Finding the Emperor of the Wave

General Summary

Spider friends, Spider friends

  After leaving the Empty Nest, Osemin shared what she'd learned from the halflings about the Fire of the Deep. Brine and Tethrys had heard of it before- it featured in stories of heroes doing great feats of immense power, but afterwards the wielder would fall some horrible fate. The artifact centered in stories of hubris.   Tethrys, inspired, suggested making the humans use it, to wipe themselves out, but Osemin doubted they'd themselves out entirely, and Brine raised a worry for collateral damage. And after all, no one really believed the humans had this item.   Osemin used this moment to leave, back for Jorrun's Bay and the gang politics she missed. Guy took her leaving hard, but she went to the Wicker Goat, from there to catch a wagon going home.   After stopping by the market to get a pearl for a spell, the crew headed back to the Snapping Line to follow up on the salvage quest. Aubreck, the human man looking for a salvage crew, was actually back, and they were able to meet with him.   Aubreck was immediately enthusiastic about the crew, pointing out Tethrys' strength, Brine's experience, and Guy Fieri's strong, old name. A charming, excitable man in last year's finest fashion, Aubreck wove a tale of buying up land shares of a surely-profitable island under the guise of many different shipping companies. The island, with a working diamond mind and room to grow expensive spices, was a sure thing until the ship carrying the deeds Aubreck needed was blown off course and lost, a year and a half ago. It wasn't until a week ago that Aubreck heard word that his ship, the Emperor of the Waves, was spotted. As payment, Aubreck was ready to offer up 10% of the bounty they were to reclaim, which Tethrys negotiated into 5% in gold (5,000 gold) and 5% land on the island. All they need to was return with the blue chest marked with a large "A" (for Aubreck).   Aubreck has hired a crew of dwarves to take his salvage crew; the Soul of Winter, captained by Wolger Windrune (who Aubreck has mistaken as a man, likely because of the beard), are to take the party out on the 3 day journey to the Emperor of the Waves, and are ready to leave within the hour. (After Aubreck paid the 200 gp up front, of course).   On the ship, the party met with a young dwarf named Murtagh, who bonded with Guy Fieri over ship chores. Tethrys learned that dwarves can and do adopt others in as "honorary dwarves", and any dwarf, honorary or not, can be raised to a Saint by their goddess, Mathair.   When they finally reached the Emperor of the Waves, a storm was rolling in, and while it hadn't struck yet, Captain Windrune feared it could turn nasty quickly. The Emperor itself was listing to port side, caught up along some coral. She would likely sink beneath the waves in ten days or so; she showed signs of surviving a typhoon, and some creature's attack from below.   The party cleared the for and aft cabins on the main deck, finding that the rudder system was completely dismantled, the cabins filled with giant spiders, ettercaps, and spider swarms, and a captain's log and what appeared to be an offering in rubies on some stone alter. (10 rubies, 100 gp each).   The captain's log and ledger wrote that the Emperor was thrown off track and away from it's escort by a horrible storm. Low on food and supplies, she was forced to stop by an unknown island, where they were attacked by orcs, goblins and monstrous vermin. Though the crew managed to escape the attack, they feared that the attack might just testing defenses before an even larger attack hit.