Old Ways IC II

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"Um, yes, good," Talsarios says a little awkwardly at Artanis's outburst. "I thought you might prepare the old Magic Missile spell, being a warrior and a magic-user - but I don't like to make assumptions, you see.
"Now - as for when to use the magic: is it going to be best to try to put the crew on deck to sleep before or after we take out the watch? I'm thinking that if the watchman gets to cry alarm, then more crew will come up on deck, letting me catch more of them at once - which might be helpful... I'll give way to our warriors' judgement on the matter, of course."

[Tsunamiatunzen1]

Artanis calmed down a little and pointed out something Talsarios had missed.

"I'm sorry about my previous outburst. However, I would personally advise against letting the watch cry out. We have no idea if Viper has a secret escape route when they are alerted. A simple boat could make it difficult to capture him."

[Nevaera]

ASH

Ash nods at Alanna's fairly precise report on the abilities she can offer. "Excellent."

She frowns in contemplation as each voice their concerns and suggestions.

"Even with a separate escape route, how far can a fella get in the middle of a river without someone noticing? He'd have to be especially clever and skilled or powerful.

"Perhaps luring out as many as possible for the spell would be good.

"I'll be the bate while everyone else ascends. By the time Talsarios is up, we should have enough gathered for a sleep spell. I'll guard the ascension of the rest of you with Nathros and Brandon so that the Fangs will be in a better cluster for the spell too."

Though, I wonder what to do if for some strange reason they offer a parley? I'd rather not wonder what schemes they plan while they buy time with such a trick. Normally they have not offered parley before, so I suppose it's unlikely they would this time.

Addressing Artanis, "I think it'd be good to use one magic attack on the lookout if he's causing trouble with a bow or something. Otherwise, let him climb down to deal with us in close combat with the others and save your attack for the Viper."

"A guaranteed successful hit, no matter how powerful, is preferred when dealing with a particularly tough opponent.

"There's no reason to believe he'd have magic, though, is there? And, what if that necromancer has returned to the Viper for some reason? We should try to be prepared for that as well. I also still have holy water.

"And, I take it you are all feeling healthy and well then?"

She'll also take the initiative in making sure the remaining spoils from their last adventures have been properly divided.

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Mycah gets dibs on daggers etc... I made an OOC post regarding this matter. We can sort out the rest of the details OOC as well.

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor


Bran suggests, "If you want to lure as many of them out as possible, write them a letter."

"Write a letter how Lord Bost's Rangers are going to attack them three days from now. Magic will be used to freeze the river so the boat will be stuck, and then armored knights will simply walk across the ice and knock holes in the boat and kill all the Fangs."

"Tell them that they should escape now before they are all killed."

"Then tie that letter to an arrow and shoot the arrow onto their deck. Do you think that will cause many Fangs to gather in one spot?"

[Tsunamiatunzen1]

Artanis raised one brow in surprise.

"Whilst I'm not sure how that exact message will matter when they're asleep, that's actually a pretty good idea. However, if we plan on going in under the cover of darkness, the message will most likely go unnoticed."

Artanis then pulled out an arrow and made looked down its shaft to check how straight it was. While he was doing this, he spoke, unsuccesfully trying to keep him from knowing he was impressed.

"Good thinking Brandon."

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor


Bran says, "Any kind of distraction. I... I mean, I know someone who has an old stuffed bear we can tie to the arrow."

"Paint a few weird glyphs on the toy, and x's over the eyes, and maybe tie a noose around the neck, and the Fangs will think it's weird magic sent to curse them!"

"Everyone will be freaking out, gathering around the arrow but afraid to touch it. And then, wham! Talsarios casts his spell. Knocks them all out."

[Nevaera]

ASH

"Talsarios, how close do you need to be to cast your spell?"

"What if we borrow two boats - I'll hire someone to drive them, one of which can wear my old armor if they like for safety - and approach single file? If we do this in broad daylight, they should notice well enough to gather around. Would approach at first in a way that might confuse them like singing a jaunty tavern tune... or Artanis and Brandon could just shout some nasty words at them. 'course that may just put them in fight/flight that much faster, which wouldn't be totally ideal.

"Talsarios can ride on the first boat with Nathros, Brandon, and I. I'll keep Talsarios safe with my shield and I. He could cast his spell after they've gathered to fight, then I'll climb up and distract and gather the rest of them for the second spell or until Nathros and Brandon can get up and help me deal with a few stragglers.

"Mycah, Alanna and Artanis should be on the second boat for ranged and healing support and it'd be great to have a second boat in case something happens to our first or one of us falls in and needs some rescuing.

"Also, we could close our water skins with air inside only and have the strapped to our belts, us heavy armor wearers, as a plan to stay conscious longer if we do go under. Around the opening we could seal some bladder skin from an animal or something stretchy like that which should be enough to keep the air in unless sucked on. Of course there'd need to be a few needle sized holes poked into the middle before hand. I could test it at the same time I test my armor in the river to see how limited I feel down there.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"Good long ranges on them both, I could keep much further back than that," Talsarios explains. "Sleep will work from about two hundred yards away, Magic Missile from a hundred and fifty. I might even be able to manage the range from the docks... but where's the adventure in that, eh?"

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor


Bran shakes his head and says, "This thing we do is risky enough without putting you in harm's way when we don't really have to."

[MeanMrsMustard]

Alanna puts a finger up. "Which is a bigger risk: Talsarios going on the water and running the risk of sinking, or him casting his spell from the docks and running the risk of it not working?"
She doesn't object to Ash's detailed plan.
"I like the air-skins bit!"

[Tsunamiatunzen1]

Artanis decided that some action needed to be taken.

"In that case, I suggest we stick with the letter on an arrow plan with one boat almost on top of the ship and the other one waiting to carry the archer to the ship and anyone else who stays behind that stayed in order to get a better view of the ship."

He then looked around at the party.

"So, unless any of you have a spare piece of parchment that ISN'T connected to a spellbook, I'll be going back to Bloody Bill's to ask for one. Besides, this planning is starting to become counterproductive since there are now too many ideas."

He began to leave in order to carry out his announcement.

[Matthew]

Nathros looks on with some incredulity at the inability of Artanis to show a little patience, "Nobody is going anywhere until we agree on the plan. It seems pretty straight forward at this point, Talsarios and Artanis pepper the enemy with magic missiles, and lay down a couple of sleep spells, whilst Ashala, Bran, Alanna, Mycah, me and our three mercenaries storm the ship. All we need to figure out is how we are going to get there. Shooting fire arrows onto the ship is a bad idea if we are looking at a surprise assault, and in any case we need to verify who we are killing."

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"Wait, Artanis, if we're going to try to gather a bunch of them together with a note on an arrow... then I've got a notebook right here," Talsarios says, holding it up. "Although, I'm not sure we agreed to that yet. I mean, unless the watchman in the crows' nest is particularly weak, he's likely to cry out when he gets hit with a Magic Missile. I expect it won't kill him instantly and silently, is what I mean - which would cause a distraction, and take out one of our foes. And anyway, I doubt the patrons of Bloody Bill's would have a great stock of writing materials."

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor


Bran coughs and mentions something he just now remembered.

"Do any of us know how to actually steer a boat?"

"I mean, if we kill all the Fangs, who do we get to steer the boat?"

"Maybe we should, you know, hire a few sailors to stand by in c... I mean, once we win. Men who can handle the boat."

[Nevaera]

ASH

Ash noticeably droops a little after another of Artanis' outbursts.
She stands patiently while they have a short exchange, then she replies, "Good, Talsarios. You can come on the second vessel if we manage to procure one. You'll need to be on or in the ship to see where to target your spells in the heat of battle, I imagine. Of course on our initial approach, you may be able to get one good spell off if enough of them gather at the side to look at us.

"We'll need to magically sleep as many and indiscriminately as possible, but only slay the ones who attack or look like they intend to attack. I suggest aligning a minimum of four of them as we're expecting between ten and fifteen possible enemies. The more you Sleep, the more we'll be able to question and the less we'll have to chop the heads off of - just in case they've got their necromancer here again."

She nods in appreciation of Alanna's praise about the air-skins.

With the following, she starts directed toward Nathros, "I agree that we have to be sure that who we attack are actually our hostile Fangs and not some enemies of the Guild who we've been tricked into pursuing. There may just as likely be friendlies on the ship deck or below that we wouldn't want to endanger."

"On a side, the people at Bloody Bill's are neither our allies nor our friends and I'm sure they wouldn't take kindly to any of us walking in there treating their establishment like a general goods store either. With them, we have only a contract of agreement for mutual gain. Nothing more.

"As to who needs to man the ship, the Guild will, as per our agreement. It is also anchored, so it won't be going anywhere unless they set sail while we have come aboard, which is unlikely, but slightly plausible.

"Now, what's left that I see would need to be organized is this: I need to ask Lord Bost if he has any water vessels we could use for this. I also need to ask him about that ship for any extra information we could use against them during our attack. If we're going with the 'air-skins' idea - as Alanna cleverly put it - then I'd appreciate some of you taking care of making that come about. I don't mind testing one while I test my armor in the water. And last, we should set a time and be sure Brandon's hired help even want a part in this and if so, should probably be the one's steering and protecting the vessels we borrow."

"Anyone else have any reason we should not go about pursuing these actions right this moment before meeting back here in about two hours?"

If no one objects, perhaps Mycah (and maybe Artanis) can make the air-skins come about as they're the most woodsy types. Ash would speak to her uncle about the details mentioned above. Brandon could talk to his hired men and offer ash's old armor if one of them wants to borrow some plate mail just for today (Ash would have offered it). Any other errands people wanted to, this would be a good time for it. Maybe the extra people could walk as guards with the ones on mini-missions. Otherwise they could stay here with Ash and wait for the others to return. Also, "lupper" could be arranged before everyone heads out or everyone could have rations maybe.

[Koren n'Rhys]

Mycah sits quietly as all this planning occurs, not having much to offer. Battle plans and midnight raids are beyond his experience. As Ash explains the "air skins" idea, he seems impressed, having never even considered such a thing before. "I'm sure I can figure to a way to make them work. The air-tight seal will be the tricky part. Maybe just a cork sealed with wax is easiest - you can just bite it and pull it out while you hold it upside down?"

"You know, it seems like the message thing is making this more difficult than it needs to be. Fire should be their biggest fear, on a boat. One or two fire arrows will get the watches attention and he should yell for everyone to get on deck to put out the fire. Plus it's not too big a fire, like oil flasks would cause. Then once they are all on deck you guys put them to sleep."

Once Nathros expresses his interest in a magic dagger, Mycah will give him one. "Still one more extra if anyone needs it."

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Busy weekend of posting, wow! Sorry - I generally don't spend much time online over the weekends, so I need to get caught up on Monday.

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor


Bran announces to the rest of the party, "Hey, I need you all to chip in and help me buy some armor and weapons for the men we hired, especially if we're going to be bringing them along on this."

"I'd do it all myself, but, uh, I can't. I gave a lot of my money to my mom and the Immortals..."

Bran seems terribly embarrassed about not being rich enough.

"We need to buy them each Leather Armor and maybe a Battle Axe. Total would be 81 gold."

"I can pay for 30 of that."

[Koren n'Rhys]

"Of course we should all be helping pay for their equipment, Bran. Why didn't you ask earlier. if we all put in 15 gold, that should cover everything, right?"

[Nevaera]

ASH

"I thought they were Brandon's personal guards."

Edit: "But, if you're going to put them to use for the rest of our Companions, then we may as well all chip in."
She'd give over fifteen gold for now. Her offer to lend one of them her old chain mail stands.

[Tsunamiatunzen1]

Artanis decided that once again, the party should reap the rewards of what they had earned.

"Here, take my 'share' of the remaining gold to pay for them. This money is yours anyway. Besides, I shall not stand idly by while anyone under our care dies because I was greedy."

His gaze hardened, making it clear he would not accept 'no' for an answer.

[Frivolous]

ASH

"I thought they were Brandon's personal guards."

Edit: "But, if you're going to put them to use for the rest of our Companions, then we may as well all chip in."
She'd give over fifteen gold for now. Her offer to lend one of them her old chain mail stands.

Brandon Bor

Bran looks a bit shocked.

"Me, a personal guard? I never had the idea."

"I thought we hired them just so we could have someone take care of incidentals like keeping watch over our wagons and such while we adventure in dungeons."

[Koren n'Rhys]

Mycah seems surprised to hear this from Ash as well.
"A personal guard? I thought he was just taking the initiative to talk to them on all our behalf?"

[Nevaera]

ASH

"My mistake. I saw him doing that on his own and assumed incorrectly."

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor


Bran announces, "We should plan for the chance that the Guild will betray us."

"If we defeat the Fangs, we'll be weaker. Our spell-casters will have fewer or no spells left. They might decide that they can take two birds out with one stone, grab all our equipment and take us hostage."

"So we should keep forces in reserve and not let our guard down until we are back on shore."

[Roland St. Jude]

The three hirelings can be provisioned with armor and weapons, and all are eager to assist in the expedition. They would choose swords and daggers over a battle axe, though.

Ash confers with Lord Bost and tests out the air-bladder idea (they hold very little air, are unlikely to transport or age well, but do essentially work as desired).

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Everyone should condense their two-hour period activities in a single post.

[Tsunamiatunzen1]

Artanis tried his hand at the air bladders but turned to watching for movement on the ship if they did not turn out well in his hands.

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I'm not sure what kind of check I should do to make the bladders. So I'm guessing maybe an Int. check?
Craft DC 14?: (1d20)[16]

Alertness DC 14: (1d20)[1]

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"If they're planning something like that," Talsarios says to Brandon's comment about the Guild's possible attack, "then it will change everything! So I'll go and find out while we're making all these other preparations. My thought-reading won't be much use in a fight, anyway... Who can we spare from the plan come with me? I won't take more than a half hour or so."

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Regardless of who is to come with him - one of the hirelings will do - Talsarios will privately cast his ESP spell, go to the Bloody Bill tavern and order a drink, making some comment about "Nothing to do till the others get their arses in gear..." - and then try to read the barman's thoughts.

[Nevaera]

ASH

Ash apologized to her sword instructor for her and Mycah's absence today, spoke with Lord Bost on the matter of the River Rose and procuring a vessel, ate dinner, and tested her armor and air-skin (after one was finished being crafted) before returning to the others at Bost's Manor once more.

[Koren n'Rhys]

Mycah spends the time working with Artanis to craft the air-skins, but beyond that has little to prepare. He'll double-check his arms and armor and be ready when everyone gathers for the assault on the ship.

[Frivolous]

ASH

"I thought they were Brandon's personal guards."

Edit: "But, if you're going to put them to use for the rest of our Companions, then we may as well all chip in."
She'd give over fifteen gold for now. Her offer to lend one of them her old chain mail stands.

The three hirelings can be provisioned with armor and weapons, and all are eager to assist in the expedition. They would choose swords and daggers over a battle axe, though.

Ash confers with Lord Bost and tests out the air-bladder idea (they hold very little air, are unlikely to transport or age well, but do essentially work as desired).

Spoiler

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Everyone should condense their two-hour period activities in a single post.

Brandon Bor

Bran takes the three men on a shopping trip for 2 suits of leather armor and 3 short swords.

The third man he offers Ash's old suit of chain mail.

He also passes by the temple of the Immortal Petra and prays for a few minutes for the safety of the party in this dangerous boating adventure.