¶ 📖 Session Notes
¶ ⚓ A Strike Disrupted
The Soots arrived on the bustling docks where Snax, Nitro, and Otto continued to support striking longshoremen, contributing to the strike fund and speaking with picketers. The moment was shattered when a massive explosion erupted from a nearby warehouse—The Red Drake. A burst of blue flame lit the sky before transitioning into a raging orange inferno. Panic spread as screams filled the air and workers fled the scene.
A figure, fully ablaze, staggered out of the warehouse and collapsed. Acting quickly, Snax attempted to smother the flames with his magical cloak, while Otto joined in using his own coat. Despite some difficulty, they managed to extinguish the fire and stabilize the man’s life-threatening burns.
¶ 🔥 Into the Fire
As chaos reigned, a mysterious man ran up, dropped a satchel full of clams, and sprinted into the burning warehouse. Though the motive was unclear, Snax followed him into the fire after learning the building might still contain survivors. Inside, the two worked together to find and rescue an unconscious worker, dodging falling beams and intense flames with sheer determination and a string of successful survival checks.
Meanwhile, Otto provided emergency care to the first victim, and Nitro began her one-orc bucket brigade, hurling barrels of water onto the roof to slow the fire’s spread. Her actions inspired a group of civilians to assist, forming a makeshift chain to aid in the effort.
¶ 💼 Ptarnex Dexarion Arrives
Amid the smoke and shouting, a gnomish man arrived with two ogre bodyguards and began yelling: Ptarnex Dexarion, owner of the Red Drake. Furious at the destruction, he immediately accused the clam-carrying man—Guyton, a known strike organizer—of causing the explosion. Otto stepped in, defending Guyton’s bravery and suggesting that perhaps they could help investigate.
Ptarnex agreed reluctantly, offering to connect them with his Scrivener, Josie, to discuss potential employment—so long as they dropped the act of heroism and got back to firefighting.
Nitro, unimpressed with Ptarnex’s arrogance and inaction, attempted to dump a bucket of water on him. She missed, and the ogres moved to confront her, but Otto once again de-escalated the situation, claiming it was an accident and reminding Ptarnex of the party’s value as investigators.
¶ 🦀 The Crab Flab and a New Lead
Once the fire was more or less under control and the injured were evacuated, the trio regrouped with a “crab flab” huddle and decided to follow up with Guyton, who had quietly slipped away after the rescue. He had told them to meet him at Lifter’s Mooring, a known gathering spot for dockworkers and union sympathizers.
¶ 🏚️ Meeting at Lifter’s Mooring
At Lifter’s Mooring, they found Guyton badly burned and resting shirtless on a makeshift bed, his left side scorched from the fire. Otto, drawing from his medical training, treated the wounds while the others stood guard and questioned him.
The conversation revealed much:
- Guyton was a shop steward and organizer behind the strike, long at odds with Ptarnex.
- The Red Drake warehouse had recently taken in Kadiran cargo, which often includes dangerous materials like gunpowder and oxidizers.
- Guyton had warned of poor safety practices for months.
- He believed the fire could’ve been due to negligence or intentional sabotage—possibly to blame the strikers and crush the movement.
- He had no protection and feared reprisals, but was determined to see justice done.
Though he didn’t know much about the customs agents Marge and Thomas Oswald, he agreed to keep in contact and share more if the party learned anything else. He asked them to be careful—what happened at the Red Drake might only be the beginning.
¶ 🔍 Threads in the Smoke
With the blaze dying down and tension still high, the party stands at the crossroads of two powerful factions:
- Ptarnex, the volatile warehouse owner with deep pockets and political connections.
- Guyton, a wounded but determined voice for the oppressed workers, holding pieces of a much larger puzzle.
Somewhere between them lies the truth behind the explosion—and perhaps much more.