The next morning, the Third Wind can either leave the area or cautiously sail back into the lagoon to survey the damage on the Titan.
If they venture back to check out the Titan, they will find a terrified cabin boy in a locked cabinet. He is the only survivor. The Titan's hull is intact and is basically seaworthy. The hull had already been patched. It can float. If it is towed out to sea (away from the spiders) remaining repairs to the rigging can be done and the ship can be made seaworthy.
If the player characters mess about too long on the island, the hive spider colony will erupt again. The hive spiders will have sentries posted around the lagoon. What one hive spider knows, they all know. So, as soon as one hive spider sees the Third Wind crew, the nest will begin to buzz. It will be maybe15-20 minutes before the entire nest is aroused and an army of spiders sent forth.
Spider tactics - the hive spiders are clever and some of them may form a floating "spider ball" - a huge ball of several thousand arachnids that could float. This spider ball may attempt to pursue a ship.
After the spider island encounter, morale is low and nerves are frayed. This is a good time for a mutiny. Have a small portion of the crew led by one ruffian challenge Captain Draabyn and his officers. It'll be up to the player characters to choose sides and settle the matter.
On this day, as the Third Wind continues sailing east, it has a strange encounter. It's a flying metallic sphere with odd protrusions. [This is a long range scout drone sent from the Duthelm fleet to check up on the players. It is heavily armor, fast and in constant telecommunications with its “base”. Spells can be cast through the connection and they will come out of the eye of the scout drone. This scout drone is scanning the ship.
After a short time, the scout drone flies away to the east, toward Aggradar. This is to hide the Duthelm fleet's location.
If the party pursues the drone with some kind of scout (a winged familiar, a wizard's eye, a clairvoyance spell, an invisible flying mage) they will follow the drone to the Duthelm fleet which is some 50 kilometers to the north. The Duthelm fleet is three ships bearing the Duthelm flag. Any scout which is spotted will be shot at. All three ships have cannons. And heavy duty magical fire power. A direct encounter between these three ships and the Third Wind will sink the Third Wind.
Clear skies. Good winds. No encounters.
Excellent winds today. The Third Wind makes good progress.
On this day, something large flies overhead. It looks like a large winged reptile. Not a dragon, but a close relative. No one has ever seen anything like it before. It has two sets of wings. It's about 9 meters (30 feet) long. It circles the ship several times, eyeing the boat. It squawks curiously at them. It approaches the crow’s nest and visibly sniffs the strange vessel. It then slowly turns and flies east. This is a distant relative of the dragon. No breath weapon and not nearly as powerful as a dragon. It's native to Aggradar. This beastie was just curious about the ship. It's still a tough opponent and would put up a good fight, but will more likely fly if the player characters throw a lot of firepower at it. If they manage to kill it, there's a chance that the creature could fall on the ship. It wouldn't sink the Third Wind, but would foul up the rigging, to say the least.
Good winds. If Callister releases a crow, it flies west and slightly south. This gives the Captain faith to keep going. Callister believes that they are further north than he had previously believed. He's right.
Callister spots a grey backed coast gull, then another and later a third. The significance is that it's a bird that generally sticks close to the shore. This indicates that they must be near land (within 100 kilometers or so).
Boom! An impact! The ship shudders from a sudden impact. People are thrown off their feet. This is followed by a slow grinding sound and the ship shudders against. Ship runs aground on submerged reefs. Is too heavy to get off. If the Titan is with them, it can help haul the Third Wind off. If not, the player characters will have a harder time of it. They will have to jettison cargo in order to float the ship off. This is a very good indication that the ship is close to land. Probably within 50 kilometers.
The ship spots land, finally. If they keep their distance and follow the coastline, they find it's actually a large island. With a little more sailing, they see two more bodies. Actually it's three islands. The Three Maidens.
Although they can't read the map, the map that started this whole voyage does indeed show three large islands off the western coast of Aggradar. The Third Wind has found them and can now pinpoint their position.
[In actuality, these three large islands are the home to several Sybren lordly estates, including the emperor's estate. These islands have their own navy. The waters are constantly patrolled by warships.]
From the sea, they circle round and see a dock, several white marble buildings, a dock and two docked ships. Strange design on the ships. Like a sleek warship. Also, the sails bear the Sybren Imperial Symbol.
This island is the private resort/retreat of a Sybren Empress and various Imperial Lords. This is a private pleasure island. It sports a small palace for the Empress and several other estates for lords. The island is loaded with imperial guards and warships. If the player characters try to land here, they will likely face a hostile military greeting. They may be arrested and thrown in the dungeon. This could drastically alter the flow of events of the campaign. If the player characters say they want to land here, the Captain gently reminds them that their quest lies on the mainland, not these three islands.
If the Third Wind loiters around too long or gets too close to these islands, warships will be sent out to intercept with orders to sink the intruder and bring back everyone as prisoners.
DM Note: I would like to point out that you should start to subtly steer them toward the city of Okslad. Captain Draabyn will say that, based on the map, that looks like a good spot to moor the ship. Favorable winds, currents, land features, etc. Also, it looks like there's a city there, based on the map.
Three Sybren War Ships are out patrolling the waters. They are coming from the east and surround the Third Wind. As the ships approach, it is seen that they are off odd design, are flying unfamiliar flags along with secondary flags (possibly military). If they get very close, it is seen that the members of the crew and the officers all wear uniforms and the markings on the ship are in a strange language.
Upon very close inspection, the characters recognize the wood/letters of these ships (This ship design, construction and language is identical to the debris from weeks ago). Language will be a problem. This could be an interesting encounter if there is no common language and you are strict with the use of translating spells.
The Sybren Imperial officers will allow the Third Wind to pass if the Captain and crew pay a tax toward the war effort. This tax will be tremendously high. The Sybren Imperial Officers will simply take about 90% of all wealth on the Third Wind and five crew member as slaves.
Also, the survivor from the debris wreckage bears the mark of an escaped imperial slave and he will be taken. If he is found, he is captured. Treated harshly.
The player characters can either pay the tax and be on their way, or fight or flee.
The Third Wind comes in sight of land. It’s a large land mass, not an island. They have to sail around for several hours before finding a safe place to harbor. The coastline is beach with tall rocky cliffs. They look climbable from sea, but then when they get on land, they find that these are huge cliffs.
As the ship circles the continent toward their targeted inlet, they will see the following things.
The Hermit's House
The ship spots a small house on the coast. Chimney with smoke. Sitting outside is an old man with a long pipe whittling a piece of wood. He smiles and nods, but never says a word. If shown the map, he can show them precisely where they are and points down the coast towards the inlet that they want.
A Small Fishing Vessel
Six eshtari fishing men. Very friendly. Strange language. They will share food and drink.
A Burned Out Husk of a Village
A Sybren village destroyed by Padashan raiders.
A Magrakian Fishing Vessel Going In To the Same Inlet that the players are.
Very friendly bunch of magrakians.
On the last day of their voyage, the ship comes into the city of Okslad. Or at least, this is a good city to start with. This is what I've got notes for. And this is the city that I recommend you steer them toward. So, steer them toward Okslad. The next section deals with the journey across Aggradar starting from Okslad.
Why have them land here and start their cross country journey in Okslad? Because... it's a busy harbor, a major port city, home to the Magrakians who are a friendly race and it's also a cultural and racial melting pot so you can give them a brief glimpse of many Aggradarian races at once.
This website was last updated March 31, 2026. Copyright 1990-2026 David M. Roomes.