>>5744954>>5744961>>5744969>18 vs 21 - Nikon blocks!> To disambiguate, Nikon sacrificed his initiative roll by jumping across to the enemy ship. Per Homer's system, missile attacks are mostly auto-hit, and therefore we only needed to roll wound vs block.Years of bandit raids in the chilly north of Hellas have taught you the value of reflex without thought, and you find that this lesson serves you well, even here, under the fierce noon-day heat of the Cyclades. You duck as you raise your shield, a bright disc, and feel the jolting blow of a bronze arrowhead turned aside, spinning wildly off into the brine. Advancing, shield high, towards the open trap-door to the hold you had seen previously, you dare to peek your unhelmed head over the rim of beaten bronze.
Past the milling pirates, only a few of which having seen you, their attentions mostly focused on the Salaminian ash* soon to head their way, you see the Euboean archer scrambling over the tilting stern of his ship, drifting further away on his fragment of the merchant ship – perhaps a good discuss toss away. As you descend the steep ladder into the hold, you catch a darkling flash through the air, whistling towards the Euboean, and the crack of Teukros’ bow – a sound you’ve become quite familiar with over the weeks at sea. Teukros’ shaft sails wide, rising unexpectedly on a blast of warm air – the Euboean idiotically stands to deliver a crude gesture to Teukros. His triumph is short-lived, as a second arrow plants itself into his heart with perfect accuracy, the work of a master archer. He topples into the sea, and having seen enough, you duck underneath the deck.
Moving in a crouch due to the low ceiling, you shoulder aside loose amphora, hanging slabs of salted pork, and crates of poor craftsmanship. It takes longer than you expected to thread your way through the hold, and at one point, you narrowly dodge the main ballast-stone of the vessel as it slides unmoored from its restraints, crushing crates and shattering pottery. Reaching the slave pens, the bruised and battered people inside are terrified of you, at first glance – shrinking back into the shadows of their prison. Above you, you hear the wild screams of the pirates – it seems that their morale has shattered entirely, noticing the demise of their captain. You hear the scampering of feet on the deck above, along with loud splashing, this informing you that some of these weakling men are choosing the sea’s embrace rather than death delivered by Salaminians.
*by this, I mean javelins>cont 