6/19 - The Wandering Sea
General Summary
The party prepared for travel to Olak Vald
Several party members spent time procuring supplies for crafting along the journey.
The party contacted the Seaspray Guild at their headquarters in Pearldocks to commission a ship to take them to Olak Vald.
The party contacted the Merchants Guild at their headquarters in Bonedocks to attempt to offset the cost of their ship commission by carrying some additional cargo.
The party headed out on their commissioned vessel
Three weeks of uneventful sea travel transpired as the party's ship sailed smoothly South from Ebonait through the straight, down the coast, and then headed East through the Wandering Sea.
On the fourth week, the captain warned the party and crew to be on the lookout for pirates or corsairs as they were nearing the current location of Turtle Reef, a pirate haven on the Wandering Sea.
At the end of the fourth week the party's ship was caught in a sudden squall and amidst the sheeting rain Gramlek noticed the outline of another similar ship within the storm, which the crew called a 'ghost ship'.
The 'ghost ship', caught in the storm, drifted closer
The party noticed several animated skeletons on the ship seeming to prepare for combat.
The party jumped into action, Darnath and Gramlek both leaping out into the space between the ships using their water-walking and flight abilities, respectively.
Thovak used the squall to fuel a more powerful thunderstorm while Duo and Sylvie prepared to pepper the skeletons with ranged spells.
The party made quick work of the animate skeletons, which seemed to be relatively out of their depth.
The party investigated the 'ghost ship' and the now-stilled undead
The ship was in a state of total disrepair, with missing railings, rigging, and sails. According to a sailor from the party's commissioned ship, this level of disrepair would take many months to accrue even without any maintenance.
The ship had an old builder's plate marking it as a product of Ebonait, from a shipwright part of the Seaspray Guild , but from decades ago.
The ship's hull was full of rotting fruits, vegetables, and grain, but notably contained no signs of living inhabitants (bunks, beds, lights, dining tools, etc.).
Duo discovered a rudimentary captains log within the remains of a trunk. The log showed that the ship left an unnamed port 2 months ago, attempted contact with 3 merchant vessels but failed, then finally contacted a merchant vessel hauling foodstuffs and attacked. The merchant vessel surrendered to the crew, allowing them to transfer the foodstuffs without any bloodshed.
The skeletons were investigated, revealing them to be eerily free of flesh/goo/gore as if they had been intentionally scrubbed clean. The skeletons' skulls were carved with arcane runes and magical circles, with the animate skeletons' skulls emitting a magical glow under Detect Magic, but the carvings from the other skeletons being entirely mundane.
Thovak investigated the skeletons from a medical point of view, discovering that they were all of different genders, ages, and causes of death. The oldest of the skeletons being in approximately the late 60's and the youngest being in the early 30's.
Duo, in a fit of genius, examined the skulls' carvings to determine if there were any patterns. He discovered that in addition to the magically-imbued circles, the skulls were also carved with full names and some form of date encoding. He further pieced together that the encoded dates seemed to correspond to how long the skeletons were meant to remained animated.
Several party members spent time procuring supplies for crafting along the journey.
The party contacted the Seaspray Guild at their headquarters in Pearldocks to commission a ship to take them to Olak Vald.
The party contacted the Merchants Guild at their headquarters in Bonedocks to attempt to offset the cost of their ship commission by carrying some additional cargo.
The party headed out on their commissioned vessel
Three weeks of uneventful sea travel transpired as the party's ship sailed smoothly South from Ebonait through the straight, down the coast, and then headed East through the Wandering Sea.
On the fourth week, the captain warned the party and crew to be on the lookout for pirates or corsairs as they were nearing the current location of Turtle Reef, a pirate haven on the Wandering Sea.
At the end of the fourth week the party's ship was caught in a sudden squall and amidst the sheeting rain Gramlek noticed the outline of another similar ship within the storm, which the crew called a 'ghost ship'.
The 'ghost ship', caught in the storm, drifted closer
The party noticed several animated skeletons on the ship seeming to prepare for combat.
The party jumped into action, Darnath and Gramlek both leaping out into the space between the ships using their water-walking and flight abilities, respectively.
Thovak used the squall to fuel a more powerful thunderstorm while Duo and Sylvie prepared to pepper the skeletons with ranged spells.
The party made quick work of the animate skeletons, which seemed to be relatively out of their depth.
The party investigated the 'ghost ship' and the now-stilled undead
The ship was in a state of total disrepair, with missing railings, rigging, and sails. According to a sailor from the party's commissioned ship, this level of disrepair would take many months to accrue even without any maintenance.
The ship had an old builder's plate marking it as a product of Ebonait, from a shipwright part of the Seaspray Guild , but from decades ago.
The ship's hull was full of rotting fruits, vegetables, and grain, but notably contained no signs of living inhabitants (bunks, beds, lights, dining tools, etc.).
Duo discovered a rudimentary captains log within the remains of a trunk. The log showed that the ship left an unnamed port 2 months ago, attempted contact with 3 merchant vessels but failed, then finally contacted a merchant vessel hauling foodstuffs and attacked. The merchant vessel surrendered to the crew, allowing them to transfer the foodstuffs without any bloodshed.
The skeletons were investigated, revealing them to be eerily free of flesh/goo/gore as if they had been intentionally scrubbed clean. The skeletons' skulls were carved with arcane runes and magical circles, with the animate skeletons' skulls emitting a magical glow under Detect Magic, but the carvings from the other skeletons being entirely mundane.
Thovak investigated the skeletons from a medical point of view, discovering that they were all of different genders, ages, and causes of death. The oldest of the skeletons being in approximately the late 60's and the youngest being in the early 30's.
Duo, in a fit of genius, examined the skulls' carvings to determine if there were any patterns. He discovered that in addition to the magically-imbued circles, the skulls were also carved with full names and some form of date encoding. He further pieced together that the encoded dates seemed to correspond to how long the skeletons were meant to remained animated.
Rewards Granted
- 120 EXP/PC
- 2x Carved, Enchanted Human Skulls
Character(s) interacted with
- Captain Eerine - Member of the Seaspray Guild and captain of the ship commissioned by the party.
Report Date
20 Jun 2023
Primary Location
