Osiris Fraternal Order

A deep rumble echoed beneath the hull before the river erupted in a towering spray. From the depths rose Yam, the ancient sea monster and Lord of Chaos, his serpentine body towering above the water as his jaws opened wide enough to swallow the royal dahabiya.
The crew froze in terror, while rival boats scattered toward the banks.
Prince Nebemakhet stood firm at the bow, planting his ebony staff upon the deck.
"O mighty Set, Lord of Storms, Defender of Ra, Champion against the forces of chaos, strike down this beast that threatens the sacred Nile and let order prevail!"
Dark clouds gathered overhead. A fierce desert wind swept across the river, whipping the sail taut as thunder rolled across the heavens. Set appeared upon the storm, his bronze spear flashing like lightning. He hurled it into Yam's great coils, and the monster let out a deafening roar. The serpent was driven back into the depths, and the chaos was subdued.
The storm passed as quickly as it had come. Sunlight broke through the clouds, gleaming upon the calm waters of the Nile.
Nebemakhet lowered his staff and bowed his head.
"Praise to Set, whose strength preserves order against chaos. Let us continue our voyage with courage."
The crew raised a triumphant cheer, took up their oars once more, and the royal dahabiya surged onward toward the finish.

Skies wrote: ↑Tue Jul 21, 2026 3:24 pm Scenario 2: Look! Something has caught the boats around you’s attention. There’s a ripple under the surface of the water, then eyes peering up at you. Suddenly, the head of a giant sea serpent emerges! What does your crew do?

Tragedy of the Shackleram: Chapter 2

Following the mysterious and terrible horror the Grand Council faced in their last obstacle, they were greatly relieved by the return to normalcy of a mere sea monster. Its fangs darted towards the boat, to be held and repelled by Nite's buckler, a shudder going along the serpent's length as it lost its equilibrium from the sudden cessation of momentum as it touched the star pumice boss of that small shield. A moment later it became even more intimately familiar with that material, in the shape of a blunt hammerhead that swung into its jaw and erased a substantial chunk of flesh, cartilage and tooth from existence, the Commander of the Order of Pumice returning the hammer to guard with no sign of concern in their body language, for there would certainly be none in the darkness of their hood. Sezorah leapt to the attack next, their wingkhopesh carving a bloody gash down the side of the creature's neck but missing its spine. It recoiled and dove away, resubmerging but not abandoning the assault.
Sezorah moved to pursue as the predator fled, but Nite restrained them, pointing out that their foe targeting those above water rather than below suggested something other than hunger drove its bloodlust, and that their place was with the boat, so the younger warrior should maintain their anchor management. Sezorah reluctantly recogised the wisdom in their rival's words and managed to ignore the pun, instead dipping their head below the water to instruct their peers to only attack the creature in self-defence, for this seemed to be a trial the three of them should answer. Lashanugi requested that the serpent be spared, pointing out that this was the first living thing the Tethysi had discovered in this realm, aside from those who had organised this race, but Jornir shouted it down, their normal patience shortened by recent loss and their long history of bitter feuding with all forms of dragonkin plain to see. Lashanugi returned to silence, though its discontent was plain.
Despite the arguments, the warriors were ready when the beast returned, heralded by a shrieking cry. It appeared at a distance, arcing in and out of the water in great loops until the water quaked and its hundreds of metres-long body formed a series of rings above the surface. Its wounded head appeared beyond those rings as it opened its jaws, bioluminescence or pure energy glowing between its scales before gathering in its throat and blasting forth towards the small boat. As the beam passed through each ring, it intensified, lightning and corposant coursing its coils with cacophonous cracks. Nite and Sezorah moved to respond, but the Commander of Pumice was faster, an Erasure Rifle emerging from their robes to be fired from the hip, the white beam of unmaking lancing out. No dramatic beam struggle followed, no detonation of colliding energy, for the emission of the rifle simply removed the incoming beam, a positive meeting a negative and smoothly resolving to zero. The dark hood turned sharply as movement revealed their vulnerability, the tip of the serpent's tail whipping out of the water to sweep across the boat. Two long quillarrows met it, causing a flinch that flung the tail barely overhead. Nite and Sezorah had conjured quillbows to fire on the distant head, but had been forced to avert their gaze from their peer's response, leaving them alert to the sneak attack. Seemingly abandoning such subterfuge, the serpent sped towards the boat like a torpedo, avoiding the next erasure shot and pushing through the arrows that began to pepper its snout and skull. Nite threw down their bow, ready to halt this strike as they had the first, but with a savage jerk the serpent spun to the side the moment before impact, throwing off the warrior's timing. When the head did emerge a moment later, its tongue came first, coiling around the Pun Crown Commander's shield-arm and pulling them in even as it drove forwards. Nite laughed, declaring their amusement to be chosen as a snackrifice, and stepped forwards, meeting the jaws with gauntlet and greave. Even the mightiest Full-Plot Armour of Tethys 13 began to instantly buckle and break at the dragonkin's sheer power, but it was enough that it lasted a few mere moments to hold the monster in place. Sezorah leapt high, voice raised in song, the song of how Seti zho Sunruler slew the Celestial Serpent sent to destroy the Tethysi. Their khopesh seemed to gleam gold and grow in size and power at this powerful allusion, and the beast's head was severed in one shining strike.
Nite and Sezorah embraced in this victory, and their joy and pride spread to those below the waves, who called out their approval of so dramatic a moment. All save Lashanugi. Saddened by what it saw as a needless death, still wounded from Sezorah's poorly chosen words and the deaths that had followed, Lashanugi departed without a word, fading from the race and the realm.
Seven remained to push the Shackleram and its three occupants to the next stage of the race.

Skies wrote: ↑Tue Jul 21, 2026 3:24 pm Scenario 2: Look! Something has caught the boats around you’s attention. There’s a ripple under the surface of the water, then eyes peering up at you. Suddenly, the head of a giant sea serpent emerges! What does your crew do?

The crew of the Deliverance mostly watched on in shock as the sea serpent rose out of the water, towering over the rambunctious destroyer. In the exception column, we once again find Resentine's King Claudius, fascinated by the massive creature.

"Take us closer!" the King shouted, shoving his personal camera into the hands of a Royal Naval Band member as he tried to sprint towards the front of the ship.
"If I can get a photo with it, this will be a huge hit at the next charity ball in the Royal Palace!"
Chamberlain Bedard sighed, and leaned over to the nearest sailor, "Uhhh go and uhh wake the former Prime Minister, he may be able to talk him out of this. I think he's ummmmmm napping in his quarters." The sailor rushed off to the crew quarters, while Alexander bravely marched off to stop the King from getting a selfie with the giant sea monster.
Though Claudius was forcefully slowed down from his rush to the front of the ship by members of the crew, he still managed to maneuver his way to the bow through a combination of begging and instructing while waving off the ship's captain every time she tried to turn away from the massive creature.
"Look, even if we just get a little closer, I think I can get a photo my wife would love! She's a huge fan of these sorts of wild animals!" Claudius said while the impromptu photographer sailor trembled in fear of the ever closer serpent.
"Your Grace," Alexander shouted, "I ummmmm really don't believe we should be uhhh getting much closer! The sea snake it looks..... well ummm it looks quite angry sir!"
"Oh what do you know about serpents Alex!?" Claudius retorted. "I've been playing with garden snakes since I was a young lad, well before you were born. I think I'm quite more capable to handle our approach this amazing creature." The King turned as he noticed the bow start to veer to port as the captain once again tried to turn away from the serpent. "No, No! Keep going towards! Forward!"

Gregory Glassner stormed toward the bow, with a gunnery lieutenant in tow, "You see that thing? Get our one working cannon pointed at it right now or else we might all be doomed!" he turned toward his King once the lieutenant was running off, furious. "Claudius, just what in the- are you trying to get everyone on this boat killed?!?!"
Claudius balked, "Well I just thought we'd have a little fun and adventure on this little boat party race thing, but apparently that's too much to ask in this day and age."
"That. Is. A. SEA. MONSTER! It. Sinks. Ships."
"And I want a photo of it!" Claudius exclaimed, getting ready to point his camera and the ominously glaring gargantuan creature.
Chamberlain Bedard stumbled to find his words "Ummmm sirs, it's uh... the creatu-"
"I'm telling the gunnery officer to fire the cannon, we can't risk the ship!" Glassner shouted. He then tried to run over to one of the ship's phone lines before Claudius grabbed him.
"Gregory, you can't do that! Think about the headlines! 'Resentine King shoots at bystander creature, will he shoot again?'" Claudius shouted back.
"Sirs I ummm..." Alexander struggled to find his words once more.
"We have almost a hundred people here on board this ship, headlines or no we cannot put them at risk!"
"What will the other leaders think!? Are we just going to start shooting at them on a whim as well?"
"I suspect they wouldn't mind our solution, we've got at least one over there summoning storms or something to make one go away! Look just let me-" the two friends stumbled over each other for the telephone.
"SIRS!" Alexander finally found his words, shutting both of his bosses down. "We've uhhh..... we've got company."

Unbeknownst to either the King or the former Prime Minister, the Sea Serpent they were both so worked up about slowly and silently made its way to the Deliverance, now casting its shadow directly over the vessel. All three men and the crew around them gulped as the massive beast reached its head down, hovering over the deck looking for something. For a few moments, you could hear a needle drop on the deck of the boat as the snake loomed, searching the deck. Instead of a needle, everyone heard the clamor of woodwind and brass instruments as the Serpent ducked its head into the bridge and grabbed a trombone from a pile of instruments that had been left out and about. The creature then promptly laid the trombone at Gregory Glassner's feet.
Chamberlain Bedard was the first to speak up, "Ummmmm Sirs I believe the creature intends for us to uhhh play a song."
Gregory responded, almost dismissively, "Yes I can see that Alex. I thought snakes couldn't hear music? I thought they didn't have the auditory capacity."
"Well sir perhaps ummm this one does? Can't be so sure, sir."
Claudius finally piped up, "Well, how about I go gather the band and we can see how this all plays out." He turned to the nearest sailor, "Go and gather the Band, make sure they have instruments handy." The crewman darted off with several of their compatriots.
Gregory refocused and made his way over to the ship's phone. "Let's make sure we're at least moving away from this creature while we try this thing."
"Fine," Claudius said with a pout, "but I'm still getting my photo!"
"Just make sure you turn the flash off." Gregory quipped.

The Royal Resentine Navy Band is going to play calming tunes to the Sea Serpent while the Deliverance maneuvers around the creature. Also King Claudius is going to get his photo from a distance.