Session X: The Party Finds Out

Arves Communes Loch

The party woke up. The sun still had not yet risen, so they took time to train among each other. Later, after sunrise, Arves and Corellia coordinated with each other; Arves wished to invoke Loch and wished for help doing so from any priests that might be found among the prisoners.
Corellia managed to convince the group of them, still locked in the brig, and from them a priest named Klaymin stepped forward and was let out of the cell. After Arves secretly used his wizardry to commune with the All-Knowing, asking if it was possible and good to trick his way into a god's good graces and getting an encouraging sensation, the invocation was set up and started.

Arves followed Klaymin's instructions closely, and standing within the now-glowing chalk, everyone saw Arves at once sink into the wood like water and disappear.
Arves felt himself barreling through a torrential current in a completely different place and leading only the planes knew where. It ejected him somewhere in deep open water, and in seconds, he heard a heavy low whistling hum that vibrated his soul. He looked toward the sound, and a whale of staggering size was careening his way. Its entire body was dark and covered in red eldritch eyes. It looked exactly like one of the

statues back in the temple, and Arves knew from one look what creature this was.
Ashathra, the Whale of the Trench.

Ashathra, the Whale of the Trench

There is a place in the Plane of Water known only as the Trench. In this trench is where the Ronu Floodgate presides, and the only way into a place such as that is through the mouth of the great beast, Ashathra, who sends victims swallowed by it there to their deaths. Prophecy dictates a champion will one day come bearing the key to Loch's release, to which they will enter into the belly of the great whale and travel to the Trench.
Ashathra is a being of great intelligence, but little attention. The whale sees mortals like ants and will often ignore them. To be swallowed by Ashathra means only two things: you are being welcomed into the Trench, or you got in its way.

Its mouth opened and Arves was swallowed into the beast. The dark confines of its gullet soon disappeared, however, and Ashathra's entire presence vanished. Now, Arves felt himself floating in the deep black.
Light began to grow, and suddenly, the Ronu Floodgate came into view in front of him.
The deep voice from behind the door beckoned Arves, demanding who would disturb him. The vedalken answered by wishing to offer him his servitude and aid in bringing about the Slumbering.
The Leviathan was willing to accept him as a follower, however Arves was given a task much the same as Corellia. Firstly, he would allow no harm to come to fellow disciples. Secondly, in order to prove himself, he would need to kill a follower of the Seaworthy. Only then would his words prove true and earn the Leviathan's full trust.
In the meantime, the power of the ship, once held by Hex which allowed it to teleport a long distance, was transferred to Arves, and he was thrust from the floodgate, and back out onto the main deck of the Ravager.

Returning to Looter's Cove

The party wished to return to Looter's Cove. Able to teleport the ship, Arves called upon the ship's magic as dark storm clouds formed over the water of the lake, just as it had happened before. From the darkness, a rift tore open at the bow of the ship, revealing the open sea just off the coast of the town.
The party sailed through, the rift closed behind them, and the darkness dissipated.
The Ja'alaath Hellflower and the other ships were still in port, and the Hellflower was already sailing out towards the Ravager. A cannonball struck the water near the party's new ship; a warning shot from the flag ship. Corellia's thaumaturgy boomed her voice over the water to defuse the situation, and the Hellflower boarded the Ravager for a thorough inspection.
Danuthi, Weaver's First Mate, was there to officiate it, and seeing Hex's head tied upon Corellia's waist, he was grateful someone like her were taken care of. However, he was wary to trust the crew that now possessed her old ship, and its magic. But, the party convinced him they were not going to use it to cause terror, and the Hellflower disembarked back to port. The Ravager followed suit.

Fannik Alive

Coming into port, Corellia looked to see if she could find Fannik, and she did with ease. It's hard to miss a 15-foot cloud giant sitting on the deck of a ship at the docks. She saw his left profile and rushed him, giving him a hug. But when she saw his right side, his entire right arm was missing, a bandaged stump in its place, the skin all around it singed with deep burn marks.
Fannik had wrestled with the storm giant, Sepu Thoon after the party had been whisked away. The giant sundered Fannik's right arm with a lightning strike, but Weaver's ships had sailed out to help, and their cannonfire reduced Sepu to the beached corpse Corellia could see a ways down the shoreline. Sepu had also destroyed the masts of one of the ships, but he had been vanquished.
Corellia was really disheartened to see Fannik's state, but he reassured her that would live. Still, that wasn't enough. While everyone else went into town, she took a longboat out to see.

Recovering Fannik's Lost Arm

The Leviathan's magic filled her lungs as Corellia, in the general area of the battle, dove into the sea. Her magic let her talk to the fish, but everyone she asked, none knew what she was talking about. She swam down, down, and further down still, until the very ocean floor came into her darkvision's view.
She scoured the whole floor for any sign of it, but it would only be by sheer luck she'd even be looking in the right place, or if the arm was still intact at all. But, she miraculously found it decomposing within the sand. Tying it to her back, she shot back upwards to the surface and rowed back to port. Fannik was happy to see the effort she gave for him, but he was unsure what it was supposed to accomplish. Corellia hoped to find a cleric or something similar which would be able to reattach his arm... but that would likely happen on some other day.

Back in Town

Arves, Vox, and Zephyrion stopped by Aaron's Quarter, and Mr. Foxweather was overjoyed to see them again. Arves' commission, a talisman, was finished and handed to him, and work on Vox's elven greatsword had just begun. It would be ten days before it was finished. Arves bought some a spell scroll of the spell call lightning, then they left.
Vox and Zephyrion looked for a smithy and came across Jordo's Smithy, run by the ogre named Jordo who wore goggles fit for a human, not an ogre. He was the only smith in town, and Zephyrion asked what he had in stock, to which Jordo showed them "Jordo's Armory" (one of the r's was backwards). It had a collection of magical heavy weapons, one of them being a literal enchanted anchor, to which Vox bought in an instant. Business concluded, and Jordo said goodbye, and the two left.

Old Man Willers

Arves spent some time copying spell scrolls back at the diner, but what was really on his mind was finishing his first step with Loch. He started asking around time where to find a follower of Eadro, under the guise he wished to know more about the faith, and immediately he was pointed to Old Man Willers, the elderly priest of the town who resided at the chapel on the hill.
Seeing an opportunity, he coordinated with Corellia, and the two met together at the base of the hill. They would each complete their first steps together. However, beginning their walk up the hill, they both felt themselves enter a magical aura — hallowed ground. Arves seemed oddly unaffected by it, but the Seaworthy's just power hung over Corellia, a true follower of the Leviathan, like a heavy burden, and it scared her to the bone. But, they pressed on, Arves turning invisible to avoid being seen.
Willers sat at the front porch to the chapel, and five Nenar Sellswords patrolled the area. He let Corellia in, who wished to speak with him on a very serious matter, and Arves snuck in with them.
A deep conversation began between Willers and Corellia, because deep down, Corellia felt torn between following the Seaworthy or secretly sticking with the Leviathan. Seeking some clarity for himself, he weaved his magic into her pendant, and both of them were thrust into the pendant's memories.
Corellia saw herself as an infant in her mother's arms who wore the pendant, the glowing holy symbol of the Seaworthy in the sky behind them, blessing her birth. Next, she saw her mother bestowing Corellia's pendant to her the day she set out on her own, the Seaworthy's magic rife within it. Finally, she saw herself in her dire state beneath the water, forced to choose the Leviathan or the Seaworthy.
But, where Loch clearly loomed over her like a predator ready to use her like a tool, the Seaworthy's gentle hand was outstretched to her like she needed to be rescued. Then, the magic ended.
Willers assured her the Seaworthy had never once abandoned Corellia. Rather, the Leviathan had lured her away.
Not willing to go through with killing Willers, she left and ratted out Arves, who, made, decided not to try anything and followed, but the two went separate ways.

Corellia Finds Solitude

Corellia left town to find a secluded beach. Out in the water, a tall rock stretched from the surface up into the air. She used a combination of her magic and her grappling hook to boulder it, several dozen feet up now, sat and watched the horizon in thought, the Seaworthy in one hand, the Leviathan in the other.

Arves Commits Cold-Blooded Murder

Angry at Corellia, Arves was not done. He would have his kill. He kept looking around. If there was a Seaworthy priest who ran his own chapel, there was surely at least a few other followers here who attended it.
It came to be that as he was talking to a young twenty-three year old human where to find one, the man replied, saying he was a follower and asked what he could help Arves with. Arves was certainly feeling lost and needed to know about faith in the Seaworthy and what it would mean to follow him. But, he had aspects about his life he didn't wish to be openly discussed in the streets, so he asked the man to come visit his home just outside the walls of the town; they could have a drink there while they talked.
The man, named Jacob Azteri, an innocent young man, believed every lie. He talked with Arves while they walked, asking him all sorts of questions about himself. Jacob's parents were immigrants from the Cururi Nenar. His parents used to worship Hwesta, but found faith in the Seaworthy, and the safety he promised much more fulfilling. He was married to a beautiful young woman. They were going to have their first child in three months.
But, because of Arves, that child would never know his father, because outside the walls, secluded behind several houses, the sounds of a psychic spell erupted, followed by a pained scream. When people nearby gathered to see what had happened, they saw Jacob's corpse on the ground, and Arves nowhere to be seen.

Vox and Zephyrion Look for an Underground Fight Ring

Off doing their own thing, the owlin and kobold wanted to go gambling. But they didn't want cards or dice — boring stuff. They wanted a brawl, they wanted a fight club. But, looking around as best they could, Looter's Cove didn't actually have anything like that.
But, they caught wind of a black market that existed in the city of Keelhaul, a few hours sail east from the cove. There, they were sure they could find and underground fight ring to try themselves in. So, taking the New Management from their ship in the bottle and the Paku'wat kobolds — and ninety percent of the party's treasury — they set sail east. Knowing someone was going to get hurt, Asterid tagged along.
It was clear weather and easy sailing for them, but question marks rose up when everyone spotted a ship come past them. The sails were perfectly white and unfurled, the ship in great condition... but there was no crew anywhere to be seen. It was abandoned!
Vox, Zephyrion, and the other kobolds wondered what treasure was on board to be "rescued". Better yet, they realized they had the chance to obtain another ship altogether, so they immediately turned the ship toward the new on to prepare to board it.

That's no Ship...

But, something strange happened. As the party got close, the abandoned ship turned toward them. By the time their suspicions had been fully aroused, it was too late. The bow of the new ship faced the New Management, and it splintered and broke apart, opening into jagged lines of wood that made the ship's front look like it had teeth. The rigging on the ship came to life, and eyes sprouted all over the ship's hull.
That was no ship.
It was an entire mimic ship, and only Vox, Zephyrion, Asterid, and Obaji and the Paku'wat were there to deal with it.
Would they survive? Or would Corellia and Arves never see them again?
To be continued...

Report Date
April 13th, 2024
In-Game Start Date
Eadriscus 17th, 1301 AC
In-Game End Date
Eadriscus 17th, 1301 AC

Player Characters

Zephyrion Skyblade - An owlin fighter.
Vox - A hill dwarf, emerald kobold, ancestral guardian barbarian.
Corellia Emberfin - A tiefling-triton fighter.
Arves - A vedalkin scribe wizard.
Asterid - A female human life cleric of Hwesta.

Non-Player Characters

Aria Swiftblade - A fairy champion fighter wielding duel battleaxes.
Ferris "Scurvy" Bort - A human spores druid retainer.
Fannis Lok - An exiled cloud giant.
Jordo The ogre blacksmith of Jordo's Smithy in Looter's Cove.
Aaron Foxweather - The human owner of Aaron's Quarter.

Magic Items

Talisman of Rituals

Wondrous item, uncommon, 700gp (requires attunement by a spellcaster)
This talisman is an assortment of different colored feathers, all tied to a wooden ring. Burned into each feather is each of the different schools of magic.
Invoke Ritual (A). When you cast a spell you know from your Spellcasting class feature, you may cast the spell as a ritual, even if it is not normally a ritual spell. You regain this feature after finishing a long rest.
Ascended. You can use Invoke Ritual up to two times between long rests. You regain all expended uses after finishing one.
“Yes, but, look at the feathers… and their colors and… it’s the best I had to work with, alright?”

~ Aaron Foxweather