Zola and Scram flee Paddlewick aboard a rogue pirate ship named the Feral Free, manned by a ragtag crew of misfits and led by tiefling hell-raiser and salami-thief, Captain Fiddle Styx. Leaving behind their cleric friend Prya, who believes her place is still in Paddlewick, the two adventurers make pals with their new shipmates:

Humans Nella Hachara, resident gambler, and Zurum Batico, deckhand; three halfling triplets known as the Muscatinis, who bare a striking resemblance to a young Danny Devito; a kenku navigator named Lyre who speaks only in mimicry; a tiger tabaxi celestial warlock cook named Flambae; a gnome first mate with mechanical appendages named Mr. McGreebee; an orc quartermaster (quite a shocker within the Empire’s borders) named Mascar Pone, a half-elf disaster named Quince Tuffler (just a real scrub who quickly becomes a fan favorite), and a half-drow rogue named Cicirose Paixnuit, who mans the ship at night.

Though our heroes butt heads with the crew at first, through honesty and empathy, they eventually prove themselves to be worthy members. Meanwhile, Zola continues to have confusing dreams in which a rattlingly deep voice commands her to

F I N D T H E G R A V E D I G G E R !

Not long into the journey, the Feral Free comes upon something mysterious: an abandoned ship, floating like a ghost in the night. When Scram and Zola make their way to the heart of the ship, which is filled with the skeletons of orcs as well as mages from the fallen Lioniel empire, they find a sickly green glowing gem. In a powerful magical reaction, the Shard absorbs the green gem, and with it, Scram too. Zola, with newfound magical power, fights with the Feral Free for their lives against the resurrected orcish undead. They survive, but there is no answer from Scram within the pulsating Shard.

Without her only friend, Zola gets to know Cicirose better, shielding her from the sun so she can travel with the crew onto Driftin: a floating pile of rubbish and crates built into a city beyond the Empire’s control. There, Cicirose and Zola have their first unofficial date in the form of parasol-shopping and a bar brawl.

Finally catching up with Captain Styx, Zola overhears her meeting with an unrecognizable humanoid accompanied by a raccoon familiar, who’s asking suspicious questions about Captain Styx’s new crew-mates. Avoiding any questions, Captain Styx sends Zola on a quick quest to bring an offering to the Watchwoman of Driftin, Tethysia, who keeps the island safe via her pact with Umberlee, Goddess of the Sea. (And also happens to be an ex of Captain Styx.) Tethysia grants the crew a small blue stone: a charm of protection to keep them safe from Umberlee’s cruel seas.

The waves are the least of their worries though, as Driftin is attacked by the Empire’s naval forces, come to collect on years’ worth of taxes. Zola and the crew very narrowly escape onto the high seas, but tensions remain high as Zola realizes the chest that contains Lord Cravern’s unknown artifact has gone missing from where she’d stashed it.

Mascar admits to confiscating and bringing Zola’s stash to Captain Styx. Sensing the jig is up, Zola reveals to the Captain and Mascar her journey thus far. Mascar tells Zola more about their people, The Formaggi, who were a member of the pre-Auraelian alliance called The First Might. After the Auraelian Empire threw over the old Lioniel regime in the War of the Mare Emara, the Formaggi were exiled from their own home by the cruel and prejudiced human empire. Mascar and Captain Styx are most disturbed by Zola’s encounter with The Eye, a major faction called The Omnimalum, who are propping up the new Auraelian Empire. Most importantly, Captain Styx helps crack open Lord Eaglebottom’s locked box, revealing a golden crown.

Drawing near to the capital, Captain Styx delays their arrival in favor of one last quest: diving down to the wreckage of her former ship in search of her late mother’s music box. Captain Styx, Zola, and Quince descend to the sea floor where they’re quickly outnumbered by Kuo-toa, terrible cultish fish-monsters who have been contacted by the Omnimalum’s most dangerous agent: Pleabo, the sniveling deep gnome Zola and Scram had accidentally let free in Brizalla’s tower. Zola manages to fry the fish and Captain Styx retrieves her mother’s music box, but the cost is too high, as Quince is killed beneath the waves.

Thankfully, Flambe is able to connect to her god, Wilda, and perform a miracle: bringing a terrified and wet Quince back to life. Grateful to be alive and where it’s dry, the crew celebrates with Emaralia’s First Pizza Party! Zola and Cicirose bond over their troubled pasts and foggy futures. Meanwhile, Zola begins to hear the voice of the man trapped inside the green gem (which is trapped inside the Shard): an ominous orc-mage named Limburger, aka Gravedigger, who served under Zola’s grandfather before leaving the Formaggi to learn strange magic in the cursed Pale Wastes. Limburger tells Zola that her sword is a legendary blade passed down by Zola’s ancestors, a Mage-Slaying weapon called the Tusk that can cut through the Weave of magic itself. He asks Zola to help free him from the gem using this power, to which Zola plays coy, suspecting that Limburger may have been trapped by the Lioniel mages for a reason.

As Limburger’s pleas to be freed echo in Zola’s mind, she’s visited by another vision: one of a black void, where the Shard warbles with burning energy. Zola is transported to an ancient marble cathedral, streaked with gems and veins of ore but otherwise fallen into disrepair. Before her is a fountain with a carving of an androgynous figure made of crystalline stone, its water frozen in time. Ancient murals depict how Emaralia was shaped by gods before being nearly torn apart by their disagreements in a cataclysmic magical disaster called the Malediction- if not for the sacrifice of one.

Driven by a strange urge to defy Limburger, Zola uses The Tusk to Dispel Magic on the frozen fountain, whose statue begins to fill with color. Up a long set of marble stairs, Zola comes upon an altar and looks out onto a strange star-shaped island, the landscape constantly shifting with ever-changing weather. There, the Shard appears to her again, calmer and filled with magnetic energy, and tells her:

N o t h i n g w i l l b e s p a r e d
A l l t h i n g s w i l l c o m e t o s h i f t
S o m e c a l l i t a c u r s e
S o m e a g i f t . . .

Zola is pulled out of her body, above the island, above Emaralia, above the world of Feyfall, and into the Astral Sea! where Stilton’s green orb finds her and helps her return to her sleeping body.

Back in the waking world, the Feral Free throws Zola a goodbye party, which turns sour when Captain Styx’s acquaintance from Driftin (a shapeshifting changeling named Trick) disguises themself as Cicirose in an attempt to steal the Shard from Zola. Trick retreats into the night, but moments later, the Feral Free is attacked by the Empire’s naval forces and wronged salami-salesman, Dare Boucher.

With the shoddy Feral Free unable to compete with the Golden Fleet, Captain Styx curses Umberlee’s name and yeets the blue stone into the Mare Emara, incurring the sea goddess’s wrath and summoning a massive coral dragon. The crew throws the majority of the naval officers overboard and commandeers their ship while the coral dragon lays waste to the Feral Free, although not before nearly killing Zola.

After one last night under the stars with Cicirose, Zola prepares to return to land and continue the journey to find her mother and seek out more knowledge regarding the mysterious Shard.

And that’s where we conclude Arc II of Try Not To Die. Tune in to Chapter Twenty-Six to listen to Arc III: Auraelian Awakenings, or continue on to the next recap!