Flashpoint: Twin Galleys

The players of Proteus and Lhye got together with me on Friday night to steal a couple of galleys so that they can rescue more slaves from the Okeno Slaver Hulk docked outside of Okeno.  When the wind was starting to pick up after the calm, the two of them took their rowboat with Lenny, Lieutenant Marxus and two other sailors to a fishing town that had a small wooden fort and a couple of medium sized slave galleys (fitting about 32 men on the 8 oars at either side).  They silently cruised up below the docks where a gnoll and a Katapesh person were in conversation.

Proteus knew that as an aquatic creature his random appearance is less likely to sound an alarm then a stealthy human or other landlover simply drew himself up onto the docks.  Most people are superstitious about immediately attacking aquatic humanoids as they not only are likely to be peaceful (unless they're ugly-looking, in which case they're likely to be evil) but for all you know they have a battalion just out of sight below the water and have sent an emissary to talk to you.

Still, Proteus wasn't taking any chances so he used Perform Oratory and his Fascinate bardic ability to blarney them into a quiet stupor.  Lhye rose up from the rowboat like a disturbing infernal specter and stepped up onto the docks quietly behind them.  Proteus cast Beguiling Gift to give a potion of Hold Person to one of them.  Seeing his friend slump to the deck from the liquor roused the gnoll somewhat and when Lhye cast Sleep on the gnoll he snapped out of his confusion.  Proteus and Lhye won the Initiative, however, and Proteus struck him dead with a single piercing strike of his blood crystal trident.  Then the two did a coup de grace on the guard.

They tied their row boat to the galley and slowly and painfully rowed the galley back to their ship where they tied it behind the sloop.  Then they returned for the second galley and hurried off as fast as they could go.

Now they can beat in tight quarters about 120 extra people on their sloop and 100 on the galleys if they filled them close to overflowing.  With the wind behind them, they could be on their way home to Andoren within four or so days (though the burden would slow them down) but the galleys would need to row the way and thus would likely take about six days (still possible).

Lhye is desperately keen to liberate all 450 slaves from the hulk for fear of Okeno reliation against the survivors plus he's not eager to save only a couple hundred and have the others beg for freedom.  Proteus, on the other hand, would be happy enough to simply purchase or steal their own crew members back but is happy to rescue what he can and perhaps leave the other slaves mutinous on the hulk as a good way to cover their backs.  He is Neutral, after all, and it's a heroic and kindly action to save what they can anyhow.

Lhye's sudden pangs of conscience are a wee bit more ambitious, however.

It'll be interesting to see if they pull it off and whether the others buy into that ambition.  It won't be easy but it surely would make them a household name if they succeed.