session 46

Session 46: Getting Ahead¶

Our second day aboard the Xabraxas dawned with grim anticipation. We had made ourselves comfortable on the ship over the past 24 hours – Gloopwing was up to her typical mischief, though it was (surprisingly )well received; Ryalith engaged in her usual feats of strength and correspondingly made friends in her usual way. The others kept to themselves or were engaged with by Gwen, who was curious to catch up on the events she had missed. We also heard a bit more about Talah Mesho’a – she seems to have left her clan, where she was to ascend to first Matriarch, in somewhat of a hurry. Word is that she had become obsessed with a so-called “great convergence” to which she had turned all her resources in preparation. Unfortunately, no one really knew what she could possibly have been talking about with such a phrase.

There was also word that the position of the Neogi convoy had been given up by someone (or some thing) within the Neogi hierarchy, which would be a bit of a surprise. Though Tiran Foss can be awfully convincing when she wants.

Though the Reavers’ jests and ribbing continued into the next day, there was a sharpness to their humor now as we drew near our quarry - a Neogi convoy carrying prisoners through the void.

The battle erupted suddenly when our ships emerged from a clouded nebula and spotted the convoy. Cannon fire thundered across the emptiness of space as we engaged the spider-like Neogi vessels, their dark hulls gleaming with an unsettling chitinous sheen. Our initial volleys failed to strike true, but subsequent efforts were successful, punching holes through one of their ships’ armored flanks.

Three longboats launched from our vessel toward the wounded Neogi ship. We watched in horror as a ballista bolt shattered one of our sister boats, its crew scattered to the merciless void. Our own landing proved more fortunate - we slipped through the breach our cannons had torn in the enemy hull. Just before we slipped into the ship we witnessed a new ship materialize nearby and engage our sister ship – the Abrozennia. What this portended we could not say.

Inside, we encountered our first taste of the Neogi’s cruelty - thralls with vacant eyes and slack expressions, their wills crushed beneath their masters’ psychic dominion. Through quick thinking and Theta’s magical intervention, we managed to avoid bloodshed with these poor souls, sealing them safely behind us.

But soon we clashed with the true horror of our foes - the Neogi themselves. Like nightmarish fusions of spider and eel, they skittered across walls and ceiling on too many legs, their elongated heads housing razor-sharp teeth and malevolent intelligence. Even as our spells and blades found their marks, we could sense worse threats awaiting us in the ship’s higher decks - the heavy footfalls of something massive, and the distinctive chittering of what could only be their dread masters.

We press on, driven by the promise of gold and the satisfaction of striking a blow against these slavers. The battle is far from over, but already we have learned that hunting these creatures will test not just our combat prowess, but our tactical wisdom and moral resolve as well.

What we do not yet know is whether the intelligence that led us to this convoy was truly a leak - or a trap. The confidence of the Neogi defenders suggests they may have been expecting company.