Martenin the 31st-Verget the 3rd.
The PCs spend a number of days in downtime, identifying items they acquired at the Dwarf Lords' Rest with Teven the Worm, getting Fleshless Tess raised back to her skeleton self, upgrading armor and equipment and dodging shady individuals that they think might be spying on the guild for the Hosspotches. Crethrien and Oatmeal disappear to their normal civilian lives, while Mel and Oscar hold down the Guild Business. Sir Stratton heads off to talks about the next potential dig for the Guild, wasting little time. There are apparently two possibilities, one at the new 'highway' being built between Skachalo and the provice of Melethesz (through the Vernal Wall), and another a mysterious cavern network that has recently been discovered near the recently built Fort Gurd in the Northwest of Floivin Province.
A mysterious dispatch is received by Finian which puts him in a tight spot, as it appears that his direct family is in danger by some rogue continent of the Hosspotches...the note appears to be from Grandfather himself!
Finian, Indrid and Gary make haste to find a boat that can cross the Well, and finally meet a rugged man by the name of Garbal who they will pay to row them North to Tarndim. After heading back to tell the Guild their business, and gathering some supplies, they rejoin Garbal and set out. After a few hours, they find a mysterious black barge, which looks as if it had been burned and/or damaged, but they decide to ignore it for now. Soon after, as they are growing nearer the north shore of the Well, they encounter a massive, mutant catfish which assaults their watercraft. The fight is brutal, and Garbal is consumed in a single gulp by the creature, before the PCs manage to slay it with some clever swordplay and Gary wild shaped into a giant pike! The druid decides to tow the boat, AND the catfish prize, into Tarndim, where it attracts much curiosity. The fishermen on the docks carve it open and find Garbal's remains and some other items which they pass on to the PCs. Indrid and Gary travel to the Tarndim Shipyards just outside the village where they purchase a river barge for the morrow.
As evening sets in, the PCs get some free samples at the local brewery, and decide to pay the local Hosspotch Holdings a visit, which they do carefully. The local proprietor, Hurn, agrees to speak with them and aid them the best he can, but doesn't know much about where Finian's captive family might be held. He has been ordered by Grandfather to assist. Still not trusting the Hosspotch family, the PCs head to the Steady Oar to procure rooms for the night, where they make the acquaintance of the mayor, Blake Bauerkroft, celebrated hero of the Province. The mayor hears their grievances and says he does know of a lakeside cavern network where smugglers have been known to gather, and he himself will guide them there on the following morning.
PCs: Finian Redfoot, Gary Greasewax, Indrid Hosspotch
NPCs
Blake Bauerkroft (human male): Nephew to a former Regent Reginald Bauerkroft, Blake
is one of the few non-military mayors in Floivin Province, assigned to the
small fishing village of Tarndim to conduct affairs there. He's lightly
bearded, with orange hair, and presumable in his mid to late 40s. He also looks
as if he's seen a few fights, with scarring along his jawline, arms and hands.
He wears a suit of well-kept but broken-in chainmail.
Garbal (human male): A muscle-armed, tanned man in his early 50s, with short curly gray hair and a matching chin goatee, he's the pilot and 'captain' of a rowboat named Lotty and briefly transported the PCs from Floivin Keep to Tarndim before being devoured by a giant catfish in the Well.
Gredgeon (human male): An exhausted looking man of some sixty years, with
sad-ringed eyes and unkempt facial hair, he works out of the Steady Oar in
Tarndim and constantly sports an apron smeared in fish grease. His left eye
tends to wander out of its normal position from time to time, which can make
conversation awkward.
Holby Hosspotch (halfling male): A stout halfling with a protruding belly so
large that it almost gives him a spherical appearance. His dirty blonde hair is
cropped short and slicked down with some manner of grease, and the top of his
left ear seems to have been gnawed off by a wild dog or some other beast. He
wears a cloth apron full of utilities, and chews on a wad of lakeside reeds.
Hurn Hosspotch (halfling male): A dour halfling male whose face resembles a
block of wood chiseled with a nose, eyes, ears and brows. His dark hair is
unkempt as a contrast to his ordered features, but cut right at his neckline.
He wears a practical, deep green merchant’s vest over navy blue breeches, and
has a ledger tacked to a wooden board, tucked up under his left arm. A silver
windup watch on a chain swings from his opposite wrist.
Polma (human male): A filthy street urchin with a no-nonsense attitude, a tobacco habit, and poor manners who is often employed as a courier by various businesses and military personal within Floivin Keep. He's yet another commoner to strike it rich and the hands of Finian Redfoot and his propensity to over-tip the help.
Jetta Mandas (human female): A wiry girl barely out of her teens, she nonetheless has strong hands and wears a mail shirt she crafted herself. Her hair is kept in a short, dirty blonde bowl, she has eyes of a piercing green, and she has three beauty marks on her right cheek which seem like points to form a triangle.
