Caravan Duty

Financial Event

The party agrees to assist an apparently wealthy spice merchant with a shipment of spices from Zhækhtu to Vvathaf. Unexpected twists ensue.

A prominent member of the Spicer's Guild, Ænvvæth Darluvvek, posted a public job for caravan duty. Specifically, he needs a shipment of spices escorted overland from Zhækhtu to Vvathaf. Normally, he has relied on shipment via sea, but the Sirens have interdicted his last several shipments. This shipment is his last hope, if he intends to remain in business. Offering a significant reward of 4,000 gp for the successful delivery of the cargo, he attracts the party's interest.   The party travels to the Zhækhtu Republic without incident and takes control of the caravan. Part way back to Vvathaf, a bandit group called the Tollkeepers ambushes the caravan. The party quickly gains the upper hand and negotiates with the leader of the Tollkeepers, rather than eliminating him and his raiders, outright.   They learn that the Ænvvæth Darluvvek and the leader of the Spicer's Guild, one Amædth Spicer, sold the caravan out to the Tollkeepers, even providing specific descriptions of the party and their equipment. Ronigh, the leader of the Tollkeepers releases the party and the caravan in exchange for his and his troop's lives.   The party returns to Vvathaf, where they bring their discoveries to the Council. They sell the entire load of spices for a substantial sum, directly to the Council, incidentally forestalling what would probably have been a major economic disruption to the city's trade.   Ænvvæth Darluvvek has left town, and the party discovers that he was paid off significantly (in an amount far higher than the value of the cargo), and has apparently made for Estinos to re-establish himself there. The party elects to investigate the doings of Amædth Spicer, since his actions seem inexplicable in the context of the guild master operating a guild.   When they enter his home and office, they meet and are joined by a rather drunken tiefling monk called Cipher. At length, they discover that a doppelganger named Tronom, a Shaper from the shadowy organization called the Malleable, had captured Amædth and taken on his identity. The party defeated Tronom and freed Amædth.