Session 283 - Rats on a Raft
General Summary
4th to 13th of Saraju (Third Month of Spring) 726TRThe Story So Far
The rugged bounty hunter Cassius and his sidekick Salvador, the wandering priest of Ilvir, have decided to help Berda, a young dwarven woman from a wealthy family, on a quest to find a husband in the faraway dwarven Kingdom of Kuzjera.
The Heroes have escaped the Kingdom of Orbaal on the merchant ship, the Arabella. The Arabella has set sail for the Port of Stimby in the distant Viking Kingdom of Menglana.
This is the continuation of Session 281 - Crimson Blood.
Location - Sea of Ivae between the Harnic Islands and Ivinia.
Part 1 – An Angry Dragon
The first part of the journey is relatively uneventful, with Salvador finding ample opportunities to practice his tattoo craft on the crew and Cassius. Berda politely declines, saying tattoos in the Dwarven culture are associated with berzerkers and the unseemly or criminal underworld.
The winds of the Sea of Ivae are unusually calm and unreliable, so the Arabella makes little progress. The peace is soon interrupted by a large draconic figure, a hungry Wyvern. The crew scrambles as the creature swoops down and grabs an unlucky sailor, then flies away and devours him. The outraged crew pepper the beast with arrows, few hits, but those that do only annoy the monster. The Wyvern dives again, landing on the deck and impaling one crewmember with his tail stinger. The wounded sailor survives the injury but quickly dies from the potent poison.
The Wyvern snaps at Berda, who blocks the worst with her shield. At close range, more arrows hit and penetrate the Wyvern’s thick hide, and it decides to snatch a snack and leave. Grabbing the poisoned sailor's corpse in one claw, it strikes out again, catching Salvador in its other. The draconic beast then attempts to flee. Another volley of arrows weakens it further as Salvador unleashes a Gale Blast, and winds flow around his body, pummeling the draconic beast and killing it. The cleric crashes into the cold water, but his god Ilvir has granted him the ability to change his form. He uses Adapt Self, to grow webbed fingers and quickly swims back to the Arabella.
Part 2 – A Huge Raft
The next few days of monotony were interrupted by the crew spotting a floating mass of wooden ship parts lashed together, forming a large makeshift raft. It appears deserted. Intrigued, Berda pays Captain Falca to let the party explorer for a few hours.
After being rowed out, the trio finds signs of dried blood and dozens of starving rats. Swarms of the little beasts envelope the heroes, who have great difficulty killing the nasty little vermin. Eventually, the skilled archer Cassius works out that shooting the Rat Swarms is ineffective and a waste of arrows. He bashes them to oblivion with his sap. Unfortunately, all the characters receive dozens of bites from the diseased vermin and start to feel a little queasy.
Part 3 - The Dolly Did It
Exploring further, the characters discover cryptic messages in dried blood "Forgive me Children" and "Never trust a Witch." They find some small gems hidden away, a bag of hunting supplies, and some coinage, including a few high-quality silver pieces of unknown origin. Berda thinks these are from the lost Dwarven Kingdom of Kuzjera. "We are on the right track," she says.
But what Salvador finds next nearly kills him. As he moves a box he finds an ugly wooden doll. As he says, "Look what I found," the doll's head turns, and arms stretch out, draining his life force with necromantic energy. The Vampire Touch nearly kills him, and then the little horror smacks him across the head, knocking him out. The evil little Soulbound Doll is dangerous, and worst, another one on the other side of the raft sneaks forward, nearly killing Cassius with the same trick. The drained Cassius throws one Doll into the sea, but it cackles with laughter as it Levitates out of the murky depths. However, this buys time for the heroes to smash the other doll to pieces, stuff it in a crate, set it alight, and throw it into the sea. The levitating doll attacks again but cannot land a blow on the heroes, so with a malicious smile attacks the incapacitated Salavador, nearly ripping the throat from the helpless man. Berda saves him, and she uses one of the few remaining healing potions to bring him to consciousness. As the heroes battle, the doll becomes more desperate, and with some satisfaction, it is run through by Salvador's spear. This doll's shattered remains are also thrown into the sea in a burning crate.
Part 4 - Days of Recovery
The heroes return to the Arabella and rest up but soon develop a fever from the diseased rat bites. They are isolated for several days in a claustrophobic cabin as they recover. Five days later, the crew sight land, and soon the characters arrive at the Vathran of Stimby in the Viking Kingdoms of Ivinia.
To be continued.
NPC Interactions
Captain Falca and the crew of the Arabella.
Challenges Overcome
1 x Wyvern.
2 x Giant Rat swarms.
2 x Soulbound Dolls (Chaotic Evil variant).
Rewards
Some silver and Elixirs.
Created Content
Nothing this week.
Related Reports
Nothing this week.
Player Characters
Cassius - Human Bounty Hunter - L2 Ranger - Archer
Salvador - Human Artist - L2 Cloistered Cleric of Ilvir (Change) - Eldritch Researcher.
NPC Character Status
Berda - Dwarf Noble - L2 Fighter - Sentinel.
