Way of the Wicked: Knot of Thorns [IC]

[Blackhawk101]

Leonidas lashes out again with frosty fury at the attacking merfolk below.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

cast Burning arc-cold at orange and green enemies, hitting green first
dam1 - (5d5)[18]
dam2 - (2d6)[6]
DC =15 Reflex

“Captain, try and capture one of the gutless bastards alive!”

[lostsole31]

R9T19.7: Leonidas lashes out again with frosty fury at the attacking merfolk below. Green manages to duck aside partly and only takes 9 cold, and then the arc travels underwater to fully hit Brown for 6 cold.

R9T19.5: Ved looks to Leonidas, even as the arcane beacon ends. "That's more like it."

Ved shimmies on the thinner gunwale above the voidd to the middle hold to be more in line with the enemy spellcaster. Ved casts a spell on himself while looking angriliy at that spellcaster.

R9T19.4: Saiden, what do you do?

Scathe on deck, Sailors in the hole ...

[BananaPhone]

Disarmed and with no weapon about her to use, Saiden fell into a supporting role.

Reaching out with her mystical bent, the Warlord reached out to Leonidus...

ooc:

Spoiler

Show

Move: Nothing.
Standard: Cast Enlarge Person on Leonidus.

[lostsole31]

R9T19.4: Disarmed and with no weapon about her to use, Saiden fell into a supporting role. Reaching out with her mystical bent, the Warlord reaches out to Leonidas. In doing so, she reaches to her hip, and realizes that her spell component pouch is hanging next to her hammock .... and she has no ability to cast spells without it now.

R9T19.3: Scathe, your sword is in hand and your shield is readied, but all enemies are in the water. What do you do?

Sailors on deck and in the hole ...

[TooterfishPopkn]

Scathe holds his ground and readies his sword and shield.

Spoiler: Action

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Readying an action to attack with my sword as soon as one of these things comes over the gunwale.

[lostsole31]

R9T19.3: Scathe holds his ground and readies his sword and shield.

R9T19.2: Red sailor, badly wounded, goes below, as does blue sailor. The three forward sailors can't really attack effectively with a Purple fish-man underwater, but they keep that area covered just in case. Red-green returns to starboard, and he and Purple sailor shoot at Green fish-man. Another two sailors come to the gunwale with bows - one forward and one aft.

R9T19-18: Purple soft crits Kel in the neck for 4 mod.

R9T17: Kel hits Purple fish-man in the chest with a soft, glowing ding for 23 NL, knocking him unconscious as he drops trident and crossbow. She then swims past his slowly sinking form to confront the spellcaster.

R9T14-9: The fight to the south continues. The captain smites green with a mighty blow, and green begins to sink, but Yellow gets into the place his friend was in to continue to flank the captain.

End Round 9, Begin Round 10 ...

R10T19.7: Leonidas, what do you do? You can only see one well enough to target (yellow), as the light that drifts over the ship from lanterns isn't direct, and the waters are black and reflect light.

Ved on deck, Saiden in the hole ...

[Blackhawk101]

Snarling with cold fury, Leonidas gathers arcane power with gestures and word before cold blue light coalesces into a frozen ball in his hand. With a powerful throw, he launches the icy ball at his enemy.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

cast Snowball
Ranged touch attack against yellow
to hit - (1d20+6)[10]
to dam - (5d6)[14]

[lostsole31]

R10T19.7: Snarling with cold fury, Leonidas gathers arcane power with gestures and word before cold blue light coalesces into a frozen ball in his hand. With a powerful throw, he launches the icy ball at his enemy, missing.

R10T19.5: "Glad I didn't waste another round of my powers for your incompetence," snarls Ved to Leonidas.. He inches his way forward to the Baroness, casts a spell, and touches her for 10 healing.

R10T19.4: Saiden, what do you do?

Scathe on deck, Sailors in the hole ...

[BananaPhone]

Saiden gave a nod to Ved, before moving over to their bunks where her bow was stored.


ooc:

Spoiler

Show

Move Action: Moving to their bunks.
Standard Action: Retrieving her bow.

[lostsole31]

R10T19.4: Saiden gave a nod to Ved, heading down the ladder past other sailors ready to come up, and makes her way to her hammock.

Spoiler: Saiden

Show

Just getting there was a double-move.

R10T19.3: Scathe, nothing has come over the gunwale. What do you do?

Sailors on deck and in the hole ...

[TooterfishPopkn]

Worrying he might be waiting forever, Scathe makes way to his hammock to retrieve his crossbow.

[lostsole31]

R10T19.3: Worrying he might be waiting forever, Scathe makes way to his hammock to retrieve his crossbow. He is now at his hammock with sword in one hand and shield in another.

R10T19.2: Red sailor in hold area grabs his bow, drops the belaying pin, and takes his quiver. Blue, whose bunk is on the aft end, does the same. Sailor Brown hits Yellow fish-man for 2. All of the blood gets to Green, who fouls his shot and steps back from the gunwale. Red-Brown just manages to hit Yellow for 5. Purple hits him for 4. Even another arrow hits Yellow for 5 as the sailors are getting some really lucky shots. More sailors will come up on deck (not shown, but with bows ready to move in if needed).

R10T18: Underwater combat off the starboard bow.

R1017-9: Disturbance of water off starboard beam as a battle is fought underneath, though the haunting music under the waves is still heard, muffled by air-to-water coupling of sound. Quite a bit of blood comes up from underwater to the starboard aft battle. Yellow, despite having been pelted by several sailors' arrows, keeps his position on the surface and stabs downward, some blood drifting up from where the captain was last seen.

End Round 10, Begin Round 11 ...

R11T19.7: Leonidas, what do you do? Stil just one target visible (Yellow).

Ved on deck, Saiden in the hole ...

[Blackhawk101]

“Ved, Some more light would help, ya igit!”
Leonidas again gathers arcane power and throws a snowball at a merfolk.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

cast Snowball at yellow
to hit - (1d20)[20] +6
to dam - (5d6)[21]

[lostsole31]

R11T19.7: “Ved, Some more light would help, ya igit!” Leonidas again gathers arcane power and throws a snowball at a merfolk, nailing Yellow for 21 cold. Yellow goes limp and sinks underneath the water.

R11T19.5: "It would just reflect off the water, making it even brighter in your eyes, you sophist simpleton," Ved replies. "Besides, it looks like Kel and the captain have things well in hand."

R11T19.4: Saiden, you have a belaying pin in hand, standing at your hammock, your spell component pouch nearby? What do you do?

Scathe on deck, Sailors in the hole ...

[BananaPhone]

Saiden drops the pin and reaches out for her short-bow, short-sword and spell component pouch.

When she affixes those things to herself, bow in hand, sword in sheath and belt around her waist, the tall redhead hurries back to the deck and near the railing, ready to loose arrows upon the merfolk.

[lostsole31]

R11T19.4: Saiden drops the pin. She takes her sword with baldric, and puts sheathe and baldric on.

R11T19.3: Scathe, you are at your hammock ... sword in one hand, shield readied in the other. What do you do?

Frosthamar sailors on deck and in the hole ...

[TooterfishPopkn]

Scathe sheaths his sword and grabs his crossbow.

[lostsole31]

R11T19.3: Scathe sheaths his sword and grabs his crossbow.

R11T19.2: Some more sailors (not shown) file on deck. Red and Blue stay belowdecks from wounds, but are ready with bows if needed.

R11T17-11: Flash of pale light off starboard beam underwater, and more watery disturbance.

End Round 11, Begin Round 12 ...

R12T19.7: Leonidas, no visible enemies, and only one watery disturbance off the starboard beam. You still hear the faint sounds of singing from underwater. What do you do?

Ved on deck, Saiden in the hole ...

[Blackhawk101]

Leonidas jumps for joy over the successful attack.
“Wahoo! Did you see that, ya’crusty barnacle Ved!?! Take that, fish face!”
He then moves starboard closer to the disturbance.

[lostsole31]

R12T19.7: Leonidas jumps for joy over the successful attack. “Wahoo! Did you see that, ya’crusty barnacle Ved!?! Take that, fish face!”

He then moves starboard closer to the disturbance.

R12T19.5: Ved delays ...

R12T19.4: Saiden grabs her spell component pouch and belts it.

R12T19.3: Scathe, you have shield readied in one hand and an unloaded crossbow in another. Sword is sheathed. What do you do?

Frosthamar sailors delaying ... Waterborne combatants on deck and in the hole ...

[TooterfishPopkn]

Scathe heads back above deck and moves back to the gunwale to assess any changes in the battlefield.

[lostsole31]

R12T19.3: Scathe heads back above deck and moves back to the gunwale.

R12T17-11: Combat off the starboard beam.

Combat Ends in a round or two ....

The captain has his sailors lower rope so they can pull up the leader of the attack. Then the captain comes aboard. Kel shows up about a minute later. and has Imogen's body to be hauled up. She disappears again, and about three minutes comes up with Saiden's sword.

"Lose something?" says Kel to Saiden once Saiden comes back up topside.

[Blackhawk101]

“Hey, Kel! I lost my sword off the port side. I will make it worth ya’ while if’n ya fetches it. She should still be aglow.”

[lostsole31]

Kel looks at him, shrugs, and then dives off the port quarter. She returns about five minutes later with Leonidas' glowing falacata. "Okay, what made this my while?"

[Blackhawk101]

Leonidas beams happily at the sight of his favorite weapon.
“Aw ya be a mermaid in disguise, my dear! If it be booty ya be wanting, ya will be generously rewarded: 100 gold pieces shall be thine!”

[lostsole31]

She smiles wanly when he mentions mermaid. "I will hold you to it, and might have a mind to collect it over time in drink."

Ved looks to the party while observing the body of the spellcaster under lantern light. "Strange. This is not a mermaid, but a triton. And old one at that, though the others seemed much younger and more hale, like triton warriors."

He stands up, holding up a seashell-and-pearl holy symbol of Mitra. "And a worshipper of Mitra. They are creatures from beyond our world who settled here eons ago, and probably from the Plane of Water. Each triton can call forth a small elemental of water ... like we saw. And many warriors are trained to ride dolphin-back ... the "fish" we saw, by the way. Their scales protect them as well as a good chain hauberk. This leader here, given the components of his two pouches, I would say he was a bard, and not a cleric .... but an oracle.

"But they are Mitrans and directly attacked us. I don't know if that is because somehow the Enemy knows of us at large, or because this particular one had a vision of some sort. I guess we'll find out if all of Talingarde know of us and attack. For now, I say we continue our mission and assume this was an old man with holy visions, because we might as well be dead if it isn't."

The captain nods his head. "See to my men's wounds. Double the watches, but return to sleep else of you for the day ahead."

"Oh, and Leonidas?" Ved the blue-skinned samsaran who was not disguised as a samsaran says, but looking around to the rest of the group. "Take a look at yourselves when you get a chance. I don't know if it is just these waters or not, but our disguises have lapsed for some reason."

[BananaPhone]

Saiden pursed her lips when considering the dead mermen, before she moved to rummage through whatever pockets, bags or belongings they might have. Anything that might give an indication further of who they were specifically.

Once that was done, Saiden grinned at the return of her sword, her fingers wrapping around the grip as she gave it a little swing to fling any remaining water from its keen edge.

"Lovely! Thank you," she said to whomever it was that had returned her weapon to her.

[Blackhawk101]

Helping Kel onboard, Leonidas collects his sword. He promises Kel free drinks on him until she can no longer stand up at the next port-o-call. If Imogen’s death bothers him, he gives no outward sign.
“Back to ya’ racks, bilge rats! Fun’s over.”
Leonidas doesn’t bother resetting his disguise or asking for healing as he returns to his rack and goes to sleep. This time, in his dreams of naked maidens frolicking on piles of treasure they look like mermaids.

[lostsole31]

The only thing that the spellcaster had on him were two spell component pouches (not useful for resale or reuse, so tossed) .... seashell armor that was beyond the help of a mending spell post battle, it was so fragile ... a sea shell and pearl holy symbol of Mithra (valued at 100 gp), and a masterwork trident. The latter two items get put into party treasury, and the dead spellcaster is tossed overboard.

Ved will bind those sailors and party members that need binding, paying particular attention to Saiden, Captain Odenkirk, and Leonidas.

The Ninth Knot ... not being sailors ... get to sleep in to fully recover.

The next day, is there any empathy/ emotion/ eu-googly regarding Imogen's body, or do you just let the captain do a perfunctory burial-at-sea?

[Blackhawk101]

Leonidas will offer to purchase liquor for a celebratory toast from the Captain.