Betrayal at the Docks

⚙️ The Letter

The session began with Thomas receiving a mysterious letter requesting a private meeting with Karolin Silver 3-Star at the docks to discuss the construction of his camera. Sensing danger, Thomas wisely brought the party along, suspecting a trap.

🌀 Captured Aboard the Ship

Karolin’s plan was already in motion. Upon arrival, the group was teleported onto her massive merchant vessel, disarmed, and locked in the brig. There they met Merlin, a gifted but manipulated girl who had long been under Karolin’s control. She had pretended to serve her captor while waiting for an opportunity to escape.

🧠 Merlin’s Defection

Gaining Merlin’s trust took effort. Thomas, using his modified Rivet Gun, teleported her out of the brig twice into the open sea to prove their strength and sincerity. Her confidence in the party grew — enough to turn against Karolin and help them bring her down.

🔥 Del’s Firestorm

During the ensuing battle, Del unleashed raw, destructive magic, setting fire to the upper deck and obliterating a two-foot hole through the base of the main mast, which snapped and came crashing down, severely damaging the vessel and throwing the ship off balance.

⚔️ Defeating Karolin

The party fought their way through the guards and crew. Blaze scorched through enemy ranks, Elliot and Silas closed in with brutal efficiency. Karolin, surrounded and overwhelmed, was ultimately defeated — her reign of manipulation brought to an end.

⛵ Damage Control and Drift

With the ship on fire and heavily damaged, the crew scrambled to save it from sinking. The mast was gone, laying across the deck, much of the upper deck was scorched, and the vessel listed from Del’s devastating blast. But through Del’s magic, Thomas’s automatons, and the entire group’s coordination, the party stabilized and partially repaired the ship as it drifted aimlessly across the vast inland lake.

🌊 The Bargain Beneath the Waves

As they floated across open water, a lake-dwelling leviathan emerged, demanding tribute for safe passage. Rather than risk another battle, the group offered gifts and words, and the creature towed the crippled vessel the rest of the way to the quiet, misted eastern cliffs of Caer Lethwyn.

🏔️ Safe Landing and New Bonds

Upon reaching the eastern cliffs, the party disembarked to rest and regroup. Now free, Merlin chose to go her own way, parting on peaceful terms and thanking the group for her liberation. Though battered, the ship was now theirs — a reminder of both their power and the cost of freedom.