Morning breaks on the city of Waterdeep, sat at their usual table in Trollskull Manor our heroes sense there is something amiss, the usual smell of delicious breakfast wafts no more from the kitchen. The absence of this divine odour galvanises the resolve of the group to succeed in the rescue of Ozen. They glance over at the bar, the fulness of the tip jar a reminder that Byron is also in need of rescue. There is a knock at the front door, Garrick walks over and opens it to reveal a small robed figure holding out a sealed scroll, the mark of the Blackstaff is unmistakable. Taking the scroll from the figure he returns to the rest of the party and unfurls the message. It seems The Black Gull is ready to take up the chase, they are to report to the Captain Valon Torr as soon as possible. Without hesitation the party gather their things and leave Trollskull and head towards the port.
On their way to the docks the party make a quick detour to The Old Xoblob Shop to replenish their supplies and purchase a replacement bag of holding. Garrick writes a small note and attaches it to the bag 'BAG OF HOLDING DO NOT PUT IN PORTABLE HOLES'. Bidding farewell to Xoblob the party continue on their way to the port, it is not long before the smell of the ocean and the rhythmic lapping of the waves signals their arrival at their destination. Dominating the harbour is a large, black ship, standing beside the gangway is Valon Torr.
"Good morning, we've been expecting you. Welcome aboard The Black Gull, the fastest ship in all of Waterdeep"
The party make there way onto the deck of the ship where they are greeted by a male Tiefling who escorts them to their quarters where they offload their equipment before returning to the deck of the ship. The boat has already cast off and is cutting through the waves in pursuit of the slaver ship. Sailors busy themselves on the deck, tying off ropes other nautically related activities. The constant rising and falling of the ship is a little too much for Lucian who is looking whiter than normal, he rushes over to the side of the ship and proceeds to vomit uncontrollably. Farraine notices and whispers to Finn "Now would be a good time to make him laugh again", the Halfling considers the option but decides the poor Wizard is probably having a bad enough time already and shakes his head. Over the sounds of the crashing waves and the alarmingly regularly retching from Lucian, Sigrid catches whispers from a number of the sailors on deck, they seem anxious of there being a woman on board.
It is at this point that Farraine seems to get a little bored, he rushes over to the puking wizard and grabs him by the waist and jokingly tries to push Lucian overboard. As Farraine lifts Lucian above his head, the wizard vomits again, covering the fighter in bile. Farraine moves closer to the edge of the ship and pretends to throw Lucian overboard. It seems, however that the Wizard has run out of both stomach contents and patience as there is a small pop and Lucian is now standing on the other side of the deck, Farraine stands there, arms aloft holding nothing but air. Lucian extends his middle finger in the direction of Farraine, whispers an incantation and 'Poof'. Where Farraine once stood now sits a very surprised looking frog. Lucian smiles mischievously and heads below deck to lie down for a bit in the hope it calms his queasy belly.
Farraine the frog hops about the deck, one of the sailors notices him and picks him up. "Where did you come from eh?".
"Well the thing about frogs is they tend to hang around bodies of water" answers Finn, "and the thing about boats is that they tend to work best in water as well. So I guess he just hopped on board at some point"
"Oh, should I put him back in the sea then?" the sailor moves closer to the edge of the ship.
"NO!, no, no no, er, perhaps it would be better if you kept him safe, I heard that they bring good luck. Why don't you keep it nice and safe in your pocket" says Finn, a smile creeping across his face.
The sailor nods and places the amphibious fighter in a very dirty and holey pocket and then returns to his tasks. What Farraine observed during the next hour in the pocket of that sailor remains a mystery to this day. He never spoke about it to anyone, although there were occasions where he would awake in the middle of the night screaming 'No, not the ball sack again' .
After an hour Farraine the frog begins to feel a sensation of growth, his body begins to stretch. He can feel his cloth prison rip and tear around him as he grows and grows until finally he is back to his normal self, he looks down at a now half naked sailor, gives him a quick nod and calmly walks back to his quarters.
A couple of days pass without incident. On the morning of the third day there is a shout from high up in the crows nest "Ship ahoy!". The mood on deck changes in an instant, Valon Torr barks commands at his crew as they run this way and that. The chase is on. The slaver ship is no match in terms of speed for the Black Gull. Speaking of gulls, Sigrid wild shapes into a seagull and flies off ahead to scope out the slaver ship and see what they are up against. As she circles the vessel from above she notes large ballistas on both sides of the ship as well as canons and a number of armed soldiers. She returns back to the Black Gull and passes on this vital intelligence. Finn speaks with his hitherto unmentioned familiar, Binky, and asks him to head over to the ship and attempt to sabotage the ballistas. The imp smiles and nods before turning invisible and presumably flying off in the direction of the slave ship.
The Black Gull closes in on its prey with alarming speed, cannons fire from both ships and there is the sound of splintering wood. Valon Torr shouts orders at the crew with seasoned efficiency. Farraine, Finn and Lucian each man one of the Black Gull's own ballistas and take aim at the slave ship firing shot after shot on the command of the captain. The sounds of cannon fire and smashing of wood fills the air as the two vessels get close and closer, they almost collide and this is the chance our party were looking for. Finn grabs his grappling hook and swings it high up into the rigging of the slave ship, swinging across like a seasoned professional and landing on the other deck, sword drawn. Garrick takes to the skies and floats over to the other ship as Sigrid casts a command spell on one of the enemy sailors telling him to advise the others to surrender. The sailor has a look of bemusement on his face as he shouts at his fellow crewmen to drop their swords but it seems his request falls on deaf ears. Lucian grabs a hold of Farraine opens a dimensional doorway onto the deck of the slave ship. As soon as his feet hit the woodwork of the deck Farraine sprints forward, his scimitar gleaming in the sunlight. He swings the blade at one of the soldiers, severing his arm clean off turn to face another soldier his blade slices through the air once more. There is a howl of pain followed by a thump as the soldier falls to the ground in a pool of his own blood.
Finn takes aim with his crossbow and fires off a bolt at another of the soldiers, the bolt whizzes through the salty air and embeds itself in the neck of his target. The soldier gurgles as blood spills from his mouth before he too slumps to the floor. Garrick, floating high above the ship casts a moonbeam spell on 2 more soldiers, their skin blisters in the radiant light, their screams of agony cut off by the swiftness of death. Before the distance between the two ships grows any larger, Sigrid quickly casts a jump spell and she leaps across the gap, landing gracefully on the deck of the slave ship. She looks up, ready to attack. But the only sound apart from the rolling of the waves beneath them is the clanking of steal on wood as the remaining soldiers drop their swords and raise their hands in surrender.
Valon Torr shouts a grateful farewell as the Black Gull turns away and begins to head back to Waterdeep for some much needed repairs. The party gather up the defeated soldiers and ties them to one of the ship's masts.
"Where are the slaves?" Garrick demands to one of the bound men
"They're below deck" he replies.
"And your Captain?"
"He's down there as well, he doesn't like sunlight"
Garrick looks at his friends, it appears that this rescue might not be as easy as it was starting to look.
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