Session Seventeen - Recap

Session Seventeen - Recap

The crew of The Broken Promise finally arrived at Port Peril, the infamous Capital of the pirate region known as The Shackles. While they had been here once before--Port Peril was the location where they were pressed into Captain Barnabs Harrigan's crew--this time it was on their own ship. They landed at Crescent Isle, the receiving area for ships to the town that lay to the northwest of the city. While Jax tried to keep a low profile to avoid dock worker relatives who might have recognized him, the rest of the crew debated their plan for applying for a Letter of Marque from the Pirate Council while they waited to clear the Crescent Isle customs check (a once-over the crew and cargo to make certain it doesn't carry anything dangerous or contagious).

And what a pleasant customs island it is...

The crew decided to send an offering of tribute to the Hurricane King, Kerdak Bonefist, at his island of Lucrehold (the small island between the point of Port Peril and Crescent Isle). They sent gems, a share of Captain Wolfe's treasure horde, fresh vanilla pods, and spidersilk. Dovan of Nisroch was tasked to lead the endeavor, and joined by Jax, Druna, and Scolvus the Quartermaster. They went and met with the Harbormaster of Crescent Isle, Tsojmin Kreidoros, and explained their task. He seemed to almost recognize Scolvus, saying that if he had the patch on the other eye and grayer hair that he would be a dead ringer for the aged Pirate Corvus O'Shaughnessy (who is, in actuality, Scolvus' father). Otherwise, the arrangement of the tribute was effective enough--the crew was ferried to the small isle and dropped the materials and request for recognition off with the gate guard.

The next morning, a crowd began gathering at the docks around the crew's ship--apparently word got out about the application. The ship next to them was even displaced from its berth to allow another one to take its place as the spot for the testing, an old tub named The Stingray.  Eventually, a representative from the Hurricane King--a full orc named Tsadok Goldtooth--arrived and said that he was there to conduct the testing. The officers of The Broken Promise would have to prove their mettle and worth as pirates in order to get the Pirate Council's recognition.

Tsadok Goldtooth, first mate to Kerdak Bonefist, the Hurricane King

The first test was a test of ability to climb rigging. Tsadok threatened to pick one of the officers at random (worrying both Scolvus and Sadie), but he ended up decided to test the first mate of The Broken Promise: Jax. Jax would compete against a skilled sailor from The Stingray to see who could unfurl and set a sail quickest by themselves. With a shout, the contest was off. While Jax and the competitor climbed at the same speed, Jax realized that if he set one side of the sail before the other, it would flap in the wind and slow him down. He was jeered at first, seeming to zig-zag back and forth in the rigging--but Jax stuck to his plan. At that moment, Captain Gilbert Sullivan noticed that a deck hand of The Stingray was near the boom, and had pulled a knife to surreptitiously cut a rope and send a heavy crossbeam swinging into Jax. Gilbert shouted a subtle warning to Jax, who recognized it in the nick of time. He actually hopped up onto the swinging crossbeam and rode it down, finishing his setting of the sail in a crowd-awing flourish. While the crew tried to make a point about the saboteur, Tsadok simply said "We're pirates, you should expect a little friendly cheating."

Tsadok announced that the next test was one of talent and luck--a game of Bastard's Fool (a card game) atop the aft deck of The Stingray. However, there was one complication: the players would have to drink a glass of Gutburn Rum with each hand they won. The crew discussed who would play as they practiced a hand to remind themselves of the rules. They selected Captain Sullivan to be the participant. Figuring they might face some cheating on this one as well, Sadie the Goat cast a delay poison spell on the Captain just before he went to the challenge--which would last him a good six hours of protection.

Bastard's Fool: a game where players combine whatever decks they have into one, and hope for the closest to twenty without going over, betting all the while. 

The game began with a friendly drink of the Gutburn Rum to get started, and then the first hand was dealt. Tsadok didn't seem to notice the drink, and while the Captain certainly felt the terrible burn of the stuff he was protected from any ill effects thanks to the spell. Captain Sullivan also got very lucky in his early hands, winning each of them--and another full glass of the rum with each--with precision. He noticed as they played that there seemed to be some chicanery going on with the dealer, as if better cards were arranged to benefit Tsadok. The Captain tried to get rid of him with a weak threat, but that was received only with jeers by the onlookers. So the Captain decided to just use the system against Tsadok: drawing more or less than expected, in order to throw off the count and get the good cards himself. Captain Sullivan won a number of more hands (and imbibed more drinks) until Tsadok's initial pool of 100 platinum coins was lost. The Captain then invited him to a final cup together of the stuff.

With two wins under their belt, the crew was feeling confident. Tsadok announced to the assembled crowd that they should climb up the nearby riggings of ships to see the next event: the officers would take their place on the main deck of The Stingray and prepare to "repel boarders!" The crew wasn't certain what this meant, and cast some protective spells and took defensive positions on the deck--fearing they'd have to withstand an assault by the assembled crowd. Instead, Tsadok started chanting--and the crowd joined in. "Fishpork! Fishpork! Fishpork!"

The Stingray  lurched on the far side as an enormous hand rose from the water and dragged a towering creature onto the deck. It seemed to be some sort of huge, advanced, aquatic giant, and as it lumbered onto the deck it let out a dreadful belch--which surrounded it in a strange mist that seemed to settle onto the deck. The crew began to attack the the giant, and it began to stab at them with a massive over-sized trident and assail them with strange arcane curses uttered in giant-tongue.

Fishpork! Fishpork! Fishpork!

Scolvus managed to summon some air elementals to assist them, which cleared the deck of the fog that was protecting the creature (and gained him a cheer from the onlookers whose spots were too low to have seen the action in the cloud cover). Jax suffered a debilitating curse from the creature, causing his very movements to stutter until the next full moon. And Sadie suffered a massive strike from the trident. She managed to get her hand up in time to protect it, but the full force of it tore through the flesh of her palm and nearly cutting the four fingers off from the rest. While she healed it with magic, a major scar was left on her hand. Finally, Jax was able to shake the effect of his curse for a moment and strike true in the creature's belly--a critical hit sneak attack that not only savaged the creature's insides but burnt its aquatic nature with a burst of salt from his magic rapier.

With the great beast falling to the deck to much cheering, Tsadok clambered on deck and announced that the crew were good sports and that they had successfully completed all three tests. They were to attend a gathering held by Hurricane King Kerdak Bonefist that night at his personal castle: Fort Hazard on the Lucrehold Isle. The crew retired to their quarters, and Sadie the Goat tried to make certain that the Captain wasn't going to suffer any ill effects from the delay poison and the Gutburn Rum. She cast spells and checked him over, and seemed to think he was just fine--a good thing, because the dinner with the Hurricane King was due to happen that evening right around when the spell would expire.

With Jax suffering the curse--and all the horrors of having 50% of all actions interrupted every six seconds--Scolvus inquired about a place on Crescent Isle to get a scroll to break the curse. He was informed that the best place was the Mystic's Redoubt, a public arcane library. He was told of the steep fee for membership and usage of the library and small arcane goods store inside, and the crew discussed how they might leverage some of their plunder to pay for a membership. They settled on trying to use the Deep Platinum Crown they found in Captain Wolfe's lost treasure to buy their way into the place: it was more than the cost of entry, so Scolvus thought he could work out a deal. Plus, they reasoned that it meant that any marauding Sahuagin attracted to it would have to deal with the significant port and arcane defenses.

He found the representative of the arcane library to be most interested by the alternative membership fee. The scholar, a man named Obard Marsh, stared at the crown with his wide bulbous eyes and said "Oh yes, yes. That would be a great addition to our collection." Professor Marsh explained to Scolvus that he understood the great value of the piece, both on its own and for its historical significance, and that they would make a considerably sweet offer for the chance to house it at the six-story library. Scolvus would be made a peer of the library, given the title of Professor, and be given a tenure of sorts if he agreed to regular yearly speaking events where he would give lectures on his findings about the strange metal and the strange cult it represented. Scolvus agreed, and was led upstairs to a secret seventh floor of the building, where "the more special and rare treasures were housed." There Professor Marsh showed him two other deep platinum items were stored: a strange and magical rod carved with runes, and a decorative loop of metal (a "gill ring" the placard surmised). Scolvus was given  an office in which to conduct his research and store his notes, as well as special magical regalia to wear as an academic (a slight prestidigitation kept the robes perpetually clean). Scolvus looked at the other treasures, and saw one of particular interest: a rather ordinary felt hat marked "The Blackest Hat", resting in a glass case with numerous "wear only at your own peril" signs surrounding it. Professor Marsh and Scolvus discussed the nature of the deep platinum effects, and the strange "Esoteric Order of Dagon" that would be interested in such items. Of course, Professor Marsh said that such riff-raff were turned away from his establishment.

They may all dress the same at the Library, but they're totally not a cult of Dagon or anything

Professor Marsh revealed that he had some magical power of his own--he was a cleric devoted to knowledge and history who started this library-museum. He accompanied Scolvus back to The Broken Promise to cure Jax's curse for free, as a favor from one academic to another. Scolvus checked his holy symbol, worried that it would a symbol to Dagon--but it was an ordinary symbol of Besmara, the Goddess of Pirates. He cast the spell on Jax, and Jax was freed from the effect the strange giant had placed on him (whether he was also free from his other curse of sorts--Besmara's "blessing" that his seed would always find purchase--was yet to be seen).

Finally, evening arrived and the officers of The Broken Promise attended the celebration at the hall of the Hurricane King, Kerdak Bonefist. He was there, and his fist was nothing but moving and animate bones. The Hurricane called for silence, and eventually fired his pistol with its echoing explosion to get people to listen. He then congratulated the crew, but asked for one more display: "Favor us with a tale of your adventures and plunder." Captain Sullivan launched into the story of Dead Tree Island and the Feydusa. Scolvus passed out samples of the strange mushrooms to all onlookers as part of it, while Druna and Jax both stopped some hecklers who were interfering with the Captain's story. He finally finished it, and ended with the flourish of pulling out the Medusa's head from a sack to punctuate the story. There were cheers from everywhere, and the Hurricane King got up and walked over the Captain Sullivan to congratulate him. It was at that exact moment that the duration of the delay poison spell that Sadie had cast on Captain Sullivan expired. With a sudden lurching gurgle, he vomited a belly-full all over Kerdak Bonefist's beautiful leather and platinum-buckled shoes. The crowd suddenly froze and fell silent, aghast at the stream of vomit--and associated curling plumes of smoke from the deadly acidity of the Gutburn Rum.

Kerdak Bonefist, the Hurricane King and lord of all Pirates of the Shackles, looked at Captain Sullivan's queasy and green face. He asked:

"From the contest?"

"Yes," managed Gilbert with a gulp.

"Delay poison?"

"Yes," Gilbert replied again.

"Hahahaha! We've got ourselves a true Pirate, folks!" shouted the Hurricane King, and he burst out with laughter at the sheer gall and impossibly bad timing of the situation. The crowd of the room let out a massive cheer, louder than can be imagined. The Hurricane King grabbed Gilbert and told him he was official--and handed him his letter of marque. The crew now had protection in The Shackles themselves, and could prey on any ships that passed under Shackles law--except for those of other Free Captains. With smiles and relief, the crew retired to The Broken Promise eager for some shore leave before starting their new phase of piracy.

Infamy and Disrepute Tracker

Infamy Score: 16
Disrepute: 16

Port Infamy list:
Port Peril: 3
Rickety's Squibbs: 2
Bloodcove: 1 (favored port)
Besmara's Cradle: 2