Salvage Operation

The merchant prince Aubreck Drallion once counted himself among the richest folk of his city. His trade fleet was one of the largest and most prosperous of its kind, with hundreds of ships under his banner dodging storms, pirate raids, and aquatic monsters to carry goods across the world.
Yet Aubreck’s success perhaps came too fast and too easily; although his profits eventually stabilized, his ambition kept expanding. Years ago, his contacts in the southern jungles reported that he could monopolize trade in rare spices and herbs by making heavy investments in the area. Aubreck took the opportunity as a sure thing and leaped at the chance to get even richer. He sold off many of his assets and converted the proceeds to property deeds and promissory notes, then secured that portable wealth aboard Emperor of the Waves, the foremost ship in his fleet.
Aubreck’s plan was to convert these notes back into cash when the ship reached its destination in the south, but fate introduced a cruel twist, and Emperor of the Waves disappeared. A storm separated the ship from its escort, and it was never heard from again. Devastated by the financial loss, Aubreck was reduced to the lifestyle of an ordinary merchant.
The true fate of Emperor of the Waves is known only to a few. The ship was nearly sunk in the storm that drove it off course, but it remained seaworthy. After the storm subsided, its surviving crew members dropped anchor near an uncharted island. When they came ashore to look for food and water, they discovered the island was inhabited by tribes of primitive humans, orcs, and goblins, ruled by cruel druids who worshiped Lolth in her aspect as the Queen of Spiders. The druids promptly had the few remaining sailors dispatched by their underlings and claimed the ship as a sign of favor from their dark goddess.
In time, the island’s population became fractured into two factions, each of which tried to exterminate the other. One group claimed custody of the ship and used it as a headquarters, stocking it with supplies and defending it from assaults by the enemy group. When the war entered its final throes, the ship was in danger of bring overrun by the land-based forces. In response, rather than staying and fighting it out, the cultists aboard the ship pulled up anchor — and thanks to an offshore wind, they rode the waves and left the island far behind.
Fifteen days ago, Aubreck received word that Emperor of the Waves had been spotted adrift in the southern sea, apparently a ghost ship. The noble promptly used a sizable chunk of his savings to hire a ship and crew to sail to the derelict. Aubreck believes he can restore his standing if he recovers the deeds and documents that sailed with the ship. Now, all he needs are a few brave souls able to deal with whatever threats might present themselves aboard the Emperor and bring back his fortune.

Parent Plot

Open Adventure 1

Subplots

• Isle of the Abbey