15 to 25 minutes

Objectives

The party arrives in Port Llast with two nights of shore leave. They encounter Elias De'Costa being assaulted by Darius Thorne and his associates. The main objectives for this chapter are the following:

• Introduce the key people,
• Have the players start to develop a disliking towards Darius Thorne,
• Have the party protect Elias from Darius and his associates,
• Have the party accept an invitation to Elias's household as his way of thanking them for their help.

Shore Leave

As you start the game, read or paraphrase the following to the players:

You are a team of swords (and spells, as the case may be) for hire. You were hired as protection for a merchant ship called the Beckoning Horizon. Initially hired in Waterdeep, the ship was bound for Luskan. The first leg of your trip took four days of sailing, followed by an overnight stay in Neverwinter. The next leg saw you arrive in Port Llast on the same day you departed Neverwinter. This is where you find yourself today. Your captain has advised that it will be a two-night stay in Port Llast, and that during this time you are free to do as you please (the terms of your agreement state that you are only required to protect the Beckoning Horizon and her crew while at sea).

“Rest up”, says the captain, “it’s only a short trip to Luskan, less than a day, but it’s the most dangerous by far. As for Port Llast, there’s only one in and tavern in town, it’s called the Stonecutter’s Solace. There are also enough shops to get as much basic equipment as you may need or want. I’ll see you back here at first light, the day after tomorrow.

And so, you find yourself on the docks of Port Llast, in the late afternoon in mid autumn.

Ask the players if there is anything they would particularly like to do. If so, gauge how much they want it; if a lot, perhaps allow them to do it first so it doesn’t distract from the adventure, otherwise, proceed with the next section which can occur anywhere in town, provided all of the party are together (or most of the party, if they split up immediately).

Standing up to a bully

Read or paraphrase the following to the players:

As you round a corner you see a somewhat disturbing sight: an older man, perhaps in his late fifties, with short greying hair and the deep wrinkles earned by countless long days at sea, cowers against the wall of a building while a ten-foot-tall steel monstrosity towers over him threateningly. It is humanoid in shape, but doesn’t show any signs of awareness or intelligence, rather a red glow emanates from between its joints and from the slit in its helmet-like head where its eyes would be. The golem – if that is indeed what it is – is holding tightly onto the man’s arm with one hand, while the other is cocked back, as if poised to strike a devastating blow.

Beside the monstrosity stands a young man, perhaps in his mid-to-late twenties, thin and wiry in stature, with oily black hair, a hawk-nose, narrow-set eyes and a weak jaw. The young man also stands over the older victim. Behind him, a half-elven woman, likely in her mid-thirties, with a cutlass at her hip, a bandanna over her head and large golden loop earrings looks threateningly over her crossed muscular arms at passers-by, ensuring they maintain a safe distance.

As you grow nearer you hear the younger man say:

“Just give it to me. You don’t even use it anymore, so why not just unburden yourself and be done with it”.

The people in the above scene are as follows:

• Darius Thorne – a 27-year-old, human man. The son of a local crime-lord (Silas Thorne), who runs a protection racket over the ships that dock in Port Llast. In contrast to his father, who built the operation with his bare hands with a kind of pragmatic wisdom, Darius has been gifted everything from childhood, and so while he is entitled and brattish, he also feels an overwhelming desire to prove himself worthy of his father’s legacy, something he has failed miserably to do up until now – as he tends to believe the path to proving himself involves needlessly asserting himself as greater than anyone else who crosses his path.
• Kira Molby – a 36-year-old henchwoman. While Darius believes she serves him, in fact she serves his father, Silas. Generally the distinction is fairly irrelevant, however, as her role is typically to protect Darius from harm.
• Obliteron – a steel guardian (see Monster Manual) which is paired to Darius and under his control (using an amulet he wears on his left wrist).
• Elias De’costa – a 57 year old, semi-retired human privateer sailor and ship’s captain, currently being accosted by Darius.

Allow the players to intervene. Darius (the young man) is – at his core – quite a coward and when he sees the party approach he will position himself behind Obliteron and avoid a fight (though he’ll still talk tough to the party). Ultimately, however, he’ll back down and leave.

Elias' gratitude

Elias is extremely grateful to the party, and insists they join him at his home for dinner. He offers them accommodations for the night as well, stating that the food and lodgings are much better than they can expect at the stonecutter’s solace. If the party hesitates he says that Darius Thorne is mostly bark and no bite, but even so he would feel safer this night if someone bigger and scarier than him was nearby.

Once the party agrees to accompany Darius, proceed to chapter two.

Unexpected outcomes

If the scene doesn't proceed to plan, the following may have occurred:

If the players didn't help Elias...

If the players didn't help Elias at all, then ultimately Darius will hurt Elias a little, but not kill him. Elias will be released back to his home, where the main events of the night will continue, just without the party's direct involvement. Allow the party to do as they wish within the city, but then some time after sunset there is a fire at the docks. When they arrive at the docks they find the scene as it is described in Chapter 3, Elias will be there (or he will arrive after the party, depending on how quickly the party goes to the docks after the fire starts). Seeing the party he will explain to them that there is dangerous cargo on his cog, and if they don't help him to move it then it will explode and everyone there will die. From there the adventure can proceed as normal, it just means the characters won't have the opportunity to meet Elara and Barnacles before Elias's home is raided.

If the players attack Darius...

If the players attack, Darius attempts to flee whilst leaving Kira and Obliteron to cover his withdrawal. If he escapes safely he will leave Kira to die, but attempt to order Obliteron to withdraw. Provided he lives he will continue with his plan. If Obliteron and/or Kira are killed, then they simply won't be involved in the final confrontation. If the party manages to kill Darius, however, then the adventure can't really proceed. Silas will likely hear of his son's death, and seek revenge on the party. This eventuality is not included in the adventure module, but you can resolve the situation by planning a difficult combat encounter between Silas and a number of appropriate henchmen or monsters that occurs when Silas comes after them. Perhaps he comes after them directly, or perhaps he finds out that they are employed by the Beckoning Horizon and uses that against the party.