Hiran was still dazed and confused about what happened and the fog from the man that fell on top of him.  He groggily tried to step away from the leaping Jotun not even realizing his companions were there and were trying to aid him.  This mental fog did not help his aged reflexes.

OOC: 22:08, Today: Dr Hiran Krauss rolled 6 using 2d6.  Defy Danger Jotun Stomp.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:13, Tue 31 July 2018.

Ilura

Ilura's arrow arced through the night sky, headed toward the ship far in the distance.  In the middle of its arc, the arrow flared with a silvery spark of magic, changed angles, and zoomed directly toward the giant with no arcing at all.  It was quite obvious Ilura's enchantment had worked.

As the arrow flew, a large crashing sound came from the ship and Ilura could see debris and at least one person go flying. Then the enchanted arrow struck the jotun squarely in the head.  Ilura could tell it seemed dazed for the moment, but not yet dead.  The ship's crew rushed in to take advantage of the opening provided.

"Nice shot!" a distant voice said.  It came from one of the other vessels docked at Ilura's pier.  Apparently the ranger had spectators.

Eryn, Hiran, and Marcus

The situation on the ship was much more dire than the situation on the docks.  The jotun was leaping into the air to smash Hiran and the paralyzed sailor beneath its feet.  Seeing what was about to happen to Hiran, both Eryn and Marcus acted.  Marcus moved to push the jotun's leg out of the way while Eryn maneuvered to pull Hiran out from under it.  And Hiran, unaware of the other two's motives, tried to escape harm's way all on his own.

But nobody truly succeeded.

Eryn's boots crunched broken glass as she vaulted over a broken booze crate to get to her aged friend.  With great speed, the warrior navigated over the holes appearing in the ship deck and skidded in to grab her companion out from under the goliath's heel.  She would have succeeded too, except Hiran was no longer there.  The wizard had already rolled out from under the foot and Eryn ended up taking his place.  She could see him a few feet away just as the jotun's foot landed squarely atop her, pushing the fighter down through the floorboards.

Marcus did not fare much better.  He rushed toward the enemy intending to tackle it mid-air.  But his path across the ship took him too close to the paralyzed sailor that was enchanted to protect the jotun.  The sailor slashed out at Marcus with his weapon.  He did little damage but still threw off Marcus's jump.  The paladin fell forward gracelessly and toppled into the hole just recently created by the jotun.  Pain shot through his back as he landed awkwardly atop a pile of broken boards, shattered booze bottles, and one beaten up fighter.  Nearby, the sailor who had slashed at Marcus had been smashed through the floor as well.  He was lifeless.

Lastly, Hiran.  The old wizard had successfully rolled out from under the jotun (much to Eryn's detriment), but he had in no way rolled to safety.  As the jotun's foot landed on the floorboards nearby, time seemed to almost go in slow motion as Hiran realized what was about to happen.  The floorboards under the huge foot were the same floorboards Hiran was currently resting atop of.  As the jotun's weight pressed down on one end, the other end was being pushed in the opposite direction.  Up.  Like a seesaw.  The nails holding the boards down erupted skyward, followed shortly by Hiran as he was launched like a catapult into the sky.  He went up, up, higher, until he was at least forty feet into the sky.  Even then he was only stopped because he crashed into the ships rigging and got tangled among the ropes.  When gravity finally took over, Hiran was dangling precariously by one leg forty feet above the deck of the ship.

"Caw!"

A familiar crow flew past Hiran's inverted head, then circled around the ship.  Down below the jotun had just pulled itself out of the hole when it was struck in the scalp by an expertly fired arrow.  It stood in a daze with the arrow's shaft still sticking out where it had grazed its skull.  The ship's crew knew an opportunity when they saw one and quickly rushed in at Captain Frost's orders.  They used ropes to swing across the gaps in the deck and slice at the beast.  Only some of their attempts were effective, however.  Even so, the jotun roared in pain as new gashes appeared in its thick scar-marked skin.

What do you do?

---

Ilura
As the unseen NPC said, "Nice shot!"  Thomas is now in position to help you.

Eryn
You were smashed through the floor and into a room below decks.  What room is it? When you fell, you got ripped up by a bunch of jagged boards and shattered glass, and one of your arms isn't going to be much use until it gets healed.  Marcus landing on you didn't help much either. For damage, roll d10+4 twice and take the better result. Armor counts.

Hiran
You got launched up into the ship's rigging and are now hanging upside down from a dangerous height.  You took d8 damage from the violent launch. Armor counts.

Marcus
Don't forget to take the damage from the jotun's hit to your shield from earlier.

Game Master:

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 also take d6 damage from the sailor who slashed at you.  Armor counts.

Let me know if you would like me to help you out with any of your rolls or anything, since I know you started your annual leave.  If you are posting from a phone or something, the dice roller is no fun to deal with.  Anyone can feel free to take me up on that offer.

Ilura already had another arrow nocked and was moving to a better position before the first one had hit home.  Thomas was doing his job of keeping the creature distracted with it's "soft" side toward her.  In this case, there wasn't much soft involved, but if she could managed to get its eyes or mouth, that would still be effective.

quote:

00:10, Today: Ilura rolled 1 using 1d4.  Magic weapon bonus from last time.
00:11, Today: Ilura rolled 7 using 2d6.  Another shot.
00:17, Today: Ilura rolled 9 using d8+d4+2.

My +2 won't turn the 7 into a 10.  Can't afford to lose damage or to waste ammo, so I guess I wasn't watching what I was doing as I moved to get a better shot...

"Hir--" was as much as Eryn had time to say to the wizard before the world came crashing down upon her. At least that's what it felt like. Caught between the jotun's massive foot and the ship's deck, thankfully the deck yielded before Eryn's spine did. The violence and chaos around her reached its peak, and for a moment all the warrior was aware of was that she was falling.

A few seconds later she came to, sprawled awkwardly across a rectangular wooden chest with painfully sharp metal-bound edges, in a room that seemed to be someone's quarters. The chamber was small enough for Eryn's right foot to have landed on top of a bed standing against the opposite wall. Whether it had been made or not before the sailor left his room, his resting place was certainly messed up at this point, and dirtied with street mud and broken glass carried by Eryn's boot. There was a strong smell in the air. Lamp oil? Indeed, a smashed lantern laid on the ground next to the bed. Judging by the wooden piece still stuck at the end of a short metal chain, it had been hanging from the wall or ceiling before being torn loose.

She moved her head ever so slightly and spotted the hand of a man lying on the floor. Unconscious, or dead. Very likely to be dead, at this point. Eryn snapped to attention when she suddenly realized the weight pressing down on her was not just debris, but another man lying on top of her. What's more, the man was Marcus. In a panicked moment she considered the possibility that he might be dead too, but he groaned and moved, and the fighter exhaled in relief. She'd have to give him a second to gather himself, then. No point in pushing him off.

Above them, there was a great big hole in the ceiling. Splinters and shards of glass covered them both, and apart from the weight upon her Eryn slowly became aware of the pain where the glass had raked across exposed skin and drawn blood which trickled down her forehead, cheek and lower arm before being absorbed into the shirt she was wearing. No obvious major bleeding - that was good. Can't wait to get my new armor, she thought, and began to shift her legs ever so slightly to sit properly. The next thing she came aware of was the true aching pain that settled all the way into her bones when she moved.

"Thrown straight through a solid obstacle," she spoke out loud to no one in particular, "Haha... that's a first. I rate the experience... utterly miserable. Still, there are certain people I know that I would wholeheartedly recommend give it a try..." Her voice trailed off into an irritated mumble. Eryn fumbled to find her weapon with her right arm, and found it within reach but caught under pieces of the destroyed deck. With the tip stuck and the length of the spear becoming an unfortunate problem in such a cramped space, the warrior reached to steady herself with her left hand to pull it free, but recoiled from the pain that shot up her arm when she did so. A quick glance told her it was battered and bruised beneath the clothing, a second testing movement revealed that it was most likely broken. Great. At least I'm not dead. Yet.

Normally Eryn would get up right and try to climb back into the fight, but the sudden brutality had left her a little rattled. Besides, she couldn't climb with a broken arm and the paladin pinning her down. If she remembered correctly from the last ship she was on, they would have to get out of the sleeping quarters and go through the storage area - possibly a cannon room - to reach the ladder back up.

"Marcus," she said as he began moving in earnest, "I think we miscalculated on this one. Do you have any healing left in you? I believe I've cracked a few bones."


10:13, Today: Eryn rolled 11 using 2d10+4, keeping the highest dice only with rolls of 5,7.  Taking damage from being smashed through the floor.

We are taking some serious damage here. If any of you happen to roll high damage which would drop you to 0 HP, feel free to spend my Fighter re-roll on it. Just make note of it if you do, since I only have one of them per fight.

As Marcus's mad dash turned into a series of failures, the paladin face turned from hopeful to grim and then it twisted in agony, feeling the pain of sailor's death much more profoundly than the scrapes and bruises he suffered.

Standing up before realizing it was Eryn that had the misfortune of suffering both the giant's attack and his own fall, Marcus offered a hand to pull her up. His eyes growing wide at her grim request, the paladin knelt down and offered his own strength to her, closing his eyes shut as her pains joined his own. "It seems that we had." he agreed, forcing himself to open his eyes, he forced a small smile and nodded before standing up and offering to pull the warrior to her feet. "But we have to keep up." he concluded gesturing at the Jotun's limbs trapped in the hull of the ship above them.

15:47, Today: Marcus rolled 3,10,3 using 1d10,1d10,1d6.  Jotun, sailor damage.
Sorry, forgot the damage in my hurry.
So it's (10+4)/2 - 3 = 4 damage from Jotun and none from Sailor. That's actually getting off easy! P.S. Just realized that better result is not better for us, but the larger score...

15:56, Today: Marcus rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  Lay on Hands - Eryn.
15:56, Today: Marcus rolled 7 using 1d8.  Healing.

I'm posting from my laptop, but getting to it has proven unexpectedly hard.

Hiran fell into the rigging was twisted tightly in several ropes and forcefully his left forearm slammed into the mast nearly breaking his arm.  He cried out in pain and then looked down dazed and confused as he tried to figure out what to do next.

OOC:14:24, Today: Dr Hiran Krauss rolled 7 using 1d8.  Damage from Jotun.

Seeing no other option Hiran stretched digging the ropes further into his arm until his hand could reach his dagger and began trying to saw through some of the ropes. He was also trying to calculate in his head what would happen and what he would have to do to successfully climb or swing his way down to the surface of the boat as he freed himself.

OOC: 14:30, Today: Dr Hiran Krauss rolled 6 using 2d6-1.  Climbing out of the rigging.

Ilura

Another of the ranger's arrows soared through the night sky with perfect aim.  Just as it was about to strike, Thomas flew around the jotun's head, causing it to twist its gaze.  This minor movement put its juggular directly in the path of Ilura's arrow.  The jotun let out another great bellow as deep red blood spurted from its neck.

Back on the pier, Ilura watched the arrow with anticipation.  So much so that she did not realize how closely she was standing next to the unconscious man.  Or rather, the formerly unconscious man.

With a great gasp, the man reached out frantically and gripped Ilura by the ankle.  His hands clawed at her legs with the desperation of someone trying to avoid falling off a cliff.  Or drowning.  "Help!  I give up!  You win the bet.  I don't want to die alone!"  It was obvious the man was hysterical, but that didn't make his grasping any less troublesome.  Ilura struggled to retain her balance on the edge of the pier.

Hiran

From where he dangled, trying to cut himself free with his dagger, Hiran saw Ilura's arrow strike.  He also saw how the deep wound angered the jotun.  As it bellowed, the goliath spun its weighted chains around furiously.  The sailors swinging in on ropes were knocked loose as the chain made contact with their handholds.  The few who managed to retain their handholds were pushed against the main mast as the jotun's weights were swung around it, wrapping tight against the wood.  Whether it was from the weights smashing into the mast or the jotun pulling them loose again, the mast gave a loud crack as it began to topple over.

Eryn and Marcus

As Marcus used his magic to take some of Eryn's injuries upon himself, A loud crack above followed by the groan of wood let the two warriors know that something important had broken.  A sailor that had gotten knocked loose from his rope fell in through the hole where the jotun's foot was moments before.  She was battered and bruised, but still managed to get to her feet.  "That beast is going to be the death of us all!" she exclaimed as she clutched a bleeding gash on her face.

What do you do?

---

Ilura
The unconscious man came to and is gabbing at you desperately.  If he keeps it up you will have a hard time keeping your balance on the pier, and it is all but impossible to take another shot at the moment.

Hiran
+1 XP!  Add it if you haven't yet.  You cut yourself free, but you are still up high and the mast is starting to tip.  You can decide which direction it is tipping.

Eryn
Some of your injuries have been healed by Marcus and you can use your arm once again!  It is still sore though.

Marcus
You have taken on some of Eryn's injuries.  You can still use your arm even though it is much sorer than before and covered in fresh cuts.

Illura was tempted to kick the man in the shin, but there was a risk of the man becoming even more aggressive and the last thing she wanted was to give him a chance to grasp onto her more tightly.  Instead, she cartwheeled away over the mess of ropes and other material on the dock, trying to be careful to keep her bow from being damaged.

"Can't guarantee you won't die alone, but if you get your act together, you probably won't die today.  Stay back!" She turned back to the ship and re-readied her bow.

quote:

17:17, Today: Ilura rolled 10 using 2d6+2.  Defy danger - dex (get away from grasping man).

The warrior rubbed her arm and confirmed that the bone had miraculously settled back into place. The bruised flesh still ached, but at least the previosuly broken limb would not end up making her a liability in combat. "Thanks," she said. Eryn pointedly ignored the sailor's shout. She didn't need to be told something she had already surmised herself. She looked back at her companion and noticed his fresh new injuries. Once again the healing power seemed to have hurt the paladin badly. The whims of the goddess was not for her to question, but she quietly wished the divine could be satisfied with paying a tithe at her temple instead, like so many pagan gods.

"You're right, we need to keep going," Eryn said to Marcus. She moved over to the door and took a quick look around. As expected, the living quarters were right next to a storage area and not too far from the hatch leading back up on deck. The swordswoman took a brief moment to check her weapons and other equipment for damage before stealing a glance back at the people behind her, then she moved forwards once she had confirmed they would be following her.

"Where and for what purpose are you transporting that creature, anyway?" she asked while looking around for something useful. Unless it had been curled up or lying down while crossing the sea, the giant up above would not have been easy to carry inside a ship. Its captors would need some way of subduing it to get it on board in the first place. Failing that, some better knowledge of its traits would have to do. "How did you keep it contained until now? How intelligent is it?"

Stabbing it to death was always an option, but before taking that course of action Eryn preferred to know if the "beast" was attacking mindlessly or if it was self-aware and lashing out in righteous fury after being kidnapped.


GM: Is there anything interesting lying around below deck?

Hiran clung as tight as he could to the mast and decided to lean his weight towards the water.  "Figure im more likely to survive hitting water than I am the solid ground and I need to escape this behemoth quickly." Hiran thought quickly to himself as he tried to best figure out the situation laid before him.

Ilura
The man continued to reach toward Ilura for a moment, but her words seemed to calm him somewhat.  He finally took note that he was on a solid surface and not drowning in the bay.  He looked around with confusion as he tried to regain his bearings.  "What...  Where..."

Ilura turned her bow back toward the ship just in time to see the main mast tipping in her direction, out over the water.  The form of Hiran could be seen among the rigging near the top.  The jotun continued to rage near the mast's base, but looked to be about ready to jump off the far side of the ship onto the pier.  In a few moments it would be on the pier behind the ship and out of view.

Hiran
Hiran could see the Jotun heading toward the side of the ship with the pier with Captain Frost shooting barbs of ice at is back.  It was difficult to tell if they were having any effect, however, considering Hiran was a bit distracted by the tipping mast he was currently clutching to.

As the mast tipped toward the water, the ropes anchoring it to the ship slowed it down.  At first.  But one by one, the weight of the giant post caused the ropes to snap and it fell toward the bay.  Hiran held on tight as the water came rushing toward him, doing his best to avoid a deadly fate.

Eryn and Marcus
"Smart enough to make its own loincloth, I guess," the sailor replied to Eryn, answering the fighter's last question first.  The sailor kept her eyes on the ceiling as she followed Eryn, twitching at every footfall above.  "All I know is that we are supposed to bring the jotnar to a port in the Sunset Isles, near the Jungle of Blossoms.  Dead or alive, but the fresher the better.  We lowered them down into a holding bay over there, one deck down."  She pointed down the hall that went from one end of the ship to the other.  Large scrapes could be seen gouged into the floor from where the jotun dragged its weighted chains across the wood.

"Kept them held down with chains and dosed them up with lots of Feldon Root Extract to keep them docile.  Must have used a dud batch or something..."  The sailor froze as her eyes drifted toward the spot where a crate full of green glass jugs had been opened near the stairs heading up.  "I think Officer Mar was trying to get more. But then the jotun threw her overboard when it burst out of the stairway."

The jotun's feet could be heard stomping directly overhead now as it made its way toward the side of the ship.  Eryn could see through a porthole that they were on the side next to the pier.

What do you do?

---

Ilura
You can see Hiran tipping with the mast toward the water on your side of the ship.  The jotun is about to jump on the pier on the far side of the ship, soon to be out of view of you.  The man near you seems to have calmed down for now.

Hiran
As you fall toward the water, are you trying to jump in or hold on tight?  Or something else?  Regardless, give me a Defy Danger or other appropriate roll.

Eryn and Marcus
You can hear the jotun overhead as it moves toward the side of the ship.  There is a crate of Feldon Root Extract jugs open near the stairway leading up.  There are other crates as well, but who knows what is in them.  It is also implied that there is more than one jotun on the ship.

"My friend and I pulled you out.  You're welcome."

Ilura wasn't even looking at the man as she drew back and fired what was likely to be her last shot until the beast came in range again or she was able to move into a different location.  On the plus side, if she had to go looking for it, it probably wasn't going to be hard to find...

Hiran was a greater concern, but there wasn't much she could do for him, unless her Goddess could help?  "Mother, the man on the mast is a friend.  While tinged by darkness, I believe he fights on the side of goodness.  Please protect him"

With that she turned and hurried down the dock to find a position that would allow her to target the creature again once he was out from behind the row of ships.

quote:

12:51, Today: Ilura rolled 13 using 2d6+2.
12:52, Today: Ilura rolled 7 using d8+d4+2.  Damage.

Forgot to say what for, but it isn't like there is anything else I could have/would have done :)

I have no useful spells.  But Ilura doesn't really understand how spells work.  And praying never hurts, right? :>

"I don't know how these creatures relate to our own mission, but if the cargo is headed to the jungle I am getting some vague idea. If they are a bit more intelligent than an ape perhaps we can persuade them to calm down on their own. You have more than one, I take it."

Eryn rummaged through the open crate while sending the occasional worried glance upwards whenever the deck creaked from the heavy footsteps. "I'll be taking some of this extract so we can have it handy when we finally get an opportunity to stop that thing." She was about to uncork a bottle to check the potency of its contents, but a thought occurred to her and she refrained from doing so. "How strong is it?" she asked. "How much would we need to stop a jotun, assuming it's a good brew? Is it ingested or injected, or is breathing in the vapors enough?"

Edit: Grammar.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:07, Wed 08 Aug 2018.

Hiran tries to angle himself and position himself so he can fall into the water while reducing the impact on his elderly body as best he possibly can.

08:50, Today: Dr Hiran Krauss rolled 9 using 2d6-1.  Defy Danger + Dex fall into water.

Ilura
Ilura's arrow sailed through the night air, further and further toward its target.  Even with the magical enhancement, she could tell that the jotun was at the very extent of her range now.  In fact, the ranger couldn't even be certain the arrow would make the distance now that the gigantic figure was moving away from her.  But just as it reached the far side of the ship and the falling mast was about to block Ilura's view, the arrow just barely caught the back of its heel.  The jotun let out a roar as it stumbled forward.

Ilura couldn't see what happened next though.  The mast crashed down, dislodging Hiran into the water.  The entire ship rocked to one side as if struck by a large wave.

As Ilura began to make her way in the direction of the battle, she could spot three things with her night vision.  One was that one of the dock workers had succeeded in finding a rowboat and was on her way toward the busted ship.  Secondly, Thomas circled in the air on the far side of the ship a couple times, then began returning to Ilura.  And thirdly, Bolen had been at the end of the other pier, far from the danger, but now he was cautiously starting to approach the ship again.  Not far behind him were the other dockworkers and a few members of the town guard.

Behind her, the Order of the Ambitious member struggled to get to his feet, using the barrel of wine to prop himself up on wobbly legs.  She could hear him say to himself, "I sure hope I didn't have anything to do with all that commotion..."

Hiran
As the wind rushed through Hiran's old grey hair and the water rushed at the seasoned wizard's face, it became abundantly clear that there were countless ways his landing could end poorly.  Worse than poorly.  Still, the doctor managed to find just the right opening to save himself from getting clobbered by the wooden beams or strangled by the tangle of ropes.

With an unceremonious KERPLOOSH! he dove into the salty brine.  The wave caused by the mast's impact caused him to tumble through the water and get a sizable amount of saltwater up his nose, but Hiran was otherwise unscathed.  The only real lasting setback Hiran experienced from his rough landing was that he lost his dagger.  The weapon he had used to cut himself free from the ropes got knocked out of his hand as he landed.  It was now sinking somewhere into the dark depths of the harbor.

As Hiran's head broke the surface once more, he could spot a person in a rowboat not too far off, bobbing in the enormous ripples.  The mast itself still hung awkwardly off the side of the ship, dipping into the water from the deck above.  Its weight caused the entire ship to lean noticeably to one side.

Eryn and Marcus
At Eryn's inquiry, the sailor shrugged.  "Dunno.  Not my department.  I know it smells like a wet rotten log mixed with pure alcohol though."

Just then the mast up above finished falling and the entire ship jolted sideways.  The glass jugs rattled in their crate and both adventurers had to steady themselves to keep from falling over.  At the same time, up above the jotun roared once more, but this time it sounded less like a battle cry and more like an unwelcome surprise.

Aside from the crash of the mast, another crash could be heard on the pier outside.  When Eryn and Marcus got the chance to look, they would see the jotun sprawled out on the pier.  It apparently had a difficult time exiting the ship and it had landed face first on the pier.  And when it landed, its own weighted chains crashed into its back causing further injury.  Now the jotun lay draped over the pier on cracked boards (maybe dead, or maybe knocked out), next to the merchant ship that sat lopsided in the harbor.  An arrow stuck out from the back of its heel.

What do you do?

---

Everyone
The jotun is down!  You guys can decide if it is dead or merely unconscious.

Ilura
Thomas is returning to you.  Bolen, the dock workers, and a few town guards are all approaching the ship now.  One of the dock workers is in a rowboat.

Hiran
You landed safely in the harbor, but your dagger got knocked away and sank into the dark water.

Eryn and Marcus
The sailor doesn't know how to use the Feldon Root Extract.  Feel free to Spout Lore to see if you know, or Discern Realities to try and figure it out.  Or neither.

"Wait here.  I'll be back."

Ilura breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Hiran's face surface and his hands grasp the broken mast.  The boat with the doc workers were headed in the right direction.  So long as nothing else happened, the wizard would survive.  She was much less certain about the rest of her friends as she hurried toward the damaged ship.  As soon as Thomas was within range, she reached out with her questions.

[What happened to the creature?  Are my friends safe?]

As she rounded the bend, she could see the massive creature sprawled out on the dock.  The good news was that it wasn't moving, though the faint movement of a rope near it's face suggested it might still be breathing.  She raced toward it to deliver the coup de gras before it could recover.

[I'm pretty sure your friends got smooshed,] Thomas said with a hint of regret.  Probably about as much regret as Eryn or Marcus would express if they learned Thomas had been smooshed. [As for the big guy, well, he seems sort of smooshed as well...]  Thomas swooped down and landed on the shoulder of Ilura's cloak even as the jotun came into view.

Hiran looked back at the ship and it seemed like though still chaotic the threat of the giant had ended.  Trying to be practical and save himself some money he began trying to swim down to see if he could catch his dagger or catch sight of it before it got too deep for him to grab a hold of.

Are you using any items or spells to help in your search, Hiran?

"It's down," Eryn said, and looked from the giant to the sailor standing near her. "We should act quickly, it might still recover." The warrior grabbed all the bottles she could manage to carry and made her way across the floor to the steep ladder.

There were still a lot of commotion on deck in addition to plenty of debris and splinters everywhere, so Eryn decided not to run around recklessly. She shifted her travel pack around and placed it at her feet to store the excess bottles inside, but kept one of them in her hand for immediate use.

Based on the fletch of the arrow she had seen stuck into the jotun's flesh, Eryn knew that Ilura must still be safe and sound somewhere nearby. Hiran, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen, and his apprentice became increasingly worried when she realized this to be the case. There is no body, she thought. He's not on the docks either. Did he get tossed overboard? The wizard's beard and clothing should have been easy to pick out among the sailors, but the dark of night made everyhing gray. If he or anyone else were below the waterline, they'd be nearly impossible to spot.

Despite feeling her ability to focus on spellcasting waver thanks to her shaken state and the magic mishaps earlier that day, Eryn decided that she needed some light, and since she had no hand free to hold a torch if she wanted any chance at being able to aid a person in need she instead waved the tip of her spear in a now well-practiced pattern. "Candida lux" she spoke, and was satisfied to see the weapon's shaft light up with barely a flicker along its entire length. The speartip glowed more brightly than the rest, illuminating the surroundings just as well as a torch would. The light was cold, pale, still and silent, feeling more like moonlight than an open flame. Perhaps it really was moonlight, for all Eryn knew. She was not yet experienced enough to get a true sense of how magic flowed through the world outside her own body.

Eryn shifted her grip lower and waved the polearm in a slow arc to get a good look at her surroundings. After spending a moment to confirm that Hiran was truly not on deck, she went over the ship's rail and gazed intently into the black ocean below. With any luck, he would simply be hiding below deck elsewhere, but a gut feeling told her things were never that simple...


GM: How big would you say the bottles are? Are they tiny doses, palm-sized ones, full wine bottles..? I'd like to know their load weight as well, since I'll be carrying a few with me until I know if we'll need them or not.

I'd like to look for Hiran (and others who might need help) on deck and in the water with the help of magic torchlight.

10:08, Today: Eryn rolled 9 using 2d6-1.  Cast a Spell (Light cantrip).
The -1 is the ongoing penalty to spellcasting. Since I rolled a 7-9 I'll forget the spell for now. I make my spear glow with pale light.

After grabbing enough jugs of Feldon Root Extract to satisfy her, Eryn made her way up to the main deck.  The ship was still uneven and everything leaned toward the side of the ship that had the mast hanging off of it.  Captain Frost stood on the raised side of the ship, near the pier, issuing orders to her crew.  She paid Eryn and Marcus little mind so long as the two didn't get in the way.

The ship itself was in shambles.  Aside from the main mast, there were holes and cracked floorboards all over the main deck.  Not to mention the busted crates.  Bolts of cloth, broken bottles, and even a crate of assorted bones were strewn about.  And to top it off, injured sailors could be spotted now and again as well. A few we're no longer moving...

Most of the injured sailors would survive (but not all) and could still move, and the more critical ones were even being tended to by other sailors.  One in particularly bad shape, who had his arm taken off, was brought to the captain.  She held out a hand to the injury and a cloud of Frost formed around it, freezing the stump to keep the sailor from bleeding out.

There was no sign of Hiran yet though, in the water or otherwise.  Eryn did notice a rowboat in the water though, operated by one of the dock workers from earlier.  She was pulling a sailor's body up out from the harbor.

The Feldon Root Extract is in jugs of green glass, about the size of a gallon of milk.  They are 1 weight each.  You can grab as many as you would like, up to your max overencumbered load.

There is no sign of Hiran yet, but there are plenty of sailors with various degrees of injury.

I have 3 load free, so to avoid being too weighed down to carry other stuff I will just put one in my backpack and keep one in hand.

I'll wait and see what the others do before I decide what to do next.

OOC: Ill use Light and forget it to assist me
09:46, Today: Dr Hiran Krauss rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  Casting Light.

As Hiran dove down into the dark depths of the harbor, his tunic flared up with a bright glow of magical light.  The sediment in the water was still thick, however, making it difficult to see very far away.  The wizard must have been twenty feet down before he could even see the ocean floor.  By now the water pressure was getting to be quite uncomfortable and his breath would not last much longer either.

But then he spotted it.  His dagger.  About twenty feet to the right its blade glinted in the darkness.  However, about twenty feet to the left, something else glinted too.  It appeared to be... a doorknob?  Hiran would have dismissed it as a useless piece of junk if it weren't for the runic symbols carved into it surface.

With his breath running out, the doctor would have to make a choice.  His dagger or the doorknob.  Either that or learn how to breathe underwater...

What do you do?

Hiran
You have time to grab one item before your breath runs out.  Your dagger or a mysterious looking doorknob. (it's not attached to a door)

Eryn
If you are still looking in the water, you will spot a glowing blobby shape deep below the surface.

There he is.

It could have been any other glowing object in the water, but for some reason Eryn's brain ruled that option out before it was even considered seriously. The light shimmering below the surface had appeared suddenly and did not seem natural. A wizard - the wizard who taught her the very same spell she was currently making use of - must be the source of it. Hiran might just be trying to light his way, but he had certainly been overboard for longer than Eryn had been on deck. The glow was more likely to be a signal of distress.

Eryn flipped her spear around and stuck it in the wooden planks beneath her feet. The shining polearm would serve as their beacon back to the ship, if the spell could last that long. Hiran had said something about the magic needing to stay close to her person - she had not had a time to test out its limit yet.

The warrior swiftly placed her shield and backpack next to the railing and dove into the water without a second thought. Most people may have removed their chainmail as well, but to a strong-armed fighter like Eryn its presence had negligible effect once she was freed from the weight of her other armaments. She blinked the initial shock from the cold water away from her eyes and set her sights on the obvious glow below. Without hesitation she kept going, and carried herself downwards at a brisk pace with broad strokes. The water was deeper than expected, but the problem would not be depth - not for her - it would be the cold and the old man's lung capacity. If he had been injured or fallen unconscious before he fell, there would not be a second to spare.

Soon she spotted him, a strange-looking shape in the murky waters. With his clothes glowing and floating in the current, Hiran looked like a ghost. His limbs were moving calmly and purposefully - he was not drowning after all, then. Eryn let her worry drift away for a moment and wondered why the wizard was not surfacing. Was he looking for something?


08:50, Today: Eryn rolled 7 using 2d6.  Discern Realities re: underwater situation.
What happened here recently?
What should I be on the lookout for?
What is about to happen?

I've left everything except what I'm wearing on the ship in anticipiation of having to carry a wizard's worth of dead weight back up.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:53, Fri 17 Aug 2018.