Freeport Campaign

Rewards Earned

• Experience Points: 500
• Treasure: various trade goods

Chow spotted a lookout in the crow’s nest of the Freeport cutter just as the lookout spotted the Starchaser. After some discussion among the party, Edo transformed himself into an inconspicuous variety of bird and flew towards Coral Bay while Will scried him with his newfound crystal ball. The party soon learned that several Freeport Sea Lord Guards and marines were stationed aboard the Sea Skate and the Blue Heron. While Edo scoped out the town, he noticed a pair of fellows depart the cutter. One headed into town, while the other alerted the Freeport personnel on the other two ships. These fellows set about arming themselves and readying the ships for departure.

The group discussed various appealing options for taking out the guards if necessary, but they decided to try talking first. Balama hoisted a flag of truce and continued sailing into Coral Bay. The party tensed as the Starchaser rounded the tip of land that marked the corner of the town, but they were allowed to dock without being fired upon. When the ship was secured, a sweaty northman, backed by a squad of marines and Sea Lord Guard, announced that Will, Spike, Chow, and Gor-bob were under arrest for the kidnapping and murder of Sea Lord Milton Drac, Captain’s Councillor Melkior Maeorgan, and Captain’s Councillor Brock Wallace. He further charged Balama, Hurm, and Terez with aiding and abetting known fugitives, and ordered some of his troops to seize the group’s weapons. The party consented without a fight, but requested that they be allowed to explain their view of the events at the Lighthouse, preferably in a neutral location and in the presence of a local priest. The Freeport investigator, Sigur Hilmarsson, agreed and ordered his personnel to escort the party to a nearby tavern for further discussion.

Thus relocated, the party and their captors waited a few minutes in relative silence until a local priest of Shalimyr showed up and explained that he was going to cast a zone of truth spell on the party. They agreed and began their tale. They explained in detail their encounters with Verlaine, Milton Drac, the rest of Captain’s Council, and the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign, and described the fight at the Lighthouse and the suspected ramifications to Freeport if they had failed to foil the Sea Lord’s scheme. The priest and the investigator sat dumbfounded through this testimony, and the priest verified to Hilmarsson that the zone of truth had been in place during the whole tale.

Sigur collected his thoughts and admitted that he was out of his depth. He said that as far as he was concerned, the charges could be dropped, but that he was still under orders to bring the party back to Freeport. He also suggested that a “donation” to “defray the cost of supplies” for the Guard and marines would probably help ensure the group’s secure arrival in Freeport. After some discussion, the party agreed to the “donation,” and to the suggestion that some of the guards and marines accompany the group on their various craft on the voyage back to Freeport, both to maintain appearances, and to keep the party from simply sailing away. These arrangements settled, the investigator shared a drink with the party and bid them good day.

Balama told the party that she intended, after a hot bath, to spend the remainder of the day securing cargo for the return trip to Freeport, which the group thought was a fine idea. They spent the next few hours haggling in Coral Bay’s marketplace, eventually purchasing a box of uncut emeralds, 10 barrels of local spices, and large amounts of fruit and a fine local rum. They made sure that the cargo was safely loaded on the Sea Skate and collapsed into freshly sheeted beds for the first time in weeks.

The three-day voyage back to Freeport was largely uneventful. The party chatted up the guards and marines, and Spike and Chow taught the rest of the group a bit about crewing a ship. When the small flotilla finally got close the Serpent’s Teeth, it was obvious that something was wrong in the city. Dozens of ships were anchored outside the reefs that ringed the island chain, the Docks were almost empty, and a plume of smoke was clearly visible in the Merchant’s District.

The party consulted with the investigator and the commander of the Sea Lord’s cutter that had been sent to Coral Bay about how to proceed. The marine leader said that he’d try to get in touch with his fellow officers to see what had happened, and suggested that Hilmarsson do the same. For their part, Edo and William volunteered to try to get into the city and get a report from Egil at the Scriptorium of Tinel, and the rest of the group volunteered to talk to the captains of the nearby ships. Everyone agreed to meet back up at the Sea Lord cutter before nightfall to compare notes.

William and Edo used a combination of shapechanging and magic to get to the Scriptorium, and used a dimension door to get into the temple itself after finding the doors locked and barred. The startled librarians within were quick to summon Brother (now High Priest) Egil, who gave a quick rundown of the current situation:

• Sea Lord’s Guard Commissioner “Boss” Tillinghast was holed up in the Fortress of Justice with most of the guards after a couple of confrontations with the Captain’s Council, who had tried to remove him from office following his series of questionable actions in the days after the Lighthouse unveiling.
• The Docks District was under the control of the Cutthroats, who had driven the Buccaneers into hiding after a few bloody skirmishes. The Cutthroats were reported to be under new management: a hobgoblin named Draegar Redblade had staged a bloody coup in Scurvytown and emerged as the gang’s uncontested leader. In addition to the usual ruffians, Draegar also employed several hobgoblin soldiers in the gang, which explained why the battles for the Docks had also cost the city numerous Sea Lord’s guards and marines. Draegar and his thugs had set up a couple of warehouses to distribute the meager food supplies that were coming in to the city after the Longshoremen’s Union had gone on strike.
• The various priesthoods in the Temple District had tried to create and distribute food after the docks closed down, but were simply overwhelmed by the demand, and were forced to lock their doors when the mobs outside became unruly and then aggressive. The mobs had then turned to the few ships that attempted to dock in the Merchant District, but the private guards of the merchant families were a bit more brutal in repelling the attacks than the priests had been.
• The Captain’s Council was meeting at the Last Resort, but had been gridlocked for days.

Thus informed, the two returned to the ship to talk with the rest of the party and the Freeport personnel.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS