The Pathfinder Society has heard reports of a ship sighted over and over, apparently following the same path before vanishing each week. This unfortunate ship is stuck in time, repeating the same week over and over. The crew has tried everything to escape this fate, and gave up years of the same week ago. The PCs must find a way to return things to normal and save the crew from an eternity of this single week.
A brisk wind cuts across the deck of the Grinning Pixie, the impressive, three-masted carrack that serves as one of the Pathfinder Society’s most famous mobile lodges. Venture-Captain Eras the Needle, a half-elven man who looks as much a scholar as a sailor, greets the agents assembled on the ship’s sterncastle with a calm smile. Beside him stands Venture-Captain Calisro Benarry, a half orc woman equally dressed in the outfit of a seasoned captain. She’s tapping her foot impatiently and seems about to start the briefing herself when Eras clears his throat.
“Welcome aboard Pathfinders,” Eras begins. “Several months ago, we received reports of a ghost ship sailing these waters. We made plans to investigate and, in the weeks since, my crew and I have confirmed that something strange is going on. Every seven days, the ship disappears from its current location, only to reappear where it was sighted seven days previously.
In the intervening time, it takes no set course; rather, it appears to drift upon the currents. Strange tidings indeed, and the reason why we want you to investigate this ‘ghost ship’ further.”
At this point, Calisro, whose impatient foot-tapping has continued unabated, interrupts.
“Ghost ship might be something of a misnomer. We’ve confirmed that there are living souls aboard, or at least souls who appear to be living. The crew isn’t in distress—they hardly acknowledge our approach, in fact—but they don’t seem bothered that they’re adrift either.”
Catching herself, Calisro hands the briefing back to Eras. “Apologies, Captain. Please continue.” She lets out a small sigh, barely audible.
Eras nods patiently, though his brow shows a slight furrow at the interruption. “Ghost ship or not, we’d like you to board this vessel and find out what is going on. We have no reason to think the ship or its crew is up to any trouble, but we’d like to determine the cause of this strange teleportation. And if you can find a way to stop the anomaly, all the better.”
Calisro breaks in again, “If doing so won’t harm the crew, of course! I’m more concerned with the well-being of those aboard than I am whatever with whatever’s causing this weirdness. Make contact with the sailors and, assuming you don’t meet resistance, render any help they need.” She pauses again. “That is, if you agree Captain.”
Eras taps fingers along the Pixie’s rail, a subtle yet unmistakable sign he’s losing patience with Calisro. But he nods curtly. “Indeed,” he says. “Any questions?”
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A lithe tengu in weather-worn gear leans comfortably against the railing. He looks completely at home among the crew, moving gracefully with the rolling of the ship. A pistol hangs on one hip, a salt-crusted brass bell on the other, and a vast collection of trinkets, talismans, and other esoterica are pinned or clipped across his person.
"How much lead time are we going to have before their next expected teleportation? I'd hate to be aboard when whatever happens happens, at least before we know what exactly is happening."
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A woman with blue skin and green hair wraps her hands carefully. She shudders at the description. "Well, that's sure creepy. I hope we don't find any actual ghosts."
She gives the rest of the Pathfinders a friendly smile. "I don't think I've met any of you before. I'm Ennillee! I trained at the Monastery of Unbreaking Waves."
True to form, Ennillee has spent more time out of the ship than in it, swimming alongside.
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Rekk scratches at the red scales of his chin. "I wonder what four years of the same week does to the group dynamics." The dry rush of a snort conveys his skepticism of the results.
He double checks his container of spare bowstrings, then roots around in his satchel for arrow-making supplies. Its worn canvas is embroidered with a dozen or so kobolds in bright red thread. Several extended dragon wings fan out behind them and along the sides of the bag.
Calisrio answers before Eras has a chance, "We'll rendezvous with the ship in about 4 hours. We’ll bring the Pixie alongside the vessel and deploy grappling hooks. Our people will remain here should anyone try to board, but once affixed we’ll drop anchor to keep both ships in place.” She slaps the Pixie’s rail: “The old girl should handle the job. If you notice the ship starting to break away in time, you can cross back over to the Pixie and we'll cut our lines.”
The ship’s captain was a gnome named Fidero, and rumor has it that there was at least one passenger aboard the Tide when it disappeared, in addition to its standard crew.
You sail for an indeterminate time, and the Yesterday's Tide comes into view. The ship drifts on the waves without direction, despite there
being an active crew on deck. The boarding of the Tide proceeds as Calisro proposed.
The crew of the Yesterday’s Tide seem as uninterested in the Pixie’s arrival as they are about their duties. Most of the sailors give only a brief glance and a shrug at the newcomers before heading belowdeck or returning to staring out at the sea. At the ship’s waist, a group of rough-looking sailors have gathered for a card game, while a dwarf—the ship’s cook, judging from her apron—tosses a fishing line from the aftcastle. Meanwhile, a lone goblin sits atop a messy coil of rigging, staring at you with curiosity as he munches on a herring.
The crewmates give you a collective shrug, "Here to help us? I bet." One of them smirks. "Best you take it up with the captain."
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Vardenor, whose uncharacteristic quietness was punctuated by occasional scratching and repositioning of pins on a cork board, glances over the crew. "Seems... typical enough. But I wonder what boils beneath the surface. Ah! Speaking of..."
Shuffling over to the fellow dwarf, the Breakiron scion fidgets with her goggles and asks the cook some leading questions about their opinions on dwarven culture, while sharing how it's changed since the ship disappeared.
"Ah, welcome aboard. Name's Marda Bonehook, cook for this vessel," the dwarf introduces herself. "Not that it's easy."
It seems like she might appreciate some help.
Tenpot notices that the sailors defer to a man named Troyus, who looks to be some kind of mate. In addition to their interest in sailing, it looks like they spend most of their time betting on card games.
Rekk searches the boat for the captain and finds him alone in his cabin. The wan looking gnome, hair streaked with white, lies listlessly on his bunk.
"Urg," he grunts at the intrusion.
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"That sure doesn't sound easy, cooking for a whole ship worth of people!" Ennillee chats as she helps fish. "I know it was hard for the cook at the monastery, too. I'm sure you have to use as much fish as he did! Do you catch anything else fresh, or just fish? There are some pretty tasty dishes with seaweed."
The dwarf chuckles, darkly at Ennilee's comment, "Not at all tough! I can easily feed this crew, though I get bored pretty quickly with using the same ingredients all the time." She gestures at her fishing rod and says, "If we catch anything, you should stay for dinner. I'm running out of mouths to feed, here. What with the people disappearing and the captain refusing to take regular meals."
She goes into more detail, "You see, when the boat resets to the beginning of the loop, I'm stuck with all of the same ingredients we had at the start of the week! The crew tries not to complain, but I know it's adding to their despair. They're worried too; I can't put my finger on it, but the crew seems smaller every loop--not that I can remember anyone particular that's missing. The only one who doesn't seem bothered is our passenger, Arjol Parkit."
Troyus responds well to Tenpot's questions, "Nice to have a nautical visitor on the ship. S'no good having landlubbers aboard. That's what started this whole mess, I reckon."
Marda says that she prefers natural spices, though as it's almost the end of the week, she's running a bit low.
The captain is hard to stir from his stupor. It looks like all of the life and vitality has been slowly drained out of him!
Troyus: 1 Influence (Discovery: Perception, Society, or Sailing Lore; Influence: Gambling Lore & Sailing Lore)
Marda: 2 Influence (Discovery: Perception, Society, or Cooking or Sailing Lore; Influence: Cooking & Fishing Lore, Diplomacy)
Goblin (Discovery: Perception, Society, or Goblin or Sailing Lore)
Captain Fidero (Discovery: Sailing Lore, Perception, Society, Nature; Influence: Performance)
Everyone is up!
"That Arjorl is an unpleasant one, always sneaking around and muttering strange phrases. Keeps very quiet about his business with the crew, and he's awfully sharp if you get nosy. He seems a bit of a prat, or I'd blame this whole mess on him."
"Well, you see we poor salts are caught in what we've come to call a 'time loop.' We were sailing past the lost city of Xin-Edasseril when this strangeness started. I know that's always been a strange area, but I think it has more to do with the odd landlubber we took as passenger, Arjol Parkit."
"Oh hi! I'm Pog, the mighty sailor!" The goblin winks at Rekk. "Just kidding! I stowed away on this boat, and it has ended up being a bit longer voyage than I expected. I don't hate it, though. I've really taken to the sailor's life!"
"Please...help the crew!" the captain moans.
Round 4 (The Last One)
Everyone is up!
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Rekk talks with Pog a bit more, comparing notes on finding oneself in unfamiliar territory among taller people. He then returns to the Captain's quarters. He roots around in his pack for a satchel of herbs and roots.
"Crew needs a leader. Spirit's easier to tend when the body's up to it." Rekk grinds a purple root into a paste, mixes it with a some water and dried berries, rolls it inside a supple leaf, and passes it to the captain . "Here y'go. Lotta good smooshed into a small amount. Should help."
The dwarfs chats amicably with Ennilee and Vardenor. She promises to "whip you up a little something for later! (This will have an effect in a bit.)
"Dull, you don't know the half of it. Most of the boys, here, have lost all desire to do anything."
Under Rekk's vegan spring roll is like nothing the captain has ever tasted. He perks back up a bit at the unusual flavor. "What's that? Visitors? Ah, we've been stuck in this time loop for so long that I have almost lost hope of seeing anything new ever again. The same week, over and over! It has something to do with that Arjol Parkit--the strange passenger hiding away in his captain." The asks Rekk to help him out of bed and, once on deck, points a shaky finger at the door of a nearby cabin.
You easily locate the passenger's cabin, which happens to be the only locked door on the ship.
"Go away! I'm working on something important," an irritated voice calls from inside the cabin.
"Great idea, I'll be out in a moment," a voice from behind the door says in a somewhat sarcastic tone. You hear the sound of an eldritch ritual being performed, and strange lights flicker under the door.
The cabin door splinters a bit as the lock gives. Inside, what was once a typical passenger’s cabin, this space has clearly been transformed by someone whose interests intersect with otherworldly magic. A circle of odd runes is carved into the floor, while a voluminous journal sits open atop a writing desk amidst vials of ink, the stubs of candles, and other occult trappings. Most unusual are the spaces where the cabin’s walls meet or join with the ceiling and floor. All these corners have been filled with pitch, softening the angles and giving the cabin a strange, almost organic look.
Standing next to the glowing circle on the floor is a disheveled looking man in robes. "You won't disrupt my plan!" he shouts, as two strange, shapeless creatures materialize inside the magic circle.
~+~Combat Round 1~+~
Arjol
Tenpot
Ennillee (Will save)
Rekk
Vardenor
Yellow Blob
Blue Blob
The ritualist draws his dagger and weaves a spell around Ennillee; she feels dread trying to cloud her mind. (Will save DC 17, vs fear please!)