Everyone makes it to the sandbar, even Pan who struggles but is helped by one of the more athletically minded Pathfinders. The tide comes in as you all wait on the sandbar, eventually leaving you in a few inches of water in the middle of the ocean.
Big John notices a wooden crate barely protruding from the sandbar. He easily opens it to reveal a rare bottle of rum stamped with a stylized dragon turtle. Though since none of you are educated sommeliers, none of you recognize the vintage. The crate also holds a flask of as well.
Roughly an hour later, a small boat appears, sailed by an elderly dwarven diver named Hlar. She beckons you aboard, shifting around sacks of shellfish and crab traps to make room in the cramped vessel. Over the next few hours, Hlar sails her boat in a meandering path to shore along the submerged rock formations, every now and then jumping overboard and freediving for several minutes before reemerging with an oyster, sea urchin, or squid.
When the wind dies down along the way, she rows the boat instead tossing an oar to Big John. "Since Benarry made me come out of my way to come get you poor sods, the least you can do is help get everyone to shore."
Hlar's boat arrives in Port Peril around sunset. As you drift into Crescent Harbor, sailors disembarking for shore leave remain clearly visible, singing rowdily as they work. Hlar soon lands at a smaller dock to unload her catch and gestures at Fane’s ship in one of the docks—the Risen Albatross.
"That ones(Fane) got a penchant for riotus nights once she comes back to port, but hell if I know where all you young folk go to do your partying. You might try the harbormaster since he knows the comings and goings here."
Finding him is easy enough as he is currently on duty.
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"Whew, that was harrowing enough. At least I think my clothes have dried." Pan purses his lips as he examines his salt crusted clothes.
He marches up confidently to the harbormaster with a warm grin. "Heya! So new to town. Where's a good place for young lads and lassies like us to kick back and paint the town red?"
The surly dwarven harbormaster looks up as Pan and Nal attempt to talk to him before ignoring them and going back to his checklist. When Aeleni approaches, he rolls his eyes and addresses her. "Alright, if you promise to leave me alone, Fane is at the Watchtower." He gruffily replies pointing out the way. You head up the bluffs to the expensive and exclusive district of High Eastwind, several clusters of large, elegant dwellings come into view. A long series of stairs with intermittent landings lead up the side of a small cliff towards a fortified stone structure. The structure, once a lookout and armory, has since been refitted into an upscale gambling hall. The sound of falling chips, shuffling cards, and pleasant music becomes audible to you before they reach the entrance and see a wash of well-dressed merchants gambling their money away. Stella Fane is clearly visible at the back of the building near a card table, wearing an extremely elegant dress that is slightly too large for her, suggesting it was probably stolen.
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"Yah, he is." Pan pouts a little that the dwarf had ignored him, but quickly shakes it off as he takes in the sights. Hmm, why have I never done any trade here? Looks like would have been quite profitable.
Finally, when he lays eyes of Fane, he has forgotten about that unpleasant episode and comes up beside her. He takes a moment to see the game, but gets bored rather quickly then turns to her. "Heya, Fane right? We're looking for ya." He takes a moment to make sure no one is listening, then whispers, "About that contract."
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The goblin smiled at the harbormaster as they passed, his sharpened teeth flashing in the sun. "A pleasure, sir!"
In the gambling hall, Muzzo had a hard time seeing anything through the clouds of smoke and the looming figures of humans. "Why you longshanks have to be so tall?" he muttered as he looked for their contact. "Is that her? The one wearing the tent?"
"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!” Stella replies to Pan. To begin the night, she orders a round of drinks and raises a cup. "To calmer seas!" She says before throwing it back.
Make a DC15 Fortitude save or sputter embarrassingly after knocking back the drink. The drink is very pungent, powerful, and has an aftertaste not unlike very old tar.
Stella knocks back the drink meant for you but orders you a mug of Besmara's brine to toast with instead. The potent combination of ghost pepper, ginger, and bitter herbs, all steeped for days in seawater—is a Port Peril “specialty” often imbibed as a dare or for losing a bet. Though not an intoxicant, its overpowering taste forces you to make a DC15 Fortitude save or sputter embarrassingly after knocking back the drink.
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Smoothly, Nal takes a cup in her dusky gray hand and repeats: "To calmer seas!" in her flinty voice before tossing back the harsh grog...
...with nary a flinch. She sets the cup down on the table, a small smile quirking at the corner of her mouth as she eyes the sputtering comrade(s) around her before pinning her gaze on Fane with a faint, knowing smile.
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Aeleni takes the first cup and downs it.
A second later she begins to cough and sputter, spilling out most of the drink again over the bar.
hurgh. *cough* ulch.
She tries tp pretend nothing happened and she totaly isn't embarrased.
What is that? Guess i prefer elven wine. And what's that talk about sharks and a meal? Is there some trouble brewing?
Being able to stomach the drink gives you the ability use a reaction when you are targeted by an attack roll from an enemy you can see. If you do so, you stumble just as the attack is made, gaining a +2 status bonus to your AC against the attack.
"Now that we've had some drinks in us, let's have some entertainment while we talk business." Stella says pulling out a deck of cards. The game is call High Tide, a pirate gambling game where where cards are passed face-down while players try to lie about what cards they’ve “added to the tide.”
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Nal smiles slightly, feeling the drink warm her down to her toes. She tilts her head slightly to try to peek at others' cards (making sure she's just obvious enough to be noticed) as she palms an extra for herself.
If anyone gives her a cross look, she just winks mischievously at them and settles herself in to "play by the rules".
Marra, despite having little ability to bluff is successful and the pathfinders are able to win the game of High Tide. Stella toasts your victory before settling down to sign the contract. After removing one of her gloves, she pricks her finger with a knife and writes her name in blood.
"So that seals it, I will aid the Pathfinder Society in exchange for information on slaver movements." After Fane rolls the contract back up and its it back 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 sweeps her hat off her head in an exaggerated bow and bids you good night before disappearing in a puff of smoke. A flung glove flies out from the smoke left by Fane, striking a nearby gambler in the back of the head. Turning around, the gambler believes he was just challenged to a duel by another guest, who has beat him at numerous games all night. As friends and allies come to each other’s aid over wounded pride, the bar’s patrons start a chaotic brawl.
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It was really quite a sight, as the rather diminutive gnome yells out at the top of his voice, "Stop it! What you doing? You're destroying the tavern!" But clearly no one cares for the opinion of Pan.
Frustrated, he weaves through the crowd to the one the brawlers, positioning himself to provide flanking distraction for the rest of his team, before calling forth his innate magic for magical protection.
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Aeleni jumps up from her chair, motions for her group to take care of the brawlers, then fiercely looks at the crowd in one end of the room where they stand.
You take care of those two, i'll take over this part here.
she shouts as electricity begins to spark around her fingers and her eyes glow a bit.
Marra is able to calm down a section of the crowded bar-room before moving towards one of the rowdy gamblers. Pan attempts to do the same however he is largely ignored. Whether it is because of his small stature or the inability for the rowdy patrons to hear him it is unknown. In either case he casts a defensive spell on himself. Nal decides on the direct approach and bashes a rowdy gambler with her mace.
The gambler next to Marra grabs a drink off the bar and throws it in the dwarven champions face!
However it takes more than a mug of mead to impede Marra.
The gambler still throws out a flurry of slaps!
The unarmed blows are absorbed by armor however.
Nal has seemingly made a new friend as she also sees a drink coming for her face.
Apparently Nal has seen this trick and it does not affect her.
Nal's foe finds the same amount of success at Marra's. Aeleni yells at the top of her lungs at the crowd and another whole section want nothing to do with her and leave!
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Big John spots the biggest guy in the tavern and makes a beeline for him. "We've got to end this quick", he warns his companions. "It's just a matter of time before this kind of brawl gets bloody. Isilme, stay behind me!"
Lining up with his opponent, the smith opens with a swift jab. He follows with a mean hook.
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Muzzo heads to the rowdy section and jumps up on a table. Sharpened teej flashing, he yells out, "Muzzo says stop this at once. If longshanks cannot hold fight in, then Muzzo be chomping legs and dangly bits with teeth!"
With a growl of fury, the goblin's head transformed, giving him the appearance of a shark. His sharpened teeth flexed outwards, and everyone around him got a good look at the serrated points that were threatening their dangly bits.
"Now, why can't we be friends?"
Big John moves up to the closest brawler and and misses with his jab but successfully follows it up with his mean hook. Muzzo is able to cow the last section of crowd and they disperse!
Marra is able to knockout the foe that Big John had set up for her and moves to the remaining brawler. Both rogues known as Pan and Nal work in tandem to take down *Rogue.
Once things have settled down, you make your way back to Hlar's boat, contract in hand. The old diver is a bit peeved at having to row you back out so soon after just arriving, but considering the brawl that has just occurred, it is for the best. She navigates you back to the sandbar, leaving you with some dried squid and a jar of fresh water. About a day later, another commissioned ship travels by and transports you back to Absalom. You present Stella Fane's contract to Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin, notifying him of the agreement and that the way to Vidrian is open. He thanks you for a job well done.