For Breland, for home, and for the prize!

[Rhyvurg]

Mist clings to the mouth of the Dagger River, thick and cold near Torch Keep. The towers of Sharn are barely visible accross this widest expanse of the river. In the water below the keep is a cluster of small makeshift warships, vessels the crown had requisitioned into service while a real fleet was being built. The presence of the mobile fortresses had stalemated the ground war for Breland, and the truce with Cyre meant there was nothing local to threaten Breland's waters. But, that only meant that what did make it through the Principalities to the east or the Wastes to the west would be dedicated, skilled, lucky captains in battle ready ships.

Breland did have some real warships, the Royal Brelish Navy ships Sword of Galifar, a massive galleon loaded with the new smokepowder bombards, and Acheron, a famous pirate hunting caravel were stationed in the waters between Flint and Torch Keeps at all times, on guard for raiders and ship-borne armies. The ships tethered below Torch Keep...were not gallens or caravels. They were mostly dhows and longboats, crewed by merchant sailors given hasty combat training and commanded by Naval officers. You are neither.

The people gathered at the Keep were adventurers, war heroes, elite soldiers and hired mages, pressed into the service of Breland to add some punch to these makeshift warships. even though everyone has been well paid to be here, more than a few are not happy about the idea of going out on the water. As the sun starts to burn away the fog, a middle-aged man in a crisp naval uniform emerges from the main building of the keep. "Good morning, and welcome to His Majesty's Royal Navy. I am Rear Admiral Arkady Sloane, the officer in charge of this little endeavor. You will shortly be assigned to your ships and given some time to meet the captains and get acquainted, in the mean time I will answer any questions I can about your service with us."

[shugyosha]

Anton

The stalwart man stood tall in his pressed uniform. Those looking at would notice it is not naval but the standard of the combat mage order. His eyes darted back and forth between the people gather.

When prompted he raises his hand and asks, "Sir, what is the objective of this mission?"

[Rhyvurg]

"The defense of coastal towns and villages. With the land war stalemated, Thrane Aundair and Karrnath's only means of viable attack is by sea, and our spies have told us that they've all been launching quite a few ships lately. So until further notice, we're defending Breland as best we can until this first wave subsides and we have our own long-range warships to strike back with."

[Zealumieo]

A young woman obviously lacking in any symbolism to do with previous army experience stepped forward for her question, "Whats a rough estimate of how often the ship will make port?" Looking at her, one could immediately tell she'd made some attempts to tuck in tufts of clothing and pat down her hair- but it was obvious she wore clothes in a practical set of mind, keeping it simple with loose, well worn leathers. Far from formal, but she kept one hand on her laden pack as if the people around her were the uncultured snipes who would sneak a hand into her belongings and not the other way around.

[Rhyvurg]

"As often as needed, no more than neccesary."

[Rokku]

Kraxan leaned against the nearest wall, cloak drawn around him and hood up, only the slightest hint of blue scales showing. Defense. That was good. He felt a little bit better about being pressed into service, though not much. He remained silent, blending into the shadows as well as his nearly seven foot frame could.

[Golden Ladybug]

A grubby looking Half-Orc squatted on the dock, a red cloak covering his body and a Tricorne Hat atop his head. He grunted, and suddenly the Half-Orc had disappeared, a Changeling girl appearing in his place. The clothing that could be seen seemed to fit much better on her then it had on the much larger Half-Orc.

"So, how many Sea Monsters, Opposing War Heroes, Eldritch Abominations and Mutinies are we expected to deal with before pay day?" She asked glibly, tilting her hat back with a flick of her thumb and giving the others a fox-like grin.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Corentin salutes the rear admiral.

"Sir, how exactly does the chain of command relate to us special ops recruits, Sir?"

[Rhyvurg]

A grubby looking Half-Orc squatted on the dock, a red cloak covering his body and a Tricorne Hat atop his head. He grunted, and suddenly the Half-Orc had disappeared, a Changeling girl appearing in his place. The clothing that could be seen seemed to fit much better on her then it had on the much larger Half-Orc.

"So, how many Sea Monsters, Opposing War Heroes, Eldritch Abominations and Mutinies are we expected to deal with before pay day?" She asked glibly, tilting her hat back with a flick of her thumb and giving the others a fox-like grin.

"Four, seven, three and zero."


Corentin salutes the rear admiral.

"Sir, how exactly does the chain of command relate to us special ops recruits, Sir?"

"You don't have to salute son. This program was put together to fast for any of you to officially be in the navy as of yet, but for all practical reasons you're all acting Warrant Officers." The lowest officer rank in the navy, but still an officer.

[Rhyvurg]

"If there's nothing else, your ship assignments are posted on that wall." He points, and the crowd makes it's way over, looking for their names. You (meaning all the PCs) find your name as part of the crew of the RBS Wavecutter. When you find the ship berthed below, it's a fairly new dhow armed with a light catapult on the quarterdeck. A man you assume to be the captain is waiting at the boarding ramp. "I am Captain Pullings, welcome aboard the Wavecutter. I will show you to your cabin, and we can get underway shortly."

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"You don't have to salute son. This program was put together to fast for any of you to officially be in the navy as of yet, but for all practical reasons you're all acting Warrant Officers." The lowest officer rank in the navy, but still an officer.
"I'm a military man at heart, sir. Saluting's something I enjoy."

[Golden Ladybug]

The Changeling slings an old and battered sea chest over one shoulder, hefting it seemingly without effort, the grin never leading her face.

"Lead the way, sir" She replied with a mock salute, shifting the weight of the chest from one shoulder to another.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"Want some help luggin' that?" Corentin asks.

[Zealumieo]

Aurinne followed on the edge of the group, she supposed it would be a good idea to introduce herself to her cabinmate and then work her way out from there. "Captain Pullings, do I have to inform anyone if I go off ship? I'll be back of course, just that I might like to take a look at the sea life."

[Rhyvurg]

"Some warning would be appreciated, so we don't waste time trying to fish you out."

[shugyosha]

Anton


"I am Captain Pullings, welcome aboard the Wavecutter. I will show you to your cabin, and we can get underway shortly."

Quickly saluting the captain Anton proceeds. Having a captain escort you was a grand show of appreciation he knew. Normally a junior officer at best would be doing this.

"Thanks you sir."

[Golden Ladybug]

"Want some help luggin' that?" Corentin asks.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm stronger than I look" Sally replied, and extended a hand to the other newly recruited "Special Ops", "I'm Sally, nice to meet you...?"

[Archpaladin Zousha]

He takes it and shakes. He's a moderately handsome man with his black hair tied back in a pony tail and a well-groomed moustache. The uniform, mitre and bandoleers indicates his former rank as a grenadier in the army.

"Corentin Finch. Father, husband, former pharmacist and career soldier."

[shugyosha]

Anton

"A grenadier and a black foot," he says rubbing his chin. "A black foot is what we called you special ops people in the mage corps," Anton explains.

[Rhyvurg]

Pullings shows them the ship, their cabin belowdecks (one cabin for all of them), the ballista that have been installed to fire out of special hatches in the side of the hull, and the crew they will be working with. They seem competent enough sailors, but none of them are seasoned fighters. They have been provided with light crossbows and boarding axes and some training in their use, but these men are clearly not to be relied upon during any kind of boarding action.

[Golden Ladybug]

Sally looks at the crew of the Wavecutter with a frown on her face. She wasn't a Soldier, but while her Eidolon was bonded to her, she intuitively knew how to fight. It was clear that the sailors aboard this ship...didn't.

After dropping her Sea Chest off in their cabin, and claiming one of the Hammocks/Bunks/[Other] for her own, she sidled over to the others

"So, how are you guys in a fight? This lot are probably rubbish" She began, throwing two of her arms around Corentin and Kraxan, I'm thinking that if something goes wrong, we're going to need to deal with the bulk of it. That thing Sloane was saying about being Breland's sea defense? I think that's us, not them"

Releasing Corentin and Kraxan, she pulled one of her Spears from its sheathe on her back, underneath her red cloak. She twirled it non-threateningly around her fingers, still grinning I'm pretty good in a fight, if I do say so myself, so if we get attacked by Pirates, or Daelkyr, or Karrnathi then I'll deal with any melee fighting"

"Unless any of you think you'd be better at it?

Wall of (planning) text before I have to stop posting for a little while, gogogogogo!

Also, I'm not sure what kind of bedding we'd actually have; my exposure to pop culture leads me to believe we'll have Hammocks, but actual experience with ships? Na-daa :smallbiggrin:

[Zealumieo]

Aurinne looked at the cabin they were assigned to, finding a corner to set herself. She'd missed taking part of the walking introductions... Though she'd heard parts of them.

Aurinne frowned at the fast dismissal from the other woman in the room, it wasn't very wise to talk like that... Especially if there was a chance one of the crew could've heard her, "Don't say that about them, show a little respect to the men fighting for the same thing as us."

She took in a deep breath, "Closest we'll be to Breland air for some time..." Aurrine sounded wistful and slightly excited.

"Its Aurrine- Apologies for sounding like a buzzkill... I can fight up in front, but thats definitely not the place I should be. Think I'll be happier around the black foot if he doesn't mind."

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"I'm not much of a frontliner, but I can hold my own with this saber if something gets too close. Hopefully, that won't be an issue though. I'm a grenadier by training, so I prefer to bomb my foes from afar."

[Rhyvurg]

As the group makes introductions, they feel the ship start to move.

[shugyosha]

Anton

"Looks like you might be up in front alone, dear Sally. I can soften them up for you but I am more useful away from melee. My function in the corps was to direct combat and support it with my spells," he explains.

[Golden Ladybug]

"Don't say that about them, show a little respect to the men fighting for the same thing as us."

Sally shrugs, "I'm just being realistic. Most of these guys look like they've never seen combat before, and I don't want letting them getting slaughtered on my conscience"

As the ship begins to move, she stumbles a little before finding her feet. She reaches out a hand and places it on one of the walls.

"Shouldn't be a problem," She tells Anton, her fox-like grin returning, "I'm pretty much as good as six spearmen all by myself!" She giggles, poking out her tongue at the others, and started upstairs to the deck to watch as they leave port.

Aaaand, I'm back, joking about things while being completely truthful about them.

Promise to all pretend to be surprised in the first fight when Sally pulls out her other four arms?

[Rhyvurg]

Up on deck, sea spray washes over the ship as the dhow cleaves the waves on it's way to open waters. Numerous other ships keep pace with her, some pulling ahead. The Windracer's course takes her east, along the coast of the gnomish lands and towards Breland's current ally of Cyre. But the heroes are not to have the luxury of an easy first day, before noon the lookout calls sails ahoy, and in minutes a ship can be seen by those on the deck, tilted over dangerously far, her yardarm almost touching the water. There's no flag on her, no crew visible, and no signs of combat they can see just yet.

(Knowledge: Engineering or Profession: Sailor checks to see if you can determine something about what happened before you get to the ship)

[shugyosha]

Anton

Gazing at the ship, Anton assesses the best he can.


If I can take 10 I'll do that (21) if not here is the roll
[roll0] knowledge engineering

[Golden Ladybug]

Sally, who had been taking requests for impressions from some idle crew members, turned to look upon the distant ship the lookout had spotted. She returned to her Changeling form, and strolled over to the side of the Wavecutter, and leant against the Rigging.

"She's missing her flag..." She said, pensively, and crossed her arms.

Untrained for both, but worth a shot

K:Engineering [roll0]
Profession:Sailor [roll1]

[Zealumieo]

Aurinne looked at the scene curiously, she wasn't formally trained in any kind of shipmanship... But the unusual was afoot and she wasn't going to sit around for it.

[shugyosha]

Anton

"There's a hole near the waterline," he says pointing. "Captain," Anton calls out, "are we near a sandbar? Something is keeping that ship afloat."

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"Anybody got a spyglass?" Corentin asks as he tries to get a better look at the ship.

Profession (sailor): [roll0]

[Rhyvurg]

Anton

"There's a hole near the waterline," he says pointing. "Captain," Anton calls out, "are we near a sandbar? Something is keeping that ship afloat."

Pullings calls down from the wheel. "This is a shipping lane, all the reefs and sand bars were cleared out centuries ago." He calls to the crew. "We shall beat to quarters!" The men hurry into action, three going to the catapult, a dozen climbing into the rigging, the rest heading below decks.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Corentin pulls out a grenade, hesitating to light the fuse until he was sure it was necessary.

[shugyosha]

Anton

Hearing the explanation worries the young wizard. Quickly casting a simple spell Anton keeps his gazer affixed to the ship.


detect magic

[Rhyvurg]

The Windracer approaches the other ship cautiously. There is little sign of battle damage, the wood on the rails looks heavily gouged and there's some blood smears on the tilted deck, but nothing that speaks to a major engagement. As they get close, they can see the ship's flag in the water.

"She's Cyran Captain!"

"I see that. Okay, looks like a chance for our crack boarding party to show what they're maid of." he addresses the heroes. "I want you to check for survivors and see if you can find the ship's log so we might learn what happened here."

(Perception checks!)

[shugyosha]

Anton

"Right away," Anton acknowledges the captain.


[roll0] perception

[Golden Ladybug]

"Sure thing," Sally Chirped in, and pulled a spear from underneath her Cloak. Handing her Tricorne hat to one of the crew with her other hand, telling them to look after it, she turned to the others and smiled.

"So, do we all want to go over in the ship's boat? Or I could fly over there real quick and do a bit of sticky-beak?" She asked them, although she seemed rather nervous when she made her suggestion.

Perception [roll0]

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"If we do go investigate, we do it together. Safety and strength in numbers."

[Zealumieo]

"If you're talking about flying, I'll go with." Aurinne kept both her eyes squinted at the unusually beached ship, but she was still paying attention to the people around her. "Not worth scouting alone really... they've probably seen our ship already and are keeping watch too. If there is a 'they'...."

Perception [roll0]

[Rhyvurg]

As the heroes discuss things, the lookout cries out, "Take cover!" a second before green fish-like men emerge from hiding on the ship and throw a barrage of harpoons at the Windracer. No one is hit, but they are already preparing for another throw.

Initiatives please

[shugyosha]

Anton

The practice mage snaps his head to the danger ready for action.


[roll0]

[Golden Ladybug]

"Heh" The Changeling Remarks, ducking out of the way of a harpoon's path, "That probably counts as a Sea Monster"

Her visible hands became a whirl of motion, forming arcane sigils with grace and speed. Shaping the spell in her mind, Sally breathed out the incantation soundlessly, generating a surge of energy through her body.

Her malleable skin began to knit and grow out of her shoulder blades, taking on a golden sheen and extending outwards into a pair of metallic wings. Her arms changed next, expanding, becoming more mechanical, segmented and golden to match the wings, a second and third pair appearing from underneath her cloak.

A hand pulled the Harlequin's hood up onto the Changeling's Head, and her face shifted and changed into the appearance of a porcelain mask, with eyes of hollow darkness.

She smiled.

Standard Action: Cast Evolution Surge, Lesser
Move: Minor Shapeshift into Combat Form

Also, 5ft step forward. Sally wants to attrack some attention to herself, try to draw fire to her and not the other, more squishy members of the crew

[Zealumieo]

Aurinne looked at the scene curiously, she didn't expect for them to engage so early after she'd just seen a glimpse of them. Well these weren't animals, animals usual gave a warning before... well... certainly not throwing carved tools at people. Just as well, it looked like they weren't going to be reasoning with them. Aurinne took a look at both sides, trying to figure where her support would be the best used.

Initiative Roll:
[roll0]