Port Tonoro

Sneaking In, Sneaking Out
Port Tonoro has a different crowd and docks different ships every week. When a pirate’s raid goes well, it’s usually necessary to lie low while any searches peter out. The Quartermaster of Port Tonoro is a well-loved and respected tiger pirate named Skull Charlie. Skull Charlie looks after Port Tonoro, but rejects being called the city’s cacique, calling it a “settled man’s title.”

The Port Tonoro Navy carries the settlement’s immediate needs. These ships can load all the “street-docks” running along whatever island the city has hidden against. Provisions come in from Al’ari dock towns, Vinyotian ports, and anywhere else the fleet can find sympathetic sellers willing to make extra coin at the risk of attracting unwanted Dramphinian attention.

The city charges a docking fee to vessels doing business there. The ongoing existence of Port Tonoro proves that pirate captains know the value of a friendly port that doesn’t ask questions. Al’ar’s most ruthless criminals and famous pirates have walked its docks. Visitors are well-advised to keep their eyes low while feeling out Tonoro. The ships respect the fee and a few other unspoken rules, but anyone mistaking Port Tonoro for having any kind of “cease-fire” or “gentleman’s agreement” is probably doomed.

Fence Markets
The merchants of Port Tonoro are also fences. The city is a well-connected reseller’s dream; no central authority to hide from and a never ending supply of smugglers. Fences manage their contacts from the lower decks of their ships, and on the deck, they run front-facing operations right in public view. Every fence’s hold is a trove of ill-gotten gains; flashing something shiny makes any storeroom a showroom.

The fence markets are for a crew that wants to offload stolen goods, purchase rare equipment at a fence’s price, or is simply looking for quick work. However, they’re just as dangerous as the rest of Tonoro. First-time visitors should seek a guide or risk falling prey to a scam (or worse).

Land of Enchantment
A quirk of Port Tonoro’s lawlessness is the city’s lax attitude about the use of enchantment magic. An unspoken code of conduct allows anyone with enchantments to use them so long as the charmed individual isn’t forced into any permanent decisions. Losing free will to a mage is hardly attractive, but most regulars prefer that disagreements end with a few minutes of hazy recollection, rather than the bloody alternative.

It’s a rite of passage among Al’ari pirates to spend an evening as someone’s mind-magicked best friend, but it’s best to travel in pairs when doing so. One rarely sees a sailor walking alone on the docks. A buddy ensures a charmed night doesn’t end with a stolen ship.

Looking Out For Each Other…
All Al’ari pirates follow a list of rules which is short, but sacrosanct. These rules are enforced by the Tiger Sea’s most feared sailors: the pirate hunters.

Tonoro brands anyone who breaks these rules as traitors. Traitors are fair game anywhere, anytime. The pirate dock towns of Tonoro all contribute gold to the Traitor’s Kitty, a well-guarded treasure used to pay off successful hunters. The most bloodthirsty of all pirates enforce these rules; they keep a Traitor’s Register memorized so they can carry out thieves’ justice when they spot someone in the little black book.

…But Every One For Themself
Money and blood flow on the docks of Port Tonoro. In the corner of every filthy tavern, deals are struck to move tens of thousands of gold in stolen goods. Dangerous beasts and those they’ve betrayed use the city to find work. Fast friends share songs of long voyages, but ugliness and violence are always one misspoken word away.

Delvers use this lawless port to fetch a good price for Dungeon spoils. Pirates and fences are more than welcoming to crews who seem easy marks. The society of the Delve is wising up to the pirates who would rob a naïve crew blind. Even worse, jilted captains walk Tonoro, who would seek a murderous payback for losing once-loyal crew to the promise of delving riches.

The Murmuration
All Al’ari dock towns have birdkeepers to keep a list of exiles who would bring woe to their shores. The city of pirates has its own birdkeepers: The Murmuration. This faction in Port Tonoro collects docking fees, maintains the secrecy of its location, and manages the Traitor’s Register. Their most venerated members have secret identities and answer only to the Quartermaster. The Murmuration are always visible while in Port Tonoro. Perched in crow’s nests, they look out for intruders and other dangers.

Traitor Hunters
The hunters are the Beast World’s most openly violent people. They are the last chance for society’s misanthropes to do their grisly work with any legitimate purpose. There’s no sure way to spot a hunter, except by the nervous glances that spread through a room they enter. Traitor hunters are known for a casual attitude toward murder and destruction. They’re only tolerated by pirates for the grim purpose they serve.

Remoras
The waters surrounding the islands glitter with unclaimed treasure. Often, a battered ship will sail toward the port only to sink before reaching the shore. Others are the victims of failed raids that let their spoils sink to the unreachable depths.

A social club of daring beasts and brethren have made their fortune diving to salvage the shipwrecks of Tonoro. The Remoras are fiercely territorial—they attack outsiders caught skimming the depths of Tonoro’s sea floor on sight and hunt them relentlessly. The divers live on a barge in Port Tonoro. They’re a good contact for information about affairs underneath the waves.

Anton's Shack
A short walk from a cluster of rowdier bars in the port’s center, a round shack stands on the beach. A few stools sit around the shack’s bar-top, in front of a stack of rum bottles and a large fresh-caught tuna hanging from a hook. Behind the counter, a tall grandi tiger flips a knife around his fingertips before knocking it several times against a wooden board. He cuts a block of fresh fish into bites, offering them to a patron. A bouncy chikitu woman whistles a tune while stirring a pot over a small fire.

The shack is off the beaten path, but has attracted a dozen patrons. The bartender knows everyone he speaks to, such as a gnarled tradewind fox on the far side. The atmosphere is relaxed in this little corner of the beach, but sharp eyes note that patrons still watch their belongings. Who's Here

The Surrender Parlor
Fine green silks sway in the breeze, decorating a ship in the harbor with no one aboard. Like other ships doubling as public establishments, the vessel’s platform is extended for patrons to use. The black silhouette of a cat’s head is painted on the deck. The silhouette has a radiating outline, as if a ghost were leaving the cat’s body. A sign above the staircase leading below deck reads, “The Surrender Parlor.”

Downstairs, warm light and the smell of incense fill a large, open room with two closed doors on either side. Clients are lounging on cushions and pillows scattered around the floor. Each group is engaged in their own unusual activity. Two guests stare intensely at each other, unblinking. Three others are having an animated, completely silent discussion.

A tall, posh chikitu in the corner snaps her fingers. As you look around, a hulking bull rushes to sit at her heel. She walks past you toward the stairs and utters one sharp word. “Come.” The bull bounds up to her like a month-old puppy. They both disappear up the stairs.

The parlor’s owner is a well-dressed, androgynous sheep. Their wool is a well-coiffed poof at the front of their head. As they emerge from a side room, you hear a man scream a quick string of unintelligible words. They close the door to silence it, then nod in greeting.

Jaden the Bard
 * Slow, quiet speech with lots of pauses
 * A sad smile lives on their face
 * Adopted by jackals, understands their eccentricities

Jaden is the bard who owns and operates the Surrender Parlor. They are a master of the bardic arts who specializes in the lore around enchantment magic. They have devised several theses, which they keep to themselves for fear that the spells would be used to hurt others if they were widely disseminated. Jaden is a kind-hearted soul whose only wish is to help unchain the minds of clients, and strengthen bonds between loved ones.

The Parlor’s Services
The Surrender Parlor offers a variety of enchantment magic for clients looking to explore their minds, become closer with another, or temporarily give away their consciousness to someone else. Its services are at the bleeding edge of bardic charm magic, but the spells on offer here are controversial in polite society. Many see the Surrender Parlor as a nest of temptation, meant to exploit those seeking to sate lurid and deviant tastes. Tonoro is one of the few places willing to let the Parlor dock and offer its services.

Rules of the Parlor
The Surrender Parlor operates under 5 strict rules. If Jaden detects that a potential client is lying to them, for any reason at all, they will cease all conversation and eject them. These rules are:

Consent. The Parlor’s spells are for willing clients. Some magic is ongoing when clients leave and Jaden encourages taking precautions.

Escape. Jaden casts all of their special spells with a means of escaping their effects. A word or concept decided beforehand will instantly release a client.

Courtesy. Clients are forbidden from interfering with another patron’s experience in the Parlor. If a client makes excessive noise or their public behavior offends another’s sensibilities, they will be asked to move into a private room or leave the parlor.

Weapons. The Parlor does not allow weapons capable of lethal damage. Jaden thoroughly pats down all clients and will ask one carrying weapons to store them elsewhere before returning.

Magic. All ongoing spells must end before the client can begin services. Magic items are allowed, but Jaden must cast identify on them. The fee is 200 gp per item.

Parlor Procedure
An ornate card sitting on a stand by the stairs lists the Parlor’s services. When clients are ready to begin, Jaden escorts them to a preparation room with five cushions and a short table. Jaden sits at the desk, pours tea for the clients, and invites them to sit.

After everyone sits, Jaden begins by explaining that they will cast detect magic, followed by zone of truth. True to their word, they cast detect magicon themself, then zone of truth (Charisma save DC 21) centered on the table. If the clients have any magic items, Jaden offers to identify them. If they have ongoing spells they cannot end voluntarily, the bard offers to cast dispel magic on them.

Jaden then asks a single question: “Do you intend to use my magic to exploit, harm, or distract another?” If a client lies to them, Jaden rolls Insight against the lie with a +14 bonus. If Jaden suspects deception, they ask the clients to leave. If the clients resist, Jaden casts mass suggestion(Wisdom save DC 21). Further resistance causes a fight with Jaden, an 18th-level bard, and two 10th-level fighters who they call from a side room.