The Mysterious Tower - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 8

Annor shook his head to clear his senses. He was standing on the bank of the Dunwater river outside the Lizard-folk stronghold next to a smashed rowboat. He was with the rest of "A-Team" but he had no idea how he got here.

"What's going on? What's happening?" He asked.

His brother, Marlin, told him, "You've been infected with brain jellies for the past three days. You're better now."

Annor said, "Brother, the last thing I remember was entering the Lizard-folk stronghold and meeting Princess Orthokent."

"We worked it out, brother. Turns out they weren't invading Saltmarsh. They were kicked out of their permanent home by the Sahuagin. This is a temporary home until they can retake their original home. We made friends and negotiated an alliance with Saltmarsh."

Auric proudly proclaimed, "Yeah! We were inducted into the tribe. We got lizard-man names and everything!"

Marlin confirmed, "Yep."

Aella was likewise confused, "Hold on, Me too. The last thing I remember was fighting a giant crocodile."

Marlin said, "Yep, that was Thousand Teeth. That's what cemented our place with the tribe. We're going to help each other fight the Sahuagin."

Annor thought about this information, "So what are we doing now?"

Auric looked at Marlin accusingly, "Go ahead! Tell him!"

Marlin cleared his throat and took a breath, "Okay, listen. I have to tell you something, brother."

Auric blurted, "We're on a secret mission from the Thieves' Guild!"

CHAPTER 8

"THE MYSTERIOUS TOWER"

The A-Team:

• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Sorceress from Ket. (Absent)
• Annor Whalerson - Neutral Good, Human Marine and Fighter from Saltmarsh. (Absent)
• Marlin Whalerson - Neutral Good,  Human Seeker and Rogue.
• Auric Ravenson - Neutral Good, Human (?) Shipwright and Cleric.

With special guest star...

• "Amnesia" - Human (?) Amnesiac Rogue. 

Marlin Comes Clean
Annor blanched, "We're on a WHAT?"

Marlin held out his hands defensively, "We're not! Okay, we kind of are. Listen. Right. Okay, first of all, there's no thieves' guild in Saltmarsh. It's much too small. The Organization is for smuggling."

"What's the difference?" Annor demanded.

Amnesia interrupted, "Were you not aware that there's a lot of smuggling going on in Saltmarsh? I was only there a week and I've already met a sailor who explained how it all worked. It's like the worst kept secret. Everybody knows and nobody cares. They're not stealing from anyone. They're just not paying taxes on imports and exports."

Annor pointed his finger accusingly at Amnesia, "Those taxes belong to the crown! It helps fund the navy and build roads!"

Amnesia said, "Well, Saltmarsh isn't seeing any of that, is it? I'm just saying, it's not hurting anyone."

Annor said, "Those taxes pay for the town guard!"

Amnesia retorted, "No they don't! Where do you think the town guard get most of their income? From bribes and kick-backs from the smugglers to look the other way!"

Marlin jumped back in, "ANYWAY, I joined the Organization but, brother I'm telling you, it's all a ruse. I just want to gather information."

"Was that what all that secret devil worship ritual was all about?"

Marlin was confused, "The WHAT? Oh, the initiation ritual. That wasn't devil worship!"

Auric coolly interjected, "Tell him about the mission."

"Mission?" inquired Annor.

"Right, so we're going up the Dunwater river to pick up an item from some people and take it back to Gellan Primewater."

"Is this legal, brother?" demanded Annor.

"Well, probably not. I have no idea what we're picking up. But I know we're not supposed to let the town guard see it. Anyway, brother, I'm telling you all of this so that you know why I had to steal your Bag of Holding."

"My WHAT?"

DM Note-
The conversation at the table pretty much happened word for word like the above. It was great role-playing and I loved it. I especially appreciated how the player characters are falling into the same two camps as the town council. Annor is a loyalist. Amnesia and Marlin are Traditionalists. Aella was pretty neutral. Auric was mostly neutral. He didn't like paying taxes to the king but he didn't like working for an illegal organized crime syndicate either. 

After a While, Crocodiles! 
The A-Team followed the left bank of the Dunwater river north. There was no path and the bank was muddy and wet. Much of the land was likewise muddy and covered in grass and reeds as tall as a man with the occasional copse of small trees. They crossed many small tributary streams that were easily forded.

On the banks of one such stream they encountered three adult crocodiles and one juvenile. There was no way to avoid them. The crocodiles spotted them and slipped into the water and swam towards the party.

Annor dashed across the stream to attack a nearby crocodile on a small island. He was quickly attacked by one of its companions. Marlin disappeared into the tall grass while Amnesia engaged the juvenile. The juvenile managed to bite onto Amnesia's arm but it was too small to pull her down. Instead, it simply clamped on and wouldn't let go. It was small enough Amnesia could lift it with one arm.

Another adult bit at Amnesia but Marlin emerged from hiding to stab it with his short swords. Amnesia attacked it with her rapier while Marlin disengaged behind Aella the sorceress.

Soon all the crocodiles were defeated. Amnesia managed to capture the juvenile alive. She tied a rope around it to immobilize it and took the squirming reptile with her as they continued up the river.

Search for the Tower
Two hours into their journey upriver, the party encountered the lizard-folk and human skulls impaled onto poles that served as a warning that they were entering the domain of Thousand Teeth. Marlin told the others to keep their eyes peeled for a ruined tower. When asked why, Auric exclaimed, "Oh, didn't he tell you? That's our OTHER mission! His wizard friends wants us to find some magic crystals!"

Marlin explained that they had removed a mutagenic magic crystal from the throat of Thousand Teeth which had driven the beast mad. Marlin said that when he returned the crystal to his mentor,  Keledek the Illusionist, Keledek told him a story about an ancient tower that was home to some alchemists. The alchemists were conducting some experiments on a big magic crystal. The experiment failed and the crystal exploded, destroying the tower and sending ten crystal shards in every direction. If we found the ruined tower, we could explore the surrounding land looking for the ten shards. Keledek offered to pay us 300 gold coins per shard we recovered.

Annor reluctantly agreed to this plan. He was becoming increasingly wary of Marlin's "mentors".

Amnesia offered to scout ahead in case she encountered any hostile monsters, they could avoid them.

Auric asked, "why don't you just fly up and look around?"

Amnesia answered, "Wait, what? Because I can't fly! Did you think I could fly?"

Auric looked confused, "You can't? Can't all humans fly?"

There was a moment of bewildered silence before everyone answered in unison, "No!"

Amnesia pressed, "Can YOU?"

Auric wrinkled his face a bit, "Well, yes. I assumed everyone could. I just sprout my wings and take off."

Amnesia was taken aback, "You have WINGS?"

Auric explained, sort of, "Well, not all the time. I honestly thought everyone did! This is very confusing!"

"What ARE you?" pondered Amnesia.

Auric shrugged, "I'm a servant of Tristan, sent to this world to spread his message. I was given the form of a human. I had wings, so I assumed everyone did. Weird."

Amnesia considered Auric with cautious suspicion, "Okay then, I've changed my mind. Let Auric fly."

Auric sprouted celestial raven wings from his shoulder blades and took flight. He immediately spotted the overgrown ruins of an ancient keep on a nearby low hill about four miles west of the river.

DM Note-
I laid it out like this - they would need to make Intelligence (Perception) ability checks vs. DV 20 for each hour spent searching a 7500 yard hex on the map. It was currently around 10am. I would also roll for random encounters for each hour spent searching. Amnesia offered to scout ahead stealthily in order to avoid random encounters. I told her it would take two hours to scout a hex in that case and she couldn't get help on the roll from the others. She opted to stick with the party instead so she could get Advantage on the roll from the others helping. Then Auric busted out his wings and spotted the ruins in the distance. 

The Ruined Keep

The party found the ruins of an ancient keep on the top of a low hill about four miles from the Dunwater river. There was no tower. The walls of the decrepit keep formed a rectangle with crumbling bastions at each corner and a gatehouse on one end. Twisted trees grew in one corner of the compound. Long tendrils of black moss hung from the branches. The trees appeared to be slowly undulating despite there being no wind. The trees were black but slowly, almost imperceptibly, changed hue through green, purple, red, and pink on the tips. They had seen the trees near Thousand Teeth's lair exhibit the same behavior.

The party could sense a strange subsonic hum from an invisible energy that permeated the place.

There was a breach in the north edge of the east wall. The party avoided the gatehouse and scrambled over the rubble of the collapsed wall.  The center of the courtyard was barren, devoid of any structure or ruin.

Annor complained, "There's no tower."

Aella said, "What are you talking about? What's that big blurry thing?"

Annor was confused, "The WHAT?"

Marlin confirmed, "I see it! You have to turn your head. You can't see it if you look at it. You have to look out of the corner of your eye!"

There was a tower, but it was invisible! In fact, it was sheathed in some kind of magical field that made it difficult to look at or perceive. Once they were told what to look for, everyone was able to perceive the PRESENCE of the tower, even if they couldn't confirm it directly.

They approached the tower but found that the magical energy that shielded it from view also prevented anyone from approaching too close. It was like a magnetic field of repulsion.

"I thought you said this tower exploded." pointed out Annor.

"Well, maybe Keledek wasn't exactly correct on every detail." explained Marlin.

Auric interjected, "He's probably working on second- or third-hand stories. I mean, if the thing exploded, how would he know there were exactly ten shards? I'm thinking the tower is trapped behind some kind of magical force field. Maybe it didn't explode at all!"

"Good point" agreed Marlin, "He may have no actual idea what we're looking for. And, brother, you know what that means?"

"What?" asked Annor.

Marlin beamed, "Unexplored ruins, brother! That means LOOT! We should check it out!"

"For once, brother, I agree with you." admitted Annor.

There were several ruined structures within the walled compound. One was obviously a stable. One was a barracks. The structure nearest the party to the right was some kind of officer's quarters. Although the interior structures were ruined, it was still clear that the stonework and construction of the interior structures were relatively new, built within the last 150 years, while the walls and bastions were much older, perhaps thousands of years old.

Annor pointed at the officer's quarters, "Marlin, let's check it it out."

The pair entered the ruined structure - its roof had collapsed and most of the wood was rotten. Everything was covered in a fine coating of a crystalline crust that pulsated through the same black, green, purple, red, pink colors as the trees. The crust could be brushed off easily and crunched underfoot like old snow. Marlin soon found a trap door under some rubble. He pulled it open revealing a ladder descending into the darkness.

The Flying Sarcophagi
The ladder descended to a set of stone stairs that descended into darkness. Old footprints of dried mud indicated that these stairs hadn't been used in decades. The party descended the stairs.

They found a corridor which smelled of urine and decaying flesh. They decided to take a side passage to the left. They soon found a door which revealed a room. The room was once an armory but the weapons and armor were over a hundred years old. They were rotten or decrepit and of little value. They also found strange muddy footprints of an unknown creature with three stumpy legs the size of tree trunks. The mud was not very old.

They continued down a side passage. The passage led to a long corridor that passed through multiple archways. The stonework beyond each archway displayed progressively cruder and less sophisticated workmanship until they were traveling in  rough-hewn caves.

The end of the hallway was blocked by a ceiling collapse. They spent the better part of an hour clearing the debris which allowed them squeeze through to the other side.

They reached an ancient bronze door which they opened to reveal a square room, fifty feet on each side. There were four stone sarchophagi, each standing upright in a corner of the room. In front of the each sarcophagus were the loose bones of a former occupant clad in decrepit red robes. The remains appeared to have been dumped unceremoniously onto the ground. There was an open exit in the center of the right wall and an open exit in the center of the far wall.

In the center of the room was the statue of an old crone. The walls of the room were carved in relief images depicting mighty wizards and warriors kneeling before the poor and decrepit.

In front of the statue was the mortal remains of someone wearing armor and adventuring equipment. Whoever it was appeared to have died violently.

Marlin reassured his companions with a cocky lopsided grin, "Don't worry, I got this one."

Marlin got down on his hands and knees and crawled to the statue.

As soon as he crawled in front of the statue, the stone sarcophagi raised up into the air and began to spin around the room at high speed!

One slammed into Annor! The sarcophagi stopped spinning and took a position blocking the exits to the room. Aella and Amnesia were separated from the rest of the group in the hall. Annor swung his farcically long sword and smashed the sarcophagus to rubble. He glared at Marlin.

Marlin was confused, "I don't understand! I was sure the penitent man routine would do the trick." Marlin tried to turn the statue, push the statue, anything, but nothing stopped the flying sarcophagi. He was skilled at disarming mechanical traps but was helpless against magical traps like this.

Amnesia and Aella ran into the room with seconds to spare as another sarcophagus soon took the place of the one Annor destroyed.  The sarcophagus blocking the far exit moved aside leaving that exit clear. It soon became evident why - a throng of animated skeletal warriors carrying shields, spears, and scimitars of ancient manufacture came clattering up the hall. They poured into the room and engaged Marlin and Annor in hand-to-hand combat.

Skeletons
Auric stepped forward and held aloft the holy symbol of Tristin the Raven King, judge of the souls of the dead. He spoke loudly and defiantly, ordering the skeletons to wither before the holy power of  his god! Celestial ravens materialized and flew out into the room before disappearing. Over half of the skeletons cowered and fled through the far exit from which they entered.

The remaining skeletons were soon destroyed along with the animated sarcophagi.

Marlin examined the skeleton at the base of the statue and found a large steel shield, a short sword, some ruined adventuring equipment, and a piece of parchment preserved in a leather pouch.
The parchment had a drawing of a wooden practice sword and some notes:

"Humility is Power"
"Those who would kneel before the meek would see the meek kneel before them"
"With this blade should you lead the meek"
"Sword? Axe? (burn hole)"
"The legacy of Kni-(burn hole)"
"- was he truly corr-(burn hole)"
"The scrolls say he was, (burn hole) -ends don't"\
"Was his the sword of the meek (burn hole)"
"Finally found the tomb, tomorrow I enter"

The party also found sacks of coins in each corner of the room. Each sack contained, in turn, platinum coins, gold coins, more gold coins, and silver coins.

Auric warned the others, "My banishment won't last forever. Get ready, the skeletons will return in a moment."

The party positioned themselves around the far exit. On cue, the remaining skeletons came charging down the hall. The party was ready for them and they were soon destroyed. 

The party cautiously explored the passage from whence the skeletons emerged. They found only a room containing empty stone coffins with open lids. They returned to the statue room and proceeded down the remaining unexplored corridor.

The Trapped Statue
The corridor passed through a colonnade in a wide hall. Each of the pillars was carved to resemble an old blind crone supporting another crone on their back. At the end of the colonnade was a niche containing the bronze statue of a wizened old blind man with a staff.

Marlin once again asked everyone to stay back, "Okay, this time it will work for sure!"

Marlin got on his hands and knees and crawled towards the statue, carefully examining the floor beneath him as he did so. His sensitive fingers detected a loose floor tile in front of the statue - a pressure plate! He carefully activated the pressure plate. A large scything blade flashed over his head, shearing a few hairs as it did so! Marlin quickly inserted an iron spike into the scythe arm to prevent it from pulling back and resetting.

A moment later, the statue in the niche and the wall behind it began to descend into the floor, revealing a passage! 

The Cursed Wight

The short passage opened into a small burial vault containing a single sarcophagus on a raised platform. Greeting them in the doorway was the animated corpse of a warrior clad in bronze armor and wielding a wooden sword. The corpse was desiccated and black from age. It opened its toothless mouth and an eerie rasping voice hissed, "Finally! Now I am the master!"

The undead warrior clashed with Annor. To Annor's surprise, the strike of its blunt wooden sword cut like a sharpened metal blade!  The party soon destroyed the undead warrior and moved into the burial vault.

Marlin recognized the sword and the warrior from his knowledge of history. This was the legendary warrior Glorian the Humble who wielded a magical wooden sword. Glorian was a mythic hero from thousands of years ago, a holy warrior of Melchior - a forgotten god of the meek and the wretched. Suddenly the statues and carvings and rituals all made sense!

A quick examination of the burial vault revealed deep scratches in the door. The undead thing had been trapped in this vault for thousands of years, trying to get out!

The party was exhausted and needed a short rest. They retreated to the burial chamber of the skeletons to catch their breath.

Before they could even sit down, a massive spider the size of a horse crawled down the corridor from the sarcophagus room. The spider was large enough to block the entire corridor! It was quickly dispatched but not before biting Aella! Luckily, the venom of its fangs had little effect and the sorceress was able to shrug it off.

Having defeated the giant spider, the team was finally able to take a short rest.

While the others rested, Marlin performed a ritual to identify any magical artifacts they had found. The sword and shield from the sarcophagus room were both enchanted, as was the wooden sword of Glorian.

DM Note
In the original module, written for 3.0, Glorian's sword is +2 and did slashing damage despite looking like a wooden sword. For 5E, I changed it to a +1 sword bit gave the wielder the ability to do bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing damage at their discretion. 


Otyugh

Their rest completed and having exhausted all avenues apparent to them, the party retraced their steps to the stairs where they descended. They reluctantly and cautiously explored the corridor that reeked of urine and decay.

They entered into a large room that once contained barred holding cells along the left and right walls. The barred doors to each cell were open. There was a heap of partially eaten creatures piled in one corner of the room. A large monstrosity with three stumpy legs, two long tentacles, and a single eye stalk terminating in three beady red eyes. It took notice of the party's entrance and opened a wide disgusting mouth full of half-eaten carrion and sharp teeth, hissing its displeasure!

To be continued...

DM Comment

For this side adventure, I decided to use the Mysterious Tower by Goodman Games. It's written for 3.0 so I just have to update the monsters and traps to 5E and adjust the difficulty values by -5%. I'm also modifying the story to fit into the history of the Hool Marshes.

Three Heads in a Duffel Bag - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 7

Everyone in the party had a first name starting with "A". Everyone but Marlin, that is. It wasn't planned. It's just the way it worked out. As a result the party had taken to calling themselves the "A-Team".

The A-Team had removed the corrupting shard of crystal that had transformed a crocodile into a bloodthirsty mutant called Thousand Teeth the Devourer. The mutant crocodile had been terrorizing a tribe of lizard-folk refugees displaced from their home by the evil fish men known as Sahuagin. Now the team was returning to the temporary lizard-folk stronghold with the strange alien crystal as proof of their efforts to help the tribe. They also had three severed lizard-man heads in a duffel bag. They had no plans to show the heads to Princess Orthokent, leader of the lizard-folk tribe. Even though the heads belonged to degenerate lizard-men who belonged to a different tribe, they liked the princess and had no desire to cause her offense.

Once they were outside the subterranean stronghold of the lizardfolk, Marlin stuffed the bag, already swarming with marsh flies, into some tall grass. They'd pick that up later. It was approaching midday.

CHAPTER 7

"THREE HEADS IN A DUFFEL BAG"

The A-Team:

• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Sorceress from Ket. (Absent)
• Annor Whalerson - Neutral Good, Human Marine and Fighter from Saltmarsh. (Absent)
• Marlin Whalerson - Neutral Good,  Human Seeker and Rogue.
• Auric Ravenson - Neutral Good, Human (?) Shipwright and Cleric.

With special guest star...

• Alot Aname - Warforged Soldier and Fighter

The Decision

Upon their return, the A-Team was escorted to the audience chamber. Princess Orthokent was preparing to speak.

Princess Orthokent greeted the "man-people" warmly, an uncommon trait for the lizard-folk and part of the reason the A-Team respected her. She told them that her warrior Aryte had told her about their mission and asked them how it went. 

Marlin and Auric recounted the tale of their adventure. They made a special point to mention that the "sacred beast" was alive and unharmed and that it had been corrupted by a mysterious alien crystal shard. Marlin used a minor cantrip to levitate the shard out of the pouch in which it was safely carried. It displayed it without touching it or allowing others to touch it. 

Princess Orthokent was fascinated by the tale, as were the leaders of her warrior caste and Minister Sauriv. Even a few of the shamans were reluctantly impressed. 

The princess then announced it was time for her decision. The previous day, she had misinterpreted a personal offer of help from Marlin as an overture of alliance from the human town of Saltmarsh against the Sahuagin. She had told them then that she would consider the offer and give her decision today at midday. Although Marlin and Auric discovered the miscommunication and had an opportunity to flee, they soon learned of threat posed to Saltmarsh by the Sahuagin and were convinced by Minister Sauriv to turn the miscommunication into an actual alliance between the town and the lizard-folk.

The princess announced to her gathered court that she would indeed seek an alliance with the "Man-People". In fact, she was so impressed by the diplomatic efforts made by the A-Team that she decided to make them honorary members of the tribe. From this day forward, among the tribe ruled by Orthokent, Alot Aname would be known as "Aryte-Litrix the War-Armor", Marlin Whalerson would be known as "Usk the Iron-Willed", and Auric Ravenson would be known as "Vutha the Black".

DM Note- 

This was the idea of one of the players. They knew I had a table of random names and personalities so they demanded I give them lizard-folk names and personalities, so I rolled for each of them. They even took it to the next level. When among the lizard-folk, the players started role-playing their new lizard-folk personalities. Auric, aka "Vutha the Black", saw only two kinds of humanoids - lizard-folk and "meat". Marlin, aka "Usk the Iron-Willed", started using metaphors without knowing what a metaphor was. It was hilarious.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent getting to know each other and celebrating the new members of the tribe. The A-Team spent the night in the storage room.

Journey Back to Saltmarsh

The princess assigned two elite lizard-man warriors to escort the party back to Saltmarsh to make an offer of alliance.  It was the same lizard-men that were captured aboard the Sea-Ghost a week ago. They had been interviewed by the town council before they were set free  so they were known among the council members. The group set out in the morning on the eight-to-ten hour trek through the marsh to Saltmarsh. 

Marlin retrieved his bag of heads from its hiding place. They were beginning to stink and the lizard-men envoys took immediate notice. Marlin explained and tried to apologize. The lizard-men made it clear that the heads belonged to a rival tribe of degenerates and that their death carried no significance. Marlin, Auric, and Alot breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

They reached the estuary of the Janustream river. They sent Alot ahead of group on the ferry and waited for the next one. They wanted Alot to warn the town of the incoming lizard-men envoys to avoid any further miscommunications or misinterpretations. The last thing they wanted now was for the envoys to be killed by the guards.

The ferry returned and they crossed. The sun was setting and it would be dark by the time they arrived in Saltmarsh.

To their surprise, when they reached the gate, the guards sent a runner ahead to alert the council of their arrival. The town council was holding a special session to hear what happened and to meet with the envoys.

The Town Council

The A-Team and the two lizard-men envoys were brought before a closed-door meeting of the town council. Eliander Fireborn, the former military commander and leader of the town guard, viewed the lizard-folk with suspicion. Eda Oweland, who had planned to build a dock on the site of the temporary lizard-folk stronghold, gazed upon the envoys with grim contempt. Anders Solmor, the young and naive scion of the Solmor shipping company, was curious and excited. The remaining members of the council, Gellan Primewater, the wealthy owner of a shipping company, and Manistrad Copperlocks, the dwarven proprietor of a mining concern and agent of the King of Keoland, seemed bored and disinterested. 

Eliander banged the gavel and demanded that the A-Team reveal what they learned during their secret mission - Why were these reptilian monsters purchasing weapons from smugglers? Anders stepped to the podium and took the gavel, gently reminding Eliander that this was not a military trkibunal and that, in fact, Anders was the council chairperson and would call sessions into order. It took a moment for Eliander to realize his mistake. The former military commander apologized and yielded the gavel.  Anders called the session into order and more politely asked the A-Team for their full report.

Marlin and Auric provided a detailed account of their mission. They told the council that Princess Orthokent had no violent intentions towards Saltmarsh or any other human settlement. She had not invaded the stronghold, they were refugees who were forced to flee their home by the Sahuagin. The Sahuagin were expanding and posed a dangerous threat to all the aquatic tribes out at sea as well as any human settlement along the coast. They were purchasing weapons to defend their temporary home from further Sahuagin attacks. To that end, they were building an alliance with the aquatic tribes - the Merfolk, the Locathah, and even the dreaded Koalinth.  Not only would they provide for mutual defense, they would one day drive the Sahuagin out of the lizard-folk home. Princess Orthokent had not sought an alliance with the human settlements because she knew the humans would be predisposed to reject her offer. However, her encounter with the members of the A-Team had convinced her that an alliance with humanity was worth pursuing. So she had sent her envoys.

The two lizard-men envoys corroborated the tale and made an official offer of alliance. Oceanus the Sea-Elf stepped in and asked to speak. Marlin and Auric, knowing that Oceanus was against any alliance including the Koalinth, dreaded enemy of the sea-elves, looked warily at each other.

The council recognized Oceanus. Oceanus made a counter-offer. He suggested instead an alliance with the Sea-Elves against the Koalinth. Auric, Marlin, and Alot quickly grabbed Oceanus and pulled him aside, apologizing to the council for the interruption. Alot took Oceanus outside wo that he could not ruin the alliance.

The council deliberated. Eliander was convinced but was worried about the Koalinth. Anders was enthusiastic. Gellan, whose company relied upon safe oceanic trade, was convinced. Manistrad characteristically abstained while Eda maintained her vehement opposition to the proposal. 

The council had voted to accept the offer of an alliance. They would meet tomorrow to work out the details.

Oceanus Bids Farewell
After the council was adjourned, Oceanus met with the other members of the A-Team. He told them that entering into an alliance with the Koalinth was a mistake and bad things would happen. He also told them that now that his mission was complete, he would return to his undersea home and report to his prince. He bade them farewell and told them that he hoped to see them again in the future. With that, he walked across the streets towards the pier. He turned one last time and waved before he  dove into the water.  

Never Negotiate with a Wizard
It was hours after nightfall and most of the townsfolk of Saltmarsh were retiring to their homes. The A-Team crossed the Sharkfin Bridge heading for the Whaler house.  At the door to the Whaler house, Marlin told the others he had some business to attend to and that he would see them in the morning. He kept walking into the night and up the hill overlooking the peninsula. 

He walked up to the tower of the wizard Keledek. The door opened before he arrived. He entered and found an empty room. The sound of some large simian creature wailed in anger from upstairs. He heard Keledek curse in a strange unknown language then a loud sound "ZAP!" The simian screeched in pain and became obediently silent.

A moment later Keledek, the brown skinned illusionist from exotic Ket, descended the stairs wiping his hands with a towel. He apologized for the distraction. Without further preamble, he ordered Marlin to give him the shard.

Marlin, who had hoped to surprise his mentor with the find, was taken aback by the wizard's foreknowledge. He used a cantrip to levitate the shard out of its pouch.

"What is it?" asked the pupil.

Keledek examined it, "It is a shard of the fabled crystal of the Alchemists of Hool! Legend says that a group of alchemists once lived in a tower in the Hool Marsh, though this was hundreds of years ago and it wasn't a swamp then. The legend says that they created a crystal the size of a man's forearm that was infused with powerful magical properties. They could use the crystal to warp life and reshape it to their will. They used the crystal to create all manner of strange chimeric beasts. It's not clear why it happened but one day it exploded, destroying the tower and shattering the crystal. Its shards were strewn a league in every direction. The location of the tower has since been lost. Where did you say you found this shard?"

"Lodged in the throat of a crocodile," was Marlin's reply.

"Would you be able to return to this place?" inquired Keledek.

"Assuredly," said Marlin.

"Then you have also found the general location of the tower of the Alchemists of Hool. It would be located within one league of where you found the shard. I know a specific use for the crystal's magical properties, but this small shard is insufficient for my needs. I need you to go back to where you found this shard and search for others. I need at least nine more like this one! Thank you for bringing this to me!"

"Not so fast!" interjected Marlin, "You have to pay for this!"

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS INSOLENCE?!" demanded Keledek, "I am your master! You are my apprentice! You will do as I say!" Keledek's eyes narrowed, "or has our tutelary arrangement come to an end?"

"No. I am simply renegotiating our arrangement. I am no longer a simple dock rat who will clean your house and dispose of you refuse. I have special skills now and my skills come at a premium. I demand five hundred gold pieces for that shard!"

Keledek's eyes grew wide and rage. His chin quivered. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He broke the tension with a hearty laugh and a wide smile.

"Ah! Very good! You are learning! As you wish. I will pay you but only 300 gold pieces for the shard, as well as three hundred gold pieces for each shard of equal size thereafter."

"Five. Hundred."

Keledek held his chin in contemplation.  His eyes narrowed. "Three hundred and I will give you a special gift."

"Depends on the gift?" Marlin said, warily.

"It will be worth it." Keledek assured him.

After some brief consideration, Marlin agreed.

"Excellent," said Keledek, "When next you see Gellan Primewater. Tell him I said it was time. That is all."

"Wait, what?" Marlin was confused.

"I SAID THAT IS ALL! YOU MAY LEAVE NOW, PUPIL!" bellowed Keledek in a rage. The door threw itself open and Keledek held out his hand towards the doorway palm up to make the message clear.

Eda Oweland Won't Pay
The next day the warforged guardian Alot Aname sought out Eda Oweland in order to claim the bounty on lizard-man heads she had promised Aella. He carried the sack containing three putrid rotting heads to the docks and found Eda in the fishmongers plant. He found her giving orders to a boat captain. She looked confused and annoyed by the approach of this random stranger, "What the fuck do you want?"

Alot indicated the sack in his hands and told her he was here to collect on the bounty she had promised. The boat captain gave her a look of concern. Eda swore, "Fuck the gods!" She dismissed the captain and led Alot to a small office with a window overlooking the Azure sea. "That arrangement was a gods damned secret!" She finally noticed the sack of heads, "Wait, does that bag contain severed fucking heads? Did you bring the cocksucking heads HERE? You fucking idiot!"

Alot was dispassionate and spoke in a monotone, "You will pay ten gold pieces per head like you promised."

"WHAT? I won't!"

"You will pay ten gold pieces per head like your promised."

The foul-mouthed owner of a fleet of fishing boats closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "I won't! Look, A - My  fucking offer was to that foreign girl, not to you. B - My offer was intended to drive the cold-blooded bastards out of that grotto. I wanted to build a damned dock there. Your fucking group not only failed to drive them out, you made a gods-damned ALLIANCE with the scaly fuckers! I won't pay!"

There was a moment of silence as Alot contemplated Eda's argument.  

"You will pay ten gold pieces per head like your promised."

"I'm going to get some boys to escort you the fuck out! You better be gone when I get back!" She stormed out of the office and slammed the door.

Alot hesitated for a moment. He then took one of the putrid heads and placed it inside a storage cabinet. "I'll just leave this here as a sign of our good will." he said to himself. He left the building before she could return.

Alot left the fishmonger's plant. While dumping the two remaining rancid heads off the pier, he ran into Amnesia who had been spending the past few days trying to investigate her mysterious past but with no luck.

Gellan Primewater has a Job for Marlin
Around mid-morning, Gellan Primewater summoned Marlin for a private meeting. The wealthy importer and exporter had sponsored Marlin's membership in "the Organization", a secret cabal of smugglers in Saltmarsh.

Gellan told Marlin that Punketah the sea-wizard had escaped the gaol. He had simply disappeared. The gaoler walked in one morning and the wizard was gone. The cell was still locked.  Marlin expressed disbelief for he had given Punketah's spellbook to Keledek and without his spellbook, Punketah wouldn't be able to study his spells. Gellan leaned back and his chair with a knowing smile and held his hands out palms up and shrugged. "Look, if you're worried about vendetta, don't worry. If the Sea-Wizard is a member of the Organization, he is forbidden from killing another member of the Organization without permission. He'd have to ask permission from his sponsor who'd then ask permission from me."

Marlin scoffed, "I wasn't worried about that. That guy's a loser!"

Gellan then said, "Before I get to the matter at hand, I have a question." Gellan asked Marlin if he thought his friends and companions would make good recruits into "the Organization". Marlin rubbed his chin and thought about it. He admitted he didn't think they'd be good recruits at this time.

"That's too bad," replied Gellan, "That's going to make this next part more complicated. I have a job for you."

Gellan said that he had a special product being brought to Saltmarsh for export. The item couldn't come through Burle so he had it sent to friends of his in the Hool Marshes. He simply needed to have someone go to his friends' camp and pick it up and bring it back to Saltmarsh.

"How big is this item?" inquired Marlin.

"Hmm.. let's see. How big is your magical bag of holding?" replied Gellan pointedly.

Realization dawned on Marlin that this item needed to be smuggled into Saltmarsh, "I see. Got it."

"You can find these friends by traveling up the Dunwater river until you encounter a large chain that spans the entire river."

As Marlin was preparing to leave, he suddenly remembered, "Oh, Keledek told me to tell you it was time. Whatever that means."

"Oh, interesting. Excellent."

"What does that mean?" inquired Marlin.

"Son, it means that when you get back, you get to see our little secret beneath the Tower of Zenopus."

Marlin's heart skipped a beat.

Sahuagin Ambush!
Marlin told the others about the mission - Buy a boat and row up the Dunwater river to  retrieve a package. To that end they purchased a longboat, a large eight person rowboat. The A-Team, including Amnesia, set out from Saltmarsh the next morning, sailing west along the coast towards the Dunwater river. The trip would take roughly eight hours.

After seven hours of rowing, they were within sight of the Dunwater river and the rocky prominence containing the lizard-folk stronghold. Amnesia stood up and pointed into the water around the boat, "Fish-men!"

Six fish-men with bluish-green scaly skin surrounded the boat and attacked its occupants with long spears. Each spear was tipped with a strange fork-like head like a frog gig.  They were Sahuagin!

The six sahuagin climbed onto the boat and did hand-to-hand battle with its occupants. Amnesia maneuvered around to the stern of the boat to avoid attacks while Marlin slipped forward. Alot took the brunt of the attacks but hewed two or three of the sea-devils. Auric stepped forward and raised his arms in an appeal to Tristan, the God of the Dead, to grant them divine aid. Suddenly a swarm of ravens appeared from thin air, flying around the boat, circling fast and faster to create a whirlwind of beaks and black feathers. The talons and beaks of the celestial birds tore and rent the flesh of the Sahuagin in the boat and they were soon defeated.

There was a brief moment of peace when suddenly the boat was slammed by some kind of force followed immediately by another. Two muscular sahuagin were using large stone mallets to hammer the rear of the boat in an attempt to smash the wood and cause it to sink. Auric directed the birds to dive below the water. The immaterial birds were not impeded by the ocean waves and were soon pecking and devouring at the submerged opponents.

While they were distracted by the assailants to aft, another attacker had stealthily climbed onto the bow of the boat. This sahuagin looked like a humanoid angler fish with smooth black skin and a long glowing bulb that dangled like an ornament from the top of the fish-man's head. Although the fish-man was being pecked and torn by the swirling whirlwind of ravens, he withstood the onslaught and faced the occupants of the boat as if it wished to deliver a message.

Everyone was held transfixed for a moment by the swaying bulb as it flashed a strange luminescence. The fish-man spoke in a strange gurgling voice,  "I have a message to all who dwell above. Retreat inland. The sea and all that touches the sea belongs to the sahuagin!"

The fish-thing grimaced at the wounds still being inflicted by the swarm of ravens and dove back into the sea.

The boat continued to the banks of the Dunwater river. They pulled their boat ashore and sought shelter for the night within the stronghold of the lizard-folk.

The next morning they thanked their hosts and went down to their long-boat. It was smashed to splinters, destroyed by stone mallets.

The party exhaled a collective sigh of frustration at their lack of foresight. Next time they'd haul the boat farther inland.

To be Continued...

Thousand Teeth the Devourer - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 6

Intruder
A reptilian guard burst into the training hall as the shamans were departing. The guard stopped short when he saw the unexpected "guests": two humans, elf, warforged, and a half-elf. He regained his composure and addressed the leader of the reptilian host in low-Draconic, "Princess Orthokent! We have captured an intruder lurking outside the stronghold! It is a- man-person, we believe!"

Princess Orthokent looked at her guests, "We have captured a man-person lurking around the stronghold. Is this man-person with you?"

Marlin and Aella looked at each other and shrugged, "Maybe?". Marlin looked at Annor but the warrior simply looked into the distance, drooling. Marlin signed, "Your highness. My brother has become afflicted with a temporary disease knows as the 'brain jellies'. He may be out of it for a few hours. Is there somewhere safe to- ah-"

"Yes, I understand. Yes, we shall put him in a store room. But what about this intruder?"

"Possibly one of ours. May we see them?"

"Of course. Aryte is one of my greatest warriors. He speaks your language and will be your guide and assistant until we meet again tomorrow. Aryte, please take our guests to the holding cells."

CHAPTER 6

"THOUSAND TEETH THE DEVOURER"

• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Sorceress from Ket.
• Annor Whalerson - Neutral Good, Human Marine and Fighter from Saltmarsh.
• Marlin Whalerson - Neutral Good,  Human Seeker and Rogue.
• Auric Ravenson - Neutral Good, Human (?) Shipwright and Cleric.
• Oceanus - (NPC) Neutral Good, Sea Elf

Special Guest Stars
This week we were joined by a special guest star!

• Alot Aname - Warforged Soldier and Fighter

Auric Misses the Boat
Auric Ravenson had spent the last week building and preparing his new altar to Tristan, the Guardian of the Afterlife. He returned to his temporary home at the Whalerson house. No one was around. He couldn't help but think he had forgotten something. Where was everyone?

There was a note - "Auric, we've gone to the lizard-folk lair west of town. Meet us there."

Wait, was that today? No! That was yesterday! Auric hastily gathered his things and set off west!

He rented a rowboat and crossed the Janustream River. He followed the track past the ruins of the tower of Zenopus and over the hill. The trail of muddy footprints and the cleared path through the marsh was clear and easy to follow.

He came across the scene of a battle and a nearby campsite. The footprints led across a shallow ford where the Dunwater river met the sea and ascended a rocky promontory near the beach. There he found the severed heads of humans and demi-ogres impaled on pikes as a warning. The heads were several weeks old. Luckily it was no one he knew.

He heard a soft thipping noise and felt an insect sting his neck. He swatted it away but found a small dart. He began to feel drowsy and collapsed, unconscious, into the mud.

The Prisoner
Aryte led the party through the winding tunnels of the lizard-folk stronghold. As they passed through a checkpoint formed of a door made from intricately carved wood, someone in the party commented on the artistry of the carving. Aryte proudly declared himself the carver. Marlin told Aryte how impressed he was and asked if he would ever sell his work to the humans of Saltmarsh. Aryte answered that money had no value to him. He lived only to serve Princess Orthokent in whatever capacity she needed. It was only for her that he learned to carve wood. Marlin shrugged.

The party arrived at the holding cells which were guarded by a squad of lizard folk led by the jailer, Kothar. Kothar had little patience for these man-people outsiders and it was evident he looked upon them primarily as a source of meat - a fact made clear when he asked Aella for her hand as a snack. She refused in disgust, which only confused Kothar. After all- it's only a hand! Do they not grow back?

Marlin appeased Kothar by promising to prepare a feast of donkey meat for the warriors. Kothar asked, "What is this 'donkey'? Is it some kind of man-people?"

"No," replied Marlin, "But it's the next best thing! You'll love it!"

Kothar, intrigued at the prospect of this "don-kee", showed the way to the new prisoner. On their way they heard a voice in one of the cells calling out for help in different languages - Aquan, Keolish, and others. The voice claimed to be a triton envoy that had been captured and tortured by the lizard folk. It implored the party to free it and to not believe the lies of the lizard folk.

Ultimately, they were shown the captured man-person. It was Auric. Auric was reunited with the party and brought up to speed on the current situation. Auric was confused regarding why they were still there. Their mission had been to determine what was going on. Technically, their mission was accomplished and they should leave. They had no business offering an alliance to the lizard folk. That was a decision for the town council.

Marlin clarified that he only offered their own services to the lizard folk.

Aryte interrupted, explaining that it was Princess Orthokent's understanding that they were offering an alliance with the forces of the man-people.

Marlin, startled, said, "Wait. WHAT? We don't have that authority!"

Aryte looked worried, "Oh, this may change things. You should probably speak with Minister Sauriv immediately."

Minister Sauriv
Aryte took the party to Minister Sauriv's chambers. There they found the elderly reptilian in a comfortably appointed cavern complete with rugs and an upholstered armchair of human design in which the minister was seated reading a scroll to the light of a glowing brazier. A book on politics lay on the table within arms reach.

The minister greeted them warmly in Keolish.

Marlin told the minister about the miscommunication and asked what they should do.

Sauriv explained that Princess Orthokent was weighing whether or not to accept the offer of alliance with the humans based on what she perceived to be the offer made by Marlin. If this was not the case, she would be offended and embarrassed. Indeed such a mistake would embolden the shamans, who are against forming any alliance, and would jeopardize the current alliance negotiations being made with the other tribes.

Sauriv provided additional details on the proposed alliance with the other tribes. He told them that envoys from the Locathah, Merfolk, and Koalinth had been summoned. The sea elves had not been informed because he knew they would never participant in an alliance with their mortal enemies, the Koalinth, so they chose the stronger faction.

He explained that the humans were not contacted because of the traditional mistrust humans had for the lizard-folk - so it was assumed they would not participate. However, he explained that a human kingdom in the alliance would ultimately be a great benefit to the humans. Should the undersea alliance fail, it would be a matter of time before the Sahuagin raided the coasts, not to mention all the shipping that would suffer due to Sahuagin attacks.

Sauriv made it clear that no single undersea faction could stand against this violent Sahuagin expansion. Only an alliance could stand up to them. He also made it clear to Marlin that his misunderstanding has now put the alliance in jeopardy, and that should the alliance fall, the human coastal settlements would suffer greatly.

Armed with this new understanding, Marlin, Auric, and Aella agreed that they must keep the alliance together and do what they could to convince the town council of Saltmarsh to join it.

Marlin asked Sauriv about the prisoner who claimed to be a Triton. Sauriv replied that it was, in fact, a Sahuagin spy that was caught trying to infiltrate the compound to observe the alliance proceedings. He would be put to death after the alliance was secured.

Marlin and Auric asked Sauriv for his advice on how to go about strengthening the proposed alliance. He suggested convincing the shamans - a difficult undertaking to say the least - and convincing the various envoys that man-people would be a worthy addition.

DM Note-
Three facts were becoming clear.

1. I as DM had misinterpreted Marlin's player's offer of alliance. Marlin's player actually enjoyed this twist and it made total sense!
2. The players had no idea why they should join this alliance. The stakes had not been adequately conveyed to them and the players were getting bogged down in figuring out what to do next and why. In fact, they were about ready to just walk away. So I used Sauriv to explain what they had to lose. 
3. Given this new information, the players now understood what they had to do and made a plan of action.

Shaman
The party decided to at least try and speak with the shamans. They asked Aryte to introduce them. Aryte led them to the temple of Semuanya. There they found a lizard-man shaman worshipping at the altar. The shaman was visibly annoyed at the interruption. The party attempted to make their case to the shaman but were unable to overcome his resistance. He ordered them to leave immediately and they complied.

Merfolk
The party decided to split up. Aella and Auric would meet with the envoys while Marlin and Alot would prepare a feast of donkey meat for the warriors.

Aella and Auric decided to meet first with the merfolk. Aryte took them to a flooded grotto and called forth the merfolk envoy. A creature emerged with a humanoid torso and the lower body of a large fish. The merfolk envoy verified the stories of both Sauriv and Orthokent. The merfolk confirmed that any single group would probably fail to defeat the Sahuagin so they decided to join the alliance. The merfolk were receptive to the idea of human membership in the alliance and pledged their support to any negotiations regarding the proposal.

Locathah
Aella and Auric moved to an adjoining grotto to meet the envoy from the Locathah. The Locathah were human-sized lion-fish with humanoid arms and legs. The envoy from the Locathah spoke in a strange dialect of common. It warned Aella and Auric that, should the alliance fail to unite against the Sahuagin, each of the individual tribes would be defeated in turn and eventually even the man-people cities along the coast would fall. The Sahuagin would raid surface shipping and all trade would cease. However, the envoy from the Locathah failed to see what benefit humans could provide to the alliance.

Hours had passed and Aella and Auric were becoming tired. They decided to bypass the envoys of the Koalinth in order to check in on Marlin and Alot's feast.
skip Koalinth

Donkey Feast
Marlin and Alot were taken to their pack animals. There they slaughtered and butchered one of the two donkeys. Although neither of them had any experience in cooking for such a large group, Marlin was able to prepare a worthy feast for the warriors of the lizard folk.

The warriors were impressed. Kothar showed his gratitude to Marlin and the two became friends, after a fashion. Kothar confided with Marlin that the warriors were in a foul mood. Not only had they been forced to flee their home, there was a real possibility that the shamans would prevent them from returning and retaking it. On top of that, they had lost several scouts and warriors outside of this new stronghold to a threat they could not fight.

Kothar told Marlin and Alot about Thousand Teeth the Devourer, a reptilian beast that lived about two leagues away in the swamp. Thousand Teeth was a holy beast of Semyauna, protected. No lizard-folk warrior was permitted to harm it. But Thousand Teeth had already taken nearly a dozen of his best warriors and scouts! He had no desire to cause harm to a holy beast, but he found the losses intolerable. Princess Orthokent didn't know what to do.

Marlin and Alot promised to help Kothar and deal with Thousand Teeth, for they had no such taboo.

That night they rested comfortably in a storage room filled with items purchased from Sanbalet's smugglers. Marlin examined the brass helmet recovered from the bullywugs the previous day and determined that it was magical. Casting a spell of identification, he discovered that it was an ancient "Helm of Underwater Action" which allowed its wearer to see in darkness and breathe underwater.

DM Note-
I could tell that Aella's and Auric's players were becoming bored with the political negotiations, so I decided to throw in some action with a side-jaunt to find and defeat Thousand Teeth. This got everyone jazzed up. The original module said its an eight-hour journey but I reduced it to two so they could go there and get back before noon. Plus it made the threat posed by Thousand Teeth feel more immediate and nearby.

A Gift from Aryte
Having spent the last twenty four hours underground, the party had no idea of the time. Aryte woke them from their sleep and informed them that it was dawn. The party then prepared to journey through the swamp to find and deal with Thousand Teeth. It was their intention to return to the lizard-folk stronghold in time for Princess Orthokent's decision at noon.

Aryte said he heard what they planned to do and thanked them. He had lost a brother to Thousand Teeth. He told them directions of how to find the lair of Thousand Teeth and gave them a gift - a foul smelling potion in an earthenware jug. He told them it was a potion of healing. They thanked Aryte and left through the main door into the morning mist of the swamp.

Per Aryte's instructions, they followed the Dunwater river north for over an hour until they reached a series of animal and lizard-folk skulls affixed to pikes in the river mud - a warning. They turned west and began climbing a low hill.

Reptilian Hillbillies

The party made their way through a series of ancient ruins covered in loam and swamp vines. Suddenly crude javelins streaked through the sky at them. It was an ambush! Four lizard-men covered in dry white mud decorated with crude warpaint and wearing necklaces adorned with animal bones and crocodile skulls, charged the party with stone-tipped clubs.

Assuming these lizard-men were affiliated with Orthokent's tribe, the party tried to communicate with the lizard-men. The lizard-men ignored their entreaties and attacked the party. The party was forced to fight back and soon defeated the four primitive warriors. It was clear, in retrospect, that these lizard-men belonged to some kind of primitive cult that worshiped Thousand Teeth and were not, in fact, associated with the stronghold.

Marlin noted three nearby small ponds and deduced that they might connect underground and serve as the lizard-men's lair. He suggested Alot, who did not need to breathe, and Auric, who wore the ancient Helm of Underwater Action, investigate.  They did so and recovered ten gold pieces worth of various coins and a potion labeled with a small flame.

Auric looked at the bodies of the four lizard men, "Aella, do you see what I see?"

"No?" was her quizzical reply.

"I see forty gold! You said Eda would pay us ten gold for each lizard man head? I see four lizard man heads."

Marlin grinned and began decapitating.

DM Note-
Honestly, I hadn't planned on the pools being anything. But Marlin suggested they might be tunnels to a lair and I went with it. I like to encourage and reward that kind of improvisational imagination. I rolled randomly on the treasure table for some minor loot.

Thousand Teeth

They crested a low ridge and noticed that the ridge formed a bowl - or crater - about two hundred feet wide. The bowl was filled with fetid water and swamp. The air within the crater took on a strange multi-hued radiance that smelled of ozone and decay. The vegetation could only be described as "wrong". Small trees grew in strange twists and were covered in sickly multicolored leaves. Dangerous looking thorns grew from plants and trees that normally would not. At the bottom of the bowl was a pond about sixty feet in diameter. Twisted purple and green trees draped in black moss surrounded its bank. Thick wafer-like growths of white fungus sprouted from the purplish-black tree trunks. The still pond was covered in a thick layer of pale yellow algae.

There was no movement in the pond. No one wished to go near the water. Marlin picked up a small rock and threw it into the pond. It landed with a small splash and ripples but there was no other action.

Alot went back to the site of the lizard man ambush and hacked off a few limbs. He returned and threw one into the pond. It floated on the algae-covered surface. A moment later, Auric caught an imperceptible ripple followed by a small gulp as the limb disappeared beneath the surface.

Alot threw another severed limb onto the bank near the water. Nothing happened.

Alot moved closer to the bank and dangled a severed limb into the edge of the water. The snout of a massive crocodile emerged and snapped at the limb. The crocodile was strangely colored with rows of bony thorns growing from its back. Within its alabaster white maw were multiple rows of glassy transparent teeth. A strange multi-hued glow emanated from deep within its throat. The jaws grabbed at Alot but missed. Alot plunged his sword deep into the beast's head and strange purple blood spurted forth.

The crocodile quickly retreated beneath the opaque surface of the water, providing no target for the members of the party armed with attack spells and crossbows.

Suddenly two venomous snakes with strange twisted bodies dropped from the branches of the trees surrounding the pond. Auric was able to quickly dispose of one of the snakes but the other attacked Aella.

A moment later the crocodile emerged again and attacked Alot but once again retreated beneath the water.  Auric recognized the pattern and told Aella and Oceanus to aim and prepare their attacks. This time, when Thousand Teeth emerged, they were prepared and were able to target the creature with their attacks.

Oceanus suddenly had an idea. He told the others to hold their attacks. He ran down to the water's edge and plunged his face beneath the surface. He spoke in Aquan, apologizing to Thousand Teeth for their transgression. He begged the beast to become calm and promised to help it.

Thousand Teeth once again attacked Alot but Alot was able to deflect the lunge. The others held their attacks.

Oceanus tried again. This time the massive crocodile slowly emerged from the water before Oceanus. It opened its giant maw and revealed a glowing metal shard lodged deep in its throat. Oceanus would have to climb into the beast's mouth to remove it.

Marlin pushed Oceanus aside, "I got this." He cracked and wriggled his fingers before casting a magical spell. The metal shard shifted and removed itself from the inside of the crocodile's throat. It floated outside its maw and hovered in mid air. Marlin opened his backpack and added the shard to his collection of severed lizard-man heads.

Thousand Teeth exhaled a sigh of relief and slowly descended back into the water.

Marlin looked at the others with a huge grin of self-satisfaction.

Auric scolded him, "You're not keeping that!"

Marlin looked offended, "No! Of course I won't! What? No!"

Aella called out in distress, "Hey! I'm still fighting a venomous snake over here! A little help?"

Marlin cursed and jumped to her aid. The snake was quickly dispatched.

The party turned and began their journey back to the lizard-folk stronghold.

To Be Continued...

DM Comment-

First, as soon as they climbed the low hill, I had a vision of the pond at the bottom of a shallow bowl, and I thought- "Crater!" At that very moment, right as they approached the lair of Thousand Teeth, I got the idea of making Thousand Teeth the victim of a "Colour out of Space" style affliction. My other immediate inspiration was the alien swamp and giant mutant alligator in the movie Annihilation.

Second, I had given Marlin's player the sheet for Oceanus. Marlin looked at the sheet and saw the following:

Friend of the Sea. Using gestures and sounds. Oceanus can communicate simple ideas with any beast that has an innate swimming speed.

Marlin's player thought, "I bet Thousand Teeth has an innate swimming speed." so he made his play.

I thought, "Genius! I love it!" so once again I had to reward such ingenuity. He still had to make a high DC Persuasion skill check, so it took him a few rounds, but it worked! 

Danger at Dunwater - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 5

Annor woke when he heard his brother's door close. It was late. He heard footsteps and whispering. That was odd. He heaved his muscular form out of bed and grabbed his ridiculously long sword. He opened his door an inch and looked out into the hall.

In the gloom, he saw his brother Marlin standing with two other men. His brother had a hood over his head. The two men were wearing hoods with eye holes. His brother was being led away but seemed to be going willingly.

Annor burst through the door and into the hall. He leveled his sword at the two men and challenged them to release his brother.

The trio froze. Annor, clad in nothing but his nightshirt, assumed a menacing posture while he brandished his mighty blade.

Marlin blindly held out his hands and appealed for his brother to remain calm. "Hey! Hey! I've got this under control. Go back to bed!"

"Are you sure?"

Marlin, sightless in his blindfold, awkwardly reached out in the wrong direction and gave a thumbs up, "Don't worry!"

CHAPTER 5

"DANGER AT DUNWATER"

• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Sorceress from Ket.
• Annor Whalerson - Neutral Good, Human Marine and Fighter from Saltmarsh.
• Marlin Whalerson - Neutral Good,  Human Seeker and Rogue.
• Auric Ravenson - Neutral Good, Human (?) Shipwright and Cleric.
• Oceanus - (NPC) Neutral Good, Sea Elf

Special Guest Stars
This week we were joined by a special guest star!

• Alot Aname - Warforged Soldier and Fighter

Initiation

Annor went back into his room and waited for them to leave the house. He then crept out after them, following them down the cobblestone street and towards the warehouses of old town a few hundred feet away. 

Annor saw the men take Marlin into an old dilapidated storehouse. Annor crept around the outside of the building and found a section where the ancient wood planks had rotted away. He could see a group of six or seven men on the other side of the large room, dozens of feet away. They were wearing dark robes with pointed hoods and carried candles.  Marlin was brought before them robed men. The robed men said some words but they were too far away, Annor couldn't quite make out what they were saying. 

Marlin made some kind of affirmative reply.

The leader of the group asked a question of the other men. One of the men removed his hood - it was Gellan Primewater! Gellan gave another short affirmative reply. Gellan and Marlin exchanged a silent acknowledgement. The leader said some more somber words. 

A man approached Marlin with a bowl and a knife. The leader gave some more solemn instructions. Marlin nodded. 

Marlin took the knife and cut the palm of his left hand, collecting the blood in the bowl. The attendant then took the knife and gave Marlin a small card to hold. Marlin touched the card to a candle and set it alight. 

The leader then began reciting an oath, pausing after each sentence to allow Marlin to repeat. Marlin repeated the oath as the card burned in the fingers. When the oath was completed he put the burning card in the blood collected in the cup. The attendant gave Marlin a strip of cloth with which to wrap his hand. 

The attendant took the smoking cup to a nearby table. Several other vials of dark liquid were added to the cup. Marlin was directed to sit on a nearby bench. Another hooded man took the bowl and sat on a stool next to him. The man produced a small set of tools, dipped one of them into the liquid, and began tapping the tool into Marlin's skin. They were giving Marlin a tattoo! 

When they were done, Marlin once more stood before the leader and was given additional warnings and instructions. Marlin acknowledged his understanding and assent. In the end, the hooded men extinguished their candles, plunging the room into total darkness. The hood was once again placed on Marlin's head.

Sensing an end to the proceedings, Annor raced back up the street to return home before Marlin and his escorts. Annor dove back into his bed and pretended to be asleep.

He heard the door close and Marlin walk, alone, back to his room. There was a pause as Marlin checked on Annor's door, then he heard Marlin's bedroom door close. 

DM Note-

I role-played Marlin's entire initiation into the "Organization" in private with Marlin's player, basing it heavily on the initiation rituals of the Cosa Nostra mafia. I had Marlin's player draw a card from the Tarokka deck - meaning I rolled randomly. We didn't like the result so I allowed Marlin's player to choose the card with the most symbolic meaning for his character. The burned card and blood was then mixed with ink and made into a tattoo.

Getting Ready to Go

The next morning, the party prepared their gear for their excursion to the lair of the lizardfolk. Marlin noticed that Annor's demeanor had become cool and distant. When asked about his problem, Annor accused Marlin of betrayal, corruption, and possible devil worship. Marlin made a blanket denial and told his brother everything was under control. 

Annor then noticed Marlin's new boots. They were fancy green felt boots with curled toes and silver trim. 

"Where did you get those?!" Annor demanded.

"These? I bought them from Captain Xendrik." replied Marlin.

"WHAT? I thought she didn't carry magic items!"cried Annor.

"Oh, that's just what she says. It turns out, if you pay her, you're joining her 'secret society'" Marlin made finger-quotes, "and she shows you what she has. I bought these fancy boots! They were made by elves and they're very quiet!"

Annor was very jealous and refused to talk with his brother while they finished packing.

DM Note- 

I had do some flashbacks to the previous week (last session) to shoe-horn in some plot details and retroactively take care of some housekeeping. 

Travel to Dunwater

The party, along with the newcomers Alot Aname the warforged and Oceanus the sea elf, set out west towards the Dunwater river. They took a barge across the Janustream river and hiked up and over the hill overlooking the Tower of Zenopus. Their route would take them into the eastern edge of the Hool marshes towards the Dunwater River.

Marlin looked down upon the ruined tower and thought about its storied history and downfall. He found it fascinating and wanted to some day explore it. Only the many admonitions of his wizard mentor Keledek kept him from seeking its mysteries.

As they hiked over the hill covered in boulders, small trees, and tall grasses, the party once more went over the plan.

They were taking two mules carrying the weapons that the lizard folk had purchased from the smugglers. They were to approach the lizard folk lair in peace and ask to speak to their leader. Their mission was to find out what the lizard folk planned to do with the weapons. If their intentions were hostile towards a human settlement, they'd fight their way out. If they meant no hostility towards humans, they were to learn what they could about the threat they faced, give the lizard folk their weapons, and return home.

Comfortable that the team planned no hostile action towards the Lizard folk, Aella told them about an encounter she had with Eda Oweland after last week's council meeting.

She said that Eda approached her after the council meeting and made her a secret offer. Eda said she'd pay a bounty of ten gold coins for every lizard-folk head they came back with. Eda explained that she considered the lizardfolk occupation of the old sea-cave an incursion and a prelude to invasion. Eda said that a few weeks ago she had secretly hired a group of mercenaries from Seaton to attack the lizardfolk and drive them out, but they never came back! Eda feared that they were all killed!

Aella said that she waited to tell the others until she felt confident they weren't planning on massacring them all. 

Bullywug Ambush!

The party trudged through muck of the lowland swamps approaching the Dunwater river. They were surrounded on all sides by tall grasses as high as a man's shoulder and the occasional small copse of trees. The sky was grey and breezy. They were a few miles inland so there was no sign or sound of the ocean. The air was filled with buzzing flies. The party followed a muddy game trail through the high grass.

Suddenly, out of the grasses leaped six large humanoid frogs carrying spears! They had been ambushed by the dreaded bullywugs of the Hool marshes! Two bullywugs attacked Annor, one attacked Alot, and three harried Aella. As each amphibious attacker struck with its spear, it would inflate its massive throat and croak a horrible bellow in the face of its victim, wrapping its mouth around the victim in a grisly bite.

As soon as the melee began, Marlin dove off the path into the tall grass.

A second later, the sound of half a dozen armored troops could be heard approaching from behind. Alot looked over his shoulder but saw nothing but the sound gave the bullywugs pause but they continued to attack.

Aella waved her hand and a magical gust of wind blew against her attackers, pushing one bullywug away. Marlin appeared out of the grass and killed one of the bullywugs.

Oceanus launched several quarrels from his new crossbow while Annor and Alot hewed a bloody swath through the bullywugs that beset them.

The bullywugs were soon  defeated. One survived and hopped away down the path, loudly croaking. Alot gave chase!

Alot chased the fleeing Bullywug down the path about sixty feet and emerged onto a clearing. The tall grass had been cleared revealing a muddy open circle approximately thirty feet in diameter. There were three bullywugs standing in the center of the clearing as if waiting for Alot to appear. The center bullywug had red skin and four arms!

The Bullywug Champion
Alot paused and the fleeing bullywug ran towards and joined the trio in the center. Alot looked around and saw about a dozen other bullywugs standing at the edge of the clearing like guards. A large and powerful bullywug wearing an impressive headdress - evidently some kind of leader - sat atop a massive frog the size of a horse on the far side of the clearing.

The four armed bullywug glared menacingly at Alot before turning to face his leader. He made some kind of boastful declaration while slapping his chest and inflating his throat sac and bellowing. He turned and pointed his spear at Alot as if offering  a challenge.

Alot understood and stepped forward to accept the challenge. He could hear his companions running up the muddy path behind him as well as the sound of a mysterious force of armored warriors somewhere in the grass. Annor, Aella, and Oceanus stood stood behind him.

Alot charged the bullywug champion. To his surprise, the bullywugs flanking the champion attacked! This was not the one-on-one challenge Alot expected! The bullywug champion danced around Alot, flanking him. The champion inflated his throat sac again and bellowed a war cry that sounded like fingers on a board of slate. The grating sound caused Alot and Annor to cry out in mental agony.

Annor and Aella joined the battle while Oceanus stayed near the edge, picking off bullywugs with his crossbow. As soon as the sound of the marching squad of troops could be heard, the leader of the bullywugs sent most of the others standing guard around the clearing to go investigate.

The Bullywug champion once again bellowed, this time invigorating the bullywugs around him. The bullywugs became enshrouded in a glowing nimbus resembling a giant tentacled frog creature - the froghemoth!

Despite the magical assistance, the champion was quickly defeated. Seeing the defeat of their champion sent a shock through the remaining warriors. Suddenly a hail of arrows streaked through the sky and landing into the mud around the clearing, causing Alot and Annor to flinch. The remaining bullywug warriors surrendered.

Upon seeing the defeat of his champion, the hail of arrows, the surrender of his fighters, and the sound of marching troops, the bullywug leader decided to flee, croaking out an order to his guard to do the same. The remaining bullywugs scattered into various directions. The two warriors dragged the unconscious body of their four-armed champion with them.

After the battle, Marlin emerged from the tall grass. The sound of the marching troops disappeared, as did the arrows in the mud. "Did you like that?"

Annor looked around, confused, "Was that you? How'd you do that?"

"I've been studying to cast magical spells. I've learned a few illusion spells from Keledek."

Annor winced, "Quit saying his name! You know he can hear you whenever you do that."

Marlin scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Pfft. Whatever."

A quick search of the area revealed that the bullywug leader had abandoned an old human helmet filled with dozens of platinum pieces!

The clearing was high enough to be dry and the hour was growing late. Although they were very near their destination, the party decided to camp here for the night.

DM Note- 
The players LOVED bullywug champion. Annor's player said, "I want him to join our group! Please tell me his name starts with an 'A'". I looked, "Yes, his name is 'Arrp'." He was ecstatic. Annor's player instructed the others to let Arrp live. 

I ruled that Marlin's illusions gave him an Intimidation check with Advantage. He rolled a 16 which was enough to overcome King Gulpa'Gor's morale, as noted on page 66 in GoS.

The Lair of the Lizard Folk
The night passed uneventfully. Alot, who, as a mechanical construct, had no need to sleep, stood guard all night.

DM Note- 
I use a house rule for camping and sleeping rough. At the end of the long rest, each PC makes a DC 10 Survival check. Success means they get the benefit of the long rest. A failure means they did not get a long rest but could take up to eight short rests instead. There's actually a rule similar to this on page 25 for resting in the Hool Marshes. Except the DC is 15 and applies to short and long rests. 

Dawn revealed a cloudy morning. A strong breeze blew in from the south. Before them the Dunwater river flowed into the Azure sea. The water here was wide and shallow with many sand bar islands, making it easy to ford. Beyond the river rose a rocky prominence covered in large boulders, clumps of beach grass, and small trees. A muddy path led up the prominence and split into two.

The party crossed the Dunwater river and climbed the path. Where the path split they found a dozen severed heads impaled on long poles. The heads were from humans, half-orcs, and half-ogres - no doubt they were the mercenaries from Seaton.

The path leading right led into a wide cave. The cave was flooded and dark. The water rippled as something large slipped beneath the surface. The party decided to turn back and take the other path.

The path to the left circled around the east face of the prominence and led to a large stout iron-bound door set into the side of the hill. The door was at least ten feet wide and large enough to admit entry of an animal-drawn cart and heavy enough to withstand all but a heavy battering ram.

"Odd," thought Marlin, "Lizard folk are not known for their architecture."

Annor knocked on the door.

A few minutes later, the door opened to reveal a reptilian guard with a humanoid posture. The guard carried a primitive spear and wooden club. He spoke in a strange hissing language. His demeanor was threatening.

Aella said, "He speaks a dialect of draconic. I speak draconic, let me talk to him."

Aella told the others that the lizard man told them to go away, wondering aloud why we approached in spite of the warning placed on the path below.

DM Note-
The lizard folk referred to everyone in the party as "Man-People", making no distinction between male or female, human or elf or warforged. To him, all non-lizard-folk were male and they all looked alike. 

Aella told the guard that they were delivering a shipment of weapons that the lizard folk had purchased. She indicated the two mules bearing their bundles. She told him that they would deliver the weapons under the condition that they speak with their leader.

The guard hissed with annoyance and closed the door.

The party waited outside the door for fifteen minutes before it once again reopened. This time the lizard man guard was accompanied by an entire squad of half-a-dozen warriors.

A lizard man who appeared to be the squad leader now addressed Aella. He told to leave the weapons and go.

Aella refused, reiterating her demand to speak with their leader. The squad leader made an intimidating lunge to test Aella's resolve. She did not flinch. He bared his many pointed teeth and hissed. He finally acquiesced, instructing her and the party to follow him and to not deviate. He would lead them to Princess Othokent. Aella relayed the message.

As they entered, the squad leader instructed a subordinate to run and alert the shamans of the development. He turned and dashed off with the message.

Audience with Princess Othokek

The party was led into some wide tunnels dug under the hill. The tunnels were crudely excavated from stone and supported by primitive wooden beams.

They were eventually led to a set of ornately carved wooden doors - finer craftsmanship than one normally associates with lizard folk. The squad leader opened the door to reveal a large chamber, sixty feet by fifty feet, with a high ceiling supported by six wooden pillars carved with what appeared to be totems.

On the far side of chamber, a mattress had been propped up against the wall along with a practice target dummy shaped like a fish-person.

Within the room was a tall humanoid lizard wearing armor and sporting a magnificent headdress. This lizardfolk was consulting with a burly lizard. Scattered throughout the room were eight other lizardfolk practicing hand-to-hand combat and throwing javelins at the target dummy.

The party's escort announced their presence and introductions were made to the tall lizard - Princess Othokent.

Aella spoke in draconic and addressed the Princess with deference and respect. She explained their purpose in coming to the lair and presented their delivery of the weapons. To everyone's surprise, Princess Othokent thanked her in the common tongue, using eloquent and erudite language uncommon among the lizardfolk. Othokent introduced her lieutenant Irhtos before asking him to continue training the soldiers while she met with their guests.

Before they could continue their conversation, a group of robed lizardfolk wearing tall headdresses burst into the room.

Princess Othokent apologized for the intrusion. She explained to the party that these were the tribe's shamans.

A few moments later another lizard man ran into the room. He wore a necklace laden with various medallions and sported a different style of headdress from the shamans. He wore human style glasses and seemed rushed. He could be heard crying out in common, "Princess! Princess! I must inform you that... Oh. Drat. They got here first." He looked at the shamans with disdain and annoyance. They, likewise, considered this new arrival a pest.

The princess looked slightly embarrassed, "This is my minister of state, Sauriv."

The spokespersson of the shamans spoke up. He expressed the displeasure the shamans felt at the intrusion of these "man-people" into the depths of the lizardfolk lair and demanded they be captured, put to death, and prepared as food for the hatchlings.

Sauriv interrupted them, claiming that the humans presented a valuable opportunity and could be useful in the upcoming war.

Princess Othokent stopped them both in order to explain the situation to the party. She told them that her tribe had been recently evicted from their home by a race of evil aquatic humanoids known as Sauhuagin and that they were forced to relocate here. The sauhuagin were expanding their territory and posed a threat to the entire coast - both underwater and along the shore. She had purchased the weapons from Sanbalet to use in retaking their home and defeating the sauhuagin. To that end, she ordered her attendants to pay the party the remaining balance of what they agreed to pay Sanbalet - two ingots of electrum.

Marlin immediately offered the assistance of the party and suggested forming an alliance with the land-dwellers of Saltmarsh. Orthokent thanked him but explained that she has already formed an alliance with the other races of the sea.

Marlin asked Oceanus if that was true. Oceanus confirmed that the sauhuagin were indeed a dangerous threat but said that the sea-elf tribe of Manaan had received no such offer of alliance.

Othokent looked ashamed. She said that she purposefully did not seek the aid of the sea elves. Instead, she requested audience with representatives of the merfolk, the locathah, and - she trailed off and paused before looking Oceanus in the face - the koalinth.

Oceanus' face became a sneer. He shouted in aquan before declaring that Othokent was dangerous for only an enemy would ally with the koalinth!

Marlin and Annor restrained Oceanus and attempted to calm him down, but the sea elf was livid beyond consolation. Othokent apologized and explained that the sea elves and the koalinth were bitter enemies and would never put aside their differences to fight together in an alliance. So she chose the stronger of the two sides for her alliance. That was why she did not reach out to the sea elves.

The shamans pointed to Oceanus' outburst as further evidence that such an alliance was a bad idea and that any contact with outsiders was dangerous. Orthokent acknowledged the concerns of the shamans but considered Marlin's offer of aid.

She told Marlin she acknowledged that the aid of the land-dwellers would be helpful but, pointing to the shamans, she illustrated the resistance she faced among her own tribe. She said that any potential alliance would have to overcome th innate hatred and distrust the shamans felt towards land-dwelling outsiders. She seemed pensive and said that she had much to ponder. She told the party that she would consider the party's offer of alliance.

She invited them to stay as guests of the lizardfolk, to meet those skeptics among her people and, by their actions and behavior, convince them that the land-dwellers would be worthy allies. She invited them to return at noon the next day, at which time, after having taken into consideration the consultation of her various advisers, she would render her decision.

To be Continued...

Next week: the Goodwill Tour!