Light of Dawn (Part 2)
The situation stands thusly. Gregor is alone on the shore, riding his horse furiously toward a bend in the river where he hopes that the ship will be close enough to the shore for him to get on it himself. Meanwhile Burai is a shark in the water facing off with three alligators while behind him Elaynna and Iuitl attempt to climb her whip to get onboard the ship. Donna has Delilah in tow, anger coursing through her veins as she uses magic to stick to the side of the boat. On the ship itself things are buzzing with activity, and it remains to be seen just yet what will happen there.
GAME: Gregor rolls 1d20+7: (12)+7: 19 GAME: Gregor rolls 1d20+4: (7)+4: 11 GAME: Iuitl rolls Athletics: (9)+0: 9
Gregor hurls his lasso from his new vantage and actually catches hold of the structure this time. He quickly loops his end of the rope around his saddlehorn and guides Traveller to draw the boat towards shore. Sadly, the boat's momentum is too great for the horse to overcome, and he has to lurch along the shore as the boat basically drags him along. On the other hand, there's a taut line between the boat and the shore that may help the party members in the water.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 2d8+7: (12)+7: 19
Iuitl struggles to get up onto the boat. She's having a bit of a problem making anything like progress up the whip. She doesn't seem at all bothered by the water itself, attributed to the incredible capacity for her people to hold their breath.
GAME: Elyanna rolls athletics: (16)+5: 21
With eyes glittering in anger that such a lowborn poltroon would -dare- cut into her lash with his miserable blade, Elyanna starts to bodily haul herself, and her passenger, up along the braided tresses of the weapon, "If-" grunt, "you want-" hrmph, "to stop him-" urrgh, "you'll have to try harder than that!"
GAME: Aftershock rolls 2d8+7: (10)+7: 17
The rope at the front of the ship is quickly cut by one of the crew while another man continues to hack away at the whip that is keeping Elyanna and Iuitl above the rapids. Meanwhile Emerind steps closer to the edge of the ship, ordering several men to push the cage of sith-makar children to the edge of the ship in the back. They do so with ease. "If you, any of you step foot on the deck of this ship, I will order them to dump the children over." His voice is casual and cold, his eyes equally so as he pulls out his own blade, a huge broadsword off of his back.
GAME: Donna RAGES!, gaining +2 to melee attack/damage/Will saves and 10 temporary HP GAME: Donna rolls acrobatics+1: (7)+11+1: 19 GAME: Donna rolls cmb: (4)+7: 11 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (1)+7: 8 (EPIC FAIL)
The angle is a little bit off, but Donna does at least *try* to shoulder-check the crewman away from the whip. She may miss, but her boots thud onto the railing as she seethes with pale fire. Her burning eyes lock onto the two musclebound slavers pushing the children's cage, and she draws in a deep breath. "EITHER ONE OF YOU FROGLICKING WEASELS TOUCHES THAT CAGE, I WILL UNSCREW YOUR HEAD AND USE YOU FOR A TRUMPET."
- Breathtaking* anger issues.
Gregor's horse stumbles as the line is cut. Gregor reels it in, and quickly works at retying the knot so he can cast it again. Even if it occupies one of them cutting his rope, it's an enemy not attacking his allies, so he'll keep pace with the ship so he can try it again as soon as he can get his rope ready.
GAME: Iuitl rolls Athletics: (10)+0: 10
As the rest of the party vacates the water Burai realizes how dire his situation is. He dives deeper in the river and swims under one of the alligators. Then he darts to shore and returns to his normal form, struggling onto land.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+3: (10)+3: 13 GAME: Elyanna casts Hideous Laughter. Caster Level: 2 DC: 14
With her passenger scrambling up and over to get a hand on the edge of the ship, Elyanna looks up toward the fool trying to reconsign them to the ravenous drink, she lifts a hand toward him and begins to growl an artfully discordant melody, ending it with a roll of her wrist capped with a full-flipped bird for spite's sake. The fellow promptly keels over in herniating laughter.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (16)+7: 23 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (8)+5: 13 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (15)+5: 20 GAME: Aftershock rolls 3d6+7: (13)+7: 20
Emerind orders the men into action. "Dump them!"
"But sir!"
"I said dump the brats!" He's not paying attention, expecting his orders to be carried out and... they are. Over the railing goes the cage. It almost seems to happen in slow motion as the nobleman attacks Donna; spilling her blood in a splash across the deck of the boat.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (11)+7: 18 GAME: Aftershock rolls 3d6+7: (12)+7: 19 GAME: Donna rolls finesse: (18)+9: 27 GAME: Donna rolls strength: (15)+2: 17
"Oh fuck off with your butterfly kisses--" *shank* goes the greatsword. "--You miserable dandy."
And Donna pulls herself off the sword, using the momentum as an aid to launching herself across the railing, grabbing hold of the cage before it can tip over the side of the ship.
"Hey, kids," the blazing berserker says, blood staining clenched teeth. "Wanna help me turn some slavers into jelly?"
Sloooooooooow look over her shoulder at the crewmen who followed orders.
GAME: Burai casts Flaming Sphere. Caster Level: 4 DC: 15 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (5)+5: 10 GAME: Burai rolls 3d6: (9): 9 GAME: Gregor rolls 1d20+7: (20)+7: 27
Burai clenches his teeth. The gator that nearly killed him may be beyond his reach now. But the man who is ultimately responsible is right there on the boat. The half-orc chants the words of a spell and gestures. A flaming sphere appears behind Emerind and burns him.
GAME: Gregor rolls 1d20+4: (12)+4: 16
Gregor hurls his lasso again and gets a solid catch on the boat this time. He hitches it to his saddle horn again, and again, he's unable to control the boat's motion to pull it to shore. Traveller keeps pace with the boat as it runs downriver.
GAME: Elyanna casts Hideous Laughter. Caster Level: 2 DC: 14 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+10: (9)+10: 19 GAME: Donna rolls strength: (20)+2: 22 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+3: (8)+3: 11 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (10)+7: 17 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (10)+7: 17 GAME: Aftershock rolls 3d6+7: (7)+7: 14 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+11: (13)+11: 24
Emerind attacks whomever is in his way, stepping around the ball of fire that attacked him and slicing at Elyanna almost casually. The attack is brutal though, and cuts a deep swath in its wake. "I SAID THROW IT OVERBOARD." The men /try/. They really put their backs into it and while they do their comrade ceases his laughing and manages to get to his feet.
Donna though... She's HOLDING. She's miraculously holding that cage in place. It takes both hands. It takes all the rage in her being. She's /slowly/ being pushed back. The cage is tipping... tipping overboard. But she's holding it that millimeter back.
Oh, and at the front, someone cuts Gregor's line.
GAME: Donna rolls strength: (9)+2: 11 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+11: (1)+11: 12 (EPIC FAIL)
Finally... sore, waterlogged, and angry, Elyanna brings herself up on deck, flicking her wrist to loose her whip from the rail and makes more gestures as she growls that same discordant melody as she points toward Emerind... but to no avail. And, she pays for it.
GAME: Delilah rolls cmb: (14)+2: 16 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (9)+5: 14 GAME: Burai casts Produce Flame. Caster Level: 4 DC: 14 GAME: Burai rolls ranged-4: (6)+5+-4: 7
Delilah has recovered enough of her wits, at this point, after almost drowning and being flounced about on Donna's back, that she's ready to do something. "Mmma 'eph," she mumbles around the bit in her mouth. She wriggles her way off of Donna's back; and there she stands, desperately under-dressed, arms manacled behind her back, barefoot, and a bit between her teeth. And you know what? Some bad people are trying to throw Sith off the boat in a cage, and that's just not okay. So she runs up to one of them with an aim to body-checking him and knocking him away from the cage. ...She manages to brush past him and land, unable to catch herself, on the deck. Cunning move, Delilah; real smooth.
Burai grimaces as the boat gets further downriver. He points at Emerind and the sphere of fire rolls into the slaver again. Burai's other hand is held up, palm flat as if he's testing for rain. But as the druid chants, another smaller ball of fire appears above his hand. He immediately lobs it after the boat. But it sails over and splashes into the water, hissing and steaming into nothingness. As soon as it's gone another similar flame appears over Burai's hand, ready to throw again.
Gregor reels in his rope again. AGAIN. Frustrated but determined, he hauls it in hand over hand, and his hands work quickly as he ties a new knot, glaring daggers at the crewman who cut his line again. He has a plan.
GAME: Iuitl rolls 2d8+3: (9)+3: 12 GAME: Elyanna spends ONE point of PANACHE. GAME: Elyanna rolls acrobatics: (12)+6: 18 GAME: Elyanna rolls 1d6: (6): 6 GAME: Elyanna rolls weapon6: (20)+7: 27 (THREAT) GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+1: (12)+1: 13 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (9)+5: 14 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (2)+5: 7 GAME: Donna rolls strength: (10)+2: 12 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (1)+7: 8 (EPIC FAIL)
As her previous target finds her imposed sense of humor depleted and rises, no doubt with murder in his eyes, and wounded, badly from Emerind's first foray into violence, Elyanna decides she only has one choice. She leaps forward into a roll, flicking her wrist just so... the half-breed ends up standing some yards behind him, her feet braced with an arm crossing her midriff...
... which is trailing the multicolored tresses of her whip, the ones wrapped snugly about Emerind's ankle and, with a firm tug, dragging the coils along her hipbone like a pulley, yanks the would-be slaver captain ass over teakettle to the deck.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+11: (8)+11: 19
Iuitl scurries over, speaking words of magical power and waving her hands about. She rests her hands briefly on Donna and mends some of the damage that has been done to her, and then turns her eyes on these DAMN SLAVERS!!! Grrr! Hard to look intimidating when she's soaked to the bone.
The slaver at the front of the boat threateningly throws a javelin at Gregor, but misses by a fair margin as the man who was cursed by Elyanna stalks her with a heavy club in fist. Meanwhile Emerind painfully gets to his feet and moves after Donna. He swings wildly at her, still clearly off balance from being thrown to the floor. "IF YOU DON'T DROP THOSE FILTY CREATURES I'M GOING TO USE THIS BLADE ON /YOU/." Slaver flecks from his lips as he yells at his crew and...
Finally they push the cage over the edge.
GAME: Donna rolls cmb: (2)+7: 9 GAME: Donna rolls cmb: (8)+7: 15
"YOU SON OF A KOBOLD WHORE," Donna roars as the cage goes over, arm snatching out for the captain's coat and missing. Spitting on the deck at the slaver's feet, she turns and just launches over the railing after the cage, grabbing hold and hauling upwards. "I GOTCHA, KIDS. AND I'M'A PUNCH EVERY GATOR THAT TRIES TO STOP ME."
GAME: Delilah rolls cmb: (1)+2: 3 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (12)+5: 17
Delilah stands herself back up; and she's still... not in the greatest of condition. She mutters some dire imprecations around the bit in her mouth, that she's still trying to dislodge /somehow/, with no success as yet. Still, her sister is busy doing all the useful things; so she's got to contribute somehow, right?
So it is that the golden-haired twin walks up to the captain, and aims a kick right for his crown jewels. Unfortunately, hitting things manually is Donna's area of expertise, not hers, so she manages only to just about knock herself off balance, and embarasses herself thoroughly.
Burai trots down the bank of the river. Experience has taught him the limits of the flaming sphere. He knows that if he lets the boat get too far away it will dissipate. He tries to make it attack the slaver again but he manages to avoid it this time.
GAME: Gregor rolls 1d20+7: (9)+7: 16
Gregor was going to try and lasso the chump that threw the javelin at him, but when he sees the cage go in the water, he knows he has to do something about it. He will cast his lasso towards the cage, but he is not really a lasso person, and the throw is not good enough to catch the cage. It -is- quite closeby, if anyone who'd jumped in the water after the cage wanted to secure it.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20: (4): 4 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (8)+5: 13 GAME: Iuitl rolls 3d4: (9): 9
Iuitl puts her hands together, and aims them at the crowd of slavers, and a blast of fire blows her clothing around and blasts her feathers back. She sneers at the burning slavers, and glances at Emerind, who she briefly locks eyes with. Seems she's memorizing his face in case he escapes…
GAME: Elyanna rolls weapon6: (11)+7: 18 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (6)+7: 13 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+1: (12)+1: 13
Seeing things are still tenuous, and acutely aware in her condition she offers little in the way of direct combat, Elyanna tries again to put Emerind on the ground, though, with a furtive "thwip" of the whip's silver hair popper, her attempt fails to snag his leg, and leaves Ely turning her attention to the approaching clubber who thinks she's a seal.
Even smoking Emerind sneers at Iuitl. "Another mongrel nipping at my heels. You should die with those mangy children." He swings his blade lazily at her and misses, but doesn't seem at all worried about it. Meanwhile his crewmate throws another javelin at Gregor, missing by a hefty margin. Worse though, are the alligators which seemed to have taken note of the meal waiting for them in the water...
GAME: Donna rolls athletics: (15)+7: 22
GAME: Delilah rolls cmb: (3)+2: 5
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (2)+7: 9
GAME: {*} Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (3)+5: 8
GAME: {*} Burai rolls 3d6: (14): 14
This is, in fact, getting to be beyond frustrating. Delilah is looking pretty rough, but she's not giving up; she keeps working with the only tool she has open to her, which at the moment, is her feet. She circles around Emerind, looking for a good angle to attack him from; then she goes ahead and aims another boot right for the fruit. ... Of course, she doesn't pull it off, but at least she manages to duck in time to not get decapitated, so that's a plus.
Burai continues moving after the boat, concentrating on the sphere. It is starting to unravel a bit at the edges and lose form. He clenches a fist and one last time it rolls towards Emerind, scorching him in spectacular fashion even as it vanishes in a puff of fire and smoke.
Gregor sets his rope to the saddlehorn once again, and nudges Traveller to go forward, dragging Donna and the cage upstream. Since he's on shore, she's also pulled a little shoreward also, but he doesn't concentrate on the shoreward pulling until he's got her past the gators by a little ways. Then he's headed away from the shore to pull her directly in.
GAME: Iuitl rolls Strength: (10)+0: 10 GAME: Elyanna rolls weapon6: (5)+7: 12
Elyanna isn't looking too hot, she's a paler red than usual, but, seeing that her colleagues are still fighting Emerind, she makes another, fruitless attempt to harass him. Her whip snaps out, cracking the air by the ricasso of his blade, but fails to find purchase, leaving him still armed, and likely well aware that she intends to keep poking the hornet's nest.
-TBC