Session 1: Shadow of the Black Plague

Written by Prizeman11

Whatever their reasons may be, each of the party members have found themselves upon the alleged "merchant ship" of the "ferryman" Captain Donald Bently, The Mermaid's Lock. Zuap and Konkrete have been reunited after some time and, for better or worse, have made new friends in Edrik and Ariza. The trip of these new found friends, starting in Cynthia for some and picked up along the way for others, has taken them swiftly across the Shattered Isles sea towards the land of Ponderosa. A bustling hub where all nine seas converge. A land where trade is fruitful, cultures clash and blend in a beautiful dance, where piracy flows as free as rum, and every official tries to invoke their will upon the land. With only a week left in the journey the party was getting accustomed to each other and the sea. Trouble had yet to rear its ugly head and it seemed as though it would not, that was until the fog rolled it. Sailing in with the fog were two crude, ill-trained goblin ships. These foe were quite easily sunk and slain by the party. What was odd, however, was the marking of a tentacle on each of the goblins and their hollow, lifeless eyes ... and the note that said they were to stall the ship. Within the next few minutes, the fog grew thicker and darker, becoming a black cloud upon the sea, blocking out even the sun. Riding the black fog, the cause of it all was the bone chilling ship of Captain Blackburn, a Herald of Hadar, the Black Plague. The fog soon washed over the ship, cold and fear were not far to follow. What came from the fog could only be described as terror and hunger. The tentacles came out, grasping and dragging crew and civilians alike into the dark smog, their screams only rivaled by the clash of swords and yell of the sea folk crew. The party was unable to escape the cold grasp of these tentacles and were soon dragged under. When the party came too they were greeted with the sight of the crew of the Mermaids Lock, gagged and bound, all piled on the Black Plague. Ariza was able to cut herself free but it was too little too late. The shadow of the black plague, Captain Blackburn, walked over to the prisoners, his raspy breath and aura of cold, striking fear into all. He dragged Captain Bentley out into the middle of the deck, "Where is the book? Where is the map?!" he shouted in a ghastly voice. Bentley, stumbling over his words, "We are friends, I-I-I don't know what book y-y-you're talking abou--" unable to finish his sentence as Captain Blackburn sliced through his throat with a rapier. Reaching down he pulled out a vile of sand and a map from the dead and dying captain Bentley. "Take the slaves down, put them to work" he rasped as he turned away, retreating into his cabin. The party finds themselves chained in the belly of the Black Plague, rowing to the merciless beat of the koa-toa's drum. Chained to an oar, Zuap and Konkrete to one and Edrik and Ariza to another, their wrist bleeding from the chains, feet starting to swell and peel due to the stagnant water on the floors, and the rats were no friends to them either. They would scurry by, nipping at their feet, feasting on the dead and dying. Zuap however, being the clever little goblin he is, was able to catch one of the rats, giving his starving belly some reprieve, short lived as it may have been. A week had passed, the party fighting was off exhaustion, an endless beat pounding in their ears. They had finally gotten an idea on how the flow of this evil underbelly. With that in mind, the party finally enacted their escape plan. Edrik, feigning sickness and imminent death, convinced the two kuo-toa guards to take him out of the shackles and throw him overboard, in fear of the slaves dying and them having to take over rowing. The moment Edrik was free he spoke the true name of Konkrete, Advin Hallowes, invoking his innate demonic blood. With this Konkrete blinked out of his shackles, appearing next to Edrik, not too unlike the summoning of a genie. Ariza, weaving magic in her words for her chains, simultaneously bolstered her team and stirred up the rest of the prisoners to make a ruckus. In a flurry of blows, Konkrete was able to kill one of the guards, smashing his head in with a heel kick, as Edrick simultaneously grabbed the sword of the kuo-toa infront of him. He slashed at the one behind him, stunning it enough for him to maneuver his way around the slaves and free Zuap. Zuap snagging the sword from Edrik flew into battle with the other Kuo-toa with a primal fury, mangling and killing it with ease. The Drummer Kua-toa came down from his post and attempted to strike down the unruly slaves, swinging its drum sticks with a skill only years could give. However, it was not strong enough to stop them as it was slashed and beaten until it no longer twitched with life. With the guards defeated the party freed the rest of the slaves, Ariza giving them an encouraging and convincing speech of freedom and power ... Sending them all to an earlier death fighting the crew of the Black Plague. While most of them ran up yelling and fired up, a few stayed behind; an old man, frail and dying; a kenku, not knowing quite what's going on but knowing enough to follow his saviors around like a parrot; and a large man, muscles rippling against his bronzed skin, knowing enough not to follow the sheep to slaughter but rather those who have a plan using the sheep. The party made their way up the back of the ship, climbing against the waves. The old man's frail body was not able to hold on and he plummeted to the sea, lost to its hungry grasp. The rest of the party made it up to the captain's quarters, smashing in the window under the blanket of noise that was created by the mutiny going on. They were able to find their stuff, some magical items, and a way off of the ship with the sands of teleportation. The sands began to swirl and they fell through the portal onto a new island. Warm sand beneath their feet, clear blue skies, the sound of waves gently kissing the beach, wildlife and birds bringing the jungle behind them to life, and... the sound of children's laughter?