Battlemap
Parasite Galley
The docked galley whispers with borrowed voices, and something hungry is wearing the crew like skin.
This docked Mediterranean galley has been turned into a floating den of infection, its crew reduced to obedient shells by parasitic aberrations. The lower decks are tight, dark, and hunting grounds for things that move like sailors only until they lunge.
Salt damp stone, creaking timber, and stale lamp oil hang over the ship like a fever dream. Faint chanting leaks through the bulkheads, mixed with wet clicking from inside the walls and the occasional thud of something heavy dragging itself across the deck below.
☠ Threat
An aberrant parasite brood has infested the ship, knitting crew and captain into a shared hive-mind that grows stronger the deeper the players go. The captain remains alive in room-6, but only as the brood's crowned host, commanding infected sailors, spawning larval horrors, and trying to keep the ship docked long enough for the infestation to spread ashore.
History
The galley was built in a prosperous harbor city to ferry tribute, spices, and pilgrims along the Mediterranean coast. On a return voyage, the captain accepted a sealed clay amphora from a half-drowned wreck and brought it aboard against his quartermaster's advice. Within days, the crew began changing, and the ship was sealed at dock when the town guards heard screaming belowdecks.
Encounter Table
CRA sailor with a parasite seam across the neck and salt foam on the lips. It patrols by rote, pausing to listen for footsteps before it attacks.
A limping mate with one eye clouded white, dragging a boat hook stained with black bile.
Small writhing larva-things that spill from cracks in the hull and try to crawl into armor gaps.
A heavy, swollen crewman that moves with wet, deliberate strength and sniffs the air like a hunting beast.
Rumours & Whispers
The ship arrived with no lights on after sunset, and the dockhands heard singing in three voices from one throat.
A priest said the captain refused to let any seawater be blessed before cargo was unloaded.
Some swear the crew still walks the deck at midnight, but only if no one is watching from the pier.
A fisherman found a white, finger-length grub in a net and claimed it whispered the names of harbor streets.
The ship's bell rings once whenever someone dies belowdecks.
Quest Hooks
Quest giver: Magistrate Eleni Varo
A harbor magistrate needs a small band to clear the sealed galley before nightfall, because the dockworkers have already reported voices in the hull.
40 gp each, plus salvage rights to anything not nailed down
Quest giver: Mira, fishmonger of the quay
A missing sailor's sister swears her brother is still alive aboard the ship and begs the party to bring him back if possible.
A family heirloom charm and 25 gp
Quest giver: Brother Cassian
The local temple fears the infestation may spread through the harbor water and asks for proof of the parasites' origin.
Blessings, healing, and a rare antidote draught
Quest giver: Dockmaster Sereph
A dockmaster wants the ship scuttled without burning the neighboring warehouses.
Paid crews, favors from the port, and 50 gp
Corridor Notes
Rusted bronze wall lamps burn with greenish whale-oil flame, giving off a medicinal stench that catches in the throat.
Narrow portholes are sealed with pitch and salt-crusted cloth, but cold sea spray still beads on the glass.
Scratched warning sigils and desperate crew prayers are carved into the bulkheads near the deeper passage.
The deck subtly tilts toward the stern, where something has clearly shifted the ship's weight in the water.
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