----------- John Wayne Bobbit Memorial Line ----------- * Prozac has joined #highseas ( I'll be leaving soon, but Nova's AIM is "Seaker of Novas"[sic] ) okay... You're actually about an hour and a half away from the Vault. * Neil knocks on the door to Bourne's cabin. * Bourne opens up, resplendent in an actual uniform for once. "Hey, Neil. What can I do for you?" "You need help with your storm, correct?" "Every hand I can get. You in?" "I can breathe lightning, Bourne. Perhaps I might be able to help to some degree." * Neil smirks. "Much obliged. An educated mage is more skilled at channeling energy than a mundane spectator, no matter how well-intentioned. Let's see how many we had respond to the general call." "Educated?" "Bourne. It's in my blood." "Self-educated, then. All that matters is that you're attuned to the Words." "I don't even have a spellbook." "What words?" * Bourne heads up to the main deck -- I assume we've at least loosely hitched the ships for the general prep, blessings, gearing up, etc.? *to Neil* "The Words. The Spheres. The notes of the cosmic Symphony. The strands of the Tapestry. The nature of things. Magic." * Josh is up in the rigging, stringing up the ship's flag from before it was captured. * Bourne drops the poetry. "I just meant that mages are more help than mundanes." * Curuar is up in the nest keeping watch "Right. I'm not confused by big words, and I do suppose that talk of magic is the best time to speak with overtly mystic words, no?" B: yes, almost all the ships are close enough together for relatively easy transfer between them. The only one that appears to be not present is the zepplin. "So, what would you have me do? Dance?" "They told me I was a fine dancer in the asylum. I burned three of them to death before they were able to restrain me." With this statement, it's hard to tell if he's joking. most of the ships' wizards and sorcerers are there, as well as a number of the faithful from most of the ships. Looks like you'll have enough energy to go around, and then some. "I'll be weaving the spell. You just join in and try to help it along; instinct is probably best for you personally. For most of us, we'll be doing the usual: chanting, praying. We'll be asking Kaimana's blessing on the event and the boon of the weather we desire." * Arianna invites you to join #wet_bar "I wonder what Trys would think of me doing this." * Bourne steps up on the stern. "Esteemed comrades in the art, fellow sailors, thank you for coming. As we head into battle, we're here to ask for the assistance every man of the sea requires from the master of ships and storms. Though often we ask that the clouds stay far away, today we desire their cover in our our attempt." "Assist me, then, with the strength of your spirits. Raise your hands and pray. Focus on our desire. We call upon the Master of Storm and Wave..." * Bourne goes in to the spell. It'll take about 10 minutes. * Neil helps in whatever way he's able. * Curuar hears Bourne's words as they float up to where he can hear them. He wonders exactly how he should go about praying, given that he's pretty much ignored the gods most of his life * Josh doesn't come down after he's done with the flag, finding a good place in the rigging where he can't see the ritual going on below through the sails to spend that time. Possibly praying. Or maybe just staring excitedly over the water. Several of the orcs from the longship start pounding on the drums they brought, rhythmically lending their energy the dwarves from the Cold Steel are much more somber in their own lending of energy . o O (Whoa. This orcish assist is some powerful raw stuff.) B: primal. ;) You hear a soft singing on the air, seems there are some elven traditions among some of the ships that also lend energy to the spell... * Curuar figures the best way he can pray is to just shoot an arrow up. If the gods accept it, they can keep the arrow. He'll angle the ascent enough so it'll miss any ships on its way back down in case they don't mixing in with all this are a number of chants in a number of human tongues. Curuar: you give Pelor a flesh wound.... Hoodyhoo! :) ((He burns you.)) B: ROLL 'EM! 7 come 11 down! 3d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Bourne (3d6) and gets 10. Pass by 7. A massive, and I do mean massive, storm starts brewing overhead. The crews cheer, then scatter for their own ships to get the assault underway. 1d20 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (1d20) and gets 9. C: a lightning bolt comes close to where you are, but doesn't touch anything. *muuters to whatever god sent that* "Right, keep your toga on." *gets himself down to the deck* * Bourne idly bets any lightning from this storm will have Neil's personality marked on it. a half hour later, as the storm is still growing, the Vault is spotted on the horizon. "Furl sails!" It's time for Che-cen to do his thing. * Josh snaps out of whatever reverie he was in, and begins furling the sails, since he's up there already. Che dives into the water, and disappears under the waves. * Curuar gets into his armor, trading his bandana for a leather helm "Obviously nonhuman crew into the hold and gear up for the fight. Everybody who can pass for human, take their places on deck and rigging. Remember, you're Redwater sailors and the reason there are so few of us on the ship is the losses we took from a cursed Ritaegno pirate." "Which is, you know, kind of true except the first part." The ship approaches the Vault, the Redwater flag flying high. Neil leads the non-human crew into the hold, then turns himself to mist, looking like part of the fogbank. * Curuar stands by the rail, his bow in hand, looking like he's watching for any flotsam large enough to be a danger to the hull * Josh is on deck, ready to fufil his part of the plan as needed. He's 'keeping an eye on' Curuar. Darned half-humans need constant supervision, you know. the storm is fully underway and shows no signs of letting up as you're guided into the docks. There are now only four ships other than the Horizon there; seems two of the ships left in the last few days. That weird big one the gnomes saw still there? no . o O (I should have asked if Miss Arianna or Neil could make me look scarred. Too late now.) 'k "Permission to come aboard?" "Granted." "Midshipman Arianna, see to a secure mooring." * Bourne turns to the dock guard. "Welcome aboard." * Bourne suddenly hopes like hell _Horizon_ is a proper name for a Redwater ship. Forgot to change their lettering. The guard comes aboard and salutes. An eyebrow raises slightly, as he's guessing Bourne's age, but shrugs it off. "Welcome to the vault, Captain...?" *to dock guard* "Bourne, officer. Cargo ship _Horizon_ wishes to report with a cargo of blasphemous idols of magic for securing in the Vault." * Bourne returns the guard's salute, glad that dilemma was resolved. Tiptoe, tiptoe... * Curuar stands quietly by "Ah. Of course. Do you have your cargo manifest?" GM: Have I seen a cargo manifest, or should I wing this? (Up to Ars whether Josh would have thought of that when Bourne was questioning him...) (you have seen one, as the ship *was* carrying what you just said you were carrying when you boarded her. The manifest is in the captain's quarters.) "Yes, of course. Should have brought it with me. It's in my quarters. Well, the captain's quarters anyway. This way, please." "If you'll forgive me saying this, sir, you seem rather inexperienced. First command?" * Bourne leads the man back to the captain's quarters. "Alas, yes. Our good Captain Charboneaux was killed in a pirate attack. You may notice we're at a skeleton crew level. They nearly had us, too. All manner of monsters stiffening their fist." * Bourne lets him in, rifles through his desk and finds the cargo manifest. "Ah, here we are." *hands it to him* "Don't know what half this stuff is. Guess you feloows know how to handle it safely." "We'll get our crews unloading it. Any of your crew you can spare, in this blasted weather, would be helpful." "Of course. We haven't touched it, of course, so I'll set the men we have to hauling it out of the hold. You have a processing area just inside the gate, I understand, or is it further in?" He's paging through the manifest as he says this. "Everything seems to be in order, except the Captain who signed it wasn't named ... Ah, I can't read this chicken-scratch." "Captain Charboneaux was notorious for it, sir." "We take things into the Vault, where it'll be safe, before we open the crates to sort and categorize them. If you'll come with me to the office, there is paperwork to be filled out. I don't understand why they want all this paperwork, it's not as if anyone outside the Cardinal or the King sees any of it." "Of course." Bourne follows him out. * Josh salutes. "Shall I assist the unloading, sir, or follow you?" "Midshipman Arianna, see to getting the cargo on deck and into the processing. Start with that big crate we had..." * Legis has joined #highseas * Curuar remains quietly at the rail * Bourne looks over at Josh. "Well now, let's see..." * Josh is moderately cleaned up. At least, his clothes aren't so torn as they were. But clearly he's not had time to heal completely from that attack by the vicious pirates. Even if his blue eyes burn with a youthful fervor. "I guess it couldn't hurt to bring you in. Come along, then." * unKJ is now known as KillJoy_ * Arsenal sets mode: +o Legis "Yessir. Curuar! You stay out of trouble, and help the others with the crates!" He falls in with Bourne and the Dock Guard. * Bourne follows the guard. It *is* rather comforting not to be alone in the middle of the Black Vault in case things start going down with him inside. "Half-breed?" This is said with some disgust. "Aye, sir!" * Curuar moves toward the hold to help with the crates "Lust of men is a shameful thing. Still, you know, the navy's a good place for them. Hard to cause too much trouble with just a few trusty sailors around." "My cousin, sir. He means well." Said humbly. * Bourne follows the guard in. Okay, Bourne, Josh, and the guard leave the ship, go through the front gate, across the courtyard, and into the main gate of the Vault itself. * Bourne keeps his eyes peeled for the internal layout, and sneaks a glance to see whether a particular wisp of fog is making its way to the drainage gate yet. The Vault stretches out to fill the entire length of the warehouse- like stone structure, but only half of the floor is level. The other half is a ramp that lowers to the next level down, before reaching a level area and ramps even farther down underneath the level area. Crates, barrels, and shelves line the walls; many of the items are clearly marked as to what they are, but many are just labelled with a mystifying number-letter code. "with a mystifying" mystifying number-letter code. The small, cramped office is on the right as you enter the Vault proper. And yes, a bit of fog seems to be gathering near the drainage gutter * Josh looks around in unconcealed awe, with a good dose of fearful respect of these dangerous things. B: the guard, who appears to be the ranking officer here, settles into a chair behind the desk, offering the two of you a seat, as well as some brandy. Ari, Cur: you're assisting in the cargo movement, yes? * Josh moves respectfully to take the brandy and serve it to the two superior officers. Yes * Bourne takes the seat gratefully. Touches lips to the brandy but doesn't sip, before putting it down. "Many thanks. Been a while since the ship had anything like this." * Josh then stands stiffly at attention near the wall, in case he's needed to do anything else. * Curuar falls into the roll of a subordinate fairly easily. He's still just one of the deck hands Cur: You're assigned to the large crate, the one secretly filled with gunpowder. B: the paperwork is mostly sign here, initial here, read this, sign there, etc * Bourne falls into the rhythm, all the while wondering what exactly he plans to do when the boom happens and the guard in front of him comes out to see what went on. the crack of lightning overhead reverberates through the Vault * Curuar makes sure the crate gets secured into the cargo net, then follows the windlass' progress to the dock where he'll be waiting for it to pull it free Are they using a windlass or a blockk and tackle crane? -k yes. 'k Cur: it arrives on the dock with a slight bump. A barrel is rolled down next to it, but the crewman handling it accidentally-on purpose lets it go; it rolls to the drainage gate. * Curuar runs after the barrel, letting it get ahead of him. At the drainage ditch, he'll set it upright so the fuse is out of sight, then get back to the crate -ditch +gate * Josh glances at the door occasionally, clearly wanting to go out and explore a bit rather than stand here with the old men and watching them sign boring papers. Another crack of lightning is heard, except this time, it's much closer. . o O (It'll get exciting soon enough, lad...) Cur: you get a yelling for leaving your assignment, and are smacked by one of the guards across the face. Then you're told to take the crate to the Vault gate. * Curuar accepts it with several apologies to the guard, and moves the crate inside Without warning, two of the ships that are docked nearby explode. This is followed by the sound of rocks being torn from their resting place as the back wall near the drainage gate (outside the Vault proper) explodes. the two *warships* docked nearby, no less, taking them out of the fight. * Josh jumps at the noise. "What was that?!" * Legis idly hears big noises through the hull from where she's concealed, grins silently to herself. * Bourne looks up. "Hmm. Lightning strike?" He looks to see what theguard does. the sounds of the explosions are *very* audible from inside the Vault. In fact, the floor shakes, as if an earthquake had hit. * Josh runs outside, and looks around a bit to see where people are pouring from and stuff. * Curuar ducks behind his crate, bringing his bow around. He'll start to reach for an arrow, but twitch his hand back and look at the nearest full-human. "What do we do?" The guard rushes outside. The place is a panic, as the guards are yelling "It's an attack!" the barracks is emptying. * Curuar makes himself a show of indecision And, coming in for the kill, are four ships flying Jolly Rogers * Bourne saunters rather more calmly out of the office. On idle chance, is there a staff among the piles of iems here awaiting disposal? B: yes * Josh steps boldly forward, in the path of incoming guards, casting a spell as he pulls out his holy symbol. * Josh then holds the symbol aloft, and proclaims with a voice far louder and more assured than usual, "Here now the words of Our God!" Neil reforms near the drainage gate. "You're toast! Move it, ears!" everyone, roll init! * Josh then proceeds to speak, in the same voice, saying whatever comes to his mind as he channels the awe-inspiring glory of the God of Redwater, giving His words unto His people. d20 * Prozac throws the bones for Josh (d20) and gets 17. * Bourne has Move 5. :^) Wha, moi as well? B: I'm using the variation of 3d6 for init. Legis: aye 3d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Bourne (3d6) and gets 9. everyone means everyone Glee! 1d20+5 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d20+5) and gets 10. ... 3 1d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (3 1d6) and gets 2 2 4. 1d20 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (1d20) and gets 1. 1d20 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (1d20) and gets 14. 1d20 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (1d20) and gets 4. * KillJoy_ has left #highseas Combat goes Josh, Neil, Legis, Bourne, Pirates, Guards Josh! * Josh proceeds to speak, in the same voice, saying whatever comes to his mind as he channels the awe-inspiring glory of the God of Redwater, giving His words unto His people. What about Curuar? what was your Init roll? 8+3 (well, say "11", then; you go between Neil and Bourne) 'k 1d20+1 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (1d20+1) and gets 8. (what is the DC for Enthrall?) (15) (Sanctuary's, for the record, is 14.) well, you have their undivided attention; well, all but the head guard. Neil belches lightning, hitting the big crate. I hope no one was near it, cause it's gonna be messy! (Noted. I don't personally have a speech prepared; he'll either say whatever his God inspires him to, or go into a standard sermon that strikes him as appropriate, if God doesn't ahve something specific in mind for him to say.) I'm crouched next to it %? fine. Reflex save to dive out of the way 3d6? 1d20... only Bourne uses 3d6 in combat, remember? plus whatever your bonus is 'k 1d20+7 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d20+7) and gets 22. Heh Got used to rolling for GURPS Rifts You manage to dive out of the way as it explodes, wrecking the main gate. and you're up! * Curuar knocks an arrow and lets fly, purposely missing his target. Which i*nod* Which would be Neil okay... roll to miss. ;) 1d20+8 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d20+8) and gets 27. Crit success with a longbow, I think :) (No, just a crit threat.) well, roll your threat confirmation ??? roll to strike again to see if it's a crit or just a regular hit (And, actually, ... no, longbows only threaten on a 20.) (So it's not a threat.) 1d20+8 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d20+8) and gets 16. well, either way, it's not a crit, just a hit. Sorry Neil ^_^ but roll for damage done to Neil. You aimed a little too well. * Legis has quit IRC (Ping timeout ) 1d8 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d8) and gets 1. * Legis has joined #highseas Grrr... Whew. Just a flesh wound :) . o O (Hmm. We start off the battle with one guy nearly getting caught in the other's friendly fire and the first guy jokingly poking holes in the second guy with an arrow. Oh, man, this is going to be shitty.) I think Neil has DR; I hope so, otherwise he'll really be pissed. Legis! Is there anyone actually near me? Hidden, as I am, in the cargo hold? I think this move is "run out of the hold and stab the nearest guy in the other guy's uniforms." most of the rest of the crew, who are looking at you now that the explosions have gone off. Your cue to attack. I'll be nice and say it'll take one round's move to get to the deck * Legis grins brightly, cheerfully scampers in the direction of "outside" which will probably do it for now. ... where she accidentally punches Bourne square in the face! (love that monk speed. ;) Bourne! * Bourne nonchalantly picks up the most interesting-looking staff from among those collected here. Are any guards eyeing Josh as a target? only the head guard... the others are fully under Josh's sway * Bourne moves between him and Josh. "Well, this *is* a bit of a pickle, isn't it." "Traitor!" * Bourne says, "Not quite, buddy, I think you haven't quite worked the real situation out yet," making his Ritaegno accent a little more obvious. (gonna attack?) He's probably talking about the obvious cleric. * Bourne will Wait this turn, ready to defend should the guard decide to do something bout Josh. 'k The crew follow Legis to the deck The guards stand helpless, while the head guard draws his sword and chucks the scabbard away. "Have at you, then!" He tries to strike at Bourne. 3d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (3d6) and gets 12. (passed by 1) * Bourne parries. 3d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Bourne (3d6) and gets 10. (pass or fail?) Any bonus from the staff? call it +2 to skill Hang on, lemme look up all-out Defense. Fail, though I can also attempt to Dodge if I retreat. Which, of course, I do... what's your Parry? * Arsenal sets mode: +o Legis 8. 9 with boosted skill. and Dodge? With a retreat of one hex, also 9. Shall I roll Dodge? that'd put you back to back with Josh up to you. Later. Have a good time Mischan Oh, wait. Am I wearing my leather jacket? probably, as you were expecting combat to break out In that case, my parry passes, assuming he was aiming for the torso. he was Josh! It gets past my staff, but the jacket turns it. . o O (...whew.) * Josh continues to preach, unfazed by the battle going on just behind him. "Lo, God has looked upon your actions in His name, and He is not pleased! Thus has he sent this scourge amongst ye, that ye may know His displeasure and His power. Harken unto the words of the mouth that speaks His will..." maintaining Enthrall? 'k. I'm maintaining it for as long as I can. Josh wants to prevent bloodshed as much as possible, and possibly get some people thinking about what God's will might -actually- be, if this displeases him. Neil, slightly miffed but seeing a bunch of easy targets, rolls a flaming sphere right into the middle of Josh's impromptu congregation. 2d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (2d6) and gets 10. One target down, extra-crispy. Curuar! * Curuar looks for targets, if none are apparent, he'll stand ready with an arrow knocked but not drawn Cur: there's the guy Bourne is sparring with, and Josh's captive audience. * Curuar takes a shot at Bourne's adversary 1d20+8 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d20+8) and gets 19. hit 1d8 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d8) and gets 7. Legis! Session Time: Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 2005 * Legis runs up on deck, surveys the crowd, runs towards the group yelling "Little trees!" at the top of her lungs. you can attack one target Well then, might as well dropkick the lucid one at the end of the sprint. ;) they're all lucid, now ... ah so. s/lucid/nearest/ 1d20+9 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d20+9) and gets 14. ((Still the guard boss.)) you bounce off his armor, but you do knock him to the side a few feet. Bourne! * Legis rolls to her feet and then tries to punch him... er, or not 2nd attack, either way. can't do all-out attack while using a move action Oky. * Bourne starts charging up a Dehydrate spell to... an unusually high, that's interesting... maximum. Bizarre negative force collects around his hands, building up to an unblinding intensity. That'll take this round. I'll try to land it on him next round, assuming my concentration's not broken in the meantime. *nod* the crew and the guards mesh in a free-for-all, and the guard boss turns to Legis. "Evil hellspawn!" He slashes at her with his sword 1d20+5 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (1d20+5) and gets 16. (your AC?) 24 oh, you easily dodge the swing * Legis bobbles backwards, as if losing her balance, going "Whooop whoop whoop whooooop..." as the tip swishes past her chest. d20+4 * Prozac throws the bones for Arianna (d20+4) and gets 19. Ari! (you're up) * Arianna holds runs her finger along the holy symbol of Yohove, mumbling to herself softly in Planar Common. "Yohove protects." A wave of confidence emanates from her. Josh! * Josh glares at Neil, and strides purposefully to the most central portion of the battlefield, to be as near his allies as possible. "Dear God, please spare those Thou canst, even as Thou givest strength to those Thou hast sent to show them the error of their ways." Neil tosses another flaming sphere at one of the other guards, while moving his first sphere to another target 2 2d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (2 2d6) and gets 7 5. one's half-burned, one's moreso. Curuar! (don't forget your +2 to strike and +1 to damage) (roit) Aiming for the Guard Captain (Boss) again 1d20+10 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d20+10) and gets 23. hit! 1d8+1 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d8+1) and gets 7. he's still standing, but has two arrows in him. Legis! * Legis leans back forwards and suddenly drives a fist into the guard captain. (Using Flurry of Blows, so 2 more attacks after this one. ;) ) 1d20+9 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d20+9) and gets 21. hit! might as well roll all attacks at once. 1d8+2 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d8+2) and gets 5. * Legis then drives her other fist into the guy, and tries to headbutt him, in that order. 1d20+9 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d20+9) and gets 26. hit! 1d20+6 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d20+6) and gets 26. crit-threat! Woo! Hrm, 'roll more d20s? (roll that attack once more to see if it strikes; if it's a hit, it's a crit) 1d20+6 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d20+6) and gets 23. that's a crit! damage from all those attacks? (double the damge from the headbutt) 1d8+2 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d8+2) and gets 4. Punch... 1d8+2 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d8+2) and gets 9. x2... 18 for the headbutt. he's down for the count, and losing it fast! Bourne's up! Gosh, a 4-dice spell all charged up and nowhere to go. hit one of the other guards * Legis drives her forehead into the guy, to accompanying "crunch" noises, and grins. ( Could you please use OOC stuff in the OOC channel or in parentheses? o_o ) * Bourne turns to face the bulk of the guards and raises a wyrdly-glowing hand to gently lay a palm on some unfortunate soul. "Feeling a little parched?" 3d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (3d6) and gets 14. (fail!) 4d6-4 * Prozac throws the bones for Bourne (4d6-4) and gets 11. (well, fail to resist, that is) HT 11 or below means he's rolling for consciousness. (HT 12) He's barely on his feet, then. Still, cracked skin, swollen tongue, stone-dry eyes -- he's not a happy camper. Looks like he'sspent a week in the desert without water. At this point, the orcs pull up, and join the party. A streak of something from the sky hits the barracks, blowing *it* to smithereens, and the outer wall is being bombarded by catapult fire The guards continue to fight, and form a shield phalanx against the orcs. Ari! ... does this mean, the not-shield portion is pointing towards us? >;] Legis: actually, yes. * Bourne suddenly notices that there are an awful lot of *people* around. * Arianna moves in and takes a quick jab at the dehydrated guy, hoping to render him unconscious and free from the pain. strike? d20+4 * Prozac throws the bones for Arianna (d20+4) and gets 16. hit damage? d6-1 * Prozac throws the bones for Arianna (d6-1) and gets 2. he goes down. josh! * Arianna seems a bit relieved. Maybe the guy can be saved before he bleeds out. Actually, he's not bleeding... he needs water, badly... (she stabbed him... rapier) AH. -H+h * Josh rushes over and treats the man's wounds, cupping his hands as he says, "Drink, and rest. God would not have you fight and die for this cause." His hands fill and overflow with water, which he gently lets trickle onto the man's parched lips. Neil scowls. "Let him burn, boy!" He doesn't do anything but move his flaming spheres into the back of the phalanx. 2 2d6+1 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (2 2d6+1) and gets 7 8. and two more go partially burnt! Curuar! now, Curuar is facing one of the phalanx shield walls * Curuar gets himself behind some cover If there's any to get behind there's rubble ;) anything else? that's only a move action Yeah. Fire at and slightly over the phalanx as he moves. Try to make them keep their heads down 1d20+10 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d20+10) and gets 22. you hit one of the inner guards. 1d8+1 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d8+1) and gets 5. and he's hurt Legis! * Legis blinks as the guards turn and wheel to face the Orcs. "Hey hey HEY! Way to make a girl feel unwanted..." She turns and lashes out at the nearest one (or two depending) with Lightning Blows... 3 1d20+6 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (3 1d20+6) and gets 13 14 19. 1d20+3 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d20+3) and gets 14. (wait... are you attacking your orc allies, or the guards?) Ah, guards; as I understand it, the orcs are on the other side of the shieldwall anyhoo. 'k... just making sure. damages? How many hits? two and looks like one's a crit or is that lone 14 a separate strike roll? The 14 is a seperate strike roll. ah... then three hits 3 1d8+2 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (3 1d8+2) and gets 8 7 7. well, two go down; one was pretty well burned before you hit him. Bourne! That phalanx of theirs. Pretty tightly spaced? That is, are the guards pretty close together? *nod* very tightly spaced Oh, *good*. "Either get very close, or move several yards away." (*heh* why do I feel that the Redwaterites are gonna regret that formation?) (Heh, why do I get the feeling that I'm going to be making a reflex save?) * Josh nods and pulls the man in his care very close to Bourne, and stays there himself. * Bourne whirls his staff in the air above his head, whipping up a radius-2 Whirlwind, and starts approaching the phalanx. It'll reach full, person- throwing strength next turn. I'll have to start digging in to the Powerstone next turn, but it'll be so worth it to watch what happens when I hit their lines. :^) oooh.... The crew of the Horizon decide that the orcs are too much of a help, and head straight for the Vault. The zepplin descends to visible range, and for the first time people can see an underslung... something, manned by two gnomes turning a crankshaft, and start literally gunning down the phalanx. the guards scatter, but several of them run right into the whirlwind. Ooops. Ari! Strength rolls at -5 to remain standing, any small loose objects are thrown at high speed, anyone who falls can be lifted and thrown several yards... lots of chaotic effects. Go with it. * Arianna keeps her rapier at the ready, surveying the situation. Ari: the guards are in a panic; and three of them are literally in mid-air, until they slam into the buildings. There are 12 guards left. * Arianna moves towards a guard, making a direct piercing strike. d20+6 * Prozac throws the bones for Arianna (d20+6) and gets 10. miss Josh! * Josh leaves the downed man in a safe spot, and rises, calling out, "Please, my people, children of Redwater, lay down your arms! This battle is lost, as ordained by God! You cannot win; I beg you, surrender and live!" anything else? (No, he's just begging for them to surrender, this turn. He doesn't want them to die needlessly, and can't effectively help the wounded until the fighting stops.) (Unless you want a skill check or something. I somehow doubt any would work.) *nod* Neil! * Neil looks to see if there happens to be a large smattering of enemy guards nearby. they've scattered. mechanical gatling fire from the zepplin will do that. How many can I encapsulate from a 120-ft line? o/) Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn o/) Bourne: Sadly, it may not work. I think you can find it on animemusicvideos.org, though. ((Gah, mischan, sorry.)) Neil: 6 * Neil grins, clucthing his staff in both hands. He plays the part of the pirate, either intentionally or unintentionally directing a lightning bolt to a line of troops within a hair's breath of Cururar, letting him feel the electrical power sizzle at what COULD happen to him if he flinged another arrow at him. He seems content at roasting the enemy, though. 1d20 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (1d20) and gets 10. damage? * Neil clutches his open palm in the air, letting it glow red-hot as he mentally commands the sphere to roast the troop closest to josh. ((Moving the flaming sphere over another troop as well. I still have those two active, correct?)) 7d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Neil (7d6) and gets 22. ((Should I do 7 1d6?)) (yes, to both) (it's 1d6 to each target?) ((No, it's 7d6 each target. Effect is like a fireball, but in a lone instead of an area effect)) ah... 6 7d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (6 7d6) and gets 17 25 29 18 19 20. * Dicething has joined #Highseas and six crispy critters, and a drip-dried space cadet. * Dicething was kicked by Arsenal (Begone, foul demon! ) 2d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Neil (2d6) and gets 6. * Demota has joined #highseas * Arsenal sets mode: +o Demota ((thats from the flaming sphere. Reflec DC is 16 for that)) * Arianna has quit IRC (Ping timeout ) ((Actually, Ars, technically it should have been a single roll of 7d6, applied to each of them. like fireball.)) * Demota is now known as Arianna ((Yeah, and I rolled that 22)) (( *ehn*... end effect is that they're crispy critters.) 1d20 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (1d20) and gets 18. well, that one actually managed to get out of the way of the sphere, taking only half damage ((Ars: Hence the 'technically'. More a 'FYI'. )) Curuar! there are... 7 left. One's decided to try and sneak up behind a teammate of yours. (sneak up behind Neil, to be precise) * Curuar doesn't hesitate. Knocks, draws, and lofts it right past Neil and into the guard behind him 1d20+10 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d20+10) and gets 27. hit! 1d8+1 * Prozac throws the bones for Curuar (1d8+1) and gets 3. and he goes down. Legis! 6 left. "Thankee!" * Legis eyes the whirlwind. Eyes the zeppelin with gunnery. Eyes the roaming fire spheres. Moves rather out of Bourne's way and smacks any guard that happens to be near where she moves *to*. strike? 1d20+11 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d20+11) and gets 14. hit! 1d8+2 * Prozac throws the bones for Legis (1d8+2) and gets 9. miss The second was damage ... I'm getting tired he goes down Bourne! 5 left "Party's getting crowded... and not enough dance partners," she pouts as she wheels and drives a fist into someone's face. She takes a moment to wipe the blood off of her forehead from where the broke the guard captain's face. and you have crew in the Vault. Hmm. There's a flaming sphere nearby. Air feeds fire. ((Oh dear)) ( OH, THE HUMANITY ) Bourne: Thinking of doing a GURPS version of Antipode? ;) * Bourne , in a spirit of academic inquiry, walks over to one of the flaming spheres and sees what happens if guard(s) and magical fire are both in the whirlwind's area of effect. Could be nothin' much. But LET'S FIND OUT. 3d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Arsenal (3d6) and gets 11. FLAMING WHIRLWIND! :D Woo-hoo! That's *teamwork* baby! and two more get fried B: Make that official and put " " around it! :) * Neil grins. "Nice." the orcs make short work of the three that are left. "Woo-hoo! That's *teamwork* baby!" (combat over) * Bourne lets the whirlwind dissipate, sweating but unpunctured. * Josh pauses, looking around, rather sadly. After a moment, he silently begins checking the fallen to see if any are still alive. * Neil pulls the arrow out of his arm. He walks over to Cururar, eyeing him intently. * Legis wipes more other people's blood off of herself. (only one injury among the attackers, and that's Neil's puncture wound) * Arianna puts her rapier away. "Such a waste..." Josh: half of them are alive, barely. * Curuar comes out from behind cover with one last arrow knocked and scanning for any enemies that might not be cowed or dead many are suffering severe burn wounds "Well, that was a decent workout... hrm... ooh, shiny things!" She scampers off in the direction of the Vault. * Bourne knows rank nothing about healing, watches the healers do their work. * Neil grabs Cururar by the shoulder, baring now-noticably fanged teeth, standing nearly toe to toe with him. (Well, and some of them just got badly beaten with fists... ;) ) the guard captain's D-E-D Dead DED? Dedicated Entropy Dude? * Bourne makes a resolution to learn something about treating wounds. A spiritual antidote to the concentration he's been putting in to learning how to win fights. * Josh calls out in a subdued but carrying voice, "Curuar, could you help me take those still alive and watch them? I will try to save their lives, and would not have them do anything to re-endanger them." *but!* There's a whole lot of goodies waiting in the Vault. and that combat took what... a few hours? * Arianna loosks 'em over, checking for degrees of consciousness. Ari: a number of the survivors are flitting in and out of consciousness. * Neil holds out the arrow to Cururar. "You ACCIDENTALLY dropped this in my shoulderblade. I suggest you drop it somewhere more useful next time, eh?" * Josh bites back a caustic remark, and just refuses to look at Neil. *to Neil* "I will certainly try. Thank you for returning my arrow undamaged." *heads over to help Josh move the injured out of the walk way * * Bourne looks around the Vault, sighs at what the invading hordes are going to do to it. "I have to admit, I don't really understand this whole 'death' thing and how you primals see it, so sorry in advance if I seem a bit odd to ye." * Neil looks to Bourne, grinning. "They all deserved it." * Arianna doesn't really seem so much concerned with death, but the amount of pain they seem to be in. * Neil walks over to a fried corpse. He smirks down at the still-white teeth. * Bourne shrugs at Neil. "It was battle, I guess." * Bourne has a promise to keep, though. He heads to the office to look through the Vault's papers to find where they keep the specs that Wynn needed. * Legis has somewhat put the remains of the fight out of mind (if she was really thinking about it in the first place) and is poking around Stuff[tm] * Arianna places her hand on Josh. "You okay, lad?" * Josh , once the living are in a safe place, asks that Curuar draw his weapon. "If they will not remain peaceful..." he looks down, "we cannot let them fight any more. Thank you, Curuar, for helping me." He bends to the most badly burned of the still-living prisoners, and whispers comforting words as he brushes the burnt flesh away, revealing fresh healthy skin behind. "I... will be fine." B: There's a filing cabinet there which contains a lot. * Bourne is also trying, in the back of his mind, to not be greedy about his desire to grab a good chunk of random stuff in order to pay off his share of the _Horizon_. "Your compassion is not misplaced here, Josh. These are your countrymen." * Neil doesn't have Bourne's morals. He's a pirate, and he's the first one in. * Arianna nods. "Hang in there, cutter." * Neil begins to take his share. "Well, my boys!" comes a deep voice from the gate. "Seems you won this one all by yourselves!" (It's Drake) * Curuar calls one of the Horizon's sailors over to watch over Josh with instructions not to interfere with him but not to let any of the healed guards do anything rash * Curuar then goes to join Bourne ( They can be stable without being conscious ) Bourne: do you have Research or anything similar? Hmm... nothing even close. Default is 9. "They are not evil men. Just misguided." He continues, healing each of them as well as he can. hmm... Gimme a regular IQ check, then 3d6 * Prozac throws the bones for Bourne (3d6) and gets 15. ...eeh. what's your IQ? "Gah, what is with these people and their filing system." 14 their filing doesn't *have* a system, as near as you can tell. * Bourne gives up and steps out. "Captain Bourne. Captain Drake has arrived." "Thanks, Curuar." * Bourne hails Drake. "Captain, hello. Good that you're here, you can help me rummage through here for Wynn's specs. Blast if I can find them in these records." * Neil joins Bourne shortly, having filled his own personal treasury to the brim before he does so, none of this evident from the magical pack. * Arianna glances over the items. She doesn't seem so much interested in what she can have, as what she can deny Redwater. "Captains, if I may suggest something?" "Please." Looking at the Vault, the top part seems to be wands, staffs, rods, and scrolls. The second level seems to be rings, weapons, and clothes. Third level is armor, shields, and other miscellaneous stuff. Arcane tomes were buried on the bottom level * Legis rummages around, in a completely disorganized fashion, and eventually comes up with... well, whatever the DM decided. ;) *heh* as Drake said, there's plenty for everyone. "I seem to recall a tale of an ancient treassure house belonging to unnamed gods, which were guarded by giants. Given the nature of the place this Vault is located, we may be wise to keep sentries out for anything peculiar along our lines of egress." "Traps and various other defenses are certainly a possibility, indeed. All care is advisable." Sounds of someone squealing "OOOH! Shiny!" come from somewhere in the Vault. (Legis found a crate of Ioun stones?) (Naw, gotta be loyal to one's pets after all. I'm thinking of just wandering around in a completely dazzled fashion distracted from one shiny to the next but mostly leaving them be) * Neil hands Bourne a book. * Bourne likes the staff he's got. Beyond that, is mostly interested in the tomes. He spends some considerable time on the bottom level. Even mundane books on ... * Bourne looks at Neil. "You read my mind, man." "I found you something. One of those books of magic blabber you were ranting about earlier." * Bourne examines what Neil's handed him. * Curuar checks to see if there are any magically enhanced bows, arrows, quivers, or armor that would fit him Curuar: yes to all. "It's in Hong." "I don't evem read Hong. Silly language." * Legis eventually wanders back to where other people are, sporting a second ring and a spiffy black silk cloak with faint traceries of spider webs. "I found STUFF!" "Hey, you grow up speaking whatever the adults around you speak." *thumbs through* * Curuar will wait until a magic user is available to identify things for him before selecting items "Dinga-dong ding dong hongy hong hongy hong. All sounds the same." "True. The tonality's very subtle. Which, if you think about it, means it's quite a feat to be able to speak and understand it correctly. "do you speak it?" B: The inside of the book indicates that it is one in a set of 15. "A bit. It *is* quite difficult for a non-native." * Bourne does *not* begin drooling. * Bourne decides to collect his Haversack from the ship and head down to the bottom level with a pen, ink, and paper. Spends *considerable* time cataloguing the books available, and collecting tomes of two kinds: (1) those which look interesting from a magical or academic point of view. (2) those which look valuable for resale, as part of the bargain with Davies for the _Horizon_. "I see you've already started picking your loot. Don't worry, I'll hold the hordes back until you've picked your shares. You've earned them." * Josh takes the prisoners down into the vault, locking them in a convenient holding area. "Please, tend to those who are more wounded. I have done my best. Please do not endanger yourselves further. God loves you; you are of His chosen people." * Josh leaves, seeking out Bourne, having done all he can for them now. * Legis wanders after Josh, experimentally walking along the wall. * Bourne pulls himself out of his reverie for a moment and addresses Drake. "Yes... yes, that would be good. There's more than enough here for everyone. In fact, we really ought to hold everyone back -- well, after giving the advance crew here a fair share -- and go through and catalogue what's here. That way everyone's on the same page and no one is suspected of hiding some valuable trinket." * Neil pulls Bourne aside for a minute. "I found something." * Bourne is being pulled three ways at once, tells Josh "Just a sec" and goes with Neil. "What's up?" "Captain?" he asks tentatively when he finds Bourne, down in the bowels of the Vault. Then he stops, and steps back, sullenly silent, when he notices Neil. He's been...not quite rudely avoiding looking at Legis. Maybe he was just preoccupied. * Bourne snickers. Just queue'd up in the mp3 player: "I Got Plenty of Nothing." %^) +oocly + Yeah, sorry. "Hmm. Interesting. I've heard of various things these could possibly be.... some of them quite valuable." "Some of them quite risky, too." * Bourne grins at Neil. "Sounds very much like you." d20+11 * Prozac throws the bones for Neil (d20+11) and gets 27. "This isn't the children's deck of cards, Bourne." "It's the full deck." * Arianna is now known as Demota "I wouldn't have imagined it would be in the Black Vault otherwise..." "It seems like it's made its way to you. I wasn't being facile, I really do think it fits your personality. Maybe it's destined for your hands for a while." "So, care to take a risk?" (not now, please) "No, no thank you. Not my cup of tea." * Bourne steps back and turns to Josh. "You had something?" "Sir... what will be done with the surviving guards? Can we leave them here when we leave, free? My people surely will send another ship here that can rescue them..." * Legis hrms... walks up the wall and stands on the ceiling, and faintly giggles. "And by that time we'll be long gone." "I don't see why not. We can even send an anonymous message to the Redwater officials suggesting they collect their soldiers. I have no grudge against them." "Exactly, Sir. Thank you, Captain." The first directed at Drake, the second at Bourne. *to Bourne* "His people?" * Neil looks to Drake. "They used to be my people too. We're from different sides of the coin, we two." * Josh looks around, expression so heavilly mixed with emotions as to be rather unreadable, save for 'overwhelmed'. "I personally wish to fry the lot of them." anyone still exploring? *to Drake* "Meet Josh, Redwater stowaway. He tried to keep the body count down without betraying us, which I'm all for." Ars: Nope. Waiting for Bourne, Neil, or Ari to be available to help him pick stuff out * Neil turns and still explored:P Why don't we call it here, and daydream of loot and wrap-up for next time? Well, I had one last item to toss at you, that's why I asked. Sounds good to me Oh, go for it. ((tonight's a good night for loot and wrap up:P)) ((Works for me. Josh... is rather sick, emotionally, at the moment. And doesn't want any of this stuff. He just wants to know why this had to be, and what his God has planned.)) Neil: As you're passing through the "clothing" section, you see an odd pair of spectacles on a shelf, marked "P2" on a tag, with a note scratched into the shelf "petrification blockers" "Hmm." * Neil looks at them. "I think someone wanted these." * Neil takes them idly, moving over to Bourne. "Did you know anyone who wanted these?" "You found them!" "Yes, yes I did." * Bourne takes them and hands them to Drake. "Wynn needed these." * Neil seems a bit phased. Perhaps the violence incited some more menacing feelings dwelling within his already shadowy mind. "I'll have them delivered to her right away." ---------- aaaannnnd.... CUT! ---------------