Part 2: Payment Comes Due

The next time you meet with Fallenta, the playwright is obviously shaken. She's quick and to the point at describing the situation she's found herself in.

"I apologize for not being more forthcoming, but the real reason for my secrecy has backfired on me. Many years ago, I had to flee Kintargo, and to keep House Thrune from tracking me, I hired the Dragonfly Society—a group of smugglers based in Vyre who specialize in helping people start new lives with new identities—to help in my escape. It worked wonderfully, but over the years, the Society’s been more and more aggressive about demanding new payments from me. Their latest demand is a step too far—they want complete creative control over our new opera, and a lion’s share of the profits!"

Fallenta goes on to explain that the individual who contacted her with this demand, an attractive but unsettling man named Gideon Shanklett, initially threatened to spread word to Thrune agents of her true identity in return for control over the opera and its profits. House Thrune, as far as Fallenta knows, believes the woman who’s theatrical works slandered Abrogail Thrune years ago has long been dead, and if they were to learn she merely changed her name, their interference could make Fallenta’s life a literal living hell. At the same time, giving up so much was a step too far, so Fallenta pushed back against Gideon, then somewhat shamefully admits she "may have volunteered your services instead."

As Fallenta explains, the Dragonfly Society has had their own trouble with a rival smuggler of late, and for reasons Gideon wasn’t willing to come clean on, he’d rather have someone outside of the Society go in and solve their problem with the competition. If Fallenta’s "heroes" were to come to Vyre and help the Dragonfly Society out, Gideon promises to not only drop his demands for creative control but also destroy all documents on Fallenta still held by the Dragonfly Society—thereby permanently releasing her from any further payments.

"I hope you aren't too annoyed by me volunteering you for this task. From what I've seen and heard, though, dealing with some smugglers should be a simple task for you. And if this competing guild is as sinister and awful as Gideon claimed, adding a bit of local heroics to your resume could help build your fame in the region."

Fallenta lowers her eyes at your admonishment. "I'm sorry. In the past, I have dealt with people who were much less...noble than you are. I fear I picked up some bad habits during that time. But I will swear to you, here and now, that I will come to you first, as partners, instead of making decisions behind your back. You have my word."

"Thank you for understanding. I procured a couple of gifts for you. Please, accept them as a token of my thanks."

Fallenta gives you an entertainer's cincture and a moderate maestro's violin.

"The city of Vyre is located on Vyre Island just to the northwest of Kintargo. It's a 70-mile journey. A typical journey between the two cities costs a mere 8 sp aboard a passenger ship and generally takes about 18 hours to complete. Ships typically depart late afternoon, sail through the night, and arrive at their destination the next morning.

"Once you arrive, you are to meet Gideon Shanklett and his associates at The Seven Apples, a hostel that caters to visiting adventurers. All you have to do is show up at the hostel, arrange room, and then wait in the common area to be contacted."

Although Kintargo is the capital city of Ravounel, it isn’t the largest—that honor falls to the nearby city of Vyre, located on Vyre Island just to the northwest of Kintargo. Before Ravounel’s secession, Vyre already operated as a city largely outside the jurisdiction of Cheliax, a self-governing free port that promised privacy to those who could pay. A city of drugs, blood sports, gambling, and other hedonistic pleasures, Vyre serves as a place where the mighty can go to unwind, away from the intrigues and pressures of politics. Things have largely remained unchanged in Vyre since Ravounel’s secession.

The city of Vyre is located on an island of the same name on the shallow harbor Keelwrack Harbor. The city sprawls up and between two hills and across two smaller harbor islands, jagged Dunrock and luxurious Keelwrack Island. The Vyre River flows east from the island and cuts through the city on its way to Keelwrack Harbor. The city's sky is often hazy with smoke, and between the salty harbor and many pungent eateries and perfumes of its streets, Vyre has as much a geography of scents as it does physical streets and districts.

You check into the Seven Apples and wait for Gideon Shanklett as Fallenta instructed. Indeed, Gideon arrives soon after you, grinning broadly and giving the elderly halfling proprietor of the hostel, Molly Mayapple, a flirtatious wink and wave (that she responds to with an eye roll and a dismissive scoff). All big smiles, good looks, and sporting a very fashionable wide-brimmed hat adorned with peacock feathers, he certainly doesn’t look the part of a surreptitious smuggler. He swaggers over to your table and has a seat. With a snap of his fingers, the two smugglers who accompanied him here as guards take their seats a few tables away.

"And here you are, mighty minions of my old friend Fallenta—or should I say, ‘Imogena,’ since that’s the name I knew her best as back in the day. She seems awfully confident in your abilities, enough to put control of her latest work on the line. You do understand that if you fail to perform my little task for you, your boss belongs to the Dragonfly Society more than ever? Of course you do. Imogena wouldn’t hire fools. Now then... let’s talk about what you’ll be doing for the Dragonflies, hmm?

"The Society has a problem with a competitor. Recently, a valuable payment they were expecting for services rendered to a woman of power whose identity doesn’t matter to the problem at hand was stolen from the cargo of the Misbegotten Albatross within minutes of the ship’s arrival in port. I was put in charge of tracking down the stolen payment, a collection of magical curiosities and trinkets. It took me some time, but eventually, I tracked the theft to an old rival named Lady Augusta Wormwood, and there I hit a complication.

"Lady Wormwood is no stranger to me—she’s been a thorn in my side for many years, ever since I exposed her corruption and had her removed from her position in the Dragonfly Society. Since then, I've had to deal with her initially petty but increasingly disruptive retaliations. The complication is that my one-time supervisor appears to have settled into an abandoned warehouse along Vyre River in Westwatch—a neighborhood that the Dragonfly Society has been forbidden from directly operating in by the city government after a long-ago gang war spiraled out of control and resulted in the burning of several buildings.

"She chose her hideout well, lurking in Westwatch, where we Dragonflies aren’t allowed. But you all aren’t Dragonflies. You can head into her warehouse and snatch up the stolen shipment, and if anyone spots you coming and going, well, no big deal. As long as you keep your mission within the walls behind closed doors, what happens in that old warehouse is just the business of yourself and Wormwood. She knows that theft breaks one of the promises and can’t rely on the city for protection, and anything stolen from her in turn is thus fair game. I’ll leave the logistics of the retrieval to you, but here’s a list of the items she stole from us that we need back. As for Lady Wormwood... what happens to her I leave to you as well, but I, for one, would not miss her if she were to... go away."

Gideon gives you directions to the warehouse. "The warehouse Lady Wormwood is holed up in has two main entrances, one from the yard and another from a riverside dock. There's also a sewer pipe you might be able to squeeze through to gain access to the tunnels under the building, if you don't mind getting dirty and smelly.

"As for Wormwood herself, she's a master occultist with a strong command of magic. I'm not sure what other defenses she might have in her hideout, but the fact that she managed to effortlessly snatch away the cargo without any repercussion means she’s grown more powerful, more dangerous, and more resourceful since last we clashed. Frankly, I worry that she has powerful backers or hidden supporters. But yo are highly skilled adventurers, yes? Surely, you’ll not have a problem dealing with her!"

"The items are all small enough to fit inside a small chest," Gideon confirms. He asks you to take care of the situation within the week, if possible. That gives you a few days to prepare if you need them.

Gideon is happy to lend you a small chest in which to carry the items back.

---

Once you are ready, you head to the warehouse. Wormwood’s warehouse is located on the north bank of the Vyre River in south-central Westwatch. A ten-foot-high stone wall surrounds the landward side of this abandoned riverside warehouse. Lines of broken glass and jagged bits of metal have been affixed atop the wall, and a large wooden gate is chained up in the middle of the northern side. The building’s facade beyond presents a forlorn sight with its windows bricked up and boarded front door. To either side of the building, the ground slopes down steeply toward the Vyre River to the south.

In the back of the warehouse where it abuts the river, a five-foot-wide wooden stairway descends from a door down the side of the building, connecting to a wooden loading dock attached to the base of a circular stone tower. Just west of the staircase, a dirty lead sewage pipe leaks pollution into the river through a filth-encrusted iron grate.

You go around the warehouse to where it abuts the river. A five-foot-wide wooden stairway descends from a door down the side of the building, connecting to a wooden loading dock attached to the base of a circular stone tower. Just west of the staircase, a dirty lead sewage pipe leaks pollution into the river through a filth-encrusted iron grate.

You ascend the stairs to the door, which is unlocked. Ancient stains on the walls and floor, along with a few lingering metal loops driven into the walls, hint at how this empty chamber once functioned as a warehouse floor. The curved wall of the building’s tower disrupts the wall to the south, a single archway allowing access to the empty circular chamber within, where a circular wooden platform hangs by chains looped over pulleys above. The smell in here is awful, as is the filthy mess strewn across the floor. Apparently, this room has been used to dispose of garbage and waste for some time.

What at first appears to be a glistening mound of rotting rope and rags is heaped against the northern wall. However, as soon as you step into room, the mound rises up, revealing its true nature as an aberrant monstrosity made up of sticky, smelly strands of slime!

The creature recoils from Aurelia’s illusory attack. Shaken from her song, it sloughs over to Yarth and attacks the eidolon with slimy pseudopods, but its fear throws off its aim and it misses!

Horace recognizes the creature as a furnerico. A mass of undulating tendrils and nerves, furnericos stalk sewer systems below large cities, reveling in the filth and rotting detritus created by those who dwell above the middens and sumps they call home. Fortunately for sanitation workers and other civil servants who ply their trade in sewer tunnels, furnericos are exceedingly rare and solitary. Furnericos are weak to slashing damage, but they are immune to acid and resist bludgeoning, piercing, and poison damage.

The thaumaturge quickly moves in and delivers a critical hit, his flaming sword slicing deeply into the furnerico's quivering mass and setting it ablaze!

The furnerico is unaffected by Bekassine's cold spell, resisting it completely. Aurelia and Yarth both slice at the creature, their slashing attacks proving quite effective. Yarth's teeth are less effective, the thing resisting a large portion of the piercing damage.

The creature lashes out at Yarth, bashing him twice! It seems to feed off the sweet sickness emanating from the eidolon, bolstering its vitality. The flames from Horace's sword burn the furnerico before sputtering out.

Horace's flaming blade makes swift work of the slimy monster as he hacks, slashes, and slices it to pieces! It collapses into a quivering, stinking mass.

A search of the room in the aftermath of the fight reveals a pair of magical boots discarded in a corner of the warehouse. These are propulsive boots.

The wall to the south features a single archway allowing access to an empty circular chamber within, where a circular wooden platform hangs by chains looped over pulleys above. Ropes attached to the mechanisms above allow you to slowly lower the platform; after 4 minutes, the platform comes to a rest 40 feet down (a few feet above the river’s water level), revealing another wide archway.

The circular elevator chamber opens out into a basement lined with thick wooden beams. A tangle of support beams and rafters crisscross in the upper half of the ceiling twenty feet above. Left and right, between the beams extend long, thin storage areas, their shelves emptied. To the north, the hallway ends at a door, across which a symbol in the vague shape of a skull with a black triangle over its lower face has been drawn with fresh, black paint.

A ten-foot-wide brick-walled sewer tunnel runs east to west here. There’s no walkway along the tunnel, and the nasty polluted water just a foot below reeks of filth. A slick-looking wooden plank serves as a bridge across the tunnel to an alcove on the opposite wall in which a stone door has been fitted.

Alert for nature, Aurelia notices a magical trap on the door: a hidden rune imprinted on the latch designed to release a powerful sonic discharge if tampered with.

The rune detonates, a powerful sonic discharge blasting into Ramank! The loud noise also leaves no doubt as to your presence here in the Graverobbers' lair!

Ramanks yelps as much in pain as surprise as the trap goes off.

"IT FEELS LIKE MY SKULL IS VIBRATING!" Ramank yells in what he thinks is a whisper.

Bekassine shares Fox's senses as her familiar scouts ahead. Past a short entry hall, Fox comes to a chamber that looks like a museum, complete with cabinets and cases containing dozens, perhaps even hundreds of items. The theme here seems to be the mundane, including countless odd shoes, a child’s hobbyhorse, a pipe, a dog collar, the pages of a burnt book—an almost countless catalog of the drab. Green curtains cover three objects about the size of cupboards. Chairs and round tables furnish the seating area at the center of the room. Another door exits on the far side of the room.

Four hellspawn nephilim in black leather armor stand here, gripping picks and warily watching the entrance. Fortunately, they don't notice Fox spying on them from around the corner of the wall.

You head into the room. As you do, the hellspawn stiffen and tighten their grips on their picks, but they don't immediately attack. One of them calls out, "Hey, you're not supposed to be here! Did you come for Wormwood? You got a grudge against her or something?"

The hellspawn grins at Horace. "About time someone stepped in to take her down a peg. Our gang's got an alliance with her, but she's a bit of a self-righteous brat, isn't she? Got no respect for us. She's right through these doors. Surely she'll be pleased to make your acquaintances! Heh, heh. Come on, boys."

The Graverobbers chuckle as they move to leave the room.

Alas Aurelia does not.

"Much obliged," Ramank thanks for the first aid.

Horace quietly slips through the door. An astonishingly sumptuous chamber, its walls hung with purple drapes and floor strewn with fine carpets, seems to serve as both a bedroom and a study. A fine armoire stands opposite an elegant bed and nightstand. To the southwest, a writing desk with several drawers has been placed near a small, padded chair. A wooden cargo crate also sits at the foot of the bed.

A hellspawn woman is sitting at the desk, studying an open tome. She scowls and shakes her head, her sharp nail tracing a line under the words as she studies the text. This must be Lady Wormwood. She seems absorbed in her work and hasn't noticed Horace yet.

Lady Wormwood looks up in annoyance. "Ugh. Now what?" she grumbles as she stands and moves to the door. Looking at the tome she was reading, Horace can see it appears to be a magical text full of spells.

Wormwood steps out into the room where the rest of the group is waiting. When she sees you, she narrows her eyes. "Hmm. Ah. You must be Gideon’s lapdogs, here to take back the prize I snatched from the Society’s clutches. If they had their wits about them, they wouldn’t have lost their precious cargo in the first place. In any event, it’s mine now. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll return to your boss and tell him that the only way I’ll let them go is if they abandon Vyre completely. Okay then... off with you! You have a message to deliver."

Horace notices that the crate has been opened but then had its lid set back loosely in place. Within, among copious packing straw, are the items originally intended as payment to the Dragonfly Society that Gideon sent you to recover.

Meanwhile, Lady Wormwood sighs at your attempts to negotiate her. "I'm in no mood for your prattle. I suppose your heads will serve as a fine message instead." She reaches for the hatchet at her belt!

Lady Wormwood succumbs to Bekassine's slow spell, then critically fails to avoid her clinging ice. The ice clings to the hellspawn's legs, significantly hampering her movement. In response, Wormwood casts a spell of haste on herself to counter the slowness!

Wormwood resists some of Bekassine's spell, though she is still chilled by the magic. Aurelia misses with her attacks, but Yarth lands both of his hits, badly wounding the hellspawn. She startles when Horace calls out from the room behind her, sparing a quick glance over her shoulder. She then turns back and growls, "Keep it! My life is worth more!" She then casts a spell, disappearing in a flash of light as she teleports away!

With Wormwood gone, there's nothing stopping you from going through these rooms and gathering up all you can find. The writing desk in her office contains several historical texts about Vyre as well as a half dozen or so books on occult magic, but the valuable books in this collection consist of two tomes in particular. One is the book Lady Wormwood is currently researching—a thick, densely written tome called An Investigation Into the Enduring Allure of the Hearth, a dry and repetitive work by a priest of Erastil who was obsessed with harnessing the powers of nostalgia and longing for one’s hometown. While the book is somewhat of a slog to read, it does contain the formula for two rituals—collective memories and gathering call.The second valuable book is Lady Wormwood’s journal—an equally densely written (but much better organized and engaging) book that chronicles her frustrations at being ousted from the Dragonfly Society and catalogs over a hundred people whom she’s spent time obsessively stalking and collecting material about. The most recent entries include you and your new association with Gideon. It’s obvious that scrying is the primary method Augusta favors in gathering this information, but it notes she hasn’t directly observed you yet. This book also contains the formulas for binding circle and call spirit.A few other treasures lie about the room as well. A spell duelist’s siphon sits on the nightstand by the bed. The armoire contains dozens of fine outfits and clothing worth a total of 150 gp in all (and constituting 6 Bulk of clothing); a wonderful gold-and-diamond broach depicting a peacock with human faces worth 2,600 gp sits in the pocket of a long lavender-and-yellow coat. A small wooden coffer below the outfits in the armoire contains a scroll of scrying, a scroll of teleport (at 7th rank), two panaceas, and a taxidermy mouse with emerald eyes worth 250 gp. A fine oil painting depicting dancing humanoid wolves eating screaming pigs has been placed in the back of the armoire behind the clothes. This painting is worth 1,000 gp and is signed by Delmonia Crape.

The final, and perhaps most important, stash of magic items here lies within the crate, which Horace has gathered up: a crooner’s cravat, a herald’s ring, a mocker’s swazzle, a scene stealer’s tunic, a pair of spectacles of discernment, a stage magician’s cloak, and a tumbler’s belt.

In the previous room, you are also able to find valuable items among the overwhelming collection of junk and clutter: a gold ring set with sapphires worth 1,200 gp tucked into a doublet’s hidden pocket, a wand of teleport bundled along with a set of a dozen fine chopsticks (the chopstick collection is worth 30 gp), and a set of +2 greater striking handwraps of mighty blows wrapped around a human femur.

Once you secure the items, you exit Wormwood's lair and set up another meeting with Gideon by letting Molly Mayapple know at the Seven Apples. Gideon arrives within a few hours, excited to hear the news. He thanks you for a job well-done and, as promised, gives you the only copies of Fallenta’s change-of-identity paperwork for you to do with as you wish.

When you tell him that Lady Wormwood had an alliance with a gang affiliated with Norgorber, though, he pales visibly and backs away in shock from the crate of magic items as if they’d suddenly turned toxic.

"Norgorber! The church is powerful in Vyre, and if Lady Wormwood was indeed working with them, that means there’s a good chance that agents of the Gray Master will be looking for these items. They don’t suffer theft of their thefts. We’ve managed to survive and prosper in Vyre at the church’s whim. We pay our dues and obey the rules. I want nothing to do with these items. They’re marked. I’m grateful for your help, but you can keep all of these things. My advice? Leave them on a nearby pier with a note attached saying, ‘Sorry we took these; here they are!’ and then get out of there before anyone comes to collect!"

Whatever you decide to do with the treasures, the next step is leaving Vyre and returning to Kintargo. Fallenta eagerly awaits your return and is overjoyed to have the only known copy of her change-of-identity papers in her possession. She clutches the pages tightly as she asks for a full recounting of the your adventures in Vyre. Once you are done, she nods. "Splendid. It is time for my funeral!"

She waits a beat, then laughs in delight, explaining that she’s talking about a funeral for her old life. She’s lived so long as Fallenta that it’s who she is now. She makes a show of burning the papers, the only remaining physical link to her previous life, then sighs in relief and dramatically wipes her hands.

"Now, as for the actual ‘funeral,’ I suppose it’s better to see it as more of an announcement. I want you to help me arrange a public gala, where I’ll reveal to Kintargo that I’m here in town and working, with you, to bring a brand new show to the Kintargo Opera House! Doesn’t that sound like a delight?"

Fallenta assumes responsibility in making arrangements for the announcement, set to take place in Aria Park, leaving you a few weeks to rest, relax, and recover from your adventures.

The festival is a hit with the people of Kintargo, thanks largely in part to your efforts to provide the entertainment. At the conclusion of the celebration, Fallenta takes to the stage to the cheers of the crowd. "Yes, it is I, Fallenta Sumac d'Venenoux! And it is my distinct pleasure to announce that I am working on new opera about the heroic exploits of these legendary heroes who thwarted the schemes of Osoyo, the Blackfrost Whale! It will have its grand debut at the Kintargo Opera House, and I hope to see all of you in the crowd cheering us on!"

Those in attendance are delighted, excited, and jubilant at the news. Fallenta turns to you with a smile. "Now, let them the anticipation build! Come, my friends. We have much more work to do!"