Session 8

The Gang don't miss their appointment
Skar-kul and the gang arrive in Orusar midday. And they head through the city to the docks in order to find Captain Shaw Darby of The Blackmane. On the way to the docks, they notice group of drow, and one shorter individual, following them in the crowd. Falgas and Skarul hide while the rest of the group weaves in and out of the alleyways to avoid them. They get cornered, so Merrick fakes a heart attack, which gathers a crowd in the allyway. Once the crowd disperses, Merrick and Barthus confront their pursuers.

In addition to the MM tattoo on their arms, the drow have tattoos that Barthus recognizes as the tribal tattoos from the clan who murdered his clan. The drow ask the group to hand over the Talisman, and Barthus attacks them. Skarul notices a smaller individual hiding behind some barrels and attacks them. The individual gets angry and punches him for attacking someone who wants to help.

The group finds after the fight that one of the people following them was Arri, the navigator of the ship they're supposed to find. She was asked to wait for them on shore and tells them the ship is anchored a ways off. But before bringing them to the ship, she warns Barthus that the captain is also drow, with similar tribal tattoos as the individuals they just killed. She begs him to speak with her captain first, and to not make any rash decisions. The group also gives her Dilly's letter, and she excitedly takes it and says she will share the letter with Zol back on the ship.

The group rows to the ship and are solemnly greeted by the crew. They meet Vyktorrea the half-orc cook, Zol the dragonborn Boatswain, and Hadwin the half-orc first mate.

The group speaks to the Captain and find out that Shaw Darby and The Blackmane were both pseudonyms. His name is Captain Isham Ulrik, and the ship is called the Devil's Howl. They are the famed pirates of the Forbidden depths, and he wants their help.

The group learns that the crew has suffered casualties, because they have been unable to meet the demands of the captain's warlock patron, Lorelei. Their healer was killed after touching a Talisman they discovered on a vessel they raided. And Lorelei had been throwing tantrums, murdering his crew, whenever he couldn't supply gifts that satisfied her. He tried giving the Talisman to Lorelei, hoping it would kill her like it killed his healer, but it didn't. He's going to speak with her at the Siren's Nest, a secret island in the middle of the Forbidden depths. And he would like the group to help him out of the deal. In exchange, the captain says the group can take their pick of the items in her treasure trove, as long as he can take enough money to pay his crew.

Barthus reluctantly agrees to the mission after realizing that the captain is also the brother of the drow chief who killed Barthus' family.

Find out what happens next with Skar-kūl and the Gang.