Travelling Up the Coast; Pirates!! | D&D Session #11

The Trials and Tribulations of Pirate Hunters

After completing the adventure Danger at Darkshelf Quarry, the Mürmaids decided to head north up the coast of the Sea of Fog to the town of Fog Harbor, where apparently Snake had been sent on another mission to establish yet another port for Nirn.

The thought was that rather than just burning out the winter in Darkshelf before the rivers were thawed enough to get back to Jed's bandit camp, they could earn more trust with their guild leader, and perhaps make some quick cash off of one of his ventures. Also, each of the party members agreed that their guild leader's goal of putting down the slavers that have been growing in strength and influence in the Sea of Fog and the oceans to the north, so "pirate hunting" was also a goal.

Weather and Its Implications

The trip began well enough, and on even, calm seas, should have taken roughly a week to accomplish. Things were not that simple, though. Even with their hired hand (an old fisherman who offered to help pilot the boat for a fee), the party quickly ran into the fog for which the sea is named, and followed directly by a harsh, winter storm that blew them somewhat off-course.

After a single day of trying to sail due west after the storm in order to find the coast and get their bearings again, the party came across a vessel limping slowly through the seas.

Perhaps suspicious for good reasons, the party approached them slowly, attempting to discern whether or not the small, damaged boat was actually a ruse set forth by pirates trying to lure them closer.

Are Those Pirates?

Horace changed the sail of the River Maven to match the yellow sails of the pirates. As they got closer to the damaged vessel, the poor merchants aboard saw the yellow sail, and in a panic, raised their own sails to speed away, even under the list of their leaking boat, screaming that the pirates had caught up to them.

Nope, Those are Pirates!

Of course, with going as slow as possible on their approach to the innocent merchants, the M&umml;rmaids left themselves vulnerable to the ramming speed of the pirate vessel that actually was coming up behind them through the fog. With a horrible crash, the pirate's longboat barreled into the River Maven, rocking the boat violently, and throwing their new deck-hand overboard. Pippen busied himself with rescuing the man as he drifted away, and Horace took over the tiller to try to dislodge their boat from the pirates. Guido and Oliver armed themselves as some of the pirates clamored over the edge of the pirates' vessel onto the deck of the River Maven. A melee ensued, and long story short, Guido, wearing chainmail, played it conservatively, since he didn't want to drown. Oliver, partially possessed by the bloodlust of his cursed sacrificial dagger, boarded the pirate's vessel himself, and murdered the wizard on board. Horace eventually boarded as well, and together with missile fire from Guido and the eventual defeat of all of the pirates who had boarded their own vessel, the pirate captain and one remaining thug surrendered. The merchant vessel, by the way, drifted off to eventually sink into the depths of the sea.

Limping to Shore

Now with two boats, the Mürmaids drifted west to the shore, where they could re-consider their options. The River maven listed terribly, with a gaping hole in its shallow hull where the pirate vessel had rammed it. Thankfully, the pirate vessel went mostly unharmed, so the Mürmaids could take it and use the more sea-worthy vessel to continue their travels.