Post by Dead Greyhawk on Sept 24, 2004 12:47:44 GMT -5
That evening, at the Welcoming Home Inn, the town council pays the party five hundred gold eagles each, honoring their contract. They also relate how the potential threat of the lizardmen has created a further need for the party's services. The town is willing to pay twice the previous amount, or one thousand gold eagles each, if the party will discover the strength of the lizard encampment, their intentions, and the details of their lair. Again, Tom and Will Stoutly will man a boat, a larger cutter with a mast and sail, and accompany the party. The party agrees to take the contract, through Ned declines to join them, saying he's not interested in going into the Hool Marshes. The party explains that they cannot investigate the location of the lizardmen's lair without Rook first completing his religious training. At the close of the meeting, Neal agrees to purchase the trade goods and does so, paying close to eleven thousand gold eagles for the complete shipment. The money is split among the party, Ned, and the Stoutlys.
Rook borrows money from Serrin and others so that he can tithe the appropriate amount, and enters training at the church. Winthrop and Melar take this opportunity to hunt for reagents and components for magical inks. While supplies of these items are limited, enough exist in Saltmarsh for Melar and Winthrop to transcribe some spells. Also, Melar and Winthrop spend their time attempting to discern the purpose of several of the magical items collected so far. After days of exhaustive magical testing, the carved ivory ring and both iron rings are determined to be beneficial protective rings of the least order, the wand likely detects magical emanations, and the plate mail is enchanted at the least level. Remo consults with Morin the armorer about plate mail, and contracts with him for a set, paying the price up front. Morin gives him a three week timeframe for the completion of the armor. Serrin inquires about the ownership of the manor house and is told that his Lordship, Lord Morgan, or perhaps the Lord Mayor of Seaton would know. Serrin writes to his former master about the possibility of purchasing the manor house and establishing a monastery there.
After several days, Rook returns from training with Tryzen, steeped with greater clerical lore, but chafing a bit under the restrictions that come with higher status in the church. Assembling the party, including Oceanus, who has been learning the common tongue, and their excise men guides, they sail down the coast towards the location marked on the hand-drawn map. Great care is taken to avoid being observed, including a loop made out to sea so that an approach can be made from the south, away from the town.
Following landfall, the boat is secured and the party begins to walk the mile or so through the marsh to reach the place marked on the map. Using Remo's tracking skills, a path is found through the swamp, paralleling the coastline. After roughly an hour's walk, the party is beset by frog men, some armed with swords and one also with a shield, who hop to the attack. More than a score of frog men, hopping and croaking, surround and swarm over the party, knocking Winthrop, Melar, and Tom Stoutly unconscious, but they are eventually repulsed following superior bow work. The ambush occurred in a drier hillier section of the swamp, and an investigation of the surrounding area uncovers what appears to be a temporary campsite. At the edge of the campsite, a partially submerged chest is hidden among the reeds. Inside this chest is an assortment of old bags and clothes. The bags contain three oddly colored and shaped stones, five rubies, more gold coins with the lizard minting, and an oddly shaped helm. Raven tries on the helm to no apparent effect. Raven collects the items and carries them in his backpack.
Remo and the others clean up the battle scene, tossing the corpses further into the marsh and collecting the few weapons and one shield in the now empty chest. The chest is placed back into the marsh. After reviving the unconscious, the party closes to within sight of the location marked on the map.
A hundred yards away, across some wet marshland, a promontory butts into the sea, sloping out of the marshland. No life is seen on the promontory, except for some marsh birds. Serrin, Oceanus, and Melar creep through the wet marsh into the grass and reeds growing on the promontory, attempting to scout the promontory. Oceanus and Melar locate a path which winds from a river on the far side of the promontory up to about forty feet from the promontory top. Crawling over to the edge of the promontory, they see another intersecting path running along the river edge. This path by the river appears to end in a cave entrance in the side of the promontory. While this is occurring, Serrin crawls through the reeds to discover what appears to be a cave mouth covered by a camouflaged reed screen. Crawling beside it and peering inside, he sees a wooden, iron-bound door about five feet inside the cave itself.
A hushed discussion is held, and the party is summoned through the wet marsh to the promontory, with directions given to enter through the camouflaged cave entrance. Rook and Raven take the lead in entering through the door. Raven is able to successfully force the door with only a little noise. Raven and Rook lead the party into a roughly ten foot wide corridor of packed earth with wooden supports, poorly lit with torches. The corridor appears to have a room off of it about thirty feet away on the right-hand side and ends in a perpendicular corridor.
After traveling about five feet into the corridor, hissing sounds and movement are heard from the area of the room. Raven quickly nocks an arrow while Rook readies his mace. A large, seven-foot tall lizardman holding a morning star looks from the doorway of the room down the corridor towards the exit door and the party. Much agitation is seen in the demeanor of the lizardman, and he hisses back into the room while stepping into the hallway. He then motions that the party should back up.
Rook mutters to Raven that he should shoot the lizardman, but Raven doesn't fire. More hissing is heard from the room, along with the sound of running feet, and another lizardman, this one with a shortsword, becomes visible in the doorway to the room. Raven still holds his fire, though Rook is more adamant that Raven should be firing. The lizardman in the hallway continues to motion that the party should back up.
After a few more moments of this stand off, two more lizardmen are seen at the end of the hallway, these holding javelins. A lizardman wearing a silverish armband strides out of the side room and tells the party, in poor common tongue, that they must leave the lizardmen's home. Rook states that they are looking to sell weapons to the lizardmen, but the lizardman is adamant that the party must go outside before further talking occurs.
Rook borrows money from Serrin and others so that he can tithe the appropriate amount, and enters training at the church. Winthrop and Melar take this opportunity to hunt for reagents and components for magical inks. While supplies of these items are limited, enough exist in Saltmarsh for Melar and Winthrop to transcribe some spells. Also, Melar and Winthrop spend their time attempting to discern the purpose of several of the magical items collected so far. After days of exhaustive magical testing, the carved ivory ring and both iron rings are determined to be beneficial protective rings of the least order, the wand likely detects magical emanations, and the plate mail is enchanted at the least level. Remo consults with Morin the armorer about plate mail, and contracts with him for a set, paying the price up front. Morin gives him a three week timeframe for the completion of the armor. Serrin inquires about the ownership of the manor house and is told that his Lordship, Lord Morgan, or perhaps the Lord Mayor of Seaton would know. Serrin writes to his former master about the possibility of purchasing the manor house and establishing a monastery there.
After several days, Rook returns from training with Tryzen, steeped with greater clerical lore, but chafing a bit under the restrictions that come with higher status in the church. Assembling the party, including Oceanus, who has been learning the common tongue, and their excise men guides, they sail down the coast towards the location marked on the hand-drawn map. Great care is taken to avoid being observed, including a loop made out to sea so that an approach can be made from the south, away from the town.
Following landfall, the boat is secured and the party begins to walk the mile or so through the marsh to reach the place marked on the map. Using Remo's tracking skills, a path is found through the swamp, paralleling the coastline. After roughly an hour's walk, the party is beset by frog men, some armed with swords and one also with a shield, who hop to the attack. More than a score of frog men, hopping and croaking, surround and swarm over the party, knocking Winthrop, Melar, and Tom Stoutly unconscious, but they are eventually repulsed following superior bow work. The ambush occurred in a drier hillier section of the swamp, and an investigation of the surrounding area uncovers what appears to be a temporary campsite. At the edge of the campsite, a partially submerged chest is hidden among the reeds. Inside this chest is an assortment of old bags and clothes. The bags contain three oddly colored and shaped stones, five rubies, more gold coins with the lizard minting, and an oddly shaped helm. Raven tries on the helm to no apparent effect. Raven collects the items and carries them in his backpack.
Remo and the others clean up the battle scene, tossing the corpses further into the marsh and collecting the few weapons and one shield in the now empty chest. The chest is placed back into the marsh. After reviving the unconscious, the party closes to within sight of the location marked on the map.
A hundred yards away, across some wet marshland, a promontory butts into the sea, sloping out of the marshland. No life is seen on the promontory, except for some marsh birds. Serrin, Oceanus, and Melar creep through the wet marsh into the grass and reeds growing on the promontory, attempting to scout the promontory. Oceanus and Melar locate a path which winds from a river on the far side of the promontory up to about forty feet from the promontory top. Crawling over to the edge of the promontory, they see another intersecting path running along the river edge. This path by the river appears to end in a cave entrance in the side of the promontory. While this is occurring, Serrin crawls through the reeds to discover what appears to be a cave mouth covered by a camouflaged reed screen. Crawling beside it and peering inside, he sees a wooden, iron-bound door about five feet inside the cave itself.
A hushed discussion is held, and the party is summoned through the wet marsh to the promontory, with directions given to enter through the camouflaged cave entrance. Rook and Raven take the lead in entering through the door. Raven is able to successfully force the door with only a little noise. Raven and Rook lead the party into a roughly ten foot wide corridor of packed earth with wooden supports, poorly lit with torches. The corridor appears to have a room off of it about thirty feet away on the right-hand side and ends in a perpendicular corridor.
After traveling about five feet into the corridor, hissing sounds and movement are heard from the area of the room. Raven quickly nocks an arrow while Rook readies his mace. A large, seven-foot tall lizardman holding a morning star looks from the doorway of the room down the corridor towards the exit door and the party. Much agitation is seen in the demeanor of the lizardman, and he hisses back into the room while stepping into the hallway. He then motions that the party should back up.
Rook mutters to Raven that he should shoot the lizardman, but Raven doesn't fire. More hissing is heard from the room, along with the sound of running feet, and another lizardman, this one with a shortsword, becomes visible in the doorway to the room. Raven still holds his fire, though Rook is more adamant that Raven should be firing. The lizardman in the hallway continues to motion that the party should back up.
After a few more moments of this stand off, two more lizardmen are seen at the end of the hallway, these holding javelins. A lizardman wearing a silverish armband strides out of the side room and tells the party, in poor common tongue, that they must leave the lizardmen's home. Rook states that they are looking to sell weapons to the lizardmen, but the lizardman is adamant that the party must go outside before further talking occurs.