"*cough* *hack* I hate boats," mutters Ukyo at the docks.
Two fairly large rowboats are avaliable for use; Okina did not get anything bigger on account of a passing attempt at being stealthy.
Twenty bushi stand nearby, chatting amongst themselves. Okina has verified that they're all unenchanted for you, so they're safe.
"What's the plan?" one of the bushi asks, glancing at the boats. "Charge in, or something more subtle?"
"They may know we're coming," Umi says, smiling, "but that doesn't mean our old plan can't work anyway. We'll serve as the distraction, and try to draw away their commander, while your job would be to get through the ranks of the demon elves onboard and rescue Sakura-san."
Glancing at the bushi, Umi selects five of them to come with she, Fuu and Ukyo, while the rest would go in the other boat.
Addressing the bushi assigned to rescue Sakura, Fuu speaks. "The captives are being kept in the ships brig, split amongst three cells. Two cells have been crammed with the elven crew and the gaijin diplomats, kept seperate, while Sakura-sama herself is confined within a cell on her own. Your priority is the safe rescue of Sakura-sama, but if possible, try to rescue the others. The elves have not been treated kindly, and are in no shape to fight, but the gaijin may be able to assist you against the Fey'ri if they are released... I am not sure, I do not know if they have any warriors within their number or not.
"Are there any further questions before we depart?"
OOC: By the way, 'Rat, can I try to heal Ukyo on the way over there? Not to cure him, but to at least alleviate his symptoms so he won't collapse during our daring rescue?
There aren't any. It isn't long before the ships are starting to row out to sea...
You were given directions by the wounded sailor earlier, so you're fairly sure you're on target. Roughly, it should take an hour and a half to get to the ship.
Ukyo, meanwhile, seems to be reacting badly the the sea. While the waves aren't huge, the coast is known to be somewhat choppy, and the occasionally assualts of foam and spray aren't doing him any good at all.
The boat requires four men to row it, so the bushi have set up a rotation system; four row, and one keeps watch, bow in hand.
The sky is getting cloudy; it looks like a storm is brewing.
OOC: You can try, though you won't get far without magic. >_>
Not having any spells which can help in this situation, Fuu instead prays directly to her patron deity, Windham, to calm the approaching storm.
Windham must be having an off day, because the clouds don't look like they're going anywhere soon..
"Looks like we'll have to hope we reach the ship before the storm hits..." Fuu says disconsolately, wondering if this is an ill omen about their whole mission.
Turning to Ukyo, she addresses the human. "Ukyo-san, with your permission, could I try to treat your condition? I am afraid I do not have the skill to cure you, but perhaps I could alleviate your symptoms for a time?"
Ukyo manages to nod his head, then leans over the side of the boat and starts vomiting..
Politely looking away, Fuu waits for him to finish up, before she begins trying to heal him, sacrificing her prepared Command spell to spontaneously cast Cure Light Wounds.
Fuu's ministrations do indeed have a positive effect on Ukyo, who manages to stop coughing and hacking alltogether and actually look like something other than a walking corpse.
He nods his thanks, and the boat continues moving..
<->
An indeterminable length of time later, the two boats are approaching the cruise ship..
From what you can see, the deck is deserted. However, it's a fairly large boat, with packing crates and barrels here and there, so hiding wouldn't be overly difficult.
The bushi are preparring ropes with which to climb onto the ship. The other boat is nearby, waiting for you to go ahead.
A light shower is falling from the sky..
"Let's go," Umi says simply, ready to lead the boarding party.
After a few moments, the ropes are attached to the ship, and the first raiding party is all on board.
The pattering of the rain on the deck and a stroke of thunder through the sky are the only sounds the party hears as they look around the ship.
The ship is big; the party is standing in front of what appears to be the mess hall, which would doubtless have passages leading into the sleeping quarters for the main crew. The captains cabin is clearly visible, raised above the rest of the ship and accessable by a pair of staircases, mounted on top of another cabin that presumably lead into the depths of the ship.
Apart from these entrances, the party can see few places to go, except to search the entire deck. Meanwhile, the other boarding party is still out in the rain, awaiting some kind of signal..
Umi heads to check the captain's cabin, motioning for the rest to wait for her.
Inside the captains cabin is a cluttered mess.
It's a mess on account of what appeared to be a brawl that took place, with junk all over the floor, including model ships, a ripped-up Captains Log, a broken sword, and a corpse, apparently of a Katsu bushi which nobody found the time to remove.
An open chest is nearby, but strangely, all the gold is still in it. One would think someone out to pillage would take that.
Suddenly, Umi realises she's not alone in the room..
Umi's rapier materializes in her hand, and she takes a careful look around the room, trying to find the other person there, ready to defend herself if need be.
Umi can't see much, at least until she feels a slight rush of air behind her and instinctinvely dodges, thus causing a blade to stab through her off-hand shoulder instead of her heart.
She manages to see a Katsu bushi in the corner of her eye, even as he removes the blade and moves to strike again..
Umi strikes at the bushi with her rapier, snarling.
Umi manages to catch the bushi with a stab in his leg, causing him to hiss in pain and promptly miss his next blow..
Umi presses on with her attack.
The bushi mutters something under his breath.. and promptly vanishes from sight once again, preventing Umi from attacking accurately.. though she knows his general position.
Umi retreats out of the captain's cabit, holding her rapier pointed in the bushi's general direction.
Umi manages to back away, somehow blocking a strike from the invisible attacker..
<->
Fuu sees Umi exiting the captains cabin, rapier raised in a stance..
Fuu starts, seeing her armed and bloodied friend. "Umi, what happened?" she asks in alarm, moving closer.
Umi slams the door shut, backing away in case the bushi tried to attack anyway through it. "They're invisible!" she calls out in reply to Fuu. "Got a spell for that?"
"I can't actually penetrate an invisibility spell, the best I can do is get a vague idea of their locations with Detect Magic," Fuu says, before promptly casting said spell.
Fuu dosn't detect anything near Umi; but Umi is far away enough to be considered out out range.
"You're Shigen's lackey, aren't you?" Umi calls out. "Where is he?"
There's no answer to Umi's call.
"We'll have to take him down the old-fashioned way, then," Umi yells below. "Anyone up to helping me sort the bastard out?"
A chorus of 'Hai!' comes from below deck, including, oddly enough, Ukyo, who has an almost maniacal glint in his eye..
Umi calls for Hashi and Lushi to come and help her.
The bushi stand to either side of Umi, hands on their swords, ready for action.
"Last chance to surrender and tell me where Shigen is," Umi tells the swordsman inside, readying herself for an attack.
Umi hears a snapping, crunching noise, like something made of wood is being broken, and then a rush of wind..
Everyone sees the splintering of wood at the top of the captains cabin, and they *feel* something rushing out, but then the invisible fighter is completely unperceptable..
Umi curses out the invisible man's parentage quite loudly.
Fuu moves closer to Fuu, ready to assist her if necessary, but also prepared to deal with any surprise attacks which may come from another direction.
As Fuu moves to Umi, she hears a wooshing noise, and the sound of a blade striking flesh. Turning her head, she sees...
..a red-skinned elf, with huge, batlike wings extending from his back. A bloody katana is held in his hands, the red liquid dripping over his black and red hakama and gi. Messy red hair accompanies his face, and a terrible snarl makes it's way across his lips.
He turns around to swoop back for a second pass..
Reacting quickly, Fuu readies her already strung Daikyu and notches an arrow, letting it fly at the demonic elf!
OOC: I'm assuming I have enough room. If I'm close enough to provoke an attack of opportunity, I'll edit the post.
The arrow slams into the elf, causing him to yell in pain and make what looks like a final attack towards Ukyo..
..who neatly cleaves the dying Fey'Ri in two, causing it to drop onto the deck and starts bleeding guts and blood all over the place, which starts to get washed away by the rain..
"They seem quite fanatical," he remarks, sliding his sword back into his sheath. "He could have easily escaped, and it's foolhardy to fight against such superior numbers.."
"Nice job," Umi congratulates Ukyo and Fuu. "Let's go check out if more are below?"
"Ah, Umi-chan," Fuu speaks up hesitantly, "Perhaps we may have to change our plan? It seems like the Fey'ri are waiting for us to come to them, with Shigen quite likely to be guarding Sakura-sama himself. This being the case, our plan of distracting him so the other group of bushi can rescue the Champion seems flawed."
"Then let's charge him with all we've got," Umi replies. Turning to one of the bushi, she asks him to call the ones on the other boat over.
A few moments later, all 19 bushi are on deck, plus the Terrible Trio of Umi, Fuu, and Ukyo..
"Let's split into two groups and head towards where Fuu said they were holding Sakura," Umi tells the gathered bushi. "The simpliest plans are usually the best. Any objections?"
"Battle tactics are not my strong point, so I will defer to your judgement in this," Fuu tells Umi.
"Is anyone here familiar with the internal layout of this type of vessel?" she then asks the assembled bushi, "Being able to attack the ship's brig on two fronts would certainly prove advantageous."
One bushi steps forward. "I am, Fuu-san," he says. "However, the internal workings of a ship can vary, so I can only give a general outline of the plan."
Fuu nods, "Basically what we need are routes from here to the brig, as well as any possible secondary entrances to it we could use."
"Maybe the captain's cabin would have an outline of the ship's layout?" Umi muses out loud.
"Maybe," replies the bushi, doubtfully. "But it would have no labels or such; it's not really used often.
As for routes to the brig.. well, there's only one entrance to it. The ship isn't built like a prison. But there are a few routes through the ship interior one could take."
"Describe us the routes in more detail, if you will?" Umi asks.
The bushi shrugs. "I can't be sure, but..
You can go through the mess hall. From there, there are staircases leading into the kitchens and the crew quarters; heading from the quarters downstairs can take you around to the brig.
You can't go through the kitchens; they're only connected the the livestock housing for nobles and such. However, the other path, over there, goes through all the supply areas and such. I can't speak for that route; there could be any number of ways to the brig through it."
"Right." Umi nods to herself. "If there's only one sure way to get to the brig, then splitting up at this point would be fruitless. Let's do it once we've reached the crew's quarters, when we get the chance."
"Very well, let's establish our marching order before we get underway," Fuu suggests, "As the most skilled fighter here, you should take point, Umi, while I can cover our rear and provide support with my spells when we encounter trouble."
"Sure thing," Umi agrees, nodding again. "Ukyo, Reshi, feel like being in my vanguard?"
OOC: I named your ship-knowledgeable bushi. >_>
Ukyo and Reshi nod the affirmitive. "We should hurry," says the former. "They probably know we're here by now.."
OOC: Roighto.
"Lead the way, Reshi," she says simply, headed towards the mess hall.
Reshi nods, and moves to open the mess hall door...
..and is greeted by an arrow, which hits him in the leg, causing him to stumble back.
Ukyo is right next to him, and he rushes inside the hall after the archer..
OOC: Ok, Umi, you're the next closest to the door, but you can't see inside far enough to see the archer. You're on an angle, you're mostly seeing the wall.
"Catching arrows it more your thing, isn't it, Fuu?" Umi quips, before darting inside after Ukyo and immediately trying to find cover.
The mess hall is fairly big, but nonetheless gives the illusion of being cramped, thanks to all the tables and chairs jammed together. On some of these tables sit pint mugs and plates.
Perhaps more pertinent to Umi is the presence of four or five archers with shortbows lined up against the rear end of the hall, who just sent their arrows flying at the form of Ukyo, who managed to miss them all by diving under a table, which seems to be the only cover in the area..
A couple other bushi follow Umi's lead, running in behind her, their own bows in their hands..
Umi dives under the same table Ukyo had, yelling, "Five archers!" afterwards.
Hearing Umi's shout, Fuu dashes to the door and casts Sound Burst centred in the middle of the group of archers.
Quite apart from producing a noise no man (or elf) was meant to here, Fuu's spell manages to severely stun the enemy archers. A couple collapse on the spot, blood pouring out their ears, while the other three stumble around like they got hit by a barrel..
Umi darts around her cover, heading for the leftmost archer standing and trying to put him out of his misery.
As Umi does so, Ukyo follows suit, and the pair of bushi in the room fire off their own arrows..
A few moments later, all the archers are dead, still in their 'Katsu' disguise..
Now that they seemed to have taken down the opposition, Umi examines the exits from the mess hall, trying to find those leading to the crew's quarters (and get a count of them).
There were five staircases in the mess hall. One of them lead to the ship kitchen, but the other four lead to the crew quarters.
Ukyo looks about warily. "I can't take point inside the ship. My eyes aren't quite as good as yours," he says.
The rain outside is building up..
"Okay," Umi agrees, and calls for two nearby bushi, forming a vanguard with them. "Let's take the rightmost staircase to the crew's quarters," she tells the group. "Same order as before."
Fuu waits for the others to proceed before bringing up the rear, keeping her eyes and ears open for any Fey'Ri that may try to sneak up on them.
Umi heads on below, with her escort of two bushi.
As Umi descends into the depths, she has a feeling of unease... one perfectly justified when a vicious-looking, spiked chain flies out at her from around a corner!
Luckily, her armour deflects the blow, and then she can hear footsteps of someone running away..
"That one is running downstairs!" yells Reshi. "She must be going for reinforcements!"