The Sea Ghost set sail to Skyhorn Lighthouse to deliver their prisoner - the Marid known as Emir Farzad, the Most Opulent and Pearlescent. The Emir regaled the crew with stories of his roguish exploits both within the City of Glass in the Elemental Plane of Water and across the lands of Oerth. But after a few hours of non-stop storytelling the Emir's tales became tiresome.
They arrived at the lighthouse near sunset. They anchored their ship off shore and took the magical rowboat to the location above the site of the wrecked ship. The crew gathered together the treasure they agreed to return and, along with the emir, jumped overboard and descended three hundred feet to the bottom. There they found the concealed entrance to the grotto that led to the subterranean chamber of the marid.
Within the grotto they encountered two triton guards. The tritons showed their medallions identifying them as inquisitors. They took custody of the emir and agreed to allow Alot and the rest of the crew to accompany them as far as the magical barrier in the marid's chambers.
The emir was resigned to his fate and seemed especially unhappy. He looked at Alot sullenly. Alot, remembering his agreement with the emir to speak on his behalf, asked the tritons what was to become of the emir. The tritons replied, "I believe the shah is planning to banish him to a domain of torment where he will writhe in agony for 1000 of your Oerth years."
The emir sighed.
Alot said, "Look, that seems harsh. Is there any way we can talk about this? I mean, the security measures that imprisoned the emir were really lax."
The triton shrugged, "As inquisitors, its our job to enforce the peace between Oerth and the Elemental Plane of Water. His sentence is an internal matter. You'd have to take it up with the shah of the City of Glass."
The emir shot Alot an angry look as the tritons pulled him through the slivery magical barrier.
Alot shrugged his armored shoulders, "Hey, I tried. Good luck!"
CHAPTER 70
"THE SECRETS OF THE SERPENT'S TOOTH"
The Crew of the Sea Ghost:
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.
- 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.
- Patriarch 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.
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 was mostly checking in on Saltmarsh, character book-keeping, and advancing the meta-plot as I transition into "the Styes." I've got some big plans for a campaign finale post-Styes.
We also ended a little early this week because I was not adequately prepared for what I wanted to happen on the way to the Styes.
Sea Elf Warning
As the Sea Ghost sailed the coast of the Azure Sea in the direction of Seaton and Saltmarsh, they saw beside them an escort of a pod of dolphins carrying sea-elf knights. The sea elves threw grapples and climbed the lines to board the Sea Ghost.
Corvid prepared for battle. Alot asked, "What are you doing?"
Corvid replied, "They boarded our ship without asking!" Alot held his hands out to calm the paladin's sword.
The sea elves were led by Anapos, a friend of the crew. Anapos requested permission from Captain Alot to board the vessel. Alot gave his permission and looked knowingly at Corvid.
Anapos bowed to Aella, daughter of the sea elf King Pelagius, "Your highness." He then bowed to Cai'luin, "My lord."
He stood and addressed Aella, "Your highness, I am here to inform you and your crew that by order of the king's son, Prince Aegon, the area around which surface vessels may traverse in relation to the royal palace of Manaan has been enlarged. No vessel may come within four leagues of the royal palace. Additionally, fishing by anyone from a surface vessel is hereby prohibited anywhere in the Bay of Javan."
He turned towards Cai'luin, ambassador of the tribe of Manaan to the village of Saltmarsh, "My lord, you are instructed to relay these restrictions to the town council of Saltmash."
Cai'luin did not relish the task.
Alot said, "We thank you Anapos. We also have information for you. We have learned of a recent incident regarding the escape of many prisoners from a koalinth citadel. Be on the lookout for them. In addition, the events that led to the breakout may lead the koalinth to believe that the sea elves of Manaan were responsible and may seek an armed response. Please relay this to your king."
Anapos eyed Alot with suspicion, "I- I see. Very well. I will relay this information. We thank you for bringing us this warning. We will return right away. Now, if you please, chart a new course to avoid the royal palace. " Anapos bowed to Aella and Cai'luin, saluted Alot and the others, and leaped overboard.
The Town Council of Saltmarsh
Upon their return to Saltmarsh, Cai'luin requested a meeting of the town council. With Baron Solmor still away at court in Niole Dra, the council met with Eliander Fireborn, Manistrad Copperlocks, Eda Oweland, and Aella.
Cai'luin presented the new demands from Manaan.
Eda Oweland exploded into a tirade of vulgar expletives. Her entire livelihood was based on fishing and the preserving of fish. Ending the fishing industry would destroy Saltmarsh! She motioned to ignore the edicts from Manaan and continue fishing.
Fireborn and Copperlocks were less alarmist. Copperlocks represented the interests of the dwarven mine east of town and cared little for the village's fishing heritage. She voted against Oweland's motion.
Fireborn was a retired soldier of the Royal Army and oversaw the town guard. He informed the others of some news he had recently received from Niole Dra - Baron Solmor had successfully lobbied for Saltmarsh to become a garrison and naval port. A fortress would be built and Saltmarsh would become more like Seaton. He was prepared to vote against Oweland's motion and allow fishing to suffer.
With the baron at court, Oweland appealed to Aella to side with her for a tie vote to create a stalemate until the baron returned.
Aella considered both sides but ultimately voted with Oweland to defy the edict from Manaan.
The vote was a tie so no resolution was carried.
The Loyal Quartermasters of Iuz
One morning Corvid paid a visit to the Loyal Quartermasters of Iuz to check on the status of a special order he had placed several weeks ago. He found the offices empty. He knocked on the door and opened it a crack. He heard hushed voices coming from the back where Captain Xendros conducted her secret business buying and selling magical items.
He announced his presence and requested permission to enter.
Xendros requested a moment then invited him to the back room. Keledek the Ketan mage exited as he entered. The tall dark-skinned mage paid little attention to the ashen-grey Corvid.
Corvid asked about the shop. Xendros explained that she had closed her shop and was moving to Port Torvin farther west. She said that events were soon to transpire that would make life difficult for her in Saltmarsh so she was moving to a town controlled by the Sea Princes.
Corvid asked about his order. Xendros produced a wrapped package containing a pair of winged boots. He paid her the large sum of gold he had borrowed from Aella and bade her farewell, promising to visit her in Port Torvin.
A Month in Saltmarsh
Over the next several weeks the officers of the Sea Ghost advanced their various agendas.
Captain Alot spent his time decoding the encrypted letters correspondence had found in the shack in Crabber's Cove.
Aella used her savings to begin building a martial academy and training arena.
Patriarch Craig and Corvid performed the duties of the Cult of the Raven King. More of the citizens of Saltmarsh were beginning to accept the new god as a member of the pantheon and offerings, gifts, and sacrifices to the guardian of the passage to the afterlife were increasing.
Correspondence Decoded
Captain Alot spent his days in Eliander Fireborn's library poring over the encrypted correspondence.
DM Note-
I had four bits of escalating exposition.
Each game week I had Alot's player make an Investigation check vs. a DC of 15. He made no progress on a week with a failed check. On a success I gave him the next bit of exposition.
After six weeks of decoding, Alot learned the following.
- Captain Xendros can read the minds of everyone to whom she's sold a magic item and has been selling that information to the Serpent's Tooth, agent of the Scarlet Brotherhood.
- The Serpent's Tooth made contact with Orgmond, a member of the Cult of Tiamat, who had escaped the Tomb of the Lizard King. He had in his possession the Draconomicon.
- The Serpent's Tooth purchased the black dragon egg from Xendros.
- On the eve of the solstice, the Serpent's Tooth will poison the royal court in Niole Dra. Orgmond will use the Draconomicon to resurrect the black dragon Aulicus. Aulicus will attack the garrison at Seaton while Ships from the Hold of the Sea Princes will take Saltmarsh, Angleburg, and Redshore. This is all scheduled and coordinated so that the dragon attack occurs on the night of the solstice moon when tides are high.
DM Note-
In retrospect, I regret providing the last part of the plan. I should have kept that a secret and made it a big reveal AFTER the Styes. Now the Styes feels like a diversion.
It was now the end of Planting. The solstice occurred during the celebration of Midsummer in two months.
| Month | Common | Elven | Nomads | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needfest | ||||
| 01 | Fireseek | Diamondice | Tiger | Winter |
| 02 | Readying | Yellowillow | Bear | Spring |
| 03 | Coldeven | Snowflowers | Lion | Spring |
| Growfest | ||||
| 04 | Planting | Blossoms | Frog | Low Summer |
| 05 | Flocktime | Violets | Turtle | Low Summer |
| 06 | Wealsun | Berrytime | Fox | Low Summer |
| Richfest (Midsummer) | ||||
| 07 | Reaping | Goldfields | Snake | High Summer |
| 08 | Goodmonth | Sunflowers | Boar | High Summer |
| 09 | Harvester | Fruitfall | Squirrel | High Summer |
| Brewfest | ||||
| 10 | Patchwall | Brightleaf | Hare | Autumn |
| 11 | Ready'reat | Tinklingice | Hawk | Autumn |
| 12 | Sunsebb | Lacysnows | Wolf | Winter |
Set Sail for Poniard
The first item on the agenda was to finally make the upgrade to the ship he had been planning for months. Alot had heard of ship-builders in the city of Poniard to the south who could create magical figureheads that dispensed alchemical attacks that mimicked the breath of a dragon. He wanted to install a new figurehead on the Sea Ghost in the shape of a green dragon that attacked with deadly poison breath. He would take the Sea Ghost to Poniard to have this modification designed and installed.
Thus it was that six weeks after arriving in Saltmarsh Captain Alot was raising a new crew to set sail 40 leagues to Poniard.
The new crew consisted of:
- Ramsay 'The Cook' Braxton
- Camille 'Relentless' Snape
- Doshie 'The Parrot' Panther
- Merrill 'Plank Walker' Beasant
- Will Wheaton 'Howler' Kidd
- Phebe 'Hideous' Bonney
- Jewell 'Hex' Salvodore
- Trenton 'Nightmare' Bradly
- Sterling 'Barnacle' Helton
- Geraldine 'Landlubber' Alistair - returning crew
- Maxwelle 'Rambling' Shell - female crab centaur - returning crew
The ship set sail for Poniard on the first day of the third week of Planting.
Right away they ran into trouble.
Cai'luin had served as the ship's cook for several months. However, one member of the newly raised crew, Ramsay "The Cook" Braxton, knew his way around the ship's galley. Captain Alot decided to hold a cook-off.
DM Note-
I did some quick googling for D&D cook-off rules, and surprisingly there are several options! I decided to go with six tests, one against each of the six stats.
Preparation - Dexterity for chopping, Wisdom for knowing how to prep
Execution - Intelligence for knowing the recipe and instrucitons, Strength for stirring and mashing
Plating - Charisma for presentation, Constitution for not appearing tired
I then had Cai'luin and Ramsay roll off.
The two cooks were tasked to prepare the following meal: Pan-fried large flat buckwheat noodles with cat, tumeric and sharp cheddar on a bed of sauteed earthnut pea, sorrel and wolfberries. Served with moth bean soup, vodka and aged ricotta.
In the end, both cooks produced excellent meals resulting in a tie. Alot assigned Cai'luin as Head Cook and assigned Ramsay as his assistant.
With Aella directing the wind into their sails and Craig controlling the waters around the ship their journey to Poniard would take 22 hours and would take them through the narrow ten mile straight past Monmurg, capital of the Hold of the Sea Princes under the control of the Scarlet Brotherhood, at around midnight.
The strait was treacherous not only for privateers of the Sea Princes, there were numerous shoals and reefs that, if struck, would damage their recently repaired hull.
Would they make it through the strait?
To be Continued...
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