Session 03 — Port Quaybay, Day Before Sailing to Orathos

Session Recap

The party (Thalia, Fenric, Lash, Kain, Ashlyn, and Magra) continued exploring the port town of Port Quaybay ahead of their departure for the island of Orathos. Following up on a promise to the bird-NPC Scrawbles, they traveled uphill to his manor to evict the squatters who'd taken it over. Lash bribed the two door guards — Jordan Baines and Rick — to leave peacefully (6 gold each), learning the layout and occupants; Jordan let slip that the squatters were army deserters who'd kept their military-issue gear after abandoning their posts. The group then stormed in and dispatched the remaining deserters along with a giant spider and a pair of mimics (an animated bed frame and a fleeing rug). Afterward they looted the basement, and a tax collector, Taximus Maximus, arrived hunting Scrawbles — Kain handed over the looted goods, framing Scrawbles as a tax dodger, and the captured deserters were hauled off by guards.

Back in town, the group cycled through a string of side encounters: Kain signed on as a "distribution partner" for a charity shipping goods to Orathos, witnessed The Flamespeaker brand the greedy nobles he'd lured to church, picked up (and quickly resolved) a courtesans' debt-collection job against Handsome Jack, spotted a near-identical rival adventuring party also bound for Orathos, cleared out some alley thugs left over from Gurge's fight (with help from a Firebrand War Brand), and learned where to sleep for free. Driven by Lash's curiosity, they finally pried open a sewer grate and discovered an underground fighting arena, The Urina, run by Mean Claude. The session ended with Magra & Ashlyn signed up as a fight-to-the-death tag team ("Blood and Thunder") and Lash signed up solo as "The Hammer," to fight next week.

Key Events

• Traveled uphill through Port Quaybay's residential district to Scrawbles' manor (~55×55 ft, ~3,000 sq ft, with an unbuilt second floor on standing pillars).
• Lash bribed the two front-door guards, Jordan Baines and Rick (6 gold each, plus a ham sandwich she'd pickpocketed for Rick), to defect. Jordan revealed the occupants were deserters who'd received military equipment and then abandoned their posts. Occupants: Cranky Frank (leader, in real armor), Sleepy Jean, Mikey, an unnamed drunk ("Drunky"), the deceased Tony (eaten by the spider), plus the spider.
• Cleared the house in combat (see below); two mimics (a bed frame and a rug) were among the threats. The rug escaped out a window.
• Looted the basement: an instrument repair kit, ropes, fresh-ish produce, and wine.
• Taximus Maximus arrived looking for Scrawbles, who'd declared his income as "three silver" while living in a 3,000-sq-ft manor — the house would be repossessed. Kain donated the looted goods to him, claiming Scrawbles was a tax dodger. Beaten/tied-up deserters were collected by guards; the two squatters across the street fled before they could be questioned.
• Lash received a guard-summoning whistle from Taximus. (Varian tax law: commoners pay 1% of wealth per quarter, nobles 2.5%; destroying tax evidence carries the death penalty — which is what Kain effectively pinned on the absent Scrawbles.)
• At the mayor's house (notable for a giant horn), met the 8'2" mayor Ledge, who became Kain's "business partner."
• Kain signed a contract with a tusked, pink-mohawked charity businessperson to identify what Orathos needs and arrange shipments (15 crates per ship; no profit — it's a charity).
• Witnessed The Flamespeaker brand the foreheads of two greedy nobles Kain had earlier sent to "watch the poor burn," condemning them to fight in Orathos.
• Took a courtesans' quest to recover 107 gold owed by Handsome Jack and his sister Jane. (Lash also tried, and failed, to befriend a bored noble named Amy sulking in the rain near the church.)
• Found Handsome Jack (negotiating to ship a giant coffin with the "not-a-necromancer" Gravis). Thalia confronted him; Jack handed over 36 gp from his own purse to settle the debt, and paid the courtesans (received 3 gp change). Jane was absent — "beauty sleep."
• Spotted a rival adventuring group also heading to Orathos, eerily mirroring the party's own composition (see below). Fenric pelted their lion-man with acorns and hid.
• Cleared Gurge's leftover alley thugs in a quick fight, joined by a Firebrand War Brand.
• Learned lodging is free for Orathos-bound travelers at any tavern; two named: the Big Barrel (north) and the Tiny Keg (south). Supplies (shovels, Gurge's replacement sword) came from Supply Officer Hackett.
• Pried open a sewer grate and descended into The Urina. Got past the doorman by posing as evil mages/fighters/a postman/a narc.
• Magra & Ashlyn registered as a tag-team fight to the death ("Blood and Thunder"); Lash registered solo as "The Hammer" (set to a non-lethal bout). Lash helped the arena chef cook. Session paused before the fights.

Combat & Encounters

Scrawbles' Manor — Squatters, Mimics & Spider

• The fight kicked off when Mikey threw a bottle at Magra climbing through a window.
• Kain scored an early crit (16 dmg, +1 fire) and blasted Drunky clean through an interior wall, killing him.
• Fenric crit Cranky Frank (non-lethal, 18 dmg) and followed with a nat-20 intimidation roar; Frank surrendered with his hands up. (Another account credits this surrender to Lash; our transcript confirms it was Fenric — the roar that "made Thalia cry.")
• Thalia used Thorn Whip repeatedly — dragging Frank around, and later cracking Mikey and another foe's heads together (crit) to knock them out.
• Sleepy Jean woke up, pulled a blunderbuss from under his bed, and shot at Thalia (deflected by her hide armor); he then needed a full minute to reload and was knocked out by Fenric before he could.
• An animated bed frame (mimic) reared up and kicked Magra and Kain. Kain torched it (double damage from fire/area effects); Magra finished it with a crossbow bolt.
• A giant spider (its lair full of webs; it had eaten Tony) hid behind cover, spitting webs. Ashlyn used her new Soulbind feature on it, then stabbed herself to transfer the damage and kill it — then used Save an Essence to regain 1 HP from its life force.
• A second mimic — a rug — flipped the burning bed at Kain (he took 2 dmg after raging halved it) and escaped out the window. Kain failed to find it again.
• Outcome: House cleared. Deserters captured/killed, both monsters dealt with (rug escaped).

Alley Thugs (Gurge's leftovers)

• Three thugs in a back alley. Ashlyn sliced one cleanly in two, then ran down and vampiric-bit another (regaining 3 HP). Thalia finished the last with a Thorn Whip yank while Ashlyn's fangs were still in him.
• Kain attempted to trick the War Brand into attacking Thalia & Ashlyn by claiming a thug was alive behind them — but the thugs were already dead. The War Brand instead executed the final hiding thug with a spectacular leaping, laser-eyed display (ground slam, circular blades, eye-beams).

NPCs & Factions

• Jordan Baines — friendly near-commoner door guard; bribed to leave; tipped the party that the squatters were deserters. Running gag: he keeps misspelling his own name ("Jordan Beans").
• Rick — near-commoner squatter/guard; bribed to defect peacefully. Genuinely a decent guy.
• Cranky Frank — squatter leader (in actual armor); surrendered, captured.
• Sleepy Jean, Mikey, "Drunky" — squatter deserters; knocked out or killed (Drunky blasted through a wall by Kain). Tony was already dead, eaten by the spider.
• Taximus Maximus — tax collector hunting Scrawbles; took the looted "evidence," gave Lash a whistle.
• Scrawbles — the bird who hired the party; now wanted over tax issues (declared "three silver" income; manor to be repossessed). Not present.
• Ledge — the 8'2" mayor; Kain's new "business partner."
• Charity Businessperson (name not given) — tusked, pink-mohawk; runs the Orathos charity shipping venture.
• The Flamespeaker — branded two greedy nobles; the Firebrand Church pays the higher "noble" tax rate by choice.
• Two Courtesans — debt-collection questgivers (107 gp from Jack & Jane); hidden knives (Lash sharpened them).
• Amy — a bored noble girl sulking in the rain near the church; thoroughly uninterested in Lash's friendship.
• Handsome Jack — owes the courtesans; has a sister, Jane; shipping a giant coffin with Gravis (also called "Grievous"), who insists he is not a necromancer.
• Supply Officer Hackett — runs the expedition supply depot; handed out shovels and replaced Gurge's broken sword; confirmed free lodging for Orathos-bound trainees.
• Bub ("Lil Bub") — round, friendly guard; claims the Hales' basement is "all sorted now" (party suspects otherwise).
• Gurge — young fighter; broke his sword on the alley thugs (replaced by Hackett).
• The War Brand — an elite Firebrand warrior in heavy plate, dual circular blades and eye-beam attacks; joined the alley fight at Kain's urging.
• The Chef — off-duty cook; gave Fenric a sausage; offered (and waived) a quest.
• Mean Claude — ghoulish, tuxedoed organizer of The Urina.
• Ricky — arena performer; red cloak, matchlock gun (one shot/minute), oiled abs; "sick grandma" needs 9 more guns.
• Rival adventuring group (unnamed) — a Orathos-bound party uncannily paralleling the PCs: a cat with a gun (Varian Navy officer), a fish-lady alchemist, a catman rogue, Magra's orc sister (carrying a book), a tall shirtless bleeding human, a lion-man fighter, a snake-headed lady, a green frog lady, and a freshly recruited gladiator woman. The party keeps being mistaken for them.

Locations

• Port Quaybay — the port town; residential/uphill district this session.
• Scrawbles' Manor — ~55×55 ft (~3,000 sq ft), basement cold storage.
• The Mayor's House — giant horn outside.
• Firebrand Church — ritual/festival site (flame jugglers, fire breathers).
• Big Barrel (north) and Tiny Keg (south) inns — free for Orathos-bound travelers.
• The Urina — sewer fighting arena: staging area, weapon cages, docked boat, "evil mage" prisoners, kitchen cooking the arena's dead.
• Orathos — the island destination; party sails tomorrow night.
• Varia — the nation; 1% wealth tax per quarter (2.5% for nobles), Zone-of-Truth enforced, destroying tax evidence punishable by death. The Veilwood (home of Ashlyn & Lash; giant spiders, mushroom men) referenced.

Loot, Items & Rewards

• "Blood of the Vine" wine (upper-mid, noble seal) — Magra.
• Multicolored mints — Thalia and Fenric (stashed for "mint emergencies").
• A book about spies (categorization textbook, not fiction) — Thalia.
• Shovels — Magra and Fenric (from Hackett).
• A sausage — Fenric.
• Guard-summoning whistle (works in Varia) — Lash.
• 36 gold from Jack's purse → courtesans; 3 gp change retained.
• Info: Scrawbles' house layout; Varian tax law; lodging options; the arena's reward structure (gold, magic artifacts for death matches).

Decisions & Open Threads

• Arena fights pending: "Blood and Thunder" (Magra & Ashlyn, 2-v-4, to the death) and "The Hammer" (Lash, non-lethal) — next session. Magra/Ashlyn want a magic artifact prize.
• The escaped rug mimic is still loose in town.
• The two fled squatters (possibly the actual residents?) were never questioned.
• Bub hinted the Hales' basement may still hold another monster.
• Kain's charity shipping contract — must learn what Orathos needs (several party members are from Orathos).
• Jane was never actually located (allegedly on "beauty sleep"); the debt was paid "close enough." Hint that she may be held in The Urina — to follow up.
• Lodging not finalized (Big Barrel vs. Tiny Keg).
• The party keeps being mistaken for the rival adventuring group — needs a "distinguisher." (Magra's orc sister is among them, feeding the recurring "is Magra bigger than her sister?" argument.)

Memorable Moments

• Kain's tender "dogs through a fence" hand-to-glass moment with Mikey — then setting the hand on fire to burn him through the pane.
• Fenric's nat-20 intimidation roar (instant surrender; allegedly made Thalia cry).
• Ashlyn killing the giant spider by stabbing herself via Soulbind — "metal as fuck," per the GM.
• Taximus Maximus legally changed his name for the job ("a deductible expense — but I chose not to deduct it").
• Jordan Baines handing over a slip of paper certifying his identity — with his own name misspelled.
• The recurring "is Magra bigger than her sister?" argument ("no, you're just closer") and whether flameproof vellum pamphlets count as "paper."
• Kain firebolting cursed seagulls off the church roof like a minigame.
• Ashlyn throwing Thalia like a Pokémon — Thalia promptly drop-kicked out of the air.
• Getting into The Urina: Fenric igniting sewer gas to prove he's an "evil mage" ("shitomancy"), and Lash signing up specifically to fight "a guy who hates crabs."