Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8) - Campaign Thread

Peri:

Tha halfling has a little trick that lets him see magic alot faster than I can cast tha spell ta.

Peri accepts the whistle from Dwal. He looks at it very somberly (and goes ahead and uses his Eldritch Sight), then puts it to his lips and mimes blowing as hard as he can. He shrugs and returns the whistle to Dwal. "Well, I didn't explode and no great sea beast rose from the depths to consume us all, so that's the Halfling test done! All yours now." He turns to Boko and says in his most pathetic voice, "They tell me it's the captain's duty to try out magic items first. That's why I am as you see me today. I used to be human, but they made me try out an unidentified potion and I shrunk to half my size. I did get twice as pretty though, so it wasn't all bad." (Deception 21)

Dwal looks at Peri, a puzzled look on his face.
"I ain't got no idea what yer trying bristletoes."

Gerrard:

”If this is twice as pretty, I shudder to see the ugly human you were before, oh wader of fens,” says Gerrard with a disarming smile.  He looks to the shore and asks, “Shall we continue to the southern dunes, or take our chances at the cliffs?”

Boko searches for some extractable bit of proof of the national origins of the sunken vessel. Investigation: 13

She finds a buckler emblazoned with one of the several common symbols used by raiders of the Hold of the Sea Princes. The arm it was attached to is well-decayed, but it probably belonged to a first or second officer.

Carefully eluding the now-busy sharks, Boko safely returns to the anchored skiff.

(Peri finds that the whistle is indeed embued with something arcane.)

Kei 

Dwal's lackluster response to Peri's obvious ruse causes Kei to laugh. "Oh yes. That's an old tradition. How else would a first mate prove themselves worthy?" He continues with the joke "We've been looking for that special potion to restore the Captain to his normal size. Well, more so to restore his gruff appearance so the rest of us have a chance with the ladies." Moments later he bursts into laughter. 

At Gerrard's mention of making landfall Kei offers a suggestion. "If any of us intend to scale the cliffs, allow me to offer a little assistance." He'll offer magical help if anyone steps forward. "I would rather take the easier route. A boat tied up at a wharf is a much safer exit than jumping from a cliff."

Irrespective of their approach to the shoreline Kei collects his shield and pulls down hard on the edges of his cap to ensure it doesn't fly off. At the last minute he reaches into his pouch and flicks through his pack of weathered cards. In reality, a second passes as his finger runs over the cards. In his mind though he is presented a story of places and people from ages past.

Tales Roll 5 

Boko’s eyes narrow imperceptibly as Peri makes his pitch, but at the very edge of her mouth, you can see a small shift in her otherwise mask-like face: a hint of a whisper of a smile.

She takes a look at the shield, lost in thought for a while, and buffs off the grime and any sea life that has started to grow there. She puts it away. The whistle she accepts, though she claims no ownership over it, as it was the group who found it and she might not even be able to, or want to use it. She’ll learn more about it later. If the group is up for a brief rest to observe the southern tip of the island she would accept one and recharge her wild shape abilities and try to identify the whistle.

She also agrees having the ship at the dock is preferable to trying the cliffs, though if the group decides to scale the cliffs, she can transform into a giant spider and safely carry everyone up.

With the skiff safely anchored, you pause and recollect and observe. (Short Rest for all.)

Nothing moves on the barren landscape in front of you. It appears desolate and abandoned. The huge sharks continue to patrol the wreck and circle your little vessel. The winter wind is cold, and the gray water choppy. It's not the most relaxing hour you've spent. It's now about mid-afternoon. Dark clouds are thickening to the north and east.

Boko spends some time examining her whistle. It is carved from transparent crystal and resembles a tiny dragon curled up like a snail. Tiny runes are carved on the bottom, which Boko cannot read. History: 11
(Check your inventory for more.)

(I sense that the group vote is to proceed to the wharf, not the cliffs? Let me know if that's not the case; otherwise, I will next have you approach the wharf and tie up.)

Gerrard:

"Are we agreed to go to the southern wharf, then?  Perhaps we start that way and if we meet stiff resistance, we might circumvent the problem by falling back and using the cliff route," suggests Gerrard, once they are ready to move once more.

Your sharky pause complete, the party begins a careful approach to the wharf. The wharf is old, and well-worn, with enough navigable depth below for a fairly large ship to tie up. You are able to approach and tie up peacefully.

Patchy sleet still covers most everything, with drifts of deeper snow here in there in the clumps of spindly shrubs and dead grass. There are no obvious tracks (although you may make an investigation or survival check to look closely.) A skeletal corpse lay on the sand next to the base of the wharf; it wears the clothing of a member of the Sea Princes crew.

Dwal will cast Detect Evil and Good now. He will then ready is axe and shield. 

Gerrard:

Stepping up next to the dwarf, Gerrard draws his own weapons and says, "I'll follow your lead, Brother Fiercehammer.  Let us hope Peleg was right when he spoke of a cleared path to the abbey."  Though he is not the most perceptive, Gerrard looks for signs of the sea princes' path.

Survival:  9

Dwal prepares his spell, and then carefully explores the immediate area around the wharf. Nothing. Neither aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, fiend, nor undead is within range of his spell. The skeletal body appears to be just that - neither unearthly nor arcane.

There is no obvious road or path leading from the wharf to the top of the rise a mile to the north. This wharf is ancient, and only occasionally used, by the looks of it. Gerrard finds indications of old footprints in the sand, but they are mostly covered by undisturbed sleet.

(Here's how we'll do this: If you'd like to try to find and follow the trail north, the party must now select one character to lead the way. That character makes a single Wisdom (Perception) check. We'll go from there!)

Gerrard:

Suddenly remembering the properties of the shield he gave to Kei, Gerrard asks, “Master Kei, would you care to lead the way?  I will be right behind you should you or Brother Fiercehammer sense anything dangerous.”

Kei 

"Well, Peleg did say we could keep anything we found." It sounds to the party as if he is trying to convince himself more than anything with his statement.

With his shield in hand he steps from the wharf onto the snow covered ground. He pauses, seemingly deep in thought but actually he's grasping the ancient cards he found on Peleg's island prison. Whilst focusing his magics through the cards he quickly recites the words to a spell that might aid him in finding the trail.

Guidance 3

Perception 22

Peri:

Once the boat is tied up Peri picks up his spear and hops over the side, onto the pier. He is a little surprised that they aren't immediately swarmed by a horde of sand fleas or some other pestilence, but so far it looks like a normal beach. "Well, we've been all around the island and not seen anything, so whatever we're lookin' for must be towards the middle. Which way're we goin'?"

With Kei in the lead, you carefully make your way forward, following hints of a weeks-old trail trod by humanoid boots in two directions, buried under a (mostly thin) layer of crusty sleet. There is evidence of fighting all along the way - the decaying bodies of a dozen humans, pirates of the Hold of the Sea Princes by their garb, and at least twice that number of ancient, yellowed skeletons still clinging to their rusty swords and ancient short bows. Clearly, fights broke out all along this path, and not too long ago.

The path does not follow a straight line, but rather twists and turns erratically. Kei almost loses your way a couple of times, until his handy shield somehow guided his hand. The unnerving eye emblazoned with paint on the front of his old shield seemed to glance this way and that as you made your way through the dunes.

In the end, you find yourselves ascending the low hills and a more obvious old path cut into the slope. At the top, you get an excellent view in all directions. In the distance, perhaps a mile to the north, you can see the blackened ruins of a large structure - a sizable wooden building that was evidently burned to the ground. It is surrounded by fallow fields, covered in snow.

As you look, you see a figure walk slowly into the ruins and disappear.

"We'll take time after this ta figure out what magic yer whistle holds." Dwal reassures Boko. 
Dwal will take up the last position. He will take out a torch and push it into the sand at the start of the "Pirates Path".
Dwal will then conjure Mage Hand and use it to mark the sand, as much as he can, the length of the "Path". Once they reach the end Dwal will take out another torch and push it into the ground at the start of the "Path".
Once done Dwal turns around and says to the Party quietly.
"So'en we know how ta get back to tha Halfling's Bounty if'n we need ta get back to it fast." Dwal says with a wiry smile and side long glance at Peri.

"It appears our landin' might be known. What's tha plan then?" he asks. 

Gerrard:

”Nothing for it but to keep going and see what the abbey holds,” says Gerrard, “and your foresight with marking the trail is most wise, Brother Fiercehammer.”

Gerrard attempts to step lightly and not attract any more attention than is necessary.

Stealth:  23

Peri:

"And here I was hopin' the whole island was empty! Can't anythin' ever be that easy..."
He peers at the figure before it disappears into the ruins, hoping to get a sense of who it might be and whether they seem to have noticed the group. Perception 20  He pulls an apple from his pocket, now that the danger of ambush looks to be less likely, and munches as he follows Kei and Gerrard.

It's unclear whether the figure spotted you. You only saw them for a moment, and at this great distance, it's impossible to make out any details about them other than their humanoid form. Their movement and gait seemed relaxed, not alarmed. The figure simply walked leisurely into the blackened foundation and vanished from view behind a piece of masonry.

You continue north, through rocky scrub, down an old trail that heads directly toward the ruins.

Approaching closer, you see more details of the burned building - clearly once an abbey. All that remains of this structure is a great square of stones filled with burned and blackened rubble. As you approach the sooty stones, it is obvious someone has been sorting through the debris. Assorted oddments are piled inside the scorched square of the foundation stones. Ruined cooking utensils, crushed pots and pans, mangled kettles, and less identifiable metal objects lie in one pile. Broken crockery, platters, plates, porcelain, and pottery are heaped in another. A great deal of wood has been sorted into one large mound of badly burned scraps. In the center of the ruins is an opening, and as you move nearer, you see a stone staircase leading down into darkness.

There are no signs of life. The figure does not reappear.