Act 3: The Ball - Departure

Steve aims his staff at the enemy ship, yelling to his 30 fairies, "Alright everyone, when they are in range try to hit them with cantrips! Focus fire on anyone that looks like they might be casting spells, but if you don't see any then try to soften up any dedicated defenders for our boarding team! Leads, you pick the targets; team members, follow your leads! Apple, Coby! Keep an eye out for anyone that needs healing and lead your teams to do that! If you need more help, let me know!"

"AYE AYE, PIZZA GUY!"

At the same time as the two Aspects on board, the fairies start to bombard the pirates with their cantrips, and although they don't do much damage individually, when targeting the same targets, they absolutely destroy the pirates.

Twenty pirates drop dead under the first magical assault, but there's at least thirty of them left on the main deck alone. As for Calder, he didn't succumb to his injuries, like most of the men at his side, and they appear prepared to keep fighting. Their cannons continue to fire, but Calder quickly orders the pirates below deck to come assist the ones above.

Then just as the Vulcan is about to board the enemy ship, the remaining mages aboard their vessel attack the Myrzen warriors, inflicting serious damage to them. The white mages were prepared for that however, and under Konrad's command, they immediately heal their comrades with multi-targeted spells.

Then, Calder summons an Aspect of Water, which immediately unleashes its Desperation spell and conjures pillars of water that grab Smirk and Sunny, and keep them in the air for now.

The adventurers must now decide how they will board the ship and confront the pirates.

Telepathy:
Ah, the elementals must have got him, that's why he's here. Either way, the Islands aren't going to miss him.

Konrad abandons the wheel. "She's all yours, Segel. Stay safe."

From the quarterdeck, he eyeballs Calder and calls forth all his magical might and channels it at the pirate captain.

Dualcast, Fire Intensified, x2: 46, 42
-18MP

Now that Steve has picked out the mages, he fires off two maximized level 7 blizzard spells onto them, redirecting any left over attacks onto the pirate reinforcements.

Snow Storm:

Segel takes the helm of the ship while ordering the fairy sailors on board to take cover and look after each other. Captain Calder Crowley however is ordering his men to step forward and block the incoming assault, but his words are cut short by Konrad's fire spells, which hit him right in the chest and send him flying backward, burning him alive. The few pirates who noticed the attack stop for a second, realizing they're about to lose the battle. They haven't noticed however that the Aspect of Water remains.

Steve's own barrage of spells compound the damage to their morale, as many of the mages begin to fall, although not before they launch spells of their own. The wounds they inflict on the Myrzen warriors are serious, but not strong enough to kill them. This is a determining factor in this battle as the healers among the Myrzen retinue quickly undo any damage they may have suffered, allowing Mihai, Kaja and the warriors at their side to cut through the enemy and shower them in blood. Amber and the Myrzen ranger provide fire support from the forecastle deck, along with the Myrzen mages on the main deck.

By now, thirty more pirates have joined the battle. But then, the Aspect of Water suddenly goes below deck, abandoning its allies. Noticing that, Fluffle goes after it.

None of the pirates plead for mercy as they are slaughtered. They seem strangely determined to fight to their last breath. The adventurers have no choice but to kill them all. Just as the last of them has fallen, Fluffle comes back from the hold and shouts, "BACK TO THE SHIP! GET AWAY! NOW!"

At Fluffle's alarmed cry, Konrad grabs the wheel. "Segel, prepare to withdraw! Order everyone to portside! And start the engine!"

"Get ready to go guys and heal anyone with a wound while you're at it!" Steve moves to the railing to help pull the boarding party aboard Vulcan.

As soon as everyone is on board, Steve will start firing non-lethal wind spells at the sails to help move them away faster.

Nobody dispute the orders given and everyone hurry back aboard the Vulcan. Segel shouts to his siblings to hide behind something, which the Myrzen warriors quickly imitate after they've removed the grappling hooks that attach the two ships together, and they brace for the upcoming explosion. The first mate then starts the engine, hoping to gain as much speed as possible, while Steve casts his non-lethal wind spell at the sails, propelling the whole ship forward. They've barely moved a few meters away from the enemy vessel that a loud BOOM echoes through the air and reverberates inside their skulls. Burning debris fly off everywhere, and the pirate ship disappears into a ball of fire. The heat emanating from it is so hot, it almost feels as if the adventurers' hair and clothes will catch fire.

Once the danger has passed however, they realize that they're safe and sound, and the enemy vessel is quickly sinking into the ocean.

Konrad breathes a sigh of relief and smiles contentedly at the mess behind them. "That was a nice distraction. And we eliminated Calder. It's a shame we couldn't loot the vessel."

He looks around for Femke to make sure she's alright.

Good work, all of you. Now, would you kindly hand control of your body back over to me?

Sure.

Konrad stills, and within seconds, he is Samantha again. She smiles and winks at Segel to let him know that the change has occurred.

"Alright Segel, let's get back on course. The wheel is yours."

A tired Steve checks on the crew and Myrzen warriors, making sure everyone is okay and that any injuries are seen to. When that's done, he'll make some tea and decompress in the galley.

Segel turns to face his captain—who is unknowingly Sam at the moment—and salutes him while he says, "Yes, captain!"

But then, a couple of fairies come out of the hold and urgently ask the white mages to come down below; apparently, a few of their siblings were injured in the attack and need first aid at once. The white mages waste no time and go below deck, and Steve follows them. The fairies could certainly use a friend at their side.

Amber and Sunny take some time to compose themselves after this latest ordeal, and they both thank their big brothers for looking after them—although Sunny is more shy than her summoner when she does.

Never one to forego a chance to assert his dominance, Florolf prances around like a proud warrior, one who has defeated many enemies. His bloody maw is proof of that. Filarion and Femke aren't impressed however, and they instead look after the warriors to make sure they're all right.

Once it's confirmed that everyone is safe and sound, the Vulcan resumes its journey to Villevieille.

12:06 AM, 14th of April, 422
Off the coast of Villevieille

There is no moonlight tonight, so Konrad needs to rely on the twinkles of light originating from the city of Villevieille when navigating the dark waters. Luckily for him however, Mihai has a brilliant idea: to shift into the Shroud and use the supernatural luminescence there to scout the way ahead, as well as check the city for possible danger. Mihai climbs at the top of the mast, and using his spyglass, he determines that nothing seems out of the ordinary in Villevieille at the moment—except for the two navy ships patrolling the coast.

In this type of situation, an incoming ship that wishes to dock would announce its presence with horn blasts using signals that the Empire standardized centuries ago. There will then most likely be an inspection of the ship before they're let into port.

"Segel, get on the horn and let them know we're coming."

"Yes, captain!"

Segels gets the horn, but since his lungs are too small to blow through it, he hands it over to Konrad, the only other human on the quarterdeck right now.

Once Konrad has announced their presence, one of the patrol ships responds with blasts of their own, telling him and his crew to prepare to be boarded. Ten minutes later, the Lofellian warship accosts the Vulcan and a dozen of soldiers spill onto the main deck, weapons drawn, but not raised. They eye the Myrzen warriors suspiciously until one of the officers on their ship, the one holding a magical lantern, reports that the Vulcan is flying Zdetermiwa's flag.

The Lofellian soldiers begin to inspect the ship from top to bottom, during which their superior approaches the three adventurers and asks them what is the purpose of their visit in Villevieille.

"It's a personal matter. We lost contact with some friends and we've learned that they are in Lofell somewhere. We've come to find them and get them out. These fine warriors were lent to us for that purpose."

The officer narrows his eyes at the warriors in question. "Lent to you by who?"

"Ah, the ruling First, herself. Nadzieja Zerva. We became part of her retinue for the tournament of succession."

The man looks back at Konrad, his brow furrowed in confusion. He ponders the answer for a moment, then looks at all the fairies who are watching the soldiers inspect the ship, his consternation growing.

"You're her champions? Really? Who attacked your ship? We noticed the damage on the hull."

"Pirates. They're floating in a watery grave now, along with their captain."

The officer raises his eyebrow in surprise, then shifts his attention to the fairies watching his subordinates inspect the ship. He stays silent for a moment, then says, "Once we're finished here, dock at pier number four and immediately present yourselves at the port's main office for registration."

He then goes to ask a few more questions from the Myrzen warriors and the fairies to confirm what he just learned from Konrad. Once he has, he supervises his men for the rest of the inspection, which all in all, takes fifteen more minutes. After which the soldiers return to their ship to resume their patrol.

The ship is free to dock.