August 3, 2008

Crabs and Khrait
by Xaaxacus

The last weekend in July was declared Double Experience weekend, in an attempt to help draw new players to the game, and players could be seen adventuring everywhere throughout the land, taking advantage of the easy opportunity to level. Amid constant announcements of experience forms meeting up around the City, the Legion of Legends decided to take out a ship to plunder a nearby fae crab patch. The DM reported that the area was brimming with fae magic, and it seemed like the perfect time to lead an expedition.

After leaving the docks on the Man O'War A Laughing Arse, Weww called for adventurers of all levels to come join him on the ship. By the time we arrived at the patch, one and a half forms were filled with brave Medievians eager to gain experience from killing the crabs. We commenced our attack by skirting along the edges of the patch, running around the decks of the ship and killing crabs as they scrambled onboard. We seemed to have the situation well under control, so, after killing a group of sea termites who decided to feast on our ship, we plunged deep into the patch, daring the creatures to launch their best assault.

The minutes that followed flew by, filled with scorched crabs and hurried bloodbaths. Before we knew it, we had amassed a million fae on the ship, and we knew that the dreaded Khrait Scoutships from Afar would soon detect our magic and come after us. We called a seadragon and planned on retreating to the safety of the mainland, but decided against it at the last minute. After all, we were on a large, powerful vessel, and had more than enough manpower and deckhands to hold our own in a naval battle. A few adventurers left to journey elsewhere, but the majority of the crew stayed, pledging to aid in the fight to come.

The sky ripped open and three Scoutships appeared in a massive thunderstorm, beginning to slowly circle our ship. The captain called for volley after volley of shots to be launched at our enemies, but we soon realized that we were at a marked disadvantage. Not only were we outnumbered by far more agile ships, our guns were also ill-suited to ship to ship combat. We were on a Man O'War outfitted with dartflingers, which, while ideal for hunting serpents, had little effect against the sturdy hulls of other vessels.

We had no choice but to press on, though, and for the next hour we rushed around the ship repairing rooms as they were damaged, while trying to damage the sails of our foes enough to grapple them. The tide of battle slowly turned even further against us, though, and our ship was soon reduced to a mere patchwork of tattered sails and broken planks. A newly arrived firestorm did little to help the situation, and before long, even the deckhands were beginning to despair.

With hope all but abandoned, we channeled all of our efforts into going down in a blaze of glory, managing to destroy one of the attacking Sitharons just moments before we sunk beneath the waves. It was a disappointing end to our adventures on the seas, but the trip had been filled with fun and excitement for all. Maybe in the future more captains will follow suit and go crabbing in larger vessels - it's definitely worth the risk!