Chapter 11

Jannathstaad was a fairly standard Northlander Settlement, as far as these things went. Much of the settlement was built of the same wooden, stave construction as places you'd see dotted around the various ports of the Moonshaes, Rhuathym, or even some places on the Nelanther Isles. The Docks jutted out into the natural harbor of the Fjord of Tearheim and were alive with all sorts of trade, both reputable and decidedly not.

Merchants unloaded goods to be legally traded on the more reputable main street alongside smugglers looking to make a quick profit off illicit cargo and raiders seeking to sell off plunder. At the same time, taverns crowded the wharves next to brothels and gambling dens and everywhere you looked you could find armed men seeking a chance to win fortune and glory on some adventure. Jannathsdaad truly was a city of adventure, for a given value of the word city.

In actuality, Jannathstaad was little more than a large town, and only barely at that. It wasn't a match for any of the great cities of the Sword Coast such as Waterdeep, Luskan, Neverwinter, or Baldur's Gate. It was, however, the closest thing to a City of Adventure you would find in the Archipelago. Caer Jannath had largely been more peaceable and was lost to anyone who wasn't currently a worshipper of Umberlee to boot, while Heartharbor was almost entirely made up of Halflings, and thus tended to be less dangerous by default.

As I stepped off the Speedy Drake, however, I realized that this was it. Between the adventurers looking for a chance at glory and the mercenaries looking for profit, this was a place where the fate of the Archipelago would be determined. Gazing off at the Fortress where the Jarl resided, perched on a crag overlooking the Main Street, I frowned as my gaze was drawn down to the shore of the fjord. There, on a rocky beach uncovered by the piers of the docks, with a clear path to the Fortress, was a blue-painted Temple Hall. The Wavehall of Umberlee in Jannathstaad. I suddenly recalled that Jarl Ullr Finehair was a devotee of the Bitch Queen. This was going to be more difficult than I thought.

First things first, however. We had to offload the loot from the Keloss Barony. This, it turned out, was only partially easily done, even in a town such as Jannathstaad, where smugglers thrived and black markets operated more or less with impunity. It was the overwhelming amount of Entirely Mundane Equipment that was posing the most difficulty to offload. It seemed there wasn't too much call for seventy-two complete sets of Tridents, Sharkskin Leather Armor, and Tortoiseshell Light Shields.

The Speedy Drake wound up staying in port longer than Cap'n Bernardo had planned just to sell it all off, four days instead of one. Thankfully, we managed to sell most of it off in ten separate batches, along with the more valuable items. Most of the Batches went to various more reputable merchants who'd put into port to trade on the way between Baldur's Gate and the Moonshaes, selling to Amnians, Baldurians, Calimshites, and in one case a Thetyrian Merchant. These batches tended to sell for between seven to eight thousand or so Danter a piece, though, which was less than I'd hoped to get.

The last batch, however, went to a shady Half-Orc Nelanther Smuggler going by the Alias of Captain Half-Tusk. His skin was a shade of yellowish-green, though his teeth were barely more prominent than a normal human's, however, his facial features and skin color gave away his Orcish Heritage right away. Of course, there was also his equipment marking him out as a cut above the average smuggler. An Enchanted Leather Buff Coat covered his torso, acting as a suit of Nimble Leather Armor Plus One, while his Bracers were also magical, though I couldn't identify their properties. He bore a pair of Slightly Magical Plus One Daggers as well, along with a Ring of Protection Plus One and an Amulet of Natural Armor Plus One.

He seemed to recognize us as a cut above the other raiders looking to sell plunder as well because he gave us a negotiable price if we'd tell him how we came across the lot. That had me using my bardic skills as a storyteller to do so. I began to strum my Fochluchan Bandore as I opened the story, injecting a bit of showmanship into the proceedings.

"Harken well as I spin you a tale, of the beasts of the depths and their foul ambitions. How the Children of Sekolah, led by their Baron Keloss, sought to steal from those who sail above the waves, and how that caught the attention of warriors who were best left undisturbed. This is a tale of the Hubris of the Shark Men, the righteous vengeance inflicted upon them at our hands, and the glory and loot won in the process. Listen well, as I tell you the Tale of the Doom that Came to Keloss." I began, with dramatic flare.

This, it seemed drew a bit of a crowd, as Bards tend to do. I could tell that by the end of the story, word of the destruction of the Keloss Barony at our hands would have spread, which was both a good and bad thing. Good because I wanted to get a meeting with Ullr Magnusson, the heir apparent to the Jarl who was no friend of the Umberlants. Bad because the Umberlants would know that we had arrived, though I wasn't sure if they would connect the dots and figure out that my group was opposed to their plots.

Regardless, by the time the story was over, Captain Half-Tusk grinned and said, "That was one Hell of a tale. If even half of it's true, then you're as canny a warrior as you are a Bard."

"Was it good enough to merit a good price for our loot?" I questioned.

"Aye. I'll take the lot of what you've got there off your hands for ten thousand Danter." Informed Captain Half-Tusk.

"Full price? That's generous of you." Spoke up Janessa.

"Indeed, the other Landwalker Merchants we have dealt with attempted to buy at somewhat less than that." Pointed out Shavariel.

"I'm not those merchants." Snorted Captain Half-Tusk.

"No, but that does beg the question what the catch is in all this?" Frowned Selima.

"Where's the trust these days?" Groaned Captain Half-Tusk, theatrically.

"You and I both know that such things are a precious commodity out here." I intoned.

"You're not wrong. The catch is that I happen to be in town on business. Potentially dangerous business where the transaction I'm here to undertake could go completely tits-up. You never know how things will go with Ironhand Rognvaldr and his group." Admitted Captain Half-Tusk.

The name Ironhand Rognvaldr did actually ring a bell, thanks to my Local Knowledge Skills. He was a Raider sailing out of Jannathstaad known for his immense strength, his weapon, an enchanted two-handed Maul, and the fact that his temper ran hotly enough that you never quite knew what would set him off. An innocuous comment to you might be taken as a deadly insult by Rognvaldr and you would swiftly find yourself being forced to defend yourself from his onslaught.

"I take it this means you want us as security?" Queried Janessa.

"Yes, it would definitely help ease my mind. Besides, if Rognvaldr should attack, I'd give you and yours first pick of any loot in the aftermath of the fighting as a bonus. How does that sound?" Affirmed Captain Half-Tusk.

"We don't even know your actual name, yet you want us to fight beside you?" Demanded Shavariel.

"That's the wrong way to think of it. Think of it more like a bodyguard contract." Shrugged Captain Half-Tusk.

"That does seem like how things tend to be done here." Huffed Selima.

"One thing, though. I already paid for full price with my story, that was the initial deal. If you want us to bodyguard you, you'll have to offer us more, otherwise, we can walk right now and leave you to your meeting. There are other smugglers in Jannathstaad, after all." I insisted.

"What if I were to tell you I knew of the location of a buried cache of treasure?" Asked Captain Half-Tusk.

"Go on." I prodded.

"I didn't walk into dealings with Ironhand Rognvaldr blind, I did a bit of research beforehand. I know where a few of his emergency stashes of plundered coin and valuables are. I'll give you the location of one of them if you help me." Offered Captain Half-Tusk.

"Buried Pirate Treasure?" Questioned Janessa.

"Indeed. Are we truly to believe this?" Queried Shavariel.

"It's actually more common than you would think. The Libraries of Deneir record several instances of such practices. The stories had to come from somewhere, after all." Shrugged Selima.

"Still, it sounds like he's making it up. What do you think?" Asked Janessa.

For a few moments, I studied Captain Half-Tusk, scrutinizing his body language and facial expressions. There was an underlying tension there, but it didn't seem to me like it had anything to do with us and more to do with meeting Ironhand Rognvaldr. Honestly, even if the treasure cache thing was fake, it was probable that Rognvaldr wasn't going to like what Captain Half-Tusk had to say about his order, which just meant that we would be free to kill Rognvaldr and his crew when they attacked us, which would net us his ship, the Amnian Sloop Hammerdown, which he had stolen from a Drydock in Amn during one of his more famous exploits. I made my decision based on that. A ship was likely going to be worth more than any buried hoard of coins and gems, after all.

"I say we do it." I nodded.

"Excellent! Meet me tonight no later than Seven Bells this evening at the Tipsy Pseudodragon Inn on the Main Street. We'll proceed from there." Nodded Captain Half-Tusk.

And with that, we finished our transaction, offloading the remaining loot to Captain Half-Tusk's crew and picking up a bulging purse of ten thousand Amnian Danter that was actually more satchel than coinpurse. All told, this brought the total profit of the sacking of the Keloss Barony up to seventy-eight-thousand Amnian Danter from sales of loot. That was just a touch over three-fourths of the full sale price of our loot, but I supposed the Merchants had to make a profit somehow. Split eight ways between my party, Cap'n Bernardo, the Crew of the Speedy Drake, First Mate Orla, and the Refugees that came out to around nine-thousand-seven-hundred-fifty Danter per share.

 The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Cap'n Bernardo and the Speedy Drake put out to sea with the evening tide, hoping to make it to Heartharbor in just a few days, while the Refugees opted to go with them, seeing Heartharbor as an easier place to make a fresh start than Jannathstaad. I didn't blame them in the least for that decision. Jannathstaad was fairly rough, after all. However, I didn't doubt I'd see some of them again before all this was over, especially Cap'n Bernardo.

Regardless, Janessa, Shavariel, Selima, and I were now effectively stuck in Jannathstaad until we could meet with Ullr Magnusson and try to enlist his aid against the Umberlants in Caer Jannath. With that in mind, we had time to kill for a bit of sidequesting, like the arrangement we'd struck with Captain Half-Tusk. Besides, you never quite knew when the folks you'd helped out would have useful connections that could help you later on.

And so, as the bells of the evening watch chimed seven times, my group and I found ourselves making our way into the Tipsy Pseudodragon Inn, ready to begin our latest venture. Captain Half-Tusk and his mysterious business with Ironhand Rognvaldr would hopefully put us on the right path toward further progress, or at least profit.

Though we didn't know it yet, it would turn out that both of those would be on offer tonight. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we get our first look at Jannathstaad. It's rougher than Caer Jannath for sure, but being a port frequented by various Raiders, Smugglers, Mercenaries, and Adventurers will do that. It's not as rough as Luskan, mind you, but then few ports are,

Now, Robar and Company are going to help bodyguard Captain Half-Tusk, the Half-Orc Nelanther Smuggler, in exchange for furthering their reputation and making a bit of profit in the bargain. They need to meet with the Jarl's Heir Apparent to make progress on Lord Cadfael's Last Wish, and to get that meeting requires them to have a reputation. Ullr Magnusson isn't going to meet with just anyone, after all.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the sidequest with Captain Half-Tusk and Ironhand Rognvaldr.

Stay tuned. . .