After having successfully escorted the merchant Genevieve de Guare and her crew back to the free city of Nessermouth the crew was rewarded with one-tenth the value of the recovered cargo and received a special bonus of 5000 gold coins from Genevieve. Father Craig likewise returned the lost items to the trader named Davus Raal and secured the freedom of the dwarf Morley Tobe.
Morley Tobe expressed his undying gratitude to Father Craig and promised to give up smuggling for a living. He was so impressed with Father Craig and Corvid that the dwarf pledged his life to the service of the Raven King. Father Craig performed a ceremony to invest the dwarf as a priest, granting him insights into the mysteries of the faith.
The Sea Ghost set sail, stopping briefly in Scant before heading off across the sea to Saltmarsh.
Five days later, the Sea Ghost sailed into port at the small fishing village, more then a month after they left. Wellgar Brinehanded, priest of the sea god Procan, was standing at the dock as they arrived. It was Wellgar that sent them on their mission to Firewatch Island to check on the status of the priest's longtime friend.
They relayed the news that nearly all the hermits at the island had been killed by sea zombies in the service of Orcus. It was fortuitous that Wellgar sent them, for although they arrived too late to save the hermits, they were able to stop a larger-scale attempt by the forces of Orcus to invade the mainland. Only then did they give Wellgar the sad news. Alas, the reason Wellgar lost contact with his friend was because his friend Marwen had passed away from natural causes several days before the zombie attack.
Wellgar began to tear up, saddened at the loss of his longtime friend and long-distance companion.
"Truly," he said, "'Tis a miracle of Procan. For although my good friend passed, it was his passing that prompted me to send you, and you were able to save the mainland from a greater threat. Praise be to Procan!"
CHAPTER 66
"THE MYSTERY OF CRABBER'S COVE"
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-
There is a big adventure gap between the end of Tammeraut's Fate (level 9) and the beginning of the Styes (level 11) so I'm filling it with short adventures and side-treks and player's choice. This week, it's a player's choice adventure as the crew sails back to Saltmarsh and investigate the mysterious abandoned house in Crabber's Cove.
Also, Father Craig's player was back in the hospital for more surgery to remove an infection after his cancer surgery. Despite having surgery earlier that day, he joined us to play D&D online from his hospital bed!
Life in Saltmarsh
The crew disembarked from the Sea Ghost. Captain Alot Aname returned to the gazebo he had built on the cleared land where once stood Gellan Primewater's mansion before it burned down. There he stood all night. He had an idea - he would build a theater.
Father Craig and Corvid returned home to the House of the Raven King. They were glad to hear that the nuns had served the town well in preparing the dead for their judgement and that the villagers of Saltmarsh had begun to accept and embrace this new god from foreign lands.
Cai'luin walked through town with the intent of playing his lute for the patrons at the Snapping Line when he was intercepted by Eda Oweland of the town council. Eda complained to Cai'luin that the sea elves of Manaan had widened their no-fishing zone and prohibited her boats from fishing near their castle. She demanded access to those waters and continued to insult Cai'luin and his people.
Cai'luin asked what the town council thought and she complained that since Baron Solmor had left to spend the summer in the capital in the king's court, and Aella having been gone over a month at sea, the council had been reduced to herself, Commander Fireborn, and Manistrad Copperlocks. Copperlocks didn't care for the fishers of Saltmarsh and Fireborn thought they were all smugglers, so they voted down any resolution she proposed. She demanded Cai'luin do something about this situation!
Cai'luin assured her he would take care of the situation.
The next day several of the crew met to inventory the treasures from their recent adventures and apportion the spoils. Afterwards they paid a visit the Quartermasters of Iuz to see if Captain Xendros had any magic items for sale.
The Old House
In the afternoon, Cai'luin asked for help from the others. He told them about the mysterious crab at the abandoned house in Crabber's Cove. When he first came ashore in Saltmarsh he had encountered a crab that seemed to beckon him towards the house. When he spoke to the crab, the crab responded, "Free me!" He became unnerved and left the area, but now he wanted to gather the group and investigate the house.
The crew marched down towards Crabber's Cove towards sunset. It was the last gasp of the month of Coldeven. The sky was gloomy and the temperature barely made it above 45 degrees. Now it was getting dark and the wind from the ocean rattled the ancient dead trees of Crabber's Cove.
The last three houses down by the pebbly beach had been abandoned decades ago. They stood empty and dark. Crabs wandered the tall dry beach grass. No crabbers came near this place. There were stories that anyone who entered these houses would disappear - never to be seen again.
Free Me!
The last house was encrusted in thousands of crab. As the team cautiously approached the house, the crabs moved towards them. Cai'luin could hear them hiss in unison, "Free me! Free me from my eternal prison!"
Cai'luin tried to communicate with the crabs but to no avail. He could understand them but they could not understand him.
The team went around the outside of the house and noticed an entrance to a cellar. The entrance was chained close and bound by a metallic disk - a holy symbol of Saint Cuthbert. The disk offered no security - it could be easily broken. It was more of a symbolic seal - a holy warning to anyone who might break the seal.
The team then went back around to the front of the old house to investigate the interior. On their way in Cai'luin noticed dry boot prints on the wooden porch going into the front door. He knelt down and looked more closely. There were several sets of prints but one type of boot caught his eye - it was not the working-class boot of a sailor or fisherman - it was the boot of someone of refinement - an expensive pair of boots. He recognized the boot print. It belonged to the boots worn by Skerrin Wavechaser - personal butler of Baron Anders Solmor and suspected agent of the Scarlet Brotherhood.
They entered the old house. The door opened easily and there were no cobwebs covering the threshold - indicating frequent use. Inside they found a few old chairs and a bare table. The table showed signs of melted wax from a candle.
Cai'luin looked around the room. Dozens of crabs crawled over the floor. One of the crabs clutched a silver key in one of its claws. Cai'luin snatched it away.
Captain Alot inspected the fireplace. There was always a loose brick concealing something important in the fireplace. As expected, he found a loose brick. Within the hidden compartment was a valise filled with hundreds of letters. He removed the letters to inspect them. Their wax seals had been broken. They were all written in code.
He glanced over them. Several of the letters had notes scrawled in a different hand-writing. One of hte notes was a name he recognized - Yrsa Bjorndottir - the mother of Annor and Marlin Whalerson - along with a date - the day she died!
DM Note-
Dun-Dun-DUUUNNN!!
Remember them??
Good Old Bess
By this time it was cold and dark outside and the wind was causing the drafty old house to creak and shudder. Alot placed the letters in his magical bag of holding and the crew went back outside to the cellar entrance.
Corvid looked at the seal, "Well, its obviously some kind of magical ward, right?"
Cai'luin nervously backed away, "You mean, like a fireball?" He retreated to a distance of thirty feet and hid behind one of the dead trees.
Father Craig rolled his eyes and prayed over the seal for ten minutes. When he was finished, he said, "It's not going to explode, you baby! Come on!"
Cai'luin returned from his hiding place, straightening his tunic, "Well, better safe than sorry."
Alot said, "Okay then, shall I open it?" He reached out to break the seal.
A familiar voice called out from behind them, "Wait, boss! Don't open it!"
Cai'luin recognized the voice immediately, "Bess! What are you doing here?"
It was Bess, the intelligent and sassy giant crab with a crush on the pretty elf-boy. Bess explained that she felt a mysterious pull to this house. A force within the house was trying to take control of her but the power of Saint Cuthbert, the god that gave her intelligence, prevented it. Something in the house wanted her to help them break the seal. However, Saint Cuthbert wanted her to stop them from breaking the seal.
Cai'luin sympathized with his friend but assured her that they would deal with whatever it was that was bound by the seal. They would take care of this and protect the town. He asked her to wait behind the dead tree and they'd be back soon. She reluctantly agreed.
Alot broke open the seal and removed the chains. He opened the cellar doors and descended the steps.
The cellar beneath the house was flooded and covered in algae. It smelled like rotting crab meat and dead fish. A pile of rubble lay at the bottom of the stairs.
A pile of heavy stones were piled against the wall opposite the stairs.
Alot reached the bottom of the stairs followed by Cai'luin, Corvid, and Father Craig. They spread out through the small cellar. The water was knee-deep. Alot moved to inspect the pile of stones against the wall.
Suddenly the water erupted as over a dozen giant crab, each easily the same size as a man, burst out of their hiding places beneath the scum. Only they weren't ordinary giant crab - these crab were the tattered and decaying remains of long-dead crab animated by some unnamable power!
To be Continued...!
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