We started with a recap of the plot so far to get everybody on the same page.  The rescued nobles had no useful information or at least nothing we didn’t already know.  After some discussions about what to do next, we realized that it was the middle of the night and our ship would not be returning until the morning.  So we had to start by taking a long rest somewhere.  We could do that at the dragon statue or at the emptying compound down below however with the Pirate King on his way, we felt it best if we rested in a location that he did not know.  So we headed into the jungle to camp just off the beach where we had been dropped off that morning.  Two Tiny Huts were erected and after a bunch of pointless discussions about who would be in which tent, the night passed without issue.

In the morning, the tents came down and breakfast was started.  At which point we were ambushed by the Pirate King and his not so merry band.  Evidently, Andy had secretly rolled our passive perceptions and we all missed it.  We could have debated for hours on how we would have likely started the day (e.g. the wizard would have likely slept in and someone would have likely gone out of the tent and run into pirates in the trees) but we just rolled with it and rolled initiative.  The Swashbuckler went first and was quickly assassinated by a rogue who did 6? extra dice in backstab damage, doubled due to the assassinate power.  All told, he took 40+ points of damage from the first hit of the night.  That certainly got everyone’s attention.  I.e. panic ensued.  (Note from Dan: We all thought we were toast.  It turned out to be a very fair combat but Andy has a way of playing up the villains so we think they are far tougher than they are.  Almost one-shotting the toughest character didn't help.  So there was much moaning and whining.)

So the big guy was flanked by a couple of mates and a sea wizard.  There were at least two assassins hiding along with the first mate and more mates.  They were all loaded with Feats and abilities to make our life exciting.  We were surrounded, and the first round, they kept popping up from behind trees.  What followed was an extremely complex and contentious battle.  With all our individual 7 levels of powers plus a villain set designed to challenge us and all their stuff plus the interactions between them all; it was a lot to sort through.  I’ll hit some highlights. The Monk charged the man who killed his father, risking being surrounded.  (Note from Dan: The Arcane Trickster had cast Tasha's Hideous laughter on him and he had actually missed his save.  So he was rolling on the ground when the monk charged him.  I honestly thought it was a bonehead move, though well roleplayed.  Considering they took him out fairly fast I think they did the right thing.)The Paladin did the same as did the Rogue.  Basically, it was the “cut off the head” strategy.  The Pirate King got batter pretty fast and was hit by multiple spells.  Despite his bonuses, he missed a couple of saves including a stunning fist from the Monk.  The Paladin smited him several times for tons of damage as well.  Within a couple of rounds, he was out however none of his allies were really touched so there was more work to do.

Our Wizard hit theirs with a Slow which seemed like a good thing although it turned out that their wizard was mostly sea spells and lacking in offense.  He did manage to put up a delayed Fog Bank which caused heavily obscured chaos.  Our Wizard managed to find his way out, hit him, and drop his concentration. (Note from Dan: and yes there were huge arguments about if you were caught in a fog, would you know that there was an enemy in any specific direction even if you saw them 10 seconds ago.  It got loud and no one was happy with the results.  The moral is don't blind everyone on the map.  No one likes it and the rules aren't clear enough to make anyone happy.)  Yeah.  But the next round he just put it up again.  Boo.  No one found him this time and it stayed up until he fled the scene a few rounds later.  The Fate Witch managed to Charm one of theirs.  The Sorlock turned on his flight to get above the fog and then used his familiar (bat with blindsight) to target in it.  Whether that was legal was debated along with many other things.  (Note from Dan: The help action is legal with familiars.  The bat had Blindsight so it should have been able to give my character advantage to negate the disadvantage.  The questionable part is whether it was enough to target the assassin even if my familiar was on his head.  The halfling Bard argued for it the first time I did it and the next round argued against it.  I think this REALLY pissed of the GM.  The bat had only an AC of 12 with 4 HP so it was killed in a single attack when the assassin got fed up with it.  This was totally legitimate and I expected to lose the familiar temporarily.) It was mainly a grind with the difficulties of the Fog Bank thrown on top to slow down the already slow turns.  (Note from Dan: While everyone was in the fog Dave's bard character had charmed one of the pirates and led two others on a merry chase through and around the fog.  Excellent use of spalls and environment.)

When the Pirate King went out, he turned to mist much like the Wizard did the previous night and headed to the Orb being carried by the Rogue.  She attempted to stay ahead of it but could not.  Once in her backpack, another (or the same) Shadow Demon emerged.  So that started part two of the fight.  At that point, the pirates that were able to, started to flee.  (Note from Dan: The rogue trickster ditched the shadow demon which left it with only the sorlock it could see.  Thanks Brian!  I got nailed by a pirate's arrow, then hit by two claw attacks from the demon for about 60 points.  This took me out.  Ironically my action was next.  I had intended to hide in the fog but it obviously didn't work out. I was about 30 feet above the fight and the racial Asimar flight ability wasn't concentration so the DM was kind enough to say I floated down rather than falling and taking damage.  So my death save count started here.) The Fog finally cleared and fire was concentrated on the Shadow for the most part.  It was tough and dangerous.  We did not want to turn it this time, preferring to kill it so that we wouldn’t have to face it a 3^rd time.  We ended the night there.  Once the Shadow Demon is vanquished, we’ll have to decide if we want to chase down these fleeing pirates.  They’ve got a couple rounds head start but we’ve got some fast guys on our team.  And/or we could attack their ship with ours.  Scorpix, the Pirate King, may have gotten away but we’ve managed to reduce his resources a bit more.  It’s a process? 

We started in the middle of the fight, at the top of the order.  The stunned Wyvern went sailing over the waterfall, taking a ton of damage.  Unfortunately, the Monk was still on it.  He had a hold of the rope the Rogue gave him but the force of the momentum change was such that he lost his grip.  But he had enough athleticism to keep from going over the edge.  Two more armored knights showed up from under the statue and ran into the Wizard who was trying to take cover from the Wyverns.  He got chopped up a bit.  The Fate Witch hit the other Wyvern with a spell that caused it to flee.  Despite our watching the skies, they never did return until it was all over.  The remaining guards didn’t last long as the only targets.  The knights were tougher but then their Wizard appeared at the top of the dragon statue.

Since she was in the dark, she didn’t really appear but her Fireball sure did.  That caused the usual panic but the Monk and the Rogue had evasion and the Sorlock had that ring of evasion.  Plus, the Paladin gave save bonuses so all totaled, a couple took half damage and the majority took no damage.  Luckily our Wizard had fled the knights the round before and was out of the area.  Their wizard thought she was safe up there but the Monk used his Monk powers to get up there and avoid her guards.  The Rogue did the same with Misty Step and the Paladin with his climbing gloves.  Surrounded, she didn’t last long although she did get off a Cone of Cold for a ton of damage.  But again, everyone saved, and several evaded.  When she died, a green mist wisped into the chamber near the top.  Once the last knight was gunned down, we were out of targets.

The Swashbuckler went into the chamber and found a plantar on an altar and a bunch of treasure.  He attempted to wrap it in a sack however St Sever saw him coming and sent his Shadow Demon through the plantar with orders to attack.  (By the way, he, the demon, and the wizard were all featured in our bad dreams from a couple of games ago.)  So, it was a new fight on a new initiative.  The Shadow Demon occupied the square of the Swashbuckler and attacked the Monk.  It had a claw, claw, bite advantage on Wis saves, and other powers we didn’t really get to see.  Because on the Swashbuckler’s turn he did his Paladin turn thing which effects Fae for him.  It missed it’s save, despite advantage, and was forced to cower in the corner.  But it just went incorporeal and flowed through the rock.  We puttered around, waiting for its return in 2 minutes but it never did.

So, we gathered and searched.  Around 8 minutes later, the Commander flew up on his Wyvern and offered a deal.  He’d return the hostages and leave if we’d let them.  Unfortunately, the hostages would likely be put to the sword right in front of us if we didn’t.  According to him, St. Sever, armed with his shadow demon allies, had taken over the pirate king and these guys were looking to get away.  He also said that St. Sever was on his way to this island, now that he knew where we were.  We agreed with the added stipulation that they leave Jailyn alone.  The Swashbuckler then allowed that they could visit and resupply as long as they didn’t break the laws and maybe they could share some stories over a drink in the pub.  Several were perplexed by this but we moved on.  The Fate Witch finished her Detect Magic ritual but the plantar was the only thing that was magical.  We stopped with a short rest and the intention of heading back to the other side of the island to rendezvous with our ship.    

Andy had sent everyone an individual email, outlining the contents of disturbing dreams.  Eventually, we got together to discuss the contents.  (However, the Swashbuckler was late arriving as he wanted to talk to the head priest first, the Rogue also wandered off to be with herself and the Fighter left town, never to be seen again.)  Basically, it was images of foreboding doom and an evil presence looming over us.  The Monk pointed out, once the stories were told, that we all had images of something we did not want to lose being lost.  So, the Swashbuckler and the Rogue saw Commander Price’s death, the Wizard saw the school burn down, etc.  Whether these were prophecies or just methods to torment us was debated.  Some attempted to take action to prevent but nothing much came from it.  Piecing together the various parts, it was Lord Scorpix (the pirate king) and St Sever (the monastery betrayer) up to no good.  The Wizard saw a wizard using a scrying stone to successfully locate him in Jailynn and saw St Sever summoning a shadow demon thing.  Others saw that demon killing people.  The Paladin and the Monk saw the Paladin’s lost princess as an angel, helping us.  But the upshot was that we were now powerful enough to be noticed by them, that they knew where we were and that they were marshaling forces to stop us before we disrupted their plans.

Dave’s new Wizard/Bard halfling character was introduced as a friend of the halfling sheriff and known to the sailing Swashbuckler.  She told the sheriff she had had visions that she was needed here and the sheriff correctly assumed that meant us.  Everyone plus Price and the sheriff went to the governor’s mansion for dinner.  In addition to Lord Graymark was the head priest, a leading merchant by the name of Fisk and his teenage son, and a bunch of no ones.  There was a long process of statements and questions.  Basically, there was Lord Saxon in the north who was looking to “take over” the town so the leading merchants hired Greymark to build up their defenses.  He hired and conscripted a “free army” to maintain order and show force.  Our presence and good deeds such as taking out the thief guild and pirate ship, made us potential allies to the town.  He was looking for assurances that the town could count on us.

So, this was met with suspicion, of course.  I mean who’s to say that this guy and a few merchants are better for this town than the unknown Lord Saxon? Nobody made any firm commitments.  The Rogue and the Swashbuckler, who are looking to put down roots, stated that they could be counted on.  Several other players have personal missions and couldn’t commit long term.  The Rogue did ask for help buying a building in town (with access to her sewers).  Basically, as long as our interests align with theirs (e.g. pirate defeating) we’d be around.  During all this, the Rogue went invisible and snuck upstairs.  She ended up in his office, in his desk, and into his secret drawer.  Oops.  In there she found a letter from a Lord in the south, informing Greyhawk that Scorpix was on his way to arrest the criminals Monk, Paladin, Swashbuckler, and Wizard for crimes associated with the destruction of the Monk’s father’s monastery.  Lies! And requesting/demanding his support.  The Rogue felt that the signature was forged. 

We had no idea if the letter was believed but we really couldn’t ask about it since it was breaking and entering.  Scorpix’s forces would be in Jailynn soon.  So, what do we do? Stay and face him? Would Greyhawk side with him or us? If him, then we’d be facing two forces.  Go to the island and free the hostages as planned? Take a side trip to the north and look into these Orcs that Lord Saxon is allegedly supporting? It was agreed to go to the island as planned.  Hopefully, some of his forces will be on their way here so it’ll be easier? Hopefully, he won’t level the town if we are not there since he needs to control it.  We’ll see if those were the right choices.  So, in the morning, despite assurances to Lord Greyhawk that we’d be around to help, we set sail. (Dan: At this point, the orc fighter mysteriously disappears and a halfling takes his place.  No one in the party questioned anything.  Bad roleplaying or MIND CONTROL?)

We swung a bit north in hopes of avoiding the pirates heading this way.  We got to the island and decided to anchor on the opposite side and walk over rather than face another ship to ship battle.  That all went okay.  We got to their compound but it was a bit small.  A tower, a barracks for 20+ men, and a kitchen/support building.  The invisible Rogue did some scouting but could not find the hostages.  She avoided opening doors or taking risks so there were areas she did not see.  But we were hesitant to start blasting for fear of harming them or them being put to the sword because of us.  The Wizard asked if there were any trails from the compound that might lead to a cave or pit or cage where the hostages might be.  There was a trail that went up the cliff beside the waterfall up to the dragon statue that served as a landmark for the island.  (This was once a dragon cult island.)  Unfortunately, that trail was in plain view of the compound so we elected to wait until nightfall.

So, we went up the trail in the dark.  That was slow going mainly because only 3 of the 7 of us had darkvision.  At the top, we found a small bridge across the raging river just upstream from the 150-foot falls.  There was a barricade on the bridge guarded by 3 guys.  On the other side was a fire with another 10 guys of various types including a two-headed death dog and a berserker.  Beyond them was the dragon statue.  We could see stairs on it and surmised there were entrances into the mountain behind.  So much for our “find the hostages” plan.  We’d never get by these guys quietly.  The best we could hope for is quickly.  The good news was that the compound below was 20-25 minutes away so re-enforcements would take a while.  So, the Swashbuckler went first.  He Misty Step across the river, bypassing the bridge, barricade, and guards, and attacked a pirate by the fire.  And then backed away because next was the Wizard who let loose with a Fireball for 35 points.  That did soften them up considerably but only a couple of nonthreat peons went out.

We went into full fight mode.  The bridge was a bit of a bottleneck.  The Sorlock was very effective, knocking guys into the river with his knockback eldritch blast.  They had a 12 swim check near land, a 14 check out in the middle and a 16 check to keep from going over the falls.  I think 3-4 went in and only the last guy managed to make one of those rolls.  The Rogue was using her actions and Mage Hand to impeded those attempts.  The Swashbuckler used up several spells for smites to take out the death dog pretty quick.  Things were good.  A couple of guards came out from the statue but they were no real threat. 

But on the last round of the night, two wyverns flew out.  The first tried a flyby snatch on the Rogue but missed but the second snatched the Paladin.  The Monk did his step of the wind thing and jumped onto it.  He hit with a stunning strike but it saved.  But then the Bard changed his fate with a portance die and he failed after all.  He then missed with a grab and fell into the river and the 150-foot drop.  (He had Monk power to minimize that damage.)  The Fighter(Dan: I think this is actually Jon's Paladin?) managed to break free (with an inspiration die and advantage from the stunning strike) and fell into the river.  But with his gloves of swimming and a 20 roll, got out of the river with ease.  The Rogue then used her Mage Hand to get the Monk a rope.  He might have been able to survive the fall but he’d be 20 minutes back up assuming he didn’t get attacked by the 20+ down below.  We stopped there with two wyverns on the wing, a dungeon ahead of us, and a bunch of pirates behind us.  It’ll be fun.

After a brief recap as to where we were, we started back up at the top of the order.  The Rogue and the Fighter took swings at the still stunned Captain Bogs.  The Rogue then jumping into the cargo hold to examine the locks holding Commander Price and the Fighter staying engaged with him.  The Monk provided cover for the Rogue by putting himself in front of the door between 5 marine pirates and her.  The Swashbuckler got onto our ship, figuring he could contribute with his bow and fight off any pirates that managed to get aboard.  He sent his warhorse towards the sinking enemy ship with the Sorlock still on his back.  The Sorlock and the Wizard continued to snipe at the pirates in the water.  The Paladin got onto our ship but then dove back in and started swimming towards the sinking ship.  Some of the pirates were still feared and were fleeing the sinking ship and some were simply smart enough to flee the sinking ship.  The only ones of importance were the Wyvern which was fleeing at 80 feet a round and its rider who was swimming after it.

The next round, the Wizard realized that our ship was protected and that the high AC Monk was going to need help against 5 unharmed marines, jumped into the hold and hit 4 of them with a Shatter. He also figured we’d need to fight through them to get to the captain’s quarters behind them if we were going to get any clues as to the location of their base.  Unfortunately, that Shatter didn’t do much damage.  The Rogue opened the lock on the cage with ease on the first try and moved onto the manacles (target DC 20).  The Monk continued to Dodge with his Ki and bash on the marines.  About this time, the ship “went” and it became evident to all that it wouldn’t last longer than a round or two.  The Fighter swung at the Captain as he fled off the side.  The rest of the pirates, including the marines down below, started jumping off the ship as well.  The Swashbuckler took long-range longbow shots at the Wyvern (400 is still long-range).  The Wizard was informed that the captain’s quarters was on a level between the deck and the hold.  He used Misty Step to get to the door, his movement to get in, and his action to search for anything that looked like it might help.  He rolled poorly and found some generic maps but then used an inspiration die to reroll and find the captain’s log.  Meanwhile, the Rogue was not able to pick the next lock.  She used her inspiration and then the Monk’s inspiration and got it open.

The Fighter got into the skiff as did Price, the Monk, and the Rogue.  The Paladin dove into the water on the other side of the ship after the fleeing captain however the Sorlock managed to take his last two hit points.  The Wizard shoved the log and maps into a handy chest that looked waterproof and jumped out the back window.  About then, the fire reached the gun powder and the ship exploded.  Everybody except the Swashbuckler and the Wizard who happened to be outside the blast zone, had to take 40 points, half on a DEX save.  I think everyone but the Fighter managed to save although it took the Sorlock a luck point and a divine favor to do so.  No one went out, to Andy’s disappointment.  So, everyone went into the water as the skiff was destroyed.  The war horse was winked out as well but the Sorlock was still flying.  So, it was every man for himself and most swam towards our ship as best they could.  With the following exceptions.

The Swashbuckler continued to shoot at the Wyvern which had finally saved from the Fear and came back to retrieve his rider.  He managed to hit several times but it kept saving against his Ensnaring Strikes.  (As a large creature, it was getting advantage on it’s already considerable STR save.)  On the last try, it finally failed and tumbled into the water.  However, it was flying low and they didn’t take much damage.  The next round the rider freed it from the vines and they flew off.  The Sorlock, with his backstory hatred of pirates, continued to blast them out of the water.  The Paladin dove into depths of the river, hoping to retrieve some valuable information from the Captain’s sinking corpse.  He missed his first Perception roll and it was getting murkier.  The next round he invoked the power of his god to illuminate his sword.  With inspiration from 2 players, he finally managed to catch a glimpse of metal and retrieve the body.  After making it back to the ship, we realized that no one had seen the Fighter since the explosion.  All feared the worse, although he still had the Water Breathing spell on him so there was room for debate.  Everybody searched and the Monk managed to spot him walking on the river bed in his heavy armor.  Evidently, he had unilaterally decided that despite his 20 strength, proficiency in athletics, and remarkable athlete power from his fighter subclass, that he had no chance of swimming in heavy armor and just assumed he sank.  And then role-played in silence (Dan: passive aggressive Roleplaying for the win!).  But he was retrieved.

Along with the log and the maps, the chest turned out to be his treasure chest.  It contained some coinage, gems, and a scroll of Tashia’s Hideous Laughter which went to the Wizard and of Guiding Bolt which is only useable by a Cleric so we were going to donate it to the church.  Captain Bogs had another pirate medallion that the Paladin took.  He figured his god guided him to it for some grand purpose.  He also had 3 potions.  Healing, which went to the quick-footed Monk, Water Breathing, which went to the bottom walking Fighter, and Climbing which went to the Swashbuckler.  Lastly, he had a Ring of Evasion which allowed a reroll on a missed Dex save.  It has 3 charges and recharges 1-3 per long rest.  That would be of use to most anyone but it was decided to go to the Sorlock who hadn’t gotten any useful magic items thus far.  The journal was in code but the Wizard managed to decode it enough to determine their base was likely on an island that was once home to a dragon cult.  It has a big statue on it and the sailor characters knew where it was.  The Wyvern was last seen heading that direction.  There was some debate as to how damaged the ship was but everyone wanted a long rest regardless.  It’s not like we’ll be able to outsail a flying Wyvern.  So, we returned to Jailyn, and repairs were started.  The town sheriff found us and said that the new governor had heard of our success and wanted to invite us to dinner to meet us.  We decided to tackle that next time and called it a night.

We continued on our plan to fight the Red Sail pirates who, rumor has it, are working for Lord Scorpix.  Everyone their own way in Jailynn.  The Fighter went to hang out at the stables.  The Sorlock studied the books on religion he had just purchased.  The Swashbuckler prepared the gifts he bought, planning to leave them at the doorsteps of poor children during the night.  The Paladin trained at the temple.  The Wizard helped Row with his research on the staff.  The Rogue looked into buying a building with access to the sewers.  The Monk, I can’t remember.  The Monk and the Rogue ended up in the bar where Someone Halfhand told them he had information about the pirates.  They have been hanging out at an inn called the Reluctant Pig, newly built on the north road out of town.  It was not on the river but had a jetty nearby where skiffs could be tied up nearby.  The Fighter noticed 3 strangers pulling into the stable with a wagon.  They seemed to have red armor hidden under their cloaks.  When they went into the mercantile to purchase goods, he went searching for his comrades. 

The Rogue used her Invisibility to hid on the wagon but it was too small.  She got on the horse instead which did not like it but there wasn’t much it could do about it.  The rest of the party gathered and we debated on what to do.  We assumed they’d be heading to the inn in the north so the Wizard Messaged the Rogue that we’d meet her there.  There was much debate about whether to get on the ship and sail north or get our horses and ride north.  We decided to stay together and ride north after telling Commander Row to move the ship that way in case we needed it.  The Rogue overheard enough of their talk to confirm that these guys were the Red Sail pirates and the seemed to be capturing specific high place locals for a booty paid by Scorpix.  Unfortunately, they mentioned hostages already caught, being stashed at some nearby secret base.  So that complicated things.

They arrived at the smithy behind the inn and unloaded.  And then went into the inn for an ale, we assume waiting for someone.  Most went in but the Swashbuckler stayed out.  There were some suspicious looks and chatter with the bartender but no one forced any action.  The Swashbuckler noticed our ship pull up near.  Later he saw a ship with red sails sailing downriver, straight for it.  He alerted the rest and everyone headed to the river bank as best the could.  The Wizard, Rogue and Fighter grabbed a skiff and rowed out.  The Paladin with his magic swimming gauntlets and the Monk chose to swim out.  The Paladin had his horse swim out since it’s half movement swim of 30 was better than his.  The Sorlock sprouted his angel wings to follow but ended up on the back of the horse as well.  Before we could do much, we saw a wyvern with a rider fly towards our ship.  The Swashbuckler took a shot or two but the range was too great for any else.

The relative movement rates of the players plus the movements of the ships and the distance made the start of the fight very complicated.  It was sort of a jumble mess from there.  The wyvern snatched Commander Price and flew her to their ship.  The Wizard didn’t want to hurt her so he shot a Fireball at their sails, hoping to slow them down.  A couple more long-range shots were taken.  That fire occupied the pirates but there were plenty of marines with crossbows shooting at the skiff.  Price was stowed below and the wyvern returned without a rider to attack the rowing Fighter.  The Monk and Paladin managed to get to our ship just after a pirate caster fired his own Fireball at our ship’s deck.  Luckily the crew was below deck from the wyvern attack.  The Paladin lead them on fire extinguishing duties.  The Swashbuckler and the Scorlock were the further behind and shot arrows and cantrips as the could.  There was some debate on the skiff as to which ship to make for but with Price captive and they having a higher-level wizard than ours, it seemed like a direct attack was called for.

The Wizard shot another Fireball on their deck, targeting like 15-20 guys.  It was a lot of damage, both to the men and the ship, but only a couple of sailors were taken out.  The Rogue cast Grease to add to the confusion.  Once besides their ship, the Rogue popped up to fire a Burning Hands and the Wizard did his last Fireball.  Again, lots of damage but there were few deaths.  The Swashbuckler did manage to kill their caster with his bow.  The Monk made a mighty leap and climb to get onto their ship.  As usual, Andy crit him with his first attack.  Some of them started fleeing the burning, listing ship.  The Fighter ran through the Grease to get in the middle of them and unleashed his Fear attack from his maul.  Many missed their saves and dove for the water including the wyvern rider.  The captain stood tall and unleashed his Polearm master attacks.  The Monk hit a couple and headed down into the hull.  He found Commander Price in a steel cage as the ship was taking on water.  We fell asleep about there for it was 2 AM.  Half of us are on their burning sinking ship. The Paladin is on our ship, ready to kill or capture any pirates that try to board it.  The Swashbucklers are still trying to get caught up.  I think the Captain is the only villain left on their ship but there are many injured marines and sailors as well.  Somehow, we’ve got to get Price out of there before it sinks or blows up, without getting killed.  And if we can find charts as to where their secret base is, even better.