This is the beginning of a remarkable group of six adventurers: Remi the tortle monk; Kaicho the firbolg rogue; Arden the wood elf druid; Milo the halfling bard and his mastiff Hank; Mav the high elf arcane archer; and Ragon the aasimar warlock. Some of the adventurers had shared histories. Kaicho traded in art with his assistant Remi. Milo performed with Arden’s support. In banding together, the adventurers hoped to explore the world while earning riches and fame. There were whispers of strange and unexplained events occurring in the Arka Islands. It was this lure of adventure that led the group to embark on a ship headed to Carcoasa, the smallest of the four Arka Islands.
Except for some sea sickness, the voyage was relatively uneventful until the final night. A violent storm ravaged the ship, tossing it like a toy on the ocean. Someone noticed a dark shape in the waves battering the ship from underwater. There was a big crack and the ship began to break apart and sink. Remi jumped overboard and swam toward the shore with Kaicho on his back. The rest of the party secured spots on one of the two life boats. Once in the water, the life boat was assaulted by the dark form in the waves and eventually capsized. The last thing everyone in the party remembered was trying desperately to get to shore in the darkness.
The next morning, the party found themselves awash on a beach – along with the remains of some of the other passengers from the ship. Someone noticed the imprint of a missing corpse on the beach. Remi and Kaicho followed the drag marks to a couple of carrion crawlers feasting on the body. The crawlers noticed them, waved their tentacles angrily, and slithered towards the group. As the party began to retreat to avoid a fight, a hooded figure suddenly appeared, grabbed Kaicho, and vanished! Everyone looked about for their companion until Remi grew impatient and rushed the crawlers. A fight ensued and the party killed one of the creatures. The other managed to escape.
Exhausted from the journey and the fight, the party rested on the beach and contemplated its next move.