Brief Recap: Last turn, Bibi drove Bruce's chartered ship toward shore, while Sylphie dropped Blade overboard. Blade was in danger of being effectively keelhauled. Fyona dove into the water to help Blade, and Mog tried to board the ship as a crow. Up north, Humphrey fled the Protectors of the Guild.

The Dead Hand of Count Vingrot

It can't end this way, thinks Blade as the saltwater from a swell covers his upturned face, filling his mouth and nose. He sputters and coughs, and luckily gets another large breath as the wooden cage bobs in the water. Gripping the bars of the cage above him with his hands, and turning his feet so they are perpendicular to the bars below him, Blade tries to break free of his watery prison. To do so, he must allow his head to go under the water, allowing him the best leverage. The saltwater burns his eyes when he opens them underwater, and to his dread he sees the barnacle encrusted hull of the ship moving toward him with alarming speed.

He also feels the cage itself move, as if something were pushing it through the water. The currents pull his hair across his face as he strains against the thick wooden rods of the cage. Under the water, he hears a pop, then a snap, and he feels part of the cage give.

But before he can actually break free of the cage, the cage jerks heavily upward [from Sylphie's spell, see below]. Blade feels air around his head and upper body for a brief moment, then he is dropped back into the water. He loses his grip on the bars, and saltwater again fills his mouth and nose. He involuntarily gasps, and is only rewarded with briny water entering his lungs. Blade is completely submerged again, tumbling, and this time he does not have the luxury of taking a last breath. Totally disoriented now, the edges of his vision swim with sparks, and darkness begins to close in on him. It can't end this way, he thinks to himself.

* * *

Bibi floats above the water casting a spell. She sees the people on deck scrambling to avoid falling into the water as the ship rocks violently from her spell. Sylphie is able to wedge herself against the gunwale, nearly hanging over the edge of the boat on Blade's side. From her perch, she can see Blade bobbing in the water, straining to break the now-wooden cage. Sylphie uses her Telekinesis to grasp the cage and raise it. She doesn't want to see anyone die this way, and is unhappy with Bruce for having made her drop Blade into the water to begin with.

Sylphie begins to raise the cage, getting Blade's head and upper body above the water. [Note this event was just described above--Blade only came up like this once, but I described it twice, from two different perspectives.]

Bibi finishes her spell, and her target is Sylphie. Sylphie, unprepared to ward off the spell, is struck dumb--Feebleminded. Forgetting what she is doing, her telekinetic hold on Blade's cage is loosed, and the cage drops back into the water. [Note this was also described above.] Sylphie is obviously confused, and fails to hold tight enough to the rail of the ship. She takes one vacant look at Bruce's face before she is slung over the rail by the boat's motion. Bruce realizes she has been targeted by Bibi's spell, but can do nothing to save her. She is cast into the sea, between the ship and shore.

* * *

Fyona strokes toward the oncoming ship, trying to make her way to the right so it won't bowl her over when it reaches her. She sees Sylphie raise the cage, then drop it again as she is struck by Bibi's spell. Dread fills Fyona as she sees Blade submerge once more. This time, the cage does not bob up again, but instead sinks below the surface before the oncoming ship. Fyona continues to swim, her tears mixing with the salt water. She fears Blade is dead.

* * *

Blade tries one last time to grasp the wooden bars of the cage. Anoxia has set in, and his mind feels thick and distant from what is happening to him. Still, though he is nearly unconscious, barely unaware that he is about to die, a klaxon in his mind stirs him. It can't end like this. With a final effort, what he knows will be his very last, he grips the bars of the cage and pushes. With all his might, he pushes--beyond all endurance, beyond the limits of his oxygen-depleted muscles. He feels the wood structure of the cage strain as though it were part of his own body. He feels the wet wood flex against his effort, hears a small crack in the wood, but is unable to extend his body fully to break the cage apart and free himself. His muscles now fully spent, he cannot maintain the effort any longer.

Just then, the hull of the ship strikes the cage on its corner, and Blade hears the cage snap, feels it shift from its cubicle shape into a skewed, broken parallelogram. He tumbles, lost, completely disoriented and nearly unconscious. The barnacles crusting the bottom of the ship cut Blade's arms and shoulders and hands and head as he bounces beneath the ship. When the keel of the ship reaches him, he limply slides past it, then begins to ascend on the other side of the ship.

With the gasp of a newborn, Blade surfaces, breathing sweet, life- giving air once again. The broken cage surfaces nearby.

[If Blade can swim to the ship he will do so and climb up one of the ropes or something dangling off teh side , gaining entry to teh lower decks through one of teh portals. Once inside he will STEALTHILY search for anything that could be used as armor/weapons. Best case scenario would be him finding his own gear. Can Bry resist acting on this info? The odds are against it ]

[If he cannot reach teh ship, then he will do teh following...]

Blade swims for the cage and uses it as a floatation device. Seeing Bibi flying nearby he shouts to her, "Get me on that boat, preferably near a loose weapon! I have a score to settle with that bastard!"

[If Bibi does this, then Blade will arm himself with whatever non-wooden weapons she has on her (dagger, etc). Prior to landing on the boat he pulls all of Bibi's arrows out of her quiver and throws them into the air in front of her. The spell shoud fling the arrows towards teh boat, hopefully hitting those on deck with a barrage of arrows Once on teh boat he will and immediately make his way to the easiest weapon to obtain, preferably a sword, but he's not being overly picky . He can always trade up later after he kills someone. He will stay the fuck away from Bruce until he can get a decent weapon. Then he will kill him.

When Bruce sees Syphie go over and Blade get back on the ship, he draws his weapon and charges Blade, intent on carrying him back over the side of the ship into the water and then drowning him. [assuming he sees Blade getting back on the ship. If however, by some miraculous twist of fate Bibi has somehow managed to pull his eyeballs out, he will change his statement of intent to lying prostrate on the ships hull, with a WOODEN stake poised above his heart, hoping he can make it easier for the lot of them].

[DM NOTE 83-6: Blade is not on the ship yet, so Bruce can't charge him. Blade is still in the water. Bruce would not know exactly where Blade is anyway, he would have lost track of him when the ship went over the cage.]

Blade, seeing Bibi begin to move toward Sylphie, says..."Bring her to me! We will see how he feels about bargaining now!"

Bibi yells back to Blade as she heads for Sylphie "Please just swim to shore. We will settle this when everyone is back on land." Bibi scoops Sylphie up by the back of her cloak. She tries to get her arms around her from the back so that Sylphie's flailing does not injure her. Bibi speaks softly to her "I'm going to help you, just be still so we can get to shore."

As Bibi flies toward the ship to get to Sylphie (who was between the ship and shore), the ship again rocks violently. When Bibi flies over the ship, the ship is driven downward into the water, but its buoyancy prevents it from sinking immediately. Instead, when Bibi passes over the ship, the ship is pressed down deep into the water, the deck becoming almost level with the water line. Then when Bibi is no longer above the ship, the ship pops back upward and out to sea, away from Bibi. The mast, broken, drags behind the ship as it spins out of control. Several of Bruce's fighters are thrown from the deck, quickly sinking beneath the surface of the water. Bruce himself is nearly thrown off, but manages to hang on with one hand to a metal grip attached to a plank on the deck. His other hand clutches his axe.

As Bibi does this maneuver, Blade watches as the ship moves toward him and is driven downward. At its lowest point it is very near to Blade, who wants to make it onto the deck. Blade swims toward it, and gets one wet hand onto the rail just before the ship pops back up (i.e., just after Bibi passes over the ship). The motion of the ship pulls Blade out of the water, flinging him into the air. He lands in a heap on the deck, near where Bruce lies on deck hanging onto the grip. With Bibi on the shore side of the ship, the ship begins to be pushed out to sea, the mast dragging behind it causing it to spin wildly under the force of Bibi's spell. [Neither Bruce nor Blade can take any more action--safely--this turn because the ship is too hard to stand up on. If you try to move or fight, there will be a chance you fall overboard--DEXx3% to stay on board.]

Meanwhile, Bibi flies down into the water after Sylphie. The witch has nearly sunk, but Bibi is able to grab a corner of her cloak and pull her to the surface. Bibi then grabs her under her arms and begins to fly her to shore.

Bruce looks at Blade, his mouth is bloodied, and one of his front teeth has been knocked from his head. His hair and body are soaked with salt water. He looks up and sees Bibi flying over with Sylphie in her arms and smiles. "Well, I suppose this makes us even! He grips hard with one hand, and the mast of the ship with the other. He starts to laugh and sing a song:

When the course is laid and the anchor's weighed And Blade's blood begins racing! With our hearts unbound and our flag unfurled We're under way and off to see the world! Under way and off to see the world!

Hey ho we'll go Anywhere the wind is blowing Manly men are we

Sailing for adventure on the deep blue sea Danger walks the deck we say what the heck We laugh at the perils we're facing Every storm we ride is its own reward And people die by falling overboard

Hey ho we'll go Anywhere the wind is blowing Hoist the sails and sing

There are distant lands with burning sands That call across the ocean There are cribbage games every fun-filled day And not a wench is wasted!

Hey ho we'll go Anywhere the wind is blowing Fearless men named Bruce and Blade

The salty breezes whisper Who knows what lies ahead I just know I wasn't born to lead the life my father led

The stars will be our compass Wherever we may roam And our mates will always be Just like a family And though we may put into port the sea is always home

Hey ho we'll go Anywhere the wind is blowing Bold and brave and free Sailing for adventure On the deep blue sea!

I know you mean to kill me Blade, and if you don't certainly Ghotu will. Just know that I wouldn't have let you hang. Get close yes, frighten you, teach you a lesson, even let you rot in jail for a while, but I wouldn't let you die at the hands of the authorities. I was proving a point, which I would say has been proven, wouldn't you? Anyway, no matter what happens now, I forgive you. Without waiting for an answer, Bruce breaks into song again.

Hey ho we'll go Anywhere the wind is blowing Bold and brave and free Sailing for adventure On the deep blue sea!

He continues to sing for a while

Blade scans the deck for anything to kill Bruce with.

Just then, Mog comes up from below deck, having flown in through a portal. The orc looks as if he has been thrown through a washing machine--his clothes are soaked, his packs and pouches are jumbled about him in disarray, and he is rubbing his head. He is soaking wet too, and says calmly, "The ship sinks." He looks at Bruce dancing, and at Blade, who searches the deck for a weapon.

Blade finds a machete stuck in a wooden beam. [Keith, you can't get any attacks off this turn, but you can state your intent.]

Back on land, Ghotu has asked Gayrlana if any of her mercenaries can swim. She indicates none are made for water fighting, but that one of her current troupe can fly. She barks an order, and a gargoyle lifts into the air from the mercenary ranks behind Ghotu and Gayrlana. Gayrlana orders the gargoyle to go save Blade. The stone-colored creature beats its leathery wings and departs for the ship. [Micah told me over the weekend he wanted to ask Gayrlana if any of her mercs could help, I forgot to post it until Keith asked the same question.--DM, 83-6]

[DM NOTE 83-6: The ship is no longer moving toward shore, because Bibi has moved to the shore-side of the ship to save Sylphie. The ship is now spiraling out to sea with a broken mast and a damaged hull.]

Posting Instructions: None.

HOME