Through the Mists

Martira Bay

At a glance

A sprawling coastal city and busy port beneath a central black tower. Guild wealth and Kargatane authority shape its districts.

Known facts

  • Aldo suggested asking about vampires at an upscale establishment called the Cosmopolis Club.
  • The woman who attacked Rage invited him to join her and “learn his place in Martira Bay.”
  • Garen Faulk said that vampires openly rule the city.
  • The party emerged through the Mists into the northern warehouse district, where the Weavers’ Guild holds influence.
  • Most residents appeared human, with halflings and members of many other peoples mixed through the crowds.
  • The eastern guild district appeared wealthy, while a government palace and well occupy a central square.
  • A crowd gathered around the well with apparent reverence.
  • Kargatane patrols move openly through the streets, and no Eternal Order church was obvious.
  • Rats travel along unnaturally straight routes through the city.
  • Darian Corvrick, a vampiric Kargat member, presided over a blood rite at the Pale Lantern.
  • Three ratlike creatures later attacked the party with coordination and ferocity beyond mundane animals; one was captured alive.
  • The attackers were confirmed as wererats serving Alcio “Baron” Metus, the head of the Kargat and ruler of Martira Bay.
  • The wererats use the rat-connected house as a gang hideout and recognize at least an outer and second Kargatane circle.
  • Residents have begun reporting foul smells from festering houses.
  • At least one werebat moves openly enough to heckle street performers before escaping in giant-bat form.
  • Kargat headquarters or tunnels may lie beneath the city, according to a conversation overheard at the Gilded Thorn.
  • Irik Zal’honan said a contact called Snowmane can be found near the city’s Mist-bound edges and may provide sea passage to Barovia.
  • The party returned through the early Mists with an Azalin-faced coin and emerged at the north end of the city.
  • The city was bustling by day, but paired guard patrols were more common than on the party’s earlier visit.
  • At night, the streets became sparse as residents avoided going out. Rats moved through them in groups of three.
  • Guards are hunting someone called Jack after killings in which victims’ legs were taken.
  • The River Dancer, a gambling and entertainment ship captained by Snowmane, is docked here.
  • A curfew patrol attempted to apprehend the party after dusk.
  • The Rat House has become a dangerous lead in the leg-taking killings: Boneless, chanting, and a merged rat-swarm creature emerged there.

History with the party

  • Session 1: Mentioned by Aldo and by Rage’s attacker; not yet visited.
  • Session 3: Garen Faulk confirmed that vampires rule there.
  • Session 8: The party arrived with Black Lily, investigated the rats, researched at Faith’s Library, and prepared to meet a Kargatane master at the Pale Lantern.
  • Session 9: The party met Vidic and Darian, attended the Pale Lantern’s blood rite, attempted to burn the lounge, and survived an alley ambush by three ratlike attackers.
  • Session 10: The party exposed the attackers as wererats serving Baron Metus, returned aboard the Dominance, found the Pale Lantern abandoned, encountered a werebat, and accepted the Castle Avernus expedition at Black Lily’s manor.
  • Session 11: The party purchased explosives, stayed at the Gilded Thorn, and departed by coach before Vermoth betrayed them beyond the city.
  • Session 14: Irik identified the area near Martira Bay as the place to seek Snowmane and passage through the Mists by sea.
  • Session 19: The party returned from Castle Avernus through the Mists and emerged on the north end of Martira Bay.
  • Session 20: The party revived Fling, killed Black Lily, learned of the leg-taking murders, and boarded the River Dancer to meet Captain Snowmane.
  • Session 21: Snowmane agreed to take the party to Barovia, Siv found a drainage route under the Cosmopolis Club, and an investigation at the Rat House ended in a fight and a rooftop escape from guards.
  • Session 22: The party escaped the city aboard the River Dancer and began its voyage toward Barovia.

Last known condition

Baron Metus’s Kargat and the city watch remain active. The Rat House and the drainage route beneath the Cosmopolis Club remain unresolved.

Known locations and districts

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