The party accompanies Shalelu to the quaint town of Turtleback Ferry, named after the three giant tortoise shells are have been repurposed as ferries that will take people across Claybottom Lake and along the Skull River. Much of the town is indoors, since the rain continues to pour down onto the already-saturated ground. Deciding that warming themselves up would be prudent, the party heads to Bottom’s Up, the premier tavern in town, for a hot meal and a drink or two.
While in the tavern, the party overhears numerous rumors circulating, the most prominent ones dealing with the sinking of a pleasure barge known as the Paradise. Having sunk several weeks ago, there were no survivors. People’s reactions to the wreck are mixed; some are saddened by the dozens of deaths that occurred, while others see it as righteous judgment from above. In either case, the party’s interest is peaked by the mention of gambling and sins due to their experience with Xanesha and the Skinsaw Cult in Magnimar.
Other rumors included that a dragon’s fury was the cause of the earlier-than-expected torrential downpours, and that a witch might be causing them as some kind of revenge plot for actions taken against her years ago. Amongst the general chatter and din of the bar, a drunk man falls off his bench, revealing a small tattoo of the Sihedron rune on his ankle. Krask notices this and stalks the man to his home as he stumbles off into the night. Since they’re already checked in at the Turtle’s Parlor (a decidedly drab establishment run by a crotchety Scrooge), the party decides to confront the man to find out his connection to the Sihedron Rune.
Krask sneaks into the back door while the rest of the group begins talking to the home’s residents, a man named Arohn and his wife Felisia. The kobold is able to find a leaflet advertising the pleasure barge with the phrase, ‘Welcome to Paradise’. Through a clever use of the Message spell, Theo stays in contact with Krask while the party begins their interrogation. Barnaby uses his charm and grace to occupy Felisia while Theo engages his blunt social skills alongside Fobias. The man is reluctant to give anything up, but eventually caves to the thought of his wife finding out about his secret visits to the Paradise.
She finds out anyways.
Using the leaflet as leverage, the party uncovers that the Sihdreon rune tattoo was given to any of the Paradise’s frequenters as a sort of loyalty card. For a small fee, visitors could receive extra perks and benefits that ordinary guests didn’t have access to. Although Arohn couldn’t recall the name of the lady who ran the ship, he throws out several guesses – all of them beginning with the letter L.
Back outside, the party decides to thoroughly investigate the docks where the Paradise departed from in case there were any additional leads there. Once again, Krask’s perception skills are on point and he finds a stray box of high-quality poker chips belonging to the pleasure barge. The more important discovery, however, is the receipt inside detailing the shipment being delivered to someone named “L. Lucretia”. Perhaps they have stumbled across the mysterious owner’s identity?
Theo and Krask decide to call it a night, but Fobias and Barnaby return to the tavern for a nightcap. Barnaby turns his charm to ten and gains some information on Pinkeye, the giant gar that lurks at the bottom of Claybottom Lake. The beast is huge and monstrous, capable of completely devouring small boats and horses without much effort. Typically it is seen right around the area where the Paradise would usually anchor.
Fobias overhears two trappers discussing some strange lights that they saw on the west coast of Claybottom Lake, out in the Shimmerglens. They tend to appear right before dawn, and they have a certain ‘haunting’ quality to them that dissuades the trappers from hunting in those parts. They also reference the witch, as well as some superstitious talk about the dam at the mouth of the Skull River containing the souls lost in the waters of the area. Fobias also inquires about the Bloodless Labours, and it turns out the Garitran had been in town several weeks back. His roving band of mercenaries had taken some children away, and several townsfolk are keen on getting revenge for his hostility and despicable actions.
The next morning, Theo hands the party some cookies that he had baked the night before. They chew on them on their way to the Church of Erastil. In turns out that Maelin Shreed had sent out requests of assistance to the communities in the surrounding area, expressing his concern that there hadn’t been any word from Fort Rannick or visits from the Black Arrows recently. Magnimar was among the cities he contacted, but nobody has responded to this point. Since they’re planning on heading up that way anyways, the party agrees to let him know of anything they find out.
But first, the party is called to investigate the existence of the legendary Pinkeye and the sources of the haunting lights in the Shimmerglens. They board a turtleback ferry captained by a cigarillo-wielding rancher and set off for the middle of the lake.
Lacking any sort of fishing gear.
What is causing the mysterious lights in the Shimmerglens? Is a turtleback ferry really enough to dissuade a giant gar from engulfing the party? Will anybody decide to ‘Kiss the Witch’?