Chapter I. Man Overboard

General Summary

Saturday, Second Dogwatch

  It was dinnertime onboard the Return. Six would-be adventurers found themselves in the galley, making the most of their downtime after having taken first dogwatch. Assembled by the Ring & Wren Adventurer's Guild, they had set sail from the port of Felstadt three days ago and were due to arrive in the town of Saltmarsh some time the next morning.  

Kadias Trench

  Kadias Trench, a stocky triton with dark grey skin, sat at a table by himself. His white hair was woven into in sailor's braids, and his turquoise eyes scanned the room restlessly. Wearing hand-me-down armor, counting javelins and sharpening his war pick quietly, he seemed to be readying himself for trouble, which was not unusual for him. He ran the instructions they'd all been given through his mind again and again, preoccupied with being prepared with the coming mission.  

Cailín Starksong

  On the other side of the table sat Cailín Starksong, a pale, white-haired young woman alternately eating and scribbling with charcoal in a small moleskin journal. She wore a simple black dress with a worn shawl around her shoulders, but the dim glow coming off her skin and the tiny, intricate armillary sphere hanging around her neck suggested that she was, perhaps, not quite as common as she may have appeared at first glance.  

Lily

  Observing Cailín's drawings from the seat next to her was a halfling girl by the name of Lily. Earlier, Lily had eagerly explained to the rest of them that she was the Bodhisattva, an important person among practitioners of her religion, and was on a spiritual journey to find her purpose. Now she sat crosslegged on the wooden bench, barefoot, and wearing wide-legged pants and a sleeveless top that exposed lean arm muscle. Her posture and the patient way she stacked a small pile of runes and crystals on the table despite the swaying of the ship occasionally knocking them over gave her a peculiar air.  

Helvella Mossfoot

  Lily smiled an easy smile as a stocky halfling in sturdy adventurer’s gear and cloak covered in moss and mushrooms approached. Helvella Mossfoot (emphasis on Hell) had introduced herself to the group as they had boarded the ship, flexing her biceps and spitting a gob of plant matter at a nearby seagull, startling it into flight. Like Lily, Helvella had not been wearing shoes– a practice that was common among rural halfling communities. At the time she'd bounded forward with confidence, weathered staff in hand, but now as she approached the table, Helvella had removed her wide-brimmed straw hat in a gesture of rustic propriety. As she did, two yellow-slitted eyes opened amidst her mop of unruly, curly red hair. A mottled green and brown toad raised his head and let out an indignant croak as if just woken from a nap. Helvella blushed.  

“Oh, don’t mind ol’ Bubba… he’s not accustomed to, ah, delicate company.”

-Helvella Mossfoot

  Cailín and Lily, both fascinated and smitten by this grumpy-looking creature, excitedly began to ask Helvella about Bubba. Her ruddy, youthful complexion, which was covered in freckles from head to toe, seemed to grow even redder at the attention from the two beautiful women as she attempted to stutter out answers.  

Axehlkan Howitzer

  Meanwhile, against the wall the edge of the room, a huge grey-skinned goliath with pointed ears, bright blue eyes, and dark green skin markings smoked a cigar positioned carefully between the tusks protruding from his lower jaw. Axehlkan Howitzer, as this half-orc was known, looked at first glance to be a big, dumb brute, but in the short time the rest of the group had known him, he proved to be surprisingly intelligent--though he did have a small temper. He wore gauntlets and a gold chain around his neck and carried with him a backpack filled with all manner of tools. At present he'd positioned himself next to the porthole so that he could blow the smoke outside, since smoking was forbidden below deck. In addition to this contraband, Axel was in the process of splitting a bottle of smuggled grog with an old drunk. After taking a swig, Axel passed the bottle back to a man sitting on the ground next to him.  

Scrimshaw Cutter

  Slouched against a large, stained wooden trunk was an old human man with stringy, unkempt grey hair and muttonchops. Scrimshaw Cutter could only be described as a wreck. Perhaps in his youth he was more of a looker, but now, with his yellowed blue eyes, one of which was always squinting, his crooked teeth, which protruded out in an underbite, and the scar which ran from eyebrow to chin, he most certainly was not. Scrimshaw wore flax linen pants, worn out shoes, a single hoop earring, and a sleeveless sailor's jerkin that revealed slim arms covered in several tattoos: a compass rose, the anchor of the Imperial Navy, and the word DAMNED, which had been scrawled poorly over his skin. Around his neck, Scrimshaw wore his namesake: a shard of whalebone which had been carved with an illustration of a mermaid. Three glass flasks laid at his feet, which were swiftly joined by the fourth as he drank the last dregs of the bottle Axel had returned to him. This might have proved difficult to someone else, since he was using a hook instead of a hand to grasp the bottle, but it seemed that Scrimshaw had had lots of practice. With his one remaining hand, Scrimshaw plucked at a lute and lowly groused out a song:  

"I knew of a girl who had fair flaxen hair...
Sing along with her laughter, love, hold the note there,
And I watched as the waves dragged her lovely locks down...
Sing along, love, sing a lay, love, for the loves who lay drowned.   I knew of a lad with a wide winning grin...
Sing along with the whirlwind his ship was caught in,
And I watched as that grin faded into a frown...
Sing along, love, sing a lay, love, for the loves who lay drowned.   I knew of a lass with eyes so big and blue...
Sing along with our love, at last proven untrue,
And I watched those eyes widen, so frightened and round...
Sing along, love, sing a lay, love, for my love who lays drowned..."

-Scrimshaw Cutter

  Once his song was finished, he promptly fell aleep, snoring, barely registering that Lily, Cailín, and a few other crew members were clapping at his performance. His slumber was shortly disturbed, however, by a shout from above and the sound of heavy boots coming down the stairs. Axehlkan put out his cigar on Scrimshaw's leg, which the old man barely registered.   Down the stairs came the first mate, a gnome by the name of Flossy Ilketh, a tough, foul-mouthed old sea dog that everyone knew to refer to as missus Ilketh.  

"Up ye bilge rats! Cap'n says foul weather ahead. Time to test your mettle. No more lazing about. Now we'll tell the sailors from the landlubbers."

-Missus Ilketh

  Kadias stood, a twinkle in his eye. He was ready.  

“What's a landlubber?...Landlover?”

-Lily

"May the sea saints have mercy..."

-Scrimshaw Cutter

“My dear...my sweet, sweet dear...if you're asking what a landlubber is, it means YOU ARE ONE!"

-Missus Ilketh

  Missus Ilketh hurried all sailors above deck, though she put a hand on Axehlkan's knee, stopping him as he passed her by. The scents of alcohol and tobacco had not escaped her keen nose.  

“Cap’n's gonna have words with you about that."

-Missus Ilketh

"I tell you, this one 'as been trouble since the beginning."

-Scrimshaw Cutter

"I don't want to hear it from you, Scrimshaw! I CAN SMELL IT ON YOU!"

-Missus Ilketh

"Oh, how many lashings this time?"

-Scrimshaw Cutter

  She tsked at him, used an iron key to go through a door that Axel and Scrimshaw knew contained the ship's cargo, and which no one was allowed into but her and captain. She locked the door behind her.  

Preparing for the Storm

  Emerging into the night air, the group was greeted with a sky full of twinkling stars, which they see to a point before they vanished as they were blacked out by a mass of dark clouds, which was illuminated every so often by flashes of blue lightning. The ship's bell was ringing and large swells could be seen ahead. As they were unavoidably sailed toward the storm, the rest of the crew mates took their stations. The oldest member of the crew, a human ragged with age working on the rigging, shouted:  

"Come all you young sailor men, listen to me,
I'll sing you a song of the fish in the sea:
And it's windy weather boys, stormy weather boys!
When the wind blows, we're all together boys!
Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow,
Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes!"

-Old Seadog

  When the old man finished his verse, he climbed down and grabbed Scrimshaw by the collar.  

“There be devils in them waves!"

-Old Seadog

“Keep you tales of devils to yourself, lest they come aboard! Have you forgotten the tale of the sea saint and the devil?"

-Scrimshaw Cutter

“No, I've not forgotten..."

-Old Seadog

  Scrimshaw and the old man shared a bout of mad laughter that made everyone else uncomfortable, despite the fact that Scrimshaw had, in fact, forgotten the tale himself. The group quickly split up to make themselves useful.   Over the course of an hour, the Ring & Wren's green hires worked with the crew to prepare for the storm. Cailín approached the helmsman, who was struggling with the wheel, and helped him yank it into position, then took sights and charted a path to skirt the storm while keeping them mostly on course. Lily walked down to different stations on the main deck and checked in with individual crew members, sensing which of their chakras were blocked, taking a breath and using magic gently guide them back into alignment.   Axehlkan, as strong and tall as he was, easily battened down the hatches, and Helvella climbed to the top of the main mast to strike the royals, Bubba holding her hat to her head against the wind as she lowered the highest sails. Meanwhile, Kadias attempted to secure the gear by tying it down, but tripped over the ropes as he did so. He got back up and tried again, but had only marginally more success. Missus Ilketh shook her head in disappointment. Kadias seemed to be proving himself a landlubber, despite the fact that he was born in the sea. Scrimshaw took up his old role of bosun as though he'd never left and rallied the crew's spirits:  

“You don't all know this 'cause you're too green, so I'll tell you now: when I call, you say row boys, row."

-Scrimshaw Cutter

Scrimshaw:
Across the sea of daggers
Lies the isle Trindigo,
And it’s been the source of rumors
For a thousand years or more.
They say a race of magic maidens dwells in that strange land
And they live in cities full of gold but empty of a man,
So we said:  

Crew:

Row boys, row!

Scrimshaw:
Come on lads, look alive!
We’re off to claim our fortunes
And our magic maiden wives.
We said:  

Crew:

Row boys, row!

Scrimshaw:
Heave to, boys,
Let’s see you sea dogs row
If you want to find your fortunes
On the shores of Trindigo!

  After an hour's worth of preparation, at last, the terrible storm was upon them. It split the sky with lightning. Howling winds tore at the sails and a sharp torrent of rain bit at any exposed skin. The tall figure of the captain stepped forward, an downright-ancient looking human man with white-gray hair, wearing a long pea coat and a wide triangular-brimmed hat.  

"...I know his face, but...it couldn't be..."

-Scrimshaw Cutter

"I must thank you. I don't know how many of you were sailors in this life or past lives. But your quick work might have saved our lives. And your own."

- Captain Callistan

 

"You've done your preparations--now it's time to get us through the storm! Get to your stations!"

-Missus Ilketh

    Each wave struck the Return with enough force to knock sailors off their feet. Captain Callistan merely swayed with the rocking of the ship. Even with all their preparations, the storm was fierce, and everyone worked hard just to keep themselves and the equipment steady as sea threatened to rend them apart.   Helvella noticed the helmsman was quickly getting overwhelmed by the storm and talked him down with her easy, approachable manner.  

"Listen here young buck, we only have one life to live and this is your chance to live it! I need you to pick up your britches. We're all depending on you!"

-Helvella Mossfoot

  Down on the main deck, the manrope snapped and the capstan came loose, knocking a seaman unconscious. Kadias caught the manrope in his hands and tried hold the crew together with raw strength, but the rope was so wet and slick it slipped from his hands, causing several sailors to lose balance. He cursed his own nerves. Lily used her knowledge of medicine to open the seaman's third eye chakra and wake him up.   Meanwhile Cailín ran from bow to stern, keeping lookout for hazards in the water to report to the helmsman. The path she'd charted had taken them against a coral reef, which she'd managed to report in time to skirt its edge instead of crashing into it, but as they travelled along its side, she saw yellow eyes in the water. She began running up the ship to notify the captain, but ran into Kadias along the way.  

"Eyes! There’re eyes in the water!"

-Cailín Starksong

"I told you! There be devils in them waves!"

-Old Seadog

"Grab your weapons!"

-Kadias Trench

  On the deck above them, Captain Callistan unsheathed a long saber as a large group of fishmen raiders climbed aboard.  

"Repel all boarders!"

-Captain Callistan

 

Sahuagin Skirmish

  The fishmen began attacking the crew, plunging the ship into pandemonium. Lily reacted first, her eyes glowing as she blessed Helvella, Kadias, and Axehlkan, their solar plexuses shining with a corresponding yellow light. It was just in time too, as a fishman with a gnarled, pronged fishing spear tried to run Helvella through. Helvella moved out of the way just in time, the spear puncturing the deck of the ship where she was a moment before. When he turned to try and bite her, he was confounded when she hit him with an unexpected punch, knocking him off course enough to miss.  

"Sorry, we're actually all full up on this ship. You'll have to find another!"

-Kadias Trench

  Kadias attacked one of the fishmen with his warpick. Despite his earlier blunders, it became clear that battle was where his sea legs came to him. Scrimshaw pulled out a small drum, which he beat against his hip as he whispered a rhyme he made up on the spot.  

"Accursed sahuagin, your briny gills with curdled screaming shall be filled!"

-Scrimshaw Cutter

  The single sahuagin that heard this rhyme within its mind dove off the side of the ship to get away from Scrimshaw and the promised torture. A different sahuagin tried to attack Lily, but she pulled out a wooden shield and put it up in between them. Helvella climbed partially back up the mast to avoid the group of six fishmen that were beginning to surround the fledgling adventurers below.   Though they were evenly matched in number, some of the sahuagin were doubling up against them instead of going one-on-one. Noticing this, Cailín channeled the wind of the surrounding storm into a small gust that she used to push one of the two sahuagin near Scrimshaw back into the water. Axehlkan's eyes and hands began to glow blue as he shoved another one overboard with his axe to buy them some time to deal with the other raiders. As he peered over the edge of the railing however, he saw the same sahuagin clinging to the side of the ship, and he stepped back up as it scrambled back in front of him. The fishman that Kadias was engaged with stabbed him with a spear, but Kadias was able to prevent himself from being bitten by lodging his warpick in between the sahuagin's lunging teeth.   Lily tried to hit one of the sahuagin with a Sacred Flame, but its light got lost in the darkness of the storm and didn't hit its mark. Another took the opportunity to to run Cailín through with its spear while she was distracted with her spell, then followed up by biting into her shoulder. The black blood that flowed out was stark against her already-pale skin. Kadias came down on it with his warpick, driving the creature off Cailín's back. It buckled, but stayed up. Scrimshaw rested a hand on Cailín's bloody shoulder.  

"Alright now, they're no worse than this storm. If you're what you look to be, their darkness is no match for your light. Miss Mossfoot! Same goes for you!"

-Scrimshaw Cutter

  Cailín felt her breath come back to her, temporarily invigorated by the Heroism spell Scrimshaw had cast on her. Helvella felt inspired as well. To the sahuagin that had been locked in combat with Kadias, she yelled:  

"Hey, wet butt! Eat this!"

-Helvella Mossfoot

  A gaseous beam of amber light struck out in an arc from Helvella to the creature, burning a hole through its abdomen and leaving it gasping for breath before it fell dead. The same sahuagin that had tried to attack Lily, stabbed at her again, which she blocked, but she lowered her shield too soon and the fishman took a big bite out of her. She cast healing word on herself, knowing she could be no help to others if she went down herself, then clocked the fishman with her quarterstaff.   Cailín, though injured, decided to continue fighting and hit the injured sahuagin that had attacked her earlier with Shillelagh, calling for help. Axehlkan came to her aid, cutting at the creature with his ax. As he did so, another attacked him from behind. With the amount of blood spilt, the sahuagins' eyes grew large and black as they entered a feeding frenzy. One stabbed Scrimshaw with a spear, pinning his leg to the deck and going in for a bite. Scrimshaw closed his eyes to what he was sure would be his last sight, but he was amazed to see Captain Callistan fight the sahuagin off and away from him.  

"It cannot be...it's not the grog! It's really Captain Callistan!"

-Scrimshaw Cutter

  The Captain caught Scrimshaw's eye, and a knowing look passed between the two veterans. This will not be the end. Though the captain had saved his life, Scrimshaw's concentration was broken, and without his support, Cailín was perilously close to passing out. She dodged a spear attack from the same sahuagin that attacked her earlier, but it seemed the creature had gotten a taste for her flesh. A scream ripped from her throat as the creature's teeth pierced the skin of her forearm and her vision began to swim black. Kadias stepped between her and the sahuagin.  

"I'll be your opponent."

-Kadias Trench

  Lily's blessing enhanced Kadias' attacks. He knocked the sahuagin to its knees, then slammed it in the head with his war pick. From the mast, Helvella shot another Eldritch Blast at this same sahuagin. Making use of Kadias' cover, Cailín scrambled away from the frenzying raiders and ran toward the forecastle.  

"If Captain Callistan can use his rapier, so can I!"

-Scrimshaw Cutter

  Scrimshaw pulled out a rapier and joined the fight. Once Lily's shield had failed her once, the sahuagin that had gotten its opening continued to spear and bite at her. Axehlkan muscled his way between them, telling Lily to stand behind him, and decapitated it. At that point, a retreat call sounded and the rest fled, not having expected resistance of this magnitude. As they fled, Axehlkan took off the arm of another one, while Kadias threw a javelin at the retreating forms.  

"And good riddance!"

-Kadias Trench

"Hey Scrimshaw, need a hand?"

-Axehlkan Howitzer

  Axehlkan waved the disembodied hand at Scrimshaw, who rolled his eyes. But all levity soon left the group as they helplessly watched a group of three Sahuagin spear Captain Callistan through the leg and the abdomen, pinning him to the rail before catching him in a net and dragging him overboard.  

"Cap'n!"

-Missus Ilketh

Kadias ran as though to go after them, but Scrimshaw grabbed him.  

"Mr. Trench. Sailors are needed on deck. That there? That was Captain Callistan. Is there a mate here named Mr. Trench?"

-Scrimshaw Cutter

  Missus Ilketh looked disbelievingly toward Scrimshaw, whose drunken demeanor had begun to return now that the rush of battle had passed.  

"It's you, captain. Man overboard. Orders?"

-Scrimshaw Cutter

"...Well. We're still in a storm, aren't we?...Man your stations."

-Missus Ilketh

  With the raiders shucked off, the remaining crew returned to their stations. The ship still needed to be run, and they were still in a storm. Now calmed, Kadias put a hand, cool with healing magic, on Scrimshaw's shoulder.  

"You were right. Mate's needed."

-Kadias Trench

 

Back to Stations

  After two more hours of fighting off the gale, the waters and the wind began to calm. The helmsman, whose nerves were frayed, sighed in relief.  

“We made it."

-Helmsman

"Not all of us."

-Missus Ilketh

  Missus Ilketh had removed her beanie to reveal a head of frizzy red hair.  

"I've been with him twenty-five years. I didn't think this would be the voyage that would get him."

-Missus Ilketh

"The sailor that knows the hour of his own death has never sailed the sea at all."

-Scrimshaw Cutter

"Aye. True words, Scrimshaw. Or should I say...mate."

-Missus Ilketh

"No, captain...you don't want..."

-Scrimshaw Cutter

  Scrimshaw cleared his throat, overcome by emotion.  

"You all did your part. We wouldn't have made it through the storm and the devils without you. I'm proud to call you all mates. You're always welcome aboard The Return. Now get some shuteye. We'll make it to port sometime in the mornin', the wind holds."

-Missus Ilketh

  Those who had not been scheduled to work the current shift went below deck and rested. Before she retiring for the evening, Lily blessed one of her crystals and threw it overboard for Captain Callistan. At his bunk, Axehlkan studied the arm he'd taken and began writing up some schematics. Nearby, Kadias began to write a journal entry, but threw it down in frustration before he could finish. Cailín rested fitfully, trusting in her body to recover from her wounds. And they all thought about the last thing they had heard before departing on this voyage:  

Felstadt, Three Days Prior

  The six aspiring adventurers picked for the mission sat in the guild hall of the Ring & Wren, getting ready to depart. An old dwarf known as Festiv Fullsprout addressed them.  

"Alright, so you've all got it now then, right?"

-Festiv Fullsprout

"Yes sir."

-Kadias Trench

"Aye."

-Scrimshaw Cutter

"Saltmarsh is a hard town. The people can be a hard nut to crack. Once you get into town, you'll be representing the Ring & Wren, this adventuring company, as well as Felstadt, the city. You're not gonna have much when you get there. Just this. This'll pay for your lodgings until you can get yourselves established.   Do what adventurers do. Do work, get paid. The town has a council. They're split into two factions--loyalists and traditionalists. The traditionalists are the folk of Saltmarsh. Fishing families, merchants who rely on that trade for a living. The loyalists are new interests--imperial interests--in the city. Those dwarves we told you about, miners? Those are loyalists. To the prince in that area. They're getting paid by the prince and agree with his plans. A lot of vested interest.   You'll have to figure out who you want to help and who you want to hinder. Best way to do that is to make a name for yourself, same way they did it in the old days."

-Festiv Fullsprout

"I understand that you yourself used to be an adventurer..."

-Kadias Trench

"A long time ago."

-Festiv Fullsprout

"What were you guys called?"

-Kadias Trench

"Ach, doesn't matter now! You're dredging up ghosts. It's the Ring & Wren now."

-Festiv Fullsprout

  A figure who had been to the side listening stepped forward, a middle-aged halfling with honey-colored hair. He handed Kadias a map of the town.  

“One more thing. Saltmarsh is of interest to the Ring & Wren for many reasons. One of those reasons might be bigger than this whole company. We don't know much, but we want to find out more, which is why we're sending you. We have other guild members in other towns doing much the same. There are whispers of a group called the Scarlet Order. Supposedly they're responsible for assassinations and coups around the empire. Keep you ears to the ground. If you hear anything about them, send word immediately."

-Drayton King

"How will we send word?"

-Kadias Trench

"You ever hear of a letter?"

-Festiv Fullsprout

"You have anything faster? Like...I dunno...a sending stone or something?"

-Axehlkan Howitzer

"Listen. This is you first mission. We don't even know if they'll be there. We're sending you with one of our best. You'll be on his ship. He'll get you there safe. Trust in yourself. And trust in each other."

-Drayton King

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Chapter II. The Leap