After searching the tavern, no further threats - or hidden caches of goodies - are found.
The victims gasp gratefully when released, and Kafar expresses his profound thanks, his expression only souring very slightly when he discovers that it is the pathfinders that rescued him.
After the sounds of violence die down, your young guide, Nefti, bursts into the inn, rushing over to his master, Kafar, babbling gratitude that he is safe.
A fat, well-dressed man identifies himself as the auctioneer, running the event that the villians raided. "They've taken several victims from the inn and took them to a ship called the Prancing Prince that’s moored on a dock on the other side of the shipyard! Not too long ago!"
He goes on: The auctioneer reveals that he heard one of the cultists saying, “Once Ismacco arrives, we’ll make a lot of money for the cause by selling these slaves into the Chelaxian market.” The auctioneer is certain he saw a Pathfinder with them, as one of the guards had his wayfinder. “Your Pathfinder friend was guarded by some half-orcs—big, burly brutes. We don’t usually see their kind ’round here. Not sure where they were from, but they sure smelled bad—like they were stomping through the sewers before they came here.”
One of the other released prisoners, a mid-level functionary with the Taldan Navy, is able to provide you a dock number and directions to reach the Prancing Prince.
Kafar, Nefti, and the other prisoners say that they will make for the Pathfinder Lodge first, then make their report to the Cassomriri authorities.
Thought, comments, questions, or plans before heading off the Prancing Prince before it can get underway?
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Do any of the folks here know who Ismacco is? If not can anyone Knowledge Local it?
Do I recall correctly that there are boats tied to this dock that could be liberated from their captivity?
How many others (guards or otherwise) did these folks see?
Would Kafar or Nefti know about likely areas of the sewers used by the underworld smugglers, thieves etc? Any likely spots to check f we don't find what we need on the ship?
What's the slave trade like here? Is it open? Are Chelaxian's a common sight at least as far as buyers go?
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Laconic Okotta simply says 'Slavery is wrong', cracks his neck menacingly, and long for the day when eldritch power will be his to command. It's easy to read into his actions that he wishes to find the slavers and save the prisoners, but you're not sure if he would bring the criminals to justice, or provide 'justice' on his own.
I'll entertain know/local rolls about Ismacco.
There are a couple of rather shabby little rowboats moored under the tavern. It is very doubtful that anyone would look very hard for them if one were appropriated.
There were a couple of halforcs, and maybe half a dozen other guards that the prisoners remember seeing.
Kafar can tell you that the sewers and sunken tunnels in Cassomir are massively extensive. "There's a whole 'nother city down there. Cassomir's Locker, they call it. SOme say it leads all the way down to the Darklands. I may have (ahem) moved some...'cargo' through there a time or two. Why put our hard working customs officals through all that useless work, I ask? But I could not tell you a specific point to look for these slavers, though, an' your rendezvous with their ship not pan out. "
Slaves are generally not traded openly in Cassomir. While not strictly illegal in Taldor, it is a small market, and mostly filled by the legal courts. The market in Cheliax is much, much larger. Given the size of the port, Chelaxians are not an uncommon sight.
(The pathfinder's name is Cestis. yeah, I had to look it up too...)
I'll take another, separate know/local roll about the Chelaxian slave trade.
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Shizzle P finally disengages from the mirror and regards the group. "Da hell kinda name is 'I Smack O'?" he shrugs then laughs, "More like I Smack You, which I'm all about. Fools better be ready to dance cause Shizzle P needs a new posse." he blinks and suddenly drops the accent, "And I mean no offense to you guys, you just don't strike me as the posse sort."
He drops back into character, "What's a bard got to do to get a drink?"
Anyone want to roll Know/Local? 2 rolls. Or we can proceed directly to the ship.
Try as he might, Shizzle P cannot recall anything about anyone named Ismacco. Though he does remember hearing that slavery is rather unfashionable in Taldor right now, which is a much better way of enforcing it than merely making it illegal. There is no slave market in Cassomir, and no, to his recollection, general hangout for the slavers. Any Chelaxian slaving operation would be all about moving cargo as quickly as possible.
It still seems a little odd, though; Why would a Chelaxian slaver drag themselves several thousand miles down the length of the inner sea to a place that would inevitably be a poor spot to gather from...This must be a moment of opportunity, with the impetus coming from Cassomir, not Cheliax. It may well be the previous round of captives went to Absolom or Katapesh.
With that realization, you gather your things and rush to the docks, appropriating a rowboat and heaving across the Harbor to the Prancing Prince.
I'll have a map up shortly. Everyone please roll a perception check, and when you've had the results, you can decide if you want to approach from the dock or from the water.
(Descriptive post will be up tonight. Sorry for the delay!)
The sun has set, and streaks of red and orange lace the clouds as the PCs approach the tri-masted galleon, the Prancing Prince, which appears to be in good condition and floats lazily against its mooring along a wide, crate- and barrel-filled dock. No one appears to be
aboard her, however, and the standard watch typically found at the gangplank of a docked ship is nowhere to be seen. Atop her bowsprit is a gaudily painted wooden man that appears to be the exact likeness of the Grand Prince of Taldor, Stavian III, hands on his hips, a huge smile across his face, and his legs bent as though he were dancing a jig.
You observe the deck for a few minutes, but nothing stirs. Whether you pull to the dock, or climb over the side from the water, you are able to make the deck unmolested.
The deck was recently scrubbed clean and still shows remnants of soap bubbles and puddles of water. It is otherwise deserted and completely dark.
A quick search of the aft cabin shows finely appointed quarters
containing a desk, a chair, a bed, and some chests, all of which have been screwed to the deck. A single lit lamp rests on the deck and illuminates the room completely.
A search of the fore cabin shows supplies, probably recently laid in - a customs stamp shows yesterday's date.
Grates in the deck (south of Maldek and Miles) allow access to the lower decks. Nothing can be seen or heard moving through the grates at a causal glance/listen.
PCS: You may search the aft cabin (Please roll perception), examine the supplies in the fore cabin (please roll profession: sailor), or decend to the lower decks. Please place yourselves where you like on the deck.
What will you do...
Those above root through what turns out to be the captain's cabin, finding a battered logbook.
Leafing through it finds...
(A GM who is heavily occupied at work...more this evening.)
At the grating in the deck, Maldrek, Ishwar, and Grimruhn see a seven-foot drop and ladder to a large open deck. Ballistae can be seen near closed ports along the sides.
Nothing seems to be moving.
The searchers in the captain's cabin turn up the ship's log, which details several journeys, but mostly NOT to major slave markets. The ship has made the Westcrown-Absolom-Jalmeray run for years, and the stops at Cassomir have only started in the last year.
Are we dropping the light?
Thank you for the heads-up, Tim. I'll GMbot you along. Enjoy the show.
As the group finishes its business on the deck and congregates around the fore hatch to the lower deck, Okotta and Ishwar hear a couple of fain metallic clanks, and some muffled thumps of movement. A quick peek through the hatch shows nothing moving on the deck immediately below you, but there are hatches to lower decks, as well as fore and aft cabins.
Near the aft cabin, an open hatch seems to lead down to a till lower deck. Faint light is spilling from it.
New map up on Roll20
Any special precautions before moving down, Maldrek?
After dropping the sack, there is the slightest pause in the faint sounds of movement. The noises resume, but Maldrek hears a faint creak, as if something is approaching the ladder below the deck you're looking down onto. After a moment or two, nothing emerges.
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Okotta marvels at the patience of the group, and thinks that, should he live to see tomorrow, he should talk to someone about their source of serenity. Since his level of calm was exhausted during his earlier search, he wordlessly goes down the hatch in search of a vent to his growing frustration.
In case I need a roll to descend.
Too look around in the gloom
And I ready an attack, should something threaten.
Nothing else moves when Maldrek and Okotta decend into the gundeck. Six ballistae stand at the gunwales, next to closed ports, but no ammunition is in evidence. faint light radiates from the open hatch into the hold, aft and starboard (the black x I drew on the map...). There are still faint sounds of motion, and the occasional clink of metal - sounds like chains - issuing from the hold below you.
It seems clear enough for the rest of the party to descend to the gundeck, if they so desire.
Grimruhn joins his companions on the gun deck, moving to search the fore cabin. Inside, he finds several recently slept-in hammocks, and an unlit lantern that is still warm to the touch. The Shoanti steps back into the main deck to share his findings with the party.
Shizzle P does see the lit stone lying on the deck, revealing the low ceiling (which is seriously mussing his pink mohawk...), half a dozen ballistae (where the cannons are shown on the map), and the open hatch in the starboard-aft section of the deck.
Maldrek finds a finely appointed cabin - an officer's, or the first mate's - and, within, papers detailing slave trades over the past two years. No names are mentioned, but "Cassomir" is a repated destination for "Acquisition".
Maldrek, as you move aft, you can definitely hear people moving below.