"Lets head in the general direction of Tidewater Rock, taking the open sea route and keeping an eye out for any merchant ships that we might run across."
"Sounds good to me. Let me plot a course!"
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The group sets sail on the open sea as Jack plots a course to where he has heard of Tidewater Rock, also known as Windward Isle, the westernmost island in a small archipelago south of Motaku Isle
Magna Stormeyes discovered
the natural harbor on
Windward Isle over
2 centuries ago, she
immediately recognized that it would make
the perfect haven from which to launch a
pirate f leet. Starting with just one ship and
a small encampment on Windward’s harbor,
she began to ply the trade of
piracy. With the plunder from
her initial hauls, she set about building
a keep, which she called Tidewater Rock.
From the vantage point atop the Rock,
she found she could pick out particularly ripe targets while
receiving ample of warning of hostile ships approaching.
Over time, Stormeyes’ successes enabled her to build
a sizeable fleet, as well as more strongholds on several
different islands. She became the scourge of the southern
sea lanes and eventually claimed the Hurricane Crown
as her own. Shortly after becoming the Hurricane King
and relocating to Port Peril, she was assassinated by rival
Free Captains. Stormeyes’ burgeoning f leet fell apart
among its squabbling captains. Gerta Frome, first mate
of Stormeyes’ f lagship, the Cocksure, seized control of the
Rock. Within only a few years, Frome became a powerful
Free Captain herself, and the legend of Tidewater Rock as
both a powerful good luck talisman and an impregnable
bastion was born.
Over the many years since, control of
Tidewater Rock has passed from hand to
hand, and its strategic location and practical
defensibility have enabled its owners to enrich
themselves substantially. With the rebellion of
Sargava and its ostensible alliance with the
Free Captains, Tidewater Rock became of less
strategic importance, and its owners came
to be of less prominence, but the age-old
axiom of “Good fortune and sure sail
await what one can crack the Tidewater
Rock” has stood the test of time
among the pirates of the Shackles
and is oft-quoted—if seldom
heeded—even today.
The most recent lord of
Tidewater Rock was Bertram Smythee,
captain of the Vale and three other brigs.
Like his predecessors, he held Tidewater
Rock as his seat, but controlled a few
other small castles
on surrounding
islands as well.
Over a decade ago, “Iron Bert”
Smythee went to sea with his
small f leet in a feud with Free
Captain Carola Antiochus and was never
seen again. Word came back that Antiochus
had lured Smythee into the edges of the
Eye of Abendego and ambushed him with
the help of a previously unknown ally—one
Barnabas Harrigan—and that Smythee’s fleet
was cut to pieces between the enemy fleets.
Though Captain Smythee managed to
sink Antiochus’s Pergador, he was last
seen on the deck of the crippled and
sinking Vale at the mercy of the Eye’s
hurricane winds.
Captain Harrigan claimed the remainder of Antiochus’s
fleet and took control of several of Smythee’s undefended
castles. He made an attempt to take the Tidewater Rock
as well, only to discover that Smythee’s able widow had
taken charge of its defenses. She managed to fend off his
attack with such alacrity that Harrigan decided to leave
the widow to rot in her tower.
Although Tidewater Rock remains a secure base and
harbor, it does not command the reputation it once
did. The current owner of the Rock is Agasta Smythee,
widow of the late Iron Bert. Though Lady Smythee is a
competent and formidable figure, without any of her late
husband’s ships or network of castles, the Lady of the
Rock has fallen upon hard times. Lady Smythee’s forces
have been reduced to a small body of loyal guards
and a few family retainers whom she employs to
eke out a living. The Rock still commands some
treasures—its favorable location, its security, and
the late captain’s fabled iron shirt from which he
gained his nickname—but it is otherwise remote
and at the mercy of what the sea chooses to
throw upon its shores.
The first few days out to sea are pretty uneventful as you assign duties to the new recruits gained from Rickety Squibs. When you awaken in the morning on the third day out to sea the party notices that there are three missing sailors and bloodstains on the deck.
Aishe spots footprints near the bloodstains. "Look, here! Sahuagin tracks! They must have boarded the ship in the night and taken the crew." She sighs and shakes her head. "We must be more wary of such attacks, mounting a watch throughout the night, every night."
Charles nods.
"That sounds like a good idea. We can ill-afford to keep losing crew. The loss of manpower aside, it will wreck morale."
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From now on the crew is on constant rotational watch throughout the night.
The next couple of days out to sea are seemingly uneventful. As night begins to fall on the second day a ship suddenly comes into view, sailing across the setting sun. The glaring light behind it makes the details of the ship difficult to make out, but it's lines suggest a whaler, riding low in the water. As the last light of day disappears below the horizon, the distant ship also drops from sight into the gloom of twilight.
"There is a whaler on the horizon. What do you think? Those can be decent money!"
Aishe nods, "Sure, let's cut our teeth on it. A whaling vessel isn't likely to be too well-guarded. I trust you can catch it?"
"Aye, lets be pirates." Somia grins with a deliberately exaggerated accent.
"Sounds good to me" Viviana remarks.
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The crew follows to where the ship was last seen and comes across a fishing trawler riding low in the water in the distance, heeling several degrees to port. It is obviously taking on water. The sails flap loosely in the wind from the yards and a fishing net drags in the water over the starboard side.
This does not look like the same ship from the prior night
Somia watches the ship, for any sign of life or what happened to it.
Viviana eyes the ship curiously, wondering what is wrong "Jack, can you take us closer, I want to check this out".
Do I see anything when I boarded the fishing vessel including but not limited to: dead bodies, loot, signs of battle, sabotage, unfinished meals or, I don't know, someone getting laid?
Or was my Perception check just made from our boat, and I need to make another one now that I am on the fishing vessel?
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As Viviana boards the fishing vessel you notice that there are no bodies aboard the vessel and items seem to be strewn all about. There are no signs of damage other than the breach in the hull. There are telltale signs of a battle having been hastily cleaned up on the deck. There is one wobbly ladder leading down into the hold of the ship.
"There was a battle fought here...but its been cleaned up rather hastily" Viviana relays to the others, while trying to make sense of it herself.
"Why would someone go to the trouble of hiding the traces of a battle unless..." Viviana's eyes widen as she notes her current position, and the penny drops,"...Guys, I have a feeling this place is going to liven up in just a minute!"
With a quick spell Jack casts Divine Favor on himself.
Jack carefully starts to examine the ruder area.
Assuming Viviana has back up, she checks the hold, on guard.
Aishe accompanies Viviana into the hold.
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Aishe and Viviana enter the hold of the ship once Jack is complete with inspecting the rudder section of the vessel.
Little light is coming through the breach in the hull of the ship but it is enough to be able to see your surroundings as boxes float in the ankle deep waters.
As Aishe begins to look around she notices the smell of death and that there are four hidden compartments about the ship just as the hatches spring forth. Out of the hatches come four creatures, who match the wet footprints from the deck of your own ship a few nights past, when three of your crew members disappeared. The creatures are scaly humanoids with long, fish like tails. Their arms and legs end in webbed claws and their piscine heads have a toothy maw.
The creatures seemed ready to pounce on their prey but get momentarily tangled in the cargo hold.
Viviana
Charles
Jack
Somia
Aishe
-----------------
Sahuagin
-----------------
With a roar, Charles charges the Sahuagin closest to him .
Aishe steps to the center of the hold and begins singing an inspiring song, keeping her pike ready.
Viviana moves in quickly, moving toward the closest Sahuagin and striking with her fists
Hearing Aishe sing Jack will move down to the cargo hold.
Somia heads onto the boat, spear in hand and looks around to take in the situation.
"I knew there was something fishy about this..."
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Viviana steps forward and swings at the Sahuagin. The boats rocks momentarily in the water throwing her balance off as she misses the creature.
Charles rushes the nearest creature with his creatsword as he slashes through it's armor, instantly dropping the creature to the deck in a bloody heap.
Upon hearing the disturbance Jack and Somia rush down the ladder into the hold of the ship to where they see that Aishe has stepped back and begun to sing an inspiring lyric.
The remianing three creatures strike out at viviana and advance onto Somia in a flash with tooth and claw. Viviana is raked with a set of claws as the maws of the creature clamp down on her side, while Somia is scratched through a slit in her armor.
Kill them and put them with the rest of the bodies.
DAMAGE
Viviana
Charles
Jack
Somia
Aishe
-----------------
Sahuagin (white)
Sahuagin (red)(dead)
Sahuagin (blue)
Sahuagin (yellow)
-----------------
Not liking the fact that two of the fish-creatures are attacking Somia, Charles charges forward to defend her !
Calling on besmara for jack starts to shoot.
Aishe steps back and attacks the nearest sahuagin.
Looking down at the scratch on her oh so perfect skin Somia looks to the creature with defiance. "So you like it rough do you, I can play that game."
Somia steps into a less... surrounded position and thrusts at one of the creatures, though in retrospect perhaps she should concentrate less on moving in a sultry manner, and more on actually hitting her target...
Viviana accepts the flawing strikes she suffers, making a mental note to temper her enthusiasm - next time, the wounds could be even more serious. Now in close range with the creature, she launches into a flurry.
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Viviana slams her fists into the Sahuagin repeatedly. long past the point that the creature is unconscious.
Charles charges forward in a rage as he cuts the creature clean in two.
Even with the creature under cover from his companions Jack is able to find an opening as he lets an arrow loose, dropping the Sahuagin to the deck with an arrow lodged through it's neck.
Charles wipes his blade clean, and then sighs.
"Right. I am glad that is over. Let's go over this ship carefully..."
Charles whistles in appreciation.
"That is one fancy necklace!"
Looking at the bodies of the crew, he frowns.
"Shall we give them a sea burial?"
Viviana examines the necklace, before handing it to Somia, "You look after this, its just going to get damaged if I wear it"
Looking around Jack gathers the dead and prepares them for their last journey to Besmaras deck. Together with Sandara they do the last rites and sends them off.
Taking the necklace Somia smiles "Is this a courting gift, or do you just acknowledge it'll look better on me?" she says as she fastens it around her neck.
"Let us burn the ship as pyre for the dead. And continue with our piracy work."
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The group assembles a makeshift pyre build from the remaining pieces of the ship as they soon set fire to all that remains. The thick black smoke rises high into the sky as Besmara's Fortune sails into the distance. The crew has a pieceful supper as the party toils over the maps. It looks as if you should reach Tidewater Rock within a little over a week.
Ambrose begins to get a wearied look about him. Our fresh water supply is getting to be quite low. With the take over of the ship quite a few of our fresh water supply was ruined. We will run out of water in roughly a week. Granted we may be able to make it to Tidewater Rock in one piece but the men will be tired and sunbeat. What should we do? Ambrose asks as he looks to the crew for guidance.
Viviana frowns in slight confusion "If I was courting you, I would be a good deal more open about it...and as for if it looks better, it merely brings out the colour in your eyes, all it does for me, is make enemies look at my throat, hardly a place I want them to strike me".
"Ambrose, do not get me wrong, but we do not need water. We need a success. Be it a ship, be it to raid something, but we need to bring back the morale. To return confidence! Sandara and I can generate as much water as we need, and we will do it, but I would really prefer to replenish our needs with another ship."
Any raidworthy and able village close? Or some shipping lanes?
Aishe nods, "Aye, we need a target. With a bit of plunder, we'll increase loyalty - at this point, the crew's not seen any reward for joining the crew."