Pirates!

After another day of preparation and debriefing, the time came for the party's departure. Kuppies had finished enchanting the last of the magic items. The ship had been fully repaired. Richard had seen to it that the party was fully equipped, the ship was fully stocked, and horses were loaded on board. The day of departure was full of much fanfare, with both Richard and Rard escorting the party to the ship to see them off. Even the council from the island was there wishing them well.

It was a 4 day trip to the mainland. The first three days at sea were uneventful as the party did it's best to stay on guard and keep sharp. As the mainland began to come into view, they saw 2 ships engaged in combat. Using the equipment on board, the party was able to determine one ship was crewed by men, the other by Hobgoblins. They could count 4 Hobgoblin archers, in the crows nest, pelting the human ship. There were a couple groups of Hobgoblins ready to board, in addition to numerous others manning the ship. They could not determine how many there were in each boarding group.

As Kuppies steered the ship into melee range, the archers refocused their attacks on the party. One of the boarding parties took to the other ship while the second waited for the party. Battle lines were drawn as the ships reached each other and some quick attacks by the party, particularly, Mara taking out one of their controllers in one turn aided the party.

With the archers raining arrows down, and the boarding party forming a line, flanking was difficult to come by. THe party persisted and eventually Rudy made his way around the boarding party to do what he does best,dish damage.

Combat quickly became a slugfest with little change in either line. At that point, the remains of the other boarding party returned to the monster's ship. In an act of desperation, Alexander reached into his bag of tricks and using some alchemical agents, lit the monster's ship on fire. Realizing they could not compete with the party and keep their ship afloat, they withdrew and combat came to an end.