Sindran ignores the stares, keeping to himself. He doesn't know what they want, but it's too damn cold for anything, much less standing around in the open air for hours.
Sense Motive
Talon approaches whichever member seems to have the most authority, or at least the most respect among the crew "I've been out of my nocturnal cycle for quite some time, I hope you don't mind some extra eyes on watch" without waiting for a response, Talon takes off the wraps keeping his wings warm and unfurls them to their full span. He slowly makes his way up the crows nest, still careful of their wounds and the cold weather. As he perches on the nest, he wraps his wings up again tightly to keep away the cold
Amused by the Captains discomfort, Cala smirks ever so slightly but keeps her tone neutral "Aye Captain, they can watch. They are vigilant and require no sleep, so it's a task they'll excel at."
Cala turns to her minions, and speaks in a oddly disturbing language to the Draugr before returning her attention to Kargeld.
"Let me know when you need them to watch. They'll stand in for me, I have no interest in doing such things."
Moving back to the stern of the ship, Cala takes her seat again and begins leafing through an old tome.
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In the dead of night, a cold snap hits. the constant flurries of snowflakes give way to fat flakes, as the temperature quickly plummets to well below freezing, and ice rime forms on the rigging. Biting winds howl over the ship, as the crewmen on watch shudder, and light up a few torches to provied both light and warmth in the otherwise freezing darkness.
All those sleeping take of cold damage, as a suspiciously local ice wind passes over them.
Talon, you now notice a freak ice storm raging on deck, right over your mates. That's a little too much of a coincidence for you, and as you stretch to look, you notice this here little fella who comfortably perches on the lowest sail beam, a few meters below you, a few feet of the deck, where it releases a bone-chilling inhuman cackle.
And then you realize there are four more shapes in sight, rising out of the water - 4 ice elementals!
MAP - you'll need to zoom a little, sorry
--- surprise round, Talon gets to act---
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KO = kargeld odenkirk
S1 -> S6 sailor #1 -> #6
H = helmsman
SI = sindran
Ae = Aerent
Ar = Arryn
Or = Oret
Ca = Cala
Ta = Talon, 20ft up
IM = Ice Mephit, the little ice-breathing bastard
E1 -> E4 = Elemental #1 -> #4
(todo:D1 / D2, draugr. One on the stern, one on the bow? given their task as lookout?)
Talon see's the creature, and without doing anything else falls backward off the nest. On the way down he draws his sword, then mumbles a few words of the arcane and slowly drifts right next to the creature. As he gets behind it he stabs towards its' back
As he pierces the creatures flesh he smiles "So what's so funny?" then he inhales and shouts "ICE ELEMENTALS, WAKE UP AND FIGHT!"
Oret also approaches the sailors and offers his services on watch.
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The Mephit's laugh changes into a scream, more of surprise than pain, as Talon cuts a long gash across the creature's rump. Annoyingly, the blade doesn't cut as deep as Talon intended, resulting in only a mild scratch!
Talon's shout will surely have awoken everyone on deck even if the intense cold didn't already.
--- Round 1 --- new map
Sindran swears when he feels the biting cold cut into his skin. He hears Talon's warning quickly stands, growling and ignoring the growing chill as the blankets fall from his form.
Through the dark and snow, he sees the ice elementals and the mephit and raises his hands at the nearest target , cursing them for the cold he suffered through the past few days. He chants, channeling his anger into the spell until a large burst of flame erupts from his hands.
Feeling the cold seep into his skin, Oret quickly stands and looks for the cause of the unnatural cold. Seeing the elementals trying to make their way onto the ship, he grabs his quarterstaff and moves to intercept.
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As Elemental#3 is climbing over the railing onto the Frosthamar's deck, it has no chance to dodge Sindran's fiery strike. Where the fire melts the elemental's icy body, its skin turns into a snot-like soup. => 12 damage and using some dark magic, Sindran has managed to set an ice elemental on fire!!
As Oret looks around, assessing the incoming threats, suddenly E4 pops up its shiny head over the bow. Oret doesn't hesitate and strikes with all might, shattering the elemental in a single blow!
Arryn jolts up when she finally hears the call for the elementals. Shes'd always been the sleeper that never wanted to get up, but lately she'd only been "half sleeping". She will run to the nearest elemntal (1) and attack ASAP.
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Sailor 5 leaps upright, and spots an elemental (E1) crawl on deck. He lashes out with his heavy right boot, trying to kick the elemental off the ship.
The Ice Elemental takes the opportunity to punch the sailor,
+
...and the sheer cold from the monster's fist causes the sailor to shiver and shake uncontrollably for a few seconds.
...However, the elemental cannot dodge the sailor's boot and takes it square in the icicles, making a >_< face. It loses its holding and falls backwards off the boat!
Of course, it is solely because of this unexpected intervention, that Arryn's rapier doesn't meet its intended target ;)
Cala motions at her Draugr to aid in the battle before setting herself to cast a spell at the Ice Mephit, chanting her infernal incantations which seem to howl as loudly as the wind.
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Things are NOT going as planned for the little Ice Mephit. He's certainly not laughing anymore - he's getting out of here!
the Mephit flies away in terror; 45 degrees up due South. Both Oret and Talon get an AoO.
D1 can't attack E4 - there are too many of it, thanks to Oret reducing it to icy shrapnel - so it'll move to IM as well and also get an AoO I guess:
, miss.
D2 attacks E2...
,
...and great chunks of the elemental spatter off!
Attack
Damage
Aerent moves ahead and attacks the remaining elemental with a powerful thrust.
Oret moves to help the others with the remaining elementals
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Three elementals are quickly disposed of, and the one that's been kicked off the ship, rubbing its icicles in pain, doesn't see the Mephit anywhere. It assumes the assault leader is captured, or worse, and decides it's got better things to do, such as frolicking in the cold northern waters.
The Mephit takes a couple of hard stabs from both Aerent and Talon, (10 damage in total) however...it is gone. It's almost impossible to spot the snow-colored eagle-sized Outsider in the thick snow of the dark night.
Wait - there it is!!! it's fly speed is 20ft while being stealthy, so it's not gone very far yet; it's being very sneaky and it's doubling back north, behind the cover of the ship's sails.
Sindran turns to aid his allies, unheeding of the ice elemental's dying screams as it melts. His allies have already dispatched their enemies however, and the fading adrenaline makes him feel the sudden cold, causing him to shiver. It's too distracting, the chill worming its way inside his core, and he grits his teeth.
Having thought about how to deal with the cold several times the past few days and now damning any consequences, he chants, conjuring flame that surround his hands which he immediately thrusts onto his chest.
When he removes his hands, the flames stay. They spread hungrily to cover the half-orc but it doesn't seem to harm him. Instead, it seems to be getting absorbed into his body, leaving only a faint trail of steam that quickly dissipates.
"Is that all of them?" he asks, feeling himself more able to ignore the cold as the fire burns inside him.
Less bothered by the cold (perahaps eerily accustomed to it), Caladwhen simply draws her cloak close to her and moves closer to Sindran.
"I think so." Looking out to sea with a frown, Caladwhen shakes her head slowly "This journey has been fraught with complications since we left port... it's almost as though forces unknown were working against us."
Looking over to Kargeld, Caladwhen speaks with an authoritative tone "Captain, how much further out are we?
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"Is that all of them?"
Kargeld screams in frustration, and spits on the deck. "ARGH!!! Sküldeflossen den kühlholen!!"
He looks the injured in his crew over, and tells them "put a bandage on that and get yourself warm! I don't want any of you to play sharkbait. HELM! get her moving! We are not staying here!"
"How much further out are we?"
Kargeld spits again. "Farther than I'd like, and it might be further still.", then, as he realizes who he's talking to and what type of pets she owns, he pipes down, "We still have two days to go until we reach Lake Tarik. Then, " he shrugs, "I hope this bugbear can remember the signal, or it could easily take a month of searching for the stupid furballs."
Talon takes a moment stare after where it dissapeared, then sighs and makes his way down the deck "The captain is right, we should continue moving"
"I agree, we should head out as soon as we are able." Sindran peers through the dark night. "The sooner we get out of this damnable snowstorm, the better."
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The snow continues to fall, but to everyone's annoyance, the wind slows down to a light breeze.
"go back to sleep. This slow speed is a boon, no chance of crashing into an iceberg at this rate. the captain says, but it's more to comfort the crew than anything else.
"little gray man," he asks of Oret, "wanna keep me company until dawn? "
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The crew find a mostly-clean roll of cloth, and tie up their frostbitten limbs. The helmsman goes down below, and rummages in one of the crates, where he finds an extra set of blankets. Smiling, he crawls back on deck, displaying the trophies to the crew "lookey-look here lads!" - and nearly kicking himself - "oh - and ladies!!"
This new find lightens the mood on board, as for the first time this night, you can all actually lie down in a modicum of comfort.
Oret nods to the captain and takes his position at the wheel.
Talon silently takes his up his perch again, this time staying inside the nest since his feather fall spell is down
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Kargeld nods back to Oret, and takes position near the bow of the ship, looking out for the smoothest path. Every now and then, he moves his hand for Oret to see. Now a little to the left, then far right, and Talon occasionally quietly swallows as huge chunks of ice appear out of seemingly nowhere and narrowly miss the boat.
The snow storm doesn't recede, though. For those few who are awake:
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Then, you're being explicitly trained, by the 2nd best sailor on the ship, to perform many of those specialist tricks and shortcuts that only the most experienced sailors / smugglers know of,
and finally, you get the chance to try them out yourself in practice.
I think it's fair to say this is a pretty intensive training :) And, since it's not a Skulls&Shackles game, the score is probably never going to increase again, so in the end, no damage done.
Sindran curls up deeper in his makeshift blanket fort, glaring angrily at the snow as if staring would be enough to make it stop.
Without turning his head, Talon addreses T'larryo in Auran "Do you need something Lars?"
"Oh do go on, I am infinitely interested" Talon says, in possibly one of the most disinterested voices you have ever heard
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Feigning disappointment, Lars tut-tuts and shakes his head.
(Auran) "Oh, now. I thought you might be like that. But I'm having far too much fun to just tell you to look over there." From the east side of the yard, he nudges his beak ever-so-slightly in western direction. "whooops. Awwww shucks; I seem to have spoiled my evening's entertainment. *sigh*" And he casually flutters back down to Caladwhen.
It's painfully obvious that there is nothing accidental about this little message.