Adrift in the Void Sea

A Homebrew Campaign

The Void Sea - 2239 AA

A kaleidoscope of color fills your eyes - reds, blues, yellows, purples, and colors you've never seen before - as you feel yourself drifting. Further and further into the colors do you sink. You feel warm. At peace.

But your dreams are cut short by a cold, frigid crash of water. You've washed up on a rocky beach. As you blink the sand out of your eyes, you try to piece together what happened - The Star of the North... on fire. There was a huge crash, an earth-shattering BOOM of noise as lightning struck the ship... then a soft, blue light. Then everything went black. How long were you unconscious? You try to think, but you feel the Void dragging you down. It fills your very soul - a cold, icy hand gripping at your heart.

You're on an island in the Void Sea, that much is clear. All the colors are muted here, as if the Void has sucked the very life out of every atom. This is the part of the world where everything goes to die - where the shattered ruins of long-dead civilizations litter the landscape.

As you pull yourself to your feet, sand covering your drenched body, you gaze at the surroundings. There's not much to see - a heavy fog has set in, and you can't see much more than 50 feet ahead of you. It's dark - is it nighttime? In a place as lifeless as the Void Sea, it's hard to say. The wreckage of The Star of the North lies scattered around you, and it seems the five of you were the only survivors. But a light gleams out of the darkness ahead of you, away from the beach. Its warm, orange glow beckons you forward.

((OOC: Welcome everyone! Feel free to introduce yourselves.))

With a groan, Drogomar rolls over and works to sit upright.  Frowning he notes his staff and his 'hat' are not where they should be - in hand and on head - respectively.  Working to his feet, Drogomar picks a stone from underfoot and whispers to it, casting Light .

"Let us see what may be seen... ," he mutters as he slowly turns in place; the light from the stone held high illuminating the beach.  "Bodies.  One may hope they are alive and not food for some beasts in the area.  Wreckage.  I will be very unhappy if my staff and hat are not part of what is washing onto shore."  With a huff, the small, grey skinned gnome starts toward the closest body to check for signs of life... and, more importantly,  to find his staff and hat!

Returning to consciousness, Amory Lavenza spits up seawater. "What a pleasant dream," she mumbles as she becomes aware of her unpleasant reality. Soaked to the bone and shivering, the young, human woman crawls farther onto shore. When clear of the surf, she casts a spell to dry her clothes—her pale skin and black hair remain damp. She checks her jacket pocket for her reading glasses and magic wand, her only irreplaceable possessions.

Still processing her current situation, Amory notices two sources of light. The nearer seems to be coming from a gnome, one she recognizes from the ship. She approaches Drogomar to assist him in searching for survivors of The Star of the North, and to benefit from his Light spell. "Hello, Mr. . . .," still groggy, she fails to recall Drogomar's name, if she ever knew it. "I am glad to see a familiar face. Do you need any help? That alluring light up ahead, do you suppose it is from other castaways?" she asks her questions as she drags a body out of the water.

Zerel awakens face-up on the beach. He thrashes for a moment, not knowing what's going on, before eventually heaving himself upright and running his hands over his body to see if he's alright. He then begins desperately trying to scrape as much sand off him as possible. It's not enough, his fine clothes are filthy and his hair's crusted with sea-salt.

"Damnation!"

Zerel feels for his belongings and luckily he still has whatever he had on him when the ship wrecked. He draws his Moon-Touched Rapier, the gentle glow of the blade providing him much-needed light.

Seeing other light sources Zerel approaches them to see a human and gnome. He recalls they were fellow passengers on The Star of the North.

"What happened? Are there any other survivors?"

As the three of you scan your surroundings, you notice assorted pieces of wreckage - wood from The Star of the North 's paneling, a few pieces of metal cutlery, even a pair of drapes from the ship's stateroom coiled around a support beam - but aside from the Earth Genasi and halfling that Amory dragged out of the water, you can't seem to find any other bodies on this part of the beach. These two bodies, upon closer inspection, are alive: they have a pulse and are breathing, if but raggedly. They continue to slumber, perhaps still drifting through their dreams.

Zerel, while you are encrusted with sand and still dripping with seawater, you do find yourself free of injuries.

Make a Perception check, Drogomar, as you search for your staff and hat.

Cobalt slowly got up, his saphire-colored eyes scanning the empty void of the sky for a few seconds, before slowly rising back to his feet. The sand on his body did not bother him the slighest . . . instead, the discoloration . . . he was used to pure-white landscapes. but this  . . . this sent shivers down his spine. Even the white of the snowy lands spoke of nature and life; this grey only spoke of death and decay.

He took a moment to search and retrieve his belongings, wielding his wooden shield and staff, before finally analysing his surroundings.

Upon noticing two- no, three sources of light, he first decided to follow the two that were closed together, meeting the three lost travelers- alongside himself. 

"Excuse me?" The genasi asked, pointing at the fallen ship, "I believe our ship fell. Is this a normal ocurrence?" Truth be told, The genasi spent most time on his foot, he never used contraptions like ships. The most experience he had with 'vechicles' was when he mounted an artic wolf (or that one time he turned into a squirrel and rode an albatross . . . that was fun.)

Drogomar Passive Perception: 10      {game log} Perception: 4     

A yell of "BOLLOCKS" echoes down the shoreline as Drogomar fails to see his staff or hat.

With a dismissive wave of his hand, each 'castaway' finds themself 'suddenly' clean.  Prestidigitation   

"I swear to the Gods Above and Below, if my hat goes missing..."  Further muttering escapes the diminutive form as he stomps down the beach.

"What?  Of course it is not normal!  Ships fly... or float, as per their nature.  Crashing is against their nature.  It is simple cosmology!" Drogomar gives you a side eyed stare before shaking his head, "Better you should be asking, 'Why does the wood still burn while floating in water?  That can keep a room of thinkers speaking in circles for hours upon hours."

Cobalt jumps in surprise at the gnome's sudden shout. 

"Oh- You're the one with the mushroom hat?" He questions. The Genasi did remember someone with a funny hat in the ship he was in. "Do you require assistance? I can help you search for your hat . . . although it may have fallen deeper into this place . . . maybe towards that light in the distance?"

"Ah, well, i didn't know that. I've never seen a ship before, too." Cobalt stated, tilting his head as he started at the debris around him. "Is everyone okay?"

An explosive sneeze cuts Cobalt's question short. Auburn hair matted with salt, the halfling sits up with a start and vigorously starts rubbing his chilled arms and legs, circulating a few pints of chilled blood with a groan as he coughs and prepares for another involuntary detonation.

"My ap-ASHOO! Burrs and stars, where are we?" Inquisitive blue eyes take in the wan figures of those around him, assessing the wreckage and furrowing his brow a bit as he recognizes The Star of the North. "Shame, that - a good ship and crew it was"  He mutters.

Nimbly shifting to large, booted feet, he stands, shifting his overcoat and checking his various pockets, scabbards and belongings, especially a small locket on a metal chain kept near his heart. Satisfied, he shuffles over to the others, wet boots squeaking against the sandy shore.

"I fear it's just us who washed up here, then? We all seem sound enough, for the moment. Fortunate, that - we'd have been surely killed in the wreckage without some luck."

Zerel feels instant relief as his body and clothes are suddenly free of water, salt, and sand. The other survivors seem to be reacting to their situation in their own ways.

Relaxing from his dueling stance, he keeps his rapier drawn since it's currently his only light source.

"Unless any other survivors show up our next move should be figuring out where we are and finding shelter and supplies."

"We are indeed lucky to be alive," Amory says. She picks up a few pieces of cutlery. If she can untangle the drapes, she takes those too, rolling them up and tucking them under one arm. "Sticking together is a good idea. I think we should check out that other light, once we are all ready to go. It could be more survivors, or perhaps local inhabitants, or even rescuers. Maybe we washed up next to a luxury resort. That would be nice."

Cobalt hums, looking at everyone. The feeling of his body suddenly becoming clean was . . . weird, but he didn't comment anything.

"If you are hungry, i have means of getting food. Hopefully this place has something for shelter; wood and hay are the best components for a starting shelter." He turns towards the far light, "And i agree. We won't accomplish anything standing there . . . well, except being hungry and thirsty. We don't even know if this place has predators!"

With a grunt of assent at Cobalt's comment about predators, the halfling starts to pick his way up the beach, towards the distant light. He turns to Zerel as he does. 

"Let's have you with me, friend - that overgrown needle sure comes in handy. The name's Osmund, by the way - I'd sooner know your names if we're stuck together. Let's make introductions as we head up somewhere a little warmer than the shore."

Oz takes the lead (for now) and tries to keep a low profile on unfamiliar ground, though without a light of his own and rather short of step (being of a shorter and brawnier build for halflings), the others could easily catch up.

Amory tucks the drapes under her arm. They're bright yellow, with black stars forming a repeating pattern. Even now, the Void is sucking the color out of them... you can almost see the drapes' hue evaporating before your eyes. The cutlery, meanwhile, is silver, with ornate patterns carved on to their handles. You remember eating with similar utensils on The Star of the North... now, the surface of the silver is tarnished from its exposure to saltwater.

Oz takes the lead, leading you all towards the light. The fog proves useful, allowing you to keep a low profile, and save the five of you and some sparse shrubbery, there's no living being in sight of your motley party. Zerel's blade illuminates the path forward, preventing several falls as you scale some slippery slopes.

You walk for perhaps five minutes, ten, fifteen... it's hard to say. The beach gives way to a grassy clearing, which then gives way to a sparse forest. The fog remains thick, but before too long you reach the source of the light... a cabin.

The cabin's roof sags and ivy covers the entire north wall, but it nonetheless looks inviting. The warm, orange glow emanates through its windows. Its deep glow stands in stark contrast to the muted colors surrounding you. How could one light be so powerful?

And then, the fog lifts. Looking overhead, you can see the night sky, jeweled with stars. But the stars feel so far away - as if they're trying to reach you, but the Void just won't let them. With the fog cleared, you're now able to better make out your surroundings. You are standing in a forest of pine trees that seems to go on forever. The trees appear ancient, with sparse shrubbery forming the undergrowth of the forest. And, through the trees, you're able to make out a mountain to the north of you, perhaps only two or three miles away. Its jagged peak stretches far up into the clouds.

BOOM! Thunder crashes overhead, signaling a lightning strike nearby. It begins to rain, a heavy and violent downpour that threatens to resoak your freshly dried clothing. The forest is alive with the pitter patter of the rain, and underneath your boots you feel the soil start to turn into mud.

".... THIS.... this is why I need my hat!"

Drogomar fumed as the motley group staggered out of the fog and wood into a clearing of sorts just as the skies broke open and let loose a deluge.    "Blasted storm," he redirected his anger to the skies above as visibility quickly slid toward zero.  "Friend or foe -- we need to get out of this storm before we drown on dry land."

Cobalt followed Oz's lead until they reached the cabin. Upon feeling the rain on his face, he turned to Drogomar, taking out his own shield and putting it above Drog to serve as a makeshift umbrella. "If you wish, you can use my shield for a while!"

"We should take shelter on that cabin . . . someone must be inside, with that light." The genasi spoke, walking towards the cabin and knocking on the door, "Hello? Someone Home?"

 Zerel sees no reason to stand around discussing things. Within a few seconds of the storm starting he's pushing open the cabin door and striding inside. Once he's no longer in the downpour he turns back to the rest of the group.

"We can discuss our options out of the rain!"

Cobalt blinks at Zerel, standing still for a few seconds before shrugging, entering inside. However, not before shaking his entire body to get rid of the rain, just like how a dog would do.

"I am Amory Lavenza," Amory introduces herself as she walks. She makes a point to look at each of the other four as she speaks.

"Isn't it strange how warm and bright that light is when everything else here is so unnaturally dull?" Amory says when they near the cabin. To investigate it, she casts Detect Magic, warning her companions if she senses anything. Unfortunately, by the time she casts her spell some of them are already inside. She follows them into the cabin.

Upon the casting of her spell, Amory senses an aura of incredibly powerful magic - ancient in its nature - as she approaches the cabin. Most notably, the magic belongs to the School of Conjuration. Through the spell, Amory is able to see vibrant, colored sparks emanating from somewhere inside - the colors are multihued and like nothing she's ever seen before. The sparks decay into muted tones as they travel away from the cabin.

Cobalt's fist raps on the door. There is a silence, for just a moment... and then door swings open with a BANG! All five of you are immediately met with a gust of warm air. You feel the cold, dark embrace of the Void lift, and in its place is a sweet, flowery sensation that permeates your very being.

Inside of the cabin is a single room - filling it are assorted bookshelves overflowing with dusty tomes, a study with parchment and quills scattered haphazardly, a small table where a half-eaten tart lies, and an awkwardly placed well at the center of the room. At the end of the room, beside a roaring fire, sits an elderly, robed man, who in his hands holds a glowing, orange orb. The source of the light, perhaps?

Looking up from a dusty tome labeled The Ballad of Theren Meliamne, the man looks you up and down, and when Zerel barges through the door, the man erupts into laughter. "Come in, come in, and warm yourselves! It's quite the storm out there, and there's plenty of warmth to be had inside!" he booms, before setting both the book and the orb on a table. He stands up from his chair and strides over, and with a snap of his fingers, conjures a feast - a heaping assortment of meats, cakes, cheeses, breads, and ales - as well as several spacious chairs. The small table extends as well, to such a size that it now fills an entire corner of the room. Then, after watching the Earth Genasi shake his body, the man tosses a freshly conjured blanket to Cobalt, saying, "You! Sit by the fire before you feast. I can't have any of my guests catching a snow sickness!"

The man then walks over to a chest, and from inside, pulls out Drogomar's hat and staff. "I believe these are yours," says the man with a chuckle as he walks over to the deep gnome and kneels in front of him, "take better care of these from now on, won't you?"

Now directing his words to all five of you, the man continues: "I'm sure the lot of you have plenty of questions. And so do I! It's not often that I get unexpected visitors in this corner of the world. But first, eat!" And with that, the man plops himself on a chair and begins to devour a spongecake.