Session 01 — The Stranger at the Fountain#

Duskgrain, Day 23, Year 700AG

The Party#

Vail Duskryn — Aelfaen Sorcerer (Primal Origin), Thresholdborne

Vail arrived in Bridgeport just a day ago. Not for any particular reason — just because it was the next place that made sense. Cities like this always have work for someone who pays attention, and Vail has learned to follow that kind of work wherever it leads. Bridgeport is large, busy, constantly shifting — exactly the kind of place where no one questions a new face and nothing stays still for long. She hasn’t taken any work yet. She’s still watching. “I’ll be at the Strangled Goat if anyone’s looking…”

Ender Dewclaw — Katari/Simiah Ranger (Wayfinder), Wildborne

The salt air of Bridgeport has a way of finding you, even miles inland. For Ender Dewclaw, that scent usually meant memories of the dizzying heights and shimmering vistas of Seaglass Tower. In his youth, Ender wasn’t just a lookout — he was the Tower’s living heartbeat. While others saw a mere horizon, Ender saw the subtle shift in a sail’s tilt or the unnatural ripple in the waters of Pell’s Harbor three miles out. His preternatural awareness made him a legend among the merchants and a ghost to the smugglers. But times change. The Tower is now a rigid post for the city militia — men who spend more time polishing their breastplates than actually watching the waves. A formal summons bearing the seal of Bridgeport suggests that the “by-the-book” approach has failed. Returning to this city is bittersweet. Why he left remains a secret that will not be told.

Axis Morcawn — Faerie Guardian (Vengeance), Highborne

The amount of time that has passed is still a little confusing for Axis Morcawn. Well, he knows time has passed — it gets lighter during the day and darker at night. From what he remembers, that cycle has occurred four times since waking up in what he thought, at the time, was a prison cell. After being set free, he’s spent most of his time wandering the inns and taverns and along the narrow alleyways trying to regain his memory. With no coin or anything to his name, he has taken refuge in some of those alleyways. Seated at the steps of the Shrine of Humble Virtue, he heard whispers and muted arguments of the passersby which triggered a deep memory. He’s never been here but he knows the Shrine. The realization startled him: How did he arrive in the Racket District of Bridgeport, many miles from his home in Dalraven? And where is the person who freed him?

Bo Bo — Simiah Rogue (Nightwalker), Seaborne

Though far removed from the tropical island paradise she was born and raised on, Algar is the only other land she has called “home” since she naively brought poachers to her family’s secret hideaway — which resulted in their capture. She has returned after four years of crew service on a private vessel. Turns out they were pirates, and she learned some interesting skills (and questionable morals) whilst among them. She also got a cool hat with a large purple feather. Now that she is back in Bridgeport, she has returned to the Racket District to reconnect with old friends, particularly the others who used to play at evading the city guards. She heads today to the Shrine of Humble Virtue to pay her respects, look for these old friends, and — as always — keep an ear out for any hint of a thread to pull on finding her family.

Alden Nightshade — Human Warlock (Pact of the Wrathful), Freeborne

A past shrouded in mystery.

What Happened#

The party came together in pieces — crossing paths in the streets, markets, and alleyways of Bridgeport before gravitating, as people tend to do, toward Saltstone Square.

The night sky above Bridgeport told its own story. Strianus — the crater-scarred moon that drives the physical tides — was full, its pale cold light unusually prominent. The harbor was visibly affected, the tide higher than normal. Experienced dockhands noted it without comment. Myonis, the copper moon, was new and completely dark — absent from the sky entirely. Lustre itself was a waning crescent, faint and diminished. Bridgeport on the night of Duskgrain Day 23 was lit by a single cold moon on an otherwise dark sky. The famous Lustre-light that silvers the coastlines was nowhere to be seen.

The Stranger at the Fountain#

At the center of the square, crouched beside the fountain and examining its stonework, was a man who didn’t quite belong. Tall, well-dressed in a long duster coat with good boots, constantly fiddling with what appeared to be a pocket watch on a chain. He was speaking to two young girls — a human and a gnome, early teens — who moved through the square with the easy confidence of people who belonged there entirely.

The man, when he finally stood, was clearly interested in the stone beneath the fountain.

“This stone is older than the fountain. Significantly older. Someone built the fountain around it rather than replacing it. Which means whoever put the fountain here knew the stone mattered, even if they didn’t know why.”

The dark-haired human girl looked at him the way she looked at everyone — like she was deciding whether they were worth the next thirty seconds of her time.

“It’s a fountain. People put fountains where there’s already stone because that’s where the ground holds.”

“Yes,” he said, in a tone that suggested he found this interesting rather than conceding the point. “That’s exactly right. The ground holds here. Has it always held here? Even when the streets around it have been repaved three times?”

She didn’t answer. Which was an answer.

He stood, checked his device briefly — whatever he saw produced a small sound, not quite satisfaction, not quite concern — and asked about a nearby inn.

Vail used her Liminal Awareness: something beneath where she was standing — not directly below, but close — felt unnatural. And this man was definitely out of place.

The Strangled Goat#

The party steered the stranger — who gave his name as Kiville — toward the Strangled Goat, taking the last empty table. His reactions to seeing a simiah, a katari, and a faerie in the same room were genuine enough to be unsettling — not rude, not deceptive, just the response of someone who had genuinely never encountered such people before. His answers to the party’s questions were polite, unhelpful, and deeply odd. His pocket watch, he explained, helped him keep track of his time — not the time. Bo Bo caught that distinction. Nobody quite knew what to do with it.

Vail danced on the table. This is apparently something she does.

Thalia, their waitress, got them a round and pointed anyone looking for work toward Velra, the Adventurer’s Guild representative working from one of the nooks near the main entrance.

The Guild Alcove#

Alden, Axis, and eventually Vail made their way to Velra’s table. None of the party had Guild credentials. Velra added their names to a prospects list — Guild membership requires a 25GP fee, a physical trial, a combat trial, and a written exam. The guildhall would be open in the morning.

Disappointed, the group returned to the main floor.

The Captain in the Corner#

Vail asked one more Liminal Awareness question: What is the most immediate danger here?

Her sense fixed on a man in the corner — a ship’s captain by his bearing, sitting with three others: a woman, a man, and a male ribbet, all with the look of sailors. No interaction occurred. But Vail noted the table. So did the GM.

Notes#

The party has not yet taken on any work
Guild certification is the immediate next step for most of the party
Kiville is currently staying at the Dragonline Lodge
The foundation stone beneath Saltstone Square’s fountain is older than the square itself — and the ground there holds in ways that apparently warrant attention
A ship’s captain in the corner of the Strangled Goat registered as the most immediate danger in the room