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Chapter 6 - Session 10

Dark Below, Fire Above

Part 1 video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrO31hKbBS8

Part 2 video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slq7EN1vMnY

Part 3 video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWgRA06mtqY

Events and Actions

Before the boarding leap, Mani armed himself for what was to come: four grenades tucked into a satchel, his épée, a pistol, and a slow match he had kept burning since the ship action began. The Medallion had run alongside a large enemy warship in thick fog, with Cosimo maintaining an illusionary decoy vessel that drew the enemy's fire harmlessly to one side as the ships passed. Noddy opened a portal through the enemy ship's hull, giving the boarding party a choice of two openings into different decks. The party chose the lower opening: Mani leaped through first with a spectacular tumble, followed by Leela, who landed just as cleanly and hauled the crewman Boarder through bodily so he would not have to risk the jump himself. Knick Nab went next, landing well enough that he was able to reach back and pull Riu through after him. All five made it onto the enemy's orlop deck without incident, whereupon Noddy sealed the portal behind them and flew off invisibly into the fog, giggling.

Werner — now the ranking officer remaining aboard The Medallion — assumed command of the ship. He had spent the preceding exchange manning the harpoon gun at the bow, where his shot had driven a harpoon into the base of the Fortnum's mainmast; the towline whipped across the enemy weather deck and cut down several of the Marines massed there, and when it finally parted, the fraying strands scythed down several more still — save for one length that stayed fixed to the enemy's mast, dangling within reach. Gus, one of the Medallion's own Marines stationed at the chains, had been shot through the arm in the exchange and was being tended by the surgeon's mate. With that dangling strand the only route back to the boarding party, and one that would have dropped him among some two hundred enemy sailors, Werner chose to stay with his own ship instead, ordering the guns to sweep the enemy weather deck with canister shot while Tyler, the ship's Sergeant-at-Arms, added rifle fire, together suppressing the marines firing down from above. A bank of black smoke, another of Cosimo's illusions, hung over the enemy ship's gun deck, screening the boarding point from view.

The orlop deck was cramped and utterly dark, its ceiling barely five feet high with cannon fire thundering directly overhead on the gun deck — the party quickly judged that longer blades like rapiers would be a liability in such tight quarters. They had landed in the cable room, packed with the ship's heavy anchor cable and rigging. Riu cast a light spell onto a musket ball and gave it to Boarder to carry as a lantern, covering and uncovering it as needed. The light almost immediately drew attention from the corridor outside: a sailor armed with an axe came in to investigate, calling out that he'd seen the light again and wondering aloud if someone had struck a match. The party — having already agreed to fight first and ask questions later, sparing only the enemy captain should the chance arise — took cover to ambush him. Riu cast a shield spell on himself and drew his pistol as they waited; Leela, unable to hold herself back, broke cover early howling like a wild islander, her swing going wide before the fight properly began. Knick Nab's unarmed strike then caught the sailor under the arm and broke it with a sickening sound; as the man turned to flee, Mani lunged with his épée over a barrel and drove it through the sailor's hand, cracking the bone and splattering blood across the door frame. The sailor collapsed in shock, and the party dragged him back into the room. Knick Nab had Boarder search the body for anything useful, particularly keys, and stow it out of sight before they moved on. They debated their approach as they went: content to keep dealing with one or two curious sailors at a time as they had just done, they agreed that if a larger group came at them at once, they would fall back and make their stand in the corridor rather than get cornered inside a room.

The corridor outside ran the length of the ship, partly illuminated by light filtering down through the same grating hatches visible from the weather deck above, marking the main hatchways down through the gun deck. Moving cautiously toward the bow — where they had been told the sail room lay — the party looked into an adjacent compartment and found a damage control party being mustered for battle: a young midshipman driving three sailors to organise wooden plugs, mallets, bales of oakum, and great shaggy patches of sewn sailcloth, all ready to staunch hull damage, shouting at them to go faster. Riu stayed behind in the cable room, using his medicine skill to keep the bleeding sailor alive rather than press on with the others. Knick Nab charged in and bellowed "Surrender or die!" The midshipman called "Repel boarders!" and drew his sword, while his three sailors snatched up a mallet, an axe, and a knife from the workbench. Boarder threw the light fully open to illuminate the room as Leela vaulted onto the table to engage the sailor with the mallet and Mani closed on the one with the knife. The fight was over almost as soon as it began: Knick Nab executed a sweeping hip throw that hurled the midshipman to the deck and broke his elbow with a gut-wrenching crack, knocking him out.

The party pressed forward through the orlop deck to the sail room at the bow of the ship, where they found Randolph the Chronicler being held prisoner. Randolph told them he was honour-bound to remain as a captive, the terms of his captivity being tied somehow to the safety of his writings. He did not elaborate on the precise nature of this arrangement, and no one pressed him for details. His writings, he confirmed, were being held in the captain's cabin. The party began forming plans to recover them, though no definitive approach had been settled on by the time the session ended.

Throughout all of this, Noddy was moving invisibly above the fight, flying directly to the junction of the enemy ship's main mast where it met the lowest and largest yard rather than risk being seen climbing the rigging. He chose the spot deliberately: higher up, near the crow's nest, there would be less wood to catch and sailors posted who might fight the blaze, but nobody was stationed at the base of the main sail. His intention was to cast his Woodfires spell there, igniting the sail along with all the rigging above it, striking at the ship's ability to manoeuvre and fight.

NPCs & Creatures

  • Randolph the Chronicler — found imprisoned in the enemy ship's sail room; honour-bound to remain captive in exchange for the safety of his writings
  • Leela — fought with the boarding party; vaulted onto a workbench to engage a mallet-wielding sailor during the damage control fight
  • Boarder — NPC crewmember; carried the light during the boarding action and searched the downed sailor's body for anything useful
  • Tyler — the Medallion's Sergeant-at-Arms; added rifle fire against the enemy marines on Werner's orders
  • Gus — Marine stationed at the Medallion's chains; shot through the arm during the ship-to-ship exchange and tended by the surgeon's mate while Werner took command
  • First Lieutenant Montoya — noted as the most capable swordsman on the enemy ship
  • Second Lieutenant Bush — officer on the enemy gun deck

Locations

  • The Medallion — the party's ship, under Werner's command during the boarding action
  • The Fortnum — the enemy warship being boarded; a large ship with a weather deck, gun deck, and orlop deck
  • Cable Room — dark lower compartment packed with anchor cable and heavy rope; where the boarding party emerged
  • Orlop Deck Corridor — ran the length of the ship connecting these rooms, dimly lit by grating hatches overhead and cramped enough (roughly five feet of headroom) to hamper longer weapons
  • Damage Control Station — adjacent orlop compartment; where the midshipman and sailors were mustering tools and patching materials
  • Sail Room — forward compartment in the bow of the orlop deck; where Randolph was being held

Conflicts

  • Cable Room ambush: as the party lay in wait, Leela broke cover early with a wild swing that missed before the fight properly began; Knick Nab then struck the investigating sailor, breaking his arm, and Mani stabbed through the same sailor's hand. The sailor was left stunned and in shock, bleeding steadily (approximately 3 hits per round); Riu remained behind to keep him alive with his medicine skill while the rest of the party pressed on.
  • Damage control fight: as the midshipman drew his sword and the three sailors armed themselves with a mallet, an axe, and a knife, Knick Nab swept the young midshipman with a hip throw, breaking his elbow and knocking him out (D critical) before the rest of the room could engage. The three sailors present were not subdued in recorded play.

Learnings and Discussions

  • Randolph the Chronicler is being held prisoner aboard the enemy warship. He is honour-bound to remain in exchange for something that protects his writings, though the exact terms were not explained.
  • His writings are currently held in the captain's cabin.
  • First Lieutenant Montoya is the most notable swordsman on the ship. Second Lieutenant Bush holds some responsibility connected to the gun deck.
  • Aboard ship, "rope" is just raw material; once a length is put to a purpose it takes a specific name, such as "cable" for the heavy line used for anchors, hauling, or careening — the cable room stores exactly this.
  • The orlop deck is a strong insertion point during battle because most of the crew is occupied on the weather deck and gun deck above, leaving the orlop largely unguarded.
  • The orlop deck is primarily a utility and storage deck; the galley normally sits one level up on the gun deck, and specialised stores such as the surgery, powder room, bread room, and spirit room are typically found down here — though on this ship the powder room is a level further down still, since the orlop deck itself sits above the waterline.
  • The enemy ship has a main mast that passes through the orlop deck; Noddy identified the lowest yard junction as the ideal point to ignite, since it was unguarded and would catch both the main sail and the rigging above it.

Items Gained

None recorded.

Items Lost

None recorded.