Chapter 9: The Voyage Home
Contents
About the Saga
Timeframe
- Campaign Date: Coldeven 13, CY 515
- Real World Date: March 15, 2015
- Read other Obsidian Frontier Sagas
Cast of Characters
- Burgell Nackle (Damon), a gnome bard with dubious ethics
- Tänévir Calywyn, a young elven ranger who has come to apprentice with Súlimëtasar of the Griffins Guild
- Roaryk, (Bob) human warlock
- Reginald Wynn, (NPC) human cleric of St. Cuthbert.
Notable Quotes
- None
What Has Come Before
After a harrowing journey to Gryrax, capitol of the Principality of Ulek, our heroes successfully negotiated trade deals to bring much needed foodstuffs and lumber to Obsidian Bay.
That's not all they were able to do though. Their search for supplies brought them to Mardok Redblade, the young, opportunistic dwarf who's clan rose to prominence in the Hateful Wars. He came of age while his father and brothers were off fighting the orc menace. They all died in the effort, leaving him as the new patriarch of a diminished clan.
He had been gathering other young, like-minded dwarves to his banner, and when Burgell Nackle came to him, Redblade knew it was time to act. He told the gnome that he would assemble a dwarven expeditionary force of 100 allies and liegemen and bring them to Obsidian Bay. There they would help with the reconstruction and continue the fight against the goblinoid invaders.
It is now Coldeven 13, CY 515. Our heroes have just concluded their negotiations with Redblade, while down at the docks Captain Raris Armbruster has put out the call for new crew members to replace those killed by goblin and harpy attacks on the way to Gryrax.
The Saga
Coldeven 13
The night of Coldeven 13, Roaryk comes aboard the Scoprion_. He'd heard Armbruster's call for help, and answered it. The good captain was happy to see Roaryk; the man's sinister reputation as a former pirate often proceeded him, but Armbruster knew the man better than that. Knew that he was on a path to something like redemption ... and knew that he had strange powers that had proven helpful in the past.
For his part, Roaryk was in need of a ride back to Obsidian Bay. He'd also heard about the Scorpion's unfortunate encounters on the way to Gryrax, and was eager to lend his sword ... and powers ... to any fights on the way back.
The night of the 13th Redblade and his dwarven arrived in force to help load the purchased lumber and foodstuffs onto the ship. The assembled Ulek dwarves all planned to follow the Scorpion to Obsidian Bay in the next several weeks once their own ships were ready. This caused the loading of the ship to evolve into a massive sendoff party and expedition rally as the dwarves drank, sang old war songs, and boasted about the feats of engineering and war that they would soon unleash against the orc and goblin invaders. They also had a series of contests to identify the five dwarves who would have the honor of being Redblade's vanguard and travel with the Scorpion to Obsidian Bay.
Coldeven 14-15, CY 515
On the morning of the 14th the Scorpion cast off her lines and started to manuever out of the crowded, busy harbor toward the open sea. It was then that Roaryk noticed a small, fast-moving sloop dashing between the larger ships in the harbor, clearly racing for the open water. The former pirate recognized it as the sloop Sophie which he'd heard had been taken by pirates weeks earlier. A closer look at the ship's crew confirmed it -- though they wore respectable looking long-sleeve shirts and pants common to professioal merchantmen, he caught glimpses of diabolic tattoes.
Roaryk recognized them as crew belonging to the pirate galley Hell's Wrath_, captained by Zorron the Twice Damned, aka Zorron the Devil Ray. The man was rumored to be a tiefling, and claimed to be the son of Belial, devil lord of Phlegethos, the fourth layer of the Nine Hells.
He strongly suspected the pirates had heard the dwarves' ruckus sendoff party and learned of the Scorpion's impending journey home heavily ladden with supplies. He cast his mind foward into the future, sensing what strange winds might be coming their way and determined a powerful spring storm was coming. He advised the captain not to head out to sea, and instead wait out the storm in Gryrax. The pirates aboard the Sophie would inevitably meet up with the Hell's Wrath but the Scorpion could avoid them by attempting to vary her expected eastern course.
Armbruster agreed, and the Scorpion remained in port for another two days.
Coldeven 16, CY 515
The Scorpion headed out on Coldeven 16. Her heavy load of supplies significantly slowed her pace, but she was able to round the penninsula and head down the Ulek coast. Near nightfall, just as she'd passed in to Pomarj territory, her eagle-eyed spotters saw a longship set out from the caost and race toward the Scorpion. They could see that the ship was packed with barbaric reavers -- clearly this was a raiding vessel filled with men who'd forgotten civilization.
Knowing they couldn't outrun the othership, they decided to prepare for the attack. They raked it from afar with ballista, crossbow, and magical fire and as the ship closed to melee range the ship's resident cleric, Billet Reginald Wynn, surprised everyone by smiting the captain of the enemy ship with a divine bolt. The afterglow of mystical energy allowed the ballista crew -- led by the gnome Burgell Nackle -- to easily aim their shot and kill the man outright.
The barbarians continued on, attempting to board the Scorpion and fighting hand-to-hand with the adventurers and their new dwarven allies. The pitched battle raged for several minutes, but ended in the surrender of the attackers after all but one of their leaders -- Erlii the Laggard -- had been killed.
The barbarians, clearly hunting for new prey, didn't have much in the way of treasure. What they did have was divided amongst the adventurers:
- 10 bloodstones worth 50 gp each.
- Spell scroll (cantrip) - Poison Spray (warlock)
- Potion of Healing (x2)
- Potion of Climbing
- Spell scroll (1st level) - Silent Image (wizard)
- Spell scroll (2nd level) - Phantasmal Force (bard)
Rather than kill the barbarians and burn their ship, the adventurers decided to force the warriors to serve them. Erlii the Laggard, speaking for the barbarians, agreed, and Tanevir assumed command of the ship. Erlii became his second, and the two vessels continued onward toward Obsidian bay.
Coldeven 18, CY 515
On the morning of the 18th they made an unexpected discovery: an unconscious woman floating on a piece of wood in the sea. The crew of the Scorpion fished her out and Reginald revived her with the healing. When she awaked they learned her name was Ella Strongbow, sole survivor of the *Summer's Dream*, a cog out of Gradsul that fell victim to the *Hell's Wrath*. She explained she was a cleric of Rudd (Oerdian Goddess of Chance, Good Luck, and Skill) and was hired on as the Summer's Dream's lucky charm ... but apparently her luck only extneded to herself.
The Scorpion and her longship escort continued on, the rest of the day passing uneventfully.
Coldeven 19, CY 515
On the last day of their voyage -- and only two hours short of Obsidian Bay -- the small convoy caught sight of the Hell's Wrath_. Seeing their chance to take the fight to the pirates, the adventurers transfered all of their fighters to the longship and ordered the Scorpion_, with Reginald aboard to provide moral support, to head into Obsidian Bay.
They would attack the Hell's Wrath_. The ship surged towards the pirate vessel, ramming her near her bow and greatly damaging both ships. The heroes' barbarian allies stormed aboard the Hell's Wrath while the dwarven vanguard peppered the enemy's ballista with crossbow bolts.
It was then that they saw the enemy captain. True to the rumors, Zorron the Devil Ray had devil-ish horns rising from his forehead. As they watched he threw the hood of his cloak over his head and dove overboard, taking on the shadowy shape of a giant ray as he did so. In the frantic melee that followed the heroes temporarily lost track of Zorron, but they soon found him again: the captain erupted from the water and landed on the deck of the longship. He was once again in human -- or at least tiefling -- form and quickly began laying about him with magic and sword.
The heroes closed with him, and sensing he was about to be overwhelmed Zorron broke and elemental gem. Suddenly a fire elemental was roaring on the wooden deck of the longship, igniting anything it came in contact with.
Meanwhile at the impact point the barbarians had pushed back the barbarians, and been joined by the dwarves in their final assault on the surviving pirates. The Hell's Wrath soon fell beneath their combined swords and axes.
On the longship the heroes continued their fight with Zorron and his fire elemental. The tiefling captain, sensing the day was lost, decided to flee the ship, once again throwing up his cloak and taking on the vague form of a sea ray as he dove into the waters. The heroes fled the longship and worked with their crew to free the Hell's Wrath from the crumpled (and soon to be burning) bow of the other vessel.
They set sail for Obsidian Bay and watched as the fire elemental burned the longship to a crisp, and the wreckage sank into the Azure.
A subsequent search of the Hell's Wrath revealed that the hold was full of slaves taken from around the Azure Sea, but dominated by the Touv of the Amedio Jungle and Hepmonoland. They also discovered a sea chest, and in it, the ship's treasure:
- 3,420 Copper
- 565 Silver
- 271 Gold
- 37 Electrum
- 11 Platinum
- satin mask of a crying angel. Silver thread highlights the masks details, including a shower of tears falling from right eye. It is worth 50 gp.
- Jade pair of dice (worked with diabolic numerals instead of normal pips) worth 50gp
- exotic wood locket worth 150gp
- A figuring of an exotic bird carved from smoky glass. The glass appears to have formed from sand struck by lightning.
- A mirrored shield featuring stylized, seemingly angelic wings.
- The Tome of the Golden Gate (500-2000 gp, depending on the buyer): A thick book with a gold-plated cover crafted to look like a golden gate. A stylized lock appears in the center of the faux gate, and a complex halo of flames radiates from it, writhing around the bars like fiery tentacles. The lock has a small depression where the key would go; careful examination reveals a tiny pin inside the depression. A residue of dried blood clings to the needle and the inside of the lock.
Magical detections spells revealed the shield and the Tome to be magical. An examination of Zorron's captain's quarters revealed a large(5 foot by 5 foot) slate with the symbol of Belial carved into it. The channels and crevices of the symbol had scorch marks, as thought they had been exposed to an intense fire. This too radiated a faint magic.
Experience
Player Characters
- Burgell: 825 xp
- Tanevir: 825 xp
- Roaryk: 825 xp
Non-player Characters
- Reginald: 825 xp
Loot
Coins
- 3,420 Copper
- 565 Silver
- 271 Gold
- 37 Electrum
- 11 Platinum
Art objects
- 10 bloodstones worth 50 gp each.
- satin mask of a crying angel. Silver thread highlights the masks details, including a shower of tears falling from right eye. It is worth 50 gp.
- Jade pair of dice (worked with diabolic numerals instead of normal pips) worth 50gp
- exotic wood locket worth 150gp
- A figuring of an exotic bird carved from smoky glass. The glass appears to have formed from sand struck by lightning.
- 10 tons of cotton
Magic items
- Spell scroll (cantrip) - Poison Spray (warlock)
- Potion of Healing (x2)
- Potion of Climbing
- Spell scroll (1st level) - Silent Image (wizard)
- Spell scroll (2nd level) - Phantasmal Force (bard)
- A mirrored shield featuring stylized, seemingly angelic wings.
- The Tome of the Golden Gate (500-2000 gp, depending on the buyer): A thick book with a gold-plated cover crafted to look like a golden gate. A stylized lock appears in the center of the faux gate, and a complex halo of flames radiates from it, writhing around the bars like fiery tentacles. The lock has a small depression where the key would go; careful examination reveals a tiny pin inside the depression. A residue of dried blood clings to the needle and the inside of the lock.
- A slate with the symbol of Belial engraved in it.
