Scene: Arrival By Air

The party arrives at Everward's airship port, built on a smaller island hovering just off of the main body of Usora. The party experiences their first aether-shield malfunction, a phenomena that occurs extremely rarely, if anyone in charge of maintaining the shields has anything to say about it. To fully experience this scene as intended, and to continue with the story with as much information as possible, the party needs to:

• Defeat or accept the surrender of the two 'procurers' waiting outside of the airship port.
• Learn about the disappearances of those studying or teaching at the Usorian Forge.
  • The Marshall will tell the party about the disappearances if they can succeed at the Persuasion check to do so.
  • If the party accepts the surrender of the procurers, one of the men will offer the details of his involvement with the disappearances in exchange for his life.
• Learn about the item stolen from Cororin during his absence from the city.

Plot points/Scenes

After an hour of being forced to wait on the airship while they did so, the artificers responsible for maintaining the aether-shields over the airship port finally manage to get the shields to stabilize in place. The captain glances at the sky continuously as he moves towards the portal gate leading from the dock to the main airship port, as if he expects the shields to drop on their own accord at any moment. He gestures towards the gathering clouds overhead with a noise of disgust, and addresses you after cursing the sky.
"You see for yerself now, why a place on my ship cost so much. The shields over Everward haven't been working right for days, and I don't want to be the one who finds out how long someone can stand being caught in one'a those storms."
The captain doesn't miss a step as he crosses through the portal; once you've followed him through to the other side, you can see where he makes his way towards a pile of large stones. The shape and layout of the ruins imply that it was once a statue, standing tall upon the cliff that its ruins now decorate. A large, intact face stares up at you from where the ground has swallowed just enough of it to keep the face securely where it is.
"Faring well, Lady Resilient?" The man laughs as if at his own private joke. "The storms 'aven't got you down, I see."

Just to the south of the gate that the party arrives through are the remains of a statue now known as Lady Resilient. The corner of a golden plaque suggests that this woman was once properly named, but such a title has been lost to time. The statue's intact face is what earned it its new name; many who visit or live in Everward find it to be just shy of a miracle that the statue has survived as long as it has, with the shields over the airship port lowering more frequently than anywhere else in the city.

The small island that is home to the airship port is carved into different elevations, due to the small mountain that rises to a peak in the southwest part of the island. The snow melting from the white-capped peaks feeds into a river so clear that it's difficult to believe the water is a product of nature and not magic. Corstones glitter from where they form on the side of the mountain, inert but beautiful as they reflect the sun from their many faces. The river runs until it reaches the edges of the island, and the water falls far past the point where the clouds beneath the island obscure your vision.
The captain clears his throat, hurrying you along towards the port building proper. A portion of the building - the portion that you're being led toward - is built on one elevation, while another portion of the building is built at a higher elevation. The vertical wall that separates one story of the building from another is made entirely of glass, which makes everything around you seem to glitter even more.
Above you, a streak of lightning flashes between one thin cloud and the next, and the reminder of the malfunctioning shield in the face of a pending aetherstorm causes you to hurry to follow the captain toward the airship port proper.

The lower lobby accessed from the north side of the island is reserved for arrivals, making this the first area that the party moves through as they make their way into the building. The space is airy and uncluttered, but is by no means sparsely decorated. There are two benches in the northern corners of the lobby, and waist-high planter-boxes in each corner of the space. Taking up the most space in the lobby is a crystal clear fountain, topped with a large, spinning globe at least six feet in diameter. It seems to be hovering above the fountain by magic; water pressure isn't keeping it in place, and nothing hangs from the ceiling to offer support.
The Departures lobby on the upper level of the building is roughly twice as large as the Arrivals lobby, and seems to cater to those who might have to wait longer. The benches around the space are softened with cushions, and the glass wall to the north is tinted to keep the sun from bothering anyone who might be sitting in a pool of light. Two small gardens have been placed, one at either end of the 'L' shaped lobby; magical birds and butterflies move through the gardens, making the space feel more open and comfortable. In the center of the space is another globe, only this one isn't constructed atop a fountain - in fact, this one doesn't seem to be constructed at all.

A cone-shaped pedestal, wider than it is tall, comes to its tallest point just a few inches off of the ground and spans several feet in diameter. In the clasp rests a beautiful Corstone, nearly as large as your hand and so clear that you can see several small designs etched into the Corstone itself. A light beneath the Corstone, incorporated into the pedestal on which it rests, pushes the images into the space above, creating a map of the world with no more than light and a carefully engraved Corstone. Nearby, two children laugh as they try to wave their hands through the projected images, and their parents watch on with soft smiles.

When the party decided that it's time to leave the airship port for the city proper, they'll immediately come upon two^[1] more men that stand at attention as the party draws near, going from bored to amused in an instant. The two men reach towards their waists as they insist that they need the party members to come with them immediately. A successful Insight check (DC 12) will alert the party to the fact that these men are lying about the need for the party to accompany them, but that they won't back down without a fight. Both of them will surrender after they've been reduced to half of their health or less. After the fight, the first of the men to have offered his surrender will tell the party what they want to know - as long as it's information that he has to give.

Regarding the reason for the attack "I-it wasn't anything personal," he insists, his voice shaking with anxiety and adrenaline. "These were just the orders we got this week - go to the airship port, identify anyone visiting the city and not returning to it, and bring them back to the Forge. Someone meets us in the courtyard of the Forge, and we hand who we have off to them. I don't know what happens after that - b-but the group assigned to the Forge might know more - I just know where to go to get my orders, and where to go when they're done."

Regarding where and when orders are received
"There's an ancient temple just on the outskirts of the Scrapyard. We - that is, me and a handful of the others who were hired - we go every Monodae morning to find our orders for the week waiting for us. I've never seen the person who puts the orders there - or anyone else in the temple at all, actually. You could try looking around, if you really want to, but I don't think you're going to find anything there until someone comes to drop off new orders - nearly a week from now, mind."

Regarding entering the Forge
"Well... I suppose I could take you to the Forge as intended. Otherwise... Well, otherwise, I guess you could just use the same passphrase we use to identify ourselves to whoever opens the doors to the Forge. The doors will be locked - when you knock on them, someone will tell you that the Forge isn't open for tours. Then you say, "But the journey was long, and we require rest", and they'll open the doors for you. I'd think twice about going, and go prepared for a fight if you must go at all. They won't like strangers knowing how to get into the Forge."

Regarding the malfunctioning shields
"I have no idea - nothing that I know about has anything to do with the shields at all. It isn't exactly great for the job, you know - no one coming to the city doesn't exactly leave us with a lot to do besides stand around and hope someone was brave and rich enough to afford an airship to the city." He pauses, and then shrugs. "Or maybe it's great for the job. I don't actually know why we're taking visitors to the Forge - I guess someone important enough for me not to know their name thinks there's something they can learn from people visiting the city. Your guess is as good as mine, there."

Rewards for this encounter^[2]: Daggers (x2), Traveler's Clothes (x2), 100 XP

At this point, the City Guard arrives on the scene, having been called for by a port attendant during the course of the fight. The Guard will arrest the men if they were left conscious, or arrange to handle the situation appropriately on the party's behalf, as thanks for their help and an apology that they were attacked in the first place. Among the City Guard is Marshall Beiers, captain of the City Guard.
Wearily, Beiers thanks the party for their help in dealing with the men, explaining that the City Guard has been looking for people like this group for the past few weeks, but that there always seems to be more of them running around than there are the City Guards to chase them. He also expresses that there are more important people to look for than a few thugs who can't seem to commit crimes successfully. At this point, the party will most likely ask the Marshall about his experience with people like the ones that the party just dealt with. The Marshall doesn't want to give the strangers the wrong impression of his city, but he is desperate for help, and getting him to talk about what's been happening in the city isn't too difficult (Persuasion, DC 12).

"We're investigating a missing person." After a sigh, the Marshall continues. "Several of them, in fact - somewhere just shy of one hundred, if you want the specifics. How in the world one hundred people disappear without a trace is completely beyond me - something that causes no small amount of distress. Every single person studying at the Forge disappeared overnight - the ones staying on site and the ones who came to the city every day. In the past three weeks, we haven't been able to find a single hair from their heads. Their disappearances are urgent enough, but the shields over the city aren't working like they're supposed to, as I'm sure you've already seen. With airship captains making less flights these days, the only Generators we have were at the Forge. If the shields come down and refuse to go back up, the storms are going to start eating away at the crystals until there's nothing left inside of them. We'd have a week to find them, in that case, and as optimistic as I'd like to consider myself, I don't think we're any likelier to find them in a week than we were in the past three."

Learning this information grants the party 25 XP.

As the party prepares to take their leave, a figure approaches the Marshall. The flared tips of his ears suggest elven blood, but the young man looks otherwise human. The Marshall holds up a hand to greet the man, who doesn't seem interested in engaging in pleasantries. A successful Insight check (DC 12) tells the party that the young man is preoccupied with something other than the fight that just occurred outside of the airship yard lobby, and seems particularly low on patience.

"Cororin?" The Marshall extends his hand, but the newcomer doesn't accept it. "Where have you been? Your father - "
"I need to report a theft," the young man interrupts.
"A-a theft?" The Marshall seems clearly surprised. "Cororin, have you been - "
"I've been home," Cororin interrupts again. "And I need to report a theft."

Neither the Marshall nor Cororin seem to mind that the party is listening to their conversation. After the young man describe a golden rod, with little else in the way of identifying features, the Marshall promises to have the Guard follow up on the report immediately. The party can attempt to read further into the situation (Insight, DC 12 if they manage to do so, they can tell that Cororin is slightly surprised at the urgency with which the Marshall seems to be handling a missing object, and the Marshall seems eager to keep Cororin from involving himself in the investigation. Cororin will thank the Marshall , and will move toward the portal gate that leads to Everward proper. If the party attempts to immediately follow Cororin, the Marshall will stop them, asking for a moment of their time before they rush off after Cororin.

"The boy's been through a lot," the Marshall begins to explain. "His mother fell ill recently, and it's been hard on him. The last I heard of him, he was thinking of going to the capital. I never did find out why - for someone who could help his mother, I guess - but I suppose he must have gone." The Marshall frowns and strokes his chin. "He acts as if he doesn't know anything about what's happened in Everward recently. I dare say he isn't even aware that everyone at the Forge disappeared - his father included."
The Marshall goes quiet for a moment, looking off in the direction of the gate leading to Everward. He shakes his head, and then returns his attention to the conversation.
"He's going to find out, and soon - there's not a person in this city that doesn't know what's been happening. I fear that the moment he does, he'll march straight to the Forge and befall the same fate as his fellow students. Please, for the boy's sake, and mine: could you try to keep an eye on him while you're in town? The boy's as stubborn as an ass and will take to investigating things himself the second he thinks I've forgotten about it. Normally I'd ask you to keep him out of trouble, but the best I think you could manage is to keep him distracted. I know this is a strange favor to ask of newcomers, but I'm afraid everyone in Everward is currently too worried about themselves and theirs to lend any sort of aid, the selfish bastards."

The Marshall offers to put the party up in a nearby inn and tavern known as The Gearheart Inn to thank them for their help, and informs them that Cororin is known to spend his nights with a tankard or two at the very same establishment. He expresses his hope that the party can reach Cororin before he drinks too much to make critical decisions, and thanks them once again for their assistance in dealing with the would-be-muggers that attacked them. After giving the party directions to the inn, the Marshall informs the party that he can be found at the Guard Hall, and bids them farewell.

Stat Blocks Used In This Scene

Procurer

Medium humanoid (any race, Any Non-lawful

Armor Class 12

Hit Points 27

Speed: 30 ft

STR

10
( +0 )

DEX

15
( +2 )

CON

10
( +0 )

INT

12
( +1 )

WIS

14
( +2 )

CHA

16
( +3 )

Skills Deception +5
Insight +4
  Investigation +5
  Perception +6
Persuasion +5
Sleight of Hand +4
  Stealth +4

Senses Passive Perception 16

Challenge Rating 1/4

Description

Procurers have been called by less favorable names in the past, such as 'thieves' or 'robbers' or 'bandits'. Having figured out how to market their skills, and whom to advertise them to, such people have now taken to calling themselves procurers, as if there is anything legitimate about what they do for a living.

Sneak Attack (1/Turn). The procurer deals an extra 6 (2d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the procurer that isn't incapacitated and the procurer doesn't have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Actions

Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage

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Balancing Encounters for a Party of 5

[1] Three procurers

[2] Rewards for this encounter: Crystal, Dagger (x3), Traveler's Clothes (x3), 200 XP

Plot type

Scene

What if my players don't want to fight?

When faced with the enemies outside of the airship port, your party may attempt to bribe them, but it's unlikely that the party will have enough gold to get the men to leave them alone at the start of the game (each enemy present wants 10 gp each). They may also attempt to talk the thugs down from the fight before it even starts. These are low-level grunts who barely know who and what they're fighting for, and aren't willing to die for their cause. Attempting to talk the men down from the fight requires passing an appropriate check against a DC 15.