Guided by the Stars

Our new destination was set. We steered away from Bellatrix and instead took Sirius as our second bearing. We had been sailing barely for half a day, when from up in the crow’s nest came a shout. I did not catch what had been spotted, but before long it became clear that a lone ship was approaching us from the direction that we had just abandoned.

As it came closer, they signalled that they required help.

Boats were lowered into the water before long and when they returned it became clear that the ship was the last survivor of a fleet that had been caught in the crimson storm that had passed earlier, much closer to its epicenter. Their ship, the Ikaros, had been scorched in places, I presume by the lightning we had seen. How they had survived that I do not know, but the ship was lapped up enough by the end of the day to join our fleet, as they were also searching for a new home.

Days had passed and once again a call came from the crow’s nest. Land had been spotted! As messages were relayed between the ships, it became clear that not all were too happy by the sight of island. The captain and crew of the Ikaros that had just joined us recognised the island as Fulguros: the island they were approaching when the crimson storm had exploded from the dark column in the sky.

Voices muttered among the weary crew. Had the captain navigator tricked us all and set sail for our original destination after all? The captains seemed to be able to suppress the growing dissatisfaction.

The island seemed little more than a stretched out sandbar as we approached it. At its northern tip we could discern what seemed to be trees, and it was decided to have to crew set foot on the island to find supplies and see whether it was more useful than it seemed initially. Eager to stretch my legs I volunteered to be among those sent to investigate.

The trees all seemed to be burned, crushing our hopes to find anything of use. Curiosity sent us onward, however, as we observed a crater among the trees. In it we saw a glimpse of a stele of unearthly pulsating stone. It felt like it was observing us as well. Looking back I ask myself why we did not turn away and abandon this place, but we were somehow pulled towards it. The stele stood embedded at the centre of a vitrified crater and as we entered the crater we could all hear a voice in our heads:

Death escaped
Never outrun

The Drowned Queen
Suffers not
Thieves of Death

Barter found
In your blood:
Salvation!

In the lives
Of comrades
Of their blood

Give me half
And I shall
Grant a wish

The Drowned Queen
Suffers not
Thieves of death

Death escaped
Never outrun.

The stone stopped pulsating then and we were struck with a stillness around us as terrifying as the voice had been. Before we knew it, we were back at our boats and rowed them to the ships.

Upon arrival it became apparent that all in the fleet had heard the voice, as if they had been on the island with us. Interestingly, no panic broke out, although I may have preferred it to the stillness that remained.

The captains made known that they would convene in the morning and let us know then where we would sail next.

I write this as I have barricaded myself and a few others in the hold of our ship.

During the night mutiny broke out. It cannot be denied that we have found much misfortune in our flight from our homeland. Many now say that we are cursed and that the key to our salvation lies in The Message.

The captain of the Ikaros has decided to take the Devil’s deal. They seem to have convinced some of the other captains and killed the rest. I saw as the captain navigator was dragged from his cabin. I saw as they slit his throat and threw his dying body overboard.

It was Gabrielos who awoke me from the grisly enchantment and dragged me along. Together with a few others we hid ourselves in this corner of the hold. I believe I saw the lifeless body of my dear friend Martinos on the deck. Oh Gods, how many have perished…

They have found us. They are hacking away at the door. Our barricade will not hold and this will be my last entry.

Curse them.

Thus came to end the travels of the unnamed scribe in the ill-fated fleet of captain navigator Linos.

I hadn’t found the time or peace of mind recently to sit down and play out the last part of this adventure. I had already some previous notes, but needed to write those up.

So how does the game work? Basically you draw a hex map at the beginning of the game and each round you pick a hex to travel to. You use a deck of cards to see what journey prompt comes up and then check the star chart to see which island you discovered. With each discovery it is possible you accumulate exhaustion and once you have 8 or more, the crew will refuse to continue. You are free to stop before then, of course.

With the story developed as it did above, I felt that it came to a natural end, even though I was only at 7 exhaustion.

I may follow up with one more update. Apparently there is an Epic phase after having finished the journey. It may be that it very much agrees with what I’ve written in my previous updates, but I will have to check!