why those creatures were after me, I have never encountered their like before. It...it may have something to do with...something from my past, and an evil, deranged wizard who seems to feel he has some claim on me, but this is only a guess."
Pausing for a moment as a surge of emotions rages through him the young man controls himself and continues "Captain, did...did that man have a family? Or anyone who was depending on him? I know I can never do anything to fully make up for his loss, but if there were any who counted on him for support I would give what gold I have to help, in whatever small way, to compensate for his loss."
@Jorzan: The captain smiles sadly at you. "You've a good heart, lad; the world needs more like you." She shakes her head. "Don't worry yourself about it. Mourn him if you will, but he had no family aside from us on this boat, and we already have your passage so I won't hear of you dumping more gold on us. You did your part." She gestures towards the mast, where Karthan has dismissed his darkness spell and climbed down. "Helped with the defense. That's good work, and well-done." She claps you on the shoulder and nods, then heads up to the wheel where the pilot has summoned her.
@Everyone:
Pilot: "She's not sailing right, skip. There's a drag."
Captain: "It's those damn aboleths, they warped the hull again. We'll check her when we dock, in the meantime double the night watch and keep a tight eye on the hold. First sign of a leak and I want Ramsey down there casting mending spells till his voice gives out. You understand?"
Pilot: "Aye, captain."
The pilot then turns the wheel over to the captain, and heads down into the crew area.
For a moment, Sir Justahl gripped the rail to jump in and save that sailor; but...
He couldn't even see the man now, and the Inheritor was quite clear about his duty. He felt relief at that; it would have been a one way mission in his armor. (And then ashamed for the feeling.)
He shook his head at the conflicting thoughts and feelings, then sought out any others who were aflicted by the aboleth slime to cure them.
Kelne quietly found out the name of the sailor who'd been lost and stood at the railing offering up a prayer for his soul, and for something more useful to the living, were it to be granted, "Lady Callistria, if he should yet live, I ask that you grant him a chance for vengeance against those who have taken him. And if he does not live, then may his soul reach the heavens, rather than the watery hell to which his body was dragged."
Perception (Hearing)
Perception (Visual)
Karthan will offer his prayers to Desna to guide the fallen man's journey to the stars, and ask her guidance on going forward. He is not a deeply religious man, however.
Karthan says to Jorzan, "Might be best if you climbed up this rope with Cassandra for as much time as you can bear. You'll be harder to track by spell that way."
Jorzan nods at the captain's words, understanding that this was just the way of things sometimes. Be it sailor, or soldier or mercenary, often just doing ones job put your life at risk. Still, this just did not feel right.
Noticing Kelne actions by the railing Jorzan moves over to him and stands silently during the short eulogy.
As Karthan makes his suggestion Jorzan, expression dark, opens his mouth to object. Mid rant though he suddenly glances over the side of the boat beside where Kelne is standing and closes his mouth, instead just giving on e curt nod. As he looks around, prior to heading to the rope, his sharp senses pick up a few interesting items and he so he adds over his shoulder Seems there's some kind of drag on the boat. And those clouds up ahead look peculiar. Might be a couple things worth keeping an eye on."
Then without another word he heads off to join his self imposed seclusion in the extra-dimensional space.
Sight Perception:
Hearing Perception:
As the others pray and say their words of mourning Tanel walks to the rail at the edge of the deck and stares down into the water, watching the swells and white spray as the ship knives its way north through the lake.
He sees his own ghosts in the corner of his eye, and even they seem subdued as he gazes out, wordless and silent.
I hope you died, I hope to whatever god they care to name that you weren't alive. That would be worse I'm sure. Much, much worse. So I hope you died.
Sir Justahl offers his own prayers for the one who was taken as well.
The last two days of sailing are blessedly quiet, though the dark cloud pointed out by Jorzan hangs heavy in the air as well as on everybody's mind. As the Song of Sarain makes her final approach, the warriors in your group are quickly able to assess what is happening...
Omskoldsv is under siege.
Great burning catapult bolts arc across the sky, smoke billows up from the walls and halls and towers of the city. The captain looks to you all, her face filled with concern. "Look. There os no place else to dock. I can take you in to the pier and you can try to convince the dwarves to let you use their tunnels. That would be safest, but would require some serious charisma. Or, I can kick us out to the far northeastern shore and let you row the short distance in. You'll be utterly exposed, but if the front doesn't extend that far, there's a chance you can outrun them. What would you like me to do?"
"I recommend that someone with a bit more knowledge of local conditions try to talk our way in."
Happy to be out on deck in the fresh air again Jorzan asks "Do we know what's happening, who's fighting who? Can your casters divine anything Captain?"
"Let us go right up to the pier. There is no point messing around with small boats." Sir Justahl argues, nervous about rowing in heavy armor in a small rowboat.
"I suspect we've been spotted already," Kelne said, "By the time we reached the northeast shore there probably would be someone waiting for us. Talking our way into the dwarf tunnels might be difficult, but I think it's doable. Although if there are more of those blasted posters scattered about, that'll complicate matters."
Kelne is able to fill everyone in with what he knows of the dwarves in his homeland...
The dwarves of the Forgelands are a secretive lot. Unlike their aggressively friendly cousins in the jungles of the southeast and in the cities of Maho and Dambulla, northern dwarves stay mostly underground or in mountain tunnels. Omskoldsv is their capitol and their only aboveground city, which they maintain exclusively for trade. There are land and sea routes from Manaus, Mamban, H'arun, and other centers of civilization leading up to the fortress city of the Forgelands so other races can trade for gems, worked stone, and fine metal products from the forges of the dwarves.
Omskoldsv itself is said to be heavily fortified and quite foreboding, with only the barest minimum in the way of comforts. Most traders stay for the minimum time possible to conduct their business and flee south as soon as their wares are gone. The city is horseshoe-shaped, with the open part facing the lake and the rest surrounded by high, thick walls. The ports are very busy but still well-defended, with platoons of dwarven warriors on constant patrol. It is because of this that Omskoldsv holds the twin distinctions of being the least friendly and yet safest port.
As you approach, the bulge of the city prevents any of you from getting a clear view of who the dwarves are fighting. It's clear that if someone were to venture out to the side -- either east or west -- a fair ways they could find out, but neither of the ship's mages can be spared to go scout such a thing, especially since really, as far as the captain is concerned, it's not that important; regardless of who is attacking the city, her job is to get you into port safely.
The final morning of your voyage, the captain informs you that she has a dock ready for her and will be pulling in as quickly as possible. She will be following her usual M.O. of then waiting around to get some cargo or passengers to take back so she can avoid deadheading, but that if you wish to charter the Song of Sarain ahead of time, you certainly could.
You will arrive at port by dusk.
"Captain, I overheard about the drag on the boat, was your crew-member, Ramsey I believe, able to repair the damage or find out what was causing the drag?"
"And so what are our plans once we arrive in the city friends?" the shadowdancer asks his companions. "Knowing who attacks the city could certainly help towards making our decision of what our next move is. Perhaps Kelne and myself can scout out quickly. Perhaps you might be up for joining us as well Karthan?" Looking around he concludes. Then Justahl and the others can talk their way into the city."[/b]
He chooses not to mention that this also remove Kelne, at least for the time being, from being at risk of being recognized from a wanted poster. He now knew what it was like to have the guilty burden of having others come to harm only because certain enemies were after you.