Tonight we look at the Queens Den where the objective of this map isn’t outright combat, sort of, but its a tug of war with a beast and a queen all in one.
So get ready to go wild for tonight’s adventure map!
The open space and lack of lighting that’s available will have the party shifting between dim light and darkness frequently. The ability to hide in the dark pits of the room will have their adversary able to get the drop on them, figuratively and literally as the ceilings and its rafters are reasonably high here. There is some cover and debris around the room but this will likely only hinder the party as they are practically fighting a cornered animal in this weeks adventure.
A pretty simple map tonight with some re-scaling of times to get them looking just about right for the right proportions for the map tonight. Mist over the reduced sized grass gives an elevated feel while the light gives a sense of space beyond the open windows.
Mixture or ripped carpets and whole carpets speak of the fractured mind of the occupant and layering them gives a bit more depth that you may expect in a more lavish room in a castle. A bit smaller than 60ft each way for this room speaks of luxury without going too over board with it tonight.
Thanks for joining for another map night this week. Don’t forget that we have a few more nights left this week so make sure to come back each day to see what I add to this adventure. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
The beast within is something that we agree most good characters would struggle with at some point. Yet we don’t normally see Royalty struggle with such a problem… Wait yes we do! So tonight we have the classic trope of a royal struggling with the beast within.
So be on your toes as we get a bit feral in tonight’s adventure!
The Beast Within
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The Beast Within – created in wordpress.
After leaving Queen Lorel to her lunch, the party got busy asking around the castle for any more information that they can get on what the queen was suffering from, what the cure was and what else could be causing the problems that she is facing now. Yet despite all the rumours, from those willing to spill them that is, they all agree that they don’t know what it was that she had or know what is going wrong.
But they do get a name, Brother Shaemus, the man who was hurried into the castle, spent some time with the queen and then left without many more words. While the party request help finding Brother Shaemus from the guards they are crossing near the servants quarters where they hear a howl of pain. Rushing to the scene they find the healer from yesterday, Brother Daryl, and the maid, Karlynn, leaving a room at the end of the hall.
‘Well it looks like you’re just in time. The potion wore off and Tolf is awake.’ Brother Daryl said with a weak smile. Thanking the healer and the maid the party entered the room. Tolf was sitting up against the head of his bed and looked tired at the party. ‘I guess you’re here to make sure I’m not some frothing beast too. I already told Brother Shaemus that I was fine and that I wasn’t some animal. But you know how those healers can get.’ he said as he reached a shaky hand towards a cup.
After the party explained what they where doing he looked at them worriedly. ‘It wasn’t her fault. Her Majesty was not like this before that man healed her and then after that she became wilder. Queen Lorel is from a neighbouring kingdom and I came with her here. We were worried that her affliction would carry to the child and that we wanted to treat it discretely. But I don’t think that the healer, Shaemus, knew what he was doing. She may not appear like she is still afflicted but a man knows.’ he added. When the party looked at him confused he realised.
‘Oh… You didn’t know she was a werewolf?’
Thanks for dropping by for another night at my tabletop. Don’t forget as we passed the midway point we have maps and monsters, well creature stat blocks left for this week. So make sure you don’t forget to come back the last few remaining days this week to stay up to date with what’s happening at my tabletop. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Tonight we kick things off with Queen Lorel being spoken too while the manservant is resting after another bout of healing. But what will the party work out is going on with queen Lorel as she battles some new affliction after being cured from a disease so recently?
So find your best tunics, clothes and finery as we meet with the queen in tonight’s adventure!
Queen Lorel
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Queen Lorel – Created in wordpress.
As the party entered the hallway where the Manservant, Tolf, was meant to be found and they were stopped by a stern looking maid and a man who was obviously a healer of some skill.
‘If you’re here for Tolf then he’s asleep. The King should know better than to disturb a man thats resting.’ the stern maid snapped. The healer placed a hand on her shoulder in a kind manner.
‘Tolf is resting, I gave him some medicine to give him a dreamless sleep as the nightmares have gotten worse. Since the incident he has been unable to sleep and his dreams are filled with images of a beast in the halls of the castle. He calls out in his sleep but remembers very little when he wakes, just the feeling of claws on his skin and glowing eyes.’ the healer shook his head and looked comfortingly towards the maid.
‘He should be well enough to take visitors tomorrow after the potion has worn off.’
The party then turned their attention to the next person who the king had suggested, the Queen herself. Ascending the steps the party again admired the fine decorations that lined the halls and walkways as they followed the guard in front of them. They were so lost in the pleasantness of the room that when the man spoke they were startled. ‘Now stay behind me, don’t make sudden movements and remember, she is still the Queen.’ he said as he stared at them. After waiting for a few moments he opened the door that they had stopped at.
Inside the furniture looked worse for ware as several smaller chairs had been clawed to pieces or simply shattered. Bits of timber and cloth littered the room and it wasn’t for a few nervous heartbeats until they saw the queen. She sat in a relatively intact chair in the corner of the room where it was darkest and watched them as they entered the room. ‘Your majesty, we have some travellers, adventurers, here to ask some questions.’
The queens demeanour shifted slightly before she stood and walked forward. The teal dress she wore was accented with a brown tunic that whilst being plain was obviously well made and fit for the queen. ‘So despite me being cured of this disease that no one will tell me what I had I now have these interlopers coming to laugh at me, the mad queen who loses herself and attacks her servants?’ she snapped with the last word punctuated by a snapping growl sound that the party had heard something similar before. After a moment her eyes shifted to something softer again.
‘I apologise. I assure you I am not normally this ill mannered or aggressive. I don’t remember much during the incidents,’ she said as she looked and gestured around the room at the broken furniture and cloth. ‘but I do remember the feeling of being trapped, cornered and angry.’ she smiled weakly, a silver necklace around her neck glinting in the light that came from the windows that nearly had no curtains remaining on them.
After a few more questions, some of which she was more aggressive and snappy with her tone and others she was more polite and queen-like the party were ushered out of the room. The room looked like a wild animal had run rampage in there but the queen admitted to doing it herself during the fits of rage that she was getting.
As they opened the door the guard looked back at the queen who made a noise. ‘Seth, can you get the cooks to send up whatever they are making for lunch, it smells delightful.’ the guard nodded, looking a bit confused before closing the door, baring it from the outside and heading down stairs. It wasn’t until the party had reached the bottom of the stairs that they could smell the roasted mutton wafting down from the kitchens.
Thanks for visiting tonight for another update for this weeks adventure. Don’t forget to come back the last few nights this week to make sure that you don’t miss anything that happens with this adventure. And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
So tonight, and this week, we have another adventure inspired by a song and we kick off with The King and His Men. What would someone do for love is a question that gets asked often, but not many people would go this far.
So sit back, grab a coffee as we listen to the plea of a broken heart in tonight’s adventure!
When the rumours of the queen of Blotvia reach the party they set off to hear the kings plea for aid. But what they hear, what they discover and what they see leave them with more questions than answers.
Time is running short and they soon find themselves in danger with no way of fighting back. What will come of the party or the kingdom if they don’t act quickly, with discretion and without committing the most heinous of crimes – treason.
The King and His Men
524MoKiMe
The King and His Men – created in WordPress.
The party were shown into a long hall as the guards escorted them towards the kings meeting hall. Fine tapestries and several portraits of the young king and his wife hung from the walls revealed how truly happy and in love they were. The party had heard that the queen had become erratic, irrational and extremely aggressive where the king had ordered no maid or manservant to tend to her lest they suffer her ire.
Yet the portraits did not show the queen in such light, that’s where the king had sent out requests via the guilds in the land for anyone who could to come and assist him in an urgent quest. With the state of the queen and the kings call for aid from adventurers rather than his own guard made the situation very clear to the party – there was something wrong with the queen.
As they stood by the doors they heard the stamping of feet and cursing from the other side of the door. Moments later it opened to reveal another group of four adventurers, much like their own group, being shown out of the kings hall and towards the front gate of the castle. The two adventuring parties exchanged glances before the calmest of the lot mouthed ‘good luck‘ before the party were ushered into the hall.
Before them was a large room that as opulently decorated that led to a few cushioned chairs that sat around a table. In the furthest seat the King sat with a few guards standing a few feet behind him looking sternly at the party. ‘Please, come sit.’ the young king asked and gestured warmly enough that the party, encouraged, took a seat before the king.
‘Yes, I have a good feeling about you. Something in your eyes unlike those we just sent out speaks volumes of trustworthiness.’ he began, the guards that had escorted them through the castle breathed a deeper sigh of relief. ‘I have a urgent question, something of such magnitude and secrecy that I can’t trust any one else other than those in this room with the details of the rest.’ he paused to study their faces. Convinced he thoughtfully nodded before pouring himself a cup of tea.
‘My wife is with child, the next heir to the kingdom of Blotvia is growing steadily within my wife’s belly and I could not be more overjoyed.’ his face was a mixture of emotion, part joy and hope the other crushing despair. ‘However, she,’ he paused stirring his tea, ‘is not feeling herself as of late. I have had the best physicians, healers and sages in the land try to work out what’s going on and we believed that we had cured what had ailed her. A disease which has now retreated fully from her body which we can rest in peace knowing will not rear its ugly head again.’ he paused looking nervous.
‘But since the cure she has become unsettled, aggressive even which is not something that anyone would expect from my beloved Lorel. You may have heard the rumours and I can say that many of them are untrue. However I have requested that our maids and manservants do not enter her chamber without guards or myself as there was an incident where she attacked a manservant and bit him quite severely. He said that she was acting more like an Animal than a person but the moment that he called for help she came to her senses, screamed for him to leave her and retreated to her bed. He has been receiving healing from our surgeons but he may be a good place to start as I don’t believe that Lorel would act like that.’
He looked nervously at them. ‘As her health and her aggression appear to be tied I fear for our child as well. I could not love another as I do Lorel nor can I bare the thought of her being in pain or sick. So I need to find out what is causing this temporary affliction and cure it before it affects her, our child or someone else gets hurt.’
‘Oh, before you ask. The court healer did not tell me but she has passed all checks, magical and mundane to show that she is now disease free in case you were concerned you may contract something.’
Thanks for visiting for another start of the week adventure kick off night with the King and His Men. Inspired by a song that gets sung way too frequently by the household this weeks adventure is a race against the clock before it turns into a murder mystery. Don’t forget that this is just the start of the week so make sure you don’t forget to come back each day this week to stay up to date with the adventure. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Now for the next Zine of the year I present, in single page zine format, Helm of the Shadow. I still believe that these provide DMs a lot more freedom to tinker with it how they want and open up the adventures to be more free formed and flowing than the larger booklet zines.
There is references to the blog nights which are D&D centric (regarding Friday night’s Stat-blocks) but this adventure can be used system agnostic more so than my regular Zines. As always Kobold fight club can be used to quickly balance an encounter for Dungeons and Dragons and Tetra-cube provides the stat-blocks for many of my D&D creatures.
So I hope you enjoy this weeks adventure, Helm of the Shadow, and that all your rolls are made with advantage.
Helm of the Shadow
523SuHeSh
Helm of the Shadow – Created in WordPress.
The party set sail aboard The Stardrinker, eager for a job that promised wealth and security. The ship, known for its reliability, carried them smoothly over open waters, its seasoned crew ensuring a steady voyage. The first day passed uneventfully, with the party helping the sailors and enjoying the ease of travel. By the second day, the ship practically sailed itself, leaving Captain Cali to keep a watchful eye on the horizon. That afternoon, a cry rang out – a second ship had appeared, closing in fast, its flag marking it as pirates. The Stardrinker fired first, sending bolts and arrows into the approaching vessel, forcing the attackers into battle. Spells crackled through the air, arrows rained from both ships, and after a tense skirmish, the pirates retreated, seeking weaker prey. Though victorious, unease lingered—if danger had come so soon, what else awaited them?
The party settled into the voyage, the Stardrinker cutting smoothly through sunlit waters. But as the winds shifted and gulls fled toward land, Cali grew tense. A cold breath swept the deck, and an ink-black smear spread across the eastern sky, swallowing the golden light of the setting sun. The crew murmured about an approaching storm, but Cali said nothing. Soon, a ghostly ship emerged from the darkness, its tattered sails barely clinging to the mast. The Stardrinker adjusted its course to avoid it, yet no matter how they moved, the phantom vessel followed. Lanterns flickered as though their light was being stolen, and a deep, groaning sound echoed from the ship’s hull. The crew hesitated—tales of ghost ships and doomed sailors whispered among them. Then, the ropes on the shadowed vessel coiled and stretched. Something was waiting.
Cali gave the order to turn aside, but they were too late. A deafening, metallic screech split the air as boarding harpoons launched from the dark vessel, tethered by thick, frayed ropes. They struck The Stardrinker’s hull, jerking the ship as the ropes tightened. For a moment, silence hung heavy, then the ropes came alive, writhing like serpents, hunting victims. A deckhand was the first to be taken, dragged onto the cursed vessel, his cries cut short. Roth fought against the ropes, slashing at them while sailors desperately held onto him. Cali roared for the crew to cut themselves free, but as she spoke, a rope lashed toward her, barely missing. The party had mere moments before the ropes came for them, dragging them into the horrors lurking within The Shadow.
With a final effort, the last harpoon was severed, the ropes sinking into the sea. The Stardrinker groaned from the strain, its exhausted crew stumbling back, relieved but shaken. A moment of silence passed before The Shadow screamed. It was no human cry but the sound of cursed wood and rigging, a vessel bound to suffering. The sea churned as if trying to swallow the monstrous ship whole – but instead, the vessel rose, tearing itself apart. A gaping wound formed in its hull, revealing a dark, pulsing core—a heart of decay, twisted rope, splintered wood, and rusted metal, brimming with unholy hunger. And then, from within the abyss, something clawed its way free.
A figure emerged, once a captain but no longer human. Its flesh was replaced by knotted rigging, its bones by rotting planks. Rusted blades clung to its twisted form, its hollow eyes burning with an eerie blue glow – the remnants of souls devoured. It dragged a shattered leg, burned from past damage, but its body was still bound in cursed rigging. The ship stilled, its monstrous heart revealed, the air thick with unnatural dread. Whatever this thing was, it was not a mere ghost—it was the soul of the cursed ship itself. The true battle was about to begin.
Thanks for joining me today for another adventure. Please feel free to leave comments if you like what you see when you grab a copy of the PDF. Next time you get a party together consider running this adventure and I hope that you enjoy it. Don’t forget to come back daily so you don’t miss a thing in the coming weeks adventures. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Tonight we reveal the final part of this weeks adventure with the Captain of The Shadow making its appearance. Thwarted but not down this construct, the heart of the ship itself demands to be fed and so it is not content enough with the scraps that its ropes can bring it. When you want a job done right, do it yourself.
So rally the crew, check their anchor points are secure as we go toe to toe with the captain with tonight’s bonus encounter!
Captain of the Shadow
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As the last harpoon snapped free, the ropes severed and writhing like dying serpents before sinking into the waves against the hull. For a brief moment a silence fell over the sea as the Stardrinker trembled, her wood groaning from the strain of battle, yet she remained afloat. The crew staggered, exhausted with their bodies aching, but somehow alive.
For a moment, it seemed as though they had won. And then the ship itself, The Shadow screamed. It was not the cry of a living thing, but of wood and rigging, of agony bound in cursed planks and of rage. The sea around it churned, dark waves pulling in unnatural waves, as if the ocean itself was trying to consume the monstrous vessel.
Then, it rose. The sound of chains and wood banging against the deck of The Shadow. Despite the ship being splintered and broken from its attempted consumption of the Stardrinker it tore itself open towards the smaller ship creating a gaping maw of wood, metal and frayed rope. A gaping wound, revealing a pulsing core of blackened wood, rotting fabric and rusted metal writhing tendrils of decay, a force that had long since lost any semblance of purity. This was surely its heart, the source of its hunger, the cursed soul of the ship itself. From the abyss within, a figure emerged, pulling itself out of the seething mass of corrupted energy.
A human figure, a captain, or perhaps what had once been a captain, its form barely holding together, flesh replaced by ropes, bones replaced by decaying wood and armed with rusted blades of bent and torn metal. It dragged a leg that had was missing the rope – burnt and severed by damage already inflicted on the ship, but the rest of its body wrapped in the same cursed rigging that had once ensnared the crew and the fabric of any of the crew that were unable to be saved. Its eyes or where its eyes should have been glowed a deep, unsettling blue, the spectral remnants of the souls it had consumed.
And as it pulled itself out of the core the light faded and the ship stilled completely. The true battle had began.
The Captain of The Shadow fights with unnatural speed, its blade’s moving faster than any mortal sailor.
When the captain takes damage the Ship seems to sink further into the waves, bits of wood falling off.
The rest of the Crew, except that party, stand as if hypnotised as the cries of other lost sailors resonate from where the core was – some even appear to take steps towards the core itself.
Echoes of the lost crew emerge – spectral hands grabbing at the living, crying out for salvation but hungering for their freedom in ways more terrifying than any pirate they’ve faced on the waves.
Some of the spectres may look like the pirates they faced when they first started their journey.
Thanks for visiting tonight for the last update for this weeks adventure. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the end of week zine which will be a big one. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to another Friday fight night where we have a swarm of animated ropes to cut through in this weeks encounter. While not the most difficult or lethal of creatures to encounter this construct is still deadly and will pose a challenge to several parties out there – just add more animated ropes!
So sharpen your blades as we get ready to cut our way through tonight’s encounter!
The swarm of animated ropes is as much a part of the haunted ship, The Shadow, as it is a construct of its own. Formed from the rope and rigging that has left to rot on the ship it exists only to pull the new victims of The Shadow aboard its deck and towards the opening to the hold where the ship will feed on the essence of those caught.
While the ropes may not be overly durable individually as a swarm they form a resilient mass that makes it harder for people to deal with one by one. However a well placed burning hands or even fireball (not advised on a ship though) could see the end to these constructs swiftly.
Thanks for visiting tonight for another set of updates for this weeks adventure. Don’t forget to come back over the weekend for more updates and lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Tonight I felt like changing up map night tonight with theatre of the mind taking central stage as shadow drenched ropes litter the deck of the Stardrinker. Tonight we look at some of the mechanics that we will have for the adventure this week but not all of them as there is some other elements that we have yet to explore.
So get ready, find your seat as we are delving into quite a scene in tonight’s theatre of the mind adventure!
The party counted four large harpoons that were large enough to take down dragons let alone other ships embedded into the hull of the Stardrinker. Five crewmember had been ensnared by the Shadow drenched ropes that had snaked forward to wrap around their limbs. Cutting them had proven effective at releasing other crew before they were dragged on deck of the much larger ship.
The party noticed that the more ropes they cut the less that returned to attack them. There was an end to the shadows it just required additional time to cut through the corrupted ropes of The Shadow to prevent more of their people from getting taken. But perhaps there was a way to rescue those already on the deck of the haunted ship.
A simple one tonight. Four harpoons with rope with AC10 and 50 HP. Resistance to bludgeoning damage and vulnerability to Fire and Slashing damage for these large tattered ropes. Once each of the ropes are cut or broken the ship is free.
there is twenty five foot of space along the port side of the ship where ropes lash out and attack. These ropes can be cut and damaged with a HP pool very similar to a swarm. The party can board The Shadow to rescue the men and women who have been captured if they wish but the ships wont hang around for long one the harpoons tethers are severed.
Thanks for joining for another scene/map night this week. Don’t forget that we have a few more nights left this week so make sure to come back each day to see what I add to this adventure. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Tonight we have the Shadow revealed before the parties eyes as in a twist everyone saw coming the party are ambushed on the waves yet again. But tonight’s a bit different from the normal bandits or creatures of the sea as this is technically neither, but maybe both…
So get your swords ready, spells prepared as we go sailing into tonight’s adventure!
The Shadow Revealed
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The Shadow Revealed – Created in Co-pilot.
As the orders from Cali were called out and the reluctant men started returning to their posts that’s when the crew and party realised it was too late. A metallic. unearthly screech tore through the air as massive boarding harpoons launched outward from portholes with thick ragged rope attaching each of them to the larger vessel. Each harpoon snaked forward, moving not with the random chaos of an abandoned ship – but with precision, with purpose as if guided by a force.
They struck the Stardrinker’s hull with power causing the ship to shudder after each impact. The harpoons, biting deep into its wood as the thick, aged ropes Grew taught as the larger ship pulled the Stardrinker back in line with it. For a moment after an foreboding quiet blanketed the ship as the crew reeled from the sudden attack. As Cali and Roth called back to ship demanding to be freed the silence was all that met their calls.
‘I know what this is,’ Cali muttered the colour draining from her face. ‘The Shadow.’ the words cut like a knife through the air and the crew started muttering to the gods that watched over those that sailed the sea, or anything that was watching that they would blessed another day to sail. But only the Shadow answered.
At first, it was subtle – the whisper of rope shifting against itself, the faint creak of tightening fibres – but within seconds, it turned into a monstrous, living force. The coiled mass of ropes, thick as serpents, unravelled from the ships masts and the deck, shooting down and outward like grasping limbs, searching, hunting. The Shadow revealed its final plan – to leave no prisoners alive.
One ensnared a deckhand first who was barely able to cry out before it wound around his arms, his legs, jerking him backward in a sickening snap. The ropes did not pull him overboard, nor did they drop him into the sea. They dragged him up and over the ripped wood, up the hull, through the broken railing and onto the deck where his cries began in earnest.
His scream, raw and desperate, cut short as a presence oozed out from the ship, outwards across the deck of the shorter ship.
And then the others were taken.
The second mate, Roth, fought against the ropes as they latched around his waist. He slashed at them with a knife, but they tightened, pulling him toward the edge. A sailor grabbed hold of him – two, then three – all trying to keep their second in the Stardrinker’s grasp.
The ship shuddered beneath them.
For a moment, it almost seemed like The Shadow breathed – a deep, guttural groan of wood bending, shifting, drawing closer.
Cali roared for them to cut the ropes, but the moment her voice rang out, one shot toward her, fast – faster than any natural movement. She ducked, rolling instinctively, grabbing hold of the wheel as it whipped past her.
The party had moments, seconds, to act before the ropes came for them, before the crew was gone, before The Shadow revealed more ropes and took them all beneath its deck to unimaginable horrors.
Thanks for dropping by for another night at my tabletop. Don’t forget as we passed the midway point we have maps and monsters, well creature stat blocks left for this week. So make sure you don’t forget to come back the last few remaining days this week to stay up to date with what’s happening at my tabletop. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
The breeze of the new morning brings a herald of the shadow – and the revelation of what that means for the party and the crew aboard the ship.
So look to the horizon as something darker, a herald of the shadow, approaches in tonight’s adventure!
Herald of the Shadow
523TuHeSh
Captain Cali – Created in WordPress.
The Stardrinker had been cutting through calm waters since dawn, its sails full, its crew settled into the rhythmic work of the voyage. The sea, gentle and predictable, stretched in all directions, kissed by warm sunlight. It was the kind of evening that made even the most seasoned sailors feel at ease – until the winds shifted. Captain Cali adjusted her course and watched the few gulls flying above them take off in the direction they last saw land. Calling out to her crew and the party who had been helping out on deck she got them to keep a look out for trouble.
Captain Cali noticed it moments before the party did as her fingers tightening around the helm as a breath of colder air curled across the deck. The golden hues of the midday sun dimmed unnaturally, as if swallowed by something unseen. To the east, an ink-black smear darkened the horizon, creeping toward them as the clouds spread outwards like ink in water.
The crew, unaware of their captain’s tension, continued their duties but started to notice the storm. They were heading south and with some luck they would avoid the storm entirely. But luck was not on their side and despite them exchanging good-natured complaints about the incoming storm. ‘A squall?’ The second mate, Roth, scowled at the distant clouds. ‘Nothing unusual.’ Yet Cali remained silent, her gaze fixed beyond the approaching weather, beyond the shimmer of rain and the chromatic hues that the fading sun sent their way signalling the guarantee of rain with the storm to come.
Yet it wasn’t until her eyes glanced back towards the storm that her breath caught, a party member calling out to her at the same time as they both reached the same conclusion. There was a ship sailing out of the storm at a great speed towards them.
At first, it was just another silhouette against the dying light – no visible sails, no visible crew, a vessel drifting in the waves as though the ship itself was fleeing the storm. Cali exhaled sharply, stepping back from the wheel, fists clenched at her sides. It was likely propelled by the winds and seeking to escape from what they had suffered through. The sails were in fact there but a tattered mess and were dark as if fire hate ripped through them. The ship looked like it was in rough condition but somehow still sailing – whoever was still on board would likely be in just as bad shape and needing help, that is if there was anyone on board.
‘It’s here,’ she muttered, though no one had asked. When Roth appeared at her side they had a brief discussion where Cali could be seen visibly denying a request.
The party caught wind of her hesitation – Cali had shown no fear against the pirate ambush the previous day, nor had she faltered in the face of storms. But this? This sight had unsettled her and that gave them cause to be unsettled. As the dark ship drifted nearby, Cali having ordered their sails to be taken in but ready to be let loose in an instant they watched and hailed the other ship to see if there were any survivors.
The second mate, Roth, and several crew members peered over the rail and up at the larger ship, their initial curiosity melting into unease. The Stardrinker had been holding course, yet somehow, impossibly, the phantom vessel had drifted directly into their path out of the clouds that had now caught them, but there was no storm just a endless shadow as the clouds above blocked the sun. Despite them calling out to the crew that was on the ship it appeared as though the ship had made it here without sails or crew.
The bilge rat reported in and gave an update of what she had spied from the top of the mast. The dark ship had its hull and deck was blackened, not just by time, but with a sickly shade of decay, as though charred by fire that had never burned away. Ragged remnants of sails fluttered despite the stillness of the air. Its deck, deserted, was lined with skeletal rigging, coiled and waiting like the limbs of sleeping beasts.
And then, it happened.
The clouds above had caused them to light the lanterns around the deck to ensure that they had sufficient light to continue working. However slowly the lanterns dimmed, the flames flickering from a wind that none of them felt and it was as if the light was being drowned out by something stranger.
‘Turn us aside,’ Cali ordered, her voice taut with something close to dread.
Roth hesitated. ‘Captain—’
‘There is no crew,’ Cali interrupted. ‘No signs of distress. We move on.’
But sailors were creatures of superstition, and hesitation wormed its way through the crew. Some murmured about the unwritten laws of the sea and the good folk that braved the waters. The laws about answering the call of stranded vessels and for what happened to souls that were left to go mad on a ship devoid of sails or aid. Others whispered old tales of ghost ships, and the stories that surrounded them how there was a tale of a ship just like this that used to appear before calamity.
And the party? Their choice did not matter. The Stardrinker continued forward – whether by argument, by the demands of its second mate, or by the sheer will of the sea itself.
As they neared The Shadow, something shifted. The ship was no longer adrift – it was as if it watched them, waiting for aid or something else.
Then, from deep within its hull, a sound echoed – a groaning, ancient voice of wood and rigging stretching unnaturally. The ropes tightened. The shadows beneath its deck crawled.
Thanks for visiting tonight for another update for this weeks adventure. Don’t forget to come back the last few nights this week to make sure that you don’t miss anything that happens with this adventure. And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Brazen Wolfe Tabletop 