Session 04: Arrival at Arkdale Report

General Summary

As the team wakes up from a well earned long rest, they pass the morning hours by practicing with their weapons in the hold. Curiosity gets the better of them and they set to carefully breaking into one of the marked crates to find stone statues packed inside hay. Detecting magic and good and evil gave no clues as to the status of the contents of these crates. The team closes the container, then goes above decks at the call of the crew to the captain about the Green Maiden off the port bow. The captain nonchalantly instructs Jeppeson to drop to half canvas and stay close to the shore as the team passes by the ominous wreckage - a 7 year old shipwreck that was towed to the shallows and left there as a warning to any who might engage in piracy. The team observes a baby dolphin before passing the wreckage. After slowly and masterfully making port - the ships hands go to their duties of setting and tightening the mooring lines, furling the canvas, and extending the gangplank so a short halfling dock boss by the name of Flint Underhill directs his oafish hands to begin the unloading process. As the hands carry the cargo off the ship, he directs each crate to one of five different locations - Fara recognizes that all of the crates marked with thieves cant are isolated in the same standby location. Stranger still, of all the crews that are receiving the cargo and carrying past the inspection station, this location seems to wait an unnecessarily long time before finally loading their cargo. On observing the same crate the team had opened earlier - the inspectors find not statues, but wine casks, wine barrels, and other alcoholic beverages in the container. Again, no magic is detected as Tiathina stealthily casts her spell. Angelo detects a very subtle but odd shifting of boards back at the location where the crates were originally held, leading the team to eventually break into a hidden hatch that leads to the water, where some form of submersible craft apparently swaps out the cargo before it makes it to the inspection point. Having just missed whatever pulled away, the crew is forced to abandon their investigation and head to their lodgings at the Weathered Vane. Sitting down to a feast of well cooked mutton and fish, the meal is interrupted as two druids, who have received divine guidance about the need for two druids to connect with their circles - Angelo and Ilyana are transported to a sacred grove where after many hours of meditation they are finally transformed for the first time into their wild forms....Angelo is disrobed and takes on the form of a wolf - becoming one with the forest, attuned to the sounds and smells around him like never before. Ilyana is similarly disrobed as her humanoid body transforms into her star form - exposing the three constellations that she may choose from that engage the archer, the chalice, and the dragon. Marigold and Tiathina are likewise met with two paladins who lead them to the Cathedral of the Blessed Vow - upon the alter they lay their weapons and kneel in prayer and meditation, to arise only after taking their sacred oaths. Tiathina receives her holy symbol of the leaf, as magic engraves the intricate designs across her breastplate and shield - swearing fealty to the knights of old who protected the light and goodness of this world with the Oath of the Ancients. Marigold swears the Oath of Vengeance as she commits to always punish those who have committed grievous sins against others - to act as a sword against those who harm and a shield for those who are to be victims. Wellys, Fara and Ricfried also find their way to a local guild house, where fighters, rangers and rogues can also increase their skills through the practice and engagement with their respective maesters. After a long afternoon and early morning training concludes, Fara receives abilities that enhance her thieves skills with arcane trickster; Wellys obtains spells conducive of a ranger, and Ricfried earns his abilities as a champion...unlocking skills that will help them in future encounters. Running into Flint Underhill at the tavern in the morning, the team convinces him to share his information about the smuggling operation. Although he doesn't know much other than he is paid to make certain goods land in the right spot, then make sure the swapped crates make it through inspection, he does know who pays him - for the right amount of gold he even offers to align a meeting with the owner of a certain establishment that can only be found when you know how to find it. Across from the Runeworks storefront, the team finds a small crack in the wall that expands around them and gives them access to an alleyway. Using the code "The Kings Purse weighs heavily with the Kings Coin", they are given admittance to a very dark and ominous tavern. With eerie silence booths that are darkened so as not to allow identification of those speaking, the smaller team of Ricfried, Fara, Angelo and Wellys speaks with the Half-orc owner when asking for the code "red champagne". This proprietor seems to be the one causing the movement of containers to different locations. For a favor of taking care of Flint Underhill and reminding him who is in charge, he even offers to point them towards the slavers market. When complete, they are asked to return and ask for a "green harvester" drink. The party returns back to their tavern and ends their day with more intrigues than solutions.