20160506 Recap WAR! The Pirate Pearl and Peril Mission - Part 1

The Pirate Pearl and Peril Mission Part 1 Recap WAR 2! 20160506

Chief Cagvree – It’s clear that the House of Swords, the merchant house that’s been supplying both sides with arms during the war, is trying to broker a deal with certain Tyr Amar nobles to restart the civil war. Falzool is leading the faction of the House of Swords that has been supporting the activities in our lands. Both Pelor and Royalist forces are exhausted and the Royalist leadership is in exile in Tyr Amar. The common citizens who once adhered to the Royalist cause now just want peace. By finally eliminating the remaining Royalist leaders and their potential allies, we may be able to finally end the fighting. In a recent development, the Royalists have allied with slavers to disrupt our efforts to bring peace. However their plans have backfired and many former Royalists have joined us to defeat the slavers. If we can neutralize any potential (imminent) Tyr Amar invasion, then we can disperse our remaining organized regiments, letting the fighters return home. There are large numbers of current soldiers who still wish to serve in some capacity and they can settle into a more civilian life but in groups in the northern coastal villages where they can form the core of a trained coastal militia who can deter any local slaver raids. A former Royalist who now wants peace, has given us the time and place of a meeting where the Royalist leadership will introduce the leaders of the TA forces to representatives of the slave lords and negotiate direct and increased levels of cooperation between them to restart the war. Your mission will be to stop the meeting and capture or eliminate those who would restart the war. Good luck… Free trade and freedom for free men

Thus, Strike Force Manticore; Pax (Half Elven Ranger – Art), Raistlin (Human Warlocke – Arthur), Souldun (Human Warlord – Vic), Bannor the Bloodguard (human fighter, Brendon), and Belladonna (Human Seeker – Kenji) move out through the streets of Lennis toward the meeting.

Cagvree gives Pax three choices toward the Virgin’s Chamber, the building at the end of Canal Street, where the party may meet their match. The team can head right down the main street, the direct approach but as the approach is quite wide, the team will be seen if the enemy has posted any guards. The second choice is to approach from the direction of the docks, coming up on the Chamber from behind. This approach will take the team through the center of the merchant quarter where there are plenty of crowds, side streets and open courtyards. The final possibility is to approach the meeting location from the south, through the narrow alleys of the ghetto. The team would likely remain unseen if approaching from this direction as the enemy could not guard all of the many approaches. Pax, being a conservative leader, chooses what seems like the balanced approach, from the docks where the wide streets and open squares might lend an advantage to the long range capability of team manticore.

About halfway to the target building, the team is passing by a large outdoor café and the team’s fame works against them as a couple of Tyr Amar officers with their men are having an early lunch. Pax, Raistlin, and especially Bannor, are immediately recognized and sensing trouble, the wait staff yells for the patrons, who do not need any encouragement, to flee. Four men in rebel garb at a corner table, put their hands to their weapons, and look toward Pax for an order. Souldun orders Belladonna forward and she shoots at one of the TA officers. Bannor advances boldly to the front and avoids the force blast from the hex mage, which scatters, Pax, Rastlin and Belladonna. Bannor finds himself dueling one of the TA senior officers, trading powerful blow for powerful blow, as several “Bannor fans” watch enamored from a nearby window. Raistlin is trading spells with the hex mage and to get out of sword’s reach, moves up to a nearby roof top. Souldun finds himself in the alley, dodging throwing axes as he attempts to rally the team. After taking a few arrow hits from Belladonna and Pax and a few spells from Raistlin, the hex mage decides to drop down into a back alley and make good her escape. The rebel soldiers triple team one of the TA soldiers and down him, but one of their number is badly wounded and falls back. The remaining three rebels advance but a ringing blow from the second officer puts another rebel soldier out of the fight. Pax downs an advancing soldier and Belladonna another, leaving just the two TA officers. After a few more seconds, one officer is down and the other is taken prisoner. After a brief rest, the team leaves the prisoner with their allies and moves on with their mission.

The team approaches the Virgin’s Chamber and checks the solid entry for traps, but the entry appears to be wide open. With Bannor and Souldun at the head, the team opens the way and finds a full house of Royalist leadership and their allies. Fazool and Magis Rex, along with Tantonee Saber (daughter of the House of Swords, and accomplished rogue knife fighter) and Arain, scout of Bane, vanish as Fazool casts a mass teleport, much to the dismay of Sho-Hawk and the others. Pax urges caution but Belladonna sprints inside and summons a swarm of bats. Bannor steps up and goes blade to blade with the pirate leader, Trangen Shackeldon. Souldun swings and misses the black dwarf prince, Cyrock Ashen Anvil as he tumbles by. Using Belladonna’s darkness as cover, Rustic Hammer Fist – Monk of the Scarlet Brothrehood (an order opposed to Tamsin’s order), the Pearl of Pelor, and the black dwarf, all manage to escape the confines of the meeting room and Bannor and Souldun cannot see them to block the exit with spoiling attacks being as they are blind from Belledonna's darkness. Souldun summons his phantom soldier and it helps by drawing fire near the doorway from the dwarf and other enemies. The soldier battles on, providing flanking and pinning down the enemy the entire battle. Souldun takes several stunning blows from the monk as the monk leaves the meeting room and Souldun, being heavily battered is saved by a timely teleport from Raistlin.

Raistlin relocates far up the street on the far side of the canal and then brings Souldun with him and the badly wounded and dazed Warlord heals himself. Belladonna engages the Pearl of Pelor and manages to evade him. The Pearl of Pelor then summons a Fiery Armored Angel that moves up the street and threatens Raistlin and later Souldun and then chases after Belladonna. To avoid the angel, Raistlin teleports upward and then continues to maneuver from rooftop to rooftop, blasting the weakest looking opponents. Bannor continues to trade blows with Trangen the pirate.

Pax is down the street on the opposite side of the canal to the south where she rains arrows on her elite opponents, trying to concentrate on the dwarf. After summoning the angel, the Pearl teleports across the canal next to Pax who leaps over the low canal wall to get away. Pax uses the canal and her bow to maximum advantage, shooting any target of opportunity and evading enemies who get too close. Pax then moves up to rejoin the fight on the eastside of the canal.

Finally, after healing himself several times, the dwarf starts to retreat and Raistlin leans over a rooftop and finally downs the short legged prince. There are still four very tough opponents in the fight and team manticore is badly wounded and have used every trick in the book to survive this far. After moving to the east side of the canal, Pax manages to down the wounded monk as he attempts to flee. Bannor continues to go toe to toe, mano a mano, with the pirate and after a long struggle, despite bats, fiery blasts, and clouds of darkness, Bannor downs the swashbuckling pirate.

Right after the angel left the wounded Warlord to chase the pesky Seeker, Sho-Hawk, battle wizard leader of Tyr Amar, appears next to the Warlord and they trade ineffective blows; battle sword versus war axe. With the warlord pinning down the wizard, Raistlin blasts the TA leader and puts him out of the fight. Bannor, the bad ass axe wielder catches his breath and moves outside to battle the Pearl of Pelor, pinning him down after the Pearl is hit with a teleport dampening arrow. One by one, since the other enemy leaders are down, the rest of team Manticore is free to swarm and finally down the Pearl of Pelor, ending the battle in the main street.

Belledonna fully occupies the Angel and leads it on a chase around the building, forcing the angel to use its fiery blast instead of its deadly Cutlass. Just as the angel was closing in on the lightly armored Seeker, the rest of team manticore downed the Pearl of Pelor and the Angel suddenly vanishes, released back to its home plane. Belladonna strides around the corner as if she had vanquished the heavily armored heavenly harbinger of death.

A squad of allied soldiers comes by and takes charge of the prisoners which frees up Team Manticore to chase the remaining enemy leaders. Wendy the air spirit tells Pax that Fazool and Magis Rex are on a ship down at the docks and they are preparing to sail. Team Manticore is ordered to get to the ship before it sails and stop them from leaving the city. Pax is told that the northern route next to the sea is not well traveled but also open and quite visible. The shortest route is directly through the middle of the city. The team can also go through the slums, remaining hidden within the many alleyways there. Pax tentatively chooses the route through the middle of town, a similar route they just passed over getting to the meeting’s location.
(to be continued! )

Substantial edit to better depict the final battle... reads much better, actions in a better order...