Flashpoint: The Hydra's Fang

So I integrated the Hydra's Fang the other day by having the Andoren Navy order now Commander Archer to take the pinnace out to the Isle of Kortos to kill the Chelish Du Moire and take back the tablets he stole before the Chelish government are able to come through on their promise. Lhye wanted to return to Riddleport, of course, to save his mother but in the last session they agreed to use Proteus free teleportations to send them all to Riddleport afterwards.

Before they set out, however, they needed five more crew members and so Proteus headed out to get some likely looking lads. He headed out to Augustana's Inner Harbor fisheries and stopped by a one-room taproom where the bartenders served grog and beer out of barrels using old crockery and even ladels as mugs when the place grew very busy. It was only a copper piece per drink. There wasn't much in the way of chairs or tables either, as this place was in Copperdown, just a few old and broken barrels cut in half and upended.

Anyway, Proteus hired on Five-Fingers Mutt (who had four fingers on one hand, one on the other, and both thumbs) who was a big and tattooed Mwangi-looking man who spoke in very refined Common with a slight Andoren accent. Not thinking to check on his references (which is unsurprising given the location), Proteus hires him on and when Mutt offers the services of his friends, Proteus accepts them as well.

So they set off to the Isle of Kortos and arrive there in relatively good time despite the fact that they had to tack into the wind the whole time (damn South Easterlies). Once there, once there they had to get a pass for them to bring their ship through the maze of rafts and little boats and into the docks themselves. As they lacked a rowboat, Proteus had to swim over to the Harbourmaster's House and met with a man stoned on devilweed, smoking a devilweed cigar, who was on the verge of greening out.

As Proteus had no cargo to declare, he was allowed to hire a bay and come into the Isle of Kortos for five silvers. With a clever Bluff check and some misdirection, Proteus tricked the Harbourmaster (if indeed, that was who he was) into giving him an additional pass - this one, however, the Harbourmaster simply signed and gave over to Proteus to put in his own ship name. Instead of filling in all the details, Proteus misdirected him again and slipped it in a sleeve. Oh, also the Harbourmaster told Proteus he could get a lot of gold and work at a rather exotic brothel that has rather exotic male prostitutes.

The Harbourmaster couldn't direct him to a free bay so Proteus was directed to a woman called Raimi who had a tracery of red scales around her face and a red, scaly tail, who dressed like someone out of Assassin's Creed and was surrounded by a half dozen similarly dressed individuals sitting on a crenellated outdropping by one of the broken sea walls. She gave him the right directions. Proteus then headed back to his boat and Wellard carefully piloted the pinnace (a small vessel) through the maze and to the correct bay.

They then went from tavern to tavern, trying to find out more information, until they were directed to the 'The Tail' tavern which had swordfish tails nailed to the outside. During this, they pass a brothel set up in a church of Iomedae (homespun plot, not in the Pathfinder Society scenario). It was the very same brothel Proteus had been directed to earlier!

They go to 'The Tail' tavern and are hooted at for being rich and told they should buy everyone a round. Archer slips off to one side in all the commotion and Lenny ends the heckles with a single glare (natural 20 on an Intimidate check). Proteus slips off back to the brothel, hoping to find more information there. Lenny is plied with free rum to placate her. Lhye hears a wasp but can't see it and it slowly leads him back to the brothel. Archer ends up heading off with Lunjun to look for the drydocks to see if the Hydra's Fang is currently in there and undergoing repairs.

Proteus requests a chance to prostitute himself at the brothel and is offered the chance, and one of the main 'connectors' asks him for his preference - male or female? Proteus responds 'pain' because they pay more. The connector nods and heads off to go and fetch a rather austere man who's into hot wax and paddles (they were worried they'd get a Kuthite). While they wait, Lhye comes along (led by a wasp) and requests the chance to seduce himself a female client but fails to impress when his Charm Person spell fails and she chooses Proteus instead.

Yeah, interesting that a brothel allows randoms to get paid in gold by their own clients, huh?

During all of this, Proteus and Lhye figure out that the two elf prostitutes can't understand elven and the gnome prostitute can't speak gnomish. As these languages are innate in the Pathfinder game, they figure out that they're not real elves / gnomes. Yet they look just right for an elf or gnome. They don't move like that either. Lhye makes a Knowledge Religion roll and figures out that someone 'could' be spending a lot of gold on Reincarnate spells to make for some exotic prostitutes.

Anyway, so a woman comes in wearing a breast plate, spiked gauntlets, and dark clothing whose ears and incisors are slightly pointed. They're all thinking she's a client and wondering whether she'd be submissive or dominant (she looks dominant) in bed. Lhye makes a suggestive comment to her and she marches up, grabs him by the back of the hair, and demands to know "What the hell do you think you're doing, boy?"

Lhye uses Hypnosis to convince her to turn and walk away (which she does) and takes the few rounds he has available to him in order to run back to Lenny in the tavern and pay for her protection with two gold pieces.

The Inquisitor (they're later told that's what she is) comes back to demand to speak with him and after some "No, don't wannas" from Lhye, the three of them go out onto the street. The Inquisitor demands to know what ritual made him since it seems highly unlikely that a tiefling that looks like famous Riddleport prostitute, Lavender Lil (she's not that famous to be known all the way out here), happens to be in that particular brothel. Lhye explains that he's her son. The Inquisitor rolls a 1 on her Sense Motive check and immediately believes he's lying but eventually leaves and goes back into the cathedral and upstairs.

Lhye went to follow her, only for Proteus' john to arrive (the hot wax guy) and offer double if Proteus were to join in. Proteus accepts. Lenny, who followed, is recognised as a bodyguard and supplied with warm mead and a nice place to sit during the duration. While they're servicing the customer (took an hour), the Inquisitor comes back out and leaves.

During a conversation with another prostitute afterwards, they gain the connection to the Consortium's Enforcer, Lubor, to whom Du Moire owes a substantial amount of money. Then they all return to their pinnace, the "Egress" and Lhye explains the situation to Archer who immediately figures that the prostitutes are sex slaves who are forced to work off their massive 'Reincarnate-sized' debts. Archer starts planning to kill the guy and raze the brothel to the ground.

The others aren't so sure about that plan....