2022/12/07

Last time in the Iron Kingdoms, the party planned a rescue mission.

Some time had passed since the party had fought the slaver crew that was abducting citizens of Five Fingers. In the intervening time, those of the party that worked at Undertow had noticed that the food and drink for the bar was getting rather low. When Abe brought this to Atrixia, she sighed and informed the party that Ord had recently declared an embargo on Five Fingers and the food shipments into the city were being disrupted as a result. Charlotte was concerned about the potential for food riots, having had to deal with civil unrest of that sort during her time with Cygnar. Atrixia did state that there was enough still for the time being though the problem needed to be solved sooner rather than later.

Another day passed and the party was called before the high captains for a mission relating to the food crisis. High Captain Riordan had found where the food shipment that Ord had seized had been taken to, and the party was to go and retrieve it. Five Fingers had the money and ships to protect future shipments though this one was needed for the immediate problems. The party was then told that the ship in question, The Steady Wind had been captured by the Ordic navy and taken to the port of Carre Dova, a nearby port at the mouth of the Bay of Stone. To assist the party in their mission they had been provided papers saying that they were part of a mercenary company that was looking for recruits and work. Additionally, as their exit from the Ordic port was unlikely to be subtle there were to be a number of Five Fingers ships in the area to cover their escape. The only questions the party had were concerning if they needed to disguise the act of war that this was likely going to be. The high captains believed that Ord had already escalated the situation by trying to starve Five Fingers, and if their port burned as a result of that decision so be it.

The party then had a day to prepare for their voyage and mission to Carre Dova. Shakes spent his time making a timed explosive for a potential distraction. The rest of the party looked into Carre Dova, finding out that the city was an old port with a mighty seawall. Though the waters inside the seawall were rather shallow and unsuited for modern steam powered vessels. Additionally Carre Dova's position at the mouth of the Bay of Stone meant that if Five Fingers ships were to make it to the city state the naval garrison in the city needed to be dealt with. The party then boarded a ship and made the short journey to Carre Dova.

When the party arrived in Carre Dova, they realized that they had two steps to completing their mission. First they needed to find The Steady Wind, and second they had to find the crew. Finding the ship wasn't too much of a problem for the party, as they went down the deepwater docks on the road that travels along the seawall. Eventually they came across The Steady Wind, moored out of the way of the ships coming and going with a small guard posted at the ship. While the party was out looking around they also noticed that the port was patrolled by a number of mounted cavalry, who traveled up and down the area. Though the ship didn't seem to have anyone on board, leading the party to guess that the crew was being held elsewhere.

The party then thought about who would know the location of the party and how they would go about getting that information. The party decided to lean on their papers listing them as a mercenary company and to try and use that to talk to the military sailors who were likely involved in the capture of The Steady Wind. The party got their story straight that they were part of the mercenary company Bad Company and were in Carre Dova after providing security for an expedition to explore Orgoth ruins.With their story set, the party split in two to talk to both the officers and the common sailors near the naval garrison. Charlotte and Xavier went to the officer's bar and were able to get someone to provide them an introduction with the local mercenary liaison. Abe, Shakes, and Hector went to the enlisted bar, ironically named A Touch of Class. There they talked with some sailors who were more into the Ordic cause and believed that Five Fingers was a den of debauchery and sin. However they did determine that the crew of The Steady Wind was being held by the navy and not in a local prison. With that knowledge the party reconvened at their lodging and began making plans to investigate the garrison and break out the crew. During the night, Hector was informed that missing knowledge that the party sought was at A-5. While nobody knew exactly what was meant by that, it was at least more than they had to go off of previously.