Shipwrecked in Saltmarsh

     Fianna, of course, offers to assist in any way possible.  She suspects, however, she’d be most useful staying respectfully out of the way so as to allow the dwarves to focus on their own grief and rituals rather than her…  
     Sleep or not, Fianna will try to at least get in a short rest and to make sure Fi’Finella stays alert.

(The fallen dwarves wear little but their nightclothes and their spears – very little to visibly loot!)

The dwarven sailors are not particularly religious, but they are trying to arrange something a little more than an unceremonial disposal at sea. Many do indeed pray to Moradin, and the usual pantheon of Dwarven gods, but none are particular or knowledgable about religious or ceremonial details. 

The crew is now short-handed. If attacked again, they lack the numbers to simultaneously sail the ship, handle the ballista, and fire the mangonel. Captain Windrune asks to train you on the ship's weapons after the funeral services. He also asks if any of you can cook, as they lost their ship's cook in the raid as well.

Katernin somberly agrees to help with what they need.

Dain will offer to use a mangonel.  He doesn't know any religious practices or rites and is a terrible cook.   Before he does so, though he will move through the crew, checking over everyone's weapons and making sure they are in the best condition possible.   He doesn't have a forge, obviously, but he has his smith's tools which will include whetstones and the like.

Molo looks at the mangonel jealously but resigns himself to the cook’s position... good luck everyone as we find out what Kobolds consider edible

A ceremony is held with Katernin's help. A few of the crew weakly offer memorials for the fallen during the ceremony. One of the older sailors sings a traditional shanty. The dead are released to the sea. It's sad and awkward and difficult.

Dain gets a quick mangonel lesson:

A mangonel is a type of catapult that hurls heavy projectiles in a high arc. This payload can hit targets behind cover. Before the mangonel can be fired, it must be loaded and aimed. It takes two actions to load the weapon, two actions to aim it, and one action to fire it. (This may be done simultaneously with a team of five.) A mangonel typically hurls a heavy stone, although it can hurl other kinds of projectiles, with different effects. Ranged Weapon Attack (Mangonel Stone): +5 to hit, range 200/800 ft. (can’t hit targets within 60 feet of it), one target. Hit: 27 (5d10) bludgeoning damage.

Sailing ship rules (Soul of Winter):  On its turn, the ship can take 3 actions, choosing from the options below. It can take only 2 actions if it has fewer than twenty crew and only 1 action if it has fewer than ten. It can’t take these actions if it has fewer than three crew.
• Fire Ballista. The ship can fire its ballista.
• Fire Mangonel. The ship can fire its mangonel.
• Move. The ship can use its helm to move with its sails.

The day ends quietly and somberly, with much private introspection. Dinner is ...unusual, but everyone gets a long rest.

~

The next day brings calmer winds and a light snow. 

A call comes down from the crows nest. Vessel sighted ahead.

The captain soon confirms with his glass. "We found it," he announces. It's the shattered hulk of the derelict Emperor of the Waves. Your destination.

Windrune brings Soul of Winter within 500 feet of the derelict along its starboard side, close enough to make out its major external features. Its masts have been shorn off, but the upper deck appears clear of debris, as if whatever hit the ship was strong enough to carry off the masts, sails, and rigging. Its figurehead, once a majestic angel in flight, has been hacked and disfigured. Wolgar and his mate express amazement that the Emperor is still afloat.

"Well done, Captain," congratulates Dain.  "Seems ya made it.  Now, how does we get ta tha' other ship?  You got a row boat?"

     ((Fianna would, at the very least, watch over Molo while he cooks and make sure the ingredients are at least edible by typical people..,  she’d also volunteer to learn the basics of the mangonel- she by no means wants to run the thing but she can surely help load it up and aim?))

     Fianna thanks the captain distractedly but is eager to check out the other ship.  Once it is in sight she sends Fi’Finella over to do a few fly by passes from a height to check for signs of life, slowly getting closer and closer as the imp becomes sure there is no threat.  If the imp gets that sense…  The plan, hopefully, is to have the outside spied upon and explored before we even get in a boat to transfer over…

Fi'Finella surveys the other ship from a safe distance. There is no sign of life aboard.

It's a large ship - somewhat longer and broader than the Soul of Winter.

Fi'Finella can see that the ship has suffered heavy damage across its upper decks, consistent with the impact of a typhoon or tidal wave. The vessel lists noticeably to port, evidence that the Emperor’s ballast has shifted, though the incline doesn’t appear severe enough to make moving around on deck hazardous. The ship rides low in the water, implying that the bilge and possibly even the lowest deck are flooded.

The captain also examines the ship through his glass from the deck. He feels the ship is likely to sink during the ten days or so it would take to tow it back to port. It will not stay afloat long.

The captain offers to ferry the party to the Emperor on the skiff you're already spent a little time in (the one that took you from the wharf in Saltmarsh to the Soul of Winter), piloted by a pair of his crew. They have ropes and grappling hooks to give you access to the main deck. The algae-slick hull of the ship lacks portholes or other large openings, making the main deck or quarterdeck the only apparent way inside.

The snow has stopped, although the sky is low and dark, and the swells are relatively modest.

“And whereabouts in the ship might our employer’s goods be?” Molo asks to no one in particular.

Molo recalls that Aubreck had described his box as made of shiny blue metal, packed inside a wooden crate and branded with a large letter A.

Quote from cbaer8 >>

Molo recalls that Aubreck had described his box as made of shiny blue metal, packed inside a wooden crate and branded with a large letter A.

 Any details on what compartment and where that compartment might be? Ie: close to the top deck? Fore? Aft?

Quote from nschrock >>

Quote from cbaer8 >>

Molo recalls that Aubreck had described his box as made of shiny blue metal, packed inside a wooden crate and branded with a large letter A.

 Any details on what compartment and where that compartment might be? Ie: close to the top deck? Fore? Aft?

 
(He didn't specify. And it was years ago.)

Dain is itching to get going.  "Let's get on with it, then.  Be wary," he warns everyone, however.  "I reckons the ship will be a bit underwater and I've just got this feeling there may be more of those sea-devils around here."

     Fianna climbs down and into the skiff once it is ready, thanking the captain for their assistance.

     Fi’Finella will continue exploring - opening any unlocked doors and peaking inside any cabins or compartments she can.  She’ll specially be trying to make it below deck to any cargo hold or such, looking for crates and trying to pass along to Fianna just how treacherous the landscape (shipscape?) is.

     On the skiff riding over, Fianna will be looking through her familiars eyes as often as possible and describing all that she sees to the others.

(Kelnan would be willing to help work the ballista in a pinch)

Kelnan looks over the ship for signs of current habitation as they approach, or indications foul sea creatures had been climbing the hull in a particular spot.

Dain fingers his maul handle nervously as they approach the ship, his mind remembering the sea-devils and the bodies of the dwarven sailors they have just had to pitch into the seas.  Tis not natural for a dwarf ta be dropped into the ocean.  They deserved to be returned to the earth.  His righteous fury at the fate of the dwarven crew builds as they near the ship, ready to be unleashed on whatever they find inside.

Fi’Finella invisibly explores the vessel. The Emperor’s upper decks slope gently down toward the ship’s port side. The forecastle and quarterdeck are empty, and short wooden stumps are all that remain of the ship’s masts. The double doors leading to cabins fore and aft appear intact, as does the metal grate in the deck that offers access to the lower decks. Aside from the rhythmic creak of the ship’s badly weathered timbers, all seems quiet. Through the grate set into the deck can be seen a ladder extending down, but the grate is rusted shut. Two doors lead into the quarterdeck and forecastle. The door under the forecastle is stuck, but the one under the quarterdeck can be opened.

Meanwhile, the five of you climb into the skiff, the same one that brought you from Saltmarsh to the Soul of Winter. Oskar, the first mate, is again one of the two crewmembers prepared to row you across. But in this vast, grim ocean and broad, powerful swells, the skiff now looks tiny and lost.

Nevertheless they efficiently ferry you across the 500 or so feet to the edge of the hull, and then around to the bow. The figurehead looks intentionally vandalized by humanoid tools of some sort. The bow is crisscrossed with odd scrapes. (Kelnan: Nature check: 18)

Whatever caused it, it is not normal maritime wear nor collision damage. (The rest of you are welcome to roll, if you like.)

Oskar and his comrade will help you board with ropes and hooks, and will remain in the skiff until nightfall if necessary, prepared to pick you up. The Soul will remain at a distance, stationary, but will have both a ballista and a mangonel trained on the wreck, together with crossbowmen.

The Soul is off the starboard side of the wreck, which is listing to port. The whole vessel is low in the water. Oskar holds a grappling hook, ready to throw. "Where d'ye' want it?" he asks, looking up, studying his options.

five sets of studded leather armor, two light crossbows with twenty bolts each, five 50-foot coils of rope, two grappling hooks, twelve torches, two healer’s kits, six vials of antitoxin, two potions of healing, and two sacks. (Take/divide them as you wish.)

Kelnan took one healing kit; did anyone take the other?
Did Katernin take the last two vials of antitoxin? (The rest of you took one each, and Molo and Dain both took one healing potion.)