Pacific Ocean I: Up the Flaming Coast

3) Up the Flaming Coast
Off the Coast Chile, March 5-10, 1845

A) Meeting in the Cabin
Shortly after departing St. Mary’s Island, Captain Joab convenes a meeting of his offers to discuss the situation. If Dr. Lowell and Dixon proved valuable during the fracas, they may be invited as well. The topic is the immediate future: How are injuries and fatalities treated? What do they tell the authorities at Valparaíso? And what do they do with any prisoners? Because Pynchon is unafflicted by the Call of Dagon, and Joab’s madness has a singular focus, neither recognizes Dandridge as a fellow traveler—at this point, the mutineer is viewed as a rebellious lunatic, a “trumped-up Samuel Comstock.” For these reasons, Captain Joab wants to do “what’s right,” and that means reporting the incident to the American consulate at Vallipo. Because Pynchon has Covenant business, that duty falls to Mr. Coffin.

B) Sailing to Vallipo
Valparaíso lies three hundred miles north of St. Mary’s Island. Although the Chilean Grounds are nearly fished out, Joab sets all three mastheads, “in case that bastard’s in the mood to play.” Nevertheless, the sea remains clear of spouts, and the Quiddity makes good time. These four days of easy sailing offer player characters time to discuss the strange events at St. Mary’s Island; perhaps draw comparisons to Moneypenny, Grimble, and Prim?

C) Interrogating Prisoners
If prisoners have been taken, they may be interrogated. (See “Interrogation” under “New Systems and Mechanics.”) All are suffering from the Call of Dagon, and most have fallen under the influence of Dandridge’s forceful personality. While there may be some individual quirks, all believe “the President” was leading them to Libertatia, a pirate’s paradise somewhere in the deep Pacific. Only Dandridge knows about the Black Island.

Blackwood Dandridge
If Dandridge has been taken alive, nothing can convince him he’s not the destined ruler of Libertatia. In fact, he spends his time attempting to persuade his captors to appoint him captain of the Quiddity! If only they’d share some Madeira with him, he’d show them how to decode “The Book.” Dandridge does anything to stay alive and keep talking. If he persuades a player character to bring him the Quiddity’s copy of Johnson’s Pyrates, he cheerfully reveals the “secret codes.” It’s all nonsense, unless that character is suffering from the Call of Dagon, in which case…?

If Dixon discusses the Vandalia and the Black Island with Dandridge, the President uses the topic as a wedge to drive Dixon from his fellows. While the mutineer has no useful information to impart, he’ll pretend to know the “real story,” which that can only be told once he’s in control of the Quiddity. If the information is simply beaten out of him, a successful “hard” interrogation reveals that Dandridge knows nothing of value.

Pynchon and Dandridge
If Dixon comes clean to Joab or Pynchon about Dandridge’s relationship to the Black Island, Pynchon pays the prisoner a private visit. The Quéraude uses magic to probe the madman’s mind, which reveals Dandridge’s uselessness. Sadly, the President of Libertatia dies mysteriously in the night…

White Leviathan, Chapter 3—Pacific Ocean I
[Back to Encounter 2, The Strange Case of the Manuxet | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to Encounter 4, Valparaíso]

Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 27 August 2023
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]