Jammers Summary: Chapter 2, Turn 16

----------- = Meanwhile, elsewhere...
*********** = Later...

The Ship:

Following the Silent Star's somewhat bouncy landing in the cove, Deigatt heads below deck to make sure the ship's cargo remains secure and undamaged. He finds the bindings held up well, and the lumber remains secure.

Holland says, "Italapate, would you please keep us stationary?"

Italapate calls out acidly, "Yeah, no kiddin!" Pate continues to concentrate on the helm, keeping the Star as stationary as he can.

Holland turns to Nilaroo, "Do you believe we should stow the lines and sails in the event of inclement weather?"

"No." Nilaroo grunts, then "Hoom... we should tie off on those trees, can cut ropes if we leave in a hurry."

Holland says, "Then Italapate wouldn't have to man the helm, right?"

Holland, under Nilaroo's direction, wades ashore to tie off the Star then climbs back aboard.

Holland says to Talus, "Talus, would you please stand my watch? I need to rest to regain the spells I cast upon Kain and Grigree.."

Talus shrugs, "Ok, I had planned to watch out anyway. Kain and Grigree might decide to bring back some new friends."

"Thank you." Holland replies, "We are vulnerable from the sky, everyone keep a sharp eye out. We don't want to be caught unawares. Does anyone have any comments? Otherwise.. we wait.."

Leera runs to catch up to Holland as he descends below decks. "Holland! Might I have a word?"

Holland stops and smiles, "I always have time for you Leera."

Leera says "I'm going to try and do as you suggested and attempt to conceal the Star. I won't, however, be able to conceal the entire ship. It might be wise for you to memorize an illusion spell, perhaps the improved spell I taught you, to conceal the parts of the ship I can't. What do you think?"

Holland rubs his chin and then says, "I was going to memorize more combat oriented spells, but I see the value of your suggestion. I'll memorize an illusion spell as well. Once we get the reports from our scouts we will be able to figure out how best to use them." Holland then smiles and with an incline of his head, "If you would please excuse me," and heads belowdecks.

Leera turns and walks over to the starboard railing. She takes a seat on the deck and leans against the railing, making herself comfortable. She then reaches into a pouch for a spell component, and begins weaving an illusion over the ship. As she does so, she turns her head every few moments to make sure that the illusion is taking shape properly. Soon, viewers from the air above can see only the shifting waves of Shipwrecker's ocean except for the narrow, difficult to see tail of the ship. The crew of the Star are able to see the shifting waters created by the illusion just over their heads.

Nilaroo moves among the sails and ropes, setting preparations that could either furl the sails in a sudden storm, or loose the ship from its moorings if a sudden escape were needed. His massive bow is never far from his side, and his sword is strapped across his back.

Ferric too keeps his longbow close at hand and he relaxes at ease at the ship's prow.

Even though the ship is "moored" to the local landscape, Italapate continues to sit on the helm.

Seguld comes on deck as Nilaroo tends the sails. Quietly Seguld draws out his mace and begins a series of feints, attacks, and parries against an invisible foe. His movements seem extremely well rehearsed for a merchant and those on deck notice that most of his feints are aimed upwards, and his assaults are either directly forward or aimed downward. Seguld finishes his rehearsal by leaping into the air and landing upon the imaginary foe. He finishes with a bow towards those observing him.

The Scouts:

The flight down through the crisp Shipwrecker air was exhilarating for both, though there was momentary panic when it wasn't certain the cliff was really an illusion! Despite it's incredibly real appearance, however, it passed behind you like a wisp of smoke as you passed through it. Inside a short passage led directly to the pirate harbor.

The large sea cave is lit by lanterns hanging from hooks embedded in the ceiling. Their constant, bright light can only come from a magical source. Just as Periander described there is space for four vessels to drop anchor or tie up alongside the walls of the cavern, though there's only one small dock and it's barely large enough for the small rowboat tied alongside it. The dock ends at the cavern wall and a passage can be seen going deeper into the cliff behind it. This passage is blocked by a pair of large wooden doors. A single figure paces back and forth along this dock.

There are currently two vessels docked here. One is a small galleon, obviously the Flow Ghost. The other is a large galley armed with three large ballistae (one fore, one amidships, and one astern). Two or three figures are puttering about the Flow Ghost's deck, and about a dozen or so are aboard the galley swabbing the deck or splicing lines or whatever.

There seems to be no sign of any organized defenses of the harbor, outside of the illusionary cliff.

Just inside the passage there's a small ledge about 70 feet or so above the water. Kain lands there and drops his piece of rope, hoping Grigree sees the same ledge and stops there as well. His hope is rewarded when he hears a soft grunt and smells the hadozee land next to him.

Kain sounds nervous as he whispers, "Grigree, ah, what should we do now? Should we both wait down by the doors, so we can try to get into their town?"

Grigree bobs his head up and down in affirmative, then realizes that Kain can't see him and grunts a "yes". He looks down towards the door and the guard, seeing how much trouble he'd be to dispatch in case he and Kain had to leave in a hurry. "Drop rope near door after you get, rrr, through. I do same. If only one get through door, he wait for other. Sound good?"

"Surely," Kain agrees as his section of rope disappears from the ledge. "I'm ready," he whispers as a rustle of feathers announces his departure from the outcropping of rock.

Kain's landing on the dock produces a slight thud, the pirate by the door, a lean, mean looking weasel of a man carrying an arquebus and a sheathed cutlass walks over to investigate, mutters something about "Damnable fish" and returns to his pacing.

An hour passes as Grigree and Kain wait, tense and invisible by the doors. Finally, the doors open from the inside and three human males carrying sacks of flour and other foodstuffs walk out and start loading their burdens into the rowboat as Grigree and Kain slip inside the door into the empty hallway beyond.

On the other side of the door two pieces of rope quickly show that both passed the door successfully. the hallway stretches out about twenty or thirty feet then comes to an intersection. The corridor continues, turning into a series of sharply rising stairs. Another corridor passes to the right and ends after about twenty feet in a torch-lit alcove where two men in sailors garb sit dicing in front of another closed door. Each of these two men carries a dagger and cutlass.

After the intersection, Kain's rope appears just before the rising stairs. Once Grigree's rope is on the floor, Kain whispers, "If these stairs keep going up, they.. ah.. might lead to an exit from the cave system, I think we should try the stairs before the door."

"Why explore more?" Grigree asks. "We need jetatin' chalice onboard ship," he points to the doors, forgetting that Kain can't see the gesture, "not all the caves. Hrr, all we do is block door long enough to get chalice off ship. Maybe one of our wizards knows spell to do it."

"But... Ah... How will you get back to the ship if we don't find an exit?" Kain asks. "I.. ah.. could try to carry you, but I doubt I could actually fly. Besides, I thought we were.. ah.. looking for a backdoor just in case we wanted to sneak in a group to take the chalice without a fight."

Grigree shrugs. "Could sneak back through door and up wall to get out. Maybe even get chalice on way," Grigree shows his teeth in a smile, then remembers the invisibility. Clearing his throat with a grunt, the hadozee continues, "We go up, but not stay too long. Others waiting, may be seen."

The journey up the stairs takes about 15 minutes or so, at the top another door closes off the corridor but no guard is apparent. Grigree listens carefully at the door for several minutes, then slowly tries the knob. The door opens easily into another corridor. Passing inside (so passersby won't wonder why the door hangs ajar) Kain and Grigree spend the next twenty minutes exploring what appears to be the main level of the pirate town. Perhaps 30 rooms branch off the hallways at various points, the basic shape of the stronghold seems to be a square. Some of these rooms are obviously private dwellings, others are large halls. People of various races (but mostly human) walk through the corridors going about their business, there even seem to be a few children. One of the larger halls is decked out like a typical tavern on the inside, perhaps thirty sailors are inside listening to a raucous band and dancing with scantily clad bar girls. Storerooms, a smithy, and even what looks like a jewelry shop are present. While most of these rooms have good, sturdy wooden doors they are often standing open, especially in the "public" areas.

Having neither seen nor heard anything concerning the Chalice, Grigree and Kain reconvene at the stairs leading back down to the harbor.

"Time to leave?" Kain asks quietly.

Grigree grunts an affirmative.

"I'll have to hole up for... Ah... A little while," Kain explains in an undertone. "Once we get back out in the harbor area, I hope to find a place where I can rest undisturbed, so I can.. well.. regain my focus. That short flight made me more tired than I thought it.. ah.. would."

"I think an hour of concentration might be long enough," Kain adds. "Once we're out of the.. ah.. caves, I'll drop my rope by the tree if I'm there before you, and wait for you to arrive before alerting the others."

After the pair makes it back into the harbor, Grigree says to Kain's dropped rope, "I start climbing out now. Meet you by tree."

Unfortunately, it's a good hour before anyone arrives at the door and heads out, so that the pair can follow through the doorway without suspicion. As the besotted sailors they followed out pour themselves into the rowboat Grigree starts to carefully climb the walls back towards the surface of the island.

Kain, having rest already waiting for the door, quickly rises into the air and with a few rapid beats has exited the cavern and headed for the tree.

Kain arrives at the tree first, and only has 15 minutes or so to wait before a tired sounding Grigree drops his bit of rope and announces his presence.

Kain and Grigree then shake the tree.

When the announcement is made that the sapling is wiggling in a way contrary to the prevailing winds, Italapate lifts the 'Jammer out of the bay. Working with his linesmen, he brings the Star up toward the invisible pair so that they can be brought aboard the ship.

"We're here," Kain says as he drops his rope on the deck. "Let's.. ah.. meet on the bridge and start our planning."

Rising from her sleep by a knock on her room door, Jamila takes a couple of minutes to fully wake up and join the others in the bridge. Running her hands through her hair in an unsuccessful attempt to straighten it out, Jamila gives a sleepy smile towards where the noise of her invisible companions are. "you guys, can't you let a girl get her beauty sleep?" she says while not quite stifling a yawn.

Once everyone is together, Kain draws a map of the cove and passageway. "This is what we found," he adds as he begins a report of the scouting job.

Once Holland is roused and the scouts report their findings Holland asks, "Which direction did the outer doors open? Inwardly or outwardly? A simple web spell should trap the guard and keep the door shut preventing any reinforcements"

"The doors open inward." Kain replies.

Holland then asks, "How was the FlowGhost moored?"

"There were.. ah.. a few simple mooring lines between the Ghost and the walls of the cave," Kain answers. "The cave wall had a number of.. ah.. bolt rings to which the lines were attached."

Holland says, "How does this sound? Our two invisible scouts enter before we do. They untie all of the moorings and board the FlowGhost, positioning themselves strategically. We enter using Leera's illusion to make the ship invisible and move next to the Flow, keeping it between us and the other ship. Our boarding party debarks and boards the Flow. Deigatt makes his way to the Helm, while the rest of the boarding party neutralizes the pirates. Deigatt leads the way out of the cove on the Flow while the Star follows."

Holland concludes, "Then we high-tail it for the stars. How does that sound for a plan?"

"Must we halso steal the ship?" Deigatt grumbles. "I thought hour mission was but to steal the Chalice."

Holland looks at Deigatt and says, "I understand how you feel; however, galleons are pretty big and have plenty of places to hide things. The object here is speed, get in and get out. By taking the ship we can search it at our leisure without worrying about a town of pirates breathing down our necks."

Holland frowns and says, "I don't like the idea of stealing the entire ship much either, but it is the best way to accomplish our desire," Holland tries to strike a light tone and says, "Besides, it will go a long way in paying off Lady Moune.."

"I had.. thought of trying to disable the weapons on the Galleon moored next to the Flow Ghost, but their ship was heavily manned, and.. ah.. I'm not sure if it could be taken care of easily," Kain adds. "But, I don't know that we have the manpower to fly the Ghost. The Star, we can handle her with four of us, a small galleon with a helm, hmm?

Holland interjects, "I will drop a flaming sphere onto the Galley's deck if they become too interested in what we are doing.. Also, we don't necessarily have to worry about manpower, the helmsman can initially effect crude steering of the ship. The object would be to get off planet as soon as possible. The boarding party could also help with the lines. Once we got off planet we could make some changes in the crews of the ships to maximize things."

Holland also asks, "The pirates you mention that got into the rowboat, which ship did they go to? Oh and by the way, did you happen to see what the name of the large Galley was?"

Kain and Grigree both shrug, obviously embarrassed about failing to discover these details.

"Periander, how many crewmembers did it take to keep the Flow Ghost running under full sail?" Kain asks.

"I think four or so on the lines." Periander answers, "And I'd guess a helmsman though I never saw the helm."

"But not much crew needed to fly galleon straight away," Grigree adds from near the wall, his location marked by a rope around his neck.

"Also, ah, we'll have to keep enough people behind on the Star to man the lines for the escape," Kain continues. "So this is.. ah.. who I'd recommend for the boarding party and to remain on the Star, just among the.. ah.. non-spellcasting members of the Company, though. Those of you who.. ah.. can cast spells can decide better than I who should stay and who should go."

"The boarding party, well," Kain pauses. "Grigree and I could make use of the invisibility still. Jamila and Nilaroo I know both are.. ah.. able fighters. Ferric and Seguld, though I've yet to fight along with you, I think you could help with the boarding also. The larger our boarding party, the, well, greater chance of getting in and finding the chalice quickly. To stay on the Silent Star," Kain continues, "Periander and Billy at the least, and.. ah.. whatever spellcaster's just come off of the helm."

"Could it be possible to put the weapon crews on the Galleon to sleep?" Jamila asks stifling another yawn. "Or just snap the weapon strings?" Shaking her head to remove the last of her mental cobwebs, Jamila asks one more question, this time directed at the scouts and Periander. "Is there enough room to fly the Star directly into the cavern, or do we have to sail her in?"

"She must be sailed in." Periander answers.

Grigree says, "This plan work if we quiet, not notify jetatin' galley. Maybe we cast more invisibility, sneak in, get chalice, and leave?"

Holland listens to Kain and Grigree and shakes his head for a moment and then says to the group, "Since there are differing opinions, we need to take a vote.. 1. Who wants to just board the Flow to look for the Chalice. 2. Who wants to board the Flow and fly it away?"

Holland continues, "Both have their risks. I vote for flying the Flow away, we have enough people to crew both ships for the time it would take to get back to Bral," Holland's voice goes cold and his face tightens as he says, "And it would remove one more pirate ship from circulation."

"No spell lasts forever, Grigree, or so I, hoom, understand." Nilaroo answers. "Getting away without the galleon in pursuit will be difficult, but perhaps the illusion of a wall of fire will suffice. I am for the boarding and claiming of the ship."

Holland nods and adds, "I have memorized an illusion spell and was thinking of using it like you just described. Between the flaming sphere, which I will have form in their sails and then fall to their deck, and the flame wall, I don't think we will have much pursuit from the galley."

"Well, ah, we might as well set off with the Flow Ghost also," Kain says. "So I vote for taking the ship by force."

The rope that is Grigree says, "Grrr, can't hurt to have one more ship."

Leera looks again at the map before replying. "Hmm... I'm not sure what spell you're thinking of, Holland, but nothing I can cast will cover the entire cove mouth. It's simply too big. I'd thought of trying to slow them down by forcing them to navigate around my illusion." She pauses. "On the other hand, if we coordinate our efforts, we can probably block most of the entrance, at least up to a reasonable height." She rises and goes to retrieve her spellbook. Finding a seat on the deck, she says "Give me twenty minutes to rememorize my spell."

As the tactics discussion on the bridge continues, the Silent Star hovers next to the bluff in the bright blue sky.

Date/time: 5:40 pm 2nd day of the 5th Month, 5049 OC