The Underdocks Investigation

Setting the Scene

The Underdocks occupy the lowest level of Fort Valiance, where the city meets the sea. The district is a maze of wooden walkways built over the water, connected by rope bridges, gangplanks, and ladders. Buildings lean at drunken angles, their foundations half-submerged at high tide. The air smells of brine, rotting fish, and the acrid smoke of cheap tallow candles.

Read-aloud text:

The Underdocks greet you with the crash of waves against moss-slicked pylons and the creak of wood that has long since forgotten what dry land felt like. The walkways sway beneath your feet, and through the gaps in the planking you can see dark water churning two fathoms below. Oil lanterns swing from rusted chains overhead, casting everything in a sickly amber light. Somewhere ahead, someone is singing a shanty badly off-key.

Part 1: Meeting Rellen Ashwick

Dockmaster Ashwick meets the party at his office — a cramped room in the Port Authority building, its walls papered with shipping manifests and tide charts. A brass spyglass sits on his desk next to a half-eaten meat pie.

What Rellen Knows:

• •Fourteen shipments have gone missing over the past three weeks
• •All were mundane supplies, never luxury goods or weapons
• •All disappeared from Pier 7 through Pier 12 — the outermost docks
• •The Harbor Watch investigated and found nothing
• •He suspects an insider, but the dock workers are too scared to talk

What Rellen Can Provide:

• •A writ of investigation (lets the party question dock workers officially)
• •50 gp each upon resolution, plus any recovered cargo
• •Access to the shipping manifests showing the pattern

Part 2: Canvassing the Docks

The characters can investigate through several approaches:

Talking to Dock Workers (Social)

DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) or DC 14 Charisma (Intimidation)

Success: A weather-beaten dwarven stevedore named Brek admits he saw figures moving cargo at night — "Not onto ships, mind you. Under the docks. Through a hatch I never noticed before."

Failure: The workers clam up but a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals they're afraid of something specific, not just generally evasive.

Examining the Crime Scenes (Investigation)

DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) at Piers 7-12

Success: The character notices subtle marks on the dock planking — scratches consistent with a hidden trapdoor. Following the marks leads to a section of dock that can be lifted, revealing a ladder descending into darkness.

Finding: A scrap of blue fabric caught on a nail (from Maren's captain's coat).

Staking Out the Docks (Stealth)

If the party watches the docks at night, they observe three figures emerge from under the dock at midnight, load supplies from Pier 9 onto a handcart, and disappear back under the planking. A successful DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals one of them is wearing a Harbor Watch badge.

The Street Informant (Criminal Contacts)

Characters with the Criminal or Urchin background can leverage contacts. DC 10 Charisma check to learn:

• •"Blacktide's crew is hiring. Good coin, but you gotta be willing to go underground. Literally."
• •"They're holed up near the Drowned Rat. Rough tavern, rougher clientele."

Part 3: The Trail to the Drowned Rat

All investigation paths lead to the Drowned Rat, a notorious tavern built into the hull of a half-sunken galleon at the edge of the Underdocks. This is Maren's crew's unofficial headquarters.

Transition: Once the party has gathered enough clues (at least two of the four approaches above), they can proceed to Chapter 3. If they try to follow the underground passage immediately, they encounter a locked iron grate (DC 18 Dexterity with thieves' tools, or DC 22 Strength to force) that funnels them toward the Drowned Rat instead.

Encounter: Dockside Thugs (Optional)

If the party is too obvious in their investigation, two of Maren's crew (use Bandit stat block, CR 1/8) confront them on a narrow walkway.

Read-aloud text:

Two figures step out of the fog ahead, blocking the walkway. Both wear salt-stained leathers and the casual confidence of people who've done this before. The one on the left casually flips a knife. "You've been asking a lot of questions, friend. The Underdocks don't like questions."

Tactics: The bandits fight until one drops to half HP, then the other attempts to flee to warn Maren. If captured, they know the location of the Drowned Rat but not the sea caves or temple.

DM Notes

• •Let the investigation breathe. The Underdocks should feel like a real place with its own rhythms.
• •If the party gets stuck, have Gutter Voss approach them nervously in an alley — he's having second thoughts and might trade information for protection.
• •The stolen supplies (salt, rope, lantern oil, nails) are being used to maintain the cave network and the temple approach. This is a clue to the operation's scale.