Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh

Seri lopes into the large basement room that the bandits (slavers?) seem to have been using as a common area just in time to see the Scout stumble on Brynn's Grease, then scramble to flee through another concealed door to the far southwest.

The half-elf accelerates to the right (southwest, then west) towards the same southwest corner, dashing her full 60', skirting south of the patch of Grease.

She tries to keep her voice only just loud enough for her companions to hear as she solicits opinions on next steps.  "What course shall we take?  Give chase into unseen chambers and risk a further ambush?  Or secure this room first and search for clues before proceeding?"

Moving southwest and west through the living quarters toward the southwest door, Seri utters words in her strangely accented Aquatic Elvish dialect and gestures with her free arm as if raising something up.  Grasping seaweed and sticky, serrated kelp seem to spring from the ground just beyond the secret door that the Scout had fled through, seeking to ensnare them.

Movement:  30' southwest and west as shown below.
Action:  Seri casts Entangle, 20' square on the ground as shown below.  Difficult terrain and each creature (so at least the Scout) in the AoE at the time of casting must make a DC14 STR Save or be restrained.  If restrained, the target must use their action to make and succeed on a DC14 Strength Athletics check to break free and regardless it remains difficult terrain while Seri maintains her concentration.
Bonus Action:  None

Darixa also moves quickly into the room, noting the two thugs who had already been dispatched. She keeps just behind Brynn, looking off towards where the scout had vanished. "Given the number of beds, I can only presume there are more than just 3 people around here somewhere. I'd say we should keep moving, but with caution. They know the layout and time will only give them more time to catch us off guard." 

She does glance back at those who had already been killed, curious if either of them might have been involved with her sister's death. 

Just beyond the cellar the chambers merge with natural caverns and rougher more uneven stone, as Seri’s spell releases the slimes and vines and fungal growths, the scout suddenly finds he cannot move… he is restrained!

He screams out, “Sanbalat it is a gang wielding magic, HELP!!”

Darixa moves quickly into the room one human slaver is unrecognizable, the other is thoroughly beaten to the floor.  You see the power unleashed by your companions, even Cook who is clearly hurt- he took bolts that would’ve dropped most, if these people did kill your sister they are facing retribution here and now.

 Back up for Round 2  Esme, Cook, Brynn

The invisible dark fae swiftly pursues the fleeing slaver, peeking down the secret tunnel for enemies approaching while being ready to stab the ensnared slaver in the throat at their mistress' command.

     Cook is hurt. Angry. And more than a little shaken by what he’s just done. He’s fought before. Aye, plenty of times. Left men bloodied and broken, sprawled in the dirt and begging for it to stop. But he’d always held back at the end. Always.

     He’s never actually killed anyone before.

     He glances quickly over one shoulder then the other, checking on the others. Making sure they’re still standing.

     Making sure… They didn’t see? He hopes they didn’t.

     He knows they must have.

     The thought lands heavy—and then something else twists inside him. His stomach churns. Gurgles. Flips in a way that feels all kinds of wrong, like something inside him is trying to turn itself inside out. Cook swallows hard, trying to force it down. The revulsion. The fear. All of it.

     He needs a moment. Just a moment to steady himself. Catch his breath. Maybe...

     He deserved it.

     The thought squirms out of the darkness and into his head.

     They all did.

     Cook freezes.

     They hurt you. And now they run. Call for others. Come back with more to finish the job… To hurt you more.  And to hurt...  the others.

     The voice doesn’t sound like him. It comes from somewhere else. From down deep. From the darkest, coldest place where things shouldn't exist but somehow still live and squirm and swim and churn.

     Oh, the things that live down here though, something whispers. Squirming. Nesting. Taking root…

     Cook’s jaw tightens.

     No.

     No, that’s not a thought worth having. Not one he’s going to follow. Not one he’s going to feed. He can’t stand here. Can’t let it sit. Can’t let it grow.

     So he moves. Fast. Reckless. Cook lunges forward after the fleeing shape—the slimy, squirming thing that dared run from him.

     He wants to catch it.

     To throttle it.

     To smash it out of existence entirely. All of them and whatever eggs they may have!

_____

Cook uses his full movement & Dash to move up to 60' to try to catch up with the fleeing baddie...

For her part, the young Rhenee beauty was no stranger to death, a common enough thing among her people, and those who left the sister to rot deserved nothing better. Also, to her there was perhaps no deeper injustice than taking another persons freedom away, slavery being anathema to her and her freedom-loving Rhenee kin. As Thistle messages they are in position she gives the go ahead and the dark fey lets it's thin elven blade strike as Esme hurries after the cook.

Fae blade: 26 Piercing: 6

The slaver (scout) drops his bow, hands going immediately to his neck, gurgling as blood covers his chest, Thistle’s invisibility drops with the attack, their visage clearly showing their intent.

He falls to his knees the entangling growth entrapping him further as he sputters & chokes.

out of initiative (he has bled out)

Seri trots to the door and peeks down the passage.  If she senses no one, she lowers her free arm in a reversal of the motion she had made to bring forth the serrated kelp from the ground and it dissolves away.  Pulling the body of the fleeing slaver (?) into the large room, she searches it.

"We should search all three corpses.  This one called out for aid.  Sanbalat?  I wonder, is that the name of an ally, a god, or a panicked curse word?"

She casts a concerned eye towards Cook to assess how badly the big man is bleeding from his wounds.

Darixa moves over towards the others as well, taking a quick look down the passage past the hidden door once it seems the fighting has stopped. "We should stay alert, I'm sure there must be more about."  With Seri having dragged the one slaver back into the room, she then moves to check the nearest of the other bodies to see if they carry anything of interest. (Investigation: 17)

Satisfied that the slavers had been dealt with, Esme too starts to investigate the large barracks-looking room, hoping to find valuables as well as clues to the operation here.

Investigation: 17



Meanwhile the tiny dark fae has no remorse as the the last life escapes the fallen slaver, intstead they swiftly turn invisible once again and flies down the corridor to scout for more enemies, particularly a certain Sanbalat.

Stealth: 26
Perception: 14

Seri-  She casts a concerned eye towards Cook to assess how badly the big man is bleeding from his wounds.

Cook is in bad shape the bolt to the shoulder did some damage, but his mannerisms and body language have also shifted he seems different…

Darixa-  searching the bodies.

You find 3 sets of leather armor, 2 light crossbows, 2 bolt cases, 10 bolts, 2 scimitars, a longbow, a quiver, 4 arrows, a shortsword, 3 pouches, 20 cp, 1 silver ring, 3 keys

Esme-  searching the room.

 The chests are locked the keys on the bodies are identical and can open all the chests.  You find 10 uniforms, 70 gp, 150 sp, lots of trinkets.

also in the room you find a set of culinary tools, you observe one of the barred doors is boarded closed with a warning written over it-  ‘DANGER’

Thistle flies down the lit passages, finding more slavers.

Esme shares with the others what she has found. As Thistle reports about what she has scouted, Esme asks them to scout out the remaning tunnels too while she briefs her new companions. "As expected, more slavers down the tunnels, Thistle has located 5 so far. Also the tunnels lead down to a seaside cave with a small boat. It could be how the slavers come and go. Perhaps we should deal with the rest of the slaving operation before heading into other kinds of danger." She finishes, pointing over at the barred door with the warning sign. "I can try to lure them up here and we can set up an ambush of our own?" She suggests.

(History to identify the uniforms: 8)

Quote from Oberon99 >>

Esme shares with the others what she has found. As Thistle reports about what she has scouted, Esme asks them to scout out the remaning tunnels too while she briefs her new companions. "As expected, more slavers down the tunnels, Thistle has located 5 so far. Also the tunnels lead down to a seaside cave with a small boat. It could be how the slavers come and go. Perhaps we should deal with the rest of the slaving operation before heading into other kinds of danger." She finishes, pointing over at the barred door with the warning sign. "I can try to lure them up here and we can set up an ambush of our own?" She suggests.

 

"Aye."  Seri's jaw seems set hard at the thought of the slavers, though softened slightly by her concern for Cook.  "That would explain why they never enter through the overgrown front garden with the aggressive land beasts.  Instead, they come and go by sea using the boat that Thistle saw, perhaps only sending someone upstairs to a window when they wish to signal one of their larger ships with the lights that the snakes from the well reported."

"I think we should take the fight to them immediately before they can regroup or simply depart on the boat.  Or draw them into an ambush as you say Esme, if you think they can be so lured.  And yet... Cook... I..."

Seri gazes up at the big man questioningly as she murmurs a quick prayer for Procan's Guidance.

Cook is in bad shape the bolt to the shoulder did some damage, but his mannerisms and body language have also shifted he seems different…

"You are bleeding.  I can draw on the last of the divine strength that the Wave Father grants me each day to heal your wounds.  We need your strength up front in any battle.  But... something seems to have changed in you as well.  Something strange.  Are you feeling different?"

Seri's Insight plus Guidance:  26 (Natural 20) + 4 = 30 (absolute max!!)

     Cook lingers in the doorway between the cellar and the caves, leaning his weight against the frame and keeping a casual sort of lookout while the others search the beds, the bodies, and whatever else they can turn up. While he waits, he absentmindedly snacks on the last of his Goodberries, popping them into his mouth one by one. Each one steadies him a little more, color returning, breath evening out.

(I believe I left 3 for the wounded weasel?  So 7 left… a bonus action to eat one… Assuming it takes the little Fae at least that long to scout and report back, Cook regains 7 HP.)

     “What? Oh...” Cook blinks at Seri, pulled from his thoughts. “That’s kind of you, lass, but I’m right as rain now, I am.”  And for the most part, he looks it. A bit worn, sure — bloodstains mark where the bolts had struck him — but otherwise he’s holding together well enough.

     “Changed?” he echoes, brow furrowing. “Strange? Different how?” He doesn’t quite meet her eyes as he repeats her concerns.

     “I suppose I was a bit unsettled, is all,” he adds quickly, not giving her much room to answer. “Never flat-out killed a man before.”

     “Not that he didn’t have it coming, mind ya,” he adds, more firmly. “Doubly so, if this slaver business is true.”

      Cook exhales through his mustache and gives a small shrug.  “Still…”  He trails off, then forces a smile... easy, familiar, practiced.  

     “I’m fine now,” he says, more or less believing it to be true...

_____

Seri'sInsight plus Guidance:  26 (Natural 20) + 4 = 30 (absolute max!!)

     You're using this on Cook regarding how he's doing?  Just want to be sure before I answer...  

Time passes as the room and bodies are searched.  Thistle has reported on the lit passageways and slavers…

A nervous looking ‘slaver’ unarmed approaches from the steps leading up to the cellar,

“Excuse me sir.  Lord Sanbalet wishes to know who and what the hell is going on here?  Whatever your here for perhaps a better deal could be struck?”

-The man looks scared out of his wits.

The young Rhenee beauty nods in agreement with the blue-haired half-elf's conclusions. Then she too walks over to the wounded cook. "I want you to have this you brave and strong man, it will heal your wounds, I brewed it myself." She says, gently placing a small dark green vial in his hand and closing his fingers on it. "Don't hesitate to use it, I can brew more for you." 

(It is in fact a potion of healing :-)


As the unarmed slaver appears to parlay, Esmeralda moves closer to give him a scrutinizing look. "Tell us first all about this Lord Sanbalet and your operation here and we will consider leaving you alive slaver." She says quite contemptfully, her eyes staring into his. "You can start by telling us which of you killed the woman we found in the wine cellar."

(Placing her hex on him, disacvantage on wisdom which should help with the intimidation I think.)
Intimidation: 18 Another roll if advantage because any number of things, like he's already scared out of his wits: 15
Insight: 19


Meanwhile Thistle keeps scouting out the last parts of the cave system.

The man is fully intimidated, “I was in the window, signaling.  She must’ve seen the light.  Well Lord Sanbalet, he’s not kind and this location isn’t sposed to attract attention.  We’re not runnin a hospice after all.  One thing after another an she ends up dead… I’m sorry.  Shouldn’t have left her there neither, but Sanbalet’s a cruel man an powerful.  Whatever you’ve taken you should go.  Unless you wanna face the real haunt and split the gold formula!  I’d warn ya against fighting Sanbalet, it’ll only shed more blood.”

Esme your connection with Thistle suddenly ends.

     “Aye, that’s kind of you,” Cook says when Esme offers him the vial, lifting a hand in mild refusal. “But you might be better off holding on to it.”

     He gives a small shrug.  “True enough, I’m the likeliest to need it barging in the way I do but just as likely I’ll be laid out flat and needing someone else to pour it down my throat as I am to have the sense to take it myself.”

     Cook doesn’t argue the point further. If she presses it into his hand, he’ll take it but he’s been in enough scraps to know how these things tend to go. You get knocked out and there's not much you can do for yourself about it.  Not until someone waves the smelling salts under your nose.

     When the newcomer appears, Cook straightens, rolling his shoulders and standing a bit taller despite the wear on him. His eyes narrow slightly as he takes the measure of the lad.

     Just one, he notes.

     So far.

     Cook stays where he is, trusting the others to handle it if it comes to that but his gaze flicks once, briefly, toward their rear all the same.  Could be a distraction.

     “Where’s this lord of yours, then?” Cook calls out, voice carrying. “And how’ve you been keeping in touch with him?”

Quote from HunterOrien >>

The man is fully intimidated, “I was in the window, signaling.  She must’ve seen the light.  Well Lord Sanbalet, he’s not kind and this location isn’t sposed to attract attention.  We’re not runnin a hospice after all...”

Seri's voice is quiet.  "No?  What is it that you are running, then?"

As she often does, she murmurs for Procan's guidance to help her glean Insight from what is and isn't divulged.  Are these indeed slavers?

Seri's Insight plus Guidance:  15 + 2 = 17

Once the items had all been collected, Darixa is surprised to see someone has approached. She listens as first Esme questions him and threatens him. As he seems to clearly admit this group killed her, she isn't sure she wants to hear more. She's seen the results.  But as Cook and then Seri both add more questions, she wishes she could ask a few things. But in the onslaught of queries, she's not sure that would be helpful. 

"Guys, we need to keep in mind he may just be stalling us." She's hardly the best lookout, but she takes a glance back the way they'd originally came down the stairs to make sure nothing is happening there. (Perception: 21)