II. Sail the Glassy Waters

I. Get a boat II. Get it going III. Reach the first island for supply restocking

Having left Woodhurst, the party moves through the The Slumbering Peaks to meet with Litton 'Slick' Wither, whom they are told can assist them in getting a voyage toward Ivywood.   One small problem (aside from paying for the voyage) is that the waters are icing over. They must obtain some Klatium, which can then be smelted into a panel for the front of the boat. This will hold heat extremely well and allow the ship to move through the icy water.   There is a part of the mine in Woodhurst where this metal can be found, but it has been claimed by a monster. If the party can acquire this sheet for his ship, Litton is willing to grant them passage. (II.I - Into the Woodhurst Mines)  

• Having returned with these magnificent speckled plates, the party gives them to Litton.
• He will say give him one day to prepare the voyage and that they'll sail at dawn. The party needs to find a way to heat the metal well.
   

At dawn of the next day, you set sail. The metal heats the ice and boat glides through the water, albeit slowly.There is a very still, eery air to the sea, and after the party gets a few miles from the coast, the ice becomes small and patchy, with the clear blue, freezing cold water allowing a very deep vision into the depths. The sky is gray and cloudy. The air has a very fresh quality, but it is cold and the air fills your lungs with a cold sharpness. Every breath leaves a thin cloud as it hits the brisk air.   As far as you can see is a sea of soft white ice with peeks of blue ice and cold water peeking through the cracks as the boat slices forward. There seems to be a light frost on all of the wooden surfaces of the boat.

   

Other members on the boat include:

• Elizabeth Bladewalker
• Rose McKinnon
• Cassius Wheatflow - Litton 'Slick' Wither's First Mate

The Fortune

One of the other travelers looks very exotic to your eye. She is very old with tan skin and long, braided gray hair. She has exotic earrings hanging down and a necklace of feathers. She laughs as though she sees things that they are too blind to see right now. She will offer to read their fortunes if they have an offering.

 

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They encounter a dragon turtle, Umben, who demands tribute (500gp worth) or he will send them to Vegu. If they offer up too little, he will rock the boat hard, sending some people overboard, and then they fly down over the falls.  

Whoever the players are speaking with will look around as if they sense something that the players do not. Their eyes will squint and they'll call for another opinion, most likely from the captain.   You feel the air grow very still. The smell of salt is strong in the air and you slowly scan the horizon, seeing nothing. Your eyes are drawn to the sky as you see several flocks of pale white birds flying circling above you. They almost blend into the grey, cloudy sky.   Elizabeth Bladewalker runs over to the edge of the boat and starts frantically scanning the water below. She yells toward the captain, "Uhh sir... we've got a problem here!"   Litton 'Slick' Wither responds, what would that be?!"   "Sharks. At least 50."   Litton's eyes squint closed as he scans the horizon with a quiet intensity, obviously thinking and watching for something.   After about 15 minutes of intense watching, you see hear large grinding sounds as large patches of ice in front you begin to crack, as large fissures shoot out through them and cause breakages. Water begins to pour through the cracks as what looks to be some large rock slides out through the ice, standing about 15ft. out of the water. About 2 minutes go by, and you see the large rock-type figure sink back into the water.   The Elizabeth Bladewalker looks at Litton 'Slick' Wither with a shocked look, which he reciprocates by taking a deep breath and staring into the sea.   "Get ready." He grunts to the party.   They'll say something, i.e. "For what?"   "You'll see."   A very still minute passes. Then, the sea ahead roils and churns, and waves crash over the bow of your ship, driven by saw-toothed hills rising from the heaving foam. Water streams off the rising crags like rivers crashing down a mountainside. At last the emerging island stops growing in size, although the sea around still tosses your ship like a drifting feather. Then a huge blast of steam erupts from the waves, and through the drifting, rainbow-crossed mist, you see an immense fanged mouth and a milky eye the size of a hogshead cask staring blindly in your direction. As the water calms, you also spot a pack of shark fins circling the ship.   The gargantuan mass roars out something in a language you cannot understand (PAY in Aquan, will switch to draconic if it seems to be failing.)

  Throughout the course of events, Umben will slowly circle the ship. At first, characters must continually circle the deck of the ship to maintain face-to-face contact with the creature, but eventually it creates an eddy that causes the sloop to revolve at a rate matching Umben's motion. It should be obvious to everyone that the dragon turtle could easily sink the vessel.   Umben demands tribute for safe passage but doesn't specify an amount. Those aboard must throw valuables into a sack, in view of Umben, until the dragon turtle is satisfied with the offering. He extorts a different amount from every vessel, depending on how rich it suspects the cargo to be and how greedy it feels at the moment. To determine the minimum value in gold pieces he will accept, 2d4×50 gp. As each fresh offering is displayed and added to the sack, the dragon turtle roars "More!" until the total reaches or exceeds its minimum. If characters act ridiculous about this-adding only a pittance at a time, for example- Umben impatiently blows a blast of steam breath above the ship and slaps the hull with its tail, causing everyone not below deck to make a successful DC 15 Strength or Dexterity saving throw or tumble overboard. The bay is full of reef sharks, and anyone who stays in the water more than 3 rounds is attacked by 1d4 of them.   Some negotiation is possible. A successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check can persuade him that the passengers have no more to give, provided they've placed at least 50 gp of value into the sack. Only one character can make the check; others can aid, if they contribute a convincingly pitiable plea to the argument. The check is made with disadvantage if the sack contains less than 100 gp in value, or with advantage if the sack contains 150 gp or more. Every time this check is tried and failed, he reacts as described above, as if characters were adding only a few gold pieces at a time.   When the offering is sufficient, he announces "Heave it over!" The bag can be tossed onto Umben's craggy back, into his mouth, or directly into the water. The dragon turtle submerges without further talk, causing the ship to pitch and roll violently until the sea calms down. Characters can watch the enormous disk of its shell swimming down into the clear water of the bay until it disappears in the lightless depths.

Once the dragon sinks slowly back into the ground, Litton 'Slick' Wither lets out a slow breath. They've made it - for now.