... a sailing we shall go ...
Kalik, halfling initiate of Avoreen <absent this week>;
Milik, halfling sorcerer;
Kendradell, female half-elf bard & initiate of Lydia <absent
this week>;
Nikolai, suloise human acolyte of Lendor <absent this week>;
Marcus, half-elf acolyte of Hieroneous;
Tarqualan, high elf mystic;
Naazi, centaur mystic and initiate of Tritherion;
and finally;
Demios, dwur initiate of Clangeddin.
[2nd of Richfest, 578]
We picked up this evening with the group questioning the patrons and staff of the Shield and Hammer, a popular dwurin bar off of the Promenade in Greyhawk City about the kidnapping of their companion Kendradell. While most of the dwarves who were in attendance the night before were down in their cups, several staff members had information that was of some use.
The regular bartender, a man by the name of Henson, had not showed up for work that night, and he'd been replaced by a recently hired hand, a half-elf by the name of Brujah. While his accent clearly marked him as being from the east, not much else was known about him. He did not turn up for work that next morning, so suspicion was high that he played some part in the affair.
While the party tried to knit together what they each knew, Demios revealed that Kendradell had confided to him that there was a price on her head somewhere in the Great Kingdom, the origin of which lay in spurned advances and an accidental death; upon closer inquiry one of the barmaids did remember seeing that one of the men that attacked Kendradell had worn a dagger with an odd symbol emblazoned on it's hilt (this symbol was later identified as the crest of Ahlissa, a province located in the Great Kingdom.
In their search for answers, Marcus first visited his own Temple, because the High Holy day services were due to be held in 48 hours, and it looked certain that he would be unable to attend. Given the nature of his emergency, the Justicar of his temple agreed to teach Marcus the necessary rituals so that he might conduct the services for himself (as acolytes may do, if a priest is not available). On the advice of his Justicar, he also made his way down to the docks to visit the local temple of Procan, whose High Priest used divination to reveal that Kendradell was currently aboard a small galley heading south down the Selintan.
Just outside of the temple, Marcus was approached by a sailor who seemed to know of his need for passage south, and offered to carry his group for a modest fee. Within the hour, the rest of the group was aboard the _White Lily_, a modest sloop, and headed south with the aid of a slightly unnatural breeze (Milik was the first to notice four sylphs filling the sails of the ship, pushing it along).
As the following two days passed, they spotted at least five camps alongside the river, where it was obvious the galley had changed rowing crews. Marcus successfully conducted his own worship services, and on the evening of the second day they finally left the Selintan behind, and broke out into the waters of the Woolly Bay...
Guided by a divination Nikolai had cast, they knew that sometime this day, Kendradell would be transferred to an even larger warship, one with "unusual" rowers, and that that ship would be setting a south-easterly course. When asked, the captain of the _White Lily_ (Avery Niilson) ventured that it was unlikely such a ship would be located in Safeton, but that it might make port in either Fax or Eldredd without much comment.
After much discussion, it was decided to try Fax first, then sail southwards towards Eldredd if their search didn't bear fruit. But, as luck might have it, as they entered Fax's harbor they sighted their quarry easily enough... it's ram was aimed straight for them as it made it's way out towards the sea!
Captain Niilson dodged the ram (he felt it unlikely that the captain of the _Sea Scragslayer_ was earnest in his attack) and set to shadowing the larger ship (a quadreme) while his passengers discussed strategy. After several plans were rejected, it was eventually decided that based on what knowledge they had of Kendradell's bounty, and the registry of the ship that currently bore her, the most likely destination for the _Sea Scragslayer_ was the city of Prymp in the Great Kingdom. A direct assault on the quadreme was rejected as too foolhardy, as such a vessel easily had more marines than the _White Lily_ had crew and passengers combined.
The plan that was finally attempted rested surely on the shoulders of Milik's new familiar, Ferrite. His strength and speed boosted by Tarqualan's mysticism, and a ring of invisibility owned by Naazi, the metal statue launched itself across the distance separating the two ships, and cast a spell upon the linchpin of the quadreme's rudder that caused it to drop into the sea, followed shortly by the rudder itself. As Ferrite flew back to the _Lily_, a small hail of arrows fell all around him, and plumes of water could be seen rising in the sea between the _Lily_ and the _Scragslayer_ as she maneuvered around the range of the larger ship's catapults.
Fairly smooth sailing reigned for the next few weeks, as the _Lily_ made her way to Prymp, arriving a mere three days ahead of the _Scragslayer_. Though their lead was short, it gave the party sufficient time to scout the city and the lands surrounding it for information. While checking out the temples in the city, they found one that had once been dedicated to Lydia, but which had been burned to the ground nearly six years ago and preserved in ruins by order of the local nobility.
When questioned about the ruined church, a local grocer revealed to Milik that some years back there had been a falling out between the High Priestess of Lydia and the Duke of Makanter, whose villa lay some 30 miles south of the city. For reasons unknown, the High Priestess sent one of her followers to the Duke's home to kill him in his sleep, and while the vixen succeeded in her vile mission, she awakened the household in the process and was chased back to the city by the Duke's sons, who sought her blood for their father's murder.
Believing that the young minstrel had concealed herself within her goddess' temple, the elder son, Revaan, ordered it burned to the ground with all who served their inside, then preserved as a memory of what fate awaited any who dared to make war on his family. The younger son, Nitan, who had apparently had feelings for the girl, later learned that she had not taken refuge in the temple, but had fled the land by boat that same night. Since that time, a bounty has remained for the girl who did the deed, but to his knowledge the girl remained at large.
Since that time, Revaan had risen high in the army and the ranks of Hextor's servants, and Nitan had risen in the navy serving Procan. Both brothers were common sights in the city when their duties permitted such, and were well liked by the populace... Marcus observed that it was likely that Kendradell would be sacrificed to Hextor in a private ceremony to expunge her "crime" against the family, and that the next such service would be held on the 18th....
As the evening came to a close, those ashore had located the best location for an ambush between the city and the villa, and had marked the arrival of the _Scragslayer_ in port and the arrival and departure of the Duke's private carriage at the naval compound....
[15th of Reaping, 578]