The Burning Wake
The Burning Wake
“A burning ship, a stolen secret, and a queen measuring your worth.”
— Hook · retrieve
“Queen Maudriva summoned you after midnight and placed a sealed purse on the table. A ship captain sold her information that could change the balance of power in the city, but the vessel is now burning at Pier Nine and the captain has vanished. Recover the information before the ship sinks, and do not ask why Maudriva is testing you instead of sending soldiers.”
— Hook · retrieve
Queen Maudriva receives the party in a private chamber overlooking the dark harbor. She explains that Captain Veyra Pell was paid to deliver a sealed navigation folio, but the Gilded Wake was impounded at Pier Nine after a fire broke out below deck. Maudriva gives the party a signet bearing her authority, a purse of advance payment, and only one warning: the harbor officials must not know the recovery is hers.
Queen Maudriva
Maudriva summons the party privately through a trusted chamberlain. She offers a substantial advance, gives them a royal signet for emergencies, and frames the mission as a simple recovery while carefully observing whether they ask useful questions.
Rumours
d4 · table- 01The Gilded Wake was impounded because its captain refused to pay a customs bribe.
- 02A ship can burn from below if someone opens the old lamp-oil vents beneath the cargo hold.
- 03Harbormaster Rusk has been granting foreign vessels access to Pier Nine after midnight.
- 04A dock runner saw sailors carrying a brass weight into the hold before the fire began.
If the party fails, the harbor conspiracy destroys the evidence, silences witnesses, and gains time to prepare a false-flag attack that could plunge the city into war. If they succeed, Queen Maudriva gains proof of an imminent threat and the party earns her trust, but they also become visible to enemies who now know that her new agents are capable and dangerous.
Background Lore
Queen Maudriva has quietly expanded her influence through the harbor, buying secrets from merchants, captains, dock officials, and foreign agents. Three nights ago, Captain Veyra Pell sold her a sealed navigation folio containing proof that a rival power has bribed officials inside the city. Before the captain could deliver it, her vessel, the Gilded Wake, was impounded at the docks after a suspicious fire. Maudriva wants the folio recovered without public involvement, and she is using the assignment to judge whether the party can adapt when a simple retrieval becomes a dangerous crisis.
Queen Maudriva hired Captain Veyra Pell to obtain a sealed navigation folio from a foreign merchant network. Before the captain could deliver it, the Gilded Wake was impounded at Pier Nine and caught fire. The party must recover the folio discreetly, survive whatever has happened aboard the ship, and return with enough evidence to explain who interfered.
