On this day, the Third Wind finds another survivor in the wreckage of the Vanguard. It was the Vanguard's first officer. His name is Hanrik and he is able to give Captain Draabyn a detailed account of the events that transpired upon the Vanguard prior to her sinking. It had simply been the storm magic of the thallasians (the mermen creatures). Although the captain of the Vanguard had fought a brave battle, the Vanguard had been doomed. There was no saving her against the sheer force of that tidal pool. Callister made him a low ranking member of his crew.
Cold wind blowing from the north.
Early in the morning, several hundred Thallasians surface and form a long line of bobbing heads behind the two ships. [This is a show of power and a warning never to return to their waters]. One thallasian warrior approaches the Third Wind and tosses a huge ornate seashell up to the crew. The creature then turns and leaves. Without a word, all of the thallasians submerge. The shell is a gift of sorts from the thallasians signifying "you fought well and have been warned".
Also, on this day, Captain Draabyn orders a crow released. It is the fifth crow and three are left. This crow circles a few times in the sky and then flies to the EAST! This is hugely significant. It marks the half way mark of the journey.
A light fog blows in with a cold wind blowing from the north and covers the surface of the sea.
A heavy fog rolls in during the evening. Strong cold wind and icy currents from the north chill the crew.
[Let's throw an iceberg at them. It might seem unlikely that the ship would encounter an iceberg here in the middle of a temperate ocean in the middle of summer. But here are few interesting tidbits that would justify it:
Because the ships have been using “dead reckoning” as the navigation technique (which is not very accurate), they are further north than they believe.
In the real world, large icebergs can actually float into tropical waters before they melt. So it's not a big stretch of the imagination to have a large one pose an obstacle here in these waters in the summer. However, I was dropping lots of hints last session and this one that the weather was a bit cool for summer.
The ships are now out at deep sea in heavy fog. Cold winds have been blowing from the north for several days now.
No encounters.
The heroes and crew of the Third Wind wake in the middle of the night by the sounds of a great horn being winded. They stumble to the deck and find the men of the Titan yelling and putting their long boats in the water. It is soon conveyed to them that the Titan has struck an iceberg. As the Third Wind circles the other ship, a huge jagged blue fang of ice, some 15 feet out of the water, becomes clear in the moonlight. It has ripped a hole into the Titan.
Not wanting to lose another ship, both crews work desperately to save the Titan. The crews attach heavy ropes from the Third Wind to pull the Titan off the iceberg and to tow her. Both crews work together on patching the breach in the hull. It will take every bit of magic, skill and spare wood and pitch to do it, but they manage to keep the Titan floating. However, the Titan is damaged. One good storm and she would go down. Both captains decide to stop at the next bit of land they came to, no matter what it was, and make more substantial repairs in calm, shallow water.
No encounters.
Breach in the water. A lookout spots a large beast in the water. Then a second and a third. The two ships soon find themselves amidst hundreds of huge beasts. A vast gathering of them as far as the eye can see. They look a bit like whales, but with horny, spiked hides on their heads and ridges down their backs. [These are horn whales]. They have blunt, armor plated heads. All the beasts are female and pregnant. While the player characters watch, one of them gives birth. This is the spawning grounds.
Not only do the two ships have to deal with dozens of agitated females, but also dozens of young and a dozen male bucks intent on protecting the females and the young.
The bucks are head butting each other. It's an impressive sight. Two males will rush each other and the water will spray up like a whale spout between them. They ram heads with a loud crash.
Several of the bucks begin pounding the Third Wind. Each male weighs about 4 to 6 tons and put that much weight into a single hit. The Titan begins to flee the area, not wanting to know if the patched hull would withstand a hit. The Third Wind holds its ground giving the bucks a target to hit while the Titan escapes.
If any spellcaster should attempt to communicate with the great beasts through magic, such as a Speak with Animals spell, for instance, it will be an interesting conversation
Here's an example of how it might go:
The female is mine! bellows a large male and then rams into the side of the Third Wind. The cracking of timber can be heard.
The female is mine! and another crash.
The heroes desperately try to talk the creature out of head butting their ship to kindling. But the great horn whale is stubborn. Bull-headed you might say. :)
The female is mine; CRASH! “The female is mine!” CRASH “I demand that you yield!”
“Ok, ok,” cry the heroes in desperation. “We yield!”
“Then DIVE! As is our custom!”
Of course, the Third Wind is a ship and can't dive. So, they just brace themselves and ride out the battering. It will likely get hit 15 or 20 times before the ship can finally get out of the area.
This website was last updated March 31, 2026. Copyright 1990-2026 David M. Roomes.