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Original character art by Jimmy McClure.
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Previously on Call from the Deep
Starring:
Gotwald Ironhorn, level 3 minotaur Rune Knight Fighter
Mac, level 3 tortle Drakewarden Ranger
Savra Akkedis, level 3 lizardfolk School of Necromancy WizardTorrel, level 2 kenku Fathomless Warlock Pact of the Amulet
Having cleared the lower deck of the not-so-empty Emperor of the Waves, the party continues exploring the derelict ship.
The ruined galley in the stern features stairs to the collapsed captain’s cabin. Gotwald pokes around up there and finds a letter written by King Redaxe of Gundbar to Lord Neverember.
The letter asks for help on behalf of the Lord’s Alliance to investigate a strange shipwreck on the island, and a rash of deaths and disappearances.
Mac is ready to get the hell out of here, but Gotwald insists on exploring the water-logged hold at the bottom of the ship. They saw a sahuagin flee down the trapdoor in the galley during the ettercap fight, and there may still be survivors down there.
Turns out, Gotwald is right.
He climbs down the ladder into the waist-high water, and is immediately attacked by a pair of sahaugin, including the stronger, venomous sahuagin raider. At the other end of the ship, a shauagin priestess and a second sahuagin have finished tying three gagged humans to a small, makeshift boat. Survivors!
Mac (and his drake Cheese) leap down to help Gotwald, killing one of the sahaugin with a quick snap of his bow.
The priestess summons a spiritual weapon trident and orders the other sahuagin to rush to this new threat.
Gotwald embiggens using his Rune Knight ability — but the priestess paralyzes him with hold person!
Savra pokes her head down (she’s not a fan of water!) and casts cause fear on the raider, negating its advantage strikes.
Mac rushes forward and shoots the priestess, breaking her concentration, and she turns her attention to him, blasting him with a guiding bolt, and her summoned trident.
The nearly dead raider loses his nerve and flees.
An injured Mac goes into turtle shell mode for safety, and uses his turns to activate his drake, Cheese, to help Gotwald fight the remaining sahuagin, along with some toll the dead from Savra.
Gotwald is knocked unconscious from another guiding bolt, leaving Savra to carefully make her way towards him and revive him with a healing potion.
Gotwald’s eyes flick open. Still embiggened, he grapples the remaining sahuagin and marches forward, while Cheese delivers the killing blow.
Another nasty arrow hit from Mac nearly kills the priestess. Now alone, she screams, her eyes roll in the back of her head, and she vomits up a squirming tentacle. Her body goes catatonic and falls into the water.
Seconds later, an eerie scream echoes through the depths, and the entire ship groans in protest.
Something is coming. Something big.
Gotwald quickly reaches the ship of captives and begins moving it. Mac orders Cheese to chew through their bonds, while Savra readies a spell for whatever comes.
What comes are gigantic tentacles that crash through the ship! A colossal creature has arrived to destroy the ship and drag it into the depths of the sea.
Savra’s shatter spell targets a tentacle, but has little effect. This is not a creature they can simply fight.
The party starts making DEX saves to avoid the tentacles. Mac and Gotwald are already near death from the big battle, and the margin for error is razor-thin.
Mac and Savra begin using dash actions to get the hell out of this watery-tentacle nightmare. The enlarged Gotwald makes a STR check to hoist the captive-boat, bringing all three captives along.
They survive the initial onslaught of tentacles and destroying ship pieces (well, except Cheese, who is sadly killed), and flee upstairs into the lower deck — Gotwald literally shoving the captive-boat through the trapdoor.
Upstairs they catch a moment to untie the rest of the captives: a cleric, a merchant, and a sickly teenager. They have questions and concerns, but the party wisely waves off any dialogue — they still have to get the hell out of here!
On cue the tentacles begin bursting through the lower deck as the hold completely fills with water. This ship is going down!
Another round of saves leaves the entire party near death. Savra yells at the survivors to get moving, while Gotwald has to grab the muttering teen to get him moving.
They all rush back through the lower deck and reach the main deck above. Thankfully their rowboat became unmoored from the ship, saving it from being destroyed by the thrashing tentacles.
Gotwald is thrown overboard when the ship violently lurches to the side. He clambers onto the rowboat with the teen, and motions for the others.
Mac shoves the merchant off the ship as he jumps.
The cleric goes next, but Savra is nervous. Gotwald yells that he’ll catch her. Another violent rock from the ship forces her off, and she flies into Gotwald’s arms, crashing into the rowboat.
The group quickly make their way back to their ship. Behind them, the tentacles fully envelop the Emperor, dragging it below.
Within moments, there’s no sign of the ship.
MVPC – Mac
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