The Harbor Matter
Sunset was greatly alarmed as she found herself in yet another vision in her Trance. She deeply dreaded another visit from Glasya, gritting her teeth and keeping her eyes screwed shut to prepare herself for whatever pain awaited her… but was suddenly surprised. She didn’t smell or hear the slopes of Malbolge at all; instead, she was treated to a pleasantly familiar scent; summer flowers. Tentatively, she peeked one eye open… but both opened quite quickly at the sight around her; a calm wooded glade bathed in the light of a glittering twilight.
Quite reasonably unsure of what to do, Sunset took a few steps… but suddenly found herself thrown back into a seated position. She looked and saw she was sitting in a rather plush chair that looked like it was made of living wood. “My apologies for the abrupt summons.” Sunset was surprised by that voice behind her; it sounded firm yet kind and with a sense of humor clear in his speech. “I simply had to speak with you; it’s a matter of some urgency.”
Sunset looked and was surprised by what she saw; a tall, lithe man walking past her with wild brown hair braided with brambles, skin the tone of oak wood, ears that looked almost elven but much more pointed, glittering black eyes like polished onyx, and a humorous yet crafty look on his face, all wrapped in fine green and brown robes with a brown leather cloak stitched all over with gleaming green leaves.
But what drew Sunset’s attention were the weapons he set next to his own chair; a broad leaf-blade longsword, a twisted staff, and a large longbow with live plant sprouts all over the wood. “Who…?” she asked, though she had a pretty good guess.
“Oh, of course; where are my manners?” the man smiled as he stood from his seat, flourishing his cape with a rustle of leaves. “I am King Oberon, Green Lord of Beasts and Husband to Queen Titania, at your service. Welcome to the Seelie Court.”
Sunset was stunned; Planeseer Brightwood had told her that someone from the Seelie Court had been attempting to contact her, but she didn’t expect them to call back immediately. “So you’re the one who…?”
“Indeed I am.” Oberon nodded simply as he stood upright. “But you must understand; as much as I’d love to say I saved you from that bitch Glasya out of the kindness of my heart, I’m sorry to say that’s not the case.”
“Then… why did you?” Sunset asked in confusion.
“Well, quite simply, my beloved wife has designs on your soul, and if she lost it to that devil whore, I’d never hear the end of it,” Oberon explained simply before an edge came to his voice. “And if Titania did get your soul, I’m pretty sure I’d never hear the end of it either. But y’know, lesser of two evils.”
“Wait, what?” Sunset asked in confusion.
Before Oberon could answer, the vine-like curtain to his chamber swung open, and a tall, exceptionally blessed fey woman with honey-colored skin and hair colored in the browns and oranges of autumn leaves strode into the room with a commanding yet still tricksy presence. “Ah, what perfect timing.” Oberon smiled as he stood to greet the lovely woman. “We were just talking about you, my love. To what do I owe the pleasure of you gracing my chambers with your presence?”
“Charming as ever though it may be, I am in no mood for your flattery at the moment, Oberon,” Titania said curtly as she turned to look at Sunset. “Is this her?”
“Indeed it is.” Oberon nodded.
“Excellent. Then we can get to business.” Titania said simply as she sat across from Sunset, who was a bit disconcerted as the Faery Queen’s dress left very little to the imagination, especially with the way she was sitting with her legs spread wide. “I’ll be blunt with you, mortal; what do you want in exchange?”
“For what?” Sunset asked, still confused.
“Your soul, imbecile.” Titania said simply, confusing Sunset even more. “What manner of power do I have to offer you in exchange for your soul?”
“I- I don’t understand,” an alarmed Sunset said. “I thought I already sold my soul to Glasya.”
“And you believe the word of a devil?” Oberon asked with a smirk.
“She showed it to me!” Sunset remembered, trying hard not to think about the pain and embarrassment associated with those memories.
“An infernal illusion, that’s all,” Oberon assured as he stood up. “Whatever you saw, it wasn’t your soul.” Suddenly, with a firm and swift move, Oberon slammed the heel of his palm on Sunset’s sternum and pulled it back, a fiery red essence following it. “This is your soul. And as you can see, you still have full ownership for now.”
“What? But-” Sunset’s mind was reeling with questions, but before she could make any of them known, the chamber was suddenly flooded by what smelled like the stink of the ocean and rotting fish. “Blugh! What is that?!”
“Blast it all; how dare he defile our lands.” Oberon scowled, turning back toward Titania as he let Sunset’s soul float back to her. “Looks like we’re going to have to pick this up some other time, my dear.”
“So it would seem.” Titania rolled her eyes as she stood, holding a diamond-tipped wand at the ready as she handed her husband his sword. Sunset was confused and started to turn but was suddenly pulled down hard into her chair as branches of it grasped her shoulders and held her in place, clearly at Titania’s command. “Do not look upon him, child; he and his ilk are beyond mortal comprehension. He may petition for your patronage, as will countless others throughout the planes; I ask only that you consider my offer above all others.”
“What are you talking about?!” Sunset asked, growing angry now.
“Simply put?” Oberon asked with a smirk as he drew his sword, its green and gold blade gleaming. “Well, I suppose one might say that your soul is, um… up for auction.”
“And so I ask again; consider my bid before any others.” Titania requested simply before Sunset suddenly heard an ear-splitting ring resound through the glade, echoing painfully in her ears.
Almost immediately, she woke from her Trance with a jolt, looking around in alarm. (Sunset Shimmer Perception roll [Dis. due to Daze] 18 or 14) Quite predictably, she didn’t see anything around that might’ve indicated who or what Oberon and Titania were fighting, but she did notice something interesting at her mantle’s collar; an interesting flower she had only seen on the mountains in Canterlot.
“Look who’s finally rejoined the land of the living.” Sunset jumped as she heard Rainbow say that, looking at her and the other girls loading up the wagon ready to roll.
“You okay there, sugarcube? Ya look a mite tongue-tied.” Applejack asked.
“Uh, yeah. Y-yeah, I’m fine.” Sunset stammered as she stood up. (Sunset Shimmer Deception roll 8 vs. Applejack Insight roll [Adv.] Dirty 20 or 5) Applejack just raised an eyebrow at her friend’s frankly pitiful attempt at lying, so Sunset just sighed and relented. “Alright, fine. I’ll tell you guys on the road; I don’t wanna keep the dragon waiting any longer than we have to.”
“Good call.” Rainbow nodded as the group quickly finished breaking down their camp and boarded the wagon, rolling down the path with Applejack at the reins.
“So do tell, Darling; what’s wrong?” Rarity asked as the wagon rolled onward.
“Alright well…” Sunset said nervously, unsure of how to explain this. She took a deep breath to steel her nerves (Sunset Shimmer Constitution roll Nat 20), which certainly helped as she sat firmly.
But before she could even say anything… “You wrote your character as having sold her soul for power but you didn’t specify who you sold it to, so since we ended up in this world, your soul’s basically been up for grabs to whoever gave you the best offer so for the last few days, you’ve been having nightmares about demons and faeries making bids,” Pinkie said in what seemed like one breath before her mouth spread into a wide toothy grin with a small Squee.
Sunset just looked at the gnome in shock. “I… I don’t… how?!” she asked seriously.
“Just a hunch.” Pinkie shrugged with a grin. Sunset just sighed and decided to leave it to avoid the headache – she knew better than to question one of Pinkie’s famous hunches.
“Wait a minute, your soul is being auctioned off?!” asked Rainbow.
“Yeah, and so far, the only two bidders who’ve been decent enough to introduce themselves are the princess of Hell and a fairy queen,” Sunset answered. “Who knows how many others there will be?”
(Twilight Sparkle Wisdom roll 19) Twilight was nervous hearing this. “Those are Warlock patrons,” she said in concern.
“Why would they be calling her; she’s already a sorcerer,” Fluttershy asked nervously.
“Multiclassing; benefits of two different classes at once,” Twilight explained simply. “I think these nightmares are signs that the world might be trying to get you to… sort of multiclass into Warlock.”
“Think the rest of us should see if we should? Like, how would we even do that in this world?” Rainbow asked.
“I don’t know.” Twilight shrugged. “I mean, most classes can just be learned as normal.”
“Why don’t we just see where the chips fall on our way back to our world?” Sunset suggested, still fairly nervous about this whole thing.
“Sounds fine to me.” Applejack shrugged as the wagon kept rolling. “Looks to me we’re still a good ways off from the town.”
“Well, on the plus side, at least we haven’t encountered any of those bandits Donaghy warned us about.” (??? Attack roll 21 w/ Shortbow – Wagon Cover AC 11) No sooner had Rarity said that than an arrow suddenly shot through the wagon’s canvas canopy and stuck in the seat right next to her, immediately followed by wild hollering that frightened the horses.
The group quickly looked out the side of the wagon and saw about 11 bandits cresting the hill. “You just had to say it, didn’t you?” Rainbow asked Rarity sarcastically.
“Get us outta here!” Sunset yelled.
“Hyah!” Applejack barked with a crack of the reins, goading the horses into a powerful gallop trailing the wagon behind.
“I think we’re okay,” Rainbow noted; the bandits were all on foot, so she was almost certain they’d be fine. “Do not slow down, AJ.”
“Ah ain’t intendin’ to,” Applejack assured as the wagon kept right on rolling.
“Lemme try and buy us some time.” Sunset quickly moved to the back of the wagon, watching the bandits getting closer as they charged the wagon before she clapped her hands together, heat smoldering between them. (Sunset Shimmer Spell Attack roll 24 w/ Burning Hands 2nd Level – Bandit Captain-1 AC 15, Bandit Captain-2 AC 15) With a firm thrust forward, a sheet of fire blasted from Sunset’s hands (Bandit Captain-1 Dex Save 8, Bandit Captain-2 Dex Save 9 – Sunset Shimmer Spell Save DC 13 – Damage Rolls: Bandit Captain 1 -13, Bandit Captain 2 -12 – Bandit Captain 1 52HP, Bandit Captain 2 53HP) and roasted the two bandits who got too close, making them scream in pain as they were forced to stop as the others gathered around them, stopping. “Okay, we’re definitely clear now.” However, she had a sneaking suspicion that they would see those bandits at some point in the future.
Not that it mattered very much either way; with the wagon going at this brisk clip, it wasn’t long before the group reached the coastal town of Hartben, the smell of the ocean upon them first as Applejack slowed the wagon down, letting it roll safely down the streets under the suddenly stormy skies. “Oof… not lookin’ forward to this part,” she remarked, fanning her face with her hat as she turned a bit green.
“Seasickness hitting you already, AJ? We’re not even on the boat yet.” Rainbow remarked.
“Ah’ll be fine. Just… don’t expect me to be at the top of my game once we’re out there.” Applejack said simply.
“I think we can manage.” Twilight shrugged, her tone more hopeful than anything as the wagon stopped near the docks. “For now, let’s see about finding a boat to the island.”
“I can handle that.” Rarity smiled as she deftly hopped down from the wagon and walked over to a rather grizzled half-orc woman. “Excuse me, darling; my friends and I were hoping to find a ship for a voyage.”
“Then you’d best look somewhere else, girly.” the half-orc remarked brusquely. “Harbor’s closed.”
“Why; what’s going on?” asked Sunset.
“Storms have been rollin’ in one day after another.” the half-orc said simply. “Makes sailin’ more treacherous than you’d expect. Then there’s the raids to worry about.”
“Raids?” Fluttershy asked in worry.
“Aye, soon as ships leave port, they’re attacked.” the half-orc answered. “There’s somethin’ in the water, says I.”
“Can ya say what it is too?” Applejack asked.
“Nah, all I know is it’s keepin’ folk like me from work.” the half-orc remarked in annoyance. “Kin can’t live on good intentions.”
“Got that right,” Applejack agreed. “Still, know any particularly brave or stupid sailors who might be willin’ to help us out?” (Applejack Persuasion roll 18)
(Sailor Insight roll 11) The half-orc raised an eyebrow but shrugged. “Your funeral. Best place to look would be at the tavern.” She pointed down the dockside. “It’s called the Twelve Iron Shark; can’t miss it.”
“Thanks.” Sunset nodded as they rode the wagon over to the tavern, the iron shark fin sign making it just as obvious as the half-orc said.
When they arrived, Applejack lashed the horses to a hitching post outside before they went inside, finding it… kind of dead; there were plenty of patrons but they all seemed bored – not what Rainbow was expecting from a sea town’s tavern. “This is disappointing.”
“Well, you can be disappointed later; I’m gonna see about gettin’ our parkin’ set,” Applejack remarked as she walked over to the bar, a clearly disgruntled man wiping out a tankard. “Beggin’ yer pardon, pardner, but my friends and I parked our wagon outside and-”
“Spot in the stables will cost ya five silver a day.” the barkeep interrupted.
Applejack was a bit put off by this but shrugged as she checked her pocket – she only had two silver on her, so she retrieved a gold coin instead. “Guess that means we’ve got a spot through tomorrow.” she shrugged and set the coin on the counter. (-1GP)
The barkeep simply took the coin and tossed it into a small bucket under the bar. “I’ll have someone see to it,” he said simply, still not even looking Applejack in the eye.
Applejack was a bit offended by this as she walked to the table her friends were at. “Nice fella,” she remarked.
“Guess we’d better see about finding a ship.” Twilight shrugged.
“Where do we even start?” Applejack asked. “Port’s closed, remember? It’s not like there’s some cap’n dad-burn fool enough to sail out in a storm with a port under siege.”
That was when the tavern door opened and in strode a blue-skinned woman in unusual chainmail over garb befitting of a rugged swashbuckler with two large boomerang-like blades lashed to her back, her long green hair in a tight ponytail, but what was interesting was that her hands were quite clearly webbed, along with the fins sprouting from the backs of her thighs. She glanced around the tavern and gave an almost arrogant sneer as she walked to the bar. “You ever get tired of jinxing us, AJ?” Rainbow remarked to her friend with a smirk.
“No kidding; that’s not just any sailor – she’s a triton,” Twilight remarked. “They evolved underwater; she could absolutely help us.” With that in mind, Twilight stood up and walked over to the bar where the triton was sitting, bent over a drink. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”
“Be my guest; don’t see anyone else’s name there.” the triton said simply, a clear sense of pride in her voice.
“Thank you.” Twilight smiled as she sat. “Speaking of names, mine is Twilight Sparkle. My friends and I are looking for a ship and captain for a short voyage.”
The triton followed Twilight’s thumb and looked over at the others, who all smiled politely. “Is that right?” the triton remarked with a raised eyebrow as she looked back at Twilight. “Well, I’m afraid your voyage will be shorter than you think since you clearly haven’t heard about the harbor being closed.”
“We heard. I don’t suppose you know what’s in the water that’s attacking ships?” Twilight asked.
“Indeed I do, I’m afraid.” the triton sighed in annoyance. “Merrow and sahuagin.”
(Twilight Sparkle Wisdom roll Dirty 20) “Ah, I guess that’s why you’re here then.” Twilight nodded in understanding; she knew those two more monstrous races of the ocean were no friend of the tritons.
“Yes, their forces have lain siege to my homeland Natathis as well.” the triton nodded. “I was sent to locate their main forces and rout their advance.”
“Didn’t work out?” Twilight asked in understanding.
“No.” she shrugged in return, her large blades rattling on her back. “All I’ve managed is to determine that they were coming from somewhere in the area of this harbor.”
“Hm? Then… maybe we can help each other out?” Twilight suggested.
“How do you mean?” the triton asked, growing interested.
Twilight quickly looked around to see if anyone was listening in. (Twilight Sparkle Perception roll 14) She wasn’t looking very closely but it looked clear, so she leaned back over to the triton. “We help you with the sahuagin, you give us a ride to the Leviathan’s Maw.”
The triton appeared surprised. “The Maw? What business have you there?”
Before Twilight could answer, a loud scream came from near the harbor quickly followed by an almost feral snarl. The other girls quickly jumped from their seats at the sound of it. “Sounds like we got work to do,” Applejack remarked. “C’mon now, ladies.” Immediately, her friends dashed out the door.
Twilight was surprised but shrugged at the triton. “Duty calls,” she said simply and ran out the door after her friends… to see a large horde of vicious-looking beasts that looked like humanoid fish near the docks, their mere presence scaring people away from them.
“Yikes. Someone hit these tritons with the ugly stick.” Rainbow remarked.
“Those aren’t tritons; they’re sahuagin.” Twilight corrected as she readied her staff. “And it looks like it’s time for us to take them down.”
“Fine by me,” Sunset smirked as she swung her staff to the ready, her hands already smoldering. “Let’s do this.”
(Roll Initiative! – Order as Follows: Sunset Shimmer 18, Sahuagin-5 17, Pinkie Pie 16, Spike 15, Applejack 15, Rainbow Dash 14, Sahuagin-2 14, Rarity 12, Sahuagin-6 12, Sahuagin-7 12, Fluttershy 11, Twilight Sparkle 9, Sahuagin-8 9, Sahuagin Priestess 8, Sahuagin-4 8, Sahuagin-1 6, Sahuagin-9 5, Sahuagin-10 Nat 1)
Sunset was first to step forward toward one of the beasts, swinging her staff with some impressive martial arts moves (Sunset Shimmer Attack roll [Versatile]Dirty 20 w/ Quarterstaff – Sahuagin-6 AC12 – Damage Roll 5 – Sahuagin-6 -5 – 17HP) before swinging it hard into the left side of his face, knocking him a bit off-balance before letting out a powerful roar (Sunset Shimmer uses Mantle of Flame ability), surrounding herself in a swirl of fire.
Another snarled in a guttural language at Sunset before it charged her (Sahuagin-5 Multiattack roll {1} 9 w/ Bite, {2} 12 w/ Spear – Sunset Shimmer AC11 – Damage Roll 4 – Sunset Shimmer -4 – 23HP). The bite aimed for her arm only grazed her mantle but the wicked spear thrust at her waist found its mark, making her cry out in pain. (Sahuagin-5 takes Fire Damage of 5 from Mantle of Flame – 17HP) But the fire that burned up his arm was enough to make him regret that attack as he recoiled in pain.
Pinkie quickly saw her friend get hurt and bellowed out a battle cry as she charged with her hammer (Pinkie Pie Attack roll 17 w/ Light Hammer – Sahuagin-5 AC12 – Damage Roll 4 – Sahuagin-5 -4 – 13HP), bonking him in the back of the head and making him stumble right back into Sunset’s shoulder (Sahuagin-5 takes Fire Damage of 5 from Mantle of Flame – 8HP), burning his face and forcing him to stumble back again.
Spike smirked and quickly flitted from Twilight’s arm toward this aggressor, his stinger at the ready (Spike Attack roll 23 w/ Stinger – Sahuagin-5 AC12 – Damage Roll 4 – Sahuagin-5 -4 – 4HP – Sahuagin-5 Con Save 6 – Save DC 11), which plunged straight into the beast’s neck, making it snarl in anger before it suddenly slumped and fell to the ground (Sahuagin-5 is unconscious).
“This’s gettin’ fun!” Applejack smirked, her eyes suddenly turning red (Applejack uses Rage) as she charged another of the sahuagin with her hammer. (Applejack Attack roll 16 w/ Warhammer – Sahuagin-7 AC12 – Damage Roll [Versatile, Rage Bonus] 9 – Sahuagin-7 -9 – 13HP) With a mighty heft, she swung her hammer right into one of its arms, quite clearly shattering the bone judging from the disgusting sound it made and the pained snarl from its lips.
“You got that right!” Rainbow smiled, before eyeing another sahuagin in front of her. “Time to see what I can do with some magic.” She drew her swords and tapped her holy amulet, which glowed with golden light. “I don’t know if you can hear me Pelor, but I could really use some help here.” She knew that prayer wasn’t official (Rainbow Dash casts Divine Favor 1st Level) but judging by how the golden light from her amulet spread down the blades of her swords, it was enough. With a smirk, she then tapped the geode in her medal (Rainbow Dash activates Geode of Loyalty) and shot straight toward the sahuagin in her sights (Rainbow Dash Attack roll [Finesse] Dirty 20 w/ Shortsword – Sahuagin-2 AC12 – Damage Roll [+ Divine Favor damage] 11 – Sahuagin-2 -11 – 11HP), slashing straight across its waist with a rainbow contrail, a golden glow from its wound, and an awesome splatter of blood. “Whoo! I love this!”
Reasonably enraged, the sahuagin she just attacked lunged at Rainbow Dash (Sahuagin-2 Multiattack roll {1} 11 w/ Claws, {2} 5 w/ Bite – Rainbow Dash AC16), but she just sidestepped the beast with a cocky smirk. “Not even close!” she smiled.
“Save the taunting, Darling.” Rarity remarked as she raised her rapier and charged the sahuagin Sunset had first attacked (Rarity Attack roll [Finesse, Dueling Style] Dirty 20 w/ Rapier – Sahuagin-6 AC12 – Damage Roll 8 – Sahuagin-6 -8 – 9HP), striking firmly into his shoulder and sending him stumbling back.
The sahuagin snarled in anger as it raised its spear and gnashed its teeth (Sahuagin-6 Multiattack roll {1} 10 w/ Spear, {2} 14 w/ Bite – Rarity AC14 – Damage Roll 5 – Rarity -5 – 22HP). The spear missed by a few inches, but in his charge, the sahuagin got a good angle and bit hard into Rarity’s wrist, making her scream in pain though she quickly shook the beast off and looked at her bleeding wrist… and damaged clothes, which upset her more.
Seeing the opening, another sahuagin near Rarity, seemingly smelling her blood, charged her wildly with its own claws and jaws (Sahuagin-7 Multiattack roll [Adv. w/ Blood Frenzy] {1} 6 or 8 w/ Claws, {2} 13 or 21 w/ Bite – Rarity AC14 – Damage Roll 4 – Rarity -4 – 18HP) and while it missed the wild strike with its claws, it did get in a solid bite at her shoulder, making her scream in pain again.
Seeing her friends getting hurt like this, Fluttershy got angry and slid her staff onto her back before she touched her hand to her holly crown before extending her hand (Fluttershy casts Flame Blade 2nd Level), in which flamed a vicious-looking scimitar made of pure fire. Lashing out in fairly uncharacteristic anger, she charged the second sahuagin that bit Rarity (Fluttershy Melee Spell Attack roll 17 w/ Flame Blade – Sahuagin-7 AC12 – Damage Roll 13 – Sahuagin-7 -13 – 9HP), slicing across its back with the burning blade and making it screech in pain.
Another sahuagin charged at Twilight in anger at its allies’ pain, but Twilight quickly reacted. “Alsthus Balthrin!” she bellowed as she swung her staff (Twilight Sparkle casts Shield 1st Level), an invisible barrier forming around her just as the sahuagin swung its spear (Sahuagin-3 Multiattack roll {1} 12 w/ Spear, [2} Nat 1 w/ Bite – Twilight Sparkle AC16), but it just bounced off the shield and when it went to bite her, it stumbled past like an idiot. Clearly taking the opportunity (Twilight Sparkle Attack of Opportunity roll [Versatile] 14 w/ Quarterstaff – Sahuagin-3 AC12 – Damage Roll 8 – Sahuagin-3 -8 – 14HP), Twilight bashed it in the back of the head with her staff and knocked him onto his gut.
With that out of the way, Twilight turned her attention to the one female of all the sahuagin – undoubtedly a priestess if she’d read the game’s Monster Manual correctly – and smirked. “Better take you down first. Malleus Voltarinum!” (Twilight Sparkle Spell Attack roll 13 w/ Witch Bolt – Sahuagin Priestess AC12 – Damage Roll 14 – Sahuagin Priestess -14 – 19HP) With that incantation, a blistering bolt of blue magic shot from her staff and struck the priestess right in the midriff, knocking her back a bit.
One of the sahuagin closest to the priestess saw this attack and snarled in rage as it charged toward the wizard, but quickly changed its target to Rainbow with its spear at the ready. (Sahuagin-8 Multiattack roll {1} 5 w/ Spear, {w} 7 w/ Bite – Rainbow Dash AC16) Thankfully, neither its spear nor its bite did much other than scratch Rainbow’s armor, though it was clear even to her that the girls were outnumbered.
And that became clear as the priestess sneered at Twilight and raised her hands as if she was drawing a bow, a large javelin of light appearing in her hands (Sahuagin Priestess Spell Attack roll 12 w/ Guiding Bolt 1st Level – Twilight Sparkle AC16), which then swiftly fired but the pain from Twilight’s spell knocked her aim off and sent the javelin shooting past Twilight’s shoulder and exploding in the road behind her.
Another sahuagin snarled at the priestess’s apparent incompetence and charged at Twilight with his spear. (Sahuagin-4 Multiattack roll {1} 11 w/ Spear, {2} 10 w/ Bite – Twilight Sparkle AC16) Thankfully, Twilight’s shield spell stood strong and both of its attacks were easy for her to shrug off.
Another charged at Sunset instead (Sahuagin-1 Multiattack roll [Adv. w/ Blood Frenzy] {1} 7 or 10 w/ Claws, {2} 18 or 12 w/ Bite – Sunset Shimmer AC11 – Damage Roll 5 – Sunset Shimmer -5 – 18HP), and while she did deftly block its claws with her staff, the bite on her hand did definitely get her. “Ow! Dick!” she scowled (Sahuagin-1 takes Fire Damage of 5 from Mantle of Flame – Sahuagin-1 -5 – 17HP), glad the fire surrounding her did its job in pushing the beast back.
Another – the one who had apparently somehow just woken up from being poisoned by Spike – charged at Fluttershy (Sahuagin-5 Multiattack roll [Dis. by Poison] {1} 6 or 3 w/ Claws, {2} 14 or 5 w/ Bite – Fluttershy AC15), bashing against her shield and frightening her greatly with its gnashing teeth.
The last of them charged at Applejack hungrily (Sahuagin-10 Multiattack roll {1} 13 w/ Spear, {2} Nat 1 w/ Bite – Applejack AC12 – Damage Roll [halved by Rage] 2 – Applejack -2 – 34HP), just barely striking her shoulder with its spear, but when it too stumbled past like an idiot when it went for a bite, Applejack raised her hammer high (Applejack Attack of Opportunity roll [Versatile, Rage Bonus] 17 w/ Warhammer – Sahuagin-10 AC12 – Damage Roll 9 – Sahuagin-10 -5 – 17HP), smashing its back as it snarled in pain.
“Okay, I’m getting really annoyed right now,” Sunset remarked, her eyes still burning as the fire surrounded her, glaring over at the priestess. “Malleus Voltarinum!” (Sunset Shimmer Spell Attack roll 17 w/ Witch Bolt 1st Level – Sahuagin Priestess AC12 – Damage Roll 10 – Sahuagin Priestess -10 – 9HP) The bolt shot from Sunset’s hand and struck the priestess in the back, making her snarl angrily at the double-team.
The first sahuagin to attack tried to strike again (Sahuagin-5 Multiattack roll [Dis. by Poison] {1} 16 or 12 w/ Claws, {2} 10 or 7 w/ Bite – Sunset Shimmer AC11 – Damage Roll 3 – Sunset Shimmer -3 – 15HP), but only got in a swift graze across her shoulder with its claws and missed its chance to bite her as she held him back with her staff (Sahuagin-5 takes Fire Damage of 5 from Mantle of Flame – Sahuagin-5 -5 – -1HP), the fire surrounding her and her staff burning the beast as Sunset kicked it off the dock into the water.
Pinkie quickly turned around and attacked the other sahuagin closest to Sunset (Pinkie Pie Attack roll 12 w/ Light Hammer – Sahuagin-1 AC12 – Damage Roll 4 – Sahuagin-1 -4 – 18HP), bashing its face in with her hammer.
Spike swooped over the battlefield and flew over to one of the uninjured sahuagin, blasting it with green fire (Spike Attack w/ Breath Weapon – Sahuagin-8 DEX Save roll 0 – DEX Save DC 11 – Damage Roll 11 – Sahuagin-8 -11 – 11HP) that burned it badly.
Applejack snarled as she swung her hammer downward again (Applejack Attack roll [Versatile, Rage Bonus] 17 w/ Warhammer – Sahuagin-10 AC12 – Damage Roll 11 – Sahuagin-10 -11 – 6HP), smashing the shoulder of the sahuagin prone before her, making it screech in agony.
Rainbow appeared more confident as she saw the tide turning in her friends’ favor and swung at her own opponent again (Rainbow Dash Attack roll [Finesse] 21 w/ Shortsword – Sahuagin-2 AC12 – Damage Roll [+ Divine Favor damage] 13 – Sahuagin-2 -13 – -2HP), this strike cleaving its head clean off. “We got this now, baby!” she cheered.
“Let’s not get too overeager, darling!” Rarity pointed out, her bite-wounds causing her no end of grief as she swung her rapier at her first attacker (Rarity Attack roll [Finesse, Dueling Style] 19 w/ Rapier – Sahuagin-6 AC12 – Damage Roll 9 – Sahuagin-6 -9 – 0HP), striking it through the throat and sending it to the ground.
Outraged, her second attacker lashed out at her (Sahuagin-7 Multiattack roll [Adv. w/ Blood Frenzy] {1} 10 or 10 w/ Bite, {2} 7 or 10 w/ Claws – Rarity AC16), but Rarity deftly deflected all his strikes and knocked him away.
(??? Initiative 13) The sahuagin snarled angrily at Rarity… (??? Attack roll 12 w/ Tapal (Longsword) – Sahuagin-7 AC12 – Damage Roll 9 – Sahuagin-7 -9 – 0HP) until a large blade-point shot through its torso from behind and sent it crumpling to the ground, revealing the triton from earlier, now wielding both her large blades. “Hope you don’t mind me horning in,” she remarked.
“Not at all.” Rarity noted in relief. “Rarity, at your service.”
“Belthyn Jenodath, at yours.” the triton introduced herself.
Fluttershy appeared equally surprised by Belthyn’s sudden appearance but tried not to think about it as she slashed at the sahuagin on the ground with her flaming sword. (Fluttershy Melee Spell Attack roll 22 w/ Flame Blade – Sahuagin-3 AC12 – Damage Roll 14 – Sahuagin-3 -14 – 0HP) With one blazing slash, another of the sahuagin was beheaded and crumpled to the ground.
Twilight was relieved to see the tide turning in their favor as she maintained her spell on the priestess (Further Witch Bolt Damage against Sahuagin Priestess 8 – Sahuagin Priestess -8 – 8HP), burning harder at her body.
Unfortunately, Twilight hadn’t accounted for her shield spell wearing off now as another sahuagin snarled as it attacked her (Sahuagin-8 Multiattack roll {1} 10 w/ Spear, {2} 14 w/ Bite – Twilight Sparkle AC11 – Damage Roll 5 – Twilight Sparkle -5 – 9HP), and while its spear just barely missed her, the bite on her shoulder hit its mark and made her scream in pain.
The priestess saw this as her opening and waved her hands over the pain of the spell (Sahuagin Priestess casts Spiritual Weapon 2nd Level), summoning a spectral trident above her head which she sent flying at Twilight. (Sahuagin Priestess Spell Attack 7 w/ Spiritual Weapon – Twilight Sparkle AC11), but being hit by two Witch Bolts at once threw her aim off more and the trident flew clean past Twilight’s head.
One of the sahuagin charged at Fluttershy (Sahuagin-4 Multiattack roll {1} 14 w/ Bite, {2} 8 w/ Claws – Fluttershy AC15), but her shield stopped the beast dead, though she could feel the wood in her shield groaning underneath its siege.
The one closest to Sunset attempted to strike at Pinkie (Sahuagin-1 Multiattack roll {1} 12 w/ Spear, {2} Nat 1 w/ Bite – Pinkie Pie AC13), but not only did it miss with its spear, but it missed by a mile when it dove to try and bite her, landing face-first on the dock and letting Pinkie jump over it (Pinkie Pie Attack of Opportunity roll Nat 20 w/ Light Hammer – Sahuagin-1 AC12 – Critical Hit!: Damage Roll [Doubled] 8 – Sahuagin-1 -8 – 10HP), bashing its skull hard with her hammer.
The one prone below Applejack snarled as it stood up and lashed out at the cowgirl with its claws (Sahuagin-10 Multiattack roll {1} 15 w/ Claws, {2} 8 w/ Bite – Applejack AC12 – Damage Roll [halved by Rage] 1 – Applejack -1 – 33HP), but it only scratched her arm and made her angrier.
Sunset continued her spell on the priestess (Further Witch Bolt Damage against Sahuagin Priestess 9 – Sahuagin Priestess -9 – -1HP), finally knocking her down from her perch. “Whew. Finally,” she said in a sense of relief.
(Pinkie Pie Attack roll 14 w/ Light Hammer – Sahuagin-1 AC12 – Damage roll 4 – Sahuagin-1 -4 – 14HP) Pinkie just bonked the sahuagin under her again, clearly still breaking something but finding it strangely fun.
“No kidding; I’m getting tired out here,” Spike remarked as he flew over to the sahuagin attacking Fluttershy (Spike Attack roll 17 w/ Stinger – Sahuagin-4 AC12 – Damage Roll 4 – Sahuagin-4 -4 – 18HP – Sahuagin-4 CON Save roll 7 – CON Save DC 11 – Sahuagin-4 is Poisoned), which plunged into its back and made it screech in pained anger as it felt the poison in its veins.
Applejack decided enough was enough as she hefted her hammer once again (Applejack Attack roll [Versatile, Rage Bonus] 18 w/ Warhammer – Sahuagin-10 AC12 – Damage Roll 8 – Sahuagin-10 -8 – -2HP), finally smashing its head into pulp.
Rainbow quickly dashed over to Twilight’s side and swung her swords at the sahuagin who attacked her (Rainbow Dash Attack roll [Finesse] 24 w/ Shortsword – Sahuagin-8 AC12 – Damage Roll 9 – Sahuagin-8 -9 – 2HP – Rainbow Dash Attack roll [Finesse, Off-hand] 12 w/ Shortsword – Sahuagin-8 AC12 – Damage Roll 7 – Sahuagin-8 -7 – -5HP), slicing both its arms off in a streak of rainbow and golden light.
“Only two left.” Rarity smiled, glancing at Belthyn. “Shall we?”
“After you.” Belthyn nodded simply, allowing Rarity to charge one of the remaining sahuagin (Rarity Attack roll [Finesse, Dueling Style] 14 w/ Rapier – Sahuagin-4 AC12 – Damage Roll 11 – Sahuagin-4 -11 – 7HP), stabbing it clean through the thigh for what was undoubtedly some serious damage.
Belthyn gladly charged the other with her two large blades (Belthyn Jenodath Attack roll Nat 20 w/ Tapal (Longsword) – Sahuagin-1 AC12 – Critical Hit!: Damage Roll [Doubled] 18 – Sahuagin-1 -18 – -4HP), cleaving off its head with one swift slash.
Fluttershy – now safe – stood up and moved over to Rarity, examining her shield as she went to see that it had indeed been damaged pretty badly. But she didn’t worry about that for the moment as she dispelled her flame blade and set her hand on Rarity’s shoulder (Fluttershy casts Cure Wounds 1st Level – Healing Roll 9 – Rarity +9 – 27HP), a bright green energy flowing from her hand to her friend’s body and healing all her wounds immediately. “Thank you, Darling.” Rarity smiled in gratitude.
“Let’s end this,” Twilight said firmly as she raised her staff. “Mysto Missilia!” (Twilight Sparkle Spell Attack 16 w/ Magic Missile 1st Level – Sahuagin-4 – AC12 – Damage Roll First Dart 4, Second Dart 5, Third Dart 3 – Sahuagin-4 -12 – -5HP) The purple energy darts instantly materialized at her staff’s head and shot at the last remaining sahuagin, with one striking into each shoulder and then one right between its eyes, sending it crumpling to the ground.
(End of Combat)
Finally, surrounded by dead sahuagin and exhausted, the girls were able to relax. “Whew… well, that was thoroughly unenjoyable.” Rarity remarked as she sheathed her rapier.
“Tell me about it. I’m kinda glad we’re all still… y’know… alive.” Rainbow agreed.
“Well, I think we have our new friend to thank for that partially,” Sunset noted as she walked over to Belthyn, dispelling her flaming aura (Mantle of Flame deactivates). “We haven’t been introduced. I’m Sunset Shimmer.”
“Belthyn Jenodath.” the triton nodded as she sheathed her blades on her back, glancing over at Twilight. “Your friend there tells me you’re looking for passage to the Leviathan’s Maw.”
“That’s right. Think you can give us a ride?” Sunset asked.
“I suppose I can arrange something,” Belthyn remarked with a grin. “Assuming you’re willing to share the nature of your quest with me. Out of professional courtesy.”
“Ah s’pose that’s the least we can do.” Applejack shrugged.
“Alright then, we’ll tell you. But do you mind if we go patch up a bit first?” asked Sunset.
“Alright, I suppose.” Belthyn shrugged. “I have a small craft I rented down at the end of the docks. Do whatever you have to and meet me there.”
“Thanks.” Sunset nodded as Belthyn walked down the docks. “Guess we’d better break out those potions the queen gave us.”
“Guess so,” Twilight remarked as she handed Sunset a potion and took one for herself, which they both drank down. (-2 Potion of Healing – Sunset Shimmer 25HP, Twilight Sparkle 14HP) With the potions downed, the two mages were almost immediately healed and revitalized.
Spike skittered up Twilight’s shoulder and looked over at Sunset. “Are we sure telling Belthyn about the dragon egg is a good idea?” he asked.
“She seems trustworthy enough. As long as we make sure we only tell her and then get the egg to the dragon as soon as possible, I think we’ll be fine.” Sunset shrugged.
“I hope you’re right,” Twilight remarked as the group moved back toward their wagon to retrieve the egg, ready to complete this quest.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Royal Pony Dude · 19k words · 12 2 · 293 views
Stats
Page generated in 0.059 seconds
Total duration
974 users online
1,562,819 hits today, 2,782,760 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Like Kirk said about Spocks guesses? Trusts them more than other persons facts?
If thats the fight they have just with a patrol or scouting party, any leader with just a few extra class levels is going to be a right pain to deal with. Especially with Chekovs Egg there?
Warlock Patron bidding war over Sunset's soul. Damn, this is going to be wild. I was Sunset, I'd probably go with a Celestial patron or Titania (who I like being described as a queen with queen-sized "blessings"). With two different battles this chapter, I'm glad the girls have an NPC ally with them to return the egg.
If any of the others were to Multiclass, I'd say that Rarity and Applejack get some Monk levels for Martial Arts bonuses, especially since you can use Strength or Dexterity for Monk damage. Plus, Rarity would get Unarmored Defense to kick butt in wonderful attire. For Rainbow Dash, Fighter to get Action Surge and a Fighting Style would help a lot.