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Message: <blockquote data-quote="neveryours" data-source="post: 1497873" data-attributes="member: 13424">Water, water everywhere, but not a single drop to drink.The party arrived at Port O’ Call and had little trouble locating the SV Indomitable.She was a 3 masted schooner. One of the fastest in the Solamnic fleet, on a good day, she could outrun the best of the Minotaur navy. The bow was decorated with the naked, muscular upper body of some unspecified man. His face was handsome and crowned with a helm which sprouted wings. His left arm bore a round shield and his right lifted a trident. Of particular note was the crown, which had been crafted out of Thanoi ivory. When asked about it, Captain Thorbridge would only grin and remark, “Ain’t he a pretty boy? He sure fits her.” Rumours abounded from it being an illegitimate son from a tryst with an elf, to the figure representing some egotistical version of his self. Whoever, it is, Captain Thorbridge would lend no clue.The raised stern of the ship bore the shield and crest of the Knights of Solamnia proudly. Below it, the heraldry of the Thorbridge family and the gilded words “SV Indomitable”.Captain Thorbridge welcomed the party aboard and provided them with bunks. Debra was making no effort to hide her discomfort at being aboard a ship. Travelling above ground, out of Thorbardin, was bad enough. And now, this. Debra regretted volunteering for the mission. She swore that she never wanted to see the sky or sea again, after she gets home. If, she got home. She decided that her first priority would be to get drunk as soon as possible. Stark disdainfully ignored the curious looks of the sailors as they prepared the ship to leave. Never had they taken such strange guests on board. Many had never seen an elf or dwarf in the flesh before. She looked up at the crow’s nest, 60 feet above the deck. A good place for an archer.Karavas was seemingly getting more lively and excited. No one knew why, heck, no one even bothered. Who can be bothered to understand that man?The preparations completed, the SV Indomitable pulled out of port and set sail for the Ciatdel of Light.- 4 days had passed without event. Debra was either getting drunk or seasick. She contemplated tying herself to a mast in the vain hope of relieving the rolling motions of the ship. Trying that for an hour, it only made things worse.Meanwhile, Stark was attempting her first try at seamanship. She was going to scale up the main mast to reach the crow’s nest. First try, climb to 20”, then failed, and fell. Karavas went to her aid.Second try, climbs to 60”, nearly makes it before slipping again. Karavas went to her aid.Third try, climbs to 30”, before landing on the deck with a thump. Karavas went to her aid again.Karavas headed aft again, when he was sure that Stark wouldn’t attempt suicide again. “She’s like a bloody overgrown kender.” He muttered, as Thorbridge and the rest of the crew tried to hide their guffaws or pretend to look away. Stark stamped her foot, her face red. She turned on her heels and went below deck.-The setting sun reflected off the calm and tranquil waters. A stiff breeze cooled the party as they admired the magnificent sunset. The wind caressed the sweating bodies of the sailors.Which is why the party was understandably confused when the ship suddenly rocked to port. To the starboard side, a giant squid rose from beneath the waves, it’s tentacles swiftly reaching out to grab the hapless sailors.The surprise wore off quickly, as the sailors grabbed javelins and threw them at the beast. The party started firing with their ranged weapons. Thorbridge shouted a curse as he pulled out his bow. As the arrow flew, it sizzled and sparked with electrical energy, leaving a trail of ionised air.Karavas was grabbed and lifted. Unable to break free from the tight and painful grip of the tentacles, he could only envision himself getting crushed to death. Thorbridge bellowed and unleashed a flurry of arrows, severing the tentacle.The squid had grabbed a good number of sailors for lunch, but its greed was its undoing. As it tried to take more from the buffet table of a ship, the blessings of Zeboim seemed to suddenly descend upon the crew as a good number of javelins, arrows and bolts penetrated into its soft flesh. Small as the brain was, an arrow even managed to find it and mangle it. And so the beast did not have the chance to return to the depths and enjoy the fruits of its labour. Instead, it was hauled onto the deck and Stark started cutting it into strips for sunning. She had decided that the strips would make for some money as well as feed the surviving crew and party. She didn’t want any herself though. Stark was a strict vegetarian.The dead sailors were given a mariner’s rest, with their bodies committed to the deep. Captain Thorbridge conducted a brief ceremony and gravely promised to see to it that the kin of the dead were taken care of.On the sixth day, the SV Indomitable docked at a little port on Schallsea. The ship had arrived at the Citadel of Light, minus 9 crew members.</blockquote>

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