Session 89

As the Corsairs start to swarm Merrick and Dorin, they start to overwhelm the two. Dorin gets hit by two particularly nasty jabs to his vital areas and falls unconscious. Seeing this, Merrick uses a Flaming Sphere to roast the Corsairs and heals Dorin while Godfrey finishes off some of the sharpshooters on the Corsair ship and then comes over to assist Merrick. Dain gets in a fight with the Corsair Captain, and takes some nasty hits himself before Summer's position in the crow's nest becomes compromised when the enemy sharpshooters load incendiary bolts and ignite the crow's nest and the mast, so she rides down the rigging ropes and joins Dain below, helping him to finish off the Corsair Captain and some other Corsairs who came to join him after they injured Dorin. The party manages to finish off the remaining Corsairs after Dain bashes the captain's head in, and they begin searching the bodies of the dead Corsairs. They find some money amongst them as well as a Spyglass on the body of the captain. They decide to investigate the Corsair ship and make their way to the opposing deck, and then head down to the cargo hold. Down below, they find a modified hold with a prison cell containing two Elves, as well as a Lynoxi and Vesperkin who appeared to be unconscious in an unknown state. Dain attempted to open the cell but broke one of his lockpicks, before Summer came over and effortlessly threw it open. The Elves scrambled out of the cage, excited to be freed. They explained that they had been attacked possibly two weeks ago and were taken prisoner after the Corsairs killed most of their crew and took their cargo. They seemed unsure of the Corsairs motives, but they had not been feeding them properly and did not provide them with enough water. Dain confirmed that the Lynoxi man was dead, but the Vesperkin appeared to still be alive, though severely dehydrated. After healing the Vesperkin man, who the Elves said was called Benji, Summer gave him some water. Considering that three crew members would not be enough to operate a ship and Captain Cilia did not have enough excess crew to spare to help the three reach Caphanos; after conferring with Captain Cilia, they decided to take their cargo on board and bring the exhausted crew with them to Greentide, which was their original destination anyway. They were spice traders, originally from Catarvoss, and their cargo contained not only a decent amount of money, but some Chillshade mead and Empyrean Zest, a blue spice unique to Catarvoss, being produced by a Wellspring anomaly native to the city. After loading the cargo and securing the crew members, they set sail and used various means to set the Corsair ship ablaze, continuing on their journey to Greentide.

Arriving on the 26th of Umen, Captain Cilia offers a suggestion of where they could go for lodging and comments that she would love to have them aboard for the trip home if they will need a ride back, thanking them for their help with the Corsairs. She tells the party that she will be in port for about a month before returning to Myr, though she will likely make a stop in Arak for supplies. Afterwards, the party disembarks and Dain takes a moment to caution the party, warning them not to investigate any of the Runetech they encounter in the city and not to leave the city, or they could be killed. Gardain interjects and says that they should get settled until he receives word from his associate, Marnia. As they leave the harbor, the Runeguard asks Gardain about their business and he explains that he and Dain mean to head to Shimmerwind on business and that he needs to speak to the Chamberlain about being allowed passage, meanwhile their companions would take some time to do some shopping in the city and experience the local attractions.

After passing through the gate, they come upon the inn known as the Jaded Jackass, and Gardain recommends they get a room for the night while he waits for word from Marnia, and the party can do some shopping. They head inside and see a crowded tavern that is somewhat noisy with two open tables, and they head to the front desk where they see a Dwarven man serving drinks and signing a ledger, apparently signing in a guest of the inn. Gardain speaks to the man and secures two rooms for the party on the third floor and the owner, Alberich, serves them dinner. While they wait for their table, Merrick attempts to use a spell to quietly message Gardain to ask him something and is alarmed to discover that he cannot cast spells, as there is no Flow present in the air. They take their seats on one of the open tables, and while they eat, Summer overhears a conversation at the next table between a Dwarven man and an Elf, speaking of a crystal the Elf seems to be searching for. The Dwarf seems antagonistic and the Elf grows impatient with him, threatening him. The Dwarf relents, telling him of the crystal's current owner in Myr, an Elf named "Kyran", describing a research division dedicated to studying it. The Elf seems satisfied with this, and after finishing his drink, gets up to leave. Afterwards, Gardain suggests the party go see the city, so they head out.

Outside, while walking the streets, Dain comes across a merchant apparently selling Forgeborn to passing merchants. He notices a Forgeborn military unit among the lineup.

Curious as to why the Dwarf is selling military units, he questions him. The Dwarf clarifies that the military unit is not for sale, and points to the Steel Defender, questioning if Dain is looking for an upgrade. Dain takes offense at this, claiming his unit is superior, and gets angry as the Dwarf mocks his creation. Dain storms off in a huff. Along the route through the warehouse district, Dain passes by a shop called Whispering Warden Woodworks, where a Dwarven woman exits the shop to smoke a pipe, and notices and calls out to Dain. Apparently, the woman is Dain's cousin, Delani. The two catch up, with Dain explaining why he left, and becoming aggravated when he learns that Gloin has been appointed to King Rangrim's advisor's council thanks to his father, Glondor. Dain is very suspicious, asking Delani if she knows anything of why the Forgeborn are being sold everywhere, and she does not know, but tells Dain that it has been a big boom for the economy and things in Greentide are rapidly changing for the better… for the Dwarves at least. Dain thanks Delani and says farewell before heading towards the marketplace, where the smell of Skollbarken, a local favorite Dwarven dish, wafts through the air. Dain briefly stops in a shop known as Legendarium, where the Vesperkin owner, Nessberry, seems bored and is glad for a customer. Dain gets out a pack of a large collection of scrolls obtained in Seryndor, interested in selling them. Nessberry is quite interested and makes an offer, and Dain departs. Next, the party stops in at Aellor's Astonishing Archive, a shop catering to those looking to obtain enchanted items. The shop is overflowing with magical goods, and a pair of Dwarven twins sits behind the counter, with one helping a customer while the other reviews some books. Merrick takes some daggers over to the counter, wanting to know more about them, and takes great interest in one which the Dwarf cautions him not to cut himself with, as it has the ability to turn those it cuts "into fuckin' dust". Merrick is very interested, but is disheartened at the 30,000 gp price tag. Instead, he asks about the other two, and learns that one gives the wielder the ability to see without their eyes, allowing them sight even if they were to be blinded, and the other is simply a finely crafted basic enchanted dagger with an intermediate accuracy enchantment. Merrick wishes to buy both daggers, but the shop owner doesn't find his offer acceptable and Merrick chooses to simply by the +2 Dagger. Meanwhile, Summer inquires about a beautiful silver bow with black inlays with carvings of the moon on it, which the other Dwarven twin says has the ability to create its own arrows which sear their target with radiant energy, and it has the ability to make her intangible briefly once per day. Summer likes it, but decides her current bow is better and instead asks for a Bag of Holding with a customized harness she can use to allow Nuggie to carry it. The Dwarf agrees and quickly fabricates a harness by some magical means, selling the modified bag to her. The party then decides to head back to the Jaded Jackass.

Along the way back, the party walks past a market stall where a stern looking Dwarf scowls at the party before multi-colored lights streak into the sky from behind him, exploding in a dazzling array of lights. The Dwarf bursts out in laughter and calls the party over, inviting them to take a look at his assortment of fireworks. Summer seems interested, especially in the Dwarven-made fireworks that the man, Melgar claims have the ability to create illusions in the sky, but decides to come back later. Arriving back at the Jaded Jackass, the group finds Gardain reading a note. He tells them that it is from Marnia and it says "Gardain, my old friend. Something tells me you're having a bit of an identity crisis. You should talk to a specialist. Safe travels." Gardain seems to comprehend a hidden meaning in this and says that the party should get a night's rest, and says tomorrow they'll go to visit one of the city's few Ashenfolk residents, Ferrek, and says he'll be able to help them with their predicament.