The gang comes to blows with a damned crew of ghost pirates but are saved and led across the Dernam sea by a magical Sea Pony Pixie. But they are being pursued by a much greater enemy.
You're carefully hidden in the cargo hold as stowaways on a mysterious trading vessel. You don't want to make your presence known, but after the past few days at sea, you become hungry and thirsty, and you feel the need to seek out food and water. You won't find it in the cargo hold, as it strangely enough has no food or rations that would be otherwise necessary for a crew.
A large double door in the cargo hold is the only exit, but crates surround you.
*Sprinkles peers through the crack of the doors. She sees wooden planks.
*She opens the door. She sees wooden planks.
The group follows her into the long wooden hallway. You see way down the hall to the left is a door as well as a ladder leading up.
*Sprinkles goes to the end of the hallway and peers through the keyhole of the door. She can't see anything as its too dark.
*Magelight goes up the ladder. She sees a group of Ghost Pirates and they haven't noticed you yet. They're lounging on tables and chairs, they seem to be playing cards.
*Sir Awesome uses her wings to fly up the ladder quietly and watches the ghost pirates with Magelight cautiously. She then attempts to sneak past them. But her armor is too loud, and clangs metallically with every step. The Ghost Pirates look over at her and immediately draw their weapons and demand to know how she got on the ship.
*Sir Awesome draws her magical sword and slashes at one of the ghost pirates. Her magical blade cleaves magically through his non-existent flesh, dealing a boosted 12 damage. He disintegrates into blue dust.
Alarmed and infuriated, the pirates call out for their captain, who arrives post haste. A black ghostly skeleton in a very regal looking pirate captains regalia and large hat with a charred feather steps onto the deck, and glares over at you from the doorway. He demands to know who you are and why he shouldn't kill you.
*Everyone else steps on deck to defend their friend. The captain laughs evilly as he draws a pistol and prepares to fire directly at Sir Awesome.
Suddenly the pistol is knocked from his hand by a mysterious arm of water, that then pulls the captain into the ocean, before knocking every other ghost pirate off the deck of the ship. Saving your lives.
You hear a sweet and kind voice call out from the waves below. It asks if you are alright.
*Sprinkles goes over to see their savior is a beautiful and kind Sea Pony mare who waves at her merrily from the waves she floats on. She is Savvy (Skystar), the magical sea pony pixie who saw you were in trouble and stopped to help you using her power over the oceans waters. Sprinkles waves back and invites her to come aboard.
*Savvy smiles happily as she wreathes herself in a magical aura and floats out of the ocean and swims through the air to the deck of the ship where she meets and greets everyone.
After befriending Savvy, you tell her of your journey to stop The Heralds Of The Manticore. She understands the gravity if the situation and offers to help you cross the Dernam Sea safety. You accept and She joins your group happily.
Suddenly, you all hear strange noises surfacing from the waves around the ship. Looking over the bow, you see shark fins speeding through the water, towards the ship, as well as blue and white figures on the side of it, scaling it with webbed fingers. You see they are Shark People, and cannot be reasoned with. Four of them make it onto the deck, and are armed with long jagged spears. They are large muscular sharklike humanoids with red eyes, sharp teeth and find coming out from the bald heads. They ready themselves to attack.
*Sir Awesome takes her magic sword and attacks one of the shark people. She slashes a large gaping wound in its stomach, dealing 11 damage.
*Savvy summons a large tendril of water which shapes itself into a large water spear and sends it hurtling towards one of the shark people. It cuts through the air and Impales him through the head, dealing 13 damage. He falls dead to the floor.
*Sprinkles takes her lute which is now a sword and leaps up as she cleaves one of the shark people in the jugular, dealing 14 damage.
All of a sudden you feel a massive force knock against the side of your ship, through the crackling of wood and splintering of timbers. You failed to notice another vessel in the storm, a black metal craft that has crashed into the port side of the ship. And standing upon the dark vessel is a familiar armored figure. The remaining shark people scatter and flee into the water. The figure taunts you as he holds in his fist the Earth Star which now glows blood red with jagged black spikes over its surface. Electricity plunges from the night sky into the sea, and out of the Dephs rises a blue sea monster. Its the second of the Arcane Horrors. It ascends skyward into the clouds and storm, before plummeting from the sky like a whispy blue bomb, and landing on the ship. It glares at you as it roars violently.
*Strudel goes into a Barbarian Rage doubling her strength and damage. She takes her axe and charges at it, but it bounces harmlessly off its magical hide.
*Magelight raises her staff and casts a spell with envelopes it as a glowing sword. She slashes at one of its legs, and it spills white Ichor onto the deck which burns a hole through it as it takes 12 damage.
*Savvy waves her fins as she conjures a large guillotine blade out of water, which falls through the air and cleaves into the Horror's back, dealing 14 damage. It bleeds more white Ichor.
The horror reels back in pain as it begins spewing water from its mouth all around the deck of the ship. A blast of water hurdles towards Savvy.
*Savvy uses her powers to stop the water blast in midair, then turns it into a massive jagged rotating blade of water, which she then sends spinning right into the horror's soft underbelly. Its a critical hit! Dealing 19 damage. As it falls to the floor it erupts into a pile of whispy black smoke, which dissolves into nothing.
The Armored Figure is enraged. He says he's through playing around. He takes The Earth Star and raises it high above his head, as ribbons of dark energy crackle in wide arcs from it, they begin to tangle your group, binding everyone in Unbreakable magical chains. The figure leaps onto the deck of your ship, laughing manically. He says your coming with him. That you're going on a little trip.
You are all escorted onto Vorthian's ship and into the prison hold. However unbeknownst to your captors, Savvy uses her powers to turn into water and escapes her chains. She tells you she will follow the ship from the water and rescue you when she gets the chance. And not to lose hope.
But where are they going? Find out next time on Friendship Quest!