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.
~~~~~
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| Map of Parofell Country in the Varovayn Skyway (Map made by me, using Inkarnate) |
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.
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| Captain James Taylor Pirate Lord of Parofell (Art from "Legend of the Cryptids") |
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.
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| Merciless Marcus Black Pirate Lord of Parofell (Art by Wonchun Choi on Art Station) |
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."
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| Confidence Milton Tiefling, former Transmigrator? (Art made by me, using Heroforge) |
"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."
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| Captain Emma Thompson Youngest Ever Pirate Lord of Parofell (Art by @WTH153 on Twitter) |
"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!
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