After another hour and a half of travel, you finally reach what you think must be the ship on the map. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much left of it beyond a burnt-out frame, which has mostly collapsed. Indeed, if it weren't for the fact that you were expecting to find a ship, you might not have even recognized it as a ship without a more detailed examination.
Perception:
Malan bends to help Sandru maneuver the chest.
Perception
Tevyn moves closer to assist Sandru with the closer inspection of the chest. This was the first time he'd gotten a good look at it.
Melon winks at Tevyn, "What are you looking at?"
Sandru is soon surrounded by a crowd of people tyring to help him look at the chest. Ameiko starts to move forward to help as well, but backs off as everyone else crowds in.
Sandru and Rajah tilt the chest onto its side to get a look at the bottom. Rajah quickly notices a couple of very small symbols painted in one corner. They are incredibly intricate despite taking up a space less than a quarter-inch across. They're almost picture-like and could be a form of fanciful writing, but if so, they're a script he doesn't recognize.
Gilfroy, managing to squeeze underneath the others to get in and see, notices the small symbols as well. He doesn't recognize them either, but he does quickly notice a cleverly concealed latch right beside the symbols. The latch allows a thin stretch of the bottom to fold open, revealing a hidden compartment. Within sit two velvet bags. "Good work," Sandru says to the gnome and pulls out the bags. As he does so, a piece of paper which was snuggled behind the bag falls out to the floor. There's writing on the paper, covered with symbols similar to the tiny ones on the bottom of the chest.
Corinna does not detect anything magical on or within the chest.
"Hey!" Melon points, "Those little squiggly pictures are Tien!" Excited she leans in more to try and decipher them, "I haven't seen these in years. Let me think, it's coming back to me a little." She almost squints as her brain goes into second gear. Her mouth mouths words soundlessly, then she exclaims her verdict: "Either that means 'confounded flounder' or 'open here', Ameiko should know for sure. I guess Fezzi got the right of it already. I think Ameiko should read the paper, it would take a while before I get through it."
Tevyn glances placidly at Melon. "I was going to help search the chest but it seems there isn't room. My pardon, I'll just stand back here."
He moves out of the way and leans against the wall as the discoveries are made, though he raises an eyebrow in surprise as Melon deciphers some of the Tien writing.
"Hey!" Melon points, "Those little squiggly pictures are Tien!"
"Of course it is," Corinna rolls her eyes. This is beginning to look like a thoroughly wasted morning; there's no reason for her to be here after all. She glances out the window to see if the rain looks like it's stopping.
Once Sandru clears the bags from the secret compartment, Gilfroy peers up inside the opening to ensure there are no more markings or other papers caught inside. Once he's satisfied it's empty, he quickly scrambles out of the way before the large gaggle of chest holders lose their grip on the thing and there are gnome crepes for lunch.
Sandru opens the first of the two bags and looks inside. He reaches in tenderly and pulls out a shuriken. "I'm no expert," he says, "but this looks of pretty exception quality. There are six of them altogether, all the same." He puts the shuriken back in the bag and opens the second one. From that, he pulls out a jade ring. It bears an image of a wingless dragon with a long body. He whistles softly. "Very valuable."
While Sandru is examining the contents of the bags, Amieko picks up the piece of paper and begins looking it over. Her expression changes quickly from initial surprise to concern and even a hint of sadness.
"Melon's right," she says. "It's written in Tien. It's a letter from my grandfather to his son, presumably my father. I never met my grandfather. Looks like the relationship between him and my father may have been just as bad as the one between me and my father."
She pauses for a moment to compose herself, then begins to read aloud:
"My son, my heir. You know now that I have kept secrets from you. You were always a perceptive son, and while you may not understand my reasons for secrecy, I hope that you realize it was necessary. Know that I was not angry with you for opening the warding box—I was angry with myself for withholding the truth from you and forcing you to seek out what I should have given to you. The words I spoke to you were from anger with myself, and it shames me to think of them now. I write this note as an apology, and to beg you to leave these secrets to history.
"The next few days will be the most important I have faced in many years. If our family’s enemies have, as I hope, forgotten us, I shall reunite with you and your wife, and your mother and I shall reveal the truth to you. But if they still seek the contents of the warding box, I fear that I may not speak to you again. The box holds our family’s greatest treasure, so I have returned it to Kortun’s care, and it shall remain hidden in the secret third vault under Brinewall Castle—obscured from our enemies, I hope and pray. I will not grant our foes the satisfaction of killing me themselves—if it comes to it, let my death, by my own hand, be my final act to protect you, so that our enemies believe our line ended.
"I have instructed Tsutamu to keep this letter from you, delivering it to you only should I fail to return as I hope to. If I can, I will reveal all to you myself. If I cannot, this final missive from a father to a son must suffice as an apology in place of an explanation, and you must destroy this letter, flee to the south, and never return to Brinewall. If our enemies find what I have hidden, there will be nothing here for you. If they do not, they will lie in wait forever for your return.
"I hope to see you again soon, my son. But my heart tells me I will not. I am sorry to have failed you. But I am proud of you, and I know you will survive this old man’s shame. You are strong, and you must remain so. For if you are reading this and I am gone, know that our enemies will never stop searching for us, and that is why I cannot reveal the truth to you until I know there is no chance of them finding us again.
"Rokuro Kaijitsu. Sunday, 29 Desnus, 4681."
Corinna breaks the silence, moving toward the door. "Well, looks as if the rightful owner has been found. If you'll excuse me, I've an appointment this afternoon."
Tevyn frowns as he listens to the letter and tries to think of what he knows of the places listed therein. Something in it sounds familiar but he can't quite place it.
"So we have Elf-Splitter and the Sword of Damocles. Ameiko, you have a secret family history that includes a multi-generational enemy. That is interesting."
"Who is this enemy, Ameiko, do you know?"
"I have no idea," Ameiko answers, looking distant. She's still staring at the note, but seems to be staring right through it. "I don't recognize any of these details or names, except Tsutamu. He was my grandfather's bodyguard, but I never knew my grandfather. He died before I was born. I barely knew my father. We...we didn't see eye to eye. He didn't approve of my lifestyle. He...he thought it was beneath me. I was a Kaijitsu. I was supposed to be a noble of Sandpoint. Ha! Noble of Sandpoint. What does that even really mean? But nobles of Sandpoint don't run off seeking adventure with Varisians. He certainly didn't approve of my relationship with...with Alder, Sandru's brother." She sighs and folds up the paper in her hand, crumpling it slightly as she does so.
She takes a deep breath. "I need to find out more. Does anyone know of this Brinewall place? Where is it?"
Tevyn shakes his head. "I thought Brinewall sounded familiar but I can't remember where I might have heard of it." He frowns. "Does that mean, then, that the skeleton who challenged Malan was this Tsutamu? Then he really was protecting these things, but for your father."
He absently rubs his hand across his face, thinking hard. "If your family has some great enemy, then they must not know you're here. Do you know what happened to your grandfather? How he died?"
"Perhaps we do need to take a look at that other ship. If it has Tien artifacts or connection to Ameiko's family, we can confirm that the chest is hers, though that seems likely at this point."
She takes a deep breath. "I need to find out more. Does anyone know of this Brinewall place? Where is it?"
Corinna pauses at the threshold and sighs. "It doesn't exist anymore. It's a ghost town. I've seen it on some old maps, about 500 miles north of here, at the mouth of the Steam River. That's all I know." She turns to Gilfroy. "If you're going back into the swamp, good luck." She nods to the group and leaves.
"Corinna, wait!" Ameiko calls after her. She rushes to catch her. "I don't think the swamp will be much help at this point. The answers clearly lie at this Brinewall place. If you know where it is, could you help point me in the right direction? I need to go there. At the very least, point me to these maps you've seen. Or better yet, point Sandru in the right direction because I've just decided to hire his caravan."
She turns and calls back into the room, "Sandru, you're looking for a client, right? Well, consider yourself hired!"
She looks back at Corinna and says softly and conspiratorially, "The guy travels all over the place, yet barely knows a thing about geography."
Tevyn pulls himself upright. "Ameiko, if you'll have me, I'd go with you. I've long considered you a good friend and any help I can offer is yours. I have a number of skills that would be of use to you and even if I don't know exactly where this Brinewall is, I do have some knowledge of geography."
"A caravan heading north? I have somebody I need to talk to..."
Rajah thinking along the same lines as Gilfroy, "You know, it is possible Madam Koya might know something of this. I shall go with Gilfroy and see what knowledge she may have on this subject." Quickly turning toward the door, "One moment, Gilfroy!" Rajah yells as he heads out the door, easily catching up with the short-legged gnome.
"I've just told you everything I know," Corinna tells Ameiko. "I'm sorry. The maps were in Korvosa, but all they showed was a dot on the coast at the mouth of the river. It's north of Riddleport." She shrugs. "I can't be of any more help than that." She does her best to detach herself from Ameiko and continue toward her family's home.
"It saddens me to hear you continue to think so little of your abilities and value, Lady Corinna. That is unfortunate." Then to Ameiko and Sandru "I am doing little else, if you would have me, I would come along."
"We can research it," Melon suggests, "but should we? Ameiko, your grandfather - apparently - died trying to veil his son, and thus you, in secrecy. Who knows what we'll stir up when we go investigate?"
"I've just told you everything I know," Corinna tells Ameiko. "I'm sorry. The maps were in Korvosa, but all they showed was a dot on the coast at the mouth of the river. It's north of Riddleport." She shrugs. "I can't be of any more help than that." She does her best to detach herself from Ameiko and continue toward her family's home.
Ameiko nods. "I understand. Thank you for everything you've done already."
She turns back to the others. "Of course, you're all welcome to come. Thank you all for the offers and for everything you've done so far. I'm not entirely sure what to make of all this. I have no idea what we'll find when we reach this Brinewall place. And if the family's enemies will truly wait there forever as the letter says, there could be danger. I have no idea who these enemies are. My father never told me. I suspect he didn't know himself, as this letter obviously never reached him. My grandfather must have died before talking to my father and then Tsutamu died before he could deliver the letter. There could be anything waiting for us there."
She thinks for a moment. "I don't intend to leave right away, so there's no need to rush. I have to get affairs settled at the Rusty Dragon, and I'm sure Sandru will want to restock his caravan. I'll also see if Shalelu will come along. Once she's back from wherever she's off to, at any rate. And if Rajah and Gilfroy can convince Koya to come along, we should have a good little number. For the moment, let's plan for a departure in about a week or so. That should be good, I think."
She looks over at Sheriff Hemlock, suddenly remembering that you're all still in the garrison with him standing nearby. "So sorry, Sheriff. I didn't mean to take over the garrison with my personal plans."
"That's a good point, Melon," Ameiko says with a frown. "Maybe I'm rushing this. But I need to know. I need... I just need to know. We'll have to be careful, though. However, if this place is as far away as Corinna says, we'll have time to plan."
Melon nods, her customary smirk back, "Okay then. This will be the first time we go adventure together!"
Nodding slowly, Tevyn says, "It's difficult to say how much danger there can be. It's hard to imagine that whatever threat existed so many years ago would be waiting so long but since we don't yet know the extent of that threat...it'll certainly be wise to be cautious. It is good that we have time to prepare. We'll want to look at maps, get an idea of what kind of terrain we'll be traveling through and to, and equip ourselves accordingly."
"But what kind of enemy..." suddenly Melon rushes to the door to catch sight of Corinna still, " I don't think humans and other ordinary people could lay in wait for generations! What kind of ... thing ... could do that?"
Corinna rolls her eyes and takes a few steps back so she's not shouting in the street. "There's possibly still a necromancer involved. How long were those skeletons willing to wait to do what they were told? Or," she glances at Malan, "there are many races of living things that can outlive several generations of a human lineage. Then again, the enemies of the Kaijitsu family could be another family, passing down their enmity from father to son. There are all kinds of possibilities. I'll say this," she looks at Ameiko, "if your grandfather did give his life to protect his descendents, to make this enemy think your family line was ended, what are you going to accomplish by going and stirring things up, except to dishonor his sacrifice?"
Tevyn shakes his head. "I got the impression that it was honor that compelled those skeletons to remain animated rather than the actions of a necromancer. Nonetheless, you're right; there are many possible explanations and what we know right now will only keep us guessing. For that matter, 30 years seems like a long time to me but it really isn't."
He looks to Ameiko and his expression softens a little. "I think you have a right to know the truth about what happened all those years ago and there's no dishonor in that." He pauses, trying to figure out how to ask his next question tactfully.
"Are you...I mean, is there..." He sighs. "Do you know of any other Kaijitsus? Are you the last?"
Ameiko looks a bit stung as she follows Melon and the others out onto the street and hears Corinna's words. She sighs. "That's a good point. Perhaps I'm being rash."
At Tevyn's words, she shrugs. "My brother died a few years ago, my parents a little before that. As far as I know, I'm the last. I've always figured I've got some distant cousins back in Minkai, but they're half a world away, if they even exist."
Sandru comes out of the Garrison. "As you yourself pointed out Ameiko, there's no need to rush anything," he says. "Take a day or two to get your thoughts together. Think about the letter, the treasure, your father, your grandfather, and so on. If, after that, you still want to go, I'll be happy to have you hire me."
"Now that would be an adventure," Gilfroy says, eyes glinting.
Ameiko's eyes widen slightly. "Oh right, the treasure!" she exclaims. "In all the drama about the letter, I forgot the treasure. You know what, you all can have it. You did all the work retrieving it, and I don't really need it. The letter's enough for me. Split it up amongst yourselves however you wish. Not you, Sandru," she adds with a smile. "You didn't trudge through the swamp after it."
Gilfroy smiles at seeing Koya. "Every day of my life," Gilfroy quips in response and makes his way to his favorite chair.
Once settled, and before Rajah can say something sanctimonious, Gil starts up. "So remember a while back and we were talking about a grand adventure to the north? The might be one in the making."
"In that case, Ameiko," Tevyn points out gently, "Then you need not worry that seeking out that information will put any others in danger. Those of us who accompany you are responsible for ourselves. It's your choice. I will go with you if you decide to leave. I've long wanted to see more of the world."
When Ameiko offers the treasure to the group, he looks somewhat astounded. "It is a generous offer but you've already given so much."
"Gilfroy could be right about that, Madam. There was a strange chest we found; it contains items of a foreign make. I was wondering if you would be willing to take a look at them and determine if you might could tell us anything about them?"
"And I do need it?" Corinna bristles at Ameiko's charity. "I didn't slog through the swamp to find treasure; I did it because I thought Sandpoint was in danger."
Ameiko takes a step back. "I'm sorry, Corrina," she says. "I didn't mean to imply that you were only in it for reward. I was merely trying to show my gratitude. That's all."