Book of Theros

Greetings Vicar,

The group and I started our second day in Saltmarsh collecting, trading, and splitting our spoils from our mansion episode. We thought to go to the Temple of Procan to replenish the holy water spent our battle with the skeletons and I wanted to consult with Welgar about the parchments found in Sambalay's quarters. Given his worship of a sea-god, I assumed he could shed some light on the map and the code. While he figured the southwesterly area of the x is in "marshland," he also figured the parchment with the x's and lines were nautical light codes that represented opening and closing the hood in short or long bursts with the lantern we found. Unfortunately, he couldn't definitively tell us which value was for short nor long. In hindsight, we should've asked the crewmen we let go.

We went back to the Empty Net in hopes of finding the the pair of brigands, but they were nowhere to be found. Or maybe they were, but we were in the middle of a kerfuffle with Kreb not wanting to serve Durikthat they could've slipped out if they saw us. Nevertheless, rich from our last outing, Durik smoothed relations by buying the favor of the denizens with a round of drinks.

Went to the Council House to report our findings and claim our end of the agreement met. We arrived to council in session and was met by Councilman Eliander Fireborn. We offered to wait until the session adjourned, but the Councilman led us into the Chamber as their discussions were reportedly at an impasse. We made the formal introduction the membership of the Council. At first, I thought we were going to be goblin-ed when our arrangement with Councilman Solomor was revealed; as if he didn't have the authority to make deals on behalf of the Council and that our labor would go unrewarded. Thankfully, Councilman Solomor produced the parchment under City Seal and they had no choice but to honor it. We reported on disposing the skeletons that made up the haunting element of the house, and reported on finding the remains of the rumored alchemist associated with the house in lore. That alone seemed to satisfy the council that we met the the terms of our original agreement, but I was hesitant to reveal the smuggling portion. I was particularly suspicious of Councilman Primewater; he just struck me as the sort to collude with smugglers for their own gain. Without having much to go on, we did reveal details of the smuggling ring. When we spoke of the death of Sambalay, Councilman Fireborn was so impressed he amended our agreement on the spot to yield us double! Concerned with how this growing municipality would look if it be associated as a smuggler's den, we arranged another agreement with the council to investigate. We requested a detail of city-guard with sailing experience to help us with our investigation that was thankfully granted. This new arrangement sealed not with a wax council seal, but by dwarven accord between Durik and Councilwoman Copperlocks.

Nearing sundown, we met with the detail assigned to man our skiff and made our way back to the smuggler's cove. We scrounged around the area donning whatever privateer clothing we can find (Barristeras Sambalay) hoping that it provided enough of a disguise in the dark to give us an element of surprise. There wasn't enough clothing to go outfit the entire gang, so we put Durik in a barrel and Shardonaback in the crate we found her in. We set sail toward the southwest it didn't take long to see a light signal in the darkness in three short intervals. Consulting the parchment, I noted signal no. 3 had three "dashes"; and surmised "dash" equaled "short." I replied with signal no. 1 with one-short and three-long bursts. We were met with two volleys of long/short/long/short; the pattern matching signal no. 2! A few moments later, a barge emerged from the dark in approach.

As our two ships met, Barrister mimicked Sambalay's voice well enough not to raise the suspicion of the deck hand who said Bosan Frithoff wanted to see him after we unloaded the wares. Keeping our collective heads down, we interspersed the barrel Durik was in and the crate that held Shardona among the cargo. This especially allowed Beldroth up to scout for threats and gain significant advantage to rid us of the deck hand. After hiding the body, we thought to clear the rear of ship first to eliminate reinforcements when we face the captain. It was there we discovered reptilian "men" sleeping at the rear of the boat. We did our best to do away with the lizz-bians quickly and silently, but our fight was prolonged enough to start getting attention from the front of the boat. We heard a voice admonishing Sambalay being noisy enough to "wake up our guests" (these brigands are in league?!?!). We were triumphant over the lizards and the fight then spilled to the main deck. The battle introduced us to the Captain, Sigurd "Snake Eyes," and his man Bosun Frithoff that the first deck hand referred to. Amidst the fight, Shardona displayed talent in magics by inducing sleep to our rivals, and Bosun slipped off of the deck and fell overboard. Seeing he was at a disadvantage, Sigurd requested parley. Before anyone could grant the parley, Beldroth, still in the tide of battle, struck down Sigurd. Surely he didn't hear the request...I wouldn't think he'd willingly strike down a surrendered foe, right?

Free from any more threats, we found and freed an elf named Oceanus. He revealed Sigurd's was indeed in league with the Lizardmen. The 'X' on the map was the staging area in the Marshland, and Sigurd was arming the Lizz for a possible attack on Saltmarsh! Should we warn the council first? Should we explore the marsh first? Whichever the course, we will decide in the morning.

In faith,
Theros

Good greetings Vicar Veredon,

I write to you at the town of Saltmarsh; a developing town with promise having recently opened a dwarven mine. I am still travelling with the same group noted in my last report: the man-monk Barrister Aleman, the dwarven fighting-dervish Durik Ironhide, the elven pincher Beldroth, and the bi-racial woodsman Seraphiel.

It didn't take long for the group to catch wind of local rumors regarding a haunted house located between town and said mine. Luckily, I didn't have to convince my colleagues we should investigate; rumor alone is enough for me, but am thankful to have company.

The local faith is that of Procan, fitting of a coastal town, and sought counsel at their temple to start our investigation. There I made acquaintance with their high priest, Welgar Brinehanded, who told us the prior inhabitant of the house is said to be a merchant or a noble. Further, the priest said prior adventurer's who investigated the house have yet to be heard from again. The high priest also availed us with information about the town and its notable people: Winston Goodwort, proprietor of Winston's Shoppe for basic (and possibly "other") goods; Dwarven Anvil, proprietor unknown, for weaponsmithing; and Kester's for leathersmithing.

After the Temple, we visited Winston's Shoppe as it was nearby. We had the "pleasure" of meeting Winston Goodwort, a very shifty and unsavory man. When asked, he said the prior inhabitant of the house was neither a merchant, nor noble, but an alchemist. Pressing if he can point us to another source of information, he told us of a local drunk, Boberth, who purportedly had firsthand experience with the haunted house and can be found bending his elbow at a tavern called the Empty Net.

We then visited the Town Council Hall where we met with the newest, and surprisingly young, Councilmember, Anders Solomor. We learned about the council's membership of five: Eda Owenland, Chair, Gellen Primewater (who is purportedly influential by wealth), Manestrad Copperlocks, and Eliander Fireborn (who purportedly gained his respect as a warrior-type, evidenced by missing a leg). The councilman knew as much about the haunted house as the local tales and offered no further helpful information. However, in his endeavor to make a mark and gain favor as a public figure, the group and I were able to negotiate a monetary contract with the backing of the councilman's seal. We are to be recompensed by the council if we are able to investigate the Alchemist's home and resolve any problems found.

Nearing sundown, we made our way to The Empty Net. After a terse greeting from the tavern's dwarven-facing racist (dwarfist?) barkeep, Kreb Shenker, he pointed us to a corner where we found the tippler Boberth. Inside a gallon of ale, Boberth spun a tale of seeking refuge in the alleged haunted house on a stormy night. As he explored the house hoping to find vittles, he heard a "scream" or "bellow," ran out of the house, and he hasn't shut his gob about it since. I was slightly disheartened hearing the quality of the only firsthand account that we knew of. It sounded like this "haunted house" was going to be fool's account of being startled by a noise as opposed to a worthy mission to test our mettle. The drunk's story said the "noise" was experienced at night, so my colleagues and I decided to make our way toward the house immediately and not wait for daybreak.

Upon arrival, we retraced the drunkard's story; went down the hallway left of the entrance. As we entered the room at the end of the hall and, amidst our search, an unholy roar came from both heaven and the abyss as if death itself welcomed us to our doom. Before I could muster to call on St. Cuthbert for strength, I uncontrollably ran out of the house as if possessed. Once out of the house, the band regrouped at the front door to gather ourselves. After a spending a few minutes to calm our nerves, we hear the voice of Seraphiel (he never left the room?) calling for us, reassuring us to return inside. Meeting Seraphiel at the doorway, he pointed out a spectral mouth that was hidden under some rubbish at the corner of the room that repeatedly cried the same silly phrase like a ghostly town crier. The mouth was sitting atop a trapdoor leading to stairs below the house. The thought crossed our minds that someone went through the trouble to dweamer a mouth to act as an alarm to scare away the curious from the door, perhaps the mouth can also act as an alarm to whomever set it that they have company. Nevertheless, we descended down the stair with weapons at the ready.

At the base of the stairs was a subterranean room with a corpse in plate armor. I reached down to search the corpse, hoping to find a sigil or crest, only to be attacked by filthy rock grubs! After we dispensed with the vermin Beldroth found a secret entrance to the south, with a lit room at the end fashioned into a make shift sleeping quarters that can house 10. A search of the room yielded another secret entrance to the southwest, and the eastern hall had a basic door and one labeled "Danger." We decide to open the secret door and wound its way through caverns. Relying on Durik's experience with tunnels and Seraphiel's intuit direction to  lead the way, we came upon a room lined with casks. As we searched for clues. Beldroth suddenly cries, "MAGE!!" His warning came too late and I am blinded by a blast of bright colors. I hear a battle ensue in my blindness with a commentator painting the actions of someone named "Sambalay." As I regain my vision I see two gnolls and a dead...pirate(?)...had he been addressing himself in third-person while in battle? Who does that?) in the corner.

After slaying the gnolls, we backtrack down the tunnels to explore further. The tunnel opened up into a cavern that fed into the open water beyond its walls; perfect for a smuggling bay. As such, there was a short pier that held a boat and four men unloading its cargo. In hindsight, we probably should've exercised some stealth; the brigands noticed us immediately and we would've lost the element of surprise. Thankfully, the brigands did not rush us but invoked the right of parley. I stepped forward for congress, relying on my colleagues to find an advantage in the shadows, and Beldroth joined me. During our conference, we learned that Sambalay was their immediate supervisor, but was at least lieutenant to a bigger "boss" that gang met on a ship in the open sea. The conversation started to grow tense (note to self, thieves are not one for diplomacy) and Beldroth started a fight. My faith in my colleagues were proven as missiles flew from the above, felling two in an instant and two shipmen wisely surrendered. Interrogation yielded that the Haunted House gimmick was conjured to keep the locals away from their smuggling ring. The corpse we found earlier was of that of an adventurer sent to investigate, but the gnolls dispensed of him. At this point, I'm figuring we have satisfied out contract with the Saltmarsh council, but I am curious just how deep this enterprise runs.

One of the surviving crew negotiated a deal for their freedom; offering to shuttle wares we can trade back to town and a large crate Sambalay meant to be offer to their "captain." After Beldroth dispensed with the lock, the crate revealed an Elf-woman named Shardona. According to her, she was exploring around the mansion by herself when she was ambushed; next thing she knew, she was in the crate. I suppose she found solace in that we had an (albeit, shifty) elf in our company, or found safety in numbers, but she followed us to explore Sambalay's room.

As one of our captives led us through the tunnels back to the barracks in the main house, they told us about a door next to Sambalay's quarters that supposedly held undead skeletons. Approaching Sambalay's quarters, I saw the door described by the brigand...a simple door with "DANGER" scrawled on its face. I had to hold in my excitement as my colleagues were more interested in looting rooms than ridding the world of profane filth. The search of Sambalay's room yielded a hooded lantern atop a parchment with a code of x's and lines on a table. Also found was a crude map of the Saltmarsh coastline outlining a path of three ships moving south-westerly, to a location beyond our geographic knowledge marked with an "X."

We went on to the "Danger Room" to verify the brigand's story and it proved true; there were animated skeletons after all! I will admit that my first experience turning the dead did not pan out as I had expected. I called upon Cuthbert to imbue my voice to deter the preternatural, but I was unworthy of his audience and am more determined to earn his ear. After the party defeated the skeletons, Beldroth found a secret door to a room housing broken glass and pottery. It is there we found a skeleton (unanimated, thankfully) wearing a classic wizard pointy hat and robes lined with runes. They were found with a golden apple, rose, and skull...we were in agreement this must be the alchemist in the story of this place. We were then confident we have satisfied the terms of our agreement with the Council. We had the conscripted crew men haul whatever we could trade to fund our future adventures and retired to rest. It's been one long day.

In faith,
Theros