As far away as three miles out, you can see there are a large number of ships outside of the city. Smoke for several fires both on the shore and on the ships can be seen rising in the distance.

Barmak spent the time reading the book, after which it disappeared.
---
Uh-oh he comments when he sees the unhappy scene.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:50, Sun 29 Jan 2012.

A'kos moves toward the bow, arriving on the fo'c'sle to look toward the smoky horizon.

"This bodes not well," he mutters to Miroslav.

Instinctively his hand rubs the pommel of his sword, and in taking in the scene he wonders at their best course of action.

"Ever was I more effective making war upon land," he adds.  "See you any ships of battle?  And are there any small inlets where it would be better to disembark, thus coming upon enemies from behind, caught unawares?  Know me well, you've loved ones in that place...I would see them freed if at all possible..."

"Quite so, A'kos. We are not in any position to take on a fleet."

Jaleh takes a position on the fo'c'sle with A'kos with bow in hand. "Is that two fleets? It looks like some of the ships are burning?"

Oleg leans over the"Good eye, Jaleh, It looks like it is two fleets battling near the bay. Perhaps we are not too late!" rail and strain his eyes...

Miroslav joins the others and says to Oleg the pilot..."Get us close enough to see who is who and what is going on."

A'kos frowns.

"If we get close enough to see them, we'll be close enough for them to see us as well," he suggests.  "Mayhap a quiet withdrawal and a quick ride to the city to rescue your family."

I agree. We're close enough to see trouble, and there's every reason to figure somebody will fire on us.

Dyanna looks at the Hedonite and says,

"Perhaps there is a way to access the situation without having to get too close?"

"Not long ago we were singing aloud while wandering through a dead city and having supper with a Lich, now we see a battle in the distance and we're afraid to get close enough to get a better sense of what is going on? Whomever is attacking the city is watching the city. We can still get closer without much danger and in doing so not only get a better idea of what has occurred, but better determine where to land -- if they've landed an army getting into the city isn't going to be merely a matter of charging in."

Miroslav smiles at Loukas..."Your words ring true brother! While A'Kos suggestion of riding in to rescue my family tugs at certain strings of my heart, it is true we have no idea if there is a ground force seiging the city as well. I think it best that we find out what is going on and then figure the best course of action from there...if that be riding into the city or joining in the battle then so be it!"

Heinrich is on deck, alert after all the knowledge gained from seeing the lich. He has his bow ready, and scans the seas all around the ship, looking for any dangers from the rear as well as the front.

He simply observes, trying to gather more information.


OOC: Is there a crow's nest on the ship? IF so, he'll ask if he can observe from up there.

A'kos shakes his head, mutters, "Easier to maneuver ahorse, than stuck on a ship with nothing but water all around."

"I also prefer dry land myself, love," Jaleh commented to A'kos .

Miroslav takes in everyone's opinion and sticks with his original orders. Within ten minutes, Oleg pilots the ship within less than a half mile from the battle.

It is now clear that a hard fought battle between a Greek fleet and the mixed Rus/Greeks of Khorsun is taking place. The Greek fleet is larger but the Khorsun defenders are fighting for their homes which evens the battle out. 30 Greek ships and 24 Khorsunese ships battle before the bay.

It also looks like the city itself is under siege from Pechenegs hitting the north wall heavily. The cities walls seem to be holding.

"The walls are holding. They seem to have more ships, but not so many more that the Heart of Oak couldn't help turn things out here! If we throw ourselves into their fleet they they might not see us until it's too late. When the Perchegs see their fleet losing they're more likely to withdraw."

A'kos shakes his head, a skeptic when it comes to seafaring.

"Let's be about this," he grouses unhappily, checking his weapons to ensure all are ready and at hand.

Miroslav lays a meaty hand on the Magyar's shoulder..."I understand how you feel my old friend. Rest easy knowing than soon we will be on land routing the Pechenegs on hosreback!"

He then turns to Oleg and shouts..."Get us close enough that we can make a difference...flank them on the left where the Khorsun are thinnest!"

His bow is nearby, but he knows his shoulders are of more use to the matter now, so Loukas throws himself into oaring.

Barmak bravely gets to wherever seems the most protected. ("Bravely"? Yes, because he risks ridicule and scorn.)

Jaleh readied her bow and perched herself at the bow of the ship where she could shoot anything that came close enough.

Heinrich helps with an oar until they get close to an engagement distance, then stops, limbering himself up to get ready for using his bow.

He'll glance around, and quickly asks, "The invaders are our targets, yes?"

Once he is ready to use his bow, he will move to the crow's nest (if there is one), or step to the ship's rail, far enough from Jaleh to not present bunched targets, and prepare to send a stream of arrows at the sailors steering the enemy ships.

Dyana asks for Miroslav's help to get the mirror wrapped in furs from it's secure spot. Once the mirror is set up she concentrates on scrying what seems to be the command ship.
"Maybe we can get a better look at what we face using this?"

Within a few moments the glass of the mirror reflects not what is before it bu the deck of the command ship. A man can be seen talking to another.

When Loukas sees the image in the mirror he pauses and takes a breath, "Huh."

His voice is calm and his face is bland, almost blank. In his head however, there's a roil. He doesn't see red, he sees white. "Our old friend has given us an unexpected opportunity."

Turning to the party members who are newer, "That is the Nicephorus Balthazar referred to in Apollonius's tower."

"Hmm, wouldn't mind running into him around now," A'kos muses, a half smile upon his lips.  "Might make this sea-voyage more tolerable if we could manage to skin him clean to the bone..."

Dyanna places one hand on the frame of the mirror and the other one on her hip.

"You know, it is possible to use this mirror as a doorway. A number of you could be on that ship in seconds."

A hungry look crossed Loukas's face, "How many may cross? Vengeance aside, this would also permit us to more effectively affect the battle. If enough of us could cross over and take over that ship, we not only remove an enemy from the battle, but add to our forces."

Now the Falcon's grin is wide, and he draws his blade and readies his equipment for battle.

"I'm ready!"

Any number can go through. Lets just say that Dyanna lets this be known.

Miroslav grips his axe with a white knuckle grip as he stands next to the falcon..."We go through and hit them hard. Taking the ship is our goal...revenge secondary! Prepare your weapons...we go through just as soon as we are ready!"

Loukas stretches his fingers, shoulders and neck, "I've the weapons that I need and am ready to bring Veles's cleansing flood to the decks of yon ship. Come friends, let us add another verse to the song of our Fellowship!"

Stepping back as the mirror is prepared and the party gathers, he begins to sing the story that he'd begun at Apollonius's and with each word the party members feel their adrenalin begin to rush, "Gather round and hear the tale of Miroslav the Bold and his dauntless crew...

Of A'kos the Falcon, proud warrior of the Magyar;
Balthazar the Hedonite, wizard of knowledge and pleasure;

Jaleh the Archer, foxy and adroit,
Barmark the Arab with the canny scimitar to exploit;

Dyanna the Spartan, who's sorcery is subtle;
Heinrich the German, who across Europa has scuttled;

And Loukas Ouranus, Brother of Veles and singer of the song,
From the deck of the Heart of Oak through Dyanna's mirror they throng

To bring doom to treacherous Nicephorus, malefactor and vile factotum...!"

OOC: Using POETIC ABILITY: Raises morale of associated creatures 10% & gives +1 To Hit. (Requires 2 rounds of poetics to inspire effects, Lasts 1 Turn, Bard may engage in melee, but not cast spells or Charm, etc. during poetics)

In other words, Loukas begins the song as they're assembling and by the time they're on the deck of Nicephorus's ship the +1 To Hit ought to be in effect. I've only included PCs in the song here, I think. If I've left anyone off, mea culpa! Let me know and I'll add you directly.

And I promise never to attempt to rhyme anything again. Ever. Promise.

A'kos chuckles, then frowns.

"A fine effort, Loukas...though while I agree I'm not sure I approve of your observation regarding Jaleh..."

OOC: Please note the edit.  No offense, sweetling...
This message was last edited by the player at 00:34, Thu 09 Feb 2012.

"What do you mean you're not sure? You don't find me foxy?" Jaleh asked A'kos. For all she knew A'kos could have been referring to the 'adroit' phrace, but wasn't was certain herself of what that meant.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:53, Thu 09 Feb 2012.

In reply to Jaleh (msg #34):

Loukas doesn't pause his poetics at A'kos's comment [OOC: in this time 'foxy' would have been known to mean wily, clever, 'sly like a fox' more than sexy], just shrugging his shoulders he grins.

Okay, time for Balthazar to catch up on this game!

1) Balthazar is probably the only player who did NOT read his magic tome.  He has kept the Silver Libram, as the XP it will give him to go from 10 to 11 far outweighs the lift from 9 to 10 (177,500 compared to 312,500).  Just an fyi.  (DM - if this too meta-gamey, then screw that and we'll say he read it.)

2) Balthazar learned a whole bunch of new spells from the spellbook.  The spell he chose for getting to 9th level was passwall, so that it will be hard to stop the party from going wherever they want.

3) The morning before the party would have arrived in Khorsun, Balthazar cast heroe's feast, so as a reminder, everyone gets for 12 hours (of which we are still well within):
- immunity to poison
- effects of bless, so +1 to hit
- immune to fear, hopelessness, and panic

4) Now back to the present.  Balthazar readies himself with protection from normal missiles  and invisibility.

5) Balthazar casts his second invisibility on Jaleh.  Nothing like an invisible assassin.

Balthazar says, however, to the party, "I'd like to capture Nicephorus alive, so we can question him."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:05, Thu 09 Feb 2012.

Balthazar adds, "Aye, once we secure the ship and take Nicephorus prisoner, I will use my magic to destroy enough of the Greek fleet to turn the tide."

A'kos is troubled by his companion's mounting ability in the mystical, but says nothing.

Heinrich moves over to the mirror, and asks the others as he points out the man identified as Nicephorus, "So we want to take that one prisoner?"

He then looks at the layout of the deck and where their enemies are standing, trying to decide if he can effectively use his bow before he ends up in a melee.

The bear-like Rus can feel the music of Loukas filling him full of confidence. He lloks at A'Kos and smiles, ready for battle.

He answers the German..."Yes, that is the one...It will be hard thing to not bury my axe in his head but the hedonite is correct, alive if possible."

"I'm first for the man the traitor is speaking to - he, at least, shall die!" says A'kos, and with that he dives through the mirror!

ooc: i'll let nestor describe the scene before making my rolls.  don't like to get ahead of myself - our good dm may have a nasty trick in store, and I'd hate to roll a natty 20 while falling into the roiling Abyss!
This message was last edited by the player at 03:42, Fri 10 Feb 2012.

"You're not going without me!" Jaleh called after A'kos. Then she too jumped through the mirror.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:37, Thu 09 Feb 2012.

Please recall that Jaleh is invisible.  She doesn't really need a hiding place.

(point #5 of my previous post)
This message was last edited by the player at 20:53, Thu 09 Feb 2012.

Still singing Loukas follows his comrades through the mirror. He is thinking of heading for the rudder with the thought of taking over control of the ship's direction rather than focusing on Nicephorus when he is aboard the other ship.

OOC: Once on the other ship, will Dyanna still have the mirror or will be there without means of easily getting back to the Heart of Oak. Just askin'... ;)

In reply to Balthazar the Hedonite (msg #43):

forgot that point, thanks. Post fixed. (again)

Balthazar thinks that if you walk through the exact spot you came in at, you'll return that way.  Any pursuit can easily follow you through as well.

Cursing softly to himself, Heinrich checks his weapons, readying himself to quickly stow his bow and enter a melee. He has one arrow strung and one clenched against his bow, ready for some quick shots if he cannot find a sheltered spot to pick at their foes.

Then he passes through the mirror after the others.

Barmak does not pass through, but he attempts to find a spot where, if there's pursuit, a back will present itself while the back's possessor's eyes do not see him...until it's too late.

Dyanna also waits on the deck of the Heart of Oak. She is just not cut out for close quarters combat. She does ready her bow just in case there is trouble this side of the gateway.

Balthazar is invisible and flies through.

A'Kos is the first through the looking glass, followed closely by the others, invisible and visible with the bulky Rus, Miroslav, hammer armed Radvila and the mighty Ulfr bringing up the rear.

The ship is a large one, being the flag ship it is the largest with the most armaments. While this is useful against other ships, it matter not once boarded and so far this ship has held back from the action giving it's captain and commander of the fleet, Nicephorus a better view of the battle.

A'kos and the other jump through the portal just 10 feet of so behind the back of Nicephorus and another armored figure.

Loukas can easily see the rudder and has a straight shot at the pilot manning if he so chooses...only 15 feet away.

The ship seems to have only 60 or so sailors aboard...a large number but none seem to be marines but true sailors and artillerists. Only 5 others man the upper deck along with Nicephorus, the armored man and the pilot. The rest man the oars and various artilleries.

All heads turn towards Loukas as he comes through singing.

Taking the distraction as a the benefit it is, Jaleh nocks an arrow and sights in on the eye of the armored figure. When trouble began, she would put an arrow right in that eyeball.

Foregoing the niceties A'kos attacks the armored figure next to Nicephorus, figuring him the deadliest of foes upon the aft'c'sle:

12:36, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 9 using 1d8+5. damage.
12:36, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 19 using 1d20+5. to hit.

A swift strike and the stranger is bleeding.

When A'kos attacked Jaleh let her arrow fly.

OOC: Assasination attempt. Should I roll or the GM?

"I'll roll if that is easier.":)

Either way is fine but the chance is modified by the level of the victim is why I asked.

ooc: i hope you're aiming for Nicephorus, Sweetling...I'd be fairly wroth if you took away my fun...

;)

In reply to Nestor (msg #51):

Loukas continues singing as he lands on the deck and makes for the pilot. His voice rises as he dashes up to him at an impressive speed ending in a flurry of punches.

OOC: Don't forget your +1 To Hit, all!

+2 to hit, +1 for your singing and +1 for the heroe's feast Balthazar provided in the morning.

Balthazar flies up above the ship to survey the battle scene, where he casts shield while scanning for signs of any opponents capable of using magic.  For instance, if someone makes eye contact with him, that means they are detecting invisible ...  Other than that, someone in robes, or armored but with blunt weapons and carrying a religious symbol, etc.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:27, Tue 21 Feb 2012.

Heinrich quickly snaps off an arrow at the sailor holding the tiller, aiming to quickly put him out of his misery.

Once that is done, Heinrich will stow his bow and look to jam doors and hatches from belowdecks if he can immediately avoid combat, aiming to keep the odds in the attacker's favor.

OOC: If Nestor doesn't get to it first, I'll roll later tonight after my kids are asleep. Need a little time to look up modifiers, figure out if this could be an assassination attempt, and even how many arrows can be gotten off in a round.

The party bursts through the mirror, both Heinrich and Jaleh attempt to assassinate their targets outright. Both fail, Jaleh's arrow glances off the armored mans helm and Heinrich's shot is disturbed by the motion of the ship.

Just a mere second later, Loukas is upon the pilot knocking him unconscious.

At the same time, A'Kos attacks the armored man next to Nicephorus, knocking him a few feet forward just after Jaleh's arrow dings his helmet. The falcon's sword does not manage to cut through the man's banded armor but clearly the blow has some affect since the man winces and staggers at the blow even while his attention is drawn upward.

Miroslav leads Ulfr and Radvila to block the short set of stairs leading up to the aftcastle.

When the pilot falls, Loukas, still singing, well, now it's become a sort of chant, but still, grabs the tiller and looks about to get a sense of where the ship is in relation to other vessels. His thinking is to move them away from the fight and maybe draw off allied ships or at least throw the Greek fleet into confusion.

A'kos steps to the attack; the arrows flying over his head cause him to blanch a bit affecting his first strike, but his second strike is closer to the mark:

10:31, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 8 using 1d8+5 with rolls of 3. dmg roll 2.
10:30, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 14 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 9. to hit.
10:30, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 9 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 4. to hit.

The time for boasts has been replaced by the time for action; recognizing a stout foe A'kos saves his breath for the melee at hand.

ooc: First roll likely missed - Second roll may have hit so that's what I rolled damage for.

With A'kos attacking the armored man, Jaleh switched her aim to Nicephorus, covering him in case he tried to run or something, in which case he would get an arrow in the leg.

Balthazar recognizes a tough opponent when he sees one, and opts to use his most powerful vs. a single opponent spell now.  He casts fumble on the armored cleric.  If the cleric fails his save, he won't be able to keep anything in his hands - spell material components included.  If the cleric makes his save, he's still slowed.  Either way, he's greatly reduced as a threat.  This does make Balthazar visible now, but he's protected from non-magical missiles and has a shield spell up as well, so I'm not particularly worried.

Heinrich moves quickly to barricade shut any doors or hatches on the deck, wanting to control the flow of their foes onto the main deck.

OOC: Not sure how many there are/ how easy this will be/ how long it will take

Loukas is no pilot but he has spent enough time as a crewman before and after the Heart of Oak that he can easily pilot the Grecian ship away from the battle. Slowly the ship begins to turn away as the wind catches the sails.

Heinrich finds one open hatch and slams it shut and locked just as a Byzantine crew man was trying to make his way through. The hatches bounces off the sailors head once then closes.

A'Kos launches a duo of attacks on the armored man. The first is caught on the mans heavy footmans mace but the second lands causing the man to grunt and step back again. He lashes out in retaliation but the blow whistles past A'Kos harmlessly.

Nicephorus has more luck as he draws his blade and attacks the Magyar. He slashes across the hawk-like face of A'Kos cutting his cheek deeply.

Seeing Nicephorus spring into action, Jaleh lets two arrows fly but both bounce off the light armor of the commander and he twists and turns with remarkable dexterity.

As Balthazar cast his spell and becomes visible he is struck immediately by part of his own spell bouncing back at him. It has no effect on him but he feels the jolt of it nonetheless as the Cleric on the deck looks up at him.

Miroslav, Ulfr and Radvila, the trio of northern fury, hold the aftcastle against the sailors with little trouble. A few casualties on the Byztantine side and one flesh wound suffered by Radvila.

Ah, the old ring of spell turning trick.  Okay, I see what you rolled:

14:16, Today: Nestor rolled 43 using 1d100. ring.

The 43 is averaged down to 40, so 40% of the spell is turned back on Balthazar.  With 60% of the spell affecting the cleric, he gets a +4 to his save, while Balthazar got a +6 to his save.  Balthazar made his with ease, but he should still be slowed.  I don't know if the opponent made his save, but even if he did he should be slowed as well.  The only reason he wouldn't be would be if he also has a ring of free action.  Does the cleric look fumbled or slowed?

Hard to tell if the cleric is slowed or fumbly yet:)As to Balthazar being slowed...he did have a shield spell up, which if sort of vague against spells but should offer some help. But mostly I consider Balthazar high enough level to understand his own spell enough to make a save against it...I just included that with his first save. If it had been someone else's spell I would have worked it more by the book.

Loukas continues attempting to pilot the ship away from the fight, whilst singing (he's now telling the tale of finding/confronting the Baba Yaga), and making sure that the pilot does not become come to and attempt to regain his place.

Blooded and bloodied, A'kos is now all in, chanting rhythmically the call to battle used by Arpad the Great at Bratislava nearly 75 years prior.  He grins fiercely at the armored figure and advances, ignoring the craven attack by Nicephorus; his due would come later.

Tasting blood from the small wound on his cheek A'kos lifts his sword and swings in mighty fashion, scoring another hit:

23:12, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 8 using 1d8+5. dmg.
23:12, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 21 using 1d20+5. to hit.

Heinrich continues to hurry about the deck, looking to make sure any access points from below decks are sealed.  If any of his companions seem to be in imminent danger, he'll move to assist.

Angered at Nicephorus for having avoided being wounded by her first arrows, Jaleh sends two more his way that fared no better than her first two.

Today, Jaleh:
rolled 13,4 using d20+5,d6. Attack 1 & possible damage. Hit AC -2
rolled 10,4 using d20+5,d6. Attack 2 & possible damage. Hit AC 1
This message was last edited by the player at 14:49, Thu 01 Mar 2012.

Don't forget you have +1 to hit from the bardic chant and +1 to hit from the Heroe's feast, so you hit ac -2 and ac 1.

I think Balthazar would be able to tell if the cleric is slowed right away; his movements would all go into slow motion.

However, upon further reading of the ring of spell turning, I do see that it [the slow] would not be automatic.  Because 43% of the spell was turned, a roll of 17-20 (unadjusted by ability scores or items) would indicate that he would be unaffected.

It is pretty important to know whether the cleric is slowed or not, because slowed opponents are +4 easier to hit.  [DMG pg. 67].  Balthazar is probably going to go fly into melee with his scimitars, and plate mail notwithstanding, if he's got an extra +4 to hit the cleric he might go for that.  On the other hand if he's fumbling, he's already cooked and not worth targeting.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:12, Thu 01 Mar 2012.

In reply to Balthazar the Hedonite (msg #74):

Thanks, I fixed it.

Alright, well don't want to hold things up; I'm sure when Nestor gets online again he'll want to do a full round out, not just answer questions.  Balthazar flies up behind Nicephorus and gives him a pair of whacks with his magic scimitars; the +2 in his primary hand, and the +4 in his off-hand (so comes out to +2).  +2 plus +2 additional for heroe's feast/chant.

12:41, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 9 using 1d20+4. off-hand scimitar.
12:40, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 8 using 1d20+4. primary hand scimitar.

Ugh.  A 9 hits ac 10.  If I get the +2 rear bonus, that's ac 8.  I'm assuming both miss.

Loukas keeps the ship on track heading away from the battle while Miroslav, Radvilla and Ulfr hold the castle. Heinrich has now lent his bow to the effort as well, putting two shafts into the head of one of the sailors attempting the gain the aftcastle.

The blade of the Falcon finds a place to rest, plunging through the chinks in the clerics heavy armor. The warrior priest stumbles back but strangely. He does not seem to have full control over his body...he seems more than a little sluggish.

One of Jaleh's arrow bounce harmlessly off of the helm of Nicephorus but the other sinks deep into the mans thigh just as the soaring form of Balthazar attacks the emperors aide from behind.

Balthazar is unable to wound the man despite coming at him from behind. Nicephorus whirls around slashing with his sword, first backhanded then forehand. THe first blow is taken upon the blade by Balthazar but the second blow...it strikes the Hedonite deeply  as it cuts back across his face leaving a horrid bloody wound.

As this is all happening, it is clear to those upon the deck of the heart of Oak that the turning of the flagship of the fleet is having an effect on the rest of the Greek fleet which seems to be breaking up ever so slightly.

Oleg calls to Barmak..."Man the rudder Arab! We are going to get a little closer and try to catch one of these Emperor lapsdogs in retreat for it is only a matter of time."

He calls out to tje men at the oars..."Pull you hell spawn! Tonight we drink fine Greek wine!"

The unnatural motion of the man in armor throws A'kos; his first hit goes wide slicing only air.  The second attack, however, strikes true and deep as he hits the same spot he'd rent his prior attack.

15:06, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 10 using 1d8+5. dmg 2.
15:05, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 16 using 1d20+5. to hit 2.
15:05, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 9 using 1d20+5. to hit 1.

Jaleh continued to nock and fire arrows at Nicephorus, especially when he turned his back toward her. She still didn't have any better luck in sticking an arrow in him, but it wasn't from lack of trying.

Jaleh:
rolled 11,1 using d20+5,d6. Attack 1 & possible damage. Hit AC 0
rolled 7,2 using d20+5,d6. Attack 2 & possible damage. Hit AC 4

In reply to Nestor (msg #78):

Loukas continues his song and focusing on keeping the ship heading away from the fight and hopefully leading other Greek vessels away as well. His singing now shifts from Rus to Greek and in so doing he begins to tell the tale of Loukas the loyal soldier and servant of the Emperor brought down by the treachery of Nicephorus.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:22, Sun 18 Mar 2012.

Balthazar yelps, "OOUUCCHH!"  as he withdraws up into the air where Nicephorus can't follow (presumably).  "Alright, you got me on the hand-to-hand stuff."  He puts away the +2 scimitar. "Now eat this, you traitorous cur!"

Balthazar fires magic missiles using power from the open Book of Infinite Spells back on the ship at Nicephorus.

18:27, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 18 using 5d4+5. magic missile damage.

18 damage.  There is a 10% chance the page turns:

18:27, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 93 using 1d100. chance for page turning.

Nope.

Just because he can, Balthazar has the defender switch to all bonuses on the defensive, lowering his armor class by 4 points in case some magic arrows happen by or something.

"Surrender Nicephorus, resistance is futile!"

Dyanna watches the events unfold through the looking glass with great worry and interest. When Oleg, the acting captain, starts barking out orders she decides she will assist Loukas in his ploy of confusing the Byzantine fleet.

She turns to the stern of the ship, raises her hands and closes her eyes. After a moment of intense concentration four ships nearly identical to the Heart of Oak appear in very close formation with the parties own ship giving the impression that five ships now come to aid the city rather than one.

"I  must concentrate to create this illusion. Please do not disturb me unless you must." she says in a breathy, strained voice.

ooc: Well done!

Both magic missile and mundane slam into Nicephorus at the same time, knocking him back. The shaft of Jaleh's arrow sticks from the Greeks shoulder as his chest smolders from the Hedonites magical attack. In rage and desperation upon being sorely wounded and finally realizing by who...Nicephorus lets his blade lick out again score a deep wound on the Falcon.

As Nicephorus's blade draws blood from A'Kos, the Falcons own blade score deeply on the cleric once again dropping the man to his knees. The cleric replies with a half-hearted swipe of his mace no where near hitting A'Kos.

Loukas continues to draw at the Greek fleet. Some ships seem to be following now thinking that the flagship is in retreat, others remain engaged. With the appearance of the illusionary reinforcements several ships seem to be leaving the fleet altogether.

Radvila, Miroslav and Ulfr along with Heinrich and his bow continue to hold the Greek crew at bay. All three of the frontline warriors are bleeding, Radvilla especially so.

With Oleg as acting captain, the Heart of Oak along with it's four phantom comrade ships begin to give chase to one of the retreating Greek vessels.

Ignoring the Greek, A'kos focuses his concentration and skill against the armored man:

16:45, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 9 using 1d8+5. dmg 2.
16:45, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 6 using 1d8+5. dmg 1.
16:45, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 19 using 1d20+5. att2.
16:45, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 20 using 1d20+5. att1.

Two swipes account for two hits, the first grazing the man, the second a swift follow up that scores more deeply.  A'kos grimaces against the pain, blocking it out for the nonce.

It's a relief that the Greeks seem to be peeling off to follow, and Dyannah's illusionary help made him think that this might at least help the Rus fleet take care of whatever ships remained. The question that came to him as he continued singing his Uncle's story is how long it will take the to figure out what's going on, for that matter if they perceive the illusionary ships to be additional allies, perhaps they're actually awaiting reinforcements? If this is the case, the city is in much more trouble that it first appeared. It's impossible to know what's what at this point, so he continues piloting the vessel away from the battle and singing his Uncle's song as his friends hopefully kill the bastard.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:00, Sat 17 Mar 2012.

Jaleh continued to focus her fire on Nicephorus, while he was fighting A'kos.


Jaleh hit AC -8 by rolling 19,2 using d20+5,d6. Attack 1 & possible damage.
Jaleh hit AC 4 by rolling 7,5 using d20+5,d6. Attack 2 & possible damage.

Balthazar decides that he should probably lend a hand to those guys, and drops a sleep spell on the biggest clump of sailors he can target.

Meanwhile, he calls out to A'kos, "Don't kill the Christian clergyman.  He's probably a good man and doesn't know the foul treachery his boss Nicephorus here is capable of, just as we once didn't."

Then he turns to Nicephorus, "We didn't come here to kill you.  Surrender to the nice pretty lady firing arrows into your backside and I won't blast you into pieces.  This is your last warning."

Dyanna continues to hold her concentration. The illusionary ships remain in formation as the Heart of Oak speeds after the fleeing Greeks.

Heinrich continues shooting his bow at the soldiers on the aft castle, keeping an eye out for any sneaking up on him or the others.

Loukas continues to steer the ship away and Dyanna continues with her illusion. In just a few minutes, it seems the the entire Greek fleet has been thrown into chaos.

Radvilla goes down leaving Miroslav and Ulfr holding the ramp. Heinrich continues to pepper the crew with a liberal dose of arrows. A moment later over half of the remaining crew fall into a deep sleep, several of them falling overboard.

The cleric is sorely wounded by A'Kos. It does not look like he has much fight left in him. he does not even return the blow but stays on one knee.

As Balthazar offers the chance to surrender to Nicephorus, the Greek jumps when another of Jaleh's arrows pierce his mail. He lowers his sword and shield.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:21, Wed 21 Mar 2012.

Nicephorus grimaces and drops both sword and shield to the deck. He calls out to the rest of the crew..."Stand down!"

He looks to the Hedonite hovering in the air and says..."I yeild."

A'kos lays the flat of his sword upon the priest's shoulder.

"Do you yield, Priest?" he asks sternly, staring down at the man.

Balthazar orders him to turn around and leads him by scimitar-point-to-the-back through the magic portal back to the Heart of the Oak.

Loukas is frustrated that Nicephorus wasn't just killed, but what's done is done. He ends his song and looks over to Miroslav, "What now, my Captain, the Greeks are in disarray, we should destroy as many of them as possible before they pull together and turn the battle!"

The cleric looks over at Nicephorus for a brief second then back to the Magyar..."Yes, I yield." he says as he lays his weapon on the deck and drops his head.

Nicephorus looks to accept his fate and lets Balthazar guide him through the portal without incident.

Miroslav nods his shaggy head at Loukas..."Good thinking my friend. You keep on as the pilot, you are doing fine. Ulfr here can start dumping the sleeping bodies over board. I will help after I deal with Radvilla."

Miroslav drops on one knee before the fallen Balt and drops and raises his head to the sky, clutching his axe in both his hand, pointing it towards the sky handle first. A slight electric charge can be felt in the air then a second later Miroslav touches Radvilla with the handle of his weapon. Radvillas eyes flutter open but he is still sorely wounded.

Miroslav smiles down at the man and says..."You are out of danger my friend."

He then rises and helps dump the bodies off the ship. Calling to Loukas..."This is a fine ship! We claim this no?"

Within a few minutes all bodies are dumped or have jumped out under their own power. All that remain on the Greek ship are those who came through the portal. The ship indeed a fine one, much higher quality than anything in the Khorsunian fleet, much nicer than the Heart or Oak.

The fleet seems to be routed with ships having broke formation...they are being scattered. The Fleet of Khorsun does not pursue. Even the rambunctious Oleg calls off the chase.

Seeing Miroslav heal Radvilla is a surprise only in the sense that Loukas had no idea that their Captain gained some clerical powers. Perhaps it was simply a power inherent in the  big Rus's axe that he'd never before used? No. No, I think he may have doubled down on his allegiance to Perun. I had hoped to sway him to Velles and knew it would not be easy, but... Well, I'd better start being careful. I don't want this to come between Miro and me.

As he was pondering he heard Miroslav's voice,

That they found themselves with this grand vessel, and thus once again expanded their own wealth washed his incipient concerns from his mind. Loukas laughs and replies, "Aye, Captain, we've gained ourselves a fine addition to the Company of the Heart of Oak's fleet! May I suggest you make it your flagship?"

Miroslav's eyes brighten..."She would make a fine flagship indeed!" he says slapping the rail.

He pauses for a second then looks towards the shore..."We may have stopped the Romans here but the Pechenegs still storm the walls. We will need to wrap this up and get ashore as soon as we can."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 23:10, Sat 24 Mar 2012.

"Aye, we ought to learn what we can about Nicephorus's plan here. Is it only the Perchegs we need to be concerned with? Since Balthazar has the bastard, he ought to be able to learn that and then we'll know best what our next steps should be."

"You've a fine captive to ask right here, friends," growls A'kos, his wounds beginning to sting.  "I'm sure he'd be willing to tell somewhat of their plans if we show him mercy.  Besides, I've heard tell that the Byzantine Prelate ransoms those they consider important enough.  With all this fine armour and accoutrement I suspect this fellow falls under that category.  A rich prize indeed."

And reaching down A'kos grasps the man's weapon and says, "Stand, and call upon God to offer what grace he might give to bring ease to your wounds.  'Twould be interesting to see if indeed you are a man of righteousness.  Regardless, you know how to fight...I'll give you that."

ooc: good catch - thanks for the correction.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:39, Sun 25 Mar 2012.

Loukas looks at the priest curiously and speaks, "You're assuming he's Roman, A'kos, and that would not make sense. This fellow must be from the Byzantine Archdiocese rather than the one in Rome, who calls himself the 'Pope', if he is present with the Emperor's factotum....

"Anyway, you make good sense, speak, Priest. What do you know about the plan for this attack?"

Heinrich moves into a position where he can observe the questioning of the cleric. His bow, however, remains  at the ready as he keeps an eye on the overall situation.

The Clerics gaze falls on Loukas as he speaks in a contemptuous tone..."I know little of the overall plan. I was sent by the Archdiocese to aid Nicephorus in retaking the city held by you heathens. I am Mericus...I trust you will be ransoming us?"

Meanwhile...Balthazar walks a compliant Nicephorus through the portal and onto the deck of the Heart of Oak. Once through the Byzantine noble looks around then turns to face Balthazar with a look of "What Now?" on his face.

Loukas gives Mericus another look and smiles, "Yes, Father, we are quite likely to ransom you.

"So, tell us what little you know of the overall plan."

Mericus shakes his head. "I am but the spiritual advisor to Nicephorus. ALl I know of the plan is what you have likely already gleaned...fleet attacks from the sea while the heathen horde attacks the walls. Truth be told I am rather saddened to see Nicephorus using the wretched Pecheneg heathens as allies. He should be wiping them out instead."

Loukas raises an eyebrow and responds, "Good to see Nicephorus has had you near him to advise on moral matters, then."

His instinct is to lunge from where he stands at the tiller and land on the Priest's neck. He knows he could do it and ending the man's hypocrisy would be sweet. But he doesn't. Looking at A'kos he shrugs, "So, the good Father knows nothing useful. Certainly no details such as how many Perhenegs there actually are, whether or not the entire force is before the city or more or en route, and if there are more from whence they will be coming. Nope. All he knows is that the man under his spiritual guidance has made allies out of barbaric heathen creatures who will rape and pillage other heathen creatures. I do with Sir Jean was here to see this."

A'kos grimaces at the mention of Sir Jean's name.

"Like as not it's just as well he's not here," replies the Falcon.  "He'd have a moral quandry he'd find difficult to overcome."

Grabbing the priest by the elbow he pushes him toward the doorway to the Heart of Oak.

"Let's go...you'll answer the Captain, no doubt, else likely feed the sharks."

To Loukas he says, "Things seem well in hand.  I'll return in short order."

Loukas nods from his post, "Very well. I'll man the rudder until the Captain sends someone who better knows what he is doing here."

When A'kos returns to the Heart of Oak he pushes the priest toward Miroslav, says, "Loukas needs a sailor to assist him on that side.  I'll return to help out as I may as well."

Once the Byzantine fleet is clearly in retreat, Dyanna relaxes. A few moments later the four ships dissolve into mist.

She sits down heavily on the deck.

"My head is splitting! I am going to need to take a nap after that!"

Barnak goes out into the open and climbs the mast to the crow's nest. He looks out, perhaps, or perhaps he simply is alone.

A'Kos lead the priest from the Greek ship to the Heart of Oak. A moment earlier Miroslav had passed through the portal.

Miroslav was on the ship with the A'Kos, Loukas et al...but just so your post makes sense he popped back over to check on things.:)

Miroslav grabs the cleric by his back of his coif and pulls him forward. He turns and looks at Nicephorus under the guard of the Hedonite and says..."Once we deal with you, we'll deal with your lapdog here."

Hearing A'Kos's repeat of Loukas's request Miroslav looks up and calls to Barmak..."I know you feel mighty comfortable up there my friend but I need you to go through the portal and take over for Loukas before he rams that fine vessel into another ship. He is doing well but we need to get that ship alongside this one."

OOC: Doh! Sorry, I thought Miro had already headed back to the Heart of Oak.

Loukas keeps his place until Barmak relieves him. He gives the Arab a comradely clap on the shoulder, "My thanks. I was beginning to get worried our song would end with me crashing this ship into the The Heart of Oak!"

Moving to the rail he looks towards the city to see what he can of the battle there. The city walls will hold for some time, but if the Perchenegs have siege equipment they'll have to move to land quickly. He stands waiting for orders.

For a moment, Balthazar watches the fleeing ships ruefully and mutters, "I didn't even get a chance to sink one.  Darn!"

Then he turns his gaze on Cuivi and says, "It is time to cast your spell."  (Cuivi knows the spell he refers to is detect lie.)

Cassius (our clay golem) can move forward and hold onto the cleric while we question Nicephorus.

Once detect lie is cast, Balthazar goes straight to the point.  "Tell me everything you know and everything you did regarding our original mission to escort Armin the Persian and his death."

Barnak, who indeed was settling in for a nice nap, climbs down and obeys. He winds up taking the helm; and, in the absence of specific instructions, steers to avoid collisions.

Heinrich walks up to the rail by Loukas, his bow in hand. He looks out toward the fighting by the city, and asks, "What now? There appear to be a few fighters outside the city trying to get in."

In reply to Heinrich (msg #121):

Loukas lifts an eyebrow as he responds to Heinrich's observation, "You must be used to massive battles, my friend, if those look like a 'few' Half-orc barbarians outside the city.

"I think Miroslav will want to transfer some crew to this ship first, but eventually we'll see what we can do to hit the shore. With their fleet gone, something tells me they may lose some hope, but now that they've got no where else to go I fear we'll see plenty of fighting on land before we have regained our land-legs."

Heinrich laughs, and replies, "Battles, not so much. Lots of men marching, getting sick, and dying in the cold and wet, yes.  We are going to have to think carefully before we go on land. There are a lot of them.  We'll have to break them quickly."

Nodding in agreement Loukas says, "Yes. Doubtless we won't be the only crew landing since with the Byzantine fleet broken many of these Captains will want to be back to the city... It does not appear as if the Perchenegs have siege engines, so it may just be a matter of docking our ships and joining our brothers on the walls. If the walls hold, the barbarians will eventually leave. Regardless, the next move will have to be made carefully, though, I agree."

Balthazar nods off-handedly, "I should be able to chase away the Pechenegs with a fire elemental."

"If I can help any, just let me know," Jaleh offered, feeling a little left out.

A'kos returns to the enemy ship where Loukas has control and stands watch nearby while keeping an eye on things.

"I'm ready to get back on land, riding the plains atop Storm's Wind and off the water," he says to Loukas, scowling at any of the enemy crew that draws too near.

Loukas nods and smiles in agreement, "Aye, these feet miss the dirt and stone. Soon, my friends!"

To Balthazar he says, "Once your interrogation of Nicephorus and his priest are complete and you have confirmed whether they have more troops than those we see before the gates and who leads them, we'll know best where to strike. I suspect you are correct that a Fire Elemental will deal with those Perchenegs, but since we've got the enemy with us we ought to be certain."

Heinrich nods as Loukas talks.   He then adds, "Yes, I wonder if they have a supply line we could let them see burning to encourage a ....withdrawal."

"Assault from many fronts!" grins the Falcon.  "A sound plan indeed!"

"I would expect that their 'supply line' was this ship and the rest of the Greek Fleet. Nicephorus likely expected that they'd defeat our fleet and then be able to keep the troops they have delivered fed using what foodstuffs they've brought with them and fish from the sea."

Cuivi takes his prayer beads in hand and bows his head. With his free hand he lightly touches Nicephorus on the arm. You can almost see a pale light stream from the hand of the old shaman. He looks at the Greek and says..."You will answer his questions now."

Knowing the power of the spell somewhat, Nicephorus seems resigned to just tell the truth...."You were almost all supposed to die with Armin the Persian. This was the plan of the Emperor, not mine. I only carried it out and advised him. A few survivors were to be spared so they could report back that the Rus had killed the Persian, spoiling Rus, Persian relations that were growing too warm for our liking."

Miroslav join s in on the questioning..."Now tell us of this invasion."

Nicephorus glances at Cuivi then answers the Slav's question..."The fleet was the distraction. The real threat are the Pechenegs. The emperor paid them well.I have no idea of their numbers but if your walls are still standing, they are not all here yet. The emperor has no desire to have this city back, only destroyed."

Cuivi nods his head letting everyone know that the Byzantine has spoken the truth.

The Grecian woman leans forward still looking tired from her extended illusion.

"If what he says is true, and we must believe it is, it will take more than a fire elemental to frighten off the Pechenegs. I imagine they will have their own shamans out for this event."

Loukas nods in agreement with Dyanna, "This is much worse that I expected. We have the advantage of surprise, I suppose, but things are about to be very much more difficult."

He ignores Nicephorus and speaks to Miroslav, "If we are still expecting additional Perchenegs we probably ought to strike sooner rather than later. If the fleet was just a distraction, then we needn't be concerned about their return. This means that we can leave a small fleet of our ships out here and then put the crews for those that remain on land."

"I still think strikes along their supply routes are a good distraction," adds A'kos.  "Cavalry of, say, 100 men or so, striking quickly from range...especially if their, um, 'shamans' are clumped together."

Shrugging he adds, "Hit them hard, early morning, or at dusk, then flee into the surrounds."

Loukas looks blankly at the Magyar, "Your plan is very good, A'kos, but... Where are you going to get 100 Cavalryman? If the Perchenegs are still arriving, and we do not know from whence they are coming it will be difficult to determine where their supply line lays, if they have bothered with such a thing. After all, they are barbarians, who rarely concern themselves with logistics and had the Greek fleet to supply them.

"Perhaps we land and pull some troops out of the city and then land them 'upstream' and strike from there. Opening a second front, if you will... Regardless we need to do something quickly while the Perchenegs are still arriving. If we're able to do enough damage to them perhaps this will dissuade whomever else is coming to stay away."

A'kos grins, replies, "Recall our last encounter with the Pechanegs?  Our Lady Dweomercrafter supplied us with a number of handy illusions that seemed to have a direct and deadly affect on the horde.  Couple that with Balthazar's own form of magic and I don't really need 100 cavalrymen, now do I?"

"I'd much rather take the fight to them, than await them behind the walls," he adds.  "Once the battle's been joined at the city gate, anything can happen.  At least a sortie of sorts gauges their strength, and allows us to sow discord and confusion among them."

"But if this plan ill suits you," finishes A'kos blandly, "you can stay behind and organize the local militia.  I might leave one or two of their children for you to play with after I've had my fun."

Loukas smiles, "Of course, how I did I not understand? Let us land A'kos and Storm's Wind, Dyanna casts her illusion and he will destroy the Perchenegs. Life is so much easier with you in it, my friend!

"You are right, though, we need to strike soon rather than await the enemy's gathering. Miro, am I correct that we might dock and pull some men out of the city? If not, it is Dyanna's Illusionary company of A'koses, Balthazar's Fire Elemental, the rest of us and the sailors we land from what remains of our fleet."

Heinrich listens, trying to grasp the capabilites the group has to deploy.  He then says,"If our strength is mainly misdirection, and we are landing from ships, is there anywhere we can lay an ambush if our main force is pursued?"

OOC: Are the Perchenegs mounted or on foot? Do they have many siege engines of any type?

ooc: during the last battle with the mongrels they were disorganized.  A couple timely spells, a few illusions, an attack by the fighters of the group and they were pretty much routed.  the arrival of the Russian forces was timely as well.

Miroslav shakes his shaggy head at the talk he is hearing..."The last Pechenegs we faced were indeed mostly mongrels. True Pechenegs mixed with orcs...those were the outriders not the true Pecheneg force. If this attack is planned out as it looks it was then the Emperor would have contacted Kurya the Khan of the Pecheneg horde. This will not be so easy as last time if this is the case.

He looks at Nicephorus and scowls, asking him..."What know you of this? Was Kurya contacted?"

Nicephores does not speak, he only nods his head acknowledging the fact.

Some back ground on the Pechenegs. They free mix with the orc tribes of the Caucus. They are a Turkish semi-nomadic people. It was the Pechenegs who pushed the Magyars west from their home of the steppe just a few generations ago. Think of them as similar to Huns or Mongols. Consumate horsemen with little talent for siege warfare but their huge numbers can make up for almost anything. They have shamans but are not known for using magic very often.

About the situation. Take a look at the game map. The Pecheneg are storming the north gate so it is hard to know the numbers from the sea. There are roads around the city but the horde should be immune from any sea attack due to location.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:19, Mon 16 Apr 2012.

"The Emperor be damned to his own Hell!" Exclaims the Rus when he sees Nicephorus nod.

He then scans the deck for Dyanna. Once his eyes hit her he says..."Your mirror...can it be used to send a messenger to Sviatoslavs capital on the Danube? We must send word then go ashore in the city and check in with Dobrynnya and let him know what we have learned."

"Balthazar, do you still know that fancy flying trick you're so fond of?" asks A'kos more seriously.  "A view from above would be a good thing, I think."

"My spell is still active."  He lifts off the deck to emphasize the fact.

OOC: Doh! I forgot that the map was up there. Thanks for the reminder! Could you remind me where the Monastery/Temple of Veles is located?

"If we control the bay, then we have the ability to move in and out of the city with ease. If we can not use the mirror to send a messenger to Sviatoslav's capital, maybe Balthazar could fly there? If the Percheneg's Khan is throwing his entire army at us, we'll need the Knyaz's help. Let's get to Dobrynnya."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:28, Mon 16 Apr 2012.

Dyanna nods, "All I need to do is first scry the location then i should be able to open a portal."

She adjusts the mirror and stands before it concentrating. In a moment the thrown room of Sviatoslav comes into view. "You should be able to pass through now. I will hold it open until you return."

Miroslav turns to Oleg and says..."To the docks!"

He then gives his companions a slight nod and rushes through the portal to contact Sviatoslav. A few minutes later he returns..."The Knyaz has been informed. Ships will be sent as soon as they can be. We will need to hold the wall as best we can until they arrive."

A'kos shakes his head, then shrugs pragmatically.

"So shall it be."

Loukas nods, "If nothing else, A'kos, depending upon how well the walls are holding we'll be able to get some raiders out through the docks to strike their rear lines."

Balthazar asks Cuivi to cast protection from evil on him.  We should also make sure our prisoners are stripped and bound.

As Oleg pilots the ship towards the docks. Miroslav signals to Barmak to follow from the deck of the Heart of Oak. Several of the crew take care of the Cleric and Nicephorus.

Cuivi places th protective spell on Balthazar with a another prayer and a light touch.

The big Rus says to Balthazar..."Meet us on the docks and let us know what you see from up there."

He then turns to A'Kos and the others..."There are ways for us to go beyond the walls and engage the enemy. We will need to be careful but a well placed raid or two can take some of the focus off the wall."

Loukas nods in agreement and stretches, "Shall I run and let Dobrynya know what we intend to do? I should be able to make it there and back before Balthazar returns."

Balthazar flies off immediately to scout.  He flies up high enough that he is out of bowshot range, and besides that gives him a better view.

After he meets the party on the docks to let them know, he flies to a high tower where he can overlook the battle but be safely inside, sets up his brazier, adds sulfur, and summons Sparky, his pet fire elemental.

In reply to Miroslav (msg #158):

"Who or what will the target of our raids be?" Jaleh asked.

Loukas speeds off to Dobryna as fast as only he can move, but before he leaves he turns to Jaleh, "That will depend upon what Balthazar learns on his scouting mission. Theoretically, we'll strike the Perchenegs' backlines somewhere. We'll learn where they are from him.

"I shall return as soon as I can from the Dobrynya. Don't do anything fun without me!"

"I'm thinking we target the officer corps," shrugged A'kos to Jaleh.  "Someone must keep the mongrels in line."

Heinrich keeps an eye on the battle, observing for pressure points to attack while waiting for Balthazar to return with his scouting report.

Once the ship docks Loukas is off to Dobrynya only to find the Regent standing on the docks watching the battle at sea. THe older man nods his head in the monks direction indicating that he should speak.

Loukas bows his head respectfully before speaking, "Regent, the Heart of Oak returns and we can not tell you how honored we are that you have arranged for their to Pechenegs for us to kill in celebration of our return.

"We have captured Nicephorus and his flagship -- Miroslav has the Emperor's lap dog down on the docks now. He tells us the Emperor's scheme involves destroying our city not merely capturing it and to do so he has engaged not a 'band' of Pechenegs, but the entire nation.

"Our thought is that we will strike the enemy's rear to kill as many of them as possible now, before the rest of the horde arrives. Balthazar has gone to scout their lines as only a wizard can and would unleash a fire elemental upon them as part of our counter attack."

"Does this suit you, my Lord?"

Again the Regent nods his head..."If the information you have is accurate, I am afraid we will be in for a hard time. The Pechenegs are an endless horde...we will need help holding the wall until help arrives. Perhaps we will know more when Balthazar returns with his report.

For now return and tell Miroslav to bring the emperors lap dog to me and don't forget to send word of what Balthazar discovers."

Following hand signals from Miroslav, Barmak easily pilots the new ship into the port area and dock area and he and it's skeleton crew dock it alongside the Heart of Oak.

The docks are bustling with ships returning from the sea battle and men anxious to check on their families before heading to the north wall of the city.

A few ships remain at sea as per Dobrynya's orders to watch for any other sea born attacks.

Miroslav watches Barmak handle the new ship with no small amount of admiration. Once the ship is secured Miroslav calls out..."You have handled that strange vessel well Barmak. It is in my mind that you shall be the pilot of our new flagship!"

He looks back to the Heart of Oak and says..."Oleg shall captain the Heart for us...but now we need a fitting name for our new flag ship!"

Balthazar flies down to the dock.  "Bad news.  I saw a sea of Pecheneg, mostly human and well equipped compared to the rabble we faced before. At least 2,000 with a line of incoming troops as far as the eye could see. Most of these incoming were human as well but there looked to be several platoons of full blood orc infantry mixed in as well."

He pauses, then adds, "Still, I didn't see anything in that horde that can harm an elemental, so I will go set up my brazier at once and unleash my good friend Sparky."

Balthazar finds a high tower overlooking the horde to operate out of, sprinkles the sulphur into the brazier to get the +1/hit die.  Once Sparky (12 hit dice) appears, Balthazar orders him out into the Pecheneg midst to destroy them, and particularly to set afire to any siege equipment they have.

Should be fun to watch!

Balthazar grabs a bowl of popcorn and looks out an arrow slit.

When Balthazar reports what he has seen and his intention to unleash Sparky Loukas replies, "Remember that they do have Shamen, but you are right, I think. Let Sparky run amok while they are arriving and before they've time to settle before the gates. Indeed, if he strikes at those arriving it may cause those before the wall to be more easily counter attacked by us from the sea. I think this will please the Regent!"

Before he returns to the wall to tell Dobrynya Balthazar's scheme he turns to Miroslav, "The Regent commands us to the wall and wishes to see our Byzantine friends."

He pauses when the Big Rus mentions a name for their new flagship, "Hmmm... How about The Song of Khorsun? It may not a very martial name, but it will be much more haunting to the Emperor. After all, a song stays around as long as there are people to sing this glorious vessel from him as easily as a song!"

With Balthazar's return A'kos says, "I'll be sure to stay away from your brazier, friend Balthazar.  My sword and your elemental would not agree."

To Loukas, Miroslav and the rest, "I'll find a place near where the mongrel horde will most likely attack...Jaleh, if you could find a roost somewhere nearby, I'll ask you to guard my flank with that bow of yours.  We've bloody business to attend it seems."

"Will do," Jaleh said as she began scanning around for a good roost to get elevation from.

Miroslav purses his lips and nods his head at Louka's suggested name for the new ship..."Ah, let the emperor remember this day every time he hears the name of the ship that harries his coast!"

He then looks north and says..."To the wall!! Even those who's feet never leave the deck of a ship...we will need all hands manning the north wall until we hear otherwise."

The wall is roughly an mile due north through the city. There are several buildings higher than the wall that make good vantage points for archery, spell work or just scoping out the scene...the wall itself has a parapet to fight from.

Before the others reach the wall, Sparky flashes to life and following the commands of his earthly master flies over the wall and into the midsts of the Pechenegs. The relatively dimwitted elemental begins to lay waste to the central mass of horsemen who first attempts to drive it away with arrows and thrusts from lances. Most of these weapons burn up upon contact with the elementals body.

Still some damages does seem to be done to the elemental as more elite armed troops rush forward to do battle with the fiery creature.

Those traveling to the wall get there in time to see the elite clash with Sparky while more and more Pechenegs pour from the hills surrounding the city. As of yet there does not appear to be any siege weapons.

Apart from attacking the elemental the horse beyond the wall looks content to volley flaming arrows and commit half-hearted charges at the gates until more of their number arrive.

The wall is manned by a few hundred militia and regular soldiers. A few squads of Varangians wait on the city side of the wall ready to defend of be set loose upon the enemy...they number around 200. More defenders stream to the wall now that the battle at sea has been decided.

A'kos taps his pouch, mutters, "Soon, my friend," as he scans the horde from atop the walls.

Heinrich looks for the best spot to support A'kos with his bow as the fighting begins. He'll snipe at the troops attacking Sparky as best he can, paying particular to officers and unarmored horses that can be panicked by injury. War is ugly.

OOC: Not sure if the walls or a building would make a better place....Unless there is a significant improvement in position on a building, will head to the walls with a rope near enough by to rappel down if need be.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:33, Wed 09 May 2012.

Dyanna joins the others in defense of the wall. She strings her bow and readies herself to let an arrow fly.

"I am a bit drained from the illusion of the ships but I can still bend a bow in defense of my city."

Loukas follows Miro back to the wall and from there watches Sparky burn his way through the attackers. He can't help but think that Balthazar might've struck a bit more tactically than simply unleash Sparky, but even if the barbarians eventually send the elemental back to his native realm it will distract and delay the attackers and give Khorsun a bit of a respite.

Turning to the Regent and Miroslav, "This is going to sound foolish, maybe, but it seems as if there is little point to a counter attack beyond Balthazar's elemental at this point. Destroying 200 of the bastards when there are thousands more coming seems... Insignificant. They do not yet have lines of any sort to speak of, nor do they have siege engines. Since we have the sea, we've little to fear about food... Water. Water is our weakness for a long siege, is it not?"

Miroslav shakes his shaggy head...Water would only be a problem if the Pechenegs did as we did and cut the aqueducts into the city and we were blockaded from sea travel as the Greeks were. We can travel freely for supplies...what worries me are the numbers. Kurya Khan is in league with the Emperor, he must have something up his sleeve other than throwing bodies at the wall. He is no fool."

"With his numbers the Khan needs no tricks," rumbles A'kos.

ooc: not sure if he's in hearing range of Loukas and Miro...but that's what he would say if he heard the exchange.

Loukas rubs his chin as he watches Sparky, "This is where Balthazar and Dyanna give us an advantage, I think. Unless, the Khan also has mages... We shall need to strike carefully, though. With their magic we are ten times as great or more, but it sounds as if the Khan's numbers may well be still greater. If nothing else, Sparky out there is buying us some time. Something tells me that tomorrow we shall have a long day ahead of us."

Balthazar winces, "I'm quite surprised these elite troops have weapons magical enough to harm Sparky.  It requires a significant enchantment - what we wizards call colloquially a +2 - to do so.  Do you think the party can concentrate their firepower on these elite troops?"

ooc: A'kos is more your traditional close quarter type of fighter...

Perhaps Dyanna can make you improved invisible?  Otherwise, I don't recommend you wading into that horde.

Loukas calls the Regent's attention to the focus Sparky is receiving, "My Lord, were we to focus our attention on the forces attacking the elemental we would severely damage their assault. If our archers focus their attention down there we shall not only aid our fiery ally, but kill even more of their best soldiers."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:01, Fri 11 May 2012.

A'kos shakes his head, smiles at Balthazar.

"No fool am I, spellbinder," he answers.  "I will await them right here...opportunity will no doubt present itself for me to ply my wares."

Heinrich adjusts his aim to target the troops attacking Sparky, sending a steady stream of arrows into their foes. He will target any unarmored animals as well, looking to cause a panic among the mounts if possible.

Bow shot from the wall begins to take it's toll on both the regulars and elite of the Pechenegs who call a retreat a few hundred yards back. Sparky does not follow.

The Pecheneg mounted archers rain arrows down upon the elemental but they burn upon contact...this is halted by a few guttural commands in the Turkic language of the Pechenegs.

About 100 yards from the wall several figures in feathered robes raise their hands to the sky clearly beseeching their gods for rain. A few moments later rain begins to fall but Sparky burns so hot that he is soon surrounded by steam and almost completely obscured by it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:40, Thu 24 May 2012.

Heinrich shifts his fire to the figures in feathered robes, seeing if he can hit them with the current conditions. He'll ask the regulars on the wall to keep him supplied with arrows as he steadily fires at the invaders.

Wanting to put an end to the feathered robes' magic, Jaleh launches some arrows their way that hit no where near their mark.

Jaleh:
rolled -1 using 1d20-4. Bow shot 1 THAC0 11.
rolled -1 using 1d20-4. Bow shot 2 THAC0 11.

Dyanna lets two arrows fly in the direction of the feathered cloaks. Her first shot is no where near target and her second is little better. She does not even look to see if it hits anything, instead she cringes and turns away.

Ugh!
00:16, Today: Dyanna. rolled 4 using 1d20-4.
00:15, Today: Dyanna. rolled 0 using 1d20-4. short bow. Unmodified.

Bow shot now focuses on the two feathered figures in the distance. Almost all fall short but Heinrich does manages to hit the closer of the two followed by Young Yaro the bowman and two of his archers. The figure falls and is quickly pulled away by a few infantry men. THe second of the figures moves back out of sight. The rain continues to fall as the Pecheneg continue to arrive all at a safe distance.

Yaro the bowman approaches Heinrich and lays a strong hand on his shoulder..."I do not know who you are or where you come from friend, but that was a fine shot! I am always happy to see a brother of the bow manning the walls with me and my men!"

Yaro has risen in the ranks some since you all last saw him. Dobrynya, realizing the young mans' talent has made him an officer with his own retinue of bowmen.

A'kos looks up at Jaleh, winks.

"You were just gauging the distance, tiny one.  When the attack starts you'll have their measure!"

"Don't worry about saving my pride lover," Jaleh calls down to A'kos. "That was a difficult shot!"

After withdrawing another couple of hundred yards or so, the Pechenegs seem content to wait as the rest of their force arrives. A steady stream of horsemen and infantry seem to arrive until around sunset. Surely more trickle in after dark but for the most part they look to have arrived.

Conservative estimates from Dobrynya put their numbers at around 20,000. Equally divided between cavalry and infantry with over half of the infantry made up of orcish troops.


Dobrynya can be seen approaching the wall from the the city.

Dobrynya ascends the wall and stands above the north gate to address the assembled troops.

The grizzled regent of Khorson stands with his hands on his hips and speaks...20,00o steppe nomads wait outside our gates...many tribes gathered together under one banner, one great Khan. More wait outside our gates than live within, even counting the old and the children. We will hold these walls until our Knyaz sends help to us. We have already been able to communicate our need to the capital and they have promised aid but we must be strong and hold back the horde as long as we can. We do not expect them to attack at night but we must be prepared if they do...so I ask you to stand in shifts. Those of you who fought triumphantly in the sea battle should rest and relieve your fellow defenders in the morning."

He turns and looks over the wall then back again..."With the sea and our ships we can outlast any siege these horsemen can lay upon us. They must know this as well. We must be diligent and keep a wary eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I have faith that these walls will hold! I have faith in all of you fighting for your home!"

It was a relief to see the Perchenegs withdraw, but hearing Dobrynya's estimate of their numbers managed to reduce that relief somewhat. The problem is that now they have seen the magical powers Khorsun possesses they are likely to have some of their own. With a glance to Dyanna and Balthazar Loukas speaks, "If I may make a suggestion... You are right, my Lord Regent, that if we sit tight we ought to be able to hold out easily; however, we have the capability to strike at them while awaiting the Knyaz. Perhaps after we've had a night's rest we ought to use our powers to scout their camp and find suitable locations to attack. Once we have identified them, we of the Heart of Oak might easily strike and retreat. Doing so will keep them on the edge and permit us to weaken them before the final show down."

Heinrich shoots a quick grin at Yaro, and replies, "Sometimes you put enough arrows in the air you hit something, right?"

He nods as Loukas speaks with the Regent, looking for good places to go up and down the walls and sneak through the enemy lines to create ....distractions.

The mistress of illusions cocks her head slightly to the side and says,

"Yes, dome of us will need to recharge and prepare our spells for tomorrow but once that is done, I see no reason why we could not harry the Pechenegs from the rear."

To Loukas,

"Are you suggesting that we load up one of the ships with horses and troops and make land somewhere along the coast and circle around to attack?"

In response to Dyanna, "Not quite... Maybe. That is, we do not yet know where to strike them, but once their camp is established we could do this either magically by using your mirror or some other means (I realize that I do not quite understand the powers of that important device) to ascertain where a strike might be the most effective, or those of us who may make ourselves invisible might sneak into the camp and scout the place out.

"Once we have a sense of what and who is there we will better know where to send a raiding force and how large it ought to be. At this point, I am thinking that if we of the Heart of Oak were to do this on a specific target and use our powers to escape afterwards we might be just as effective as a company or two of soldiers."

"One great Khan you say?  Then it is him we must slay.  I can use my Hedonite magic to direct us to his headquarters if we can't use the Mirror.  Remember that if worst comes to worst, I can always free Azhul, who I keep in this flask here."

To DM:
(1) Actually, Balthazar's orders to Sparky were to destroy the enemy, but to pay particular attention to destroying siege equipment.  Doesn't sound like any of it showed up the first day.  That will become critical tomorrow, however.

(2) This is going to be important, so I want to point out that arrows shoot much farther horizontally than vertically.  My house rule is that when computing range, double the vertical component.  In other words, an opponent 6" away horizontally and 4" up vertically is effectively 6 + 4x2 = 14" away.  This will be important when Balthazar flies over the enemy raining down magic missiles and fireballs, since with longbow range at 21" max, with my rule he could fly 11" up in the air and be out of bowshot range.  He's got 15" range with magic missile and even more with fireball, so it won't be a problem on his side.  Then I guess we'll find out what magic-users the enemy has at its disposal.  Hmmm... maybe I want to 'borrow' that cleric's ring of spell turning.

Heinrich looks at Dyanna and Balthazar, and asks, "Could we sneak a small group out of a postern or down a rope? Do we have any idea how well our enemies operate at night?"

In reply to Heinrich (msg #204):

Turning to Heinrich, "We do not, but there is no reason to put anyone into danger like that. At least two of us have the power to become invisible and one of us may have the ability to see things from a distance. My suggestion: we use the powers we have at our disposal to determine the enemy's we points...

"Perhaps, as Balthazar says, focusing upon the Khan is what we should do, though, if we could spy upon them and better learn his defenses before going forth, such would be easier. We have fewer resources than the Perchenegs, but I suspect that which we have is greater despite the numbers."

Miroslav nods his shaggy head..."Yes, focusing on the khan would be a wise course of action but it will not be easy. I know of Kurya Khan and he will be surrounded not only by his guard but by his shamans as well. Perhaps we should divide the group and let those who can use their skills to scout do so while the rest of us create a distraction with a rear attack. The ship can carry many of us and our mounts further along the coast were we can make land and harry them from the rear."

"Mmm," grins the Falcon.  "My idea has merit then.  I'll be with the mounted group, attacking from the rear and wreaking havoc.  Let loose the dogs of war, my friends!"

Loukas smiles wryly, "I was hoping that we might do this with actually exposing too many until we actually strike. I know that Balthazar has the ability to turn himself invisible. With my Gusli I may do so as well. Dyanna's mirror we may use to transport us... Perhaps we investigate tomorrow and attempt to get a sense of the Khan's defenses and activities? That will permit us to come up with a plan?"

He turns to Jaleh, "It also occurs to me that one of us is particularly experienced at this sort of thing. Perhaps our ultimate plan might really mean most of us attacking to give Jaleh cover for the sort of strike only she can deliver?"

"For sure the mirror can be used for both scrying the location of the Khan and for opening as a portal. Though there are magics that work against such things, what we know of the pechenegs do not hint that they will be using them. Still the Khan is the king of his people, we must be wary."

"Well... That is part of my thinking. It would be useful to know how sophisticated the Khan's magical defenses are. We know he has shamen, but we do not know how powerful they are or what they can do. An initial scan might give a sense of what we are facing not only on site, but metaphysically."

"I will use the mirror in the morning. I am completely drained from the ship illusion earlier today. If you'll all excuse me, I will be heading to my home for the evening."

With that said, Dyanna quickly makes her way to her own home, to sleep in her own bed for the first time in months. She hopes her servants have been keeping up with her small estate here in the city while she has been gone.

Dobrynya looks at the group he has come to the call the Hearts of Oak and addresses them.

"GO to your homes, see your families, sleep in your own beds for the night. COme to me here in the barracks by the north gate. I will have a repast set up for us while we discuss your plans for the day and the defense of our city."

Continue on as long as you need to here in this thread. I am starting a new one called Defending the City.

"Lass," calls A'kos to Jaleh, "Let us go, see to the manse and find some peace before we eat this eve.  Make sure it's still standing!"

The last is added with laughter and bright spark in his eyes.

Jaleh climbs down from her perch, then fixes A'kos with a smile. "You sure? You want to come along?"

"Always, little one," he replies, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Balthazar dismisses Sparky.  "Have a good night, fiery one.  We will be in sore need of your flame tomorrow."

Balthazar stays on watch a while longer, and fires spells at any enemy that is brave enough to approach the wall.  I'm sure he can fire magic missiles through an arrow slit, not so sure about his fireball.

"Something is wrong!  Follow me!" shouts A'kos, and fearing for Jaleh he charges forward, through the mirror with Leo close by.  He rushes to the shaman and w/ Leo attacks:

10:52, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 2 using 1d10 with rolls of 2. dmg bite.
10:52, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 15 using 1d20 with rolls of 15. bite.
10:52, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 3 using 1d4 with rolls of 3. dmg: claw.
10:52, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 26 using 2d20 with rolls of 8,18. claw/claw.
10:50, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 10 using 1d8+5. dmg 2.
10:50, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 6 using 1d8+5. dmg 1.
10:50, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 20 using 1d20+5. att 2.
10:50, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 24 using 1d20+5. att 1.
10:49, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 4 using 1d6+2. initiative.

<18 points dmg>