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

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 76803" data-attributes="member: 143">Horacio: Yup, gotta love those old adventure movies (The Adventures of Robin Hood [the original] is still one of my favorites)!  I always thought Errol Flynn had a bit of demon blood in him (I love his movies, but I hear he was a real character off the screen).  Thorntangle: funny you should say that... I'm a little ahead on the story, and let's just say that the common crewmembers are going to start getting real nervous!* * * * * Book III, Part 4The raider camp was nestled in a rocky cove on the eastern side of another long island, surrounded by low hills that were covered with thick tangles of clinging brush.  Three wooden towers warded the perimeter of the camp, which was also surrounded by a thick wall of dense thornbushes that had been gathered and weighed down with rocks.  The camp itself consisted of about a dozen crude but functional wooden huts, while a narrow cave entrance was visible at the base of one of the hills at the very rear of the encampment.  Two of the long outriggers were beached on the sandy shore in front of the huts.  “They’re ready for us,” Horath said as he lowered his spyglass, after relating each of the details of the camp that he’d seen to the others gathered around him.  They were again on the foredeck of the Raindancer, as the ailing ship made its way gradually toward the pirate camp.  The sun had already touched the horizon to the west, and night was approaching quickly, but given their situation, no one suggested postponing the attack.  “How many?” Benzan asked.  “Looks like two or three in each of the towers, and more around the area of the huts.  Looks like most of them are trying to stay out of sight, however.”“So, what is your plan?” Ruath asked.  The halfling cleric still looked somewhat haggard, as she had since they’d entered this… place, but at least she was now actively participating in their deliberations.  “We go straight in, and take them out,” Cal offered plainly.  “That’s it?” the halfling replied, her brow furrowing as she frowned, an expression quite familiar to all of them.  “What if they have a wizard, or other spell-caster?  What if the shore is too shallow for the ship to approach?  You seem rather eager to risk the ship and its crew, adventurer.”“Look, the ship isn’t going to stay afloat much longer anyway, in its current condition,” Cal replied.  “We know from our prisoner that there aren’t more than two dozen of them left, including the ones that escaped before.  Once we take out the slavers, we’ll find a place where we can safely beach the ship, and start repairs.”“It looks like they picked a choice location,” Horath noted.  “The curve of the shoreline and the hills behind offers good shelter from any storms.”“I remember when those odds would have given us pause,” Benzan said, though his smile betrayed his enthusiasm.  “Headlong into danger, then?” he added, with a wink at Dana. “Maybe we should just take the outrigger, land further up the coast, and come at them by land,” Lok suggested.  They’d taken the twenty-foot long craft left by the slain boarding party, and now towed it behind Raindancer.  Given the current state of the ship, it had seemed a reasonable precaution to have a backup.  “Benzan and I can manage just fine in the dark, and we can guide you in.”“Yes, but we don’t know the lay of the land, and I’m thinking that maybe that wall of thorns is there for good reason,” Cal replied.  “And given what we’ve seen thus far, I don’t think it’s a good idea to divide our forces.”“Well, they’ve seen us by now anyway,” Benzan said.  “Since we’ve knocked, it’s only polite to come in for a visit.”With uncertainties remaining, but with fewer options, they started making preparations as the Raindancer drew steadily nearer to the sheltered cove.  * * * * * Horath returned to the wheel, guiding the ship gently into the shallows while crewmembers on each rail called out soundings and watched for sandbars, reefs, or other obstacles hidden under the waves.  Meanwhile, the passengers went to work readying themselves for the coming battle.  Cal renewed the mage armor protecting himself, Dana, and Delem, and he offered its protection as well to Ruath.  At his offer, however, the halfling shook her head, and at Cal’s look of surprise pulled back the collar of her heavy tunic to reveal the shiny steel links of a magical mail shirt underneath.  So there’s more to her than meets the eye, Cal thought, as he rejoined the others at the bow.  Lok and Benzan had already strung their heavy bows, and the genasi had taken out another bundle of arrows from the bag of holding for them to refill their quivers.  Lok also took out several lengths of rope and fastened them to the rail in front of them, in case they needed to disembark quickly from the ship.   “Remember the battle against the hobgoblins at the mine?” Cal asked his friends, eliciting a nod from Lok, Benzan, and Delem.  Dana’s face betrayed her confusion, but Benzan just told her to stay behind cover, and follow Cal’s lead.They could all make out the warriors within the camp, now, loading their crossbows from the cover of the towers or dodging from one prepared position to another amidst the huts.  There were fewer than had attacked them on the high seas earlier, but this time the raiders were on the defensive, on their prepared ground.  Each of them anticipated a tough fight ahead.  Cal took the summit once again, stepping up atop a storage locker so that he had a clear view out over the ship’s rail.  “What are you doing?” Dana asked him.  “You’ll be a sitting duck for those archers…”“He knows what he’s doing,” Lok said, taking up a position just behind the gnome.  Benzan stepped up to his opposite flank, adjusting his quiver so the arrows crowded within were in easy reach.  “Now remember, if you see a wizard, SHOOT HIM FIRST!” Benzan said.  “And maybe take out those guys in the weird chainmail, too—they’re probably leaders.”The ship gained momentum as it got caught up in the surf, thrusting it forward toward the beach.  They could hear the shouts of the raiders, now, and a few missiles even lanced out toward them, though they were still just out of range.Cal cast his first spell, summoning an invisible shield of force into being in front of him.  The timing was perfect, as the first bolt to reach the ship thudded into the hull just a few feet below him, and others were soon on their way.  Benzan and Lok launched their first volley of return fire at the snipers in the two towers along the seaward edges of the camp.  Dana and Delem supported them with their crossbows, and a number of the crewmembers added to the volume of fire as well, shooting from positions of cover along the ship’s rail.  The distance was extreme, and both sides had cover, so no one scored any hits in the first few volleys.  The ballista crew added its voice to the barrage, although its first missile too sailed wide of its mark.  One of the lookouts shouted a warning, and Captain Horath quickly followed that with a command.  “Brace yourselves!” the elf cried, and all missile fire stopped for a moment as they all grabbed onto something solid. The ship ran up onto the sandy shelf of the beach with great force, sending a shudder through the very frame of the Raindancer.  Crew and passengers staggered against whatever barrier they had braced themselves against, and once the initial inertia of the impact had faded, returned to their weapons.  They were still a good thirty feet from where the surf finally lapped up against the shore, with another twenty feet beyond that to where the line of huts and towers began.  The range was close enough, however, for the attacks from both sides to begin telling, however.  A crossbow bolt caught one of the crewmembers in the face, killing her instantly, while Delem was grazed by a bolt that managed to make it both past his makeshift cover and the mage armor protecting him.  The return fire, however, was even more telling.  Benzan had shifted into his rapid-fire mode again, drawing and firing arrow after arrow with deadly accuracy.  One raider in the northern tower crumpled, an arrow stuck deep in his chest, and just a few moments later one of his companions staggered with another jutting from the muscle of his arm.  Lok fired an arrow of his own, and Delem added a pair of magic missiles, and shortly there were no further attacks from that tower.  A cluster of raiders emerged from behind several of the huts, hefting javelins that they hurled at the beached vessel.  A pair of the missiles glanced off of Cal’s shield, and several more stuck into the front of the ship, but none were able to find targets.  The return fire was far more effective, dropping one with two bolts stuck in him and injuring at least two others.  The spear-chuckers retreated back to their cover, leaving their dying companion lying in the sand behind them.  Thus far Cal’s strategy was working, as he was drawing much of the fire from the shore and had yet to take a hit through his potent defenses.  The bowmen shifted their fire to the southern tower, and started scoring hits there as well.  Captain Horath joined them on the foredeck, and soon his longbow was contributing to the barrage.  Despite their success thus far, however, it was clear that they were approaching a stalemate, as the bulk of the raiders refused to come out of cover again.  “Looks like we’re going to have to go down there!” Benzan said.  The occupants of the third tower, perched atop a low mound in the rear of the camp, had already decided that trading shots with the occupants of the ship wasn’t worth it, and the three crossbowmen there hustled down the ladder to find more effective cover than what the flimsy towers could offer.  One didn’t make it, an arrow from Benzan’s bow catching him squarely in the back as he leapt down.  The other two towers were silent, their occupants dead or dying from the barrage unleashed by the men and women on board the Raindancer.  Benzan looked down, surprised to see Ruath step up beside him.  “Fight with bravery, warrior,” she told him, and touched him lightly on the arm.  Benzan felt a surge of strength fill his muscles, and he looked down at the halfling with amazement as she stepped back from him.  “Thanks,” he said.  “Can you maybe summon up a few of those mystic badgers to lead the charge, when we get down there?”  The cleric nodded, and began focusing her mind to begin the summoning.  A few of the raiders occasionally became visible, sticking their heads out from cover to view them, not to attack.  The companions kept firing occasionally, to keep the raiders’ heads down, while Lok and Benzan slung their bows and reached for the ropes.  “Wait a moment,” Cal said.  “Maybe I can improve the odds a little for our side.”He began chanting, casting two spells in rapid succession.  The others watched as he created an illusion, remarking as images of each of them rose up out of the surf and started running across the sands.  As the illusory group drew closer to the huts sounds started coming from them, vague but fierce-sounding cries of battle.  At that sound a half-dozen raiders emerged from their positions of cover, launching javelins at the charging figments and drawing their cutlasses.  They realized their mistake as soon as the spears passed through the illusion, but it was already too late as missiles rained down on them.  A pair of Delem’s magic missiles caught one of the men dressed in the gray-green mail, and he fell a moment later as Benzan, following his own advice, shot an arrow into him.  Two more of the warriors staggered, hit by bolts or arrows, but they managed to make it back to the shelter offered by the huts.  “Now, after you,” Cal said.  Benzan and Lok clambered quickly down the ropes, while the others covered them with missile weapons from above.  The surf was still fairly deep where the bow of the ship rested, and Lok disappeared for a moment as he let go of the rope, only to emerge a few paces away as his powerful legs carried him swiftly through the swirling water.  As soon as he and Benzan were clear Delem and Dana started down, the agile monk moving far more smoothly than the sorcerer.  In fact, Dana joined Benzan at the water’s edge before Lok reached it, and the three started toward the line of huts, their weapons at the ready.  The members of Raindancer’s crew followed bravely, disembarking from the lower middle deck and making their way through the surf toward the shore, Captain Horath at their lead.  Cal kept his vantage point at the ship’s prow, ready with crossbow and spell to assist his companions as needed.  The raiders kept out of sight, spooked by the illusion and the deadliness of the fire from the beached ship.  They even hesitated when Lok and Benzan rounded the first of the huts, both fighters yelling a challenge as they slashed into the defenders.  True to her word, Ruath’s badgers—three this time—appeared moments thereafter, and immediately started attacking the nearest raiders.  Even with all of the losses they’d taken thus far, the raiders fought fiercely.  Maybe it was being attacked in their lair that drove them on, or just a desire to avoid the fate they’d so often visited upon others.  Benzan rushed into a pair of raiders, his scimitar downing the first with a vicious cut to the throat before the man could even raise his cutlass in defense.  The second tried to stab him, but the blade clanked harmlessly against the magically-enhanced links of his chainmail.  Lok, just a short distance away, charged into a group of three, dropping the first with a powerful blow to the chest and only narrowly missing the second with his follow-up stroke.  The remaining pair fought well, moving to flank the genasi, but neither could penetrate the metallic skin of his plate mail.Belatedly realizing that this attack was real, the rest of the raiders quickly joined in the melee.  One only made it a few steps before he fell, Cal’s crossbow bolt jutting from his chest, but the others still made a significant force.  Five came in from one flank, and found themselves facing the summoned badgers, who fought with a fury indistinguishable from that of the real thing.  From the other direction came the remaining five, including the familiar face of the leader they’d encountered back on the high seas.  Dana interrupted one with a sweeping kick that knocked the legs out from under one of him, but did not have time to finish him as two of his companions came to his aid, cutlasses darting for her unarmored flesh.  Benzan found his remaining adversary, one of the leaders clad in chain armor, to be a more difficult challenge than the first man he’d dropped.  The man met his attacks with effective parries, though his cutlass was a far inferior weapon to Benzan’s scimitar.  Benzan could also risk more in his attacks, for his armor covered far more of his body.  Soon the man sported a pair of serious gashes, and his defense began to falter.  Across from him, Lok was still fighting off a pair of attackers, and reinforcements were coming quickly from the flank.  His attackers were far more mobile than he was, so he waited and let them come to him, coordinating their attacks well as they thrust at him from both sides.  He didn’t even bother to try to deflect the attacks, one of which managed to find a crease and cut into him.  Too late the raiders realized that they’d been lulled in, too late as the genasi’s axe swept around in a full circle that sent both men to the sand, never again to rise.  Lok barely had time to recenter himself, though, as another pair, including the raider leader, charged into him.  Dana found herself facing two attackers, with a third rapidly regaining his feet behind them.  Like the others these coordinated their attacks, moving quickly to flank her.  They had not counted, however, on her mage armor, which caught both attacks and deflected them harmlessly aside.  Nor did they count on her speed, as she swept a stunning kick into the face of one of the warriors, knocking him flat out on the sand before her.  Without pause she spun to face her remaining adversaries, waiting patiently for the next attack.    Meanwhile, on the other flank the raiders had put down the last of the badgers, although only three of the original five still stood.  Before they could move to aid their fellows, though, one crumpled with an arrow in his chest, and his companions turned to see a line of charging sailors bearing down on them.  Horath and his crew had joined the battle. Benzan and Lok, meanwhile, fought on.  Benzan’s attacker finally got through his defenses, drawing a shallow gash across the tiefling’s forearm.  But the attack cost him dearly, for he overextended himself and was open to the vicious counter that slammed into the side of his neck… and kept going.  The warrior’s head flopped down to the sand, his body following shortly thereafter.  Benzan didn’t hesitate, moving immediately to Lok’s aid.  The genasi was holding out, although he was again flanked and the raider leader had taken advantage of that to score a minor hit that bled down the side of Lok’s head.  Benzan quickly turned the tables on him, however, flanking him in turn as he came up behind him.  The veteran fighter tried to disengage, but managed only two steps before Lok roared and lashed into him, scoring a critical hit that utterly disemboweled the hapless warrior.  The loss of their leader broke whatever fight the raiders had left in them, and they rapidly started falling back in the direction of the cave opening in the rear of the camp.  Only a handful were left standing, however, and as they approached the cave, suddenly the entrance vanished!  With only a bare hillside before them, and surrounded by enemies, the remaining raiders quickly surrendered.  “You guys are a little slow on the uptake,” Benzan said to one of them, as he kicked the man’s cutlass out of reach and ordered him to sit down on the sand.  The others of the Raindancer crew took custody of the prisoners, and checked to see if any of the other raiders still lived, while the companions surveyed the scene of destruction around them.  The camp was theirs.</blockquote>

Verification