The festival was going to be especially good this year. The stone-oyster harvest was the biggest ever, and everyone felt especially flush with coin. A battered captain's hat had been passed around and the gatherings were spent to bring in a wizard to put on a show of fireworks. It was a rare treat that many of the children of the tiny village had never seen before, only a few of the more traveled oldsters. Delmina, the wife of the village Head-man, had taken over the organization and planning. Most in the village thought she actually pulled her husband's strings, and although she could be a bit abrasive at times, everyone seemed to appreciate her ability to bring things such as this together.

Delmina had decided the festival should be postponed until late summer. At first there was protest and grumblings, but the fishermen soon saw this to be acceptable because whatever conditions had increased the early spring harvest of stone-oysters was also bringing a increase in other bottom-feeders like sole and halibut. For the first time in years, there was some hope in the village that the winter would be one of warmth and plenty... so unlike any of the past two decades. The fishermen were soon busy in the catching, salting and shipping of fish, and the paying of long overdue debts.

It was with tremendous disappointment in the late summer that Delmina received a message that the Wizard whose skills had been contracted earlier in the year, had met an untimely end. The message was born by one Mr. Thalamine who claimed to be the Wizard's apprentice. He had brought with him a small selection of the Wizard's fireworks to drop off. Delmina had turned her powers of persuasion, also known as nagging by her husband, to convince Mr. Thalamine to stay and run the show. He resisted as best he could until they were interrupted by a pretty voice.

The pretty voice outside the village Head-man's stone house belonged to a pretty face. The pretty face belonged to Dory, old-man Gabby's daughter. She was bringing a basket of freshly baked bread. She shot the Wizard's apprentice a shy smile which did more to convince him to stay than anything Delmina might have said or coins she could have offered.

The apprentice introduced himself to the young woman who seemed to light up at the attention of a stranger in the village. Delmina quickly hustled off to be about the millions of other details that needed to be arranged before the evening's festivities, which left Mr. Thalamine and the pretty Dory alone. Her smile led to his laugh and one thing led to another until soon it was decided a short cruise about the bay might be the best way to find a little privacy before he had to be back to set up for the fireworks show that evening.

Old-man Gabby had done well in teaching his daughter how to sail, and soon the small skiff was out in the gentle mid-day breeze. They were enjoying themselves immensely, munching on treats she'd brought along, and sipping a bit of wine he'd rummaged from his pack. Things were proceeding well when the first swell hit the skiff. A spray of salt-water slapped the side of the skiff and splashed into the air. Dory squealed, not because the water bothered her, she was very used to that, but because that's the kind of things young ladies do when they are nervous.  The smile slid from her face as she looked further out to sea. Her father's training suddenly kicked in.

"We must get back now! That swell was a surge, a storm will be upon us soon!" she said as she began to pull on ropes.

The wizard's apprentice looked around, a bit perturbed at the sudden interruption. The sky was overcast, which it had been when they'd left, which it often was near the sea... The wind was only slightly increased from the gentle breeze that had brought them out in the bay. He could see little reason for alarm.

The young woman hauled on lines and began to bring the skiff around. The wizard's apprentice placed his hands on her shoulders, hoping to relax her, not understanding what was going on and seeing no threat in the sea.  She shook him away, and pulled her long sea-bleached hair from her face into a pony's tail. "Please, help me bring the skiff around. Trust me, storms come very qui..." the rest of her request was drowned in a sudden blast of wind, which billowed the sail and lurched the skiff. The wizard's apprentice fell backwards and landed on the sloped deck with a thud. A set of waves followed, tossing the skiff around.

That was all the lesson Mr. Thalamine needed in trusting the fisherman's daughter. She was tugging at a line that had gotten fouled, cursing colorfully in a vocabulary that must have also been learned from her salty father. The wizard's apprentice motioned with his hand and uttered a word. The knotted rope suddenly loosened itself, and she finished hauling on it.

"The anchor!" she shouted over the wind.

Thalamine saw the bow of the skiff being pulled beneath the incoming waves. He pointed a finger and a bolt of pure magical energy shot from his finger and severed the anchor line. The bow shot up out of the water and the wind nearly capsized them. The bobbing skiff lurched as the first drops of rain began to spatter on the seasoned wood of the sloped deck.  The tide had turned and was running strong back out to sea. The waves were running in a perpendicular direction, and the wind was now howling from the coastline towards them. They found themselves being hauled quickly out to sea.

As they passed the point of the bay, the rain increased. Through the gray mist, Thalamine noticed something on the water. He pointed the young woman's attention toward it. Her creased features relaxed just a little. "A ship! We can steer for them, there's no way we can make it back to shore in this!" She hauled on a line and the skiff leaped over a wave, landing hard on the crest of the next.

The ship seemed to be heading back out further to sea, seeking some refuge beyond the chaos of the out-rushing tide and crossing wind and waves. The sails were being furled.  Dory waved her hands, but it did not seem the ship noticed them, her voice lost in the roaring wind.

The wizard's apprentice grabbed his staff, handed down to him from his former Master upon his death, which had been stowed along the stern. He raised it over his head and with a word, the end of it burst into a bright white-hot flame! He waved it over his head, the magical flame impervious to the drenching rain. There was a commotion on the deck of the ship. They neared closer, and lines were cast over the sides connected to grappling hooks to haul the skiff in.

A rope ladder came down next. The wizard's apprentice helped the fisherman's daughter up first and then he shouldered his pack and began to climb up after her.  At the top, many hands of a very rough-looking crew pulled them on deck. Shouts arose and the sailors returned to their posts as the ship tried to race down the coastline to skirt the sudden storm.

Beside him, Dory suddenly began to curse again under her breath. Thalamine turned and looked upon a very large man approaching. He walked with a clumping sound caused by a wooden leg, and wore a large dripping hat. He had chains of gold and silver around his neck, and wore many earrings in his overly large ears. One eye was patched, the other drooped sleepily. His teeth were rotten and his face scarred.



"Welcome aboard the Plunderers' Plight!" he slurred in a deep voice. "Come to me cabin an' we'll get ye dried off..." He pointed toward the rear of the ship, rain poured around them, and the ship rose and fell on the wind-driven waves toward the south. With few other options the two followed the Captain, trying their best to keep their feet on the wildly rocking ship. The Captain didn't seem to be bothered by it as he clumped ahead of them.

"We've been saved..." murmured Dory to Thalamine. "...saved by Pirates!"

~~~~

The Usher announces: We've a new character on the stage! Alton Thalamine! The Wizard's Apprentice!

OOC:  Welcome Alton! Seems you've gotten started in a bit of stormy seas. What's your pleasure?
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:30, Mon 09 June 2014.

"Well, I do wonder how I will get out of this one," Alton thought to himself. Tread carefully, these next few moments will be critical.

As he followed the captain, struggling to keep up as he stumbled on the violently rocking ship, he spoke up "I thank you for taking us aboard, indeed, this is a fine ship you run sir. Couldn't hope for a better to ride out the storm."

After the boat suffers a particularly violent roll, he grabs a hold of Dory, feinting a fall and uses the opportunity to whisper to her "if things go south, tell them I am the second cousin of Duke Henlin and you are my mistress."

He then helps her up, audibly apologizing to her and continues following the captain towards the cabin.

As Alton helped Dory forward - which in reality was quite the opposite action on the rocking ship, she seemed to do as well as the crewmen - she nodded. There was a look of fear in her eyes, but also some of old Gabby's salt. She wasn't going to be a push over.



The Captain paused briefly and looked about his ship, riding the sudden storm like a child on a pony... lightly, almost playfully. "Aye..." was his only response.

He opened the door of his cabin and it was warm inside, not from any heat source really, but simply because it was out of the rain and wind. The Captain opened a narrow cabinet which was latched shut and pulled out two soft and golden laced towels. They were a deep crimson in color and bore the symbol of one of the southern kingdoms. Turning back around, he tossed them to the dripping duo.

"Storm came up pretty sudden-like, didn't it?" he asked as they draped the towels around themselves. "I be Captain..."

"Kurtz," finished Dory, "the One-eyed."

The Captain said nothing, but the lazy un-patched eye looked her up and down, considering, measuring and perhaps even weighing. "That be right lass, an' who be you?" He looked up to Alton then and met his gaze, "who be both of ye?" He turned and clumped toward a highbacked chair and sat his tremendous bulk in it. He looked off toward the fishing village. "I hear tell there be a festival tonight... fireworks an' the whole works. The fishermen, they be doin' well this year, When fishermen do well, I be doin' well meself. Brought me crew in close to be seein' the show, tell me, be ye doin' the same? Nasty bit o'weather this..." As he spoke, he crunched on a bit of dried fish.

Plants his staff on the deck to help him keep his balance. He takes a moment to ponder while drying off his hair before responding.

"I am Alton, and yes, as a matter of fact, I did come for the firework show. Have you ever seen one captain?"

The captain considered Alton for a while, not saying anything while the ship rocked and rolled beneath and around them. The sea threw itself at the ship, but so far she stayed sails-up. "Alton be it. Aye, I've seen fireworks afore. Some o'me men ain't yet, but they will soon enough. Do much fishin'?" he asked, changing the subject.

He looked then towards the young woman and tilted back his broad hat a bit in question.

Dory straightened a little and a look of pride came over her pretty face. "I am Dory, daughter of Dan who some now call old-man Gabby..."

The eyebrow over the captain's lazy eye lifted as she said this. "Ye don't say..." He scratched at his beard with the tip of a dagger. "There be a look about ye, and ye got better sea-legs than this'n," he pointed the blade at Alton. "I don't be seein' any need to be lyin'ta me... at least not yet. Ye know who I be, and so ye must know what I be. How do ye figure yer chances?"

"Chances Captain? I... I'm not sure what you mean."

Captain Kurtz stumped over to stand directly in front of her. He was a mountain of a man and towered over her. "Yer chances of the storm passin' and yer land-lubber man-friend here gettin' ta see the fireworks... of course!" His lazy eye widened a little before he turned and stumped back to his chair.

"That would depend on the storm, Captain, it doesn't seem to be letting up." she replied.

The boat lurched on that cue, and Alton had to grab the table for support. The Captain looked up as if inspecting his ship from the inside. "No... it don't..." he said. "Scuse me a moment..." He stumped past them and out of his cabin door into the blowing wind and rain and mist. The door shut behind him... and locked. They heard him bellowing commands to his crew. The ship tossed and rocked even more. Out of the small window, Alton could see the afternoon sky had darkened angrily.

"Can't say that I do," he replied. His voice is calm and he is beginning to gain his balance as his legs adjust to the boat.

He quietly watches the exchange between the captain and Dora and waits until he hears the captain start giving orders on the deck to speak.
"Fear not my fair maiden, I've been in worse situations than this and made it out. The key is to keep your wits even when things seem dark." He then cracks a big smile as he looks outside at the dark sky and speaks "Luminar." His staff briefly lights up the entire room before going out, he then looks back at Dora "and a little magic never hurts when the wits can't be located."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:07, Thu 03 Apr 2014.

Things were getting plenty dark for the wizard's apprentice and his salty sea-maiden. The ship began to creak as it rolled from trough to crest and back down again. Inside the Captain's cabin, things which had not been properly secured began to fall from the table and sway on hooks. The spattering of rain on the small glass windows and deck above them became deafening. They were soon obliged to grab hold on furniture which was screwed to the floor to remain upright. Dory scowled.

"I've never seen a summer storm like this Alton, this is very strange. My father and I have spent a lot of time on the water... my whole life in fact, after my mother died that is. I don't like the looks or feel of this!"

Alton began to feel the queasiness often experienced by those unaccustomed to the sea. He smiled at Dory, but his face felt hot and he had the urge to swallow and swallow as the saliva began to flow in his mouth.

Just then there was a roar from the deck and the two inside the cabin heard the snapping of lines. The ship lurched to one side and they were flung. Both scrambled to keep their balance. A string of the vilest curses rose over the howling wind from the throat of the captain.



OOC: Let's have a Con and a Dex check please. The Con check is to save vs sea-sickness with a Target Number of 11. If you fail, you'll have a -4 to your Dex check.  For both, please roll d20. The Dex check is at TN 7 unless you fail the Con check... Narration of some sort of mitigation may alter your TN's...

21:52, Today: Alton Thalamine rolled 3 using 1d20 with rolls of 3. Con Check.

"Curse this bloody storm!" Alton calls out as his face begins to turn green. As he can feel his harvest breakfast starting to come back up, he drops to the floor and rushes over to the window using his hands for balance. He will try to hold it in until he gets to the window.

21:53, Today: Alton Thalamine rolled 16 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 15. Dex Check.

OOC: Alton doesn't know enough about seasickness to attempt mitigation.

Alton arrived at the window and did his best to get it open. The boat heaved beneath him and he could feel the sickness rise within. Dory arrived to help, unaffected by the lurching and rolling, but distraught by the fury. With her help, Alton was able to purge out the open window. He held on desperately, as did the fisherman's daughter.

From the deck above them, they heard the stumping of the Captain's leg and whisker curling curses as he alone compelled his crew to labor against the storm. The ship creaked and groaned. Lightning crisscrossed the sky followed by pounding thunder and accompanied by the relentless wind.

From his vantage at the window, each time the ship crested (and each time he was not sick), the Wizard's Apprentice searched for the shoreline. It was not there. Either the driving rain and blackened sky was hiding it, or they had already been blown out to sea! Another peal of thunder boomed and the concussion blew out some of the windows. Rain blasted into the cabin. Dory pressed herself next to Alton and held on tight. In any other situation, the nearness and warmth would have been welcome, but he could concentrate on neither between surges of sickness and efforts to just hold on.

Alton held on knowing that the storm could not last forever. His hope was to keep latched to that window frame until things calmed down. The storm only grew worse. His nausea also grew worse until he could feel his grip beginning to loosen. He was loosing strength! Outside the cabin there arose a commotion, he could barely hear over the sound of the roaring wind and waves. He tried to turn his head to see what was going on, but his head became busy with the emptying of the last of his harvest breakfast.

Suddenly the door of the cabin burst open and someone bellowed, "There they be!"

A chorus of voices joined in with "They be the cause o'the storm! Over they go!"

Dory screamed as rough hands were laid upon her and she was dragged toward the cabin door. Alton felt his own body being grabbed and hauled. Soon he found himself on the wildly rocking deck of the ship with crewmen on either side. From behind he heard the voice of Captain Kurtz, "Daughter of Dan, ye brought this storm upon us! Ye and yer man-friend. We be givin' ye back t'the sea!"


OOC: You are being hauled toward the rail of the ship, the dark waves rise and splash over onto the deck. Any rolls you may elect to attempt will be at -4 due to seasickness. What do you do?

Alton's eyes roll to the back of his head as he is violently dragged along. His head rolls around, and his body goes limp. He musters up the last of his strength to yell at the captain, "you can throw us over if you like, but it will do you no good. And you would be saying goodbye to any ransom that you might get from me; for I am no simple traveler." He looks straight into the captains eyes before allowing his body to go fully limp save for his grip on his staff.

Captain Kurtz was not one known for his patience, especially when it came to his ship being plunged to the bottom of the sea. The old girl was creaking loudly now, each time it slammed down from the crest of another wave. "Ransom..." said the Captain, considering. "At any other time'd be a welcome gamble. It be bad luck ta bring a woman aboard, nearly as bad ta bring a wizard! Now be it worse luck to toss the daughter o'Old-man Gabby... or the wizardling? The Plunderers' Plight has saved me an' me crew when we shoulda been dead. Now we got'ta be savin' her! Over they Go!"

With a scream, Dory was tossed over the deck rail into the dark and angry water. Alton felt himself going over next. It was not a long drop, for the waves had grown very tall and the timing was such that he went in to a crest. He was immediately pulled upon by the sea. The only two things he could think of just then was to find Dory... and not let go of his Master's Staff.

Somewhere to his right, he thought he heard a scream followed by a sputter. His arms and legs flailed at the water, trying to keep his head above the surface, but it was a losing battle. Then he saw her, and she him! Both struggled to move in the chilly waves, but they were so tall... Alton reached out his staff to her and she grasped it barely. He pulled hard, but his muscles were failing. The seasickness had drained him badly. In the end, his grip did not fail... hers did. He watched in terror as her hands slipped away and she was lost in the sea.

He tried to keep afloat, frantically for a few more moments before he was pulled under. The coldness surrounded him. He heard a hoarse scream and realized it was his own! Soon he could fight no more, and the sea claimed him as it had Dory. His lungs burned and he felt his fingers and cheeks begin to tingle. Soon his muscles shook and quivered and refused to fight on any longer. It was calmer under the surface and colder and... dark. The last thing he remembered was his Master's staff, slipping through his fingers into the watery abyss.


OOC: You wake up, soaked to the bone, shivering in the rain. It is dark, and there is very little moon out. You seem to be lying on solid ground, a beach at least. There seems to be a formidable cliff rising above you, but there is an opening in the rocky wall, or something very dark at any rate, about forty feet ahead of you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:30, Mon 09 June 2014.

He vomits sea water for a few seconds before dry-heaving a few more. Slowly stands up, stumbles for a bit as he is still dizzy and only partially conscious.
"The pirates throw me in the sea and it spits me back out, as if the sea itself was seasick." Gives a bit of a wry chuckle, a bit of a combination of a laugh and a shiver. "They should have kept me, you can't come by more luck than this." He looks around him, squinting in the rain, "I can't believe I lost my master's staff, what kind of a wizard am I." He begins to regain some of his wits, "I shouldn't be thinking of the staff at a time like this, where is that poor girl. I can't imagine that fortune is gratuitous enough to spare us both. Dory..." He attempts to call out but it ends in a coughing fit as he vomits more water. He covers and calls out again, "Dory!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:23, Sun 13 Apr 2014.

The taste of salt water in his nose and mouth were strong. It took him a long time to be able to draw breath normally, and even then his inhales were shallow and quick and his exhales burned. The rain was falling heavily, but he was so chilled that it felt warm. At least that was something...

The night sky was bereft of stars or moon. There was lightning across the sky which seemed to be from all around, but at far distances. The rumbles of thunder were low and took a long time to reach his ears. The random glow provided enough light to see by now and then. He looked to his right and left along the beach for signs of the fisherman's daughter, or tracks, or some sign at least of the girl. There seemed to be nothing.

The cliffs above him were imposing looking, they were dark and though he could not see too clearly, they appeared to be vertical or nearly so. The small beach he was on was covered in driftwood and seaweed and the sand was entirely wet. The storm must have washed it all up here... or worse, the outgoing tide had stranded it here. Alton felt a sudden pang of fear in his stomach. What if this beach was normally underwater when the tide came back in?

He shivered as he collected his thoughts. He was cold, soaked, alone, without a staff, and not sure where he was even at! He did not know how far daybreak was away, nor if his beach would even be here when the tide returned... nor even how much longer that would be!

[Private to Alton Thalamine: Please make for me a d20 + Int mod vs TN14 check for me... (is staff in the area?)]

The wizard's apprentice felt the weight of his predicament crash about his shoulders as he realized the staff, a precious gift from his Master, was nowhere to be seen. The waves, still driven by the storm were pounding at the beach and the wind chilled his soaked clothing. He was wet, so wet he never thought he would be dry again. He coughed a few times and tried to relax his chest to keep the dry heaves from returning. At least the sea-sickness had abated.

Over the sound of the waves and wind he thought he heard a sound out over the water. He turned toward it and cupped his ears, closing his eyes and straining to hear. He was almost to give up after several long moments when he heard it again. It was a voice, a male voice. Alton assumed it was either some poor bedraggled like himself, stuck on some bit of rock out beyond where he could see in the darkness, or it was coming from a ship. He was not sure which thought chilled him more.

But those were not the only chills, for off to his left he saw something emerge from the waves and begin to crawl up the small beach. It was very dark, its color matched the sea, and it was shiny and slick-looking. It was thrice the length that Alton was tall and had finned flippers. Its eyes were black and unblinking. Suddenly it stopped and a longish neck turned Alton's direction. The small head of some sort of sea creature peered at him for a long moment, and then began to crawl, using its flippers and tail (rather quickly) in the mage's direction!


OOC: So no staff... :-(  [Private to Alton Thalamine: ...yet...] oh yes, I nearly forgot! Please roll for initiative!
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:51, Wed 23 Apr 2014.

Looks at the scene around him with despair before sitting down and breaking out into laughter. Not a normal laugh, as if one were watching a jester, but more of the unhinged laugh of a man who has just realized that panic is foolish, for his chances aren't good enough to take it so seriously. "Well, at least it can't get any worse." A moment after finishing his sentence the beast emerged from the sea as if his own words were incantations that summoned it from the depths of hell itself. He leeps up to his feet as he sees it emerge. "I'm in no condition to fight, let's hope that dark spot is more than just an infernal shadow as is the rest of this night," he says to himself as he sprints to the dark shadow he saw before. His laugh begins to die down and we wonders if he will wake up soon. Surely this must just be a nightmare, and all nightmares come to an end...


OOC: 17:44, Today: Alton Thalamine rolled 11 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 10. Initiative.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:00, Thu 17 Apr 2014.

The creature was not particularly quick, but it was strong and persistent. Alton raced up the sandy incline toward the dark spot in the wall. It turned out to be a cave or rather a large entrance into the cliff. As he tiredly pushed himself forward, he realized how terribly thirsty he was. The sand was wet still from the outgoing tide. Alton guessed that the tide would be coming back in soon enough and then that... thing, chasing him would not be nearly so awkward once the water level rose.

The cavern opening in the side of the cliff was tall, tall enough for a ship to sail into, and just as wide. The packed sand rolled off at the entrance back inside and fell into a massive tide pool. The only light available was that from the intermittent lightning. The gloom before him seemed almost darker than dark. He turned and looked back and could just barely make out the shape of the water-beast flippering along the sand a ways behind him. Alton tried to peer into the gloom. Ahead was a dead-end. He didn't dare enter the water, especially with that... thing, behind him. To his left he thought he could make out a narrow ledge, to his right were some rock formations he thought he could possible scale to another area of further darkness above. He was very much lamenting not having his staff.


OOC: So far you're able to outpace the creature thanks to your winning the initiative...
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:04, Thu 24 Apr 2014.

Curse it, why did I lose my master's staff? Alton thought to himself.

He quickly bear crawls up the rocks to his right making sure to feel for drop before he falls in.

Alton scrambled up the rocks as best as he was able with his cold hands and numb legs and his overall fatigue. Once atop the ledge, he rested back against the wall of stone and strained his eyes out toward the cavern opening. He could see the lumbering sea-creature flippering along the sand until it came to the sandy slope which led into the lagoon inside the cavern. It laid down on its stomach and slid quietly into the water...

After a brief rest, Alton regained his breath and his eyes became more accustomed to the gloom. He was in a very large cavern, sitting atop a shelf of rocks that led out in front of him along the cavern wall, far into the gloom. He was so disoriented that he could not begin to guess which way the cavern was positioned. High overhead he could just make out a faint glowing of algae or moss of some sort. Perhaps that was the source of light just bright enough to allow him to barely make out the general features of the cavern.

With the sea-creature somewhere in the water below him, and the tide about to turn, he really had little reason to climb back down and wait on the beach, at least until sunrise when he might do so more safely. As the waves pounded outside the cavern, he found his eyes were trying to fall shut. He was so exhausted and tired that he was having trouble keeping them open.

Alton tries to hide as well as possible while still staying high above the tide pool. He clutches his dagger with a reverse grip in his right hand before attempting to get some sleep.

"I know just the thing to deal with that beast tomorrow morning," he thinks to himself. He imagines just the spell to throw the sea monster off his trail, the geometrical patterns form in his head as he imagines about how to throw his voice outside the cave and visualizes the creature following in its confusion.

As he starts to drift into sleep, his mind pictures fair Dora being pulled to the bottom of the ocean by some infernal force. "Someday, I will kill that cursed pirate, Kurtz," he vows to himself just before his eyes go dark.

It was a hissing sound, not far from his ear that brought on the fight or flight reflex. Alton turned toward the sound and cowered backwards, instinctively distancing himself from the origin of the sound. The cavern was now lighter and his sleep weary eyes worked to scan, latch onto and then focus on whatever had made the sound. Flight and Fight both fled from him as  Fear stole into their place, leaving him frozen before the sea-creature.

The monster, for that is what it had become, was much larger than it had been the night before when Alton had fled into the cavern. On its back where now many horrid looking arms, each bearing weapons... a cutlass, a trident, a net... all waving wildly at him, threatening death. The neck had split in twain and now the sea-creature had two heads instead of one. The faces of the two heads were strangely human-like in appearance. With another shock, Alton realized that he recognized those faces! On the left was the face of the fisherman's daughter, Dory. She had a forked tongue and a sinister, vengeful grin. The other face was that of the horrible Captain Kurtz, pirate and killer.

"Wet night was it?" the Dory-looking head hissed at him. "Looks like you slept well enough! Unlike me, resting on the bottom of the cold ocean floor while crabs chewed the meat from my bones..." It hissed loudly and grew very angry.

"Me ship! Ye nearly sank me ship, ye dog, ye dog-spittle! Curse o'the seas be upon ye, dog-vomit!" The Kurtz-looking head hissed, snapping its jaws close to Alton's face.

The sea-creature rared back, the arm with the net made its cast. Alton scrambled backwards trying to avoid it, but ran into the rock wall of the cavern. The trident stabbed into his leg, the cutlass sliced open his abdomen. The wizard's apprentice looked down to see his insides spill out... instead of intestines they were hundreds of small white staves just like the one his lost Master had given him. The net tightened, the heads bit, and then Alton was falling off the side of the ledge toward the water. Time slowed and he could see a gaping maw of something impossibly large waiting just below the surface to swallow him up. He struggled, fighting against the net as the spilling trail of staves turned to fish-hooks like the one Old-man Gabby wore in his sea cap...


~~~~

Alton awoke with a start, flailing his arms against an unseen net. It had been a only a nightmare for there was no net, no sea-creature and no Captain Kurtz. He shivered from his still wet clothing and tried to shake the images of the dream from his mind. The cavern had grow slightly lighter, and Alton guessed dawn might soon come.  From his perch on the rock ledge, he could now make out more of the large cavern. The tide had risen outside and was nearly to breach the sandy dam which separated it from the dark pool within. Alton scanned around but could see no sign of the sea-creature. The ledge he was on extended, brokenly along the cavern wall, and he thought he could see a sort of landing or beach perhaps a hundred arm-spans into the distant gloom.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:29, Mon 28 Apr 2014.

Finally, a bit of sunlight touched the cavern entrance, just as the ocean waves began to lap over the sandy dam leading into the cavern. It was a welcome sight after his long, wet night and traumatic ordeal. He scanned the water below, searching for the sea-creature but seeing nothing. He was just about to move out when he thought he heard something from the far gloom of the cavern. the echoes off the cave walls and surface of the water were strange and unfamiliar, but could have sworn he'd heard a voice! He paused, straining his ears and closing his eyes to focus. Then, after a few moments his suspicions were confirmed! He had heard a voice or maybe voices as the last had been a lower rumble. Strangely, he considered briefly if the storm had washed in other bedraggled souls. Maybe that's why the sea creature had decided to leave him alone... Perhaps it had gone for an easier treat!

OOC:
Far into the gloom of the cavern you think you can just make out the flickering of a torch! If you strain very hard, over the sound of the surf outside, you can hear broken bits of conversation... It would seem you are not alone!

"What do I have to lose", Alton thought to himself. He gathers his things together and starts quietly crawling through the cavern, hoping to catch a glimpse of the others before exposing himself to pirates or worse.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:31, Sat 10 May 2014.

Alton slogged his way along the ledge as quietly as he could. As he rounded the gentle curve of the cavern he saw the torchlight and a most bedraggled, rag-tag group of misfits. They looked about how he felt...

OOC: Your last words here and then we'll continue in Chapter 2 thread...