Traipsing Across Khorvaire - High Adventure in Eberron

[Starman]

AC Bonus [Action die roll= 4]

You again attempt to make your way up the rope. Bravely dodging Thorn's attack [Attack roll (Thorn)= miss], you still manage to slip and not make any progress [Climb roll= 7+2-5=4, failure]. Realizing that if you don't make it this time, you are in serious trouble, you summon every ounce of strength and manage to shimmy up about fifteen feet [Climb roll= 10+2-5= 7, success]. A cheer goes up from above.

As you climb, you feel the rope being hauled up. Looking up, you are about fifteen feet from the deck of the Iron Hammer. The ship has been righted and is no longer tipping over. The deck is lined with people watching the events below.

When you look back down you see Thorn begin to climb the other rope. He is not moving as swiftly as you, but he is making steady progress.

 

[Widowmaker]

"Cut the other rope! Cut the OTHER ROPE!!!" Aalic will say with a deep commanding voice.

Aalic will try to see the crowd that is pulling him up, Aalic will look to see if the first mate and captain made it. Aalic will also try to see how bad the fire has damaged the Iron Hammer.

(Spend an action point to heal.)

 

[Starman]

Healing [Action die roll= 2]

You continue to climb up the rope. [Climb roll= 5+2= 7, success] Looking up you do not see either Captain Kravith or the First Mate. The crew finishes hauling you up the rest of the way.

As you climb aboard, you see the First Mate piloting the ship and Kravith all ready giving orders. The fire seems to be under control, but it has seriously ravaged the ship, especially the lower decks. In fact, it appears that no one has gone below. Everyone is topside.

You look to the other rope and see about a dozen figures on the verge of a fight.

"We'll not be cuttin' our captain loose," says the dwarf who saved you earlier. The rest of the pirates are crowded around him. "If ye don't be steppin' away from there, I'll have to be endin' your life."

One of the Cloud Dancer's crew gestures at you. "He saved our lives. It's your fault this all happened. I say good riddance to that miserable creature."

Thorn is over halfway up to the Hammer. "You will not get away so easily, fleshman!" his voice calls up.

You hear another sudden cracking and feel the Hammer jerk. The Cloud Dancer is on the verge of falling.

 

[Widowmaker]

Aalic will quickly catch his breath and drink a healing potion. He will then move over to the growing crowd of pirates. Drawing a dagger in one hand and the sword in the other.

"Listen up, I told you dwarf I have a few tricks up my sleeve. There is only one man who can pilot this ship. I will kill him (bringing the dagger up) and then we will all die. So you either do as I say and live or we will have a fight on our hands and you die. I gaurantee I will take 5 or 6 of you with me." Aalic will state as aggressive and dominate as possible.

(Yes I know two people can still pilot the ship).

 

[Starman]

[Potion of CLW roll= 8] You feel a cold rush throughout your body and then a warm tingle as your wounds close.

"Listen up, I told you dwarf I have a few tricks up my sleeve. There is only one man who can pilot this ship. I will kill him (bringing the dagger up) and then we will all die. So you either do as I say and live or we will have a fight on our hands and you die. I gaurantee I will take 5 or 6 of you with me."

The dwarf stares you in the eyes for a long moment. Everyone around you begins to shift nervously. The tension in the air is thick. [Intimidate roll= 18+2= 20, success] Finally, he nods. "Aw, bloody well be done with it then." He gives you a dismissive wave and stalks off. The rest of the pirates follow him. You recognize one of them as Bruthin. He seems to be avoiding eye contact with you.

You turn to the rope and begin to hack through it. Thorn sees you and for the second time you hear some emotion in his voice as he yells, "No! You can't take my ship from me. The Iron Hammer is mine!"

He starts climbing more quickly. You saw frantically at the rope. Thorn reaches up to grasp your wrist...

...but you manage to cut the rope. Thorn's eyes meet yours and then he is falling.

"I wiiiiiillllll kiiiiiiilllll yooooouuuu!" His voice slowly fades as he falls. He slams into the Cloud Dancer and disappears into the ship. With another loud crack, the two ships shudder and then the Cloud Dancer rips free of the Iron Hammer and spins down toward the earth below. There is a collective gasp on board the ship. You watch the other airship slowly shrink and then in a violent explosion, it hits the ground. The ship shatters like a smashed toy sending wood flying in all directions on the plain.

After a moment you realize Captain Kravith is standing beside you. He shakes his head at the spectacle below and then chuckles softly. "If not for you, I would be down there. I owe you, as does everyone on the ship from what I hear. I don't know your name, but you have my gratitude, as well as that of House Lyrander." He reaches out to shake your hand.

 

[Widowmaker]

Aalic will look over at the Captain, after a moment he will shake his hand. "Your Welcome, Captain. My name is Aalic Silverblade."

"You should also thank Davik, Tothcare, and your Kraken Guards. They kept the pirates busy while I was able to do other things."

Looking around at the Iron Hammer "She isn't as pretty or in as good as shape as the Cloud Dancer, but she is a ship. Where to now - I expect the first port? The Hammer doesn't look in that good of condtion. And if you don't mind Captain I would like to take a look from the bridge."

"Another question Captain, what do we do with the pirates?"

 

[Starman]

The half-elf grasps your hand firmly. He still looks in tough shape. However, being back in command seems to have given him a second wind. "Well met, Aalic Silverblade. I owe several people, but none were quite as spectacular as you. That was certainly a fine show of bravery you put on there. I certainly would be hesitant to face Thorn as you did."

He looks back over the ship and the milling crowd. "Unfortunately, this ship is not going to stay aloft. The fire was too much and the hull is on the verge of falling apart and dumping us to the ground as surely as the Dancer. Even these two magnificent rings cannot fly us if there is no ship left to fly. We won't be able to make it to any port; we will have to put down here in the wild.

"As for the pirates, well, they're behaving for now." You follow his gesturing hand and see that they are all clustered away from everyone else. They are given wide berth, which seems to suit them. They glare and sneer at the rest of the passengers. "If they cause any problems, and I'm sure they will, we'll have to deal with them then. As much as I hate pirates, we're not really in a position to deal with them. While we outnumber them in a pure count, they have more fighting men then we do. Honestly, if it wasn't for you, I'm not sure they would stay in line.

"What do you think?"

 

[Widowmaker]

"From what you have said we have no choice but to put down. So I say we do it as quickly as possible so the pirates don't give us any more problem. My question is - Where are we?

"We have a few options - we and the pirates go seperate ways. Another I strike out for the nearest town and get some help or we all go and hope we can make it. Personally I think it will be faster and better if I go. I may take a few men with me. What are your thoughts, you are the Captain?" Aalic will state a plainly as possible.

 

[Starman]

Even as you are talking you realize that the ship is slowly descending toward the rolling hills below. The Captain takes your arm and says, "Come with me."

He guides you to the remains of the state room below deck. The furniture is in disarray and the fire burned through parts of two of the walls. The Captain rummages around through a chest and with a smile comes up with some rolled up papers. He sets them on the table and rolls them out.

"Even pirates have to have maps," he says. He looks them over, setting each aside, until he comes to one and smiles. "Aha! Just what we need."

He slides it over so you can take a look at it. It is a map of northern Breland. His fingers circle a small area near the Blackcap Mountains. "We are in this area here, the foothills of the Blackcaps. West is this foret here. North of us is the Silver Lake.

"Our problem is this: there were about one-hundred passengers aboard the Dancer. My crew is now less than a dozen, not including the Kraken Guards. It is my responsibility to get these people to safety. Besides the pirates, who number fifteen, I believe, we have to worry about encountering any monsters out here. In most parts of Breland, I wouldn't worry, however, we are near the Blackcaps, which are notoriously untamed and we are not too far from the Droaam border.

"Besides preventing their untimely death due to violence, I have the problem of feeding them. There are some food stores aboard this ship, but not near enough to feed everyone. We will need to hunt and forage along the way.

"I see two possibilites. The first, we skirt the forest here and head west to Shavalant. While it is small, my passengers would be safe there until contact with someone from my House could be made to arrange for transport. The problem with this is that we are traveling cross-country and closer to the Droaam border.

"The second possiblity is to head north and east until we hit the Orien trade road. We could follow that until we hit Drum Keep up north. I am guessing that it is farther than Shavilant, however. Though we would have the benefit of walking on a road and possibly encountering caravans or travelers who could be of assistance. The other problem with this plan is that, while House Orien tries to keep their roads policed, there is no guarantee this close to the Blackcaps.

"Those are the two possibilities as I see it." He slides the map closer to you and sits down with a sigh. "I worry that if you strike out to get help, that is one less person to help protect the passengers, but I am willing to listen to any suggestions you have."

 

[Widowmaker]

"Captain, its been a few years since I have been up this way. I will have to think of the best route of travel. But my intial thoughts are to get this ship as close to the road as possible. We take the whole group and head for Drum Keep. Bandits and monsters are less likely to attack a group of 120 people. We can probably make about 20 miles per day on the road. I figure its 200 miles to Drum. Thats 10 days of travel. I am concerned about food. If we go on the road we may be able to get supplies and help from the wagons. They may even take the wounded and those that cannot travel so well." Aalic will state.

Aalic will try to recall what he can about this area. (Knowledge Check)

"As for the pirates - I don't know. I doubt they will come with us, but I figure the less we tell them the safer we are for the time being. I don't think they will attack us. They have nothing to gain, we have nothing. They would be best heading for the Black Pit or for Drooam." Aalic will add in.