Tales from Malcanthet's Den: Harbinger of the Wave

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About the Saga

Several members of the Blackrazor Guild return to the city for some much needed downtime from the war. While there they are asked to meet with Guildmaster Malphas, and end up with much more trouble than expected.

Timeframe

Cast of Characters

Notable Quotes

None.

What Has Come Before

In the aftermath of the epic battle with Turrosh Mak’s army in Flocktime CY592, Obsidian Bay has been making great inroads to lay claim to more and more territory. A military offensive pushing simultaneously west towards Stoneheim, and northwest from Blue was met with great success, as the humanoid hordes, now leaderless with the death of Mak, proved little match for the well trained and disciplined Army of Obsidian Bay and its allies. The leaders of Obsidian Bay seized upon the opportunity of having both a fully mobilized militia and wide public support for action. The de facto Domain of Obsidian Bay now stretches into the foothills of the Drachensgrabs, and a great land grab has quickly ensued.

Throughout the campaign season, which is now winding down in Patchwall CY592, Orc Harbor and Ostrand Keep have fallen on the Western Front, and Obsidian Bay is poised to take Stoneheim before winter arrives. On the Northern Front, things have gone at a slower pace, as fewer forces have been devoted there. However, word has begun reaching the city that a civil war has erupted in Highport, with the humans clashing with the humanoids, and that an heir of the famed Bilarro family has claimed their ancestral title as lord of that city. The strategy thus far is to wait and see what happens in Highport before committing more troops there, as the fighting on the Western Front has been much more intense.

As far as the Drachensgrabs themselves, the giant population there has thus far been a deterrent to any major military campaign until other objectives have been secured.

In the wake of the wartime boom to Obsidian Bay’s economy, the port has been exceptionally busy bringing in the materiel for the various campaigns. Merchants, mercenaries, regular troops from foreign nations, and general opportunists have all contributed to Obsidian Bay becoming overcrowded, and several encampments outside the walls have become almost a city unto themselves. The taverns and inns are crowded with men away from the front on leave while their units are reinforced and resupplied, which has made their owners very happy, but inflation has nearly doubled the costs of most consumables. Luckily, the newly captured land was quickly tilled and planted in the spring under the direction of the city government itself, and the first harvests were bountiful. The Farmers Guild has been quite irked at the city for basically becoming a direct competitor for supplying foodstuffs, but so far the demand has outstripped supply, so everyone has become quite rich on the supply side. Whether the city will continue to operate the communal farms established out of necessity, or sell off the land to private hands is another point of contention, but better left for a future date once the war is thoroughly over. While still doing exceptionally well, the influence of such guilds as the Longshoremen and the Darksea Guild has significantly lessened from both foreign and city controlled competition.

In the middle of all of this, the once remote settlement of Brewerton has become a regional hub of sorts, as the mill there is the central point for flour production for the city’s communal holdings, and several more mills are being constructed to meet demand. Several edicts have been passed restricting what grains may be used for brewing, baking, livestock feed, etc., and it is feared that more widespread rationing may come about before the next harvest is in. Luckily, the Pomarj’s climate can support nearly year round crops. Needless to say, the Blackrazor Guild was strategically positioned to take advantage of this situation, and the shareholders, particularly Guildmaster Malphas, have become exceptionally wealthy. The Blackrazor Guild itself has provided several companies of troops to the war effort, and the leading members of the guild have all been actively participating, either commanding their men in the field, or performing commando raids as an elite force.

The Saga

Patchwall, CY592

Boxed Text:

After a number of months on the Western Front, fighting the good fight against the humanoid hordes, you are returning to Obsidian Bay for some R&R. As you approach the city, you are startled by the changes since you were last here. The port is full of ships at anchor, such that one could almost walk across the harbor from Obsidian Point to the Admiralty without ever touching the water. The roads leading from the main city gates are lined with the encampments of merchants, caravaneers, mercenary companies, soldiers from the Uleks, Keoland, and even Celene. Beyond these tent cities, vast drill fields with men-at-arms marshaling to and fro, or cavalry units making faux charges against practice dummies can be seen. This is a city at war, and obviously on the winning side from the looks of things.

As you make your way through the city gates, you immediately realize that the streets are more crowded than usual. The City Guard is very attentive as you pass, but the well known war banner of the Blackrazor Guild that you carry is readily recognized, with many battle honors pinned to the pennant’s mast, and more than a few of you are greeted by name by the Guardsmen, as your recent deeds on the front make their way back to the city quickly… Guildmaster Malphas has made sure of this, as propaganda for the guild means profit for the guild, so he has made sure that the Griffin’s Crier always carries a positive story.

As you approach the Blackrazor Guildhall, it appears to be a hive of activity. New recruits are lined up at the entrance waiting to join one of the expeditionary companies, as the guild pays better than the city’s forces, and offers more chances for advancement (through attrition, mainly). Unfortunately, the current crop of new recruits appears to be drawn from the young poor of the Mudsitter’s District, or deserters from the various ships in the port.

You are met by Gambori, a longtime member of the guild, who asks for an update from the front, and states that you should clean up, relax in the city a while, and then Guildmaster Malphas has some local business that he would like your assistance with. He will be meeting some members of the Merchant’s Guild privately at Malcanthet’s Den later the next day, and would like you to provide some eyes and ears on things, as well as security, while the meeting is taking place. Malcanthet’s Den, known for its risqué entertainment, is also known for providing privacy and discretion to patrons who can afford it. As the proprietors are also Blackrazor guild members or affiliates, it is very convenient for guild business. You are to size up the clientele, and root out any eves-droppers, etc. that could be in the crowd, as agents of the Darksea Guild in particular have been known to have spies and paid informants throughout the city to help them keep their upper hand in business deals. Malphas plans to arrive at the meeting fashionably late, so he suggests you getting there early to get a feel for the place, and enjoy the food and entertainment before the negotiations begin.


Subead

The Party learns that Malphas will be meeting with Hegar Mageddis of the Merchant's Guild, and Dynion Samine of Colsen Trading Company at Malcanthet's Den the next night to discuss business matters related to their mutual competitor, the Darksea Guild.

Creed goes to Malcanthet's Den a night early to test security. He is able to sneak into the basement storage area where deliveries are taken, and is able to make his way to the hallway leading past the dressing rooms of the dancing girls, and part way to the stairs leading up to the stage area, but no further. He leaves a note for Saban Sannsunth, the guard captain on duty, regarding the lapse in security signed simply as "C".

The following night, the party arrives at Malcanthet's Den earlier in the day to get a feel for the place, and they work out a deal with Rex, the head bouncer, to keep their heavier equipment stored in the back where they can have access to it if needed, as there is a strict policy of no weapons and nothing above light armor (or whatever can be concealed under clothes) allowed on the main floor. The clientele was sized up for potential threats, and the party did its best to try and overhear the conversations people were having. The following was learned:

Gar is going into semi-retirement, and is moving to Ragnar’s estate in Geoff. The Kordites and a number of Rallymen were having a going away party for him, and were meeting Gar’s replacement: a Priestess named Karita Torsten and her husband, Sigmar from Ratik. Karita is apparently a renowned swordmaiden and weaponsmith, while Sigmar is a celebrated warrior and athlete, having won the Onsager Point Biathlon (swim across Marner Bay when the ice breaks up in spring, then wrestle the ones who made it on Onsager Point) five times.

A Priestess of Rudd named Angerta was there evangelizing and hustling some young adventurers at darts with the aid of divine influence.

A bard/cleric of Procan named Trondholm had been coming in regularly, getting drunk, heckling the house musicians, and then singing the song "The Ruin of Obsidian Bay”. Rex tossed him out for performing such a downer song after bullying him into trying to play better than the house musicians. His song was as follows:

There was a great black city
Built upon the shore
Once a beacon of justice
Now shining no more
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
The rain of sorrow is falling
Upon the cold and dark ground
I can hear the siren’s calling
The temple doors all blown down
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
The dark torrents of anger
Rushed through the lamp-lit ways
Young and old shared the peril
There’re tears upon the bay
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
No warning for the weary
My soul is lost, my friend
Now won’t you tell me
How I begin again?
My city's in ruins
My city's in ruins

Hegar Mageddis and Dynion Samine arrived early with some assistants to begin discussions before Malphas arrived (who planned on arriving fashionably late anyway). As the two were waiting, Jax Derner of the Darksea Guild also arrived, purposely walking past them towards the bar, and the three exchanged dirty looks and a few choice words. This got Hegar and Dynion suspecting that Malphas had likely arranged for Jax to be there at the same time, and maybe was attempting to broker some kind of trade agreement between them... a deal which neither had any interest in, as they suspected the Darksea Guild in all kinds of nefarious dealings, sabotage, political bribery, etc.

After Malphas didn't show for dinner, the two, visibly upset, got a private booth and closed the curtain. Taggert went to their booth to try and smooth things over. He announced himself via the bell system in place, and when the curtain was drawn back, he could see that written communication between the two drawn on the table with chalk had been hastily erased with a wet sponge (an amenity provided by the establishment for discreet deal making). He apologized for Malphas's lateness, and promised to cover their meals and drinks, which greatly helped the situation.

After a while, an exasperated messenger ran into the bar to deliver a note to Jax Derner. After reading it, Jax jumped to his feet immediately and left with the messenger. In his haste, he left the note crumpled on the floor. This was recovered by the party, who discovered it was written in some sort of Oeridian trade code. Baldwin was able to decipher it, and it read "“Urgent Danger, Obey Orders Immediately”. Creed decided that he had better tail Jax and the messenger, and he ran out to catch up to them. He tailed them at a distance close enough to overhear their discussion as the messenger relayed orders to Jax that had been sent by Darksea Guildmaster Laslo Manderlin himself: All Darksea ships were to be made ready to sail for deep water immediately, disregarding all cargo, and setting a course to round the eastern tip of the Pomarj before dawn. Jax was instructed to even disregard stopping to get his personal belongings in the city.

Creed quickly returned to Malcanthet's Den after hearing this, and the party decided to head for the Temple of Procan in the Docks District after realizing that Trondholm’s song could have been more than just the ramblings of a drunkard. Also, when the party attempted to give Hegar and Dynion an update on the situation, there was no sign of them in their booth, and no one had seen them leave it. Once at the Temple of Procan, they found Trondholm passed out near the altar, and when they roused him, all they could manage to get out of him was “don’t you know what Vinmarden is calling?” which he asked in a rather fatalistic way. The party then realized that Trondholm was referring to Vinmarden, his superior in the Temple of Procan, a cleric/druid of the Oeridian sea god, and he often took swims in the Azure Sea for days, heading out off of the nearby Obsidian Point, below the “Haunted Watchtower”. The party also realized that if any sort of ritual were to take place, such as one which could cause a catastrophe big enough to scare the likes of the Darksea Guild, that it would likely be at Obsidian Point where the waves from the Azure Sea were the strongest, and crashed onto the rocks below the ill-famed tower.

The party split up at this point, with everyone except Baldwin heading for Obsidian Point. Baldwin flew over towards the eastern wharf where the Darksea Guild ships usually docked, and found them in near-pandemonium. Several ships had already sailed, and were headed out into the bay, while others were hastily raising their sails and throwing off their mooring lines. Baldwin tried to speak with some of the sailors, but fear of disobeying Laslo Manderlin outweighed any concern they had to speaking to an unknown flying wizard, and they promptly ignored him and went about their task. Baldwin, not being the nautical type, didn’t have the wisdom to notify the Harbormaster of the potential danger, nor the watchmen in the lighthouse who could ring the storm bell to warn the other ships in the bay.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the party made their way quickly but safely out to Obsidian Point by way of the abandoned portion of city walls above the slippery and dangerous cliffs. As they neared their goal, they found a robed figure, sitting at the very edge of the Point, performing some sort of ritual. They approached as close as they dared, and then attacked him to try and disrupt the ritual. As combat ensued, they noticed that the figure had transformed himself into some form of undead, and their physical attacks were having much less success than anticipated. Some powerful magicks and attacks were used, such as a strong fireball wand and poisoned arrows, but the sorcerer Zoot fared the worst, as a Disintegrate spell that he cast at the figure of Vinmarden rebounded back at him, and he failed to resist his own deadly magic, and faded from existence in a sickly green glow. Taggert used a spell summoning thunder and lightning from the night sky to try and both fell their opponent and also alarm their companion Baldwin, who then began racing towards the battle.

All was for naught, as Vinmarden finally stepped to the brink of Obsidian Point, turned backwards, and let himself fall into the crushing surf and rocks below while whispering the name “DAGON”.

At that moment, Baldwin noticed that the waters of Obsidian Bay itself began to recede. Ships sank into the sand and mire of the bay floor beneath them for several hundred yards out, and became hopelessly trapped. In the distance, he could see a swell of water topping over 75 feet begin rushing in towards the city. Baldwin wisely flew straight up to a safe height, and the rest of the party followed suit, using divine magic to walk on the wind. There was no hope stopping the impending devastation. Ships from the Darksea Guild which had sailed out of harbor had some difficulties, and those who couldn’t keep their bow turned directly into the wave were capsized. The rest of the ships at anchor or dock faired much worse, and were crushed to splinters when the wave finally broke. The Docks District essentially ceased to exist as the rushing torrent swallowed it up and crashed upon the city walls. The two lesser gates were instantly breached, and the waters rushed into the city itself. The walls to either side of them also gave way, and only the stout main Sea Gate stood up to the force, a testament to the craftsmanship of the dwarven stonemasons of Delvin and Sons who had built it.

As the water rushed into the Wharf District and Strange Quarter, buildings within three blocks of the city walls were devastated. Further into the city, most wooden buildings south of the Griffin’s District were torn from their foundations and swept with the tide, and stone building had their walls collapse in many places as their foundations were undermined by the current. When the water reached the Black Gulch, it poured over the edge and quickly formed a powerful whirlpool, with the air trapped below causing a plume of sea spray to shoot high into the air as it escaped. Scrappy’s Emporium, built nearby the Black Gulch, was also torn from its foundation and began circling ever closer towards oblivion. Gaiseric, the surprised adventurer and namesake himself managed to make his way to the roof of his beloved shop, and gazed in horror as he saw what he was swiftly circling towards. A quick thought crossed his mind: “Malphas better make good for selling me flood insurance!” Luckily for Scrappy, his erstwhile friend and adventuring companion Baldwin was close at hand, and flew down to rescue him, thus repaying the debt that Scrappy had paid him years before.

However, in the depths below the Black Gulch, another great threat loomed. An enormous purple worm, just minding its own business, burrowing happily through the stone of the Underdark, was suddenly showered with cold seawater. It became enraged at this disturbance, and quickly headed to the surface to find the cause. It emerged right from the center of the whirlpool, and began swimming towards the Griffin’s District. The party divided into different tasks once again, with some engaging the purple worm itself, and others performing rescues of people caught in the current of the whirlpool. After a brief moment of desperation where Creed was trapped in the mouth of the worm, he and his companions were able to slay the beast before Creed was swallowed.

The full extent of the disaster was not realized until later. The sewer tunnels beneath the streets have collapsed in many places from the weight of the water above them and the rapid erosion from the current for much of the Strange Quarter and the Warf District. The Docks District is essentially gone, and the city walls have massive breeches at Sea Wall. Wooden buildings and lesser stone buildings in the lower two quarters have been severely damaged or destroyed. The more substantial stone buildings have remained intact, though flooded to their first floors. With the sewer tunnels collapsed, the streets have become essentially canals, and people are moving about in makeshift boats made from carts and wagons, or even barrels. The Mudsitter’s District is flooded in its southern half to a depth of a few feet, though this is receding somewhat since the streets here are not all paved, and this was the high water mark. The High Quarter, the Citadel, and the outer two districts are intact, though now swollen with the newly homeless. The Griffin’s District is now an island, surrounded by wreckage and bodies.

The open questions that remain:

Why didn’t Malphas show to the meeting, where is he, and what became of Hegar and Dynion?

How did the Darksea Guild learn of the coming disaster?

How did a devout Cleric/Druid of Procan become a willing servant of Dagon?

What will become of the war effort since the disaster has struck?

Experience & Loot

  • No experience and/or loot is available for this saga.
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