Sunday, Patchwall 9, 552 CY (50 AN)

Bezaldooz, Bosabrieln, Peren, Torinn, and Valna, as well as their companions Geverspike and 254, awaken as they voyage across the Sea of Howling Souls. Kaseem has kept the Percheron on course throughout the night.

As they journey, another fog bank rises and Kaseem tells all of them to be quiet. This continues for roughly an hour before the fog begins to lift and the Shields of the Sorrowfell hear shouts. They emerge from the fog to see a titanic whirlpool. The shouts come from an iceberg being sucked into the whirlpool; several ogres scurry across its surface. They are being menaced by a set of enormous black tentacles emerging from the water and trying to pull the iceberg under the waves. Amid the ogre shouts, the Shields hear a loud screech from whatever beast lurks beneath the waves as it finally pulls the ice shelf under the water. The whirlpool slows and eventually the waters return to their typical turbulence.

Shortly thereafter, the Shields spot a boat approaching. Bezaldooz notes it’s made out of bone, and several paddle-like bone oars protrude from the side. Gibbering, wizened corpses — ghouls or ghasts, by their look — swarm over the deck of the ship, which is dominated by a large metal statue. Bezaldooz surmises that it is a shield guardian. Barking orders is an ancient crone with grayish skin and spiraling ram’s horns protruding from her head. He has previously heard tales of the night hag pirate Yurria, and surmises this is she. He further surmises that he has the control amulet for the shield guardian.

The Shields prepare to be rammed, and as the boat approaches, Peren casts water walk on the Shields. He and Torinn then run to the other ship to engage the enemy.

Peren attempts to grab the shield guardian’s control amulet from her, but she is too quick and scurries around him. He runs back into the sea to avoid her wrath, but she hits him with a black, enervating ray; he is uninjured, but feels weaker. Torinn, meanwhile, begins engaging the ghasts aboard the ship. As the ship rams the Percheron and ghasts climb aboard, Valna presents her holy symbol and prays to intercession. One of the ghasts runs in fear and cowers at the sight, hiding on the bow of the ship, but the others do not seem fazed by this display of holy power. Geverspike flies into the water and begins firing his pistols at the night hag; she bruises, but her tough hide resists the worst of the bullets. The night hag throws a barrage of silvery bolts at Peren, and as Torinn slays one of the ghasts and turns on the other, Valna repositions herself and again holds her holy symbol aloft and prays for intercession as two ghouls run upon her. Peren tries to grab her control amulet again, but is forced to hastily retreat. The shield guardian strides onto the Percheron, evidently heading in Bosabrieln’s direction.

This time, the light of Pelor issues forth from her holy symbol, and four of the six remaining ghouls flee as far away from her as possible. (The fifth is still cowering from her previous prayer.) The last is the one directly in front of her attempting to tear her to shreds, but Bosabrieln manages to paralyze it before it can do her any injury.

Unfortunately, her prayer also affects Bezaldooz, who flees to the stern of the Percheron, cowering and unable to act.

As the ghasts flee, Torinn rushes between them and leaps at the night hag, managing to wrest the amulet from her. As he does so, he orders the shield guardian to return, and it begins trudging back to the bone ship. 254 rushes out of the tent in an attempt to break Bezaldooz from his fright, but as he approaches, Bonatos hisses at him, sending him cowering and attempting to flee, before the quasit runs across the deck of the Percheron. One of the ghouls rushes in behind 254, trying to flee from Valna and inadvertently blocking the Vassal’s exit. With Bonatos gone, however, he turns and strikes Bezaldooz to break him from his mindless flight. Bezaldooz skirts around the ghast, heedless of the pain he feels as his feet touch the water, and he destroys the paralyzed ghast in front of Valna with a potent blast of lightning. The creature explodes and is no more.

While Peren, Torinn, and the shield guardian enter into melee with the night hag, Geverspike returns to the Percheron and pushes the ghast cowering at the bow overboard. It swims away, still fleeing Valna’s divine might. Bonatos flees belowdecks on the bone ship. Peren and Torinn manage to chase the night hag down and Peren deals the final blow, slaying her. She shrieks, and a chill passes through him as she dies.

As the boat begins to turn, they realize Bonatos is somehow piloting it. Peren goes belowdecks to confront him, while Torinn pushes the two ghasts still on the bone ship overboard. The last of the ghasts aboard the Percheron are thrown overboard, as well; one sinks beneath the waves, while the other four swim away, still fleeing Valna.

When Peren sees Bonatos, he indicates he’s not allowed to take the boat. Bonatos says he was going to pick up all the ladies with his bone boat before relinquishing control and returning to the Percheron. He turns into a bat to cross the gap between the two ships, and returns to Bezaldooz’s shoulder. Bezaldooz is not amused with this stunt.

Peren and Torinn decide to stay on the bone ship, apparently having figured out how to control it. They follow the Percheron on its journey to the Frost Spire. That evening, Peren sleeps fitfully, and has bad dreams he does not fully recall upon awakening.

The next morning, the Shields sight the Frost Spire — a snow-covered island ringed by peaks. Black storm clouds surge overhead, and Kaseem warns them that it is going to be dangerous. As they approach, the seas grow turbulent; he barely manages to retain control of the Percheron, while Peren eventually loses control of the bone ship and both he and Torinn are forced to abandon it. Kaseem roughly steers his craft into a crevasse, where it crashes. He returns to his humanoid form to assess the damage, and although he determines it is still sea-worthy, he suspects the turbulent seas would scuttle the craft. The tools he requires to fix it are back in Flotsam and currently not accessible. The wreckage of the bone ship washes in after the Percheron, and the Shields contemplate the possibility of repairing it.

Kaseem notes that the frost giants must have reached this island somehow, so perhaps they can find a way to repair his ship while they attempt to stop the frost giants’ plans. With that, the Shields move into the crevasse and prepare to face the Frost Spire.