The Derelict

General Summary

The First Watch

The heroes have been traveling along the eastern edge of Lake Bask for the better part of six days now. The cold of the northern winter is starting to give way to the murky, cold and rainy climate around the lake. While the warmth is welcome compared to the snow and bitter winds it is replaced by bone chillingly cold rain, thunderstorms and muddy marshland.

They make camp for the night and plan a series of watch rotations. The thick fog rolling off the lake is cause for concern to many in the party. During the first watch the fog on the lake rolls onto the mainland where it starts to blanket everything. Second watch notices something several hundred feet off the coast of Lake Bask. A large galley bobbing up and down in the turbulent waters. Erik Shepherd and some of the Frostmerite soldiers venture into the fog after hearing voices and seeing movement there.

In the mist these shapes darted back and forth, appearing as vaguely humanoid shapes and whispering. One of them called out to Erik, seemingly knowing his name. Erik ordered one of the Frostmerites to head back to the camp and wake everyone while he and the last soldier began investigating further. The fog intensified and the two men became turned around and separated.

Erik saw something move through the mist and into view, a spectral figure who's tattered visage was that of a long deceased sailor. It reached out for him and its phantasmal touch threatened to wrench the very life out of his body. He fled, desperately searching for the path back to camp. On the way back he stumbled over the corpse of the Frostmerite that stayed behind with him. The once proud warrior was reduced to a hallow, withered husk with a face contorted into a ghastly mask of death.

The surviving Frostmerite returned and quickly woke everyone else and alerted them to the presence of the ship off the coast as well as the figures in the mist. The rest of the party found the area filled with fog and Erik still missing. Only a few moments after venturing out beyond the camp, searching for Erik, were they too assaulted by spirits. Beorna's weapon proved especially effective as putting these entities to rest while many of the others struggled against them. Eventually, they managed to scatter the last essence of the spirits back into the storm and return to camp where Erik had eventually managed to get himself to as well. Berenger did his best to calm the young soldier but the experience was truly harrowing and shook him to his core.

The heroes eventually made their way together to the lake's coastline to investigate the derelict. They saw the vessel shrouded in fog. Its sails tattered and mast splintering. Aelfric had spent some time on Frostermite ships so he knew enough to see that this ship was repairable and that it was some kind of large cargo hauling vessel. Cordelia signaled to the vessel and to their surprise a reply signal came back asking the heroes for aid. Caellana used her druidic powers to ask a sparrow to investigate the ship for them in exchange for some Goodberries. The bird did just that and reported back seeing no signs of life, the top deck a mess and only darkness from the bowels of the ship.

The heroes voted on whether to board the boat or not and result was to explore it and burn it if needed. Aelfric, Beorna, Berenger and Erik began laboring on a simple wooden raft to carrying them the short distance to the ship and managed to make one with enough space for most of the part. Berenger and the Frostmerite guards stayed with the supply wagon while the others embarked the raft and began over.

Boarding the Icatian

An eerie silence surrounded them as they made their way. Only the sound of the waves, rain and now distant thunder broke the stillness. Once at the hull of the boat they slowly and carefully made their way up the side of the ship with rope and grapple. Once on board they the top deck in chaos. Shattered crates everywhere, years of weather damage and no sign of life in sight.

They rummage through the crates looking for anything salvageable when giant spiders emerge from the debris they'd been nestled in to attack. The spiders were large, grimy skinned and adapted to walk across the water. They'd been preying upon the vermin that lurked in the vessel and tried to make a meal of the heroes. The creatures were dealt with swiftly. Caellana's usual mercy for natural animals didn't extend to these beasts whom she was happy to burn with her fire spell.

Cordelia decided to sneak below deck while the others carefully followed. What they found were the shambling remains of some of the crew, zombies now. Cordelia spotted living shadows slithering through the blackness and more spectral entities suffering ... hungering in the dark. She managed to evade the many enemies while they all flocked to the stairs and crashed into the rest of the heroes. Erik and Aelfric held the staircase against these overwhelming foes while Cordelia went deeper into the ship alone. It's there, deep within the second level of the derelict that she found a survivor. Tablin.

Tablin was a man with a mane of knotted, wiry grey hair and wild eyes. He smelled heavily of decay and his body was a smear of dirt, grim and filth. He revealed to her that he was the ship's first mate and the vessel was named the Icatian. It belonged to the logging magnates of Rylan and they used it to supply timber to the many small communities around Lake Bask including Frial, home of the Grand Order of the Lion. He sailed for Captain Nellis Tusker and served Rylan's flag. However, over the years the many communities along the lake would vanish one by one, preyed upon by the many dangers in the region. One night, two years earlier, a particularly devastating storm struck and Captain Tusker ordered the Icatian and her crew to take shelter in the abandoned harbor of one of these many lost coastal villages. In that village Tablin says they discovered a trove of ancient relics from long before the Queen's War. Tusker brought them all on board and tried unlocking their secrets in the hopes of selling them for a sizable profit back home. In doing so he earned the attention of a demon who had been sheltering in the village as well. The succubus, Tryxanna . Tablin says she enraptured Tusker and fed on the crew one by one, leaving their bodies as hollow hungry corpses and the tattered essence of their souls warped into shades, specters and ghosts. Her escape from the ship was prevented by one of the passengers on board, a knight of the Grand Order of the Lion named Count Rutigar Dragen. He used his connection to Sandor bind his soul and hers to the Icatian with a powerful divine curse. So she's lurked on this vessel ever since, feeding upon and torturing the crew.

Cordelia reasoned that there was an opportunity here for both the relics and the valuables aboard the ship. The timber would be useful for the caravan as well. She asked Tablin to take her to the Captain's quarters. Before going Tablin explained that the only way to move past the dead unnoticed was to disguise yourself as one of them. He peeled the rotted clothes off a nearby corpse and handed the rags to her. Reluctantly she donned them and the pair ventured into the darkness of the ship together.

The Bowels of the Icatian

As Cordelia crept deeper and deeper into the ship she witnessed more spirits, more zombies and more griszley scenes of past death and violence. All the while Tablin spoke lovingly of the "The Lady" and her beauty. Meanwhile the staircase became increasingly difficult for the other heroes to hold on to. The decayed remains of the crew were clogging the area and their hungry spirits were able to assail them from all sides as well. They began to give up ground, moving for the more open battlefield of the top deck.

Cordelia and Tablin carefully entered Captain Tusker's quarters where, unlike the rest of the ship, everything was kept pristine and immaculate. It was almost too palatial to actually be part of the simple cargo galley. Red silken curtains billowed in the open windows, the four post canopy bed was made for royalty and fitted with pristine ivory sheets and the room itself smelled like sweet wine and flowers. Yet, upon the bed rested the remains of the Captain. The long withered rib cage torn open, the desiccated head wrenched from its neck. In his hands he clutched a most beautiful looking silver rapier with red bloodstones embedded in the basket hilt.

Tablin whispered humbly "She's here" and with that a soft, cool breeze invaded the room and the feeling of a gentle caress along the small of Cordelia's back preceded the arrival of the demoness, Lady Tryxanna. She appeared to them dressed in a slim, fitted red dress that clung to her perfect curves. She materialized on the edge of the canopy bed sitting comfortably and smiling. The succubus expressed her delight at having new souls to feed on and new minds to play with. She stood and moved toward Cordelia, unfurling large monstrous red wings as she approached. Cordelia decided to speak with her rather than run or fight, knowing full well neither option would save her.

Tryxanna was happy enough to engage, having had only tortured spirits and Tablin's broken mind to speak with for so long. She explained that this ship had become a prison due to the divine curse of Count Dragen. She's killed him several times but the ragged, dead corpse of the knight rises every single time. His oath to tether her here so long as his soul remained seemed unbreakable. She offered Cordelia a deal, find a way to get rid of the knight and she'd be rewarded and sparred. With that, Cordelia accepted and asked Tablin to take her to where Dragen the Undying was lingering on.

Final confrontations

On the top deck the other heroes stumbled and retreated against the onslaught of zombies and spirits. They considered setting the ship on fire now and fleeing but they decided to hold and give Cordelia more time to scout the ship... if she was even still alive. While they pushed back and struggled against the spiritual embers left behind by Tryzanna's feeding a new entity revealed itself through a shimmering green inferno of energy from below deck. The ghost of Captain Tusker.

The Captain's withering touch and emphereal blade left deep wounds in anyone it touched. He added further to the deck side chaos by possessing Tindel and using his body against the other heroes. Caellana was the first to fall victim to Tindel's bow and then he turned it on the others cackling madly with the Captain's voice.

Below deck Cordelia and Tablin found themselves in the cargo hold where the warped shades of the former crew spun about wildly tormenting Count Dragen. The knight was drained and hollow corpse of an entity encased in his brilliant full plate. Despite the decay that has claimed the ship the knight's armor seems untouched by all the corruption around it. They approached him and Cordelia explained to him that his watch had ended, that she was here to deal with the demoness and avenge the crews' death. She said that she earned Tryxanna's confidence through deception and was going to betray her but she needed Dragen to depart so that when the succubus is slain she goes back to the Abyss instead of lingering here in the boat. With a heavy sigh Dragen thanked her and he released his soul to whatever waits beyond. His body turned to ash and the tormenting spirits quickly turned on Cordelia and Tablin. The pair fled with every ounce of alacrity they could muster and began skulking back to Tusker's quarters.

Once back in Tusker's room Tryxanna greeted them both gleefully. She could feel her freedom once again and it was deeply missed. Tablin knelt and praised her newly found freedom. Cordelia said she took care of the knight by tricking him into moving on. Tryxanna was disappointed that Dragen's end didn't come with any suffering but the outcome was all the same. Her freedom. She went first to Tablin, granting him the only reward his warped mind could possibly want. Her lips. Tablin desiccated in her embrace turning completely into ash and bone. She then turned to Cordelia offering her a reward as well. Cordelia feared that gift was the same as what was granted to Tablin but instead she was offered the rapier that Tusker's corpse was clutching. With some hesitation Cordelia took the weapon in hand and tried to ask the demoness if it was cursed or bound to Tryxanna but she only winked, smiled and then vanished to indulge in her freedom.

Cordelia reached the top deck in time to see her allies bringing down the possessed Tindel and dash Captain Tusker's ghost back into the ether. However; his malignant soul quickly began to gather its strength back in the depths of the Icatian. The heroes quickly decided that the ship and her resources were beyond salvage and so they put a torch to the vessel and let the lake claim her.

They reached the shore in time to see the Icatian consumed by fire and the tortured howls of the souls trapped on board before the entire derelict slipped below the waters of Lake Bask.

Rewards Granted

-XP for killing shadows, specters, Tusker's ghost. -Cordelia as Tryxanna's Rapier, which is a +2 one handed magic finesse weapon that deals piercing damage.