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Paul DMing; Scott: Smudge (shadar-kai rogue 8 / barbarian 2) and Martin (duergar cleric 10); Dane: Tudo Fleck (dwarf cleric 10); Rob: Vox (half-elf bard 10); Jake: Draxx Sklounst (human rogue 10).
Last time, the adventurers befriended Aqualicious and fell through his portal into a landless seascape broken only by a huge, black catamaran.
The party explores the ship. Using his x-ray vision, Draxx peeks into the captain's quarters (snake), the first mate's quarters (snake), and the cargo hold (captives). Are these fellows not snake-like people but rather just snakes masquerading in people-shaped armor?
Vox knows rudimentary written and spoken Snakeperson language. He greets Captain Ssamuel Sslithering, who assumes Shaheduzzaman sent them. The captain explains about the snakeman civil war, the apocalyptic loss of energy creeping from the north of the innerworld, and the beholder's plan to save their world by "borrowing" energy from the outer world. Shaheduzzaman has been coordinating command and control for the pro-beholder snakepeople faction, helping to communicate which captains are on their side and which are opposed.
The captain introduces our heroes to the armored hulk of first mate Ssally Ssmall, then leads them on a tour of the ship, from the pachinko-like control room to the fire clams forge, ending in a demonstration of the big cargo doors in the hold.
Tudo asks: "Why are these porpoise people prisoners?"
"Porpoise crimes," grimaces the captain.
An outraged Martin shouts "porpoise lives matter!" and calls down a moon beam on the captain. But before Martin's lunar attack singes Sslithering, Vox polymorphs the captain into a baby sloth, which Draxx dispatches in one blow.
The captain's body and equipment revert back to their natural forms. Draxx loots the captain's scimitar before shoving his body out the cargo doors, into the sea.
Smudge picks the locks on the cages imprisoning the porpoise-people, who who swim away, chittering joyfully. "Let's go live, laugh, and love!" 🐬✨🐬✨🐬
The party closes the cargo doors, debates their next move, then ascend to explore the few areas Captain Sslithering had omitted from his tour of the ship.
The ship starts moving. And possibly submerging. The control room bulkhead is closed and locked.
Smudge casts invisibility on himself.
The unoccupied barracks spanning most of the catamaran's starboard hull has six empty stands for snakeman armored suites.
In the final unexplored area at the stern, the party finds two iron-lung-like machines labeled "Snakifier 3000". One is empty, but the other has a window showing the agonized face of a porpoise person.
Draxx thinks he knows how to operate the snakifier. He switches off the machine and releases the porpoise person, who has been partially transformed into a snake.
"I'll never play hacky sack again without my flipper," moans the cetacean sufferer. "Kill me!"
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