Lounge (day 25)

The purpose of the next macabre chamber seemed obvious. A stretching rack dominated one corner of the room, and an open iron maiden the opposite corner. A sizzling brazier of coals spattered in another corner, giving the chamber a hellish red cast.

This chamber was obviously a well-kept torture chamber.

When the Tropic Thunder entered, they found what appeared to be a torturer heating several branding irons in the nearby brazier to torment a man dressed in rags tied to the rack. The torturer attacked on sight and fought to the death.

The tormented victim claimed to be a merchant who was kidnapped from his room at the Bent Goblin Inn weeks ago. He begged the Tropic Thunder to escort him to safety.

His name was Kersh, a muscular man with dark stubble on his chin and short, greasy hair. His eyes were pale and watery and his knuckles were badly scarred.

The next chamber sported a large bed covered with furs. An iron cage sat at the foot, and a low table in one corner was heaped with salted fish, bread, and bottles of rum.

The cage at the foot of the bed wasn't quite large enough for a grown human to stand or sit in.

A footlocker under the bed contained gold coins and a set of silver flensing knives with ivory handles.

The walls of the next long room were lined with dual bunks, eleven in all. The bunks sported sheets spotted with mildew, yet appeared to be well-slept in.

There were no thieves at all here.

In the next room, four large casks stood against one wall; judging from the scent in the air, they were filled with rum. Harold smashed the casks before the Tropic Thunder left this room.

The Tropic Thunder then returned to the mess hall, where the birds in the cage quickly begun singing when Cyq approached within five feet of their cage, possibly alerting any Lotus Dragons nearby.

A battered wooden table sat in the next room, its surface covered with knives, pots, and other cooking implements. A fireplace kept this room relatively dry, if smoky. A bubbling cauldron simmered over the fire, the unseen contents filling the room with a bitter stink.

When Pillboxer opened the door from the mess hall, it caused the cauldron to catapult out of the fireplace towards the open doorway - and Pillboxer.

The next room was nearly clogged with crates, barrels, and sacks of grain.

There were enough supplies stored here to last the Lotus Dragons for a month.

A layer of sand and countless seashells covered the floor of the next room. A small hammock hanged form hooks driven into the walls to one corner, just above a heap of blankets and cushions.

The Tropic Thunder then returned to the training hall, where Graim picked the lock of the closed door there.

A single chair sat in the corner of the next room. Several target dummies lay heaped on the table to the southeast.

The next empty room was guarded by a rhagodessa. The vicious arachnid wore an iron collar attached to a chain - the far end of the chain was affixed to a winch in a small room to one side. The rhagodessa's chain was slack, allowing it to reach every corner of the room.

A large hexagonal table made of oak took up the majority of the next room, surrounded by six chairs. One wall bore a huge map of Sasserine, on which dozens of tiny flags had been placed. To the opposite wall, a five-foot-tall and ten-feet-wide slate bore a tangled mess of chalk scribblings. A winch handle protruded from a corner.

• In Azure District, a blue flag protruded from the Kellani Estate. The Kellani family is headed by Matroness Heldrath, once an adventurer (some say pirate) who is thought to not have quite abandoned the questionable pastimes of her youth. She is rumored to be quite ill. Her eldest daughter is named Rowyn, and she is the most likely to take control of the estate when her mother passes on. A red flag protruded from the Islaran Estate, which was headed by the late Lord Keltar, who was also the representative of Azure District on the Dawn Council, an aging noble whose children had either gone missing or had no real interest in continuing the family's traditional post as harbormaster.There was also a red flag on the Ropemaker's Guildhall.
• In Champion's District, there was a blue flag on the shrine of Llerg, the god of beasts and strength. There was a gold flag on the Sasserine Arena, run by Zasker Grankus, a likable (if intimidating) one-time barbarian, who also runs the group of hunters and mercenaries called the Zelkarune Horns. A gold flag stands on the Scarlet Embassy, run by an ambassador from the sinister Scarlet Brotherhood, Anteki Arlesian. Anteki maintains a civil and even respectable veneer, but many suspect him of having ulterior motives in Sasserine.
• In Cudgel District, there were blue flags on the Cudgel Lighthouse, the Rasp (a tavern), Enad's Trickery (a curio shop), Eva's Boat Rentals and the various gondola waystations. There were red flags on the Cudgel Garrison and the Marshwarden's Hall (offers guides for local marshes). There was a gold flag on the Church of the Whirling Fury, a small shrine that has been attracting a fair amount of attention lately. The front doors of this mysterious church bear a set of chains fixed with a padlock, and there are no windows in the stone walls. Locals say they've seen people entering and exiting the church using silver keys to unlock the chains, but no one's been brave enough to investigate further. Rumors of demon worship, live sacrifices, and worse circulate about the church, yet the priests of St. Cuthbert remain curiously close-lipped about the matter. They say only that they're keeping their eye on the Church of the Whirling Fury, but that it does not pose a threat to the city.
• In Merchant District, there were blue flags on Costumes and Fantasies (an exotic clothing/costumes shop), the various gondola waystations and the Merchant's Garrison. There are red flags on Orimander's Emporium of the Soul (a magic shop that serves as a bookstore too) and Vilatshel's Favors (a moneylender). The Tropic Thunder were intrigued to see a gold flag protruding from the Vanderboren Estate. Another gold flag emerged from the Smith's Guildhall, run by Velkandar Toregson, eldest son of the Toregson Family. Gold flags emerged from the Weaver's Guildhall, the Cages of Plenty (sells exotic pets) and the Singing Rose (sells perfumes and oils).
• In Noble District, there was a blue flag in the Courtesan's Guildhall. There was a red flag on Meravanchi Manor, headed by Zebula Meravanchi, whose family's interests run to the decadent and extreme ends of entertainment. There were gold flags in the Instrument Maker's Guildhall and the Imp's Folly (a tavern and gaming hall). There was also a gold flag on the Witchwarden Tower, its mysterious (and somewhat frightening) mistress being Lux Seoni.
• In Shadowshore, there was a blue flag on the Shadowshore Garrison. There were red flags on It Still Floats! (deals in cheap boats and ships), the Velvet Hatch (a brothel) and the various Gondola Waystations. There was a gold flag in the Sasserine Distillery (a rum factory).
• In Sunrise, there was a blue flag in the Sunrise Garrison.
• Finally, there was a gold flag on Castle Teraknian.

To the opposite wall, the slate was used to track other projects and take notes. The primary piece of information currently on the slate seemed to track the comings and goings of ships in the harbor, as well as notations on which ones had been (or were scheduled to be) "holed". There was a note in the lower left corner, written with the elven alphabet, but not in a language any of the Tropic Thunder recognized. In the upper right corner, the heroes were amused and concerned to see their names inside a box, alongside a note in big letters that read, "VANTHUS! FIX THIS NOW!"

The next room's guardian was a zombie created from a bugbear.

The opulence of the next chamber's decor was a bit jarring. The smooth plaster walls were painted violet. Delicately crafted silver lanterns flickered softly on the wall, lighting the room. A shelf on one side held several books, statuettes, stuffed animals, a crystal ball with a smoky red light at its core, and two coffers; one of darkwood and one of iron decorated with tiny jade bats. A five-foot-wide landscape of Sasserine hanged on a wall, yet all of the ships in the harbor flew flags depicting a serpentine dragon coiled around a lotus. A pair of overstuffed chairs sat beside a low table heaped with fruit and bottles of wine. A lone wooden cupboard stood against one side. The floor itself was adorned with a thick, deep purple carpet. An open door next to the cupboard led to what appeared to a be a bedroom.

A woman waited here to confront the Tropic Thunder. Since the heroes made it this far, she had a proposal for them. The door to this room was unlocked, and when the Tropic Thunder entered, they found her relaxing in one of the chairs. Standing to the side was a bright-eyed and hungry-looking monster, a dinosaur-like dragon with green scales and a bright yellow crest on its head.

The woman rose as the Tropic Thunder entered, and regarded them with an appraising eye. She addressed them as "Lavinia's flunkies", then boldly offered them a job. They were obviously resourceful folk with strong skills in a fight - would they be interested in working for her instead of Lavinia? When the heroes refused her offer and prepared to attack, she sighed with regret and nodded to her "pet", Gut Tugger, giving him the order to attack.

The woman was beautiful with long red hair tied back to a ponytail. Her eyes sparkled like chips of green jade, and she moved with an unsettling grace. On one shoulder she wore a tattoo of a lotus, while on the other was an intricate dragon tattoo, its tail coiling down around her arm.

Her "pet" was in fact a bitter, surly crested felldrake named Gut Tugger. Most crested felldrakes are good-aligned and serve as guardians for elven cities or armies.

The woman let Gut Tugger engage the Tropic Thunder first, taking the first round to start humming. She then tumbled to flank Gut Tugger's opponent. The two focused their attacks on one enemy at a time. When the woman was not flanking, she feinted to score sneak attacks. When the woman was injured, she retreated and drank a potion that turned her insubstantial, misty and translucent. At that point, Cyq closed the door separating the lounge from the bedroom, isolating her to the bedroom while the heroes dealt with the dragon.