Difference between revisions of "Redbeard's Lair"

Revision as of 19:50, 2 April 2016

This adventure began in the city of Gascar, after Gairevander and his team returned from their meeting with the druid of the Red Forest in the ruins they were investigating for the Carrolwood Project.

Trouble brewing

The group's supervisor, Baxter, told them they should avoid the ruins until he had the chance speak with his superior, Eisner, about the current state of their mission the following morning. In the meantime, he asked them once again to see what they could find out about the pirates to the north, as a vessel bound here from Rogariel captained by a Lastini named Atencio that should have arrived two days ago had gone missing. He took his leave and the group decided they'd head to Morgan's Publick House for the evening.

Once at Morgan's, Emi wandered around the common room to gather some information. When she came up empty, she and Dalva decided it might be more productive to pay a visit to Fracas, so they left bound for that establishment. Meanwhile, Gaire went to talk to Morgan himself, and met Dehalia, an Elven warrior who was a member of the White Army. He learned that Dehalia had chased some pirates along the coast as far as the town of Queral. Siege joined the pair, and she further told them that the ship she encountered was much faster than a ship its size had any right to be, and told them about the colorful flag that the ship flew. However, when Siege mentioned Carrolwood, she spat on the floor and ended the conversation abruptly. After reporting this to the rest of the party, they took note of the arrival of Khay Gativa and her friends, Dere Tsun and Dere Yan. Alvin visited their table with Gaire and learned that the pirates they encountered flew the same flag.

Meanwhile, at Fracas, Emi and Dalva ordered drinks from Scamp, who immediately picked Dalva out as a neophyte. As they talked, they were approached by Reynaldo Piaccelli, an associate of Dudex, their co-worker with Carrolwood. After greasing his palm, they learned that the pirates had multiple ships, and were led by someone who was known locally as Redbeard, and rumor had it he was seeking something from the Lastini of the country to the north, Mentoncha. Rey intimated that, if the pirate had begun infringing on the Gascar area, the local thieves' guild would be quite pleased if he were removed from the picture. He suggested they speak with Gavin, one of the few locals who carried out trade with the Lastini. While he didn't know if Gavin was in town, he mentioned that if he wasn't, he was likely to be just across the border in Mentemar.

The next morning, after a brief discussion, the party went on various errands while waiting for their lunch meeting. Gaire checked in at The Armorer, where he was waiting for a suit of chain mail to be completed. Siege visited the army base to reserve a room to test out a torch holder he'd put together under battle conditions. Rin went to the temple of Losyera to make an offering and see if they had any information. Shale and Rakeor visited Bolio's Weaponry, where they sold a pair of short swords they'd found in the ruins.

Meanwhile, Alvin, Dalva and Emi went to the Harbormaster's Building to get information about Gavin. They first spoke to Orrsunak, the harbormaster, who told them that he expected Gavin's ship, the Faltremar, to return to port the following day. He also gave them some additional information about Gavin and other captains who carried passengers to and from Mentoncha. When Dalva asked whether they could make their way by land, he directed the group to Marona, the proprietress of a ship repair business in the same building. She told them of the Calle de Tierrimar, a cart path that runs between the cities, but that it would be much slower than travel by ship. Alvin purchased a map of the region from Aras Bugloss, a mapmaker who also had a shop in the building, before the three returned to the guest house for their meeting.

A new mission

At lunch, Baxter informed them that the Carrolwood Project was being temporarily suspended while negotiations were carried out with the druid. Since the demolition of the bird building was taking longer than expected anyway, Eisner had decided that the party's services were needed elsewhere, specifically in continuing to gather information about the pirates in hopes that they could be neutralized before the next supply ship left Rogariel in two and a half weeks. Gairevander, however, would still be needed in Gascar to aid in the negotiations, and also to help quell the rising resistance to the project among the citizens of Gascar and to smooth over relations with some of the local leaders. Gaire suggested that Dalva should replace him as the party's leader, to which everyone agreed. Baxter also said that anyone who wanted to leave at this time would be allowed to do so, and he would expect their answers at dinner.

That afternoon, the party began preparations for their journey. Several party members went signed up for swimming instruction at the temple of Bassik, While Alvin went to the mages' guild to see if they might be able to hire a mage with skill in water elementalism. After speaking with Delino Simms, the highest-ranking guild member available, Alvin posted a notice on the board in the common room. Shale and Rakeor visited the temple of Morelen, where they spoke to Grun, a Dwarven priest, about ways to avoid or at least ameliorate the problem of traveling by water.

Shaking things up

When the group returned, Dudex told them that he had identified one of the items they'd found in the ruins as a ring of resistance attuned to the school of alteration. At dinner, the group discussed their findings with Baxter, and Alvin mentioned the poster. Baxter showed concern at this and asked whether he'd mentioned Carrolwood. Alvin admitted that he had, and Baxter immediately excused himself. Recognizing his error, Alvin rushed back to the guild to remove the poster. While he was gone, Baxter returned and told the group that Eisner had recommended that Alvin be removed from the project. The group briefly hoped that perhaps nobody had seen the poster, but just then a young woman appeared at the door asking for Alvin. She introduced herself as Crystania, a Lastini novice water elementalist, and she seemed quite perceptive regarding the party's issues. After a brief conversation, Dalva asked her to return the following morning.

Alvin returned soon thereafter, and the party told him the situation. Feeling depressed, Alvin hunkered down in his room with the sleeping Dudex. The party decided to check with the mages' guild to see if their contact, Cleo Cragganmore, had returned from visiting her family, sending Emi and Rin to give her an update. Dalva went to Bolio's to purchase a spare sword, while Siege accompanied the two Dwarves to Morgan's, where they joined Gaire at a table with Khay, Yan and Tsun. After an extended conversation, they set out to return to the guest house, where they learned that Emi had decided to spend the night at Twin Pines Inn, a local inn, while Rin went back to her temple.

The next morning, Alvin tried to come up with ways to make money while the rest of the group was away. At first, he mentioned to Dudex that he might help with his divination duties, and offered to study the identify spell. This seemed to disturb Dudex, who immediately left to start his day's work. Emi and Rin returned shortly thereafter and told Dalva that Cleo had given them very little new information about Crystania. They also told Alvin that he would be allowed to offer his services at the guild. He didn't put too much stock in this, instead asking Genevieve, the head of the household staff, if he might find work in the kitchen. Upon hearing that he was the son of Winthrop Haler, private chef for Mayor Rockefeller of Rabk, she promised to give him due consideration.

At breakfast, Cleo told the party that she knew of someone who might be interested in their current mission, an Aquatic Elven transmuter who had arrived on the Elven ship Kiffah the previous day. Baxter arrived after the meal and learned that the group had decided to leave Alvin behind. He asked them about their information gathering progress, and Emi mentioned that negative rumors about Carrolwood were continuing to spread as well. Baxter also mentioned that he had been notified of a member of the White Army who had previously encountered the pirates, and he would arrange a meeting with him that afternoon. As the meeting continued, Crystania appeared, and Alvin and Dalva were able to convince her to leave, giving her some monetary compensation for her trouble. Afterwards, the party let slip that they had discovered magical items in the ruins, and Gaire suggested that the items will likely now be forfeit. However, after meeting with Baxter, Gaire told the party that only the potions that had actually been found in the market building were to be turned over to Carrolwood, and that he himself had been permanently removed from all duties involving exploration of the ruins.

As the party packed their belongings, Dalva was called aside by Baxter and told that, under the circumstances, they would need to bring the missing ship back in order to return to Carrolwood's good graces. Everyone then adjourned to Twin Pines, where they arranged for six "sleeping spaces" with the proprietor, a half-Elf named Terestex. The group then split up, with most of the group heading to their swimming class while the two Dwarves went to the military compound to spar. There, they ran into Gaius Lentulus, a soldier whom they had previously met, and discovered that he was the one they were supposed to meet that afternoon. He told them that he was part of the group that went to Queral, but that the mission came to an abrupt halt when one of his compatriots, a Halfling named Niccolo de'Medici, went missing, and the people who had hired them told them they were no longer needed.

After swimming class ended, Emi and Rin headed off to tell Cleo that they wanted to meet with the mage the next day, while Dalva and Siege set off for the military base. On the way, they noted that they were being watched by a young girl with golden eyes among the food stalls in the market area. After another meeting with Gaius, where he emphasized that they should begin their search for the pirates in Cardyl, they returned to Twin Pines to meet the others. The group decided to have their evening meal at Neptune House. On both occasions, Dalva spotted the same girl, so she asked Emi to watch her while she went to confirm with the Harbormaster that the Faltremar had come into port. Unfortunately, Emi was spotted before the girl wandered off to the south. After dinner, the party briefly met with Gaire at Morgan's before retiring to Twin Pines.

The next morning, Emi and Shale went to the docks to try and locate Gavin while the rest waited to meet with the wizard being sent over by Cleo. The wizard, named Maeish, arrived and met with the party. Rin expressed some displeasure with her lack of the armor spell, leading her to intone that the party needed a bard. On the other hand, Rakeor seemed impressed by her tales of punching sharks with her fist of stone. In the end, they told her to return to the guild and wait for word from them. Meanwhile, down at the docks, Emi and Shale met with Heth, the Faltremar's first mate. He told them that Gavin was sleeping off the previous night's revelry at Rilee's, and they should return in the afternoon. The mention of Gaius' name seemed to catch Heth's attention, and he seemed to think this would indeed pique Gavin's interest.

As they were starting on their way back, Emi spotted the golden-eyed girl again, so she and Shale put together a plan to catch her. The two headed north, and the Dwarf ducked into a nearby brewery. The girl continued to follow Emi, and Shale exited and came up behind her. After being asked why she'd been watching them, the girl excitedly asked them to take her with them on their upcoming journey. The two were taken aback by her knowledge of their doings, and after some further questioning decided they should at least take the girl -- who had given her name as Ora and revealed that she was Lastini -- back to Morgan's to meet the others.

Emi went to Twin Pines while Shale "babysat" the girl, who was quickly noticed by Morgan, the proprietor. He pulled Shale aside and warned her that Ora's golden eyes likely marked her as Lastini nobility. After a brief exchange, during which Rin noted that since the girl knew about their coming voyage they would likely have to bring her along, everyone joined Shale and Ora at Morgan's. Ora continued to be quite evasive about her situation and what her abilities might be, but after a while she agreed to demonstrate the latter for Dalva.

After moving to the balcony, the two moved to the far corner, where Ora began speaking to Dalva telepathically. After Dalva assured her that the other party members could be trusted, Ora revealed that she was a psionicist. This prompted some discussion among the party, which ended in them tentatively agreeing to allow her to accompany them. Rin then offered to bring Ora to the temple of Liyyera. On the way, the two talked, and Ora told the priestess in confidence that she had left Mentoncha because if she had stayed, she would have had to become a priestess herself. At the temple, Ora met Sayuri, the High Priestess, who also treated her with unusual deference.

The rest of the party split up to perform various errands. Emi and Shale returned to the docks, where they were finally able to meet Gavin. After telling him their plan, he said he did not wish to tangle with Redbeard again, and would only bring them as far as Queral -- or, if they agreed to double the price, to Cardyl. Emi and Shale brought the terms back to the group, and upon checking the map saw that the city closest to the Mentonchan border, Daro, was only a short distance from Queral, which Dalva found somewhat odd. Still, the party agreed to hire Gavin to take them as far as Queral, and arranged to meet with their prospective new members that night.

Later, Emi brought Dalva to the docks to meet Gavin, and he told them that they might have difficulty finding a ship for hire in Queral, so if they changed their mind about continuing to Cardyl, they needed to tell him before they put into port there. They rejoined the others at Morgan's, where they filled Maeish in on their plan for tomorrow's demonstration. Dalva told Gaire that she planned to have Ora contact him with information, which unsettled him a bit despite his agreement.

Rin once again brought up the idea of hiring a bard, and Dalva asked if she had one in mind. At that moment, the evening's entertainment arrived in the person of Gilbert Sullivan, to whom Rin had spoken earlier in the day. As he began to tell the story of Caliph Kapoc, Rin mentioned that he had recently spent time in Teticha, which piqued Ora's interest, while Emi focused more on his physical attractiveness and Dalva predicted trouble should he join the group. After finishing his set with The Ballad of Nevyn, Rin and Emi set off to accompany him back to the temple of Losyera, intending to visit Fracas afterwards.

Preparing for departure

The next morning, the party met with Baxter and updated him on the party's status, including the official addition of Gilbert. He told them of Gascar's association with Daro, mentioning that trade with the city had recently begun due to the efforts of Wyndel, son of the city's ruling Sheik. Afterwards, everyone visited the marketplace for crepes, where they briefly met with Dudex, then split up again, with Emi and Shale paying a visit to the harbormaster. Orrsunak suggested they might have a better time trying to charter a ship from Queral to Cardimer than to Daro as it was a larger port. When they subsequently asked Aras Bugloss about a map of the area, he had nothing usable by laymen, so he suggested trying to get one from the military base or Castle Telva. He also suggested visiting Magic Journeys, since Mason Segers' father had a collection of maps from his many travels. Ora paid another visit to the temple of Liyyera, then one to Marona, who was finishing up a meeting with Wyndel, whose boat she had recently repaired. Marona offered guidance on the vessel on which Ora would be traveling, and they agreed to talk again before the latter departed.

The group reunited to discuss going to Cardimer instead of Daro, and after lunch went to the military base for Maeish's demonstration of her abilities. After displaying several cantrips and her fist of stone, the party was sufficiently impressed to confirm her hiring. After some questioning of Gilbert about his skills, most of the party went into the marketplace to purchase supplies for the coming voyage. Afterwards, Emi, Dalva and Ora went to Magic Journeys, where Emi was able to take notes of a map depicting Shark's Fin Bay. Upon their return, Ora contacted Gaire as agreed, and the group had dinner at Neptune House.

After a brief visit to Morgan's, Emi, Rin and Dalva paid a visit to Fracas while the rest of the group finished their preparations for the next day's departure. There they met with several members of the Faltremar's crew led by his Second Mate Hirondu. They confirmed with her that they would be stopping in Queral for at least a day, but that no decision had been made regarding whether to proceed from there. Rin wandered off to work on a drawing of one of the patrons, and when the other two tried to get her to leave he became angry. However, another member of Gavin's crew, a minotaur named Borshikov, headed him off, and the three made haste out of the bar as a brawl broke out.

The next morning, Ora returned to visit Marona, where she learned that the village's Condesa, Rosalín, was no longer the ruler of the town, although Marona knew nothing more about the situation. After Maeish went out to do some fishing, Ora returned and discussed her disguise with Rin, Gilbert and Dalva. They settled on coloring her hair auburn and her eyes a purplish-blue. Ora attempted to create a concomitant backstory, involving her father being killed by an al-mi'raj, but Dalva nixed the idea, and the group set off for the Faltremar.

Once on board, Gilbert cast armor spells on Ora and Maeish while Shale cast sea legs on herself and Rakeor. Maeish brought her fish to the galley, where she discovered that Borshikov was the cook, and that he wasn't fond of using magic in his cooking. After that, the group chose their cabins and the Faltremar cast off...

Cast of characters

Below is a list of characters who were involved at one point or another in this adventure:

• Dalva - run by Lou McLeary
• Emi - run by Shelley Proulx
• Gaius Lentulus - NPC
• Gilbert Sullivan - NPC
• Maeish - run by Phil Vlasak
• Ora - run by Penelope Nichols
• Rakeor - run by Shelley Proulx
• Rin - NPC
• Shale - run by Lou McLeary
• Siege - run by Phil Vlasak

Adventure timeline