Post by Dead Greyhawk on Sept 24, 2004 12:46:05 GMT -5
The party continues to search the ship. Winthrop quizzes the mage about the contents of his room. The mage divulges the location of the key to his chest: a hollow heel in one of his spare boots. Winthrop finds the boot and gets the key. Winthrop, Ned, Melar, and Serrin investigate the chest. Ned assures everyone that it is safe to open, but, when the chest is opened, a gas boils out, incapacitating all but Serrin. Serrin and Remo, who has been exploring the other cabins, wait for the gas to dissipate, and then pull the bodies to safety. No one is able to resuscitate them, and questioning of the mage yields nothing. Remo and Serrin appear ready to lynch the mage, but are warned off by the armed and prepared Stoutly brothers. Tom and Will Stoutly watch over the bound prisoners more closely following that event.
While Remo explores the ship, collecting valuable items and sea chests from various rooms and assembling them on deck, Serrin naps. Included in Remo’s collection are several locked metal boxes. Wandering the hold of the ship, he counts many casks and tuns, as well as several stacks of cloth bolts. Remo locates, in the room where the lizardmen came from, a chest with electrum coins, apparently minted in a foreign country, which have the head of a lizardman on them. Remo pours these coins out on the floor of the room. Also in this room, under one of the hammocks, is a crate with marsh reeds forming a nest. Remo continues collecting items until dawn, when a small boat is seen rowing out from shore.
The boat contains Ross, Raven, and four excise men. The excise men relate that a ship sailed into town early this morning and reported a ship, the Sea Ghost, moored out at sea. The boat was sent out to investigate, though the Constable expected that it would be the party. Raven explains a series of events that happened to him over the last few days, including trailing Johannes for eight hours out of town to the north, and that he has been trying to catch the party, but has lagged always a few hours behind.
Ross, on the other hand, relates a Pelor-granted vision shown to him in the manor house. It instructed him to go east of the manor house, to a location where Pelor had showed him a vision of worshippers in danger. Ross was able to locate the house in his vision, about a day's travel east of the manor house, but was too late to help the occupants. The house was empty and day-old blood was on the floor of one of the rooms. The neighbors knew nothing of what had happened, and told Ross that the people who lived there, a farmer and his family, were well liked and not in need. Ross then traveled back to Saltmarsh to find the party again, but searched in vain. He had even gone back out to the manor house one night to see if the party was there, but saw no lights on in the house. Ross tried one last time to meet with the rest of the party where they were to join with Johannes, but no one appeared there as well.
The Constable, assuming Ross was connected to the other itinerant adventurers in town, informed him of the party's mission, and when an anchored ship was reported, offered both Ross and Raven a lift out to it. With the assistance of the additional excise men, the Stoutlys are certain that the Sea Ghost can be brought into dock.
Soon after the ship, now trailing two small boats, has gotten underway, Ned, Winthrop, and Melar recover from their slumber. While the six excise men sail the ship into harbor, the party prowls over the ship, examining the different cabins. A set of charts and some notes written in an odd hand are located in the Captain's desk. A leather tube containing a wand wrapped with a scroll of paper is found under the mage's mattress. Eventually, following further questioning of the mage by Winthrop, the mage's spellbook is located; it was hidden in the top of the trapped chest. Flipping through the spellbook, he reads that the last page has a single word written across it.
Melar investigates the cabins near where Oceanus was found and spies a similar hidden hatch in the rear of the adjacent cabin. Opening this hatch exposes another crawl space, also lined with staples along the floor, but containing several large bundles and sacks. She enlists the aid of others to recover the bundles and sacks and bring them on deck.
All of the items found on the ship, along with the various and sundry items worn by the sailors, are placed in a pile on the deck. Added to this pile are Ross's and Raven's iron rings. Rook determines if any of the items are magical, discovering that the wand, the writing on the paper, the magic-user's spellbook, a carved ivory ring, both iron rings, and a broadsword all radiate magic. Rook then determines if any of the items radiate evil. He finds that the stone that Winthrop took from the manor house radiates evil, and that both Serrin and Ned Shakeshaft are evil people. Some debate ensues about the abilities and use of the magical items, and Winthrop explains that with time and significant money, he'll likely be able to determine what the powers of the magical items are. Rook raises the question of whether or not a different magician could perform this job more inexpensively. Winthrop glares at him frostily. Rook tells him his stone is accursed.
Ned is successful in opening the locked metal chests, finding inside an assortment of silver coins and more lizard-headed electrum coinage. In doing so, he triggers another trap on one of the boxes, injuring himself on a scything blade. The bundles found by Melar contain weapons (javelins and morning stars) and shields, including one large shield with the head of a lizardman emblazoned on it.
When the Sea Ghost arrives at the dock in Saltmarsh, the Constable and a group of excise men meet the ship. The Constable talks with Will and Tom Stoutly in the company of Serrin and Winthrop. The Constable is very interested in what has happened, and tells the party that the town council will meet in closed session that night to hear the party’s report. The Constable takes charge of the captives, saying that the Sheriff or one of his men will likely want to interrogate them.
The party rests and recuperates for much of the day, while Ross cooks up some food: pan-fried chicken. An excise man arrives at the ship and tells Ross that the party should pick a spokesperson to describe the events leading to the taking of the ship. After dark, Ross wakes the party. Excise men have been assigned to guard the dock and the ship; two at the base of the gangplank, two at the end of the pier, and one on the poop deck.
The party, including the sea elf, who tells Ross his name is Oceanus, is escorted by excise men to the Welcoming Home Inn. They bring with them examples of the weapons they discovered, the large, emblazoned shield, and samples of the coinage marked with the lizard head. There, Winthrop provides a synopsis, with only a few interruptions, of the events on the ship. The town council is appropriately impressed with the successful capture of the ship and the crushing of the smuggling ring. They are concerned that the lizardmen, who appear to be purchasing weapons from the smugglers, have ill intent towards Saltmarsh. The maps and documents found in the Captain's quarters are closely examined, and a match is found between a crude, hand-drawn map and part of the coastline in the Hool Marshes, southwest of Saltmarsh by only about ten miles. Other marks on the nautical charts appear to be clustered in an area east of Seaton. The town council needs to discuss their response to all of this new information, and requests the party return the next day. Before leaving, Rook and Serrin speak with Neal to arrange the sale of the trade goods on the ship. Neal agrees that if there are large quantities to be sold, it might be possible to arrange one large purchase, rather than a series of individual buyers. He is willing to discuss this possibility further on the next day.
After rising the next morning, Rook and Serrin meet with Neal. Neal states that he can likely purchase the entire cargo of trade goods and then resell them, but he needs to have his employees inspect the cargo to first assess its worth. Neal, Rook, and Serrin agree that Neal's people can come on board to inventory and price the trade goods. Rook then arranges with Tryzen further instruction in the clerical arts. Tryzen explains that the rites and rituals of this act require rare materials, and asks Rook to tithe twelve hundred gold eagles to cover the costs in materials, time, and effort.
Rook brings the electrum coinage bearing the lizardman head to Chumley Roundbottom. Chumley has never seen such a coin before, but is happy to convert it to good Keoish coin. Since he’ll have to melt the coins down into ingots or weights, he can only pay Rook their worth in metal, which is less than their worth as coinage. Rather than keep coinage that isn’t the coin of the realm, Rook converts the lizardman headed coins to Keoish eagles.
While Remo explores the ship, collecting valuable items and sea chests from various rooms and assembling them on deck, Serrin naps. Included in Remo’s collection are several locked metal boxes. Wandering the hold of the ship, he counts many casks and tuns, as well as several stacks of cloth bolts. Remo locates, in the room where the lizardmen came from, a chest with electrum coins, apparently minted in a foreign country, which have the head of a lizardman on them. Remo pours these coins out on the floor of the room. Also in this room, under one of the hammocks, is a crate with marsh reeds forming a nest. Remo continues collecting items until dawn, when a small boat is seen rowing out from shore.
The boat contains Ross, Raven, and four excise men. The excise men relate that a ship sailed into town early this morning and reported a ship, the Sea Ghost, moored out at sea. The boat was sent out to investigate, though the Constable expected that it would be the party. Raven explains a series of events that happened to him over the last few days, including trailing Johannes for eight hours out of town to the north, and that he has been trying to catch the party, but has lagged always a few hours behind.
Ross, on the other hand, relates a Pelor-granted vision shown to him in the manor house. It instructed him to go east of the manor house, to a location where Pelor had showed him a vision of worshippers in danger. Ross was able to locate the house in his vision, about a day's travel east of the manor house, but was too late to help the occupants. The house was empty and day-old blood was on the floor of one of the rooms. The neighbors knew nothing of what had happened, and told Ross that the people who lived there, a farmer and his family, were well liked and not in need. Ross then traveled back to Saltmarsh to find the party again, but searched in vain. He had even gone back out to the manor house one night to see if the party was there, but saw no lights on in the house. Ross tried one last time to meet with the rest of the party where they were to join with Johannes, but no one appeared there as well.
The Constable, assuming Ross was connected to the other itinerant adventurers in town, informed him of the party's mission, and when an anchored ship was reported, offered both Ross and Raven a lift out to it. With the assistance of the additional excise men, the Stoutlys are certain that the Sea Ghost can be brought into dock.
Soon after the ship, now trailing two small boats, has gotten underway, Ned, Winthrop, and Melar recover from their slumber. While the six excise men sail the ship into harbor, the party prowls over the ship, examining the different cabins. A set of charts and some notes written in an odd hand are located in the Captain's desk. A leather tube containing a wand wrapped with a scroll of paper is found under the mage's mattress. Eventually, following further questioning of the mage by Winthrop, the mage's spellbook is located; it was hidden in the top of the trapped chest. Flipping through the spellbook, he reads that the last page has a single word written across it.
Melar investigates the cabins near where Oceanus was found and spies a similar hidden hatch in the rear of the adjacent cabin. Opening this hatch exposes another crawl space, also lined with staples along the floor, but containing several large bundles and sacks. She enlists the aid of others to recover the bundles and sacks and bring them on deck.
All of the items found on the ship, along with the various and sundry items worn by the sailors, are placed in a pile on the deck. Added to this pile are Ross's and Raven's iron rings. Rook determines if any of the items are magical, discovering that the wand, the writing on the paper, the magic-user's spellbook, a carved ivory ring, both iron rings, and a broadsword all radiate magic. Rook then determines if any of the items radiate evil. He finds that the stone that Winthrop took from the manor house radiates evil, and that both Serrin and Ned Shakeshaft are evil people. Some debate ensues about the abilities and use of the magical items, and Winthrop explains that with time and significant money, he'll likely be able to determine what the powers of the magical items are. Rook raises the question of whether or not a different magician could perform this job more inexpensively. Winthrop glares at him frostily. Rook tells him his stone is accursed.
Ned is successful in opening the locked metal chests, finding inside an assortment of silver coins and more lizard-headed electrum coinage. In doing so, he triggers another trap on one of the boxes, injuring himself on a scything blade. The bundles found by Melar contain weapons (javelins and morning stars) and shields, including one large shield with the head of a lizardman emblazoned on it.
When the Sea Ghost arrives at the dock in Saltmarsh, the Constable and a group of excise men meet the ship. The Constable talks with Will and Tom Stoutly in the company of Serrin and Winthrop. The Constable is very interested in what has happened, and tells the party that the town council will meet in closed session that night to hear the party’s report. The Constable takes charge of the captives, saying that the Sheriff or one of his men will likely want to interrogate them.
The party rests and recuperates for much of the day, while Ross cooks up some food: pan-fried chicken. An excise man arrives at the ship and tells Ross that the party should pick a spokesperson to describe the events leading to the taking of the ship. After dark, Ross wakes the party. Excise men have been assigned to guard the dock and the ship; two at the base of the gangplank, two at the end of the pier, and one on the poop deck.
The party, including the sea elf, who tells Ross his name is Oceanus, is escorted by excise men to the Welcoming Home Inn. They bring with them examples of the weapons they discovered, the large, emblazoned shield, and samples of the coinage marked with the lizard head. There, Winthrop provides a synopsis, with only a few interruptions, of the events on the ship. The town council is appropriately impressed with the successful capture of the ship and the crushing of the smuggling ring. They are concerned that the lizardmen, who appear to be purchasing weapons from the smugglers, have ill intent towards Saltmarsh. The maps and documents found in the Captain's quarters are closely examined, and a match is found between a crude, hand-drawn map and part of the coastline in the Hool Marshes, southwest of Saltmarsh by only about ten miles. Other marks on the nautical charts appear to be clustered in an area east of Seaton. The town council needs to discuss their response to all of this new information, and requests the party return the next day. Before leaving, Rook and Serrin speak with Neal to arrange the sale of the trade goods on the ship. Neal agrees that if there are large quantities to be sold, it might be possible to arrange one large purchase, rather than a series of individual buyers. He is willing to discuss this possibility further on the next day.
After rising the next morning, Rook and Serrin meet with Neal. Neal states that he can likely purchase the entire cargo of trade goods and then resell them, but he needs to have his employees inspect the cargo to first assess its worth. Neal, Rook, and Serrin agree that Neal's people can come on board to inventory and price the trade goods. Rook then arranges with Tryzen further instruction in the clerical arts. Tryzen explains that the rites and rituals of this act require rare materials, and asks Rook to tithe twelve hundred gold eagles to cover the costs in materials, time, and effort.
Rook brings the electrum coinage bearing the lizardman head to Chumley Roundbottom. Chumley has never seen such a coin before, but is happy to convert it to good Keoish coin. Since he’ll have to melt the coins down into ingots or weights, he can only pay Rook their worth in metal, which is less than their worth as coinage. Rather than keep coinage that isn’t the coin of the realm, Rook converts the lizardman headed coins to Keoish eagles.