Session 50 "A Ferry full of Faeries"

Everyone gets on the boat. An albatross takes to the air and acts as the guide. Malak works on a spell to make the stormy seas a bit calmer, but it only works around their craft. A half hour out, the albatross glides back towards the ship, lands, and after some teasing about Madden being in a well, the peeved bird flies off and vanishes. The boat goes through a veil and the ferry suddenly appears in front of the group.

They study the boat and pull their craft around to the back end of the boat. There are pads and some ladders near an automobile ramp.

Rhapsody goes kitty form and, with a rope, leaps out and climbs up the bumpers. She ties off the line and Daniel goes next up the rope. Sheri also manages to get up the boat. Connell leaps and almost misses, but struggles his way back up, pulling something in his arm in the process, not that it matters within the next few moments due to his healing abilities.

Rhapsody climbs up the ladder and peeks at the parking lot, seeing that it holds a few cars. The others join her and Daniel creates a veil to cloak everyone for 15 minutes.

They move up into the covered area, along the paths marked by arrows into a hallway. They see a figure standing there; a guy in a leather jacket, jeans, boots and carrying a shotgun and he does have a red hat on his head. Rhapsody points out that if time is an issue. They sneak by across the hall from the redcap. He doesn’t even notice a thing.

They look at the emergency exit plan map, study it, and then head up a set of stairs and see sliding doors, leading to a lounge. There are three figures hanging at the bar, with red hats and weaponry. They slip through the manual doors, not noticed by the redcaps.

They go around to the right and see a set of stairs that go up into a large cafeteria. As they go past the kitchen area, they hear voices speaking in American English, though they couldn’t hear exactly what was being said. They find the arcade and the theatre with an audience of redcaps, but no Madden. There is a close call with a redcap returning to the movie after using the bathroom. They head back to the kitchen.

A figure, carrying a tray comes through, making the group back up. He is wearing a black turtleneck sweater and has a shoulder rig with pistols, and BDU pants. Rhapsody smells the ocean and a scent that’s heavily fishy on him as he walks by. As they follow towards the upper decks.

Daniel says that his veil is about to go down.

Rhapsody follows fishy guy as the others hide in a nearby closet. He goes up another set of stairs and goes though another door into a rather utilitarian cabin section. He goes to a door with redcap guard. Rhapsody goes half way up the corridor to see if she can hear anything.

The guy comes out and mentions something about she will not eat.

Rhapsody goes back to the others to let them know what she saw. Daniel, having rested some, does his veil again. The group goes outside to look for stairs for the bridge. Rhapsody smells above the storm and the ozone, a rotting stench like a carcass. She looks around and spots a figure, a bird of some sort, perched on eaves above the deck, 30 feet up, the size of a small person.

It seems like it’s crouching and has an air of watchfulness about it. It hops towards the group a wee bit and seems to be looking towards them.

The group heads back and the thing heads down and lands on the railing.

It has the head and shoulders of a human woman... a harpy.

The group fans out a little, Rhapsody away from them to flank the harpy.

Rhapsody attacks with the sword she grabbed from Loknash and hits. Sheri follows up with a slash with her kukri. The harpy takes to the air and because of its punctured lung among the large slash wounds, it falls over the side of the deck, plummeting into the ocean.

A second harpy swoops in and attacks Connell. She slams into him, knocking him over the railing. Rhapsody catches Connell’s coat and Connell manages to reach out and grab hold of the tigress’ arm. She swings the detective back onto the ship. Daniel tries to zap the harpy, tagging it and breaking its wing. With the fractured wing, it slams into the ferry, scrabbles and falls into the ocean.

Rhapsody starts to go to the stairs that presumably to go the bridge, pauses as Daniel resets his veil. They hear people coming and spread out as turtlenecks go up. Rhapsody overhears a conversation between a woman and a male. They have what they want from Madden and the woman owes favor to whomever the man is representing. The group spreads out again as they hear people coming towards they door. They see a tall man exit,

7 feet in height, sunken features, long face and solid black eyes.. He and his entourage walk on by the veiled group.

The group follows and peek as the group leaves the lounge. There is a thud and the harpy has returned. It opens the door and screeches in alarm, but doesn’t appear to have seen the veiled party. The party heads towards a door and they follow the hall and then go down the stairs. As they move along the hall, they hear a faint groan. They follow the hall, check doors and as the hall turns, Rhapsody smells Madden. Rhapsody opens the locked door, Buffy-style, and they see Madden strapped to a table, urchins at his biceps and his torso covered in cuts.

Daniel works on freeing him, noting the sigils on the straps are for some thaumaturgic ritual. Connell picks him up and Madden passes out in pain. Where the urchins were, they can see there is no skin and the muscles and veins are exposed. Madden is wrapped up in a tarp to keep from creating a blood trail that can be used to follow the party and they carry him towards the aft section. Rhapsody hears the approach of a patrol from the elevator they had bypassed near the stairs. There is a cry of alarm as the group enters a different section of the ship.

Making their way back towards their entry point, the group goes into the other lounge. About halfway through, there is loud boom and the lights go out. Rhapsody is the only one that can see. Daniel makes a light to keep under the veil and Rhapsody leads the way. They find their way to where the girl was being held and hear screams.

One of the guys in the turtlenecks comes out with a girl, about 8 years old, squirming and thrashing in his arms. He is flanked by two redcaps.

They turn and head away from the group. Connell hands off Madden to Daniel, who readies arcane power in case he needs to use it. Otherwise, the wizard maintains the veil. Rhapsody comes up behind the turtleneck, grabs his head and snaps his neck. Sheri comes behind a redcap and takes it out. Connell kills the other one.

The little girl screams and tries to run away from the big tiger. Sheri picks up the girl and calms her down a little as Connell picks up the Madden-burrito again. They head back and Sheri tries to contact Ashley via telepathy, as does Daniel via magic.

As they head towards their boat, they hear gunfire. Near the ladder they came up, 5 redcaps are firing at Ashley. Rhapsody summons 4 tigers to go and distract the fae as they run to leap out, Daniel to work his mojo to guide the group to the boat using magic to have the buffeting winds cushion their fall.