The Cursed Mariner

[David Roomes]

Another gaming tale...  just for fun.

Early in his adventuring career, the infamous sea captain, Callister Draabyn, was known as the "Cursed Mariner". This is because he actually was cursed... cursed to have very bad luck... all the time. 

During one adventure, the party was aboard a flying wooden ship, traversing over a dense jungle. The ship was magical and held aloft by specific parts that reversed gravity. The ship was attacked and the attackers immediately went for the gravity parts. Battle raged all over the ship. Some of the cargo was barrels of oil and there were torches already lit. It wasn't long before the battle caused oil and flame to mix and parts of the ship were now on fire. Soon, enough of the critical components were damaged or destroyed that the ship began to fall from the sky. The battle raged on the deck of the ship, even as the ship burned and careened toward the ground.

The ship impacted the ground hard, breaking apart violently and flinging fiery debris across the jungle. Those fighting on the deck were thrown into the air. Many of them landed in trees and other foliage. But not the "cursed mariner". He flew through the air, cartwheeling through the sky. The spot where he came down was a jumble of sharp rocks with an old iron spear jutting out of the ground, its rusty point aimed skyward. He hit both the rocks and impaled himself on the spear. Bits of wreckage came raining down all around him with various pieces hitting him. This included a barrel of oil that shattered, splashing oil all over. A moment later a flaming torch from the ship landed on him and set everything on fire. It was a glorious sequence of events.

Magical healing potions are a wonderful thing. And because of them he managed to survive and go on to endure many more fun adventures. He eventually did get rid of the curse, but this particular day was, I think, when the curse most fully manifested itself. It is a day that has since gone down in legend.