The group awakes on their 205th day since leaving their homeland. They continue their travels to the east along the road through the dense forest in Cape Wrath.
After about 5 days of travel, they arrive at a small town absent of a banner. It looks like this purely a trading hub — this must be the place that Tirius was talking about, but it wouldn’t make sense to light a signal fire right here.
Mulling over their options, they could get out of town a bit farther to the east and light the fire near the beach. But a signal fire would need a lot of smoke to be seen at that distance. Why would Tirius have had you set a fire anyway? It would seem they would need to be closer to recognize it in any sort of timely manner. And if they were to create the fire just outside of town, that would cause a lot of commotion among the people in this trading port.
Perhaps they should just let the townsfolk know of their plans and that they mean no harm. After exploring the very small town, they find a tavern and decide to check in with the barkeep.
They order a few drinks and discuss their plans for their beacon fire and that no one should be alarmed. He responds in a most peculiar way… “If I had a coin with one side depicting a Portcullis with a Mine, the other depicting a Spear with a Ship, on which side would you bet, had the coin been flipped?”
Caught entirely off guard, they look at each other and decide the Spear and the Ship. They chose wisely.
“Hmm… indeed… come with me.”
The man walks from around the bar and leads the group outside, grabbing a staff on the way. He leads them down a path to the wharf, and ultimately to a docked slender keelboat.
The aging ship is a larger version than the vessels that typically travel the Rhoyne, though not by a great deal. Despite its age, the ship looks in good repair. He smacks the staff on a wooden pylon 3 times and a crew of 4 appear from below deck.
Looking at the tavern owner, a man with a short white beard says, “So, these my cargo?” After a short pause, “Jokes, friends, jokes.”
“I am Cairn. You are respected friends of The Sandship, and you are respected friends of Ghost Hill. Welcome aboard. We have a 5 day journey ahead of us, so we’d better be on our way.”
Little did the Assembly realize, but this was Tirius’ plan all along; just a way to keep information secret from any spies that might be around.
Sensing no danger, they all board the ship with their horse. They are told that the portion of the Sea of Dorne they would be traveling is calm enough to not have the equines get hurt or risk them being thrown overboard.
The man with the short white bear is giving orders to the rest of the crew – he must be the Captain.
One is young and slender, bouncing around the deck looking busy – he must be the Scout.
One is a big burly man with a great black beard, gathering and coiling ropes and readying the sails – he must be the Sail Handler.
One is a more stoic and reserved clearly more of a thinker than a doer, stoic – he must be the Navigator
Burton approaches the Navigator.
BURTON: How long have you been waiting for us here?
NAVIGATOR: Oh we weren’t here the whole time. We swapped out with another crew once a week.
BURTON: We were quite worried that you wouldn’t be here since it did take us quite a long time to get out here and we really appreciate you still being here.
NAVIGATOR: It is no problem at all. This was a high priority order from Lord Torryl Toland of Ghost Hill.
The Assembly introduces themselves and the Navigator introduces himself as Dest.
QHORTHO: Let me ask you something. Were you told to wait for a signal from us?
DEST: The only signal we knew about was the tavern owner. We had a deal with him to let us know. We’ve used this sort of arrangement before.
BURTON: We were told that we were to light a fire for you…
The group groans a bit for letting out that piece of information so early.
DEST: Nope, no mention of a fire to us.
QHORTHO: Seems odd that you wouldn’t know about the signal we were meant to cast.
DEST: I would bet that Tirius probably figured you would check in with the townsfolk and be led appropriately.
QHORTHO: This sounds like a trap…
DEST: If it is, then it is one for me as well. I can understand your disposition, but I assure you, you will suffer no harm from us.
Cairn comes over to formally introduce himself.
CAIRN: Now that we are on our way, I can break from my duties for a few minutes. I am Cairn, Captain of this vessel, so if you have any questions or if there is anything you need, just let me know.
Burton introduces himself with all the befit the Assembly. Then asks about what fermented beverages might be aboard. They proceed to tap into a barrel of decent ale.
They ask Cairn about Ghost Hill and what is happening back in Dorne. He replies that Ghost Hill is busy, but he is only permitted to share so much information, but he assures you that things are well and that the entire story would be shared by Lord Torryl himself after they arrive at Ghost Hill.
To pass the time, Tholannan finds a fishing pole and uses some of the fouler-smelling food below deck as bait to catch a beautiful 17 lb Striped Bass. And this is on his first cast!
To do this, he tapped his Survival Skill against a DC related to the likelihood of fish being in the area. Once the fish was on the line, he reeled him in with a Raw Strength Contest against the fish. If he had failed the Strength Contest, he could have enlisted help from up to one other person. That other person would then be in a Raw Strength Contest against the fish’s first roll.
Thol hangs the fish out the side of the boat so it stays alive.
There is some discussion amongst the group as to whether they tell Tyrone anything about Andrea. They believe he shouldn’t have the amulet, but they also remember that he doesn’t want it.
A few hours later, Qarzdaq launches a few fireballs off the port side to pass the time, which makes the crew freak out a bit. Qarzdaq seizes the moment.
QARZDAQ: This is just the power of my god, R’hllor. I can tell you more about it if you’d like?
CAIRN: Not right now, how about tomorrow?
QARZDAQ: Well there’s no better time than today. You never know if you’ll be here tomorrow.
SHADOW: Don’t listen to his bullshit.
Thol decides it’s time to cook his fish. He uses his Survival Skills withsome salt, lime, and beer from below deck to prepare something quite stunning. Qarzdaq aids his sibling from another spiritual being with some fire. Thol finishes up and presents the 6 lbs of cooked fish to his comrades and the crew.
CAIRN: Thank you for this feast. We never expected that you would come on board and provide for US.
QARZDAQ: This is a truly combined effort from the Mother Rhoyne providing the food and R’hllor providing the means to prepare it.
THOL: The gods have blessed us over the time we’ve all been together.
The group then clinks heir cups in a toast to The Assembly.
Burton says they should learn how to sail tomorrow! The Dothraki says that the only sea he wishes to sail is the Great Grass Sea.
Remembering that Qhortho does not care for the ocean, he begins using his invisible Mage Hand to splash water directly into Qhortho’s face. He doesn’t seem to tire of doing this and continues to do this over the entire voyage.
That night, the Assembly sits around to talk amongst themselves.
BURTON: Hey guys, I feel like there’s something I should tell you. I never meant this as any offense or anything like that, but I have not told you my true name. As a matter of fact, none of my people tell any outsiders their true names. This is by tradition, and to uphold that tradition, they give us names that are meant to be embarrassing when spoken. Mine happens to be Bumble Foreskin. Burton is just a name I decided to use when we were in Valyria.
SHADOW: I can certainly understand why you wouldn’t be forthright with that information.
THOL: Is that a family name?
BURTON: It was given to me by my family, but I can’t tell you their names. They wouldn’t approve. You can keep calling me Burton if you’d like, or Bumble for short. That’s what my family mostly calls me.
SHADOW: What about Foreskin?
BURTON: Nah, unless it’s preceded by Mister. Well, I feel a lot better now that I’ve gotten that off my chest.
QHORTHO: Thanks for sharing my friend. I must say that with all these days spent together, never before have I experienced people looking out for me and being able to work together. So I appreciate the company and being able to trust you. And the more we travel, the more I feel the spirit of the Stallion in me. I feel like I have the strength that grows and grows; gets bigger and bigger.
THOL: I, for one, am glad that you are no slave. You have been at our sides as strong support and occasionally a leader as well. (He looks at Burton) And if my name were Bumble Foreskin, I’d probably have a hard time telling people too, so I understand.
BURTON: We are a reclusive people for various reasons.
THOL: I am glad to be headed back to The Sandship. Frankly, my time at the temple did not prepare me for all the roughness of adventuring. If it weren’t for you I don’t even know if I would have made it this far. One thing that you guys ought to know, is that ever since that one time when we parted ways and you had to leave me behind in High Hermitage. I tended to the wounded and something happened to me. There was a woman there that I loved dearly albeit very briefly. It was a pain I could not fathom before then. The night she passed, I went to her grave and only meant to spend some time, but I chose to become one with her headstone; I melded into it. I touched the other side of my domain of Life; Death. I’m afraid to say that something came back with me. I could not stop thinking about how I could use the power of that side to bring her back to life, if only for a moment, just to be able to say something. Frankly, that’s what compelled me to raise those zombies in the forest. It pulls at my soul, it cries out to me in an evil way to be harnessed. I struggle to put this behind me.
SHADOW: Do you think it’s possible to bring her back?
THOL: I think that if I were powerful enough, I would at least be able to say goodbye…
SHADOW: What else have you learned about this hidden power?
THOL: The hidden power is evil. It takes a part of you away when you use it. Therefore it should only be used with extreme caution.
SHADOW: Even when you raised those zombies back there?
THOL: Yes. And I must confess that it made a part of me want to turn the corpses back on the four of you.
BURTON: W-w-why?? That’s a bit disconcerting, if you don’t mind me saying!
THOL: It is to me as well… which is why I let it perish. I have since taken it upon myself never to call on that power unless we are in the most dire of circumstances.
BURTON: I see. So this is something beyond your control that welled up inside you. Well, maybe not beyond your control, but separate from your core intentions it seems.
SHADOW: It sounds like you just have to proceed cautiously then.
THOL: Proceed cautiously… exactly.
BURTON: Do you know the source of this power?
THOL: All I can tell is that it seems to be the opposite side of the coin of Life and Death. In some sense, they are one in the same. To give Life is a great thing, but to take back from Death is more evil than you will ever know.
SHADOW: (looks over at Qarzdaq) So what do you think of all that?
QARZDAQ: I see exactly what he is saying. R’hllor does give life through Fire, the Light that burns in all of us, but to take back from Death, that is from the Great Other, from the Frozen North. He is the one that commands the powers of which we speak. And that is not a force to be trifled with. I would tread very carefully.
THOL: It is a heavy price.
QARZDAQ: R’hllor can rekindle the Flame of Life, but he does not wield the power that belongs to the Cold of Death.
THOL: That is exactly right. The Flame of Life is replaced with something much darker.
QARZDAQ: Yes – precisely it’s opposite.
BURTON: Well I’d certainly like to know as much as we can about this, but at the same time, I’d be a bit worried to ask people about it. Maybe we should keep our eyes open for greater spiritual minds that would be open to speaking about this with us.
THOL: Perhaps we can learn how to use this and have full control.
QARZDAQ: I would be wary about even testing it, Thol. As you said, it could take control.
THOL: If the need is dire enough. Only then.
QHORTHO: When I first met you all, I did not believe in these sorts of things. Dragons and their fire could be seen, but the powers of gods other than the Great Stallion could not. Since then, I’ve seen things… that I’ve never thought possible. And I mean that in a good and bad way. I didn’t trust it at first, but I’ve seen the good it can do. I will NOT be a part of any of this dark magic that raises corpses though; you WIL NOT be doing any of that around me. I won’t have it. You have to draw the line somewhere.
SHADOW: He already did it around you.
QHORTHO: And I hope you won’t do it again.
SHADOW: Well, I’d love to join in on this sharing festival you guys have going here, but it’s simply not in my nature. Well, I suppose I can tell you a little more about how I fled my home in Tolos. I went to Valyria and hopped on that ship to Pentos.
BURTON: Do you have a Valyrian Disease?
SHADOW: Yes. Yes I do.
QARZDAQ: Does it burn like the fire of R’hllor?
Laughs are had by all.
SHADOW: Like dragon fire, but only when I pee. I did leave a family behind that I don’t think I ever mentioned…
QARZDAQ: Or thought of?
SHADOW: I had to make a decision.
BURTON: Are they nice?
SHADOW: Not really. That’s why I left.
THOL: Do you have children?
SHADOW: I did have two children that I left.
THOL: So what became of them?
SHADOW: They are with their father.
BURTON: Did you go out for a parcel of rolled tobacco product?
SHADOW: Well… I killed my husband when I left town. He was abusive so he got what he deserved.
QARZDAQ: That’s not too surprising I guess. How did you kill him?
SHADOW: With my dragon face blade here.
QHORTHO: And you left your children to die?
SHADOW: They are likely with his parents. I was arrested soon afterwards, but escaped.
THOL: So you’re a fugitive…
SHADOW: I’ve done worse since then.
THOL: I’ll take your word for it.
QARZDAQ: I thought it was interesting, Mr. Qhortho, you don’t like being a slave, but I am somewhat of a slave. I find it’s not a terrible thing if you’re a slave to a god. It is a powerful thing to be. These tattoos of fire on my face mean that I was sold as a slave to the Red Temple. To this day, I still am. It is a force of good and power in the world.
BURTON: Did they let you out? How are you with us?
QARZDAQ: I’m glad you asked that. I was sent out as a missionary, from Slaver’s Bay oddly enough. I was a missionary in Ghiscari for a time and then when we met on the boat, I was headed up to Pentos to work at the new temple up there.
THOL: I have not thought of Pentos for a long time myself.
BURTON: Truth be told, I had no idea where the ship was going when I hopped aboard. I recently absconded from jail myself.
QARZDAQ: Interesting. Well I must say, that I’ve learned much about myself so far while on our journey. I felt my strength and the power of R’hllor grow within me – the blood of the dragon may actually flow through me. I’m not certain of that period of my past, but there is fire in my veins – I can feel it. And I believe that has shown through in my abilities.
SHADOW: Is that also a Valyrian Disease?
QARZDAQ: It is… it is.
Perhaps the priests of the Red Temple have more to answer for than just slavery…
QHORTHO: I haven’t said this before, but the stories around my birth suggest that I too have the blood of the dragon. A dragon once wandered far north through the Dothraki Sea, where my people are from. My father, Khal Zhavorso, was known as The Dragon Khal for slaying that dragon, saving our khalasar, using the arakh that I have come to wield. If the stories are to be believed, my father ate the heart of that dragon on the very night I was conceived.
QARZDAQ: Wow – what does that do for you?
SHADOW: Maybe it increases virility.
QARZDAQ: I never knew my father, but I suspect he may have been a Valyrian lord. As a child, I was sold as a slave, so I never knew my parents, but hopefully I’ll learn more about them.
After some idle chit chat, they decide it’s time to rest for the night. They find mats on deck and sleep until morning.
The next morning, they are awakened by the crew working on deck. Shadow approaches the Sail Handler, asking to know more about the role on the ship and asks to learn. He tells her that he’s not a teacher, but maybe she can learn by watching. He continues to grunt while swinging the boom port and starboard.
Burton approaches the Scout and expresses his interest in learning the trade. The bubbly young man says, “You’re Burton right? I’m Pitch! How are you this morning?” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he jumps onto the closest mast, climbs a few feet, and then springs off to the primary mast. Burton follows suit, never more than a few feet behind. Pitch looks back at Burton, surprised that he’s keeping up. Burton trumps this surprise by launching into a somersault on the next vault. Pitch watches with glee while he frees up some rigging and launches to his next target. Burton senses that he’s not really going to learn the ropes, as it were, from this guy – however, this does seem like a role of interest to him.
Qarzdaq strolls over to the Navigator, who is using a sextant to measure the angle of the sun above the horizon. Qarzdaq tells him about his time at the Red Temple when he spent time observing heavenly bodies and their movements. “Just a moment sir…” After about half a minute of looking through the viewport he looks at the side at some engravings. Dest continues, “… what can I do for you sir?” Qarzdaq asks about the instrument and the man tells him about how the sextant is used in navigation.
All the while, Captain Cairn is barking orders as the wind shifts and everyone is abuzz on deck.
That night, the winds die down and due to spending time with the group throughout the day, and they settle down for the last meal of the day. The crew seems much more open to conversation this night.
Pitch tells a story about the Green Witch of Cape Wrath who ruled the forest for a generation with her disciples defeating the Storm Kings at every turn.
PITCH: Some say she is still in the forest as a spirit!
SHADOW: How long ago was this that she ruled?
PITCH: Oh it all started hundreds of years ago – but her spirit is still there to this very day!
DEST: Ah that’s hogwash! The Green Witch was a human like any other. A wildling to be more precise.
QARZDAQ: A wildling this far south?
DEST: Yeah – mind you this was ages ago. The whole “spirit living on” is utter nonsense though. The Green Witches are actual people though – north of The Wall. I don’t know if you’ve ever been north of The Wall, but the stories are quite interesting.
Some of the Assembly know of this wall, but that is the limit of their knowledge. Qhortho had never heard of such a thing.
DEST: The Wall is a structure that was built thousands of years ago to guard the realms of men. It spans the entire width of Westeros, far to the north… the Lands of Always Winter. Or so I have read. I have never been that far north myself. But I digress… I’ll tell you something much worse than these stories of the Green Witch of Cape Wrath. There were these creatures inhabiting the forest at the time of the First Men. Maesters called them the Children of the Forest.
BURTON: Ah yes, noble people.
DEST: (Looks at Burton) Wretched creatures that would regularly attack and kill the men, women, and children in the villages along the coast. The battles continued for at least a generation until those demons were finally driven from the forest. Some say they were destroyed – others say they simply went where the weirwoods were still thick in the north. Some say that some stayed behind and inhabit the deepest areas where some of the weirwoods remain in Cape Wrath. If you’re quiet, they say you can still hear them shuffling amongst the trees at night…
The last sentence rings in the air as everyone remains silent. The small gust of wind picks up then dies out.
They all decide it is getting late and they need to get some rest. The next few days pass quickly as the group helps the limited crew with their duties – mostly grunt work. Over those days, the Assembly learns why there is such a small crew: this was a mission of secrecy and the only people that know of it are those at the highest levels in Ghost Hill.
Out on the horizon, some mountains can be seen directly north – not the mountains that became the setting for months of travel – these are more beige than red. A little longer and the coast can be seen, with a town and a large port. This must be Ghost Hill.
As they sail up to the docks, they look as if they are preparing for war. Siege weapons on carriages; armored troops scurrying about.
A man in a suit of chainmail is waiting, “I am Ser Vyrian Toland of House Toland. My brother Lord Torryl seeks word with you at once. I will escort you to the hall.”
As Ser Vyrian leads them to the keep, implements of war are all around: siege weapons; barrels of pitch; stockpiles of arrows; armor, swords, and shields under half covered tents. They take note of the fact that none of the gear looks to be above average.
They enter the hall and a stern man in his 50’s greets them.
LORD TORRYL: I am glad to see you’ve arrived safely. Given your stature with Lord Martell, I presume you know… we are at war. Lord Martell asked that I personally meet with you as to not reveal his location to those who might do him harm. You never know where spies exist. I will send word to him immediately by raven – the plan is for him to meet you at The Sandship.
SHADOW: We’d like a full update on the status of this war.
LORD TORRYL: I don’t have all of the information about the grand strategy, but our part will be to progress our front line.
SHADOW: Are you going to The Tor?
LORD TORRYL: How very astute. Yes, that is the plan, once we get the signal from Martell.
QHORTHO: Was the signal fire we lit successful?
LORD TORRYL: I’m sorry? Signal fire? Do you mean at Cape Wrath? No signal fire was ever meant to truly be lit. It was a guise to get you speaking to our man on the inside at the trading post.
QHORTHO: That is not what I was speaking of. Did you hear of an attack in the Boneway?
LORD TORRYL: The Boneway?
SHADOW: (Turns to Qhortho) Word would not have traveled about our missions far to the west, and I gather that there would be no reason for Lord Torryl to be concerned with happenings in The Boneway when The Tor is a much greater threat… (turns to Lord Torryl) I presume that is correct?
LORD TORRYL: How very astute indeed.
Lord Torryl motions to a maester across the room, who then walks off to carry out the message to Martell.
SHADOW: What is the security situation at The Tor these days? Do you have scouts out there?
LORD TORRYL: Here’s what I know so far. They do not realize we are gearing up. As far as we can tell.
SHADOW: We know they have fast scouts. We had encountered one about 6 months ago.
LORD TORRYL: Yes. And they have significant resources. If they knew we were gearing up, they could outnumber and outman us in relatively short order. I can tell you that he asked our side to gear up in secret and be ready to move forward to attack when we get the word. He did not share more than that.
THOL: What can you tell us about the Labyrinth?
QHORTHO: What do you know of the gold dragon?
LORD TORRYL: The Labyrinth of Ghost Hill? The ancient prison system? There are no dragons on this side of the world, my good man.
QARZDAQ: Yeah, that’s the one. Is there any other?
QHORTHO: We cleared it out of foul beasts.
THOL: There was a witch problem, and we took care of it.
QARZDAQ: We took care of it alright…
LORD TORRYL: Are you putting me on? Have you been listening to the singers around the tavern?
In unison, they all respond with curiosity, “No…”
QARZDAQ: Could we hear one?
LORD TORRYL: I couldn’t do it justice, but they sing of adventurers who went into the ancient prisons and fought a ferocious dragon, driving out some great fire witch in the process.
SHADOW: (Pulling at her dragon scale armor) You see this right here? This is that dragon!
LORD TORRYL: Interesting! There was also something about flooding the prisons… I assumed it was pure fantasy. You are telling me this is truth?!
QHORTHO: That was us.
BURTON: It is. We lost a dear comrade in that whole affair.
QHORTHO: Rest in peace, Max.
LORD TORRYL: I am sorry to hear that. That is war. I know it well, but that never makes it easy.
QARZDAQ: You probably never saw a guy die like this though…
Qhortho shakes his head and looks at the ground.
LORD TORRYL: I’ll refrain from asking so you don’t have to relive that horror, whatever that may have been.
Qhortho thanks him.
THOL: The whole area is a floodplain now.
LORD TORRYL: This is all very interesting. It had been buried for, I don’t know… a couple of hundred years at least. It is amazing to me that it had been reopened. If you don’t mind me asking, how was a desert area such as that become flooded?
THOL: Well, we had these magic bracelets…
Burton makes a rather horrific sound that should have prevented Thol from continuing, but alas…
THOL: …that was pulling in all this water, and we didn’t know this at the time so we were just wandering around. Yadda yadda yadda, the labyrinth was full of water.
LORD TORRYL: Wow. It sounds like you have many stories to tell. I dare say, many songs will be sung of your journeys.
QHORTHO: I’ve seen shit that’d turn you white.
LORD TORRYL: Sheeeeit. Well, I’m sure we could spend much time speaking, but it is time that you be on your way. I have much to prepare as well.
SHADOW: So we’re just supposed to go directly to The Sandship?
LORD TORRYL: Yes. I would offer you horses, but it seems you’ve brought your own. You may be on your way, and I welcome you home… if this is someplace you would call home.
QHORTHO: Home is far from here, but it is good to be back. Thank you.
It appears the Dothraki has picked up some manners while wandering Westeros.
He turns his back to attend other business. The group takes this as their cue to gather their gear, load up their horses and ride out of town.
After about 2 days of riding along the dusty road, they begin to realize this is familiar terrain. Has it really been almost 7 months since the last time they’d been here? They take recognition of the area where they set up camp and were overrun with pickpockets at night. They’d never again let that happen. And Max. He was trying to grapple all of them to put them in the fire. Who’d have thought that he would go by a similar fate… The group decides to camp here this night.
They set up their fire, have their meals, and rest using the normal watch rotation, with Burton applying his Alarm along the path.
Qhortho is on watch, sharpening his arakh, which bothers a few people trying to sleep.
QARZDAQ: Quit stroking your sword over there!
Qhortho hears some rustling in the dark sparse forest. He notices a figure moving through the trees. Qhortho leaps to his feet and prepares for an attack. “WAKE UP! SOMEONE’S OUT HERE!”
Burton jumps up, “Where?!”
Qhortho yells, “Show yourselves!”
Burton asks, “Which direction are they?”
The rest of the group jumps to their feet and Tholannan Blesses the party – this should help things a bit! Shadow draws her bow.
The five attackers rush towards the small clearing and stop as they enter. They are armed with shitty little daggers.
QHORTHO: Give me all your money or you’ll die right here.
They all run.
Burton pulls out some tiny tarts and a feather, “Don’t run away on my account! I don’t want to be too tart on you! Heh heh heh.”
One of the pickpockets falls on his ass and is Hideously Laughing at the most clever of all jokes ever told… ever.
Qhortho is not pleased that everyone’s rest is being disturbed, so he goes into a BARBARIAN RAAAAAGE!!! He then slays the nearest pickpocket by cleaving a huge gap into his chest cavity. He looks down watching his insides become his outsides in spurts and squirts. He then collapses in a bloody mess.
The rest of them look over in horror – except one, who finds it hilarious.
Qhortho runs over to the next closest one and slashes him with his arakh, leaving him within an inch of his life.
Qarzdaq launches Scorching Rays at the 3 left standing, killing the one by Qhortho and leaving the other two extremely charred but alive. ONE of those rays employed Elemental Affinity, which increased the impact of that ONE ray.
Shadowsilver attacks the worst looking one with an arrow, killing him. She runs up to the next closest one and wants to stab him so badly, but cannot do so. However, if she was able to muster the guile and use a bonus action to make a second light weapon attack, she would get her attack bonus, but would not get her damage bonus. Only one such bonus action per turn is allowed.
The pickpocket adjacent to Shadowsilver tries to flee. Seeing an opportunity presenting itself, Shadow slashes him with her dagger, and the young man begins bleed out in front of their eyes. She makes no move to help him as his life essence evaporates.
The last remaining pickpocket still rolls on the ground laughing hysterically.
They discuss keeping him alive, Tholannan is the first to say they should kill him, but snaps out of it soon after. The darkness appears to be rearing its ugly head more often… They decide that he may have some information about where the pickpocket HQ might be.
Tholannan and Burton dash over to the laughing pickpocket. Burton throws his net over him and dismisses his concentrated spell, which he can do anytime he wishes. Burton wriggles his tiny hands into the man’s pocketses, while assuring everyone that they are perfectly great hands and everything else is great about him too, there is no problem, and that everyone should just believe him. He pulls out 20gp.
BURTON: Tell us where your lair is!
Qhortho walks up behind him and places his arakh at the man’s neck. He looks around nervously at the carnage around him, which he had obviously not been fully present for.
QHORTHO: Do you yield?
PICKPOCKET: YES YES YES!
QHORTHO: Where is your lair?
PICKPOCKET: We have no lair! We’re just pickpockets, bandits, thieves! We just steal what we can to get by!
QARZDAQ: I think we should let him go.
Shadowsilver steals 9gp off of the corpse closest to her then sneaks to the next closest corpse, grabbing another 15gp – all without anyone seeing her do it.
The pickpocket squirms, asking for what these bloodthirsty folk want and begging to be let free. They question him for a few moments and learn, if he is to be believed, that there is no lair, no headquarters, and they are not an organization.
Tholannan threatens the man by saying it is within his power to kill him and bring him back. The others immediately interject saying they all agreed that was for dire circumstances only – Thol says that it’s not using the evil powers if he simply stabilizes the man, preventing his final death; it is not the same as raising a fully dead corpse. They all relent.
This may have put the others at ease, but it does nothing for the pickpocket’s disposition.
THOL: You have to give me a reason not to kill you here and now.
PICKPOCKET: If I tell you, will you let me go?
THOL: It depends on what you have to say…
SHADOW: Prove your worth to us or you are definitely going to die.
PICKPOCKET: We do meet up when the sun is at its peak out by some prison entrance.
SHADOW: Is the labyrinth still flooded?
PICKPOCKET: We don’t attempt to enter.
SHADOW: How many of you?
PICKPOCKET: We’re not organized so sometimes it’s 10, sometimes 30 or so.
THOL: Have you ever heard of Jonah Bick?
PICKPOCKET: Jonah Bick? Everyone’s heard of Jonah Bick.
THOL: Do you know of his whereabouts? He recently helped us with something and we’d like to reunite with him.
PICKPOCKET: Jonah Bick? Jonah Bick is a ghost.
BURTON: What?!
SHADOW: He’s an asshole.
PICKPOCKET: He’s nowhere and everywhere at once.
BURTON: This ghost has charged us for services. What need would a ghost have for coin?
PICKPOCKET: I’ve never actually laid eyes on him.
The group discusses a bit more and Tholannan tells the thief that if he is set free, and he spares one of his fallen friends, they would have to agree to send word to The Sandship if they see Jonah Bick. He agrees very quickly.
This sets the group into another frenzy about bringing back the dead. Since it has been a few minutes, the fallen have clearly been corpses long enough to prevent their lives from being spared. As they look them over, one of them is coughing up blood. Tholannan Spares the Dying, and the man’s sputtering calms to become steady breathing, but the man does not move.
THOL: You are now bound to our service. We are very powerful wizards and we will find you if you do not follow through on your part.
The thief agrees enthusiastically.
QHORTHO: What is your name?
PICKPOCKET: Benton.
QHORTHO: What is your friend’s name?
PICKPOCKET: Quentin.
BURTON: Are you two related?
PICKPOCKET: No.
SHADOW: Don’t tell the rest of your network about us.
PICKPOCKET: I promise.
The pickpocket grabs his friend and pulls him into the woods and they leave as quickly as possible.
That was quite a bit easier than the last time. Each member gains 25XP.
Burton walks over and finds 10gp on one corpse and the others have nothing else on them. Little do they know that Shadow already picked them clean.
They discuss crashing the thieves’ party and killing all of the pickpockets to take their stolen goods.
Qarzdaq, Tholannan, and Shadowsilver agree that it is a waste of time and they have bigger issues to deal with at The Sandship.
Qhortho says that it would be a local service. Burton just wants the goods.
Shadowsilver says they could go to The Sandship and just tell Martell’s people to send law enforcement up that way and to leave Benton and Quentin unscathed.
They get back to sleep and continue their journey the next day. Soon, they recognize the twist in the road where the Goblins on Giant Lizards attempted to thwart their mission at the start.
Another 2 days go by, the forest continues to give way to the sandiness of imposing desert. Looking down the path they see a nostalgic sight… the temple where it all began. The sun directly above, they ride towards The Sandship.
As you approach, the area around The Sandship has become a bustling town. You can hear the overtones of a rushing river in the distance. Things certainly have changed since the last they were here 185 days ago! None of it would be likely, without The Unlikely Assembly.
They ride through the entrance of the keep and dismount, leaving the horses with the Lord’s stable hands, then walk towards the entrance of the hall.
Two men jump from their seats to greet them.
MORS: Friends! It has been quite some time! It looks like you are well – dare I say, stronger than when you left? It appears that adventuring suits you all!
TIRIUS: It is good to see you all again and in good health. My ride back with the army went unnoticed.
The group shares the sentiment and congratulates Tirius on a job well done.
QHORTHO: Do you know if our signal fire was successful?
TIRIUS: You sent me a message about signal beacon colors, quite a trick you have there by the way… But I know not of any repercussions of anything you’ve done.
Mors holds up his hand to interrupt.
MORS: I want to hear how everything went, but I must tell you some news first. Nymeria is pregnant. I feel it will be a boy. She is currently in Godsgrace.
I know you must have questions, and I will answer them, but I don’t have much time and need to sail back to Godsgrace after we’re done here, so let me tell you where we are and then you can share with me what I need to know and the results of your travels.
We’re making great progress in the war effort. Nymeria is a tremendous strategic asset – she’s a natural. The Rhoynar blood, she says. As you’ve seen, we have the full support of Ghost Hill as we planned initially. We’ve also taken Godsgrace as our main base to the front line. We are currently sweeping through all of southern Dorne so we may focus all of our troops on our hardest foes: Yronwood and Wyl.
Northern Dorne knows nothing of our advances as far as we can tell. As for what’s next, I do not believe Vaith will join either side, so the plan is to advance on Hellgate. I’m not sure about what Hellholt will do next after we take Hellgate — they may join us or they may attempt to gain retribution. We will need to show a strong force there, so I will be sending most of our troops. I know it’s a little risky, but I believe it will work.
SHADOW: So you’re going to us Ghost Hill to block The Tor from coming to The Sandship?
MORS: Actually, that’s a very interesting point you bring up. After we know how Hellholt will respond, we will focus on The Tor. The Tor will be a difficult siege, but it is a target worth pursuing as our first in northern Dorne because if we can take them, we will have an easier time defining and defending our front line.
SHADOW: Absolutely. If they find out about what you’re doing, they’ll probably attack Godsgrace immediately.
MORS: And not to mention, inform Yronwood.
SHADOW: Right.
MORS: We need to strike them before they build strength. They have the resources to do this, so if they know this is coming, it is going to be a very difficult battle. We need to ensure southern Dorne is fortified, then we’ll take The Tor, start that siege, and at that point, everyone will know what is happening. That means we need to be ready to push forward with the full war effort once this sand starts shifting.
SHADOW: Well, we have some great news from the west. We found many allies in your fight against Yronwood.
MORS: Really?!
SHADOW: If you can take The Tor and handle the east, we can attack Yronwood and Wyl from all sides.
MORS: Please tell me more. Who is willing to join our side?
QHORTHO: The Daynes of Starfall for one.
QARZDAQ: And High Hermitage.
SHADOW: And Skyreach.
THOL: And Kingsgrave’s troops are fully committed to the north.
QHORTHO: We went as far north as The Reach.
SHADOW: Horn Hill.
MORS: You went into The Reach?
SHADOW: Yes. We had people on that side make advances on Kingsgrave and Blackmont.
MORS: That is tremendous. Those in The Reach will not help us, but they have a bigger bone to pick with those closest to The Boneway.
SHADOW: They have agreed with us that once they’ve made their advances on the border towns, they will not attempt to advance any farther south once Yronwood is dealt with.
MORS: They will likely want the same sort of agreement from our side, once we unite Dorne as one kingdom.
SHADOW: And at this point, there’s no reason not to agree to those terms.
MORS: We are certainly well on our way to pulling this off, but there is plenty more hard work to do.
SHADOW: We also were able to greatly deplete Yronwood’s weapons and armor stockpile. We poisoned their iron works.
BURTON: When we passed back through that way, it looked as if they were building a new foundry.
SHADOW: We believe they figured out that their weapons were tainted, but we don’t believe they know why. We saw entirely abandoned mines on our way to Wyl. They are easily set back by 6 months. Perhaps more depending on whether they find another source of iron or if they figure out their mines are not the issue.
MORS: Interesting. And so… did these weapons go elsewhere?
SHADOW: They went to their allies. The ones that are willing to join our side, know not to use that gear. The ones that are not willing to join, have likely fallen in battles with The Reach by now.
MORS: Excellent work… Excellent, excellent work! I knew there was something about you all. You seemed to be a paltry little bunch, but there was something unique in your eyes.
SHADOW: I think we’ve exceeded anything you’ve asked for us, but a few of our missions cost us a lot of gold, as you can imagine.
BURTON: And we’ve also found some bonus intelligence that we learned just a couple of days ago.
MORS: Oh?
BURTON: Well, we ran into some pickpockets who attempted to overtake us in the middle of the night. We learned that they meet when the sun is at its peak near the entrance to the old Ghost Hill Labyrinth to divide their loot.
SHADOW: It could be an easy way for you to arrest them or use them for information gathering later.
BURTON: A couple of them have their allegiance sworn to us…
QARZDAQ: Quentin and Benton.
MORS: Sounds made up!
Laughs are had by all.
SHADOW: They’re not great thieves, but we’ve asked them to keep a look out on the roads for us. We’d appreciate it if you could encourage them to remain vigilant.
MORS: Sure. I mean, any information from a good source, is good information, no matter how small. You have all done an amazing job. I’d like you to take these special tokens and 100 platinum pieces each. You will be known in these parts as the Friends of Sand Snakes.
Each member also gains 1000XP.
MORS: Is there anything else you need to tell me from your travels?
THOL: Could you tell us about Tyrone? Is he helping with the war effort?
MORS: He lost his tracking ability on the amulet about 30 days ago or so.
SHADOW: Where did he say it was headed?
MORS: He saw she was moving towards The Reach, leaving the Dornish region.
THOL: What did he say about the amulet?
MORS: He lost his ability to locate it and seemed very disturbed by this. His words did not match his demeanor. He said it was probably nothing, but he wanted to learn more about it in Oldtown, so he could meet with the greatest maesters about Andrea Redmess and the threat the world faces if the Tear and Amulet were to be combined. He left about a month ago and it is about a 20 day sail with a solid crew working 3 shifts.
SHADOW: Where is this?
MORS: Oldtown. It is a non-political, knowledge-focused center of Westeros. They have temples of all major faiths, including R’hllor (he looks at Qarzdaq) and the Rhoynar (he looks at Tholannan). In fact, it’s the only location in Westeros with a red temple.
SHADOW: Is it your view that he wants to wield that magic for himself?
MORS: I don’t believe so, no. I never profess to know anyone’s intentions, but what he’s told me, was that he did not want Andrea out there with the amulet after she snuck off with both artifacts because it provided her with a power that would potentially allow her to overthrow him and take the Tear once again.
SHADOW: So you trust him completely.
MORS: I do trust him completely. He is a friend, a trusted advisor, and an excellent medic.
SHADOW: He enslaved us at the beginning, but has since given us no reason to distrust him. However, his initial actions never sat well with me.
MORS: Understood.
THOL: He saved my entire people from certain death.
SHADOW: And he enslaved you.
THOL: He did not enslave me. I would have done it anyway.
SHADOW: But you didn’t. He did not give you that choice.
MORS: His people, (looks at Thol) your people, have been instrumental in making this shift in the Dornish revolution.
They ask to use the strategy room to discuss amongst themselves. They debate the pros and cons of telling Mors whether they have the amulet and what happened with Andrea – and whether they should tell Tyrone. They all agree that Qarzdaq should be the holder of the Amulet at this point and that they should strategize the next steps with Martell.
SHADOW: Sorry for that delay, but I think Qarzdaq would like to tell you some additional news.
QARZDAQ: Well… we encountered Andrea Redmess on our travels and defeated her. The Amulet is currently in my possession.
MORS: You have the Amulet?!
QARZDAQ: Yes. And I intend to keep it.
The Assembly all agrees that this is what they want unanimously.
MORS: I have no problem with that. I will tell you this also, and please do not take this the wrong way, I appreciate the general distrust to those outside of your group, and I do not take offense to that. In my eyes, that makes you better allies to me and my interests.
BURTON: And none was meant sir.
SHADOW: Ultimately, and quickly mind you, we came to the decision to let you know all the details.
MORS: I appreciate that greatly as well. Given the red priestess issue is no longer of concern, I would consider it a personal favor if you could find Tyrone so he may get back here and continue his work to help our broader efforts.
Shadow expresses a strong dislike for going to find Tyrone. Tholannan and Qarzdaq agree that having a man such as Tyrone, with all of his abilities, on the front lines could be greatly beneficial to the war effort.
SHADOW: As for the next steps in the war, The Tor and Yronwood need to be destroyed. The rest seems like it would take care of itself. I think we need to infiltrate The Tor and sabotage their weapon stocks. That way, the way will be paved for victory.
They agree that this would be a way to strongly aid in the war effort and without being tied back up with Tyrone.
After some more discussion, they decide to reach out to Tyrone via Tholannan’s Sending.
SHADOW: Lord Martell, what do you think about telling him about the Amulet?
MORS: I leave that to your discretion. It seems you have your own reasons for disclosing or not disclosing information, and I would prefer not to betray your rationale. If it were me, I would tell him because I trust him wholeheartedly. But again, I do not say that to sway your decision. I swear to not share this discussion with Tyrone – the decision is entirely yours.
They discuss what they should say to Tyrone and decide on the following message:
Andrea is dead. Qarzdaq has the Amulet. Martell requests your presence. Will you return and when?
Tholannan’s eyes flutter as his thoughts convey the telepathic message.
Moments later, his eyes flutter for a few seconds. Clearly a response has been received.
THOL: He says it is good news and that we’ve done well.
QARZDAQ: That’s it?!
SHADOW: That’s all he said? When did he say he’d be back?
THOL: He said he was studying in Oldtown.
SHADOW: So he’s not coming back. (now showing signs of frustration)
THOL: Didn’t say. That’s Tyrone.
SHADOW: Yeah. See, that makes me even more suspicious of him because it seems that he only wants to know how to use this magic in combination, which is exactly what we cannot let him do. So are we prepared to fight him if we go there and that’s what he wants? Because that’s what will happen.
MORS: Whoa whoa whoa whoa… He’s an advisor to me. Please. If you plan on taking blood over this…
SHADOW: I said “if” and you should be on board with that as well.
QARZDAQ: I think that’s a pretty big leap. He hasn’t shown that he wants to do that.
MORS: IF he does… IF… But I do not believe that personally.
SHADOW: That has to be proven.
THOL: We’ve been on the road a long time. Perhaps you could let my friends and I rest for a night before we take on a plan of action.
MORS: Absolutely. I also want to tell you that your ship, that you asked me to hold on to for all this time, and I’ve kept it up in good repair the entire time. And you are welcome to take it any time you wish.
There is some discussion of sailing and the knowledge they believe they have from the short voyage across the Sea of Dorne.
MORS: If you do decide to take the ship, I do have some excellent trainers down by the docks. They can teach you all the roles required aboard the vessel. Each role has its own unique abilities associated with it, so you each may be suited to different roles. You may want to head down that way should you decide to take the ship. I’m just putting that information out there, should you decide to use it.
QARZDAQ: I would love tolearn how to sail.
SHADOW: I would too, but I still think we should go to The Tor.
QARZDAQ: (looks at Mors) Do you think we need to go to The Tor?
MORS: If you go to The Tor now, and are caught, that will signal that we are making advances. You cannot go to The Tor just yet.
SHADOW: You don’t think we can sneak in there without even being seen?
MORS: No. I don’t think so. Perhaps I am wrong. You may be able to. But I do not think so. And I have to say that if The Tor gets wind of this before we get Hellholt and Hellgate on our side, and before we take those positions, we are in a bit of a harder spot. There is a lot on the line for the entire revolution should something go awry.
SHADOW: Have you taken Vaith yet?
MORS: I don’t think Vaith will take sides. I think they are going to stay out of it entirely.
SHADOW: Have you talked to them?
MORS: We are about to head that way, but I know House Vaith, they are neutral to a fault.
QARZDAQ: Perhaps we should go to Hellgate.
MORS: If you’d like to be part of our raid, you are welcome to join! We would certainly not refuse the help if you are offering!
THOL: Let’s take the night to think it over. I’d like some mead and a nice meal. Perhaps we can even go see the status of our ship.
SHADOW: That sounds like a plan. We’ll meet you in the morning and let you know what our plans are.
MORS: Sounds good. I will cover your expenses.
They thank him and leave the keep, walking past their horses, and then turn towards the familiar tavern.
SHADOW: Fucking Jonah Bick… we fought him right here…
When they enter the tavern, the owner Miltar Vaele takes a second glance at the familiar faces before him. He smiles with his one-toothed smile. In his typical whispered voice, “What can I get for ya’?”
They all order ales, and he presumes, rightfully so, that this is all on the Lord’s bill.
SHADOW: How’s the town changed since we fixed your little water problem?
MILTAR: Business is great! Business is great. We are booming. The only downside for right now is that we don’t have travelers coming from outside town because of all that is going on… which I think you all know about already?
QARZDAQ: Yes we do – but now you have more Rhoynar in the region than you can shake a stick at!
Miltar laughs.
MILTAR: How very true!
SHADOW: So what do you know about all that’s ‘going on’?
MILTAR: Just the word on the street, but it’s not discussed too much – but everyone I’ve come across is overall positive about the expected outcome.
THOL: No one’s giving you a hard time around here?
MILTAR: No! Absolutely not! Not since you took care of the guys that were roughing up the place! It’s been fantastic. It finally feels as safe as it ever was.
BURTON: Glad to hear it.
Miltar thanks them again for their service. Tholannan then excuses the group so they can discuss their next steps with their confidential information. Miltar understands and tells them to let him know if they need anything else.
Tholannan walks over to a table that is most secluded and outside of direct earshot of anyone else. He then waves over the rest of his party.
SHADOW: So what are your thoughts?
THOL: I haven’t been completely honest with you guys today.
The group is taken aback slightly.
THOL: The message we got back from Tyrone was not the one I said in front of Martell.
SHADOW: So you didn’t want Martell to know?
THOL: Here’s what he told me… Currently in Oldtown, meet me here as soon as possible, will be at Citadel Library. Have troubling news, do not tell Martell.
Tholannan apologizes for the deceit, but would not have done it differently. Everyone agrees that he did the right thing. Tholannan suggests that Oldtown is probably the next best course rather than The Tor.
BURTON: I still don’t trust Tyrone.
SHADOW: Me neither, but I’m fine with going that way.
THOL: Martell trusts him.
BURTON: I still think we should go, but use extreme caution.
QARZDAQ: Absolutely. He’s not getting this Amulet.
SHADOW: If he makes a play at the Amulet, we need to attack immediately.
They all agree. They will not tell Martell anything about what Tyrone actually said, but they will tell him they will go to Oldtown. They stay overnight in the tavern and go to Martell in the morning.
SHADOW: Good morning. We have decided that we will go to Oldtown after all.
MORS: Thank you very much. I consider this a personal favor. If you decide to go by sea it will take about 20 days with a good crew. If you decide to go by land, it will take more than 2 months and you will be crossing the main battle lines, which may cause some delays. If I had my choice, for the sake of secrecy until Hellholt and Hellgate are subdued, I would prefer you go by sea, but you lot are more than capable to make your own decisions. That much is quite clear.
If you go by sea, you will need a minimum crew, but you may find benefits should you decide to learn the skills yourselves. You can hire a crew down by the docks. There are also ship weapons you can mount on board. All of the details will be available at the docks.
Qarzdaq asks about learning to sail and Mors tells him that the trainers are down by the docks. The wharf master will tell you how the process works. They tell Mors that they will travel by sea and will visit the wharf master at once.
They go to the docks and the wharf master tells them about how there are 5 roles aboard the ship.
- Captain: Keeps everyone at the top of their game
- Scout/Rigger/Carpenter: Gives advance notice of threats and potentially worthwhile pursuits, Repairs ship in battle
- Navigator/Opportunist: Keeps on course and avoids weather, Identifies weak spots in an enemy ship’s hull
- Sail Handler: Maintains vessel’s efficiency, Maintains efficiency of vessel and controls the damage dealt upon ramming
- Pilot: Maintains speed and harnesses winds, Maintains control of vessel and rams enemy vessels, Requires a Sail Handler
The wharf master continues to divulge the following information:
Deck hands are 2gp per day; experienced captains are 5gp per day. Each member of the party can pay to learn how to take on ship skills. Roles may be switched at will, but any bonuses from a role end if the role is vacated.
It costs 2gp for each hour of training paid to the teachers. A person can only spend 8 hours per day learning without becoming tired. Each additional hour in the same day causes 1 point of exhaustion. Teachers must be paid for their work regardless of whether you learn a topic in an hour.
When learning, a member will have a chance to succeed in learning a topic about the subject being taught. Intelligence will make a topic easier to learn generally and Abilities will help you catch on to a topic more quickly. Each subject about the ship roles has 5 topics to cover. A skill aboard the ship cannot be done with proficiency without learning all 5 topics in the subject.
Metagaming Note:
Roll d20 for each topic against a DC of (15 – INT Bonus, excluding Proficiency because this is not a roll for Intelligence – therefore the entire saving throw does not apply). Add the appropriate ability bonuses depending on the skill you are learning. Upon learning all the topics about a subject, a person is now proficient in that subject and applies their proficiency bonus to any skill that relies on that subject. A critical success allows you to learn 2 Topics that hour.
There are two styles of ship weapons available to be installed on deck:
- Full-scale pivoting Ballistae that require 3 Actions to attack: Load, Cock, Fire.
- Scorpion Ballistae, smaller versions of full-scale ballistae native to Dorne that use javelins for ammo. These require 2 Actions to attack: Load, Cock + Fire
Personal harpoons and ship grappling hooks are also available.
Shadowsilver says that she’d like Lord Martell to pay for the training. The wharf master says that has nothing to do with him and that they should speak to Lord Martell about such an arrangement. His people need to be paid for the training and therefore he needs to be paid for the training.
They all agree that this is fair and they leave to speak with Lord Martell.
MORS: What can I do for you?
SHADOW: They’re trying to charge us for the training!
MORS: Of course they’re going to charge you!
SHADOW: We want to become proficient in everything, so we’ll need you to pick up the charges.
MORS: Hmmm…. How about I pay half.
SHADOW: For all that we’ve done?
MORS: I’ve rewarded you handsomely for your endeavors and still you ask for more. Here is what more I will do for you because this is a personal favor you are doing for me. I will pay for one day’s worth of training.
Shadowsilver attempts to persuade him.
SHADOW: Just pay for all our training – we want to get there as fast as we can for you.
MORS: Look. I assumed that with the amount you were already rewarded, you could pay your own way, but I will make good on my offer. Fit in as much training as you’d like in a single day, and I will cover that cost. I believe that is more than fair.
QARZDAQ: I think that is quite generous. Thank you!
MORS: I would request that you be on your way as soon as you can, given that we will be moving on Hellgate very soon and having Tyrone here will be a great help.
They say their farewells and go back to the docks. Upon re-engaging with the wharf master, the discussion focuses on the ship’s armaments. He tells the group that their ship is a Light Cog, so there are only so many hardpoints on which armaments can be mounted.
Burton succumbs to some hideous laughter of his own at hearing ‘Light Cog’ and ‘Hardpoints’.
The expert continues to tell them the specs of the ship they own and the weapons they can purchase. Their ship is 15′ by 50′ and has mounts that allow for a few layouts. They can get 8 Scorpion Ballistae OR 1 full-scale ballista + 6 Scorpion Ballistae OR 3 full-scale ballistae +2 Scorpion Ballistae.
 |
| Hardpoint configurations for the Light Cog. Large Blue Circles indicate Large Hardpoints; Small Green Circles indicate Small Hardpoints |
A ship requires crews working all the time maintain speed and to keep course. Typically a crew can work an 8-hour shift on average without succumbing to exhaustion. Under dire circumstances, such as during an encounter, the entire crew may be awake and functioning as long as they can get a long rest and provisions soon afterwards.
Metagaming Note:
Harpoons: are equivalent to Heavy Crossbows with a special bolt attached to rope.
Ship Grappling Hooks may be shot from Scorpion Ballistae or thrown. Thrown Ship Grapples have a range of Thrower’s Speed + 5′ x STR bonus (raw).
The group spends the entire day learning and they each walk away with new skills:
- Burton
- Scout (Proficient)
- Navigation (3/5 Topics Known)
- Qarzdaq
- Captain (Proficient)
- Qhortho
- Sail Handler (Proficient)
- Shadowsilver
- Navigator (Proficient)
- Scout (Proficient)
- Tholannan
- Pilot (Proficient)
They then negotiate with the ship armaments trader.
QARZDAQ: We can do 400gp per ballista, 100gp per scorpion, installation included, plus 4 loads of ammunition per weapon and coils of rope for all the scorpion ammo.
TRADER: So you’re looking for 3 ballistae, 2 scorpion ballistae, 8 javelins, 12 heavy bolts, and 8 coils of rope, at 600′ per coil, for a total of 1400 gp?
QARZDAQ: Yes, exactly.
TRADER: Normally, I would charge over 2300 gp for this, but you are friends of the efforts here, so I will let it slide. You have a deal. I’ll have that installed within a few hours.
QHORTHO: We’ll also need this ship outfitted for horses.
TRADER: That’s a tall order friend. You’ll be here at least a week and we’re looking at around 500gp at least just to have the sling put up and to create the stall.
QHORTHO: I can do 500gp to have my steed by my side.
BURTON: We don’t have a week to spare.
TRADER: I can do it in about half the time for about twice the cost.
SHADOW: Think you can do it in one day?
TRADER: That’ll take about 3 days.
QHORTHO: Well, I guess I can leave my horse with Lord Martell…
They leave the trader and go speak with Mors again about Qhortho’s horse. He says they can use all the horses they can get up at the front lines. Qhortho says that he wants his horse to remain safe in the stables. Mors agrees that he can stay here at The Sandship.
They go back to the dock and hire a crew so they can shove off as soon as the ship’s armaments are installed.
While they wait for the ship to be ready, they decide to name their vessel will be Ser Osis of the River.
They also decide that they should not fly any flag and they will forego dying the sails. Black sails may give them cover at night, but that is the telltale sign of smugglers.
After a few hours, they are ready to leave port and begin their voyage to Oldtown.
The travels go relatively smoothly, with each member of the crew learning the ropes, gaining some efficiency some days, losing some on others.
One random day along the voyage, Tholannan becomes inspired, narrowly avoiding some bad piloting. The water speaks to him and he does a good job piloting that day, cutting an estimated one day off the trip length. At the crew shift change, he attaches his climbing rope to himself and the boat. He casts Water Walk then launches himself into the water and skates along the water’s surface, as dolphins swim alongside.
THOL: Are we there yet?
SHADOW: It looks like we’re about 9 days away… depending on how good you are…
They continue sailing along the sandy shores of Dorne, which eventually give way to the rocky shores of the Torrentine River. They soon pass a castle on an island in the delta with large drawbridges to the east. This is Starfall.After about 23 days since setting sail, a flickering fiery ball can be seen in the dusk sky at a great distance, perhaps 40 miles, but it is hard to tell what it is.
The next morning, Burton sees that it might be a tower scraping the clouds in the far distance.
As they continue sailing, it becomes more and more clear that his inclinations were correct – it is an enormous tower, easily 4 times as high as the Wyl Beacon Tower. Atop the tower is a huge fiery beacon.
As they get closer still, Burton sees that it is built on what looks to be a dark black island. The size of the island is dwarfed by the tower, but the island itself must be quite large to provide the foundation for such a structure.
As they continue to get closer, there are 3 longships in the distance, sitting still not far from shore, about 120 feet apart from one another, flying an unknown banner – a golden kraken on a black field. As they continue, they see a cloud of small objects in the air. Arrows are streaming from the ships towards shore and they can now tell that the people on the shore are scattering and running.
QARZDAQ: Are they attacking Oldtown? Why would they do this??
They load up the ballistae and get all hands on deck.
Burton yells out that there are 40 Berserkers on each of those ships, but they have no siege weapons mounted on board.
THOL: How do the folk on shore fare?
Burton scurries up the mast and yells down that it looks like they are fleeing and no one is fighting back. He also notices the names of the ships as Water Elemental, Goblin, and the Dwarf Wizard.
They discuss how they could possibly take on 120 men across these 3 ships – and they remember from their training that longships are faster than their Light Cog, but that a ship with no momentum will require some time to get moving. And since a ship takes time to get momentum, they cannot even turn until they begin to get underway.
They continue to sail within 120 feet of the first ship, broadside.
They wonder whether an uncanny dodge would be uncanny enough to be applied to the entire ship. It is considered such a wonderment by all, that they dismiss it as fallacy as quickly as it was mentioned.
They awaken all of the crew – their plan is to sneak up on the first ship, light it up with a fireball and nail it with their ballistae.
Seeing the continued attack angers and infuriates Qarzdaq.
This injustice against a non-political, knowledge-focused town really fires him up. Perhaps it is the knowledge that there is a red temple in town… the only red temple in all of Westeros…
The Amulet begins to glow as Qarzdaq feels a surge in power. His eyes glow red. He does not know how this was awakened, but he likes it and plans to rain destruction on all those that oppose R’hllor!
All of his spells are cast as if they are at a higher spell slot.
Qarzdaq launches a fireball at the cluster of archers on the first ship, Water Elemental.
The ship’s entire crew takes a ton of damage, the ship ignites, the sails are destroyed, and arrows simultaneously being let loose catch fire, streaking through the late afternoon sky towards shore.
All 3 of the ship ballistae are fired at Water Elemental; they each slam into the ship’s hull sequentially.
It does not matter who fires the ballistae; the increased chance to hit is based on the siege weapon itself. It is required that the person firing it has basic training with the weapon – this can be assumed by any ship crew.
It is also now known that damage thresholds DO NOT LESSEN the impact of a hit; it simply means that the target is immune to any single attack that would do damage less than its threshold.
Qhortho and Tholannan sail the ship closer to the burning ship.
Burton and Shadowsilver fire arrows at the apparent Captain, which both miss.
Qarzdaq, his eyes still glowing, launches a second fireball at the archers on Water Elemental, destroying all of them in charred screams. The fall into crispy pieces. The ship engulfs in enormous flames. The heat is felt at 90 feet away as if it were a nearby campfire.
Arrows from the other two ships stop firing.
Qhortho and Tholannan sail the ship towards the next ship, steering around the burning Water Elemental.
The crew load and cock the ballistae.
Burton and Shadowsilver both fire arrows, being just within the range of their bows, at the apparent Captain in the ship known as Goblin. They both land their poisoned shots, severely damaging the captain.
The ships turn away and begin sailing away as quickly as they can muster.
Qarzdaq launches yet another fireball as far as he can – it explodes off the stern of Goblin. The rear of the ship ignites and the captain with two arrows in his armor, the only man in that area, burns to a crisp. His body takes the form of solid ash, which the wind breaks apart and carries away. His boots and armor remain intact, and the armor falls to the ground. None of the sails take fire.
Burton and Shadowsilver run to the ballistae, ready to fire when they get within range of Goblin.
Qhortho and Tholannan sail after the fleeing ships.
Burton and Shadowsilver fire the ballistae in turn – both miss their targets, splashing into the open ocean near the still burning Goblin.
There is likely to be retribution for the events that unfolded this day, but for now, Ser Osis of the River stands victorious as the two enemy vessels flee. They each earn 3605XP.
BURTON: At least we lit a fire under their asses!
The Amulet of Lightbringer fades and Qarzdaq feels the power drain from him, with no understanding of how it was activated in the first place. Perhaps the answers lie ahead in Oldtown; perhaps with Tyrone.
A new chapter unfolds as Qhortho and Tholannan turn the ship around the burning Water Elemental towards the port of Oldtown on Day 240 of their adventure.
They briefly discuss that Oldtown better pay up to re-up their ammo.
Each member of the party has gained 1530XP this session, bringing their total to 19,400XP.