Encounter: Trial of the Tides
Exploring along the seacliffs, the party discovers a tiny, lopsided tower on a promontory overlooking the water. After Investigating they are introduced to a mad old hermit who’s dedicated his life to the goddess of the moon, winds and sea, maintaining the tower as an impromptu observatory, lighthouse, and temple to his patron.
After some pleasantries and an offer of smoked fish and a little brinegrass tea, the hermit invites the players to take part in a ritual to evoke the goddess’s blessing.
The ritual is simple enough: At the appointed time, they must run down the steps from the tower and enter a nearby tidal cave, a network of tunnels worn through the seacliff by centuries of crashing waves. At this point the tidewaters will be at their lowest, and like the clever creatures that make their living by the ebb and flow of the sea, they must snatch up what they can within the cave before the waves return and reclaim all of their bounty. They will have six hours to explore and extract the wonders of the cave, returning up the stairs and present their offering to the hermit when they are done, who in turn will bathe the object(s) in moonlight to determine if their trail was indeed worthy of a divine blessing.
Challenges & Complications:
Attempting to enter the cave at another time or without the pre-trial ritual enacted by the hermit will lead to the party discovering only a small fissure int he rock, barely enough for two of them to stand in elbow to elbow. Both the space and the treasures within are liminal, and exist at the grace of the goddess.
Should the party fail, they will need to wait for a full turning of the moon before they can try again. The Hermit is happy to host them, and may offer cryptic advice for their subsequent attempts.
The caves are full of distractions intended to slow the party in their attempt to find a worthy offering. An early Chamber may have opalescent shells the party will have to laboriously dig out of the sand, while another might contain a tide pool full of numbing urchins. Locked chests full of stones, false maps, phantom sirens to lead the unguarded astray, the cave’s traps grow ever more devious as the party delves within.
Rewards:
The party is free to keep any of the “mundane” treasures found within the sea cave, often manifesting as valuable flotsam, or oceanic magical items. Unlike many other potential offerings, these do not regenerate on subsequent attempts.
It appears the goddess has a sense of humor, or is perhaps a bit loony, as her most potent gifts are often disguised among her obstructions: One chest of stones among many, different only in that it bares her symbol, will turn to silver ore in the moonlight. Waterlogged maps of the caves intended to lead them astray may become maps to undiscovered islands, or to other treasures buried along the coast. Those who listen and perform the ghostly notes of the siren’s song for the hermit may find him singing along, a haunting ballad or a bawdy jig that contain a hint of prophecy: a great reward for those with the wisdom to listen.
At The very back of the Sea cave, in the most dangerous and well guarded chamber there is a scratched and pitted bottle, within which is a wrecked ship rendered in miniature. The Hermit weeps when he sees it, and will tell the party the story of how he was saved from such a wreck by his goddess, and offered his life to her in thanks. He will offer the bottle, but no reward will come immediately, and he will ask the party to return in the cycle of the moon.
When they do, the hermit will greet them as his saviors, and guide them down the stairs to the moonlit beach himself. There he will reveal the bottle, and the tiny model ship within restored by his careful craftsmanship and sailing on a sea of silvery mist. He will remove the stopper, and as the mist flows out of the container it will coalesce into a proud ship with a hull of silvery wood and sails of moonlight. His goddess has found them all worthy, and has gifted them this vessel to do with what they wish.
For his faith, the Hermit has been transformed into a celestial, and is to serve the party as their humble captain. Forever a paired with the ghostly ship and blessed with knowledge enough to sail them across all the seas and to any shore touched by her lunar light . Both he and the vessel can be recalled to the bottle for easy transport, but summoning either requires moonlight ( for the Hermit) or moonlight and a large enough body of water (for the ship).