Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8) - Campaign Thread

Kei 

Frustration builds within him. He too notices that the card playing woman has evaded nearly all his questions. With a grunt he kicks the paralyzed elf, hoping to break his invisibility however it seem more Ike a tantrum to those looking on. "Under the stairs you say?" Leaving the more composed to continue questioning the captives, he walks towards the unsearched room on the other side of the stairs. Without much regard for traps he busts open the door and begins searching the room.

Investigation 21 

((I would roll for the kick, but I just checked my sheet. Turns out Kei does 0 damage with an unarmed strike))

After kicking the oily and unconscious elf, Kei unceremonially kicks in the first door to the left of the stairwell. This room contains small statues and figurines. There are statues of dogs and horses, monks and pilgrims, footmen and knights on horseback, and several garden gnomes. All the statues are between one and three feet tall. Standing against the northern wall are two life-size statues. One is a robed skeleton holding a large scythe, and the other is a medusa. On the floor in front of these statues is a pallet of several blankets. The small statues and figurines are made of glazed clay and look poorly fashioned. The two large statues are made of stone, and each stands on a square base. Bits of dead grass or straw can be seen in the medusa’s snaky hair and between the skeleton’s ribs. Kei notes that the floor by the statue of the medusa shows evidence of wear. The blankets look recently slept upon. 

Gerrard:

Staying out and keeping an eye on the prisoners, Gerrard mulls his next move.  Looking to Dwal, he says, "If we are done questioning them, it is time for my rather unpleasant duty."

Gerrard will wait to see if others wish to question them more, then continue...

He points to Ozymandius and says, "Ozymandius, if you do not renounce the mad god Tharizun, I will be forced as the local representative of Seaton's authority to pass judgement.  I take no pleasure in this, but I WILL do what is necessary to protect the free peoples of Keoland.  Do you renounce Tharizun?"

INTIMIDATE:  11

The yellow cleric tries to stand, but he is too well-bound, and still too woozy from his recent injuries.

"I renounce nothing," he slurs through his semi-functional gag. "This is not your place. Justice will be served. The Elder Eye shall be freed from his dream. Killing us will only accelerate your doom!"

Peri:

"Maybe we oughta hold off on the hangin. I mean, if they were pirates I'd string 'em up right here, right now. But I got a squirrelly feelin executing cultists in their "temple." Especially ones that seem to embrace ritual sacrifice."

He addresses the cards woman again, since she seems marginally more talkative (and coherent) than the priest. "Did you, or the pirates you were dealin with, have any connections to the smugglers outta Saltmarsh? The ones workin out of the haunted house up on the hill?"

Gerrard:

Nodding at Peri, Gerrard patiently waits for him to converse with the cultists.  Though he may be content to change the location of the execution, there is no way Gerrard is going to allow committed evil cultists to continue to survive given the risk to the people of Saltmarsh and beyond.

Kei 

Oblivious to the moral dilemma faced by Gerrard, Kei continues to search the room. Paying close attention to the worn area around the Medusa statue and the makeshift cot. Superstiously, he avoids looking directly at the eyes of either statue - for he had heard takes if Medusa.

At one point he calls for Peri to assist with his magic detecting vision. 

Investigation 19

"Saltmarsh?" The cards woman looks at Peri with distaste. "We don't go to Saltmarsh. Ask the bastards that burned down our abbey about Saltmarsh. I'm sure they stole from those inbred sheep-herders as well." She looks at Gerrard's blades with nervousness.

Kei checks the medusa statue. It looks like the heavy stone statue has been pushed or moved many times. Peri confirms that the magic appears to emanate from inside the base.

"Odium been hiding things under that statue," notes the cards woman, seeing Kei's interest from her vantage point. "Take it all. He had it coming. Ye' can kill this worthless elf, too," she says, nodding at the unconscious, oil-spattered bard. 

"We ask for passage for one to the Styes," chokes Ozymandius through his gag. "You may keep all the remaining valuables here."

Peri:

Peri snorts, "Inbred sheep-herders! Yeah. So the name Sanbalet or a Captain Snake-Eyes don't mean anythin to you? Ah well. How about Peleg, the old man from the next island over? Know anything about him?" Though he's speaking to the acolyte, he watches the priest closely for any reaction to the name of the man allegedly imprisoned by this cult. Insight 20

Boko listens to the interrogation. She's taking it remarkably in stride that there are two evil cults around, along with the pirates she knows only too well, and whatever else more mundane that plagued this region. She waits her turn, and interjects nonchalantly, "name of Xolor ring a bell to you? Sgothgah? Ogrorlo?" Pausing between each name, eyes more than alert for the sign of any kind of recognition in any of them.

Insight: 18

"Snake-Eyes. Yeah, he owes us goods," answers the cards woman. "Bastard."

"Peleg. He the old man on the island?" she asks Ozymandius. She clearly recalls the name, but her reaction seems genuinely fuzzy and academic.

But the next name hits her harder. Sgothgah. She seems intimidated by the very name. The priest speaks up through his gag:
"Sgothgah is an ancient power. What do you know of Sgothgah? Do you serve him?"

Kei 

His ears prick at the mention of his home - the Styes. Not enough to draw him away from his quest. He attempts to move the Medusa statue in hopes of revealing it's bounty.

"Ancient. Long memory. Perhaps omniscient. What I do does not concern you. What does concern you is whether you tell me the truth. Anyone else on this island. Any remaining... inconveniences that might annoy me. And what you think would happen when Sgothgah finds out what happened here." Boko says to the priest, and the card player.

Kei manages to slide the incredibly heavy statue forward a few inches, and then tip it back against the stone wall. The base is hollow, and tipping it reveals the compartment. Several items are hidden here: two scrolls, a gilded tome, and a large silver spiral (jewelry or sculpture of some sort) – the latter two items look like they have some resale value, to Kei's eye.

"There is nothing more here for you," responds the cards woman to Boko. "Neither danger nor treasure nor knowledge. Just simple pilgrims, ashes, snow, and slow death. You should leave us in peace in what's left of our home."

"Sgothgah," mutters the priest to Boko through his gag. The cards woman tenses. "We do not serve Sgothgah, but we do not impede him. He might well devour you for this should he learn of what has happened here. His ways are mysterious, but his ends are just."

The not-so-invisible man groans loudly from the floor.

Gerrard:

Patiently waiting for the others to ask their questions, Gerrard bides his time.  He knows what judgement he must make to protect the people of Saltmarsh and beyond, but he does not relish it.

Boko nods grimly, and looks to Gerrard, who seemed to be winding up to do something. She would aid with whatever decision the group made. 

Kei 

Pleased with his haul he exits the room, carelessly knocking over some of the less refined statues. He gives a cursory glance at the scrolls to see if he immediately understands their content and then stuffs them in his backpack. The gilded tomb takes his fancy. He studies the outside of the book as he walks back to stand next to Peri. He holds the silver spiral out in front of the halfling. "Magical?" he grunts the question while still studying the book.

Kei recognizes both spells on the spell scrolls:  command and hold person.
The gilded tome seems to be written in two hands, but he doesn't understand any of the language(s) it is written in. Neither the book nor the large silver holy symbol appears to be magical, according to Peri.

The splattered bard awakens enough to catch Boko's eye. "Ten thousand..." he whispers to her. "Ten thousand gold for my freedom..."   

Dwal remains quiet throughout the questioning. His only action is to touch his holy symbol and quietly mutter "By Magics".
(using his this action to regain 1 2nd level spell slot)

Kei 

"Damn" he mutters to himself. "Thought I'd found our....umm...thought we had something magical here" he walks towards Dwal and hands him the book and spiral. "You make anything of these?" 

While Dwal looks over the text, Kei does his best to take in the situation that has unfolded while he was searching the room. "So who gets executed first?" he says in a very nonchalant manner, not realising the turmoil going on within Gerrard's mind.