Before arriving in Neketaka, Grim found himself pulled into a dream. He was in a starry void, with several Gods towering overhead. They wanted answers. He told them that Eothas appeared to be seeking out Adra pillars and draining them of their essence. But he didn’t know why or how. He let the gods argue for a while. Some believed they should simply kill the rogue deity. Others wanted to understand what he was trying to accomplish. They seemed surprised that he was roaming the mortal realm instead of seeking to return. Grim held his tongue as they bickered, having trouble refraining from commenting. Berath’s pale eyes watched him intently. She knew what he was thinking, and did not appreciate the irreverance. “FOLLOW HIM” she commanded. “LEARN!” And it all vanished.
When they arrived at Neketaka it was huge. Far larger than they had expected for a capital city of the native Huana. The dock district showed clear Valian influence,
As they left the Defiant, an officious Huana woman accosted them demanding to know the purpose of their visit. It quickly became clear to Grim that this was a shakedown for a bribe, but he heard Star muttering under her breath. Before he could say anything, he heard a loud voice in his head. Berath. Demanding “SHOW THEM. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he suspected Star had heard it too… and that the command hadn’t been for him.
As he turned he saw Star’s eyes light up, and ghostly forms appearing all around her. Hundreds. Not being summoned or called. More like… revealed. The Harbormaster and her lackeys ran screaming away. As did most dock workers. “Great”, thought Grim. “Way to roll into town inconspicuously. Thanks Berath. That’ll make things *much* easier”
They began settling in in the docks district taking odd jobs for coin. Accepting bounties. Breaking up small time protection rackets. The usual work. But as Grim has expected, news of their unusual arrival spread quickly. As did news of the events in Port Maje – and their part in it. It was not long before they received notice that the Queen wished to speak to them. So they began to make their way to the upper city and the palace.
On the way they passed through some truly desperate slums. “The Gullet” it was called. Teeming with beggars and poor and starving “Roparu” – as the lower caste Huana were known. As they passed an open area, they saw a poor Huana man being shoved into a cage and lowered into a large dark hole, as a woman screamed and Huana guards held her back. Grim wasn’t sure what was going on, but it didn’t seem like something they should get involved in. Then he noticed… Star was missing. GODS DAMMIT! He turned just in time to see exactly what he feared he would see. Star leaping into the hole – riding the cage down into the darkness with the condemned man. THAT DAMNED FOOL!
Grim demanded that the guards winch the cage back up so that they could follow her, but they refused. Grim then let them know in no uncertain terms that they could either bring back the cage and let them back down, or the guards would be joining her down below. Rapidly. And if the cage didn’t *stay* down until he pulled on the chain, he would crawl his way back out of Hell itself just to drag them back in.
Below they found the ruined remnants of an older city. And Star desperately trying to hold back a horde of grotesquely bloated undead. Rotghasts. The drowned dead.
They went to work, trying to fight back the masses so that they could safely get back to the cage.
Ace pulled out grenades for the occasion. Expensive, but he felt the occasion called for it.
Finally he and Sapphire were able to generate enough explosive oomph to stem the tide, and they ran back for the cage.
Star was distraught. “There were too many! I couldn’t save him!” And she wouldn’t listen when told she had done all she could.
She insisted that they visit his widow. It turned out the man had gotten in trouble trying to acquire funds to get his family out of the slums and back to their native island. But the captain he had tried to hire thought the funds were stolen and reported him. Grim straightened that out. Star didn’t ask how, and he didn’t say. But the family got their escape.
The palace was an impressive affair, surrounded by magical pools honoring the Huana traditional magic of Watershapind.
In the throne room, the Queen was already adjourning an emergency meeting. Representatives of the VTC (Valian Trade Company) and RDC (Royal Deadfire Company) were already present. As were select members of the Huana nobility.
When Grim entered the representatives were arguing about the fate of a colony named Hasongo – a strategic RDC Port which appeared to have been destroyed in much the same manner as parts of Maje. Queen Onekaza stared intently at Grim as he entered and then asked – in his head – where he stood on the matter. Apparently she was well versed in psychic talents – among whatever other skills she possessed.
The VTC representative was a human named Count Nirro – a shrewd, calculating man born to politics. The Valians were primarily interested in trade and resource extraction in the Deadfire – with a particular focus on refining and researching Luminous Adra. They were not above “gunboat diplomacy”, but were largely interested in trade deals and mining rights.
The RDC was technically also a mercantile organization, but with a far more military/expansionist bent. They were nominally interested in securing trade routes for food and other resources for their resource-starved homeland of Rauati. But they made no secret that long term they intended to annex the Deadfire altogether. They were Aumaua just like the native Huana, but considered theirs to be a far superior culture with the Deadfire’s potential “wasted” under its current governance. The leader of the RDC in the Deadfire was a sharp, direct naval veteran – the Hazanui Karu.
Out loud the Queen introduced Grim, and asked his opinion on the matter at hand. The VTC and RDC representatives protested – but she hushed them with the reminder of the recent scene at the docks. And with the information that Grim’s most recent port-of-call had been Port Maje – which had suffered similar devastation.
Grim matter-of-factly related both the destruction caused in Eothas’ wake and his apparent interest in Adra deposits. Neither the VTC nor the RDC were inclined to believe his story, but the Queen called forth enough rumours and witnesses that they were forced to credit the main outline. As a “neutral representative” who already had an apparent interest in tracking the wayward titan, the Queen wished to charge Grim with investigating the destruction at Hasongo. But both the VTC and the RDC insisted on sending their own representatives as well.
The RDC suggested an Aumaua woman named Maia Rua – a sharpshooter in the Royal Navy. She was a Gunhawk – a sniper specially trained to work with a trained parrot spotter. She came across to Grim as irreverent and easy-going, but keeping secrets. By first impression he liked her.
The VTC suggested a Valian Paladin of the Five Suns named Pallegina – a godlike (mortal with divine influences) of Hylea the Sky-Mother. She came across as cool, calculating, and reserved to Grim. He already didn’t like her. But Eder and Aloth appeared to already know her.
As the meeting broke up, both the RDC and VTC representatives arranged private audiences. They both had a side interest in commissioning Grim to investigate the uncharted island of Poko Hara – which was rumoured to contain a rich vein of luminous Adra. The VTC wanted Grim to locate the vein, and determine what happened to a previous VTC expedition sent to find it. The RDC wanted also wanted Grim to find the vein… and destroy it if he found one.
Meanwhile Prince Aruihi – the Queen’s brother – also requested a meeting. He had two interests. One was for them to investigate a rumored Black Market hidden deep in the slums of the Gullet. The other was for them to explore the island of Motare o Kōzi – and find out what happened to an expedition he had sent trying to find the location of the lost island of Ukaizo (legendary home island of the Huana).
This was a lot of exploration, across a lot of dangerous waters. With potentially commensurate pay, of course, and some of it clearly tied to his unwilling Quest for the Gods. But to pursue any of this properly he needed to finish earning enough coin to purchase a stronger and better equipped ship. So he returned to the Defiant to review remaining bounties and contracts vs borrowing from the VTC to try and make the numbers work. He was interrupted in the task when he received a letter. From Aeldys the Pirate Captain:
“So. You had a little run in with Ben, and then you dragged it to my doorstep. You could’ve wiped your feet before you stomped in. But I digress. I know what you did, and I know who you are. And unlike my unfortunately blockheaded second-in-command, I recognize a threat when it smacks me upside the head. So. This is me, Captain Aeldys – commander of the godsdamned new blood Príncipi, leader of the second largest fleet of pirates in the gods-fucking Deadfire – inviting you, a powerful unknown, to come and meet with me under the strictest parley at Fort Deadlight. Which is to say, I promise not to gut you when you arrive for dinner and drinks.”
This did not sound like an “invitation” that could wait. Or be avoided. So they sailed back to Fort Deadlight.
Captain Aeldys was a thin part-elven woman, who left little doubt that she was as dangerous as any Grim had ever met. She wanted an explanation. So he gave her one. Benweth and he had a disagreement. They settled it. In the way that pirates do.
She stared at him for a long time, and then asked – “And where’s my recompense? Ben may have been a fool – but he was my fool. And my bloody second in command!” Grim asked what sort of “recompense” she intended, and the answer shocked even him. She wanted him to take Ben’s place! And potentially take his seat on the Principi pirate council! But first she had a few jobs to demonstrate that she could work with him….
This was proving to be a dangerous game, and before Grim could even form a response she leaned closer, stared into his eyes, and said “And I know Furrante pointed you here. Do some digging . Look into him. Look good and close. ” And then she sent him on his way. Her first “request” – smuggling unrefined Adra to a distributor operating hidden under the slums of Neketaka.
The politics were looking every bit as shark-infested as the waters. And Grim preferred a clean battle red in tooth-and-claw. But the immediate incentives hadn’t changed. He needed a better ship. He needed it fast. And the best available jobs that didn’t need a better boat appeared to be sending him to the Neketaka Gullet.
Author’s Notes:
I’ve never before finished Deadfire, but other characters/parties have made their way a fair way in. And Grim is already heading in a direction that none of the others would have. In fact, he’s currently heading in a different direction than even the one I had envisioned for him before starting the run. When you let the characters run their own lives, you never know what you’re going to get.
From a rendering perspective, the Aumaua are driving me crazy. I’ve used vulcan, romulan, drow, half-orc, na’vi and others in combination with Hawaiian, Indonesian, or Polynesian. And I just can’t get anything that consistently looks like them.
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