Shelter from the Storm
Interlude – No Ticket
Cast of Characters
Gribron – human spellcaster
Ambar – catfolk battle sorcerer
Agatha – human witch
Caryk – tortle monk
Solsus – pixie
Jonathan – “human scholar”
Haddin – elderly wizard
Cristin – his daughter
Town of Bluehaven, Kingdom of Dassen
January 19th
Our heroes have arrived in Bluehaven, a picturesque seaside town in the Kingdom of Dassen. They are hoping to find a ship to take them to Seaquen.
It has taken them a week to make it this far, and most of the party are fed up with land travel. The people of Dassen are not especially hospitable at the best of times, and are becoming increasingly annoyed about the hordes of foreign refugees now flooding into the country.
The party have received a particularly sour reception, once word got out that they are responsible for dousing the Fire Forest. The fire provided a partial barrier between Dassen and their powerful Ragesian neighbours. The locals are worried that Ragesian troops might pass through Dassen and through the forest en route to attack Gate Pass.
****
Jonathan looks around the tavern, and spots Gribron approaching.
“Any luck finding a boat?” he asks.
“None at all. The locals are mostly too scared to put to sea at the moment. Ships have been disappearing, and there are rumours of mysterious warships patrolling just out of sight of land.”
“Surely there must be some daring captains willing to take a risk if the price is right? Eight passengers, after all. ”
“There were,” says Gribron. “They have already been hired by refugees who got here earlier. Those are the ships that have disappeared.”
At that moment, a man approaches them.
“Hello,” sys the man. I understand you are in need of a ship. I would like to offer my services.”
“We are indeed,” says Jonathan. “Who are you?”
“I’m Captain Jed of the Seahawk. My vessel is at your disposal.”
“How much do you charge for passage?”
The man seems slightly non-plussed for a second. His face goes blank for a moment, and then he says “Fifty gold pieces each. Meet me at my ship tomorrow morning.” Without further ado, he leaves. Gribron surreptitiously casts a spell at the man’s departing back.
Agatha, Ambar and the rest wander over to see what is going on.
“There was something not quite right about him,” says Jonathan.
“He was radiating magic,” says Gribron, “as if he was under an enchantment of some kind.”
Solsus decides to follow the man back to his ship, but everything seems as it should be. The rest of the party ask around about Captain Jed, but they find out nothing untoward. Its seems that Jed is quite well regarded locally, and has a reputation as an honest, efficient and steady sailor. It is considered somewhat out of character for him to offer his vessel in a risky venture, but possibly he has financial difficulties and is taking a calculated risk.
****
The next morning, the party boards the Sea Hawk, an elderly but well maintained coastal trading vessel. The crew seem a bit reluctant to set sail, but it is clear they trust and respect their captain. Half of the fee is paid in advance, with the rest to follow when they dock in Seaquen.
****
For the first couple of days the weather is fair, but on the third day a squall blows up, and Haddin and Ambar both feel suffer from sea sickness and do not emerge from their cabins.
The rest of the group are out on deck, where the fresh air helps to counteract the motion of the ship somewhat. Agatha is the first to notice that the ship seems to be heading towards the shore.
They question the captain about this.
“I never wanted to set sail in the first place,” snarls Jed. “Someone must have put a spell on me. I’m not risking my ship on this foolish journey. I’ll put you off here, then head back to Bluehaven.”
“We had an agreement,” says Caryk. “I’m sure none of us would put a spell on you. We’ve met our part of the bargain and we would expect you to do the same.”
Jonathan decides the best course of action is for him to take the captain aside and reason with him. His methods of persuasion are very effective; the captain looks pale and shaken when Jonathan has finished talking, but agrees to continue on to Seaquen as fast as possible in order to get rid of his passengers in the shortest possible time.
The crew mutter and look askance at yet another change of heart on the part of the captain, but again Jonathan is equal to the task. He hands out gold pieces and words of encouragement, and the crew reluctantly agree to continue, at least until there is any actual danger.
****
The following day dawns bright and breezy. The squall has passed them by, and Ambar and Haddin have recovered from their sea sickness. The captain seems to have lost his previous ill humour, and has returned to the calm, almost laid back demeanour he possessed when they first met him.
Caryk is suspicious. “I bet that scoundrel Haddin has been using his mind controlling magic on the captain. The captain wasn’t happy yesterday, when Haddin was too sick to control him, but now Haddin’s well again the captain is back to his old behaviour. I’m going to have words with that wizard.” With that, he marches off to Haddin’s cabin.
A few minutes later, Caryk returns. He has a big grin on his face. “We sorted out our little misunderstanding. It was all in my imagination. Haddin is a great fellow, and I apologise for ever doubting him.”
The captain wanders over. “Yes. I am fine. We are making good time. We should be in Seaquen soon.”
****
Solsus has been scouting, whenever he can do so without being left behind. He is able to fly up and see things before they are visible to the sailor in the crow’s nest, so he is the first to see the ship ahead of them. It is a large warship, and appears to be of elven design. He returns to warn the others.
The party have some difficulty persuading the captain to slow down and approach the strange vessel more cautiously. Caryk sides with the captain, but when Haddin arrives to see what the argument is about he is quickly able to persuade both Caryk and the captain of the need to reduce speed.
Solsus sets off again, and flies up to the warship. It is flying the flag of Shahalesti. He hopes none of the crew are able to see invisible creatures. There are a few elves on deck who look like they might be wizards, but none of them seem to have detected him. Of course, at the moment they have no reason to suspect his presence. Things might be different if they were alerted to the fact that there was an intruder. Solsus resolves to do nothing rash.
The party discuss their options. The Shahalesti warship is clearly stationed to prevent access to Seaquen by sea, and the Sea Hawk, sturdy though she is, would be no match for her in a contest of weaponry or seaworthiness.
Captain Jed agrees to put the party ashore at Vidor, a nearby settlement which is not even impressive enough to be called a village.
“We’ve saved ourselves a couple of weeks of travel along Dassel’s roads,” says Caryk cheerfully. “We only have the swamp left to get through and then we’ll be in Seaquen.
Act One – The Swamp
Scene 1
Thorp of Vidor
January 25th, 11 am
Vidor is a pitiful settlement, whose normal ill-kempt appearance is made worse by constant drizzling rain and the presence of several score of refugees. The inhabitants are a shifty looking lot, and are very free with information.
It appears the swamp proper is about fifteen miles south of the thorp. There is a road of sorts, but it vanishes as soon as it hits the swamp. Generally the swamp is about three feet deep, and it is full of all sorts of dangerous creatures. Most of the refugees passing through here have bought rowing boats from Leto Moore, the boat builder.
One red haired female mage didn’t buy a boat. Instead she hired a pair of brawny local lads as bodyguards and set off on foot.
“Red haired mage,” says Caryk. “Weren’t we asked to look out for that guy’s sister? What was his name? Randall?”
“Rantle,” says Solsus. “His sister’s name is Katrina. She had red hair and was heading this way. It might be her.”
Attitudes towards refugees are mixed. The locals consider black cats to be unlucky, and are worried that the recent spate of wizards and their feline companions may have put a curse on the town. The poor refugees who can’t afford enough supplies to brave the swamp are a nuisance, but more affluent refugees have been a welcome source of gold.
The party decide to split up.
Caryk will visit the refugees, and give them what aid and alms he can. Solsus, Jonathan and Agatha will see about getting a boat. Ambar and Gribron will scout out the thorp and see if they can pick up any useful information. Haddin and Cristin are letting everyone else sort out the arrangements, as usual.
It’s a small settlement, and Leto Moore’s boat works is a very noisy place. Finding it is easy enough.
Agatha wanders over and asks him about his prices.
He gives her a beaming smile. “Good day to you madam. Is it a boat you are after? We’ve been working flat out to make as many boats as we can. Each one seats three and they are a steal at only one hundred gold pieces each. I’m letting the oars and poles go at cost – just five gold pieces each for them. And with every three boats sold I’m giving away a keg of beer.”
“One hundred gold pieces!” says Agatha in disbelief. “For a three seater row boat? And since there’s nine of us, that’ll be three hundred in total.”
“Don’t forget fifteen for the poles,” says Leto. “And the free beer. Its an awful struggle to make boats under such primitive conditions, especially since its been raining for a week with no sign of a break in the weather. I’d love to let you have them cheaper, but I can barely afford to sell them for a hundred each.”
At that moment there is a strange noise, and Leto slumps to the ground clutching his temples. Blood starts to pour from his nose and ears. He calls out in pain.
“Let me through,” calls out Jonathan in an important voice. “I am a healer, and this man has clearly been taken ill.” Luckily for the injured Leto, Jonathan had only just taken his healing kit out of his pack, confirming his status as a healer to the various onlookers.
Leto moans softly, then staggers to his feet. “My head hurts,” he says.
“I don’t like the look of that blood,” says Jonathan. “I’m worried it might be plague. Could be very dangerous.”
“Plague?” says Leto.
“Yes indeed,” replies Jonathan. “I have some rare and expensive herbs which might help, but they are in short supply and expensive. I only have a few of these expensive herbs left. I could let you have them in exchange for a boat.”
“I don’t think it is any kind of plague,” says Leto. “Anyway, the pain has passed and I feel fine now.”
Just as he finishes saying this, the strange noise is heard once more, and Leto collapses to the ground. Jonathan looks alarmed at such a violent reaction, and is visibly relieved when Leto comes round after a second or two. “Definitely the brain plague,” says Jonathan.
“You do look very peaky,” says Agatha sweetly. “One more bout might finish you off.”
Leto looks very upset. “The herbs. Give me the herbs, and you can have a boat. And a pole, as well. I feel terrible. I need the herbs.”
“Certainly,” says Jonathan. He pulls out the most unusual looking of the herbs he has in his healer’s kit, and gets Leto to help them. His mace, inscribed with the symbol of Olladra, glows slightly for a moment, and suddenly Leto feels much better.
When Gribron and Ambar catch up with the others, they see Jonathan has acquired a boat.
“We’ll need more than one boat,” says Gribron.
“I only need one,” replies Jonathan pleasantly. “The boat shop is in that direction. They are a hundred gold each, with oars extra.
“And people call me a thief!” exclaims Gribron indignantly. “I’m not paying those kind of prices.”
The recent rumours of plague have ensured that nobody is loitering around Leto’s boat shop, so Gribron finds it easy to attract the man’s attention. Once he has the man looking at him, Gribron starts to drone and make strange gestures. Soon Leto is staring at him in fascination.
“We are on an urgent mission,” says Gribron in a sing-song voice. “We need two boats, and since we are short of funds you will sell them to us for five gold pieces each.”
Gribron stops droning. “Your mission is urgent,” says Leto, “and you are short of funds. Take two boats and pay me five gold pieces each for them.”
“You are a very kind man,” says Gribron. With considerable difficulty he drags two boats over to the others. “How far is it to this swamp,” he asks, once he has his breath back.
“Fifteen miles,” replies Jonathan.
“I’m not carrying a boat for fifteen miles,” says Gribron, and sets off in search of some local youths. He persuades two of them to carry his boat for him in return for five gold pieces.
When Caryk returns, he is pleasantly surprised to see how well his comrades have organised things in his absence. “Good work guys,” he says. “However, someone in the village said that if we bought three boats we’d get a keg of beer.”
“We didn’t like to impose on the boat builder,” replies Gribron.
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” says Caryk.
Interlude – No Ticket
Cast of Characters
Gribron – human spellcaster
Ambar – catfolk battle sorcerer
Agatha – human witch
Caryk – tortle monk
Solsus – pixie
Jonathan – “human scholar”
Haddin – elderly wizard
Cristin – his daughter
Town of Bluehaven, Kingdom of Dassen
January 19th
Our heroes have arrived in Bluehaven, a picturesque seaside town in the Kingdom of Dassen. They are hoping to find a ship to take them to Seaquen.
It has taken them a week to make it this far, and most of the party are fed up with land travel. The people of Dassen are not especially hospitable at the best of times, and are becoming increasingly annoyed about the hordes of foreign refugees now flooding into the country.
The party have received a particularly sour reception, once word got out that they are responsible for dousing the Fire Forest. The fire provided a partial barrier between Dassen and their powerful Ragesian neighbours. The locals are worried that Ragesian troops might pass through Dassen and through the forest en route to attack Gate Pass.
****
Jonathan looks around the tavern, and spots Gribron approaching.
“Any luck finding a boat?” he asks.
“None at all. The locals are mostly too scared to put to sea at the moment. Ships have been disappearing, and there are rumours of mysterious warships patrolling just out of sight of land.”
“Surely there must be some daring captains willing to take a risk if the price is right? Eight passengers, after all. ”
“There were,” says Gribron. “They have already been hired by refugees who got here earlier. Those are the ships that have disappeared.”
At that moment, a man approaches them.
“Hello,” sys the man. I understand you are in need of a ship. I would like to offer my services.”
“We are indeed,” says Jonathan. “Who are you?”
“I’m Captain Jed of the Seahawk. My vessel is at your disposal.”
“How much do you charge for passage?”
The man seems slightly non-plussed for a second. His face goes blank for a moment, and then he says “Fifty gold pieces each. Meet me at my ship tomorrow morning.” Without further ado, he leaves. Gribron surreptitiously casts a spell at the man’s departing back.
Agatha, Ambar and the rest wander over to see what is going on.
“There was something not quite right about him,” says Jonathan.
“He was radiating magic,” says Gribron, “as if he was under an enchantment of some kind.”
Solsus decides to follow the man back to his ship, but everything seems as it should be. The rest of the party ask around about Captain Jed, but they find out nothing untoward. Its seems that Jed is quite well regarded locally, and has a reputation as an honest, efficient and steady sailor. It is considered somewhat out of character for him to offer his vessel in a risky venture, but possibly he has financial difficulties and is taking a calculated risk.
****
The next morning, the party boards the Sea Hawk, an elderly but well maintained coastal trading vessel. The crew seem a bit reluctant to set sail, but it is clear they trust and respect their captain. Half of the fee is paid in advance, with the rest to follow when they dock in Seaquen.
****
For the first couple of days the weather is fair, but on the third day a squall blows up, and Haddin and Ambar both feel suffer from sea sickness and do not emerge from their cabins.
The rest of the group are out on deck, where the fresh air helps to counteract the motion of the ship somewhat. Agatha is the first to notice that the ship seems to be heading towards the shore.
They question the captain about this.
“I never wanted to set sail in the first place,” snarls Jed. “Someone must have put a spell on me. I’m not risking my ship on this foolish journey. I’ll put you off here, then head back to Bluehaven.”
“We had an agreement,” says Caryk. “I’m sure none of us would put a spell on you. We’ve met our part of the bargain and we would expect you to do the same.”
Jonathan decides the best course of action is for him to take the captain aside and reason with him. His methods of persuasion are very effective; the captain looks pale and shaken when Jonathan has finished talking, but agrees to continue on to Seaquen as fast as possible in order to get rid of his passengers in the shortest possible time.
The crew mutter and look askance at yet another change of heart on the part of the captain, but again Jonathan is equal to the task. He hands out gold pieces and words of encouragement, and the crew reluctantly agree to continue, at least until there is any actual danger.
****
The following day dawns bright and breezy. The squall has passed them by, and Ambar and Haddin have recovered from their sea sickness. The captain seems to have lost his previous ill humour, and has returned to the calm, almost laid back demeanour he possessed when they first met him.
Caryk is suspicious. “I bet that scoundrel Haddin has been using his mind controlling magic on the captain. The captain wasn’t happy yesterday, when Haddin was too sick to control him, but now Haddin’s well again the captain is back to his old behaviour. I’m going to have words with that wizard.” With that, he marches off to Haddin’s cabin.
A few minutes later, Caryk returns. He has a big grin on his face. “We sorted out our little misunderstanding. It was all in my imagination. Haddin is a great fellow, and I apologise for ever doubting him.”
The captain wanders over. “Yes. I am fine. We are making good time. We should be in Seaquen soon.”
****
Solsus has been scouting, whenever he can do so without being left behind. He is able to fly up and see things before they are visible to the sailor in the crow’s nest, so he is the first to see the ship ahead of them. It is a large warship, and appears to be of elven design. He returns to warn the others.
The party have some difficulty persuading the captain to slow down and approach the strange vessel more cautiously. Caryk sides with the captain, but when Haddin arrives to see what the argument is about he is quickly able to persuade both Caryk and the captain of the need to reduce speed.
Solsus sets off again, and flies up to the warship. It is flying the flag of Shahalesti. He hopes none of the crew are able to see invisible creatures. There are a few elves on deck who look like they might be wizards, but none of them seem to have detected him. Of course, at the moment they have no reason to suspect his presence. Things might be different if they were alerted to the fact that there was an intruder. Solsus resolves to do nothing rash.
The party discuss their options. The Shahalesti warship is clearly stationed to prevent access to Seaquen by sea, and the Sea Hawk, sturdy though she is, would be no match for her in a contest of weaponry or seaworthiness.
Captain Jed agrees to put the party ashore at Vidor, a nearby settlement which is not even impressive enough to be called a village.
“We’ve saved ourselves a couple of weeks of travel along Dassel’s roads,” says Caryk cheerfully. “We only have the swamp left to get through and then we’ll be in Seaquen.
Act One – The Swamp
Scene 1
Thorp of Vidor
January 25th, 11 am
Vidor is a pitiful settlement, whose normal ill-kempt appearance is made worse by constant drizzling rain and the presence of several score of refugees. The inhabitants are a shifty looking lot, and are very free with information.
It appears the swamp proper is about fifteen miles south of the thorp. There is a road of sorts, but it vanishes as soon as it hits the swamp. Generally the swamp is about three feet deep, and it is full of all sorts of dangerous creatures. Most of the refugees passing through here have bought rowing boats from Leto Moore, the boat builder.
One red haired female mage didn’t buy a boat. Instead she hired a pair of brawny local lads as bodyguards and set off on foot.
“Red haired mage,” says Caryk. “Weren’t we asked to look out for that guy’s sister? What was his name? Randall?”
“Rantle,” says Solsus. “His sister’s name is Katrina. She had red hair and was heading this way. It might be her.”
Attitudes towards refugees are mixed. The locals consider black cats to be unlucky, and are worried that the recent spate of wizards and their feline companions may have put a curse on the town. The poor refugees who can’t afford enough supplies to brave the swamp are a nuisance, but more affluent refugees have been a welcome source of gold.
The party decide to split up.
Caryk will visit the refugees, and give them what aid and alms he can. Solsus, Jonathan and Agatha will see about getting a boat. Ambar and Gribron will scout out the thorp and see if they can pick up any useful information. Haddin and Cristin are letting everyone else sort out the arrangements, as usual.
It’s a small settlement, and Leto Moore’s boat works is a very noisy place. Finding it is easy enough.
Agatha wanders over and asks him about his prices.
He gives her a beaming smile. “Good day to you madam. Is it a boat you are after? We’ve been working flat out to make as many boats as we can. Each one seats three and they are a steal at only one hundred gold pieces each. I’m letting the oars and poles go at cost – just five gold pieces each for them. And with every three boats sold I’m giving away a keg of beer.”
“One hundred gold pieces!” says Agatha in disbelief. “For a three seater row boat? And since there’s nine of us, that’ll be three hundred in total.”
“Don’t forget fifteen for the poles,” says Leto. “And the free beer. Its an awful struggle to make boats under such primitive conditions, especially since its been raining for a week with no sign of a break in the weather. I’d love to let you have them cheaper, but I can barely afford to sell them for a hundred each.”
At that moment there is a strange noise, and Leto slumps to the ground clutching his temples. Blood starts to pour from his nose and ears. He calls out in pain.
“Let me through,” calls out Jonathan in an important voice. “I am a healer, and this man has clearly been taken ill.” Luckily for the injured Leto, Jonathan had only just taken his healing kit out of his pack, confirming his status as a healer to the various onlookers.
Leto moans softly, then staggers to his feet. “My head hurts,” he says.
“I don’t like the look of that blood,” says Jonathan. “I’m worried it might be plague. Could be very dangerous.”
“Plague?” says Leto.
“Yes indeed,” replies Jonathan. “I have some rare and expensive herbs which might help, but they are in short supply and expensive. I only have a few of these expensive herbs left. I could let you have them in exchange for a boat.”
“I don’t think it is any kind of plague,” says Leto. “Anyway, the pain has passed and I feel fine now.”
Just as he finishes saying this, the strange noise is heard once more, and Leto collapses to the ground. Jonathan looks alarmed at such a violent reaction, and is visibly relieved when Leto comes round after a second or two. “Definitely the brain plague,” says Jonathan.
“You do look very peaky,” says Agatha sweetly. “One more bout might finish you off.”
Leto looks very upset. “The herbs. Give me the herbs, and you can have a boat. And a pole, as well. I feel terrible. I need the herbs.”
“Certainly,” says Jonathan. He pulls out the most unusual looking of the herbs he has in his healer’s kit, and gets Leto to help them. His mace, inscribed with the symbol of Olladra, glows slightly for a moment, and suddenly Leto feels much better.
When Gribron and Ambar catch up with the others, they see Jonathan has acquired a boat.
“We’ll need more than one boat,” says Gribron.
“I only need one,” replies Jonathan pleasantly. “The boat shop is in that direction. They are a hundred gold each, with oars extra.
“And people call me a thief!” exclaims Gribron indignantly. “I’m not paying those kind of prices.”
The recent rumours of plague have ensured that nobody is loitering around Leto’s boat shop, so Gribron finds it easy to attract the man’s attention. Once he has the man looking at him, Gribron starts to drone and make strange gestures. Soon Leto is staring at him in fascination.
“We are on an urgent mission,” says Gribron in a sing-song voice. “We need two boats, and since we are short of funds you will sell them to us for five gold pieces each.”
Gribron stops droning. “Your mission is urgent,” says Leto, “and you are short of funds. Take two boats and pay me five gold pieces each for them.”
“You are a very kind man,” says Gribron. With considerable difficulty he drags two boats over to the others. “How far is it to this swamp,” he asks, once he has his breath back.
“Fifteen miles,” replies Jonathan.
“I’m not carrying a boat for fifteen miles,” says Gribron, and sets off in search of some local youths. He persuades two of them to carry his boat for him in return for five gold pieces.
When Caryk returns, he is pleasantly surprised to see how well his comrades have organised things in his absence. “Good work guys,” he says. “However, someone in the village said that if we bought three boats we’d get a keg of beer.”
“We didn’t like to impose on the boat builder,” replies Gribron.
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” says Caryk.
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![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
