Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8) - Campaign Thread

Dwal looks around nervously.

"If'n folks live here then their house keeping is something ta be improved."

Dwal will think back and try to recall anything he may have read about the Abbey.

History: 22

Kei 

The All-seeing-eye on his shield leading the way, Kei pauses to seek the opinion of the group. "Are we heading straight down the throat of this island" pointing to the staircase "or do we have business here in the open air?" He shifts uneasily in the open, the rubble not offering much in the way of cover. He grips the handle of his shield a little tighter. "Whatever your choice, make it quick. Standing out here is making me uneasy. Especially if we have a spectre walking around."

Gerrard:

Looking around, Gerrard says, “I know of no other sites of interest here besides the ruins underneath the abbey, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something else to explore.”

Perception:  10

”Though getting out of the open seems wise, as long as we enter carefully,” he adds, continuing to move towards the dark opening his drawn rapier is beginning to illuminate.

Peri:

He chucks his apple core into the weeds as the near the ruins. He grips the spear a bit tighter, feeling the tingle of anticipation. When nothing immediately attacks them he relaxes a little, but then Kei brings up the possibility of a spectre. He hadn't really thought of that. He assumed if the island was populated by undead it would be a bunch of mindless skeletons or zombies -- nothing pleasant, to be sure, but susceptible to a good kick in the teeth. Now he thinks back to the dwarven stronghold and the ghost they encountered there, not to mention the fiend, and his nerves are alight again. The person he saw didn't look like a spectre, but then what did he know about how spectres looked?

"Aye, if there's anythin out here to worry about, it'd've jumped us already or it's waitin' for dark. Might as well clear out whatever's down below while the sun's up. Then maybe we can get off this island before dark." He does take a moment to poke around half-heartedly in the pile of pottery and ceramic rubble on the off chance they will discover the globe they're searching for. (Investigation 5) Then he heaves a sigh and says, "I guess I can try to sneak down there first and take a look around? Unless anyone else is dyin to -- is in a big hurry to go first?"

Gerrard:

”That sounds good to me, Captain Fenwader, though don’t stray too far ahead—I will come running if there is trouble,” replies Gerrard.

Dwal recalls reading that a small island abbey in these waters was long ago abandoned by the order of monks that built it. Over the past two centuries or so since, various outlaw gangs and monsters were said to have claimed it as a lair. 

Boko recalls hearing rumors of a loose trade alliance between the shadowy group currently associated with this abbey and the pirates of the Hold of the Sea Princes. But clearly, something changed if that was ever truly an alliance.

Gerrard sees nothing else of note outside the ruins beside snow-covered fields and desolate, wind-swept moors.

Peri pokes half-heartedly through the piles, but it appears that all valuable or usable objects have been removed. It's mostly junk, save for a pile of charcoal that could be used for cooking or heat.

Peering down the staircase, you see it leads down to a charred wooden door, swollen and warped with heat, but still apparently functional. It is closed. Crusty bootprints lead up and down the stone stairs.

Kei 

Since there is an absence of suggestion, other than the short human going first, Kei readies himself to follow behind. He approaches the top of the stairwell. "Well Half-height, seems like you're up. Tell me, do you intend to kick the door down?" He throws a wild punch & kick in the air, mocking Peri's martial fighting method. "I would open it for you magically, but we know what happened last time I cast that spell".

Peri:

He creeps toward the stairs, heaving a quiet sigh when he sees the bootprints. Spectres can't leave tracks behind, can they? Probably not.... He creeps down the stairs (Stealth 21) and presses an ear the the edge of the door, where the warping has ruined the fit. (Perception 11)

Assuming he hears nothing: He tries the handle, hoping to pull the door open just far enough to peek around the edge.

Peri tiptoes down the stairs. The door is definitely swollen, warped, and ill-fitting; not only can he hear a little bit, but he can see a scrap of light within. He can hear three voices speaking in Common - a deep, baritone voice; a higher-pitched, likely-female voice; and a teenaged voice. They are gambling, probably at some sort of card game, and complaining about food. The female voice addresses the baritone speaker as "Ogmund". Peri can see a lit room within, maybe thirty feet to the far wall, and some sort of primitive table. He can't see the occupants, nor much else. He does catch a human-looking hand at one point.

Peri:

Peri creeps back up the steps to report. "At least three people down there. I could ear 'em talkin. Probably not fiends or ghouls or anything like that, unless those kind like to gamble and kvetch about food. It's likely they're just survivors of the big fight here, either pirates or cultists, with no way off this island. Someone wanna try to talk to 'em first, or do we kick in the door and take 'em by surprise? Oh, and one of 'em's named Ogmund, so if we do kick in the door be sure to yell out somethin like, 'Good work Ogmund!' and they might think he's on our side, at least for a second."

Gerrard:

”I have heard much speculation on the current inhabitants of this island, but little certainly.  I suggest that, if these inhabitants are not truly monsters, we go in and see what we can learn about what has really happened here,” suggests Gerrard quietly, adding, “and I will volunteer to start the negotiations if you wish.”

Boko volunteers to slip in the door gap as a spider or mouse or something small to listen and poke around inside a bit, after sharing what she’d remembered about the abbey and listening to Peru’s helpful report.

Gerrard:

Responding quietly, Gerrard says to Boko, “That would likely get us our best intelligence.  We are most curious if they are cultists of Xolor, as that group has attacked us at Saltmarsh and promised to do so again.”

OOC:  “Ogmund” didn’t look like the mage who attacked us claiming he was Xolor before escaping, does he?  I think Peri was with us for that battle with the Gnolls and such…

Dwal says nothing but will follow Gerrard and take a protective position.

Boko-spider (for a mouse would be too large to fit) creeps through the crack in the door.

She sees a large, mostly-empty stone basement - maybe 50 x 80 feet in size. It reeks of greasy, soured food. The main feature of the room is a makeshift table made of burned planks supported at either end by upended barrels. Beneath the table are several small kegs that serve as chairs. Scraps of food are strewn across the table and on the floor nearby.

The three at the table are:
• "Ogmund" - a beefy, loud, and not-so-bright-sounding human male. He wears studded leather armor, and a  thick, battered shield and spear rest beside him. He has a nasty, fresh scar across his scalp.
• A human woman with long brown hair. She wears loose-fitting black robes and her teeth are in an advanced state of decay.
• A teenage boy with long, greasy hair. He wears leather armor and has a scimitar strapped to his side. Ogmund simply calls him "boy".

They play cards and gamble and grouse. Ogmund complains about somebody named "Bayleaf" and at one point curses the "Princes" as he rubs his head. The woman complains about the stew someone made. The boy is mostly silent. Their clothes are undistinguished, although the woman wears a spring or spiral-shaped necklace. There is nothing in their appearance suggestive of any particular group you are familiar with.

They give Boko the creeps. These are not people she'd prefer to spend time with. Ogmund seems like a stupid bully, and the woman is bubbling with anger and resentment. 

Eight wooden doors along the east, west, and north walls are all closed.

Gerrard:

Waiting at the top of the stairs, Gerrard stands more or less patiently, trying to resist dashing in and killing people just because he assumes them to be cultists...though he hopes Boko returns with definitive news.

Boko scratches her spider-head with one leg tip as she watches the card game unfold. As she listens, she traverses the floor along the walls, perambulating the room and getting a sense from each door which she can sneak under to take a look and a listen without hurting herself.

Perception: 22

The closed doors leading from this room are well-built and tight-fitting, if dirty, greasy, and soot-covered. There is no room for even a tiny spider to pass, except for one door that is slightly ajar. (From left, #7)

 It's someone's quarters. Empty weapon racks and several empty bins and shelves line the walls of this room. On the floor is a bedroll of three blankets next to a pair of shiny leather boots. An elven male, wearing a chainshirt and bearing a shortsword is telling a dramatic war story to a bored, if polite, skinny human man with a straggly beard. He wears splint mail and is well-armed.

Kei 

Tapping his foot slightly, Kei waits impatiently while Spidey-Boko surveils the room on the other side of the ajar door. He turns to Peri and whispers "Just let me know if you feel like taking a jaunt on the ceiling, I'll make it so you cat be seen - like before. That way we can get a jump on them when they think we're less in numbers." He grins mischievously at the thought. 

Boko listens a minute or two to try to see if this story seems recent, and where it was fought, and who the combatants were. Trying to identify this group more if possible. Then she comes back to the main room and listens to the card players a bit more, walking under the table and listening and looking for any sign of them being Xolor cultists (slime on their boots, odd items, insignia, etc). She waits another couple minutes, and if she finds nothing, and the conversation stays boring, she returns to the party, under the door, and reverts to her normal form.

She whispers a full report. "It does not seem the person we saw outside raise the alarm. They all seem bored. Mean. One main room, hosting a card game. Lots of others, doors closed, around it. I got in one other room, two more fighters, bored. The other doors were too tight."

She takes in a breath. "So we are looking for this tower model, and rescuing your friend, correct? It seems a small chance this group would be open to a parley, though it is an option. Otherwise, we are blitzing them, correct?"

What's the floor and walls like in the hallway and the main room? Wet, dry, dusty? Wondering if Boko has the chance to freeze some ambient water with shape water to give them a surprise, if the group decides we're attacking.