Waterday - 12 Ready'reat
The party leaves
The Snapping Line as dawn breaks on the eastern sky. Following the non-stop clatter of metal, the party heads across
Sharkfin Bridge up toward the fields where the Lizardfolk encampment lies. As they crest the hill, the party sees city guardsmen and lizardfolk squared up in units and clashing against each in other in training exercises with
Capt. Fireborn and Ihrtos presiding.
Upon seeing the party, Fireborn calls them over and states, "Good Waterday to you all. I heard that you joined our allies yesterday in friendly competition and represented us very well indeed! Thank you and congratulations. Do you mind stopping by
Council Hall at midday? We have questions over certain recent events."
The party agrees and decides to focus on understanding the shields from
Mina's vision and head toward the
Temple of Procan since Father
Brinehand has an extensive library. Upon cresting the hill on the western edge of
Saltmarsh, Kyra leads the party into the temple and greets the priest, "Daddy Brinehand?"
Turning toward her with an impish smile, he responds, "Yes, my child?"
Realizing she actually said that out loud, she mumbles, "We're trying to understand some heraldry that was described to us. Have you seen a shield using a wavy four pointed star?"
Wellgar muses for a moment, then answers, "Mmm, I don't believe I have. Do you know if it's more religious or secular? Mmm surely it has to be some geo-political entity as I know most religious iconography."
"We're not sure," Adlia states, "but there's another that holds our interests as well. This one would be a dorsal fin rising above blood tainted water. Does this one seem familiar?"
Fin above water
Wellgar muses, "Umm I'm not sure. I feel sure that it's a sigil of a god, but holding on to that thought is like trying to hold the wind. The tighter I squeeze the faster it moves from view. Why don't you let me have a day or two to research it and hopefully I'll have an answer then."
"Didn't
Mafera mention Iuz back in the
Dwarven Mine?" asks Karia. "Why don't we go talk to her about these images?"
Kyra quickly responds, "I need to go read. You all can go ahead without me, right?"
Seeing agreement, Kyra leaves the temple and heads across the bay to the
Faithful Quartermasters of Iuz headquarters. She knocks politely and is admitted to a waiting room until
Capt. Xendros walks in with a big greeting, "Welcome sister!! It's been a goodly while since we last met. How may I serve you today?"
"I wanted to ask about life in Iuz," responds Kyra. "You've offered me such goodwill and hospitality that I want to learn more about where you call home. Is it a lovely country?"
Xendros smiles widely as she replies, "Why sister are you looking to convert and leave these hinterlands behind? One of your magnificient talents would rise quickly back in Iuz. When our great leader, Iuz, first arose to power, he brought together many tribes and cultures to merge into one unified country. His vision was so powerful that many tribes openly welcomed him and it was like the nation came alive for us."
"That does sound quite wonderful," Kyra responds. "Did your great leader, Iuz, write any books? I'd love to learn more of your glorious history."
Xendros sighs while answering, "Alas I brought no such books with me. I did not expect such interest from any of the locals here. But can I do anything else for you? Perhaps you have a magic item you wish to sell?"
Meanwhile, the rest of the party enters the
Dwarven Anvil and quickly locate the owner. Karia greets her, "Hail Mafera! Do you hav a moment? When we were retrieving your anvil, you mentioned that refugees saw Iuz's flag. Did you mean the country of Iuz's flag or was it something else?"
Mafera warmly replies, "Good to see you my friends! It was many years ago, but I seem to recall that the refugees were saying that it was Iuz's personal banner, the grinning skull on a sea of blood, instead of the country's banner, a profile of a fiery skull on a black background. But I can't be sure that was too many years ago.
Why do you ask? Do you suspect something?"
"I'm sure it's nothing, but we wanted to ask before heading before the council. We'll see you later!" Karia gushes.
The party then heads up to
Council Hall where Kyra greets them. As the party enters they join a discussion already progressing as Councillor
Oweland - played by Tahlia highlights the need for new docks within Saltmarsh and why Crabbers Cove is the ideal location, "... and those buildings are a hazard. They are infested with crabs and they'll likely collapse on any squatters that seek refuge there. We should raze that area and build new infrastructure instead."
"We certainly agree," responds
Solmor - played by Nancy, "that additional docking facilities are needed, but your location seems particularly partisan considering the location of your ancestral home. Wouldn't it make more sense to build new infrastructure in an area that has more available land? Like the western edge of the bay and maybe replace that slum of a tavern of
Empty Net? Or even better, let's get new facilities set up in the larger bay leading to the Kingfisher river over by
Fireborn's house."
Copperlocks - Played by Jaime joins into the discussion, "What benefit would the mine get from these additional facilities? It seems that this is more parochial addition."
"Your mine would benefit from additional trade," responds Oweland. "The more ships docking the more likely a buyer could be found for your ores. We could even talk about facilities to process the ore here earning a higher profit from the mine in general."
As the discussions drone onward, the party idly sits and tunes out the tedious discussion. After an hour of debating, the council agrees to hire surveyors from both the
Carpenters Guild and the
Mariners' Guild to estimate the cost of transforming Crabber's Cove into new docking facilities.
Finally,
Capt. Fireborn addresses the group, "
Kraddok tells me you stopped at the jail yesterday to put a person in jail? Can you clarify why you thought that was appropriate and who hired you?"
The
Try-hard Misfits quickly explain how the Mariner's Guild hired them to clear
Abbey Island of squatters and how
Bayleaf appeared to still be a threat even after removing him from the newly deserted island. They also explain that nothing like that will happen in the future unless it's the council that's assigning the mission.
"Good!" replies Capt. Fireborn, "then in that case I submit that we adjourn the council today."
The party starts to head outside when Eda Oweland calls out to Kyra in the doorway, "Kyra, do you have a minute? I've got something that I want to discuss privately." Upon reaching a discrete corner outside
Eda continues, "I think you and I are on the same page here so I feel I can trust you to do what's right for our town. Fireborn has been acting weird for months now and I know he's hiding something from me. I've tried to confront him multiple times, but he lies and says everything's fine and nothing's out of the ordinary." As Eda builds up to her request, Kyra's tail unconsciously starts to flick back and forth in excitment. "So what I'm hoping you can do, discretely of course, is find out what the hell Fireborn is up to and report back only to me."
Kyra quickly agrees, then asks, "What do you know about Iuz?" but Eda only knows that it's a distant country that routinely buys fish by the boatload.
Meanwhile, Nar tracks down Capt. O'Donahue, "Ho to the ship! It's your favorite friend with some more
Claw Wine! May I come aboard?" O'Donahue quickly welcomes her aboard and after a few swigs from the bottle Nar asks, "We've heard of a flag that features a wavy four-pointed star. Have you ever heard of such a flag?"
"Nae little one. No such flag flies around here," Capt Donahue responds. "Aye'd know it if any ship on the
Azure hoisted it. Are ye sure you're describing it right?" He nods along as Nar describes it again and even scribbles out a small design, then adds, "Aye've never seen such a symbol and Aye should know it if it exists. The fact that Aye don't says something."
Kyra continues to sit reading a book outside the council hall for a few hours before Capt Fireborn exits. Fireborn heads north and across Sharkfin Bridge with Kyra discretely following about a hundred feet behind him. As the crowds thicken on the bridge, Kyra loses sight of him and hurries to catch up. There's a moment where she thinks he's managed to slip away before she spies him cresting the hill still heading north. Finally, Fireborn steps into the
Barracks and Jail. Working slowly and silently, Kyra sneaks up to an open window and peeks into the room where she sees
Kraddok sitting behind his desk as Fireborn quietly talks to him. Reading Kraddok's lips, she sees him tell Fireborn that one of the 'try-hard misfits' has followed him here. Fireborn's response indicates that he doesn't care because he feels the group's trustworthy. After a few more minutes of mundane talk regarding schedules, Fireborn heads back out and into
The Wicker Goat, a pub and inn in the north west part of Saltmarsh.
Realizing that she's being lead, Kyra follows Fireborn into the tavern and sits at his table stating, "Well Fireborn. Why all the cloak and dagger. You're up to something and I'm determined to know what it is." She pauses for a moment before adding, "This place seems very nice and it smells so lovely."
Fireborn chuckles as he responds, "I've been very surprised that you all have stayed
The Snapping Line. It's a fair place for sure, but you could have such better arrangements than the typical deckhand that stays there." He then leans forward and continues, "You're right and I guess it's time to let you in on it. I'm positive that there's a huge smuggling operation here in town and I'm convinced that someone on the council runs it. I just can not seem to figure out how they are moving goods from ship to shore. If I could nail down that piece, then I'll bust the bastard stealing from their king."
"Hmmm. Why trust us?" asks Kyra.
"For one," explains Fireborn, "you aren't embedded with the townees whose family ancestors literally built the town.. In a word, you're outsiders and you've been out of town when specific smuggling events have occurred."
Kyra nods along and then asks, "So the alliances with all these races, how are you feeling about it?"
"Honestly? Shocked," responds Fireborn, "I've always seen these races as just monsters, like the freak Owl Bear that took my leg and forced my retirement from the army. The fact that these are intelligent persons with societal structures? Shocked. Having said this, if there really is a
sahuagin tribe nearby, then this entire region faces dire threats and we'll need all the help we can muster."
"What about you?" asks Fireborn. "Are you willing to help out just a bit more? Will you and the
Try-hard Misfits help investigate the smuggling operation? I'm sure that it's some ships anchoring near the Tower of Zenopus. I've never seen them unload cargo, which is why I've not moved on it, but I do know they are unloading based on the ship's waterline before and after anchoring."
"I'll talk it over with them," says Kyra. "I've got one last set of questions though. We're trying to find out more regarding a shield that has a wavy four-pointed star on it. Have you ever heard of such a heraldic symbol?" Upon receiving a negative response, Kyra downs the rest of her drink and heads out to find the rest of the party.
On the edges of Sharkfin Bridge, she meets up with the rest of the group who were out looking for her. They decide to talk over the events of the day at dinner within the Snapping Line and head back toward the center of town.
As they reach the town square, four towngaurdsment shout, "Halt and disarm yourselves! We've orders to arrest you!"
Karia responds, "We work on behalf of the council. Who would order arresting us?"
"Does it matter? Disarm and come quietly before we have to hurt you
try-soft murderers!" quips the lead guard.
"It does. We work for your boss, Capt Fireborn," responds Karia.
"He was the one signing the orders! Now get them!" yells the leader.
A tall guardsmen steps toward Karia while chanting, "My name is Paul. I'm really tall and you're going to fall!" Karia reacts a bit too slowly as Paul's sword cleaves into her and another guard flanks her from behind. The chaos of battle ensues with the Kyra lamenting, "Gawd, I really need a dead body."
The party begins to get an upper-hand with Karia surrounded by the guards, then Paul slips past her defenses knocking Karia unconscious as he smiles and states, "I said you were going to fall." Nar downs a guard with her deadly bow and shouts out, "Surrender now! You don't have to die! Surrender to me and we can all just talk." However, the guards press harder against the party as Adlia knocks another down by pointing and ringing her small bell with the arcane energies flowing through her.
Finally, only the leader remains who turns and flees southward toward the docks. Kyra calls upon the arcane and blasts a loud voice yelling out, "FIREBORN! You're needed in the square!"
He comes running along with several guardsmen and calls out, "What happened here!" After hearing that the dead persons claimed to be townguards acting on his authority, he quickly denies this. "These aren't guards. They are wearing uniforms, but they are not part of our force. I don't know who they are." He dispatches guards to search the docks, but suspects that no one will be found since the sun has already set.
Fuming Fireborn declares, "Gather up these bodies and take them to the jail. I intend to find out how these knaves have our uniforms."
