Campaign Journal: Southward, ho!

Full house this session:

• Jax
• Frederick
• Slick
• Fulvus
• Rondel
• Orzu

Time to get going... The party started in Chirath, refitting the ship and taking care of some business.

First of all, off to the Temple of Garond. Henry See made some tithes, and the party spoke with the priests about restoring Roderick's twisted arms. The miracles required to heal such a terrible injury were beyond the powers of the local priests, but their brethren in Athenard had capabilities to make Roderick whole again. The party made a significant gift to the church, and the priests took Roderick in their care.

Kimbu, their ship's navigator, announced that he needed to return to his original post with The Wolverine. He agreed to help the party find a suitable replacement, although he admitted pickings might be slim at this time of the year. Fulvus, Jax, and Orzu accompanied him on a survey of waterfront dives and flops, finding three suitable candidates. After an exhaustive interview process, and not a few tall tales told by said candidates, they selected Kiliwick, a competent gentleman with a pet falcon and a bit of derring-do.

In the meantime, Slick and Frederick went to catch up with their colleague Solange at The Hidden Hand. She didn't have any work or need of "outside contractors," but caught them up on a bit of local gossip, affirming that a few towns up north had been found depopulated, and that ships were spotting odd lights out in the inland sea.

Hey, didn't we leave a bunch of our hirelings here?

Oh yeah, let's see if anyone is still around. Well, Golman the drover, Merla the cook, and Murdar the dwarf were still around. The rest had taken their leave (with the horses, as well). The three were willing to hire back on. Murdar was working the door at a waterfront gin joint, and was happy to leave without posting notice. He brought along his coworker, Burgax.

Jax stopped by the Bear Garden and asked Akreos if there was an opening on the schedule. Sure enough, one of the fighters had taken sick, and Jax stepped into the ring to fight a giant scorpion (de-stingered). A couple of blue mohawks were spotted in the crowd. She and Goober put on a good show (It was children's matinee, after all) and got a pouch of gold for their efforts. 

Kiliwick checked the condition of The Chapeau Connoisseur, and ordered up some repair and refitting. After all, those sails with the burn holes would not do.

The party caroused. Nothing untoward happened. Frederick busted up a bar and had to pay damages, Slick made a boast and ended up humiliating another gang of thieves (no consequences there, I'm sure), and Jax woke up with someone who may have looked a bit better the night before. Fulvus and Orzu both went on minor spending sprees, with Fulvus buying some gaudy bling, and Orzu buying a completely impractical velvet apron and chef's hat for Merla the cook. 

halfling bling

Time to boogie out of town. First, a stop with the Sea Dwarves to drop off the gathered rubies, broken lenses, and comet shards. Queen Vokabena Silverbell greeted them, and the party gave her a status report, including what they had found at Acroria. The dwarven artificers pulled out their loupes and peered at the fragments of Acroria lens and bits of furnace that the party had stolen. They shrugged.

Off to talk to the demon... The massive gold-plated doors were pulled open. Another fistful of gems (this time from the party) and the demon arose from his igneous slumber. WHAT NOW? The party showed him the broken lenses and other components. Interesting. The runes looked mostly correct, from what he could recall. But overlain was a second set of runes that meant something akin to "fog." The party mentioned that Jax's vision of Khador had mentioned something about Acroria being hidden from her view. Interesting. They showed the furnace parts, and Orzu created an illusion of the device the parts were removed from. Interesting. A "star-forge." An artificer mentioned the that dwarves had heard of it, but had never pursued building one, as they had access to the volcanic heat. They thanked the demon, who went back to his slumber, reminding them to write everything down for a change.

The dwarves took inventory (carefully handling the comet shards). Oh, and if you're going to the desert to collect ruby sands to round out the needed materials, you'll need an assayer. Soon enough, they were approached by a backpack carried by a dwarf. The nerdiest dwarf possible, Snogriz Stormvault. His backpack rattled with scales, lenses, and calipers. Oh, we're going to the desert? He scuttled off, returning with a big floppy hat, zinc oxide, and clip-on sunglasses.

OK, off to the south and the Desert Elves. The party and their numerous hangers-on crowded into the ship and set sail into cloudy and stormy seas. As they sailed south, lights appeared above them. And then this showed up...

Hi there!

Half the party immediately fainted. Because angels are terrifying. It said it was called Boel, and that it was sent by Khador to let the party know that they and their actions had been noticed. They were just a small part of a greater conflict between gods, but their efforts were appreciated. And when the time came, there may be help... It faded away. Slick woke up and asked he had missed anything.

Finally, a light appeared on the horizon. The harbor lighthouse of Gebluff, a trading town along the southern coast of the inland sea. The ship docked, and the harbormaster, eyeing the ship's attitude in the water, charged them an "appropriate" dock fee. And tie it up well. It's stormy, and I don't want you damaging my dock. 

The crew stayed on board, and the party lodged at the Half-full Flask up the hill from the docks. Some asking around of the proprietor, the halfling Prospero, and negotiations, and the gang had mules, a guide named Bogumir, and a halfling drover named Otbert with a spare wagon.

The crew offloaded the timber they had traded for in Acroria. This, along with supplies, were loaded onto the two wagons, and the party headed south into the desert to find the Desert Elves....

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