"Dragonfang" - Tomb of Annihilation, Chapter 11

DM Comments - 
Before we begin, some unfinished business. 

While searching Captain Al-Saryak’s cabin last week, the party came across the following:

• A drawer filled with smooth palm-sized stones. Each stone had a rune carved onto it. There were over two dozen stones, each with a different rune. No one recognized the meaning of the runes or the stones. 

• A ledger detailing a list of ships and data for each ship:

1. Ship name
2. Captain
3. Port (Port Nyanzaru or Fort Belaurian)
4. Date and time of departure, some dates as recent as yesterday (One of the ships listed was the Brazen Pegasus). 
5. Destination (the destination of the Brazen Pegasus was listed as Jahaka Anchorage)
6. Cargo
7. Nationality (Ys, Avallonis, Eusebea, Thither, Atlantis, etc. Ships from Ys were underlined)

• A guide book showing the flags of the major city-states of Antara

• A book on how to speak Ysian 

• Several maps:

1. The coast of Chult (identical to Apparently's map)
2. Medium sized island (in case the players want to change campaigns and play Isle of Dread instead)
3. The coast of Dalu
4. Map of entrance to River Tath with X

When we left our heroes, they had transferred everything from the Brazen Pegasus to the larger Emerald Eye and the sloop was being towed behind the dhow. A 36-hour storm smashed both ships into the rocky coast of the Mist Cliffs. Because they were operating with an insufficient crew of 11 (the Emerald Eye required a crew of at least 20+ and no one was on the Brazen Pegasus), the Emerald Eye suffered some hull breaches and the Brazen Pegasus was smashed and began to sink.

The storm finally passed but the Emerald Eye was taking on water. Apparently and Tohaku sealed the hull breaches but it was going to take days to pump out all the water from the hold. The crew, exhausted from fighting a storm and making repairs for 48 hours with no sleep, decided to try to get some needed rest while the flooded half-submerged ship foundered. They figured they start manning the pump tomorrow.

Xoc-Wik was on night watch when a dark silhouette slid into the lantern light. Grapples were thrown across and the two ships  were lashed together. Dozens of evil looking men stood on the deck of the unknown ship with weapons bare. The prow of the ship bore a painting of a dragon's head with overly large incisors.

CHAPTER 11, "DRAGONFANG"

THE EXPEDITION

• Bramble Wolf - a theran barbarian wise-man (Wildhunt Shifter Druid) searching for the legendary origin of his tribe.

• Apparently Jones - a blue-skinned demijin caravan guide and animal trainer (Air Genasi Ranger) from Akasa, the land of sky mountains. Having failed to find work in Port Nyanzaru as an animal handler, she has joined the expedition to the interior as a scout.

• Chak'sa - Apparently's parasaurolophus companion.

• Xoc-Wik - a b'alam warrior (Tabaxi Fighter) from the jungles of Bres, searching for those responsible for the destruction of his tribe.

• Zeynap Shiravadakar - a Eusebean smuggler (Human Warlock) bearing the spirit of a celestial unicorn.

• Hasegawa Tōhaku - a Horaian kamenin monk (Tortle Kensei Monk), a traveler, explorer, and artist. He was a friend of Nova Scotia Blackman in Akwa-Obio, the city of scholars.

LIKE SHIPS IN THE NIGHT

Xoc-Wik immediately rang the ship's bell to wake up the crew but pirates on the other ship had already laid gangplanks and were streaming across. Zeynap and Bramble were in the fore of the ship. Xoc-Wik, Apparently, and Tohaku were aft. Spike the macetail was tied down on the mid deck. The only light came from the three lanterns fastened to each mast on the Emerald Eye. The approaching ship and all the men aboard were shrouded in darkness.

Xoc-Wik ran down to the nearest gangplank in a flash and managed to throw it overboard. A tall muscular bald man wielding a massive serrated blade jumped out of the darkness and landed on the deck near the b'alam archer. Xoc-Wik ducked under the swing of the wicked sword, backed away, and climbed up the stern mast. Xoc-Wik produced his bow, drew his arrows, and began raining attacks upon the attacking pirates.

Captain Moleman screamed in panic. He ordered his men to not interfere. He held his hands up and cried, "Please! Spare us! We surrender! We surrender to your  mercy!" Apparently rolled her eyes and tied Captain Moleman to the stern mast.

Bramble moved behind the macetail, using it for cover from crossbowmen lurking on the pirate ship. 

The muscular bald man was a Chultan with dark black skin. He shouted out orders to the other pirates like a captain in a heavy Chultan accent, "Remember! Capture them alive! We need to take them back to the Anchorage! But be careful! They're dangerous! Do not hesitate to defend yourself!"

Zeynap called to the captain, "Hey! Listen! We won't surrender but maybe we can come to some kind of understanding. Stop fighting for a minute!"

The bald captain hesitated, "Alright. Men, stay your hand!" He looked directly at Zeynap, "This is your last chance. Surrender now and your lives will be spared!"

Zeynap yelled to his compatriots, "Okay okay! Hold off! Nobody do nothing until we get this figured out!"

Bramble hesitated from his position behind the behemoth. Tohaku stood still. Xoc-Wik paused high atop the stern mast.

For a quick second all was still. Two of the big bruisers climbed the ladder towards Apparently.

Apparently loosed an arrow at one of the bruisers!

The captain bellowed and  transformed into a hideous man-shaped warthog! 

Apparently shouted commands to Spike the macetail, ordering it to defend itself. The great behemoth rose to its feet and began to swing its heavy tail about, knocking several pirates off the deck and into the sea. 

Apparently and Xoc-Wik loosed arrows at the warthog-man-thing. The arrows sunk into its flesh. The captain, unfazed, simply ripped the arrows out and the wounds healed instantly. The warthog captain rushed against Spike in an attempt to make his way to Bramble.

ZEYNAP

Zeynap stood on the stern and cast attack spells at the onrushing pirates. He fought bravely and eliminated many pirates with his magical bolts of force. The tide of the oncoming pirates eventually  forced back to the starboard deck rail. Bramble, taking cover behind the macetail, did his best to defend Zeynap using his spiritually-charged staff.  The two bruisers proved too much for Zeynap. The Eusebean warlock was clubbed over the head with heavy maces and fell to the deck, dying.

DM  Comment- At this point, I informed Zeynap that the difficulty for Death Saves was not 11 instead of 10. Please make a note of it! I plan on slowly increasing the Death Save DC over time as the Death Curse slowly expands. 

APPARENTLY

Meanwhile, a lithe figure emerged from the darkness over the starboard rail at the stern of the ship. The figure was a woman wearing a short black hooded cloak. She stepped on a crossbow bolt in the deck which made a snapping noise. Apparently turned just in time to notice the figure  and dodged away from the assassin's attack.

Apparently drew her short sword and attacked. The assassin withdrew and made her way down the starboard ladder to the stern. 

Xoc-Wik loosed arrows from his perch in the crow'st nest. From this vantage he was able to see the stealthy assassin trip over one of Moleman's crewmen on the deck below.

DM Comment- I kept rolling badly on her Hide checks. She could NOT get a sneak attack in!

The assassin retraced her steps in an attempt to catch Apparently off guard. Apparently was waiting for her and struck with her short sword. As Apparently ran her sword through her attacker, the assassin's  cloak fell back, revealing the countenance of a woman crazed, her mouth contorted into a rictus grin and her eyes wide and wild. She cackled insanely as she slid off the blade and into a lifeless heap on  the blood-soaked deck.

Meanwhile two massive pirates climbed the port ladder and threatened Apparently. Apparently did her best to hold them off but she was eventually knocked unconscious. The two bruisers picked her up and began to carry her back down the port-side ladder.

TOHAKU

Tohaku took a running start and hurled his massive frame through the air. He landed on the dark aft deck of the  opposing ship with a splintering of deck planks. He was immediately surrounded and set upon by hostile pirates.

A thin woman climbed the ladder to the aft deck. She carried a harpoon like a staff. She had greenish-brown skin and her hair was made of seaweed and she wore a dress of torn fishing nets and hooks. She possessed one narrow yellow eye and one large bulbous eye. Her teeth were mishapen and yellow. She hit her harpoon-staff onto the deck and her skin became magically covered in a thick layer of shells, sand-dollars, and sea-stars. 

She faced Tohaku and the other pirates backed out of her way. She approached the chelonian monk and thrust her harpoon in his direction. There was a clap of thunder and Tohaku was struck by a massive wave of force. 

Tohaku attacked the sea witch but could not pierce her armor of shells. She thrust her harpoon at him again. The wave of thunder shoved Tohaku back into the starboard rail at the stern of the pirate ship. The rail cracked behind him. He recovered and attacked the witch once more. Her third wave of thunder cracked Tohaku's tortoise shell and he fell to the deck. The witch ordered the other pirates to see to Tohaku's wounds so that he could be taken alive.

The sea-witch moved to the main deck in order to support the rest of the crew.

XOC-WIK 

Xoc-Wik's perch near the top of the aft mast gave him great visibility. He charged an arrow with magic which exploded on impact with the deck, eliminating several of the attacking pirates with one shot. This made him a target of all the crossbowmen on the attacking ship. Xoc-Wik was struck with several crossbow bolts and fell to the aft-deck. 

BRAMBLE

Things were beginning to look grim. Bramble was alone and taking cover behind Spike the macetail behemoth. The two bruisers who had taken down Zeynap were making their way towards him. In truth, the theran druid was neither hiding nor afraid. He was biding his time. The time had arrived.

Bramble closed his eyes and summoned forth a wolf of spiritual energy. The spirit wolf manifested out of thin air and glowed the color of the moon. The spirit animal moved gracefully through the air, passing through the fallen body of Zeynap, filling him with healing spiritual energy.

Zeynap's eyes popped open. He stood up and resumed hurling magical bolts of celestial force at his foes. Bramble's spirit wolf joined with Zeynap, infusing him with its healing spirit. Zeynap quickly eliminated the two bruisers that had previously overwhelmed him and turned his attacks to the warthog-captain.

SPIRIT WOLF
Bramble directed his ethereal spirit wolf across the deck of the ship. It passed through Xoc-Wik and restored him to consciousness. Xoc-Wik put an arrow into one of the bruisers carrying Apparently. The other bruiser dropped her to the deck. The spirit wolf moved through Apparently and she opened her eyes and rejoined the battle.

The spirit wolf flew across the gap between the ships and made its way to Tohaku. The man-tortoise was healed and jumped back to his feet.

The warthog captain returned to human form and shouted additional orders. He saw the tide of battle turning against his crew and ordered them to withdraw, raise anchor, and shove off. He then ran into the captain's quarters of the Emerald Eye.

The warthog captain emerged from the cabin in human form with a satchel full of maps and stones. He threw the satchel to the sea-witch.

Zeynap immediately cast a powerful celestial hex against the sea-witch. Her armor of shells was shattered and she fell backwards onto the deck, her harpoon-staff spinning away, the satchel spilling its contents revealing a number of maps and rune stones. 

Bramble transformed himself into a large bear and engaged the warthog captain in hand-to-hand combat. Tohaku joined in while Xoc-Wik and Apparently loosed arrows at the captain. Their weapons slashed and stabbed and pierced but to no avail. Every wound healed instantly. Only Zeynap's magical bolts seemed to have any effect on the captain. During the fight both Apparently and Bramble were wounded by the warthog captain but the spirit wolf was nearby to heal their injuries. 

The pirate captain was surrounded. Zeynap smiled at the captain's predicament and shouted from the fore deck, "This is your last chance. Surrender now and your lives will be spared!"

Frustrated and angry, the captain leaped back across the gap to his ship and helped his crew push away with long poles. The pirate ship began to drift away as the anchor was raised and the sails unfurled. The captain was becoming annoyed at Zeynap's magical bolts so he took cover in his own cabin.

AN ABUNDANCE OF SPITE

Bramble transformed back into human form and called upon the spirits of nature to produce a sphere of flame among the main sails of the retreating ship. Zeynap created his own sphere of flame using celestial unicorn magic. Both spheres fell fell down the masts and onto the deck of the ship, setting the deck ablaze. 

The crew grabbed buckets and did their best to put out the flames but the spheres continued to roll around creating more fires. Xoc-Wik and Apparently continued picking them off with arrows as they futilely tried to save the burning ship.

Tohaku leaped back across to the burning ship and saved the maps and stones from the deck. He then leaped back to safety.

The ship continued to drift away and the flames grew higher and higher. Soon it was an inferno. The surviving crew jumped off the far rail to protec themselves from the party's storm of arrows.

The last thing the party saw on the deck of the ship was the warthog captain seething in rage. The masts fell and the captain was lost from view.

PERHAPS SOME MERCY IS IN ORDER

The party saw the surviving crew treading water in the night, their ship burning into the waves. Xoc-Wik called out, "If any of you want to live, swim to our ship!"

The surviving pirates hesitated. Zeynap wondered, "What's wrong with them?"

Tohaku suggested, "Perhaps our continued archery attacks while they were trying to put out their fire has caused them some level of concern about our intentions."

Apparently and Xoc-Wik exchanged guilty glances. Bramble rolled his eyes, "We PROMISE we won't kill you! PLEASE swim to us!"

The handful of swimming pirates eventually swam to the Emerald Eye and were helped on board.

Apparently went into the captain's cabin. Their captive, Captain Al-Saryak, was dead. He had been killed by the warthog captain.

Captain Moleman sheepishly approached the blood-soaked party, "Well, looks like we got a full crew finally, eh?"

The others slowly turned and glared at the theran captain. He shifted his feet and cleared his throat. "So, ah, back to Port Nyanzaru then?"

TO BE CONTINUED...

DM Commentary - In retrospect I should've had the Pirates use nets to restrain them and capture them.