Winedark, Chapter Ten
General Summary
Wherein our heroes deliver much-needed documents, experience the largesse of Saltbloom's gratitude, and fall victim to a nefarious scheme
Back to the Harbor
After meeting with Brazen Rain and Utterly, the Vastblasters resumed course toward Awa Harbor. The journey back was not without its complications, as Kharlo Chondricht decided to do a little fishing for a Selachii delicacy, Deepers. He didn't catch any of those sea cucumbers, but did manage a nice haul of whitefish, which he promptly threw back. The crew, living on water and hardtack, didn't really enjoy the seemingly careless waste of tasty fish, so a scuffle broke out in the ranks. Luckily, the persuasive powers of Irk, combined with the command presence of Captain Pitch smoothed that over before too much harm to morale could be done. And that was a good thing, as the next day held a significant test for the VastBlaster and its able crew--a storm was brewing on the horizon. It turned out to be a pretty big one. Fortunately, Pitch and Irk had the crew working akin to a well-oiled machine, and Water was able to keep the vessel mostly on course. The lynchpin of this whole storm negotiation, however, turned out to be Kharlo, who took it upon himself to situate his form on the bowsprit, howling to the furious waves, to Kogos, to anyone that would hear him. That must have done something, because the ship was relatively unscathed by the tempest's onslaught--just a few tears in the mailsail. Our mending triumvirate, Irk, Kasula, and Water, promptly fixed those sails up for a whole three hit points, and without any ill aftereffects! Nice! With that, the VastBlaster arrived at Awa Harbor.Reporting In
Since these scrolls were seemingly of vital importance--people literally died for them--it was decided to drop them off to Marrowdall Twinstar post-haste. So, it was back to the Filthy Horn and to the incomparable hospitality of Dappleheart. A meeting with Marrowdall was quickly arranged. The documents were delivered and the tale of the Tong Ruins was told in its entirety. Twinstar was taken aback at the presence of figures associated with whatever this purple and black tentacle thing proves to be and assured our explorers that he would look into it. The scrolls--ten of them--should fetch the Blasters some points in the Otuna's Favor rankings. Whatever is useable intelligence will garner one point a piece. It'll take some time, however, for the scholars to examine the material, and thus, to think about next moves. In the meantime, Marrowdall brought good tidings. The Sea Sibyl has seen fit to authorize ship upgrades for the sorely underequipped VastBlaster. It was decided that some self-repairing Scheming Sails might be handy, so the ship was drydocked for two tendays while that upgrade was installed. Further, Marrowdall gave each of the Blasters a token to present to Orla at the Customhouse. Doing so enabled Orla to grant them a "seized asset," an object of considerable worth that is assured to be useful in future endeavors. Never let it be said that Saltbloom doesn't reward quality work. Oh, and each officer got two hundred gold in "walking around" moneySome Downtime Excursions
Now that the ship is in drydock and the scrolls are under scrutiny, our heroes found themselves with some time to fill. While the officers and crew differed in how they spent their time, two notable events took place. First, Pitch, having--with the help of Irk--recruited more sailors to round out the VastBlaster crew, was called upon, in the form of a note addressed to "Envoy" to visit an old acquaintance, 3rd Decree Wilreth Elvalor in the Burning Fiddle, a nondescript inn in Green Cross. It turns out that Pitch, in a previous life, served The Decree as a diplomat. Unfortunately, this particular brand of diplomacy was of the "big stick" variety. It seems that while Pitch may regard that mission as complete, Wilreth--and thus, the Alerki Ascendency, does not. Many threats, warnings, and observations--both veiled and not--were exchanged before the pale half-elf told Pitch that he would "see them soon." Cryptic! Meanwhile, Kharlo, having both heard tale of his pirate sister's exploits on the Vast and dreamed of his brother's shopping mall galley, decided to see out rumors about each of them. Buying sailors drinks usually does the trick, and that worked here, too. He learned that Sekha and the Razorfin has been seen in Matahak, running conspicuously close to Kogo's Gauntlet. Garakh and The Seven Rows is doing brisk commerce, trading along the routes from Holapo to Luu. Perhaps bolstered by that intelligence, Kharlo sought out more information about the Stormtooths, those Selachii thought to be touched by Kogos himself. Kharlo's deceased sister, Tenkhi, was identified as a Stormtooth at a young age. To find out more, he headed to Burnt Books and to that irascible goblin Hammish. He got a book, On the Storm and Tooth by Astrim the Brave, for his trouble, along with a suggestion to seek out a grumpy Selachii hermit named Izzak, who earns a meager living in Spentbrine.A Devious Trap
These informational and leisurely activities were interrupted, however, by a frantic note from Maltina. Apparently, she found something super important and needed the help of the Blasters post-haste. It happened to be the morning of Harvest--a holiday in Awa Harbor that is both masquerade and party celebrating, well, the harvest--so the gang donned their very best costumes (with Pitch disguising themselves as a horrifying human skin doll) and headed to Foam's End, a tavern in The Bends, to meet Maltina. Of course, this turned out to be a trap. The Blasters were lured there for some ill-intentioned purpose and a literal army of miscreants and ne'er-do-wells descended on them. Complicating this was a pesky assassin who inflicted most of our heroes with a poison that caused them to see their greatest fears over and over again, incapacitating them with fright. Ultimately, our brave adventurers were beaten by these overwhelming odds and captured. They awoke, bloodied and confused, confined by giant tentacles, in some sort of prison.And That's Where We Left It
We'll see how the Blasters free themselves from this briny grasp during our next session.Various & Sundry Details
- Water decided to spent his downtime industriously, assisting Kharlo in both fishing for his precious Deepers and in their preparation. As a result, he became a competent cook, but is content to follow Kharlo's lead in all things culinary, for good or for ill.
- Irk, meanwhile, pondered what to do about various things in his life. He also spent some time with Pale Hook, endeavoring to forge more comprehensive communication with that mute tiefling and to learn the harpooning arts from him.
- The Half-Drunk Flagon, the vessel sponsored by Matahak and captained by Stikk Gloomtooth departed for Matahak when the Blasters left for Huckle. It should return to Awa Harbor any day now.
Rewards Granted
- Scheming Sails (in progress)
- Orla's "Seized Assets" (one per character)
Missions/Quests Completed
- Delivered the trove of scrolls to Marrowdall, and thus, to the Scriptorium for analysis
Character(s) interacted with
- Marrowdall Twinstar, point-of-contact for the Blaster's during Otuna's Favor and stand-up half-orc
- Orla, chief clerk of the Awa Harbor Customhouse and granter of "seized assets"
- Xobias "Discretion" Dappleheart, concierge and owner of the Filthy Horn
- Wilreth Elvalor, member of The Decree and acquaintance of "Envoy"
- Hammish, proprietor of Burnt Books
Notes
Wilreth Elvalor offers Captain Pitch an observation about his apartment in the Burning Fiddle:
“I enjoy these particular rooms for the view they offer of the waterfront. Here, have a look through my glass. Look to the edge of the harbor there. See the mooring where a buoy should be? A storm swept it away. It was there to warn sailors, to caution them so they didn’t wreck their vessels on the reef right under the surface. The buoy is gone. The reef is not. I think about that often."
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