The shipping lanes of Golarion's seas and oceans are filled with fat merchant vessels laden with trade goods both mundane and exotic, as well as the pirates and freebooters who prey on them. Under the banner of their Hurricane King, these buccaneers sally forth from that archipelago of lawless pirate ports and anchorages known as the Shackles, plundering the shipping of countless countries and trade consortiums, then vanishing back into the maze of islands and reefs they call home. The nations of the Inner Sea would like nothing more than to end the pirate menace once and for all, but the eternal hurricane known as the Eye of Abendego has thus far shielded the Free Captains of the Shackles from the threat of retaliation.
In the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path, the PCs take on the role of pirates, but they must make a name for themselves in piracy, plunder, and disrepute to truly become infamous Free Captains of the Shackles.
With the crew on board the bell rings, the gangplank raises, and the ship slowly moves out of port. The sights and sounds of Lillywhite fade behind as The Banshee sails due west from the port. Days pass as the ship makes good time. Around the large idle of Besmara's Throne plenty of other ships are spotted, but there is no trouble with them. Further out you pass up the chance to try and taken down a merchant ship as the weather turns bad and it doesn't seem worth the risk.
Following the map found on Isabella Inkskin's back, you plot your way to a series of unnamed isle. The island is actually a series of small islands composed of carbonate platforms atop ancient reefs, forming a rough crescent open to the north. You are north of the Ushinawa Islands, and perhaps 110 miles from Tidewater Rock as the albatross flies.
Late in the afternoon, 3 days after leaving Lilywhite you spot the chain of small isles. The islands
are surrounded by nearly sheer rock cliffs with few beaches, and are buried under a shroud of prolific jungle growth. They are a haven for birds and sea mammals, and have small populations of both rodents and snakes. The largest island has a sizeable population of spider monkeys that keep up a cacophony throughout the day. The jungle growth is dense, with the average height of the tree canopies reaching 60 to 70 feet.
So Grimbold is on summer slow, and Adam has vanished. I'm not sure what to do at the moment. I'm going to work in our merman some how here, but its a tricky situation
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Xie spends the three day journey getting acclimated with the ship and the crew, getting to know everyone and and making sure to share some time with them, getting to know them. On the third day while working on the deck, land is spotted, he decides to take a couple minutes to admire the dense jungle and the animals living in them, the sight brought an inevitable feeling of wonder in XIe.
Captain Gragol is shouting orders, "Look Out Report! All hands on deck, I want a dozen men armed with crossbows at the ready! Drop anchor, and ready the rowboats!"
The First Mate Maggie is already on it, dealing with the anchor and the long boats while Davok and Roderick are getting the armory open and weapons handed out to crew. Look outs are scanning the seas and the isle for trouble. Someone comments to keep eyes open for Sahaugin, "The filthy fishmen might be about!"
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Nary a ripple breaks the ocean's surface as a lone mermaid swims well-beneath the waves. She looks ahead at the ship, wondering if this is where she'll find the person responsible for the kidnapping of her sister!
You won't hide from ME, Thresher...or Knuckles...or whatever your name is. I've got a lightning bolt with your name on it!
The mermaid wonders how she'll figure out which person on board is this Thresher/Knuckles person, but she's sure she can figure that step out once she's on board.
Xie puts on his hat and readies himself for going to land, his pack ready and glaive in hand he reports back to the deck joining the rest of the crew. Scanning the horizon Xie doesn't see any fishmen but if life had taught him something was to always be on the look out and keep his eyes and ears open.
Flavinia's mostly went by with magic. Told to scrub the deck, she just pointed and solved the matter with prestigitation. Kitchen duty...well, she could add some flavoring with prestidigitation. Sails in need of fixing? Mending. Spell, spell, spell. Getting their hands dirty was for mundane boring people.
At the call for crossbows, she shrugs and digs out her little acid flask to enhance her attack, stung like hell in the face. Crossbows were for boring people.
Flavina and Xie find themselves together on the port aft of the ship, likely because Flavinia traded places with someone else and just joined Xie there, the bow was for boring people. Standing beside them are two others now, Blood Rackham (a man missing teeth, an ear, and with a nasty scar on his face). He's already tried to start two fist fights on board in the short time the pair have been on the Banshee. He is grinning and elbows Xia, "Eyes open, Fishmen and Pirates around, I can feel it."
The other is Grommet, a gnome with wild green hair. He's a bit nutz they say, known for taking swims while the ships as see by tying himself with rope to the sailing ship. He's rash, "Looks like a good spot for a swim!"
Luck would have it that this merry quartet are standing on the deck of the ship just above where Meri swims to. The merfolk, hidden under the waves for a good long way is swimming into crystal clear blue water of a sheltered cove, and before long she's no longer hidden by the depths of the sea. Its Xie that spots the serpentine shape swimming toward the ship first.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Rod has been busy with the provisions and equipment, but he has also tried to be on deck as much as possible, enjoying the fresh salty air and the wind. He has also watched the newcomers and noted that Flavinia used magic for her daily tasks. "That ought to make things quicker", he thinks, suddenly, secretly, wishing he could do magic too. He has joined the two for chatting a few times and find out more about them.
When land is in sight, he gets his equipment and stands at the railing, looking at the island and the waters to see if he can spot anything unusual.
Scanning the horizon Xie notices a darting shadow under the rippling blue of the ocean, the shadow heading directly towards the group of adventurers, without pause Xie lowers his glaive and screams at the top of his lungs "We have company!" Pointing with his weapon on the direction of the darting shadow.
