05: Samsara, the Canal City

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## Summary

### **The Canal City**

The morning after their showdown with the Illumined, the party embarks for the Wetlands to find Bran’s dog. After a few hours’ travel east to where the Snake River Road forks, the party finds themselves at the edge of the Wetlands. Following a raised dirt road flanked by marshy tall grass, the path eventually becomes a rickety wooden catwalk over swampy terrain, and as the party makes for the main marshland, the city of **Samsara** comes into view. Stilted wooden structures form tight alleyways and winding staircases lead to different levels, with canals flowing between all throughout. With bulbs and lanterns lighting the canal city, and boats making paths through lily pads in the waterways, Samsara is a moving, living mass of shops, casinos, restaurants, and anything else one could want.

The city is quiet in the late morning hours, and the six travelers find themselves alone outside on the boardwalks. Suddenly, they hear a bark, and turn down an alleyway to find none other than **Hercules**, digging through a dumpster. Upon seeing the party, he hunkers down and gets ready to play.

### **A Wild Hercules Chase**

Hercules leads the party on a mad dash through the canal city, zipping down alleyways, over pontoons, and up and down rickety stairs leading to upper levels. After a few turns of hot pursuit (and Hercules frightening members of the party with his majestic bark), the six finally corner him, and Bran manages to grapple the little rascal in his arms. The party then opens his travel pack and reveals a parcel containing both a beautifully penned letter addressed to Bran and a glossy stag beetle.

As it turns out, Bran’s two letters came from **Aster**, his childhood friend from their home in **Stonetree Village**. Hearing that Bran had left the village to find him, Aster seems to have sent Hercules to deliver another message and assure him that all is well. The gang pens him back a rather rude (but well-meaning?) response and sends Hercules trotting off on his way.

### **The Brass Dragonfly**

Fresh off their encounter with Hercules, the party follows another catwalk to a wooden pontoon with a large tea house built up onto one side. Red lanterns and houseplants pepper the side of the impressive two-story establishment. Though the tea house appears to be closed, the party spots a woman smoking in an adjacent alleyway, whom Mujie recognizes to be **Keller**.

After exchanging greetings, Keller takes the party inside the **Brass Dragonfly**, where little wooden tables and red stools litter the sitting space and the scent of teas and light snacks waft out from the kitchen. There, she tells the party about **The Sabre**, Samsara's most exclusive casino, where she’d taken on a side gig running some games on the main floor. She also spills a bit more information about **Pombo**, who the party learns was running both Balaayt’s Ark trade and the whole of the Wetlands from behind the scenes. Learning of the party’s goals at The Sabre, Keller graciously offers to let them borrow a token she’d lifted off a patron and promises to help them get in.

At Keller’s instruction, the party buys some new duds and pays a visit to the bathhouse before meeting back up with her after her shift at the Brass Dragonfly. When they return to the teahouse, they find her in a bit of a pickle: two orcs and their entourage of goblins have her with her back to the wall, having caught her eavesdropping on their conversation. Recognizing them to be a small threat, the party roughs them up a little but defuses the situation by taking their token for The Sabre in exchange for letting them go.

### **Fake it 'Til You Make it**

Finally, Keller leads the gang to the docks, following the orcs’ tip about a high-stakes fighting ring frequented by a rough crowd out in the far islands. There, they seek to rent a skiff for a night at the **Snakepit**, where rumors of tokens, cash prizes, and extra leads on the Ark trade prove too good to pass up. However, an unexpected visitor throws a wrench in their plans—who is this little girl, and why is she calling Mujie “Papa”...?

## Quotes

### *DEAR,* DEAR *BRAN*

> *My Dear Brandy,*
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> *My beloved Hercules has informed me he saw you in Lhoam, and that he caught your scent on the road to the Wetlands. I’ve sent him back with instructions to find you and pass on another message. I am overjoyed that you have read my first letter, and since your skills are ever improving, I hope this one finds you just as well.*
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> *As you now know, my adventures have taken me to the coast and back north again, but I’ve come into a very exciting opportunity. I’ve been hired to study and document the exotic birds of Balaayt, which I will eventually compile into a book called Exotic Birds of Balaayt. This work may last me some time, since there are a lot of birds, and will take me all across the realm, but I hope that our paths cross sometime soon…*
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> *By the time this reaches you, I expect that I’ll be on my way to the south, headed for a city called K’nafay near the mountains. Once you’ve received my letter (and a small token of our enduring brotherhood), Hercules will come back to me. I’m glad you’ve found an adventure of your own, and I can hardly wait until we reunite.*
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> *Yours,*
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> *Aster*
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### *TROUBLE IS MY MIDDLE NAME:*

> “I heard some crazy shit happened in the Wilds and there’s a light shooting into the sky… You know what’s going on?”
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> “So that’s why he wasn’t at the casino last night… Listen, I won’t say anything, but keep that shit quiet. If Pombo heard about it, there’d be hell to pay… Mujie, you’re getting into some real shit coming back here, you know that?”
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> “Honestly, the place is getting a little out of control, if you ask me. I know they’re selling ark, too, but the volume they’ve been pushing lately is crazy. I don’t know where it’s coming from.”
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> “So lemme get this straight. You guys are trying to get into the Sabre, win your way to the high-roller room, and what, rub elbows with the biggest dog in the Wetlands? Count me in, you know I love trouble.”
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> "It takes a lot to get into the Sabre. Everyone needs a token, and they’re not exactly easy to come by. Lucky for *you*, I swiped one off a patron last night. I was gonna pawn it, but since I’m *sooo* generous, I guess I’ll let you borrow it for a night."
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> “Listen, it’s a rough crowd, but there’s a… We’ll call it “amateur boxing” event every week at the Snakepit. Just so happens that this week’s grand prize is a token and 25 gold. Should we head over? Gotta take a skiff out to the far islands.”
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> *-Keller*
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