Gretel is still a little hazy, and has no memory of the attack. Dinah is shaken, and grateful to see Katernin. They take a moment at the shrine in gratitude to Ehlonna, and then make some tea. After a short rest, they still intend to fulfill their paid tasks today - to search and guard the beach, and to patch the roof. Meanwhile, Lucky naps in the corner.
Next door, at the Temple of Procan, old Brinehanded is delighted to have a appreciative audience. He spins more tales of ancient shipwrecks and sea monsters.
"But did I tell you the story of the galleon, Curiosity? It belonged to a renowned mage, who dispatched it to a distant shore in search of treasure. But the ship sank in a mysterious and especially ferocious storm, about twenty years ago, about a mile off of Saltmarsh, in deep waters. It's said he had an odd, crab-like apparatus aboard, guarded to this day by a foul demon from the Abyss."
"Now, this forest sounds like it must be a real danger. No one goes to clear the jackalweres out? I figured they must be in the way for shipwrights looking for lumber.”
Brinehanded chuckles. "Oh, the elves and the rangers do a fine job patrolling the outer fringes, and the overzealous Saltmarsh guard are usually more 'n vigilant in this town, but there are sometimes exceptions. Nobody will ever clear out th' Dreadwood. Don't even think about going there, little one. Much too dangerous. We have plenty of more convenient wood. The alchemist's house – now that's an aberration I'm still scratching my head about. Too far from Saltmarsh for the guard to care about; too far from the Dreadwood or the Silverstand for the elves to care about. But the locals here are all aflutter over the thing. Blame all their woes on it. Superstitious lot, they are.
"But Procan’s domain is the sea, and whatever the oceans touch, he bears witness to. When the sea reaches its limit at the shore, so too does Procan’s power. So we care little for what happens beyond his waters. Every story of the oceans courses through his mind, and he in each moment curses and blesses mortals for their endless follies, heroism, and hatreds."
More tea comes, and more stories. You're all still exhausted.
Back at the shrine, the two carpenters soon feel calm enough to get back to work - Dinah and Weasel will go down to the beach; Gretel will get to work on the roof.
Tales and legends are always welcome to Kelnan, doubly so since he might actually get a chance to explore some of them. Not much of this lore exists back home, some new tales and treasures would certainly shut that fool Hayden up.
Not afraid to show his true self with such a storyteller, Kelnan revels in the tea and tales. He mostly listens but is happy to throw in some old elven legends, detailing the bits that he helped prove true earlier in his career. But practically nodding off in the chair, he finally stands. "Come little dragonling, we should check on the others and make our way back into town before I faint where I stand. Thank you friend for your time. Perhaps I can recruit some help to check out this alchemist's house. Mysterious magicks in the countryside are rarely so strange as people imagine, and often more interesting. We will surely meet again." He bows in thanks and leaves for the shrine before asking the others to join him at the inn.
Brinehanded stands on his single leg and hobbles slowly to the door to see Kelnan and Molo out. "Go rest, lost ones. You are always welcome here. We hold services tomorrow night you are invited to attend.
"Your ship was not the only wreck in the recent storm," he continues, not quite ready to let you go. "We lost Sinker as well, just off Crabber's Cove, very close to where you came ashore. The water is only maybe fifteen feet deep there. Sinker was a small fishing boat named for the exquisite, silvered fishing pole its owner had aboard. It's a fancy pole. If you fellows feel up to a job, go investigate the wreck for me, and, if you can find them, bring us back the two sailors who were aboard, for proper burial. You can keep the pole. Be cautious about the cove, however. More than one overeager fisherman has disappeared into the clacking darkness there, never to be seen again."
"Did I tell you about the warship, Gnasher, captained by a merciless, young half-dragon whose greed is as strong as a red dragon's?" He launches into a tale he's already told you.
Meanwhile, next door, Gretel cheerily whistles a salty tune while she expertly patches the roof atop a ramshackle ladder, as if she hadn't just experienced a near-mortal trauma.
Fianna and Lucky snore fitfully in the corners, while Capt. Reed stares out to sea. Katernin watches over the party, wondering if her mission has just expanded a little.
Exhausted, barely able to move, but unable to lay down just yet, Reed watches the waves come in. He remembers vivid snippets of the storm tossing him around before waking up on the beach. He finally shakes his head, trying to clear it, and finds another corner. He tucks his pack and his weapons behind him within arms reach, and falls into a restless sleep.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Ready to DM and chew bubblegum. And I'm alllll outta bubblegum.
Kellen Rivian(Level 12 Lore Bard)- Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8)
Ruven Gilrel (Level 4 Bladesinger)- The Shattered Obelisk
Finding the others passed out on the floor, Kelnan shrugs, finds a quiet corner, and begins his meditative trance. Perhaps a quieted mind will uncover some detail that will help find the footlocker. "Molo, if you want a proper room, I'm still happy to send some money with you, but it looks like our new companions have found a place to rest already."
The soft bed was mostly for their benefit, oh well. A warm bath can wait for later.
Your desire for a proper bed forgotten for now, the party slumbers deeply upon Katernin's hard wooden floors. Fitful dreams, for the most part - old traumas and unsettling visions - but very necessary rest. (OOC: Exhaustion lifted.) You sleep the day away.
Darkness has fallen by the time you awaken, stiff and sore and groggy and hungry. Katernin and Weasel are sitting and drinking tea by the window. Someone has made a fire in the stove, and the room has become very comfortably warm.
When Kelnan awakes, he sees a locker left out for him; one with a horse carved in the top. It's his locker, in almost perfect condition. "DInah found it on the beach this afternoon," explains Weasel. "There were human scavengers out there, for sure, but she managed to out-scavenge them. She also found a crate full to the brim with nice daggers, but they're probably long gone by now. She and Gretel have gone home. The roof's fixed." She points up, and you see fresh thatching and some new timber framing where earlier there was a gaping hole.
It is now early evening. You feel better, if hungry.
(Sorry for the lack of response from Molo folks. I’m moving. Yesterday I got all the worst of it into the new house and I have acquired at least one level of exhaustion).
The first to wake, Lucky, rises, stretches and works out the kinks in his body. Being young and resilient this takes only a few moments. He goes over to the two priestesses. "Sorry to ask but do you have any food at all? I'm starving." He smiles shily at the two, but seems a different boy to the one who fell asleep here a few hours ago. His eyes are bright and lively, whereas before they were sunken and dark. It's almost as if the sleep has washed all memory of the trauma of the night before from his mind. "I don't mind cooking, if you have some food. I used to cook for my old family, before..." Well, when I say family I mean gang, of course, but you don't need to know that.
(Lucky is proficient with Cooking Utensils and is a pretty decent chef in his way. He knows only simple recipes using easily available ingredients but has a knack for making the basic taste great - and hiding the tastes of less savoury foods he's sometimes been force to eat just to survive.)
He awakes with a start, grabbing for his weapons before realizing where he's at. He hears Lucky asking about food and gets up, working out the kinks in his muscles. I'm going to the tavern. I'm a bit thirsty.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Ready to DM and chew bubblegum. And I'm alllll outta bubblegum.
Kellen Rivian(Level 12 Lore Bard)- Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8)
Ruven Gilrel (Level 4 Bladesinger)- The Shattered Obelisk
(Based on Katernin's inventory, I'm guessing her pantry is not going to feed this whole party much longer.)
Weasel gives Reed and Lucky her advice. "If ye' want a cheap meal, get down to th' Mariner's Guildhall fer some of Ob's 'Mix' before curfew - it tastes better 'n it looks. No drinkin' allowed, though. If ye' wan' a drink and a little more variety, try the Snappin' Line. There are a couple 'o other taverns in town, but I don't think they'd be a good fit for folks like you."
Weasel finished her tea and stands. "I better get home myself." She gives Katernin a smile.
Opening his eyes and spying the locker, Kelnan smiles and quickly opens it up, ensuring everything is still there. "Many thanks to you and your friends, Ms. Weasel. Feel free to keep whatever loot was on that cursed boat." He flips through his red leatherbound spellbook, examining the neat lines and flourishes with great satisfaction, and snaps it back closed. When everyone has awoken, he rises and asks the group "Snapping Line then? Let's have a good dinner and chat before we move on. My treat."
A huge grin crosses the young boy's face as Kelnan offers to buy dinner. "Yes please, Pointy!" he exclaims, clearly very excited. It would appear that the potential of a big, hearty meal is far more important to this lad than any bigger, less immediate concerns about haunted houses, dog-men or shipwrecks. He's clearly someone who lives very much in the moment and doesn't worry too much about the future.
Fianna had been awake for a bit but had continued to lay about with her eyes closed. That ended when she heard the magical words come out of Kelnan's mouth. "I'm in," she mumbled blearily as she started to rise. "Where to?"
Molo looks at Kelnan and starts smacking his little lizard lips.
”Pointy, right? Why, I don’t think I could possibly turn down such graciousness. Please, lead o and I’ll tell you the tale of a half dragon sea captain whose greed was as great as a real dragon.”
Oblivious to the fact that Kelnan was there, too.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Paladin - warforged - orange
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Gretel is still a little hazy, and has no memory of the attack. Dinah is shaken, and grateful to see Katernin. They take a moment at the shrine in gratitude to Ehlonna, and then make some tea. After a short rest, they still intend to fulfill their paid tasks today - to search and guard the beach, and to patch the roof. Meanwhile, Lucky naps in the corner.
Next door, at the Temple of Procan, old Brinehanded is delighted to have a appreciative audience. He spins more tales of ancient shipwrecks and sea monsters.
"But did I tell you the story of the galleon, Curiosity? It belonged to a renowned mage, who dispatched it to a distant shore in search of treasure. But the ship sank in a mysterious and especially ferocious storm, about twenty years ago, about a mile off of Saltmarsh, in deep waters. It's said he had an odd, crab-like apparatus aboard, guarded to this day by a foul demon from the Abyss."
Brinehanded chuckles. "Oh, the elves and the rangers do a fine job patrolling the outer fringes, and the overzealous Saltmarsh guard are usually more 'n vigilant in this town, but there are sometimes exceptions. Nobody will ever clear out th' Dreadwood. Don't even think about going there, little one. Much too dangerous. We have plenty of more convenient wood. The alchemist's house – now that's an aberration I'm still scratching my head about. Too far from Saltmarsh for the guard to care about; too far from the Dreadwood or the Silverstand for the elves to care about. But the locals here are all aflutter over the thing. Blame all their woes on it. Superstitious lot, they are.
"But Procan’s domain is the sea, and whatever the oceans touch, he bears witness to. When the sea reaches its limit at the shore, so too does Procan’s power. So we care little for what happens beyond his waters. Every story of the oceans courses through his mind, and he in each moment curses and blesses mortals for their endless follies, heroism, and hatreds."
More tea comes, and more stories. You're all still exhausted.
Back at the shrine, the two carpenters soon feel calm enough to get back to work - Dinah and Weasel will go down to the beach; Gretel will get to work on the roof.
Lucky.
<snore> <snore> <snore>
The young lad talks in his sleep, calling out a few names at times: "Jaeden! Alfred! Watch out!" His dreams are clearly nothing but troubled.
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Katernin takes the blanket from her bed and drapes it around Lucky's shoulders before going to help Gretel.
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
Kelnan
Tales and legends are always welcome to Kelnan, doubly so since he might actually get a chance to explore some of them. Not much of this lore exists back home, some new tales and treasures would certainly shut that fool Hayden up.
Not afraid to show his true self with such a storyteller, Kelnan revels in the tea and tales. He mostly listens but is happy to throw in some old elven legends, detailing the bits that he helped prove true earlier in his career. But practically nodding off in the chair, he finally stands. "Come little dragonling, we should check on the others and make our way back into town before I faint where I stand. Thank you friend for your time. Perhaps I can recruit some help to check out this alchemist's house. Mysterious magicks in the countryside are rarely so strange as people imagine, and often more interesting. We will surely meet again." He bows in thanks and leaves for the shrine before asking the others to join him at the inn.
Brinehanded stands on his single leg and hobbles slowly to the door to see Kelnan and Molo out. "Go rest, lost ones. You are always welcome here. We hold services tomorrow night you are invited to attend.
"Your ship was not the only wreck in the recent storm," he continues, not quite ready to let you go. "We lost Sinker as well, just off Crabber's Cove, very close to where you came ashore. The water is only maybe fifteen feet deep there. Sinker was a small fishing boat named for the exquisite, silvered fishing pole its owner had aboard. It's a fancy pole. If you fellows feel up to a job, go investigate the wreck for me, and, if you can find them, bring us back the two sailors who were aboard, for proper burial. You can keep the pole. Be cautious about the cove, however. More than one overeager fisherman has disappeared into the clacking darkness there, never to be seen again."
"Did I tell you about the warship, Gnasher, captained by a merciless, young half-dragon whose greed is as strong as a red dragon's?" He launches into a tale he's already told you.
Meanwhile, next door, Gretel cheerily whistles a salty tune while she expertly patches the roof atop a ramshackle ladder, as if she hadn't just experienced a near-mortal trauma.
Fianna and Lucky snore fitfully in the corners, while Capt. Reed stares out to sea. Katernin watches over the party, wondering if her mission has just expanded a little.
Reed
Exhausted, barely able to move, but unable to lay down just yet, Reed watches the waves come in. He remembers vivid snippets of the storm tossing him around before waking up on the beach. He finally shakes his head, trying to clear it, and finds another corner. He tucks his pack and his weapons behind him within arms reach, and falls into a restless sleep.
Ready to DM and chew bubblegum. And I'm alllll outta bubblegum.
Kellen Rivian (Level 12 Lore Bard)- Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8)
Ruven Gilrel (Level 4 Bladesinger)- The Shattered Obelisk
Reed, Fianna, and Lucky sleep away the morning on the floor of Katernin's shrine, while Gretel works on the roof with Katernin's help.
Kelnan and Molo eventually extract themselves from Brinehanded's endless storytelling, and return the the shrine.
(Shall everyone take a long rest on the floor the shrine? Or would you still like to go find beds at the Mariner's Guildhall or the Snapping Line?)
Kelnan
Finding the others passed out on the floor, Kelnan shrugs, finds a quiet corner, and begins his meditative trance. Perhaps a quieted mind will uncover some detail that will help find the footlocker. "Molo, if you want a proper room, I'm still happy to send some money with you, but it looks like our new companions have found a place to rest already."
The soft bed was mostly for their benefit, oh well. A warm bath can wait for later.
(I think we're all passed out right now lol)
Ready to DM and chew bubblegum. And I'm alllll outta bubblegum.
Kellen Rivian (Level 12 Lore Bard)- Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8)
Ruven Gilrel (Level 4 Bladesinger)- The Shattered Obelisk
(Whether the owners like it or not!)
Your desire for a proper bed forgotten for now, the party slumbers deeply upon Katernin's hard wooden floors. Fitful dreams, for the most part - old traumas and unsettling visions - but very necessary rest. (OOC: Exhaustion lifted.) You sleep the day away.
Darkness has fallen by the time you awaken, stiff and sore and groggy and hungry. Katernin and Weasel are sitting and drinking tea by the window. Someone has made a fire in the stove, and the room has become very comfortably warm.
When Kelnan awakes, he sees a locker left out for him; one with a horse carved in the top. It's his locker, in almost perfect condition. "DInah found it on the beach this afternoon," explains Weasel. "There were human scavengers out there, for sure, but she managed to out-scavenge them. She also found a crate full to the brim with nice daggers, but they're probably long gone by now. She and Gretel have gone home. The roof's fixed." She points up, and you see fresh thatching and some new timber framing where earlier there was a gaping hole.
It is now early evening. You feel better, if hungry.
(Sorry for the lack of response from Molo folks. I’m moving. Yesterday I got all the worst of it into the new house and I have acquired at least one level of exhaustion).
Paladin - warforged - orange
Lucky.
The first to wake, Lucky, rises, stretches and works out the kinks in his body. Being young and resilient this takes only a few moments. He goes over to the two priestesses. "Sorry to ask but do you have any food at all? I'm starving." He smiles shily at the two, but seems a different boy to the one who fell asleep here a few hours ago. His eyes are bright and lively, whereas before they were sunken and dark. It's almost as if the sleep has washed all memory of the trauma of the night before from his mind. "I don't mind cooking, if you have some food. I used to cook for my old family, before..." Well, when I say family I mean gang, of course, but you don't need to know that.
(Lucky is proficient with Cooking Utensils and is a pretty decent chef in his way. He knows only simple recipes using easily available ingredients but has a knack for making the basic taste great - and hiding the tastes of less savoury foods he's sometimes been force to eat just to survive.)
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Reed
He awakes with a start, grabbing for his weapons before realizing where he's at. He hears Lucky asking about food and gets up, working out the kinks in his muscles. I'm going to the tavern. I'm a bit thirsty.
Ready to DM and chew bubblegum. And I'm alllll outta bubblegum.
Kellen Rivian (Level 12 Lore Bard)- Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8)
Ruven Gilrel (Level 4 Bladesinger)- The Shattered Obelisk
(Based on Katernin's inventory, I'm guessing her pantry is not going to feed this whole party much longer.)
Weasel gives Reed and Lucky her advice. "If ye' want a cheap meal, get down to th' Mariner's Guildhall fer some of Ob's 'Mix' before curfew - it tastes better 'n it looks. No drinkin' allowed, though. If ye' wan' a drink and a little more variety, try the Snappin' Line. There are a couple 'o other taverns in town, but I don't think they'd be a good fit for folks like you."
Weasel finished her tea and stands. "I better get home myself." She gives Katernin a smile.
(No worries, I've got a big move coming up as well)
Kelnan
Opening his eyes and spying the locker, Kelnan smiles and quickly opens it up, ensuring everything is still there. "Many thanks to you and your friends, Ms. Weasel. Feel free to keep whatever loot was on that cursed boat." He flips through his red leatherbound spellbook, examining the neat lines and flourishes with great satisfaction, and snaps it back closed. When everyone has awoken, he rises and asks the group "Snapping Line then? Let's have a good dinner and chat before we move on. My treat."
Lucky.
A huge grin crosses the young boy's face as Kelnan offers to buy dinner. "Yes please, Pointy!" he exclaims, clearly very excited. It would appear that the potential of a big, hearty meal is far more important to this lad than any bigger, less immediate concerns about haunted houses, dog-men or shipwrecks. He's clearly someone who lives very much in the moment and doesn't worry too much about the future.
After all how bad could it all be...?
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Fianna
Fianna had been awake for a bit but had continued to lay about with her eyes closed. That ended when she heard the magical words come out of Kelnan's mouth. "I'm in," she mumbled blearily as she started to rise. "Where to?"
Molo looks at Kelnan and starts smacking his little lizard lips.
”Pointy, right? Why, I don’t think I could possibly turn down such graciousness. Please, lead o and I’ll tell you the tale of a half dragon sea captain whose greed was as great as a real dragon.”
Oblivious to the fact that Kelnan was there, too.
Paladin - warforged - orange