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BSI: Bosum Strand Irregulars
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<blockquote data-quote="skotothalamos" data-source="post: 6137768" data-attributes="member: 83398"><p><em>(Note: for those of you following along at home, we used the revised deck plans from Admiral o’ the High Seas)</em></p><p> </p><p>We rejoined the RHC investigators just as the Risuri national anthem was beginning on the top deck of the RNS Coaltongue. Most of the constables were keeping an eye on various parts of the festivities, though two had gone below. James M. Chinast was keeping Junior Mechanic Fitzcairn Luckshore company in the engine room, and Mort Stark had gone to fetch the Duchess Ethelyn.</p><p> </p><p>Up on the main deck, Ironpeak heard King Aodhan mutter something about an upset stomach, fishy burps, and a potentially upset archfey. She prepared herself to dramatically pretend to vomit in front of the king in case he started to become ill, hoping that would help him save face. A violently ill security staff is far less embarrassing than a vomiting king, one supposes.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile, dowstairs, Mort was repeatedly knocking on the Duchess’s cabin door. After a significant delay, the Duchess’s elven handmaiden Sokana answered the door and said that Duchess Ethelyn was too ill to attend the festivities, and asked it Mort would be so kind as to send her regrets to her brother the king. Mort asked if he could speak with the Duchess, but was rebuffed as Sokana closed the door. Unable to determine how to proceed, Mort simply waited in the hall outside the Duchess’s room.</p><p> </p><p>Farther below, James tried to ignore Fitz as the engineer geeked out about the technological marvels of the steam engine. James leaned in the doorway dividing the firegem room from the engine room with his musket, ready for an incident. The national anthem could barely be heard over the working engine as two engineers in full protective gear came down the stairs. James demanded to know why they were here. The lead engineer said there was a problem with the Muhurmneford Valve that needed to be fixed right away. James asked Fitz if there was a problem with the Muhurmneford Valve. Fitz said he wasn’t sure. James, no stranger to advanced technology himself, decided that the engine seemed to be running smoothly.</p><p> </p><p>He told the engineers to stop, as there was nothing wrong with the engine, at which point the lead man asked who James was. James identified himself as an officer of the Royal Homeland Constabulary, threw his stovepipe hat to the ground, and drew his musket, strongly urging the men to stop advancing on the engine room. This display of force from the brand-new RHC constable (on his first day on the job) did not serve to defuse the situation. The engineers charged with their massive wrenches. James M. Chinast’s Remarkable Mechanical Hat was still in the process of deploying itself for combat readiness when it got unceremoniously smashed by an engineer’s wrench. The second engineer was grazed by a musket ball before knocking James out of the doorway. James yelled for Fitz to sound the alarm.</p><p> </p><p>Up in the command tower of the ship, Malkie was busy mingling with the food-service staff who were busy getting the evening’s dinner ready. A device on the wall began to make a rattling noise. Malkie did not know what it meant, and asked the staff. The food-service staff had been brought in from off the ship and also had no idea what the strange rattling noise was about, so Malkie left to consult with her fellow constables. She found Cazara rushing past. Malkie mentioned the rattling noise. Cazara quickly responded that it was an alarm and Malkie was an idiot, and then Cazara removed a panel of the aft crane chute and disappeared below decks, leaving Malkie to alert an actual crewmember.</p><p> </p><p>On the lowest deck, the two saboteur engineers had forced their way into the engine room. One of them managed to rust shut a steam relief valve while the other kept James occupied for a while. James finally managed to get a good shot off, killing one of the engineers instantly. Heavily injured, James escaped into the firegem room, intending to seek aid upstairs. Unfortunately for him, he encountered Sokana in the process of throwing an item into the furnace of the steam engine. She closed the furnace door and rusted it shut before throwing some fire at James. The fire came alive, manifesting as three separate fire sprites who held James in place, preventing his escape.</p><p> </p><p>On the main deck, Hugh Pearsall (who had been in illusory disguise as a party attendee all this time) had an overwhelming feeling that something was wrong. The spirits of the newly dead were calling to him from the lower decks. He handed one end of a rope to Stover Delft, told him to hold on, and leaped over the side of the ship. Delft held on and the wizard swung down to the second deck, where he re-entered the ship through a gun port. Seeing nothing amiss on the second deck, he descended to the third.</p><p> </p><p>Mort heard shouting from below. Becoming antsy, he picked the lock and entered the room, only to find it abandoned, with several windows open. He saw the telltale signs of a Water Breathing ritual on the floor and went to investigate one of the open windows. As he approached the window, a Halfling chef leapt out and stabbed him with a poison blade, nearly dropping Mort in a single blow. Mort drew his blade-pistols and took two shots at the wall as he stumbled back out of the room. He shut the door and ran off down the hall before the Halfling could catch him.</p><p> </p><p>Elsewhere on the third deck, Zara belatedly realized she was on the wrong side of the ship to descend any further. Turning a corner, she spotted a Halfling chef with a wild look and a bloodied blade. She ran him down and incapacitated him with a single blow. (<em>ran to get into melee range. -5 to hit, oh look: a 20) </em>Then she grouped up with Mort Stark and they descended into the engine room together.</p><p> </p><p>Hugh arrived on the third deck and could see the commotion between Sokana and James on the deck below thanks to the floor grate. He summoned up a spirit next to Sokana to try to hold her in place but she responded with a whirlwind that carried her up through the series of grates to the second deck.</p><p> </p><p>On the top deck, Ironpeak had noticed that most of her comrades had disappeared below decks. She alerted Principal Minister Lee that there seemed to be trouble and she was heading below. He asked that she report back as soon as possible with an update. She descended to the second deck and immediately noticed that no one was guarding the ship’s magazine. She opened a door and found the bludgeoned body of security guard Divianne Athel. Just as she turned to go back up the stairs and alert the king, Sokana materialized, threw fire sprites at her, and dove off the ship.</p><p> </p><p>Seeing the fire in the stairwell, Malkie shouted for the assembled crowd to start readying lifeboats in case an emergency evacuation was necessary. From the stairs, Ironpeak yelled for Minister Lee to get the king off ship.</p><p> </p><p>Mort and Zara found the surviving saboteur engineer preparing to sabotage an engine relief valve. He put up a good fight. Too good for Mort’s taste. The Tiefling, deciding they already had a Halfling to interrogate, killed the suspect. With most of their enemies down or having fled, and unaware of the fire sprites near the ship’s magazine, the RHC investigators were feeling pretty good about their progress.</p><p> </p><p>And then the steam engine buckled. The entire ship shook and the evacuation of the RNS Coaltongue deck began.</p><p> </p><p>Mort opened one pressure relief valve while Zara broke the other open with her fist <em>(Eagle Claw Strike: +2d8 damage vs unattended objects)</em>, filling the engine room with steam.</p><p> </p><p>Malkie descended to join Ironpeak in her struggle to put out the fire threatening to engulf the ship’s magazine. Having taken a tour of the ship earlier, Malkie noticed that the fire wards were missing from the doors of the magazine. The vampire and goliath made short work of the fire sprites and headed down to the engine room. Once there, they discovered the others with a few sprites of their own to mop up. Seeing that James was still surrounded, Malkie used Docker’s Jank to teleport him out of danger. Ironpeak had taken the Form of the Fearsome Ram in the fight at the ship’s magazine. Seeing that Mort was struggling with the rusted furnace door, she shooed him out of the way and charged it head first. She failed to make good contact, but at the last moment stuck her shield in the handle and used it as a lever to pry the door free.</p><p> </p><p>The intense heat of the furnace was being amplified by Sokana’s Rod of Affect Normal Fires. Mort knew what he must do, but he needed some help from Malkie. If Mort was close enough to death, he could invoke the Icy End of the Earth and supercool the engine, averting the impending disaster. He asked the vampire for an assist, and she was all too ready to oblige. She drained perhaps a bit too much blood from the Tiefling, but his plan was already in motion. He dove headfirst into the furnace and sent out a frigid blast. The furnace cooled dramatically, but not before burning Mort to within an inch of his life. Seeing that Mort was not moving, Ironpeak dashed into the furnace and carried him out. <em>(Mort ended up at -10hp, 2 shy of death. Ironpeak went from 24 down to 4 pulling him out. Were Mort not a Tiefling, he would have died in the effort)</em></p><p><em></em></p><p>Afterwards, the king thanked the constables personally. He then gave a speech on one of the escorting ships to the assembled VIPs, announcing his intention to finally make peace with Danor. There would be a peace summit in one year’s time in Flint, and the King would be marrying a Danoran. Mort suggested that his cousin Lya Jierre would make a lovely bride, but the king seemed not to pay attention.</p><p> </p><p>The Halfling chef-assassin claimed under interrogation that the Duchess Ethelyn was behind the sabotage attempt. Within a week, his claims seemed to be borne out as Assistant Chief Inspector Stover Delft called most of the squad into a meeting with Lya Jierre. (Hugh, as a consultant, was not immediately available, and James was busy with remedial Use-of-Force training.) She brought news that the Duchess Ethelyn had led an invasion of Axis Island, a key part of the Yerasol Archipelago, won by Danor in the last war. It seemed that the Duchess was trying to provoke a new war. Risur, with Lya Jierre’s help, was now planning a covert mission to retake the island from the Duchess’s forces, and then officially hand it back over to Danor before word can spread of the attack.</p><p> </p><p>Of course, the mission requires a small team of infiltrators to land on the island and make an overland approach to the Axis Island’s main fortress, where they will infiltrate the rebel forces and open the fortress’s sea gate. At that point, Risuri marines will storm the fortress. The RHC is tasked with collecting the Duchess Ethelyn and bringing her to justice. Lya also asked the favor of finding her cousin, an astronomer named Nathan Jierre, who was stationed on Axis Island.</p><p> </p><p>Delft gave the constables a stipend to collect gear from Requisitions, and told them to report to the RNS Impossible that evening to begin the trip to Axis Island.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="skotothalamos, post: 6137768, member: 83398"] [I](Note: for those of you following along at home, we used the revised deck plans from Admiral o’ the High Seas)[/I] We rejoined the RHC investigators just as the Risuri national anthem was beginning on the top deck of the RNS Coaltongue. Most of the constables were keeping an eye on various parts of the festivities, though two had gone below. James M. Chinast was keeping Junior Mechanic Fitzcairn Luckshore company in the engine room, and Mort Stark had gone to fetch the Duchess Ethelyn. Up on the main deck, Ironpeak heard King Aodhan mutter something about an upset stomach, fishy burps, and a potentially upset archfey. She prepared herself to dramatically pretend to vomit in front of the king in case he started to become ill, hoping that would help him save face. A violently ill security staff is far less embarrassing than a vomiting king, one supposes. Meanwhile, dowstairs, Mort was repeatedly knocking on the Duchess’s cabin door. After a significant delay, the Duchess’s elven handmaiden Sokana answered the door and said that Duchess Ethelyn was too ill to attend the festivities, and asked it Mort would be so kind as to send her regrets to her brother the king. Mort asked if he could speak with the Duchess, but was rebuffed as Sokana closed the door. Unable to determine how to proceed, Mort simply waited in the hall outside the Duchess’s room. Farther below, James tried to ignore Fitz as the engineer geeked out about the technological marvels of the steam engine. James leaned in the doorway dividing the firegem room from the engine room with his musket, ready for an incident. The national anthem could barely be heard over the working engine as two engineers in full protective gear came down the stairs. James demanded to know why they were here. The lead engineer said there was a problem with the Muhurmneford Valve that needed to be fixed right away. James asked Fitz if there was a problem with the Muhurmneford Valve. Fitz said he wasn’t sure. James, no stranger to advanced technology himself, decided that the engine seemed to be running smoothly. He told the engineers to stop, as there was nothing wrong with the engine, at which point the lead man asked who James was. James identified himself as an officer of the Royal Homeland Constabulary, threw his stovepipe hat to the ground, and drew his musket, strongly urging the men to stop advancing on the engine room. This display of force from the brand-new RHC constable (on his first day on the job) did not serve to defuse the situation. The engineers charged with their massive wrenches. James M. Chinast’s Remarkable Mechanical Hat was still in the process of deploying itself for combat readiness when it got unceremoniously smashed by an engineer’s wrench. The second engineer was grazed by a musket ball before knocking James out of the doorway. James yelled for Fitz to sound the alarm. Up in the command tower of the ship, Malkie was busy mingling with the food-service staff who were busy getting the evening’s dinner ready. A device on the wall began to make a rattling noise. Malkie did not know what it meant, and asked the staff. The food-service staff had been brought in from off the ship and also had no idea what the strange rattling noise was about, so Malkie left to consult with her fellow constables. She found Cazara rushing past. Malkie mentioned the rattling noise. Cazara quickly responded that it was an alarm and Malkie was an idiot, and then Cazara removed a panel of the aft crane chute and disappeared below decks, leaving Malkie to alert an actual crewmember. On the lowest deck, the two saboteur engineers had forced their way into the engine room. One of them managed to rust shut a steam relief valve while the other kept James occupied for a while. James finally managed to get a good shot off, killing one of the engineers instantly. Heavily injured, James escaped into the firegem room, intending to seek aid upstairs. Unfortunately for him, he encountered Sokana in the process of throwing an item into the furnace of the steam engine. She closed the furnace door and rusted it shut before throwing some fire at James. The fire came alive, manifesting as three separate fire sprites who held James in place, preventing his escape. On the main deck, Hugh Pearsall (who had been in illusory disguise as a party attendee all this time) had an overwhelming feeling that something was wrong. The spirits of the newly dead were calling to him from the lower decks. He handed one end of a rope to Stover Delft, told him to hold on, and leaped over the side of the ship. Delft held on and the wizard swung down to the second deck, where he re-entered the ship through a gun port. Seeing nothing amiss on the second deck, he descended to the third. Mort heard shouting from below. Becoming antsy, he picked the lock and entered the room, only to find it abandoned, with several windows open. He saw the telltale signs of a Water Breathing ritual on the floor and went to investigate one of the open windows. As he approached the window, a Halfling chef leapt out and stabbed him with a poison blade, nearly dropping Mort in a single blow. Mort drew his blade-pistols and took two shots at the wall as he stumbled back out of the room. He shut the door and ran off down the hall before the Halfling could catch him. Elsewhere on the third deck, Zara belatedly realized she was on the wrong side of the ship to descend any further. Turning a corner, she spotted a Halfling chef with a wild look and a bloodied blade. She ran him down and incapacitated him with a single blow. ([I]ran to get into melee range. -5 to hit, oh look: a 20) [/I]Then she grouped up with Mort Stark and they descended into the engine room together. Hugh arrived on the third deck and could see the commotion between Sokana and James on the deck below thanks to the floor grate. He summoned up a spirit next to Sokana to try to hold her in place but she responded with a whirlwind that carried her up through the series of grates to the second deck. On the top deck, Ironpeak had noticed that most of her comrades had disappeared below decks. She alerted Principal Minister Lee that there seemed to be trouble and she was heading below. He asked that she report back as soon as possible with an update. She descended to the second deck and immediately noticed that no one was guarding the ship’s magazine. She opened a door and found the bludgeoned body of security guard Divianne Athel. Just as she turned to go back up the stairs and alert the king, Sokana materialized, threw fire sprites at her, and dove off the ship. Seeing the fire in the stairwell, Malkie shouted for the assembled crowd to start readying lifeboats in case an emergency evacuation was necessary. From the stairs, Ironpeak yelled for Minister Lee to get the king off ship. Mort and Zara found the surviving saboteur engineer preparing to sabotage an engine relief valve. He put up a good fight. Too good for Mort’s taste. The Tiefling, deciding they already had a Halfling to interrogate, killed the suspect. With most of their enemies down or having fled, and unaware of the fire sprites near the ship’s magazine, the RHC investigators were feeling pretty good about their progress. And then the steam engine buckled. The entire ship shook and the evacuation of the RNS Coaltongue deck began. Mort opened one pressure relief valve while Zara broke the other open with her fist [I](Eagle Claw Strike: +2d8 damage vs unattended objects)[/I], filling the engine room with steam. Malkie descended to join Ironpeak in her struggle to put out the fire threatening to engulf the ship’s magazine. Having taken a tour of the ship earlier, Malkie noticed that the fire wards were missing from the doors of the magazine. The vampire and goliath made short work of the fire sprites and headed down to the engine room. Once there, they discovered the others with a few sprites of their own to mop up. Seeing that James was still surrounded, Malkie used Docker’s Jank to teleport him out of danger. Ironpeak had taken the Form of the Fearsome Ram in the fight at the ship’s magazine. Seeing that Mort was struggling with the rusted furnace door, she shooed him out of the way and charged it head first. She failed to make good contact, but at the last moment stuck her shield in the handle and used it as a lever to pry the door free. The intense heat of the furnace was being amplified by Sokana’s Rod of Affect Normal Fires. Mort knew what he must do, but he needed some help from Malkie. If Mort was close enough to death, he could invoke the Icy End of the Earth and supercool the engine, averting the impending disaster. He asked the vampire for an assist, and she was all too ready to oblige. She drained perhaps a bit too much blood from the Tiefling, but his plan was already in motion. He dove headfirst into the furnace and sent out a frigid blast. The furnace cooled dramatically, but not before burning Mort to within an inch of his life. Seeing that Mort was not moving, Ironpeak dashed into the furnace and carried him out. [I](Mort ended up at -10hp, 2 shy of death. Ironpeak went from 24 down to 4 pulling him out. Were Mort not a Tiefling, he would have died in the effort) [/I] Afterwards, the king thanked the constables personally. He then gave a speech on one of the escorting ships to the assembled VIPs, announcing his intention to finally make peace with Danor. There would be a peace summit in one year’s time in Flint, and the King would be marrying a Danoran. Mort suggested that his cousin Lya Jierre would make a lovely bride, but the king seemed not to pay attention. The Halfling chef-assassin claimed under interrogation that the Duchess Ethelyn was behind the sabotage attempt. Within a week, his claims seemed to be borne out as Assistant Chief Inspector Stover Delft called most of the squad into a meeting with Lya Jierre. (Hugh, as a consultant, was not immediately available, and James was busy with remedial Use-of-Force training.) She brought news that the Duchess Ethelyn had led an invasion of Axis Island, a key part of the Yerasol Archipelago, won by Danor in the last war. It seemed that the Duchess was trying to provoke a new war. Risur, with Lya Jierre’s help, was now planning a covert mission to retake the island from the Duchess’s forces, and then officially hand it back over to Danor before word can spread of the attack. Of course, the mission requires a small team of infiltrators to land on the island and make an overland approach to the Axis Island’s main fortress, where they will infiltrate the rebel forces and open the fortress’s sea gate. At that point, Risuri marines will storm the fortress. The RHC is tasked with collecting the Duchess Ethelyn and bringing her to justice. Lya also asked the favor of finding her cousin, an astronomer named Nathan Jierre, who was stationed on Axis Island. Delft gave the constables a stipend to collect gear from Requisitions, and told them to report to the RNS Impossible that evening to begin the trip to Axis Island. [/QUOTE]
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