The Fleet of the Nerve is a ragtag bunch of sailors, thieves, and scoundrels. Coming from Daria and other places around Aranor, the crew banded together in the wake of the sudden appearance of the Black Sails and make regular trips out to sea in search for riches. They are as of yet mostly unknown to most of the archipelago, with their most significant heist also being their most dangerous secret: The theft of old treasure maps presumably originating from Dorland, Founder of the Free City of Daria, himself.
The Current members of the crew are:
- Captain Brynn Sylvaran, Captain of the magnificent Nerve
- Count Lance Elton-Rutherford Leonemaister, Count of Ostermarches and First Mate of The Nerve
- Captain Phaeydra Longstride, Captain of The Defiance and sorceress
- Oren Twocopper, Former Owner of the Twocopper Inn
- First Mate Mortimer Longstride, Bard and First Mate of The Defiance
- Esmeralda Drumwind, a formidable fighter and the fleet's main cook
- Ori, the fleet's wizard
Former members include:
- Amiri, Ship Navigator, now a traitor to the crew
- Captain Rodrick, Ship Captain of The Audacity, died as Fort Brimstone exploded
- But, Tortle Warrior and Treasure Hunter, killed in an attack on Kawa
- Tu'te'wehiwehi, Kahuna of the Tarangoa and the Ship's Mystic and Healer, left to share the cure to the iron rain with his people.
- Edwin the Seaborn, Paladin of Nossa, recalled to Nossa
History
Formed after a mysterious attack on the Derelict district of Daria by the enigmatic Black Sails, the group that eventually became the Crew of the Splintered Survivor began as a mere band of strangers within the Twocopper Inn, a run-down tavern in the middle of the district that was blown up by cannon fire in the chaos of the Black Sails' assault. After fighting past strange men seeking 'Chosen Ones', stealing a barge to escape the destruction of the Derelict district, the crew found themselves picked up by one of the Glittergold captains of the Darian Admiralty, Jurek Silverhand, and were coerced into undertaking dangerous mission of retrieving an item of great importance from the wreck of the battle.
Unable to refuse, the crew then set out for the aftermath of the skirmish, curious as to what the Glittergolds sought.
The First Assignment
Arriving at the site of the battle, the crew quickly set about searching the remnants of an old ship, racing against time to avoid being caught by the Blues, whom Jurek had warned the crew about. Within the wreckage, they managed to find an old map supposedly once belonging to Dorland himself, after which Lance then encountered the former navigator of the ship, Amiri, pointing a gun at the count's head. Though initially appearing threatening, Amiri was soon cowed when it became clear that his gunpowder was wet.
Once it was determined that Amiri posed no further threat, the crew convinced the Water Genasi to join forces with them to decipher the mystery of their find, deciding to keep the loot for themselves instead of giving it over to the Glittergolds. Before they could return to the barge, however, they were ambushed by incoming Blues, who raised the dead of the wreckage against them to take their prize for themselves. The priests were swiftly dispatched despite the initial threat they posed, and soon the crew made their way back to Silverhand, preparing an elaborate lie to try and fool him into thinking the Blues had made off with it first.
A Ship of their Own
The crew returned to Silverhand with their lie, barely fooling the Glittergold Captain with it. Given the barge and it's contents of Guano as reward for their service, the crew agreed to use Dorland's map for themselves to search for whatever the founder of Daria might have left behind, deciding to sell off the Guano and the barge to get a ship of their own. The crew chose a small cog as their first vessel, naming Rodrick it's captain, and christened the ship the Splintered Survivor in honour of their first meeting together amongst the rubble of the Twocopper tavern.
The Splintered Survivor's first maiden voyage took the crew to the port town of Swanford, where they attempted to make contact with a local healer to find a possible cure for Tu'te'wehiwehi's ailing people, poisoned by a mysterious affliction called the 'Iron Rain'. Unfortunately, due to their lack of money and recognition, the crew were rebuffed in their attempts to seek the healer out, leaving them with no choice but to set sail for their first destination on the map, the Grinding Maw.
The Underwater Cave
Coming upon an underwater cave, the group proceeded down into the depths to explore the small cave complex, fighting through monsters and tribal fishmen in their curiosity to find what Dorland had marked there. At the end of the cave, the crew encountered three sea hags who spoke of knowing Dorland himself - Lorena, Freda, and Cecelia. Though the group attempted to pacify the hags and talk their way out of combat, the hags proceeded to trap the group within the cave, forcing Phaeydra to reveal her secret; As the shadow of her skeletal wings grew against the cave walls, the crew realised that they had a fallen Aasimar among their number.
While they were able to ultimately defeat the hags and glean some information from them - namely, Dorland's search for something unknown in Azur and his possession of a prized Tear of Alissa - the encounter with the sea witches ultimately left the group with more questions than answers, in addition to the revelation of Phaeydra's terrible power unsettling some of the crew, most notably Brynn. Their plight would not end there, however: Returning to the Splintered Survivor, Amiri proceeded to reveal himself as a traitor to the group, fatally wounding Oren and evading capture.
Despite managing to save Oren from certain death, the betrayal of Amiri, the meeting with the sea hags, and the reveal of Phaeydra's skeletal wings left the group shaken and exhausted from the entire ordeal.