Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

Desrah tears each and every oneof the Ebon Blade signs down placed in the Beard.

Not long after The Twilight Rose was seen weighing anchor and making her way to Baldur's Gate, the fishing fleet of Ulgoths Beard returned home suddenly. Fisherman tell tale of a battle at sea. Fire and Lighting flew from a massive War Galleon, flying the Sembian Flag. It was seen chasing a Sleek Frigate know as the Pig's Delight. The Captain of the Frigate is said to be a scoundrel of ill repute, who goes by the name Kip Kizen. When last seen the Pig's Delight was desperately attempting to seek shelter in the shallow sandbanks of the islands off Ulgoth's Beard.

(( Marpenoth = October ))

Folks on the nearby shores of the Beard would notice a lot of commotion on the Twilight Rose as the new captain assumes his role. The man climbs the ropes with his crew, inspecting sails, adjusting lines and preparing for what is on the horizon. Like ants seen from afar, they go about the tasks of the day at a break-neck pace. Captain Thatcher finding his crews limits and capabilities for further reflection, he needed to know how far he could push them, and whether they would collapse under unexpected pressures. Notes would be taken, improvements would be made, as soon as he spoke to his Tinkerer.

When someone would travel past the Twilight Rose, they would notice an old smaller vessel attached to the lengthy ship. It looked like something between a gunter and a small cutter. It has a non-operational ballista installed in the front, and a part of the mast was missing, as if it had been dismounted. Various materials, nifty looking tools and mechanical components were sprawled out all over the deck, and between all this a lithe figure hopped back and forth, ceaselessly at work.

The red(-pink) haired girl only briefly looked up if anyone said something to her, but she never took a long break. Most of the time she wasn’t even aware of the onlookers. Sailors on passing vessels and also members of the Rose crew just had to take pleasure in waiting upon whatever the crew’s new Tinkerer was up to.

Folks in the area of the Last Anchor might have seen a stone faced woodsman stalking away from the building with a furious shine to his eyes. At the man's heels would have been a large hound, her tail uncharacteristically still. The pair weren't five paces from the building before the hound was darting off into the woods, and the man was speaking in the low tones of prayer to a charm about his necklace - and suddenly gone from the spot.

Two men got into a scuffle near the fishmonger's shack - rumors might vary as to the cause and seriousness of the altercation, including whether or not a woman spotted nearby was the source of the conflict between the pair. Whether it be over a woman, a bet, or even if it was over something as simple as a fresh catch off the pier - the one part known for sure is several witnesses saw all parties eventually walked away from the scene.

A small group from the notorious pirate ship Seawolf is seen sailing into the islands off of Ulgoths Beard. A small number of the crew disembarks, looking to use its fresh spring waters to reprovision before a voyage to Selune's Bracelet. The half dozen adventurers quickly fill the barrels.

The group moves to another side of the island, where Priestess of Umberlee Perle Wynn gives a rousing speech to the crew and performs a sacrament before their fateful voyage.

Priestess Perle is dressed in the traditional ceremonial trappings of a priestess of her faith, including a skin-tight garment as though she's wrapped in seaweed. Her fur cloak is reminiscent of foam-capped waves.

Perle wades into the surf to mid-calf and begins her ceremony.

"O Umberlee! Thy sea is so great and our ship is so small. Hear our fervent prayers and allow the Seawolf and her crew to trespass on your domain!"

"This day we submit our swords and sorcery to your will. The Seawolf is your vessel, Queen of the Depths. All will see our banner and tremble before it, for we are your wrath above the waves."

"Umberlee demands a reaping. We gather today to offer a sacrifice."

Perle draws a curved dagger from her belt. If it were larger it might resemble a sickle.

"Do I have a volunteer?" the priestess says to the small crowd.

A shadowy figure steps forward. Perle smiles cunningly and gestures to a space in front of her, where the waves lap at the shoreline.

Perle turns to another member of the crew. "Bind her hands, for all are helpless atop Her raging seas."

The man steps forward and binds the woman's wrists behind her back.

"Kneel before me to show your submission to the goddess, for even the strongest pillar cannot withstand Her breaking waves."

The drowess kneels.

The priestess bends a the waist and places a finger beneath the woman's chin, tilting it up until they see eye-to-eye. They exchange whispers.

Perle then raises her dagger high in the air, the blade glinting off of the setting sun.

"Her Blood Sea spills over the Sword Coast. Let us add our own to Her briny deep and fill the rest with our enemies' "

The drowess, kneeling before the priestess does not flinch as Perle drives the dagger toward her neck. Crew members tense. The captain reaches for his axe.

Just before it plunges deep, the blade stops. Perle deftly nicks the woman's throat, drawing blood from a superficial wound. It pools in the well of the drowess' throat and cascades down her chest. Perle plucks a bit of seaweed from the surf and applies it to the wound. From a small pouch at her waist, Perle removes a pinch of sand, and drifts it over the woman's head in reverence. When complete, she motions for the drowess to rise.

Others step forward to take the woman's place, enduring the same rite as the first.

Captain Karn steps forward.

"Let's give the Bitch a taste of the bounty of blood we're about to bequeath unto her."

Perle grins at his words as he lowers his doublet's collar, taking a knee before Perle. She locks eyes with his and plunges the dagger toward his throat. It stops short, and she nicks the base of his throat. Blood flows down his chest. She places a piece of seaweed on the cut, and reaches for the sand in the small pouch.

She takes a generous handful of sand — far more than she used for the others — and takes more time to bless the captain with it, closing her eyes and saying a prayer to Umberlee. When the rite is over, he stands.

"O Queen of the Depths, let us become the shrieking wind and monstrous waves, the breakers upon dangerous shoals. Let us become your righteous wrath! Any who cross the Seawolf and her crew will cross the vengeful deeps."

"Let the widows wail and fatherless children cry themselves to sleep, for the Seawolf is the herald of mourning."

"Umberlee’s mighty currents will drag the unworthy below — for She demands a reaping, and Her beasts of the deep will grow fat from their suffering."

"Fill the Seawolf with the riches of the land, and our tribute will flow in your honor."

"With Umberlee’s favor, Her oceans swell beneath us and our hold fills with Her treasures. Our tide rises, brothers and sisters! Let us seize what is ours!"

Perle breathes hard at the end of her sermon, her eyes bright with zeal.

Captain Karn draws his axe, bellowing forth an exultant howl as Perle finishes her sermon. His eye similarly filled with a dark fervor. "Woe betide those who cross the Seawolf! For riches and blood!"

"For riches and blood!" echo the crew.

"Henceforth, one share of whatever we pillage will be offered as tribute to the Bitch of the depths," Captain Karn said. "We feed her pets with the carcasses of our foes and sate her thirst with their gold."

A poster appears out in the Beard:

A short time later, a second poster appears: