Chapter 1 - Session 1

First Steps in The Capitol and The Crow's Nest Beckons

Events and Actions

The session opened with the party's six members each beginning in different corners of The Capitol, navigating individual crises that would bring them together at a cliffside tavern before nightfall.

Noddy had been surviving in the ruins of Cliff Town for some time, sealed inside by guards who patrolled the old entrances. Watching one particular gate where the two guards had grown slack, he sent Pocket aloft to listen in. The bird overheard the relief pair persuading the outgoing guards to abandon their post for a nearby tavern that, oddly, still had beer to offer; grumbling about the unfairness of it, the two who should have taken up the watch went along anyway, and all four walked off together, leaving the gate unattended. Noddy slipped out behind them and shadowed them down the narrow cliff road, hemmed in on one side by sheer rock and on the other by a steep drop to the sea. He lost them when they rounded a bend and seemed to vanish; searching for a way up, he sent Pocket to scout a balcony carved into the cliff face above a door marked with a rough painting of a masked figure on a platform holding a telescope — through the bird's eyes he glimpsed two finely dressed women talking in a surprisingly comfortable room of wood panelling, chairs, and tables. Below, the doorway turned out to be The Crow's Nest. Noddy scouted further toward the main gate into the city proper, found it heavily guarded, and turned back; on the way, he had to scramble up the cliff face above the tavern door to let a returning pair of guards pass beneath him unseen. When Burlyman came outside to dispose of a basin of slops, Noddy appeared, took the basin from him, emptied it over the cliff edge, and gave it a polish. Burlyman, apparently not surprised, invited him inside.

Cosimo Cellini Scivio had spent the day on the run in High Town after a heavy stone fell from his crane and struck a benefactor of the church who had come to the construction site to collect a gambling debt. He rubbed dirt into his face and worked his way into a group of workers loading carts, trying to pass as one of them, but the crew turned out not to be heading for the gate. Switching plans, he hid in one of the carts driven by a mysterious old woman. She discovered him tucked among the goods but did not raise the alarm; when she pressed him for an explanation, he charmed his way clear by claiming he was fleeing the brothers of a young lady who'd grown too smitten with him. Amused, she drove at a rattling pace along the precarious cliff road and deposited him at The Crow's Nest.

Werner De Rendal arrived by ship from the north — a small sloop carrying whale oil cargo, the larger vessels having all been pressed into other service — with letters of introduction and a handful of silver. The harbor was busier than any he had seen: warships rode at anchor carrying more cannon and swivel guns than he judged normal, a fortress commanded the cliff above a natural, spiral-shaped harbor, and tent encampments spread along the shore beyond the regular dockside. Navigating from the docks toward High Town, he attracted the attention of a small pack of young ruffians in Low Town and picked up a horseshoe from the cobbles as an improvised weapon. He shook the gang by running close to groups of Town Watch and then presented his papers at the High Town gate with as much confidence as he could muster. A guard took the papers away to consult a large ledger and did not return them; instead, a guard seized him, accused his family of owing an unpaid debt to the crown, and warned, ominously, that such debts could be settled in slavery, before threatening him with prison. A commotion caused by a runaway cart crashing into the gate created a moment of chaos, which Werner used to scramble over the gate into High Town, not knowing whether to believe the guard's warning. Once inside, he tried a cheese shop, asking after his father's factor, Lawrence de Rabia; a wealthy servant there — trailed by two silent foreign attendants carrying his purchases, whom Werner suspected might be enslaved — brushed him off with open contempt, mockingly comparing him to visiting royalty and refusing to credit his claim to noble blood. A second shopkeeper reacted little better, growing hostile once it was clear Werner had no papers to back up his name. Soldiers who recognized him from the earlier gate incident arrested him and threw him into a cell.

Knick Nab was working the Low Town marketplace for Nigfa when a cart collision with an apple stall created perfect chaos. He cut two purses from a wealthy merchant and walked away cleanly, for once weighing whether to hand the take over to Nigfa or disappear. The old woman whose cart had caused the commotion was still there sorting out the damage; Knick Nab helped her put things right, and she remarked, not quite joking, that the number of young lads in trouble she seemed to keep running into that evening was extraordinary. She offered him a ride somewhere safe; he showed her a single bronze coin, and she told him he could probably afford it well enough before driving him directly to The Crow's Nest.

Riu arrived in The Capitol and made straight for the docks, where he talked a sailor down to a single silver for a fresh squid — his third, after the previous two failed to survive, and so named Squidly III — then checked her over for damage until satisfied she was whole. At the customs building he asked for directions to High Town and a place to stay for the night. A weathered official told him the city was full to bursting with refugees fleeing up and down the coast and extra sailors besides, and that every inn was full because of the war — but there was an old place on the cliff road, tucked into the rock, that might have space. Riu followed the directions, found the door with the painted sign of the crow's nest, and walked in.

Mani had been attending the Ropolos School in Low Town — the only student there of common birth. Master Gandito had interviewed him personally, seen enough promise to overlook his lack of noble blood, and taken him on, but the other students never let him forget he didn't belong. That friction finally boiled over with a persistent noble classmate, and a duel was arranged on the cliff road near the ruins — away from the school and from Master Gandito, who had forbidden such things, and, as it happened, along the same stretch of cliff road that runs past The Crow's Nest. Mani lost, taking a dueling scar in the process, and his opponent's friends began urging him to finish the job and throw Mani off the cliff before the Town Watch arrived and put a stop to it. The noble students saw to it that all blame fell on Mani; he was arrested and thrown into a cell, where he found Werner — whose fine clothes, Mani noticed, incorporated an odd, non-traditional material that turned out to be sealskin — and struck up an acquaintance. Working a newly posted guard with a fabricated story — that Werner was a fellow student of the noble de Marel family who had simply had too much wine the night before — and a well-turned charm, Mani secured a promise that the man would be on duty when the two of them were brought outside for transfer, in exchange for a reward from the de Marel estate. A search before the transfer turned up one hidden stash of two silver, which the guards confiscated, but missed a second stash Mani had kept separately. As a cart driven by the old woman came racing past, Mani grabbed Werner and they jumped; a guard behind them opened fire with a musket, but the shot went wide. Werner could not get fully into the cart and was dragged on his feet for a stretch, losing the remaining leather from his boots, before Mani pulled him aboard. The cart deposited both of them at The Crow's Nest.

Inside the tavern, the six arrived in a ragged sequence rather than all at once, each striking a private bargain with Burlyman before the others appeared. Cosimo, still shaken, greeted the innkeeper and his wife with a blessing in the manner of the Divinity of Two — "good mother, good father" — and asked not only for a room but for passage out of the city on a ship, in whatever direction one might be found. Werner, having eaten nothing in days, begged for food and drink and spoke half-formed of restoring his family's fortunes. Even before anyone had properly explained themselves, Burlyman could be overheard murmuring to someone unseen, weighing aloud whether one of the newcomers was "small enough" for a task he had in mind. Food — a bowl of gruel — appeared on the counter and then vanished before anyone could reach it, or reappeared elsewhere when someone turned away; Burlyman and his wife seemed to regard none of it as remarkable. A table that had been blocking a doorway seemed to have moved on its own. In exchange for food and lodging — and, for Knick Nab, the promise of a proper meal rather than gruel — Burlyman asked the party to clear a vermin problem in the cellar. He came out from behind the bar with a collection of implements — a large mallet, a butcher's knife, a cleaver, a staff, a giant wooden spoon, and two kitchen knives — and told them to take what they wanted. Torches were lit and the party prepared to descend.

NPCs & Creatures

Pocket — Noddy's seagull familiar. Sent aloft to eavesdrop on the guards at the Cliff Town gate, providing Noddy the intelligence he needed to slip out.
Squidly III — Riu's squid, purchased fresh off a boat at the docks; his third, the previous two having failed to survive.
Burlyman — proprietor of The Crow's Nest; a large former sailor, now running a tavern fallen on hard times. Recruited the party to deal with vermin in the cellar in exchange for food and lodging. Before anyone had spoken to him, he was overheard murmuring to someone unseen, apparently debating whether one of the new arrivals was "small enough" for the job.
Burlyman's wife — manages the kitchens. The gruel she brought out kept vanishing before anyone could eat it.
The mysterious old woman — drove a horse cart through the city, bringing Cosimo, Knick Nab, and later Mani and Werner to The Crow's Nest. Her appearances at just the right moment for multiple characters in a single evening were not coincidental.
Nigfa — Knick Nab's underworld employer; a lean, skeletal man in his fifties who runs a gang of young pickpockets out of Low Town. Mentioned but not encountered directly.
Stick Stab — a knife specialist in Nigfa's gang; older than Knick Nab, vicious with a blade, and Nigfa's clear favourite. Mentioned but not encountered directly.
Master Gandito — headmaster (or a senior master) of the Ropolos School; personally interviewed and admitted Mani despite his common birth, and forbade dueling among students. Mentioned but not encountered directly.

Locations

The Capitol — the main city, divided by cliff and class.
Cliff Town — the ruined district where Noddy has been surviving; sealed by guards, its collapse still unexplained.
Low Town — the lower district, closer to the sea; home to the docks, markets, and Mani's school.
High Town — the upper, more affluent district; where Werner was trying to find his father's factor.
The Docks — arrival point for Riu and Werner; teeming with wartime activity. The harbor's natural spiral shape forms a well-protected cove overlooked by a fortress on the cliff above; warships anchored there carried more cannon and swivel guns than seemed usual, and tent encampments spread along the shore beyond the regular port facilities.
The Ropolos School — Mani's boarding school in Low Town, recently opened to the merchant class.
The Crow's Nest — a tavern carved into the cliff face on the road between High Town and the Cliff Town ruins, the same stretch of road where Mani's duel took place earlier that day. Entry through a stout wooden door set directly into the rock face, with a painted sign showing a masked figure on a platform holding a telescope. Above the door, a balcony carved into the rock opens onto a surprisingly comfortable room of wood panelling, chairs, and tables — Noddy, scouting with Pocket, glimpsed two finely dressed women talking there. Once frequented by nobles and sailors alike; now nearly empty. Its common sleeping room holds roughly ten simple cots with straw mattresses — Burlyman said it was once favoured by commoners and nobles alike, though not for years. Strange things happen here: food appears and disappears, objects move without explanation.
Cellar — beneath the tavern, inaccessible due to the vermin problem Burlyman wants dealt with.

Conflicts

Noddy evading guards as he slipped out of Cliff Town.
Cosimo escaping arrest after the death at the construction site in High Town.
Werner evading Low Town ruffians and later being arrested by soldiers in High Town.
Knick Nab's successful double-purse lift in the Low Town marketplace.
Mani's duel with the noble classmate — Mani was defeated and received a dueling scar, and his opponent's friends pushed to have him thrown from the cliff before the Town Watch intervened.
The prisoner transfer escape — Mani and Werner jumped a moving cart under musket fire from a guard, the shot going wide, with Werner dragged on foot for part of it before getting aboard.

Learnings and Discussions

The Capitol is at war, which has led to overcrowded conditions, heightened security at every gate, heavy guard presence in High Town, and soldiers in the streets well beyond what peacetime would require. The harbor shows it too: warships riding at anchor carry more cannon than normal, and tent encampments have sprung up along the shore beyond the regular docks.
The Northern Navy, long considered superior, is facing unexpected difficulties. Rumours of battles going badly, of spectacular seamanship by the Southern fleet, have put the city on edge.
Without papers, Werner's name alone is not enough to open doors — in fact, announcing himself as a noble without documentation attracted suspicion rather than deference.
When he was first stopped at the High Town gate, a guard claimed the de Rendal family owes an unpaid debt to the crown and warned that such debts could be settled in slavery. Werner doesn't know whether to believe it.
High Town's wealthy keep foreign attendants who may not be free — the servant who brushed off Werner at the cheese shop was trailed by two silent island attendants carrying his goods, lending uncomfortable weight to the gate guard's earlier threat.
Mani is the only student of common birth at the Ropolos School, admitted on Master Gandito's personal judgment; the noble students have resented him for it ever since.
The Crow's Nest has unusual properties: food appears and disappears, objects move. Burlyman and his wife seem to regard this as unremarkable.
The party's first shared task is to clear the cellar vermin, in exchange for which Burlyman is offering better food and rooms.

Items Gained

A horseshoe, found in the Low Town cobbles (Werner).
Three gold pieces in silver and bronze coin across two purses, stolen from a merchant (Knick Nab).
Squidly III, a live squid purchased at the docks (Riu).
Kitchen implements distributed by Burlyman: a large mallet, a butcher's knife, a cleaver, a staff, a giant wooden spoon, and two kitchen knives (various party members).
Torches (various party members).

Items Lost

Werner's papers of introduction — taken by the High Town gate guard and never returned.
Werner's boots — the soles worn away to nothing during the cart escape.
Mani's school books, mandolin, and other personal effects — presumably confiscated or left behind at the Ropolos School following his arrest.
Two silver, found in a hidden pocket and confiscated from Mani during a jail search before the prisoner transfer (a second stash of five silver, hidden separately, went undiscovered).