Session 10 (The Pirates of Atlas)

 

"Session 10"
The Pirates of Atlas episode
Episode no.	Episode 10
Original air date	August 27, 2023 (2023-08-27)

"Session 10" is the tenth session of the campaign The Pirates of Atlas.

Synopsis

After the final night at the village of Haki, the crew get ready the next morning as they prepare the journey back to the open world, having spent an entire year training and honing their skills. They awaken to the smell of fried rice and various sources of protein. The crew is informed that Maren and Willem are sleeping after spending an entire year in isolation with their master. They are excited to reunite with their captain and first mate. Someone knocks at the door and it is a black-robed, skeleton hand which floats towards them. It carries a ledger and says he is going to take some of the crewmates as his companion, Akula's Friend has done before. He introduces itself as Death himself. He announces he has come for: Ryul the Rizzless, Willem the Abandoner, and Maren the Simp. Death also says Lockwood will die by falling down the cliffs head-first based on her current trajectory in life. He says everyone in heaven places bet on how people die. Zosteif asks how Durgl dies. Death says Durgl will die by "drowning in wenches". Pravuil asks how he dies. Death says Pravuil is one of the only few people who has question marks and is unable to determine his fate. Zosteif asks how she will die. She will die by strangulation by Damien. Death makes a joke and accidentally fistbumps Lockwood and her skin starts to wither briefly. Death reads the bylaws of his organization prior to taking the three crewmates into his custody. Death offers to answer them three questions but they mess up their questions and are less dissatisfied. Pravuil attempts to sign the release papers but keeps messing up the signatures so Lockwood signs for them and Death departs them.

Ren emerges with food freshly prepared. Reyen comes in and asks whether the other crewmates had eaten the strange fruits on the village. He says that he has eaten a purple-shaped fruit. Lockwood demonstrates her fruit ability which is to control the seasons. She starts a snowstorm to which Pravuil immediately negates the storm, demonstrating his ability. Zosteif flings Pravuil away with her powers while Reyen says that he feels an affinity towards gravity. Ren interrupts them and tells them that they need to pick up their weapons.

As they make their way away from the village, they bid farewell to their guesthouse they had been staying for a whole year. The drunkard they stayed with tells them to have fun on their journey. Lockwood does not want to speak to him. They then make their way to the swordsmith's. The swordsmith greets them and Ren says the swordsmith would like to know who would like to receive their weapon first.

Lockwood opens her box presented to her which is beautiful short sword blade and her repurposed flame blade which has gained stronger steel. She names her swords Yoyou and Ikari. Durgl opens his box which is a refined pistol. It is called the "Get Fucked" Firearm (for short). Zosteif opens her box which appears to be chained axes, named the Void Cutter. The master informs Pravuil that his blade has lost its divinity ever since Pravuil lost his wings and therefore has two options: to restore its divine status or to embrace his non-divinity and to enhance the blade on a different path. He informs him that Melora is also seeking the same blade and may be able to help him. After they pick up their weapons, they are led out where they are met with the elders of the village. Before they part, the village elders let the crew know that there is no shame to abandon their ambition and to remain at the village in seclusion and safety. Pravuil respectfully declines, telling them that they still have unfinished business to be settled but promises that one day they will return. The elders also warn them that the Stormlord is still in possession, an amulet around his neck, which grants him near-invincibility which places him near the strength and power of the gods.

The head elder tells them to take his daughter with them so that she may be able to explore the world and discover herself. Lockwood asks who she would like to go. The daughter says she has heard of Atlas and Apolis and would like to go there. Ren warns the master that it may not be wise to allow his daughter to go out into the world due to the dangers it presents. The master said back then he would have felt the same but he now believes danger will be inevitable and that he desires his daughter to learn. He believes that if there are still good people in the world, they would be worth saving and the Haki village could be more open to train the world of the powers of the haki. They debate among themselves the merits of whether the world is worth saving and teaching the ways of the haki. They also speak of the Dreamwell when its promise to grant any wish. The crew allows to let Yamato come with them. They make their way out of the village. As they are walking, they hear a sound behind them. They look back and see a fluffball rolling down. It is the poro they had met. Pravuil speaks with it. It says it wants a cookie and then it asks if they are going. Pravuil says yes and then he says if the poro would like to come with them. It says it does but it wants to say farewell to its family yet. As they wait for the poro to say goodbye, the crew discusses among themselves what their next course of action is to be. Pravuil says it is highly unlikely that their ship has been long gone ever since the capture of their crew from the Stormlords. Reyen says Diana should leverage her noble status to be able to secure a new ship for them or another mode of transport back. They have a meal prepared by Ren. After about forty minutes, the poro returns. They also see a variation of other poros following suit. There is also a massive snowball rolls behind them. They land one by one. The massive snowball poro comes with a warhammer. The poro says his family is goodbye. The leader of the poros looks at them skeptically and says why they want to take his child away and whether they are worthy or not. After Durgl gives the leader a cookie, the leader gives them permission to keep the poro.

They then decide they need to get to the village in order to find a ship and people who may be able to help them evade the detection of the Stormlords and their blockade down south. As they make their way towards the village, they smell sugar cookies and candy canes. They hear a loud sound in the distance that gets louder and louder. "Water-splashiscus, orangutan borangutan!" They see an old man with a blue robe and a skirt. He does not have any shirt on but he is ripped and a has a strong stature. There is a whole line of trees completely leveled and destroyed. He says another spell and unleashes another cone of destruction. Lockwood introduces herself to him. She says she is Serena of Lockwood and the old wizard misunderstands where she is from, believing she is from a prison. He says that he can create spells on his own and is able to manipulate magic with ease. He says every famous wizard has an attributable, iconic spell to them. He says he needs their help to find a name for his spell. Zosteif says they would if he is willing to help them secure a boat. They start to brainstorm different spell name ideas. He says he was born from a farmhouse and was sold to the right person. That person found out he had an innate ability. The crew cuts him off as he takes too long to narrate his story. Pravuil tells him to hurry up. They struggle to give him a spell and they conclude he should make a spell that cures erectile dysfunction. The Great Archmage Kaiser finally decides to call his spell, based on Zosteif's suggestion, the "Vigara Maximus". He says he knows of a boat frozen in ice that can be obtained and he knows the location of. After Lockwood gives him a map, he points to where it is. He says getting it out must be solved on our own. Lockwood says they already know how and demonstrates her ability to cause summer. The Kaiser is intrigued and says he will take credit for Lockwood's spell instead. They leave him alone and follow the path of the map.

As they make their way, on their way, they see a massive boat in the distance encased in ice. Approaching from its portside, they see ice crystals forming and piercing into the ship itself. It is twice as large as the Drowning Durgl. They notice various siege contraptions and platforms with people on the boat with ropes around it as they are heaving it out of the ice. There is a camp with tents pitched around the ship. Pravuil counts about 75 individuals and Zosteif notices about 45 of them have uniforms and others have miscellaneous clothing. They try to devise a plan on what to do. Reyen says if they help free the boat, they could hitch a ride with the people and sneak through the Stormlord's gang.

As they approach the boat and the large camp, they notice the uniformed soldiers and civilians. They notice the chest plates and armory on the team are all members of the Navy. They are approached by a goliath captain who halts them and asks who they are. He says they have come to confiscate the ship. Lockwood, being the only one without a bounty, assures them she can handle them and tells them to not act suspicious and to deny their identity if asked. Lockwood tries to explain that they are willing to offer a trade by helping them take the ship out in exchange for safe passage back to Atlas. The goliath tells them to wait as he asks his superior. They notice some of the people are not all affiliated with the Navy. Zosteif goes off into disguise as a middle-aged man, Ben Dover. The crew notices that those who are not uniformed are engaged in a laughing matter, others are talking among themselves without a care, and they see a girl atop of the cliff with a staff keeping sentry and staring the down as she smokes a pipe. A woman with ironclad armor and a wings, paying close attention to Anradeem Pravuil. The samurai with a cone hat is sitting on the table and the crew approaches him. The girl with silver hair introduces herself as the Third Commander of the Sea Tasaiya. Each of the crew introduces themselves with their fake identities except for Serena, Ren, and Reyen. Durgl is Wurgl, Zosteif is Sir Ben Dover, Pravuil is Nash Silas, and Diana is Elizabeth.

The samurai with a straw hat looks at Ren and the two grasp their swords as they stare each other. Lockwood nudges Ren at the hilt of his sword to not engage. The commander asks if the samurai is okay with them and he says yes as he recognizes that they came from Haki. Lockwood explains her proposal to the commander. The Navy plans to go around the blockade and the commander says if they get caught by the Navy, they must help them fight off the Stormlords. Lockwood asks about the condition of the ship. The commander points to the artificer girl who is able to fix up the ship. The minotaur officer tells the crew that they are mostly Navy but they are the rejects of the Navy, known as the "Fuck Up Brigade". The commander says most of the members are former pirates and the composition of the brigade is never permanent and always transitive. The crew gains permission to help them and they walk towards the ship. They speak among themselves whether they should trust the crew. Ren says the samurai fellow they saw has telepathic abilities and he has heard of the samurai. He advises that they try not to cross them. Lockwood decides to investigate the ship to see if there is anything less on the ship that may imply ownership of the vessel. As they come closer they see most of the ship has been thoroughly searched and surrounded by scaffolding, filled with workers.

Reyen asks if any of them knows anyone from the Navy. Lockwood says she does as she spent some time with the Navy. Reyen gives her a sending scroll to use to speak to either Isabelle, the court magician of Atlas, who oversees the Navy or Maiya, both of whom Lockwood knows. She may only send 25 words with the sending scroll. She casts the sending and they then proceed to check out the ship.

Maiya sends back and says the Third Lord is named Taisaya. Reyen explains that the Second Lord deals with the Blight, the First Lord deals with the main war. Lockwood then conjures her summer spell to begin melting the ice on the ship. "Ben Dover" sneaks away and comes back as Zosteif. After an hour passes, the ice has completely melted and the ship is now able to float on the water. The Navy clears the remaining ice around to free up passage for the ship. One of the captains announce that the ship is ready to float and they will all begin to board in short notice. Lockwood tells them that they would like passage back to Atlas. She looks at the map to determine how they should navigate their way back. Reyen is able to find a map of the entire world and for the first time they gain knowledge of all the known world so far charted. They decide to return to Atlas, then make their way to Elytra, then to Lordarin, and at Pravuil's insistence, The Shattered Skull.

Lockwood does research, utilizing the Navy's trove of books and she learns more about the hierarchy and society of vampires. She learns that vampires are traditionally concerned with full-bloodedness and social status. The ascended and ascended lord vampires rank the highest among the vampires. She learns more about ghouls that they are susceptible to radiant damage. The main methods of killing ghouls are either a special-tipped steel forged in Mechagon or fire. There is also a supposed relic in Lordarin that is a scepter, the Scepter of the Undead, which may be able to have power over controlling the undead. It is widely believed to be buried beneath a church. She learns more about the Stormlord who follows a strict philosophy of an eye for an eye who has a large empire who has a created a militaristic culture. They are not concerned with technological advancement and are devoted completely to might and strength. She reads a story of the Stormlord where he went to the Everlasting Storm and was able to gain immortality from it. The legend goes whoever also goes to the storm, they would be able to challenge the Stormlord and steal his power. Lockwood imagines a plan to slowly chip away and wither away the Stormlord's empire.

Lockwood decides to talk to the samurai. She is able to convince him to speak as she senses he seems quite reclusive and reserved. Lockwood notices in the room of a female figure in the corner of the room with glint. Lockwood ignores this figure and asks why the samurai seemed uneasy when he had initially caught sight of Ren. The samurai says that Ren is a blade seeker, as he is. He says that he taught haki to the village and that someone was close to him that the blade seekers wish to hunt her for her natural affinity with the power. He thought that Ren had come to hunt her down. He has spent hundred years away from the village. He recognizes that the kitsune has blessed her. He knows that they are of pirates and some of them have been gifted with the power of the haki. He recognizes that they are not enemies and Lockwood further adds they are also not necessarily allies. Lockwood tells him that her entire crew was attacked and some of her members were kidnapped by the Stormlords. She confesses he has piqued her curiosity. He says he is one of the founders of blade singing and that the universe has music all around. They are associated with a goddess who gave birth to a child that he and others are sworn to protect. There are those who seek to kill the child in order to seize power from the child. He has sworn himself to protect the child so that she may be able to cultivate her power one day. He says that his name is Ronin and that he is not simply just a ronin. Lockwood says she had met the ronin in Haikuno and that he had taken the child to them once. However, there was a traitor there and they escaped. He says he joined this particular brigade because no one here is powerful enough to pose a threat to them. They have a mutual understanding and as Lockwood is about to walk away, Ronin stops wide-eyed as the female figure in the room comes out from the shadows. She says she noticed that Lockwood said the Stormlord was her enemy. Lockwood confirms this and says she does intend to take down and undermine the Stormlord. Lockwood reveals more of her and her crew's intentions to slay the Stormlord. Ronin says he wishes to speak each and every member of Lockwood's crew present on the ship today.

She gathers them all so they may speak with Ronin. They introduce themselves to him and Ronin says he wishes to take down the Stormlord to protect the child and make the world safer. He says if they join forces with some of the major sea lords and have faction against faction, they could trigger a massive war that would overwhelm the Stormlord. They ask if Diana can use her connections to her sister the Ruby Queen to secure an alliance but Diana says she doubts her sister has remembered her much. Ronin assures Diana and the crew that they can guarantee an alliance with the Ruby Queen. He says that the Ruby Queen owes him. Lockwood tells Ronin that they will head to Elytra to reunite Diana with her sister. Diana asks what Ronin means that Ruby Queen owes him. He says that he helped resurrect Haru on the Ruby Queen's behalf. They were romantically involved but they were separated due to their competing affiliations. Haru himself is one of the warlords who had since separated from the Ruby Queen. Haru had fought against Akore but lost and died. The Ruby Queen pleaded for his resurrection and Ronin brought him back as he was one of his students. Ronin says that the Ruby Queen must pay her debt to him and that is the reason he believes she will ally with them. Ronin agrees to accompany them during the journey to Elytra.

Pravuil approaches the female aasimar and tells her he notices that she is an aasimar. She says that she can sense that he is one too but that he had committed a grave taboo by giving up his wings and losing his divinity. Pravuil explains he did it for the sake of his friend. He explains his loss as well as the deaths of his parents. The female aasimar says she is aware of his parents' fate and also says much of the aasimar community knows of Aldrin, his parents' killers. She doubts that Aldrin cares for Pravuil as he has lost his connection with heaven but Pravuil assures her that he will restore his divine status and has a deep connection with God. He asks for her name and she says she will only reveal her name when he is worthy. He says he will prove to her in the battlefield and that her name will be worth fighting for. She tries to contain a blush.

Durgl is approached by a curious researcher who takes fascination that he is a grung. The research introduces herself as London and offers to offer Durgl upgrades custom-made for him. London has a misunderstanding and thinks that Durgl and Lockwood are together and backs off, then leaves. Durgl vomits out of disgust and Pravuil tries to cure his sudden, acute bout of sickness.

Three months pass. During their voyage, they talk among themselves what to do on their way to Elytra. The brigade they are with says they know fully now that they are the famed Willem's Willies and that once they approach the real blockade by the main Navy, they will help them sneak through and will deny knowingly harboring them. Eventually they return to Atlas. They board a rowboat towards the shore. They see in the distance a spitting image of the Drowning Durgl in perfect condition. They decide to take the ship back.

They storm the ship once the rowboat approaches by its side. They board the ship and Zosteif climbs the crow's nest. They hear footsteps below them. Lockwood pulls out a parchment and etches the ship around. Durgl hides. Pravuil casts spirit guardians to flit around the ship. They see an elven man with a green scarf carrying planks. It turns out to be Flynn. He says he had been busy fixing the ship and had truly believed they were all dead. Flynn describes how on that fateful day after the crew ascended the glacier. Reyen, Cannoneer and Elsa, Flynn, and the others were placing bets on who would be the first to die. When the main crew were in the vault, Reyen noticed it was beginning to rain. Azula immediately recognize this was the Stormlords and she told everyone to take cover. Flynn ran as fast to the radio before a magical gust of wind blew him off the ship. He tried to swim and climb back up while he heard the sound of combat. Cannoneer swung his sword to cut down some of the Stormlords and he was stabbed in the back and he retaliated and tore their heads off. Elsa was grabbed at the order of one of the Stormlords. Cannoneer tried to stop them. As soon as he tries to intervene, suddenly a bright glow emerged. Everyone was suspended. Reyen was the first to teleport. Azula had a gaping spear and was teleported away, wide-eyed. Flynn also saw, from his perspective, a hand unfamiliar to them all, touch him, and telling him that he will be protected and that the crew would be led back to him. About six months ago, Flynn said that he saw Lara and that Lara returned back to her father. Flynn says during his time repairing the ship, he spent time with Lucia Highborne who has been helping him. Flynn also says he saw Akula. Akula swam back with different shark heads and had been busy hunting other sharkin. Flynn also tells them a lot has happened within the past year. Atlas had been attacked and was targeted by the Blight. People were afflicted by a terrible fungus which caused people to turn into monstrous beings that tore one another. The Parliament ordered the Navy to quarantine the area and they have been busy since trying to contain the chaos. He also says Mechagon has recently developed new technology: metallic eagles, which are able to fly. They are being called "planes". All of their ships have been converted to metal. He also says that the Navy has now officially declared war on the Stormlords.

They land and return to the city at long last. They head towards Markello's shop. Markello is shocked to see Serena and the crew, believing they had died. Markello says that Lara told him that Lockwood had left Lara. Lockwood asks if she can talk to Lara and Markello says she may. They go back and they see Lara who looks a lot different. Lara looks depressed but upon seeing them, her mood changes and she is thrilled to see them again. Moxy also pops out. Lara rushes to Lockwood. Lockwood asks how Lara returned safely. She says from her perspective, she was thrown into a portal to a very rainy area surrounded by Stormlords. She says many things happened and was placed in a cage with other prisoners. She felt "official" and tried to sneak out. She was caught and was sent back. She snuck out again and was caught by someone else. She says this person turned out to be Azula's sister who was able to devise a way to get her out. Lara pretended to be a victim in the meantime and learned how to adapt to the prison life. She even faced the Stormlord himself and was presented the choice between joining the Stormlord and letting her father die. She played her cards right and said she saw Azula. Azula had a spear in her chest but was still alive. Lara said the Stormlord gave her the choice between joining him or letting both Azula and her father to die. Azula and the Stormlord argued and eventually, the Stormlord killed Azula. Lara became enraged and fought back. She was about to fight them off before Azula's sister intervened and she clicked a button before she was whisked away to safety. Lara says she also learned that the Stormlord has a daughter and that the Stormlord cared for her deeply. Lara said during her time in prison, she sometimes was able to sneak around and go into the city. During her times away from the prison, she learned from wizards that Elsa is not from the world and is from another world, possessing wild magic known as time magic. If they secured Elsa, they could induce a time wizard to come to save her and capture them to wield their power. Lara draws a portrait of the Stormlord's daughter: Skodie.

Lockwood tells Lara they are planning to head down to Elytra. Reyen realizes he could have send a sending to Cannoneer this entire time. He is able to make connection with them. He says he and Elsa were teleported away to Elytra. Markello steps in and informs them that the Navy is waiting for them outside, having them surrounded. Zosteif suggests Reyen teleports everyone except Lockwood and Lara since they do not have any bounty. Reyen suggests the other way due to the chance that they could sense a divination wizard leave their area. He suggests Lockwood and Lara greet the Navy first. They encounter an aasimar man whose holy presence is very noticeable. He says he knows the Willem's Willies are within the store and that Lockwood is affiliated with them. He informs them the Grand Admiral wants an audience with Willem's Willies and said that the Stormlord seeks their downfall. He says they will not be arrested and that they may be able to keep their weapons. Lockwood asks for insurance with a teleportation scroll just in case they try to be arrested.

They are escorted to the Navy headquarters and they are seated in a large conference room. The guards inform them that the Grand Admiral will meet them shortly. After ten minutes of waiting, the Grand Admiral arrives. He is a massive, towering figure and sits down at the chair. His eyes are as blue as the sea itself. He is a large white beard. He tells them that for once, the Stormlord has a weakness. It is them. He has developed an irrational hatred for them and wants to take them down. Akore proposes they use them as bait to lure Stormlord so that the Navy would be able to take him out. He explains the Stormlord is able to remain safe because of the relic he possesses within his domain. When he leaves his domain and throne, he may be vulnerable. The Grand Admiral assures them that they will be safe and the Stormlord will be destroyed once and for all. Once the Stormlord is taken down, fear and structure within the Stomlord Pirates would collapse. He tells them ultimately their greatest war will be against the Blight. The crew debates among themselves. They decide to interrogate the Grand Admiral. He agrees to give them classified information. The Navy directly reports to the Queen but the Queen is limited by Parliament. Parliament has become corrupted by the nobility and is reason behind the disparate inequality in Atlantean society. He says it is already difficult to minimize the plight of the people. The Navy intends to launch a coup but have decided to withhold it due to their approval of the Queen. However, they recognize that there are many in Parliament who they wish to purge. The commoners are also growing restless and are launching to overthrow the government. Atlantean nobles identified as traitors will be arrested and put on trial. He also takes notice that they are traveling along with the Ruby Queen's sister and that they are heading to Elytra. He proposes that they serve as messengers to the Ruby Queen. If the Ruby Queen is true to her word about second chances, she would have no problem supporting the planned revolution against the corrupt nobles and accepting refugees into her land. In return, any riches held by the Stormlords could be transferred to her. Another proposal is that, since the Navy cannot officially turn against the Navy, they are limited. The Navy would give them the resources to carry out their work and launch a pirate war against the nobles.

They reach a tentative agreement. They will go to the Ruby Queen and deliver the Grand Admiral's proposal and they are to report back to the Grand Admiral via sending stone. He then gives them pouches of gold to pay for their trip to Elytra. The Grand Admiral says he also wishes to extend an apology to their captain, Willem, who was mistreated deeply back then by them during his time with them. Before they leave, the Grand Admiral says he is aware they possess devil fruit powers and that he too has eaten a fruit.

Death reappears to them after they leave the Grand Admiral's presence. He says that "corporate" wants them to understand the purpose of their crewmates occasionally going in and out to the timespace fireplace rooms. He gives them some options of how to deal with this.

Featured characters

Player characters

• Akula (absent)
• Anradeem Pravuil
• Durgl
• Jué Zosteif
• Ryul Vidro
• Serena Lockwood
• Maren (absent)
• Willem (absent)