Black Diamond, Shining Sea

A tale of earlier times, this adventure focuses on sea life and the tribulations that come with trying to earn a living in a changing world. This campaign is written by Bwh and executed by Ryan Neenan.

The Active Player Characters

 * Gafflure Hilltyrn, a Human Knight raised by Dwarves. Played by Ignacio Jaramillo.
 * Saulthan Ophisus, a human Swordsage. Played by Keith Novack.
 * Antillado Sarkozy, an old Elven Cleric. Played by David Jaramillo.
 * Sciron Petzer, a severly grumpy and antisocial Warlock. Played by Jorge Jaramillo.

Other Player Characters

 * Derek Dragonsong, a human Bard, Ranger, and Rogue. Played by Jorge Jaramillo.

Main Non-Player Characters

 * The Captain and Crew of the Black Diamond
 * Aasma Quarash - a known rival of Cap'n Dash, and Captain of the Diamond Dust

Supporting Non-Player Cast

 * Syl-Pasha Persakhal, ruler of all Calimshan, whose actions against the smugglers' coves put the events of this campaign into motion
 * The Sailors and Ships of the Shining Sea
 * Miyahara Azoso - a Shou expatriate and owner of a particular magic shop in Calimport; known to pay well for special deliveries. (See also: The Gem of Sammaster's Eye)
 * Kamate Toshiiro - Azoso's right-hand man.
 * The servants of the Pan Syndicate
 * Ezri Rundeen - a son of the largest trading consortium along the Shining Sea; his motives are suspect at best, but the pay is good. (See also: The Path of the Tome)
 * The servants of the Rundeen Trading Consortium
 * Davram Bashshar - a businessman of Suldolphor, seemingly without consortium allegiance, who seeks to expand his list of clientele
 * An assortment of men with black cloaks and black badges
 * Miranda duLaras (See also: The Chronicles of Amn)
 * Fedallah - Mysterious captain of the rogue ship The Predator, whose power and motives are unknown and troublesome.

The Story
Calimport: a city which revels in its wealth and opulance. Wealth comes from somewhere, though, and it is often on the broken backs of hard workers that luxuries are carried to the palaces of the Pashas. Trade has been on the decline for several years, though, as the Rundeen Consortium plies its trade; also, smugglers havens are known to be but three clicks from the mighty Dock Ward itself.

Syl-Pasha Persakhal issued the decree lowering import taxes as a means of encouraging trade. To emphasize the point of legal trading, though, he simultaneously executed the destruction of numerous smugglers' coves.

Prologue: A Dark and Stormy Night
Tarsakh 13th - 14th

The city of Calimport goes about its daily business. Four souls, however, begin moving toward the dock ward of the city. All sailors by profession, the four each approach the ward and begin the search for jobs.

One by one, they gain information on obtaining a job, some paying more than others for the information. They all learn of 4 Inns in the area who post jobs – The Pasha’s Pleasure, a building sheathed in marble which smells of jasmine and lilac; The Bilgewater, a solid structure made of stone and polished wood; The Spinning Compass, a stout building made entirely of brick and whose only marks are a magical door and sign; and the Salty Seadog, a dive made from the remnants of wrecked sea vessels, its walls containing large holes big enough for rats and foul winds.

Most don’t even approach the Pasha’s Pleasure, and those who do turn on seeing the lavishness that awaits – surely it is a tad too expensive. A few come to the Spinning Compass. Sciron Petzer, a rather grumpy human, knocks. Impatient, and angered that there is no answer, he blurts out “Is this an Inn or what?” The sign briefly flashes from “The Spinning Compass” to “The Spinning Compass Inn.”  Others knock, but leave when there is no answer. Antillado Sarkozy realizes that the door seems to be magical and decides it is best to leave it alone.

All the characters visit the Bilgewater, and all are turned away by the burly door guards, Brian and Stuart. They are all told that they are not “real” sailors yet, and are therefore not allowed entrance. Some take the rejection in stride, but Petzer and Gafflure Hilltyrn are annoyed and angered.

Finally, the four all eventually make it to the Salty Seadog. Petzer, who doesn’t like social situations to begin with, finds the Salty Seadog to be something out of a nightmare. He inquires about jobs, and finds the greasy board in the corner. He finds out an advertisement for a new job on a new ship called the Black Diamond, and much to his dismay he sees that the contact is someone who stays at this Inn. Annoyed, he goes back to the bartender and asks about the contact, someone named Thorock. The bartender informs him that he will probably not be back until the evening, but he will be back. Not wanting to spend one more minute in the place, he leaves and stays the rest of the day at his Inn in another ward.

The other three go through a similar scene. Gafflure decides to wait for Thorock the whole day in the Inn, despite the perverted looks she gets from the other customers. She is also the only one to ask more about Thorock and find out that he is a half-orc. Saulthan Ophisus is likewise dismayed at the state of the Inn and wishes to leave as soon as possible. He too heads back to his Inn in another ward. Sarkozy takes most of this in stride, procuring a room in the Salty Seadog and waiting there until the evening comes.

Eventually, as each arrive, the bartender directs them one by one to the table Gafflure is sitting at. There is little conversation among the 4 as they eat nearly rare meat and one potato. They make the conclusion that each is here for the same thing, and talk a bit about why they are here. During dinner, the weather outside turns rather nasty, and a storm moves in.

It gets late, and Petzer finally reaches his limit of patience. He stands up and begins to leave. When he opens the door, he is face to face with a very large half-orc, his prominence only heightened by the bolts of lightning and thunder in the background. He pushes past the annoyed Warlock, who is frozen in place, and heads to bar, demanding the barkeeper Huon to bring a keg of ale to his usual table. The half-orc turns and looks directly at where the remaining three are sitting. He storms over, and says very forcefully in Alzhedo that they need to vacate *his* table NOW.

Sarkozy, who is the only one who doesn’t speak Alzhedo is confused and starts asking the others what he is saying. Meanwhile, Gafflure says nothing and gets up. Saulthan starts to get up and begins to say something to the orc, who proceeds to punch him in the stomach. Saulthan manages to keep his cool, while Petzer comes over and asks the half-orc bluntly if he is Thorock, the person he needs to see about the job. Thorock attempts to intimidate the warlock with redirected questions, but Petzer holds his ground. Finally, Thorock starts to bellow laughing, telling the Warlock that he likes the cut of his jib. After the others say they are there for the job as well, he invites the four to sit and drink with him.

Thorock is a beast when it comes to drinking. The others have a hard time keeping up. Petzer is the first to lose his senses, followed closely by Saulthan. Sarkozy nurses one glass the whole time, while Gafflure keeps up with Thorock until the Half-orc grabs Petzer's glass and attempts to double-fist two pints. The first goes down smooth, but he misses his mouth with the second, smashing it on his forehead. Deciding that he has had enough, he smashes the other glass on his forehead on purpose, and then gets down to business.

Thorock puts the 4 through a few tests involving tying sailor knots in a rope. While they all easily make his minimum requirements for the job, Sarkozy and Gafflure do especially well, and Thorock is quite surprised that an old elf and a woman have performed so well. Thorock fills him in on the job, including pay for each trip, and that “Captain Dash” expects a cut of all profits. He also warns them that though what they do with their money is their business, don’t do something like become in gambling debt or get killed where they can’t find the body. He tells the four to meet on the pier the next morning before dawn.

The four arrive and get their first look at the Black Diamond – a rough as a galleon as they’ve ever seen. Though it seems to be head together by spit and shear will, she appears sea worthy. Some of the party notice a beautifully carved topless mermaid on the masthead.

Thorock meets them and brings them onboard the ship, taking directly down below deck to a large door bearing dagger gashes. After a short knock, the door is opened and the 4 are face to face with the captain of the Black Diamond, Captain Dashiel D’Arcy Damon III. He introduces himself and tells them that they will address him as Captain Dash only. The group takes in the captain, who looks both well dressed and foreboding at the same time. Sarkozy recognizes the accent of a man not from Calimsham, but of more north, perhaps the Sword Coast. He says their names and gives them some brief rules of the ship. He assigns Petzer the menial task of taking care of the bilges.

The group leaves and are told by Thorock to help load the ship. The boxes, who look very hefty, are foreboding to Sarkozy, so he decides to cast a spell in order to help him carry the boxes. He fails however on the third box, as does Petzer, and an angry Thorock orders other to him them with the rest of the boxes. The other two manage to complete the tasks themselves. The boxes, which are marked with the logo of the “Rundeen Consortium” seem to shake by themselves. Curiosity, however, does not get the best of them. They try to ask the others what is inside, but do not get a straight answer.

The rest of the day goes relatively uneventful – another ship passes them shortly out of port, The Diamond Dust. It is soon noticed, by the boos and rude gestures directed at the ship, that the captain of the vessel, one Aasma Quarash, is the rival of Captain Dash.

The 4 work on the decks all day. Sarkozy turns out to be the most capable, and a congratulatory slap on his back from Dash nearly sends him to the ground. Later, while Petzer is on watch, he fumbles the watchglass – luckily, he is able to catch it before it falls to the deck and shatters.

Finally, that night, the group is called to dinner. It is a good meal, and toward the end, the Captain rises and tells that it is time for the newcomers to rise and tell the crew about themselves, their pasts, and their criminal histories.

After a new hand named Gabby tells her story, the other four go, some reluctantly. Most are brief, although Sarkozy gets a few hearty groans and a “this is going to take forever” when he stands. Satisfied with their information, the crew is dismissed back to work.

The night ends with a game of Even/Odds below decks. The rest of the crew is quite surprised when several of the four start betting multiple pieces of gold. Petzer, grumpy as always, sits out the game. Gafflure is the most active, although Saulthan wins the biggest pot of the night – 6 G. At one point during the game, both Saulthan and Sarkozy think one of the crewman playing in the game has slipped in illegal dice. Saulthan demands to examine them, and finds nothing wrong, although Sarkozy has the distinct feeling that they might have been magical.

The crew heads to sleep for the night, all managing to get a peaceful night of rest of the restless boat.

Fit the First: Red Sky At Morning
Tarsakh 15th - 25th

The four awake after a semi-restless night of sleep. They are greeted by an ominous red sky. Before they know it, a massive storm falls upon the ship. The crew moves quickly, many attending to the bilges. The four left on deck with others trying to secure the rigging. While Saulthan and Gafflure handle the task well, Petzer and Sarkozy are a different story. Petzer momentarily loses grip, but is able to steady himself and regain control. Sarkozy, however, completely loses grasp of the rigging, falls, and is swept toward the rails. With half of his body over the side, he manages to hold on for dear life. At the moment of falling, a large orcish arm grabs him and literally throws him to the deck.

Thorock gains control of Sarkozy's post, and together the crew secures the rigging. The storm lasts for hours, and the four's endurance is tested. However, the ship makes it through the storm in one piece, and eventually, the blue sky once again shines down upon them. Arrad Qaddar announces that they have lost at least a day's journey from Tashluta. Cap'n Dash is not happy about this, nor is he thrilled at the two dead crew members who perished in the storm. After saying some dashingly sincere words over the dearly departed, he turns to Saulthan and tells him that his effort in the storm has earned him a promotion. No longer is he a "Boot" on the ship, but a "Hand." Dash promises him something when they return to Calimport.

The rest of the journey goes relatively uneventful. The four perform admirably on the way there. Eventually, and one day late, The Black Diamond pulls into port in the city of Tashluta, Tashalar. As Dash leaps off the deck and meets with a shifty man, the four take in their surroundings as they try (some better than others) to unload the cargo.

Tashluta, they can see, is a city built around its port. They are docked at what looks like the largest and the most well maintained docks on the coast. A large mansion adorns the immediate area, and every free surface bears a green letter "R" emblazed on a mean looking coat of arms. After the boat is emptied, Thorock tells the crew that they have the afternoon to explore, and that should be sure to be back by sundown.

Before they can leave, they notice Thorock holding a large coffin and walking toward the interior of the city. Sarkozy, whose curiosity gets the best of him, walks up to the half-orc and asks where he is going. Thorock responds rather threateningly - he telsl the elf to back off - it is none of his business and he best not be following him. Sarkozy listens to his advice and retreats back to the dock.

Saulthan heads off on his own toward the center of the city, looking for a park. Petzer, not saying a word, walks in the opposite direction of most of the crew, intending to take a short tour of the city. Gafflure goes off to look for an inn. Sarkozy tries to head to the interior himself, but is confronted by a small girl of about 7. The girl is extremely curious about elves, and proceeds to ask so many questions that a normal man (or elf) would retreat in frustration. Sarkozy, however, stands firm and answers all the girl's questions about himself, his race, sailing, and his favorite color. Happy that she has made a new friend (and gotten his autograph in Elven, even), she hands him a ring she found and skips off. Sarkozy, suspicious through the whole ordeal pockets the ring and heads off to eat something.

Gafflure finds a tavern called The Black Jungle Tavern, and sits down for a good meal, well at least a spicy meal. Gafflure learns the hard way what "Tashlutan" style meat is, and the spicy food nearly knocks her out. She manages to eat it, however. She also learns a bit about the city, and the consortium they are dealing with - The Rundeen. The Rundeen are the largest and most powerful trading company in Tashluta, and therefore all of Tashalar. After her meal, she heads out, walks by and sees the impressive Mage Academy with its very tall tower and the Temple to Savras, and then heads back to the docks.

Sarkozy finds a magic shop and pays to have the ring identified. He then wanders to the center of the city, recognizing the preistly robes of Savras, Istishia, and Waukeen. He eventually finds the arboretum near the Mage's Tower and comes across Saulthan sitting on a bench. The two decide to go and eat lunch. They find the Black Jungle Tavern and have a similar experience, however Sarkozy has great difficulty handling the spicy food. The two eventually head back to the docks.

Petzer, in all his grumpiness, takes a long tour around the city. He is wary of the center and the massive temple and many clerics. As he heads back to the docks, he is approached by a strange looking man. The two have an exchange. If someone were watching, they would see Petzer walk off with a small bag in his hand.

The four assemble for dinner on the ship, where Cap'n Dash's absense is explained by Thorock: Dash is negotating the next shipment. Eventually, the captain returns, and the crew finds 40 small boxes on the dock. The cargo turns out to be shocket lizards, and the crew is warned (with Dash not hiding his emphasis at Petzer and Sarkozy) that this cargo needs to be taken very good care of.

The boxes are loaded, and the ship sets sail the next morning. Three days into the trip, while Sarkozy is at watch, he hears abnormal splashing around the ship. Running down into the hold, he starts awakening the crew. By the time the four get back to the deck, the ship is filled with Kuo-taos. The four enter into a fierce battle with a group of clerics, rogues, and a monk. The battle is going well until Gafflure is held in place by a spell and is quickly killed by a rogue. Luckily, Cap'n Dash lends the four a hand, and the battle is won without further casualties. The doctor comes out and heals the wounded crew, and then talks briefly with the Captain. Dash then turns to the other three and asks them if they think Gafflure would like to come back. The three respond to the positive. The Captain nods, and the doctor pulls out a large diamond, places it in Gafflure's mouth, and minutes later, the young knight breathes again.

The rest of the jounrey passes without incident. The crew reaches Calimport and unloads the cargo. Thorock hands over their pay, minus any gambling losses. Cap'n Dash hands Saulthan a paper and tells the group that they should go to the Bilgewater - and that Saulthan should see Erik Thundergaard for his "Tattoo." The four head off and arrive at the lively tavern. Upon seeing the letter, Stuart and Brian let the four through. Inside is a lively barroom. The first thing that the four notice is a large magical board which evidently keeps a tally of all the ships income. The Black Diamond is in second, behind the Diamond Dust.

While Saulthan is getting his "call" tattoo and enjoying his free beer, Sarkozy notices a strange door in the corner. His curiousity again gets the best of him, and he goes to the door, and sees a label "Do not talk about this door." Not able to control himself, he opens the door. Moments later, Thorock is pounding him on the shoulder, shouting that "we have our first volunteer." The group heads down to the basement of the tavern and finds a rough fighting arena. Sarkozy is mortified when he sees the very large half-orc he has "volunteered" to fight. The fight doesn't last a minute. Sarkozy is knocked senseless and looses consciousness in 20 seconds. Gafflure then decides to try her hand in the ring. Though she holds her own a bit better than the ancient elf, she too is beaten rather handidly.

The four split from the bilgewater. Sarkozy goes back to the Salty Seadog and sleeps. Gafflure does the same. Petzer and Saulthan head to the nearest magic shop to sell some of the spoils of the battle on the ship. They find a shop run by an asian looking man. They sell their gear, and depart. Saulthan heads back to the Bilgewater and gets a room. Petzer makes a brief stop at a Temple to Talos, and then heads to the nearest mid-range Inn for the night.

Fit the Second: The Kessel Run
Tarsakh 26th - Mirtul 8th

On the third day of shoreleave the call goes out - Dash needs help. Saulthan is the only Hand of the four, and immediately begins following the call to the docks. There he finds Captain Dash surrounded by what looks to be most of Captain Quarash's crew. Several are already unconscious at his feet, and as Saulthan and the other Hands of the Black Diamond arrive, it appears that the rest are about to go in and finish the job. Before control is lost, Quarash arrives and calls off her crew. She offers a wager to make it up to Dash. Despite Thorock's less than hidden groans, Dash accepts. Quarash proposes a race of the Kessel Run - transporting explosives from Calimport to Suldolphur and back. First ship back with the return cargo is declared the winner - and earns the profit of the losing ship. Seeing an offer that would put the Black Diamond in front of the rest in earned profit, Dash agrees. They are to sail at first light in the morning.

Saulthan leaves to find the Boots so they can begin to help load the ship. He easily finds Gafflure and Sarkozy at the Salty Seadog. Petzer, on the other hand, is believed to have stayed at another Inn in a different ward. Not wanting to spend all day finding him, they reason that he will be showing up that night due to the original schedule, and that 3 people helping load the ship is better than none. They set off back to the docks and follow Thorock to Azoso's shop in the southern Jewel Ward.

For a time, the loading goes smoothly. Near the end of the night, and on their last haul, the four find themselves separated from the rest of the crew. It is about this time that Sarkozy notices that a man has been following them. Attempting to shake off their pursuit, and worrying about their explosive cargo, they take a detour. Just when they think they have lost the man, he steps in front of the three and draws a rapier.

The battle turns ugly very quickly: an invisible attacker strikes at Gafflure, who cannot hang on to the box she was carrying. It falls at her feet with a thud and a hiss. The other two, who are sharing a box, put it down and debate on their actions. Believing that the box is soon to expload, they decide to retreat, Saulthan even able to yell at some commoners who are coming close. The attackers manage to take the unbroken box. They also try to stop the explosion of the dropped box, but are not quick enough. The box explodes and appears to kill the remaining assailants. Not wanting to wait around for the guards, the 3 flee back to the docks, trying to think of a way to explain the missing boxes. As they approach, Thorock approaches them and learns of what happens. Barely keeping his cool, Thorock warns the three that they best be keeping this information from the captain- if they know whats good for them. As the night draws to a close, Petzer finally arrives at the boat.

At dawn, both ships sail from Calimport. Taking an easly lead, the Black Diamond hugs the ragged and scared coastline, and the four get a look at some of the former Pirate Coves, now littered with hung skeletons and filled with threatening sounds. Halfway through the journey, The Diamond Dust starts to make a move and comes up fast on the Diamond. The result is 3 days of little sleep and hard rowing, but all four perform well, and the Diamond pulls into Suldolphur a few minutes in front of the Dust.

The four find the city in a bit of chaos. They learn later than there are riots in the north of the city, and almost all shipping has been grounded. The Captain informs them that they have one hour on shore if they so wish while the dockhands load the return cargo. Gafflure and Sarkozy decide to stay at the docks. Saulthan goes into the city and finds the Screaming Eagle Tavern to deliver the magical mace given to him by Azoso. He finds the man named Xabbar, gets the payment and hurries back. About halfway to the docks, he meets Gabby, and they start to talk when dozens of arrows start raining down on them. Overwhelmed, and with little choice, they retreat down an ally, only to come face to face with a very large half orc with an even larger axe. Deciding the arrows were a better choice, they run from the laughing barbarian. Gabby is hit hard by many arrows and barely makes it back to the ship conscious. Saulthan is also hurt, and they both go straight to the doctor's office.

Meanwhile, Petzer notices a perculiar looking man at one end of the dock ward. It doesn't take long for him to start a conversation and realize that this is Davram Bashshar, an associate that he has much interest in. Petzer talks a bit with him about his business, and buys some more of his product. As they part, Davram wishes Petzer a ominous "good luck" and "see you soon."

Petzer returns shortly after the wounded Saulthan, and moments later the Diamond takes off from port, again slightly ahead of the Dust. The latter ship takes note of this and gives the Diamond a slight love ram off the starboard bow. The race, once again, is on, and this time, the Dust does not let up her pursuit. Again, the crew of the Diamond work till fatigue in shifts on the oars. Three nights into the return trip, the four hear shouts and the sound of battle from above deck. Saulthan leaves the oars to investigate and sees Thorock down the long hall in a pile of dead reptile like creatures - and a dozen more decending on him. Moments later, the creatures come from the nearer hallway and storm toward the four. A fierce battle ensues. The lack of heavy armor and fatigue prove to make the battle more difficult than expected. The Sahaugin are fierce warriors. Saulthan takes quite a beating, but the combined power of Gafflure's spiked chain, Sarkozy's divine power and Petzer's eldritch might from the furthest corner manage to defeat their foes.

They exit the underbelly of the ship to see the Doctor tending to a partially gnawed at Thorock, over a dozen dead Sahaugin at his feet. They rise to the top dock to see a similar situation all over the ship. Soon, they notice much of the crew yelling at something to port. They go closer and find something chilling: The Dust has been over run by Sahaugin, and is slowly being towed toward one of the former Pirate Caves. Dash, Thorock, and the Doctor start to loudly discuss their next actions. Thorock believes that the Dust should be left to their fate; The Doctor says that they should be saved. Dash, not trusting his prejudice for Quarash, says he cannot decide. He leaves it to the crew to decide. Most of the rest of the crew is evenly divided on the subject, but the four turn the vote: they all vote to save the Dust.

The Diamond makes a mad rush toward the beseiged Dust, and uses ranged attacks to kill most of the sharks and Sahaugin towing the ship. Finally Dash, feeling that they the ship will survive, gives the order to resume course to Calimport. The next three days are as exhausting as the first three, but the Black Diamond pulls into Calimport nearly an hour ahead of the wounded Diamond Dust. Dash, beyond joy, jumps from the ship and meets the stoic Quarash on shore. Congratulating Dash, Quarash hands over her share of the profits.

Gafflure, Sarkozy, and even Petzer are promoted to Hands due to their performance on the run. Before they go off to sure to enjoy their bonuses, Dash puts them in charge of hiring new Boots to replace those lost in the attack on the last run. Saulthan then heads off to Azoso's shop and hands in the money from the sale of the magic scepter. Azoso is quite pleased and pays Saulthan for his service. The others go there as well later to sell some of their booty. While Azoso is gone, one of his associates tells them of an offer of 500 g for the left ear of any member of the Rundeen. It seems that the Rundeen and Azoso's organization - The Pan-Loon  - have been having some confrontations over territory and cargo rights.

The four eventually meet in the Bilgewater, where a large celebration is in full swing: the Black Diamond is indeed now in first place in profits, pulling ahead of the Diamond Dust. While the others start celebrationg, Petzer uses the time to gather information in the bar. He learns a few things: The reason why the ships were grounded in Suldolphur was due to a nasty rumor about a vicious sea monster in the area. He also learns from a near toothless old man that Ghost Ships have been spotted in and around Almraiven, and that the Sahaugin have taken over most of the old Pirate Caves. Finally, he learns that a Temple to Loviatar has shut its doors to the public, something the government is not happy about.

The four finish their celebration and all turn in to their respective rooms in The Bilgewater.

Fit the Third: The Nightmare Life-In-Death
Part 1: Mirtul 9th - 18th

The four awaken and meet at breakfast. They agree their first order of business should be setting up for the recruitment. Sarkozy and Gafflure agree to create signs and hang them in various areas of the docks, including the Salty Seadog. The sign provides contact information and two dates to show for an interview at the Salty Seadog. After Gafflure hangs up the posters, he was reported seen on the docks meeting a woman. The two were later seen at the Pasha's Pleasure.

Meanwhile, back at the Bilgewater after lunch, Petzer succeeds in convincing the others that they should spend the day trying to find a member of the Rundeen. After all, at 500g a left ear, and the inherent evil of their organization, Petzer reasons that it is an excellent use of their time. They begin by trying to find more information on the Rundeen in Calimport. Eventually they learn that the Rundeen have been trying to establish themselves on every trading vessel in the Shining Sea, and they are recruiting members in Calimport. They also learn that there are places to sign up in the Dock Ward.

The group moves toward the sea to find the contact point. They come across a small set up near the Temple to Talos - it has two men, both wearing the Rundeen symbol, talking quietly amongst themselves. As they discuss what they should do, a man comes out of the temple and appears to approach the small booth. He talks with the two members, and eventually signs some documents, and continues to walk off to the east.

Petzer pushes Saulthan to follow the man, while the others keep back and out of hearing range. Saulthan eventually trails him back to the Salty Seadog. The man enters, and Saulthan retreats back to fill in his friends on the situation. It is then that Petzer hatches a plan to eliminate this man. As he goes off to retrieve some supplies, he sends Saulthan back to the booth to learn more about the operation. Sarkozy and Gafflure stand guard outside the Seadog and make sure the man does not come out.

Saulthan, despite his rather obvious approach, learns what he needs: there is a contractual and monetary commitment, and once entered, the members recieve a key to enter a telepathic Rundeen communication channel. He returns minutes before Petzer, whose hands are full of Disguise Self potions. After debriefing Saulthan, Petzer declares that the best way to go about this is for someone to disguise himself as a Rundeen and lure the man out of the Seadog to a secluded ally. Removal of the ear, willing or not, would follow.

Before they can act on the plan, a rather drunk Thorock exits the Seadog. His eyes light up when he sees the Hands, and he approaches them. In a slurred tongue, he tells them that he is worried about the captain. It seems Dash has holed himself up in his townhouse. Thorock thinks the four should visit him soon and check up on him. The half-orc manages to draw a barely ledgible map for the four, and then stumbles away. The four decide to hold this for later.

Petzer turns to Sarkozy and tells him that he is the best man for the job. Sarkozy, who has been considering the moral implications of this plan for some time, protests a bit, but eventually takes the potion, using the fact that the man is a servant of Talos as motivation. He disguises himself as a human member of the Rundeen and enters the Seadog. He finds the man in the corner of the inn, chewing on a large piece of beef, and looking very closely at the very sign he hung there hours earlier.

Fumbling just a bit, Sarkozy manages to convince the man that he is needed for a meeting - if indeed he wishes to join the ilustrious Black Diamond, he needs to know what the Rundeen expects. Somehow trusting him, the man follows after paying his bill. As Sarkozy leads him out of the Inn, the two talk, and the elf comes to a startling conclusion: Though this man signed up for the Rundeen, and is a servant of Talos, he may not be evil - in fact he sounds like a decent human being. His moral fibers waver before he can do his deed, and Sarkozy decides to lead him to an adjacent ally away from his waiting comrades. He attempts to cover up the fact that no meeting is happening, and suggest that the man leave, and leave quickly. Saulthan overhears this and alerts Petzer, who is extremely annoyed. Seeing that the man is getting away, Petzer transforms himself into a Bugbear as a disguise and shoots an Eldritch Blast at him. He is off target, however, and the man is rather startled at his predicament. He drinks a potion and dissapears. Petzer tries to track the blob of invisibility, but finds that the man is moving very fast, and quickly escapes.

Petzer and Saulthan are angry at Sarkozy, and start walking back to the Bilgewater. Gafflure, who had been rather quiet through the whole thing, hangs back and talks with the elf about the fact that they might see this man again at the interviews.

The next day, the four independently try and find Dash's house. Gafflure happens to find it first, going on Thorock's description of the actually Red Town house as "Oranglow Blue-urpleish." The Knight gains entrance to the house and learns that Dash is not seeing anyone. She talks a bit with his servants and learns that Dash, originally from Amn, has a wife and a child in his former nation. He has also been receiving distrubing letters as of late. Gafflure leaves just as the other arrive. She fills them in on the details.

Day three of shoreleave comes, and the first round of interviews. Eight people show up for the interview at the Seadog. While Saulthan leads a knot tying skill test, Petzer leads the others in asking questions and guaging reactions. On the first day, they decide to take three of the applicants: A beautiful human female named Niteci Vorban; a competent and friendly halfling named Awdan Surefoot; and a very large and rather slow human brute named Hig Hotumi. They dismiss three others and ask the remaining two to come back in three days for the other set of interviews.

The next two days go with little excitement. On the night of the 5th day of shoreleave, the four witness Thorock standing on the bar in the Bilgewater, talking about the celebration the following night. Later, the four learn that the following night is a Istishian holiday, and Thorock is throwing a grand celebration. It is quite clear that the four need to make an appearance.

On the sixth night of shoreleave, they head to the Seadog for their second set of interviews, planning to head back to the Bilgewater after they are over. This time, seven new faces appear, along with the two that were invited back. The same tests were applied, and the Hands decide to accept two of the new people, and one of the ones that returned: Polril Lluth, a one armed salty sea veteran; Xeles Teage, a half-drow with one eye; and Eeno Dasix, a very nervous human who dabbles in magic. The others are dismissed, and this includes the man who they tried to kill earlier in the week - a man named Worash. All applicants are told to be at the docks and ready to sail at dawn the next day.

The four head off to the celebration, deciding it best not to trail Worash. They quickly find it littered with the crew of all of the top five ships. Dash is there - his absense could not have been explained easily. Thorock spots the four, and rambles over, asking them to come to his table and drink with him. After some regular beer, Thorock decides to up the ante. One by one, drinks appear in front of the five men. The first is curiously red. The second is orange, and the third yellow. Each one appears more ghastly than the last, but all four Hands stay in the contest with Thorock. The fourth drink of Green, however, gets the best of Petzer. He falls unconscious, his head on the table. At this, Saulthan manages to have the will to bow out of the contest. The Blue drink comes, and Sarkozy can't handle it, falling to the floor in a lucid dream like state. Gafflure and Thorock are left to handle the last drink: purple. Gafflure barely gets it down in time to see Thorock fall to the floor unconscious. The Knight feels a curious sensation inside her stomach, and feels the strength drain out of her as she suddenly remembers everything she has ever read.

Saulthan drags the Knight up to her room. Thorock cuddles with Sarkozy under the table to morning. Petzer is left at the booth. He is next seen walking into the Inn the next morning, his hand fisted around a fresh sheet of paper.

The group shakes off their hangovers and goes about getting ready for their jounrey. Petzer makes another stop to see Dash, and then gets lost in the north part of the city. Others go and buy some provisions. Eventually, the morning of the next journey comes, and the four meet the Black Diamond at the harbor. All of the new Boots are there, and Thorock and Hig are already loading the new cargo - chickens, cows, and expensive spices. Dash informs the crew that they are headed to Almraiven, and this is met with knowing smiles by three of the four Hands.

The ship sets sail shortly thereafter, and the trip to Almraiven is rather uneventful. Storms seem to threaten them every day, but luckily blow off in the other direction. One night, while on watch, Petzer spots what appears to be a ghost ship some distance away. Luckily, it doesn't approach the Diamond. They make port in Almraiven a few days later, and Dash tells them they have 5 days layover as he tries to secure return cargo.

Part 2: Mirtul 18th - 26th

On the afternoon of the 18th, the group unites to help Saulthan settle a delivery for Azoso. They eventually find the tower of one Kanella Romi - they find it to the be the second highest tower of 5 near the Wizard's College. They knock and an attractive younger woman answers. They are invited in and Saulthan makes the transaction - Petzer and Sarkozy both catching a glimpse of the fortune they are handing over in Ioun Stones. After a moment left alone, Kanella returns with payments, all the while complaining about having to get ready for yet another celebration at the College that evening. As they turn to leave, Petzer slows to be last, and asks Kanella very quietly about information having to do with a wizard named Sombra. Kanella replies with much of the information he already knows.

They travel back to the docks and attempt to help Gafflure find a local trader, but decide it is too late. They find a local Inn akin to the Bilgewater, called The Silver Unicorn. They all book rooms for the duration of their stay and get a good night's sleep. The next morning they set off with Gafflure (Petzer only going with a promise of payment from the knight) to find the trader named Ugundu. After many hours, they track him down on the east end of the docks, in his shop. They are quite taken aback by the large man who claims to be a trader. Gafflure drops MIranda's name, though, and things get serious. Ugundu tells him that the piece of map he wants is not a cheap trade, and asks her what she has to offer. After coming up with little in the way of trade, Ugundu gives her three options: (1) The 1000 g she has and "fringe" benefits that evening, (2) The 1000g and a test of will in a non-lethal combat, or (3) Find something better to trade. Gafflure picks option two, Ugundu doesn't hide his dissapointment.

Ugundu gives her the option of choosing one of his compatriots to help him, and Gafflure chooses Petzer. The battle is fought in a small arena behind the shop. Ugundu uses his superior items and strength and eventually knocks out Petzer, but not before the Warlock does enough damage to weaken the trader enough that Gafflure can deliver the final blow. Ugundu honors his agreement and hands over the map for 1000g.

The next few days go with little signifigance. The group does visit The Wise Bear, an Inn that could give the Salty Seadog a run for its money. They find most of the new Boots there - all but Niteci. Petzer goes out and explores on his own, and has some interesting adventures next to the Wizard College. Some go shopping, but much time is spent at the Unicorn.

On the night of the 5th day in Almraiven, Petzer makes a decision - he wants to get invited to one of the many parties happening at the college. He decides the only way to do this is to get invited to come along with someone with an invitation, and the only one he knows is invited is Kanella. He travels to her tower and finds it not hard to get an invite, as the mage is NOT looking forward to the evening's honoring of the head mage of the academy, Harrison Neal. Petzer dresses the part in his snazzy clothes, and not telling the rest of his companions, travels with Kanella to the ball, after a stout warning that embarrassing her will result in him becoming a toad.

He soon learns that Kanella wasn't exaggerating - the ball is rather boring. Throughout Harrison's speech, Kanella gets rather wasted. The end of the speech, however, brings a most unexpected turn of events: Harrison announces that he is to retire at the end of the next school year, and that the college will be seeking a replacement as head of instruction. Petzer soon learns that most think Kanella will be picked, if she can clean up her act. He later dances with the drunken mage and makes conversation for the rest of the night. At midnight, Petzer drags the mage back to her tower, where she invites him in and locks the door with him inside. She trudges up the steps. Petzer, somehow being the gentlemen and the good natured citizen, decides to only look at the basement door. Finding it magically warded, he leaves the tower, telling a guard that he cannot lock the door, and to watch out for the dear and tired Kanella.

The next morning, the Black Diamond sets sail for Calimport with a hull full of spices and wine. Halfway back, Sarkozy is on watch when a heavy fog rolls in. He spots flotsam and jetsem banging across the hull of the ship, and catches a glimpse of movement. Learning from past mistakes, he immediately alerts the crew. The four end up on deck fighting with each other. Wave after wave of skeletons assault them, but the combination of Sarkozy's divine magic, Petzer's eldritch essence, and the strength of Saulthan and Gafflure, proves too much for the undead. The four get a glimpse of the ghost ship off their starboard bow, and Captain Dash orders the four to get in a longboat and assault the ship itself - he needs to go help secure the Diamond, as it is crawling with all kinds of undead. He identifies the boat as the Traitor's Galley - a ship that was sunk by the wretched TigersEye some months ago.

The four work their way to the ship, taking down a huge skeleton as they first arrive. They make their way to the Captain's quarters and face the ghost of Captain Reginald Morris, along with some ghouls. They keep going and clear out the doctor's quarters of a spectre and a sea hag. Finally, they find in the hull a huge collection of paintings. As they grab one each, they hear a loud bellow. Sarkozy gets a very bad feeling and suggests they leave immediately. They make it back to the longboat as the moans get louder and they see a massive and frightening undead knight reach the top deck - just as the ship disintegrates underneath it.

They reach the Diamond and find that the rest of the crew has secured the ship. Captain Dash orders full speed ahead, and the Dimaond takes off, nervously looking back to what it might of left behind. Two days later, the ship reaches Calimport, releaved at its good fortune. Dash tells the Hands that he will call them when they are needed or shipping out next.

Fit the Fourth: The Barrister's Dream
Mirtul 27th - Kythorn 5th

Dash leads the four first to the widow of the Traitor's Galley, Janina Morris. The widow answers the door, looking beleaguered, and with seven children at her feet, each one looking more emaciated than the last. Dash hints that the four need to "donate" some money to the family - most cough up some money, Petzer, on the other hand, gives her his painting. Thankful, the widow gives the four some of Reginald's old gear.

Dash departs, as does Petzer. The remaining three go to sell their paintings and find that they are rather pricey - The Widow Morris shows up later with Petzer's painting and earns quite a penny herself. Eventually, all four come back to the Bilgewater, with Petzer taking a slight detour home.

There, they come across Miranda once again. Gafflure hands over the map, and she thanks her for her service, and tells her that there is one more task she must accomplish for the information. Miranda asks the four to obtain a relic from the Temple of Istishia in Tashluta - while she doesn't expect them to assault a temple, she does tell them that the relic is often in transit, and it should be easily intercepted. Besides the information, she offers a monetary reward for the rest. In addition, she asks them to do her one more job: she is looking a tiefling, one that seems a little... wrong. She describes one Confectus, and tells them that she only need his location and nothing more. Again, the reward is substantial if they succeed.

The next day they attempt to find this tiefling, but fail rather miserably. No one knows him by name, but they do find someone who says he has seen someone matching the description at the dock ward. Later that evening, several things happen around the same time:
 * Sarkozy, whose Elven intuition calls him down an illusioned alley, meets a man who says he is a messenger from his church. He tells Sarkozy that he will be venturing to the depths of the ocean very soon, and if he should find The Artifact, he should protect it and bring it back here, no matter what the others say.
 * Petzer takes a walk with a nice gentleman named Raz Mason, who offers him an intriging opportunity.
 * Saulthan, relaxing in a park, spots a tiefling who meets Confectus' description. He gets up and attempts to follow the tiefling, but the outsider starts to take off.  It is at this point that Saulthan yells his name.  Confectus turns, his hand on his bow.  Saulthan pleads peace, and that a woman named Miranda is looking for him.  Confectus' expression doesn't change, and he simply says, "If she wants to find me, tell her to do it herself."  He takes off, much faster than Saulthan can keep up with.  Realizing his mistake, he heads back to the Bilgewater.
 * Gafflure, who is relaxing at the Bilgewater, is approach by a man introducing himself as Kamate Toshiiro. He hands Gafflure a letter, telling her that it is instructions and data about the next mission for Captain Dash.

The four, after lecturing Saulthan on his carelessness, head to sleep. The next morning, their calls go off, and they head to the docks. There Dash tells them they are to sail later that day on a secret mission, and he advises them to be ready for a deep sea dive. After a brief shopping trip, the four meet the rest of the crew that afternoon as the ship sails our of dock. Dash finally informs the crew of the mission: a sunken temple to Tyr has been found three days south of Calimport, and it is expected to contain massive amounts of treasure.

The crew sails as fast as they can through rough seas and stormy weather. When they arrive at the coordinates, they see that the Diamond Dust has beaten them there. Disheartened, Dash looks on as Aasma claims to have already cleaned out the place. Dash, seeing that one of her longboats is missing, calls her bluff. Aasma laughs and switches tactics, claiming that one of Dash's crew is a mass murderer. She produces one Idolian Lauchik, who claims Saulthan slaughtered his whole village. Dash turns angrily at Saulthan and demands an answer. Saulthan answers truthfully - the story is backwards, it was Idolian who slaughtered the innocents. Satisfied, Dash orders the four to a longboat and to enter the Temple. The rest of the crew will remain behind and make sure the Diamond Dust crew doesn't interfere.

The four head out on a longboat and make preparations for an underwater dive. They reach the entrance and swim down to a large entry chamber, where they are surprised to see four people trying to open a door. Obviously crewmen from the Dust, the four take advantage of their unexpected find and begin a arduous fight. The four are evenly matched, and once again Gafflure falls victum to a Hold Person. Saulthan eventually falls unconscious, but the remaining three turn the tide and eventually win the encounter.

After recovering from the battle, they take in the next doorway, complete with a scale and text that says "Justice is Blind." Petzer eventually figures out the riddle, tears out an eye from one of the fallen and throws it on the uneven scale, opening the door. The four eventually make it through the temple of Tyr, and find a hidden passageway downward. Here, they encounter 5 Seacats which they eventually take care off, but with much effort. Here, they realize that the decoration has changed - symbols of Loviatar adorn this room. The text on the wall of this room reads "The road to enlightenment is lined with blood." Putting together this with Loviatar's dogma, Saulthan is the first to cut himself. As the blood swirls and hits the center symbol of Loviatar, the illusioned exit is revealed to Saulthan. The others follow suit, Petzer reluctantly going last.

Here they go down a hallway and enter the next room - where Saulthan's potion of water breathing suddenly runs out. Luckily, Sarkozy has a casting ready. Here they find two mummies and enter into the battle. The mummies are little trouble, except for Saulthan who catches Mummy Rot from one. Taking the keys around the mummies' necks, they enter the next room where they find a lot of treasure, a badly needed healing wand, and other magical items.

They eventually make it to the main room dedicated to Loviatar (where Petzer sees a familiar face in massive painting), and find a hidden passageway down. Traversing the weird current of the passageway, they eventually reach a large room, where a spirit emerges and asks Sarkozy a question in elven: "What is your purpose here." Sarkozy answers that he is looking for the artifact. The spirit answers "Very Well" and opens a wall - where a huge dire shark appears and charges toward them.

Sarkozy is the first to be swallowed and finds that the belly of the beast is the passageway he was looking for. Saulthan is swallowed as well before Gafflure and Petzer slay the beast. The spirit tells the latter two that they have "failed" the test. Meanwhile, Sarkozy is handed a perfectly blue sphere by the spirit. The four are whisked away back to the Temple of Tyr, where they start to make their way our - only to find Idolian blocking their path, and demanding all their treasure and the artifact.

Petzer's impatience and Saulthan's rage start a rather quick battle. Saulthan, fueled by revenge, seemed to consistently strike true on his enemy, and Petzer - who almost fell in Idolian's first swing - continued his eldritch assault. Even after Idolian fell, Saulthan cannot keep his rage in check, and maims the corpse, Sarkozy dissaproving.

The four make it back to the surfact and oar toward the ships. Once the Dust realizes that it is not their men, they begin attacking the Diamond in an attempt to capture the treasure and artifact. Dash, however, was ready for the treachery, and returned the attack. As the four reach deck, they witness the firing of a harpoon by Dash - and the harpoon slicing through the torso of Aasma Quarash. With their captain injured, the attack dies down, and Thorock gives the order to retreat. All in all, 10 are dead on the Black Diamond, including Eeno. Dash, who hadn't said a word since firing the harpoon, retreats to his quarters and is not seen again till they reach Calimport three days later, excpet for Sarkozy who meets with Dash quickly when the latter asks for the artifact. Sarkozy says he needs to keep it for his church. Dash warns him that it is valuable and this will impact his future earnings.

They reach the city at night, and Thorock warns them as they depart that the Dust will be seeking revenge, and to be carefull. Everyone but Sarkozy head to the Bilgewater for the night, with Petzer finding an invitation on his pillow. The elf instead heads to the same alley way. There, he is ambushed by several men with symbols of a blazing knife. Obviously a set-up, Sarkozy refuses to gives up the artifact. Arrows stream toward him, and the poison is too much for him to handle. Before he becomes unconscious, however, he hears the lead man say "This is the first one: two more, and the citadel is ours to control!" The elf wakes up hours later and walks dejected back to the Bilgewater.

The next morning comes, and Sarkozy tells the others about the previous night. Little happens the rest of the day, and as Petzer leaves for a party, the others respond to the Call from their tattoos. They arrive at the dock to see an all out brawl between the crews of all the ships. Just as they start to reluctantly enter the scuffle, the city guard arrive, complete with high level mages holding the brawlers on mass. The three are arrested with the rest of the rioters, and are thrown into prison. There, they are accosted by the first mate of the Tiger's Eye, Brigitte MacPhearson. She asks them where Petzer is, and tells them that she is very dissapointed that he hasn't contacted her in so long. She gives them a scented letter, and tells them to have him find her.

Meanwhile, Petzer makes the rounds at an illustrious ball in the Palace Ward, meeting several Pashas and the Head of the Wizards Guild. Raz is also there, along with a tiefling and a man claiming to soon be the "king" of Cormyr. Petzer is rather unnerved by the time he arrives back at the Bilgewater - although not enough to laugh at his good fortune for not being arrested.

The next morning, Dash bails them out of jail. Dash no longer appears jovial at all - in fact, he's turned to brooding and fits of anger. He lectures the crew on their carelessness, and then turns to business - they need to sail to Tashluta in two hours. He orders them to gather their things and report to the docks quickly. The three find Petzer and gather their things. They sail right on schedule for Tashluta.

Fit the Fifth: Midnight, Forecastle
Kythorn 6th - 10th

After a few days of sailing, gambling, and making sure not to tick off Cap'n Dash, the crew of the Black Diamond come within view of the shores of Tashalar - and a large Rundeen blockade blocking the ports of Tashluta. Dash gives the order to slow, and as they near the port, Rundeen ships draw abreast of the Diamond and board her. The person in charge, a sniveling rat of a man, proclaims that the ship is to be searched by orders of the Rundeen. Dash makes no move to stop this. Petzer, however, decides to ask what this is all about, while the rest remain quite mute. One of the Rundeen answers him, spitting in Petzer's face with every accent in each word: The Rundeen will not be thwarted by common scum into losing its dominance in the Shining Sea. As Petzer wonders who this "scum" is, the Rundeen leader proclaims that the ship has passed inspection, and congratulates Dash - this was the first ship in some time in which blood had not been spilt. The Diamond breaks off and sails into port. Dash informs the crew they have two days leave - the ship will sail at dawn on the third. Before Saulthan leaves, Dash hands him a letter, and asks the Hand to deliver this to a friend of his. When Saulthan asks for more information, Dash tells him his friend's name is Lonehunter, and he should meet him at the Black Jungle Tavern. Dash ends with the ominous note, "You'll know him when you see him."

Saulthan tells the other three about this, and with nothing else immediate to take care of, they accompany him to the Black Jungle Tavern. They sit and are eating (with Petzer getting his first taste of what "Tashlutan Style" means), when a halfling enters the bar. Saulthan, thinking that this is the man he is looking for, approaches him and asks if he is indeed "Lonehunter." The halfling scoffs at the idea, and tells him no, his name is Iss Kinli. Seeing the sailor tattoo on Saulthan, Iss invites himself over to the four's table and tells them that he was the lone survivor of a ship that was attacked by the now infamous sea monster. The halfling goes on, hyperbolizing the number of tentacles and the scope of the maw that almost devoured him. Iss finisihes by asking Saulthan what his next port will be, and when Calimport is the answer, the halfling asks to sign on the Black Diamond just for the return trip. He wants to travel north and get away from the Shining Sea for good. Saulthan agrees to ask the Captain for him later. With that, Iss leaves.

At the twelfth bell at noon, just as the four are about to leave, the door to the tavern opens. A figure ducks, and enters the tavern, moving to a large table. The figure stands at least 7.5 feet tall, and the four guess that he weighs at least 300 pounds. Hooded, so little of his face is actually seen, the man sits on two chairs, where a waitress immediately starts pooring him some water. Thinking that he can't be wrong again, Saulthan approaches the man, and finds that this is indeed Lonehunter. Upon closer inspection, he finds the "man" (for this is no human) has gray skin, mottled with dark and light patches. His near glowing, brilliant, green eyes and golden nose, ear, and brow piercing almost distract from the fact that he looks to be completely hairless. Saulthan hands over the letter, as the figure introduces himself as Ilikan Lonehunter Ogolakanu. After quickly reading the letter, and giving a snort of some kind of emotion, he takes out a sealed letter and asks Saulthan to again be a message boy, and bring this to Dash. Saulthan agrees and returns to the table.

The four then get into a rather heated, yet quiet, conversation about the proposal to steal the relic from the church of Istishia. Miranda had told them that she needed this, and that she would provide the information Gafflure needed as well as pay them richly for the task. Sarkozy, however, has grave reservations about stealing from a church - even a neutral one. In fact, at one point, he tells Petzer he may even warn the church if Petzer and Gafflure go ahead with a plan of stealing it. Controlling himself, Petzer leaves and starts to walk toward the temple. The other three follow, and seeing this, Petzer veers off and stops at a hunting shop and picks up some materials. The three continue on to the temple, where they enter and try to see if the "relic" - for they don't even know what it looks like - is there. They do remember Miranda telling them it moves often, and with this information and no visual clues, they conclude that the relic is not there, at least not in the open. The three leave and do some shopping, while Petzer comes and does his own surveillance of the temple, finding much of the same. Gafflure and Saulthan go back to the temple area and meet with Petzer, and the three decide to turn in for the night. The find a local inn - The Silver Dove, and decide to treat themselves to a pampered meal and evening stay.

Meanwhile, Sarkozy does some more exploring, including stopping back at the ship. Seeing that the cleric is the only one there, Sarkozy decides to ask her if she knows about the group that attacked him and stole the artifact in Calimport. Loualla pleads ignorance, but tells him he should ask Dash. Clearly holding something back, Sarkozy asks her if she knows why Dash has been so morose - Loualla swears him to secrecy and tells the elf that Dash had finally been able to provide transportation for his wife and child to come to Calimport. They were on a ship... which was attacked by the sea monster. This, combined with the heartache of killing his former lover Aasma has sent him into a dark spiral. She is clearly worried about him, and tells Sarkozy to keep an eye out and keep this information to himself. Sarkozy agrees, although admits he cannot lie very well, and sets off to the Black Jungle Tavern to stay the night.

As he eats dinner, Lonehunter enters on the seventh bell at seven o'clock. Sarkozy is curious about the man, and goes to talk to him, asking him if he knows more about this relic of Istishia. Lonehunter tells him that he knows it moves from merchant house to merchant house, including the Rundeen. It does this dance every other day, and tomorrow is a day of movement. The fact that the Rundeen is involved changes Sarkozy's view on the relic. He thanks Lonehunter, who in turns asks Sarkozy a favor - he writes a letter in front of him and asks him to deliver it to Suldolphur, if he shall ever go there. He tells the elf to go to the Screaming Eagle Tavern and give it to one who looks very much like him. Sarkozy inquires what it is about. Lonehunter tells him it is none of his business and gives him 100 gold. Sarkozy takes it, retires and sleeps for the evening.

The next day brings much anticipation - Petzer, Gafflure, and Saulthan leave the Silver Dove and begin searching for more clues about the relic. Saulthan, bored quickly, retires to the park to rest. Gafflure and Petzer eventually learn much of what Sarkozy learned the previous night, and eventually stalk the outside of the temple for clues. Sarkozy, who had been inside the temple for sometime learning the name of the house that is currently involved with the relic - "Tassadar" - comes out and sees his two compatriots, and approaches Gafflure. The elf proceeds to tell the woman that he has changed his mind about the plan. Petzer, on the other hand, does not hear this, and assumes that the elf has told the clerics of the plan to steal the relic. Disgusted, he leaves, trying to find an Inn that is not as expensive as the Silver Dove, fingering a vile in his pocket and cursing the elf.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the city, Saulthan's walk happens to bring him across the mansion of the Tassadar Merchant Company, and a group of 5 men, all wearing symbols of Istishia and carrying a large and seemingly heavy chest. They are traveling southwest, and Saulthan decides to follow them for a bit, hoping not to get noticed. After sometime, he decides to go find the others and tell them of his finding. It takes some time, but he eventually finds Sarkozy and Gafflure, still arguring over what they should do. Saulthan tells them what he saw, and the three start traveling southwest to try and find the moving chest.

By this time, Petzer has come across an Inn called the Rusty Spear. Just as he is about to enter, however, he sees the same group of 5 men, carrying a chest, heading northeast. Petzer decides to follow them, not bothering to hide since he reasons many people must be interested in what they are doing. Circumstance has it that the three come across Petzer, and start to follow him, following the 5 at a distance. Eventually, Petzer veers off, hoping to use a different path to meet up with the clerics. Just as Petzer rounds a corner, he sees the procession halt. The lead man, turns and asks Saulthan why he has followed them twice now. Floundering a bit, Sarkozy tells him that they are interested in what he is transporting. Very suspicious, the man tries to determine what they know, but the three are adept at telling half truths and stammering. Meanwhile, Petzer listens to this conversation, unseen down a side alley. He uses this opportunity to disguise himself, using his hat of disguise, as a member of the Rundeen. He picks Worash as the model. As the lead man draws his large warhammer and says "I do not like this situation," Petzer/Worash yells "Neither does the Rundeen," and throws an eversmoking bottle near the chest.

The resulting battle is nothing but chaos. The smoke clogs the side street within seconds, making the combat slow and sloppy. Saulthan, Gafflure, and Sarkozy take on the lead man and two clerics near the front. One cleric flees, obviously wondering why a Rundeen was interfering with this, and the last cleric meets Petzer/Worash in a dual around the chest. The battle is intense, and the lead man, a Templar of Istishia, knocks Saulthan near death with a mighty blow. But Sarkozy's healing and Gafflure's tripping chain prove too much, and the three enemies are eventually defeated. Meanwhile, Petzer uses the smoke to disguise himself once again - as the cleric who fled (and who no one but he knew fled). He uses this disguise to try and take the chest, but the remaining cleric insists on helping him, and not leaving the chest. Petzer/Cleric tries some theatrics, but to no avail. As a result, Petzer decides to just kill the cleric, if he can. Eventually, this works, although Petzer is annoyed that the others come close enough that he himself cannot escape with the chest. Petzer drops the disguise moments before Saulthan attacks him. The four quickly cover the chest in old clothing and take what they can off the bodies, and retreat to the Rusty Spear.

Kythorn 11th - 17th

The next morning, in a Zone of Silence, Saulthan and Gafflure pound on the mithral chest until it buckles. Inside they find a large sapphire necklace, whose adamantine chain has been broken by the proces of opening. The four quickly make their way to the docks, dodging the many clerics of Istishia who are investigating the scene of the fight. Gafflure keeps the relic, storing it in his Handy Haversack. As they approach the ship, they notice that the Rundeen mansion is in utter chaos, with city guards, Clerics of Istishia, and members from several merchant houses demanding answers to the previous evening's attack. Petzer laughs heartily, the others give him a curious look.

Dash is on the docks, and quietly tells the crew that the next mission is one of grave danger - the Pashas of Calimsham have offered an insane amount of reward to the ship that destroys the sea monster, and Dash plans to accomplish this. He does ask, however, if anyone does not want to go. The Navigator, Xeles, and a few of the newer recruits leave. Dash, not even looking at them twice, turns to the remaining men. He promotes Saulthan to Navigator, and Sarkozy to an Arm, and tells the crew to board and set sail.

Dash orders full speed ahead, and takes the wheel from Saulthan. Dash doesn't stop as they near the Rundeen blockade, and the Diamond wins the game of chicken, dodging the few half-hearted cannonballs shot at them as they leave. The TigersEye, coming in from Almraiven, gives them a huzzah and a salute, as they steam past them, heading due northeast toward Suldolphur.

The next three days are hard sailing, as they pass the remains of several ships - some at the hands of the monster, some, they think, at the hands of Fedallah. After dawn on the fourth day they start to see flocks of gulls fly directly away from their heading - school of fish soon follow, dolphins jumping over the nets Thorock casts over board for an easy haul. Eventually, they come into view of a large whirlpool, and Dash, his jaw set and his hands glued to the wheel, is heading straight for it.

The four are confused, and do not do anything. Thorock, now throughouly displeased and unnerved, yells for Dash to change course. Dash doesn't listen until Thorock starts yelling about a "fool's revenge." With this, the spell breaks and Dash rushes at Thorock. The two tumble in a grapple, but are shunted forward with the rest of the crew as the ship suddenly comes to a crashing hault.

As Dash stands and the rest of the crew looks to see what has happened, Loualla, who has come up from her room, yells sharply "KRAKEN!" The first mighty tentacle reaches up from underneath the ship and veers toward its decks, straight at Thorock. The battle is fierce - the Kraken is mighty, and not happy. Dash takes an agile leap off the boat and battles the beast while walking on water. Loulla proceeds to protect Dash from the surrounding sharks the beast has brought to aid it. Thorock battles the tentacles and arms on deck with the four. The Kraken's multiple attacks and mighty grappling ability conquers Gafflure, and the woman is brought underwater toward the beast's mouth. Before long, Dash gives the beast the final blow, and the remaining arms fall to the deck. Thorock and Sarkozy are badly injured, but not as much as Dash, who is near death, and Gafflure, who is dead, a victim of the maw of the great beast. The ship is also badly damaged. Loualla perserves Gafflure's body for the day, so she may raise her from the dead the next day. Dash retires to his room after giving orders to return to Calimport, and is not seen again during the entire jounrey.

During the conversation between Loualla and the remaining three about bringing Gafflure back, both Petzer and Sarkozy get the feeling from the doctor that there is no reward for this mission. Petzer is especially angry, and talks to the rest of the crew, minus Thorock, about the possible lie that Dash has told them. Most of the crew seems unphased, or at least wants to wait to here this from Dash's mouth - they don't care for rumors. Meanwhile, the crew works day and night maning the oars and keeping the bruised ship from taking on water. On the night of the 17th, they limp into the docks of Calimport.

Dash emerges and announces that it will take at least a week to repair the ship, and that anyone who wants to help should report here every day. Meanwhile, he says, he will be reporting their triumph to the Pasha, and will be contacting them about their pay. The four head to the Bilgewater and get some much needed rest.

Kythorn 17th - 22nd

The four head out the next morning in an attempt to find Miranda and claim their reward. Gafflure decides to try and find her first at the Pasha's Pleasure. They attempt to enter and find newly placed security. When Gafflure asks about it, the guard tells them that they have to make sure they are not Rundeen - according to the guards, the Calimport Shipping Industry is now at war with the Rundeen. The four shrug this off for now and go in to find Miranda eating breakfast. She is suprised to see them, and asks to inspect the relic. Though annoyed that the chain is broken, she keeps her end of the bargain and hands over the money (minus the expenses to fix it) and the information that Gafflure wanted.

The four leave, and all pass Azoso's magic shop on the way back to the docks, where they see Kamate Toshiiro standing over a pile of 12 dead Rundeen, all missing an ear. They decide to move on and not ask questions. Saulthan and Sarkozy head to the ship to work on it, while Gafflure and Petzer head back to the Bilgewater.

That evening at dinner, the four are greeted with a slight surprise: Worash Elmena shows up and asks to sit at their table. The four quickly recall that this is the man they tried to kill earlier, a man who is a member of the Rundeen. Worash asks them for help - he wants to get out of the city, and he fears he cannot trust his crew or anyone else. The four are unsure how to answer, and they ask Worash to come back the following evening. Before they go to bed, they discuss what they should do for the man. Petzer is the only one who tries to come up with a plan, mostly due to Worash's promise of compensation.

The next morning and day pass with little incident, although Saulthan, Sarkozy, and Gafflure are puzzled at Petzer's sudden absense. Worash comes back that evening and aks for an answer. The three stall, telling them that they need to discuss it with Petzer. They look for the Warlock to no avail - no one has seen him since the previous night. Desperate, Gafflure tells the Rundeen they have a plan, and that he should show up the next evening. Worash agrees.

The next morning comes and Petzer still is not there. The Warlock finally appears back at the Bilgewater during mid-afternoon, and he does not happy, or healthy. Gafflure spots the Warlock, who appears to have been beaten to an inch from his life. His right ear is bleeding, and missing a large chunk. He ignores the woman and heads to his room. Dinner comes, and Petzer sits a bit away from the other three. When Worash shows up, the three panic and have no real plan. Saulthan asks Petzer if he has any ideas, and when the Warlock blows him off, Saulthan erupts with several insults. Seeing that the group has no plan for help, Worash leaves.

The next evening, the four respond to their tattoos going off. They report to the docks and find Thorock, who leads them to Dash's house in the Palace ward. There they find an elegant dinner set-up, and afterthey sit and are served, a well dressed Dash enters the room. Without much hesitation, he gets right to the point: he comes clean about going after the Sea Monster. The death of his wife and child at the hands of the best was too much to bear, and his rage boiled over so far that he shot at his former love Aasma. He regrets this very much, but he admits lying about the reward for killing the monster. The journey was simply cold blooded revenge, and he used the crew to accomplish it. Since he has little left in Amn, he tells the crew that he has sold his estate there, and presents each member of the crew with a magical item, a small token he says to make up for un unforgivable transgression.

Most of the crew understands, or at least accepts Dash's actions. Petzer, however, cannot control himself, and finally snaps, stands and starts insulting Dash, including commenting on the fact that he knows Aasma is alive. He storms out, leaving his gift, while Dash holds Thorock from knocking him out for his words.

After identifying their gear, the four head back to the Bilgewater to sleep.

Fit the Sixth: Softly and Suddenly Vanished
Kythorn 23rd - 25th

The next morning, their tattoos go off once again. Petzer ignores the call, but the other three head to the docks. Dash tells them that the Rundeen are trying to assert their dominance in Calimport, and he and the others need to know what members of which ships are loyal to the Rundeen. He asks them to infiltrate the Rundeen here in Calimport and get this information. He tells them that while lower level Rundeen may be found at the Bilgewater, the higher level members are rumored to be at the Spinning Compass.

While the three start to leave, they see the TigersEye pull into port, looking very worse for wear. Brigitte MacPhearson disembarks and heads straight for them, mumbling about the "blasted" Rundeen. She asks the three where Petzer is. The three ask her why she needs to know, and Brigitte finally comes out and says "Because he is my husband. This takes the three by some surprise, and Sarkozy tells her that he was in the Bilgewater when they left this morning.  The three wander off, trying to figure out what to do about their mission.

Meanwhile, Brigitte makes it to the Bilgewater and finds the morose Petzer. Brigitte tries to threaten the Warlock that in order for her to keep tabs on him, she needs to get a commission on the Diamond, but she is quite surprised and even more annoyed when Petzer tells her he has quit the ship. Brigitte expresses her concern over the direction of his life, and then leaves, telling him that she will be at the Spinning Compass. When he inquires as to how to get in, she tells him to look closer at the note she had the others gives him earlier. She leaves, but not before getting a goodbye kiss and a promise that Petzer will stop by the next day...

The group of three eventually make it back to the Bilgewater, and spot two groups of Rundeen. The three elect Gafflure to approach one of the group and try to ween out the information on how to get into the Spinning Compass. Gafflure uses a rather straight on approach, and is a little suspicious - luckily, this group is semi-drunk, and is too busy taking in her curves than her words. The Rundeen decide not to give out the password so easily, however, and Gafflure retreats with the idea that she might have to pretend to join the group to get the information.

The three set off to a point they previously knew as a Rundeen recruiting ground, but, to no surprise, it is vacant. They return to the Bilgewater, and Gafflure and Saulthan approach the other group of three. These three seem much more observant and careful, yet when Gafflure tells them she wants to join - and they realize she is from the Black Diamond - they are immensely interested and are overhead saying "it is a chance worth taking." Yet, to make it even more annoying, they tell Gafflure three different passwords for entering the Spinning Compass. Gafflure thanks them, and the three start walking toward the Compass.

Halfway there, their tattoos go off, and they immediately report to the docks. Dash is there with several new faces on deck - it is quickly realized that they are the replacements for those who died in the Kraken battle. Dash brings over one young man and introduces them to him. His name is Derrick Dragonsong, and Dash makes it quite clear that he is to join them and help them on their mission. Petzer, he adds, is now formally off the ship's crew. The three great Derrick, and find he is from the Northwest and has a good background in sailing. Sarkozy quickly realizes the newcomer has as much curiosity of the world as he does, and the tow talk about the mission on the way to the Spinning Compass.

Sarkozy is the first to brave a password - it proves incorrect, and he is quickly covered with glitterdust. Saulthan goes next, and again the password proves incorrect, although Saulthan manages to avoid the tar and feathers that aim for him. Gafflure steps up and says the last password - "boojum" - and the building reveals it true entrance. The others follow suit and enter the Spinning Compass.

They are greeted by an odd sight - a massive golem, made entirely of metal piping and whose head is composed of a giant compass. They decide to explore, and first find a kitchen, and a rather weird set of moving paintings which they can only guess are used for room service. They then find a taproom and one rather drunk Rundeen in the center. While Saulthan and Gafflure try unsuccessfully to gain information from this man, Sarkozy and Derrick explore the other hallways, findings instead of doors, two sets of 10 rooms each.

Eventually, although Saulthan stops to get a room, the four meet up and begin to explore the paintings. They quickly realize that the paintings lead to real doors and real rooms. When they enter Saulthan's room, they find another painting, this one leading to another room. This process continues: they find the room of Brigitte MacPhearson, where Derrick picks a safe to find the marriage papers between her and Petzer; they are attacked by mass vegetation in one room; are entranced by another plane in another; coem across and anger Thorb Thunderwave, captain of the Tigerseye, and who narrowly misses killing one of them; and finally come to a room with a glass ceiling. They see, above them several rogues discussing something. They quickly surmise that the room above them is the location of the Rundeen's main operations. HOwever, with no other painting leaving this room, they exit the traditional way. AS they are walking out, deciding to wait for the next day to continue, Derrick spots the drunken Rundeen walking toward his room. Derrick decides to "help" the man, and brings him upstairs, where the Rundeen unlocks his room, and closes the door - with the key still in the lock. Derrick, who by now has realized that even in his drunken state, the man seems to have lifted his moneybag, decides to enter. He finds papers about Lero Nalani, head of the Rundeen, in the same room they knew he was already in. Derrick also lifts the man's magical rapier, and retrieves his own money bag... and the Rundeen's, where he finds a key to another room.

The four retreat and sleep for the night. Meanwhile, Petzer checks in later that night to the Spinning Compass. He quickly deduces that Saulthan has a room here as well, and it is connected to his own. He keeps watch of the painting, but sees nothing. The next morning, still with no contact with Saulthan or the others, Petzer meets his wife in the taproom. She convinces him that they should do something together, and Petzer reluctantly agrees - hoping to see if she can be an ally in his plotting. The two set off for a long and romantic walk.

Shortly thereafter, the four return to the compass, and used the lifted key to enter another room. Derrick opens the door, and instantly finds a confusing sight: a small pond and trees dot the room. Bathing in the pond are four beautiful women - two look human, two elf-like. Derrick immediately senses danger as he hears music - but it is too late, he is entranced. He goes back and gets the rest in the room. Derrick is adamant about saving these poor creatures, as he claims they tell him they are trapped here by those in the painting behind the pond. They desperately want to leave this place, but need the heroes help. Sarkozy, who has but one teleport left in his boots, is not for doing this today, and tries to convince Derrick of this. The human-like women, now identified by Saulthan as Sirines, stop Derrick from attacking the elf, and claim that they can wait. The other two, beautiful beyond anything the four have ever seen, transform to coy fish, and let the four pass into the next room...

...where they fall, as they are now in a two story library. They find a one last painting, which leads them to a black room and two doors - one made of red, jagged and fragmented tiles, the other blue, made of hexagons tiled perfectly together. Without thinking the situation through, Derrick walks through the blue door. The others follow soon through the same. It is quickly realized that Derrick somehow took the wrong door, as he lay unconscious at their feet. Eventually, he is revived, and they find themselves face to face with the door to the room they believe the Rundeen are located. They enter, and immediately start a large battle.

Though outnumbered, the four fight rather well. Eventually, they kill the duel dagger wielding Lero, and the remaining Rundeen commit suicide before being captured. They find quite easily a list of Rundeen operatives working out of Calimport, and what ships they can be found on. They also find evidence that Fedallah and his ship are Rundeen operatives. The four retreat out of the room, and Derrick draws them back to the pond room. It is there the Sirines tell him they are now free, and the Nymphs teleport the four women out of the building.

The four head immediately head to the docks, and find Dash. Dash tells them they will be called later tonight for a meeting discussing these findings. The rest of the day goes rather quickly. The four head out to Dash's residence later that evening for the meeting. Petzer, who is now back in the Spinning Compass, observes Brigitte leaving with Thorb, dressed in their finest. Petzer uses this opportunity to first try and find the marriage license - which he fails to do - and then later to scry on his wife.

The four arrive at Dash's, and find the captains and other representatives from every ship there, including Brigitte. Eventually, the Pasha himself appears, and proclaims that the time to stop the Rundeen is now - and that every ship will accompany a fleet to meet the Rundeen's ship near Suldolphor. Though many in the room are a tad uncomfortable with such "orders," the Pasha leaves without question from anyone. Dash then comes over to the four and hands them some letters: letters of recommendations for the three, a letter addressed to a family named Nitoah outside of Suldolphor, and finally a letter addressed to Aasma Quarash. Petzer, meanwhile, scys at about this time, and gets the basic summary of the Pasha's plans through conversation between Thorb and Brigitte.

The next day, Petzer hatches a grand plan of revenge, and uses much of his time in procuring the necessary ingredients. Meanwhile, Sarkozy teleports to Suldolphor and delivers the letter to the house Nitoah, which the elf quickly learns is the elven family of Dash's now dead wife. Back in Calimport, Saulthan delivers the letter to Aasma, whom he notices still is injured from the spear through her side. Aasma reads the letter and tells Saulthan to tell Dash that she will "be there." Later, some time after Saulthan leaves, he realizes a startling fact: Aasma's wound was on the wrong side of her body.

At about 3 pm on Kythorn the 25th, theit tattoos shine once more, and the four report to the ship on the docks. They see a massive fleet of about 15 ships ready to pull anchor - along with what looks like dozens of dead bodies and piles of a white substance being disintegrated. Petzer, observing in the shadows, sees this as well, gladly saying goodbye to the Opal and Davram, who he recognizes in the pile of bodies. The ship sets sail for the Suldolphan strait.

Kythorn 26th - Flamerule 1st

The next four and a half days of sailing are brutal, as the crew works hard to sail through the many storms the sea throws at them. Eventually, in the early afternoon of Flamerule the 1st, they come into sight of the Suldolphan Strait, and the massive Rundeen Fleet blocking it. Though the Calimshites are obviously outnumbered, the ships sail on, and eventually fireballs fill the sky from both directions.

The Diamond steers clear of the mage battle and rushes toward an oncoming Rundeen Frigate. The two ships lock, and the Rundeen start to board the ship. The four are alone on one part of the deck, and fight wave after wave of attacking Rundeen. Derrick manages to shake off a severe blow and stay conscious. Gafflure is not so lucky, and eventually goes down. Saulthan takes the largest beating and falls unconscious several times, owing his magical vest and Sarkozy's healing from keeping him from dying. Eventually, 30 Rundeen lay dead at the four's feet. The rest of the crew had taken care of the remaining attackers, and just as the four start to regain their feet and composure, all hell breaks loose.

A Kraken, who had been summoned during the battle, was laying waste to the Rundeen's ships. Derrick's eagle eyes spot two mages flying high above their ships, simutaneously trying to cast a spell - a spell Sarkozy identifies as Mage's Disjunction. At the exact same time, Petzer, who had been scrying on Gafflure, puts his plan of revenge on Dash into action, and teleports to the bottom of the sea, directly beneath the Diamond. There he casts a spell to start a hurricane on the surface. When complete, he teleports to Almraiven.

The resulting combination is heard across the Shining Sea. Within the next few seconds the Kraken explodes, and a nauseating wave of energy passes out across the battle, heading northeast, as something, somehow has gone seriously wrong. The Hurricane picks up out of no where, and the already badly damaged '"Diamond'', not to mention half of the other ships in battle, start to take on water and sink.

It is just about this time that someone yells, and the crew turns to see the Diamond Dust come up on the Black Diamond's side. Aasma jumps off onto Dash's ship, draws her sword and runs at Dash. Thorock attempts to keep everyone away as the two captains start to duel, the ship slowing sinking beneath their feet, and the wind howling to the point where keeping balance is nearly impossible.

The duel seems equal, but Dash uses his experience to vanquish the younger Aasma, killing her with a piercing of the heart. As people start to congratulate Dash, and start making way to evacuate the ship, Niteci Vorban, whose eyes are pitch black, comes out of nowhere and stabs Dash in the bag with a dagger. Dash's eyes immediate turn black, and a dark ooze leaks from his mouth and ears. The captain slumps to the deck, breathing violently. Thorock kills Vorban with a swing of his axe, and Loulla Sprongbocket comes in and desperately tries to resurrect the fallen Captain.

It is not long before an ear splitting ring passes across the sky, and the crew looks up to see a black ship - The Predator, captain by Fedallah - firing what looks to be a massive ray of disintegration toward the fleet of ships. The ray totally destroys six ships, and the Predator moves in with cannons, shooting at ships on both sides.

The four decide it is high time to leave. Unfortunately, Sarkozy finds his boots of teleportation no longer work, so the four scurry to a longboat. Thorock, Hig, Awdan and Gabby make it to another, and both longboats managed to escape the wake of the Diamond finally sinking below the surface, carrying the body of Dash and the rest of the crew, along with Loualla, who never, it seems, left Dash's side.

As the two boats struggle to row against the hurricane forced waves, they witness the devastation before them. Between the battle, the hurricane, and now Fedallah, nearly every boat is sunk or near lost. Fedallah is retreating as the Hurricane is finally dispelled, and the two longboats make it to the shore outside the city of Suldolphor.

Over the next hour, a few more boats arrive, carrying a total of about 40 survivors, including Brigitte MacPhearson. The Diamond Dust survives, although limps into the Suldolphan docks some hours later.

The eight surviving members of the Black Diamond manage to reach the nearest Inn, The Yellow Bellied Newt, and check in. It is not long before Thorock receives a sending. When asked, Thorock reveals that the message was really for Dash - the men who have been following Petzer report him missing. After answering questions about the battle from locals, the four turn in early for some much needed rest, contemplating what they are to do now.

Epilogue
Flamerule 2nd - 14th

Over the next two weeks, the eight remaining of the Black Diamond went their separate ways.

Thorock brooded much over the time period, obviously angered over the loss of the Diamond and Dash, and over the disappearance of Petzer. He has also cursed the name of Fedallah and has vowed revenge. In his often drunken outbursts, he has promised to find the treacherous Warlock and Fedallah, and make sure they had nothing to do with Niteci killing Dash. On the 13th of Flamerule, the Olanger of Suldolphor hired Thorock as the captain of a new warship - The Scorpion. Thorock, who spent a little time with Brigitte MacPhearson during the two weeks, took the woman as his first mate, Gabby McFadden as his Navigator, Hig Hitomi and Awdan Surefoot as arms, and Derrick Dragonsong as a Hand.

Saulthan, says his goodbyes to his friends, and walk with them to the docks. It is there that he is attacked by Idolian, which surprises the heck out of everyone, since last time they saw him he was quite dead. Saulthan is poisoned, and before anyone can do anything, Idolian teleports away with the unconscious body of Saulthan. In addition, Fedallah is spotted in the crowd, and Derrick gives chase, only to loose the evil Captain as she flees in some kind of invisible longboat.

Petzer, whose location in Almraiven is seemingly well hidden, has taken upon himself to get on the good side of one Kanella Romi, Second Mage of the Mage Academy in Almraiven. Kanella likes her new friend, but is not stupid, and is wary of Petzer's motives.

Meanwhile, Sarkozy and Gafflure took to the city and spent the two weeks learning as much as they could about its workings and environment. While Sarkozy had little to stay for except his curiousity, Gafflure finally felt closer to her prey than ever before. Both continued their stay at the Yellow Bellied Newt ...

Themes
User:Bwh writes: Most of the campaigns to date have been very focused on saving the world from this or that ultimate evil: stopping wars, defeating dragons and demigods, things of that nature. There were similarly expansive themes to go with them. (My own previous campaigns are representative examples, certainly.) This time around, I wanted to create something a bit more personal ... something exciting but less grandiose, about people trying to get by in a large and frightening world. So, I explored topics like:


 * Camaraderie: In writing the campaign, I did my best to force the characters into close quarters with other NPC's, hoping they would form a tight (if dysfunctional) family. This was successful only insofar as the PC's let it be.
 * Common Man: none of the characters were ever well-connected or hardy adventurers, though they had their back-stories; the campaign focused on their daily ventures and their ability to put bread in their baskets. Larger forces moved around them; the best they could do is ally with one side or another and hope not to be crushed.
 * Ripple Effects: setting this campaign in our "past" let me explore cause and effect. Sarkozy saving an artifact here inadvertantly causes the death of thousands. Transporting a passenger to Calimport sets up an Inn in Phlan. Even in the enormity of Faerun, the threads run long and deep ... many things are ultimately connected.

Criticisms

 * Davy says: "You gotta be careful as the writer. You never know when you will have a Petzer in your party."
 * User:bwh replies: Concerning Petzer: when I decided on an all-alignment campaign, I sort of anticipated a Petzer: I crafted a darkside path for him to follow, hoping he'd take the bait and bite. ;-) Generally speaking, everyone in these campaigns is the same in basic outlook; I thought I'd take advantage of Calimport to mix it up a bit.

That being said, I probably won't do that again, since a Petzer complicates everything.
 * Davy says: "I feel that you were a little too evil for some of your ideas when trying to give them to Ryan. I'm guessing that you don't feel for the party as much when you don't see them."
 * User:bwh replies: Concerning Evil: I admit, it's easier for me to be bloodthirsty when I'm on the sidelines ... and Ryan did make some modifications, to bring certain challenges down to your ECL. I was rusty, as a DM, so don't take those particulars as malice on my part.

Mostly, you have to realize that I'm the middle ground between Ryan and Jorge, in terms of campaign plotting. I don't apply as much direct pressure as Jorge, but I definitely twist the knife quite efficiently. (Dan Rogers as Laharl, Jorge as Melfaren, Ryan as Hedjtep: they can all attest to this.)
 * Davy says: "I liked the treasure, until it broke "Boots of Teleportation"... If I would have sold it, then there would have been no down side."
 * User:bwh replies: a couple of things happened there, starting with a miscommunication and some DM fudging. I'm sorry on that one. (Although you guys were slated to lose those items from the start, and I'd honestly considered wiping you guys out entirely ... giving you all a fresh start in Suldolphor. Ryan gives out too much treasure, though, you'll recover. :-D )
 * User:bwh adds: Concerning the Communication: it worked better than I expected, to be honest. I'd spend 2-6 hours working on an individual Fit, and Ryan would clarify parts over the course of the week. I left the encounters mostly devoid of statistics and let him fill in details. All in all, it went fairly smoothly; I think the only major gaffs we had were both at the end.

The biggest problem for me would be lack of direct input. I didn't have the players right there, and Ryan's write-ups wouldn't necessarily be immediate, so I had to do some guess-work, on how some plot-threads were going.
 * Keith says: Saulthan survived ... Needed more cowbell.

Setting the Stage
As a campaign which takes place before some of our completed sessions, the DM has taken leave to lay some of the groundwork for the "future".
 * Mists of Cormyr: the presence of Armen Cormaeril and Mordeth in Calimport; they, along with a bohort of Fire Knives, capture the Eye of the Deep ... the first of three crystals they will use in 1374 D.R. to fuel the Flying Citadel and to elevate Mordeth to partial godhood.
 * The Chronicles of Amn: Miranda duLaras is directly responsible for capturing (and eventually imprisoning) Confectus in the Red Elemental Prison, located somewhere in the Calim Desert. Also, there have been occasional signs of Dharamon's pet dragon off in the distance.
 * Path of the Tome: The Rundeen Consortium would come into play as allies of the Yuan-Ti and the Death Flames; Dash's contact Ezri was later slain by Xarxes Theodike; Raz Mason would impact the life of one Palar.
 * The Gem of Sammaster's Eye: Miyahara Azoso and his servant, Kamate Toshiiro, eventually sell their Calimshite holdings to Sejanus and Melfaren Bauduril and move north to Silverymoon, where operatives of the Silver Cell encounter them ... though the Silver Cell has scant opportunity to meet with them before being annihilated.
 * Shrouded Wings: Iss Kinli, who later buys and operates the Happy Halfling Inn in Phlan, is picked up in Tashluta as the lone survivor from an attack by a mysterious sea monster.

Side Quests

 * You Do Not Talk About Fight Club (Unlocked!)
 * Special Deliveries (Completed)
 * Something A Little ... Wrong (FAILED)
 * Our Mrs. Reynolds (Unlocked!)
 * Bring the Pain (FAILED)

References to Literature, &c.

 * Lewis Carroll, "The Hunting of the Snark": a humorous poem concerning a sea voyage and the hunt for a mysterious creature. The Fits, some of the names and a couple of unused threads referenced the poem.
 * Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner": a darker poem concerning a sea voyage gone horribly wrong. The ship of the undead came from here (as did the Fit 3 title).
 * Herman Melville, Moby-Dick: one of the most famous seafaring novels of all time. Dash's obsession with the sea monster, some of the seagoing minutia, the Fit 5 title, and the character of Fedallah all come from this book.
 * Firefly (t.v. series): "nine people staring into space and seeing nine different things." Despite the obvious thematic ties, the character of Birgitte and the "Mrs. Reynolds" side-quest came from this.
 * Star Wars (movie): Fit 2 title only ... as well as the concept of a disparate crew with a scoundrel for a captain.

Unanswered Questions
Answer: Fedallah was the twin sister of Aasma Quarash; her motives were vengeance and profit. Answer: Lovers' quarrel. Answer: The drugs made her do it. Answer: Fire Knives from Cormyr, seeking to power the Flying Citadel which would eventually strike at the Citadel of the Raven. Answer: It hurt them enough that they would be more cautious in their dealings, rather than risk an all-out war. Answer: Petzer didn't actually take any of the drugs.
 * What are Fedallah's motives? Just who is this person?
 * Why did Dash and Aasma duel to the death?
 * Why did Niteci kill Dash?
 * Who were the individuals that stole the artifact from Sarkozy, and why did they do it?
 * How did the battle effect the Rundeen?
 * What will happen to Petzer? Why wasn't he killed like the rest?