Chapter 6 - Session 6

Barnacles, Bonfires, and a Three-Master to Windward

Events and Actions

The session began mid-narrative, with earlier events summarized before recording commenced. The Medallion had departed the Shatters heading southwest toward Drowned Man's Port, sending a decoy off in the opposite direction using Cosimo's illusion magic to throw off any pursuit, when the crew discovered her hull was encrusted with giant barnacles — dinner-plate sized and still growing — from the Totem-infused waters near the site of Spider Island. The ship's speed had dropped to almost nothing. Before settling on careening, the party had tried removing the growth directly — sending swimmers over the side to pry barnacles off by hand and trying shock bolts against them — but neither method made a real dent in growth this size.

The party theorized that the barnacles had attached while the Medallion was becalmed near the Shatters, then grew to extraordinary size from the concentrated Essence in those waters. Two possibilities were debated: that these were a distinct species native to the Totem island waters, or that ordinary barnacles had been transformed by the same forces that made everything on Spider Island grow large. They noted that The Fortnum — still somewhere behind them — had been in the same waters and likely faced the same problem, potentially slowing its pursuit.

Leela was consulted about the growth patterns of her island. She confirmed that large growth was simply normal there, that big animals were kept outside the great wall, and could offer no clear explanation for why it occurred. Asked separately about trade with neighboring islanders, she said the closest ones were not good people — hungry enough, by her account, to eat each other, let alone strangers. The course of action was decided: rather than limping toward Drowned Man's Port in this state, the party would return to the Isle of Sands and careen the ship on a remote beach well clear of New Sardinia and the rest of the Northern presence on the island's eastern coast.

Word of the destination spread among the crew — many recognized New Sardinia by name and reputation, and some recalled that the settlement had originally been a Southern outpost before the North seized it, confirming what the party already suspected from the terms of the truce. After about a week's sailing, Noddy, on watch, made out a wide, dark landmass on the horizon at sunset: the island. The approach was made carefully, creeping through the Shatters in darkness and rounding the island's southern coast by daylight. Night travel meant crawling along, taking constant soundings and repeatedly redirecting around obstacles in the Shatters' unpredictable waters. The party knew from their charts of a river mouth near the island's northern delta, with two old ships known to be further upriver, but ruled it out as a landing site — it lay too close to New Sardinia and the well-travelled northern shipping lane — in favor of the emptier, better-covered waters to the south. The western coast proved suitable — an open beach with a sandy bottom, trees large enough to anchor ropes to, and no visible shipping traffic. The party sent boats ahead to inspect the bottom, confirmed it clean, and brought the Medallion in on a high tide.

The careening operation took the better part of two days. Everything came off the ship: all cannons, powder and shot, stores, and livestock. With the ship lightened, she was pulled over by ropes run to the shore trees and anchors set further out in the water. For a crew normally confined aboard ship, the chance to work ashore lifted spirits despite the labor involved. The exposed hull was dense with barnacles, but the growth proved fresh — it had not yet bored deep into the wood, and stripping it clean was straightforward once underway. Cannon were repositioned on shore to cover the sea approaches, one facing inland, one each way along the beach. Mani organized the Marines into watches and defensive positions throughout the operation. Search parties sent up and down the coast found no fresh water; the land became inhospitable desert almost immediately beyond the shoreline scrub. Noddy and the lookout Jacopa split the exhausting watch from the ship's increasingly tilted mast, with Noddy's bird ranging the skies around the beach to extend the lookout further.

While the scraping was underway, Riu arranged a makeshift field station in a natural rock hollow nearby — books, instruments, and his octopus in its jar among the belongings moved ashore, with a broad flat rock serving as an operating table and a scooped-out hollow in the stone to sit and read in comfort. He noticed a faint hum or vibration, initially dismissed as background noise, coming from somewhere among his possessions. Casting Detect Essence over the area turned up no trace of active magic, but taking inventory of his belongings, he found the Diad felt unusually warm. He concluded, on reasonable grounds, that someone had used magic to probe for or detect the Diad's location just before he noticed the hum. He placed it immediately on a cord around his neck under his shirt, and reported his suspicion to Knick Nab. The captain acknowledged the warning, chose not to curtail the crew's coming celebration, and ordered quiet defensive preparations maintained.

Batu Batu studied the material being scraped from the hull and identified the giant barnacles as edible — comparable to goose barnacles, a delicacy in parts of the world prized for a flavor described as somewhere between lobster and clam, prepared by boiling briefly in seawater and peeling back the tough skin of the stalk for the meat inside. He noted that ordinary ship's barnacles were usually too small to bother eating, but goose barnacles of any real size fetched high prices precisely because they had to be hand-harvested from dangerous, wave-battered rocks, and that barnacles on this scale were used to make a rich seafood stew in some distant lands. He also cautioned that barnacles, like all filter feeders, absorb whatever is in the water around them, so a batch grown in fouled water could be dangerous to eat — though nothing suggested that was a concern here. Mani, initially skeptical, conceded the point. Batu Batu prepared barnacle chowder for the crew over the course of the operation.

The flooding tide refloated the Medallion to a cheer from the crew. That evening the party allowed a full celebration: bonfires on the beach, a roast pig, barnacle chowder, generous grog rations, and music. Knick Nab attempted a performance on his mandolin, singing along with some enthusiasm if limited success. A weather check that evening suggested the fair skies wouldn't hold — the glass was dropping, hinting at a storm by morning. Mani kept his Marines from the revelry; though a little disappointed, they accepted that they'd had an easier few days than the rest of the crew during the careening, and took him at his word that their own turn would come. He coordinated with Werner to keep the guns sighted out to sea through the night. The bonfires blazed visibly for miles in every direction.

The following morning, with the last cannon still being swung back aboard from the yard arm, the lookout Jacopa called from the crow's nest: a sail to the west. Knick Nab scrambled up to look. Through the spyglass — visibility reduced by the onset of rain — a three-masted frigate could be made out, making good speed on the westerly wind. Jacopa confirmed what the captain had already suspected: it was The Fortnum, Captain Mason's ship. A 24-gun frigate.

The party made sail at once, heading south — the most favorable point of sail given the prevailing westerly wind and the direction furthest from the Northern port. Cosimo raised a broad illusion to conceal the Medallion from visual observation. The tactical situation was recognized as difficult: The Fortnum had the weather gauge, meaning she was upwind and controlling the engagement. She could choose when to attack, and on her current course was traveling faster than the Medallion.

The Diad's warmth the previous day suggested The Fortnum had been tracking the party's position by magical means, making Cosimo's illusion of limited use against that particular advantage. Nevertheless it offered concealment from conventional observation, and the Medallion's freshly cleaned hull gave her speed she had not had since leaving the Shatters.

After a tense period of maneuvering in rain and poor visibility — the crow's nest calling down the Fortnum's bearing as she adjusted course — the party weighed their options. Simply holding their course risked being run down outright, since The Fortnum was faster on her present heading; angling away to run parallel might let them slip past unseen, but any turn would cost speed at the moment it was needed most, and a wrong guess would leave the Medallion caught flat-footed. Rather than accept that The Fortnum would dictate the engagement either way — and unwilling to be remembered as a captain who ran from a fight a second time — Knick Nab made a bold decision: hard starboard, turning the Medallion directly toward the Fortnum's path. It was the least expected move — coming about to cross ahead of the larger ship, trading the safety of distance for the possibility of gaining the wind. The maneuver cost speed through the turn but, if successful, would put the Medallion in a superior position.

As the ships closed, the crew stripped the Medallion for action: the bulkheads throughout the ship were struck down and stowed, turning her interior into one open space beneath the guns. Buckets of sand and water were set out across the deck for damage control, and more sand was scattered for traction, to keep footing sure once blood began to flow. The gun ports on the side facing the Fortnum were opened and the cannon loaded and run out — short-handed from the careening, the crew had enough hands to fully work only one side at a time. Swivel guns were shifted to the same side, and Mani sent his best shot up to the fighting tops for the range advantage, aware it was also the most exposed and unsteady post on the ship. He also lined up the Marines' muskets with orders to concentrate fire on the Fortnum's priests, reasoning from past experience that their divine protection could turn aside a few shots but not survive sustained fire, and armed himself with grenades and a lit slow match. Riu's assistant Jeffrey took up his post in the infirmary to await casualties. Passing the ship's figurehead on his way to the quarterdeck, Mani laid a hand on it and quietly asked the Three to keep her safe, promising to spill blood in her defense. With the gun crews unable to see through Cosimo's illusion well enough to aim, the party dropped it in the same moment they opened their gun ports, trading concealment for the ability to fight back. The session ended as the first shots of the engagement lit the rain — muzzle flashes from The Fortnum's bow chasers, a pause, and the sound of cannon.

NPCs & Creatures

Leela: Consulted about the unusual growth patterns of Spider Island. She confirmed large growth was simply normal there, that big animals were kept outside the great wall, and offered no explanation for its cause. Asked about trade with neighboring islanders, she described the closest ones as dangerous and hungry enough to eat their own kind, let alone strangers.
Batu Batu: Identified the giant barnacles as edible and prepared barnacle meals for the crew throughout the careening operation.
Jacopa: A crew member of the Medallion serving as lookout in the crow's nest. She spotted The Fortnum on the western horizon and identified it to the captain.
Jeffrey: Riu's surgeon's mate. He took up his post in the infirmary, ready for casualties, as the Medallion prepared for battle with The Fortnum.

Locations

Isle of Sands (western coast): The large landmass the party previously escaped from, whose Northern settlement, New Sardinia, sits on the river delta elsewhere on the island. New Sardinia was originally a Southern settlement before the North seized it, as some of the crew confirmed — a detail that matched what the party already suspected from the terms of the truce. The party careened the Medallion on a remote beach on the island's western side, well clear of New Sardinia and any other Northern activity. The interior of the island is described as flat and inhospitable desert beginning just past the shoreline scrub.
The Shatters: The site of Spider Island's destruction and the wreck of The Divine Rite. The barnacles encrusting the Medallion's hull are attributed to exposure to the Totem-infused waters of this area.

Conflicts

No combat occurred this session, though the crew spent the morning stripping the Medallion for battle. The engagement with The Fortnum commenced as the session ended, with The Fortnum's bow chasers firing on the Medallion as she completed her turn.

Learnings and Discussions

Giant barnacles grew on the Medallion's hull from exposure to the Totem-infused waters of the Shatters. The party debated whether these were a distinct species, ordinary barnacles transformed by concentrated Essence, or the product of some interaction with the Medallion's own magical nature; the question remains open. They agreed that if The Fortnum is ever sunk, diving on her hull before she goes under would be worth doing, to check whether she grew the same barnacles. Careening removed them entirely with no lasting damage to the hull.
The Fortnum was likely affected by the same barnacle growth and is presumed slower than normal — but she still had the weather gauge when encountered.
The Diad may have been detected by a magical scrying attempt while the ship was careened. Riu heard a faint hum and found the Diad unusually warm afterward; a Detect Essence spell cast on the spot found no trace of active magic, consistent with a probe that had already finished by the time he noticed it. The Diad has been moved to Riu's person and is now worn against his body at all times.
The Fortnum's ability to locate the Medallion despite Cosimo's illusion implies she is tracking by magical means, not visual.
Giant barnacles of the size found on the Medallion are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, unlike the small ship's barnacles usually not worth harvesting. Batu Batu confirmed this and demonstrated it with the careening harvest, while cautioning that barnacles grown in fouled water can be dangerous to eat.
The Medallion's hull, now clean, is significantly faster than before.
The Medallion's cannon sit exposed on the open deck rather than behind a proper gun deck like the Fortnum's, leaving her powder and matches exposed to the weather — a disadvantage noted as the rain set in ahead of the engagement.
Cosimo's concealing illusion also blocks the view of those inside it: the gun crews could not aim through it, forcing the party to drop it before they could return fire.
The Stone Men have a city somewhere on the Isle of Sands that the party has not yet visited.

Items Gained

Approximately 20 finger fruit, gathered from trees on the careening beach — somewhat more were picked, but part of the haul was eaten by the crew before it could be stored.

Items Lost

(none)