The doorman is unfazed. "I assure you, if I had a name, I would divulge it. But today you are respected guests of the house of Thornwell. And you come bearing news..."
He is interrupted by the appearance of a meticulously-dressed human woman in black-and-red leather armor, who has appeared behind him although you did not see or hear a door opening in the dark room. "Let's take them to the parlour," she instructs.
The doorman leads you through a black curtain into a windowless interior chamber filled with black furniture. "Gerrard Feldren, at the request of the Council of Uskarn, Madam, and his companions, Thwack, Bernard, Terry, and Kivers," he announces, flatly. "News of a pending invasion, he reports."
"Thank you. Please sit." She directs you to a black wooden bench covered in cushions. "And who is the deceased?" she asks, looking curiously at Janore.
”This is Janore, Priestess of Procan from Firewatch island, our best source of information on the coming invasion just now killed as we crossed the harbor. Mistress Alcor was able to retrieve her body, but her spirit had already departed,” replies Gerrard sadly, adding, “She has now given her life to warn you; though we have not her divine insight, we can tell you what we experienced and what she said to warn us.”
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Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Peri eyes the doorman incredulously before muttering, mostly to himself, "What kinda monster keeps servants but doesn't give 'em names? Hells, we name the cows back home, and they end up in the sausage eventually."
He follows Gerrard into the weird parlor. His skin prickles with goosebumps as it reminds him of their recent visit to the Death House. He turns as though gawking at the decor, so that his lips aren't visible to the nameless butler and his mistress, and speaks so that only Qivys can hear him. Are these two vampires or some other kinda dead things?
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Qivys sighs. "I sure hope not" he whispers. "If'n it was then you and Gerrard are prime targets." Qivys studies the woman, her mannerisms, and the like and tries to place anything familiar with how she acts and what he knows about vampires. Religion: 6
Thwack wastes no time in following the instruction from their host. He jumps up onto the bench and tries to settle in. He wriggles and shifts against the softness of the cushions and eventually pushes two to the floor, finally getting comfortable on the hard bench.
"I am sorry for your loss," says the woman. "I am Councillor Thornwell, councillors of the Styes. What is the nature of this invasion you speak of?"
Qivys studies the woman. There is definitely something unsettling, mystical, and possibly even fiendish about her dress and mannerisms, but she seems fully human as far as he can tell. Of course, vampires have a way of disguising themselves... But her skin looks flush, her teeth normal.
She smiles coolly at Thwack's antics.
"Tell me your warning. Are the Styes in peril of invaders?"
Gerrard starts giving her the tale of their experiences at Firewatch island and the visions from Janore that warned them of the blue boil undead and the plot of the Sea Princes. He pauses to let the others jump in for more detail, and he tells about their experience at the Uskarn council and decision to come warn the Styes. He is vague about how they arrived in the area to begin with, preferring to keep focused on the problem at hand. If the opportunity arises, he will bring up the Lantern murders and his desire to help out there if possible.
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Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Boko gently rests Janore's remains on the ground. Listening to Gerrard's tale. Her eyes go to Thornwell, and watches her reaction, trying to gauge the type of person they're dealing with.
Remembering the map, Gerrard makes sure they show Thornwell that as well…
”Janore waits in the kitchen, on alert. "I... I had more visions last night. Something about the halfling's shoes..." – she points to Peri's slippers – "and the sunken Tammeraut, and something about an invasion. One of the things must have dropped a document in their first assault," – she holds up a single piece of damp, crumpled parchment showing barely legible lines and writing. "It's a map, a navigator's map from the Tammeraut, I think. Waterproofed once, although it has clearly spent years in the depths. My vision showed me where to find it – it was in the mess in the larder – and helped me understand it. It shows Firewatch Island, and the nearby coast, and the city – The Styes – and has diagrams that convey a plan for using this island as a staging ground for a full-on assault against the mainland. I think there are more of these dead things. They're coming from the Tammeraut." ”
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Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Thornwell listens attentively. She seems genuinely surprised and alarmed by this news. But Boko can see her gears turning, as if she's weighing a dozen other competing needs. She also seems to be studying the party very carefully, as if sizing them up. She squints at Peri's shoes. Finally, she presents her offer.
"I will send the Styes Naval Guard out to the location of this wreck, including one cruiser to Uskarn and another to Firewatch to keep eyes on the situation. I will also increase our nighttime coastal guard. I may have a diver who can go down to the wreck site and investigate." She ponders for a moment. "What else do you feel is needed?"
Boko senses she is direct and honest, and yet playing a long chess game of some kind - there is no true benevolence to be detected. "Do you need mortuary services for your late priest? We can provide any assistance you require," she continues.
"Thank you for coming to us with this," she concludes. "The Styes thanks you for your timely warning. The city has many challenges right now; we certainly don't need a new one."
Boko nods. "The reason we were at Firewatch is... complicated. We were in Saltmarsh. Preparing for a sahaugin invasion. The city tasked us with infiltrating their new lair, and we freed some prisoners and ascertained their forces. We returned, gave them the information, and that evening, a vampire gained freedom. One who had kidnapped children for nefarious purposes. We set off to track it to an ancient lair. We overcame... many obstacles, and slew it. We saved children, set them free outside the lair with an all. We thought we were following captured friends and a minion through a portal, but it deposited us deep below Firewatch. But that was 6 months ago, as far as we can tell. We tried to figure out what was happening from Janore and her allies hiding from more undead threats, with some minor success. What date is it? Do you know what happened in Saltmarsh? What have we missed?"
"I'm afraid I know nothing of Saltmarsh, other than seeing it on the old atlases. Part of the southern province, yes? Feldren territory?" She turns and nods at Gerrard. "Are you of the Seaton Feldrens? All well in that fair city?" She turns back to Boko. "We occasionally have sahaugin in these waters, but I think of it as more of a southern problem. But I thought this invasion you warn of is about the dead... Are we to be invaded by sahaugin or zombies?"
”Seaton was okay six months ago, though not everyone in the city prospers ,” says Gerrard with a wry grin. “Hopefully the Sahuagin threat was ended or at least beaten back at that time, councilor”.
”The imminent threat to the Styes is the blue-boiled undead, as you surmised,” he concludes.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
"Well, like Seaton, the Styes also has its internal challenges. You mentioned the Lantern Murders, and that has been my primary concern until now. We have always had our share of petty crime – your priest may have fallen victim to that, I'm afraid. Again I offer my condolences and the services of the Styes. But there is a new threat here, something even more sinister, something with very deep roots. Cult activity, perhaps; but also something that reaches into the primordial horrors of this plane. Perhaps even into the halls of power. I'm told a suspect was caught and executed, but I'm quite sure he was only a pawn in this. As I offer the Styes' sword of protection for Uskarn, I ask your help in unrooting our horror, before it festers further. Before it becomes a more dire threat to the Styes and our neighbors, near and far.”
”I can only hope the Sahuagin have been defeated by the combined forces of Seaton, Saltmarsh, and our amphibious and aquatic allies. That portal removed us far in distance and even farther in time, preventing me from fulfilling my oaths to the people there,” responds Gerrard, though it is obvious there is a specific person he is most despondent about disappointing.
”Where I find myself now, I will help as best I can, whether it be forestalling an invasion of blue boiled undead, helping solve murders, or striking at the root of cultist evil threatening us all. My preference would be to sail out with your warship and the boat that brought us from Uskarn and accompany your diver below, that we might at least end or contain one threat presently, then help out here in the Styes with murderers and cults…But my companions have been through much and have promised only to help deliver this warning. We will have to discuss among ourselves the next steps for each of us,” Gerrard continues, speaking directly but carefully, not wishing to commit his companions on a course they would not wish to choose.
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Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Thornwell listens to Gerrard carefully, and nods coolly. "Do keep me apprised of your plans."
"Cults, yes," she adds, turning to Qivys. "I know little, but I'm reluctant to divulge any more until I learn the identities of everyone who is in my chambers right now." She points to Peri's slippers. "You are being monitored. By whom? Do you have an owner? Or an employer?" she asks Peri. "Who is watching?"
"Watching?" Small black eyes dart left and right as Thwack follows Thornwell's gaze to Peri's slippers and then around the parlour. "Snarf! Just ugly boots. Nobody watching Jerry. Only we is here". Then with confusion in his voice "nobody watching is they Jerry?" He seems quite at sorts at the thought they were being surveilled.
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Qivys listens impassively, not taking his eye off the doorman.
Gerrard:
His gaze not faltering, Gerrard looks expectantly at the doorman...
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
The doorman is unfazed. "I assure you, if I had a name, I would divulge it. But today you are respected guests of the house of Thornwell. And you come bearing news..."
He is interrupted by the appearance of a meticulously-dressed human woman in black-and-red leather armor, who has appeared behind him although you did not see or hear a door opening in the dark room. "Let's take them to the parlour," she instructs.
The doorman leads you through a black curtain into a windowless interior chamber filled with black furniture. "Gerrard Feldren, at the request of the Council of Uskarn, Madam, and his companions, Thwack, Bernard, Terry, and Kivers," he announces, flatly. "News of a pending invasion, he reports."
"Thank you. Please sit." She directs you to a black wooden bench covered in cushions. "And who is the deceased?" she asks, looking curiously at Janore.
Gerrard:
”This is Janore, Priestess of Procan from Firewatch island, our best source of information on the coming invasion just now killed as we crossed the harbor. Mistress Alcor was able to retrieve her body, but her spirit had already departed,” replies Gerrard sadly, adding, “She has now given her life to warn you; though we have not her divine insight, we can tell you what we experienced and what she said to warn us.”
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Peri:
Peri eyes the doorman incredulously before muttering, mostly to himself, "What kinda monster keeps servants but doesn't give 'em names? Hells, we name the cows back home, and they end up in the sausage eventually."
He follows Gerrard into the weird parlor. His skin prickles with goosebumps as it reminds him of their recent visit to the Death House. He turns as though gawking at the decor, so that his lips aren't visible to the nameless butler and his mistress, and speaks so that only Qivys can hear him. Are these two vampires or some other kinda dead things?
Qivys sighs. "I sure hope not" he whispers. "If'n it was then you and Gerrard are prime targets."
Qivys studies the woman, her mannerisms, and the like and tries to place anything familiar with how she acts and what he knows about vampires.
Religion: 6
Thwack
Thwack wastes no time in following the instruction from their host. He jumps up onto the bench and tries to settle in. He wriggles and shifts against the softness of the cushions and eventually pushes two to the floor, finally getting comfortable on the hard bench.
"I am sorry for your loss," says the woman. "I am Councillor Thornwell, councillors of the Styes. What is the nature of this invasion you speak of?"
Qivys studies the woman. There is definitely something unsettling, mystical, and possibly even fiendish about her dress and mannerisms, but she seems fully human as far as he can tell. Of course, vampires have a way of disguising themselves... But her skin looks flush, her teeth normal.
She smiles coolly at Thwack's antics.
"Tell me your warning. Are the Styes in peril of invaders?"
Gerrard:
Gerrard starts giving her the tale of their experiences at Firewatch island and the visions from Janore that warned them of the blue boil undead and the plot of the Sea Princes. He pauses to let the others jump in for more detail, and he tells about their experience at the Uskarn council and decision to come warn the Styes. He is vague about how they arrived in the area to begin with, preferring to keep focused on the problem at hand. If the opportunity arises, he will bring up the Lantern murders and his desire to help out there if possible.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Boko gently rests Janore's remains on the ground. Listening to Gerrard's tale. Her eyes go to Thornwell, and watches her reaction, trying to gauge the type of person they're dealing with.
Insight: 19
Gerrard:
Remembering the map, Gerrard makes sure they show Thornwell that as well…
”Janore waits in the kitchen, on alert. "I... I had more visions last night. Something about the halfling's shoes..." – she points to Peri's slippers – "and the sunken Tammeraut, and something about an invasion. One of the things must have dropped a document in their first assault," – she holds up a single piece of damp, crumpled parchment showing barely legible lines and writing. "It's a map, a navigator's map from the Tammeraut, I think. Waterproofed once, although it has clearly spent years in the depths. My vision showed me where to find it – it was in the mess in the larder – and helped me understand it. It shows Firewatch Island, and the nearby coast, and the city – The Styes – and has diagrams that convey a plan for using this island as a staging ground for a full-on assault against the mainland. I think there are more of these dead things. They're coming from the Tammeraut." ”
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Thornwell listens attentively. She seems genuinely surprised and alarmed by this news. But Boko can see her gears turning, as if she's weighing a dozen other competing needs. She also seems to be studying the party very carefully, as if sizing them up. She squints at Peri's shoes. Finally, she presents her offer.
"I will send the Styes Naval Guard out to the location of this wreck, including one cruiser to Uskarn and another to Firewatch to keep eyes on the situation. I will also increase our nighttime coastal guard. I may have a diver who can go down to the wreck site and investigate." She ponders for a moment. "What else do you feel is needed?"
Boko senses she is direct and honest, and yet playing a long chess game of some kind - there is no true benevolence to be detected. "Do you need mortuary services for your late priest? We can provide any assistance you require," she continues.
"Thank you for coming to us with this," she concludes. "The Styes thanks you for your timely warning. The city has many challenges right now; we certainly don't need a new one."
Boko nods. "The reason we were at Firewatch is... complicated. We were in Saltmarsh. Preparing for a sahaugin invasion. The city tasked us with infiltrating their new lair, and we freed some prisoners and ascertained their forces. We returned, gave them the information, and that evening, a vampire gained freedom. One who had kidnapped children for nefarious purposes. We set off to track it to an ancient lair. We overcame... many obstacles, and slew it. We saved children, set them free outside the lair with an all. We thought we were following captured friends and a minion through a portal, but it deposited us deep below Firewatch. But that was 6 months ago, as far as we can tell. We tried to figure out what was happening from Janore and her allies hiding from more undead threats, with some minor success. What date is it? Do you know what happened in Saltmarsh? What have we missed?"
She steps back, catching her breath.
"I'm afraid I know nothing of Saltmarsh, other than seeing it on the old atlases. Part of the southern province, yes? Feldren territory?" She turns and nods at Gerrard. "Are you of the Seaton Feldrens? All well in that fair city?" She turns back to Boko. "We occasionally have sahaugin in these waters, but I think of it as more of a southern problem. But I thought this invasion you warn of is about the dead... Are we to be invaded by sahaugin or zombies?"
Gerrard:
”Seaton was okay six months ago, though not everyone in the city prospers ,” says Gerrard with a wry grin. “Hopefully the Sahuagin threat was ended or at least beaten back at that time, councilor”.
”The imminent threat to the Styes is the blue-boiled undead, as you surmised,” he concludes.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
"Well, like Seaton, the Styes also has its internal challenges. You mentioned the Lantern Murders, and that has been my primary concern until now. We have always had our share of petty crime – your priest may have fallen victim to that, I'm afraid. Again I offer my condolences and the services of the Styes. But there is a new threat here, something even more sinister, something with very deep roots. Cult activity, perhaps; but also something that reaches into the primordial horrors of this plane. Perhaps even into the halls of power. I'm told a suspect was caught and executed, but I'm quite sure he was only a pawn in this. As I offer the Styes' sword of protection for Uskarn, I ask your help in unrooting our horror, before it festers further. Before it becomes a more dire threat to the Styes and our neighbors, near and far.”
A puzzled look crosses Qivys face.
"What do ya mean Cult Activity?" he asks.
Gerrard:
”I can only hope the Sahuagin have been defeated by the combined forces of Seaton, Saltmarsh, and our amphibious and aquatic allies. That portal removed us far in distance and even farther in time, preventing me from fulfilling my oaths to the people there,” responds Gerrard, though it is obvious there is a specific person he is most despondent about disappointing.
”Where I find myself now, I will help as best I can, whether it be forestalling an invasion of blue boiled undead, helping solve murders, or striking at the root of cultist evil threatening us all. My preference would be to sail out with your warship and the boat that brought us from Uskarn and accompany your diver below, that we might at least end or contain one threat presently, then help out here in the Styes with murderers and cults…But my companions have been through much and have promised only to help deliver this warning. We will have to discuss among ourselves the next steps for each of us,” Gerrard continues, speaking directly but carefully, not wishing to commit his companions on a course they would not wish to choose.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Thornwell listens to Gerrard carefully, and nods coolly. "Do keep me apprised of your plans."
"Cults, yes," she adds, turning to Qivys. "I know little, but I'm reluctant to divulge any more until I learn the identities of everyone who is in my chambers right now." She points to Peri's slippers. "You are being monitored. By whom? Do you have an owner? Or an employer?" she asks Peri. "Who is watching?"
Thwack
"Watching?" Small black eyes dart left and right as Thwack follows Thornwell's gaze to Peri's slippers and then around the parlour. "Snarf! Just ugly boots. Nobody watching Jerry. Only we is here". Then with confusion in his voice "nobody watching is they Jerry?" He seems quite at sorts at the thought they were being surveilled.