Swashbuckling in Freeport Returns

[Morrow]

And Now For Something a Little Different

Arakel's player provided some reminiscences on her recent adventures.


Part 1

Nate (sung to the Shaft theme by Isaac Hayes)

Who's the Black privateer
That's a death machine to all the hicks?
NATE!
Ya damn right!

Who is the man that would risk his neck
If the price is right?
NATE!
Can you dig it?

Who's the cat that won't shut up
When there's singing to be done?
NATE!
Right On!

They say this cat Nate is a bard mother
SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
Jus' talkin' 'bout Nate.
THEN WE CAN DIG IT!

He's got a convoluted plot
So no one understands him but his Sully
NATE BLACK!


Part 2

Arakel's thoughts on death.

I died recently.

I found myself in the great library of Tinel. My father was there.

We spoke for a day and a night and another day. I remember much of what we discussed; life on the other planes of existence, the secrets of eighth circle spells and how to fuel divinations with other spells. He also told me the real purpose of the Celestial Library, but I only remember that when I'm on the verge of sleep.

I know enough to know that this amnesia is a blessing.

As we spoke I could hear a sound coming from the outer court. The sound of a hammer striking an anvil. I didn't ask Father who it was; I knew . I remembered the smell of hot sweat and steel. I remembered a fair face in a dark place. I remembered a first kiss. I remembered weeping on his grave.

Kushervrick.

But I knew my friends would be calling me back and if I saw him I couldn't return.


Part 3

A Recap as done by Vanthus Vanderboren (yes I know he's an NPC in Savage Tide , but Arakel isn't the journalist that Garnham is so ...... why not?)

I don't know how I got here. I was spending some time away from Sasserine. Those fools my sister has hired have stirred things up and I'm planning my revenge. I think I'll wait until they board a ship and burn it to the waterline. That would show those low-bred fools.

Anyway I found myself in some sort of tomb. There was a group of people fighting their way through to a central chamber. Once there they were met by a vampire in strange dress with an odd accent. None of the fools could see or hear me. The group that was raiding the tomb agreed to play a board game with the vampire.

THE FOOLS!

If it were me I would have killed him myself and taken all that I desired, but they elected to play his game by his rules. They had a slip of a girl actually play the game. Naturally she lost the first play and one of her companions was sent to deal with an ancient mummy.
The fool actually spoke to the creature instead of luring it into a hole in the ground and trapping it under a rock. He managed to talk the monstrosity into giving him some trinket that I'm sure has no value. Of course I'll have it appraised when I pry it from his corpse.

Then the girl made another blunder and her pirate-sister friend was sent to a place where a giant walking tree was killing some puny squirrel/ men sub-creatures. For no apparent reason she destroyed the walking tree and then made friends with the squirrel-men. Obviously she can't handle a real man such as myself and takes comfort in the friendships of beasts. The things gave her a talisman that let her speak their heathen tongue. She seemed happy. I think I will gain the confidence of this high spirited vixen and use her for my own goals.

Then the vampire must have felt sorry for the girl and let her win. He told them some bad poetry to get rid of them. When the fools didn't get the point he summoned guardian mummies and some sort of nightmare beast. Somehow the fools managed to survive. The vampire must have felt pity on them and not used his best guardian mummies and nightmare beasts.

The fools left and wandered around for a while. I think they were lost. Clearly they are deficient. Eventually they came across some more of those squirrel-things. The abominations were fighting a group of giant spiders. The girl drove them off with fire.
A plan comes to mind. I will seduce the wizard girl and the pirate woman. I will use them both to advance my plans and then, when they are of no further use to me I'll let them know the truth. Their jealousy of each other will drive them to fight over me and the wizard girl will burn down the pirate woman's ship with both on board.

It is to laugh.

Anyway the squirrel creatures were overjoyed to see a person who would actually pay attention to them and not just kick them in the mud. A feast was thrown. The next day the squirrel-thing's king felt pity on the pathetic party and sent one of his people to show them the way out. The squirrel-thing guide made a worse wayfarer than the fools. Soon they were in the heart of the giant spider's place of power. They tried to leave, but just ended up getting to the center and meeting the head spider.

They fought the spider and somehow won.

 

[Morrow]

Session 43 Recap (Queg)

Queg grunted in surprise as one of the elves approached him. “Um, hello,” the stranger said. “I, uh--well, I gather you’re a ranger, and so am I, and I bet my friends over there”--he gestured vaguely with his drink-- “that I’d come talk to you.” He let out a nervous giggle.

“Hey. I’m Queg.” Queg held out his bony hand. After another moment of staring, the elf giggled again and shook it. He finished his drink.

“I’m Alendawel Gaelfhande. Pleased to meet you. Most people--most people who aren’t my parents--call me Alen.”

“Hey Alen.” Queg paused a moment. “You’re the first living person who’s ever talked to me at a party. Mostly at home, it’s just this vampire and me playing cards in the corner, you know what I mean? Parties aren’t my thing.”

“Well--uh--I have to go to parties all the time. Trained as a ranger, you know, but I’m half-elf, actually, and good at the whole talking thing. I’ve been in Alfheim’s foreign service for five years now.”

“Get to loose your bow much? Shoot any flaming arrows lately? Ever get to sink your weapon into tainted flesh?”

“Not the way you mean. Can I get you a drink?” Alen pulled one for himself from the tray of a passing waiter.

“Nah, it just pours through. A pipe’s good for me.” Queg fished an ornately carved pipe out of his ribcage. “Look at my boss over there.”

“Over wh--ooooh.” Alen stumbled backward as he saw the terrifying dark-skinned human wearing cleric’s robes. A buxom girl was sitting on his lap, looking alternately flirtatious and ill. Around them were spread the cowering forms of several other young women. Most of them were crying; Alen thought one might have wet her pants. It looked like a few waiters were down there too, suffering from the same ailment. After a moment Alen recovered himself. “He’s your boss?” he asked Queg.

“Yeah. Good guy. Lately he does that to people. I don’t see much change. He looks better, if you ask me. Less fleshy.

“But look at him. He’s got that girl on his lap, she’s not cowering in fear, and you can tell she’s ready to look into the church of Aster, if you know what I mean, but what’s he talking to her about? Conversion. His missionary plans, instead of the missionary position. I can’t even enjoy the ladies anymore, but it kills me to watch him mess it up so much.”

“What brought you all to Alfheim? I don’t think I’d seen you before today. And we’ve certainly never had a party like this before.”

“Yeah, you can thank Nate Black for that. He’s that half-elf over there doing the keg stand with six girls waiting for him when he’s done. He knows how to treat a lady.

“I don’t exactly know why we’re here either. We were doing what we always do, protecting Freeport from interference by outsiders, and this time that meant stopping the war between Atlantis and Cthonia. So we, whatever, followed the prophecy, found the Periapt thing we needed, and Bronson, Sully and I--Sully’s the pirate broad over there in the eyepatch making those three guys bring her everything she wants--were ready to go home when Arakel, Nate and Tavaari decided to fly all the way down the big hole in the ground where we found the Periapt. Arakel’s that cute young woman over there--don’t let her fool you, she’s one powerful wizard, and I think Tavaari left a while ago with one of your Alfheim friends.

“Nate, Arakel and Tavaari found treasure, of course, and a giant undead nightcrawler, of course. I heard them screaming--living people do a lot of that--and the rest of us went down to help. They didn’t need us, though--Arakel had made the whole undead mess disappear. Turns out it was guarding the magic door to this place. Do you always make it so hard for people to come in?”

Alen blushed. “Um, it seems that doorway was created some time ago and then forgotten. Glad it’s not my department. Those guys are in so much trouble.”

“So once we get here, we have to fight this mummy pharaoh and his demon bride--again! They were much tougher than the worm. Levels over hit dice, I always say. Then we met Lorem Arendel and here we are. I hope that periapt thing helps. I want to get back to pirating.”

“Well, don’t leave too soon. This place was never this much fun before you came. I can’t believe I’m even talking to you. What will you do when you get home?”

“Oh, you know, drink and smoke. Same thing we’re doing here. But less girls and more fighting giant squids, probably. We’ve got some unfinished business with an insane alien god.”

“Your island sounds so lovely.”

“Word. No one else gets to have Freeport for themselves. It’s ours.”

The honour of your presence is requested
at the
Enlichening
of
Bronson Alcott March
on
Swagfest Eve
at midnight
at the Temple of Aster

The favour of a reply is requested

NB: Curing will be available to those damaged by negative energy.​

 

[Morrow]

We've gotten to the point in our Savage Tide Campaign where the PCs, several of whom are the grandchildren of the Swashbuckling in Freeport PCs, have arrived in Freeport for the first time. So I headed over here to refresh my memory on some things from the Freeport campaign. Sadly I discovered that the story hour kind of fell apart before the end of the campaign. All I can say in my defense is that toward the end there I was pretty exhausted, overworked, and ready to be done with Swashbuckling in Freeport. Happily for the Savage Tide campaign I've succeeded in bribing the players to write the recaps, so that story hour is more or less complete over here.

So, anyway. How did Swashbuckling in Freeport end? I'm not going to finish the story hour a year and a half later, but I will give you the basics of how everything wrapped up. This is really for my own satisfaction. Probably I'm the only one that cares at this point.

Talons of Night

Our heroes decided that enough was enough and it was time to put an end to the long standing war between Atlantis and Cthonia. Recognizing their limitations as diplomats and what little leverage Freeport had in this situation the party decided to solve the problem like the adventurers they are. They chose to hunt down the Peaceful Periapt of Pax, a powerful artifact last carried by a cleric of Morwyn, goddess of peace. The presence of the Periapt was said to bring peace and put an end to conflict. The party tracked the artifact to the desert land of Nithia. There they soon ran afoul of cultists of the Night Spider, a heretofore unknown feminine aspect of Obox-Ob, the former Prince of Demons. The party battled nightshades, vampires, mummies, werespider monks, and various other monstrosities while they explored an ancient library, journeyed into the Nithian interior, and explored a Pharaoh's tomb. Subsequently they they allied with a tribe of Phanaton and made a daring raid deep into Aranea territory to discover the lost city of Aran. There in a pit beneath the city they faced the Night Spider herself and retrieved the Periapt.

The party then discovered a portal that allowed them to travel directly to the heart of the elven kingdom of Alfheim where the remaining cultists of the Night Spider were seeking revenge by slaying all participants in a secret peace conference between Atlantis and Cthonia. The party slew the cultists and, with the assistance of the Periapt, secured a lasting peace between the two great empires.


Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?

Prior to the final adventure of the campaign Bronson finally reached his goal of becoming a lich. He had little time to celebrate, though, as the party faced their oldest enemies, the Cult of the Unspeakable One, for the last time. The adventure began when their old ally Drak Sockit committed a grisly murder. Investigating Sockit's madness and subsequent disappearance lead the party to a plot by the bard/ alienist Sophia Lasilaran and her companion, the enchanter Enoch Sloan, to bring the dread city of Carcossa to the material plane. Lasilaran and Sloan succeeded in transforming or replacing Freeport with Carcossa. The party, protected by powerful wards on the temple of Aster, were able to journey through Carcossa to stop their foes before they could draw the King in Yellow's attention to Carcossa, thus freeing him to enter the material plane. The party faced Lasilaran and Sloan, their hordes of Byakhee servitors, and Mister Dory, the corrupt merchant turned undead cultist who they had exiled from Freeport several years before. After defeating Lasilaran and her cohorts the party was able to repel Carcossa from the material plane and return Freeport to its rightful place.

The party has little time to celebrate their victory, for they discovered the Cult of the Unspeakable One's final gambit. Batora, the King in Yellow's most powerful remaining follower on the material plane sought to travel to the Plateau of Leng to confront the King in Yellow directly and lead him to the material plane herself. The party chased Batora across the world, followed her through the gate to the Plateau of Leng and tracked her to the insane maze like Upper House. There they confronted and killed Batora, but not before she could summon the King in Yellow himself. Powerless to stop the King in Yellow directly and unable to escape the Plateau the party tried one last desperate gamble. Arakel volunteered to lead the King in Yellow to the material plane. However, she betrayed him and led him to Carcossa instead. The party had succeeded, but at the cost of their friend, who would remain trapped forever.

And that's where the campaign ended.

Next: What did our heroes do in retirement?

 

[Morrow]

Retirement?

The Life of Nate Black After His Adventures in Freeport

Nate Black retires from pirating, and gives up his political aspirations. He disassociates with the Captain's council and steps down as head of the fledgling Black Fleet. Rather than naming a successor he tells the members they ought to pick new leader themselves.

After Buster's settlement at Libertyville failed due to years of bad weather and failed crops, Nate relocated to the abandonned settlement. He used the lyer of building to build up the settlement and make some improvements, incuding a moderately successful sugar cane plantation and a rum distillery. The settlement has been growing slowly but steadily since
he took over. He also used the lyre to build a temple in the name of Morwyn. Since he's not much of an orthodox follower of the lawful good goddess, the temple itself, while beautiful, turns into more of a tavern and concert hall than anything else. Oddly enough it also becomes a proxy for a courthouse. Whenever someone in Libertyville has a dispute, they go to the temple and work it out over a mug of rum. Unlike most of Nate's favorite old Freeport haunts, fights never break out in the temple. This is because of the influence of the Periapt of Peace which Nate hid away in the temple.

Using the lyre of building he hid it away in the center of the great marble altar, which appears to be made of one solid piece of stone. He keeps his weapons and adventuring gear hidden in a more accessible spot so that on the rare occasions he goes to adventure with Sully, he doesn't need to crack the altar open to get at it. Most days he just leaves it all in the temple. He wanders around town helping people where he can and talking to newcomers about his unique version of the cult of Morwyn. If Nate is any example, the tenets of this new sect have something to do with wandering around drunk and lying in the sun all day.

Word of the Periapt's reappearance spread, and eventually Greta Lucern, an orthodox cleric of Morwyn, came to Libertyville to reclaim it in the name of the church. True to form Nate seduced her. Much to his surprise he actually fell in love with her, and to his greater surprise, she somehow convinced him to get married. To date he has refused to show her the secret hiding place of the periapt, playing dumb whenever she asks about it. She knows he is a skilled liar but she loves him, and almost believes him when he tells her it's really not there. Under her influence the temple has taken a more
traditional turn. Out of respect Nate and his followers refrain from drinking, singing and carousing inside the temple proper, which they now do on the temple steps instead.

Nate keeps in touch with Sully, Bronson, and Tavari if he can, depending on where their future takes them. He still considers Sully his best friend (although he'd never admit it) and since she refuses to set foot on Libertyville he travels to Freeport when he can. When in Freeport, so far from the influence of the periapt, Nate sometimes returns to form, and he and Sully get themselves into some of the old trouble. But he invariably makes his way back to Libertyville where much to his surprise, his life of peace and quiet have made him happier than he's ever been in the past.

Tavaari, well Tavaari never really changes. He went back to playing both sides against the middle. He kept things more or less under control heading up both the Freeport Watch while, through proxies, expanding his criminal empire.

Sully dedicated all of her energy to her political ambitions. The public loved her and those that actually knew her were terrified of what she would do next. So she proved them right by leading a coup. She made herself the new Sea Lord and exiled her predecessor as well as all members of the Captain's Council that wouldn't support the new order. In no time at all the Captain's Council had become an actual captain's council, made up of pirate captains. They were no better at running things then former council, but Sully didn't care, they were her people.

Bronson was devastated by the loss of Arakel. He officially abdicated leadership of the Temple of Aster in Freeport, turning it over to Elias Scrimm and his new wife Alhandra. He carefully hid his phylactery and left Freeport aboard the Dreadnaught. He sought to find a way to rescue Arakel from Carcossa, and he had all the time in the world to do it.

Next: What happened next?