4. Exorcism Aboard the Bookwyrm

The fight starts when Glittereye stabs Griff right between his shoulder blades. If Griff were a normal person who wasn’t under some sort of spell, he’d be long dead – however it looks like he has not felt a single thing. Even though blood is clearly seeping through the holes created in his armor. He turns around menacingly and the combat starts.

During this fight, the guards will attempt to get back on the boat one by one. Every 12 seconds, a new guard will come on board – so every two turns. There are currently 6 guards right outside the boat and all of them will attempt to come on board one way or another.

Meanwhile, the party needs to (1) untie the mooring lines, (2) raise the anchor, (3) lower the sails, and (4) get some wind so they can set sail. You cannot focus on any of these actions if you’re also being attacked by a mercenary. So it is crucial for the party to control this crowd effectively.  

The mooring can be undone relatively easily, however there are multiple ropes that tie the ship to the pier. A particularly perceptive person (DC 12) can see that the ship is moored at 4 locations, each equidistant to one another on the portside (left).

The anchor is controlled by a wheel at the bow of the ship. It needs to be rotated 30 ft. for it to be fully raised. 1 person can turn it 1 + STR modifier ft every 6 seconds. If more people are added to the equation, the speed increases arithmetically and not exponentially.

This is a two-masted brig, so you’ll need to lower both sets of sails. The two masts are square rigged and there are also head sails. Luckily, these things are set in such a way that if you cut off the right rope, it will all come down in place. Except, if you’ve never sailed before, then you might cut the wrong one and cause a lot of trouble.

M’am knows how to do all of this and can help the party, if they ask for help. Otherwise, she will stand in the lower deck, looking after Gilderoy.

If the party seems to be suffering too much

“Must I do everything myself,” M’am grumbles as they make their way to the main deck. “Would it be too much to ask for at least ONE of you to be a cleric? Maybe… Allow me.” In which case, M’am will cast a healing spell on the party. 

Once all the guards are eliminated and the ship is ready to go

“All right! Time to show you what Bookwyrm is made of!” M’am says as they make their way to the cockpit. A gust of wind blows towards the sails, which seem to grow thrice in size! Suddenly, you feel the ship starting to move, leaving the port behind. If any of the players get seasick, they must make a DC18 Constitution saving throw to not throw up.

The ship is ready to go, but there are still guards on board

“Get these cretins OFF my ship!” M’am screams as they make their way to the cockpit. You are too busy to create any gust of wind for the ship to start moving, so you focus your attention on the remaining guards.

Just as the ship starts moving

You feel the sea breeze flow through the air, filling your lungs with the saline scent of surf splashing against the ship. For a moment everything feels peaceful, even the fog seems to have lifted. Things are, nice.

Of course, this doesn’t last very long. Suddenly the temperature drops and an unholy chill takes over your body. You hear a ringing in your ears, like the kind you get when there’s no other sound to be heard. Your breath starts to get foggy as the dark night gets even darker.

Then you hear a whisper. It sounds familiar, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. It’s distorted and… dangerous. “Saga…” the voice says. “Come out and play Saga.”

Then the mist surrounding the ship starts to swirl and gathers at the very middle. And from that shadow steps out the half-elf you thought you had decapitated. She looks… different, to say the least. Sareena’s head seems to be re-attached to her body, but you can still see the wound around her neck very clearly. Her eyes glow with a vengeful red – the rest of her body also glows, but with a violet hue.

“Where is the Paladin?” Sareena asks as she notices that Saga isn’t with the party at the moment.

Meanwhile, back at Port Gardan

Saga and Gentil are still… dancing in front of this guard. I would assume it has been around 30 minutes at this point and you can see the ship setting sail. Just as Gentil is about to execute his part of the plan, he hears a horse galloping towards him and Saga. On top of the horse is none other than Aurelia.

On her way to the meeting point with Cham, Aurelia has come across a grizzly sight. A makeshift altar stands just 500 yards away from the outskirts of Port Gardan. Viscera and gore that she assumes belong to sacrifices litter the ground and the surface of the altar. But she also notices some notes on the ground. While the magical mumbo jumbo is all gibberish to her, one word rings a bell. “Sareena.” She realizes at that moment that the half-elf assassin might not be truly dead. If that’s the case, then the rest of the party is in danger. She has to go back and warn the others.

Sareena’s Fight

Sareena has become a shadow ascendant. She was always the chosen of the Forsworn – or the Covenant as they call themselves – but now the Forsworn have truly claimed her body and her soul. She no longer cares about defending herself, but still is difficult to hit. She moves with a drunk elegance. When she is dropped down to half health, she lets loose a terrifying scream that fills everyone who can hear it with dread and despair. If you survive this, you’ll be met with a horrifying visage. [CHECK FOR GILDEROY TOO]

Sareena has transformed into an undead aberration. Her dark hair now floats as if submerged in water, burning with deep purple flames. Her face is locked in a permanent scream, her eyes and mouth glowing with an unnatural white light. The rest of her body seems to have become ethereal, covered in a dark mist. She exists and doesn’t exist at the same time. Your eyes can’t quite decipher what they’re seeing.

“STEEL BREAKS, FLESH IS MORTAL. LIGHT FADES, DARKNESS ETERNAL,” she says and her voice echoes within your skull.

Banshee Sareena is invulnerable to physical damage and very resistant to magical damage.

Every now and then, Sareena emits a ghastly sound that is but a faint echo of a laughter. As that happens, dark flames – the same as the those burning on Sareena’s head – appear beneath your feet. They burn you, but they’re not hot – they’re colder than anything that you’ve ever seen or felt before. They also seem to drain all happiness and hope out of you. 

Equally every now and then, Sareena emits a grim scream, which summons pesky, fleshy amalgamations made of pure void energy. These little things tumble around the battlefield attacking the nearest creatures they see.

The Shadowfiends come into existence through portals. These portals remain open for around 45 seconds and should you so desire you can enter the portals. These portals are gateways to the Shadow World, a terrible dimension where your worst fears are manifested. To be able to move freely within the Shadow World, you have to pass a DC13 Wisdom check. If you fail, you can only move at half speed and suffer 4 (1d8) damage. If you succeed, you can move freely. Repeat this check each turn. If you pass it 3 times, you become immune to it.

Once you are in the Shadow World, you realize that it aligns perfectly with the Real World. Where your allies were, you can see fleeting images of them. They look terrifying (what’s your worst fear?) At the centre of the Shadow World, you see Sareena kneeling. She seems to be oblivious to your existence and lost in thought. She has her hands around her head and moves them erratically every now and then, as if she’s trying to push away flies or unwanted thoughts.

If you try to talk to her or engage with her, she suddenly looks at you and rushes at you with her bare hands. If Sareena in the Shadow World dies, this would severely weaken the Banshee Sareena. (She would be weak to all physical and magical attacks.) 

Sareena is also able to create shadowflame wreaths around her. In order to pass through these, you have to pass an athletics check to jump without taking damage. These target those party members who stand still in one place too much.

Sareena, as a banshee, can also detect all life around her. Meaning that she’ll be able to detect any creature that might be stealthing.

Once Sareena is defeated

Sareena shrieks as her entire body is engulfed in violet flames. She continues to shriek, which hurts your ears and makes you want to jump off the ship. You control your urges and senses, as the same cloud of mist that summoned Sareena takes what’s left of her essence back into the void. You hope this is the last time you see this terrible creature, but you’re not certain. It’s probably going to be a long while before that happens though.

At this point, I’d hope Saga, Aurelia, and Gentil have made it onto the ship as well. All you have to do is meet Cham at the meeting point and then you’re off to the Western Kingdoms.

M’am walks up to you with a grin on their face and says, “Not too shabby, you lot. Maybe I’ll let you stay on my ship after all.”

“I’m just kidding. I don’t think I have a choice. But please play nice, we sailors still have a code to abide by.”

Saga seems more tired than usual. “I need to rest and meditate before this… Blade consumes me totally. Thanks… adventurers,” she says as she makes her way to the lower deck.

“You can take up my quarters!” M’am yells from behind her, but Saga doesn’t seem to hear. 

Gilderoy comes up as Saga is climbing down the stairs. Seeing the adventurers, he says “Well that must have been quite the fight! I could… uh… hear it all from the safety of the lower decks. I feel like I almost died though!”

In this outcome, Gilderoy offers to enchant the party’s weapons using the Eye of the Nothic.

If Gilderoy failed the constitution check

You hear Saga screaming, “COME DOWN! QUICK!” As you make your way down, you see Saga kneeling beside Gilderoy. He’s not dead, but he needs medical assistance, stat. Saga can’t cast any of her light-based spells right now, as she’s been drained from holding the Blade for too long.

In this outcome, Gilderoy can’t enchant the party’s weapons right now. 

Meeting Cham

After an hour of smooth sailing, you reach the Okbash Point. You see smoke rising from the spot where you and Cham had planned to meet. The smoke is the signal that he has made it there safe and sound. 

“Ah yes there you are,” he says as you use the rowboat at the stern of the brig to make your way to the coast, since there’s no place to moor the ship. You probably should let the anchor down.

“Say…” Cham says. “Y’all mind if I stick around? There’s nothing left for me back at that town… Not after everything. If I went back, they’d know I helped you leave and well… I don’t quite like wearing masks. And besides, maybe I can visit my relatives in Shaire.”

With that settled, you sail West. Not knowing what the next 2 weeks hold in bay for you.