A2.2 Pirates and Morning Red Sky

PCs: Thran, Kyan, Theo, Hugo.

Crew: Capt Tansden, Earl, Ivory, Tuna, Salt, Peg, Fetch, Jaws, Touman, Protter, Cook.

Preparations: They hustled the mutineers below deck, bound and gagged, and locked them in the passengers’ quarters. The crew complained when Kyan emptied their rum bottles to make fire-bombs (Molotov) with oil from the galley. Theo and Thran tied oil-soaked cloth-strips on their arrowheads and placed fire pots near the railing per their intent to torch the pirate ship’s sails. Capt Tansden ordered the dead bodies placed about the deck to further the scene of a fierce fight won by the mutineers. Kyan asked the captain, “Do you have a quarantine flag to keep them from coming aboard?” Theo thought about setting a dingy adrift, “We could claim it has the treasure.” But they were reminded about the prisoner Chunk’s confession that they were hired to deal with the passengers per Feyrun’s bounty, “Nothing about any gold.”

And that’s when Protter in the crowsnest called out, “Captain, it’s a corvette: 2 masts, almost half our size in length and draft (height at the railing). Maybe a crew of 12.” Tansden modified his orders, “String up a few bodies in the rigging. That inbound corsair ship rides low and fast; its deck is 4ft lower than ours. They won’t be able to see the bodies on deck till they climb aboard. Make ready water buckets in case they try to torch our sails.” Which prompted Kyan to suggest, “If we lower our sails, they won’t have targets to set afire. Plus, we’ll have a stable deck from which to shoot our arrows.” “Make it so. And raise that damn pirate flag!” And that’s when the adventurers remembered, “What about Rian still loose somewhere on the ship? And Feyrun knows us from a prior encounter. Someone else needs to be the spokesperson.” Thus, Cook and Ivory were sent below deck to look for Rian as everyone else made ready. Little did they know Hugo was already stealthing about below looking for the same threat.

Action: The regular crew stood and acted as if they were cheering mutineers while the adventurers crouched below the railing. With the pirate ship only 50 yards away, Feyrun called out, “Where’s me brother Merraf?!” Capt Tansden (on the aft deck) was caught by surprise and thus paused before he answered, “He’s below deck getting the gold.” [Fumble] It was now Feyrun who was caught off guard, “Gold? You were supposed to capture those passengers per my orders! What the hell is going on over there?!” He looked at his crew and ordered ropes thrown. To the crew of the cog (the Arc Royal), he ordered, “Secure the lines, we’re coming aboard.” Kyan tried to bluff by calling out from his hiding, “Merraf! Your brother’s alongside and waiting for you to bring the prisoners forward. I think he wants you to make them walk the plank.” The bluff almost worked.

Theo just happened to be watching Capt Tansden and thus saw the tarp covering the aft-dingy (starboard side) move and saw Rian’s head poke out. He could have taken an arrow shot to silence the mutineer; instead, he tried to crawl closer. Which gave Rian the opportunity to shout, “IT’S A TRAP!”

Initiative Order (Theo, Feyrun, Kyan, Thran, pirates, crew): [Special bow trait to shoot before combat began] Thran stood and twanged a fire-arrow at Feyrun that sunk into his thigh and started his leather armor on fire. Theo stood and twanged his own fire-arrow at Feyrun but missed: maybe because Feyrun dropped and rolled to put out the original fire. Kyan threw a bottle but it failed to break as it landed on a rope coil. Thran fired another arrow at the sails (only 1 point of fire damage… that eventually began to spread). 4 pirates fired arrows at those at the cog’s railing: 2 arrows hit the side of the cog while another ricocheted off of Kyan’s shield. [Fumble] The corvette lurched just as the 4^th archer loosed his arrow… that hit the archer in front of him!

Theo dipped another arrow into the fire pot and shot at Feyrun, but the pirate leader [natural 20] easily dodged behind the forward mast. Feyrun couldn’t miss the tall Beorning standing at the rail as his arrow sank deep into Theo’s shoulder. Kyan threw another Molotov bottle that broke on the deck, spreading fire at the feet of those pirates midship. 

As the 3 pirates who had thrown grappling ropes earlier pulled the aft of their corvette alongside the cog, 2 other pirates swung across the gap between ships on ropes strung from the aft sail. Only one gauged the height difference correctly and landed on-deck between the elf and dwarf. Thran changed to his blade and attacked that pirate. It was as if the cog’s crew were expecting fire-arrows any minute: they stood by with water buckets and thus didn’t get into the fight. Well, except for Earl and Fetch who attacked Rian before he could escape from the dingy.

Theo kept up his twang of arrows at Feyrun who moved aft to take control of the corvette’s wheel as he ordered his men to carry the fight to the deck of the cog. With the ships butted together, 3 more pirates climbed across to wield their axes or cutlasses. Kyan and Thran engaged in melee against the boarders. The 3 remaining pirate archers managed to kill Peg. Well, 2 of them did: the 3^rd archer [fumble] didn’t account for his mate who stepped in front of his loosed arrow. Only then did Feyrun realize his crew was outmatched and his ship was on fire. He ordered the lines cut as he accepted abandoning those pirates onboard the cog.

Thran and Ivory dealt with the pirates aboard the cog. But Kyan wasn’t willing to let the pirate ship escape as he threw his own grapple-hook to snare the corvette. Theo realized what the dwarf intended and fired an arrow at the closest pirate trying to cut the new line. And for his exposure, Theo took another arrow from the 2 remaining pirate archers. But at least the Beorning got off another arrow that toppled Feyrun over the stern of the pirate ship. Which prompted the remaining 3 pirates to cut Kyan’s line and sail away. As much as Kyan wanted to give chase, Capt Tansden reminded the dwarf, “It will take us 30 minutes to raise our own sails. Besides, that corvette is faster even with burning sails. And who knows if other pirate ships are around.”

Onward to Grey Haven: After Thran healed the injured, Cook gave an accounting of supplies, “Only half a crew to feed but I had to toss most of the food as I’m not sure how much Rian poisoned.” Earl looked at the passengers, “If you plan to make it to the next port, ya best join the crew manning the ship.” Blisters earned over the next 2 days testified to their improved skills on deck and up in the rigging setting sails. [the PCs earned +1 miscellaneous points in Athletics & Acrobatics for their efforts.] The crew was split into Day & Night shifts as the cog continued west-northwest along the coast for the next couple of days at a slower speed per less sails they could manage [3.5 knots versus the 4.5 knots they started at.]

Red Sky: Tuna explained the significance, “Red Sky in the morning, sailor take warning!” The ominous sky foretold the coming maelstrom as the captain ordered half-sails. White-capped waves rose higher than the railing and constantly kept the deck awash, threatening footing and being swept overboard. Lightning lit the night sky as thunder drowned out Earl or Ivory’s commands. But by now, they knew what to do. Well, until that rouge wave hit!! Almost everyone was knocked off their feet. Soon followed by Protter’s announcement, “Man Overboard! It’s Jaws!” But Ivory (shift chief) had other orders, “Forget him! Damage Control! Below deck NOW to check for leaks.”

Damage Control: Kyan, Hugo, and Theo rushed below to grab the spare planks used to shore up leaks. They had to open the grate over the cargo hold to gain access to the hull below the water level. Water was already calf deep as they began their Damage Control. It wasn’t clear just how much the short hobbit helped as he struggled to keep his head above water. It was long minutes before they stemmed the flow of water and began a bucket-brigade to lift water out of the cargo hold and up and over the railing. It wasn’t a complete fix, but at least the leak was manageable.

Man Overboard: Meanwhile, Thran wasn’t about to leave a man behind. He joined Protter at the rail as they threw lifelines. Thran’s grapple hook sailed long and wide, but Protter’s toss [natural 20] was spot on! Jaws grabbed the line and held tight as Thran & Protter hauled him in.

Ivory was pissed and ready to keel-haul the pair, “I told you to forget him! The ship is more important than any one man.” Thran stood his ground, “What is a ship without a crew other than a ghost ship? Below was just a hole; this was a man’s life. And a ship only sails if there are men to crew it.” And that’s when Kyan emerged topside, “We can’t afford to lose another man.” Perfect timing as the captain also chose that moment to be on deck, “Nice job completing both tasks. Now get back to work.” It was said as a complement to Ivory. But a worked-to-the-bone-weary Ivory took it as a mark against himself. From that moment forward, Thran earned the “Stink-Eye” scowl from Ivory!

Secure the Sails: The weather was unrelenting as the sky darkened and the winds rose in intensity which prompted the deck chief to call for slacked sails. Thank goodness they had that extra man to help! [Group Athletics with a target DC of 12 versus 14 had they not rescued Jaws] But then Kyan’s struggles (fumble) hindered their efforts.

Rocks Ahead! You’d think constantly pounding waves and the crack of thunder would keep everyone awake. But after days of an unrelenting storm, the rack became a comforting pillow as those off-duty quickly fell asleep (probably more from exhaustion). It may have been the day shift (Earl, Tuna, Salt, Fetch, Theo, Hugo), but the pitch-black sky of the maelstrom hinted otherwise. And thus, it was the scared voice of Tuna (Perception 15 versus DC5) who cried out from the crowsnest, “ROCKS! DEAD AHEAD!” Earl, in a loud but controlled voice added, “ALL HANDS ON DECK!”

[Countdown: Tuna’s Perception result (15- DC5 = 10) meant 10 rounds to react until impact on the rocks.]

[Half-Speed per difficult terrain of wet and rolling deck] Theo and Hugo were already on deck and reacted by rushing forward to the bow to lower the anchor. [It took them 4 rounds to get to the anchor cage, one round to release the break, and another 3 rounds for the anchor to spool out before catching on the bottom of the ocean.] Kyan and Thran were off-duty below deck and thus rushed up the steps to lend aid rigging the sails. [It took them 4 rounds to climb the stairs, jockeying for position with the rest of the off-duty crew, and 2 rounds to get to their duty position on the rails.

Kyan & Thran pulled in the slack port ropes to trim the sails for a port turn away from the rocks. The Arc Royal was just beginning to turn when the anchor rope snapped tight, stopping the turn. In fact, now the waves crashed upon the stern and pushed it towards the rocks! “CRASH!” The jolt carried up the aft mast and snapped the spar that crashed down upon Capt Tansden (who was at the wheel), killing him instantly. Earl was suddenly promoted to captain and gave his first official order, “ABANDON SHIP!”

[Escape Rounds: the time available to escape was based on the remaining hull points. The cog began with a 50-point hull. The rouge wave caused 12 points of damage, of which the Damage Control team repaired 3 points. The Secure the Sails task caused another 3 points of damage per Kyan’s fumble. The Rock Damage was calculated based on the Countdown: #D6 damage where # = (20 – Countdown), such that 10D6 = 30 points of hull damage. Thus, 50 – 12 + 3 – 3 – 30 = 8 rounds to escape!]

Hugo moved to the mid-deck dingy secured atop the cargo hut and began to cut at the securing line. Theo hustled to the other side of the dingy to cut those ropes. Meanwhile, Kyan wasn’t about to abandon his armor and gear stowed below. Nor was Thran who reached the steps first. Thus, it was the dwarf who had to trust an elf to gather all his gear! Kyan stood mid-steps as he watched Thran fight thru the rising water in the sinking ship. At least the elf didn’t understand the dwarven curses to hustle. It was more of a float out of the lower hold than actually climb out. And it was the dingy more washed overboard than actually launched.

But nonetheless, they climbed into the dingy and road the waves that propelled them to a rocky coast lit up by the storm’s lightning. They had no control. In fact, Theo’s weight threw the dingy off-balance and tossed everyone into the surf. Kyan desperately clung to his bag of armor and mattoch while Thran struggled to swim with his backpack secured on his shoulders. They were at the mercy of the waves which offered no mercy. At least they knew they were close to land when their knees scrapped against a coral reef. The last they saw and remembered was sand caking their mouths before they passed out from the exhaustion.

NEXT SESSION: https://lotrwjr.blogspot.com/2024/12/a31-prey-for-good-hunting.html