50 Fathoms Maiden Voyage/Tressa the Red - Session five - A night at the theatre

50 Fathoms

Session 5 Maiden Voyage/Tressa the Red

The Party:

Urghh - Half Ugak Bloodthirsty Sailor - Aaron

Flynt - Delusional Human Merchant - Charlie

Obadiah Merle - Squanderous Human Rifleman - Garry

Kuthelaquin - Kraken Water Mage - Rob

After graciously accepting the invitation to the theatre by Edward Lazonby, the crew decked out in their finery made their way to the Baltimus Shakespear Company for the performance of The Merchant Of Venice.  They were met by Reginald Davenport, or Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeginald Daaaaavenport! as he introduced himself as, Caribdus' self proclaimed leading thespian.  Escorted to the front of the house, they were greeted by Lazonby who had arranged for a feast of luxurious wines and foods while they enjoyed the play.  

Merle immediately set about the wines and was well on his way to being intoxicated by the second act of the play, the rest of the party made small talk with Lazonby and drank at a more sedate pace.  Seated behind the Governor and his guests were another 40 or so assorted rich and important captains and merchants all trying to get the Governor's favour.  

During the interval between acts 2 and 3, waiters appeared to chivy away the wreckage of the food and drink on the small tables before the party, Kuthelaquin noticed alone, that under one of their napkins the barrel of a small pistol was concealed.  After trying to get the Governor's attention and failing, Merle spluttered loudly "More Wine!"  and the Keiran extremist assassins, disguised as theatre staff attacked.

After discharging their pistols and missing miserably, the assassins moved into close combat.  Only Flynt and Merle had swords, being allowed to wear them as part of their dress uniforms, Urghh and Kuthelaquin had daggers.  Urghh engaged the assassin making directly towards the Governor in hand to hand combat while the others drew their swords and attacked, Merle drunkenly pulled his flintlock sidearm and casually blew the brains out of a shrieking assassin.  One of the killers managed to severely injure Kuthelaquin, stabbing his dagger deep into his side, he collapsed to the floor bleeding profusely.  Flynt managed to hold his own against the professional killers, running one through and incapacitating another.  Merle downed another and Urghh was unable to best his combatant in hand to hand.  Eventually, the assassins were dispatched, with one left alive despite Urghh moving immediately to crush their skull.  After some intimidation, including Merle drunkenly threatening to burn them with brandy, the assassin confessed they were Keiran extremists trying to destabilise the peace between The British East India Company and the Kieran empire.  Governor Lazonby ordered the man taken off to Baltimus prison.  Kuthelaquin used his water magic to heal the injured, including himself.

The Governor rewarded the party with 3000 pieces of eight and a relic from his own personal stockpile, an enchanted warhammer that Urghh immediately claimed as his own.  Importantly, he also offered them a 25% discount on goods bought in Baltimus.

After this, the play was abandoned, and the party left to their own devices. In the following days, Flynt was able to get his super's tattoo with the bureaucratic intervention of the Governor, and buy goods to trade to Lanos.  

The crew set sail for Lanos, and almost immediately came across the wreckage of a frigate with a sole survivor clinging to a section of the hull, they threw him a line and the crotchety scurillion was helped on board.  After grudgingly thanking the group (in a bizarre Mancunian accent, looks like scurillions are all Northerners and working class) he introduced himself as Equias, a retired super for the Spanish guild.  He told them that during his retirement he had been travelling all over Caribdus taking depth measurements and had come to the conclusion that the seas were still rising and the free towns would be gone in three years, all land masses would be submerged within ten years unless something was done about it.  He suggested going to see Tressa the Red, the archmage for her advice.  The Teeth, where Tressa lived, is on the southern edge of the savage lands, a long and perilous journey.  The party decided to seek her out and try to find a way to stop the waters rising.  They agreed to stock the ship, head to Bluth's Crown, then head along the southern shore of the savage lands towards The Teeth.  

Resuming their journey to Lanos, they docked the ship and were able to sell their goods and buy gunpowder to sell at Baltimus.  On the return voyage, while Urghh was on watch, the hull of the ship impacted against something which scraped along the keel.  Ordering the ship to stop, he investigated and looked over the side, to see what appeared to be a tiled roof and chimney stack just below the water level, the ship had scraped along the highest chimney pot.  Realising it was a sunken ruin of a manor house, he informed the rest of the crew.  Kuthelaquin took to the water and investigated the ruin.   After a search, he found in the once opulent manor at the top of the seaweed encrusted grand staircase, a suit of chain mail armour on a wooden stand.  Taking this and returning to the ship, it was given to Urghh.

Returning to Baltimus and making a tidy profit from the sale of the gunpowder, the crew decided the they needed a presence in Baltimus, so went about renting a small dockfront warehouse under the name of the B&R Trading company.  Trusted crew was sent ashore to manage their interests, and extra cannon were taken off the ship and stored there.  The skiff, the Rosebud, was given to the warehouse staff so they could do small amounts of trading in their absence.  After restocking the Binkley and allowing the crew to carouse, Merle explained their intentions to the crew, and they set sail for the savage lands.

Heading South, several days of good weather and good boating rolls later, the crew came across swarms of razorwing which they avoided with Kuthelaquin's magic, until they eventually came across a heavily damaged frigate, The Conquistador.  Boarding the sticken ship, they found a single survivor, the heavily mutilated ship's cook Jim Black, after being revived by Kuthelaquin, he told them a harrowing tale of how the ship he was on was attacked by pirates who tortured and butchered the crew.  Flynt realised from his description that the pirate Captain was Edward Low, the same man they had rescued from the seas and taken to Lanos.  

After putting a skeleton crew aboard the Conquistador, the two ships made for Bristo.  Upon reaching the small fishing town, they met with Thomas Crane, the unofficial leader of the small community.  For a small gratuity, they arranged for him to take care of Black and to contact the owners of the Conquistador. 

Resuming their journey South, a few days later a galleon appeared on the horizon and made sail to engage them.  The Galleon was flying the skull and crossbones and Merle identified it as the Mad Dog, the same ship that attacked the Conquistador.  Realising they were outgunned and outmanned, the Binkey wheeled away from the attacker and made sail to escape.  The chase ranged for 16 hours before the party were able to out maneuver the pirates and escape.  

Finally reaching Bluth's Crown, the ship weighed anchor and Kuthelaquin went ashore, being a mage he had been there before and knew some of the elementalists there.  As he made his way towards the 4 towers, he was approached by a young earth mage, Pars Portri.  Pars and Kuthelaquin were old friends who had studied together, and Pars asked for his help.  The monolith stones, each dedicated to an element have been developing cracks in them, possibly from over use and they needed ingredients for a ritual to repair them.  They need to retrieve four items for him: a gallon of water from the heart of the Flotsam Sea, a pound of lava gathered from the great volcano of Torath-Ka, a pound of gold from the Kehana Flumes, and a bottle containing air from the highest peak of the Coaker Mountains.  For a reward of 6000 pieces of eight and 8 magical potions, they agreed to help.  

Returning to the ship and informing the crew, they decided to ask the mages for some food to replenish their stores, and also if there was an air mage who was willing to join the crew to speed their journey.  After an inspiring recruitment speech from Flynt, Ivana Brunehilde, a Prussian Earther mage was convinced to join the crew.  Her use of the Zephyr spell would help them travel further faster.

Heading East along the southern edge of the savage lands, the crew decided to make landfall near the enormous volcano that was visible from the seas, and try to gather a component for the mage's ritual.  Provisioning themselves for the 45 mile journey into the interior, the party made their way into the steaming dense jungles of the savage lands.  The first day passed without incident, and by using their survival skills they were able to find a body of fresh water for Kuthelaquin to rest in.  The second day of travel was gruelling, with the temperature soaring and Urghh being affected by the searing heat.  Making camp at the foot of the incline to the volcano, as the kraken mage was resting in a shallow pool of water, 6 yellowback raptors burst into the small clearing and leapt into combat.  4 of them swarmed Flynt, the other two attacked Urghh and Kuthelaquin.  After a brutal and short melee, Flynt was slightly wounded, and the crew had enough fresh meat to feast on to replenish their strength for the final day's trek to the heart of the volcano.