3.3 Free Seas
Blue Sky, Black Dirt
(Aug 12th , Year 41 2023 – Oct 08th, Year 41 2023)
Where is the Pay Dirt...
After months of harsh negotiations and blood-earned favors, the Blackwater Company leadership gathers its captains and officers to review the campaign in the north. The Wyrmskull Clans, long hesitant to ally with southern crews, finally extended their hand after witnessing Blackwater’s discipline and sacrifice in the frozen marches. The meeting is half celebration, half reckoning—a quiet recognition that alliances forged in frost are brittle things. Whispers stir of the next move—of the Blue Sky Company’s northern flesh trade, of debts still unpaid, and of skies that no longer seem quite so blue.
Booty on the Bay
The Company dispatches two trade ships under neutral colors to Booty Bay to sniff out whispers of the Blue Sky Company’s dealings. The usually raucous port hums with unease, its taverns brimming with bounty hunters, smugglers, and off-duty soldiers trying to sell the truth at a premium. Word spreads that the Alliance, fresh from the Tournament of Ages, has uncovered cultists among their own northern ranks—some bearing brands that match the Blue Sky insignia. The crews dig deep, bribing goblin officials, trading rum for secrets, and uncovering that the Blue Sky’s “trade” isn’t confined to goods—it traffics in flesh, stolen knowledge, and souls.
Schnotz’ Flesh Market
The trail leads the Blackwater Company to the golden dunes of Uldum, where the desert wind carries the stench of old blood. Deep beneath the sands lies Schnotz’ Flesh Market, a vast bazaar where slaves, husks, and constructs are traded under false suns. There, the Blue Sky Company deals openly with necromancers and flesh-shapers, moving product to the Iron Isles and beyond. The Company makes its stand, calling on every allied flag—from the Southsea to the Freebooters—to put aside rivalries and burn the market to ash. For once, even pirates and paladins fight on the same side, though few leave the sands unscarred.
Terror in the Dale
Far to the north, a lonely town south of Stratholme becomes the next battlefield. Blackwater scouts arrive to find it smothered in fog and haunted by grotesque carrion shifters—undead creations born of twisted saronite experiments. The Argent Remnant reveals the cause: a corrupted pillar of saronite buried beneath the town square, channeling souls to feed the Blue Sky’s new army. What follows is a battle of attrition through icy streets and collapsed chapels, as the Company tears down the pillar and puts the restless dead to flame. Yet even in victory, strange whispers echo from the broken stone.
Thera... No More...
The ruins of Theramore, long abandoned, pulse again with life—of the foulest kind. A clandestine market has emerged in the shattered city, hosted by goblins and Blue Sky brokers who trade in cursed relics and captured spirits. Following Senya’s lead, Blackwater sends an infiltration team beneath the boiling ruins to learn who dares profit off a graveyard. What they find are war profiteers, mad artificers, and fragments of the Blue Sky’s leadership bartering in shadow. The battle that follows shakes the lagoon, turning the waters thick and red with ash. The market burns, but the true architects slip away into the mist.
Where Have All the Good Men Gone...
When the guns fall silent and the sand cools, the Company takes stock of what remains. Captains lost, crews scattered, and names once sung in taverns now etched on memorial planks. The Blue Sky Company has been driven into hiding, but their poison lingers in the north—in the hearts of deserters, smugglers, and those too desperate to care who they serve. The Blackwater Company finds itself facing an uncomfortable truth: victory in the north came not through honor or loyalty, but through necessity. And necessity, as ever, breeds monsters.