Tears of Lys- Part 2
The Great Sacrifice
Characters:
- Mordecai: Human Air Mage Puritan from Earth
- Liam: Human Shipmaster from Earth
- Bracus: Scurillian merchant and Super native
- Daxson: Doreen treasure diver native
- Rodrigo: Human priest and water Mage from Earth
- Crow: Atani guardian of the Great Tree
Date: 1-16-16
XP: 3
Recap:
The crew decided to assault the prison from the ocean side cliff face. At night they scaled the cliff face and snuck over the outer walls without raising the alarm. Daxson proved especially deadly taking out the guards silently. Crow flew into the prison to locate and free Tomas while the rest of the group managed to take out several guards before the alarm was raised. A furious fight broke out aboveground while Crow tussled with some guards in the underground portion of the prison. Unfortunately the max security area was being guarded by a fire mage who severely hurt Crow and slow down his progress in freeing Tomas.
Aboveground,the rest of the Crew managed to blow a hole in the prison building wall and the back of the fortification wall with Bracus’s quick thinking, allowing for a hopefully quick escape. Once the Warden figured out things were dire, he used a magic crystal to summon an huge enthralled Roc to attack the party. The Roc killed several of Tomas’s crew mates and severely limit the options of those inside of the prison building itself..in the air there be death…
Unfortunately around this time the Crew spotted a large ship pulling up into the Paltos Bay…it was the Inquisition ship that chased them previous day. It was some ways off, but would surely see and hear the explosions and tussle that was occurring at the prison.
Now with a raging Roc overhead and a large Galleons between their ship and the open ocean they had to act quickly. Underground, Crow with the aid of Mordecai fought off the Fire mage and unlocked Tomas’s cell and freed him. Before leaving they listened to the pleas of an imprisoned Kraken mage named Kaliferous and freed him as well. Emerging underground with their prize, the group fought bravely fending off guards as they attempted to circle and trap them. Outside the Roc waited and the Captain of the prison was seen directing it. The Crew could not flee to the cliff face without exposing themselves to the Roc and the 25+ guards were drawing close..
Knowing the situation was dire and yelling for the Crew to flee, Captain Liam McCormic rushed headlong to engage the Prison Warden, guards and the deadly Roc. Captain Liam fought bravely as the rest of the Crew escaped out of the prison and over the cliff face.. The price was high but the Captain managed to buy his Crew some much needed time. During his fight he wounded the Warden and damaged the crystal that enthralled the Roc, but as fate would have it the magical energy didn’t dissipate fast enough. Giving the Roc one final command, the Warden ordered Liam’s doom. Captain Liam was pierced savagely by Rocs huge talons and carried high into the air with the deadly intent of dashing him on the rocks below. Instead the Roc broke free to the spell and flew off. The last the Crew saw of their Captain was of him being clutched in the Rocs talons fighting fiercely as he was carried north towards the mountain peaks.
The Roc, you see, needed to feed her young and as Captain Liam fell towards the razor sharp beaks of the hungry brood, he thought of his wife, his sons and the new family he made in this strange world before he lost himself to the darkness…
The Captain is dead, long live the Captain. His bravery will not soon be forgotten.
Crow:
Joy and Sadness, Hope for Caribdus costs the death of a legend our Captain Liam, you will be missed.
– Through the Eyes of a CrowWe are finally getting closer to saving the forests. I beam with hope as I realize we may be able to actually turn back the tides of Caribdus. The Tears of Lys may prove to unlock the secrets of destroying he hags and freeing the land..
Someday we shall have the forests back across Caribdus. My life has purpose, this is my course. I know my path to heal this land..
To get this key in our journey, we must attack the dread prison of Paltos, which many claim is un-escapable. The same prison where “The Great whale” imprisoned my own parents..
It’s just that I help lead the assault on this terrible place. We must free Tomas and get the Tears of Lys.
We discussed the attack and decided to assault the prison from the ocean side cliff face. As the crew climbed the walls to take out quietly the guards, I transformed into a Carroway Screecher and flew into the prison through a very small air inlet. My mind racing, would I see my parents?, is this place truly impenetrable?
We shall see, my family and crew are planting explosives to blow a hole in this prison. We shall not only free Tomas, we damage “The Great Whales” influence and reputation. I beam with delight. I wish someone like my crew could have freed my parents some years ago. I might have been raised by my real parents, no get that thought out of your mind “man” focus on the task at hand.
As I entered, I stealthily flew quickly to the bottom level to locate and free Tomas. Quickly, I took the life of a Paltos prison guard, did this man see my parents, was this guard here that long, I wanted to talk to him…. No, Focus Crow, that voice in my head said. Yes, I need to focus on the mission.
Suddenly, I flew around the corner and before me was a fire mage, he blasted me mightily in the chest. Knocking the wind out of me and burning my wings. This mage was the guard for the max I security area. My mind racing, how do I stop this powerful mage. My only hope was to charge him as the Screecher and at the last moment, transform into my Atani true self. I wrested with him on the cold stone floor of the prison. Then suddenly, above me, I heard a deafening explosion. My ears ringing, I hoped the mage was also disoriented. I feared, I may die in the same prison as my parents. NO that voice in my head said, push those thoughts from your mind Crow, you must save Caribdus, you are here to return the forest to glory, you are Kadiam Letia, son of the greatest Atani diplomats, you are the chosen one the Shiani, chosen by the trees, selected to defend the heartwood.
Above ground, I found out latter the Crew managed to blow a hole in the prison building wall and the back of the fortification wall with Bracus’s quick thinking. Latter my crew and friends told me the Warden figured out things were dire, he used a magic crystal to summon an huge enthralled Roc to attack the party. The Roc killed several of Tomas’s crew mates and severely limit the options of those inside of the prison building itself..in the air there was death…
I was fighting for my life, this mage was not going down easily, when Mordecai arrived (my crew, my family) to assist in the defeat of this fire mage. We then quickly found Thomas, I was able to pick the locks, possibly inspired by the spirit of my parents, as I had never done that before. We also located and freed a Kraken mage named Kaliferous, who we freed.
Mordecai, Tomas, Kaliferous and myself, all burst up to the upper level of the prison to find death and destruction at a level I had never seen. The wall on the back of the prison was destroyed, the front door was blown off, a huge Roc was flying around to kill Tomas’s crew and threaten our lives.
At that moment, Liam yelled for the crew to flee, Captain Liam McCormic rushed headlong to engage the Prison Warden, guards and the deadly Roc. This was a death sentence, I could not leave the captain, but in that moment he winked at me. I knew this was his wish, he gave his life to save a land that he was not born in, he gave his life to save his family, his crew. I strive to do something so great with my life. The captain had now saved me three times, he was a father and helped me survive the pain of the death of Captain Jones, he and Father Rodrigo saved me at my darkest moment in the tree of my people, when I called on the power of blood magic and they healed me and showed me another way and finally he not only saved my soul, but saved the very lives of us all.
It is my honor to have known you Captain Liam McCormic. I know his strength is transferred to us all, we will carry the bravery of Liam with us always..
We broke and ran to the cliff, I glided down after Tomas was over the side. As I was gliding down, I saw another ship full lights on heading down towards our ship. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.At the orders of Captain Daxon, I worked to get the rigging and sails unfurled. We are on the move. Then I looked to the sky and saw Liam my surrogate father and mentor being clutched in the Rocs talons fighting fiercely as he was carried north towards the mountain peaks.
The Captain is dead, long live the Captain. His bravery will last in us all forever
Captain Liam- Final Log
“Alright, lads. Up and over,” whispered Liam as Daxson dropped the first ropes from atop the prison’s outer walls, “And let’s be quick about it. No need to let Daxson get all the glory.” And for the love of Pete, don’t lose your heads when things kick off, he thought. Of coarse, he wouldn’t say that to these men. Most weren’t his crew and he wasn’t about to offer them reason to start doubting. His men, on the other hand. Well, he wasn’t worried about them. He knew them well. Even considered them his Caribdus family and held no doubts they could handle themselves.
Everyone scrambled up and began hoisting the crates of black powder over. Each knew his part to play, so there was no delaying as everyone set about the task. Good so far lads, thought Liam, impressed by everyone’s focus. Daxson had already silently taken out several guards and Mordecai was making his way across the roof of the building the fire mage was being held in.
Issuing orders as naturally as other men breath, Liam ordered some to help lower the crates off the wall and began prepping them for detonation. The rest he sent down the wall to hold the position.
CRACK! CRACK! came the sounds of gun fire. Smiling with a sly grin Liam laughed to himself, Aye! It’s about time. The quiet was getting uncomfortable. Now just a few more seconds Crow and we’ll be right with you. He lit the fuses and moved to safety.
BOOOOOM! Dust and debris was flying everywhere. For a moment Liam could hear nothing. As the world regained sound he yelled, to know one in particular, “BLOODY HELL! Why”d I stand so close! I can’t hear a damned thing! One of my ears is bleedin!” He rushed into the newly forged hole in the back wall of the prison. Sweet Mary and Joseph!, he thought as he made his way through the rubble and carnage of the prisoners housed just opposite the wall from the explosion. Seeing two guardsmen near the front door and that Crow had yet to emerge from the lower levels, Liam rushed to take position at the top of the stairs. He needed to buy Crow as much time as possible to finish his task. More guards rushed in and Liam soon found himself in the midst of a veritable storm of swords. In his typical fashion, he grit his teeth and refused to give an inch. Come on Crow, we ain’t got all bloody day.
It wasn’t long before Daxson and Rodrigo came rushing in the back to aid with the desperate battle at the apex of the stairs. Both yelled something about a rock but Liam was still partially deaf from the explosions and subsequent ringing. So he wasn’t really sure what he heard. Who cares if they have rocks!? We have swords and guns, he thought, slightly annoyed that such a thing was deemed important. Then came another explosion from near the wall and again the world went silent for Liam.
The silence seemed to slow things down. His friends moved in slow motion. Brachus had rushed in and seemed to paint the floor with the blood of his enemies as he snapped off limbs and spilled guts. Is Brachus yelling about them having rocks, too!?, wondered Liam. Swords, daggers, and bolts of water appeared as if he could just reach out and grab them. This heightened perception afforded him a moment of clarity as he processed the entire scene. Then a large dark shadow passed the ground just outside the front door and it clicked, Oh bugger! Bugger it all to bloody hell. That kind of Roc!
Liam knew this changed everything. Their only escape was back down the cliff face. With a Roc flying around, no one would survive the descent, the swim to the rowboat, or the short voyage to Liberator’s Wrath. He quickly began running through all the possibilities, but nothing came to him. For a brief moment, Liam was unsure of what to do next, which unsettled him. It was only a very brief moment, however. As if by divine providence, he knew what he must do.
His hearing was returning and the first clear thing he heard was someone in the courtyard yelling, “CAPTAIN MCCORMIC!!” Liam looked up, The warden! That bastard! In a flash, it dawned on him….This is it! It was for this moment I’ve been spared all these times. If I run out there and attack the warden, I’ll surely attract the attention of the Roc of theirs. All I need to do is buy everyone enough time to get off the cliff.
His faced hardened and he began his charge. Looking over his shoulders he said to his friends, “Go! Save Caribdus. I can handle this.” Then he was through the door in the chaos of the courtyard. As he had believed, the Roc soon joined the battle. “Aye! Come meet your maker, you bloody bastard!!”, said Liam with the overconfidence he had become so known for. The battle was fierce but Liam knew he had to stay on his feet. Glancing back to check on his friends progress, he saw Crow looking on with what seemed like uncertainty. That won’t do, he thought. So he set his face into that defiant grin of his and gave Crow a wink, as if to say, “I’ve got this. Now get to it lad.” Having no time to wait for a response, he turned back to the fight.
It didn’t last much longer. He managed to damage a trinket hanging from the wardens neck, before being picked up by the Roc as he fail. Struggling to maintain consciousness, he saw that his friends had made it down safely when the Roc flew over the cliffs edge.
Haha! They made it! Well done, friends. Well done, he thought as his eyes grew heavy and his fist loosened it’s grip on his prized sword. Seeing it fall, “No! No!” He turned to the Roc, “You and I aren’t finished!” With a brief burst of energy he tried to continue the fight, but soon weakened and let his eyes close.
How long they were closed, he wasn’t sure. Seconds, minutes, more? But they did open again and he got a glimpse of where the Roc was taking him. “Going to feed me to your little ones, eh? We’ll see about that.” Liam said between fits of coughing up blood. He made a fist readying himself for the final fight and suddenly heard a faint singing growing in the distance.
What!? That voice….Jane? What are you doing here, sweetheart? Oh. It’s no matter. Just keep singing. This is my favorite song.
Slowly, finger by finger, his fist uncurled.
Daxon
I can not believe he is gone. What happened?
Things were mostly going to plan even though there were way more guards than we anticipated. I took out the first few pretty quiet but more kept coming. I should of bought the others more time to get set up. They were not in place. We were not ready. But the guards on the wall were on top of us too fast. It only took one to the sound the alarm…
Everything is a blur after that. We fought well, all of us, just like we usually do. But we kept fighting and fighting. What took so long? We never should have sent Crow in there by himself. I was truly afraid we would never see him come back up those stairs.
By the time Father Rodrigo and I made it into the cell block we were starting to be overrun. There was no sign of Crow. Mordecai was missing as well. Captain Liam was surrounded. Brachus had cleared an exit for us, but at that point I figured the mission was failed. We might escape with our lives if we could flee right then without the mage or his bloody (heh, a Liam word) tears of Lys we had come for.
I would not have believed that things could have gone even more to hell at that point. I still do not have a clear picture of the events. Brachus was screaming for us to go. Father Rodrigo charged into the fray. I was frozen for a moment until that great flying beast appeared. I followed Rodrigo into the cell block with Brachus bellowing behind me. I fully expected that this was our final stand together. None of us would make it back to the ship.
I could not overcome the feeling of futility in that moment but was determined to go down fighting shoulder to shoulder with these men. We have become like family and we would die together. Rodrigo and I joined Captain Liam who was holding the entrance to the cell block by himself, fighting like a man possessed. We tried to warn him of the Roc but in the chaos communication was all but impossible.
I can not even begin to accept what freed us from that certain fate. Finally Crow and Mordecai emerged from the inner depths of the prison with the mage in tow. All three looked somewhat dazed and stricken as I pointed them in the direction of Brachus whose screaming could be heard above everything else.
I turned just in time to see Captain Liam charging out the door into the midst of more enemies than could be counted. I was set to follow him on his suicide mission but Father Rodrigo stopped me with a knowing look. No. NO! How could we leave him? I could not do that. Frozen again, it was Brachus’ strong arm that propelled me out of the prison to make good the escape that the Captain had secured for us.
In that moment things changed. Everything changed. The lives of this crew were in my hands now. Their fate now fell to me. I dove somewhat recklessly (like the Captain would have done) off the cliff knowing I must reach the ship first.
I can see the Inquisition ship bearing down upon us as I stand here on the deck in a state of complete shock awaiting the longboats to return.
What would Captain Liam do?
…
What would my father do?
…
What am I going to do?
Brachus
I keep my thoughts to myself. It’s been far too long since I’ve recorded anything other than numbers in this ledger, but I feel this past week’s events must be recorded because those events will shape the future of this world. MY world.
I’ve already lost one trade family, and I’ve been grateful to find a home amongst this ramshackle crew of natives and Earthlings. While I still don’t understand all of them, they are my shipmates and they have had my shell in some harrowing situations. For that, I owe them more than I can ever repay. Whatever wealth comes to me, goes to them, it’s the least I can do.
What happened during that assault will haunt me for the rest of my days, however short they may be. Struggling to try and climb that wall and failing… failing… failing, while my mates were battling forces that I have only heard of in legends, I have never felt so helpless. While I have prided myself as the Ledger Keeper and merchant of our crew, I have felt that I could lend… at least… a helping hand and some claws to a fight. My magic hook has aided me well too… but everything failed me on that night. I was fortunate that the keg of powder that Daxson threw off the wall was still in good enough shape that it could blow a hole in that wall… if it hadn’t, I’m sure that I would be penning this from a cell deep within the prison. However, what I saw after the smoke had cleared will never leave my mind. I will forever remember my friends in that hopeless situation and I will never understand what happened next.
Captain McCormick’s sacrifice will not go forgotten. I will never let what happened that night happen again. I am no longer going to stand back while my crew fights without me, for my world that is dying. I must get stronger. I must find get tougher.
I MUST FIGHT.
Father Rodrigo
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