While the excitement of the Coreguyi Games consumes the Dual-Cities, four adventurers make their way through the festivities in the streets to the Kantor Kabljauhof where two galleys--the Wind's Pleasure and the Wandersail--are ready to cast off into the harbor and out to the wider waters of Dirac's Sea, commanded by the young captain Telman of Tsipa.
They come answering Telman's call to adventure--to what end? To seek the dreaded akho that haunts the Straits of Denya, disrupting trade to and from the cities to the east. One of the Ten Cities' League's own ships, the treasure galley Peregrine Kyni, was even amongst its victims in recent months, and so the Kantor of the Hanse and the Soufets of the city have offered a joint bounty of 10,000 gold for the destruction of the beast, plus the freedom to recover and alienate any treasure from the beast's victims where they lie upon the sea floor.
Intrigued by this promise of gold and adventure, four of the recent newcome-adventurers answered the call, and join the crews of Telman's galleys as they slip out to sea early in the morning:
- Sesel (fighting-man 3)
- Avin (magic-user 3)
- Durham (fighting-man 3)
- Ravna (magic-user 2)
As to the results of this expedition, the city will have to wait to hear, for the Straits of Denya are a full week away under good sail ...
...
Three ships pulled into the harbor, two weeks after the Wind's Pleasure and the Wandersail set out to sea--those very two galleys, escorting the merchant ship Manafi'u, captained by Ishme Ea, a man grateful to the heroes of Telman's galleys who delivered his ship from the grip of the akho!
And what a haul of treasure they return with! The ironside carapace of the akho is displayed outside the Kantor, along with the steely cable-like tentacles cut from the beast, all strung up for the week to show off the success of the expedition. And much more was recovered--a collection of artefacts taken up from the wracks of ship in the Denyan Straits, pulled down by the monster, as well as numerous chests filled with coin from the cities of the east. Alas, the trade goods carried in the wracks' bellies were too badly rotted and waterlogged, but nevertheless there is no little lucre to be shared out to the heroes who accompanied the venture, and even to the common crewmen of the galleys.
The story of the expedition is fairly straightforward, as told by many an oarsman who went along--partway out, they observed a raiding vessel crewed by Sakkra attacking another merchantman, but felt unsure that they could deal with it while maintaining their own strength to attack the akho. Further on, a gelatinous muagh climbed its way into one ship and claimed two crewmen before being driven off by fire. At the moot-beach of Denya, agreements were reached with the Denyali tribesfolk to use their lumber for the creation of a decoy-raft. This plan worked almost perfectly, as the akho attacked the raft, while the ballistae and catapults of the two galleys hammered the monster from afar. But the beast slipped under the waters before its demise, and only resurfaced later to attack the Manafi'u, at which point it was finally slain by catapult shot, and the riches of its underwater grave looted by the long-breathing Avin.
More detail can surely be heard at the Kantor from Durham's version of events, while Sesel at Cothon-Under-Star gives his own accounting.
But as to the haul ...
Treasure
- 5173 gp per character share (including actual coin, value of gems, value of akho parts, &c.)
- silver torc
- pair of eyeball-sized metal orbs, both with a black "lens" on one side and stud opposite
- scrollcase containing scroll
- gilt warhammer head
- strange plate armor of non-metal blue-black carapace parts
- ornate shield boss
- ring
- metal cylinder containing 11 vials of a mysterious clear liquid
- a shirt of mail
- 5173 xp per character (treasure)
- 162.5 for 1/2 muagh (300 + hp / 2)
- 427.5 for 1/2 akho (800 + hp / 2)
- 200 xp to each character for an expedition into "the world beyond"
- 5173 gp per character
- 5520 xp per character
- Telman claims the shirt of mail; the other items are all already accounted for per character claims
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