Welcome to Seaton's Cove
Seaton’s Cove, Duchy of Salinmoor — Fireseek, 576 CY
Campaign Journal 000 — Campaign Prologue
Before there was a dragon beneath the town, before strange things began stirring along the coast, there were five adventurers in a small fishing community on the southern coast of the Flanaess.
They were not yet heroes. They had no famous victories behind them, no legendary treasures to their names, and no reason to believe that the fate of Seaton’s Cove would soon rest partly in their hands.
This is where the Storm Tide Campaign begins.
The Southern Coast of Keoland
The Duchy of Salinmoor lies along the southern coast of the Kingdom of Keoland, where settled farmland and fishing villages give way to marsh, forest, rocky headlands, and the broad waters of the Azure Sea.
It is a region shaped by the sea. Fishing boats leave sheltered coves before sunrise, while coastal traders move goods between settlements. Beyond the settled roads, however, the coast becomes increasingly wild.
The great Dreadwood looms inland. Marshes and fog-shrouded wetlands stretch across the lowlands. Ruined structures stand along forgotten stretches of coast, and sea caves honeycomb cliffs battered by storms for centuries.
Seaton’s Cove
Seaton’s Cove is a small coastal community in the Duchy of Salinmoor, tucked between the southern reaches of Keoland and the Azure Sea.
Fishing boats crowd its wharves. Merchants and sailors pass through its streets. Lumbermen, craftsmen, fishmongers, shipwrights, farmers, and dockworkers make up much of its population.
It is not a great city or a famous stronghold, and that is part of its appeal. Life here follows the rhythm of tide, trade, and season. The harbor is the town’s connection to the wider world, while the nearby wilderness provides much of its prosperity—and much of its danger.
A Town with a Long Memory
Seaton’s Cove may appear ordinary to a traveler passing through, but it has existed long enough to accumulate its share of stories.
Some concern shipwrecks. Others tell of strange lights seen along the coast, forgotten structures hidden in the wilderness, creatures encountered in nearby marshes, or tunnels whose entrances were sealed generations ago.
Most residents treat such stories exactly as townsfolk everywhere treat old legends. Some believe them, some laugh at them, and some simply know better than to go looking.
Life on the Edge
Seaton’s Cove is civilized enough that travelers can find lodging, supplies, craftsmen, temples, merchants, and ships. But civilization does not extend very far beyond it.
The roads eventually become trails. The farms eventually become wilderness. The familiar coastline gives way to isolated coves, cliffs, marshes, and ruined places that appear on few maps.
For adventurers, this makes Seaton’s Cove an ideal place to begin.
In Fireseek of 576 CY, there were five.
The Adventurers
They did not arrive as a famous adventuring company. Each came to Seaton’s Cove by a different road and for different reasons.
Together, they would become the first company of the Storm Tide Campaign.
Arenir Stormrider
Human Champion — Noble
Arenir Stormrider came from a background that carried expectations. He had been raised with an understanding of responsibility, martial discipline, and the obligations that accompanied status.
Among the five adventurers, Arenir represented the most obvious martial presence. Where others relied upon stealth, wilderness knowledge, or magic, Arenir was prepared to meet danger directly.
Galborn Valgwyn
Elf Ranger — Hunter
Galborn Valgwyn was most at home where roads became trails. An elven ranger and hunter, Galborn brought an understanding of wilderness travel, tracking, woodcraft, and the creatures that inhabited the lands beyond the town.
His bow gave the company reach, while his experience gave them warning.
Cyr Baggins
Halfling Rogue — Scout
Small, quick, curious, and observant, Cyr Baggins possessed precisely the sort of talents that caused sensible people to wonder how he had gotten somewhere they had carefully locked.
Cyr was a scout and rogue whose strengths lay in stealth, investigation, and getting into—or out of—places where others might struggle.
Haldir Sorenson
Half-Elf Druid — Scout
Haldir Sorenson stood between two worlds. A half-elf druid with the skills of a scout, he combined an understanding of wilderness survival with a deeper connection to the natural world.
In a region where forest, swamp, coastline, and civilization constantly pressed against one another, Haldir’s perspective would prove especially valuable.
Hugo Baudelaire
Human Wizard — Barrister
Hugo Baudelaire was perhaps the least conventional member of the company. A wizard by training and a barrister by profession, Hugo combined arcane study with an education rooted in argument, evidence, interpretation, and law.
Magic gave him capabilities that none of his companions possessed. His education gave him another weapon entirely: the ability to recognize that many mysteries could be solved before anyone drew a sword.
The Beginning
They were five 1st-level adventurers at the beginning of their careers. No songs had been written about them, no tavern keeper offered them free drinks because of deeds performed in distant lands, and they had no fortress, great patron, or pile of recovered treasure waiting to finance the next expedition.
For the moment, Seaton’s Cove was quiet.
That was about to change.
The Night the Ground Moved
Late on Moonday, 17 Sunsebb, 575 CY, a small earthquake shook Seaton’s Cove.
Most buildings survived, and most residents returned quickly to their normal routines. The exception was the Thirsty Alpaca, which collapsed during the night.
Then the stories began.
Odd sounds were heard beneath the rubble. Unpleasant smells drifted from the ruins. After dark, some claimed to have seen strange lights glowing among the wreckage.
Life in Seaton’s Cove continued for almost a month.
Then something began getting into the stores beneath the Salty Net & Fishery Hall.
And someone decided it was time to find a few adventurers.
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