Pass the Bowl
The chapter begins in the aftermath of the raid on Master
Zuno’s manor. The “Feathered Cockerels” have killed Zuno’s hulking monk
bodyguard and his displacer beast “guard dogs” and seized their prize: a red
and gold chest containing the Bowl of Storms.
Vexingly, Master Zuno has escaped them and is on the loose
in Scag Harbor.
In the privacy of Solarr, the pirates bypass the mechanical
and magical locks on the chest and lay eyes on The Bowl of Storms, a magic
artifact of tremendous power. Discovered centuries ago, by a mythic hero named
The Mariner, the Bowl of Storms is part of a set of items known as the Relics
Three.
The Bowl of Storms
Legendary magic item
When this ornate brass bowl is filled with sea water, it can summon violent storms
- Requires attunement
- Wielder can cast control weather 1/day
- Wielder must make an Arcana 25 check to activate
- If wielder fails Arcana check, a violent storm is triggered for 1d4 hours
Titus learns some gossip from Stella, the halfling owner/operator
of the Harpy’s Roost: Master Zuno is hiding among his people in the Merchants
Guildhouse, a fortified building packed with guards. The Merchants Guild has no
idea that Zuno has betrayed them and attempted to steal the Bowl of Storms via
his pawns, the Feathered Cockerels. Through some strange crystal orb, he
communicated with the main Guildhouse in Port Sapphire, beseeching them for
assistance of the armed variety, and now two ships full of Korynthian
Imperators sail this way – they’ll arrive in four days, if the winds are
willing.
“Fuck!” Titus says.
The Harbormaster
The half-orc pirate gathers the rest of the Cockerels to
tell them the news.
They debate their next move: can they sell Gorgon? The prize
ship certainly incriminates them for the theft of the Bowl of Storms, and the
Merchants Guild will be looking for it. The only person in town who can handle
such a sale is the previously unseen Harbormaster, who is said to live in the
tower at the end of the main pier.
Courteous harb’goblins pass on their request for parley, and
soon the pirates are introduced to the Harbormaster: Stella the bartender.
“Aaah, la douce Miss Harbormaster, vous
etes enchanteur,” Chase says. “We have a sea-going ship we wish to sell
you, oui?”
Stella explains that a delicate but profitable balance
exists between her operations and the Guild – and therefore with Master Zuno.
She owns and runs the docks of Scag Harbor and uses a network of beach halfling
spies to keep tabs on her rivals – which is how she knows trouble is on the
way.
Stella says, “I’m sympathetic to pirates on general
principle, but I’ve no interest in buying the Guild’s stolen property, nor do I
have any interest in seeing my town burn down when the Imperators arrive to
kill you.”
They agree to leave with Gorgon, as soon as they’ve sold all
their cargo, installed the spell turret, and removed the distinctive figurehead
from the bowsprit. Since they have four days before the hunters arrive, they
have time to gather some Rumors and Quest Hooks!
Rumors and Quest Hooks
Isle of Issek
Harko, a friendly priest of Issek is persuaded into
sketching a map of their island sanctuary, three days north of Scag Island. He
and his fellow cultists (who have delicious scones) are gathering locals from
Scag Harbor and are sailing north with their new acolytes on the tide. “Praise
be to Issek!” Harko says.
The Relics Three
At the Temple of the Mariner, the salty Father Kemba tells
them about the legend of the Mariner and how he gathered the Relics Three on
his 100 Year Voyage. The Relics Three are The Bowl of Storms, which we’ve
mentioned; The Black Harpoon, a magical spear that can pierce dimensions; and
The Horn of Seven Fathoms, a conch horn that controls water and beast alike. After
leaving the Temple of the Mariner, the party are attacked by a group of thugs,
no doubt sent by Zuno to kill them.
The Pancordium
Capt. Teach hears a whispered tale about the Pancordium, a
pocket dimension where bards from across the Material Plane gather to rock out.
The site of many epic bard battles and dance-offs, Pancordium is said to host
the Book of Rock.
The Green Hole
Two days before the party arrived, an armed galleon named
Sea Bitch was in in Scag Harbor. While carousing in the Harpy’s Roost, the human
captain was inquiring about rumors of place called the Green Hole. A known
hazard due to the shallow waters, the Green Hole is three days south of Scag
Harbor – and is said to hold a precious Obari Orb. Sea Bitch sailed south on
the next tide.
The Invisible Ship
The Feathered Cockerels sail Gorgon and Solarr out of Scag
Harbor the next morning, well ahead of the Imperator ships. They travel around
Scag Island to the fishing village of Oddwater, where Gorgon (now GrogOn) drops
anchor. They’ll leave the prize ship here while they attend to other pirate business.
Nigel and Buckethead are returned to their village, and Sheila, Nigel’s sister,
catches Cake’s attention.
<At this point the DM was full of White Claw and exhausted
after a long day at work, and the quality of the adventure really started to slip>
Solarr arrives above the Green Hole – a shallow tropical
reef where the water is an iridescent green. Chaser dips into the sea and asks a
fishy friend if anything is amiss. “Hooole in waterrr,” says the fish. Swimming
over to inspect, Chaser finds a ship-sized indentation on the surface – it’s as
if an invisible galleon was sitting in the water.
Full of curiosity, the pirates row over to the invisible
ship in a magical tattoo rowboat – and are promptly fired on by the crew of the
unseen ship!
The Cockerels dive overboard and swim down into the Green
Hole, where they find the dead body of a human wearing some kind of armored
dive suit. A gash on the suit reveals the human’s fate: the armor was ruptured,
and he must have drowned. Chaser casts Mending on the strange armor and patches
it up.
Following footsteps in the sandy sea floor, the PCs enter an
aquatic cavern. Rising up out of the water into a large chamber full of air and
lit with phosphorescence, the party interrupts a desperate battle. Four figures
in armored dive suits are locked in combat with a monstrous chuul – a chitinous,
clawed nightmare.
Instead of helping the dive suit guys fight the monster,
Cake attacks the nearest armored figure and totally murders him. The dye is
cast; now it’s a three-way fight between the chuul, the Cockerels, and the poor
armored guys.
Finally, the party triumphs over man and beast alike, and
only one armored figure remains to face their blades and magic.
“Parley!” he says and removes his dive helmet.
Capt. Sam Avery, the notorious pirate who Titus once sailed with, stands before them.
“Titus, ye son of a bitch. Ye plague me with ill luck
once again. I’d run you through and be done with ye, but I have need of your
service once more – and you lot most certainly need Capt. Samuel Avery.”
