Captain’s Log #2: One and a Half Oars, Three Sheets

[This entry is from Jamie.]
Chapter the first
Allara, Tory, Gills, Zahndethus, and Pta find themselves in a jolly-boat, towing a door-raft encumbered by an unconscious man, somewhere in the trade routes off the Freeport archipelago. Apart from the well-dressed but mutilated corpse of Allara’s former bodyguard, the group has practically no resources to draw upon. Pta prepares the body for burial in the deeps, saving a small portion to be recycled in a more immediately practical manner. Allara is despondent to learn that the attack of the one-armed zombies and their independent-minded limbs seems to have been related to her presence on board. Upon questioning, she reveals merely that she is turning 18 in a week, and that her mother sent Thomas to fetch her home for that milestone. The hapless voyagers made do with Pta’s supply of meat both as protein and as fish bait, and manage to hang onto life in the absence of any better sustenance and source of life-giving water.

[The session started with visit by a mini-Cthulhu who seized the unknown individual floating on the door raft…since it was Jimmy and he’ll no longer be in the game and I had recently found and made a paper Cthulhu and wanted to show it off.

It was also learned, during the questioning of Allara, that her father is a fairly successful merchant in Freeport. Although she is sure that he may have enemies or rivals that would seek to do him (and his family) harm, she couldn’t think of any specific individual. When asked, she stressed that her father had little, if any, interest in the politics of Freeport and focused on his business dealings instead.]

Chapter the second
In the late afternoon of the third day of their derivation, the maritime nomads spot a ship in the distance, apparently responding to the regular flares sent up by Zahndethus. Gills recognizes the ship as a slaver from Mazin in the Southlands, and the party prepares to sell their lives dearly rather than live out their days as whores, muckrakers, and miners in the lands of the merciless sun. Just before the freebooters begin to fire down upon the little boat, their vessel suddenly veers in another direction, and then echoes of a cannonade make their way to the voyagers. Their delight in seeing the slavers driven off is tempered by the rather obviously piratical arrangement of the rescuing vessel. The dramatic arrival of this ship’s captain, one “Three-Sheets Kimbal,” and his subsequent determination that the party would join him on his vessel as hostages nevertheless seems preferable to a certain death from exposure, hunger, and dehydration in a (sure to be shot to bits) jolly-boat. Tory and Allara seem to harbor some ill will towards Gills, who after being precipitously voted “captain” of the “Last Hope” quickly demonstrated less than stellar negotiation skills.

[Said “less than stellar negotiation skills” included blurting out that one of the survivors was the daughter of a rich merchant in Freeport (Jamie was playing Gills as RJ had to miss the session). This seemed to convince Kimbal (who did not appear overly disposed to providing aid to the captain and crew of the “Last Hope”) that “rescuing” the survivors would be a worthwhile (or, at least, profitable) endeavor and provide him enough motivation to take his ship back to Freeport (they had been sailing away from the city).

Kimbal also forced Allara–via threats against her companions (e.g., leaving them behind in the Last Hope after drilling holes in it)–to reveal the name of her father. He seemed quite pleased to learn that her father is Wayland Shelfer…apparently, her family is quite well-to-do.]

Chapter the third
Begins then an idyll of sorts, with the members of our illustrious (if still inexperienced) party traveling on the “Crimson Tide” as passengers owing “cash on delivery,” or, as Three-Sheets understands the situation, as hostages. Since it quickly becomes apparent that Zahndethus, Pta, Tory, Gills, and Allara seem to have no plans to attempt escape to the open sea, Three-Sheets encourages them to amuse themselves as they are able on board his ship. These curious worthies set about trying to understand the lay of the land, determining the existence of several anomalies but resolving none of them. Among the strange features of the Crimson Tide must figure the Legless Gnome Lookout, Nash, a very nasty sort, and his elaborate crow’s-nest and regular feeding schedule; the apparent renewal of the ship’s complement after each voyage; Captain Kimbal’s kobold (life-debted) servant, whose ability to blend into its surroundings is matched only by its knack at anticipating the Captain’s needs; and, finally, the fact that the ship runs so smoothly given the lack of experience the crew has working as a team, with much credit apparently due the First Mate, Drake, a very skilled seaman indeed. As Freeport draws near, the Captain busies himself with such important tasks as re-christening the party’s former jolly-boat the “Cash on Delivery” while the party whiles away its time as best they are able.

Chapter the fourth
Only a day or so out of Freeport, as Pta is attempting once again, with very limited success but at least no golden shower, to get to the bottom of the riddle that is Gnash, that latter suddenly shouts “Demons” just as he lines up on Pta to reward his food delivery with round-shot. Indeed, Pta is able to see in the distance some winged shapes making their way towards the ship, clearly on an interception vector. The party prepares to receive these invaders as the crew of the Crimson Tide heads for the under-decks “to fetch weapons”. As the winged horrors arrive, with their skin shifting in and out of this plane, Zahndethus blasts one with his arcane magics and Gills blasts one with Thomas’ privateer. As Pta is attempting to dissuade them from this plane through Khepekh’s intervention, it becomes obvious that they are heading for Kimbal’s cabin, where young Allara was hunkered down in the protection of that worthy. With the party sprinting to the afterdecks in a attempt to beat the winged demons to Allara, and the crew of the Crimson Tide completely missing in action, a desperate battle is joined to save the young lady, oddly popular with the extra-planar and evil creatures of the sector. Some derring-do from Tory, some dramatic aerial maneuvers by Gills, pyrotechnics from Zahndethus, and swarms of translucent beetles from Pta eventually leave only one of the aerial invaders still able to menace Allara, leading Kimbal to drag her out his cabin’s window and into the water. While sharing his breath with the young lady under water, he determined that she seemed very evidently to be the goal of this attack, and also managed to charm her at least for a short time. Eventually the party’s incessant attacks overwhelmed the remaining abomination, and the party, captain, and Allara regained the deck, only to see the “Cash on Delivery” sink beneath the seas from damage sustained from the demon.

Chapter the fifth
The excitement having died down, Kimbal decides to see to the payment arrangements, and the crew happily confines their ship’s saviors to their quarters. After some time, and a bit of confusion over various shuttling options, the captain, and perhaps more to the point Mister Drake, lead the party ashore on the docks of Scurvytown, pointing the way to the Merchant District, a dangerous walk through night-time slums. Getting hands on weapons, the group begins to head towards Allara’s part of town and possible shelter and even a rumored “gratefulness” on the part of Allara’s father. After intimidating several groups of thugs and making it nearly to the wall marking the near end of Scurvytown, the party suddenly finds itself flanked by at least two separate groups of ne’er-do-wells. Their squinty-eyed leader, seeming quite sure of himself with his obvious numerical superiority, addresses the party: “Give us the girl and you can go on your way.”

[curtain]

[The party was informed that the payment arrangements had been made and that Allara’s family was informed that she would be returned at a specific location near the warehouse district of Freeport. Kimbal, of course, had no intention of traveling to the agreed-upon location as he suspected that Allara’s family may have arranged a nasty surprise for him. Instead, Allara and the party were released at the other end of the docks…in Scurvytown. Just how did the current bravados find the party? Is it just a random encounter looking to kidnap any young, attractive woman? Or were these thugs actually seeking out Allara and, if so, how did the find her so easily? Did Kimbral sell them out? Was the party being followed for awhile before the ambush could be readied? Or is there something else going on?]