Chapter 5 - Session 9

Of Figureheads, Faith, and Future Voyages

Events and Actions

The party settled on the operating philosophy for their crew: they would present themselves as explorers and "spicy adventurers" rather than declared pirates, adopting a pirate-style share structure for pay — three shares for the most senior officers and party members, two for other officers and senior hands, one for everyone else — well above standard naval pay, alongside a generous signing bonus for new hands.

The session began in the workshop of the master carver, Old Man Rayhar, sorting out what to do with his shop full of rare, magical oak barrel staves—remnants of the holy water barrels recovered from the Father's Fury and confirmed magical by a prior detect magic. Rayhar, a local Islander, had never handled a strain of oak like it before; none grows on the island at all, so the wood could only have been carried across from the mainland aboard ship. His 27 remaining staves were each only about four feet long and fairly narrow, but no less prized for it. Rayhar explained that he had never carved the ship's original figurehead; it came with the vessel, and all he had done was carve the skulls that adorn her hull and "correct" the crude original figurehead into something finer. The party weighed several notions for the leftover staves—a gun stock, tentacles that might let the ship grapple enemy vessels, even a face to let the ship communicate—but reached no consensus and left the wood to Rayhar's discretion.

After a lengthy discussion, the party decided to commission a new figurehead in the likeness of Mistress Clara for their ship, now called The Medallion. Riu asked Rayhar to carve a life-sized relief of himself from the magical wood, giving his true name—Infurious Montesigna the Third—and even levitating before the old carver to prove he was no common man, but he could not adequately explain the source of his power, and Rayhar deferred judgment—agreeing he would gladly carve an ordinary likeness of Riu, but not from the precious staves, until Riu understood himself better. Later in the session, after an impassioned speech from Mani recounting his history with Mistress Clara—complete with poems he had written for her (he recited one in full: "Island beauty comes, healer of my heart and soul, lost and now return"), letters recounting his adventures addressed to her, and his cherished main gauche dagger, which he calls "Mr. Stone" and keeps in his off hand to defend his heart, calling it the first gift he received since the adventure began—Rayhar agreed to use the special wood to carve a small, personal figurine of her for him to keep.

Returning to their ship, the party began moving their most trusted people—Leela and De Torres among them—over from their previous ship, the Bull, to help ready The Medallion for the crew's arrival the next day. Their newly hired quartermaster, Leopold, was waiting for them at the gangplank with a gift of fine rum to toast his new post. He presented them with a draft of ship's articles for governing the crew, requested a 10-silver advance to purchase initial supplies—logging it as the first entry in a new ledger the moment it changed hands—and pressed the party to settle on a command structure before the crew arrived, noting that subordinate roles such as carpenter's mate, or whether Tyler would serve as Mani's mate in the master-at-arms role, remained undecided. Knick Nab separately asked Leopold to find out where on the island gold could be exchanged for coin. The party also searched the captain's cabin for charts, finding a locked cubby (its key missing) full of maps covering the waters to the north and the mainland coasts, with little reliable detail on The Shatters and only sparse, sketchy hints of the seas farther west. Riu, meanwhile, resolved to give every new hand a physical once they returned from the Elves, quietly intending to work a minor curative spell into each examination over the following weeks. The party then planned their next moves, deciding to visit Nicolas before heading to their scheduled meeting with the local Elves.

At his cave shrine—its statue of Handsome Gulliver Gold freshly cleaned and repainted for the occasion—they found Nicolas sober but in a state of religious mania, preaching to a small congregation of two townsfolk, including their own new hand, Robin, a former poacher. Pressed on doctrine, Nicolas insisted the church itself is not the Mother and Father but merely the conduit by which the faithful reach them, and admitted that this very distinction, together with his growing conviction that the church's teachings were incomplete, was enough to see him branded a heretic if he preached it in the Capitol. The party questioned him on the nature of holy water, learning only that it originates from the basement of the main cathedral in the Capitol, produced by priests trained to that specific purpose from a young age; Nicolas himself had instead been chosen young for service aboard naval ships, and so could offer nothing more on how it was actually made. He did recall having seen church clergy work lesser wonders—turning carved wood into a flexing, grasping arm among them—and had heard old tales of pillars of light called down against the church's enemies, though never witnessed such a thing himself. Nicolas confessed he had no way to grow his following, since the sailors and townsfolk who might carry useful tales gathered in the taverns and inns he no longer dared enter, having sworn off drink at Gulliver Gold's own command; when pressed to send one of his two congregants there in his stead, the man refused, unconvinced. To aid their own intelligence-gathering efforts, Cosimo performed a powerful ritual, creating a waiting illusion of Handsome Gulliver Gold designed to appear before Nicolas's congregation within a day and, at a spoken command phrase, charge them to gather more of their fellows and carry word of a coming mission—planting the seed of a following that might, in time, surface useful information about the church and its powers on the party's behalf.

Mani challenged Knick Nab to a friendly sparring match—first with swords, then bare-fisted—and was soundly beaten both times, enough to leave him asking to be taught swordsmanship in earnest. Afterward, the party met with Mistress Clara to formally ask her permission for the figurehead, which she happily granted once Knick Nab explained that the ship's new name honored the medallion that had first bound the party together—a symbol, as he put it, of their destiny and their opposition to the tyranny of the two. The visit continued with a round of introductions in which each of the party settled on a shipboard role for her benefit: Mani as leader of the vanguard, Riu as ship's surgeon, and Cosimo, to everyone's confusion, as "master of fog." Mani then escorted her on a walk, which included the visit to Rayhar and culminated in a successful romantic encounter.

Finally, the party journeyed to the Elven homestead, with Leela accompanying them. Abedneith greeted them by speaking directly into Knick Nab's mind, an intrusion so unpleasant that Knick Nab objected; Abedneith apologized and promised restraint in the future. The meeting proved fruitful, as the groups exchanged vital information, with the party letting the Elves speak first and deliberately holding back Mistress Clara's eyewitness account of the Shatters as a card to play later if needed. The party revealed the true cause of The Shatters: the destruction of a Totem of Earth on Spider Island by the Divinity of Two, including the giant spiders and gorillas that apparently doomed the church's first expedition there before it returned in greater force—a revelation that led the party to debate, without reaching a conclusion, whether whoever destroyed the totem had known the mission would cost their own lives, recalling that previously recovered church writings had spoken of an "imperative" to destroy such totems regardless of the cost. In return, the Elves disclosed the existence of a secret society called "The Triad," marked by a sigil of three lines, which opposed the Divinity and counted Major Hubert, Captain Maynard, and Captain Barrows among its members; the Elves stressed that the society was so guarded that even its own members knew little of one another, communicating so circumspectly that they could not always be sure their messages had gotten through. They also provided the last known location of Captain Barrows' ship, the "Advance"—it was sighted arriving at a remote and dangerous location called Birdcrown Isle two years prior and never seen leaving—and revealed that a small band of their own kin, marooned on a smaller island nearby, keep a distant watch on Birdcrown Isle and might, in time, be worth rescuing. Furnished with coordinates, the party weighed a voyage to Birdcrown Isle, months away, against a return to the ruins of Spider Island at the heart of The Shatters, only a few weeks' sail and within the expertise of their newly hired pilot Gam, and weighed the prospect of recoverable treasure aboard the wrecked Divine Rite against the risk that the Shatters had become a breeding ground for kraken. Riu argued for making directly for Birdcrown Isle and Barrows, but the party ultimately voted, by majority, to investigate Spider Island first.

NPCs & Creatures

Old Man Rayhar: The master carver of Drowned Man's Port.
Leopold: The newly hired Quartermaster for The Medallion.
Nicolas: The heretical priest, now sober but fanatically devoted to "Brother Gold".
Robin: A newly hired crewman and former poacher, found attending Nicolas's sermon.
Mistress Clara: Agreed to be the model for the new figurehead.
Leela: Accompanied the party on their visit to the Elves.
De Torres: The party's Master of Sail, moved over from the Bull to The Medallion alongside Leela.
Abedneith, Coralon, and Hortaf: The Elves who provided the party with intelligence, with Abedneith speaking for the group.
Mentioned: Captain Maynard, Captain Barrows, Major Hubert, Captain De Guzman (Duzman), Grantos (a navigator aboard the Divine Rite who helped guide it through the Maelstrom), 'Rattlebone' Jones (recalled by Rayhar as having once employed a "wind witch"), Gam (the party's pilot, whose knowledge of The Shatters helped decide their next destination), Tyler (the ship's Sergeant-at-Arms, whose place in the command structure Leopold questioned).

Locations

Drowned Man's Port: The primary location for the first half of the session.
- Old Man Rayhar's Workshop: Also holds a table of the carver's smaller studies and personal pieces, not carved from wood but from some other material—among them a hulking, one-eyed, horned creature, a winged four-legged beast with a birdlike head, and a mermaid seated upon a rock with flowing hair.
- The Docks, where The Medallion is moored.
- The Medallion's Captain's Cabin: Contains a wall of lockable cubbies, its key missing, holding a chart collection of clearly mixed origin—northern, southern, and hand-drawn—reasonably detailed for the waters north and along the mainland coasts, but sparse and contradictory on The Shatters and offering only sketchy, unreliable hints of the seas farther west.
- The Hospital, where Mistress Clara works.
Nicolas's Cave Shrine: A cave in the hills above the port, centered on a statue of Handsome Gulliver Gold—freshly cleaned and repainted for the occasion—with log benches for a small congregation.
The Elven Homestead: A secluded dwelling in the hills.
Mentioned:
- Birdcrown Isle: A mysterious, uncharted island far to the southwest and the last known location of the "Advance." The Elves' distant watchers describe it as roughly circular, ringed by sheer cliffs with jagged, tooth-like peaks that look almost like a deliberate palisade, and home to enormous birds — some apparently ridden by the native islanders.
- The Elves' Marooned Outpost: A small, unnamed island near Birdcrown Isle where a handful of Elves are marooned and keep a distant watch on it.
- Spider Island: Now known as The Shatters, the location of the destroyed Totem of Earth.
- Port of Zylos: Where Major Hubert died.

Conflicts

Riu attempted to convince Old Man Rayhar that he was a worthy subject for a carving from the magical wood, even levitating before him as proof of his exceptional nature. Rayhar, who claimed to have known others who commanded the wind, pressed him on whether that was the source of his gift; Riu could only say the power came from within his own mind, and the carver remained unconvinced without a clearer account of where it truly originated.
Mani challenged Knick Nab to a sparring match, first with swords and then bare-fisted, and was decisively beaten both times—so thoroughly with fists that Knick Nab could knock him down, set him back on his feet, and knock him down again—enough to leave him asking to be taught swordsmanship.
Nicolas pressed one of his two congregants to venture into the taverns and inns on his behalf to gather word of the church and other powers; the man refused, unconvinced by the priest's pleas.
Abedneith greeted the party by speaking directly into Knick Nab's mind; the sudden intrusion left him deeply unsettled, and Abedneith apologized, promising restraint in the future.

Learnings and Discussions

Crew Identity and Shares: The party decided their crew would operate as explorers and "spicy adventurers" rather than declared pirates, while leaving the door open to opportunistic piracy. Pay follows a pirate-style share system — three shares for the most senior officers and party members, two for other officers and senior hands, one for everyone else — rather than a stricter naval scale.
Ship's Articles: Leopold presented a draft set of articles for the crew to formally adopt, covering command and governance, division of spoils, discipline, duties and responsibilities, conduct in battle, matters of faith, treatment of outsiders, and the ship's stance on slavery — each with multiple traditions to choose between, from strict naval hierarchy to full pirate democracy. Sample clauses included settling any quarrel between shipmates before the quartermaster and fighting it out ashore rather than aboard, a lashing or forfeited share for sleeping on watch, and a ban on smoking or striking sparks in the hold. Leopold, as Quartermaster, will manage supplies and act as the crew's representative and go-between.
Command Structure: Leopold pressed the party to formalize roles beyond the officer titles they had already claimed, flagging subordinate positions — such as who would serve as carpenter's mate, or whether Tyler would act as Mani's mate in the master-at-arms role — that remained undecided and would need to be settled before the crew arrived.
Magical Wood: Rayhar's 27 remaining oak barrel staves, recovered from the Father's Fury itself, are each roughly four feet long and fairly narrow, but an unfamiliar strain of white oak exceptionally suited for fine carving — detail his blade can always find more of, no matter how sharp. No oak of any kind grows on the island, so the wood can only have come from the mainland. Rayhar agreed to use a piece of it for a small figure of Mistress Clara for Mani, though he left the fate of the remaining boards to his own judgment.
Wind Witches: Rayhar recalled once carving a memorial figurine, at a wind witch's request, depicting a woman the witch had loved and lost when her home island was destroyed; the witch had at one point been employed by one of the pirate captains of the council, possibly 'Rattlebone' Jones.
The Triad: The party learned of a secret society within the Northern Kingdom, marked by a sigil of three lines, that questions the authority of the Divinity of Two. Major Hubert, Captain Maynard, and Captain Barrows were all members or believers. The Elves described it as extraordinarily guarded — its members reportedly know little of one another and communicate so circumspectly that they cannot always be sure their messages have gotten through.
The "Advance": The party was given the last known location of Captain Barrows' ship: Birdcrown Isle, a remote island to the southwest which the ship reached two years ago and never left. The Elves could offer a precise latitude but only a rough longitude, and were confident the ship had not slipped away unseen. A small band of the Elves' own kin are marooned on a smaller island nearby and keep a distant watch on Birdcrown Isle; the Elves suggested they might, in time, be worth rescuing.
Fate of Key Figures: The party learned that Major Hubert died a year prior in Zylos under suspicious circumstances and that Captain De Guzman (Duzman) has completely disappeared. They noted a puzzling gap in the timeline: the heretic bounty naming the party was issued roughly three years ago, yet Hubert remained easily found in Zylos until his death only a year ago.
The Ship That Attacked Them: Mistress Clara further identified the vessel that destroyed the Totem of Earth as a three-masted frigate originally called the King's Right, seized from the King's Navy and rechristened the Divine Rite by the Divinity of Two. Aboard were at least two clergy and a navigator named Grantos, who guided the ship through the Maelstrom.
A Suicide Mission?: Recalling the wording of previously recovered church writings on the "imperative" to destroy such totems regardless of cost, the party debated whether whoever destroyed the Totem of Earth had known the mission would kill them. Some argued the church's agents were most likely zealots willing to accept that price, but the group reached no firm conclusion.
Holy Water: Nicolas confirmed that holy water comes from the basement of the Capitol's cathedral, produced by priests trained to that specific purpose from a young age; he himself was instead chosen young for naval service, and so remains ignorant of the actual process of its creation. He also insisted the church itself is not the Mother and Father but only the conduit by which the faithful reach them, and recalled having witnessed clergy work minor wonders — including turning carved wood into a flexing, grasping arm — along with old tales of pillars of light called down against the church's enemies.
Next Destination: Weighing a voyage to Birdcrown Isle, months away, against a return to the epicenter of The Shatters (the former Spider Island), only a few weeks' sail and well within the expertise of their newly hired pilot Gam, the party also weighed whether the wrecked Divine Rite might still hold recoverable treasure there against the risk that the Shatters had become a breeding ground for kraken. Riu argued for heading directly to Birdcrown Isle, but the party voted by majority to make for The Shatters first, keeping Birdcrown Isle as a longer-term goal.

Items Gained

Detailed information and coordinates for the location of Birdcrown Isle.
Knowledge of the secret society known as "The Triad", including its three-line sigil.
The name of the ship that destroyed the Totem of Earth — the Divine Rite, formerly the King's Right — and knowledge of Grantos, the navigator who guided it through the Maelstrom.
A commitment from Old Man Rayhar to carve a new figurehead of Mistress Clara for The Medallion.
A commitment from Old Man Rayhar to carve a small, personal figurine of Mistress Clara for Mani out of the magical oak wood.
A gift of fine rum from Leopold, shared aboard ship to toast his appointment as Quartermaster.

Items Lost

10 silver pieces, given to Leopold as an advance for ship's stores.