Fianna returns to the box and amuses herself by starting to dig a hole to put it in... What tragedy laden ship voyage is complete without some buried treasure?
The crew does indeed have a shovel, among the tools and supplies they had brought from the ship. They use it to dig two graves in the coarse sand, for which they gladly accept Molo's help. They also light a fire, and begin to cook some lunch.
(Did Fianna bury the box before they returned? Also: Did Fianna share either the skeleton's note or Fi'Finella's observations with the captain or crew?)
The Captain explains his theory. He believes they are on the south side of Abbey Isle, a dangerous place indeed. Not only are the waters treacherous, as they have well discovered, but the place has been inhabited for decades by a cult of evil clerics and their followers. It means that their likelihood of rescue by a passing ship is unlikely, as most ships avoid the entire area. This part of the island, known as the Skull Dunes, is full of undead; the clerics of the abbey reportedly created an army of skeletons to guard the beaches.
But, the captain continues, finding wood and supplies, or another means of transportation home, is critical. But assuming they can even get past these dunes, dealing with the clerics is bound to be highly dangerous. Perhaps they could sneak in, or perhaps they could offer a particularly generous offering or deal, he muses.
The tide is going out. The ship is now high up on the rocks. The surf has subsided, as has the sleet.
Fianna started burying the box once the skellies dropped and she returned to it. Whether the captain and crew noticed or not depends on how quickly they returned to the area? Or if they buried their dead where they fell? But Fianna made no effort to hide it from the dwarves - they were aware of it on board and didn't seem to try to meddle with it so she fears them not now...
Fianna shared the information with the rest of her party. She didn't exclude the cap'n or dwarves but didn't try to include them either. I believe they were scouting and such so likely wouldn't know unless someone else in the party shared it, which they were free to do.
"A cult of crazy evil clerics and their followers?" Fianna would muse when she hears of this. "Do we really think we've the strength to tackle such?"
"Do ye' have any other options?" responds the captain to Fianna, cooly.
"How much money ye' got?" asks the Captain to Molo. "We can sneak in, fight in, or bargain our way in, but if we stay here we're just going t' starve and turn into more 'o them skeletons. We need supplies, or a way t' get back to the civilized coast."
What the captain doesn't seem to know, and Fianna and the party does, is that the sole building at the highlands of the island appears to be recently burned down. And the contents of the note (post #2963) which, among other things, suggest a potentially safe trail through the dunes.
"Is your ship going to sink? Like overnight? 'Cause my main thinking is we've lost enough dwarves as is and if this abbey and cultists are to be tackled, my companions and I can't be worried about protecting them while doing it," Fianna counters.
"My option is you all get on the ship and do what you can to do what you can. Keep it afloat even if you cannot rebuild it. Meanwhile we'll work on taking out this cult and all, making it safe for you all off the ship. And then maybe you can take that sour attitude off and stop blaming us for every damn thing wrong with your ship, your life and your hemorrhoids."
Pulling her companions aside, she would again show them the letter that was found, remind them what Fi'Finella has seen and suggest that most of the work of cleansing this area seems to have been done already. Perhaps if the dwarves are safely aboard the ship and thus hopefully not encountering more undead, the group can concentrate on handling the rest of the dangers to make the area at least safe enough for them to disembark and get the supplies needed for a real fix.
"You know fruits and vegetables are quite effective at dealing with hemorrhoids...
But yes, it seems we have little choice here. If the captain is correct, trying to retrieve sufficient materials inland will be quite treacherous. Perhaps our luck will turn, and the clerics would exchange some lumber for a ride back to Saltmarsh. Unlikelier things have happened."
The captain is unimpressed. "You want to take on the clerics yourselves? Be my guest!" He holds out his hand to the distant hills to the north.
"The Bosun'll give ye' a list o' what we need. See if they have any fruit, too. Do us all a favor and don't get 'em too mad. If ye' ain't back by tomorrow morning, we'll give it a go. And pretend we didn't know you."
“The clerics aren’t dead? The letter said their abbey was burned down. They must be ticked. Is it still burning?” Molo clacks his jaw a few times curiously.
"Do we really need these dwarves? Is anyone all that attached to them? I'm thinking they're more trouble than they're worth with more attitude than a jello mold with hemorrhoids. All they've done is try to sink their ship and drown us and haven't given us one whit of thanks for the numerous times we've saved their miserable lives..." Fianna asks the others.
"Anyway, pains in the buttocks aside... The note said they 'burned down the Abbey and its evil inhabitants' though of course the note writer could be wrong, exaggerating or who knows what. My familiar, just like an hour before now, saw what appeared to be a blackened ruin - a large building that, based on the state of the timbers and the charring of the nearby field, was recently burned to the ground by a major fire. One burly human was also seen digging in a nearby field. So not everyone is dead but..." And with that Fianna have them all a shrug.
"I really have no trust of this captain. His ship keeps wanting to sink and we keep having to save his life. He's lost more sailors on this trip than I did calories on my last diet. I say we gather our belongings and head out to investigate this and leave him and his to their own devices no matter what we find or encounter."
"Fianna you do realize none of us know how to sail a boat right? And that youre suggesting we either leave innocent people here to die or get them killed just because you dont like them " Katernin says. "You and your inability to act in anyway that benefits people beside yourself is going to get you killed."
"Perhaps you didn't notice but the captain doesn't seem to be able to sail the boat either," Fianna points out, literally pointing at the ship hung up on the rocks. Yet again.
"And if you were paying attention, my point has been that we have risked our lives for those dwarves... Several times. Never got a thanks. But that's fine, life of a hero and all that... But... And here's the thing... But I was suggesting they stay here for their safety. Because we can't afford to lose more of them. And then the captain gets all uppity and in my face with attitude. So I would ever so humbly suggest that it is the captain and his inability to act in his own ship's self interest which is risking us all getting killed..."
"But... I shall defer to your calm and becalmed leadership. Lead us onward and I promise not to make a flotilla from the corpses of dead dwarves..."
The captain has long since lost interest in the conversation and has wandered off to help set up camp on the exposed shore.
There's maybe a third of a mile of featureless dunes ahead before it rises up into the hills. The ruins that Fi'Finella spotted are another mile or so inland. The letter hinted at following a path that the invaders blazed through the dunes to avoid the undead guards.
Visibility is poor, but greatly improved since they landed. It's cold, grey, and heavily overcast. Bitter wind gusts blow swirls of sleet across the frozen dunes. Some scraggly scrub appears here and there, together with patches of long, dead grass whipping in the wind. The sand is coarse and cumbersome to traverse.
The bosun - an older female dwarf - delivers a scrap of slate with a shopping list. A lot of wood and tar, together with some specialized clamps and tools they will need to make the ship reasonably seaworthy again. Also food and water, which has begun to be stretched thin in recent days.
Fianna smiles at the Bosun and tells her “Let the captain know we’re not his personal shoppers. We’re passengers on his wreck of a ship. It is out of kindness and altruism that our leader Katernin is going to make sure it’s safe for him to shop… but once that is done, we expect the captain to do his job, fix his ship, treat us like the valued customers he should, and get us safely to our home port like any halfway decent captain would do! Thanks, dearie. You’re a peach!”
This dismissing the captains lackey, Fianna turns to Katernin. “So, what’s the plan?”
"My master always said, an employee treated well will lay down his life for you. An employee treated poorly will cost double his pay and leave you with nothing. More than a few of these dwarves have died already, and in any case we need their help as much as they need ours. Let's go then."
If you would like to attempt to find and follow the trail left by the recent marauders, one character may lead the way and make a single Wisdom (Perception) check for the group.
Unless there is any further business, the party sets off.
Katernin expertly finds and follows the weeks or months-old trail left by whoever raided the island. Old, rain-washed footprints, scraps of recently shattered bones from numerous skeleton battles, a number of withered, half-skeletal, but inanimate human corpses, and other subtle clues lead the party in a non-straightforward path through the desolate dunes.
Climbing up the hills onto the top of this rocky landscape, you soon spot the ruins in the distance. There is no immediate evidence of humanoid life. (Whomever Fi'Finella spotted is now gone.)
A few birds wheel high in the sky, and the cold, winter wind blows a little stronger up on the exposed heights of this land.
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Mold helps dig, enjoying the burying
Paladin - warforged - orange
The crew does indeed have a shovel, among the tools and supplies they had brought from the ship. They use it to dig two graves in the coarse sand, for which they gladly accept Molo's help. They also light a fire, and begin to cook some lunch.
(Did Fianna bury the box before they returned? Also: Did Fianna share either the skeleton's note or Fi'Finella's observations with the captain or crew?)
The Captain explains his theory. He believes they are on the south side of Abbey Isle, a dangerous place indeed. Not only are the waters treacherous, as they have well discovered, but the place has been inhabited for decades by a cult of evil clerics and their followers. It means that their likelihood of rescue by a passing ship is unlikely, as most ships avoid the entire area. This part of the island, known as the Skull Dunes, is full of undead; the clerics of the abbey reportedly created an army of skeletons to guard the beaches.
But, the captain continues, finding wood and supplies, or another means of transportation home, is critical. But assuming they can even get past these dunes, dealing with the clerics is bound to be highly dangerous. Perhaps they could sneak in, or perhaps they could offer a particularly generous offering or deal, he muses.
The tide is going out. The ship is now high up on the rocks. The surf has subsided, as has the sleet.
Fianna started burying the box once the skellies dropped and she returned to it. Whether the captain and crew noticed or not depends on how quickly they returned to the area? Or if they buried their dead where they fell? But Fianna made no effort to hide it from the dwarves - they were aware of it on board and didn't seem to try to meddle with it so she fears them not now...
Fianna shared the information with the rest of her party. She didn't exclude the cap'n or dwarves but didn't try to include them either. I believe they were scouting and such so likely wouldn't know unless someone else in the party shared it, which they were free to do.
"A cult of crazy evil clerics and their followers?" Fianna would muse when she hears of this. "Do we really think we've the strength to tackle such?"
“A deal? What could we part with that clerics such as these would want?” Molo is truly perplexed
Paladin - warforged - orange
"Do ye' have any other options?" responds the captain to Fianna, cooly.
"How much money ye' got?" asks the Captain to Molo. "We can sneak in, fight in, or bargain our way in, but if we stay here we're just going t' starve and turn into more 'o them skeletons. We need supplies, or a way t' get back to the civilized coast."
What the captain doesn't seem to know, and Fianna and the party does, is that the sole building at the highlands of the island appears to be recently burned down. And the contents of the note (post #2963) which, among other things, suggest a potentially safe trail through the dunes.
"Is your ship going to sink? Like overnight? 'Cause my main thinking is we've lost enough dwarves as is and if this abbey and cultists are to be tackled, my companions and I can't be worried about protecting them while doing it," Fianna counters.
"My option is you all get on the ship and do what you can to do what you can. Keep it afloat even if you cannot rebuild it. Meanwhile we'll work on taking out this cult and all, making it safe for you all off the ship. And then maybe you can take that sour attitude off and stop blaming us for every damn thing wrong with your ship, your life and your hemorrhoids."
Pulling her companions aside, she would again show them the letter that was found, remind them what Fi'Finella has seen and suggest that most of the work of cleansing this area seems to have been done already. Perhaps if the dwarves are safely aboard the ship and thus hopefully not encountering more undead, the group can concentrate on handling the rest of the dangers to make the area at least safe enough for them to disembark and get the supplies needed for a real fix.
Kelnan
"You know fruits and vegetables are quite effective at dealing with hemorrhoids...
But yes, it seems we have little choice here. If the captain is correct, trying to retrieve sufficient materials inland will be quite treacherous. Perhaps our luck will turn, and the clerics would exchange some lumber for a ride back to Saltmarsh. Unlikelier things have happened."
The captain is unimpressed. "You want to take on the clerics yourselves? Be my guest!" He holds out his hand to the distant hills to the north.
"The Bosun'll give ye' a list o' what we need. See if they have any fruit, too. Do us all a favor and don't get 'em too mad. If ye' ain't back by tomorrow morning, we'll give it a go. And pretend we didn't know you."
“The clerics aren’t dead? The letter said their abbey was burned down. They must be ticked. Is it still burning?” Molo clacks his jaw a few times curiously.
Paladin - warforged - orange
"Do we really need these dwarves? Is anyone all that attached to them? I'm thinking they're more trouble than they're worth with more attitude than a jello mold with hemorrhoids. All they've done is try to sink their ship and drown us and haven't given us one whit of thanks for the numerous times we've saved their miserable lives..." Fianna asks the others.
"Anyway, pains in the buttocks aside... The note said they 'burned down the Abbey and its evil inhabitants' though of course the note writer could be wrong, exaggerating or who knows what. My familiar, just like an hour before now, saw what appeared to be a blackened ruin - a large building that, based on the state of the timbers and the charring of the nearby field, was recently burned to the ground by a major fire. One burly human was also seen digging in a nearby field. So not everyone is dead but..." And with that Fianna have them all a shrug.
"I really have no trust of this captain. His ship keeps wanting to sink and we keep having to save his life. He's lost more sailors on this trip than I did calories on my last diet. I say we gather our belongings and head out to investigate this and leave him and his to their own devices no matter what we find or encounter."
Molo shrugs. “I’m happy with that. As long as there’s a way off the island involved.”
Paladin - warforged - orange
"Fianna you do realize none of us know how to sail a boat right? And that youre suggesting we either leave innocent people here to die or get them killed just because you dont like them " Katernin says. "You and your inability to act in anyway that benefits people beside yourself is going to get you killed."
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
"Perhaps you didn't notice but the captain doesn't seem to be able to sail the boat either," Fianna points out, literally pointing at the ship hung up on the rocks. Yet again.
"And if you were paying attention, my point has been that we have risked our lives for those dwarves... Several times. Never got a thanks. But that's fine, life of a hero and all that... But... And here's the thing... But I was suggesting they stay here for their safety. Because we can't afford to lose more of them. And then the captain gets all uppity and in my face with attitude. So I would ever so humbly suggest that it is the captain and his inability to act in his own ship's self interest which is risking us all getting killed..."
"But... I shall defer to your calm and becalmed leadership. Lead us onward and I promise not to make a flotilla from the corpses of dead dwarves..."
The captain has long since lost interest in the conversation and has wandered off to help set up camp on the exposed shore.
There's maybe a third of a mile of featureless dunes ahead before it rises up into the hills. The ruins that Fi'Finella spotted are another mile or so inland. The letter hinted at following a path that the invaders blazed through the dunes to avoid the undead guards.
Visibility is poor, but greatly improved since they landed. It's cold, grey, and heavily overcast. Bitter wind gusts blow swirls of sleet across the frozen dunes. Some scraggly scrub appears here and there, together with patches of long, dead grass whipping in the wind. The sand is coarse and cumbersome to traverse.
The bosun - an older female dwarf - delivers a scrap of slate with a shopping list. A lot of wood and tar, together with some specialized clamps and tools they will need to make the ship reasonably seaworthy again. Also food and water, which has begun to be stretched thin in recent days.
Fianna smiles at the Bosun and tells her “Let the captain know we’re not his personal shoppers. We’re passengers on his wreck of a ship. It is out of kindness and altruism that our leader Katernin is going to make sure it’s safe for him to shop… but once that is done, we expect the captain to do his job, fix his ship, treat us like the valued customers he should, and get us safely to our home port like any halfway decent captain would do! Thanks, dearie. You’re a peach!”
This dismissing the captains lackey, Fianna turns to Katernin. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Follow the safe path. Find this jerk who’s still alive. Make him tell us everything he knows.” Molo starts to hop on one foot as he lists it off
Paladin - warforged - orange
Kelnan
"My master always said, an employee treated well will lay down his life for you. An employee treated poorly will cost double his pay and leave you with nothing. More than a few of these dwarves have died already, and in any case we need their help as much as they need ours. Let's go then."
If you would like to attempt to find and follow the trail left by the recent marauders, one character may lead the way and make a single Wisdom (Perception) check for the group.
"You're so nice," Katernin says. "I can see how you garner so much respect."
Perception: 14
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
Unless there is any further business, the party sets off.
Katernin expertly finds and follows the weeks or months-old trail left by whoever raided the island. Old, rain-washed footprints, scraps of recently shattered bones from numerous skeleton battles, a number of withered, half-skeletal, but inanimate human corpses, and other subtle clues lead the party in a non-straightforward path through the desolate dunes.
Climbing up the hills onto the top of this rocky landscape, you soon spot the ruins in the distance. There is no immediate evidence of humanoid life. (Whomever Fi'Finella spotted is now gone.)
A few birds wheel high in the sky, and the cold, winter wind blows a little stronger up on the exposed heights of this land.