The Highest of Rollers¶

2023-Dec-23

• Rulkorf manages to pull Rowan away from the table games and the two head up to get some fresh air. They encounter Kleb on deck, who is very focused on watching the water
• The wards around the boat visibly flicker, which is a bit concerning. Kleb chats up some of the waitresses and inquires about the enchantments & safeguards. He loses patience very fast and walks away without getting any information
  • Growing increasingly desperate, Kleb ends up asking every waitress multiple times about the boat. He confirms that the boat has indeed sunk in the past, and that at least some (maybe all?) of the waitresses are ghosts
  • A lot of time has passed, and Rowan is passing liquor around to the guards on deck while Rulkorf took a power nap. Rowan finally learns that Kleb signed his name to the folding boat contract – he can’t read it but at least knows what he’s on the hook for (mostly)
• Rowan learns from the guards that the boat was cursed along with its original crew to never truly sink. It was converted into a casino boat around a year ago
  • Also, the 5 men the party saw earlier are part of a gang called the Shen-Yun, and they have a dispute with the archeologist on board over stolen artifacts
• Kleb sets the activation keyword for the folding boat to “hoes” and hands it to Rowan for safekeeping. The trio head to their respective cabins for the night
• Unbeknownst to the party, a group of travelers in exceptionally plain clothes step off a boat landing at Port Nyanzaru. Despite it being late at night, they head straight to a nearby bulletin board and note the presence of a Lozenge Gules pamphlet. Having confirmed their next breadcrumb, they disperse into the city
• The next day, Rulkorf gives Rowan his Ring of Odd-Evening, and the latter concocts a plan to win big at the roulette wheel. He approaches the Mulan and attempts to sell some of his ball bearings for their equivalent in gold pieces. Rowan more than doubles his gold, then bets it all on 17. With a single spin, his 1271 gold turns into 44,485…Rowan is now unfathomably wealthy
  • Upon cashing out, he is handed roughly 2000 gold pieces and the rest is in platinum bars (each equal to 1000gp)
  • 36 bars are going to be stashed in the Bag of Holding, which will be on Rulkorf’s person, and Rowan and Kleb will each carry 3 with their gear
• After exiting the vault, the party heads up to the deck to investigate a mysterious buzzing sound
  • Seven small boats are trying to raid us! Time to roll initiative