Expedition 5: Fire from the Water

### Summary

We rush to the town's aid as a metal figure is setting fire to the town from a ship at the docks.

### Detailed Writeup

Jamie, Nexrin, Steelstaff and Tolyr happen to be in the dozen dogs bar, resting and individually planning their next adventures.

A new figure enters, having just arrived from the docks. Feng the fierce is a 6 foot tall muscular half-orc in heavy arboreal armor, carrying a wooden tower shield.

A call of “Fire!”, a loose horse and people running away from the docks catches their attention.

Steelstaff takes the initiative and leaps up, rallying the impromptu party. Annie the Microraptor familiar’s keen eyes **(Perception 23 nat)** notices several buildings smoking adjacent to the docks. A ship at the docks is smoking as well, and sailors are fighting something onboard. The trading headquarters, a multistory wooden tower near the docks, seems particularly vulnerable.

Nexrin finds the best path forward (**Survival 24**)

Feng darts into nearby smoldering buildings, after seeing something, and with Athletics fireman carries two people out. Jamie follows and helps people along the way.

Steelstaff notices a person shouting for help at the top of the 30 foot trading tower, using Ki and his ring of jump he leaps and climbs to the top with some difficulty, he struggles a bit with the smoke and finds the person unconscious from smoke inhalation.

Seeing no other way, he leaps from the tower into the water with the figure over his shoulder, before swimming to the shore, and dump the older human man in blue and green onto the shore.

Tolyr tries to slow the fire’s spread with ray of frost, and gets crushed for 8 damage as the first flaming pieces of tower start to tumble down. Jamie avoids most of the damage as he ducks out of the way.

Nexrin takes out his handaxe, seeing the tower is near collapse, and tries to weaken the base so it will fall into the water and not spread the fire. The tower collapses towards him, and he takes **19** points of damage

Annie gets closer to the boat, some humanoid shape in metal armor is smoking, and blasts a cone of fire towards two sailors.

Tolyr relays this info, and his assertion that something from the boat is spreading the fire is enough for Steelstaff to jump ahead, leaping across but grazing the fire. Exhausted Tolyr focuses on his shield for a moment and follows suit. Jamie tries to calm some horses near the docks but is unable to. Nexrin heals himself, then assists in helping sailors from the water back onto the land.

The figure in the smoke has an integrated sword in its arm and is cutting down sailors who try and escape.

* Steelstaff grabs Tolyr and leaps onto the ship, and the figure turns to them, red eyes glowing from underneath a metal mask. With a burst of flame against the two newcomers, Tolyr falls.
* Fang climbs up a rope onto the ship, and Nexrin makes a makeshift grappling hook to speed up their arrival to the ship. The creature evidently has tough armor, as Fang’s attack bounces off.
* The creature retaliates, hitting Steelstaff twice with his blade arm and ruining Steelstaff’s third shirt.
* Nexrin heals Tolyr for **2** HP
* Jamie hits with his Claymore, dealing **11** damage.
* Fang tries to grapple the creature but fails
* Tolyr shoots a ray of frost, dealing 1 (doubled to **2**!) damage and slowing it, and Annie divebombs and harasses it to help Fang’s next grapple.
* Steelstaff grapples the creature and pushes it to the side of the ship, but falls unconscious from its **3** proximity fire damage.
* Nexrin and Jamie take a cone of fire from the creature, taking **17** fire damage each.
* Fang grapples the creature (with advantage from Ellie) , pushing it up against the railing of the ship, says “I can hold my breath for a good long while, how about you?” And with a second athletics check drags him underwater, taking **6** points of fire damage as a cloud of steam erupts from the water.
* Tolyr tries to Ray of Frost, but misses with the boiling water.
* The creature struggles underwater, and attacks Fang twice, the first attack is prevented by his living armor, and the second brings him to 1 HP as the creature thrashes, and then is extinguished.

Fang hauls it onto the docks, mumbling “What a waste”

The ship’s owner, a Synwycian halfling with a glass arm for his left hand.

Everyone gains 1d4= **4 renown**, the head of the merchant operation offers everyone **1 Gold each** for saving those in the tower, and the ship's owner offers 2 family heirlooms:

**Bands of Ogres Resiliency:** you ignore the first time you would gain a level of exhaustion between each short rest. Your hit die pool is expanded by 1d12, and your maximum hit points are increased by 7+ your con modifier.

The shipowner says the construct leapt onto their ship from the docks, with a **3 insight**, Tolyr has no reason to suspect otherwise.

The bands are given to Jamie and Steelstaff, who each give back 3 silver to the other 3 party members.

**Epilogue:**

Everyone but Steelstaff carries the body to Calliope’s workshop. Calliope was too distracted by the work to notice the fire. They deposit the smoldering body on her main table, and she goes around with her wheelchair to get a good look at the creature. With a critical **27,** she realizes it is a warforged, that it has several parts that could be useful… and that she could rebuild it.