18 peasants started, only 9 survived the session. Mysterious creatures have taken over the carrack-style ship, The Star of Nostro. Below the main deck the party was chained to poles, but not as much to ensnare them as to keep them contained like cargo. Which mattered little when they saw ink-black beasts before them, working quickly through the survivors.
Much of the party was disemboweled and/or dismembered by the vicious glowing red maws of the creatures. Desperate escape measures were taken, and soon the chains that bound them were being used as weapons and shields against the demonic horde. One party member, whilst making a hasty escape, was bit from behind viciously enough to disembowel him. I called it a partial reverse disembowelment. I’m sure that is the wrong thing to call it for many reasons, but I don’t care.
Some of our panicked peasants made above decks, where they saw that the slaughter continued there as well. The only sailors they found were just as brutally slain as the captives below. When one of the party, a capable elven falconer, descended from the crow’s nest, he was plucked off the rigging by a much larger version of the beasts. The doomed falconer had seen an auspicious albatross which seemed to point to the northwest. Did he reveal this to the party in time his suspicions?
After the two remaining beasts below decks retreated, the scattered party regrouped and entered the captains spacious quarters. It was here they received clues about the fate of the crew from her log. The logs read as follows:
• Officer on deck spotted a sloop flying Ibis colors– likely
the raider Irdy-Es! The Star was able to evade her during
the night. Must be more careful with the lanterns.”
• “Made anchor in Lys. Transported the human livestock
to Tirrem. Bit of trouble when a few woke up. Flogged
Lowell for his incompetence. Despite slight delay Tirrem
informs we are on schedule for tomorrow’s ceremony. Tir-
rem, Stone Dahut, and I all agree that this latest shipment
of livestock will please The Gatherer Alkar-Az.”
• “Alkar’s stones! Mayhem during the ceremony! Tirrem had
sacrificed half of the cargo with the Mael Bennique and The
Gatherer had begun to take shape. All thought the sacrifice
would be sufficient to please the Stony One, but His shape
erupted in exploding rock! Several of the crew were injured
including my steward McCann—the poor bastard lost an
eye! All were brought back to the ship so Lowell could treat
the wounds.”
• “Raising anchor with a course charted for Alviz for fresh
“miners.” Har har.”
• “Arrived in Alviz. No problem avoiding the Ibis pirates,
but Crew balked when I instructed them to avoid fires and
lanterns. I had Master of Arms Ricori put the rope to those
who balked too loudly.”
• “Strange! The crew injured in the ceremony seem to have
taken on a sickness. Lowell believes it may be Banana Fe-
ver. I’ve instructed Lowell to leave the sick behind on Al-
viz but ordered that McCann stays—I won’t be without my
Steward.”
Matt Duffin (Order #49697289)
• “Fresh livestock picked up in Alviz – 40 “miners” in all.
They were all asleep as soon as we put the shrooms in their
wine. Gullible floppers.”
• “Alkar’s Stones! My Steward McCann has been killed! The
boy was found eviscerated in his bunk gutted like a pig.
I’ve tasked Mr. Connant to find the murdering fiend!”
• “Three more murders! Entrails removed just like with Mc-
Cann. The crew fear we may have a reef-wraith on board and
are now singing to the Klabautermann for protection from
dawn to dusk. I brook none of this nonsense. The culprit is
a man and we shall unveil the fiend! Doubling the watch.
Tempted to light the lanterns at night despite the Ibis risk.”
• “Four more taken tonight! Crew on double shifts. Some of
the crew have been heard whispering ‘skrag’.”
• “Met with Mr. Connant and Stone Dahut privately. Con-
nant confided he fears we are being tracked by a skrag. I
told him little chance of that that this far into open waters
and do not dare whisper that thought to the crew. Stone
Dahut fears McCann may have brought something unholy
back from the ceremony when he was injured. Lowell has
no opinion as he’s joined the dead. Either theory is devas-
tating. Soon won’t have enough souls to crew the ship.”
• “Six more taken during the night! Have now lost over half
the crew. Some have claimed to have seen the skrag taking
a boy over the railing. Dahut nowhere to be found. I’ve giv-
en orders to Master-at-Arms Ricori to wake the livestock…
Alkar-Az help us all!”
Tl;dr- shit has hit the fan.
There was also a rope mermaid scroll discovered. Rope Mermaid Scroll, coincidentally, is also my favorite Hawkweed song (autocorrect turned Hawkwind to Hawkweed, and in this case autocorrect is right). Japes aside, the captain’s quarters offered no comfort for our once aspiring copper miners. With no sailors alive (including a halfling mariner who would’ve come in very handy), doom appears certain. What will these poor, lost-at-sea peasants going to do next, with an apparent unstoppable killing machine running around the hull of the ship?
