Session Thirty-Seven (Graveyard of Empires Summary)
Session 37 December 11, 2014
7th of Denrilden
After Perrett and Brice conduct their investigation we decide to interrogate Ellisondro from the Wall District guardsman detail. Only now he is formerly of the guardsman detail. Captain Beamsly has placed Ellisondro on indefinite leave. Ellisondro’s has pursued the Beggar’s Copse Quicklings with almost quixotic zeal. Even now with a limp, he still plans to police Beggar’s Copse. Hoping to curb his enthusiasm, Chuq has committed his help in the near future.
Changing the topic to why he was summoned, Ellisondro explained his habit of asking travelers if they have/want slaves is his own twisted sense of humor. It tickles his fancy that there might be a kernel of truth to the half whispers of Punters trading in intelligent flesh. When random caravan members clam up after his idiosyncratic questioning, he gets a little tickled. Believing his testimony, Chuq suggests Ellisondro not pursue any rumors himself but to keep an ear open for any news.
Discussing this and other threads of our investigation, our war council decides the highest priority is the slave trade, specifically rumors of Grell’s Lambs in Caligan. Judge Grell of the City of Midmark will likely win his bid for Lord Mayor in next year’s election, and if he is part of the slave cabal his assumption of office could be catastrophic to the people of Midmark. Perrett eagerly agrees with this assessment.
He also agrees that since Aardmann/Renauldus, the current Punters’ Weapons master, offered to get Ashton started doing milk runs from Kaligan with Grell’s lambs that there is deeper connection with the Punters than just Aardmann. This coupled with reports that a successful Dragon Sphere expedition will not only make the Punters incredibly rich it would also guarantee Rotho Waterman would replace Peter Thoral as Guildmaster, Perrett agrees interfering with the expedition tangentially forwards his mission and could create an opportunity to incriminate/expose the punters. For a while we consider that with Waterman & Brocket away on expedition, there might be a chance to secret into the Punter compound and unearth bookkeeping about the slave trade. Conceding that Waterman has a team of bean counter better suited to obfuscation than us, we figure any potential evidence might be unusable.
The mercers are asked to hire several canoes/row boats to monitor the harbor and the KhelWater in addition to the spies loitering about Fens Edge and the punter’s compound. Its hoped that while we investigate the Punter’s compound at night or apprehend/trail Aardmann, that if the expedition gets underway we can pursue via rowboat whichever route they take.
Fearing we are losing a chance to hinder the punters before the expedition begins; the Starchie Boys take a Mercer row boat that night to infiltrate the punter’s compound via the Khelwater. The plan is to use our potion of Clairvoyance to discern the location of the Dragon Sphere before it leaves Vargen. Chuq clandestinely swims towards the Punter’s piers as Ashton, Axel, Brice, Finkelmur, Thorfus and Starchie watch from the row boat. Approaching the covered pier known to house a fourth barge for the expedition, Chuq sees 6 punters fussing over a large mechanical contraption on the barge. They are arguing with each other about how to repair the machine in time for its intended use. Chuq hears that Barnier Brocket will rely on the machine to breath while searching the bottom of the river for whatever the expedition pursues. The weakness inherent in its use is discovered – the air that Barnier breathes will travel down tubes that connected to the machine. If something were to happen to the tubes, the machine will not help as intended.
Slipping outside the warehouse among the other piers, Chuq sneaks out of the river and infiltrates further into the compound. Within the center of the walled compound is a tower with four elevated rope bridges connected to warehouses cardinally located around the tower. One of these four warehouses is that which Chuq heard the mechanics fussing over the contraption. Another ware house directly opposite the covered pier is obviously occupied. It is well lit from within and many voices can be heard cavorting inside. The last two warehouse are dark and silent.
Before slinking to the central tower, a punter guard armed with a short sword and hooded lantern is seen patrolling the bridge. Locking the send floor door of the covered pier, he saunters to the central tower. Locking the door behind him, he exits the opposite side and continues across another bridge into the loud warehouse. Avoiding detection, Chuq takes a moment at the central tower to imbibe the potion. Questing for the Dragon Sphere, his vision is of a dark room with a large locked chest, a more than modest bed occupied by a sleeping man and a single door opposite an open window overlooking a river. Willing his vision to the window, Chuq sees the silhouette of the Starchie Boys rowboat. Moving his mind’s eye without the window, he sees that the room is on the second floor of the covered pier.
On the spur of the moment, Chuq takes a stab at the Sphere clandestinely. He climbs the tower wall to the rope bridge. Hearing the patrolman within the tower, he scrabbles further up the tower to a window ledge overlooking the bridge. The patrolmen exits the tower, unlocks the door to the warehouse and enters. Dropping down to the bridge, Chuq scurries across to the warehouse and clambers to its roof. Hearing the drop to the bridge, the patrolman quickly returns and calls out if anyone is there. Keeping still, Chuq watches him leave the warehouse door open and enter the tower.
Trying his best to remain quite, the monk slips from the roof and spills onto the bridge making even more of a ruckus. This brings the patrolman back to the warehouse calling out for the intruder to show himself. Chuq hides behind the open door within the warehouse, surprising the patrolman as he bursts into the room. A quick thrust of Chuq’s spear misses the mark allowing the patrolman to reply in kind with his sword as Chuq launches into the air. Lifting himself up to the roof, the patrolman yells out load that an assassin is trying for Waterman. The compound comes alive as Chuq dashes over the roof to the river.
The other Starchie Boys first know something is amiss when they see Chuq leap into the air and plunge into the river. Keeping quiet, he is quickly lost in the darkness. Not wanting to bring the bargemen down onto his buddies, Chuq swims down river past the piers. The Boys watch the commotion from the river. They are able to slip away.
Fighting fatique, Chuq swims/drifts with the current past Fens Edge. After resting under a pier in the predawn hours, Chuq eventually emerges from the water somewhere in South Harbor well after the fishermen have set out for the day. Wearing little more than briefs, Chuq visits the tanner that outfitted Ashton with his leather armor. They share a morning repast. Hearing a yarn about an overly ambitious morning swim, the tanner takes pity on Chuq. He tasks an apprentice to escort him to the Lone Barrel, asking for the cost of tolls only in return. Returning to the Lone Barrel, Thorfus pays the boy with a little something extra and the Boys compare notes.
Adelard has bad news. The Punters’ have killed the Mercer spies in Fen’s Edge in retaliation. Our infiltration spurned the Punters to launch their expedition today. The Boys rush to follow – to the Starchie boats!