| Game Master: System: Date: | Ken Dungeons & Dragons 5e Homebrew Campaign 19th October 2023 |
| Characters: | Fayd – Half Orc Barbarian (Deceased) Gunnar Orcsson – Half Orc Barbarian/Fighter Jaraziah Grimm – Human Cleric (On Hiatus) Iivan – Drow Rogue/Fighter Balasar Aurumingis – Dragonborn Sorcerer (On Hiatus) Luther Merton – Half Elf Bard/Warlock (On Hiatus) Navarro Trovatero de Vimaa – Half Elf Paladin Hamlet Wolffort- Half Elf Warlock Dorian Hammerbeard – Dwarven Cleric Sylas (nee “Tourist”/”Nick”) – Human Fighter Gregg the Guide – Human Druid Tad Hemlock – Halfling Bard (Retired) Tianzi – Half Elf Sorlock (Retired) Yorhorn – Half Elf Paladin (Retired) |
Having finally driven off the mighty Kraken the Renegades surveyed the damage to themselves and the Bliss with dismay, Captain Neal was visibly distraught as the destrustion wrought on his ship and was being consoled by his wife Zak over the loss of Sid. The two goblins were dashing around the deck trying to secure the broken mast to the deck to prevent it crashing around and causing more damage. As they tried to patch the holes in the hull it became apparent to everyone that the Bliss was taking on water fast, and they couldn’t have long before the ship would start to founder under the constant assault of the chaos fuelled storm.
“We need to find land” bellowed Neal over the crashing of the waves
Hamlet nodded, and lashed a rope to the mast before tying it round his waist and using his magic boots he slowly ascended into the air – almost immediatley the wind began to buffet him and as he played out the slack in the rope he saw the helpless Bliss being tossed around by the storm and he found himself wondering how he’d make it back to the deck safetly if the rope holding him broke.
“Can you see anything?” called Iivan, who seemed to be less effected by the motion of the ship than his comrades having already emptied his belly during the battle with the Kraken.
“Nothing! Just the storm” yelled Hamlet before trying to creep higher to try and get above the fog and clouds to see if he could see any land
A sudden gust of wind slammed into the warlock and send him careening through the air wildly
“Sod this” he muttered to himself as the rope snagged taught and pulling against him and the rope around his waist cutting into him “Get me down!” he called out to his comrades below, but the noise of the storm drowned him out and so he was forced to drag himself back down to the rolling deck of the Bliss himself.
“Anything?” asked Navarro, seeming uneffected by the sea sickness plauging the others
“Nothing but the sea” reported a shaken Hamlet, panting on all fours on the deck and mentally swearing to himself he would never leave it again
“We need to get the ship moving – we can’t stay here without the engines and sails it’s tearing us up” called Zak who was struggling with the rudder controls while Neil had dissappeared below decks to desperately try and get his magical engine running again.
Gregg nodded and took his bag of holding and used it to draw it along the length of the broken mast, before handing it to Hamlet
“You can fly up and get the mast upright, we’ll hold it in place and try and fix it” explained the druid, and Hamlet nodded rising slowly and allowing the mast to emerge from the upturned bag. Gunnar and Navarro braced themselves and struggled to force the mast back into place as Gregg attempted to use his magic to knit the shattered timber back together. Kagey and Peggs leapt forward and began lashing the join with coils of rope and hammering crude supporting joists into place and after a few minutes Navarro and Gunnar released their grip and stepped back gingerly. The mast creaked as the wind howled but the repair held and the goblins and Gunnar were able to jury rig a sail that would hold against the storm. With a sail in place Gunnar pulled out his old navigational tools and his map, using an equal amount of guesswork and luck the barbarian tried to work out their position and the location of the nearest land, a tiny atoll shown on the map he’d stolen from Silvereye. After a few minutes he announced they were being pushed West by the storm but needed to be going North East, and that there should be an island of sorts to their North.
Armed with this knowledge Gregg then summoned a magical wind and directed it against their new sail, the effect wasn’t ideal but they finally were able to stabilise the Bliss and get her moving in roughly the right direction.
“Land Ho!” called Iivan from the bow after an interminable period of time
“Who’s a ho?” called back Navarro unsure whether to be offended or just confused at the Drow’s behaviour
Through the roiling cloud bank of the storm they peered ahead and saw a shape appear in the storm ahead – the island Gunnar had promised, or indeed a different island altogether but the Renegades weren’t about to quibble with the promise of safety so close.
“We’re not going to make it” called Neil eyeing the distances with a seaman’s eye
Gregg nodded and summoned up another magical wind and with it battled against the current and the storm to bring the Bliss closer to the island, Gunnar made his way to the bow and peered out into the storm trying to spot any hidden rocks or reefs which might tear out the Bliss’s already battered hull as they approached. Squinting against the wind wipped spray he peered anxiously through the obscuring fog but the water seemed free of obstructions
“ROCKS AHEAD!” called out Iivan from his perch on the ships side
“No there aren’t” called Gunnar in confusion
“No, there’s definitely rocks!” yelled Navarro in response as he too saw the tell tale broiling surf around a series of jagged volcanic rocks jutting just above the surface like dragon’s teeth.
Heeding the warnings Gregg shifted his magical wind and Neil and Zak fought with the rudder controls to bring the Bliss round and pick a passage through the deadly rocks until their momentum carried the Bliss up onto a small gently sloping sandy beach to ground herself with a rasping hiss of sand against the timbers of her hull. Relived to be safe from the storm’s fury for the time being the Renegades quickly took stock of their situation, Navarro Gregg and Iivan decided to scout the island’s interior and make sure there were no immediate threats lurking in the forests hemming in the beach they found themselves on. As they headed off Neil scurried under the looming hull of the Bliss to start making repairs to the Bliss’ engine, Gunnar accompanied him – though mainly to hold the halfling’s tools and help with anything which needed strength to shift.
After a while Kagey and Peggs approached, more furtively than usual even by their nefarious standards
“Errr, Gunnar?”
“Yeah?” replied Gunnar idly
“You know how we like you right?”
“Yeah, and how we’re grateful that you’re going to let us have some of this treasure”
“…and just having the chance to get back out on the sea like”
“Yeah?” said Gunnar again, a sinking feeling beginning to grow in his gut as he turned to face the pair
“Well, we think you should know something” began Kagey, shuffling his feet awkwardly
“…but we don’t want you to get angry, cos we’re all friends here right” added Peggs
“Perish the thought lads” answered the barbarian, forcing a smile through the growing sense of dread
“Ah see that’s a problem”
“‘Cos we don’t want anyone to perish like”
“You should be more careful with your words”
Gunnar sighed and waited for the pair to get to the point
“Err, see…well you know Silvereye right?”
“He’s a big scary bastard he is”
“…not that you’re not too of course”
“..but”
“..weeeell he’s a lot bigger n scarier if you know what I mean”
“Yeah, I can’t argue with that” grunted Gunnar, picturing in his mind the deadly Ogre pirate captain who had captured him from a merchantman years previously and put him to work on the oars before granting him the “promotion” of joining his crew to take point when assaulting Silvereye’s victims.
“Weeeell, see….old Silvereye might…”
“..Possibly..”
“..Maybe..”
“…Sort of know where we are” finished Peggs flatly
“And how might he possibly, maybe know that lads?” asked Gunnar gesturing to the storm raging around them
“Err sort of maybe ‘cos of this” stammered Kagey and pulling out a small amulet and proffering it towards Gunnar
“It’s magic like” added Peggs before flinching back out of harms way
“Let’s him know where we are sort of thing”
Gunnar cursed “Is that it? Or do you have anything else like this I should know about?”
“Oh no Gunnar”
“Woudn’t lie to you”
“‘Cos you’re alright you are”
“Friends like I said”
“So what with everything what’s happened”
“We thought maybe it was best to come clean”
“Let you know what we know innit”
Gunnar eyed the pair hard trying to determine if they were telling the truth, but then an idea struck him. He squatted down on the shore and began to concentrate on the primal forces of nature swirling around them, seeking a connection
“What’s he doing?”
“Dunno, maybe he needs a shit?”
Ignoring the goblins Gunnar focused his mind until he felt the flash of connection, but the magical storm snatched the feeling away from him
“Hey!” yelped Peggsy
“What was that?” asked Kagey eyeing Gunnar warily
“Magic lads” answered Gunnar rising from his haunches “But I guess it’s effected you not me”
“Errrr am I going to be ok?” asked Peggs
“Yeah you’ll be fine as long as you do as I ask” replied Gunnar before directing the goblin to put his head underwater and call out to one of the fish teeming in these waters which never saw the threat of a fisherman’s nets
Keeping his gaze on the barbarian the goblin did as he was asked
“But no funny business right?” warned Kagey, keeping a protective eye on his partner in crime lest Gunnar try and attack them
“Fucking ‘ell!” gasped Peggs pulling his head out of the surf
“What is it?” asked Kagey
“There’s a bloody fish – it’s talking to me” explained the goblinm confusion clear on his wicked featured face and pointing at a fair sized shape holding station in the shallows by his feet
“Lunch?” asked Kagey eagerly
“No…mail” said Gunnar firmly, turning to Peggs he broke off some rations and handed them to the goblin “For the fish, if he lets us tie this onto him” added the Half Orc holding up the magical amulet that Silvereye could track.
“Err ok, I’ll try like” agreed Peggs, turning and immersing his face in the water once more, after a brief negotiation with the fish and agreement was reached and he tied the amulet around the fish’s flanks and scattered the crumbled rations in the water. The fish paused long enough to devour the morsels of food and then with a flick of it’s powerful tail sped off into the ocean.
“Well fuck me” said a clearly still confused Peggsy
“Learn somefing new every day” nodded Kagey sagely
“Should buy us a bit of time at least” said Gunnar eyeing the pair archly
In the thick woods inland Gregg, Navarro and Iivan were looking for supplies and danger, but the only signs of life were some rather sorry looking sea birds that were huddling together for warmth against the storm in the trees overhead. Broken rocks covered the floor here, and Gregg caught his foot on one, sending it rolling in the dirt, looking down at the freshly revealed underside he though he could make out a vague pattern
“That looks familiar” he muttered, bending down to get a closer look
“Well spotted guide – I’ve seen something like that too myself” said Navarro thoughtfully as he joined him
“It looks….Nearith” offered Gregg hesistantly
“There’s more” called Iivan from a few meters away “Look, it’s like a ruined wall here” and he pointed, tracing the faint but unmistakable suggestion of the long crumbled walls of a small room
“I wonder what it was for” mused Gregg
“Entrance way?” suggested Iivan and pointed to a gap that had probably once been a doorway which, now they knew what to look for appeared to open out into a larger room
“Interesting” said Navarro
Suddenly Gregg felt the overwhelming sense that they were being watched
- Come
Startled, Gregg looked around for the source of the voice that had spoken in his head “Err, did you guys hear that?” he asked the others
“Hear what?” asked Navarro with a puzzled glance at the druid
“Oh, nothing, it was probably just the wind”
- Join me
This time Gregg got a sense of the direction of the source of the unseen gaze
“I’ll errr, I’m just going to…have a piss….over there” he finished pointing to where the trees pressed together tightly forming a wall of vegetation
“Yeah sure” said Iivan waving his hand casually in acknowledgement and turning back to tracing the outline of the ancient Nearith buildings with Navarro.
As Gregg approached the trees they shifted and parted before him, transfixed the druid walked down the newly opened pathway – and didn’t notice the trees move to close the path behind him as he moved deeper into the forest. Entering a clearing Gregg gazed upon a misshapen tree glowing with magic at it’s centre
- Good, you’ve come
“Hello?” called Gregg warily
- Help me, help us
Noticing the druid’s continued absence Iivan turned to Navarro
“Where’s he got to now?” snapped Iivan
“I beleive he was answering the call of nature” replied Navarro, unwittingly closer to the truth than he realised
“Ugh” the fastidious Drow wrinkled his nose at the thought of the Druid relieving himself in the wilds like a common beast
“A number one I believe it’s called” added Navarro helpfully
“How?” asked the druid watching as the tree shifted and seemed to flash through the seasons in a heartbeat, leaves bursting forth before curling and shrivelling back to bare branches and then reappearing in an endless cycle
- Destroy….the corruption….the source
The voice came to him again, it seemed to be struggling to force the correct words out
“Where is the source?” asked Gregg, moving closer to the strange tree and placing his hand against it’s mossy trunk
- Below….land
And with this a flood of images engulfed Gregg’s mind, images of a great city torn asunder and dragged beneath the waves – a towering pyramid looming above it’s centre. He knew with a sense he knew he could never explain exactly where this lost city was – the knowledge was part of him now, burned into his mind by this strange entity
- Now, join ussss
Came the voice again and with it tendrils of vines whipped out from the tree and snared Gregg and began dragging him closer, startled he screamed at the unexpected attack
Back at the ruins the faintest echo of his cry reached Iivan
“I guess it’s a big one then” grinned Iivan
“More like a number two from the sounds of it” corrected Navarro before raising his voice “You give that turd hell Gregg!” to bellow encouragement at the Druid
Gregg struggled against the restraining creepers and vines binding him to the tree, he tried to scream again but tendrils forced themselves into his throat, thick viscous sap clogging his throat and choking off his calls for aid. Struggling against the entity both physically and the onslaught it was unleashing on his mind he focused and resisted long enough to choke down the cloying sap and scream for help once more before the tree began to envelope him with advancing layers of bark creeping around his body
Hearing the unmistakeable sound of a screen again Iivan and Navarro turned to each other and dashed off in the direction of the cries
“HORSE, HANG ON WE’RE COMING!” yelled Navarro “….TRY TO MAKE YOURSELF DECENT” he added as a courtesy should the cause of the druid’s distress prove to be a bowel movement after all
Together they hacked through the dense branches, forcing a path through to the clearing where they saw Gregg being enveloped by what seemed to be a tree made in the semblance of a man. Both Drow and Half Elf stopped in sudden shock as they both recognised the strange figure as that of Almaman, one face of the twin Elven Gods who had battled against Tal millenia ago – somehow still alive and trapped here on this isolated archipelago lost in the depths of the Chaos Sea. With one last effort Gregg managed to free his mind from the creature and it seemed to quieten and go still. He could feel something was different though, his symbiosis seemed to have allowed the creature to bond with him at some level, and he felt….a new power within him. The others rushed to pull back the now limp vines that bound him and pulled him free
“What happened?” asked Navarro
“I… I don’t really know – but we need to destroy the source of all this corrupted magic” replied Gregg
“So, err what’s with the new look?” asked Iivan gesturing to Gregg’s glowing green eyes and patches of bark like skin. The druid looked down and saw for the first time that he’d been changed and seemed to have taken on some aspects of the tree spirit.
- You will always carry us with you now
It was like a whisper in Gregg’s mind, a promise – planted like a seed and ready to sprout when he needed it’s power the most.
“I think I need to get back to the ship” he croaked, his throat still hurting from the tendrils that had choked him.
The others nodded and carefully led him back through the woods to the beach.
With the Bliss repaired enough to be sea worthy again, they decided to rest before setting sail on the treachorous Chaos Seas again, Gregg once more casting his ritual to grant them the ability to breath under water lest anyone be thrown overboard.
As they moved off the beach, Gregg stood by Neil to help guide them towards the sucken city and it’s mysterioud pyramid, below Gunnar explained to the others about the magic amulet the goblins had been carrying and asked Navarro to speak with Peggs and Kagey to ascertain whether they truly had told him everything. Under the close watch of Gunnar, Iivan and Hamlet Navarro questioned them at length
“Gunnar’s told me all about that amulet, now gentleman…tell me everything about you and Silvereye” he began
“Well, we already have honest”
“We throws oursevlves on your mercy guv”
“Tell me” insisted the paladin
“We’ve been working for him for months”
“Spying and suchlike”
“But you all knew that” protested Kagey, the truth of his words clear to all the Renegades who’d encountered the pair in their past adventures
“Cos we didn’t know you all then, just that prick of a dog boy”
“Fayd?” asked Navarro
“Yeah that twat”
“But we like you”
“And Gunnar”
“But not that dick” they added nodding at Iivan
“They are men, err goblins of impeccable taste then” quipped Hamlet, grinning at their assessment of Iivan
The pair eyed him darkly “Not sure about that one either”
“Looks like a wrong un to me”
“Back alley sort” sneered Peggs with an exaggerated and knowing wink to Kagey
“Yeah”
“Gentlemen, the topic at hand if you please” cut in Navarro, pointedly running a finger along his spear point
“Well there was one other fing you don’t know yet”
“Not proud of it though”
“…well maybe a little bit” they added together sniggering
“Yes?” asked Navarro eyeing them sternly
“One night” began Kagey
“Years ago this was” added Peggs
“Yeah, well Peggsy here had been on the rum”
“So had you!” protested Peggs
“Well yes, goes without saying….anyway so we was drinking an’ we got to talking about hows we wasn’t being treated right by old Silvereye”
“Yeah, fucker….so we snuck into his room”
“Risky business doing that, eh Gunnar” add Kagey grinning knowingly at Gunnar and nodding to his stolen map
“Ahem” interrupted Navarro politely
“Oh yeah where woz I?”
“You were squatting over Silverye’s face as I recall”
“Yeah that’s right, breeches at half mast as you might say, and well…. I may have…”
“…Possibly…”
“…taken a shit in the old bastatd’s empty eye socket”
“Yeah, fucking stank for days it did”
“So’s that’s all of it, and I wouldn’t say this to his face of course, but if you see him just remember old Shiteye had it coming to him”
Navarro turned to Gunnar “I believe them” he said flatly, the barbarian nodding in acceptance
“Who cares, let’s just throw them overboard and be done with it” said Iivan
“See!”
“Total dick!”
“You might have noticed we were the ones keeping this ship afloat dicko”
“Leave them be” concurred Gunnar
“Best behaviour lads” admonished Navarrow before waving them away, relieved they snapped off what they probably thought were precise military salutes and scampered across the deck to find something to do.
Hours passed, the Bliss making good speed through the storms despite the damage she’d suffered and with Gregg’s newly aquired knowledge leading them inexorably towards the heart of the storm when A cry went up from Iivan. Rushing to the stern they peered out into the mists and could barely made out a sail behind them
“Another ship out here?” asked Navarro
“Could be the Legion ship we saw in port?” suggested Hamlet
Gunnar turned to eye the goblins darkly and shook his head
“That only had two masts though, this has three look” said Iivan
“It’s the Red Crow” said Gunnar resignedly, he’d hoped his gambit with the amulet and the fish might have drawn them off their scent but it seemed that was a forlorn hope
“If that’s the Crow, she’ll catch us within the hour” called Neil eyeing the far ship fearfully
“Can’t we outrun her?” asked Gregg
“Not a chance, the Bliss is quicker in the turn than she is but…” and Captain Neil trailed off in defeat as he gestured around them at the ocean stretching away to the horizon in every direction “…We’ve nothing to try and manouvre around”
“Do we have guns? Can we fight them?” asked Hamlet, but Gunnar explained they would be heavily outnumbered, and that wasn’t even counting Captain Silverye
“Shiteye” added one of the goblins helpfully
Or the rest of the Crimson Blade, who the Renegades had tussled with before in the City of Libraries and out in the wilds when they’d lost the Promise
“What is it with you and Ogres?” complained Iivan
“Bad luck?” shrugged Gunnar
“So if we can’t out fight them and we can’t outrun them, we’ll need to slow them down”
“How though?” asked Neil
“I have some thoughts on that…” replied Gregg with a grin