Fanaxia: The Battle of the Endless Sea (more Naval-gazing)

In a slight revision from the end of last session, we are directing the Royal Navy to attack Bulbeck’s fleet. 

A number of smaller ships are trying to attack the Apparatus of Kwalish, but to no effect. The Apparatus, meanwhile, turns on one of the capital ships and tears into it. Crowes’ fleet is still hanging together, and concentrating their forces to good effect – though the battle is anything but certain. 

Then one of the large boats that leading the charge from Bulbeck’s forces moves into Crowe’s fleet and explodes, taking out a chunk of other boats around it. Back on the Navy’s command ship, Leira, Marshall, and Geddy consider strategy. Geddy’s going to coordinate the royal navy; Leira teleports back to the ship with the Golems and drops Mage’s Swords on the golems. Marshall, meanwhile, moves to the Apparatus and swaps out with Tavros and Alexej, handing Tavrios the Wings of Flying so that he can carry Alexej. 

Leira begins conjuring magical attack swords, two for each of the golems; they chip at the golems until they collapse into rubble. 

While this is happening, the pinnaces continue trying to attack the Apparatus, Two of the caravels do a bit of damage, but the Apparatus continues attacking the Dromond, damaging it more. Geddy begins sending orders to the fleet. The Royal navy moves in and tears up one of Bulbecks Caravels, while Crowe’s fleet and Bulbeck’s forward ships mix it up. 

Geddy, meanwhile, is now commanding the remains of the Royal Navy, and mixing it up with Bulbeck’s left flank. Tavros and Alexej fly up to the undamaged capital ship that’s attacking the Apparatus, and Leira teleports over to join them, invisibly. 

There are demons all over the central deck, and a bunch of Vrocks join hands and start singing an Evil Song. Tavros and Alexej swoop down, and Alexej attacks the biggest of the demons. They become aware that Leira is on the boot when she wipes out everyone on the rear deck; unfortunately, the big demon looks up at her despite her invisibility and casts Feeblemind on Leira… successfully. She sits down in the crows nest and starts singing to herself. 

Alexej attacks one of the smaller demons, hitting all three times and taking one out; Tavros lays into the big demon with his newly-discovered Holy Avenger, and takes it apart. Leira… continues singing. The nearest four Vrocks quit dancing when one of them died, but the four on the far end of the deck finish their dance and emit a sphere of crackling energy, killing Leira and damaging Tavros, but not damaging Alexej quite so badly. The remaining Vrocks attack, damaging Alexej a bit but missing Tavros. 

Alexej returns the attack, tearing into one of the Vrocks. Tavros drops another, then calls back to the sailors on the forecastle: “You may not want to be up there when I get finished with these things!” The step back and go into a huddle. 

The four Vrocks to the rear begin dancing again; the other two attack Alexej but miss; Alexej injures the one he attacked last time. The four keep dancing; the other two attack Alexej again and wound him a bit more. Alexej lays into his target and finishes him, then attacks the other. Tavros murders the shit out of the one in front of him, disrupting the dance; the other three surround him and screech in an attempt to stun him… and succeed. Alexej succumbs also. 

They attack, but even flat-footed Tavros is really hard to damage: out of all three of them, he gets lightly scratched with one talon. Alexej fairs more poorly, taking injuries from a talon and a bite. Spores start growing on his body from the bite. Tavros wipes out another demon, and calls out another threat; one of the guys leaps off the forecastle. The Vrocks stun us again, and damage Tavros somewhat; but there are only two of them, and they can’t do too much. 

Tavros cuts one of them down, and the other one calls out: “Fool! We share a common enemy!” 

Tavros frowns. “No, that’s you. You’re the enemy.” He kills it.

He calls out to the remaining crew, and they surrender. He then uses his Paladin powers to Cure Disease on Alexej, preventing any further damage from the vine curse. There is now one badly damaged capital ship, two empty/drifiting capital ships, and one ship full of mages in Bulbeck’s fleet. 

The Apparatus is badly damaged, but immediately sinks the remaining capital ship and starts taking out Caravels. One of the remaining Caravels destroys the Apparatus, but Marshall turns into a giant snake and swims for the surface. Also, those caravels are about to realize that the Dromond behind them is not on their side. 

The mage boat takes out one of the navy caravels, taking some damage in the process; over on the other side of the battle, Crowe’s forces are winning pretty decisively. Geddy brings the navy in on the remaining mage boat, surround it and laying into it even as the mages fire back. A couple of the caravels go down, but the mage ship goes down and the remaining Bulbeck caravels flee, losing some of their number in the process. Crowe will now command five more Dromonds (which I’m also referring to as capital ships and ships of the line)

On the same day as this epic battle, more creature pour out of the swamp and the damage around it is worse. It’s not just swamp things; it’s abominations and shamblers and manticores. Farms are burned, civilians are killed, and West Styre is taking a fair amount of damage. A band of miscellaneous swamp creatures go rampaging through the farms; lady Merrin meets and destroys them, with some losses. She moves to hold the north edge of the swamp. On the south side of the swamp, the lizard folk are taking heavy casualties; but they fight off the dangers and depart their villages before they get overrun. The Magiknights had moved to block advances from the swamp, taking some damage but healing themselves back up. The Fanax army turns over Vecna, unsurprisingly; the centaurs and the Bakunawa begin the siege of Kuldas Keep. 

And the elves – Ruin, Martini, and Azrael – enter the Wallington estate in an attempt to kill Fenrir Wallington and put down his insurrection…