Narrative

Day 23 was Wednesday, 7th January 1012, with 11 days to the Tri-moon and 7 days to the auction. The party went to Excellence’s lair with the merfolk, led by pack leader Alana. In the underwater cave, the water ebbed and flowed like a tide. A 20-foot-long crystalline dragon sculpture stood there, with glowing runes on its base.

The lair contained three cages and barrels. One cage held a merfolk who looked different from the others, green rather than blue. Alana seemed to revive him and took him back to the ship. The chests appeared to be waterproofed, and their contents might not be openable underwater. When one chest was opened, it contained white powder that Eliana inhaled, causing a sequence of visions or hallucinations: a basilisk attack, salamanders, Arabic writing, a white dragon circling around the dome, rabbits, and the whole room becoming a black void. Two blue eyes approached through the darkness, bringing intense cold, before Eliana returned to the room.

Another cage contained a snail with a gleam of metal: a jeweller’s chain attaching it to the cage. Guardseen said the snail was a bad omen and had been drugged. Back on the ship, the merfolk explained that they had been abducted from beyond the barrier. One merfolk, his friend, and his wife had been taken; he woke one day and both were gone. His wife was nobility in their pact, possibly Sneul. The Huntmaster dispelled magic on the snail, and a mermaid appeared.

The merfolk described an empire of their people outside the barrier. They had been captured while on a diplomatic mission to the city of Onyx, which they did not trust, and there was war between them and the Salt elementals. Princess Aquunea was named. Blackhold, a city outside the Barrier controlled or used by the Black Scales, was said to have a “door” into the dome, with payment for access being a Grand Towers penny.

The party checked the barrels and other goods. They found a sickly sweet medicinal potion of magical energy that restores one spell slot, silk and parchment interleaved with runes, two portions of white Rose powder for which Taina gave the party 1000 gp, and a metallic censer, possibly silver, religious, and connected to a water god. This Censer of Noxia had the ability to enrage and control water elementals and was active. A message was sent to The Basilisk.

The party returned to Freeport, which seemed much colder than before. It was snowing over the sea, and everything was dark and snowy. A man shouted that the end was nigh and that the Moon was crashing down into the city. When asked which city, he no longer seemed bothered and said he had dreamed it. This was around 22:00. Many people were having dreams. One dream involved gnolls attacking a village and requesting backup from Everchard and Fairshaw. Another was underwater with mermaids and a big cat with metal wings attacking it. These dreams had happened a few nights earlier, at the same time as the party’s dreams.

The party went to the Castle to see the Baroness. The necklace was removed from the sergeant, and he simply walked off. The mermaids had a meeting in three days at Baytail Accord to discuss what happened, and the party could go. The dreams seemed to contradict one another, possibly because they came from the Ancient One, so they could still happen. The Huntmaster was going to Grand Towers to speak. A Justiciar was in the city and may have been looking for the party. The Baroness got the party into the Drunken Duck, a secret venue airwise from the Jewelry District. Something had been written on the padlock on the cart, and the cart was still safe at the Castle. Later clarification identifies the Baroness as Valenth Caerdunel’s sentient necklace, created by Cardonal; the wearer is the face while the necklace is in control, and the related sister object is a ring.

At the Drunken Duck, all the walls were covered in pillows or soundproofing. The clientele included a red dragonborn, two tabaxi, an automaton, two halflings, and a gnome. Arxion was given Schnupps from the Brass City. The barman said “only the best for the Little Finger,” later clarified as a reference to Eliana as the Little Finger member of The Hand, and was intrigued by who the three best members of the Underbelly had gone on a mission. The tabaxi had whiskers laden with “Dew” and traded in “keeps” from art to food. A faint noise or raised voice came through the floorboards. The automaton kept talking about a factory and wanted to know where the labs were; the party said they were all by the barrier, which cut down his search radius. In a private room, the party arranged to send a message through the Underbelly that they would not go to Baytail Accord and would instead go to the desert laboratory.

After the Drunken Duck, the party slept in Freeport. This confirmed rest is the boundary between Day 23 and Day 24.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

Freeport, the Castle, the Drunken Duck, the Jewelry District, Baytail Accord, Grand Towers, the Underbelly, the Brass City, the Barrier, the city of Onyx, Blackhold, Fairshaw, Everchard, and the sea near Freeport were all mentioned.

Alana, the merfolk, Guardseen, the Huntmaster, Princess Aquunea, Salt elementals, The Basilisk, Taina, the Baroness, the sergeant with the necklace, Valenth Caerdunel, Arxion, Eliana as the Little Finger of The Hand, tabaxi, automations, a red dragonborn, two halflings, a gnome, a Justiciar in Freeport, and the Ancient One / The Anciant One were all mentioned.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

The party found white powder causing visions, a jeweller’s chain on a snail, a potion of magical energy that restores one spell slot, silk and parchment interleaved with runes, two portions of white Rose powder for which Taina gave 1000 gp, and the active Censer of Noxia, which can enrage and control water elementals. Access to the Blackhold “door” required a Grand Towers penny.

Other resources and details included the cart and padlock at the Castle, Schnupps from the Brass City, tabaxi “Dew,” and the Underbelly message that the party would not go to Baytail Accord and would instead go to the desert laboratory.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

The white powder visions, including the basilisk, salamanders, Arabic writing, white dragon, black void, and cold blue eyes, remain unexplained. The merfolk abduction beyond the Barrier, the missing noble wife from the pact possibly called Sneul, the city of Onyx, the war with the Salt elementals, and the Blackhold “door” remain active threads.

The shared dreams over Freeport contradicted one another and may have come from the Ancient One / The Anciant One, making their predictive value uncertain. The sergeant simply walking off after the necklace was removed, the Baroness being Valenth Caerdunel’s sentient necklace, the related sister ring, the Justiciar possibly looking for the party, and the choice to skip Baytail Accord for the desert laboratory all remain significant.