NPCs
- Carl Johannesberg, Cook
- Francis Morgan, Captain
- Jezekiah Birch, 1st Mate
- James Sebastian, 2nd Mate
- Samson Moore, 3rd Mate
- Macaffey, Steward/Clerk
- John Coffin, Cabin Boy
- Danny - Halfling Rogue (Chris)
- Li - Human Monk (Wyatt)
- Summer - Half elf Ardent (Brian)
- Samuel - Human Bard (Kirk)
The party gets recruited by the 1st Mate of the whaleship Essex, Jezekiah Birch... a strange, green skinned Nantucket native, with a piercing stare. He introduces them to the ship's Captain, Francis Morgan, who puts them through a series of tests to gauge their abilities. They pass the test and sign their contracts to work aboard the ship for a three year journey.
Before the party can spend their advances, the 1st Mate sets them to work on "cleaning out the hold" of the ship. They encounter giant wasps and eventually battle a full swarm of the vile insects, including the queen whose abdomen houses the hive! The battle was harrowing, the party repeatedly stung and poisoned, but they prevailed in the end, largely due to some healthy teamwork, Samuel and Summer supporting and healing the group, Danny swatting wasps left and right, and Li's deadly crowd combat prowess.
Danny decided to open up the queen before they cleaned up the mess to see if there was anything of value within her... sure enough there were a number of noteworthy items to be found.
Their last night before setting sail, the Captains of each of the docked whaleships nowhere to be found, the crews from each of the ships decide to throw a party at the local bar, to celebrate their upcoming trip.The party, save Summer, enjoys the festivities conservatively. Summer gets drunk during the "gam" and finds herself awakened the next morning by Danny, in a strange place, amongst some half-orcs.
The crew is almost completely green-hands. Few of them ever set foot on a ship, let alone worked one. The 1st Mate appears bitterly frustrated by this, further fueled as Summer arrives late. A crowd forms along the wharf to watch the ship heave off, and they are delighted to see the comedy unfolding.
The 1st Mate, alongside his mates, fires a broadside of foul-mouthed, ill-tempered orders at the crew, his green complexion almost red with fury. Samuel and Li attempt to help the crew, but with too much to do, and the mates lack of interest in teaching over barking...the sails are eventually set, and the ship rolls off to the sea.
The captain, clearly embarrassed, attempts to look stately while he presides over one of the most pathetic attempts at a launch Nantucket may have ever seen...
The first two weeks on the Essex are awful. The crew, by-and-by, find themselves horribly sea-sick and being run through endless ship's chores, duties, and whaleboat drills while fending off waves of paralyzing nausea and occasional vertigo. All this while under constant verbal assault by the 1st Mate.
A crewman came forward to the 1st Mate, emboldened by his sick desperation, and confronts his officer about the horrible conditions they're forced to work under. He thinks himself a deadman were he to climbthe rigging in his state. Danny boldly steps forward and slaps him across the face, questioning the crewman's manliness. A scuffle begins, with a now reluctant Danny, but is cut short with a vaporous green-trailed whip crack across the man's back, exploding it with blood. All eyes fall on the 1st Mate who is now brandishing his strange serpentine rod, its crackling emerald energy furls back into it's coiled maw.
The man falls to his knees in agony, and the 1st Mate regards the rest of the crew, a stunned fear rolls through the crowd. Danny distracts him from further targets by complimenting Jezekiah's firm leadership. Li drags the man below deck, to the cooper for tending. The man's shirt split open, but no gaping wound remains, only a bright red welt...
Something about their 1st Mate didn't sit well with anyone before, but now it was clear he meant harm to those who didn't follow his lead...
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