Our party are:
- Hector: a former slave with a painted face, who wields magic through his poppet
- Montague: a dashing young fellow with a romantic notion of life at sea
- William: a man of means with a taste for the sweat life
(Corwin fades into the background for a few scenes as his player is unable to make the session)
The rest of the away team finish their careful descent of the cliffside and find Billy’s body laid 10′ or so from a wide opening into the cliff below. He is lain face up cradling his musket like a bairn, as though he protected it with his body during the fall. Despite having tumbled 50′ down a cliff through jungle foliage our young musketeer still lives, though is unconcious – Besmara, or some other power, must have a purpose for him…
(Behind the curtain: Billy took falling damage enough to reduce him to low hp and then non-lethal damage sufficient to knock him out. He was very lucky. Even more so because he passed the Fortitude save required to avoid triggering the massive damage rules.)
Hector and Montague investigate the opening into the cliff and deduce that there’s a pool of water below ranging from 40′-80′ below the edge of the opening depending on whereabouts they view. The water below appears to be clear with no rocks beneath the surface. Furthermore they have a strong suspicion that the Grindylow are within the cove, as the Grindylow they saw dancing about a fire onshore must have been close to this point, perhaps with an ocean inlet into the cove?
The two pirates debate about how to proceed; wheter to rest, proceed into the cove immediately or somehow scout out the cove before resting and entering with Billy able to join them. Montague wants to send Alice, the dominated ship’s whore ghoul, in to perform reconnaisance for them but Hector suggests the cost is too high if she is lost.
Deciding that some reconnaisance must be performed Montague removes his leathers and decides he’ll scout for signs of Sandara and Rosie. Hector sends magical Dancing Lights to the surface of the pool below to illuminate the way for Montague’s investigation.
Montague gracefully dives into the pool and surfaces, seeing two passages available he opts for the one which seems to lead under the cliff, rather than the one leading to the ocean. As he swims across the pool four bat-winged insectoid creatures descend from a cliff-side nest to attack. Diving below the surface Montague decides his best course of action is to enter the cavern complex to avoid these creatures and continues towards the tunnel beneath the water’s surface.
Unable to see once inside the cavern complex he continues to follow the wall around into the cove, thankful the creatures haven’t made pursuit. Ignoring his gut telling him that the dark and wet are too dangerous to explore alone, Montague continues into the complex in search of land underfoot.
He narrowly escapes a trap of floating hooks that look certain to have entangled him and presses deeper into the complex into a wider cavern and hears the sound of half a dozen or more creatures diving below the water. Unable to see he makes to leave but the spear of a Grindylow strikes out at him and then the creatures tentacles pull him beneath the water.
Disoriented and uunable to see Montague climbs the wall of the cavern and hopes to make his way past the hooks and retreat out of the cove and return to his allies. Unfortuantely he is outnumbered and outmatched by the aquatic creatures, who can see in the dark, and as he makes his plans a spear launches from the water’s surface and mortally wounds him.
Our brave swashbuckler falls into the water and isn’t heard from again.
Meanwhile as Montague explores Hector engages in parley with Alice, the remaining ghoulish ship’s whore whom he had dominated through the power of his poppet some 14hrs ago. Knowing that whilst they rested there was a strong chance of Alice contesting his will Hector decided to try and negotiate with her, offering flesh for her loyalty and promising her safety and freedom if she helps him overthrow Plugg..
The creature is sceptical but is unable to deny the allure and logic of Hector’s offerings and agrees to assist him in his bid to gain control of the Man’s Promise, stating that she will leave at some point in the future once that work is done but how soon she leaves is yet to be determined.
There are less than 28 hours remaining before the Man’s Promise departs. With one ally lost and henchcreature gained, how will the away team fare in rescuing their lost crew members?