Skip to content

Chapter 2 - Session 4

Marooned and Menaced: A Light in the Dark

Events and Actions

The session began with a recap of the party being deployed from the "Advance" onto a small, flat island in the Channel Islands. Their mission was to set up a cannon to ambush an enemy ship that had been shadowing them. As the plan unfolded, Cosimo drew on his newfound powers, apparently granted by the Mother and Father, first casting a protective Blur on Riu, then conjuring a static illusion of an empty shore to mask the party's true position, followed by an animated phantasm of a cannon crew firing to draw the enemy's attention — all of it kept entirely secret from the crew still aboard the "Advance." Werner opened fire on the approaching ship, blowing the head off a senior officer with a lucky shot before the cannon jammed.

As the "Advance" engaged the enemy vessel, four enemy soldiers who had been dropped off from their ship advanced on the party's position, drawn in by the phantasmal cannon fire on the beach. Cosimo conjured a second apparition, the flamboyant "Handsome Gulliver Gold," to taunt and duel the approaching soldiers; his opening insults successfully drew all four enemies' first volley harmlessly onto himself, and he even flinched and bled convincingly when struck to sell the illusion, holding their attention throughout. A fierce fight ensued. Noddy's sleep spells proved highly effective, putting two of the soldiers to sleep, while a Distraction spell left another confused after Werner wounded him with a thrown harpoon. Mani, Knick Nab, and Werner engaged the remaining enemies directly, with Werner inflicting notable wounds with his javelins and dagger. Mani fought Dieter, the enemy leader, who held the advantage of higher footing; Mani tried to disarm him outright, but the higher ground blunted the attempt, and it took several more exchanges of footwork and steel to wear Dieter down until he was outmatched and taken. Knick Nab, meanwhile, traded blows with the soldier still duelling Handsome Gulliver Gold, eventually landing a solid knee strike that staggered him and knocked him back, interrupting his attack on the illusion. Cosimo delivered a fatal dagger strike to one of the sleeping soldiers. A second soldier — Hans — was left bleeding badly from several of Werner's smaller wounds; he survived, but only after Riu worked to stabilize him once the fighting ended. The remaining soldier, put to sleep unharmed in the bushes, was taken without further struggle. Before releasing his concentration, Cosimo gave Handsome Gulliver Gold standing orders to finish the fight on his own: the illusion capped the encounter with a final flourish, rising into the air with a booming proclamation that there would be no survivors before vanishing in a poof of light — a display that rattled the marine Stanley more than either of Cosimo's earlier illusions had. Stanley himself had held his fire through the melee, unable to find a clear shot with his allies so entangled with the enemy.

After the combat, the party found that the "Advance" had continued its pursuit of the fleeing enemy ship, leaving them stranded. Werner tried signalling the "Advance" with flags, spelling out "Have three prisoners. Will you return?" but got no response; Noddy's familiar, Pocket, confirmed no one on their ship was looking back or paying attention. Both ships passed out of sight around a headland with no visible damage to either, though the party had heard screams during the earlier cannon exchange and reasoned that the enemy ship, having been forced to divert some of its guns toward the beach, had been unable to fully man both broadsides against the "Advance" — their diversion had done its job.

The party took stock of their situation. They had three prisoners: Dieter, the leader; Hans, badly wounded; and a third soldier, unharmed. They secured them methodically, one at a time, keeping weapons trained on each while he was tied so none could bolt, then looted the fallen enemies, recovering weapons and provisions, but no coin. Cosimo then climbed to the highest point nearby and gave a dramatic speech, proclaiming that Handsome Gulliver Gold was a guardian angel sent by the Mother and Father — a declaration made in complete sincerity, as Cosimo genuinely believes his powers to be divinely granted rather than his own. The prisoners looked on with what seemed to be either awe or terror, and Stanley, though less shaken by the earlier illusions, was visibly unsettled at having watched a man fly into the sky and disappear.

Before setting off, Werner spent roughly half an hour with the gun crew clearing the jammed cannon so it would be ready to fire again. Werner, Mani, Knick Nab, and the three NPC gun crew members then set off to retrieve the enemy's boat from the other side of the island. During their trek, Pocket discovered a source of fresh water. They found the boat abandoned, with no provisions aboard save drag marks in the sand and a single set of footprints leading off into the brush. After a strenuous three-and-a-half-hour row, they brought it back to the main camp. Meanwhile, Riu, Cosimo, Noddy, and Stanley set up a small camp in a depression concealed from view of the sea, gathered firewood, and debated what to do with the fallen soldier's body. A proper burial at sea was ruled out for lack of sailcloth and any water deep enough nearby; after briefly considering tying the body to a boat instead, they buried him in a crevice weighted down with stones. Asked if anyone present could act as clergy for the rites, Riu demurred that he was "only an altar boy," but it was nonetheless Riu — as the party's closest thing to a follower of the Two — who said a few words over the grave, alongside Dieter, who spoke for his fallen man.

Riu attempted to stabilize the badly wounded prisoner, Hans, combining his healing abilities with his medical training: he used magic to halt the worst of the bleeding outright, then stitched one wound closed properly and bound a second as best he could. The stitched wound held, but the bound one remained precarious — Hans was stable, but still too fragile to be moved without risking it reopening. As an experiment, Mani placed the Medallion (which he had previously taken from Stick Stab in the Capitol) on Hans.

As night fell, a fire was built. Riu tried fishing without success, while Cosimo foraged, gathering edible cattails and a handful of berries along with an unfamiliar plant he suspected might be nightshade, hoping to confirm it later against the herbalism book he had left aboard the "Advance." Beyond what could be foraged, their provisions amounted to the plain fare they'd brought off the ship: salt pork and biscuit. With ten people between the party, the gun crew, and Stanley, the party weighed shorter watches against fewer, longer ones before settling on the traditional four-hour rotation; three-person watches were established, with one watcher covering the prisoners, one the sea, and one the island's interior. During their watch, Werner and Cosimo observed a mysterious, faint flicker of light in the distance across the island, appearing and disappearing a few times in a way that suggested a hooded lantern. Werner climbed a nearby tree to get a better bearing and confirmed the light came from an unexplored part of the island, away from both the ships' route and where the enemy's boat had been found. Wary of tipping off whoever was out there, the party chose not to wake the prisoners, instead leaving the gun crew and Stanley to guard them along with the cannon and boats, arming one sailor with a captured pistol and setting the password "Advance" to guard against friendly fire. Werner then woke Riu, Noddy, and Knick Nab; Knick Nab also glimpsed the light before the session ended, with the party discussing how to scout or flank the source of the potential new threat.

NPCs & Creatures

  • Stanley: A Marine from the "Advance" accompanying the shore party, notably older than his nominal commander Werner and outside the normal chain of command. He was visibly unsettled by Handsome Gulliver Gold's final vanishing act.
  • Dieter: The leader of the enemy shore party, identifiable by his pistol and cutlass, now a prisoner. Took some hits in the fighting but was not badly hurt.
  • Hans: An enemy soldier, badly wounded and taken prisoner.
  • Unnamed enemy soldier: Put to sleep by Noddy and taken prisoner unharmed.
  • Pocket: Noddy's seagull familiar, used for scouting.

Locations

  • Unnamed Island: A small, flat, scrub-covered island in the Channel Islands, roughly three miles across, where the party was left. Signs of old, burnt trees suggest a past fire.
  • Party Campsite: A small camp established in a depression on the island, chosen partly to keep it out of view from the sea.
  • Freshwater Source: A source of fresh water discovered on the island by Pocket.
  • Enemy Landing Site: The far side of the island, roughly three and a half hours' row from camp, where the enemy's abandoned boat was found dragged up the beach, a single line of footprints leading from it into the brush.
  • Burial Crevice: A rocky crevice near the campsite where the party buried the fallen enemy soldier, weighted down with stones.
  • Neighboring Island: A larger, hillier island visible from the party's own, which they speculated might offer better resources if needed.

Conflicts

  • Shoreline Ambush: The party engaged in combat with four enemy soldiers who landed on the island.
    • Cosimo's apparitions ("empty shore," "phantom cannon crew," "Handsome Gulliver Gold") played a significant role in distracting and taunting the enemy; Handsome Gulliver Gold ended the fight with a theatrical levitating exit as Cosimo's concentration lapsed.
    • Noddy's sleep spells put two enemies to sleep; a Distraction spell confused a third after Werner wounded him with a harpoon.
    • Werner, Mani, and Knick Nab fought directly, inflicting and receiving wounds; Mani wore down Dieter's advantage of higher ground before taking him, while Knick Nab staggered his own opponent with a knee strike that interrupted his attack on Handsome Gulliver Gold.
    • One enemy soldier was killed: by Cosimo's dagger while asleep.
    • Three enemy soldiers were captured: Dieter (leader), Hans (badly wounded from Werner's javelin and dagger wounds), and one other (asleep and unharmed).
  • Mysterious Light: At the end of the session, a mysterious light was spotted on the island, indicating a potential new, unknown presence. The party set a guard password ("Advance") and left the prisoners asleep and guarded while preparing to investigate.

Learnings and Discussions

  • The party is stranded on the island, as the "Advance" has left in pursuit of the enemy ship and did not respond to signals. The party reasoned their diversion had worked, since the enemy ship had been unable to fully man both broadsides while some of its guns fired at the beach.
  • The island has a source of fresh water and little else of value; the neighboring island may be a better source of resources if needed. Aside from foraged cattails and berries, the party's food is limited to the salt pork and biscuit they brought off the ship.
  • The party now possesses three small boats (their two, plus the enemy's) and their cannon.
  • A discussion was held regarding the proper disposal of a fallen enemy soldier: burial at sea was ruled out for lack of sailcloth and sufficiently deep water nearby, so the party buried him ashore instead, with Dieter (enemy leader) and Riu both saying a few words over him.
  • Riu asked Dieter about the South's religious practices; Dieter was unsure whether the Divinity of Two extends to the South; it does exist there, but unlike in the North, it is not mandated.
  • Cosimo's public declarations attributing events to divine intervention by the Mother and Father were made in complete sincerity and were noted by the prisoners and Stanley.
  • Mani placed the Medallion (previously taken from Stick Stab) on the prisoner Hans as an experiment.

Items Gained

  • From defeated enemies:
    • Three rifles
    • One pistol
    • One cutlass
    • Three daggers
    • Four small backpacks containing provisions
    • Powder and shot
    • (Notably, no coin was found among their effects.)
  • One additional ship's boat (rowboat).
  • Edible cattails and a handful of berries gathered by Cosimo.
  • An unidentified plant, possibly nightshade, collected by Cosimo for later identification against his herbalism book.

Items Lost

  • Ammunition (cannon, pistol, rifle) expended during combat.
  • Javelins and daggers thrown by Werner (some were recovered); a thrown knife that missed its mark was left behind, unrecovered.
  • The Medallion (previously taken by Mani from Stick Stab), placed on the prisoner Hans by Mani.