Narrative

Day 20 was Sunday, 4th Tan, with 14 days until the Tri-moon. The party planned to go to Freeport instead of Baytrail Accord. They had identified a shipment from the Earl of Fairshaws to Malcolm Jeffries, using the same kind of boxes they had seen outside Seaward. They went to the barracks to tell the Pact; the picture outside matched the pub called The Pact.

The Pact leader in Turisle Point was Shandra. She explained that the Pact ensures the Pact’s rules are followed and protects people who need it in exchange for protecting the Barrier. The party told her what had happened. The 10-foot, six-armed creature was identified as “An Excellence.” The fish people were Sahuagin, written in the notes as “Saguine.” Shandra’s information came from Kiendra, leader of Dunhold Cache, who had been killed, or was believed killed. A Pact Scepter was discussed: one had been given to each of the wizards, and Shandra asked the party to keep it because it signified their side of the Pact.

Shandra recommended speaking to the merfolk of Lake Azure for Dirk’s city. For the shipment, she advised getting a smell unit. The Sahuagin had one of the scepter conches, of which only eight exist; this one was Kiendra’s. The party asked The Basilisk whether he could get help to Shandra. One of the merfolk would come with the party. The Pact leader in Freeport was named Tiana.

The party stayed in the barracks overnight. Dirk had a strange dream. In it, a goliath sat on a granite throne looking concerned while two females tended Rubyeye. The dream included the phrase “fought well,” then changed to a tavern scene with dancing around a fire and a granite city in the distance. There was a face in the fire, then possibly “Then? Dog?” before it disappeared.

The party headed toward the ship. A merfolk named Guardfree said his mistress had been working on misdirection. Food was brought to the party’s cabin, and the journey was luckily uneventful. Freeport appeared as an oddly busy, bustling city and a mishmash of styles. Kairibidius’s ship was docked there. A quartermaster loaded the shipment onto the party’s cart to take with them.

The Baroness, initially written then crossed out as [Kavaliliere], was the head of Freeport. Freeport had no taxes for trade. A local newspaper appeared to be propaganda. Its stories included “Ancient takes flight,” reporting that an ancient had left his home for the first time in 1,000 years and was moving to Snowsorrow; fighting continuing in the mountains near Highden, where the good side was taking a beating; and other slanted reports. Around 20:00 the party went shopping, including at Esmerelda’s magic item shop.

The party went to see Tiana at the Siren & Garter. She expected a group of 40 to help fight the Excellence. The Excellence were described as mutual, able to be slain, and as beings that delight in bossing mortals around. Tiana said the Baroness seemed good but let people do what they pleased. The Baroness could be random about which groups to dispose of. About a week earlier, she had disposed of a group involving bound elementals and gems, including arc and water. Another group had been selling archaeological items from the desert, involving a Tabaxi caravan, and she had seized the goods.

The party found the basilisks in a private room. They learned that Highden was being attacked by a fire Excellence, which had something against the elves. Someone had investigated the crater and found an old lab but had been unable to get in. Friends on the council were meeting with the ancient around Snowsorrow. Azure-side had reported Perodetta and spawn amassing in the area. Arabella had been kidnapped again in a targeted attack, with faces removed. No forces were available, but Zinquiss would meet the party at the harbour with one other. The Baroness was considered a neutral party, fairly reclusive, and following her predecessors’ ideas. There was speculation that she might be something similar to Lady Hathwall but not a dragon; the previous Baroness had been human.

The party told the basilisks about the copper weapons and the paper trail showing Malcolm Jethnes and the Earl of Fairport’s involvement in the shipment. They received a dagger from the basilisks: a Lesser Rift Blade, a dagger +1 with three charges. One charge can cast dimension door. Three charges can cast teleport, opening a portal for 5 seconds; the user thinks of the place to go, and the portal is big enough for a person. The blade recharges one charge per day.

The notes also recorded Heartwall as the second most common last name, after Browning. There had always been a Heartwall in charge of Heartwall. There were no records of relatives. The Heartwalls were a very reclusive family who did not appear in public until the coronation ceremony and were only seen together to hand over the crown, possibly using disguise self.

At 19:00 the party went back to see Taina again and got another guard, Guardfore. They noted possible locations or names: Pirates Pearls Plundered, Ichy as owner, Ref gut Refuge, and Cheesy Thimble Rugger. At the cart, Dirk noticed scratches on the padlock. The scratches looked uniform and patterned in a way he recognized but did not know why. They were upside-down thieves’ cant reading “Drunken Duck,” scratched with claws like Dirk’s. The party changed the markings to Everchard, booked the cart into parking, and Guardfree kept watch. The cart was parked in Bugbear next to a lizardman.

The party headed to the temple to give them the spear. A female half-orc came to speak with them, took the spear, and went to check it with others. The party discussed whether to donate it in exchange for help. They requested an audience with the higher power to discuss it, but the relevant figure would not be there for three hours. The party went to get lodgings at Pirates Pearls Plundered. A crab man named Ichy was in charge.

The Baroness then granted the party an audience immediately. Her room was old and contained paintings of her predecessors, all wearing the same necklace, like a mayoral necklace, and lots of jewelry. She said the desert relics might have belonged to an old friend from long ago, Velenth Cardonald, who had worked for her before coming here willingly. The notes mention a vote by 12 heads who vote on who has [unclear] of ideals. Other things had been taken off the sheet because she did not approve of the Cult.

The Baroness promised to loan some forces and gave information about a laboratory. She said there could be a diamond in the workshop, a gaping hole in the side of the building, Barrier emergency systems, and something else inside. She had been very young when she ran. A dragon was rumoured to roost in the ruins of Dirk’s old city. The creature in her chamber logs was noted as possibly “Garaduck?” but then rejected with “no.” She had the code to the circle and the safe, and said the code worked while the defences were up. She gave the party permission for the lab. Valenth wanted to transfer herself into an object. The Baroness seemed shaken, and a guard helped her out.

At 22:00 the party returned to the temple of Sierra. The Huntsman had returned and came over to them. He was Huntmaster Thrune. Ruby Eye had spoken to this church often and was interested in runes. Huntmaster Thrune agreed to provide aid to kill the Excellence. Ruby Eye thought the party might want to get something before she tried to get it; the sentence is unfinished in the raw notes. Ruby Eye’s best friend had wanted to craft herself into something and continue in that form. The spear was a gift from a Huntsman of Sierra, but it was actually an arrow. There were five of them, taken from Sierra’s last battlefield.

The party returned to Pirates Pearls Plundered. Guardfree said he would get his mistress to bring guest shells. The party tried to plan what they were doing next.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

Freeport, Baytrail Accord, Seaward, Turisle Point, the barracks, The Pact, the Barrier, Lake Azure, Dunhold Cache, the Siren & Garter, Snowsorrow or Snowsorrow, Highden, Azure-side, Heartwall, Pirates Pearls Plundered, Bugbear, the Drunken Duck, Everchard, the temple of Sierra, Dirk’s old city, Shandra, Tiana or Taina, Guardfree, Guardfore, The Basilisk, the basilisks, Kiendra, Malcolm Jeffries or Malcolm Jethnes, the Earl of Fairshaws or Earl of Fairport, the Baroness [Kavaliliere], Esmerelda, Kairibidius, Zinquiss, Perodetta, Arabella, Lady Hathwall, Rubyeye or Ruby Eye, Velenth Cardonald, Huntmaster Thrune, Ichy, the crab man, Sahuagin, merfolk, a goliath on a granite throne, two unnamed females, a fire Excellence, an Excellence, a Tabaxi caravan, bound elementals, and the Cult were all mentioned.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

Important items and resources included the shipment from the Earl to Malcolm Jeffries or Malcolm Jethnes, boxes like those seen outside Seaward, the Pact Scepter, scepter conches with only eight in existence, Kiendra’s conch, a smell unit for the shipment, food brought to the cabin, the party’s cart, the seized desert archaeological goods, bound elementals and arc and water gems, the Lesser Rift Blade dagger +1, the copper weapons, the marked padlock, the spear that was actually one of five arrows from Sierra’s last battlefield, guest shells, possible forces loaned by the Baroness, and possible aid from Huntmaster Thrune. The Lesser Rift Blade has three charges, can spend one charge for dimension door, can spend three charges for teleport through a 5-second person-sized portal, and recharges one charge per day.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

The Sahuagin had Kiendra’s scepter conch, one of only eight, and Kiendra was believed killed or lost. The six-armed creature from Day 19 was identified as An Excellence. The shipment tied the Earl of Fairshaws or Fairport to Malcolm Jeffries or Malcolm Jethnes and to boxes like those outside Seaward. Dirk’s dream connected Rubyeye, a granite throne, a granite city, fire imagery, and possibly a dog. Kairibidius’s ship was docked in Freeport. The newspaper may be propaganda, and its reports point to the ancient moving to Snowsorrow, Highden losing battles, and wider instability. Highden was under attack by a fire Excellence hostile to elves. An old lab was found in a crater but could not be entered. Perodetta and spawn were amassing near Azure-side. Arabella was kidnapped again in a targeted attack involving removed faces. The Baroness’s identity, predecessors, necklace, connection to Lady Hathwall, and Heartwall-like secrecy remain suspicious. Velenth Cardonald wanted to transfer herself into an object, echoing Ruby Eye’s best friend wanting to craft herself into something and continue in that form. The lab may contain a diamond, Barrier emergency systems, a safe and circle code, and something else. A dragon may roost in the ruins of Dirk’s old city. Ruby Eye’s warning about getting something before she tries to get it is incomplete and unresolved.