The Blackwater Affair

The Blackwater Affair is one of the Sailor Doom arcs. It takes place in Waterport, after Sailor Doom meets Lady Blackwater for the first time and ends with the interception of the slave trader's shipment.

Acquisition
Lady Blackwater informs Sailor Doom that there is a traitor in the Blackwater family: Someone, who is using their name, is involved in the slave trade. The person in question is using the Blackwater ring for that. Lady Blackwater requests that the group finds and captures the traitor. In the meanwhile, the gang is allowed to stay at the mansion. Event though they are forbidden to do so, they venture into the cellars. Lady Blackwater catches them in the act and gives them a tour which ends with everyone getting a magical item. After that, the gang has a sleepover.
 * Danai: slippers that can enter mirror dimension.
 * Shawn: a bag of tricks that will randomly conjure an animal, obeys the conjurer.
 * Jacques: bracelets that can teleport someone to the other bracelet once per day .
 * Valentina: a cape with ears that turns the wearer into a cat.

The Maiden's Cellar
Indentured servants will arrive at the docks in a few days and the Blackwater name is being used to create this opportunity. The traitor has to be found - probably someone close to Lady Blackwater. Only very few people own a Blackwater ring: her grandson, the captain of the guard, certain spies and Sailor Doom. In the search of more information, the group seeks out the local casino. The owner owes Lady Blackwater a favour.

Before going there, Sailor Doom stops at a pub, The Maiden's Cellar. When they get close, someone is being thrown out by a tall dwarf because they are drunk. The drunkard asks for some money to go see his mum, however, he gets rather rude and touches Jacques. Danai hits him with her longbow to shut him up and they group enters.

The tavern is a bit shady, the prices too high, the products low quality. The barkeeper serves Sailor Doom "Egg Balls" for 10 cooper: a dirty plate with a big round brown ball, some water cress to make it pretty, a dash of sauce next to it. It tastes like eggs that have been bad for a year but Shawn casts purify and makes the food edible. The innkeeper, Baefor, is impressed but also interested in getting hold of the group's money. Valentina uses some severed fingers to calm things down.

Baefor has a colour coded calendar that she pulls up when the group tries to set up a totally legal shipment transaction and she murmurs something about "Xanathars shipment in 3 days". Under the code name "Lady Fingers", the gang sets up a fake deal with Baefor and decides to steal the calendar later. Xanathar is probably involved in the whole affair.

The Dragon Shop
Without a proper set of fancy clothes, Sailor Doom cannot enter the casino. They head out to The Dragon Shop to buy some new outfits. The shop owner, Razyl, welcomes them. The group buys some items: The shop keeper talks about the Blackwater family and Xanathar. After that, it's time for the casino.
 * Danai: a female CEO power suit.
 * Shawn: a pan flute.
 * Jacques: an intricate dress that shimmers golden and has her nipples showing.
 * Valentina: a suit that makes her look like a lesbian from the 50s and a silky eye patch. And a bow for Bob.

The Lucky 8
The Lucky 8 is the biggest casino in Waterport. It is run by the drow Anan. Right in front of the building, Danai pickpockets an orc. Inside, the gang is greeted by bossanova music, gambling tables and smoke. Anan comes up to say hello. Sailor Doom notices Sébastien, Lambo and Tommy at one of the tables. It seems as if Sébastien is losing a lot of money. After Tommy makes a sudden escape, the gang splits up: Valentina and Jacques are staying at the casino, Shawn and Danai are following Tommy.

Sébastien tells Jacques and Valentina that he made some bad friends and now owes people a lot of money. He needs to come up with 40k gold in just a week. He wanted to show his parents that he can be independent, but lost everything. The ship is at the pawn shop, Tom said he can make the money back quickly. Valentina gets rather angry about this but in the end, they decide to help Sébastien out. They decide to play cards to win some money. Valentina cheats and wins 3000 gold, Jacques loses 400.

Anan offers the couple some drinks and strikes up a conversation. He mentions his debt to the Blackwater family and invites Valentina and Jacques into his office. Anan opens up to them about his relationship to Lady Blackwater: He's trying to run an honest business but incurred the wrath of one of the noble houses. They are well connected with the government and were gonna make my his sour, raided him every day. In exchange for information, Lady Blackwater offered him protection and he accepted. Anan agrees to wipe out half of Sébastien's debt if Lady Blackwater is ready to use up her favour for that. Valentina and Jacques leave without making a decision - they have to talk to Lady Blackwater first.

The Open Purse
Meanwhile, Danai and Shawn are following Tommy to a brothel in the Dock Ward, called The Open Purse. After briefly losing sight of Tom, Danai finds him inside the building after convincing a guard that she is with Tommy. Shawn has to sneak in through the kitchen. Shawn casts detect magic - illusion magic is in the air.

Shawn casts locate object on Tommy's shirt and it's not in the building but below ground, maybe in an underground sewer system. Shawn pushes the door open forcefully and finds a staircase leading downstairs. They go downstairs and find a dark room full of boxes, filled with food, clothing and sex toys, all marked with a small fancy X label. There's footprints leading to a stack of boxes. Shawn is casting detect magic and finds out that the box does not exist, it's an illusion.

Shawn waves his trident through the box, everything ripples. With the use of dancing lights, Shawn detects an open, empty room. There's a switch on top of a closed manhole that has the same X label on it, the located object is underneath that. Since the X could stand for Xanathar, Danai and Shawn decide to not enter the hole without the rest of the group. They decide to regroup.

Stealing the Calendar
The gang plans on starting a bar fight to get Baefor's calendar. Before that, Sébastien tries to convince val to let him gamble again but fails. He walks off to the casino and Valentina slips a piece of paper with her number into his pocket in case he gets lost, the note says "If lost please return to Valentina". The gang sees Sébastien arguing with the bouncer in the distance because he wont let him back in. Danai takes a pouch with 50 g and ties it to an arrow and shoots it towards him stealthily. Nobody notices, Sébastien gives Danai an air kiss and gets back into the casino.

The gang goes to the maidens cellar, its a bit rowdy as always. Valentina and Jacques wait out front, Danai and Shawn go to the back entrance. While trying to sneak in and behind the bar, Shawn gets caught but makes up a story about trying to find the bathroom. People now assume that he... blew up the bathroom. You know what I mean. Danai manages to stealthily enter the cellar without any issues. She finds three bottles of famous wine that Valentina once talked about and takes them with her. She only mentions one bottle when she meets up with Valentina and Jacques.

The entire gang decides to enter the establishment. While Valentina is distracting Baefor, Shawn is disguising himself as her with his magical powers but fails to reach the calendar. He sends a message to Danai who manages to get her hands on the item in question. While this is happening, Jacques tries to make friends with a lovely fellow, Boblin the Goblin. He really likes shipping Draco and Harry from the Harry Potter universe and made some dolls based on their characters. Valentina and Baefor are talking about their sorrowful lives and exchange numbers.

Shawn manages to sneak back into the pub. It is time to start a bar fight because that's just what we do. Valentina sees Shawn enter and screams: "That's the guy who blew up your bathroom!". She pretends to throw a glass at him but hits a drow elf. They get angry, obviously. A fight breaks out. While Boblin is wrecking stuff, the gang escapes by throwing a smoke bomb. Before Sailor Doom leaves, Shawn commands Boblin to stop the rampage and succeeds.

The fate of the ship
On the way back to the Blackwater Estate, the group finds out that their ship has been confiscated since Sébastien lost a lot of money at the casino. Valentina is angry at her brother, but Jacques convinces him not to gamble anymore. The group decides to find the rest of their group who is staying at an inn. In order to find the location, they strike up a conversation with Ka'le, the guard who is taking care of the ship. He's a real good boy and suggest they should find an inn called "The Full Mast". Nimh is there and she's being creepy as always, especially when it comes to Shawn. She tells the group that most of Sébastien's crew members have left him - except for Tom, who is rarely around nowadays.

The majority of the caravan have also left the group, Torli and his brother are still here, though. They are planning on selling their wagon in order to get back to their hometown. Since nobody knows anything, Sailor Doom leaves and check out their new house, which is slightly cursed. They leave right away.

The gang is in planning mode
The crew returns to Lady Blackwater who is promptly getting attacked by a bunch of dudes. The team deals with them but the fight is ultimately decided by Lady Blackwater who just snaps her fingers, killing the rest of the evil people instantly with a fireball.

Lady Blackwater receives an update on what Sailor Doom found out, the calendar and the entrance to a secret lair in The Open Purse. She offers to provide them with a few of her guards, lead by Captain Perrath, to deal with the shipment. Danai is worried that some of the Lady's men could end up betraying us but thankfully, Shawn has Zone of Truth. For now, it's time to get some rest. Before that, the group returns the calendar to its rightful owner by sending Valentina in cat form into the pub. Valentina leaves some gold behind as some sort of apology to Baefor.

The Newspaper and Breakfast with Torli
After a long rest, Sailor Doom notices that they made it to the front page of the local newspaper, The Water Reporter, because of the bar fight. Victory! They also read their horoscopes:
 * Danai (Scorpio): "If you have no obligations and if weather permits, go someplace where you can enjoy a change of scenery, we all need it from time to time."


 * Shawn (Leo): "Your intuition and imagination are operating on a high level today and you may be inspired to sing a song."


 * Jacques (Sagittarius): "A sudden demand on your resources by others may have you feeling used."

Furthermore, the newspaper reports on the current political situation in Waterport. There is a power struggle between the members of the council, including Lady Blackwater, other rich families, merchants and wizard guilds.
 * Valentina: (Aries): "Concerns about your home or mother may mean you have to deal with some unpleasant or untrustworthy people."

Fenton notifies the crew that Torli is waiting to see them. They agree to have breakfast with him. Torli's brother Crusk is there too, as well as Wordcaller. The visitors are there to say goodbye to their old friends. Torli has some gifts for everyone: A woodcarving knife and some wood for Jacques, a health potion for Valentina and some money for Shawn and Danai. Wordcaller initiates a group hug while singing the song of her people (whale song).

Team Bee
After a sad goodbye, Fenton presents the group with a letter from Captain Perrath. This results in the latest episode of Waterport's Got Talent. During that episode, Shawn tells his friends about the Order of the Scepter, which was mentioned by Lady Blackwater earlier. The Order is a secret organisation which was probably involved with the betrayal of Shawn's Friend and was financially supporting them. Shawn noticed that his friend's behaviour changed drastically during that time and suspects brainwashing. It is also known that the Order is one of Lady Blackwater's enemies.

Donnabella, Galandro, Ruby and Shanjan win the contest and are each paired up with a member of Sailor Doom. They are now known as Team Bee.
 * Danai pairs up with Galandro.

After getting to know each other a bit (no trebuchets involved so far), further planning concerning the shipment takes place.
 * Shawn pairs up with Donnabella.
 * Jacques pairs up with Shanjan.
 * Valentina pairs up with Ruby.

The Broken Axe
Next up: Interrogating Tom and a stake out at the brothel, since both seem to be linked to the shipment. Sailor Doom and Team Bee are stopping by an inn, The Broken Axe, where they leave behind their new support group. Only Galandro is coming with them because they have a really great idea. A band consisting of Shawn, Galandro and a dancing cat (Valentina). They want to give a concert in The Open Purse to scope the place out while Danai and Jacques will use the back entrance.

Jacques meets a Tabaxi in front of the inn. He has a drum kit with him and is playing some songs. A person from The Open Purse ask him to leave but in end gives in and allows him to play for another 15 minutes. Jacques gives the Tabaxi, Gi Yoon, some money and they strike up a conversation. Gi is also doing some beatboxing.

Sailor Doom in Concert
Everyone gets in position and the band enters The Open Purse. Behind the bar is a large stone Golem in a suit. A dwarf (which I assume is Krak?) approaches our heroes and they can convince him that they are scheduled to play after the current performers. The dwarf allows them to wander around the place to get the cat accustomed to the area. They end up waiting in the artists' room until the start of their performance but decide to send cat!Valentina out to search through the upper floor of The Open Purse. She finds a locked door that smells like Tom and sewage. After Shawn and Galandro catch up with her, Galandro opens the door, revealing a sleeping figure with a distinct smell - Tom. Shawn finds a letter, marked with an x, including a payment of 100 g in check-form from Xanathar to Tom for services that he has offered. They can't do anything else yet because they wanna regroup before possibly kidnapping and questioning the traitor.

Downstairs, a lady with a black mask informs them that their performance is starting soon. Meanwhile, Jacques and Danai sneak in through the backdoor and past the kitchen, reaching a room with an entrance to the sewer. Jacques hears meowing and figures out that it must come from Valentina. She reads the cat's thoughts and learns about Tom's wrongdoings and the kidnapping plans. The plan: It is time for the performance. Shawn tells people the cat is named Munchkins. Danai stays behind for backup and pretends to be the band's manager. The band gets a name - Munchkins and the Band™. The show is a big hit. Shawn causes tremors in the ground and Galandro casts dancing lights, blinding the audience so Valentina can sneak off. Shawn is throwing his bag of tricks on the ground and releases a crocodile which he makes dance. Valentina reaches Tom's room, turns human and finds him awake. She pulls him into a hug and uses the chance to teleport him to the estate. Fenton is already waiting for the prisoner and ready to help (aka torture him).
 * 1) Jacques goes back to the Blackwater Estate with one of the teleportation bracelets
 * 2) Valentina puts the other bracelet on Tom while the bards distract the crowd
 * 3) teleport shenanigans
 * 4) profit

In which Tom gets slightly tortured
After a few threats, Tom comes clear: He sold out Sébastien to Xanathar and kept an eye on the pirate the entire time. He also made sure that Sébastien owed Xanathar some money. Sébastien had borrowed some to pay for an expedition. Jacques and Valentina learn that Sébastien is most likely a prisoner at the moment. Tom used to get instructions from Xanathar's captain Nihiloor, a mind flayer living in the sewers.

Back in The Open Purse, Danai is having a drink with the owner who loved their performance. The group is going to send a bill for their performance to him later but they have to go through the booking office first. Sailor Doom is finally reunited at Lady Blackwater's place. Tom tries to explain his actions: He says he's a struggling actor and being a pirate was hard work. He's not a member of Xanathar's mafia and the betrayal was just a business opportunity. Jacques begs the group not to torture him, so Shawn casts zone of truth instead and the gang questions Tom further. His answers: You know what happens next. We plan. I'll skip that part because we will never actually do it. You'll see. Additional information: Sébastien borrowed the money months ago, ever since then Tom has been spying on him. Tom was usually blindfolded when he entered the hideout in the sewers. The group decides to let Tom live and look him up in a cell.

A wild Fennel Wheatflow appears
The gang meets one of the guards in the estate, Fennel Wheatflow, after they caught him spying on them. He doesn't really open up about it until he's directly confronted by Jacques. Fennel remarks that he is a new recuit and just made his rounds really slowly. According to him, he didn't plan on spying on them. The following day, the crew learns that Fennel was actually beaten up and is now in the infirmary. When Sailor Doom checks up on him, he's asleep and having a bad dream. Shawn casts a message spell, asking him what happened. At first, Fennel believes that voice to be his dad's but quickly wakes up.

After a quick chat, he opens up about what happened: He is trying to collect information about the group for a young lady named Shara. She works at The Open Purse but wants to get out of that work. Apparently, the people she works for are interested in the group. Of course, the group offers him some help with Shara - mainly because investigating her could help with finding the Blackwater Traitor.

I guess we're a professional band now.
Since Shara usually works at night, the crew has some time to kill. After breakfast, they set out to register their band, in order to receive the payment for their show at The Open Purse. The registration office looks kind of run down and it is marked with the letters "AIA". The team enters, although they have to carry Danai around since she's unconscious (player had to leave for a bit). Behind the desk is a weird person called Viari, who works for the Acquisitions Incorporated Agency. He's supposed to guide us through the registration process but lord, this boy is a mess. He hands the team a huge stack of paper and explains that the process costs them 1 GP, as well as 10% of the band’s income. Valentina charms him into making an exception, only 7.5% per booking. Viari likes the band, especially Danai (I think this is what having a bias means? Just liking something a lot? A/N I guess but people's biases aren't usually the manager right? kpop twitter please weigh in? -V A/N The notes used that word and I have a very basic understanding of what it means oof - Sophie). The contract seems safe, yet magical and extremely complicated. The magic is identified as bonding magic - violating the contract results in debt. Sailor Doom and Team Bee read through the contract but it takes hours. It's getting late, so Sailor Doom ventures out to meet up with Shara at The Open Purse. Team Bee stays behind and accept their terrible fate. Later on, Sailor Doom brings them some dinner and realises that Viari has gone feral. They run.

Meeting Shara
Jacques came up with a plan: Cat!Valentina is supposed to lure Shara outside, so everyone can have a friendly chat. It doesn't work out that well but with the help of the teleportation bracelets, Shara is finally confronted. Shara isn't actually a damsel in distress, she's using her clients to gather information for some extra coin. She refuses to sell any information about Xanathar to the group but is willing to share stuff on the shipment, as long as she's getting paid for it. Shara also knows who the traitor is - or rather the traitors. there are a few of them - and remarks that Xanathar is looking into Lady Blackwater. The lady owns a Blackwater ring and tells them that the traitor is working in the area of security at the Blackwater household. If the crew is willing to give her 200 GP, she might even reveal more about the traitor. It's a deal!

The next meeting will take place in the evening so the team uses the spare time to keep Lady Blackwater up to date. Lady Blackwater is concerned that the captain of her guard, Perrath, might be one of the traitors.

The meeting with Shara goes on smoothly. The gang gives her 200 GP, she gives them a letter with Blackwater wax seal, which is meant to be opened at the estate to get into it. Shara advises them to act like merchants, delivering some goods to the kitchen. When the letter is finally opened, it appears to be signed by Garreth Blackwater. The document also states that opening the seals renders it invalid so... back to square one.

The Blackwater Family is kinda hecked up
Back at Lady Blackwater's place, we learn more about the Blackwater rings. They're hard to fake and indestructible. Copies are kept in the cellar but only the lady herself, Perrath, Garreth and Fenton have access to it. Lady Blackwater is convinced that Fenton is completely loyal but admits that Garreth has recently lost a ring. Wow. Nobody has seen him recently. They also briefly discuss Garreth's brother, Fynn Blackwater, who has been turned into stone. After talking about the secret passageway to the sewers, found in The Open Purse, and the fate of Sébastien (working/fighting/being eaten by a monster), Valentina receives a key from Lady Blackwater. It unlocks the front door of the Dockside Mansion.

hello MTV and welcome to my crib
Team Bee is finally rescued from the agency, they still haven't read the entirety of the contract. The mansion itself meets the crew with silence. They try their best to make the house feel comfortable with their presence and start exploring the rooms. The house seems to be accepting them so far, especially after they shared some kind words about Fynn. Just to be sure, Shawn casts a zone of truth on Team Bee, testing their loyalty. They're no traitors. Finally, people realise that the shipment is coming in the following night so they come up with a plan. Again. Won't share it here. I'll just tell you what we did in the end, when the time comes, oki? Good.

Everyone is having a sleepover in the master bedroom but they're woken up by strange noises in the middle of the night. They seem to come from the office, which is downstairs next to library. Strange notes are all over the floor and Jacques picks up one of them - it's a recipe (date, list of ingredients: salamander eye, chicken feet, rock of this and that). Other papers refer to the art of necromancy so Shanjan, local necromancer, takes a look. She concludes that we might be dealing with some undead creatures in the house - which is bad, especially when the person who brought them back to life, presumably Fynn, is dead. After some searching, the fireplace in the office proves to be an illusion.

Past the fireplace, there is a dark wall that says "write the magic word" in magical lights. Jacques touches it, and writes "the magic word" with her finger. The wall turns into sand and falls, revealing a hallway. There are a bunch of doors in the hallway and there is a weird moaning sound coming from one of them. Danai peeps around the corner and sees multiple holding cells. The cells contain about 20 chained, undead gnolls. Combining forces, Danai and Shawn get rid of them. However, the bodies must be burned, otherwise the gnolls could come back to life. Shanjan is taking care of it. What a great friend.

The other rooms have a strong demonic presence. The group finds a note in one of the other rooms with a list of names:
 * Baphomet (prince of beasts)
 * Demogorgon (prince of chaos)

Every name is crossed out except for Orcus. He's probably involved since the house used to be infested by the undead. We also find a map and some documents signed by the Blackwater brothers. We go to sleep.
 * Fraz-Urb'Luu (prince of deception)
 * Grazz'zt (prince of vanity and beauty)
 * Juiblex (faceless lord)
 * Orcus (prince of the undead)

Enter Garreth, pursued by Danai
The time has come... we finally deal with the shipment. But first! We need to check on Lady Blackwater. Team Bee stays behind to get ready for the next mission. Before the gang can enter the Blackwater Estate, they are stopped by one of the guards, Frupert, who wants to confirm their identities. Apparently, a lot of people are trying to sneak into the mansion to talk to the lady of the house, especially shady merchants, seeking riches. Frupert is rather rude and frankly, nobody likes him.

Inside, the butler explains that Lady Blackwater is in a meeting with Garreth and Perrath. Worried, Sailor Doom sends Fantom away and enters the meeting room. Garreth wants to "help" with tonight's mission. Not good. Danai decides that she will try to get some of his blood for her magic vial, just in case she needs to impersonate the traitor. She gives him a hug and tries to stab him with the blood rune - but fails. Garreth asks if we like the new house, saying that a little birdie told him about our new home. It's weird. Shawn casts thaumaturgy and a window flies open, Danai acts like she's scared and jumps into his arms. Her second stab fails as well and Garreth side-steps her. He offers manpower to help with the operation, and a way to transport the slaves away but of course, nobody trusts him. When asked when the help should arrive, the crew gives him the wrong time. Garreth excused himself, saying that he wants to wander around a bit and say hi to his brother. Who's a statue. Heh.

Once he leaves, Lady Blackwater finally hears the complete truth about Garreth's nature and breaks down. She blames herself for Garreth's mistakes since she put too much pressure on him and turned his brother into stone. When learning about the demon stuff at the mansion, Lady Blackwater is more than worried.

Meanwhile, Danai is tailing Garreth - just in case he tries something funny like... reanimating Fynn. She sees that Garreth is trying to lure away the guard, so Lady Blackwater would be completely helpless. He also speaks to the statue of his brother, lamenting that he can't lift the curse.

Perrath is a wonderful cinnamon roll
Of course, we need to make sure that the captain of the guard isn't actually part of the conspiracy so we seek her out and Shawn casts a zone of truth on Perreth. She is absolutely loyal to Lady Blackwater, so Sailor Doom tells her everything about Garreth. Garreth helped with the recruitment of her soldiers over the past couple of years and introduced at least 30 men to the guard. There are 50 soldiers in total. Perreth blames herself for allowing Garreth to infiltrate the guard. Perreth is willing to play the role of Lady Blackwater's bodyguard while the crew is intercepting the shipment. Armed with the bag of holding, she is supposed to carry Lady Blackwater to The Lucky 8 and hide there. Fantom takes the night off.

Lads, I have a bad feeling about this
Miku keeps telling us that we got a bad feeling about something so Shawn asks for detals, using his magic skull. Miku tells us to "protect the slaves". The crew is now worried about leaving them at the Dockside Mansion - maybe the house is still loyal to Fynn and Garreth. Wouldn't that be h*cked up. So, Sailor Doom decides to ask Razyl for help because she is kinda like our dubious fairy godmother. Shawn needs a nap so Jacques (stronk!) gives him a piggyback ride.

When they arrive at the store, Razyl is currently practising the wonderful art of bonsai. She quietly listens to their request and finally agrees to help for the low price of pay 2000 GP and some contacts written in blood. Neat! Everyone, except for the slumbering Shawn, now owes her a favour.

Well, that eska'lelated quickly
Remember Ka'le? Of course you do. An icon. The only man I could ever love. The gang wants to recruit him so they return to Sébastien's ship. They want him to guard our mansion and offer him health insurance, a bed and 20 GP a month. His family could stay at the mansion as well. He accepts, takes one of the bracelets and goes off to quit his current job. He will be waiting for the slaves at Razyl's place.

Back at the Dockside Mansion, a letter is found which says:   "Dear neighbour," Please refrain from burning things in the garden. The smoke disturbs my work. "Doctor Uush"Doctor Uush lives in the house next to the Dockside Mansion (right side). Valentina knocks on the door, the knocker is skull shaped, and surprise! Nimh opens the door. The group apologises for the smoke and Nimh remarks that her father was the one complaining, not her. She explains that they use their cellar for... practice. Science. Sure. Danai attempts to pull Shawn away from her but fails and tumbles down the stairs with him. Edgy boy stays asleep.

Meanwhile, Shanjan is reading up on stuff in the demonic room in the cellar of the Dockside Mansion. She's not supposed to be there and Danai is annoyed with her. Shanjan has been reading the notes of the previous owner: He communicated with a demon but she doesnt know which one. Summoning demons requires the blood of a descendant of one of the demon princes.

Pre-Show Party at The Broken Axe
Shawn wakes up and everyone goes to The Broken Axe to wait for the shipment. Ellar, the bartender is happy to see them again, he remembers them. After failing to hide their involvement with the Blackwaters, Ellar notes down the name of the group as "The Voyeurs". While explaining the plan to Team Bee, everyone gets some food and drink. Outside, it's starting to rain. At 9 pm, it's time for the heroes to get into position.

Positions:
 * Donnabella, Galandro and Valentina steal a boat and row to the ship
 * Jacques and Danai are climbing on top The Broken Axe
 * Shawn and Ruby are hanging out on the ground
 * Shanjan is inside The Broken Axe

Mission Impossible: Cat Edition
The ship is coming closer and Valentina boards it in cat form. She tries to find the Captain's quarters. It's above in the back of the ship. On the main deck, there are sailors, busy with lowering the sails. At the behind of the ship, a door is open and a person, the Captain Virginia "Rage" Marth, is coming out. Valentina sneaks into the room. Unfortunately, Marth is carrying all important papers on her person. I'll cut this short: She manages to take a look at them and they don't reveal any useful information. Galandro casts invisibility and extra strength on Donnabella and she meets with cat!Valentina on the ship. Together, they venture below deck and find the prisoners. Donnabella has the other bracelet. All the prisoners hold hands and hold on to Donnabella - they're teleported to Ka'le's position. Valentina and Galandro row back to shore.

However, standing watch at the docks wasn't uneventful: While #teaminfiltration was checking out the ship, Danai, Jacques and Shawn witnessed about 20 bandits gathering around the docks. They all have tattoos on their body with an eye in it. They bow down as a shrouded figure floats towards them, tentacles coming from their hood. It's Nihiloor, asking about the arrival of the shipment and mentioning that he's starving. The bandits seem terrified of him but are definitely his henchmen. After a few threats, Nihiloor floats back to the shadows, heading towards one of the storage houses. Danai follows him silently and sees him walking into a storage house and finally disappearing underground. After discovering the stairs that he used, she reunites with the group by the docks.

The ship is docking and its crew notices the missing people. There's a lot of stuff going on. Since the bandits can't face Nihiloor empty-handed, they capture the pirates to use them as sacrifices instead. Shawn casts command on the pirate captain and uses thaumaturgy in order to provoke a fight between the two groups but the pirates just get captured and Sailor Doom leaves the scene. Shanjan, who was waiting in the Broken Axe, seems to have tried to contact a demon. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Back at The Dragon Store, the gang is met with a lot of confused faces. While trying to explain the situation, they are interrupted by a "Shawn?" coming from one of the former prisoners. The voice belongs to Telrys Kalirith, Shawn's former mentor. It's a heartwarming reunion but there still some questions left to answer. Telrys tells Shawn that she would do so in a private conversation.

The freed people explain how they were captured: They were on a ship, on their way to Kalbaek, and Xanathar's men imprisoned them and burned their vessel. Jacques pays Razyl 200 platinum to ensure that the crowd gets to Kalbaek safely. Everyone is like: "Um... where did you get that money?" - "Someone stole it for me, I need to get rid of it since it carries Umberlee's mark". The money holds ancient magic and is traceable by Umberlee so Jacques exchanges it for normal currency. She also buys a pair of sending stones.

(A/N: since the traitors have been found and we're more focused on demonic things, I will let this moment mark the start of a new arc: Aperitiflings For The Demon Lord)