You all are gather in Iceferry, being called upon by Venture Captain Bjersig Torsen. You are greeted by a gnome named Lirall who prominently wears a wayfinder. After letting you into the lodge, she selects one cord labeled “Office” from a bundle of colored cords near the door. The loud howl from a dog echoes throughout the building, followed by a trio of scampering, blue-skinned goblins dashing down the hall. A large husky bursts into the hallway, snarling at the goblins until a tall half-orc emerges a moment later and lays a calming hand on her back. He gestures for the PCs to follow him into a meeting room, seemingly ignoring the goblins.
Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen begins explaining the situation, his dog Mahki sitting attentively nearby. As he speaks aloud, the half-orc punctuates his words with phrases in a sign language.
“Apologies for the ruckus. The Frostfurs are talented scouts, but they have an adversarial relationship with Mahki. She doesn’t particularly like them either. To the reason I called you here! The Grenskuldr family traces their lineage back to the storied warrior Grehunde the Sun Chaser, a Linnorm King who ruled over the city of Jol and whose victories in battle were legendary. The family still has a lot of influence. I’ve asked them to help out the Society, andthey’ve asked for a favor in exchange. That’s where you come in. Are you familiar with Valenhall?"
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"I'm afraid not, Venture Captain" answers a huge middle-aged man with a massive hammer slung over one broad shoulder. "Should we be? I apologize, I've barely touched the 'catch up material' from Miss Westyr."
Realizing the assembly is looking his way at this point, the muscular bear of a man offers the group a humble nod in greeting. "The name's John. Folks back home used to call me Big John. I'm a blacksmith by trade but these hands see more use smashing than smithing these days."
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You hear Marra coming before you see her. She walks into the room wearing full plate but her walk is a bit odd. The armor has a symbol on the front that most of you will recognize as Gozrah's holy symbol.
In a gruff voice she points to herself and says "Marra. Pleasure to meet you." After a moment you realize that is all she has to say for now.
To Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen's question "No. But I'm happy to learn more."
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"Oooh, doggie!" The gnome makes for a beeline to Mahki, and the fact that he is just barely the same height as the canine doesn't seem to bother him at all.
While playing with the dog, it seems that he was listening and he quips. "Nope, me neither. But there are many things I don't know so I'm not surprised."
Like many gnomes you might have met, Pan has rather unusual hair colour, greenish-yellow (or yellowish-green) in his case. His skin is a deep ochre colour. Until you observe him rather more closely, then you realise that his hair seems to have faded from a much more brilliant yellow, and his skin is dulling from perhaps a brighter orange. If you know anything about gnomes, you realise the Pan is slowly in the process of bleaching...
But it doesn't seem to bother him, or at least not that it appears so. He cheerfully introduces himself. "I'm Panarugathom, but just Pan, please. Don't want you to sprain your tongue after repeated calling of my name."
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The graish-skinned goblin wearing shark hide moved closer to Mahki, being a little more cautious about it than the gnome. He carries a knife and club, but his preferred weapon is seen when he smiles. His teeth have all been filed to razor-edged points.
"Muzzo likes the fuzzies. Some gobbos don't but Muzzo likes. Nice fuzzy."
Muzzo pets the dog, if she will let him, before answering the others.
"Muzzo does not know this Vallenhall. What the favor?"
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A slightly unusual looking elf with large and intense green eyes and strange tattoos on the skin enters late.
My apologies, i was busied elsewhere. Made the mistake of buying some food from a goblin vendor. It seems i'm not used to it.
You may call me Aeleni. I'm not familiar with Valenhall. Normal humans progenate too fast to track it all. But certainly, dear Venture captain, you can enlighten us a bit?
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A shadow slips into the room behind Aeleni, then detaches itself from her to find a spot to stand along the wall at the back of the room. She appears to be a wiry, young half-elf, dressed all in black, with deep gray skin and black eyes and hair. Crossing her arms nonchalantly as she leans against the wall, she flashes startlingly white teeth in a cocky, lopsided grin and introduces herself in an androgynous voice. "And I'm Nal Bagura. Well met. Consider me an open book. I'm all ears."
Mahki is hesitant at first with Muzzo, but after a moment the dog nuzzles the goblin in return.
"Valenhall is a nearly mythical realm where Ulfen heroes journey to finish their lives. Even to this day, brave Ulfen dream fondly of finishing their last battle and sailing off to Valenhall. However, Grehunde the Sunchaser never got to sail off to Valenhall—she died in what she planned to be her last battle. Her gorget was passed down to her descendants, most recently Hlavard Grenskuldr, also a Linnorm King. Hlavard was an impressive warrior in his youth, but a month ago he sailed off toward Valenhall to set up a shrine to Grehunde there and finish her journey. He planned to ensure the gorget found its final home in a place of honor. Unfortunately, something happened to his ship, the Shoreseeker, along the way. Merchants report that the ship is still partially above water, but they didn’t get close enough to find out what happened. While his children respected Hlavard’s decision, they would rather not have their father’s body and the priceless family heirloom at the bottom of the sea. I’d like you to find the ship and retrieve Hlavard and the gorget. I’ve arranged a ship for you, the Wandering Hearth, to follow the Shoreseeker’s path through the Steaming Sea."
Bjersig nods at Muzzo's question. "I’ve asked them to get the Society invited to participate in a special event. Do well on this mission, and I’ll make sure you're on that list!"
Both Marra and Pan know that the Steaming Sea named for the thick mist that hangs over the waters. Frequent volcanic activity from the Hellrung Mountains leads to the sudden formation of new islands and ridges. Big John happens to recall that Linnorm King Ulvass sailed to Arcadia in –473 AR and established Valenhall. Brave Ulfens dream of making the perilous journey there at the end of their lives. King Sveinn Blood-Eagle recently did exactly this.
The captain of the Wandering Hearth is Eynilla Vriggdahl, a middle-aged Ulfen woman. She gruffly ensures the party is prepared and well-supplied for the journey; after all, as she warns them, this route is far from a safe one, and travelers should always remain wary. Her worries are not unfounded. As the ship journeys through the Steaming Sea, a storm strikes. The crew desperately keep the ship upright, but the torrential rain and heavy waves batter everything on board. If the the party helps, they can reduce the damage to the ship and their supplies.
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As the party is boarding their vessel, Big John pulls the sorceress aside.
"Hey there lass! Was it Aeleni? I've got a couple of those magic scrolls you might find some use for. I keep telling Miss Westyr that I'm not a mage and I don't know how to use them but she keeps packing them in my things anyway."
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Big John is wide-eyed with fright by the powerful storm but he rushes to do his best to help out the crew.
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"Muzzo not sailor, but grew up around sea. Muzzo's tribe is coastal, and Muzzo spent almost as much of his childhood under water as above it."
On the ship, Muzzo was in the way more than not, with the curious goblin sticking his head into just about everything. He wasn't too keen on ground that moved, but at least he didn't get seasick. When the storm hit, he was unprepared for the sheer ferocity of it, but when teh captain shouted to "belay that line", Muzzo ran to the rope and tried to hang on as the ship pitched up and down.
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Hu? Ehm yes, Aeleni. Oh scrolls of heal![b]
She is a bit startled at first, but takes the scrolls and puts them into a tube on her belt. You can see some others in there already.
With a serious face she answers.
Thank you, John. Let's hope we won't really need them. It's better to have some though. Got some already.
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Onboard the ship Aeleni doesn'T seem too comfortable, sticking to the middle of it and some ropes at most times.
As the storm strikes she also tries to secure as much of them as she can.
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Marra shares her recollections and nods at the others.
"Sounds like we may need to swim. Do you by chance have any swim fins we can borrow?"
Once on the boat she will leave the captain be and help move boxes.
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"Never been on a ship 'til I set sail for Absalom. Wasn't too bad." Nal's not a chatty person, clearly. Her black eyes shift constantly, in an unsettling kind of way, watching the crew as the ship gets underway.
As soon as the Captain begins shouting orders in the storm, Nal springs into action, deftly tying down the ropes at the side of the ship.
Though Aeleni and Muzzo fail to gain their sea legs, Marra and Nal hold their own as they help move equipment and secure ropes respectively. Big John is a born sailor apparently as he professionally secures all the equipment. For your help, Captain Eynilla gives you some tools to aid you on the adventure.
After the storm ends, the Wandering Hearth reaches its destination. The Shoreseeker lies half submerged in the sea, propped up by several more wrecked ships. The Ulfen longship is substantially damaged on the side. Captain Vriggdahl sails the ship to the opposite, more intact side, and sailors lay several boards to allow access to the ship.
You recognize the pile of wrecked ships as a sea serpent's lair. Sea serpents are known for capsizing ships to build their homes.
The party marches onto the Shoreseeker, Marra at the lead.
However as soon as she steps onto the ship, her boots kick up a cloud of dust that fills her lungs as she steps onto some mold!
Her powerful dwarven lungs are able to withstand it though and she suffers no ill effects. Though, the party is able to now step around the moldy parts of the ship. Searching the top deck reveals little but going below deck seems to wield results. Wedged into a hole in the side of the Shoreseeker is the head of an enormous sea serpent. Clutched in its jaws is the body of an Ulfen man wearing an ornate gorget. An axe is firmly embedded in the side of the serpent’s head.
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"Friend Marra has good point, but Muzzo knows weak spot in sea serpents jaws. They can lock down, but if you press sideways here on rear hinge, they open easy, like this."
Muzzo wedged himself in beside Big John and strained to force open the sea serpent's jaws, slapping the hinge of the jaw as he indicated.
Between Muzzo's and Big John's might, the dead sea serpent's jaw is pried open long enough for the rest of the party to retrieve the corpse and the gorget. The party takes their prize and head back to the Wandering Hearth. Suddenly as Marra and Big John step onto their ride home, a pair of younger smaller sea serpents emerge from the sea and attack!
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Muzzo glared across the ship towards the sea serpents. Were they really planning on attacking the ship? Or were they just disturbed because the ship was near the much bigger dead serpent? Either way, it wasn't in his nature to attack wildlife first. Let them come up on deck, or try and damage the ship, and then he'd see.
Nal sees no other sea serpents attacking the ship.
Both serpents deftly dodge and only take damage. Both of them slowly climb on board the ship. Red lets loose with a brutal spout of water at Marra!
Though she is hit with the water that is full of psychotropic algae, she resist its effects.
Blue does the same against Aeleni!
The sorceress is missed!
Big John and Marra take down one of the serpents which their hammers as Muzzo bites the other one in half!
The rest of the trip is uneventful. Venture Captain Torrsen is delighted by your return as you bring the body and the gorget.
“This will greatly please the Grenskuldrs. Thank you. I’ll make sure that you’re all on the list for a very special event coming up soon."
A few days after your adventure on the high seas, you find yourselves on the high seas again. As a splash of salt crashes over the bow of the Glorious Payoff, Calisro Benarry deftly steers her ship through a hidden channel, carefully navigating through the barely visible rock and coral that protrude slightly from the water’s surface. Behind the Payoff, a slightly smaller ship—the Sea Sparkle—follows, making every effort to follow Benarry’s course as closely as possible. Off the port hull, the deep green of the Garundi coast is illuminated by the late afternoon sun.
“See those gulls?” Benarry shouts over the flapping of the sails, “that’s the sandbar we’ll be dropping you off at. Barely sticks up over the waves, but the seabirds flock over it to feast on crab. As I explained earlier, Vidrian—you might have known it as Sargava not that long ago—needs explorers to chart the trade routes to the south that they couldn’t use back when it was ruled by Cheliax. Simple enough bit of adventuring, but the new nation’s been having trouble with the Free Captains of late. Turns out when Vidrian broke free of Cheliax, the locals stopped paying the pirates protection money, and now they’re the number-one plunder target in the Shackles. What’s more, the pirates have set up a blockade preventing our ships from making it down to Vidrian to assist.”
“Thankfully, we’ve got someone on the inside. Stella Fane, a Free Captain with ties to the Firebrands and the Pirate Council, has been in contact with the Society. She and members of the Society’s leadership have put together a fairly clever plan to help the Society’s ships pass through the pirate blockades unharmed. The Wind and the Waves willing, the Payoff and the Sparkle can sail to Vidrian, no problem. While we’re doing that, I’ve arranged transport for you to Port Peril to meet with Fane and get her to sign this contract making the whole thing official—she may be a pirate, but she’s the kind that holds to her word. You’ll need to avoid drawing too much attention until after the deal is done. Once she’s signed the contract her friends in the Pirate Council will ratify it and there won’t be much the lesser captains can do. Be careful. Anyone looking to put a stop to this need only ensure that contract never gets signed. Savvy?”
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With one hand Big John fidgets with an ornate pair of goggles resting on his forehead. Hanging from the other massive arm is a beautiful elven woman with copper-colored skin and long dark hair. The woman tuts, stopping the blacksmith's fussing and taking his enormous hand within her own.
"Stop worrying. Everything is going to be fine."
"I wish you'd stayed back in Abasalom", John grouses. "You'd be safe back there. They tell me Port Peril is a rough place."
"Need I remind you that I was the one that sent for the Pathfinders when the undead were bearing down on us? We share this debt together and will not see my husband bear the burden alone. Besides, you know I can take care of myself", the elven woman says with a smirk.
Big John sighs, recognizing an unwinnable fight when he sees one. "I know."
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"Sounds simple enough. Do you have reason to believe there will be eyes and ears watching Miss Fane?"
"The Free Captains have had a good time of it looting and pillaging Vidrian and they wanna keep it that way. Stella is ambitious so an alliance with the Society will benefit her. The contract is a long-term trade agreement; we tell her where we’ve had reports of slavers—she hates them and it’s no skin off Society members’ backs to let her know—and she approaches us first with any information she receives regarding archaeological sites and historical discoveries. Our obligation requires us to make the information exchange each time one of our ships passes through the Shackles, so attacking a Pathfinder ship is the same as attacking Stella and her allies on the Pirate Council. Smartest deal we’ve made, if you ask me. Careful with that contract, by the way. It’s all magicked shut, so only Fane can read and sign it. To answer your question yes, make sure that she signs it."
Once the party is ready, she instructs you to jump overboard to swim to the sandbar as the water is too shallow to get closer but calm enough that you should have no problem swimming to shore.