After docking in Daiking, we are welcomed to the city by the harbourmaster, a peculiar, pony-tailed man wearing a robe and hat. After paying our fee, we are permitted to stay for a month, and are recommended the numerous services and wonderful establishments the city has to offer. Before we could go ashore on our own, though, we were intercepted by a squad of people in armour, who invited our Captain and entourage to a personal meeting with a local businessperson.
We decided to go to that meeting, and while I will not go into details, the person wanted an outside force to exact revenge on a competitor. We got offered valuable commodities if we set fire to this competitor's livelihood. For us, performing a vile deed like that was out of the question, also we could not afford having to leave the city early. We declined, and were threatened not to divulge details of the conversation we just had. This, at least, we could comply with.
At least, this experience provided an experience how affairs were settled in this city, and with renewed caution, we made our way through the crowded alley, looking for a specialist in spiritual matters who would help us resolve our Captain's problem.
Our first candidate was a shop adorned by all sorts of wondrous, colourful drawings. What was sold here we could not immediately ascertain, for lack of cultural familiarity, I suppose. Inside, we quickly found out the place was a tattoo parlour, and we had a chat with its proprietor. He boasted that his work, indeed, bore aspects of the supernatural, and his most unique works had mystical powers.
He also told us a bit about the city's structure and history, having been founded by a dozen captains from a junk fleet who were now the twelve warlords who ruled the districts of this city. His mood darkened when he explained, that his daughter had recently been abducted, by a the lieutenant of one of these warlords. We agreed to investigate, and attempt to free his daughter at our earliest opportunity.
He then proceeded to close the parlour, pack his things, perform some incomprehensible errand for Master Krastus, and then meet us aboard our ship. We, in turn, continued our search for a mystic, and finally found a small shack displaying charms and curiosities. Inside, we met a tiny old woman who was immediately intrigued by Master Krastus, and offered to buy one of his eyestalks.
Our Mage, as usual, was very protective of his eyestalks, and emphatically declined. Despite her disappointment, the old lady agreed to look into the Captain's problem, for a fee of 500 pieces, plus the cost of the required incense. We would meet aboard our ship on the following night, to perform a ritual when the moon is at its highest position. In the time that remained, we concluded our business, exchanging commodities with local traders and getting the ship ready again.
In the night, indeed, the old lady met us, had a brief talk with Master Krastus, and then she was introduced to the Captain. Upon looking at him, she immediately turned pale, exclaimed that there was a great evil within this man, and backed away. She offered to refund our money, but would not be convinced to stay any longer, or give more detail of what she saw. While we were still confused by what had just occurred, Carlton exclaimed that he had seen how, in the moonlight, the Captain's shadow had just detached from its proper place, and slipped away overboard. Carlton was known as our prime source for tall tales, but when Sira confirmed that this had indeed just happened, we were more than just a bit concerned. Still, how would one pursue a shadow, one that was unaffected by the laws of the physical world?
We had something else to do, of course, and that was the rescue of the tattoo artist's daughter. Sira and Carlton had determined where the lieutenant's mansion was located, and also observed the surroundings a bit, but the compound was heavily guarded, and we would have to investigate further to find a gap in their security. Still well during the night, we found an opportunity to scale an outer wall unnoticed, and we could put the equipment, which we had previously bought for a mountain treasure hunt, to good use.
We found ourselves behind a building that housed the guard barracks, and we had to move around carefully to avoid the occasional patrol. The main building, our mark, had no windows at ground level, and the single entryway we could find was guarded by two sentries. We decided against a loud or a fiery distraction, and blocked the doors to the barracks with a length of rope. Then I set out to silently deal with the two guards in front. With my magic, I was able to stun one of them, at least, and as the other guard examined his colleague, the others rushed in to incapacitate him, quickly, and managed to do so before he could call for aid. We took the keys from them, entered the building, and to win time, locked the door behind us.
A long corridor ended in a large set of stairs upwards. Carlton took the lead and snuck ahead. Halfway up the stairs, he noticed that there were two additional persons, obviously guards as well, but he was able to retreat unnoticed. I tried my magic again and found these ones to be much more receptive, and we could overwhelm them without bloodshed. There was hardly any turning back at this point, but things had gone well this far, and I hoped our fortune would stay with us for a little longer.
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