Spirits, Sailors, & Sea Monsters

General Summary

At Vesym

Or where we meet Colonel Blaster & Vincent

It was a sunny day at Vesym when the adventurers arrived with Digby the Grounder at the shores of Vesym. The little creature, only ten inches in height, was relieved to be back on his home soil. In fact, his family and friends soon surrounded him, pronouncing curses on the caprimag that stole him from them.
Shanna, Tala, Teju, and her three siblings stood about idly, thinking it best to leave for the next Waystation since their task was finished. The others would come along later, needing a little rest and relaxation on the tropical shores of Angmorl.
The grounder chieftain, of a proud size of twelve inches as opposed to the usual ten, approached Shanna and tapped impatiently on her shoe. Shanna looked down.
"Excuse me, thank you for returning Digby for us. Would you be willing to take a fellow ugly giant with you to your next destination?"
Just then, a madman ran out of a hut a short distance away. He was barechested, bare-footed, and wore only a raggedly pair of tan seaman's trousers. He roared at the top of his lungs and charged at the chieftain, holding two sword aloft.
"No!" The chieftain squeaked. Digby  saw what was happening and looked bothered.
"Last time he came out, he kicked our chieftain twelve feet forward!" Digby said hurriedly.
"Please, we will give you our blessings from our worshippers on Darnali if you take him with you!" The chieftain bribed.
The datasphere approved of the bribe, as did the adventurers. They each received sixty shins in small trinkets and shiny bits of metal.
Shanna walked over to the madman and introduced herself.
"Excuse me, what's your name?" She asked politely.
"I'm Colonel Blaster!" the madman roared. "And this be Vincent, my companion!"
Shanna looked at the invisible air and nodded agreeably.
"I'm Tala - it's a pleasure to meet you both."
Teju and her siblings looked critically at the man and stayed silent, merely observing. Tala also introduced herself.
"Would you like to come with us to Omaris?" Tala asked.
"Yes!" The man roared again. "I'm so annoyed with these little people. They get underfoot and then I have to kick them away. Right, Vincent?"
Shanna nodded, thinking of all the crazy antics her own brothers had gotten up to when they were younger.
"What a nice hat Vincent has," she remarked. That seemed to mollify Colonel Blaster. He followed Tala and Shanna to the boat, where Teju and her siblings sat waiting with their paws or toes dangling in the water.
After consulting the map from the queen of Darnali, they decided to sail around Darrad and to the west of Edelmid where they would head northwest to skirt the coast of Omaris. From that route, they could go the Forbidden Fortress directly and hopefully avoid any encounters with pirates.

On the Journey to Omaris

or where we enounter a sea monster and Gretta the Grim

The journey took a few weeks, though according to the map it should have taken nearly a year with their outrigger canoe. They seemed to glide along faster in these waters. Teju wondered if there might be underwater portals in their path likes the ones scattered across Darnali.
About twenty miles east of Edelmid's coast, they encountered something frightening in the water. Ripples had begun to gather around the outrigger's stabilizers. When the party investigated it, three ebons lept out of the water! These water beasts, six foot in length with strong flippers and sharp teeth, attempting to knock the sailors off the boat and into the deep ocean water! Teju quickly transformed into a bird and led the ebons away from the ship. But as she did so, she saw a huge mouth come out of the ocean and eat an ebon whole! Soon all three had disappeared and an enormous sea monster emerged from the depths. Teju could tell that it was heading back to the canoe! She flew ahead, barely beating its arrival with her own.
Shanna quickly let the second outrigger canoe, the smaller one tied to the first, go to be bait for the sea monster. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when it worked. Suddenly the ocean, seemingly placid and uneventful, became sinister and alarming. The group decided not to land at Edelmid and instead continue with their journey, staying watchful.
A few days later, the adventurer on watch spotted a large galleon on the horizon. It had spotted them already and was sailing towards the outrigger canoe. Tala took a cypher out of her bag and aimed it at the galleon. It was successful. Soon they could see flames greedily devouring the galleon's deck.
Regardless, the galleon continued its pursuit. Within a few minutes, it had pulled up alongside the outrigger canoe. From the side of the ship, a wiry, roguish, and blonde-haired female pirate stared down at them with a forced grin and slightly narrowed eyes.
"And who be the villain who set fire to me deck, I wonder?" She glared at them.
"That would be me," said Tala proudly, holding up her cypher.
"I see. Anyways, you've got two options as I see it. You can be smart and get aboard my vessel or you can become food for the sea monster. What will it be?" The pirate asked.
Teju had stayed in bird form with her siblings. She watched the pirate from her perch on the mast of the ship. Tala, Shanna, and Colonel Blaster with Vincent decided to board the pirate ship.
"Aye, good choice. I'm Captain Gretta the Grim!" The pirate lady said. She shook each of their hands and asked for help to clean up the deck. Tala cleared the flames with another cypher and stored the fire for a later use.

At Acknyt

or where we meet a substitute bartender, unnatural mold, and the Oxlyn the Timid

Acknyt, on the east side of Omaris, seemed a prosperous town at first glance. It was twilight when Gretta docked the galleon at the large quay. There were a row of galleons, frigates, and sloops docked neatly along the quay near Gretta's galleon. One ship in particular was called The Artful Dodger, owned by Oxlyn the Timid. The buildings were made of discarded ship hulls and jungle wood. Men, women, and children all walked about freely, gathering their last purchases at the market. There were also barns for animals and a large grain silo on the outskirts of town.
The adventurers decided to get a room for the night. Gretta had offered to introduce them to Oxlyn as soon as they reached port, but they wanted to explore the town first. Shanna thought it was only right that they help the area in some way to earn brownie points with the pirate captain.
There were two inns available: The Plastered Pimpernel and No Rum Here, obviously a family-centered hostel. Colonel Blaster chose The Plastered Pimpernel and Tala and Shanna followed. Teju had opted to stay in animal form so she could observe the town without being spotted.
The next morning, Shanna was the first to get up. She and Barlo walked down to the bar to get some breakfast. They found a neat little setup of tables and chairs near a large fireplace. The bar and kitchen, however, were dirty. A middle-aged, balding man wearing a grease-spotted apron was cleaning the bar with a dirty rag. Shanna decided to take no notice and asked the barkeep for breakfast. Soon she was joined by Tala and Colonel Blaster, who insisted Vincent was with them too. Everyone ordered the breakfast special - fried eggs, unidentifiable meat, and buttered bread.
As they ate, they began to feel a chill down their spines like someone was watching them. Shanna was so afraid she froze for a minute. But there was no reason for her fear! She noticed the dining room was empty save for them and began to second-guess their accommodation choice. But soon she worked through the most of the weird sensation. A bit of dread lingered with her after the fact. It seemed the effect everyone in the room except Tala. She calmly sipped her tea and paid them no mind.
Shanna gulped nervously and struck up a conversation with the barkeep. She convinced him she was royalty and soon he was calling her "your grace" and "milady." From him she found out that the entire town was suffering from a malady of fear. Soon Gretta arrived and verified his story. Shanna found out that a recent trading vessel returning from Obelisk island had brought back some grain from Darnali.
"Let's go investigate the grain silo!" Shanna told the group. They all followed once they were finished with their breakfast. It took them a bit just to get out the inn door. Colonel Blaster had argued with Vincent about not throwing food at Tala and only ate in quick, jerky movements -eyeing the room around him nervously. Finally they were off!
The grain silo was huge! In front of it, a middle-aged woman with colorful clothing and a nearly albino face stood with her arms crossed at the silo entrance.
"And who might you be?" She asked. Quickly the group introduced themselves and asked about the grain.
"It came in from the Blue Wind not three days ago. You can see inside if you like," she motioned to the interior of the building.
Inside the silo, Tala did a perception check and soon spotted a mysterious green mold along the walls. On closer inspection, she realized that the mold was sentient! An oozing skull was now visible and the green slime shifted across the walls like a slug. Colonel Blaster fetched a bucket while Tala collected the ooze in the container. They quickly dumped it outside. Tala burned it with the flames in her cypher.
Immediately the foreboding atmosphere around the town lifted. Gretta came hurrying immediately to the grain silo.
"You've done it," she told them happily. "Oxlyn has got to hear about this."
She led them across town to the Artful Dodger, Oxlyn's flagship.
Oxlyn's ship was even bigger than Gretta's. It was an enormous galleon that could easily fit three to four hundred sailors. Several cannons poked out from the interior and sides of the ship. Gretta led them to the stateroom where Oxlyn kept office.
The state room was well-lit and cheerful. Glass windows let in the afternoon light, illuminating the speckles of dust that danced in the sunbeams. Oxlyn, an older gentleman wearing typical pirate gear and a ragged tricorn hat, looked up from the ledgers he had been calculating at his desk. His face broke out into a grin. He held out both hands welcomingly.
"Welcome to my ship," he said, greeting each of them in turn. "My name is Commodore Oxlyn the Timid, the true ruler of Omaris. Say nothing of that Macklyn at the Maer Outpost. He's nothing compared to my trading empire."
Tala lifted an eyebrow and said nothing in reply to that statement. Colonel Blaster looked around for Vincent, wanting to introduce him to the captain.
But then Oxlyn caught sight of Humphrey's bottle, hanging from Shanna's belt. He let out a yell.
"No spirits on this boat!" He cried.
Just then, a shrill voice emanated from the walls.
Grandson! I heard that? How could you leave the ghost of your great-granny to rot?! Terrible descendants I have. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Oxlyn cleared his throat.
"I see the ghost of my long-dead great-great-great grandmother has made herself known." He looked pained and awkward. "I don't suppose you might take her with you?"
"Perhaps. You know, we recently saved your town from a mysterious creature causing a fear sickness."
"How amazing! I owe you for that, I truly do. How can I repay you?" Oxlyn said, recovering his nerves admirably.
"Well, we're trying to get an item of... historical and rare value from a... building not far from here." Shanna said, trying to press her advantage.
"You're looking for treasure?" Oxlyn replied, looking wary again. "Oh aye, I know of the building you speak of. The Forbidden Fortress. It's supposed to be haunted, you know. No one comes back. And last time I saw it..."
"Oh so you have been there?" Shanna interrupted.
"Yes, from the deck of me ship as we did rounds about Omaris. Nasty place, that. I barely saw past the lava pits. That was enough to give me pause." He replied.
"Well," Shanna said, "We'd like your help to get there and finish our quest."
"Well..." Oxlyn looked reluctant. But Shanna had used all her persuasion on her last sentence. Oxlyn seemed resigned.
"Captain Gretta can take you to the shore in her ship, The Ravager. I don't think she'll go farther than the lava pits though. Still, it's free transportation." He said. "As long as you take me granny with you."
The granny ghost slid smoothly into the bottle with Humphrey. The dead thief seemed glad to have a companion.
Having talked with Oxlyn, the group went back to the Plastered Pimpernel for lunch. When the rest of the party caught up with them in a few days, Gretta would take them to the Forbidden Fortress.
For the time being, they enjoyed a few days of well-earned vacation in a pleasant pirate town.

Report Date

14 Mar 2021