Tammeraut's Fate - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 63

 

The sun eventually set. 

The team had prepared the hermitage for the return of the invaders from the sea. They positioned themselves on the balcony overlooking the scullery. The four bodies were laid on the floor in the privy as bait to lure the invaders upstairs. Oil of Slipperiness had been liberally applied to the stairs. Alot and Corvid stood at the top of the stairs, prepared to intercept anyone trying to climb them. Craig, Cai'luin, and Aella positioned themselves away from the stairs with good visibility over the scullery.

Aella moved towards one of the arrow-slit windows on the south wall. She looked down at the beach below.

As the last rays of the evening sun slanted across the dark waters of the bay, she caught movement from the corner of her eye along the beach - a dark humanoid form standing silently in the surf. Aella was positive it wasn't there a moment ago. With the next crashing breaker, she lost sight of the intruder in the deepening darkness. When the spray cleared, the figure was gone. Night had fallen.

CHAPTER 63

"TAMMERAUT'S FATE"

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.

The Back Door

Aella stepped away from the arrow slit and pointed her magical trident towards the spot where the shambling figures were entering the hermitage. 

A sudden magical storm of ice and wind erupted. A hailstorm of ice and snow slammed into the shambling barnacle-encrusted zombies, pummeling them into the ground. The localized hailstorm destroyed all of the lesser zombies leaving only a handful of hardy survivors to continue through the door that once served as the sleeping quarters of the hermits.

The Front Door

The sound of splintering wood accompanied the entry of the zombies through the front door and vestibule of the hermitage. The entrance had been left mostly open and a group of wet barnacle-covered zombies draped in seaweed emerged into the scullery. 

Cai'luin cast his Depth Charge spell while Aella used a charge from her magical Necklace of Fireballs. The lesser zombies were torn to bits by the double explosions. Once again, two of the tougher zombies survived and pushed forward toward the stairs. Another three zombies at the back of the group retreated through the entrance and were lost from sight.

Defending the Stairs

Two zombies slipped and fell trying to climb the stairs. The zombies climbed the rest of the steps on their hands and knees. Corvid created a magical bonfire at the top of the stairs, restricting the path the zombies. Aella created a magical swarm of snowballs that pummeled the zombies as they made their way up the stairs.

Father Craig said a prayer to the Raven King and a giant glowing symbol appeared near the top of the stairs - the sigil of the Raven King - that would smite any enemy that might approach it. The two zombies were quickly dispatched.

Alot heard something attempt to open the barricaded door that led to the upstairs battlement. After a brief attempt, whatever it was stopped.

The Catwalk

Cai'luin stood by the privy watching the entrance. He caught movement behind him and he turned to look into the rickety catwalk built over the dining hall. A zombie had climbed a ladder from the tower and had crossed over the ramshackle balcony. Before Cai'luin could react the zombie had crossed the catwalk and attacked! 

Alot activated the magical wings built into his mechanical feet and flew through the air over the scullery to land next to Cai'luin. Alot smashed into the zombie with his hammer and forced it back onto the rickety catwalk. 

Corvid quickly joined Alot in the defense of the flank. He moved his magical bonfire to a new location on the catwalk as more zombies could be seen climbing the ladder from the tower on the other side.

Aella created a magical hailstorm inside the tower while Cai'luin simultaneously played a shattering chord on his lute. The ladder was destroyed and the zombie waiting to climb onto the catwalk fell. The other zombies waiting their turn at the foot of the ladder exited the tower and the hailstorm contained therein.

Assassin Through the Window

Cai'luin backed away from the catwalk. He had been badly injured by the attacking zombie. Suddenly two crossbow bolts struck the wall next to him. He turned to see a zombie with a light crossbow clinging to the wall outside the arrow slit behind him. The zombie moved for cover as Aella sent magical bolts of chaos at the undead creature. Corvid poked his head through the arrow slit and sent a magical bolt of fire at the assassin. 

Cai'luin moved to a position near the window. When the assassin crawled back to the window to loose another round, Cai'luin was there to run it through with his magical rapier.

 

The Final Push

Three zombies had escaped Aella's hailstorm in the tower. They re-entered through the vestibule, crossed the scullery, and began to crawl up the stairs. 

Alot shouted, "Help me out! I want to capture one intact!"

Alot produced a rope and threw it around the last zombie. Corvid held the zombie while Alot bound it tight. The other two zombies, having been severely damaged by Aella's hailstorm, were quickly dispatched.

The assault had been repulsed. 

Corvid asked, "Why did we capture one?"

Alot explained, "They return to where they came from at dawn. Lets release it and follow it back."

Father Craig said, "This book here tells me exactly where the Pit of Hatred is. I don't think we need him."

Alot shrugged his mechanical shoulders, "Then we have a back-up, just in case I guess."

Cai'luin interjected, "We should name him 'Steve'!"

Finally, Some Rest

They dangled "Steve" from the balcony overlooking the scullery and slept in the prior's quarters. Alot even flew down to the hermit's cells and retrieved some beds for the others to sleep on. 

Alot then flew around the island while the others slept, searching for any other zombies or additional threats. He found none.

Dawn

The morning sun rose. The hermitage was littered with the smashed and dismembered corpses of long-dead drowning victims. Alot informed the survivors hiding in the cellar that it was safe to emerge. Janore Stormswake, Barret Gloffrin, and the dwarf was Morley Tobe, emerged from their hiding place. 

They were starving so Cai'luin prepared some breakfast with the supplies the crew had brought to deliver to the hermitage.

The trio were escorted to the dock on the north side of the island to meet the half-orc ferryman, Raserhill, when he arrived. 

"Except for you!" demanded Father Craig, grabbing the dwarf Morley Tobe by the arm.

"What? Why?" demanded Morley.

"You owe a debt to the half-elf merchant in Uskarn. A dwarf MUST pay his debts!"

"That's outrageous!" replied Morley, "You can't turn me over to Davus Raal! I can't pay him! He'll sell me into slavery! You're obviously some kind of holy  man! You'd sell me into slavery?"

Father Craig considered this, "Okay, how about I pay off your debts and you work for me for eight years as penance."

Morley boggled, "How is that any different from slavery?"

Craig was becoming annoyed by this discussion, "One way or another, you WILL pay your debts!"

Morley sighed. "Well do I have any other choice? I'll serve you, MASTER!" he replied, bitterly.

Alot interjected, "Hey, Father Craig? Are you going to keep this guy on the island? Because we're going to hunt for the undersea wreck. It might be dangerous while we're gone."

Morley suggested, "How about I wait for you in Uskarn?"

Father Craig, who was beginning to reconsider the entire idea, reluctantly said, "Fine!" 

Alot said, "Do you have any money?"

Janore said, "No, as hermits we renounced all our wealth and material possessions when we joined the hermitage. We tossed all our coins into the cistern in the yard."

Alot gave the trio some money to spend in Uskarn and paid Raserhill the ferryman. The trio boarded the ferry and departed for the mainland.

DM Note-

I felt Father Craig's player was being uncharacteristically harsh on this poor dwarf. I'm not sure if the player was having a bad day or wanted to make a point about dwarf honor or what. I mentioned to him that I thought forcing another being into slavery didn't seem very Lawful Good. It may be Lawful, but it was Lawful Evil to condone it or Lawful Neutral at best to not actively oppose it. 

Father Craig's player was thinking that if it was "voluntary" it was okay. Morley had the choice- face the music with Davus Raal or work it off with Craig. I countered that any kind of service where Morley couldn't just leave would be bondage and therefore slavery, and that choosing slavery with one master vs slavery with a different mast wasn't really a choice at all! 

I could tell Father Craig's player was getting frustrated at the ethical argument so I tabled it. Game time is not the time for arguments about alignment and ethics. That's what the internet is for! 

We later exchanged emails about it. I did some research about which kingdoms in Greyhawk still practices serfdom, slavery, and indentured servitude. I also familiarized myself with the differences and similarities between each. Nyrond, it seemed, still had serfdom as legal punishment for debt and one would imagine indentured servitude would be an option too. 

I even guilt-baited him a bit by asking him if he even bothered to ask why Morley was in debt? 

Father Craig's player took the bait and asked.

I told him that Morley was a hilll dwarf from the Anodan hills where his family still lives. Mining has been very poor so he ran a trade caravan from the north to Nessertide on the southern coast of Nyrond. The king's taxes have been brutal so he resorted to smuggling for Davus Raal to make ends meet.  

His caravan was attacked and raided by bandits from the Gnatmarsh. He lost his entire cargo. Davus Raal demanded payment for his lost contraband. If he doesn't pay, Raal will sell him into slavery. So he sought sanctuary from the monks. 

Father Craig's player asked about the bandits. 

Great, I thought. Though I didn't mean to I just introduced a new quest hook for them to follow - a storyline for which I'd need to prepare. So I did some research and found an old adventure that fits with what I have in mind. We'll see if they go that direction. 

Where Are We?

The team walked back across the small island to the hermitage.

Father Craig walked next to Captain Alot, "I have a question. I got kind of disoriented when I just appeared here. Where are we?"

Alot said, "We're at a hermitage on Firewatch Island."

Father Craig rubbed his chin, "I see. And where's that?"

"It's three miles away from the town of Uskarn." he said, hooking his thumb behind him towards the mainland.

"No. I mean where ARE we?"

Alot paused, "We're on the southern coast of Nyrond."

Father Craig grabbed Alot's wrist and stopped, turning the automaton around to face the dwarf, "No, listen. WHERE ARE WE?"

Alot finally realized that the dwarven priest had no concept of where in the world they currently were, "We're about a week's sail northeast of Saltmarsh in the kingdom of Nyrond. We were sent here by the priest of Procan in Saltmash to deliver supplies and check on the status of the hermitage. We arrived too late to save the hermitage, apparently. Now we are going to find the Pit of Hatred and stop whatever made those zombies."

Father Craig nodded sagely, "Got it. Thank you."

The Pit of Hatred

Alot set the bound zombie they had named "Steve" free on the south side of the island. Steve ran back into the sea and disappeared beneath the water.

The crew followed Steve underwater. Captain Alot was an automaton adapted to operating underwater. Cai'luin was a sea-elf. Corvid and Aella both wore magical Cloaks of the Manta Ray, and Father Craig donned his new Helm of Underwater Action. 

They swam after Steve for two miles. Here the depth of the sea floor reached over three hundred feet. It became dark. Only a faint blue glow could be seen far overhead. 

They reached the edge of a large drop-off. The drop-off was the side of a crater several hundred feet wide. They descended into the crater and were suddenly overwhelmed by a dark chill - a feeling of cold that withered their bones and an overwhelming sense of dread that drained their will to live. 

DM Note-

DC 16 Constitution Saving Throw or take 4d8 Cold damage, half damage on a successful save! Father Craig and Corvid took 15 cold damage, the rest took 7.

On top of that, they all had to make a DC 16 Charisma Saving Throw or gain Vulnerability to Necrotic damage. Aella, Corvid, and Craig failed that one. Corvid normally had Resistance to necrotic damage, so Vulnerability meant he just took normal damage.

The crew descended into the massive crater. At its center they found another deeper pit roughly one hundred feet in diameter. At the center of the pit was the stern of a wrecked galley lying vertically atop a large pile of humanoid skulls and skeletons. 

As they approached the wreck, Cai'luin found a broken piece of marble, like a large chunk of one-third of a marble table top. Elvish runes were engraved upon the flat surface of the shard. The runes communicated a warning to stay away from the sealed rift and the horror that lied below.

On the far side of the wreck they saw a marble slab that had been cracked. Light poured out of the crack, forming a bright fiery column that illuminated the entire pit. A dark silhouette stood in front of the column of light, staring into it lost in thought as one might a camp fire.  

DM Note-

I described the light leaking out of the crack as every sci-fi film from the early eighties - it was the the light from the Ark of the Covenant, it was the light in Poltergeist, the warp core in Wrath of Khan, etc. 

The crew circled around the stern of the ship. Cai'luin spotted humanoid figures lurking inside the wreck of the galley. He informed the others and immediately detonated a depth charge spell inside the wreck while Aella used her magical control of the elements to cause a massive wall of water to sweep the interior. 

The figures poured out of the wreck - they were more undead like the ones they had fought the night before - the animated bodies of drowned sailors and monks covered in seaweed, coral, and barnacles. 

The crew had been drawn out into three groups - Cai'luin and Alot in the front, Corvid and Aella about thirty feet behind, and Father Craig alone in the rear. 

Drowned zombies armed with rusty swords engaged Corvid and Aella. Another harassed Father Craig in the rear. Father Craig summoned a spiritual hammer to defend himself. Aella created a swarm of snowballs to pummel her foes. 

Corvid engaged the multiple zombies that surrounded him, cutting them down with his magical sword. 

A lone zombie emerged from the wrecked hulk. Its face was concealed by a porcelain mask. It approached the crew with caution. Once it was close enough it removed it face, revealing its horrid appearance. 

DM Note-

DC 13 Wisdom Save or be Frightened for one round! 

Aella, Alot, and Cai'luin recoiled in horror at the fiend's gruesome visage.

The dark form ended its reverie near the column of light and joined its masked companion. It was a creature with a humanoid torso and face - that of a ship's captain - but its lower body was replaced with octopus tentacles! The dark form said, "Ah, the Raven King has sent his servants to stop me! Know this! I, Syrgaul, captain of the Tammeraut and faithful servant of Orcus will be the agent of his dark lord's revenge!"

A black cloud of inky darkness emerged from Syrgaul and enveloped the crew!

DM Note-

DC 15 Constitution Save or take 6d8 necrotic damage! Remember, half the party was now vulnerable to necrotic damage!

Cai'luin, Aella, and, to a lesser extent, Corvid and Alot were trapped in the life-draining cloud of death!

DM Note-

Cai'luin and Aella each took 26 necrotic, doubled to 52! Corvid failed his save but took only 26. Alot took only 26. Aella was down to 1 hit point and Cai'luin was in single digits. Corvid was pretty hurt too. Alot's hit points were in the 90s, so of course he was now complaining that he was about to die and needed immediate healing!

The inky cloud began to dissipate. Cai'luin and Aella were curled up and shivering along the edge of the pit. Corvid was hunched over. 

Suddenly a brilliant glow enveloped the group from the left. It was Father Craig! The dwarven priest radiated a warm aura. The aura restored the life and vitality to his companions. 

DM Note-

Things were looking grim for our party! Then Father Craig cast Aura of Life!

Life-preserving energy radiates from you in an aura with a 30-foot radius. Until the spell ends, the aura moves with you, centered on you. Each nonhostile creature in the aura (including you) has resistance to necrotic damage, and its hit point maximum can’t be reduced. In addition, a nonhostile, living creature regains 1 hit point when it starts its turn in the aura with 0 hit points.

It was a pretty epic Gandalf-at-Helms-Deep style moment!

Cai'luin played a note on his lute. His companions were further invigorated. 

DM Note-

Mass Cure Wounds.

Aella created a magical storm of ice around Captain Syrgaul and the masked assassin.

As the ice dissipated, Corvid stood erect, squared his shoulders, and pointed his blade at Captain Syrgaul. 

"Tell your master - we are coming for him."

Corvid, wearing the magical Cloak of the Manta Ray, streaked across the bottom of the pit and plunged his magical sword into Captain Syrgaul over and over.  

DM Note-

Corvid's first attack did 39 damage. His second attack also did 39 damage!

Captain Syragul counterattacked with his greatsword and tentacles but Corvid barely managed to turn aside the attacks with a defensive Shield spell! 

Father Craig prayed for a miracle. A great sonorous bell tolled, its peal racing through the sea like a clap of thunder. 

Cai'luin played a dissonant note on his lute while whispering an arcane incantation. The masked assassin recoiled in anger and fled to the far side of the pit. 

Corvid struck Captain Syragul again, plunging his sword deep into the foul creature's heart. Captain Syragul screamed as his body dissipated into wispy tendrils of dark hatred. 

DM Note-

Corvid dealt 44 damage on that final hit.

Corvid quickly closed the distance with the masked assassin and decapitated him with a final strike. 

DM Note-

Critical hit for 26 damage.

The crew searched the pit and found that the light emerged from a broken seal, like a large marble table top. The shard they previously found fit neatly into the missing piece - but the seal was still broken. 

DM Note-

Someone asked, "Will Mending work?"

I quickly looked up Mending and said, "No, the crack is much bigger than ten inches. You would need Stoneshape or some kind of magical glue."

They also found a large chest filled with coins. 

No one was able to repair the seal so they decided to leave it. Father Craig would sleep on it, pray for a solution, and come back tomorrow to seal the breach. The party hauled the chest of gold back to shore and carried it back on land. 

As they climbed ashore, Alot said, "Wait, didn't the priestess say something about tossing all their treasure into the cistern?"

"Yes," replied Corvid, "Are you really going to scavenge every last coin from the monastery?"

Alot, slightly embarrassed, defensively replied, "No! Maybe. Look, what if there's some magic glue down there? Let's just check it out."

Corvid said, "All right. Whatever."

The group walked up the path towards the yard within the walls of the hermitage. They stepped through the opening in the wall and into the yard.

To their surprise they heard, "Greetings, warriors!"

Two wet green hags emerged from the cistern. Their long black hair hung over their wrinkled wart-covered faces like a curtain of black weeds. The hag who spoke smiled while the other held her hands up to her face like a schoolgirl to cover her uncontrollable giggling. 

To be Continued...

Hags of Three, Leave them Be

Hags of Two - Good on You! 

- Cai'luin Manaan, quoting and ancient Sea-Elf proverb