Missing Sequences: March 2024

Sunday 24 March 2024

Murder on the Under Sea (Session 245)

SESSION 245: Sailing the Sunless Sea

No longer retreating the hobos sail across the inky abyss.

Day 170 Continued(12.20/0605): Favourable winds. The day started off nice enough. The droogs were rowing, the Captain was navigating, Bunny and Saff were hanging out in the crow’s nest doing nothing as they were virtually running blind, Rhags and Steve were fishing for dinner and Ding-We was slacking err.. plotting. Bunny got lucky when she saw a serpentine form breaching the waters along the port side. She was able to give just enough warning as an 80’ serpent coiled around the SS I.S.O.D.E.T.B.S.B (ya. Read your recaps MOFOs). The serpent wrapped itself around the vessel and began to constrict. First it creaked, then it groaned and the wood began to snap and buckle as we began to bring on water. The Captain called out “Aye she’s gonna bring us down! Sink it before it sinks us!”. His outburst earned him a vicious bite from the creature as it tightened it coils. This would not be and was not a pretty operation. Smash the crap outta the beast before it sunk us. Smash they did until the creature unravelled and sunk back into the sea. The ship was in rough shape as Steve jumped upon the summoned giant seahorse and then followed the serpent to the sea floor hoping to harvest a king’s ransom from its belly. After chasing it for 300 or so feet and then gutting the thing he was not rewarded with anything except fish heads.. Being not that smart and wanting a trophy he dawdled a bit longer to harvest a pair of the serpent’s fangs. He jumped on his mount and made haste for the surface before the spoils of his inner toiling attracted predators.

Topside, repairs would take the better portion of the remaining day and be to the detriment of the cabin. The ship was a little rough when they found it, the serpent had noticeably degraded its condition beyond what in water salvage repairs could remedy. In lieu they renamed their somewhat leaky ship ‘The Serpent’.

Fortune smiled when another encounter occurred but it was benevolent. A curious pod of whale sharks between dives for the abundant plankton in these deeps.

Day 171 (12.20/0605): Favourable winds. A pleasant and uneventful day of sailing.

Day 172 (12.20/0605): Favourable winds. Bunny is roused in the dead of night by the sound of scraping or scratching along the underside of the vessel. It was termites, damn termites. Saff was able to put a couple into magical slumber but the other three were able to grab a meal and disappear into the deeps. No injuries but the ship once more began to leak here and there.

Day 173 (12.20/0605): Strong tail winds. After losing a half day worth of travel, today the winds through this bizarre underground world had some gusto. The Captain was optimistic that they would reach their destination by day’s end even with the current condition of the ship. They would not but it was not the Captain’s fault. A Sahuagin war party had been following the ship from below the surface. Beyond the reach of probing eye or shining light. They attacked silent as death. Amassing underneath along the prow and then climbing up. Driven by wild hatred and the uncontrollable urge to kill they made it topside without notice. The surprise attack was brutal. A shower of spears rained down on the unsuspecting hobos. “Sea Devils! We are under attack to your feet land lubbers!”, screamed Alamend just before a spear slammed into his shoulder.

As the gang scrambled to get to their feet and grab weapon and shield the Sahuagin drew their tridents and flooded the deck. The hobos were flat-footed and now being overrun. There were three groups of ten warriors each with independent command teams that displayed a comfort with overwhelming ship bound terrestrials. Each hobo faced a trio of warriors as the leaders scanned the deck for opportunities. After the combination of the first volley and the follow up skewering by triple trident action Charles, Bibles and Mason were openly bleeding from multiple injuries. This was not the time to be pretty the hobos needed to act decisively. Steve started chopping through opponents as Saffron blasted off magics and the casters on deck had some success as well and then the Sahuagin leaders waded into battle. The hobos were all now bloodied and a few within sniffing distance of mortality. The battle was now in the hands of the gods, just waiting to tip hard in either direction. The hobos pushed hard for divine reckoning. Their perseverance was deemed worthy and the tide of battle changed in the nick of time. Charles swayed on his feet attempting to hold his insides in place as Bimbles fought from one knee and the Captain defended himself while one of his arms was affixed to the cabin with a spear. The final three devils leapt from the ship returning to the inky depths the fight was over. The deck was slick with the mixed blood of combatants. Aid was rushed to the most grievously injured to prevent the likes of Charles from bleeding out.

“Let’s get to work lads we earned our pay. Now it’s time to collect”, barked out Rhagnar as Steve and Dolec joined him to loot the corpses and toss the bodies overboard to the growing number of sharks circling the ship. It seems these raiders up to now had a successful career, many of them adorned in high quality jewelry and a copious amount of coin. The Captain then ordered the sail to be furled, “Hands on the halyard and douse that sail. Drift underway”. He then lashed the wheel and slumped to the ground exhausted and well-bloodied.

The Cauldron and its mysteries would wait another day.

ROLECALL

Carla the Green High Priestess of TMB (C10) 313941 xp +10% <400001> CRT 1d12/III

Scars: permanent loss left index finger and scarring on arm

Bimbles the High Priest of GSS (C9) 276643 xp +5% <300001> CRT 1d12/III

+2 save to poison and internal body things; Double eat (gotta feed my baybay)

Hobo Steve the Lord (F9) 289416 xp +5% <360,001> CRT 1d24/V

Brain Damaged: reduced mental capacity (tough night on the town)

Rahgnar the Dwarven Superhero (D8) 210405 xp <280001> CRT 1d20/IV

Serious wound: permanent loss of an eye (-1 to missile fire)

Critical Wound: disembowelled less able to process poison (-1 penalty)

Missing thirteen teeth

Ding-We the Peg-Legged Sorcerer (W9) 463664 xp +10% <470001> CRT 1d10/I

Critical Wound: Left leg obliterated, runs at ½ rate (peg required)

Bunny the Thief! (T9) 257448 xp <280001> +10% CRT 1d20/II

Light wound: permanent loss of pinky finger, off hand

The Henchmen

Saffron the Mad Fairy Queen of Ribbits (FY7) 176755 xp <200001> CRT 1d10/III

Moderate wound: Scar on abdomen

Lasting injury: -1 STR, mashed guts

Mason the Lama of Yrrrg. (C7) 60920 <100001> CRT 1d10/III

Charles in Charge the Myrmidon (F6) 59051 <64000> +10% CRT 1d16/IV

Franz the Grave Return (Lawful; XXXX) Sword

Critical Wound: Punctured lung (-2 CON)

Mostly DEAD. (-1 CON)

Dolec Da the Hero (F5) 43871 xp +10% <64000> CRT 1d20/IV

Missing five teeth

Captain Alamend Strender the Swashbuckler (F5) 25020 <32000> +5% CRT 1d16/IV

RESERVES

BoB is the lone lawn ornament for the Basilisk Knights.

Chung Li needs 12 weeks (74 days) and a stack of coin to rewrite his lost spell book.

Elapsed: 33 days (from A-Team calendar)

Elapsed Campaign Time

612 (630) days at beginning of session (also applies to recuperation)

Join us for session Two-Hundred-and-Forty-Six when we ask the questions:

Was that war-party ranging and raging or are we about a Sea Devil nest?

What mysteries await at the Cauldron?

The sea has not been kind, did we offend something?

Do we have a solution or measure for remedying damage to the ship?

Tale of the Tape

Exploration Below the Blighted Sub-Hex

Location hex: 12.20

KILLS

Greater Sea Serpent

Sea Termites (5) escaped, mostly, with full bellies

Sahuagin war party

LOOT

9000 gp

Jewelry (15) : 15,200 gp total

Saturday 16 March 2024

Murder in the Jelly Belly (Session 243)

SESSION 243: Deep Jelly Exploration

Creeping around the lower floor of the gargantuan jelly

Day 166 Continued (12.20/0605): Moving roughly west of the wreck of the Laughing Dolphin they past the northern passage (back to the gash chamber) and began moving SW. Then the darkness gave up another secret, against the wall rested algae-covered bones of a gigantic fish extending an easy 100’. Its bony ribs extend upward towards the 25’ high ceiling. They had no idea what it was but they figured it was worthwhile doing a little searching. A couple of weird things discovered: An abalone shell with an ancient treaty written upon it and a coffin that contained five shrunken skulls. One of the skulls wore a golden headband that bore an inscription “Lets Get Physical”. It was a reward and the caption earned universal support. They moved along found another side passage and found themselves once more in the oyster chamber. Ding-We shocked all when he suggested that they grab the rest of the oysters and take another rest. He was short on aquatic assistance magics as their rooting around was slower than anticipated. The oysters were harvested and then fire-lined back to the gash chamber and then hoisted out.

Back topside, it was obvious that the waters of the Starless Sea were most certainly working further up the bell. Steve, Charles and the Captain began cracking open the eleven giant oysters. They ended up finding three big pearls, one of which was very large and golden. Afterwards a fire was built with recovered wood chunks and a healthy serving of oil to get things going. Oyster was back on the menu. Once more the rest cycle past without actual encounter but a large black dorsal fin, that may have shown signs of decay, was observed breaking the surface as something circled the jelly island.

Day 167 (12.20/0605): Today they would descend deeper into the jelly king. Back through the gash after taking swigs of water breathing. Ding-We was being cautious with his magicks, not knowing what the depths of the jellyfish would offer. The wound was really bringing in water now. The chamber was 5/8 full and it looked like the ingress of water was continually picking up flow volume. Our gang are murders not hydrologists or anything they made their way to the floor portal in the used to be the giant oyster chamber. Bloop. They were in a water-filled chamber with two corridors, N & S. They chose north as a slight bile scent was noticed in the waters to the south. They passed another portal and then entered into another irregular shaped chamber. Starfish: Several gelatinous corpses floated eerily throughout the chamber, wicked purple spines protruding from them. A massive purple starfish, covered in quivering spines, covers the northwest wall. A strange golden human skull lies below it. Bunny took a quaff of no-see-me potion and crept up on the star. About 20’ from the star the thing released a hail of spines Bunny’s way nailing her with a couple, her position revealed, to the rest by plumes of blood. She did a nifty roll and plugged the thing with a couple of arrows before falling back as the blockheads charged in. Steve leapt at the star and ouch. Plugging himself on the thing before he even got his swing off. Rhags and Charles were not far behind and quickly dismembered the thing. Bunny grabbed and then tossed the skull to Hop-Along. It was a golden man-sized skull with three identically shaped ‘holes’ above the eye sockets and it registered the presence of magics. He was intrigued but no answers would be forthcoming.

There was another corridor leaving this chamber in the NE corner but it also had pukey odour. They decided to fall back to the previously passed ‘portal’. Air Bubbles: This massive chamber was full of air, smelling of seaweed and brine. The chamber is completely empty with only a few shallow puddles. They had grabbed a quick rest and snack before backtracking and heading south.

They came to a chamber filled with an obstacle course of small jellyfish. A turtle in rough shape suggested that the little buggers were most definitely stingers. Ducking and weaving they made it through the chamber with a minimal amount of stings. Arriving at a three-way junction they took the right passage. Abomination: The walls, ceiling, and floor exhibit a dark violet color with squiggly veins of pink crisscrossing each other. Dead, limp polyps and bleached coral lightly coat the northern floor, with pale white, tiny crab carcasses floating through the terrain. A bizarre creature floats in the center of the chamber, gripping a wicked trident with head bowed. The creature is half man, with the lower half a fish tail that is covered in a gelatinous, translucent mass that exposes only a few fish scales. At the waist, the creature resembles a pale man except the skin sags as if becoming jellified. Beyond the creature was a broken, monstrous clam shell and a black passage leading deeper into things.

Jelly-Merman was not a talker. It raised its head and entered into a mad rage as it charged Steve and plugged him with its trident. The hobos quickly fell in upon J-M and even in a rage it could not compete. Plot twist! The passage was unassailable by light because the passage was choked with a huge jet black jelly-thing. First a pseudo pod shot out and pummeled Rhags before four stinging tentacles followed up and then a wave of despair, hopelessness and anguish washed across our gang making the urge to battle diminish. The fight was not going to stop for bad feelings and they had just sundered the jelly-merman. Mason and Charles were covering the back and were greeted by a gaggle of large ameboids bearing gifts of stingy goodness. Back in the front, the big primaeval horror blob oozed forward whipping tentacles and speaking directly into the hobos minds, “Eternity with me, feed me Seymour”. Steve, Charles and Rhags found the inner fortitude to hold the line and strike back as Ding-We and the clerics were able to successfully mumble off magicks to aid the effort. This thing the Abyss Whisperer was mighty but our troops have seen misery and experienced loss and keep on kicking. Once more MurderHobo would prevail over bloated evil. Not only did they prevail but they popped the gross thing like an overripe purple boil. Gunk all over. The hopelessness washed away and the joy of looting arose once more. The giant clam shell was conveniently full of good stuff. Of particular interest was a hessonite gem that appeared to carry an enchantment and was of a shape that might just fit in a gem-sized hole in a particular golden skull. It did fit. The skull began yammering about this that and the other thing.

The skull was Cormadhar that when in body was a legendary musician/ adventurer. The skull’s blather did not seem to be hindered by the waters, dang magic. They pressed on into the remaining chambers in this area to find butkus. On their way out Bunny realized that the poor sea turtle was not actually dead but well zapped by the wee jellyfish. She rescued the gaffer, named it Limpy and made a friend for her aquatic life.

After backtracking they found their way to the lower stomach that was the source of the foul bile scent. What looks like vomit, old seafood carcasses, and gunk is mixed together forming a thick, disgusting sludge on the cavern’s floor. Fish bones, driftwood, seaweed, and dull, cracked shells are caked on the walls and ceiling. Moving around the now tent filled maw they notice an orange glow from the north reveals a sizable anchor standing upright in the sludge with a chain leading off into the muck. An open-mouthed skeleton is chained to the anchor with a brass chain (25 gp and 25’ long). Several fish (harmless) swim around the anchor or nibble at the muck on the floor. When uncertain press on and they were uncertain. Just beyond was a chamber. They did however stumble upon an intact wax sealed scroll tube. Ding-We pocketed it for later review.

The Rhopalia: Eight, 2’ thick, translucent lappets hang from the 20’ high ceiling. Some of the lappets course with electrically surged cells, emitting light that emulate sparks of lightning that travel up and down the lappet and quickly disperse into the ceiling and walls creating a cosmos looking effect from the variety of colors. Other lappets are gray, dull, and lifeless. Well this created more uncertainty. With that they left the sea udders along and went towards a kelp forest to the SE mucking things up with the wizard’s atmospheric bubble. A dense, dark, seaweed and kelp forest blocks vision to 2’. The walls, ceiling and floor quickly disappear among the waving, vibrant, green feathery tendrils. Occasionally the kelp sways and a dim, bluish glow is discerned further in the chamber, before being quickly swallowed by the dense foliage. Colorful fish, jellyfish, and crabs swim or crawl along the kelp, hunting for food. There were lurkers. Giant barracuda.

The most ambitious, hungry or stupid took a run at the gang breaching the bubble and slamming into Steve before dropping to the floor and becoming a fish out of water. “Yummy”, Steve then lopped off its head and picked up the other 4’ of fresh fish dinner. Ding-We checked his sundial to see how much time they had remaining on the bubble. Due to the absence of a sun things looked inconclusive, “Sure Stevie let us get topside and have an early dinner, right after we check out that portal over there. “Sure thing buddy”, Steve threw the fish over his shoulder and moved further into the chamber. However many other barracuda that may have been present did not reveal themselves.

Hobo Steve the Lord of Gormandia with the catch of the day (Sphyraena giganticus).