As the ships came toward each other, the new crew of the Moondancer did their best. Delphine managed to score a solid hit with her ballista, sending a bolt that punctured into the hull on the aft part of the ship. Gunthar's bolt struck the Star Moth in its "nose", very close to where its ballistae were firing their bolts out the "eye" holes (the whole ship living up to its name, shaped like a giant moth).
As the ships neared, Charlie, Nic, and Sanderson fired at the mangonel crew who could be seen loading their weapon on a mounting that was between the Star Moth's fore and main deck, that also made up the main structure that held its massive, fibre-mesh "wing" sails. Similar to the ballistae aboard the Moondancer, the Star Moth's mangonel had a shield-wall built to protect the gunnery crew, and Nic couldn't find a way around or through it. Charlie was luckier, and he knocked one of the creatures there with a well aimed bolt. The crew appeared to be of a similar sort to Glau - plasmoids - and Sanderson sent a trio of firebombs that left the one that Charlie had struck burned to death.
Meanwhile, the Star Moth had continued to pound the
Moondancer with its slightly superior firepower. Earlier, a mangonel stone had struck the
Moondancer low and hard enough to cause minor injuries among the frightened refugees below. A close-call came when a ballista bolt burst through the wall of the room where Flapjack's helm was located. Luckily, the flumph felt it coming and took cover while splinters burst through the room into the metal back of the spelljamming helm.
The damage was cosmetic, and Flapjack's focus never wavered as he brought the Moondancer in for the boarding action. Both ships wanted the "upper" position, where crew could jump or rain fire down upon the other, while the other side might have to climb or have their ranged attacks hindered by the height of the other ship's hull. For a moment it seemed that the Star Moth would achieve it - but then Flapjack ran the Moondancer's fore hull into the Star Moth's somewhat-flexible sails, which brought the galleon sliding up-and-over.
There was a grinding sound as the two ships came to a relative stop side-by-side, faced back-to-front and slowly spinning in a dance as the fight became a close battle of increased ferocity. The remaining crew of the mangonel began to abandon their now-useless siege weapon, and three astral elves in strange body armour climbed out of their command deck onto the main deck, carrying bows. Similarly, the plasmoid crew of the balistae were climbing through a hatch that led to the fore deck.
Aboard the Moondancer, it was clear that with their superior position, they had become the attacker and the other ship the defender.
OOC:
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Charlie did 13 to Plasmoid1. Delphine did 29 to Dark Star's Aft Deck; Glau raged & climbed. Gunthar did 14 to Dark Star's fore hull (which unfortunately has a "damage threshold" of 15); Nic missed; Phlox readied; Sanderson did 9 fire, finishing off Plasmoid1. William helped below decks. The Dark Star did 87 damage total to the Moondancer. Flapjack beat the Astral Elf Star Priestess for the "higher" positioning.
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