Editing Game-Summaries:5/12/2018 Recollections (section)

==Recollections by Dereth==
After a strange adventure a few weeks earlier, I decide to join [[Jeroy]], [[Pearl]], [[Rezik]], and [[Amon]] to investigate octopus pirates. This request comes from [[Captain Jenny Harkens]], who we found deep in her cups at a local sailor's tavern. It is not my place to judge, and held any critiques of her decorum. A good thing, too. She had posted weeks ago that she needed help and the [[Magistery]] only sent us. I understand her frustration. Her story goes that after being ransacked by the heretic Captain Jarzon of [[The Inheritor]], the octopus pirates took several of her crew including her lover, Red. Over the two weeks to arrive at [[Kraken's Landing]], [[Captain Jenny Harkens| Captain Harkens]] confides in us that she only cares for Red Bertram's rescue and will pay [[The Eternal Order]] handsomely. 

[[Rezik]]'s reconnaissance reveals an alarm bell and several uniformed pirates carousing on duty. No wonder they crew for an honorless pirate in Jarzon. [[Jeroy]] seems to do a passable job of disguising us as pirates for our approach, but after casting the bones, Viviene tells me that we will meet woe without a stealthy approach. I silence the area, [[Rezik]] fireballs the area (wizards are quite the allies!) and [[Pearl]] shows how savage a druid can be. I see [[Jeroy]] enter the cave alone and rush in to support him, trusting in Viviene's guidance. 

Shattering the alarm bell, a second group of uniformed pirates see Jeroy and ready an assault upon us. Dropping the silencing, I advise [[Jeroy]] to retreat. He does so as I fend off several attacks. I retreat to the mouth of the cave, and see what Rezik, Amon, and Pearl were struggling with outside. An oozing mass of mouths, eyes, and tentacles had taken form from what was, we had assumed, a leper tattooed with the octopus symbol of Jarzon's crew. This [[Gibbering Mouther| Babbling Horror]] had just been defeated as I demanded a surrender from the remaining pirates. In response to an honorable offer of safe passage from battle, the gutless pirates doubled down on their heresy by claiming that "The chosen of [[Shar Ngolyeth]] do not surrender" to the likes of us. Perhaps the [[Gibbering Mouther| Babbling Horror]] was a denizen of this wretched outsider this pirate cult worshiped. 

Using the power of her staff, [[Pearl]] erects a wall of thorns and isolates many of the pirates. Having discussed our plan of attack too loudly left two to strike down in a separate room where I met a ghost of a victim. Charissa was a lingerer, but I did not wish her ire and left the fresh water until later. One of the more skilled warriors, [[Captain Price| Price]], asked for a parlay and I honored my promise. She proved a valuable asset as we discovered Red, [[Captain Jenny Harkens| Harkens]]' crew, and Jarzon performing a dark ritual. [[Rezik]] incapacitated the whole group (we need more wizards!) and [[Captain Price| Price]] warned me away from the other former crew. I don't know why I trusted her, but I decided to save the man Jarzon was about to kill. Although Jarzon had just been killed, he mindlessly slit the throat of the hostage and summoned the being he truly worshiped: not an octopus, but a [[Kraken]]. 

The battle with the baby [[Kraken]] is a blurry series of prayers, spells, attacks, darkness, and yelling. I was knocked out twice and had to listen to [[Rezik]], [[Amon]], [[Pearl]], and [[Jeroy]] tell me what happened. Apparently, I performed well for a neophyte apprentice. Thankfully, my trust in the [[Lady of the Lake]] is well founded. Blessing the freshwater pool, everyone healed themselves and [[Captain Price| Price]] claimed [[The Inheritor]] for herself after letting us know she owes us a favor. There's something to be said for keeping your word. A grandiose painting of [[The Great Awakening]] adorned Jarzon's quarters on board, making clear his cult had nefarious intentions and an invasion from [[The Far| The Outside]] is upon us. Scrawled all over the captain's quarters is something in a tongue similar to Draconic, but not enough to understand. [[Amon]] seemed to understand much more than he wished, but I trust him to share whatever darkness haunts him when he can reconcile his past choices with his current noble path. A speedy trip back to [[Solace]], financial compensation, and the promise of one favor owed, and [[Captain Jenny Harkens]] saw us off. 

The [[Grandmaster Aetheres]], Kamorr himself heard our debrief. We found him wandering the halls and confirmed many of my beliefs that the [[Cult of the Kraken]] is misguided for believing the "above" races taunted The [[Kraken]]'s awakening so long ago. Grandmaster Aetheres told us that it was the death of [[Selune]], god of the moon, that woke [[The Great Awakening| The Kraken]]. It would take hundreds of master clerics the revive [[The Great Awakening| The Kraken]], but serving his spawn may be a more sneaky way to achieve their goal. [[Umberlee]], the Sea Queen, got her Divine Spark from somewhere, but it is not known which deity was lost to allow her access to such power. Could the [[Silence of Lolth]] be similar to [[Selune]]'s death? Kamorr did not have a comforting denial of our suspicion. This will not be the last we see from the "Sea Queen". 

I asked [[Grandmaster Aetheres]] for advice on our upcoming excursion to the [[Underdark]]. He advised us not to be afraid of spiders, bring anti-poisons, anti-toxins, light, and as many Kwik-aids as possible.