Friday 16 October 2009

The Corpse Trade

Adventure Background
Since man could sail upon the Black Meredius it has been a tradition for those who traverse those dark waters to have their bodies given back to the sea. While this is a matter of practicality for some, as many sailors die conveniently at sea, for those who expire on land it is a matter of pride.

The Church of the Waters in Five Fingers often collects the bodies of dead sailors, be they fishermen, pirates, or privateers. When enough bodies have been gathered, a feat without much delay in a city such as Five Fingers, the Church sends out a funeral ship, accompanied by a Morrowan priest pledged to Asc. Doleth. The priest blesses the dead as they descend into Meredius’ watery embrace and so grants the souls of the departed a peaceful passage into Urcaen.

Unfortunately these funeral ships also attract other kinds of attention. The cargo of corpses brings about the notice of Cryxian agents or even the Shroud sept of Thamarites. All too often these funeral ships are raided or go missing as they are waylaid and their sacred cargo stolen.

The Light of Doleth has gone missing. The funeral ship left Five Fingers over a fortnight ago with a cargo of corpses to be dropped into the Black Meredius following the ancient tradition. The clergyman accompanying the ship; Brother Caleb Dunne was to travel to Carre Dova and rendezvous with an escort from the Ordic navy before making its way to the open sea. The Light never arrived.

Inquiries by Father Gald Ronvolvo, priest of the Church of the Waters, revealed several fishermen have sighted the Light in a small cove not far from Five Fingers. They did not approach the Light as they had no business with the ship and did not think to investigate.

While influential with the more pious sailors of Five Fingers, Father Ronvolvo has had trouble trying to leverage the local offices of the Ordic Navy into investigating and recovering the Light. Running out of options, the priest turns to adventurers. He is particularly concerned by the lack of contact from Brother Dunne and fears that pirates, or worse, have seized the Light.

Commentary:
Since publishing the full adventure synopsis would be a rather big give-away to my (currently illusionary) players I thought I'd whack up the adventure background. It's a rather short adventure but it certainly feels like one of my better ones. The Corpse Trade even comes with a Side Trek - an optional adventure unrelated to the main plot - if the PCs stumble across a particularly gruesome piece of treasure.

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