From frying pan to (well paid) fire

They followed the wealthy woman over the bridge, bellowing gondoliers belting out opera as they pass underneath. They headed towards an enormous forge, metallurgical laboratory for jewellery making.
 
Shadow peered in the forge window and stood there, like a dog with his head cocked in confusion. “There methods are archaic but efficient.” He lifted up his small automaton companion to look through and they made a series of beeps in reply.
 
She took them into a library come office and gave them tea.
 
“So. Have we a taste for adventure? I know it was not you that pulled off that ghastly murder, it was the pale people in the dark cloaks, and I hate to say it but my word is going to carry all the weight that you need to get your trial thrown out, I’m a noblewoman you see but I have a proposition for you and I think you may be the perfect people for it.”
 
“Go on” Liliana said.
 
“Let me show you,” she went in and started rummaging in her desk pulling out a long, well-worn scroll ancient scroll. It seemed three times longer than expected and she announced it was a diary from a research fellow at the bardic college. It’s written to the Dean of the
 
It spoke of an archipelago. Below are fractions of the contents:
 
Arrived at the archipelago after many adventures. Lost 14 hands to storm and 4 to sickness. One died of a bee sting.
We arrived in a tropical paradise. Time to be a scholar once again.
Not slept a wink the ship dragged an achor and ran aground on rocks, took hours to fix. Two research fellows were missing then we got back. Two piles of entrail found atop crude cairns overlooking a ziggurat.
Crew have all gone mad. Building a stockade. The more trees they cut down the more crew members die.
Expedition is a disaster. No help will come.
16 of 75 left. Not enough of us to sail away. Some hear drums. Their madness is complete. No one will go ashore.
It is no use, we have dwindled to 6 in to days. Shrunken heads now decorate our ship. All is lost.
The writing ran into a bloodstain and a different, bolder hand takes over.
He was a good lad but our scholar Norman didn’t make it last night. Just two of us now..
Another elegant hand takes over.
I am alone for the historical record if this is ever find the crew of the endeavor were slain and eaten by – the words cut off.
 
“This is all very interesting but what has it got to do with murder.” Liliana asked.
 
“Nothing. This is a job offer.”
 
She explained that once the trial was thrown out of court, she had a job for them to take, ifthey wanted it. She pushed an old, flimsy map over.
 
“We’ve had this for some years now, but we can’t find out where this is, everyone says that this is a blank spot in the ocean. Now here’s the rub,” her eye glinted,
“The Tolmerch empire that lived and thrived in that area was the richest empire this world had ever seen or known. Volcanic islands flush with gold. The zig mentioned in this missive here is the one to Quetzalcoatl himself.”
 
She pushed a contract in front of them. Liliana said she would only accept if she could have her own cabin and also take all her books on studies on route. She bashed the bardic college and her various students and asked Lady Emma to provide more books to sweeten the deal. She agreed and Lady Emma said she would send people to get their stuff for them. Liliana agreed, as a noble she was used to servants handling her possessions.
 
The two adventures separated for the evening, Liliana to her room to read over a glass of wine. Shadow to look in at the forge window.
 
The following day they met at the courthouse. Lady Emma testified that a fireball was sent from a robed individual on a boat, explaining that it was strangely quiet. This was corroborated by lots of people and the pair were let off, with an apology. Shadow asked for compensation for the ‘stress and inconvenience’. The judge got pissy and Liliana left in high dudgeon.
 
On their walk to the boat, Liliana got robbed by a cut purse by Shadow saw him and shot his foot. The kid was an annoying little shit and Liliana got dark, her eyes right in his face as she threatened him and left.
 
They arrived at the ship, seeing a warehouse that had been burned to the ground, boarding the ship they sailed off with the tide.
 
The first few nights were sailing through well-travelled waters. On the fourth day, the whole sky turned a brilliant shade of bright orange, predicting a stunning day.
 
The following day on the horizon they say a strange thing on the horizon, a boat that was the mirror of theirs, like their own boat, but… backwards. The closer the boat got, the more they realised it truly was a mirror image, complete with mirrored Liliana, Shadow and crew, even reflecting what they were saying to each other. Shadow suggested turning away so their mirror image would do the same, but the captain clearly had the wheel hard over, yet they still kept going straight.
 
“Believe me when I say I have read a lot but I have never heard of anything like this.” Liliana said
 
Lightning flashed in the sky. Shadow braced for impacted. Liliana sent the mage hand over to test a theory, it grabbed a rope which proved the ship was at least not an image, it seemed real and solid. Liliana backed away to the opposite railing, casting mage armour on herself, as the two boats smashed into each other.
Suddenly the boat swung to starboard.
 
A frenzy of confusion ensued as the party gradually realised that whatever they did to the other boat, the opposite happened to themselves, Liliana casting a psychic spell on a sailor on the opposite ship cause one on this ship to get necrotic. She tried it in reverse, mind slivering the sailor on this ship and seeing the other sailor get necrotic damage, Shadow shot a crossbow at the other ship caused his counterpart to pull out a boom gun. They were equal and opposite reactions though, as the damage always seemed the same. Pooling their information, Shadow made a suggestion and Liliana shouted to the captain to steer towards the other boat. They did so, and at the last moment, before they would crash together, they passed through the other boat, it disappeared, and they found themselves on a becalmed sea. Utter silence around them. Liliana announced her intention to read in her room but noticed an old lady she had never seen before. She accosted her,
 
“I do not recognise you.”
 
“No, that was the most amusing thing I have seen in centuries.”
 
“I am pleased we could provide you gratification” Liliana deadpanned, “Who are you?”
 
“Aglethal, perhaps you’ve heard of me.”
 
“I have never heard of you.”
 
Aglethal’s hair was made of kemp, but she looked more wholesome than hag, and though her dress was scaly, shimmering blue, feet poked out from underneath. She was older but attractive. Liliana found herself strangely taken with the charming beauty of this woman. Timeless not aged. She sat down beside her.
 
“Enchante” Aglethal said, Liliana repeated the phrase with a smile. Shadow came to join and shook Liliana by the shoulder. Liliana smiled and introduced Aglethal, as ‘charming’. Shadow found her strangely fetching.
 
Aglethal said they should come to her island and charmed by her they instructed the captain to follow her directions, and they turned seven hours off course till they reached her island. A beautiful paradise, which Shadow and Liliana both regarded with heart eyes. She told them to take their rowboat to the beach, and camp under the moonlight, which they did, the crew all in a daze.
 
The following morning, Liliana woke up very confused, remembering last night as if it was a dream, expecting to be in her cabin. Shadow still looked around misty eyed. Liliana had a crisp and clear memory of Aglatha, a shining beacon, perfect in her memory, too perfect. She knew something was wrong, particularly when she saw Shadow still enamoured of the woman.
 
She tried several times to snap Shadow out of it by mind slivering him, hitting him with the hilt of her dagger and even silvery barbsing a crew member, so she she could help Shadow break free, but the charm held and at the sound of Aglatha’s voice, he turned and started to walk dreamily towards her.
 
+1 crew score.