THE HOLD

Avaria, not needing Bigge’s help pulls hard on the chain bolted into the wall. With a splintering of wood and clanging of chains, Bigge is freed. He still has the chains around his ankles but he can move. He starts hobbling quickly for the exit and starts up the stairs to the deck.

“What’s the situation? Where’s the crew?” he asks as he shuffles along. “First we need to push off from the dock. There are guide poles under the railings.”

ON DECK/WHARF:

Marrin and Hammerdasher manage to use the gangplank to give the dock a bit of a push before they pull it in and get it stowed. The ship moves a little but probably not enough to get fully away from the pier.

Ethel’s words do cause William Hargrove to look out towards the harbor but with the Rose Marie in the way and the growing smoke, he doesn’t see the rowboat getting closer to the anchored ship. He turns back.

Jan manages to just find an opening in the captain’s armor. He winces in pain from her magical bolt of energy but he’s still looking like a tough opponent.

Seeing what Jan is doing, Ula focuses on the captain as well and lets loose her own crackling flash of light. It streaks down and catches the captain square in the other shoulder. It burns flesh and leather, causing the man to shout in pain.

She then ducks down, her back against the railing.

The hobgoblins waste no time, unleashing another round of arrows. Despite the cover offered by the railings, their aim proves deadly.

Jisthelek, scuttling across the deck, staying low, is trying to get to the captain’s quarters when the first arrow pierces deeply into his back. He collapses. No sign of movement or breath.

Hammerdasher isn’t able to get his shield up in time and the next arrow almost spins him around completely, blood oozing down his arm.

The third arrow finishes off the last orc. The next stops the whimpering of the injured goblin. The final two thunk into the deck, missing everyone.

William Hargrove lines up his shot and is able to see just enough of Jan to aim at. The crossbow bolt finds its mark (16 to hit for 6 piercing damage).

Gillian Hargrove looks around for another means to access the ship. She lunges for one of the loose lines that Ula and Jisthelek had unhooked. While she manages to catch the end of it, she finds it too slippery to get a good grasp of and it slips through her hands.

Both orcs are dead. Jisthelek looks to have joined them. The goblins took a beating with only one left on deck. Hammerdasher is injured but isn’t going anywhere.

The party’s up.

From her spot on deck Marrin watches as Jisthelek falls with a look of shock.

She takes a breath and starts crawling towards him, calling down to William and Gillian (but targets William),

"Must be tough having a boy like Goddrick. Something not right with him, never trust him."

Unsettling words (minus from save): 3

She provides a suggestion,

"Whatever he is doing must be more dangerous to you than a few escaping slaves. You should really take some guards to check."

If she gets to Jisthelek she'll check for a pulse if she can.

((Save of 14))

William Hargrove looks up Marrin when she speaks. He blinks for a moment and then nods.

"Yeah, Godrick is up to something with those lizardfolk," William Hargrove says. He looks over at Captain Percival and gestures at the Rose Marie. "You've got this right?"

Reacting to Marrin's suggestion, he starts heading along the wharf, away from the fire and towards the far end where the rowboat had left from. He turns and calls to the hobgoblin guards.

"With me," William Hargrove says.

The guards look at William and each other.

"Don't be idiots," the voice of Gillian cuts in. "He's clearly bewitched."

The guards nod and remain where they are. Gillian looks torn between staying to help capture the escaped prisoners and going after William to snap him out of whatever spell he's under.

------------------------------------------------------------

Rest of the party's up.

"I'll catch up with the boat when I can.  If you hear me yelling from the water, be a dear and toss a rope," Ethel says to Jan and Marrin.

Then you see gills form in her throat and webbing on her fingers and hands.  She leans over the railing and drops into the harbor.

Would Ethel think she has any chance of catching up with that rowboat?  If so she will begin swimming in that direction, dashing on the rest of her turns.  If not, she will use her movement to try and get underneath the dock that the Hobgoblins and Gillian are standing on.

Hargrove's bolt that was heading for Jan passes through a portion of her form that was all Drusus illusion. ((With half cover, her AC is 19.))

"Don't listen to her lads, she's toxic!", Drusus-Jan says, popping up and sending another bolt at the Captain. "I can't blame her family for leaving her on a burning dock with only the lot of you for company! Best claim a ship of your own and strike out for yourselves!"

Attack: 20 Damage: 4 force + 2 bludgeoning

((If that was a guiding bolt that gave advantage, 7 to hit.))

She ducks back down behind the railing.

((Going full prone.))

"Tammer, Carnavon and Slick are down.  Haven't seen the other one.  We are currently fighting the Hargroves to get this ship out of the dock, guide poles you say?  C'mon, let's go!  You first, I'll keep an eye on you and our back as we go."

She keeps with Bigge as he hopefully heads up to the top.

Ethel - the rowboat is almost at the other ship. Even dashing will take three or four rounds to get there. She might manage to get there before they get the ship underway though.

Assuming Ethel jumps in on the open side of the ship (and not dockside) she could dash to get under the Rose Marie and under the pier.

If she’s jumping in on the dock side, she can get under the pier with an action available but will need to make an agility check to avoid hitting the pier as she jumps in.

It takes Ethel’s action to trigger the physical changes.  So she will shelter under the ship for this round, giving up on Godrick for now.

Jan’s bolt of eldritch energy catches Captain Percival squarly in his stomach. He seems dazed by all of the hits he’s taking but he’s still standing and looking pretty irate.

Ula scrambles across the deck to see what she can do for Jisthelek. From the look on her face, her powers don’t look to be helping.

Marrin can see  through a gap in the railing that William Hargrove is continuing on his way. He meets up with two more hobgoblin guards who were on the way to assist but it looks like he’s ordering them to come with him.

Ethel plunges into the water, cold, salty water almost makes her gasp for breath before she gets the hang of the gills. A couple of small fish stare wide-eyed at her.

Avaria and Bigge get just out on to the deck with their movement.

Bigge hunkers down and does a shuffle dash to the railing to try and get one of the poles loose.

Avaria has an action left before the Hargrove/Hob/Pirate contingent go.

Avaria looks around as she gets to the deck in horror.  She is no longer raging, but the fury inside her grows again as she sees what has happened while she was below deck.  She hopes she isn't reading Ula's face correctly and that her friend can help the little goblin that could.

She sees Bigge dash for the poles, helping him though she could, the anger inside of her wants to hurt those on the wharf.  She looks for daggers.  She dashes towards the location that has the most daggers for her to collect.

((Jan handed out six, most of those are probably next to the hands of someone who is no longer able to use it...))

Despite the lack of Drusus to lead them, the hobgoblins are still well trained. They know they can’t aim directly at those prone on the deck, but they must still be there given the magic coming over the side. They add an arc to their shots and let another six arrows fly.

Just as Bigge slips up to the railing, one arrow thuds into the deck between his legs. Avaria reachs a dead goblin and two loose daggers as an arrow pierces the corpse right in front of her.

Luck runs out with the third arrow and Bigge gets clipped in the shoulder. He curses loudly but keeps at the pole.

Ula, with her back to the sky, as she hunches over Jisthelek’s body has her shield left on the deck. That lapse is all the fourth arrow needs to slash into her shoulder. Blood drips down on to the wooden planks.

The brave goblin who had remained on deck to help, one of those ones that wouldn’t piss themselves at the first sign of trouble gets run through with the fifth arrow. The goblin collapses, completely still.

The final arrow finds Hammerdasher, but because he took Marrin’s lead, he ducked in against the railing and he’s merely grazed by the sharp arrow head. But he’s still looking in rough shape.

First Mate Lozredak manages to snag one of the loose ropes and starts to loop it around the anchor point on the pier. The captain is able to grab another but hasn’t gotten it to another anchor point yet.

Gillian Hargrove reached for one of the ropes but missed. She curses loudly and shouts down the dock at the mix of sailors and pirates fighting the fire.

“Free anchorage for life and 100 gold coin to whoever gets me this ship.”

William Hargrove can be heard yelling loudly in the direction of the ship that the rowboat rendezvoused with, his two hobgoblin guards looking around in, what even from this distance is, confusion.

The fire is no longer spreading. Several sailors still need to get it completely put out but with it seemingly in hand, a couple of singed and soot covered pirates start making their way towards the Rose Marie.

-----------------------------------

The party's up.

"Ava! Get us pushed off!"

Jan will scramble over and slash through the rope that Lozredak is securing to the pier.

Attack: 7 Damage: 8

Attack: 17 Damage: 3

+ 2 bludgeoning

She'll duck behind the railing once she's slashed at it.

Ethel emerges from the water, just enough to whisper into her clawed hand.  She targets the rope Lozredak is tying.

Attack: 21 Damage: 3

Then she ducks back under the water, looking to get cover under the boat or the dock, whichever is closer.  

Next turn she will resurface and repeat, but on the opposite side of the boat or dock, anticipating some of the hobgoblins may be clever enough to train a shot on where she is popping up.  She might not be able to survive an arrow.

Avaria scoops up the daggers and then hears Jan.  Struggling between firing back and pushing the boat... she pauses but just for a sec.

She runs to the opposite side of Bigge and dropping the daggers at her feet she grabs a guidepole, attempting to use it to push the boat away from the dock.

(If she can't do all this, she will not grab the daggers.  Was thinking daggers were interact with object, bonus action to grab the pole and action to use?  And then I'm assuming some sort of roll?)