Winedark, Chapter Sixteen

General Summary

Wherein our heroes initiate diplomacy with a fellow vessel, set out to local a sailing city, and encounter an unwelcome boarding party

An Audience with Orntime

After informing Marrowdall that the Seven Rows might be a productive avenue to pursue vis a vis Instrument components, the Vastblasters found themselves with a bit of downtime. A whole tenday, in fact, as the Kogos figurehead was mounted on the VastBlaster.
The gang decided to do some armor shopping. They headed to a bespoke blacksmith in Green Cross named Erirbarlun Warmriver who sold Pitch and Irk some armor, and then agreed to fashion Kharlo Chondricht a whole set of plate, in exchange for a hefty sum and some Void Arrows. Nice! It will, however, have the possible unfortunate Warmriver branding. Oh well.
After finding out that they are currently in third place in Otuna's Favor, our heroes decided that maybe some introductions were in order with the other competitors. Luckily, the first place ship, Orntime, was in port and Captain Bantaj graciously welcomed the officers of the significantly inferior VastBlaster aboard his vessel, which has a very nice mahogany table and velvet cushioned chairs. Bantaj, an eloquent and monocle'd loxodon, seems to have had a great deal less trouble acquiring the antiquities needed for the contest. Water, in particular, was surprised at the complete lack of "boss fights" Orntime had to survive. It wasn't clear to Pitch if Bantaj knew the secret reason behind the Favor being called or not. Just that he is currently winning the damn thing. 
Before our crew headed back to their comparative shitbox of a ship, they engaged in a little gossip. Apparently, Skirl the Worry, captain of the Coffin Nail, the second place entry, is believed to have been a very successful pirate (or "freelance business consultant") before signing on as Luu's entry. And nobody has seen or heard anything about The Half-Drunk Flagon for quite some time. Ominous! Later, Marrowdall would inform our explorers that Bantaj's own family history carries with it the whiff of rumor--perhaps a fortunate acquired on the backs of smuggled peoples. Not great!
With that, the only thing left to do was wait. So our heroes did just that. And, after that tenday, they were itching to get back on The Vast in search of a brother seldom seen.

Seeking the Seven Rows

The VastBlaster headed off to locate the Seven Rows and see a selachii about a dream vault. Or something. Anyway, to do that, they needed to find the damn thing, so a course was set for a probable destination: Matahak. 
Before this massive floating marketplace could be found, however, some unwanted visitors boarded our heroes' ship. Using both a "fleshy fog" and those familiar black and purple tentacles fashioned like fantasy jet-skis, some downright creepy kraken priests decided to give the Blasters the business. What they got, instead, was SERIOUS BUSINESS, as our heroes made very short work of these idiot clerics. Picked on the wrong goddamn ship this time, fuckos.
After mopping the deck (both figuratively and literally), progress toward Matahak and, hopefully, the Seven Rows continued. 

And That's Where We Left It

We'll see where the Blasters find the Seven Rows during our next session.

Various & Sundry Details

• Pitch visited the Seafarer's League and found a couple more hale and hearty sailors to round out the VastBlaster crew. They also convinced Marvon Mosswater to come along for the ride as a kind of scholar-in-residence.
• Water searched high and low for quality hee-haw ingredients and found some seasarila and clam caramel to use in the concoction. Time will tell how tasty their efforts will prove to be.

Character(s) interacted with

• Bantaj, captain of Orntime, a fellow vessel competing in Otuna's Favor
• Erirbarlun Warmriver, a blacksmith
• Marrowdall Twinstar, "fixer"

Report Date

26 Sep 2021

Primary Location

Awa Harbor

Secondary Location

The Vast