Ports' Gambit Session 7
General Summary
Something Fishy
After learning about the tie between Sheriff Duskstone and The Brotherhood of the Machine from Alyce Dorgonn, the party had little more to do other than wait until darkness in hopes of catching their killer. Since it was midday, they headed down to the docks once again to investigate the murder near the fishery. The salt air and the scent of fish - both fresh and otherwise - danced on the breeze while the songs of gulls over Knightstone Bay serenaded them. As they approached the large warehouse-like structure, just past the warehouses proper and the South Wind Trading Company, they could see men and women coming and going, fishing nets in hand. People barely noticed them as they entered the wooden structure. The party looked around and was quite uncertain who to talk to first. Kregsmum approached the nearest fisherman, a tall blonde haired gentleman with a scruffy blonde beard by and asked if he knew the victim, another fisherman by the name of Nilius Coyle. The blonde fellow answered that he did, and he inquired if they were with the law. Kregsmum produced the signed document indicating the party's deputization and proceeded with some light questioning. The fisherman admitted to knowing Nilius, albeit not being close with him. The two would grab drinks from time to time at the pub, or would occasionally go carousing together. Kregsmum asked if he ever knew Nilius to dabble in magic, which the fisherman had never observed. She asked if he ever got into trouble and the fisherman admitted that one time Nilius had muttered some rude words under his breath at some Trading Company thugs that had come by to collect fees. Apparently they had heard him and took him outside to beat the hell out of him. The hobgoblin thanked the fisherman for his information and asked if there was anyone else that knew anything. The fisherman directed the party to the administration building and its owner, Jhazaal. Once again, Kregsmum thanked him for his cooperation and the lot of them headed around to the admin building. The heavy wooden door, swollen from the sea air, gave way with some effort. Sitting there in the dim light was an orange-furred Tabaxi, the first any of the group had seen in person. Their kind is rather rare in this part of the kingdom. She had a partially eaten fish in her hands and looked up from her desk as the group stood in the light. In a very friendly manner, she stood up and asked who they were and what they were looking for. The group introduced themselves and, once again, presented their documentation. The Tabaxi looked over the document, smiled, and offered up her fish out of politeness. Torque immediately accepted and began gnawing on the half-eaten fish. Jhazaal offered to take them to where the body of Nilius was found and brushed her tail under Chupa's chin as she slinked by and out the door. Jhazaal commented on what a horror and tragedy it was to find poor Nilius there that morning about a month ago. Nevertheless, she took them to the back of the fishery where a pile of lumber sat. Penguin and Kregsmum immediately began their search of the area. It wasn't long before Kregsmum turned up an odd looking, but smashed up piece of a redish mushroom with yellow speckles on it. As a barbarian, having lived in the wilds for most of her life, she recognized this immediately. She knew it was a piece of the trumpet toadstool mushroom, which is very rare and only grows in the Sanguine Abyss. With the group about to leave, Penguin asked Chupa for a favor: ask Jhazaal for a fish. Chupa went up to the relatively towering and asked for a fish. She even did a little dance! Impressed with her entertaining ability, Jhazaal went into the fishery and came back with a fish for her. With several hours left in the day, the group decided to head up to the Hastlet Woods to gather the components for Qi'faren Elesh's request.They're Just Herbs
The forest was a little bit more than 5km to the west, following the road. Along the way, the group passed the now deserted Ullamir Farm, but didn't bother to investigate. Instead they continued along the route to the forest ahead of them. Soon after, they were entering the forest looking for the plants that Qi'faren Elesh sent them to collect. It wasn't long before they came across several fallen logs with a dead parasitic plant growing on it. Kregsmum recognized it as Ceppeo Bud, one of the plants that Elesh had sent them to retrieve. Looking up, they could see some still living on the attached tree branch. Unfortunately, it was about 20 feet up in the air. Kregsmum and Chupa immediately dashed up the tree, making it about 15 feet up. At the same time, Xolos, Spruce Springstream, and Torque all cast mage hand to attempt to retrieve it. The three oversized ethereal hands shot upwards, knocking eachother out of the way before finally reaching the branch. Unfortunately, the momentum from the traveling mage hands knocked the already damaged branch off the tree. It fell towards Chupa and Kregsmum as they stared at it. Chupa managed to scramble to the other side of the tree, but the barbarian failed to move fast enough. It hit her thigh, causing a mighty bruise but little more. The group collected their prize, and continued on through the forest. Fortunately for the group, Kregsmum had a keen eye for herbs that day. Within 15 minutes she had identified Forest Angelica, a small green and yellow plant growing in small batches. And then soon afterward, she spotted the Thorn Sorrel with its short and thin thorns. All that was left for the group were the two wolf gall bladders.My, What Big Teeth You Have
The group searched for a few minutes and they were soon able to find a set of tracks badly washed out by the recent storms. They headed east and after some searching, they came to a cave entrance. As they snuck into the area, they spotted a lone grey wolf sitting out front. Fortunately for the party, the wind was blowing in their direction, carrying their scent away from the wolf. Torque was struck with inspiration. He would approach the beast with the fish he was still gnawing on and lure it closer. He took out the desiccated remains and hurled it at the wolf who turned his head in curiosity. Seeing the new creatures at his cave, the wolf approached cautiously. Torque made an attempt to ease the wolf's caution, only to be met with an angry growl. A moment later, a second wolf exited the cave mouth and circled around the befuddled wizard. The two wolves approached almost in unison as they prepared to attack. They pounced! In the same instant, Torque unleashed a Sleep spell which instantly downed one of the attacking wolves. Penguin reacted with surprising quickness and hurled a mote of flame at the second wolf which caused it catch fire. It let out a yelp of misery which was silenced soon after when Torque finished it off with his dagger. The first wolf remained asleep. Not for long, though, as Spruce came over and drove his sword through it's sleeping skull. All that remained was to harvest the creatures' gall bladders and return them to the wizard. Penguin made the first incision. He deftly cut past the burned flesh and fur and removed the gall bladder with surgical precision. Kregsmum, on the other hand, drove her handaxe into the wolf haphazardly. She shoved her hand into the wolf's innards and pulled out a mashed up fistful of gore. What was probably the gall bladder dissolved in her fist as it squeezed out from between her fingers. It would seem that the group would not be returning triumphant after all.In the Arms of an Angel...
A small, gentle yipping could be heard coming from the mouth of the cave as a wolf pup, no bigger than a large housecat, came out. His oversized paws nearly caused the poor thing to trip over himself. Most of the party let out an audible "oh come on!" as the implications of Kregsmum's failure became abundantly clear. The proceeded to debate their course of action for the next few minutes. They discussed how maybe failing to return all the items wouldn't be so bad. Or maybe they could find more wolves elsewhere in the forest. Eventually, they all acknowledged what had to be done. The little wolf pup must die. Penguin appeared to be enthused by this prospect and was eager to get it over with. Spruce cast Vicious Mockery at the poor thing, but it failed to do much damage. Instead, it curled its little tail between its legs and ran back into the cave, yelping all the way. Spruce and Torque followed. The dragonborn sorcerer drew his dagger. The puppy was trying to hide behind a pile of bones. Torque wanted nothing to do with the whole endeavor, but did his duty anyway. He closed his eyes swung for the fences. The puppy could be heard yelping and whimpering as Torque slashed at him wildly. Finally the whelping stopped. Torque stopped swinging his blade. The cave fell silent. Penguin stepped in and extracted the gall bladder without a problem, remarking at its small size. Spruce searched the area briefly and uncovered a lute under the bones. The group headed back to Castleport largely in silence and headed back to the Plane Walker Magic Shop to turn the quest in. As they entered the eclectic shop, the elven wizard Qi'faren Elesh turned around and smiled at the group...Rewards Granted
- 16xp per player for killing the two wolves
- Mysterious lute for Spruce Springstream
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Report Date
08 Apr 2022
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