In the Hook's Shadow, Part 7 (Sunday-Monday, Kuthona (XII) 1st-2nd, 4707 AR)
The heroes finally tracked down Kaven at Turtleback Ferry, where he admitted running away because he did not want to fight anymore. He also admitted that his Sihedron tattoo was given to him by Lady Lucrecia on Paradise. In the end, the heroes let Kaven go, but not before learning all they could about Paradise and Lady Lucrecia.
Lucrecia, an interpreneur, had arrived in Turtleback Ferry several years ago; she bought an old barge there and refurbished it as a floating gambling hall. She dubbed the barge Paradise, and offered any and all patrons myriad opportunities to enjoy themselves in her games of chance. Favored guests were given small tattoos to show on following visits to receive discounts off the entrance fee and other, less seemly benefits. Of course, this tattoo was none other than the Sihedron Rune.
Lucrecia, an interpreneur, had arrived in Turtleback Ferry several years ago; she bought an old barge there and refurbished it as a floating gambling hall. She dubbed the barge Paradise, and offered any and all patrons myriad opportunities to enjoy themselves in her games of chance. Favored guests were given small tattoos to show on following visits to receive discounts off the entrance fee and other, less seemly benefits. Of course, this tattoo was none other than the Sihedron Rune.
Many were willing to be marked in order to enjoy Paradise's "members-only" benefits, and even the steadfast Black Arrows of Fort Rannick weren't immune to the lure of easy women and easy money. One such unsteady soul, a skilled scout and archer named Kaven Windstrike, slipped out of the Fort often to slate his desire for gold and women.
Kaven was a wayward youth born to harried parents in Turtleback Ferry, and his antics finally got him in over his head. Kaven was given a choice: be disowned and spend time in prison, or seek membership among the Black Arrows. His father always admired the order, and figured if they couldn't shape Kaven into an upstanding man, no one could. Kaven chose the Black Arrows.
At first, the disciplined lifestyle did Kaven good, and he reformed into a respected and effective member of the order. However, when Lady Lucrecia opened Paradise's gambling halls to the public a year ago, Kaven and two other Black Arrows snuck down to the barge one night to sample its offerings. Kaven volunteered for the weekly southern patrol (a route most of the Black Arrows disliked due to its relatively boring route along the eastern shore of Claybottom Lake). Rather than spending his nights in Turtleback Ferry or Pendaka, though, he took to spending them at Paradise.
When Paradise was operating, opinions on the so-called "pleasure barge" included those who viewed the Paradise as a danger to business or morality. The barge's owner and proprietor, a beautiful red-haired woman named Lucrecia, aroused a debate between those who were enthralled by her charms and those who were threatened by them. In an ironic twist, the tragedy of the Paradise's sinking has unified opinions - the people of Turtleback Ferry now remember Lucrecia with fondness and sadness alike, realizing perhaps too late that the additional income the Paradise brought to the village was quite nice. The tragedy didn't happen long ago (about a month before the heroes arrived in Turtleback Ferry), so it was still on everyone's thoughts, with several of the townsfolk still in mourning for lost loved ones. The barge itself sank near midnight while it was drifting idly on Claybottom Lake. There were no survivors - in fact, had a hunter returning home late not spotted the barge's lights out on the lake winking out one by one as its slipped into the water, no one would have noticed the loss until next morning. In the days following the tragedy, investigations into the event took place. Local attempts to dive down to the wreck to recover bodies failed due to a combination of the depth and the particularly vicious fish that have converged on the area. During the same week, a half-hearted inquest by a lone official from Ilsurian turned up no additional clues as to why the barge sank. The bitter villagers think the investigator was more interested in going through the motions of the inquest so he could get back home. Today, half of the people of Turtleback Ferry believe a lake monster (either Black Maga or the legendary giant gar known as Pinkeye) sank the Paradise, while the other half suspect that the barge was sunk by the combined weight of the sins of those on board (a not-so-subtle way of saying "they sank because Erastil punished them).
After Kaven's interrogation, the heroes found lodging in Turtleback Ferry:
The Turtle's Parlor. Innkeeper Cesten Orlandi was in a particularly foul mood - when the heroes secured rooms here, he charged them 5 gp per room.
Bottoms Up. This tavern was owned by a garrulous halfling couple, Yads and Berthandy Kesker, and was patronized by hunters, fishermen, and trappers.
The following day the heroes returned to the Graul Homestead:
Skin-Shucking Room. This dark, recessed corner of the basement smelled of rot and old blood. Piles of gore-spattered skin lay heaped on the floor. A horrid rubbery face robbed of its supporting skull and muscle rested on top, its toothless mouth agape and empty eyes revealing only the layer of tan flayed skin resting beneath.
Much of the furniture in the farmhouse above was upholstered in human leather or decorated with human bones. The face on the pile of skin once belonged to one of the Black Arrow rangers.
Lair. This low-ceilinged room featured a floor of hard-packed earth stained in many places by blood and mold. A lumpy mattress lay heaped against the west wall, and what appeared to be several half-finished chairs made of flesh and bone lay against the eastern wall. One of the Grauls crept around here in the dark below the farmhouse.
This Graul shuffled with a pronounced limp from an old injury. Hair grew lopsided from the right side of his head and face rather than atop his brow, and a vestigial twin capable of grunting and gasping protruded from the back of his neck. The Graul was accompanied by two overgrown donkey rats named Chuckles and Drooler. They eagerly defended their master, chewing intruders to pieces.
The Graul sent his rats to attack the heroes while he waited to move into combat position. Both donkey rats focused their attacks on Kibb, and when the cougar fell unconscious, on Thurden. The heroes are still fighting this battle.
Kaven was a wayward youth born to harried parents in Turtleback Ferry, and his antics finally got him in over his head. Kaven was given a choice: be disowned and spend time in prison, or seek membership among the Black Arrows. His father always admired the order, and figured if they couldn't shape Kaven into an upstanding man, no one could. Kaven chose the Black Arrows.
At first, the disciplined lifestyle did Kaven good, and he reformed into a respected and effective member of the order. However, when Lady Lucrecia opened Paradise's gambling halls to the public a year ago, Kaven and two other Black Arrows snuck down to the barge one night to sample its offerings. Kaven volunteered for the weekly southern patrol (a route most of the Black Arrows disliked due to its relatively boring route along the eastern shore of Claybottom Lake). Rather than spending his nights in Turtleback Ferry or Pendaka, though, he took to spending them at Paradise.
When Paradise was operating, opinions on the so-called "pleasure barge" included those who viewed the Paradise as a danger to business or morality. The barge's owner and proprietor, a beautiful red-haired woman named Lucrecia, aroused a debate between those who were enthralled by her charms and those who were threatened by them. In an ironic twist, the tragedy of the Paradise's sinking has unified opinions - the people of Turtleback Ferry now remember Lucrecia with fondness and sadness alike, realizing perhaps too late that the additional income the Paradise brought to the village was quite nice. The tragedy didn't happen long ago (about a month before the heroes arrived in Turtleback Ferry), so it was still on everyone's thoughts, with several of the townsfolk still in mourning for lost loved ones. The barge itself sank near midnight while it was drifting idly on Claybottom Lake. There were no survivors - in fact, had a hunter returning home late not spotted the barge's lights out on the lake winking out one by one as its slipped into the water, no one would have noticed the loss until next morning. In the days following the tragedy, investigations into the event took place. Local attempts to dive down to the wreck to recover bodies failed due to a combination of the depth and the particularly vicious fish that have converged on the area. During the same week, a half-hearted inquest by a lone official from Ilsurian turned up no additional clues as to why the barge sank. The bitter villagers think the investigator was more interested in going through the motions of the inquest so he could get back home. Today, half of the people of Turtleback Ferry believe a lake monster (either Black Maga or the legendary giant gar known as Pinkeye) sank the Paradise, while the other half suspect that the barge was sunk by the combined weight of the sins of those on board (a not-so-subtle way of saying "they sank because Erastil punished them).
After Kaven's interrogation, the heroes found lodging in Turtleback Ferry:
The Turtle's Parlor. Innkeeper Cesten Orlandi was in a particularly foul mood - when the heroes secured rooms here, he charged them 5 gp per room.
Bottoms Up. This tavern was owned by a garrulous halfling couple, Yads and Berthandy Kesker, and was patronized by hunters, fishermen, and trappers.
The following day the heroes returned to the Graul Homestead:
Skin-Shucking Room. This dark, recessed corner of the basement smelled of rot and old blood. Piles of gore-spattered skin lay heaped on the floor. A horrid rubbery face robbed of its supporting skull and muscle rested on top, its toothless mouth agape and empty eyes revealing only the layer of tan flayed skin resting beneath.
Much of the furniture in the farmhouse above was upholstered in human leather or decorated with human bones. The face on the pile of skin once belonged to one of the Black Arrow rangers.
Lair. This low-ceilinged room featured a floor of hard-packed earth stained in many places by blood and mold. A lumpy mattress lay heaped against the west wall, and what appeared to be several half-finished chairs made of flesh and bone lay against the eastern wall. One of the Grauls crept around here in the dark below the farmhouse.
This Graul shuffled with a pronounced limp from an old injury. Hair grew lopsided from the right side of his head and face rather than atop his brow, and a vestigial twin capable of grunting and gasping protruded from the back of his neck. The Graul was accompanied by two overgrown donkey rats named Chuckles and Drooler. They eagerly defended their master, chewing intruders to pieces.
The Graul sent his rats to attack the heroes while he waited to move into combat position. Both donkey rats focused their attacks on Kibb, and when the cougar fell unconscious, on Thurden. The heroes are still fighting this battle.
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