GM: | Party complete. I'm going to push things forward a bit, assuming you guys don't mind. We can always slot in some stuff 'back in time' if I steamroller you, but don't want to lose momentum, especially with the weekend coming, which already slows me down a bit. | |
Nevil has finished loading the cargo hold before Anna's eventual arrival, and the party has had some time to relax, and a bit to worry, before the harried sorceress arrives. Captain Renlow listens with an increasingly-furrowed brow as the young woman recounts her pursuers.
"Parsons didn't say anything about spies," he says with obvious concern, his gaze looking out over the docks. He shakes his head and holds up his hand before anyone can comment.
"Doesn't matter. We're loaded and ready to go, and we'll be on the river in a blink. Unless your spies are merfolk, they'll be out of luck."
The gangly dwarf barks out orders, and he and Nevil loose the moorings on The Downpour, pushing it out away from the dock. Sails unfurled, the ship quickly catches wind, and the city of glass shrinks quickly shrinks behind them.
Once Venza is out of sight, Renlow appears to relax behind the wheel. He orders the sails trimmed, and the barge falls back to a more leisurely pace. Nevil produces a makeshift fishing pole from belowdecks, and leans along a segment of raling near the front of the ship to await a bite.
The party settles in, selecting their bunks and unpacking as they see fit for a lengthy barge trip. Renlow's told them they'll be making a few stops to re-supply, but by and large The Downpour looks to be their camp for all but very short bumps in the journey.
The sun has just passed its peak when Nevil finally snags something, but as he pulls it in, there's an odd buzzing. The western half-elf stiffens, yanking the pole with a spasming jerk of his muscles. The buzzing stops with a wet thud on the deck and Nevil's scream.
"Is devil from the water!" He cries out.
"Devil is burning Nevilantura!"
Nevil rushes across deck for the stairs below, holding his hands as if they have, indeed, been wounded, though his fleet retreat makes it impossible to assess the damage.
Besides, the source of the wet thud lets out a vicious hiss to catch the group's attention. They see a water serpent of some kind. That Nevil was even able to heft it out of the water seems nearly impossible, as it's easily as long as the half-elf was tall. It rears up, its powerful jaws snapping shut with an audible clack as the buzzing everyone heard before returns, seeming to emenate from the creature itself.
[sblock=Quioan & Elenka]You both recognize the creature as an electric eel, and amphibious animal capable of shocking and/or stunning its prey with a touch of its electrified tail.[/sblock]
GM: | We have combat!
Okay, no one objected, so we'll go with this average initiative thing, and you guys can let me know if you hate the heck out of it when we finish this. 
PC initiative (average result) (1d20+2=11, 1d20+1=5, 1d20+5=18, 1d20+4=10, 1d20+1=2)
PC init avg: 9
Enemy init (1d20+6=17)
Enemy intiative: 17
Quioan can act before the critter in the first round. Then it's the critter, then all PC's. Nevil's made it belowdecks. Renlow is at the wheel. The round object is the mast of the ship.
ETA: Changed the action order above after some corrections from GlassEye. Sorry 'bout that folks. | |