The Story so Far

Voyage to Atlantis

Taking a job from the Sandal Merchant Achilles Doxos, the party found themselves being among the first people they know of to sail to the lost city of Atlantis. Sure, everyone agreed there was an Atlantis in the middle of the Mer Wirtor at some point, but there was disagreement on what remained, inhospitable rock was the census, that combined with the treacherous seas and sirens left few people brave or stupid enough to venture forth.

A Foolish Endeavor

You were one of those, and with help from Rationality and Discovery, you made it to the promised land. The thing they don’t tell you about Atlantis is the horrible creatures that lurk within. The creatures in the sea are wretched twisted things, no longer human, if they ever were.

You fought through several of these creatures, exploring the ruins, eventually recovering some ancient technology. You attempted to delve a bit deeper, only to find even more horrible and twisted creatures.

Between Delves

Returning home, Achilles told you he was going to seek investors for a return trip, which could take a few months and encouraged you to find work in the mean time. And find work you did. Heading to Lycia, you determined that you should make contact with one Lathus Magnus, the Shipping magnate. Though you did not get an audience with the man himself, you were offered some lucrative contracts. First, a simple weapon running operation, bringing arms to the Lycian Colonies, but then, an offer for something more dangerous. With your recent trip to Atlantis, no task seemed too large, so you agreed, smuggle Rhiat, apprentence to The Curator back in to Sarmania, and help one Gina, Governess of Kar-Nergal escape. Given your prowess with a ship, it should be easy. Just some sailing.

You initial trip was easy, head north to get some weapons, though the weapon maker had some loose ends that needed tying up forcing you all to slay myriad baby hydras so he could complete his work. From there it was a quick trip through the straight of Skymoriax, which couldn’t have been easier, to get to the contested lands. You had two of your ships ferrying goods while you head inland to deliver the important things to Parti.

The Siege of Parti

There you found a city in danger, a military town on the Line of Actual Control with Sarmania, their water supply had run dry and things were going to go poorly unless it was restored. You took it upon yourselves to head upstream to see what was causing the aqueduct to stop exactly. There, a Vencian Lion saw a new snack and pounced, nearly killing Enka in a single blow, however she survived and you showed that cat who was boss, skinning it for its troubles. The troubles were not done yet, as you found a group of Sarmanians installing a massive Liver in the aqueduct, a truly giant organ, from a being the size of a ship at least. Fortunately you were on the case and quickly dispatched these forces before recovering the liver.

A Spy Swap - Musings on Sarmania

With clean water flowing once again, you returned the Heroes of the Lycian resistance, but your trip was not done yet, you still had a little spy swap to do. Riat regaled you with stories of his time growing up in Sarmania, being plucked from his parents at a young age to be raised in a military school, the years of indoctrination as he learned arcane engineering to eventually help with Ganzir. The trials every young professional Sarmanian must go through, ratting out your companions for treacherous thoughts, choosing which childhood pets live and which die, seeing first hand how labor requests were fulfilled, and wondering which of those unlucky souls grew up on the same streets as you. Riat was lucky, as an engineer he was saved from most of brutality as Ereishkegal needed him, and the Curator being his mentor was a stroke of luck. Over the years, as the Curator began to sour on his role, his change of heart rubbed off on his mentees, though none took to it as fully as Riat. Thus the two escaped, though the Curator was careful to ensure to all outside appearance Riat was taken by force, The Curator would be the only proven traitor that day. And so, Riat knew he must return, seeing the likes of the Order of the New Dawn, Riat knew he must do his part and act as a man on the inside. The Lycian government paid a terrible price, information that would lead to a failed attack on the Sarmanian border, but to install a mole at the highest levels would be worth it they hoped.

Again, this was the easy part, Riat could walk right in with the information he had, any story involving fishermen and a daring escape would get him past any scrutiny. And it would have been yet another cake walk, had the ghosts of the seas not intervened.

The Ghost Ship of Dagon

Off the coast of Sarmania your ship was overtaken by Dagon’s Ghost Ship. The party had a scant few hours to remove the fell influence before their ship was crushed. They rushed aboard, fighting the animated corpses of sailors past, changed by the underworld in to barnacle crusted husks of their former selves. One creature had a spark of its old self, and after an epic musical duel, saw Zanzan as an equal, gifting its hellish instrument to him. The same could not be said about the rest of the ship which tried to stop the party at every turn, with some clever tactics the party avoided some direct battles, instead simply breaking the hold the Ghost Ship had over their ship. With Dagon’s ship escaped, their sea life became blessed, their vessel now offering safe haven wherever it is parked.

Operation: Rescue Gina

With the ship free, the hard job began, abducting Gina from Nergal’s seat of power without anyone knowing. Having Riat and Zari to answer questions about how exactly Sarmania works let the party realize the enormity of their task. Their able bodied Minotaurs were likely to face conscription, not just to the military, though that was a possibility, but more likely being sent to the mines and lumber yards the Sarmanian war machine needed to continue its growth. Furthermore, Gina was likely to be in the most watched position of all, the Triumvirate Satrape is a delicate system of rule, one that always collapses in to a 2 vs 1 power struggle causing each member to be as paranoid as possible. Gina would be under constant watch from Nergal and General Arash Zarin, lest the balance of power switch.

A Plan

With all this, the party deliberated, finally deciding to investigate the slums, one of the few places a minotaur could walk freely. They found at least one person unhappy with how things were being run, and were able to form a relationship of convenience. Siwabsu, the wizened textile merchant could provide the party the cover they needed to travel in the Inner City without worrying about sudden conscription. With a cover story the group made their way inside to make contact with Gina. The group was disappointed to hear how much Gina was relying on them for the escape, but after some complaint were up for the task, and a new plan was born.

1. Present themselves as textile merchants making a sale to Gina in an official capacity, new clothes for upcoming festivals and the like.
2. Use their ship as the merchant vessel, use a rented boat as a “Party Boat” to have a glamorous sales pitch
3. Using slight of hand, smuggle Gina to their real ship while pretending to show her more textiles
4. Sail off, getting well away from the harbor before anyone noticed she was gone.

Nepotism =/= Incompetence

The party set out to begin this plan with gusto, not before finishing their deliveries though, good cover is always closest to the truth, and if they wanted to be textile merchants in the future, delivering textiles now would be important. Their final Stop was the office of one Zarra Zarrin, head of the Paqudu and daughter of General Arash. Seeing valuable intel so close, the party couldn’t help but snag Gina’s file, hoping that Zarra gained her position via familial bond and not because she was good at her job. Knowing everything the Paqudu knew would be invaluable for plotting Gina’s escape.

Zarra is very good at her job.

Blissfully unaware the party continued with their plan. They learned which of Gina’s contacts was compromised, and thus were able to leave messages securely, before going to the docks to inquire about a boat.

Sarmanian Interference

There, the fish had a message for them. It warned the party that the Sarmanians Know, and that whoever was sending the message would help, if only they took a boat out at midnight. The party, understandably, was worried, what could this mean and could this mysterious message giver even be trusted? But feeling their options were running out they followed instructions, the Harbor Master turned out to be a devotee of Apsu, god of seas, and once they reached the horizon, they had a divine visitation. If the party agreed to worship Apsu, deliver Nergal’s Liver to him, and give Erishkegal first rights on any Pearls of Atlantis, Apsu would ensure their escape by sea was met with no resistance. They also had to bring an Emissary of Apsu with them eventually bringing it to Techni.

The party was wary, this was a lot, and actively allying oneself with a Sarmanian God could not be the best idea. But that was a future problem. They were able to get a boat, slightly tricking a smuggler in to thinking this would be a repeat business type of deal. But with a boat secured, and most of a plan in place, they wanted to move fast before the Paqudu could mobilize.

Escaping with the Belchers

They got their next message from Baab the Kebab merchant, and instantly knew he needed to be saved too. They followed him back to his house, a job offer to cater their fake event to be worked out when they were accosted by bandits, the bandits fought to the death, suspiciously, and the party realized the Paqudu were watching. They captured one, while the other two fled. They tried to get information out of her, but soon it devolved in to an argument about the very idea of religion, the party unable to help but monolog at their captage. Soon they realized that she was egging them on, stalling for time. They had already wasted too much time, and needed to flee. They barely got a message out and narrowly made it on to their boat before reinforcements could be called. Out of options the group accepted Apsu’s offer and sailed away from Sarmania, hopefully for the last time.

Return

Back in Lycia, they were heralded as heroes, they broke the siege of Parti, delivered weapons to the front, slew the Vencian Lion, and dealt a blow to the Satrap of War. With such accolades, and a Lycia re-invigorated by Lycia herself the party found themselves taking to Lathus, a man who recently joined a semi-secret order - The order of the New Dawn - trying to stop Sarmania and all its aims. He wants the party to help him, to join in this effort, now that they have seen first hand how brutal Sarmania can be, and if they play their cards right, merchanting jobs until the end of time.