Date: 03/06/11

XP Awarded: None

Start: The harbour of Rauthaven on the fabled isle of Nimbral, wet season (early Eleint), 1369 DR.

As the trio of ships glide through the aquamarine waters surrounding Nimbral, it's clear that the expedition will completely fill Rauthaven's tiny harbour. As the caravels carefully pull alongside the small wharves, a trio of knights mounted on pegasii circle overhead. Below a large crowd of curious onlookers gather in front of fishing net frames and dockfront warehouses. Dark-haired, slender and tall, the locals are largely fair-skinned, with a few displaying patches of blue-tinged skin around their cheeks and throats. Mixed into the crowd are a handful of obvious half-moon elves, though no obvious authority figures are present.

Captain Memnon joins Captain Redann, Lavinia, and Captain Amella on the docks where they ask for the local leader. The friendly crowd explain that the Herald Skannajh will be arriving later and that he'll have some questions for the captains, but in the meantime everyone is free to wander the town. As the colonists are let ashore, the captains begin bargaining with local merchants for additional supplies. Due to the additional ship, Lavinia hasn't got quite enough trade goods to completely resupply the expedition, but she has a sea chest full of gold brought out that she uses to buy the rest, which will take three days to collect from a nearby town. The Nightshark needs quite a few repairs as well, though Rauthaven hasn't got the necessary equipment for it. Lavinia and Captain Amella make arrangements for basic repairs to be made to the worst of the ship's damage, which should be enough for it to cross the Great Sea safely. Captain Amella finds out that there is a hedge wizard in town who deals in some magic items and heads off to take care of some business.

Meanwhile the rest of the party has been exploring the terraced lanes lined with white-painted buildings and garden-bedecked homes. It's not a large town, and there are only two inns - the Grey Dolphin and the Laughing Gull. The adventurers find the thatch-roofed cottage of the local hedge wizard and enter to find a series of winding rooms crammed with vases, crystal balls, statuettes, weapons, and all other manner of curios. Captain Amella is on her way out, having just finished up some business, and she hands a sack of gold coins to Taark to repay the party's loan to her for the purchase of the Nightshark. The party have a look at the potions and scrolls on offer and end up purchasing a few weapons made of cold iron, useful against fey and certain types of fiends.

Returning to the harbour, the adventurers see an elderly bearded man wearing a black and white triangular tabard bearing a heraldic symbol with a white staff with carved hands at either end, his boots floating a foot off the ground. He is flanked by three impressive-looking knights in magnificently spired and curving plate armor made of glass that glows with a soft yellow radiance. The man introduces himself as the Herald Skannajh and asks the party's business; he gives a silent nod when he hears the ships are merely seeking resupply on a journey further south. Taark asks the herald what he knows about the Isle of Dread and the voyage, but he replies that such matters are best left to the storytellers that will be present at tonight's festivities. Tilan asks about local laws and customs, and the herald explains that the Tellings (as they are called) are posted in all inns and should be reviewed carefully. With no further questions, the herald silently flies off up the lane, followed by the knights.

The adventurers split up, with Taark finding the town's smithy and engaging the smith in friendly banter about ironworking methods. Tilan heads straight to the Grey Dolphin to review the Tellings, while Memnon returns to Lavinia's side to help with the resupply negotiations. Later Tilan returns to the ships and with the help of Gaerxon and Belegard, laboriously struggle to bring the petrified Martigan up the steep lanes to the hedge wizard's cottage. There he finds that there is one dose of stone salve available, but that the price is 4,000 gold pieces for it. The party lack this kind of funds, so the trio return the statue to the Sea Wyvern.

That evening as dusk falls there are festivities across the lanes of Rauthaven as the Nimbrese bring out bottles of white wine flavoured with crushed mint-ferns or spiced with certain types of bark, giving it a green colour. It's a peculiar taste, though some of the colonists really seem to like it. The wine is very good quality, and after downing two bottles of it, Avner Merevanchi loudly proclaims to any who will listen that he could make a fortune by selling it across the Realms. Dinner is composed of mushrooms, berries, pickled roots, and several types of fish. There is hansrae, a hearty fish with a taste reminiscent of beef, and silvereye, a very salty fish. The highlight of the dinner is a platter full of spit-roasted shaurrak, a type of smokey flavoured seabird meat. After dinner is entertainment - a storyteller arrives and spins a series of increasingly clever and fantastic tales. After the storytelling the townspeople bring out sets of drums and unusual wind instruments and start playing a droning, entrancing music. A few others get up and perform a sweeping, graceful dance until late at night when most of the colonists have drifted off to bed.

The next day starts slowly, though nobody is suffering ill effects from the previous night's celebrations. Lirith invites Azaad to go rowing with her out to a nearby isolated beach, and the wizard agrees. A half hour of rowing turns his arms into weak, rubbery things and Azaad is very glad when Lirith offers to take a turn. The rowboat reaches the small, sandy beach wedged between two rocky outcroppings not long after, and the two peel off their clothes for some swimming. Back on the ships, Ulrimm is excited to explore the forested peaks, though the other party members are reluctant to accompany the constantly chattering gnome. He finally persuades Tilan to accompany him on a mushroom hunt, and the two follow a steep path out of Rauthaven into the cool, misty shade of the towering trees. The naturalist scurries from fallen log to to sunny meadow, taking samples and sketches of almost everything he sees, excitedly babbling to himself the whole time. The forest floor is covered in waist-deep ferns and countless small brooks and ponds, but before long Tilan realizes that he's no longer exactly certain where they are. Gradually leading Ulrimm along a babbling brook down a gentle slope, the two come to the top of a sheer cliff where the brook turns into a 70-foot waterfall that plunges into a rocky pool far below.

Meanwhile, Lavinia has invited Memnon for a walk on a forested coastal path overlooking rocky coves and beaches, and the two manage to spend some time alone until they encounter Tilan on a ridge high above their path. Shouting instructions up to the perplexed paladin, Memnon explains how he can return to the town. A little further down the path they find a scenic beach where Barlicc is lying in a drunken daze under a shady tree. He cheerfully greets the couple, who continue on to find a little more privacy. Back aboard the Sea Wyvern, Nather is surprised when a group of porters arrives with a large number of cases of wine - Avener Merevanchi has ordered 24 cases of what he believes is some of the best wine outside the Tashalar. It's a tight fit, and a lot of the ship's hold has to be rearranged to create room, but eventually it's all stowed.

The next two days pass quickly, with evenings including welcome hot dinners in the Grey Dolphin and the days taken up by work on the Nightshark and the loading of supplies. At dawn of the third day the colonists have reassembled on the ships, minus another four who have decided to stay in Nimbral though the expedition has gained another six Nimbrans seeking adventure. Lavinia warns her captains that this final leg of the expedition's voyage may well prove to be the most difficult. Now that the ships are leaving land far behind, they'll be entering stretches of the least explored seas in Faerūn. In the event that any member of the expedition becomes separated from the others, the ships are to make their own way to the colony at Farshore and regroup there. Though these seas are prowled by pirates of the Crimson Fleet, the vastness and emptiness of the region is in favour of the expedition's safety. Waving goodbye to the Nimbrese fishing boats that are already starting work, the expedition slide out of the narrow harbour and into the wide open stretches of the Great Sea under the watchful eye of a trio of circling pegasii. Rounding the easternmost cape of Nimbral, the three caravels pick up a westerly wind and tack to the south.

A day later the ships get a last glimpse of the Flying Hunt as they pass overhead at sunset, and the next morning the faint smudge of Nimbral has disappeared from the horizon behind the expedition. Throughout the day the wind falters and then dies completely, and the next two days are spent becalmed. The sun beats down from a cloudless sky, and tempers flare in the cramped and hot conditions. On the third day the wind rises again and the ships continue the journey. The next morning a burning red sun rises from the haze hanging on the horizon, and three ships' captains know that bad weather is on the way. Throughout the day the wind picks up and dark clouds appear, swiftly moving closer. By afternoon they blot out the sun, and an hour later a light rain is falling. Captain Memnon increases the distance between the expedition's caravels and orders the crew to secure the ship for the heavy seas that are sure to follow. Lashing himself to the ship's wheel, Memnon takes a firm stance as waves crash around him, soaking him in sea spray. The wind whips into a frenzy and tall waves toss the Sea Wyvern to and fro incessantly. Though it's a rough ride, the caravel is large enough to weather the storm well, and Captain Memnon keeps the ship's prow pointed into the waves as much as possible to smooth the ride. The storm lasts well into the night but eventually the curtains of rain lighten and blow themselves out, and gradually the heavily overcast sky lightens as dawn breaks out of sight. Though utterly exhausted from a night spent at the ship's wheel, Memnon clings to consciousness long enough to order Nather back up into the still lurching crow's nest to find the other ships. Scanning the dark grey horizon in all directions, there is no sign of either the Nightshark or the Blue Nixie.

Captain Memnon assembles his crew to plan a course of action. Once the clouds clear, Ulrimm will use sightings of the stars to plot the Sea Wyvern's location and any course correction that may be required. By evening the clouds have thinned enough that Ulrimm is able to spot a few stars, and he's able to gather enough information to calculate that the ship has ended up much further west than expected. He presents his information to a refreshed Memnon, and the ship swings further east to compensate.

Days pass, and though the weather is fine, there is still no sign of the other ships. It's become apparent that the Sea Wyvern is truly on its own, and the party can sense an undercurrent of fear that passes through the colonists. That afternoon Nather is on watch when he notices something in the water to port. He gets a momentary glimpse of something dark, serpentine, and enormous before it's gone. Calling it out to the others, they aren't able to see any sign of it. Worried, the adventurers remain on high alert for the rest of the afternoon, but no further sightings occur. As dusk falls, Nather becomes aware of something in the water below the ship - an indistinct glow that is definitely following the Sea Wyvern's course. It's far too deep to make out a shape, but it's definitely enormous. Watching it nervously for hours, eventually it grows indistinct and vanishes, and the crew breathe a sigh of relief.

The next day the ship hits another patch of becalmed ocean and two days pass without any progress. When the wind picks up again, it's clear that another storm is on the way, though Captain Memnon assures everyone that it doesn't look nearly as powerful as the last. Sure enough, it's not much more than a heavy rainfall that passes during the night.

As the grey dawn breaks the next morning, burning fitfully through the morning fog to light the sea, something seems strange about the waters below. They seem almost solid, as if the sea had formed some strange sort of skin. The air seems dead as well, and the sails hang limp, heavy with moisture from the receding fog. Finally the mist begins to clear, and what is unveiled is not the gently rolling vista of the sea but a wet green field of weed. The swath of dirty green stretches flatly in all directions. To the stern, it extends for perhaps a half mile, beyond which lie the open waters of the mocking sea. In all other directions, the weed extends to the horizon. Trapped within its vice are dozens of other long-dead ships, their hulls protruding from the sargasso at odd angles, masts askew, sails hanging in tatters. One such ship lies mired only 200 meters to port, and it seems to be in better shape than the others. Perhaps most unnerving, however, is neither the sight nor smell of so much sun-baked seaweed. It is the unnatural silence, for the thick choking green has robbed the Sea Wyvern even of the strangely comforting sound of water lapping against her hull. It is not a healthy silence - it is the silence of a graveyard.

Once the party is awakened and assembled, Memnon relates what he knows about the place. The swath of seaweed is a sargasso, a treacherous patch of vegetation often driven by storms only to collect in regions of the ocean that even the wind and currents seem to fear. A patch a mile across would be unusual - the fact that this one stretches to the horizon means only one thing. Sailors call it Journey's End and speak of it in hushed tones - rumours of a living island that appears in the mists after storms. This living land is said to have a black soul that fuels the hunger of children rumoured to live within its green embrace. Memnon orders the colonists to begin cutting back the twisting vines that have already started to grow up the sides of the Sea Wyvern while Laurrens tests the surface of the matted weed. He finds it surprisingly dense, able to support his weight though his ankles sink below the surface of the ocean.

Taark and Azaad survey the stretch of sargasso separating the caravel from the open waters beyond and decide that it's far too much to try to cut through. Nather takes Memnon aside and tells him that he's got a few magical items that might help the party - small magical tokens that can anchor the ship in place or create a strong, sustained gust of wind. It's clear that the ship is far too entangled to be blown free of the sargasso, but if the colonists are able to have enough success in cutting the ship free, it might be useful. While the colonists continue to work on the tenacious weed, the party get outfitted in their adventuring gear and Taark uses a prayer to make their feet float across the surface of water, allowing them to walk across the mats of sargasso without being slowed down.

Leaving Laurrens in charge of the effors to free the ship, the adventurers set out for the caravel mired nearby, quickly making their way across the flat green surface. The wreck is strangled with vines, almost as if immense green claws hold the ship in their grasp. In many places the sleek caravel, a ship hauntingly similar to the Sea Wyvern, has been torn apart by the vegetation's rampant growth. A tarnished brass plate near the stern gives the vessel's name - Rage. Circling the vessel, the group notes a jagged hole at the waterline on the far side where the tangled vines have gripped the wooden hull and torn it asunder. The party approaches the darkened hole lined by waving green fronds of sargasso and can dimly make out some manner of furniture inside the hold. When Memnon places a hand on the jagged rim of the tear in the ship's side to lean in for a closer look, a shudder runs through the wood as the rotted planks crumble in his grip. In turn, the boards making up the floor of the hold buckle and a desk teetering at the edge splashes into the soupy weeds. Azaad notices a tattered journal that's tumbled off the desk and landed open in the sargasso and can see that the ink on the pages is quickly starting to blur and run as it sinks into the water. Dashing forward he sweeps the book out of the water and shakes it off. At almost the same moment there is an explosion of motion as the vines lining the gaping hole ripple and then dart forth, greedily reaching at the wizard.

Azaad reflexively uses a relocation spell to put himself out of reach, opening room for Tilan to dash in and slice at the vines with his longsword. On either side of him, Taark and Memnon hack away at the slithering weeds. The party's enhanced mobility help them avoid the grasp of the reaching vines, and soon the attacking plants have all been destroyed. Examining the remnants of the root system, Memnon tells the others that he thinks it may be some kind of aquatic version of the normally land-bound assassin vine, a deadly menace of some temperate forests. Azaad scans the journal while Taark, Tilan and Memnon enter the hold of the Rage to explore further. The interior of the rotting ship is moist and almost steamy, the sodden wood squelching underfoot. Green tendrils of sargasso or some other types of weed and vine cover every surface, bursting from the gaps between planks. Whatever cargo the small hold once held is gone, the crates and barrels having been smashed into pieces. Some larger pieces of timber have been used to barricade and reinforce the trap door leading to the deck above, and nearby lies a smashed and ruined ballista.

Exiting the hold and climbing the side of the vine-covered ship, the party reach the deck and find it to be wreathed in slippery seaweed. Swaths of what appear to be a thick green mucous cover the floor, and almost everything has been smashed. Taark finds the remains of almost three dozen burnt torches and Memnon finds an upturned iron cauldron, a small amount of oil remaining inside. Scraping away some of the sargasso, he notes a large area of scorched deck underneath. On the surface of the sargasso below, Azaad calls out to the party that they'd better look at the last entries in this journal. As the adventurers trudge back to the Sea Wyvern, Azaad reads the dreadful passages aloud to the them.

Once they've reached the ship, it's clear that cutting her free is a hopeless task. The colonists are exhausted from working on the steamy surface of the sargasso, drenched in sweat from their labours under the baking midday sun. The rubbery vines resist cutting edges and quickly dull the tools being used. The party regroups to discuss the information found aboard the Rage and make a decision to set out to search for the sargasso's heart at once. While the party make preparations for a lengthy trek, Memnon takes Laurrens aside and entrusts the care of the ship and the colonists to him. He is to lead Gaerxon, Skald, Lirith, Belegard, and Ulrimm in defense of the ship while the party goes in search of whatever evil infests this hellish place.

By the time the group is ready to leave, Taark's water-walking magic has long worn off. The adventurers splash down into the spongey surface and set off in a northeastern direction, passing the wreck of the Rage. The heavy, humid air and the merciless sun quickly drench the party in sweat. The uneven, unsteady footing is disorienting, and the occasional sudden swirl of weed or brush of a strand of vine hint at movement beneath the sargasso's surface. Seemingly endless miles of flat, green wasteland are broken only by the occasional patch of sargasso-free water or creeper-strangled wreck partially sunk below the surface. Memnon carefully picks out the best path, steering the party around dangerously thin sections of the sargasso, but more than once the adventurers have to backtrack to move past rifts of open ocean driven through the ocean of tangled weed.

After several hours of travel, the party reaches an intact ship. Carefully circling the wreck at a distance, a brass plate reading Last Kiss is mostly covered by shaggy fronds at the rear. In several locations the hull has started to buckle from the unrelenting grip of the sargasso. Climbing up the thick vines to the main deck, the adventurers find it to be covered in runners and fronds, a thick green mucous everywhere. A wide entrance to the cargo hold lies just in front of the main mast, and Azaad slides down a rope into the cramped, stiflingly hot quarters. The ceiling is barely tall enough to stand upright, and the hold is full of stacked crates and barrels. The piles have collapsed in a few locations, but most appear to still be in good condition. The other party members join the mage below and start to poke around the goods when a sudden movement in the rear of the hold draws everyone's attention. Two horse-sized lobster-like creatures clamber atop stacks of barrels, knocking crates aside effortlessly. Armed with huge, oversized claws, the creatures have pale green mottled shells and blue stalked eyes weave inquisitively from side to side. Memnon recognizes them as hammerclaws, and shouts a warning to the others to watch out for the deadly sonic pulse they can create by snapping their claws.

Siezing the initiative, Nather darts forward and scrambles over several low crates to reach the first hammerclaw and ram his jambiya deep into the point where its eyestalk emerges from its head. Azaad nocks an arrow and fires it at the same beast, striking a weak point on the armored head just before it raises an oversized claw to point at the party. The pincers slam shut with blinding speed, creating a thundering snap that strikes the party with physical force. Though battered by the sonic blast, the experienced warriors shake off the stunning blow and press the attack. Memnon dodges another oversized claw to close with the second hammerclaw while Taark chants a spell to summon a warhammer of spiritual energy that strikes at the crustacean. Azaad fires another arrow at the wounded hammerclaw and it plunges directly into the creature's head at the base of the second eyestalk. With a lurch, the monster collapses. Just as Tilan reaches the second hammerclaw, it raises its claws and hits the party with a second sonic blast. Again the adventurers shrug off the stunning pulse, and Memnon delivers a deathblow to the monster by plunging his doru deep into its head.

Continuing the search of the crowded hold, the party find many crates of rusty weapons and other spoiled supplies. Nather cracks one box open to find soggy sawdust, but buried inside are rows upon rows of flawless ivory tusks. He excitedly breaks open several others and finds a total of three boxes full of ivory, which he calculates are worth more than five thousand gold coins in total. Unfortunately, the waterlogged crates weigh far too much to move across the swampy sargasso. Realizing that the ivory will sink with the ship if the sargasso looses its hold, the party sets about rigging the crates to float. Moving the boxes to the deck above, the party uses rotting pieces of canvas to attach hollow barrels and other floats while Nather climbs the precariously sagging mast to view the path ahead. He spots several brown mounds in the distance that look almost like hills, and beyond that a dark green line on the horizon that almost looks like a forest. The wrecks of several more stranded ships dot the sargasso beyond the hills. Unable to delay their journey any longer, the adventurers climb down the clinging vines to the sargasso's surface to continue their journey.

After another hour of walking the party passes mounds of kelp heaped into brown, rotting hills. Ahead lies an open sargasso plain with a half-submerged ship in the center, beyond which sprout fronds that quickly rise into a towering, gently waving forest of sargasso. Behind the party, the sun is swelling and turning orange as it nears the horizon. Memnon suggests that the party head to the wreckage and prepare defenses in case of trouble during the night. As the group slogs across the open sargasso field, a spray of water showers the adventurers as a vile creature resembling a large insect or monstrous crustacean rises out of the murk, its pincerlike claws snapping madly. A thick coat of green mucous glistens over its translucent carapace and drips from the dozen or more tentacles dangling from its mouth. The monster lunges at Tilan and Memnon, snatching each into one of its large pincers.

Taark and Nather wade across the marshy battlefield to attack - the creature's translucent carapace isn't too thick. Though an odd deflecting force seems to affect their attacks, the duo inflict serious wounds. The pincer holding Memnon transfers the struggling warrior into the thick mass of agitated tentacles below its mouth, where he resists a paralyzing poison that coats the tentacles. With one pincer now free, the monster is able to snatch Nather as well. Azaad fires a blast of magical missiles, but the bolts of energy dissipate as they approach the deflecting field surrounding the creature.

The giant crustacean is now badly wounded by Taark's continuing onslaught, and prepares to return with its three captives into the hole in the sargasso from which it burst. Noticing this alarming development, Azaad uses a quick magic spell to transpose himself with Tilan in the creature's grasp, then uses another spell to pop himself out of the pincer and safely onto the surface of the sargasso just outside it's reach. Meanwhile, Nather has been struggling mightily to wriggle free of the pincer holding him - distracted by Azaad's moves, the monster relaxes its grip on Nather just enough for him to tear free of the claw. Still held in the paralytic tentacles of the creature's mouth, Memnon has a harder time tearing loose. Just as it is sinking into the sargasso, Memnon twists free of the tentacles. Memnon, Nather, and Taark all land killing blows on the monster just as the murky waters close over it.

After some healing magic from Taark, the party continue on through the late afternoon sunglight to the half-submerged ship ahead. It's a sleek pinnace named Forest Dawn and has obviously been stranded in the sargasso for decades. The ship has sunk into the sargasso so that the waterline is just below the level of the main deck, which is covered in ropey weeds and sheets of green mucous. The deck in front of the sagging mast has a circular area free of vines or mucous, and closer inspection reveals a circular trail of iron filings ringing the area. Azaad says that it's some sort of anti-plant zone, but it's clear that the rotting wood of the deck won't support the combined weight of the party within such a small area.

With the daylight now fading, a light mist begins to rise from the surface of the grey-green land. Judging the distance to the closest shipwreck, Memnon thinks the party can just make it before the sun sets. Setting out at as rapid a pace as they can manage, the party slogs across the open sargasso toward what they hope will be a safe location to spend the night. As the mist rises around them, each of the adventurers begin to notice movement out of the corners of their eyes. Indistinct shapes stir in the foggy distance, rising from the weeds. Movements under the darkening surface of the water cause ripples and currents, and slick vines slither around ankles causing the heroes to splash toward the ship even faster. An husky whispering sound begins to arise, now audible over the splashes of the hurrying adventurers. The group reach the wreckage of the small ship just as the last rays of the rapidly dying sunlight illuminate a tarnished nameplate on its bow - "Sun Haven". Quickly climbing aboard, a cursory inspection reveals that the first and second decks are cloaked with vines and mucous, but otherwise clear of seawater.

Azaad's inventory of the party's supplies turns up six torches and two flasks of lamp oil. After lighting the lantern and first torch, bulky humanoid shapes can be seen shambling at the limits of the flickering light. The whispering sounds continue to increase in volume, almost seeming like language at times, and Tilan thinks he can make out the word 'Outsiders.' Memnon lights two more torches to increase the available light while Nather and Azaad break apart a few remaining barrels and crates in the hold to create kindling for a fire. The sodden wood is too wet to take a spark, and Taark uses one of the remaining vials of lamp oil to get a fire going. By piling more sodden wood next to the small, sputtering flames, it dries out enough to be added to the fire. Although the dark shapes on the sargasso don't approach any closer, their whispering grows more distinct and everyone on the ship can now hear a repetitive chorus of 'Outsidersssss....Outsiderssssss...'

Azaad realizes that he needs to sleep and recover his energy in order to be able to use magic the next day, so he lays out his bedroll in the center of the deck next to the fire and attempts to take a nap. Though it's difficult to relax in the current situation, his considerable powers of concentration help him achieve a trance-like peace of mind and he drifts off to sleep. With the lurking shapes keeping their distance from the ship, Taark and Nather keep watch while Memnon and Nather join Azaad next to the fire, though they don't remove their armor. The torches eventually burn low and the pair are left with only the light from the campfire and the lantern. Taark's sight reaches further than Nather's in the dim light, and he can see the menacing humanoid shapes cautiously edging ever closer. Just as he is considering waking the others, Nather shouts a warning when he spies several long vines reaching through the fog to strike.

Nather's yelling wakes the other three, who hastily grab their weapons and spring to their feet. Six shambling humanoid figures composed of twisted strands of seaweed pull themselves over the ship's railings - some of them still bear tattered pieces of clothing or equipment. The vines waving over their heads strike downward rapidly, seeking to wrap around arms or legs. A short but vicious battle ensues, and the party quickly learns that destroying one of the sargasso creatures also causes one of the animated vines to drop to the deck, lifeless. Magic spells from Taark and Azaad help beat back the assault, though the two are almost out of spells by the end. The whispering continues unabated, and Taark can see that dozens more horrors lurk outside of the vision of his human companions. Azaad returns to his bedroll, though Memnon and Nather decide it's more important for them to remain alert with the others. Tilan and Taark volunteer to use their magic to refresh the party the next morning if all remain on watch throughout the night, though Azaad still requires his rest in order to be able to use magic the next day.

The group lights another torch, and the increased light seems to keep the menacing horde at bay. When it burns low, the final torch is lit to keep the radius of illumination going though the thickening banks of fog limit its effectiveness. Taark heads below decks to create some makeshift torches with scraps of fabric and the last flask of lamp oil, and the others nervously watch the last proper torch burn slowly down. Taark returns with the new torches he's created, but they give off a feeble, flickering light. The menacing shadows edge nearer and nearer, and the adventurers spread out across the ship to keep them at bay.

Memnon and Tilan have just reached the ship's aftcastle when a group of dripping humanoids composed of sargasso vault over the railings to surround them, followed by twisting vines that grasp at the warriors. Taking up a defensive position, the two focus their attacks on one foe at a time and try to fight their way free. Behind them, another group of sargasso horrors covered in long thorns dripping a vile, black liquid clamber over the ship's side to attack Taark and Nather. Azaad wakes up almost immediately, but he and Nather quickly find themselves surrounded at the ship's front. Taark is confronted by more opponents midship, and the adventurers fight desperately to reach each other in order to establish a defensive perimeter. Nather and Azaad are wounded badly, but they manage to escape being encircled. Tilan and Memnon are slowly driven back, while Taark fights to reach Nather and Azaad in order to defend them. Nather's jambiyas flash in the flickering light of the dying campfire as he strives to protect Azaad. Behind him, the party's mage is forced to draw the scroll of battle magic he'd been hoping to scribe into his spellbook and casts a spell from it to enhance the speed of the group's warriors.

Magically quickened reflexes help the adventurers to drive back the surrounding vine horrors, and less than a minute later the decks are clear and the remaining foes have disappeared into the night's fog. Taark sets about healing his badly wounded comrades, and the decision is made to retreat below decks to a more defensible position.