2023-05-16 Tists at Sea
Player Characters
- Mortho Tist
- Ellis Tist
- Laucian
- Pragma Tist
- Den Tist
Allies
Summary
The Tists traveled to Port Flizna for a well-deserved vacation day. Upon arriving, the butler informed them that their father had allowed them to use the Seaward, one of the noble house's yachts. It would need a few more able hands to sail into the ocean; a few had already transported it from Solaki to the docks of Flizna.
Leaving the butler behind and distracted, the Tists traveled to the Sea Serpent's Bite, a promising tavern near the docks. There, they met Laucian, who agreed to join their adventure.
While asking around, Ellis met a half-orc named Glurnak, who spoke for a party of four sailors. They agreed to help drive the ship for two days in exchange for 20gp. Glurnak quickly realized the Tists had minimal sailing experience, but was happy to help for the short journey and the pay.
The five PCs and nine NPCs (eight sailors + butler) boarded the Seaward and set sail. Glurnak recommended that each of the main crew be assigned a typical crew position.
The party took positions:
- Captain: Ellis
- First Mate: Den
- Surgeon: Mortho
- Bosun: Laucian
- Quartermaster: the butler
- Chef: Pragma
At the first sunset, Pragma prepared a tasty dinner of salami, cheese, wine, and grapes. The crew loved the meal.
Night fell. The Tists carried out a funeral for the late Igoff Lau Tist, setting him in the ocean.
After they went to sleep, a fire caught outside from two crew members smoking silkroot. The party woke and rushed to put it out, eventually succeeding after the hull suffered significant damage.
As the bosun, Laucian repaired the hull completely with his lyre of building. He reassured the crew that the voyage would go well.
The next day, they unfurled the sails to move faster. While traveling, a group of sahuagin emerged from the salty waves to attack. The party felled most of them, and outran the rest by rushing the ship away.
Den convinced the crew not to worry, and that the sahuagin would not return. He also harvested some fishy membranes and sharklike teeth from the dead sahuagin.
Morth attempted to help relax the crew with acupressure, but unfortunately it didn't seem to improve their morale.
A heavy gale began to pick up, and becaming dangerously strong. The party worked together to close the sails, protect and repair the ship, and bail out water, until the storm passed.
A pirate ship, the Boiling Mermaid, appeared and approached the Seaward. Pirates swung from ropes and boarded the Seaward, and the pirates' mangonels bombarded the small ship, nearly destroying it immediately. The captain demanded the party's surrender, and they obliged. The pirates pulled the small ship aside, pillaged its food and supplies, and tied up the crew. Most of the PCs managed to keep their bonds loose.
The tiefling pirate captain declared himself as Captain Doubt. Realizing there were noble folk aboard the ship, the Captain demanded their execution immediately, telling how much he hated poncy rich people. His crew were reticent, however; the first mate stated she would prefer to ransom them for gold. The Captain angrily commanded his crew to lock Laucian and the sailors downstairs, and the Tists in the brig on the bottom deck, while he decided what to do.
Laucian overheard the first mate, called Coldfingers (F human), talking to Beasty (M half orc), the bosun. They complained with a few other pirates about the captain's selfish decision making, and how it was unfair to the rest of the crew to waste the boon of their capture.
When Captain Doubt began to come down, Beasty distracted him and led him back to the top deck.
Coldfingers asked Laucian and the other sailors what they could do to be useful, instead of dying. Laucian offered to challenge Silky Tongue (M halfling), the ship's bard. Coldfingers said the crew would enjoy watching that.
The Tists strategized downstairs, discussing how they might be able to encourage a mutiny to earn their freedom.
Coldfingers came down to the brig and told the Tists what they already knew: the captain wanted to murder them, but she felt they were more valuable alive. She asked what skills the party had.
Ellis demonstrated that he could create a perfect illusory disguise of the captain. If they helped assassinate the captain, he could become the new captain, and would help the mutineers get what they wanted in exchange for his family's lives.
The group persuaded the first mate to release them. They took positions among the cargo and goats, and hid. When Coldfingers led Captain Doubt downstairs along with some other crew, the party ambushed them, killing the captain.
Ellis disguised himself as the captain as planned. Then, he betrayed the mutineers, and called mutiny. A large group of the crew came downstairs with weapons drawn, demanding to know what happened. Ellis and Coldfingers fought each other to convince the crew of their own story of what happened. Ellis won, and the first mate was tied up and taken to the top deck to walk the plank.
Ellis succesfully supplanted Captain Doubt as the new captain of the Boiling Mermaid. His siblings were still in the brig, but in time he would find a believable way to release them. The PCs claimed the gold in the cargo hold, and allowed Laucian to return to shore if he so desired.
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