This
storyline of the 7th Sea card game follows the action on the high seas
as a number of factions
vie for control or pursue their particular mission. The Brotherhood of the
Coast are a pirate organisation led by Allende from the former prison island
of La
Buca, they are continually pursued by ships of the Montaigne navy under the
command of the General, an Eisen mercenary tasked by l'Empereur Leon to
crack down on
pirates.
   Another national navy, the Castillians under their High Admiral Orduno, also harry the pirates but also seek to break the naval blockade of their shores by the attacking Montainge. From the north, the famous captain Berek leads the Sea Dogs under a letter of marque from Queen Elaine of Avalon to attack enemies of the state. One of those enemies is the dread pirate Reis, who both Berek and his first mate "Bloody" Bonnie
McGee have a hatred for.
   Lastly in the original group are the Explorer Society with their flagship
The Discovery under the command of Guy McCormick, descendant of the original
founder of the group, who seeks his wife lost on a previous expedition to
a mysterious island in search of Syrneth ruins. 35 years ago, a ship sailed into
the Trade
Sea looking for Bryn Besail, McCormick was the only one to return.
No Quarter
   The General reports to Leon that the pirate Rollins has been captured
but Berek has escaped him for now (refers to the story 'The Last Stand' in the
Pirate Nations sourcebook). He has also surveyed La Buca for a means of attack
but has found none, but does engage in a brief battle with Allende. Berek also
escapes from a Castillian patrol by steering the Black Dog through reefs where
the larger galleons cannot follow.
   Sometime prior to this McGee's ship is boarded by Reis and she fights
him and survives, diving overboard as he cuts through the main mast with his
scythe. She joins the crew of Berek who promises her that they will find a way
to get back at Reis.
   Javier de Bejarno of the Crimson Roger finds an ancient map that shows
where to find the keys to passing the Three Tests upon the Syrneth isle that
he has found information about. He soon discovers the secret to overcoming the
First Test, bringing his dream of immortality all the more closer.
   Lady Katerina of Ussura sends an unknown missive to General Montegue
during his campaign for l'Empereur to attack that barren country.
   Allende has some business with the O'Bannon with Sean McCorley acting
as his intermediary.
   Reis is tasked by Merchant Prince Vincent Caligari to seek out a particular
artefact of Syrneth origin. His first find does not match the requirement but
he is paid for it none the less.
   Felipe Jose de Granjero starts to teach Margaretta Orduno, wife of
Enrique, the finer art of swordplay much to the chagrin and comments of the crew.
The General comments on the unusual situation of having a wife onboard ship after
a brief meeting with Orduno to discuss the pirate situation.
Strange Vistas
   Under information from an unknown source, the General sails to intercept
Khired-din and the corsairs. In the battle, the raving mad Hamish is unleashed
and the Montaigne are forced to flee. With their sails set on fire by Crescent
fire it looks as if the ship will be lost until another ship pulls along side
and two gymnastic members cut them free. The second ship turns out to be led
by Philip Gosse, a legendary pirate who was thought to have retired to a desert
island with his bounty. They are famed throughout Theah for their mercy on those
ships they waylay, leaving enough provisions for the hapless crews to make it
safely home and not killing unless necessary. The General is under orders to
arrest Gosse, but decides he cannot and tells the elderly swashbuckler to leave
before his hand is forced.
   John Fox locates a religious treasure known as the Cross of Virtue
stolen from Orduno as being taken by the Crimson Roger. Berek repatriates the
artifact from Reis, something that the latter is understandably angry about.
   Eisenfurst Sieger employs a crew to dredge the Trade River and bring
him the dirt they collect, he does not tell them why he wants it.
   Three Fate Witches search the seas for an errant sister Alesio who
is currently serving on board the Hanged Man.
   Allende is saved from a Castillian trap by a cannon attack from the
followers of El Vago. Admiral Orduno is injured in the exchange when his ship
takes a direct hit. Meanwhile the General pulls a ship of the blockade to help
drive the Hanged Man into his own grasp.
   High King James McDuff journeys on a secret mission to Vendel using
a crew recommended by Queen Elaine for their reliability.
   Guy McCormick finds a vest that belonged to his wife Amanda and tries
to uncover where the man found out. He also uncovers a Syrneth tiller as Khiered-din
finds and activates the First Switch in the Forbidden Sea.
   Lady Katherine proposes to use Allende for a mission for Ussura, having
found him helpful in the past.
   Torva Espada of the Uncharted Course ( Gosse's ship ) plans his revenge
on Don Aldana for taking credit for his own father's swordsman school.
Broadsides
   McCormick and The Discovery leave the shores of Vendel after discussions
and re-supply at the Kirk House. Cosette, the first mate, expresses her concern
over the quest to find four mythical Syrneth switches that somehow reveal a great
and lost treasure and also the whereabouts of McCormick's wife. The mission is
engaged which is to take them deep into the Mirror and potentially the sights
of the Corsairs.
   On the seas, the Castillian armada has withdrawn back into La Boca
while the General continues his cat and mouse games with Allende.
Shifting Tides
   Orduno launches a new fleet from the far side of La Boca and under
the cover of fog shatters the Montaigne blockade of their western ports. The
High Admiral of the Montaigne navy Alazais Valoix Praisse du Rachetisse III takes
control of the fleet and re-calls the General from his activities in the Frothing
Sea to rendezvous at San Augustin and launch a new offensive on the Castillians,
making sure that they still hold the River against the advances.
   Meanwhile, in the cold Trade Sea, the Vesten Raiders under the command
of Yngvild Olafsdottir start to make their presence felt, raiding shipping heading
to and from the Vendel markets. An elderly Rune-mage called Ulf Karlssen joins
the crew of McCormick's Discovery before they leave the Trade Sea, he is said
to be acting under advice from his 'ancestors'.
   Alesio is warned by strega Musette Falisci of the approach of the
Three, she is told that she must atone for her actions by betraying Allende.
   In the Trade Sea far west of Avalon, McCormick is led by an ancient
Aether Compass to a stone column that is the Second Switch. He presses the device
and continues his journey ever closer to the Mirror.
   The Hanged Man is boarded by the General, Sean McCorley throws himself
at an attacking Montaigne giving Alesio the Fate Witch time to act. The naively
innocent Rosamonde du Montaigne, daughter of Leon and naval inspector, saves
the life of the General by shooting an attacker dead in the intensity of the
moment. Philip Gosse and his crew help to repair Allende's ship after the battle.
   The Black Dog is finally caught by the Crisom Roger after a long chase.
Berek boards the ship to try and give time for the Sea Dogs to make their escape.
After it cuts straight through he sword, he clutches onto Reis's scythe and is
locked in combat while McGee cuts the ropes and forces the Black Dog to sail
off. McGee sees her captain topple overboard into the foam and swears to avenge
this day.
   The pirate known only as "The Kire" and his companion Jacques Renault
escape from their Montiagne prison and return to the High Seas.
Scarlet Seas
   Bonnie McGee replaces the presumed-dead Berek as leader of the Sea
Dogs, taking the captaincy of the Hurricane. She decides that they need to confront Reis, not only for revenge but since he will be searching for them. To prepare for the coming battle, the crew head for the Isle of the Grey Queen, a poweful Sidhe, to gain her support and the power needed to defeat the dread pirate Reis.
   The General agrees to sell out his crew to the Castillians at the
arrangement of the Inquisition under the orders of Esteban Verdugo. Captain Orduno
is informed of the arrangement and told to effect the takeover of the ship at
the given signal.
   McCormick meets Mumblety Peg, who claims to have seen his lost wife
and been to the sunken island where he recieved a prosthetic hand. Venturing
into the Forbidden Sea to find the next switch with a new mystical compass, the
crew stumble across the Corsairs. During the battle, Maggie Malone falls over
exposing the tattoos on the soles of her feet. Kheired-din recognises the marks
as that of the Lightbringer and forms an alliance with the Explorer's.
   Having repaired Allende's ship, Philip Gosse robs the Brotherhood
vessel and departs but they do not uncover the valuble Ussuran jewelled eggs
contracted by Katheryna. Then Alesio suddenly instructed the ship to change course
and they recover Jeremiah Berek from the sea where he had fallen in the battle
with Reis.
   Philip Gosse has the unfortunate task of writing to his sister to
inform her that her son Thomas has been lost. The young man died saving the life
of Martin Tytus. The elderly captain also relates that the nightmares about a
mysterious Montaigne have returned.
Black Sails
   Philip Gosse plagued by nightmares of the Black Freighter has them
come true when the Uncharted Course sights the dread ship. On-board is the undead form of Thomas, his nephew lost to the seas while saving crewmember Martin Tytus.
   The Black Freighter story covers most of Theah. It is said that the
captain betrayed the crew and it sunk in icy waters. The undead survivors started
to ply the oceans, killing and adding the damned to their numbers. The former
captain is tacked to the bow of the ship, a grim punishment for his actions.
Led by Captain Necros, a ghoulish figure who fails to hide his nature with powder
and make-up.
   Most other factions will be equally shocked to find former shipmates
now serving among the damned. Gilles Allais du Crieux was lost to sharks and
stripped clean, apart from his hated shock white hair. Denny La Bree ( Brotherhood
), Don Deanna ( Castille ), Iken of Venderheim ( Vesten ) and Lord Windhamshire
( Explorer ) are also all lost. Samuel Smitts was killed by Reis in anger after
the escape of the Sea Dogs, he now stands with many others killed by the dread
pirate in the past. The unaligned Mark Scars died forgotten and with no family
and friends to mourn his passing. That can not be said for Dalia, whose violent
death is mourned by Kheired-Din and the infatuated pilot of the Strange Skies.
   Following the loss of Dalia, the brutal Edhago decided he has had
enough of the pilot's lamentations and goes to punish him. However, the hunchback
is in for a surprise as Espera is in fact Ernesto Castillus, a surviving member
of the old Castillian royal line and a practitioner of el fuego adentro. In the
subsequent confusion, Mike Fitzpatrick kills his hated neighbour Andres and escapes.
Fate's Debt
   The Brotherhood is delivered a double-blow when Allende is taken by
agents of the Vodacce Merchant Prince, Vincenzo Caligari, and the Hanged Man is burned to the waterline. Quick action by Berek rescues the crew, however they are not able to save their captain from being smuggled out of Castille.
   The revealed Ernesto leaves Kheired-Din fuming on his sabotaged ship
and with his small band of followers seizes another Crescent galley which they
rename the Freedom's Key. Mike Fitzpatrick does not join them, but is rescued up by Montaigne ship some while later and joins its crew.
   Meanwhile, Captain Orduno nears the ship of the General, surprised
that such an honourable man would betray his crew in such a manner. However,
as they draw near and he expects a single cannon shot, he is both surprised and
pleased that the shot contains the gold given by the Inquisition to the Eisen
mercenary. The Inquisition agents are not as amused and when Enrique refuses
to engage the Montaigne, they charge him with treason. Margaretta is coerced
into publically endorsing the accusation and her husband is carted off to a Castillian
prison.
   Recovering from their loss, the Brotherhood under Berek make plans
to rescue Allende. Seizing a newly commisioned merchant ship called the Falcoln's Roost from the dockside, they make for Vodacce. Alesio reveals to Berek her part in the betrayal and also that she found him as his luck is now gone and so he is outside the effects of Fate.
   In the northern seas, Gosse's crew race against those of the Black
Frieghter to reach the fabled Spear of the West Wind. This is a rune-powered
artifact on an isolated island that could give control of the surrounding area
to anyone who can harness it. The dread Captain Necros had been told of its existence
by Uriah Dribbler, a former associate of the treasure-seeker Foul Weather Jack.
Both crews reach the location and a battle ensues, but determined to prevent
the power falling to the undead, Philip Gosse destroys the Spear.
Reaper's Fee
   Throughout Theah, various groups are drawn towards the sea known as
the Mirror, where an unknown island is resurfacing and bringing with it a powerful
secret. Yngvild is told of the place by High King Asbjornsson, thinking it the
key to Valhalla and the final defeat of the hated Vendel. The undead Dalia tells
Captain Necros of the island and its importance to her former captain, Kheired-Din.
Reis recieves the Setine Key from his scholar Javier and then promptly kills
the young man to stop the information going any further. While in the Vatacine
City, Cardinal Verdugo collapses with visions of the portal giving the emergence
of Legion and the coming of the Fourth Prophet.
   Nicole Cowley's past catches up with her as she confronts Lyin' John
Fox, the very man who killed her father and husband. The villainous Avalon flees
the ship in a rowboat, with the Hurricane's guns chasing it. Nicole then explains everything to a very surprised McGee and Celedoine.
   On the depleated Strange Skies, a very worried Explorer crew finds
out just how far their captain's obsession has gone when he kidnaps Maggie and
leaves with Kheired-Din. The effectively promoted Cosette rallies her crew and
vows to recover Maggie and foil the plans of the deranged McCormick.
   After a confrontation with the undead Thomas using a sword gifted
to him by the Rose and Cross, Gosse contacts the adventurer Red to secure a larger
ship to fight against Necros. Margaretta makes her own plans to recover her husband,
sending a messenger to the General in Starke. she asks for his help in the task
and, with a renewed sense of purpose and honour the Eisen, he retrieves his old
set of Dracheneisen armour.
   In Kirk, Jorund Guttormson consults with Master Allen Trel of the
Sailor's Guild. With a new crew of hired men and Eisen mercenaries, he sets out
to bring down Yngvild once and for all.
   Instead of trying to restore the blockade, Amiral Valoix launches
a focused assault on the besieged port of San Christobal. With help from a little
sabotage the force overwhelms the town and the Castillian forces are driven back
to the fortified Muralla. However, not all goes his way as many of the General's
crew refuse to follow their recall orders and Isabeau du Montaigne stands by
the mercenary against the strutting Admiral.