Chapter 6 - Session 4

Nets, Clams, and the Scourge of the Heretic

Events and Actions

The session opened with the party still anchored near the wreck of "The Divine Rite" in The Shatters, finalising preparations for their underwater recovery operation. Drawing on his own earlier test dive, Riu shared with Noddy the trick for equalising the ear pressure of a fast descent — knowledge Noddy would soon put to use. Noddy then tested the destructive potential of his vacuum spell by casting it at a shark directly from the jolly boat; the shark went limp and began to bleed, and the party was fairly confident they had killed it. The party rowed ashore to consult with Grantos. He confirmed that while he could keep the seas perfectly calm for their work, his powers did not extend to commanding sea creatures, the wind and air being his sole domain. Asked about the giant sea tortoises occasionally seen nearby, he explained they were normally docile — though they might bite defensively if crowded — and had long been a source of food that helped sustain him through his captivity. Grantos agreed to maintain calm waters and, when informed that Captain Mason's "The Fortnum" had been mapping The Shatters and might eventually find its way to the site, resolved to remain vigilant for approaching ships; he noted grimly that a Northern Navy vessel finding him would, at best, simply strand him here again and, at worst, re-enslave him.

Back aboard, the party briefly weighed more ambitious schemes — hauling the entire prow of the wreck to the surface, or dredging the debris field wholesale — before concluding both were impractical given the wreck's size and the ship's limited rigging. With the plan finalised, Cosimo constructed a net cage approximately eight feet on a side from the ship's cargo nets, framed with spare spars and weighted with cannonballs at the base, with a four-point harness rigged at the top and reinforced with a strength-enhancing spell. The netting was left open at the bottom so its flexible walls could drape and seal around whatever uneven terrain it settled on, whether bare seafloor or a wrecked ship's deck. The crew rigged the ship's yard arm and capstan as a crane to raise and lower the cage, with Cosimo directing as the ship's rigger, and a barrel on a separate line was prepared to receive recovered goods. Cosimo also cast smell-obscuring illusions on the divers to reduce their chances of attracting sharks.

After a full night's rest to restore their magical reserves, the operation began the following morning, targeting the debris field of the spilled treasure chest. Noddy directed the cage from the surface using his underwater vision while Cosimo worked the crane. The cage landed slightly off target, but Riu dove down and, using his supernatural freedom of movement underwater, pushed the cage directly over the pile of scattered coins and valuables. Werner De Rendal then made a spectacular diving entry, harpoons and all, and joined Riu inside the cage, helping muscle it fully into position over the pile. Werner then grabbed a single shiny coin off the top and swam straight back to the surface with it — a decision that earned him some ribbing once it turned out he'd been sitting on a magic item the whole time. Riu remained below and set about methodically gathering coins, gems, and jewellery from the seafloor into the barrel. Noddy swam down to join him, taking a minor concussion hit as he brushed past one of the sharks on the way and discovering firsthand that shark hide is rough and scratchy rather than smooth — the startled shark seemed equally unsure what to make of him. He then kept it and its circling companions at bay from inside the cage, poking out at them through the netting with his magic rope. Before signalling to surface, Riu checked the broken treasure chest itself for a false bottom or hidden compartment; finding nothing, and with the chest too large to fit in the barrel regardless, he left it behind in the debris field. After roughly ten minutes of collection, Riu untied the barrel and gave its rope several sharp tugs; up on deck, Cosimo read the subtle, rhythmic strain of a hundred feet of hemp cordage as only an experienced rigger could, recognised the signal to haul away, and had the sailors bring the barrel up heavy with recovered treasure.

Rather than ascending immediately, Riu and Noddy set about moving the cage over to the giant clam nearby. Shifting it proved far harder while it sat on the seabed than it had while still being lowered, so Noddy used his ventriloquism spell to call up to Cosimo to raise it a few feet off the bottom; freed of the ground, Riu was then able to muscle the cage into position directly above the clam. Peering inside, Riu could see something tangled within the clam's interior—a looped cord or pendant of some kind—beside an enormous pearl, larger than a man's head and oddly patterned as though painted, though it drew less interest than the stranger prize. His attempt to teleport the object out failed, as though the item resisted the magic. Noddy then threaded his spider silk magic rope into the clam's opening and looped it around the object. The clam snapped shut on the rope. They tied the other end of the rope to the cage and signalled the crew to raise it. As the cage was winched upward, it dragged the enormous clam off the seafloor. Under the tremendous strain, the clam eventually released the rope—and the object within—before slowly sinking back to the bottom, spitting a jet of water at them as parting commentary. Three sharks followed the cage up as it ascended but did not attack.

Back on deck, both Riu and Noddy coughed up considerable quantities of water. Noddy, in high spirits, enthusiastically dropped several red-hot cannonballs into the sea until the officers put a stop to the waste of ammunition. The treasure tipped from the barrel onto the deck amounted to approximately 464 gold pieces' worth of mixed coins, gems, and jewellery. The single coin Werner had grabbed from the pile turned out to be the Twin-Faced Doubloon—a holy relic of the Divinity of Two, made of combined gold and silver, bearing a sun face on one side and a moon face on the other. Werner determined that wearing it sun-side out grants a substantial bonus (+20) to projecting authority, while the moon side fosters trust. He noted that priests of the Divinity are commonly seen wearing similar medallions in exactly this fashion, switching sides depending on the occasion. The object from the clam was the Scourge of the Heretic: a two-tailed whip with a finely crafted wooden handle and silver pommel, one cord ending in a silver sunburst and the other in a silver crescent moon. The sunburst lash inflicts burning pain well beyond what a physical whip should; the moon lash has a strangely soothing quality. A hook near the pommel lets one lash be clipped back so only the other trails free. Noddy struck himself with it once to test the claim, and confirmed the pain was far sharper than the whip's size would suggest. When both are used together they create a cycle of torment and restoration that prevents death but makes survival unbearable. The senior officers, impressed by the haul, proposed that Riu, Werner, and Noddy each receive an extra share of the loot for their uncommon feats of valour — a decision left for the full body of senior officers to formalise later. The whole crew cheered as the loot was revealed, clapping the divers on the back.

That evening the party brought Grantos food and rum—his finest meal in perhaps forty years—and shared what they had found. Grantos recognised the Scourge of the Heretic at once, confirming it had been used on him and others throughout his captivity, and that it was a unique item passed among the clergy as needed. It had been brought aboard "The Divine Rite" specifically for his punishment and motivation. The party also recalled that the other priest who had survived the original voyage with Grantos—the one who did not perish alongside the Diad—was named Abiyard, now risen to become one of the Divinity of Two's Twin Eminences. Mani, deeply moved, vowed the scourge would never touch Grantos again. The party also discussed whether the Diad they already possessed could be used to break Grantos's magical binding; the answer appeared to be no. Asked to describe the Diad that bound him, Grantos could only offer a hazy image—something spherical and ringed, like a small world—unable to recall more after so many years. All recovered items were placed with the Quartermaster under lock and key, with the Scourge of the Heretic retained by Noddy pending a formal share allocation among the senior officers. Cosimo, meanwhile, entertained the crew with a dramatic account of the dive, accompanied by musical accompaniment on the fiddle.

The following morning the party turned their attention to the second magical location identified by Cosimo's earlier ritual: the prow of the sunken "Divine Rite." Noddy prepared a barrier spell capable of conjuring a pocket of dense, breathable air anchored to the seabed, but held it in reserve as an emergency measure rather than commit to maintaining it throughout the dive. Cosimo's crane work landed the cage squarely on the prow on the first attempt. Riu went down first, weighting himself with a cannonball for a faster descent rather than swimming down slowly as before; the rapid drop built painful pressure in his ears that he only barely managed to relieve before reaching bottom. His projected light then drove the octopus sheltering there away into the wreck. Finding little of note on the exposed deck, he opened a hatch and descended into the hold to search inside. Noddy followed soon after, riding a cannonball he had heated to a glowing 500°F and adjusting to the fast descent without trouble this time; he remained on the prow beneath the net, harrying the water with his magic rope. Outside, however, three sharks closed in more aggressively than before. Noddy brandished the cannonball and then unleashed his vacuum spell on the nearest attacker—a devastating hit that sent a plume of water geysering up to the surface, visible from the deck. The blast churned up such a thick cloud of bubbles and silt that Werner, swimming down to help, found himself completely blind and had to turn back before reaching bottom. Seeing the attack from inside the hold, Riu cast a shock bolt upward at the sharks. The electricity arced through the seawater, striking the sharks but also propagating back through the water to shock both Riu and Noddy painfully. Riu was knocked down with burns and Noddy was stunned and thrown to the seafloor. Recovering, Noddy cast another vacuum spell at a second shark, again suffering concussive feedback. The combination of lightning and collapsing vacuums proved too much for the sharks, and all three scattered and fled. The session ended with the sharks driven off and Riu inside the sunken hold of the "Divine Rite," the Diad still not yet recovered.

NPCs & Creatures

Grantos: The ancient Islander wind mage bound to the wreck of "The Divine Rite." He kept the seas calm for the party's diving operations and identified the Scourge of the Heretic, confirming it had been used on him throughout his 40-year captivity.
Giant Sea Tortoises ("Kota"): Enormous tortoises that inhabit the waters around Grantos's wreck. Normally docile, they may bite defensively if crowded. Grantos identified them as a food source that has helped sustain him through his long captivity.
Giant Clam: A massive clam on the seafloor near the treasure chest debris, found to contain the Scourge of the Heretic tangled within it alongside an enormous, oddly patterned pearl.
Sharks: Multiple sharks circled the cage and menaced the divers during both dives. Three attacked aggressively during the second dive at the prow before being driven off by Noddy's vacuum spells and Riu's shock bolt.
Giant Octopus: Present at the prow of the sunken "Divine Rite." It was driven away from its position by Riu's projected light and retreated into the wreck.

Locations

The Shatters: The entire session took place within this treacherous field of shattered rock spires, the former site of Spider Island. The party remained anchored near the towering spire from which the wreck of "The Divine Rite" is suspended.
The wreck of "The Divine Rite": Two areas of the submerged forward section were worked this session. The first was the debris field around the spilled treasure chest on the seafloor, roughly 100 feet down. The second was the prow of the sunken ship itself, which sits on the seabed and includes an accessible hatch leading into the forward hold. Cosimo's earlier ritual had identified four sites of magical interest within the wreck in total; with these two now searched, two more remain unexplored.

Conflicts

At the very start of the session, Noddy tested his vacuum spell on a shark directly from the jolly boat; the shark went limp and began to bleed, leaving the party fairly confident they had killed it.
During the second dive, three sharks attacked aggressively outside the cage at the prow. Noddy's Total Cavitational Collapse spell severely injured the first shark, but the spell's own shockwaves knocked Noddy down and stunned him. Riu's shock bolt struck the second shark but propagated through the seawater, knocking Riu down with burns and a minus-15 injury to activity. Noddy's second vacuum spell badly injured a third shark, again with concussive feedback. Even sheltered inside the wreck's hold, Riu felt both of Noddy's blasts and was knocked down in turn each time. All three sharks then fled the area. Neither Riu nor Noddy sustained permanent injury beyond their temporary wounds.

Learnings and Discussions

The Twin-Faced Doubloon is a holy relic of the Divinity of Two. Worn with the sun face outward, it grants a substantial bonus (+20) to projecting authority. Worn with the moon face outward, it fosters trust in those the wearer addresses. Priests of the Divinity are routinely seen using it in exactly this way—sun out for sermons and pronouncements, moon out for private counsel.
The Scourge of the Heretic is a unique item passed among the Divinity of Two's clergy as required, not assigned to any one priest; it was specifically brought aboard "The Divine Rite" to punish and motivate Grantos, and has been used on him and many others throughout the church's history. The sun lash inflicts burning pain beyond its physical impact; the moon lash has a soothing quality. Used together, sun and moon create a cycle of torment and restoration that keeps a victim conscious and suffering indefinitely.
The other priest who survived the original voyage alongside Grantos was named Abiyard, who has since risen to become one of the Divinity of Two's Twin Eminences.
The Diad already in the party's possession does not appear to have the power to break another person's magical binding. Grantos will not be freed simply by recovering a different Diad—the specific Diad that binds him must be found. Grantos's own memory of that Diad is hazy, but he described it as spherical and ringed, like a small world. He also revealed he once tried to leave the wreck under his own power; the attempt nearly killed him, underscoring how lethal the binding truly is.
Electricity propagates through seawater in all directions. Casting a shock bolt underwater affects everyone nearby, not only the intended target.
Noddy's vacuum spell (referred to as "Total Cavitational Collapse" by the party) generates powerful concussive shockwaves that injure nearby party members in addition to the target.
Spellcasting underwater is possible for those breathing water, but noticeably harder than on the surface; a caster must recast their water-breathing spell before it lapses or risk being caught without air mid-dive.
Cosimo can, with three to seven minutes of ritual preparation, roughly triple the duration of another caster's spell, at something like a 75–80% chance of success — a capability he offered up for future dives but which went untested this session.
Captain Mason's "The Fortnum" has been mapping The Shatters extensively and may eventually reach the site of the wreck. Grantos was advised to watch for it—the Northern Navy would not leave him at liberty; best case, they would simply strand him here again, worst case, they would re-enslave him.
The giant sea tortoises around Grantos's wreck are normally docile and have long been a food source for him, though they may bite defensively if crowded.
Power points recover slowly—only 40% of a caster's total can be restored in a single night's sleep of eight hours—meaning successive days of heavy magical work will gradually deplete the spellcasters.

Items Gained

Approximately 464 gold pieces' worth of mixed coins, gems, and jewellery (recovered from the spilled treasure chest debris field).
Twin-Faced Doubloon: A combined gold-and-silver holy medallion of the Divinity of Two bearing a sun face on one side and a moon face on the other, with two small holes near the edge for wearing on a cord. Currently held in the ship's strongroom pending share allocation.
Scourge of the Heretic: A two-tailed whip with a finely crafted wooden handle, silver pommel with an affixing hook, one cord ending in a silver sunburst and the other in a silver crescent moon. Currently held by Noddy pending share allocation.

Items Lost

Several cannonballs (used as descent weights and heated as shark deterrents, including a number dropped into the sea by Noddy before being stopped).
The treasure chest itself: checked for a false bottom or hidden compartment and found to hold nothing further; too large to fit in the barrel, it was left behind in the debris field.
A pearl larger than a man's head, seen inside the giant clam alongside the Scourge of the Heretic but not recovered before the clam sank back to the bottom.