A Siren's Song - Session Five

General Summary

Last time on A Siren’s Song…
We find our party waking after a tense night aboard the ship, the images of the torture a few hours previous fresh in their minds. As they gather for a morning meal, Nabia announces that she has decided to call their newly acquired ship, Edge Dancer. She’s chosen this name for the following reasons:
1. It incorporates the ship’s ability to cross the “edge” of the water’s surface and beneath it.
2. The life of a pirate is to dance on the edge of adventure and death. Between treasure and death. Between LIFE and DEATH!!!
The rest of the party seem to fancy the name and go along with it.
As breakfast continues, the party notices that Zalphid isn’t present. They ask the crew if they’ve seen him to which one does take them to him. They find Zalphid in a deep trance. After trying for a while to rouse him, they concede and continue about their duties. Feeshi, taking an opportunity to prank Zalphid in this state, wraps him up in a hammock and strings him up to the rafters. This is where Zalphid remains.
Not much longer yet, the party hears one of the crewmates call from abovedecks, “Ship ahoy!” The party go to investigate. Through her spyglass, Nabia makes out a lightly armed brig and she decides to take it. She orders the Edge Dancer untie from the Mistral's Fortune, which they had been towing, and they submerge to surprise the brig ahead.
Moments later, the Edge Dancer surfaces aft of the brig and sends a volley of cannonballs it’s way as it tries to make a run for it. The first shot damages the brig, but the timing on the second was off. The party side-eye the crewman operating that cannon to which he puts his head down and redoubles his efforts to do better. With their quarry damaged and not looking for a fight, the Edge Dancer watches as the brig hoists the white for surrender.
Ropes are tossed and the brig is brought in closer. Nabia confronts the brig’s captain and orders information. The captain, for his part, is just an honest merchant, operating a cargo line called Maritime Express. He divulges that his name is Thalasar Coralshore and this is his ship, The Twilight Saber. He had contracted to deliver his current shipment to the merchant house of House Deepfin, at the underwater sea elf capital of Marinexus. This haul would have made him and he was looking forward to retirement afterward.
After some back and forth, Thalasar capitulates and gives up his cargo and pledges his employ to Nabia and the Edge Dancer. His crew, in turn, are brought on board one by one and offered the ultimatum of joining the Edge Dancer or facing time in the brig until they make port, that at least being the offer at face value. Lalrihyn was ready to and still may kill the three dissenters.
With allegiances pledged, Nabia orders the cargo transferred to the Edge Dancer, quite a haul for the record, and then splits the crew up so that some of the Edge Dancer’s crew are aboard the Twilight Saber and some of the Twilight Saber’s crew are aboard the Edge Dancer.
With the Mistral’s Fortune tied back up to the Edge Dancer, the three ships make for Coral Cove. In a few short hours they arrive at the constantly-fog-enshrouded entrance to Fool’s Bay. This of course gives way to a magical sphere of about a 10-mile radius that pushes back the fog as they near the port in the “l”-shaped bay. This magical sphere allows for perfectly clear conditions at all times.
Making port, Nabia decides that they will dock at Seaworthy Supplies, as the Edge Dancer is in need of repairs. She also has mind to sell the Mistral’s Fortune. As they finish the docking procedures, she decides who will be allowed to come ashore as she doesn’t exactly trust the former crew of the Twilight Saber. With shore-leave decided, the party make for the shop at Seaworthy Supplies to barter for their needs.
Within the shop they are greeted by Captain Argos Stormhelm, a wizened, old sea-elf, who is fond of regaling anyone who will listen of his adventures and time at sea. After one of these tales, Nabia interrupts to conduct her business. She states her need for repairs to the Edge Dancer and her willingness to sell the Mistral’s Fortune.
Captain Stormhelm responds in kind, but says that he can’t outright buy the Mistral’s Fortune. He can keep it on consignment, though, with an upfront exchange of a portion of the value in gold and a willingness to repair the Edge Dancer for Nabia. The deal is made and the contract is written.
With business concluded, Kodos wanders off to the Coral Cove Market, an open air gathering of various vendors of trinkets and odds-and-ends. As he makes his way by all the various stalls, he notices the glint of sunlight passing through glass, and reflecting the colors of the rainbow on the bottom side of the canopy covering this vendor’s stall. They appear to be lenses for spyglasses and, wanting one of his own, Kodos takes notice.
The proprietor is a boisterous sea-elf who catches Kodos perusing and asks what Kodos is looking for. Kodos responds that he’s looking for a spyglass, a complete one, for his own use. The proprietor responds that he is more a dealer in the lenses themselves, but he does have one fine spyglass he’d be willing to sell, but it is a bit costly at 15 gold. But this spyglass has a much higher magnification rate than most.
Kodos decides that this is out of his price range and continues traversing the various vendors with a mind to inform Nabia of the enhanced spyglass. As he passes another vendor, though, the triton within calls out to Kodos, “follower of Persana?!” This immediately catches Kodos’ attention as he turns. “I saw your shield, sir. You are an adherent?”
Kodos responds in the affirmative and the vendor immediately goes into his spiel, trying to sell his Persana statuettes at 5 silver each. After some aggressive back and forth, Kodos presents his alms box. The vendor takes this into account and offers an odd deal: he’ll drop 6 silver into Kodos’ alms box so long as Kodos pays seven silver for a statuette, effectively reducing the price of the statuette to one silver. The deal is made.
Meanwhile, after business at Captain Stormhelm’s establishment is concluded, Nabia, Feeshi, and Lalrihyn head for the Blackened Anchor for some clandestine information. They find the dark, shadowed alley and enter one of the establishments. Inside, Nabia approaches a dark figure who nods at her from a dark corner. She sits and they have a short discussion. The topic of Malachi is broached as is the Cult of the Shadowed Stars, the latter of which this contact, Silas Blackthorne, hasn’t heard of.
After concluding business with Silas, the party leave to go retrieve Kodos, fence their goods, and find more crew for the Edge Dancer, hopefully at one of the taverns on the island. The party comes across Kodos in the market and he lets them know of the deal on the spyglass. The party return to the vendor and after much back and forth, an agreement is made and the spyglass is acquired.
Continuing on, the party come to Coral’s Curiosities. They find the female gnome proprietor within and, after nearly getting themselves booted out the door, they come to an agreement on some of the goods. Coral informs the party that in order to have access to her more valuable trinkets, they’ll have to prove themselves worthy to her through completing retrieval quests for her.
Having fenced some of their wares, the party leave Coral’s and head for the Swashbuckler’s Den to find more crew. Upon entering, Nabia approaches the bar and orders a pint of Bul from the barkeep. She then climbs onto the bar and makes her plea for more crew.
“Cheers, Captain!” This is where we fall into our respective roles… What would you like to do?

Report Date

23 Oct 2023