Things turn badly for the French. Their emissary and other civilians come out of the alchemist's house and run to the coast, protected by the remaining pro-French soldiers. They hesitate to go to the hills, then they decide to walk to the beach. Three of them take a small boat to row to the island near the beach, while their soldiers cross on foot with water to their knees. But their opponents can be seen in the background, they are coming, they will certainly catch them on this small island, there's no way out of there
Is it the end?!
But then
what is it? what appears behind the hill, at the astonishment of pro-English men-at-arms?
A SURPRISE !!!
A French ship, "La Grande-Ribaude" is coming!
(aaarg don't look too closely, it's not finished, I had hastily made the towers the previous day, but I wanted it to appear at the end of the game)
It's the banner of Louis d'Espagne (Luis de la Cerda), admiral of France in the 1340s.
Even the enemies like the surprise. First time we have a medieval ship in our games.
What a suspense! The secretary of the emissary, and the surviving pro-French soldiers, arrive on the island. They find a civilian who was hiding there. He is the nephew of the alchemist!
The pro-English men-at-arms realize that they'll lose any tactical advantage if they fight in the water. And they see the three civilians rowing away in the small boat - the alchemist is certainly one of them!
Yes! where there's no sand on the blue tarp, it means the water is too deep to cross!
No! a war horse with a caparison and carrying a fully armoured man-at-arms cannot swim!
Even if it moves its legs very quickly!
But we have cunning players. Notice the lone English longbowman (dressed in white) already taking position on the hill
The three civilians in the small rowing boat are very slow because they can' t row properly. The longbowman on the hill shoots at them, and hits one of them!
The old alchemist is hit!
The most important civilian (the emissary) then decides to bring the rowing boat back to the shore and surrender!
The pro-English players stop attacking, and carry away the wounded alchemist.
They have to improvise something quickly! They say they try to make a stretcher from the door of the fisherman's house; then they requisition the cart of the trader to carry the alchemist.
Meanwhile, the pro-French Bretons signal the French ship to come and save them.
The secretary of the emissary wants the alchemist's nephew to embark first on the "Grande-Ribaude"
A small boat is sent to fetch them and the remaining pro-French soldiers.
A localisation D12, and a cure test, are rolled. The alchemist has been severely wounded in the arm but he will survive.
SO:
The pro-English have brought back the alchemist; and also his son-in-law (who doesn't know anything); they have also captured the pro-French emissary (and being players, they intend to ransom him as hostage to pay their expenses and more!)
The pro-French have brought back the alchemist's nephew. Nobody had previously heard of him, but he knows almost as many things as his uncle.
The alchemist and his nephew both strongly believe that it is very important to add quicksilver and arsenic into black powder. Not sure they will be useful to anyone. But the players have fulfilled their mission.