”You have my thanks.” The gearforged intoned. The construct immediately went to work, employing his skills as a smith and his raw strength into the construction of a raft. It was a rushed and messy work, but it was fueled by necessity. He wondered if it would hold his weight.
Whoever leaves to find people, Toki will shout to them, Keep your hand on a rail, and if you cannot find anyone by a count of 150, head back! You can do this!
Toki uses his knowledge of knots and sailing to grab the most buoyant items, and make sure the netting is tied secure!
He will also say some encouraging words to Beordt, I'm willing to bet that you had not expected this when we met all those years ago, eh! Remember, the norns wove your skein long ago, let us make sure that we ride this thread the longest we can!
Tibs helps where he can, he quickly finds himself pondering on how normally he, and others of his station, would leave this to others. Perhaps that is a custom that should be changed. As it stands, there isn't much he could do to help with making a raft, he honestly only had the minimum of understand in it. So he goes to find others that could potentially aid in the rafts construction and integrity.
I will find others who can help with this better than I, I shall return with them in tow shortly.
He keeps a strong face, hoping his confidence will bolster the commoners.
The ratfolk was completely lost on how to make a raft. However, following the instructions of those more experienced, he was able to help in his own way. Maybe, just maybe, I'll end up surviving to the end of the day... best not to think about that right now.
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Lil stood still against the storm, here eyes staring into space, she seemed to be elsewhere, and anyone close enough could here her spouting words in the language of the Minotaur in a singsong steady cadence. The rain lashed at her face running into her unblinking eyes, as she seemed to be unaware of her surroundings, her body somehow moving to keep her from tossing about the deck. Not again! Am I to be thrice cursed! Will I ever see any of these faces that have become familiar if not friends? Even the Dragonborn seemed to be not directly commandeering and rife with superiority.
Suddenly she was jolted back to the present by an excited voice, and the jolt of her familiar leather backpack impacting on her chest. The full fury of the storm, and the chaos of the debris littered deck impacted her to snap out of whatever vision she had been experiencing.
GM:
Since Lily has the "Seer" background, feel free to later have her recall any visions you wish during this trance time. :-)
She immediately springs into action. As she sees a large spar start to fall on a crewmember attempting to pull something loose she casts a quick Benediction spell to help stop some of the damage, and a opaque figure appears above the man, hands reaching out to slow the fall of the large piece of lumber.
She quickly assesses the situation. I could rescue and help much of the crew, but that would be to no avail if there is nowhere for them to leave the ship. I will help build the raft, then assist those who need it onto the craft is possible.
Lily rushes to help the others.
using her knowledge of ropes and survival shelter, she helps direct where the bindings might prove most useful, and make some order out of the chaos, however the sheer amount of people trying to do the same thing at once in these conditions foiled her best efforts... then suddenly things started to make sense in her logical Minotaur mind, and the pattern of the raft began to emerge.
Where she sees weak points in the design, she makes liberal use of the Mending spell to help shore things up.
The whole time she hums some unknown tune... mainly to herself, but loud enough for any who might be near to hear.
Sorala grew up under the care of the brightest minds in Kush. That they viewed her as little more than a tool, as indispensable and inhuman as a roof on a building, was of little solace over the years... but it provided the young woman with a wealth of knowledge, especially about the natural world.
Sorala looked to those building a raft, and then turned her attention to scanning the deck for survivors of the storm, trapped or injured. As much as she longed to use the knowledge she'd absorbed over the years, there were plenty of able bodies attending to the building of a raft already, and a raft with no passengers was as useless as a roof over an abandoned building.
Tossing debris aside, Sorala began removing anyone she could find that was in need of help, and carrying them to nearby the raft-builders so that those with magic or medicine could attend to them.
AC 12 (I figure Sorala isn't wearing her armor)
N'Dateh joins the building of a raft. She follows the directions of those who seem to know, but then realizes that the sea, should they survive, is not unlike the desert. Water is there, yet there is no water, only the wind and the sun.
She focuses her efforts on theprotection of occupants from the elements, leaving the flotation to others.
Beordt nods with Toki's encouragement. "Getting wet never killed any of us before. Keep a hold of what ya got." He tries to get as much of the float able stuff bound with in or to the netting. "Flexible and mobile like seaweed in the waves. That should keep us through the storm." [i]After that who knows?[/b]
Toki smiles broadly, The biggest enemy will be the waves. They will have enough power to pick our little raft clean, so everyone hold on tight! Are we about ready?
The makeshift raft comes together rather quickly, although to those fighting the storm's fury and the increasingly unsteady and sinking ship it feels like it takes an eternity to slap together something that stands a reasonable chance of keeping as many from drowning as possible.
While Beordt, Toki, Dacknar, LilRothic, Rilkus, Dur and D'Nateh all work on the raft, Tiberius and Sorala help free a few of the surviving sailors. Working with the captain and one other man Tiberius is able to finally free Malia from her entombment under the wreckage of the mainmast. Unfortunately, the sorceress barely lives. A massive dagger sized splinter sits lodged in her chest. Her leg crushed and much of her face torn away from the explosion of her arcane focus. Her single good eye flutters open as Tiberius manages to deftly slip her broken body free of the last tangling ropes.
Her lips move in a barely heard whisper as she pulls the dragonkin's head closer. As she talks she places a small pouch into Tiberius' hand. It's soft leather is warm to the touch from the woman's body and somehow remains dry. A delicate band of gold with a jade dolphin charm is wrapped around the pouches neck keeping it closed tight. "Belong to my....family....for generations. Please. Gift them...to sister's daughter. Bones will know....where...find." Her eyes grow cloudy. Laying her on the deck Torremark rushes to bind the woman's wounds, but the damage is much too severe. She stays the captains hands and gazes into his eyes for a moment.
"Mother Ocean....calls me to her bosom....my friend. Save yourself....and those who may...yet live."
Her eye close and a few moments later her body goes limp. It's form no longer animated by life.
Torremark closes his eyes for a brief moment, but there is little time for more than a quick whispered a prayer to Nethus. The Delightful Rose moans as she lists further and another wave crashes over the bow.
"Get that launch in the water!" Shouts the captain as he rises and hurries over to help the sailors shove the boat over the side. "We've no more time."
Truer words were never spoken as the carrack can finally take no more punishment. Sorala manages to grab the young Klifford, still bleeding from Dur's arrow but alive, just as the final mast snaps and crashes into the sea, dragging the ship over as it goes. Launch, passengers, raft, and everyone slide into the churning storm driven waters.
*FLASH* You see a young woman standing on a distant shore. She calls to the gods to bring you and your shipmates aid.
*FLASH* Another watches the storm rage upon a similar but different shore. This line of beach over shadowed by a great pillar of stone. The one who watches simply waits, greed and hunger in his black eyes.
*FLASH* The frightened furious whiny of a horse. Wooden boards shatter. The stallion breaks free of its sinking pen and somehow finds its way to the tipping deck. Faith and determination fill its beating heart as it leaps forth into the unknown, swimming for its life and toward its destiny.
*FLASH* Something ancient lurks in the deep. A massive eye notices bits of metal and other things of mortal men drifting down from above. The storm has brought an easy meal. A massive tentacle flexes in irritation. Now he would owe that blasted Butterfly. But still a meal is a meal.
Why did I leave the mountain? I'm going to die out here! The rat says a mental prayer, doing his best to hide his tears, and apologizing to his horse for leaving him to die out on the ocean.
N'Dateh catches a glimpse of Malia slipping in the ocean as she hold on for dear life to the raft. She gives Torremark a questioning look, but the captain's face is all too clear.
She sighs, and weeps softly, for the sorceress. She now wished she had whipped up the courage to approach her. Her dominion was the sea, but in many ways, their traditions were alike, she felt. Now she will never know.
"Stay together, keep an eye on the raft and look for signs of failure. If you do, let those that can do something about know, yes! Our survival depends on our working together." she shouts over the sound of the storm.
Toki practically rides the raft into the water, holding onto the netting as he stands up on the bundled buoy!
Tibs will let out a small Hmm... He makes his way back to the edge of the ship where the raft was pushed off. He eyes the distance.
Best of luck all. He jumps just as a large wave hits, throwing him off course. He lands in the water near by but manages to break the surface and orient himself in time to swim the short distance to the make-shift raft.
HAH! No storm can snuff out my destiny! A admirable job one and all! He roars into the raging storm.
Rilkus hung onto the raft with an unfailing grip. While he didn’t have a face that could express emotion, inside he worried what might come of him should he fall into the water. Would his gears continue to work? Would be rust? Would it condemn him to endless years of imprisonment beneath the waves, unable to move? He shuddered at the thought as anxiety gripped him.
Beordt roared as he leapt into the water his arm wrapped around the lashings that hold the raft together. He laughs, "I am with the Dragon man!!
Bewilderment crosses Sorala's face as the ship pitches on its side. Instinctively, she holds the hurt Klifford tight as they both slide into the sea, yelling as they tumble, "Hold on! Big gulp of air!" Sorala gasps as they hit the cold seawater, letting some valuable breath loose, before clamping her mouth shut and opening her eyes, looking for light to swim towards. Klifford was struggling, kicking and terror-filled, and Sorala struggled to hold him and the swim towards the surface, laden down with her pack. Thankfully, she had spent many long hours being put through strenuous and demanding excercises; the Iron Squire's legs were strong, her kicks towards the surface powerful. Gasping again as she broke through to the air, Sorala kicks towards the raft, dragging the struggling Klifford behind her.
As the ship falls to the power of the storm.
"It'stime were getting wet lady's and gents."
Dackmar seeing one last knot that needs to be tied. He make the knot just as the wave hits. And starts to get knocked away from a raft. He make a lunge and is able to grab the knot that he just finished with one hand as the raft go into the water. Dackmar holds on to the knot for his life as the raft get dragged away.
Lil looks across the deck for any hope or last minute actions to help others, sadness flushes across her face as she realizes that he choice to help the lad may have doomed the sorceress... but life is full of choices... and consequences. She then looks out over the raging sea for any signs of other survivors... or imminent threats. Then leaps for the raft.
Perception
STR Check
STR Check (Advantage)
And is able to grab hold of a sturdy piece of the flotsam attached to the raft looking about to see if anyone else requires help.
Toki, looking back at the sinking ship, sees Sorala swimming with the injured boy and reaches down to help her and the boy up!
EDIT:
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"I... do not want to try the trick with an arrow again. Not my best plan."
The rat fumbles for a rope, and throws it into the churning waves ineffectively, as he looks around for someone bigger than him to hold the other end.
The ocean water is cool, but it isn't the killing cold many from the north fear. Beordt, Toki and Dacknar all have stories of friends who quickly succumbed to the icy grip of the northern sea. But here in the warmer, southern ocean along the Spice Coast, there is hope for survival as long as the storm swells don't bust the makeshift raft apart or sharks don't come calling.
With a burst of effort Sorala manages to reach one of the dangling ends of rope floating all around the raft. Spluttering with the extra weight of young Klifford, it is the help of Dur and Toki that finally allow her to secure the young Klifford to the debris and apply the remainder of her strength to making sure she doesn't sink under the surface. While Sorala grabs hold of the raft, the Delightful Rose rolls completely on her side and begins to slip below the churning surface of the ocean.
The launch containing Captain Torremark and maybe a half dozen sailors has already been blown a few dozen feet away and then disappears from sight behind another big swell.
Lightning continues to flash overhead as wind and rain pour down from the sky. You survivors of the Delightful Rose hang onto the raft for your lives. For the most part the makeshift vessel of barrels, boards, and rope allows you to keep your heads above water. But every once in a while the sea does her best to knock you under or rip your bodies free of the tiny preserver. The struggle is constant and ongoing as the sea does its best to overwhelm your mortal strength and reserves. A struggle made even harder by the burdens of packs, clothing, armor, and weapons.
The waves try to rip Dacknar from the raft. But his arm wrapped in the cords keeps him from being torn from the raft.
Spending so many years at sea. He get into a rhythm with the waves to save his energy.
He looks around to see how the land lubbers a fairing.
A huge swell crests over them and after it crashes down, Toki is gone!
Thinking that she is probably carrying too much, Lilly lets her favorite spear go as a sacrifice to whatever fickle gods decided to wreck her again.
I would almost rather walk the shadow roads, then ever set sail across an open see again... no not almost I would rather.
STR Check
STR Check (Advantage)
CON Check
Rilkus saw his pack get washed away with a ‘Tsk’ of annoyance. He didn’t bother trying to reach for it as his tools and all of his coin was taken by the God of the Sea. It wasn’t worth dying over. And who knew? Perhaps it would help appease the temperamental deity.
Having left her armor and shield back in her (now sunk) bunk, Sorala finds the raft slippery, but ultimately she holds her place, teeth chattering with the constant lashing the waves give, stomach tumbling with each crest and fall the tiny raft takes.
AC: 12
"Where did the big man, Toki, go? Anyone see him?"
Trying to peer through the storm, Dacknar tries to spot their missing man.
Beordt holds to the raft. Seeing Toki taken beneath the waves. Beordt makes a sad angry roar.
N'Dateh curses as she loses her shield, yet managed to stay on the raft.
Not willing to lose any more possessions, Dur instead risks his life, clutching to the raft and...
is immediately shown the hubris of his actions as he is washed completely off the raft.
Toki and Dur end up slipping from the raft while everyone else manages to maintain their grip by sacrificing some of treasured belongings. Some quickly scan the churning waters for any sign of the missing companions. A wave manages to slap Beordt right in the big ursine's face, blurring his vision for several seconds. But keen eyed Dacknar manages to catch a glimpse of the northern bard as the human struggles to keep his head above water. Already the storm has pushed the raft several feet away from the struggling bard. The half elf also spots the ratfolk, but it seems the adaptability of his race shines through as Dur is able to swim fast enough to make another grab at the raft.
Meanwhile there is a thunderous crash from the direction of the sinking ship and screams of surprise can barely be heard over the cacophony of the storm. The shouts of fright come from the last known direction of the launch. But what catches the eyes of N'Dateh, Dacknar and LilRothic as the raft bobs to the top of a swell are the set of massive tentacles reaching out of the depths to swarm the ship and burst across its overturned and now broken hull. One of the Beordt-thick tentacles slams down against the ship a second time, shattering the hull and splitting it in half.
Another burst of lightning reveals the launch a hundred paces away with oars slapping the surface in panicked flight away from the massive threat from the deeps.
Toki drops his pack, reluctantly, and considers slipping out of his armor, but it is light enough, that he feels he can make it.
Sorala flips her pack off her back. First things first. Worry about the tentacle next. Keeping one knee on the deck of the raft to keep herself stable, the Iron Squire starts unwinding her rope, and when there's a length of rope she judges long enough to reach Toki, she tosses it to the struggling northman.
The rope arcs through the air, split end whipping around in the wind, and lands across Toki's shoulder. "Grab!" Sorala shouts, her voice disappearing in the rain.
5/11 hp
AC: 12
Beordt bobs furiously in the water till his eyes follow those pointing at Toki. He pulls free a bit of line with the inention to toss it out to Toki. "Not letting you to that easy little one."
He smiles as Toki regains the raft. Not letting his efforts to to waste he tosses the rope and start's to pull Dur back toward the float.
Looking to person next to Dacknar, he calls out. "Grab my feet Rilkus, and we can make a chain to make a grab for Toki!"
Watching the massive tentacles reaching out of the depths to swarm the ship puts chills up his spine. "By the gods, it's a Kraken! Everyone we need to just float away, we need to look like trash just floating on the waves. Those pour bastards over there swing the oars are sealing their fate with each slap on the water."
With one last bid of hope to help those doomed sailors, he tries to call out to them."Stop slapping the water, the creature will go to the sound! Just stay still and float away, stop making noise!"
Rilkus nodded. He took one hand and grabbed the raft and reached the other out to Daconar. He resolved to not be the weak link and dug his feet in.
N'Dateh is frozen in place by the sight of the mighty kraken, then says, her voice filled with fear and reverence: "It is the Ocean itself that is calling for the Rose... And you, Dacknar! Follow your own advice and stay quiet. You're louder than thunder! We must all hush... Jetsam, flotsam, planks bobbing is what we are, not sacrifice to the cruel Kraken, yes? Hush..."
Toki grabs onto the rope and takes proffered hands, scrambling up on the raft. The Northman looks a little soggier, minus his pack, That was careless! Stupid boy, just because the fate wove your death doesn't mean it will be easy!
Looking somewhat sheepish, Toki smiles and nods his thanks...
Dur dogpaddles frantically back to the raft and...
watches helplessly as all the hands that reach out for Toki pass over him. That elf said to stop slapping the water, or the kraken will eat me! But if I stop doing that, I'll drown for sure!
Toki, seeing Dur still in the water, throws his length of rope in after him!
Lil winds a loose line around one of her horns to free up a hand, and looks around for anyone who might need assistance... and hopes the giant tentacled thing thinks their makeshift raft is just loose wreckage.
Whatever is applicable.
Treading water alone is hard enough in this storm, let alone grabbing a rope that's being thrown about in the waves. Dur tries to swim after the raft, but tries to look to see if the kraken has begun to take any notice of him yet...
"hold on ye drowning rat. Rilkus keep hold of my feet, I am going after him." As Dacknar stretches' out to try and make a grab at Dur before Dur gets to far away from the raft.
Toki loses his grip on the raft and while he struggles to stay afloat the massive kraken completes the final destruction of the Delightful Rose. A pair of huge tentacles swirl around the broken hull. The sound of the ships beams and thick hull ribs being crushed like toothpicks in the kraken's stygian grip echoes above the roar of the storm. Moments later the great beast drags the ship under the surface leaving little behind but bits of flotsam floating upon the churning surface of the sea.
Dacknar starts to create a living chain to reach Dur and Toki, but a well thrown rope by Sorala helps the bard regain the raft. Unfortunately the same efforts toward Dur are foiled as each time the ratfolk tries to reach rope or raft, a wave washes him aside.
Although the broken remains of the Delightful Rose will keep the occupied for a short while the longer the anyone is in the water, the more likely they will draw the attention of the undersea beast.
Toki reaches for his pack to grab at a wooden bowl from his mess kit, but is reminded that his pack is gone as he swipes at air... He takes off his halfcloak and ties the rope around the middle of the cloth thinking, This ought to keep the rope's end floating for a little bit, at least long enough for Dur to get to the rope...
N'Dateh keeps an eye on the waters where the kraken disappeared. She thinks for a split second to suggest pushing the ratfolk away from them instead of trying to save him, but the fighter had shown he had a good heart, so she instead helps the others to find ropes or sticks to help the ratfolk back on board.
The ratfolk manages to grab a line, and pull himself, soaking wet back onto the raft, and collapses. "Mom always said I'd die in the ocean," he mutters to himself. "Is the creature following us?"