Party
Konguq- Human Wizard Captain
Ace- Human Rouge, Quartermaster
Vodren-Human Cleric, Healer and navigation
Bron- Dwarf Fighter, Master of Arms
Ryai-Elf Spellblade, Night Watch
Ryai enters the hazy Shucked Clam and finds his crew mates playing poker at a table. He is stopped by a waitress, who he asks about Ciella. Unfortunately, she has no information, so he goes to his crew. He tells them he got separated from Ciella and needs help finding her. Ace tells him that the place's owner would have the information if she got a job singing in the tavern.
Ishter makes the point that if people start talking about Ciella's performance here, Darvis will be furious.
Ishter tells them that the owner of the Shucked Clam is named Gants. Recruiting Ace, the two head to the owner's office. There, they are stopped by a bugbear guarding the door. Ryai (reluctantly) pays the bribe to be let in, and together they meet Gants, a lovely blonde woman in her 40s. They talk about Ciella and discuss the nature of their crewmate's potential predicament with their brother. Gants reminds the two of them that Ciella is an adult and can make her own choices. Ryai mentions that he doesn't want to stop her, but they want to disguise her at least. Gants agrees that that would be acceptable for a price. Ryai drops 40 steel for them to be able to go back and talk with Ciella. Gants then offers the two a shot of liquor called Palanthas Gold. Ace handles the shot pretty well while Ryai passes out.
Back at the Red Flag, the Dandy crew is brought further in, and Orissa forces Vodren and Konguq to pick between going up or down the stairs. Konguq picks up, and Vodren is forced down. Konguq is led by the Bakali and told to open the first door she sees. After some back and forth, she opened the door and saw a room covered in red lights and pirate iconography. The bed is draped in finery, and the bathroom has running water.
Vodren enters the cellar to find an extensive collection of wine bottles lining the wall. Vodren isn't interested in the collection and returns upstairs when he hears Konguq and Orissa argue. Eventually, Konguq returns and Orissa's intentions for them are made clear. She wanted to prove to them that her establishment was legit and didn't need Konguq's pity steel. Orissa and Konguq admired the wine collection while Vodren and the Bakali talked. Through their conversations, they learn that, chances are, Broud is still in Ankatavaka. Orissa also offers Konguq a job to help fix the issue with the Blade of the Aurora. She tells them to come back at midnight.
Ace takes the unconscious Ryai and leaves him with Ishter. He is escorted into the back room by the Bugbear and finds Ciella being done up by Gant's husband, Daimon. Ace offers at first for Ciella to be disguised for her performance; after the back and forth, she puts her foot down. If she can't do it herself, she'd rather not do it. Daimon then proposes they either pay another 40 steel to poach Ciella or have Ryai take her place.
Not wanting to do either, Ace tells Ciella to do her performance and instead offers to get Darvis drunk enough not to realize what Ciella did. Ciella thanks Ace and asks that Martle not watch. Ace returns to the table, and it takes a while for Ryai to come. He awakens to Ciella's less-than-savory performance and is unhappy to be left out.
The group returns to the ship to split the bounty made from the flags, which leads to an argument about Ishter's cooking. Ultimately, the group decides not to have her do it anymore, and Martle takes on the duty. His cooking isn't any better, but he is willing to take the half share for his work rather than the full.
Vodren takes some time before going off to meet with Orissa to find a companion to help with his connection to Habakkuk. He comes across a Bone Tortoise and talks with him. The Bone Tortoise agrees to come, provided he can find a mate. The tortoise names himself Inevitable and is... menacing.
The group then goes to meet Orissa at her home. Inside are even more wine bottles, some Ryai even recognizes as Silvenesti. Further in, Orissa shows them an injured woman covered in burns. They learn that she is the Bay Witch people speak of named Galea. She tells of how she was attacked in her home by some black oozes.
Ryai and Konguq deduce that the oozes are specifically called Black Pudding. They usually are either sent or appear as an after-effect of something. They are a difficult foe, with fire making them faster. They will also erode non-magic weapons. Galea also warns them of an altar in the middle of the island and tells them to avoid it. She also tells them of how she cut ties with Zeboim.
Konguq does not have the proper equipment, and the Marshals in the party are at a serious disadvantage; Konguq, Ace, and Bron try to find a magic shop they can visit in the morning. They find one called Taako's.
Ryai decides to try to get more information at the Shucked Clam about what might have brought the Black Pudding to the island. Vodren goes with him to help. When they arrive, Ryai gets nervous about the crowd and grips Vodren's hand tightly.
They enter together, and Vodren helps Ryai get to the bar. Once there, he gets a bottle of mead to steady his nerves and asks the bartender if he knows anything about the goings on in Good Bay. He tells Ryai his wife does, and Gants takes her beside him. She comments on his ability to handle the mead better, and Ryai asks if anything has seemed either magically or spiritually different in the past few weeks. She tells him about how the Seekers left a week ago, and now their usual base of operations has been taken over by Gully Dwarves. During their conversation, Gants keeps trying to get Ryai to spill why he's asking about it.
Vodren, keeping an eye out, finds a man with taped-on elf ears and a woman on his lap whispering about dark winds. Vodren asks the man to elaborate, and when he shows him his holy symbol, he casts the woman off and becomes enthralled by Vodren. The two talk, and the wizard Taako talks about his divination practice of reading animal entrails that showed him something bad was coming. Vodren asks to see them and goes to grab Ryai. Before Ryai can respond to Gant's inquiries, Taako becomes elated to meet an elf. They pull him away to go to Taako's shop. Ryai is silently glad to be away from Gants.
When the two arrive, they meet the rest of the party at his storefront, and Taako lets them all in. Ace notices a shadow following the group as they go in. Once they get to the birds, Vodren begins to examine them. He finds the symbol of the plague god Morigon in their entrails. And things start to fall into place, with oozes being his domain. The plague has been coming up from the south and has been in the birds for about three weeks, not long after the Dragon attack.
The magic users begin to do business with Taako, purchasing spells from him to help with the Oozes. Ace then notices the shadow more clearly now, being the bugbear that Gants employs. To help knock down the price, Ryai offers to sell him the fine clothes he got from Vanthanoris and helped talk them up with Konguq. The two spend the rest of the night studying the spells as they head to the ruins on the ship.
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