Adventures at Sea

Willow's Writings:

Avast ye scallywags!

It was yet another D&D gathering last night...however, it wasn't I, or Mrs. Tiki, at the helm of the evening's events...it was none other than...

Captain Tiki.

To quickly summarize, Brent and I have been playing D&D for almost a year now. We toyed around with it in high school, and have rediscovered the game after a decade and a half. The Capt. DMed the very first adventure we all began together last June (July?). When winter rolled around, the Capt. became busy and his wife, Mrs. Tiki, took over, and then soon, Brent and I captained our own adventures with this very group.

What a strange, long trip it's been. The Capt. is back in action.

First of all, he regaled us with good news: we all magically had leveled up to 7th level (we were currently at 4th). We could power up our characters at will. Second, it would behoove us to take some ranks in Swimming. Hmmmm...

Armed with that information, we convened yesterday afternoon in hopes for some good D&D fun.

Party Stats:

Me: Willow - A laconic half-elf Ranger (Companion: Moonfoot the Wolf)
Kerri: Andromeda - A haughty elven Druid (Companion: Aslan the Lion)
Kimba: Bella - A pirate-dreaming human Rogue (Companion: Elliot the Horse)
Brent: Mercutio - An exhibitionist half-elf Sorcerer (Companion: Fizz the Owl)

This party had completed a couple of missions in the town of Pitchfield in the recent past, and now had been commissioned by Thorgrin the Dwarf to command a galley, escort of five cargo ships, across the Azure Sea to Hells Furnaces, the location of a good, rich iron. In recent times, the iron in the Pitchfield area had proven unusable - for unknown reasons (a mission perhaps for a later time). Thus, Hells Furnaces' iron has become a hot commodity, shipped to Pitchfield from Port Tolie.

The problem? The last shipment of said iron failed to reach its destination, due to rumors of attacks from pirates and sea monstrosities.

Our job? To command the brand-spankin-new galley ship that would escort the five cargo ships to Port Tolie. There, the ships would load up on iron, and we would then bring the full cargo ships back to the port town of Prymp (a three-day journey from Pitchfield). Our brains and brawn would be responsible for delivering safely a shipment of usable iron. Later, our missions might include discovering the source of the bad iron and beyond that, taking out a bad guy named Sortag, responsible for the rising of bandit-related crimes in the area.

To begin? Head to the city of Prymp and locate a dwarf named Bailin, to be found down at the harbor. There, we would find our new as-of-yet-unnamed ship to begin our journey.

Perhaps it is noteworthy to mention here that our party's rogue entertains dreams of becoming a dread pirate and, in fact, has a detailed plan laid out to make those dreams a reality. Acquiring a ship was first in those plans...and naturally, the rest of us had not much experience on the sea and were willing to let her commandeer the ship. As a matter of fact, the sorcerer (Mercutio) put it to the rogue (Bella) succinctly thus...

"You're partially a pirate..." (which is really not true, but the sorcerer has 18 Charisma, so who were we to argue?) In addition, the rogue is the only one of us with any skills in Sailing. So yeah, the deal is sealed.

After Thorgrin's instructions, we headed off to the merchant's store (pointed out to us by a general DM head toss). Major purchases included Swimmer's Kits and jewelry for the lion and owl. Mercutio spent some time poking fun of the lion's necklace, until it was pointed out that his owl was wearing a dorky anklet...a fact his high Charisma was unable to cover.

One (of many) nice things about leveling up so high is that the druid (Andromeda) now has the skill (with the use of a sweet torc) to talk to all animals. It's a detail that doesn't seem important at the time...but we're not long out of the city of Pitchfield before Fizz alerts Mercutio (and Andromeda as well) that danger lies ahead...in the form of three giant wasps.

OOG: It is discussed that if three giant wasps were ever encountered in real-life, most of the party would probably soil themselves before engaging in battle.

Soon, the wasps come into view, and Andromeda takes aim, fires....and critically fumbles her bow shot. Fortunately, no PERSON was hurt, but unfortunately, Fizz (flying like an owl out of hell back to the party) takes five points of arrow damage. Andromeda apologizes to Fizz through the use of her Animal Speaking torc. It is unclear at this time if Fizz accepts the apology; he appears to be a resident of Ouchland.

The wasps swoop and barely miss Mercutio and Willow with their two-foot stingers. Between Aslan's mighty swipe and Willow's critical hit (totally skewering a wasp), the nasty insects quickly become a happy memory. The rest of the trip to Prymp passes uneventfully. Upon reaching the city, Bailin is located in record time, and an interesting discussion soon ensues. I have included below the paraphrased transcript.

Bailin: So. Here's your brand new ship. It's a bunch of feet long by about twenty feet wide. Roughly a crew of 200 await your command. This ship is so new, it doesn't even have a name.

Mercutio: I have an idea. "Titan". Because one of my main goals in life is to locate the "Maul of the Titans". And, you know, kinda like Titanic, except not?

Cricket. Cricket. Cricket. We all look to Captain Bella for a better answer.

Bella: I've got the name of the ship. The Nightshade.
Willow: Isn't that a poisonous plant?
Andromeda: It's especially dangerous to the human.
Bella: Exactly. It's deadly.

So, The Nightshade it is. Captain Bella is now responsible for assigning the rest of the party to ship positions. After some discussion, Internet searching, and barbecued pork sandwiches, the following clarifications are made:

Cabin Boy: Mercutio (He later becomes known as "Powder Monkey" because it's a cool-sounding position. However, it is the job with the highest life-risk factor.)

Boatswain/Quartermaster: Andromeda (A jack-of-all-trades, this position is primarily responsible for marshaling/maintaining the crew, issuing orders, keeping the ship running, etc.)

First Mate: Willow (Pretty much a figurehead position. I take over if Bella is incapacitated. Think Danny Zuko to Kenickie in the car race in "Grease.")

It's not too long here before someone makes the inevitable joke:

"Heh. We're among a bunch of seamen."

Anyway, Bailin informs us The Nightshade leaves tomorrow at high tide. Whenever that is.

The night passes. Relatively soon after boarding and embarking, Mercutio repairs to the below deck to remove his clothes and cast Mage Armor on himself...a habit he seems to have retained from our last adventures. Jokingly, now, we refer to him as the Boatswain, as he can be in charge of crew morale by stripping naked for them. Let's keep in mind that Mercutio has no private quarters, and so has an audience for every single act he commits below deck. A good thing to know for later...

It is not long before Fizz the owl (recovered, at lookout) alerts the party to a group of five creatures not far ahead. Willow begins foaming at the mouth in a fit of rage when she discovers they are SAHAUGIN (aquatic humanoids - which is her second favored enemy. That means she gets all kinds of bonuses against them). Captain Bella, however, critically fumbles her first attack, a chakram throw, and the weapon falls into the water...much to its owner's dismay. A crew member is dispatched to retrieve it, but alas, rolls a poor Dive/Swim check and is unable to fetch the weapon. The sorcerer has a brainchild and sends his owl to grab the weapon (not quite sinking yet). Fizz is able to grab the chakram, but is unable to fly himself back to the ship's deck. So, there the poor little owl hovers, a heavy metal circle weapon in his talons. The aforementioned crew member is ordered to hustle back down the rope and retrieve both owl and weapon. Another poor Swim check on the crewman's part lands him back in the sea. The rope is relowered. Crewman and owl and chakram rescue is successfully done.

And thus ends Part One. Please flip the album over and continue on with Part Two.