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...

The Serpent's Tooth - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 55

 

The Empty Net

That night, Aella took her companions - Captain Alot, Father Craig, Corvid, and Cai'luin - to the Empty Net, the seedy inn on pilings over the Kingfisher river. The Empty Net was a den of thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats. Aella was a member of the town council. She and her companions were responsible for the downfall of Gellan Primewater and his smuggling organization. She was also responsible for Anders Solmor becoming a baron and bringing the attention of the king's tax collectors to Saltmarsh. The last time she and her friends had come to the bar over a year ago, there was a brawl and several men died.

Needless to say, when Aella entered the inn without any hint of costume or discretion, all conversation stopped and every patron stared at her in contempt.

Aella cleared her throat. The bartender, a burly thug named Kreb Shenker, spat on the floor, "What do ye want?"

Aella approached the bar and said, "I'm here to see the Serpent's Tooth."

Kreb said, "You were supposed to come alone. They'll have to stay down here."

Aella looked at Cai'luin and the others and nodded. She turned back to Kreb, "Very well."

Kreb led her behind a curtain to a concealed door. The door led up a flight of narrow stairs to a small room with a bare table and two chairs. The walls were lined with heavy burgundy curtains. A hoarse voice said, "Greetings princess. Please have a seat."

She sat down. 

A hooded figure in thick red robes emerged from a curtain. It sat in the other chair. Red gloved hands pulled back the hood just enough to reveal that the figure wore a silver mask concealing his entire face. The mask was carved to resemble a snake's head with fangs. 

"Hello, your highness. I have information that can help you."

CHAPTER 55

"THE SERPENT'S TOOTH"

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 Serpent's Tooth

"You  may call me the Serpent's Tooth. My identity is unimportant. For now it is sufficient to know that our goals overlap.

"I know that you bear the Trident of Manaan, the weapon of the founder of the Sea Elf Kingdom of Manaan. I know that you are its true heir and that you wish to unlock its power. Only the druids of the coral grove may do that. 

"The trident was lost centuries ago - stolen by the Sahuagin when they killed King Manaan. When the Sahuagin were defeated a year ago the soldiers from Seaton recovered it and gave it to you as a reward. This much is known. 

"You are the illegitimate eldest daughter of King Pelagius, current king of Manaan. Given the elven rules for such things, such as they are, upon the death of King Pelagius, you are entitled to rule Manaan as its queen. 

"Manaan is a small underwater settlement built of stone and coral and is home to roughly 300 sea elves. It lies at a depth of two hundred feet and is surrounded by a wide circular coral reef which acts like a wall. The entire settlement forms a cone-shaped coral castle that is the home of the royal family, their knights and servants, and the peasants who tend the kelp forests.  The sea floor surrounding the coral reef is also a dense forest of kelp. The region surrounding the kelp forest is patrolled by sea elf rangers with dolphins companions.

"There is a secret tunnel beneath the coral reefs, unknown to even the royal family of Manaan. It leads to the sacred coral grove of the druids of Manaan located underground beneath the royal castle. There you will find the druids who tend the coral polyps on which the entire city is built.

"The entrance to the secret tunnel is concealed within some submerged ruins - the remains of an ancient Suloise city long ago lost to the waves during the Rain of Colorless Fire. The city, in turn, was buried beneath the coral walls of Manaan. 

"I will tell you how to find this secret entrance but first you must promise me to do a small thing."

The man withdrew and displayed a scroll from his sleeve. He then produced a handful of lead fishing weights and put them in a clay bottle. Then he placed the rolled up scroll within the same bottle and sealed it with a cork stopper. He took a nearby candle and smothered the stopper with melted wax. He held up the sealed clay bottle like a prop.

"Deliver this message in this sealed bottle. The contents are very sensitive and important. It is for his eyes only. Do you understand? Will you do this?"

Aella asked, "By when must this be done?"

The man considered the answer, as if he hadn't thought of that, "There is no immediate urgency. Deliver it by the end of the season. Agreed?"

Aella agreed.

"Excellent. Here your payment - the secret entrance into Manaan. Go to the ruins of Suloise city. Find the temple with the statue of the god with a strange head, huge bracers, and a flaming sword. 

"Turn to your right and you will see a small piece of gnarled wood affixed to the wall. Turn it. It shall open a hidden entrance to the entrance to the tunnel. " 

Aella accepted the job. The Fanged Serpent nodded and stood. He knocked on the wall and the door behind Aella opened. Kreb the bartender led her back down the narrow staircase to the tavern below. 

Seaton

The Sea Ghost made preparations to set sail the following morning. The ship sailed to nearby Seaton. There they spent the rest of the day unloading the massive marble statue of Saint Cuthbert and delivered it to the temple there. In addition, Corvid returned the crate of books and gold statuettes to the temple. Finally, Corvid delivered the bones of the missionaries of Saint Cuthbert recovered from the ocean floor at the wreck of the Marshall. The priest assured Corvid that they would be given a proper burial in a place of honor among the heroes of Saint Cuthbert. 

The ghosts of the nuns who haunted Corvid looked on with stern approval, retaining their grim scowls but giving the most imperceptible nods of approval before fading into the great Beyond that is the Raven King's judgement.

In thanks for the gifts, the high priest of the temple of Saint Cuthbert bestowed upon the each of the officers of the Sea Ghost a blessing of heroism.

Argos the Triton

The Sea Ghost spent the night in Seaton and set sail once again the next day. Aella explained the mission to the other members of the crew. After a brief discussion the officers decided to first sail towards Skyhorn lighthouse to investigate the strange weather and seas that had been reported. 

Skyhorn lighthouse sits on a rocky uninhabited island in the Azure sea halfway between Splitrock and Jetsom Island. The Sea Ghost sailed around Angler Island and Redshore Island and sailed east towards the lighthouse. 

By noon they neared their destination. They could see the island and the lighthouse. A dark swirling inverted cone of a cloud spun slowly overhead. The winds increased and the sea became choppy. Small maelstroms spun out of the sea and dashed off towards the horizon. The turbulent seas were dark with a mysterious cloudy substance. 

Suddenly a humanoid figure leaped out of the water and grabbed the starboard rail of the ship. The humanoid was  man with dark blue skin wearing a bright scale armor. He carried a spear in one hand and clutched the rail with the other. His legs were bare and displayed fins growing from the back of his calves. He looked frightened and glanced over his shoulder at the sea as if to spot some pursuer.

Soon after two massive crustaceans that resembled crayfish the size of buffalo climbed out of the water in pursuit of the blue man. The blue man cried out to the crew, "Help me! I seek justice for an innocent man! These creatures are trying to stop me!"

Captain Alot gave the tiller to one of his crew and picked up his dragon hammer. He darted down the ship's ladder and joined Corvid at the starboard rail next to the blue man. 

Alot, Corvid, Aella, and Cai'luin, helped the newcomer fight and defeat the foul crustacean monstrosities. 

Afterwards, Alot gave the newcomer a wary welcome, "Who are you and why are on my ship?"

The man introduced himself as Argos, a triton. He explained that he was part of an expedition sent from the Water Dimension to investigate a possible breach and an incursion by Olhydra, an evil being from his dimension. His team learned that the lighthouse keeper, Lucien, had called upon the power of the breach in the past to save ships and the lives of sailors. They assumed he was responsible for the incursion of Olhydra and have imprisoned him. Now they seek the breach in order to close it. For his part, Lucien will be executed in two days.

Argos believed that Lucien the lighthouse keeper was innocent and sought to find the breach and obtain evidence that might exonerate him. He found a sunken ship at the base of the Skyhorn island form which the two creatures, known as chuuls, emerged. The creatures pursued him to the surface and he was thankful for the intervention of the Sea Ghost.

Captain Alot told Argos that they, too, had come to investigate the mysterious weather at the lighthouse.

Argos, relieved, appealed to Captain Alot for assistance in helping to exonerate an innocent man. Alot agreed. 

The Triton Guard

The ship sailed near the island where Argos the triton indicated the location of the sunken ship. Alot instructed the crew to sail around the island at a safe distance. Alot, Aella, Corvid, Cai'luin, Bess the giant crab, and Argos then leaped into the black oily waters.

The team descended into the murky depths. Visibility was very low, no more than ten to twenty feet. Cai'luin cast a bardic light spell to illuminate the gloom and provide a beacon should they become separated. 

As they descended into darkness, six tritons swam into view and intercepted them. 

DM Note-

Approaching the breach required a skill challenge. The tritons had a starting conflict score of 3. Each successful skill check would reduce the score by 1. Each failed check would increase the score by 1. The score had to be reduced to 0 for the party to be allowed to pass. If the score increased to 6, the tritons would lose patience and attack. 

The tritons warned the team of the dimensional breach and ordered them to evacuate. Argos spoke on their behalf, telling his companions that they wished to help him exonerate the lighthouse keeper. 

DM Note-

Automatic -1 thanks to the presence of Argos.

The triton guards were wary. They were not convinced that Lucien was innocent. They only wanted to locate and close the breach. Aella made the case to allow the party to help search. She spoke eloquently on behalf of the lighthouse keeper's case.

DM Note-

Aella's Persuasion skill check of 18 reduced the score by another -1.

Captain Alot also mentioned that, as capable warriors, they would also eliminate any additional chuuls they come across. 

DM Note-

Promising to kill chuuls reduced the score by another -1. The conflict score was now zero.

The tritons agreed and allowed the team to continue to descend - but Argos was ordered to stay behind. He was not to help nor interfere in any way. 

The Sunken Ship

The party continued to sink. They reached the sunken ship resting on the ocean floor at a depth of six hundred feet. A quick investigation of the ship revealed that name of the ship was the Argent Blade. Captain Alot recognized the ship - it belonged to a merchant captain named Haddad who had recently lost his wife at sea. The ship appeared to have been scuttled. Dark oily clouds emanated from the breaches in the hull, contaminating the surrounding water.

Corvid peered into one of the breaches into the cargo hold. He saw a large barrel shaped mechanical vehicle with six crab-like legs and two mechanical crab-like pincers. The machine lunged at him and burst through the deck.

Aella quickly summoned a sorcerous snowstorm that pummeled the mechanical vehicle. 

Captain Alot told them that they came in peace and appealed to them to stop fighting. The machine ignored Alot's entreaties and attacked Corvid with giant metal pincers.

Corvid counterattacked with his magic longsword. 

Cai'luin began playing a small set of drums and cast a bardic spell which caused the metal of the machine to begin heating. Alot, who had considered trying to find a way to open the hatch on the rear of the vehicle, backed away from the hot metal surface.

Aella summoned a sorcerous undersea tidal wave that pummeled the machine and followed it up with a sustained witch-bolt of lightning. 

Alot looked closely for a way to open the hatch and found the release. Corvid continued to damage the vehicle with several strikes from his magical longsword. 

Alot was eventually able to open the hatch, revealing two humanoid pilots within, each manning a series of levers that activated and controlled the legs and claws of the vehicle. The two beings were once human sailors but were now pallid shells with rubbery translucent skin and eyes clouded white. Their jaws hung slack. The one at the rear of the vehicle drew its cutlass and lashed out at Alot.

Alot and Corvid, aided by Aella's storm sorcery, soon dispatched the two pilots. 

The machine was heavily damaged and needed to be repaired but otherwise salvageable. 

The party continued searching the ship. It had been abandoned. Inside the captain's cabin they found a diary. The velum book had many pages removed. What remained was filled with strange symbols and arcane circles. 

Alot was able to read the following entries:

“..She calls to me from beyond! She’s trapped in

the Fiddler’s Green, but I’ll rescue her, bring her

back… I hear her voice even now, telling me to

look far beneath the lighthouse…”

“The strange genie permitted us to pass… better

that he does not interfere with Olhydra’s will!”

“…It won’t be long until Iona is finally in my

arms again. The sigils are working! The barrier

is almost weak enough for her to cross through.

The waters turn black and foul, as she said they

would…”

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.

To be Continued...