For readers unfamiliar with play by post games, there is typically an IC (in-character) and OOC (out-of-character) thread. The first post in the IC thread is the introduction to the adventure, and an invitation to the players to begin the game. This is the start to our game.
"Thirdmonth, Firstday, Secondyear of the Seventeenth Cycle
In the second year of the beginning of the 17th Cycle the adventurers find themselves in possession of a unique opportunity. A distant relative of one died, leaving them in the sole possession of their assets, all in Deepwater, as follows:
*A warehouse of 3,000 square feet, containing a small office and a storage space containing a bewildering variety of trade goods.
*A small, sea-worthy single masted cog, called "Horizon Treader", largely unremarkable but in decent repair.
*About half the crew needed to sail the vessel, inlcuding Solec Ka, the captain.
*A factor named Mrs. Foot.
*A magic mirror that will allow the adventurers to contact Mrs. Foot once per week.
*A map of the Silver Seas.
*The merchant's journal, detailing what he knows about his destination.
Madam Foot sits the adventurers down at a large table in Deepwater’s best inn – The Tattered Tabard – and spreads out an array of documents in front of them, including the two maps that were part of the inheritance. “Now, these maps show the major nearby settlements in the Silver Sea, along with the routes your predecessor likely took to reach them. I’ve also got notes detailing what good are in surplus and demand in each port. Now, please remember that this information may be out of date; these routes date back some thirty years, and according to his notes he only did business at three main ports over the past five years: Phiaric and Maar were his primary ports, and he also traded in Sachar on occasion. He stopped in Joruth frequently, but that seemed to be more just a stopping point than a serious port of trade. These notes may be out of date. I’ve tried confirming the information with other traders, but information like this is more valuable than gold, and more closely held, too.”
She looks around the table. “That being said, I’ve heard some things that may be of general interest to you. They say the narrow bay leading to Ankim has been all but closed by a dragon that has taken to nesting in the steep mountains alongside, which is a shame, because the Ankim mines are famous for the quality and quantity of the ore they produce. Grim and Tachris both have harbors that are too silted in for your boat to approach, so most trade with those two towns is done overland from Sachar. There are a couple of islands south of Joruth, small ones, that are said to be uninhabited except for the ghosts that haunt the ruins of the Ancient Ones. I don’t know who true this is but everyone knows the Ancient Ones once dwelled in the Dhembezeur Mountains east of here, so it’s possible they had outposts offland, as well.. What I do know, for a fact, is that there’s an island here,” she points to a large landmass just off the coast in the map depicting the middle section of the sea, “with only one inhabited town. Steste, they call it, a town of adventurers and freebooters and prospectors, drawn from all over the Silver Sea to explore the ruins on the island. Leftover from the days of the Crocodile Kings they are, before recorded time. Steste is under nominal control of the Baron Layge, of the Mannever Kingdom, far to the west of Deepwater.”
Her finger traces further west, and south. “So and Ma are two petty kingdoms cursed to share the same patch of island. You want to make a name for yourselves as mercenaries, they say both control bottomless diamond mines, and both are willing to pay top dollar for whatever gives them an upper hand. There’s also talk of Heswen, home to the psittacae, or parrot-folk, looking to expand their influence in the Sea. You laugh, but they’re nothing to joke about, apparently. They’ve got two colonies on the mainland – Miferd and Markdra – and are apparently sailors of no mean skill. You’ll no doubt run into some of them in ports.” Her hand drifts back to the eastern map. “If you want to go further inland they say Berric is controlled by the factors of the Azure Princedom., and is the gateway to that domain. The Coral Princedom is further south, weeks away, at least, beyond the Marald Desert. It’s also the only Principality in the Variagated Kingdom that actually borders the Silver Sea. I don’t know much about them, but it’s said the Lord of Deepwater have caught at couple of their spies lurking about.”
Madam Foot waves over another woman who’d been lurking in the shadows. “This is Captain Solec Ka. She sailed for years with your benefactor, and knows this part of the Silver Sea as well as anyone does.” Ka steps forward. She’s a short, barrel-chested woman with greying hair and a pipe jutting from the corner of her mouth. “I’m the captain, like Foot said. My first mate’s named Thorso. He’s good at his job, like me. There’s another ten sailors standing by to be hired or fired at your leisure. None too seasoned, but they’re not lubbers, neither. I’ll cost you two hundred and fifty gold a month, Thorso one-fifty, and the sailors ten each. Thorso and me are both trained as navigators, so no need to hire one special. The boat itself has an upkeep cost of approximately 100 gold a month – that’s for general repair, replacement of rotten sails and rigging, food and water for the crew, etc. She’s not built for long voyages; you’ll need to hit a port every nine or ten days. That’s not an issue on the northern end of the Silver Sea, but the further south you go the fewer islands there are.”
Foot looks around the table at the assembled adventurers. “The world is your oyster, so to speak. You can contact me once per week with the mirror, so be sure to stay in touch and let me know if there is anything you need me to purchase or arrange for you. There’s a boat leaving for the Scarlet Principalities once every other day, roughly, and Rhea’s Ford is going to be the biggest city around that I know of, unless you venture off these maps, but it will take time to get goods or supplies from up north. Do you have any questions for me?”"
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