We took on provisions in the morning, taking aboard the ship for two week's worth of searching. Tom Dexter, the ship's cook insisted we take a lot more than we'd thought we needed, even with the knowledge that the coast of Massachusetts was never going to be more than a day or two away for resupply. Bosun Turner agreed with him on that, though the story he told when pressed on his reasons for backing Tom up was nothing short of harrowing and ghoulish. Apparently, he'd cut his teeth on fishing vessels and tramp steamers as a young sailor. His third trip, back in fifty-six had run into a bad storm off the coast of Canada.
"We were blown far off course by a large squall, run aground along the shore of Resolution Island. We salvaged what we could of provisions, but everyone thought we'd be able to put in at Halifax for supply if we ran low. Nobody thought a squall would blow us that far off the beaten path. We tried hunting the walruses and seals that made their homes on the island, but most of the munitions we kept aboard had fouled in the squall. We could only stretch our supplies so much that way. We didn't get rescued for more than two weeks, by the time we had, we'd been starving and forced to contemplate the unthinkable." Informed Bosun Turner.
"Tell me you didn't, Jeremy." Frowned First Mate Perkins.
"No, Miss Lizzy, we didn't. It was a near thing, though, and only the discipline our old Bosun hammered into us kept us from it. The Canadian Coast Guard came by and picked us up before we had to, but this crew's a hodgepodge. Most of the lads haven't served with each other before, I don't know if their discipline will hold out if put in the same circumstances." Answered Bosun Turner.
"I think that settles the argument, then." I nodded.
"That it does. You'll have your extra rations, Tom. I don't think a story like that's likely here, but I also don't think anyone wants to find out." Agreed Captain McKay.
Once the Sudden Fortune was fully provisioned we left port, we set sail at one in the afternoon, the argument over provisions and the loading of the provisions taking enough time to eat up the whole morning, though it gave everyone time for their hangovers to clear. The Surprise Fortune was under the able command of Captain McKay as we made our heading out of the harbor, following the mental pull that drew me toward my tower. Our course took us south along the coast at first, as we spent the day transiting Cape Ann by the Annisquam and the Cut before heading east out to sea on reaching Salem, bearing northeast past Children's Island and the Gooseberry Islands, before ultimately anchoring off of Baker's Island as the sun set. Tom Dexter cooked up a Sailor's Stew of Beef, Potatoes, and Onions from some Swedish Recipe used in the Baltic that was pretty good.
As we went to sleep with full bellies and in sight of inhabited land, the mood of the crew was actually pretty decent, the officers ate in the Galley with the Crew and someone put a Lila Cheney song on the boombox as folks all had a good feeling about the expedition. Why shouldn't they? After all, things had been looking up for Starkesboro for the first time in over a decade thanks to my helping out. Even Bosun Turner had a tipple of rum, and Captain McKay was smoking a cigar like nothing was going to go wrong. I wasn't quite as sanguine, because I felt the pull from my tower drawing us even further east out to sea, where no islands should be. Had my arrival forced an island to rise up from the briny deep? It was certainly something to think about.
My trepidation increased the next morning as the day dawned with a reddish cast to the sky. I could just tell that there would be a storm soon, thanks to my Greenseer abilities. Bosun Turner frowned at the sight as he strode out on the deck with Captain McKay and First Mate Perkins.
"Red sky at Morn, Sailor be warned." Muttered Bosun Turner.
"Liz, can you go radio into the Baker's Island Lighthouse and check the forecast? I want to be sure before ordering the sails reefed and switching to diesel." Commanded Captain McKay.
"Sure, Cap. Be back in a jif." Agreed First Mate Perkins, disappearing into the ship.
"There will be a storm. Likely sometime in the next four hours." I informed.
"Magic?" Questioned Captain McKay.
"Magic." I nodded.
"Best get confirmation from the lighthouse first." Cautioned Bosun Turner.
Sure enough, First Mate Perkins returned with confirmation and Captain McKay gave the orders to reef the sails and switch to diesel power. It turns out that Bosun Turner was also the Ship's Engineer, pulling double duty since he'd been chief engineer on a freighter back around a decade ago. He went to go check over the diesel engine and get it ready to go while First Mate Perkins supervised the crew reefing sails. battening hatches. and so on. Meanwhile, Captain McKay turned to me with a look on his face.
"How far is your magic telling you this Tower of yours is from here?" Queried Captain McKay.
"How fast is the diesel engine compared to the sails?" I asked.
"We've only got the one screw, and the engine's not meant for extended use, so she's about four knots slower. Half speed than the full rig with the wind behind her. The engine's an emergency measure more than anything." Answered Captain McKay.
"My magic's telling me about fifteen nautical miles due east." I responded.
"She can do that in three and three-quarters hours on the screw. We'll be cutting it close with the storm." Frowned Captain McKay.
"No guts no glory, Captain." I shrugged.
"You don't want to play that game with the Sea, lad." Came Bosun Turner's voice from behind.
"Jeremy, will she turn over?" Questioned Captain McKay.
"Aye, Captain, she will. The old girl was built back during my day when they built stuff to last. Still might be iffy to get caught in a storm at sea." Advised Bosun Turner.
"We can make it." I intoned.
"You seem confident." Offered Captain McKay.
"I trust my magic. We might be stuck at the tower till things clear up, but we can make it there." I repeated.
"Well, far be it for me to gainsay our Magic Man. We'll try for this mystic island today." Ordered Captain McKay with a crooked grin.
"I still don't like it, but you're the Captain." Groused Bosun Turner.
First Mate Perkins returned moments later to report all sails reefed and all hatches battened. Then we began sailing due east. The minutes ticked by into hours as the trip crawled by under diesel power, all the while the sky got darker and darker. By hour three we were hearing the rumbling of distant thunder, at three and a half hours, the wind picked up and would have stalled us out had we still been under sail power. That wasn't all, as a dense fog settled over the sea with an eerie suddenness. Ten minutes later, the rain began and the waves turned choppy. Five minutes after that, just as the fog cleared and the weather began to pick up, the Island and Tower came into sight. A flat stretch of rocky land with various shrubs, grasses, lichens, wildflowers, and scrub bushes leads up to a tower of glossy, pale, stone with an attached greenhouse of steel and glass. A dock of stone stretched out into the sea as we swiftly made anchor and tied up the Sudden Fortune.
We docked not a moment too soon either, as no sooner had we finished dropping anchor and tying up than the weather outside turned into a massive howling gale. The wind whipped around and seas turned to massive waves even as the skies opened up with thunder, lightning, and rain coming down like sheets of lead. Fortunately, the small dock and island seemed strangely insulated from the foul weather, even as a squall raged outside. Opening my third eye revealed a translucent barrier preventing the foul weather from actively touching the Island and any ships or boats tied up on the dock. I could see the barrier was tied in with a number of mystic sigils and runes that were inscribed along the grounds and tower that glowed with the same white, wispy, light as the barrier. I could see that the defenses made the island unplottable and actively prevented unwanted visitors, at the same time there were strengthing magics to strengthen the physical structures, fire wards, self-repair wards, and a dozen other various defenses.
"Huh, I wonder how cone we were able to find this place?" I frowned.
"That would be because of me, Sir." Came an aged, cultured, voice. I turned to see a ghostly being in a butler's coat. He had a van dyke goatee, a monocle, and a British accent. His whole person was limned with a pale blue light that denoted him being either some form of ghost or otherwise a mystical projection of the Tower.
"And you are?" I queried.
"I am Bartholomew, head of the Phantasmal Staff of the tower, Sir. We take care of the various functions of the tower, all to better serve its master, that is to say, you, Sir." Answered Bartholomew.
"Is that an actual ghost?" Asked First Mate Perkins.
"No, Miss. Neither myself nor any of the Staff were once alive. It is probably best to think of us as Spirits of the Tower." Replied Bartholomew.
"Like the Klabautermann. My grandfather was a sailor from Hamburg who settled down in Starkesboro back in the eighteen-seventies. He used to tell stories about the Klabautermann, a Spirit of a ship who would help sailors out in times of distress." Offered Bosun Turner.
"Indeed. That is an apt metaphor. Unfortunately, we have been somewhat under duress of late. You see, there is a quartet of interdimensional squatters who have taken up residence in the tower. You will need to defeat them to truly claim your position as Master of the Tower." Informed Bartholomew.
"Sounds like we'd best go report to the Captain and have everyone stay aboard the ship." Mused Bosun Turner.
"If there's enemies here, you're probably right. Can you handle this?" Questioned First Mate Perkins.
"Hopefully." I nodded. As First Mate Perkins and Bosun Turner returned to the ship, I turned to Bartholomew and asked about these squatters.
"Well, Sir, the interdimensional nature of the Tower means that various Sorcerers and Magi will have sought it out if they could. Before your name appeared in our books as the new Master, four such Sorcerers managed to find and enter the Tower, though we have been using the defenses to keep them separate. You'll have to defeat them to claim your position." Informed Bartholomew.
"Ok, tell me about them." I ordered.
"First is a Mage called Heinrich Ziegler, he is an Amber Wizard from Mundus who recently found the tower in the hills near the border of Ostland and Kislev and decided to investigate. Are you aware of what Amber Wizards can do?" Queried Bartholomew.
"I am." I nodded. I was pretty familiar with Ghur and Amber Wizards from playing on in a WHFRP game years back in my old life.
"Good, then you should know of his repertoire. It isn't rare among that order. Next is a Zeishon Sha Adept named Sidu Bri who found the Tower on Teth after having been chased there by Hutt Enforcers, she's a Twi'lek and extremely jumpy, prone to attacking first and asking questions once her opponent has been subdued. Zeison Sha are experts on Telekinesis, as I'm sure you know. She also had a blaster pistol and vibroblade on her, so be aware of that." Continued Bartholomew.
"Next?" I asked.
"Alexios of New Argive. He's an artificer from Dominaria with a large amount of equipment. He found the tower in New Argive, thought it was a relic of Pre-Invasion Dominaria, and went to see what he could salvage. He has golem-skin gauntlets, a set of veteran's armaments, lightning greaves, and a horned helm that together make him quite formidable." Explained Bartholomew.
"That makes him as strong as a cyclops with a bunch of added bonuses. Who's the last one?" I questioned.
"A Homo Magi named Derrick Adams who found the tower in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. He has a lot of magic that deals with fire, smoke, and ash." Finished Bartholomew.
"Sounds simple enough. I should get to it." I nodded.
"The defenses will let you through. You'll be dealing with Heinrich Ziegler first. Good luck, Sir." Nodded Bartholomew before vanishing. As he did so, the runes keeping the Tower Door shut powered off and the door slid open on unseen mechanisms. I grabbed my Wan-Shen from my bag of holding, took a deep breath, powered up all my buffing magics, and headed inside.
I wasn't prepared for a literal bear man with amber-colored claws to throw himself at me the moment I stepped inside. I only had a split-second to lash out with my Wan-Shen in a Matukai technique, smashing my Opponent aside with the blade in a Matukai Parry. Unfortunately, the thickened hide of the Bear Man kept him from any real injury from the hasty, bladed, parry. As he stood up, he bared his fangs and uttered a primal challenge in half-growled German.
"Heinrich Zeigler, I presume?" I remarked.
My only response was a bestial roar as the Amber Wizard charged me, beginning the fight in earnest. . .
XXXX
AN: We're in the home stretch for the origin story. Jan is going to have to defeat four interdimensional interlopers to fully claim his position as Master of the Tower. You guys didn't think it'd be as easy as just sailing there and laying claim to the place, did you?
I'll probably need two chapters to go through all the fights and him claiming the tower, though. I thought I could do it in one more, but no dice.
First up, Amber Wizard from Mundus Heinrich Ziegler. He's an Ostlander and tends to use Bear forms in his spellcasting a lot, which could be thanks to Kislevite influence. He'll be Jan's first opponent. Then he'll have to face off against a scared Zeison Sha afterward.