The Drummer of Dry Stair
Anywhere in the sky
From a tavern tip
A tip bought in a tavern for 16 silver.
“A teamster says an old woman at Dry Stair beats a weather drum to summon rain—and the foundry coke works below the cliff has sent men to smash it because rain cools their ovens.”
Possible rewards: Rain Drum
6 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
Sparks on the Wind
Sail to Dry Stair (2–4 passages away)1 Investigate the dispute over the rain drum at Dry Stair.
The cliffside village of Dry Stair sits directly above a row of roaring foundry coke ovens, and gusts of hot wind are showering the dry thatched roofs with sparks—three cottages are already smoldering. On the village green, an old woman beats a tall hide rain-drum while four foundry guards approach her with axes, backed by an armed company cutter rising from the ovens below.
- Interpose your ship between the axe-men and the drummer, and fight the company cutter.The axe-men scramble back aboard their company cutter, which rises through the swirling sparks with guns run out!Battle: Household ship · Close range, Ember wind
- [Deluge Tanks] Dump your Deluge Tanks over the village green to douse the roofs and the axe-men.Room: Deluge TanksYou open your Deluge Tanks overhead, drenching the smoldering thatch and knocking the four axe-men off their feet. Seeing your ship still hovering above them, the soaked guards retreat.
- [Marine] Send crewmate down a line to stand guard in front of the drum.Crew: Marinecrewmate slides down a line and plants a boarding pike between the axe-men and the drum. After a brief scuffle and a grazed arm, the guards count the guns on your rail and back down.15 damage to the crewmate who acted
- Accept a 35-silver bribe from the foundry agent to look the other way.The company agent pays you thirty-five silver to ignore the raid. As you pull away, the drumming abruptly stops.+35 silver−1 The Undertow standing
- Leave it for now.You hold position upwind of the sparks and stay out of the fight for now.
Sparks on Dry Thatch
Right away2The axe-men have retreated, but hot cinders from the coke ovens below keep blowing onto the bone-dry thatch roofs. The old woman keeps beating her tall drum without missing a stroke. "The rain will take an hour to gather," she calls out. "Keep my village's roofs from catching fire until then—or go down the cliff stair and force the foundry to bank its ovens!"
- Organize a bucket brigade with the villagers to keep the roofs wet for an hour.Your crew mans the roof ladders while forty villagers haul water from the well in every bucket and cookpot they own. After a grueling hour, not a single cottage is lost.+1 The Undertow standing
- [Water mage] Have crewmate draw water from the village well to soak every roof.Crew: Water caster · Magecrewmate lifts a continuous stream of water from the well and drapes it across the thatched roofs, saving the village without a single bucket lifted.−12 mana (the crewmate who acted)+1 The Undertow standing+1 Casting skill XP
- Head down the cliff stair to confront the coke works foreman.You descend four hundred stone steps into the blistering heat of the foundry ovens.
The Slashed Drum
Right away3Before you even clear the cliff, the company agent's skiff hails you back. His guards have hauled the tall weather drum down the stairs with an axe-gash through its hide, and he loads it onto your deck. "The foundry owners want proof the drum is finished. Deliver it to the main company office at the foot of the cliff, and there's another forty-five silver in it for you." Nearby, a young stoker with the old drummer's fierce jaw watches silently from the oven doors.
- Carry the slashed drum down to the company office.Even with a split hide, the tall drum resonates with a low boom as your crew sets it down.
- Speak privately with the young stoker watching from the ovens first."That's my grandmother's rain drum," the girl says quietly. "They slashed the hide, but the frame is intact. I could stretch a new hide over it tonight if someone got it away from the company clerks." She follows you down toward the office.
Rain on the Thatch
Right away4 Speak with Arda Voss, the rain drummer.
Old Arda Voss never stopped beating her drum. Now the sky above the cliff turns slate-gray and a heavy downpour extinguishes the smoldering thatch roofs and cools the foundry stacks below. Shaking out her tired wrists, she looks up at your ship. "You kept my roofs from burning, captain. How shall we repay you?"
- Ask for a ship-sized rain drum and the village's silver collection.She gifts you a compact Rain Drum she originally crafted for her granddaughter—when beaten in battle, it summons a drenching squall over both ships—and the villagers add forty-five silver.Device: Rain Drum+45 silverThe questline ends here.
- [Water mage] Learn her weather-calling technique and take the small rain drum.Crew: Water caster · MageShe teaches crewmate how to draw moisture out of dry air—unlocking a new water spell—and gives your ship the compact Rain Drum as well.Device: Rain DrumLearns a new spellThe questline ends here.
- Ask only for provisions and sky-crystal the village can spare.The grateful villagers pack your lockers with six crates of flatbread and cheese plus three jars of sky-crystal.+6 provisions+3 crystal+1 The Undertow standingThe questline ends here.
- Present the foundry foreman's offer to call off his guards if she drums only on rest days.She rubs her sore wrists and nods. "Drumming on rest days suits me fine—I'm too old to beat this hide every day anyway." With peace settled, she gives you a compact Rain Drum for your ship, and both the village and the foundry chip in a seventy-silver reward!The questline ends here.
The Coke Works
Right away5The soot-covered foundry foreman meets you in front of the roaring oven doors. He isn't a villain—just a man caught in the middle. "Forty families depend on these coke ovens for their wages, captain. Every time she drums up a downpour, it ruins a batch of coke and costs my stokers a day's pay. If you want me to bank the ovens right now, somebody has to pay twenty-five silver for the ruined batch—or get her to agree to drum only on rest days, and I'll call off my guards for good."
- Take his rest-day compromise back up the cliff to the drummer.He leaves the ovens burning for now, but gives you his word to call off the guards permanently if she agrees to drum only on rest days.
- Pay 25 silver to cover the ruined batch so he banks the ovens immediately, and carry his terms up.Costs 25 silverAt his shout, the heavy iron oven doors clang shut down the entire row and the flying sparks stop at once. Up on the cliff terrace, the villagers cheer your ship.+1 The Undertow standing
- [Fire mage] Have crewmate bank the ovens' heat magically so the coke batch isn't ruined.Crew: Fire caster · Magecrewmate draws the excess flame down inside each oven so the coke cures without throwing sparks. Amazed that no batch was lost, the foreman pays crewmate twenty silver and gives you his rest-day proposal for the drummer.−15 mana (the crewmate who acted)+20 silver
The Company Office
Right away6The company clerk inspects the slashed drum on his office floor with satisfaction. "That puts an end to the rain." As he opens his cash box, you glance out the window: up on the cliff terrace, a cottage roof has caught fire from the oven sparks, and villagers are frantically dragging furniture into the street.
- Take the 45 silver and let the company burn the drum.He counts out forty-five silver and logs your ship as a friend of the foundry while his guards toss the drum into a furnace.+45 silver+1 The Crown standingThe questline ends here.
- Snatch the drum back from the office and give it to the drummer's granddaughter.Before the startled clerk can call the guards, you haul the drum out to the young stoker. Using a fresh hide stolen from company stores, she re-skins her grandmother's drum that night—and fashions a compact Rain Drum for your ship from the offcuts. By dawn, rain is pouring over the village.Device: Rain Drum+1 The Undertow standingThe questline ends here.
- Haul the slashed drum back up the four hundred steps to the village yourself.You walk right past the stunned clerk and carry the drum back up the cliff stair. The villagers patch the split hide with heavy canvas by nightfall and gratefully pack your hold with five crates of provisions.+2 The Undertow standing+5 provisionsThe questline ends here.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord