• Marion Cain
• George
• Jack Love O’Clery
• Hedda Hammerdottir

Riddleport (pop. 13,300) is the third-largest city in Varisia and its most northern port. The city is a haven for pirates and sea-faring brigands, who find themselves far to the north of the Arch of Aroden. Also known as the City of Cyphers, Riddleport takes its name from the ominous Cyphergate, a giant stone arch spanning the natural cove around which the city is built. It towers over the entire harbor and is never out of sight, its rune-covered span dwarfing everything around it. Most of Riddleport’s buildings are composed of wood with multiple floors and steep, high-peaked roofs. Stone fireplaces ward off the bitter winter cold and the chill that lingers in the fog-laden streets for much of the year, save for in high summer.

Map of Varisia

The Shadow in the Sky
A strange, persistent, dark cloud recently appeared in the sky above the City of Cyphers. Some people say it was caused by the Order of Cyphers meddling with the Cyphergate, while others believe it′s a storm being cooked up by Gozreh or some overly moral deity to wipe Riddleport off the map. It′s the big news in town and everybody seems to have their own explanation.

Carnivore Carnage
Several Shadde-Quah wavecutters recently washed up on the rocks near the Riddleport Light, their hulls covered in dozens of gashes from teeth and claws. Sailors fear some new predator in the Varisian Gulf or an unseasonable migration of local bunyips.

The Devil and His Gold
The washed-up crime boss Saul Vancaskerkin recently renovated the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall and has a massive gaming tournament planned called “Cheat the Devil and Take His Gold.” While this might just be a publicity stunt, some say the swindler sold his soul to some fiend and is using the tournament as a way to raise the money to buy it back.

Lost Below
Milon Chath, a cleric of Desna, left to explore several caverns in the nearby Calphiak Mountains more than a week ago and has yet to return. Several Varisians fear the priest has become lost in the labyrinthine caves said to riddle the endless depths below the mountains.

Siren Song
A band of smugglers recently tried to set up a base at Devil′s Elbow, an island just south of Riddleport′s harbor, but they′ve gone missing. Most blame Virashi, the famed siren of the haunted island, for the disappearance.

Arrival in Riddleport.
The gaming tournament.

The Gold Goblin Gambling Hall.

The tournament is being robbed. Jack and Marion are blinded by a sudden flashing light. George is unaffected. Hedda is still outside.