"No, we are not being used as pawns, Jak," replied. "Perhaps the Company is, but I don't see that as the big picture. I think it's more that we... and possibly other bounty hunters, are being used as a stalking horse."

"As has been said, there is more going on here than meets the eye. It's a house of cards, though. It will take little to topple the plot, but that's what makes it so clever. If it fails at any point except the endgame, then it never really existed in the first place."

"Certain events have been set in motion of which the true end result remains a mystery, though we've made fair guesses. I have yet to see how we can turn it to our advantage, but we still must pursue our quarry or else give up our careers."

"It was always unlikely that just one or two bounty hunters could apprehend all the mutineers as well as recover the ship, so that is why so many of us have been dispatched on this mission."

"Anyway... I think too much. I need the blissful oblivion of sleep to chase away all these thoughts... at least for one night."

"Making camp for the night is a good idea. Does anyone want to take first watch?"

"I'm not tired or sleepy yet," Fafhrd says, "So I can take first watch. After that, I suspect Jarnivar is all the watch we'll need."

"Nothing gets past the ears of a cat!"

With that, he scans around the area for a suitable 'high spot' to keep watch from, and then takes up his post there.

"I'll take middle watch," Jak offers. "Don't need all that much sleep."

Like Fafhrd, he walks around the area looking for a suitable spot to keep watch from. He's not looking for a good view, but a good hiding spot or a defensible one.

Although not unexpected, the night passes uneventfully. There are still wild creatures and monsters that prowl the interior of the island, but you are such a large group that it probably scares away most of them.

You're not so far from the sea that a chill morning breeze doesn't reach you. While not in any particular hurry, everyone's ready to move out by the time the sun starts to peak over the horizon.

It takes about three hours to reach the farm where the newcomer is said to be working.

It's a typical farm... farmhouse, barn, chicken coop, hog pen, and corral. You spot several fields in various stages of cultivation. There is a stone wall around the whole farm, though it's only two feet high. It does look like it's still being built, though.

No one is visible at this hour. If anyone is here and working, they'd most likely be in the barn. There's smoke rising from the chimney.

Arthur heads toward the barn, calling out to those inside. "Hail! May we have a word with you?"

Carissa has spent that early morning binding once more the aspects of Fey Baruda and Muse Istago, and with a blur of motion, turns into a crow, flying towards the barn to alight and watch from above, just another bird near a farm.

At first, there does not appear to be any response to Arthur's hail, but then a curtain moves aside slightly and Arthur can see a blurred face through the glass.

A few moments later, the door opens up and a man cautiously steps out... but not too far.

"Well met, travelers," he responds. "What can I do for you?"

"I am Arthur Spellseeker, of the Retriever's Guild." The arcanist says as he steps a bit closer, though staying far enough not to seem a threat. "We've been tasked with finding a lost vessel, before it and it's crew be hunted down by foreign bounty hunters eager to sacrifice them in a political move.

We've heard rumors that a foreigner began working here in the last weeks, and considering the magnitude of the situation, we wanted to see if he knew anything of the situation, and insure his arrival did not draw danger to this farm."

As he spoke, Arthur payed close attention to the man's accent, in case he was the man they were looking for, Krip.

OOC: 10:48, Today: Arthur Spellseeker rolled 26 using 1d20+24.  Diplomacy (using Linguistic) to influence reaction.

The man looks like a farmer, including wearing coveralls--he has the 'weathered' look of someone who spends a lot of time outside doing hard work.

He studies Arthur for a few seconds, then glances at the others before turning his head back and calling out.

"Hey, Krip! Know anything about a lost ship?"

A moment later, another man makes an appearance at the door. He's dressed the same way but he's taller by a head, has a darker complexion and short blond hair.

While Absalom is a bit of a melting pot of races and cultures, the contrast between the two men would seem to mark the second man as a foreigner.

"Nah," he says. "Ain't seen no lost ships here on the farm. Har-har-har."

"Har-har-har," the first man joins in on the joke. "Sorry we couldn't be of any help, Mr. Spellseeker. Krip might not be from around here, but he's a damned good worker. I'd have a hard time running the farm without him."

For a moment, Arthur takes the words at face value, but then he realizes that Krip was using humor to divert the truth and possibly hide his own... insecurity. There's almost a haunted look in his eyes.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:01, Sat 02 Apr 2022.

"Startin' to sound like we took a wrong turn somewhere," Jak comments to the others. "It's almost like we was expecting to find the ship hiding in the barn!"

"Don't think it'd fit, but then I don't know shrack about ships."

"Continue on to Diobel? Maybe the others had better luck."

Gray had been watching the conversation as best she could, paying attention to the mannerisms of the two people.

21:16, Today: Gray Mouser rolled 30 using 1d20+15 ((15)). Sense Motive check.

Unless either of them are far more than they appear to be or that they let on, she should get a pretty good read on them.

The farmer appears to be truthful and concerned that the man won't be around to help him with the farm.

The hired hand, on the other hand, isn't being fully truthful. He's hiding something. He's using humor to hide his nervousness.

She quietly informs the others of her assessment, qualifying that it's just her perception and opinion.

"He's not exactly what he seems," she finishes.

Aikio hung back a ways, and tried to slip away unnoticed, going to scout the place for herself as the farmers were distracted with conversation.

Stealth: 31
Perception: 34

Arthur smiles as he pulls out a book, and reads it for a few moments. "I would not be so sure, if I were you. Have you ever heard of the Silver Blade?" The scholar describes the legend of a mysterious ghost ship, said to sail above land in a sea of mist. In between lines, he pauses to speak in an arcane language, until a phantom mist appears above him, carrying the image of an ancient vessel in the air. "So as you can see, a vessel could appear where one least expects it. Hence our desire to leave no stone unturned."

OOC: First, I use my Quick Study to memorize Silent Image (forgetting Expeditious Retreat), then I try to use some Oratory to distract Krip and the farmer as I cast first Charm Monster (on Krip, save DC 18), followed by a Silent Image to create the illusion of a ghost ship.

08:36, Today: Arthur Spellseeker rolled 25 using 1d20+14.  Perform: Oratory.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:42, Thu 12 May 2022.

Aikio has no problem slipping away from the conversation and scouting the rest of the farm. As Jak said, there's no ship in the barn. She spots nothing out of the ordinary. It's a well-maintained farm. There are a few fallow fields, so mostly what is being grown is for the farmer and his family to consume. There appears to be very little at the moment that could be sold in either town, but possibly some gets traded to other farms.

She sees a woman (presumably the farmer's wife> washing clothes on a back porch while keeping an eye on two children (around 8 and 10). They help a little bit.

There are two horses in the barn, 6 cows, one ox, 8 pigs, 20 or so chickens, 10 goats, 20 sheep, a dozen or so ducks, at least two cats in the barn, and one dog asleep on the back porch.

She does notice that the barn seems more weather-worn than the house.



"An amusing parlor trick," Krip says at the ship in the mist. "I haven't heard that tale, but it's not a real ship anyway. Why would one be out here on the farm?"

As near as Arthur can tell, his spell is working. Krip is smiling a bit more, but otherwise doesn't seem to have changed much, though he may not be quite as nervous as before.

Appearing from the shadows after a short time, Aikio said to Arthur under her breath, “I did not notice anything terribly untoward or suspicious about the premises. Of note: The barn seems slightly more weathered than the house. Strange, perhaps, but unsure of the significance if any. The barn appears to have only animals, though not a few. His family are here, but I saw none other.”

Although Krip had been charmed by Arthur, Gray certainly hoped that it would trickle over at least just a little bit to her, particularly if she used her own charm. Oh, who was she kidding? She had no charm!

Perhaps just being friendly would suffice.

"Hello, Krip," she said approaching the ex-sailor. "I'm called Gray Mouser. We have no intention of taking you away from this wonderful farm. But we need to hear your story in order to make sure no one else comes looking for you."

It was kind of a stab in the dark, but she had a feeling about Krip. It just seemed too coincidental that they should find a sailor here in the middle of the island on a farm. That's not to say that he might not have been a farmer before he went to see--in fact, that seemed the most logical story.

Reading his personality was hard on such short notice and with such minimal interaction, but what she was seeing almost told his story already.

Unaware that he's been 'charmed', Krip doesn't seem to be bothered by Gray Mouser's comment, perhaps not fully grasping her meaning. He does glance around at everyone, even smiles a bit at sight of Jak.

"Not admitting to anything," he said apparently after making up his mind. "The way I heard it, this fella had been shanghaied from his farm in Qadira. Well, he wasn't on the farm at the time; he was at the port buying fish for the family. Or so they say."

"Then suddenly he was on this ship--the biggest ship he'd ever seen! They needed crew because they were going to war. Now, the captain couldn't let him go, of course, but he did let him send a message back to the farm saying he'd run off to sea."

"Being used to farm work, shipboard duties weren't hard for him. He did have trouble getting his sea legs."

"Then came the day of the battle. This fella was below decks, still being sick from all the tossing and heaving of the ship. That's when the mutiny happened. He had no say in it, no part in it... it was over and done with before he found out about it. The captain was set adrift in a boat with two of his loyal followers."

"The mutineers seemed to know what they'd done was wrong and that Qadira would probably hunt them down. So they had to decide where to go to escape punishment. They felt going south was a really bad idea because that'd be where all the Qadira ships would be. That left west."

"If they wanted to be pirates, they could have gone to the Shackles. Or even Mediogalti. Maybe Rahadoum. Piracy was the last thing on their minds; they just wanted to get away. They didn't want the ship, but it was all they had."

"So, west and north was where they decided to go. They were still debating it when this fella jumped ship... with permission, of course... he wasn't needed just for sailing. He was only good for battle."

"Possibly the Cheliax islands, or, more ambitious, Hermea. Or Varisia even more northward."

"See, they weren't sure of where they were going because they didn't have very good sea charts up that way. It was way beyond the reach of Qadira, which is why they were considering it."

"All this fella in the story wanted was to go home. And, of course, that's all it was--a story."

As he finished talking, he clearly had a bit of trepidation, which Gray realized was because the farmer and his family would protect this man... or try. They knew they didn't stand a chance against the group, but they would try just the same. Krip was feeling a bit guilty on that account.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:30, Fri 18 Nov 2022.

Arthur nods once Krip has finished his story. "Well, that's a facinating second hand story. Clearly this sailor is long gone, and we won't be able to find him, but hopefully what you told us will help us find what we seek. Many thanks, sir Krip."

Turning to his companions, he adds in a lower tone "I do believe this is the most information we'll get here. Shall we rejoin the others?"

”Indeed, we should,” she said. ”At least we have more of an idea of direction.”

"More than that," Gray said as they walked away, "we've got a much greater insight into what the rest of the crew's motivations are."

"That's assuming Krip's story is true... and isn't just a story as he claims."

"So. Head for Diobel and our ship now? Or do we keep looking around the interior in case there's more information to be found?"

Ya sure he ain't a bard?" Jak comments. "Sounded like a lotta bardic hoo-haa, if ya ask me."

"So, is this guy one of them? Then why ain't we arrestin' him?"

IF Krip's story was true and was actually HIS story, Jak had some sympathy for him. He found himself in a bad situation. He couldn't see any good reason for arresting the guy, but he wanted to make sure he understood what the others were doing.

"He was most assuredly on the ship we seek, his story matches what we've learned too well. And we didn't say anything to him about a mutiny, only that the ship was lost.

As for arresting him, there's no real point. Though there is a bounty on his head, the political incident is a more important matter. Dragging along an involuntary conscript would only slow us down, and do little to prevent a general war in the Inner Sea."

"It ain't that I don't agree," Jak replied, "I'm just making sure we're all on the same page."

"So, is that all we're going to find inland here? Anything else we need to look for?"

"What's his name gave us all the pertinent details, right? And we're sure what he told us was the truth? At least as he understood it."

"What's our play now? We're still going to bring in these bounties, right?"

He tried to hide it but it was pretty clear that his heart wasn't in it any more. The mutineers weren't the villains here, but the victims.

"Unfortunately, we're bounty hunters, not judge and jury," Fafhrd speaks up.

"It's our job to bring the mutineers in. After that, we'll see what happens. It may take long enough that the political climate changes, that Captain could die, or something else could happen. Maybe just returning the ship will be enough to alleviate the pursuit."

"In any case, it's a good thing we have a ship. We can go where we need to go and not worry about anyone knowing our business. So, it's on to Diobel."

He and Gray beginning heading back down the road from the farm to the main road from Absalom to Diobel.

When Gray and Jarnivar follow after Fafhrd, the rest of the group follows suit. For the most part, everyone kind of keeps to their own thoughts as they now have lots to think about.

It's now become evident that this bounty could take a lot longer than anyone anticipated.

One of the expectations was that the mutineers would wind up scattering to the four winds, but that now did not appear to be what was going to happen. That meant capturing a large group of people and then transporting them all together.

The missing ship, of course, was a big point. If they were able to recover the ship intact, that would make it easy. If, of the other hand, the ship was destroyed, that would make it harder both for transport and for mediating the crime.


So, several hours later, the Overland Group reaches the Eastern Gate of Diobel. It's late afternoon, so the gates are still open. While the group as a whole might appear a bit intimidating, none of you individually look like a threat and the group isn't acting strangely or 'badly', so entry is granted to 'non-residents' for only one silver coin each.