While William looks sick, Harold looks... excited?!

"You know, I'm completely onboard with kicking some pirate ass!" Harold says with a grin, then glances at Yevelda. "No offense to, 'The Green One.' Anyhow, if they make us join the crew then I suppose that means we get another big adventure. I'm sure we can cause them some trouble from the inside to."

William sighs.

"If that's what you want to do brother, then I suppose I'm with you," he mutters. "But if I end up walking the plank, I promise I'll haunt you for the rest of your miserable life."

"Deal," Harold says with a chuckle.

The cook swallows the lump in his throat, then nods.

"Sailors are always pleased to see a good cook," he says after a moment's hesitation. "So... I probably won't be in too much danger... and I'm not eager to try to row to shore on my own."

Yevelda nods. So it seems that there is unanimous agreement: your 'guests' have officially become part of the crew.

As everyone disperses from the emergency meeting, the half-orc approaches Emrys.

"Captain... might I have a word with you?" she asks. "I think there's some things you're going to want to know about before the situation turns ugly."

“It is decided then.” He said somewhat concerned about William’s excitement. Old folk use to say that the young ant thirsty for battle are bound to find tragedy. “For all that is worth I will try my best to keep all of you alive. Just be sure to run away if the rest of the crew disappears.” An advice that would help them later, when the ones at North’s service made they scape. Provided we survive that far, the halfing thought with his usual inexistent optimism. “The meeting’s over. Everyone back to work!”

Emrys was not surprised by the silent of the others. They knew their mission and understood easily that the newcomers were presented to its dangers given the option to avoid it. What did surprise him was Yevelda’s approach, though she did look as if she had something to say from the start of the emergency call.

“Follow me to the navigation table.” Goldenleaf said with a nod of his head. He too had work to do on the ship. “I’m all years, Lady Yevelda.”

Emrys spoke as soon as he reached the table, reaching to ruler and compass while look at a map. One more reason for the pirates to take me in. One could never have too many navigators, doctors, carpenters or cooks at the sea.

"Well Captain... I don't doubt that you and your crew are going to be quite capable of dealing with common pirates," she says. "But I think there's one thing you need to be aware of... it's their big, dumb mountain of muscle who sold his soul to some devil to be even nastier. When my old crew were caught by Hailstorm's, the bastard made us fight Black Bart to prove ourselves worthy of serving in his crew... and he made it clear that our goal wasn't to win, it was to survive for a minute in the ring with him. I don't think that Hailstorm does it with every crew he comes across, but you should be prepared, just in case."

She pauses for a moment, as if a thought occurred to her.

"Now, like I said, if ya'll get tossed in the ring with Bart, you and your crew just need to survive for a minute. But somehow I think you'll get some big bonus points if you put on a good show, especially if you actually beat that damned lizard."

Sayyida went to work, though she did keep an eye on Emrys and Yevelda as they conversed.

Aftar all he said on the emergency meeting it was only to be expected Yevelda would consider that the forthcoming fight would be against the new Hailstorm crew. Add to that the fact that the man had at least eight ships and anyone would know which side was more likely to win. Wrong reasons but right conclusions, Emrys said to himself with the voice of his mind.

“Thank you for your kindness and for the information.” Goldenleaf started rising his eyes from the maps and putting his tools to rest for a moment. “To clarify, the test with Black Bart is not an individual battle? The entirety of the captured are put to fight at once.” If that was the case then getting into the band would be a simple matter albeit likely more dangerous. “Could you tell me about how was your fight? Does Bart use magic, weapons or bare fists? How fast he is in comparison to the average humanoid creature? What was the highest number of attacks he made immediately after closing the distance to a target? Did he show a particular resistance towards some kind of damage or spell? The battleground is on board of a ship or another place? Open air or enclosed?”

He didn’t ask that many questions at once since the first meeting with North. That seemed like a life back, but no more than four days had passed.

"Nope, not an individual test... there's a consensus that no single man, besides perhaps Hailstorm himself, would even have a change against Bart," the half-orc replies. "Usually, there aren't enough survivors after a battle to make it too much of a concern that he'll be overwhelmed by sheer numbers... though there was the time that they stuck half the crew in the brig then made them fight Bart after the first group got slaughtered. Most of the time the fight takes place on this little island right here..."

she takes a moment to point out a speck of an island on Emrys' map.

"...But once or twice I've seen the fight happen on the burning wreck of a vessel. That was pretty intense when they did that. Anyhow, when I fought the lizard he mostly stabbed and slashed. But he also has a bunch of spells to back him up while he was stabbing. Oh, and he can breathe a big ol' cloud of acid in your face. Don't let that catch you off guard if he does that. It hurts like hell."

Emrys eyes focused on Yevelda as she spoke, his mind committing every single word to memory. Movement is unlikely to be restricted then but at the same time we won’t be able to gain time by throwing Bart out of bounds. Unless there was some sort of cage or arena on the island. Worst part was finding that the Hailstorm was individually powerful. Kidnapping would be harder than the halfling initially thought.

“When you mention a fight on the island, you mean in some structure on the island or the pirates simply put the prisoners to battle as soon as they reach stable ground? How far from water?” At that point Goldenleaf was not sure about what would be better – an open space with unrestricted movement or a restricted area. “He stabbed and slashed with what? Sword? Halberd? You forgot to answer about his speed, resistances and how many attacks he does after closing in the target. Would it be correct of me that he demonstrated no special resistance to any kind of damage, his movement speed was average and he attacked no more than once after closing distance?” If that was the case the lizard was still faster than the halfling. Damned long legs. “Could you make an estimation of the approximate range of acid cloud? Describe the kind of spells you saw he use?”

So, after a string of questions, you determine that Black Bart is a dragonborn (black) who hits really hard dual-wielding a scimitar and a dagger. Though he does apparently mix it up every so often. The island has an abandoned fort on it which is where the fights take place, surrounded by jeering pirates watching from the walls.

(In game terms, Bart is a level 10 Eldritch Knight fighter specked for two-weapon fighting)

(OOC: Regarding the commentary on "Captain Hailstorm" being individually powerful, it's worth noting that he might just be riding on his predecessor's reputation and building himself up as someone more formidable than he really is. And he would certainly want his crew to believe that he's an unbeatable warrior, especially since many of them were 'recruited' against their will)

The fort is on your map, so you can get a good look at the layout of the arena:

During the actual fight, you can safely assume that any exits are blocked off. Presumably by a makeshift barricade with a bunch of pirates behind it.

Sae listens in silence to the conversation, occasionally moving her fingers as if ticking off points.  Once you could swear she was writing  in the air with a forefinger, but she otherwise gives no sign of the filing and categorizing of information that is going on within.  Or the analysis that immediately follows, looking for missing points, hints, or other useful points that may not be immediately obvious on the face of what was said (or in the case of the fortress map, drawn).

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Investigation 7

Quote from OisinmacCameron >>

Sae listens in silence to the conversation, occasionally moving her fingers as if ticking off points.  Once you could swear she was writing  in the air with a forefinger, but she otherwise gives no sign of the filing and categorizing of information that is going on within.  Or the analysis that immediately follows, looking for missing points, hints, or other useful points that may not be immediately obvious on the face of what was said (or in the case of the fortress map, drawn).

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

Investigation 19

 Looking at the map, you can guess that what probably happens is that prisoners are placed in the middle of the room,  then Bart enters from the door on the left. You can deduce that since Yevelda has already proven her metal in this little 'game' once, she probably won't be made to join your crew for another round, which could make the fight significantly more difficult. She also pointed out that "Hailstorm" doesn't put everyone who is "recruited" through this ordeal, so it is possible that individuals who have particularly useful skills might be exempt.

" Well, I'm here to kill pirates......so you know my feelings on the matter."

"If you kill Bart, you'll definitely get the crew's respect," the half-orc says. "But I would strongly suggest focusing on, ya' know, not dying."

“Today at the dinner table I will tell everyone that Hailstorm’s crew have a black dragonborn swordsman specialized on scimitar and dagger that can weave spells on his attacks. Sometimes he simply cast, sometimes uses a rudimentary enchantment and a slash, others strike twice. Average speed, resistant to acid and with the ability to use once per battle an acid breath with range of five by thirty feet line. Won’t tell where the information came from, just say that I thought it relevant to share in case we are attacked by them. You can tell you were the source if you want.” He waited for Yevelda correction in regards to anything he might had got wrong. “As far as the battle go, you may not take part on it, but if you do I would appreciate if you flank Bart with Arleo, the triton.” They were the toughest frontliners on the ship, after all. “Go crazy on him, first mate. If things go well enough that we can choose, I promise you the last strike on this one.”

Truth be told, Emrys thought it more likely that surviving alone would take all their strength but far from him to diminish morale. Sayyida feelings could very inspire the others. The halfling had an inkling that she had experienced in doing that.

"You're the captain, so your commands go as far as strategy," Sae muses, "but if I and any other stealth fighters we have were able to get into that corner by the door where it would hide us from him as he came out, we could catch this 'Black Bart' by surprise. Maybe slow him down and distract him enough to eat up a good chunk of the minute we have to survive."  Then, as she realizes the possible other meanings of her last remark, "Let's hope the 'eating up' part doesn't get too literal, anyway ... for anyone."

"We'd have to be quick, though ... don't imagine they'll give us too much time to get in position."

" I should be able to keep him focused on me for however long I last.", Sayyida offered.

I'll go ahead and skip forward since I think you guys have done pretty much everything you need to do, but correct me if I'm wrong and there's anything else that you need to do.

You sail on for a few more days... in fact, you're getting close to your supposed destination. Everyone is getting a bit restless... it's starting to look like the pirates might not attack after all.

But then... it happens. As you round a craggy little peninsula on a foggy morning, less than a day's journey from the port, two ships appear out of the mists in ambush! Their black flags tell you at once that the fight you've been preparing for is here!



They are pretty much right on top of you, so they immediately start hurling grappling hooks at your deck. Everyone, roll initiative! I'll try to get a good map up later today.

“Assuming they don’t pull one on us and he gets from there, a surprise attack would be fantastic.” They would see Yevelda with them. It wouldn’t be that far fetched for them to consider they had information about Bart. Having the dragoborn enter from an unexpected place was not out of the realm of possibility. “After the first contact we should keep spread formation, to avoid spells with areas of effect, and play to our strengths. If Yevelda is exempt from the test then Sayyida and Arleo flank him.” The proximity should force Bart into melee attacks, reduce the use of spells. “Both me and ‘Naut should keep out of his breath range. Our hydrozoan alternating between ranged attacks and bringing anyone that is brought down back on feet. Considering the lizard’s number of attacks to use healing before that point would be suboptimal. You I have an inkling can exceed on hit and run damage. An in all the idea would be to keep our enemy inside of a 20ft diameter.”

And from there they could only hope for a good outcome. Although hoping didn’t see to bring many results on regards to the pirates attacking. The travel followed uneventful for days to the point that one could not be blamed for thinking that the crew together from Northport. There was tension in the air but no privateers. Not until they were less than a day from the next harbor.

“PIRATES!” Emrys shouted, full aware that the word would have a different meaning for the crew – fight’s on.

Initiative: 3 (Nat 1)

Areleo grabs onto his new found necklace and braces for a fight. 

initiative: 11