Quozen tenses and ahead of the wave makes a prodigious standing jump to half his own height. The water that would have taken him just below the chin instead catches him at the knees. Despite avoiding the main force, when he splashes back down, the water drives him back several steps. He's
unable to keep his balance, and is swept from his feet.
Midias is heavyset enough that he can just brace himself against the flow. Pendrake stands like a rock, but somehow Ngikhnit fails to keep his footing and tumbles over.
Gillin staggers and is about to be swept backwards too, but at the last moment Peladus clasps his arm and the support is enough to keep the old man upright. With a tremendous effort, the wizard holds them both steady.
Further along the quay, four guardsmen are also caught by the wave. One turns to face it in time and keeps his footing, but the rest share Ngikhnit and Quozen's misfortune.
Within seconds, the water rebounds from the stone warehouse walls as though it were sloshing to the other end of a fat man's bathtub. The force this time is insufficient to bother those who first kept their footing, but the others are swept back with the reversing current.
Finally Quozen's athletic skills do not desert him as he manages to
kick against the flow enough to more or less keep his position as the water drains around him. He emerges soaked, on his hands and knees.
Two of the guardsmen are carried clean off the edge of the wharf into the sea. Heavy in their chain shirts, they flounder helplessly, and immediately go under. The third catches hold of an iron mooring ring at the last second and hangs over the edge by one hand, coughing and spluttering.
Meanwhile, Ngikhnit finds himself battered and scraped over the flagstones by the surging water, then suddenly he's over the edge
too, with one last chance to similarly catch himself.[sblock=OOG]
1 HP nonlethal damage to Ngikhnit. DC 20 Ref save to catch a rope, mooring ring, edge of the quay or something, please, orsal.
The wave required a DC 15 Str check to avoid being overwhelmed, necessitating further checks. Quozen's successful Jump reduced this to a DC 10 for him, but he still failed the Str check. Gillin would almost certainly have been swept away if not for Peladus'
successful Aid Another, which gave him exactly 15.[/sblock]