*Season 1, Module 4* -- “Sightseeing” (one week following “No Regrets”), part I of III

[Featuring: Kaliban, Cyric, Mercutio (half-elven swashbuckler-Scot), Elron, & Napftor]

 

            The attack by an Oriental woman at the storage building and the Oriental origins of the former Silk Gloves engender rumors of some kind of Oriental incursion into Waterdeep.  Piergeiron officially renounces the rumors.  The party decides to investigate the next closest Brokengulf holding.  This site lies 15 miles west of Waterdeep, off of the Sword Coast.  An “X” on the map in the water is marked “SAFEHOUSE.”         

 

            In researching this, they also discover a boat in the city harbor is also theirs.  A Knarr-class vessel (60’ long, 17’ wide, single mast) named Riverskin sits at dock #18.  Its captain is a lizard man named Telnorin (“Teln”) Umershiv and his first and only mate is Mercutio.  As the group makes its way to the docks, a procession bearing Ambassador Tirij-kol passes them.  He is from the Oriental lands of Kara-tur and has just entered Waterdeep.

 

            The party and crew of the Riverskin leave the city (Teln shouting their intent to the guards as “sightseeing!”) and, about an hour and a half into the trip, are set upon by 2 pirate ships.  The first attack destroys the only mast, effectively turning the Riverskin into a large rowboat.  As the pirates start to board, the party dons magical rings of water breathing held by Elron (Napftor uses water breathing spell) and escape into the sea.

 

            Napftor believes that they are not far from the safehouse and steers the group to swim down and westward.  The safehouse is eventually spotted upon a plateau on the sea floor.  It is a single story, rectangular stone building with one door.  The party enters the first room of the structure and finds that it is already lit by magic and that those same magics also prevent the waters from rushing in.  The next trapped door opens into a darkened chamber.  The party enters and the door slams shut behind them.  A voice within says, “Humans.  I would wait for an eternity to kill humans.”

 

            A creature called a Wang-Liang challenges Kaliban to single combat and loses.  There is another door on the room’s far side that leads to the final third room of the safehouse.  It is here that a man in tattered clothes is sleeping.  When the party enters, the man awakens and demands to know why they’ve brought him here.  To everyone’s surprise, the man is Morus Brokengulf!  He explains that he was receiving dinner guests in his villa when he was clubbed from behind.  The next thing he knew was waking up when the party opened the door just now.

 

            When the group exits the safehouse (Morus with a water breathing ring), two sahuagin are seen fleeing nearby with a crying bundle in its claws.  An injured locathah swims futilely after the evil sea creatures.  Before it dies, it manages to say that the thing the sahuagin have stolen is the locathah king’s son and they are going to sacrifice it.  All the party except Morus, Teln, and Napftor break off in pursuit of the kidnappers atop large brown harnessed at the foot of a nearby reef.

 

            Resistance is met in the form of 3 sharks that are quickly dispatched by the party.  The headquarters of the sahuagin is a tower shaped rock formation.  Entering through the top, a winding corridor leads the party into a large chamber where a sahuagin priestess prepares to sacrifice the fish-babe to her dark god.  The party manages to take on the assembled contingent of guards and escapes with the child.  They hitch another ride on some passing eels and arrive safely back at the safehouse.

 

            Just as sahuagin pursuers catch up to the party, angry locathah intercept the evil fish-men.  The undersea castle abode of the locathah king welcomes the party as the baby is returned.  They wait for the king to finish his business, which appears to be with a human wearing a green mask over his nose and mouth.  The PC’s disturbingly note that the human is Oriental and concludes the module by shaking hands with the locathah ruler and saying, “This treaty will be beneficial to both sides.  Thanks you.”

 

            The human snaps his fingers and a bright white portal rips through the waters overhead.  Dozens of monsters swim through the gateway as the party looks on…

DM’s Note: Although this wasn’t my first cliffhanger module, it was the best so far.  The unknown intent of the monster horde brought about by an Oriental caused much excitement.  It would be a month later until the second part “Intrusions” would be played, but the anticipation was still there.  And, of course, even a player that paid little attention to the campaign up to this point would have noticed the constant Oriental sightings.  Although it was not discovered at the time, the Wang-Liang guardian in the safehouse was a trap set by the new enemy group to guard their Brokengulf prisoner. Evil is on the rise and it would not subside until the end of the season.

Module Rating:  **   (I would give it more stars, but my subplot with the locathah baby was, in retrospect, a bad way to get the PC’s to the locathah castle.)