When he is able, Guilim takes off his cloak bit quickly moves forward to kneel next to the girl. As he wraps his comically small (for her) cloak around her, his hand moves to touch one of the scars on her face. As he does so he closes his eyes before a small golden glow surrounds his hand. "It isn't much but this will help."
As his action he will use his Lay on Hands to heal her for 5hp.
Rohuzar will try to detail out everything he saw down there to Leelan, to help him see if he can come up with a short list of creatures that might eat people like this.
(a help action on an arcana or nature check or something?)
"No, I don't think they're eating people... I think someone's turning people into them." He says in as dramatic a fashion he can muster at the moment, while staring up at the full moon glowing in the sky.
As the girl inhales the green mist from Grugga's invention, her color improves. The wounds on her face begin to knit together and heal, and the swelling around her fractured cheekbone dissipates until the injury seems to vanish entirely. Of the worst of her facial wounds, only faint scars remain, ones she may carry forever but which mercifully do not leave her terribly disfigured. One lasting, prominent sign remains... the circle outline of the healed brand on her forehead remains... it shimmers faintly... like silver?
Guilim covers the girl as best he can with his small cloak, but when he prepares to Lay On Hands he sees that Grugga's device has already healed her as much as she can be healed. (Save that HP pool for later, Guilim).
She takes several deep breathes and her eyes flicker, then open. She moans, "Momma... Poppa..." in elvish. (I am assuming that even those who don't speak elvish can still pick out a familiar word here or there - most people I know can recognize 'mother' and 'father' whether in english, spanish, german, etc in real life - so you can probably all recognize what she said). Then, looking around she briefly panics... but seems to have little energy to fight. In common, she asks, "Who are you... why are you doing this to me?...what did I do? Please...I told you I didn't do anything. I just want to go home...". Tears well in her eyes as she looks back and forth among you.
Aubrey has no good idea what this symbol could mean. Is it magical in some way? Is it a religious symbol? Dozens of possibilities swim in his head but frustratingly he cannot find any part of this that looks familiar to him.
The entire group overhears Rohuzar's description of the scene at the bottom. There is a small pile of rocks and chains similar to what was weighing this girl down. But no bodies... no bones... no sign of any other sacrifices, if that is indeed what this was.
If Leelan would like to make a nature check at advantage he can try to draw some preliminary conclusions. If anyone wants to question the girl just please include a persuasion check. Its clear she doesn't realize what's happened or that you've rescued her yet and she believes you are involved in whatever it is that has happened to her.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"You are safe with us young elf." Aubrey says calmly from the next pole boat. "We wish you no harm. We want to help you, but we would also like to stop the people who did this to you. If you are able we would much appreciate if you told us about your abduction." Persuasion: 10 rolled with advantage hoping for help action from someone, otherwise go with first roll.
Using Rohuzar’s description of what transpired under water, Leelan tried to remember if such a creature is familiar to him, even without his manuscript. He scratches his chin and looks to be deep in thought for a moment.
In the elvish, he says “You are in Bardstown. Ve are on boat then hear drop in vater. Big splash. Investigate. Found you. Rescue. Ve still have job to do. Vill take you to legion post soon.”
The young woman's eyes dart back and forth between the green orc and the human noble looking down at her. She stammers a bit, "I... I... don't understand. Where am I?"
She shakes her head, then sits up. She clutches the red cloak around her and wraps herself up tightly, looking around at the 6 strangers assembled around her, and the fact she is on a boat in a strange place. Finally, she begins to talk again.
"My name is Malia Lillianir. My... my parents have a small farm in Worden. All I remember is walking home alone one afternoon... I was just around the bend from our farm... then there was a man who spoke to me... he was on a horse but I never heard him approach. He spoke kindly and asked if my name was Malia, and if I was named the May Queen as he had been told." At your puzzled looks, she explains the May Queen is a title in her village awarded as part of a spring festival. It sounds like a quaint country beauty pageant. "When I told him yes, and asked who he was... he... said some strange words and then everything got funny... I think I passed out. After that I woke up in bindings... I think I was on a wagon somewhere. I'm not sure how longs its been."
Just then the color drains from her face and she gasps. She slowly reaches her hands up to her face, feeling along the scars and where the brand had been placed. "I... I remember them... they cut my face. Was it just a nightmare? I don't understand what's happening to me!" She lowers her head and begins to sob.
History DC 10
Worden is a small village across the Fidelis border... it is near the Copperhead Hills, an important mining and trade region for Fidelis. It is about 1 and 1/2 days ride from Bardstown, depending on your pace.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"I´m so sorry Malia, you have been through a terrible ordeal, but you are safe now."Aubrey says trying to comfort the elven girl while pondering her story. "From Worden you say. You are in Bardstown now young one, and someone went through a lot of trouble bringing you here. It must have been important to them that you were left in these waters." He says thinking out loud.
Guilim steps back as he listens to the elven girl's story, guessing it wouldn't be hard to abduct her from a place that was not terribly far from Bardstown. "This is strange. But something to keep track of. When we return to shore we should look into any reports of others going missing in town and in the surrounding area."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Right." Aubrey says and follows Rohuzar, using the pole to keep up with the other pole boat. "Don´t worry, we just have some unfinished business down here. We will return you to shore shortly." He says to comfort Malia in the other boat. "So Grugga, you were saying something about the people dropped here turning into those mermen?" He says to the artificer in a lowered voice. Perception when needed:18
Grugga turns to look at Aubrey somberly, "Just a feeling... but the other option is that she was being fed to the creatures - think of this: One, Why would they feed them only one a month on a full moon. Two, Why would they need to carve glowing symbols in her flesh. Three, If all they were doing was feeding them, they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble by... well..." He looks at the young woman and lowers his voice another decibel, "they could have chopped her up or at least killed her and saved themselves a lot of suspicion... I just mean it'd be easier to *ahem* you know, transport. Why'd they risk being found out by keeping her alive? Four, they wrapped her up in cloth and chains, which probably makes it harder to eat... And five, it explains where these humanoid creatures started coming from... why there have been slowly more and more of them..."
Grugga frowns, "look, I don't know anything about this kind of magic - I'm a disciple of Gel-Nagev; my magic helps people - but there is some evil magic out there... like necromancy, you know? I'm just saying it could be something like that..." He looks away from a moment, quiet, and then, "Did you see anything else down there? I was focused on the body... I mean Malia."
"My parents must be terrified... oh gods... they probably think I'm dead...".
The team decides that completing the mission is paramount over any other concerns and sets out to visit the final trap. The boat rosters are now Grugga-Rohuzar-Leelan and Guilim-Malia-Aubrey-Eskil. The floor space in the second boat is a bit cramped but since three of the occupants are either small or very slight of build, it doesn't slow them down or force the boat to ride too low in the water.
The path back to the second buoy is straight and an inspections shows it remains unmolested. 6
If anyone puts on a mask underwater...
If anyone slaps on a mask and looks below at the trap, they would see the bait still sitting inside the wire mesh trap. Its an interesting design... basically a rectangular box of wire mesh with a wood frame. A rope is tied around a nearby column as an anchor and another rope leads to the orange buoy floating on the surface. One end of the trap has an angled opening with a spring that pushes it up and almost closed. One presumes that a target lobster would push its way in to get the bait, only to have the spring push the door back closed behind it. From what you can see, the bait looks to be a bit of old cheese. There is a tiny lobster wandering around the perimeter of the cage... it looks to be too small to push its way past the door, but too large to squeeze through the wire mesh. It seems to know only longing for the cheese, too dumb to realize how lucky it is to be too small to reach it. Other than that one little lobster, there is no sign of life.
9
Taking a slow turn in the boats, you return to your path north toward the final trap. There are still no signs of the alleged giant spiders and the sounds of the wind and the occasional lapping of the water against the support columns is the only sound to complement your conversations. Malia sits in silence unless questions are asked of her... looking out into the gloom and probably wondering what in the Nine Hells you guys are doing down here at night.
The path carries you past another canal, this one running perpendicular to your direction. At the moment you emerge out into the canal, the moonlight dims as thick dark clouds roll across the sky. A rumble of thunder echoes above and then below the docks and you can smell rain. A chill wind is tearing straight down the canal and Leelan has to clutch his beret to keep it from flying off into the water. Shortly after you pass back under the docks on the other side of the canal, you hear a pattering sound that soon grows to a dull roar. Soon, rainwater is dripping down from hundreds of seems and cracks in the docks above you. Its not enough to soak you, but somehow cold droplets seem to keep finding exposed pieces of your skin, or the back of your necks. In certain places there are openings or drains from above and rainwater pours down in a waterfall. Bits of refuse and garbage are carried down and float or sink off into the darkness.
Soon another sound emerges... the final trap is not adjacent to but is somewhat near the outer foundation and breakwall at the north edge of the docks. You can hear the storm surge crashing into the support columns and pilings that mark where the docks end and the open lake begins. The final trap should be just ahead. The water here is about 3 feet deep.
(I have a perception roll from Aubrey. I'll pause here for a bit if there is anything you wanted to discuss while the boats were traveling. If anyone else is taking an opportunity to lookout, ponder the mysteries under the docks, etc, then just let me know.)
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Leelan remains silent for a very long moment after hearing Rohuzar retelling of what he saw down in the water. He tries to remember the dozens upon dozens of tomes he has studied all those years ago. He considers all of the evidence that they have found so far: the tooth, the stories of sea creatures, broken lobster traps, the girl, the full moon, the brand…
Slowly but surely, connections begin to form. He remembers stories that he was told. Whether they were true or not, they still sent a chill down his spine, which the gnome let transpired on his face. He looked visibly uncomfortable with what he was about to suggest. He looked at the young girl and then back at his companions.
"Mmm… Gentlemen. I may have a hypothesis regarding the mysterious events of this night.", he said in hushed tones. "I may be wrong, and I very much hope that I am, but the evidence leads me to believe that what we’re dealing with here could be a sea hag. I’ve not encountered one myself, thankfully, but I’ve heard stories and read some books about these dastardly creatures. If these stories are to be believed, they are evil creatures of Fey nature that absolutely despise the concept of beauty. How very barbaric. Tales also speak of hags forming coven that attract servants of all sorts. I think this is what the three dots are meant to represent. If I were a betting man, I’d say that this young lady was meant to be sacrificed to this boorish creature."
He stops and then pulls out the tooth that they found earlier. "What I don’t understand is where this tooth comes in. This clearly not that of a hag. Looks more reptilian in some capacity."
"I suppose you could be right Grugga..." Aubrey answers in a lowered voice "...but it could also be that there is a secret cult at work devoted to a wicked entity associated with the symbol branded upon Malia´s forehead. Her story indicate´s she wasn´t a random sacrifice as you suggests, but how they tortured her indicates she belongs to a group hated by the cult. Perhaps it has to do with her being an elf or just that she is young and beautiful. I would interpret the branding of her forehead, the fact that she was alive and that it only happens at full moon as necessary parts of a ritual sacrifice. The mermen we are looking for would then be servants of this wicked entity and they either devour the sacrifice or bring it somewhere else. She was clealry meant to die by drowning though but the devouring or abduction of the body could have some further significance to the ritual. It might finally be so that these full moon sacrifices is what has drawn these mermen servants of this wicked entity to the docks of Bardstown. We could of course investigate this further, looking into if the abductions and the sightings started about the same time, what the abducted persons had in common, from where they where taken and most importantly what that symbol means." Aubrey finishes and then returns his focus to maneuvering the boat.
Aubrey listens attentively to Leelans hypothesis. "So, a cult dedicated to this sea hag, and Malia was chosen as a sacrifice because of her beauty, and the torture was done to destroy that beauty. And if it is indeed a reptilian tooth perhaps it comes from the sea hags lizard pet." Aubrey suggests, smirking while saying the last part.
If given the opportunity Aubrey would use prestidigition to warm his clothes after swimming in the cold water, although he will probably get wet again soon i expect :-)
Leelan shakes his head. "I have doubts concerning this lizard pet theory. There is something odd about this tooth." He points out the "stretch marks" along the tooth. "It seems whoever’s tooth this is, it grew at an incredibly accelerated rate. Almost as if it grew to its full size in a manner of seconds. The very thought of it sounds terribly painful. I am not aware of any reptilian creature that has this sort of capability."
"Yes, well I wasn´t really serious about the lizard pet, but could it be that we are also dealing with some sort of shapechanger then?"Aubrey asks curiously.
He sits in the canoe, letting the pouring rain strike his body and stares ahead, looking like he doesn't even notice it.
"Tsaurians..." Grugga draws out the word and lets it hang in the air for a while before continuing, "Or it's evidence of my theory that they're turning people into these things. We don't really know what these sea creatures look like yet - they might have lizard teeth... But really any of us could be right, or all of us. Maybe the answer will be waiting for us up at this last buoy."
When he is able, Guilim takes off his cloak bit quickly moves forward to kneel next to the girl. As he wraps his comically small (for her) cloak around her, his hand moves to touch one of the scars on her face. As he does so he closes his eyes before a small golden glow surrounds his hand. "It isn't much but this will help."
As his action he will use his Lay on Hands to heal her for 5hp.
Rohuzar will try to detail out everything he saw down there to Leelan, to help him see if he can come up with a short list of creatures that might eat people like this.
(a help action on an arcana or nature check or something?)
Paladin - warforged - orange
"No, I don't think they're eating people... I think someone's turning people into them." He says in as dramatic a fashion he can muster at the moment, while staring up at the full moon glowing in the sky.
As the girl inhales the green mist from Grugga's invention, her color improves. The wounds on her face begin to knit together and heal, and the swelling around her fractured cheekbone dissipates until the injury seems to vanish entirely. Of the worst of her facial wounds, only faint scars remain, ones she may carry forever but which mercifully do not leave her terribly disfigured. One lasting, prominent sign remains... the circle outline of the healed brand on her forehead remains... it shimmers faintly... like silver?
Guilim covers the girl as best he can with his small cloak, but when he prepares to Lay On Hands he sees that Grugga's device has already healed her as much as she can be healed. (Save that HP pool for later, Guilim).
She takes several deep breathes and her eyes flicker, then open. She moans, "Momma... Poppa..." in elvish. (I am assuming that even those who don't speak elvish can still pick out a familiar word here or there - most people I know can recognize 'mother' and 'father' whether in english, spanish, german, etc in real life - so you can probably all recognize what she said). Then, looking around she briefly panics... but seems to have little energy to fight. In common, she asks, "Who are you... why are you doing this to me?...what did I do? Please...I told you I didn't do anything. I just want to go home...". Tears well in her eyes as she looks back and forth among you.
Aubrey has no good idea what this symbol could mean. Is it magical in some way? Is it a religious symbol? Dozens of possibilities swim in his head but frustratingly he cannot find any part of this that looks familiar to him.
The entire group overhears Rohuzar's description of the scene at the bottom. There is a small pile of rocks and chains similar to what was weighing this girl down. But no bodies... no bones... no sign of any other sacrifices, if that is indeed what this was.
If Leelan would like to make a nature check at advantage he can try to draw some preliminary conclusions. If anyone wants to question the girl just please include a persuasion check. Its clear she doesn't realize what's happened or that you've rescued her yet and she believes you are involved in whatever it is that has happened to her.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"Yes, yes, go on." Aubrey says to Grugga.
"You are safe with us young elf." Aubrey says calmly from the next pole boat. "We wish you no harm. We want to help you, but we would also like to stop the people who did this to you. If you are able we would much appreciate if you told us about your abduction." Persuasion: 10 rolled with advantage hoping for help action from someone, otherwise go with first roll.
Using Rohuzar’s description of what transpired under water, Leelan tried to remember if such a creature is familiar to him, even without his manuscript. He scratches his chin and looks to be deep in thought for a moment.
Nature (with advantage): 22
Rohuzar holds out his hands in a calming gesture.
In the elvish, he says “You are in Bardstown. Ve are on boat then hear drop in vater. Big splash. Investigate. Found you. Rescue. Ve still have job to do. Vill take you to legion post soon.”
(help, such as it is)
Paladin - warforged - orange
The young woman's eyes dart back and forth between the green orc and the human noble looking down at her. She stammers a bit, "I... I... don't understand. Where am I?"
She shakes her head, then sits up. She clutches the red cloak around her and wraps herself up tightly, looking around at the 6 strangers assembled around her, and the fact she is on a boat in a strange place. Finally, she begins to talk again.
"My name is Malia Lillianir. My... my parents have a small farm in Worden. All I remember is walking home alone one afternoon... I was just around the bend from our farm... then there was a man who spoke to me... he was on a horse but I never heard him approach. He spoke kindly and asked if my name was Malia, and if I was named the May Queen as he had been told." At your puzzled looks, she explains the May Queen is a title in her village awarded as part of a spring festival. It sounds like a quaint country beauty pageant. "When I told him yes, and asked who he was... he... said some strange words and then everything got funny... I think I passed out. After that I woke up in bindings... I think I was on a wagon somewhere. I'm not sure how longs its been."
Just then the color drains from her face and she gasps. She slowly reaches her hands up to her face, feeling along the scars and where the brand had been placed. "I... I remember them... they cut my face. Was it just a nightmare? I don't understand what's happening to me!" She lowers her head and begins to sob.
History DC 10
Worden is a small village across the Fidelis border... it is near the Copperhead Hills, an important mining and trade region for Fidelis. It is about 1 and 1/2 days ride from Bardstown, depending on your pace.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Aubrey history:11
"I´m so sorry Malia, you have been through a terrible ordeal, but you are safe now." Aubrey says trying to comfort the elven girl while pondering her story. "From Worden you say. You are in Bardstown now young one, and someone went through a lot of trouble bringing you here. It must have been important to them that you were left in these waters." He says thinking out loud.
History: 20
Guilim steps back as he listens to the elven girl's story, guessing it wouldn't be hard to abduct her from a place that was not terribly far from Bardstown. "This is strange. But something to keep track of. When we return to shore we should look into any reports of others going missing in town and in the surrounding area."
“Let’s find vhatever is in this vater, then.” Rohuzar moves to pole the boat back towards the third trap.
Paladin - warforged - orange
"Right." Aubrey says and follows Rohuzar, using the pole to keep up with the other pole boat. "Don´t worry, we just have some unfinished business down here. We will return you to shore shortly." He says to comfort Malia in the other boat. "So Grugga, you were saying something about the people dropped here turning into those mermen?" He says to the artificer in a lowered voice. Perception when needed:18
Grugga turns to look at Aubrey somberly, "Just a feeling... but the other option is that she was being fed to the creatures - think of this: One, Why would they feed them only one a month on a full moon. Two, Why would they need to carve glowing symbols in her flesh. Three, If all they were doing was feeding them, they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble by... well..." He looks at the young woman and lowers his voice another decibel, "they could have chopped her up or at least killed her and saved themselves a lot of suspicion... I just mean it'd be easier to *ahem* you know, transport. Why'd they risk being found out by keeping her alive? Four, they wrapped her up in cloth and chains, which probably makes it harder to eat... And five, it explains where these humanoid creatures started coming from... why there have been slowly more and more of them..."
Grugga frowns, "look, I don't know anything about this kind of magic - I'm a disciple of Gel-Nagev; my magic helps people - but there is some evil magic out there... like necromancy, you know? I'm just saying it could be something like that..." He looks away from a moment, quiet, and then, "Did you see anything else down there? I was focused on the body... I mean Malia."
"My parents must be terrified... oh gods... they probably think I'm dead...".
The team decides that completing the mission is paramount over any other concerns and sets out to visit the final trap. The boat rosters are now Grugga-Rohuzar-Leelan and Guilim-Malia-Aubrey-Eskil. The floor space in the second boat is a bit cramped but since three of the occupants are either small or very slight of build, it doesn't slow them down or force the boat to ride too low in the water.
The path back to the second buoy is straight and an inspections shows it remains unmolested. 6
If anyone puts on a mask underwater...
If anyone slaps on a mask and looks below at the trap, they would see the bait still sitting inside the wire mesh trap. Its an interesting design... basically a rectangular box of wire mesh with a wood frame. A rope is tied around a nearby column as an anchor and another rope leads to the orange buoy floating on the surface. One end of the trap has an angled opening with a spring that pushes it up and almost closed. One presumes that a target lobster would push its way in to get the bait, only to have the spring push the door back closed behind it. From what you can see, the bait looks to be a bit of old cheese. There is a tiny lobster wandering around the perimeter of the cage... it looks to be too small to push its way past the door, but too large to squeeze through the wire mesh. It seems to know only longing for the cheese, too dumb to realize how lucky it is to be too small to reach it. Other than that one little lobster, there is no sign of life.
9
Taking a slow turn in the boats, you return to your path north toward the final trap. There are still no signs of the alleged giant spiders and the sounds of the wind and the occasional lapping of the water against the support columns is the only sound to complement your conversations. Malia sits in silence unless questions are asked of her... looking out into the gloom and probably wondering what in the Nine Hells you guys are doing down here at night.
The path carries you past another canal, this one running perpendicular to your direction. At the moment you emerge out into the canal, the moonlight dims as thick dark clouds roll across the sky. A rumble of thunder echoes above and then below the docks and you can smell rain. A chill wind is tearing straight down the canal and Leelan has to clutch his beret to keep it from flying off into the water. Shortly after you pass back under the docks on the other side of the canal, you hear a pattering sound that soon grows to a dull roar. Soon, rainwater is dripping down from hundreds of seems and cracks in the docks above you. Its not enough to soak you, but somehow cold droplets seem to keep finding exposed pieces of your skin, or the back of your necks. In certain places there are openings or drains from above and rainwater pours down in a waterfall. Bits of refuse and garbage are carried down and float or sink off into the darkness.
Soon another sound emerges... the final trap is not adjacent to but is somewhat near the outer foundation and breakwall at the north edge of the docks. You can hear the storm surge crashing into the support columns and pilings that mark where the docks end and the open lake begins. The final trap should be just ahead. The water here is about 3 feet deep.
(I have a perception roll from Aubrey. I'll pause here for a bit if there is anything you wanted to discuss while the boats were traveling. If anyone else is taking an opportunity to lookout, ponder the mysteries under the docks, etc, then just let me know.)
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Leelan remains silent for a very long moment after hearing Rohuzar retelling of what he saw down in the water. He tries to remember the dozens upon dozens of tomes he has studied all those years ago. He considers all of the evidence that they have found so far: the tooth, the stories of sea creatures, broken lobster traps, the girl, the full moon, the brand…
Slowly but surely, connections begin to form. He remembers stories that he was told. Whether they were true or not, they still sent a chill down his spine, which the gnome let transpired on his face. He looked visibly uncomfortable with what he was about to suggest. He looked at the young girl and then back at his companions.
"Mmm… Gentlemen. I may have a hypothesis regarding the mysterious events of this night.", he said in hushed tones. "I may be wrong, and I very much hope that I am, but the evidence leads me to believe that what we’re dealing with here could be a sea hag. I’ve not encountered one myself, thankfully, but I’ve heard stories and read some books about these dastardly creatures. If these stories are to be believed, they are evil creatures of Fey nature that absolutely despise the concept of beauty. How very barbaric. Tales also speak of hags forming coven that attract servants of all sorts. I think this is what the three dots are meant to represent. If I were a betting man, I’d say that this young lady was meant to be sacrificed to this boorish creature."
He stops and then pulls out the tooth that they found earlier. "What I don’t understand is where this tooth comes in. This clearly not that of a hag. Looks more reptilian in some capacity."
"I suppose you could be right Grugga..." Aubrey answers in a lowered voice "...but it could also be that there is a secret cult at work devoted to a wicked entity associated with the symbol branded upon Malia´s forehead. Her story indicate´s she wasn´t a random sacrifice as you suggests, but how they tortured her indicates she belongs to a group hated by the cult. Perhaps it has to do with her being an elf or just that she is young and beautiful. I would interpret the branding of her forehead, the fact that she was alive and that it only happens at full moon as necessary parts of a ritual sacrifice. The mermen we are looking for would then be servants of this wicked entity and they either devour the sacrifice or bring it somewhere else. She was clealry meant to die by drowning though but the devouring or abduction of the body could have some further significance to the ritual. It might finally be so that these full moon sacrifices is what has drawn these mermen servants of this wicked entity to the docks of Bardstown. We could of course investigate this further, looking into if the abductions and the sightings started about the same time, what the abducted persons had in common, from where they where taken and most importantly what that symbol means." Aubrey finishes and then returns his focus to maneuvering the boat.
Aubrey listens attentively to Leelans hypothesis. "So, a cult dedicated to this sea hag, and Malia was chosen as a sacrifice because of her beauty, and the torture was done to destroy that beauty. And if it is indeed a reptilian tooth perhaps it comes from the sea hags lizard pet." Aubrey suggests, smirking while saying the last part.
If given the opportunity Aubrey would use prestidigition to warm his clothes after swimming in the cold water, although he will probably get wet again soon i expect :-)
Leelan shakes his head. "I have doubts concerning this lizard pet theory. There is something odd about this tooth." He points out the "stretch marks" along the tooth. "It seems whoever’s tooth this is, it grew at an incredibly accelerated rate. Almost as if it grew to its full size in a manner of seconds. The very thought of it sounds terribly painful. I am not aware of any reptilian creature that has this sort of capability."
"Yes, well I wasn´t really serious about the lizard pet, but could it be that we are also dealing with some sort of shapechanger then?" Aubrey asks curiously.
He sits in the canoe, letting the pouring rain strike his body and stares ahead, looking like he doesn't even notice it.
"Tsaurians..." Grugga draws out the word and lets it hang in the air for a while before continuing, "Or it's evidence of my theory that they're turning people into these things. We don't really know what these sea creatures look like yet - they might have lizard teeth... But really any of us could be right, or all of us. Maybe the answer will be waiting for us up at this last buoy."