- Baudry Cartamon is onto the scam of the century. While he was drunk in the Wayward Lobster one night, he is sure he overheard some smugglers whispering about sneaking out of the city with some rare artifacts gathered from the jungle. What if those artifacts were intercepted? Baudry remembers the warehouse the smugglers mentioned. Now he just needs some muscle to collect the goods.
- Someone has done something to deeply upset the sahuagin, who are making dangerous noises about “the return of that which was taken.” Only they seem reluctant to mention what that thing is, due to religious taboo. Until the dispute is sorted out, ships dare not leave or enter the harbor. And sahuagin are seen at night, stalking Stormreach’s streets. A bounty on the thing in question is set by the Storm Lords as they prepare for the worst.
- The Waterworks have ceased working. Only a trickle comes out of the main drainage pipe, and the sewers in the rest of the city are backed up. As unglamorous as it might seem, the sewers need exploring, and something down there is hungry.
It stinks here. All harbors stink, but this—this is something special.
All of Stormreach’s great sewers, pipes, and drains lead, ultimately, to the harbor. The effluent doesn’t seem to worry the wildlife; there’s plenty of fish on sale for a hungry traveler. You’re just not sure that you’d want to eat them.
Away from the chaos and business of the harbor, the city rises uphill and in from the shore. From down here it looks as if toy soldiers have come to life and settled in a ruined city, and above it all stands a great statue, staring out to sea, a beam of light shining up from its outstretched hands. Like every other part of Stormreach, the Harbor district is built on the bones of the past. The city ever was and ever will be a port, and time and tides have pushed the harbor farther and farther into the city, as neighborhoods have sunk or been washed away.
The harbor is Stormreach’s lifeblood, for the city relies on trade and its status as a free port, where rules are lax as long as you have enough coin. Without the harbor, Stormreach would be stranded and quickly die. Aside from taverns and a few shops, most of the district’s businesses concentrate on loading and unloading vessels and storing cargo.
For the visitor, the Harbor district is a cold plunge into Stormreach. The city’s corruption, competing powers, and ancient mysteries all have examples here. Some travelers disembark and then book passage back to Khorvaire as quickly as they can. Some never leave, thrilled at the city’s liveliness and danger, while some disappear—until fishers pull their bodies from the harbor.