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Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
The Rum Punch Festival is an annual religious tradition honoring Cayden Cailean that is celebrated primarily along the western coast of Garund. It commemorates a Sargavan slave escape that occurred in 4686 AR at the port of Crown’s End. The escape involved three large slaver ships crammed full of slaves captured from Sargavan docks and the Bandu Hills, bound for sale at the slave markets of Bloodcove. Prior to setting sail, the crews of the ships gathered for a celebratory drink, each consuming a few mugs of rum. Surprisingly, the crews of all three ships got roaringly drunk despite consuming no more rum than usual. Many slavers fell unconscious in positions that left their key rings dangling within reach of the slaves in the ships’ holds. As the slaves freed themselves, five small seabirds flew past the ship. A few worshipers of the Lucky Drunk among the escapees took the amazing potency of the rum as a sign that Cayden Cailean had intervened to give them a chance to free themselves, and believed the five birds had been sent by his herald Thais. As a result, the escaped slaves followed the birds and eventually found a small beached ship that they managed to launch and sail to the Shackles. The story spread, and Cayden’s faithful began celebrating the anniversary of the escape a few years later. As the tradition grew, it came to be named for the power of the rum that had given the escapees their chance at freedom. The festival is still most common in the Shackles, though it has begun to slowly spread elsewhere in the Inner Sea.
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The town of Lilywhite curves along the shoreline of Motaku Isle, spreading across bridges to a few small islands sitting in the deep-blue bay. Small, well-made wooden buildings ring the harbor. Festive flower and palm-frond garlands hang from various buildings, bridges, and statues. Vessels of varying shapes and sizes jam nearly all the town’s long piers, and the great number of ocean-going ships lying at anchor render the outer harbor nearly impassible. Throngs of revelers, many wearing masks, carouse through the town while singing and drinking from frothing tankards.
After enjoying some of the sights, sounds and tastes offered by the festival, the companions joined the parade through town - a reenactment of the escape to freedom the festival commemorates, and finally, fireworks. The lumberyard was abuzz with hundreds of workers, revelers, and actors, all gathered before a small wooden stage. Suddenly, a gunshot rang across the crowded square, and attention snapped to the sharp-dressed woman standing on the stage, holding a still-smoking pistol. Certain she had the attention of all present, she addressed the crowd. “I’m Captain Varossa Lanteri of the Magpie Princess and I have a business proposition. I’ve recently discovered the secret to finding the lost treasure of Captain Jemma Redclaw, and I’m looking for a few strong hands to help me secure it. The first to reach my bosun’s table on the second floor of the God’s Revel Inn down by the harbor will have the opportunity to receive an officer’s share of old Captain Redclaw’s gold. If you’ve been waiting for your chance at fame and fortune, it’s finally here!” She fired her pistol over the heads of the crowd a second time, and shouted, “Now hop to!” A moment of shocked silence was followed by a riot of shouts as dozens of people rushed out of the lumberyard.
Even though the heroes behaved admirably during the mad dash, upon arriving at the God's Revel Inn, they found Heavy Huldren waiting for them - a burly and scarred human, and his two half-orc compatriots. Huldren had been a long-time favorite in the fighting pit at the God’s Revel Inn, and his compatriots were all past champions of pit fights. All three felt they had outgrown Lilywhite, and had been seeking an opportunity to take to life at sea in the hope of attaining glory and wealth. Huldren wished to earn a space on Lanteri’s crew and planned to tell the captain he won the race. Since that story works best if the real winners aren’t conscious to dispute it, Huldren planned to tell anyone who rushed into the Inn that he would be the last challenge in Captain Lanteri’s race, and anyone who wanted to go upstairs had to go through him. This wasn’t true, but Lanteri wasn’t present yet to clear things up and Yamtisy (her bosun) didn’t much care. Huldren challenged the winners of the race to a “friendly” match in the fighting pit using Lilywhite Rules, hoping to beat them unconscious, and then lie to Lanteri and claim he won the race.
However the resilient adventurers proved him wrong, beating both Huldren and his thugs down - by the end of the fight, Captain Lanteri had discovered that Huldren claimed to be a test she had arranged for, and was furious that he falsely claimed to be an agent of hers. She demanded that he hand over his gear to atone for invoking her name. She gave the companions the gear Huldren and his allies carried as loot for their first battle under her flag, and welcomed them to the crew!
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The new recruits met with Captain Lanteri at the short piers at dawn the next day. The Magpie Princess wasn’t currently at the docks, and the captain was focused on the supplies needed to repair her ship. Two ship’s
boats with the Magpie Princess’s markings (a crow’s head with a delicate crown above it) were tied up to one of the short piers, and a considerable number of the ship’s crew were on hand. In addition to the captain and 12 crew members, “Heartbreak” Hinsin (the steward) and Iulia Antoninia (the foul-mouthed Chelish quartermaster) had joined Lanteri on the docks.
The pirate wannabes were handed over to quartermaster Iulia Antoninia, who grumpily informed them they were to assist in getting the supplies needed to make repairs to the ship as quickly as possible. Iulia expects it will take a few days to make all the arrangements, but she doesn’t consider that any excuse to slack off. She told them they needed to acquire a new carved wooden masthead for the Magpie Princess, and gave them 250 gold pieces to accomplish this task. Iulia made it clear that you are expected to manage without needing any more money.
Before letting them go, Iulia warned you also to keep an eye out for anyone tailing them in Lilywhite — especially a tengu. After some questions, she added that the Magpie Princess’s jinx eater, a tengu named Hyrix Snowfeather, led a mutiny against Captain Lanteri less than a week ago, but would not discuss the matter in any more detail. You were then free to fulfill your supply run in any way you wish, but soon you discovered the item they you have been tasked with acquiring is available from only one place in town: Hartha’s Headstones.
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Hartha’s Headstones
This small square building has no sign advertising its name or type of business, but the door and support posts are heavily carved with images of gravestones, religious symbols, sea monsters, and sailing ships.
The only person in Lilywhite with the skill to carve a decent masthead is Hartha, and the female dwarf ends up employing her talents to create wooden headstones and fancy coffins for local burials far more often than decorative sculptures or mastheads. When you approached her, she agrees to carve a new masthead of the Magpie Princess for 250 gold pieces in a couple of days. She has a few rough humanoid mastheads
that are already partially carved, requiring only the finishing details to make each one unique, and she could adapt one of these pieces to suit the the request. However, doing so would require her to delay all her other projects and put in long hours of extra work. She’s not willing to do this for any reasonable amount of money, but would do so for free if the you will take care of an ongoing problem she has...
Hartha buys high-quality wood from Taryn’s Planks for specialty projects like figureheads, but recently she has not been able to get the quality of wood she wants. The lumberyard’s owner, Taryn, says this is because his loggers have been attacked by small dragons in the jungle, making it impossible for them to cut the types of trees she prefers. If you would deal with the lumberyard’s supply problem for her, she’ll give you a masthead in 2 days, free of charge.
"What do ye say?" - the sun tanned, robust dwarven woman asked - "Do we have a deal then?"
Khor Suun gathers the group in a circle
We have to get the jobe done so we're going to do this anyway but... - he glances to his brother - .. maybe we can try to get a little bit more from this guy? We'll be fighting dragons after all!
"Hmmm ye ok, I'll leave ye lads to discuss it fer a second" - Hartha raised an eyebrow as Khor turned his back to her without a word - "Lemme know what ye decide" - then went back to her workshop.
Khor shrugs I like GP's, I wouldn't mind a few more... but I won't make a big deal about it
In his head, he starts preparing for the fight to come
Khor, without any details whatsoever about what is exactly meant by 'small dragons in the jungle', it is very hard to know what you may be up against - it could range from anything like youngling dragons, lizards, drakes, to wyverns, pseudodragons or tatzlwyrms, etc, etc.
Well brother, it seems that if we do this we get a masthead for free, which means the 250GP are ours to keep.
Would that be satisfactory to all, or should we indeed try to squeeze something more out of him?
Like I said, I like gold - he grins - But if we get the mast for free I guess that will do.
With that out of the way, he starts thinking ahead again. We should get more information about the creatures, if I can identify them, maybe we can try to prepare ourselves better. Let's ask this guy to see what he knows. Also, they probably fly, every one has ranged weapons?
Hartha, I'm supposin' if we want to know more about the lumberjack woes we'll have to go ask Taryn himself, that so?
Will he be at the lumber yard about now?
"Correct you are lad" - Hartha put aside the hand plane she was using to flatten a large piece of wood - "Taryn'd be tha man ye wanna speak to. Well, the half-elf ye wanna speak to. But ye know what I mean" - she replied.
"I assume that'be meanin' we have a deal?" - the dwarf added.
Mokh Suun looks around the party for any sign of disapproval, and seeing none turns back to Hartha.
Aye, we have a deal.
We'll help Taryn get his business runnin' proper so's you get yer top notch lumber, and in returns ye make a top notch masthead fer us at no charge, aye?
Mokh Suun extends his hand to the woodsmith to seal the deal...
"That'be the deal" - Hartha shakes on it with a firm grip - "Let's see what ye boys are made of" - she winks at the burly half-orc.
Let's get moving then - Khor turns and leaves, his mind on the problemas ahead
Acid is probably a no-no if they're green, but maybe they're red and then it's fire that'll be useless...
The small town of Lilywhite is in full activity as the companions move out from Hartha's Headstones toward the lumberyard.
All around this area are crafter shops of different sorts, so the coming and going of suppliers, buyers and sellers is constant. The shouts of working men and women mix with the ever present sound of the waves and sea, the ring of steel from some closeby metalworks, and the creaking of carts moving through the dirt road streets, packed with good.
They cross an open area which overlooks a small bay, head out across one of the interior, smaller docks and warehouse areas, until they are in sight of Taryn’s Planks.
Talking to the lumberyard workers, they are quickly pointed in the direction of the owner - Iatho Taryn, a lean and tall half-elf with a tanned skin and slightly pointed ears. He is dressed in practical, but elegant clothes, wearing a light gray vest and pants over a white shirt. His hair is short and mostly gray, with slight hues of brown. He seems to be giving instructions to a group of workers as you approach.
Khor looks around the wares, making a mental list of all the items and vendors that might be useful in the future.
Before they get to the half-elf, he prepares his brother with a list of questions.
Mokh, remember to ask about the dragons. Size and color are essential but we can gain from more info, like at what time of day do they usually attack. Also, how do they attack, only with natual weapons or do they have some special attacks? - he thinks for a few more seconds - We should also try to find their lair, it would be really nice if we catch them resting so ask for caves in the region... or lakes if they're aquatic...
As they approach Taryn he stays to the back of the group but remembers one more thing Remember to make sure that they fly! he whispers
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We should try to understand who has actually seen the dragon or dragons, people tend to exaggerate when talking about dragons, it's better to get first-hand information.
Also, how many dragons did they see ...
And I'm hoping we are not talking about an actual dragon, just a similar creature, or if it is a dragon I guess it's a small one or he would have killed the loggers ...
After a while of you standing there looking at each other, Taryn notices you and addresses the group with a polite but curt bow - "Well met gents. Do you need directions?" - his voice is calm.
Well met Mayor Taryn! I'm Storm Blackfeather. says Storm with a small nod. Myself and my friends are in need of some quality wood but master Hartha toled us there have been some problems on its supply. She says lumberjacks are talking about some... uhm... problems with dragons?
"Well met, and yes that is true young man" - he observes the group for a few moments - "Our work crews have been consistently attacked by those... Creatures. Dragons it seems. I have not seen them myself" - he adds - "Why do you ask?"
A smile brightens the mayor's face - "Well... If you are willing to do that, then... My hat is off to you gentlemen" - he replies - "And I will gladly offer to pay dinner after you safe return" - the half-elf adds.
"The attacks have happened every single time a crew goes out to work, and we have another one going out tomorrow at sun up - maybe you could tag along?"
That's a good idea. Can I ask you a few things?
But maybe introductions first.
I'm Mokh Suun, this is my brother Khor, that's Elyon over there and of course you met Storm already.
Mokh extends his hand to greet him.
Soooo during the attacks, were any of your workers injured?
Can we speak with them for a bit now? It would help us prepare before we head out with them tomorrow.
"Huh... Sure, let me call two of them over" - he turns around signaling for two closeby workers who are removing the bark from two logs - "Dannis, Mathias!! Come over here boys!" - then he turns to you again - "Yes, there were unfortunately some wounded, but at least nothing fatal so far"
As the two young men approach, you can see they are well built - both have very tanned skin and wear rough worker's clothing, with tools attached to some sort of utility belt. One of them is a readhead, with green eyes, a disheveled hair and beard, the other has short brown hair and a stubble of a beard.
"As you heard, these are Dannis and Mathias - they were part of one of the attacked work crews" - he explains, then talking to the men - "These gentlemen will be accompanying the next work crew in the morrow, and they will try to help with the dragon attacks. They want to talk to you lads for a second - help them as you can, ok?" - he excuses himself, and goes tending to the business elsewhere, leaving you with them.
"Well... Yeah!" - Dannis begins - "We were just cutting down a nice batch of trees, when we heard screaming from Alder..."
"Nonono, it was not Alder, it was Brenion" - Mathias interrupts - "THEN Alder came running like a madman" - he explains, then turns to you - "You see...."
"How is that possible if Brenion wasn't even there? He was in charge of fetching..."
The discussion goes on for a few more moments without taking you anywhere, but eventually they seem to agree on some stuff.
"Ok, doesn't matter, then we saw them - three mean looking small dragons flying right at us!" - they both finally agree on - "They were sleek, those bastards were!"
"And they were fast, oh yeah!"
"One come flying or jumping, or whatever it was, right on top of Arminder, opened him up from stern to stem, then he spat fire onto Cl..."
"Nah man, it was not fire, it was acid or somthin' wasn't it?"
"I heard it was fire... He was all burnt up"
"Acid can also burn ya"
"True dat...."
"I remember at a certain point one of them looked straight at me, like he was sizing me up, those eyes..."
"Come on! they are just big lizards. Blank stares is all"
"Tell that to Animus - he was trying to fend one off with the axe, and the other one came around and attacked him from the back! They're smart as devils I tell you!"
"Bah, and you think Animus is THAT hard to fool? A rock could outwit him"
"True dat..."
Then they both look at you all.
Khor tries to hide his scowl mumbling loud enough to be heard
Jumping and flying are NOT the same thing - he begins to gain momentum, speaking louder - Also, when something is burned with fire it catches on... you know.. FIRE! Not to mention the distinct smell acid has, specially when burning skin. How can someone confuse the two is beyond me!
He looks again at the two men but just shrugs and turns away Whatever, this is pointless
The men look at the ground, seemingly embarrassed - "Sorry gents, it was chaos, everyone running left and right, some screaming, others crying..." - Mathias stammers - "We are no warriors see..? I think it was acid? Dunno..."
"It was fire" - Dannis interposes - "Why would Claus had run like crazy into the water huh? Because he was on... Fire" - he reiterates.
Mathias shrugs - "Wasn't he thrown into the water?"
"Looked like he was running to me..."
"Might be"
"But no patches of burnt wood, no sir. Dalven said they came from the water or something, see?"
"Can't be. Dragons live in caves and mountains. Everyone knows that"
"What if they are water dragons or something?"
"Can't be"
's all right men stand proud, ye survived a dragon attack after all! We can't all of us can be dragon experts, right brother? Mokh says with a grin.
Let's leave it at that, and if you remember anything else come tell us please. We'll be around to go with ya tomorrow.
"Glad to be of help" - the men smiled, then if you have no further questions, they get back to work.
When we are alone again...
Soooo that was pointless huh? Unless there are tiny fire-breathing dragons that live in water?
Mokh looks hopefully at the group, his own dragon knowledge being s+#$...
As the group heads back Khor laughs
So, do we even know what colour they are?
But soon he replaces his look with a eager grin Well, we've learned all that we could. Let's go back and resupply our arrows, maybe a net too? We've got dragons to kill... or maybe drakes
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When we are alone.
I say you all get nets to try entangle them.
Then we follow them until we are close to the spot, then 1 of us goes scouting.
It would be great if we can find them before they find us ...
The attack plan can be you all try to net them while I summon 1 creature.
I'll keep a Web as backup and I'll cast haste on everyone.
What do you think?
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Did they even know how many of these creatures attacked them? says Storm with a grin. They are not fighters and were surprised so they all paniked... even if they wanted I don't believe they could be more helpfull.
Your plan sounds good Elyon. Maibe they consider the area as their home and don't like the lumberjacks start cutting trees.. Lets get ourselfs some nets, they probably can burn them but at least it could give some time to attak them.
Don't forget we'll have a lumberjack crew with us.
I'd be surprised if it goes as clean as you put it.
If we were alone I think it's a great plan, soooo how's if we go alone?
We arrange it so they take us to the general area today, and then they get the f~## out and we do our thing.
How's that?
Sounds like a plan. Let's gather whatever supplies we need and rest early. Also, don't count on me to throw nets, I'll hinder them with my alchemical stuff
The group bids farewell to Iatho Taryn, and to their new good friends Dannis and Mathias.
They head out to Lilywhite market area, which is an amalgam of open stalls and shops peddling all kinds of wares. It continues to be very busy at this time of the morning, with a mix of traders, and other 'adventure types' like yourselves, looking for occasional work on the bulletin board.
Khor Suun easily finds an interesting curio shop, with the appropriate name of 'Alchemy and the Sea', where he purchases a tanglefoot bag at standard prices.
Khor shrugs - It's an excelent idea Elyon... but I'm a bit short on gold right now. I wouldn't have bought the alchemical bag if you'd told me earlier. As it is, I won't be able to contribute much.
If anybody wants to advance my share, I'll pay up on the next loot distribution