We got back to our full complement of players this session, but Drakkon had to sit out the remainder of the necromancer encounter until we were able to reclaim him from the lizardfolk.
Day 14 (continued) - the fight in the cavern
Sir Riley chuckled to himself as he continued chanting in a strange language. The waters to either side where the alligator teeth were thrown began to bubble and two skeletal figures emerged from the murky depths of the water. Seeing as these were undead, I channelled the divine Radiance of the Dawn to deal with the new arrivals. It damaged them enough for Sir Riley to get annoyed and call forth a gaseous attack upon my companions.
The ensuing combat was brutal with many wounds dealt out by both sides. I managed to cast a Burning Hands spell which damaged Sir Riley quite extensively, and he cast some kind of spell that summoned a black fog to hide within. What emerged from that smoke was a winged demonic being enveloped in fire. The demon then disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. Whilst this was going on, the two summoned skeletal beings were destroyed; one being was chopped to pieces by Dharion's sword and axe and finished off by Navda's archery, whilst the final being was Firebolted by Gladreth.
As we looked around after the combat, catching our collective breaths, black tentacles suddenly erupted from the ether and engulfed Dharion and Druss, who fought back with all their might. Gladreth also took a lot of damage from the new threat and fell to the floor. I somehow sensed that the demon was above us and shouted to let the party know. Navda shot an arrow but missed, but a perfectly aimed javelin from Druss managed to kill it outright. The demon plummetted to the floor and slowly turned back into the skeleton form of Sir Riley, whereupon it then proceeded to crumble to dust.
I healed Gladreth enough to bring her round, whilst the other adventurers removed the heads of the alligator and the skeletons to show to the lizardfolk what had been attacking their tribe.
When we arrived back at the lizardfolk camp, we showed them the grizzly trophies and said that we could find no survivors. Although saddened by the loss of their family, they let Drakkon go and gave us a bag of painted pebbles as a reward. They then escorted us the rest of the way through the swamp to the outskirts of Saltmarsh.
Days 14-21 - Saltmarsh
Upon arrival in the town we first sought out someone in authority to tell them about the landslide just out of town; they agreed to send a party of workmen to sort it out. We also needed to assess our treasures, so we visited the lady we had asked about evaluations previously. It appeared that the lizardfolk painted stones were barter tokens for food, drink and shelter; we kept them for possible further use. The belongings of Sir Riley, the necromancer, turned out to be an evil cloak, a necromancer's spell book and a Staff of Major Healing. We agreed to dispose of the evil items in due course, but that I should keep the staff as I was the main healer of the party.
We then reported to the linen trader to tell him about our failed quest. Unfortunately, we had to tell him that Morley had done a runner with the linen and did not consider himself a friend of the trader. When he asked about his cart and horses, we had to apologise on not returning that also, although we did mention where it could be found. The trader was not happy and left in a huff.
We then spent the next seven days making new acquaintances, now that we had become something of a talking point around town. The local council approved of how we were handling ourselves and the situation but when we tried to reclaim our ship, we found that it was still impounded in the harbour and considered the property of the crown. No matter how we argued, the guards and council would not return it to us.
It was whilst we were arguing with an official that a tall, well-dressed orc sauntered up to us and asked us whether we could retrieve an item or two from a cargo ship a few days' sail away. In payment, his boss, the owner of several sailing vessels, would give us a ship.
Doubting his word, but not wanting to miss a possible opportunity that might be too good to be true, we decided to follow the orc to his master's abode, a mansion on a hill on the outskirts of town.
The mansion, upon arrival, was a little more run down than it appeared from the town, but none-the-less it was still an impressive building. Upon entry, the main hallway was full of expensive tapestries on the walls and heavy furniture that may have been fashionable many moons go but were still worth a pretty penny today. We were soon shown into a study to meet an elderly, well-dressed human named Albrick, who treated us to food and drink before getting down to business.
Albrick mentioned that he was the owner of the Emperor of the Waves, a ship that went missing around ten years ago. It was travelling back from strange lands full of precious cargo, including a Cross of Pelor (a top furnishing for a battle helm that would allow its wearer to converse with the god and thereafter be bestowed with great powers), when it got caught in a storm and was never seen again, until three days ago when it was spotted on an island a few days' sail away.
To get a drop on any salvagers, Albrick asked us to find the ship, remove the full cargo to a ship he would furnish us with for the mission, and the Emperor would be ours. He said that he would give us two hundred Gold Crowns for our troubles as a sweetener in the deal.
We had a quick meeting and decided that we would take the deal, as a ship we could then definitely call our own would be worth the risk. He pulled a large ledger from a shelf and made an entry within it which he asked us to counter-sign; which happened to be in our own blood from a hidden needle in the ink pot. After we had all read and signed the ledger, he handed us the promised two hundred crowns and said that the Soul of the Winter under Captain Woolgar was anchored in the harbour, fully crewed, awaiting our arrival.
Day 22 - onboard the Soul of the Winter
The following day, after we had re-equipped ourselves in readiness for the voyage, we climbed aboard the ship. It was only then that we noticed that the entire crew was made up of dwarves; a people not fully trusted in these parts.
The ship set sail as soon as we were onboard and we were warned to remain in our cabins as there was a major storm brewing where we were headed. We spent the time playing games and chatting, but as time wore on we all began to feel a little more queasy as the waters became rougher and the skies became greyer.
At around 9pm, after everyone had eaten and the night shift had settled in, we made ready for our beds. It was at this point that Drakken thought that he heard scuffling and then something go thump on the deck above the cabin. He moved to the door to investigate the unusual sound, and upon opening it was met by the sight of a sea creature coming down the steps towards him...
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| A sea creature met upon the ship's steps |
