Chapter 4: Battle in the Ruins

[Woe]

"We should flee, though it pains me to say so. Let's take a look at our assets:

- Maju and his efreeti
- Elias and his TBD spells
- Rostam, Jaali, and myself
- A few tribal warriors, strong in faith but not in arms

against
- Jab-Afri, renowned for both his cruelty and his wizardry; and his djinn
- Kanya, a 'maiden' of Lovitar (and incidentally, a damn badass girl to fight )

- whatever else he's throwing at us
- and Saracen, if they are able to get him free

Pairing all these up:
Maju and his efreeti vs Jab-Afri and his djinn
Elias vs Kanya
the rest of us vs the rest of them

This battle will be won or lost by magic, and I just don't see the odds in our favor."

[Rhialto]

Rostam muses

If nine of them are coming here, there are only two left guarding the prisoners on the ship. How fast is this beast and how many can it carry?

(Meaning the dinosaur.)

An do the pirates have any mounts besides that camel?

You see, we could split - send a small group back to the ship to rescue the prisoners and a larger group away from here through the desert. Have the large group leave traces that are easy to follow.

If the pirates split, too, the larger group might fight their pursuers. Especially if Jab-Afri returns to the ship. Even if they break off pursuit, the smaller group may be able to rescue the prisoners before the pirates return.

We would need to agree on a meeting place that we can all reach safely thereafter.

[MevlyTM]

If nine of them are coming here, there are only two left guarding the prisoners on the ship.

Maju replies, "Indeed. If there are only two left guarding the prisoners on the ship, this is an opportunity we shouldn't let pass."

You see, we could split - send a small group back to the ship to rescue the prisoners and a larger group away from here through the desert. Have the large group leave traces that are easy to follow.[/color]

"Rather than split later, we could instead leave a small group here to hide in the ruins. There's no hiding our tracks here in the desert. So we just don't have anyone ride Kyo. That way there will be more tracks on the ground. If they have anyone good at tracking, they'll likely assume that some of us are riding the great lizard. But we also need to have Saracen walk so that they see his tracks. Hopefully, that will attract the entire group of pirates to follow the main group. Then the ones hiding simply go directly to the ship and take it. They can communicate this by hoisting a banner from the mast. I'll send Taku to investigate. She can report whether a banner is flying.

I suggest that those good at hiding be the ones who stay. That would be Lightoes, Sonja, and Yuan-Cheng. I think the three of them should be able to successfully take the ship if it's guarded by only two pirates. Rostram and the Elias can come with me, Teruk and his men. We should be able to escape. I'll release Kyo if we need to move faster. If successful, we can meet on the west coast of the island near where we were several days ago."

OOC: I'm thinking that we meet at the 'Good Fishing' location on the map. Is this where we rescued the villagers from the cultists? (That is, where the giant crabs were?)

[mTeasdale]

"That seems like a great plan, wizard."

[Longman]

pinewood's Kappa cleric, Elias, speaks up.

Yeah, I'm all good with the running away part. But hey, did someone say something about monkeys with big metal staves? I'd kinda like to grab one of those? I can't really use a spear, but thanks for the offer.

Kappa.png (321.44 KiB) Viewed 2829 times

[quozl]

YC nods and then gets to work burying himself in the sand.

[Rhialto]

I suggest that those good at hiding be the ones who stay. That would be Lightoes, Sonja, and Yuan-Cheng. I think the three of them should be able to successfully take the ship if it's guarded by only two pirates. Rostram and the Elias can come with me, Teruk and his men. We should be able to escape. I'll release Kyo if we need to move faster. If successful, we can meet on the west coast of the island near where we were several days ago."

Rostam smirks
A good plan except for the part where I am not part of the rescue party.
No, I do see the point.
I just hope some of the other pirates do catch up with us, then.

[MevlyTM]

Rostam smirks
A good plan except for the part where I am not part of the rescue party.
No, I do see the point.
I just hope some of the other pirates do catch up with us, then.

Maju adds, "The most hazardous part of this plan lies with the three who will hide. If they are discovered, they will be easily defeated and captured. Perhaps the best location to meet up with the ship, should it be liberated, is directly across the bay, due east from its present position. That's close to where she ran aground. We can travel south-east for a time, then turn sharply due north to reach the shore. Hopefully that will put our pursuers off our trail. I'll even release Kyo in a different direction if that helps. We should reach the edge of the jungle in a day, then an additional five days hike north. Assuming the rescue party succeeds, they will have possession of the ship by tomorrow morning. Then they can simply put to sea and anchor over the horizon for a few days, then meet us at the rendezvous site. This should be possible even with a reduced crew."

Maju then says to Teruk, "Once we are at sea, it should be a simple matter to sail to the other side of the island to drop you closer to your village."

He turns to Rostram and says,"I understand your desire for justice. But won't marooning Jab-Afri and his men to this place constitute even better justice than killing them?"

OOC: So the movement from the well would be SE(D), SE(D), SE(J), SE(J), N(J), N(J), N(J). (D) = desert; (J) = jungle.

Also, it will be good for Maju to be able to read the scroll and book.

[Woe]

"You are a critical part of the rescue plan. If they see us, they double back. If they pursue you, the rescue is almost assured." observes Sonja with a smile.

except for the part that Longman isn't telling us

[Longman]

Elias emerges from the dungeon with one of the large metal staves the monkey men guards were holding. He also has a native shield, and looks well kitted out.

Cool. This staff is really well weighted. I'm ready to leave.

Saracen struggles frantically when you attempt to remove his everlasting bottle of sea-water. If he can't tip that over his head every 4 hours, or get to the sea, he will die. You don't know where he got it from but it seems very important to him. He's gagged, so can't talk to you.