Chapter 14

The Very First thing that happened as Thorfinn the Tall led the Crew of the Hammerdown against our party was that Janessa looked over to the right with a sharp motion of her head. She called out a warning mere moments before a smell of ozone issued forth from the deck of the Hammerdown as a robed, dusky-skinned, Zakharan with an oiled beard appeared on the deck, chanting and pointing at Shavariel with two outstretched fingers in a somatic gesture. Sparks flew between those fingers and the smell of ozone went from a whiff to large enough to briefly overpower the smell of the sea as a crack rang out and a lightning bolt issued forth from between the Sorcerer's Fingers, striking for Shavariel. Janessa's warning came too late as Shavariel was struck flush in the torso, briefly being limned in pale blue light as the electricity crackled into her.

Shavariel went down, crashing into the planks of the wharf as the bolt wounded her badly. Thorfinn ran straight past her, dodging the spectral hammer that appeared as Selima uttered a prayer to Deneir and summoned a Spectral Weapon in an attempt to smash Thorfinn down. In moments, Thorfinn's longsword was striking for my throat, but I managed to get Aremeg's Wisdom up in time to block it, the Dragon Turtle Shell Shield interposing itself between my throat and Thorfinn's blade.

While I engaged Thorfinn, Janessa took it upon herself to get into a Mage's Duel with the Sorcerer. She summoned four illusory copies of herself, one of which was immediately pierced through and dispelled by a flying, wickedly-curved, enchanted, dagger that sawed through the image like a buzzsaw before curving around to gain altitude. My Spellcraft and Knowledge skills informed me that it was being powered by a spell called Flying Jambiya, a unique form of Wind-based spell particular to Zakharan Sorcerers, who were different in a number of ways from their Faerunian Counterparts.

To my right, Selima was engaged with a foe of her own, trading blows with what looked to be a Ronin from Wa in Kara-Tur, wearing a Magical Chahar-Aina over a suit of Magical Leather Scale Armor and Wielding a Magical Katana whose edge shimmered with power and which dripped with sizzling fluid. Selima was forced to back away from the Ronin as he pressed her back with a pair of lightning-quick strikes.

Meanwhile, the five other members of the Hammerdown's Crew moved on the wounded Shavariel. They numbered one Zakharan with a Slightly Magical Scimitar and Buckler wearing Slightly Magical Lamellar Armor, one Wanese Kara-Turan in Slightly Magical Leather Scale wielding a Slightly Magical Tetsubo, and three Northlanders in Slightly Magical Chain Shirts with Slightly Magical Battle Axes and Slightly Magical Light Steel Shields.

I had no clue where Rognvaldr had found Wanese Kara-Turans or Zakharans and frankly, I didn't have time to ask. Instead, I had to fight for my life against Thorfinn, who was lashing out at me with his longsword again. I parried once more and riposted with Aremeg's Fury, my blade lashing out for Thorfinn's legs and cutting a line across his thigh just above the knee, steam hissing forth as the wound cauterized just as it was struck. As I did so, I set my Counterstrike Bracers for a riposte even as Thorfinn brought his blade around and cut out for me. The first strike rebounded off of Aremeg's Pride, but the second cut deeply into the meat of my upper calf as Thorfinn dexterously flipped his blade back around with a flick of his wrist.

"Gah!" I shouted out in pain as the blade's powerful strike bit deep into my leg and froze the wound over before exiting. My Riposte was thrown off balance from the stiffness in my wounded leg, allowing Thorfinn to parry, but I was able to whip my sword back around and take a cut out of the meat of Thorfinn's bicep, steam hissing off the wound as Aremeg's Fury cauterized the gash even as it dealt it. In response, however, Thorfinn lowered his shoulder and shoulder-checked me in the throat, blasting me back with a bull rush and knocking me off the pier and into the water of the harbor.

I plunged into the water, blood trailing into the depths behind me, choking on the trauma to my windpipe. Fortunately, however, Aremeg's Wisdom saved me here, allowing me to easily tell up from down and swim for the surface despite the wounds I'd been dealt and the momentary confusion. A good thing too, because just before I breached the surface, I spotted a shape enter the harbor, drawn by the scent of blood in the water. A large shark knifed through the depths toward me and I just managed to clamor back onto the pier before it could clamp its jaws around me.

As I struggled up onto the planks, I noticed that Shavariel had managed to down three of her enemies, leaving only the Wanese Kara-Turan and the Zakharan. Meanwhile, Janessa and the Zakharan Sorcerer both had landed spells, with the Zakharan having dispelled two more of Janessa's Illusory Images and searing a wound into her shoulder while Janessa had seemingly successfully hit the Zakharan with an Acid Arrow. Selima, meanwhile, had a large cut across her left leg that had hobbled her and seemed to have eaten through the calf of her left boot, though in exchange, she seemed to have landed a telling blow on the Ronin. None of us were without wounds, but we weren't out of the fight yet.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Thorfinn had begun to move up against Shavariel from behind, looking to finish what the Zakharan Sorcerer had started. I was too far away from Shavariel and Thorfinn's position right now to intercept, so instead, I would have to cast something. Unslinging my Bandore, I began to strum out a tune using Spellsong while singing out the first thing that came to mind.

"We're a ship without a storm. The cold without the warm. Light inside the darkness that it needs, yeah. We're a laugh without a tear. The hope without the fear. We are coming home!" I sang out, belting out the last bit of the opening lyrics to Dio's The Last in Line.

As I did so, my voice reached an ear-piercing pitch that only Thorfinn could hear as Spellsong Channeled my performance into an Ear-Piercing Scream that burst his eardrums and dazed him, sending him stumbling past Shavariel and off the pier into the water. Thorfinn's cut just barely missed Shavariel thanks to that, and as he plummeted into the Harbor, I saw the dark shape of the Shark dart toward him. He'd have to kill it before he could emerge from the water. In the meantime, I swapped my Bandore for Aremeg's Fury and Aremeg's Wisdom again and prepared to charge the Ronin, even as Shavariel struck the Zakharan Crewmen with the Sea Baron's Judgement, punching the middle tine right through the Zakharan's neck. Her second blow, unfortunately only grazed the upper arm of the Wanese Kara-Turan.

To my right, the Flying Jambiya lanced out, destroying the last of Janessa's Illusory Images and cutting into her thigh, even as Janessa let out a grunt of pain and reached into a belt pouch. She pulled out the Pearl of Power we'd retrieved from Rognvaldr's Treasure Cache, let out an incantation, and extended her right hand. A crack of thunder and a flash of light followed as Janessa managed to strike the Zakharan Sorcerer with a lightning bolt of her own, frying him and dropping him to the deck.

Unfortunately, to my left, Selima cried out in pain as the Ronin cut into her arm, slicing it down to the bone even as his Katana dripped acid into the wound, burning her. She was forced to back away and offer up a prayer to Deneir to heal her arm and allow her to keep fighting. Selima's last healing spell mended the wound in her arm, but she was forced to give ground further away from the Ronin, whose follow-on slash just barely missed her throat. As Thorfinn clashed with the Shark in the Harbor, I chose to charge the Ronin.

I dashed forth, Aremeg's Fury lancing out for the back of the Ronin's Neck and managing to cut into it parting the lamellar neck guard of the Kabuto and hissing steam as my unexpected sneak attack managed to sever the Ronin's Spine. The Ronin fell dead to the Pier as I looked over at Selima, she was barely standing, the same as Janessa. I turned to see the Wanese Kara-Turan hit Shavariel with his Tetsubo at the same time she landed the killing blow on him with the Sea Baron's Judgement. Both of them were blasted back, but only Shavariel got up, standing, if barely.

All of us were fairly badly wounded, but we were alive. That was a good thing too, because the gauntleted hand of Thorfinn burst up from the harbor, as he pulled himself up onto the wooden pier, the water below him stained with the blood of sharks. He looked worse for wear, but not as much as we did. The Four of us turned toward Thorfinn and readied ourselves for the final clash.

"You bastards! I may die here, but I'll take at least one of you with me!" Spat Thorfinn.

"You sure about that? You're not looking up to the task." I taunted.

"That's rich coming from you! Have you seen what you look like?" Snarled Thorfinn.

"There's four of us and only one of you. Those are long odds in your condition. Why not stand down?" I offered.

"You slay my shield brothers and you tell me to stand down?" Demanded Thorfinn.

"It's mercy, Thorfinn. There's been enough death today, don't you think? Stand down and walk away. We won't pursue." I insisted.

"Fuck your mercy and fuck you!" Roared Thorfinn as he charged.

He rushed toward me with his Longsword, dodging the bulk of a conjured cone of flames from Janessa as she tried to cast a spell of burning hands at him. Instead, he emerged from the flames after only being grazed, he janked to the side of the Sea Baron's Judgement, dodging the crackling tines at the last second before lashing out with a powerful strike of his blade. He caught me in the other leg with his longsword, just above the armored boot, carving into my shin and laying open my leg to the bone.

"Gah!" I shouted as I toppled to the planks of the pier. Oddly, the pain was numbed as the icy magic chilled my shin. Distantly, I was aware of Shavariel and Selima engaging Thorfinn, but all I could think about was that my leg didn't hurt as much as I thought it would as I lay there. Intellectually, I figured I was probably going into shock as I was bleeding out and dying, but somehow the thought wasn't quite able to take root before flitting away.

Janessa was hobbling toward me now, a flask in her hand. That was odd, I hadn't pegged her as much of a drinker. Why would Janessa have a flask? Had she been hiding a secret drinking habit from me? I wasn't sure how she'd be able to do that, given how much time we'd spent together so far. If she was a drinker, I was pretty sure I'd have known that by now. Oh, Janessa was crouching down, was she trying to get me to drink? I had to admit that my mouth felt pretty dry. Like a desert. Kind of like the sort of place that Zakharan Sorcerer was from, actually. Oh, Janessa did want me to drink, all right. Man, that tasted foul. Too astringent for my liking, like drinking a pinecone. Hopefully, it wouldn't burn in my gut.

As I swallowed the concoction, my mind suddenly focused up even as my wounded leg started to heal over. I bolted upright suddenly keenly aware that the fight was still going on. Looking to the side, I cocked an eyebrow as the cobwebs cleared from my brain with the fading of shock.

"What was that?" I questioned.

"Vinegar Healing Tea. It's a Goodharbor Family Recipe. It's got a bunch of herbs in it. Bloodstaunch and a few others like it. That's not important, what is important is that it is functionally a Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds with a bit of a mental stimulant added in." Informed Janessa.

"You had that on you the whole time?" I queried.

"My Dad brewed this for me before we went off to kill the Bullywugs. We've always had other healing to fall back on though. Not important, Thorfinn is still fighting, we need to finish this!" Insisted Janessa.

"Just how good an alchemist is your dad?" I asked.

"Robar, not important!" Hissed Janessa.

"Right. Just checking." I huffed.

Rolling over, I got to my feet. Scooping up Aremeg's Fury and Aremeg's Wisdom before I rejoined the Fray. I charged into the thick of the fighting just in time too, because Shavariel had just been knocked down by Thorfinn, who was standing over her with his blade poised to thrust down and impale her. Instead, my charge forced him to turn around and parry my cut with Aremeg's Fury. Thorfinn's eyes were wide with disbelief as he did so, our blades drawing sparks off each other from the force of my blow meeting his parry.

"You should be dead!" Snarled Thorfinn.

"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated!" I retorted.

"I'll be sure to remedy that shortly!" Growled Thorfinn.

"No, you won't." Intoned Shavariel from her spot lying prone on the pier as she thrust up with the Sea Baron's Judgement.

The crackling tines stuck Thorfinn right in the ass, underneath the mail fold of his chainmail armor, cracking out with thunder and discharging electricity into his body. That sent him staggering forward long enough for a Spectral Hammer to come down on Thorfinn's Head, crushing the metal helm and skull underneath as Selima prayed for Deneir to lend her a weapon to slay the foe. Thorfinn slumped to his knees, dead before he fell to the wooden planks.

"I think that's the closest to death I've come since arriving in the Jannath's Tears Archipelago." I mused.

"How did you survive?" Questioned Selima.

"Yes, I was certain you would at least be unconscious for the remainder of the fight. What happened there?" Queried Shavariel.

"Ask Janessa. Apparently, her father brewed her a special family healing concoction that she's kept in reserve till now." I answered.

"Dad's more than just a Brewer of Beer. I'm not quite as good at alchemy as he is, but give it time." Shrugged Janessa.

"Leaving that aside for now, let's loot these guys and see if our wounds were worth the effort." I suggested.

A round of assenting murmurs rose up from my assembled companions and soon enough the fact that Janessa had been keeping healing in reserve for an emergency was forgotten as the lure of treasure called to us. . .

XXXX

As we got to looting, however, we found a wealth of magic items, some of them quite rare. The Chahar-Aina of the Ronin turned out to be matched with the Leather Scale Armor. I couldn't figure out what it or his Katana was until we cast identify spells on them. When we did, the Armor turned out to be the Family Armor of Clan Kumato while the Katana turned out to be Master Li's Way. The Former was unique, while the latter was one of eight blades made along the same pattern and type.

Apparently, Clan Kumato was a minor Samurai Clan who ruled a section of Mountains near the City of Tifuido. They were notable for having Shou Ancestry mixed in with the Wanese Ancestry, hence the Family Armor being of a type more commonly seen in Shou. It was this ancestry that led the Clan to be wiped out by a rival clan, the Senjo Clan of nearby Tifuido. Apparently, however, in the aftermath of the destruction, the Family Armor of Clan Kumato went missing. In actuality, the killing blow to Lord Kumato had been struck by members of a group of Ronin that had been hired by the Senjo Clan to bolster their numbers for the Attack on the Kumato Clan. These Ronin, known as the Wolves of Kanama, after the village in which they first banded together, had taken the Armor as part of their pay and absconded with it after that battle.

Unfortunately, the Wolves of Kanama could not agree on who would get to wear the Armor and resorted to dueling for it. A series of duels took place in the woods outside the battlefield, the bloodshed of which drew the attention of a band of Evil Tengu from further up the Mountains who assaulted the weakened duellists and slaughtered them, absconding with the Armor. These Tengu were well-known for raiding mountain villages. The Kumato Clan had previously kept them in check, but now they were gone and the Tengu could raid further afield.

For most of a decade, the Tengu assailed mountain villages and smaller towns, killing who they could and stealing valuables. Successful, long-term raids drew treasure-seekers, however. For a time those Tengu rebuffed any would-be treasure hunters until they were slain by another group of Ronin searching for the Treasure of the Tengu led by the Ronin known as Tanaka Ichiro. Ichiro claimed the Kumato Clan Armor for his own and had a successful career spanning two decades, before retiring and gifting the armor to his Son, Josuke, who fell in with a crowd of less-than-noble Mercenaries led by a Kozakuran Shugenja named Nagamasa Hayato.

Nagamasa's Band took contracts with the King of Koryo and the Governor of Chukei Province, before settling down with the Tuigan Tribe in the Endless Wastes. Josuke's own son, Hachiro received the Armor and joined the Tuigan Horde of Yamun Khahan during the many Campaigns of the Tuigan Horde, winning Glory in battles in Shou Lung, Rashemen, and elsewhere. Eventually, Hachiro died of his wounds sustained during the battle of Phsant seven years ago that broke the power of the Horde and willing the Armor to his son, Kenzo, who fell in with a crowd of Mercenaries from Thesk, fighting their way from Impiltur in the Unapproachable East to Luskan, where Kenzo and his son Souta joined up with Rognvaldr's Crew. We had just slain both of them.

The Armor was effectively two pieces matched together, the Chahar-Aina and the Leather Scale effectively providing double the protection, as well as being doubly enchanted. The Chahar-Aina provided not only the basic protection of armor of its type but also came with an enchantment that added a Plus Two Bonus to the protection in a way that stacked with the enchantment on the leather scale while also and an Enchantment to Bolster the Dexterity of the Wearer by four worked into it. Meanwhile, the Leather Scale bore an additional Plus Three Enhancement as well as an Enchantment of Light Fortification and an Enchantment of Cold Resistance. Effectively, that made the full set a Plus Five Light Armor Set of Dexterity, Cold Resistance, and Light Fortification.

Meanwhile, the Katana was one of eight matching blades forged by Master Hu Li of Kozakura. It had a similar journey to the Armor, though instead of having been taken from a destroyed clan by marauding Tengu and won from them by a Ronin, it had been gifted by Master Hu Li to his nephew, Hu Sho, a Duellist who used it in a Duel with a Master of the Thundering Lion School of Kenjutsu named Tenryo Isshin. Isshin lost the duel and his life, but the Thundering Lion School effectively forced Sho to leave Kozakura for Koryo to escape their vengeance. While in Koryo, Sho ran up against Josuke in a duel and was slain by the more veteran Mercenary Ronin. From there, the story of the Blade was the same as that of the Armor.

Hu Li's Way was a deadly sharp blade, bearing a Keen Enchantment. It also bore a Plus Two Enhancement, as well as a Corrosive Burst Enhancement. It was quite deadly all things considered. Worthy of a combatant with the legacy that Kenzo had.

Aside from Kenzo's Equipment, the Zakharan Sorcerer bore a few interesting magic items as well. First, the Jambiya he had been using for his Flying Jambiya Spell was an Onyx Jambiya. It had apparently been forged for a Khayal in the City of Onyx to help in the ongoing war against the Janni. The Onyx Dagger had been used in the war by a Khayal Assassin named Mawt Al-Alzali who successfully used it to assassinate the Jann General Yusuf Al-Shafra ahead of the battle of the Dark Oasis in the Plane of Shadow.

Mawt had then been summoned by a Sorcerer named Ali Bin-Uthman to the City of Qadib in Zakhara, known as the City of Wands due to the prevalence of Magic Users in the City. Ali used Mawt to slay a number of rivals, including the Master of the Zakharan Corsair Sorcerer that we had just slain, Imad Al-Husra. Imad, knowing he would be next if he stayed in Qadib long enough for Mawt to be summoned again, fled the City of Wands for Hawa, the City of Stilts, in the Corsair Dominions. Once there, he was swiftly apprenticed by an Elemental Sorcerer named Achmed Riah Al-Sahra, a Master of Both Wind and Fire Elemental Magic, as well as being Competent with Universal Spellcasting.

When Mawt was summoned again to finish the unfinished business with Imad, Achmed slew the Khayal and offered the Jambiya to Imad as a token from master to apprentice. Imad carried the Jambiya through his apprenticeship all the way to joining a Corsair crew under the famed Corsair Rahman Bin-Muhit. They crossed the Great Sea to raid Halruaa, Chult, Thindol, Tashalar, and Calimshan before their Xebec, low in the water due to so much plunder, was attacked by Aremeg, the Dragon Turtle of Chult. Imad only barely managed to escape, taking a small boat and a single Corsair named Salah Al-Kassim, and leaving his other crewmates to their fate. Eventually, he and Salah were shipwrecked on a spit of rock in Asavir's Channel two years ago, when Rognvaldr found them and they joined his crew.

The Onyx Dagger was a blade that bore some measure of the Shadowy Power of the Khayals who forged it, allowing the bearer to utilize the Shadowcaster Mysteries of Steel Shadows Three Times Per Day, Shadow Investiture Twice Per Day, and Step Into Shadow Once Per Day. It also bore a Plus Two Enhancement and was an Anarchic Weapon.

Then there was the Mageweaver's Guard, an Aba, or desert robe, that had been crafted by the Master Mageweaver Aliya Bint-Salah. Aliya had woven the Robe of fine gray silk and imbued it with protective power, all as a gift for her beloved, an Askar named Mahmoud Al-Hosni who was assigned to a Mamluk Fleet being sent to attack the Corsair Dominions in General and the City of Hawa in particular. That expedition was ill-fated, and the Mamluks and their Askar Footmen were slaughtered by the Corsairs and their Sorcerer Allies.

Mahmoud's ship was attacked by Corsairs working with Achmed Riah Al-Sahra. While the protective energies woven into the Mageweaver's Guard helped Mahmoud survive the blades and arrows of the corsairs, and even allowed him to survive smaller spells cast at him from Imad, who was still a mere apprentice at the time, it could not defend him against Imad's Master, Achmed, as Achmed's magic was simply too powerful for the robe to deal with. Imad claimed the robe for himself after the battle, which Achmed was all too happy to let him have, and bore it for the rest of his life.

The Mageweaver's Guard granted Damage Resistance Five against Physical Damage, similar to how Barbarians could shrug off damage from physical blows, but also granted Spell Resistance at the same level as that of an Adult Blue Dragon. It was quite a potent item, especially for those who could not wear armor normally.

Comparatively, the rest of the equipment was boring. Both Kenzo and Imad had Rings of Protection Plus Three, while Thorfinn had a suit of Mithril Chainmail Plus Two, a Keen Longsword of Icy Burst Plus Two in one hand a Ring of Protection Plus Three, an Amulet of Natural Armor Plus Three, a Helm of One Mighty Blow that added extra damage to a single attack per day that we were forced to dip into Scrolls to Identify, and everyone else only had Plus One Weapons and Armor.

In the end, we decided that I would take the Family Armor of Clan Kumato and a Ring of Protection Plus Three. Selima would take the Amulet of Natural Armor Plus Three and a Ring of Protection Plus Three, Janessa would take the Mageweaver's Guard and the Onyx Dagger, and Shavariel would take a Ring of Protection Plus Three and the Helm of One Mighty Blow. Everything else went into the Bags of Holding for Later Sale.

By the time we were done here, the sun had finally fully risen, and we were eager to see just what exactly this cargo was that Rognvaldr's Crew had been so eager to load up. It must be pretty lucrative if Thorkell was trying to stall in order to get it all squared away, after all.

When we actually boarded the Hammerdown to find out, I almost wished that we hadn't. . .

XXXX

"That's the Symbol of the Zhentarim." I frowned, glaring at the crates stacked in a row.

We'd boarded the Hammerdown after divvying up the loot from the battle. The Amnian Sloop had a relatively small cargo hold, more of a cargo compartment, really. I wasn't totally surprised about that, given how small the below-decks portion of the ship was. I had been hoping for something like looted gold or gems. Something that was easily spendable with no real way to tell ownership. It was a reasonable assumption, given what we'd known. Men had done dumber things for gold, after all.

Hell, even a batch of slaves could have been easily dealt with. We'd more than make enough money to help set them up in Jannathstaad from the sale of some of the equipment of Rognvaldr's crew. Plus, slaves largely took care of themselves once you freed them and gave them some starting cash. They were people after all. This, though, this was bad.

"Does that mean something?" Asked Shavariel.

"You know, sometimes I forget you're new to the surface. Yeah, it means something." Answered Janessa.

"The Zhentarim are a rather large organization devoted to the Dark Gods Cyric and Bane. To further their own ends, they run all sorts of contraband and illicit activities in multiple locations throughout Faerun." Informed Selima.

"Plus, they have plenty of Wizards and Sorcerers they can call on to scry for lost cargo. That could be a problem for us." I grumbled.

"Well, to be fair, we don't know exactly where Rognvaldr got these crates. He could have stolen it from a Zhentarim Ship." Hedged Janessa.

"Would that matter?" Questioned Shavariel.

"Probably not. Our best bet is to get rid of whatever is in these as swiftly as possible, in the hopes that if the Zhentarim come looking for their lost cargo, they go chasing someone else." Insisted Selima.

"What do you think is in these?" Queried Janessa.

"Why does that matter?" I asked.

"Indeed. It sounds like a problem. Problems are for solving." Concurred Shavariel.

"We can solve this problem efficiently by getting rid of the crates." Pressed Selima.

"How?" Demanded Janessa.

"We do what Rognvaldr did with his cache. We Bury them. Somewhere away from Jannathstaad." I offered.

"Agreed. No need to get the locals mixed up in this. However, I was led to believe that there is usually some form of logbook aboard surface ships. Checking that might be a good idea, just in case these Zhentarim dealt with Rognvaldr instead of Rognvaldr having stolen these crates." Added Shavariel.

"That isn't always the case if the ship is a smuggler or pirate ship like this one. Checking couldn't hurt, though." I shrugged.

Twenty minutes later, a search of the small Cabin that Rognvaldr kept aboard turned up a Captain's Log hidden in a false bottom of his sea chest. It turned out that he did indeed deal with a Zhentarim Agent, a man named Kharne whose cover was that of a Sellsword based in Nashkel near Baldur's Gate. Kharne had gotten Rognvaldr to agree to take this cargo of Combat Drugs to Caer Jannath, where the Umberlants there would take ownership in exchange for a ludicrous amount of gold.

Supposedly, these crates contained a mix of Haunspeir, Silkroot, Kammarth, Dragonskin, and Alinduth. All these could be used to enhance the user's capabilities in combat, enhancing the reflexes, killing pain, toughening skin, and so on, but all of them were very easy to overdose on and carried various side effects to boot. However, if the Umberlants were using them on their own forces, it was more likely that the forces they were using them on were ones they just didn't care if they survived the fight or not. Amping up cannon fodder and the like.

That could only mean that the Umberlants weren't going to be satisfied with Caer Jannath and Cadfael Island. They were planning on expanding to the rest of the archipelago. I would need to get my audience with Magnus Ullrsson sooner rather than later because I very much doubted that time was on my side. First, though, we needed to get rid of these crates of drugs. We spent the morning lugging them to the Ødestrand. Then we crashed aboard our new berths on the Hammerdown.

When we woke, we would look into getting that audience further. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. It turns out that the Umberlants aren't the only ones up to shenanigans. The Zhentarim are also involved. Intrigues abound and it seems like the Umberlants are prepping for a major offensive. Robar is gonna need to get Magnus Ullrsson on board and fast before something happens with that.

A note for those of you who have no clue what any of this Kara-Tur or Zakharan Stuff is, back in the day, the Forgotten Realms Setting was actually more than just a Fantasy version of Europe. It had Fantasy East Asia, Fantasy Arabia, Fantasy Africa, and even Fantasy Mesoamerica as well in the forms of Kara-Tur, Zakhara, Chult, and Maztica respectively. Then Hasbro decided to completely fuck over anything that made various settings unique in favor of simplification and uniformity. Chult still exists, sort of, and fifth edition brought back Maztica in a half-assed way, but Kara-Tur and Zakhara are still gone for some reason.

As I'm using Three-point-five Rules and Second Edition Lore, you can expect more of these non-standard, old-school locations and things to be mentioned over the course of the fic.

At any rate, the next chapter will be meeting with a representative of Magnus Ullrsson as part of getting Jannathstaad ready to fight the Umberlants.

Stay tuned. . .