Session 24 -A Piratical Romance
General Summary
From Hassan's Journal
She was there, standing with her hand on hip, her casual grace and deadly demeanor, entirely in command, and her eyes and form suffusing my world. She was alive! A deep part of me knew it could be no other way. But, what in the living hells -- she was a pirate?? Wait, of course she was a pirate! She probably stole that gigantic ship, and twisted the entire crew around her fingers just like she did with....
*sigh*
Sailing before the end
We were on the waves, on a ship chartered by Tertia for some family business she has transporting goods to Turris -- I wasn't really paying attention as my thoughts were occupied by the news of Eris being sighted on some other ship. Apparently, it was swallowed by some supernatural maelstrom in the middle of the Bay of Dragons. I couldn't accept that she was drowned at the bottom of the sea. She always had phenomenal luck, she could escape any dire situation, she... always had me by her side. I was wracked with guilt and worry, not even sure how many days were passing while we sailed. I remember dark skies, sheets of rain, and the ship lurching. The crew were yelling and running around trying to tie down loose items, and retain control of the sails. I think I heard Tertia shouting at me, or was it Kleeck? Someone tossed me a rope, and I instinctively tied it around myself intending to head below decks, but not before I gazed over the ship's railing to behold a vision that I would never forget. The sea roiled in a spiral destruction, inescapable, steering us into a black maw. I felt myself being pulled back before I could fall forward, but every effort proved futile because we were captured in the very same maelstrom that claimed Eris. I knew in that moment that I would see her again, maybe as a shade in some gods realm meant for scamps and fools. As the ship tilted, we could do nothing but scream and gaze in disbelief at the chaos that surely robbed us of our senses. The sea was full of stars. Not in Roma anymore
You'd think the most disconcerting experience would be that we were still alive. Or the titanic spheres of white and black, blue and red, to what felt like the cardinal north, south, east and west. Or perhaps the shimmering sea of pinpoint lights that twinkled instead of rolling with waves. No, it was the calmness, the quiet eeriness of knowing without a shadow of doubt that we were elsewhere, and seemingly alone. This was not the terrestrial familiarity of the Empire, or Aegyptus, the country of my birth, or the forest nations of elves, or mountain fortresses of the dwarves. No, this reminded me of the mural floor of that Lizardfolk temple where we stopped a dark summoning ritual. I think we were on a different plane of existence. Did I mention we were alone? We didn't get much time to adjust to this strange place, for even as Kleeck scouted the area by diving beneath the "waves", and circling in the "sky", one of the crew spotted ships heading towards us from the east. They fit right in because they were flying in the air, three small ships speeding with purpose. Our ship was stranded, so they quickly overcame us. They were odd-looking with long limbs and faces, gray skin, and brandishing weapons, clearly a boarding party. Our crew were just sailors not soldiers, and they didn't stand a chance against normal pirates, let alone whatever these were. I'd had enough of being tossed around by fate -- the dice were rolling in my head -- so I decided to take control. With fire, the battle began. I thought we were holding up pretty well until Bandua and Tertia were nearly cut down by the apparent leader of these gray-skins. Then I gazed, and noticed reinforcements were incoming. We had too many unanswered questions to just die out here. I need to know what happened to Eris, I needed to see her again. And to my astonishment, that's when huge harpoons sailed through the air to impale the three ships overhead, shattering them. That's when the ships racing to us veered away in self-preservation. That's when the din of battle was overshadowed by the sheer presence of a gigantic ship with five rows of oars. It was of Roman design, and by the gods it was an amazing sight to behold. My pirate queen
That's when the dice faltered, sputtered, and stopped. When the tables of my life with Eris were turned, because here she bent every mote of chance to appear at this time to save me from ill fortune. That's how it felt, and I guess, ironically, I could have died just then. Imagine my shock, after the battle was won, when she and her crew boarded our ship, made demands, and acted as if I were a stranger. I don't clearly remember what was said. We owed them our lives, not just because the gray-skins, Githyanki by name, were defeated, but also because they offered salvation from this sea of nothingness should we accept their terms. I didn't care about any of it. As I mentioned in the beginning, at that moment my chaotic, thieving, pirate love was all that I could witness. Eventually, we agreed to their offer, and boarded their vessel. There were swarms of people of all races -- human, elf, dwarf, orc. Eris was not their captain, but held rank until we returned to their port of operations. She told me, us, that we would have to work for our place there. That her captain had a plan to return to the material world, but would need the assistance of people like us. Supposedly, we needed to find the pearl of an astral dragon that would power the strange mechanisms or magic that could shift the quinquireme between the planes. Sure...what could possibly go wrong? We agreed to the madness, because what other choice did we have? Soon afterwards, we had time to ourselves while the ship traveled back to port. I practically dragged Eris to her cabin, or did she drag me? It's always that way. Thrill and fire, desperation and laughter, and then the sweet time together after our lives continue another day. I don't need to recount it, but I worry why the dice have begun their dance again.
We were on the waves, on a ship chartered by Tertia for some family business she has transporting goods to Turris -- I wasn't really paying attention as my thoughts were occupied by the news of Eris being sighted on some other ship. Apparently, it was swallowed by some supernatural maelstrom in the middle of the Bay of Dragons. I couldn't accept that she was drowned at the bottom of the sea. She always had phenomenal luck, she could escape any dire situation, she... always had me by her side. I was wracked with guilt and worry, not even sure how many days were passing while we sailed. I remember dark skies, sheets of rain, and the ship lurching. The crew were yelling and running around trying to tie down loose items, and retain control of the sails. I think I heard Tertia shouting at me, or was it Kleeck? Someone tossed me a rope, and I instinctively tied it around myself intending to head below decks, but not before I gazed over the ship's railing to behold a vision that I would never forget. The sea roiled in a spiral destruction, inescapable, steering us into a black maw. I felt myself being pulled back before I could fall forward, but every effort proved futile because we were captured in the very same maelstrom that claimed Eris. I knew in that moment that I would see her again, maybe as a shade in some gods realm meant for scamps and fools. As the ship tilted, we could do nothing but scream and gaze in disbelief at the chaos that surely robbed us of our senses. The sea was full of stars. Not in Roma anymore
You'd think the most disconcerting experience would be that we were still alive. Or the titanic spheres of white and black, blue and red, to what felt like the cardinal north, south, east and west. Or perhaps the shimmering sea of pinpoint lights that twinkled instead of rolling with waves. No, it was the calmness, the quiet eeriness of knowing without a shadow of doubt that we were elsewhere, and seemingly alone. This was not the terrestrial familiarity of the Empire, or Aegyptus, the country of my birth, or the forest nations of elves, or mountain fortresses of the dwarves. No, this reminded me of the mural floor of that Lizardfolk temple where we stopped a dark summoning ritual. I think we were on a different plane of existence. Did I mention we were alone? We didn't get much time to adjust to this strange place, for even as Kleeck scouted the area by diving beneath the "waves", and circling in the "sky", one of the crew spotted ships heading towards us from the east. They fit right in because they were flying in the air, three small ships speeding with purpose. Our ship was stranded, so they quickly overcame us. They were odd-looking with long limbs and faces, gray skin, and brandishing weapons, clearly a boarding party. Our crew were just sailors not soldiers, and they didn't stand a chance against normal pirates, let alone whatever these were. I'd had enough of being tossed around by fate -- the dice were rolling in my head -- so I decided to take control. With fire, the battle began. I thought we were holding up pretty well until Bandua and Tertia were nearly cut down by the apparent leader of these gray-skins. Then I gazed, and noticed reinforcements were incoming. We had too many unanswered questions to just die out here. I need to know what happened to Eris, I needed to see her again. And to my astonishment, that's when huge harpoons sailed through the air to impale the three ships overhead, shattering them. That's when the ships racing to us veered away in self-preservation. That's when the din of battle was overshadowed by the sheer presence of a gigantic ship with five rows of oars. It was of Roman design, and by the gods it was an amazing sight to behold. My pirate queen
That's when the dice faltered, sputtered, and stopped. When the tables of my life with Eris were turned, because here she bent every mote of chance to appear at this time to save me from ill fortune. That's how it felt, and I guess, ironically, I could have died just then. Imagine my shock, after the battle was won, when she and her crew boarded our ship, made demands, and acted as if I were a stranger. I don't clearly remember what was said. We owed them our lives, not just because the gray-skins, Githyanki by name, were defeated, but also because they offered salvation from this sea of nothingness should we accept their terms. I didn't care about any of it. As I mentioned in the beginning, at that moment my chaotic, thieving, pirate love was all that I could witness. Eventually, we agreed to their offer, and boarded their vessel. There were swarms of people of all races -- human, elf, dwarf, orc. Eris was not their captain, but held rank until we returned to their port of operations. She told me, us, that we would have to work for our place there. That her captain had a plan to return to the material world, but would need the assistance of people like us. Supposedly, we needed to find the pearl of an astral dragon that would power the strange mechanisms or magic that could shift the quinquireme between the planes. Sure...what could possibly go wrong? We agreed to the madness, because what other choice did we have? Soon afterwards, we had time to ourselves while the ship traveled back to port. I practically dragged Eris to her cabin, or did she drag me? It's always that way. Thrill and fire, desperation and laughter, and then the sweet time together after our lives continue another day. I don't need to recount it, but I worry why the dice have begun their dance again.
Rewards Granted
1500 Experience Points
Missions/Quests Completed
- Minor Milestone - Find out what happened to Eris
- Minor Milestone - Survive the encounter with the Githyanki
- Major Milestone - Reach the Astral Plane
Character(s) interacted with
Report Date
30 Jan 2021
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