Morgrim emerged from the aft castle, leaning heavily upon the timbers. His armor was matted with blood, both his own and that of the late Bosun.

" 's everyone alright?" he asked, slurring his words slightly.

In reply to Morgrim Ironhammer (msg # 114):

Dal looked at her brother and sighed.  "Well there you are!  Getting into trouble again I presume. Of course I'm all right...if you count getting injured all right.  And look at you.  All bloody and stinky.  Stand still and I'll heal you but I can only do it once.  Then when I fall down I expect you to help me.  What's up with you going off by yourself!"

Dal went over to Grim and thumped her hand down on his shoulder as she called upon her Goddess to help her.  ~Oh Great Sharlindar, please heal this brother of mine.  Even though he doesn't have the sense to dodge when somebody swings at him.  He IS my brother and I don't want him to die so please heal him.~

ooc:  Cure wounds – touch’ 1d8+your spellcasting ability modifier. – p. 230


18:39, Today: Dalgura Ironhammer rolled 9 using 1d8+3 with rolls of 6.  heal my big lug of a brother - Dal.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:39, Tue 30 Jan 2018.

Morgrim blinked in the hazy half-light of the fog ridden bay. Then he leaned in and wrapped his arms around his sister.

"I love ye too, Dal," he said quietly.

Thane grunted with predatory satisfaction as the last pirate fell.  He turned and delivered an uncharacteristically judgmental glance at Arnan and Morgrim.

"Bout time we got that done!  We ain't got time to dawdle, we got to get this boat movin'!" he half stated, half commanded.  "Ain't no wind, we're gonna have to row this beastly ship."

When he heard the noise of paddles slapping the water accompanied by the shouts of the other pirates, his face grew darkly grim.  He skewered Kira and Arnan with hard looks.

"You two, take the bottles of alchemist fire and your bows and keep them damned pirates from boarding while the rest of us find the oars and get to rowin'!"

---

OOC: Actions: organize and set folks in motion.  Search for the oars.

Arnan watched the two Dwarves closely to see if Morgrim handed off anything to his sister, but did not detect anything out of the ordinary -- well, not unless you counted Morgrim's "I'm trying to do something sneaky" look that the Outlander had already noted. ~I'll have to keep an eye on those two . . . they'll make their move sooner or later, but they won't catch me napping,~ Arnan thought to himself.

"You'd better be glad that I was around to pull your chestnuts outta the fire," he retorted when Thane chided him for finishing off the bigger of the two pirates who had been battling the Luskan. "They'd have kicked your ass if I hadn't pitched in to help."

"An' who the bloody hells do you think you are, givin' orders like we're your lackeys?" Arnan questioned, scowling darkly, when Thane began spouting his commands.

But the archer had also heard the tell-tale shouts from the beach, followed by the ominous sounds of oars churning the water. So in spite of the urge to put Thane in his proper place, Arnan moved over to the side of the ship that was closest to the noises, set the jar of Alchemist's Fire down on the deck at his feet, and nocked an arrow . . .

---

OOC:

Arnan has moved over along the gunwale (don't know the proper medieval term for it) nearest to the approaching boats full o' pirates.

My recollection is that he has one (or maybe more) of the jars of Alchemist's Fire, although I forgot to make note of it on his Character Sheet. Does anyone else remember how the jars were divvied up among the party? :)

Thane locates oars near the gunwale, enough for each party member, and a tiller at the rear of the ship. Now that Kira has cut away the anchor, the ship lists the current and given its current trajectory, will eventually crash into the north side of the cove. Action must be taken to avoid this eventuality.

Men, and women, shout as they row their canoes furiously to prevent the adventurers from making away with their prized vessel. It seems the pirate camp is now alerted to something be amiss aboard The Howling Fiend and is rapidly mobilizing in response.

OOC: Need to know who plans on rowing, who plans on manning the tiller, who is spotting (if anyone), etc.

Those planning on rowing need to make an Athletics check.

Those planning on manning the tiller need to make a Dex check.

Those planning on serving as spotters need to make a Perception check.

Remember, everyone but Morgrim is currently at Disadvantage on Saves and Skill checks due to irritability, unease, etc.

The actions I listed above are not the only thing your PCs my attempt, I just listed them out as examples.

In reply to DM Shard (msg # 119):

You guys, well Grim and Kira, can tell Dal what to do.  She would have less objections to those two people in her current mood.

Athletics - don't have
Perception - won't be able to use proficiency bonus but it is off of Wis which would be a +3.
Dex check would be at a +1

"All of ye quit yer grousing and get sorted!" Morgrim shouted, cutting through the rancour and discontent. "They're coming!"

"Thane, ye said you know a thing or two about ships? Well this is your ship now! Get is moving!"

"Kira, I need your eyes and your bow with me on the water! None of those boats are going to catch us if I can help it!"

"And the rest of ye, grab an oar and shut up!"

Morgrim planted a kiss on his sister's cheek and headed for the rails.

"You too, Dal. You can thump me after when we're good and safe."

22:39, Today: Morgrim Ironhammer rolled 25 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 20.  Perception.

Thane bristled at being ordered about by Morgrim.  Ironically, he mentally echoed Arnan's earlier retort.  Who the hells does that Earthkin think he is?!? he fumed darkly.

"I'm rowin'!" he pronounced, with heat.  "We need someone with quick hands on the rudder.  Arnan, I reckon you can do it good enough.  It's simple, move it left to go left, right to go right, based on what the lookout calls to ya!"

Thane moved to an oar-lock and got his oar set for action.

"Those bastards ain't getting this ship back!" he snarled.

---

Thane will row.  Here is his check:
10:27, Today: Thane Harkensen rolled 17 using 2d20+5, dropping the highest dice only with rolls of 17,12.  Athletics w/Disadvantage.

With those rolls, he might have been good enough to steer the ship.  Now he can help make it move faster or better instead.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:31, Sat 03 Feb 2018.

Arnan's eyes narrowed into slits as Morgrim and Thane began competing to see who could bark out the most orders. He also thought back over what Morgrim had said, suspicious that there was some hidden meaning that would give the two Dwarves an advantage when it came to keeping the Black Ice for themselves -- and away from everybody else.

But when push came to shove, he understood that this really wasn't a good time to stand around and argue. After all, the pirates were getting closer with every passing moment, and the sooner they got this tub moving, the better. For a split second he wondered whether he would rather keep the Black Ice away from the pirates or the Dwarves, then shook his head with irritation when he was not able to reach a conclusion. Plus, every time he tried to give serious thought to anything, his head seemed somehow . . . uncomfortable.

So Arnan stopped thinking for the moment and took up position at the back end of the ship, by the thing that, according to what Thane had said, would steer them in different directions. The Luskan called it the rudder, although like all things that had to do with ships, its name meant little to a landsman like Arnan.

~Move this thing to the left and we go left, move it to the right if we want to go right. Sounds pretty simple,~ the Outlander thought to himself.

---

OOC:

12:43, Today: Arnan Aldwynne rolled 11 using 2d20+3, dropping the highest dice only with rolls of 10,8. Dex Check (Manning the Tiller): w/ Disadvantage.

Here's hoping that moving the tiller left and right is no higher than a DC 10. :)

Dal stopped grumbling and put her hand up to her cheek where Grim had kissed her.  The tender moment passed quickly enough when he then ordered her to take her turn at rowing.  Rowing?!  Really?  With all those taller people around who could pull oars and he wanted her to join them.  Darn right she'd thump him afterwards.

She started to grumble again but did as asked.  She didn't like this place and it was obvious that the men outnumbered the women so they weren't probably going to do something smart right away.  She got "her" oar and sat down and prepared to row.  It couldn't be THAT hard...could it?

ooc:  It didn't work out like it should have with the dice roller but translated it means that I got a 12 for my disadvantaged rowing.

08:58, Today: Dalgura Ironhammer rolled 28 using 2d20+1 with rolls of 11,16.  Dal's disadvantage rowing method.

Hengar takes up position on the opposite side of the ship from Thane, drops an oar into the water and sets his back into the task. The tribal warrior executes his task with clean fluid motions that suggest he is no rookie to such work.

Kira scurries into another rowing station as best she is able and likewise lends her muscle to the task.

The Howling Fiend lurches away from the cove with each pull, gliding through the fog-shrouded waters, her demonic screaming prow piercing omenously through the misty veil. From his vantage point atop the crow's nest, Morgrim calls down directions as best he is able, navigating his companions through the narrow channel, one false move risking certain disaster for the fleeing crew.

Derrick the Drownder's crew is now on full alert and the adventurers hear the sound of several row boats' oars splashing into the water. Pirates call out to one another in an attempt to coordinate their efforts. "There she is! Starboard! Starboard!"

"Pull right! Heave ho!"

"Don't let 'em get away with The Fiend!"

The men, and women, cry out these and other things as the adventurers slip into the channel drawing ever nearer to Lac Dinneshere, where they will most certainly make good on their escape.

But the chase is on!

Through the fog, Morgrim spots two rowboats, four pirates aboard each, all rowing their hearts out in a desperate bid to draw even with The Howling Fiend!

OOC: Everyone can take another action...

Surveying the activity from high overhead, Morgrim waits until the advancing canoes are in range and then turns nature's wrath loose upon them. Grasping, icy seaweed tendrils snake between the boats like sea serpents and wrap them tight, clutching at oars and binding hands to paddles. All the while he continues to call out directions, guiding the Fiend out of the channel into open water.

Casting Entangle with Morgrim's last spell slot to catch both boats.

Thane could hear the voices of the pursuing pirates loud and clear above the slapping sound of oars hitting the water.  His blood was up!

"Row, damn you, row with all you got!" he thundered at his fellows.  Truth be told his mentors were all from the old school of "the beatings will continue until morale improves" mindset, and even though he personally didn't like that mentality, in times of high stress he'd pop off with the same kinds of sayings that he had heard so many times before in his life.

Besides, he just couldn't tolerate the thought of losing the ship to those scummy pirates.  He and his fellows were sent to reclaim the whole ship with the black ice ram, and that's exactly what they were going to do!

---

Action: Row like a madman
11:49, Today: Thane Harkensen rolled 19 using 2d20+5, dropping the highest dice only with rolls of 14,18.  Athletics Check w/Disadvantage.

~Good, good, that'll be one less spell that he'll have available to use on the rest of us when the Dwarves make their play for the Black Ice,~ Arnan thought to himself as he heard Morgim casting from on high. The Outlander also heard Thane bellowing out orders, and he did his best to ignore the annoying Luskan.

One thing that Arnan did pay attention to was the directions about steering the Howling Fiend that Morgrim shouted down to him. All was going well when his hand momentarily slipped from the wooden tiller that had grown slick with the damp from the thick fog. But as Luck would have it, he recovered quickly and mouthed a silent prayer of thanks to Tymora, hoping that no harm had been done.

---

OOC:

12:04, Today: Arnan Aldwynne rolled 8 using 2d20+3, dropping the highest dice only with rolls of 5,9. Dex Check (Manning the Tiller): w/ Disadvantage.

12:05, Today: Arnan Aldwynne rolled 13 using 2d20+3, dropping the highest dice only with rolls of 12,10. Luck Die Re-Roll.

Was afraid to let that 8 stand. :) Arnan has 2 of his 3 Luck Die remaining (refreshes after the next long rest).
This message was last edited by the player at 18:35, Wed 07 Feb 2018.

Morgrim's druidic magic ensnares the rowboats in pursuit. This, coupled with Arnan, Dalgura, Hengar, Kira and Thane's coordinated efforts to row and steer the dread vessel through the narrow channel, gives the Howling Fiend the edge she needs to pull away from her pursuers.

Slipping beyond the shelter of the low hills on either side of the channel, the Fiend's mainsail ripples as she glides into the open waters of Lac Dinneshere. Beyond the gloomy veil cast all about them, the adventurers hear panicked and feverish wails of despair as Derrick the Drownder's gang realizes it has lost possession of their prized ship.

The Howling Fiend has been captured!

Unfortunately, everyone aboard the ship, save for Morgrim, is incredibly edgy and irritable, their thoughts beginning to drift to dark and evil places as the Fiend's sails flap in the rushing gale. A wave of suspicion and jealousy washes over the ship and it is difficult to celebrate this victory...

"We're in the clear!" Morgrim shouted down exuberantly from the crow's nest. He began to climb down the rigging at once. "Now lets make sure there's no one else still aboard down below and then lets scuttle this two-bit rowboat!"

Kira had chaffed a little at being ordered around and she knew she wasn't strong but Thane was a sailor and the others were far more experienced in life so she'd buckled down and hoped once they were in the clear the horrible thoughts and feelings she was having would subside.  At first she'd done what was necessary and then she'd joined in the fighting with a bit more zest, telling herself they were going to hurt the people who had become her new family.

Now that they were clear and the wind was in the sails, she let go of the oar and looked around at the others.  "I say once we're out a little further set the damned thing on fire and let it go down.  We've got our small boat and can get away.  No sense in risking our hides out in this insufferable cold anymore and that way no one else can use this thing to hurt anyone else," she halfway growled.  She tried to look behind them, her gaze deadly as she felt protective of her pack.

In reply to Kira (msg # 131):

"I don't like this place and want to leave it.  Sink the boat but make sure we are safe on land or something when we do.  Dwarves shouldn't be on boats!"

Even as proud as she was at her brother for letting them get away, she knew that he still had a thumping due.  Running off without her, giving orders and showing off with his magical skills.  Really!  She wouldn't even go there on thinking why everybody else was all grumpy.

Arnan scowled at all the talk about sinking the boat. "Why would we want to do something stupid like that?" he growled.

"We had to work damned hard to get our hands on the Black Ice that's on the ram -- with mayhaps some more stored away elsewhere," the Outlander added, scowling at Morgrim as if he suspected the Dwarf of hiding some of the precious material down in the hold -- which, indeed, was precisely what he was thinking.

"Why the hells would we want to sink something that valuable to the bottom of the lake?"

"Valuable?" Morgrim said incredulously. "This ice has brought nothing but misery to the dwarves that mined it and the townsfolk they've sold it to. I don't want to sink it to the bottom of the lake. Its a crime against the fish. But barring a gate opens to the pits of Tartarus and we can steer the ship on through, the bottom of the lake will have to do."

Without wasting more breath on the matter, Morgrim headed below decks intent on making sure there were no other stowaways who might drown if and when the boat went under.

Thane stood up from his oar once the sails caught wind and let out an exultant shout.

"Yeeeeeeah!  Serves ya right, ya pirate scum!" he hollered into the misty spaces behind the moving boat.  He glared fiercely at Kira, who had been rowing in front of him, his expression a curious mix of fury, satisfaction, pride, and admiration.  Maybe something more than mere admiration?

"You worked that oar well!  There's really more to you than meets the eye!" he congratulated her.  Then the back and forth between Morgrim and Arnan evoked a change in Thane's face.  Something base - anger, maybe? - took hold and the warrior turned and looked betwixt the two men.

"Sink the whole boat?  There may be some spoils here yet which ought to go back to the townsfolk!" he protested, agreeing quite by accident with the irritatingly opportunistic (and wimpy!) archer.  Or maybe we could just keep any booty to ourselves, not like we didn't earn it! he thought darkly.

"I don't like this boat much, but the speaker wanted her intact if possible.  Maybe we can just lop off the black ice ram and sail the ramless Fiend back to port?" he suggested.

---

Thane will move forward and examine how the black ice ram is affixed to the boat to get an idea for how difficult or easy it would be to dismount it or literally lop it off with axes.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:10, Fri 09 Feb 2018.

Morgrim searches from room to room and then within the cramped cargo hold but does not find any stowaways aboard The Howling Fiend.

Meanwhile, Thane draws nearer to the black ice battering ram affixed to the front of the pirate ship, and can't help but notice the exquisite craftsmanship that went into its fabrication. The detail of the ram is exceptional, a work of art of the highest order. The ship is aptly named in likeness of the ram, a Howling Fiend instilling terror on all who behold her magnificence on the chill waters of these northern lands.

A crew could make a decent go with a ship such as this...

Returning his attention to the task at hand, Thane notices the beautiful armored beak is about 8 feet long. The driving center, bottom plate, and cowl are securely affixed to the ship with mortise and tenon joints. Each of these is strengthened with sturdy oak pegs and reinforced with metal banding at critical points.

It would be a difficult task removing the ram without the proper tools, particularly out on open waters and not in dry dock. Not impossible though.

Of course, removing it would diminish her majesty. But what other things of wonder might be constructed with so much black ice?

Weapons? Sure. Armor? Yes.

So many possibilities...

Morgrim emerges from below and drops a bundle of assorted weapons onto the deck, taking one dagger for himself. Stalking over to the edge he hurls a small black charm on a leather thong as far as his arm will carry it into the waves.

"If ye think we can get the ram off, lets get it off," he says, turning to offer his muscle. "Otherwise we sink her."

Coin to party treasury please: 15 gp, 42 sp and 22 cp.

Weapons remaining:
4 maces
3 scimitars
4 daggers
2 crossbows
15 bolts

Additionally, the Bosun has a small black ice charm in the shape of raven in profile affixed to a leather thong, which he wears as a pendant around his neck. (Discarded)

In reply to Morgrim Ironhammer (msg # 137):

"I'm not sure I want any of those weapons.  I have my own that I trust and at least I know that mine aren't cursed."

Dal then went over to Morgrim and slugged his arm.  "There.  Now consider yourself thumped.  You were taking foolish chances out there."  She glared at Morgrim for good measure.