DM: Scaly (Formerly Theron/ScalyBrian)
Participants:
Alieena, Level 5 half elf wizard (witch!)
Dahlia, Level 6 Human Paladin
Sentrosi, Level 5, Human, Sorcerer
Abby, lvl 5, Psion, Halfling
Colt, Level 4 Beastfolk Fighter
Galen, Level 5, Human Monk
Tialys, level 5, Sorcerer, high elf
Naeyla, Level 4, Human, Swashbuckler/Rogue
Challenges:
10 4th Level Sahuagin Fighters
1 8th Level Elfin Sahuagin Druid, the Oracle Ssarevess
Experience:
Level 6: 1800
Level 5: 2071
Level 4: 2400
Treasure:
A bounty of 1,500 Gold to each mercenary for their work clearing this seaway. Reward reduced for providing proof of two Sahuagin killed and no proof of the fate of the strange Oracle leading them.
Quest Summary:
The talk amongst the sailors and merchants of Avalon has turned dark of late; the Cultists have been swept from the streets, but the bay and the ocean's highways are their concern. This last week two merchant vessels that have put to sea have returned after only a handful of days passing. Their condition upon their discovery, however, is what has caused all of the talk. <cont>
Sails ripped and shredded as if by galeforce winds, though no hurricane has passed by Avalon or even been reported by other ships coming into harbor. Their rigging and decks festooned with crustaceans from the ocean's floor and tangled in growths of moss and seaweed that some sailors say could be seen to glow in the moonlight. <cont>
Finally and most disturbingly; no trace of their crews save for bloody spatterings belowdecks. Ships logs, compasses and navigational equipment missing, as well as any cargo of a manufactured nature; raw materials have been left untouched, but weapons, alcohol and other items on the harbormaster's manifest have been missing when they ships were salvaged in half sunken conditions.
The party of adventurers finds themselves upon the deck of one of Avalon's famed ships, the Windswept Bard. The ship's cargo hold is filled with various goods that have been taken in the past. The adventurers have accepted a deal wherein they are being paid to drive away whatever pirates or threat may come to claim this ship and her crew. Reputed to be one of the most raucous and gallant crews in all of Avalon's harbor, the crew of the Windswept Bard is uncharacteristically morose and wary on this clear sunny day as the blue-green ocean waves clip by below you all.
The trip continued uneventfully as the ship made its way to deeper waters, and as the crew began to congratulate themselves on avoiding pirates in shallower waters and lunch was served, things turned strange. The wind pushing the ship died, and the clear skies above them turned stormy, the waters around the ship went black. The ship had fallen into a very nasty looking trap, as Sahuagin mounted astride sharks broke the surface and surrounded the vessel, using nets to pull sailors defending the ship into a watery grave. Colt only barely avoided a similar fate as she burst the net that was cast over her. The PCs were ill equipped to handle such tactics, and remained close to the ship's center line as a massive shark pulled into view alongside the ship; standing astride it was the Oracle Ssaravess — a Sahuagin female born in the shape of a sea elf, and a master Druid. It was she who commanded the usually simple and bloody minded sahuagin in their attacks upon the ship, and attack they did as she released her most potent spells upon the hapless PCs. A great melee broke out on the deck of the ship as the PCs scrambled to address this terrible threat.
Eventually her own bloody nature got the better of Ssaravess and her spell use became vindictive rather than tactical, looking to cause death rather than put her attacks to their best use. The final straw for her was the disrupting of a spell that would have caused at least one death on the ship if she had gotten it off. Enraged and calling for the blessing of the Deep Dark, she wildshaped into a large monstrous squid, intending to clamber aboard the vessel and eat the party one by one before having her wicked way with the crew and taking what she came for. Her bloody rampage was stopped before it could begin, however, by the heroic near self-sacrifice of Dahlia, who had climbed the rigging and used her angelic wings to mount a falling charge upon the transformed Oracle, a mighty blow putting out one of the Druid's eyes and bringing her near to death, forcing her to mentally command her Animal Companion monstrous shark to quit the battle and abandon her Sahuagin force to make their escape on their own. Her bloated hatefilled body sank into the depths with no indication of her ultimate fate in this battle.
The Sahuagin on deck, surprised at the defeat of Ssarevess, had two of their number cut down before they could retreat over the sides and back into the waters that had spawned them.
The party, realizing how close they had come to death, took stock of themselves and healed those who needed it before the ship continued on a journey that was uneventful all the way to their next port.
