Forty-First Session (11 page pdf) – “All Aboard” – The Chainbreaker rescues some crewmen et al. from Bloodcove, leaves others, hits the high seas, and brings on yet more! Some of them are even invited.
Here’s the Fulvous Cabal in PDF – I use Hero Lab so I basically search around for things kinda like what I want (an urban druid and some random cultists in this case), lightly customize them, and off we go! It makes for some strange things I wouldn’t have picked myself (Lily Pad Stride!) which is cool.
Anyway, they thought they defeated the Fulvous Cabal, sent some of the crew including Wogan back to the ship, and interrogated the leader and then killed him. And then they got to find out he was inhabited by a phantom! This will become a theme later on but was novel at this point. This was more dangerous than anticipated since it was only Sindawe, Serpent, and Klangin remaining, they had sent everyone else away. Luckily it was during the daytime, so they managed to flee.
As they get back to the ship, I had decided on a way to bring the chaos plot to an end too, it had gone past “fun game” scary to “players angry” scary. Mitabu had realized that Zoamai was obsessed and being a danger with the book so he was trying to shuttle it away from her. But she finds out and comes after him. Now it’s up to our wise captain Sindawe to negotiate a resolution! Zoamai grabs the book and he decides she can have it if she is fleeing into Bloodcove – on the grounds that this place is a shithole and it’s their problem. (Just like the rat king they leave behind.)
“Mitabu, are you going or staying?”
“Am I in trouble?”
“Depends. Did you bring that book back from Ulduvai?”
“No. It just appeared one night.”
Sindawe pauses for a long moment. “We are good then… As long as you stick to that story.”
A trio of eight-pointed metal stars scuttle down the gangplank and head out after Zoamai.
Both men grimace at each other.
Tension is lifted, so they make deals with the Aspis Consortium to get some ships they can go plunder, and get underway.
Then we have a fun character moment. Rucia and Klangin both have the hots for Wogan. He’s bound and determined to keep his Gozreh-priesthood celibacy going. Sindawe has him and Lavender Lil go in and check out Rucia, who was stripped naked and had runes put all over her by the Fulvous Cabal. Wogan wants Lil to interrogate her using a zone of truth, which she does, but then also uses to interrogate Wogan about his feelings about Rucia as well. After a bit of this Lil goes “to get her clothes” and just leaves the two of them in the cabin.
Wogan and Rucia stare quietly at each other, then make small talk about his curio collection. Lil doesn’t return, so after a long awkward period Wogan orders Taunya to retrieve Rucia’s clothes. Lil rolls her eyes when she sees Wogan scuttle out onto the deck.
Wogan has his chastity, Serpent has his wife, and Sindawe has a jealous voodoo goddess, but they all like to see their fellows wriggle uncomfortably with temptation. For her part, Lil just can’t get her mind around it, she tries to set him up with Klangin too to no response. As a former hooker and succubus’ thrall she just does not get how he can not be interested in anyone.
Then they manage to take the Boastful Shaman without a fight. They have settled into their revamped ship. This is the end of Season Five – now they need to head south along the Razor Coast to Port Shaw to hunt the source of their phantom problems, the serpent man formerly known as Elias Tammerhawk!