Starwind Bay

"Starwind Bay" is episode 16 of SuperQuest Saga. Carter, Persephone, and Sebastian have made it to Starwind Bay, but find it under occupation by Elven Forces. How will they make it to The Brunhilde?

Introduction

 * Will Stark will be your fearless dungeon master for this evening.
 * Josh Freeland is playing Sebastian Crenshaw, half-orc paladin.
 * Your Special Guest Jake is playing Persephone Goldpetal the firbolg druid.
 * Brian is playing Carter Huttenburg, level 4 warlock.

Recap
Last episode, the elves attacked and the party fought their way out of a tv station. They got paired up with some gangsters with hoverbikes, sailed across the city, and went into a casino to get help from a mob lord. They got a private flight to the doorstep of Starwind Bay where The Brunhilde is docked.

Order or Blood
It’s eerily quiet and there seems to be no signs of elves or people. Victoria starts walking nonchalantly into the building. Persephone follows. Carter mentally prepares some defenses in case anything goes down. The party enters the building leading to the docks, and inside they hear and see a very large crowd of civilians all gathered towards the dock entrance. They are blocked off and semi-surrounded by the elven military. The crowd is rowdy and bold as they jeer at the elves. An officer with short, spiky, silver hair magically enhances his voice and addresses the crowd.

“Attention Godless Heathens. Our stay is only extended as long as the search for the terrorists continues. As soon as they are apprehended, we shall leave your profane city to its barbaric existence; so until then, I will have order, or I will have blood. If anyone here has any helpful information on finding the terrorists, please step forward and  you will be rewarded upon their capture.”

The crowd’s unruliness dies to a murmur, and no one has noticed the party enter. Carter turns to Prim to usher her out; he calls everyone to gather outside the doors to talk things out. Sebastian asks what the hell they’re doing, what’s the plan because that’s the only way to the ship. Carter states that they can’t let the crowd see Primina or Sebastian, or him for that matter. Sebastian asks Victoria if there’s any other way to the ship. That’s the only way on foot into the Bay, if they get their hands on something that could fly they might be able to get into the other side. But that sounds incredibly dangerous; if they have the dock entrance manned, they probably have the inside of the Bay manned and they’ll just open fire. She thinks stealth is the best way in, they might be able to blend in with the crowd if they can find something to cover Primina.

Persephone gives Primina a cloak and casts Pass without Trace on everyone. Carter observes the elves to check how hostile they are, and it looks like the elves’ primary directive here is to keep anyone from getting to the ships. They’re not specifically searching the crowd, so unless the party draws attention to themselves, the elves should not notice them specifically. Persephone casts Disguise Self and changes into a small green dragonborn. The plan is to sneak through the crowd and Charm the officer in charge to let them pass.

Plan A and Something Stupid
The party starts sneaking into the crowd and they successfully blend in. Most of the crowd are off-worlders, there are folks of different races and backgrounds. Persephone notices two hooded figures whispering to themselves, and she recognizes them as Dag and Dirk. She points them out to Victoria, who immediately veers off to meet with her cousins. Everyone else follows. Dag and Dirk embrace Victoria and are happy to see everyone. Dag asks what the plan is, and they join the group as they continue to sneak forward to the officer in charge.

Persephone gets near the edge of the crowd to get the officer within range of her spell. Carter prepares to cast Friends on himself to help talk the officer into letting them pass if Percy’s spell fails. Primina, Sebastian, and Watt hang back. At this point, Persephone realizes that the elves probably have a resistance against being charmed and calls the plan off.

Dag speaks up and says it seems like they need a distraction. He looks at his brother, and they give each other a nod. “We got this.” They begin to move away and Victoria immediately grabs them, asking what they are about to do. Dag puts his hand on her shoulder. “Listen Tori, we can’t thank you enough, you practically raised us since we was tots and you were just still a child yourself. And when life was tough, you and Asi gave us jobs and a home. That’s why that medallion around your neck still works, you’re always protecting people and bringing them together. You’re always saving people. Well this time, maybe it’s someone else’s turn to save you. Love you, cos.” And they walk away, making a straight beeline to the officer. Before they go, Percy grabs them in a hug and casts Guidance on Dag.

As they approach the leader, Dag calls out that they have information on the terrorists. The crowd parts for the twins and a couple of elven soldiers grab Dag and Dirk by the arm, pulling them in front of the officer. The officer stands 5 ft. away from the twins and orders them to spit out what they know. Without hesitation, Dag stands up, steps forward, and uppercuts the elven officer. Dirk immediately stands up and punches one of the other elves right in the face. Screams ring out as the elven soldiers start opening fire on the twins; chaos erupts as the crowd becomes emboldened by the attack on the officer, and all hell breaks loose.

Victoria screams that they need to go, they can’t let Dag and Dirk’s actions be for nothing. Sebastian lowers his shoulder and starts plowing through the crowd to make room. Prim cries and follows them. The party fights their way past the chaos; people are punching elves, elves are shooting people. There are only ten elves but they are all super strong and super fast. They are overwhelmed but they are holding their own. Sebastian spots the elven officer, who notices them pass before he is overwhelmed by a bunch of people. Sebastian reports that they’ve been spotted and urges them forward.

The party makes it through the gateway and into the hangar holding The Brunhilde. They move through the hangar and turn onto the area where The Brunhilde is docked; standing there on the dock is a squadron of elves led by a female elf with a staff. The squadron wear white cloth military uniforms, and each member wields a staff. Their leader wears a burgundy suit and has a tiara with a ruby on her forehead. They don’t say anything, but it is clear that it’s time to fight.

Her Elbows are Fucking Perfect
The elf leader lifts her staff and points it at Sebastian, casting Hold Person. Sebastian is unable to resist the spell and is paralyzed. Carter casts Shatter on the group of elves; the floor explodes and only two of the elves avoid some damage. The elf leader manages to maintain her concentration on Hold Person, so Sebastian remains paralyzed. Carter moves to the back of the group. Persephone steps up and casts Thorn Whip on the female leader, but the attack misses. She also Wild Shapes into Toasty and stands in front of everyone. All four members of the elven squad charge Persephone and each score a hit with a flaming staff. She resists the fire damage. Victoria takes Prim and Watt by the hands and tries to lead them around the battle to get to The Brunhilde. She covers their retreat with her pistol and catches the eye of the leader, but Prim and Watt are able to almost board the ship.

The squad leader drops concentration on Hold Person and tries to cast it on Primina instead. Primina saves against the spell and is not held. Sebastian pulls out his BFG (Big Fucking Gun) and aims for the leader. He yells out, “We should run for the ship guys, let’s get out of here!” as his shot hits the leader. Carter yells at leader, “you have stupid dwarf elbows!” as he casts Vicious Mockery, dealing psychic damage and imposing disadvantage. She’s sensitive about her elbows. Persephone is surrounded by the squadron; she tries to bite one of the elves in front of her and misses. The squad continues to beat her with sticks; two of the four attacks hit, but the Toasty form resists the fire damage. Victoria opens fire on the leader, hitting and dealing more damage. Watt and Primina are now aboard The Brunhilde.

The leader is really pissed. She casts Shield of Faith on herself, and holds up her staff as she lets loose a Force Beam that hits Victoria. Sebastian turns his BFG to the squad attacking Persephone, but misses his shot. Carter psychically whistles at the elf leader, a tune that shouldn’t be heard, as he casts Dissonant Whispers. She screams and holds her head, her nose begins to bleed and she falls to the ground. Carter gets into position to run around the elves to get to The Brunhilde. Persephone breathes fire on the elf squad, but her attack misses. The squad continues beating on Percy, two of the attacks hit her but she resists the fire damage. Victoria rushes aboard the ship, she stands in the doorway waiting for the party.

Sebastian channels divinity and uses Conquering Presence, frightening two of the elves. Carter casts Eldritch Blast but misses the attack. Persephone tries to bite the elf in front of her, but misses again. The four elves continue to hit Persephone, this time three out of the four hit, and she is knocked out of her Wild Shape form. The two frightened elves try to pull themselves together, and one succeeds. Victoria fires at one of the elf squad and hits.

Sebastian casts Compel Duel on the closest elf with full health, and forces him into engagement. Sebastian shoots at the elf he compelled, but misses. Carter casts Eldritch Blast at one of the elves and hits for lots of damage. Persephone casts Primal Savagery, her nails grow into sharp claws and she attacks an elf. Her attack misses, and the elf says “disgusting” as he dodges. Persephone uses her bonus action to Wild Shape into the scarab. Three elves move in to attack Percy, but they all miss. One of the squad is compelled to move away to attack Sebastian, provoking an opportunity attack, and Percy slashes him. The elf attacks Sebastian and misses. Victoria fires her pistol again, but misses

Sebastian swaps to his aether-blade and slashes the elf, bringing him close to death. Carter fires an Eldritch Blast at the elf he wounded before and finishes him off. Persephone slashes at the elf in front of her with two blade attacks and deals massive damage. Two of the elf squad attack Persephone, one hits her with fire damage, and the third elf tries to hit Sebastian and fails. Victoria attacks one of the weakened elves and deals a little damage.

Sebastian comes down on the elf again with his axe, slicing his chest wide open. A spray of green blood hits his face. Carter nonchalantly walks by one of the elves on Percy and palms his face, casting Shocking Grasp and dealing damage, before moving towards the ship. Persephone slashes the elf in front of her, missing the first attack but stabbing and cutting him in half with the second strike. The remaining squad member is afraid and alone, so he runs. Persephone critically strikes him with an opportunity attack, but he manages to escape.

Don't Act Like We Didn't Talk About This
The Brunhilde whirls on, and Victoria calls for them to hop on; Carter walks on first, followed by Persephone in scarab form, and Sebastian keeping an eye on the rear for any danger. As he steps on board, he hears a voice behind him yelling and he sees the silver-haired captain running out. He spots the party and makes a beeline towards them, running at a ridiculous pace that only these elves can achieve. Sebastian is just about to step inside the side doorway of the ship, and as it begins to slowly lift away, he turns to take some shots at the captain. Carter shoots an Eldritch Blast at him as well, but their shots land wide.

Suddenly, there is an explosion and The Brunhilde lurches causing Sebastian to lose his balance. He manages to hold on with just one hand. As the ship begins to right itself and lifts away, Sebastian feels something tug on his leg; the captain ran and jumped 30 ft. in the air to grab on and is climbing up Sebastian with a crazed look in his eye. Sebastian drops his BFG, grabs the elf by his throat, and lifts him up. The elf has been weakened and makes some ineffectual attempts to break free of Sebastian’s choking grip. Then, suddenly there is a flash of light as he pulls out an aether-blade knife, and before Sebastian can react, he cuts right through Sebastian’s arm right above the bicep. Sebastian watches both the crazed elf and his severed arm fall away.

Victoria tries to pull Sebastian in, Persephone helps get him in. Victoria casts a healing spell on Sebastian’s arm since he is losing blood fast. She pulls up her transmitter and says “We need to go, now!” and The Brunhilde blasts off above the city. They see drop ships pursuing, but their ship is bigger and faster, so they punch through the blue barrier. On the other side of the barrier, they find themselves surrounded by elven war vessels. Watt has coordinates charted and the A-reactor is almost ready.

You've Been Warned
A video feed shows up on the cockpit’s screen and on monitors around the ship; they all see an image of Dennethar, Son of Anaduir. “I thought we’d flush you rats out here. Surrender now in the name of His Holiness and we won’t obliterate you.” Persephone tells him to go to hell. Carter asks exactly what Dennethar needs from them. The answer is surrender. Carter asks what that entails and Dennethar explains that the elves will board The Brunhilde and take them into custody. “Wouldn’t you prefer if we came to you?” Carter asks, and Dennethar would not. Carter asks what happens after the elves board the ship; Dennethar repeats that the elves will take the party into custody. Carter asks again what that entails. At this point, there is a flash of light that they can see through the doorway window.

The flash heralds the arrival of a war fleet of completely different kinds of ships; each ship bears the sigil of the Draconic Star Sovereignty, a circular orb with many iridescent colors. All the ships have a vaguely dragonesque look to them, but among them is something much larger than any other vessels; an enormous winged monstrosity about the size of a skyscraper. Victoria whispers, “a dragon.” It is shaped much like the Old War dragons that Carter, Persephone, and Sebastian are aware of, but its skin is made up of some dark metal alloy and it is heavily plated. At the end of its long neck is a head with two enormous silver horns and glowing white eyes. On its torso, below its wings on both sides, are two enormous appendages that look like engines or cannons that are part of its body, also glowing white.

In all of their minds, they hear a deep, gravelly voice psionically speak. “This region is under the protection of the Draconic Star Sovereignty. Your presence here is a galactic crime and a violation of the Ten Part Treaty of Nations. You will withdraw, or this will be considered an act of war. You’ve been warned.” The party can still see Dennethar on the screen, and he looks pissed as he says, “if you fire on us, the might of the Holy Elven Empire will come down to bear on all of you.”

The cannons on the dragon begin to shine with brilliant light. “That is our cue. Punch it, Watt!” Victoria says. Carter, Persephone, and Sebastian feel a lurch as they see a pulsar blast of blinding light fire from the dragon upon Dennethar’s ship. They don’t get to see how it plays out as they slip into hyperspace.

The Party

 * Sebastian Crenshaw: a half-orc paladin. About to start that cyborg life.
 * Persephone Goldpetal: a firbolg druid. She's so done with Dennethar's nonsense.
 * Carter Huttenburg: a human warlock. Can talk circles for days if you let him.

NPCS

 * Victoria: a female tiefling. Captain of The Brunhilde. Surprisingly calm throughout all the shit that's going on.
 * Silver Haired Elf: an elven officer. Super rude and came the fuck outta nowhere to chop off homie's arm.
 * Primina: a young woman of mysterious origins. The MacGuffin. The space elves really want her.
 * Dag and Dirk: tiefling brothers and cousins to Victoria. The best at dramatic speeches and causing a ruckus.
 * Elf Leader: a female elf leader of a squadron. Sensitive about her absolutely perfect elbows.
 * Elf Squadron: four elf soldiers tasked with stopping the party. They got their shit wrecked.
 * Watt: an elderly gnome and crewmember of The Brunhilde. Just kind of there this episode.
 * Dennethar, Son of Anaduir: a magistrate of the Elven Empire. Giving off big Draco Malfoy vibes.
 * Unknown Draconic Star Sovereignty Spokesperson: member of the Draconic Star Sovereignty who made Dennethar's day real bad.

Music

 * SuperQuest Saga Theme - by Brian
 * Here Come The Fucking Space Elves - by Brian

Nat 20's (3 total)

 * Special Guest Jake (Stealth)
 * Will (Wisdom Save as Elf Squad)
 * Special Guest Jake (Attack as Jiankoto)

Nat 1's (7 total)

 * Will (Constitution Save as Elf Leader)
 * Freeland (Attack with BFG)
 * Will (Wisdom Save as Elf Leader)
 * Will (Wisdom Save as Elf Squad)
 * Special Guest Jake (Bite as Toasty)
 * Will (Attack as Elf Squad)
 * Brian (Eldritch Blast)