Shulim moves quietly next to Fudrick.
Ghari and Fazaam discuss the plan with Marwan.
The chittering in the trees from Hasan has gone.
Fazaam nods at Marwan.
"Very well noble Marwan. You shall be our bait. Let us hope the magic of your words is with us this day. If the ignoble spawn of the badgers seek to give you harm, try to get back to where we can give you aid."
When Marwan moves away, Fazaam nods to Ghari, and they fall into step with the habit of long teamwork, splitting up to flank Marwan's open approach. Before thay move, Ghari sees Fazaam take one last look at the trees and mutter distinctly,
"I'm. Gonna. Kill'em"
"May your nerve be steady, and fleet be your feet, MArwan." Thus Ghari assents to the plan. "Fazaam, let us flank them , but go no further than the closest edge of the clearing. "
Ghari slides into the woods.
"I will attempt to draw their attention away from you all. May Najm roll his dice in our favor."
"AHH! By the unfailing compass of the Navigator! Please, someone help me! The demons took my crewmates! Woe is me!"
As Marwan crashes through the undergrowth, Jernash and Ermosh stop talking. They get their weapons ready reflexively, and all the crew and Nebucs stand at the noise coming from the jungle, eyes widen at the word Demon. The halfling moves next behind Ermosh.
"Recovering first, Ermosh points at the crazed man coming out the woods, "Have you been struck by a tentacle, Marwan? if so get away from us," he shouts.
Shulim spoiler
Marwan Spot check DC15 and/or Listen check DC15
"Yrar, me buddy," Shulim whispers, "O'Shulim little legs don't cover as ground as yer big meaty ones. I'll gladly take yer offer."
Spot: 1d20+2=13, Listen: 1d20=11
Marwan cries out to the suspicious pirates
"I have not been touched by those demon's tentacles, thank the Sultan of Serendipity for that! I am the sole survivor of our provisioning crew. Hassan, Mumtaz and Ibrahim were all foully murdered by some black sorceror and his demon minions."
Marwan raises his hands over his head as he enters the clearing.
"As the Great Navigator is my witness I am not tainted by the touch of those foul beings. What has gone on at the Sea Harem?"
"Yrar, me buddy," Shulim whispers, "O'Shulim little legs don't cover as ground as yer big meaty ones. I'll gladly take yer offer."
Shulim
There is a general movement of people at Marwan's words.
Jernash turns pale under his ruddy skin and shouts at the crew, "Cowards! lazy cockroaches! get over here now." His fierce voice brings two running into the clearing, daggers at the ready.
Nebucs tugs at Ermosh's arm, with a look of displeasure at the interruption, he is casually backhanded away and ignored, "Son of a jackal's diseased eyeball, leave me be Nebucs!"
"But there are more in the bushes, Er- slap! The halfling holds his face in shock. He points into the bushes where Fazaam hides but again is ignored.
Marwan moves into the clearing as this happens.
"I cannot believe a weakling such as you, Marwan, could survive. You must have run very fast. But if you want the sorcerer, he is on the Sea Harem with Zerea."
"Yrar, me buddy," Shulim whispers, "O'Shulim little legs don't cover as ground as yer big meaty ones. I'll gladly take yer offer."Shulim
** spoiler omitted **
quick question, can shulim see his opponents yet? Or are they still obscured?
"Maybe we should make noise like a monkey" Shulim whispers, "or have day seen us yet?"
Shulim spoiler
Fudrick moved off a little while ago leaving you with Yrar. It's partly why I would have preferred it spoilered. My guess is that the disappearing posts have struck us again and again recently. It isn't an issue now.
But you can see the clearing and everyone in it unless you are sneaking through the undergrowth.
"I cannot believe a weakling such as you, Marwan, could survive. You must have run very fast. But if you want the sorcerer, he is on the Sea Harem with Zerea."
"I want nothing less than to leave this island. I saw my three crewmates destroyed most foully by something which I have no interest in ever seeing again."
Marwan shudders theatrically, his large frame quaking.
"Now I have no love for you, my fine Ermosh, and I know you have no love for me, but if that hellspawn is taking over the Sea Harem we need to do something about it. And if Zerea is actually in leauge with that abomination, then we are all doomed."
Marwan raises his voice in a theatrical moan.
"DOOMED I SAY!"
Jernash the massive half-orc interrupts as he points his greataxe at Marwan.
"You are doomed then. Zerea came to meet this Sorcerer, and even now they are changing the rest of the crew one by one into monstrous demons. I saw one man, Utbis torn apart by three of my friends for food. Run again worm! No one here is going near that Bloody Harem."
Nebucs tired of being ignored pulls a dagger from his belt and hurls it at Fazaam in the bushes. "Look there, Ermosh, just look!"
The dagger scores the ground at Marwan's feet.
Ermosh waves Marwan to join him. "Come and you may live. Leave and the creatures will get you. Join us and serve me or die. Those are your choices. I mean to sail round to the village of Musaal and steal the dhow there. I will be your captain."
There are murmurs of agreement from the crew in the background.
"Ok, Yrar me buddy, looks like talkn's over" Shulim says with a dangerious twinkle in his eye, "lets go crack some heads."
Seeing that he has been spotted, Fazaam quickly thinks up half a dozen likely scenarios, discards the ones sure to end in death, then discards the rest that don't allow him to look good, whether win or lose.
He flicks a sprinkle of silvery dust in the air while quietly murmuring, and the now familiar silvery sheen coalesces around the elf.
Taking but one more brief moment to flick his hair back, Fazaam says, loudly but calmly, "Or, I have a better idea 'Erwin'!" And steps boldly forward.
Fazaam exits from behind the tree, and poses, er pauses. His foot stepping lightly on a convenient downed branch, his right hand resting lightly on his knee and his bow held in his left hand. The sea breeze lightly blowing his hair is purely coincidental.
"You can all come and work for ME!" He declares, grinning like he just found a treasure chest.
:)
The pirates are momentarily struck dumb by the entrance of the dashing Fazaam.
That is all of them, except the halfling Nebucs. He darts behind a tree into a bit of cover.
Taking but one more brief moment to flick his hair back, Fazaam says, loudly but calmly, "Or, I have a better idea 'Erwin'!" And steps boldly forward ... You can all come and work for ME!" He declares, grinning like he just found a treasure chest.
Marwan sees the stakes are being raised and chimes in with Fazaam
"Aye, Fazaam, I would rather sail under your colors than some mangy son of a sahaugin like Ermosh. I'm sure some of our other crewmates would as well." "Now we can sit here and fight each other, weakening our chances of survival, or we can join together under a true leader, not some scruffy bully boy who just wants to lead us into ruin!"
Taking but one more brief moment to flick his hair back, Fazaam says, loudly but calmly, "Or, I have a better idea 'Erwin'!" And steps boldly forward ... You can all come and work for ME!" He declares, grinning like he just found a treasure chest.
Marwan sees the stakes are being raised and chimes in with Fazaam
"Aye, Fazaam, I would rather sail under your colors than some mangy son of a sahaugin like Ermosh. I'm sure some of our other crewmates would as well." this last part addressed to the six crewmen. "Now we can sit here and fight each other, weakening our chances of survival, or we can join together under a true leader, not some scruffy bully boy who just wants to lead us into ruin!"
hide, move silent (1d20+5=16, 1d20+5=11) Bow in hand, Ghari creeps in closer, drawing an arrow from his quiver. He plans to maximize his field of fire.
hide, move silent (1d20+5=16, 1d20+5=11) Bow in hand, Ghari creeps in closer, drawing an arrow from his quiver. He plans to maximize his field of fire.
Fudrick moves through the undergrowth but his foot gets tangled in a bush. He manages to shake free, but the bush also waves back and forth to the pirates.
Jernash looks beyond Marwan and shouts, "look! another worm crawls in the grass."
Yrar grabs Shulim as he stands.
Marwan and Fazaams' words of leadership war across the faces of the crew. Some begin to waver against the known reputation of Ermosh.
Ghari silently glides in the jungle to a new position, avoiding the bushes and vines as he went.
--
Initiative: Marwan, Ghari, Fazaam, Shulim, Fudrick (1d20=5, 1d20=2, 1d20=7, 1d20=17, 1d20=12)
Shulim 17+2=19
Fudrick 12+1=13
Fazaam 7+3=10
Marwan 5+4=9
Yrar (1d20+2=6)
Ghari 2+3=5
edit: added Yrar how could I forget Yrar?
Also the chittering of a pack of nervous monkeys resounds to the north of the clearing, causing Nebucs to break out in a sweat and change his plans.
Round One
Nebucs tosses another dagger underhand at Fazaam, aiming for his neck. It cuts past his vein and red wine spurts out. Then he dodges and weaves back to the furthest tree.
"Aaauugh! Monkeys!" he screams, "Gods protect us! Day's everywhere!"
The racket raised in the jungle makes the crew think thrice.
Ermosh points at the crew behind and shouts, "get here and fight for me or I shall flay your worthless hides!" He then moves five foot closer to Marwan and slashes at him with the spiked chain. The spikes spin in the air just past his face.
After hearing the sound of the monkey's coming from the north causing a distraction. Fudrick tries the same technique. Thinking back to their encounter with the possessed bodies, he creates the sound of four of them shambling towards the clearing moaning and making as much noise as he can create. He then moves up 5ft.
Hide, Move Silent (1d20 5=19, 1d20 1=17)
Fazaam flinches and slaps his hand to his neck where the dagger pierced his mystic shield with a flurry of sparks and grazed him. It comes back red. His eyes narrow dangerously as he glares briefly at Nebucs, but his voice sounds as cheerful as ever as he casually draws an arrow with the bloody hand and nocks it to his bow.
"Stand down men! I'll deal with tall, green and gruesome! Come now 'Erwood', is that any way to talk to your crew you pasty-faced, parasitic sea-slug?! How about letting them decide for themselves? Or you could face me like a man you spineless, bloated jellyfish,... Oh, wait. That would mean a fair fight. And you don't like those, do you?"
"Too bad," He says smiling, drawing the bow and aiming at Ermosh's heart. "You might have had a chance of winning that."
Am I updating my map right? There is a 5' space between Ermosh and Marwan because the chain has a 5' reach? If so, then I'm NOT firing into melee! Stoopid pirate!
Fazaam's to hit/dmg with shortbow: (1d20 3=13, 1d6=5)
[ooc]Marwan, batter up! (And keep away from that chain!)
"Too bad," He says smiling, drawing the bow and aiming at Ermosh's heart. "You might have had a chance of winning that."
The arrow flies true, until Ermosh turns like an eel, then it continues on into the jungle.
The six members of the crew are staring wildly from one jungle side to the other, unnerved by the sounds of chittering and moaning.
Marwan sees with Fazaam's attack that the time for talking is over.
Calling out to the undecided crewmen:
"You can follow this vile dog dropping to your deaths or take your destiny into your own hands!"
Marwan's sword cuts into Ermosh's side. He shortens the chain for next go and starts to twirl it menacingly at his target, ignoring the cut.
Jernash steps towards the confident Fazaam and swings his mighty greataxe at neck height.
Move to H9, Attack and Damage on Fazaam (1d20+4=14, 1d12+3=13)
His axe smashes into the tree. He grunts as he gets it free again. Flecks of spittle fly over the elf.
Yrar sees the danger the two trained warriors pose, remembers they are his hated foe, pirates and rages.
He charges through the undergrowth, with one hand on his hammer and the other clutching Shulim like a rag doll. As he goes he bats the branches and vines out the way.
Reaching Fazaam, Yrar drops the gnome behind him and steps out to face the half-orc, Jernash, with the greataxe.
"Raaaaarrrrr"
Ghari panics momentarily when he sees Nebuc's second throw. He nocks and fires at the halfling who attacked his friend. Then he runs forward to the cover of the boxes.
Move to J13.
Crew time.
If it's the color spray:
If it's the charm person:
Five of the crew turn and flee to huddle around the boat.
One desperate crew member charges at Yrar and stabs with his dagger for his heart. {ooc]Attack roll 4...[/ooc]
Nebucs yelps at his arrow wound, and darts back to the boat."Listen, you lot, its just magic, there is no zombies there!" He doesn't appear to be having much of an impression on the crew.
Shulim casts Charm Person on Ermosh. As the golden nimbus surrounds his face and eyes, he momentarily goes blank in the face.
Ermosh fixes Marwan with his last look at life. "Die, thief!"
Attack and damage on Marwan (1d20+6, 2d4+5=[3, 6], [2, 4, 5])
Shulim casts Charm Person on Ermosh. As the golden nimbus surrounds his face and eyes, he momentarily goes blank in the face.
Suddenly the gnome bursts out of his hiding spot. Yelling and screaming hoping to frighten or draw their attention even if it is for a brief second. He quickly moves to the south of Marwan. Carefully considering the current situation he decides on a course of action. Looking to the sky he makes the holy sign of Hettama asking for her blessing on him and his companions. Suddenly a pale blue light radiates out from Fudrick encompassing his friends.