Tomb of Annihilation - Session 29
General Summary
All hands aboard the Masked Fortune prepare for battle. The designated templar squads staff the ship's weapons, other templars stand ready to repel boarders, all but a handful of sailors go below decks, and Olena takes her post next to Dunch at the helm.
The Dragonfang closes quickly. At Olena's suggestion, the Masked Fortune turns slightly to starboard for a better attack angle, and the enemy vessel adjusts its heading accordingly. Longbow in hand, Chibuzo climbs up to the crow's nest, then uses the ship's speaking trumpet to shout at the pirates: "This is Chibuzo O'tamu. I give you one chance to surrender." There is no response.
Dolan casts Bless on Sergeant Kira and her crew as they open fire with the mangonel. Hurtled stones rip through the Dragonfang's foresail, but the damage has no effect on the pirate ship's surprising speed. Another fired shot misses entirely, as if nudged to one side.
At the prow of the Dragonfang stands a Marakuran woman in a simple dress, chanting with her arms raised: the Sea Witch. An arrow from Chibuzo's longbow catches her in the shoulder; as she glares back at him, he fires again, striking her in the hip. She doubles over in pain, then withdraws to the main deck and out of sight. The Dragonfang slows significantly.
The ballistae on both sides open fire, and from the forecastle of the Dragonfang, pirates with heavy crossbows target the Masked Fortune's crew. But the Nizamish vessel has the better of the exchange. Its ballista fires bolts through the Dragonfang's sails and its mangonel knocks out a pirate ballista, while Chibuzo's longbow picks off one of the artillery crew and a crossbowman. One of the dead rises again as a zombie, and two of his fellows drop their weapons, seize the undead, and throw it over the side. The remaining pirate ballista targets Chibuzo in the crow's nest, the giant bolts grazing him twice. As the range closes, Ixtli joins the battle from the foredeck of the Masked Fortune, firing his short bow into the mass of pirates.
Then the Sea Witch briefly reappears on the Dragonfang, casting a spell before moving out of sight. A vortex some fifty feet across begins to form in the sea directly in front of the Masked Fortune, threatening to engulf her, and Dunch needs all his strength to steer the ship away. As the Masked Fortune skirts the edge of the whirlpool, the Dragonfang turns into a parallel course and begins to come up alongside.
In a final shot before the range becomes too close for its firing arc, the Masked Fortune's mangonel takes out the other pirate ballista.
Dolan moves to the foredeck of the Masked Fortune and casts a spell. A Wall of Fire 60 feet long materializes along the main deck of the Dragonfang, immolating five pirates. Three of them rise again as zombies who stumble out of the flames and attack their fellows.
In the crow's nest, Chibuzo summons the power of the Investiture of Wind granted him by Kurat. The glyph the dragon carved on him glows, and swirling winds carry him through the air towards the aft of the enemy ship, where a large, dreadlocked Marakuran man stands at the helm—her captain, Elok Jaharwon. Nearby is the portly figure of Zaroum al-Saryak, wearing a vest studded with gemstones. Two of the pirates on the rear deck fire their crossbows at the approaching ranger, but their bolts go astray in the turbulent winds.
A crossbowman in the Dragonfang's forecastle hits Dolan, and the sorcerer loses his concentration on the Wall of Fire. As the flames evaporate, the dragonborn raises the Staff of Swarming Insects instead. A cloud of wasps appears on the foredeck of the Dragonfang, swarming and stinging. Five pirates are killed, and two more are badly injured. The Sea Witch on the main deck is also caught in the insect cloud, and the magic whirlpool dissipates. Two of the pirates rise again as zombies.
Nearing the pirate ship, Chibuzo invokes the aerial powers invested in him to summon a whirlwind on the rear deck of the Dragonfang, bludgeoning the pirate captains and their followers. From the deck of the Masked Fortune, Dolan fires a lightning bolt that electrocutes a pirate and a zombie before striking the Sea Witch. Surviving the attack, she moves to the ship's rail to confront the hovering figure of Chibuzo. Her hands shimmer with energy before releasing waves of concussive force that the ranger just manages to dodge.
At the rear of the Masked Fortune, Dunch gives the helm to his first mate Yoral, then throws himself over the side of the ship. Summoning the spectral wings of Nyemba's Might as he falls, he skims the waves, then rises to land at the rear of the Dragonfang, roaring in anger as he hammers Zaroum al-Saryak. The gem in the pirate's eye socket glitters as he returns the attack with his bejewelled sabre, while Elok slashes Dunch with his rapier, joined by one of the other pirates.
From the Masked Fortune, Ixtli's arrows pick off two more of the pirates on the Dragonfang's forecastle. When they rise again, the remaining living pirate flees the swarm of wasps and zombies by jumping over the railing to the relative safety of the main deck, where the living still outnumber the undead—at least for the moment.
Further aft, Dunch swings the Maul of Disruption at Elok, but the enemy captain pulls one of his own crew into the path of the devastating blow. As the crewman drops dead, Elok, Zaroum, and the remaining pirate all attack Dunch. The dead pirate rises again as a zombie.
The two ships are now sailing side by side. Mokomoko is the first to jump from the Masked Fortune to the Dragonfang, fighting one of the four pirates on the main deck. From close by, the Sea Witch fires another blast of force at the hovering Chibuzo. Unable to maintain the spell that keeps him aloft, the ranger plummets to the deck of the Masked Fortune but lands with the catlike grace of his old companion Ndidi. He throws Atsu's Lance at the Sea Witch, killing her, then jumps across to the Dragonfang. He is quickly joined by Ixtli and Yollotl, each of whom kills one of the remaining pirates. When both of the newly dead rise again, and the swarm of zombies surround and kill another pirate, the last surviving pirate retreats towards the rear deck.
From the Masked Fortune, Dolan casts Haste on Dunch, and Blindness on Elok. Chibuzo joins Dunch on the rear deck of the Dragonfang and carves a deep wound into Elok with his yklwa, then spears him again, then hammers him. But the blinded captain stays up, even managing to stab Dunch. Zaroum also slashes the half-orc, and Dunch falls back to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Chibuzo.
While Ixtli, Yollotl, and Mokomoko battle the zombies on the main deck, Chibuzo finally lands a killing blow on Elok with Atsu's Lance, and Dunch vaporizes the zombie on the rear deck with the Maul of Disruption. Dolan kills Zaroum al-Saryak with a barrage of magic missiles from the Masked Fortune; when the dead captain rises again, Dunch promptly disintegrates the zombified pirate with a blow from the Maul, leaving only his glittering finery and bejewelled sabre behind. Overwhelmed, the last of the pirates drop their weapons and surrender; Dolan comes across from the Masked Fortune to guard them.
On the main deck, Ixtli, Yollotl, and Mokomoko finish more of the zombies, joined by Dunch. From above, Chibuzo grabs a rope and swings down to join the fight, but slams into the side of the ship and is forced to climb back on deck. He quickly makes up for this mishap by terminating two more of the undead. When the last zombie claws Mokomoko, Dunch annihilates it with a retaliatory blow.
In the quiet that follows the end of the fighting, Dolan hears a familiar voice from behind him: "I knew Elok was a traitor. But I expected more of him." He turns, and standing at the aft rail of the Dragonfang is none other than Rashaad ibn Karim al-Tahir, his arms folded within his customary white robe. "What do you plan to do with the second ship you've stolen from me?", the wizard asks. "To be fair, I anticipated this outcome. Which is why I've petitioned my lord Ras Nsi to dispatch some forces to this camp you're headed to."
The other adventurers quickly join their companion. "Hello, Rashaad," Chibuzo says sarcastically, "words can't describe how tired I am of seeing your face—even if we only see you when you lose."
"It's my minions who lose, not I," answers the Nizamish. "I blame this country for producing such a poor quality of hired help."
"Why are you here?", Chibuzo replies in annoyance. "Your words are nothing but the bleating of goats." He summons a Gust of Wind, but the turbulence passes through Rashaad—or rather, the image of him—without effect.
Rashaad smirks. "As I was saying, the Dragonfang is but one of the things I have planned for you. By the time you reach Camp Forbearance, it will be destroyed. There is a surprise waiting for you there—courtesy of your old friend Nanny Pu'pu." He bows in mock courtesy, pulling his arms free of his robe as he straightens up. As he vanishes, they see that his hands are gone, replaced with writhing snakes.
In the aftermath, Dunch orders the Masked Fortune lashed to the Dragonfang, while they consider their next steps.
From the belongings of their fallen foes, Dolan determines that Zaroum's gem-encrusted sabre is magical, as is an iridescent seashell brooch worn by the Sea Witch. From Elok's remains they pick up two potion vials, one empty, the other full.
Hoping to collect the substantial reward for the pirate ship and its captain, they decide to put a skeleton crew on the Dragonfang and sail it together with the Masked Fortune. Elok's head—separated from its body by Dunch—will be preserved in a cask of rum.
When the adventurers inform Nera Blacktyde of Rashaad's threats, the templar asks that they proceed to the camp as quickly as possible. Camp Forbearance was home to some thirty or forty souls, though she doesn't know personally any of the templars stationed there.
What to do with the pirates who surrendered prompts some discussion. Ixtli proposes to execute them, for pragmatic reasons (their expedition can ill-afford the manpower to guard them, or the food and water to keep them alive) but also because there seems little reason for clemency—the pirates would surely have killed them all if the roles were reversed. At least they can be granted a quicker death than if they were abandoned at sea or left to the zombies.
The others agree, and Nera expresses her willingness to administer the sentence of death. The pirates who surrendered are brought to the deck of the Dragonfang, along with the castaways Kwasi and Dango. The men beg for their lives, and Kwasi offers to tell them the location of the pirates' hidden cove, but their pleas fall on deaf ears. With grim and brutal efficiency, Nera executes the men one by one, saying to each: "May the Maker have mercy on your soul."
The ships resume their journey south, led by the Masked Fortune with Chibuzo and Ixtli aboard. The Dragonfang follows behind, piloted by Dunch and carrying Dolan, who fixes the damaged vessel as best he can with his Mending cantrip and searches the ship in his idle hours. Between what look to have been Elok's and Zaroum's quarters, the sorcerer finds several thousand coins of Marakuran, Nizamish, and Asturian mint; a few pieces of jewellery (silver bangles, and a silver pendant set with moss agate an ornate granite bowl; a gilded jug of rare elven mead; an engraved wood figurine of a lion adorned with hematite; and a marble bust of king Ambrose Koreleth IV of Asturia).
Late in the day of their battle with the pirates, the weather turns to heavy rain and strong winds, but the ships manage to remain together and on course.
By morning, the rain has mostly stopped, and their journey makes good progress.
On the morning of the following day, the ships turn their course northwards again, and sail into the bay where Camp Forbearance is located. A few hours later, a cry goes up from the lookout on the Masked Fortune. On the shore ahead are the smoking ruins of an encampment, surrounded by a trench and the remnants of a wooden stockade. The camp's main gate has been destroyed, and the stockade has been shattered in several places. On the beach outside the camp, some two dozen stakes have been driven into the sand, with bodies impaled on each one.
The ships set their anchors, and the skeleton crew of the Dragonfang are ferried back aboard the Masked Fortune. Three rowboats set out for shore, carrying Nera Blacktyde, Asten Mitchar and his squad of scouts, another squad of templars, and the adventurers.
When they make their landing, all is still except for the rising smoke. Collapsed tents are visible through the shattered gates of the camp. Almost all the impaled bodies wear templar gear, but one is in simple robes: a dwarf, from Duros judging by his appearance, with the arcane tattoos of a spellcaster visible on his hands and arms.