Adventures in Saltmarsh - Session 5

Party: 

♦ Solace (female tiefling bard, haunted-one background)
♦ Magnus Argyros (dragonborn sorcerer) 
♦ Naero (human paladin)
♦ Sir Drake Mc Gruff (halfling rogue)
♦ Aranthir (elf rogue)
♦ Rok Stonefist (half-orc barbarian)

We all make our way back into the mess hall, Drake the last to join us. He overhears a low growl and undead moans from deeper into the cave, but we decide to take a rest before venturing further. Drake sets up a simple tripwire with a bell that can alert us if anything should pass into the corridor as we rest. 

As our short rest draws to a close, one of the pirates stirs awake. He's initially very gutsy, but a mix of intimidation from Rok and some kindness from Naero, loosen his tongue. He mentions the "operation" is new, that the boss, named Sanbalet, is further in the cave, and that he has lots of "pets". Undead pets. They've been smuggling weapons to a lizard-folk lair south of Saltmarsh. He didn't seem to know much about the undead we dealt with in the mansion. Magnus can tell he's not telling the whole truth. Our other captured pirate seems to be draining in color and though it's already been a couple of hours since we stabilized. Naero assumes he may have internal injuries and picks him up to take him into the separate chamber. He casts Cure Wounds on him, and we overhear a muffled conversation. Naero attempts to discuss things with him calmly, as the pirate freaks out over his leg injury. He does confirm what the other pirate said, and adds that there were 10 pirates in all, not counting their boss. Naero lets him consider his options in that separate room for a bit,as he rejoins us. Rok is heading towards the chamber as Drake overhears the undead moans yet again, and a vaguely humanoid greenish silhouette is entering the mess-hall from the secret entrance. Magnus attacks it and it seems to disappear into the wall... Might have been an illusion? 

We return to the matter at hand, getting insight from the pirates. Rok enters the chamber briefly, and when he exits he informs Naero that the pirate is ready to talk. Naero learns of various creatures the pirate has seen "the boss" control, and other details about the operation - including how a ship signals the pirates, their ship is sailed into the bay, where they take the weapons and then put them in a shipment that is taken to the lizard-folk. The pirate knows this smuggling business isn't good, but he gets paid 3 gold a day, and 10 gold for every successful shipment, so he sticks with it.We decide to put both pirates in the DANGER room, tied up and gagged.

We decide to let our rogues scout out the place a few dozen feet in front of us, and they sneakily advance through the cave corridors, with us closely behind. 

We find a number of smugglers further into the caverns, protected by an illusory rock formation. One of them wears robes that sound like the pirates' description of their boss. We wage combat and there's again a mention of fighting non-lethally. Rok and Solace seem against it this time, killing several targets, but despite these feelings, an archer in the back surrenders and we leave him alive. He shares similar information as the other two. In addition, Jack, for that was his name - does share a bit more about the ship that delivers the goods to the smugglers, the Sea Ghost, captained by a human man named Siggurt. Searching Sanbalet's body, we find a note that the archer confirms is a code used in the operation:

Jack mentions there's one more smuggler, hiding in a closet on the first floor whose job it was to keep the house appearing haunted for anyone who dared enter. We make a point to get him before leaving. 

We loot the bodies and the caves, finding brandy, silk scrolls and a magical scale mail that Rok equips. The enchantment gives him a swim speed equal to his walking speed. Further down an inclined corridor we find a boat anchored in the cave. We agree to take the brandy to the docks by boat (Drake maneuvering the ship with Jack), and we load up the silk scrolls in the Bag of Holding to sell later. 

We decide to get the remaining smuggler from the first floor before leaving for the inn, agreeing that we would turn in the smugglers left alive at the guard post. We find him in the last chamber on the right, tied up and starting his little gimmick, but when he realises we know most of the story and his purpose there, he defeatedly accepts his fate. 

We leave the haunted house with the surviving smugglers in tow, planning to leave them with the Saltmarsh Guard Post.

Adventures in Saltmarsh - Session 4

Party: 

♦ Solace (female tiefling bard, haunted-one background)
♦ Magnus Argyros (dragonborn sorcerer) 
♦ Naero (human paladin)
♦ Sir Drake Mc Gruff (halfling rogue)
♦ Aranthir (elf rogue)
♦ Rok Stonefist (half-orc barbarian)

After we find ourselves alone, Lady Oland making her way out the inn door, we consider our day. While we all agree we'll return to the Haunted House today, many also have small errands in town. We make our way to a marketplace, where we all make barters and trades. Solace convinces a merchant to sell her a light armor, a studded leather, trading in a garish oil-skin coat found in the Haunted House, and 3 bottles of perfume she owned, as well as some gold she made along the way.

She lets one of her party barter away her old simple leather armor. She also purchases a flute, and because there was a sale, the whole party saw fit to buy a Healer's Kit.

They decide to gather more information and make their way to see the gravedigger, a tall lanky half-orc who is something of a local historian. On the way Naero drops a dented full-plate armor recovered from a dead adventurer at a blacksmith's for repairs.

The graveyard keeper lets us known that the old owner of the haunted house, an alchemist, named Mr Flamel, was trying to advance the cause of the Philosopher's Stone. It is said that he even took members of his family into his laboratory, likely to experiment on them.

We take our leave and make our way back to the Haunted House. We find a trap we had laid on the ground floor undisturbed, so descend the trap door once more. The mess-hall is largely undisturbed, but the trap is triggered on the DANGER door, and the pirates are nowhere in sight. We still take the time to investigate the secret door that the skeleton alchemist came through, and discover his secret laboratory. Though nothing is magical here, Magnus does take alchemist's supplies, and we also find some cast gold items, which we take.

When re return to the mess-hall, we seem relaxed and distracted, and fail to spot the 3 bandits, who surprise us with combat. We fend them off, though their double attacks leave Rok quite wounded and Aranthir falling unconscious (though Solace heals him during the combat). Naero suggests we should keep one alive, though Rok's next attack lobs a pirate's head clean off. Despite his unwillingness, we do manage to leave one unconscious, but alive, Solace taking him down non-lethally with a short sword. We have him tied up and gagged, as we take a short rest to mend our wounds.

On a chance, Magnus finds a secret door, which we decide to explore once we have rested. Magnus and Naero initially remain behind as we investigate. A tight corridor with stairs leading down open up into a cavern. We overhear noises and see a scout up ahead, opening combat, and Rok also spots some greenish slimes on the ceiling of the cave. Drake quickly calls out to the others to join us, luckily they were within earshot. We engage the pirates, battling 3 of them and the oozes that drop upon us from the ceiling. Yet again, Naero encourages us to knock targets unconscious rather than take them out, which the party seems to agree with less this time around. One seemed enough. Despite the protests, Rok's final attack with his greataxe cuts clear through a scout's leg, leaving him bleeding and unconscious but still clinging onto life. 

We stabilize the pirate, loot the dead smugglers' bodies, and leave the alive one tied up next to his friend in a corner of the mess-hall.

Adventures in Saltmarsh - Session 3

Party: 

♦ Solace (female tiefling bard, haunted-one background)
♦ Magnus Argyros (dragonborn sorcerer) 
♦ Naero (human paladin)
♦ Sir Drake Mc Gruff (halfling rogue)
♦ Aranthir (elf rogue)
♦ Rok Stonefist (half-orc barbarian)

As we enter the room piles of bones animate.

We fight a grueling battle vs. skeletons, one even armed with alchemical items. In the altercation Solace heals an unconscious Naero twice, using up all her spell slots for the day. Mid-way through it looked like the combat was too much for us, and some of us tried retreating, but Rok would hear none of it, and we ended up reentering the chamber and trying to survive the encounter. Miraculously, though none of us unscathed, we lived.

We took some time to loot the chamber, agreeing that we'd need rest before exploring more of the manor. As we made our way out, we overheard voices coming from the mess hall. In a panic we hid in the separate chamber, peeking through to see armed men in sailor's attire. They saw the DANGER door open, and they wanted to look inside, so we took the chance to bar the door on them and flee.

It was clear the mess hall was some sort of pirate hideout, perhaps the old haunted manor is a smuggling den for them of some sorts. As we make our way back into Saltmarsh, we agree not to tell the villagers everything yet, and to explore more of the place the following day, after some healing rest.

We have a hearty dinner at the Snapping Line, Solace casts a series of Prestidigitations and Thaumaturgies, to create a small spectacle for the patrons, without focusing too much attention on herself. She was tired, wounded and fell asleep with ease that night, a sleep untroubled by the usual visions.

In the morning, over breakfast, a noble woman, Lady Oland, approaches the party. She seems suspitious of how they were able to return from the manor, but asks the party to clear the mansion and make it safe, offering some unspecified reward to the party should they manage it. She seems genuinely interested in the wellfare of the city.

------ Level Up -------

Adventures in Saltmarsh - Session 2

Party: 

♦ Solace (female tiefling bard, haunted-one background)
♦ Magnus Argyros (dragonborn sorcerer) 
♦ Naero (human paladin)
♦ Sir Drake Mc Gruff (halfling rogue)
♦ Aranthir (elf rogue)
♦ Rok Stonefist (half-orc barbarian)

On our journey towards the haunted manor, we are accompanied by some of the villagers of Saltmarsh, showing us the way and sharing the tales they know of the place. As we approach however they slowly dwindle in numbers and let the party advance alone.

Disturbing a thorny rose bush we stumble upon some of the local wildlife, giant weasels that attack the party. Though vicious and accurate, we manage to dispose of them, with Naero skinning two of them for their pelts.

While most of the party rests, our rogue explores the garden, finding a woodcutter's axe and disturbing some very large snakes living in the well behind the house. He manages to hide from them, and returns to the party.

We make our way inside, an old moldy place with tight corridors and little rooms. On our leftt we find an old library room and a chamber with a trapdoor, mysterious steps in the dust leading to it.

Heading down, we find the corpse of a bygone adventurer, a body infested with grubs, which we fight. To our luck they were tiny and very slow, and we managed to kill them before they managed to injure us.

We found a secret door in this underground chamber, leading to a large mess hall, beds with locked boxes at the end of them, a table full of food, torches keeping the room brightly lit.

Exploring a separate adjacent room we find a bull's eye lantern, candles, some papers with codes and basic vocabulary in Goblin. This seems to be a private bedroom and office. We also find a spellbook in this chamber.

Rok shall open a door with chalk markings spelling out "DANGER" in the common tongue.

 

Adventures in Saltmarsh - Session 1

Party: 

♦ Solace (female tiefling bard, haunted-one background)
♦ Magnus Argyros (dragonborn sorcerer) 
♦ Naero (human paladin)
♦ Sir Drake Mc Gruff (halfling rogue)
♦ Aranthir (elf rogue)
♦ Rok Stonefist (half-orc barbarian)

The story starts in a tavern, The Snapping Line. There are a few interesting patrons here tonight. A half orc barbarian is telling a story of how he thwarted a spineless noble with his heroics. Commoners cheer at every twist of the tale.

Solace gets one of her strange visions about the half-orc, and she pays close attention to the story, concerned about the man. Though he looked like he could handle himself, she saw hints at a potential retribution from the noble, Gellen Primewater, a gruesome image of the barbarian skewered by several spears.

In another part of the tavern, there was talk of a haunted mansion and some adventurers started talking about going there for loot and glory, and to protect the town, as other curious folk who'd gone there before never returned.

Solace gets involved, wanting to help the group and the town, she does a small performance to earn her a bed in the inn, and in the morning the group gathers for breakfast.