4th April, Wild Coast, Highport, Docks, evening.
Tellius, Lucien, Edgaar, Aurin and Marcus flee down the pier. The guard retreats keeping an eye on them from a safe distance. At the end of the pier the group disappear down a narrow alley formed by derelict buildings.
In the hold of the ship Saab hammers away at the iron ring securing one of the slaves while Rondo hastily buckles on a boiled leather breastplate stripped from the body of a guard. Not far away the fighting over the key has settled down to a fragile truce and slaves are systematically being freed as the key is passed along. Unfortunately the key is moving away from Saab. Saab realises it is going to take too long to free the slave with the hammer, so he hands it to the slave, wishes him good luck, and flees the hold with Rondo. On deck the pair notice the morning lines have been cut and the boarding plank shoved onto the deck. The ship is starting to drift away from the pier and towards the shore. The pair leap the slowly widening gap. Saab winces in pain as the landing jars his injured knee. Rondo half drags a limping Rondo down while shouting for the others "Tellius! Edgaar! Lucien!." Hiding amongst the ruined buidlings along the waterfront the party hear Rondo's calls and Tellius shouts back "Over here!" Soon the Rondo and Saab are reunited with the rest of the party and they all flee further into the city.
The party hide in rubble in what appears to be a deserted part of the city. Saab calls upon his faith to heal injuries on Rondo and himself while Tellius uses his shortsword to remove his helmet. Marcus dons the discarded helmet adding to his scrounged items. Free to cast spells again Tellius wastes no time using his abilities to alter his body shape to remove his manacles and alter his appearance. He then goes back to the waterfront to see what is happening at the slave galley. From a distance he can see the ship has been re-secured and a crowd is on the deck and pier. Even at this distance Tellius can make out the distinctive forms of the minotaur and the tall elf captain. Tellius returns to the party hiding in the rubble. Saab tells the others of the cryptic dream-vision that restored his tongue. He asks Aurin to help interpret it. Aurin writes a response in the dirt "spider=god?"
The party hush as an argument is heard nearby. The altercation ends abruptly in a muffled gurgle. Tellius goes to investigate and finds an orc with it's throat cut. Tellius scrounges a weapon belt and returns to the party. Tellius scout for a better hiding spot and find a ruined building with a partially collapsed cellar.
The party relocate to the new hiding spot, set watches and wait for morning. During Edgaar's watch a giant rat decides to investigate the cellar the party is hiding in and in the darkness there is some vicious fighting before the rat is driven off. During the night drums and chanting are heard coming from another part of the city.
In the morning Rondo and Tellius risk walking amongst the inhabitants to purchase tools to remove their manacles. The streets are filled humans, orc, half-orcs, and other humanoids. Most of the city is in ruins. Tellius and Rondo walk down a wide street lined with ruined temples to human gods. Most of the temples have been defaced and the statues and icons replaced or altered to represent humanoid gods. At an intersection slave with manacles similar to those the party wear has been crucified. Tellius can not be certain the slave was one who escaped from the galley. Further down the street at another intersection another crucified slave can be seen. Rondo checks to see that the sleeves of his shirt cover his own manacles. Tellius spots a merchant selling an odd assortment of items. Most seem to be second hand or damaged. Tellius purchases a serviceable hammer and chisel and is keen to get off the streets. On the way back to the party Tellius spots a slave market down another street but continues directly back to the cellar where the party is hiding. Back with the party Tellius hands the tools to Edgaar who puts them to use freeing all the party of their manacles. The party discuss their next step.