CH 4: Heart of Darkness

[Breila]

This time, Ouragana tries to confuse the chieftain by creating a screech in his ears with a cantrip.

[JadedDM]

The melee continues...

The Bow
Oren's opponent strikes with its spear, but the tough dwarf knocks it from the fishfolk's hands with his axe. He's unable to stop the dagger from cutting him across the forehead, though. "Ha! Let's see how tough you are with just your wee dagger!" Oren taunts, swinging his axe. The sahuagin hastily dodges, but seems undeterred.

It uses its dagger to deflect the female dwarf's attack, holding its ground against both opponents. However, it's unable to avoid the arrow that comes flying up from the main mast, sinking into its shoulder. It hisses in pain, but keeps on fighting. Oren cuts into him again, but even this does not slow the creature down too much.

The Port Side
Andar appears torn between helping the screaming elf and the clearly outclassed female dwarf sailor. When he sees Jocelyn going to help her companion, he makes his decision to help the dwarf, slicing into her opponent with his cutlass deeply.

Despite Octhanus' blessing, Jocelyn has had no luck at all today. And where was Noah? She hadn't seen her mentor since breakfast and now he was nowhere to be found. She calls upon her goddess' healing magic, and tries to reach out to touch Areilon in the madness of the melee, but the elf ducks to avoid another blow and accidentally evades the cleric's healing touch, as well. The glow on Jocelyn's hand flicker and fades away.

A pair of glowing missiles fly down from the sterncastle and strike the elf's opponent, staggering it. Ignoring her wounds, Areilon takes advantage of the moment of weakness and strikes again, stabbing her opponent with her sabre and ending its life.

Andar moves to finish off his opponent, but the creature angrily knocks the blade from his hands, which clatters to the deck.

The Starboard Side
Dalaim continues whacking at the chieftain with his staff, knocking another scale loose. Meanwhile, Ouragana assaults it again with a cantrip, causing it to be momentarily distracted. So focused on the chieftain, she completely ignores the lieutenant as it grabs the poor gnome sailor and tosses her into the ocean to be devoured by its comrades. It then throws its dagger at the mage, cutting into her deeply. Hefting its spear, it grins evilly at Ouragana as it prepares to charge.

"Don't worry, I got him!" calls out the quartermaster, taking aim at the lieutenant. However, his bowstring snaps suddenly, preventing him from offering any further fire support. "Uh-oh!" he says.

The chieftain, its balance thrown off by the loud sound in its ears, exchanges blows with Val. Again, though, they seem evenly matched and neither can seem to pierce the other's defenses.

The Stern
The captain strikes at the last sahuagin in the area, killing it. He then turns to the sorceress and halfling. "You, grab your crossbow and fire from here," he orders the halfling.

"Captain, I'm out of spells," the sorceress states.

"Then use your damned wand," he counters.

"I was saving that for emergencies."

"What the devil do you call this then? A godsdamned minor inconvenience?!" the captain bellows.

Realizing she couldn't argue with that, the sorceress pulls out a small wooden wand and turns her attention to the melee throughout the rest of the ship. Hearing the elf shouting for help, she points her wand and utters the command word, unleashing a pair of magical missiles that both strike the sahuagin. This weakens it enough to allow the elf to finish her opponent off.

"Stern's clear again!" the captain shouts out. "How many left?"

The halfling up on the mast calls out, "Four on deck, five in the water. But the ones in the water are distracted with a feeding frenzy!"

"Take down the chieftain!" the captain orders. "That'll take the fight out of the rest of 'em!"

===========

Initiative
Areilon (1d10+4): 14
Jocelyn (1d10+5): 9
Val (1d10+7): 15
Ouragana (1d10+2): 11
Oren (1d10+7): 10
Grey (N/A)
Dalaim (1d10+4): 9
Captain Boffi (1d10+5): 6
Storm Sorceress (1d10+3): 7
Quartermaster (1d10+4): 10
Andar (1d10+5): 7
Sailor 02 (1d10+5): 15
Sailor 04 (1d10+5): 13
Sailor 06 (1d10+5): 15
Sailor 08 (1d10+5): 6
Sahuagin 10 (1d10+6): 13
Sahuagin 12 (1d10+6): 14
Sahuagin 15 (1d10+6): 8
Lieutenant 01 (1d10+6): 10
Lieutenant 02 (1d10+6): 13
Chieftain (1d10+7): 15

Round 4!

Sailor 08 attacks Sahuagin 15 with her cutlass while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+1): 3, miss.
Captain Boffi attacks Sahuagin 15 with his cutlass (+2) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+3): 19, hit for (1d6+3): 8 damage. Sahuagin 15 dies.
Storm Sorceress discharges two magic missiles from her wand at Sahuagin 12 for (2d4+2): 9 damage.
Andar moves 10 feet northwest and attacks Sahuagin 10 with his cutlass (+2) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+3): 20, hit for (1d6+5): 9 damage.
Sahuagin 15 is dead.
Jocelyn moves 15 feet south and casts Cure Light Wounds and attempts to touch Areilon (AC 10) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+1): 6, miss.
Dalaim attacks the Sahuagin Chieftain with his quarterstaff while blessed by Octhanus (1d20+1): 16, hit for (1d6): 1 damage.
Quartermaster fires a sheaf arrow from his short bow (+1) at Lieutenant 01 while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+2): 21, hit for (1d8): 6 damage.
Lieutenant 01 attacks Oren in studded leather armor (-1) with its spear (1d20-1): 0, critical fumble! It drops the spear. It then attacks with its dagger (1d20-1): 17, hit for (1d4): 1 damage.
Oren attacks Lieutenant 02 with his battle axe (+1) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+2): 12, miss.
Ouragana casts a sound cantrip on the Chieftain (1d20): 8, pass.
----Chieftain saves vs. spell (1d20): 13, fail. Chieftain is distracted.
Sahuagin 10 attacks Andar with its spear (1d20): 5, miss.
Sailor 04 attacks Sahuagin 10 with her cutlass while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+1): 14, bare miss.
Lieutenant 02 attacks Sailor 06 with its spear (1d20): 19, hit for (1d6): 4 damage. Sailor 06 dies. It then throws its dagger at Ouragana (1d20): 17, hit for (1d4): 2 damage.
Sahuagin 12 attacks Areilon with its spear (1d20): 5, miss.
Areilon attacks Sahuagin 12 with her sabre (+2) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+3): 21, hit for (1d6+1): 6 damage. Sahuagin 12 dies.
Sailor 02 attacks Lieutenant 01 with her cutlass while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+1): 13, miss.
Sailor 06 is dead.
Chieftain attacks Val in hide armor (+2) with its trident (+1) while distracted by Ouragana's cantrip (-2) (1d20+1): 12, bare miss.
Val attacks the Chieftain with her trident (+1) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+2): 9, miss.
Captain Boffi has no enemies in range.
Andar attacks Sahuagin 10 with his cutlass (+2) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+3): 4, critical fumble! Andar fumbles his cutlass.
Quartermaster fires a sheaf arrow from his short bow (+1) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) at Lieutenant 02 (1d20+2): 3, critical fumble! His bowstring snaps.
Oren attacks Lieutenant 02 with his battle axe (+1) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+2): 15, hit for (1d8+3): 6 damage.
Val attacks the Chieftain with her trident (+1) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+2): 13, miss.
Grey bleeds out 1 HP.

(OOC: Man, I knew Andar's string of luck was just too good to last. One of three fumbles this round!

Horizon, unfortunately, that CLW spell has been lost. But she can try again next round without a roll, assuming Areilon stays put for a round.)

[Jenara]

Arei pauses, part of her wanted to help Andar, the other knew if she was hit again she wouldn't survive. "Help the others, I will take a potion." The Elf says firmly, seeing the Gnome down she adds. "Help him."

Arei swigs one of the healing potions.

[Nuke]

Val senses the battle has changed a bit. Wanting to finish it, she presses the attack again.

init, hit and damage, rd4 (1d10=10, 1d20+3=19, 1d6+3=5)

OOC: I count +3. +1 specialization, +1 Male, +1, blessing.

[HorizonsDream]

Jocelyn runs to go help the downed gnome. Once there, she makes sure that he is still alive then casts her healing prayer upon him.

Init Roll (9)

[Breila]

Ouragana retetreats, trying to put the mast between herself and the attacker. Drawing her dagger, she goes into full defense.

[JadedDM]

Things come to a close...and a surprising twist!

The Bow
Oren blocks another dagger thrust with his shield, then counters with a slash with his axe. The creature stumbles, then falls to the ground, dead. His battlelust not yet spent, Oren begins hacking into the sahuagin, again and again, just to be certain.

Jocelyn quickly approaches the still form of Grey and begins to pray to Octhanus to save him. Touching him, the energy flows into his body, restoring his body partially. His eyes blink open groggily. "Uhhh...d-did I get him?" he asks, dazed.

The Port Side
Areilon pulls out one of the three healing potions she acquired on the island and drinks it down quickly. It soothes her troubled spirit and heals most of her injury in seconds.

Meanwhile, Andar, now weaponless, kicks the sahuagin in the stomach, causing it to double over. It makes an awkward stab with its spear, but Andar easily evades. When it hears the horn of retreat, it quickly leaps back into the ocean, having had its fill of this battle.

The Starboard Side
Ouragana attempts to maneuver around the main mast, and this prevents the sahuagin lieutenant from charging, but otherwise does little to stop it. It approaches menacingly, until a pair of magic missiles fly from the sterncastle and smack it in the chest. This barely even slows it down, though.

Roaring with battle lust, it heads straight for Ouragana, eager for the kill. Surely the wizard would be doomed, but something completely unexpected happens instead. A sudden gust of localized wind lifts the mage upward about 15 feet into the air. The sahuagin nearly trips over itself in amazement and gawks up at her stupidly.

Nothing seems to be holding her up, she is merely suspended in the air, the wind blowing her hair and clothes in all directions.

Meanwhile, Boffi comes running down the stairs at full tilt. He stabs the sahuagin chieftain in the back, stealing Val's thunder and her kill. The chieftain goes down, dropping its trident at the half-orc's feet.

The lieutenant's awe at Ouragana's feat of levitation is broken at the sound of its chieftain's death cry. It pulls out a horn, blows twice, then makes a break for the railing. It leaps over and disappears into the water.

"They're retreating!" the quartermaster calls. "Even the ones in the water!"

===========

Initiative
Areilon (1d10+4): 8
Val (1d10+7): 17
Jocelyn (1d10+5): 14
Ouragana (1d10+1): 7
Oren (1d10+7): 14
Grey (N/A)
Dalaim (1d10+4): 10
Captain Boffi (1d10+5): 11
Storm Sorceress (1d10+3): 9
Quartermaster (N/A)
Andar (1d10+5): 7
Sailor 02 (1d10+5): 12
Sailor 04 (1d10+5): 10
Sailor 08 (1d10+7): 9
Sahuagin 10 (1d10+6): 7
Lieutenant 01 (1d10+2): 4
Lieutenant 02 (1d10+6): 13
Chieftain (1d10+7): 13

Round 5!

Quartermaster scouts the area.
Lieutenant 01 attacks Oren in studded leather armor (-1) with its dagger (1d20-1): 2, miss.
Ouragana moves 10 feet around the main mast, then goes into full defense. Her AC improves by 1.
Andar wrestles (+1) with Sahuagin 10 while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+2): 18, kick for 4 damage.
---Chance for Sahuagin 10 to be knocked out (3%) (1d100): 82, pass. Sahuagin 10 remains conscious.
Sahuagin 10 attacks Andar with its spear (1d20): 5, miss.
Areilon drinks a Potion of Healing, restoring (2d4+2): 5 HP.
Storm Sorceress moves 5 feet north and fires two magical missiles at Lieutenant 02 for (2d4+2): 6 damage.
Sailor 08 moves 20 feet north and fires her light crossbow at the Chieftain while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+1): 8, miss.
Dalaim attacks the Chieftain with his quarterstaff from behind (+2) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+3): 9, miss.
Sailor 04 attacks Sahuagin 10 with her cutlass while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+1): 4, miss.
Captain Boffi moves 30 feet northward and attacks the Chieftain with his cutlass (+2) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+3): 23, critical hit! for (2d6+3): 12 damage. Chieftain dies.
Sailor 02 attacks Lieutenant 01 with her cutlass while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+1): 9, miss.
Lieutenant 02 moves 10 feet southwest toward Ouragana, but she hovers away! It blows twice on a horn and makes a break for it.
Chieftain is dead.
Oren attacks Lieutenant 01 with his axe (+1) while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+2): 16, hit for (1d8+3): 9 damage. Lieutenant 01 dies.
Jocelyn moves 45 feet north to the bow, then casts Cure Light Wounds on Grey, restoring him automatically to 1 HP.
Val's target is already dead.

(OOC: End Combat)

[Jenara]

Grabbing her crossbow Arei walks along the side of the ship towards Andar, offering him his sword. "Thanks. That was some nice work." She says with a smile. "What a cost..."

[HorizonsDream]

"Oh yeah. You clobbered him," Jocelyn says with a small smile. "I'm sure everyone will think twice before fighting you again," she teases as she slowly helps him up to a sitting position.

[Nuke]

Val simply watches the event happen, not concerned as to how a powerful foe goes down.

She reaches down and picks up the fork to feel it heft and balance before addressing Boffi. "Thank you for help."

She bends to the task of looting the captain before pitching it over the side.

Damn, thought I'dda had 'em if I actually got the chance.

[Breila]

Bleeding from the dagger wound, and suddenly having no ground under her feet, Ouragana lets out a scream of surprise as the winds lift her up. After a moment,however, she feels strangely elated up there in the winds. A sense of belonging lets her open her arms wide and throw her head back, eyes closed.

[JadedDM]

Andar accepts the blade and sheathes it. "Thanks," he says.

"Super," Grey says in a daze, smiling to himself before passing out.

The trident is well-balanced and well-crafted, wherever it came from. The prongs are steel, but the shaft is made of coral. It may have been made by one of the underwater races, but it's hard to say. Val also fives five platinum pieces on the chieftain.

It's at this point that Noah comes up from below, rubbing his eyes groggily. "Geez, what is all the ruckus up here?" he asks, then freezes mid-step when he sees all of the carnage. "Yikes."

Slowly, Ouragana is lowered to the ground again, uncertain of what just happened or how it happened at all.

"Everyone, gather 'round!" the captain commands. "How many did we lose?" he asks.

"All but three," the quartermaster says as he shimmies down the main mast.

"THREE?!" the captain bellows. "By the gods, this ship really is cursed now. First I lose 11 to those tribals, than five more to the sahuagin!"

"Maybe we should rename the ship again," the quartermaster suggests.

The captain sighs deeply. "We can't run this ship with three sailors. We need at least eight. Andar, son, I need you back on the crew, at least until we make landfall."

Andar nods solemnly.

"That makes four," the captain states. "I'll need more volunteers to help run this ship. The rest of you have any experience with sailing? Besides you," he adds to Areilon. "I know you're already going to ask, and it looks like you'll get your wish now."

==============

(OOC: Val's proficiency with tridents reveals to her that the coral trident is of fine quality; this means it grants a non-magical +1 to hit when used in battle.)

[Breila]

Back on the ground, Ouragana feels a little disoriented and confused at first. The captain's request for volunteers brings her back to the present.

"I know only about navigation, really, and I'm not terribly strong either" Ouragana tells the captain. "However, I'm willing to contribute what I can."

[JadedDM]

"You'll have to do then," the captain says. "That makes six, including the elf. How about the rest of you?"

Oren shakes his head. "I don't know anything at all about boats or sailing, I'm afraid. And whether Grey can or cannot, he's in no condition at the moment."

"I'm afraid I am no sailor, either," Dalaim states.

Noah, still rubber-necking at all the carnage around him, steps forward. "Count me out. And just what happened up here?"

=========

(OOC: Actually, you gave Ouragana the Seamanship proficiency, which means she is qualified to work as a crewman on a ship automatically.)

[Jenara]

"I am happy to help. As you have already assumed." Arei says with a smile, shouldering the crossbow again. "Oren, I appear to be more rusty than I thought, could you help me remember how to use it?" She asks as she joins the group.

"Perhaps the sea and the battle have effected me, but.... Did Oura fly? I was... Taken back."