After the good ship Corgi was repaired and restocked, the party of adventurers were eager to reach the sea.
First mate, Cynthia takes Konrad aside on deck and chats with him about the Captain’s immortality and the members of the crew. She also peppers him with questions about how he came to have a cat’s head as well as claws. Konrad answered her questions in a cordial manner while the rest of the party was still in the galley eating… all except for Kat, who was feeling quite sea sick and stayed resting in a bunk.
After she finishes with her questions, Cynthia shares a story of the devastation caused by the first war of the infected. Konrad tells her that the dragon Val wants to fix the problem of the infected and so the party of adventurers are working under that directive. Val believes that Nethandric is the key as only a powerful magic user can repair the barriers between the planes of existence.
Nethandric has been alive for thousands of years and as far as the group knows, he is the only one who can stop the infected. There is a cure but it is difficult to replicate.
Cynthia learns that Konrad owes his god a favor. They are soon joined by Dar-wynn who suggests that Kat would be interested in talking to Cynthia about her crossbow (named Bertha). Dar-wynn is playing matchmaker, of course.
It is a balmy night and the rocking of the boat is soothing. The moon is rising, but the light of a distant village can easily be seen.
Dar-wynn questions Cynthia about Nethandric and where they may find him. The party must travel the sea in order to reach Nethandric. Dar-wynn asks Cynthia how the Corgi will get to the sea from the lake. Cynthia shares that there is a magically concealed tunnel which links the lake with the open water.
Cynthia retires for the night to get some sleep. Dar-wynn stays up on deck while the rest of the party is below. The rocking of the boat is soothing and everyone (Kat included) sleeps well.
After some time spent star gazing, Dar-wynn also goes below to sleep.
Next morning, the party awakens to the sounds of footsteps on deck. Dar-wynn inquires if they ‘are there yet’ and is told that they will use the secret passage in the dark of night when they won’t be seen.
The adventurers put their collective fishing skills to good use and bring up a good sized haul. They give their catch to the ship’s cook to prepare for everyone’s dinner.
As the sun sets, the ship drops anchor to wait for full darkness to descend. On deck, Dar-wynn is suddenly struck on the back of the head by a rock. She looks around for the assailant but does not see where the threat came from.
Konrad turns, and sees multiple heads sticking up out of the water. The humanoid figures in the water have webbed fingers but that doesn’t stop them from making rude gestures and throwing rocks. Then, Konrad hears a water voice yell out, “Go away… or we’ll sink your ship!”
More rocks are thrown up on the deck of the ship. The crew becomes excited and gathers up on deck at Dar-wynn’s request.
Cynthia goes to the side and yells to the figures in the water to cease their attack. The mer-people question the first mate and swim closer. When the mer-people learn that the ship is the Corgi they express joy and ask to see Judy-bug the corgi. The dog is dropped into the water to see the mer-people who take turns petting and hugging her.
Konrad gets into a dingy to speak with the mer-people. In exchange for information, the mer-people ask to touch Konrad’s fur. They find it gross, or perhaps Konrad finds the experience so, but both parties are soon satisfied.
Konrad learns that a great many dangers exist in the open sea, including whales, sharks, dolphins, sirens and sea hags… plus more! Anything can happen, and there is no way to prepare for specific threats.
Konrad asks the mer-people for anything that might aid them on their quest. He is granted some sharp scales (which he intends to wear as claw covers) and an underwater breathing apparatus. Konrad thanks the mer-people and wishes them well.
The lights on the ship are dimmed. Birdy, in the crow’s nest, checks for ships or people but there are none to be seen. The captain calls for the anchor to be raised and the ship proceeds slowly ahead.
Konrad can see through the illusion concealing the cave. It was dug out to allow a ship to pass from the lake to the ocean.
Slowly the ship moves into the cave. It is in total darkness but Konrad can see just how narrow the cave is. It is hot inside the cave, breathing becomes more difficult. But this only lasts for a short time as a fresh wind rushes in and the ship emerges from the cave into an inlet.
The ocean is rocky and becomes even more so as the ship leaves the inlet and heads out into the open water.
Cynthia relays that the sun is starting to rise. The captain tells the adventurers that it will be a rough trip to find Nethandric as he lives underwater and the party will need to swim to reach him.
Soon, another ship appears. As they get closer they see that it is a duplicate of the Corgi but this ship has been through battle and seems to be missing much of it’s crew. The figures on deck look at the adventures with hatred and disgust. Could they be from the future?
The weather becomes increasingly menacing as the ship sails on. The captain calls for them to ‘batten down the hatches’. The ship is really getting tossed around. Konrad goes up on deck to advise the captain that something may have struck the ship.
Feeling anxious about the conditions, Brega attempts to cast an underwater breathing spell but it backfires. She runs up on deck and climbs into a water barrel as she has lost the ability to breath air!
Dar-wynn manages to get below as the storm rages on but Konrad gets hung up by the rail. Kat is still in her bunk asleep.
The captain believes that the storm is not natural. Suddenly, everything becomes quiet and three old sea hags appear in front of the Cynthia. The ship seems to be in the eye of the storm. The focus shifts to the intruders on deck. Cynthia backs up but the hags move in unison laughing as a huge wave hits the side of the boat.
The wave knocks Brega’s barrel into the water.
Everyone else prepares for battle. The captain advances toward the threat with Dar-wynn directly behind him. Konrad also moves closer.
The captain grabs one of the hags by the neck and squeezes.
Meanwhile, Brega is in the water, breathing but disorientated. She hears her name being called...
Back up on deck, the battle continues. The hag manages to injure the captain’s arm and he drops her. Cynthia wields Bertha and takes 4 shots at the hags. Somehow, the hag injuries herself while the captain repairs his arm.
The voice calling Brega is getting louder…
Thanks to Dar-wynn, the hags are shaken with fear as the battle continues. Cynthia is wearing down from her injuries. Dar-wynn also feels her strength diminish somewhat.
Brega sees a bright light behind her and recognizes the voice to be her goddess Gozreh. She humbles herself before the goddess. Gozreh questions Brega as to why she has placed herself in this situation. Gozreh gives Brega the mark of the trident on her forehead and instructs her to touch it once in an extreme emergency to get aid from Gozreh.
The goddess also heals Brega’s neck wound. The wound was caused by a splinter of wood lodged into her neck when the barrel broke. Gozreh stops the storm and urges Brega to swim to the surface. Brega discovers that she can once again breath air.
Up on deck, Konrad gets one of the hags on her knees wounded. Then another hag goes down. The captain again grabs a hag by the neck and squeezes. She dissolves into sea water.
Dar-wynn grabs a hag from behind and slashes her claws into the neck, ripping out part of the trachea. This hags body soon dissolves into sea water. A crew member falls, hurt in battle, while Cynthia kills the final hag.
Hearing her cries from below, first mate Cynthia, pulls Brega out of the water. And now, the party is ready for the next stage of their adventure.
