Session Date: 06/15/2024
After this session we’re gonna start alternating between Gatewalkers and Strahd. :>
We wake up the next morning and it’s just a different shade of grey. We have rations for breakfast, then leave the stable and are not offered meals - the staff are buying their breakfast with company script. The people here do not have the ability or authority to hunt: they must buy from the company store, more or less. Arkuda’s lawyer senses are tingling, though there’s nothing here that is technically illegal.
The butler comes out and asks us to follow him, and he explains we are going to go see Master Sceleris. Trouble talks to him and Trouble manages to intimidate him enough that the butler completely starts ignoring him. The butler explains that Master Sceleris wishes to speak to us about the task at hand. Trouble walks before the butler to make him slower and is being generally an annoying little shithead. Once we enter the mansion, Trouble starts trying to scrape all of the gold items and the party immediately reigns them in so that we don’t get into any trouble.
We make it to where Sceleris is, Trouble sits down on a chair and grinds their teeth to stay quiet and be good. Sceleris is looking us over, and he eyes Trouble as if she’s some sort of exotic animal. He waits until the party is done talking amongst themselves, then addresses us and asks if we are ready to deal with the pirate. Sceleris says that there will be no issues, no moral quandries - we’re just to go take care of business. We aren’t particularly enthusiastic and Sceleris says that he loves the enthusiasm, and Trouble offers to write a song, and Arkuda says that enthusiasm wasn’t in the contract.
Sceleris decides to talk at us about what he wants done. He explains there’s a pirate ship we need to deal with, though we need to deal with the captain: Pietra van Riese.
Atheya and Arkuda have heard of her:
This is the Sea of Sorrows and we realize more about where we are - the domains shift, but the islands are often on the Sea of Sorrows. We have a general idea of where we are from The Core - Barovia doesn’t tend to move or shift, though the two of us aren’t sure why. The Captain had a reputation for attaching captives to ropes and dragging them through water until they drown. She’s one of the dark lords that are visibly undead, though we aren’t sure if she’s a zombie or something more exotic, but the crew are definitely zombies. She was murdered in life, and then she was risen on the Sea of Sorrows with her crew and her ship The Relentless.
She is likely going to be difficult to negotiate with.
Sceleris explains that she is somewhere on the sea, so she does not come to port very often. Sceleris explains we will leave as soon as possible and the ship is just about ready. Sceleris asks if any of us have any maritime experience, and we all say that Arseid is very experienced with maritime experience.
We head down to his ship - The Spiteful - and there is a full crew on the ship. There is despair in the eyes of the entire crew. They’re all defeated, many of them are thin or seem too young or too old to be here - it’s not a good crew, but the expendable people. He tells us if we don’t succeed then don’t even bother coming back, and, well, we know based off of the contract. We think Arseid should be captain, and she pushes it off and says Serina should be captain since she’s a natural leader. After some arguing, Serina agrees to be captain.
There is a guard coming with us - Harpax - and, for him, this is an upgrade for him. We finally get all of our things together and decide to set off - Serina and Atheya are a little queasy but it’s bearable, Arkuda and Arseid are totally fine, and Trouble is absolutely sea sick.
Serina threatens Harpax, telling him not to whip any of the workers or he will be thrown overboard. Harpax thinks that this means just whip them quietly, but Serina doesn’t understand this, even though Atheya does.
Trouble goes below deck to try to play music for the ship because Arseid said it would help, but they are instead very sea sick.
As we move out of port we can see the pollution above the island, but on the sea the air is fresh and there is a gentle rain. We have a map that gives a very vague idea of where things may be, but given the shifting nature of the Domains of Dread, it is obviously more suggestion than fact.
For the first leg of the journey there is no huge storm, but we do get a moment of the wind shifting so we get a nose full of Nosos as we head out to the sea.
- Isle of Ravens
- A storm of ravens surrounds this forested islet. Hidden amid the feathered gale, an impossibly tall tower stretches into the sky. This is the home of the Lady of Ravens, and any who offend her join her ebon-winged flock.
- NOTE: This is not the Raven Queen deity from D&D.
- Vigilant’s Bluff
- This might have some sort of a shipwreck that we could possibly plunder.
- An undead paladin holds vigil atop this drowned island. Weary travelers can find refuge here if they’re respectful of the paladin’s faith. The bones of those who were not litter the surrounding coral.
- Dominia
- The asylum of the vampire Dr. Daclaud Heinfroth rises upon this stormy island. The asylum’s patients are all dramatically different versions of Heinfroth inspired by who he was at various points during his lengthy life.
- Blaustein
- This island-fortress domain was once ruled by the notorious Bluebeard, but his spectral wives overthrew him and now endlessly torment him.
Serina picks a random direction and we happen to head toward Vigilant’s Bluff. It’s smooth sailing. Harpax stands around and motivates the crew by yelling at them, and Arkuda goes down to get Trouble. Arkuda sees the stores: hardtack, salted fish, beer/ale of some kind. We don’t have enough to make a full journey to all four places and we will have to figure something sooner or later so we do not starve.
Crew
- Serina: Captain
- Arkuda: Navigator (?)
- Arseid: First Mate
- Trouble: Song leader/bard/morale captain (when not sick)
- Atheya: Ship doctor
It takes a few days to get there as far as we know based on what’s there, but since it’s not exact we aren’t completely sure. Harpax absolutely thinks that he’s helping by being the most middle of middle managers.
The next day of weather is actually nice: the rain stops and the sun peeks out through the clouds. There’s still a dismal grey aura about the place, but it’s definitely much nicer. Trouble’s stomach finally settles and they are feeling better.
Arkuda walks up to Serina and says that we may have a slight problem: we do not have enough food to make it to all of the locations on the map, much less to our destination or back. Serina suddenly recalls everything, and she explains that Vigilant’s Bluff may give us some shelter and rations if we are respectful to the undead paladin that lives there. In addition, Blaustein might be helpful as well if we head that way.
The paladin turns out to have a deity very similar to Arkuda, but we will not get attacked on sight. As far as we know, he may not be as bad as some of the other lords that rule over the islands here.
Serina asks one of the crew if the contract stipulates that they return to this guy for work, or what the idea is behind their contracts. The workers say that they want to work and the contract says what it says. Serina asks if the crew would like to leave Nosos with us after the job, and the crew member explains he wouldn’t know where to go, and their families are back at Nosos. Some of the crew wouldn’t mind a change of scenery, so some may be interested to going with us - just not everyone. There will be consequences for that type of action.
GM Note: We have food for three trips, including this one.
Going back to Nosos counts as a trip.