Dramatis Personæ

Brother Mendel (Herodian)
Gabriel Auditore (Rigil Kent)
Gestlin the Unpredictable (CommJunkee)
Magnifico the Clown (Feste)
Rainald North-Hammer (Gigermann)

Of Comedies and Tragedies

7 Apr 2014

The Heroes arose early the next morning, and were treated to a generous breakfast meal by their host. After they had eaten, Master Cray bade them ask of him what they would; the only thing they could think to need beside the ship already provided was a decent map covering the lands they were to journey through. A servant fetched a purse for Master Cray, and they left straightaway for the Simonton docks, to a well-known mapmaker there. Once some suitable maps were procured, Master Cray escorted the Heroes to the Gleaming Endeavor and introduced them to the captain, a gruff, grey-haired man called Finn, with whom they made arrangements for the immediate loading of their things. Most decided to sell their horses, though Gabriel would not part with Cometes (to none’s surprise); Rainald decided to leave his very-strong horse, Greyfell, with Master Cray, to keep until their return. Captain Finn was already informed about Gestlin’s wagon, though it was a bit bigger than he was prepared for; they decided to remove the wheels and axles, and lashed it to the deck. Captain Finn was not informed of the presence of the two dragons before, and balked at the idea of bringing them along; he insisted they be caged, but Magnifico soothed his fears with some circus tricks to prove their discipline, and the Captain relented that they should be kept on a leash instead, sleeping atop the wagon as usual. The Captain introduced his crew, including Shaun, Tully, and two dark-skinned fellows, brothers, named Bombatta and Zuba; he had to let some of his people go to make room for his passengers, and insisted that any among the Heroes who were able should help out—Rainald volunteered without hesitation, having quite a bit of experience with small sailing vessels; the others all followed suit as well, offering whatever service they were good for. They immediately went to work helping with the loading of provisions and such, including a deer or two for the dragons, and were under way before noon.

That evening, the Captain invited the Heroes to his cabin for supper, and as they ate, he discussed the particulars of the journey: he expected around two weeks before they would reach Craine, in Megalos, where they would take on provisions, though they would stop along the way for fresh water and such. He then inquired about the Heroes’ mission, and what his part was expected to be; they decided they had nothing to hide, and told him of the facts known regarding Lord Wallace’s disappearance. Captain Finn suggested that Lord Wallace might have been taken captive by Wazifi slavers at the Sa’azaraq Straits, though none were aware of any ransom demands, which suggested Wallace might be keeping his identity secret.

Satisfied with what he’d been told, and noting Magnifico’s appearance as an entertainer, Captain Finn suggested he entertain the crew for the evening. Atop the aft-castle, Magnifico played out the story of the Heroes’ adventures together before and during the Huallapan Crusade, greatly embellished for dramatic effect, enhanced as in the old days by Brother Mendel’s magical illusory illustration. The Captain and the crew were greatly impressed, such that they were excited to be a part of this new adventure alongside them.

Several days later the Gleaming Endeavor arrived at the river-town of Donlis toward the evening, and stopped there for the night. The Heroes decided to take their ease at a somewhat-higher class of establishment this time; Magnifico had a plan to do some entertaining there, and win the crew a free round of drinks. He strode brazenly up to the tavern’s proprietor and announced his intentions; though the man was disinclined at first, Magnifico smooth-talked him into allowing him to entertain the patrons. Once again, Magnifico played out the Heroes’ story, with Brother Mendel’s illustration, and now with the crew of the Gleaming Endeavor to cheer him on as well—he even worked the crew into the story, though they were not originally there. But Magnifico had a hidden agenda; he made certain to focus on Lord Wallace’s participation in their adventures, such that someone who might have seen him recently might recognize him—and so it was, that one of the tavern patrons declared that he knew that man, Wallace. Again, at the end, Magnifico’s talents were rewarded with the praise of his audience, and many rounds of drink as he had intended. Rainald took the occasion to speak to the man who had said he had seen Lord Wallace, and extracted his story: this man was among the crew of the barge that Lord Wallace had taken from Simonton, and had been with him for some weeks, before the barge turned back at Bannock, as was their schedule—the barge was not seaworthy, and could not cross Keyhole Bay—he last saw Lord Wallace at Bannock, and had heard nothing more since.

After a pleasant evening, the Heroes and the crew returned to the ship and set sail once again. Downriver of Donlis was a vast, shallow swampland, treacherous to navigate without a local guide, but the Captain had oft sailed these waters and knew them well. A day or so later, a body was spotted in the reeds near the riverbank, shot in the back with arrows, and not long dead by the look of it. They fished the body out of the river, and Brother Mendel cast a spell to Speak with the Dead, learning only that the dead man’s boat had been attacked from the riverbank by a hail of arrows before he had perished. Though piracy in these parts was not unusual, they normally let go their prey, taking only the cargo—the Captain agreed they should be wary, and all donned their armor. Soon after, they spied a column of smoke in the distance, and as they crept carefully forward down the river, they came upon the burning, half-sunk wreck of a riverboat—it bore a harpoon stuck deep in the rear quarter, the line cut. Seeing no sign of ambush, they continued past the wreck. Ahead, Brother Mendel and Gabriel spied what appeared to be rope below the water’s surface spanning the width of the river—a trap, meant to tear the rudder from the ship’s keel, by Gabriel’s reckoning. Captain Finn acted quickly, commanding the crew to drop the anchor and bring the ship to a full-stop; the ship strained at the line and drifted with the current, swinging ’round astern to rest a few paces before the trap. Gestlin charged up a large Fireball and blasted a log on the bank where the ropes were attached, throwing spray and splinters high into the air. Magnifico commanded Primus and Secundus to fly, and they circled wide overhead. The others scrambled about the deck to face their invisible attackers. Then, as Gestlin charged up another Fireball, someone spotted movement some distance ahead in the trees along the riverbank—men approaching, undoubtedly the pirates—and they all prepared to do battle.

Notes

• Winston was AWOL this week; fortunately Dane wasn’t truly needed, though he definitely will be next time
• Cometes is Gabriel’s Animal Ally, an exceptional white horse—obviously he would be going along no matter what; similarly, Gestlin’s wagon is a signature item (literally?), and would not be left behind
• Magnifico’s player ended up rolling a “5” for both performances, plus assistance bonus from Mendel; needless to say his story was well received. The combination of Magnifico’s storytelling and Mendel’s illusions hails from the Book I adventures; anytime someone needed to be told what happened before, we’d break out the “newsreel footage”
• There was a bit of discussion at the end about how best to clear 20yds of river to the bank, to get the fighters to land to deal with the enemy; Gabriel is an excellent swimmer, but Rainald is most definitely not (he’s at default), as is Radskyrta. At the end, we were prepared to jump as far as we could to get some distance, but success is far from certain—maybe a better plan will emerge before next session