There was a sound of confusion and then a solid thunk followed by the coppery smell of blood. It splashed onto the floor, seemingly gallons of it as the crew struggled to keep the cow steady. The cook, Shalia, was gently petting the unconscious cow as its blood leaked down into buckets. One filled, than another, than another. Shalia would use some of the blood in her cooking while the crew would soak bits of bread or other things in it and use it as bait for fishing.

Slaughtering the cow was the hallmark that they had hit the open seas. For a few days the crwe would get fresh meat, a rare treat on the open waters, before it was transitioned into salted jerky.

So far the trip out of Absalom has proceeded without any incidents. They hugged the coastlines of Andoran and Cheliax. They didn't stop but just keeping the coast in view made everyone feel safer as it was unlikely a pirate would be bold enough to strike so close to shore. Then it was time to cross through the Hespereth Strait, under the giant Arch of Andoren and into the open waters of the Arcadian Ocean.

Anyone unfamiliar with geography would assume the boat would turn and set sail south but everyone familiar would know this would be suicidal. The infamous Eye of Abendago, the permanent hurricane caused the waters to be stormy and dangerous and then the ship would pass dangerously close to the Shackles, the island chain home to numerous pirate ports and so-called "Free Captains" that preyed upon shipping all up and down the coastline.

No, it would be crazy to turn South, instead the ship headed West to go far around Mediogalti Island and the Shackles until the Arcadian Sea turns into the Fever Sea, so named by the hot and humid climate before swinging back East towards the Vidrian coastline and their eventual destination, the capital city of Anthusis.

Up on deck Captain Sorina was gazing out at the horizon with a grim look on her face. Next to her, the First and Second Mate, Bosun, Helsman and Wizard were all in deep discussion.

First Mate (Marcino): "No question about it, sis. We're being stalked."

Bosun (Rosie): "No idea what kind of ship it is but the way it is cutting it isn't just a coincidence. It's following us."

Helmsman (Aldus): "You know Captain that it's not trying to get ahead of us and the wind is bad from that angle. Unless they're stupid or lost they're not trying to catch us, they're trying to keep our position."

The wizard sniffed and rolled his eyes.

Wizard (Dimitri): "Yes well the ability to transmit messages via magic is so mundane that almost anyone can do it. You don't even need a wizard, you could even just have enchanted objects that can pass notes back and forth."

"You know what it means, sis."

The captain nodded at her brother and the others.

Captain (Sorina): "Yes, it means that we will be sailing into an ambush. One ship behind us, one or two in front of us and we'll have nowhere to run. There is little chance we can shake them on the open seas so if we continue we only have to hope that they get bored with us before we are taken. No, there is only one course of action."

The rest of the officers nodded grimly. They knew what was going to happen but they needed to hear the captain say it.

"Prepare to turn the ship due south. We're going to cut around the Eye of Abendego."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:45, Wed 03 Feb 2021.

Within minutes of turning south uncertainty and anxiety rippled through the crew. Everyone who had ever sailed these oceans knew cutting south was the worst thing possible. The storms around the Eye were notoriously dangerous and even the Free Captains that sailed the route regularly would occasionally encounter monster waves or wrecking winds. That wasn't even counting the pirates.

Even the guests who had no experience on these oceans could tell that something bad was on the horizon. As if echoing the mood, the skies went from clear blue to dark grey and in the distance one could see them get darker still. It was as if the gods themselves were issuing a warning: TURN BACK! GO AWAY!

And yet the ship continued its course.

OOC: Pausing here for introductions. You can go into as much or as little detail as you want. How you've spent the first two weeks as they sailed through "safe waters", the sudden change of course and the realization that their route had just transitioned from "safe and standard" to "reckless and dangerous" in just a matter of hours.

Midshipman Rookward looked up from where he was helping secure the rigging.

"Well, that's not good." He muttered.

Unfortunately he was middle-management, and had no control over the actions of the captain.

Therefore, right into the storm they went and there wasn't a blasted thing he could do about it.