WEISSMACH LETTER #10
To His Lordship, the Viscount Wilfrick of Verbobonc,
Nauzlanti is a perfect location for a pirate city. Located within a difficult to navigate cove, outside of government control, but close to many dominions, it may be the most successful city on the east coast of the Mer Bal.
Moving closer to the city over land, the legends that Celeste told were confirmed by locals and expanded with even more outrageous stories.
Nauzlanti is ruled by a feared pirate captian named Yorin, but the true power was a green dragon named Vesikant. I could not believe it, but the dragon would breathe it's acidic vapors from its gut to kill the crew of ships, and the pirates would swoop in to clean up the rest, with a sizable cut going towards the dragon.
A third of the population is the largest collection of various orcish tribes and some of their near-blood Purvmone kin that I've ever seen in one place.
The dragon and its treasure interested... and terrified all of us, but first there was an elf to search for.
We again assumed roles of ne'er-do-well bounty hunters, on the trail of Blackash and his company. Celeste still stood out like a sore thumb compared to even myself, so we agreed that she was our prisoner/guide who knew them and was also betrayed before we captured her.
Even without our trusted scoundrel Rolgrim, the plan worked beautifully. The locals, pirates, commoners, and merchants all recalled elf and his cohort with some clarity, and only a bribe of an ale or two.
The Blackash Crew tried in vain to blend in, but their efforts to learn the politics of the city, and the location of Vesikant soon grew into a recruiting drive and general raucous soiree.
The closest thing to a trusted acquaintance we made was a merchant named Angalm Zhule. He was from Pohjola, a land even further north of the Knights and Talmark, and far too cold for me to ask anything.
 |
| The northern end of Nauzlanti |
Nauzlanti is ruled by a feared pirate captian named Yorin, but the true power was a green dragon named Vesikant. I could not believe it, but the dragon would breathe it's acidic vapors from its gut to kill the crew of ships, and the pirates would swoop in to clean up the rest, with a sizable cut going towards the dragon.
A third of the population is the largest collection of various orcish tribes and some of their near-blood Purvmone kin that I've ever seen in one place.
The dragon and its treasure interested... and terrified all of us, but first there was an elf to search for.
We again assumed roles of ne'er-do-well bounty hunters, on the trail of Blackash and his company. Celeste still stood out like a sore thumb compared to even myself, so we agreed that she was our prisoner/guide who knew them and was also betrayed before we captured her.
Even without our trusted scoundrel Rolgrim, the plan worked beautifully. The locals, pirates, commoners, and merchants all recalled elf and his cohort with some clarity, and only a bribe of an ale or two.
The Blackash Crew tried in vain to blend in, but their efforts to learn the politics of the city, and the location of Vesikant soon grew into a recruiting drive and general raucous soiree.
We ran into a few encounters with some of the less swarthy, and not nearly as competent locals. Our agreement amongst ourselves to stay in groups and only negotiate across a table in a decent tavern made our investigation much slower, but we were able to secure a few trustworthy leads that saw more value in us than simply surrounding us to attempt to rob us, only to be very disappointed after we killed each and every one of them.
The closest thing to a trusted acquaintance we made was a merchant named Angalm Zhule. He was from Pohjola, a land even further north of the Knights and Talmark, and far too cold for me to ask anything.
But unlike our other leads, Angalm, and his monkey Banaani, actually worked with Blackash. fencing a plethora of items the cursed elf had accumulated his raids and riots.
Talanth Blackash and his drunken and stupid "bodyguards" were all business and very little fun, outside of running up bar tabs.
 |
| Angalm Zhule and Banaani |
Angalm thought quite highly of the wizardress Thendara, whom he thought was dangerously powerful, especially in a volatile place like Nauzlanti.
The two new compatriots of Blackash stood quite prominently:
Ned Overland may have been a decent folk, but his time in this city, and his time around the elf seemed to have changed him.
He originally came in as a willing (and free!) passenger on the one of the pirate vessels. His had far more skill with the ladies than with a sword, and he was known to display the handkerchiefs of his numerous conquests, that is until he had a poor first encounter with the "Busty Mage," Thendara. Once set straight, he seemed to have lost his primal passions, but turned his interests to the schemes and quests that Talanth had in mind.
Also recruited was Derlenth, a priest with a foul disposition and even fouler connection to the divine arts. Whispers of the Cult of the Dragon that either worships Vesikant, serves it, or both, are pretty common in town, but Derlenth's dark and brooding prayer seemed to stem from a different direction.
Alas, they had left Nauzlanti, at least two weeks prior to our arrival, for parts unknown.
The two new compatriots of Blackash stood quite prominently:
Ned Overland may have been a decent folk, but his time in this city, and his time around the elf seemed to have changed him.
He originally came in as a willing (and free!) passenger on the one of the pirate vessels. His had far more skill with the ladies than with a sword, and he was known to display the handkerchiefs of his numerous conquests, that is until he had a poor first encounter with the "Busty Mage," Thendara. Once set straight, he seemed to have lost his primal passions, but turned his interests to the schemes and quests that Talanth had in mind.
Also recruited was Derlenth, a priest with a foul disposition and even fouler connection to the divine arts. Whispers of the Cult of the Dragon that either worships Vesikant, serves it, or both, are pretty common in town, but Derlenth's dark and brooding prayer seemed to stem from a different direction.
Alas, they had left Nauzlanti, at least two weeks prior to our arrival, for parts unknown.
Yours in Service,
Elsderth Greyhawk
Sage of the The Order of Merit, Former Sellsword - Extraordinaire
Wielder of the Legendary Betrayer.
Freigraff of the Totenlinden of Amberstoll
DM Notes: The one adventure out of Dungeon that I really admired and wanted to run so badly was Vesicant out of Dungeon #16. The pirate town, a dragon in cahoots with those pirates sounded like an awesome concept, it was just that my teenage self and his friends were wholly inexperience and unprepared for such an adventure. A little interaction with the random town encounters, some minor NPCs roughed up, a few trinkets acquired, and the group was out searching for adventure a little bit later.
Elsderth and the Order will get a few cracks at "Vesikant," if they're smart.
Next: #33 - The Dragon Temple of Sost
Sage of the The Order of Merit, Former Sellsword - Extraordinaire
Wielder of the Legendary Betrayer.
Freigraff of the Totenlinden of Amberstoll
DM Notes: The one adventure out of Dungeon that I really admired and wanted to run so badly was Vesicant out of Dungeon #16. The pirate town, a dragon in cahoots with those pirates sounded like an awesome concept, it was just that my teenage self and his friends were wholly inexperience and unprepared for such an adventure. A little interaction with the random town encounters, some minor NPCs roughed up, a few trinkets acquired, and the group was out searching for adventure a little bit later.
Elsderth and the Order will get a few cracks at "Vesikant," if they're smart.
Next: #33 - The Dragon Temple of Sost
No comments:
Post a Comment