It was a gloomy evening in Saltmarsh. The sun was setting and the sky was overcast and dark. Seagulls bobbed in the dark green waters. Fishermen were bundling up their nets and securing their boats.
There was a small disturbance in the water. A humanoid figure emerged. He resembled a walking suit of ceramic armor with muscles made from the extract of a rubber tree attached to a skeleton of wood and brass. He was a warforged sentinel, a living automaton created for battle during the closing days of the great wars of the 580s.
His name was Alot Aname and he had just walked along the bottom of the sea for the past seven days.
CHAPTER 15
"DRUMS IN THE MARSH"
The A-Team:- Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf Outlander and Sorceress from Ket.
- Annor Whalerson - Lawful Good, Human Marine and Fighter from Saltmarsh.
- Marlin Whalerson - Chaotic Good, Human Seeker and Rogue.
- Auric Ravenson - Neutral Good, Aasimar Shipwright and Cleric of the Raven King.
Special Guest Star:
- Alot Aname - Warforged Fighter.
A Rude Awakening
Annor returned to his home and checked in with his head cheese-maker. The cheese-maker gave him bad news. One of his shepherds had mysteriously disappeared with four of his goats nearly a week ago. He was the first to disappear. Since the shepherd's disappearance, four other people have gone missing - two married couples - the Renons and the Alvins. On the night of each abduction, the sound of primitive drums reverberated across the marsh north of town. People are afraid to go out at night. The remaining shepherd refuses to take the goats out onto the heath. Annor told the cheese-maker to go home and stay safe. The A-Team would take care of it in the morning.
The next day was gray and raining. Annor was awake and dressed as the sky lightened with dawn. He heard the door to his brother Marlin's room close quietly followed by the surreptitious footsteps of barefoot feet. No doubt one the town harlots discretely showing herself out. One of the many benefits his brother enjoyed from his affiliation with "the Organization", the guild of smugglers that shipped illegal contraband into and out of Saltmarsh.
Annor continued lacing up his boots when he heard a scream from his back door. He grabbed the Fabulous Flamberge of Ser Eckhert Lionheart and ran towards the commotion. He was quickly joined by Auric, priest of the god of death.
They threw open the back door and found a woman with messy hair and loosened corset cowering before the tall armored form of Alot Aname. The armored automaton stood motionless in the rain just outside the back door. The woman had been startled by the lanky warforged.
Annor checked on the well being of the woman and sent her on her way while Auric engaged with Alot.
"Beep boop, where have you been?"
"I fell through the hull of the sinking ship." was his monotone reply, "I walked back to shore. I arrived last night."
"Did you stand outside all night in the rain?"
"Affirmative."
Annor returned and joined the conversation, "Good. Glad to have you back. We were just going over to talk with the town guard. Care to join us?"
"Affirmative."
"Great! Let me check on Marlin." Annor went back inside. He returned a moment later, "He said he's going to sleep a few more hours. Let's go."
The trio walked to the town gaol, a distance of less than a hundred feet.
A Meeting with the Constabulary
Eliander Fireborn, captain of the Saltmarsh town guard, was conferring with some of his charge when the trio entered the gaol. His men looked exhausted. Fireborn dismissed his men and sent them home to rest. He then hobbled over to Annor, his wooden leg clunking against the floor of the gaol, and greeted Annor warmly.
Annor had served in the king's navy of Keoland against the Sea Princes and although Eliander served with the march wardens who patrolled the Dreadwood, they shared the bond and mutual respect of the martial brotherhood in the service to the king.
Annor told Eliander about the missing Shepherd. Eliander said he had been told. The Shepherd was the first to disappear a week ago. Since then, four others have gone missing on two separate nights. On each night, drums could be heard beating miles to the north across the marshy bog towards the Janustream River. He's doubled his night watch patrols but his men have seen nothing.
Auric asked who else had been taken. Eliander answered that besides the shepherd boy, the Renons were taken from their house on one night along with some of their livestock, then a few nights later the Alyins were taken along with their livestock.
Auric looked at a map of the town.
- The shepherd had been taken on the back side of the moor overlooking the marsh.
- The location of the Renon house and barn.
- The location of the Alyin house and barn.
Auric pointed at the next house downriver from the Alyin house, "Who lives here?"
Eliander said that the Trallos lived there, a couple with three children.
Auric rubbed his chin, "I think its the lizardfolk that have been watching the town from the salt marsh. I think they're coming in via the Kingfisher river from the north and that they'll hit that house next." He looked at Annor, "We should check out the other houses to verify my theory and rule out slavers or something else."
Eliander said, "I highly doubt its the lizardfolk. We've made a strong alliance with Princess Orthokent's clan."
"Oh, it's not her clan," Auric assured him, "These lizard folk belong to a rival clan from the drowned forest. They are the enemies of Princess Orthokent's clan."
Annor asked, "Have you thought about asking for help? Getting more town guard?"
Eliander's face became grim, "I asked the town council to send a message to Seaton to ask for some of the king's soldiers garrisoned there. They turned it down. Gellan Primewater and Eda Oweland don't want any interference from the duke or the king in their smuggling operation, so they do everything they can to prevent the crown from taking notice of anything happening here."
Annor bravely declared, "Then we'll make sure the message gets through to Seaton!"
Auric quickly cleared his throat and interrupted, "What Annor MEANS, Captain Fireborn, is that we'll take care of this problem for you. We've got it covered."
"That would be a huge help. Thanks, Annor."
About that time, Marlin came sauntering in, tying the laces of his tunic. Eliander sneered at Marlin's arrival, "Oh, it's you."
"What?" was his defensive reply.
Auric grabbed Marlin and Annor by the arms and drug them both outside. "Don't worry about it, Captain Fireborn. We're on the case!" Alot, who had remained mostly silent, nodded towards Eliander and left with the others.
Outside, Annor protested, "Why can't we go to Seaton?"
Auric sighed, "Sure, let's go to Seaton and find REAL adventurers! That's heroic!" Auric mimicked a town caller, "Hello! We're looking for some brave souls to solve this problem for us!"
Marlin laughed out loud, "That's right! We're the A-TEAM! We'll take care of it! This is what we do! What are we doing?"
DM Comment-
I had gotten player feedback that absolutely no one wanted to steal the promissory notes from Anders Solmor. They rather like Solmor and increasingly DISLIKE Gellan Primewater and the smuggler faction. So I gave the players multiple options for what they'd like to do instead:
- Deal with mysterious disappearances (Drums in the Marsh, as a prelude to Tomb of the Lizard King)
- Help Manistrad Copperlocks clear out an old dwarven mine in the hills (Forge of Fury)
- Chase down Pirates (Dead Man's Cove)
- Deal with a Treant that was preventing people from getting near Winston's Store (from Saltmarsh's Notice Board)
Also, Annor's player really pledged to go to Seaton to get the message through and the other players really did tease him about "going to Seatopia (their word for Seaton) to get REAL heroes!". That joke stuck around all night for all sorts of things. He won't be living that down for a while.
Investigation
The A-Team proceeded to the Renon house, site of the first disappearance.
They stood on the bank of the small Kingfisher river and looked north. The river flowed around a low hill on the left and a field and a small forest on the right. Beyond lay the salt marsh that gave the town its name. It was connected to the Janustream River to the northwest. Low hills rose to the northeast. In between was an area of marshy wetlands flooded with salt water from high tides. The marsh was the size of a medium-sized lake two miles wide and six miles long towards the northeast. The marsh drained through town via the Kingfisher river, a pretentious name for a large creek that flowed backwards at high tide.
As they approached the Renon house the team found evidence of a break-in and a struggle. There were clawed reptilian footprints of lizardfolk in the soft earth outside leading from the Kingfisher river to the house as well as footprints, bovine and porcine hoof-prints leading back to the river, and an indication of two heavy items being dragged back to the river. The door had been smashed in from the outside indicating a break-in. a woodcutter's axe stuck in a door jamb and a small amount of blood was on the floor, indicating a fight but no major injury. The animals were missing from their paddock. The Renons were attacked and captured alive and their animals were taken. There was nothing to indicate the lizard-folk claw prints were faked but how would anyone know?
A cursory glance at the Alvin house revealed much the same.
Auric went to the Trallo house and told them what was happening. They believed this house would be next and would like to set a trap for the raiders. Auric paid the family several gold sovereigns to stay at an inn for a few nights.
The Trap
Night fell and the soft rain of the day became a downpour. The Trallos were simple farmers. Their plain house was essentially a 45 foot square. A brick hearth was located at the center of the house. One quarter of the house was walled off to become a kitchen and dining area with a long wooden table. The kitchen had two doors, one to the outside and one to the main living space. The living space was L-shaped. A heavy curtain separated the living area of Mr. and Mrs. Trallo from the foyer by the main entrance. Mr. and Mrs. Trallo slept on a pallet of straw and down. Another curtain separated the elevated loft where the children slept on smaller pallets. Heavy wooden rafters held aloft a roof made of thatch. The walls were waddle and daub and the floor was packed earth covered in plain rugs made of dried reeds. A barn containing a handful of animals was attached to one side of the house. The fire kept the house warm despite the heavy rains outside. Sometimes water dripped from the thatched roof.
Marlin, Auric, and Annor sat in the main living area, passing the time. Alot Aname sat crouched concealed by a large bush outside in the rain. Every hour, Auric would come out and say a prayer to illuminate Alot's shield. Alot kept a blanket thrown over the shield to conceal its brightness while he waited.
Sometime in the early morning, Alot's best guess was around 3am, the warforged sentinel could the sound of drums beating from across the swamp to the north. A short time later he heard the squelching approach of footprints in the mud. A group was surreptitiously sneaking around the back of the house away from the river. If it were the lizardfolk, they circled around for the element of surprise.
DM Note-
About this time, I started playing beating drum music over the sound system.
Alot gave the signal to those waiting within - a soft knock upon the entrance door. Auric, Annor, and Marlin grabbed their weapons and readied their positions behind the heavy curtain.
Alot waited quietly as the dark shadows of reptilian humanoids crept past his position. Four went to the main entrance, two moved towards the barn entrance, and two more took position near the kitchen entrance. The lizard-men were armed with clubs but they also carried weighted nets and blowguns. They apparently wished to capture their prey alive. He let them quietly enter the main entrance.
The lizard-men paused. They could hear the whispers and movement of the trio behind the curtain.
"You're standing too close, back up."
"Shh!"
"No, YOU shh!"
"Get ready, here they come."
DM Note-
What followed was a confusing mess of a surprise round made more complicated by prepared actions. I had foolishly had everyone roll stealth against everyone else's passive Perception. I should have called for group rolls for both sides. Instead I had a mess trying to figure out who could go this round and who couldn't.
Annor swung the massive Flamberge of Ser Eckhart Lionheart, cleaving the lizard-man in twain. He then charged the other lizard-man by the door and likewise chopped him into two halves. Two more lizard-men entered through the kitchen door. Annor saw them through the open inner door and charged them, cutting them down in short order.
DM Note-
It was carnage! Annor's player rolled three natural 20's in a row! I mean, he does 20+ damage on a regular hit but he was dishing out 40+ damage on these crits! It was brutal! I kept describing the lizard-men as meaty explosions, blood covering the ceiling and walls in a crimson spray.
Alot engaged the two lizard-men outside the house. Marlin exited the house to assist the warfoged fighter but was soon covered by a weighted net. Auric helped Marlin get out of the net while Annor moved back through the kitchen and helped Alot with the lizard-men warriors.
Alot clubbed one of the lizard-men with the butt of his sword, knocking him unconscious. Annor killed one of the lizard-men by the barn. The remaining lizard-man attempted to flee but Alot gave chase and cut him down as he ran.
The Interrogation
Marlin used the lizard-men's own manacles to restrain the surviving lizard-man and brought him inside. He was covered in ritual scars and body paint and the remains of a thick covering of dried mud, most of which had been washed off by the river and the heavy rains. He soon regained consciousness. Auric was the only member of the A-Team that spoke the draconic language of the lizard-men so he oversaw the interrogation.
The team soon learned that the lizard-men served Sakatha, the immortal lizard king of the drowned forest! They had been sent to retrieve the stolen heir of Aulicus, the living god of their tribe. They have been capturing the hoo-mans and taking them prisoner - to find out where they took the heir of Aulicus and to use as hostages for the heir's safe return. Failing that, they would bring the hoo-mans back as offering to Aulicus.
From this information, Auric deduced that Sakatha was the leader of the primitive tribe they encountered in the Hool Marsh during their hunt for Thousand Teeth. He further deduced that the "heir of Aulicus" was the dragon egg that they smuggled into town for Keledek, meaning Aullicus was a dragon of some kind.
The team committed to finding and rescuing the captives in the morning.
The Raft
The gray sky lightened a few hours later and the rains died down to a light mist. The drums had stopped about an hour before dawn. The A-Team found a raft made of logs and inflated animal bladders pulled ashore near the edge of the swamp. The 25 x 30 foot raft was large enough to transport up to twelve humanoids as well as some captured livestock. Auric and Marlin bolted the manacles of the prisoner to the logs of the raft, preventing his escape. They refloated and boarded the raft and used poles to navigate the slow waters of the salt marsh.
As they slowly made their way across the marsh, the team discussed their options. Maybe they should return the dragon egg to the lizard men? Humans did steal it after all! Perhaps they could make peace with Sakatha by returning the offspring of their god?
Annor manned the pole while Alot scoured the marsh for signs of the lizard-men. Auric continued to question the prisoner about the location of the lizard-man camp. The prisoner was not forthcoming.
Suddenly, a massive crayfish the size of a man thrust itself out the murky water and grabbed onto Alot. It attempted to drag him into the water but was unsuccessful! Marlin was likewise shocked when slithering tentacles emerged from the side of the raft in an attempt to grab him. Annor put down the pole and picked up the fabulous flamberge and rushed to help his brother!
While the team was fending off both the giant crayfish and the octopus, no one noticed that a second octopus has successfully grabbed the lizard-man prisoner and was trying to pull him under water. The shackles were well secured to the raft but the lizard-man began to choke and cry for help.
Auric and Marlin came to his aid while the other two dealt with the other octopus and the crayfish.
After a short battle, the team had dispatched both octopi and the giant crayfish.
DM Note-
Annor's player described the death sounds of each octopus as "a despondent squelch!"
Auric addressed the lizard-man, reminding him that they had saved his life and told him they had planned to return the stolen dragon egg. The lizard-man was grateful and promised to show them their camp.
The team continued to pole the raft through the marsh for several hours. Near midday they could see another raft ahead. The raft was being towed by four swimming lizard-men. There were several other figures on the raft - two prisoners and six additional lizard-folk!
To Be Continued...
DM Note-
I'm fleshing out fourth level by adding the short adventure Drums in the Marsh by Sterling Hershey, which works perfectly as a lead-in to the upcoming Tomb of the Lizard King I plan on running.
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