Quest #26 "Wet Rays Of Sunshine"

[Jernau35]

The Knife

The Knife peers ahead. "Let's sail closer, he suggests. "If there's danger, it's safer to be out here on the water. They can't chase us and we can sail away if they shoot at us".

"Once we can see what is happening, we can decide what to do".

[Darklin2]

Brandy

Brandy changed her point of aim to the shore line and away from the rays in the water.


OOC- Can we see any weapons being brandished? Or people being attacked?

[Paladin]

Keyon

The elf looks immediately to Quark's ship in an attempt to discern if the dwarves are attacking it as well. "I imagine these are the ones Quark mentioned to Drakkar on the voyage here. The Stone-something clan," he mutters distractedly as he scans the ship. "Stonegut, maybe? If they're chasing folk here, it can mean only one thing--slavers."

He motions to shore. "These people can't have much worth stealing, the way Quark talked. They can barely feed themselves. So they're likely being taken to work for those greedy buggers." His brow furrows. "If the ship is clear, we might be able to make sail before they overrun it."

[Darklin2]

Brandy

Make sail are you kidding? These people need our help. Steer toward the shore and let me out. Sail off if you want to, just bring me back my share when you can.

She picks out one of the closest dwarves and lets arrows fly.

[1d20+3] = 20+3 = 23 Longbow-5 for long range=18
But it is still a natural 20.

[1d6] = 1 So 2 hp.

[1d20+3] = 19+3 = 22 Longbow-5=17 AC 3

[1d6] = 4

[Karaunios]

Elnaerel looks over her shoulder as she's rowing: "What's going on?" When she turns around and gets a better look she realises that their welcome won't be as peaceful as expected. "Dammit. We have to help those people! What are those smelly dwarves doing here?"

She tries to discern how many of them are visible from where they are now. Do they outnumber the locals? Is the beach outrun by them or is it "secure" enough for them to land and start fighting without being overwhelmed from the get go?

[OGRE MAGE]

What's Up At Beachtown!
Starday, 20th of Goodmonth
Late Afternoon, Hot, Humid, Sunny, Buggy

Feanol looks over the area carefully, finding no threats right on the beach, or on the ship. The Knife suggests not getting too close to shore yet, to keep their options open. Brandy spins around with her bow at the ready, seeing people being chased by the dwarves, and hearing anguished shouts from deeper inside the town, but not actually witnessing any bloodshed........yet.

Keyon is certain that these dwarves are rounding up slaves to work the mines for them, since the majority of the population here has nothing to steal. He doesn't see any dwarves attacking Quarks ship, and suggests rowing out to it so they can make their escape if necessary. Elnaerel watches it all unfold closely, seeing plenty of opportunity to land the small boat on the beach if they wanted to help these poor people. The townsfolk clearly seem outnumbered, but it is difficult to tell exactly what is happening beyond the larger buildings from a distance.

Brandy has seen quite enough of this nonsense, not pleased at all with her friends suggestions to leave OR wait. She turns her bow on a single dwarf a ways off in the distance who is persistently chasing a young human girl. She takes careful aim while the others continue monitoring the situation. Her first arrow lands dead on, striking the distant dwarf in his exposed neck, just above his heavy armor. When the dwarf stops his chase and looks to see where this arrow just came from, she expertly inserts a second arrow directly into his eye socket with a true marksman shot, dropping him right there on the sand and allowing the young girl to escape. (I reversed those rolls so it would be less "sucky" for you)

As the chaos and fearful screams coming from town continue to escalate, two dwarves nearby the one Brandy just dropped spot the small boat and begin running in your direction. (still about 200-300 feet away, with your boat about 30 feet from shore)

Actions?

Jinx's stuff:
Black Leather armor
Small wooden shield
Shortsword (Brandy)
Hand Axe
Shortbow (Feanol)
Quiver of 24 arrows (Feanol)
Backpack
Waterskin (Brandy)
Belt pouch
Tinderbox flint and steel (Feanol)
Rope 40’
5 Candles (Brandy)
2 Iron rations Per week (split up equally/ 3 each)
Thieves tools (Keyon)
Sling
Quarter Staff
Coin (split/ 2gp and 4sp each)

Keyon 6/6
Brandy 12/12 3/3 First
Feanol 4/4 CL, DM, RM 0/1 First
Elnaerel 10/10 2/3 First
The Knife 5/5

[Jernau35]

The Knife

The Knife looks at Brandy, eyes wide. "Remind me never to play darts with you!" Then he looks down at his bandolier of...darts. "Talking of which, these are obviously no good at this range." The Knife rummages around in the pile of Jinx's gear until he comes up with the sling and some bullets. "Let's try this instead".

I can't access the dice roller right now. I'll post an attack when I get home from work.

[Karaunios]

Elnaerel keeps rowing towards the coast with the intention to land on a clear spot. Maybe next to that tower that looks as they most important building in town. "Keep firing at those monsters! I want to land and then start taking the fight to them. We have to save as many villagers as we can!"

[Ahlmzhad]

Feanol

Looks on with concern as her companions begin to fire into a crowd with no idea what is happening on shore, and even more concern for their desire to put the party in danger that is unnecessary. She looks to see if Keyon is joining in with this madness.

[Paladin]

Keyon

The elf glances at the melee onshore and shakes his head. "No," he says flatly. "I've risked my neck enough for one day. If you lot want to rush ashore and save Beachtown, I'll row in knee-deep and let you out. Somewhere out of crossbow range," he adds.

If they are bent on leaping ashore, Keyon will row them to a stop out of range of any missile weapons from the shore and back water until the boat rocks to a stop. "If I can, I'll make for the ship. If not, I'll be close in case you need a quick retreat."

He also keeps a lookout for ships and boats launched by the enemy, understandably unwilling to be caught unaware and boarded.

[Jernau35]

The Knife

The Knife whirls the sling around his head and lets fly once in range.

Sling (THACO: 20, Non-Prof: -3) [1d20] = 15 Dmg S/M [1d4+1] = 4+1 = 5 Dmg [1d6+1] = 4+1 = 5

His Dex bonus actually cancels out the non-proficiency penalty. So that's a straight 15.

"Of course it's okay to shoot at them!" The Knife shouts out. "I don't think they've invited the dwarves over for a fish fry". His tone softens. "Probably...." The Knife looks at the others in the boat. "Right?"

[Ahlmzhad]

Feanol

Feeling relieved "I'm with you Keyon, we don't even know what is happening not a great way to get involved. Even if we should become involved we should find out what is happening and decide where and how."

[Karaunios]

Elnaerel without taking her gaze from what's going on in the town: "If you don't want to get involved, that's your choice, but I'm seeing defenseless people being attacked by a bunch of armored dwarves. If there's no town left, I don't know where will you go. This might be the only chance to help this settlement survive. The only one for what we know."

[Ahlmzhad]

Feanol

"I saw dwarves running behind someone, but the only attack came from this boat. We don't know who is who, nor any details. And, now we have enemies on this island when before we didn't. We aren't even sure if there is a problem. We here some noises in the distance, but it could just as easily be the Dwarves are the protectors. We simply need more evidence before we start killing people. It not a matter of getting involved, but in getting involved when and where we should."

[OGRE MAGE]

What's Up At Beachtown!
Starday, 20th of Goodmonth
Late Afternoon, Hot, Humid, Sunny, Buggy

Brandy continues firing her bow from the small boat, hitting another advancing dwarf, but not stopping this one. The Knife grabs the extra sling from the pile of gear they took off of Jinx. Though he has no idea how to use it, the gnome starts whirling it around his head all the same, nearly hitting one of the girls as he waits for the dwarves to get close enough for him to release his stone missile. The dwarves appear to be calling out to others of their kin as they get closer to shore.

Feanol cant believe her elven eyes when she sees her friends attacking these strangers without thinking of the consequences. When she sees one of the dwarves go down, she gasps loudly, knowing that they have just made an enemy before even setting foot into this town. She cautions the others, but she gets the impression that her concerns arent being taken seriously.

Keyon continues his refusal to come ashore at all during the confrontation, not wanting to get involved in this mess on either side. He rows the boat up into the shallow water, in case anyone wants to jump out, but he is adamant that he will be rowing back out of crossbow range as soon as anyone does so. He doesnt see any more craft on the water then he did when they arrived, but keeps his eyes open for such a thing. Elnaerel just cant imagine that these people, her own people, are not willing to help out the innocent townsfolk. She gets ready to leap out as soon as the boat comes to a stop, which it then does.

Four more heavily armed and armored dwarves begin following behind the first pair, heading directly in your direction. Their bulky armor combined with the soft, uneven sand hampers their ability to run very fast, but they are getting closer by the second. As the party looks around, they still see people in town running from the dwarves, but to Feanol's point, they still haven't seen any bloodshed yet, other than from their own markswoman Brandy that is.

Actions!

The first pair of dwarves are now about 100 feet away, so if TK wants to use his roll for this round, I'm cool with that. The 4 dwarves behind them are still about 250 feet away, but coming on as fast as their chubby little legs can carry them.

Jinx's stuff:
Black Leather armor
Small wooden shield
Shortsword (Brandy)
Hand Axe
Shortbow (Feanol)
Quiver of 24 arrows (Feanol)
Backpack
Waterskin (Brandy)
Belt pouch
Tinderbox flint and steel (Feanol)
Rope 40’
5 Candles (Brandy)
2 Iron rations Per week (split up equally/ 3 each)
Thieves tools (Keyon)
Sling (The Knife)
Quarter Staff
Coin (split/ 2gp and 4sp each)

Keyon 6/6
Brandy 12/12 3/3 First
Feanol 4/4 CL, DM, RM 0/1 First
Elnaerel 10/10 2/3 First
The Knife 5/5

[Darklin2]

Brandy

If we stay out in deeper water they will drowned before getting here. She continues firing at the closest advancing dwarves.

[1d20+3] = 10+3 = 13 Arrow AC7

[1d6] = 5 arrow damage

[1d20+3] = 16+3 = 19 Arrow

[1d6] = 6 arrow damage

Brandy tries to look hard enough to see if the arrows are actually hitting the dwarves or going through them.

[Karaunios]

Elnaerel gets her sling and starts firing at the dwarf that hasn't been hit by Brandy.

Sling (bullet) - To hit [1d20] = 19; Dmg S/M [1d4+1] = 4+1 = 5 L [1d6+1] = 5+1 = 6

[OGRE MAGE]

I will assume that means the 2 of you are staying in the boat then? (unless Keyon shoves you out)

Anyone else?

[Jernau35]

I'm just waiting to hear if there is anything nearby that The Knife can run and take cover behind. If not he's going to stay in the boat.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sorry, I forgot about that.

You are rowing up to the town from the west, so the closest thing to the water would be the area near the Treehouse, still about 200 feet away.

There are really no other structures built that close to the water.