The year of the Swordfish.
.
In a time lost to history, the island nation of Atlantis controlled the known world through magic and technology. While researching means to expand their influence they developed a device that could transport small groups leagues away instantaneously. Control was limited and there was no instant means for such a group to return but the exploration possibilities seemed limitless. Soon, Atlantis began to send out groups of explorers to find new civilizations. They learned to prepare the groups with star charts to help them return and trade goods to entice the natives. The crown and the explorers prospered.
The system was not without its flaws. Many exploration teams were never heard from again. But the low cost to financiers to send volunteer teams with a small amount of goods and the potential profit for the explorers ensured the continued use of the transportation device.
In the year of the Swordfish the Atlantean crown wanted to test the limits of the transporter. They decided to try for a six hundred league cast and offered a lucrative deal to include percent partnership in the trade route to any team that returned. There was a drawing held to determine which exploration teams would have the opportunity to participate. Three were chosen. Your company was one of the three.
Each team is given an 300 gold and three days to prepare for the trip. On the day of transport you will be provided a large ox cart load of trade goods valued at about 1500 gold in current. You will also be given an astrolabe, star charts, and a spyglass to aid in your company's return.
Three days after being notified, the team shows up at the casting grounds. You form up with the cart, its pair of oxen and prepare to depart. The attendants activate the machine and a vortex opens at the far end of the casting grounds. With a deep breath and a nod to one another, you move forward through the vortex. You had been warned that the vortex would cause disorientation. You had even done short transports of a mile but nothing had prepared you for the stomach wrenching moment of terror you experience when you walk through the portal for the six hundred league cast.
You come to a sudden jolting halt and the world seems to snap back into perspective. As your faculties recover you peer around at a land totally alien to you. The sun up above burns an intense red. There are also dark objects floating through the sky. Looking toward the horizon you see three islands floating in the air. Finally, when you look over the ledge of what you believed to be a cliff, you see you too are floating nearly a mile above an ocean. An ocean apparently unmarred by land mass.
Alejandro staggers as he emerges from the portal.
"Ughhh. I've been in some rough storms, and I'd take those over this any day." He shakes his head to try to clear the disorientation, and looks around in wonder at their new surroundings. "How're we up so high?" he mutters, taking a step back from the edge. "I've seen strange stuff in Atlantis, but nothing like this."
He takes a second glance around, alert for any dangers.
Gheorix takes in the surreal landscape, shaking his head to clear it from the jarring trip. This is a strange place. Where should we go first? I have never heard of floating islands in the sky before. Oh i don’t feel well at all the skald says, leaning heavily on the cart.
Like others, Myrtis is overwhelmed with nausea upon arriving. She finds a place to sit and recover while getting her bearings.
As you start to recover you hear angry yelling coming from the east, a quarter mile away on the other side of a rocky ridge. The landscape is covered with large boulders and gullies so you can expect to be picking your way slowly.
Myrtis looks around and then at the others.
"Do the rest of you hear that? Yelling somewhere?"
"Ugh, I don't feel so good. And honestly I'm not sure we're still on Earth. "
Alejandro clambers up a nearby boulder and scans the terrain.
"Sounds like someone's upset over that way, can't see who it is from here. May as well go find them, they can tell us more about where we are. Best path for the cart is if we go between those two boulders to the left." he calls down, pointing.
After everyone feels like traveling, you slowly cover the quarter mile. Luckily Alejandro keeps you from having to double back. You reach the low ridge and beyond you see a flat heath. A group of men in highly lacquered wooden lamellar armor decorated with bright feathers and dyed cloth with helmets that depict various wild beasts are attacking a group of rat-men. The rat-men, with little to no armor, have circled their carts and wagons, each hanging from a floating bulbous bag, and are attempting to protect themselves from the humans.
"Now I may be jumping to conclusions, but those human's don't look to be the good guys. "
No, but we don't know what's going on here, should we stay out of it or try to put a stop to this and find out what's happening? the skald shifts his grip on his spear, adjusting it for combat should it prove necessary.
Myrtis purses her lips as she takes the scene in, her eyes narrowing.
"We should find out what's happening."
There are a total of seven soldiers. One of them, with a more ornate headdress, appears to be in charge. The soldiers are armed with short spears, shields and short bows. Three of them have staged their shields and spears at their feet and are firing on the rat folk. One of the bladders has been punctured causing that cart to settle to the ground. The rat folk appear to have not ranged weaponry or at least none that they have decided to bring to bear on the soldiers. Behind the soldiers, some 30 yards, is a strange looking object similar to a boat but with rounded lacquered sides. The ridge the group stands upon is about 150 yards away from the action.
"Well that could've been worse," Eddrikk says recovering from the teleportation.
As they group surveys the fight, "If we plan to do anything we should close the distance a bit."
"Yeah, reckon we should. Those that shoot at people without weapons or armor, probably ain't the good guys."
Alejandro starts jogging towards the conflict, drawing his crossbow as he does so.
Perblentious will follow, but keeping back being just as armored as the ratfolk ahead. .
Gheorix jogs forward in his heavy armor, lamellar plates clinking softly against each other. He thought about the terrain, the sun, and counted all the combatants as he moved ahead, spear in hand.
Myrtis also starts forward, but she cautions the others.
"Let's remember we have but a hour's experience in this place. We know nothing of it so things may not be as they seem. Questions first, not antagonism."
She leaves her helmet off so her face may be seen as a gesture of trust.
Gheorix nods in his advancement, Right, no antagonizing now, this will be grand... he slides down the small ridge in front of the party and closes the distance as quickly as his armor allows him to. Working on how many ways he can think of to say I come in peace as he tips his helmet up to reveal his face also as a gesture of peaceful intentions.
Alejandro keeps his crossbow pointing down, but is prepared to raise it at the first sign of trouble.
Does the wagon stay on the ridge? Does someone stay with the wagon? Do you hail them from the ridge, after you get on level ground with them, or wait for them to notice your approach?
Perblentious will stick with the cart and horses keeping them calm. His illusions (silent image) have long range.
Perblentious takes the reins and the others make their way down the slope, Gheorix in the lead. When the company is about sixty or so feet from the soldiers the leader seems to take notice. He looks in your direction and yells.
In a strange dialect of Greek you have never heard he says, "This is none of your affair! Go about your business."
"Anyone understand that?" Alejandro mutters to the others. His grip tightens on his crossbow as he eyes the aggressors.
Encouraged by hearing a familiar language, if oddly spoken, Myrtis calls back without slowing down.
"Hail to you! We are merchant travelers from Atlantis! We are here in friendship to all in these lands! Perhaps we can help arbitrate your dispute and find a mutually agreeable settlement to it for all sides?"
Gheorix quietly translates to Atlantean for the others who don’t speak Greek, They have funny accents, But it is definitely Greek.
The officer says something that is difficult to hear over the distance. His soldiers lower their bows and turn their attention on the newcomers though they do not raise their weapons.
"Atlantis did you say? My commander has asked to speak with anyone we find who is from Atlantis. If you are willing, I could give you and your comrades a lift to my commander." the officer offers.
Ignore the rats, they won't go anywhere. Attend to me and wait for my signal.
The officer is hiding something.
"Anyone who is from Atlantis you say? There are others from Atlantis who have come here before us?"
Gheorix slows his advance as Myrtis talks to the officer and he interprets for his companions who don't speak Greek, adding at the end He's hiding something, I don't trust this... Next he'll give us a horse as a gift to Poseidon...
He tightens his hand on his spear, eyes darting between the soldiers and looking to the ratfolk beyond them and seeing what happens.
Perblentious just keeps watch, glad that violence has not erupted.
"Yeah, something smells fishy. He said this to his soldiers:"
Alejandro repeats what he heard the commander say.
His hand shifts to the crossbow trigger and he eyes up the commander.
The officer replies, "Some have come. I have not met any of them but my commander has expressed an interest in meeting anyone from there. Let us finish these things off," he says gesturing toward the ratfolk, "And then we can discuss a good way to arrange a meeting. Are you agreeable?"
Myrtis has heard enough suspicion toward the attacking men from her compatriots to be unwilling to take the offer. Besides, their determination to simply kill all the rat people is distasteful to say the least.
"Why do you persecute these ratfolk so? You would simply murder them all? They are hardly resisting, almost helpless."
"Your attitude and actions leave me wondering what kind of authority, if any, you represent, and leave me with no desire to meet your commander, whoever that may be. We will not be going anywhere in your company unless you explain yourselves to our liking. We are well armed and capable. We need no escort."
The man smiles, "I think it will be you who will be doing the explaining. Engage." The latter seems to be a signal to his own men. Most of you were on edge due to the interaction and see the coming combat and are able to react.
Round 1
Myrtis
Gheorix
Perblentious
Alejandro
Soldiers
Eddrikk
Officer
Sergeant
Myrtis grasps the amulet hanging around her neck and calls out for divine aid.
"Agapiméni Athiná kathodígise ta chéria mas sto ónoma tis sofís dikaiosýnis sou!"
She then dons her helmet and transfers her spear into her free hand. Myrtis readies it and her shield for combat as she strides to the front.
In Atlantean for his companions, Gheorix bursts into a bloody song, Axes flash, broadswords swing, shining armor's piercing ring and the Celt surges forward, dropping his helmet over his head with the motion as he moves toward the 'Greeks'. As he hurtled toward the soldiers, his shield before him and spear held high.
Perblentious, seeing that it all went south, casts an illusion (silent image). This will be a box of blackness. Everyone inside it will not be able to see anything. Area is indicated on the map. DC 16 will to disbelieve.
Alejandro runs up beside Gheorix, raises his crossbow and fires a bolt at the sergeant.
Alejandro's shot misses. The archers come online and fire at the approaching enemies but are apparently rattled at the resistance as all of their arrows go very awry. The spear holding soldier who is outside the black box charges Gheorix.
The officer steps forth from Perblentious' black box yelling, "It's in your head you fools." Then he takes aim at Myrtis with some sort of bizarre pistol that looks like it has been formed from a gourd. With a loud pop it launches a spray of quills. A quill makes it over the distance and hits her in the arm (1 pt dmg).
Round 1
Myrtis done
Gheorix done
Perblentious done
Alejandro done
Soldiers done
Eddrikk <<
Officer done
Sergeant done
Eddrikk presses forward through the hail of arrows.
Round 2
Myrtis 21/22
Gheorix 20/20
Perblentious 18/18
Alejandro 18/18
Soldiers
Eddrikk 27/27
Officer
Sergeant
Perblentious will lay out another black box on the remaining flunkies (again, DC 16 will). As a swift action he will maintain the previous black box (effortless trickery).
Horses run with a polished Shield, fight those b@stards till they yield... Gheorix' song carries across the battlefield as he snaps his spear blade forward at the soldier from behind his shield. The celt puts his weight into the spear thrust, trying to end the fight quickly! But he misses horribly...
Myrtis is more insulted than anything else by the little quill that hits her arm, especially under the effect of Gheorix's song.
She moves up again and drives her doru toward Gheorix's opponent, but otherwise pays him no mind. Instead she calls out to the commander of the group.
"That is all you can muster to challenge me? Come and face me or be revealed to all as a coward!"
Alejandro lets Gheroix's song infuse him as he flings his crossbow to the ground. Nimbly dancing around to flank with Myrtis, he draws his shortsword and thrusts it into the soldier.