Skip to content

Chapter 3 - Session 1

Reunion in Port Sardina, Commission for the West

Events and Actions

The session commenced after a two-year time skip, with the Player Characters (PCs) now at level 2. A summary of the intervening two years was provided: Werner De Rendal recovered from burns at The Treasure Hunt in Port Sardina over the better part of a month, tended by army surgeons, though the ordeal cost him his third harpoon, hard to replace this far south. The party (sans Knick Nab) took rooms at The Treasure Hunt rather than shipboard hammocks and made it their home port for the two years: Cosimo gambled away his money at the dice tables (managing at one point to draw Suzette, the Governor's daughter, away from a fancier gathering to join him), while Riu introduced Noddy to the mysteries of bathing, to Pocket's evident delight. Mani trained daily in the yard under Randolph the Chronicler, working toward his ambition of becoming the finest swordsman of the age. Meanwhile, Knick Nab had slipped away the night before the Governor's fete to serve aboard the cutter "Amada" under Captain Otto "Cut Close" De Guzman, a Northern navigator of some renown who had handpicked a notably tight-lipped crew. Knick Nab suffered a month of worsening fatigue and pain he passed off as seasickness before it subsided — his fellow sailors read his frailty as weakness even as they came to respect his evident determination — after which he was taken under De Guzman's wing and taught naval tactics and navigation as an unofficial captain's mate. The "Amada" ranged south and to the western edge of the Channel Islands hunting the South's "wind blowers," escaping several perilous engagements through good fortune and the crew's skill, but never managed to capture or identify one. The ship avoided proper ports almost entirely, resupplying ashore on quiet beaches or river mouths and once being careened in some out-of-the-way spot to scrape barnacles and shipworm from her hull and keep her speed; Knick Nab also noted, without ever learning why, that the "Amada" carried no member of the Divinity of Two among her crew, unlike every other Northern vessel.

The rest of the party served aboard a supply ship, revisiting the old Southern encampment site — now occupied as a Northern watch post — and sneaking up to Blackstone Peak by night, where they found the excavated strange rock had been quietly covered over again and found nothing new. New Admiralty orders soon curtailed further excursions: with the South proving to command the seas, the Northern fleet was pulled back to a purely defensive picket along the Channel Islands, and the party spent most of the two years on routine, unglamorous shipboard duty under Major Hubert's careful stewardship, gaining experience but no prize money. Their one notable diversion came escorting a supply run to The Capitol, where they slipped ashore through the smuggling tunnel to visit Burlyman at The Crow's Nest; the tunnel itself showed no sign of discovery, though the carts within had plainly been moved since their last passage. Burlyman was glad to see the passage still secret, but his news was grimmer: Randolph had since left the tavern, and soon after the party's own departure, Priests of the Divinity of Two had stormed the tavern searching for the PCs. Mistress Mary and Mistress Clara had confronted the priests over the intrusion, and in the resulting argument were marched off by the priests and soldiers, accompanied by a young red-headed man — implied to be Stick Stab — and had not been seen since. While there, the party checked the hidden chamber beneath the cellar and confirmed no fresh Medallion had appeared on the skeleton. A long debate followed over whether to bring in an outsider — a kidnapped street urchin, or more palatably a paid companion — to test whether an unclaimed Medallion would manifest for someone new; Riu argued the experiment would settle whether the Medallions were meant only for the six of them, and pledged not to place one on anyone without the group's consent, but the party voted the idea down as needlessly dangerous and unkind to whoever was chosen. Cosimo left letters for Mistress Clara with Burlyman before they departed. Throughout the two years, the party's own priest Nicolas remained ashore at Port Sardina rather than being posted to a ship, preaching most mornings on the beach; sober, he proved a fiery and popular speaker, though he was often found in his cups.

The PCs then shared their level 2 advancements before the narrative returned to the present. The party (Werner, Riu, Noddy, Cosimo, Mani) arrived back in Port Sardina aboard an unremarkable merchant escort, finding the harbour emptier than they remembered — much of the fleet was out on patrol — and berthing beside a small, unfamiliar cutter that Werner recognized, after a round of perception checks, as the "Amada," the ship Knick Nab had vanished aboard two years before. Granted two days' shore leave, Mani marched straight for the "Amada's" gangplank to ask after their friend; the officer of the watch there, a mustachioed figure in a striped hat later introduced as Lieutenant Blaque, could only tell him Knick Nab had already gone ashore. The party made for The Treasure Hunt instead, their one known haunt in the port, where Knick Nab — visibly filled out and changed after two years at sea, and oddly winded by nothing more than his first beer — was found nursing a drink. Mani seized him from behind in a bear hug, hauled him up out of his seat, and kissed him on each cheek before buying a round; the group pressed Knick Nab for an explanation of his sudden departure, and he admitted only that he'd taken something he felt had been taken from him first, and had never discussed it with anyone else aboard the "Amada." Mani declared, half-drunkenly, that the group was bound together by fate regardless of what else Knick Nab might be, and that he belonged with them; Nicolas, also in the tavern and in his cups as usual, overheard Mani call Knick Nab's absence "an insult against God" and corrected him without looking up — "gods," plural. The reunion soured when talk turned to Mary and Clara: Knick Nab confirmed, when asked, that the red-headed man from Burlyman's account had indeed been Stick Stab, and Mani grew seriously and uncharacteristically angry at the priests responsible and began drinking harder, vowing that when the party next reached them, the Divinity would surrender the two women, whether or not it was ever put to a vote.

Before the party could act further, Lieutenant Blaque of the "Amada" arrived at the tavern with word that Major Hubert wanted to see all of them at once. They marched to the fort, where Hubert received them warmly and asked each in turn how their service had gone: Werner effused implausibly about the glories of shipboard life, Knick Nab admitted with rare candor that he'd mostly lived in a hole, Riu allowed that two years of surgical and gunnery training had left him eager to test his skills against a real enemy vessel, and Noddy described a middling two years in the grey between open war and peace. Beneath the pleasantries, Hubert's evident frustration soon showed: two years of purely defensive war against the South's mysterious wind-manipulating "wind blowers" had yielded nothing but attrition, and his orders gave him no room to pursue the answers he believed the war needed. The party pressed the case that they, uniquely, had already fought and killed one of the wind blowers by fire during the Fire Ship incident, and could do more good hunting answers than standing picket. Unable to issue the order himself without disobeying his own superiors, Hubert instead proposed the party take the "Amada," under De Guzman's command, on an unofficial westward voyage of discovery — chasing the same trail that swallowed Captain Maynard and, later, Captain Barrows. The party agreed unanimously to go west, settling first on Port Zylos as a waypoint to gather intelligence and contacts before striking further out. Randolph the Chronicler was summoned — again asking Hubert for passage to the Academy, and again being refused — and agreed to join the expedition as cartographer and chronicler, on condition that anything he learned would ultimately be shared with the Academy; he was firm that he served neither North nor South, only the Academy's mission of gathering and disseminating knowledge to all, and mentioned that the Academy holds an annual "Dispersal" — its next falling on the first day of spring — at which newly gathered knowledge is shared with legitimate scholars from anywhere in the world. Asked for a letter of introduction that would let the party call on the Academy's resources in the future, he declined to write one for now, though he did not rule it out once he had seen more of what they could offer. The party also debated, and voted against, bringing their own priest Nicolas along, judging the risk and awkwardness of a Divinity priest aboard the "Amada" to outweigh any benefit — though they arranged to take a set of priest's robes in case Cosimo needed to bluff the role.

Left largely to themselves afterward, the party debated how best to use their new latitude. Riu and Noddy raised the idea of infiltrating a Southern port directly — slipping in undetected to seize a wind blower off the street or out of a tavern — arguing that the party's unconventional talents, from Pocket's aerial scouting to Cosimo's illusions, might succeed where two years of the "Amada" chasing wind blowers at sea had not; Knick Nab confirmed that in all that time, none of the "Amada's" actions against the South had ever been on land. The debate ran long, but the party ultimately voted to hold course for the West, tabling a direct raid on a Southern port as an option to fall back on later, and agreeing that Port Zylos would double as a first chance to look into Southern activity before they struck further out. In the same discussion, they asked Major Hubert to check Port Sardina's records for any sign that A'Wood — the elf of uncertain loyalties they had once helped escape north through the smuggling tunnel — had passed through.

Hubert saw to outfitting the expedition: twelve gold pieces for supplies, access to naval stores for blunderbusses, pistols, shot, powder, and grenades, smoke bombs to be made from wet gunpowder, priest's robes and whatever spare Southern-looking uniforms could be found — Hubert cautioned that ordinary sailors' clothing hardly differs between North and South, so anything useful would have to be officer-grade, the South's short navy-blue jackets rather than the North's royal blue. By the meeting's end he had also located an Islander slave fluent in Common and Islander to serve as translator. He confirmed rune paper — needed for Riu's plan to inscribe spells into runes readable by non-casters — was not available anywhere in Port Sardina and would have to be sought in Port Zylos. Werner argued for and secured a letter of authority instructing De Guzman, or any other officials the party might encounter, to extend them full cooperation — insurance against being redirected by a larger Northern flotilla or left without standing should De Guzman himself be killed — though his separate bid for an actual lieutenancy was turned down as beyond Hubert's authority to grant; he settled instead for the promotion to Senior Midshipman he learned of in the same sitting.

Captain De Guzman himself arrived to meet the party: a flamboyantly dressed, deliberately unmilitary figure in a purple doublet and broad-brimmed hat. He agreed to the mission but was frank about the strain nine additional passengers and their cargo would put on a ship built for a much smaller crew. On hearing Werner's name, De Guzman recognized the De Rendal house at once — House De Guzman, he explained, was itself a lesser Northern family, sworn to naval service rather than trade, and had long fallen under the De Rendals' sway — and revealed that his own grandfather and Werner's grandfather had learned to sail together in their youth, both taking to whaling and trade rather than the military — it was De Guzman's own father who later broke with that tradition for a naval career; De Guzman's grandfather himself vanished around the time De Guzman was born, and he had heard old, half-credible family tales of a single ship that once returned from a similar westward expedition, only to sink shortly after. Werner had no answers to offer, but the connection plainly meant something to both of them. De Guzman explained that the "Amada" ran with only two officers — himself and Lieutenant Blaque — everyone else being a sailor experienced enough to need no supervision; Werner would technically outrank the crew as midshipman but agreed to serve purely as an observer and defer to them, an arrangement De Guzman welcomed. The ship carried no dedicated medic or carpenter, De Guzman said, since every hand did a bit of everything, and he was glad to have Riu's healing skill aboard regardless. The party decided against a detour to a nearby island to gather more of a valuable root they had a small stock of, agreeing to sail directly for Port Zylos. De Guzman asked that the party not reveal their true destination to his crew until the ship was underway. Before departure, the party also wondered whether holy water could be turned against the wind blowers' magic; learning that the Church does bless water for such purposes, they added a stock of it to their purchases, meaning to bless their shot with it. The party arranged for a keg of decent rum and a small bag of spices to be brought aboard as a goodwill gift for De Guzman's crew, and the "Amada" was set to depart for Port Zylos on the morning tide.

NPCs & Creatures

  • Major Hubert (Commander of the fort at Port Sardina)
  • Rees (Owner of The Treasure Hunt)
  • Suzette (Governor Francisco's daughter)
  • Randolph the Chronicler
  • Captain Otto "Cut Close" De Guzman (Captain of the "Amada")
  • Burlyman (Proprietor of The Crow's Nest)
  • Mistress Mary (Formerly of The Crow's Nest, taken by priests)
  • Mistress Clara (Formerly of The Crow's Nest, taken by priests)
  • Stick Stab (Confirmed by Knick Nab as the red-headed man with the priests who took Mary and Clara)
  • Priests of the Divinity of Two
  • Nicolas (The party's own priest, left ashore at Port Sardina during the two years; voted against joining the westward expedition)
  • Lieutenant Blaque (Of the "Amada"; met the party at the gangplank before summoning them to Major Hubert)
  • Salter (Southern sailor, formerly of the "Advance," prized for his woodworking skill and loyalty; will join the expedition)
  • Bertin (Harbourmaster of Port Sardina; Major Hubert directed the party to him for trade goods and general supplies)
  • Islander slave (Translator fluent in Common and Islander, located by Major Hubert for the expedition)
  • Pocket (Noddy's seagull familiar)
  • Governor Francisco (Mentioned)
  • Smithers (Major Hubert's aide, mentioned)
  • A'Wood (Mentioned — the elf of uncertain loyalties the party once helped escape north through the smuggling tunnel; Major Hubert agreed to check Port Sardina's records for any sign of his passing through)

Locations

  • Port Sardina
    • The Treasure Hunt (tavern, gambling den, inn)
    • The Fort
  • The Capitol (Visited in flashback)
    • The Crow's Nest (tavern)
      • Smuggling tunnel
      • Cellar (including hidden chamber with skeleton)
  • Unnamed island with Southern encampment site & Blackstone Peak (Revisited in flashback)
  • The "Amada" (cutter ship, captained by De Guzman with Lieutenant Blaque as its only other officer)
  • Port Zylos (Planned first stop for the new mission)

Conflicts

  • Past Two Years (Recap):
    • Knick Nab suffered a serious illness aboard the "Amada."
    • The "Amada" engaged in perilous, though largely unsuccessful, excursions south.
    • Mistress Mary and Mistress Clara were forcibly taken from The Crow's Nest by Priests of the Divinity of Two after an argument.
    • Internal party debate regarding an attempt to acquire another Medallion by testing an outsider in the hidden chamber (ultimately voted down as too dangerous and unkind).
  • Present Session:
    • Mani's expressed anger and vow to rescue Mary and Clara.
    • Major Hubert's frustration with the North's purely defensive strategy against the South, and the party's argument that they were better suited to seeking answers than standing picket.
    • Debate over whether to bring Nicolas on the westward expedition (voted against).
    • Debate over infiltrating a Southern port to seize a wind blower directly, versus sailing west into the unknown (resolved to investigate Port Zylos for Southern activity first, tabling a direct raid for later).
    • Discussion and decision-making regarding Major Hubert's proposed mission to the West.

Learnings and Discussions

  • The PCs are now level 2 and detailed their new abilities and skills.
  • The war against the South continues, with the North maintaining a defensive posture. The South utilizes "wind blowers," individuals capable of manipulating weather or ship speed.
  • Mistress Mary and Clara were taken from The Crow's Nest by Priests of the Divinity of Two, who were searching for the PCs, nearly two years prior. Stick Stab was confirmed as the red-headed man who led the priests there.
  • Major Hubert commissioned the party for an unofficial mission: to travel west aboard the "Amada" with Captain De Guzman to seek answers regarding the South's power and the missing Captain Maynard/Barrows.
  • The expedition will include the six PCs, Randolph the Chronicler, Salter, and an Islander slave translator.
  • The first destination is Port Zylos.
  • Randolph the Chronicler's condition for joining is that all information gathered will be shared with The Academy; he answers to neither North nor South, only to the Academy's mission of gathering and disseminating knowledge to all. The Academy holds an annual "Dispersal," its next due the first day of spring, at which newly gathered knowledge is shared with legitimate scholars from anywhere in the world.
  • The party discussed the potential risks of the Chronicler learning their secrets.
  • Captain De Guzman is a skilled but reckless captain; his ship, the "Amada," is fast and maneuverable but lightly armed and will be crowded with the new additions.
  • Major Hubert will investigate why the Divinity of Two is searching for the PCs; the party judged it too risky to send Nicolas to ask around the capital himself, since it might reveal that they remain in the area. Pocket's own recollection, when questioned, confirmed that two priests and a red-headed man had been watching the docks the day the party first sailed away from the capital, suggesting the Divinity's interest in them predates the later raid on The Crow's Nest, though its cause is still unknown.
  • Captain De Guzman's grandfather and Werner's grandfather learned to sail together in their youth, both taking to whaling and trade; it was De Guzman's own father who broke with that tradition for a naval career. House De Guzman is itself a lesser Northern family, sworn to naval service rather than trade, and has long fallen under the De Rendals' sway. De Guzman's grandfather disappeared around the time De Guzman was born, and family legend tells of a single ship that once returned from a similar westward expedition, only to sink shortly after.
  • Rune paper, needed for Riu's plan to inscribe spells as runes readable by non-casters, is unavailable in Port Sardina and will have to be sought in Port Zylos.
  • Distinct regional accents exist across the world, including a recognizable Southern accent; Salter, a Southerner serving with the party, is one example.
  • Holy water can be purchased from the Church and used to bless items, including shot, against supernatural threats such as the wind blowers.

Items Gained

  • Werner De Rendal: Promotion to Senior Midshipman.
  • The Party:
    • A new mission to travel west on the "Amada."
    • 12 gold pieces from Major Hubert for supplies.
    • Access to naval stores for armaments (blunderbusses, granados, pistols, shot, powder).
    • Smoke bombs (to be requisitioned).
    • Priest robes for Cosimo (to be provided).
    • Potentially some Southern officer's uniforms (ordinary sailors' clothing does not differ enough to matter).
    • A letter of authority/courtesy from Major Hubert, for use if the "Amada" is stopped or redirected, or if De Guzman is killed.
    • The name of a contact in Port Zylos (to be provided by Major Hubert).
    • The services of Salter for the expedition.
    • An Islander slave translator, located by Major Hubert.
    • Randolph the Chronicler agreed to join the expedition.
    • A keg of rum and a bag of spices, arranged as a goodwill gift for the "Amada"'s crew.
    • A stock of holy water, intended to bless their shot before departure (to be acquired).
    • Various mundane supplies, food, trade goods (to be acquired).

Items Lost

  • Werner De Rendal: His third harpoon (lost during the previous two years).
  • Cosimo: All his gambling money, save for one month's living expenses (lost at The Treasure Hunt during the previous two years).