Landfall is an encounter in High Tide.
Enemies[]
- Merfolk Warrior (Landfall) (100 Gold, 100 XP, 100 Energy, 2 HP)
Transcript[]
Introduction[]
As the ship sails into the bay of the first Drowned Island, it's impossible not to stare at your surroundings.
The water is bright blue, sparkling like a sea of sapphires in the sunlight. Rising out the lapping waves is an entire village that seems to have been fashioned from coral and giant shells that remind you of beaver dams, built out from the central dock with branching wooden walkways; a lattice of paths and coral structures that dominates the cove.
It isn't long before the anchor drops, the gangplank lowers, and you're standing on the pier. Several of the sailors from the ship come down to stand by you, weapons at the ready. You didn't have much of a chance to talk to them between your abduction and your arrival, but you hope your ship was staffed with a crew whose martial skills equal their nautical training.
"It's too quiet," a woman with her hair tied back mutters while scanning the length of the dock. Her grip on her blade is white-knuckled. You wonder if they have any more idea of what to expect than you do.
As your troupe cautiously moves down the dock, you stop to peek in one of the hut's doorways. Within the small building is a common room with a hole in the middle of the floor, exposing the water beneath. Around the opening is a U-shaped table, which you notice still has several half-eaten meals sitting atop it.
One of the sailors, a weathered gnome with a hand ballista strapped across his back and two machetes at his waist, sees your curious expression and ducks his head into the doorway. An instant later, he snaps out of the room and yanks his twin machetes from their sheaths.
"What is it, ah..." You can't recall many of the crew's names, but he had been talkative. Was it Jonah maybe?
"...Jonah?"
His eyes scan the water off the pier for a second before he looks back to the ship and makes a series of loud whistles. At the signal, men and women start scrambling across the deck to the rails, weapons at the ready.
The man looks back at you with an indignant snort. You're making friends already. "Name's Jonas. They took to the water when they saw the ship. Make the village seem abandoned so they can--"
A loud hornblow slices through the air, cutting the sailor off. At the sound, dark forms treak through the water from all directions, swift as a lunging shark-- straight towards your section of the dock. The first wave of merfolk warriors launch from the surface in a great spray of sapphire water and land with crashing thuds in the crew's midst, weapons raised.
You finish Jonas's sentence for him. "So they can spring a trap."
Conclusion[]
One of the merfolks warriors kick out at your chest. Her talons skitter across your armor harmlessly, but they hook the handle of your sword and pull it down. The follow-up blow sends you tumbling to the edge of the pier.
Your opponent is hot on your heels, hounding you with a vicious weapon modeled after a serrated crab claw. Standing over you as you struggle to maintain your grip and not tumble into the water below, the warrior raises her weapon to deliver a killing blow.
As the claw begins its downward arc, a spiked warhammer slams into it, shattering the weapon and possibly the arm holding it. The warrior cries out and begins to turn when a booted foot slams into her chest, knocking her past you and out over the water. A silhouetted figure appears in front of you and forcefully drags you away from the edge of the dock.
"Come on, your lordship." The voice is only mildly disdainful.
You look up, blinking, and see your savior is a woman with vibrant red hair and a warhammer over her shoulder. You didn't catch her name before leaving the ship, but she's caught your attention now.
"Thanks." You wince as you stand, looking around. The crew's managed to hold off the warriors, throw them back into the waves, and you spy only a superficial injury or two. The crew's martial readiness, as far as you're concerned, is no longer in question.
The woman snorts. "That's the job. No way I'm letting you die before I get paid."