The Quest for Galen Thorn
Session Twenty-Seven of The Crucible of Youth Campaign

Sunday, 49 First Snow 204

First thing in the morning, Thorn unveils his plan of attack for the thirty-plus days they must remain at sea. Manning The Rose with a crew of seven rather than twenty-seven is going to be a challenge bordering on suicide. Taking into account the needs of spell-casters to rest for eight continuous hours per day, it is looking all the more difficult. However, Arax is confident that he can raise at least ten unseen servants at any one time to help with the more mundane parts of the voyage. Thorn numbers the positions of the tiller to make things easier for his nautically-challenged ship mates. Dangerous as the journey is, they are as a ready as they are going to be.

The anchor is raised, the main sail is unfurled and with Nits and Krais at the tiller (pushing in different directions) the ship picks up speed and whistles across Dead Man's Cove. Ahead of them the waters of the Bay of Bereavement rise and fall to a worrying degree. The ship hits open water, is struck by a large wave, and drastically lists to starboard. The deck tilts at a forty-five degree angle and the crew slide across the deck to the far gunwale.

It is a sudden and alarming wake-up call to the utter inexperience of the crew. But Thorn adjusts his captain's coat and barks a series of orders that on this occasion his friends have no choice but to obey. Revelling in his new-found power Thorn helps Nits wrestle with the tiller and place the ship back on an even keel. They turn into the swell, adjust the sails and The Rose springs across the open ocean.

It is hard going. After ten minutes everyone wants to turn back. The thought of another thirty days of this is a wholly unpleasant thought. The cosy fire hearths and warm beds of Bear's Reach are feeling very attractive indeed. But then they remember exactly what they are leaving behind and why they are going. Krais for one does want to go back.

Kaylas is something of a revelation on board the ship. He might be a professional farmer, but there's also a sailor buried not too deep from the surface. He is taking to his new role alarmingly well, as are Kaleena and Nits who seem to have a slightly better understand of practical sailing than Thorn. The mariner dismisses this as a fluke. Illyan, Arax and Krais however, are more often in the way than not. Thorn makes a point of sending Krais up mast on a regular basis to get him out of the way. Arax and Illyan do little more than hang onto the mast to avoid being swept overboard. However, Arax's spells are more than welcome - and Illyan has been casting endure elements spells on the crew which is a big help in the freezing spray.

And so it goes. Winter in the Bay of Bereavement is no place for an experienced crew. For this crew, this tiny crew, it is hell. Thorn comes to the conclusion that The Rose is an extremely well put together ship. At also seventy feet in length it is stable enough that only the largest waves would ever sink it. The trick is not being blown off-course, having the sails ripped to shreds or being dashed against rocks.

The last problem is more easily averted. For the vessel is heading directly south and out into the open sea to chart the swiftest course to Jeston. This route relies on Illyan's magical sense of direction, but also the route that Arax and Thorn mapped before leaving. Towards the end of the day the coast-line of the northerly Arm of Uros disappears behind the vessel. It seems that there is now no turning back.

Vítday, 1 Frostbite 204

The second day of the journey proceeds in much the same horrendous fashion as the first. Fitness and energy reserves are horribly tested, and the group manages to put away a surprising amount of the bland gruel that Kaylas is summoning to feed them all. The weather begins to take a turn for the worse and the ship is buffeted by high winds and high waves. But the party soldier on. They

Terday, 2 Frostbite 204

Kaylas is the first to succumb to fatigue and collapses in the hold to rest. The remaining six members of the crew do their best to carry on without him. The truth is that all of them will need some time off over the coming weeks. There is no way they can continuously maintain the level of activity that manning the ship requires of them.

Zephday, 3 Frostbite 204

Kaleena confines herself to her cabin for much of the day. Kaylas is up and on the deck, although in hindsight he would probably have rather stayed in bed. The day starts well enough. The Rose is now in sight of the ominous isle of Arrock. The towering white cliffs that rise vertically out of the sea loom over them. There is allegedly no landing point along the thousand mile coastline of the isle. Legend and rumour has it that the isle is inhabited by monsters of all size and description, and soulless killers who eat children. Looking at the spray-shrouded cliffs and the clouded land above them, these stories are quite easy to believe.

But Thorn maintains the southerly course and the ship passes the dangerous rocks and by mid afternoon Arrock is far behind them. Only a slight darkening of the horizon tells the crew that the great island (and its equally large and horrible brother, Calsinor) sit just beyond the range of their sight.

The ship strikes something. It is quite obviously not a wave. It is something solid. The Rose lifts bodily into the air and then slides off to the starboard. The crew catch hold of deck rings and masts to save themselves from falling. All apart from Kaylas who tumbles across the deck, hits the gunwale and falls into the water.

Not realising what has happened Illyan, Krais and Thorn hurry to the prow to see what they struck. Krais gets there first and sees that it is a whale. It's a bloody enormous whale - possibly as large as the ship itself. Thorn is very excited and begins to break out the harpoons. He thinks that now is the perfect time to go whaling. Illyan disagrees. This is no ordinary whale. The skin is chitinous, not rubbery and is punctuated with tusks and claws. This isn't a whale, it is zeuglodon: a dire whale. And when the fluke rises fifty feet further away than Krais thought it should be, they realise that this creature is significantly larger than the ship.

And then they notice that Kaylas is in the water and they rush to the side. Nits, Kaleena and Arax are peering into the murky depths but can't see anything. Then Thorn notices that the ship is a lot closer to those murky depths than it really should be. When they struck the dire whale water flooded the deck and entered the hold through the open hatch. The ship is dangerously low in the water and unless they do something about that it will sink. Thorn commands everyone to start bailing (especially Arax's army of invisible men). But as they do this they are abandoning the shepherd.

Kaylas can't swim. He has been meaning to learn and really hopes that he is going to get another chance at it. The endure elements spell running on him is protecting him from hypothermia, so at least the cold isn't going to kill him. He splashes vainly, trying to reach the surface. The realisation that he is sharing the water with gigantic swimming death machine does nothing to improve his temper. However, it seems that Kaylas is too small a morsel for the zeuglodon that is swimming in wide arcs around the ship trying to work out what hit it.

Kaylas rises a bit and then he sinks. He rises and sinks. He really isn't any good at this. If he could just crest the surface he could call upon the power of Terranor to aid him. But first he has to get there, and he knows that he is going go get no help at all from his friends.

After what seems like an eternity and just before his air expires Kaylas breaks the surface of the water and takes a welcome lungful of air. Swiftly he casts a spell to give him the proficiency he needs in swimming. Unfortunately, this is short lived. He looks around catches sight of the masts of the ship and strikes out in that direction. But it is going to take him a very long time to get there and there is nothing he can do to accelerate things.

On the ship, Kaylas is saved by Kaleena's sharp eyes. She spots the shepherd bobbing vainly, spluttering and disappearing beneath the waves. It takes a while for everyone else to spy him, but eventually they do and Illyan begins to cast a summoning spell to save his friend. A summoned porpoise appears a few feet about the surface of the ocean and dives in. With a flick of its tail it propels itself toward Kaylas with the speed and subtlety of a torpedo. It whips around the cleric, slowing enough to allow Kaylas to grab on and then it is off back to the ship where a helpful unseen servant waits with a rope for Kaylas to grab. The cleric is saved! Well, not quite.

Kaylas himself was too feeble a snack for a zeuglodon, but a porpoise is another matter. As the summoned creature and its passenger plough their way back across the waves, a wall of teeth rises out of the deep behind them. The zeuglodon, all mouth and tail, closes on the oblivious Kaylas and - by extension - closes on the ship as well.

The crew standing at the gunwale watch in increasingly horror as the mammoth beast gets nearer and nearer to Kaylas and to them. The cleric is utterly oblivious to his predicament until he sees his friends gesticulating wildly at something behind him. He turns. He sees. That proves to be something of a shock.

Kaylas realises that he is not going to make the boat before the dire whale scoffs him and the porpoise. However, the rope held dangling in space by the unseen servant is within his grasp. Kaylas pulls himself up so he is kneeling on the porpoise and at the critical moment he makes a death-defying lunge for the rope.

Time seems to slow down for the crew of the ship as they see Kaylas's desperate gambit. He launches himself into the air and catches the rope firmly with his throat. The momentum causes the unseen servant to spin around him wrapping the rope securely around his neck. As this happens, the zeuglodon attacks; its gigantic maw easily swallowing up the porpoise. Kaylas is yanked backwards, the rope thankfully coming away from his neck as he falls. He lands on the head of the zeuglodon as the creature dives under The Rose.

The ship lifts from the water as the vast beast swims underneath it. Kaylas tumbles down the creature's back and is badly lacerated by its spines. His last conscious act is to see the great fluke of the zeuglodon coming down upon him. He rolls to the side.

Meanwhile, The Rose rights itself sharply, flinging Illyan into the water. This appears to all his friends that he is bravely throwing himself into danger to rescue Kaylas. As the spray clears the cleric is briefly seen floating face down in the swell before sinking slowly. Illyan grabs him and swims to the surface where both of them are finally pulled on board.

Fortunately, the zeuglodon seemed content with the porpoise and does not surface again. As Kaylas goes for a welcome lie down, the rest of the crew bail furiously and after several hours they have done enough to keep the ship afloat.

Caladay, 4 Frostbite 204

It is Krais's turn to rest as the ship continues its march south. Going is slow today as the vessel hits a heavy swell, and there is still much bailing work for Arax's unseen servants. Krais observes that despite being thrown together in such intimate conditions he hasn't exchanged more than a few sentences with Kaleena after leaving Dead Man's Cove. He realises this situation is unlikely to change before they reach Jeston. He is either helping to sail the ship or recovering from helping to sail the ship.

Sharday, 5 Frostbite 204

The holy day of the goddess of seas, rivers and all things wet, and Sharrash is certainly making her presence felt. There is a storm coming in and Thorn decides that the best course of action is to take advantage of it while he can. He commands that all three sails be unfurled. This is a dangerous move as although they can unfurl the sails, controlling them all with so few members of the crew would be dangerous. However, if they don't take chances like this they are never going to make Jeston in a mere thirty days.

As soon as the sails are run up the ship bucks like an wild horse and shoots forward at a dizzying rate. Thorn keeps the sails up for much of the day, running ahead of the storm. By evening they have covered a considerable distance but the wind is really howling. The entire group is exhausted (especially Nits), as they take down all the sails and prepare to ride out the storm.

Morday, 6 Frostbite 204

Thorn takes the opportunity to rest as powerful winds strike the ship. Unseen servants man the tiller and try to keep the vessel on course. With the sails stowed they are at the mercy of the waves and the wind, but that is better than having the sails ripped off, because Thorn isn't convinced they have replacements. The storm blows all day and all through the night.

Sunday, 7 Frostbite 204

By mid afternoon the storm has abated, the sails are raised The Rose presses on across the sea. They are making good time and occasionally chancing a second sail against the wind. Illyan and Arax are asleep below deck all day as the group once again settles into the routine of sea travel.

Zephday, 10 Frostbite 204

The ship is now turning to the north-east. Miraculously, the have navigated the southern coasts of Arrock and Calsinor and now - with Calsinor barely visible to north - they are beginning the slow journey out of the Bay of Bereavement. Another week and they could should be turning down toward Jeston.

It is on this day they spot another ship on the horizon. It is a three-masted ship like The Rose only this one is running full sail. Suspicious. Thorn whips out his telescope and looks at the vessel. It is well manned by an armed crew. The captain of the vessel also has a telescope. He waves.

Thorn immediately suspects pirates, although he has absolutely no evidence to base this upon. In very short time, Arax is planning ways of dealing death to the crew of the other vessel by planting flaming spheres on their deck and blowing their sails away with lightning bolts. Illyan isn't so sure that they should become quite so murderous so quickly. Thorn suggests that they allow the vessel to come along side so he can unleash the barbarians of the horn against them.

In any event, they put on full sail in a bid to out-run the other vessel. It zips through the water at an increased rate, but the other vessel has just as much sail and with an experience crew they are gaining. Thorn observes the vessel again with his telescope. They have catapults on the deck and they are manning them! The captain of the ship waves sweetly while spaying them through his telescope. Illyan unleashes a flare orison that blinds the other captain and Thorn gives him the finger.

The catapult is loosed. It lands in the sea ahead of The Rose with a tremendous splash. A warning shout they hope. Things seem desperate now. There doesn't seem any way they can out-run the other ship. But Kaylas has spells that can help in this eventuality. He casts a spell and there is a crack in the fabric of reality. A giant eagle of frosty-proportions streaks across the sea to the pirate vessel.

Through his telescope Thorn can see the eagle make mince-meat out of the ship's main sail. One of the pirates rushes forward and points at the eagle sending a bolt of lightning straight up into the air. It strikes the eagle sending it spinning away, but also blows the top off the main mast. The eagle is badly wounded, but not dead. It wheels in the air and takes away the aft sail as well. Then it vanishes.

With two sails destroyed and the mast on fire, The Rose easily begins to pull away from the pirate vessel. The last thing that Thorn sees through his spyglass is the captain repeatedly hitting his mage with a large stick.

Sharday, 11 Frostbite 204

The Rose has been running at full sail for almost a day trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the pirate vessel. Illyan wonders what a pirate vessel is doing out in the Bay of Bereavement at this time of year. It is far too dangerous, surely. And they can hardly have many vessels to prey upon. Kaleena hopes that they never find out, and that they stay ahead of the other ship.

About midday a tern lands on the deck of the ship. It waddles over the Thorn and presents its leg. There is a message attached to it. Evidently the other ship as a spellcaster capable of casting druidic-type spells such as this one. Thorn unfurls the note and reads the following:

Thorn is extremely excited at the prospect of having a nemesis. The party quickly huddle together and come up with progressively more outlandish ways in which they can knobble the other vessel from a distance. They come up with the idea of barrels marked with one of Kaylas glyphs of warding than can be used as mines and directed to the other vessel by unseen servants. They could explode into summoned eagles and rip the sails. This idea has some serious support until they realise that they do not have the necessary diamond dust to inscribe a glyph.

But they do have a sepia snake sigil points out Arax. The same spell that trapped Tam for ten days after he tried to enter the Old Mill. They could send a message back to the captain with this inscribed and when he reads it he gets trapped in a glowing orb!

Illyan cannot cast the necessary spell to induce the tern to return to the other ship. However, he can take the creature on as his animal companion. Now that he no longer as the bear cub he feels a little bereft. Illyan and the tern get to know one another over the course of a couple of hours and Illyan has bonded to the little bird. He instructs the tern to deliver the message to the captain, find out what happens and then fly back. The tern nods and salutes with its wing.

Thorn has already prepared a message for the captain. It reads as follows:

As soon as the captain starts to read the message it will be too late for him. Amber is needed as a component in sepia snake sigil. They don't have any amber, but Arax improvises with the kaorti resin that still litters the ship. He reckons that it will work just as well. For some reason, everyone believes him. The tern takes to the wing and flies off in search of the pirate vessel.

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