The Three Crowns Tavern
Wapping, London · A winter evening, 1700
Wapping, London · A winter evening, 1700
Rain lashes the cobblestones outside The Three Crowns. Inside, the air is thick with pipe smoke and the smell of tallow candles. You find Hisham at a corner table — older than you remember, weather-burned, but with eyes that still hold the light of far horizons.
He leans across the table and speaks in a low voice. He has just returned from Singapore — a voyage that took him to the edge of the world and back. He and three other sailors, he says, did something remarkable. Dangerous. Lucrative.
"Pauline. Listen carefully. We stole a map from a pirate lord in Singapore — a map to a treasure island near Jamaica, guarded by the Zombie Pirate himself. We split up in Lisbon to avoid suspicion. My three companions each went their own way. The map is with one of them. I came to London first to find you — to ask you to help me retrieve it."
"But I fear I was followed. If anything happens to me tonight — find my companions. Find the map. The treasure could change both our lives. I trust no one else with this."
You are about to ask him for more details when the tavern door swings open. A cloaked figure strides in — face hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat. For a moment the noise of the tavern seems to drop away.
You have a terrible feeling about this.
⚡ The Attack
It happens in an instant. The cloaked figure moves through the crowd with unnatural purpose — and drives a blade into Hisham's side. Screams erupt. The figure is gone before anyone can react.
Hisham slumps against you. His breathing is ragged. His face is pale. He grips your arm with surprising strength.
Hisham is fading fast. He can answer 3 questions before he loses consciousness. Choose wisely — each question is a turn, and turns cannot be recovered.
Ask your own question for free — earn bonus coins and XP if it's sharp. Or buy a preset to guarantee a useful answer.
Extractive +15⬡ +30XP · Investigative +20⬡ +35XP · Causal +25⬡ +40XP
Extractive Retrieves a specific fact — who, what, where, when. Best for gathering evidence quickly.
Investigative Tests a hypothesis — did he, was it, could they. Good for confirming suspicions.
Causal Asks why — what caused, what motivated, why did. The deepest questions, highest reward.
Generative Explores possibilities — what if, what else, what might. Earns less in this context.
Vague No clear target. A wasted turn. Be precise.