You move through the bustling port, and, turning around toward the harbor, you can clearly see that one of the docks leads out to a small islet.
Walking down the dock, you find yourselves at an open-air tavern with a large open space facing the sea.
Several fishing boats have docked directly at the restaurant, unloading both ingredients and customers.
Many of the patrons appear to be-- amphibious or otherwise from aquatic ancestries, like merfolk, and a few enjoy their drinks while bobbing up and down in the water off the pier!
In a corner, a woman waves to you as, as she polishes off an absolutely massive plate of what looks to be fried octopus.
There it is: the Last Catch!
A homey tavern on an islet in Crescent Harbor, frequented by local fishers, sailors, divers, and others who spend their days on the sea and are looking for a stop on the way in to shore.
Yes, seems perfect.
The woman calls out to you: "“Ah, you’re just in time! Like little baby cleaner fish, not knowing that the shark might decide it wants a meal more than sparkling teeth. Let’s see what we’re dealing with. But first, a toast!”
"Of course! But... be discreet!
Ha ha!"
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Jamal asks a beer to a waiter and sits in front of the woman.
"Miss Fane I presume? Jamal Wati. Happy to meet you. I must admit I was expecting some ugly half-orc lady with more muscles than brain, but it looks like my vision of a pirate captain is quite wrong."
Jamal stares at captain Fane with a large smile on his face.
"Miss Fane, yes, 'tis me! So, what? I have more brain than muscles? And am a non-ugly Half-Orc?"
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Seeing the others engaging with Fane, Pell heads to the bar and obtains a fair-sized stein. He then heads to the half-orc's table, sets his drink down upon it and takes a seat. Holding up the mug, he takes a long draught and then explains, "We were told to blend in. Just doing my part."
Leaning forward towards the woman, he says, "The name is Pell. Pell the Peerless, they call me." He provides no explanation as to who "they" are, but instead continues with a smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss. Muscles, brains, beauty, and all. We are here for the execution of a certain document, but we aren't in a rush."
He tosses back the remains of his beverage for emphasis, wipes his mustache, then asks, "Now, you said something about a toast?"
Fane eyes Pell... then--
"A toast, yes!"
She waves to the wench waiting tables.
"So, let’s see what we’re dealing with. And, the first toast!"
A round of drinks is served, and she raises her cup in a toast--
"To calmer seas!”
--before throwing it back.
She looks at each of you, waiting to see if you knock your drinks down.
"Aye, I am buying! So seize the opportunity... drink up!"
Locke and Jamal--
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Despite having to constantly weave in and out of the crowd to avoid busy port goers, who seem to mostly ignore the small goblin, Snagrak still manages to keep up with everyone else, nodding along with the conversation as if he is entirely part of it.
Once the group arrives at the Last Catch and greets Captain Fane he is only too happy to oblige the pirate, reaching up on tip toes to snatch a mug for himself before enthusiastically pouring it down his throat whilst giving the toast... "Flat wat.. gurgle ..ery seas! Yes!"... and over his shirt, it looks like some even manages to get on the small squid still sat atop his hat.
Pell throws back his drink which-- which is powerful, pungent, and has an aftertaste not unlike very old tar!
But he smiles.
Locke and Sir Reinhart are not peerless, and sputter embarrassingly, coughing and wheezing, after drinking, as does Snagrak, looking a bit less like a captain.
Jamal sure did not drink it completely, he does not even drink any, as he spits ir right back and SPRAYS his drink across the table, wetting everyone!
Sturgeon smiles and looks at the bottom of his empty mug.
As you all wipe yourselves down from Jamal's mixture of saliva and tarry liquor, Fane smiles, happy you toasted her.
"Let's talk business, over a game of darts!"
Pell and Sturgeon, having managed to keep the drink down, you feel a little tipsy--
"Well, come on, then, Peerless, let's peel some of you back!"
Stella gets up, turns around, and points to a dart board in the back, behind the barrels to the south.
"Let the most drunk one win!"
She challenges you to beat her at darts.
"So, you will start, Mr. Peer?!"
{b]"Peerless, sorry..."[/b], says Fane.
Pell's dart is an okay throw-- but he scores less points than Fane's throw.
She then throws again, a bit better this time.
Meaning the next one has a bit of a harder job-- who is up?
Sturgeon receives the dart from Sir Reinart, and manages to beat Fane!
His throw was very nice indeed.
Who is up for the next and last toss...?
Oh, and it'll be a tough one, because Fane nearly scored a bull's eye.
Sturgeon leans in and gives advice on how to toss that dart!
The dart flew true and there is no need for heroics.
Fane smiles: "Two out of three, ya' bested me. Hat off to y'all!"
She turns back to the drinks at the table.
"Another round?"
At the same time, without waiting for an answer she suddenly pulls out a knife!--
--and, removing one of her gloves, pricks her finger with the blade, and writes her name in blood.
"I'm impressed by your abilities and so I'm deciding to honor the original terms of the deal, assisting the Pathfinder Society with the pirate blockade in exchange for information on slaver movements.
I was thinking of adding a clause to the contract that requires the Society to give me right of shipping and refusal on all their finds in the region of northern Garund.
But, you recruits are quality people.
I am impressed."
Fane rolls the contract back up and hands it to you.
She looks around suspiciously.
“Never can tell who’s watching—the Free Captains have eyes and ears everywhere. Best to be sure that if these lot remember anything about this night, it’s not that they saw us here together.”
With that, Stella Fane jumps to her feet, sweeps her hat off her head in an exaggerated bow and bids you all: "Good night!"
As she stands back up from her bow, she grabs Pell the Peerless's hand--
--and SMASHES a big burly fisherman, sitting behind you, on the head, with Pell's hand!
As the man spins around--
--Fane does something with her cape and disappears, leaving only a puff of smoke between the furious fisherman and Pell.
The fisherman yells: "Why'd you hit me?"
People all over respond: "Who? What? How? Me? You? Him?!
BAR FIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"
This whips the patrons inside the bar into a frenzy...
A server trips as the fisherman gets out of his chair to face Pell and pushes it in the server's way.
The server drops a plate of exquisitely prepared crab and raw fish, which lands across the faces of a nearby table of fishers—the same ones, in fact, who supplied the bounty used to prepare the dish.
Enraged at the waste of food and livid with hunger, they lunge from their seats, inciting the rest of the tavern’s patrons into a raucous fight.
People call out: "YESSSS! "
The bar fight spreads across the entire building--
As the bar fight erupts, mugs go flying, fists are propelled towards jaws, stools are kicked at faces, plates land on heads...
And all this rains down on you lot!
Sturgeon is bashed in the head by a flying boot!
Snagrak receives an entire chandelier from the ceiling that explodes around him!
Sir Reinhart is clawed in the face by an old homeless lady!
Jamal is kicked in the nuts by some kid with wooden clogs on!
Pell gets a face-full of chicken bones...
And Locke receives a-- dart! In the back of the head.
An entire cask of beer crashes beside you, spilling out, and foaming, and making the floor super slippery.
A couple people kneel down to lick it up-- but, .
Then, the yellow bellied fisherman looks right at Pell-- "YOU STARTED THIS!"
The man waves his hands in the air and-- a line of a powerful blast of pressurized water races towards the Peerless!
Pell is knocked back 5 feet, and is very lucky that the waves passes over his head--
Pell knocks your table over as he is pushed back...
Then the fisherman follows up by tossing his knife-- but, wow, it misses!
You see people just plowing through tables and chairs and knocking stuff around--
The kid smiles as Jamal is hurting.
"Big mouth freak, going too fast! That'l' slow you down!"
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Having managed to react and avoid the damage, Sturgeon is now slashing around with his dogslicer, the crowd panics: "Kobolds are attacking! A Kobold invasion..." and they rush away, in a stamped, enough clearing the area to leave you free-er.
And since Sturgeon is bellowing loud enough, the fear of the Kobold attack gains the other side of the room, that also clears out.
A Halfling winks at Sturgeon : "Ain't this so much fun?!"
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Staggering woozily from the random chandelier that hits him Snagrak mumbles to himself, "Roof... falling... Port Peril weirder than last time was here." Shaking off the haze he pulls his shield up before him, draws his rapier and waves it around at the fishermen closest to him, "You all go home or Snagrak will... RELEASE THE BEES of MARA!" as threateningly as he can.
Bees of Mara, of Mees of Bara, people keep on running away, and the rest of the room and the water clears up.
All that is left, you imagine, are the people fighting away in the rooms that you can't really get to yet, and outside-- blocking the way you came in.
The sailor with green stuff in his nose goes for Snagrak: "Hey, quiet, we were enjoying the fight!"
And he casts Hydraulic Push-- which pushes Snagrak back 5 feet and drops him in a coma.
Too much water, not enough liquor!
Followed by a knife throwing that bounces off Pell's armor.
Orange nose goes: "This big toe went to the market..." and ends up pointing at Pell.
So, he too casts a push of the hydraulic-- that rams Pell!
Man, you are all WET!
Pell bounces back--
--and he too is knocked cold...
Then: "I wanna bag me a Kobold too!"
But, sadly for him, the knife misses the tail-Goblin.
"This is FUN! My turn!" says Blue.
Sir Reinart sends forth a burst of healing energy.
It washes over everyone, knitting wounds back, but not doing much for hurt pride.
Snagrak, Pell and Jamal's eyes pop open.
Jamal is very upset at having been one shot by a little kid wearing clogs!
All the others, as well as Jamal, are healed up.
This wave of Sarenrae's power has not seemed to sober up the sailors.
The one with the blue varicose veins pursues with his friend's sound strategy and sends a wave of water at Sturgeon-- but the Goblin dodges.
What Sturgeon does not avoid, even with his nimble dodge, is the knife that was tossed at him just after.
The one with the red hair says: "This is how you do it!"
And promptly misses with his gush of water.
"That Kobold's crafty... HEY, DODGE THIS!"
He tosses his knife right into Sturgeon's throat.
Last, but not least Locke--
The only fighting left are in the rooms towards the exit, and outside the bar.
The fisherman of the knives and hydraulic pushes, look at you and say: "We are left, and we are the Dukes!"
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Jamal gets up, quite pissed. He would gladly teach a thing or two to a miseducated kid... if the kid was on sight. Instead, a few brutes are all around throwing knives and spells.
As a defense reflex, Jamal raises his magical shield with a word of power .
He then raises his arms all around him, while a halo of light appears around his head and angelic aura surrounds him .