GM: BreakfastThe whale was sailing soon, and rumor said there was easy pickings to be had.
Captain Francois sailed to meet the whale before it set out. Four of his crew disembarked following the bonnie, well-laid-out plan. A nobleman and his guards were sidetracked and replaced with four o'the crew who slipped aboard the whale afore she sailed.
After getting a whiff of the lay-o-tha-land, two crew made their way to secure a launch and keep watch. The other two made their way to the vault. One caused a distraction, freeing the other to pick through as many vaults as possible. The infiltrator doing the distracting was caught and marched to the captain's quarters. Luck held, and the lookout team spotted a ship with black sails following the whale through the rain and stormy seas with a boat launched and heading to intercept. They also noticed one of the whale's guards missing.
They warned the crewman picking through the vault, who had been interrupted by the sounds of booted feet running below deck. The lookout team sounded the alarm, causing further chaos on the ship as the whale's crew rushed belowdecks to deal with the trouble there. Then, the infiltrator talked a guard into escorting her to her quarters, meeting the vault-picker on the way. As they were being escorted out for “fresh air” in the pouring rain, they discovered the ship with the black sails had crew aboard also picking the whale's teeth clean.
Before anything could go too far against the crew from Captain Francois’ ship, the vault team dove into the sea to escape, signaling their comrades to lower one of the whale's boats to join them. After reuniting, they rowed to Captain Francois' ship and made their escape. After settling up with the Captain, the four crew made a decent haul.
GM: BreakfastMako, Cregan Bandash, Vaarkhos, Zaya, and Nerkui hired on as crew aboard the Ace of Hearts. As the ship wouldn't sail until morning AND the group was already in the Drunken Kraken, Vaarkhos challenged his new companions to a drinking contest. It was not long before Cregan had drunk Mako, Nerkui, and Vaarkhos under the table, leaving Zaya to keep them all from being mugged.
In the morning, Cregan and Nerkui showed little ill effects from their drinking binge. Once aboard ship, the Captain assigned Zaya to navigation, Cregan to lookout, and the rest to other duties. Cregan looked for some refreshment to take with him to the crow's nest, which led him to the supplies below deck. He found a nasty surprise when the second barrel he opened spilled out an ooze-like liquid that waylaid him. He shouted an alarm, and the group were the first of the laggard crew to respond. In all, three of the ooze creatures emerged. Mako kept two from reaching the main deck, and although Mako and Vaarkhos were injured, the creatures were dealt with.
Once out of the harbor, Zaya navigated the Ace of Hearts through the worst of a storm towards an isle marked on the Captain's chart. He claimed his ship had chased its last prey onto the shore of an island where it broke up. As the ship approached the island, it hit uncharted rocks and started taking on water. The Captain sent his five newest crew to start hauling the valuables out of the wreck.
On the island, the group found many, tiny crabs scavenging for shiny bits to decorate their shells. One even had a knife in its claw. Nerkui found where something or someone had been dragged into the forest. Cregan found a large locked chest inside the hull of the wreck. After determining it was safe, he called Nerkui over to pick the lock. As Cregan retreated, Nerkui tried to open the chest, but instead discovered it was attached to the back of a much, much larger crab. Nerkui narrowly avoided the creature's pincers, shaking off one hit and retreating. He found himself swarmed by a group of smaller crabs. Another cast of crabs led by the knife-wielding one swarmed Cregan.
In the ensuing fight, Cregan, Nerkui, and Zaya were all injured, but with some luck and cleverness, the large crab was slain and the two swarms of smaller crabs were dispersed. To avoid death, Nerkui exhausted every trick he had, including an illusion spell and a bag of ball bearings. Cregan and Vaarkhos handled one of the crab swarms. Everyone scored hits on the giant crab and the other crab swarm. Zaya struck the final blow to the giant crab.
Before the group could catch their breath, Nerkui spotted something large coming through forest. The group hastily stowed the large chest with the four barrels they had loaded before the crab attack. Then, they pushed off and rowed for the Ace of Hearts. Their overloaded scuttle was taking on water when the massive lizard emerged onto the beach. It spotted them and headed into the sea to pursue them. They barely made it to the ship where they struggled to get the chest aboard. By the time they did, the giant lizard was perilously close. Nerkui and Cregan frantically tied one barrel up, and the crew of the Ace of Hearts pulled it and the two daredevils to safety as the sails caught the wind and pushed the ship out of reach of the giant lizard.
Everyone returned to Seaspire to live to sail another day.
