The harbormaster is easy enough to find. Jondar Krade is in his office in the watchtower down at the docks.

"Just state your business so I can get back to mine," he says rather gruffly without taking his eyes off the windows overlooking the docks.

Kass puts his thumbs in his belt, looking nonchalant. He says "I'm looking for a ship that might've come into port, looking for repairs. Unique ship, 3 masts. Not sure if they changed the name."

"Nope. Nothing like that's ever come into port here," the Harbormaster replies after thinking bout it for a few moments. "A ship that big probably has a draft too deep for the harbor. Never saw such a ship at anchor offshore, either."

"If you have reason to believe such a ship visited Diobel in need of repairs, it most likely anchored out of sight and crew either came by dinghy or went ashore first and walked into town."

"In the case of the latter, you'd best check the chandlers to see if any ship parts were bought. In the case of the former, I wouldn't have noticed unless it was painted pink or sent up fireworks. Too many small boats like that around and they aren't large enough to offer any threat."

"If you check with the fishermen, they might have noticed. They tend to know each other fairly well, and would have taken notice of any strangers potentially encroaching on their fishing territory. Then, too, they might have spotted the ship as they sailed in and out on their daily fishing runs."

Clearly his reputation as knowing everything about ships was well-founded. It was almost like he anticipated any other questions Kass was likely to ask and forestalled them right up front.

Kass nods his appreciation and asks the directions to the chandlers. After departing he walks along the pier looking for low taverns where fishermen might congregate after a day's catch.

There appear to be several dozen fishing boats tied up at the wharves and piers, but only the large ships use the docks. A ship wouldn't hesitate to squash a boat if it was tied up at the docks.

That means there are several taverns where fisherman hang out. As Kass and Zaira approach them, he can see fishermen coming and going but he can't really tell if there's any sort of rhyme or reason to which fishermen go to which tavern.

There's the Dancing Mermaid, the Harpoon and Trident, and the Golden Sails... pretty much in that order. It does look like the more prestigious wharves and fishing boats are down at the end, which could mean that they hang out at the Golden Sails.

Just as Kass reaches the Dancing Mermaid, Ochnam steps out of front door.

"Yo. Had the same idea," Ochnam says as he stops just in front of Kass.

"Sailors might know the big ships that put into port, but it's the fishermen that patrol the surrounding waters. Well, as they fish. I suppose a few, like Big Red, think it's their responsibility to keep watch over the bay."

"Big Red didn't see it, but one of the others, Swordfish Harry, claims to have seen a four-master at anchor about two miles up the coast. It was late in the day and the tide was against him, so he couldn't get too close. It wasn't flying a flag. The next day it was gone, so he didn't think much of it. Thought it was probably a ship out of Absalom."

"That was two weeks ago. Nothing else like it has been spotted since then."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 00:36, Sat 14 May 2022.

Kass nods. "Best way to find out if they are still around will be a fly-over. I can take Chelish up and around the coast looking for a 4-master. Even if I don't spot it, I might see where any longboat beached on the shore. Maybe someone out that way can provide us with more information. Good work."

((OOC: The problem with your post is that you stated an INTENT but never actually said you were doing it. I'm probably being too literal, but what you write is all I have to go on.))


Kass is accompanied by Zaira as he flies around the island. He has no problem spotting a number of ships coming and going, both to and from Diobel and Absalom, but none of them are four-masters, nor do any of them look like they could handle a fourth mast.

When you fly over the coastline where the ship was reported to have been spotted, it's Zaira that spots what looks like a campsite.

Flying down to investigate, you see that there were three campfires set up and in such a way that the fires probably wouldn't have been spotted from the sea. After two weeks, not much else can be determined, though the latrine probably saw use by two dozen men, which is consistent with the 3 campfires.

There's some trash/debris left behind, which leads you to believe that the ship's crew spent the night here while the ship's boat went into Diobel for supplies. The ship would have sailed on the morning tide.

Unfortunately, there's no way to tell which way the ship sailed from looking at the sand or the surf.

"I know! Let's follow the footprints all the way to where they made anchor next!" Zaira suggests as they examined the campsite.

"I think they were definitely here. I also think it means they had no intention of sailing up or down the mainland coast. This is too far out of their way. We should be looking somewhere westward... southwest maybe, or northwest."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:16, Sun 19 June 2022.

Kass says "now that we have a better idea of their process, I can get some information out of that broker. You won't find many instances of a Ship's boat docking, and leaving with supplies, with No ship in sight to take the supplies to. There are enough curious observers on the docks to notice something like that."

"Maybe," Zaira conceded as she flitted around Kass's head in order to have the conversation, "but there were probably ships in the harbor. It doesn't seem likely that anyone would know which ship the ship's boat came from."

"On the other hand, the fact that it was in the middle of the night might have been more significant. I don't know enough about dock operations to say for certain, but if ships need to sail on the morning tide, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that the docks are busy all night long."

"What do you think the chandler can tell us?"

A yawn escapes Isandros' mouth while he leaves his compartment on the ship. From the tiny window there he had seen some docks, which could only mean one thing. They had arrived and he had overslept. Isandros only planned to have a shut-eye for a couple of hours tops, but it seemed that his body had other plans. "Oh well..." the man responds to his thoughts and goes outside to the decks.

He looks outside and sighs at the sight of absolutely no one on the decks. His colleagues are probably chasing leads while he was being lazy. But he could rectify that swiftly. Well... he could after he got a status update on the current leads. No need to chase the same goose multiple times if he can help it.

Isandros starts to search for Ochnam within the ship and around the docks, assuming he wouldn't wander far away from his most recent baby. Once he finds the inventor, he claps him on the shoulder and asks "It appears I've overslept. What did I miss?"

"Oh, hi! Glad you could make it," replies when Isandros finds him. He'd been correct--Ochnam had no intention of letting his ship out of sight. Of course, that left him few options for chasing down leads.

"Not much. We made a few wrong assumptions. But, then again, we really don't know the mindset of the mutineers. I'm almost starting to feel bad for them. Don't think they really did anything wrong... they were in a no-win situation."

"Still, we found a fisherman who probably spotted the ship up the coast about two weeks ago. That's consistent with the time line as we know it. It was four-master... the only one seen in these parts in... well, ever!"

"We think they came assure via ship's boat at night and probably sailed with the morning tide. Unfortunately, we've yet to get a lead on what supplies they bought. We're hoping that'll give us an idea of where they were heading. Probably too much to expect one of them to have let something slip."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. If this assignment was easy, they wouldn't have needed us."

"Tricky..." Isandros comments on the situation. He strokes his beard while his gaze moves to the horizon, obviously trying to identify an avenue of approach.

"How many rations would they need, at the minimum? Assume the Avenger dropped most of her crew here. A ship like that would still need a sizeable skeleton crew to even properly operate. If they are looking to go anywhere other than Kortos, even the minimum is a lot of provisions they need to secure."

"So, some of the crew arrives in the night. How busy would you think the Underdocks are on a normal night? Either way, they probably got some attention on themselves. They have to arrive, locate the supplies, acquire them without an apparent ship, and then transport it back themselves. All before the morning tide. No, I think they didn't have time to set up a clandestine operation. Even if they had a prior contact, which I bet they did, they were in a rush."

"This is an unusual occurrence. Maybe they bought the supplies from a store and the keeper found the rush and the size of the order odd. Maybe some dockworkers saw them transporting a ship's worth of supplies to a boat. Chances are someone saw it, and I think Diobel is the kind of place where gossip spreads fast."

With that, the course of action was clear to Isandros "I guess I'll ask around for people getting a ton of supplies with no ship two weeks ago in the middle of the night then." he tells Ochnam, and adds a small question to him as a courtesy "Do you need anything done while I'm combing the docks?"

Afterwards, he leaves Ochnam and heads toward the docks. He spends a couple of hours canvassing people working in the Underdocks, local taverns, and supply stores about rumours that the crew could've left behind.

OOC: Gather Information with Diplomacy. Rolled a 33 and takes 2 hours.
Isandros of Aelyosos rolled 33,2 using d20+23,d4.  Gather Information Check and Duration

"I was thinking the same thing originally," Ochnam replies, "but it turns out that this a rather busy port... though I've yet to figure out why."

"In any case, ships often need to sail on the morning tide, so they resupply during the night."

"I'm not seeing massive amounts of supplies taken on board a mere ship's boat, so not for an extended journey. Then again, they may have already supplied before they got here."

"What I was thinking was some special item that might not be available where they are going... or that they might run out of before they get there. I admit, though, that I've yet to think of such a thing. The only thing that comes to my mind is a case of quality rum."

"But maybe you'll find something else that fits that category."

Isandros begins making the rounds of the docks, questioning people working there, fishermen, patrons of the taverns, and even the stores that sell ship supplies.

Most of those that may have seen a ship's boat in the middle of the night two weeks ago are currently sleeping, and the rest don't remember that far back.

However, he does find one old man who seems to sit on the docks all the time carving scrimshaw that claims to recall what you are asking about.

"Oh, yep, sonny, remember it clear as day. Night it was. I can't rightly say that it were different than any other strange boat what come into the docks, but those that were in it, they spoke real funny like. Didn't recognize the accent. Ain't seen none of them in Diobel before."

"Were just six o' them. Took on some supplies. Food. Water. More spices than ten ships should need. And a lot of pipeweed. 50 people couldn't smoke it in a month! Har-har."

"Heard one of them say something about 'Hermea'."

"Hope that helps."

"Appreciate your help." Isandros thanks the older man and starts to walk back to Ochnam. Hermea. That was an island, right? Isandros tries to think about what he remembered about that place, but he had always paid half a mind to his geography lessons back home. Much to his father's disappointment.

He relays the old man's words to Ochnam and adds "So, a lot of spices and pipeweed. As trade goods perhaps? Maybe get some profit under their belt until they can afford a more regular trading vessel? It wouldn't attract as much attention as The Avenger would. It might be for something else, but I can't think of another reason. Do you have any other ideas?"

"Though I am unsure how Hermea comes into play. I don't think it was in the Inner Sea, was it?"

OOC: Knowledge (Geography) about Hermea. Taking ten, the result is 16.

When Isandros returns with his report, Ochnam pulls out the ship's charts and begins perusing them.

"It sounds vaguely familiar," he says, "but these charts aren't as up to date as they should be. Let's see what we can find..."

"Ah! Here it is! In the Arcadian Ocean. Out in the middle of nowhere."

"It's far enough away that it could be a safe haven."

"As for the pipeweed, I'd think they weren't expecting to be able to get it wherever they're going, so they were stocking up on it for the long haul. It's what I would have done."

Isandros doesn't remember too much about Hermea, though Ochnam's charts do prompt some memory.

It's supposed to be a utopian society. Ruled by a gold dragon. There was something about only smart or good people being allowed onto the island.

Kass goes back to the taverns by the fishing boats. By quiet inquiry he tries to find out which fishermen tend their craft furthest from shore. Such men would take note of the fewer vessels that passed them towards shore, and their origin points.


23:33, Today: Kass rolled 20 using 1d20+11.  Diplomacy/Gather Info.

23:32, Today: Kass rolled 24 using 1d20+13.  Sense Motive.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:33, Mon 04 July 2022.

"How long do you think travel to Hermea would take for the Avenger?" Isandros asks Ochnam. "Could they even make it one go?"

"If they can't, we can see what ports they could use to resupply and maybe research what could be purchased on the way. If the ports on the route would not have the supplies they were amassing, say pipeweed, that would make the island a more likely destination"

"Sure, a ship can stay at sea for six months or more," Ochnam replies. "It's not a good idea as the crew can mutiny after a month or so. Depends on what they find along the way, what kind of provisions they stocked, and stuff like that."

"Even the best of sailors needs to put his feet on land now and then."

"Don't know the winds and waves of that area, but, barring bad weather, I'd guess 30 to 40 days to get there."

"As for ports, depends on how much they know about the Inner Sea. Andoran or Thuvia are the only places I'd put into. Rhadadoum, Cheliax and Nidal are nasty business. If they saw the ship, they'd try to take it."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:46, Sun 21 Aug 2022.

Kass has no difficulty locating several fisherman that fish along the shore rather than go out deeper. Several of them saw the ship and wondered why it was so far out, but strange things always seem to happen in Diobel. One did see the ship sail around the headland from the west and make for the cove where he saw it later. He can't be positive it was the same ship, of course, but how many 4-masters are there?

Unfortunately, no one saw the ship leave, but that makes sense since it would have sailed on the morning tide just like the fisherman, so it would have been long gone by the time the fisherman passed that cove again.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:14, Mon 17 Oct 2022.

Since no one had bothered to designate a rendezvous point in Diobel, the Overland Group heads for the docks first in search of Ochnam's ship, which is easy enough to spot as it's the largest ship in the inner harbor. Only its magical nature would have enabled it to penetrate the maze of wreckage that served as protection from any seaborne onslaught.

Ochnam easily spots you as you approach, and he greets you heartily.

"I see you all made it in one piece!" he calls out humorously. "Hope you had as much luck as we did!"

"Permission granted to come aboard!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:08, Fri 19 Aug 2022.

"Thank you, captain! And yes, we did get lucky." Arthur climbs aboard, shaking Ochnam's hand. "We found a conscripted farmer who left our target. He didn't participate in the mutiny, and was allowed to leave when they stopped here. According to him, the mutineers weren't interested in becoming pirate, just in getting away from Qadira. Last he heard, they wanted to head North and West, despite their lack of sea charts."