L&T Session One

Day 1 

During a hot summer's day in Suntha, the dockside is thrown into upheaval as a rogue ship barrels towards the wall. Despite the wild gestures and shouted warnings from the Red Cloaks, the tatter-sailed vessel plows into the dock, ripping up the cobblestone street in the process. Citizens flee in terror, but soon after, Red Cloaks secure and rope off the ship. A curious pirate, Edward Morgan, who's father may be the very pirate who Master Morgan's Spiced Rum is named after, overhears the Red Cloaks say that the ship is devoid of crew, and approaches the moored craft. After being deterred by the Red Cloaks, he sneaks around to the other side, but not before being noticed by a short greasy man slinking in the shadow of the buildings. Edward Morgan uses his trusty grappling hook to climb aboard the vessel and slips below decks. The greasy man, a town scoundrel by the name of Gremond, scrambles  onto the roof of a nearby building, seeking a better view of the ship's deck.

Meanwhile, the town drunk, a once great serpenteer by the name of Sturloch, makes his rounds about the market, stumbling and cursing as people throw copper coins at him in pity. One of the Red Cloaks who recognizes Sturloch (which is all of them) prods him with a booted toe and suggests the old serpenteer do something useful and help the nearby merchant struggling to lift her wares. Grumbling, he obliges. It is during this work of lifting crates and barrels that he notices the marking on the ship's sail, identifying it as The Fang of the Deep, a famous and rival serpenteering vessel not seen for some twenty years. He remembers details about the ship leading to ancient and incredible treasures.

Close by, a tall blonde witch (though no one knows she's a witch) known as Vara to the local tavern populace, watches a crazed merchant lady steal a poor drunk's only copper coins, and approaches to inform him.

On board The Fang of the Deep, Edward Morgan discovers a strange glowing green door, extremely hot to the touch. As he pokes the door with a ten-foot pole, it presently lights on fire just as Gremond pokes his head in from above deck with a wide, unsettling grin on his face, having found Edward's grappling hook and used it to climb aboard, stowing it in his pack afterward. After a short, confused exchange between the two and a small amount of time spent examining the glowing door, Edward and Gremond are discovered by the Red Cloaks. Gremond attempts to flee below deck, but Edward grabs him and threatens, "Not with my grappling hook!"

Back in the street, now shirtless for some reason, Sturloch decides that it's time to head back to his idyllic beachside shack, when he hears a commotion coming from The Fang of the Deep. He looks up to see two shady looking men roughly escorted from the deck. "Not without my hat!" the less greasy one yells. A hat comes flying from an unknown thrower on board the ship and smacks the man in the face. "Thank you!"

Having remembered the name of the ship and its promise of untold riches, Sturloch approaches the guards to offer his information, only to have them laugh in his face. Edward, intrigued by Sturloch's talk of treasure, inquires about the ship. Gremond is also lured by the promise of wealth and eaves drops on the conversation. The witch Vara witnesses the three men arguing over something and moves in for a closer look, discovering that the group plans to hunt down a set of lost artifacts that are apparently needed to activate the navigation system that will lead the ship to the treasure. She offers her services as a cook and maid on the expedition, and the men accept. The four of them head to the tavern to discuss their plans over a drink. The night gets messy, and just as Sturloch invites Edward back to his shack, the tavern owner suggests the party "borrow" a rowboat from the docks.

Shortly after midnight, following a seductive bribe by Vara for a discounted rowboat, the group casts off by the light of the moon in search of the first artifact, which purportedly lies in an ancient palace on Nefk's western coast. About an hour later, rowing west along the coast of Nefk, Gremond lures a group of aquatic serpent creatures to the ship with crumbs of hard bread. The creatures attack, and after a brief struggle, scatter back into the sea when Edward fires his pistol into the water.