Published
on
September 27, 2022
| 467 views
| 0 followers
members are following updates on this item.
The party has a captive; Infinity. She was put to sleep as the rest of her group were escaping last session. She is tied up and complaining about it. She knows who all of the party members are, since she knew who was coming to the party. Cypher is trying to get information out of her, but it's not going super well. Cypher starts to marinate in the paranoia of who sold them out.
Ant suggests they should go after the bad guys, and proceeds to argue with Infinity about what constitutes being a "bad guy". (Thieves are bad, but pirates are okay, obviously.)
"Every good thief knows the difference between thievery and having something you shouldn't. Which do you think this is?"
Ant asks where the rest of them are going, and Infinity answers that they are going to a meeting to move "the item" (The Hoarder's Pouch). It's clear that Infinity views Cypher as a Bad Guy in this case, and is very uncooperative, though she does consent to being a prisoner and playing along. Fletcher tries to dad-glower her into giving more information, but no dice.
The party goes after the escaped people on the carriage, with Infinity in tow, slightly better tied up. Fletcher lets Errol know that they have to go on some mysterious Dad Mission, and Errol collects up the wayward guests that we are leaving at the party.
The party follows the Hunter's Mark to The Shade. Beurk casts a light spell to see by, which has the potential to attract gangs, but they are intimidating looking, so they go largely unbothered.
The trail from the Hunter's mark splits off from the trail of the carriage. Cypher asks Infinity where they have gone, knowing that she knows the plan well enough to know where they should go. Infinity does not give them any useful information, and they opt to follow the carriage rather than the person.
The carriage tracks lead them to a bar called The Sleeping Owl, and Infinity confirms that this is "home". Ant looks in the windows, Beurk investigates a potential back door, Fletcher stands watch, and Cypher just sort of ... walks in.
Inside is the group that they were following, including the Serpent, and the Envy. The kobold introduces herself as Serpent, and says "I assume you're here for the The Hoarder's Pouch."
She explains that House Solaria has a museum dedicated to relics of the Age of Dragons, of which Cypher was the curator. The Hoarder's Pouch has a companion chest that anything that goes into the pouch gets placed inside. The day that the authenticity of the pouch was confirmed, the museum was burned down, the pouch and it's chest went missing, along with the curator, presumed dead, until she sailed into the harbour two days ago.
Ant asks why the heck they care to get it back; Serpent plans to sell it back to House Solaria for money for the families of the people who were affected by the fire. 10 000 GP will do a lot to help the people affected.
A tiefling walks into the bar past Fletcher, who does not stop her.
The playback of the heist happens: Envy planted the pouch on Ant; she was the target because she did not go into the Demon Lord's pavilion. Midnight cast darkness to make their escape, and Liberty and Infinity attempted to trip up the pursuers. Serpent drove the getaway carriage.
Fletcher asks straight up: Why is this bag so important to Cypher?
Cypher says that she DID steal the The Hoarder's Pouch, and did NOT set the fire, but it is important to keep the bag away from people who would use it against the city. Fletcher is confused about how this could be "used against" anyone. Cypher knows that there are two endpoints for the bag; Cypher has a crate, and there is a chest somewhere else in an ancient dragon hoard, from the Age of Dragons. House Solaria could use the bag to find the other chest, and thereby gain enough riches to take over the city.
Cypher pitches that they could take the bag and get WAY more money, and Fletcher vouches for their trustworthiness. Serpent begins to fall into being mad about the history of the thing, but Infinity steps in and suggests that this might offer closure from that grudge. Serpent tosses the bag to Cypher and says to get the hell out of here because House Solaria is about to show up to come get it.
The party takes off on the bus, and sees Zehulka Solaria teleport in to the area, but she does not recognize Cypher. They return to the ship, where most of their friends are drunk on the deck, besides Jacqueline, who is rage-sleeping. She confronts Ant about bringing her to this death trap party, and Ant's takeaway is "I'm sorry you didn't have a nice time at the party."
The next Ranger stop is Mistbough Isle. Fletcher navigates to it thanks to Ant's consummate lookout skills.
The island looms out of the ocean; Druids would build a lighthouse here if there were druids here. The island is surrounded by shipwrecks that the crew has to wind between to find the land mass.
A kenku shouts through the rain and mist "Is that Antonella Flax!?" The kenku is Remy, a former shipmate of Antonella. There are a bunch of people posted out on the shipwrecks, and they light a path through the wreck to the island. Remy welcomes Ant, and Ant avoids discussing how they know each other.
The ship sails into a harbour, below a castle on a cliff, and a small town below. There is a cargo lift between the town and the castle. There are three ships in the harbour: The Kallistos, The Faceless Butcher (ship), and The Abraxos. The sign that hangs over the harbour reads: "Devil's Refuge: Where pirates can be pirates"