Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8) - Campaign Thread

The unfinished barracks room Boko steps further into is quite large. A series of doors lead south. An open archway north leads to what looks like an armory: it has a plain stone floor, walls, and ceiling, but two rows of metal racks run from east to west; they are set parallel and about six feet apart, leaving a passage between them. A large number of spears, tridents, and other weapons are arrayed on these racks. Two large closed coffers sit to either side of the archway. The whole area is vacant of life.

Leaving the barracks and armory and heading south again, Boko easily seeps under the door at the end of the hall. Within she finds a guardpost of some kind. Two archways leading out to the east and west. A stone bench runs along the south wall. Set in the north wall, opposite the west archway, is a metal gate that closes off an opening to the north. A mechanism consisting of a wheel, chains, and various pulleys is attached to the east wall. The bronze gate is currently closed (down). You can hear faint hammering sounds arising from the southeast.

Nine watchful sahuagin are here. Roll stealth, with advantage due to your gaseous condition.

"I ain't being hard on 'em." Qivys quietly responds. "I am being honest about their choices. Their lack of wisdom can get this all ta go sideways an' then tha Sahaugin start comin' fer everyone, them included. They got it in their head they can pick an' choose an' there ain't no consequences."

Qivys is quiet for a moment, watching the area. He then says without turning to Gerrard.
"Tha halfling I understand." he remarks. "He's like all his kin, prone ta want a leisure life without makin' an effort. Tha Bard, he seems ta be walkin' down a dark path and embracin' it. I'd watch his words on ya. They may sound like honey but they'll lead ya down a path that ya can't turn from." 

Qivys stops for a moment then asks: "So, what are tha plans of tha second son of a noble? Ya got any idea of yer future?" 

Boko stealth: 21

Boko, a cloud of amorphous gas, is able to evade notice from the crowded guardpost. 

Meanwhile, all is quiet outside. Borgas and Kysh have departed. It is cold and dark as the rest of the party makes their way past the shipwreck to the rendezvous point. 

Gerrard:

Continuing his conversation with Qivys as they waited in their hiding place, Gerrard replies, “Well, I did, but now I am not so sure.  When I left home what seems like a lifetime ago, I wanted to live a life of glorious adventure, becoming rich and powerful while defeating the forces of evil, then retiring to court the beautiful Esmerelda and raising a family at our country estate.”

Shifting uncomfortably, he adds, “Then when I got out in the world and saw all that needed doing, and the extent of the problems the free people of Keoland were dealing with, I wanted to become an ambassador for the region, negotiating with all the races and encouraging us to join together to face our common enemies—like the Sahuagin—in the bad times and peacefully trade and learn from each other in the good times.”

Sighing, he finishes, “Then I went back home and saw how the other half lives in my own city of Seaton.  The apathy of the nobility when it comes to even basic fair treatment of the populace….The evil festering in and below the city that goes unchecked as long as it doesn’t inconvenience the aristocracy…The aversion to temples of faith, even those struggling to help the people in the absence of aid from their political leaders.  I am at a loss for how to remedy any of it, but until my home is stabilized, I would feel the fool trying to chase any of my earlier dreams.”

The cloud of gas swirls around the room slowly, as if a lazy swirling draft. Boko looks into the room behind the metal grate first, then clockwise around the room and back to where she was. (Interested in what might be protected behind the grate - valuables or people or just the stairs down to other levels perhaps. She’s also interested in the hammering sounds… assume they are coming from the west arch gate?)

Qivy listens to Gerrard then nods.

"Aye" he says. "Dwal told me about some of tha things that went on in Seaton. I think it bothered him too about what was going on there an' he even hinted that he was thinkin' about a plan fer it but didn't share alot. I do know he had hopes fer you an' you being tha start of that change an' all but he never let on tha how or why." 

Qivys remains silent for a few moments then says.

"I'd say that doing this fer Saltmarsh is a step in tha right direction though. Gets ya some recognition an' folks already know yer name, least yer family name. Maybe ya can build on that?" he suggests. 

Peri:

As they make their way quietly past the wreck Peri begins looking for a spot along the shoreline that is not easily observable from the sea, such as a small inlet or just an area overhung by trees and vines. (Perception 14) Settling on a likely location he takes out his crossbow and loads it, then settles in to watch for the rest of their party or danger, whichever appears first.

((Kei can also roll if he would also like to use any skills he may have learned as a smuggler to find a hidden spot. If his spot is better Peri will defer to him.))

Kei 

The halfling moved quick through the scrub and brush but Kei's longer legs and keen eyes allowed him to eventually catch up with Peri. "Finally, eh? Those noble types are likely to get us in trouble if they poke the bees nest too often. I'm glad someone at least shared my view on finishing this mission." As they clamber along the shore he spies an area between some large boulders that looks like it might hide them from all angles while still allowing then to observe the area around the wreck.

He enters the small grotto and is immediately satisfied. The smooth rocks form an almost full circle around a flat sandy base. Once Peri joins him he hums a tune in an odd key. Slowly another rock appears at the entrance. His illusion blocking all sight from the shoreline. "Now we wait I guess."

Peri: f

 "Finally, eh? Those noble types are likely to get us in trouble if they poke the bees nest too often. I'm glad someone at least shared my view on finishing this mission."

"That dwarf won't be happy til we've gotten a list of every devil in the place, their mothers' names, and their shoe sizes. Just like the bloody bigwigs on the 'War Council' -- always wantin' more so long as it's not their head in the dragon's mouth. Maybe they'll make a place for him and he can join 'em in sittin' around the banquet table, sippin' brandy and  callin' us no-good lazy so-and-so's. I shouldn't be surprised he talked the nobleman into goin' back, but I'da thought Boko woulda had more sense. Then again, the only other druid I know is a crazy old man who lives alone with a big frog, so maybe that's normal for 'em?"

He scowls out at the night for a minute before adding, "I do hope they get out here okay, though."  A pause, then, "Even the dwarf."

Bokogas drifts lazily around the ceiling of the guardroom, undetected. 

To the northeast, beyond the closed gate, she sees a long, narrow room with several pillars running north and south.

The faint hammering sounds arise from the southeast hallway.

The rest of the party is able to find a slightly sheltered (if foul-smelling) cove, not far past the wreck. Low scrub rings a bit of sand broken by a swampy steamlet where a thin gruel of bog overflow escapes into the ocean.

Kei adds additional cover with his illusion. Still no sign of sunrise. It is very dark and cold here. The pounding of the surf masks any other sounds.

Boko orinco flows into the northeast room through the grate to see what is being guarded. If nothing like Tom she flows back out and toward the noise.

Boko flows through the closed gate into the northeast room. 

To her right, along the east wall runs a shallow trough cut into the stone floor. This channel is stained and traces of a brown liquid shine wetly.

To her left, along the west wall, dozens of manacles hang from the wall at waist height.

A gaunt human man lay crumpled in the northwest corner of this room. It is not Tom. This man is older. And he is barely alive, his eyes glassy, his breath rattling.

Boko in mist form flows over the man in the corner, confirming her suspicions he is a prisoner (and is definitely not Tom). She doesn't have the ability to help him, so if it's not Tom, she flows back out and follows the sound to the hammering. 

The human figure is not Tom. He appears to be a dying prisoner, barely conscious, muttering to unseen conversants.

Drifting back out and through the guardroom – Boko Stealth: 17 –  Boko flows further down the southeast hall, toward the distant hammering sounds.

This place is massive, and becomes more unfinished the deeper she ventures. The finishing and tiling in this hall are far from complete – it is a crude stone tunnel in places. The passage now forks: one branch leads south, broken by an archway, the other leads west around another unfinished bend toward the hammering sounds, now quite loud.

Boko drifts west, toward the sounds.

To the west of a large archway stretches an area of plain stone construction. Three pillars extend to the tiled ceiling. In the center of this chamber, a wide staircase leads down. An unfinished half-wall surrounds three sides of the staircase. Piles of colored tiles sit near the wall, awaiting placement. The sound of water lapping against stone can be heard coming up from the bottom of the stairs.

Ten slaves, working by torchlight, smooth and dress the unfinished exterior walls of the hall. Each slave is shackled at the ankles with a length of chain and wears a metal collar. Several sahuagin oversee the slaves as they work, while others rest and chat near the top of the stairs.

You count ten slaves here: four orcs, four hobgoblins, and two lizardfolk. Tom does not appear to be among them. Eight sahuagin oversee their work.

Boko: Make another stealth check (with advantage.)

Boko stealth: 28

Boko continues to evade detection.

As Kei and Peri wait hidden in the cove, they hear a large but gentle sound. 

A massive bird-of-prey, the size of a draft horse, lands softly on the rocky beach nearby. It looks jet black in the faint ambient light of the night sky, and has massive antlers protruding from its head.

It smells the air suspiciously, and examines its surrounding for a long, tense moment. 

Then it flies off on massive, powerful, feathered wings in the direction of the wreck.