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Early Discovery. The duchess is an excellent diplomat and liar, so the PCs shouldn’t get any sense that she’s up to something nefarious (Sense Motive DC 25). On the other hand, Sokana the handmaiden might seem a little off to very canny PCs (Sense Motive DC 17). If they start asking questions, the duchess thanks them for their diligence, but vouches for Sokana. However, the bag Sokana is carrying, while it does hold some traveling supplies for the duchess, also has a secret compartment that functions as a bag of holding (Spellcraft or Perception DC 22 to detect if the bag is searched). The pocket holds spell components for the assassination attempt. It’s unlikely the PCs will figure out the duchess is up to something, but if they do she will stay around as long as she thinks there’s a chance she can allay suspicions and go through with her plan. If the PCs bring in Harkover Lee, she flares with polite anger at the old man, refusing to let him “once again insult her in front of her brother.” Lee and the duchess have a long-standing rivalry, and he is wary of making a public scene at the wild claim that the duchess—who has been loyal to Risur her entire life—might be a threat. If, though, the PCs somehow reveal the plot, the duchess uses magic to turn invisible and teleport a short distance away, then change her appearance to fade into the city crowds. Eventually she reaches her allies and teleports to her stronghold in Shale. She has prepared for this contingency, and can easily thwart anything the PCs might field. Sokana, on the other hand, will be left in the lurch. The Coaltongue’s launch will certainly be postponed. Finally, if the PCs manage to stop the duchess from escaping, the plot can still continue as one of her subordinates leads the attack on Axis Island

King’s Arrival Social. Real-Time. King Aodhan arrives and after brief pleasantries launches the Coaltongue. With great pomp and grandeur, trumpeters announce the arrival of the king’s carriage. Elite guards line the thoroughfare and open the door, and the city governor roland Stanfield emerges, followed by King Aodhan himself. The king offers a one-sided smile to the crowd and is greeted by his Principal Minister and his sister. Children, gathered in advance by royal aides, cheer and sing the traditional crown anthem as the group makes its way to the docks. docker Violence. If the PCs failed to remove all the disgruntled dockers, heckling begins from the crowd at this point. The royals and their retinue maintain their composure, but the rest of the crowd murmurs in displeasure, and the PCs spot both Principal Minister Harkover Lee and their boss Delft glaring daggers at them. Then the docker Dafton, if he’s present, yells, “Stanfield! Look at me, Stanfield! You ain’t human! You forgot what it feels like. Here, Stanfield. Let me remind you!” He breaks free from the crowd and advances on the royal retinue, cracking his knuckles. Royal guards intercede before he gets close, and though he tries to throw a few punches, he gets smashed to the ground by the haft of a polearm, then held down by three men until the king, governor, and the rest are safely out of the way. This can have grave consequences later, because people will be less inclined to trust to the party after this screw up. If the PCs show up during the king’s big speech later that evening, yelling that the duchess is trying to blow up the ship, it might take an extra 3 or 4 rounds for people to take the threat seriously

the launch. The ceremony goes without a hitch. The king takes a champagne bottle, announces that the ship shall be formally known as the Royal Naval Ship Coaltongue, then smashes the bottle across the bow. At that precise moment a steam whistle sounds, and black smoke begins to roil out of the ship’s stacks. The crowd begins to board the ship, and if the PCs dally, Assistant Chief Inspector Delft reminds them they’ve got a party to enjoy. Once everyone is aboard and enjoying light refreshments on the main deck, it sweeps toward the center of the harbor, where eight traditional fourmasted ships enter formation with it. Against their white sails, the black clouds from the Coaltongue’s smokestacks makes for a dramatic image, and though the PCs catch the duchess glowering at the sight, they can also see crowds along the shore cheering as the small fleet sets a course out of the harbor, toward open sea

All Aboard Exposition. Montage. Over the next hour, people wine, dine, and take tours of the fantastic warship. The party has an hour before the Coaltongue reaches its destination, just beyond the Ayres islands north of Flint. Now’s a good time to show them the layout of the ship, which can represent a mix of them having researched the location in advance and their taking a guided tour of the vessel. If the players want to get into details, you can have them meet a few notable crewmembers, but these NPCs are just for flavor, and to tug the players’ heartstrings if they turn up dead during the assassination plot. divianne Athel. A guard at the ship’s magazine, she explains that f ire wards hung in the three rooms of the magazine keep the ammunition from accidentally exploding in battle. She says she’s stationed here through most of the party, and that she hopes some food will be left when her shift is done. fitzcairn luckshore. A young technician in the engine room, he gets excited if any women show up, or if anyone asks him about the engine. He gets a little bubbly describing the intricate interactions of various valves and pipes. The other two men in the engine room give him a hard time because with his scrawny arms he never shovels an equal load of f iregems. elian Aughtbrook. A petty officer, Elian has been assigned to keep the visitors happy. He’ll interact with the PCs if they actually try to arrange a room for the duchess to rest in. Otherwise, Elian does it on his own. He has a small notebook where he wrote down notes he made in advance about the visitors, and he enthusiastically tries to make small talk based on badly-formed ideas of what nobles and industrialists care about

Stanfield witnessed the fall of the high elf goddess Srasama five hundred years ago and died soon thereafter in the chaos of Elfaivar’s fall. But he reincarnated, restored to life by a sliver of the divine power he absorbed when Srasama was slain. His memories vague and jumbled, he found his way back to his homeland of Risur and eventually settled in Flint, then just a modest coastal port. In the centuries since he has died with irregular intervals, and with each rebirth he returned to the city he calls home. For most of that time he has served as Flint’s governor, having constantly striven to improve himself with each life, from a simple warrior, to a humble leader, to an educated renaissance man nimbly handling the complex challenges of the fastest-growing city in the world. Stanfield wears a near-constant expression of contented optimism, but still occasionally complains of a war wound he took to his back in his first life

Now in his 70s, the current king of Risur looks rather unassuming. He prefers to resolve disputes by being cool-headed and rationally persuading those who will listen to his side. For those who won’t, he’s shrewd enough to give them a sliver of what they want and then distract them with harmless endeavors while those worth dealing with get the job done. Despite all this, though, he trains regularly to keep his stamina and swordplay robust, and the rites of rulership grant him daunting magical powers

Though in her 50s, this high elf woman looks to be in her 20s. In the Third Yerasol War, Sokana was rescued by the duchess—then just a sorceress in the Risuri military—from the island plantation of a rich Danoran, who had kept her as a trophy wife. Sokana settled with an elven family in Risur, hiding her true identity to avoid retaliation by the Danorans. The duchess helped her rediscover her fey roots, though Sokana only displayed a marginal talent with magic. Today she passes as a wood elf, but when she uses magic her eyes flare an unearthly azure, revealing her heritage