Crisis in Freeport and the Ball
I've fallen behind on the Story Hour, and in the interest of catching up and being able to provide some kind of recap for Tavaari's player, who has missed two sessions in a row, this edition of Swashbuckling in Freeport Returns will be provided in bullet point format.
And when the storm was over…
I've fallen behind on the Story Hour, and in the interest of catching up and being able to provide some kind of recap for Tavaari's player, who has missed two sessions in a row, this edition of Swashbuckling in Freeport Returns will be provided in bullet point format.
- The Captain’s Council announced that they were repealing the law of succession which required the Sea Lord to be of the Drac bloodline. Many people perceived this as a blatant power grab, particularly supporters of Drak Sockit, the illegitimate half-orc son of the last Sea Lord.
- The resulting riots lead to considerable death and destruction, including the death of Xander Williams, the head of the Sea Lord’s Guard. The Cutthroats criminal gang took over the Temple of Shalimyr, God of the Sea. Many clerics were killed before the high priestess, Lorilee, killed or drove off all the gang members. She then predicted that Shalimyr would send a storm to punish Freeport for the death of his chosen followers.
- The PCs sat out the riot.
- After the riot the PCs were approached by Marcus Roberts, member of the Captain’s Council and father of Nifur Roberts, a crewmember of the Albers. He explained that Elise Grossette, another member of the Council and a major force behind the repeal of the law of succession, had been kidnapped during the riots. He suspected Drak Sockit (angry about the repeal of the law) and Arias Soderheim (another member of the Council and Grossette’s biggest competition for the position of Sea Lord).
- The PCs soon determined that the kidnapping had been carried out by Captain Althea Sharpe and the crew of The Knife.
- Bronson, having met Lady Grossette before, scryed on her. He and Miranda used teleport spells to retrieve Lady Grossette without confronting the crew of The Knife.
- With evidence that Arias Soderheim had planned the kidnapping in hand, Marcus Robert called a public meeting of the Captain’s Council. Soderheim did not attend. While Marcus Roberts presented the case against Soderheim, it was Marilese Maeorgan who truly took charge and convinced her fellow councilors to order Soderheim’s arrest and trial for his crimes.
- The PCs saved the council from an attempted assassination carried out by a group of Bodaks, extremely dangerous undead whose gaze means death. While the Council was saved, nearly a hundred people were killed as the Bodaks rampaged through the crowd. Bronson determined that it would take someone very powerful to force the Bodaks to attack during the day since sunlight burns their unholy flesh. The bodies of the fallen were quickly collected and burned by clerics of Mormekar, God of the Dead, to prevent them from rising as Bodaks themselves.
- The next day the PCs attended a Ball held by the Captain’s Council to honor the Heroes of the Battle of Pramas Deep, those who had served with distinction against the Thonian Navy.
- On the way to the Ball, Nate and Sully were ambushed by a trio of Chain Devils. While the heroes dispatched the devils fairly easily, they were disturbed when the devils took on the faces of Sully’s lost love, Bonny Bill, who lamented that she had not attempted to return him to life, and Nate’s father, Horatio Blackthorne, who castigated Nate for failing to avenge his death.
- At the Ball Bronson danced with a young woman named Tora Irontooth. She was interested in his arguments that as oppressed peoples the undead and orcs of Freeport were natural allies. She was so enamored of the cleric that she didn’t even notice when he clumsily stepped on her feet.
- Nate flirted shamelessly with the young women. In a moment of rare insight he recognized that all of Nifur Robert’s peers had married and had children since she joined the crew of the Albers. Furthermore, while the young women were fascinated by Nifur’s stories of piracy and adventure, they were also afraid of her.
- Sully danced with Drak Sockit, taking particular care to be seen by her former paramour, Buster Wallace and his young wife, Margaret Roth.
- Tavaari met Arla Fairwind, another child of Lorrem Erendyl. Arla revealed that Lorrem had illegitimate children scattered across the known world. Tavaari was, in fact, the third half-sibling she had met. Arla further revealed that she and her companions had come to Freeport hunting a group of followers of the Unspeakable One, whom they defeated in a battle at the Freeport Opera House.
- Buster Wallace announced that the Captain’s Council had chosen a new Sea Lord, Marilese Maeorgan. Further, Lady Marilese announced that the Council had chosen another member to fill the seat vacated by the death of Captain Hector Torian. Henceforth, Drak Sockit would represent the interests of the orcish citizens of Freeport.
- Marcus Roberts offered Sully the Privateer Seat on the Council, which was due to become vacant in three months when Xavier Gordon stepped down.
- Roberts also revealed that neither the Sea Lord’s guard, nor the diviners in the Council’s employ could find any sign of Soderheim and he was believed to have fled the city. Divinations had been able to confirm that The Knife was on its way to the island of Haven. He stated that the Council would be very grateful if the PCs should choose to bring Captain Sharpe and her crew to justice.
- The PCs were honored as Heroes of the Battle of Pramas Deep. Many others were recognized, including: Captan Scarbelly, Drak Sockit, Alra Fairwind, Morgan Baumann, Elina Mere, Tessa Corwyn, and Morgan Erendyl. In addition, the four PCs were singled out for their repeated efforts on behalf of the city of Freeport and named Defenders of Freeport.
- Following the Ball the PCs joined the public celebration of Swagfest, which happened to be on the same day. There they discovered that their deeds had become public knowledge, raising the profile in the city considerably.
- The next morning a great storm struck Freeport. For three days the city endured the wrath of the Sea God. The Temple of Aster provided shelter for many people with nowhere else to go.
And when the storm was over…
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