Anago-101

Chapter One: The Eel Sargasso

7th Day of Descending Fire

• Pathfinder was awoken by one of the crew and informed that something was slowing the ship down. Upon arriving on the deck he found the Sublime Huntsman spirit worrisome and confused. A portion of his lower body was sluggish and seemed to be mired in some sort of tar-like substance. It was too dark to see what was slowing the ship, so Pathfinder woke Obsidian Gaze from his nightmares to make use of his night vision.
• The ship had become mired in some sort of dark mass, but he could not make out enough detail so he brightly flared his caste mark and revealed a sargasso of countless writhing eels slowing the ship. Dead Eye descended from the crows nest where he had been resting to investigate what was going on deck. Pathfinder swiftly glided to wake Cozened Premonition and inform him of the circumstances. Meanwhile on the deck the ship spirit panics as the dark mire slowing his movements reveals itself to be the writhing eels and dematerializes.
• Pathfinder and Cozened Premonition joined the others on the deck. The otterpops were dispatched to search the entire ship and assure that none of the eels have managed to infiltrate their way aboard and one to enter the spirit's sanctum and check on him there. Moments later the spirit reappears and assures them he is unaffected by the writhing condition and is only manifesting the ship's current dilemma. The ship was still moving westward, but at a painfully slow rate.
• While the lunars contemplated the problem at hand, Dead Eye & Obsidian Gaze noticed lights in the distance. They both assumed their flight forms and went to scout ahead to find another ship stuck unmoving in the eel sargaso. They flew down and around the ship to see that it had been crippled, it's sails, rope and rigging slashed and damaged or destroyed. The crew were working hastily on repairs as best they could under their agitated yet clearly concerned superiors.
• The lunars returned to the Sublime Huntsman and informed their fellows of what they saw. Pathfinder noted that the sun was soon to rise, so they had no choice but to make themselves known one way or another. They discussed the situation and decided to approach and offer assistance, assuming their need for help would outweigh any superstitious fear of the beastmen crew and Pathfinder was all for positive publicity for his people.
• The Sublime Huntsman raised a peace flag and the other ship, the Prosperous Hart, raised their distress flag in response. The lunars pulled their ship up next to the other and stopped. The other ship's crew seemed wary of the strange ship and it's even stranger crew, but the hope of aid seemed to outweigh any resignation they might have.
• The trierarch and proreus of the Prosperous Hart met the lunars and welcomed them to their ship. Each of the lunars claimed various ship positions in their introductions, save for Pathfinder who as usual referred to himself simply as the Patriarch. They discussed the purpose and problems that had been inflicted upon the other ship and quickly determined that a saboteur was at work. It was also revealed that the island colony that both the lunars sought and was the destination of the Prosperous Hart seemed to have entirely vanished as they were currently sailing in the eel infested waters where the island should have been.
• Pathfinder agrees to allow the use of the Sublime Huntsman's spare materials and a team of skilled otterpops to assist with the repairs on the other ship, enough so that they may limp along with the lunar's ship to the next settlement, one Krill identified Harmony, three days further under normal sailing conditions.
• Pathfinder and a group of otterpops boarded the other ship with supplies and material and began to assist with the repairs. He was pleased to see that the human and otterpop crews seemed to be getting along well. The human's wariness had turned into curiosity, amusement and gratitude at these bizarre helpers and many of them had shared pears and oranges, which the otterpops gobbled down happily.
• Cozened Premonition and Dead Eye had taken up position in the merchant ship's crows nest, while Dead Eye in the form of a gull kept watch in the remaining rigging.
• The unseen lunar watchers spotted a figured garbed in darkness moving amongst the rear rigging. The figure had moved up to the pulley systems that held the rigging in place and seemed to be trying to damage it. Cozened Premonition moved first, a speedy blur through the air towards the figure. He slammed down upon the target, stabbing with his curved swords, pinning him through his dark garb to the mast. In that moment he realized that it was not dark clothing the man wore, but that his entire body was encased in a mass of dark eels that spilled forth from his gaping open torso. Enough of the man beneath the eels could be seen now to reveal that it was the proreus of the ship, Red Conch. Cozened Premonition called out in order to draw the attention of others. At that moment Obsidian Gaze in his massive shark-man form tore through the air and literally ripped through the man Cozened Premonition had pinned, boring through him and severing his body in half. The two halves of the corpse fell away to the deck below amongst the confused and terrified crew. Pathfinder sent his otterpops back aboard their ship and moved to the trierarch's side. The eels melted away into an ooze that then evaporated into smoke and drifted away leaving her dead second in command.
• Dead Eye stated that he needed to study the body and Pathfinder assigned the Huntsman's surgeon, Pearl, to assist him in removal and study of the body. The Hart's trierarch immediately promoted another crew member to proreus and they vanished below decks for a short time. Obsidian Gaze made no attempt to hide his transformation from his deadly beastman form to gull shape and perched on some rope to keep watch on the other ship. The crew continued repairs all of them warily watching the terrifying bird that had moments ago been a monster that tore a man in half. The gull cackle-whistled in what seemed to be a laugh and the crew of the Prosperous Hart shuddered under the beady black gaze of their horrifying avian guardian.
• Dead Eye and Pearl removed the remains to the cargo hold of the Huntsman where Dead Eye began a ritual that would allow him to commune with the spirit of the dead man. The spell required him to become a little personal with the dead body, which shocked and disturbed Pearl who had thought they were simply going to perform an autopsy, not watch the creepy bad lunar make out with the dead. Once the spell was completed, Dead Eye sent Pearl to fetch Pathfinder to attend him in questioning the ghost. Pearl eagerly left post haste, found Pathfinder who thankfully relieved her to go hide under her blankets and try to think happy thoughts.
• Pathfinder and Dead Eye questioned the ghost as much as they could. They learned that the man seemed partially in control, but that the writhing had caused him to be filled with a growing hatred and that it had come from nightmares that had plagued him. When asked what it wanted it responded, "hunger and desire to return to the womb". The ghost did not know what had become of the island they sought and when asked why he had sabotaged the ship it stated that it had done so to keep the ship there.
• Once they had finished questioning the spirit Pathfinder reminded the necromancer to dispose of the body and returned to the other ship to resume helping them make repairs. Dead Eye remained below with the corpse and summoned forth Red Conch's ghost and bound it to serve him for a year and a day.

8th Day of Descending Fire

• The following morning, the Huntsman lookout, Isaac, approached Pathfinder and informed him that he had seen a monster on the horizon. Pathfinder immediately informed his companions. Cozened Premonition and Obsidian Gaze assumed gull forms and went to scout ahead. Pathfinder went to the trierarch of the other ship and informed her. The two of them traded looks through her telescope and saw what the lunar gull scouts saw: the Ravenous Behemoth, a massive lintha pirate ship churning it's way through the eel sargaso toward their two ships. Pathfinder traded a grim look with the trierarch and made haste back to his ship with commands to the crew to make ready for battle.