- KC baseball jersey (SPORT ball?)
- The writing in Niniel's Pact Tome to the Kraken fades into the paper like it was absorbed. Niniel sticks her tongue out at the book and puts it away.
- Niniel takes out the obsidian Kraken broach and casts non-damaging spells into it. That does nothing. She casts Summon Shadow Spawn to summon her 12' leg-spawn Japanese Spider Crab. It is very cramped in the tiny cabin. ("If you want him to shit, he can shit.")
- The crab does not know what broach is or possibly just can't communicate. She has it "Dreadful Scream" at the broach. Any and all sailors who were below deck come pouring out like ants out of an anthill. The broach still doesn't seem to have changed.
- Soliana was on deck finally looking at the spellbook from the Tattered Parchment with Comprehend Languages. She and all the other Keepers go running below deck to save Niniel, who doesn't need saving.
- She is standing looking disappointed at the crab and the broach.
- Caleb gives her a talking to about how sailors are superstitious and they do not need the sailors thinking the ship or the Keepers are haunted.
- Soliana who is a bit freaked out by the giant crab goes to tell Captain Gringamore that there is no active danger at the moment.
- Captain Gringamore immediately begins to tell Soliana how superstitious the sailors are.
- Niniel re-summons the crab who this time appears wearing a tiny bowler hat. Soliana is sent for to come see, and he is less scary with the tiny hat. His name is now Frederick.
- As a last ditch effort, Niniel ties the broach to a string or rope (or something) and dangles it from a yard arm and casts Eldritch Blast at it, which it absorbs. She then tries a Lightning Bolt (warning the Captain, but does not give him enough time to warn anyone else), which is does not seem to absorb.
- She spends the next like two weeks casting random Eldritch Blasts into it.
- One of these times a sailor walks by the open door of her cabin and gets mesmerized by the process, and then can't remember what he was supposed to have been doing.
- As they are nearing the Icy Expanse, she brings it to Soliana who casts Detect Magic (ritually) and it now seems like a seed of Enchantment magic. Niniel has a ridiculous idea that they both punch each other and cast Silvery Barbs and see if that does anything, but it does not.
- MEANWHILE, Soliana has finally been spending some time with the Dwarven spellbook. It has four spells, two that she can understand now and two that it will take her some more time to figure out.
Thunderday, 11 Snowmoot, 1374
- Two and half weeks from setting out of Port Carling, the person in the crow's nest calls out that there's "summat over thar"
- There's are shimmery colored lights that look a bit like an aurora in a column starting at the surface of the ocean and dissipating at an unknown distance into the sky. It starts to blend with the sky so it's hard to tell where or if it ends.
- Stardust is sent to investigate. She circles the column of light which flares a bit at the base, but it takes her a while, but it's two or three miles in diameter, so it takes her a while to do the loop. Before coming back she dives near the surface of the water, but cannot tell if it extends underwater.
- Niniel dives in and swims towards the column. She sees green-ish, blue-ish tendrils dripping / suspended from the underside of the column. The area feels familiar to Niniel (déjà vu?), but she can't put her fin on it.
- Niniel swims to within range and summons her Tentacle and tries to get it to shake hands with a tendril. The Tentacle swells in size to ten times it size then pops like a spell balloon.
- Niniel shrugs and swims up to a tendril and touches it. The tendril absorbs into her finger, and then her arm gets tingly, then her whole body splays wide out of her control and lightning spews from every fingertip, toe, tendril of hair, etc. She takes 61 (30) lightning dmg and both of her spell slots are expended.
- From the ship, they see a light show and bubbles under the water where Niniel disappeared to.
- Soliana Sends to Niniel to check on her. "Are you okay?" "Technically yes, but ow."
- Niniel then casts Dancing Lights and send an angler fish made of light down into the ends of the tendrils. She can see the outline of a reef, and she suddenly realizes that this is probably her Kraken's lair. It's near but outside the city of Revelora.
- She pulls out her Pact Tome and open it to the page where the writing she sent to the Kraken and stares at it. She's staring at it and staring at it and suddenly she blinks and she feels like she's somewhere else. It's completely dark and she feels compressed like she's being squeezed and she hears in her head, "Secure the next source. Blood, pain, and death binds it." Then she opens her eyes and she's back to staring at her book near a column of light.
- Niniel puts her book away and swims back to the Storm Caller.
- They lower the rope ladder and Niniel hooks her arms through the lowest rung and Zemma hauls her up the side of the ship and she flops over and Soliana feeds her a Healing Elixir and then has Poetry help Soliana help Niniel to the cabins.
- Caleb is being mean, and Soliana tells him he can't be mean to Niniel when she's hurt. He can be mean to her when she's rested. Then she sends him to tell Captain Gringamore full speed ahead to the Icy Expanse avoiding the light.
- After she's had a power nap, Niniel looks at the inscrutable writing in her book and she can now understand it. The magic note explains that the magical anomalies are opportunities to create magical sinks, and she's only succeeded once (the tree) and as the emissary she ought to have a better track record.
- The note that Thaneus was shown says "Complete the mission and we will rule together."
- Soliana is there, and she is very worried about the tree in her backyard because it's a magic suck in a wizard's backyard.
- Niniel comes in
- Caleb came in to check on them partway through the conversation, and suggests a Sending to Emmyth, so Soliana does that. "Is everything okay at the Grove? Is the new tree in the old stable still growing? Any new nightmares in the woods?"
- Emmyth responds, "Everything is fine in the Grove. The tree keeps getting bigger. Not sure about nightmares, but someone did go missing a few days ago."
- Niniel Sends to Emmyth through her book, "So who went missing? And how big is that tree?"
- Emmyth responds again, "Sally Tinsingtin went missing last Wineday."
- Niniel Sends again, "And how much bigger is the tree? Like how many horses wide is it?"
- Emmyth responds, "Sorry, was measuring the tree. Tree is about eight feet across. (Two horses.)"
- Soliana feels bad that are being so demanding to Ms Emmyth, so Niniel Sends once last time, "Thank you for measuring the tree. I hope you are having a good day." to which Emmyth responds politely.
- Soliana is very mollified and goes to fetch Niniel a snack from Hargak.
Saintsday, 14 Snowmoot, 1374
- The lookout in the crow's nest calls out that they can see the Tropical Pole (called on map the Icy Expanse).
- As they are approaching the giant sheet of ice, he says there's a whirlpool in the water. It's the size of a neighborhood (easily) at the top.
- They bring the ship to a stop far enough away that it isn't sucked in, and Niniel just looks over to Soliana and says, "Your bird can be an octopus right? Want to send her in and see what happens?" "No, but I can."
- Soliana spends the hour to convert Stardust from a hawk to an octopus.
- While that's happening, Niniel grabs a rope and dives into the ocean to get a look from that vantage point. The bottom as it tapers down is low enough that it's gloomy and she can't really see, so she sends her angler fish dancing light and she can see a sparking boulder at the bottom.
- There's some flashing lights (?) and some menacing cuttlefish start swimming towards her. One shoots a spear of ice or something that leave a trail of ice behind it. Niniel is still feeling sore from her lightning burns, so she abandons this fight and goes back to the boat to report in.
- 1,500 XP ea for 27,700 XP total ea.
