CH. 7: Voyage of the Bullring

[Jenara]

(Get well soon!)

"We had better get ready to defend against that one, from here." Arei suggests, pistols in hand, "I assume they swim slower than they fly." She says to no one in particular, "Val, get them ready."

[Breila]

(OOC: Get well soon! I would bring you a thermos bottle of lindenflower tea if that was at all possible.)

[JadedDM]

"Looks like they're speeding up," Terra notes, looking through a spyglass. "No sign of the one that submerged."

It takes four minutes to reload the catapults. In this time, the two flying dragons come even closer. Now at only 1,400 yards away, they can clearly be identified as black dragons. Their obsidian scales shimmer in the sunlight, a striking contrast to the cerulean blue sky behind them. "Hold fire," Sierra commands. "We need to conserve ammo; and besides, don't want to risk them all dropping into the sea where we can't see or hit them."

Another two, rather tense, minutes pass. The dragons come within 300 yards of the Bullring--still a bit too far out for bows, but close enough for the ballistae. "Come about!" Sierra calls. The ship turns, bringing up the starboard side toward the dragons, where half of the ship's ballistae can aim at them.

"Fire!"

The catapults and ballistae all fire at once. One dragon evades the catapult payload, but is hit by both ballistae bolts for severe damage. The other dragon, while evading the ballistae bolts, is hit by two catapult payloads. A cheer raises up from the crew at their success.

"We're not done yet!" Sierra calls. "By the time those weapons are reloaded, they'll be upon us."

"Sooner than that!" Terra warns. Sure enough, the dragons speed for the ship as fast as they can. Blood from numerous wounds drips from their bodies into the sea, but this doesn't slow them down. They get close enough that anyone on the ship can clearly see them and their size--at least twenty feet long (35, if you include the tails), and boy, do they ever look pissed.

"Archers, fire!"

=============

Bullring fires its heavy catapults at Dragon 2 (1d20): 2, miss and Dragon 3 (1d20): 19, hit for (3d10): 14 damage and (1d20): 17, hit for (3d10): 12 damage.
Bullring fires its heavy ballistae at Dragon 2 (1d20): 18, hit for (3d12): 28 damage and (1d20): 19, hit for (3d12): 28 damage; and at Dragon 3 (1d20): 9, miss and (1d20): 7, miss.

(OOC: Alright, here's why I shouldn't do math when I'm sick. I screwed up twice. First, I forgot to add a zero to the dragon's flying speed last round. They should have been moving 10x faster than I had them going. Okay, that's fine. We can pretend the dragons were moving at 1/10th speed and are now speeding up.

The other problem--I added an extra 0 to the catapult range. No way were the dragons in range yet; it shouldn't have hit. Since that was my mistake, I won't retcon it; the damage Dragon1 took from the catapult stays. So I just decided to have Sierra decide not to 'waste ammo' and let the dragons get closer before firing again.

In any case, the dragons close the distance to zero in the next round, so anyone who can shoot is free to do so next round.)

[Breila]

Ouragana concentrates, wishing for her bolt of magical engery to hit the eye of the closest dragon, and says the command word to release it once she estimates the dragon is within range.

[Jenara]

Arei lets loose a shot at the closest Dragon, her hand shaking she reacts quickly but misses totally.

1d10, 1d20-3=[2], [9, -3]

[Nuke]

Val focuses her efforts on the rapidly approaching dragons. Taking careful aim at the lead beast, she lets two arrows fly in quick succession.

two arrows (1d10, 1d20, 1d8, 1d20, 1d8=[4], [16], [5], [15], [8])

[JadedDM]

Both of the dragons roar as they come in fast. Val takes careful aim with her bow, and fires. The first arrow manages to find a small chink in the creature's scales, hitting actual flesh. The second arrow, however, is deflected off the aforementioned scales.

"Damn, looks like they're going for the artillery!" Sierra shouts. She pulls out her crossbow, which is clearly magical from the way it's practically pulsating with power. She fires, and the bolt hits with such strength it actually punches its way through the dragon's scales with the force of a bullet.

Ouragana and Areilon both take aim at the other dragon. The apprentice fires her wand, and the magic missile unerringly arcs through the sky, striking the dragon's belly. Areilon's pistol, however, misses entirely. She had never fired such a weapon before, and the recoil was stronger than she had anticipated, throwing off her aim completely.

Terra pulls out her own clearly mystical crossbow and drops a bolt on it. It automatically locks and loads on its own, then she fires the bolt right at the dragon that just took the magic missile. Like with Sierra's bolt, this one punches through the dragon's scales at amazing speed. She quickly drops another bolt on her crossbow, which again automatically loads itself and then fires. The dragon banks suddenly, though, and avoids it.

As many archers as possible are squeezed up on the deck; at least forty total. They all fire next, and soon the sky is filled with arrows. The vast majority miss the dragons entirely or simply bounce off their scales. But at least a couple each hit the dragons--and one dragon roars in pain before plummeting to its death into the ocean below with a massive splash.

A mighty cheer raises among the crew, but the victory is short-lived. The remaining dragon goes right for the catapult on the forecastle, as Sierra predicted. It unleashes a stream of acid from its mouth, at least five feet in width. Screams of agony raise up among the five crewmen that were manning the weapon (and currently trying to reload it). Within seconds, the flesh is melted from their bones and the catapult itself is completely destroyed.

"Octhanus, hear my prayer! Grant your courage and strength to these brave men and women!" Jocelyn prays. The goddess responds, and soon everyone on board feels a warmth in their chest, chasing away some of the fear in their hearts.

"Casualties!" Sierra cries.

"On it!" Jocelyn responds, turning toward the now melted catapult. But it's clear there's nobody left to save at this point.

"It's coming around for another pass!" warns Terra.

=============

Initiative
Ouragana (1d10+3): 12
Areilon (1d10+10): 12
Val (1d10+8): 4
Jocelyn (1d10): 5
Sierra (1d10+4): 6
Terra (1d10+6): 12
Bullring Crew (1d10+8): 13
Dragon 02 (1d10+9): 14
Dragon 03 (1d10+9): 15

Round 1!

Val fires a sheaf arrow from her long bow at dragon 02 (1d20): 16, bare hit for (1d8): 5 damage.
Jocelyn begins casting Bless.
Sierra fires her crossbow at dragon 02 (1d20+4): 20, hit for (1d6+1): 6 damage.
Ouragana fires a single magic missile from her wand at dragon 03 for (1d4+1): 5 damage.
Areilon fires a pistol at dragon 03 (1d20-3): 6, miss.
Terra fires her crossbow at dragon 03 (1d20+3): 16, hit for (1d6+1): 5 damage.
Bullring Crew fires their long bows at the dragons (half at dragon 02, half at dragon 03) (1d20): 20, 2 archers hit dragon 02, (1d20): 4, no archers hit dragon 02, (1d20): 10, 1 archer hits dragon 03, (1d20): 9, 1 archer hits dragon 03. Dragon 02 takes (2d6): 4 damage; Dragon 03 takes (2d6): 7 damage. Dragon 03 dies.
Dragon 02 fires its acid breath weapon at the ship and crew. The catapult on the forecastle is destroyed and five crewmen are killed.
Dragon 03 is dead.
Val fires a sheaf arrow from her long bow at dragon 02 (1d20): 15, bare miss.
Terra fires her crossbow at dragon 02 (1d20+3): 7, miss.
Jocelyn casts Bless. The entire crew of the Bullring experiences a +1 to hit and morale.

(OOC: Unfortunately, the description of Magic Missiles is quite explicit--it cannot be aimed at any body parts specifically.

I can't believe one is down already. I should have gone with my first instinct, and made them young adults. But I chickened out at the last second, and made them younglings instead. Ah, well--next time!

Actions and initiative for Round 2?)

[Breila]

"We shouldn't forget the one in the water!" Ouragana exclaims. "What about telling those who have no ranged weapons to look out for it?" she shouts at the commanding sisters.

She points her wand at the cretaure's wings, imagining the missile to blow a hole into the left wing while releasing its energy.
(Can I spend a cantrip on precising the missile's aim?)

[Nuke]

Val, encouraged with the crews sucess thus far readies two more arrows, and waits for the return of the lone remaining flying dragon. Pausing to yell at the recruits. "Focus fire, only one target now!"

When the time is right, she fires.

init, hit and damage, two arrows. (1d10, 1d20+1, 1d8, 1d20+1, 1d8=[8], [20, 1], [1], [18, 1], [2])

[Jenara]

"I'm on it!" Arei shouts to the mage, Leaning over the side she watches the water for signs of the other dragon.

[JadedDM]

Again speaking the command word, Ouragana fires another magic missile at the dragon. However, as soon as the missile erupts from the wand, she feels an odd tingle in her hand. There's a soft flash of light, and then suddenly the wand turns to dust, its last charge expended. Certainly not the best timing, either!

Sierra takes aim and fires another bolt at the dragon, this one catching the beast square in the snout. She yells victorious obscenities and pumps her fist.

Areilon hurries over to the starboard side and looks down into the water. She sees no sign of the submerged dragon. If she was correct in her earlier statement--that they swim slower than they fly--it's possible the dragon is still too far away to be seen. It's equally possible the dragon is too deep for her to see, or directly under the ship, as well. There's just no way to be sure yet.

The marines open fire, launching over two score arrows right at the dragon. It swoops and dives, but is unable to avoid them all. Three arrows hit it--one right in the eye, and with a cry, it crashes into the sea to join its rookery sibling in a watery grave.

"Hot damn!" Sierra cries. "Alright, report. Damage? Casualties? And can anyone spot the last one?"

"The men hit with the acid are dead, and the catapult is kaput," Jocelyn calls out. "Five dead. I'm sorry."

=============

Initiative
Ouragana (1d10+3): 5
Val (1d10+8): 16
Areilon (1d10+3): 6
Jocelyn (1d10+3): 8
Sierra (1d10+4): 5
Terra (1d10+6): 14
Bullring Crew (1d10+8): 11
Dragon 02 (1d10+9): 14

Round 2!

Ouragana fires a single magic missile from her wand at dragon 02 for (1d4+1): 3 damage. Her Wand of Magic Missiles disintegrates.
Sierra fires (+1) her crossbow (+3) at dragon 02 while blessed by Octhanus (+1) (1d20+5): 17, hit for (1d6+1): 6 damage.
Areilon leans over the starboard side to search for the dragon. She does not spot it.
Jocelyn checks on the wounded, but finds the five hit with the acid are beyond rescue.
Bullring Crew fires their long bows at the dragons while blessed by Octhanus (1d20+1): 20, 2 archers hit dragon 02, (1d20+1): 4, no archers hit dragon 02, (1d20+1): 2, no archers hit dragon 02, (1d20+1): 12, 1 archer hits dragon 02; Dragon 02 takes (3d6): 9 damage. Dragon 02 dies.
Terra has no target.
Dragon 02 is dead.
Val has no target.
Terra has no target.
Val has no target.

(OOC: I'm afraid there is no cantrip to make Magic Missile hit a specific part of the anatomy. It would really overpower the spell; essentially a called shot that can never miss. But even if there was such a cantrip, she couldn't use it and the wand in the same round. Sorry.

Ah, those were great rolls, Nuke. Pity the dragon died before she could use them! Now I know I should have used the young adults instead.)

[Jenara]

"Archers surround the ship, keep a look out, shout when you see it! It's underwater.." With a single pistol still loaded she places it in her belt and reloads the other.

"One left, get ready, get out of the way of the mouth!" She shouts to Val.

[Breila]

(OOC: It was just and idea I had, trying to be creative. You no makes sense.)

Ouragana walks to the railing closest to her and joins those scanning the water for the third, submerged dragon.

[JadedDM]

"I KNOW you're not giving orders to MY crew on MY ship, kid!" Sierra barks at Areilon, face red with anger. "Dragon or not, I'll throw you in the brig the rest of the battle!"

Turning away from the elf, she commands, "Full speed ahead, right at the damned caravel. If that last dragon has any brains, it's swimming far away after seeing its two buddies drop. In any case, nothing we can do about it now. Keep alert, get those artillery reloaded, and let's go take down that ship!"

The crew quickly obeys. The artillery crew resume reloading the weapons, including the two remaining catapults. The archers keep their strings taunt, arrows ready, waiting and watching for that last dragon to pop up somewhere or another.

A very tense minute passes, but nobody spots anything. Sierra turns to her sister, who is using the spyglass. "What's the caravel's status?"

Terra shrugs. "It's just sitting there, waiting. Not even trying to engage or flee."

Sierra frowns and looks out at the ship on the horizon. It's a little over 2,000 yards away now, and even without a spyglass, the ship can be clearly identified as a caravel, although its crew are just small dots from this perspective. "I don't like this..."

Suddenly, the ship trembles a bit. Not enough to knock anyone over, but enough to be felt. "The hells was that?" Sierra asks.

"Uh-oh..," Terra says. "Oh, shit, shit, shit! The dragon must be underneath us, scuttling the ship!"

"That's crazy! If the ship sinks, they can't get the cargo!" Sierra points out.

"Well...true. But couldn't the dragon just swim down to the wreckage, pick it clean, and carry it back at its leisure?" Terra asks.

"@#$%!" Sierra responds. "We can't get to it from here! We're @#$%ed!"

[Nuke]

Val is a little perturbed the dragon went down before she could even get her second round of arrows off. "Damn it!" Looking around at the crew, she notes no further casualties. That eases her feeling somewhat. Dropping down from her adrenalin high she settles down a bit. Once the ship rocks, she listens to the concern of the crew before a thought crosses her mind.

Val runs to the stern of the ship and lets out a piercing whistle, calling for Mist.