Saltwater Tears Session 4

After laying anchor in the Port of Xlendi, of the Maltese Island Gozo, the crew of the HMS Unicorn collected their pay from the ship’s purser and prepared for shore leave.  The rest of the Convoy (the Elminster and several merchant vessels) was already in port ready to leave the next morning. Otterman thief Edward/Steven enlisted the aid of halfling thief/child impersonator Terry Grey, and porcupineman sailor Zydeco with a mysterious errand on the island. 

Directed by the boatswain, Edward took the disguised letters to the shipping office of Dr. Mercible Sims. The otterman and the porcupineman entered the office of Sims, a sheepdogman, while Terry waited in the front room with Sim’s assistant, a kindly older woman. Sims asked for the letters and read them. The letters in Arabic were not addressed, but they gave reports of plans to coordinate attacks with several old corsair captains. The letters in Cyrillic were addressed to Zmaj, and gave instructions on how to blackmail and entice Corsair captains to work for the Czarina’s interests. The three realized the letter’s implications, and discussed how to bring the Russian double agent to justice. 

Edward remained cagey, realizing he had seen Sim’s assistant before in a pirate ship he had boarded only a few days before: the woman they found and brought aboard the unicorn. He asked Sim’s probing questions then began questioning the Sheepdog Man about his trust for his assistant.

Sim’s excused Zydeco from the room, and connected the dots for the otterman. He explained that, if he was sent here to deal with spies, he should be prepared to see spies. Catching on, Edward thanked him for his time and left ready to catch a traitor. 

The three investigators bent and dented the letter bearing humidor, so that it was impossible to open without breaking, and returned it to the boatswain. Hoping to smoke out the spy, the boatswain told the ship about a found humidor.

With the task safely in the hands of the boatswain, Terry thoroughly searched Gozo for fishing supplies, and Edward and Zydeco got in a barfight. Edward was knocked unconscious almost immediately, but Zydeco’s quills sent the toughs running. The porcupine man searched an unconscious gnome sailor, and found a strange map of a castle, a letter from the Gnome’s Cousin Henry, and a counterfeit 20 pound note. After using the fake note to buy armor, Zydeco, Edward, and Terry returned to the Unicorn. The Boatswain met them with news; the ships Surgeon, Tobbins, had claimed the Humidor.

The Convoy left Gozo and sailed east. A day out of Malta, two explosions shook the Unicorn, one destroyed her rudder and another damaged her engines. A voice cried out, “Sails Ho”, as eight ships headed straight for the convoy.