The Trident of Manaan - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 59

 

Anapos the Sea Elf knight of the Royal Guard led the crew of the Sea Ghost down a smooth marble tunnel on their way to the royal palace of King Pelagius of Manaan.

The bard Cai'luin asked Anapos to stop for a moment. Cai'luin turned to address the rest of his crew, "Okay, look, we're about to meet my uncle - HER father," he said, indicating Aella. He looked directly at Corvid, "Let's please not kill ANYONE! And let me do the talking."

Captain Alot looked defensive, "Hey, I was the one knocking out giant eels just in case, remember?"

Corvid looked sideways and sniffed, "If they attack me first, I make no promises."

CHAPTER 59

"THE TRIDENT OF MANAAN"

The Crew of the Sea Ghost:

• Alot Aname - Neutral Good Warforged Fighter, ancient sentinel of a wizard's fortress, spent several decades deactivated underwater, Captain of the Sea Ghost.
• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Storm Sorceress from Ket, daughter of the king of the sea elves, deck sorceress and first mate of the Sea Ghost.
• Craig "Blunderbuss" Oxworth - Lawful Good Dwarven Priest of St. Ogden (Cleric), sailor and shipwright, bosun of the Sea Ghost.  
• Cai'luin Manaan - Chaotic Good Sea-Elf Bard, member of the royal family of the tribe of Manaan. Cook of the Sea Ghost.
• Corvid Ravenson - Neutral Good Fallen Aasimar Paladin of Vengeance and Divine Soul Sorcerer, sent to Oerth to avenge those who wronged his angelic "brother", Auric Ravenson. Second mate of the Sea Ghost.

DM Note-

Still filling in the 8th level gap between the end of the Final Enemy and the beginning of Tammeraut's Fate with small mini-adventures. I'm currently running my own home-brew storyline regarding the royal family of the Sea Elf Tribe of Manaan. I'm using map assets from Quick Encounters: Aquatic Ruin Maps and Quick Encounters: Undersea City.  It seems to me that my players always have more fun with these smaller adventures. 

Minor Ret-Con

Last week I said Anapaos couldn't join them but I changed my mind.

Anapos led them out of the tunnel and into an undersea city built within the confines of a one mile wide circular coral reef. The coral reef formed a kind of city wall reaching nearly to the surface. The city consisted of about a dozen domed structures built atop a foundation of coral and limestone. At the center of the city rose a magnificent four-story domed palace guarded by four domed towers.

Sea-elves swam about conducting their normal business. Many were accompanied by dolphins. A few were carried by dolphins wearing special harnesses. 

Anapos took the party to the entrance of the palace where he was challenged by the guard. Anapos ordered them to stand aside so that he could escort these important diplomats to an emergency audience with King Pelagius. The guard complied. As they passed through the entrance Corvid could sense the guard's worry that something important was transpiring.

Anapos led the crew up through each of the levels of the palace to the royal audience chamber. A growing group of servants, commoners, guards, and knights began to fall in behind the party as the rumor spread through the palace of an impending event.

Anapos and the crew of the Sea Ghost emerged through a portal in the floor of the audience chamber and stood before King Pelagius, Princess Nix, and Prince Aegeon. Also within the room were knights of the royal guard, palace guards, servants, and two robed druids.

The room fell silent. 

King Pelagius, who had been leaning to his left to speak with Princess Nix from his throne, interrupted his conversation with his daughter to break the silence.

"Anapos, why have you brought these commoners to our royal presence? We were not expecting visitors from the surface world today."

Anapos replied, "My lord, I present Aella of Ket and her companions - Master Cai'luin your nephew, Alot - Captain of the Sea Ghost, Father Craig - Priest of the Raven King, and - ah- Corvid." 

Cai'luin stepped forward.

King Pelagius said, "Good nephew. Welcome home. You have been away at the bard's college of the surface world for too long. What brings you brings you before us today in the company of so many- strangers?"

Cai'luin bowed and said, "Your majesty. I present to you Ambassador Aella, Councilwoman of Saltmarsh, and Honorary Inquisitor Captain of the Triton Guard, Slayer of Aulicus, Ancient Black Dragon and Bane of all Living Things."

Pelagius considered his uninvited guests. Princess Nix bolted upright from her chair, "Father! She carries the trident of our esteemed grandfather - Manaan! She is a thief!"

Pelagius glared at Aella, who did indeed carry the fabulous trident of Manaan. His eyes fluttered as he regained his composure, "Calm down, Nix. Aella, that trident is an heirloom of our ancestor, founder of our tribe. It belonged to his ancestors before him back to our original home in the Spindrift. It was lost many centuries ago. How did you come to possess it?"

Aella stepped forward, "Your majesty, it was awarded to me by the people of Saltmarsh as a reward for our assistance in defeating the Sahuagin stronghold. It was found in the treasury of the Sahuagin and given to me as a gift."

King Pelagius stood from his throne, his eyes flashed, "What right have you to bear this relic of my people? It is the rightful property of the royal family and our descendants.  It belongs by right to our eldest child, Aegon."

Prince Aegeon interjected, "Father! She is obviously a liar and an imposter! She stands before us bearing my legacy as ill-gotten plunder of a life of piracy! She offers us slander and untruth! I demand that she and her companions be imprisoned and punished for their transgressions!"

Princess Nix added, "I concur. Father, Aella and her companions are allies of the koalinth. Remember how she and her companions defended the koalinth at the games? Where was her fealty to you then? She pollutes our waters with her foul machinations!

King Pelagius said, "Aella, these are bold claims. What defense do you offer?"

The Poison Message

Aella replied, "Your majesty, I will address those accusations momentarily. But first, as a demonstration of my good intentions, I have brought a message for you." Aella produced a cylindrical clay bottle sealed with a cork and wax, "I have brought this from a man known as the Serpent's Tooth."

King Pelagius eased his body language and rubbed his chin, "Yes, I know this Serpent's Tooth. He was the provocateur who informed me that the leader of the koalinth would be attending the lizard man games. Very helpful. Have you read this message?"

Aella shook her haid, "No, your majesty, I have not."

Anapos took the jar and handed it to King Pelagius. Pelagius tore away the wax and removed the cork. A bubble of air escaped and rose to the domed ceiling. Pelagius removed a rolled up piece of parchment from the vase. He unrolled it and read it. 

He crumbled the parchment and glared at Aella, "You traitorous fiend! So you are indeed allied with the Koalinth!"

The crumpled vellum began to dissolve in the water - disintegrating into tiny flakes and forming a cloud around the king. The king lurched. He grabbed his gills. His eyes began to bulge. All color drained from his face and dark capillaries became visible against his pallid flesh. His knights and druids rushed to his side. He staggered backwards and began floating limp.

Prince Aegeon pointed at Aella and shouted, "Assassin! Knights, detain these agents of the koalinth! Arrest them immediately!"

DM Note-

Aella's player said, "Well, shit."

Corvid's player said, "Show of hands - who DIDN'T see that coming?"

Aella replied, "Honestly, I didn't until immediately after handing it to him, and I thought 'No- wait!' but it was too late."

A Tight Spot

The crew of the Sea Ghost formed a tight group - back to back. The knights of the royal guard rushed in and tried to grab Aella and her companions. Cai'luin shouted, "Resist, but don't fight back! Don't hurt anybody! I can get us out of this!"

Cai'luin tried to explain to Princess Nix that they had no idea that the message was poisoned and appealed for an opportunity to make things right. 

The guards continued to grapple with the crew with Cai'luin and Aella trying to argue their case. 

Princess Nix cried, "No! You will never be the king's daughter! You are a charlatan and a pretender!" 

Corvid became wreathed in an aura of purple blackfire as the luminous vengeance of the Raven King began to visibly sublimate from his body. His eyes glowed fiercely with holy power and ethereal skeletal raven wings could be seen from his back. He glared at the guards around him and they retreated in fear.

Corvid disappeared, leaving a trace of dark purple cloud in the water. He reappeared next to the dying king. He kneeled and held his hand over the king's body. The poison was drawn out and the king's color regained a healthy purple hue. The druids attending him dragged him away from Corvid in fear and awe. 

Cai'luin once more urgently pleaded for an opportunity to make things right while Aella tried to reassure Nix and Aegeon that she had no interest in ruling Manaan or usurping their power.

DM Note-

I started a skill challenge. The party had ten attempts to get six successes using either History, Religion, Performance, or Persuasion - with the final success being Persuasion.

The original difficulty was 15, however the poisoning increased the difficulty to 20. 

A Natural-20 would score two successes. A Natural-1 subtracted one success.

Aella got one free success for bearing the Trident of Manaan - which intimidated the guards.

If they succeeded, the prince and princess would call off the guards.

If they failed, the prince and princess would order the guards to fight to kill - a confrontation that the crew would probably win but wished to avoid.

Aella and Cai'luin did most of the talking.

The final score was:

1. Trident of Manaan = success
2. Cai'luin, Persuasion 16 = fail
3. Aella, Persuasion 23 = success
4. Ca'luin, Persuasion 26 = success
5. Aella, Persuasion 18 = fail
6. Corvid used Lesser Restoration on King Pelagius = success
7. Cai'luin, Persuasion 25 = success
8. Aella, Persuasion 26 = success

King Pelagius rose to his feet but staggered. The druids helped him stand. Pelagius used all his strength to bellow an order for his guards to cease fighting. He turned to his daughter and son and asked, "What was that you said about Aella being my daughter?"

Cai'luin extricated himself from the grasp of the guards around him, "Your majesty, allow me to tell you a story."

Cai'luin recounted the tale of how over twenty years ago the king had been captured by the sahuagin and sold into slavery. He had been sold to the wealthy King of Ket far to the north and held prisoner in an aquatic menagerie. Cai'luin reminded the king that there he met and befriended a human Ketan woman named Mo'om - a servant. Mo'om helped King Pelagius escape and the pair fled. 

King Pelagius became pensive, "Yes, I recall. She was a kind soul. We fell in love."

Cai'luin said, "Indeed, sire. What you didn't know was that you fathered a child with Mo'om. She gave birth after you left. That child was Aella."

King Pelagius' eyes became wide with understanding, "Is this true, Aella?"

Aella nodded sagely, "It is true, your majesty. About two years ago I suddenly felt a strange urge to return to the sea, but not any sea - THIS sea. I traveled for many months from Ket until I arrived at Saltmarsh. I knew not why I was drawn to this sea but I have come to learn from our good friend and ally Oceanus the truth - that I am your daughter.

The Final Defiance

Prince Aegeon interrupted, shouting, "Never! I will not allow you to steal my birthright! I will be king!"

Aella replied dismissively, "Fine, I don't even WANT to rule this kingdom."

Aegeon shouted, "And you never will!" before pointing his hand at Aella and directing three eldritch blasts of magical power towards her.  Princess Nix drew her rapier.

King Pelagius tried to intervene but his knees buckled and he collapsed into the arms of the nearby druids. The palace guards withdrew in confusion. 

Aella responded by sweeping the Trident of Manaan and creating a magical hammer of water that swept over Aegon and Nix. 

Corvid drew his magical longsword and engaged Princess Nix in hand-to-hand combat. The two traded blows but Nix was able to bypass Corvid's armor to deliver a deep cut.

Corvid's aura became more luminous and intimidating as he delivered holy wrath against Princess Nix. 

Captain Alot swam towards Prince Aegeon and delivered two mighty blows from his magical hammer. Aegeon collapsed and held up his hands to yield.

Princess Nix, seeing her brother's capitulation, likewise surrendered. She let her rapier fall to the ground and lifted her hands in defeat.

The Resolution

After the surrender of Prince Aegeon and Princess Nix, Cai'luin was able to provide magical bardic healing to the king. 

The king returned to his throne and addressed Aella. He asked her intentions. 

Aella explained that she had no interest in ruling Manaan or becoming involved in the political machinations of the royal family. She only wished to unlock the powers of the Trident of Manaan and that only the druids of Manaan could do this.

The King lamented that she did not wish to return the trident to its people but, as the eldest descendant of Manaan she was its rightful bearer. He said that unlocking its powers meant that she had to undergo a long ritual in the Sacred Coral Grove where she must prove her lineage and worthiness to bear the Trident of Manaan. She had to pass the ordeal of the druids. 

He also said that to be his eldest child, to bear the Trident of Manaan, meant that she would inherit the throne upon his death. On that there was no avoidance, no abdication. 

She reminded the king that, as a half-elf, the king would likely outlive her by several hundred years and, barring any children of her own or future assassination attempts, Prince Aegeon would still inherit the throne as originally planned. 

The king considered this with surprise, "Hmm. Good point."

DM Note-

No, really, that WAS a good point. When the player said that, I was all, "Huh. Yeah. That's a very good point."

The king asked Aella if she planned to live an honorable life and use the trident in defense of the kingdom. Aella assured Pelagius that should would and that she and her crew would be ready to serve and protect the king, royal family, and people of Manaan from all threats. 

King Pelagius was satisfied with this and instructed the druids to proceed with the ritual. 

The Ordeal of the Druids

The druids led Aella, along with the king and the crew of the Sea Ghost, down into the sacred coral grove far beneath the royal palace. 

DM Note-

I told the players that I intentionally didn't define the details of the ritual and asked them to describe the ritual as they envisioned it. Each player provided some interesting ideas.

The sacred grove was the source of the sacred coral polyps used by the druids to create the coral structures and walls of Manaan. It was said that it was here that Manaan shed his own blood to sanctify the original coral when he settled the tribe after their exodus from the Spindrift thousands of years ago. 

Aella's hand was cut with a sacred blade, the same blade used by Manaan. She clutched her bleeding hand and thrust it into a hole in the side of the coral. The coral was inhabited by coral snakes. She was to remove her magical gauntlets and hold her bare hand there for several hours. The coral snakes would bite and kill anyone who was not a descendant of Manaan. 

Aella held her hand within the coral for several hours. It eventually began to glow and venomous coral snakes began to emerge from the coral walls of the grove. They formed a writhing mass that circled her and enveloped her. Thy did this for several more hours until she herself began to glow. 

Eventually the coral snakes retreated to their lairs and the glow faded. The druids gave Aella their blessing and she removed her hand. The cut had healed.

She was, indeed, the descendant of Manaan. 

To Be Continued...

DM Note-

With that, the players levelled their characters up to level nine. I told them their characters had three months of downtime during which nothing was scheduled to happen. They returned to Saltmarsh, divvied up their treasure, they did some book-keeping, did some shopping at the Loyal Quartermasters of Iuz, figured out what to do with the Deck of Many Things they got from the Corruption at Skyhorn Lighthouse adventure, etc. 

Next up - Player's Choice continues, but Tammeraut's Fate will be coming up soon.

The Sacred Coral Grove of the Sea Elves - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 58

The party continued their exploration of the labyrinth.  Aella held her trident out in front of her as she advanced down the long straight hallway. She came into contact with some invisible force. It formed a clear pseudopod and attacked! 

Aella pointed her trident at the translucent mass and a bolt of chaos magic darted through the water, striking it. Cai'luin cast a bardic Shatter spell, causing the gelatinous mass to pulse sharply. The  mass moved forward in an attempt to engulf its prey but the party was able to retreat. 

Captain Alot struck the gelatinous cube with his magical draconic hammer. The cube burst, filling the water with torn bits of membrane and jelly.

The party advanced down the corridor and found an alcove. Searching the alcove uncovered a weak section of walls where the bricks had become loose. Captain Alot being the strongest member of hte party used his crowbar to try to pry the bricks loose but to no avail. He handed the crowbar to Aella. She got a good grip with her magical gauntlets of ogre power and was able to bust a hole through the wall. 

The hole was just large enough for a person to crawl through to the other side. 

Alot readied his hammer and shield and squeezed through. 

CHAPTER 58

"THE SACRED CORAL GROVE OF THE SEA ELVES"

The Crew of the Sea Ghost:

• Alot Aname - Neutral Good Warforged Fighter, ancient sentinel of a wizard's fortress, spent several decades deactivated underwater, Captain of the Sea Ghost.
• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Storm Sorceress from Ket, daughter of the king of the sea elves, deck sorceress and first mate of the Sea Ghost.
• Craig "Blunderbuss" Oxworth - Lawful Good Dwarven Priest of St. Ogden (Cleric), sailor and shipwright, bosun of the Sea Ghost.  
• Cai'luin Manaan - Chaotic Good Sea-Elf Bard, member of the royal family of the tribe of Manaan. Cook of the Sea Ghost.
• Corvid Ravenson - Neutral Good Fallen Aasimar Paladin of Vengeance and Divine Soul Sorcerer, sent to Oerth to avenge those who wronged his angelic "brother", Auric Ravenson. Second mate of the Sea Ghost.

DM Note-

Still filling in the 8th level gap between the end of the Final Enemy and the beginning of Tammeraut's Fate with small mini-adventures. I'm currently running my own home-brew storyline regarding the royal family of the Sea Elf Tribe of Manaan. I'm using map assets from Quick Encounters: Aquatic Ruin Maps and Quick Encounters: Undersea City.  It seems to me that my players always have more fun with these smaller adventures. 

Grey Oozes

Captain Alot's artificial mind strained against the psychic onslaught. He pushed through into the next chamber and moved aside to allow Corvid to enter behind him. 

The stone floor heaved and writhed around him as the grey ooze lurched and undulated. He smashed at the putty-like floor with his magical hammer. 

Corvid crawled through the breach and slashed at the floor with his magical sword. A grey pseudopod grew out of the floor and smashed into Corvid's plate armor. The acid of the grey ooze's strike left a corroded scar on the armor. One of the plates crumbled into flakes!

Aella peered into the hole and cast a chaos bolt into the ooze while Cai'luin's made a vicious mockery of the slime.  

The oozes withered into flakes which were scattered in the submerged chamber. 

Father Craig, piloting the large undersea vehicle known as the Apparatus of Kwalish, said, "I'll never make it through that hole!"

Alot replied and Aella did their best to widen the hole enough that they could pull the apparatus through. Once on the other side the team began to move down the corridor to the right. 

Black Pudding

They saw a black lumpy mass clinging to the ceiling of the corridor ahead of them. 

Corvid said, "Ranged attackers, take care of it."

Aella created a magical swarm of snowballs around the black pudding-like creature which seemed to have no effect.

Cai'luin whispered magical words of dissonance and the black pudding retreated from the party. Corvid pointed his sword at the creature and uttered a prayer to the Raven King. A loud bell rang out but did nothing to the pudding.

The pudding yet lived and advanced along the ceiling towards the party.

Alot sighed and charged the pudding, smashing it repeatedly with his magical hammer.

Aella followed up by casting several glowing arrows from a magic wand. A final strike from Alot's hammer destroyed the pudding.

The Coral Snake

The party advanced. The corridor ended at a T-shaped intersection. Captain Alot saw a small coral snake swimming through the water - an odd sight in this labyrinth of slimes and molds.

The coral snake turned and fled towards the left - retreated from whence it came.

Alot hurled himself at the snake and grabbed it by the neck. The snake's tail thrashed about as it tried in vain to escape.

Alot summoned Cai'luin, "Hey, you can speak with sea creatures, right? Tell this thing I don't mean it any harm."

Cai'luin reassured the coral snake and it became calm.

Corvid, confused, asked, "What are you doing?"

Alot replied, "I think this might be a druid shape-changed into a snake or something. I'm going to try to talk to it. Cai'luin, do the druids speak Common?"

Cai'luin shrugged, "I think so."

Alot said, "Okay, translate what I say into Aquan anyway, just in case."

Alot held the snake up to his face and spoke in slow deliberate words, "We- mean- you- no- harm. Do you understand me? Can- you- lead- us- to- the- sacred- grove?"

The snake undulated slowly in his grip.

Meanwhile, Corvid scouted ahead trying to find where the snake was swimming. He found a breach in the labyrinth wall leading to a tunnel in the coral that had overgrown the ancient city.

"Hey, I think I found the way."

Alot shrugged, "Okay." He addressed the snake, "We- are- taking- you- anyway. Just- in- case."

Cai'luin added, wryly, "Alot, I think that might be just a snake."

Mysterious Burrows

The party followed the twisting winding path through the tunnel under the coral. They came across an alcove to the right. Corvid caught a glimpse of something large and dark quickly retreating into the alcove. Captain Alot took a careful look and saw several large burrows in the coral. Each burrow was the circumference of a man's waist.

Captain Alot informed the others and instructed them to leave the burrows alone. They moved cautiously past.

DM Note-
I like to include avoidable encounters when I can. The players recognized that whatever lived in those burrows hindered or helped them in their mission so they decided to leave it alone. Good on them! 

Also it made great foreshadowing for what came next.

Giant Eels
The tunnel opened up into a large room - possibly an ancient throne-room with a colossal statue that had fallen over and shattered into pieces when some great cataclysm sank this kingdom. The coral had since grown over the ancient city and the ceiling - an interlocking growth of thick coral - created a chamber thirty feet high. They were half-way through the circular atoll of coral reef that surrounded the castle of Manaan.

Father Craig, piloting the crab-like vehicle, examined the ruins through the port-hole. He identified them as belonging to the long-dead Suloise Empire - perhaps a colony built here nine hundred years ago by Sulouise immigrants of House Rhola fleeing the Rain of Colorless Fire. This city was later struck by a great earthquake which caused the entire coast to sink hundreds of feet beneath the waves. 

Alot spotted an alcove to the left. He entered it to investigate. Suddenly he was swarmed by several massive eels, each serpentine fish was as big around as a man's waist and nearly twenty feet long! 

Corvid and Cai'luin swam to aid Alot and the trio made short work of the giant eels.

Giant Coral Snakes

The party moved further into the chamber, swimming above the fallen ruins of the colossal statue. Suddenly two massive coral snakes darted out from niches on opposite sides of the chamber. One engaged Corvid on the left while the other did battle with Alot on the right. More giant eels swam out from another niche behind the party to create a battle with three fronts. Cai'luin battled the eels while Aella stayed in the center and cast rays of ice magic at the beasts. 

Once the coral snakes were defeated, Alot and Corvid rushed to aid Cai'luin against the eels. 

Alot did his best to knock the snakes and eels into unconsciousness. He was still worried they might be fighting shape-changed druids. The others, however, had no such compunctions and soon the room was littered with dead or unconscious snakes and eels. 

The Sacred Grove

The found the exit from the chamber of the colossal statue and followed the winding tunnel through the coral for a few hundred feet. The tunnel eventually ended in a massive mound of sand that blocked the passage. The sand was easily removed by the digging claws of the Apparatus of Kwalish and the party continued.

They eventually emerged into a main tunnel. In one direction the tunnel was smooth and lined with marble. In the other the tunnel was more rugged and magically glowed in places. Alot deduced that the sacred grove lay in the more rugged direciton.

The party came upon a chamber guarded by sea elves. The sea elf guards were prepared for intruders with spears at the ready. Alot stepped forward and attempted to speak to them. His sputtering attempt confused the guards and they prepared for a fight. Cai'luin tapped on Alot's shoulder and took his place. 

Cai'luin, as a fellow sea elf from the tribe of Manaan, spoke Aquan to the guards. He announced the arrival of Princess Aella, daughter of King Pelagius, and requested to speak to the druids of the sacred grove. 

The guards looked at each other nervously, unsure what to do. An armored sea-elf knight emerged from the network of passages behind them and ordered them to stand aside.

"Guards, before you stands Cai'luin, nephew to King Pelagius, and Aella, daughter to the king." He then saw that she bore the trident of Manaan, the founder of tribe, "She bears the trident! So the rumors are true! Kneel you fools! Show them proper respect." He kneeled before them and the guards followed suit. 

After some brief pleasantries and proper introductions of the strangers who accompanied Aella and Cai'luin, the knight, who introduced himself as Anapos, informed the party that the sacred grove had been sealed off by Princess Nix and a locked iron door was installed to keep people out. 

Princess Nix bore the only key on a chain around her neck. She must accompany the druids on any visit to the grove and they may only do so with her permission and attendance. In addition, he and his men were assigned to guard the grove. This was a security measure installed after the recent unpleasantness involving the Sahuagin or vengeful Koalinth. 

Of course, the princess was also wary that Aella might lead outsiders to this place, a fear which evidently had merit.

Cai'luin explained that they simply wished for the druids to perform a ritual for Aella to unlock the powers of the trident. Alot said that Princess Nix probably knows this and that was the reason for all the security.

Cai'luin asked Anapos if they could see the door.

Anapos led them to the rear of chamber where a heavy iron door was cemented into the coral. 

"Well, that should be no problem for us," said Cai'luin.

Anapos took a defensive stance before Cai'luin, "I will not allow that."

"Oh, come on. Can't you look the other way?"

Anapos grimaced, "My Lord. I am a knight of the royal guard of Manaan. Princess Nix gave me explicit orders to defend this door with my life and allow no one but her and those she so deems to enter. Though I believe that Aella is the daughter of King Pelagius and the rightful heir to the throne of Manaan, Me and my fellow knights and guards are honor bound to fulfill our orders with our lives. I will not prevaricate nor circumvent my orders. If you attempt to open this door I will try to stop you with my life."

Aella held up her hands, "Okay, okay. Look, I just want to talk to the druids." 

"My lady, the druids attend to the king and royal family in the palace. They will be there."

"Also, I have some kind of diplomatic message to deliver to the king. Can you take me to him? We've met. He'll remember me."

Anapos considered this. "My orders prevent me from abandoning my post. I cannot accompany you. But I will assign my two most trusted guards to take you to the king."  

Aella looked at the others for consensus. They nodded their assent - save for Father Craig in the Apparatus of Kwalish, who could not navigate the winding narrow passages of the sacred grove and waited back at the entrance while the guards eyed him warily.

"But be aware, my lady." Anapos continued, "Though I believe you are the daughter of the king, not everyone here does. Many believe you to be an imposter and usurper and will do everything they can to stop you, including the Prince Aegon and Princess Nix, and they are cunning adversaries."

To Be Continued...

The Wellspring - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 57

 

The emir opened the door to the passage leading to the Wellspring, "You'll find what you seek down that corridor. Now if you will excuse me, I must test something."

With a flick of his wrist, there was a flurry of bubbles in the center of the room. The bubbles dissipated to reveal Father Craig, the dwarven priest of Tristin. Father Craig's eyes bulged in confusion and he inhaled a big gulp of seawater. He began to choke.

"Oops! Just a moment!" With another flick of his wrist a bubble of air appeared around Father Craig's head. Father Craig took some deep breaths, "There, that should do him for about an hour. Anyway, this is my gift to you, my way of saying thanks for disabling the barrier that kept me a prisoner in these chambers."

Captain Alot blurted, "Wait! What about-"

The emir smiled and said, "Ta ta!" and with a flick of his piscine wrists, he disappeared into a burst of tiny bubbles. 

Father Craig stared around the room in bewildered shock, "Uh, what just happened?"

CHAPTER 57

"THE WELLSPRING"

The Crew of the Sea Ghost:

• Alot Aname - Neutral Good Warforged Fighter, ancient sentinel of a wizard's fortress, spent several decades deactivated underwater, Captain of the Sea Ghost.
• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Storm Sorceress from Ket, daughter of the king of the sea elves, deck sorceress and first mate of the Sea Ghost.
• Craig "Blunderbuss" Oxworth - Lawful Good Dwarven Priest of St. Ogden (Cleric), sailor and shipwright, bosun of the Sea Ghost.  
• Cai'luin Manaan - Chaotic Good Sea-Elf Bard, member of the royal family of the tribe of Manaan. Cook of the Sea Ghost.
• Corvid Ravenson - Neutral Good Fallen Aasimar Paladin of Vengeance and Divine Soul Sorcerer, sent to Oerth to avenge those who wronged his angelic "brother", Auric Ravenson. Second mate of the Sea Ghost.

DM Note-

Still filling in the 8th level gap between the end of the Final Enemy and the beginning of Tammeraut's Fate with small mini-adventures. I gave my players the option of which storyline they wanted to follow and they chose the story that led to the Corruption of Skyhorn Lighthouse. It seems to me that my players always have more fun with these smaller adventures. 

Father Craig's player had missed the last two sessions because he was, oh, you know, FIGHTING CANCER! So when he felt better and wanted to play I was faced with a challenge - how to include Father Craig. Father Craig was back on the ship and Father Craig is the only member of the party without a means to adventure underwater. I, of course, had no wish to exclude him but I didn't know how to INCLUDE him either. So I hand-waved it - literally by having the marid wave his hand - and said a genie did it! 

The Wellspring

A fifteen foot wide corridor stretched before them. Visibility was limited at the far end by overlapping blades of kelp. Captain Alot and Corvid pushed through the kelp into the chamber beyond. 

They found a wide marble room adorned with statues of mermaids. Shoals of small bioluminescent fish swam lazily throughout the room giving it a strange bluish-green glow. A large sphere of swirling elemental energy hovered above the floor on the far wall. At the center of the sphere, occupying it like a bird in a nest, was a mass of black writhing tentacles with a single glowing red eye at its center. The floor beneath the swirling energy and mass of black tentacles was a spiraling distortion. Black tendrils of tar separated from the tentacled thing only to disappear down into the distortion like being sucked down into a drain. 

This was the Wellspring the sea-genie spoke of- the source of elemental energy that powered the lighthouse keeper's chalice. Some dark being had infested the Wellspring and was using its energy to magically disrupt weather around the lighthouse. 

Four slack-jawed drowned sailors stood guard over the tentacled thing. They drew their cutlasses and advanced!

Aella cast a Witch Bolt spell and a streak of lightning struck the tentacled mass. To her surprise, her spell destroyed it! 

The thralls continued to advance, however, and engaged Corvid and Alot in hand-to-hand combat. One of the four moved through the kelp to attack Aella and Father Craig on the group's flank. 

A small tiny mass of tentacles began to reform within the center of the elemental vortex. Corvid's supernatural senses detected a dark shape moving behind the kelp. He informed the others. 

Sensing that its ruse had been discovered, the Corruption abandoned its illusion and moved through the kelp. It extended dark elastic tentacles that wrapped around and bound Aella and Father Craig. One of the tentacles began to drain Father Craig of his life energy. The Corruption seemed to feed off it like a psychic vampire.

Father Craig prayed to Saint Ogden and summoned forth a spiritual hammer which crushed the skull of the thrall attacking him. Father Craig then trained the magical hammer to attack the Corruption.

Cai'luin moved to the left side of the corridor and cast a bardic spell into the kelp. The spell exploded with thunderous force, clearing away the kelp and revealing the full form of the Corruption. 

DM Note-

Cai'luin's "fireball" spell is called "Depth Charge" and does force damage instead of fire damage.

The Corruption lashed out another tentacle which wrapped around Cai'luin. In response, Bess crawled past Father Craig and grabbed the Corruption in her pincers. 

Alot dispatched the thrall and moved to attack the Corruption. Corvid had more difficulty and continued to hold off the thralls on his flank. Corvid eventually defeated the final thrall and moved to assist Alot.

Between Corvid's magical sword, Alot's magical dragon-hammer, Aella's magical trident, and Father Craig's holy hammers, the team soon had the tentacled horror on the defensive. Father Craig prayed and summoned forth a massive maelstrom of spiritual hammers which swarmed the mass and pummeled it into oblivion. 

The Corruption was destroyed and the dark disruption beneath the Wellspring disappeared. The Wellspring once again glowed with pure elemental energy. 

The Guardian of the Well

The crew exited the chamber of the Wellspring and returned to the foyer. As they were preparing to leave, Captain Alot paused and took a look at the well filled with treasure. 

He raised his three-fingered mechanical hand and said, "Everybody hold up a second." He stared at the well in contemplation.

An inscription on the well in Aquan read, "Pay tribute to your master, Shah Javad Khorasani, Eye of the Tempest and Lords of the Thousand and One Bright Pearls". The well was filled to the brim in jewels and platinum.

He turned to the others, "How does everyone feel about taking all that treasure? I mean, its just sitting there."

Corvid replied dryly, "You have to know its some kind of trap."

Alot dismissed the thought with a wave, "Yes, yes, but we can handle it."

Corvid shrugged, "Alright."

Corvid, Father Craig, and Alot positioned themselves near the well. Father Craig summoned forth a swirling vortex of hammers and positioned a spiritual hammer near the well. 

Alot reached in and took out a handful of gems.

Suddenly the gems rose out of the well, suspended within a whirlpool. The mass of coins and gems formed a roughly humanoid shape. 

Cai'luin began hurling well-craft insults. Corvid struck at the treasure with his magical sword. The animated treasure took a pummeling from Father Craig's maelstrom of hammers. Aella pointed her trident at the animated treasure and cast a lightning bolt spell. 

The swirling animated mass of treasure enveloped Alot. Alot resisted and was shoved backward against the wall. 

Corvid stepped back, raised his magical sword, and prepared to strike. He threw himself forward and plunged the magic sword into the center of the elemental guardian. The guardian shuddered.

DM Note-

Corvid rolled a critical hit. 19 damage. Plus smite for another 29 damage. Yowch!

Father Craig followed up by smashing the elemental guardian with his war-pick "Dwarven Blood Bond". 

Aella created a magical bonfire beneath the creature. The bonfire, fueled by pure magic, was able to burn despite being completely underwater, though its effect was lessened by being submerged. Additionally, its effect on the guardian created from the elemental plane of water was further reduced.

Alot, who had initially drawn the ire of the guardian, finished it off with his magical dragon-headed warhammer. 

The Apparatus of Kwalish

The elemental was defeated and the coins and gems exploded throughout the room. It was going to take a while to gather up all the treasure. 

Father Craig, worried about the duration of the emir's magical air bubble, said he would return to the surface while the others cleaned up. Alot told him the exit was through that hole in the floor and a straight shot out. Bess said, "Don't worry, Cappum. I'll show him the way out!"

Father Craig eyed the giant crab with suspicion. Bess led Father Craig down the hole in the floor and into the coral caves. There she said, "Well, So long! Don't come back!" and she re-entered the passage and left Craig alone in the caves. 

DM Note-

I moved Father Craig's character onto the coral cave map and said "Where do you go?" Father Craig's player had no idea. "Straight Shot" indeed. 

As he navigated and explored the coral caves looking for an exit, Father Craig ran into a mermaid carrying some crates in her arms. When he called out to her she dropped the crates and prepared to flee. 

Father Craig said that he meant her no harm. He only needed to know how to exit the caves.

The mermaid paused and said she'd show him in exchange for the silver raven amulet he wore around his neck - the symbol of his faith in the Raven King. Father Craig declined but offered instead a potion of invisibility. The mermaid agreed!

The mermaid introduced herself as Silvana of the Orca clan and led him towards the exit. Once they reached the wrecked ship, she returned bade him farewell and returned to her legitimate salvage.

Father Craig swam up onto the deck of the sunken ship where he saw the strange iron cylinder with crab-like mechanical legs and mechanical pincers. Its rear hatch was open.

Captain Alot had mentioned this machine. Craig entered the cylinder and used his ability to control water to create a pocket of air within the cockpit. He closed the hatch. 

Before him were ten levers. He began testing levers. This one opened and closed window shutters. This one extended and retracted the claws. This one opened the hatch and allowed water to flood the compartment! 

After closing and resealing the hatch, Craig discovered which levers caused the vehicle to ascend and swim. He returned to the surface.

Exonerating the Lighthouse Keeper

Father Craig's apparatus bobbed on the surface a few hundred feet from the rocky shore from Skyhorn Island. Father Craig directed the apparatus to swim to shore where it navigated the rocks using its crab-like feet. 

A few minutes later he was joined by Alot, Corvid, Aella, Cai'luin, and Bess. Aella sent a fire-bolt spell into the sky as a signal flare to summon the Sea Ghost. 

The signal also summoned the attention of the tritons guarding the island. The triton guards, along with Argos, the triton who had earlier helped the Sea Ghost, asked Alot if they were successful. 

Alot said that they were and that they had obtained evidence that exonerated the lighthouse keeper. 

The tritons brought Alot and the crew into the lighthouse to make his case before the synod. 

There Alot produced Captain Hadad's book and cutlass. He explained that Captain Hadad had tapped into a source of elemental energy beneath the island. He said that Captain Hadad had been mind-controlled by some dark Corruption. Captain Hadad believed he was resurrecting his dead wife when in fact he was allowing the Corruption to harness the elemental energy and spread chaos. 

DM Note-

I asked Alot's player how much he planned to tell the magistrate.

Alot's player said, "I tell them EVERYTHING!" He paused a beat and quickly added, "-wait!"

I laughed so hard at that. 

Alot chose not to mention the marid that was imprisoned beneath the island and left out the part where the team had freed the marid from its imprisonment. He likewise chose to omit that the magical chalice that the Lucien lighthouse keeper believed allowed him to control the seas and weather was just a conduit for the elemental energy node beneath the lighthouse that was given as a wedding gift to the Lucien's ancestor upon his marriage to the daughter of a marid lord. 

The synod found the evidence and testimony compelling and exonerated Lucien the lighthouse keeper of any transgression. For their role in this business, the synod awarded the crew of the Sea Ghost with the title of Honorary Triton Inquisitors along with badges. 

Eventually the Sea Ghost, having seen the signal flare, returned to the island and moored at the sole dock. The crew spent the night there and prepared to sail home to Saltmarsh the next day.

Return to Saltmarsh

The Sea Ghost returned to Saltmarsh the following day, arriving in the late afternoon. Father Craig spent several hours studying the apparatus. He determined that it was badly damaged and would require repair. 

As the ship arrived in Saltmarsh, they were met on the dock by Captain Xendros - the devil-spawn trader from Iuz and secret dealer in magical artifacts. Xendros had in the past repeatedly told the team that she was very interested in obtaining a mechanical vehicle known as the Apparatus of Kwalish. How she knew that they now had one was a mystery.

"She's scrying on us," concluded Corvid.

"Obviously," agreed Alot. 

Captain Xendros greeted them warmly and immediately asked if the team had found an Apparatus of Kwalish. Captain Alot deferred to Father Craig. 

Craig hesitated but finally admitted that, yes, they had found one.

Captain Xendros reiterated her offer - in exchange for the Apparatus she would offer the crew up to five lesser magical items or one greater magical item. 

Craig asked what she had to offer. 

Xendros narrowed her eyes and replied with a grin, "What do you want?"

Craig became impatient, "No, tell me what you have."

DM Note-

Now it was MY turn to become impatient. My players didn't know what to ask for so they wanted me to just give them a list. I didn't HAVE a list. Corvid's player said, "Just roll randomly."

I became frustrated, "There isn't a random table for Very Rare items. Magic items are listed by rarity."

I soon found a list of all Very Rare items but it was too much to pick from. But my players were wheedling me about it so I pasted the list to an Excel spreadsheet and threw a numbered list next to it. There were 75 items. 

I typed "/r d75" in Roll20 and got a result.

Craig's player said no. 

I tried again. Craig's player said no again. 

I was starting to become more annoyed and a little angry. 

Xendros gritted her teeth, "Fine. how about an Ioun Stone of Absoption?"

Craig said, "Pass. What else?"

Xendros narrowed her eyes, "A magic belt that gives you the strength of a frost giant?"

Craig still said no. 

"How about a cloak of the Manta Ray, you've always said you wanted one of those!"

Craig replied, "You said you couldn't get those."

Xendros said, "Give me the Apparatus and I'll find one for you."

Craig thought about it, "No. Never mind. The apparatus is not for sale." He turned and left to find the alchemist. He had 

Xendros stood on the dock, fuming.

The Sunken City

The Sea Ghost did not tarry in Saltmarsh long. Father Craig got the local dwarven blacksmith to inspect the Apparatus. The blacksmith said that the repair of such a device was beyond his ability. Craig needed a master artificer. He estimated it would probably cost three thousand gold coins to repair. 

Afterwards, Craig visited Angela and Rosalee's Herbs, Potions, and Teas to procure some potions of water breathing. 

On the next morning the ship and its crew set sail for the royal castle of King Pelagius of Manaan. 

DM Note-

My players asked "How far away is Manaan?" 

I pointed on the local Saltmarsh map, "It's right there."

They replied, incredulously, "Seriously? That's like barely twenty miles away! We thought it was weeks of sailing!"

I said, "Nope, If it were an island, you could see it from Saltmarsh."

They sailed within a few miles of the underwater castle. Once they were near, but not too near, Alot, Aella, Corvid, Craig, and Cai'luin jumped overboard. Bess was ordered to stay on the ship. Father Craig piloted the Apparatus. He would save his potions for an emergency. The Sea Ghost would sail in a wide circle and await their signal to return. 

Manaan was a castle built at the center of a coral atoll. The atoll had grown atop the ruins of an ancient Suloise city. The sea elves of the castle maintained a kelp forest for several miles around the atoll. 

The crew descended through the depths to the sea floor. They trudged across the sea floor for several hours until they reached the kelp forest. 

After navigating through the forest they found the ruins of the sunken city outside the wall of coral that formed the atoll. They eventually located the ruined temple and found the warped stick which, when turned, revealed a secret entrance.

To their dismay, what they thought would be a straight shot under the coral was the entrance to a labyrinth.

The Labyrinth

Alot and Aella led the way, choosing a passage to the right. The passage turned a corner to the left, then left again, then to the right. 

As they proceeded down a straight corridor, Aella and Alot blundered into an invisible gelatinous mass! Aella managed to jump back but Alot became trapped within the transparent gelatin.

Corvid stepped forward and thrust his magical sword into the gelatinous cube. The cube burst, spilling its acidic contents onto the floor along with Alot. 

DM Note-

Critical hit! 20 points slashing plus 35 points of smite! 

Grey Oozes

After a few more twists and turns and dead ends, the party entered a chamber with a pile of coins and treasures in the center of the room. Alot strode forth and the grey stone floor came alive and attacked him with a viscous pseudopod.  In addition, psychic waves emanated from the floor attacking the minds of those nearby. 

Corvid and Alot began stabbing and pummeling the writhing floor while Aella cast magical rays of frost, coating the submerged floor with small icicles. 

Eventually the putty-like floor was killed and the party was able to collect a few thousand copper and silver pices, 110 gp, an Iron Chime worth 25 gp, Leather Boots with Fine Steel Buckles  worth 25 gp, a Rabbit Fur Mask worth 25 gp, a Rabbit Fur Pouch worth 25 gp, and a Potion of Healing.

Another Cube

The party continued their exploration of the labyrinth.  Aella held her trident out in front of her as she advanced down the long straight hallway. She came into contact with some invisible force. It formed a clear pseudopod and attacked! 

To be Continued...

The Corruption of Skyhorn Lighthouse - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 56

 

The Coral Caves

Beneath the wreck of the Argent Blade, Alot found the entrance into a cave. "Clever," he said, "they sunk the ship to conceal this cave." He led the way into the cave with the others not far behind.

The passage opened into a wide cavern that branched left and right. The cloudy water became clearer while the long tendrils of oily black tar snaked past in more cohesive strands. Blue and green bioluminescent polyps provided dim illumination within the cave. 

To the left, the cave was littered with debris and trash from the sunken ship - including the bloated and translucent bodies of two crewmembers. Small crabs roved over the corpses picking at their flesh. A large bed of kelp obscured the cave from floor to ceiling ahead and to the left. A wide passage branched to the right. 

Alot moved forward ahead of the others. He thought he heard a noise. He turned to his right to look down a side passage and saw a group of sailors, all with dead translucent flesh and milky white eyes, sorting salvaged cargo from the ship. The sailors spotted Alot and dropped whatever they held. The various objects drifted slowly to the floor in the underwater grotto. They picked up their cutlasses and moved to attack the armored sentinel.

CHAPTER 56

"THE CORRUPTION OF SKYHORN LIGHTHOUSE"

The Crew of the Sea Ghost:

• Alot Aname - Neutral Good Warforged Fighter, ancient sentinel of a wizard's fortress, spent several decades deactivated underwater, Captain of the Sea Ghost.
• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Storm Sorceress from Ket, daughter of the king of the sea elves, deck sorceress and first mate of the Sea Ghost.
• Craig "Blunderbuss" Oxworth - Lawful Good Dwarven Priest of St. Ogden (Cleric), sailor and shipwright, bosun of the Sea Ghost.  
• Cai'luin Manaan - Chaotic Good Sea-Elf Bard, member of the royal family of the tribe of Manaan. Cook of the Sea Ghost.
• Corvid Ravenson - Neutral Good Fallen Aasimar Paladin of Vengeance and Divine Soul Sorcerer, sent to Oerth to avenge those who wronged his angelic "brother", Auric Ravenson. Second mate of the Sea Ghost.

DM Note-

Still filling in the 8th level gap between the end of the Final Enemy and the beginning of Tammeraut's Fate with small mini-adventures. I gave my players the option of which storyline they wanted to follow and they chose the story that led to the Corruption of Skyhorn Lighthouse. It seems to me that my players always have more fun with these smaller adventures. 

The Thralls

The slack-jawed sailors with slime-covered translucent skin rushed Alot. Corvid spread the "wings" of his magical manta ray cloak and sped through the water to fight alongside the automaton sentinel. 

Aella waved her arms and a powerful underwater current slammed into the thralls. Cai'luin and his giant crab friend Bess moved to a nearby rock and hurled biting insults at the mind-controlled creatures. 

The four heroes, and Bess, soon made short work of the aquatic thralls. Alot, Cai'luin, and Bess began searching through the crates and barrels at the back of the cave while Corvid stood watch. 

Silvara the Mermaid

Corvid thought he saw someone hiding in the nearby kelp beds. He called out to them.

A woman's head popped out of the kelp. She swam into view - it was a mermaid. On her arms she bore the tattoo of an orca whale. She spoke Aquan but soon switched to Common when it became clear Corvid could not understand her. She introduced herself as Silvara and spoke with a thick Aquan accent.

She explained that she snuck past the mechanical guardian and entered these caves in search of any treasure the thralls might be hoarding. She had been hiding in the kelp for several hours, biding her time. She thanked Corvid for eliminating the obstacles to her search and asked him to step aside to allow her to complete her mission and search for treasure.

Corvid blocked her way. He told her she could search the cave after his team was finished with it.  

Not being the sort to risk a fight, Silvara sighed, crossed her arms, and pouted but agreed to wait.

Corvid took the opportunity to tell her about the god Tristin, the Raven King. Silvara interrupted him and asked him if this would take long. 

Corvid said, "Look, if I give you a sapphire will you listen to my pitch?"

Silvara enthusiastically agreed. 

Corvid gave her a sapphire from his belt pouch and began, "First there was the Raven Queen - defender of the gateway to-" 

Before he could even finish his first sentence, Silvara took the sapphire and disappeared out the nearest exit. 

Captain Hadad

After having determined that the crates and barrels were filled with nothing more than salted fish, fresh water, and other supplies, Captain Alot led the team further into the coral caves and around a large rock. 

At the back of the coral grotto was a black pit in the floor. Dark emanations emerged from the pit and drifted outward. 

DM Note-

I described it as more like an exhaust pipe than a portal or passage.

There Alot beheld a man who had been transformed into a thrall like the others. He wore a tricorn hat and a large coat - Alot recognized him as Hadad, captain of the Argent Blade. Next to Hadad was another thrall as well as a massive crustacean, like a crayfish the size of an elephant - a chuul! 

Captain Hadad pointed at Alot and uttered an arcane syllable. Alot froze in place, unable to move or act. A twisted crown of black jagged iron grew out of Alot's head.  The thrall and the chuul charged past Alot unabated and attacked Aella.

Corvid rushed to Aella's aid. Aella was able to use her magic to swim back amid a cloud of air bubbles. She swam up over the large rock and hovered in the water near the ceiling. She used her power to create a swarm of ice and snow that smashed into Captain Hadad. 

A second chuul that had been hiding in the kelp bed emerged from behind the party to attack their flank. Cai'luin and Bess moved to intercept the creature. 

A third chuul emerged from the black muck. Alot threw off the charm and the crown crumbled. 

Captain Hadad called upon his dark lord and manifested black tentacles under Alot's feet. Cai'luin interrupted the spell, dismissing it with a bardic counter-spell. 

Aella used her storm power to create a spherical storm in the back of the chamber, engulfing Captain Hadad and the newly emerged chuul. The chuul pushed its way out of the storm and into the kelp bed while Captain Hadad stayed close to the far wall of the chamber. Meanwhile, arcs of lightning flashed out of the storm to strike the chuul and Captain Hadad. 

Alot eventually defeated the first chuul and the thrall and moved to confront Captain Hadad.

Bess, using only her crab claws, fought bravely to protect Cai'luin from the chuul at the flank. Cai'luin did what he could to help but it was Corvid who swam in and destroyed the creature. Once the flank was open, Corvid swam back over the large rock and through the kelp bed to fight Captain Hadad. 

The third chuul emerged from the kelp bed to threaten Alot and Cai'luin. Cai'luin responded by using his bardic magic to polymorph the monstrosity into a sea snail. He picked up the sea snail and put it in his pocket. 

Aella withdrew a magic wand from her robe and pointed it at Captain Hadad. Magical arrows streaked out of the wand, striking Captain Hadad down with deadly accuracy. 

The Foyer

After the battle was over, Alot noted that the dark corruption was still emanating from the murky patch in the floor. Captain Hadad was not the cause. Whatever was creating the corruption was still lurking somewhere.

Corvid noticed a marble tunnel in the ceiling. Alot swam into the tunnel followed by the rest of the crew.

They stood in a marble foyer. On the far end of the foyer was a low circular marble wall, creating a well. The well was filled with gems, platinum, and other riches. Aella translated the Aquan words inscribed on the outside of the well, "Pay tribute to your master, Shah Javad Khorasani, Eye of the Tempest and Lords of the Thousand and One Bright Pearls". The water in the foyer was clear and free of the dark corruption that emanated from the tar-pit below.

On the left and right walls were portals made of shimmering mercury. Aella speculated, "We probably have to make a donation to open the portal." She tossed five gold coins into the well. The curtains of mercury did not disappear. Captain Alot stepped through the portal to the left.

The Portals

Alot was grabbed as if by thick mud. He pushed his way through and out to the corridor on the other side. Aella followed soon after. She was grabbed and slammed into the walls as if she was caught in heavily turbulent water. She was trapped, unable to escape the curtain of mercury. Corvid reached in and pushed her through to the other side but was himself caught in the portal. Neither Aella or Cai'luin could pull Corvid through or out of the barrier. Alot traded placed with Aella and was able to drag Corvid out of the barrier and into the corridor beyond. 

DM Note-

The doors out of the foyer are magical barriers - make a Strength Save vs. 15 or take 2d10 damage and be grappled. Repeat each round until you escape or are pulled out.

Cai'luin likewise became stuck as he tried to pass through the shimmering portal and once again Alot had to drag him through. 

The crew explored the corridor beyond, turning a corner to the right. There they found an undersea kitchen manned by three invisible figures wearing long hooded robes. The robes bore the mark of a green conch shell. The figures were preparing a meal. Bubbles of boiling water rose from a hot rock, atop which boiled a lobster. The other figures were preparing spices and side dishes. 

One of the figures seemed to notice the intrusion of the outsiders. It paused to evaluate them then silently shooed them away. 

The Chamber of the Emir

The crew once again passed through the painful portal into the foyer. It was decided that Captain Alot, being the strongest, would explore the rest of the chambers alone. 

Alot passed through the portal to the right. He entered a comfortable room, richly appointed with cushions and a large bed. It was shaped like a hemisphere with a domed ceiling. To the right was a window into a kind of aquarium - if one could call it such since the room itself was underwater - filled with rare starfish. To the right was a bookshelf filled with rare tomes written on waterproof vellum. On the far side of the room was a canopied bed. To the immediate right was a desk and chair for writing. The bookshelves, desk, chair, and bed all seemed to be built for a giant twice the size of a man. 

A voice called from within the canopied bed, "Finally! Just leave the lobster on the desk and begone!"

Captain Alot made the mechanical equivalent of clearing his throat and introduced himself. 

Emir Farzad the Most Pearlescent and Opulent

The figure within the canopied bed emerged. He was a corpulent figure with a fish-like face, a fat torso with thick arms and webbed fingers, and a lower torso with no legs or feet that simply trailed away into bubbles.

"Oh! Visitors! I apologize, I was not expecting you!"

DM Note-

I took Alot's player into a private chat so the other players had no idea what was going on.

The strange creature introduced himself as Emir Farzad, the Most Pearlescent and Opulent. The emir was polite and loquacious. After some friendly chit chat in which Captain Alot played the role of a most obedient guest while obsequiously complimenting the emir on his taste and hospitality.

The emir asked Alot what he was doing in the chambers of the shah and Alot explained his mission to stop whatever was corrupting the  blah-blah-blah. It became clear that the emir didn't care and was looking past Alot.

The emir interrupted him with, "Yes, yes, corruption. Where is that lobster? I've been waiting for DAYS!"

Alot once again complimented the emir on his taste and imagination and asked if there was a way to remove the barriers to allow his companions through. This time the emir looked annoyed, "Yes. You've already complimented me. I'm bored with that now. Of course I cannot disable the barrier. If I could, would I be trapped here? However, there is a way to temporarily disable the barrier from the outside - which I obviously cannot reach. But that's not important. What I REALLY want is my dinner!" It was clear that the emir was more interested in his food than in helping Alot. 

Alot offered to retrieve the emir's meal. "If I get your lobster will you tell me how to disable the barrier?"

"Yes, yes, whatever." Farzad dismissively waved Alot away with a webbed hand.

The Deadly Challenge of the Lobster Dinner

Alot left the way he came in. However, on his exit he became trapped within the barrier. The barrier repeatedly slammed the automaton into the wall. 

DM Note-

On previous passages, Alot's player rolled really well. Suddenly he could not roll double digits to save his life! Alot got so beat-up by the wall he had to pause and take a second-wind to recover some hit points. It was the most damage Alot had taken in the entire campaign.

Alot finally made it into the foyer and informed the others what he had learned. For their part, the others had tried giving the well more money, but no amount would disable the portals. 

No one dared remove anything from the well. 

Alot passed through the second portal and entered the kitchen. Once again he was shooed away. 

Alot observed the invisible chefs to get a sense of how near they were to finishing the meal. They were nearly finished. He waited - this would be easy. 

As they finished, the invisible chefs examined their meal and, through some unknowable set of criteria, deemed it unworthy of their immortal lord. They dumped the lobster in a nearby trash bin and started over.

To his dismay, Alot noticed that the trash bin was filled with dozens of previous attempts. The emir was not exaggerating. He had been waiting for literally days for this meal. 

Alot briefly considered salvaging the meal from the trash and presenting it to the emir. Then he thought - if it didn't pass the muster of the invisible chefs, what would the emir think of it?

Alot tried to move into the kitchen to prepare the meal himself. The invisible chefs became agitated and tried to force Alot out. Alot responded by shoving one of the chefs. The chef disappeared into a cloud of air bubbles. Its robe drifted to the floor. 

The other two chefs continued to try to physically move Alot out of the kitchen. Alot simply poofed them into air-bubbles as well. 

Alot continued the meal prep, cooking a lobster on an underwater stove as best he could. 

Once the meal was plated, Alot was faced with another dilemma - how to transport the plate through the water-barrier? The force would destroy the food. 

He briefly considered placing the food into his magical bag of holding. 

DM Note-

I asked Alot's player - "Okay, imaging putting a plate into a huge bag. How confident are you that the food will remain on the plate?" the player said, "Hmm. Good point."

Alot looked around the kitchen for alternatives. He spotted a brick fitted into the marble wall. He pressed the brick and the wall slide aside to reveal a secret passage. 

At the end of the secret passage was a lever. The lever caused the bookshelves in the emir's chambers to slide aside. Alot presented the lobster dinner with side dishes and garnish to the emir. 

The emir was pleased and sat down to eat his meal. 

During dinner, the emir opened up to Alot with what he know. 

Alot learned the following:

• The Emir was banished from the Elemental Plane of Water for granting a mortal a wish and must now serve one hundred years of penance trapped in these chambers. He finds his exile terribly boring.  
• The chambers were constructed by the Emir's superior, the Shah Javad Khorasani.
• The chambers were constructed to house something called the "Wellspring", a  source of magic that taps into the power of the Elemental Plane of Water.
• The Wellspring allows its master to control the weather. 
• The Wellspring was a wedding gift to his daughter who married the ancestor of the lighthouse keeper many centuries ago. 
• The key to controlling the Wellspring was a magical bowl. The current lighthouse keeper, the descendant of the original, is not aware of the link between the bowl and the Wellspring. He believes the bowl itself allows him to control the weather. 
• Some other human learned to magically control the Wellspring without the bowl and has used it to summon some abomination from the Elemental plane of Water.
• The Wellspring was located down a passage beyond that door.
• The portals can be temporarily disabled by paying tribute to the Shah. A minimum tribute worth no less than five hundred gold coins would disable the portals for several hours. 

Alot returned to the foyer and, once again, his passage was difficult and painful. Once reunited with his crew, he told them what he had learned. They paid the requisite tribute. The portals did not disappear.

Aella took a deep breath and stepped through. Nothing happened and she was in the chamber of the emir.

The others soon joined her.

The Passage

The emir greeted them all. He pointed them towards the door leading to the Wellspring. 

Alot opened the door to reveal the dark corridor beyond. The end of the corridor was filled with glowing minnows and the end was obscured by kelp. 

To be Continued...