DM-Camris' SECOND DARKNESS Part 1 and 2: Children of the Void (Inactive)

Game Master Camris

Saul looks alarmed.
"What? That shipment is important! The snob appeal is in the latest fashion, and the Overlord himself is crazy for it. Hm. Part of it is to bribe him you know."
He glances at Maelorn.
"It's nothing anyone needs to die over, but I hope that a show of force by my partners can avert any problems. Take as many of the bouncers as you need."

"Preventing a robbery is something I can get behind. A show of force if needed...or perhaps just a show."

Maelorn drums his fingers for a bit, "Bron, do you think they plan on waiting until the Foamrunner is at dock? If so, perhaps we can make the area a bit too public for the attempt."

Nakoda was there, watching the exchange, and raised an eyebrow at the exchange between Saul and Maelorn. She was interested in what Maelorn had planned, since the way things had been going would more likely make the loss of life a distinct possibility. Still, she did sit up straighter, and pay more attention to the meeting-- something new, since she was usually content to simply sit and listen when it came to input.

It had taken a week or so, but she had finally gotten around to wearing something other than that chain shirt that she had, once she realized that the solution to the reason why she had been sent here was not going to be something easily found. The Shoanti enclave was good for providing clothing that she found acceptable, at prices that were acceptable. The first time she had gone into a store to get clothing, the attitude of the storekeeper almost cost him teeth. That working here at the Gold Goblin kept her in more money than she intended to ever collect in her life was an incidental plus, but she would much rather take a trip out of the city once or twice. Perhaps a tour of the city was something that she could take.

"Will we find these thieves before?"

"I think it'd be better ta face them at the ship. I ain't too wise on the workings of tha local crimelords, but even I know that Zincher isn't one ta take an attack lying down. If we just defend our shipment though, maybe nothing too bad 'll come of it. That, and stopping a robbery might make the captain o' the Foamrunner appreciative," Bron says in response to Nakoda's idea. "As fer the ship, I softened up a few blokes that work down on the docks with a drink or to, and they told me that the ship will be getting in around the evening, more 'n likely, if they do attack the ship, it'll be well after dark, when no one is around."

"Well then, if the Goblin can spare a couple of barrels of beer, some bread and stew, then I say we take them down to the docks along with a few bouncers and staff, and throw a block party courtesy of the the Gold Goblin."

"We can fill the docks with light and people, meet the Foamrunner as she births, and transport the Goblin's goods up in shifts. We can also warn the captain of the plot to steal his goods, and even provide extra security if he feels he needs it."

"If all goes well, we will have done the people near the docks a good turn, prevented the theft without confrontation, and perhaps helped people think of us as more than just another set of Enforcers."

Saul looks blank. "A block party." Then he nods and says; "Sounds good. Just get it done."

Are you all agreed that this is the plan?

Joe grins happily as he hears Maelorn's plan.

"Sounds great to me. And I'll go ahead and selflessly volunteer myself to be the one to sacrifice for the sake of realism. I'll actually drink a lot so everyone thinks we're legit."

His eyes alight at the mention of a drinking party, Bron enthusiastically says, "Well then, we better get going. I can stop by the Publican House and see if me friend there is willing ta give a blessing or two, fer the sake o' realism, I'm sure he'll be willing ta help once he hears that it'll save alcohol from getting misplaced. How we gonna spread tha word though?"

Your plan unfolds the next day.

Around midday, you travel to the docks and start setting up a few tables on Pier 7, where The Foamrunner is scheduled to dock in a few hours. The Publican House, as arranged, carts up several boxes of those collapsible leather flagons. Should be enough for everyone.

Then several wagons roll up and start unloading barrel after barrel of beer.
The dockworkers and sailors start to take notice. Many knock off work early to come around and ask questions. On being informed that it was a dock party, they eagerly start sampling the beer, which turns out to be a fine if unspectacular Varisian Ale.

You are a little startled at being delivered over seventy of the 50 gallon barrels full of beer. Saul’s gonna have a heart attack when he gets the bill for this.

You think that’s way too much beer, until an hour later you have more than a thousand sailors and dockworkers crowded around trying to drink each other under the table. Needless to say, it’s a rough crowd to begin with, with no children and few women. Adding alcohol isn’t improving discipline any and with the ordinary bumps turning into pushing and shoving, it looks like you have the beginnings of a riot on your hands.
How are you handling crowd control?

Not one for hatching out plans, Bron lets Maelorn or Joseph organize the bouncers from the Gold Goblin while he simply does what he can to keep people in line. Patrolling the large crowd, he will interject when he is able to, letting people know that if they can't behave themselves that he would either hand them over to the gendarmes or see how they like a dip in the not so clean waters of the bay.

Intimidate:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

Maelorn's plan is to dilute the rough crowd *before* it gets to that point, by explicitly getting families involved. As soon as the docks begin to fill up, Maelorn will step away for a while, canvassing the adjacent neighborhoods and inviting families to join in the impromptu celebration.

He'll also encourage local food vendors to set up tables and sell their wares...the addition of food into the mix should make for less rampantly drunk partygoers.

Finally, Maelorn will circulate through the crowd, using diplomacy to defuse situations as they occur.

Realizing the truth to his warning to Samaritha, Zane prepares Color Spray multiple times that morning. He watches the rowdy crowd, his mind ready to complete the process of summoning the disorienting chaos energy should it be needed to control the potential riot.

Nakoda has much the same idea as Bron, since the party was nothing that she was not used to by now, and instead spent the majority of her time going through the crowd, either talking down or cowing the more rowdy members. She does make the vendors that move their carts nearer feel welcome, however. As well as making the vendors feel welcome, she makes it a point to welcome any of the city guard also. She does stand out-- when she can be seen-- in that she is still wearing Shoanti fashion over that of the common dress of the city.

Intimidate1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16, Diplomacy1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

Maelorn, having scouted the Wharf district, realized that his original idea of a family style neighborhood party just wasn’t going to work. The whole district was nothing but a series of warehouses, cheap grog ships and flophouses where merchant and pirate crews mingle in a haze of rum-soaked debauchery and blood.
So… He called in a favor.

Just as the crowds feeling was coming to an ugly peak, despite the energetic efforts of the Gold Goblin crew; you see some motion off to the side, and the crowd of mostly men falls silent as a line of women thread through the crowd. Fairly young and good looking. And friendly too.

They all come up to greet Maelorn with a kiss or embrace and take over the disbursement of the beer. And the crowd becomes a very different thing; a little less rowdy, certainly a lot friendlier. More street vendors who would ordinarily never come within a mile of such a crowd seem to appear by magic, and the party gained a more carnival atmosphere.

At the same time, Joe is having a few drinks, and circulating through the crowd, looking for and touching base with anyone he knows to find out what they know, and keeping an eye out for any local players, and/or anyone up to no good.

diplomacy 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
sense motive 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
knowledge local 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

these rolls are all for the crowd, i'm making no attempt to do anything but just chat with Lil. also guys, as an aside, my wedding is only a week away now, and while i'll still be reading from my phone, my posting will be prolly almost nonexistent for about two weeks. dm camris feel free to do whatever you like with my character while i'm mostly incommunicado.

Just as the party gets stabilized, you realize suddenly that the ship coming in to dock is the Foamrunner!

But... it's only late afternoon; more than three hours before it's due to arrive. Very puzzling.

You can see the Captain's eyes bugging out as she comes in, and the crew is so distracted that she jolts the dock under your feet as she makes contact a little more forcefully than intended. Fortunately, there are plenty of hands to help fend off and tie off. The crew immediately jumps ashore to grab a mug while the Captain shouts unheard over the tumult.

About this time, you see a big sargent of milita shove his way through the crowd to the beer table. He's got about a dozen troopers with him.
"Alright! Who's in charge here? Break up this illegal assembly immediately!"

Perception1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16, K.(Local)1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Nakoda looked up with surprise at the ship coming in, but is more surprised by the manner in which they dock, thinking a captain (or crew) would have more care for the thing that kept them out of the danger of the deep, deep ocean. The small-talk that she was getting by with was only a few words here and there, relying more on glares and growls to keep the more.. "enthusiastic" of attendees focused more on their drinks. The women that had arrived were more focused on the men though she did share words of greeting with the ones that had arrived. Still, things were better than she would have expected. She definitely had not thought a party to keep the beer safe was the best way of doing things, but she did have to admit that it was working.

She could barely see the sergeant make his way through the crowd, though the people he moved in his wake was more noticeable, and his voice certainly. Since it seemed to be coming from near the beer table, she made her way through the crowd, closer to the table. Nakoda had no idea who he was, and was more concerned that he was going to start trouble. They still did not know who it was that was supposed to attempt to cause trouble, and this person may have been one of them, as far as she knew. So she did not speak once she was close enough to see the table, and watched him to see what his actions were going to be.

Even with their efforts, things were starting to get out of hand, until he noticed that Maelorn had vanished, replaced with beautiful women. This was turning out to be a GREAT party. However, knowing he was still on the job, he didn't drink too much. As such, he was sober enough to notice the Foamrunner AND the fact that is was several hours early.

At the arrival of the militia men and the Sergent's announcement, Bron stands, looking like the tough he was, letting someone gifted with words to do the talking.

Perception:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Maelorn narrows eyes at the ox cart, Either they expect many prisoners, or they plan on confiscating supposed 'contraband'.

Sighing, Maelorn straightens his shoulders and quietly directs one of the bouncers to speak to Foamrunner's captain about unloading Saul's goods, right now. Then he approaches the guardsman.

"I am responsible for this gathering." He cups his holy symbol in his hand, "Torag smiles when we make things," he raps his breastplate, "but Riddleport is a place of many faces, so today I Made a party. With much help, of course."

"Riddleport is a place of few laws, much as that saddens me. Is there a law against celebration?"

Considering the ox wagon, and the belligerence, Maelorn doubts he can change the man's mind about the celebration, but he'd like to make sure that if he actually intends on stopping the party that it be done in a reasonably peaceful manner. Barring that, he's hoping to delay the man long enough for unloading operations to get in gear before things hit the fan.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

After a long moment, the sergeant grins broadly. Apparently taking you up on your offer, he grabs up a tankard, gulps it down and thows it into the water. You see his men nod, relieved, and start to swing a gangway up to the ship.

“Nice party!” The sergeant shouts loudly and belches. The he turns and kicks the heavy laden drinks table over. It comes crashing down on a few of the girls feet who weren’t fast enough to dodge it; you hear them scream as they are injured.

Craft (Armor): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Maelorn first floods the area with positive energy, then looks the sergeant in the eye, "This woman, whom you have harmed, is my mother, and many of the others are known to me as friends. Look about you sergeant, read the crowd. You're making a very ugly mess of the situation...and you've not made me inclined to bail you out."

He nods the bouncers towards the gangplank, "You want the assembly ended, fine. That is your right. Now, I can assist you in winding things down in an orderly fashion, or you can take responsibility for inciting a riot. Which will it be?"

Positive Burst heals 1d6 ⇒ 1HP

Zane watches the Seargent's posturing with detached amusement, up to the point of his kicking over the table.

He looks at the crowd for a reaction, slipping into a spot a few feet from the guards.

Sense motive 1d20 ⇒ 8

Standing by Maelorn, Bron simply stands with arms crossed, as he waited for the sergeant to do something that he could respond to. He could care less if this was a member of the gendarmes, no one picks on those weaker than them while Bron was around. Eyes and ears alert, he quickly glances all around him and also keeps an eye on how the unloading was going.

Perception:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Perception1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17, Sense Motive1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Nakoda, who had moved over to stand near the table had jumped out of the way when the table was tipped, shook her head quietly at the display the sergeant was giving. Her height being a point of difficulty for her, she hopped up on the heavy table's edge and stood, with one foot on the leg so she was not at so much of a disadvantage to see. She did smile softly at Maelorn offering to keep the sergeant's hide safe despite everything he had done. She did spot Zane and Bron as well, returning her attention to the sergeant, waiting to see what would transpire.

"You want the assembly ended, fine. That is your right. Now, I can assist you in winding things down in an orderly fashion, or you can take responsibility for inciting a riot. Which will it be?"

The sergeant stares into Maelorns face for a long moment, intimidating for all he is worth. But when Maelorn stands unmoved, he steps back scowling.

The sergeant finally snaps back; “Fine! Just get them moving!” He turns to his minions. “And you! Get back to work! ON THE DOUBLE!” The soldiers snap out of it and run the plank back up smartly, then board the Waverunner. Some uncover the cargo grate to access the hold, and others disappear below decks. Almost like they knew exactly what they wanted.

Perception 1: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Perception 2: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Perception 3: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Ouch...stinky rolls for the most part

Have the bouncers started unloading yet?

Hopping up onto a crate, Maelorn cups his hands,
"All right, everyone. Looks like the party is over. We've had our fun, let's close this out like civilized people, so that we can get real permission to do it again, with whatever permits are needed. You've had good food and fun, let's end this on a good note."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Maelorn will spend his attention on crowd control, trusting the others to make sure the guards don't walk off with the Goblin's cargo.

The assembled partygoers loudly groan and shout against it, but they reluctantly start to break up and shuffle off.

Meanwhile a commotion seems to be taking place on the Waverunner as the militia boys and the Goblin bouncers face off on deck, gripping their weapons as they seem to be exchanging hostile words.

The sargeant is suddenly distracted from Thunder-Klar's anxious dog by the dispute starting on the deck between the militia and the bouncers.
Rounding on Maelorn, he grabs his sword and shouts; "You..."

But he is interrupted by a huge crash as the dock vibrates under your feet. Everyone looks out to sea, where a wave twenty feet high rolls in off the ocean and into the harbor. When it hit the the protective arms of the bay, water explodes into the air up to fift feet high. Fortunately, as it enters the bay it spreads out a little and shrinks to about eight feet high as it rolls toward the boardwalk. The bad news is you and about a hundred people are standing on a dock about 3-4 feet off the water.

What are you all doing?
Everyone declare your actions for the next three rounds.

Round 1:
Nakoda finally turned her head to see Cindersteel and then followed his line of sight to see the wave hit the breaker arms of the bay. Worried, she raised her voice to the crowd. "A Wave comes! Off of the boardwalk!" She really did not see any other way to try to move that many people, sadly.
Intimidate1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Round 2:
With the press of people moving, she tried her best to get away from where the wave would hit, but she knew better than to think that she would get away from it entirely. Preparing for the worst, she began the summoning chant, keeping the thought of water and swimming in her mind as the spell completed. "Help any who fall in!", she shouted as the creature appeared.
Using Summon Monster I to summon a Celestial Dolphin into the water to help those that fall in. (duration: 2rnds)

Round 3:
Fully expecting to get hit by the wave and swept into the ocean most likely, she began casting again, to make sure that what help could be there was in the water for the inevitable splash. If she hit the water, she was expecting to sink, not really knowing how to swim besides the general idea, but tried her best to complete the spell again.
Using Summon Monster I again, to summon another Celestial Dolphin, this one to get her back to the surface before assisting the other one. (duration: 2rnds)

Me or them. No choice, really.

Calling out "Everyone off the Pier, Now.Back up, stay calm, but move", Maelorn strides into the crowd and begins casting.

"Maker, help us keep strong in the face of fear"

Round 1 - Full move into the crowd, calling out as noted. At the end of movement, he'll cast Bless on everyone within 60'. Maelorn could care less about the +1 to hit, but wants to infuse everyone with the +1 Morale Bonus against fear in order to help keep the crowd from panicking.

Round 2 - Double move to another part of the pier, specifically so he can target those he missed the first time around...if he can undo the straps of his breastplate and drop it to the pier as part of that movement, he will.

Round 3 - Cast Bless as above, and grab on to the nearest non-mobile item (pier stanchion, etc.), bracing for the wave.

Round 1
Zane eyes widen as his brilliant mind races, calculating the possibilities and details. As Nakoda shouts warning he guestures prestidigitation a ring of glowing fairy-like creatures surrounding her, drawing the eyes of the crowd before zipping off away from the pier hopefully to lead the crowd. He quickly straps his cane across his back, secured under his coat, preparing to move.

Round 2
His hands flicker, moth moving quickly to complete a spell that boosts his physical speed, body immediately going into motion dashing to the front of the crowd after the magical effects. casts expeditious retreat, move 60' away from the pier

"Move! Get as far from the water as possible."

Round 3
He dashes forth seeking the mooring equipment, ropes or anything else that can help those unable to get far enough from the water before it hits.

double move 120'from the water, keeping eye out for above mentioned items

…Three…

Having passed through the mouth of the bay, the wall of water sweeps towards the city, rolling boats and ships as it comes.
Most of the people gathered for the party just stand there watching it come towards them, mouths agape.

Nakoda finally turned her head to see what Cindersteel was going on about, and then followed his line of sight to see the wave hit the breaker arms of the bay.
Worried, she raised her voice to the crowd.
"A Wave comes! Off of the boardwalk!" She snapped at the crowd, trying to start them moving. She sees some nearest to her start to move off towards the boardwalk.

Also realizing the danger, Maelorn calls out "Everyone off the Pier, Now. Back up, stay calm, but move", Maelorn strides into the crowd and begins casting.
"Maker, help us keep strong in the face of fear" He intones as his Bless settles on everyone within 60'.

Zane eyes widen at the sight of the wave; his mind races, calculating the possibilities and details.
As Nakoda shouts a warning he guestures a Prestidigitation. And a ring of glowing fairy-like creatures surrounds her, drawing the eyes of the crowd before zipping off away from the pier hopefully to lead the crowd. He quickly straps his cane across his back, secured under his coat, preparing to move.

…Two…

The wave rolls inexorable closer…

The crowd abruptly panics, screaming and shouting and struggling to move up the pier towards the boardwalk. Not a few fall off the pier as they try to struggle through the crowd.

Nakoda
With the press of people now moving, Nakoda tried her best to get away from where the wave would hit, but she knew better than to think that she would get away from it entirely.
Preparing for the worst, she began the summoning chant, keeping the thought of water and swimming in her mind as the spell completed.
"Help any who fall in!” she shouted as the Celestial Dolphin appeared, and it promptly shoots towards the swimmers; towing them to available ladders up to the boardwalk.

Maelorn
Maelorn tries to move towards the boardwalk where he could cast another Blessing to aid the crowd, but cannot make his way through the bottleneck. Realizing the liability of his breastplate, and seeing that normally it takes a minute to doff it, he stops and simply cuts the straps (taking 2 points of damage in his haste).

Zane
Zane takes a moment to cast Expeditious Retreat and immediately tries to get to the front of the crowd, but again is stymied by the crush of people.
He shouts "Move! Get as far from the water as possible."

You see a number of the sailors, also blocked from retreating to the boardwalk, abruptly turn back and up the gangplank to the Waverider. When one of the sailors knocks a girl from the Silken Veil into the water in his haste, Madame Shorafa expertly trips him over the side as well.

…One…

The crowd finally breaks out of the head of the pier and streams away from the boardwalk, but you can tell they’ll be overtaken by the wave. You also see a couple dozen or so sailors run up the gangplank or climb the mooring lines to get aboard the Waverunner.

Fully expecting to get hit by the wave (and not really knowing how to swim) Nakoda again Summons a Celestial Dolphin, timing it to come when the wave hits. This one to get her back to the surface before assisting the other one.

Maelorn casts Bless on everyone in range who he can, then grabs on to a nearby piling, bracing for the wave.

Zane dashes forth, finally breaking through the crowd. Seeking the mooring equipment, ropes or anything else that can help those unable to get far enough from the water before it hits, he finds plenty of such things for those with the presence of mind to take them.

But for most of them, it’s too late.

Looking shocked as people seem to scatter and run about, Bron isn't able to make sense of the screams. Then, hearing Nakoda's voice through the cacaphony of sound, Bron turns towards the bay. Seeing the giant wave lunging over the pier, Bron just has moments to lunge for one of the supports of the pier, latching on just before the wave smashes into him. Cailean save those poor souls of little strength caught in this wave, the large man thinks as he relys on his own strength to protect him form the ferocity of the wave.

Sorry for the lack of posting. Things have been hectic as I will soon be starting an intensive language program that will last for the next two months. I have been busy with moving and getting things organized for the start of classes. If it is ok with you, I will act as if Bron has only one round of action, as he spent the other 2 simply trying to figure out what was going on.

With a soft roar, the breaking wave hits the end of the pier and rolls up its length without even noticing the obstruction. First Bron, then Maelorn, relatively safe in the shadow of multiple logs bound with cable, feel the pilings shudder under the wave’s power as they are inundated with seawater.

Captain Fizgabon has the presence of mind to hew the aft mooring line, and the wave lifted the aft end of the Foamrunner almost vertical before the fore mooring line snapped and the ship was carried away.
As the wave hit the sea wall, more than a million tons of water makes the ground shake under your feet as it surges up and over it. The water charges across the boardwalk, crushing the front walls of the warehouses directly abutting as it charges up Xander Street.

As Nakoda finishes Summoning a Celestial Dolphin, the wave picks both of them up and washes them along with the people trying to flee ahead of it. It feels like a washing machine as they are tumbled about along with all the debris picked up along the way. Zane is the only one of the crowd who can run ahead of the flood without being swallowed up.
Nakoda, make a Swim check DC15 or take 1d6 ⇒ 2 points crush damage.

After several long seconds, the onrushing tide of water slows around Bron and Maelorn. Nakoda can feel the water become shallow, until as the water slows she can simply stand up on the cobblestones.
All around her there are people in the water. Some stagger groggily upright, some moan and feebly move their arms (clearly injured), and many lie limply facedown.

Down on the pier, the water slackens enough that Bron and Maelorns heads are now up out of the water. They can see the Foamrunner gently settle into the remnants of a warehouse, her passengers now silent after screaming their heads off on the way there.

Then…

The water started drawing back.

Those able to grab onto an anchor and hold on do so, but the rest of the victims are inexorably drawn back towards the bay.
There is plenty of rope in the flotsam if any heroic types want to throw a rope to some victims. To stand against the retreating water while throwing a rope to a victim requires an Acrobatics check DC15. To swim out to a victim and tow him/her to safety requires a Swim check DC15.

Maelorn looks on helplessly, knowing he does not have the skills to assist.

Swim1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18

Swimming was something that she had not really ever done, and it was not something that she could quite figure out how to do in the moment, either. Instead, despite being nearly disoriented by the wave, she just tried to keep her head above water, actually helped by the pulling of her armor. So she just struggled against the pull of the water in the opposite direction of her armor whenever she could. Once she was able, she got her feet under her and tried to stand as best she could, still slightly dizzy.

Zane skids to a halt looking around him at the wave's aftermath. He was glad he'd anticipated danger and hadn't invited Samaritha to their impromptu festival. At the same time there was a feeling of guilt that all those endangered were as a result of their dealings.

Somehow, the blot had something to do with this.

The flood running off the streets slackens to the point where you can walk without effort now.

You are surrounded by devastation. Bodies are everywhere. Half of the warehouses you can see are either caved in or have ships sitting beached on top of them. Several large reefclaws stagger about disoriented from being washed ashore, mindlessly clawing at anything within reach.

It is a scene from Hell. Despair threatens to overwhelm you.

But you see people feebly trying to swim, and you hear calls for help. And ultimately, reacting as the heroes you are, you respond to the call.

It is the task of hours to rescue people from being dragged out to sea, to throw ropes to the drowning, to render first aid, to subdue or chase off random predators...
You work alone at first, but more and more people come to help. Shopkeepers, thugs, Gentlemen of the Watch, "Hostesses", vagrants, priests, they all came to help their fellow citizens. Bouncers sent from the Golden Goblin came to help. Even that Sargeant who tried to bully Maelorn was there.

The sun was long down by the time you have done all you can.
Soaked and exhausted you return to the Golden Goblin and a dreamless sleep.

The next day, you realize that you haven't seen Joseph or Thunder-Klar since the wave hit. Any thoughts or plans?

Morning came, and for once Nakoda was inclined to let it pass with nary a care. The sounds of the casino were what drove her up, sighing with the resignation of someone who knew what had to be done, despite the closed-in feel of the city making her itch. Duty was duty, however.

Once she cleaned up and dressed for the day, starting to eschew her armor more and more in favor of the Shoanti fashions she was finding at the enclave, she was aware that she was in all likelihood part of the draw to the Gold Goblin, but it was something she paid no attention to. Another day, another chance to ask around and see what any knew of the shadow that was causing these events, even affecting her magic.. There were books and scrolls that she was going to have to find, maybe.

First though; Breakfast.

Zane awakens, going through his usual morning ritual of mental and arcane preparation. After a quick breakfast he heads immediately to the Ciphermage libraries, intent on confirmimg his theory.

Maelorn will first visit the Calistrian temple, and see who survived and who is still missing, including his mother. He'll then spend the rest of the day down by the shores, looking for bodies that may have washed ashore (presumably including Thunder-Klar and Joseph).

Maelorn travelled down to the House of the Silken Veil, where he found his mother shaken but well.
"The mistress, she kept the girls together and got us all aboard that ship in time, except for poor Dorae. That sailor just shoved her off the gangplank! And when are you going to marry that girl Lil? She was so worried about you..."

Mistress Shorafa Pamodae, proprietor of the House (and High Priestess of Calisria), greets Maelorn warmly.
While chatting about cooperating in the cleanup and succoring the injured she said; "Oh by the way, very well done! My congratulations to Saul. I could not have done it better myself."

Maleorn looks a bit confused at Mistriss Pamodae's words, "Did I miss something? Saul wasn't particularly involved in the goings on at the dock...did someone get stung?"

Madame Pamodae arched one perfect eyebrow.
"Didn't you know? When Saul sent half his people to help with the disaster, he had some of the bouncers unload his Chelaxian Liqouer from the Foamrunner before Boss Zinchers boys could get to it."

She gives a wicked smile.

"And Zincher has made some very tall promises to get such exotic Liqouer for the Overlord. To fail will make him... upset, to say the least."

"Ah. Perhaps a bit disappointing, but not unexpected. Saul had legal right to the liquor, and while I might prefer he had different priorities, I cannot truly fault him for doing so."

"Madame, I must take my leave. There is still chaos at the docks, and who knows?...perhaps a survivor or two will wash ashore. Good day and Good commerce to you."

Bowing deeply, Maelorn heads down to the shore.