This is Episode 94 of Dice, Camera, Action.
Summary[ | ]
Episode 94 - North by Northwest[ | ]
The Party[ | ]
(Anna) Evelyn - Human Paladin of Lathander
(Holly) Strix - Tiefling Sorcerer
(ProJared) Diath - Human Rogue
The heroes are sailing to the city of Waterdeep. A storm hit, and the waffle crew was rescued by giants and their merfolk allies.
Sailing to Waterdeep[ | ]
6 days of the 30 day voyage have passed. The group gets a message from Omin in Strix's hat. Omin invites the heroes to come visit the Acquisitions, Inc. headquarters in Waterdeep. Evelyn swoons.
The group notices that the ship's captain is getting drunker and drunker by the day. Paultin talks with him, and takes him to his room. The captain reveals that he has a small secret room that contains a lot of alcohol. He gives Paultin a half-empty bottle of wine. Paultin graciously accepts it.
The captain reveals that this ship is linked to House Rajnar of Waterdeep. The captain is very intimidated by them.
Strix heads below deck and sees that the food has gone bad. She takes to fishing to make sure the crew gets fed. A fish she catches turns and speaks to her. It is an agent from Elminster! It tells her to "...continue to watch the streams for more clues #nostoneunturned". A glyph appears above the fish.
Paultin grabs the fish and bites its head off. Paultin is very drunk.
As time goes on and the captain remains a drunken mess, the crew starts to defer to Diath. He becomes the captain, more or less. His shirt is off a lot and he's getting real ripped.
After a few more days, the captain finally reaches his breaking point. He stops drinking. He pulls Diath aside and asks him to speak to Lady Rajnar on his behalf, and to relay his condolences regarding the death of Captain Ortimay. He is very worried that Lady Rajnar will blame him for her death. Diath agrees to do so, and the captain is very relieved.
The Shipwreck[ | ]
The crew spots something in the fog. It appears to be a wrecked ship. Someone is in it, snoring. It is a creature known as a giff. It is a humanoid hippo wearing a military uniform.
The heroes rescue him. He says that his name is Commodore Warrington Munt. His ship crashed here, but he survived. He says that his mission is top secret, but Strix actually intimidates him. He admits that he was on patrol and that there's an invasion of sorts going on. His fleet was hired to ensure the safety of this world from threats from the Far Realm. He was on a spelljammer, a magic vessel that can fly in space. His ship was shot down and it crashed here.
The group doesn't know what a blunderbuss is. He explains that it is a firearm. Strix says that she has firearms, and sets her arms on fire.
The heroes loot the wreckage of the crashed ship. They find a crate of wine and 3 crates of weird, alien food - moss and meat from strange beasts. The main meat is that of a sort of space lamprey, which is delicious.
A few more days pass. The group spots a pod of whales is nearby. Warrington Munt has made himself 1st mate. The crew is half intimidated, they also find it funny.
Strix prestidigitations his uniform to clean it up. He looks at her filthy garb and asks if she's immune to her own magic. She theorizes that she might be.
The heroes quietly talk about the decision not to help Port Nyanzaru. Evelyn remembers a bit of a conversation with Zaress. Diath and Paultin talk a bit, Paultin points out to her that it's OK to want things. She wonders... what if what she wants means people get hurt?
More days pass. There's another ship in the distance that seems to be heading in the same direction that they are. It is very far away. It has two flags. One is the flag of Zazesspur. The second flag is gold with a black winged snake, the symbol of the Zhentarim.
Strix lets Paultin use her broom. He flies it over toward the other ship. The broom is hard to control. It naturally veers to the left on its own.
Strix realizes she probably should have polymorphed him into a seagull.
On deck is a dark skinned woman in gleaming gold armor. The rest of the crew is wearing black leather armor. The ship is called the Sea Serpent.
Paultin is invisible, but the smoke trail behind him (created by Strix's magic broom) is not. One Zhentarim shoots at and hits him. He must make a Dexterity save to stay on. He does.
Paultin talks with them and finds that they are not especially friendly. She says the group is welcome on board, and she hopes the group will extend her the same courtesy when the time comes. Paultin takes off, sensing danger, and returns to his allies.
Day 30. The heroes spot the city of Waterdeep up ahead. The bay is enclosed by walls. There's islands out in the harbor. There are gates through which ships can pass.
Diath looks at Strix and says quietly, "We're home."
Strix says, "This isn't home. The only home is where you are."
Diath looks at her hand as the ship sails into the bay. End of session.
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