Travels through the Wild West: the Isle of Dread
- Thread starter Lazybones
- Start date
Lazybones
Adventurer
Welcome aboard, Schmoe! Always happy to welcome a new reader to the story. Yep, X1 is "classic"-- I last ran it back in the mid 80s, and it was a lot of fun (although it's taking a lot of updating to make the puny Expert-set monsters a sufficient challenge for 3e characters 
).
Thanks, Horacio! I do try to mix it up, with the action scenes balanced with character development and important non-battle events. Glad to hear that it seems to be working thus far.
* * * * *
Book III, Part 7
Barely breaking stride, Benzan spun and fired off a quick shot that clipped the lead wasp’s body. The arrow was corrosive, but even the acid seemed to only make it mad.
And they were much faster than the two fleeing companions.
Dana paused, drawing out her kama as the wasps bore down on Benzan.
“Run! Get the others!” he cried, trying to emulate his own advice as he put on an added burst of speed.
The lead wasp swept down and stung him in the shoulder, the blow like a dagger thrust wielded by an ogre. Benzan staggered from the impact, although his mithral armor kept the stinger from penetrating into his skin. Another wasp darted ahead of him and came in from the front, flanking him, but he ducked and rolled forward on the damp sand, coming up into a run as the two wasps kept pace.
Dana, meanwhile, was threatened by the other two wasps, but as they darted down toward her she muttered an incantation, an invocation of the power of Selûne. The spell took longer than normal, as she fought through the mental fog that seemed to hang over her divine link, but she was finally rewarded with a burst of speed that allowed her to draw ahead of the wasps. The two vermin, their wings buzzing furiously as they strove to keep up, turned and followed her.
Leaving Benzan further behind, and alone. The priestess gritted her teeth, reluctant to abandon her companion—and for all their squabbles, he was still that—but recognizing that his command was the best course.
As she ran she shouted toward the camp, still several hundred yards distant, but saw that the camp was already stirring, the busy figures of her friends and the Raindancer crew silhouetted against the blazing flames of their campfires in the light of the fading day. But her enthusiasm quickly faded when she saw the shadowy figure of another wasp briefly silhouetted against the evening sky, and realized that the camp was also under attack.
Benzan, meanwhile, was finding it increasingly difficult to stay out of the reach of the angry wasps. He paused long enough to try a spell, to summon a mist that would obscure him from the creatures, but true to Cal’s warnings back on the ship, he muffed the final pass of gestures needed to cast the spell and the magic faded from his grasp. The delay gave both wasps time to lunge down at him, and while he ducked the first sting, he felt pain explode in his lower back as the second one stabbed home. He felt the burning tingle of poison tear mercilessly through his body, and he staggered back as he tried to fight off its effects.
With a grim expression fixed on his face, he drew his sword and faced off against the two insects as they came in at him again.
Dana, meanwhile, was managing to stay just ahead of her pursuers, but knew that if she faltered in the slightest that they would be on her in an instant. She saw that several people were coming out around the wall of thorns and up the beach toward her, and let out a sigh of relief as she recognized Delem at their head.
She risked a glance back over her shoulder. The two wasps were still there, buzzing above the sand only about twenty feet behind her, and behind that she could see Benzan, slashing desperately against two wasps that kept dipping at him and stinging.
“Damn,” she said, and suddenly reversed direction, darting back along the beach.
The two pursuing wasps immediately dove in at her, but she ducked and rolled between them, already running as she rose back to her feet. She felt something hard graze her arm, tearing a shallow gash as she came away, and felt the burning touch of poison on the wound. Then she was past them, and running back toward Benzan.
The tiefling was finding himself sorely pressed. He’d unlimbered his small shield, and used it to deflect several stings, but another had made its way past his defenses, and he could feel his reflexes slowing as the venom continued to spread through his system. He in turn had hit one of the wasps with his sword, injuring it yet further, but it did not relent in its fierce attack. He’d seen Dana dash off down the beach before losing sight of her in the shadows, and he only hoped that she would be able to reach help in time.
But for him, it was rapidly looking like he was on his own.
“Dana, no!” Delem cried out as he watched the monk reverse direction and charge back into danger. Along with Captain Horath and three other crewmembers of Raindancer, all carrying bows or crossbows, he dashed after her, hoping that she could hold off the wasps until they reached her. The sorcerer knew that Cal, Lok, and the others would be behind him, at least once they had killed or driven off the two wasps that had attacked the camp, but they were far slower than he. That’s why Cal had shouted for him to go to Dana, even before they’d heard their companion’s cries.
He only hoped that Benzan was all right, alone somewhere beyond the wall of the camp.
Benzan’s arms felt numb, and he barely was able to keep his footing as his opponents harried him mercilessly. He barely felt it when another sting darted past his guard and into his side, and his counter came too late to have any effect on the nimble wasp that had stung him. The earlier stings were beginning to catch up with him, as well, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before his body stopped working all together.
The lead wasp came in again, and even as Benzan tried to bring his shield up to defend, he knew it would be too late. He fell to one knee as the massive form of the wasp filled his vision right above him.
A streaking form flew past him, slashing into the wasp. Benzan’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw Dana, cutting deep into the body of the wasp with her kama. The creature faltered and fell back, dropping awkwardly to the sand a few yards away as it tried to lift itself off of the ground again.
“Dana! What are you…”
“Help is on the way,” she told him, “but we’ve got a few more of these guys to deal with, first. So get up and fight, slacker!”
She helped him to his feet, just in time to help meet the dive of the two wasps that had chased her back. With renewed vigor he stabbed at the first, puncturing deep into its abdomen. The creature twisted back and stung at him, but Benzan’s luck held as the sting glanced off of the upper edge of his shield.
Dana wished she had the chance to heal Benzan, or to cast a spell of sanctuary that would allow at least one of them to avoid the attacks of the wasps, but there was no time. She was forced to defend against the darting sting of Benzan’s remaining opponent, and barely was able to twist out of its lunging path. She did not have Benzan’s armor protection, though, and knew that she would not be able to hold up against even one of the vermin in an all out fight. Still, she slashed at it, missing but forcing it back.
Just have to hold on a few more moments… she thought.
One of the wasps staggered as an arrow struck it, followed moments later by a pair of magic missiles from Delem. The two defenders took heart as the reinforcements arrived, but knew that their three remaining adversaries were still dangerous opponents.
As if to punctuate that fact, another wasp darted in and stung Benzan again on the shoulder. The tiefling cried out and fell, his arms and legs twitching helplessly. The wasp hovered above him and latched onto him with its legs, and immediately started beating its wings to carry him off.
“Oh no you don’t!” Dana shouted, launching herself at the wasp… and leaping onto its back, slashing with her kama.
She felt pain explode in her back, but ignored the burning fire as she hacked at the creature’s wings with her weapon. The wasp tilted dangerously to the side, throwing her off, but at the same time releasing its grip on Benzan. Dana landed with a solid thump on the sand, uninjured but a little shaken, but her eyes widened in horror as she saw another wasp loom over her, its sting dripping with ready poison.
Flames swept over the wasp in a burning roar, driving back the creature from her. It fell smoldering to the sand, its wings too singed for it to fly, hopping awkwardly as it tried to get its bearings.
Dana gingerly rose to her feet to see that the last two wasps had headed away, driven off by the flames of Delem’s spell. Fighting through the numbness that made her muscles reluctant to obey her commands, she forced herself to her feet and stumbled over to where Benzan lay face-down in the sand a short distance away. She pulled him over, afraid at what she would find, but let out a sigh of relief as she saw that he was still breathing, if shallowly.
“Dana, are you all right?” Delem’s voice came from behind her.
“I’m fine,” she said—although she felt anything but. “It’s Benzan—he took a lot of that poison.”
“Let me,” he said, crouching beside the tiefling. Benzan’s eyes were open and lucid, but he could not even respond as the sorcerer took a scroll out of a pouch and unrolled it. He read one of the spells inscribed on the parchment, summoning its magic, and soon a healing glow spread over the prone form of the warrior, restoring some of the loss wrought by the poison.
Benzan stirred, but still moved slowly and his words slurred slightly as he spoke. “Thanks,” he said.
“You’ll have to take it easy for a few days,” Delem told him. “Perhaps Ruath can help you further… and you too, Dana.”
They looked up as Horath and the other crewmembers finished off the two injured wasps. “What about the camp?” Dana asked.
“Two wasps attacked us,” Delem explained.
“Is everyone all right? What happened?”
“Cal sent me to find you before they were dead, but they looked to have the matter in hand. They got within reach of Lok,” he added in explanation.
They heard voices from further down the beach, and saw that Cal, Lok, and the others were coming quickly to join them. “Is everyone all right?” the gnome shouted.
“We’re fine,” Dana yelled in return. “But we’d better get back to the camp, in case the rest of those wasps come back,” she said more quietly to Delem and Benzan.
“Come on,” Delem said, grunting as he helped Benzan to his feet. The tiefling was still unsteady, so Delem wrapped Benzan’s arm around his shoulder.
“Man oh man, you’re never going to let me live this down, are you,” Benzan said.
“Not on your life.”
Beaten and battered—but thankfully, all still alive—the companions made their way back to the shelter of the raider camp.
). Thanks, Horacio! I do try to mix it up, with the action scenes balanced with character development and important non-battle events. Glad to hear that it seems to be working thus far.
* * * * *
Book III, Part 7
Barely breaking stride, Benzan spun and fired off a quick shot that clipped the lead wasp’s body. The arrow was corrosive, but even the acid seemed to only make it mad.
And they were much faster than the two fleeing companions.
Dana paused, drawing out her kama as the wasps bore down on Benzan.
“Run! Get the others!” he cried, trying to emulate his own advice as he put on an added burst of speed.
The lead wasp swept down and stung him in the shoulder, the blow like a dagger thrust wielded by an ogre. Benzan staggered from the impact, although his mithral armor kept the stinger from penetrating into his skin. Another wasp darted ahead of him and came in from the front, flanking him, but he ducked and rolled forward on the damp sand, coming up into a run as the two wasps kept pace.
Dana, meanwhile, was threatened by the other two wasps, but as they darted down toward her she muttered an incantation, an invocation of the power of Selûne. The spell took longer than normal, as she fought through the mental fog that seemed to hang over her divine link, but she was finally rewarded with a burst of speed that allowed her to draw ahead of the wasps. The two vermin, their wings buzzing furiously as they strove to keep up, turned and followed her.
Leaving Benzan further behind, and alone. The priestess gritted her teeth, reluctant to abandon her companion—and for all their squabbles, he was still that—but recognizing that his command was the best course.
As she ran she shouted toward the camp, still several hundred yards distant, but saw that the camp was already stirring, the busy figures of her friends and the Raindancer crew silhouetted against the blazing flames of their campfires in the light of the fading day. But her enthusiasm quickly faded when she saw the shadowy figure of another wasp briefly silhouetted against the evening sky, and realized that the camp was also under attack.
Benzan, meanwhile, was finding it increasingly difficult to stay out of the reach of the angry wasps. He paused long enough to try a spell, to summon a mist that would obscure him from the creatures, but true to Cal’s warnings back on the ship, he muffed the final pass of gestures needed to cast the spell and the magic faded from his grasp. The delay gave both wasps time to lunge down at him, and while he ducked the first sting, he felt pain explode in his lower back as the second one stabbed home. He felt the burning tingle of poison tear mercilessly through his body, and he staggered back as he tried to fight off its effects.
With a grim expression fixed on his face, he drew his sword and faced off against the two insects as they came in at him again.
Dana, meanwhile, was managing to stay just ahead of her pursuers, but knew that if she faltered in the slightest that they would be on her in an instant. She saw that several people were coming out around the wall of thorns and up the beach toward her, and let out a sigh of relief as she recognized Delem at their head.
She risked a glance back over her shoulder. The two wasps were still there, buzzing above the sand only about twenty feet behind her, and behind that she could see Benzan, slashing desperately against two wasps that kept dipping at him and stinging.
“Damn,” she said, and suddenly reversed direction, darting back along the beach.
The two pursuing wasps immediately dove in at her, but she ducked and rolled between them, already running as she rose back to her feet. She felt something hard graze her arm, tearing a shallow gash as she came away, and felt the burning touch of poison on the wound. Then she was past them, and running back toward Benzan.
The tiefling was finding himself sorely pressed. He’d unlimbered his small shield, and used it to deflect several stings, but another had made its way past his defenses, and he could feel his reflexes slowing as the venom continued to spread through his system. He in turn had hit one of the wasps with his sword, injuring it yet further, but it did not relent in its fierce attack. He’d seen Dana dash off down the beach before losing sight of her in the shadows, and he only hoped that she would be able to reach help in time.
But for him, it was rapidly looking like he was on his own.
“Dana, no!” Delem cried out as he watched the monk reverse direction and charge back into danger. Along with Captain Horath and three other crewmembers of Raindancer, all carrying bows or crossbows, he dashed after her, hoping that she could hold off the wasps until they reached her. The sorcerer knew that Cal, Lok, and the others would be behind him, at least once they had killed or driven off the two wasps that had attacked the camp, but they were far slower than he. That’s why Cal had shouted for him to go to Dana, even before they’d heard their companion’s cries.
He only hoped that Benzan was all right, alone somewhere beyond the wall of the camp.
Benzan’s arms felt numb, and he barely was able to keep his footing as his opponents harried him mercilessly. He barely felt it when another sting darted past his guard and into his side, and his counter came too late to have any effect on the nimble wasp that had stung him. The earlier stings were beginning to catch up with him, as well, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before his body stopped working all together.
The lead wasp came in again, and even as Benzan tried to bring his shield up to defend, he knew it would be too late. He fell to one knee as the massive form of the wasp filled his vision right above him.
A streaking form flew past him, slashing into the wasp. Benzan’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw Dana, cutting deep into the body of the wasp with her kama. The creature faltered and fell back, dropping awkwardly to the sand a few yards away as it tried to lift itself off of the ground again.
“Dana! What are you…”
“Help is on the way,” she told him, “but we’ve got a few more of these guys to deal with, first. So get up and fight, slacker!”
She helped him to his feet, just in time to help meet the dive of the two wasps that had chased her back. With renewed vigor he stabbed at the first, puncturing deep into its abdomen. The creature twisted back and stung at him, but Benzan’s luck held as the sting glanced off of the upper edge of his shield.
Dana wished she had the chance to heal Benzan, or to cast a spell of sanctuary that would allow at least one of them to avoid the attacks of the wasps, but there was no time. She was forced to defend against the darting sting of Benzan’s remaining opponent, and barely was able to twist out of its lunging path. She did not have Benzan’s armor protection, though, and knew that she would not be able to hold up against even one of the vermin in an all out fight. Still, she slashed at it, missing but forcing it back.
Just have to hold on a few more moments… she thought.
One of the wasps staggered as an arrow struck it, followed moments later by a pair of magic missiles from Delem. The two defenders took heart as the reinforcements arrived, but knew that their three remaining adversaries were still dangerous opponents.
As if to punctuate that fact, another wasp darted in and stung Benzan again on the shoulder. The tiefling cried out and fell, his arms and legs twitching helplessly. The wasp hovered above him and latched onto him with its legs, and immediately started beating its wings to carry him off.
“Oh no you don’t!” Dana shouted, launching herself at the wasp… and leaping onto its back, slashing with her kama.
She felt pain explode in her back, but ignored the burning fire as she hacked at the creature’s wings with her weapon. The wasp tilted dangerously to the side, throwing her off, but at the same time releasing its grip on Benzan. Dana landed with a solid thump on the sand, uninjured but a little shaken, but her eyes widened in horror as she saw another wasp loom over her, its sting dripping with ready poison.
Flames swept over the wasp in a burning roar, driving back the creature from her. It fell smoldering to the sand, its wings too singed for it to fly, hopping awkwardly as it tried to get its bearings.
Dana gingerly rose to her feet to see that the last two wasps had headed away, driven off by the flames of Delem’s spell. Fighting through the numbness that made her muscles reluctant to obey her commands, she forced herself to her feet and stumbled over to where Benzan lay face-down in the sand a short distance away. She pulled him over, afraid at what she would find, but let out a sigh of relief as she saw that he was still breathing, if shallowly.
“Dana, are you all right?” Delem’s voice came from behind her.
“I’m fine,” she said—although she felt anything but. “It’s Benzan—he took a lot of that poison.”
“Let me,” he said, crouching beside the tiefling. Benzan’s eyes were open and lucid, but he could not even respond as the sorcerer took a scroll out of a pouch and unrolled it. He read one of the spells inscribed on the parchment, summoning its magic, and soon a healing glow spread over the prone form of the warrior, restoring some of the loss wrought by the poison.
Benzan stirred, but still moved slowly and his words slurred slightly as he spoke. “Thanks,” he said.
“You’ll have to take it easy for a few days,” Delem told him. “Perhaps Ruath can help you further… and you too, Dana.”
They looked up as Horath and the other crewmembers finished off the two injured wasps. “What about the camp?” Dana asked.
“Two wasps attacked us,” Delem explained.
“Is everyone all right? What happened?”
“Cal sent me to find you before they were dead, but they looked to have the matter in hand. They got within reach of Lok,” he added in explanation.
They heard voices from further down the beach, and saw that Cal, Lok, and the others were coming quickly to join them. “Is everyone all right?” the gnome shouted.
“We’re fine,” Dana yelled in return. “But we’d better get back to the camp, in case the rest of those wasps come back,” she said more quietly to Delem and Benzan.
“Come on,” Delem said, grunting as he helped Benzan to his feet. The tiefling was still unsteady, so Delem wrapped Benzan’s arm around his shoulder.
“Man oh man, you’re never going to let me live this down, are you,” Benzan said.
“Not on your life.”
Beaten and battered—but thankfully, all still alive—the companions made their way back to the shelter of the raider camp.
Broccli_Head
Explorer
I'm back!
Hey LB, caught up to your story. Gosh I missed a lot, but thanks for the summary. I am really enjoying the story again. Hopefully, I won't fall so far behind next time.
When is the island going to become 'dreadful' or are they at the actual Island of Dread yet?
Lok is my favorite character. How can you not like the taciturn dwarven earth genasi?
Can't wait to see the revelation of Benzan-Dana-Delem. And now that bronze sword...hmmm....how can the tiefling wield it while others cannot?
Superb story as always with a fine balance between action and charater development. Maybe you can give me some pointers, eh?
Hey LB, caught up to your story. Gosh I missed a lot, but thanks for the summary. I am really enjoying the story again. Hopefully, I won't fall so far behind next time.
When is the island going to become 'dreadful' or are they at the actual Island of Dread yet?
Lok is my favorite character. How can you not like the taciturn dwarven earth genasi?
Can't wait to see the revelation of Benzan-Dana-Delem. And now that bronze sword...hmmm....how can the tiefling wield it while others cannot?
Superb story as always with a fine balance between action and charater development. Maybe you can give me some pointers, eh?
drnuncheon
Explorer
LB! You didn't tell me you had a Story Hour! Well now I can return the ego-boost you gave me. I normally don't read FR story hours - a lot of them seem to assume a lot more knowledge of the setting than I have - but this one will definitely be the exception!
Hopefully my next update (big fight scene) will come off as well as your action scenes do!
J
you should put a link to this in your .sig
Hopefully my next update (big fight scene) will come off as well as your action scenes do!
J
you should put a link to this in your .sig
Lazybones
Adventurer
Welcome back, Broccli_Head! I missed your frequent posts to the story.
).
) the graphic doesn't always load (it's stored online in a Yahoo Briefcase).
So, readers, can you see the graphical link at the bottom of my posts? Maybe I should just go back to the text link I used before. Let me know, thanks in advance.
Well, while I'm here I may as well add another update. I'll do it in another post to help keep the feedback separate from the story.
Thanks again for your support, readers!
LB
The Isle of Dread is the big land mass they've been circling around (they'll get there shortly), but everything they've done since they arrived in this world is from the module, Expert Set X1.Broccli_Head said:
Yes, Lok's now giving Benzan a run for his money in the poll!
I don't want to give away too much about the sword at this juncture, but I'll just say for now: it's an alignment thing.
Thanks! My advice for anyone who wants to be a writer has always been the same I've always gotten: read a lot, and write something every day. It gets easier with practice (at the very least, you'll learn how to type really fast
).Glad to have you over, drnuncheon! I tried using your idea of posting an ad about the story on the main discussion board, but only got something like 10 views (two of which were mine!). About the sig... hmmm... I do have a graphical sig with a link to my original story page, but I've noticed that on my home connection (as opposed to my ultra-fast work setup, which I'm using now
) the graphic doesn't always load (it's stored online in a Yahoo Briefcase). So, readers, can you see the graphical link at the bottom of my posts? Maybe I should just go back to the text link I used before. Let me know, thanks in advance.
Well, while I'm here I may as well add another update. I'll do it in another post to help keep the feedback separate from the story.
Thanks again for your support, readers!
LB
Lazybones
Adventurer
Book III, Part 8
The repairs to Raindancer continued swiftly, and on the morning tide two days after the wasp attack, the ship once again moved out to sea, leaving behind a depleted raider camp and some very disgruntled former raiders. They took all of the supplies (save for a few half-spoiled perishables), treasure, weapons, and tools with them, along with the last outrigger. None of them felt particularly sorry for the raiders.
Benzan spent most of the time in recuperation, although Ruath’s divine magic was able to help speed his and Dana’s recovery from the debilitating poison of the wasps. Benzan was still not quite back to one hundred percent, but he stood on the aft deck with the others as Captain Horath plotted a southeasterly course around the southern coast of the Isle of Dread. Thus far they’d only encountered mountainous cliffs and impermeable jungle along the great isle’s coastline, but they knew that settled villages (hopefully friendly) could be found around the southern reaches.
The first day back out to sea passed quietly, as they put the ship through her paces and tested the integrity of the repairs. The wind fluctuated throughout the day, changing intensity and direction seemingly at whim, slowing their progress, but even Ruath did not object at the mild pace. They enjoyed the reward of their work in having a restored vessel, mild weather, and endless possibilities ahead.
They kept to their southeasterly course throughout the night, and by morning they were within a few miles of the big island. Their course took them to a wide channel between a rocky promontory and an island volcano to the south, which appeared to now be quiescent. Beyond the channel the coastline of the Isle of Dread retreated again to form a wide bay, around which numerous islands could just be seen in the distance.
Benzan saw that Dana was standing alone along the port rail, and walked over to her.
“Hey.”
Her look was guarded, not revealing anything.
“Look, I never got a chance to thank you, for what you did back on the beach. It was absolutely nuts, coming back like you did,” he added with a grin, “but thanks.”
Her expression clouded slightly, and she opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment the ship shuddered slightly, a tremor that seemed to shake the very deck plates under their feet.
“What was that?” Cal asked.
“Maric!” Captain Horath cried to the lookout at the bow, already running from the aft deck toward the bow of the ship. “Reef or sandbar?” He shouted orders at nearby crewmen to drop the sails, to keep the ship from being pushed further against whatever obstacle they had struck.
“Sea ahead’s clear, captain!” the young bosun cried out from his perch, scanning the waters around the bow of the ship.
Horath had just reached the stairs to the forward deck when the ship shuddered again, this time tilting suddenly forward and to the side, as if something was dragging it lower into the water.
“What in the hells?” Benzan cried out, as he reached out and grabbed onto the rail for support. Around him, his friends and the other crewmembers were doing the same thing, a few falling awkwardly to the deck.
The mystery was solved, after a fashion, when several long tentacles snaked out of the water and swept over the main deck of the Raindancer.
* * * * *
“Giant squid!” Horath cried out in warning, as the thick tentacles lashed into the ship, sweeping aside hapless crewmembers or twisting around the mast and decking. The weight of the tentacles’ owner pulled down at the front of the ship, causing the deck to pitch at an angle and making it all but impossible for the crew to find a stable footing.
Even with that hurdle, though, the crew and passengers of the ship responded quickly to the attack.
Delem fired the first shot of the battle, launching a pair of magic missiles into one of the tentacles. The fiery bolts hit with a heavy plop, searing into the tentacle but with apparently insignificant damage against the gargantuan size of the creature. The tentacles were as thick around as Cal was tall, and they struck the deck with crushing force, cracking the solid wood planking as they groped for purchase.
Benzan hefted his bow and darted across the aft deck toward the starboard rail, to the side of the ship where the tentacles originated. They had repaired the section of rail that they had lost in the storm, but even so Benzan was cautious as the ship sagged under his steps again. He looked out over the side of the ship, and his heart froze in his chest.
Only the top potion of the squid was visible, pressed up against the side of the ship at the point where the fore and main decks met, but what he could see of the creature was… huge. Its beak, easily twice the size of Lok’s shield, crashed into the side of the Raindancer,, sundering the sturdy boards as it ripped open the hull. Meanwhile, its tentacles sought to drag the ship down lower into the water, into a watery grave where it could pick out the juicy bodies of its crew at its leisure.
Benzan saw all of that horror and danger flash before his eyes in an instant, but then he was drawing his bow, fitting one of his acid arrows to the string.
Lok had also moved to join the battle, charging down the stairs to the main deck where the tentacles were still doing damage. A crewmember had been caught up in one, and he screamed as it lifted him into the air, crushing the life out of him. Lok charged and cut into it with his axe, the frost-fringed blade tearing through the rubbery flesh of the creature but failing to cut deeply enough to free the crewman.
The screams of two other members of Horath’s crew filled the air around them as the tentacles swept again over the deck, knocking them roughly into the frothing waters around the ship. The ballista crew was trying to load their weapon, fighting the lurching instability of the deck, while several other crewmembers either dove for cover or launched desperate and ineffectual attacks against the groping tentacles. Several had latched firmly onto the ship, crushing the deck or twining around the single remaining mast.
“It’s going to tear the ship apart!” Cal cried in warning. Benzan gritted his teeth as his first arrow hit the body of the creature, but the arrow looked like a pin stuck in the side of a giant.
“I don’t know how we’re going to stop it!” the tiefling replied in frustration.
A probing tentacle snaked its way toward them upon the aft deck. Dana slashed at it with her kama, ducking under its powerful return sweep. While she avoided damage, the tip of the tentacle slammed into the ship’s wheel, blasting it from its moorings and knocking the helmsman back to fall stunned against the deck.
Raindancer was directionless.
Cal was at a loss, uncertain how he could possibly harm this massive creature. He considered his wand of color spray, but knew that there was no way he could hope to make it across the main deck to get close enough to use it. Suddenly, he felt very small and helpless… a feeling that lasted only a moment, before it was replaced by anger. Anger at himself for giving in to self-pity when his companions needed him, and anger at this creature that was threatening to destroy them all.
His song burst from him, a rousing call to battle, and he loaded his crossbow, determined to go out fighting alongside his companions.
Lok, meanwhile, had been driven back as the tentacle he’d cut contorted and lashed out. It finally released its imprisoned crewman, but Lok saw that it was too late as his crushed form fell in a heap on the deck. Then the blindly flailing tentacle struck him hard, driving him bodily back against the wall of the aft compartment, and he only narrowly dodged aside as another lashing tentacle staved in the wood where he’d been standing. He made it into the doorway that led back into the compartment, a dubious shelter as the ship seemed to be coming apart around them. He nearly stumbled over a prone form and bent down to see Ruath lying there, a dark bruise covering one side of her face. As gingerly as he could, the genasi reached into a pouch and drew forth a vial, carefully pouring the liquid into the unconscious halfling’s mouth as the violent struggles of the squid and the ship continued unabated around him.
Captain Horath and his crew held on atop the forward deck, fighting against the terrible creature as best they could. The ballista crew had already managed to fire one shot into a tentacle and was reloading for another when the injured tentacle rose up and slashed down at them. Two of the three crewmembers managed to get out of the way as the strike crushed the weapon, but the last… wasn’t so lucky.
Horath, meanwhile, was firing arrow after arrow into the creature, striking the tentacles or that part of the upper body that was visible over the side of the ship. The truth of the situation was becoming increasingly inescapable, however, even as it twisted in his gut.
Raindancer was doomed.
And if they could not somehow fend off the violent attack of the squid, so were they.
Benzan gritted his teeth as his companions tried to fend off the massive tentacle that was sweeping over the aft deck. Neither Delem’s fire nor Cal’s bolts were seeming to have much effect on it, and Dana’s attack with her kama only rewarded her with a blow that sent her sprawling against the aft rail. Benzan knew that one stray sweep in his direction would send him over the edge, to a watery doom below.
He sucked in a breath, and focused his mind. The chaos of the battle seemed to fall away from him, as he drew upon the newly awakened power of his magic. He drew his powerful bow back, lined up his gaze along the green-tinged length of a magical arrow.
He saw his target. As the massive body of the squid rolled in its continued struggles against the ship, a porthole-sized eye came into view. Normally it would not have been a difficult shot, but with both the target and the shooter in motion, and with the frenzy all around, it may as well have been a mile away.
Benzan called upon the magic, and the eye seemed to suddenly grow closer and closer, until it filled his vision.
He fired.
The repairs to Raindancer continued swiftly, and on the morning tide two days after the wasp attack, the ship once again moved out to sea, leaving behind a depleted raider camp and some very disgruntled former raiders. They took all of the supplies (save for a few half-spoiled perishables), treasure, weapons, and tools with them, along with the last outrigger. None of them felt particularly sorry for the raiders.
Benzan spent most of the time in recuperation, although Ruath’s divine magic was able to help speed his and Dana’s recovery from the debilitating poison of the wasps. Benzan was still not quite back to one hundred percent, but he stood on the aft deck with the others as Captain Horath plotted a southeasterly course around the southern coast of the Isle of Dread. Thus far they’d only encountered mountainous cliffs and impermeable jungle along the great isle’s coastline, but they knew that settled villages (hopefully friendly) could be found around the southern reaches.
The first day back out to sea passed quietly, as they put the ship through her paces and tested the integrity of the repairs. The wind fluctuated throughout the day, changing intensity and direction seemingly at whim, slowing their progress, but even Ruath did not object at the mild pace. They enjoyed the reward of their work in having a restored vessel, mild weather, and endless possibilities ahead.
They kept to their southeasterly course throughout the night, and by morning they were within a few miles of the big island. Their course took them to a wide channel between a rocky promontory and an island volcano to the south, which appeared to now be quiescent. Beyond the channel the coastline of the Isle of Dread retreated again to form a wide bay, around which numerous islands could just be seen in the distance.
Benzan saw that Dana was standing alone along the port rail, and walked over to her.
“Hey.”
Her look was guarded, not revealing anything.
“Look, I never got a chance to thank you, for what you did back on the beach. It was absolutely nuts, coming back like you did,” he added with a grin, “but thanks.”
Her expression clouded slightly, and she opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment the ship shuddered slightly, a tremor that seemed to shake the very deck plates under their feet.
“What was that?” Cal asked.
“Maric!” Captain Horath cried to the lookout at the bow, already running from the aft deck toward the bow of the ship. “Reef or sandbar?” He shouted orders at nearby crewmen to drop the sails, to keep the ship from being pushed further against whatever obstacle they had struck.
“Sea ahead’s clear, captain!” the young bosun cried out from his perch, scanning the waters around the bow of the ship.
Horath had just reached the stairs to the forward deck when the ship shuddered again, this time tilting suddenly forward and to the side, as if something was dragging it lower into the water.
“What in the hells?” Benzan cried out, as he reached out and grabbed onto the rail for support. Around him, his friends and the other crewmembers were doing the same thing, a few falling awkwardly to the deck.
The mystery was solved, after a fashion, when several long tentacles snaked out of the water and swept over the main deck of the Raindancer.
* * * * *
“Giant squid!” Horath cried out in warning, as the thick tentacles lashed into the ship, sweeping aside hapless crewmembers or twisting around the mast and decking. The weight of the tentacles’ owner pulled down at the front of the ship, causing the deck to pitch at an angle and making it all but impossible for the crew to find a stable footing.
Even with that hurdle, though, the crew and passengers of the ship responded quickly to the attack.
Delem fired the first shot of the battle, launching a pair of magic missiles into one of the tentacles. The fiery bolts hit with a heavy plop, searing into the tentacle but with apparently insignificant damage against the gargantuan size of the creature. The tentacles were as thick around as Cal was tall, and they struck the deck with crushing force, cracking the solid wood planking as they groped for purchase.
Benzan hefted his bow and darted across the aft deck toward the starboard rail, to the side of the ship where the tentacles originated. They had repaired the section of rail that they had lost in the storm, but even so Benzan was cautious as the ship sagged under his steps again. He looked out over the side of the ship, and his heart froze in his chest.
Only the top potion of the squid was visible, pressed up against the side of the ship at the point where the fore and main decks met, but what he could see of the creature was… huge. Its beak, easily twice the size of Lok’s shield, crashed into the side of the Raindancer,, sundering the sturdy boards as it ripped open the hull. Meanwhile, its tentacles sought to drag the ship down lower into the water, into a watery grave where it could pick out the juicy bodies of its crew at its leisure.
Benzan saw all of that horror and danger flash before his eyes in an instant, but then he was drawing his bow, fitting one of his acid arrows to the string.
Lok had also moved to join the battle, charging down the stairs to the main deck where the tentacles were still doing damage. A crewmember had been caught up in one, and he screamed as it lifted him into the air, crushing the life out of him. Lok charged and cut into it with his axe, the frost-fringed blade tearing through the rubbery flesh of the creature but failing to cut deeply enough to free the crewman.
The screams of two other members of Horath’s crew filled the air around them as the tentacles swept again over the deck, knocking them roughly into the frothing waters around the ship. The ballista crew was trying to load their weapon, fighting the lurching instability of the deck, while several other crewmembers either dove for cover or launched desperate and ineffectual attacks against the groping tentacles. Several had latched firmly onto the ship, crushing the deck or twining around the single remaining mast.
“It’s going to tear the ship apart!” Cal cried in warning. Benzan gritted his teeth as his first arrow hit the body of the creature, but the arrow looked like a pin stuck in the side of a giant.
“I don’t know how we’re going to stop it!” the tiefling replied in frustration.
A probing tentacle snaked its way toward them upon the aft deck. Dana slashed at it with her kama, ducking under its powerful return sweep. While she avoided damage, the tip of the tentacle slammed into the ship’s wheel, blasting it from its moorings and knocking the helmsman back to fall stunned against the deck.
Raindancer was directionless.
Cal was at a loss, uncertain how he could possibly harm this massive creature. He considered his wand of color spray, but knew that there was no way he could hope to make it across the main deck to get close enough to use it. Suddenly, he felt very small and helpless… a feeling that lasted only a moment, before it was replaced by anger. Anger at himself for giving in to self-pity when his companions needed him, and anger at this creature that was threatening to destroy them all.
His song burst from him, a rousing call to battle, and he loaded his crossbow, determined to go out fighting alongside his companions.
Lok, meanwhile, had been driven back as the tentacle he’d cut contorted and lashed out. It finally released its imprisoned crewman, but Lok saw that it was too late as his crushed form fell in a heap on the deck. Then the blindly flailing tentacle struck him hard, driving him bodily back against the wall of the aft compartment, and he only narrowly dodged aside as another lashing tentacle staved in the wood where he’d been standing. He made it into the doorway that led back into the compartment, a dubious shelter as the ship seemed to be coming apart around them. He nearly stumbled over a prone form and bent down to see Ruath lying there, a dark bruise covering one side of her face. As gingerly as he could, the genasi reached into a pouch and drew forth a vial, carefully pouring the liquid into the unconscious halfling’s mouth as the violent struggles of the squid and the ship continued unabated around him.
Captain Horath and his crew held on atop the forward deck, fighting against the terrible creature as best they could. The ballista crew had already managed to fire one shot into a tentacle and was reloading for another when the injured tentacle rose up and slashed down at them. Two of the three crewmembers managed to get out of the way as the strike crushed the weapon, but the last… wasn’t so lucky.
Horath, meanwhile, was firing arrow after arrow into the creature, striking the tentacles or that part of the upper body that was visible over the side of the ship. The truth of the situation was becoming increasingly inescapable, however, even as it twisted in his gut.
Raindancer was doomed.
And if they could not somehow fend off the violent attack of the squid, so were they.
Benzan gritted his teeth as his companions tried to fend off the massive tentacle that was sweeping over the aft deck. Neither Delem’s fire nor Cal’s bolts were seeming to have much effect on it, and Dana’s attack with her kama only rewarded her with a blow that sent her sprawling against the aft rail. Benzan knew that one stray sweep in his direction would send him over the edge, to a watery doom below.
He sucked in a breath, and focused his mind. The chaos of the battle seemed to fall away from him, as he drew upon the newly awakened power of his magic. He drew his powerful bow back, lined up his gaze along the green-tinged length of a magical arrow.
He saw his target. As the massive body of the squid rolled in its continued struggles against the ship, a porthole-sized eye came into view. Normally it would not have been a difficult shot, but with both the target and the shooter in motion, and with the frenzy all around, it may as well have been a mile away.
Benzan called upon the magic, and the eye seemed to suddenly grow closer and closer, until it filled his vision.
He fired.
Thorntangle
First Post
Great update, LB. You can really crank out the material and you're talented too. That's a wicked combination. I guess you're not constrained by a game schedule so that let's you produce a little faster.
Question about methodology - Do you simulate all the combat encounters on the table and let the dice fall where they may or just do it off the top of your head? Or a combination of the two? Just curious.
Question about methodology - Do you simulate all the combat encounters on the table and let the dice fall where they may or just do it off the top of your head? Or a combination of the two? Just curious.
MasterOfHeaven
First Post
I really enjoy the combat sequences of this thread. They are very entertaining. About that sword... man, I hope Benzan isn't the one that fortuneteller said would be forever consumed by the fire. I figure Lok is the one who gets to become a God, and Cal gets to live the happy and peaceful life. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next update.
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