Hunt for the Journal of Jack Ketch

Members of the Caravan examining the Journal.

In Hadar of Å-622, a **hunt** took place at Pirate's Cove for the Journal of Jack Ketch, an artefact previously belonging to Jack Ketch, a captain who famously disappeared into the Mortuus Arvum.

Queen Adalhard's Caravan, infiltrating several local pirate groups, successfully retrieved the Journal as well as pages of a ritual of resurrection, gaining great insights into the nature of the Arvum.

## Background

Many years ago, Captain Jack Ketch set sail from Nesebar on a second voyage to prove the accuracy of his oceanic map of Archaeus, notable as the most widely used and accurate map of the world.

Captain Ketch and his crew never returned. He was last sighted sailing north in the Môr o Stormydd after gathering supplies at the Elven city Cathair Caillmhar Älvor. Simultaneously, the Arvum's boundaries began expanding. It was believed that Captain Ketch, his ship the *Nag,* and his crew, while sailing the northern tip of the Stormydd coast, were swallowed by the sudden expansion of the Arvum and perished.

This was reconsidered when pages from the ships log were discovered by other seafarers in Å-622, floating in the northern sea of mists. This led three pirate crews, led by Lady O'Malley, Matt Sevennames, and Grixus Finch, to travel to Nesebar in hopes of finding the rest of the Journal. Their activity was noticed by allied spies from the major nations, leading Queen Adalhard to dispatch her mercenary caravan incognito to infiltrate the crews at a recruitment event, verify rumours of the Journal's presence, and, if possible, extract all materials relating to Ketch to Nesebar.

## 19th of Hadar

The members of the Caravan, including some new arrivals, gathered at the edge of the pirate communities on the Northern Shores in time for the recruitment event. Simultaneously, a group of Caravan members who had been on another planet (including Barron Ormauve and Magnus Brock) returned to Archaeus, accompanied by a beholder called Rrrr'k't Zygtjy pt! and in possession of two star maps and a document detailing a galactic war.

The caravan's Fext members were attacked upon arrival by a group of Arvumites, and aided by the unexpected appearance of Fzoul, the Ossuarium.

Captain Finch of the *Green Kraken* was the first to arrive with his crew in green sashes, who offered employment of 3 gold per day, requiring that their colours be displayed and those employed stand with them in battle. A number of the caravan successfully joined without arousing suspicion.

Later on in the evening, the Captain Sevennames of the *Kraken's Revenge* (with red sashes) also appeared to recruit crew members.

The caravan began scouting for the missing artefacts and some of the pages of Jack Ketch's journal were discovered.

## 20th day of Hadar

The camp was visited by the blue crew and Captain O'Malley, of the *Serendipity*, selling copies of the most recent Cornered Rat newspaper at an extreme markup. In the Rat was a personal ad taken out on behalf of Viscount Edrich Von Gutenheim (presenting himself as Captain Edrich) looking for love. The crew of the *Serendipity* used this to identify, subdue and kidnap Edrich in plain sight. Some of the caravan signed up to their crew, before noticing the kidnapping. The caravan gave chase, skirmishing as they went, but failed to stop the kidnapping. With Edrich aboard the *Serendipity,* the crew began negotiations, demanding 75 gold for his safe return.

Mister Bailey, Reeve of Viscount Edrich, killed the negotiator and members of his party as other caravan members prepared to assault the ship, led by Breadán Casta at Mister Bailey's request. The rescuers swam over to the *Serendipity* while a separate group of the caravan's Fext walked along the sea floor to attack from behind, eventually managing to recover Edrich, though at the cost of numerous wounds and the near-death of one of the rescuers.

During the battle to rescue Edrich, Beatrix Jumpen, a Sylven member of the caravan, was kidnapped after responding to an advertisement requesting a law warden. Magnus Brock, Sana-Rae Wyldwood, and a number of other members of the caravan paid the requested 20 gold ransom, but, due to a miscommunication, found that Beatrix had been independently rescued by Barron using a teleportation ritual.

Fzoul made an offer to Thalaniel, a caravan member whose clan had been absorbed into the Arvum: die and become a Fext, and wield Arvum magic in the hope of saving the individuals trapped within. After careful consideration, Thalaniel accepted, discovering the Dread Realm of magic.

A mysterious notice offering a reward for the head of any Fext appeared on the local job board. Simultaneously, the Caravan's Fext felt Arvum energy being shifted nearby, indicating the death of a Fext. They investigated the forest, being ambushed by Arvumites who accused them of 'stealing' from the Arvum and their master. The Arvumites later resorted to hiring an assassin disguised as a pirate to kill the Fext, who was also slain.

Local sirens lured and robbed several members of the Caravan throughout the day, leaving them unconscious to swim back to shore.

Five scattered pages were gradually assembled, describing a ritual of resurrection with complex and specific instructions.

The Journal was recovered by an exploratory party from the Caravan, guided by the spirit of Ketch's cabin boy Doug. It was given to Viscount Edrich, causing a brief altercation between Mister Bailey and Magnus Brock due to its aggravating properties, before being studied by a large group of researchers from the Caravan.

The Journal was brought to Granny Pants, who upon smelling it with her Arvum-detecting senses, saw a vision of a Pale Elf, members of a tribe who lived on islands that were overtaken by the Arvum approximately 1000 years ago, a fact at odds with Archaeus' established timeline. Thornwyn recognised some of the imagery as similar to Thalaniel and his people's customs. It was confirmed that Ketch fought these beings during his cartographical odyssey.

A ritual to contact the gods was performed, during which a second voice was heard overtaking Aea, claiming to always have been her, and to be many more things besides. The conclusion was drawn that the gods may be being corrupted by Arvum energy; this revelation caused Morgan the monk to undergo a crisis of faith.

With all the pages reassembled, the ritual of true resurrection was discovered and planned, but the Guild of History and ritualists debated extensively about whether or not to perform it, fearing the portent of doom within its description. The ritual was offered to the Fext of the caravan, including Susanna de Partie and Thalaniel (who had recently become Fext), but none accepted the offer.

The Guild of History, having studied the star maps and Kenku document and discussed with Rrrr'k't, composed a letter, in both the Common tongue and the Kenku's own language, as a diplomatic gesture. The letter was written by Bryonia, and several caravan members read over it to give approval.

## 21st day of Hadar

Mrs Greenbeans performed a Ritual of Consecration, infusing ambient Arvum energy to provide a blessing to the majority of the camp's fighters and leaving a skeleton defence at the camp itself.

Despite a full complement of spellcasters and ritual assistants, the ritual proved tricky to bring to fruition. The imbued Arvum energy caused the participants to become colder and less compassionate; under the influence of the spell, Mrs Greenbeans neglected to close the ritual, and left the site too soon, allowing Arvum energy to seep through, corrupting the circle.

Messages from nearby spirits were carved and charred into the space. Under the effects of the curse still, Mrs Greenbeans brought a number of historians to come and look at the circle. Realising it was still open, she tried to close it by herself, disregarding the presence of Barron and Magnus within. Thornwyn intervened, removing Greenbeans from the circle and saving those involved.

Barron closed the circle, but was fully drained of magical resources by the effort combined with that of multiple exorcisms. Blaming each other for the disaster, Greenbeans and Barron argued intensely. Meanwhile, Dwynen of the Order of the Winged Lion attempted to destroy a solid piece of Arvum but instead found his arm infected by it. The piece of Arvum was later destroyed by Amanita of Dark Hollow wielding Sorrowfall.

Back at camp, shortly after the ritual participants left, a group of undead rose from the sea and attacked. Casta rallied the few defenders to hold back the assault until the ritual was complete; however, upon returning, the corrupted fighters disregarded their own wounds and those of their allies, instead focusing exclusively on the undead. The undead, though not forced to retreat, eventually fell back for unclear reasons, though they would continue to harass the Caravan for the rest of the day. The ritual's effects wore off, leaving its participants exhausted.

Dwynen brought back a piece of pure crystallised Arvum energy from the ill-fated ritual and showed it to Granny Pants. She fully absorbed it, corruption spreading similarly through her.

The Order of the Winged Lion engaged in an impromptu ritual, beseeching their patron to remove the corruption from Dwynen. Though not ritualists, they succeeded in delaying the effect of the corruption, an unearthly voice whispering 'You have granted him but a single year'. Granny Pants remained corrupted.

A trio of dwarven wenches and their pimp arrived at camp, attempting to charm Viscount Edrich; they did not succeed, but found business elsewhere.

The Guild of History, with the help of Barron Ormauve, performed a ritual to send the note to the Kenku. A red feather - a sign of friendship, according to Rrrr'k't - was sent back.

The three pirate crews, all failing in their mission to find the Journal, fought each other, calling upon their new recruits to stand alongside them. The battle resulted in a victory for the crew of the *Green Kraken*, though the Journal remained with the Caravan.