Ports' Gambit Session 5
General Summary
The Fight Drags On...
Penguin, realizing that he had misplaced his party, asked some guards if they'd seen a motley crew consisting of a pair of half-elves, a dragongborn, a hobgoblin, and a kobold around. Not being able to mistake a grouping like that, the guard replied that they had been headed in the direction of the Fox & Cur tavern near the docks. Rounding the corner, the area was quieter than usual, likely because of the oncoming rain. Nevertheless, it was unusual that a tavern - especially one near some docks - would be this quiet. Seeing the sign just up ahead, a large, roughed up looking man burst out the door and immediately headed south toward the docks. He continued on towards the door where what he saw confounded him: a burning body, a terrified half-ogre cowering in the corner, Spruce Springstream strumming his guitar, a knocked out prostitute, an unconscious Torque laying next to the prostitute, and another large, gruff man running towards him. The large man came barreling through the doorway, knocking the small kenku to the ground. As the man scrambled past, Penguin just barely noticed that he had a small yellow and while striped shield with a blue pegasus strapped to his belt. Spruce, seeing the massive half-ogre beginning to panic in the corner and not wanting to further escalate an already volatile situation, cast mage hand. He directed the giant purple hand to clear the way and beckon the creature forward to safety. The half-ogre was not so dimwitted as to not recognize help, even in the form of a magical purple hand. He followed the spectral digits carefully past the flames, which were mostly out by this point, and then dashed for the door in an almost cartoonish fashion. He ran right over the poor kenku still on the ground giving him several bruises in the process, and then headed south towards the docks in a hurry.Clean Up on Aisle 5...
As Chupa Saltamontes attempted to pull Torque free, she struggled at the massive size difference between the two. For whatever reason, nobody was helping her. She grabbed a mug of warm beer nearby and tossed it on the sorcerer to bring him back, which, surprisingly, worked. The dragonborn sleepily opened his eyes and lapped up the beer on his face. Feeling somewhat humbled by what had just happened, he resigned himself to not be so confrontational in the future. Meanwhile, Xolos made his way past the downed the chairs and damaged tables to Ryia de Grey. He approached the woman and helped her up, using his charm to calm her down. She was very clearly flustered and in a bad mood given the night's events. Stepping into the picture, the bartender Derick Clemensen began yelling at the party, furious at the damage that they caused to his livelihood. He went on about it was bad enough that these goons from the South Wind Trading Company would come in to shake him down, but that the last thing he needed was for adventurers coming around to make more trouble for him. Spruce and Xolos both inquired about this Trade Company, asking what Derick meant by "shaking him down." The young bartender explained that they had come into town several years ago and ran out the local merchants guild, even going so far as to take over their lodge by the docks. Since then they had managed to take control over all the incoming and outgoing trade into the town, owned all the warehouses, and provided "protection" services for the local merchants. So much so that if merchants refused to pay up that they would get hurt.The Plot Thickens...
Seeing an apparent connection to their case, Spruce asked if they'd had any encounters with the recently murdered merchant. Derick said that they hadn't, but that they should ask her, pointing to Ryia, instead. Ryia became flustered, with a hint of fear growing in her eyes. Xolos turned on the charm and pushed on the issue, offering money in exchange for information. Just as Ryia was about to leave, she said to join her outside. Xolos followed, as did the rest of the party. Torque gave Derick six gold pieces from his pocket to help with the damages caused by their fight and then joined the rest of the party in the rain. Xolos said he would protect Ryia and make sure nothing happened to her. Feeling somewhat comforted by that, she began with a whisper. She described how her and the victim, Zachary, had hit it off the other night. After a few drinks, they headed out for more... intimate settings. As they were getting more acquainted with one another in a nearby alley, she heard something knock over a box. She got spooked, but Zachary assured her it was just a stray cat after checking out. In that instant a large black figure with horrifying red, glowing eyes dropped on him. She screamed and ran in terror. That was the last she saw of Zachary. She later heard that he had been skinned from his waist to his neck. The half-elf sorcerer asked her to take them to the site. Ryia refused, but Xolos offered more gold. The woman grudgingly accepted and led the deputized adventurers a few blocks over and pointed to an alleyway. Penguin and Chupa stepped into the narrow space and began to look around. The rain and the darkness made it that much more difficult to find anything, but somehow a sliver of moonlight just barely managed to illuminate a spot on the wall behind a rain barrel. Penguin struggled to move the barrel, but with some help, managed to shove it over just enough to see a small gear drawn in blood hidden behind the barrel. Penguin jotted down a description of the gear and Torque was able to recognize it. Torque was somewhat taken aback by it, but she identified as the symbol of The Brotherhood of the Machine, a cult dedicated to the destruction of magic and the promotion of scientific methods. They were supposed to have disbanded nearly 20 years ago, but perhaps they had never gone away or had reconstituted. Either way, the group was dangerous and required further investigation.To the Docks!
Finding themselves in the immediate area and being invigorated with this new information, the group decided to head down to the docks and investigate the site of another murder. Ryia was unable to assist as she was unfamiliar with the details of that particular killing, but pointed them in the general direction. The group departed and headed south. Within minutes they arrived at the docks, the sounds of waves lapping up against the stone echoed through the immediate area and were muffled by the sounds of rain. Chupa could just barely make out the sounds of three men in the distance on the docks talking and carousing. They decided to push forward and ask a few questions. The group approached cautiously and found three large, armed men standing there who then immediately got in their faces and told them to leave. Penguin noticed that they all wore the same yellow and white shield with blue pegasus symbol in various places, some on the belts, others on their chest. He looked one of them up and down and asked about it. The gruff man told him that it was emblem of the South Wind Trading Company. As the two groups talked, Chupa attempted to investigate some of the nearby crates but was caught by one of the guards who told her to mind her own business. She shied away and rejoined the group. Penguin continued asking about the Trading Company, inquiring about hiring practices. The guard told them to inquire with Medarin Clubs over at the group's headquarters, but informed them that he wasn't available currently. The party continued to press their luck with their questions, but the guards began to grow more and more hostile. Before long they were strongly suggesting that the party depart. Not wanting to pick another fight for the night, the group acquiesced and decided to seek shelter at The Sterling Beaver Inn on the other side of town.Rest at Last...
Passing into the edge of the nicer part of town, the group finally entered the Sterling Beaver Inn just as the rain began to come down heavily. The warmth struck them in a most sudden and welcome way. The bartender, an elf named Eahtadan Gwamiel, welcomed them to his establishment. It was late and there weren't many patrons sitting around. He inquired about their business and if they were looking for rooms. They each decided to get a room for the night and get some much needed rest. With another potential murder on the way and clues as to the killer's identity piling up, the group must decide how they are going to pursue justice...Rewards Granted
- 1 Inspiration Point for Torque for giving Derick Clemensen 6gp in damages for his tavern
- 1 Inspiration Point for Xolos for his interaction with Ryia de Grey and convincing her to tell the party what she knew
- 60xp per player for the encounter with the thugs at Fox & Cur
- 50xp for Spruce Springstream for his creative solution to rescue the panicking half-ogre at Fox & Cur
- 150xp per player for finding the hidden gear symbol and identifying The Brotherhood of the Machine
- 3sp per player in loot from the dead thug
- 1x Damaged Mace
- 1x Damaged Crossbow (no bolts)
- 2x Potions of Healing
Character(s) interacted with
- Derick Clemensen
- Ryia de Grey
- Eahtadan Gwamiel
Related Reports
Report Date
23 Feb 2022
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