Into the Drowned Forest - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 23

Auric and Aella caught up to Councilman Annor, Marlin, and Alot Aname on the hillside trail overlooking what used to be a small farming village a little after noon. They were crouched behind some rocks observing the tableau below.

Village was perhaps too grand a word to describe what at one time was 28 huts, a communal barn, and a public house. All but five of the huts had been burned to the ground. Those that remained appeared damaged and abandoned. There was a meadow south of the town and a large copse of trees. Southeast of town was the great Hool Marsh which spread as far as the eye could see. A little over a mile to the east was the Drowned Forest, a dark flooded forest of moss-covered cypress and mangroves. A grisly miasma seemed to hover over the twisted evil trees of the forest.

"What's going on?" asked Auric.

Alot filled him in on the details. They had decided to wait just outside of town to allow Auric and Aella to join them before entering the town.

Annor asked Auric, "Did you run into a soldier headed back to Burle?"

Auric said that he did not. Annor said, "Huh. That's weird," but dismissed the unexpected incongruity.

Marlin left the group and skirted the village towards the meadow and the copse of trees. He looked inside the standing house and saw that it was stripped bare and heavily damaged. He quickly moved into the copse and saw no trace of a bandit camp. He exited the trees and signaled to the others that it was safe for them to join him.

The team met at the abandoned house and walked towards the public house. There was a mule in the barn and a dog running around.

They entered the front of the public house and saw that it, too, had been stripped bare. A man walked out from the back room and was startled by the intruders. He was a portly man with a bald head. He wore traveling clothes and carried a sack filled with cloth. "Oy! Who are you? What do you want?"

CHAPTER 23

"INTO THE DROWNED FOREST"

The A-Team:

• Annor Whalerson - Lawful Good, Human Marine and Fighter from Saltmarsh. 
• Alot Aname - Neutral Warforged Fighter.
• Marlin Whalerson - Chaotic Good,  Human Seeker, treasure hunter, and scoundrel.
• Auric Ravenson - Neutral Good, Aasimar Shipwright and Cleric of the Raven King.

Suffering the Brain Jellies this Week:

• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Sorceress from Ket. 

The Sack of Waycombe
After Annor introduced himself as a town councilman from Saltmarsh and convinced the man that their intentions were amiable, the team learned that the man's name was Busby. He was the proprietor of the pub and the last remaining resident of Waycombe.

Busby gave the team his last remaining bottles of ale and told them how the town was sacked by brigands from the Drowned Forest two nights ago.

Busby said there'd always been bandits and smugglers hiding out in the Hool Marsh to the south, but they were mostly harmless to Waycombe. They'd even come into town to spend their ill-gotten coin from time to time. But in the past few weeks, he'd seen those same bandits heading into the Drowned Forest, which was odd since nobody went into the Drowned Forest. Even odder, the bandits all seemed to have blank stares and didn't talk much. 

For the past few weeks he'd occasionally spot groups of bandits heading west. They seemed more organized, and they were accompanied by bands of lizard-folk and some other folk he'd never seen - priests of some sort.

Then, two nights ago, they fell upon Waycombe for no reason. Waycombe was a small village with nothing to steal. The bandits and lizard-folk just razed the village out of spite. He and a few others managed to hide. The others went to Burle. He was gathering the last of his belongings and headed out today. He hoped to reach Burle by nightfall.

When asked whether forty bandits had camped in the meadow Busby said he had never seen such a thing. However, he added, he had seen the odd campfire near the copse of trees every night for several weeks. He figured they were the bandits camping before they headed into the Drowned Forest.

Busby also mentioned the old hermit that lived in a hollow tree down by the edge of the Drowned Forest - old Stephen DeManis was his name. He said the old coot was crazed and would never leave the town. He also warned them that DeManis was - difficult - to interact with on a good day.

Despite his protests, Annor paid Busby a bag of silver for his drinks. With that, Busby took the last of his belongings and left town.

Stephen DeManis

DM Note- 
Alot's player said, "Wait, his name is Stephen DeManis? It's not some crazy made up alien name? WEIRD!"

The A-Team left Waycombe and ventured into the edge of the Drowned Forest following Busby's directions. They soon came across an area littered with broken bits of everyday items overgrown with weeds and ferns. Ahead of then, through the trees, they heard the sound of an old man singing.

"They all thinks I'm crazy, so crazy I am;
But I'll still be here when they ain't what they am!
They'll all be taken to Sakatha's lair,
But me I'll be free as a bird In the air!"

They called out, "Stephen! Stephen DeManis!" and the singing voice stopped. The singing voice then replied, "Oh, the voices talk back now! That's new!"

They soon found the singing man - a wiry old fellow in his seventies with shaggy white hair and beard. He was wearing rags and digging in the dirt for fat grubs which he would promptly eat. Stephen DeManis was deranged. His mind wandered here and there and he occasionally imagined himself covered in snakes or bugs. In reaction he would at first try the brush them off then frantically try to gather them up and shove them in his mouth.

The party asked the mad old hermit about Sakatha. DeManis claimed he knew nothing about Sakatha but said that Stephen had once been kidnapped and taken to Sakatha's Tomb in the center of the Drowned Forest. Only Stephen knew the way.

"Aren't you Stephen?"

"No! I'M Stephen!" the old man would angrily shout before scrabbling for more imaginary bugs.

They eventually convinced the demented old man to lead them through the flooded forest to the Tomb of Sakatha.

DeManis began wading into the cloudy black water and mud and was up to his waist when he turned around and shouted, "Follow Stephen! Stephen's showing the way!"

The rest of the team stood awkwardly, hesitating at the thought of wading into the swamp. Marlin found a nearby skiff turned upside down and covered in leaves.

"How about we take this boat?"

"Bah! No! That's not the way!" shouted DeManis.

The team set the skiff into the water and hauled DeManis on board.

Day One - The Shrine to Aulicus
DM Note-
The original module called for a random encounter check six times a day. Rolling a 1 on 1d8 indicated an encounter. I checked using this method but I determined the encounter using the table for the Drowned Forest in the Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign book. I also rolled daily for a strange event in the Drowned Forest and rolled 1d8 to determine how many hours into their travels they encountered the strange event. I took a quick break to quickly roll 1d8 six times a day for four days of travel before I continued.

They only had a few hours of daylight to pole the skiff through the shallow flooded swamp of the Drowned Forest. It soon became obvious DeManis was keeping them close to the dry land and not heading any deeper into the forest.

Progress was slow. The sludge and muck of the flooded forest made passage difficult.

They soon came across a totem pole stuck in a small island. The totem was carved with the faces of beasts and gods. The top of the pole was carved to resemble a dragon head flanked by leathery wings. Around the base of the totem was a pile of decayed sacrificial offerings, piles of skulls, stacked rocks, and small standing stones.

DeManis said, "This. This is where we begin."

The sky was darkening and it was too late to continue. They camped on dry land and ate some meager trial rations while Alot the sentinel stood watch all night.

Day Two - The Abandoned Skiff
The next morning Stephen DeManis led them towards the center of the Drowned Forest.

Barely an hour into their journey the came across an abandoned skiff. The skiff appeared to be laden with bolts of cloth, likely stolen from the merchant caravans. The A-Team poled their skiff closer and noticed that the cloth was discolored and damaged as if by acid. They came alongside the abandoned skiff so that Marlin could use his sword to rummage through the bolts of cloth.

Suddenly an amorphous black mass the size of a large boulder heaved up from under the cloth and attempted to envelop and smother Marlin. Alot laid the pole down, drew his short sword, and commanded Annor to lay down his flamberge, saying "Switch weapons! Don't slash it, you'll only create two! Don't you have a hammer?" before stabbing the pudding-like mass.

DM Note-
Sometimes I lament playing with extremely experienced players. They can't un-know how to fight a Black Pudding. Its so hard to surprise them anymore. 

Marlin managed to escape the grabbing pseudopods of the pudding. Annor gently laid his ridiculously long sword in the bottom of the skiff, took off his backpack, and removed the hammer he carried. Between Marlin and Alot's stabbing and Annor's crushing hammer the pudding was soon punctured. Its acidic gelatinous interior oozed out onto the boat and into the water as the rubbery membranous hide slowly deflated.

Later that evening as the already dim light of the Drowned Forest began to fade the A-Team encountered a strange phenomenon. The water around the skiff began to agitate as if vibrated by some invisible property of sound. Suddenly the skiff came to a stop. It was held in place by the water itself! The water around the front of the skiff began to well up until it overwhelmed the bow of the flat-bottomed boat. The upwelling of water flooded the front of the skiff and began to drag it under.

Marlin drew his magic short sword, Alot drew his own magic short sword, and Annor held aloft his magical flamerge. The three sword-fighters, supported by Auric the priest of the God of Death, plunged their blades into the water until it collapsed into normal inanimate liquid.

Day Three - The Astral Residuum

On the third day DeManis directed the team through an opening in the forest canopy. Ahead was a a wide circular open area about a hundred feet across. The area was completely round and surrounded by a circular ridge of ground. The trunks of the cypress trees surrounding the circular area were all bent away from the circle but appeared to grow back towards the center. The moss and vines draped from the tree limbs waved and swayed in an undulating motion towards the center of the circular open area as if moved by a non-existent wind. Everything slowly pulsed in strange unnatural colors - pink to purple to green to black.

Marlin spoke, "This is an impact crater. There's probably a shard of astral residuum at the bottom."

"Doesn't that stuff, like, cause mutations?" worried his brother Annor.

Marlin looked greedily towards the center of the circular area, "Yeah, given enough exposure. We should retrieve it and sell it to Keledek."

"Is he still speaking to you?" inquired Auric.

Marlin looked back at the priest, "As far as I know, he doesn't suspect it was us who stole the dragon egg. He might still honor his bounty. That's 300 gold coin for a shard!"

Alot handed Annor the pole for the skiff, "I'll get it. I'll be right back."

Alot dove into the deep black water. It was dark and cloudy and muddy and Alot could barely see  the ends of his hands. His metal and ceramic body sank like a stone. The mud at the bottom was soft and indistinct. 

As he descended deeper, Alot noted the prevalence of dead and partially decomposed starfish, hagfish, and other deep sea scavengers - an unusual sight in the middle of swamp. They were pale and tattered and their insides were exposed through gaping holes. They, too, pulsed with eerie color. To his horror the partially decomposed sea animals began moving. They crawled over his legs and arms, covering him and pulling him down.

At the center of the pool he encountered a large mussel. The mussel was the size of a boulder and covered in a thick shell that pulsed with the same unnatural light. Bony growths and spikes protruded at odd angles. The mussel was open as he drew near. Within he could see the small glowing sliver of crystal no bigger than a needle. When he reached out to grab the sliver within a piece of cloth the mussel slammed shut on Alot's mechanical arm.

Alot wrestled with the mussel and was finally able to force it open. He held the tiny sliver within the cloth in his hand. He trudged up the side of the bowl-like lake, pulling zombie-starfish and hagfish off his body as he climbed. He eventually emerged from the water at the edge of the crater covered in mud and slowly pulsating weeds.

He boarded the skiff and gave the sliver to Marlin. Marlin tied the cloth up with some string and placed the package in his magical bag of holding.

Day Four - A Trio of Trolls

It was the fourth day of their journey into the Drowned Forest. The team were growing weary of the slow progress through the overgrowth and mud. Alot poled the skiff but a person on land could walk faster.

Suddenly three massive lanky humanoid forms burst from their hiding places under the black water and attacked Marlin, Auric, and Annor. They had wrinkly green skin and were covered in muddy slime, moss, and long stringy weeds. Their long skinny arms ended in dagger-like claws. Their misshapen heads sported long beak-like noses. Their wide mouths were filled with shark-like teeth. The trolls slashed at -

Annor shouted, "Look out! Moss Goblins!"

Everyone, including the trolls, froze in mid-action and looked at Annor.

Marlin said, "They're clearly trolls!"

One of the trolls said in a gravelly voice, "I mean, obviously."

Annor stood his ground, "We always called them 'Moss Goblins'."

Auric shrugged, "I like it. Moss Goblins it is!"

With that, the deadly melee recommenced!

The talkative troll  moss goblin bellowed, "We're tired of your bandits coming through our territory! Just give us your gold and we'll let you go!"

Alot laid down his pole and drew his short sword, "We're not bandits!"

Marlin added, "And we don't have any gold!"

"Ha! Right!" countered the moss goblin as he slashed at Marlin with clawed hands.

Annor swung his fantastically long sword at the middle moss goblin. Each swing would slash and cut the moss goblin but the wounds simply resealed as the moss goblin regenerated its lacerated flesh.

Alot called out to the rest of the team, "Does anyone have any fire? Moss goblins regenerate unless they're burned with fire!"

DM Note-
Sigh. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes I lament having experienced long-time D&D players. 

"No!" replied Auric, who was busy dodging moss goblin attacks behind his shield, "It's day. And all my prayers affect life energy."

"What about Aella. Does she know any fire spells?"

"She had brain jellies!" said Auric, "No spells. And I don't think she knows any fire spells anyway. Light a torch!"

Had Alot lungs to breathe, he would have sighed in frustration. "Lighting a torch would take too long. Hold on, I have an idea!"

Alot instructed Marlin to pull one of the clay pots off the pack on Alot's back. "Its Alchemists Fire! Throw it at the nearest troll."

"Moss goblin!" Marlin replied before doing as Alot requested. Marlin's aim was off and he wound up throwing the pot away into the swamp. It disappeared. "Gah!"

Alot cursed the luck. He sheathed his magical short sword. He then reached behind him and removed the second and last clay pot as well as an unlit torch. He threw the clay pot against the closest moss goblin. The pot shattered and its contents burst into flame. The moss goblin screamed in pain.

Alot jammed the torch into the alchemist fire burning on the moss goblin. The pitch on the torch ignited.

The burning moss goblin backed away from the skiff and submerged itself into the black murky water.

Meanwhile, Annor continued to have difficulty fighting the middle moss goblin. Unless the wounds were burned it would simply regenerate and heal itself!

Marlin cried out, "Hold on brother!" He waved his fingers and Alot's torch magically flew out of his hand, floated through the air, and danced around the moss goblin fighting Annor.

Alot became visibly annoyed, "What the hell! I'm using that!"

Marlin replied, "I need to help my brother!"

Alot shouted, "I can help your brother better than you can, you fool!" Alot withdrew a second torch.

After several slashing strokes Annor decapitated the lanky creature. Its head fell to the bottom of the boat. Alot grabbed the hovering torch from the air and used it to light his second torch. He jammed the newly list second torch into the severed neck wound of the headless moss goblin. The body of the moss goblin shuddered and fell backwards into the water.

Annor turned his attention to the moss goblin attacking Auric. Auric was busy deflecting blows with his shield.

To his horror, the severed head rolled towards Annor and began biting his leg. Annor cried out, shaking his leg, "What is biting me!"

"Its the head of the troll you killed," explained Alot. Auric shot Alot a dirty look.  "Sorry, MOSS GOBLIN!" The lenses of Alot's artificial eyes made a rolling motion.

"They can do that??" exclaimed Annor.

"Yes!"shouted Alot as he burned the head. Annor kicked it out of the skiff and into the water.

Alot had trouble getting to the rear of the skiff in order to help fight the third moss goblin. Alot handed his torch to Marlin, picked up the pole, and maneuvered the skiff so that the moss goblin was more centrally located. He put down the pole, took his torch, and was now able to join the fight. The moss goblin screamed as Alot burned the wounds created by Annor and Marlin. The moss goblin fell into the water dead.

The first moss goblin re-emerged from the water. It had extinguished its flames. It shouted, "Just give us your gold! C'mon!"

Alot replied, "We won't! Also, we're not bandits!"

Marlin maneuvered around Alot to attack with his magical short sworld wile Alot brandished his torch.

The moss goblin capitulated. It raised its arms and backed away from the boat. "Okay! Okay! You win! We're done fighting." It turned and began trudging away through the forest. The headless troll rose and joined him. "All we wanted was your gold! Sheesh! Anyway, good luck in your dungeon! Have a great day!"

Auric and Annor waved as they left. Auric shouted, "You betcha!" Annor shouted, "So long! Bye!" Marlin said, "See ya!"

DM Note-
That was a fun challenging random encounter. The trolls kept backing away into the water, healing, and coming back. It was really frustrating for the players. 

The Hunter's Cabin
Around noon on the fourth day, an estimate at best since no one could see the sun through the dense canopy, the party came across a small island. Atop the island was an old hunter's cabin. The cedar wood looked old and the roof was bowed in and nearing collapse. The door lay loose and unhinged. A strange white lichen covered the ground around the entrance to the shack. It appeared to spill out of the inside of the shack and radiate away from the door.

Alot poled the skiff over towards the shack. Marlin and Auric disembarked and cautiously approached the cabin.

Within they found the body of somebody long dead. They appeared to be human. The body was propped up against the back wall of the cabin and held in place by a massive growth of white lichen. The body had a massive hole in its chest as if something within the body exploded outward. The lichen radiated away from the gaping chest, out along the wall, and down onto the floor, radiating away from the dead body.

Auric wrinkled his nose, "Okay..."

Marlin said, "I think we should probably go."

They withdrew to the skiff and left. Alot asked what they found. Marlin replied, "Nothing good."

The Tomb of the Lizard King
As the sun set on the fourth day of their journey, Stephen DeManis became more agitated and exited, "We're close! We're close!"

The trees around them became more pallid, more ashen. There were fewer leaves and the branches resembled clawed fingers. The sound of frogs and insects disappeared. All was eerie silence. The water here was more dark red than black.

Through the trees a large earthen mound rose steeply from the swamp. The mound was covered in mud and trees. It would be difficult or impossible to climb.

An ancient stone platform extended from the base of the mound. The platform was 120 feet square. Ten massive columns stood like barren tree trunks on the platform. The ceiling they once supported had long ago collapsed and the stone had been cleared away. Dozens of skiffs and rafts were tied to the platform. Where the platform met the mound was a wall embedded with tens of thousands of shells and skulls.

DeManis writhed on the boat in hysterical ecstasy, "We're here! We're here!"

To Be Continued...