The year is 7512, in the Transanic Sea. These waters share borders with the mighty nation of Doros, the Xiadan empire, and the Trasis Republic. Though the three nations are not at war, tension is still in the air between them due to various reasons regarding trade, territory, and of course Piracy.

A pirate's life is not a new or unusual one in the lands of Keratia. In a world where a vast majority known is covered in a single massive ocean, travel by sea is the primary means of travel between nations. And for that reason nearly ever nation has a navy and fights for control of the ocean not only from rival nations, but from those within the depths as well. The unknown below, deep beyond where the sun shines, lives ancient civilizations who do not take kindly to the surface dwellers encroaching on their homes, and have attacked any ships that come near them. Trouble is, these same civilizations are not known for their diplomatic abilities. More often than not perfectly harmless vessels are destroyed because they simply stumbled somewhere they did not know they should be.

And thus, while ocean domination is important, it is difficult for those without the capital and will to battle against all enemies. A pirate's life is not an easy one. But for those with the courage and wits it is one that can easily lead you into a life of legends.

You are Talogan Malgrogar. A hobgoblin pirate, an oddity among most sea raiders not only due to your race but also due to your choice of methods. A holy warrior on the ocean almost seems like a joke, however you have already sunken many who dare say as much to your face, and those who know you know that regardless of your piety, you are not the type of holy warrior who will grant mercies or pity to your enemies. Though you captain your own ship, it's crew and armament could use considerable work. Up until now you had been working under a different crew and captain, slowly working your way up to obtaining your own ship, which you've finally done. But there are complications.

It was a simple conundrum of too many predators and not enough prey. You, as well as many others, have committed to piracy, making a handy profit from robbing merchant ships or coastal towns. With the various nations' navies tied up dealing with sea monsters or preparing for war pirates have been scrambling to rob and pillage as much as they can. But now, what few merchant ships that do come around are heavily protected, and what few coastal towns that still remain are too poor to be worth robbing beyond taking villagers as slaves. Many pirate captains have chosen to either sail to other waters to plunder, or even sell their swords to various lords and guilds to raid and plunder other pirates.

As for you, your options were limited. Due to your reputation most common folk, even guards, don't dare encourage your wrath less they taste your blade. But that same vicious reputation has also made you an enemy to most governments capable of actually putting up a fight, and with a bounty of 2000 GP on your head, it's not unusual for some hopeful manhunters or even adventurers to try and come collect. But perhaps you could find a town that doesn't know you. A place where you could start fresh and hopefully clear your bounty. Or perhaps you can just continue patrolling your sea, taking on any rivals or preying on any fools who don't have the means to protect themselves from you.

The choice is yours.

Talogan sat in the captain's quarters reading the most recent report he'd received from his quartermaster. They still had supplies enough for ten more days at sea. Ten more days to find a decent haul to bring back to port. There used to be a time where such a haul could be found in less than a day, but those times had passed. Now the search took longer and carried greater risk of difficulties arising. That wasn't to say it was impossible though. Talogan had managed to plunder enough coin to keep his crew satisfied so far, and he was confident in his ability to continue doing so. It was still a challenge though, one that some of his crew still weren't used to. Talogan had overheard whispers among the men of the solutions other captains had come up with for the lack of easy loot in the Transanic. Most notably, either leaving for richer waters or pledging their blades to the lords and guilds that did business on the sea. Talogan did not care much for either of these ideas. A true conqueror does not abandon their conquest, nor do they serve when they should subjugate.

Finishing his report, Talogan rose to his feet and left the captain's quarters, stepping onto the deck of his ship, Maglubiyet's Kraken. His four human crewmen were all busy at work, their pace kept to an acceptable standard by the watchful eyes and strict command of his dwarven first mate. Talogan looked up to see the ships dwarven lookout in the crow's nest, scanning the horizon for any sign of a worthwhile target. Talogan then ascended the steps leading up to the bridge, where his goliath helmsman was steering the ship under instruction from the rock gnome deck wizard who also served as the ship's navigator. Talogan quietly surveyed his ship and the surrounding sea. The rest of the crew probably considered the view of the surrounding calm seas on a sunny day to be pleasant. Beautiful even. Not Talogan though. Hobgoblins had a decidedly different concept of beauty. As he watched the crew working below him, Talogan took hold of his holy amulet and said a quiet prayer to Maglubiyet in goblin, praying the greater god of the goblinoid races guide his ship to a worthy target to conquer in his name.

Be it fortune or fate, you would receive an answer. “Captain! Smoke on the horizon! Off the starboard bow!” Your lookout called from his crow’s nest. Sure enough looking off the right side of the ship you could see a thin wisp of black smoke. There wasn’t any landmass for at least another hundred miles. This had to be another ship, presumably one that was on fire. Your vessel could easily arrive there in ten minutes at the most, and you’ll have visual on it in five f you head that way. The helmsman looked towards you awaiting your command. “How bout it captain? Men are ready to earn their keep today!”

"Maglubiyet is with us this day!" Talogan declared as he looked to the smoke on the horizon. "Hard to starboard, Mr Fishbones!". He then descended from the bridge to join the men below. "All hands to battle stations!" Talogan commanded as he drew his rapier. "Ready your weapons! Bring us to full sail! Anyone caught dawdling will be shot on sight!". With his orders given, Talogan made his way to the bow of the ship and locked his eyes on the smoke rising in the distance.

Your men scrambled to their battle stations. They donned their armor, grabbed their weapons, and got to their positions. Your regular men had their crossbows loaded and ready, with your first mate ready to Mark their target. Your watchman had his bow out in the crows nest and eyes on the smoke. Your deck wizard, along with the helmsman, stayed on the bridge. Thanks to being a gnome she had ample cover of arrows started flying. “Captain! Ought I blow us a wind in our sails? If we move quickly we ought to be able to catch up before this feeding frenzy is over!”

"Give our sails a gust, Ms Orocho!" Talogan called back as he loaded his own crossbow "Time is of the essence! And I want to waste as little of it as possible!". Talogan then looked to his first mate and the four men with him. "One of you be ready to hoist the Colors high as we approach!" Talogan commanded. The Colors was the flag Talogan and his crew sailed under. Like many other pirate flags, it was used to satisfy the first tenant of the Transanic Pirate Code: to give fair warning to any prey encountered at sea. Also like other pirate flags, it featured a unique design to identify which pirate you were dealing with.

The Colors was a black flag, which signified that those who surrendered would be left alive. It featured a red axe with a blade dripping with blood running horizontally along the top of the flag. As the holy symbol of Maglubiyet, the bloody axe represented the ships devotion to the goblinoid god of war. Well, the captain's devotion at least. The bloody axe also represented that the crew was willing and able to fight, and that not surrendering would result in slow, violent, painful, and bloody death. Below the axe stood a red figure wearing a blue hat and a blue coat. This represented the ship's captain and his brutal yet civil nature. In the figure's left hand was a white glass raised in a toast to death and conquest, the blood that dripped from the axe was falling into the glass. In the figure's right hand was a white hour glass with blue sand in the top half and red sand in the bottom, to represent that the biggest difference between civility and brutality was how quickly surrender was offered. The figure was standing on a pair of skulls. A single red word lay beneath each skull. Beneath the left skull was the word 'Elf', and beneath the right skull was the word 'Orc'. This showed that no quarter would be given to elves or orcs. Finally, a sea of blood lay at the bottom of the flag. The sea of blood was filled with the desecrated holy symbols of various non-goblinoid deities, showing contempt for other pantheons and stating that no quarter would be offered to holy men of other gods either.

Yourt deck wizard did as commanded, sending a gust of wind that caused your vessel to skip the water faster towards the black smoke. As one of your men got ready to hoist the Colors, it wasn't long before you had a clear visual of what was ahead. A single ship, it appeared to be a small sized merchant vessel. You haven't seen those in a while, not since you started your piracy while the merchants were still out in swarms. There were no other boats however it seemed like the ship's masses were on fire, preventing them from catching any wind and effectively stranding them in the water. You could hear screaming in the distance but it hard to tell if it were war cries or pleas for mercy. Safe to say however that they were under no condition to really respond as your Colors were shown clear on this bright and sunny day.

Up on the crows nest your lookout seemed to have gotten a better eye of what's up there. "Captain! Sea goblins! I count eight of em!" You are familiar with sea goblins. Formally known as the Koalinth, they're basically aquatic hobgoblins. However not unusually, they do not worship Maglubiyet, quite the opposite actually. Koalinth are hobgoblins who have abandoned their traditional gods chosen to side with the likes of the Aboleth, krakens, and other sea monstrosities for power and safety, and their only kinship with other goblinoids is taking them alive to be brought to their underwater masters and brainwashed into more thralls. Suffice to say they are not your allies. They are however powerful enemies and adapt sea raiders. "We're almost upon them captain! Looks like they're bringing prisoners onto the deck, elves from the looks of it!" Your first mate, Tayang, looked over to you. "Orders, captain? We can sling some oil onto the deck, burn em out. Or would you rather that we just fill the space with arrows? We're ready for either!"

When he turned to face his first mate, Talogan's usual look of cold stoicism was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his face was a picture of barely contained rage that could only a holy warrior who had encountered traitors to his faith could ever truly make. Talogan now knew why the Mighty One had guided him here. He had been sent to punish these Koalinth for their treason against their kind and their gods. Talogan was all to eager to do so. Especially if it meant elves would be slaughtered along with them. "Burn them all!" Talogan ordered "And be ready to pin cushion anything that tries to escape! Nothing on that ship is allowed to survive! NOTHING!". As the crew prepared the oil, glared hatefully at the ship. He would see those forsaken wretches burn for their treachery. When the oil was ready to be slung, Talogan looked to the ship and unleashed the full force of his fury. "MAGLUBIYET COMES FOR YOU!" Talogan bellowed in goblin "BURN HERETICS!". With that said, Talogan signaled for his crew to unleash hell as he readied himself to shoot anything that tried to escape the flames.

Tayang nodded. "You heard the captain! Ready oil! Hurrik, have an arrow ready! Let's go you scurvy bastards!" The dwarf shouted as the men grabbed slings and flasks of oil. They were no alchemists fires, but they knew this tactic well enough. Flames will create further chaos and damage the morale of the enemies onboard, be it elf or koalinth, and with Hurrik's arrow the entire place would be set ablaze soon enough. "We're aiming for destruction men! We'll plunder it's riches when they've all be feeding the sharks! Steady!" Soon the ship would be within range. Thanks to fairly steady waters and careful manipulation by the helmsman, your ship was nearly side-by-side with the elven merchant vessel, with about twenty feet of clearance between them. "FIRE!" Your firstmate shouted as he and the other priates slung their oil flasks onto the enemy deck. Above Hurrik had two arrows of smoldering ash and embers, firing both once the flasks had struck the deck of the ship. The flames quickly spread towards ropes and other rigging that weren't entirely fire proof, though it seemed like the deck itself was carefully treated to minimize the spreading of flames. Still it achieved it's desire affect of creating a sense of chaos among the Koalinth as the sea goblins quickly picked up the many bound elven prisoners, using them as shields against your crew as they took cover from your next volley. "Grab your crossbows men! Leave non alive!"

Talogan watched as his crew cast their flasks of oil onto the ship. While it didn't do much to the ship itself, the burnt ropes only adding insult to already crippling injury and the deck fire proofing halting the spread of blaze. But none the less, the morale of Koalinth had been shaken by the sudden flame. Talogan growled in annoyance as he saw the enemy take up their captives to use as living shields when they should have been drawing their weapons and preparing for battle like true hobgoblins. Such cowardly tactics used by what once were his own kind disgusted Talogan to no end. "COWERING BEHIND YOUR CAPTIVES WILL NOT SAVE YOU!" Talogan roared in goblin "NO ONE AND NOTHING CAN SAVE YOU NOW!". Having said that, Talogan took aim with his hand crossbow and fired, striking one of the sea goblins in the shoulder.

As your crew begins their assault, you see one group of Sea Goblins quickly head into the lower decks of the merchant ship, something they seemed to have already been doing but now were doing with much greater haste. This left another group above deck who had scrambled, separating from one another and taking the elves as hostages. Not that it really mattered as you sent a bolt right into the shoulder of one of the sea goblins, who glared at you in annoyance. The rest of your crew followed suit, firing their crossbows at the assorted sea goblins. Tayang had them focus on the wounded one first, effectively going left to right.

The first shot from Derrick ended up actually striking the elf the sea goblin was using as a shield, the bolt piercing their chest as he screamed in pain. Oliver's bolt however had much better luck as the elf leaned forward in pain, which exposed the sea goblin's exposed neck and allowed him to send a bolt that shattered against the sea goblin's scale mail, but also caused the shrapnel to do some heavy damage against the sea goblin. That shot was followed up by Hector's bolt which went right into the eye of the sea goblin, causing him to fall. "Hooha! That one's mines!" He boasted, though Oliver shouted back at him. "Fuck off with that! I did the most damage! You see my shot? He was already bleeding dead!" Tayang roared at them to shut up as Johnathan's bolt was aimed at the next Sea Goblin, but ended up flying into the very much dead one instead. Tayang fired his arrow at the next sea goblin who managed to take the shot with his armor, this time the bolt deflecting rather than shattering. Fortunately Kulee's shot was much precise as it broke through a few of the mail pieces and went into the goblin's ribs.

Above, Hurrik focused his shot onto the sea goblin who seemed to be further back from the group. He guessed he must've been the leader and released two arrows. One ended up just hitting the mast, but the second one went into the goblin's arm. This caused the sea goblin to look up at Hurrik and curse at him. "Captain, I think that one is their leader!" Just as Hurrik said this, the sea goblin grabbed a nearby prisoner and went behind the mast, making it impossible for you or anyone else on your ship to get a clear line of sight on him, not helped by the prisoner being used as a physical shield as well. Regardless, the rest of your crew did their best to attack the enemy with Nyx sending a ray of frost to strike the wounded sea goblin, however her attack simply spurred him and his other two compatriots into action.

The ones with prisoners dragged them forward against the side of the ship, holding their bodies up so that if you tried to shoot at them, you risk shooting the prisoners as well. Not that it would matter, morally, but it did mean these sea goblins had partial cover from your ranged attacks on top of their armor. Additionally they took out wicked looking harpoons from their backs, hurling them at the ship. Fortunately thanks to previous training and drills, your mean knew to duck behind the cover of the ship's walls between shooting. Thus the harpoons failed to actually strike anyone, however you could see that these harpoons also had some sort of thin rope attached to them. If you had to guess if being impaled by one of these weren't made enough, these damnable sea creatures would've liked had tried to drag them into the waters as well. One harpoon was directed towards you, however you barely had to do anything as the spear landed solidly right in front of you.

"Get ready to volley again! Don't let any of those scaley bastards touch this ship!" Your first mate roars.

Talogan noticed that despite missing any of the crew, the sea goblins were still holding onto the ropes attached to the harpoons. Pondering on there methods wasn't going to kill them any time soon though, so instead Talogan put a bolt into the goblin that tried to impale him. "Dr Boulder! Mr Iron Guts! Take cover behind the mast once you're done shooting!" Talogan then ordered "The rest of you move back until there's 40 feet between you and the closest enemy! The harpoons will be less accurate at that distance!". With that said, Talogan put an extra 20 feet between himself and the closest sea goblin.

Following your commands, your crew fired a volley of bolts towards the surviving sea goblins and then moved back to put more distance between them and the goblins. Two of the sea goblins went down from a mixture of bolts and arrows as the leader of the bunch called for a retreat. He tossed his prisoner aside as he ran towards the ship doors, diving on through as the last surviving Sea Goblin also followed after, making sure to avoid the flames next to him and close the door behind him. Your crew members seemed somewhat confused, but Tayang was on point. "Captain, should we attempt to board? If those sea goblins went inside of that ship instead of just jumping overboard, they must be after something inside!"

Watching as the last two sea goblins retreated into the ship, Talogan growled at their cowardice. "Whatever they're after, they won't be getting away with it!" the captain declared "Mr Fishbones! Ms Orocho! Mr Balannor! Stay here and watch the ship! The rest of you prepare for boarding action!".

Your crew worked quickly and efficiently as they geared up for boarding. Your men grabbed their melee weapons of choices, mostly cutlasses, but your first mate was a classic dwarf who brandished two hand axes. Meanwhile the ship was moved closer as your men set out two boarding planks, allowing the group to easily board the ship. The surviving elven prisoners crawled away from the flames, looking towards the group for salvation. Tayang looked over to you as he pointed his axe at them. "What shall we do with them? Do ya want the lads to take em for ransom, or take no prisoners?" Selling people into slavery was not an unknown concept for you. Indeed, in some countries chasing down bounties, taking them alive, and then selling them to ransom brokers is an honest and legitimate business. It just so happens that those same Ransom Brokers would gladly sell off a harden criminal as much as they would some kidnapped farmer. These elves appeared to be of the sea variant, capable of deep sea exploration and such. It's not immediately obvious why they're on this boat aside from perhaps being merchants, but even so you know that each of these elves would sell for at least 20 GP each to some brokers you know.

"We'll deal with them later, Mr Iron Guts" Talogan said "We have more pressing matters to concern ourselves with right now. Get someone to put out that fire and have the rest of the men take up positions around the door with crossbows at the ready. Anyone who emerges from below deck is to be feathered with bolts". Talogan then took up a firing position near the door and readied himself to shoot anyone who came out.

Though it's hard to hear, those sea goblins were making quite a commotion under the deck. Tayang and your men took up positions nearby, but it was Oliver who seemed to notice something off. "Captain, doesn't sound like they're coming up. Sounds like... Sounds like they're breaking stuff! What if they're trying to scuttle the ship, with us on it?" Tayang looked at you with a nod. "Would be up their alley. Knowing we're ready to kill em up here, wouldn't surprise me if these lowly dogs plan to steal what they can and escape into the depths. If we don't chase em down now, we'll loose em in the deep. How do you wanna do this captain?"

"I was willing to believe those traitorous wretches had, at the very least, the smallest shred of bravery left in them" Talogan said as he holstered his cross bow and took hold of his holy amulet "But I see now that expecting courage from a heretic is like expecting a bugbear to stay wake on guard duty". With that said, Talogan began to speak a prayer to Maglubiyet in goblin, causing a shimmering field of holy power to form around him. Talogan then looked back at the crew still manning his ship. "Ms Orocho! Mr Fishbones!" Talogan called out "Get over here and douse these flames! I don't want to come back up topside to see that the fire has blocked our way off. And come pick up these elves while you're at it, make sure they get settled in sufficiently". Talogan then addressed the Boarding Party. "Ready your blades, men" Talogan said "Dr Boulder, keep in the middle. Mr Iron Guts, bring up the rear. The rest of you can go where you want. Show no mercy down there, for none shall be shown to you". With that said, Talogan made his way below deck, leading his Boarding Party into the final push.

Your men followed their orders as they cleared the deck, took the prisoners, and readied themselves for battle. Storming through the doors you find nothing of note at first; there was a table bolted to the deck inside with what looked like some sort of elven bread, dried fruit, and a spilled goblet. Nearby were a few bags and barrels that were torn open revealing their contents to be canvas, likely for mast repairs. Nothing of particular note as your crew stormed down the nearby stairs, and there you'll find those goblins you were looking for. One was just turning down the hall when he spots you and shouts. You see another sea goblin past him, and vaguely recognize him as one of the sea goblins who was on deck but fled down here. And off in the corner of your eye you see another sea goblin in the hall next to you, looking like he's rummaging through the bags and shelves, but hearing the commotion he already has his javelin in hand. It was time to battle again, and this time in close quarters!

Talogan led the way down below deck, his eyes darting constantly from side to side in search of any sign of a potential ambush or for anything of value. There was nothing much to speak of immediately below deck. Merely a dining area and some sacks of canvas. Talogan motioned for his crew to continue on and descend deeper into the ship. It was then that they reacquired contact with the enemy. Talogan thought there were only two sea goblins to deal with, but then movement from the corner of his eye alerted him to a third. "Mr Collins. Mr Johnathon. Take care of that one" Talogan commanded while pointing out the sea goblin by the sacks. Talogan then charged the sea goblin directly in front of him and buried his rapier in the sea goblin's stomach, twisting the blade as it sank to the hilt.