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Message: <blockquote data-quote="peteyfrogboy" data-source="post: 1086371" data-attributes="member: 5677">Death In Freeport: Part 1Naturally, this section contains spoilers about the module Death In Freeport. Read at your own risk.Two days had passed since Parika first met with Delthic. Aside from learning her way around the Eastern District, she hadn't done much. Her savings were still enough to keep a roof over her head for quite a while, especially since Gambumbo had apparently managed to pay for their room for the next week. She hadn't seen the islander since they came to the inn, except when he was asleep.Last night he hadn't come home at all. Parika was awoken by him stumbling through the door bruised and naked except for a crown of thorns. Shaking her head, she went out to buy some clothes for him from a ragman. When she returned to the inn, she ran into Delthic in the common room."Ah, there you are," he said, smiling. He handed her a small folded piece of paper. "Here's the address of that man you wanted to meet." Parika smiled and thanked him. "My pleasure. Also, if you and your friend aren't busy this morning, I'm going to meet with a friend's daughter who just came into town. I was going to give her a quick primer on city and I thought you might want to sit in."***An hour later everyone met up at the Black Gull and introductions were made. Tall and athletic, Rachel Caldwell had an air of confidence about her. She was well dressed in the style of a mariner, complete with a cutlass in a weathered scabbard at her hip. Since coming to Freeport Parika had started to grow accustomed to the mannish clothing favored by female sailors and warriors. She herself had quickly taken to dressing in men's clothes when she left the orphanage, as skirts simply got in the way. She had always heard that Kufriti women often dressed (scandalously!) in men's garb.Accompanying Rachel was a young man dressed in similarly fine clothes but clearly uncomfortable in them. He was not introduced, though at one point Parika heard Rachel refer to him as "Dufa". Gambumbo grinned toothily at hearing the name, but Parika never got a chance to ask about it.After introductions had been made, Delthic gave a quick rundown of the physical and political layout of the city. He also sang the short version of one of the songs recounting the Great Raid and the subsequent founding of Freeport as an independent city. After fielding a few more questions, he accompanied Dufa back to the inn with his and Rachel's luggage.Rachel, Parika, and Gambumbo chatted and ate for a while longer before deciding to head back to the inn. As Gambumbo opened the door to leave, however, he saw a small mob of sailors out in the street. One of them pointed his way, shouting, "That's him! Get him!"***Rachel and Parika looked over at the door just in time to see eight club-wielding sailors rush Gambumbo. One of them landed a blow right between the islander's eyes, laying him out instantly. The mob seemed to hesitate for moment, not expecting such an easy target. Their blood was up already, though, so they turned on Gambumbo's friends. By this point the other patrons had taken refuge under tables and the barkeep was down behind the bar. Only the raven was still in view, shrieking "You break it, you bought it!"Rachel and Parika drew their weapons and looked at each other, then ran for the back door. Parika threw it open, only to find a dark storage room. "Where's the back door?" she shouted."There ain't no back door," replied the barkeep from his hiding place."What kind of bar doesn't have a back door?" she complained, but the only answer was a shrug. The mob bore down on them, chasing the two women over the bar. They both took several hits, only managing to score a few wounds on the half-drunk sailors. Parika saw an opportunity and ran for the front door, making a beeline back to the inn.Rachel took a stand, though she knew she was hopelessly outnumbered. One of the sailors grabbed her by the shirt and she pulled away, losing a few buttons. As the neck of the shirt fell open, a heavy gold medallion swung free, cast in the shape of an eye wreathed in flames. She noticed a couple of the sailors whose eyes glanced toward the pendant."Do you like it?" she asked, "My daddy gave it to me." From any other person this would not be a threat, but Rachel's father was Mad Randall Grayson, a notorious Kufriti pirate and captain of the Burning Eye. The thought of Mad Randall's wrath was enough to chill their blood, and the mob quickly removed themselves from the premises. Rachel hated to be reduced to name-dropping, but fighting dirty is the better part of staying alive.The patrons began to emerge from under the tables. One of them, wearing the red robes of a priest, ran to Gambumbo's side. Unfortunately there was nothing to be done by then but perform last rites. The priest rose and approached Rachel. "That was amazing," he said. "You must be a formidable warrior." The pirate's daughter was certainly not going to correct his mistake. The priest, whose name was Brother Edwin, explained that he was looking for someone capable to help him find a librarian friend of his who had gone missing. Rachel was able to deduce quickly that Edwin was a member of the Order of St. Uller, a scholarly order with a large presence in most cities due to their extensive libraries and skill at record keeping. While she had no particular inclination to go looking for a lost librarian, the coin Edwin was offering was sufficient to pique her interest.By the time they left for the inn the Guard had already made their cursory inquiries and hauled Gambumbo's body away.DM Notes:* I couldn't decide how I wanted to pronounce Egil, so I renamed him Edwin.* I replaced the press gang attack with a mob looking for Gambumbo. It was intended as an easy encounter; if even one of the mob had been taken down the rest would have fled. Unfortunately, the party rolled poorly and the mob rolled well.* After weeks of searching for a replacement member for the gaming group, my wife unexpectedly volunteered to play. At this point there are theoretically four PCs. More on this later.</blockquote>

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