(IC) We be Jammin' (5e PBP)

[FitzTheRuke]

Showing that even the most promisingly talented practitioners could make mistakes when first learning, Nic quickly adjusted his thinking and got the hang of Spelljamming very quickly. Flapjack floated nearby, turning various colours of encouragement and sending soothing and instructive feelings to the gnome. Soon they were off, speeding along through Wildspace at what would have been unimaginable speeds to anyone who could understand them.

On the world now gone, there were many tales of what lay above the sky, but none of them had been quite accurate to what they saw as they moved. At one point, Nic felt a pressure ahead and the ship slowed down and hove-to as a pod of space-whales swam past. The new crew marveled as one of them blew a sparkling spray of star-stuff and dove "under", swimming at an angle that revealed that "up" wasn't quite the same as it had once been.

The ship continued to sail away from the world that had once been, far enough now to appear as a star (though still slightly flower-shaped). Life aboard settled down long enough for the refugees to get a much needed rest. The crew rested as well, now split into shifts.

The following afternoon, Phlox spotted an object in the distance. He pointed it out to his closest experienced crewman, which was Gordo the winged-ape-folk (who's species was called the Hadozee). Gordo nodded, pulled a spyglass and scrambled to the topmast. Soon he called to the captain, "A ship to starboard! She's turning... headin' for us!"

Nic found it interesting that not only could he easily "hear" this conversation from the helm, but he could feel the other ship off in the distance, as if a pressure was pushing on his ribs and getting more forceful as it came.

After a minute or two, Gordo called again, "She's a Star Moth an' she's after us for sure!"

Captain Sartell cursed and said to those nearest her, "Astral Elves, and I don't think they're friendly."

 

[Kobold Stew]

Rumours spread quickly on a ship and the news of the impending attack hit Sanderson's ears before he fully understood what was being said. He reaches into his sack, sealed and waterproof, and unhooks the loop that had been affixing the rope to the outside. He unfurls ten feet and ties it around the child's waist. The rest he ties around his own.

"Sssstay close to me, sssmall one," the lizard barks, in a tone harsher than he intends. "Hold on to my shouldersss if you can."

 

[Leatherhead]

Glau was below decks, inventorying and packing up the belongings of the crew lost on the planet, when they heard the call. Quickly, the plasmoid gathered some nearby weapons, a Saber from Tik-tik , Skalkash's Harpoon, and a Chain from Nicklebottom. Even if they weren't here physically, they could be here in spirit.

Once armed, Glau rushes to Captain Sartell's side. "Standing by for orders, Captain!"

OOC: I would imagine the ship has an armory of sorts, but this seems more cinematic.

 

[Steve Gorak]

Nic was still getting used to all these different sensations and quirks of flying a ship, most surprising was that he was able to hear conversations pretty much everywhere on the ship. He sensed the approaching vessel and was surprised that Astral Elves were likely going to attack. He had met elves on many occasions, many were haughty or aloof but they tended to be good folk. Why these Elves would attack them was disconcerting to Nic.

It is likely FlapJack felt this and he says to the Flumph: "Ohmyohmyphmy Flapjack! Astral Elves and a Month Ship! If we're going to be attacked, maybe you should take over. I'm still a novice, and I'm sure you have a few tricks up your tentacles! Besides, I have a feeling I will be more useful above deck to defend the ship. What do you think?"

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Flapjack agreed with Nic - this was as good a time as any to teach the gnome how to transfer attunement to the helm. The flumph eased the gnome through the process. When Nic stepped out from the helm, it took him a few moments to reacquaint himself with his own limbs, and he stumbled about awkwardly as he headed toward the door.

* * *

Monty (the hippo-man Giff) barrelled up the ladders from where he had been checking the ship's stores. He was the cook, but his first duty, his first love, was as the ship's gunner. This put him in charge of organizing a new crew for their two ballistae (Monty cursed that their mangonel had been unloaded for repairs, leaving it and its crew lost to the crystal vines).

"If you're apt with the crossbow, you'll jolly well be good with a ballista!" he declared to nearby members of the new crew.

At that moment, a large rock came hurtling at the ship from the Star Moth, that had closed to a distance where its longer range weapons had them at a disadvantage. The rock near-missed; it made a popping noise as it came through the air-bubble that surrounded the ship, but it flew between the main and mizzen masts at a steep angle and harmlessly exited the air bubble on the other side, whistling as it went.

"A star moth is the faster ship. We can't outrun her, and we're outgunned as well." Captain Sartell mumbled as she tried to make up her mind on what to do.

* * *

Sweet William was below, seeing to his Elk, who had been lowered by crane into the ship's menagerie, which was already quite full. The captain had picked up a small herd of mules, to sell for a pretty penny to folk from worlds that lacked such useful beasts of burden. The elk was wary but well-behaved.

Now, William helped to lead the civilians to the safest part of the ship. While a spelljamming ship's hull was far more exposed to enemy fire (not being protected by the ocean, as a normal ship would be, still, the safest place for civilians was in the hold, where the hull was thickest and the ship's stores added another layer of potential armour. The refugees huddled together there, utterly distraught that their worries were not yet over. William stayed to comfort them.

OOC: Anyone want to man a Ballista? Captain Sartell will come to the conclusion that her only recourse is to turn and fight a boarding action, but there will be time to shot before the ships collide.

 

[jmucchiello]

Delphne helps Nic steady himself. "Let's go topside and see what's going on." She heads up on deck.

 

[jmucchiello]

OOC: Will the ballista require strength, dexterity, or both? Delphne is 8/16 so she's good at aiming the things.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Will the ballista require strength, dexterity, or both? Delphne is 8/16 so she's good at aiming the things.

OOC: Weirdly, they appear to just need manpower. Anyone can fire the Ballista with a +6 to hit. It takes a team of three, all using their actions each round to load, aim, and fire. (Only the last requires a roll, so the other two are pretty much fluff, and therefore can either be NPCs or PCs who are happy to help without much of the glory). I'm just fluffing it as Monty's expert instruction on how to do it.

 

[Lidgar]

Gunthar hears Monty's call and moves to help the ballista crew. While certainly not a crossbow expert, he knew his way around most siege weapons, and it looked pretty familiar on that front. All the while he eyed the enemy ship, trying to judge its distance and speed.

OOC: Survival check to determine how far away the star moth is and how soon it will be within boarding distance. Survival Check: 1D20+7 = [1]+7 = 8 And apparently wildspace has completely befuddled the survival instincts of the poor dwarf...ugh.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

It was difficult for Gunthar to judge the distance between the two ships. In particular, he had no idea at what speed either were travelling. Still, the movement of the ships (and the rocks being hurled toward them) seemed surprisingly "normal", though the sky was black instead of blue.

Captain Sartell ordered the ship to come about and to close with the Star Moth. She quickly addressed the newcomers, saying, "I don't know what they want, but they don't seem keen to parlay. I hope that I can expect you to defend our ship to the best of your ability. Our best chance of success is a quick and dirty boarding action. Take a prisoner if you can! I want to know what's going on here!"

OOC: See the OOC for commentary.