Tidal Blades: Baits' Dads are Missing!

Yesterday we started a new monthly game (taking the place of our recently completed Thirsty Sword Lesbians game). Using the tried-and-true Spark method of choosing a game, our inspirations are thus-like:

• Gus chooses Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer because they like the idea of monsters becoming heroes.
• Michelle chooses WeRateDogs, because she likes people doing good things for people (and dogs, though the dogs themselves are optional, though she does want some kind of pets to be available).
• Emery picks Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West for the multiple interesting factions that exist in the setting, but don't actually require the player to be part of them.
• Kate* chose Fantasy High, for a structured social setting that involves going out and having adventures. 
• I picked Species, because (as I have mentioned on occasion) I like groups of competent people who respect each other's expertise.

*Kate did not wind up playing in this game because of scheduling issues, but her inspiration factored into game choice.

Given all that, we considered a few games. We talked about Leverage, Garden of the Giants, Slugblaster: Kickflip Over a Quantum Centipede, and Hidden Isle, but the one that won out was Tidal Blades.  

So with all that in mind, here are our characters! (Yes, another bulleted list.)

• Sobek, Resilient Croc Fighter who Defends the Weak: Sobek drifted into Radiant City and wound up training with Ol' Ruk. He's been a student of hers and a practitioner of waterfall wrestling and challenges ever since. Not long ago he saw Hobie getting hassled by a bunch of crocs and jumped in to defend them, and they both got their asses kicked. Since then Sobek has been looking for that gang to teach them a lesson!
• Mx. Hobie Hartgill, Creative Cuttlebeard Speaker who Befriends Beasts: Hobie has traveled extensively and collected a variety of interesting souvenirs, which they sell from a cart pulled by their pet mantis shrimp, Garnet. But Hobie's real passion is writing and embellishment, and they're looking for commissions to write out stories and legends of Naviri. Garnet has taking a liking to Bait, and Hobie isn't sure how they feel about that.
• Basil "Bait" Wilkins, Inquisitive Golfin Explorer who Sails the Howling Sea: Bait was abandoned on a dock as a...fish-baby, and grew up on a pirate ship called the Bloody Sun. The crew didn't really have much use for him other than taking a hit (and being dragged behind the ship as, well, bait), but the cook and the navigator, a married frog couple named Lukas and Lowery Cain, saw potential in the lad and starting training him as a navigator and sailor. Bait doesn't live on the ship full-time anymore, and has recently been hired as a cook and assistant by Faesli.
• Faesli, Sharp-Eyed Nag'i Adept who Studies Anomalies: Faesli was originally trained as a fighter, but kinda sucked at it, and switched to manipulate the michronic energies of the world instead. She is fascinated with the monsters ("anomalies") that come out of the fold and dearly loves Garnet. Sobek kinda reminds her of a bullabura, but in a good way!

On this particular day in Radiant Bay, the four of them are having dinner at Faesli's place (which Bait has cooked). They chat about things, Faesli tosses Garnet some scraps, which she eats and/or punches, and Bait invites them all to come with him to Drifter's Dock tomorrow and meet his dads. The Bloody Sun has been in dock for a couple of weeks (Bait isn't sure why) and he wants to go see them.

Sobek also mentions that he's competing tonight in the Chronosseum, doing a waterfall challenge, and asks for them to come along to support him (which of course they all happily agree to). They have some constello fruit for dessert and jump on a ferry to the arena!

The Chronosseum is a huge stadium with waterfalls that can be manipulated to allow different sorts of events. The one Sobek is competing in is a Slobfish Rock challenge; each contestant has to hold a big rock (shaped liked a slobfish) over their head, last one standing wins! It's a test of endurance as much as strength, and not for the faint of heart!

Sobek, another croc, and a turtle named Blue Shell compete. They all have cheering sections (Blue Shell's is chanting "T! U! R! T! L! E! POWER!" because Michelle is a dork). Blue Shell, however, is the first one out, and Sobek and the other croc exchange a smirk. They both drop their rocks soon after, though; no one goes the required time. It's not uncommon, it's a hard challenge.

The characters get some rest, and then meet up the next day and pay their half-shell to take a ferry over to Drifter's Dock. Much more sparsely populated, most folks who live here sell snacks to visitors or drive them across the bay to the Desert Market. The Bloody Sun is the biggest thing here at the moment.

Bait takes his friends on the Sun and waves up to a frog in the rigging, asking if his dads are here. The frog says he hasn't seen them today, maybe they slept in? ("Thanks, Doug!") The characters go to the Cains' cabin off the mess, and right away Bait sees something wrong: The door is ajar. Peeking in, he realizes the room has been ransacked!

Faesli scans the room and realizes that the drawers have been tossed; someone was looking for something. She also finds spots of blood on the floor, not enough for anyone to have been badly wounded, but there was definitely a fight. Hobie has a look and realizes that whoever was in here, one or more of them were tall enough to scrape the ceiling - maybe a croc?

They go to talk to the captain, of course. Captain Cheek is a magnafron and is arguing with the first mate about how long they've been in dock. Bait informs him what's happened, and he says no, they're not missing, they just went out for a while and hands Bait a note they found stuck to the Cains' door:

Hey Everyone. Look, we Put into this dock a week ago and we’re going Crazy! Really, Our eyes are Crossed we’re So BOred! At least give us a day or Two to get some Vim and vigor In our Noggins, Eh? See you soon, l&l!

Bait immediately realizes that the capitalization errors and sentence structure don't sound like his Dad or Pop-pop - this note may have been written under duress! Sobek notes that the first few capital letters spell "HELP" and the group quickly susses out the rest: HELP CROCS BOAT VINES.

Vines, of course, is a dock-village northwest of here, on the south side of the Vinian Strait. Clearly some crocs have frog-napped them! Sobek has a sneaking suspicion this may be the same croc gang that was hassling Hobie not long ago. Hobie, likewise, realizes something - they did a commission for Lukas as a birthday present for Lowery, an illustrated rendering of the legend of the Dire Suchid.

The Dire Suchid is, supposedly, a croc the size of a sailing ship with an endless hunger. According to legend, it sleeps "in the sandy shores of the northwest" until a "meal can rouse it." Hobie had no reason to think it was anything but a story, but of course, Faesli's interest is immediately aroused. The group has to go after them, but for that they need a boat.

Captain Cheek is willing to help (grudgingly), but the Sun is still inoperable. He loans them a dinghy; if they're just going to Vines, Bait can get them there by hugging the coast of New Mingu without danger. Bait prepares the dinghy, and Sobek goes out to grab some lunch and do some snooping, He asks an old nag'i purveyor of flizzers (deep-fried crickets the size of your hand) if he's seen any suspicious crocs around, and the old guy, indeed, has been paying attention.

The croc gang is called the Brotherhood of Forgotten Hunger, and they've been hanging around her for the last couple of weeks making trouble. Once they almost rumbled with the crew of the Sun, but one of the crocs on the crew seemed to smooth is over (the nag'i doesn't know the croc's name, but describes him). The nag'i also remembers that, about a week ago, some of the crocs were coming down the dock with some wriggling sacks - he thought it was fresh fish, maybe. He mentions that they were on three medium-sized ships, but one of them stayed behind and then left yesterday, heading north.

Sobek heads back to the Sun and tells the others this, and they find the croc that was described and question him. He tries to signal something to the rest of the crew, but whatever it is, they don't agree to it, and the croc kind of wilts and admits that he knows that the Brotherhood sent one of their ships to the Scattered Reefs to gather food. He doesn't know if that's the same one the Cains are on, though.

The characters are just about to leave when Hobie realizes they've lost Garnet! Looking around, they don't see her, so Bait dives into the water to look, and indeed, sees Garnet getting into a fight with a bunch of razor eels! Bait just swims right down and puts his trident through the eels' heads, and Garnet cheerfully swims back up with him. They all get in the dinghy and sail off!

As intended, they stick to the western coast of New Mingu until they reach Vines, and put in to the dock. Vines is mostly frogs, and a dockhand helps them moor. They ask him about crocs, and he's able to tell them that the ships full of crocs passed by here some days back, but didn't stop. The characters need something bigger than a dinghy to get to the Scattered Reefs. The frog says he'll ask around and see if anyone is available to take them. Meanwhile, the characters stock up.

Faesli hasn't brought her traveler's kit with her (she wasn't expecting to be traveling) so she spends her shells buying a new one (Bait kicks in, too). Hobie wanders down the beach looking for commissions, and doesn't have any luck there, but does get a recommendation to talk to an old frog named Rookis if they're interesting in monsters. Hobie knocks on Rookis' door and he converses with them about the Dire Suchid, the legend and the potential reality. Rookis says that the legends all say that the Dire Suchid sleeps in someplace sandy in the northwest, and that might mean the Scattered Reefs, but that seems unlikely - it's too shallow. No, it's more likely to be either east or west of Angler's Cove! Angler's Cove is a hive of criminal activity, so digging or searching for a giant croc would be hard. 

Hobie mentions that these crocs - whom Rookis says worship Hunger, not specifically the Dire Suchid - have kidnapped a couple of frogs, and Rookis nods grimly. "They may have taken them as...a snackrifice." 

The characters meet back up (and Hobie tells Faesli she needs to talk to this guy when she has time, they'd get along famously), and the frog they met introduces them to an old frog seamen with a hook for a hand (flipper?) named Rhubarb (the frog, not the hook). Rhubarb agrees to take them to the Scattered Reefs for some shells, and they load up in Rhubarb's ship (the Discourteous Dragon) and head out!

It's dark when they get to their destination - they see a group of crocs sitting around a fire and a ship tied up nearby. Faesli uses her michronic powers to leap across the waves to the ship, unties it, and tries to push off, but it's too heavy and she alerts the crocs! She leaps to the other side of the island (to take their focus off their boat), and they rush her! 

One of the crocs, a gray-skinned woman named Umami, throws a net over Faesli. Another, a salmon colored croc named Sweet, throws a dart at her, but Faesli activates her resonance field and the dart bounces harmlessly off (this would prove to be a theme). Hobie throws a cypher, a strange tooth that summons a queen wasp (a big honkin' jellyfish) into their midst, and it stings Sweet, who yipes and jumps away from it!

A huge, green croc with a hook named Sour (the croc, not the hook), charges up but holds back, clearly thinking that the net will hold Faesli. Meanwhile, a blue croc named Salty spots the characters' ship and wades into the shallows. Rhubarb moves the boat closer, and Hobie dispatches Garnet, who swims right up to Salty and punches him in the snoot! The last croc, an indigo-blue, smaller croc named bitter, runs to try and get the boat back. Sobek jumps out of the Discourteous Dragon and swims over to the crocs' ship to try and take it. Bitter attacks him, swinging a cudgel, but Bait swims over, throws a net over Bitter, and yanks him back, and he drops his cudgel!

The battle is joined! Salty strikes at Garnet with spikes on his hands, and Garnet swims the heck away and hides under the Dragon. Hobie jumps out of the battle with their battle staff and bonks Salty right on the head ("DON'T YOU HURT MY SHRIMP"). Sobek punches Bitter and dazes him, and Bait pokes him with his trident and he falls over screaming. Sour clonks Faesli with his hook, but Faesli activates a cypher - a rejuvenating shield, making her almost impossible to hurt. Sweet hurls darts, but they keep bouncing off - she tries throwing one at Bait, but misses. Umami switches targets and runs to help Bitter, but winds up facing off against Sobek and that doesn't go well; Sobek is very much ready for that scrap. And Bait picks up the dart, sticks it Umami's neck, and Umami collapses, twitching.

At this point, Sweet and Sour give up (the other three are injured), and Sweet gives Umami an antidote for the poison. Rhubarb and Bait tie them up, and they reveal that their ship (Lunch) was sent here for provisions while Breakfast and Dinner went on to Angler's Cove, where they were meant to meet up. They don't know the ultimate destination, though, nor do they know exactly why the Cains were taken. 

The characters decide to take Lunch and send the crocs back to Vines with Rhubarb, where they can face the authorities. Hopefully, Bait can do enough of a quick lesson in sailing for them...