Conclave Catastrophe

"Sorry, lad. But I did warn you that I'd be going with the most profitable proposal"

-Killian Smythe

The Second Wave

With Ari set free, the party learned from her that Hockley Thorpe was plotting something big... although she was not sure precisely what that was. She did know that Thorpe had silently been moving his ships out of the Red Bay for several days, but was not sure to what end. She also overheard Thorpe plotting something while she was imprisoned; while unable to discern the other voices in the conversation, she did hear Thorpe asking someone if he "got the scroll from Blacktallow's" and to "be ready to move as soon as the ships arrive."
Meanwhile, Anton and Ra'zon looked over the treasures in Thorpe's stash. Anton uncovered the battlesuit that Ardevin had told them about, and passed it over to Grom. Ra'zon noticed that, oddly, a large sum of the gold in this stash house was newly-minted Hildonian gold. While assessing what could be the reason behind this the party was set upon by a second wave of grung soldiers, this time with a hulking, bipedal toadlike beast in tow. Ra'zon was able to soften up the enemy by taking out a large number of the smaller beasts, while Grom attempted to utilize the new battlesuit to little success. Anton, attempting to go toe-to-toe with the behemoth, was nearly killed before a pair of twin moonbeams from Elria and Ari destroyed the creature.

New Friends

Taking stock of the fight's aftermath, Elria was the first to notice a humanoid figure running away from the battle. Making chase, the party managed to prevent its escape and found it to be a middle-aged male human. Through interrogation they learned the man was Jason Stilwell, the manager of Thorpe's warehouse situated directly above this grotto. While initially hesitant to give up any information, Grom was eventually able to persuade him to turn his back on Thorpe and join Anton's crew. Stilwell offered to steal the Darrington for Anton with the help of two other dissenters; a male human named Roland deWitt and a female gnome named Cecily Hallock. The party's new allies began loading what supplies they could steal from Thorpe's stores onto the Darrington while the party returned to the Mangy Dog to prepare for tomorrow's election.

The Conclave Convenes

The next day the party spent time aboard the Mangy Dog going over their plans for the day, expecting some move to be made by Hockley Thorpe. Anton opted to bring Mute Bob along as his flag-bearer, and for added security a wild shaped Elria in the form of a parrot would sneak into the Conclave on Anton's shoulder. Meanwhile, Grom headed to a nearby bar called So Below in an attempt to suss out any information from Thorpe's men. Ra'zon and Ari chose to stay aboard the Mangy Dog alongside Glarm and S'vadda as protection.
As Anton approached the Scarlet Fortress, he was greeted by the sight of several other captains' flag-bearers lining the pathway to the entrance of the keep. Mute Bob took his place in formation as Anton and Elria entered the keep. Led by Antoine de Larron, they were escorted up a spiral staircase that eventually opened up into the preserved remains of a centuries-old sailing ship. Inside the hold, the various corsair captains were gathered. As the last of the captains arrived, the Conclave was officially called into session. Anton, John Foote, Hockley Thorpe, and Mary McCormac took their places at the head of the group and were given an opportunity for final words before the vote; Anton was the only one who took this opportunity, delivering a minutes-long speech that garnered a small round of applause. His speech concluded, the voting soon began. One by one each captain stepped forward and declared their intentions and it soon became apparent that the vote would be tied between Anton and Foote, with Killian Smythe the presumptive tiebreaker.

Thorpe's Betrayal

Before Smythe could step forward, a massive explosion was heard from the harbor. Back aboard the Mangy Dog, Ra'zon and Ari were both knocked prone as a ship moored 30 feet to their starboard erupted into flames. In So Below, Grom did not have time to react before a flaming rock smashed through the roof, collapsing the bar and burying him beneath the rubble. Back in the Scarlet Fortress, the various pirate captains gathered at the window where they saw an armada of warships bombarding the harbor, all flying the flag of Hildonia. As the city began to be consumed in flames, from around the northern end of the harbor several more ships flying the flag of Hockley Thorpe sailed out to join the Hildonian fleet.
Anton suddenly felt a sharp pain as Killian Smythe plunged a knife deep into his lower back before backing away. Taken aback, Anton watched as Hockley Thorpe activated a spell scroll to open an arcane gate before jumping through it alongside Smythe and Ilias Buriades. Anton ran towards the gate but was unable to reach it before it closed... and as he rose to his feet he realized that the room had begun to fill with smoke.

Chapter Twenty-One

"Conclave Catastrophe"

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Previous Chapter: Crimsonhold Frog Festival

Next Chapter: The Battle of Crimsonhold

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Ingame Date: 20-21^st of Rainseed, 1855
Real-Life Date: March 6, 2021
Protagonists:

• Grom
• Ra'zon the Broken
• Anton von Rheintach
• Elria Sylvistra
• Ari

Featured NPCs:

• John Foote
• Jason Stilwell

Locations:

• Crimsonhold
• Hockley Thorpe's stash house
• The Scarlet Fortress