Hi,
The Captain piloted the Shadow through an increasing density of icebergs in the Solkathi seas, passing Giraine, and those seeing them wondered why so many came this far south this Dark Season. Not good, probably.
As you approached the Nolos island archipelago where Serpent Harbour was hidden away amidst a maze of sandbars, fogbanks and other obstacles, you came across one such challenge. The Shadow struck a concealed sandbar and, while it did not take on water, it needed the crew to do a lot of manual labour to free it. Over that hour of struggling, it became clear that little black mites were crawling aboard from the sandbar, and a few crewmen got bitten but Maugis and Miguel's Cleanse spells, and plenty of wiping them off, got rid of them before any diseases set in. You made haste away from that nasty little spot.
Culonmac Island was visible in the distance, a sign that the Harbour was near, and the Captain soon found it, so you disembarked onto a dinghy rowed by a brave crewman. Everyone except the Captain, and oddly Fraud Shaven, felt ill at ease here; unwelcome. Shaven was energized, and contemplated this feeling. The Captain had that old familiar gleam of fanatical motivation in his eyes. Here was another step on his hero journey.
A greyish plesiosaur reared its long neck over the ship, looking down at you with an inscrutable reptilian gaze; toothy jaws dripping water. Ahappi felt a strange struggle within: one side of him wanted to slay it for Magasta's glory, but another part of him felt queasy at the notion; seasick at this possible betrayal. He quickly marshalled his passion for Magasta and swept away the traitorous compulsion, which he was sure later was a Vadeli one. This was supposed to be a safe place for sea-monsters; to kill one here would make the place most unwelcome for him! Instead, he greeted it in Seaspeech and found it to be remarkably conversant- it was called The Counsellor and was like the harbour's major domo or advisor, especially in relation to the naiad/oceanid Ouwashilombiss (n.b. “Puijila-Ool” is an Ouori buddy of the Captain's; see old email attached).
It said “May I welcome you back to Serpent Harbour, Captain Ahappi. It seems you again come in peace and that welcome will last as long as the peace does. I am The Counsellor, and am pleased to meet the one I've heard my mistress whisper of. I am duty-bound to check, have you proof of slaying the fearful Bar'ran?” Ahappi of course showed it Bar'ran's ivory eyeball and it was very convinced. It made small-talk with him then set off with you, guiding you through the harbour-maze while some of you still looked up at it in amazement.
Next you came to a shipwreck, where a merchant-galley had run onto sharp rocks and the haggard crew begged for food, water and safety aboard. Ahappi would not let them onto the dinghy; they would not fit and he was in a hurry; and he did not trust them here. As this became clear, the air grew dark and they turned into translucent bony spectres, cursing your perfidy. Their howls almost compelled your rower to dive overboard to his doom but he was resolute in his loyalty to the Captain.
Then a voice spoke out of the dark depths nearby, calling the Captain to come down to it. At first he declined, then it insisted that he must, saying that it was the “matron” of Ouwashilombiss and he must convince her of his worthiness to wed the nymph. Ahappi slid through grasping kelp beds, spotted the elusive skeletal hag in the gloom, and spoke strong words there of, despite there being no doubt he can be a great hero of Magasta, why should he marry this oceanid? How could he serve her and Serpent Harbour? He convinced her that he was ready to become its defender and could be trusted. She sensed something wrong about the taste of the water around him, even knowing somehow that he had wanted to kill The Counsellor, but she relented and was willing to proceed with ceremonies before he met his bride.
She asked, “No man may wed an oceanid like Ouwashilombiss. Are you prepared to shed your human skin and become one with the seas? It will cost you.” He agreed with relish, but even then didn't know what power of Change she'd wreak on him. In the enchantment she conjured in those bleak waters, he ever forth lost the Man Rune and things that came with it. But he was part of the Sea now; neither Waertagi nor merman nor Pithdaran but still carrying those ancestries and ties in his mind. He could take what humanoid form he chose when he entered the sea; tending to be a deep green, scaly, horrific thing with a soft turtle-like shell; like a madman's vision of a Waertagi. Moreover, the curse of the Yellowskin that had entered him before was now washed out by the power of the sea; burning him with stinging salts in the process but leaving his mind more free. Crepuscula, the sea-hag that was wielding these powers, told him that such “petty machinations” would not do here; they did not suit a defender of the Harbour. And he was grateful.
Miguel had watched all of these things unfold with his Sense Life spell, vaguely aware of some changes afoot, but when the Captain resurfaced you were all shocked to see his new (and misshapen or malleable) form. He, however, was elated and eager to move on to the pool where his bride waited. Crepuscula swept him and you there with a dark current of water and he dove into the depths again after brief words of explanation and reassurance that you could still trust him. Ahappi kept it private what happened in those depths but it was a timeless experience in which she brought him to touch the deepest wisdom of the seas; the edge of Daliath's Well, a fount of infinite secrets, vast like the oceans and hidden in their crushing darkness. He realized how his religion was a false mockery of true Magastan worship (i.e. theism) but it was a means to an end that suited him, for now. That might change if he wished it so. No religion would bind him again, he resolved. He felt few ties to humanity anymore except those relationships he already had to particular people(s), and would evermore seem cold and inhuman to those derived of the Man Rune. His allegiances now were to his bride, her harbour, and the creatures it kept safe. Out on the high seas, he could still hunt those creatures as Magasta wished; to winnow out the weak and ensure the seas stayed strong.
You stayed the night at the atoll ring around the nymph's pool. She did not visit you (or welcome Ahappi back; yet he could Mindspeech with her via the waters), but the Counsellor said you could encamp just on the shoreline; a kind gesture as no man was to set foot on these lands and live. Fraud kept to himself again and wondered about that last bit- was he “no man” like the Captain? And did his snaky nature relate to the harbour's? Yes, it must-Seshnela was once a whole land that encompassed these lands, and so Seshna and Froalar, and their serpent-kin, must have kinship with this land and its life. So he does have a tie to this place that has meaning, and he yearned to learn more. So did the Captain, who'd sensed a deeper truth in Daliath's Well but did not grasp it-that would haunt or motivate him to seek the sea's deepest secrets whatever they might be. Here, Ahappi took an opportunity to heal old wounds with Fraud Shaven: he spoke plainly that they'd had their past differences but now he saw how they had much in common, too, and should recover their old comraderie. Shaven agreed, and everyone was relieved to see tensions easing in the party.
Morning brought news that diverted you from your interest in this Harbour. Omen the fish-spirit came as a “wedding guest”, gleeful as ever but also with Big News: the island of Giraine had been invaded! Seshnela took this opportunity in their ongoing war with Nolos to strike at heretics harboured there, and St Thosos was easily taken, with armies surging ashore regularly. Ciddar was to meet you outside Giraine, having sent this message to you. And so you left, knowing you could return here when you wished.
Past the icebergs, the Shadow encountered a small island that was no island but rather the scaly bulk of the monster Pellinoresbane! It waved a huge tentacle-thing and Ahappi soon got the message that it wanted him, not the Shadow, to pay a visit “ashore”. He swam to it and climbed onto the beast, touching it for the first time. A giant eyestalk raised out of the water and stared into his soul, gifting him with a vision of times past: he saw the Shadow on the oceans but with a crew of Jrusteli sorcerors who had sunk magical hooks into a sea-thing that they pursued. Chasing it down to exhaustion, they hurled flaming magic harpoons into it and slew it, then hauled it aboard and skinned it to make a black sail out of its hide. He knew what this was: this was a relative of Pellinoresbane, in the Second Age. And he felt the anger of the “island” he stood on as that vision changed to later times, when a green-skinned nymph floated in a great pool with a similar creature. This was Pellinoresbane at a younger age, raised by Ouwashilombiss! Now he saw how his life had come full circle: his great-great-grandfather had bespoiled a different sea-being and been cursed for it, then his grandfather had found the Shadow and brought it back onto the seas after centuries ashore from the wreckage of the Second Age. These things were linked, and he was the key link in the chain that bound them together-now, as sea-hero and monster and friend to Serpent Harbout, he could also make an enemy into a friend. Pellinoresbane hated the Godlearners and had destroyed the “nautiloid” of the Outer Atomic Explorers. It was ready to work with Ahappi to take on other foes. Would it help, even, with the Seshnelans/Rokari? Maybe, he thought. Its mind was still alien to him. But it now sought peace, not tormenting him or eating his crew as it had done before. It showed this by holding up 3 appendages in parallel to him; the Harmony rune. Ahappi invited it to join him in fighting common foes now and swam back to the Shadow as it submerged. Another major change had happened in his life!
Now, with Giraine drawing near, your focus shifted to a geopolitical one. And a major goal that all of you shared: to strike back at the Rokari/Seshnelans and drive them off Giraine! Omen met you again and guided you away from the thronging naval vessels around St Thosos to the open seas where Ciddar awaited. He had his own ship now, you learned (“The Perk”; he was currently calling it). It was a humble merchant ship being re-outfitted for more military purposes. Ciddar came aboard the Shadow, his silken garb flapping jubilantly in the sea breeze, and greeted the Captain; who was less pleased to see his old first-mate.
This brought us to PART 2 of the Giraine campaign!! Whoa.
Ciddar explained that, acting still in the service of the dark Duke of Pithdaros, he was now a Knight and was sent to entreat your help in joining the struggle against the Seshnelan invaders. This land was nominally still Pithdaran (although precious to none of the major powers), and Baron Ronalio had survived the nighttime invasion of St Thosos to lead a fighting retreat from the port, into the wilds. He had helped many in town flee, but had suffered Excommunication by the Rokari priests, who were now numerous. All of southern/western Giraine was now effectively under Seshnelan domination, with the occupation ending somewhere past the town of Humbertsville, and with King Guilmarn's forces avoiding the Giranois areas of the Sottogh clan (N central) and Burnt Priests Hill (central). Ron and those who escaped with him had made it to New Arv or Fort Mudlark, which remained free; and the latter was the only “free” port left. The fate of Aria's Well was unknown: Ciddar had taken some sailors (Curly, Bobard, Jim et al.) out as word came that there was an invasion in progress. Cyroosta, the trolls, and others had not been seen; now either in hiding or captured. Other towns' and citizens' fates remained obscure, too; except that everywhere south of New Arv was occupied. Evracian monks had helped to pacify the populace while mercenaries, marines and cavalry rushed across the land to secure key points. That was all Ciddar knew now.
To learn more you needed to make it to New Arv and find Jett, who was waiting there. You came up with the plan to send Amur with the Shadow to wait off the south coast for 1 week until he saw 3 bonfires (near New Arv's swamps); if not, to seek safety in the Pithdaran capitol port of Oradaros. The Captain used the Shadow's dark-magicks to help you slink into New Arv's port with Ciddar's ship as night fell, and you did so with narry a slip-up, nor sight of Seshnelan navy nearby. Jett indeed was waiting there and whisked you out of town, with Miguel adding Incognito spells to conceal your identities. As you hiked north into the wilds, Jett updated you: you were going to an encampment of those fighting the Seshnelans. Baron Ron and some higher-ups were at Fort Mudlark. The Girainois were watching but not taking part in the hostilities, but you all saw an opportunity to bring them into the fray. The Inquisition was here with the army, seeking out heretics to Put To The Question. Stakes could hardly be higher!
Your plan was to foray toward the Seshnelan zone and see how close you can get to Aria's Well, assessing the strength and depth of their forces. You prepared to set out.
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