Chapter 2 - Session 10

Trial by Fire: Diverting the Burning Wreck

Events and Actions

The party, aboard the "Green Gull", intercepted a warship heavily ablaze and heading directly towards Port Sardina's fortified harbour. Before committing to a plan, they debated at length how a small crew might actually redirect a much larger vessel under fire and time pressure — forcing the wheel, hauling on the rudder from outside, or dropping anchor were all weighed and found wanting on their own — and settled instead on a multi-pronged boarding effort that could pursue several of these at once. Salter and Nicolas remained on the "Green Gull" to manage it and combat any spreading fires, while Werner De Rendal, Knick Nab, Noddy, Cosimo, Mani, and eventually Riu, undertook the perilous task of boarding the enemy vessel.

The boarding was fraught with danger. As the "Green Gull" closed the distance, an enemy sailor rose into view on the burning ship; for a moment its sails seemed to droop, as though their power had been drained, before he gestured toward the "Green Gull" and spoke words in an unfamiliar tongue, conjuring a hazardous crackling sphere of energy at the "Green Gull's" bowsprit. Noddy doused himself with magically condensed water and cast Distraction on the enemy sailor, rattling his composure, but Mani's rifle shot still went wide, blasting a chunk of railing instead of the man himself. Maintaining Distraction demanded Noddy's constant concentration, doubling the effort of everything else he tried to do for as long as he kept it up.

Knick Nab's first attempt to run up the burning ship's bowsprit ended in a fumble that left him stuck beneath it. Cosimo cast "Blur" on Noddy, who then successfully used his leaping magic to land on the burning ship near the enemy. Mani's first attempt to swing aboard via rope fell short, but a second, fate-favoured attempt saw him swing in and open with a kick to the groin from behind, then follow up with an unarmed blow that drove the wind from the man and left him stunned. Werner, attempting to board from the "Green Gull", was zapped by the energy sphere; the shock wrenched his hand into a claw and tore its tendons, leaving it useless for several minutes of fighting and climbing to come. Cosimo trained the swivel gun on the enemy sailor for cover fire, only belatedly realizing that smoke and flame had obscured his line of sight for several rounds; when he finally fired, the heavy cover the smoke gave the man carried the shot wide. During these events, a drooping length of sail in the "Green Gull's" own rigging slipped down into the flames and caught, and the "Green Gull" began to catch fire in turn.

Onboard the burning warship, Werner, despite his injury, managed to climb aboard but was further burned while navigating the flames. Noddy, seeing him struggling against the heat, reached out and doused him with a second casting of condensed water, and the soaking gave Werner just enough of an edge to push on to the wheel without roasting himself further. He reached the wheel only to find it spinning uselessly, disconnected from the rudder below — he hauled on it anyway in desperation, burning his arm further for nothing. Knick Nab freed himself from beneath the bowsprit and pressed onward. Cosimo also boarded, finding himself in a dangerously hot section of the ship; a quick look around showed him the ship's wheel standing between the main and mizzen masts, wreathed in flame. Noddy tried a Lore spell to identify the magic behind the crackling trap; he confirmed it was definitely a spell but found its nature too foreign to recognize further, then turned to assessing the dire situation, noting the ship was intentionally set to burn — its deck was piled with tinder and loose lumber that had no business being there — and observing the rapidly approaching port. Riu, after initially lashing the wheel of the "Green Gull" to steer it slightly away, later leaped aboard the burning vessel to assist.

Still stunned and now facing the boarders, the enemy sailor tried to flee deeper into the smoke and fire, blundering into the flames twice and burning both legs badly as he went. Knick Nab gave chase, caught him, and ended the fight by throwing him down hard onto the ship's railing, crushing his trachea; the man collapsed, unable to speak, and lay gasping and dying as Knick Nab searched his body.

A desperate, multi-pronged plan was enacted to divert the burning ship: Werner fought his way below deck to the tiller room, which was also on fire, and was joined there by Cosimo; between them they sawed through the tiller's thick restraining ropes with an ordinary dagger, slow and unglamorous work compared to what was happening above. Mani and Knick Nab, after Mani sustained burns while searching, located a boarding axe and began chopping at one of the masts. Riu leaped ahead to the ship's port anchor and began cutting it loose with his own axe; Knick Nab crossed the burning deck with a dagger to help him, narrowly avoiding the flames himself, and together they cut the anchor free. The anchor and its chain plunged into the sea with a rattling roar sharp enough that Knick Nab called out for everyone to brace themselves. Noddy reached the captain's cabin through a window, finding it otherwise stripped bare but for two map cases, which he pocketed. Riu, having finished with the anchor, joined him there and held his legs as Noddy dangled head-down out of the window to work his rope-work magic, sending a length of rope down to the rudder and tying it fast before climbing back up to pass the free end across to the "Green Gull".

As the burning ship closed the final distance in the late afternoon — around four o'clock — alarm bells rang out across Port Sardina's battlements, which now loomed directly overhead; the fort's cannons, caught by surprise, could not depress far enough to fire on a target so close in. The combined efforts succeeded: Werner and Cosimo cut the tiller free and threw it over; Mani and Knick Nab felled the mast, causing drag; and the "Green Gull" pulled on the rudder via the rope. The sudden pull nearly hauled the "Green Gull" into the burning wreck itself, forcing its crew to cut the rope loose once the turn had taken hold. The burning warship veered off course and slammed into a cliff face opposite the fort — no gentle grounding, but a hard impact carrying the wreck's full momentum.

However, the "Green Gull" was now badly on fire and had run aground or was otherwise in severe trouble. The player characters remaining on the burning wreck faced the urgent need to escape: Knick Nab and Mani planned to dive into the water and make their way around the hull, while Noddy and Riu, able to leap clear with their magic, faced no such difficulty.

NPCs & Creatures

Enemy Sailor: An olive-skinned, sturdily built sailor aboard the burning warship, dressed in ordinary sailor's clothes. He conjured a crackling energy trap at the "Green Gull's" bowsprit and fought with two long daggers. Stunned by Mani, he fled through the flames, burning himself badly, before Knick Nab caught him and crushed his trachea against the ship's railing, leaving him dying and unable to speak.
Salter: Remained on the party's vessel, assisting with ship operations and firefighting.
Nicolas: The young priest travelling with the party remained on the "Green Gull", assisting with ship operations and firefighting.

Locations

The "Green Gull": Sustained significant fire damage and ran aground.
The Southern Fire Ship: A Southern warship intentionally set ablaze and aimed at the harbour; its course was successfully diverted.
The Fire Ship's Captain's Cabin: Reached through its rear windows, one of the few areas of the ship not ablaze; stripped of most personal effects save two map cases.
The Fire Ship's Tiller Room: A cramped compartment two decks below the wheel, also on fire, where Werner and Cosimo cut the tiller free.
Port Sardina: The original target of the burning fire ship; its fort's battlements loomed close overhead as alarm bells rang, and its cannons could not depress far enough to fire on so close a target.
Cliff Face: Opposite Port Sardina's fort; the final resting place of the burning fire ship.

Conflicts

The boarding party (Knick Nab, Noddy, Cosimo, Mani, Riu, Werner) vs. the Enemy Sailor.
The party vs. the hazardous environment of the burning ship (flames, heat, smoke, structural instability, magical trap).
The party vs. time, racing to divert the ship before it struck Port Sardina's harbour.
The "Green Gull" vs. spreading fire.

Learnings and Discussions

Before boarding, the party weighed several ways to redirect the fire ship — forcing its wheel, hauling on its rudder from the "Green Gull", or dropping its anchors — and, finding no single option reliable on its own, decided to attempt several of them at once.
The party learned that the enemy warship was deliberately set on fire, its deck stacked with tinder and loose lumber rather than the usual gear of a working ship.
The ship's wheel was disconnected, and the tiller was secured in place, indicating a deliberate attempt to keep it on a fixed course.
Noddy reasoned that if the ship had been rigged as a fire ship, its powder magazine had likely been emptied beforehand so it wouldn't explode before reaching its target.
The party successfully coordinated multiple complex actions under extreme pressure to divert the ship.

Items Gained

From the defeated Enemy Sailor (looted by Knick Nab):
- A silver necklace featuring a two-feather design.
- 32 silver pieces.
- A small, half-burnt booklet.
- Two daggers (taken by Knick Nab).
Boarding Axe: Found by Mani and Knick Nab on the burning warship.
Two Map Cases: Found by Noddy in the otherwise-stripped captain's cabin of the fire ship.

Items Lost

Mani's sword was dropped on the deck of the burning ship after he suffered arm burns.
The "Green Gull" suffered severe fire damage and ran aground, its status and cargo are precarious.