DLVSBS01E012 - "In Search of Karol" report

The party traveled towards the city of Anir's End, passing through Mem-Thon on the way. In Mem-Thon, Ashryn and Elyadan spoke to Elada, a non-silvanesti elf looking for a missing person. They exchanged brief stories, and the party moved on.

Just outside Anir's End, the party timely intervention saved Martath and his children from being victims of violence. In gratitude, Martath offered lodging in his inn within Anir's End, the Rosastra. After some investigation the party learned that a hobgoblin mercenary company by the name Grizzly Knives and a small band of ogres were in the city recently, and that the hobgoblins sold a couple of longships to local residents. They also learned that the Silent Cutlass, Karol's ship was impounded by the Crystal Bats. With Martath's assistance, the party arranged for a meeting with the Crystal Bats' accountant Pierron and, through him, met Lord Razor Wyndam, the mayor of Anir's End.

In the meeting the party briefly encountered a few other members of the Crystal Bats: Wedge and Biggs, the two men that had been keeping tabs on them during their investigation of Anir's End port; Muskath, a priest of the Church of Apolythos; and Tamara. A summary of the subjects discussed in the meeting that happened on Bran (May) 15th, 3326 follows:

Karol of Jakarta is indebted to Lord Wyndam and has been missing for over a week;

Lord Wyndam has put Karol's first mate, Ballard Stonebridge under arrest until he discloses Karol's current location;

The party asked to talk to Stonebridge about Karol, to which Lord Wyndam acceded as long as the party concurred to try and bring Karol back alive to Anir's End and into the Crystal Bats' custody;

The ogres - which are known as the Behemoth Council - and the hobgoblins left the city together eastward almost a month before the day of the meeting, in a fleet consisting of Karol's Cutlass and two longships. The fleet had returned to Anir's End a little over a week before the time of the meeting. Very few hobgoblins returned to land, and are believed to have left the very next day. The ogres disappeared into the night.

Two black robed, cloaked and masked figures were seen onboard the fleet. Only was seen returning;

After the meeting the party went to interrogate Stonebridge chaperoned by Wedge. They were told the following:

The Cutlass was hired by masked figures called Malzun Nadar and Rowette to lead an expedition into a hidden, unnamed island in the Southern Courrain Ocean. Karol called it Blackloot Island.

Karol is able to open some kind of pathway into the island, which they navigated through with the Cutlass, towing the two longships. The ships were tethered to each other by 'weird chains things';

Once they arrived to the island, they were coerced to lead the fleet into the shores of Kiranost;

The hobgoblins and ogres deployed into the shores. About two-thirds of the hobgoblins didn't return, but three new passengers came aboard - the dwarf didn't get a good look at them;

The fleet returned to the island, where one of the ogres - identified as an Ogre Titan - and almost all the remaining hobgoblins remained. At some point after the fleet had left the island towards Anir's End - but after taking the pathway back close to the coast - one of the masked figures literally disappeared into thin air, taking the three new passengers with they.

Karol was very nervous upon returning to shore, afraid someone was coming after him.

Stonebridge last saw Karol in the company of the people who control an oasis about five miles westward of Anir's end. Those people have been asking questions about Karol for a while now and Stonebridge believes he was abducted by them.

It's the middle of the morning, and the party just left Anir's End dungeon alongside Wedge. Lord Wyndam awaits them for lunch.  

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