Urs found himself in a weird place. Torn between his belief that everyone should be free and have the right to find their happiness and the belief that he must be honest with his family, he decided to come clean. After several omissions of truth (a concept he doesn’t fully understand, but seems to have mastered), Urs pulled Aengus aside and told him everything. The Pixie named Butterfly was actually Tobias, Urs had invited him to join up as they were leaving the house, and Urs was apparently capable of great magics like the portal that took him to the boat. Aengus knew the last part wasn’t true, but didn’t want to burst the bubble.
Aengus and Urs went upstairs and explained what Urs had done to the rest of the Wild Rovers. The conversation went fairly smoothly, and even Vara seemed restrained and calm in the face of something that normally causes her to draw her sword. The dragon friend Cryxis sat by and observed, and when given the chance, looked at Tobias more closely. For all of Cryxis’ knowledge, he was a at a loss for what exactly Tobias was. But before he left, the dragon gave the adventuring crew a little bit of a lead: There is an island with around a dozen pirates on it. They have accumulated some wealth. Go there, deal with the pirates, and take the treasure. Give Cryxis the coinage, and the Wild Rovers can keep the rest.
And with that, the dragon departed, and the wind blew in favor of heading towards Pirate Island. But the journey was filled with anything except smooth sailing. After just a few hours, night fell for the first time in several days. As Desmond was keeping watch, the water suddenly shifted into a dense field with large trees sprouting out and almost hitting Desmond. Equal parts intrigued and worried, Desmond tried to wake everyone up. Bratak’s apathy towards the situation was rivaled only by Urs’, but Aengus and Frumpy were very confused and unsure of what to do. Desmond proclaimed that we needed to slow down, and told Aengus to lower the anchor. Aengus did so because in the Dwarven forges, they teach many things, but physics and kinetic motion are not topics of discussion. So after a few seconds of falling, the anchor found purchase, and the ship was jostled, sending the Dwarf hurdling through the air, off the front of the ship, as the anchor itself was ripped from the bow. This mildly stirred Urs, who quickly fell back asleep. Aengus anchored himself to a dolphin, and went on a bit of an uncomfortable trip where he took on more water than the badly damaged ship.
After Desmond and Bratak pulled Aengus out of the water, the illusory terrain dissipated, and repairs got under way. Luckily for everyone, Urs is an excellent carpenter (who didn’t know INT was going to be the stat he was going to use when he took the job…) who did a mediocre job repairing the hull damage. Aengus deemed it acceptable, and the voyage got back under way. Night went by, and in the morning the crew discussed how best to approach the island. Aengus had found a plethora of flags which were most likely changed out depending on who the previous crew was trying to trick at the time.
“Let’s use a flag like the pirates use and approach as comrades in arms.”
“Let’s use a merchant flag and anchor away from the port and see if they come to us.”
“Let’s sail around the island and see who is there and change our flag depending on who we spot.”
“There was this one time that a dude ripped of his shirt and waved it at me as a sign of submission. We should do that and then sail right into port.”
“… What?”
“I think he means we should raise a white flag to show we aren’t hostile and then approach directly instead of being sneaky.”
“Yep. Raise a white flag just like the color of this fog we are surrounded by.”
Urs started laughing at a joke only he could comprehend (Tobias may have chuckled as well) as the rest of the team realized that they were completely surrounded by a thick, dense fog. Urs went back to napping position as the rest of the team tried to see through the fog. Desmond went to the side and destroyed a chunk of the fog, just in time to see a spectral ship alongside of the Altaire, and undead denizens climbing onboard.
Urs who was aching for a scrap leveled his maul against a very airy apparition that swirled toward shim. He connected with considerable force, and the spirit must have appreciated it, as it invited itself into Urs’ body.The skeletal remains quickly swarmed on Desmond, who took a beating from their swords. Aengus realized he finally had the opportunity to use his divine power, ran past a skeletal attacker, jumped from the staircase and landed in a heroic pose as a holy energy radiated from his shield. 3 of the skeletons were in awe of such badassery, but the one they called Steve and the ghost seemed unamused. Bratak made quick work of one of the stunned skeletons, and everything seemed to be in hand, until Urs was up again. Foam dripping from his mouth, a glazed, soulless look in his eyes, he hastily approached Aengus and cracked him on the side of his Dwarven head. Aengus saw the birds for the first time. Feeling weakened by the business end of Urs’ maul, Aengus quickly went to protect himself with a holy Sanctuary. Desmond came along and used Heat Metal to great effect, neutralizing Urs’ primary weapon as the rest of the team knocked him unconscious. The ghost materialized just in time for Urs to get healed by his team and finish it off.
As the ghost fell, the rest of the skeletons jumped overboard, and the fog began to disperse. The ship had run aground some time ago, and the gang never even noticed. They went ashore and found a great deal of riches and items. Urs was disinterested, and had a bit of a stomach ache after having a spirit inside of him, so he went back on board the ship. Aengus, Bratak, and Desmond expedited their efforts and brought the riches on board, just as they heard a large, bestial rumbling coming from the jungle. A familiar fog began to encroach again. Suddenly, a vortex of negative energy rocked the ship and hurt all on board, destroying the pearl Anegus was working to learn more about. This was going to be a long day for the Wild Rovers…