Freeport Campaign

Rewards Earned

• Experience Points: 1000
• Treasure: None to speak of

As the Colonel watched, a couple guards left the Fortress of Justice. A quarter hour later one of the guards returned, accompanied by Thorgrim, Lord Defender of the Wizards’ Guild, and a couple of other mages. The Colonel sent a well-paid urchin off with a note to his waiting compatriots at the Last Resort, notifying them of the likely impending guard visit. As suspected, two dozen guards emerged a few minutes later with Boss Tillinghast and marched toward the Merchant District.

In the meantime, Chow recognized Angelo Stampfel, the Shipping News reporter who had covered the party’s activities at Swagfest, lurking about the hotel’s dining room and tried to engage the journalist in conversation. Angelo hinted none too cryptically that his story was on its way and positioned himself to watch the imminent confrontation. As if summoned, the guards and Boss Tillinghast arrived at just that moment. The Commissioner announced that Will, Spike, Chow, and Gor-bob were under arrest. Lady Elise retorted that the named parties were under the protection of the Captain’s Council, and that the Council no longer recognized Tillinghast’s authority. Tillinghast opined that the party must stand trial for their crimes, to which the Councilor responded, “Yes, the events that occurred that night at the Lighthouse should be a matter of public record.” She announced that the trial would be held in two days at a venue specified by the Judges of Freeport, and that the party would confined to the Last Resort until then. With that, she dismissed Boss Tillinghast in as cold a manner as she could manage. As the commissioner and most of his cronies returned to the Fortress, a suspiciously accurate seagull dive-bombed Tillinghast’s bald spot with a well-placed wad of excrement.

The party spent that evening and the next day spreading the story of the “Freeport Four.”

Will followed Stannis’s admonition to “look in on your employees,” and attempted to scry on Agnes, Maggie, and Peter with his crystal ball. He was eventually able to look in on Peter, and was unsettled to discover that the youth was pulling lines on a ship, surrounded by some sort of bizarre fish-men. The group immediately suspected that the reason Sesamin had not been able to meet with Enzo’s employees was that they had been sold into slavery by someone within the Fortress of Justice.

The trial was held at the Freeport Opera House, with all four judges presiding. As soon as the party left the Last Resort, a mob of supporters and other onlookers gathered and followed them to the venue.

After the opening statements, Sesamin Anders delivered a measured, professional performance, to with a dozen character and expert witnesses, and a steady procession of corroborating evidence. The party presented their story convincingly and stood up well to cross-examination by the prosecution’s attorney, Yusef Chigaru. The prosecution, on the other hand, managed only to produce two hostile witnesses, Sigur Hilmarsson and Stannis Alensin, and two bereaved relatives of the slain Council members: Melkior Maeorgan’s sister Marilise, and Brock Wallace’s son Buster. The party expressed sympathy for the family members, but reminded them that their relatives were mixed up in some nasty business, and that “cultists tend to bring the most pain to loved ones,” or something to that effect.

The judges retired to their “chambers” backstage and deliberated for a few hours, calling in both attorneys and eventually five Council members for further discussion. After the lengthy negotiations, Sesamin emerged with a carefully neutral expression on her face. The judges finally took the stage again and pronounced their verdict: the party was found not guilty of the murders of Sea Lord Milton Drac, Captain’s Council member Melkior Maeorgan, or Captain’s Council member Brock Wallace. They were, however, found partially liable for the ensuing chaos and turmoil in the city precipitated by the power vacuum left after the events at the Lighthouse. The judges also warned Boss Tillinghast that they were troubled by the revelation that the Commissioner had used public funds to pay off Captain Lydon’s gambling debts to Finn, and that they were going to launch an investigation into the matter. They then adjourned the court and left the two sides to greet the throngs massed outside the Opera House.

Sesamin explained to the group that their “sentence” would consist of certain hours of public service, retroactive to the party’s arrival in Freeport, and that Tillinghast’s remaining political pull meant he was being allowed to leave the city. The group grumbled somewhat about being found even partly responsible the fallout from Tillinghast’s gross malfeasance and misconduct, but satisfied themselves that they would probably meet the Commissioner again in more favorable circumstances.

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