Realms S1E13 Open Waters

Sometimes you have to fight a giant squid. Sometimes it destroys your ship and you have to row home empty-handed. Sometimes you still get to come home to a mansion. Life has its ups and downs.

### Player Characters Present

Jeidobii, Torq, Denahi, Burakubuu, Guest: Ted

### Synopsis

The ship hit a big bump and Jeidobii took the form of a shark to investigate. Below, he swims right up to a giant eyeball! He attempts to dart back to the ship to warn his friends but is grappled by the squid’s powerful tentacles. Above, the squid has already begun assaulting the party with the rest of his fearsome appendages. Taken by surprise, Denahi is wrapped up tight by one of the tentacles and immediately unconscious before ever even knowing what was happening. Burakubuu attacks, freeing Denahi and catching her as she falls, but finds himself without any method to heal his friend. Torq and Ted fend off other tentacles while Reezo does his best to dodge and survive.

Under the waves, Jeidobii escapes the squid and splashes back onto deck. He announces the squid to his friends but obviously they’ve noticed. He joins the fray and goes to heal Denahi just in time. Torq and Ted team up to destroy a pair of tentacles. Burakubuu waves to his friends, telling them he’ll be right back before dropping into the water. The party is otherwise occupied and continues taking down tentacle after tentacle, only to see more spring up in their place, one such tentacle making a death grip upon the ship itself.

Below the ship, Burakubuu makes his way to the first eye of the great beast and bursts it open. He maneuvers around the enormous cephalopod to find it’s second eye. He rips it open and plunges into the exposed wound, gnashing and tearing away at anything within reach in a bloody frenzy. On the ship, Denahi rouses to consciousness to find the ship beset by a sea beast, to her surprise. Not missing a beat, she leaps off the ship and, standing upon the raging waters, blasts the tentacles with a powerful lightning attack.

Through combined efforts the party defeats the gargantuan foe. Burakubuu rips its brain out and in its death throes crushes the ship, splitting it in two. Jeidobii calls to his friends to make their way to the lifeboats. Torq fearlessly plows through the cabin door to retrieve the chest holding the gem, busting his way out of the back with it in hand. Denahi begins a headcount, the party gathered up upon two lifeboats along with Reezo. Realizing Buu is missing she looks around and locates him. Jeidobii dives in to pull his friend to safety, knowing that despite the magical gills he’d gifted, Buu doesn’t know how to properly swim aside from underwater maneuvering.

The party surveys their situation and realize the chest is empty! Jeidobii attempts to use magic to locate it but finds it difficult as the gem keeps moving just beyond his sight. He realizes it is sinking with the remains of the ship, and will be long gone at the bottom of the ocean where even in shark form the pressure will be too great for retrieval. Ted panics, fearing he’s failed his mission in a most spectacular fashion: the crew is dead and the gem is missing. Reezo interjects to point out the mission was to keep the gem out of the hands of the Duke’s enemies, and the sea floor is as safe a place as any. He points out that the journey back will take a week or more in simple lifeboats. The party settles in for some rest and a long ride while Jeidobii, Burakubuu and Ted keep watch and row.

As they make their way slowly along, Jeidobii and Buu spot a hulking figure on the approach. Ted wakes the others in anticipation of another battle when they realize it’s a ship! The captain calls out to our heroes and recognizes Torq; this is Dane, an old Goliath friend of both Torq and Jeidobii, and he just happens to be headed to Edayk. The party boards the ship and immediately sets upon the food and drink. Torq catches up with his friend, sharing what adventures have brought them both so far from home. As Torq goes to rest up and recover, Jeidobii takes Dane aside and tells him of the tragic fate that befell Torq’s family. Dane acknowledges that word had spread of such but he never knew if it was true until now. He expresses deep sympathy for his friend.

The ship makes port in Edayk. Denahi throws herself upon the ground with gratitude. Torq bids his old friend farewell for now. He and Denahi head back to the manor to catch up on their drinking. Jeidobii, Ted and Buu head to the Emerald Keep where Ted anxiously reports back in. They first encounter Jeidobii’s sister, Rene, then the Duke enters. He expresses great frustration with Ted and the failed mission and calls Reezo in, taking him aside and out of earshot. While the Duke is away, Jeidobii defends Ted, explaining the valor of his friend to Rene.

The Duke returns and dismisses Ted. Jeidobii invites Ted to join the party later at the manor, then tries in vain to defend Ted once more but the Duke has an admitted predisposition to disappointment in the man. Just then Jeidobii notices Reezo’s eyes shift in color as he exits. The Duke confirms that Reezo is in fact a talented spy in the Duke’s employ. The Duke explains that the mission was also, in part, to observe Ted in action. The greater aim, of course, was to retrieve the gem and keep it from the enemy, and the Duke concurs that the bottom of the ocean does achieve that, though he is not free of concern just yet.

Jeidobii and Buu makes their way back to the manor to find Ted at the door being turned away by Remus, the guard. Jeidobii invites Ted into the manor and turns to admonish Remus for refusing his friend entry. The two argue their stances but pause before further escalation. They mutually apologize and offer some insight into what brought about their frustrations, primarily to do heavily with their pasts. They shake and part ways, having established a newfound mutual respect, if not also the beginnings of a friendship.

Within the manor Denahi has absconded to the bath and the rest of the party is enjoying food and drink when Rydel calls attention to a powerful odor coming from Burakubuu. At first thinking Rydel meant his need also for a bath, Buu realizes suddenly and shockingly he’d forgotten his tiny rat friend Arlo was within his travel pack when he battle the squid underwater. Buu pulls the wet, dead rat from his pack and begs his friends to do something, his own powers exhausted at this point. Jeidobii takes little Arlo in his hands and attempts a spell. To everyone’s surprise, especially Jeidobii’s, it works! Buu is grateful and takes his tiny friend close, feeding him some savory crumbs from the table.

Denahii rejoins the party and everyone but Burakubuu gets -very- drunk. Ted shares quite a bit about the uniquely latchkey nature of his marriage. As the happily drunk party members all make their way to beds, Burakubu tours the manor, tucking his friends in and making sure they are in safe recovery positions before taking his usual resting spot in the corner with Arlo.