Lheorvine fights his way up the ladder from the aft hold to the passenger berths. The ship is listing to one side and downwards, making his way like scrambling upwards along a sloping hillside. When they reach the short corridor between the cabins he finds Ishmex and Blythe emerging, and Cedric sticks his head out, eyes bleary from sleep, clinging to the doorframe to stop from slipping out. There is the sound of rushing water and shouts and screams from the crew from somewhere below.
"What's going on?" asks Cedric. As Lheorvine yells at him he blinks and then clambers back into his cabin to pull on some trousers.
A wave slaps the side of the ship and the tilt to the deck increases with a jerk.
Delmar notices the sudden change in motion of the ship, and quickly throws the most important things back in his pack. Then makes his way to the deck.
Lheorvine runs back to his cabin, where he grabs his bow and his backpack. He casts a long, sad look at his suit of platemail, shakes his head and heads topside.
Cedric re-emerges into the passageway, trousers on. The ship settles a bit further, the deck and the bulkhead now hard to tell apart due to the skewed angles. The way out is now a precarious clamber down a steeply canted corridor, filled ankle-deep with rushing seawater, to the doorway.
On deck, the list of the ship makes it hard to move. The starboard rail is nearly in the water and the bow is sinking further into the sea. Water is gushing out of the companionway to the decks below the fo'c'stle where the crew have their berths. A few scrambled out as Ishmex first got topside but no more seem to be coming from that direction. The strong wind is catching the sails, dragging the ship over on to the reef on which it is grounded. The Captain clings to the helm yelling orders. Sailors are above, desperately trying to cut down the rigging.
Then, with a sudden crack the mainmast snaps about halfway up. Giant splinters of wood, swathes of wet canvas and broken bodies fall from the sky and snapped cables hiss through the air like whips. The main chunk of the broken mast collapses on to the foremast, taking that down too. The Captain disappears in a hail of debris and the ship lurches over.
Ishmex manages to avoid the parts of the ship flying though the air. Unfortunately he was also flying through the air!
Well this is a new sensation, not wholly unpleasant either. I would hope it was more controlled though... oh no, he comes the water.
Delmar dives aside as the mast comes crashing down, unfortunately he too is flung into the see by the attempt to move to safety.
As Delmar hits the water he lets it wash over him, holding his breath in the hope that he will surface safely. He clings to his pack hoping to use it to stay afloat, and considers the impact of taking a mutigen once he can breath. Once he surfaces, his first thorught is to look around for Cedric.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Lheorvine gets batted into the drink by the spinning mizzenmast boom. At least I'm not wearing armour, he sighs as he holds onto his darkwood shield for flotation.
As Blythe attempts to hustle above-decks, she smacks her head on some flying cargo, and gets turned around. The ship lurches, and she tumbles out of the interior of the ship, her feet flying over head, her sword gripped tightly, and into the freezing waters.
Delmar keeps his pack, despite the battering he is taking.
Ishmex is dashed about against the rocks and the reef. He can't keep his grip on the wand and it washes away into the inky waters.
Climb
Reflex save - Damage
Acrobatics
Perception
Grulorg manages to get on the deck but just as he does so, debris slams into him, throwing him off balance and pitching him into the sea...
Swim
Swim
Swim
The water is brutally cold but Grulorg ploughs through the waves, his powerful frame and night vision helping him to avoid the rocks that lie just below the surface. But the current is very strong and he is dragged quickly from the site of the wreck. Fighting it is fruitless and he swims with it for a while, looking for some sort of refuge. Everything is dark in the moonless, overcast night. But as immersion in the numbing water begins to deaden his limbs he spots what look like waves breaking on a shore a few hundred yards away. Summoning the last reserves of his strength he makes for them, hoping that it is not just another isolated reef. The flow of the water and his own efforts carry him closer, and now he can see a low cliff and breakers washing on a narrow shingle beach a tantalising distance away. But the current is dragging him past, not towards it.
With a final desperate surge he flails for the shore. His head swims and his vision begin to blur, and he involuntarily breathes in a gulp of seawater. His lungs burn as he chokes. He flounders, struggling to keep his mouth and nose above the water. Then just as his body is about to fail him he feels stones under his feet. He lunges forwards and stumbles, finding himself sprawled on a bed of rounded pebbles. A wave crashes over him, immersing him for a moment in frothing surf. Crawling on all fours he painfully clambers away from the water. He then collapses, shivering but on solid ground once more.
Grulorg takes a few moments to cough the remaining water from his lungs, he checks his inventory. besides his clothes and his cloak, all else he brought was lost to the waves, even his fabulous weapon!
Still, a dead man cannot use tools so to hold on he had to let go. The Gods give and the Gods take, the half-orc has overcome worse, perhaps his goods will wash up on shore, perhaps not.
Still, this was not the time to lay about, this was the time to seek survivors. With his night vision, the half-orc begins to look for his allies or his charge, Cedric. Hell, even crew men he should assist if he can but they are not his primary focus.
Grulorg begins to walk the rough surf, So much for an easy job...
Perception
The beach seems to be in a cove, and a few hundred yards further in this direction the strand seems to run out and the cliffs meet the sea. However, crumpled up by some rocks just before this point, Grulorg notices another body. As he gets closer he realises from the clothing it must be Lheorvine. As Grulorg bends over to check for vital signs Lheorvine groans and his eyes flicker open.
He opens his eyes. It is still dark. A frightening black shape looms over him but as he blinks he recognises Grulorg's not-so-friendly face peering intently into his own. Turning his head weakly he can see he is lying on a narrow shingle beach a few feet above where the surf surges and falls. A low cliff rises up behind.
He scans for more survivors from his current position.
Grulorg and Aubrey:
"Did you lose your hammer? Take my bow. If you are strong enough to use it, of course," ha adds with a small smirk.
Grulorg and Aubrey:
He opens his eyes. It is still dark. A frightening black shape looms over him but as he blinks he recognises Grulorg's not-so-friendly face peering intently into his own. Turning his head weakly he can see he is lying on a narrow shingle beach a few feet above where the surf surges and falls. A low cliff rises up behind.
He hears a voice he identifies as Lheorvine's. "Is he alive?"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
He is lying flat on his back and he can feel a bed of shifting pebbles through the wet fabric of his coat. Someone or something lifts him, his trailing feet rattling the shingle as he is dragged up a slope. He hears voices speaking in an unfamiliar language. Then a voice speaks clearly, though with a strong accent, in the Common Tongue of the Empire. "Do not worry, stranger. You belong to the Goddess now." A heavy blow to the side of the head plunges Delmar back into unconsciousness.
Grulorg grins, "I abandoned my goods to save my life. Things I can replace, I've no guarantee the Night Maiden would restore me to life".
Grulorg picks up the bow and flexes it with ease, "Thank you, I will accept this gracious offer my friend".
As they arrive at the figure of Ishmex, Grulorg grins a tusky grin, "He lives! Set up a fire perhaps... and warm up, I will scan the beaches the rest of this way for survivors".
Grulorg does just that.
Grulorg prowls the beach. He finds no more bodies among the washed-up wreckage from the ship. As he walks to the far side of the cove he finds a sea cave running into the cliff. It is floored with shingle and sand and judging by the breeze blowing into his face from it, Grulorg judges that the far end probably opens out further along the shore.
She opens her eyes. It is still dark. Turning her head weakly she can see she is lying on a narrow shingle beach a few feet above where the surf surges and falls. A low cliff rises up behind.
Grulorg, Ishmex, Aubrey:
"Stay outta sight," he tells Grulorg as he leaves. "If you encounter anyone, come back and get us."
The crackle of the fire provides some well-needed warmth and cheer and Ishmex and Lheorvine huddle close to dry their sodden clothes. Dawn is beginning to break, the sky overhead turning silver-pink, but the sun remains hidden.
It is dark. And warm. The air smells of smoke, and damp earth, and wet clothes. He is in some sort of hut, lying on a packed dirt floor, circular stone-built walls surrounding and a roof of wooden beams and turf over his head. In a central hearth a fire crackles, smoke filling the room until drifting lazily from a small hole in peak of the roof. The exit is a low doorway covered by a curtain of skins.
Someone coughs. There are several people in here. By the dim orange light of the fire he recognises some of the sailors from the ship. The majority seem to be carrying injuries - cuts and bruises mostly, although a few with what look like broken limbs - and most are sprawled motionless on the floor or huddled by the wall. They include Mister Ward, his long grey hair falling in bedraggled locks about his face, one of his eyes blacked and swollen.
"Are you alright?" Turning, Delmar finds Cedric leaning over him. He has a few scratches but otherwise seems to be uninjured.
He calls out, "BLYTHE!? DELMAR!? CEDRIC!? CAPTAIN!? Anyone there!" This is probably the first time he has used the full name of either of his companions, ever.