Carnifex's Story Hour (Updated January 20th, "The Union")

[Carnifex]

Broccli_Head - this story isn't from an old game (though it is based on an old campaign setting that I ran a game in, which I revamped for the new time round), it's one I'm running at the moment on a message-board gaming site -
www.roleplayinggames.net

The first post of the story hour has the URL straight to my particular board, where you can see the game in progress as it happens!

The real advantage of message boards is that you can do this - you can have all the characters separate, although it means more writing has to be done, which'll reduce as they come together into parties - which'll be fairly soon...

Thanks for the praise Actually, as they all come together it'll give me less to write in the story hour, as I wont be recording a seperate storyline for each character - but then we'll get to see their antics as a party, which will hopefully be worth it. I really am blessed with an excellent group of roleplayers for this one, better than I've had in any campaign before

 

[Carnifex]

Physical Descriptions:

I was thikning I might post the physical descriptions of the PC's onto the story hour, to give you all a slightly better idea of just what they look like, along with alignment...

Burl Overton: Lawful Neutral
A little under six feet, 23 year-old Burl has shoulder length black hair and black, dark eyes; perhaps a little unnerving for many to look upon, as there's something in them that speaks out that here is a person of dark spirit... He wears a black hooded cloak most of the time.

Melisande: Neutral Good
At 5'8", Melisande would definitely be considered an extremely pretty eighteen year old girl - except for the small matter of her skin being light blue. Her hair is dark blue, and her eyes a shade of sapphire. In fact, even her blood is blue, so that when she blushes her face goes a deeper azure colour. She's of medium build, with a practical gray travelling dress, over which she wears a blue robe, and a warm, white rabbit-fur cloak is clasped at her throat with a plain bronze brooch.She usually wears her hair with two swaths at her temples braided and pulled back with a white ribbon.

Wyshira: Chaotic Good
Quite short at five feet, the 18 year-old Wyshira has pale, curly hair, and faintly blue-green skin (her lips often seem quite blue), which tends to give the impression that she is frail or even sickly. But she is actually quite fit, if not tremendously strong. Parts of her body - her brow, the insides of her wrists and arms, her belly and the small of her back - show traces of silvery-green markings that look at first like tatoos. On closer inspection, it can be seen that they are actually scales. Her eyes are large and round in her narrow face, and are sparkling green.

Disliking restrictive clothing, she usually wears loose-fittingm green sleeveless tunics, though she accepts the practicalities of wearing light armour in dangerous lands. Over everything, she wears a hooded, light-weight cloak of light gray.

Another effect of her genasi heritage is that her skin is rather cool to the touch - sometimes disconcerting but for those being healed by her magics, they often find the coolness comforting.

Sandslipper: Neutral Good
The 18 year-old earth genasi Sandslipper is certainly an attractive woman - and will use her stunning looks to get the attention of people if she has to, hopefully so that they will listen for long enough to hear what she has to say. Her skin is a milky, pale brown and looks like polished stone; she looks like a statue imbued with a lifeforce, being whose skin looks like stone but moves like flesh. Her hair is long, thick and as black as onyx. Of her eyes, there is no discernable feature to them, the entire eyeball is as black as onyx. She stands 5'5" tall, and though she doesn't look it, weighs 270lbs (the extra weight is a attribute of her race). Due to her life in the desert, Sandslipper is a very fit person.

Note: Since as a desert dweller it seemed a bit odd for Sandslipper to have Swim as a class skill, I allowed her to swap it out for Wilderness Lore instead.

Kale Amegrion: Chaotic Good
The young 24 year-old mercenary is lean, and stands 6 foot, but is neither broad nor particularly tall - though he is fit and healthy. Visibly armed most of the time, he wears a functional chain shirt, dark linen breeches, and hard boots for hard miles, over which is a well-worn woolen cloak.

Sebastion Cornell: Lawful Good
The 18 year-old Sebastion, of medium but reasonably athletic build, with shoulder length dark hair, and a neatly trimmed beard and moustache, hides intense deep blue eyes beneath craggy, usually frowning brows. Equally at home with either hand, he has a natural grace and
elegance that serves him in combat where strength does not, and a flair for horsemanship that will only grow with time.

Favouring the flaring trousers, long boots and tight tunic with sleeveless vest that his father sported for many years, Sebastion tends towards blues and dark greens, occasionally venturing to grey, but staying clear of black and pale colours. Armour-wise, Sebastion wears a light chain shirt.

Ebri Zol: Neutral Good
The 25 year-old Ebri stands 5'4", is a stocky, brown skinned woman, a little shorter than average height for a human. Her face is broad, with full lips, a flat nose, and almond shaped brown eyes that give the impression of a pleasant, open demeanor. Her brown hair is a mass of tiny braids that fall unbound to her waist. She wears a loose homespun tunic and trousers, favoring browns
and greens, and a length of similar cloth which she drapes variously about her self and head. This doubles as a sling, bag, or shelter as needed. She carries an unmarked quarterstaff, and wears comfortable sandals with woolen socks. She wears no jewelry of any kind.

Meg'anna Liadon: Neutral Good
The 23 year-old Meg'anna stands an even six feet tall, standing over most other women. Her build is slight,
that of a person who is active, yet not overly concerned with keeping in shape. Her skin is a dark walnut color, giving the woman a exotic-looking appearance. Her face is a bit too
round for her build, though not notice-able until examined intently. Her chin comes to a soft point, and her nose is slightly-upturned, giving her a very pretty face. One of Meg'annas eyes is a steel gray color and the others is a deep emerald green. Her dark brown hair, serving enough to highlight her dark brown skin, is rather thick, falling upon her shoulders and part way down her back.

Meg'anna wears simple drab garments, mostly made of sack-cloth. Her simple brown blouse and trousers hang loose on her lanky body, tied at the waist with a rope belt and simple soft boots. She walks with her short spear used as a walking staff, which is heavily decorated with scenes from the wood. She is often seen with a small red fox which tags along most of the time (her animal companion Micah).



The above stuff is mainly taken from the physical descriptions that the players themselves wrote, modified to be presented here.

 

[Carnifex]

In the next update...

Mel, Meg, Ebri and Sandslipper get caught in the middle of a full-scale battle as the two sides charge at each other (with Seb being one of the people charging)...

Burl sets to work cleaning out the unclean...

Wyshira and Kale reap the benefits of Wyshira's alliegance to Ishrak...

 

[Broccli_Head]

Talespinner

Carnifex, just wanted to let you know that I decided to subscribe as a lurker to your PBEM. I look forward to your story hour to see how you weave the threads together.


do you have a loom at home perchance?

 

[Carnifex]

Re: Talespinner

do you have a loom at home perchance?

Perhaps I should buy one

Thanks for the incredible compliment of subscribing as a lurker; I'll mention it to the players. I've managed to assemble something of a 'dream team' of several of the best rp'ers on roleplayinggames.net, as well as other applicants who just seemed really good anyway. I may be weaving the plot but they're adding real depth to it through their excellent roleplaying.

Oh, and Burl just nearly had his knee gnawed by a dire rat

 

[Carnifex]

A time of conflict...

And now for another update!

Burl:

Irial informs Burl that the small cult of disease-venerators they're heading off to cleanse have been attacking Pendarme by infecting some of their soldiers with disease - the high-ups want to know why, and they want the cult threat removed. Before they head off, Burl asks for some healing since he still hasn't fully recovered from the attack on the village of Irlain and the priest refused to heal him, and the elf tosses him a healing potion which brings him back up to full strength again.

They set off through night-time Iril, entering the Dock Quarter by the waterfront, an area where the poor lived in cramped houses along narrow lanes. They enter a maze of alleyways filled with refuse and garbagem before eventually coming to some steps down to a door into a basement. This apepars to be their destination.

There's a diseased old beggarman at the door who watches them suspiciously, and stubbornly denies knowledge when Irial asks him about a priest of the Bringer; Burl is somewhat taken aback when the irritated elf executes the beggar with a crossbow bolt through the head.

They prepare to break in, Irial advising Burl to cast any defensive magics he has now, but to save any offensive magic until they find the head priest rather than waste it on cultists. They break into the first room, a small dingy place where four sickly cultists in rags sit around a table; the advantage of surprise means that by the second round all four are dead, butthen the door over the other side opens and two dire rats charge Burl while a yellow-skinne, warty goblin stands in the doorway and attacks Irial. From beyond the sound of chanting can be heard, and Burl assumes they've found the priest.

The dire rats bite at Burl, one drawing blood before he kills it and then dazes the other to stun it until he can finish it off. Irial quickly despatches the golbin and then a cleric with a face covered in scar tissue, in filthy rags and clutching a flail, attacks. he too falls quickly.

They move into the next room, Burl slightly worried that he migth have contracted something from the rats bite. The chamber beyond is clearly the temple itself, a bare-walled room with slick moisture on floor, walls and ceiling, and fungus and mould growing in the corners. Two doors lead off - from behind one of which can be heard clanking and muttering - and at one end a small altar in a pile of rotting refuse can be seen. Irial uses alchemists fire to burn it and desecrate it, then they move to enter the room that the sounds can be heard emittimg from. Burl wonders to himself how anyone could worship a disease god if it means they live in such vile conditions.

Even as Irial reaches out to open the door, it swings open. Behind it is a big man in metal armour, face covered in scars like the other cleric and clutching a vicious flail. One hand glows with energy.

The elf falters at this surprise sight, and with a cry of 'Die, infidel!' the cleric reaches out and hits him with a inflict serious wounds, blasting him backwards as rents and lacerations burst across his chest. The priest turns on Burl next, mad-eyed, saying 'You next, despoiler of the temple!'.

Burl hits the cleric with a negative energy ray but he doesn't even falter, laughing the magic off and striking Burl with his flail - and then Irial, who had by now recovered a little, hits him from behind with both short swords (that's a lot of damage with the sneak attack, since the cleric was being flanked!). The cleric turns to strike Irial down but is hit again by both blades, and then Burl downs him with a magic missile.

They search the priests quarters in the room beyond, Burl wishing he could take back some of the cultist bodies since he reckons he could learn a lot from dissecting them, but he doesn't mention this to Irial. They find a journal and ntoes which they take to give to the high-ups of Pendarme, and a quick detect magic lets Burl see the corrupted innate magic running through the temple, and also the two vials and three scrolls in the clerics room that glow with magic - he grabs them. There's a key on the cleric too, but he wonders at the lack of any church funds until Irial points out to him that the worshippers of the Bringer of Pestilence are hardly wealthy.

They leave the cleric's quarters, intending to return to the Pendarme residence, but as they cross the temple chamber the other door they haven't yet explored swings opne and a tall, dark-skinned man in dark robes strides through, casting a web and entangling Irial. Burl fires at him to try and disrupt his next spell but the man keeps his concentration and torches the web, badly burning both the elven rogue and the human necromancer...

Melisande, Meg'anna, Sandslipper, Ebri Zol and Sebastion:

Melisande and Meg'anna hit the ground to try and avoid being seen by the fleshtearer, but it's to late; the figure glares at them, unnatural red eyes boring into them as they lie there trembling.

Instead of the expected storm of death descending upon them, it suddenly darts away agin into the trees. The line of dreadspawn is almost upon them though, so they get up and run as if the hells themselves were behind them.

Meanwhile Sandslipper tries to evade the oncoming dreadspawn by drawing upon Grumands Unseen Path and then trying to move silently and hide so that the dreadspawn would move past her without noticing her.

'Grumand's Unseen Path' is the name that Sandslipper gievs to her 'Pass without Trace' ability she has from being an earth genasi.

This fails, as she promptly steps on a twig, attracting the attention of the monsters; she too runs as fast as she can, hoping that due to her tracklessness she will be able to try again soon.

Ebri too finds herself in a fix - the cleric has been wandering through the woods and finds herself caught between a battle-line of armoured humans in one direction and a horde of dreadspawn in the other. Thus she, like the other four women, all end up coralled into one place; where the battleis going to take place.

It's a large sandy-floored clearing in the bowl at the end of a valley between two rises. A small brook flows out of a cave facing parallel to the oncoming lines of battle, and atop that stands a gnoll druid covered in vine-like tattooes. The four women break into this area from different angles, see each other and the druid, then see the two forces pouring out of the trees on either side - Sebastion being with the other Blood Ravens in the Carthagian forces. The Blood Ravens are more than a little confused by the four PC's in the middle of what is about to become a killing ground, but regardless the two forces charge at each other.

The women run for the cave, Meg trying to climb up the rock to reach the gnoll standing on top of the rocky outcrop. It becomes pretty clear that this wont work but the gnoll calls upon a spell which makes vines break through the rock and help the druidess up. The other three are left to shelter in the cave.

Battle is joined, the Blood Ravens in the thick of it, and the druid starts blasting the fleshtearer - which has piled into the thick of the fighting - with fire and lightning from on high.

In the midst of battle, Seb's horse, already dazed from the ogres slap and now panicked by the blasts of elemental energy, throws him; he rolls out from the melee without harm and finds himself at the cave mouth. Jarrus, one of the other Blood Ravens, tries to break through and rescue him but the horse slips and the dreadspawn pile onto the fallen mercenary.

Mere moments later a dead fleshtearer drops out of the sky right in front of Seb, giving him and the other three in the cave a bit of a shock. It had clambered up the rock face to attack the druid but a spike stones spell on the stone followed by an ice storm had finished it off.

Deacon Naerban, who had been accompanying the Carthagian force, is enraged by the defeat of his fleshtearer and blasts the druid with a searing light injuring it. It invokes the magic of its vine tattooes and actually changes form into a form amde up entirely of vines, which snake away into the ground, leaving Meg alone atop the rocky outcrop.

Seb suggests to the others that if theyw ant to live they'll have to run for it, but the others disagree - Mel is afraid that he'll just lead them back to a Carthagian camp and she'll be arrested for treason - the Deacon wouldn't look kindly on a defecting Manipulator, especially after losing two fleshtearers so recently. The others are leery of the idea too, and they wait.

The dreadspawn don't pursue the retreating humans, instead settling down to feed on the corpses of the slain out on the battle-field. They don't seem interested in attacking those in the cave yet, mayeb due to the dead 'tearer by the entrance or maybe just because they haven't eaten all the corpses yet. Meg climbs back down to rejoin the others, overjoyed to find that her friend Mel hadn't been eaten by Dreadspawn, while Seb starts to get emotional and angry, acting patronisingly towards the women -

"Well, if you insist on staying, take one of these at least. Hold the thin end, and try to hit with the sharp end... and don't hit me, you've already done enough to try and get me killed. One of you check the back of this cave, see if there's a way through..."

Meg is shocked to see a man - she hasn't seen one up close since her surrogate father died, having lived in solitude since then.

Mel ignores Seb's condescension and replies soothingly. "I have weapons, thank you. If you would just step back and quiet down, we might try to handle this situation rationally. I'll check the back of the cave, I can see in the dark."

"Which part of rational, Miss, is 'let's stay here and make ourselves easy targets for the gibbering horde out there?" he replies, thinking she must have become slightly unhinged at their predicament.




Anotehr update soon, charting the progression of Wyshira and Kale's journey...

 

[Carnifex]

The priest that Kale, Kaerval and Wyshira are led to is Father Uriaseas, a very friendly and pleasant old cleric who chats amiably to Wyshira for a while. She tells him of her plans to journey south and the old man warns her of rumours of bad piracy occurring, with some sailors muttering of 'sea devils'. She also finds out that there's a whole church hierarchy set up that she needs to integrate with, having only ever known the curatorship of the small mountain stream shrine of her home and not having come into contact with the rest of the faithful. Uriaseas informs her she is of acolyte rank and leads the trio into the mistral, the complex of buildings attached to the cathedral where the clergy go about their daily business.

They wander the busy corridors full of scribes and priests, with Storm Knight guards positioned at various intervals, and Uriaseas leads them to the deacon-quartermaster who gives Wyshira the appropriate robes for her status - light, loose turquoise robes with the emblems of Ishrak on them. She also makes a request if she could purchase some healing potions for the journey ahead of them - in fact this was due to Kale earlier asking her if she could buy some on the cheap because she was a priestess. Both are surprised when Father Uriaseas authorises the quartermaster to give them three potions of cure light wounds for free.

Where as before he had been slightly unsure of Wyshira's value to the mercenaries, now he's definitely convinced.

Uriaseas then leads them into a small garden-cloister, sitting himself down on a bench and quizzing Wyshira as to why she's heading south. She suddenly realises she may have made a mistake by deciding to head off with Wolf, Kaerval and Kale without first requesting permission from the established Church here in Jormungand, but Uriaseas reassures her by saying she is free to go where she wishes; after all,. they worship the Storm Lady, who hardly advocates strict regimen. However, he does tell her that whenever she arrives somewhere that a temple to Ishrak is present, she should go and offer her services as a travelling cleric to the ranking priest of the temple.

After this Uriaseas leaves them and Wyshira proposes to the other two that they pool some money and buy some incense as an offering to Ishrak, for good fortune on the sea journey ahead. She also wants to spend an hour or two in wosrhip here, so while the other two wait for her she sits by the pool of water in the main cathedral chamber, meditating in contemplative quiet while the burning incense floats on the surface of the water.

She feels the spiritual power of the cathedral, welling up within its walls and flowing through her. She feels a strange link to it, a feeling of greater clarity before and of closer contact with Ishrak. She knows too, that when she left this holy place, part of it would remain with her, strengthening her in her faith.

By the time she is finished, it is late and they return to the Great Serpent inn to meet Wolf. As the lhazakk barman serves them food, Wolf recounts what he has achieved.

"Well, I hope you all had a constructive day. I've booked us passage south on a Corinthian vessel - even managed to find one with an Azure Guard hydromancer."

"The Azure Guard are marine troops, elite soldiers of Iril trained for ship combat," he explains to Wyshira. "They also train up some specialist wizards for Corinthian ships, called hydromancers, who concentrate mainly on spells useful at sea. It's a great boon to be on a ship which has one. Much safer."

"Anyway, it leaves tomorrow with the tide, so we'd best be up bright and early. I've arranged some work too - there's a job for us down in Iril, and after that I've got an employer over in Naseria who's looking for people with skills like ours." He pauses for a moment in eating. "Hey, this food's damn good."

It seems the Great Serpent is to become quite renowned for its meals...

The next day they are off bright and early, boarding the ship the Dragon's Eye, a Corinthian merchantman vessel under the command of one captain Marsans. As they set off, Wolf and Kale spar, the older man training the younger but being given a good run for his money. Kaerval, watching the seas, notices some sharks follow the vessel for a little way, but then they dart off and he thinks nothing more of it.

Wolf's impressed by Kale's improving skills, commenting on the quality of his blade as well - the ornate short sword from the lair of the brine beast.

It's true - the sword seems to cut through the air faster and sit more lightly than any other blade Kale has picked up before. Also, he notices that no matter how much he cleaned it, there was always a thin sheen of some oily substance on the blade. It doesn't do anything bad, he just can't get rid of it.

The sparring has drawn quite a crowd amidst the sailors, and Kaerval and Wyshira watch it calmly. Then the hydromancer, a big burly man on the foredeck in blue robes, gives an alarming report.

"Oncoming vessel, captain Marsans," the sturdy, dark-bearded hydromancer bellows in his deep voice. "Closing and on course to cut ours; we've tried changing tack a few times but they keep on changing to match our course whatever we do. They're gaining too - it's a fast ship."

"I'm afraid I think we're being chased by pirates."

 

[Carnifex]

As an aside, both Wyshira and Kale levelled up before they left Jormungand by ship. Wyshira advanced to a 2nd level cleric, while Kale took his new level in ranger, choosing abberations as his first favoured enemy. Note that I'm using the ranger class straight as is from the PHB, no variations.

 

[Broccli_Head]

Cool to see the story all come together (since I've been reading it as a lurker!). It helps generate a bigger picture.

 

[Carnifex]

Wyshira and Kale: Battle for the Dragon's Eye

The pirate vessel closing in on the Dragon's Eye becomes clearly visible; a smaller craft than the merchantman vessel, with two outriggers , nets spanning the gap between these and the deck of the ship. Over the ship swarm human pirates, half-orcs too, and...

"Sea Devils" was the muttered word amidst the sailors, but Wolf uses a different one.

"Sahuagin."

The strange shark-men are clambering over the outriggers and nets, vicious weapons at hand, as the ship closes in. Their strange, scaled
skin and aquatic forms are disturbing and bizarre, vicious fish-eyes staring at the humans they were planning to attack. Sharks dart out from beneath the pirate vessel to circle the merchantman craft slowly.

The sailors prepare crossbows as the enemy close in, and bolts began to zip back and forth between the vessels, along with barbed javelins hurled by the sahuagin. The party is well-protected from the missile fire since they're gathered near the foredeck and ther are wooden rise on either side. Even as the sahuagin dive into the water and begin to clamber up the sides of the Dragon's Eye, and the corsairs on the pirate vessel begin to sling over grapnels to drag the two craft together, Wyshira calls upon the power of Ishrak to Bless the party and the nearby sailors. Kale prepares with a dart to hurl at the first sahuagin to pop its ugly shark-head over the gunnels...

As the ships close in and boarding planks slam down on the deck of the Eye, barbed spikes securing them into the deck, the first wave of sahuagin come swarming over. There's the crack of pistols and zip of crossbows as the sailors fire their last burst of ranged weapons, the portly captain Marsans emptying his brace of firearms into the face of a sahuagin clambering onto the deck near him. The hydromancer, protected by glimmering energy, lightning bolts the other ship's deck, killing a half-dozen corsairs; then he sets to work summoning a water elemental to aid the fight.

Kale sends a sahuagin climbing over the gunnels plummeting back into the water as he hits it with his dart, then the battle is on in earnest as fierce melee breaks out. A boarding plank slams down onto the deck next to the party, and four corsairs come rushing over; two sahuagin warriors clutching tridents, a human wizard in light brown robes who is protected by a glimmering shield, and a sahuagin cleric in an ornate, coral-inlaid breastplate and clutching an equally ornate mace. The wizard casts bull's strength on one of the sahuagin warriors while the cleric gestures at Wyshira and with a crackle of dark energy casts doom upon her.

At this point, as the sahuagin warriors close in, Kale's ornate short sword begins to thrum eagerly in his hand...

Wyshira's mind is filled with images of doom and the sahuagin rending her to pieces but she pulls herself together by muttering prayers to Ishrak. With a gesture of her mace she points at the enhanced sahuagin warrior and with a single commanding word sends it running - "FLEE!" - as the magic of the command spell takes effect. To her delight, and the disgust of the corsair mage, it falters, then turns tail and flees, leaping over the gunnels to the safety of the water below. There's already something of a grudge between the two spellcasters, and the corsair mutters the word of a summoning spell - a fiendish, pitch black wolf pops into existence and lopes towards the priestess.

Wolf and the other sahuagin warrior clash in combat, the mercenary managing to gain the upper hand and injure his shark-like foe, while Kaerval attempts to daze the corsair mage; the wizard easily shrugs it off.

Kale attempts to distract the sahuagin cleric away by taunting it; he hurls a dart at it which boucnes off its breastplate, getting its attention, then he shows off and provokes the priest, waving the brine blade around in the hope it might recognise it; after all, the sword seems to know its own purpose so he hopes the cleric might too.

Well, he definitely suceeds in getting its full attention - and wrath. It charges at him over the deck with surprising speed for an aquatic thing, hammering at him with its mace; it takes all his effort to avoid being smashed by the weapon. Taken aback by the sheer ferocity, Kale hops back onto the foredeck to get a height advantage and hruls a dart at the demon wolf the mage summoned (he misses) before striking at the sahuagin cleric with his sword. At this point Wyshira, trying to ingore the oncoming wolf, uses a scroll of cause fear on the priest - "The storm is upon you! Cower in fear of the Lady who flings bolts of destruction and death!" she cries - causing it to falter for a moment. Kale takes advantage of this - the enchanted blade cuts down, cutting through the beasts tough natural armour like a knife through butter as it buries itself in its throat, piercing down and into vital organs. Then the oily substance on the blade begins to corrode acidically into the things flesh as it gurgles weakly, before dropping dead - Kale's critical hit slew it with one strike...

Wyshira manages to fend off the summoned wolf as Wolf himself is caught in fierce conflict with the sahuagin warrior, unable to pierce its tough hide with his bastard sword. The corsair mage hits him with two magic missiles, and more trouble is on its way too...

Two more sahuagin warriors and a half-orc pirate clutching a rapier come skittering over the boarding plank to step onto the deck by the wizard, while at the other end a huge four-armed sahuagin shouting commands and wielding two ornate, barbed tridents begins to walk onto the plank. Kaerval mutters a quick spell and his sleep enchantment sends one sahuagin and the half-orc to sleep, to the obvious irritation of the corsair mage.

Fierce battle continues as Kale's attempt to bull-rush the mage off the ship is blocked by a sahuagin soldier, so instead he eviscerates the shark-man with one hit from the brine blade, acid corroding into it. Wolf is hit by his opponent but then fells him in return, moving over to help Kale as the four-armed sahuagin captain thuds down onto the ship deck, kicking the sleeping sahuagin awake. Behind him the corsair mage mutters another spell, casting endurance on the captain. Wyshira and Kaerval take on the fiendish wolf, the bard striking a hit with his sword.

Then the wolf smites good Wyshira, drawing blood, and Kaerval hits it one more time before it unsummons. Meanwhile the corsair mage casts another spell on the captain, forming a breastplate of ice out of the water vapour in the air around its torso.

This is a spell called Ice Armour, one originally created by the cryomancers but which has since spread to other magic-users as well.

Kale the human mincing machine kills the sahuagin that the captain had just awakened with a single blow and hits the four-armed mutant with a dart, causing cracks to radiate across the ice armour. The spell absorbs all the damage though, leaving the sahuagin unhurt. Wolf is unable to hit it, and in return the big fighter hits both of them, one trident striking each for grievious damage.

As the corsair mage's shield dissipates he kicks the half-orc pirate away, but kale's attack of opportunity on the half-breed as he stansd up is enough to kill him instantly too - even though the strike lacks the extra edge that the blade seems to give against the sahuagin. Immediately though the wizard is casting once more, firing a ray of enfeeblement at Kale which misses. As Kaerval closes in to deal with the spellcaster the mage draws a rapier and the two clash to the sound of ringing steel. Kale makes a mental note - in the future, always toast the spellcasters first!

"Hear me Ishrak! I call your Doom down upon our enemies!" rings out as Wyshira casts doom on the sahuagin, but the mutant shrugs it off and carries on fighting. She's tempted to go after the corsair mage, who she finds personally offensive, but decides to leave that to Kaerval - the central combat between sahuagin and humans is what needs her attention. Kale's now fighting defensively while Wolf is using his expertise feat to keep himself alive, so the combat remains a stalemate with the captain unable to strike either mercenary but equally still uninjured, and with the ice armour still in place.

After a few problems caused by the differences between meanings, yet similarities in spelling, bewteen the words 'vicious' and 'viscous' , the fate of the Dragon's Eye hangs in the balance...