Before the Tropic Thunder set out on their voyage, Alaric and Cyq joined the Dawn Council's and the Witchwarden's interrogation of Drevoraz. Drevoraz was very forthcoming with information about the Crimson Fleet and the Admiral, but he refused to answer any questions about his captain, Harliss Javell. Drevoraz had met the Admiral once. He described him as a barrel-chested man with ruddy skin and demonic features. He is vain, handsome, cruel, and confident.
What is known about Captain Javell is that she made her first appearance as a pirate 7 years ago, earning her the nickname "The Kid Pirate". She was then seen piloting the Slippery Eel (a vessel known to belong to the Crimson Fleet for decades, and also the name of the vessel that Captain Javell said she was on while at Kraken's Cove). The Slippery Eeel entered the waters surrounding Fort Fendawor without flying a pirate flag. When it got close enough to one of ships operated by Sasserine militia, it was recognized for what it was and chased. After the Slippery Eel had lured the Sasserine vessel far enough from the Fort so that other vessels could not assist it, the pirate crew boarded the Sasserine ship and sank it. Nothing was heard or seen from the Kid Pirate for the next 3 years, although the Dawn Council and the militia attribute a number of lost ships to her or other members of the Crimson Fleet. 4 years ago though, the Kid Pirate returned with a vengeance. The frequency of her strikes, along with her methods have made her the single most wanted Crimson Fleet pirate in both Sasserine and the Scarlet Brotherhood. The Kid Pirate no longer sinks ships, but instead lets non-combatants (an even combatants sometimes) go with their ships to spread her name and the fear it instills.
Drevoraz does not know the current whereabouts of his captain, or who she was planning to sell that black pearl to. He joined the crew of the Slippery Eel 6 years ago, and he claims that at that point they were independent of the Crimson Fleet. In fact, they looted and sank enough Crimson Fleet vessels that the Admiral himself came after them 4 years ago. Drevoraz does not give details of the battle, but it was brutally short and did not end in their favor. The only reason they are still alive is for Harliss' skill as a captain, and the fact that she had a weakness the Admiral could exploit: she had her younger sister, Alukain, on board.The Admiral took Alukain as a hostage, and since then Harliss has been buying her time with the money they make for the Crimson Fleet. Harliss and Alukain were inseparable, and Harliss will do anything to keep her sister safe.
Once the Tropic Thunder met the crew and passengers, were comfortable with the Sea Wyvern's cargo and armament, and said any goodbyes to friends they may be leaving behind in Sasserine, the journey began. The two ships set out from the harbor at dawn, and within the hour left the familiar skyline of Sasserine behind.
The map of the voyage shows the route Lavinia charted for the two ships.
The voyage ahead will last, at the minimum, three months - the Tropic Thunder will have plenty of down time to relax,
At times during this voyage, the Tropic Thunder's ship may be attacked by enemies. Stormwrack has extensive rules for naval combat, but for those not familiar with this book, the following quick rules should suffice.
A ship effectively has three areas an enemy can target: the rigging, the hull, and the ship itself. A ship has a number of "sections" in its rigging and hull, each with its own hit points. A hit against a ship damages a randomly determined section of the ship. It's possible to target a specific section of the ship, but specific sections have higher AC than the ship as a whole. Destroying a section of the ship's rigging reduces its speed by 10 feet. Destroying a section of the ship's hull reduces its speed by 10 feet and holes the ship. Each time a ship is holed, its captain must make a Profession (sailor) check to avoid sinking (DC 15+4 for each hole after the first). On a successful check, the ship does not sink but the captain must make a new sinking check each hour until the holed section is repaired up to at least 1 hit point or the ship sinks.
A ship takes a couple of hours to sink once this check is failed, unless the ship has lost 25% or more of its hull sections, in which case it only takes a few minutes to sink.
To repair a damaged section requires a Craft (carpentry) check and 1 minute of work. For every point by which this check exceeds DC 19, 1 hit point is restored. A section that has been destroyed completely can be repaired with a DC 20 Craft check and one day of work. Each day of repair work (successful or not) consumes one ton of repair supplies.
The Sea Wyvern is a caravel-class sailing ship. Full statistics for caravels appear on page 99 of Stormwrack, but the following information should be enough for those not familiar with that book.
Seaworthiness: Any Profession (sailor) checks made to avoid foundering, sinking, and other hazards that large, well-built vessels avoid more easily than smaller ones receives a +4 bonus.
Shiphandling: Any Profession (sailor) checks made to avoid collisions, sailing, or other situations that small, swift vessels avoid more easily than large and clumsy ones receive a +2 bonus.
Speed: The Sea Wyvern has a speed of 30 feet in normal wind, allowing it to travel at a rate of 3 miles per hour. In moderate wind, her speed increases to 60 feet, while in strong winds it increases to 90 feet. The Sea Wyvern can change its speed up to 10 feet per round and turn up to 45 degrees after moving at least 60 feet in one direction.
Combat: The Sea Wyvern overall AC is -3. It has 24 hull sections (AC 3, hardness 5, hp 80) and 3 rigging sections (AC 1, hardness 0, hp 80). If six hull sections are destroyed, the ship sinks automatically. If the ship rams a target, it inflicts 4d6 points of damage per 10 feet of speed.
Although there are two ships on the expedition, they stay in sight of one another.
The Blue Nixie's crew and passengers include Lavinia Vanderboren, the Jade Ravens (a second group of adventurers that serve the Vanderborens - the Tropic Thunder interacted with those adventurers in the Vanderboren Manor), and several other colonists.
Lavinia has chosen the best time of year to travel - the weather, for much of the journey, is quite pleasant.
When the expedition set out, Graim and the navigator of the Blue Nixie plotted a course. This determined if they will arrive on target.
Of greater import are the daily piloting checks to stay on the intended course.
So far, and while the Amedio coastline is in sight, Urol Forol on the Sea Wyvern and the Blue Nixie's navigator had to assist Graim once to pilot the expedition.
The Sea Wyvern's crew must consist of at least seven people. One crew member must have ranks in Profession (sailor), and one must have ranks in Knowledge (geography). The selection of who's on the crew was up to the Tropic Thunder; Graim, Amella Venkalie, Skald, Urol Forol, and Lirith Veldirose were excellent choices. Tavey Nesk is the ship's cabin boy, but he's not technically part of the chip's crew. Crewmembers sleep in the bunks at the ship's stern (each of the bunks is two bunks high). The seventh crew member is the captain, Cyq, who sleeps in the captain's cabin on the main deck at the stern, and is likely the only person on board who gets a room to himself. Tavey often chooses to sleep on deck, even in the crow's nest at times.
Anyone not a member of the crew is a passenger. The forward barracks on the ship's lower deck contain five relatively cramped bunks, three beds high. After the crew of 7, most of the remaining 17 passengers all sleep here. Some of them have to sleep elsewhere (on deck above on nice nights, or even slumped in a chair in the galley). Passengers other than the Tropic Thunder are non-combatants, and whenever the ship is under attack, they quickly flee below decks for safety. Passengers are unarmed, except Avner Meravanchi and Father Feres.
One person consumes a unit of provisions each day. With 24 people and a horse on board, that means that each day that passes, 25 units of food are consumed. The 10 tons of food Lavinia loaded onto the Sea Wyvern at the start of the voyage consists of 2,000 units - enough for an 80-day voyage. This is just barely enough to reach the Isle of Dread; Lavinia intends on restocking food at friendly ports during the voyage.
If food runs low, the Tropic Thunder can put their crew and passengers on rations, in which case a person consumes only half a unit per day (reducing consumption to 12 units per day).
Avner Meravanchi wasted no time establishing himself as a troublemaker. He arrived a half hour late but didn't apologize. With him were his two servants and his magnificent steed Thunderstrike. The horse is, if anything, as spoiled as Avner, and getting it secured in the jury-rigged pen that was set up for it in the Sea Wyvern took another half an hour. During this time, Avner discovered that he was expected to sleep with the other "commoners" in the forward barracks, and demanded his own accommodations.
Amella had little patience for him, and she made it clear that Avner could sleep with the rest of the passengers or he could stay in Sasserine. Father Feres did his best to try to soothe Avner and play the part of a priest, but a few choice words from Avner about Feres' ear hair and baldness sent the priest into a private sulk for a few days. Skald avoided the confrontation by busying himself at the far end of the ship, while Urol took up an almost obnoxious interest at the horse' pedigree. Lirith offered to share her bunk with him. This event was the first of many during which Urol evoked Amella's anger, despite his best efforts to win her friendship.
In the end, it was up to the Tropic Thunder how to handle the situation. Although Avner did not deny Lirith's invitation, and Cyq offered to throw another bunk in the captain's quarters for him, Avner was left bitter and cantankerous.
The expedition encounter baleen whales a couple of times during their voyage, and they even tried their hand at whaling, although without success.
Once the voyage was underway, Lavinia sent a message via a rowboat piloted by her crew - she wanted to invite the Tropic Thunder, their crew, and Avner Meravanchi over to the Blue Nixie for dinner to celebrate the start of the expedition that evening.
As dusk fell, the two ships closed and a line was thrown between the two, a pulley was attached, and a net seat was hoisted, allowing for safe crossing between the two ships. Lavinia looked very fine that evening, dressed in a silk shirt, jewelry, and dress. She lead her guests into the ship's galley; the Blue Nixie is a bit bigger than the Sea Wyvern, and even after only a couple days, the Tropic Thunder felt relieved to get a bit more elbow room. A fine spread was laid out on the table, including grouse, peacock, and elven wine imported from Celene.
Cyq took advantage of the pleasant surroundings of the cabin to make an impression on Lavinia. This moment also began a romance between Graim and Lirith. At the end of the evening a final drink was taken on deck after the evening sun had sank but the air was still pleasantly warm outside. As the sun set, it was finally time to return to the Sea Wyvern.
During the dinner, someone cut nearly all the way through the rope supporting the net chair and pulley between the ships. Graim was the first character to cross back to the Sea Wyvern via the net chair. As he was halfway across, the rope suddenly snapped and dropped him into the water below. The fall dealt no damage to Graim and he immediately began to swim.
Right after this occured, what looked like a cranky miniature fish-person appeared in the evening air. It was covered in scales and viewed the world through black, bulbous eyes.
The fish person was particularly angry, and immediately attacked the closest Tropic Thunder and passengers with its breath weapon. When it got injured it dove into the sea. The fish person regenerated its wounds in the water, and it emerged again to continue harassing the Tropic Thunder. It followed up with a magical arrow of acid before it was killed by the heroes. During combat, Avner disappeared, while Lirith was showing off. After the battle, Harmony found a sizeable glass jar of briny liquid with its lid open on the deck, hidden inside a coil of rope near the mast.
Forts are common sights along the Amedio coast. The majority of these forts are held by the Scarlet Brotherhood (a sprawling organization of sinister monks and assassins), and are used as staging points for expeditions into the jungle interior. The expedition passed one such fort during their journey, which Lavinia avoided and took the ships further out to sea as she passed them by to avoid any possible conflict. Two forts are not held by the Scarlet Brotherhood - Fort Blackwell and Fort Greenrock.
Fort Blackwell is a small settlement of approximately 2,000 located near the northernmost tip of the peninsula known to sailors as "The Hook". One of the few coastal Amedio forts not controlled by the Scarlet Brotherhood (its distance form the Amedio interior makes it not worth the effort for the Brotherhood to control), Fort Blackwell remains an independently governed small town perched on the edge of civilization.
Fort Blackwell is a cozy town with a tiny harbor protected by an immense gate hung between two squat towers. Before any ship is allowed within the harbor, a troop of Blackwell guards must be allowed to search the ship and interview its captain. Fortunately, years of relative peace and being ignored by both the Scarlet Brotherhood and the Crimson Fleet (who maintain larger ports of call in various forts elsewhere along the coast - forts wisely avoided by the expedition) have made them rather lackadaisical in their searches, and since the Tropic Thunder didn't do anything outwardly suspicious, the guards allow their expedition entrance into the harbor after a mere 15-minute inspection.
Although Lavinia intended to stay only one night in Fort Blackwell, she deferred to the Tropic Thunder if they wished to stay longer. She pointed out to the heroes that it will probably be seven weeks before they reach Fort Greenrock, the next friendly location where they'll be able to resupply, so she encouraged them to get all their shopping done here if they can.
Fort Blackwell features numerous small and cozy inns and taverns, all of which serve a delicious local malt blend of whiskey called the Green Man (10 gp per bottle). Food and supplies were readily purchased from one of four large provisioners who keep who keep warehouses on the waterfront. Several small shrines, including ones dedicated to Heironeous, Kord, Pelor, St. Cuthbert, and the gods of the sea (Procan, Osprem, and Xerbo), were found here as well.
Yet there are hidden dangers in Fort Blackwell. Rumors say that the Scarlet Brotherhood has several spies in town to keep an eye on things. Rumors also hold that a hidden sea cave just north of town once used by smugglers has become the lair of a family of sinister fey known as redcaps led by a foul-mouthed father named Kaboutermannekin who sometimes sneak into the fort to cause problems.
The Tropic Thunder asked Lavinia to stay in town longer in order to explore the rumors surrounding the sea cave.
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