Session 2 - Thugs, Nuns, and Pirates, Oh My! Report
General Summary
XP/Milestone
Return sailing journey to Skyfoss. Everyone reaches level 2.
Loot
Recap
Upon interrupting the scene in the alley, the three thugs immediately set upon the party. It appeared our heroes would make quick work of the brutes, especially after
Priestess X joined the fray from the opposite entrance of the alley; however, these weren't normal thugs. Even after
Varuna smashed a thug's skull in with a grievous injury, they just kept fighting--almost inhuman in nature.
Soren Maldrick recalled rumors he had heard of drugs that only the most unscrupulous villians take which let them fight with an unnatural ferocity until they are good and truly dead. With a blast of air, Soren knocked two down and then proceeded to stomp on one of these unnatural creeps with his rather fancy wizard boot, finally snuffing the light out of the thug's eyes. After his two comrades were dead, the third thug further down the alley rushed to grab the young woman the party was saving and pulled her around the corner out of their lines of sight. The heroes charged ahead only to discover the the young woman had slit the final thug's throat and him laid bleeding out in the corner.
The mysterious cloaked woman graciously thanked them all, said she had a boat to catch, and then quickly climbed a pile of rubble and vaulted over a wall to the main street where she disappeared into the crowd. Now that things were calmed down, introductions were made and the newcomer revealed that she was a Priestess of Qharaxia and was duty-bound to perform the burial rites for the thugs: "It matters not your evils in life--everyone deserves to be laid to rest." Bodies were looted, discussions were had, and ultimately Priestess X headed to a graveyard outside of town to bury the bodies with the city guard while the others headed back to the docks. Not long after the burials were completed, Priestess X left the note she secretly found on one of the thug's bodies with her betrothed in town.
On the way to the docks, they stopped by Eekle's free clinic where
Dr Gnivor happily tried and failed to stitch up Varuna with a rusty fish hook. The group quickly, and wisely, backed away before any more damage could be caused by the deranged doctor. At the docks,
Captain Guff McGruff wasn't there, but
Lota McGruff knew what to do, and they helped her load the cargo for the return voyage. At this point, Priestess X showed back up to learn more about her fellow Nagaji.
Finally, Captain McGruff returned with the same cloaked woman the party had saved earlier, briefly explaining she had purchased passage on his ship. Happy to see the folks who saved her again, she removed her hood and introduced herself as
Tera Twilight. Seeing that it was already late evening, everyone boarded the boat, but not before Priestess X took Tera aside to question her. Tera said she was not a criminal and didn't know why those thugs were after her, but wasn't willing to share any more details. Next,
Annie A accosted Tera, who at this point was quite eager to depart.
While Annie was distracted by this conversation, three Aleran nuns approached the boat. They did not notice Annie and Tera in the dark at the far end of the dock, and after Annie admitted to Tera she was frightened of them, Tera subtly reached into her cloak, removed a wand, and turned Annie invisible. The nuns proceeded to summon Captain Guff McGruff and said they were looking for a young woman which matched Annie's description. The party all looked around nervously as Tera emerged from the shadows and defused the situation with her friendly and innocent demeanor; after all, she does look a bit like Annie, so that's probably why other folks said someone matching that description was headed this way. The nuns seemed convinced, and headed off to search elsewhere.
The group set sail on the Broken Crate, set up nightly watch shifts, and the night passed peacefully. As dawn cracked the next morning, however, Soren saw a ship in the distance slowly catching up to the party's. Priestess X revealed the note she had found on one of the thugs which had the same flame symbol as the flag flying on the ship which was approaching. After some honest questioning, Tera revealed the approaching ship was part of the
Red Fleet and were probably after the ancient, magical chest she carried. She would not say what was in the chest--only that she had obtained it legally, that it was quite valuable, and that she was bringing it to someone.
Unfortunately, the Broken Crate cannot outrun a double-masted pirate ship, and they were soon upon the party. On the tip of the bow of the ship danced a gleeful
Captain Esme the Flame, who was playing with conjured fire and threw spats of it at the party whenever they attacked her, but seemed indifferent and almost gleeful when her own crewmates were attacked. With some stellar shots, Priestess X managed to take out a few pirates on the approach. Annie focused and summoned her spectre from the Cloud Sea to rend Captain Esme the Flame, who seemed to honestly find the whole ordeal rather amusing. What she didn't find amusing, however, is when Priestess X managed to shoot a magic-infused arrow which shoved her--blowing her off the ship and into the Cloud Sea.
The pirates boarded. While the party fought hard, Priestess X and Captain McGuff were almost immediately downed. Seeing no other option, Soren yelled that Tera was hiding under the deck. The pirates pulled her out, tied her up, and carried her off to their ship. As she was being dragged away, Annie heard Tera's voice in her mind: "Look under the deck. Get it to her. I believe in you." The telepathic link was severed before anyone else could notice.
The pirates sailed off, the party recovered from the most egregious of their injuries, and Annie found a parcel wrapped in oilcloths under the deck where Tera was hiding. Affixed to the top was a hastily written note: "For Anna Stone." Inside was an Ancient Compass.
Who is Anna Stone? Why was the Red Fleet after this Ancient Compass? Why were Aleran nuns searching for Annie? What are the odds of two Nagaji on the same merchant vessel whose first mate is a giant Dwarf woman?!
