Chapter 6 - Session 7

Smoke, Sleep, and the Apparition of Gulliver Gold

Events and Actions

The session picked up directly from the end of Session 6. The Fortnum's bow chasers had just fired, and both shots went high — shearing a line and tearing a ragged hole through a topsail near Noddy's position in the crow's nest, but hurting no one. Cosimo, who had maintained a broad illusion concealing the Medallion throughout the approach, dropped it so the guns could bear.

Battle stations were already set: Knick Nab commanded from the quarter deck, Werner managed the gun crews on whichever broadside bore, Mani stood at the rail with his rifle and spyglass, Noddy held the crow's nest, Riu was on deck with a box of grenades and a lit match, and Cosimo readied his spellwork. As was his habit before any fight, Noddy had already cast Resilient Invisibility on himself, reasoning that nobody could shoot a lookout they couldn't see. Keyes, the former Fortnum seaman now sailing with the party, was noted as a potential source of intelligence on the enemy's armament and layout.

Before the guns opened up again, the party talked through their priorities: with The Fortnum tracking them no matter what illusion or evasion they tried, killing or crippling her priests took precedence over sinking the ship outright, and Riu — the only capable healer aboard — was reminded to weigh any offensive move against the cost of being out of position if someone went down.

Cosimo made the first decisive move. After quickly casting Lesser Ranging to extend his reach, he raised a dense illusion of black powder smoke that blanketed The Fortnum's entire gun deck from bow to stern, covering every port on both sides of the hull. Ten guns fired blind on that broadside and every shot went into the sea.

Under that cover the Medallion struck hard. Riu used a Leave Object spell to plant a lit grenade directly on The Fortnum's fore deck, where it detonated among the crew. Mani swept his spyglass across The Fortnum's quarter deck and fixed on a cluster of three officers. His shot found one — the man's clavicle and shoulder joint were shattered, his arm rendered useless on the spot. Werner fired the long gun as The Fortnum came straight on, sending a shot raking the length of the ship at deck height; the ball punched through every lower sail from the flying jibs to the mizzen. Two more of the Medallion's guns scored solid hits: one shell landed somewhere near the mechanisms connecting wheel to rudder, another punched a hole in the hull above the waterline.

The Fortnum's marines — an estimated twenty to thirty strong — assembled along the port rail for a coordinated volley. Noddy called it down from the crow's nest. Mani directed the Medallion's three marines to reply, and the swivel guns were swung to bear. The enemy volley was disciplined but the range was not in their favour; one Medallion sailor took a ball to the clavicle. Riu crossed the deck to attend him. Mani then put a shot into the helmsman's foot, shattering several small bones and leaving him struggling to hold the wheel.

Noddy cast Sleep 10 into The Fortnum's rigging. One man dropped immediately, bouncing off spars and landing on the deck below. Two others resisted. Around the same time, Riu lit and lobbed a second grenade into the marines still massed at the rail: the shrapnel tore into one man's shoulder, ripping the stripes from his uniform, and mangled another's musket-holding hand. Cosimo placed a tear cloud on the forward end of The Fortnum's main deck, timing it so the wind would carry the gas across the full length of the ship. The cloud caught the marines, the deck crew, and the off-duty watch together — roughly four-fifths of the main deck was left staggered and blinded, useless for the remainder of that exchange. Only the captain on the quarter deck and the gunners sealed below it remained effective.

Noddy, watching from the crow's nest, had already spotted the female priest standing at the base of the main mast and called her position down. With the main deck now suppressed, Mani directed all three of the Medallion's marines to fire on her in sequence before taking his own shot, hoping the volume of fire would overwhelm any magical deflection she might invoke. The tactic worked, and worked better than expected: still reeling from the tear cloud, she never got the chance to turn the shot aside. A musket ball passed through her gut and lodged in her spine. She fell paralyzed.

The Fortnum broke off and ran. Noddy cast Sleep 10 into the rigging again during the pursuit; three more sailors fell, one dragging a fourth down as he went. Riu sent a grenade onto the quarter deck, wounding three of the crew there. The helmsman — already limping from the shot to his foot — took the worst of it, his elbow shattered and his arm left useless. Captain Mason and a nearby officer were caught by the same blast; the captain's hip was fractured. Battered and propped against the rail, he continued barking orders regardless.

Around this time, Noddy spotted something stranger: a soft aura of light welled up from the middle of The Fortnum and spread across the whole ship. Mani tried a Spell Lore to identify it but learned only that it was magical in nature — its source and purpose remained a mystery. The paralyzed priest was seen wiping tears from her eyes, but she still could not stand.

Werner repositioned the mortar to the bow for forward fire. While it was being moved into place, The Fortnum's stern chasers found the Medallion twice — punching a hole above the waterline and tearing a huge rip through a top-gallant sail. As the shell was loaded, Mani marked it with three lines and murmured a quiet prayer to the Three, certain this was the moment the fight would turn. Mortars fire wild until ranged in, so Werner held off firing the prepared shell on the first attempt — which fumbled anyway, a ramrod left in the barrel putting the mortar out of action for three turns. Once it was back in service, an ordinary ranging shot tore an upper sail; the next shot, carrying Cosimo's prepared shell, plunged into a pile of replacement canvas the crew had hauled up on deck to repair the sails already lost to the fighting. The cloth caught immediately, and flames began spreading along the deck railings. Before the crew could bring buckets, Cosimo's waiting fantasm triggered. From the fire rose Handsome Gulliver Gold — the illusionary figure Cosimo had conjured many times before — dressed this time in white robes with gold accents, the symbol of the Two prominent on his chest, levitating above the impact site. He addressed the ship: "Your priests on board have offended the Two. They are heretics. Cast them into the sea behind you and you and my acolytes shall spare you and let you go." Then he spun in place and vanished. The effect was immediate and visible to the crow's nest: the Fortnum's crew, already stunned and burning, now faced divine judgment arriving from inside their own damaged deck. Noddy watched the disorder spread from above — sailors near the rail cradling a shipmate who had fallen asleep and dropped from the rigging, some of the crew turning their anger on the priests they blamed for it. Noddy's take: the surprise that had carried the fight this far wouldn't work twice, so the advantage was worth pressing while it held.

The Fortnum's stern chasers continued firing during the chase, though poorly served while shooting blind — one gun crew lost coordination entirely, its gun rolling back over its own loaders and sitting idle for four turns. Cosimo tried to compound their trouble with a fantasm making the Medallion appear to veer fifteen degrees off her true course, but the stern chasers kept firing true regardless — further proof The Fortnum's priests were tracking something other than sight. The shots that did land found the Medallion twice: the topsail was ripped and the ratlines severed; a spar near the captain's head was shot away. Werner's mortar fire damaged The Fortnum's steering and later destroyed her ship's boat. The gap between the ships held roughly constant; The Fortnum's crew were fighting hard to hold what speed they had. With The Fortnum reeling but still afloat, the party weighed calling off the attack against pressing on to board her; the vote went to press the advantage.

Then Noddy called something down from the crow's nest. The female priest — who had been paralyzed and should not have been walking — was on the move. A second figure was being brought up to join her. The captain was drawing his sword; the crew was arguing visibly. Then both priests went to the rail. They took cannonballs and jumped. Noddy was clear: the crew had not thrown them overboard. They had jumped themselves.

Knick Nab ordered the Medallion brought to and the search begun. The decision to stop was not unanimous — some argued for pressing on at speed in case the priests intended something offensive rather than an escape — but the vote went to searching. Riu and Noddy readied to go into the water, a boat was made ready to lower, and a dive line was rigged. Wary that the same trick the party had used to breach hulls underwater could be turned against them, Knick Nab posted extra hands in the bilge; Old Salter, the ship's bosun, suggested doubling the crew on the pumps as well, and the order was given. The Fortnum continued running and eventually disappeared over the horizon; Noddy, no longer able to see her from the crow's nest, came down, leaving Jacopa on watch above. Soundings found the water over one hundred fathoms deep. A scan of the surface and what little could be seen in the water column below showed nothing. Keyes was questioned: the two priests were named Margot and Arnim. He knew of no diving equipment aboard The Fortnum, though both priests had been young and healthy and might have been strong swimmers. The party debated whether the jump meant suicide to prevent capture, an attempt to reach the Diad from below, or a decoy to cover something else entirely. The session ended as Cosimo began preparations for a ritual to communicate with the Medallion itself, hoping the ship might be able to sense whether the priests were somewhere beneath them.

NPCs & Creatures

Keyes: Able seaman aboard the Medallion, formerly of The Fortnum. Rescued earlier from a small island where he had been marooned; he claimed to have gone overboard when The Fortnum fought a sea serpent, though the party had already deduced he was actually marooned by Captain Mason for lacking vigor during that fight. Provided the names of the two priests and confirmed he had seen no obvious underwater equipment aboard The Fortnum.
Margot: A female priest of the Divinity of Two assigned to The Fortnum. Shot through the gut during the battle, with the ball lodging in her spine and paralyzing her. Despite the wound, she later rose, walked to the rail with a cannonball, and jumped overboard together with Arnim.
Arnim: A male priest of the Divinity of Two assigned to The Fortnum. Jumped overboard with a cannonball alongside Margot.
Captain Mason: Commander of The Fortnum. Wounded early in the battle, then caught by Riu's grenade on the quarter deck, which fractured his hip. Seen propped against the rail, continuing to issue orders even as his crew argued and the ship fled.
Handsome Gulliver Gold: Illusionary apparition conjured by Cosimo using a waiting fantasm placed on the mortar shell before firing. Appeared in white robes bearing the symbol of the Two, rising from the fire on The Fortnum's deck to demand the crew cast their priests overboard.
Jacopa: Medallion lookout. Held the crow's nest observation after Noddy descended during the search phase.
Old Salter: The Medallion's bosun. Suggested doubling the crew on the pumps once Knick Nab set extra hands watching the bilge during the search for the priests.

Locations

Open water north of New Sardinia: The engagement and subsequent search for the priests took place here, in open ocean with land barely in sight and water too deep for soundings to find bottom at over one hundred fathoms.

Conflicts

Naval engagement with The Fortnum, continuing into a pursuit:

Medallion casualties: one sailor wounded in the clavicle by musket fire (tended by Riu).

Medallion damage: a hole punched above the waterline, a top-gallant sail badly torn, topsail ripped, ratlines severed, a spar shot away near the captain, minor hull and rigging damage throughout, own mortar crew fumbled its first ranging shot when a ramrod left in the barrel put it out of action for three turns.

The Fortnum losses: one officer's shoulder destroyed, a marine's shoulder torn by grenade shrapnel with the stripes ripped from his uniform, another marine's musket-holding hand mangled by the same blast, helmsman shot in the foot and later his elbow shattered by grenade shrapnel, Captain Mason's hip fractured by the same blast along with a nearby officer, Margot shot through gut and spine, multiple sailors put to sleep and fallen from the rigging, the main deck crew widely stunned by tear cloud, main deck fire started, cargo hold breached with half her fresh water stores ruined, steering damaged, ship's boat destroyed, one gun crew put out of action after losing coordination while firing blind, sail damage across the entire ship including a hole through every lower sail and a missing spar.

Recovery time for the Medallion's wounded sailor: not established.

Learnings and Discussions

The Fortnum carries 24 guns — ten to a broadside, two bow chasers, two stern chasers.
The Medallion herself carries two 24-pounders (one per broadside), four 12-pounders split between the sides for three guns a broadside, a mortar aft, at least four swivel guns, and an arbalest capable of throwing a harpoon-sized bolt.
On paper, The Fortnum outclasses the Medallion — she has an actual gun deck, more guns, and a much larger crew that would matter in a boarding fight — though the Medallion can point closer to the wind than the bigger ship regardless of direction.
The Fortnum was tracking the Medallion by magical means and could do so regardless of Cosimo's concealment illusion — even a fantasm making the ship appear to veer off course fooled no one aboard The Fortnum, whose gunners kept firing true. The party believes the Diad that Riu carries is the likely focus of this tracking.
The two Divinity of Two priests aboard The Fortnum were named Margot and Arnim. Both jumped overboard with cannonballs during the pursuit. Their fate is unknown.
The priests may have been tracking the Diad rather than the Medallion itself — suggesting they were prepared for some form of underwater action, potentially related to recovering the Diad from the sea.
A priest's gift for magically deflecting incoming shots seems to fail while she is stunned or otherwise incapacitated — Margot's paralyzing wound only landed because Cosimo's tear cloud had already staggered her.
Waiting fantasm can be placed on a projectile and triggered on impact, allowing illusionary apparitions to be delivered at range into a target.
At over one hundred fathoms depth, the search area is beyond conventional recovery of any objects or persons that went to the bottom.

Items Gained

(none)

Items Lost

(none)