(G507 21/01/2023 via Roll20 - AP, JF(GM), KT, AD) HOM15

 

(G507 21/01/2023 via Roll20 - AP, JF(GM), KT, AD) HOM15

[The adventurers Griffolk Ethyn the Dragon-Shaman, Corhim Sparkledingle the Gnome Wizard and Fangorino the Barbarian are on a mission to follow Baroness Partick and have been onboard the galleon known as the Dementor for several weeks now.
Now they are in a serious battle against all the vampires onboard as Fangorino has been dominated!]

DAY 39 (day 28 of the voyage) ...


'Don't panic!' cried Sparkledingle, who then proceeded to panic.  Griffolk tried to calm the others down, but Baroness Partick called up from below, 'You should surrender! We will let you live!'

Sparkledingle tried to bluff that the ship was under attack from a sea monster and that they needed Fang to help try and fight it, but she did not believe him.

It was not long before Fang, healed and enchanted, stomped back up onto the main deck. As he chased and battled the others Sparkledingle cast Ray of Clumsiness again and again and again, until the barbarian was so clumsy he could no longer move. They then quickly tied him up and Sparkledingle cast Rope Trick, a spell that creates a little pocket dimension (or something!) at the top of a rope.

They all climbed the rope and then dragged Fang up behind them. After five  minutes the Clumsiness wore off and Fang stared wriggling, trying to get out of his bonds.

Not much was going on though, so after a while they came back down the rope. Fang was stripped of his weapons and armour.

Captain Pickles and the only marine left alive had gone off and got dead drunk so were of no use. Griff got the nearest barrel he could find and they shoved
Fang into it. He then modified the lid so that Fang's head could stick out - a Waterdavian trick I'd first heard of from Fenrir and Oz. Finally, like a cherry on top of a cake, they shoved a sock in his mouth to keep him quiet.

It was now noon and stomachs were rumbling so Sparkledingle sent an Unseen Servant spell down to the galley to gather food. After lunch he then went and burgled all the midshipman's cabins.

By now Griff had come up with a sort of plan, which was to gather the survivors and lower the Captain's pinnace and make their escape.

Lots of ropes were tied to various things but something went wrong somewhere as I am about to describe;

- A rope is tied to the rail and then the pinnace.
- The pinnace is lowered to the sea.
- Everyone gets in the pinnace.
- Midshipman Krondor is instructed to tie a rope between the pinnace and the barrel containing Fang.
- The barrel is tossed into the sea on the end of 50ft of rope.
- Fang (no surprise!) starts drowning.
- Bosun Redthorn and Vincek haul on the rope to bring Fan to the side of the pinnace so they can put him the right way up.
- Griff ties himself to the pinnace.
- Griff goes into the water, holding a rope which is tied to the ship.
- Griff starts whacking holes in the side of the ship, hoping to sink it.
- This draws the attention of Baroness Partick who cuts the rope holding Griff to the ship with a sword.
- Griff is holding onto the ship, but is yanked away when the Pinnace drifts off on the swell.
- Griff is pulled onto the pinnace.

As they drifted away Baroness Partick came to the rail to look at them. She was followed by the four people under the power of the vampires - Mr and Mrs Baleworth, Midshipman Alise and First Mate Mullmaster.

They considered going back to try and sink the Dementor again, but in the end Griff said 'Bugger it' and they pulled away, the pinnace being a smaller and thus much faster vessel. It was probably the right thing to do, as the person best suited to chopping holes in ships was currently bobbing along beside the pinnace in a barrel!

After a couple of hours they noticed that shark fins were visible in the water. As more and more sharks arrived they hauled Fang, barrel and all out of the sea.

Sparkledingle sat and thought for a bit and then came up with a "plan".

'This can't possible fail!' he squeaked. 'Griff can breath underwater so all we need to do is  put him in the water, on a length of rope, then when he draws them in I can use magic to kill them.  Fool-proof!'

'Umm, ok,' replied Griff.

He tied a rope around his waste and jumped in the water. The sharks did not have to be invited to a free meal twice and piled into him. Griff could hardly move he was so tightly packed with the sharks biting at him and to those on the pinnace it looked like a mad frothing boiling sea of fins, teeth and occasionally Griffolk.

Griff was protected by armour and magic and did not take any damage. The rope was bitten in two though and the weight of sharks pushed him down into the depths. He was dragged 30, then 40 then 50 feet down! Eventually though he made his way back to the surface and back into the boat, all the while being bitten at by angry sharks.

Once he got his breath back he said, 'I think I saw something massive and horrible further down. Let's just set sail and leave the sharks to it!'