Friday, July 3, 2015

Palladium FRPG 1st Ed. Ancient Dread: The Journey to Totuga

Continuing the adventure from here. Follow the story from the beginning.   This session was done via a combination of Roll20 and IM so I am attempting dialogue.

Several days have passed as the intrepid adventurers sail towards the pirate haven of Totugo in the Floenry Isles, far to the South of the Kingdom of Timiro.
The journey has been relatively quiet and Captain Macintyre has proven to be excellent host while they are aboard his 'Virtuous Maiden', a Bizantian Corsair.  At one point during the journey, he explains the name and how he acquired her. Previously, it was the property of a Bizantium Capt. who had a soft spot for gambling.  While he did his best to keep his wagers to coin, Macintyre  was having a strong run in cards, and the previous Captain. ended up wagering more than he could afford, and lost the ship as a result.  Allegedly the ship was named after the previous Capt's daughter, and Capt. Macintyre is fond of saying how many men have gladly ridden "The Virtuous Maiden".  Needless to say, Northern sea captains aren't fond of Macintyre which is why he stays mostly in southern waters.

One area of the ship that has not been quiet, however, is the cabin of the 1st Mate, Roan, a large (even for his kind) Wolfen who has been with Macintyre for many years.  A Mind Mage of some talent and a heart as big as he is, Roan has taken it upon himself to help ease the traumatized child rescued from the warehouse.  During the days, he conducts telepathic sessions on the boy with the calming presence of the Priest Eddie.  These sessions end with Roan highly agitated, bolting his door in the evening.  The roars and sounds of breaking furniture leave the crew on edge.

The party passes the time in various ways, typical of a diverse group.  Klyn, the thief, is barely seen, spending most of his time in his cabin with his bedpartner Adelaide.  Echo, the Warlock, spends her time sunbathing on the deck with her Goblin slave/bodyguard in attendance.  Much of the crew finds this one of the most entertaining things they've seen in some time resulting in the usual sailor humor, from snide to outright lewd.  Eddie, the Paladin, helps out among the crew and maintains his plate armor.  Strongbow, the Longbowman, discusses future endeavors and the possibility of a long term commission with the Captain and his Second Mate, a female elf sailor by the name of Alta who also comes from the Land of the South Winds.  She tells Strongbow that she is the firstborn child of a prominent fishing family and remarks that he looks familiar, a strong resemblance to a noble family.  Alta dismisses that thought though as an Elven family would never let a prominent son risk himself as a lowly adventurer. Freddie, the Priest of Apis, alternates his time between caring for the boy and trying to raise the spirits of the crew.  His eccentric antics leaves them befuddled but the appreciate his attempts to help along with his healing abilities. Mug is presented with an arrow mold and several ingots of lead and is overjoyed by the kindness shown to him, something he has never experienced before from any of his previous masters.

"Many thanks to you master. Mug shall begin the making of many arrows" he proclaims.
"Excellent. I have full faith in you."

"Master shall rejoice at having many arrows with which to hunt game, and annihilate his enemies, may they weep in terror."

 "I rejoice at having such a loyal and skilled Elfservant.".  With that, he hurries off.  Whenever the crew sees him, he is busy making arrowheads, a smile on his face and humming Orcish lullabies.


Two days out from Totuga, Roan calls the party into his cabin.  Much of the furniture is damaged and there are deep claw marks upon the walls. He begins to explain about the boy, whose name he's discovered is Malthes.  The firstborn of a peasant family in a Western Empire colony of the Ophids Grasslands, it was discovered early on that Malthes was a natural wizard, capable of manipulating energies even from the crib.  He was offered the opportunity to apprentice at a small wizard school due to his abilities.  Nearing the end of his apprenticeship he and some of his fellow apprentices made a pilgramige, but his troupe was waylaid by slavers. He was tortured, broken, and sold as a slave. Special order actually. The Witch Kratlos is the one who bought him. The boy was used as a source of flesh that was carved from his skin, and for other...atrocities committed by a witch named Kratlos. In addition to being a witch, Kraltos is a merchant for the Hitira Slavers, who specialize in debaucherous merchandise from the young to the forbidden.  Malthes is also very skilled in languages, knowing at least five including Northern, Southern, Eastern, Ogre, and Faerie along with being able to write both the Northern and Eastern human languages. . Has an incurable psychic scar from the result of a forced use of some sort of ritual that involves fresh human blood, a graveyard, and lots of chanting. The result is that it caused him to gain immense magical knowledge, beyond even what he was born with.   He also had a brand, marking him as the witch's property:
 

Just one more reason for that monster to die. 

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