Angling for Hooks

With the God Squad settled into Halamahi with their companions, it was time to start investigating the city for any potential leads.   The party split into three groups: Kipilu and Arzet would speak with local notables, Makar and Potha would investigate the aquatic life, and the companions would speak with the two teens that Dailio knew who were suffering from magical nightmares.   The group also asked about sneaking Makar into Mohomwa Cove, the place where the Test of the Depths takes place. The next group to go do this ritual would venture out in about 4 days; all other traffic to the Cove was forbidden by anyone without an invitation from the Selkie Circle of Elders. Kipilu and Arzet decided to focus their efforts on the tavern immediately next to them at the House of Emesh. This tavern, as an extension of the Lunar Temple to Emesh (the Lunar God of Knowledge), was full of unusual people and odd conversations. Of the many strange characters, the pair focused in on a single patron: an Awakened olive tree that was dancing in the corner. It introduced itself as Old Zua and explained that it had been created by a druid as a warrior for Lily of Red but had rebelled against its role to become a hedonistic servant of Emesh. Old Zua was a weird guy who was obsessed with gambling as his primary hobby and interest in life. The tree was unhelpful and the two heroes struggled to get out of this conversation.   Before Old Zua could get around to harassing them for more gambling money, the pair was rescued from the conversation by a Walking Cat wearing foreign martial attire. This cat chased Old Zua away and introduced himself as Kaydren; the two heroes had been intending to talk with this cat as their second choice after the olive tree anyways. Kaydren the Cat turned out to be an Orthodox Desmian who ventured to Halamahi to act as an ambassador to improve relations between the Perpetual Conclave of Desmia and the selkie Khilaia. Kaydren had arrived with high hopes of swaying the selkies into an alliance or even converting people here in Halamahi, but had been largely laughed off as a curiosity. Five years had gone by with very few gains, only some minor trade negotiations, and now Kaydren was living with a group of rowdy Jellicle Cats while spending his days hosted as a curiosity by Emesh.   Kaydren told the Gods that there was a strange character here a few weeks ago: Akun of Ajavet, a powerful wizard and champion of Emesh. Right as Akun left, there was some kind of disaster in the Assembly District that killed a few people - so that was suspicious. Meanwhile, some company had mass printed and distributed fliers stoking fear around the apocalypse and promising investors some kind of special security. The Hanahai, or holy bureaucrats, had cracked down on them as a form of fearmongering and fraud. A number of these fliers were kept with the Heartstopper House Jellicles, the cats that Kaydren was living with. So the group went off to go talk with those cats.   The Heartstopper House Jellicles welcomed Kipilu into their house, which was on top of an apartment building, but not Arzet. Kipilu asked them about their ideology, and found that they were cats devoted to style and whimsy who hoped to quantify and rate everyone's essential statistics: Style, Verve, Mystique, and Whimsy. Non-cats were deemed particularly low scoring. Kipilu convinced them to provide an audience with their leader, Adventer Saltsky, to get tips on upping Arzet's score. During this conversation, the group learned of all of Halamahi's cat factions:

• The Heartstopper House, who were fashionable and sly and just wanted to have fun. Classic Jellicle Cats. Control the interior city.
• The Evernever House, who were the goth Jellicle rivals of Heartstopper House. Also classic Jellicles. Led by Adventer Midnight. Control the assembly district and elite districts.
• The Loungerdays House, who operated a ship as a cat sanctuary and ruled the docks. Relaxed and chill Jellicles who embrace boat life and island time. Led by Adventer Swisherdame.
• The Maskclan, heretics who worshipped The Masked One as the ruler of the Cat Heavens and wore weird masks. Led by Stormstar. Control the North rural outskirts.
• The Glory-Words, led by Glory-Master Cottonjarble, a group of ascetic heretics who revere hermit monks as conduits with the divine. Popular among strays and very welcoming.
• The Marching Band, a group of musical semi-heretical Traditionalist Cat who control the Southern rural outskirts and are known for their martial parades. Led by twins Fernmoon and Owlmoon.

None of this was super useful for the quest at hand, but may help in the future if the party wants to involve cats.   Adventer Saltsky, the Heartstopper Leader, had more useful info. The Adventer explained that Heartstopper spies sent to the Assembly District to survey the fashions of rich humanoids had observed the great tragedy a few weeks back: a rich person with a staff flew through a servant's neighborhood and began turning people into monsters, which fused into a great mass. The Selkie Sacred Guard swarmed the street quickly, burned the mass, and killed the flying mage. The Wardens of The Sacred Isles had worried that the Heartstopper House spies had been involved and put the House under observation, but Adventer assured everyone that the spies were not involved.   Adventer also handed the two gods the banned fliers. These fliers said that the world was ending, had a woodcut illustration of monsters eating a screaming family, and assured that their company could guarantee survival for investors. The fliers had a mailing address and were distributed by the West Wind Marketing Company. Leads acquired, it seemed.   Potha split from Makar to go talk with otters at the docks using Speak with Animals. First, Potha found a small otter sanctuary along the docks operated by the Wardens of The Sacred Isles and went to go talk with a wild bay otter. The Warden Initiate, who was an excited and anxious young optimist named Warden-Initiate Awami, let Potha talk with them as long as she didn't feed them unhealthy food. Awami also reported that she had to help rescue an otter from a piece of animated clay a week ago; this animated clay had required a small mob of angry dockworkers to properly dispatch. Awami didn't know what was up with that weird animated clay and had reported the incident with little followup.   Potha spoke with the otter who had been attacked, who we will catt Otter 1. Otter 1 begged for food as expected and seemed pissed at Awami for stopping tourists from feeding it fried potato slices. Otter 1 reported that it had been swimming out in the bay near Mohomwa Cove, as Mohomwa cove sometimes spontaneously generated sealife that was easy hunting. This night, the Cove had been magically active - which was unusual, since it usually only came alive when people dove in during the day. While Otter 1 was hunting around the cove, a passing ship dropped a strange clay creature into the water. Otter 1, surprised and curious, bit the clay thing and a piece of it came off to attack them. Otter 1 fled back to the sanctuary for help, but the clay piece latched on and eventually pinned it. Only then did the other otters, Awami, and the dockworkers manage to get it off and kill it. Potha agreed that this was all very odd and decided to talk with a domesticated otter here.   Potha found a domesticated otter named Bluebell working for a long-term docked ship and fishing crew. The domesticated otter didn't have much to add but Potha did have a good conversation with that ship's ottermaster. The ottermaster talked about rumors of ghost ships spotted at night, sometimes docking in the harbor with an unnatural fog and spiriting people away. The ottermaster had heard of someone named Dashi the Weaver, an 'Oldpelt' who claimed to have spotted a ghost ship abduction but was laughed off by the city guard.   Potha then went and purchased a domesticated otter from a shop. This otter agreed to join Potha's 'family' and was named Kaidoko.   While Potha chatted up otters, Makar turned into a Cuttlefolk and dove into the harbor to speak with the Cephapeople there.   Makar found that the waters around Halamahi were carefully gardened and kept by the local cephapeople, who built numerous fish hatcheries, sea gardens, and residences out of the abundant seagrass surrounding the isles. Paths of woven seagrass and trail markers helped guide traffic, and the local communities seemed to be populous and prosperous. Makar quickly spotted something unusual: a large procession of dressed-up Squiddles beating the seafloor with kelp whips and chanting while other cephapeople slowly gathered and inspected rocks, crabs, and shellfish in the area. A squiddle in an elaborate blue costume with a bronze otter-shaped helmet directed the activity.   Makar talked with one of the less-dressed squiddles inspecting clams, who was initially scared of Makar as an outsider. This squid seemed to believe that most outsiders were Apex-worshipping barbarians who inhabited a "great wasteland" that took up most of the world beyond these islands. Once calmed, the squid assured Makar that they were welcome here and could stay in this "paradise kingdom;" they didn't understand why anyone would ever want to leave. Makar learned that the cephapeople slowly gathering and inspecting things here were helping the priests nearby 'cleanse' this spot of Rot. Apparently, the Rot Plague had appeared here briefly but had been quarantined and magically cleansed. They were now driving the spiritual corruption from the soil and sealife. The humble squid told Makar to ask the priests if they wanted to know more.   So Makar went to go talk to the otter-helmed squid, named Tendril Umar, once the ritual was complete. Tendril Umar explained that he had been blessed by Kailio, who was the supreme God of the seas, and that the cephapeople here were ruled by the "Heart" - the squiddle priests closest to Kailio - and their priest-delegates known as Tendrils. To these people, the world was in a holy struggle between the benevolent Kailio and the dark god Apex; all life was sworn to one or the other. The greatest mission of this community was to care to Kailio's physical body and home, so that he may better protect good and battle evil. Umar was also virulently anti-shark and explained that all sharks were evil monsters created by Apex to kill people and livestock, which must be slain on sight.   Tendril Umar explained to Makar that the Rot Plague had actually arrived here twice. Both times were minor outbreaks that Kailio had helped the Squids move quickly to control and cleanse (with some surface-goer assistance). Kailio had advised the priests to carefully observe and quarantine any signs of illness, and these rituals were an extrapolation of that order.   Tendril Umar also talked about how people had reported unnatural and impossible currents carrying ghostly ships through the deep waters into the Sacred Isles. Umar assured Makar that these were impossible and unsubstantiated, and said that Kailio himself had told the priests to focus on other more real threats instead.   Makar wanted to meet Kailio, but Tendril Umar explained that this would only be possible if they could convince the great otter to meet with them. Umar suggested that they organize a party: Kailio would be willing to leave his sacred underwater mountain cave to meet with any group willing to organize a sufficiently interesting feast or entertainment event. Makar suggested that this wasn't very holy behavior, but Umar asserted that these parties bolstered Kailio's holy power and fed him to better struggle against Apex in his spiritual battles.   So there are now a number of leads:

• What is up with Mohomwa Cove?
• What did that weird Emesh champion wizard do here a few weeks ago?
• What happened at that "tragedy" with the flying staff wizard and monsters?
• What was up with the mysterious clay statue thing that fell in the water and then climbed back out at night near Mohomwa cove?
• What is up with the ghost ships - either the weird currents the Squiddles speak of, or the abduction that Dashi the Weaver supposedly saw?
• Can the group throw a big party to attract the attention of Kailio?
• What is going on with the West Wind Marketing Company's doomsday fliers?