The Legonater

Alright, if Boomingham is taking a crew to the outer wall, I could hop on the Vermillion with someone and take out these cannons near us on the inner wall. Who's in? Not to press, but did you see this?

Are you sure? By my count we outnumber them, 'course, that'll change once everyone starts splitting. I count 33 in our party, including heroes, NPCs and assist(?) characters (archdemon, djinn, Torc). There are fifteen dragon mobs plus the two larger dragons. I mean, if you wanted to make a real mess, you could always- Oh. Oh. Illdria is going to hate us. Knife-Tongue, about how much gunpowder would you say is on this ship?

Do you reckon there's a range on those cannons? Issues with line of sight or anything? The inner wall cannons, like I said, should give us a vantage over the whole fort. We should split into groups. One finishes with the dragons, one charges into the harbour, the others start climbing walls.

If we can scale this inner wall, I can provide an impressive amount of cover fire with my crossbow. I could also provide eyes if any more guests show up. Say, can we turn those cannons onto the base? That'd be some asset. Of course, if that wall is too high to climb, I'm sure Hoke and Torc could hitch a ride for whoever's going up. The assassin pauses, realizing Boomingham spoke up at the same time as him. Biting his frustration, Dyric nodded. Sure, I can take the outer wall too, if you'd have me. Either way.

Dyric turns to Pretzel, eyes coldly focused. Something between dread and anger hung in his tone. No.

Rone looks intently into the map. Lady Luck, the Mountain, the Dragon... where's the Miracleworker? To clarify, mobs count as a single unit, right? Also, by spending a turn to move, does that negate hastening or can you move and then act if you have multiple moves?

Rone gave a tired shake of his head. I'm not sure fighting undead dragons would qualify as being lucky, Whisperer.

Alright, keep it up. We're nearly there. Bellanotte's going to need some ether too, here. If Bellanotte gets any ether, she plays the rapid march from the back. If not, she attacks Green Mob C with her flute. Dyric fires shots at Gold D (Red D, White D), Gold C (Red C, White C), and Red B (Green B, Gold B) from the back. Djinn attacks White B from the back.

Excellent.

On it. Bellanotte, you heard the man. Rapid March, keep us going. Meanwhile, Dyric shifts his first target to the Black Drake A (Green A, Green Mob A). It's been a while. Dyric's wind and darkness strengths and weaknesses should combine to allow him to hit the black drakes, right? Or is he still ineffective?

I would be so down to see a full discussion on the system of Heroica and what went wrong or not. I will definitely attest to the battle system being something that made me hesitant to QM repeatedly.

Dyric grinned as his arrows put down both of his intended targets, and tear into the surrounding cloud of dragons. Using all of his strength to pump bolts into his crossbow, he sights up the Green Drake A (Vermillion A, Black A), the Speckled Wyvern B (Hunter B, White Mob B), and the Black Drake B (Green A, Green Mob A), all straying to the back row. Bellanotte, keep it up, you're doing great! Jinn! Have you finally service of me, master? I do. See that drake that just landed? I see many such- The one I'm pointing to. Take him out. Of course, master. The jinn attacks Blake Drake A from the back row. Wait, is there momentum accounted for in this? My impression was that the mage boost would essentially add a number onto the base 100 feet, and then the next round would reset to that base unless the mages continued to push. Is the ship speed here recounting what the speed is solely for this round, or is that speed also going into next round? As in, the mages have boosted the ship and now we're going 1100 ft/round, and an additional set of boosting will push us to 2100 ft/round. Just wanting to clarify, I think either choice has its logic, I just want to know what we're dealing with here.

For his third attack, Dyric sights up Red Mob A (Green, Gold) while Bellanotte attacks White Mob A with her flute.

Dream Drakes, got it. Rone represses a small chuckle as Atramor pokes fun of the gnome, and sights in his next target. His concentration is broken when he hears the ritual beginning behind him. Uh, Atramor? Are you sure you want to summon him now? You may only get one shot at it. That is to say, if this is one big multi-phase battle, and you can only summon the archdemon once per battle, using it now may be a waste. Unless, the 10-round rule also applies here, which I think would make sense. Bellanotte, this is it. Just like we practiced. For the family. Bellanotte sings her lucky chant from the back row, while Dyric fires on Dream Drake A (Shadow A, Green A) and Dream Drake B (Shadow B, Green B) from the back. Couple housekeeping things. So if Dyric is hastened and is hastened again by Karie, is he hastened x3 or x4? Also, CMP, if we're hastening first, should we get the second mistral to play two songs? Also, also, if you're on wind duty and hastened, make sure to get us going as fast as we can. Oh, and another thing. Jinn only has physical attacks, right? As in he's worthless for the round?

Anyone who can push us forward should devote themselves to doing so, for the moment. The longer we stay out in here, the worse it's going to get. We need to get to the Fort, now.

As the heroes get set up on cannons, Dyric loads three large bolts into his crossbow and prepares for the battle. Are you talking about 53? I think you're talking about 53.

If Euflear is taking my handcannon, I suppose you could take Requiem. Just be gentle with her, okay?

Hi Knife-Tongue, Rone says absently as he turns back to the conversation. If people are going back to the Wind Thief then we might as well split up. Could take the Zeigfried ship too, I'm sure, but that divides our forces a lot more. We must have enough people to crew multiple ships.

Nerwen! It has been a time. The Shadeaux, Detective Hoples, Commamder Fervent, Corporal Boral, Private Coral, Watchman Grash, Constanle Timothee, Billiam and Trillian, Dyric said, reciting from memory. His voice ran hollow as he listed the familiar names.

Euflear, take the handcannon and the quiver, if you like. Rone looks around at everyone preparing. I suppose it's all hands on deck, then. Dyric corks open a mead and smelling salt, and drink them. Feeling refreshed, he takes out his diamond lamp of summoning, and uncorks it for the last time. It had been quite a while since he had previously used it. Master, the jinn said. You have at last required my services? This is the end, jinn. If we make it through this, you're free. I mean that. At the very least, we'll die fighting on the front lines. I suppose an honourable death is more appealing than a long, wasted life. That's the spirit. With that, the assassin turned to the group. I'm ready.

True. But can we not have her check as she flies over? I'm not sure there's a way to know before we're already on our way. Dyric looks through his things. A lot of it are largely useless knickknacks he's acquired over the years. Chesterine, do you want this sigil? Say, there's no Evokers here... I could probably lend out Tarok's Wrath or this handcannon. Maybe Requiem? Be careful with her, though. Rone glances up at the heroes. I don't know, most of this is probably free game, just ask.

Yeah, say 'hi,' Matthias. I agree the Magpie is likely our best bet, but I'd still like Guts' sheer firepower. Say, Hoke, do you think you can get Torc to scoop up the old man while we head to Ildria's ship?

Arthur! Before we set off, do you want your cape back? As much as I appreciate the gesture, my quiver seems to be exceptionally helpful on the battlefield.

Rone turned in surprise to the outburst. He didn't know the dwarf particularly well, yet the recognized the look in his eyes. Throlar's words sting, but he can't ignore them. I don't pretend to have any compunctions that what I'm advocating is good. But I have my priorities, same as anyone, and I stick to them. Like you said, Eubric is my... my home. Perhaps more than you know. Because of that, it will always be my priority. Eubric is at risk, people I put in the line of fire are at risk, and for me, that takes priority. That isn't 'good,' but I do believe it to be right. Yes, it's not a choice that should be made lightly. And perhaps I'm wrong to let my bias show so freely. But that's the messy part of heroism, making those impossible choices. If you try to save every person in harm's risk, your ideals will drag you to your death, because we can't save everyone. The assassin pauses, a list of names weighing heavily on him. He straightens, looking the dwarf in the eye once more, a soft smile growing. But we do what we can in the moment. I'm going to save anyone I can in that Fort, and my hope is that we will run into and stop Rosier in the process. I don't know if we will, but that is the choice I need to make; if I don't, I'm betraying myself. If you disagree with me, fine. That's your conviction, and you need to live by that. That's all any of us can ask for. Rone's surprise continued as Altraite spoke up. Maybe I misjudged you lot after all. Do the Hall proud, Veterans.

Rone nods at Atramor's words, taking in the crowd around him. This is good, this is very good. We can do this. His vision fell on the young mage still sitting tearfully in the back. A nervous energy still lingered on a few of those gathered. Atramor's speech drew to a close, and Rone decided he ought to follow suit. If there was ever a time for thrilling theatrics, it was now. Wally, Dyric said, making sure he was heard by all. Years ago, I had a run in with one of the old gods. He called me the 'Royal Retainer of the Banished,' someone who needed to remember and regret the passing of those closest to me. In the moment I didn't really know what I he meant. I had spent more time seeking vengeance than feeling regret. But I've come to realize a kind of truth - we all have regrets, and it's only in dealing and acknowledging those regrets that we can pass to the other side. See, without truly knowing regret, how could we ever know hope? And without hope, could we ever really regret? They work in tandem, balanced by the passion that drives all these things forward. It's the cycle of life. On and on and on it goes, he says to himself, for reasons he can't fully explain. Eyes back on the crowd, Dyric Rone straightens. This mission isn't going to be easy. It's going to take grit, and sacrifice. But that's life. We've all felt our pains, our regrets. Quests failed, wars lost, people passed. The pain doesn't get easier, but you do learn how to live with it. To see the hope again. See, that's why we're all here. It doesn't matter who you are, where you came from, what you've done. If you're here, it means you stared in the face of the flames and survived. As far as I'm concerned, each and every one of you is a Hero. These Founders thought they could bring us down, but they should know more than anyone that Heroica NEVER dies. Heroes will always rise up. They think we've lost our way, but look at us here. They think they're the legitimate article, but they're just hollow shells pretending to be real heroes. They think we'll back down. Me? I think it's time to give them something they'll regret.