Session 25: Jumping Right In

General Summary

The game begins with the party heading through the portal between the AHARRG Guild Hall and the floating city of Expatria, a very important scrap of paper their connecting point to the unique economy of the shipmass and only a general idea of what they need to do: prepare for a journey down, down, down below the surface of Saint Hira's Sea.
The party lands in a blue-washed sea of wreckage on a blue sea, the Blue Quad of the city! In Expatria, the city is divided into 4 quarters based loosely on the color of the salvage added to the shipmass's bulk, with the portal near the middle of the Blue Quad and their goal being a place called the Shell Exchange somewhere in the Green.
There is an initial adjustment for the group as they acquire their sea legs on the gently undulating surface of Expatria under them, with only Cye Veisi, L0L4 , and Kitanya Evermoon keeping their seasickness in check. (Poor Num Erik Al rolls a Nat 1 on his constitution saving throw and instantly slumps to the floor, nigh-immovable in his queasiness.)
Shuffling out of the Sending Station they'd portaled into and off to find the Shell Station and their contact alleged to be within, the party also starts to get a feel for the city, including grabbing some yummy street stall food (specifically Cye Veisi, Khashayar Entezami, and Kitanya Evermoon) and taking a gander at all the things to be gandered. (And boy, there's a lot to gander here!)
This includes ALEK51 and Amanita Guttata locating a Warforged with some level of biomechanical integration named X7421-E (shorthand: Exen) that sells unique modifications for bodies to weather the water. It trades one of Amanita's lab-grown fungal hairs (borne of L0L4 's fiberoptic hair of course) and some of Alek's magically chill-you-the-fuck-out cheese for:

• A pair of flexible soft hexiglass/plastic wing sheaths to allow Amanita to use their wings to swim

• A container of snail slime wipes that the Warforged are to use to prevent rust or salt damage to their exteriors (more effective than Rockroot)

• A collection of collapsible membranous seaweed-esque fins to attach to Amanita's legs to empower swimming; the group actually gets a few pairs but the DM admits to not recalling who for, so it's a few pairs for now!

• A series of "bubble burner" mechanical jets that attach like barnacles to propel/lift heavy creatures like Warforged to offset sinking and help swimming (with 3 burners recommended for someone of L0L4's size and 2 for ALEK sans-leg)

Stepping over the threshold of the Blue-to-Green shift, the party locates the Shell Exchange easily as it is, cheesily enough, shaped to look like a giant scallop shell. As Gleddy Goodvine had prepped the party before their leaving:

The Shell is essentially an IOU honored as currency in the anarchocommunist citystate of Expatria (not that the people of Expatria would know that wording). They may be passed around many times, with the value of a Shell being tied to how big the "favor" being granted is (patching a roof vs. sweeping a floor vs. saving a life) as well as who it is owed to/by, since just as in non-tangible IOUs, it's helpful to have someone powerful or influential owe you a favor.
Expats don't tend to use gold for trading unless they often travel themselves or deal with Shorers (non-Expats) often, but it's understood that people don't just walk into the city ready to collect a bunch of Shells. Many trade goods or services to ingratiate themselves, but the Shell Exchange is another option, where clerks take donations or swaps from well-meaning Expats, taking a Shorer's gold and exchanging it for Shells at a variable rate. This way, people who do have a reason to use some gold can get some or they can help Shorers feel welcome as an act of good will.

The party specifically is looking for someone named Ryndall the Shellwalker, who one day wrote Gleddy what they are told is a very generous Shell in that it is basically a blank check: I, Ryndall the Shellwalker, owe Gleddy Goodvine one Shell for anything she needs. The party, having been handed this Shell, now have Ryndall's help instead.
Ryndall turns out to be an older Tortle that is essentially Edgar from Aristocats if he were a snapping turtle. Immense grandpa vibes.

He greets the party warmly and accepts the Shell, ushering them into his office in the Exchange to hear what they need. Ryndall promises to help them however he can, including splitting the Shell into 15 blank check Shells for the party to use around - a truly massive amount of wealth in Expatria. He also bequeaths them a list of names for contacts that can help them out, encouraging them to explore the city themselves to find these people. (His notes are vague and up to much interpretation, which the party gets the impression was intentional on his part and not a lapse of judgment or foresight.)

Here, the DM is going to add in a slight retcon/addition in the next session for something Ryndall also offers, in order to grant the party (and players) some additional guidance in the otherwise overwhelmingly open world of Expatria.

The list reads as follows:

• Gologreath (goal-o GREE ath) - arms

• Te no Erishi (Tay-ay no AIR-ish-ee) - magics

• Drift & Float - papers

• Sir Plysby - water bubbles

• The Deep Drinker (Jacques) - clothes

• Elara Bubbletoes - magics

• Miss Direction - shady

• Ironmark Alditha (Al-dee-THUH) - tips

The party mulls over this cryptic scavenger hunt of a list and is advised to check the Diamondback, a large marketplace on the cusp of Blue and Yellow, that may have several merchants they need. They decide first, however, to secure lodging, using 1 of their Shells to get 4 rooms at an inn in the Green Quad on a schooner vessel named the Atalanta. Then, Wynnie Bishop trades one of her tapestries for airship taxi travel for the group to the Diamondback.
The airship driver provides a general tour of the city while he drives, pointing out landmarks such as the Table (the seat of "public engagement" - government - at the center of the Quads), the Tacklebox (a gear shop in the Blue Quad), Sully's Sail (the most popular and oldest tavern/bar in Expatria all the way in the Red Quad), and of course, Master Bait and the Switch's Pleasure House, a pleasure house with such a deliciously scandalous name that it stops both party and players in their tracks for a moment.
The party lands in the Diamondback market and sets off to locate their contacts, starting with Elara Bubbletoes simply because Kitanya Evermoon thinks that sounds fun and Te no Erishi because, hey, they're already looking for one "magics" user, right? Why not more?

Created Content

See NPCs of Expatria for a summary of the Dramatis Personae of the city as they are established.

Report Date

09 Oct 2024

Primary Location

Expatria

Related Characters

• ALEK51
• Amanita Guttata
• Cye Veisi
• Gleddy Goodvine
• Khashayar Entezami
• Kitanya Evermoon
• L0L4
• Num Erik Al
• Wynnie Bishop