The Ship in the Storm
While enroute to the forthcoming Gotternacht Games at the ROSE COLISEUM, Oberyx the Half-Elf Warlock oathbound to Fulgar, Del Erenaeth the Elf Monk, Zook Bafflestone the Gnome Artficer, Kaid the Goliath Barbarian, David the Half-Elf Wizard, Fil the Drow Cleric of Zephyr, and Kudac the Half-Orc Cleric of Baldnoggin, found their voyage by sea taking a less than comfortable turn. Things change pretty quickly. The winds begin to blow. The waters become choppy. The rain begins to fall. Soon it’s a full-fledged storm and they could feel the waves begin to toss the ship about. Abobe the howl of the wind and the deafening roar of thunder, they could hear the sailors shouting, screaming, praying to their gods. Then those below decks heard the dreaded call to arms.
“All hands on deck!”
Dutifully, they headed upstairs to the deck. It was worse than they imagined. Most of the sailors were gone, including the captain. The steering wheel spun wildly. Oberyx took one look at this state of affairs and headed back below decks. The others raced to save the ship.
Zook took control of the ship’s wheel. Kudac began praying to Baldnoggin for protection over himself and the others. Kaid, David and Del and began working on getting the sails back up. Fil searched about for the captain but he was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, when the sails billowed in the wind, the pressure was too great and the masts snapped. One snapped cleanly and was snatched away by the winds. The other fell like a tree, knocking David overboard. It hung in the water, causing them to drag off-course until Del, Zook and Grogu (Zook’s small dragonish steel defender) managed to regain control of the ship’s wheel and through a mighty effort managed to steer the vessel toward an island they could see every so often as the waves rose and fell. Caught in the tumbling waves, David attempted to grab hold of the mast lying in the water, but instead it slammed into him. Despite the damage he sustained, he managed to cling to both consciousness and the mast. Blood trailed in the water from his wounds.
The goliath took his axe and cut the mast free, either unaware or unconcerned that David was clinging to it. The mast was temporarily tied to the ship by the rigging it was entangled in. Realizing his plight, David dug into the last of his reserves and made a mad dash up the fallen mast. He made it to the deck before the mast pulled free of the lines and slipped into the billowing waves. Fil rushed to his side and prayed to Zephyr, healing his wounds.
Below decks, Oberyx managed to find a place safe from rolling barrels and other items; however, he noticed that the ship was now taking on water. After slipping on the stairs once, he managed to emerge on the deck just in time to watch the ship crack apart. Realizing that this was the end and that the ship would not make it to shore, everyone jumped overboard.
David aggravated his injuries when he landed. His blood attracted the attention of a trio of sharks. Despite his injuries, he and his comrades managed to make to shore, although Oberyx did manage to lose a boot in the mud and Fil was forced to kill a shark on the way in.
The Revenge of the Fearless
Meanwhile, Nathan Garney the Human Cleric of Everly, Thril Wolfsbane the Elf Fighter, and Weddumlir Aleshield the Dwarf Fighter continued their fight against the Fearless’ ettin champion. Davroar Hollysword the Elf Cleric of Moriarty assisted them from a nearby rooftop, but Meldor Ironforge the Dwarf Wizard, and Acindor the Human Fighter were too far away to be of immediate assistance. Without warning, Wedd vanished. Nathan noticed a square sigil on the ground in the place where the dwarf had been standing, which he intuitively realized meant that Baldnoggin had inconveniently called him away for some reason.
Nathan wisely placed himself behind the remaining fighter. As the clerics rained down divine power on the ettin, Thril rushed in and used his sword to hamstring the ettin, bringing it down to one knee. The ettin attempted to retaliate, but he was hampered by his sudden lack of mobility. In a moment of overconfidence, Thril rushed at the ettin and leapt up to decaptitate the left head, but missed by inches. Enfraged, the ettin swung his axe hard, knocking Thril unconscious. He followed up the attack quickly, bringing his morning star down, crushing Thril’s head and killing him instantly.
Enraged at the death of his friend, Davroar cried, “Moriarty!” and formed his spiritual weapon into a sword. Throwing the weapon toward the ettin from the top of the building, he caused the ettin to flinch. In the next breath, Davroar leapt from the building, caught the weapon in midair and caught the ettin between its heads. Meldor and Acindor reached Nathan in time to witness the killing blow as Davroar’s weapon cleaved the ettin in twain on his way down, avenging their comrade.
An awful stillness fell upon the battlefield. Looking around for new foes, they became aware of the sounds of a shipwreck in progress back at the docks. Meldor, Acindor and Nathan went to investigate while Davroar looted the bodies of the Fearless.
The Meeting
Noticing the trio on the docks, Oberyx trudged out of the waters, looking quite disheveled. Sighing deeply, he looked at Acindor and said, “I have a very quick question for you, sir. Do you have a spare pair of boots?”
Acindor looked down at the warlock’s feet, taking in the fact that one boot was indeed missing. He grimly recalled that Thril’s feet were about the same size. Knowing the elf had no further use for them, he offered to show him where Thril’s body lay.
As the parties made their introductions, Acindor noted how Fil tended to the wounds of the others. The half-elf cleric immediately earned his respect due to his dedication to his calling.
Making their way back to the tower, they compared notes. After noting that the replacement of the power crystal atop the tower had made the lift up the mountain operational, Davroar, Acindor, Meldor and Nathan explained their quest. While David, Kaid and Kudac opted to remain behind in the DOCKYARDS, the others took the tram up the mountain to OBSCURUS’ MANSION. On the way up, they noticed a forest off to their right in the direction the Fearless had come from. To the west, the saw the remains of a large AVIARY complex. It was now mostly overgrown and their were large holes in the roofs, making it apparent that whatever winged creatures the AVIARY contained were likely free now.
Coming at last to the top of the mountain, they surveyed the MANSION. After a quick conference, they decided to rest for the night while they took turns at the watch. They would enter the MANSION at first light.
Similarly, the party in the DOCKYARDS rested in the TRAM STATION, intending to explore the area in the morning.
Adventure Inc. 
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