A Tale of Two Parties

"**A Tale of Two Parties**" (1x28) is the 28th episode of Dun-Johns and Dragons.

## **Synopsis**

### **Previously on *Dun-Johns and Dragons***

After annoying a decent swath of the western half of the Cracked Continent, the party traveled to the pirate island of Skip. They visited the Mechanists’ Guild, where Dugluss ingratiated himself and agreed to trade knowledge of the technology in his armor in exchange for information about crystals and magical resonance. They were also summoned by the Pirate Lord, who asked them to investigate alleged shady goings-on beneath the Mechanists’ Guild. While Dugluss is busy with the Guild, Magpie, Zander, and Stone have shipped out with a group called the Black Marauders who are going in search of the kidnapped Prince Durrian in hopes of collecting the bounty.

### **Part I**

[NB: JD was absent for this episode, and Father Buckitt wasn’t involved in any of the action; presumably he’s occupying himself with Bucket-related activities on Skip.]

Magpie, Zander, and Stone are welcomed aboard the Black Marauders’ ship, the Barracuda, by the half-orc Captain, Shomp Vala. They meet a Water Genasi named Kelpie, who introduces himself as a newer member of the crew. He has iridescent turquoise skin and long, wavy green hair, and seems very friendly and helpful. He says his main task is to clean the outer hull of the ship.

Back on Skip, Dugluss heads off in the morning to the Mechanists’ Guild. Yoolna goes along and takes a look around outside for any clues to the caverns below; but doesn’t find much. As she is investigating, Fortune, the pirate they met yesterday, approaches and offers her some work. When she agrees, he shows her to the Guild of Arcanists, then hands her an envelope and tells her he needs it left on the headmaster’s desk; if she can accomplish that without being seen, perhaps he can help her out with her sewer research.

Yoolna investigates the building from all sides, but doesn’t see any immediately obvious means of entry besides the front door. Giving it up for the moment, she goes in search of someplace to find building plans, a map, or similar city records. She finds the Cartography Guild and speaks with the receptionist, Joanun(sp?). She doesn’t find any building plans or immediately useful maps, though Joanun mentions a new project is in the works that may include the Loxodon region, and offers to contact her if and when anything interesting becomes available. Next, she finds a magic shop called Smoke and Mirrors and explains to the proprietor that she’s looking for some means of levitation or enhanced climbing. After considering a few options, she buys a pair of Winged Boots; they cost 500 gold, which she takes from the Portable Hole, considering it a worthwhile investment for the party. [OOC, the others agree.]

Meanwhile at the Mechanists’ Guild, Dugluss tries bluffing in hopes of gaining incriminating information. He asks Warren how they go about finding test subjects — do they have people in-house? If he needed to acquire a test subject for “less pleasant” procedures, do they have places where they would not be disturbed or overheard? Tana says they have more discreet facilities, but they are reserved for members of the guild; for the time being, he says their focus should be on the thought-controlled technology they’re working on now. [OOC, Dave clarifies a prior discussion, saying that Dugluss is currently on path with his current work to becoming a member; the timeframe in mind is probably around a year.] Dugluss asks if there’s any way he could expedite his membership; could he perhaps work on multiple projects at once? But Warren is fairly set on focusing on their current task and doesn’t give any concrete answers about the other things Dugluss is asking. Dugluss has a new idea for a second project that he’d like to work on in addition to the current one; he will call it Project Marionette, but he doesn’t elaborate further at this time. He also spends some time walking around the Guild, committing the layout of the building to memory.

At the end of the day, he does some poking around. Below the stairs on the main floor, he finds a locked metal door; peering through the keyhole, he sees steps descending into darkness. He turns his All Purpose Tool into a lockpick and opens the door without too much trouble, then stealthily heads down.

### **Part II**

Descending a few sets of steps to what seems to be the lowest level, Dugluss finds himself in a corridor lined with cells. On one side, he sees a giant bat, an ordinary camel, and a skinny-looking owlbear. On the other side of the corridor is a much larger cell; a giant, grotesque, bipedal frog sticks its tongue out through the bars and wraps briefly around Dugluss’ leg, but lets go immediately. Dugluss hears its voice in his head: “*Deeeeath! Wish for deeeath!*” He notices a crude bandage wrapped around the lower half of the creature’s torso. At the end of the corridor, stairs lead up to another row of cells, where a Diregoose narrowly misses biting off his fingers; it begins honking loudly; Dugluss thumps it on the head with his fist, knocking it unconscious. The other cells are empty, apart from the last which contains a sleeping Death Dog.

Back in the lower corridor, he checks the rest of the cells on the other side; apart from the frog creature, he finds a Drider, a giant spider with the torso, arms, and head of a humanoid. It speaks to him in Undercommon: “You, Dwarf! Free us!” From the Drider, Dugluss learns that the creatures there were captured and imprisoned. The Drider doesn’t know what kind of experiments they are subjected to; they only hear the screams. Dugluss asks what happens if he frees them; the Drider responds simply, “I leave.”

Exploring further, he finds a room with a large metal table in the center, and various shelves around the sides, as well as a couple storerooms, though nothing there of particular interest. Through an archway, he finds a balcony overlooking a yet lower level, with some kind of forge and various tools and materials scattered around. He finds another corridor of cells, one of which contains a large, winged creature with the head of a bird and four mammalian legs. As he makes his way back out, the Drider says again, “Free us, Dwarf. Free us.” Dugluss promises he will return with help and successfully sneaks back upstairs and outdoors.

Meanwhile on the ship, Stone, Magpie and Zander have been assigned to the late-night watch. The wind and rain begin to pick up suddenly, quickly turning into a thunderstorm. In a flash of lightning, Stone notices a figure standing at the bow of the ship; a few seconds later, another flash reveals two more. Magpie, stationed at the wheel, uses Mage Hand to ring the ship’s bell; Stone and Zander move forward toward the figures, but more and more appear, climbing over the railing until they fully line the perimeter of the deck.They are humanoid, wearing armor and carrying scimitars or tridents, though they don’t attack or do anything besides stand there. The crew, summoned by the bell, now stand clustered in the middle of the deck, many clutching swords or other makeshift weapons.

At this point, the doors of the captain’s cabin swing open and Shomp Vala comes striding out; as he does, a figure steps forward from the line of mysterious figures near the bow. They eye one another over the crew huddled in the center of the ship. The figure raises his hand and the storm subsides. He crosses his arms and stares at the captain, who says, “Reddis, welcome aboard! It’s good to see you, my friend!” As the moon comes out, they can see the newcomers have bluish-green skin and their features appear somewhat squashed and fish-like. The leader replies to the captain, “It’s Commander Abernath to you.” Abernath demands something called the Scepter of the Waves be returned to their queen; Captain Vala hems and haws and says, “It’s complicated.” One of the other crew members nudges Kelpie and whispers, “Can’t you talk to him? Y’know, fish to fish?” Kelpie takes offense; he says he’s a Water Genasi, not a Triton, and has nothing in common with these people.

Magpie cuts in to ask the captain, “So wait, to get this straight, did you steal this and lose it?” Vala says the Scepter has been in the possession of the Pirate Lord (going back several Pirate Lords), but the Triton want it back and have recently started making a fuss. Zander asks why they don’t go to Skip, since that’s where it is; Abernath says they won’t set foot on dry land. He says they prefer the seas blue, but if they have to run red, let it be so.

The captain seems very blasé about the whole thing; the party is not so convinced. Vala goes over to Abernath and starts talking quite softly, close to his ear. This goes on for a couple minutes, then he takes a step back. Abernath glances at the captain and raises a hand, almost as one, the figures disappear back over the sides of the ship and disappear almost silently back into the water. The commander asks, “I have your word?” The captain shrugs, and Abernath also dives over the edge. Magpie asks what he told him; he doesn’t answer, just stretches and goes back to his quarters. The rest of the crew, looking somewhat confused, return belowdecks, and Stone, Magpie, and Zander are left to the rest of their watch. Zander mentions that this sounds like a problem they should stay out of, though no one is sure how possible that will be. Zander asks what a Triton is; Magpie has read about them and says they are deep sea creatures: where Water Genasi live around coasts and spend some time on dry land, Tritons prefer to spend almost all of their time in the water. They have civilizations built on the sea bed, and most people are unlikely to ever see them. The rest of their watch passes uneventfully.

The next morning, as they approach Westerhaven, Stone casts Commune and confirms that Prince Durrian is not in Westerhaven, though they don’t learn much else of use. Sailing toward the docks, they can see the silhouette of the Halcyon Spire, still broken and tilting to one side, but besides that, there are no obvious signs of the damage caused by the dragon. They dock at the Saltstone Landing just up from the mouth of the river. Stone and Magpie ask the captain what the plan is; since they’re not keen on being recognized, Vala tells them to stay put, and they’ll be under way again shortly. He mentions they might swab the deck while the others are gone. As soon as the captain is out of earshot, Stone mentions that the Marauders might also betray them, so they should be ready in case things go down.

They keep an eye out while they swab the deck, but don’t see anything concerning. When the others return, the captain is accompanied by a tiefling with pale red skin whom he introduces as Barakas, who he says has some information about where they should start looking. They plan to head up the river and leave the ship in Lake Temple, then proceed in smaller boats or on foot. As they prepare to set off, they are given various tasks, and Magpie is sent down to the gunpowder store, much to her excitement. However, as she enters, the door closes behind her and the new tiefling steps out from behind it. He reaches under his cloak, pulls out a long silver blade, and takes a step toward Magpie.

## **Featured Characters**

### **Player Characters**

* Dugluss Deep-Forge
* Father Buckitt
* Magpie
* Stone
* Yoolna
* Zander Brushspark