River Pirates! 5e WNW

Session 4 of the Weird New World campaign was played on Friday 10/17

The party consisted of the following:
Verdt, 1/2 Elf Wizard 2 (John)
Nessendra, Wood Elf Cleric 2 (Erindel)
Kethra, Human Fighter 2 (Nikki)
Bach, Dragonborn Warlock 2 (Erik)

Not in attendance:
Riia, Human Ranger 2 (Hanna) - out of state
Max, Human Bard 2 (Yann) - excused

In the hours before dawn, 2 riverboats moved slowly and silently downstream toward Salt Bay, coming to rest on the banks of the river at the north end of the city. In spite of their silence, the town’s new half-built fort spotted the pirates and sounded the alarm. The ringing bells woke the party from their slumber. They rushed down to the common room of the inn, and amidst the confused panic of the patrons, heard the word “pirates!”

So off to the river they went, minus two of their number. Were they not roused by the alarm bells? Did they head off in a different direction? Were they locked in a passionate embrace? We’ll find out next session…

Coming out of a house several blocks from the river were 5 pirates, all carrying some sort of loot, one carrying a small child! The party was almost on top of them as they rounded the corner, and the fight was fast and brutal including the use of a sleep spell which knocked out 2 pirates and the kid.

They killed one of the sleeping pirates, and then brought the other to the nearby fort. Then a quick return to the river where the party found a group of 12 pirates loading one of the riverboats. Even though they were outnumbered 3:1 they still attacked! A few of the pirates continued to load the boat, and only when things were looking dicey for the pirates did the last 4 jump in, including one of the pirate leaders! When Bach and Kethra fell unconscious and bleeding, the leader grabbed Kethra by the hair and held a knife to her neck, and demanded Verdt and Nessendra’s surrender. They did, Kethra was dropped still bleeding to the ground, and Verdt and Nessendra were promptly bound with rope.

The pirates must have been in a hurry, since they did a piss-poor job of it (rolled a 1). Verdt slipped the ropes and cast an illusion of a full squad of town guard on the quick march toward the river. The pirate leader’s nerve broke, and they pushed off, leaving the party “bound” on the shore.

Freeing themselves from the rope and healing up their friends, the party headed off to the fort, and interrogated the captured pirate, discovering their approximate number, location, and a rough layout of the base.

Will the party hit the pirate base next? Or return to the manse? Was Max tied to Riia’s bed? We’ll find out in a couple of weeks...

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This was written back in October, and never published. The few weeks turned into a few months, but we're back to playing as of 1/16!