Meeting of the Town Council
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Darvin is startled awake by the sound of someone pounding on his door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The human sits up in the bed, rubbing his eyes saying, a bit irritated, "Alright I'm up. You can stop pounding on my door."
From the other side of the door, he hears Hanna reply, "Sorry Darvin, but I've got Anders downstairs chomping at the bit to talk to you all."
"It's awful early," Darvin says, feeling the effects of their drinking game last night.
"Well, you know what the fishermen say, Early to bed and early to rise makes a fisherman healthy, lucky, and wise. I'm going to wake the girls. You four need to get downstairs pronto," Hanna replies and goes to bang on the door across the hall.
Darvin groans but gets up and dresses anyway. He meets the women in the hall and the four of them trudge downstairs to hear what Anders has to say.
Anders is impatiently pacing in the Snapping Line's bar room as the group comes down the stairs. The young man stops when he sees them and says, "Finally. We need to be at the Town Council meeting in just a few minutes. I know how you like to eat, Darvin, but there's no time for breakfast we're already going to be late."
Confused, Darvin asks, "Wait. Why are we just finding out about this meeting now?"
"I sent Skerrin to inform you yesterday. He said he spoke with the kenku," Anders says sounding just as confused.
Kenku speaks up, "No talk to Skerrin." She says Skerrin's name with Anders voice.
Anders looks perplexed and agitated, "I'll have a talk with him. But right now we need to get to this meeting. Thankfully Council Hall is just next door."
Anders rushes the group out the door and over to the large building next door. Unlike the Snapping Line, the town council building is built from stone and hardwood. Above the entry double doors hangs a wooden sign depicting a net filled with fish.
When they enter the hall a human woman with short graying hair and whose face shows the signs of a life lived outdoors, stands at the head of a long table. Eliander and a dwarven woman with braided black hair sit across the table from a smartly dressed older human gentleman with a neatly trimmed beard.
The woman at the head of the table says, "Oh good, you're here. Take a seat so we can start the meeting."
Anders quickly goes over to his seat next to the older gentleman and sits down. Darvin and Thamila follow him, while Illayana and Kenku take seats next to the dwarven woman.
The human woman begins speaking, "This emergency town council meeting has begun. We'll start with introductions and then we can get down to business. I'm Eda Oweland, Senior member of the Town Council."
"I am Eliander Fireborn, Captain of the guard and a town council member."
"Manistrad Copperlocks. I head the dwarven mining operation outside town."
"I am Illayana Shieldstar, a representative of the Emerald Enclave."
"Kenku." "Illayana Shieldstar's personal guard."
"Hi! I'm Thamila Brightwillow," the halfling smiles and waves.
"I'm Darvin a Dawngreeter from the Church of Lathander. The Crown sent me to be of assistance to Eliander."
"I'm Anders Solmor, a town council member."
"Thank you very much for attending our meeting. I am Gellan Primewater a member of the town council and the best dressed in town."
Eda gives Gellen a stern look, then turns her attention back to the others saying gruffly, "Now let's get down to business. After looking over the evidence you brought back from the abandoned mansion and talking with the prisoners, we have confirmed the slavers' have a ship that is expected to arrive during the next new moon in two weeks' time. The town council would like to hire you to apprehend their ship and put an end to their slave trade operation."
"How much are you paying for this job?" asks Darvin and Illayana kicks him in the shin from under the table.
Eda answers, "We're offering four hundred gold for the successful completion of the entire mission."
Illayana turns to Eliander, "Did the prisoners give you any other information, such as how many crew are aboard or who they're working with?"
"Not yet. They're being very tight-lipped, but I'll crack them," responds the Captain confidently.
Darvin asks, "How do we get aboard the ship?"
"We reason that the smugglers on the vessel are, as of yet, unaware of the capture and death of their land-based colleagues. We'll provide you with a small fishing boat and two guardsmen to row you out. They won't board the ship, but they will wait for your signal to return. So, how you get on board is up to you," Gellen replies.
Eliander adds, "And I've arranged for members of the town guard to patrol the potential rendezvous points each night for the next two weeks, in case the slavers return earlier than expected."
"So, we'll be on call at night for the next two weeks," states Darvin. The human looks at his companions as if to say, So are we doing this?
"We'll finish what we started," the fey elf says gesturing to her sister, then continues, "But even with the lantern signal code to help, I'm uncertain about getting aboard the slavers' ship. We don't exactly look or act the part."
"Don't worry about boarding the ship. I've got that covered," Thamila says with a sly smile and a wink. Then the halfling says to Eda, "Oh and we're going to need to borrow clothing for disguises."
"It's settled then. You'll take the job and we'll provide you with any reasonable amount of equipment that you feel you require. And we'll pay your group four hundred gold when the job is completed," states Eda.
The group all nod and Darvin says, "We'll get you a list of the supplies we'll need."
"Very well. If there's nothing else…" Eda pauses, then continues, "Meeting adjourned."
Manistrad stands and says, "Now that this is settled, I have a mine that needs my attention. Good day."
The dwarf woman rushes out the door and everyone stands up preparing to leave as well.
Gellan comes over to the party and says almost overenthusiastically, "Thank you very much for ridding us of these slavers. I'm planning an event in your honor at the end of the week. I do hope you'll attend."
"I love parties!" Kenku says clapping her hands and letting out a long whistle.
Gellan smiles, "That sounds like a yes. Until then," he nods his head slightly and also leaves.
Eliander comes over next saying, "The crown thanks you for the recovery and return of the stolen goods from the abandoned mansion." He hands over a coin purse while continuing to speak, "That's two hundred gold and they'll pay for any more contraband you recover while dealing with this current situation. I will let you know when I learn anything else from the prisoners, but now I must return to my duties."
When no one else comes to talk with them, the party leaves the council hall.
"Looks like we're staying in town for a bit," says Thamila.
"Yes, indeed. It would be nice if we had somewhere to stay that didn't have such a distinct odor," Illayana says wrinkling her nose in distaste.
"There's the Wicker Goat on the other side of town. I'm sure the council wouldn't mind us moving," says Darvin.
"Across that bridge. No, thank you. I'd prefer the smell of fish," Illayana says.
"Yeah, it makes my tummy sick," Kenku adds rubbing her stomach.
"Weird, I didn't notice anything odd about the Sharkfin Bridge when I crossed. Plus, I loved all the shops and homes on it!" says Thamila with a shrug.
Darvin's stomach growls loudly. A bit embarrassed, he says, "How about we make plans over breakfast."
"Good idea. My stomach's rumbling too," Thamila says.
They go inside and the place is empty, so they take a seat at one of the many open tables. Hannah comes over and serves them up eggs, sausage, and biscuits for breakfast.
The young woman says, "I knew you'd all come back hungry, so I kept things ready to warm up for you. If you need anything else just holler. I'll be in the kitchen tidying up."
Thamila smiles at the woman saying, "Thanks Hannah! It smells delicious."
"Before you go, do you have paper and an inkpen and ink we can use?" asks Illayana.
"Sure thing. I'll go grab that for you hun," Hannah says with a smile and goes behind the bar.
While Hanna gets the requested items, the group digs into their delicious breakfast.
Around a mouthful of food, Illayana says, "One good thing about this place is how good that woman cooks."
Kenku says delightedly, "I guess good food outshines fish smell."
Illayana thinks for a moment, then says with a smile, "I guess it does."
Hanna places the items on the table next to the fey elf and then heads off to the kitchen.
Once she's out of sight Thamila says to Illaynana, "So, you have a personal guard? Is the whole sisters thing a story?"
"We really are sisters. My family adopted Kenku after I found her lost in the fey wild woods. She is also my personal guard because my family is one of the ruling noble houses and they didn't feel it was safe for me to travel the mortal plane alone," Illayana says.
"Is that what this Emerald Enclave is then?" the halfling inquires.
"No. They're the faction I'm part of, haven't you ever heard of them?" replies the fey elf.
Thamila shakes her head, "Nope. Until I came to Saltmarsh I had never stepped foot outside my village." Then the halfling turns to Darvin, "And what's a Dawngreeter?"
Darvin attempts to shrug and act like it's not that important and says, "Dawngreeter is just a fancy title for clerics of my rank, which I assure you is very low. Only Dawnbringer and Awakened for the novices are lower than me."
Thamila looks at all three of her new acquaintances saying, "So, let me get this straight, I'm sitting at a table with a noble's guardswoman, a noblewoman of some fancy faction, and a titled cleric," the halfling lets out a low whistle and says, "Seems I've teamed up with some pretty important folk."
Darvin looks at Thamila, "So what are you doing here in Saltmarsh?"
The halfling sighs, "Well since we're all sharing our secrets. I'm sure you've noticed I can do things. Well up until a month ago I couldn't and I'm supposed to use these powers to fix what's wrong with the sea."
Illayana and Darvin just stare at the halfling like she'd grown tentacles.
But Kenku says excitedly, "Illy, she knows about the sea too!"
This brings a stern look from the older woman. But then the fey elf sighs and says, "That's why I'm here. The Enclave has heard whispers that the sea seems wrong."
The three women all look over expectantly at Darvin.
The human holds up his hands saying, "I'm only here as an agent of the crown to assist Eliander," Darvin puts his hands down and continues, "Now that we all know more about each other and why we're all here in Saltmarsh are you ready to figure out a plan for our mission?"
Illayana chuckles, "Usually I'm the one brokering peace and calming a situation. Well done."
Kenku leans over conspirtually and whispers to Darvin, "She doesn't compliment easy."
Illayana continues, "Let's talk supplies…"
Thamila speaks up first, "We'll need our smuggler disguises, I'm sure Eda can find clothing to fit over our armor. And we should ask for signal whistles, in case someone falls overboard and needs to signal for help."
Illayana jots all that down while saying, "Good idea! I think we should ask for a healer's kit, just in case. We can't always count on potions and magic."
"Speaking of potions, I could really use a healing potion," says Thamila.
"Let's ask for one for each of us, and I'll give mine to you, Thamila, so you'll have two," says Darvin.
"You can't," the halfling protests.
The cleric shrugs, "I can't change who I am, and I can't take two knowing you only have one. Please accept the kindness."
"Thank you, Darvin," Thamila accepts gratefully.
Kenku speaks up with a tweet, "Oil flasks." "Boats don't like fire."
"Ok, I'll write that down," Illayana says, catching her sister's three superstitious clicks.
Thamila suddenly exclaims, "And a spyglass! Trust me, it will come in handy."
Illayana looks over their list and reads it off to the others before asking, "Anything else anyone can think of?"
"Nope," says Thamila.
"Don't think so," answers Darvin.
"Nope," says Kenku in Thamila voice.
"Very well. I will drop it off with Eda before Kenku and I attend to some personal business," Illayana says. Then she adds, "Unless either of you would rather…"
"I'm good," the halfling says waving her hand dismissively.
Darvin shakes his head. Then he asks Thamila, "What are your plans?"
"I thought I would explore the town. This is the first time I've left my village and there is so much to see. What about you Darvin?" she says eagerly.
"I don't know, but I'm sure I'll find something to occupy myself," the human answers, but thinks to himself, What am I going to do in this small town for two weeks? He then sneaks a piece of biscuit to Penelope hiding in her pocket of his coat.
Everyone finishes up the last of their breakfasts. Then they get up preparing to leave and go about their personal business for the day. Darvin grabs the two biscuits still left in the basket on the table and drops them into another pocket of his new coat. The three women say goodbye and leave.
Alone in the bar room, Darvin says to his pet mouse, "Well Penelope, what are we going to do with ourselves?"
This chapter was going to be just the town council meeting, but as I was rereading it for edits I realized the chapter needed more. So I let Thamila, Darvin, Kenku, and Illayana sit down for breakfast to make their plans. And well, they kind of just took over the story and backstory stuff I hadn't planned to share yet came out. Lol Oh and, Thamila has something up her sleeve from her one-shot pirating days to get them aboard the slavers' ship.
I also know I'm crossing Faerun and Greyhawk, pretty sure that's tagged. Maybe one day I'll do the research to change it, but right now I don't have the time so I'm just running with my crossover. :)
Anyhow they have a couple weeks in town of time to kill, so the next chapter or so will follow them around and introduce some more of the town and people of Saltmarsh.