Those Who Seek the Heart
The legend of the Pearl Heart is whispered across the Azure Sea.
Sailors claim it can harvest souls, protect its bearer, and bend the tides of fate.
Collectors call it priceless. Scholars call it impossible.
Most believe it a myth.
The Quartermasters are quietly searching for the Pearl Heart on behalf of their dread master.
Xendros will pay 100 gp for information,
and will trade a legendary magic item for the Heart itself.
To Iuz, an artifact capable of binding or manipulating souls is of immense strategic valuen something far too dangerous to leave in anyone else’s hands.
Keledek does not dismiss the story as myth.
If he learns the party is seeking the Heart, he becomes immediately interested.
He will:
Offer gold, spells, or arcane favors for information
Attempt to study the Heart if it is brought to him
Potentially try to acquire it for himself under the guise of “research”
To Keledek, the Heart is not merely a relic it is an opportunity to unravel a magical phenomenon older than Saltmarsh itself.
Gellan publicly calls the Pearl Heart a sailor’s tale.
Privately, he wants it, if it exists.
It represents:
A potential fortune
A tool to influence Keledek
A rare artifact to sell to collectors or foreign nobles
A way to increase his already considerable political power
To Gellan, the Heart is simply profit and leverage.
Of all the factions, the Scarlet Brotherhood understands the Heart’s true strategic potential.
They believe:
The Heart can be used to control the Pale Prow and its undead crew
It could be dangled as a promise to free Ineca’s cursed ship
The Pale Prow could be turned into a weapon
Its appearance could help ignite a new war between Keoland and the Sea Princes
A destabilized Saltmarsh, a fractured coast, and renewed bloodshed all serve the Brotherhood’s greater plan.
To them, the Heart is not treasure it is a catalyst for war.
All Others
Most folk believe the Pearl Heart is just a myth, a ghost story told in port taverns.
But those who know the truth whisper:
“Where the Heart goes, death follows"