As we were quite certainly not welcome in Terras, the Captain found our best course of action to quickly escape from the harbour. Turning to portside, and relying on Master Krastus' mighty Zephyr, we could evade the fort guarding the harbour entrance, and outrun the patrol cutter, which, being the only ship available for Terras' defence, thankfully did not pursue us any further.
After we had gained a sufficient distance ,the Captain decided that we journey further around the island, southward along the western coast, and after about a day, our lookout sighted another Kieran cutter. This ship was probably on its way to Terras, clandestinely sailing on the outward side of the island away from the mainland, and certainly unaware of what had transpired in Terras. Avoiding it,
we sailed eastwards, back into the channel, and then northwards to Terras again, looking for a hidden bay in which to anchor the ship, sneaking into town overland.
However, this plan was foiled as, still quite a distance away from town, a watchtower on the craggy coast spotted our vessel, and a loud alarm was sounded from there. Obviously the Imperial presence
on the island was on high alert throughout, and at this time, there was no chance to approach unheeded. Hence, the Captain decided to postpone our visit to Terras, and we set a new course to our
original trading destination, Brigandy Bay.
We sailed south along the coast for a few days, without further incident, then veered to the west, crossing the southern part of the Sea of Flotsam. After ten days of rather swift and otherwise uneventful travel, we were alarmed by the sound of a collision with some obstacle below the waterline. Unpleasantly reminded of the events leading to our previous vessel's demise,
we hastened to investigate.
The Wild Monkey, luckily undamaged, had apparently struck the top of a submerged tower, and we could spot a field of ruins in the clear waters below. I projected that we'd still have plenty of provisions for our planned route, and we could afford a bit of delay, and so we anchored to inspect the ruins. After consulting with the captain, Master Krastus demanded that those volunteering line up, and then furnished us with a quite amazing spell, which was rather unremarkable on deck, but as we
lowered ourselves down, we found that each of us was encased in a sphere of bound air, displacing the water and allowing us to breathe and move about just as on land.
As we explored the surroundings, we indeed found that the inhabitants had found no time to take all of their belongings. They had either succumbed to the rapid flood, or rushed to escape it, which I hoped. Either way, we took time to collect what was still usable, and by dusk, we had returned to the ship with all sorts of commodities and valuables, most prominently a diamond necklace which Mistress Saran had recovered from a small chest.
Captain Cortés decided to extend our stay for another day, and we had recovered another quantity of goods by the early afternoon which was when we made another discovery. There was an ornate
crypt, which the captain ordered opened, as he expected more items of value inside. Our Mage obliged, and shattered the entry door rather mundanely with the large hammer he is rarely
seen without. However, something was amiss, as the water gushing into the crypt was repelled by a magical force from inside, and before anyone of us could react, an armoured figure charged at Master Krastus with an eerily glowing sword in hand.
I had heard tales of the undead, but never faced one so far, and I quickly had to realise that this one was thoroughly desiccated, and as such, completely unaffected by my powers. As the figure descended on our Mage, the Captain charged forward, and expecting their guns to be rather useless underwater, Carlton and Mistress Saran followed suit. Alas, our foe was well armed, heavily armoured, and unperturbed by pain, and so the battle was protracted and intense, with several injuries
sustained on our side.
Far from overcoming our foe, we struggled, when suddenly vastly more undead approached from outside the crypt, adding to our exasperation. However, these were not here to fight us,
but rather to witness their former superior's demise, which was closer than we envisioned, for just at this moment Master Krastus sent our foe to the floor, lifeless and limp, and after
a moment of unspoken gratification, the other undead shambled back to their resting places. When the excitement abated, I rushed forward to tend to the wounded, while the others inspected
the surroundings. There was no treasure in the crypt, but our foe's sword, still shimmering when the Captain picked it up.
Alas, our exploration was cut short at this point, for a thud announced the next tragedy. A body had sunk into the water and dropped into one of the spheres or air, and we realised in horror that the deceased was our crewmate, Master Cath, who had succumbed to many small wounds. Abandoning the spell, we darted to the surface and found our ship beset by a number of boarders, strange creatures resembling upright, human-sized octopuses. We could only watch as Master Smith slumped down
into the sea, heavily injured, and the others, outnumbered as they were, jumped overboard.
We were surely doomed unless we could take back our ship, and so the lot of us started to climb the nets on the ship's side, while the Captain scaled the anchor chain. I had my troubles getting aboard, and could barely see what transpired on deck, but when one of the creatures jumped into the water to chase me, the panic expedited my ascent. When I joined the fray, I found the Captain lying unconscious near the railing, having heroically pushed Mistress Saran out of harm's way, as I would later learn. One of the opponents, obviously their leader and a warlock of some sort, had grown to tremendous size and was flinging foul bolts of dark magic at my comrades. Still, the half dozen boarders went down, one by one, and eventually, we could corner and vanquish their
nefarious leader. Sadly, when we had lifted him aboard, we found that despite my comrades' best efforts, Master Smith had expired. My powers exhausted, I tended to the Captain's wounds as best I could, and Carlton covered for him while we continued on our voyage.
In the following days, without our Captain's expertise, our progress was rather diminished. At any rate, we could recognise the coast of Torath-Ka when it appeared in front of us, and correct our course accordingly. Finally, after a few days, the Captain had recuperated (or worried) enough
to be back on duty, and from there on, we reached Brigandy Bay without further disturbances.
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