Episode 2

Myrmidon
R7

The desperate myrmidon shouts a battle cry and charges at Ivor, spear and shield in hand.

Ivor
R7

Ivor slaps his net over the head and shoulders of the myrmidon, capturing his spear and shield. Nonchalantly Ivor draws his knife and begins to stab the Heshbaan. There is little the man can do to resist. One strike hits the man in the torso, puncturing a lung. The next severs right through his carotid artery, covering his neck in rich red blood. The man panics as he thrashes in the net.

As he bleeds and dies, Ivor jerks the myrmidon to the ground and then unwraps his net from the Heshbaan mercenary and his weapons.

Ivor twists and rolls his net, throwing it over his opposite shoulder as he walks away towards the center sunken level of the boat.

All 3 Attacks: Hit

Ivor

The cloud of fog is still clinging to the bow deck of the Korvaran. Ivor delves into the obscured area and gets low to the deck to look for his trident. Going directly to the area where he tossed it, it does not take long to find.

Glowing through the fog, Ivor can tell that the oil fire still burns over the rails, on the port bow hull sector. Ivor knows that it needs to be addressed soon before the fire shifts fully from oil to wood fuel.

Still, it is difficult to see in this fog.

Thorn

Thorn sees that the wound is from a blade, not an arrow. In a quick inspection he sees a bloodied karambit dagger on the deck. One of Bryn's blades. Entry was on the right of the neck, so the weapon had to have come from the starboard side. Valates must have pulled it out and dropped it after being hit.

Ivor and Bryn work together to free the chained oarsmen. Ivor shouts them into organization, forming a firefighter line. Within a few minutes the bow hull fire is doused. The fog dissipates as they are working. Ivor inspects the bow hull. The port side definitely has some blackening, but no severe structural damage. Over time some of the damaged boards will likely weaken and rot, but it is nothing that threatens the boat right now, and a repair could be done easily at a shipyard.

On the starboard bow, on the outside hull below the railing, Ivor sees the Korvaran ship's name written prominently. For those who can read: "Iron Eagle."

Though half or more of the crew cannot speak Yuoric, several can and translate commands to others. All of the freed oarsmen obey without delay. They are all attentive and quick to react, but still cautious and afraid. They quickly complete the grim task of dumping bodies overboard and swabbing the deck with fresh water. Ivor knows that the blood must be diluted and washed away before it sets into the wood under the heat of the rising sun.

As a result of the fight, there are four Heshbaan raiders who survived and are taken as prisoners, three of whom are injured:
(1) injured by very first javelin thrown by Maeriks on the Keshet. This guy was actually left alone on the Keshet, but was too scared injured or stupid to flee
(2) injured by Kray, a large slash wound on his face a downward across his chest. He's in the worst shape of all the injured.
(3) injured by Maeriks' pole shaft bash, face severely bruised
(4) uninjured, spared by Thorn

There are 13 oarsmen, those formerly chained. Most seem to be Heshbaans. Mixed in are maybe a few Kortellans (though racial ethnicity is not entirely recognizable between those groups) and two who have darker skin tone, likely Jbailian or Bishtu.


Directing the crew and captives, with Bryn's help on translation as necessary, Ivor and Kray are able to get a labor line going to lift, carry, and pass up all gear and wanted supplies from the Keshet to the Korvaran.

The Keshet continues to take on water. By the time the last of the supplies are lifted and the workers pulled back on board, the Heshbaan river boat is flooded and the rails fall beneath the surface. A few minutes more and it is pulled completely under, although the very top of the mast and the rolled sail tilts over but remains visible. The Keshet now sits on the floor of the Hodel River.

From Valates, Bryn scores a bag of coins that was wrapped up tightly and strapped on a waist holster. They are all Korvaran mint. The Korvaran gold coin is the Korvaran Eagle, in slang they are called Birds or Bright Birds. There are 180 Eagles.

Valates also has a smaller accessible coin pouch, with Heshbaan money. 7 shovalt (gp) and 22 keshat (sp)

One thin animal skin writing mat, folded and tucked into a leather fold carrier under Valates's breast plate. It looks like a list written in charcoal, some sort of tally of number of troops, their ethnicity, place of origin, rating on training level (1, 2, or 3), and a ship date (says "ship launch to Proll" - Proll is a major port in Korvar). By the numbers, it looks like it tracks the shipment of nearly 3500 mercenary troops over the last 6 months (right before winter, and then new entries in the recent spring months). Kray knows that those are pretty good numbers - a lot of troop movement.

Valates has good weaponry, all Korvaran forged by the look of it, so quality is well-known. Gladius, field knife, spear, shield. His armor is good, but it is definitely marked unmistakably in the style of a Korvaran soldier.

Assembling all of the loose change from dead Heshbaans is possible as well. It's not a lot, I don't want to track it, but let's just say that everyone adds a small batch of Heshbaan coinage to what they are already carrying in loose change for quick market purchases, small time bribes, tips, ales, food.