Sea of Secrets - Beholden Crossing

General Summary

Having taken care of all unfished business, the Wardens ventured to the Sea Gate to start their employ under Thompson on 'The Right Price'. Returning the signed waivers to Miss Carter and re-introducing themselves to Captain Allister Johnsten the group prepared themselves to depart toward the Everchange Exchange.

Salty Seas

As the sails of 'The Right Price' unfurl, departing the bay of Lion's Crest, the crew work almost mechanically to get the boat in motion. As Raijun sees them working he thinks to lighten the solemn mood with a shanty. But as he opens his mouth to sign Gwen grabbed him, instructing him to leave the crew alone, and pulling him below deck for a reading lesson. Hagren, taking to the seas like the sailor he is, stationed himself on the bow of the ship using his spyglass to keep an eye out. As he watched, he saw several ships turn off in other directions towards Hazelden or Drel'Themar with only a few boats matching our westward heading. Myra and Adama huddled on the deck to work on Adama's idea for a magic missile button.

Take a Look, It's in a book...

Shifting below deck we see Gwen and Raijun working on Raijun's reading lessons. After about an hour of working Raijun asks Gwen if she might help him with some other reading and pulls out the Necromancy Scroll. Gwen is hesitant at first especially as Raijun asks her not to inform Myra and Adama of the request. Gwen is taken aback by the idea of lying to other members of the party and asks why Raijun isn't willing to share his request. Raijun explains that Adama would most likely stab him and Myra would give him "that look" pleading with Gwen to help saying he thinks it might be able to help him learn more about healing. Gwen considers the requests and makes Raijun promise that "If it gets scary" they would stop. Raijun agrees saying off hand "You don't see her anyways so it probably won't be a problem".
As the pair start to read the scroll and begin to unravel where it has been a feeling of reassurance fell over Raijun and as he looked threads begin to appear from him and Gwen. The threads seemed to intersect and as he looked more threads from others on the boat and creatures in the sea blow began appearing their paths weaving and intersecting. As Gwen studied the scroll she felt little connection glancing at Raijun to see how he was doing. When she looked over Raijun's face appeared warped and cracked as though a sickness sat right under his skin. As he turned to face her he opened his mouth but as his jaw cracked a pestilence came out and as he reached toward her his hand looked racked with dead skin sloughing off. Gwen felt a sense of malice and something else in the scroll trying to pull her in different direction than Raijun.
As Gwen blinked the visage faded but a crackling old female voice seemed to whisper in her ear, "Spread the plague. Release the sickness. It is within your grasp. Fulfill your promise." As Gwen recoiled shaking she asked Raijun to stop looking at the scroll reminding him that he promised to stop if it got scary. Raijun asks why asking if she saw something, clearly having had a different experience. Raijun asks if she saw "her" Gwen replied that she thinks she might have heard her but upon describing the voice Raijun remarks that it sounds like they were talking about different people. As Gwen tells Raijun the rest of her vision and requests that they leave the scroll alone. Raijun hedges saying they could stop for now but saying he doesn't think the scroll was bad. Gwen still feeling unsettled about what she saw returns to the main deck and begins pacing as Raijun studies the scroll a bit more before returning upstairs.

Simply Sailing

As the others work, Tintreach searched for a crew member who might be able to help him find some "grog" to pass the time. Stopping a member of the crew who was hard at work, a human man with oily hair & chin dimples, Tintreach inquires about acquiring booze or if the man might like to have a drink. The man says that he doesn't work on the job and so Tintreach asks when he'll be off shift. The man replies that he'll be working until they next make port but appreciates the ask. As Tintreach is turned away by the crew he finds a spot on the deck and starts humming sea shanties to himself.
As Hagren is admiring the view he is approached by Inxosa who comments that Hagren looks at ease at sea and asks what boats he has sailed on before. Hagren mentions that he used to work on a fishing ship before he was 'recruited' by a naval vessel and 'asked' to take out pirates. Inxosa says that he is happy that Hagren stayed a fisherman as it allowed then to meet. Inxosa asks if any of the rest of the Wardens have experience at sea and when Hagren replies, "not a lick," Inxosa chuckles and says that he knows who he will go to should they need any additional help and prays we wont run into much trouble. As Inxosa returns to his work and Hagren returns to looking out at sea standing in front of him, just off the ship floating in the air, is a familiar old man. The old man speaks, "You're getting close, you must find it. Return to your purpose seek it out and you will be greatly rewarded. Lead them, I offer you what you seek, you shall be rewarded." Hagren noticing the man pretends not to see him instead staring past out to sea. The man vanishes a moment later.

Secrets Unmoored

As Adama and Myra break from their work, Myra notices Gwen's pacing, grabbing her arm as she passes, as Adama goes off to discuss something with a crew member. Myra asks Gwen if she is okay, knowing her tendency to pace when upset. Gwen explains that everything is not okay and launches into telling Myra about the study of the Necromancy Scroll, how Raijun told her he wanted to study it for healing purposes healing, and the voice that told her to spread the plague. Mid story Raijun comes up, standing behind Myra silently imploring Gwen not to tell Myra more. As Gwen launched into the bit about the voice Raijun made a comment about a "lady who is hot" earning an eyebrow from Myra. As Gwen concluded Adama, seeing Myra's face furrow, returned as Myra asked Gwen if it was a similar felling to vision she had while at the circus in Nightwell Hold. Gwen said it did feel similar, prompting Myra to ask Raijun if he felt anything weird. Tintreach, watching from behind Myra and Gwen pulled out some popcorn and was sharing it with the crew member next to him, while Hagren watched on from further away shaking his head and wondering how he ended up with the Wardens in the first place.
Raijun, deciding that honesty was the best policy, confessed his newfound relationship to the Raven queen explaining, "I met someone". He shares that in Nightwell when he fell off dragon Myra he should have died, but in that moemnt between she was there, a large spectral woman made of ravens. Raijun said it was like she invaded his mind offering him life and he accepted her deal. Myra identified the woman as the Raven queen and asked Raijun for more details on this deal he made asking him if he sold his soul or what he promised the goddess in return. Raijun seemed taken aback, unsure what kind of deal he had made. As Raijun asked Myra for more information about the Raven Queen she explained that unlike other gods of death the Raven Queen was in charge of the passing from life to death rather than the dead. This made her a natural enemy of anyone who was undead or sought to prolong their lives past their time. She mentioned that she was probably the best Death Goddess that Raijun could have lucked into as she doesn't often make deals as much as bestow favor as she is the inevitable end that everyone meets.
Adama, curiosity taking over his anxiety of necromancy, asked Raijun what he had learned both from the scroll and his new patron. Raijun first showed that the scroll had given him the ability to help and heal, showing his ability to spare the dying. Then, wanting to show the balance of the raven queen he showed an inflict wounds from his new divine gifts in the other hand. As Adama saw the slowly rotating globe of darkness sitting in Raijun's hand and his flight response kicked in with a primal fear of the necromancy that conjured it. Adama mentioned that if the scrolls did give us further capabilities we should have members studying both of them to aid us. Myra mentioned that she was already looking into the Transmutation Scroll but felt she had only just scratched the surface of what the scroll could hold. Adama nodded, locking eyes with Raijun, and said that they would discuss more later.
Myra turned back to Gwen asking her if she was feeling any better and Gwen replied that she was but she felt like it was probably Talona who had whispered in her ear. Raijun and Adama asked who that was. Gwen explained that when there was the plague in Greenport her sister had fallen ill and nothing seemed to cure the disease. Gwen prayed and prayed for an answer but nothing seemed to work, so after a while she started praying to Talona. Raijun and Adama looked confused asking if Talona was the god she worshipped. Gwen confessed that she had previously worshipped and was still loyal to Selune. Talona, she explains, is another death god while Selune stands for knowledge and light and everything that is good in the world. Gwen expressed her confusion about her standing with both gods but mentioned that Selune had recently met her and left her a brooch so she felt that she still had some standing with her. Gwen expressed that Talona might have been trying to use her to get at the power of the scrolls to do evil and so she felt that she should stay away from it. The rest of the group agreed, making Raijun happy as he got to keep the scroll.
As discussion returned to the scroll Adama mentioned wanting to try to destroy it. Myra recalled some of Topp's lessons about how magic like this would most likely only be able to be hidden by greater magic and that a similar thing might be true for it's destruction. She also recalled that they were not of the weave but of something else and so there was the potential to return them from whence they came. Myra said that she wasn't against testing with the scrolls but suggested that if they were going to try to destroy them they would need some powerful magic and that they should experiment when they were in less close quarters with others on the ship, especially given the Captain's warning earlier about experimenting with things that could harm her crew.
Adama, unable to stop thinking about the terrible potential of the Necromancy Scroll, demanded that they try now asking Raijun to hand over the scroll. Raijun declined citing the reasons Myra just listed, and anxious not to give up his new artifact, starting to back away from Adama. As the rest of the group also began to protest Adama cast Magic Missiles at Raijun targeting the scroll behind his head. As the magic missiles hit everyone felt a wave of depression and overbearing negative energy wash out from the scroll as everyone took a decent amount of damage from the scroll. Raijun, attempting to spare some of the crew, dove overboard activating his flotation device before reeling himself back in towards the boat. Meanwhile, Myra roared at Adama instructing Tintreach to restrain him while her and Gwen ran to the fallen crew and began to cast spare the dying. As Raijun made it back on deck he also helped spare the dying until all the crew members and Miss Carter were stable. Captain Allister Johnsten walked up to Adama pulling a beautiful silvered rapier and holding it to his throat as she growled, "What are you doing on this ship?"
Surprisingly, it was Raijun who stepped up for Adama claiming that it was an accident, that they were good now, that they were very sorry, even showing that they had managed to save the crew. The captain, still brandishing her rapier, looked each of the Wardens in the eye before declaring, "I don't care what that buffoon wants you to do. One more time you endanger my crew or the mission you are dead." As she sheathed her sword and walked away from the group Raijun sheepishly asked Adama if they were good. Raijun mentioned that he was hurt that Adama targeted the spell on him directly saying how it could have been worse. While Myra, enraged by Adama's recklessness, yelled at Adama for putting his petty experiment above the lives of not only the crew but Raijun's life. She reiterated that she would have been willing to help him had he waited and spat at his callous disregard for the lack of the lives of others before stalking below deck.

Haunting Memories

The rest of the day passed in tense silences for the group. Adama, finding Raijun alone later, approached and apologized for his actions earlier. He mentioned that he has a hard time controlling himself when necromancy was involved due to the hate and anger it represented for him. Raijun asked why and what happened that made Adama hate necromancy, reminding Adama that he had previously shared his story with the group. Adama said that he grew up in Slekul and that the reason for his hatred is the King of Skull Hill Keep. They grew up together and he thought they were friends, brothers, but he was ordered to ignore tragedy until it was him who became the tragedy. Adama pointed to the scar crossing his throat "This is the last time I saw him." Adama explained that, "every man I had ever loved," was killed by Necromancy. He ended his story vowing, "I would give anything to kill him."
Raijun notes that Adama is clearly still in the 'anger stage' of grief. Raijun reminds Adama that he lost everyone that he cared about to death as well and that the people responsible for the deaths chased him, and yet he does not wish all the ninja clans dead. Raijun tries to council Adama to move past the anger so that it doesn't destroy him. Adama apologizes again for the magic missiles, saying that it was a bad idea. Raijun again councils that his anger at Necromancy will lead him down a dark path with Adama replying, "The path is already chosen," before misty stepping away.
As Raijun is left alone with night and the sea he looked up for guidance from his goddess praying, "I hope I did the right thing."

The Tangent Wave

The rest of the night progressed in tense silence as the Warden's took to bed. In the middle of the night they heard the watch bells ring, prompting the Wardens to jump out of bed and rush to the deck. Upon reaching the deck the captain approached pointing to the horizon. Following her gaze the group could see a pink glow and the silhouette of a ship. Hagren, pulling out his spyglass to get a better look, could see a ship with odd geometric construction and four points of purple light. Inspecting the ship he could see signs of trouble with the sails looking torn and collapsed. Explaining what he saw to the group the captain interjected that she was, "Not one to leave souls on the sea." Mentioning our earlier incident she implied that this would be a good opportunity to make up for our mistakes. Myra agreed that we would look into boarding the ship and checking for survivors as Raijun mentioned piracy and plunder from the ship. This caused Captain Johnsten to whirl on Raijun asking what he meant as Myra corrected him saying that they were looking to aid the ship not rob it. The captain nodded but noted that if we took any kind of unscrupulous actions that ship would be the only ship we would be sailing on. Miss Carter protested but the captain held up a hand and Miss Carter fell silent, turning and making a remark about drafting termination papers before disappearing below deck. Before the Wardens departed in the dingy the Captain remarked that she had her own ways of watching us before wishing us luck.
As we rowed closer to the ship we could see the ship falling apart in places. Raijun, eager to show off the usefulness of his new abilities, seemed to attune to the threads and pick up two pings of life from below the ship. As they climbed aboard Myra noted that the holes in the sides of the ship looked wrong, as if they were made from the inside of the ship. As they boarded the noted the nameplate, part of which was missing naming the boat "the --------- Wave".
As they climbed above deck they found bodies strewn about, the sun and salt seeming to have left them in a more advanced stage of decomposition. Raijun, after checking to make sure that there was no saving those on deck, cast gentle repose on the bodies ensuring thy wouldn't comeback as undead. Hagren and Trenchcoat searched for remaining enemies while Myra and Tintreach investigated a large charred circle, 20 ft in diameter, that was in the middle of the deck. Myra determined that the runes charred into the deck were some kind of Conjuration magic but failed to make out what kind of spell it was.
As the group continued down to the second level they found more bodies all in purple and gold adornment. Myra recognized the robes as academic robes of The Ay Collective noting that they were similar to both tutors she had in the past as well as those of the collective they had met in Lion's Crest. Remembering their conversation with Admiral Atilius Manerver (in Audiences - Festivities and Fan-Fair) Myra suggested that perhaps this was the lost research vessel "The Tangent Wave" that had gone missing in the prior weeks. As Myra mused about the nature of the ship the rest of the group continued to comb the the level. Hagren noted that the bodies looked torn through as though they had been mugged and the bodies searched. Raijun found a forge with a furnace suspended magically above a black plate and a larder behind it with signs of evocation near the fruit. Myra stared wistfully at the laboratory before reminding the group not to take anything. Adama discovered a room full of dried supplies including books and paper all with empty pages.
Progressing down to the next floor Hagren, inspecting the cannons, noted that none of them were fired. Myra seemed lost in thought about the circle on the main deck rather than in the investigation, while Adama found a room with more books and claw marks on the floor as though something had been digging. When he investigated further there didn't seem to be anything there and he could not determine what they were trying to claw at. Tintreach and Raijun found some more storage rooms, while Hagren investigated a bunk room with Trenchcoat. Hagren noticed that the bunks also seemed to be torn apart in the violent manner that the body was searched earlier.
Continuing down to the forth level the group noticed a metal base in the center of the floor with four hubs in the cardinal directions. From the middle of the base emanated a yellow glow. Myra and Tintreach, investigating the runes determined that the sigils on the runes in the cardinal directions were also conjuration based. Asking Raijun to feel for signs of life again he said that the feeling still indicated downward, though there was no immediate staircase visible. As Gwen began to cast identify on the plate Raijun investigated the body near it. The body was beaten and bruised similar to the others but in their hand they held a metal object, a cylinder a half inch in diameter and three inches long with different pits and groove. Raijun handed it to Myra who began to identify it while Hagren and Adama moved to the stern of the boat finding another individual with a similar rod. Hagren returned, giving the rod to Myra as her and Gwen finished their identification spells. Gwen found that the base was a short range teleportation device but that it was not fully intact, while Myra found that the rods were tuning devices made to locate an object. As the investigated the rods further Myra and Gwen got almost a voice from the rods one saying, "I help them jump, I must help them, I am fractured." While the other one whispered, "I hold the memory, part of a whole part of a set of directions to a gate." As Myra further investigated the runes in the cardinal directions she notices the north rune had one of the rods already inserted while the other three had spaced but seemed to be missing the rods. As Myra worked on inserting the rods into the runes she asked Adama to use detect magic to probe the ship for the one that they missed.
As Adama walked through the ship he got faint traces of magic from the food, the cannons, and the circle on the deck. He found a room we had not previously investigated on the third floor with an older owl man who held in his hands a journal and a familiar rod. Adama took both returning to floor below and handing the rod to Myra. Before Myra could put the last rod in Raijun began to step into the yellow light when he noticed the dust on his shoe, as it entered the light, began to vaporize. He quickly pulled his foot out, remarking that maybe they should be more careful. As Myra put in the last tuning for the base seemed to come slightly more alive and Raijun confirmed that the sources of life still came from below. As the group made suggestions about throwing a dead body into the circle to test it Myra stepped in and disappeared. Raijun, swearing that Myra had beat him to it, jumped after her with the rest of the group following.
For a moment there was nothing as each member of the group was shunted into a new bone shaped room made of metal with arrow slits in the wall. On the floor were three bodies of metal humanoids with runes carved into them. Investigating where they were the area outside the arrow slits seemed to be inky darkness. Adama, to confirm their location, summoned Hedwig outside of the arrow slits causing Hedwig to take damage and immediately disappear suggesting they were underwater. Myra, Gwen, and Raijun investigated the metal golems. On Gwen's she found silver plating with an inscription and red, black, and orange cascading throughout the metal. On Myra's the colors were white, blue, and gold and she recognized the symbols as not magical but elemental in nature with the runes indicating acts of godly power and the symbols for cold and frigidness. Moving to Gwen's robot, Myra identified the runes as regarding high temperatures and impact. While moving to Raijun's the runes were blue with purple flecks for cold, necrotic, and thunder. Tintreach, Hagren, and Trenchcoat, investigating the sides of the rooms found statues that seemed they were not native to the ship but had some kind of arcane importance. Tintreach recognized some of the runes on the statues as similar to that of his conduit staff as having the ability hold a magical charge. Moving from the robots, Myra investigated two large sets of runes on the floors identifying them to the ones similar to the yellow one they came in on but shunting the user sideways instead of down. Myra motioned for the others to follow as she stepped onto the left most one, Raijun again disappointed that he was not able to step on the pad first. On one set Myra, Gwen, and Raijun stepped while Adama, Hagren, Tintreach, and Trenchcoat took the other set of runes.
The sickening feeling of being shunted again took over as the group was translocated to a sixth room. This room had a glass dome clearly showing that they were now deep below the ocean. The room they appeared in looked wrecked, with a large blue crystal thrumming in the middle and 4 smaller gems perched in each of the corners. Next to the large gem stood a metal beast reminiscent of the one they fought in the Greenport months ago with runes of gold, blue, and orange upon it. Two of the metal golems seen in the previous room stood flanking it, the signs of life Raijun had previously detected radiating from them. The one to the north glowed orange, gold, and white, while the one to the south was blue, green, and white.
As the fight began the metal beast that resembled the one from the museum immediately targeted Raijun slamming a leg into him and seeming to drain something from him paralyzing him in the process. It's eyes always seemed to dart between Myra, Raijun, and the giant glowing crystal in the center of the room. As Tintreach attempted a chain lightening it seemed to have no effect on the southern robot or the main metal beast, not attached to Raijun. Through the use of magic missile and some well placed hits from Hagren and Adama the foes were dispatched leaving the group standing in the domed room under the sea.

Report Date

27 Feb 2021

Location(s)
Beholden Crossing 
In Game Start Date
Setting Sail Day 1
In Game End Date
Setting Sail Night 1
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