Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="carpedavid" data-source="post: 516957" data-attributes="member: 6971">10.12.2002 - Session 2, Part 4Laurel walks back to the ship in a daze, her new squadron of soldiers in tow. So much had happened recently that she hasn't had the chance to absorb it all. Within the space of a week, she had watched the two greatest nations on Trinis go to war, had become captain of an airship, had fought a dragon, and had watched her friend, Nym, die. Now she and her companions have to sneak into Avengard and stage a prison break. She shakes her head, trying to fight the fuzzy feeling filling her skull, and realizes that she needs some sleep.As she reaches the ship, she sees a young, athletically built, redheaded, human woman standing at the base of the gangplank. She holds a longbow by her side, and snaps to attention when Laurel approaches."Um, at ease?" Laurel offers, hesitantly."Thank you, sir," the woman replies, as her posture relaxes almost imperceptibly. "I've been assigned to your ship, sir," she says as she holds out a scroll tube, "here are my orders."Laurel gives a cursory glance at the papers, and then hands them back. "Welcome aboard," she says, motioning the archer to follow her. We're going to need a bigger ship at this rate, Laurel thinks to herself. "Everybody," she says when they step on deck, "this is Quara." She turns to the archer, "Quara, this is Erendil, Shoji, Taminnyd, Wrayce, Danklar, Scarlet, and Dew.""Oh! Right," she turns to the soldiers who have lined up behind her, "Everybody, this is Hagamus, Millicent, Ian, Lethlas, Randolph, and Sebastian."Quara stares at the assembled party, then looks for designation of rank among them. Dew, she notices, ranks below her own sergeant status, as does the new squad of soldiers, but she gets a bit confused when she sees that both Shoji and Erendil also bear the rank of captain. Ok, so whom do I report to, she wonders as she looks around. By Chironex's blade, she sighs to herself, this is going to be confusing."We've got new orders," Laurel explains to the party. She relates all that the general had told her, and then asks for reactions."How are we going to get through the front?" Erendil asks."I don't know," she answers, "But I really hope that they've got something planned."Each of the group looks at each other nervously before they split up to prepare. Taminnyd looks over his spell book, Shoji meditates, Erendil preps the crew, and Laurel prays to Ehryssa to give her guidance. After a few minutes, a messenger boards the ship and notifies them that they are to lift off. He gives the pilot a map of their route, and informs them that several ships will be accompanying them to provide cover while they force their way through the front."I'll take command of the Unicorn," Erendil offers.Shoji shrugs, "That's fine with me.""Ok. Who else goes with me?" Erendil asks. Danklar, Dew, and Wrayce accompany Erendil to the Unicorn, and the ships prepare to leave.As the mooring ropes are cast off, the ships lurch upward, eager to be back in flight. The pilots bring the ships back under control, and turn them to the north in a steep climb. They are met at the apex of their ascent by three other ships, which fall into formation behind them. Erendil and Laurel order the Avengardan flags to be raised, and the five airships begin sailing toward the front.Laurel peers over the edge, watching the soldiers in the dockyard grow steadily smaller. The mid afternoon sun makes her squint, and she can barely make out the town below. After only a few minutes in the air, the ships pass over the forest, and the front becomes clearly visible in front of them. Everyone aboard both ships holds their breath as they near the storm of ships, ballistae, fireballs, and lightning bolts. Every few seconds, another broken hull falls out of the sky. The sound of the battle is deafening, the flashes of magic blinding - each of them can feel the shockwaves pounding against their bodies.A few seconds before they plunge into the maelstrom of ships, their escorts begin firing shots that just barely miss them. Laurel can feel her hair singe from the heat of fireballs exploding in the air beside the ship. Then, a giant bear rises out of the forest below them. Towering over the treetops, the bear begins swatting at Avengardan ships with a colossal paw. Its claws, the size of trees themselves, tear through the hulls of the ships in front of them.A second later they enter the storm. The pilots push the maneuverability of their ships to the limit as they dodge other ships, falling debris, fireball blasts, ballistae bolts, and the paws of a giant bear. Their escorts break off, and join the larger battle as they push through the cloud of ships, and then finally emerge on the other side.Everybody breathes a sigh of relief, followed by a wave of nausea, as they realize that they are now in Avengardan territory, and separated from the country that they are trying to save. They are now on their own - with no hope of rescue if their luck turns against them. Laurel shudders inwardly at the thought, and then offers a silent prayer to Ehryssa.As the front gradually fades into the distance, the group begins to see masses of Avengardan ground troops below them: tens of thousands of soldiers setting fire to farms and razing villages. After about an hour in the air, an Avengardan flagship approaches them. It signals to them to stop, and Laurel nervously orders the pilot to bring the Displacer Beast to a halt.The HMS Darklorne pulls alongside the Displacer Beast and tosses out grappling hooks to secure the two ships together. Laurel, Shoji, and Quara look at each other nervously. Taminnyd fumbles in his belt pouch for a pinch of bat guano. Archers line up at the rail of the Darklorne, bows at the ready, while a group of plate-mail clad soldiers gracefully fly over to the deck of the Displacer Beast.Following the soldiers is a middle-aged human man who wears the insignia of an Avengardan general. Standing over six feet tall, powerfully built, with sandy-blond hair and ice-blue eyes, he exudes a commanding aura. "General on deck!" one of the soldiers announces."Well, well, well," the general says in a thick Avengardan brogue. As he steps forward, his soldiers form a semicircle behind him.Everyone on deck freezes, unsure of what to do. Shoji inwardly asks the spirits to give him guidance; Tamminyd stares at the general, sure that he's seen him before; Quara tries to stay out of sight, sure that if she has to talk, she'll blow their cover.Realizing that she's the only one who could possibly affect an Avengardan accent, Laurel steps forward and salutes the general. He examines her intently, for a moment, then emits a small "hmph." He narrows his eyes, glares at her, and says, "It occurs to me that the battle is that way," he points to the south, "and your ship appears to be heading that way," he points to the north with a flourish. "Would ye care to explain that?"Laurel takes a deep breath, then, in a brogue that's almost too perfect, replies, "Aye, we've been ordered to transport a prisoner, sir.""Is that so," he continues, "Let me see your orders and the prisoner, then.""Aye, that," Laurel continues as she turns to Quara, "Be a good lass and fetch the papers from me quarters and the prisoner from the hold."Quara nods and hurriedly scurries below deck. She grabs the papers from Laurel's quarters, irons from the hold, and then searches frantically for someone to play the part of prisoner. She stumbles into the galley where she finds the squad of young soldiers."What's going on?" Hagamus questions."No time to explain," Quara responds, "We need someone to act like a prisoner. You'll do."Hagamus looks startled, but nods to his superior officer, and removes his sword belt and shield. "Well, then, you'd better make it look good," he says, then closes his eyes in preparation.Quara takes a deep breath, then punches Hagamus square in the face, collapsing his nose. He falls to his knees as blood pours down the front of his battle-scarred uniform, and then Quara delivers several more blows. Pulling him to his feet, Quara whispers, "I'm sorry.""It's for the best," Hagamus mumbles through rapidly swelling lips, while Quara locks the manacles around his legs and wrists. She half-carries, half-pulls the beaten dwarf up to the deck, whereupon the general looks at her impatiently. Quara shudders inwardly as she drops the "prisoner" at his feet. She solutes, then hands him the written orders.Everyone winces as the general kicks Hagamus in the ribs before stooping over to examine him. The normally stoic dwarf manages to rile himself enough to spit in the general's face, and gets a gauntlet to the jaw in response, which sends him sprawling.The general turns his attention to the papers, reads through them thoroughly, and then hands them to Laurel. "Well, your prisoner is very convincing," he smiles, "but your papers are an obvious forgery." His smile fades as he turns to his guards, "arrest them."Woo! Only two months behind. I've nearly got the final part of session 2 done, and am hoping to have the remaining sessions caught up by the beginning of January, since we're not playing in the interim.</blockquote>

Verification