The Freeing of Cauhlath, prelude

Chapter 2: “The Freeing of Cauhlath”, the next in my Drowsbane solo campaign

Heroic Motivation: Tengrym after freeing his half-brother escapes aboard the Sea Spray bound for Turmish, only to be boarded by pirates and captured, taken back to their lair in the Pirate Isles. He and Thedric must escape and rescue Captain Cauhlath’s men and ship.
For this one, I have added Actions and Voyages Cubes to the mix.

Some NPCs that find their way in this adventure. This uses the Freeform Universal (FU) rpg rules:

Baldogorf, Pirate King
Descriptors: Expert Character, Pirate, Dangerous with a Blade, Cutlass

Captain Cauhlath
Descriptors: Expert Character, Experienced Sea Captain, Lore-wise, Skilled in Magic, Independent
Conditions: Larva Controlled

Pirate
Descriptors: Basic Character, Decent Seaman, Cutlass or Belaying Pin

Thedric Drowsbane, aka Feldor
Descriptors: Basic Character, Street Thief, Good With a Knife, Agile, Naive, many knives, cutlass

BESTIARY

Illithid
Descriptors: Expert Monster, Genius Intellect, Brain Eater, Psionic (Mind Blast, Mind Shield, Telepath), Sorcery, Poor Hearing

PRELUDE

After their last adventure, Tengrym escorted his newly found half-brother, Thedric, on a long journey aboard the Sea Spray bound for Turmish. Perhaps it was fate that deviated the ship’s course, altering the heroes’ reality. Pirates from the isles amid the See of Fallen Stars had attacked and boarded her, imprisoning her crew and captain, as well as the two heroes that were originally bound for the journey much further south.

The combined crew from both the Wicked Dragon and the Foul Hag had attacked suddenly, stealing up behind thick morning mist and taking the Sea Spray by surprise. Captain Cauhlath put on as much sheet as possible to try and outrun the pursuit, but the enemy was light and fast, and the captain of the Sea Spray surrendered to save his crew, ship, and valuable cargo of grain, fur, and iron from the Vast and Moonsea.

The crew was shackled and the Sea Spray taken as a prize and sailed into Hogar’s Harbor, a shanty town built on the rocky and mountainous shores of Braghor’s Isle, a small but impenetrable volcanic island amid the vast chain of islets and guarded by sharp reefs and monstrous sharks. Built into the rocks upon the ruins of a mysterious and still largely unexplored fastness, the crew was escorted into the bowels of the mountains, their weapons and gear taken for loot. Blindfolded, they were pushed and prodded by the crude drunken pirates into the fortress to a dungeon where they were locked behind bars and guarded by a loutish trio of toothless mariners.

Although his white locks and apparent elvish heritage marked him as unique in the group, Tengrym was careful not to draw attention to himself as a capable swordsman or a clever practitioner of magic. The half-elf waited until the pirates were at their most inebriated state and then cast a slumber spell on them. Thedric quickly unlocked the door to the crews’ cell and they quietly exited and retrieved their gear on the tables where they had yet to be sorted and divvied. Tengrym retrieved his ancient longsword and admired it in the torchlight.
He turned to Captain Cauhlath, the experienced southern mariner with three joined circles on his forehead, marking him as a man of learning, wealth, and magic. “I shall have need of this, Captain,” said Tengrym in his characteristic monotone. “If we shall return to the sea and to Alaghôn, I shall return it to you as agreed as compensation for our delivery there.”

The captain eyed him keenly. Thedric in the meantime stuffed two knives in his belt. “We will fight our way free!” said the mariner.

“Wait!” said Tengrym, stopping the man with a wave. “Your disappearance from here will not go unnoticed for long! An escape will take careful planning and thought more than a sharp blade and a willful determination.”

“Stay here,” the half-elf continued. “One must scout this citadel and learn its secrets and numbers. If the pirates here live up to their reputation, we haven’t the numbers to face them, else we should have risked such chances at sea. I will go with my brother and find a way to free you all and escape, perhaps still with your ship and any cargo we can recover. You have my word, Captain Cauhlath, that I will find a way for us all to leave here…”

The captain was a difficult man with which to bargain, but in the end he relented. Tengrym had the feeling that he was the type of capable man that might find a way to free himself at need whenever he wished. So, Tengrym donned his corselet of elvish mail and he and Thedric cloaked themselves in as much of a pirates’ guise as they could find. The crew remained within their confines for the time being, and the two padded away before the three guards could wake.