WSS Summary: World 11, Grinding Gears - Session 4

Present Party: Aria, Claudia, Emori, and Steve.

Setting: The world is comprised of several floating islands, surrounded entirely by open sky, with no visible land below. The party finds themselves in the pirate-governed country of Parofell, in the Varovayn Skyway. They spent time in Port Aimore before departing for Abia Heliasoldo in Sezia.

Captain Emma Thompson
Pirate Lord of Parofell, and
Captain of The Poisoned Rose
(Art by @WTH153)

Captain Thompson, now willing to accept the party into her fleet, let them into a small closet, filled with glass bottles. Each glass bottle had a ship inside. She allowed them to select the ship that they wanted, and afterwards, pointed them in the direction of The Leviathan's Tale to to look for crew.

The party had been to this particular bar before; they'd met members of Captain Marcus Black's crew here before. With some guidance from the bartender, each person noticed one or two people who interested them greatly, who were looking for work.

Emori took notice of a very large warforged, carrying two cannons on his shoulders. His name was, quite fittingly, Cannon. She also took note of a young half-elven gentleman who had a very impressive sniper rifle with him. The bartender insisted that he was the best shot he'd ever seen. He introduced himself as Elliot. Both of these men were between jobs at the moment. Emori appointed Elliot as her first mate, and Cannon as her master gunner. Both seemed very pleased with this arrangement.

Claudia was drawn to a gentleman in the corner, shuffling a deck of tarot cards. He had dark skin, and his eyes were glazed over. He looked like he might have been blind. She found out that he was something of a fortune teller. Not only that, he had the ability to heal, and he was some kind of undead creature. Although, that didn't really bother her. He called her "Captain" right away, and Claudia was eager to have him aboard her ship as first mate.

Aria couldn't help being drawn to a young lady with strange eyes. What would normally be the whites of her eyes were pitch black. The iris was white, and the pupil was green. When asked about her trade and abilities, she claimed to be many things: a shapeshifter, spellcaster, alchemist, healer, and mentalist. She did seem to have some major psychic abilities. She introduced herself as Gigi, and seemed quite delighted about the idea of sailing with Aria.

Steve, rather than looking for local spooks or snipers, took a different route. He was looking for a person of tricks, of deception. There was a changeling that caught his attention as Steve watched him charm a few drunkards out of their coin. When Steve approached, all the changeling had to do to get the others to leave was ask. He seemed very intrigued about the idea joining Steve's crew, and Steve got the feeling that a trickster like him would make an excellent first mate for a bunch of other, shady pirates.

The party spent their entire afternoon and night, using their first mates as recruitment tools, and meeting new pirates that were willing to sail with them.

Captain Merciless Marcus Black
Fannai, Pirate Lord of Parofell
and notable abolitionist
(Art by Wochun Choi on
Art Station)

Emori left for a short time, wondering if she could look for Captain Black. She had some questions that she wanted to ask him. As luck would have it, she found him walking in from the docks with a lizardfolk gentleman. He saw her coming and placed his axe between her and his captain, but Black told him to stand down.

Emori asked if he could still hear what he heard before: two other voices. He claimed that they were not as loud, though one of them was very distressed at the moment.

"I've tried meditating. I've talked to both of them," she told him. "How can I get better?"

"Keep going. It'd be better if you had a teacher. I'd offer, but... I'm a bit busy."

Their conversation didn't last much longer than that. Emori did tell him that she'd become a captain, to which he offered some congratulations.

~~~~~

The next morning, all of the captains Thompson gathered together came to her home to discuss their mission. The party made up four of the nine captains. Then there was Thompson herself, Captain Taylor (who insisted on being called by his first name, James, now that he was no longer their captain), and Captain Black.

Two other women arrived shortly after. One was a tiefling woman without horns, dressed in military regalia. Behind her was some kind of canine-folk, dressed in a red coat and holding a rifle. She was introduced to the party as Captain Mina Alcott, and despite her appearance, she was a pirate. The second was a half elven woman in gladiator-like armor. She had a cloak with fur accents on it. An aarakocra accompanied her, holding a bow. This was Captain Cassandra Rines.

Captain Mina Alcott
Pirate Lord of Parofell,
Runian Privateer
(Art by Kiikiibee on
Tumblr)

Captain Cassandra Rines
Pirate Lord of Parofell,
Captain of Warriors' Woes
(Art by Rachel Denton
on Art Station)

With everyone here, Captain Thompson finally explained what it was she wanted a fleet for: "Obviously, we're here to fight the Kaetorian Armada. They're growing stronger and stronger every day, the Commodore doesn't believe they've gotten this far, but I know that they have." She looked at Captain Taylor. "James, you had every right to be worried about that abbey in Sezia. I've seen it now, it's overrun."

Captain James Taylor
Pirate Lord of Parofell,
Captain of The Avon Vale
(Art from "Legend of the Cryptids")

Taylor was confused and immediately concerned. "That's impossible. We were just there, not... a month ago, and everything was fine."

"It might have been then," Thompson said, "and they might have only caught glimpses of the Kaetorian Armada, not knowing if they were coming to them or going elsewhere, but now they're there."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure, and it troubles me." She looked to the party. "But I have it on good scrying that the Armada that's there has cyclostones - potentially enough for us to get through the Avernus stormgate, and out the other side, into Obrira, where Kaetor is. Considering that you all are the... new recruits, I think this might be a good test of your skills. Go, free the abbey, get the stones, and come back." Her gaze shifted to Steve and Claudia specifically. "James told me about your little... project. I can have him ready to go by the time that you get back, and if he can provide us any insight, then I'll consider him useful."

"Avernus is a dangerous place," Captain Rines piped up. "Once we get there, how will we know where to go?"

"I've handled that too," Thompson assured her. "I've spoken to some mutual friends of mine that all of you should be familiar with: the Gryphon Riders. One of them, Mr. Milton, and two others, they know the way through. They're guiding us as long as we can provide the cyclostones for our ships."

The party was more than willing to make the trip to the abbey. Claudia and Steve just wanted to be present when Thompson fully woke up their captured Armada marine.

~~~~~

Map of the Varovayn Skyway
(Map made by me, using Inkarnate)

The trip from Parofell to Sezia aboard their ships with their new crews was not particularly difficult. They landed in the town of Commento, and walked south to Abia Heliasoldo - the abbey in question. Aria, Claudia, and Steve had all opted to bring their first mates: Gigi, Scar, and Ned. They arrived at the abbey and Emori scouted ahead to find Armada patrolling around the edges. Ned, being a changeling, could look like them and cause a bit of a distraction. Scar and Gigi ended up doing the same on the inside, by shifting into animals and turning invisible. That made sure the party could infiltrate without being seen. They still took precautions with Invisibility and Pass Without a Trace as well.

Phule
The Kaetorian Jester
(Art is from KingsIsle's
"Pirate101")

Inside the main chapel, they heard cackling. Upon closer inspection, they found a figure that was familiar to Emori, thanks to her vision upon entering the world. It was a jester with a mask over their face. Half of it was white, and the other half was black. He also had a few Armada soldiers with him.

The party fought with him, where they discovered that at the start of every turn, he changed which side of his mask was presenting, which changed the abilities that he had at his disposal. The ivory mask was very playful and joking, while the ebony mask was rude and disgusted by the situation. Ivory granted them buffs that Ebony used against them in the next turn. The party killed all of the soldiers he had with him, and when that happened, Phule attempted to make an escape. The fight had been very difficult, and they'd called their first mates to come help. Steve chased Phule down as he ran, and on the way, they ran into the first mates, who assisted in restraining the jester.

Meanwhile, inside, the girls had found what they came here for: the cyclostones. And now, it also appeared that they had an important Armada captive.

~~~~~

ART LINKS:

https://twitter.com/WTH153/status/975388174955376640

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/QWEd

https://kiikiibee.tumblr.com/post/175200008557/commission-of-marquiskilljoy-s-tiefling-dragon

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/3dagPE

https://legendofthecryptids.fandom.com/wiki/(Steady_On)_Flying_Prince_Brasse

https://www.pirate101.com/free_game/newsletter/june2015

~~~~~

Credit to @ijaymendell inspiring this awesome campaign!

MMC Summary: Sessions 28 & 29 - Honesty and Leaving Lanti

Present Party: Keviks, Lupan, Nana, and Wren.

Setting: The city of Lanti, in the kingdom of Midtia. Later, aboard the Midtian Navy's flagship: Idredia, in the Xandan Sea.

After saving their adventuring friends, the party brought them to a tavern for the night so they could recover. While Nana was back at the Cromdor Estate, having a conversation with Prince Fang from last session, the others stayed to make sure their friends were all right. In the morning, the three of them seemed better, if a little groggy after being forcibly drugged and kidnapped. Coffee and greasy tavern breakfast definitely helped.

Crown Prince Steel "Fang"
of the Mountain
Tabaxi, Age 18
(Custom Art by
@WtfdoIdraw on Twitter)

They all decided to head back to the Cromdor Estate, where Prince Fang and Mirabelle Cromdor were watching their friends' charge, Casper. On the way, however, Lupan stops Wren and Keviks, having noticed Fang on the other side of the street. He was walking alone, unguarded, in a dark blue cloak. He carried his rapier, and was wearing his studded leather armor. The party decided that they would catch up to their friends in a bit, and took a detour to see Fang. Keviks took to the skies as well, just to make sure the prince wasn't being followed. It didn't seem as though he was.

When they did intercept him, he promised them that he was okay. He was just running errands.

"What kind of errand are you running where you feel the need to be armed and armored?" Lupan asked.

"Well, let's be honest, if you found out that I'd gone out without any guards and unarmed, I think you'd kill me yourselves," he argued.

The party agreed, but pressed the issue.

Fang sighed, "I was... going to explain everything later, I will, I promise. Right now though, I'm running an errand. I won't stop you if you decide to come with me, but I also won't explain to you why I'm doing what I'm doing until we get back to the estate."

Ultimately, the party let him go on his own, trusting him.

When they went back to the Cromdor Estate, they also utilized their adventuring friends as extra pairs of eyes and extra minds on a problem. Currently, they had a map from the warehouse that they'd just raided with strange markings on it. Nana had also received a strange poem.

Marked Map of the Xandan Sea
(Map made by me, using Inkarnate -
marked in Roll20)

The missings' woes lie in city's seas  

Chasing dragons, eating sugar

Pirate King, deaf to addicts' pleas 

 

Pirate King in a picture frame

A Storm on the horizon

In the underbellies is to blame 

 

The Storm is not the end

Remember fiendish things, now dead

Hear The Prince's Song, descend 

 

Beneath the waves, cats don't drown

As long as kisses can be found 

 

The storm out west rages strong

The Tyrant pushes the ship along

Keviks could understand the basics of the markings on the map from his military background. The X's would mark important places. The arrows likely marked entrances or ports. The red line was probably some kind of path or patrol. Kressa and Boomer could also confirm that, from their military knowledge.

Boomer added, "There was a time, when I lived in Jarna, that there was thought to be a secret port on the west side of the city. We searched for it, even by magical means, but it was never found."

Wren had guessed that "Pirate King in a picture frame" was not a literal meaning. The "Pirate King" himself likely referred to the pirate most present in the Xanden Sea: Leo Bluffs. Wren had heard of him, and knew him as a drug smuggler. The whole party was also aware that he and Admiral Cromdor had a vicious rivalry. She and Lupan also "remembered fiendish things, now dead." The party had fought yugoloths on the Xandan Sea recently, and Nana had cast Speak with Dead on them. One of the things they said had never really been answered. Nana had asked who contracted the yugoloths, to which the answer was: "He Who Sails the Stormy Seas." At first it seemed vague... but suddenly, it seemed too similar to a tabaxi name: something longer, usually nature or ideal related. That would mean that the word "Storm," when capitalized, was not a word. It was a name. Nobody knew of any prominent tabaxi pirates or naval captains.

With that, their friends left for the Hero's Way guildhall to decide their next move. They told the party to let them know if they decided that they were leaving. Then, they waited for the prince's return. In the meantime though, Wren had attempted to find Nana. There was no response from her room. The party assumed she was out, busy with her spell studies, as she often was.

It didn't take long for the prince to come back, and when he did, he found Keviks, Lupan, and Wren waiting for him. He directed them all to a small study and called for tea. Now that the party could really get a good look at Fang, they realized... he was exhausted. It was clear that he hadn't slept well, if at all.

He told the party everything Nana had told him, in the previous session: about the rings and Cornelius, the drugs she'd kept, and what the party largely considered to be the worst thing: the devil pact. Fang wanted help deciding what they should do, as a group.

"I love her so much," he told them. "And I understand why she's doing this. Ever since we ran into that fox creature on the way to Dragon's Valley, she's been different. I've never known Nana to... be afraid before. And now, she's terrified and I don't think she knows how to handle it."

Cornelius
Greater Fire Elemental
Fire Genasi Form
(Art by @nelmdraws on
Twitter)

Fang continued, "I've also spoken to Cornelius, about his situation, and we've... come up with two options for him."

He put a scroll of Banishment on the table, and claimed that this had been the point of his errand today. When asked how much it cost him, Fang didn't answer. He said, "That's not your concern, that's the concern of the royal treasury. Right now, the only people who know I bought this are me, the shopkeeper, my mother, and all of you. And I'd like to keep it that way."

The scroll was to send Cornelius back to the fire plane. The first option was to send him back now, and call upon him again, once, in an hour of great need. Cornelius would then do as he has wanted to do for a long time: consume something very large in flames. Then, he would never return.

The second option was that he is sent back to the fire plane, and he takes both the Master's and Servant's Rings with him. He has no means of returning to the material plane, and swore to Fang that he would never hurt anyone on the material plane with those rings. It wouldn't be their problem. The party favored this option more, but it definitely wasn't perfect.

As for the drugs, Fang wanted any of them that couldn't be used for alchemical purposes gone. He saw no good reason for her to have them.

Then, there was the largest issue. Nana couldn't break it. If she did, her mind and body would be claimed by the devil she'd dealt with. All of them agreed that the third pact, regarding the collection of the souls of Veers, Liam, and Elicia in exchange for great hellish powers should never be invoked. The second pact, however, would only be invoked by Fang's order, and only if no other options were available. This pact would call forth a small army of constructs, led by a fiend, to defend who Nana deemed fit (the royals, her party, etc.) In exchange, two servants of the archdevil would be instituted into two holy places of that archdevil's choosing. The name of the devil she'd contracted with was Amviron.

With these things in mind, the party decided to see Nana together. She was, in fact, in her room. It was Fang's voice that convinced her to open the door. When everyone entered, she was quiet. Prince Fang took the lead, and knelt in front of her, where she was sitting. He took her hands, and asked her to look at him. He told her what they discussed, and what they wanted to do.

Nana brought out all of the drugs, and ordered Cornelius to stand with them. She used her magic mirror to contact Amviron.

She declared, "Your contract does not state that destruction of said contract means that it is broken."

"That's correct," he replied, in a gravelly voice.

"If I destroyed it... our deal would be over."

"So, if you want it to be over... then destroy it."

Nana handed the contract to Cornelius. "Eat it."

Cornelius took the paper into his hand, and flames burst up around it. He sighed, "It'll work, but this is gonna take a while..."

The last thing Nana did was she ordered Cornelius to continue burning that contract until it had turned completely to ash. Once he finished, he could remove the ring. This confused him; he believed he was also receiving the Master's Ring as he and Fang discussed. However, Nana banished him as he began to protest. He was gone, back to the fire plane.

After that, the party was each asked about their opinions of what had happened by Nana. She received their honest answers. They were upset... but they were glad she'd been willing to discuss this now, rather than let them all find out later.

Fang told her, "I might be angry with you... but that doesn't mean I don't love you."

Nana hugged him, and then looked at the party. "So... you'll let me stay?"

Lupan laughed heartily. "Stay? Of course! I told all of you that I slaughtered my own people in an unwilling mindless rage, and you let me stay."

Keviks added, "I killed two Erdian nobles, endangered Wren's family, and basically committed a war crime, and you let me stay."

Nana also told them about where she'd gotten the poem from, regarding the sea: Loki, the god of trickery. She also admitted to making copies of the rings and infusing them with magic. Over time, no one would have been able to tell the difference. She gave them to Wren.

With all that, the party agreed to be honest going forward, and to stick together. They were a team - a family, even. They had to be there for each other, and willing to talk.

~~~~~

Royal Custodian Castilian
Nana's Eidolon
(Art by Danila Kalinin on
Art Station)

Lupan had been informed of the goat Nana had sacrificed to perform her devil summoning ritual. He wanted to ensure that it received a proper burial. Nana's eidolon Castilian was given the choice (not order) to follow him, which he did. He did so quietly. As Lupan moved the bones from where Nana had buried them near the sacrificial site, and buried them elsewhere, while cleansing them with sage, he noticed something. There was a red fox, watching him, from on top of a hill.

Lupan bowed his head in the creature's direction. The fox flicked its tail, and remained there until Lupan left. Castilian did not notice it.

The two of them talked on the way back to town, happy that everyone had been honest. Happy that the two of them could continue to be "battle brothers."

The others went to the bakery of Alistair Kelleran, the brother of one of the adventurers who'd gone missing, where they returned only the pendant of Odin and the wooden staff. He was happy to have something back to remind him of brother and friends. He offered the promised reward, but the party didn't accept more from him than a few muffins for the road.

They all reconvened at the Cromdor Estate, where they spoke to Mirabelle's father: Admiral Cromdor. He, now that the party was ready, would be taking them to Aincour, Midtia's small island town in the Xandan Sea. He did, however, say that there would be a slight detour. A naval ship had been sunk, and merfolk were watching over the survivors. He needed to go and pick them up, which would involve sailing past Aincour at first, and then circling back. He was also able to provide them more insight on their map and poem:

- The X in the Xandan was likely a merfolk colony in the area that Cromdor knew of. The shipwreck wasn't far from that X, maybe 10 miles north of it, as far as he knew.

- There was certainly no known port on the eastern side of Aincour, which furthered the idea of secret ones, potentially even under the water.

- When asked about the merfolk, the admiral had a few things to say:

- The merfolk had alliances with anyone who was kind to them on the seas. The Midtian navy had good relationships with them, but so did Bluffs, who they called "Captain Damned."

- In reference to the poem, he only really knew of two princes. One was Prince Fang, who did not sing. The other was The Prince of the Sea, who ruled over the merfolk in the area. He had a beautiful voice.

Admiral Cromdor could get the party ready to leave in as little as three hours, so the party went off to say their goodbyes and perform any last minute errands.

Wren made sure to stop at home, and give Sebastian, Cassandra, and Orion each a blue dragon scale from the creatures she'd slain in Dragon's Valley. From Orion, she received a very tight hug and he thanked her for saving his life.

She, Lupan, and Keviks said a brief goodbye to their adventuring friends, and they asked where they were headed to next. Last they spoke, that party had intended to go to Jarna, to find a place for Casper to stay.

"We... decided we're probably going back to the Valley," Finch declared. "And... Casper's coming with."

The four of them had been discussing the issue for a while: the fact that they were adventurers, and that having a five-year-old child with them wasn't necessarily the safest idea. But Casper didn't want to leave them, and he had nowhere else to go. So, they decided they would make it work as best as they could.

"We'll probably stay there, do some work for a while, and then..." Finch sighed. "I'm going to have to go back home to Rockland and tell my father that a certain engagement party that was supposed to happen never happened."

Nana, meanwhile, went to the local lumberyard, and got 450 lbs worth of wood, which she stowed away in her Vault of Amber. She had new, far less controversial, plans...

~~~~~

Lt. Lysander Soriena of
the Midtian Navy
Wood Elf, age 102 -
physical age 18
(Art by @Sonnet_Form on
Twitter)

The party boarded Idredia - the Midtian navy's flagship, named for its strongest queen. Admiral Cromdor had outfitted the ship with the best the navy could find from Lanti and Aincour. Lieutenant Lysander Soriena, and his two junior lieutenants - Hadrion and Oleia - were placed in charge of the Selection party. The party were also quickly made aware of the fact that a mermaid would be meeting them at the next dawn, to guide the ship towards the wreck.

On the ship, Lupan asked to take next watch in the crow's nest. He was stationed with another elf who called himself "Xan." Apparently, he was a former pirate turned sailor who worked for Leo Bluffs some years ago. He also grew up in southern Thalnotia. The kingdom name caught Lupan's attention.

"You said you're from Thalnotia? I've heard something about a place there, but when I went researching, I found very little. A place called Seitise?"

The party had found an old painting and had heard legends of the city from one of the bachelorettes, who knew quite a bit about the history of the southern continent.

Xan explained, "Yeah. Seitise is a ghost town. Still partly standing. But nearly everyone who goes in doesn't come out again. Those who do, they can barely stand on their own two feet. Lot of legends about that place."

"Like?"

"Some people say a lich king lived in the cliffs by there," he told him. "But that he was killed some time ago. Some people also say that a swarm of angels of death destroyed the city; some researchers who survived going there claimed to see one there a long time ago." He shrugged. "Don't know much else other than that. Seitise was so far north from where I was from, I didn't really hear much about it."

~~~~~

"Kyla"
Mermaid of the Xandan Sea
(Art by Jenna Paddey)

The next dawn, Nana was the first awake, and she watched as the sailors aboard Idredia used a fishing net to pull up a mermaid with long brown hair and a green tail. When her fins touched the deck, they turned to feet. The sailors gave her a piece of sailcloth to cover herself, and she waved up at the admiral before going to talk to him. Nana joined them. The mermaid introduced herself as "Kyla." She had a few new things to report to him:

- There was a strange ship that had come up from the south, carrying art and treasure. The captain called her Sabine. However, it didn't reach its intended destination. Some of The Prince's scouts found it sunken and empty.

- Another strange ship was circling the two islands, as if it was looking for something. It was definitely a pirate ship, and the merfolk were told by The Prince not to approach it, since they didn't know its intentions yet. It flew two flags: a black cat on one, and a silver dragon's head on the other. 

- Through this, Nana and the party (with Keviks acting as the knowledge source on all things Erdian military) discovered that the flag found in the warehouse was the same one, and that the crest itself referred to the Erdian navy.

- If this was true, the fact that a vessel identifying with the Erdian navy was circling Jarna - the capital city of Erdia's long-time enemy nation, Saspar - was very troubling.

- Merfolk didn't use real names when speaking with land-dwelling humanoids; they're fey creatures and names hold power for fey. She referred to "Captain Damned" being docked at the small island, which the party knew now was Leo Bluffs. She wasn't sure how long he'd be there.

- Lastly, she informed the admiral that The Prince of the Sea was waiting for him at the wreck. He would make sure that their ship arrived safely in whichever port he chose.

The party informed the admiral about their concern with Erdia, and he assured them that right now, their best course of action was not to attack an Erdian ship if they saw one, especially if Midtia was trying to avoid a war. Seas didn't necessarily belong to any one nation. They could be here if they wanted, but that didn't mean it was necessarily a good thing.

Wren and Lupan spent more time with Kyla, learning mermaid songs and performing them for the crew, but with some difficulty. Kyla's voice was something so vastly different; it almost seemed to echo just by nature, and it caused ripples in the sea around their ship. It was as ethereal as it was angelic.

Keviks, while fighting sea sickness, took stock of the crew. He was looking for familiar faces from his time in Erdia, and while he didn't find any of those, he noticed something else. There were children aboard the ship - young cabin boys. Some of them were discreetly passing notes, and they were quite good at it. Before that, one of them had run into Fang, and it caught the party by surprise. They were already a little suspicious, but now this seemed... off. Keviks approached a tabaxi boy, about ten years old, and asked him about the note he was carrying.

The tabaxi played dumb, but stared at Keviks with such a dead, unamused expression, it caught him very much off guard.

He brought his concerns to the party, who all brought it up with the admiral. The admiral listened to the description of the tabaxi boy, but didn't know him.

"He's definitely navy," he assured them. "Everyone on this ship is. But he didn't sail with me before this."

There was definitely more than met the eye with the cabin boys aboard Idredia.

~~~~~

ART LINKS:

https://twitter.com/wtfdoidraw

https://twitter.com/nelmdraws/status/1383549226529955841

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lxnKoV

https://twitter.com/Sonnet_form/status/1074747966949224448

https://jpaddey.tumblr.com/tagged/my-art

WSS Summary: World 11, Grinding Gears - Sessions 2 & 3

Present Party: Aria, Claudia, Emori, and Steve were present for session 2. Claudia was the only one not present in session 3.

Setting: The world is comprised of several floating islands, surrounded entirely by open sky, with no visible land below. The party finds themselves in the pirate-governed country of Parofell, in the Varovayn Skyway. They spend this session in the capital city of Port Aimore.

Claudia's travel to the next world with the rest of her party was interrupted. She was in the black void where she would typically see, hear, or feel something - a clue for the next world. She floated in it like always, but then... she started to fall. She landed on a blue platform, and looking around, she could see several others on blue platforms. 

A woman's voice announced, "The transportation program is currently down. Bear with us while we address this problem."

She recognized one person here: a pallid elf named Azzy, who she'd worked with before meeting this current party. Luckily, the blue platform followed her when she walked, so she was able to approach them.

They took a few minutes to catch up. Azzy was still with Claudia's old party, and they said that they all missed her. Apparently these last few worlds had been hard for them. They'd stayed for longer periods of time, and met so many people that they'd loved and had to leave.

Claudia asked them, "And... out of curiosity, do you remember that guy in the first world? Who chased us everywhere and tried to kill us? Have you... seen him again? Because ever since I left you, every world I've been to, he's been there."

Azzy nodded. "I thought I did, and... he was different. At first I wasn't sure because... well, I mean, he was six. And he was lost and scared." They sighed. "The others didn't want anything to do with him, which... understandable. He killed them all once. So... I took care of him. He became my responsibility. I raised him in that world, into adulthood, and... something tells me that, even though I might have raised him to be this way, I don't think he's bad." They shrugged. "Maybe the guy we met was just... angry or hurt or... just not all there? I don't know..."

She asked them if they'd experienced a freeze, where time had stopped while touching him at one point. They had. They didn't know what it meant, but: "It felt... right."

Shortly after, the two were told that things were back up and running. In each others' arms, they faded, both off to join their respective parties again, with Azzy promising to tell the others that Claudia said hi.

~~~~~

Map of Parofell
Country in the Varovayn Skyway
(Map made by me, using Inkarnate)

Claudia arrived on the deck of a ship in the middle of the sky. She saw her companions talking to the man she'd be introduced to as Captain Taylor. The party was admiring his outfit, specifically, his large, wide brimmed hat. He told them all that he'd gotten it from a local shop: Raven's Writing Desk.

He and his first mate Stella left the ship to go to the Aimore Council Meeting. The party met another captain along the way, since Taylor hadn't really given them proper directions to the hat shop. The captain didn't really seem to like Captain Taylor much, which was odd to them. Taylor had been nothing but kind to them. Still, the captain gave them directions anyway.

All of them ordered new hats from a very tall and eccentric rabbitfolk gentleman. Some of their hats were magic. Others were not, and just bought for flare.

While they were waiting for their hats to be finished, they made their way to a busy bar down by the docks called Leviathin's Tail. Many pirates were drinking and chatting merrily. Claudia approached a table of four pirate gentlemen: a human, half elf, tiefling, and tabaxi. She attempted to get them to leave the table, only for them to invite her and her party to join them instead. The human - introduced to them all as Joey - went to rustle up some extra chairs. The half elf was Cecil, the tiefling called himself Creed, and the tabaxi claimed to be River. While drinking with the four of them, they learned a few things:

- When they asked about the Kaetorian Armada, they heard much of the same: heartless, made of gears, wires, and magic.

- They asked how one might get to Kaetor, and found that there were two options:

- Sailing there directly, which would take a few months at best, was the easiest way. But there were many things that could cause delays and the trip could take as long as a year.

- A ship could take a stormgate, but that required an item called a "cyclostone." Cyclostones are hard to find, and expensive to buy. A group of merchants known as the "Griffon Riders" had them, but that was because their job required them to. They could be bought from them... for a price.

- All four of these gentlemen worked for "Merciless Marcus Black" - a pirate lord notorious for freeing slaves and then violently murdering their enslavers.

- There were rumors that he was very powerful. He was once challenged to a pistol duel, and won without firing a single shot. According to the others, only Joey had been there to see it. Joey neither confirmed nor denied the story.

- Allegedly, he was also a decent friend of Captain Taylor's.

After that, they picked up their hats and tried to sneak into the council meeting. At first, they were denied entry, but they used Suggestion to charm their way inside. Before them were a set of large double doors with stairs on either side. They ascended the stairs, and found an unguarded balcony that looked over an amphitheater, where several captains were discussing political issues. They were not necessarily issues of consequence to them. It seemed like this group was actually responsible for running the country of Parofell as a whole.

Captain James Taylor
Pirate Lord of Parofell
(Art from "Legend of the Cryptids")

Captain Taylor brought up one issue, referring to an abbey in a neighboring country that he believed Kaetor might be attempting to infiltrate. He has a friend there, and it had been some time since he heard from her. Parofell decided not to investigate this issue.

Another captain, who had seemed like she knew Taylor decently, was called on about a recent civil war that had started: Captain Thompson. She had long brown hair, but there wasn't much else that could be determined about her. She wore a mask over her face that resembled a humanoid skull, even in texture. She'd had a direct hand in the war, but assured the council that it was necessary and would not be traced back to her.

The party Dimension Door-ed out of the room, but then Aria opted to sneak back in when Captain Taylor didn't come back out. She overheard a conversation between him and Thompson, regarding a team being created. She wanted a small fleet to help her fight the Kaetorian Armada, but she hadn't finalized any captains yet, except him. He was eager to help wherever he could.

Aria scurried back out, and the party met up with Taylor again. On the walk back to the ship, someone else called out to him.

Merciless Marcus Black
Pirate Lord of Parofell
(Art by Wonchun Choi on
Art Station)

It was a gentleman in his early forties with an eyepatch, pistols, and tips of blue in his hair. To the party, he too looked like a pirate captain. He offered to buy Taylor a drink. Taylor told the party to head back to the ship, and that he'd be there soon. He left with the stranger.

Aria and Emori, ever curious and mischievous, decided to eavesdrop. They followed the men back to the Leviathin's Tail, with the aid of Invisibility and Pass Without a Trace. Aria did hit her head on the door, trying to sneak inside, but neither man seemed to notice.

This stranger - who Taylor addressed as "Marcus" - had heard of and was interested in joining Thompson's proposed fleet against Kaetor. Their conversation was quick, with the promise that Taylor would discuss his participation with Captain Thompson.

The girls presumed that this man was the infamous Captain Black. He also seemed to be able to sense that they were outside, and both of them revealed themselves. When asked how he knew that they were there, he looked to Emori.

"You think far too loud. You ought to learn to control that."

"How?" she asked.

"Try meditating."

And he left. Captain Taylor led them back to the ship, with the stipulation that they were not allowed to drink on board for the next two weeks.

~~~~~

In total, the party spent the next six months aboard Captain Taylor's ship: The Avon Vale. During this time, they fought any Kaetorian ships they happened to come across. Steve and Claudia had the idea to take one of the Armada Marines back to the ship with them. The crystal in its head that had powered it was shattered. They were hoping that by finding a new power source, it would function as its own being.

Emori, meanwhile, took Captain Black's advice, and attempted to connect with her dream spirit. She managed to, and it expressed that it was nice to be able to talk to her again. The last time they'd done so was in the eighth world.

It told her, "Things are strange here now. It used to just be you and me, and now there's someone else here too."

"Who?"

"I don't know... but he's very confused."

Confidence Milton
Tiefling, former Transmigrator?
(Art made by me, using
Heroforge)

Later on, Emori managed to connect with this other person, who admitted to being Confidence Milton. It specifically was the version from the eighth world that they met, who'd known what he was: a transmigrator, like the party. Although, he was very confused still, and also admitted that there were three others with him. They didn't really seem to know what was going on either.

"I don't know why we're like this," he told her.

She asked him for his age, and he said, "It's... hard to keep track. You want the real one, or the physical one?"

"Both."

"Physically, I'm 26. Really though... the last number I remember is 268,700."

She also asked about Hacker, and told him that it told her he was evil, and that it never lied.

"Well, I worked for Hacker, and I don't think it has ever lied to me. And I mean..." His voice grew somber. "I've definitely done evil things before."

"We met another version of you. We think you might have broken The System."

"The System is broken?"

"Yeah... that's why we met you. That's why we were in the same world that one time. We were looking for a piece of it that had broken."

"And I... You think I broke it? How would I even do that?"

After that, the conversation started to devolve, with Confidence wanting to process the information he'd just been given.

~~~~~

Sometime during the six months, The Avon Vale was visited by the Griffon Riders. One of them also happened to be this world's Confidence Milton. The Griffon Riders were essentially a merchants' guild. The party bought several things from him. Steve was especially keen to buy a sapphire along with something called "Starlane." Confidence told him that if Steve knew a powerful mage or witchdoctor, that they could infuse the Starlane into the sapphire. Something like that, Steve thought, could be used to power the Marine he and Claudia had captured. Captain Taylor was interested and supportive of their endeavors, and knew that Captain Thompson would definitely be the person to ask for the infusion. Although, he knew she wasn't in port at the moment. He'd see when she was next expected, and make sure to get them there as soon as possible.

They also inquired about Cyclostones, but discovered that those cost nearly 25,000 gold. Normally, they were able to ask for an amount of money that System would just grant them. However, it seemed that that money had a limit. They attempted to get the money themselves, but by the end of the six month period, had only earned a little over 5,000 gold. Not to mention the Riders didn't stay for more than a few hours before they were off again and they didn't come back.

This was the first time they had only seen Confidence for a moment, but then he was gone and they were unsure of when they might see him again.

That same night, Aria heard the sound of creaking wood above their heads on the main deck. Emori noticed her sneaking out of bed, and let her go, but followed in the shadows behind, utilizing Pass Without a Trace again.

Aria found Captain Taylor on deck, where she (with some help from Emori's psychic abilities) discovered that he had something on his mind.

He asked her, "Do you ever think about home? There's a saying where I'm from: no matter where we go, we always find our way back home."

The two of them had a conversation on that topic, where Aria admitted that she missed home, but that it was also in a terrible situation right now.

"Well... whenever you do get to go home, when things are better, you know what I'll do?" he asked. "I'll raise my glass to you, and you'll raise yours to me, and we'll both do it do the family we made on this journey." He looked at the stars. "I wouldn't give up sailing for anything... but sometimes, you have to remind yourself where you came from."

When he returned to his cabin, he'd forgotten his boots on the deck. Aria went to return them and implied that she'd like to spend the night with him.

Captain Taylor smiled. "Not tonight, thank you. In fact, I should technically give you extra chores for even insinuating such a thing... but I won't. Keep up the flirting you've been doing though, and my answer might change."

~~~~~

At the end of the six months, Captain Taylor told the party that he wanted them to meet Captain Thompson. She'd finally decided on a number: nine ships, with nine captains, and she wanted Taylor to pick people he trusted.

"I don't trust many pirate captains," he confessed. "But I do trust the four of you, and you've proven to me that you're capable and fast learners. I think you could do it, and she'd be willing to get you a ship and help with a crew. And, if you really impress her, she'll help with the Armada project you've been working on."

So, The Avon Vale made it back to Port Aimore, where the party found themselves outside the home of Captain Thompson. It was set lower than all the rest of the houses, and guarded by two pirates. Taylor sent them in alone.

"If she sees me, she'll accuse me of flattery, and she wouldn't be wrong," he informed. "She's here to know you, and she'll either like you and we move forward, or she won't."

The party entered her house, which was pitch black. The outline of a skull in purple appeared in the darkness. The candelabras on the wall lit up with blue flames, and Captain Thompson was visible in a large chair. Before her was a desk with four chairs. 

Thompson invited them to sit. She performed a tarot card reading, saying, "If the cards don't work out in your favor, then you're out."

The first card was the King of Wands, upright, which she explained represented a desire for someone to create or lead a team. That was her goal, so she asked the party why she should include them. They all claimed to be capable and knowledgeable as well as good in a fight, especially at spellcasting.

The second card was the Knight of Wands, also upright. Thompson claimed it represented courage and a willingness to pursue danger, no matter what the consequences may be. So, she asked what the party would be willing to do. Everything they'd learned and seen so far had put the Kaetorian Armada in a bad light. They knew they were hard to beat, but not impossible. They were willing to fight to the end.

Thompson declared, "This last card... will make my decision."

She pulled the Nine of Cups, upright, and smiled. She showed it to the party.

"Do you know what this means?" she questioned. "It means, that with this union, we will achieve our greatest wishes."

Captain Emma Thompson
Youngest Ever Pirate Lord of
Parofell
(Art by @WTH153 on Twitter)

She put the card down, and pulled off her mask, revealing a young and beautiful woman with blue eyes.

"Hi. My name is Emma. What's say we get you lot some ships?"

~~~~~

ART LINKS

https://legendofthecryptids.fandom.com/wiki/(Steady_On)_Flying_Prince_Brasse

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/QWEd

https://twitter.com/WTH153/status/975388174955376640

~~~~~

Credit to @ijaymendell inspiring this awesome campaign!

TPW Summary: Act III, Scene v - Session 11

Act III: The Olden Days and the Next Generation

Scene v: The Grandmaster's Election

Present Party: Athena, Nytra, and Sylyeras.

Setting: The city of Jarna, capital of the kingdom of Saspar.

That night, after Sylyeras and Athena spoke to the corpses of the Selezi women, Nytra went on a secret mission, in favor of garnering more support for Pharius. She stayed out for the whole night, without sleep, ensuring that she got as much of that support as possible.

Meanwhile, Sylyeras and Athena sat together, writing a lullaby for Sylyeras's infant son. He sang it to him that night, through his Sending Stone wedding ring. Ariel, his wife, was happy to hear his voice and happy to know that, for the time being, he was safe.

The next morning, they'd see what they had to do and what the papers said about the election.

~~~~~

Pharius Veladorn
Drow War Mage
Odette's Father & Candidate
for Grandmaster
(Art by Shinyno on Tumblr)

Pharius and his girlfriend, Minnie, were staying with the party, for their own safety and to plan Pharius's campaign. They discussed a few things that would help get the ball rolling for what they needed to do next.

- The morning paper said that the last tournament between Pharius and Kellryn Sequestriel was cancelled due to the violent events that had previously occurred.

- The first stats, following early polling, were published. Pharius was, so far, in the lead, but the others weren't too far behind him.

- The next phase in the elections were interviews with the press. Pharius wanted the party to find out what the people wanted to hear. He said, "Admittedly, I haven't really... picked out any positions on any big political issues, at least not publicly. I want to know what people want."

- The party also wanted to investigate the newspaper - the Sasperian Star. The family who owned it was backing Ego LaFontaine, the cultist. They were concerned that the paper might be biased out of their favor. Pharius and Minnie couldn't come with them for that. If they showed up at the presshouse, it could lead people to think that they were the ones influencing the press.

Athena and Nytra opted to take the presshouse, in that case. Meanwhile, Sylyeras and Minnie would start looking more into the public opinions of the city. Pharius had a plan with some of his friends at the Premiere Academy, with setting up something he and Minnie referred to as a "hype crew." Afterwards, Athena and Sylyeras would hit the tavern scene well into the night.

At the presshouse, Nytra and Athena found the place in total disarray, but not in any apparent negative way. It was chaotic, just by virtue of it being a working day. Journalists and reporters were running to and fro. There were papers strewn everywhere, and two huge machines in the very back of the main room were churning and smoking. The players gathered that these were the actual "printing presses."

They decided that they would help out, and they were offered pay to do so, but they were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Athena signed with a fake name. Nytra gave her real one. They spent their time, cleaning and running errands for the reporters, listening in. Much of it was about the recent violent events and the elections. They eavesdropped on a short meeting between 8 reporters, who were all deciding who would interview the candidates. A halfling woman, young and the only woman in this group, offered to interview Pharius. She didn't seem like she was eager, but she was willing. Athena and Nytra didn't feel as though she was going to harm him.

As Athena was running around, getting coffee for these journalists, she was stopped by a half-orc boy, maybe six or seven years old. She realized that he was one of the newsies - the young boys who sold the papers on the streets. He asked her very politely for a croissant, and she got him one, along with some cocoa. She was also introduced to several other newsies, and made sure to take their orders too. Many of these children - all between the ages of six and eighteen - seemed to live here.

They spent their morning and afternoon here. The presshouse seemed to run like normal, with nothing too far out of the ordinary.

~~~~~

Sylyeras and Minnie spent their morning and afternoon visiting two different parts of the city: the west and east side. 

Horace Undersong
Celestial Warlock &
Candidate for Grandmaster
(Art by d-torres on
DeviantArt)

The west side of the city was largely populated by the poor, working class, or farmers just outside the city walls. They asked the people about their ideal candidates. They wanted someone down-to-earth, someone who actually listened and cared about the regular people more than the rich and magically inclined. Their favorite candidates appeared to be Horace Undersong, the halfling warlock, and Divia Vakume, the goliath echo knight fighter. Horace was a local, and his family owned a farm outside the city. Both of them were well-known, accomplished adventurers.

Divia Vakume
Goliath Echo Knight &
Candidate for Grandmaster
(Art by u/lalalyssh on Reddit)

The east side of the city was the academic area, where all of the major universities were located and where the majority of the students lived. When asked what they thought, many of them actually sang Pharius's praises. This wasn't a surprise because Pharius had just graduated from his master's program, and had been a teaching assistant at the Premiere Academy before that. The other candidate that the students seemed to like was Tide Graynil, the water genasi sorcerer. Although their reasons for liking him had more to do with his charisma and attractiveness than any policies that they could give. Most of the students who liked Tide were new students, and this was their first year voting. It seemed as though they were far more concerned with which candidate was more attractive.

Tide Graynil
Water Genasi Sorcerer
& Candidate for Grandmaster
(Art by madnessdemon on
DeviantArt)

When they all reconvened, Nytra decided to stay home for the night. After all, she'd been out for most of the night before. Instead, Sylyeras and Athena went on the town, and Athena got dressed to see if she could do some performances.

They went to an up-scale tavern first, that really seemed more like a restaurant than anything. Athena was able to secure the performance while Sylyeras got all the information.

Amarius Mallory
Tiefling College of Eloquence
Bard & Candidate for
Grandmaster
(Art by Ernesto Irawan)

It seemed that the rich had a preference for Amarius Mallory. His family had been around for a long time, and were distantly related to the family of a Chroma Conqueror: the Cassius House. After him, they liked Pharius, hoping that he would be as strong-willed as his father, who was a known war hero.

Arcana Isoldune and Ego LaFontaine were thrown around a few times. Sylyeras, however, quickly started a rumor that Ego had been involved in war crimes in Midtia, and that he'd only returned to his home in Saspar to escape. Thanks to a great deception roll, the patrons at this tavern grew concerned very quickly.

Arcana Isoldune
Warforged Clockwork Soul
Sorcerer & Candidate for
Grandmaster
(Art by @artofjoenni on
Twitter)

Their last stop was a tavern closer to the center of the city, whose patrons seemed to be adventurers. They too, it seemed preferred Divia Vakume. Many knew her personally as a strong and capable leader, especially in a fight. Arcana Isoldune's name was heard a few times, but mostly out of curiosity. The kingdom had never had a warforged leader before.

Sylyeras continued his spreading of rumors against Ego, and found this bar to be particularly receptive to his deception. By the end of the night, the bar was in uproar, chanting, "Fuck Ego!" (a chant started by Athena onstage)

With the feeling that they'd been successful, they returned to the house and reported back to Pharius (after rudely waking him past midnight) with some thoughts and a new plan.

They decided that Pharius needed to be seen more in public. The problem was that many people, especially the working class and adventurers, had no idea who he was or what he stood for. He was already very humble, which would help with the working class, and he had the connections he needed with the rich through his name. He just had to cultivate them.

Athena also added, "I had an idea about the newsies from the Sasperian Star. I'm wondering if we could use them. They're all over the city, they're the first ones to get the papers... they could work for us, almost like little spies. They'd probably do it for baked goods, cocoa, and a little bit of money."

"That's not a bad idea..." Pharius agreed. "I mean... after all, who looks twice at a newsie on a street corner once they've bought the paper?"

With this knowledge, everyone started to go to sleep, but not before Pharius checked in with Athena about Odette. Odette was currently hiding in Midtia with Finn and a friend of his: Confidence Milton. It wasn't safe for her in Saspar right now, with the cult running around.

"How... How are you today?" he asked her.

"Well... I was so busy tonight, I... didn't even get to say goodnight to her, if that's any indication."

"I did, for you," he told her. "I-I knew you were out, and I told her that you were working and so if she didn't get a call, it was okay. I told her you loved her, and that you'd talk to her tomorrow."

Athena was grateful for that much, and glad to know that her daughter was safe.

~~~~~

ART LINKS

https://shinyno.tumblr.com/post/168555192674/commission-for-stelera-of-their-dd-oc-cropped

https://www.deviantart.com/d-torres/art/Rayet-the-Blue-435076910

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/f6fs85/ocart_vori_runemaker_vupine_goliath_rune_knight/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

https://www.deviantart.com/madnessdemon/art/Tekehu-746314393

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/noe9E

https://twitter.com/artofjoenni