Sapphire:Sessions:20150801
Shawna, riding back toward the village of Eimoor after her errand, observes a ship run aground on the beach. Drawing nearer, she sees that the ship's name is Gold Compass, and Chalker and Ahn-Lee are on the main deck along with a dwarf whom she recognizes as Mononel Stonecrusher (she'd met him 150 years ago)... and a tiger. On the beach a little distance away she sees merfolk tending to a couple of prone figures, so she hurries over there. Both of the injured people are mages, one a merman named Erlis, the other a goblin called Barak Firehawk. As Shawna casts healing spells, another merman explains that the ship had been carrying four kidnapped mages, including their kinsman Erlis. Chalker and his associates had led them in taking over the ship and freeing the captives.
Yasser searches the cargo hold, finding a small paychest, a crate of swords, an assortment of armor, several sets of shackles, and exotic spices worth about 200g.
In the captain's cabin, Chalker and Ahn-Lee locate the ship's log, which indicates that the Gold Compass had been bound for Sapphire. The ship's manifest lists various cargo such as agricultural implements and spices. Figuring these documents are falsified (and wondering where the captain stashed his fortune), Chalker searches further and finds a secret drawer containing papers written in a language with its origins in the southern Coastal Kingdoms around Malprin. He also finds a chest containing 60g.
A search of one of the dead mages' corpses turns up a powerstone ring and an iron ring set with a crystal. The iron ring has a "slimy" feel to it, and engraved on the inside in Common with what appear to be random letters. In his money pouch are five gold pieces and change.
The other dead mage is human. A quick autopsy reveals that his heart is ruptured, his blood tainted; he appears to have a mild sunburn, and Chalker gets the impression the man was unlucky. On one finger is a ring such as a necromancer would wear. Chalker removes the finger as well as the ring; he will destroy both later.
The tiger leaps gracefully to the sand, then suddenly changes into a man of medium height who appears part Elven. His new ring speaks repeatedly in Branamin's mind: "Put me on!"
Chalker briefly evaluates the rest of the crew. The first mate's Aura shows that he is very greedy, and has a touch of Aaoo. Under questioning, he admits that he hid the four wands that the two dead mages had been using. The second mate's name is Blade Torr.
Shawna rides on to Jacinto's house, and the others arrive within the next half-hour. Jacinto tells them that he knows where Tholadan the Tower Mage is located... well, not precisely, but within a two-county area in Crenshaw Duchy on the northern coast of Smorshal. It seems that the four captured mages, each with a different elemental specialty, were intended to be taken to the Tower Mage. It has also come to Jacinto's attention that there is "something not exactly alive" in the capital city, and he will need help dealing with it. He proposes that two of the rescued mages accompany him, and Erlis (the merman) and Stonecrusher (the dwarf) volunteer. The other two mages, Branamin and Barak (the goblin) will stay with Chalker's group. Branamin, in fact, seems greatly excited to get to go adventuring.