Winedark, Red Sails: 2 Red 2 Sails

General Summary

Wherein our pirates fight for liberation and expropriate a ship of legend

Jailed Underwater

Five years before the appearance of the DreadSquid, while out doing pirate things around Bragaki, Captain Sekha and her crew (see Winedark, Red Sails: Of Pirates and Paintings) found their vessel run aground on a reef that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The hull was irrevocably damaged and the ship, The Happy Lime, was soon sinking. While accusations of poor navigation were bandied about by the crew, the vessel was boarded by a swarm of other pirates and Sekha and crew crew were quickly overwhelmed and rendered unconscious.
They awoke in jail cells, watched over by merfolk. There was much confusion, but some of this was alleviated by another individual incarcerated. This happed to be Cazza, a tough and seasoned fighter. She was able to add some useful context--they are currently being held captive by a bandit crew calling themselves the Drunken Skulls. Fearsome! Further, their prison is located underwater in a crater lake. So, any escape plan would need to to account for that.
Speaking of escape, that was foremost on the minds of our pirates. Captain Sekha lured their merfolk jailers over to her cell and quickly made "Friends" by casting the spell and commanding them to unlock the cells. Surprisingly, this worked, and the merfolk were rewarded with being murdered for their trust. Tough, but thems the breaks when you decide to work as an extrajudicial prison guard.
A quick visit to the prison storeroom allowed our pirates (and the newly liberated Cazza) to retrieve their gear, and defeat the other merfolk that descended upon them while they were gathering their equipment. With that, one main obstacle barred their escape--60 feet of water. The jail is kept dry and aerated by magical means, as the entire complex is underwater. This presents little trouble for Captain Sekha, as an amphibious individual. Others in the crew were not so lucky, and the swim proved to be especially difficult for Calliope.
Emerging from the water revealed an assortment of hobgoblins decked out in presumably Drunken Skulls regalia lingering around what appears to be a forward camp. Battle was soon joined, and these enemies proved to be more formidable than the merfolk. Nevertheless, our pirates triumphed. A quick scan of the camp offered some details about the Drunken Skulls pirate operations--they've recently discovered an individual able to conjure reefs at will, and have been using that ability to raid ships and abduct and ransom the crew. It is an effective scam, Sekha must admit, but not one she wants to linger around to discuss with the Skulls. The way off this island is by ship, and the only ship left is anchored off the main camp of the Drunken Skulls. So, the plan is clear--neutralize these bandits and steal their ship.

A Fountain and a Cave

To do that, our pirates first had to make their way to the Skulls camp. Doing so lead to some interesting encounters.
The first encounter featured an irresistible fountain, particularly for Captain Sekha and Cazza, who felt compelled to take a drink. They were rewarded with nice temporary benefits for their bravery. And Sekha received a cursed chalice that immediately fused to her hand. Good thing she doesn't need that.
Following their example, Apis decided to have a drink. His experience was different, as he felt acid coursing all throughout his body, and an compelling need to consume vomit (his own or others) to quench his acid veins. So, that's what he did. Several times. Mostly his own, but some of his companions (as this activity did cause them to also vomit). It was a thoroughly gross affair.
Calliope, perhaps wisely, declined to sample the fountain's waters.
As our pirates ventured closer to the Drunken Skulls base, they came across a cave with the tell-tale sounds of combat echoing from within. Scouting ahead, Calliope discovered a cyclops facing down eight of the nefarious skulls. Sekha decided that her crew should intervene and, perhaps, make a cyclops friend, so that's what they did.
The cyclops was grateful for their assistance and invited them to share her meal--it seems that the Skulls caught her at lunch. Over roasted lamb, she--Kela Arkios--told a bit of her story. Greed led her to this cave, as she heard tale of a long lost treasure buried here. Greed also cursed her to never leave the cave, as the treasure chest she opened, believing it to contain untold riches, only held a curse that forbids her from ever venturing beyond the mouth of the cave. There is a cautionary tale in there somewhere, to be sure.
The Drunken Skulls refuse to believe she is without treasure and harass her every chance they get. She provided our pirates with a little more information about them--there are two leaders, a dwarf called Grimanvil who commands the base, and a captain named Wermfrizz, who sails the Alefist. There's no getting off this island--or on to that boat--without going through them.

The End of the Drunken Skulls

So that's what our pirates aimed to do. Armed with a Drunken Skulls flag taken from the forward camp, they marched right into the base, proclaiming they were new recruits for the Alefist. This ruse worked for a little while, but, eventually, it came to combat. And it was a brutal fight, with our pirates taking on the entirety of the Drunken Skulls organization, which included a very irate Grimanvil. It turned out that Grimanvil's favored pastime was hucking bombs at his enemies, which proved to be more that a little disconcerting for our pirates. Ultimately, they prevailed, but not before some very, very close calls, especially as Grimanvil hit his self-destruct button, detonating all his bombs in an effort to take all our pirates with him.

Now what? To the ship, of course. Our pirates picked up that tattered and burnt flag and tried the whole ruse over again. This time, it worked much better, with the Alefist putting out to sea at Sekha's behest before the two erstwhile Skulls figured out what was going on. Captain Wurmfrizz met his end, while the first mate (Zansy), who never really liked the Skulls, decided to throw his lot in with the newly renamed Razorfin.

And thus, the story of the Razorfin was born.

And That's Where We Left It

Perhaps we'll see the crew of the Razorfin again some day.

Various & Sundry Details

• Apis got himself a Toadstone, a nice necklace that enables him hold his breath longer. Unfortunately (or perhaps not) it was cursed and turned his skin wet and clammy, also providing a dominating hunger for insects and grubs. It remains to be seen how upset Apis is at this development.
• It is important that everyone know that the scars on Cazza's face were put there by a leonin paladin. Don't ask her about them. Or do? Or maybe don't? Hard to say here.

Character(s) interacted with

• Kela Arkios, cursed cyclops

Report Date

08 May 2022