Arrr my Salty Seadog!
I'm writing this moments before my erstwhile companions nail me inside a crate. No don't worry its all going to work out fine, I have a plan! But I'm jumping ahead of myself a lot has happened today and while I have these quiet minutes I'll try to put them into some sort of order.
Crones & Cards
It started in the Golden Horseshoe, Anders was not playing he seems to have vanished for the moment instead two other lesser bards were playing while we sat around planning Kissara's upcoming birthday.
A young man approached us, from his insignia he was from the messenger guild. He had come from Eric Brekbow the dockmaster. In summary it seemed that he was in need of urgent help, there was a stricken ship outside the harbour, a storm was coming and we should attend him at dawn tomorrow. The messenger departed but before we could get back to our plans we were disturbed again by a hunched crone who gave her name as Yagda, we had noticed her being given the cold shoulder by nearby tables and had hoped she would give up and go back to whatever hovel she dwelt in rather than come across to us. She didn't.
"Let me tell your fortune" she screeched in a strange unnatural voice, "Let the Deck of Dragons descry your destiny!"
After giving her a silver coin she made us all cut the cards before laying out the yellowed and worn cards on our table.
The first card was the Dracolich, "It starts with death!" she cried. The next was the Great Dragon, "It ends with a great foe!". The Archmage and the Thief followed. "Great power and wealth, but the power is cloaked in shadow." The Fool and the Dragonslayer were laid out next, "Not all is what it seems and there is peril in your path." She lays down a final four cards. "Green Dragon, Blue Dragon, Black Dragon, Dragon King! The deck does not see the name of your peril, it is hidden in shadow, Dag is the only part of the name we see."
Leaving us pondering the mysteries of the fortune telling the old crone collected the cards and departed. We soon retired for the night, a dawn meeting with the dockmaster would come soon enough.
A Dockside Meeting
The following morning we turned up at dawn and Eric was waiting for us. "This is Arista he is a pilot and was on duty yesterday. Arista perhaps you could explain what happened."
The pilot, looking a little shaken began quietly. "The Fair Wanderer arrived at the Ships' Graveyard yesterday. The inspector and I went on board and the former and the captain went below to check the cargo, but before the ship could be guided through the maze there was shouting, screaming and the roaring of some wild beast from below decks. Smoke started to issue from the hatch and the crew and I jumped overboard. There was no way we were going back on board after what we heard and so we were rowed back to the harbour where I came straight to Dockmaster Brekbow and told him what I just told you."
"I want you to escort Pilot Arista back to the ship and find out what happened." Erik looked stern and concerned at the same time. "Five hundred gold pieces I will give you for your troubles" he held up his hand, "And don't insult me by asking for more."
We asked a few questions and Erik seemed a little cagey, "Its last port was Cassomir in Taldor, it is owned by the wealthy Silverwood trading family, they have a seat on the council and they will brook no delay on getting the ship into harbour."
Making A Splash
We divided into two groups so that we could be rowed out to the Fair Wanderer. Needless to say I was more at home than any of my companions even on the shoddily built row boats the pilot uses to get too and fro. The forecast storm was starting to make the water choppy but it was easy for me to leap, salmon like, onto the rope rigging dangling on the side of the ship and climb aboard. I was to make a swift reconnaissance of the deck and any obvious hiding places while the others climbed aboard. I wasn't prepared however for the dismal attempts that the others made as they tried to climb aboard. I peered into the hold, there were some barrels and crates scattered about and the smell of blood and smoke was strong and cloying.
Having finished my quick survey and returned to see what the others were up to as none of them had appeared on deck. It turns out that Dio had failed to leap from the boat to the rigging, possibly because Lucciola was trying to mount1 him at the time. Adyel tied a rope around herself and jumped into the water to try to rescue the tiger which because of the coldness and choppiness of water was starting to drown. Lucciola then turned into a dolphin and joined the others in the water. However his attempt at a showy dive ended up with him making a large splash as he landed on his back in the water, soaking all those aboard the rowing boats.
Eventually Luciola managed to help the tiger back onto one of the boats before leaping onto the deck and transforming back into human form.
Once some of the stronger members of the team were on board they attempted to haul Lady Helena onto the deck like a consignment of turnips. After much hauling, pulling and falling her Ladyship was deposited unceremoniously on the deck. Ziyana also made a pigs ear of the simple task of climbing aboard and ended up in the water before gaining the safety of the Fair Wanderer. What the pilot and crew thought of these shenanigans I have no idea.
I passed on what I had found out so far, once I had stopped laughing. Strangely Kissara was in a hurry to explore as while I was checking out the door at the stern she was trying to open the one in the fo'c'sle2. The door wouldn't open however, it appeared to have been barred on the inside. I managed to lift the bar off using my dagger and opened the door. Inside (1) was a cramped crew cabin space with lockers and storage.
"Let me be or I'll cut ya!" A voice cried and a figure ran towards me. I stepped aside and as he burst out of the cabin Kissara put him to sleep. After he was tied up Ziyana asked him what had happened.
"Untie me!" he demanded and after he was partially freed from his bondage, "Barred myself in there didn't I. There was screaming and roaring and fire." Seeing an opening he made a bolt for the side of the ship but Kordex caught him. Seeing we would get nothing more sensible from him we lowered him to the waiting pilot vessel below and continued our search.
The fo'c'sle held nothing but the crew's personal effects so we headed aft to the stern-castle. The door opened onto a a galley (2) with a door on the left leading to a cramped storage area (3). The other door led to the captain's cabin (4). This contained a bed, a desk a chair and a chest. The chest contained the captains clothes, a sword, some spirits and a purse (containing 10 coppers, 5 silvers and 8 gold pieces).
The desk contained the captain's logbook an inkwell and a quill. Adyel managed to find a hidden chest under one of the planks of the deck.
This contained a potion of Cat's Grace, a magical candle which none of our arcane students could identify, a Ring of Climbing, several gems (amethyst, chalcedony, malachite, rose quartz and tiger's eye) and 90 gold pieces.
Into Darkness
Lady Helena used a mage hand spell to lower a light spell into the hold. We could now see that there were the remains of two men; rent by tooth and claw. There was also signs of burning on the deck and the remains. We spied a piece of paper on one of the barrels and Lady Helena brought the paper up with her mage hand spell. The paper was the bill of lading for the cargo. It
appeared that the ship carried spirits, spices, nuts, olives, precious metals, cold iron and tapestries; nothing out of the ordinary in other words for one of the ships of one of the major trading families.
Adyel dropped her magical crystal creature into the hold and it scuttled off into the shadows. Adyel reported that it could see nothing out of the ordinary. The crates and barrels were all branded with the symbol of a tree - the mark of the Silverwood family. Suddenly there was a loud roar and the hold was briefly illuminated by a gout of flame. Mirria quaffed my potion of resist Fire and dropped into the hold.
"It's a chimera!" she called back up but before she could act the creature knocked her down. I jumped down to assist and was followed by Kordex. It was a cramped space and it was difficult to get a clean shot away but I managed to hit the beast with several of my bolts before I was battered by the creature's claws and teeth before it was killed. Lucciola announced that something was still down there so the rest of the party came down carefully, Lady Helena and Dio having trouble squeezing through the tight access hatch. I searched but couldn't find anything unusual in and amongst the assorted crates, chests and barrels. Lucciola, using his strange spirit sense, pointed to a small crate with a crowbar stuck under a corner of the lid as if someone was halted in the process of prying the lid off. There were many neatly drilled holes in the sides and on top, a burn mark the size and shape of a man's hand which partially obliterated a symbol that may have been a dagger or a sword.
Open the Box!
Kissara could detect thoughts coming from inside the chest and suddenly everyone seemed started talking in a strange tongue which I later learned was Celestial. When everyone calmed down enough to share what information they had gleaned Lady Helena said that the box contained someone or something called Fozzy. "It doesn't know where it came from or why it is in the box." Lady Helena said before adding, "I think it may be hostile."
Suddenly a hideous child-sized creature, that resembled a combination of human baby and fly appeared in a puff of sulphurous smoke. It was joined by four roiling masses of flesh and these started to attack those nearest to them. The flying creature cast a spell of grease on several of us causing Lady Helena, Ziyana and Kissara to fall over. Once killed the fleshy blobs vanished.
"It's a zebub or an accuser devil!" called Lady Helena but to be honest I don't need to know a creature's name before I start attacking it and so I fired bolt after bolt at it.
The Best Laid Plans of Gnomes and Men3
Once the melee was over we continued to search the hold and found nothing else of interest so our attention returned to what we should do with the ship. Obviously someone, probably the captain, was trying to bring in a hazardous creature without declaring it on the ship's manifest. When the inspector went down to check the bill of lading against what was in the hold he found the extra chest and ordered it open. It was at this point he and the captain were attacked by the chimera and possibly by the zebub as well.
We spoke with the pilot and he agreed with our plan. Kissara was going to disguise herself as the captain and prevent anyone getting on board until we found out who was going to come aboard and claim the strange cargo. The pilot agreed and we sent Mirria ahead to warn Erik.
Of course like all our plans this went awry almost straight away. The ship, pushed by the leading edge of the approaching storm was much faster than Mirria in the rowing boat and arrived at the dockside before we could warn Erik. The first person to approach the ship was one of the Guild of Inspectors who demanded to be let aboard so he could check the cargo. I whispered a suggestion to Kissara, "Tell him there is a rampant case of cock-droop on board and nobody should board until it has been cleared."
Kissara did so but the inspector didn't believe her but was confused enough to walk away, probably to speak to the harbour-master.
No sooner than he had gone than we were hailed by a cultured voice. A man in fine clothes and waving a rapier4 called up to us. It was clear that he felt he was a man of some importance in the Silverwood family and it was equally clear that he and Lady Helena didn't get on. There was much bitching going on between them so at this point I asked someone to nail me in the chest the creature came in and I would wait here to see where the creature was going to be taken.
So that's everything up to date. So far nobody has come to claim the chest so I will push this missive through a hole and ask one of my companions to get it too you.
Hoping you are ship shape and your Bristols' fashioned.
GG
