Campaign: Facets

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

Best not to press for details when the Nunnapi want something...

QFT. :)

Just as an update, I'm working on a write-up to include one small session, and a more action-packed one we had, yesterday.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Curiouser and curiouser...

Le Pavane gets involved? Izzy and Heck are obviously not the best leads, but maybe their boss knows a guy who knows a guy...

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

Curiouser and curiouser...

Le Pavane gets involved? Izzy and Heck are obviously not the best leads, but maybe their boss knows a guy who knows a guy...

That would be my guess. It would also mean La Pavane have gone interdimensional, since they're native to Sir Isaac Newton's world. :)

[tshiggins]

So, we had a couple of sessions – a very short one with only a few players could’ve gone pretty violently pear-shaped, plus a longer session that included a bit of swash and even a modicum of buckling.

Anyway, I decided to hold off on a separate write-up for the first short session, and just do them both, at once.

Characters Present

Dr. Henrietta "Indiana" Johnson -- A personable, age 29-and-holding Anthropologist who specializes in the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the American Desert Southwest. A Native of Apache Junction, AZ, "Indiana" is good with people and has been fascinated by American Indian religion and folklore since she was a child. Henrietta speaks Apache fluently, and not-so-secretly wishes archaeology could be more like Raiders of the Lost Ark and less like digging in a trench with a trowel and a toothbrush -- Played by Debbie S.

Dr. Arthur "A.J." Jamison -- a retired NASA scientist with a home in one of Moab's nicer canyon sub-developments, who volunteers for 4CSAR because he needs to do something to get out of the house. -- Played by Anten S.

Aurelia R. Lockrin -- A young woman with a shady past who teaches History at Grand County High School (Home of the Red Devils!), and volunteers for 4CSAR because she's a bit of an adrenalin junkie, and likes the companionship. -- played by Bennie Rae P.

Dr. Belody "Doc" Bascher -- a local veterinarian for both large and small animals, who frequently fixates on her job and uses 4CSAR as her primary social outlet. -- played by Samantha H. (Not available, this time.)

Beatrice "B" Lawrence -- U.S. Army veteran who works for a local air charter service as a helicopter mechanic. A cynic about men, she is accompanied by "Grunt," the biggest, best-trained pit-bull anybody has ever seen (purchased as an ally, and a totally badass dog, even before it was possessed by what appears to be a benign “foo” spirit) -- played by Bernetta W.

Claudia Abigail Tavulari, member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, and an old friend of Arthur Jamison’s. The team has been helping Arthur research the portal physics, on the sly. – Played by Tisa T. (Not available this time.)

Stephen Mack, another member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, a former U.S. Marine Corps test pilot, and outdoors enthusiast. – Played by Regan S.

Frank Moses -- A former Marine who quit his job as a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP). Moses formerly volunteered with 4CSAR and has an interest in Doc Bascher. Frank has spent the past several months living in the Dark Canyon base camp on the 1918 side of the portal. -played by Mike H. (Not available, this time.)

Millicent “Millie” Brown – A member of the Columbine Lodge of Denver, and descendant of the Unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown. Currently an apprentice of the Invisible College of Thoth-Hermes, seconded out to the members of the Red Rocks Lodge. Owner of a large, well-trained Savannah Cat, named Apophis. – Played by Kaitlynn S.

Fergus O’Neil – A pirate and rascal who had the misfortune to cross the Red Rocks Lodge, and the worse judgement to try to rob them when they took passage on his ship across the Irish Sea in the late winter of 1712. However, against all common sense, the party (well, A.J….) decided to adopt him as a flunky after they saved his life from his own crew. -Played by Jeff T (Not available, this time.)

NPCs Present

Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit.

Amanda Gagnier: A professional airship crewmember and native of the Orbital Realm of Jupiter, hired as a guide as the Paradise neared the borders of territory controlled by the Nieuw Haarlem company.

b]Hops About[/b]: An enthusiastically lethal nunnupi, a 6-inch tall fairy girl with black wings, pale skin and American Indian features. Currently dressed in the colors of the Unseelie Court, with a bow and knife, she frequently takes the form of a magpie four times the size of a normal bird and can go invisible.

Twirls Thrice: A laconic and lethal nunnupi with a dry sense of humor, also dressed in the cool colors of the Unseelie Court. Apparently the sister of Hops About, she bears similar weapons that can inflict elf-stroke, also appears as a large magpie, and can go invisible.

##

The group awoke late the next morning, and Athelstane’s staff made them brunch. After that, the group discussed how to deal with the political mess they’d inadvertently kicked off.

The group tossed around ideas that ranged from just slipping around and trying to avoid the whole thing (probably impossible, given that they needed to buy an airship…), to just drawing out the bad guys and massacring them all (probably disconcerting to the local government…). In the end, they decided to send in a representative to meet with the leader of the group, with plenty of backup, in an effort to come to an accommodation.

With that in mind, the group traveled back to their townhouse in 1712 England, wiped the spells currently hung and, working together, re-cast a set designed to securely communicate, and wreak havoc if needed. At the end of the sequence, A.J. capped everything off by transforming Steve into a dog that looked remarkably like Grunt, but festooned with combat magics.

But first, the group wanted to meet with the ship captain Athelstane had located, for them. Morgance Bohannan, captain and owner of the 24-gun, three-masted sloop, Airgead Spraeala, came highly recommended, Greer reported, and had apparently taken out teams to hunt elementals, in the past.

Since they were still shuffling back and forth between 1712 London and Athelstane’s estate, the group also took advantage of the opportunity to learn what they could of how the various Orbital Realms touched the Pearl Bright Ocean. They had access to their own library of magical works, as well as the much greater assets of the Hidden College of Thoth-Amon, as well as Athelstane’s personal knowledge.

A.J. pointed out that, should they manage to reach the Sea of Fate relatively intact, they had to figure out a way to return to their own world – preferably without having to re-trace their journey across tens of thousands of miles of perilous magical waters.

Basically, the successful research rolls made by Kaitlynn, Debbie and Anten allowed Millie, Henrietta and A.J. to put together a reasonable survey of potential paths back to their own reality, some of which might be navigable by magical airship.

<Notes>

Most of the information related appears in G: Cabal, in the section , “Planetary Spheres,” on page 46.

I skipped the stuff about the Heptarchs, since I decided not to use them, and made a few modifications and addendums.
-The Orbital Realm of the Moon has gateways to the Pearl Bright Ocean via multiple portals in the Sea of the Reflection of the Moon. The Reflection of the Moon also has gateways that lead directly into various spots in Faerie, so any passage found requires careful reconnaissance.

-The Orbital Realm of Mercury has a gateway in the mountains in the interior of Atlantis, and is almost certainly well-guarded by that most advanced of techno-magical empires. Using the Atlantis gate to access the dangerously chaotic Orbital Realm, and use it to return via Macchu Picchu, probably wouldn’t’ work out very well.

-The Orbital Realm of Venus has many connections to Pearl Bright Ocean, but most of the known gateways lie beneath the waves, with the best known (once again) in a bay of Atlantis. Again, not useful.

-The Orbital Realm of the Sun’s gateway to El Dorado, in Briah, could prove useful – but nobody knows exactly where to find El Dorado, and the route from that orbital realm to Egypt probably wouldn’t be navigable by dirigible, anyway. Moreover, even if an unidentified aircraft could use it, the sudden appearance of such a machine in the airspace of any Middle Eastern country in their world, would mean the hilarity that ensued would almost certainly prove most indiscrete.

-The Orbital Realm of Mars offered some unique opportunities. For one thing, the route to Ilium, in Briah, was known (thought fraught with dangers), and the gateway above it would certainly provide passage for any airship. However, any aircraft not armed to the teeth would almost certainly fall prey to a warlord on the other side, any number of whom continuously fought for control of the gateway. However, that Orbital Realm offered another possibility – should they astrally project to Mars, they would appear in new, material bodies as younger and more idealized versions of themselves. Henrietta and A.J. decided that might offer a decent “Plan C” means to escape the Pearl Bright Ocean, even though they’d have to fight their way across the realm to reach a portal to their own world.

-The Orbital Realm of Jupiter they already knew well, and Athelstane noted that the route to Camelot, in Briah, was another one well known and documented – although frequented by faeries. The group neglected to mention they’d learned of a separate portal, in a floating World Tree, that offered passage between Briah and the realm, also, but they’d not had time to investigate it.

-The gateway to the Orbital Realm of Saturn didn’t seem to offer much in the way of useful escape routes, but Henrietta noted it as a place to which she’d like journey, if for no other reason to pick up a large batch of legendarily magical potting soil for use in the garden she planned to build on the grounds of the converted church, in Denver.

<//Notes>

(continued...)

[tshiggins]

(...continued)

The research helped explain the power of Atlantis, located as it was in close proximity to two different portals to orbital realms, as well as the entry into this world’s Mediterranean Sea. In discussing the matter with Athelstane, they also learned the mages of Atlantis had the greatest command of magic, and the best of them could research variations of spells.

Given that all the gates to Avallon had watchers, the group decided to take a river barge from the river town of Maule, the nearest community to Athelstane’s orchard estate, and enter the city via the busy docks. So, they got up early and made it to the river town by dawn.

It took a few hours to travel down the Scarp River to the estuary of the Murmeil, so the group arrived about mid-day. The barge put in at the Smogtown Docks normally used by the river traffic, and then the group took a short walk across the bridge at Dagda’s Knuckles.

They soon found themselves at the Liccatyne Harbor and, after looking around a bit, the group found the Airgead Spraeala, tied up to the docks. Her crew were busy at various tasks and, as the group got closer, they saw the sailors busily repairing apparent battle damage.

A.J., Henrietta and Aurelia asked for permission to come aboard, received approval, and a mate asked them their business. They asked to speak to the commander, and soon a weathered, but strong, woman dressed in practical gear of leather and linen appeared and introduced herself as Morgance Bohannan, captain and owner of the ship.

The trio introduced themselves as the sea captain eyed the larger group hanging out on the docks and watching the crew’s activities with interest, Fergus quietly providing a running commentary.

Henrietta said they needed a ship to take them to a portal to the Elemental Plane of Air, so they could capture a large elemental for use as a power source in an elemental matrix. Bohannan eyed them carefully for a moment, and then told one of the crew to fetch “Dr. Alexopoulos.”

Within a few moments, man with black curly hair going gray, with dark eyes and an olive complexion, appeared and introduced himself as Alexios Alexopoulos, the ship’s mage and physician. Capt. Bohannan repeated the request to the doctor, and Alexios spent the next several minutes speaking with Henrietta and A.J., to make sure they weren’t wholly suicidal.

A.J. and Henrietta assured the man that, while they had never before hunted elementals, they did have considerable experience with dangerous situations and possessed enough magical skills to have a decent shot at pulling off the task.

Alexios glanced at the captain and gave a slight shrug, and Bohannan asked them which portal they wanted to use. A.J. and Henrietta said the gate above the vast bay of Africa, south of Atlantis, seemed best. The only other one so close lay in the brutally cold ocean to the north and, as they understood it, the Skandza League controlled those waters

Bohannan acknowledged the accuracy of the statement and said her crew had just returned from there. Glancing around at the repairs under way, but trying not to pry too much, A.J. asked how the voyage had gone.

The captain replied that it had proven profitable, but not all voyages to the cold seas off the Ice Wall did, necessarily. The crew would probably prefer a trip to warmer waters, even though not necessarily safer.

With that, the Irish woman moved the discussion to payment. After some dickering back and forth, the group settled on a price of 100 silver shillings per day for the charter. The money would buy them safe passage to the seas below the portal above the Bight of Africa, and passage back for any survivors.

The ship would hold position below the portal and keep an eye on the skies above, but would flee if the situation appeared dire. The Airgead Spraeala would also set sail if the group at the portal didn’t return or check in within one watch (four hours).

The ship would send no crew to assist with the capture of the air elemental; it would act as transportation and a base of operations, only.

With that understanding, the group agreed to her terms, and Capt. Bohannan said the ship would be ready to depart in two days, but could leave any time after that (the Pearl Bright Ocean experienced no tides).

Everybody shook on it, and the group departed. Fergus reported the crew appeared to know their business and, apart from the light damage from cannon-shot under repair, the smart 24-gun ship-rigged sloop looked quite seaworthy.

Reassured at the assessment, the members of the group turned their attention to the next task.

The group split up and, cloaked and hooded to conceal their features, mingled with the busy crowds moving around the docks, and eventually entered the town, proper. Most of them split into pairs and trios, and tried to stick to the side streets.

Once the rest of the group had dispersed, A.J. and doggy-Steve strolled back up the main avenue back toward the Dagda’s Knuckles bridge, and waited to get tagged.

Sure enough, two pairs of thugs fell in on either flank and a fifth walked up to A.J. and told him to follow along. A.J. told the man to lead the way and, with everyone quite well aware of the situation, A.J., doggy-Steve and the escort made their way through the town.

They soon found themselves at the wall on the opposite side of the city from the Murmeil River, and A.J. soon realized they were headed to the Teal Gate. He “thought” the information over to Henrietta, who had her backup team double-time it in that direction, also.

Soon enough, A.J., Steve and the escorts found themselves in the throng headed out the Teal Gate, with Henrietta and crew converging on the city entrance not far behind them. A.J. and company passed through the gate with no issues, and found themselves in the rather more shambolic community of Scornswall that had risen in the centuries of peace, right outside the walls of Avallon.

Within moments, the escort took a sharp left off the cobblestones of the main road from the gate, and entered the muddy streets and alleyways of Scornswall, keeping the city walls on their left. After about 15 minutes, they approached a narrow alley between a couple of irregular building blocks that held a number of irregular buildings, each.

A.J. and Steve soon saw a couple of thugs who looked like teenage lookouts loitering at the mouth of the alley, but who scarcely glanced over when the pair were escorted past them.

The building to the left had a few small windows opening to the alley, and more that had been bricked up. The one to the right had small windows, also, of clouded glass from which light emerged. About halfway down the alley, past a group of hard characters playing knucklebones, a triangle-shaped doorway between two structures appeared, with a window on one leg and a door opposite.

The man in charge of the escort opened the door ahead of A.J. and ushered him in, with Steve at the heel. Inside, A.J. saw a surprisingly nice tavern with hardwood floors, a brightly-polished bar with a bronze foot-rail and sparkling glasses and bottles, past a warm, bright brick fireplace.

Sitting around the tables A.J. saw a more than a dozen men in rather nice attire, sporting scars of all types from old wounds. They seemed focused on eating and drinking, or engaged in quiet discussion, as attractive young servers with dead eyes quickly cleared away empty plates and kept glasses full.

The escort nodded toward a door to the left that led to the next building over, and A.J. and Steve went through. There, they found a second room with a few more tables, one of which had a single man seated, as well as two other men just inside the door throwing darts at a target on the wall.

The man at the table motioned for A.J. to join him, as the leader of the escort party greeted the pair playing darts and started to talk about the game. As A.J. approached, he triggered a Mage Sight spell and gained unexpectedly complete insight (critical spell success about the magics on the man he approached.

The gentleman had quite a few spell knots hung about him, as well as one currently active that A.J. immediately recognized, as he had an identical one that kept him in contact with Henrietta. Successfully concealing his reaction, the former NASA engineer took a seat opposite the man, who welcomed him and thanked him for the meeting.

The two men exchanged a few cool pleasantries as doggy-Steve squatted on his haunches and kept his eyes on the trio at the dart board, behind A.J.

Quite quickly, the talk turned to business, and the man said he had a few questions about some of the items A.J. and his people had sold in the market, several days past. A.J. replied that he didn’t have much to tell, as most of it had consisted of items purchased or procured during his travels, as well as a few items taken from bandits or pirates who no longer had need of them.

The man quickly moved the conversation to the breech-loader firearms, and A.J. flatly stated they’d taken the weapons from the bodies of some bandits. He said they’d decided to get rid of them because they didn’t know how the weapons worked and so had no use for them.

He added that the gunmen who bore them couldn’t provide any insight, as they were in no condition to provide any enlightenment about anything, at the time.

The man asked more questions about the circumstances and A.J. continued to tell reasonably plausible lies the man didn’t quite believe (decent Acting rolls versus good Lie Detection skills). As the man began to appear a bit frustrated with the conversation, A.J. brought the matter to a head.

(continued...)

[tshiggins]

(...continued)

The engineer said he’d showed up for the meeting as a matter of courtesy, and had told them everything he could. As far as he was concerned, A.J. said, the issue no longer had anything to do with him or his group, as they’d disposed of the items – loot for which they had no use – nearly a week past.

As the purchaser of the muskets, the man needed to look elsewhere for answers to his questions, the former aerospace engineer stated, as he and his group had better things to do with their time than worry about items already disposed of.

The man looked at A.J. for a long moment, thanked him for coming and nodded at the trio by the door to let A.J. pass. Steve fell in behind as the pair took their leave.

Once they’d cleared the alley and spotted the backup team, A.J. made sure he remained in view of the watchers as he triggered a spell to alter his appearance. Having cast doubt about his true nature – and confirming he at least had at his disposal some reasonably powerful magics – A.J. and Steve made their way back to the Teal Gate.

Once inside the city, the group once again split into smaller units and took separate routes back to the river docks, where they booked seats on another barge to return to Maule.

Once they’d settled in for the journey, the group discussed the meeting and decided it had gone as well as could be reasonably expected. A.J. lacked Aurelia’s skill at dissembling, but had done an okay job, and they hadn’t expected to completely fool a skilled interrogator, anyway.

However, between their clear willingness to beard the lion in its own den (although the real mastermind hadn’t even been in the room, everyone noted), and the display of magic afterwards, Arthur said he hoped they’d successfully demonstrated that continuing to mess with them would bring more trouble than profit.

The group made it back to Athelstane’s by early evening, and then spent the next couple of days going back and forth between London and the Elder Isles, as they changed out their spell selection for the ones they’d need for the air elemental hunt.

Beatrice, as the only person with spells from the College of Isrö (Air), would spearhead the effort, backed up by A.J., Henrietta, Steve and Millie, who had the means (via dome spells and such) to help control the engagement. Henrietta also laid in some mind-reading spells, as she would attempt to learn something about the true name of the elemental, as well as some magical communication spells so she could drop the name in Beatrice’s mind should the effort prove successful.

Meanwhile, A.J. would focus on ways to get them in and out, and Steve and Millie would raise the defenses. The rest of the group would remain miles below, on the Airgead Spraeala, so as to help defend the ship and provide backup should the capture team come in hot.

***

Several days later, the Airgead Spraeala raised its forward lateen sails and moved out into the estuary, with the group restricted to the fo’c’sle deck or their cabins beneath and “politely requested” to keep out of the way of the busy crew. The last of the battle damage had been repaired by the time the Red Rocks Lodge members (plus Millie, Fergus and Amanda) came aboard, and the ship still smelled of new paint and turpentine.

Soon enough, the ship made its way out of the mouth of the estuary and passed the small Whannish Isle to the starboard side. She then turned the bow southwards and raised full sail once they reached the waters of the Cantabrian Gulf, proper.

The first day passed peacefully enough, but a growing layer of clouds obscured the brightening of the distant portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire, overhead, as the second day “dawned.” The wind began to moan through the rigging by mid-day, and by the afternoon the ship found itself running before a full-throated gale.

The Red Rocks Lodge had withdrawn to their cramped quarters, by then, and several of them (especially Millie and Claudia) struggled with seasickness as the night progressed. Through the small portholes at the front of the cabins, the group regularly saw seafoam wash over the deck, but the sturdy sloop rode the waves well and the crew seemed to have everything well in hand.

That changed about mid-day, when A.J. spotted a bright flash through the porthole. Peeking outside, he saw what looked like lightning arc down the length of the mainmast.

Trying to peer upwards to see if the strike had caused any damage, A.J. instead saw three glowing blue-white balls of energy moving quickly down the mast toward the crewmen working at the base.

A.J.’s mind immediately flashed back to the group’s visit to faerie, and recognized them as will-o’-wisps and understood the deadly danger He quickly scooped up his crossbow, and cocked and loaded it while shouting out an alarm, and then threw open the hatchway door to the main deck. Wind and water to burst into the narrow hallway.

He fought his way up to the deck as the largest of the three will-o’-wisps killed its first crewman, and the three faerie creatures hovered over the man’s body to feast on the energy of his departing life. A.J. got a shot off and, despite the howling wind and rain, and the small size of the creature, his bolt managed to hit in a glancing strike that sprayed sparks.

The steel broadhead sliced through the will-o’-wisp and darkened its glow. As A.J. strugged to reload, several crewmen made their way through the sluicing water over to the glowing creature and began to flail at it with barrel-hooks and knives, to little effect.

The other two will-o’wisps skittered down the mast and zapped a bosun, injuring him, just as A.J. braced his elbows on the hull of the upside-down ship’s boat a bit in front of the hatchway, and let fly. The second steel-headed bolt struck the larger will-o’-wisp solidly and, much to A.J.’s surprise and chagrin, the faerie creature exploded in a bright, blue-white arc of electrical energy, knocking down the bosun and injuring two other sailors.

By then, Aurelia, Beatrice and Steven had made it outside, and Millie, Henrietta and several others were stacked up in the hallway. A.J. struggled to reload, again, this time with a bolt that had a hardened ceramic broadhead.

Meanwhile, Steve, Beatrice and Aurelia started to try to zero in on the two remaining will-o’-wisps, as the crewmen scattered and began to shout for the officers. The four PCs saw one officer began to move down to the main deck, shouting commands they couldn’t hear through the howl of the gale, and the closest crewmen threw open the stern hatchway.

One of the will-o’-wisps began to chase the crewmen to the stern, several other crewmen up near the fo’c’sle began to try to move toward the one at the mainmast, but A.J. finally put it down with a solid strike from the bolt with the ceramic broadhead. Meanwhile, Aurelia struggled to give chase to the wisp that had moved forward, and cursed as it chased a crewman below decks – where the crew mostly slept and kept the powder stored.

Up in the fo’c’sle, Henrietta saw the wisp go below, and shouted a warning back down the hallway. Struck by inspiration, Millie stepped to the hatchway in the floor of the fo’c’sle hallway and pulled it open so she could try to flank the wisp from the forward direction.

Millie decided to jump down the hatch instead of using the ladder, lost her balance, and did a perfect five-point paratrooper landing (knees, elbows, forehead) on the narrow walkway at the bow of the ship. Apophis jumped down nimbly and landed on her back, and then Henrietta started to scramble down, shouting for Millie to move out of the way.

Meanwhile, Aurelia had made it to the forward stern deck hatchway in time to see the wisp glowing brighter as it consumed the energy of a sailor it had killed, and then shock the officer who had tried to cut at it with his saber. The officer dropped on the narrow stairs, Aurelia took the shot, and her steel-tipped arrow detonated the final creature just as Henrietta reached the forward hatch to the gun-deck.

That ended the threat and Alexios arrived a moment later to help heal up the crew. The group pitched in, as well, and the bodies of the two slain sailors were taken below. Within about 20 minutes, the group had received the thanks of Capt. Bohannan, and then returned to their quarters.

The storm blew itself out, that night, and the next afternoon the crew held services for the people lost. They then dropped the bodies, sewed into sailcloth shrouds, into the sea. After that, the crew warmed up to the passengers, noticeably.

The next two weeks of the voyage passed amiably, enough. The crew cleared away the damage and returned the Airgead Spraeala to ship-shape within a couple of days.

The ship went through a couple more squalls, but they proved relatively minor – just about enough to dry the clothes of the crew, each time. A few days after the gale, the lookout drew their attention to the port side, and they saw the golden glimmer of an Atlantean warship off in the distance.

The Pearl Bright Ocean had no horizon, but the haze and mist did limit visibility to some extent. The group did see the ship off in the distance and Capt. Bohannan made her way forward to speak with them.

She said the Atlantean vessel likely would not try to intercept, as she flew a friendly flag and had remained to the open sea side of the large island nation. Had she chosen the “inside passage” -- the stretch of water between Atlantis and the Pillars of Hercules – the Airgead Spraeala would almost certainly have been stopped for at least a cursory inspection, but the Atlantean Navy seldom bothered with friendly ships that remained well out to sea, on the opposite side of the island.

(contiunued...)

[tshiggins]

(...continued)

The next day, the group saw some whales, and a few afternoons later watched as seabirds dove on huge schools of fish. By then, the days has grown quite warm and the nights balmy, and the crew left hatches and portholes open throughout the ship. They even wedged open the gun doors to let the air circulate, below deck.

That was the situation about 16 nights into the trip, when the lookout once again brought attention to the port (landward) side. The Airgead Spraeala had rounded the cape at the “northeast” end of the Pearl Bright Ocean’s equivalent of Africa, and entered the huge bight that existed where the Congo Basin would be, in the party’s world.

The members of the Red Rocks Lodge had set up their own watch schedule, parallel with the ship crew’s, and A.J. happened to be up on deck in the wee hours of the morning. Peering in the direction called out by the crewman in the fighting top, off in the distance, he saw an approaching pale azure glow, spread out in a line across the top of the water.
The darkness and weird perspective of distance on the Pearl Bright Ocean meant it took a moment for A.J. to recognize the glow of an approaching wave, coming across the wind, as it agitated bioluminescent phytoplankton. Alarmed, the engineer ran to the open hatchway beneath the fo’c’sle and shouted for the rest of lodge members to wake up.

As the members of the group began to scramble out of their bunks, A.J. went back to the starboard side rail, and loaded his crossbow as he heard the watch officer ring the alarm bell and shout for the crew to go to general quarters.

As the glow continued to approach, A.J. realized the wave stretched about 200 yards wide, and lay about a mile distant. By the time it closed to half the distance, the crew had awakened and begun to load the cannons, as the sleepy members of the Red Rocks Lodge made their way onto the deck.

At the distance of about a quarter-mile, the 16-pounders on the gun-deck began to take ranging shots as the crew scrambled to battle stations. The officers emerged from below with arms full of muskets and blades, and announced they’d opened the weapons lockers.

The bosun began to order the members of the crew to arm themselves, section by section, and that process proceeded in a fast and orderly fashion. By then, the cannon shots began to splash into the front of the advancing wave, and at one point the party members saw a giant tentacle loop upwards in response.

At about 200 yards, A.J. began to take pot-shots with his excellent crossbow, as the rest of the group – armed with muskets – waited for the kraken to close. At about 150 yards, Aurelia started to take shots, as well, but they weren’t really sure if they’d accomplished much, although the cannon shots splashed through the wave-front regularly and huge tentacles began to flail.

At about 75 yards, the gun-deck let loose with a broadside volley, much of which struck home and filled the air with smoke so thick it obscured the approaching sea monster. Below, the crew could be heard reloading and, as the smoke cleared A.J. saw the wave reached as high as the three-foot railing, atop the ship’s 12-foot topside hull.

It was about 20 yards away and closing, with the undulating mass of the huge creature vaguely visible in the glowing waters.

All the muskets lashed fire at the wave, and A.J.’s bolt and Aurelia’s arrow punched through, as well, but the cannon remained silent. The musket-wielders hastily reloaded, as did A.J. and Aurelia, and the wave suddenly turned into trough, sucked down into the sea as the monster dived, and the ship moaned as it rocked to the left.

Capt. Bohannan’s voice rang out with, “’Ware the railings!” and the crew stepped back and continued to feverishly reload as ripples washed beneath the ship for an eternal few seconds.

The crew rammed their musket-loads home as tentacles the size of tree-trunks exploded out of the water on either side of the ship, the two tentacles on either side of mid-ships larger than the rest, while something massive hit the keel, below.

The crew fired into the tentacles closest to them, as did the Red Rocks Lodge members, and blew out bloody chunks. The tentacles crashed down blindly, crackling spars and ripping shrouds, as the passengers and crew scrambled out of the way.

The tentacles claimed several crewmen, but the party mages managed to dodge and roll out of the way of any close to them, and most pulled out blades. The crews in the decks below, as well as those manning the 12-pounders on the top deck, blasted any tentacle that happened to rise or sway in the front of their cannon barrels, and several severed tentacles splashed into the water below or tumbled onto the deck to spasm chaotically before flopping over the side.

The defenders pulled out blades and began to hack and hew at the ragged tentacles remaining, a few more sailors got swept over the side, and the cannon crews took shots at any tentacle that crossed in front of the guns.

Fairly quickly, cannon shot, gunpowder and continued cuts and stabs told the tale. The horribly wounded sea monster sank down beneath the waves, leaving the Airgead Spraeala floating, battered but triumphant, in a spreading slick of blood and sizeable chunks of extra-tough calamari.

In all, the kraken had claimed fewer than 10 lives, and no party member had been seriously wounded. The crew went to work putting the ship back under way before something else could show up, drawn by the blood in the sea all around them.

The party helped patch people up and then did what they could to help clear away the worst of the wreckage. As the fire gate began to brighten above, they staggered back to the cabins, got cleaned up, and collapsed back into their bunks for a few hours of rest.

By the evening, Hops About and Twirls Thrice appeared (the two nunnupi had remained out of sight, so as to not to alarm the crew or – more particularly – an Atlantean mage of unknown capabilities…) looking quite well-fed and sleepy, and disappeared into Doc Bascher’s cabin.

The next day, the crew’s morale (never really bad) improved by quite a bit as a school of dolphins began to play in the bow wave, as swirling clouds well ahead and high above marked the portal to the Elemental Plane of Air. Capt. Bohannan reefed all the sails except the forward lateen, and began to tack toward the seas beneath the portal.

With that, the session ended.

##

Funny Quotes

A.J. (eyes the damage to the ship): Have you been up in the Skandzan areas, lately?
Morganster Bohannan: Yes, as you can see.
A.J.: It must have been a profitable trip.
Bohannan: This time it was. They aren’t always.

A.J. (approaching the entrance to a very dark, guarded alley): So, how close are you guys?
Henrietta: Uh, how close do you need us to be?
A.J. : I’ve only been delaying them until you can get here!
Henrietta: Then we’re close! We’re close!

A.J.: They’re all known assassins. It’s no big deal.

(A.J.and Henrietta review the size of air elemental needed.)
Beatrice: The only thing I thought had that volume of air was Steve.

Henrietta: I’ll call it, “Bob”!
A.J.: Actually, its name will be <makes wind-blowing noises>.”
Steve: Or, <makes different wind-blowing noises>.”

(Bernetta is reminded she also must spend experience points for Grunt when Beatrice grows.)
G.M.: At this point, Grunt is officially a monster.
Bernetta (OOC): But he’s a good boy!
Bennie Rae (OOC): Such a good boy!

##

[tshiggins]

We played another session of Facets not long ago, and things went rather better than expected.
##

Characters Present

Dr. Henrietta "Indiana" Johnson -- A personable, age 29-and-holding Anthropologist who specializes in the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the American Desert Southwest. A Native of Apache Junction, AZ, "Indiana" is good with people and has been fascinated by American Indian religion and folklore since she was a child. Henrietta speaks Apache fluently, and not-so-secretly wishes archaeology could be more like Raiders of the Lost Ark and less like digging in a trench with a trowel and a toothbrush -- Played by Debbie S.

Dr. Arthur "A.J." Jamison -- a retired NASA scientist with a home in one of Moab's nicer canyon sub-developments, who volunteers for 4CSAR because he needs to do something to get out of the house. -- Played by Anten S.

Aurelia R. Lockrin -- A young woman with a shady past who teaches History at Grand County High School (Home of the Red Devils!), and volunteers for 4CSAR because she's a bit of an adrenalin junkie, and likes the companionship. -- played by Bennie Rae P.

Beatrice "B" Lawrence -- U.S. Army veteran who works for a local air charter service as a helicopter mechanic. A cynic about men, she is accompanied by "Grunt," the biggest, best-trained pit-bull anybody has ever seen (purchased as an ally, and a totally badass dog, even before it was possessed by what appears to be a benign “foo” spirit) -- played by Bernetta W.

Claudia Abigail Tavulari, member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, and an old friend of Arthur Jamison’s. The team has been helping Arthur research the portal physics, on the sly. – Played by Tisa T. (Not available this time.)

Stephen Mack, another member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, a former U.S. Marine Corps test pilot, and outdoors enthusiast. – Played by Regan S.

Millicent “Millie” Brown – A member of the Columbine Lodge of Denver, and descendant of the Unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown. Currently an apprentice of the Invisible College of Thoth-Hermes, seconded out to the members of the Red Rocks Lodge. Owner of a large, well-trained Savannah Cat, named Apophis. – Played by Kaitlynn S.

Fergus O’Neil – A pirate and rascal who had the misfortune to cross the Red Rocks Lodge, and the worse judgement to try to rob them when they took passage on his ship across the Irish Sea in the late winter of 1712. However, against all common sense, the party (well, A.J….) decided to adopt him as a flunky after they saved his life from his own crew. -Played by Jeff T (Not available, this time.)

NPCs Present

Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit.

Amanda Gagnier: A professional airship crewmember and native of the Orbital Realm of Jupiter, hired as a guide as the Paradise neared the borders of territory controlled by the Nieuw Haarlem company.

b]Hops About[/b]: An enthusiastically lethal nunnupi, a 6-inch tall fairy girl with black wings, pale skin and American Indian features. Currently dressed in the colors of the Unseelie Court, with a bow and knife, she frequently takes the form of a magpie four times the size of a normal bird and can go invisible.

Twirls Thrice: A laconic and lethal nunnupi with a dry sense of humor, also dressed in the cool colors of the Unseelie Court. Apparently the sister of Hops About, she bears similar weapons that can inflict elf-stroke, also appears as a large magpie, and can go invisible.

Dr. Belody "Doc" Bascher -- a local veterinarian for both large and small animals, who frequently fixates on her job and uses 4CSAR as her primary social outlet.

Frank Moses -- A former Marine who quit his job as a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP). Moses formerly volunteered with 4CSAR and has an interest in Doc Bascher. Frank has spent the past several months living in the Dark Canyon base camp on the 1918 side of the portal.

##

Within a few days, the Airgead Spraeala arrived in the sea beneath the Gateway to the Elemental Plane of Air and Capt. Morgance Bohannan had the crew drop sea anchors so as to point the bow of the ship away from the portal. High above, the icy-cold air howled through the gateway and condensed the moisture in the air into a broad, thick fan of clouds that streamed to the west-northwest, toward the open Atlantic.

Rain from the fan of clouds fell intermittently on the seas around the ship, while the vast gateway to the Elemental Plane of Fire, much higher above and further to the “east” threw rainbows in the mists.

A.J. called a meeting so the group could carefully plan how best to capture an air elemental powerful enough to fill the binding matrix, without getting killed, themselves. Once they’d hashed out everything, they put the plan into action.

Firstly, A.J. donned a pair of shades, kneeled down, triggered Hawk Flight, launched himself like Neo from the deck of the ship, and flew straight up into the teeth of wind. Just before the spell expired, he triggered the next one, and kept going. Eventually, he rose to within about 20 miles of the gateway, and could advance no further against the force of the wind.

At that point, he triggered an Utter Wall spell and used it as a floor, and then triggered a Weather Dome. The wind grew still as the dome spell gave him command of the atmosphere inside.

After that, A.J. triggered his third spell, an Atmosphere Dome, to make sure he controlled all aspects of the air, inside, as the research had indicated air elementals could alter the composition of the air and use it to kill.

Once he’d created a controlled fighting platform, A.J. cast a gateway to the deck of the Airgead Spraeala, and Henrietta and Beatrice stepped through, to find themselves on the Utter Wall as gray, wind-blown clouds whipped by beyond the barrier of the domes.

After that, they settled in to wait for an elemental passing near the gateway to sense the disruption they’d made to the flow of air, and come to investigate.

They didn’t have to wait long. About 10 minutes after she’d arrived, Henrietta saw a disruption in the pattern of clouds flowing around the front of the dome that resembled the turbulence around on the leeward side. She cast Mage Sight to help her understand the situation, and immediately realized a tiny elemental, the size of a beach-ball, or small dust-devil, had started to poke at the edge of the barrier.

Henrietta drew everyone’s attention to the disturbance and then cast Mind-Reading. The spell worked surprisingly well (really good roll) and the archaeologist gained insight into the mind of the tiny being.

She discovered that it had a mind only about as sophisticated as an animal’s, largely driven by hunger and instinct. She did manage to identify it’s name by which it identified itself, and passed that along to Beatrice, who promptly used it to seize control of the thing.

Once Beatrice had the elemental under controls, she had it calm down and Henrietta explored its mind further. She eventually came to understand the tiny elemental spent a great deal of its time hunting for magical patches of air to consume, and fleeting from larger elementals that wanted to eat it.

Struck by inspiration, Beatrice ordered the small elemental to return through the portal, find a larger elemental (it couldn’t understand anything more nuanced than that), and lure it back to the dome.

Henrietta said the little elemental seemed to understand the instructions, and Beatrice sent it on its way.

It stayed gone for long enough that A.J. had started to consider re-casting his spells, when a howling blast of wind slammed into the front of the barriers. Henrietta cast her Mage Sight again, and reported swirling mass of air the size of a tornado had engulfed the space that protected them.

Immediately, and much to his dismay, A.J. sensed that the hugely-powerful elemental had begun to test the strength of his barriers and that, while they continued to hold, they didn’t have much time left in their duration. Under the circumstances, he advised the ladies work quickly, and shouted through the gateway for Millie and Steven to join them from the deck of the ship, in case they needed help.

As Steven, Millie and Apophis the cat stepped through, Henrietta cast her Mind Reading spell again, only to discover the massively large air elemental had a tremendously strong will and a cold, calculating intelligence. She told the rest of the group what she’d been able to glimpse as her spell failed to penetrate, and said she wasn’t sure a second attempt would work any better.

With that, Beatrice decided not to wait, and cast her spell to control the vast creature, without any additional assistance, before it had a chance to burst through A.J.’s carefully-crafted defenses.

(continued...)

[tshiggins]

(...continued)

Amazingly, it worked (not quite a critical success roll, but pretty close…), and Beatrice immediately commanded the elemental to allow Henrietta access to its mind.

Henrietta’s second spell worked easily and she found herself with access to a much more sophisticated intellect, and made inquiries as to the nature of its existence.

Henrietta learned that elementals grew stronger by consuming other magical creatures of the air. As they did so, the elementals gained both intelligence and strength of will that scaled directly to the mass of air they controlled.

Additionally, she learned that elementals rejected any impurity that affected the air, and found deeply offensive the notion that air in human lungs could be “trapped” and “consumed” by surrounding tissue that consisted of water, chemicals and minerals. These “polluted creatures” put impurities in the air as they exhaled, and that enraged the elementals and it wanted to destroy them all.

Henrietta also learned the elementals name (which resembled the howl of a gale across crashing waves) and passed that along to Beatrice. She also learned the creature possessed at least five times as much energy as the binding matrix could hold and, if they tried to force it into the volley-ball sized creation of crystal and orichalcum, it would destroy the valuable device.

With that, Beatrice ordered the vast being to return to through the portal (the tiny one had long since fled) and bring to them one of its kind of an appropriate size.

The large elemental set off to do so and, once he knew it was clear, A.J. re-cast the dome spells. Before they had a chance to expire, the tornado-sized elemental returned with a captured second creature. Henrietta read its mind, Beatrice took control of the smaller one and told the larger to return through the gate and travel as far away from it, as fast as possible.

She then ordered the remaining elemental to remain calm enough to move inside the domes without disturbing A.J.’s parameters. As it started to do so, Steve took out the binding matrix and stood at the ready. Once enough of the elemental had moved inside, he triggered the device and it pulled the powerful creature inside.

The surface of the spherical matrix about the size of a volleyball immediately dropped in temperature and began to quickly frost over. The group quickly returned to the deck of the Airgead Spraeala, where they reported their success to the relieved Capt. Bohannan.

Bohannan immediately ordered the crew to weigh anchor and raise sails, so they could exist the area, post-haste. She knew the activity of the mages may have agitated the denizens on the other side of the gateway, and she didn’t want to stick around long enough to get spotted by an intelligent, irate creature capable of dismasting her ship and killing everyone aboard.

The wind from the portal swelled the sails to full, and the bow of the Airgead Spraeala raised a spray as it cut cleanly through the retreating waves.

Bohannan began to relax, a bit, after about an hour, and after four hours she cautiously opined that they seem to have gotten away clean. However, she kept her ship under full sail for the next several days – both to take advantage of the fair winds and following seas, and to get as far away from the portal as possible.

During that time, Claudia fashioned a sling to carry the binding matrix, so she had it available. Her mastery of the technology college meant she had the ability to tap into its vast power reserves and use it, at will, so she kept the thing handy.

As the ship moved downwind from the portal, it became subject to intermittent rain showers for more than a week. While the cool showers posed no threat (and, in fact, made the heat of the day more bearable), they did make for some dark nights.

That’s why neither Aurelia, Steve, nor the sailors on watch, noticed the five large octopus-like creature until they crawled over the railings, on either side of the ship, and attacked the nearest members of the crew.

The sea-monsters had what appeared to be fingers at the end of their “tentacles” and used them to try to grab and grapple, as the crew tried desperately to dodge and draw their cutlasses. The watchman up in the fighting top on the forward mast shouted out an alarm, and the watch officer on the stern began to ring the alarm bell, as Steven and Aurelia moved to fight the creatures.

Steven put a shot into one of the largest of the creatures, easily the size of a van (or lorry) that had crawled up the railing on the port side, near the forecastle and uncomfortably close to him. Meanhile, Aurelia, who had been up at the bow deliberately not pretending to be anyone from the film, Titanic, moved aft as she readied her bow and nocked an arrow.

Aurelia began to put shots into slightly smaller creature that had crawled up on the starboard size, near the forecastle, as it grabbed for a sailor. It managed to drag the hapless crew member to its toothy maw and take chunks out of him as it began to retreat back toward the railing.

Several sailors immediately dove to grab their unconscious colleague before the badly-wounded creature could drop overboard with him, as A.J. (who had arrived by then) put more shots into it. Beatrice, who had just emerged from the cabin (she’d been dead asleep and didn’t wake until Grunt jumped on her…), saw what was happening and dove for a injured sailor, also, and then Grunt tried to grab the seat of her pants with his mouth, to keep her from going over with the beast and its prey.

Over on the port side, the fight of the larger monster went more easily, after the musket shot from the sailor in the fighting top smashed into the creature, wounding it severely. After that, Steven and the crew used blades to finish it off.

By then, Henrietta had made it out of the forecastle cabins and joined the fray. She edged around the dead body of the creature on the port-side forward railing, and moved aft to help the sailors, there, take on the two other creatures up near the raised stern deck.

A.J. put a couple of heavy crossbow bolts in the one at the starboard aft railing, which had managed to grab a sailor, also, and render him unconscious. Millie, Aphophis and the rest of the sailors, nearby, finished it off before it could escape. On the other side, Aurelia put a couple of shots into that creature, so it was on its last legs when Steve and Henrietta arrived to help the sailors, there.

Right about then, the group noticed that a fifth monster – another large one – had crawled up the stern railing, because the watch officer had left off ringing the bell and had moved to engage it, alone, as the sailor at the wheel remained at his post.

The fight hadn’t gone well, for the young officer, and the creature had wounded him, badly, while taking little damage, itself. Millie, Steven and Henrietta began to run toward the ladders up to the wheel-deck to help out.

However, at that moment Aurelia began to swash her buckle like a boss. She jumped up on the cover of the main hatch, dashed across it and made a graceful leap to the top of the housing for the skylight structure, just aft of it, that let light below-decks.

From there, she had enough height to get a clean line of sight at the sea monster, and put two arrows into it. The second shot, combined with good saber hits (finally!) from the officer put the creature down.

The whole fight took less than 20 seconds, and it was over by the time the captain and the ship’s mage had made it up from below-deck. They immediately began to look to the crew, with the help of Doc Bascher and Claudia.

The wounds taken by three of the sailors were quite severe, and the officer was barely conscious, but none of the crew was lost. Between the ship’s mage, Claudia and Doc Bascher, they got everybody patched up and then healed up, quickly.

That ended the session.
##

Funny Quotes

(Anten begins to layout his carefully-crafted approach for capturing an air elemental.)
GM: A.J. has astronaut training. He has procedures.
Aurelia: Just tell me what to shoot. Do I have to sneak anywhere?

Henrietta: I trust A.J.’s plans.
Aurelia: I trust this one….

A.J.(streaking upwards into the wind): Stage 1, separation norminal! Stage 2 ignition successful! Second booster lit successfully! Stage 3, exit roll! We are definitely norminal, now!

(The tiny elemental arrives.)
A.J.: That doesn’t seem big enough.
Steve: That was my first thought, too. My second was, “It can’t be this easy.”
Beatrice: Shut up!

GM: So, Henrietta wants to farm air elementals….

(The three elementals all get captured.)
Beatrice: That one (points at the tiny elemental) is “Boing-Boing,” that one (points at the huge elemental) is “Gale,” and this one (points at the volley-ball sized binding matrix rapidly frosting over) is “Wilson”!

GM: Aurelia is up at the bow, with her chin up and her arms spread out to catch the wind.
Bennie Rae: I will stab you.

(The five Lucsas attack.)
Steven: It’s a “Nope-Fish” from the waters of “Screw-That Estate”!

(Aurelia puts an arrow into her first Lucsa, and it keeps trying to kill the sailor.)
Aurelia: I can’t pin a Buick!

##

[tshiggins]

We had a pretty straightforward session, earlier this month, as the group sailed back toward the Elder Isles.
##

Characters Present

Dr. Henrietta "Indiana" Johnson -- A personable, age 29-and-holding Anthropologist who specializes in the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the American Desert Southwest. A Native of Apache Junction, AZ, "Indiana" is good with people and has been fascinated by American Indian religion and folklore since she was a child. Henrietta speaks Apache fluently, and not-so-secretly wishes archaeology could be more like Raiders of the Lost Ark and less like digging in a trench with a trowel and a toothbrush -- Played by Debbie S.

Dr. Arthur "A.J." Jamison -- a retired NASA scientist with a home in one of Moab's nicer canyon sub-developments, who volunteers for 4CSAR because he needs to do something to get out of the house. -- Played by Anten S.

Aurelia R. Lockrin -- A young woman with a shady past who teaches History at Grand County High School (Home of the Red Devils!), and volunteers for 4CSAR because she's a bit of an adrenalin junkie, and likes the companionship. -- played by Bennie Rae P.

Beatrice "B" Lawrence -- U.S. Army veteran who works for a local air charter service as a helicopter mechanic. A cynic about men, she is accompanied by "Grunt," the biggest, best-trained pit-bull anybody has ever seen (purchased as an ally, and a totally badass dog, even before it was possessed by what appears to be a benign “foo” spirit) -- played by Bernetta W.

Claudia Abigail Tavulari – A former member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, and an old friend of Arthur Jamison’s. The team has been helping Arthur research the portal physics, on the sly. – Played by Tisa T. (Not available this time.)

Stephen Mack, another member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, a former U.S. Marine Corps test pilot, and outdoors enthusiast. – Played by Regan S.

Millicent “Millie” Brown – A member of the Columbine Lodge of Denver, and descendant of the Unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown. Currently an apprentice of the Invisible College of Thoth-Hermes, seconded out to the members of the Red Rocks Lodge. Owner of a large, well-trained Savannah Cat, named Apophis. – Played by Kaitlynn S.

Fergus O’Neil – A pirate and rascal who had the misfortune to cross the Red Rocks Lodge, and the worse judgement to try to rob them when they took passage on his ship across the Irish Sea in the late winter of 1712. However, against all common sense, the party (well, A.J….) decided to adopt him as a flunky after they saved his life from his own crew. -Played by Jeff T (Not available, this time.)

NPCs Present

Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit.

Amanda Gagnier: A professional airship crewmember and native of the Orbital Realm of Jupiter, hired as a guide as the Paradise neared the borders of territory controlled by the Nieuw Haarlem company.

b]Hops About[/b]: An enthusiastically lethal nunnupi, a 6-inch tall fairy girl with black wings, pale skin and American Indian features. Currently dressed in the colors of the Unseelie Court, with a bow and knife, she frequently takes the form of a magpie four times the size of a normal bird and can go invisible.

Twirls Thrice: A laconic and lethal nunnupi with a dry sense of humor, also dressed in the cool colors of the Unseelie Court. Apparently the sister of Hops About, she bears similar weapons that can inflict elf-stroke, also appears as a large magpie, and can go invisible.

Dr. Belody "Doc" Bascher -- a local veterinarian for both large and small animals, who frequently fixates on her job and uses 4CSAR as her primary social outlet.

Frank Moses -- A former Marine who quit his job as a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP). Moses formerly volunteered with 4CSAR and has an interest in Doc Bascher. Frank has spent the past several months living in the Dark Canyon base camp on the 1918 side of the portal.

##

The Airgead Spraeala rounded the cape of this world’s version of Africa, about where Senegal would be on the party’s homeworld, and began to beat to the north. The weather remained overcast but rain came only intermittently, although the wind remained fair – what little blew, at all.

The ship made slow but steady headway, for a couple of days and then, as the wind freshened and intermittent squalls began, the situation came off the rails.

A.J. was out on the deck in the morning, along with Henrietta, when a cloud if mist appeared on the command deck at the stern. A roar rumbled from within the cloud, one man began to shout and the other began to scream.

Captain Bohannan, standing on the stern deck about 12 feet away to port, ran down the stairs to the main deck and shouted down the ladder to belowdecks for Alexios, the ship’s mage to haul ass up top, and ordered one of her sailors to pull the swivel-gun off the railing and get it repointed to stern.

Meanwhile, A.J. started to run aft to help, while Henrietta ran to the hatch in the top deck of the fo’csle and began to shout to alert the rest of the party.

It took longer than usual to move aft, since the deck, busy with crew, had heeled over about 15 degrees as the ship boomed along with bones in her teeth. By the time A.J. had reached the skylight cover forward of the ladder, Steven (the former Marine who had spent a lot of time on ships…) had emerged from the cabin and started to dash aft, with Aurelia and Millie not far behind.

As A.J. scrambled up on the skylight, Alexios appeared at the top of the ladder, just astern. Right about then, one after the other, both ladders (stairs) up to the sterncastle became coated with sheets of ice.

Thoroughly alarmed and more than a little irate, Capt. Bohannan ran to the wall below the railing atop the sterncastle deck, as Alexios joined A.J. on the skylight housing. Alexios cast a spell and a burst of wind rushed at the mist cloud and blew it to tatters.

Inside, a slate blue-gray winged puma with icy blue eyes, half-again larger than a tiger, finished killing the second sailor and glanced at the mage and A.J. with shrewd intelligence.
(It’s not as big as the one in the old Wormy comic, but it’s the same idea….)
https://8dd5b77e-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites....attredirects=0

Right about then, Capt. Bohannan hoisted herself up to the top of the bulkhead below the railing of the stern deck, ready to jump over and engage the creature. However, the big winged cat roared and an Air Jet blasted the privateer commander off the the railing and dropped her flat on her back, on the deck below, nose bloody and her front one big bruise.

(continued...)