The Cinder Maw
From a chance meeting
Possible rewards: Cindermaw
8 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
The Gun Founder's Boat
Right away1A scorched ship's jolly boat drifts across the sky lane carrying Emberkin gun-founder Odalys Brand. Across her knees rests a blackened bronze casting: a triple-throated cannon muzzle.
"This is the muzzle of the Cinder Maw," she says. "I cast her for the Free Captains, but a Crown Excise cutter sank our transport ship. The heavy breech block went down with the wreck."
"This is the muzzle of the Cinder Maw," she says. "I cast her for the Free Captains, but a Crown Excise cutter sank our transport ship. The heavy breech block went down with the wreck."
- Bring her aboard and head for the wreck to salvage the breech block.She marks the wreck of the transport Bright Anvil on your chart and sits beside her bronze muzzle all night.
- [Fire mage] Have crewmate inspect the triple-throated bronze muzzle.Crew: Fire caster · Magecrewmate peers down the three converging bores and whistles in admiration: the barrels weave three fireballs into a single ward-shattering blast. Impressed by your mage's eye, Odalys marks both the wreck and the surrounding Excise patrol lanes on your chart.Reveal 3 waypoints
- Give her a cask of water and fly on.She accepts the water cask with a curt nod and resumes scanning the horizon for a bolder captain.−1 provisionsThe questline ends here.
Polishing the Bronze
Right away2 Speak with gun-founder Odalys Brand during the night watch.
Odalys refuses to sleep, sitting on deck scrubbing soot from the triple muzzle with an oiled rag. Near midnight she looks up at you. "Eleven sailors went down with the Bright Anvil trying to deliver my cannon, and an Excise cutter is still guarding the wreck. Does your crew know what they're flying into?"
- Assure her your crew is ready and let her work.She nods and returns to polishing the bronze, chalking the Excise patrol patterns onto your chart before dawn.Reveal 2 waypoints
- Bring her a hot supper and listen to her account of the sinking.Grateful for the hot meal, she tells you the names of the eleven lost sailors and warms to your crew.−1 provisions
- [Gunner] Have crewmate stand the night watch with her and study the muzzle.Crew: Gunnercrewmate holds the lantern and discusses cannon metallurgy with her until dawn. By morning crewmate understands how the three barrels share a single powder chamber, and Odalys trusts your ship completely.+1 Gunnery skill XP
The Bright Anvil
Sail to The Wreck of the Bright Anvil (2–4 passages away)3 Find the wreck of the Bright Anvil and salvage the Cinder Maw's breech block.
The shattered hull of the Bright Anvil lies wedged across a rock shelf, her cargo hold still smoldering a month after the battle. Wild creatures have nested in the warm wreckage—and high overhead, a Crown Excise cutter waits at anchor to pounce on any salvage crew that hauls up the gun.
- Send a salvage team down into the smoldering wreck.Landfall: The Bright Anvil
- Leave it for now.Odalys waits in grim silence as you hold off.
Muzzle and Breech
Right away4 Get the assembled Cinder Maw past the Crown Excise cutter.
On your deck, Odalys locks the salvaged breech block to the triple muzzle with a resonant clang of bronze. Hearing the bell-like ring from above, the anchored Excise cutter slips her cable and dives toward you with gunports open, demanding you surrender the cannon as royal salvage.
- Fight the cutter.Hot cinders from the wreck swirl across both decks as the Excise cutter closes in to attack.+1 heatBattle: Excise cutter · Close range, Ember windIf you win:+25 silver
- [Smuggler's Nook] Hide the cannon behind your false bulkhead and let them search the ship.Room: Smuggler's NookThe Excise lieutenant searches your hold for an hour, finds neither bronze nor cannon, and departs in a foul temper.
- Surrender the Cinder Maw cannon to the Excise cutter.The Excise lieutenant winches the heavy bronze cannon onto his own deck while Odalys watches in cold silence.
The Assembled Cannon
Right away5 Decide whether to keep the Cinder Maw or deliver it to the Free Captains.
The Cinder Maw stands complete on your deck: a devastating triple-barreled fire cannon whose three-shot volleys warp enemy wards. Odalys rests a hand on the warm bronze. "The Free Captains already paid for this cannon, and their quartermaster agent is waiting in the next region. I can't stop you from mounting it on your own ship—but I'll know if you steal it."
- Keep the Cinder Maw and mount it on your own gun deck.Odalys stares at you for a long moment, then goes to fetch her mounting tools.
- Crate the Cinder Maw and deliver it to the Free Captains' agent as promised.Odalys wraps the cannon in wet sailcloth inside a heavy crate and stays aboard to oversee the delivery.New job: The Cinder Maw, crated
Excise Salvage
Right away6 Collect your salvage payout from the Excise lieutenant.
Resting his ledger right on the Cinder Maw's bronze breech, the Excise lieutenant writes out your receipt. "Under Crown salvage law, you're entitled to ninety silver—or I can write you a voucher for a full Battery Deck refit at the next Excise station." Beside your rail, Odalys already has her tool bag packed to leave.
- Take the 90 silver salvage payout.The lieutenant pays you ninety silver and clears your record with the Crown, while a disgusted Odalys leaves your ship at the very next port.+90 silver+1 The Crown standing−2 heatThe questline ends here.
- Take the Excise shipyard voucher to upgrade your Battery Deck.Excise shipwrights upgrade your Battery Deck free of charge, and Odalys walks down your gangway without a single word.Upgrade: Battery Deck+1 The Crown standing−1 The Free Captains standing−1 heatThe questline ends here.
The Firing Sequence
Right away7 Have Odalys teach your gunners the Cinder Maw's firing sequence.
Mounted amidships on your battery deck, the Cinder Maw looks built for your hull. Odalys rests a hand on the breech. "She must be fired left, right, then center—fire the center barrel first and the bronze breech will crack wide open. I'll drill your gunners on the sequence today."
- Have her train your gunners, then let her disembark.Odalys drills your gun crew on the firing order, packs her tools, and leaves at the next port—where the Free Captains soon hear you took their cannon.Weapon: Cindermaw−2 The Free Captains standingThe questline ends here.
- Ask Odalys to join your crew and crew the cannon herself.Remembering the midnight watch you shared and the eleven sailors lost on the Bright Anvil, Odalys nods. "This gun needs its founder at the breech." She signs onto your crew as a master gunner, though the Free Captains resent losing their prize weapon.The questline ends here.
- Change your mind—crate the cannon and deliver it to the Free Captains' agent.Odalys exhales in relief, crates the cannon in wet sailcloth, and accompanies it to the next region.New job: The Cinder Maw, crated
The Second Casting
At the delivery port8 Deliver the crated Cinder Maw to the Free Captains' agent in the next region.
The Free Captains' agent circles the delivered crate twice in satisfaction. "We paid for one Cinder Maw, and you brought her through the Excise blockade. Odalys says she still has the master mold to cast a second Cinder Maw for your own deck—or our shipyard can upgrade your Battery Deck and hull plating instead."
- Have Odalys cast a second Cinder Maw cannon for your ship.Using the agent's foundry bronze, Odalys casts and mounts a second Cinder Maw on your gun deck while the original goes to the Free Captains' fleet.Weapon: Cindermaw+1 The Free Captains standingThe questline ends here.
- Have their shipyard upgrade your Battery Deck and reinforce your hull instead.Their shipwrights upgrade your Battery Deck and rivet heavy armor plating across your hull.Upgrade: Battery Deck+2 max hull+1 The Free Captains standingThe questline ends here.
- [Gunner] Have crewmate assist Odalys with the proving shots on your new Cinder Maw.Crew: Gunnercrewmate test-fires forty rounds alongside Odalys as she casts your new Cinder Maw, gaining valuable gunnery experience along with the triple-barreled cannon.The questline ends here.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord