Rollohi-ch401-script

Flashback! -- 

Ingle: Viscount Espeque may have made his decision. But we need to let him know about Ouzi's problem. 

jack: You mean uh Baron Jazz problem?

Ingle: Not his right name, but sure.

Umbert: I can write the Viscount. 

then, seeing surprise on some faces continues...

    I don't even need to sign the party to it, since I belong to the Wizard Academy. It could just be this.

I fear though, without seein' much o'th' grey beards. Pod objects.

It's an easy vote, yes, for the majority, though  Cied contrarily votes against Pod. And both Jack and Umbert raise qualified conditions. 

So we can imagine the scene with both parties now fully equipped, the Greybeards moving in below the monastery, and the party moving out, ready to leave. 

Oh younkers, you got a new big menace?

- I'm afraid so, or rather, put it like this. In recent days, we stumbled upon an account of giant ants that could wipe out all of a county if left unchecked, Ingle begins.

... And the handover conversation progresses from there, with the Greybeards getting a yes but, meaning they have been given a fairly clear priority from Yibh Espeque that they need to investigate this vast dungeon beneath the monastery, but they will try to do something about the giant ants, preferably before winter's end.

 And so, with a slightly more clear conscience, I can progress to events in Lake Town.

4.01.01

 In our last episode, I recounted a brief interval in Lake Town as the party went over, enjoyed itself without spending a great deal of money, looking forward to spring and a venture either directly to the plateau or perhaps to investigate the source of this underriver treasure that they've had hens at which, as we the audience, know, involves trying to deal with they who are currently dressed or disguised as giant ermine. 

But in the meantime, I have generated a new menace. Over in the fringe to the north, not too far from the seigneur's estate, but in a section of the lake that is not widely traveled. A secret covey of lake boats slowly begins assembling in the reeds. These are under the sponsorship of the Chaos Dwarf Lords. Their mission, such as it is, is to loot and wreak havoc upon the lake. This is an opening stage, or as the Chaos Dwarf Lords see it, a repost to a previous insult to them. In a war on the settled lands of Viscount Yves Isbeck. No fewer than twenty lake boats are ready. They are under the command of a level seven fighter, and he has at his disposal a mage and several competent mid-level fighters. Blissfully unaware of this, the party begins to assemble final parts of their gear and make a deal with the bargemen of Lake Town to get their mounts across to the west. Is there an omen or oracle of the present danger? No. What part of the lake do the buccaneers strike? Would it be one directly to the north, which is the minor settlement towards Horseshoe, through to five, the seigneur's estate, and six, Lake Town itself. It's a four. They have chosen to strike the landing exactly where the party is going to move across to. And so it is possible that people seeing the danger can retreat to the fortified villa that makes up the Seigneur's estate. 

Let's have a look at the weather, bearing in mind it has to be fine enough for lake boats to sail in the first place. Exceptionally fine. I roll an 18 on the Cohen scale, and I would say that is a very pleasant early spring day. 

Going to make a D20 roll for the leader of the Buccaneers to have all of his boats equipped and ready. Yes, every one of them is fine. 

And I'm going to make a check for the Seigneur's estate and then the Lake Town in case anyone there has noticed the barges. Yes, but... confuse them for normal barge traffic and lake town. No and... completely unaware, the buccaneer took a more inland (westerly) route that would take it closer to the Seigneur's estate. 

With vicious cries, the twenty lake boats draw up and the buccaneers aboard spring out onto the jetty and onto the hapless civilians who are the entire population of the small landing area. 

Do they stupidly light a fire? Yes, and it is enough to signify to the Seigneur's estate and to Lake Town that something has gone badly awry at the landing. 

4.01.02

And so our heroes aboard the barge headed for the landing are not caught completely unawares. The party has at its disposal a ring of water walking and a potion of levitation. These both seem like useful tools to deal with enemies on the water. And more prudently they can simply turn the barge around and head back to Lake Town. 

Will the party take aggressive action? [7d6]

I see a lot of ones and twos, let's have a look. Ingle no and Eryn Yes and Jack Yes and UMBERT yes but Cied Pod I'm going to treat as one unit in the crisis and that's a no Kylie yes but and Xantu no and 

So surprisingly, although it looks as though it was a decisive no to begin with, there are two conditional yeses and two absolute yeses carrying the day out of seven votes. 

Extremely reluctantly, Ingle puts his head in his hands and begins thinking out how the party, equipped mostly with heavy armor, one or two useful spells, and two magic items of any use, one of which is disposable, can do anything about waterborne attackers. Let's check the wind. It's coming from the northeast, so it's not of any help or hindrance to either side. How about this? Ingle says after a length. Xantu protects the occupants of this raft. Cied pod backs him up. I'll stay here as healing battery. One of you, he looks at both Kylie and Eryn. Take to the sky and dominate the sky above. I suppose that might be best you, Kylie. The other one use the ring of water walking, carry Jack Pigaback and capture a single boat. Then bring it back, and then we've doubled our options. I like it, Eryn says, grinning with a hardy grin!

Kylie: I shall take to the sky and float on the wind... We'll need to start to the north Kylie says, pointing in the direction she needs the raft to be driven. 

'Old on Ingle, Umbert objects. That all sounds great, but uh I don't really hear anything for me to do. I can't swim. Well not that distance I can't.

 Ingle's making it up as he goes along, but he makes a brave effort. That's where the second boat comes into effect, Umbert. Once you have your feet in that and with us to help you, you'll be able to fend off other attackers using your like what? Um ventriloquism? Ingle jokes or half jokes. 

What you mean to say is I might as well stay under cover. 

Well, yes, and I'm pretty much in the same boat. One well aimed arrow coming my way, and I'm history, and I'm sure you know the same is true for you, right? 

Umbert, who has had an extremely narrow escape against goblins, saved only when Ingle yanked him clear and Jack covered for him, nods grimly. There's nothing much else he can say to that.

 Ingle now turns persuasively to the dwarf and the halflings. A lot of it will be down to you once we have a second boat, to board that boat and make life extremely difficult for those pursuing us. Then we return to Laketown. If the raiders, whatever they are, want to follow us in their boats, so much the better. As we know, Laketown has a good defense. 

Well, that's a quarter-ass plan if ever there was one, but Ingle is the only one to announce any kind of plan, and so the party goes along with it. 

The two sides, very uneven, wish each other luck. Eryn, who has stripped down any part of her gear that she doesn't need, nods to Jack, who very nervously waits till she sets her feet on the water and then clambers piggyback upon her. I really hope that ring will uh oh it it's kind of working. Indeed, the ring is set to carry a decent size character and capacity. Eryn may feel that she's cheating the original magic encoded into the ring, but for now, all she has to do is walk across the slightly choppy surface of the lake towards her prize. Kylie hands her one end of a rope. The other end is tethered about the elf's ankle

4.01.03

I'm sure this will work, the elf smiles and then drinks the potion. 

Are there any major issues starting from where Kylie wants to start? No, and the barge raft or whatever you want to think of it is conveyed to exactly the right point northeast of where the raiders are pillaging. And at that point, Eryn sets out with Kylie floating like a child's balloon above her, menacing the water below with her bow and arrows. Jack stands ready or sits ready to slide off Eryn and swim any short distance to gain the side of a keelboat. It's relatively unlikely that buccaneers leave a large crew to guard their vessels, which, as far as I can picture, will be simply drawn up in a big cluster around the jetty and onto the dry land. 

Are there any reserve crew at all? Yes, but just a D6. 

There are two reserve crew there to sound the alarm. Let's see if Kylie can pick them off before they spot people approaching from the water. I'm gonna give Kylie two shots. One of them is a crit, but the other one maxes off, perhaps glancing off the hardened leather cap of a buccaneer. With that second shot failing, the Buccaneer races for the alarm, presumably a horn. 

So I think it's time for initiatives. 

Party three, Buccaneers three. Is Jack within swimming distance by that time? No. 

So round three is Buccaneer sounds an alarm and Kylie looses her third shot. Kylie's third shot is a perfect shot, killing the Buccaneer outright. That's not bad for three shots, one crit and one max damage. But the alarm has been sounded. 

The nearest buccaneers are two rounds away. By that time, Jack and Eryn gain the side of the nearest keelboat. And Eryn begins reeling Kylie down to tether her closer to support.

[D20]

 It's actually quite difficult. Meanwhile, Jack is making a let's cut the boat away and get it moving. Oh, nice. He makes a seven on his agility or strength or whatever you want to think of it. In any case, he rolls a seven, which is a great one. The keelboat shifts away from the jetty, and the natural pressure of the wind begins to drift.