Dates: April 27, 1690 - April 28, 1690
Setting(s):

• Circe’s Labyrinth
• Night Wind (at sea)

The party navigated the deadly corridors of Circe’s labyrinth in a desperate race to retrieve Poseidon’s Eye while evading the cursed Minotaur guardian that hunted them relentlessly through the stone passages. Dividing into coordinated teams—“Team Cobra” (Sabine, Gestra, and David) for stealthy reconnaissance and a center group led by Alethea using Detect Magic—they systematically located all four obelisk keys hidden throughout the maze, with Alethea and Corliss each sacrificing their blood to unlock the ancient mechanisms and suffering levels of exhaustion in exchange. Chester’s tactical use of Grease spells repeatedly sent the Minotaur sliding across the cobblestones while Scarlette deployed powerful darkness magic and spirit summons to delay the beast, buying precious moments for the teams to converge at the vault. When all four keys were placed into their rune-matched slots, the massive statue opened to reveal Poseidon’s Eye, which Gestra successfully seized with a natural 20 Constitution save—causing the Minotaur to vanish instantly into smoke. The triumph was short-lived as Poseidon and Circe manifested in the chamber, but when the god reached for his Eye, Scarlette intercepted it and, channeling her petro lwa Marie Duclair with blood tears streaming and white eyes blazing, held her personal athame against the artifact and forced Poseidon to break Corliss’s unwanted warlock pact—a severance that tore through Corliss with worse agony than death itself, earning Poseidon’s eternal enmity before Circe’s divine authority ended the confrontation.

The party was teleported to the beach where the Night Wind waited, and as they sailed away from Circe’s island, six crew members who had been cursed into swine were mysteriously restored and five massive treasure chests appeared on deck containing 5,000 gold per person, spell scrolls, potions, and ancient relics. Scarlette formally revealed her true identity as “Scarlette Jane, Red Jane, the Blood Pirate”—the most feared and wanted pirate in the Caribbean with bounties rivaling kings—admitting she had hired bodies expecting none to survive but they proved her wrong, then offered them the choice to stay or depart at Cyprus while distributing bottles of rare whiskey for celebration. The night devolved into drunken chaos: Ceiran consumed over a bottle and became poisoned for 24 hours after getting tangled upside-down in the rigging, Chester was tied to the mast after repeatedly trying to discharge cannons while rambling about magic cannons, Gestra blacked out sleeping across Ceiran like “a living ballast,” while Corliss and David shared quiet reflections on faith and David healed Scarlette despite not liking her, and Sabine brooded in the crow’s nest with anger at being sent on a divine mission without full disclosure. The following morning brought brutal hangovers, sobering work aboard ship, and the sobering reality that they had made an enemy of a god, lost and gained divine connections, and must now decide whether to continue sailing with the Blood Pirate toward whatever horizon awaits at Cyprus.

** NPCs Featured:**

• Poseidon: The sea god transformed into his full divine form upon receiving his stolen eye, then attempted to kill Corliss in retaliation after Scarlette forced him to break their warlock pact, becoming a permanent enemy of the crew.

• Circe: The goddess manifested in her temple after Poseidon’s Eye was retrieved, applauded the party for being the first mortals to complete her labyrinth in 500 years, then revealed her full divine power to stop Poseidon from murdering Corliss and asserted absolute authority over her domain.

• The Minotaur: The cursed guardian of Circe’s labyrinth hunted the party relentlessly through the stone corridors, critically wounded Scarlette with his axe during the final confrontation, then vanished instantly into smoke when Gestra successfully retrieved Poseidon’s Eye from the vault.

• Marie Duclair: Scarlette’s petro lwa (voodoo deity of vengeance and blood) manifested through her when Poseidon attempted to kill Corliss, speaking in two voices with white eyes and blood tears, with power sufficient to intercept and block a god’s trident strike.

• Scarlette Jane: The captain led the party through the labyrinth using darkness magic and spirit summons to delay the Minotaur, forced Poseidon to break Corliss’s pact by threatening the Eye, distributed treasure and rare whiskey, and offered the crew transparency and choice about remaining with her.

• Six Restored Crew Members: The sailors who had been cursed into swine during the first expedition mysteriously reappeared on the Night Wind approximately 20 minutes after leaving Circe’s island, dazed and confused with no memory of their transformation, bringing the crew count back to nine survivors.

• Grimsby (Chester’s Familiar): Chester’s familiar acted as an enabler during the celebration, flying around “like a cherub” delivering drinks to the drunk party members throughout the night.

Major Story Developments:

• Poseidon’s Eye Retrieved and Delivered: The party successfully navigated Circe’s labyrinth, collected all four obelisk keys, unlocked the vault, and retrieved Poseidon’s Eye, delivering it to the god and restoring his full divine power and appearance, completing the primary objective that brought them to Circe’s island.

• Corliss’s Warlock Pact Forcibly Severed: Scarlette forced Poseidon to break his pact with Corliss by threatening to destroy the newly restored Eye with her athame, freeing Corliss from an unwanted bargain made while drowning but stripping him of all warlock powers in the most painful experience of his existence.

• Poseidon Becomes a Personal Enemy: By forcing the pact-breaking and threatening his Eye, Scarlette earned Poseidon’s eternal enmity; the god attempted to murder Corliss in retaliation and was only stopped by Scarlette channeling Marie Duclair and Circe’s divine intervention, creating a dangerous ongoing antagonist for the campaign.

• Marie Duclair Revealed as Scarlette’s Patron: Scarlette revealed her practice of voodoo and publicly manifested her petro lwa Marie Duclair—a deity of vengeance and blood—with power sufficient to intercept and block a god’s attack, establishing the supernatural source of her abilities and the depth of her spiritual connections.

Scene by Scene Breakdown

1. Regrouping in the Labyrinth

The party regains its bearings after narrowly evading the Minotaur using Grease, familiars, and quick coordination; they’ve identified the obelisk lock room for Poseidon’s Eye and know there are two obelisks left to find, with the group split into “Team Cobra” (the sneaky trio) and the clustered center group near Scarlette and Corliss. The labyrinth corridors still echo faintly with the Minotaur’s movement as everyone returns to initiative order. Team Cobra advances, stealthy and cautious: Gestra rolls 24, David 27, and Sabine 36, their footfalls vanishing into the dust of the stone halls as they probe new branches and avoid revisiting dead ends. The center group—Alethea leading, with Chester, Corliss, and Scarlette—begins to move as well, testing the corners and lanes ahead while anticipating the Minotaur’s patrol. Alethea’s stealth comes in at 18 once she sets off after her initial move. Chester checks his Jump effect—he can jump 30 feet by spending 10 feet of movement—and lines up behind Corliss as everyone readies for the Minotaur’s next sweep. When Scarlette, Corliss, and Chester roll, they vanish into the hush: Chester 15, Corliss 21, Scarlette dirty 20—enough for the whole wedge to ghost forward without a scrape of mail on stone. Then the Minotaur moves—recovering elsewhere in the maze—buying the party only a breath of time. Team Cobra continues methodically forward, counting squares, tracing angles, and preserving silence in the dark.

2. Alethea’s Sight and the Plan to Split

At the crossroads, Alethea casts Detect Magic, using the attunement between the obelisks to feel the “network” the stones share; a faint northern pulse competes with a stronger pull leading deeper south-east, guiding the team toward a likely chamber. Without needing to handle the focus directly, she relays the sensation of a “ping” that grows stronger as she edges along the correct corridor. As the group debates splitting to draw the Minotaur away, Ceiran suggests a distraction team, implicitly volunteering Chester; Scarlette and Corliss both oppose the plan bluntly, reading the labyrinth’s bottlenecks and the Minotaur’s curse-bound persistence. Movement continues in formation, with Alethea cautiously taking point toward the pull. The Minotaur slips on lingering Grease—its failed Dexterity save churns up a shuddering thump that reverberates faintly through the corridors—confirming the spell’s ongoing value in buying time and space. The groups reassert stealth: Alethea 18 earlier, Scarlette ghostlike with a natural 20 stealth, Corliss also lands a natural 20, and Ceiran at 19—all signs that the center team can press up while Team Cobra keeps surveying north-south branches for the third key.

3. The Third Obelisk Chamber

Alethea leads Corliss and Chester into a chamber littered with old bones—fallen soldiers and would-be heroes—ringed by age and silence. At the room’s heart rests a clawed chalice gripping a yellow obelisk-disc in a golden cradle, runes humming with a pulsating radiance. Alethea studies the artifact’s aura with Arcana 15, identifying it as potent, artifact-grade magic with a living flame in the stone she carries and a vibrant, pulsing golden light in the chalice’s stone. When she reaches close, a sharp stab of radiant pain flares—she recognizes the thorned blood-lock. She accepts the prick on the offered thorn and feeds her blood; exhaustion takes hold—Alethea gains 1 level of exhaustion—as the mechanism releases. The obelisk comes free with the same symbiotic resonance as the first two, and with three now accounted for among the party, the collective “pull” toward the last one tugs definitively north. Meanwhile, the center corridor grows colder as an ink-dark mist rolls out: Scarlette blankets the passage in magical darkness, leveraging Devil’s Sight while warning through her blood-doll link to Corliss—“Get them gone. Now.”—as the Minotaur charges blindly but slowed. The timing is exacting: Grease removal recovery, darkness, and a cadence of whispering spirit-voices delay the beast long enough for the team to move.

4. Team Cobra’s Beacon and Converging Vectors

Away from Scarlette’s darkness, Team Cobra coordinates: Sabine hands her obelisk to David, who casts Detect Magic and confirms the last ping north. The sneaks pivot, keeping stealthy pace—David dirty 20, Sabine 32—while Gestra tracks the whispers and mist on the southern margin: Scarlette’s magic lies that way, so “do not go that way.” The center group dashes hard: Alethea rides the hot-cold sense, speed-walking into faster thrums in her hands as she heads north-northwest past loops and dead ends. Chester surges ahead but keeps line-of-sight to avoid splitting the party in the tight lanes. Scarlette’s darkness continues to stall the Minotaur—he fails a save, then later passes a Wisdom save as she layers additional magic—echoes and whispers colliding in the stone throat of the halls. The corridor temperature drops a biting 15 degrees entering the “no-no zone,” a ghostly cold that pimpling skin can’t ignore. Everyone understands now: to reach the ballroom and the lock, they must go through Scarlette’s fading, residual veil.

5. The Fourth Obelisk and the Blood Price

Corliss takes a detour on instinct and finds the final chalice: a golden cradle bearing a purple, nebula-like obelisk with a faint green hue, miasma swirling beneath, and the familiar thorn. Remembering Alethea’s method, he presses blood and unlocks the mechanism, taking 1 level of exhaustion as it releases. He lifts the fourth key and immediately tries Scarlette’s blood-doll communicator, announcing, “I found the fourth key.” Her breath is labored in his mind; she warns she can’t hold the Minotaur much longer and directs the path back: straight through the hall she’s blocking. The party scrambles: Sabine’s sending stone confirms to Scarlette that all four are collected. Scarlette replies that she can drop the effect, and when she does, a clammy fog lingers; crossing the threshold brings eerie quiet, then the distant cavalry-thunder of hooves as the Minotaur breaks free and charges back. Around the bend, a slam—his axe strikes stone—Scarlette cries out, badly wounded by a brutal hit as part of the labyrinth wall cracks and collapses under colliding magics.

6. Holding the Line and Feeding the Lock

The teams converge at the choke point near the ballroom: Gestra rushes in to insert Sabine’s lightning key into the matching rune slot as the lock’s symbology refines—fire, sun, necrosis/poison, lightning—while the melee forms in the hall. Sabine barrels in and lands a critical hit on the Minotaur (nat 20; 22 damage), striking to keep its horns off Scarlette while she squares up again with blood in her mouth and murder in her eyes. David squeezes through the press and uses Lay on Hands for 10 HP on Scarlette, snarling that he doesn’t like her but refuses to watch her die. Scarlette spits back, uncowed, and keeps the beast contained long enough for the inserts to continue. The corridor is stuffed with bodies and blade-edges; Chester calculates an exit vector, offering Vortex Warp twice to reposition allies by line of sight. Alethea calls for the handoff: Corliss passes her the third key, and Chester yanks her forward with Vortex Warp as her knees seem to drop out from under her and then reappear beneath her—she is repositioned in an instant with full movement remaining. She darts into the lock room and slots what she can while asking for confirmation; in the hall David and Sabine hold back the beast while Scarlette weaves another casting.

7. The Eye Revealed and the Exhausting Touch

With all four keys placed, the runes ignite in a synchronized heartbeat, and the monumental statue’s Minotaur mouth yawns open, revealing a velvet cushion bearing a single golden eye that swivels on its axis to watch them watching it. Alethea studies the Eye with Arcana 19: it is unquestionably Poseidon’s Eye, radiant with inscrutable power and layered curses. In the chaos, she makes the call; reaching in to seize it, she must pass a ward. She rolls a Constitution save 15—insufficient—and exhaustion rakes through her; her hand slips through the velvet cradle as if intangible, and she drops to one knee, breath ripped short as energy saps from her touch. She warns Gestra to be careful; he tries Mage Hand, and the ward lashes back—six radiant damage explodes into the chamber, and runes flare to warn away spell-hands. Gestra then steels himself and reaches in physically; he rolls a natural 20 on the Constitution save. The Eye sears to his palm with an icy-hot bite, sticks, and lifts. At that instant the Minotaur vanishes in a puff of smoke, erased from the board as if he had never been. Footsteps echo behind them—two presences arrive in the lock room: Poseidon and Cersei. Scarlette pushes past David, blood-smeared and relentless, eyes locked on the god and witch as she demands the Eye from Gestra.

8. Challenging the Gods

Cersei smiles and applauds, purring that no mortal has passed her labyrinth in 500 years and thanking them for the entertainment; Poseidon is already reaching toward the Eye. Scarlette, never blinking, tells Gestra to hand it to her. As she takes the Eye, the obelisks gutter and die; the statue-mouth closes; the binding magic recedes. Poseidon turns from Gestra toward Scarlette and demands the Eye; she presents it in one hand while drawing a dagger in the other—her personal athame, recognized by Sabine alone. Scarlette sets the dagger’s point against Poseidon’s Eye and commands: “Break it.”—meaning Corliss’s pact. When Poseidon plays coy, she presses the blade; a metal-on-metal screech tears the air as Poseidon screams, doubling over in pain. She declares: “A dying man choking on seawater cannot consent to a bargain freely. If you value such a soul, find it again without chains. Break it.” Corliss staggers through his own pain, then grabs Poseidon by the collar and hisses that he mistook Poseidon for Lucifer, and now, knowing him, would rather have signed in Hell; he demands his choice and declares there is no choice—better the pit than a leash to something so pitiful. Poseidon’s magic surges—barometric pressure drops, the smell of brine fills the air, distant thunder rumbles. He grinds out: “Fine. It wasn’t worth much of a soul anyway.”

9. Pacts and Alliances Severed

The ripping begins. Corliss buckles as something foundational tears out of him; even to a man who has died, it is the worst pain he has ever known. He cries out and falls to one knee, eventually glaring up at Poseidon: “It may not be worth much, but it’s still more than you deserve. Next time just let me drown. I never want you to darken my door again.” He turns and walks away. Scarlette takes the dagger away from the Eye and tosses the Eye beside Poseidon. Poseidon cleans the Eye and sets it into his empty eye socket. The scarred socket heals instantly as black veins recede. His form unfurls into full godhood: he grows taller and grander, crowned with gold, kelp, and pearls; his clothes become iridescent sea-silk, exposing his perfect marble physique; his trident manifests in his hand. He snarls: “I just don’t have to kill you, right?” and lunges to stab Corliss with the trident as he walks away.

Before the blow lands, a second voice rises with Scarlette’s; shadow, blood, and divine power explode from her as another entity steps from her body—a goddess-level darkness interposes between Poseidon and Corliss. In two voices (Scarlette’s and another female), the entity says: “If you want to strike someone, strike me. That has always been me.” Sabine recognizes the signs: Scarlette’s dread form is changing; her eyes turn white instead of black, and the corpse-paint magic bleeds red and black as tears run red from her eyes. Divine magic collides as Poseidon and the entity prepare to clash.

10. Cersei Asserts Control

Suddenly, radiant light slams down. An overwhelming divine force crushes everyone—including Scarlette and Poseidon—to their knees, making it hard to breathe. Cersei manifests fully: hair flowing golden and divine, silk robes billowing, eyes shining blue like stars. She declares: “This is still my house, and it will be respected.” She looks at Scarlette: “You accomplished your goal. Now it’s time for you to get out.”

Then everything falls away: the sensation is like falling without ground—the wind knocked out of them—hands that were on stone plunge into gritty sand. In a blink, the party is on the beach beside the Night Wind, anchored where they left her; the temple lies a day’s march behind. Scarlette looks around, face smeared in blood, and screams—a raw, shaking howl—as the reality hits. An emptiness yawns in several souls; the severed pact leaves Corliss feeling hollowed out.

Scarlette, face still smeared with blood and seemingly exhausted, says nothing to Corliss as she tells everyone to get back on the ship and get out of here. Sabine moves to her side, promising a talk later about “who that was,” and shoulders under Scarlette’s arm to help her walk. One by one, the crew drifts toward the Night Wind in shaken silence: Chester forces his composure upright and declares, “I am okay. We got through this.” Gestra remarks numbly, “Well, that’s something quite crazy that just happened.” Alethea labors under two levels of exhaustion, steadying herself and taking one last look at the temple before following. David dusts off and asks on the way if anyone will explain what just happened. Behind them, the temple broods on the horizon and the gods recede into their own stony mysteries. Interlude is called as they make for the gangplank, the air still carrying a salt-sting and the thunder-echo of a god’s displeasure.

11. Leaving Circe’s Island

The party staggers back aboard the Night Wind drained of strength and spirit after a week of ordeals, the ocean around them no longer black or deathly still as currents seize the hull and force a new course away from Circe’s hidden paradise; Scarlette, armor caked in drying blood with a deep Minotaur gash and the smeared war-paint tracks of blood-tears still marking her cheeks, barks orders to raise anchor and fill the sails as the false high-noon collapses into a fast dusk, yet true darkness never comes as a low unending glow lingers on the horizon like a world refusing nightfall.

About twenty minutes underway, six dazed sailors—survivors of the first voyage who had been cursed to swine—stumble topside from nowhere, clothing ragged and faces hollow with confusion as they ask Sabine why they are on the ship and not in the temple; Scarlette greets them with hard warmth, embraces, cheek-pats, and a promise that the Spaniard won’t slit their throats, sending them to sleep as the most weathered among them notes she is bloody and she replies the story can wait until morning while the crew size climbs toward her usual complement of thirty to fifty souls though only nine once set out and these few remain alive.

As the ship clears the coast and settles into its new heading, five massive chests simply exist where moments before there was only deck plank, each crammed with treasure of many ages: one bursting with ancient multi-mint coin, another laden with armor and weapons, and others mixing runes, scrolls, gold, and stray blades; Scarlette lets the party divide spoils freely—everyone, including Sabine, takes 5,000 gold—and a cache of five spell scrolls is laid out: Magic Weapon, Spiritual Weapon, Augury, Shadow Blade, and Find Steed, which the group allocates with Gestra taking Magic Weapon, Alethea taking Augury, David—being the Paladin—taking Find Steed, Chester volunteering for Shadow Blade if unclaimed, and Ceiran taking Spiritual Weapon after confirming one remains, while each character also receives a potion of greater healing and a potion of invisibility as Scarlette declines any share and keeps apart, dead-eyed at the helm.

12. Whiskey and Names

When the Night Wind is fully away and steady, Scarlette returns with two crates stamped with two ravens locked like a heart and passes out whole bottles of a rare, smooth, high-burn whiskey she has saved for a rainy day, then stands atop a chest and properly introduces herself as Scarlette Jane—Red Jane—the Blood Pirate, the most feared and wanted pirate in the Caribbean with bounties to rival kings, a woman who has burned and carved her way across the sea and will protect what is hers even after losing a bet, winning another, and making an enemy of convenience with a god who took from her and threatened more; she admits she hired bodies not sailors and expected none to survive, but they proved her wrong in skill and mettle before gods and monsters, and she offers open questions with the caveat that not all deserve answers, a Cyprus port call to fence relics fairly, and clean parting if any choose to go their own way.

Chester asks who the spirit was in Scarlette, and Scarlette half-shifts to the blood-vengeance visage that has surfaced before, asking if they know voodoo and explaining its pacts with spirits and gods one can become in supplication; she names the one who rides her Marie Duclair and warns that invoking her means death for the unwary, then answers that she has crossed several gods but only Poseidon opposes her at that scale, and when asked why she unraveled Corliss’s pact she says she will not abide duplicitous bargains where consent is stolen, and besides she owed a favor, then leaves them to drink and to the fickle grace of a night that tastes like victory and penance in equal measure as Sabine peels away, angry and silent.

On the fringes of the revel, David and Corliss find a small quiet to clink bottles and exchange truths: Corliss must pray and wonders if God will hear, David replies He listens though He may not answer, the two toast unexpected adventures and confess mutual gratitude for each other’s company; they share a gentle laugh over the whiskey’s bite compared to communion wine, then place a lighthearted wager on which youngster will drop first—David lays 10 gold on the cannoneer while Corliss places his on the witch—as the sounds of a party begin to slur into farce.

13. Drunken Bonds

Alethea joins Gestra and Ceiran to marvel at a saga few will ever believe and fewer still will understand, concluding that people do not need to believe to love a tale, and wonders whether to stay with Scarlette’s crew while Gestra leans toward staying if Scarlette can arrange something and Ceiran says he has nothing better to do, all three agreeing they are among their kind even if not among saints, not looking forward to Cyprus yet clinging to each other in a vow to stick together as Ceiran becomes Alethea’s unspoken charge for the night.

Sabine broods in the crows nest among the rigging’s shadow, then repels down with a flawless acrobatic grace—landing with a roll and a 21 on her drunk acrobatics check—to press another bottle into Ceiran’s hands just as he thinks he needs a drink, enabling the party’s slide toward slapstick as bottles clink, boots thud, and the deck becomes a proving ground for youthful bravado and the limits of human liver.

Ceiran drains a bottle and a half of the potent whiskey before the night is old, and with disadvantage he rolls a Constitution saving throw of 13 and is declared poisoned for a full twenty-four hours—disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks—his body heavy with a hangover that has not yet arrived as he sways between euphoria and the deck, brags that he is still fine, and then proves he is not by getting tangled in rigging near the crows nest until Sabine and Gestra struggle to free him from a life-saving but undignified upside-down sling.

Chester, committed by his own die to a hard-drinking persona, keeps pace too quickly and is made to roll his Constitution save with disadvantage; he posts a 19, avoiding the poisoned condition but dooming himself to a savage morning, and practitioners intervene before he can set off cannons or discharge pistols to the heavens, his familiar ferrying drinks like a cherub as he dreams aloud of a magic cannon while adults remove firearms from his hands on repeat until he is finally coaxed into letting himself be tied to the mast for his own good.

Gestra drinks past prudent but not to Ceiran’s depths, rolls an 18 on a Constitution save, and becomes the happy blackout drunk who will lose pieces of the night but not his equilibrium as he half-drags Ceiran toward the mast, fails halfway, and curls up asleep across his friend like a living ballast while Sabine’s hat is later set on his head to shade a face that still manages a grin in sleep.

Alethea, exhausted and dutiful, prays, checks on her companions, and retires below to a hammock; David, avoiding shenanigans entirely, retires soberly; Corliss limits himself to two glasses and remains topside for long minutes as reluctant chaperone, quietly confiscating guns from Chester whenever necessary, and only heads below once everyone is either tied, piled, or safely asleep so no one can fall overboard or light the deck on fire in celebration.

14. The Next Day

Dawn detonates across the deck like a cannon blast of white, and the three sleepers on the planks discover that sunlight is the rudest thing alive as Scarlette strides through with a bucket to splash faces and prod the living back toward duty before she herself steps aside to make tea, while Ceiran remains actively drunk and doubly confused about what anyone is saying, and both he and Chester realize they have no memory of how the latter wound up lashed to timber like a penitent saint.

Corliss and Sabine, up early and already working, share a clipped exchange about truth and trust: he asks whether Scarlette often sends Sabine on missions without explaining the objective, Sabine answers no and admits to lingering anger and her plan to ask Scarlette directly, and they agree to hope she has a good reason as they continue to set the ship to rights; Sabine spots Gestra holding his head to the light and drops her hat on him with a quiet “here you go,” a small grace against the sun.

Hardtack and hot water wait in the galley—bread to soak the sickness and tea to still the shake—and David spends five points of Lay on Hands to purge the poison from himself before calisthenics and chores, while the newly returned sailors move like old hands through their stations, rigging lines by instinct and ignoring the hungover lumpen on the deck, including one older tar who throws a disapproving look down at the sprawled trio before taking his rope to the lines without a word.

15. Setting Sail for Cyprus

David seeks a measure of the Night Wind’s character and addresses a nearby rigger, a late-twenties sailor of Spanish bearing with corded forearms and slick black hair; the man shoves a line into David’s hands and laughs at the word “untoward,” telling him there is no ship like the Night Wind, that Scarlette is both fair and out of the ordinary, and that asking about yesterday is pointless because life on the ship is as it ever is—too much tar, drunk folk underfoot, jobs to do, and sometimes people to kill—then calls David “lexicon” as he climbs the rigging and leaves him to swab.

When Alethea returns topside she finds the aftermath: Ceiran prone, soaked, and baffled, Gestra dozing under Sabine’s hat, Chester still partly trussed until Corliss finishes the knot’s undoing and announces that drunkenness does not excuse the night’s watch and work they will all owe, and Alethea quietly shepherds water and food to the worst of them while Corliss keeps the day running with the invisible authority of someone who once steered men through worse than a hangover.

The rest of the day belongs to sobering up and steady work: the resurrected crew who were once swine move in rhythm with the ship as if time never broke, Sabine and Corliss keep hands busy and eyes sharp, Alethea walks the line between healer and quartermaster, David chips in wherever labor is heaviest, Gestra and Ceiran crawl back to usefulness by increments, and Chester’s bravado dims to a quiet promise to be better by tomorrow as the Night Wind holds its course for Cyprus and the day ends with all souls accounted for and the sea at last behaving like itself.

Quests, Plot Threads, and Progression

Completed

• Retrieve Poseidon’s Eye from Circe’s Labyrinth: The party successfully navigated Circe’s labyrinth, located all four obelisk keys, survived the Minotaur guardian, unlocked the vault, and retrieved Poseidon’s Eye, delivering it to the god and completing the primary objective of the expedition.

• Corliss’ Warlock Pact with Poseidon: The unwanted and duplicitous pact between Corliss and Poseidon was forcibly broken at Scarlette’s insistence, freeing Corliss from the god’s claim on his soul after he had agreed to the bargain while drowning and lacking true consent.

• Lift the Swine Curse on Scarlette’s Original Crew: Six sailors who had been cursed and transformed into pigs by Circe during the first expedition were restored to human form and returned to the ship, bringing the surviving crew count from three to nine.

• Scarlette’s Debt to Poseidon: By delivering Poseidon’s Eye and allowing the god to restore his full power and appearance, Scarlette fulfilled whatever obligation or wager bound her to the god, though this has created a permanent enemy in him.

Ongoing

• Poseidon’s Enmity: Poseidon now holds a personal grudge against Scarlette after she forced him to break Corliss’s pact by threatening to destroy his newly restored Eye; he attempted to kill Corliss in retaliation before being stopped by both Scarlette (channeling Marie Duclair) and Circe’s authority over her own domain.

• Journey to Cyprus: The Night Wind is currently sailing toward Cyprus, where Scarlette has contacts who can help the party fence the treasure and relics recovered from Circe’s labyrinth and allow any crew member who wishes to leave the opportunity to do so.

New Stuff

• Marie Duclair—The Petro Lwa: Scarlette revealed that she practices voodoo as a priestess and can channel petro lwa (spirits/deities), specifically Marie Duclair, her deity of vengeance and blood; when channeling this spirit, Scarlette’s form shifts with white eyes and blood tears, and her power is sufficient to oppose even a god like Poseidon directly.

Logistics

Inventory Changes

Items and Currency Gained:

• 5,000 gold per party member: Each party member (Alethea, Ceiran, Chester, Corliss, David, Gestra, and Sabine) received 5,000 gold from Circe’s treasure chests that appeared on the deck of the Night Wind after leaving the island.

• Spell Scroll of Magic Weapon: Allocated to Gestra from the treasure division.

• Spell Scroll of Spiritual Weapon: Allocated to Ceiran from the treasure division.

• Spell Scroll of Augury: Allocated to Alethea from the treasure division.

• Spell Scroll of Shadow Blade: Allocated to Chester from the treasure division.

• Spell Scroll of Find Steed: Allocated to David from the treasure division.

• Potion of Greater Healing: One potion given to each party member from the treasure division.

• Potion of Invisibility: One potion given to each party member from the treasure division.

• Sorcery Marble: A magical item taken by Alethea

• Cuff of Oaths: A magical accessory taken by David

• Moonlit Veil Candles (3): One taken by Alethea, one taken by Chester, one unclaimed

• Starshot Circlet: A magical accessory taken by Gestra

• Mirrorlight Carver: A magical dagger taken by Alethea

• Shrouded Boots: Magical boots taken by Ceiran

• Husk Charm (2): Magical consumables, both were taken by Corlissandro

• Night Hawk Slayer: A magical gunblade that was taken by Corliss

• Duelist’s Rapier: Magical weapon taken by Sabine

• Additional Treasure from Five Chests: The party gained access to five massive treasure chests containing ancient coins from multiple countries and ages, armor, weapons, runes with different markings, additional scrolls, jewels, necklaces, charms, and various relics from Circe’s labyrinth; specific weapons and armor details were noted to be catalogued later.

Items Lost or Consumed:

• Poseidon’s Eye: Retrieved from the labyrinth vault by Gestra and delivered to Poseidon, completing the primary quest objective.

• Four Obelisk Keys: The lightning (held by Sabine), fire (held by Scarlette), sun/golden (held by Alethea), and poison/necrosis (held by Corliss) obelisks were placed into the lock mechanism to open the vault; the keys became inert and remained in the temple after Poseidon’s Eye was retrieved.

Communication Items:

• Sending Stone: Sabine possesses a sending stone that she used to communicate with Scarlette during the mission.

Magical Effects

Magical Effects Lost:

• Corliss - Warlock Pact Severed: Corliss’s warlock pact with Poseidon was forcibly broken at Scarlette’s insistence when she threatened to destroy Poseidon’s Eye; Corliss lost all warlock class abilities and experienced what he described as the worst pain he had ever felt, worse even than dying, as something foundational was torn from his being, leaving a phantom void where the connection once existed.

• Scarlette - Pact Completed: Tattoos on Scarlette’s arm vanished after returning Poseidon’s eye, indicating their deal had been completed.

• Six Crew Members Restored from Swine Curse: Six of Scarlette’s original crew members who had been transformed into pigs by Circe during the first expedition were restored to human form approximately 20 minutes after the Night Wind departed from Circe’s island, appearing dazed and confused from the bottom of the ship with no memory of their time as swine.

Experiences

Alethea

• Led the center group through the labyrinth using Detect Magic to attune to the obelisk network, sensing directional “pings” that guided the team toward the remaining keys.
• Discovered the third obelisk (yellow) in a chamber filled with old bones and skeletons of fallen soldiers and heroes.
• Unlocked the third obelisk by accepting the blood-lock’s thorn prick, taking 1 level of exhaustion as the mechanism released.
• Was transported via Chester’s Vortex Warp spell to the lock room during the final confrontation with the Minotaur.
• Inserted the obelisk keys into the lock mechanism in the correct rune-matched positions, causing the statue’s mouth to open and reveal Poseidon’s Eye.
• Attempted to grab Poseidon’s Eye but failed the Constitution save (rolled 15), causing her hand to pass through the velvet cushion intangibly and taking a second level of exhaustion.
• Ended the labyrinth section with 2 total levels of exhaustion, leaving her winded and short of breath.
• Declined the whiskey Scarlette offered during the celebration, passing her bottle to Ceiran instead.
• Served as the designated sober friend, watching over Ceiran and ensuring he didn’t fall off the ship.
• Pledged with Gestra and Ceiran to stick together as a group, acknowledging they are “among their kind” and expressing tentative interest in staying with Scarlette’s crew.
• Prayed, checked on her companions, and retired below deck to a hammock early to avoid the worst of the drunken shenanigans.
• Woke early the next morning and helped provide water and food to the hungover crew members.
• Received 5,000 gold, the spell scroll of Augury, a potion of greater healing, and a potion of invisibility from the treasure division.

Ceiran

• Suggested splitting the party to create a distraction team, implicitly volunteering Chester, before Corliss and Scarlette vetoed the plan.
• Consumed approximately one and a half bottles (over 1,125 milliliters) of high-quality whiskey during the celebration, far exceeding his tolerance based on a history of drinking watered-down rum.
• Failed his Constitution saving throw with disadvantage (rolled 13), becoming poisoned for a full 24 hours with disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks.
• Got tangled upside-down in the rigging outside the crow’s nest while drunk, requiring Gestra and Sabine to untangle him.
• Remained “actively drunk” throughout the following day, still confused about events and unable to understand why people were talking so loud.
• Was given Alethea’s bottle of whiskey when she declined to drink.
• Pledged with Alethea and Gestra to stick together, stating “I got nothing better to do” when asked about staying with Scarlette’s crew.
• Bonded with Chester over drinking, later declaring “this kid’s growing on me” as Chester rambled about magic cannons.
• Cast Jump spell on Chester during the labyrinth navigation, allowing him to jump 30 feet by spending 10 feet of movement.
• Received 5,000 gold, the spell scroll of Spiritual Weapon, a potion of greater healing, and a potion of invisibility from the treasure division.

Chester

• Cast two Grease spells during the labyrinth navigation that repeatedly caused the Minotaur to fail Dexterity saves and slip, buying critical time for the party.
• Benefited from Ceiran’s Jump spell, gaining the ability to jump 30 feet by spending 10 feet of movement.
• Used Vortex Warp to teleport Alethea to the lock room during the final Minotaur confrontation, allowing her to use her full movement to reach the vault.
• Offered to use Vortex Warp twice to reposition allies by line of sight as an escape strategy during the melee.
• Committed to heavy drinking based on a die roll (natural 20), becoming the “freshman at his first party that is already experienced in drinking”.
• Posted a Constitution save of 19, avoiding the poisoned condition but ensuring a savage hangover the next morning.
• Had his familiar Grimsby ferry drinks “like a cherub” to party members throughout the celebration.
• Repeatedly attempted to discharge cannons and pistols into the air while drunk, requiring Corliss to confiscate firearms from him multiple times.
• Rambled about wanting to find or create a “magic cannon” while intoxicated, establishing a potential future obsession.
• Was tied to the mast “for his own good” by the party to prevent him from causing damage or falling overboard.
• Woke up the next morning with no memory of how he ended up lashed to the mast.
• Received 5,000 gold, the spell scroll of Shadow Blade, a potion of greater healing, and a potion of invisibility from the treasure division.

Corlissandro

• Led the center group through the labyrinth corridors, coordinating movement.
• Discovered the fourth obelisk (purple with green nebula-like hue) in a golden chalice on a detour.
• Unlocked the fourth obelisk by pressing his blood to the thorn mechanism, taking 1 level of exhaustion as it released.
• Announced through Scarlette’s blood-doll link that he had found the fourth key.
• Passed his key to Alethea during the final Minotaur confrontation so she could carry all three to the lock room.
• Vetoed Ceiran’s plan to split the party for a distraction, indicating it was a bad tactical decision.
• Had his warlock pact with Poseidon forcibly broken at Scarlette’s insistence when she threatened to destroy Poseidon’s Eye.
• Experienced the worst pain he had ever felt—worse even than dying—as something foundational was torn from his being, leaving a phantom void where the pact once existed.
• Grabbed Poseidon by the collar and declared that knowing the god, he would rather have signed in Hell, calling Poseidon “pitiful” and demanding his choice back.
• Was nearly killed by Poseidon’s trident in retaliation before Scarlette (channeling Marie Duclair) and Circe intervened.
• Shared a quiet moment with David, discussing faith, prayer, and unexpected adventures, wondering if God would still hear his prayers.
• Limited himself to two glasses of whiskey during the celebration, avoiding drunkenness.
• Acted as reluctant adult supervision throughout the night, confiscating weapons from Chester and ensuring no one could “shoot themselves, set anything on fire or shoot others or fall off the boat”.
• Convinced Chester that it was his turn to do watch as a ruse to get him to cooperate with being tied to the mast.
• Quietly paid David 10 gold after losing their wager about which youngster would drop first from drinking.
• Woke early and helped untie Chester from the mast, informing him that “being drunk does not excuse them from doing their job” and assigning duties.
• Received 5,000 gold, a potion of greater healing, and a potion of invisibility from the treasure division.

David

• Participated in Team Cobra’s stealthy reconnaissance through the labyrinth, posting consistent stealth rolls including a 27.
• Used 10 points of Lay on Hands to heal Scarlette during the Minotaur fight, snarling “I still don’t like you, but I don’t want you to die”.
• Squeezed past the chaos in the corridor to enter the lock room during the final confrontation.
• Asked Scarlette why she went through all the trouble to break Corliss’s pact, learning her stance on duplicitous bargains and stolen consent.
• Shared a quiet moment with Corliss, discussing faith and prayer, telling him “I think he always listens. He does not always answer though”.
• Toasted with Corliss to “unexpected adventures” and exchanged mutual gratitude for each other’s company.
• Compared the whiskey’s bite to communion wine, sharing a gentle laugh with Corliss.
• Placed a wager of 10 gold with Corliss on which youngster would drop first from drinking, betting on Ceiran.
• Avoided the drunken shenanigans entirely, retiring soberly below deck.
• Used 5 points of Lay on Hands on himself the next morning to cure alcohol poisoning before beginning calisthenics and chores.
• Sought to understand the Night Wind’s character by addressing a Spanish rigger, who called him “lexicon” and told him there’s no ship like the Night Wind.
• Pitched in wherever labor was heaviest throughout the day, helping the crew with ship duties.
• Received 5,000 gold, the spell scroll of Find Steed, a potion of greater healing, and a potion of invisibility from the treasure division.

Gestra

• Participated in Team Cobra’s stealthy reconnaissance through the labyrinth with high stealth rolls including a 24 and 28.
• Successfully grabbed Poseidon’s Eye from the vault with a natural 20 Constitution save, causing the artifact to sear to his palm with an icy-hot bite.
• The moment Gestra lifted the Eye, the Minotaur vanished in a puff of smoke as if he had never existed.
• Handed Poseidon’s Eye to Scarlette when she demanded it after Poseidon and Circe arrived.
• Attempted to use Mage Hand to grab the Eye before touching it physically, but the ward lashed back with 6 points of radiant damage and runes flared in warning.
• Pledged with Alethea and Ceiran to stick together as a group, acknowledging they are “among their kind”.
• Drank past prudent levels but not to Ceiran’s extreme, rolling an 18 on a Constitution save and becoming the “happy blackout drunk” who would lose pieces of the night but not his equilibrium.
• Half-dragged Ceiran toward the mast before failing halfway and curling up asleep across him “like a living ballast”.
• Woke up sopping wet on the deck with Sabine’s pirate hat on his head, looking like “a sad little kid”.
• Bonded with Sabine and David as part of Team Cobra, discussing hunting together in the future.
• Received 5,000 gold, the spell scroll of Magic Weapon, a potion of greater healing, and a potion of invisibility from the treasure division.
• Remarked that the 5,000 gold was the most money he had ever had in his entire life.

Sabine

• Participated in Team Cobra’s stealthy reconnaissance through the labyrinth with exceptional stealth rolls including natural 20s and a 36.
• Held the lightning obelisk key for Team Cobra and used a sending stone to communicate with Scarlette during the mission.
• Inserted the lightning key into the matching rune slot in the lock mechanism as the teams converged.
• Landed a critical hit (natural 20) on the Minotaur for 22 damage during the final confrontation, striking to keep the beast’s horns away from Scarlette.
• Was visibly upset and brooding after the mission, having been sent on an objective without full disclosure of what they were attempting or the stakes involved.
• Brooded in the crow’s nest during the celebration, watching the party from her “little hidey hole”.
• Performed a flawless acrobatic descent (rolled 21 on drunk acrobatics) to deliver another bottle of whiskey to Ceiran.
• Recognized Scarlette’s athame (personal ritual dagger) during the confrontation with Poseidon.
• Recognized the signs of Scarlette channeling Marie Duclair, noting her eyes turning white and blood tears instead of the usual black abyss appearance.
• Greeted the six returned crew members who had been cursed as swine, telling them “That’s a funny story. I’ll tell you later”.
• Plans to confront Scarlette directly about the lack of transparency on the mission.
• Helped Gestra untangle Ceiran from the rigging after he got stuck upside-down while drunk.
• Gave her pirate hat to Gestra the morning after to shade his hungover face from the sun.
• Had an early morning exchange with Corliss about truth and trust, with him asking whether Scarlette often sends her on missions without explaining the objective and admitting to lingering anger.
• Complimented Gestra on being “very quiet” during the labyrinth stealth sections and told David “you tried”.
• Toasted “Team Cobra” with Gestra and David during the celebration.
• Received 5,000 gold, a potion of greater healing, and a potion of invisibility from the treasure division.