The Oncoming Storm
The party enjoys a morning beverages at Charming Charlie’s—a coffee with a lot of milk for Nim; a black coffee for Dango; a coffee with A LOT of sugar for Brin; and a tea for Kor—before setting out to do some exploring in Scuttlebutt Island.
There are only a couple options for shopping in Scuttlebutt:
- RORIACK SILVERS, which mainly focuses on weapons and weapon crafting, and
- THE BITTER PILL, a strange combination of apothecary and bar
Nim, Brin, and Toulouse decide to visit The Bitter Pill for ingredients they need, while Kor opts to linger at Charming Charlie’s, drinking his tea and listening for opportunities for the party to get off the island.
Kor notices a dark-haired, half-elf woman across the room, somewhat anxiously reading over a parchment in her hand. He makes his way closer to investigate, with Dango not-so-subtly tagging along, and sees that she’s holding a flyer from the local job board. He notices that there is a teapot on her table, and in an attempt to break the ice, asks her opinions about the tea here. Unfortunately, this is overheard by Charming Charlie himself, who proceeds to extol the virtues of his tea at length.
Eventually, the woman seems receptive to their conversation, and Kor joins her. She introduces herself as NAHANA, part of a small-scale pirate gang; her name is slightly familiar to Dango. Kor hints that The Choir might be willing to help with the job she’s looking at, as they have (varying degrees of) sailing experience. She doesn’t accept their help, but instead offers to give us the job completely, in part to piss off The Kingfish.
The job flyer reads:
ABLE BODIES FOR HIRE: DISCRETION REQUIRED – SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED – REWARD GIVEN
MEET AT THE UMBERLEE BANNER AT NOON
AMARO
Intrigued, Dango and Kor pack the party’s things, and head out to find the others.
Meanwhile, Nim, Brin, and Toulouse made their way to The Bitter Pill.
They pass through a square in the center of town, and in the middle of the square, they see the shattered remains of a statue on the ground. A plaque indicates it was once a monument to VALKUR. It has been replaced with a golden rod and a fluttering banner. Toulouse asks a passerby what happened, and the answer is, “The Kingfish happened. This is Umberlee’s town now.”
The Bitter Pill is not what the party expected. One half of the establishment is clearly a quaint apothecary shop; the shelves are littered with ingredients in colored bottles and lush green plants, and the sound of windchimes linger in the air (“Pinterest pirates”). The other half, open and visible from apothecary, is a rough-hewn rustic sort of bar, with a few scattered tables and a bar.
A long counter runs across the back of the apothecary side, and SAMSON, the male gnome proprietor of The Bitter Pill sits behind it. Nim greets him in Gnomish, noting the strange division of his business, which he calls business (the apothecary) and pleasure (the bar).
Nim purchases some copper crystals for bracelets she’d like to make (50gp), as well as a Greater Healing Potion (50gp); she haggles with Samson, eventually paying 90gp for the lot. Brin asks to collect dust/dirt from the shop, which Samson allows.
As they’re wrapping up, Dango and Kor arrive in the shop. Dango clearly knows Samson from previous sailing adventures on Scuttlebutt, and Samson sells her the remaining Greater Healing Potion for 30gp. Kor inquires about poisons to coat weapons.
Kor tells the rest of the party about the job opportunity, and they agree it sounds promising. They party lingers in the bar half of The Bitter Pill, playing dice games and pretending to drink their shady drinks until shortly before noon.
The whole party makes its way back to the central square. As Grig, Nim, and Dango stand near the banner, Kor stealths into position to watch, and Ikki, Brin, and Toulouse wait in a nearby alley.
At noon, a very sweaty, very nervous human man appears; he is young and pale with floppy blond hair. This is AMARO. He seems disappointed that there are only three people, but asks them to follow him into another alley, where there is a door to a warehouse. Suspecting a trap, the party is reluctant to enter.
Brin, impatient, turns himself into mist and drifts over from the nearby alley, slipping into the warehouse first. Dango rolls her eyes and follows. Toulouse and Ikki get tired of waiting, so they join the group, too. Nim eventually sends an exasperated message to Kor that he might as well come on over.
Once everyone is inside, Amaro explains the job. He has an item that needs to be transported back to Tempris, specifically to a village inland from the Fluke. He is concerned about his safety, and he’s looking for people to provide security and help sail a ship he has procured back to the continent. The pay is 10gp/day and will take approximately two weeks.
Without any better options to escape the island, the party gives in to Amaro’s terms, and agree to set sail immediately. Because they are unsure of the danger Amaro truly faces, they decide to approach the dock in smaller groups. Dango, familiar with the island, goes alone on foot. Ikki flies overhead. Nim and Brin walk over together, posing as tourists. Grig and Kor escort an invisible Amaro and Toulouse.
The walk to the docks is uneventful, but once there, the party takes note of the large group of people walking up and down the dock in a decidedly non-casual way. Amaro’s newly-purchased ship is a flashy, gold-trimmed brigand at the end of the dock, and the party manages to sneak aboard with little notice, and set sail.
As they move away, the people gathered on the dock clearly begin to make way as someone leisurely walks through them. The ship is still close enough to recognize The Kingfish as he steps to the end of the dock. He smiles in a very creepy way, but makes no apparent move to stop them.
Grig casts Zone of Truth on Amaro, asking specific questions about this item we are transporting. Amaro reveals vaguely that some ladies asked him to retrieve the item, not for money, but as a sort of favor. He’s a black sheep in his family, and he’s trying to get back in their good graces. Finally, he clams up, realizing that he doesn’t need to say any more.
The ship, which is called THE GOLDEN SERPENT, was supplied by the seller for a few weeks of travel before they left the island. Dango, with the most experience, does most of the sailing, and helps guide the others. Kor trains Amaro on using daggers for self-defense, in case of emergency. Toulouse spends most of his time in the crows nest, where he can’t see the water. The special compass indicates they are headed in the right direction for the next shard.
One evening, standing on deck, Dango is overcome with a vision of the night her first ship sank. She sees the magical storm around them and many of her dead crewmates. From behind her, she hears an unknown voice speaking, “Chin up, girl, it’s almost time.”
When she snaps out of the vision, she sees a real storm incoming. The party and Amaro gather near the wheel, tying themselves on with rope, and Nim cast’s Leomund’s Tiny Hut around them for protection. Dango can make out three ships approaching within the unnatural storm. They can’t outrun them, and eventually they catch up; The Kingfish steps casually onto the deck of The Golden Serpent, and unexpectedly says “Dango. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you.”
~ end of session ~