Session 59, You Sunk My Battleship
Paldegora
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Session 59 – 2025-08-31
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Summary
The party regrouped to strategize. Cal's body was stored in a bag of holding. Cassandra borrowed Cal’s Girdle of Hill Giant Strength to boost her combat effectiveness, intending to return it once Cal was resurrected. The group was in poor health, with Xor in the worst condition, so Cassandra gave him a ring to aid his recovery. Their immediate focus was to address the dangerous situation involving alchemical powder and a ship being loaded for House Umbridge.
Fritz, questioned about his alchemical powder, revealed he was coerced by House Umbridge to produce it after initially refusing. The powder, containing saltpeter, would dissolve in water, losing most of its explosive potency even after drying. Fifty casks had already been shipped and delivered, and seventy more were being loaded onto the ship along with cannons, mostly stored below deck. Fritz warned that igniting the thirty casks in their current room could cause catastrophic damage, with each cask’s explosion equivalent to a fireball, its radius increasing with additional casks.
Exploring further, Eryn and Xor discovered additional rooms filled with powder and a bedroom for Fritz and his sister Emma. Meanwhile, Cassandra, standing watch, overheard voices down a hallway leading to the docks. The voices discussed missing the tide due to the ship’s heavy load, mentioning goblins, draconians, and a figure named Mott who controlled them. The ship’s departure was delayed until the next high tide to avoid damaging the hull, and the group heard whip cracks as the voices ordered someone to move.
The party prepared an ambush as the voices approached. Those approaching discovered a forgotten guard’s body. Xor hid in a northern room to flank, while Cassandra and Eryn positioned themselves near the door to control enemy entry. Angelique and Symon stayed back, with Symon instructing Fritz and Emma to retreat. Angelique prepared her bow. As a guard entered, Eryn struck first, dealing significant damage, followed by Xor and Cassandra, who fended off attacks. Angelique’s shots added to the damage and the group quickly defeated the enemies.
Eryn scouted the tunnel and found frightened human slaves, whom she reassured and invited to follow her to safety. The slaves, seeing the dead guards, felt slightly more at ease but remained cautious. They confirmed that the only slaves on the docks were goblins, with the ship nearly loaded but delayed until high tide the next day. They also mentioned six or seven draconians, a captain, a few sailors, and a “creepy crazy guy” still present.
To disrupt House Umbridge’s plans, the party devised a strategy to destroy the alchemical powder. They considered using Xor’s horn of blasting to sink the ship and planned to ignite powder near a pit as a trap. Symon, too weak to fight, kept watch while the others moved barrels to the pit, a process that took an hour. Xor continued healing, still wearing the ring. Symon soon spotted guards, a pirate, and draconians at the dock, with a large figure—likely the captain—issuing orders.
As enemies approached, the party set up another ambush. Ed Hazel entered and was quickly overwhelmed by Eryn, Cassandra, and Angelique. Mert and a draconian engaged Xor, who took a heavy hit, but Angelique’s blindness spell on Mert turned the tide. The party defeated the enemies systematically, clearing the immediate threat and preparing to execute their larger plan.
Symon’s fireball ignited the barrels at the bottom of the ramp on the dock, causing a massive explosion that killed nearby guards and damaged buildings. Simultaneously, Xor’s horn of blasting blew a hole in the ship’s waterline, sinking it amid chaos as pirates and goblins jumped overboard. The party gathered the slaves, Fritz, and Emma, navigating through tunnels and locking doors to slow pursuers, reaching the main entrance after two hours.
At the entrance, Benjamin Blackmoor and his crew awaited, impressed by the party’s success in sinking the ship and freeing the slaves. Blackmoor arranged for the slaves to receive food and shelter, offered the goblins freedom, and sent Fritz and Emma to their cousin Frederick for safety. He promised to arrange a meeting with Captain Hurst and offered to help resurrect Cal, providing the party a warehouse to rest and recover.
The party’s loot included magical items identified by Angelique: a dagger (+1), bracers (AC 5), a mace (+3, +5 vs. good), a ring of protection (+1), chainmail (+2), and a potion of extra healing. Blackmoor offered to fence their items. Exhausted but triumphant, the party prepared to rest, aware of future challenges, including dragons, awaiting them in Paldegora.
Add general experience of 1000
Exp: 970 + 97 + 1000 + 100 = 2167
Detail
The party regrouped to discuss a plan. Cal was still dead and stored in the bag of holding. Cassandra borrowed the Girdle of Hill Giant Strength that he'd been wearing. She'd plan to return it once Cal was restored but for now, te extra damage it would do would help them greatly. The health of the group was bad. Xor was in the worst shape so Cassandra gave him the ring to wear.
The party questioned Fritz about his alchemical powder. Fritz explained he’d been kidnapped by House Umbridge to produce it after he had initially refused his request to make it for him. When asked, he revealed the powder contained saltpeter, which would dissolve in water, rendering it inoperable until dried. Even after drying, it would only retain a fraction of it's burning power, effectively ruining it's potential as an explosive. The first shipment of 50 casks had already been delivered. The ship was being loaded with the second shipment of 70 more casks along with more canons. They were mostly below deck with some stored on the deck.
Also when asked, Fritz warned that igniting the thirty casks in the room they were in would destroy it entirely, potentially setting off other chambers and causing catastrophic damage. The damage from each cask would be the equivalent of a fireball, with the radius expanding by ten feet for each additional cask ignited. He was unaware of specifics about the human slaves, only knowing they worked in shifts and came and went regularly through this area.
There were an additional door in one of the powder room. Eryn opened it, and she and Xor moved through two more rooms full of powder and one bed room which Fritz explained were for he and his sister Emma. As they searched, Cassandra, standing watch, heard noises down the long hallway leading to the docks. The voices complained about missing the tide. They talked about the goblins being slow to load the ship and something about Mott being in control of them. One of them telling the other to be careful about what he says about him. “Mott has a way of hearing things!”, he said. The other voice said something about Mott bringing the goblins and the draconians with him when he came south. One of them asked about the issue with the tide. A third voice pointed out that the load was too heavy and that the draft was too shallow. They needed high tide to be able to get the ship moving. “It would break the keel or crack the hull on the bottom!”, he said, “gonna have to wait another day now!”.
They seemed to order some creatures to keep moving before she heard a whip crack. Cassandra, X'or and the others began setting up to receive their new guests. As they enemy got closer, they found the body of one of the guards that they'd had forgotten to remove. X’or moved to the northern room and hid, ready to flank the trio, while Cassandra and Eryn encircled the door to the room they were in. They set up close to the door to limit the number of people that would be able to enter the room at one time. Angelique and Symon were behind them. Symon told Fritz and Emma to back out of there. The enemy ordered whoever they were escorting to stay back as they moved forward.
One of the guards opened the door and entered the room, engaging with Cassandra and Eryn. Eryn attacked first, landing a hit for twelve damage. X’or followed, hitting the pirate. Cassandra was attacked but she simply swept away the attack. Angelique fired at the guard but missed. The fight continued for few rounds before they enemy was destroyed. As the guard that had entered the room was killed, Eryn and Cassandra poured out into the hallway behind those facing X'or and helped him cut them down.
Eryn moves down the tunnel so see if there were more guards. She instead found humans, huddled down and obviously scared. She tried to calm them and introduced herself. She told them that they had come to free them. She invited them to follow her to safety. She told them that they'd killed the guards. They followed her back to the others and back into the room. She showed them the dead guards as they past them. They seemed to feel better about the situation but still apprehensive.
Searching the bodies, they found long swords, short bows, and a really nice looking cutlass on the pirate, along with a tricorn hat, which Symon took. They disposed of the bodies in the pit, hearing them fall for a long distance. The rescued slaves confirmed that the only slaves left on the docs were the goblins. There were no more human slaves out there. They were being swapped out for the next shift. The ship was nearly loaded but delayed until high tide the next day, due to its heavy load. When asked who else was out there they mentioned six or seven Draconians. the Captain on the ship, and estimating five or six sailors remained. They also said something about a creepy crazy guy.
To buy time, the party devised a plan to destroy the alchemical powder. They considered using X’or’s horn of blasting to sink the ship by targeting its waterline. They also planned to spread powder across the floor near the pit, ignite it with Angelique’s produce flame spell, and create a trap for pursuers. Symon, too weak to fight, kept watch as the others loaded barrels onto wagons to dump into the pit, a process that took about an hour. Xor continued wearing the ring and healing.
Symon spotted two guards and a pirate at the dock, with goblins resting and a large figure—likely the captain—barking orders. A draconian emerged from a building, and soon, more draconians approached the tunnel. Symon warned the group, who prepared by placing two barrels in the hallway. They moved back to there initial ambush areas again. X'or in the room to the north with Cassandra and Eryn Inside the room limiting the distance that anyone could enter.
Ed Hazel entered the room and was set upon y Eryn and Cassandra. Mert moved to the northern room with a draconian and engaged X'or. Nathan and another draconian were waiting for an opportunity to move up and engage. Ed went down quickly with Angelique's help and Nathan moved in to take his place. X'or took a particularly vicious hit. Angelique cast blindness on Mert, limiting his ability to even fight effectively. The fight continued, with the party systematically defeating the enemies, ending with Mert’s defeat.
With the immediate threats neutralized, the party executed their plan. Symon's fireball ignited the barrels at the entrance to the ramp leading to the tunnel they were working out of. It caused a massive explosion that killed the remaining guards and pirate, damaging nearby buildings. Simultaneously, X’or used the horn of blasting, firing a one-foot-wide, hundred-foot-long ultrasonic wave at the ship’s waterline, blowing a huge hole in it. Water rushed in, sinking the ship as pirates jumped overboard in chaos. Pirates yelled with some of them jumping off. There was a lot of running around and confusion. A bunch of the goblins jumped into the water.
The party gathered the slaves, Fritz, and Emma, moving quickly through the tunnels. They locked doors behind them to slow pursuers and navigated the slow-moving group, taking about two hours to reach the main entrance. Emerging, they found Benjamin Blackmoor and his crew waiting. Blackmoor, impressed, noted their success in sinking the ship, rescuing Fritz and Emma, and freeing the slaves. He was sorry to hear that Cal had fallen. He directed his crew to take the slaves to warehouse number five for food and shelter, offering them work or safe passage. He arranged for the goblins to be snuck out of the city and freed. He arranged for Fritz and Emma to go to their cousin Frederick, advising Fritz to lay low due to dangerous attention from too many people. Fritz thanked the party as he and Emma were whisked off to someplace to recover before leaving town.
Blackmoor acknowledged the party’s effectiveness, promising to fulfill their deal by arranging a meeting with Captain Hurst. They discussed finding someone to resurrect Cal. He let them stay in this warehouse to rest. He provided plenty of food, wine, and mostly time, to recover. Weasel will escort you to where Captain Hurst hangs out. Blackmoor turned to his group and told them to start planning to deal with their traitor. Symon told Blackmoor all that they'd seen while down there including Mott. He seemed quite surprised to hear that and asked if they'd killed him. They told him how it all went down and that they were too busy running for their lives to do much else. Blackmoor offered to make inquiries into helping with Cal. He also offered to help them this place to rest. He would help them meet with Hurst.
Angelique used her identify spell on items found earlier: a dagger (+1), bracers (AC 5), a mace (+3, +5 vs. good), a ring of protection (+1), and chainmail (+2). The all glowed magical, but the long swords and short bows were not. There was a potion of extra healing as well. Blackmoor offered to server as a fence for the items they needed to sell.
The party, exhausted but victorious, prepared to rest and plan their next steps, aware that dragons and other challenges awaited in Paldegora.
Add general experience of 1000
Exp: 970 + 97 + 1000 + 100 = 2167