This story starts with our brave heroes clinging to the side of a Theran Airship that was quickly gaining altitude.

The airship, captained by the son of a Theran Councillor was in a state of array after some of the ground forces were confronted earlier by our heroes. Much to their chagrin the party of heroes swarmed over the railing to have a second go at them in a small time period.

The ship had a number of individuals toward the front of the airship in silks and well made garments, while towards the sides and the backs you had a mix of elves, humans and dwarfs, dressed in non descript clothes and utilitarian armour. The airship was dominated by a large set of metal grates in the centre rear portion of the vessel that allowed access to the rowing benches, pulley slaves and general slave holding pens. The top of deck featured a front and rear catapult, and officer’s cabin with the steering controls on top and a boom system rigged up with nets like fishing trawlers. The crew were surprised by the intrusion, but managed to react afterwards and seriously threaten our heroes, who all finished in some state of disarray.

Grey started of the swarming ruck by leaping down and hoisting a guy towards the railing. The slaver managed to land hard on the stone railing before slumping overboard. Grey cast Wood skin on himself to prepare for a large battle, only to have it dispelled by a mage standing on the steering deck. Grey then managed to battle two slavers who had stepped up to subdue him, using Air Dances and Swift Kicks to bring them low. He then was hard pressed by a group of slavers who managed poke him a few times with a spear and to hook him in a net. He was rescued by Arahan’s timely intervention and managed to leap up and dispatch another slaver before being netted again. Whilst netted he was dragged towards the slave pens, where they obviously wanted to keep him locked down. Using his knife Grey sliced through the ties that bound and grabbing two slavers dropped to the slave deck below, where he was greeted with the sight of slaves going berserk after they had been freed, and the slavers were battered. He then, knowing a Troll Crystal Raider Drakkar was swarming towards the ship, encouraged the slaves not to run upstairs as it would end in unnecessary casualties on the slave’s side.

Bod the Windling flew into the hold of the ship seeing the pitiful slaves chained to the rowing benches and the fierce Trolls in the pulley cage. Using his nouse started freeing the Troll slaves employed to work the pulleys. With the inventive use of his dagger and the Trolls prodigious strength they soon freed all four of the slaves, who then ripped out the cage door and started to free the other slaves on the deck. Bod then flew back on deck and started to become a nuisance, casting Blazing Fists of Rage and attacking both the captain of the vessel and finishing off the mage that had been previously downed by Siegfried by pulping his head (in deference of another Windling that enjoyed harming defenceless bodies). Bod was also nigh on untouchable, with his high agility, and combination of Displace Image ensuring he went unscored by the captain sword. He grabbed the wheel but was overcome by psychic feedback from the vessel, and became a little dazed until the Troll vessel crashed into the side of the Theran one, sending him crashing to the ground.

Arahan managed to clamber over the deck before finding himself in hand to hand combat with one of the mates on the airship. He battled well and in a few rounds brought low the Air Sailor who repeatedly tried to whip him into shape, with a combination of his forged broadsword and Swift Kicks. His timely intervention into Grey’s first netting, by stepping up and slicing him out of the net kept Grey in the battle, and then he turned to face the wall of Theran slavers approaching him with spears and nets at the ready. Arahan flailed with his trusty blade and scored a few hits, whilst taking a few spear thrusts. Unfortunately he swung a little too wildly and the blade slipped from his slippery palm clattering through the steel grate to the slave deck below. As he lamented the loss of his blade the Theran’s took advantage of this and wrapped him tightly in a net, and proceeded to drag him to the slave deck grate, lift it and drop him in, even though he tried constantly to cut himself out with a dagger. Below deck he was able to free himself from the cursed net, and as he stood up to locate his blade he saw an Ork slave holding his beloved in his hands. He tried to Haggle with the Ork to gain possession back but ended up just enraging him to attack, but the Ork must have suffered the same kind of slippery handedness that afflicted Arahan causing the blade to fall back at Arahan’s feet. After he had regained his prize and stored it he was knocked over due to the impact of the Troll airship. He kept his cool advising others not to go above deck until things were settled.

Siegfried inelegantly clambered over the rail, pulling out his trusty bow. A target became obviously immediately after witnessing an obvious threat in a mage that had been casting spells at Grey. Siegfried’s arrow flew true and he scored a telling blow on the mage sending him sprawling to the ground. He then engaged in a little back and forth arrow battle with another archer at the other end of the airship, who was peppering his team with crossbow bolts. He took a few arrows and managed to hit his target on a number of occasions. In this time the mage had got up, applied a poultice, cast a spell of range finding before getting out a holy hand grenade of sleep he intended on lobbing on Arahan. Siegfried intervened and his arrow wounded the mage for a second time, with the mage releasing the bauble and it went off at the feet of a well dressed Dwarf Warrior, who was knocked out by the vapours. As the threat of the archer was subdued by the mists flying out of the strange device the mage had used Geoff turned his attention to one of the slavers approaching him with a spear. As Siegfried’s bowstring had snapped on his last shot he turned to his hand axe to rectify the solution, but even after scoring a few hits the slavers final thrust sent him reeling into unconsciousness.

The battle had raged across the deck, the opposing archer causing some issues, the mage unable to support magically due to a few well placed arrow shots, the air sailors making nuisances of themselves and the Theran slavers causing most of the issues.

The Troll Crystal Raider airship crashes into the side of the Theran slavers vessel, even after the Captain attempted to manoeuvre out of the way. The Trolls are over rails and on the deck lightning fast, but the Captain and the rest of the surviving crew surrender as soon as they have a chance. Bod the Windling flies down from his perch and declares that the ship was conquered by him and his team, and that his followers and the slaves are under his protection, but the Troll Raider Captain declares under law the vessel and the slaves are his, and he will also take the prisoners.

Grey and Arahan come up from below deck and Grey engages the Captain to haggle for the possession of the Theran Captain.

Next Week – Extreme Negotiations