Fateless Harborage
Fateless Harborage is a right piece of work, a proper hive of scum and villainy tucked away in a sinister bend of the River Styx. It’s a dock made entirely of bones, the skeletal remains of countless poor sods who no doubt met their ends in the most gruesome ways imaginable. It’s a right grim sight, a tangle of remains twisted together, form an eerie, groanin’ marina that’d send a shiver down the spine of even the hardiest of sailors, you know?
Buzzing overhead, you’ve got flights of quasits, nasty little buggers, taunting and hecklin’ anyone who approaches the docks. They’re like a pack of street urchins with wings, poisonous claws and the ability to polymorph — on second thoughts, not much like urchins at all — but anyway they’re up to no good, always ready to bob your coin purse when you ain’t lookin’.
But hold your hellhorses, ‘cause here’s where it gets interesting. The whole operation is run by the Bosuns, three marraenoloths sharper than a razor blade and twice as cold. These cutters are the gatekeepers of the ill harbour. For the tidy sum of one thousand gold pieces, they’ll let you dock your ship there, and they’ll guard it with their lives, or so they say. Feels a bit like payin’ protection money to the local gang, eh?
Now, the dock sits a fair distance from Broken Reach, a fortress town that’s seen better days, trust me – but that’s as close as you’ll get to the burg by boat. It’s a bit of a trek across the sun-scarred badlands, a barren wasteland where hope goes to die – a place that’s as welcoming as a kick in the teeth. But if you make it there alive, you’ll find a portal to Plague-Mort, a right haven compared to the wastelands you’ve just crossed.
So, if you find yourself in need of a “safe” harbor in that neck of the woods, and you’ve got a fair bit of coin to part with, the Fateless Harborage might just be your ticket. Just keep a tight grip on your wallet and an even tighter grip on your soul, cutter.
Source: Dragon Magazine #358 [3e] p65, expanded by Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net
