Chapter 9: The Crimson Leviathan

The Crimson Leviathan 

• Cartoonish, Frankenstein-looking ship; barely afloat
  
  
• Floorboards creaking, nails sticking out
  
  
• Sour, stagnant sea smell
  
  
• Sailors yelling, chaotic and energetic atmosphere
  
  

Exploring the Ship

• Shrubbery declares: “I would like to get a beer.” → led downstairs
  
  
• Areas shown:
  
  
• Sleeping quarters (huge, layered hammocks)
  
  
• Gambling area (same as hammocks)
  
  
• Kitchen (pixie-like fairy mixing stew, incense aroma)
  
  
• Bar (south end, mostly orcs; lizard in corner Aragorn-style; orc witches)
  
  
• Shrubbery feels claustrophobic, unsettled, never been on a ship before
  
  
• Grabby fears being recognized by crime syndicate connections
  
  
• Whiskers anxious about new ability
  
  
• Grizzly relaxed, vibing, keen for casino and information

Casino & Sleeping Quarters

• Grizzly meets observant gambler (street smart, smuggler, struggling business)
• Gamblers and Grizzley connect over shared struggles
• Gnifty & Bug climb to top hammocks to sleep for safety
• Karhold is boom-or-die: businesses either boom and stay very busy or they don’t exist; there’s almost no in-between.

Bar Scene

• Huge group of orcs drinking; sour, bitter beer stench
  
  
• Orcs chant: “Drink, fight, sleep, repeat”
  
  
• Shrubbery & Whiskers drink arm-in-arm → beer out the nose
  
  
• Inferno downs drinks easily, unimpressed (“weak”)
  
  
• Peer pressure orc challenges Inferno with drinks
  
  
• Inferno avoids spiked drink, vomits one, powers through others
  
  
• Orc intense, huge pupils, rapid speech
  
  
• Group notices suspicious lizard (Snapjaw)
  
  
• Eventually all jigging in circle together, having fun
  
  
• Snapjaw opens up:
  
  
• Bullywogs took his and his family’s swamp (reason unclear, doesn’t want to get in trouble)
  
  
• Snapjaw is encharge of shipping the cargo to Carneathin Inn in Karhold
  
  
• Not motivated by money Snapjaw just wants to look after his family and save them from the Bullywugs
• Snapjaw passes out after drinking too much

Games & Dice

• Grizzly, Grabby, and Inferno play dice
  
  
• Some head to see pixie lady (“Darling, come look at my cards”)
  
  
• Croc pots bubbling with strange smells/colors
  
  

Tea Therapy Visions

• Shrubbery: Storm in a dark forest; her father flees with infant Shrubbery, chased by a shadowy, uncertain force that blackens the trees. In a clearing, her wounded mother cuts into herself with a bone dagger, channeling lightning into the baby’s chest. Her final words: “Storm… soul… spark…”The father, sobbing, carries the glowing infant. At the cave entrance he whispers “Forgive me” and throws her into a bear’s den as the force closes in. A mother bear curls protectively around the child, raising her as her own.
  Flash of childhood: Shrubbery growing up in the wild, loved and shielded by the bear.
  
  
• Grizzly: Sister Willow screaming, kidnapped by shiny, oily-skinned stretchy figures (not barbarians).
  
  
• Grabby: Sees Liana, softly flirting with him in a friendly, teasing way. From afar, Malrick watches the interaction in silence.Scene shifts — Liana is still alive, but now angrily throwing knives at a drawing of Grabby.
  
  
• Inferno: The Pyro Gene is a rare trait in Inferno’s bloodline, granting power and training to those deemed worthy heirs. Inferno tested positive — his chance to prove himself to his father — but Seraphis, the king’s adviser, falsified the results and destroyed the truth. Through deceit and manipulation, Seraphis had him banished, leaving Inferno disgraced and unaware of the power he truly carries.
  
  
• Shared Vision:
  
  
• Faceless shadowy figure walking toward castle
  
  
• Flash of 5 flaming heads incinerates castle
  
  
• From debris emerge soldier, merchant, and civilian
  
  
• They face the cloaked faceless figure → terrifying
• The vision was of Malakar 

Aftermath of Visions

• Pixie (“Darling”) gives Whiskers a Scroll of Reduce Size
  
  
• Group notes recurring number 5 → pentagon symbolism → Malakar
  
  
• Plan: travel to Carneathin
  
  

Closing Scene

• At ship’s south end, dark corner lit by glow
  
  
• Music heard → two rats swaying in love
  
  
• Grizzly shoots both with an arrow, killing them instantly