Session Date: 09/21/2024
Arkuda’s player is out today, so Arkuda is doing paperwork and reviewing our contract somewhere on the ship.
The Party
We are on the ship headed to Blaustein - the thought being that Pietra van Riese has a feud with the wives of Blaustein himself, so they may have an idea of where she is hiding. Arseid has a moment where she falters in how to sail and everyone sort of catches on that maybe Arseid doesn’t know how to sail, actually. Atheya overhears some of the rumors that Arseid doesn’t know how to sail, and Atheya goes to talk to her and encourages her, more or less saying that she should trust her instinct because she knows what to do.
Arseid fesses up to lying about the fact that she knew how to sail, and Atheya asks more or less how much she lied. Arseid explains she knows nothing about sailing, and Atheya says that neither does she, and they seem to be doing okay. She’s confident that they’ll get through all of this if we all work together. Arseid admits she was worried we’d throw her overboard and Atheya explains that we would never. Arseid calls Serina over and tells her she lied, and Serina explains that we have been doing pretty well and it’s fine. She explains that Arseid should keep doing what she’s been doing because Arseid pretending to know what’s going on was good for morale.
Trouble throws themself at the ship’s wheel and falls off, with the spokes smacking their head as it turns. Atheya, Serina, and Harpax all jump at the wheel, making it stop spinning so that we don’t capsize or fall any more off course than we already were - Harpax threw his whip overboard in this decision making process.
Trouble clambers up to the crow’s nest and doesn’t see land, then works on improving the map. After a while, they look back around and finally see the island of Blaustein.
Blaustein
The island itself looks very nice - the village looks in good repair and the place just looks a lot nicer than everywhere else we’ve been before. Atop the hill on the island is a castle, which is of note. We pull into the harbor and dock directly in the harbor near the village. There are a lot of people around here, and they are smiling.
Serina has heard of this place before: it is unusual that people are happy, and that this place is nice. Part of the curse for Bluebeard is actually this: he was a paranoid man, thinking people who were happy were plotting against him. The last she recalls, Bluebeard was overthrown by his wives and Bluebeard is presumably in the dungeon or being held somewhere similar. Everyone on the ship is granted shore leave, and Harpax wants to get a new whip.
Trouble decides they need to get to the castle right now and starts running toward the castle. They make it five steps and then falls flat on their face, and people all rush to help Trouble up and ask if they need anything. Trouble says they wish to make it to the castle to get a cookie, and the bystanders offer Trouble some struedel.
We make it into town and find The Jolly Jaeger - an inn that we can stay. We all order a round of beers and Atheya and Serina asks about Pietra. The barmaid explains that Pietra has never made port in the village because Pietra’s type of undeath and the wives’ version of undead are different - the wives and Pietra seem to know each other, but Pietra always anchors on the opposite side of the island.
Atheya inquires what it takes to gain an audience in the castle, and a figure in the corner says that it’s been a few weeks since they’ve seen anyone be granted an audience in the castle. He says perhaps we can do something about that together. The gentleman is dressed in fine dark clothes, and he appears to be a nobleman that is definitely not from around here. Serina looks him up and down and asks who he is.
He is Corwin Crowther, and he’s looking for his sister. She’s been bewitched by the lord of this land. Atheya gets the vibe that he’s very intense, he’s not lying, and he’s definitely worried about his sister. A year and a day ago his sister went and married Bluebeard because he bewitched her, and he hasn’t heard from her since. Trouble annoyingly gives him shit for not searching for his sister for a year, and eventually we catch on to the fact that this man’s sister is very likely dead - either one of the spectral wives, or truly dead.
Serina tells him the likely fate of his sister, and he fully refuses to accept this. He eventually runs out of the inn crying. Serina is surprised at his reaction and both Atheya and Trouble mention that some people do not wish to face the reality of certain situations.
We rest over night and then we meet up with Corwin Crowther to go up to the castle. Crowther starts banging on the door to be let in. The door cracks open and a voice asks what we want. Atheya speaks up to request an audience with the lord of the castle, speaking very diplomatically. The guy at the door lets us in and then laughs menacingly.