Once you've made alterations to your ship, you sail on in on the company of the 'Sea Snake', now bearing the name 'Northern Blessing.'
As planned, it takes you a day of leisurely sailing around the island of Nerun, at towards the shipping channel from Yeza to Nerun. With a spoke wind running from Yeza to Brestlor (and none in Nerun) this channel is as good as abandoned. Without a spoke wind, the seas inside the ring are calm and placid, making for easy, but slow, sailing. Once you've lost sight of the eastern coast of the island, you don't see another sail.
As you reach the planned interception point, you enter a loose patrol pattern, keeping the two ships just in sight of the horizon.
Ula! Ulo spends much of the time fishing off the deck.
+ = 18
Not the worst haul I have had...
Sayyid passes the time talking softly with Taliba, watching her hunt for fish and writing.
1189 AU, 16th day in the month of planting.
You spend the day in a lazy patrol pattern, keeping about 3/4 of a league between the two ships. The sea is clear and disturbed only by a light breeze. Only the occasional pure white cloud interrupts a sky near as blue as the sea below it. Day turns into dusk, and as dusk turns into evening, you spot a sail to the southeast. The ship approaches exactly in the corridor you had been told to expect, half way between the two waiting ships. The northern blessing slowly shifts its sails to drift back towards the course the other ship will sail.
"You see that? our prey perhaps? or is it some other unlucky soul?"
Sayyid Calls for Taliba and strokes her feathers with two fingers, looking to his large companion...
"We move, no?"
Asmund sets his sail to intercept at the same time as Selhert.
"Aye Sayyid. Bows at the ready you three, its time. Keep an eye out for the name-board, there's no need to be raiding the wrong ship."
You make ready and slowly alter your course. The ship comes into greater focus, slowly and steadily. A single masted ship, it has the lines of a sailing ship more than of a barge. It seems to slow its course slightly, perhaps in apprehension as they've surely spotted you as well by now, but they continue on.
The distance closes as the tension mounts. Eventually the three ships close to triangle, each only a few hundred meters from the next. You can start to make out letters from the name on the side, ... La...s J...
Suddenly, the ship brings outs its sail to full, and steers full into the wind to put on speed. The new course angles it towards the Blessing, but still has it on course to pass between your two ships. you see excited movement on the deck. The Blessings puts on speed as well, moving to intercept.
You adjust your sails to intercept as well. Your sleeker vessel putting on speed faster than the larger ships. Your well on course to close the distance. Your rapidly start closing to bow range and can now make out the name "Latrei's Joy" clearly on the bow.
Sayyid is new to this raiding but wants to be sure if he does it he does it right.
35 Navigation.
Sayyid studies the position of the setting sun and the wind and the flow of the ocean around him, curious whether this ship is indeed traveling from Yeza.
While you can't know what path it might have been sailing before you sighted it, the course its been on since it came into your sight would indeed put it on a straight line from Yeza to Nerun.
"That's the one."
Asmund draws back his longbow and aims for the broad side of the ship, right past the figure head.
+ (15 - difficulty)
Sayyid draws and looses an arrow at their ship, aiming for their mast
23 Coordination.
Ade rolls her eyes at Asmund's shot. "If we must be bad pirates, let's at least be good at it."
She grabs one of the plain arrows purchased in Nerun and takes aim at the o in the word 'Joy' on the bow.
Ula! Ulo Raises a bow and notches an arrow, careful to watch the others first trying to hide his unfamiliarity with the weapon.
+ + = 20.
Ula! Ulo breaks out into a song of his tribe celebrating a battle long ago against a rivel tribe
+ = 11 - difficulty...
Ula! Ulo looks embarrassed and stops his song looking off into the distance as he notches another arrow not wishing to see how his shot failed.
As the ship comes into range, arrows start to fly between them. Asmund is the first to loose, but he woefully overestimates the range and sends an arrow that can only be described as high, wide, and not very handsome.
Sayyid send an arrow through one of the sails.
Ade calmly knocks an arrow and sends the shaft straight into the center of a single letter painted on a moving ship. From another moving ship. A genuinely unbelievable shot that will go entirely forgotten amid the confusion.
Ula! Sends a shaft into the sea, betraying his newness to the weapon.
At the same time...
A flight of 15 or so arrows arises from the blessing, landing across the deck, in the side, the rigging, and a few in the sea.
A few scattered shots return from the joy, but they thunk harmlessly into your side.
On the blessing, you can see them start to ready torches. They joy will soon be past, to keep up the charade, the blessing will pretend to attempt to burn their sails.
Sayyid draws his bow again aiming for the sails.
"We may be the worst pirates they have ever seen."
=18
"well, surely I am a poor pirate!"
"Indeed, I never was much of a marksman."
Asmund sets down his bow and steers the ship so as to cross right behind the Joy as it sails past. Intending to give the impression that we couldn't quite reach them in time.
I surly am no shot with a bow!
Ula! Ulo starts tying some rags to a short spear tossing it to get a sense of balance.
Bring us closer and I will give them a story to tell about a flaming spear!
Again Ula! Ulo breaks into song...
+ = 9
clearing his throat
Today might not be may day, when we tell the story of us, we should leave this part out.
To throw the spear
+ 15
"We're only supposed to miss the people, guys, it's okay to hit the ship."
Ade holds six arrows in her bow hand, takes a deep breath, and sends her own rapid volley at the stern of Latrel's Joy.
30
47
23
32
41
33
"I really love shooting. By the way, who is Latrel?"
The distances continue to close rapidly, 150meters, 100 meters, 50 meters...
Asmund confidently guides the ship towards the Joy, making sure to keep the angles and keep the speed and angle such that you just slip in behind the other vessel.
Sayyid looses another arrow, which gets stuck in the deck.
Ade keeps up a steady volley, peppering the Stern with precisely placed shafts.
As the distance closes, Ula! lights a spear and hurls it towards the joy. As the same time, a flight of flaming arrows leaves the Blessing. The majority of those shafts hit the sails, leaving charred holes. The treated sails only singe and don't catch. A few shafts hit the side of the boat, at the same time that Ula!'s burning spear strikes the stern.
A those points of impact, a rapid flame-front rushes outward along the hull with an audible *WHOOSH,* the flame-fronts round the hull in seconds, leaving the whole hull a single, enormous pyre.
The rest of the ship catches rapidly, and momentarily everything is obscured in the enormous, twisting column of flame. Faint screams can be heard over the aggressive rushing sounds of the inferno.
You watched, stunned, and before you can react you hear an enormous rumbling following by a sharp crack and a flash of light asthe ship breaks in two, and the two flaming halves quickly start to sink beneath the waves.
Ade looks vaguely ill. "I knew this was a mistake." She stares at the fire for a moment before running to grab rope. "Asmund! Keep us away from the fire but get us close! If anyone's alive I doubt they're up for much swimming."
Asmund curses under breath.
Before Ade can finish speaking Asmund is maneuvering up alongside the burning ship, as close as he can with out danger of catching.
He scans the water for survivors, and briefly at the blessing to see how her crew is reacting.
Can I get search rolls from the party? I'm going to use that as the "perception" roll analogue.
Sayyid is very surprised by what has just happened, never before has he seen a ship such as this burn so quickly or with such fervor.
"This should not have happened! Every sailor knows the dangers of fire on the open sea, they would have taken precautions to ensure a broken lamp would not doom them all!"
Ula! Ulo lets out a long slow whistle.
What was her cargo? i've never seen nor heard of a ship sinking like that!
Casting his eyes about the sea he looks for survives, or loot maybe a clue as to why the ship went down as it did.
+ = 17
Thinking back Ula! Ulo tries to understand if it was his spear that started the blaze...
+ + = 15
You can see nothing but wreckage in the water.
Its clear that the flames originated from where your spears and the arrows from the Blessing struck the hull (not the sails), but heavy beams of wood don't catch just because someone brushed a torch against it. Strong, well seasoned, treated planks don't go up like so much a barrel of pitch.
With a sense of dread Ula! Ulo feels an old feeling wash over him...
This was a trap... and i'd wager a good jug of palm wine they on the blessing know more then we... I fear we should prepare to be boarded or worse made the fool for this story.
As you try to figure out what's going on and what to do next, you hear start to hear a rhythmic beating sound carrying across the water.
Ula! Ulo turns to look towards the rhythmic beating
+ = 16
Ade returns holding a rope, and stares at the reflections of flames on the water.
After a moment, apparently seeing no one, she lowers her forehead onto the railing.
She seems to be sobbing gently. Beads of sweat stand out on the back of her hand.
SHIP!
Ula! Ulo shouts it and points to the south where sails are viable.
Sayyid looks to the sky and lets out a long sharp whistle, calling his bird to him as he studies the sky and tastes the wind,
"It seems we are not only poor pirates but unwitting ones as well, we must decide now, stay and see what comes or flee and soo find ourselves hunted as pirates."
Sayyid quickly calculates the wind and the current and the chances of escape:
= 31.
Asmund scans the deck of the Northern Blessing to see how they are reacting to all this. He also tries to discern what sort of ship it is that is approaching. He lays a gentle hand on Ade's back.
As the beating sound grows louder, the sails separate into two distinct ship. One large, double masted galley appears to be heading for the blessing and a second, smaller cutter seems to be headed straight for your boat.
The ships are moving at a fair rate of knots. If you head straight into the wind, you may be able to make an escape, but its far from certain.
Panic and confusion seems to reign aboard the blessing, you can make out frantic scurrying, but it doesn't seem that they have a cohesive plan.
"Asumund! Takes us full into the wind! It is our only chance!"
Sayyid starts looking about for anything which might be thrown overboard to lighten the load
Seeing that there are in fact two ships, Asmun gives up any thought he might have had of fighting.
"Ade! Are you with us? If that cutter starts to gain on us we're going to need you ready to shoot."
Asmund turn the Verdant Lance full into the wind and opens the sail to full.
Asmund quickly steers full into the wind, and directs the other crew members to set full sail. Your heading is to the Northeast.
The other ships move quickly towards you, the long oars of the larger galley moving swiftly in unison. As the distance closes, you can clearly see the ships have the distinctive Maroon sails emblazened with a gold sigil of ships flying under the flag of the Magisterium.
They start to split, each heading for its target.
The blessing is setting sail and looks to be trying to run as well, although it seems they've dithered too long. After a few moments, the larger warship launches a dark, tangled mass from the large catapult on it's fordeck, though it falls a few meters short of the blessing.
This may well be the end to our story friends, but at least give them what for!
"Ula! Ulo, Sayyid! Load up that Ballista, we may need it."
Sayyid moves quickly to load the ballista, moving with speed and efficiency to get it drawn and loaded.
The sight of the Magisterium sails seems to snap Ade back. She curses softly, then runs to the rigging, hoping to gain them the extra fraction of a knot they may need.
The chase continues, the air is tense aboard all 4 ships, only the occasional shouted command interupting the regular rhythm of the drums aboard the great galley.
After an few minutes, another shot comes from the catapult abord the galley. This time you see it to be a tangled mass of chains and blades. The blessing was to slow off the mark and this shot hits true, tearing a gaping hole on the main sail and rigging. The blessing soon loses what speed it had gained, and seems to be pulling towards starboard.
The cutter meanwhile keeps after you, closing the distance due to its starting advantage in speed, even as you pick up your own pace. You see a squadron of a dozen or so bow men milling aboard the deck, but they're holding fire for the moment.
Ula! Ulo is shaken by the scene before him.
I a bold idea, that carries with it the appropriate amount of risk... We free our anchor, and tie it to a barista bolt and fire that into their ship then drop the anchor over board slowing them? perhaps multiple bolts tied to it, to slow their removal of it?
after a pause...
I don't think it's a good idea, but we must act least our story be ended!
Sayyid nods in agreement, then rushes off to gather as many spare lengths of rope as he might find.
"This is a plan, and a worthy addition to any story."
As the Blessing falters, the war galley rapidly closes the distance between the two ships. You quickly start to leave both ships behind you.
You begin to pick up speed,but the cutter manages to close the distance to 200 meters before you can get up to a speed comparable to theirs.
The start launching some speculative shots toward you, but at that range in the wind, most fall harmlessly into the water, a few hitting the aft of your ship.
"Keep your bows ready, We're picking up speed but they're still close. Ade, If they get any get any closer take out the Helmsman."
Ade draws a white-fletched arrow and kneels behind the side of the boat, carefully taking aim at the helmsman and waiting for a clear a shot past the rigging and through the swaying of both ships.
The cutter continues to gain ground, albeit much more slowly. You see a total of 14 people aboard the vessel.
At the back, the helmsman is steering, while another figure (presumably the captain) stands next to him, seeming to issue instructions.
Three sailors are manning the sails and the rigging.
Nine archers are behind the railings, occasionally rising to aim and take a shot.
Finally, 2 put down their bows after the first volley and are drawing the ballista at the front of the boat.
As the tension grows, with various archers on both boats guessing their ranges, testing the wind, and waiting for their shot. Ade senses her moment and lets loose. The shaft flies true, arcing high over the water, shifting only slightly in the breeze, and striking the helmsman in the shoulder, piercing through his leather armor. He cries out and lets go of the wheel, clutching his shoulder. The ship drifts off course for a second, before the captain grabs the wheel and steadies her, but you've bought yourself some time as he corrects the course again. The captain is now crouching lower behind the wheel, to avoid a similar fate.
subsequent Initiative:
Ula! Ulo begins taunting the cutter with song and dance.