Dawn
Chapter
SPRECTUS (1)
- A Butterfly Flaps Its Wings -
One year after a string of simultaneous misfortunes, and the appearance of spiral markings beneath the skin (whenever an individual's powers are used), would be adventurers follow the flow of their markings and converge in the docks of Leililalah. Young Lady Wyn Cecil forsakes her family due to complex interpersonal issues, steals an obsidian necklace called the 'glass clock', a family heirloom, and sets out. When she hops on the ship, the standing captain, peacock Aarocockra Tenopo 'Ten' Frabre recognises Wyn and apologises that the captains quarters have already been surrendered to another Lady, Lady Morroe. Wyn meets the drow briefly, but resigns to a different private quarter. As the ship is departing, purportedly on "business of the Saragriff Bureau", a purple tiefling cleric, Lucille Dormaia uses a signal lamp to get the attention of a crewmate, the old tortle woman, Ennana, who magically pulls her and the light on board. Ennana and her Locathah colleague, Phucoopea, quickly put Lucille to work in the surgery. A human woman is attending to a blind, deaf, mute, and lame, githyanki woman, who she leaves in Lucille's care. Lucille learns that mysteriously the majority of the former crew were unable to make the planned voyage, but a dozen people have by chance converged and filled the ship. The goblin, Ezira, feels herself being watched by a cowled, 9ft tall, figure with glowing eyes, their face was hidden by an Illusion. They shake Ezira's hand and declares the two allies, though Ezira is mostly frightened by the figures strange and threatening way of speaking. Phucoopea reports Wyn's complaints about a banging noise, which the crew discuss as being due to a 'monster' they have onboard. Yskanda investigates finding a cloud giant named Dahlia has found their way aboard. The two talk in riddles about the strange convergences and part and the evening moves on. An Eladrin, Ovein Lark, and a pale humanoid, Nera, sneak into the surgery looking for 'herb', but find Lucille and introduce themselves. Afterwards they ask Lucille if she needs a hand returning the githyanki to a bunk, she agrees. As everyone is eating dinner, Yskanda senses a strange psychic presence and goes to investigate it, as they pass the githyanki, she reaches out a hand and feels the face behind Yskanda's illusion. And to the githyanki's silent horror, she feels the six tentacles of an Ulitharid, a type of mind flayer. Yskanda continues onto the top deck, seeing at the aft, a great menacing light. A grappling hook lands on the aftcastle, thrown by a hooded figure adorned in lanterns, on a small rowboat. Ennana is at the helm and begins to panic, until the last crew member, an armoured human, runs up and uses her halberd to break the grapple. The intense light fades, as does the psychic disturbance. The woman introduces herself as Dolly Maine, her own spiral markings fade, before she returns to the lower decks. Yskanda and Ennana stand confused, in the last light on the deck, that of the signal lantern, lying on the deck behind the helm, that was brought aboard with Lucille.
SPRECTUS (2)
- In the Shadow of Stars-
Around midnight, Ennana hangs the signal lantern over the captains cabin, and Tenopo and Dolly disembark, as the ship docks outside The Nameless City. Dahlia makes the most of the night and goes to get some fresh air, but finds Ezira struggling with sea sickness. Dahlia takes her onto the snowy Uildan beach, decorated with giant bones, and the two become acquainted underneath the stars, wondering what they are. The next morning, the brand signals west, indicating that coming to the boat was but one step of their journey. Lucille has spent the night looking after the githyanki woman, who had been shivering, but finds that in the night, the woman had scratched a rune into the deck. Her wounds are treated. Wyn is brought lunch by phucoopea, but is distressed to learn that it is all fish. While searching for other food, she comes across exira, and her sporebread. The sporebread is not great, but not awful, so Wyn offers to trade her meals for ones made by Ezi. Ezi enjoys the company, a little longer than she is welcome. At dinner time, Ten calls a meeting, to make introductions, where she details the charted course, with stops at Reach City, Redpoint, then The Friendly Tides. She explains that the crew's business is through association with the Saragriff bureau, though it is a third party's mission. Ten says she likes fishing. Phucoopea says she likes sailing. Lady Morroe introduces herself, but says her business is her own. Yskanda offers his services as a navigator. Anna is quick, and a good lifter. Wyn, still under the name of 'daffid' is still a little startled by Dahlia's appearance, but proudly states she is an adventurer. Lucille introduces herself in her role as the surgeon. Dahlia says she is a hunter. Ezira is appointed as trial cook. Dolly says she's up to help with anything at all. Ovein likes fashion. Nera cannot think of what to say. After the meeting, Yskanda and Tenopo are about to go over the charts before Lucille updates Ten on the gith. Ysakanda identifies the runes as being Tir'su, though they don't understand it; they then ask for personal updates as to the condition of the gith. After a brief stop, shop, and exchange of documents, Yskanda begins copying maps and studying astronomical navigation. After struggling to find work for Wyn, Ten makes her go fishing with her, unfortunately, the nets get caught on the keel, and Ten has to descend into the side of the ship, as Wyn passes the signal lantern down. When the net is retrieved, a swordfish sword is plundered, identified by Dahlia using runic magic. Wyn declares this as her iconic blade, just as all other great adventurers have. Though as ezi pointed out earlier, she has a ways to go yet. Fresh supplies are picked up from redpoint, and the ship heads to Sprectus.
Friendly Tides Chapter
SPRECTUS (3)
-Underfolk & Seafolk-
After a week of sailing, the ship is almost at the friendly tides. Yskanda is navigating in the captain's quarters and Lady Morroe comes in and speaks in riddles about wearing masks and concealing oneself, as she examines her dolls. Yskanda interprets this as her thinking they are an Underfolk, but given Lady's reassurances, and the private space, decides to trust her, and unveils. Lady is shocked, but does her best to be respectful, and believes in Yskanda, that their nature is not like that of their kin. The next day a group is gathered of amphibious crew mates, Yskanda, Ennana, Phucoopea, and Lucille (using an air bubble) who descend to get the ship blessed and registered with the friendly tides. Before Yskanda departs, they bump into Nera, and have a cartoonish vision of Wyn fighting dragons. In the water, they are escorted by a jolly seafolk named Lankem, a member of the group who will be assigned to the ship, F.T.V #126. On the way down, the crew rest on a sea stack, but after Lucille cuts herself on some fauna, a quadropedic, red, shark like creature comes to investigate. Ennana hooks it's hand and suplexes it, it then continues on to Lucille, who casts shield of faith, revealing her spiral markings to Yskanda, but she is protected by a focused psionic shield that dissuades the "shark" from continuing its hunt. Once they make it all the way, they meet the rest of the F.T.V #126 crew, but Yskanda and Lucille cannot speak underwater, and don't understand aquan. They take in the varied ecology, unique architecture, infrastructure, submersible ships, and passages down to the deep twilight and abyssal layers of the sea. They wait for Ennana to fill out appropriate paperwork. Meanwhile, Ezi wakes up Wyn with a culinary pastry creation. However the two are interrupted by the surfacing of a submersible ship immediately beside The Bitchy Devil. The ship is quickly boarded by a crew, as all hands are called. As Wyn reaches the deck, she sees its her rival in love, Gwendolyn Gwenovere Frume, she lets out a scream and the two begin to bicker. She reveals she was sent after Wyn for the family heirloom, the glass clock. Wyn refuses to part with it and the two get into a catfight in which the two release magic missiles at each other, and Wyn's markings are revealed. The crews clash, but the Bitchy Devil pulls away forcing the boarders back onto their ship, "The Tusk". Ten quickly makes a plan; Dahlia is dropped overboard to reduce the weight, and given the signal light so that Ten can lead The Tusk away, then double back see where to pick them up. Ezira, given water breathing by Anna, is also dropped, and the two are told to quickly try and retrieve the others from down below. She also drops overboard, and the two begin to swim downwards.
SPRECTUS (4)
-Twilight Reef-
Without a guide, Dahlia and Ezi are lost in the magical currents and separated in deep wild waters. Ezi winds up in an underwater cave, which, after some exploration, turns out to house a myconid colony ruled by Sovereign Onk. Onk is surprised to see a surface dweller down there and agrees to help Ezi reach the friendly tides. In F.T.V #126 the topic of Lucille's markings comes up, she asks Yskanda is they known anything. They don't. She then explains how she is trying to be discreet about it as she doesnt know the meaning, but suspects a divine purpose. Yskanda reveals that they saw Dolly Maine with the same markings. Dahlia, arrives in the dark, seeing the friendly tides in the distance and not much else. The only light nearby is illuminated plumes of steam pouring from thermal vents. Dahlia investigates for signs of life, so goes from vent to vent, until she happens across one with no life around it. And then the light moves. Revealing this vent is the lure of a monstrous angling horror. Dahlia struggles with the beast as she can't swing her sword effectively, she narrowly avoids being swallowed whole and spiked through sharp teeth, but finds strength in the fear that all memory of her tribe would be lost with her. She attacks the eyes and slays the beast, she rages at the corpse, but is pulled back together when she sees Ezi accompanied by Onk, walking through a mycelial shelf. Onk pulls Dahlia and Ezi close and transforms into a gargantuan purple mushroom that propels the two up towards the lower cliffside structures of the friendly tides. Meanwhile, Dahlia and Lucille explore the friendly tides, taking in the unusual sights, tasting the street food, and struggling to walk in the water. They stop at a religiously neutral temple, where Lucille communes with a seaglass portal. She floats in place and has a vision of being sucked around and around in a spiral towards a point; like a flower spinning over a drain, before being sucked down. As she and Yskanda leave, they spot Dahlia and Ezi who catch them up with the surface situation. They go to F.T.V #126 where they explain things and Lankem sends them quickly on their way, promising finish things up and follow up. On the way to the surface, the party come across a dormant looking shiver of "sharks", as Dahlia passes up the signal lantern to Ezi, the light hits another "shark" which appears to appear from the light, than having been hiding in the dark, like the others. The party continue up. They see a light in the evening mist and assume its the ship, but when the Bitchy Devil appears from another direction and picks them up, the crew are left wondering what it was as, they drifted away.
CROSSING
Chapter
SPRECTUS (5)
-Onwards by Lamplight-
Wyn's dreams are interrupted by Nera, and she awakens to Lucille pondering a new Tir'su carving from the gith. Once she's gathered her things and leaves the surgery, Wyn has The Glass Clock identified, it will allow her to draw power from other planes. On the 63rd, Phucoopea and Yskanda discuss their destination, the sea glass citadel, and there mission, in part, to bring the ship there. While fishing, Tenopo praises Wyn for how far she's come and how helpful she's been, her stubborn nature makes it difficult to accept, and she lashes out. Ten then ponders on how there relationship is beneficial for both, as Ten can be Wyn's first positive role-model, and Wyn is the youth that Ten never had the chance to temper in her own daughter. On the 69th, the crew come across an Eel shaped vessel crewed by Flumhs, Yskanda, Wyn, Exira, and Dahlia borded in order to trade. They met the captain, Eellee, Aesek the Cleric, Flockl the first hand; there were two performers, Fun'm and Toad. A magical girl flumph, Bruthex, and her cheerleader, Pomdro. Two lovers, Xovea, and Z'ratar, the later with a madness to do with pickles. Ucho the cook looked like ma spaghetti monster after merging with a food elemental to save it's life. The dark tentacled Awos was corrupted, Nimar and Impeesh were deckhands, and the last of the crew was a petrified flumph, turned into marketable merchandise by a most terrible curse, Wyn stole this specimen. As Yskanda was keeping a low profile, and Ezi was fondling the strange jellyfish creatures, Dahlia her signal lantern in the cabin and arm-wrestled the crew, winning a sealed chest in a wager against her wood carving of the angling horror. When farewells were shared, and they returned from the ship, they found fishhooks in the box, and by the lamplight, they saw a combat skirt, and three pieces of webshot ammunition. On the 75th, Yskanda and Lucille discussed the gith, and it was suggested that she be given more materials to see what she would make next. Lucille goes to Dahlia for some supplies, but also has the disk identified as a 'Jez'rathki' disk, though she does not understand the meaning. When Lucille returns, the gith is panicking and calling out, though her missing lounge makes hearing her even harder. Suddenly all hands are called to top deck as the ship kis surrounded by hooded figures in a fleet of rowboats, visible only by the lanterns on each. Then, a firey entity draped in chains and lanterns sets abalze to the ship and attacks everyone with radiance. Little seems to damage it and everyone is on there last legs. Lady morroe is burned crossing the fire,, leaving only Phu, Wyn, and Ten on one side. Ten puts Wyn under her feathers and shelters her through the flame. Ten does not emerge, though Wyn makes it. As all hope is nearly lost, the gith emerges and shouts 'jez'rathki' as a portal appears in front of the ship. The burned Phu stays on the aft to steer the ship through. She burns. The Bitchy Devil is lost, though the crew and wreck make it through, the hooded figures and entity do not. Yskanda washes ashore and sees the stars that tell them, they arrived in Rezmire, skipping a week of sailing. Though it appears to be the wrong side of the island.
