Our crew of the commandeered ship The Condor entered the pirate cove near Stormreach to discover that The Heartbreaker , the pirate ship on which Twitch was once a crewmember, was already anchored there. After shouted greetings--"Take what you want! Give nothing back!"--Twitch established a welcome from Lucinda “the Drunk,” current first mate, and The Heartbreaker 's other crew. Twitch handed over the companions' two merchant sailor captives and a portion of the goods--spices and produce of Xen'drik--from The Condor to Lucinda as tribute to Captain Redtusk of The Heartbreaker , initially oblivious to Lucinda's blanched reaction at the mention of Redtusk's name. As a pirate crewmember of The Heartbreaker recognized Envy, prompting a request for an autograph, Lucinda explained that the sahuagin had attacked The Heartbreaker, and--uncharacteristically for sahuagin--took Captain Redtusk captive after Redtusk surrendered and gave a trade of “joklok”
in the form of an amulet. The sahuagin took Redtusk back under the water with them, leaving Lucinda and the pirates of The Heartbreaker uneasy and uncertain of their next move. After some rest and Lucinda's pledge to guard The Condor while the companions went about their extraction mission, the companions went ashore in a canoe lent from The Heartbreaker . On shore, the group entered a dark forest filled with webs. When Twitch went to light some of the webs on fire, phase spiders appeared and attacked! The group fought back against the dangerous, dimension-shifting arachnids. After defeating the beasts, the group freed a still-living humanoid from a cocooned web sac to discover that it was the drow paladin, Sh’Nezz’tar, who was still unconscious and paralyzed from spider venom. Yipping recognized the drow and the group agreed to bring him along until he revived. Once Sh’Nezz’Tar woke up, he agreed to aid the group as a life debt. The group continued toward Stormreach but quickly encountered more trouble. Two trolls--one complaining that it was hungry, the other complaining it was not--blocked the group's path over a bridge traversing a deep river. Seeking to avoid conflict (and seeing that Yipping was much too small of a meal, and the trolls should really wait for his big brother, who was much bigger and fatter than him),* Sh’Nezz’Tar cast Dancing Lights to try to distract the beasts. It worked! The hungry troll chased the lights into the woods, while Sh'Nezz'Tar expertly persuaded the other troll to follow as the remainder of the group dashed across the bridge. Upon their return to Stormreach, the group made their way to the King’s Coin to contact Sondar. Sondar told the group that his superior had authorized only 750 gp each, but paid in full upfront and including Sh’Nezz’Tar. The group discussed briefly but agreed before going shopping and scouting the extraction location at the Dragon Inn in the Respite district. Yipping's expert artificer eyes noticed a cellar entrance to the inn, which Legion used to sneak in (avoiding an apparently preoccupied brew master) and then expertly pick the arcane lock guarding the entrance to the bar interior. With their apparent exit identified, the group divided: Legion and Sh'Nezz'Tar snuck into the cellar to guard the exit, while Envy, Lukar, Twitch, and Yipping entered the bar as Envy's entourage-- Envy and the Outcasts! Like the punk diva she is, Envy seized the stage and began a world-class performance on violin and electric lute, drawing a huge crowd. Around the appointed time, a female dwarf matching the description Sondar had provided entered the bar, ordered the specified drink, and spoke the code words. Lukar and Twitch contacted the target, Lady Alna, at the bar, and, speaking obliquely, confirmed that they were there to extract her. Given the signal, Envy used her magical music to Command a person in the crowd to start a fight. As the crowded room erupted into chaos, the previously invisible Duergar Soulblade guards appeared. However, the group's plan had succeeded--one duergar who had grown to a huge size had difficulty making his way through the crowd to where the group had planned their exit, while another at the bar swung at but missed Twitch and Twitch's duplicate. In the ensuing chaos and confusion, the group made good their escape through the cellar and out into the streets of Respite.
Outside the Dragon Inn, the last remaining duergar had exited the front of the bar and was calling for ogre
backup. Now, the group must make its way with Lady Alna out of the gates of the Respite section of town and then proceed across Stormreach via streets and The Rigging to the western gates, past the harbor, to reach their ship in the
pirate cove! * A portrayal of Yipping and his two kobold brothers crossing the troll bridge
