The Wreck - Chronological order of Events

Four very different people survive a shipwreck and end up on a tiny island. These are their stories.

The protagonists

Darius Naffles

Dauphine Tirfelya

Oscar

Quinton Gemweaver

Dolac

Four journeys

This is how our four friends ended up in the capital of Dolac; Avale.

Quinton Gemweaver

Quinton starts his journey to Avale following the Fiumare river. On the way he ran into a band of Nikanish who were trying to protect a tribe of bullywugs and the druid was asked if he wanted to help and he does. Later his camp was overrun by zombies but he managed to get away with all of his belongings.

Then a town happened to be visited by a bunch Kashtin revelers when Quinton arrived and this lead to some very hedonistic days. Journeying on alone was quite the contrast but the beautiful landscapes made up for it especially the Sevso Sound. From there it took a number of bridges to the islands in the Tal delta and a ferry to get across and make it to Avale where he finds an inn in the Cegir Town neighborhood.

The city is huge and there is much to see. Quinton starts by getting a shave at Hair Me Out. Next he buys a mince mop from a street vendor. While walking and eating he nearly collides with a square-jawed, blond-haired man that steps out of an outhouse, dusting down his clothes, mumbling to himself.

A few days later in Downpark he passes by the Pursue Hickory bank and comes to a square where an expensively dressed gentleman is tending to a vagrant, pouring a potion down his throat which seems to make him feel a lot better.

During another exploration of the city, this time in the North of Grove Way neighborhood, also known as NoGWay, Quinton is lured into alley, where he is surrounded by four assailants. Things look bleak, this is an unwinnable fight and flight will also be difficult. But then an unassuming woman, short, with a cleft chin, and her dark hair in a knot, appears, and the four robbers run, saving him from an ignoble fate. The woman gives him a smile and leaves. There is no sign of her when the druid makes it back out on to the street.

The next day posters are being put up all over town saying the Admiralty is looking for able bodied men and women for an expedition of a few weeks. The pay is no less than 4 gp per day; more than enough to get Quinton to sign up.

Dauphine Tirfelya

On her donkey she makes it to the border with Otteun, it’s been an interesting journey already, seeing the mammoths roam. Then Dauphine continues on to Midtal, she’s never seen a big city and this is her chance. From the first inn in Otteun she finds out that elves are seen as rather exotic, people gaze at her, some small children even pull her hair.

The caravan she was traveling with promptly got attacked on only the second day but fortunately they managed to fight of the robbers, Dauphine having to use her shortsword in anger for the first time. Midtal was an interesting experience, still getting lots of looks on account of being an elf but getting bothered a bit less. Surprisingly she made a little money when someone offered to pay her to paint a portrait of her.

Avale seemed the best possible next destination and the druid took passage on a river barge. The slow journey down the river gave plenty of time to focus on certain things she had been ignoring and to get to know her fellow travelers. At one village stop, Dauphine helped out one of her new friends when he was cheated on in a game of Three-Dragon Ante, managing to recover all the money.

The barge arrived at Avale disembarking everyone in Kalehaven. Two of her fellow passengers knew of a good inn in the Longsee neighborhood, called the Other Inn, and so she joined them and walked there, taking a room on the third floor. It cost a little extra but the view of the Tal estuary is worth it. The first thing she sees is a short man with a white mustache, wearing a small hat catch a girl who picked a dwarf’s pocket. He hands the money over to the victim and then takes a piece of pastry from his pocket and gives it to the child before letting her go.

Here, too, people still find elves quite the attraction, she finds. The nearby fish shop, For Cod’s Sake, introduced her to all kinds of new food and then she was told about another place that she just had to go visit. Following directions she went to the Oakhurst neighborhood, where on Falanae Avenue she passed by Elassidil Villa, headquarters of Thal Lithel. At the intersection with Korb Street, a boy on crutches was brusquely told by a man in a carriage to get his ass in there. And then when the conveyance drove away she saw it; the Feywild Shroomhouse.

The next day posters are being put up all over town saying the Admiralty is looking for able bodied men and women for an expedition of a few weeks. The pay is no less than 4 gp per day; more than enough to get Dauphine to sign up.

Darius Naffles

After finishing his priestly training Darius was told to find his way in the world. Any direction was as good as the other but his father had told him that some far-flung family of his lived in Avale, so why not go there first?

On his way through Mifora his skills were called upon numerous times. Usually to give his blessing or heal the wounded. But one time he arrived at a village where a recently deceased had risen. Using his god given powers he quickly destroyed it, maybe a little more thoroughly than the grieving family had hoped for.

Then in another town, when money was low, Darius joined a group of adventurers who promised riches. The Toast of Tetia proved to be better at boasting than questing. It was only due to Darius that no one died and the riches turned out to be a single gem, that, split five ways, did not amount to all that much.

A less than stellar encounter with a wild boar made Darius happy to finally arrive in Avale. He’s told of a small shrine to Ehlonna in the Abrinol neighborhood and the gnome finds an inn nearby; the Steaming Pot.

Walking through the Clover Hill neighborhood, Darius sees three attractive, middle-aged women coming out of Smells by Design, a perfume shop. As he passes by, he overhears part of their conversation: “Did you hear, Meghan Wellington is back in town, but the state of her...” says the brunette. “I heard she was married off to some Godfall dwarf who kept her in his cellar,” adds the blonde. “Who cares, Lilia, we have things to do down the road,” counters the redhead.  “Alice, always chasing the sublime,” comments the dark-haired one.

The next day posters are being put up all over town saying the Admiralty is looking for able bodied men and women for an expedition of a few weeks. The pay is no less than 4 gp per day; more than enough to get Darius to sign up.

Oscar

The halfling wakes up with a headache in a small, stone room on a cot, a tiny window high on the wall provides some light. A pitcher of water stands on a table. In one corner there is a small hole in the floor that smells of excrement. A single door, locked or barred, blocks his way. Once a day the door is opened just wide enough to slide a bowl of gruel and a spoon inside. He can’t see much more than a hallway and a soldier, there is no sign, or smell, of the old man.

After the second night he wakes in a new environment, feeling weak and listless, like that one time he ate those red mushrooms. He finds himself in a large, wooden room that lists from side to side. Around his leg is a manacle that is clamped around a stout wooden beam. A scarred man wearing a red cloth hat comes to him twice a day, bringing food that is incredibly hard, he needs the also provided drink, grog, to make it chewable.

Additionally the sailor makes sure to check his manacle and the beam every time. He can move along the beam, about a meter or two, just enough to reach the small barrel smelling of excrement. There are many crates and barrels but all are out of reach. At least there are the rats who visit him at all hours. He supplements his diet this way.

After a long journey the ship reaches port, all the smells tell Oscar they are next to land and he makes sure he’s prepared. When the sailor removes the manacle the halfling pushes the man’s head into the wall, as hard as he can. Then he is up the ladder and soon on deck of the ship. The sight of a huge city in front of him is frightening but he sees the wooden pier and jumps onto it, running away from the ship and towards the city, pushing people away when he can’t avoid them, one, carrying a large crate, falls into the water.

Weak with hunger he makes his way into the city, there are so many people! He stumbles about, going wherever seems most quiet. He comes to a small park but is immediately chased by men wearing blue tabards. He keeps moving, coming to a road in Gill Gardens where he startles a man and a woman in an intimate embrace. She hides her head behind the man as Oscar runs off and minute later he almost gets trampled by a horde of girls all yelling and chasing after a man with salt and pepper hair.

When it gets later in the evening there’s fewer people around but then the smell of food hits his nose and his stomach rumbles loudly. He follows the scent and finds a place where people sit outside and others come from inside a building, bringing food and putting it on the tables. He times his approach well and manages to snag an entire tray of food, running off, spilling some but losing any pursuit, hiding in a garden as he gobbles down the meal.

He sleeps there, hiding himself in the bushes till he is woken in the morning by all kinds of unfamiliar sounds and smells. A woman comes into the garden and Oscar bolts, leaving her confused shouts in his dust. Eventually he ends up at the south end of the city, in the Abyss Annex.

Things are rather grimy here, but then he finds a market, so many stalls with food and other things. People seem to pay him less mind than in other parts of the city, everyone just trying to live their lives. He sees people handing over small discs of metal as they point at food and are then handed what they desire. He doesn’t have any of those but since grabbing and running worked last night, he tries again, grabbing a dead chicken and running off. These market people don’t like this at all and he is chased by multiple vendors and stock boys. But one greengrocer seems to see the lighter side of things and throws Oscar an apple from his stall which the halfling catches expertly before slipping under a stall and down an alley, eventually losing his pursuers.

The next day posters are being put up all over town saying the Admiralty is looking for able bodied men and women for an expedition of a few weeks. The pay is no less than 4 gp per day; unfortunately Oscar can't read any of this. And he, unfortunately, doesn't spot the men who come when he's sleeping and knock him out, shanghaiing him.

Sarodin Sea

Those signing up weren't told much and that's because it turns out to be a pirate hunting mission. A flotilla lead by the Whiskered Admiral is going to search for a small pirate fleet that was spotted not too far away. The navy is sending four ships; the Prince Willim, a 1st charter ship, two 2nd charter ships, the Ranhem and the Crowned Griffon, and a 3rd charter ship, the Arms of Dolac.

It's early in the morning and those shanghaied wake up feeling the worse for wear, it smells of sweat and sick, there are many conversations around. Some rays of sunshine penetrate the murk, the floor beneath them is moving in all directions. People are getting up from the floor and soon a hatch opens, the sunlight suddenly very bright, and some people come down a ladder.

Standing next to the ladder are a balding halfling, he looks to be in charge, a dwarf with a short beard, a half-elf, she has a rather big nose and her hair is dyed black, quite badly. Further there’s a gnome, her face looks to be sliding down her skull, and a large half-orc, with blonde dyed hair.

The halfling speaks: “I am Bosun Miller and you are on board the majestic Crowned Griffon, the best ship in the entire navy, run expertly by Captain Drumpf and Quartermaster Onel.” At the mention of the last name some people involuntarily scrunch their noses, he apparently has quite the musk. Miller continues: “We are on a mission to take out a pirate fleet and make sure these murderers, rapists, and drug dealers will never make it to our homeland.”

“Now, most of you might not be here voluntarily but you are finally going to do something worthwhile with your lives and get paid really well for it,” he tells the crowd. “Until we get anywhere near the pirates you will be assisting with the running of the ship, Chief Mate Luktnicks here will further explain.”

The dwarf looks around, “you will be doing grunt work even a wet goblin can do, complain or shirk and you will be going overboard, try your luck with the sharks. You might have noticed your weapons and armor are missing. We don’t want any accidental stabbings or other fights, get in one and you’ll get intimately familiar with the cat o' nine tails as wielded by Karoline here,” he motions towards the half-orc. She scowls as she looks around and rumbles “leave it”.

“You’ll get your weaponry back when we near the pirates, you can even put on your armor then, if you are fool enough to want to drown with it. Until then you report to the second mate, Juliana,” he points at the half-elf, “or the third mate, Kristi,” he motions towards the gnome.

Our four friends are selected by third mate Kristi to help with pulling the sails when there is need to, she puts a sailor in charge of them. The four introduce themselves to each other but soon find that the halfling doesn't speak. Quinton gives some grapes to the halfling, who we will refer to as Oscar, for the sake of convenience. Darius asks: “isn’t this the demon child?” The others shrug their shoulders. Then he speaks in Infernal: “do you understand?” Oscar doesn't, but Quinton does!

The gnome's question stems from the fact that during their weeks in town they heard lots of stories any time they were in a tavern, or really anywhere a lot of people gather and gossip. It's definitely possible they heard stories about other people with the same name or looks, but this is what they all think they heard about their new friends. It might all be just poppycock of course!

Quinton learned the following: people have said Oscar was being raised by an elf. Darius does not actually know where his mother is buried. He looked for the grave but never found it. Maybe for the best, because he would like to dig her up to find out how and why she died. Dauphine has a strange fascination for dead things. It's said she sometimes talks to dead animals.

Dauphine heard these stories: Rumor has it that during his training Darius wounded and even killed small animals to learn and practice his new spells. Most of them failed, which resulted in unneeded suffering. Quinton used to dress in women's clothes. Oscar is a wild child who will eat anything he comes across; plant, animal, human?

Darius heard the following rumors: Dauphine keeps dead animals rotting in her backpack. It's best not to follow her too closely when traveling because the dead smell coming from her backpack can only mean she's keeping dead birds... or something. Quinton became the owner of the family business at the tender age of 17. And... Oscar is a demon child.

Oscar doesn't understand Common but he was lurking and heard people say the following, even if he had no idea what they were saying: Darius buried his own father. He even fixed and prepared the body so that it could be presented in a coffin. Which was one hell of a job since his father died in a fireball. Darius invited all the locals to the funeral, but nobody came. Dauphine has found her armor in a second-hand shop. Quinton is said to have a scar from a date gone wrong on an undisclosed body part.

The four get to know each other a little better that first day and are put to work when needed. At this point it becomes clear to Third Mate Kristi that Oscar doesn't speak Common or even understands it. She complains to another crew-mate about the shanghai-ers, how they are bringing in totally useless people, which is overheard by our friends.

At some point Darius looks over the railing and sees a shark swimming just under the surface. But this is very strange, it looks like there is a sort of metal cage around its head. He calls over Kristi but it's gone when she arrives and she waves away his story, blaming it on his sea sickness.

Quinton tries to write something on the mast but is immediately scolded by a sailor who are a superstitious bunch and this spells bad luck.

The next morning our friends wake, and while they might still feel sea sick, their recent experiences have unlocked new abilities inside themselves. [They reached second level.]

During the next days they all get to know each other even more and experiment a little with their new found abilities. Quinton uses his Message cantrip to send a message to Darius, which freaks him out at first. Oscar hunts down a rat and eats it. Darius immediately calls Third Mate Kristi over and shows her that the halfling is not useless at all; he's a great ratter!

Then, during the night, a massive storm hits the flotilla. Our friends are asleep in the hold when they get tossed all over as the waves pummel the ship. A huge hole in the hull makes the ship list to the side. In nautical circles this is what is known as a ‘bad sign’. Before the party even knows it, for that is what they are now, they find themselves in the water. Huge waves spell their doom but fortunately half of a loading trapdoor floats nearby and they manage to cling on to it. Twice someone loses their hold due to the storm but twice they are rescued by the others.

Tiny Island

After floating on a calmer sea for many hours they eventually wash ashore on a tiny island, about an hour before dusk. They have nothing but the clothes on their backs and maybe one trinket or other item they kept close. The island is not a bounty one; one rock spur sticks about eight meters up in the air, the beach is more pebble than sand. There’s one small tree, not doing too well, other than that just some shrub bushes that don’t grow much in the way of food. One can walk a full circle around the island in about ten minutes.

There are some things that washed up on the shore with them. A large, iron anchor twisted into a spiral, they have no idea how it got there, it would definitely sink and not float. Oscar finds a cloak clasp shaped like a kraken, he has no idea what a kraken is but it looks nice so he keeps it. A barrel of mead is a nice find and they all immediately quench their thirst. Quentin finds a banged up scroll case that contains a scroll of Enhance Ability.

Oscar searches the island for food and other useful things, finding just a few berries and mushrooms but near the shore he finds Jellyfish Vine, which are not dissimilar to a plant he knows; he'll be able to fashion this into something that will improve a weapon for a short time. Meanwhile Quinton has gone up to the one tree and found a branch that could serve as a weapon. He tries to make it into a quarterstaff but it becomes no more than a club.

Our friends discuss what to do next and Dauphine suggest climbing the rock spur to see if anything can be seen there, Darius and Quinton decide to go with. Oscar, who hasn't understood a word of the discussion follows a short distance behind. And he gets a great view of the three ahead falling through a thin sheet of rock into a shaft below, debris flying everywhere.

The halfling gets there in time to see there is a force field at the bottom of a 30' shaft that has slowed down everyone's fall and they end up on the floor with little to no damage. Oscar then uses the handholds that have been carved into the rock to climb down to the others.

The bedrock has been carved out to create a room, the ceiling is about 15’ high, the shaft in the middle of it. It is pretty barren, on a stone shelf lies a book that has been totally overgrown with mold. A corridor leads away, there is a tiny bit of light coming from around corner. Only two of our friends have darkvision, Quinton can see almost nothing, the force field provides a little light.

A magic mouth on the wall starts speaking in an unknown language to most but Quinton knows Ancient, though he has never heard it spoken before; “This is containment area Manahuia. You do not have the proper authorization to be here. Leave now and do not return lest you’ll be destroyed.” Oscar has made it down by now and Dauphine tries to see if she can rescue a page from the middle of the book but fails utterly.

A minute later the magic mouth repeats its message and then incorporeal snakes come through the walls and start to attack. They are hard to hit and there are many, so the party flees down the one corridor. Here they find a natural cave that has been carved in places to heighten the ceiling to about 8’. There are signs of combat, scorch marks on the walls, a broken arrow lies just inside the corridor.

To the back of the cave is a dark opening, about three meters in diameter, maybe it’s their imagination but the inside of it seemed to move a bit, throb? It is almost entirely blocked by a stone wall that is crumbling, the druids are versed in Arcana and recognize it as one made by the Wall of Stone spell. Almost a foot of water has seeped into the cave and in the murky water they can just about make out four small mounds of stuff. In the left back corner of the room lies a ball of something rubber-like wrapped around itself.

The snakes haven't followed, yet, so they have time to explore. Three of the four mounds contain a dead body, very well preserved, and also a number of items. Going through all the items takes time but will likely lead to some good finds so most of our friends go through it carefully, whereas Oscar grabs something at random. The odds are 2.78% but he manages to grab a necklace of teeth, not unlike one he was wearing but lost in the storm!

Darius has gone to the rubbery thing and it slowly starts moving a little, waking up? It takes a while but it slowly unwraps its appendages and turns out to be some kind of golem-like entity? The party has been collecting items for a while and now the first incorporeal snake has found its way to them. The rubbery thing attacks with just a single appendage at first and hits hard; doing not just hit point damage but also giving Exhaustion to those hit.

Every round the golem attacks with one more appendage and escape becomes a necessity. Dauphine uses two Thunderwave spells to destabilize the wall and then Oscar manages to place the butt of the spear that Quinton found and gave him, in exactly the right place and he levers up and a huge chunk of wall comes down, enough for them to enter the strange tunnel that looks a lot like the inside of an esophagus, peristaltic contractions and all.

Dauphine really wants more of the items but is hit again by the rubbery being and when the incorporeal then critically hits her, she's brought down! It's not easy but the others manage to get her out; Darius using a Cure Wounds spell and Quinton helping by providing another target for their foes. Everyone ends up inside the tunnel and the creatures don't seem to want to enter it.

As they walk down the sloped tunnel they heal themselves as best they can. The tunnel is long and continues downward, only after a long walk they arrive in another cave, slick with water. The tunnel looks about the same at this end as the other, very strange. Things look to be safe so our friends decide to have a long rest and look at all the items they managed to grab.

Dauphine found a potion of Stupendous Healing (3d10+level) and she knows these are very rare and not for sale, it might be worth a nice amount. She also found a bracelet made of gold, set with turquoise stones. Quinton found one exactly the same, each bracelet should be worth about a hundred gold pieces. Other items she managed to recover are a Demon Dash, which she gives to Darius, and a water-proof scroll case containing a number of gems (200 gp worth) and spell scrolls of False Life and Skywrite.

Darius found the rather strange Arakaen Mana Parasite Potion and Stridden Boots that can give the wearer explosive speed as billowing flames blast from their feet and set anyone they get near to on fire. He also found a really strange tiny, red stinger; Phlegethos’ Pick. Quinton found the Spent Spear which he gave to Oscar and the halfling managed to grab the necklace with teeth; Past Primal.

[Room with the mounds of stuff and some of the items there with thanks to Dale Friezen.]

Darius rips a pant-leg from his trousers and turns it into an improvised mask which he puts around his face, only his eyes are still visible and they are purple, instead of the blue they were earlier.

After some good sleep they set off down the slick rock corridor, going ever further down, the temperature drops even more and everyone gets a headache. Eventually they come to a fissure, vapor rising from it, about ten foot across.

Right after Dauphine jumps over it, small, winged humanoid creatures with pale skin and wisps of vapor rising from their nose, mouth, and ears rise from it. They shed drops of steaming water when they move.

The creatures attack with their steam breath, hurting our friends quite a bit but they have quite some capabilities of their own and Oscar manages to use his Past Primal to critically hit one of them, killing it instantly.

The path continues on until they reach what must be a really big, stone door. A large stone frame runs up, across, and down a single slab of stone. There is no handle or lock visible but on either side there is a hole in the stone, just a bit bigger than a finger. After some discussion Darius and Dauphine each put a finger into one of the holes and the door slides open diagonally.

Midnight Altar

Beyond the doorway is a square room about 50’ on each side carved out of some kind of blue stone. A midnight altar, wrought from some superterrestrial metal, stands at its center. Faint lines of golden energy radiate from the altar along the floor to a large door. Above the altar float a number of symbols, most are white, two are purple. In the middle of the two side walls sit levers, both pointing up.

At the far end of the room is a large door, made of a dark wood and covered in many sigils that all radiate with magical power. Around the door and on the floor emblems have been carved, the same set repeats; a skull, a cloud, a triangle pointing downwards, something that might be an explosion, a scorpion. The door doesn’t seem to have hinges, a lock, or a handle. A tiny crack has formed at the bottom left of the door and a dark orange substance has seeped out, it looks like a small drop of syrup or honey.

Our friends investigate the room but can't make heads nor tails from the symbols above the altar. The door seems to be warded to keep something in, this might be some strange mystical prison? Darius rips off another part of his trousers and uses it to dab at the small drop of strange substance at the foot of the door, it absorbs into the cloth.

A Detect Magic spell shows that the two levers probably aren't connected to the warded door and since there is nowhere else for the party to go they decide to pull on them simultaneously. When they do, two things happen immediately. There is a sinking feeling as their room starts to float down, and six parts of the wall are blown away and beyond them are niches in a strange shell like shape. Each contains a bench that is angled ninety degrees, a receptacle holding a potion vial, and a lever.

Everyone feels the pressure increasing in their heads and it stands to reason it will only get worse. Darius darts into one of the niches and pulls the lever. When he does so, a force field covers the open side of the niche as it is pushed away from the wall and starts to float to the surface. The gnome drinks the potion, figuring it might be needed at this point, it turns out to be a healing potion. When the escape pod pops out of the water it lands horizontally on the waves and the force field disappears, the bench is now in the right position to sit on.

Having seen the result of Darius' action, Oscar is next to scramble inside a niche and pull the lever. Dauphine and Quinton stay a bit longer, wondering if there's something else they can do here but with the pressure mounting, they too make their escape. Once on the surface, all of the pods find a way to each other and cluster together.

As they float there our friends talk about their experiences as Darius tries to explain to Oscar that the potion is a healing potion. The party discusses the strange black and white vision that talked to them as they entered the room. No one saw it in the room but somehow each saw a black and white apparition talking to them, it looked like a rather enigmatic version of their race. And it promised lots of power if they would help 'it', and clearly whatever the entity was, it was quite powerful. But they all declined its offer.

After floating in the middle of nowhere, the island is not in sight, for most of the day, they get very lucky and spot a ship. It's a fishing ship, the Twilight Wanderer, from the Hundred Mile Islands and our friends are taken on board. As he does so, Quinton notices from the corner of his eyes what looks to be a huge head sticking out of the water, from about halfway up to nose. It's right at the horizon and must be enormous but it moves away before anyone else can spot it.

The crew consists of four people, all quite sunburned; Captain Raisa, tall, skinny, and quite sociable, Zaria, she has a broken nose, muscled arms, and is quite chatty, Blazh, he wears an earring with lapis lazuli, is missing a finger, and carries a hooked knife, he's quite jovial, and Kyrilu, a rather hirsute individual who squints a lot and is a bit grumpy.

The ship is cramped with eight of them on it but they make it work as they set sail home to Abrinol, the neighborhood in Avale is named for it. During the journey our friends get to know the crew a little better and learn of the fascinating culture of the Hundred Mile Islands, though Quinton isn't charmed by it and conspicuously moves away when these things are discussed. That first night everyone on the boat sees a falling star, blue streaked, and very low on the horizon, crossing the sky.

After a, blessedly uneventful, journey of a few days our friends arrive on Abrinol. It's quite the sight; the buildings on the island are all made of wood and painted red, though a Dolac would say their quality was less than they were used to. Off to one side of the town there are a few houses that are clearly built in older Dolac style, including one tavern, the Maiden and Flagon.

A few warehouses in Dolac style are situated to the left of the harbor, that’s also where two large piers can be found, each has a ship anchored there. The Prince Willim is one of those, it looks to have taken quite some damage from the storm. The other ship is a large merchant vessel named the HMS Floris.

Captain Raisa invites the party over to dinner at her house and even offers to let them stay the night. First our friends go do a little shopping, selling the gold bracelets they found to get some new clothes and supplies. A few merchants sell flotsam and jetsam; they recovered a number of items from the flotilla, including Dauphine's colored lenses of Scotopia and her Nochtoina. She buys both and also a part of the Crowned Griffon's name plate, it reads "owned". Oscar waits until the merchant is distracted and steals a gold tooth.

Our friends first go to the Prince Willim to see about passage, though none of them are much enamored with the navy at this point. They are offered passage, however they try the HMS Floris as well. The sailor at the gangplank has good news and bad news; the ship is sailing for Avale tomorrow, but all passenger berths are filled. When our friends ask if there's really nothing to be done, relaying how they were shipwrecked, a voice speaks from the railing and invites them up.

A blonde man, tall and wide shouldered, the type you would cast in your play to be the paladin or king, welcomes them onboard and introduces himself as Gerrut Hythe but tells them to call him Keeper. Apparently their story had an effect and he offers them passage and would like to discuss their experiences with the Admiralty.

The next morning, after a lovely dinner and a fun time in a tavern, they board the HMS Floris and find out that Keeper has vacated his personal cabin for them, he'll use a hammock on deck. They discuss bound sharks; he's seen a few over the years, but the giant head is totally new to him, and he has no experience with tiny islands and strange, sinking rooms.

Dolac

Our friends make it safely back to Avale where the first order of business is to find an inn, as they decide to stick together; they learned that to get any adventuring work you need to be signed up as a group. They are told the Grey Minstrel Inn is a good place for what they are willing to spend so that's where they go.

As they approach the place in the Bow Valley neighborhood they see an old woman in dirty coat sitting on an upturned bucket at the entrance to an alley. A brown mackerel tabby with gray field lays on a window sill and gets up stretching its back. A little girl with pale skin and big, blue eyes, in an old coat dances to music only she can hear. Inside the inn a lute missing its strings and a broken horn hang on the wall, a statuette of a panther, wooden and painted black stands in an alcove.

Next on the list is more shopping; our friends sell a number of the items they found and use the proceeds to buy weapons, armor, and adventuring gear. Dauphine has a shield made from the Crowned Griffon name board. Quinton looks into getting pan-flute lessons and ordering business cards.

Then a visit to the Adventurers Association in Kesslia. They have to fill out a form, asking where their strengths lie and give a party name, for some reason they decide on "The Daltons". After a a short while they are lead to the offices of Jerry Tidwell, who will be their agent from now on. He's a tall halfling with dark hair and a big nose, and very outgoing, energetic. He offers them coffee that he has specially imported from Haza.

They discuss what he can do for them as he plays around with a silvered horseshoe in his hands, in some places the original iron clearly visible. Jerry tells them they are in luck; Grand Master and Torchbearer Geppert Cross, of the Guild of Cartographers & Surveyors has died recently and there are jobs available as honor guard. It only pays 2 gp but he explains that it's important to get a relationship started with any guild, they are much more likely to hire people they have worked with in the past, and usually don't look closely at what the work was.

He also advises them to get a ‘money person’, it's such a waste to keep your money in a pouch or under your bed. The money person knows the best banks to put them in or other investment opportunities. “Me and some friends bought the rights to the Dolac blue conifer; whenever a single one of them is sold we get part of that,” he explains quite animatedly. He suggests a bookkeeper; Carla Tebaldo, she's a gnome and does most of his investments.

First Job

Our friends are told to go to Save Nine in the Fabrics neighborhood to pick up ceremonial staves and robes with the Guild of Cartographers & Surveyors clue compass rose attached to them. Next they report to the Domicile of Diligence in Uppark. The procession will go to the Mother Mensual cemetery in the Dawnbloom Heights neighborhood and every hundred feet two people peel off to stand to the left and right of the street.

On their way they hear people in the crowd along the street talking. A halfling wearing a poncho with multicolored, diagonal lines comments: “you know what a dead Torchbearer is? A good start! I say burn them all, what have they ever done for us?” A woman in a hat with a blue compass rose emblem tells her companion: “I heard that thing that fell from the sky destroyed the entire city of Kostul!” A gorgeous half-elf in a blue dress says to her friend, who is equally stunning: “I used to have so much fun with Old Geppy, he was the loveliest little lapdog”.

When our friends get near Carriage Court it is their turn to take up positions. A dwarf with a beard woven into an intricate pattern asks: “Did they appoint anyone in place of the dead guy yet?” A man eating the last bit of his deep-fried giant answers: “No, this bunch are traditionalists and wait till the body is in the ground.” To which the dwarf replies: “Well, I hope that whoever gets in will be in favor of lowering taxes on labor, it’s got so bad I can hardly compete with foreign crap coming in.” Says the man: “This guild? Don’t hold your breath.”

As the funeral procession comes closer a man steps into the street, right between where our friends are standing. He throws a bottle of oil to the cobbles and pours another all over himself. He cries: “They ruined me! Those gods-damned guilds and their rules, destroying the common man and do they care? Do they fuck all!” as he takes out a tinderbox. People scramble backwards.

Our friends immediately respond and an Entangle spell plus a Command spell by Darius prevent the man from lighting himself on fire. Then Dauphine knocks him to the ground and the four of them work him to the side of the road before any of the dignitaries get there. When they do, one of them comes over to the party, a man with a heavy set build and hangdog facial features, who introduces himself as Alun Djames, a Master of the Stevedores Guild.

He's impressed with what they did and invites them over to his home for dinner the next day. Our friends arrive at his home on Sevso Island, located right at the river with a view of the rest of the city, and get introduced to his wife and three children. Dinner is great and Alun promises that he'll rustle up some work for them when he can.

The very next day Jerry sends a messenger; he has work for the party. "It's a twofer!" he exclaims enthusiastically when they enter his office. He has received requests from the Alchemists & Apothecaries Guild and the Messengers Coalition. Both seem to him a good match for our friends and he hands them the parchments; Request for Ingredients & Missing Messenger.