Session 11: Finding their sea-legs and a melee in Melvaunt

General Summary

An excerpt from…

The true historie of the vaunted Bridge Burners, adventurers of yore, heroes of the realms, travellers of the greate realmes - 5th volume, 18th reprint

Editor’s Notes: The period in the Bridge Burners’ history that relates to their first departure from the City of Phlan was long shrouded in uncertainty and debate among historians. While initial oral histories proclaimed their great heroism, modern scholarship now suggests a more nuanced picture. Previously held views are now believed to have been significantly influenced by the noted bard Saromonus the Pure. These editors seek to present a truer picture of this period in the Barn Burners’ lives, by drawing together contemporary factual accounts.
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Log of the Grey Hellonia Phlan to Thentia via Melvant | Log Duties, First Mate Staralo

Day 1

Manifest:
Cargo loaded without loss:

• 20 barrel fire-spirit (consignment)
• 20 barrel ice wine (traded commission)
• 15 crate smelt iron (traded commission)
• 3 chest unknown (private consignment)
• 1 chest unknown (via security detail)

Cargo unaccounted:

• 1 barrel fire-spirit (crew reported damaged on boarding. Traces apparent in kitchen and mess areas)

Departed Phlan on schedule, fully-crewed and with security detail aboard. Fair conditions and good progress across Moonsea.
Security detail an interesting group. Taken on against First Mate’s advice. Led by Atlendor; a solid, reliable, trustworthy type. A fondness for cards. Kindred spirit. Female dwarf woefully unsuited to sea voyaging; consigned to quarters throughout. Male dwarf suspicious; appears to have obsession with chest. Captain suspects sexual deviancy. Elf aloof - keeps to Crow’s Nest; seems wary. Halfling found consulting ship’s logs. Captain trusts - unwise?

Day 2

Continued progress across moon-sea. Conditions unsettled.
Disturbances heard below-decks; activities of deviant dwarf the expected cause. Crew discuss rumours of live cargo in private consignments. Suspect security detail, though Captain refuses to investigate. Interested only in passing enchanted borders of Moonsea.
Briefed crew for additional patrol and observation of security detail; Atlendor insists no need for concern. I wish to believe him.

Day 3

Significant disturbances. 3 barrel ice wine lost; 1 chest (private consignment) damaged, all through actions of security detail. Conditions foul then fair.
Security detail conveying dragon youngling across sea; claim to be rodent extermination specialists, then acting on behalf of Harpers. Links to damages at harbour of Phlan? Final conclusions interrupted by appearance of foul Sea Hag. Great heroism from magnificent Atlendor, whose quick-thinking saved the halfling from being dashed upon the decks of the ship. Halfling claims his actions secured blessings of Sea Hag, accounts believed by gullible crew! Only after my own interventions was it made clear that Atlendor’s heroic stature inflicted a grievous mental wound on the Sea Hag, her attempted assault against the Halfling foiled by his magnificent warriorship. Dwarves and elf all useless; were I ever to submit to a life on land, it is clear that Atlendor and I would form a magnificent partnership. Were the dwarves, elf and halfling to meet unfortunate ends here on the sea, surely it would be only natural that Atlendor would seek a new adventuring companion. Together we could cross the lands and seas, earning wealth, renown and a companionship that has never before been known between man and elf……..
[Editor’s note: here onward, the log of the Grey Hellonia takes a curious turn. Factual accounts of the ship’s progress, its cargo, crew and conditions become cursory or are missed altogether. Fantastical accounts of the First Mate’s imagined future with Atlendor, meanwhile, becoming increasingly dominant until around four weeks later, when log duties are taken on suddenly by Captain Grapple.]
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Minutes From Meeting of Red Iron Consortium of Engineers, Metal Workers and Machinists, xx.xx.xxxx Fifteen Toasts made by Senior Guildmaster Beardachin to his niece, Torberra, and her band of travelling companions Guildmasters’ debate on provenance of newly-discovered Dwarven bread in possession of Beardachin’s nieces’ companion. Beardachin insists on magical properties. Junior Guildmaster Colestar suspects misdiagnosis. Debate concluded by fire-spirit ingestion competition, won with ease by Senior Guildmaster Beardachin
Proposal made by Senior Guildmaster Beardachin to provide Guild support to Torberra and companions. Defeated by strong consensus.
Meeting called to close.
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Melvaunt Bureau of Meteorology, Meteor Studies, Celestial Objects and Comet Exploration - Special Report, xx.xx.xxxx
Curious phenomenon reported by multiple residents of Melvaunt, and independently observed by Bureau Deputy Chief Assessor Brungir Griffworm. Sudden detection of enormous insect swarm centred on The Ailing Godsman, a tavern of low repute in Melvaunt docklands area. Appearance seemingly from thin air; subsequent inspection of celestial instruments reveal traces of magical imprint. Thousands of dead and dying insects detected at scene. Significant collateral damage.
An investigative team has been dispatched to draw up summary reports.
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Complaint to Melvaunt Security Branch Officer 228142, made by Valant Ashgrim, proprietor of the Ailing Godsman, evening of xx.xx.xxxx. The record has been adjusted to remove language considered unsuitable for inclusion in records of the Melvaunt Security Services.
MY [xxxxxx] TAVERN. IT’S BEEN [xxxxx] RUINED BY [xxxxxx] ELVES, AND DWARVES, AND [xxxxx] BLOOD [xxxxx] AND [xxxxxxx] MAGICIANS. ONE OF THEM TURNED A [xxxxxx] DWARF INTO A [xxxxxx] GIANT! A [xxxxxx] GIANT DWARF!
WHO? WHY DON’T YOU ASK THAT LITTLE [xxxxxxxx] SARAMONUS?! IT WAS HIM WHAT WAS [xxxxx] SINGING ABOUT [xxxxxxxx] BRIDGE BURNERS AND [xxxxxxx] ADVENTURERS, WASN’T IT? LITTLE [xxxxxx] WAS SUPPOSED TO BE [xxxxxxx] BARRED FROM MY TAVERN ANYWAY, WASN’T HE?! AND NOW LOOK AT IT. COVERED IN [xxxxxx] BLOOD AND ARROWS AND [xxxxxxxx] INSECTS?!
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Editor’s Concluding Notes It may seem remarkable to modern observers that the only conclusive reports that survive are fragmented accounts of seemingly disconnected activities, and speculative documents that help to corroborate oral accounts. With the distance of time, however, we can begin to detect a suggestion that more widespread official accounts may have been removed from the record, or suppressed at source. With what we now know to be true of the Bridge Burners’ involvement in the capture of a young dragonling, we might conclude that powerful political pressure was applied contemporaneously protecting those in power at the time.
What we can confidently conclude is this:

• That the Bridge Burners made their way to Melvaunt under false pretence aboard the Grey Hellonia, a trading and occasional smuggling vessel bound for Thentia
• That during their journey, they were discovered to have boarded under false pretences, yet convinced the ship’s captain to allow them to complete their journey

• That in Melvaunt they successfully made contact with Torberra’s uncle, Bernard Beardachin who it is assumed provided them information that drove them in the next steps of their quest
• That during their time in Melvaunt, their draconic cargo caught the attention of multiple competing parties, and that they were set-upon by Blood Reavers in the tavern of The Ailing Godsman

With the distance of history and hindsight, it is tempting for the modern scholar to conclude that this moment in the Bridge Burners’ history marks the point at which their adventuring skills began to sharpen. While these editors do not make that claim, they do nevertheless suggest that the group’s departure from Phlan and arrival into Melvaunt is a point of great historical significance.
In the next volume of this work, we explore their onward journeys and the… [excerpt concludes]

Report Date

28 Mar 2020

Primary Location

Melvaunt