"I'm not sure that they should have done that. We should have just ran. " he mutters to himself.
Alejandro and Sigrid's attacks strike home. Then the soldiers continue to press the team. Sigrid takes another cut (3 dmg) and the red armored menace stabs Alejandro (3 dmg). Two soldiers step up on chairs to get within reach of the team members.
Round 5 (Cannon DC 7)
Pytheas 17/20
Alejandro 18/18
Agripos 10/25
Gheorix 17/20
Perblentious 18/18
Sigrid 15/20
Soldiers
Alejandro grits his teeth and strikes back at the figure in red.
Surrounded by 5 enemies, Agripos continues to defend, entrusting offense to others.
Alejandro draws blood.
Round 5 (Cannon DC 7)
Pytheas 17/20 <<<
Alejandro 18/18 done
Agripos 10/25 done
Gheorix 17/20 <<<
Perblentious 18/18 <<<
Sigrid 15/20 <<<
Soldiers
Sigrid stabs the wonded soldier, (seeking to reduce flanks on Agripos) holding her ground otherwise.
Pytheas continues to turtle up amidst the surrounding onslaught. Were he less focused on defense, that one might have even hit, but he is determined to hold the line for whatever mad plan the skald was strumming up.
Gheorix continues to play frantically, hoping the harp resonates just right!!!!
Alejandro is able to draw a little blood and everyone else just manages to hold a defensive wall while Gheorix continues to play. The defensive wall works and with a clatter of many weapons off shields, weapon on weapon, and in some cases just wooshes through the air, no one is injured.
Round 6 (Cannon DC 6)
Pytheas 17/20
Alejandro 18/18
Agripos 10/25
Gheorix 17/20
Perblentious 18/18 done
Sigrid 15/20
Soldiers
With a primal roar, Pytheas maintains his defensive stance while stabbing feebly out.
Gheorix stares at the strings, and with Plerbentious' help, continues playing...
Agripos decides to mix in a little offense with his defense this time, as he goes for the enemy near Sigrid.
; .
Sigrid 5 foot steps toards Gheorix, and uses her lucky touch on him.
She motions for Prebleontious to get behind her.
Good Luck Keltoi, lets make this scum face their own medicine
Amidst the flurry of defensive attacks no one manages to bypass the soldiers' defenses.
Round 6 (Cannon DC 6)
Pytheas 17/20 done
Alejandro 18/18 <<<
Agripos 10/25 done
Gheorix 17/20 done
Perblentious 18/18 done
Sigrid 15/20 done
Soldiers
Alejandro glances quickly over his shoulder to check on Gheorix, then continues to chip away at the figure in red.
Alejandro gets through the defenses of the elite trooper as he continues to slowly bleed the man. The sgt moves up on Sigrid as she retreats and misses. There is a constant flurry of weapons as soldiers and Atlanteans exchange blows. Finally, a spear slips through and draws blood from Pytheas (3 dmg).
Round 7 (Cannon DC 5)
Pytheas 14/20
Alejandro 18/18
Agripos 10/25
Gheorix 17/20
Perblentious 18/18
Sigrid 15/20
Soldiers
Pytheas grunts at the fresh spilled blood but screams again as he maintains his defensive stance, but now tries to help Alejandro by distracting his foe.
Alejandro keeps his position in the ring and continues to attack the armored foe.
"Keep holding!"
Agripos continues to lash out strategically from his otherwise defensive stance, going for the weakened foe near Pytheas!
; ;
Gheorix, bolstered by Sigrid's magical infusion, continues to play the harp, working it towards its destruction...
Ahh, the sweet gentle sound of victorious destruction! Sigrid gives an almost beatific smile to the officer in front of her.
You know whats the problem when you go ahead and destroy someone elses home for no reason? The survivors have nothing to lose and will stop at nothing. Now, you arent that well placed to reach like, the rookerie, compared to your peers closer to it, but if you start running towards it now and make full use of the confusion... Isnt it fun that whoever of you runs first will most likely survive?
Gheorix has been playing a dark melody on the instrument. Sensing the moment is upon him to strike out with the power of the cannon or turn it on itself he plays a discordant note that is heard throughout the island and causes the whole place to shudder. The central tube cracks. And everyone fights to keep their balance.
From inside and outside the fog there is yelling, cursing, and much scrambling. Some pick themselves up, others begin to run. Someone from outside the fog gives warning that the island could fall apart. One of the sergeants calls for a withdrawal and the soldiers respond.
Sigrid falls on her arse.
Alejandro keeps a steady footing. "Sounds like we should get going. He remarks as the soldiers retreat. "Do we have time to climb back up?"
Even though it is raucously loud you believe you hear someone calling "Hello?" from the shaft above. It sounds relatively close, perhaps a hundred feet or so.
Pytheas tries to ground himself in his defensive stance even as the soldiers around him begin to retreat. He lets them retreat without stabbing out once more but calls out to them.
"We are the Wrath of Atlantis. You have brought this upon yourselves with your wanton, unprovoked genocide. Run with your tails between your legs and know that your ends have been marked this day."
He had been prepared to die here, to make this his last stand. And with the shaking, he isn't sure that it won't be. But then Pytheas hears a voice call out above. He looks up, though his vision only pierces sixty feet into the darkness. "Lo up there. Any chance you're a friend? Maybe here to help us out?" He moves over to help Sigrid back up.
Agripos manages to keep his footing as the whole island begins to fall apart. He agrees wholeheartedly as Pytheas calls out to the enemy from the fog--they had exacted vengeance this day. Would they be martyrs too?
"I'm going to start climbing and see if it's even possible." He starts to move up the rope to gauge the difficulty.
Sigrid drops her shield and start climbing upwards
Preble hang on to someone reasonably strong, probably Agripos! She shouts to the gnome
Pytheas of Massalia, we either get up and out of here or we go to Valhal, if its the latter it was an honor knowing you
"Ahh, a friendly voice." says the voice and soon you see a hard boat dropping from above. Looking over the edge is Nichodemus. "I hope one of you knows how to go back up. The sailor told me to just use blue to go down." he continues to drop.
The fraught anxiety over certain death that had been gripping Pytheas during their assault on the heart of this inexplicably floating island weapon finally snaps, and Pytheas unleashes something like a crazed laugh. He looks at the gnome and greets him ebulliently.
"Aye, we have a few knowledgeable pilots. Come on: aboard, everyone! We'll climb the new-fashioned way."
Pytheas urges the others to get out of the way and stop climbing so that they don't get crushed.
Agripos hurriedly clambers back down and gets out of the way as the boat descends. "Now why didn't we think of that? Could've made for a grand entrance! I hope this thing can handle a LOT of weight."
Agripos starts waiving everyone else in first before he would jump aboard--both out of a sense of duty and because he suspects he's one of the more capable climbers if there isn't enough space.
Alejandro waits for the less able climbers to get into the boat first, boarding, only if there's room, or there's need of a capable sailor to handle the ascent.
Once up, she readies an action to bit of luck whoever wants to try his luck piloting.
The boat is quite capable of handling everyone as it is designed for a squad of ten soldiers. Luckily, a 20' radius hole can handle a rather large object moving up and down. There are some scuff marks where the boat rubbed the central cable. Everyone hops on and Pytheas, who was first to board and get to the alchemical set for loft, gets them moving straight up as soon as the last person hops on.
"I should have come with you all initially. Then we were on our second pass over the center of the island and I didn't see you so I took another boat. One of the sailors gave me directions but I was so flustered I barely remembered to use the blue liquid to go down. Felt like you guys did something pretty significant down there. When the island shook I was just sure pieces of the shaft were going to fall on me. I just don't think I have the nerves for this sort of thing." Nichodemus says in a rush as the boat rises.
Topside, you burst from the hole and grab the wind to pull out from under the antenna. The rookery to the north is in shambles. The Ageless Seahawk is down by the southern tower. They must have picked up Dimas because his boat is no where in sight. A small group of giant birds with riders can be seen flying off to the northwest to a natural island. Setting course for the Seahawk you are comforted to see that she tacks back into the wind facing northeast and nearly comes to a stop as you make your way in her direction.
Aboard the boat you are greeted by Christoff, Orin've and Leir. Just as you think the excitement may be over you hear from the crow's nest, "Contact to the north-west!" Christoff pulls out his spyglass and looks in that direction, "Barnacles and sea biscuits! We need to move." he says and tosses his glass Sigrid as he steps toward the poop deck. "Dimas, hard to starboard, take us east."
Sigrid and whoever else looks in the direction indicated sees three large airships headed your way with a few giant birds flying around them. (map updated)
Captain, I can make several bluffs. I can cast weird looking lights on whatever projectile your ship can fire. This could increase our deterrent value. I have one more casting of bit of luck, probably best used on the pilot when he is about to engage in a difficult maneuver. Consider both of these at your disposal.
Sigrid reports.
"Keep those ideas handy, lass. We'll try to outrun them and make it to the slipstream. We'll need some distance from them or they'll be able to follow." As if his words are prophetic, one of the three warships begins to ascend while the other two rush across the distance between you. Obviously they use some other propulsion than standard sail power.
Christoff puts the ship into a steep climb as the ships continue to close the distance. As you get closer, you (Pytheas, Alejandro, and Gheorix) can now visibly make out the hazy look of the slip stream ahead. The warships are apparently within striking range and they open up with several of the vile cannons. The Ageless Seahawk has a bulbous bag that floats above it with side mounted sails. When Christoff sees the attack he calls for defensive screens and sailors working on the balloon above release ropes dropping a large chainmail curtain down both sides. It is riddled with holes but even so would probably make for a pretty good defense but it does not cover the sails themselves. Unluckily, three shots hit the port side sails and mast sheering the yardarm. The sudden loss of sails causes the ship to lurch to port.
The warships bare down on the injured Seahawk when something fuzzy is seen in the slipstream just before a small fleet of seven frigates swoop out. They are crossing aft of the Seahawk and open with full broadsides into the three warships. The three ships exchange fire for a bit before turning back toward the now shuddering island fortress. Several chunks of rock can be seen falling off the thing as men are scrambling away on large albatross like birds.
A ship's boat departs one of the frigates. It pulls alongside the Seahawk and an officer in a rather smart looking blue uniform addresses the crew. "Her Ladyship, the Duchess of Aderall, wishes to speak with Orin've." Orin've steps to the edge of the boat and has a brief discussion with the man. Then he turns around and says, "Leir, Atlanteans, attend me please." Then he hops onto the awaiting boat. Leir follows.
Watching the madness of their escape, Agripos prepares himself for heroic death as the enemy warships obliterate the Ageless Seahawk's sails. But the sudden appearance of allied frigates immediately upends the tide of battle. "Praise Athena that we may yet live this day!"
As an allied crew comes aboard, Agripos feels a strong need to get out of the armor he had stolen, so he can look Atlantean once more. As he gets out of the imperial armor, it becomes clear that Agripos took his fair share of battle injuries from both spears and splashing acid. As Orin've invites them to join, Agripos does so, but his gaze lingers on the stump where his hand once was. "Are you sure you don't need a moment, Orin've?"
Sigrid hops in as well.
Honestly, at this point I mostly want a rest. She thinks as she does so.
Quite a day, jailbreak, a good bit of murder, blowing up a weapon of mass destruction... Fun but tiring.
Alejando looks to help out somehow as the battle rages, but the language barrier makes it difficult, but fortunately the crew seems to have things under (relative) control.
Afterwards, he joins the others in following Orin've.
The entire flight up the tube and off of the island is quite exhilarating, with Pytheas gasping and ooing and ahhing at all of the appropriate moments even as he launches himself up to grab ropes, tie knots, and otherwise make himself useful. "Praise all the gods on our side," Pytheas agrees with Agripos.
When the battle in the sky (that still boggles his mind) ends--for now--Pytheas moves back towards the others. He follows swiftly after Orin've as requested, looking at the man's stump of an arm as he jumps back into yet another boat.
By Hermes' winged sandals, I wonder if anyone in this flying navy has the magic to deal with that wound.
Pytheas barely even spares a thought to his metal implements of battle that will almost certainly now crash into the sea with the rest of the enormous weapon of war. Like Agripos, he deeply desires to resemble his usual self once more rather than his enemy, but he would have to wait to see what was actually available to him. Better to use the enemy's tools than have none at all.
As he waits to hear what Orin've wants of them, he thinks he hasn't even heard of this Aderall place.
Gheorix looks exhuasted from playing the melody as they attempt to make their escape, stumbling along dumbly in the wake of his comrades and their unexpected rescue. He teps across with Leir and ORin've to the other ship in anticipation of whatever comes next.
Sigrid props up Gheorix as he stumbles.
That was quite a thing eh? There is little love lost between our people Keltoi, but I think we made both Cerunnos and Wodan proud today. We could not have done this without you and it was an honor to fight beside you. I would drink to victory, but I dont have any booze on me.
She channels positive energy for the final time today, intending to heal the entire boat.
Several others beyond the fighting few step up when Orin've asks for the Atlanteans. Seeing the larger group he clarifies, "Those who set yonder destruction in motion." He then steps wearily onto the other ship. He like many others seems visibly relieved when Sigrid channels her healing powers. One by one the team boards, a pair of sailors helping those who may wish it a stabilizing hand as you cross from one boat to the other.
The ship's boat, once loaded, sails back to one of the frigates which Orin've points out flies the colors of Aderall. Aboard the Countess' ship, all visitors are escorted to the poop deck where they are met by a young woman in a high necked royal blue dress. "Greetings. I am Eleanna Arganza, the Countess of Aderall. Please, tell me what happened here." Orin've speaks for his part in being approached by Leir and the ertu telling him it had urgent information for her grace. While trying to depart Tattoo Island they met his traveling companions, to which he gestures to you, and they were given berthing on Captain Christoff's ship. Upon arrival they were taken prisoner. He went to sabotage the rookery. the others freed the Captain and apparently destroyed the empire's weapon. To this he looks to you all for an explanation.
More attractive then me, especially because I am covered in Acid, blood and sweat, so no flirting, "proud warrior race but intelligent" it is
Sigrid thinks as she considers how to tell her tale.
Sigrid, giving a warriors salute begins.
Well met, and my heartfelt thanks for thy wellcome and unexpected aid and hospitality, Countess Eleanna Arganza of Aderall. She speaks formally and precisely, but manages to repeat the unfamiliar name and title quite exactly.
I am Sigrid Leifdottir a priestess of my people, the Rougoi.
My Nation had mutually beneficial trade dealings with the Island nation of Atlantis. The Atlanteans wished to further increase the scope of their trading networks, and by various means sent scouting teams into your area of control, these included envoys from other trade partners, such as me, as the Atlanteans made the conscious choice to not monopolize new trade connections but to openly share them with their various other partners, including possible new partners to be found here.
There would have been much to be gained there, your people have many arts and crafts that we lack, and we Rougoi have access to sizeable iron deposits, which is clearly in short supply in these lands. Copper, Tin and Amber deposits are also within reach of our own Trading network.
Upon arrival, the Empire lured us into a trap and ambushed my group at a parley, which is where I was taken prisoner.
I and others were able, due to the various disruptions from Sir Orinve and other allies, to organize a jailbreak and cut and stab our way out of imprisonment. My comrades She looks at Gheorix Are better equipped to explain the nature of the accursed imperial weapon that we managed to destroy.
She ends her part of the tale, wisely choosing to not get into some of the more unusual details of the jailbreak.
It worked, so it wasnt stupid.
Pytheas seems fairly stable as he crosses from one boat to the other, but he doesn't turn down an aiding hand.
As Orin've begins explaining his part to the Countess (Duchess?) and Sigrid offers her two copper, Pytheas bites his lip. All of these religions and countries he had never heard of, odd manners of speech, general lack of metal, and far more. He prided himself on his knowledge.
When Sigrid finishes, Pytheas bows his head. "Your grace: I am Pytheas of Massalia, a Greek colony founded about 300 years ago on the northern Mediterranean coast, east of the river Rhône. Greece has likewise established trade relations with Atlantis, which has led me to spend much of my adult life in the service of Atlantis. At our initial landing, two of my group were killed and we lost most of our trade goods. Then my fellow surviving tradesman Annora and I were arrested without just cause when we arrived in a town. We have a Celtic skald with us, Gheorix the Red, who will likely be able to say more about the Empire's weapon. But if I may," he bows his head more deeply, "I have a question of my own."
If his request is granted, the dwarf chooses his words carefully, wondering about something that has been on his mind for some time. "I have never heard of the Marolingian Empire before, and yet they speak a dialect of the language of my kin. So if you will please forgive an odd question. It is my understanding that it is what we would call the Year of the Swordfish. We may use different calendars, but what year would you say it is?"
Agripos is surely glad for Sigrid's healing, which makes him somewhat more presentable. Though in some measure, he is glad for the wounds that demonstrate his sacrifice and the sacrifice of those around him. "Countess Eleanna," he begins, with a salute. "I am Agripos, also from Greece--specifically Corinth. I have traveled through many of the free cities and given myself to the service of the Atlanteans, a good and honorable nation that sent all of us on a trade mission. Using a process the Atlanteans call casting, we were to travel to distant lands and make friendly contact."
"This world," he says, gesturing around him, "feels not distant but altogether unfamiliar--like nothing I have ever seen. You have flying boats and strange projectile weapons. Metal is scarce. Whatever magic you wield seems completely different from either the arcane or divine magics that we know. We have stumbled quite by accident into this realm. And in return, the Empire in this realm has somehow destroyed Atlantis with its fearful weapon--as they have one of your people's islands." Agripos shakes his head, still unable to fathom how that was possible.