Session 18 (The Pirates of Atlas)

 

"Session 18"
The Pirates of Atlas episode
Episode no.	Episode 18
Original air date	January 7, 2024 (2024-01-07)

"Session 18" is the eighteenth session of the campaign The Pirates of Atlas. It is the first session for the calendar year of 2024.

Synopsis

Following the epic battle against the Stormlord, Willem's Willies found themselves under attack by the forces of Mechagon. Mechagon announced itself as the new force of power across the world. The crewmembers witnessed in horror of a large mushroom cloud and the aftermath of Mechagon's bombing. As they comprehended the horrors before them, time suddenly stopped and once again, Death pays them a visit. He informs them that Christmas has passed and that he comes bearing gifts. Death presents a gift for Zosteif first based on Akula's insistence. Akula says his gift to the crew is his love. Death checks his gift list. Akula picks up Zosteif and presents her to Death. Death gives her a box and as she unwraps it, she sees a beautifully-woven scarf. It feels familiar to her and feels like the silk she used to handle in Winestead. As she feels it, it illuminates in different colors. Death says corporate noticed her that she wanted to shape-shift into anything she wanted, so the scarf will change alongside her. Akula is the next to receive a gift. Death presents Akula a new hook and says that corporate, being so moved by Akula's love for his crew, they decide to bequeath him the gift of family love. It is a necklace that can attune up to seven crewmates which can teleport them within five feet of him anywhere in the world. Vidro is next. Death gives him a box. As Vidro opens it, he sees it is a pair of goggles which allows one to sense body heat. It is infrared, heat vision-bearing goggles. Next is Maren. Death says that corporate loved how cute her pets were so they will present a ring to attune her pets. It will allow her pets to shift in size and take refuge in her ring. As her token of appreciation, Maren casts a snowy halo above Death's head. He appreciates the gesture. Pravuil is next. Death pulls out a pure white cloak and presents it to him alongside a note. It is called the Aetherlight Cape. It lets him use divine smite twice in a day. Durgl is next. Before Death is able to present him a gift, Durgl has a gift for Death. It is slimeball lava lamp and Death says he will give it to his snowman. Death presents him a gift which are authentic red Jays. Durgl is shocked as the shoes are exceptionally rare. It is Captain Willem's turn next. Death presents him the Gauntlets of Power which have rotating rings adorned in ancient runes.

Death then sends them back to the present and they find themselves aboard the Drowning Durgl. Reyen greets them and tells them what happened. He asks why there is a mushroom cloud. Everyone is bewildered. Vidro tells them that it is the same type of weapon as the bomb they had contemplated dropping on the Stormlord. They debate whether they should deploy the weapon against the attackers. Reyen asks how Willem feels about killing his father. Willem says they should focus on finding out what is going on Mechagon. Reyen explains it may be problematic in traveling to Mechagon. He explains how difficult and closely guarded it is. He says that they have built an iron wall around every bastion and their city is underwater. He says he could try to find someone who may know someone in Mechagon. Akula says he has connections to Mechagon. Akula says he may know someone in Mechagon. Flynn speaks up and asks Akula why Mechagon chose to raise Akula. He says that the inhabitants of Mechagon hates fleshed beings. Akula says he was accepted in as an experiment. Lara pops up and pokes Akula and says he is like her, in that she was experimented on. Reyen asks if Akula is confident in contacting this source in Mechagon. Akula attunes Willem and teleports him into his arms. Willem asks if Akula could simply get into Mechagon and then use his ring to teleport everyone into Mechagon. Akula says he is not too sure about the true extent of his ring's powers. Reyen says that the Navy and the Ruby Queen will be holding a meeting in Atlas and that the Ruby Queen has personally invited the crew to attend to discuss the aftermath of the Stormlord campaign. Reyen suggests they could split up into two parties. Cannoneer suddenly speaks up and says he smelled that one of the Stormlord figures went to the Wildlands. Cannoneer explains the power dynamics in lion prides and that if the father dies, his son succeeds and seizes the power. Diana speaks up and asks the crew whether they should be concerned with the politics of Mechagon and Atlas, or continue their mission in the Wildlands. The captain says that they should indeed focus on the Wildlands first before they deal with geopolitics. Durgl concurs. The captain decides to go to the Wildlands.

Diana plots the ship towards the Wildlands and they begin sailing. As they sail, Reyen approaches the captain and asks him if they should suspend their operations in Mechagon and Atlas. Willem says they should go as the entire crew to roam in the Wildlands. Reyen says he will write a letter to the Ruby Queen that they will decline the invitation to Atlas. Vidro decides to talk to Flynn. They discuss Mechagon's vehicles and weapons. Vidro asks if they could develop something that could traverse underwater, such as a submarine. Vidro says currently his crew is limited as some of them are Devil Fruit users who cannot swim. Flynn tells Vidro that he believes that Mechagon is protected by a reactor core underwater. If they destroy it, they could possibly flood Mechagon but expresses his concern about the ethics behind it. Vidro tells him to hold his thought on this and to discuss this at another time with the rest of the crew. Vidro says however they may be able to develop a prototype that can help transport them underwater. Vidro tries to locate Toto, their tattooist and detects her in Flairwind.

Maren attunes Ara Ara and Chowder with her ring. During their voyage, Akula and Vidro create supplies and give it to Zosteif, the bosun, to sell it. One night as they have a meal, Diana brings up that Pravuil has become more a stalwart warrior. She questions whether Pravuil should remain the ship's doctor given he has done so little healing over the past few months. As they eat, Willem says that he has been studying his gifted gauntlet. He explains the powers of his gauntlet and says that he believes he can use it to store preemptive spells. Durgl suggests they use his fireball spell as their contingency, stored spell. Willem reminds them that he can store several charges of spells and be able to dispense up to four charges of spell. Reyen speaks up and says he can offer one of his teleportation spells. They debate among themselves which spells should be loaded into the gauntlet.

Cannoneer rings the bell and alerts the crew that there is something for them to see. As they step on the top deck, they see a restaurant-styled ship. Vidro pulls out his telescope and sees the ship is called the Five Star Fin. Reyen says he has heard of such a ship and that it is a fancy restaurant with life-changing food. Akula is shocked and impressed, even as a chef himself, that this food is almost comparable to his cooking. Lara steers their ship towards the Five Star Fin. They then board the ship which has multiple decks. They are met by a well-tailored elf who asks them if they have a reservation or they are walk-in. The captain says they are walk-in. He asks them if they will pay by gold or dubloons. If they have doubloons, they will be taken to the premium seating for five dubloons. Vidro has doubloons to give the waiter. They are then greeted by a halfling who welcomes them in. As they ascend each deck, they see each deck gets more and more formal. Akula notices that the meat served is novel at the bottom deck but with each passing deck, the food and service improves. At the top deck, there are only five tables. They all sit down and they are given chips and other appetizers. They are then greeted by a waiter with a round of waters and drinks. He tells them they have swordfish, pies, octopus, squid, tuna, salmon, and all kinds of other seafood. There is also beholder tentacles, displacer steaks, and the most exotic catch of the day, manticore. It has the head of a man, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion. It is infused with a drop of its own venom. Pravuil decides to eat it because it is the most exotic dish. It costs 10 doubloons, which can be exchanged for 1,000 gold pieces. Captain Willem and Akula also order the full body and tail of the manticore. They sign a waiver. They decide to order a total of six manticores. Everyone signs a waiver. Zosteif orders just the poisonous part of a blowerfish. Maren and Durgl order Slorp Glorp-flavored ice cream. They hear a flush in the bathroom as a large bear sits next to them across by a panda patron. Ten minutes pass. Akula remembers that manticores are native to the Wildlands and their population is extensive.

The manticore tails are presented. They crack open the shells and suck up the juices. Akula casts purify on the manticore tails to reduce the potency of the venom. Willem takes the first bite. He coughs out enough poison to not die and is able to chew up the rest of the manticore tail. Durgl is able to stomach it surprisingly. Akula chokes and Willem rushes to perform a Heimlich maneuver on him. He is able to dislodge the food from Akula's mouth but he is still poisoned. He casts lay on hands on Akula as he helps Akula recover. Akula remains motionless. Meanwhile, as soon as Pravuil took a bite from the manticore tail, his eyes starts bulging violently and bleeds profusely, before collapsing and drops to the ground immediately, lying motionless and dead. Vidro gets one of his enchanted diamonds out and tries to break it open with the hopes on using it to revive Akula. Vidro knows he can definitely still save Akula but senses Pravuil is much more critical. Akula is revivified. Pravuil's body, meanwhile transform into a manticore. He munches another tail as he is in shock. He ends up becoming an even stronger manticore. Pravuil, horrified at his new monstrosity form, begs to be killed so he does not remain an abomination. The captain tries to prevent Pravuil from contemplating death but Pravuil insists Zosteif to mercy-kill him. Pravuil scrambles to the backroom. Some of the staff watches as if they have seen such a sight. They hear voices murmuring that there is an honor of guest to be cooked. It is none other than another sharkin. Akula and the sharkin lock eyes and they start arguing and screaming at one another. However, Akula does not have bloodlust and this is the first time this has happened. However, the sharkin continues to make fun of Akula and Akula decides to fist-fight the sharkin. Akula knocks the sharkin out. He is informed that he will be knocked out because the man he just knocked out is a head chef. Willem intervenes and tells the staff if Akula could substitute as the head chef, while they figure out how to console the distraught Pravuil. They discover that if Pravuil's head can be decapitated, he can then be revived as an aasimar again. At Pravuil's insistence, Zosteif decapitates his head. Pravuil's soul begins to rise out of his body and Willem takes out his soul bag. His crew, led by Maren, casts the ritual to revive him. However, such ritual will reincarnate Pravuil into another race. Death appears to oversee the reincarnation process. Maren's druidic magic spirals around Pravuil's soul as mushrooms and flowers emerge. They then see branches wrap around his soul as they hear cracking. Where they would hear bone, they hear mush instead. Pravuil feels himself as a gelatinous body and as he takes form as a plasmoid. It takes a while for Pravuil to get used to his new, permanent body. The waiter asks for payment and Vidro hands him sixty doubloons.

As they return to the ship, they encounter a seal. Nothing much else happens.

At night, the captain asks where Pravuil needs to sleep now that he is in a gelatinous form. Pravuil says he is willing to cabin with Durgl. They continue their voyage to the Wildlands. They make their way back to the Wildlands and Vidro reminds them that they are back in his ancestral homeland. They make their way through the land and try to avoid any detection. As they journey by night, they hear arrows whizzing around them. Akula whisks Willem into his arms. They hear a voice which tells them that foreigners are not allowed here. Vidro responds in Elvish. His other crewmates try to take cover to avoid being seen. Zosteif transforms into a form of a grung in a panic, much like Durgl. Both Vidro and Akula take notice of the clothing worn by the elven archers who speak in Common. The archers ask why they are here. Vidro explains to them that he used to be from here and has come to rediscover himself. The elven archers blow a whistle. A while later, they hear the footsteps of a deer approaching them. They see a white-haired elf who dismounts. She takes out a flower and gives it to Vidro. She tells him that if he is not from these lands, the flower will burn. She asks for his hand. She gently places it on his hand. Half of the flower blooms while the other half decays and burns out. She twists her head and says that he is from these lands but he is not for these lands. She says he must go see the village druid. She tells him to follow her. Treetop archers stay perch. Pravuil splits into two smaller humanoid forms which are joined by the limbs, giving the appearance of two holding hands.

As the crew follows Vidro and the female elf, they venture deeper into the land. Maren notices the abundance of wildlife as various creatures swarm around her. She speaks with them. They then get on canoes and go downstream as they navigate through treetop villages. They see salmon jumping out of the water. Maren back scratches them. Akula notices an owl hooting and Maren hears that the owl keeps shouting that Akula is a shark. Eventually, they start heading into a large settlement. Durgl and Vidro notice the sound of branches crushing. They see in the distance orcish rangers chasing after something. They then see elven rangers, alongside large tree guardians shooting at the orcs and taking them out. Akula asks why they do that and the elves explain they are at war with orcs and humans. Akula asks hypothetically if they have a human with them who means them no harm, would they show them mercy. The elves say it is exceedingly rare to offer such. Durgl asks if they are okay with grungs and one of the elves say some elven tribes dislike the grungs. Vidro asks the female elf what she meant that he is from the land but not for the land. The female elf replies that this is only what is based on the flower and he would have to ask the druid for more clarification. Akula picks a flower and gives it to Zosteif, not realizing it is her. She tricks him into thinking she is Jurgl, Durgl's twice removed cousin. They then arrive at a tree which is not like any other tree. It has various sigils on it. Akula tries to interpret the sigils. As they head towards the base of the tree, they notice a transfer between guards and hear another whistle. They see a figure come out of the tree. They hear the sound of a horse's neigh. It is a reverse centaur. He tells them not to make fun of him until they reach the top of the tree.

At the top of the tree, they notice smaller trees growing from it and filled with birds. They see an old human with tribal tattoos resting against one of the trees. He has a bird perched on his finger and a dire-wolf resting by him. His eyes are closed. Akula asks how a human like this man is allowed here. The reverse centaur explains that this human has been here before other elves and is thus special. They try to ask the old man questions. The old man looks at them and sheepishly snores. He then grabs something and snorts something. He then welcomes them and then says they can now leave. The old man takes a look at each of the crewmates. He muses to himself. The old man asks which one of them is a druid. Maren says she is and they communicate in druidic. He warns her that the druids in the forest are in trouble and that they are on the run. He says that the cycle of life goes on and on and fate has arrived. He then addresses everyone in common that the forest is dying. He says there will come a time when the forest will die. He says every 1,000 years, a druid sacrifices their life to restore the powers of the forest. He says that Maren must have come to be the druid to be sacrificed but she says she is not. They ask why he is not the one to sacrifice himself. He says that is an alternative possibility. He explains the history of druids in the forest. He speaks of Anari. Vidro asks how old he is. He says he has live many suns and moons. The first druids sacrificed themselves to ward off enemies from the forest. This tradition has continued every cyclically. He promises them it is a short story but is drawn out as he continues rambling. There are fifteen parts. Some of the crewmates fall asleep. He gives Akula a flower to snort. He now feels alert. The old man forgets what story he was talking about. Vidro reminds the old man that they came here to seek answers from him. He asks them what is the meaning of a half-burning flower. The old man then asks Maren if she is comfortable traveling alongside someone like Vidro. They are confused. The old man explains the conundrum. Approximately 350 years ago, there was a war. The old man asks who should be sacrificed. He explains that this question has been a millennium-long debate. He explains each tribe, seven in total, must contribute one person to sacrifice. They then agreed that one druid is born and destined to die. He says the great tragedy is one who dies will be unable to fulfill their own dreams and destinies. He then explains that one family volunteered to sacrifice themselves and their lineage. He explains that 350 years ago, Vidro was meant to be one to ritualistically sacrificed as he was the firstborn of this wood-elf family. He was destined to become a druid before he was kidnapped. The old man says that the sacred site where one must be sacrificed is located in another druid tribe that has now declared war on this tribe. He says there is only two conditions to restore the sacred barrier: they can invade the enemy tribe and he can sacrifice himself or Vidro can offer himself to the tribe. They say that if the druid to sacrifice is presented is not the marked one, the other tribes believe their land will be cursed, hence why he himself cannot simply present himself as the sacrifice. Vidro then says if he knows anything about his sister. The druid man takes a moment to think and recall. Maren hear an eagle communicate with the druid. The druid remembers that the sister is still alive and is currently being held captive. He also says he should stop consuming magical mushrooms. Akula asks how Vidro can be so sure that this person is his sister or if the old man is lying. The old man ponders. He says it is likelier that Vidro's sister is alive and held captive, than the druids creating this entire conspiracy. The crew argues with the old man.

Willem asks Vidro if they should focus on saving Vidro's sister's life first before they settle on the issue of the druids. The old man tells Vidro if he is so against the idea of being sacrificed, he should run far away since he is marked and the flowers will make their way to him, signalling to all others that he is destined to die. Vidro asks why he was abducted. The old man says that Vidro and the others are abducted because their bloodline have some special magical properties. He says that his ancestor was the one to offer each firstborn from each generation to be the sacrifice. He says perhaps his father either wanted him kidnapped or sacrificed. He asks why Vidro would care so much about his sister anyhow. Does blood matter he asks. He mentions that a blind man recently came by, having served a man whose son killed him. They realize it was the blind Stormlord general. The old man continues to explain the druidic lore and the expectation that Vidro be sacrificed as the savior. He said he argued with the six other druids that any druid could be used to sacrifice themselves, but the others insisted that only the original bloodline. He says they are absolutely sure that if Vidro himself is sacrificed, the barrier will be reactivated, while they only believe it is plausible that Vidro's sister's blood is sufficient enough. Vidro proposes if they cannot stop the Blight, he will turn himself in, in exchange for the safety of his sister. He asks if the other druids would allow him to see his sister. The old man says if he steps foot in their city, he will be immediately sacrificed. Akula suggests why they do not just kill all seven druids to ensure 7,000 years of peace. The crew begins to question the old man, wondering if he himself is the problem. The crew, frustrated with how much of a waste of time and nonsensical the druid is, decide to leave. They say they have hundreds of years to decide. The captain, impatiently declares that they will take out the blind man, possibly save Vidro's sister, and take out the seven druids. The old man points them the direction they have to go to save Vidro's sister, which is in the direction of north.

As they head out, the reverse centaur, Octavius, greets them again. Willem tells him to shut up and that he is done with the druids. He asks them the direction out. They are led out towards the plains. Akula suggests to Willem that they should burn down the druid's town. Durgl agrees. Willem says they will hold off on that idea. They then head north.

They eventually make their way to a pride of leonin. One of the guards presents himself and demands to know who is the captain. Willem introduces himself. The guard greets them to Ra'Karath and asks him to state their business. Willem asks if a blind man sorcerer came by recently. Willem says they are looking for him. They say this man was granted passage. He asks if this is for combat purposes as combat between the two shall be forbidden. Willem says the man has had dealings with his father and that this man should be expecting them. Willem says they agree to the terms of no combat. They are allowed in. Willem tries to make small talk with the guard and explains to him that one of their crewmates, Cannoneer, is a leonin. Willem explains that they just came from a village with a crazy druid. The leonin says they have constantly fought against the village and that the druid was exiled for good purpose. They rest by a campfire. Eight hours go by and as they make their way to the city gates, they see another figure standing. The leonin guard tells them that this figure will continue leading them. It is a golden horn rhinoceros. He welcomes them and warns them not to lose their balance. They walk around the ring of the large crater the city is atop on. As they continue down the crater, they approach a tree-canopied castle with elven guards. The elves are dressed in tribal clothing and they see the blind man sitting criss-crossed by a fire. The rhinoceros guard says his name is Lord Cinderhorn and asks for Willem's name. Cinderhorn then points Willem to the blind man. Akula whispers to Willem if he wants to take out the blind man right now.

Willem sits down and speaks to the blind man. The blind man says he planned to kill Willem but this plan was interrupted after Mechagon started to attack. The blind man reflects on his time serving the Stormlord. He says the people of Stormwind need to be led. He asks Willem if he should lead Stormwind himself or if he should follow Willem. Willem offers to lead Stormwind together with the blind man and take out Mechagon together. The blind man says Willem must prove his worth here in he wishes to be served. The blind man asks Willem how one defeats metal. The blind man asks if they know why he is blind. He says he used to be a man with glasses. He fought a druid once and the druid used magic to burn his eyes with light as bright as the sun. The blind man vows to use this power against Mechagon. This power is stronger than sunlight; it is heat metal magic. He says he wishes to "heat up" the home of Mechagon and wishes to blow it up. Durgl asks if they hypothetically had a bomb and dropped it on Mechagon, would it satisfy the blind man's desire. The blind man said he sought guidance from six of the seven druid, but the seventh druid was insane. The crewmate sighs and nods having had experienced that very seventh druid.

The blind man, Krovar, then turns his attention to Akula and says that he is endowed with the capability to cast heat metal. The blind man said when he saw Akula, he was reminded of another who came to the throne. He looked exactly like Akula. Akula asks if this person happened to work at a restaurant. The blind man says he was not. Akula said that when he encountered this fellow sharkin, he was angered by him but did not experience the characteristic bloodlust he always felt whenever he saw other sharkin. The blind man says this sharkin he speaks of is dead. He says Akula was experimented on and Akula attests to this. The blind man tells Akula to sit in front of the fire and stare into it. The blind man picks up a stone and grabs Akula's fin. He tells him to hold the stone and to channel it. Akula begins to channel it and his tattoos begin to glow.

Suddenly, the fire begins to play a scene of a large, metallic sharkin fighting another sharkin who is a natural-born. They hear the sound of loud drums. The metallic sharkin says he is the upgrade and his jaw has a read beam blasts out and kills the natural sharkin. The metallic sharkin then says that he will now seek his father, to take him out. Krovar explains the vision that Mechagon wished to turn Akula into metal. Krovar says that this sharkin is coming for him. Whether Akula wants it or not, there shall be a battle between metal and flesh. It is up to Akula whether flesh triumphs or not. Krovar says that the spirits he can listen to have something on Vidro. Krovar says that Vidro's flesh and blood is here within the walls. He says that the spirits have told him to guide Vidro. Krovar says he can sense the soul of the Stormlord in Willem's soul satchel. Willem shows Krovar the totem he obtained after slaying the Stormlord. Krovar said that before the Stormlord joined the Coven, he was part of an elite guard where snow touches grass and that the symbol of the totem is associated with this place. Krovar explains the mythology surrounding the totem, including the elementals, the non-interference of the gods in the mortal plane, and the Godslayer. Willem affirms that the Stormlord worshipped the Godslayer and that they met the Godslayer himself. There are various other totems similar to this, attuned to each elemental, some of which can be found in the Chasm of the Gods. He tells them that the people of Stormwind will never have a home now, now that the Stormlord is dead, but perhaps they can find a new hope in Willem. Willem feels he now has found his new life's purpose.

Krovar says there is a spirit attached to Vidro, one who is always with him, perhaps that of a relative's. Vidro asks if he can commune with this spirit. Krovar asks if Vidro wishes to embark on a spirit quest with the spirit. He cautions him that if he fails this quest, he may be trapped in it forever. He says he must drink peyote in order to perform this ritual. Vidro says he could do it after they explore the city. Krovar says this is all the visions he has received at the present. The captain then says the crew will group up then to meet with Krovar in two week's time. The campfire billows out and they remain outside the elven gates, awaiting the six other druids.

Featured characters

Player characters

• Akula
• Anradeem Pravuil
• Durgl
• Jué Zosteif
• Ryul Vidro
• Maren
• Willem