Sailors on the Seas of Fate - Rana Mor!

[Lorthanoth]

Captain Theron cocks an eyebrow in surprise and then laughs!

"As you asked so nicely, then yes you may peruse it. I should warn you, it's quite a dense text. Old Darrezan's handwriting can get a little crabbed. by all means have a look over it, but I've been studying it for years, I doubt there's anything more for you to find." she says airily. She hands the Imarran mage the book.

[sblock=Zariv]
Skimming the journal's pages, you can see that it is the notebook of the wizard Darrezan. It will take several hours to glean information from it. Do you want to read it from cover to cover or dip into it randomly? And how long will you spend reading?[/sblock]

 

[Lorthanoth]

Day 4 - The Ran Pe river (mid-day)

For the past twenty miles, you've sailed through true jungle. The coastal grasslands are many hours behind you. The river is still over two hundred yards wide at this point, deep and sluggish, coffee-brown with mud. Artemis laments in his inimitable way that he won't be able to take a nice dip, The banks are low, muddy bluffs 20 to 30 feet high, home to countless crocodiles basking int he mid-day sun. Beyond the riverbank rises the verdant rainforest, cluttered with heavy undergrowth at its edges. The heat and humidity are intense, and clouds of biting insects make the decks almost intolerable. Anemone has suffered a few bites before covering up somewhat and looks forlornly out at the murky water. Esteban played the violin for a while, entertaining the crew, before giving up under the sweltering heat. Zariv has retreated below deck to study the journal (ooc: details to follow in another post). Balama seems to be above it all, steering the course down the mighty river.

[sblock=Everyone except Zariv] The tedium of the voyage is abruptly shattered by the whistling of blue-feathered arrows raining down on the Starchaser from the right bank! ooc: Initiatives and actions please! (disregard -see below)[/sblock]

[sblock=Zariv]The journal provides you with some fascinating insights over the hours you spend pouring over it. Your studies are interrupted by the sound of commotion up on deck... [/sblock]

[sblock=maps]The river journey map shows your current location with 'B'. The combat map squares represent 10 feet (hmm well they would do if they had come out, but they don't matter greatly due to the distance - you're 240 ft away from the bank), and each of the 'B's on that map represent two tribesmen. The 'H' is one tribesman.[/sblock]

 

[Redclaw]

Theon, AC 18, HP 31/31

Theon, never really resting easy aboard the ship, isn't the least surprised to see arrows flying at them. There are always angry natives, aren't there? He asks nobody in particular as he dives across the deck to fetch his crossbow, which he left in easy reach for just such an occassion. Unfortunately, he left it where he had been standing roughly two hours earlier and had failed to move it when he wandered across the deck.

[sblock=ooc] Initiative (1d20+3)=18
Retrieve crossbow [/sblock]

 

[Lorthanoth]

[sblock=Initiatives]

Artemis 28
Balama 25
Zariv 21
Esteban 19
Theon 18
Hurm 16
Anemone 17
Terez 12
Hmu Ke 11
Tribesmen 5

Sorry, I momentarily forgot that I was going to do the initiatives. Redclaw I'll keep yours.[/sblock]

Artemis reels with a dramatic flourish and his eyes widen at the sight of the arrows sticking out of the mast. "Not very hospitable!" he mutters before jogging to get his longbow and quiver.

[sblock=ooc]move action - move to bow, move action - pick up bow[/sblock]

Balama raises an eyebrow and carries on down the river, attempting to steer the boat away from the bank.

ooc: Zariv up.

 

[Wik]

Hearing the commotion on the deck, Zariv will quickly kick the book underneath his bunk, and make his way upstairs - assuming a quick glance out the window reveals nothing. When he gets to the top deck, he'll duck down, keeping cover.

"Try to keep close! I have a sorcery that will aid us!"

OOC: Haste coming up next round, guys.



[sblock=Status]
HP: 18/18

SPELLS MEMORIZED
0th: Detect Magic, Disrupt Undead, Message, Message, (Resistance). 21
1st: Enlarge Person, Kelgore's Fire Bolt, (Lesser Deflection), (Protection From Evil/Chaos/Law/Good), Ray of Enfeeblement.
2nd: Bull's Strength, Cloud of Knives, (Resist Energy), Summon Monster II
3rd: Clairvoyance/Clairaudience, (Dispel Magic), Haste.
[/sblock]

 

[Lorthanoth]

[sblock=Initiative]Artemis 28
Balama 25
Zariv 21
Esteban 19
Theon 18
Hurm 16
Anemone 17
Terez 12
Hmu Ke 11
Tribesmen 5[/sblock]

Zariv joins his companions on deck to see a group of men armed with bows on the right hand bank nearly 250 feet away. There are ay least 5 of them, dressed in loose native clothing. One man wears what appears to be a leopard skin, the head of the beast worn on top of his own as a headdress.

[sblock=ooc]Esteban to go[/sblock]

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Esteban takes cover by one of the railings, waiting to see if the figures get any closer.

[sblock=OOC]Move to the railing and full defend (+6 AC), as my longest-ranged weapon is a firebolt for 150ft, and they're too far for that.[/sblock]

 

[Lorthanoth]

[sblock=Initiative]Artemis 28
Balama 25
Zariv 21
Esteban 19
Theon 18
Hurm 16
Anemone 17
Terez 12
Hmu Ke 11
Tribesmen 5[/sblock]

Esteban scoots over to the side of the boat and sees that as far as he can tell they're aren't going to get any closer (at least not without magic). Theon dashes over to get his crossbow and bolt case, picking them up ready to fire.

Hurm shouts "Get down, boy!" to Terez and he himself hits the deck to avoid the flurry of arrows.

[sblock=ooc]Anemone to go[/sblock]

 

[Shayuri]

Looking more curious than worried, Anemone goes to the railing facing the attackers and watches them for a moment.

"Tough shot, that far off," she observes. "If we play fair. No reason to do that though."

She presses her palms together, fingers pointing up into the air, and when she speaks, her words seem to resonate strangely, carried to the ears of everyone nearby, even though they are no louder than ordinary conversation. A cloud covers the sun, shadowing the boat and river briefly, and there is a faint electric scent in the air, like oncoming rain.

"Nimea! Stretch forth your hand, I beg! Carry our weapons to our foes, and show them the measure of your power!"

Wind gusts over and around the ship, stirring strange waves in the water below...

(Bless! Special effect = Wind amplifies our attacks, carrying arrows more accurately, or justing to make blows harder. Seeing this obvious favor boosts morale against fear too.)

 

[Lorthanoth]

[sblock=Initiative]Artemis 28
Balama 25
Zariv 21
Esteban 19
Theon 18
Hurm 16
Anemone 17
Terez 12
Hmu Ke 11
Tribesmen 5[/sblock]

Anemone cries out to the water and sky and her prayers are answered as a wind with the tang of salt whips up around her fellows.

[sblock=OOC] +1 morale bonus to attack rolls and saves for all on ship[/sblock]

Terez flattens himself on the deck and watches with excitement as the charismatic priestess invokes her deity.

On the bank, the man in the leopard skin pulls back his mighty long bow and fires at the ship. Having drawn attention to herself, Anemone was an obvious target. With terrifying force and accuracy, an arrow strikes her in the shoulder... it could have been much worse. A hail of arrows from the other tribesmen flies out in a volley to the boat, most missing their targets. Amazingly, despite being most covered by the rail, an unlucky (for Esteban) shot nicks the top of the Belcadiz swordsman's ear, producing a small welling of blood.

[sblock=OOC]1d20 4=24 Hits Anemone Threat roll (1d20 4=17) Anemone's current AC is 22 (defense bonus + Stormheart dodge bonus + cover bonus) so no crit! Damage (1d8 3=8). Attack rolls against Artemis, Esteban, Anemone, Anemone (1d20 1=19, 1d20 1=21, 1d20 1=13, 1d20 1=9) Possible crit Threat roll against Esteban (1d20 1=9). no crit. Damage to Esteban (1d8=3)End of round 1. Round 2 to follow.[/sblock]