Adventures of Stumpy Pete, Part 2

Characters:

• Mordecai: Human Air Mage Puritan from Earth
• Liam: Human Shipmaster from Earth
• Barchus: Scurillian merchant and Super native
• Crow: Atani sharpshooter native
• Rodrigo: Human priest and water Mage from Earth

Date: 5-2-14
XP: 2
Recap:

The crew wrapped up business in New Madrid and prepared to head out for Petes Mystery Island. The night before they were set to depart, Father Rodrigo had an assassination attempt while he slept. He managed to fend off one assassin but another wounded him and had the upper hand. He was saved by a fire mage and two warriors who identified themselves as with the Torquemada. On the assassin’s body they found the assassination order with the Cardinals seal, implicating him and the church.

Heading out to sea the crew made good time to Pete’s Treasure Island. They found the island peaceful enough and after a long climb up a treacherous cliff face and a few hours hike through thick jungle they finally found the hidden location. It was an old hunting fortification left unguarded. In the treasure chests they found a wealth of Gold, two enhanced firearms, a mysterious golden triangle and a strange locked wooden box.

Upon touching the loot they heard a roar off in jungle and quickly made plans to leave. Before they could do so, they were waylaid by a troupe of zombies who rushed the ruined fortification. They fended off the zombies while a large Zombie Tyrex (T-Rex) stalked in the jungle around the encampment. The Tyrex made his move when Crow exposed himself to a set of double doors and attempted to have a little snack, unsuccessful the Tyrex stalked back into the Jungle and disappeared.

The crew opened the wooden chest and found it had a shrunken skull in it. When Mordecai touched the head he received a vision of a powerful archmage sacrificing his life to defeat the Hags. He put his essence in the head to be used as a weapon against them someday.

After waiting a while and resting, the crew made their escape to the ship but were ambushed by more zombies slowing them down. The Tyrex chose to attack now that his prey were in the open. With a vicious snap of his massive jaw, he went after Liam who was holding the box with the skull. He severely wounded Liam leaving a tooth stuck in his skull. After a deadly fight on open ground with the Tyrex, Brachus finally managed to pierce his thick hide and sever his heart. As the menevolant spirit of the Tyrex left his rotting body, a greenish black smoke filled the air. In this cloud of vapors the crew heard the screams of three women and the rotted and evil faces of the Hags glaring down with pure hatred.

Loaded down with loot and some mysterious artifacts…what will the heroes do next?

Rodrigo

March 29, 1571

Dearest Abuela,

The Epistle of James was our favorite, and I retreat to it in times of need. I am reminded of Chapter 1 verse 22-24

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

Abuela, Saint James is always a comfort to me in these days, and I listen. The man in rags is exalted, and the rich man made low. Cardinal Torres in his fine silks should open the Epistle of James every now and then, but he has long since stopped listening. A pity.

Because he is beset by men of energy and deception. The Englishman Hawkins is one of them. You told me that Englishmen were never to be trusted, and I saw that first hand. I was ambushed, nee, nearly assassinated, when luck would have it, Hawkins was there to retrieve my fate. What a coincidence. Unfortunately for Hawkins, it is a trite and well worn tactic of the real Inquisition to set up a false savior, a friend, to try and pull one his way. Hawkins could have warned me of the upcoming attack at any time, except that he wanted it to happen, to “save” me. Again, I am Jesuit, and on my path alone. I will feign trust of this Hawkins, but only to discover his true depravity, to get to the heart of matters.

And Abuela, we fought the undead, including the largest beast I have ever seen out of water. And it was undead. The crab man fought with distinction, as if our Lord walked with him. Perhaps you were right, and more than man has that divine spark. All I know is that the wonders you described are come to pass, and I trust, as you said to me, that there is a way home.

Fr. Rodrigo Salvatore

Liam

Captain’s Log,

Finishing our business in New Madrid, we set out for the yet undisclosed location of Stumpy’s treasure. There was still some obvious trepidation about the whole thing among the crew. Mostly from Daxson, but once we finally got to the island the excitement began to build.

The island was quite interesting. Given it’s geography, I’d say it was an ancient volcano. I’m no expert on such things, though. So take that with a grain of salt. The initial climb proved to be a challenge for a few. If not for Brachus’ willingness to strap old Stumpy to his back, we might have been forced to leave him behind. Good thing we made it work, too. His directions held true and we came to some old ruins where, as promised, rested a buried treasure. Among it all was some shrunken head. According to our magic wielding friends, it’s the head of some ancient master wizard or some such.

Not long after the find, we were in a mess of trouble. Some old undead buggers rushed us. By themselves, they’d be bad enough. But some blasted undead monstrosity was with’em. We fought our way through well enough and made straight for the ship. We didn’t get far before they were back on us. It’s here where my memory gets a little fuzzy. I remember the giant beastie picking me out of the crowd. It was as if he had some personal score to settle. I remember him charging, yelling and spitting all over me, and then the sensation of flying. I had about enough time to note how odd it was he seemed to focus on me and then blacked out when I hit something. Or something hit me. When I came to the fight was over. I’m told Brachus unleashed hell’s furry on the thing and clawed it’s heart right out of it’s chest. All in all it appears the whole crew performed admirably. I’ll be sure to by’em all a round when we next make port. For my part, bravery earned me a fine scar atop my head and one of the blasted beast teeth, which had lodged itself in my skull. I think I’ll make a sword handle or something out of it.

After giving the entire series of events some thought, I believe that bastard of a creature somehow knew I had that bloody shrunken head. The only reason I had it was because I had to take it from Crow. He wouldn’t leave the blasted thing alone and fooling with things like that always leads to trouble. I suppose it’s best I had it. As part of my crew, Crow is my responsibility and I’ll not let his foolishness and lack of discipline kill him before his time. He be a good lad with to much potential to just let him dig his own grave. Though, if I can’t instill some discipline or self control into the lad soon, he’ll be the death of me. Or all of us. Perhaps it’s time I start taking some more stern disciplinary actions with the lad. He’s got to learn the consequences of his actions are more far reaching than he realizes.

Captain McCormic

Adventures of Stumpy Pete, Part 1

Characters:

• Liam: Human Shipmaster from Earth
• Daxson: Doreen treasure diver native
• Rodrigo: Human priest and water Mage from Earth

Date: 4-11-14

XP: 2

Recap:
The crew took some down time at Azy Cay. They revived the unciousous man to find out his name was James Low and just arrived to this world from Earth. He claims his merchant vessel was captured by cruel pirates and they set him adrift in the dingy and somehow he made it over to this side. After some rest and healing and decides to lay low in Azy Cay and offers to pay the crew who refuses. He pledges to return the favor one day.

While relaxing in the Shipwreck Surprise the crew is approached by a dual peg legged older pirate named Stumpy Pete. Old Stumpy tells them a tale of hidden treasure on an isolated islands in the far north in return for half of the booty. His old crew found the treasure years ago but unfortunately wrecked off the coast of Azy Cay leaving poor Stumpy with no means to reclaim it. The crew accepts his offer and set sail. While leaving they discover that Annie Mason wants to stay at Azy Cay under the protection of Azy herself.

The crew heads North hugging the coastline of Perck buying and selling merchandise in Swindon and then heading to Bristo. They don’t stay long in either city, just stopping long enough to buy and sell. With a ship full of lumber they head directly North to New Madrid.

On their voyage they run across an inspection blockade by none other than Admiral Duckworth. While finding their cargo legitimate he chastises Liam for not flying the proper flags nor vessel registration and fines the crew but lets them proceed. The ship makes it to New Madrid with no further delay and sells their cargo for a hefty profit.

Once in town Father Rodrigo attends mass and seeks an audience with the Cardinal Torres. He requests to re-establish his Jesuit Order in this world and the Cardinal declines. He is worried that there will be too much religious fervor which started the dreaded Spanish Inquisition on Earth. He admonished Father Rodrigo to be more open minded and inclusive of the locals and their faith, not something the Father takes happily

Meanwhile, Daxon learns of the New Madrid Fencing Academy lead by a dashing duelist Julio Ramirez. Seeking training he is challenged to a friendly competition by Julio and Daxson manages to best the master and earn his respect. Afterwards while talking with Daxon, Julio is informed that one of his students, Noez, has vowed the death of their rival school’s master Martinez and is heading to his school. Julio requests that the crew try to catch up with Noez while he gathers the rest of his students to help.

The crew takes off in a back alley chase to catch Noez and barely catch him in time before he invades the rival school and starts a deadly fight. Unfortunately Noez does not know any of the crew and immediately begins to attack them with the help of his two friends. After a bitter battle in the streets the crew manages to put down Noez using non-lethal means and stop the violence.
Ramirez is very grateful and offers heavily discounted training to the heros as a reward(one dice type in Fighting).

They must spend a week training so it appears like the crew will be spending more time in New Madrid then they had planned…

Daxson’s Thoughts

Well we have picked up another straggler. Not much came of the last one, but the allegedly retired pirate Stumpy Pete might hold more in store for our crew than we have bargained for. To be sure, he tells a good tale of unimaginable lost treasure, but did we get the whole of it?

Certainly there is plenty of riches to be had out there if you know where to look, and the Whips are a likely place. But he is the only one who knows of this hidden king’s ransom? And he offers half the prize to a crew who just walked in the door if we but take him to it? What more would we find besides treasure?

Liam, of course, is all in. I have done my best to find any corroboration, but how can I go about sussing any details without letting the fish out the net? Needless to say, we have thrown caution to the wind in favor of unimaginable riches. Quite par for the course really – I am pretty sure that means the normal, Liam says it comes from a gentlemen’s game in his homeland. Someday we will play this game and be the gentlemen of Caribdus. Won’t that be the day.

Despite my misgivings, we have had the winds at our back and clear seas ahead. The wind mage has sped our journey and we have had a good run of success in trading legal goods, just right, since we were boarded by the Admiral Nelson Duckworth in all his imminence. We escaped with a small fine, but who gives this visitor the right to tell a Caribdun what flag he should fly? These privateers, they are no better than pirates, as if their precious marque gives them absolute power. Nevertheless we were not hindered in completing our journey to New Madrid.

I am excited to become a pupil of master Julio Ramirez at his renowned fencing academy. I have acquitted myself well in his eyes. My father would be proud of me. Even more he would be proud that Captain Liam has named me First Mate of the Jonas. I have much to learn about running a ship from him. I will do my best to help him navigate this world to which he is a visitor. And I will not set his ship on fire.

Father Rodrigo

Dear Abuela,

This week, I am reminded of the parable of the Faithful Servant:

“Let your waist be dressed and your lamps burning. Be like men watching for their lord, when he returns from the marriage feast; that, when he comes and knocks, they may immediately open to him. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord will find watching when he comes. Most certainly I tell you, that he will dress himself, and make them recline, and will come and serve them. They will be blessed if he comes in the second or third watch, and finds them so. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore be ready also, for the Son of Man is coming in an hour that you don’t expect him.”
Peter said to him, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everybody?”
The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the right times? Blessed is that servant whom his lord will find doing so when he comes. Truly I tell you, that he will set him over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My lord delays his coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken, then the lord of that servant will come in a day when he isn’t expecting him, and in an hour that he doesn’t know, and will cut him in two, and place his portion with the unfaithful. That servant, who knew his lord’s will, and didn’t prepare, nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes, but he who didn’t know, and did things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few stripes. To whomever much is given, of him will much be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked.
— Luke 12:35-48

I saw Nueva Madrid. I saw a pretty cathedral. I saw Bishop Iago Torres dressed in silk, while I smelled of fish and hemp. I saw no good works. No sick. No ministry. Just an empty house.

I asked the Bishop to confirm my Order, suspecting the answer. But I did not need his authority or confirmation. When I stood before His Excellency Pope Pius V some 16 years ago, he asked me what I would be if all my Order was slain, and I alone remained. I answered “I would be Jesuit.” And I am.

Fr. Rodrigo Salvatore
March 22, 1571

Liam

Captain’s log,

Things have gone rather well for us these past few weeks.  Azy Cay turned out to be a pleasant stop.  Azy and her crew seem to be making an honest go at building a respectable community on that island.  And it’s a good spot, if you ask me.  Nice weather, a beautiful beech, and it could serve well as a stopping point for trade vessels heading up the coast.  Annie liked it enough she decided to stay.  She was a pretty lass, but she doesn’t hold a candle to my Jane.  Oh, I miss her dearly.  Lord willing, I’ll she her again.  If not this life, then the next for sure.

While it was nice to relax on the beech a bit, it was rather dull.  Till I met a fella calling himself Stumpy Pete.  A bit on the nose with him wobbling about on two peg legs and all, but I’ll not judge the man for it.  He claimed to know the location of a hoard of treasure.  Daxson thinks the man’s off his head, but he’s always been a cautious one.  I took stumpy’s offer to split the treasure, anyway.  I’ve got no doubt we can handle what comes.  Besides, no adventure or true gain was ever had without risk.  Just look to the colonies for proof.

We had clear skies and strong winds all the way to New Madrid.  Some fantastic sailing that was.  If not for being stopped by the Admiral, it would have been a perfect voyage.  He wasn’t nearly as intimidating as rumor would claim.  Plenty pompous, but the admiralty usually is.

New Madrid is pretty much what I expected.  Very Spanish.  Very Catholic.  Our priest didn’t seem to happy about some meetin he had with a church official.  He kept his head, though.  Of all people, Daxson was the one to find us a bit a trouble.  He had us chasing some hot headed youth we didn’t know from Adam through the streets.  Nearly got himself killed in the process.  And this happens shortly after I make him First Mate.  I guess even the cautious of us can be reckless at times.  I didn’t know he had it in him, to be honest.  This little event was a prime example of the no gain without risk, however.  Some sword master is giving us lessons for practically no cost thanks to our efforts.  Hmm.  I’ll have to be sure to point that out to Daxson.

Captain McCormic