Erik finds himself in a deep slumber and starts to dream.
He stands alone on the deck of a boat, with the skies above him and the ocean around him, he is completely enveloped in a void of endless blue. Without warning and almost instantaneously, he sees a massive circlet of black clouds begin to stretch round about him. The storm thunders towards him; the deck of the boat trembles, and very briefly, he wonders if it will hold. Crackling lightning and great torrents approach the tiny boat, and as he watches the impending doom approach him, the storm suddenly stops. He stares up at the black sky, the clouds twisting and folding as they circle above the ship. He is shocked that there is stillness; as he gazes up skyward, Erik realizes that he now stands in the eye of the storm. In the center of the storm, a pulsing light begins to light up the interior of the clouds.
A “White” Flash blinks hundreds of feet above his head.
Just then, call it intuition or divine intervention, his body feels weightless.
Erik dives into the sea below for some kind of familiarity. However, beneath the waves is only a blue void.
Erik emerges and then realizes that he is capable of flight. He flies upward, beyond the ship, and eventually, he stares facing the pulsing white light.
He reaches within the storm and withdraws his hand with a diamond-shaped shard, pure white in color. If he touches it, he will feel just how freezing cold the artifact is.
Suddenly, his attention is pulled down to the deck of the boat as it begins to freeze over until a thick layer of ice coats every inch. When he turns back to face the shard, it is no longer there. A rush of cold air hits him, and he wakes in the tavern, wooden plank walls around him.
Erik mentions the dream to his party; they, however, seem unconcerned with its implications. Erik is unconvinced that it was merely a dream.
After the party returns to speak with Mayor Garvin Addams, he makes it clear that The Gilded Skull will return and that their only hope for survival is to plead with the powers that be within their neighboring city of Ugend. If the governor of Ugend could dispatch a unit of guards to Droyva, then perhaps they could better defend the village.
The party deliberates, and they determine a couple of things.
The ship left behind by The Gilded Skull is an excellent vessel, and no one else has claimed it.
Droyva requires their help, and they need to finish the job of defending it.
They work very well together, and for the most part, they all seem to trust one another.
The party chooses to help the Mayor and take the ship, which means they now require a crew. They meet the Portmaster, and she agrees to help them recruit members for their new vessel. Finally, the party decides that they need a captain to take command when they board the ship, as well as a name for their ragtag group of adventurers. Thus “Cerulean Swagger” was created and the vessel named “The Windwaker,” with none other than Erik Acuitus at the helm.
The party begins recruiting crew members for the ship. Jotun heads to a tavern on the beach of Droyva, and he runs into the remaining members of the Spinning Blades. Harshali is convinced, and her last four members of the mercenary company join the crew of the Windwaker.
Cerulean Swagger decides to hold a recruiting event on the ship while making repairs. The emblem on the mast is changed from The Gilded Skull to a serpentine insignia on a snowflake.
The Insignia for the Windwaker is created. The recruiting event goes quite well, and the Windwaker is now up to 14 crew members.
Party name: Cerulean Swagger
Ship Name: The Windwaker
Priority Crew members
Captain: Erik
First Mate: Jotun
Boatswain: Harshali
Carpenter: Fausco
Cannon Operator: Goba
Cannon Operator: Sali
Helmsman: Gandovan
Navigator: Kai
Crew members
Valia
Fausco
Asgothi
Alaric
Jarak
Gavin
The party rests for the night, and the next morning Jotun, Erik, and Kai all go to speak with the Portmaster of Droyva to discuss possibly training their new carpenter, Fausco, on more delicate and advanced techniques for carpentry aboard a ship. Unfortunately, before the Windwaker can set sail, Jotun spots a tall Draconic humanoid at the top of the steps leading to the beach.
Several masked assailants begin racing down the beach and straight towards the party. Jotun tells his party members that they need to run. However, Erik is struggling to keep up. Jotun and Kai scream out to get the attention of Sali, who still on the Windwaker preparing the crew to set sail. Sali does not notice this until Harshali approaches him and informs him that Kai, Jotun, and Captain Acuitus are racing toward the ship. Sali leaps off the docked Windwaker and meets the rest of the party on the beach, he heaves the Captain over his shoulder, and they all return to the ship.
Sali places the captain onto his feet and then turns to face the shore where a red draconic humanoid, who he assumes to be Dragonborn, is now nearly on the beach. Sali leaps onto the docks below and squares off against the unknown person. He speaks in Draconic to the Red Dragonborn, stating that his physical prowess is impressive and stating that they do not wish for trouble.
The “Dragonborn’s” wings emerge and flap absently, and he responds in a Draconic dialect that Sali recognizes as more ancient and not commonly spoken even amongst Dragonborn.
He says,
“I have no business with you. I am here for the boy.”
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