The Rectifiers came to standing on a spit of rock that was seemingly on the seafloor. Around them, the ocean wall flowed downward perpetually, but it never crashed down upon them. There was a clear cylinder of open air going all the way to the surface. The remains of Turner’s vessel lay strewn across the rock. Turner was in front of them, barely keeping himself on one knee with the assistance of the trident.
Turner seemed to accept his defeat, gazing around at his destroyed flagship and coughing up enchanted water. The trident he held returned to its original form, but the metal was beginning to flake away again, revealing the enchanted water underneath. Turner’s eyes began to drip the same fluid, and part of his hand’s skin was beginning to flake away to reveal the same water. He congratulated The Rectifiers on their victory and asked for them to put him out of his misery before Undine claimed him for good. He added that the job would best be done by something tainted with Doom Magic. Audrea stepped forward to end the poor pirate’s life. She bade him a peaceful farewell, then sliced through his heard with a Doom-enchanted rune from her book. As Turner took his last few breaths, he wished the group luck with what he left behind. He dropped to the stoney ground with a wry smile on his face. When his body hit the ground, it warped into water and splashed across the stone. He left behind part of his effects and the Trident of Undine.
The group requisitioned Turner’s effects, finding his coat, bandana, and gold councilor’s ring. Duma Van took up Undine’s Trident, the relic they believed would give them an advantage over the Harbinger’s dragon rider. The storm raging up above began to abate with the passing of Turner. For a time, the group struggled in the loud roars of the crashing water to find a way out of their seafloor prison. The trident seemed to be able to manipulate water to some degree but not enough to help them escape. After some time, a shadow from above appeared.
A ship positioned itself on the rim of the whirlpool high above. The Rectifiers could see wind spells keeping it from tumbling over the edge; one of the Amantan ships. Shortly after, a second, unrecognized ship made a similar maneuver. This ship was grand in design, bearing white and gold accents along the woodwork and a flag with crossed, golden swords. A purple light appeared from the deck of this ship followed by an enchanted voice being amplified down to the group. The sweet voice of Revelrae warmed their ears. She cheerily greeted them, saying they looked like they could use a hand. She bade them to back up so the ship could drop them their escape route. Once they had followed her instructions, a white-gold anchor came tumbling from above. With the force of such a fall behind it, it slammed into the stone floor, leaving a fairly deep crater. The Rectifiers clambered on, tying themselves with rope for extra security, and the anchor began to raise.
Once aboard this new ship, the group could see what had happened on the surface while they stood below. A new fleet had arrived, a fleet of these same white-gold ships bearing the crossed blades. In front of them stood Revelrae and the councilor of Aequor, Beckett. He wore his fanciful cross of a noble’s doublet and a sea captain’s coat. A jeweled and decorated blade was on his hip with his hands resting on it. His crew began to bring blankets and food for the exhausted Rectifiers. He congratulated them on their victory and told them that Revelrae had come to him to alert him of the attack on Turner’s fleet. He added that it looked like they were too late, but he grew stern when the group told him that Turner’s captains awaited in the small pocket of storm that still blighted part of the bay. Beckett rallied his ships to surround and approach the heart of the now dissipated storm.
Beckett readied his men and fleet for what they expected to be a vicious barrage, but when Duma Van cleared away the storm with the trident, all that waited within was a single, mastless ship. It did not appear to even have any crew aboard. The group approached cautiously, and The Rectifiers hopped over to investigate. Onboard, they found a single chest with “The Rectifiers” written upon it. They carefully opened it, only to find a large sum of gold, gems, and a note. On the note, Turner had written that if they were reading this note, they must have killed him. He also added that when they try to retake Navis, they should look for a drainage pipe on the southern wall. Everyone involved was confused as to why Turner would want to help them beyond the grave, but they pocketed his advice nonetheless.
The Rectifiers agreed to combine the fleets and attack Navis, and whatever pirates remained there, at nightfall. The group rested in the meantime while Beckett navigated the fleets toward Turner’s pirate haven. When they arrived, they kept the fleet at bay, lit only by dim lanterns. Beckett used a spyglass to see the situation in the city, but he found it to be strangely sleepy. He said he expected the city to be raucous, filled with drunken pirates. The Rectifiers looked upon the coastal city. It had large, stone walls protecting the inner buildings. Palm trees covered the land within and without. The buildings were finely crafted with many having open-air sections due to hot weather. High on a hill in the city was a palace-like white manor. The walls held patrolling soldiers wearing Turner’s regalia, but Beckett said something seemed off with them. Also along the walls were larger versions of the water harpoon machines Turner had adorning his ships. They looked like they could tear through the walls of Luxen themselves. A frontal assault was a suicide mission.
Once the city had been scouted, the group decided to check on Turner’s advice. Sure enough, covered in seaweed and swamp vegetation, a sewage outlet was hidden away on the southern face of the walls, unguarded by water ballistas. Beckett arranged to have a smaller vessel for The Rectifiers to infiltrate the city. The group would alert the fleet they had successfully done so by lighting some lanterns in the white manor. With their plan prepared, Duma Van took control of both oars and rowed The Rectifiers to Navis.
They clambered onto the small maintenance walkway adjacent to the sewer grate. Duma Van submerged their small boat to cover their tracks, as the water here was only a couple feet deep. The group spent some time trying to open the rusted bars of the pipe, but to no avail. After some time, they spotted Turner’s symbol of teeth biting a coin scratched onto a brick on one of the tunnel’s bricks. Duma Van used his trident to push on the brick through the bars. It gave way, so he pushed harder on it. Once pressed completely, the bars of the sewer grate raised, though some broke away due to being unused for so long. Inside was a sewage tunnel with a walkway on each side.
As they discussed which side they wanted to take, they heard an additional voice advise them to take the right walkway. They looked to their side and saw a man with a long black coat and tall hat leaning against the wall. He wore a tall hat with a brim and held a cane with a red jewel. They thought they might have recognized the voice, but the man’s face was covered in magic shadow to conceal his identity. Once his advice had been given, the man faded into a red mist before the party could ask him what they wanted to know. Since they were already thinking of taking the right side, they did so.
They journeyed through the rancid smells and winding tunnels of Navis’s sewers, guided by the orb of light from Audrea. As they delved further in, they began to see strangely colored green and gold fluids flowing through the sewage. They took note, but continued onward. They eventually came to a large maintenance opening with two goblins sitting by a small fire. They seemed to be guarding a very organized sum of gold coins, which was strange behavior for goblins. These goblins appeared to be blind, and they had the same golden green fluid dripping down their faces. The party decided to keep a wide berth on the creatures. They grabbed their daggers to protect their gold but took no action since the party did not go after their gold. Shortly before exiting the chamber, the party saw a set of slitted eyes, glowing green in the darkness high above. They belonged to a portly shadow that vanished shortly thereafter.
Though they were disturbed by what lurked in these sewers, The Rectifiers continued, eventually upward toward the white manor, or so they hoped. Eventually, they came to a door covered by greenish gold gunk. The gunk was all around the perimeter of the door and trailing down the walls of the sewer. It even seemed to have coins embedded in the gel-like substance. Duma Van scraped away what he could from the door, and the group entered another maintenance chamber.
Inside was a room dimly lit by two candlesticks. These candlesticks sat on a long table accompanied by partially eaten meals and a card game. Sitting on each end of the table was a man and woman, both mages. They wore long coats with high collars adorned with dragon wing designs on the shoulders. On their heads were long-brimmed hats with red feathers adorning the side. Metal staves waited nearby their chairs. On their coats was the founder of the Magerony Founders. Behind the table, in the shadows, was the pair of evil eyes that watched them in the previous chamber.
The mage and magess seemed to be guarding the path to the manor. They stayed calm and told the group they could either die where they stood, or have the last day of their memory wiped and sent on their way. As The Rectifiers argued their options, the magess seemed to recognize Duma Van, Gale, and Amy. With little explanation of their purpose and their presented choices both terrible, The Rectifiers decided they would at least enter true combat with mages of the Magerony.
The Magess started the battle by summoning forth another set of evil eyes in the shadows. The two mages’ spells seemed to deal harsher damage to those Rectifiers that held the most gold. Once the eyes emerged from the shadows, they were discovered to belong to large, flabby monstrosities. These fat creatures were a pale brown color and had folds and folds of flesh folding over their bodies. They had the evil green and golden eyes with large mouths that seemed to span the entirety of their frontsides when opened. Throughout the battle, these beasts would bite down on Rectifiers, holding them in place for dangerous spells or moving them through the battlefield. As the battle began to draw to a close, the magess warned the group that her Mageroness would not be as merciful as they tried to be.
With Azalea and Audrea nearly on death’s door, The Rectifiers at last emerged victorious. The fat monsters were dispatched and the mages killed. But what were the mages guarding? What was the nature of their magic? Who is the Mageroness apparently lying in wait? The Rectifiers dreaded to find out…