The Ship-Wreck
After leading a a mutiny aboard a Castillian galleon, the heroes ship-wreck it on a remote island in the Midnight Archipelago. They have only some twenty or so men, plus another dozen wounded, and a handful of pistols, muskets and charges of gunpowder.
The First Week: Scouting the Island
Aboard the Santa Maria, Aleksei has served as captain, Sebastien and Julien as officers and Marie-Celeste as surgeon. Seeing a need for some discipline, those roles continue on the shore as the companions scout Shipwreck Island. The first order of business is shelter, as they set up a sort of tent city on the beach and look for supplies.
Both of the boats they came to shore in are damaged, and one is tossed out far on the reef. Julien goes out there, noticing a great many sharks in the water before he brings the boat back and they begin to repair their single longboat. Julien - with very little word to his companions - then sets out to scout around the island as the others work on building a camp, cutting wood and the like.
Aleksei, Marie-Celeste and Sebastien discover an inland lake and stream as well as get the strong suspicion that there are predators - and perhaps something even more dangerous - on the island. Meanwhile, Julien makes his circuit, finding the remnants of a man shipwrecked here long ago and then discovering traces of a more recent human presence. Those traces culminate in a darkened shrine on a headland to a shark god; there, Julien is attacked by a panther and then dives into a sacrificial pool, only to feel something in the water grab at him before he makes his escape.
Meanwhile, the other companions have sent out a rescue party looking for him; they, too, discover the shrine before they all rendezvous at the camp.
The Second and Third Weeks: Moving Inland
Concerned now that there are savages who visit the island, the companions begin to move inland to make camp on high ground by the lake while they strip the remains of the Santa Maria of what they can, particularly needed medicine. The wreck, however, is also shark-infested and Aleksei suspects that the presence of all these sharks is related to the shark god's shrine.
The companions and their sailors are eventually able to get their inland hidey-hole built and move the wounded there, abandoning their beachfront camp. They then settle in to wait for the savages to arrive.
The Fourth Week: Cannibals Attack!
The savages do arrive, and the heroes sneak up on them where they prepare to sacrifice a young woman at the shark god's shrine. Battle ensues; most of the cannibals are killed, with those that are tossed into the water seeming to be devoured from below. A handful of cannibals escape into the jungle, and one of them is captured, along with some of their canoes.
The Fifth Week: Scouting the Cannibal Island
With that new canoe, the companions decide to scout nearby islands, particularly the island the cannibals came from. There, they discover that the party they defeated was but a small part of the other island's population, and - briefly being pursued by a cannibal war party on the seas - they make their escape and return to Shipwreck Island.
The Sixth Week: Fortification
Confident that the cannibals will return to attack them, the companions begin to make preparations to repel them even as news reaches Aleksei through some arcane means that a Castillian frigate is in the vicinity. The companions resolve that they will both have a problem with savages and with Castillians, likely all at the same time.
The Seventh Week: Many Visitors
The cannibals arrive just before the Castillians, and the companions decimate the cannibal leadership as they land and then watch as the Castillian frigate -- the familiar Gaviota - opens fire on the remaining savages. They flee to the jungle to regroup as Castillian marines land, lead by Santa Maria's former Captain Montoya.
Carefully, the companions arrange to lead the cannibals and the Castillian marines into a confrontation, where the Castillian guns decimate the natives. The heroes then prepare to face the Castillians with some trepidation, though Aleksei learns that yet another ship is in the vicinity, this one even more familiar: it is Il Falco, Captain Crispino's trim brig. Aleksei passes some message to Captain Crispino before effecting some sabotage aboard Gaviota, leaving it unable to stop Il Falco from rescuing the companions and their sailors.
Day 52: Off the Island
Il Falco arrives on Day 52, landing on the far side of the island and ferrying the companions, their wounded and their remaining sailors off while Gaviota is unable to pursue. There, the heroes are welcomed aboard, though they learn that Il Falco is full of Eisen mercenaries bound for Mertí -- also their destination.
Persons of Note
- Captain Julio Ochoa -- A disgraced Castillian sea-officer who has defected to Montaigne.
- Captain Luis Montoya -- Tyrannical captain of the Castillian treasure galleon Santa Maria.
- Captain Sofia Orduno -- Captain of the Castillian frigate Gaviota.
- Ferrara del Sol -- A beautiful, fiery-spirited Castillian topswoman on theSanta Maria.
- Juan Delgado -- One of the Santa Maria's gunners, he almost leads a mutiny against the companions.
- Captain Crispino -- A Vodacce merchant, smuggler, pirate and spy, he is often the heroes' antagonist.