FLUFF: Jammers: Turn 48 Chapter 7

The Adventures of my Jammers PBEM game.

I hope folks are enjoying these, if there is a 
consensus that they suck I will be happy to stop 
posting them. Let me know what you folks think. 
(My players should feel free to comment as well:))

Website: http://lost.spelljammer.org/Jammers/

----------- = Meanwhile, elsewhere...
*********** = Later...
{} = Actions and descriptions within these 
brackets take place within the psionic mindscape 
and are OOC knowledge for all accept the parties 
directly involved.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!

Lord Byron 'The Destruction of Sennacherib' (3rd Stanza)

IC:

Round 5:

The DRAGAZHAR hangs in the air, her forward 
momentum stopped.  her long beak-like ram has 
split in two and the bottom half of her bow has 
crumbled in, leaving a gaping hole.

Fore Deck:

Raken lets out a "Hazzah!!" at the sight of the 
damage done to the Shrike.  "Lets finish her 
off!!  A few more shots and a few fireballs 
should send her to her grave!"  He helps reload 
the ballista.

Dhebun reloads the ballista.

Nilaroo begins to reload the catapult. "Hoom, get 
ready for another shot!" Nilaroo exhorts the 
catapult crew.

Italapate and Ives both work on reloading the catapult.

Grigree works the lines.

Midships:

"Of all the horrible timing," snapped Freneth, as 
he continued to reload the ballista.

Lellyn quickly grabs a nearby coil of rope and 
securely ties himself a safety line.

As Lellyn ties himself off, Oquid steps in and helps reload the ballista.

Kain continues to work the lines amidships.

Aft Deck:

Holland yells, "Talus, get back here!" and then 
to the rest of the crew, "Reload, reload!  Fire 
at will!"

Allagan works the lines but watches the DRAGAZHAR.

"What just happened?" Sekeht shouts. "It looked 
like we all missed but their ship was damaged 
anyway!"

Holland replies succinctly, "It was Talus."

Raken yells with a grin from the bow "Now would be a good time for some more
fireballs...".

Holland frowns and yells back forward, "We'd have to be within 70 yards"

Ferric continues to lean into the rudders 
maintaining the upward spiral that has the other 
vessel at its center.

Leera helps Sekeht reload the ballista.

Masawa pulls himself over to the railing and stares at the other ship.

Below Decks:

Vais remains on the on helm.

Off Ship:

Talus turns invisible and flies towards the 
DRAGAZHAR.  He enters the gaping hole in her bow 
and finds himself in what looks like her 
wardroom.  Tables, chairs, and fine china are 
scattered about the room in ruins.  Talus can 
smell ale and wine as it soaks into the fine 
carpet blanketing the floor.  There are two exits 
from this room.  One is a door leading aft, it 
swings freely on its hinges.  The other is a 
trapdoor in the ceiling leading up.  Situated 
near the front of the ship it appears tightly 
closed.

Meanwhile, under Ferric's direction the NIGHTWIND 
spirals up and around the DRAGAZHAR.  She 
maintains her 150 yard distance, but now she has 
risen slightly above the stalled shrikeship, 
making the shrike's deck fully visible for the 
first time.

The crew of over two dozen is struggling to 
regain their footing after the shock of the 
collision.  The two giff are clearly visible on 
the for and aft decks, each obviously shouting at 
the crew to get back in action.  It's impossible 
to pick out Dougal or Radick yet amongst the many 
human males, but Delmaria is clearly visible on 
the foredeck, already standing along with her two 
rakasta bodyguards.

Suddenly, three massive winged lizards appear in 
the air, about 70 yards from the NIGHTWIND.  They 
have leathery, bat-like wings with a fifty foot 
wingspan, heads filled with long, sharp teeth, 
two legs, and stinger-tipped tail.  They appear 
to be about 35 feet long.

-----------

Round 6:

The three massive winged lizards swoop towards 
the NIGHTWIND, one each at bow, midships, and 
stern.

Fore Deck:

Nilaroo ignores the winged lizards as he 
carefully sights on the DRAGAZHAR.  With a 
vicious jerk he yanks the firing arm and sends 
another catapult shot hurtling at the shrikeship. 
The shot slams into the shrikeship’s port wing, 
shattering it about two-thirds of the way down 
from the hull.

Dhebun growls as he sees the winged wyrms appear, 
then shouts..."Damn You  Cartan!!!!!!" and fires 
at the shrikeship.  His bolt just misses the 
DRAGAZHAR, hurtling past the starboard side by a 
few feet.

Raken stands still and starts chanting as a small 
cyclone of dust and wind appears in front of him.

Ives nods and turns to the catapult crew "Nilaroo 
protect the fore ballista crew, 'Pate wreck havoc 
on  any that approachs midships. I've got the 
aft." With that Ives charges down the Nightwind, 
his large boots pounding on the deck.

Midships:

Freneth follows orders instantly, twisting the 
ballista around and launching the massive spear 
straight toward the main deck of the smashed 
ship.  He underleads the shrikeship, however, and 
his shot slices through the sailcloth of the 
tailfin sail.

"Thank you, milady" Lellyn says, with a nod to 
Oquid as he finishes tying off the safety line. 
"We seem to have more unwelcome guests. If the 
two of you can handle this weapon then I shall 
make sure your efforts remain undisturbed." 
Lellyn draws his rapier and main gauche and 
places himself between the wyverns and the weapon 
crew, ready to fend of any attacks.

Oquid ties herself off to the railing

Kain glances nervously towards the new arrivals, 
as he continues to work the lines amidships. He 
reaches down and checks his short sword on more 
than one occasion, loosening it in the scabbard.

Aft Deck:

Sekeht wheels the ballista around to aim at the 
lizards, but he does not fire. He stares at the 
closest flying lizard.

Allagan quickly ties himself off on a line and 
then works the lines as directed.
As he does so he prays, "All Father, bless us who fight our enemies!"

Holland looks at the winged lizards briefly and 
then says, "Target the DRAGAZHAR's main deck! 
Break the spell-caster's concentration--Fire!!" 
Holland adds, "Ives!  Keep those lizards busy 
while we destroy the DRAG!  Protect the weapon 
crews!"

Ferric attempts to maintain the current advantage 
in elevation as the NIGHTWIND continues to circle 
the damaged shrike.  Ferric shouts "Pound her 
decks.  Should they not cut and run at least 
we'll have an easier time of it when we board."

Leera casts invisibility on herself

"Holland, Ferric I suggest ramming or launching 
fire ballista bolts. No atmosphere to foul here 
what!" Ives proclaims as he nears the aft.

Below Decks:

Vais remains on the helm, following Ferric's directions.

Off Ship:

Talus flies back to the hole and begins chanting. 
Talus turns visible as a mass of webs fills the 
entire wardroom from floor to ceiling.

Above decks, the crew of the DRAGAZHAR seems to 
have mostly regained their feet and begun 
grabbing at lines and weapons.

The NIGHTWIND remains above the DRAGAZHAR, 
circling around her aft quarter and moving up 
along her port side, just about 150 yards.

Six massive vultures suddenly appear between the two vessels.

-----------

Round 7:

With plank-shattering force the three wyverns 
land on the nightwind, claws raking and tails 
stabbing...

The vultures swoop towards the NIGHTWIND...

Fore Deck:

The fore wyvern clutches at the rail, it's claws 
splintering the wood as its head darts forward 
and its jaws clamp down on Italapate.  The shaman 
shrieks in agony, and then the wyvern's tail 
snaps forward over it head and pierces Pate's 
neck.  His shriek turns into a gargle.

Nilaroo leaps forward at the beats and attacks 
with a sweeping stroke of his two handed sword. 
"Scatter, defend yourselves!" he shouts as his 
blow hacks into the beast's neck.  It shudders 
and staggers as his massive blow cuts a deep 
chunk from its neck.

Furiously the dwarf reloads the ballista.

Raken leaps forward with his scimiter and slashes 
into the beast's wing, tearing the fragile 
membrane horribly.

Grigree leaps forward as well, his two longswords 
stabbing into the creature's neck deeply.

The beast collapses on the deck, and starts 
sliding off, dragging Italapate with it.

Midships:

The second wyvern lands amidships, also clutching 
at the rail as it attacks Freneth.  As the giant 
lizard rushes him, Freneth dives to the side, his 
hand axe yanked from its hanger, and swinging 
wildly to keep the creature away.

His wild dive works, as the beast's snout slams 
into the deck with splintering force, instead of 
closing about the halfling's body.

Lellyn defends the weapon crew, attacking the beast but his blow bounces off.

Oquid takes cover behind the ballista.

Kain does his best to keep the sails working 
efficiently as the battle rages around him.

Aft Deck:

As the third wyvern flies at the ship,  Allagan 
summons a wide lightning bolt that strikes the 
beast full in the face just before it lands.

At the same moment, Sekeht fires the ballista 
into the wyvern. "Reload," he shouts immediately.

Ives pulls out a pistol and with an intake of 
breath shouts out "Lizard eat lead!" before 
firing off a round.

Hit by lightening, ballista, and pistol the 
wyvern staggers in the air and the tumbles 
beneath the ship, wings fluttering and tearing as 
its lifeless body falls.

Holland watches the DRAGAZHAR, hand raised.

Leera stares at the wyvern.

Masawa crouches against the railing watching the battle with fierce eyes.

Ferric continues trying to direct the ship's 
flight, but only Kain still managing to man his 
assigned sails, the ship begins to straighten 
from her turn.

Below Decks:

Vais continues taking Ferric's orders.

Off Ship:

On the DRAGAZHAR, licking his lips Talus raises 
his hands with his thumbs touching.  Talus chants 
again and sends out a fan of flames igniting the 
webs and setting fire to nearby broken furniture.

As the NIGHTWIND straightens out her spiral, now 
in front of and still above the DRAGAZHAR, the 
shrikeship suddenly regains her power and shoots 
forward, sliding beneath the galley a bare fifty 
yards below and diving.

As she passes near the NIGHTWIND, six shapes 
suddenly out of nowhere on the main deck of the 
galley, just as Holland bends his finger and a 
fireball explodes on the foredeck of the 
DRAGAZHAR.  Several figures are seen collapsed on 
the deck of the shrikeship before she passes 
beneath the galley and out of view.

The figures on the NIGGHTWIND are six large 
lizards, bipedal with long tails, about six feet 
tall. they look like larger cousins of the beasts 
that hunted the party on the plains of the 
plateau after fleeing the City of the Gods.  They 
stand between the main and aft masts, and crouch 
to leap at those about them.


Date/Time: 2:33 pm, 12th day of the 11th Month, 5049 OC

--
"...How shall a man judge what to do in such times?!"
"As he has ever judged," said Aragorn "Good and 
evil have not changed since yesteryear..."
J.R.R. Tolkien, _The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers_

Paul Westermeyer,  westermeyer@????????.net