Archmage Halstead: Ahoy Matey - The Third Session

 

The strangers started their day out after the assassination attempt on the Saltmarsh Council.  Some hostilities seemed to be resolved and the party looted the raiders of the town as they watched the Sea Ghost limp out to sea.  They found some various weapons, mariners’ armor, a magical mace, Sanbalet’s special pipes, and some loose coins.  The strangers debated whether to pursue the Sea Ghost immediately or let the ship come to them at a later date.  Gellen upon overhearing their conversation suggested maybe talking to Xendros whose ship the shadow dancer was at his docks.  Since she had stumbled upon the Ghost once before and seemed to have a way with knowing where smugglers might hide a ship that was damaged maybe they would be able to track the Ghost.  They went and talked to Xendros at her shop, where she once again reminded them that she was more than willing to deal in items of the non-mundane and that her inventory changed weekly.  Adamas was still wary of the Lloth loving Tiefling and the spider on her store sign although nothing mysterious occurred.  Leyash seemed fascinated by the door saying do not enter on it to the right of her counter.  They discussed some items and she agreed to meet them at the dancer in the morning to pursue the smugglers ship.  She did admit to knowing some possible locations of the Ghost that would make sense if they were trying to repair a damaged ship undetected.

On the way back to the Snapping Line they found some creepy kids jumping rope to what apparently was an old Saltmarsh tale.  The rhyme was memorized by several in the party, and they continued to the inn.  A little further down the road they ran into Anders and a beautiful redheaded lady who identified herself as Cassandra Fireborn.  Anders seemed to be in hushed conversation with her and checking on her condition.  Introductions were made and during the conversation she said everyone was suspicious in Saltmarsh to an extent and that the Scarlett Brotherhood was really a land faction of the Hold of the Sea Princes.  She said that there were many who suspected various town members of being a part of the brotherhood although nothing could confirmed.  They bid each other goodbye, and Cassandra left in discussion with Anders.  As they approached the Snapping line, Tylsaria was seen leaving the council chambers. Abe tried to impress her with a tune and won a smile from the dark-haired vixen.  She agreed to come talk to Abe after his set in the evening.

Once in the inn, Leyash saw Hannah in her traditional place reading and approached to ask if she was ok.  Although shaken Hannah seemed alright and weather it was the music, the recent events, or just Leyash’s undeniable charisma she invited him up to her room for the evening and fade to black.  Adamas was trying to be friendly with other patrons in the bar, but the employees were busy with their work.  As he wondered outside a female voice spoke to him in the night urging him that sometimes powers can be found in shades of grey, and that all in the world did not openly follow the goodness of the light like he did.  Maybe he should explore those shades of grey and be willing to compromise with others and some of his convictions.  Abe and Tylsaria’s conversation seemed to be going well and he gleaned some information on local happenings and suspicions that ranged from the compliment of the Sea Ghost to things like her boss being always suspected of wrongdoing, but that he was extremely loyal to those who reciprocated to him.  As Abe moved to try and close the deal for a romantic interlude for the evening his normally smooth voice cracked like a schoolboys, and Tylsaria gave him a wanting smile and said she had business elsewhere in town.

As they met Xendros at the dancer in the morning, Abe was given the honor of piloting the ship out of the docks if he wanted.  While Abe piloted the ship, Adamas and Xendros seemed to make a connection.  He questioned her about her loyalty to Lloth that seemed out of place for a Tiefling.  She said that Lloth had granted her with great powers even though there were others who probably had stronger convictions.  But she hinted at these powers working well with a group that she belonged to.  The dancer seemed to have sails for only cosmetic effect those as there was a lever next to the wheel that seemed to increase the propulsion of the ship by moving it down.  Xendros said she knew of three possible locations.  The first was a cove bracketed by a cliff and lots of shrubbery.  The dancer was brought in stealthy bytwisting the lever and a weird shimmer was seen over the ship.  When questioned, Xendros said that they would only be seen if they wanted to be seen or by pilot error.  Nothing was found in the cove although there was some evidence of torn down camps on the beach from this ship or others no one seemed to know.  The second cove a couple of hours south was approached which had a more wicked looking entry bracketed by rocks on both sides and once again although approached stealthily nothing was found inside.  The third cove was found a several hours further south and had a set of tall hills on either side of a rocky entrance.  The ship entered stealthily again and this time they found the Ghost anchored beyond some small reefs and in front of a beach.  Work seemed to be going on in both places and the ship was slowly being repaired.  A plan was put in place to wait till nightfall and approach under the cover of Adamas’s marine layer so it would look like sea fog in a Jolly Boat. 

The 1000 feet was covered under nightfall and nothing amiss was noticed by the burly man at the wheel, the parrot-like Aarakocra in the crow’s nest, the couple of pirates on deck or the pirate seeming to lead some workman on the beach.  As they got ready to climb the ship, Leyash catapulted a rock into the work gang on the beach killing 2 workmen instantly and sending everyone’s attention on the ship in that direction.  The anchor chain was climbed by Elle and Adamas activated what looked like wings and flew to the deck of the ship.  The bosun was grabbed and thrown overboard to the water by the anchor chain and the Aarakocra was blasted out of the crow’s nest into the water below dropping his gun to the deck.  The party climbed the chain, and a running battle began with the ships inhabitants as theyrose from their slumber and slowly joined the fight including the captain and ship wizard Punketah (the brother of Sanbalet).  The battle featured ballista bolts flying, a magic gunshot, the wizard being thrown to the water and then misty stepping back to the deck.  Magic at times seemed like it was taking longer to complete than it should of.  It was a tough fight and during the fight Adamas got whacked from the staff shot of a Tortle, and then the captain with two swift strikes dropped him to the ground.  Abe thought he noticed a blur and when he went to check saw a shadowed form going over the side and then dissipating into thin air.  Abe’s body was tossed overboard by the Tortle and eventually the captain, wizard and first mate were felled.  The remaining crew member fled for the ocean and the beach to join comrades that were already gone.

At the end of the battle Adamas returned from the sea and swam to the boat.  When questioned he said I think I died but he is not sure how he is back.  The ship was then searched from top to bottom finding ship stores and galley equipment and a cabin full of lizard folk.  The lizard folk did not seem to be able to distinguish the crew from the pirates through Abe’s effective disguise and were concerned about their weapon shipment and mentioned a bigger threat.  They agreed to stay in the cabin till the weapons could be delivered along with their pet pseudodragon Bimz.  The wizard’s room yielded money, a spellbook, and magical boots, while the captains yielded money, potions, and a key.  In the second level of the ship, they found the Bosun’s room with a parrot in a cage.  They found out the parrot was called Cuppa, and he frequently squawked pieces of eight repeatedly along with money and a secret door where when a small eight was pressed a prison cell was revealed.  In the cell clearly worse for wear was a sea elf who called himself Oceanus.He said he had been a prisoner for two years and was the prince of Aquarius which was the closest Sea Elf city destroyedby a Kraken according to him.  He keeps looking at Leyash strangely and saying it cannot be.  He also tells you that he knows of the lizard queen when asked about lizard folk.  He says at least when they lived on lizard isle which is 30-40  miles south of Saltmarsh that Othokent was a noble ruler but that the lizard folk are territorial in their nature.  You find his weapons in the first officers’ cabin next door along with money and some books as well as a similar secret jail cell that instead of an occupant holds a cache of weapons including a specially marked shield with the lizard folk symbol. 

In the center of the second deck a storeroom is located with lots of valuable small goods.  The front of the second deck contains the crew sleeping quarters some loose change, a magical deck of cards, and a book of hoes and Sigurd’s diners and dives.  The Third level of the ship contains the cannons and steps down to a lower fourth level crawl space where it looks like material can be stored but also has a foot or so of water in it.  The cannons have twenty shots for the four of them.

After securing the ship and talking with Xendros a deal was struck for the armor from the Saltmarsh raid and you found out she is looking for something called the Apparatus of Kwalish.  The party decided at this point to go visit the location of the Escape and look for the fabled silver fishing rod.  The dinghy is piloted excellently through the reefs by Abe and the wrecked ship is found.  As the ship is approached a giant crab like creature yelled for the party to stay away.After being annoyed by minor spells, a battle ensued in which not much resistance was given by the crabman and Oceanus summoned an ineffective shark to fight on your behalf.  Adamus stayed in the boat throwing javelins as he was fearful of sinking to the bottom of the sea, but his last javelin throw slayed the beast.  A search of the ship yielded the fabled magical rod under the corpse of the captain of the ship and a chest at the bottom of one of the reefs.  There was also a sapphire in what looked like the crabman’s nest.  The chest contained money and the plan was hatched to take the ghost back to Saltmarsh for repairs and to see what comes next and what money can be gained.  As always lots of questions are abound.  Can Ellie fashion poison from her kit, and is all the booty off the ship?   What do you do about thelizard folk and their weapons?  Is the ghost yours to have and hold and call George and what of the material items found inside?  What has happened in Saltmarsh, if anything, while you were gone?  Are the members of the council trustworthy and why was the council attacked?  Who are the brotherhood operatives in town and what connections are there to the Sea Princes?  And the DM is sure there are others that he cannot think of that you have tumbling around in your head?