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Message: <blockquote data-quote="wsclark" data-source="post: 803" data-attributes="member: 97">Session IX - First It's Monsters, Now It's Ships!Frosting 22nd, 744 YNDIt's been three days since the almost disastrous battle with the sea serpent and sailing has been going well. But early in the morning, the lookout shouts out, "Sail ho!" He is pointing ahead, about 20 degrees off the starboard bow. On the horizon, about eight miles out, a single sail can be seen. The sail gets larger as it heads in the general direction of the Forsaken. At present speeds the two will meet in a little over an hour.A half hour later, the ship is moving on a definite intercept course, and Pocaat begins ordering the crew to battle stations. The ship unfurls a black flag on her mast. Pocaat looks at the ship through his spyglass and mutters, "Pirates!" Chin asks the captain if they can out run the ship. Pocaat tells him "No, not with them having both sail and oars." The group prepares for the coming battle, arming themselves with light and heavy crossbows as well as the ballista.As the pirate vessel approaches, Chin and Pug wait with heavy crossbows, Daloren with a light crossbow, six crewmen with light crossbows and two crewmen are at the ballista. The enemy ship is about 140 feet away when the ballista fires, missing the ship. The vessel continues to close the range and is now about 100 feet away, within optimum range of the heavy crossbows, so Chin and Pug fire. One pirate is hit and goes down. The ballista is reloaded.The ship is now about 60 feet away and everyone open fires. Chin downs another pirate with the second crossbow he has, the crew brings down two more with light crossbows and the ballista nails a fourth. Pug is reloading his heavy crossbow. The pirates have just lost half the crew complement. The ship starts to turn away.As the ship turns, it is still within light crossbow range, so Pug and the crew fire again, killing two more pirates. The ship sails off to the whoops of the crew. (DM's note: This battle should not have been this lopsided. The pirates had 50% cover on their ship, giving them an AC of 18. Both the group and the crew rolled really well.)With the pirate threat averted, they continue to sail on to Zoa.Frosting 24th, 744 YNDTwo days after the encounter with the pirates, another cry of "Sail ho!" goes up from the crow's nest. Once again, he points in the general direction the ship is sailing, a little off the port bow this time. Pocaat immediately looks at it through the spyglass, but it is still little more than a silhouette against the sky. The Forsaken closes with the ship, taking a good hour to get within four miles. It is evident that the other cog is abandoned.The sails are in tatters and the lines and rigging hang loose. It indeed looks dead, though a figure is visible hanging over the wheel. In another half hour, the Forsaken is within a mile of the vessel. Through the spyglass, the Captain can see that the man in ragged clothing might still be alive. Another figure appears to be perched on top of the mast. The word "Hyperion" is barely visible on the sun bleached side of the hull.Pocaat refuses to bring the Forsaken closer that a half mile, when asked by Chin if he is going to investigate the ship to see if it needs help, to avoid the possibility of plague or evil on the abandoned vessel. Chin asks if they can take the dingy over to check the ship out and he grudgingly agrees. So Chin, Daloren, Lulla and Pug start rowing over to the cog, leaving Shaedra and Thalen on the Forsaken.As they approach the other vessel, the man tied to the wheel suddenly raises his head. His face is emaciated and thin with starvation. "No!" he screams. "Get out! Get out!" Then he coughs and his head falls down on the wheel of the ship again. He moves no more. They continue to row over to the Hyperion, pulling the dingy up along side of the ship where a gangway would normally be deployed. It being about ten feet wide here, Chin to the left and Daloren to the right climb up on deck while Lulla and Pug wait for them to get out of the way so they too can climb up.The dingy lashed on deck has had the bottom stoved in and scratches line the sides of the boat. The main deck cover has several holes smashed in it and the tarpaulin is gone. Lying all around the mast are several dead bodies still dressed in the ragged clothes of sailors. Loose bones, many of which look to have been gnawed, are scattered about the deck. The aft door to the lower deck is gone, leaving a black, gaping hole in the quarterdeck. A body has been lashed to the top of the mast. It has no head.As soon as Chin is about to move further in on the deck, a scream of "Attack!" comes from the companion way (which is very dark) and the creatures do so. One by one, the five dead bodies arise and move towards Chin and Daloren. But first, Chin is able to move far enough away to allow Pug to climb up on board. Daloren move to attack one of the zombies, missing it. The other zombies rise and now two face Chin, two face Pug and one faces Daloren. Suddenly, another scream is heard, coming from the dingy. Two lacedons (sea ghouls) have climbed into the small boat and start attacking Lulla, who is now all alone. Lulla defends herself with her mace to no avail. And in the mist of all this going on, a ghostly, disembodied hand is now flying around the deck. (DM's note: There is an evil cleric of Galapiti, The Harvester of Souls, on board, who has basically taken over the ship, turning the crew into zombies. He has just cast the spell spectral hand.)Chin attacks one of the zombies with a flurry of blows, missing completely. Meanwhile, the ghostly hand touches Pug and he feels an intense amount of pain, like that from being cut by shards of glass. (DM's note: the cleric Varin has just cast inflict light wounds through the spectral hand.) He takes revenge on by swinging his greataxe at one of the zombies facing him, dropping it to the ground. Daloren disengages from the zombie by him, tumbling over the side of the ship to get to Lulla's side in the dingy, ending up flat on his face next to her on the bottom of the boat. The zombies on deck attack Chin and Pug, but have no success.Meanwhile, down in the dingy, the lacedons each attack Lulla and Daloren. The one facing Lulla misses but the one standing over Daloren hits him twice causing some minor damage. Lulla again tries to strike them with her mace, missing, while Daloren gets up and barely nicks the one in front of him.Chin attacks the zombies again, using his iron fists and sends one down in a crumpled heap. Pug is having a bit of a problem as he still has one of the original zombies facing him, the one Daloren was fighting is now flanking him and this ghostly hand is still flying around the deck. The spooky hand comes flying at him again, but misses this time. (DM's note: Varin is trying to touch him with the spell chill touch.) He tries to attack one of the zombies, but he also misses. Down in the dingy, Daloren misses the lacedon in front of him and also shouts to Lulla that there are zombies on deck and these things are undead as well. The lacedon facing Lulla misses again and the one in front of Daloren hits him, except this time, in addition to being hurt, Daloren can no longer move! Lulla clenches her pillow, calling upon her patron deity Boegoo, The Coddler, to destroy the abominations around her and her friends. The lacedons turn and jump into the water, while the remaining three zombies run for the corners of the ship.Chin decides to investigate where the voice came from, going over to the companion way. He feels a sharp pain and then light headedness when he reaches the entranceway. (DM's note: Varin has used the spectral hand to deliver the spell vampiric touch, draining 6 hit points from Chin and giving them to himself.) Pug goes up to the quarterdeck to dispatch the zombie that ran up there. Lulla tries to help Daloren, but there is nothing she can do.Chin takes a moment to hide in the shadows of the companion way, letting his eyes adjust to the light before moving further into the passage. He wishes there was more light available. His foe slips down the corridor to the room at the end of the hall, the captains quarters, and Chin doesn't notice him slipping in. Lulla climbs up to the deck and continues up to the quarterdeck intent on talking to the man lashed to the wheel. Pug reaches the zombie on the quarterdeck and easily rids the world of it.Chin moves down to the end of the corridor slowly feeling his way while hugging the wall, searching for his foe. Lulla heals the man lashed to the wheel while Pug comes over to find out what she is doing.Chin finally realizes that this ship is the same as the Forsaken and that the captains quarters has enough windows into it to light up the corridor if he pushes the door fully open. It is already crack open, so he forces it all the way open. Lulla finds out that the mans name is Captain Wien and that there is an evil cleric of The Harvester of Souls on board who has taken over his ship.Chin sees an unattractive little man, small, thin and stinking of sweat, his bald head glistening with perspiration. He wears black robes with an azurite pin and displays his golden sickle holy symbol openly. On either side of the door and in each corner of the room are the remains of a skeleton, mostly dust now. Torn, bloodstained strips of canvas line the walls, giving it the feel of an abattoir. The sunlight coming thought the bloodstained sails make the place dim and red. Other than what looks like a mall bloodstained chest on the loft aft at the top of a short ladder, no other furniture stands within. On the wall above the chest a skill hangs on a nail beside a large scythe. (DM's note: This small temple to the Harvester of Souls has only been in use a week or so, but it is already a place of death and decay. Varin has been using the chest as an altar and already sacrificed more than one crew member and several valuables as well.)Chin attacks the cleric with a flurry of blows, missing. The cleric tries to touch him while muttering some words, but loses his concentration due to the activity of Chin. Pug decides to go help Chin and gets to the entrance of the companion way. Lulla finds out that the evil cleric has been torturing Captain Wien in order to get him to sail the ship, but he has resisted thus far. She can hear the sound of battle below them.Chin again tries to take the cleric down, but is having a difficult time (DM's note: Varin is wearing plate mail making his AC 17 when added with his Dex.) Varin again tries to touch Chin, this time succeeding while saying "I bring you death!". Chin drops to the floor. (DM's note: Varin has the death domain and the special ability for that domain is to perform a death touch once per day, which for Varin causes 5d6 points. If this roll is equal to or greater than the remaining hit points of the creature touched, the creature dies, instantly, no saving throw. Chin had 21 hit points and Varin got a 25.) Pug, upon hearing the sudden silence, races down to the companion way. He sees Chin lying on the floor, not moving at all. He moves up to the evil cleric, swinging wildly. Lulla unties captain Wien from the wheel, laying him down on the deck.Varin attempts to cast a spell on Pug, and inflicts more pain on him, just like before. Pug is getting very upset by this point and with a mighty swing of his axe, severs the evil clerics body in half. (DM's note: Pug rolled a critical hit with his great axe, causing a whooping 27 points of damage, more than Varin had.)What will happen now?</blockquote>

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