Ilura quickly wrapped the barrel in the net, then clambered up the rope so she could assist with raising it up, or perhaps to tend to the half-drowned man.  Plus it sounded like Eryn might soon be in need of assistance...

"Captain." Marcus acknowledged the woman as they met. "What you take as an attack was a magical mishap." he started, hoping the urgency of the next sentence will stop any questions they might have about Hiran's attention grabbing. "However" he pointed at the part of the ship where he noticed the movement and the chained form "Unless you're carrying some very strange passengers, there is something sinister on your ship."

Starting to ready his shield the paladin offered "I wished to ask you for a favor, but let us help you first." he motioned back towards the dock to indicate the rest of the help, but then remembered it was Bolen accompanying Hiran, not Eryn or Ilura and a grimace crossed his face.

Hiran finally caught up and saw concern on Marcus's face. "What's wrong paladin? What has happened?" Hiran begins eyeing the ice captain thinking how best to deal with her, assuming she is the threat that has presented itself.

"Don't worry, there's no trouble... right here, at least," Eryn replied. Even so, she tried her best to assert the handful of people who had shown up on the docks through the corner of her eye, in case any actual trouble would break out. It wasn't easy in the dark.

"I'm Eryn, spear-maiden. I could use some help figuring out where this guy came from," she said and pointed towards the dripping wet man lying next to her. "Order of The Ambitious -- spotted him drifting in the water right off the dock. I'm fairly certain he'll make it, but he's been too waterlogged so far to get a word out of him."

Meanwhile the barrel was suddenly getting much heavier, so the warrior swiftly moved her hand back to the rope and held on tight. She could hear Ilura climbing somewhere below. She decided to keep talking while waiting for her.

"If you're here for the noise, it came from that ship over there. My companions went to check it out. No idea if it's related to this guy or not."

Ilura hoisted herself up over the edge of the dock.  She gave a nodd to the red-headded dockwoman before moving to put on her boots and retrieve her other gear.

Eryn and Ilura

“I'm Sophie Winch.  Chief Nightguard of the Dock,” the red haired woman said after Eryn introduced herself.  As Eryn continued her explanation, the woman poked the unconscious man with her toe.  He flinched and mumbled something about “can't resist us,  the ambitious,” then went back to being motionless.

After taking a moment to peek down where Eryn had climbed up from, Sophie pointed toward the ship and said, “Donny, Mirian, go investigate the noise.  Sonja, help me get this guild member to the brig until he has a chance to recover.” Then, looking back up to Eryn and Ilura she added, ”I think I know what happened here.  A ship came in earlier with some guys bragging about conning this guy.  Made a bet that he couldn't haul a barrel across the harbor.  Made the guy buy the barrel before letting him try though, then they left port before he had the chance to succeed.”

Sophie shook her head disapprovingly.  ”The guy nearly made it, but also nearly died.  Thanks for getting him out before he became a corpse we had to clean up.  We can take it from here.  We'll clean up that rubbish down there.  Don't you worry about it.  You go ahead and go home and get some sleep.  You can just leave the barrel there and I will come back and retrieve it so no ships run into it.”

Sophie was acting rather nice, but it was also pretty obvious that she knew the barrel was worth quite a bit and probably wanted to keep it for herself.

However, before Eryn or Ilura could say anything about it, a crash rang out from across the water.  Followed by a deep roar and a shrill scream.  Over at the ship Marcus, Hiran, and Bolen went to, a figure could be seen launched into the night air.  It was the source of the scream, and whoever it was hit some of the ship’s rigging, catweeled sideways, then landed with a great splash into the harbor.

Needless to say, something was amiss.

---

Marcus and Hiran

”Captain Frost,” the captain interjected when Marcus addressed her as simply “captain.” When the paladin mentioned a strange sinister passenger aboard her ship, she eyed him suspiciously and put a hand on the hilt of her weapon when Marcus lifted his shield. “Are you a spy?  Have been watching us and-”

Captain Frost paused mid sentence and went wide-eyed as she finally seemed to hear the sound of the chains.  The bird on her shoulder flared its wings as her head snapped back toward the ship and she gasped. “The jotnar is loose!  MEN! PREPARE FOR-”

But she was too late.  There was a loud crash as wood splintered, followed by a roar and a shrill scream.  Someone had just been launched from the deck up into the rigging.  They ricocheted off a rope and we're flung to the water on the far side of the ship.

Erupting from below the deck was a large humanoid.  Taller than two men, but stalky and made of pure muscle.  Its gray skin was pierced by large metal loops that had thick chains strung through them.  On the ends of these chains were enormous balls of metal that looked as if they were meant to weigh it down and hold it immobile.

As the monster flung one of the chained balls into a nearby crate, absolutely pulverizing it and spilling booze bottles onto the deck, it was obvious the restraints were not doing their job.

What do you do?

---

Eryn and Ilura
Sophie Winch, Chief Nightguard of the Dock, is prepared to take both the unconscious man and the barrel he rode in on.  You get the vibe that she is more interested in the expensive barrel than the man's wellbeing.

Also, a… commotion, has started over on the ship.

Marcus and Hiran
A big hulking brute of a person erupted from the deck of the ship.  Captain Frost seemed very concerned and headed back onto the ship, leaving you guys on the gangplank unattended.

Eryn looked upon the calamity that was taking shape on the ship with resignation in her eyes. While only silhouettes could be seen from this distance at night, clearly the two men in their party had walked straight into more trouble. Even if the vessel held a cure for whatever curse Bolen had been inflicted with, it was very unlikely that they could get it without first dealing with the monster.

This night was full of unpleasant revelations. Eryn knew she would have to stay vigilant to avoid any more surprises.

"Don't worry about the goods, we'll handle it," she said to the guards behind her, "right after we handle whatever is tearing up their deck over there. If it gets loose in the city it will be a disaster." The warrior pulled on the rope with all her might and hauled the barrel the last of the way up. As soon as it was secure, she readied her trusty spear and turned to the night-guard with an expectant expression. "I'll follow you... you being the dock guard and all."

If the guardsmen are worth their salt, Eryn thought, they will get the poor man to safety and forget about the barrel until this crisis is averted. If it belongs to the Ambitious one, he may allow us to take it as payment for saving him afterwards.

It all depended upon whether the woman before them cared more about her city than a pocketful of coins. A little bit of integrity went a long way, after all.


22:34, Today: Eryn rolled 7 using 2d6.  Discern Realities (The folks from the Nightguard).
Question: Who’s really in control here?

Ilura looked at the commotion and tried to figure out what was going on.  She was particularly concerned about whether whoever had just hit the water was one of her party members or not.  She wasn't in a huge hurry to dive back into the murky waters, but she'd do it if she needed to.  She motioned for Thomas to check out the figure in the water while she trained her cat-eyes on the ship.

quote:

15:41, Today: Ilura rolled 11 using 2d6+4.  Discern realities w/ Thomas.

What happened here recently? (specifically, who hit the water?)
What is about to happen? (Are Sophie and her crew going to help with the other boat or care more about the wine?)
What here is not what it appears to be?

Marcus's explanation on how he knew of the chained figure, which he was just about to give, turned to be futile, as the giant emerged onto the deck. Marcus rushed over the plank, following Captain Frost.

The paladin readied his sword and shield and moved to stand among the first line of sailors and implored "Lusiny aid me.", but the giant wasn't a concern of the silver night, and his plea didn't have the effect he hoped for.

08:17, Today: Marcus rolled 3 using 2d6.  Cast Bless on self.

Of all the things they would run into on a ship a Jotun was the last Hiran expected and the cold slap of fear seeing the massive beast hit him square. Fighting this thing would be costly and likely lead to casualties.  Hiran first thought to charm it but its most a beast than a man that's unlikely to work.  He then quickly tried to think of everything he knew of these beings.  Perhaps he could find a way to parley.

OOC:22:56, Today: Dr Hiran Krauss rolled 9 using 2d6+3.  Spout Lore on Jotuns.

Eryn and Ilura

Sophie seemed to be much more shocked by the sudden calamity aboard the ship than Eryn and stared at it across the water for several long moments before it registered that Eryn had spoken to her.  "What?  Lead the way?  Yes, um... yes.  I guess I should."  Sophie took four steps down the dock then paused and turned back toward Eryn again.  "Actually, I think I should go inform the town guard.  Yes.  Yeah, that is what I should do.  You three go and see if you can help over there.  I will alert the town guard."

"I'll help out the drowned guy," Sonja chimed in.  "You two go on ahead."

It seemed neither the chief of the nightguard nor her assistant were too keen on approaching such a dangerous and unknown situation and were content to leave that up to Eryn and Ilura.  On the plus side they no longer seemed to be giving the barrel of wine from the Sunset Isles.  Or the dead stalkerfish, for that matter.  Sophie started running off to "alert the town guard" and Sonja became incredibly engrossed in the unconscious man's state of health.

While this was going down, Thomas swooped out over the water to check out the person who fell in.  With her cat eyes, Ilura could see the people aboard the ship all clambering about, trying to get into positions where they could deal with the threat on board.  She couldn't see much detail from this distance, but the threat seemed to be a large humanoid figure smashing things left and right.

When Thomas returned, he landed on a nearby support post and said, [I don't think it was one of your friends.  Too much shiny jewelry.  And not as hairy.  Hard to be sure though.  All humans look so much the same to me. Except you of course. Especially when they are really hurt and don't move, like that one.]

Marcus and Hiran

Even as Marcus and Captain Frost boarded the ship, the captain was yelling out orders.  "Archers, get into positions.  Crew, arm yourselves if you haven't yet.  We cannot let this beast escape.  We will never be allowed in Markhain again if we do.  And for our merchant vessel, that is a fate worse than death!"

As Marcus got in line with several of the sailors who had taken up arms, he could see the jotun had already caused severe damage to this portion of the ship.  Floorboards were cracked, crates were busted, and one of the masts even had a sizeable chunk missing from it.  The jotun itself had already taken several arrows, but they were like little needles in its thick grey skin.  A sailor made the mistake of getting too close and one of the jotun's weighted chains flew out and knocked him into a wall.  The man did not get up again.

With a quick prayer, the fog parted and Marcus was momentarily bathed in a silver moonbeam.  However, instead of being bestowed with a blessing from his deity, Marcus could actually feel a blessing being revoked instead.  He could no longer instinctively sense where the captain was located, and he somehow knew he was no longer immune to Bolen's curse.  It seemed the goddess Lusiny considered this monster to qualify as a person in need, and by taking up arms against it Marcus had broken his vow of hospitality.  However, despite his vow being broken, Marcus did not sense whether his course of action was correct or incorrect.  Merely that it broke his vow and that his weapon was not blessed.

With another powerful roar, the hulking beast whirled the barrel-sized weight on the end of his chain over his head and prepared to sweep it across Marcus and the three sailors standing next to him.

At the sound of the roar, Bolen looked to Hiran and asked, "We aren't actually going to fight that thing, are we?  'Cause that's not what I signed up for..."  Hiran could tell Bolen had no interest in crossing that gangplank.

Hiran's mind was busy searching his own memory, however.  What little he knew of these beasts was not particularly helpful.  They were very primitive and animal-like, but advanced enough that they did speak a language.  Usually.  If only he had any clue what that language was...  Still, they were probably enough of a person that his charming magic could work on them.  If he could get close enough to touch it without dying first.

What do you do?

---

Eryn
Who’s really in control here?
Neither Sophie or Sonja seems keen on dealing with this severe a threat, which means they are perfectly happy leaving Eryn in control for the time being.

Take +1 forward when acting on the answers.

Ilura
What happened here recently? (specifically, who hit the water?)
A sailor from the ship landed in the water after sustaining heavy injuries.  It is unknown whether they are dead or merely unconscious.

What is about to happen? (Are Sophie and her crew going to help with the other boat or care more about the wine?)
Sophie and crew are going to make up any excuse necessary to avoid getting close to the threat aboard the ship.  This is something above their pay grade.  They do not seem to be concerning themselves with the wine though.

What here is not what it appears to be?
Sophie and Sonja are not trying to be helpful.  Not exactly.  They are afraid of whatever is happening aboard the ship and came up with "helpful" reasons to avoid getting too close.

Take +1 forward when acting on the answers.

Marcus
In Lusiny's eyes, when you tried to Bless your weapon to attack the jutun, you broke your vow of Hospitality (required: comfort to those in need, no matter who they are).  Your weapon was not blessed and you lost your quest boons.

Also, the jotun is aiming a chain-swinging attack at you and the three people next to you.

Don't forget to add your XP!

Hiran
You know that while it is true that this jotun is very beast-like and seems almost feral, it is still enough of a person that your magic or parley could feasibly be effective.  That is, if you can get close enough to touch it for your spell, or figure out if you share a common language for parley.  You cannot recall which language they usually speak.

This message was last edited by the GM at 07:59, Wed 25 July 2018.

Hope, horror, and realization showed in rapid succession on paladin's face as Lusiny made her will known to him. "Captain Frost, why is the giant on this ship?" he demanded, his plan to face the monster postponed in the light of the unexpected turnabout.

"Stay back for now!" Macus shouted above the roar to Bolen, hoping that after all of this is done the captain would agree to help the fisherman out. Seeing the oncoming sweep, Marcus took a deep breath and moved to intercept the weight, hoping to defect it over himself and the sailors with his shield.

19:04, Today: Marcus rolled 12 using 2d6+1.  Defend the sailors.
Hold 3.
Using 1 to halve the damage
Using another to be the only one that gets hit, if possible

"Cover me!" Hiran shouted at Marcus and the sailors as he used the Jotun's ire towards them to get close to the beast.  He succeeded and laid his hand upon the flesh of the massive creature and began to call forth the spirits that powered his magic when something crashed into him hard, disrupting his spell and anything else that required personal control.

OOC: 15:46, Today: Dr Hiran Krauss rolled 11 using 2d6.  Defy Danger to approach the Jotun.
15:47, Today: Dr Hiran Krauss rolled 5 using 2d6+2.  Charm Person on Jotun.

OOC2: Just realized im still shaky so defy danger should have been a 10 so no difference overall to the roll luckily.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:53, Wed 25 July 2018.

Is the distance to the creature "far" or "farther than far" in terms of making a ranged shot from where I am? :)

"The one on the dock will live.  If you want to help someone, find a dingy or row-boat and grab the one that just hit the water.  I expect there'll be more before this is done."  Her comment wasn't addressed specifically to Sonja, but rather to any of those still present.

Turning to Eryn, she gestured for the fighter to go.  "I should keep an eye on this one and I can probably be effective from here.  You're going to need to be closer in.  Try to give me a sign so I know whether I should be targetting the critter or the rest..."

She'd seen more than enough encounters between men and beasts to know that the beast wasn't necessarily the one at fault.  In fact, it was entirely possible that this creature was the cure Marcus had been seeking.  She hoped he hadn't been the one to set the chaos loose.  Or at least that he hadn't done so unintentionally...

"Good call," Eryn replied, and set off along the dock towards the ship at a brisk pace. "If I can I'll mark our enemy with some magic light - the creature if it's the one, a sailor if it's them!" she called back over her shoulder at Ilura.

"Send whatever guards you find to the ship!" she shouted after the dock workers as they were leaving. "Remember to tell them me and my companions are helping out, and not being troublemakers!"

She was a bit annoyed with the dock guard running off on their own instead of staying to help, but reinforcement could be nice to have. The more people they had, the less civilians would have to get caught up in this. The warrior frowned when she spotted a lone fisherman standing alone a short distance from the action. Bolen. He was never meant to get caught up in dangers like this - How hard is it to buy a boat and a net? - but seemed to follow them into it anyway.

There were voices calling out orders and the sounds of a large beast fighting its captors as well as its surroundings. Eryn heard a loud crash on board and thus paused when she reached Bolen, calling out to him for assistance. "Bolen!" she said, "What happened here? Is Marcus and the wizard on board?"

Marcus and Hiran

"It is on our ship because someone bought it!" Captain Frost replied to Marcus between issuing orders to her men.  With a signal from her, another volley of arrows sailed toward the brute.  The few that found their mark clanked off of the chains wrapped around it or didn't have enough force behind them to pierce far enough into its skin to matter.

Then the large weight came swinging Marcus's way and he bravely intercepted it with his shield to protect the three sailors nearby.  By angling his shield the paladin was able to deflect its trajectory.  Barely.  The weight must have weighed 500 pounds!  The force of the blow left Marcus's arm feeling numb and knocked him back into the group of sailors.  There was now a sizable dent in his shield as well, but at least he managed to keep everyone's heads attached to their bodies.

Even as the deflected weight smashed into the ship's main mast, Hiran was already skillfully maneuvering to get close to the jotun.  The old man ducked under chains and navigated the broken floorboards with surprising agility.  Just as he placed a hand on the jotun's beefy thigh and channeled his magic, a scream from above got louder and louder.  A sailor in the crows nest above was knocked loose from the jotun's strike against the mast and fell from his perch.  He landed first on the jotun and then onto Hiran just as the wizard was expending his spell.  The wizard's magic took an unexpected twist and connected the sailor to the jotun instead of the jotun to Hiran.

As both the fallen sailor and Hiran separated themselves from each other, it was clear the the sailor was now paralyzed from the waist down.  Despite that, the sailor still drew a dagger and turned toward the wizard.  Gritting his teeth through the pain, he warned Hiran, "Don't... lay a hand... on my BIG BUDDY!"

The jotun did not seem to share the sailor's sentiment though.  He turned toward the both Hiran and the paralyzed sailor with fury in his eye.  The big brute bent his knees and leaped into the air.  One foot aimed to land squarely on Hiran, and one foot aimed to land squarely on the sailor.

Eryn and Ilura

Sonja looked at Ilura with uncertainty at first, but eventually got up and ran off, presumably to locate a rowboat of some sort.  The other dockworkers were already further down the pier, half running and half gawking at the spectacle.  (The scream of a sailor could be heard as he fell from the crow's nest!)  Eryn quickly caught up to them and, once she gave them a bit of extra urging, they hustled faster toward the entrance to the docks to search out the town guard.

When Eryn approached the ship and called out to Bolen, the old sailor shouted his response as she neared him.  "A big leviathan of a man emerged from the depths of the ship!  Marcus and Hiran went aboard to go toe to toe with the beast.  Things are getting destroyed left and right though, so I don't know if they are okay, or if we should already be making our retreat..."  The old man looked up at the ship with concern in his eye.  It was difficult to see much from down on the pier so close to the ship.

What do you do?

---

Eryn
Three dockworkers headed off to find the town guard.  You are nearly to the ship.

Ilura
The ship is within Far range.  Barely.  And there are a lot of supplies, ship parts, and general chaos that could make a shot difficult too, but it is definitely possible to fire your arrows from where you are.  Also, one dockworker went to go locate a boat.

Marcus
You were knocked hard into the group of sailors.  You kept them from getting seriously injured, but you still take damage yourself from the blow.  And this guy hits hard!  Roll d10+4 twice and take the better result.  Then divide that by two due to your Defend move (round down).  Armor counts (subtract armor after dividing by 2).

You have 1 Hold remaining.

Hiran
You were knocked down by a sailor the the jotun knocked out of the crow's nest.  The sailor was enchanted by your magic to think the jotun is his best friend and he is defending it from you.  Also, the jotun jumped and is about to land one foot on you and one foot on the sailor.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:31, Wed 01 Aug 2018.

Ilura had her bow strung and an arrow nocked before the fighter had gone more than a few steps.  The chaos on the boat was clearly evident, but she was unsure what to do.  It was evident that the ship's archers were having little impact.  She wished she'd had time to fashion the quills in her pack into proper arrows, but there had been no time.

Not wanting to wait for Eryn to get to the ship, the ranger decided to ask Lusany for guidance.  It had worked before, perhaps it would work again.  Rubbing her thumb over the holy symbol, she prayed quietly.  "Silver mother, both men and the creature on the far boat are at risk, and I fear so too are my friends.  Please share with me your will.  Should I fire upon the creature?  Someone else?  Or are there something else I should do instead?"

quote:

16:39, Today: Ilura rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  Cast guidance.

I'll forget the spell.

As Ilura prayed, the symbol on her bow began to glow and her vision began to darken.  For a moment it was as if Lusiny was revoking her gift of night vision.  However, there was one figure in her vision that was not dimmed like the rest.  The jotun was still visible in the darkness with crystal clarity.

A moment later the ranger's night vision returned to normal and the symbol on her bow ceased to glow.

[Thomas, get over there and distract that thing]  Ilura prayed further "Bless my bow my lady, for I fear I shall need your aid."

Her bow flared briefly with silvery light and she drew back, aiming a good foot above the creature's head, then let fly.

quote:

17:24, Today: Ilura rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  Cast bless (on myself).

Rolled that before I remembered that I've already forgotten my bless spell.  So lets go with enchant weapon instead.  That's still kind of a blessing... :>  And I guess I'll forget it too.

quote:

17:29, Today: Ilura rolled 12 using 2d6+2.  Called shot on jotun.
17:30, Today: Ilura rolled 7 using 1d8+1.

Aiming for his head, which should stun him.  Not sure how long all of that will take, or how emulsified Hiran will be before the stunning takes place.  Note that I didn't take a +2 damage for Thomas as I figured he wouldn't be in range to be able to impact things quite yet.

"Retreat the start of the dock," Eryn said, making a quick decision. "Our goal was to help cure your arm, not to have a giant break your remaining limbs. I have to go help my comrades, but I'll return as soon as I know how this turns out."

She moved swiftly up the remaining length of the dock and got aboard the ship to assess the situation. From the clamor she already knew it would be a scene to behold. Eryn wished she had her new armor and shield already, but realized that they may not make much of a difference against this much crushing force. The shadow sword she was carrying would not be much use either - its shadow was hard to see at night, and rooting this creature in place would not serve any real use on a ship's deck.

She was wondering whether or not to cast light upon the giant when she realized she had not prepared that spell this day. Ilura would have to do without a target marker, then...

She caught a glimpse of Marcus' lying down, and to her surprise Hiran appeared to have been getting up close and personal with the giant too. If an armor-clad warrior like Marcus had been thrown aside, she could only imagine what would happen to the old man if any of the beast's blows connected. Eryn ran as fast as she could in an effort to grab hold of the fallen men before they got flattened by the leaping jotun. Unfortunately, with her spear occupying her right hand, she only had a chance to pick one man. Without hesitation, she picked the wizard. Eryn clutched tightly around Hiran's arm, and yanked him away as best she could.



Pulling Hiran free. I'm guessing Defy Danger with Strength to pull his weight, or Dexterity to get there in time?

Dex is probably better in this situation.  A scrawny old man is probably pretty easy for Eryn to move as long as she can get to him fast enough.

Also, Ilura, don't forget to add the extra damage from your spell.

I was hoping to see what Hiran does before I progress us further.

That was the +1 in the 1d8+1

Oh.  It is +1d4 for Magic Weapon rather than a flat +1.

While Hiran was moving in to work his magic, Marcus regained his footing just as Vorun prepared to jump. Not seeing Eryn rushing to pull the intended targets away, the paladin rushed forward. Leaping to meet the giant midjump, he hoped to push him far enough back to save the sailor and the wizard.

19:36, Today: Marcus rolled 6 using 2d6+2.  Defy danger (Str) - tackle the giant.
Well...

02:54, Today: Eryn rolled 6 using 2d6.  Defy Danger (Dex): Pulling Hiran away from the jotun.

Well... x2