Dudemeister's Skull & Shackles


Campaign Journals

Silver Crusade

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Prologue: One Misty Mourning

Rain spattered upon the deck of the Misty Mourner, the sailors eyed the Chelish Captain with wary suspicion. The Chelish Navy was powerful even in the free waters of the Shackles, and with the secret of gunpowder stolen from Alkenstar many a ship in the Chelish navy had found itself fitted with a powerful compliment of cannons.

"Everything seems to be in order, and I hope you find yourself sailing with fairer winds than these. Captain..."
"Ackles," spake Captain Morgan, "Captain Shamus Ackles."
"Indeed."

The Chelish Captain walked up the gangplank back onto his boat. The crew breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet, just as the Captain Morgan was about to give the order to release the grapnels from his ship words could be heard over the patter of rain.
"Fire all cannons men! Burn that ship to the waterline! If that man isn't a pirate, he once was and I'll be damned to the deepest of hells if I'll let him free to commit another act of devil-blasted piracy!"
The Thrune's Fang opened up her cannon ports:
BOOOOOM! CRASH!
"Blast it all!" Yells Captain Morgan, "The Misty Mourner won't last a minute under this assault! ALL HANDS TO THE BOATS! ABANDON SHIP YOU SCABROUS DOGS, AND THAT'S AN ORDER!

Four members of Morgan's crew leapt to, and needed little convincing to man the emergency boat. Lowering themselves down into the ocean the mighty half-orc woman, and an imperious looking Tengu began rowing with all their might. The hull of the Misty Mourner shattering to splinters in their wake. Then after less than a minute of bombardment. A mighty explosion caused the dinghy to bob from the waves. The Misty Mourner's powder had gone up, lit by Morgan no doubt, to give the boats more time to escape. Whether by luck or Besmara's blessing the sails of the Thrune's Fang II were burning and torn. Morgan's Crew had a small chance of survival.

The four aboard the dinghy were:

Peter Backbeard - Male Dwarf Witch: Hunting for the ancient secrets of Ghol-Gan, Peter signed on to the Misty Mourner under Captain Jonas Morgan in the hopes of meeting a contact in Port Peril about a map. A tiny dinosaur rests atop his shoulder, and his long back-hairs seem to move of their own accord.

Sally Dread-Morgan - Female Half Elf Buccaneer (Bard): A storyteller from Port Peril, Sally signed on to Captain Morgan's ship in order to learn the Captain's life story, and to learn if they were indeed related.

Buttons - Female Half-Orc Juju Oracle: Called by the wendifa to the ocean, Buttons is named so for the bizarre collection of buttons she keeps, some of which she sews onto raggedy dolls for her own inscrutable reasons. Captain Morgan took her aboard the ship believing "Having juju sea spirits on your side might be worth a button or two."

Samrow Seaspirit - Male Tengu Corsair (Fighter) - Signed on to Captain Morgan's ship in the hopes of becoming an officer, Captain Morgan hired Seaspirit to absorb the bad-luck aboard the ship (a job he is still doing aboard his new boat).

The days were long, and while they told stories over rum, to keep down the boredom, soon the rum was almost gone. They rolled the bones to determine who would get the last swig, and though Sally Dread-Morgan lost many of her fine possessions to her fellow boatmembers, the taste of rum was oh-so-sweet.

But then another day passes in the heat, without shade. Even watered, the unrelenting heat caused each to pass out in turn. First Samrow, insulated by his fine black feathers, then Sally, with her slight elf-blooded frame, and then Buttons passed out mumbling about the wendifa. Peter Backbeard was last, but upon the horizon he spotted a sea serpent?

...

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Sweet Trade

The crew of the Mourner found themselves rudely awoken by a savage looking man with a long black beard, and cracking a whip to punctuate his points.
"Still abed with the sun over the yardarm? On your feet, ye filthy swabs! Get up on deck and report for duty before Captain Harrigan flays the flesh into sausages and has Fishguts fry you up for breakfast!"

Half-dazed the crew realized that they had been rescued from death by a crew of pirates, and there would be no illusions they had been press-ganged onto the crew.

The Mourners raced upstairs to the Main Deck where they learned that they served on The Wormwood under Captain Barnabas Harrigan, not that they would be speaking to the man. They were given to Mr. Plugg to shape into pirates as he saw fit. He quickly made it clear to the party that they were to obey without question and the smartmouthed Backbeard earned his first lash for insubordination at that point. Ordered to climb the rigging to determine who had the skill to serve as a Rigger on the ship, Buttons proved herself more than able to perform the task (rolling two twenties in a row to make the accelerated climb checks).

Plugg then asked for a volunteer to serve as cook. Backbeard volunteered, if only to get out from Scourge's zealous punishments. "If I find even one hair in my soup, I'll flay you alive got it." Threatened Plugg.

Sally Dread-Morgan, and the Tengu Samrow were made swabbies, their first task to catch rats below decks. Samrow tried to use the opportunity to look around, letting his work suffer severely (rolled a 2). Sally on the other hand worked diligently at her task to catch as many rats as possible.

Meanwhile in the rigging Buttons was having the time of her life making the repairs needed to keep the ship in sailing trim (rolled a 19 on her Dex check. Button's dex mod is -1.)

In the kitchen Backbeard bluffed Kroop telling the old cook that he was in charge. Kroop found that hilarious, and said: "Well then Master Cook, if you're so smart then you'll at the very least know how to fish for turtles. So why don't you go and do that." Working diligently Backbeard managed to catch enough Sea-Turtles to make stew that night.

The day seemed to pass quickly as the clock struck its terrible tone. Samnell was brought up for shirking his duties and received 3 lashes from the whip-happy Master Scourge. Then came the main event. A sailor by the name of Jakes Magpie was keelhauled, dragged beneath the ship on a terrifying deadly trip. The price paid for stealing from his crew-mates, by the end all that was left of him was a messed up mass of pulped flesh.

That evening Sally Dread-Morgan and Buttons drank deeply of their rum ration. Buttons fell almost immediately ill and rushed to a hammock to sleep off the booze. Sally slurred her way through their origin tale, drawing a few interested listeners among the crew, but no new friends. Samnell and Backbeard sipped their ration, and while Samnell went straight to his hammock in the hopes of sleeping off some of his wounds, Backbeard challenged the only other dwarf on the crew "Narwhal" Tate to an arm wrestling match. He used a touch of fatigue in the hopes of weakening Narwhal, but the Dwarf sailor seemed resistant to the magic. His strength though was no match for the mighty Backbeard, and the dwarf with the animated back hair one a pouch of gold and silver for his troubles. Still though, he was beginning to grow worried about the whereabouts of his familiar.

Thus ended the first day upon the Wormwood, the first of many to come.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

The Wormwood: Day 2
Laying Down the Law

The survivors of the Misty Mourner awoke with a start, morning bell was ringing, and if the PCs weren't atop the ship by the final chime of the Wormwood's clock there'd be lashings for all of them. They scrambled to get dressed and as they approached the stairs fat Fipps Chumlett, the whore Aretta, psychotic Syl and the yellow half-orc Jaundiced Jape were blocking their path.
"What's your hurry... mates," Chumlett said from between his fat and greasy lips. Syl giggled disturbingly as if Chumlett had said something funny.
The Mourners knew how this game went, and didn't hesitate. They paired off Chumlett against Samrow Seaspirit, Syl against Buttons (NPC'd by me), Jape against Backbeard and Aretta against Sally Dread-Morgan. During the fight Buttons was the only one with a serious injury (a split lip thanks to Arretta). Chumlett drew a knife, but a quick sweep from Seaspirit, and a quick peck liberated the knife from the fat man. The crew were racing each other to the deck, knowing that the last to arrive would likely arrive after the bell.
Backbeard, Arretta, Jape and Syl were the slowest to the top, earning 3 lashes each during the bloody hour.

Once again Sally found herself in the hold hunting for rats and bugs, though she took some time to talk to Crimson Cogward, a Pharasmin worshipper who was fascinated with gory ghost stories. She told a few to pass the time while they caught rats.

Meanwhile on the deck Samrow made a new friend, a cleric of Besmara named Sandara healed the worst of the wounds from Samrow's lashing the previous night. She told him that working diligently was smart, but he should make time to make friends and perhaps retrieve his equipment from Cut-Throat Grok.

Backbeard meanwhile used his prodigious Backbeard to catch fish from the hold's porthole and maintain a conversation with Rosie Cusswell. The halfling took a shine to the dwarf and asked if he could retrieve a fiddle that had been taken from her when she had been press-ganged in Port Peril.

Soon enough bloody hour came, Backbeard took his lashings without the smart-mouthed remarks of the previous day. Sandara sneaked Sally a dagger and warned her about Scourge: "Take it from me he doesn't like to take no for an answer."

After rum rations were handed out Sally told a grisly tale about a pirate cornered by a swarm of rats, who killed them all with his bare hands and peeled them like bananas. Although Cogward enjoyed the tale, the rest of the crew only seemed to half listen.

Backbeard spent more time with Rosie, learning about some of the crewmembers; in particular Scourge's bullying personality and sycophancy to Mr. Plugg as well as Quinn's genuinely helpful attitude.

Samrow tried to get on Grok's good side but made very little leeway, he learned that finer alcohol (like wine or ale) might tempt the quartermaster.

They all took an early night.

The Wormwood: Day 3
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.

The party were awoken by Scourge's yelling and raced up to the Main Deck. Cunningly Scourge switched Sally and Samrow's tasks for the day. Samrow spent the day in the hold catching rats, while Arretta slacked off and Scrimshaw lazed in a hammock carving scrimshaw. The tengu was more than capable of doing his part.

Sally meanwhile spent the day sewing sails. Scourge took the opportunity to try and get a little too close, but Sally was far more subtle than Sandara and managed to bluff Scourge into leaving her alone, with the promise that if he had a more powerful position on the ship she might show a real interest. Cogward found her subtle rejection very clever.

Meanwhile Backbeard had a very busy day, he spent the morning drinking with Ambrose Kroop, and learned that the cook felt sorry for those trapped on the Wormwood. Spent mid-day trying to sweet-talk Grok, but only gained a possible location of his familiar, and the afternoon on the poopdeck, again talking to Rosie. He also found his familiar in a cage hanging off the side of the ship. He knew he would get in trouble if he retrieved it himself. Rosie offered a trade, her fiddle for his familiar, she could get the beast out without arousing suspicion from Scourge or Plugg and their cronies.

Suddenly the Bloody Hour arrived, and while our heroes avoided a lashing (good rolls from them all). Conchobar wasn't so lucky, as he had fouled the ropes when he spent too much time flirting with Rosie, earning 6 lashes for a second offense. While Samrow managed to collect plenty of rat corpses with no help from Arretta or the boy Scrimshaw, he refused to rat them out to First Mate.

Then came Rum rations, Samrow surreptitiously poured his off the side of the ship, Sally's liquid courage inspired a wonderful tale where a lusty pirate who couldn't take no for an answer eventually a crew of female pirates captured and tortured him to death. This story earned cheers from the whole crew. Backbeard meanwhile flirted outrageously with Grok in an attempt to recover Rosie's fiddle. While he was close, Grok wasn't quite yet willing.

Finally Samrow tried to turn the favor he did for Arretta into some respect, unfortunately the Tengu's complete lack of social graces caused Arretta to completely lose it.
"You think you're better than me?" Arretta hissed.
Samrow shook his head, perhaps he was a bad luck sponge...
"You're nothing but a bottom feeding gull and I don't need no help from you."
"No,no,no. I think you're better than Fatguts though!"
"FIPPS HAS A GLANDULAR PROBLEM! ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF HIS VERY SERIOUS MEDICAL ISSUE!?"
"You... you don't know a thing about medicine do you?"
And of course that's when Scourge showed up.
"Izzere a problem here?"
"GODSDAMMIT!" Samrow spat.
"This one here stole my boyfriend's knife," Arretta tattled.
"Stealing and losing things in a fair fight are two very different things," Samrow responded.
"Izzat true? You were fighting aboard me ship?"
"I do believe you mean Captain Harrigan and Mr. Plugg's ship."
Scourge began counting on his fingers: "Stealing, fighting, insubordination..."
"That about sums it up Master Scourge, to the sweatbox with him!"
"Bakawk!?" Exclaimed Samrow losing his veneer of civilization.
Dragged into the sweatbox the door is slammed shut.
"Perhaps 16 hours in the sweatbox might teach you to respect your fellow sailor, or at least we might end up with roast chicken for dinner tomorrow eve."
"Hahahahaa," laughed Scourge, "good one Mr. Plugg."

And so it was that a third day passed on the Wormwood...

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

The Wormwood: Day 4 - Fish in the Nets, Rats in the Bilges, Silver in the Pocket
31 Sarenith 4712 AR

Another day of work began as it did previously, Sally was assigned messenger duties (and was moved to the background as her player was away), Buttons was assigned manning the Sails, Backbeard was assigned manning the fishing nets by a very inebriated Kroop and Samrow was assigned a slow death in the sweatbox.

Buttons was barely able to do her work, and only managed as best she could through diligent work. Meanwhile Backbeard had caught something bizzarre in his net. Drawing it up there seemed to be a man, with gills in his neck missing an entire leg. Calling for a Doctor, Backbeard tried to help as best he could, unfortunately he only made matters worse when he pulled out a bit of bone (very poor Heal check). Buttons the Wendifa raced to the Poop Deck and used magic to stave off the bleeding. Habbly "The Stitchman" Quarne was called and he ordered Buttons and Backbeard to carry the Gillman to the Middle Deck, cutting a piece of the ship's rail as he did so. The surgery was was delicate and dangerous, but Quarne was a craftsman, and with the Wendifa's magical aid was able to give the Gillman a prosthetic leg so finely balanced that he would barely notice the difference in his balance (although the difference in pain might be more severe).
"Not bad for a carpenter aye?" Remarked "Stitchman".
"Not bad at all, I owe you my thanks," replied the gillman.
"Who be takin' pieces offa me ship?" The thunderous voice of Captain Harrigan boomed through the middle deck. Quarne quailed.
"It... it were I Cap'n."
"Well den, if a piece of me ship be a part of you, den you be a part of me ship. You owe me a debt..."
"Azaz sir, Azaz Brinestalker."
"I have one rule Mr Brinestalker, I like talk, but I don't like your talk. I leave ya in de capable hands of me first mate Mr. Plugg," with that Harrigan stalked off to his quarters where he constantly seemed to sequester himself. Plugg grimaced at the fishman in front of him, he turned to the various crewmembers.
"What are you all standing around for? Divest this fish-necked monstrosity of his weapons and gear. I'll not have him swimming away before he pays the Captain's debt." Backbeard was quick to respond with an apologetic look to Azaz. Plugg handed Azaz a mop and bucket of tar.
"Swab the decks fish-neck, until I can find a better use for you," ordered Plugg before stalking off to the forecastle.

Buttons and Backbeard took the opportunity learn a little more about their new crewmate. Apparently he had lost the leg in a duel with a wereshark, and hoped to seek vengeance on the foul monster that took his limb.
"I have to say thank you for saving me," said Azaz to the half-orc and the dwarf.
"Don't be thanking us yet, you have no idea what you're in for-" Backbeard trailed off as the boy Jack Scrimshaw raced up the stairs muttering something about rats, big ones. The trio followed the boy upstairs and onto the forecastle where he reported to First Mate Mr. Plugg.

"... It bit me sir! A rat big as a bulldog! I swear it." Plugg glowered, and rapped upon the sweatbox with the butt of his pistol, ringing painfully loud to the Tengu Samrow trapped inside.
"Weren't you in charge of ratting yesterday?" Plugg glowered. Even with his ears still ringing the tengu responded in the affirmative.
"Did you check the bilges?"
"Uh... no."
"You complete birdbrain," Plugg hollered, opening the sweatbox, "take greenskin, beardface and fishneck down to the bilges and don't none of you come up until every last rat in there is dead! Or I'll have Master Scourge flay you into pasta to be served with Fishgut's gruel."
"Beggin' your pardon but couldn't we get a stick or something to kill the rats with?" Azaz asked (and failed his Diplomacy check miserably).
"A stick? A STICK? Haven't you taken enough sticks from this ship? You've already got a perfectly servicable stick, stickin' out your leg so why don't you hop down there and beat some rats with it, before I beat you with it?" Azaz didn't need to be ordered a third time he saluted and hobbled off. "Yes sir," responded Peter Backbeard (but tanked his Bluff check).
"Is that sarcasm I detect? I will not forget your insubordination Peter Backbeard." Somehow Plugg using the dwarf's real name was more terrifying than his usual demeaning insults.

Heading downstairs to the Quartermaster's store the party tried to negotiate for some weapons to use. Grok was reticent to give back Azaz's equipment so soon after Plugg ordered him divested of it:
"You let that cool off a few days before trying, or Plugg will have you hide and mine." Samrow managed to trade his rapier for future plunder. The half-orc oracle merely asked a favour from the kinsmen, and Grok felt a wave of sisterly affection for Buttons handing her back the wendifa's falchion. Backbeard managed to finally sweet-talk Grok into at least returning his boarding pike. Samrow whispered to Azaz:
"I've got a dagger stored away in my locker, you can borrow it if you like. Just see I get it back before the end of the day."
"Beats using a mop that's for sure," Azaz said.

Finally they entered the dank, dark bilges. Backbeard's darkvision caught sight of two Dire Rats, he used the opportunity to cast a spell, unfortunately the complex chant would take time to complete. Two additional rats burst forth from the filthy bilge water to attack, their disease ridden bites tearing clothes and causing bruises and shallow wounds. The next round Backbeard's spell completed and Azaz expanded to four times his size. Azaz immediately skewered a rat on his short-sword sized dagger. The darkness was too confusing for Samrow and what should have been a deadly heart-strike only struck darkness (critical hit negated by miss chance). Buttons on the other hand was a whirring machine of death two flicks of her falchion ended the lives of two rats snicker snack. Backbeard grew frustrated and used his mighty beard to tear the rat he faced to pieces. It was over in a few seconds, so the party decided to take some time to search the bilges.

Within they found some armour and some weapons including a masterwork axe. They resolved to trade these things to Grok, and headed up the ladder to the Quarter Master's store. Samrow gave Grok one of the maces, and was thus allowed to keep his rapier. Backbeard bartered a deal to either get 21 gp in coin or 30 gp worth of stuff from the Half-Orc. He decided to hold on to his stuff in the hopes of making a better trade in future. He also attempted to trade for Rosie's fiddle, but Grok needed "something done to... er... for her before she'd give that away."
Backbeard promised to visit her later.
"What's goin' on here? Weren't you lot meant to hunt rats in the bilges?" Demanded Master Scourge of the characters. Samrow dropped the rats on the ground in front of him.
"Job's done... sir."
"Is it? Well there's still plenty of work to be done there's no reason to be idl-"
"No. Dey have done plenty today. Dey can have de afternoon. It is deres for service provided." It was Harrigan.
The big man covered in feathers, "Owlbear" dived behind some boxes and quavered.

Samrow took the opportunity to head to the deck and chat with Sandara.
"Listen, whatever you're planning... I'm in." Sandara smiled.
"Excellent... except I don't really have a plan. I've just been winging things. You lot have been surviving okay so far. I think what we need is equipment and friends. Then all we need is an... opportune moment."
Meanwhile Backbeard decided to clean the galley in the hopes of impressing Kroop and perhaps organize him enough to keep him from drinking. In his cleaning he managed to find some useful items, he pocketed the silver and took a couple of bottles of rum and a bottle of brandy. Buttons headed back to help with the sales where she could, although her time spent aiding in surgery, traipsing through the bilges and negotiating with Grok caused her work to suffer.

Then came bloody hour.

Mr. Plugg stood upon the Forecastle:

"Mr. Peter Backbeard, stand before the mast, your insubordinate attitude will not be tolerated. In short: I don't like your tone. I'm ordering 9 lashes from Master Scourge with his whip," he fondles his cat o' nine tails fondly, "next time it'll be the cat. Understand?"

Master Scourge's zealous over-enthusiasm may have been the only thing that stood between Backbeard and death itself. As occasionally his overzealous whip would only lash empty air. The six strikes that did land were solid though, and Backbeard was barely conscious when Sally and Sandara dragged him away from the mast.

"Maheem, Conchobar and Ratline step forward," yelled out Plugg,
"Your negligence nearly cost us a sail today, what have you to say for yourselves?"
"It tweren't aur fault ser. We were shaort harnded," Maheem responded shooting daggers at Buttons.
"I have done my part on this ship since I first came aboard, and I have done my part well. Perhaps if they had done their job the same they wouldn't be in this position?" (Buttons poor Diplomacy has earned the party another enemy).
"Aye," responded Mr. Plugg, "it was by my order that the half-orc was sent to the bilges. I will not have my orders questioned by the likes of you Godless One. For you 6 lashes. For the short ones... 3."

Ambrose wobbled on deck, and started handing out rations, which Samrow surreptitiously tipped over the side. Backbeard watered down to rum, and Buttons sipped. Azaz, unaware of the potency of the Wormwood's barrelled rum drank wholeheartedly, but was made of tough enough stuff to ignore the worst effects. Still exhausted and sore from the surgery he limped off to bed. Samrow took the opportunity to talk to Conchobar and make it clear that the Mourner's survivors were not his enemy, and that it was Plugg and Scourge who were the real threat. Conchobar considered his words and decided to let bygones be bygones (with an amazing Diplomacy roll Samrow turned Conchobar from Unfriendly to Indifferent). Buttons decided to go straight to her hammock after tending to the health of her fellow crewmates. Sandara healed Backbeard some of his wounds but told him "there's going to be scarring." Backbeard stayed awake only long enough to visit Grok and gift her with a fine bottle of brandy.

Thus ended another fine day aboard the Wormwood.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

The Wormwood: Day 4-11: Storm In The Sky, Blood In the Water
Erastus 1-8 4712 AR

A young Mwangi boy sits at the end of a pier fishing, watching the sails of ships on the horizon and day dreaming while his mother sings a song. "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Trim the sails and roam the sea..."
"Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A pirate I was meant to be!"

They laughed at the silly song. When suddenly the boy felt a tug on his fishing line. A mighty fish must be on the end of the hook. He pulled, and pulled and used all his inexperience to drag the fish. Pulling with all his might he dragged the fish up, and instead found his hook was in the mouth of the draconic prow of the Wormwood, water splashed his face.

And Buttons the Juju Oracle awoke the the leering face of Fipps Chumlett. "Wakey wakey, morning bell's been rung, unless ye want a whipping."
Fipps was not to know that this act would be the final nail in his coffin. Buttons had decided he was not long for the world.

That day the crew worked hard on the Wormwood, keeping their heads down and somehow nobody ended up on the mean end of Scourge's whip. Plugg decided to reward the crew with a bit of entertainment. Plugg threw down a 50 gp reward for anyone able to best Owlbear Hartshorn in a contest of boxing or wrestling. Samrow Seaspirit stepped forward, and the boxing match that ensued was a close run thing, Samrow was the quicker and wilier, but Owlbear was far stronger with a greater reach. When Samrow seemed to gain the upper hand (thanks to spotting a weakness in Owlbear's vision), Scourge threw Owlbear a club.
"Pick it up damn you, there's good money riding on this!"
Owlbear started swinging wildly with the club. Samrow figured lethal damage had become fair game and pecked the giant. When blood spilled Owlbear dropped to the ground crying:
"No hurt me Birdy Man! Please! Owlbear just *sniff* playing!"
"Finish the fight," ordered Plugg.
Backbeard pleaded with the crowd to end the fight, Samrow had clearly won. Samrow continued the fight by tripping and grappling Owlbear, refusing to hurt the clearly simple man any further. Samrow's evil only ran so deep.

The next few days were a blur of work for the crew. A storm was rapidly approaching, and the press-ganged crew had little choice but to work around the clock. Still some idle chatter revealed some new information:
The Ship's Clock was something sinister, many of the crewmembers tried not to look at the thing on the hour. Kroop shared that he believed the Captain had won the clock pillaging Chelish ships near the Soddenlands and that a devil was trapped within. Curious, Peter Backbeard used detect magic on the Clock and was Blinded for 2 days. Some mighty magics were involved in that clock. While Samrow was doing good work (actually volunteering to do two jobs a day in order to make sure the ship was ready fr the storm and succeeding all his checks), he was blamed for Aretta Bansion's shoddy work and considering the amount of punishment he'd taken so far was whipped bloody with the Cat. He took strong drink and was brought near to death (1 wound left).
"If I catch anyone healing this layabout birdbrain, I will lay the same punishment upon them you mark my words," threatened Plugg. Buttons simply stared the man down, while the spirits that haunted her made noises of the Captain's heavy boot tread behind Plugg startling the man. The crew though all stood in respect for Samrow who did not cry out even once during the brutal assault. Buttons and Peter managed to cajole the crew into keeping quiet as Buttons and Sandara Quinn used some healing magics to see to it that Samrow make it through the night.

In any case Peter finally managed to seduce Grok, and she returned the party their starting equipment. She also traded him Rosie's fiddle for his cauldron. Peter gave the fiddle to Samrow, who gave it to Conchobar and told him to give it to Rosie. She embraced the gnome, immediately looked embarrassed and ran off to tune the fiddle.

The storm that had threatened to hit for the past day smashed into the ship before morning bell. It was all hands on deck for the crew, as mighty waves crashed the deck. The Captain seemed to be everywhere at once on the ship, bellowing orders and seeming to love every moment of life on the edge of watery oblivion. The PCs swinging through the rigging and making repairs whenever possible. Sadly the already fatigued Buttons could hardly keep up, and fell asleep on the job during her second shift. She was kicked awake by Conchobar who had spotted Rosie splashed off the side of the ship. Buttons tied a rope around her waist and leapt into the water. Conchobar, Backbeard and Samrow pulled the pair of women back onto the ship. The storm finally broke at dawn of the next day. Buttons fell asleep on Lookout duty. During that bloody hour, she was thrown from the crow's nest onto the deck, breaking almost every bone in her body.
"Let that be a lesson to anyone who dares shirk their duty aboard this ship," hissed Plugg. Again the PCs diverted attention so that Sandara could heal up one of the battered PCs. The first mate's brutality was getting out of hand. In Button's unconscious state she dreamed of being a Mwangi Sailor in the Sargavan navy.
"Are you talking back to me boy?"
Dwali, stared down the superior officer, a man of Chelish blood but Sargavan loyalty. He refused to speak.
"This navy's gone downhill since they started letting you darkies enlist," the officer griped and slapped Buttons. Who woke up to another day of work.

The Captain seemed in good spirits, walking about the ship he spotted a nearby reef full of crabs.
"I need volunteers. Pigface (Buttons), Beardface (Peter Backbeard), Samrow Seaspirit and Mr. Chumlett. I want you on a longboat to collect some crabs. The Captain's in a mood to celebrate."
The party were lowered down and told to row 200 ft North of the ship's position and fill up four crab pots.
"I ain't much for swimmin' I'll watch the boat," remarked Fipps.
"You will swim, or you will drown. Understand?" Intimidated Buttons.
"Oh, if you put it that way."
As the PCs started searching for crabs, a pair of Reefclaws slipped out of the Coral and attacked Peter and Samrow. Samrow seemed charmed, every stab striking another vital section of the reefclaw, and dodging almost every strike from the Reefclaw's claws.
Peter was less lucky, and was quickly grabbed and constricted by the Reefclaw.
Buttons swam to the surface of the water.
"Fipps you better help Peter or I will see to it that you never see the Wormwood again," although Buttons had already resolved that Fipps would never see the next five minutes.
"Oh, if you put it that way."
Soon it was four against one, with the Buttons, Samrow, Peter and Fipps against the Reefclaw.

"When the Reefclaw thrashed in its death tantrum, it cut Fipps across the throat. There weren't nothing we could do Master Scourge," lied Samrow. Scourge stared at each of the three survivors in turn.
"Master Quarne!?"
"Aye,"
"What say you?"
"Looks like reefclaw attack to me sir. See the gelatinous poison on the wounds. They're telling the truth as near as I can tell."
The PCs had just got away with murder, and during Fipps' funeral made even more friends.

Things were looking up for the Misty Mourner's survivors. Samrow had crossed an enemy off the list, and the list of allies was growing greatly.

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

The Wormwood: Day 12-13: Emperor of the Waves
Erastus 9-10 4712 AR

The survivors of The Misty Mourner decided to keep their heads down rather than draw attention to the murder they had done. Captain Harrigan's high spirits prevailed, and Peter Backbeard was called to slaughter and prepare a pig for dinner. Backbeard used this as an opportunity to see the Captain's room.
The Captain told Backbeard: "Tomorrow at dawn, I need you to bring a live pig to the deck and tie it to de mast. Dere's sometin' I need to do."
Backbeard saluted and left.

The next dawn Harrigan pulled out his heartripper blade and slaughtered the pig, he uttered a pair of blasphemous command words causing the heart to burst into flames and smoke terribly, Harrigan breathed in the smoke. Harrigan ordered a change of bearing, deep into squid territory (much to Kroop's chagrin). Buttons spotted a ship an hour later. Harrigan grinned broadly.

"Good news, me hearties, what we have over there is an opportunity. That ship is The Emperor of the Waves, reported missing and presumed sunk by the Aspis Consortium. So that means that she's holding my treasure in her belly, and I need able crewmen to get it for me. For she's listing terribly, and could sink at the bottom of the sea within the day. Sink with MY TREASURE!
Mr Plugg select an away team... and Mr Plugg, remind them that if they don't come back with me treasure they best sink with the Emperor."

Warned by Plugg (at Harrigan's command) to purchase some Anti-Toxin and alchemist's fire from Grok. The party (three players this session) convinced Plugg to send two pirates along with them they took Azaz Brinestalker, and Plugg chose Jape to stay with the Ship's boat.

The crew of The Wormwood infiltrated the Emperor of the Waves, were bitten, poisoned and beaten bloody. Buttons stole every kill, and the party manage to claim the treasure (with some ghoulish complications). Things seemed great... and then came the tentacles. An old, sick colossal giant squid began to pull the ship apart with the party still aboard. Their ride back to The Wormwood paddling away as fast as possible. The PCs came up with a quick solution, they grabbed the navigator's desk and the corpse of a giant spider they killed. The ship listing at 45 degrees while tentacles smashed across the deck the PCs slid down the slide off the ship, bounced off the railing and splashed into the water. Using bits of debris from the Emperor of the Waves to paddle back to The Wormwood.

Harrigan was well pleased with the party's successful mission handing them each a gold reward, and a pair of potions, then throwing Jape into the sweatbox for "Dereliction of duty."

Next: Piracy!

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

The Wormwood: Day 14-21: A Week In Hell
Erastus 11-17 4712 AR

Still sore and tired from their debacle upon the Emperor of the Waves the Misty Mourners were rudely (very rudely) awoken by Riaris Krin.
"Alright you *****ing **** ****ers, out of your bunks and into your gear. I ****ing need you -ing dressed and -ing ready before I drag the ***ing lot of you onto the jollyboat by the ***ing ears!"

What followed was a grueling exercises wherein the characters had to grapple the Wormwood from the jollyboat all while being pelted by rotted fruit and other grossness from the bilge. Sally Dread-Morgan (who had spent some time keeping her head down and out of trouble to make some friends), and Peter Backbeard volunteered first. Backbeard tried a couple of dirty tricks to beat Sally up the rope, but the buccaneer bard would have none of it. Using her animate rope spell she securely fastened the rope and grapple to the Wormwood and started climbing, she was almost all the way to the ship when an errant melon thrown by Kipper (one of Plugg and Scourge's sycophants) caused her to drop into the water. Sally had little trouble calling the rope to herself and climbing the side of the ship to victory. Peter on the other hand was not so lucky, constantly slipping and falling even with the help of his legendary animated beard. On his third attempt along the rope Riaris lost patience and sent him back to the deck of the Wormwood.

The next to go across was Azaz Brinestalker and Buttons the Juju Oracle. Caulky Tarroon and the boy Jack Scrimshaw were recruited to fruit throwing duties. Buttons seemed to be a master at climbing, likely due to her time up in the rigging. Azaz on the other hand, hindered by his lost leg couldn't seem to cross more than 10 feet before slipping into the water. Meanwhile on deck Peter noticed that Maheem had dragged a bucket of chum from the kitchen. Backbeard waited for the opportune moment and upended both Maheem and the bucket of chum into the water together. Buttons used her juju divination ability to zip across the line, while the natural swimmer Azaz (being a Gillman) was forced to swim across to the Wormwood on his third failed attempt. Maheem tried to climb over Azaz to get out of the water, but the Gillman Ranger would have none of it. Throwing the Rahadoumi into the water while his allies pulled him up along with the rope.
"Here Maheem, another rope climb this one!" Called Buttons facetiously. Maheem swam further along the Wormwood's Hull and grabbed hold of the Rope, beneath the water it tied around his foot (the effect of Sally Dread-Morgan's second animate rope spell).
That's when the Shark appeared, attracted to the chum, it bit a big chunk out of Maheem who screamed terribly. Sally and Buttons made a big show of looking like they were trying to rescue Maheem, but not actually doing anything productive.
Maheem tried climbing up the rope himself, but when the shark cleared the water and grabbed hold there was a terrible tearing sound and all that remained of the sour-faced Rahadoumi sailor was a dark skinned leg. At which point Plugg stepped forth:
"You four are responsible for the death of fellow crewman. What have you got to say for yourselves?"
"We tried to rescue him, it's not our fault the damn fool went for a chum bath," replied Sally.
"That he fell in by accident is not in question. What is in question is why is his bloody leg tied to this rope? We all saw you just perform that witchery on your own grapple rope. It's murder you've done Sally Dread-Morgan, and you'll be keel hauled for it. Your friends will spend 24 hours in the sweatbox to learn a little something about RESPECT," Plugg's voice was final.
In a few short hours Sally was bound by her feet.
"So you want it quick, or slow?" Scourge asked with a salacious lick of his lips.
"Just get it over with quickly."
Without a chance to hold her breath Scourge unceremoniously dumped the half-elf bard off the side of the ship. Blood was left in the Wormwood wake as Sally was slashed and torn by the barnacles to with an inch of her life (literally on 1 wound). Barely conscious and covered in blood, salt and seawater Sally coughed on the deck of the ship.
"I catch anyone trying to heal this woman, they face the same punishment."
Sally spent the night lying awake on the deck, the dozens of cuts and wounds refusing to let her rest.
The next 24 hours were hardly great for Buttons and Peter either, as they were forced to stay inside the sweatbox together (it smelled of vomit since Jape - the previous occupant - had not handled his stay inside very well). Peter seemed to acclimate better than Buttons and by the next bloody hour were pulled out a little worse for wear.

The week that followed was brutal, Plugg had decided to ruin the lives of the Mourners, giving them the worst, most disgusting, most back-breaking duties. Punishing them extra severely for failure and by the end of the week the Mourners had made a couple of friends but those they hadn't befriended became polarized against them. Tensions on the Wormwood were rising, and set to break soon. Curiouser than ever Sally decided to break into the armory, the lock was easy enough, but the trap within harpooned the girl with a cruelly barbed implement causing further harm every time she tried to remove it. Worse tethering her to the room. She shut herself into the armory when she heard voices. Peppery Longfarthing and Habley Quarne talking about whether they believed Plugg was "up to the responsibility". Longfarthing retired to her laboratory. When Sally let loose a yelp of pain trying to dislodge the barb it drew the attention of Quarn. Sally quickly bluffed the noises of a pair of lovers in the Armory. Quarn (a sexually repressed Erastilian since his youth) cleared his throat: "I should get out of there if I were you. If Riaris catches you in there she'll surely lash you with more than her tongue."
Not that Sally could hear, since her next attempt to dislodge the harpoon left her unconscious and bleeding on the floor. Luckily Quarne had let slip that "lady lovers were doing their business" in the armory to Peter Backbeard. Backbeard raced to the room to discover the unconscious bleeding Sally holding a greased harpoon. Pouring a healing potion down her throat they devised a plan to return later and plant evidence of theft from the room upon their enemies. Unfortunately Sally's side-trip caused her to shirk her duties and the whipping that resulted caused her to fall unconscious. It was Buttons who volunteered to take the rest of the lashings in her friend's place (earning a lot of respect from the crew). So while Sally and Buttons slept, Azaz and Peter attempted to enact the plan. Unfortunately the officer's quarters were much busier during the night. They overheard another conversation about Plugg and about some big thing the Captain had planned soon, something involving the maps that were recovered from the Emperor of the Waves. Peter meanwhile headed down to Grok's room for another night-time tumble and overheard the Captain speaking to Kroop about old times, before Harrigan decided to go hunting in Chelish waters. Kroop mentioned his misgivings about Plugg and the strange clock Harrigan had brought back from Cheliax. Harrigan replied:
"Ya can't know de tings I and I done Kroop. De old days are done. Time it is to survive de wave whats comin'. So don' ask me secrets, because I been sworn ta keep dem so. You a broken man Kroop, and some tings broken can't be fixed," there was real regret in Harrigan's voice and Peter suspected some things but could not be sure.

"Your little friend is barely capable of pissing water let alone pumping it. I need someone in the bilges to take her place. Buttons, get down there, my man Jape and Shivika will give you a hand. Azaz, you're clearly not cut out for message delivery, we'll have you raised to the crow's nest. Keep a look out for sails. Cap'n says we're near prey. Backbeard, just... stay out of the way." Plugg ordered.

During the time pumping the bilges Buttons noticed the glint of steel tucked in Shivika's and Jape's belts. Daggers. At first a verbal altercation became a shoving match. With a bestial shout Buttons joined the battle. Jape held the Juju oracle fast while Shivika did her best to stab Buttons to death. Hearing the commotion Samrow and Backbeard joined the fray. A lucky strike from Samrow caught Shivka in the kidney causing her to bleed out.
"Crap!" Yelled Backbeard, "I've got to stabilize her, we're on thin ice as it is and if we get blamed for murder I don't think we can survive another round of Plugg's worst." Meanwhile Jape was attempting to escape and tell on the Mourners. A chase through the ship later (with Buttons wrestling and tackling Jape) Backbeard burst through the Captain's door.

"Someone's trying to murder us sir!"
"Why aren't ya speakin' to de first mate about dis."
"Er, because, you were closer?"
Harrigan growled a deep basso noise, and ordered everyone involved on to the deck.
"De lot of you have been naught but trouble since I got you aboard me ship. Mr Plugg, lock all o' dese folks up in de Bilge until I can decide what to do wit' dem."
"You heard him, get down there. Now."

Fortunately they still had a man on the outside, Azaz spent the night distracting Scourge from guard duty to sneak Sandara Quin into the Bilge so she could heal those injured in the fight.

The next day Azaz was put up on Lookout duty again, and by late afternoon had spotted sails on the Horizon:
"Ship ho!"
The Wormwood bustled with activity, the Mourners were set free from confinement and given some weapons and orders.
"You ***ing Buttons. You're in charge of this sorry lot. So ****ing listen up. You're to take the ship's wheel, keep those sorry sailors from their seige weapons in the Aft, and keep the stragglers away from the longboats. We want officers caught alive if possible. Got it? Good, get equipped. We're finally going to do some honest to Besmara piracy!"

While Peter and Kroop slaughtered pigs, Kroop said:
"I heard about your shameful showing at Boarding School, here. This here steadfast grappler has helped me through a tricky scrap. She'll catch on to your boat and not let go if she can help it."
Peter took the item with thanks and the chase was tense as orders were yelled back and forth across the ship. Harrigan reveling in the thrill of the chase. Although the chase took all night, Dawn seemed to arrive in a moment, and then... battle.

Crossbows fired across the water, pinging both sides before Peter and Samrow sent forth their grappling ropes.
Samrow was first across a flurry of pecks, stabs and feathers bringing death to every Rahadoumi who stood between himself and one of those sweet ballistae. Unfortunately in the combat Peter Backbeard fell into Shark infested waters, and Buttons and Sally had to pull his bedraggled beard from the water (minus a chunk of flesh from a cruel shark bite). Sally swung from ship to ship and kicked the pilot off the wheel using her Scorpion Whips to crack at anyone who attempted to draw near, and her magic to grease the stairs up.
At one point Harrigan was nearly attacked, but Peter warned the Captain of impending danger just in time to which Harrigan was grateful. Meanwhile Samrow figured out his new toy and used it to pin a pair of Rahadoumi to a boat a Ballista bolt exploding through two rib cages in a row.
The Mourners worked as a graceful team keeping the Rahadoumi sailors from their longships and even forcing one of their officers to surrender in battle. Then as suddenly as it started, the fog of war cleared and it was over. There were few lasting injuries (Ratline Ratsberger was sadly killed in the line of battle), and by evening plunder was distributed among the crew. The party that followed was intense (and the details of which will be explored next game).
At the end of which Harrigan called Plugg to the deck:
"Plugg, you've proven your skill, and more than that your talent. You're a leader now boy and it's about time got a ship of your own. Fly my colors for a year, pay 40% of your plunder for a year and the ship is yours. You can even have de pick of de crew. I'll throw in dis brace o' pistols while I'm at it. What do ye say?"
Plugg smiled, and it sent a shiver through the crew, he turned to the PCs and grinned:
"My new boat's goin' to need swabbies."

XP Gained: 1,200xp
Treasure: 3 potions of cure moderate wounds, one potion of invisibility, one amulet of natural armor +1, 1,075 gp (500 distributed to individual members at a rate of 100 gp each).

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

***SPECIAL NOTE: This Episode needs some Trigger Warnings Underneath spoilers. Nothing explicit that would break message board guidelines. These will be kept under Spoilers. All care has been taken to treat this subject matter with respect.***

The Wormwood & Man's Promise: Day 22-25 The Party
Erastus 18-22

The party thrown by Harrigan to celebrate the capture of the Man's Promise will go down in legend, but for the Misty Mourners it was another opportunity to plan for their inevitable defeat of their nemeses. Plugg & Scourge.

While Crimson Cogward (upgraded to PC status), and Peter Backbeard distracted some guards with song and food, Samrow used the opportunity to sneak into the Bilges and have a word with the captured Rahadoumi sailors (being the only character capable of speaking Kelish). He promised the Rahadoumi respect and freedom if they threw their lot in with the Mourners during any mutiny that might happen. If the Rahadoumi sailors could be kept out of the fight at least the numbers would favor the PCs and that might be all the difference in the world.

Buttons meanwhile found herself in conversation with Captain Harrigan, discussing of all things comparative theology. The conversation began, when Harrigan was stuck on the words of a particular pirate shanty (see post #4 true believers!), Buttons sang the end of the song drawing Harrigan's attention. The discussion between the two drifted between homelands, comparative theology.
"De old spirits, dey don't have de power dey once had. De gods, dats where de power is."
"I don't know, a man who fishes for power might catch more than he bargained for," Buttons subtle insinuation was not lost on Harrigan.
"How?"
"We wendifa, we know things. Secret things."
At which point the Wormwood Clock struck.
"I have... udder business to attend."
At which point she had attempted to steal a button from Harrigan's coat, the big pirate caught her hand and leered.
"What ye be doin' girl?"
"Taking a button... to remember you by."
Harrigan scowled, but after a moment of consideration and a look of appraisal smiled.
"It's been a while since I've taken a good Garundi girl to bed. You want me button, come to me cabin tonight and ask nicely. Maybe I give you something special."
She took him up on his offer, what went on in that room is still secret both from both crews. All they know is when she came out, she was holding a very shiny gold button.

Azaz and Crimson took some time exploring their new ship. Crimson discovered that the Captains Quarters had a very complex lock, requiring more skill than he had alone to pick. Unfortunately his broken picks took time to clean out, enough that Plugg noticed.
"Looking for a tour mate?"
Crimson, thinking quickly acted inebriated:
"Jusht.. jusht looking for a bunk... Shir!"
Plugg scowled, and spat in disgust at Crimson's feet. Walked to his door, unlocked and opened it.
"Hmmm, there'll be no more of this disgusting lack of discipline upon my boat. This partying, this drinking, this softness that Harrigan shows his men. There'll be none of that on my boat."
He stepped into the room and closed the door. Giving Crimson a glimpse of a fancy hammock, a mast and a long chain within.
Azaz meanwhile worked his way through the officer's quarters, into the lower hold where he found a locked door. Returning to the party to report to the group.

Backbeard spent most of his time with the Quartermaster, alternately purchasing items and trading "favors". It was an expensive and exhausting couple of days, but he enjoyed every minute of it.

Samrow was not content, there was vengeance to be had, and he still hadn't had the opportunity to enact it. The coward Jaundiced Jape, had left him and the other Mourners to die on the Emperor of the Waves.
"I'm calling you out BRAKAWK!" Yelled Samrow.
Jape squinted.
"Heave, you and me. Until one of us can't stand!"
Jape responded by slamming down his mug. Despite his Jaundice, Jape was considered the favorite to win three to one. The Mourners bet on Samrow. Drink for drink they went, Samrow gained an early buzz but Jaundiced Jape caught up quickly.
Shot.
Shot.
Shot.
Jape put his glass down staring Samrow in the eye.
He never lifted his glass again. He was dead where he sat, the alcohol pickling his brain.
"Brakawk!"
It took 10 Constitution damage to do it, but he had enacted his revenge. He had drunk Jaundiced Jape to death. Earning further respect from those loyal to the Mourners.

The Man's Promise: Day 26-29 - New Ship, Old Rules
Erastus 19-22

The next day, the party was over, the ships were to part. Plugg was given Captaincy of the Man's Promise, and he was quick to place his most loyal toadies to Officer's positions. Grok gave Backbeard a tearful goodbye and a small magic dagger:
"Use it to defend yourself, Plugg dangerous. This help."
She gave Backbeard a wan smile, and turned as tears welled in her eyes.
Once the Wormwood was out of earshot Plugg turned to the crew.
"Alright you sorry lot of scabrous dogs, I'm not going to brook the lollygagging and soft-touches that Harrigan was willing to put up with. On my ship there will be discipline there will be obedience, and if any of you cross me-" he drew his cutlass pointed it at Tilly Bracket in one smooth motion and with a command word sent a geyser of water to push the woman overboard in one swift motion "-you're shark bait."
The Mourners had to work extra hard in order to make up for working as part of a skeleton crew. At the end of the day Conchobar and Sandara were sent to the Officer's Quarters as hostages to ensure the continued good behavior of the Mourners.

That night the crew cabin was abuzz with mutinous talk. Shahazarad (the Rahadoumi Officer they had captured last session), and a couple of her loyal men decided to throw their lot in with the PCs. A couple wouldn't be convinced they were sure that a woman would be made captain and they had enough of that on their last ship. The Mourners would ask for information from Sandara and Conchobar the next day before deciding their next move.

The next morning presented even more new information, the Misty Mourner was not headed to Port Peril, instead it was tacking East. Kroop volunteered: "I'd bet my prized chicken we're headed for Rickety's Squibs, a place to refit boats."
"He's not going to pay Harrigan back," remarked Backbeard, "he's going to steal the ship and strike out on his own. Good plan. Let's use it after we kill him."

Meanwhile Samrow was having a word with Sandara. The normally chirpy and optimistic woman seemed reserved and nervous. Throwing herself into her tasks and barely acknowledging Samrow. Samrow, sympathetically approached her.

Spoiler:
Sandara was reticent at first, finding it difficult to find words for the rough treatment under Scourge. Samrow was patient, and offered sympathy and the opportunity for revenge. It wasn't a lot, but Sandara took it.

Sandara shared what she knew of the Officer's quarters. Samrow believed he had enough.

That afternoon Crimson took a beating for failing in his duties. Giffer Tibbs and Sandara were ordered to sleep in the Officer's Cabin. That evening in the holds below, the crew loyal to the Mourners met in moot.
"We should strike tonight, Scourge is doing terrible things to Sandara. We owe her too much to let her put up with that," said Samrow.
"I agree wholeheartedly, what I witnessed last night. He is no man, let's hang him from the yardarm," replied Conchobar.
"In principle I agree with you, but there's one complication. The horizon is boiling over with clouds. There's another storm coming, nastier than the one we had on the Wormwood. We try to sail through that with less than 20 men, we might as well slit our own throats."
Samrow looked at his list and swore.
"BRAKAWK!"
"Blast it, there's advantages to both plans let's put it up for a vote." The numbers, came out even. There was only one vote that could decide it.
"Buttons?"
She hated to be put into this position, yet again they looked to her for leadership. Looking at the storm rolling in outside. She decided.
"A compromise, we mutiny the second the storm is over. I have a feeling it'll strike tomorrow. She'll be safe as long as the rain keeps all hands on deck. So the second that storm abates, we fight."

The next day brought the storm. Black clouds rolled in from the north, whipped out from the Eye of Abendego most likely. Lightning danced on the horizon and the crew worked tirelessly. Azaz lost some rope over the side and Scourge cussed him out for the one legged fishman he was, promising a whole mess of whippings when this storm was through. Time lost all meaning in the storm day, night. None could know how much time had passed, or how far off course the Man's Promise had been thrown. The storm calmed, slightly, and in a flash of thunder a veritable army of Grindylow had boarded the ship. A tense fight ensued, distracting the crew just long enough to miss a massive wave that holed the Man's Promise on the shore of a mysterious island. This was awesome as the players played through the storm, a real storm rolled in, and thunder and heavy rain battered the house we played in. I can only assume I have reached level 20 as a GM and can now cast control atmosphere at will.

One headcount later it was clear that Sandara and Conchobar had been lost. Plugg claimed them taken in the storm, but Azaz and Samrow saw evidence they had been taken by the Grindylow. Plugg couldn't care less.
"We've got bigger problems than your overactive imaginations. Our barrels got a crack in it, we've lost our drinking water. So here's an empty one, get on that island and bring me back something to drink."

The party were conflicted, they had resolved on mutiny the second the storm abated but with two of their number missing the numbers didn't favor them. Again they felt obligated to Sandara. They would explore the island, find Sandara and fill the barrel with Juju water if needs be. Kroop was left in charge of the mutineers. He warned the players:
"I wouldn't put it past Plugg to sail off without you, give this boat 5 days and she'll be in working order. Find her, she's been through too much. Just... don't drag yer peglegs."

The party hopped aboard the longboat and rowed to the nearest shore, what appeared at a distance to be a primitive fishing village. They tied their boat off at a broken pier. The village appeared to have been long abandoned. They travelled deeper through swamplands, attracting the attention of a swarm of mosquitoes. The fight was bloody, and fiery and clever thinking using spark on some burning branches and a clever juggling between PCs gave the victory after all.

Eventually they approached a mire. The steadfast grapple proved useful for the party to swing across. Unfortunately drawing attention from the frogs. Though the party found them simple work indeed, and were soon across.

Soon after that the party became lost. Exiting the swamp at the base of the mountain. The party decided to scale the mountain to reach the structure at its peak and hopefully use the vantage point to find where the Grindylow might be on the island. They trekked partway through the night before deciding to set camp.

The night passed uneventfully, but the next morning Azaz, Crimson, Sally and Samrow awoke with a chill, a fever and an irrepressible appetite. Backbeard and Buttons exchanged a look, they both suspected the same thing. Ghoul Fever.

XP gained: 833.
XP Total: 7,504 (w00t level 3).
New Treasures: +1 Animal Bane Dagger. Daggers, Cutlasses, Alchemist's Fires, Acids, Tanglefoot Bags. Scrolls and Potions.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Bonewrack Island: Day 30 - The Trek
Erastus 23

Breaking camp at dawn, the away crew travelled south choosing to follow the beach rather than try to climb the treacherous mountain. Despite eating their share of rations early Samrow and Sally seemed listless, Azaz and Cogward bickered with each other particularly Azaz's insistence that he was still starving (a symptom of the ghoul fever) while Buttons and Backbeard tried to manage their allies' fever.

It wasn't long before the party found themselves following a rough dirt road along a coconut palm beach. Spotting some cracked coconut beneath a tree Azaz raced towards another meal. The party turned to each other and chased after their wayward friend. Giant Crabs crawled from the trees attacking Azaz and the party, the battle would have been much more tense if it weren't for the barrage of puns involving crabs, coconuts and the white fluids therein to spout from the various party members. Crimson killed the last crab with one of the coconuts smashing both the coconut's shell and the crab's at the same time. Azaz grew irritated at Crimson, those coconuts were lucky Azaz was convinced. Crimson took sadistic pleasure in threatening Azaz's coconuts (hur, hur, hur).

At a crossroads the party spied a field with long flowing corn-stalks to the south, and the road winding up the mountain to the East a small stockade barely visible in the distance. The party decided to check the stockade first, hoping that the vantage point would give them an idea of where their kidnapped comrades had been taken. It was nearing sunset when the party arrived at the Stockade. Behind the walls stood a large tree and wooden shack by a fresh spring. As the party began exploring the area beneath the tree, Backbeard tried to yell out a warning as the tentacles of a pair of Vine Chokers reached out to strangle the party. Azaz was convinced he would die to the creatures (still wounded from the encounter with the crabs) he leapt into the spring. Backbeard meanwhile used the burning gaze ability to set the creatures alight, while Sally greased one of the creature's perches. Crimson ended up grabbed by a choker while another one, still alight leaped into the spring to put out the flames. The choker upon seeing Azaz immediately snaked its limbs around him to begin crushing the gillman to death.
A lucky strike from Buttons freed Crimson, who raced to the pool to slit the Choker's throat.
"Forgive me for smashing your coconut yet?" Crimson asked the Gillman.
"Never."
Backbeard left the pair to bicker and began checking the perimeter of the stockade, he spotted a telescope deliberately pointed to the South and a loud buzzing coming from within the cabin.
Samrow, spotting some shiny objects at the top of the tree climbed his way up finding some very nice treasures indeed. By the time he climbed back down the party had assembled to fight the botfly swarm feasting on the hanged man inside the cabin. Torches were lit, a fire elemental was summoned and the door was kicked open. Backbeard sent his elemental in to burn away at the swarm. As the elemental approached the corpse kicked to unlife, climbing up the elemental and pulling free of the noose. Buttons was ready for this possibility and drew on the power of the Juju to command the undead creature. A wild wendo possessed the ghoul, and Buttons ordered the ghoul to kill the swarm, tossing it a burning torch to do so. Immune to the botfly's attentions the ghoul made short work of the creatures. The party split up to loot the cabin, shore up the stockade's defenses and finally peer through the spyglass.
"Mateys, I think I know where Sandara is," remarked Backbeard. Each pirate took turns looking through the spyglass to spot Grindylow playing keep away with Sandara's hat in the bay as the sun set.
"We have a destination then," Buttons said, "now let's find out the best way to get there. Wendo, what was this ghoul's name in life?"
"It was called Aaron Ivy mistress."
"Okay, creepy. Does Aaron remember which way was fastest to reach the Grindylow Bay?" Backbeard asked.
"..."
"You will obey orders from these five as you obey my commands, is that clear?"
"Yes mistress," the Wendo's thick polyglot accent was echoed by a weak Chelish accent, "de best way down is around the East and South end of de island, it will take you 8 hours travelling all the way around. Y'can travel faster tru de crops, if you're quick, quiet and avoid de severed heads what attract de flies, even den dere is no guarantees, that trip will take you 6 hours. You could climb down de mountain, but de cliffs are trecherous and de climb is 4 hours. Ye'd be well tired by de end of such a climb."
The party looked at each other.
"We'll decide in the morning, we need to attend to these four," Backbeard remarked.

During Samrow's watch, something unusual occurred. A woman approached from the south, Samrow would have missed her were it not for Aaron Ivy's warning.
"Who is she?" Samrow asked.
"One of de ship's whores. One of de first killed by de ghoul fever."
Samrow was curious as to the rest of the story, but made a note to ask later.
"Aaron my looove, are you alive, I can see you there, are you dead yet? Can you join me and my sisters?" Sang the woman.
"Get rid of her... quietly.," whispered Samrow.
"Ye cursed b&#~$, I ain't died yet, and I never shall now get back before I fill ye full o' lead!"
The woman in the darkness pouted.
"I know you're sick Aaron, stop fighting it. You'll be dead soon anyway," she stomped and stalked away into the night.
Meanwhile Buttons dreamed of Captain Morgan walking the waves, unable to reach the shore. Staring sorrowfully out to sea, as a particularly heavy wave crashed Buttons was awoken.
"Your watch, BAKAWK."
Buttons' watch was relatively uneventful, besides a strange flash during the sunrise. To pass the time she asked Aaron his story.
"I was first mate upon the Infernus, we were a prison ship bound from Eleder to Cheliax with prisoners charged with treason. A freak storm from the Eye of Abendego dashed our ship against the shores of this damnable island. We brought the prisoners off the ship to serve as labor on the island until rescue could arrive. They somehow escaped and mutinied they took to the fist on the Northern end of the Island, while the sruviving crew came here to build the stockade. The whores never survived the first week, and rose as ghouls to hunt the swamps between us. One by one our men were stolen by the Grindylow that stalk the island, or eaten by the ghouls, or giant crabs or the thing that lurks beneath the crops. Eventually I was the only one left, so I hung myself but I done it wrong and already sick with ghoul fever awoke as this foul thing."
Buttons played with her buttons contemplating plans.

Day 31 Bonewrack Isle - The Grindylow Caves
Erastus 24 4712

The next morning a long discussion ensued, the conclusion being:
"So we're agreed we take the long way around, and wait for low tide to enter the caves. That'll bring us near to sunset, so once we're in we're committed we come out with Sandara and Conchobar or we don't come out at all," said Sally.
"We might come out," replied Azaz.
Crimson clapped the gillman on the shoulder.
"What are you scared of death?"
"Not at- yes, very."
It was a long hike down the mountain, around the beach and into the Grindylow cove. From their position on the cliff-face they waited for the tide to go out.
"Azaz, you can breathe under water. We need you to scout ahead give us a lay of the land, er water. You know what I mean," Backbeard said. Azaz, supremely confident in the water dove in and swam to the entrance of the Grindylow Caves. A quartet of Grindylow were watching for danger from the sea, which Azaz dutifully reported to the others. It was agreed Azaz, Crimson and Aaron would go ahead and sneak attack the Grindylow and the rest of the party would follow with a second wave.
The battle was furious and bloody. One Grindylow almost escaped but a single bite from Ivy tore the beastie's throat out.

The twisted and winding tunnels brought the pirates into a cave full of grindylows, one of which was wearing Sandara's tricorne. Weapons were drawn and more vicious combat ensued. Grindylow darting back and forth through caves to stab the PCs with their spears. The party taking down Grindylow left and right (Aaron Ivy and Crimson were handy in that respect). The Grindylow in Sandara's hat was captured, and Samrow translated as the party questioned the creature about their companion's whereabouts. It described routes through the caverns with ominous sounding cave names such as The Mesh, The Cataract, The Cauldron, The Drowning Room and The Maze. The party decided to risk the Mesh and the Cataract. They snapped the Grindylow's neck and progressed onward.

In the Mesh Aaron Ivy was used as a stepping stone in order avoid the lacedons beneath the cage. The party would have been scott-free were it not for a fancy coat covered in expensive silver buttons.
"We can't leave yet," Buttons ordered.
"Why?" Backbeard asked, he followed Button's gaze to the lacedon's shiny buttons.
"Ahhhh poop," Azaz exclaimed (he did not say poop).
Backbeard drew his boarding pike, passed it to Samrow and the tengu hooked the lacedon's coat.
"I can't hold it for long BAKAWK!"
Buttons and Crimson wrestled the coat off the creature and Buttons started counting the shiny, shiny buttons.

The next room was occupied by a dreadful Devilfish. It reared back and immediately attacked the PCs. Buttons sent Ivy in first, and the ghoul was torn to shreds in seconds. Backbeard enlarged Crimson so the brawler could beat the creature's head in. The devilfish's cruel barbed tentacles digging into the pirate's skin. The party dogpiled on the creature, while Azaz hung back firing with astonishing accuracy. The devilfish was finished with a sonic blast from Backbeard. The sound echoed throughout the caverns, and was met with an impressive roar from the next room.
"That sounded bigger than this monster," gulped Azaz.
"Well, heal me up and let's go get it," Crimson grinned, the man had obviously embraced death in these dank caverns.

The party entered the next room, a churning cauldron. Within Sandara and Conchobar barely held onto consciousness, suspended by a rope from the ceiling. A massive Grindylow the size of a small whale roared a challenge and charged the biting deeply into Samrow, almost swallowing the tengu.
"TASHTESH LIKE CHICKENSH!"
Crimson stepped forward and socked the giant Grindylow in the face, causing him to spit out the nearly unconscious tengu. Meanwhile in the background the Grindylow queen cut the prisoners free sending them into the depths of the Cauldron where a pair of ravenous Lacedons lurked waiting for dinner.
Peter Backbeard was prepared for such an occasion, sending a pair of summoned dolphins to rescue his sinking allies. Buttons meanwhile swam towards the Grindylow priestess using her Falchion to cut through her rubbery flesh. Crimson killed the grindylow Whale with a quick one-two combination, tossing it into the Cauldron disdainfully.The queen screamed in rage and began summoning more minions to attack the PCs.
Azaz swam through the water, climbed onto the Whale's corpse and shot the Grindylow Queen from his better vantage point killing the woman as the crossbow bolt passed through her eye.
"Heh, killed her while standing on the corpse of her grotesque son. These coconuts are lucky," Azaz quipped.
The rest of the party was too busy looting the room in order to beat a hasty retreat. Buttons used her ability to command undead to take control of a tattooed Lacedon, using it to murder the other and join her as an undead slave.
"I know these tattoos," remarked Backbeard, "that wasn't a prison ship, these sailors were servants of the Majestus Malus, the scouting arm of the Chelish Navy."
"This is pretty far south for the Malus," Azaz remarked in response.

Current XP: 7504
Session XP: 2166
Total XP: 9670/14,000
Vine Chokers (1,200 xp)
Aaron Ivy and the Botfly Swarm (1,400 xp)
Ship's Whore Ghoul CR 1 (400 xp)
The Field (Avoided) (1,600 xp)
Grindylow Entrance Guards (800 xp)
Stirge Nest (1,600 xp)
The Fronds - Grindylows (1,600 xp)
The Mesh - Lacedons (800 xp)
The Cataract - Devilfish (1,200 xp)
The Cauldron - The Brinebrood Queen "Mother", The Whale, 2 X Lacedons (2,400 xp)
(13,000)
/6 players

Treasure:
Spyglass (750 gp)
potion of water breathing 5 silver shoe buckles (Worth 5 gp each)
ghoul finger with gold wedding ring (50 gp)
Silver hatpin (5 gp)
Suit of Leather Armour (given to Azaz)
12 finely tailored courtiers outfits (30 gp each)
silver *ring of swimming* (+5 bonus to Swim checks while worn) (given to Peter Backbeard)
5 pounds of pepper in wax bags (Worth 10 gp total)
Silver tankard (45 gp)
A silver locket containing the image of a beautiful, buxom, blonde woman (worth 60 gp)
Lesser Bracers of Archery
5 Silver Buttons (worth 2 gp each)
Anchor feather token
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds
Wand of Summon Nature's Ally II (12 charges)
The Vindictive Harpoon (+1 Returning Harpoon)
Lobster pot containing grindylow flensing knives (inc 2 masterwork daggers, a masterwork silver dagger, a rusting masterwork cold iron sickle, a scrimshaw blade of great workmaship depicting an octopus worth 125 gp),
12 other blades of varying shape and quality (worth 2 gp each).
scrimshaw: Jawbone of a shark carved with images of a vast octopus eating whales and containing gold rings hammered into it (worth 325 gp), a huge hooked tooth from some colossal sea creature with a seaweed plugged cavity containing six pearls worth 75 gp each.
A whale skull weighing 25 pounds whose scrimshaw carvings function as arcane scrolls of alter self, black tentacles, blur, colour spray, daylight, enlarge person, hypnotism, slow, touch of idiocy, and vampiric touch.
8 40-pound silver ingots worth 20 gp each.
4 x +1 Crossbow Bolts Silver Spearhead
311 sp, 200 gp in assorted coins.
Besmara's Tricorne (Sandara's Hat) Gifted to the PCs as thanks.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Day 31-32: Rest, Recuperation and Ghouls
Erastus 25-26, 4712

Exhausted, injured and diseased the flight from the caves and over the island was tense. The party wary of every noise, and terrified. Finally stumbling into the Fort gates sometime around midnight, Azaz offered to keep watch as the party rested and recovered.
As the sun rose Azaz saw smoke rising from the Fist, the pillar on the North tip of the island.
"Strange..." Azaz pointed the eyeglass at the Fist, and noticed some Wormwood pirates dragging about 6 prisoners towards the edge of the fist. "Uhhh guys, we have a problem."
The day was spent casting recuperative magic and coming up with plans, throwing out bad plans, and coming up with something serviceable.
"So do you believe this will work?" Asked Conchobar.
"It has to," replied Sally.
"BRAKAWK!"
"You said it Samrow," said Backbeard, "we leave here at dawn."
"Guys something you should know, I noticed smoke coming from the Fist."
The party cast the rest of their healing spells, and rested away the remainder of the day. Watches were set for the evening.

It was Samrow's watch before the dawn when they came. The ship's whores, the ghoulish hunters from the swamps. Not content to wait for Aaron Ivy's death they decided to take matters into their own hand. The trio rushed the entrance of the Fort. Samrow squawked a warning to his sleeping allies, while he and the chelish naval-ghoul defended the entrance.

Backbeard roused from sleep first, waking his allies to the defense of the fort. Drawing weapons the Mourners, Sally and Conchobar raced out of the cabin. They were confronted by a pair of ghoul whores, who Sally and Backbeard engaged in melee. Samrow meanwhile dueled with the lead tramp, sharp swords and harsh words being exchanged. The rest of the party were having some good luck, Backbeard holding one ghoul down with his beard so Buttons could control it. Sally and Crimson meanwhile flanked another. Samrow had taken some licks, but finally put the ghoul he was duelling in the ground. After a minute the violence was over. The dead ghouls were buried outside the Fort walls.
"Well, we're awake now let's get going."

Day 33: Mutiny upon the Man's Promise
Erastus 28, 4712

Sandara's magic Hat proved useful for sailing around the edge of the island, and avoiding the mosquito infested swamp. While still hidden behind the fist the party hid Sally, Backbeard, Sandara and Conchobar. Azaz dropped over the side in order to swim beneath the waterline and circle to the other side of the ship.
The Man's Promise was a flurry of activity, Plugg ordering lines hoisted and sails affixed. Plugg was tired of waiting for water, he would sail for another less monster infested island. Leave the trouble-makers stranded, he didn't need them with the new prisoners he had captured.
"Boat ho!" Called Aretta Bansion from the crow's nest.
Plugg paused in his long tirade of orders. A new plan came together. Plugg, Scourge and a few other pirates approached the ship's rails.
"Well, well, look what the tide dragged in. Surprised to see you alive... or some of you alive at least. Did you bring the water?" Plugg asked, pistol pointed at the Besmara's tricorne boat. Scpurge and Aretta also had weapons pointed.
"Right here in the barrel, let us aboard. We've had enough of this gods-forsaken island," called up Buttons.
"Barrel first." Plugg called.
The party groused, but placed the barrel in the net lowered by the crew. It was raised up onto the deck.
"Check it, I want to make sure it ain't none of that juju water."
Scourge and Narwhal sneered at the players in the boat, and using a crowbar wrenched open the lid of the barrel, releasing a ghoul onto the Man's Promise. It scanned the crew, and then leapt out of the barrel, over the head of Narwhal, unerringly racing towards Captain Plugg.
"It's a bloody mutiny! Kill the traitors!" Plugg yelled, even as the Ghoul tried to scratch through his fine coat.
Things went crazy at that point, and the fracas was a confusing mess of bodies, bullets and big maneuvers. Sally used her Animate Rope spell to pull her up into the rigging to duel the rifle-wielding Arretta, who was using her rifle to disrupt Backbeard's spells. Crimson was boosted to giant size and he immediately took to brawling against First Mate Scourge. Azaz climbed up the other side of the ship unseen, and sniped at various individuals with his cross-bow. Samrow was making good use of his haste to cut down all who stood between himself and Plugg. Buttons climbed aboard the ship and brought her mighty Falchion to bear on any who stood in her path.
Plugg used his tidewater cutlass to push the Ghoul overboard, and raced to duel the bird.
"I'm going to pluck your feathers, and feed my men chicken for dinner," Plugg threatened.
"Not before I pluck your eyes first! BAKAWK!" Countered Samrow pecking his foe, while parrying a dagger thrust from Slippery Syl. Backbeard and Crimson had Scourge on the backfoot, flanked by foes he raced through Crimson's legs in order to gain a better vantage. It did him little good as Buttons was there to step into the fray. High above the decks Sally wrestled with Aretta.
"I shoulda slit your throat in your sleep!" Aretta spat, pushing Sally off the crow's nest. Sally fell, but grabbed her animated rope and swung down and over using her momentum to kick Aretta off the crow's nest. Aretta's reflexes were not nearly so quick and she fell broken upon the deck.
"Should have, could have, would have, didn't," Sally laughed and picked up the long-rifle that was dropped, "This is pretty."
Backbeard tripped and tangled the wretched dwarf Narwhal, and Bitey his compsognathus familiar tore Narwhal's nose right off.
"You'll need a new nickname mate."
Between Slippery Syl and the bastard Scourge Samrow couldn't get a clean slice at Plugg. So he stabbed Scourge instead, causing their old Boatswain to collapse. Crimson trod on Scourge's skull causing it to burst like a split melon sending blood and brain matter everywhere.
"Nobody whips me and lives."
"Bakawk! I am not cleaning that up."
Buttons and Plugg circled each other warily, Plugg knew he was down many allies, but he was not going to go out without taking somebody with him. Might as well be that spooky dark-skinned woman that never averted her damn gaze. Plugg lunged. Buttons swung, and from nearby Samrow stabbed. Plugg fell unconscious bleeding profusely from the neck and side.
Buttons smiled, and knelt down:
"Don't sail into de locker just yet Plugg, I and I still be needin' ye," she gave her crew-mates a wicked grin as the Ghoul climbed up over the side of the ship.

XP Gained: 866
The Ghoul Wenches: 1,800 xp.
Successfully Rescuing Conchobar & Sandara: 800 xp
Mutiny Upon The Man's Promise: 2,600 xp.
(Total 5,200/6 = 866)
Other Reward: 2 Infamy & Disrepute
XP Total: 10,536/14,000.
Treasure Gained:
Plugg
Tidewater Cutlass (+1 Cutlass)
60 Bullets.
Gunsmith's Kit.
1 x Powder Horns (containing 5 doses of shot each).
masterwork cat-o’-nine-tails*,
brace of 3 pistols with 10 bullets,
amulet of natural armor +1,
bracers of armor +1,
shackles of compliance
leather drinking cup,
betting stash of 100 sp and 200 gp
Scourge
leather armor,
punching dagger,
masterwork handaxe carved with notches for kills,
pistol with 12 bullets in leather holster with a buttoned shutter to protect from the elements, powder horn with 4 doses of shot.
+1 whip,
boatswain’s call,
corked dark green bottle containing 8 doses of oil of taggit,
six gold teeth worth 5 gp each,
hefty waxed coat with many hidden pockets,
leather snuff box with a diamond stud worth 100 gp containing 1 dose of dark reaver powder,
silver wedding ring worth 25 gp, 14 pp, 29 gp
potion of blur,
potion of cure light wounds,
black adder venom
Aretta Bansion
oil of magic weapon (2),
potion of cure moderate wounds,
potion of invisibility
masterwork studded leather,
musket with 20 bullets, powder horn (8 doses of shot),
rapier,
73 gp
Slippery Syl, Narwhal Tate and Shivikah
3 x Throwing Axes, 3 x Cutlasses, 3 x dagger, 3 x saps. Basic pirate clothes, personal effects (worth 10 gp each). 1 x Potion of Cure Light Wounds.
Other Loot:
Besmara's Tricorne
Hospitality's Hammock (Plugg's Room)
Plugg's Locked Chest (In Captain's Storage)

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Day 34 & 35 Part 1 Epilogue & Aftermath
Erastus 29 & 30 4712

With Plugg and his remaining living loyalists tied up in the Bilges, the new officers stood aboard the aft. The crew cheered in celebration at the successful mutiny, but soon it was time for matters at hand.
"The *#*$ crew has been well impressed with Button's @(#)(@ fearsomeness and @@()@# determination over the past few months, some have asked that she become #@)(# captain," Rosie cussed.
Buttons scowled.
"Is this truly what de crew wants?" Buttons looked over the crew, some of the more rowdy members seemed for it.
"I dunno," the old salt Kroop called out, "She ain't got nothin' on Backbeard's sheer cunning. Why on the Wormwood ol' Grok used to brag about what a cunning linguist he was!" This brought a few whoops and cheers from the crew.
Sandara stepped forward.
"I've been impressed with Sally's audacity, and her ear for listening to the crew. I think she'd make a finer Captain," Sandara said, winking at the half-elf.
"I agree," said Sally, "I would make a good captain, it runs in the blood after all, and I'll bring us riches the likes of which old Captain Morgan used to dream of."
As is the tradition in the Shackles the Captaincy was put to a vote, and while some abstained the tally was close.
Buttons and Backbeard earned 5 votes each, while Sally Dread-Morgan earned 8.
"I promise you plunder a-plenty, high adventure and a damn better class of captain than Plugg ever was! Now break out the rum!"
Sally quickly delegated responsibilities to her officers, while she would be a kindly captain she would wield Crimson as the iron bar of discipline as her Boatswain. Azaz's experience aboard naval ships afforded him position as Navigator and Quartermaster. Backbeard's knowledge of spells and engineering won him position as Master at Arms. Button's knowledge of healing and juju magic put her in position as a ship's surgeon (with Sandara as back-up). Azaz's skill as a sailor would be put to good use at the helm as the pilot.
"Now, before we leave this island we have some things to take care of," Sally announced, "enjoy the celebrations."

Sally approached the unconscious Plugg, tied upside-down to the mast. She called together a spell and whispered it in the man's ear before awakening him with a splash of water to the face.
"Sally! Thank Asmodeus it's you!" Plugg exclaimed, "Some of those undisciplined friends of yours tried to mutiny last night, lucky you're here to set 'em straight."
Sally grinned, the charm had worked like one.
"Of course, things will be set right soon enough Plugg, but first I have some questions that need answering."
They asked about the clock, and learned about Harrigan's immortality, and that his soul was tied somehow to the clock. Plugg claimed ignorance of where Harrigan got the clock, he only knew that Harrigan needed blood sacrifices before the clock daily.
When asked how he joined Harrigan's crew, Plugg screamed in agony as if something was drilling through his brain a moment later he came to his senses.
"What in the nine hells am I doing tied like this!?" Plugg screeched. Peter and Crimson shrugged.
"Looks like the enchantment fell apart. Time to do things my way," Backbeard grinned. He and Crimson used violence and torture to get a little more out of Plugg, such as his skill as a disciplinarian was what lead to his rapid rise, though every time they approached the years before joining the Wormwood the strange agony would return. Very curious.
"We're not going to learn much more about him this way, perhaps if he's dead and returned as a ghoul, he may be of more use to us," Buttons suggested.
"Not so fast there sister," Backbeard interjected, "Plugg's a tough customer. There is a chance he might come back as a Dread Ghoul, do you have it within your power to control such a beastie."
"There's no guarantee it will happen."
"There's not guarantee it won't."
The pair began arguing the merits back and forth, with the occasional interjections from Samrow (for ghouling), Crimson (for ghouling), and Azaz (against), Sandara, Rosie and Kroop preferred to just keel-haul the bastard and be done with him, or leave him to be hunted by any of the predators left upon the island.
"We chain him in the bilges and ghoulify him, if we can't control him we sever his head and be done with him forever," Sally decided. This captaining stuff was easy.
"Speaking of the bilges Cap'n," Kroop ezplained that the Bilges held a sorry group of prisoners barely hanging on to life, as Kroop was given to understand it they were playing a game of dice to decide who was to be eaten first when they were caught by Plugg's loyal pirates. The officers headed down to meet their new crew members.

Spoiler:
These are the player's back-up characters so this meeting is left largely undetailed until the players come up with more fleshed out ideas.

After the interchange the PCs freed the prisoners, and offered to return their gear (still locked in the sunken Infernus) in return for loyalty to the ship.
That settled Plugg was installed in the bilges and fed strips of ghoul from Button's deceased whore. They would return on the morrow to see if Plugg had succumbed in the meantime there was drinking to be done and a wreck to be plundered.

After an evening's rest Sally, Azaz, Backbeard, Buttons and Crimson climbed aboard a jolly boat and sailed around the island to the wreck of the Infernus.
"So what if there's monsters down there?" Asked Azaz, "perhaps this wasn't a good idea."
"Stop your whining, you're half fish for Pharasma's sake!" Argued Crimson.
"I lost a leg, so I'm more like Quarter fish."
"Just scout ahead and warn us if there's any danger. Backbeard will have a message cast on you so we'll be right down if there's any danger," Sally smiled and then pushed the gillman overboard.
Buttons rolled her eyes.
"I'd better make sure he doesn't fib," Buttons said, "Backbeard do you have anything to help me breathe underwater."
"Oh I do have a spell called air bubble... but I forgot to prepare it today it must have slipped my brain after not being elected captain."
Buttons stared at the dwarf with her terrifying unflinching gaze.
"I'm this close to shaving him," Crimson said to Sally.
Buttons leapt into the water, grabbing onto Azaz's pegleg as the Gillman expertly dove deeper into the water.

Once inside the broken front half of the Infernus the Half-Orc signalled a stop. She saw something at the edge of her darkvision, fins and a tiny draconic face.
"Hbelblob?"* Buttons called.
"Slstay blblback," the draconic thing called, flexing its fins to make itself more impressive. Azaz sent a message to Backbeard.
"Dblralgblonlbls," Azaz's voice whispered in Backbeard.
"Dragons! Awesome," he began chanting a spell, granting Sally, Crimson and himself air bubbles around their heads, "let's go."
"I thought he didn't prepare this spell today," remarked Crimson.
"Allow him some petulance, he'll get over it soon enough," replied Sally, 'I hope'.

In the depths Buttons kept communication open with the tiny draconic beasts. Sally swam down and negotiated a deal, with the tidepool dragons. There was a fearsome Moray Eel that had chosen the other side of the ship as its lair and if the PCs could kill it then, the dragons would gladly give up the long-boxes that were cluttering up their rooms. The party decided that it was worth fighting one less monster beneath the water. Buttons' oxygen supply was running low and Peter cast an air bubble on her too.
"I thought?"
"Don't worry about it," replied Sally as the party swam to the other side of the broken ship. As they approached the crack in the hull where the prisoners were kept, Buttons shivered.
"Bad juju in there guys, be on your guard. Let me check it out."
She swam deeper into the hull carrying one of Azaz's lit coconuts.
"Be careful with that! I've only a few left!"
Sally and Peter meanwhile noticed something peculiar.
"Wait, that shackle is floating in the water freely... it's made of metal. BUTTONS LOOK OU-"
The shackle in the cage with a long-dead skeleton snaked out and grabbed Buttons by the ankle dragging her towards its open door.
"The bloody thing's haunted!" Peter yelled, "It likely wants others to share the fate of its occupant."
Azaz raced forward, again the water bringing back the gillman's courage he began hacking at the chain dragging Buttons in.
Sally stood frozen, this was her worst nightmare, trapped in a confined space deep below the water.
"Oh Besmara, this was a terrible decision we have made a bad choice, Oh damn oh damn..." Sally cast animate rope and sent it snaking around the wendifa's arm.
"Not inspiring a lot of courage over here boss," remarked Crimson while trying to pull Buttons from the cage's grasp. Buttons' natural divination had prepared her for this moment, the ankle she was grasped by was covered in lamp oil and thus she slipped through.
"You're as slippery as a Tidepool dragon yourself," Peter laughed, "Azaz, get in the cage."
Azaz shook his head: "Are you crazy?"
"No, the thing wants someone to drown inside it, if you get inside it'll be placated until we can deal with this eel. We kill it, come back and free you, Bobtwo's your uncle!"
"That's a terrible idea, and I will not agree to it. Crimson's pretty strong and quick, he should distract it while the rest of us swim past," Azaz said.
"That's a terrible idea," Crimson said, "I'll do it!" He raced towards the snaking shackles the cage held, the shackles snapping and pinching Crimson but never quite closing on the pirate.
The others used the distraction to swim around, Peter though was much slower. At one point Crimson himself became distracted, allowing the cage a moment to sneak past the thief's defenses and grab hold of the beard witch drawing him into the open door of the cage and slamming shut.
"We should have just gone back and grabbed Shivika to placate the beast," Buttons said.
From the stairs leading to the middle deck Sally spotted something large and serpentine.
"Maybe retreating inwards was a bad idea..."

XP: Interrogation - 600 xp. (/6) = 100 xp.
Total XP: 10,636
Current Quest:Recover Prisoner's Gear, Kill the Moray Eel.
Treasure: 2 points of plunder, and a trapped box in the Captain's Quarters.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Day 35 - Epilogue and Aftermath Part 2.
Erastus 30 4712

Sally shook her head, no time for fear her crew needed help and by Besmara they'd get it.
"Crimson, unlock the cage. Buttons use your strength to pry the door, Azaz watch our back in case that eel attacks," Sally called out although her orders were distorted by the water. She swam over to the cage.

Backbeard meanwhile pulled out a stoppered bottle of Water Breathing, pulled the plug and sucked down the contents. He was worried he'd be trapped in the cage longer than his air-bubble spell would last.
Crimson had some luck unlocking the cage door, Sally took the picks and worked on the manacle locked around Backbeard's leg.
Azaz nervously watched the entrance to the main hold for signs of trouble, and with none forthcoming he called out:
"Won't freeing Backbeard merely piss of the spirit within? What's the plan here?" Azaz called back, holding his scimitar in front of him.
"That's it!" Backbeard shouted, and began another incantation: "Besmara, sail this sea-dog to Pharasma's locker so he might rest."
When the incantation ended, the water glowed light blue around the skeleton and the bones collapsed, the spirit violently escaping the cage rattled and shook and fell still.
"A little warning next time," Captain Sally growled inspecting the picks to make sure they weren't broken, "this is delicate work."
"Sorry I didn't know the exorcism would be quite so violent," Backbeard muttered, "fascin-"
"AAAAUUUUGHHH!" Azaz yelled out in pain as the massive jaw of a giant moray eel clamped about his arm.
"Pick faster please," Backbeard begged.
"It goes as fast as it goes, Buttons, Crimson help Azaz, Backbeard if you've any spells left help the fishman."
"Why?"
"Because I'm the damn Captain that's why," Sally growled, yanking the Dwarf's beard for emphasis and getting back to her work freeing him.
Azaz screamed in near helpless agony as a smaller mouth inside the eel's mouth began gnawing at his arm ripping and tearing chunks of flesh almost to the bone. Buttons fed the gillman a potion to keep him conscious while Crimson pushed a fist into the creature's eyes. Backbeard summoned an octopus and sent his familiar to poison the eel in the hopes that it would drain the beast's strength enough that Azaz might free himself.
It was Crimson that freed the gillman by angering the eel, it clamped onto the rogue and began shredding away at the man's legs. Sally unlocked Backbeard's cage and cast a grease spell to allow Crimson escape, but the rogue's deathwish was implacable and he continued to wrestle the eel until eventually he drove a fist into the serpentine beast's eye socket and rattle its brain leaving it to go slack. Crimson grinned:
"If the sea is going to kill me it'll have to try much harder than that."

Sally and Buttons shrugged, leaving the men to butcher the beast they swam upstairs to the main hold where they found a pair of damaged cannons, some expensive goods and a hatch leading to what they guessed might be the Captain's cabin. Seeing as Crimson was still enlarged from the previous battle they called the pirate up to open the hatch. He heaved against the door, and the sound of cracking wood accompanied the door's opening.
Within were a pair of bodies, what was obviously a Chelish Captain who went down with his ship and what appeared to be a doctor wearing a long beaked mask. Backbeard noted magic in the room and as he was about to investigate the water began to churn and a sickly green light glowed from the captain's bones.
"If I'm not mistaken I think this is a ghostly manifest... ation?" Backbeard's words were heeded only by the body rapidly wrapping itself in ectoplasm, his superstitious crewmates were already swimming long strokes back out of the wreck.
The captain's ghostly visage looked at Backbeard:
"Prisoner! What are you doing out of your cage? Need ye another round of punishment?" The ghost captain asked in a thick Chelish accent. Backbeard didn't need any more hints to swim the hell out of there. The ghost pursued, but only as far as the entrance to his room, before something blocked its path. It let out a guttural scream and shut the hatch.
The pirates traded the Eel's head for their new crewmember's things and returned to the Man's Promise.
"I for one am sick of this ghoulish island, let's get out of here. Master Samrow, set us a course for Rickety's Squibs. I think it's about time I renamed my ship."

Day 36-39: Wind at Your Back, Murder in Your Bilge
Erastus 31, Arodus 1-2 4712

The journey to Rickety's Squibs was short, but hardly uneventful. The second dawn of the journey saw Plugg dead, his throat slit from ear to ear. Everyone on the crew was suspected except for the newcomers. The officers interviewed crew-members, starting with Rosie who was on guard duty that night.
"I ****ing was on ***ing guard duty, and then that **** **** *** fishman came in the early hours of morning to relieve me of ****ing duty. So I went back to Conchobar's bunk."
The officers were shocked, none moreso than Azaz Brinestalker himself.
"I didn't do this! I was in bed all night last night I swear."
Backbeard and Buttons gave each other a side-long glance.
"You don't believe me?" Azaz asked, "You've got magics that can dig into a man's memories, dig into mine."
"That magic doesn't mean anything if someone's mind has been modified, like Plugg's was," Backbeard responded.
"I didn't do this!"
"Look, there were four prisoners in with him maybe one of them saw something," Sally said patting Azaz on the shoulder sympathetically, though she was troubled by the theory Buttons and Backbeard had come up with.
"Azaz's leg is part of de Wormwood, it could be dat Harrigan used some juju to control de fishman."
"We'll talk to the prisoners before we make any rash judgments."

The interrogation was over quickly, Crimson and Buttons were imposing individuals and the prisoners had taken a heavy dose of punishment already. It was Shivika who piped up:
"I saw it, the fishman whispered something to Plugg dat I couldn't hear and den slit his throat from ear to ear."
The crew turned to Azaz.
"This is crazy, she's lying! I was asleep all night!"
"I'm sorry Azaz," Captain Dread-Morgan replied, "once we get to Rickety's we're going to grab a cleric and see about cutting that damn leg off."
"What? That's insane! You can't do this!"
"Master Samrow, Boatswain Cogward please escort Azaz to the hold where he is to remain chained at night. During the day he is to be escorted at all times," Sally ordered.
Backbeard shrugged and turned to Plugg's corpse and with a touch melted the flesh right off his bones it pooled into the bilge water.
"Enjoy your stay prisoners, I don't think you'll have long to live now the Captain's been robbed of her vengeance."
The next day the crew enjoyed the entertainment of a good keel-hauling as Shivika, Narwhal, Slippery Syl and Aretta were keelhauled and left in the water long enough to be eaten by sharks.
On the third sunrise Conchobar called: "Land Ho!"
"Rickety's Squibs," called Kroop, "Rickety Hake were an ol' sailing pal o' mine. I can't rightly be sure if he'd remember me fondly so perhaps it might be best to leave you to do the talking without old Kroop's help on this one."

By midday the Man's Promise was anchored at the dock and greeted by Rickety Hake.
"Welcome to Rickety's Squibs, I'm Rickety Hake and you be?"
"Captain Sally Dread-Morgan and this is my crew, we've come to rest, relax and perhaps get my ship refitted and rechristened."
"I think we kin be helping ye," Rickety grinned sensing gold to be made.
Sally spent the first day at Port talking to the various locals, and spinning rumours about herself enough that some of them even came back to her ("Is it true you were harpooned, thrown in the sweatbox and keelhauled all on the same day Cap'n Dread-Morgan?") The others enjoyed some light shopping and a chance to relax on dry land for a change. That night the crew retired to the ship and caroused with games of Drink-Fight (in which Buttons won herself some gold) when her crewmates passed out from either drink or fight.

Day 40 - Rickety's Squibs
Arodus 3, 4712

The next morning Sally awoke with a hang-over, stumbling down the gangplank she spotted Rickety on the shore.
"Hail master Rickety, have you a price for the squibbing?"
"Aye Cap'n, she's a fine ship refitting her will cost ye 2,000 gold, if ye like I can install hidden compartments in the hold for a further 500 gp."
While the price seemed reasonable, Sally wasn't sure the funds they'd get from selling Plugg's plunder would be worth it. She kicked herself for keelhauling the prisoners rather than selling them as slaves.
"Perhaps we might work out a deal? My associates are in town selling some of our hard won plunder."
"Aye, I believe we can come to an arrangement."

XP Gained: 5,000/5 = 1,000
XP Total: 11,636/14,000 xp
Infamy: 3
Treasure: 3 bottles of Chelish Perfume (22 gp each), Pair of Chopsticks made from Manticore Spikes (25 gp), 3 wax sealed clay ewers. 700 gp (Plunder Sales). Items purchased: wand of cure light wounds with 29 charges.

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