TIMELINE 1
- The Beginning -
A letter offering a position of employment is sent to four people:
- Rook Andreas, former naval operator and prisoner of war under the alias Count Coal,
- Dolphus Gorov, young remnant of the villainous and long-standing Gorov crime family,
- Nico Markl, well-mannered assassin and the murderer of Nico Gorov along with his whole crew,
- Mako, ominous bandaged fisherman and barbaric butcher of his own people,
They arrived in near unison at the Drunken Mule, a run-down and decrepit inn wedged between two larger buildings. Corpse-like patrons were huddled at tables, but they quickly jumped to their feet after Dolphus verbalized his desire to meet the mariner responsible for the letter. After an ominous warning and an even more ominous relapse, the barkeep directed the group to one of the rooms.
Upon arrival, the group felt a presence sweep their minds, shortly after revealed to be Hethila, the ominously floating aged bodyguard of the Hearthtemple High Priest, Tharwin, the issuer of the letters. Nico displays brief discomfort at Tharwin recognizing him, and the whole party is treated to an exquisite banquet in the small room.
Alexis, amnesiac military officer in one of the five fleets, entered the small room, being the last of the group and having lagged behind. Dolphus is awed by her uncanny resemblance to his deceased mother, and Rook breaks the tension by dramatically announcing his position and accepting the offer. He is followed shortly by every person in the room except Dolphus, who never outright stated his agreement to the position.
The group leaves the Drunken Mule, save Alexis for a brief moment of conferring with Tharwin as she searched for more information about herself. Hethila offers a curious Dolphus a chance to touch her invisible feathered wings, to which Dolphus does in abject horror. Hethila takes his appalled manner as an act of racism, while the rest of the group seems unaware of the exchange.
Hethila leads the party down to the docks, where Mariner awaits - an armored man of exceptional height completely concealed by his attire. He stood in the water and addressed the present crew before banter between him and Hethila got him kicked into the depths. Mariner attempted to shake hands with the crew, which included clumsily shaking blades with Rook, but Dolphus refused the offer.
Mariner and Hethila departed to confer, where she lamented Dolphus’ apparent racism. The crew entered a smaller vessel, and were subsequently startled by the appearance of ghost sailors at the oars, known as Honored Dead. All of the crew entered except Mako, who went to retrieve fishing gear and had an encounter with a member of the Halinth, a species of tall crab-men with wide shoulders and horrible acting skills.
Mariner and the crew approached the main vessel, dubbed The Caelin’s Hand by Alexis, who was informed she would be acting as captain. They met the priest Tharos, whom Rook recognizes from his time in imprisonment. The two share a moment of friendly discussion, while Dolphus descends to the chart room. He met a ghost cartographer there, finishing up a massive map as a parting gift. Dolphus became overwhelmed and abandoned the inquiry, meeting Nico in the stairwell and sharing a brief but solemn moment together before Dolphus accidentally gave away evidence to the existence of his wing, and quickly departed to an empty cabin.
- That Same Day -
The crew was called into the cartography room to discuss the matter of who would be captain, although they did not know it in advance. Upon it being presented, and Dolphus feigning naivety at the prospect, Mako left the room in disgust, which lead him to getting into contact with two ocean spirits asking for his assistance in getting the lazy king of the ocean to get off his backside and do his job. A newcomer, Jade, arrived on the docks and was air mailed to the boat by a disgruntled Hethila, who revealed she was a Sunblessed - a human hybrid with talons and wings.
Rook got up and insisted on his experience and reputation as being more than enough to justify his receiving the promotion. Nico replied with cutting rhetoric meant to offend as much as possible, although this appeared to only egg him on. Dolphus tried to defuse the situation while simultaneously pushing for Alexis as captain with Rook serving as the immediate secondary role, a proposition which made Rook turn his back on the entire room.
The vote was called, with one vote for Alexis (Dolphus) and one vote for Rook (Rook). Tharos abandoned the meeting in disappointment with notice in advance of another in three days. Mako went and played a game of Fleet with some of the ghost crew, when the deck acted funny and spooked the rest of the players, who handed Mako a picture of the card formation. He took it to Mariner, who got angry at Mako for being presumptuous and shut the door in his face.
- First Day Afloat -
During the night, Dolphus had a terrible dream, and went to sleep it off on the main deck. Mako awoke and proceeded to jump off the deck to demonstrate his water magic, making the ghost crew panic as they hauled him aboard. He then snapped in Dolphus’ ears to wake him up, motivating him very strongly to relocate away from Mako at as high a speed he could manage. Standing with Mariner, Dolphus listened to his recollection of the traumatic loss of his family and figured out Mariner’s ominous secret. Their conversation ended on a high note when Alexis broke in and misunderstood Mariner’s sword flourishes.
Mako returned to go below, but was interrupted by Tharos inquiring if he wanted to learn how to use magic more carefully. The pair went to the chart room, where Tharos tried to instruct Mako on water magic. Alexis and Dolphus stood by the wheel awkwardly until Alexis suggested the pair meet later and eat, which was all Dolphus needed to immediately become depressed and pout all the way to the storage compartments. Alexis then addressed an approaching Rook about the vote, who showed dissatisfaction in both the popular choice and the crew as a whole.
The character of Karl Benz was introduced, a mercenary under the employ of Hethila. He met her on an uncharted tiny island, descended into the cabin from that one episode of Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood, and ended up in the inexplicably massive underground Sun Temple. Both went to meet the biggest bird, Thalur (why does every character start with TH) who informed him of a highly elusive and valuable target written down on an unopened scroll and his soon-to-be undercover position on a ship filled with the familiar wackos we all know and love.
After spending the night unknowingly across from a fearsome dragon named Christian Balestrom, Karl Benz fell through the sussy magical portal where I keep my extended family and landed on board The Caelin’s Hand, to the interest and amusement of the ghost sailors aboard. And after bonking his head on the floor, Dolphus got distracted talking to Mariner and fell backwards down the stairs, giving himself a concussion probably (more like conSUSsion amirite fellow kids). Mariner dismissed the inquisitive Mako and dragged Dolphus to his cabin to administer essential oils.
Karl’s trip to the Caelin’s Hand occurred at this time, grabbing the attention of Dolphus, who was waiting for Mariner to finish prepping his concoction. The two spoke briefly, and after baiting the newcomer to test his knowledge, Dolphus was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Mako, who began to berate him mockingly and who was likewise mocked in turn.
The end of a quip from Mako about Alexis preceded Alexis’ imminent arrival, and she immediately escorted Karl into her cabin and away from the pair. Mako made a non-apology to a now bitter Dolphus, who quietly ordered him away and returned to Mariner, who had been unaware of the events in the hall. Upon hearing an intruder was on board, Mariner exited in a fury and met Alexis at her cabin door, where Karl aimed a crossbow at the party. Mariner laughed off the gesture and Karl identified himself with a letter from Hethila, ending the tension.
Uncomfortable circumstances continued however, as one of the cabins was suddenly attacked, a massive harpoon piercing the hull of the ship. Three ships from the Northern fleet surrounded The Caelin’s Hand, chained to a massive squid called a Thauin, which began attacking the vessel and destroying more superficial portions of it. During this attack, Dolphus was seized by a rather scrawny tentacle and lifted high into the air, prompting all the living members of the crew to jump into action.
As Dolphus sliced himself free, Tharos opened a portal to allow Alexis to grab him as he dropped. However, the portal was just not close enough, and Dolphus fell into the open maw of the Thauin. Mariner jumped into the ocean to chase the retreating squid, and Dolphus, now in great pain, stabbed the brain of the squid, immediately killing it. Mariner eventually caught up with the sinking squid and cut it open, pulling Dolphus out and inadvertently discovering his wing in the process. A rope was lowered, and Mariner barely made it back to the deck of The Caelin’s Hand in time.
As the ships that towed the Thauin quickly fled, Mariner jeered their departure only to face an oncoming storm. Dolphus was quickly rushed below, with Mariner soon following, as Alexis prepared to power through the oncoming gale. During the process, Mako untied one of the sails, ripping it free and letting it fly away in the wind, much to the dismay of the ghost crew.
Mariner met Dolphus in his cabin and offered up some medicines as well as a song. Just after he made a comment implying the existence of Dolphus’s wing, a massive wave came and smashed into the side of the Caelin’s Hand, ripping the hull and knocking all living crew members unconscious. Out at sea, a small battered ship with a torn sail fought against the wind, succumbing to a similar fate as the lone occupant, Ari Wohlford, was introduced to the story.
more soon…