Strange Shipments
Source: Dockside Rumor
Target: The Iron Foundry
Target: Unknown
Rumors point heavily toward an iron foundry located in the Docks Ward of Skalan. The party must scout the location to learn more about what’s going on.
Adventure Hook
To solve his military recruitment crisis, and protect the borders against growing civil unrest, Ondoros has established a covert supply chain. Ondoros has been secretly exporting large, black crates containing heavy, modular iron plating for ship hulls to Brynnmor in exchange for sellswords that answer only to him. The foundries across Liekia have been forced to work around the clock under the watchful eye of agents of The Royal Kralia to produce them as fast as possible. Large sums of coin have been funneled into this covert project, causing the Liekian treasury to deplete at an accelerated rate.
- The Trigger: While investigating rumors about an industrial ironworks foundry, the party witnesses Royal Kralia agents brutally beating an exhausted factory laborer who accidentally dropped and shattered a massive, unmarked black cargo crate, exposing specialized, military-grade iron hull plating.
- The Objective: If the party intervenes or searches the laborer’s fallen satchel after the incident, they uncover an unredacted shipping manifest proving that these secret military exports depart from a secluded harbor inlet every Maorhi (Day 6) at midnight.
Adventure Progression
Time Limit: 14 days after the initial discovery.
- If Opposing the Crown: If the party uncovers this operation and sabotages the midnight shipments, they halt the deal and can scavenge enough refined, high-grade military alloys from the wreckage to provide to a master blacksmith, allowing them to craft up to three pieces of +1 armor or +1 weapons.
- If Assisting the Crown (or Actively Ignored): If the party secures the shipments against traditionalist interference, allows the timeline to expire without stepping in, or fails to stop them, the transaction completes and Brynnmor sends a legion of 800 elite mercenaries to occupy the region. If the party actively allied with the king to protect the pipeline, these troops grant them legal immunity. If the party actively attacked the shipments and failed, or if the mercenaries reinforce the Redvakt guard presence after a passive expiration, it adds 1d4 CR 5 martial enemies to random encounters and increases the DC by 4 for all ability checks made to avoid arrest when caught committing crimes.
These items will be easily noticed if searched by a guard and the party will need to deal in secret to avoid being reported to the authorities when having items crafted.