"Right!" Samton said at being urged to take position at the back of the group. This was sensible enough and he was so very fond of the sensible.
Smacking one's toe against loose bricks littering the ground - this he was not so fond of. "Oof! Oh? Oh. Uh, guys? Found something." Except it wasn't quite a fallen brick from the ruined lighthouse. The wizard rubbed his sore toe against his calf as he picked up the battered strongbox. It rattled.
Opening it revealed what had to be almost one hundred gold pieces and, what was far more interesting, a rusted key, worn and brittle.
"Now where do you belong to?"
"Keep it close, Sam - once we find out, we might need it."
Noticing Lor-Sinn's movement, Kajiwara asks, "Lor-Sinn, did you notice anything in the direction of the cemetery?"
Lor-Sinn jumps at Kajiwara's question, returning a puzzled look. "Not... really? I didn't see or hear anything, but..." The tiefling swings their gaze towards the south again, a distant expression on their face.
"Well, we should probably check it out. If nothing else, there may be more undead there who seek to cut us off."
Ruka frowns, not wanting to further delay heading to the castle itself. But Kajiwara has a point. Be safe. Be thorough. Getting yourself killed won't help Ameiko.
"Then let's go. The faster we clear the cemetery, the faster we can move on."
Moving south around some ruined buildings, the party quickly finds themselves at the cemetary gates where a rickety wooden fence surrounds the clearing beyond. The gates here are made of iron and flanked on either side by statues of a beautiful woman with butterfly wings.
Moving through the gates into the cemetary beyond, you see that this clearing consists of a low hill containing nearly two dozen graves. A stone crypt sits atop the hill to the east. The entire graveyard is unusually well tended—the grass appears to be weeded and the gravestones are quite clean. The crypt contains only one body, that of Admiral Mercatio Kiameleu.
What appears to be a gravestone set apart from the rest of the graves near the northern edge of the cemetery is in fact a small, well-tended shrine to Desna that consists of a marble statue of the deity holding aloft a small copper bowl that is probably worth a few coins.
Kajiwara looked about the gravestones with the others. He didn't recognized the butterfly motifs on the gates, but was surprised by how well-kept the graveyard was. He looked about for some sign of the caretaker.
Sam nearly hurried right past the cemetery. Because he quite agreed with the younger Kaijitsu - time was of the essence and a graveyard was unlikely to hold what they were looking for, whatever that was. Some sort of nefarious spell caster or obviously cursed thingamabob, that was what the group should be trying to find; anything at all that might explain Ameiko's collapse. The innocuous little cemetery, all neat and tidy, didn't look the sort of place for jinxes and villainy.
Except as the wizard realized, skidding to a halt, that orderliness was in itself very strange. Brinewall was an abandoned village. Who was tending to the graveyard? A Desnan graveyard at that, going by the religious iconography. Was there some kindly soul left in the settlement, someone who might be able to help them somehow? Or even someone in need of help?
Ever curious and intimate with magic, Samton wondered whether the burial ground was a holy site in more than name. He knew that powerful priests often blessed places of worship, guarding them against forces of evil. If so, the cemetery might make a good place to retreat if necessary. With this practical application in mind, the young man briefly surveyed the area for magic. Couldn't hurt.
No caretaker is in sight and besides the cleanly nature of this area, it appears deserted.
Sam picks an aura from the bow, a very, very strong aura, one he would classify as overwhelming. While he can't figure out exactly what's going on, he ascertains that if you poured water into it, something would happen.
"Ouah!"
The young man's face screwed up rather comically, almost like someone biting into a lemon. A novice spell caster trying to take in and inspect magic far beyond their skill was somewhat akin to staring into the sun: it was entirely intolerable beyond the scantest of moments and set the brain watering as surely as it did the eyes. So it was that Sam had to look away from the innocuous bowl, grimacing, because his divination had picked up on very powerful magic indeed bound to it.
"There's uh, something up with the bowl," he said to the others by way of explanation, rubbing his forehead in discomfort with one hand and pointing to the statue of Desna with the other. "Something... funky." It pained him further that he couldn't clarify the nature of the magic beyond that, but went on regardless.
"I can't quite grasp it, but it's related to water somehow. I think if you pour some water into the bowl... something happens."
Samton felt a bit foolish. They had been looking for something unusual. Was this Desnan icon somehow responsible for Ameiko's condition? That couldn't be right, could it?
"Hey, Miss Imass? Can you see whether there's any sort of... evil tied to this thing?" Even as he asked the question of the paladin, the wizard had retrieved his waterskin. Theory required testing. That was the way of wizards.
Asuka easily recognizes the statues as Desna, who is a popular goddess the world over. Her own parents were homebodies so never were drawn to the Song of the Spheres's worship, but they had many friends who did and had great respect for her and her worshipers.
"Ooooh, a magic bowl! We're already starting to get the good stuff." She watches, eager pen and notebook in hand, as the others attempt to figure out what the nature of this bowl is.
Lor-Sinn detects no evil and so Sam pours the water into the bowl. A tense moment is held by all as the water pours into the bowl and . . .
Nothing. Nothing happens at all. The water still sits in the bowl when he's done. After a few seconds however, a soft golden light radiates from within the bowl before disappearing entirely. When the light fades the water still remains in the bowl, but it looks clearer somehow. Infused with some remnants of the light that still seem to shimmer as the sun catches it at the right angle.
"That's it?" Poppy asked, cutting into the moment, so unimpressed was she. Poppy had stared at the bowl intensely, her head cocked to one side hoping for...anything! The anticlimax was palpable. Giving a huff, she unleashed sleeved spoon and dipped it quickly into the bowl, holding it under her nose and gave it an exaggerated sniff. She was sure her gnomish constitition could withstand a great deal of abuse but eyed Lor-Sinn for confirmation of it's safety. and most otherraces take for granted how much you could learn from something by eating it.
"Uh... Afraid so," Sam said at the gnome's exclamation, feeling just a little letdown himself. A water purification effect? Hopefully the bowl's power was something more than that given the sheer intensity of the magic bound to it. Practical soul that he was, the wizard found the idea of such staggering arcane might being used to clean water criminally wasteful! It was like Sandru tying down dragons to pull a wagon. Yes, it was very impressive and would certainly get the job done, but surely that same job could be accomplished with lesser beasts and much less hassle. This just seemed plain inefficient.
But even so - even if the bowl's cleansed water was more than met the eye, Samton wasn't sure he cared. Unless the stuff could cure Ameiko, all it represented right now was a waste of precious time.
"Could I borrow that spoon?" Waiting for Poppy to finish her taste test, he laded a bit of the water up and tried his divinations on that specifically instead of the copper bowl in an attempt to settle the nature of the liquid.
Polli slides the water into her mouth, hoping for something magical. Unfortunately, all she tastes is ... water. Perhaps a little more metallic than she's used to, but nothing special in its flavor nor does she feel especially powerful after consuming it.
Sam now detects something that wasn't there the first time he checked. Picking up a transmutation aura, he catches the remnants of the spell Bless Water fading from the inside of the bowl.
"Well, there appears to be nothing in this cemetery worth noting. Let's search the remnants of the village."
Moving out of the cemetery, the party moves north into the ruined buildings. Among the ruined buildings that once composed Brinewall Village, you find barracks, a smithy, several homes, a glassworks (with several architectural designs similar to those of the larger glassworks in Sandpoint), a trading post, and a stable. The two largest ruins are located in the eastern part of town, and consist of a town hall to the north and an almost completely collapsed temple of Desna to the south, near the entrance to the cemetery.
It's clear that these buildings were lost to more than time. Signs of charred and burned buildings are littered with dozens of bones of bodies long lost to some tragedy. Thieves and scavengers have likely cleared this area of anything useful and you decide nothing is here that will help Ameiko.
Looking about the devastation, Kajiwara asks, "What do you think happened here? Could those ancient family enemies have done this? Did they have an army?"
Moving through the abandoned and destroyed town, you find two ruined piers that extend into what looks like a relatively shallow harbor. While both piers are essentially collapsed, the westernmost one has what appears to be a relatively recent visitor: a longship that seems relatively new, but the vessel is partially destroyed and half-sunken.
"Huh. Holy water."
Far from rejoicing at finally nailing down the nature of the bowl's magic, Sam instead appeared a bit lost. After all, the only conlcusion his study of the thing had really reached was that not only was he in over his head, he was also entirely out of his field. This was less magic and more miracle. Heck, going by the overwhelming power he'd felt radiating from the font, the whole affair might even be considered an act of god: the divinity of Desna herself, presumably, graced this graveyard dedicated to her. And if that was the case, even Lor-Sinn was more qualified than himself on this matter.
Whoa now, what do you mean 'even' Lor-Sinn? the young man questioned, catching himself in the thought. That's not very nice of me, nor fair. Sure, Lor-Sinn is... different, but all the great scholars have been unconventional souls. Who's to say if she too isn't a great thinker in her ow...
No, nope, couldn't complete that thought. Much as Samton liked and respected the paladin, he was also a realist and couldn't knowingly lie to himself. The tiefling was undeniably a few beads short in her rosary. Did Erastilian use rosaries? Heck if he knew. And that was sort of the point, he supposed: that he shouldn't discount others' experience - that others less well read than himself could still have knowledge he didn't.
Where had this line of thought come from, the wizard wondered? He had never considered himself particularly proud of his knowledge and magic. Nor should he, given how he had cheated his way to the latter. Most in Sandpoint had, if anything, accused him of being humble to a fault. Why the unkind intellectual comparison now? Perhaps it was due to just that, the change in environment. Back home the young man's company had mostly consisted of a master and a teacher, scholars in their own rights and his superiors both socially and intellectually. By contrast, Sandru's caravan employed, naturally enough, mostly everyday laborers. Skilled in their own craft, to be sure, but not academics. Sam was an outlier in such an environment. Was it possible that, over the weeks, he had come to think himself superior in his distinction? Oh dear. That wasn't good.
Taking some slight solace in at least being able to recognize his failing, the cartographer tried pushing all this mindspin aside: they were here to help Ameiko, he reminded himself. It was time to move on. Pulling the cork from his waterskin, Samton emptied what was left of the container onto the cemetery ground. Then, lifting the copper bowl, he carefully filled it with the blessed water. There was no telling when holy water would come in handy.
Not knowing what proper procedure demanded with divine artifacts, he gave the Desnan statue a short bow in departing. It only seemed appropriate. Back in town, he surveyed the grisly devastation along with Kajiwara.
"I dunno," he replied to the caravan guard. "An entire settlement murdered? How would that even be possible? Wouldn't people know? Did no one really investigate this?"
Bizarre as the ruined town was, the pier presented all-new questions with the decidedly newer longship.
"Perhaps they did investigate, Sam, and they found nothing but what we see. According to the letter we found in Tsutama's hilt, this all happened well before any of us could even speak - or were even born. My grandfather said nothing about this before he died, but I have a feeling he knew about it. It does look like someone has come to the ruins more recently than the devastation, however. Perhaps we will encounter them and they can shed some light upon what happened."
Kajiwara also examined the relatively newer longship.
"Maybe they were murdered in their sleep, or poisoned so that they all died at once," Lor-Sinn offers. In the cemetery the tiefling had been distracted, even more than usual, their gaze constantly straying towards the various headstones and the lone crypt. Not even the magical statue of Desna with its holy water font seemed to hold their attention, although when Sam moves to fill his waterskin with the freshly-blessed water Lor-Sinn blinks, nods and follows the wizard's example.
Now, moving through the destroyed and ransacked town, the paladin frequently stops to inspect the bones they come across, strange expressions flitting across their face.
"Perhaps there is a curse here, and it killed those who came to investigate as well. Perhaps it is what is afflicting Ameiko." They leave unspoken the logical conclusion that it will probably try to kill the party as well.
Ruka remains quiet while they investigate the cemetery. Her gaze lingers briefly on the holy water. Could that perhaps help Ameiko? Following her companions she too fills up her waterskin from the seemingly blessed fount.
"A curse seems likely." Her voice is even quieter than normal. "Brinewall...Grandfather warned us not to come here. I suppose he technically warned Father, but still..." She carefully steps over a skeleton. Fortunately these skeletons don't appear to be alive.
"If it's a curse, there must be a source. Those 'enemies' Grandfather mentioned in the letter." Ruka's eyes harden. "We just have to find them. And stop them." Kill them.
Ruka has suffered more than a few nightmares since the marsh. Killing the kobolds had been so easy, and that's not something she can blame entirely on Murasamemaru's influence. If she finds whoever or whatever is responsible for Ameiko's collapse...
She's going to kill them. It. Whatever. She knows that. Although she's not entirely sure how she feels about that certainty. Or what that says about her.
'There's only one monster here, girl...'
Regardless, Ameiko is all she has left. However rocky their relationship might have become, Ruka is not going to lose her now.
"Let's keep going. We're more likely to find answers in the castle than out here." Face expressionless, she steps over another body and continues on her way.
A search of the ship reveals significant damage to the ship in the form of tremendous claw marks and what appear to be scorch marks from a powerful electrical attack. No bodies are present, but there are clearly signs of a battle that took place here relatively recently.
With the piers explored, the group pushes west towards the castle. The last thing to investigate before they reach that destination is a lagoon which has a floating corpse near the shoreline.
"Claw marks, scorch marks from an electrical attack - Sam, have you ever read about anything that could do something like this?"
Upon seeing the floating corpse near the shoreline, Kaji says, "Let's investigate this lagoon. There might be something in it - or that corpse might give us a clue about what happened, either in Brinewall's sacking or with the recent attack on that boat."
The party moves down towards the water to investigate the corpse, hoping for clues. Once most likley used for fishing, this algae-choked lagoon is only 10 feet deep at its deepest point. On the lagoon’s shore, the rotting carcass of a sea drake lies half submerged in the water. Larger than a horse, this bright green aquatic reptile has finned, winglike arms and a draconic visage. No Heal check is necessary to determine it was slain by several violent strikes with an edged weapon.
As you investigate the corpse, two very muc alive creatures similar to the dead one you are looking at burst from the water and attack. Kajiwara was ready for this and acts before the creatures do.
Kaji, shocked by the sudden appearance of the two creatures, drew out a pair of arrows as he took a step back and fired two at the one on the right.
Both of Kajiwara's arrows land on the seam monster, but it still remains upright even after the two new wounds.
The two creatures rake their claws at both Asuka and Lor-Sinn, with the tiefling managing to avoid both and the tengu avoiding neither.
Not at all comfortable with being caught on the front-lines, not for his own bodily health nor with blocking his more melee oriented companions, Samton scrambled backwards. "Watch out," he hollered ineffectively.
Asuka laughs off the claws raking against her. ”Is that the best you have? Now that your surprise has finished, you won’t get such a chance again!”
She fakes out the monster with a move to the left, then slashes from the right.
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Lor-Sinn hops back, drawing her bow and releasing an arrow towards the giant shrimp-like creature.
"Here, Poppy, something for you to cook tonight!"
Kaji's hand went to his quiver, pulling forth two more arrows to launch at the nearest monster.
Ruka's almost relieved when the monsters attack. Something she can hit, and it's not even intelligent so she doesn't have to worry about the moral quandaries of killing it.
She studies the creature for a moment, looking for a weak spot. Then she unsheathes Murasamemaru and slashes downward.
Ruka misses, the slayer finding herself a little rusty wielding Murasamemaru. The other three parties manage to land their attacks, nearly taking down the creature to the south next to Asuka.
Poppy follows Sams's lead and falls back out of melee, firing off a bolt from her crossbow that sails too high and splashes into the water beyond them.
These savage creatures ferociously lay into both Asuka and Ruka, raking them with their sharp razor-like claws. Ruka manages to barely avoid being wrapped up, but unfortunately Asuka is not so lucky.
Asuka once again laughs off the attempts to poison her. "Pitiful! I can now unleash a full flurry of attacks on you, villain!" She drops her sword and attacks with her bite and claws.
Asuka breaks the grapple of the creature by shoving her claw into its body and killing it. As the creature dies however, its body spasms wildly and thrashes about.
Fortunately she is able to get out of the way quick enough and avoid any additional attacks. The creature drops to the ground, lifeless.
Ruka's face is a mask of fury as she rounds on the creature. However her attack is noticeably weaker than before, and she grimaces as she once more fails to land her blow. She had thought this attack would be a way to relieve some stress, but instead it's only frustrating her further.
One down, one more to go. Dropping her bow out of fear of Hitting Ruka, Lor-Sinn draws her sword and advances on the giant shrimp.
Kajiwara, having no such reservations about firing into melee while others were there, once again loosed two arrows at the creature.
Poppy, less than confident that her bolt would hit ANY combatant, nonetheless reloaded and fired at the second creature with her light crossbow.
But to her wide eyed shock, she managed to contribute some harm,the bolt finding purchase in the monsters hide. This was especially surprising as she'd been distracted by Lor-Sinn's words echoing in her head. Her mouth watered at the very thought of boiling these crustaceans into some kind of chow, though she was uncertain as to what form that might take. Never had she seen such a gloriously massive sea beast. Would she even be able to convince the others to drag them back? Ameiko's situation took precedence, of course. Regardless, she was gonna need MUCH more butter!
"Whoops! Sorry, sorry!" the wizard cried in apology as a green beam careened wildly through the group, nearly singing someone's ear, only to splash ineffectively into the water. At no point had it come anywhere near the actual beastie.
Kajiwara lands two solid shots as usual and surprisingly even Poppy manages to sneak a bolt past her allies and bury it into the sea creature's hide. It's not enough to take it down however, and it continues to slash at Ruka, managing to slash one claw across her chest.
Ruka was getting chewed to pieces next to her, and that concerned Lor-Sinn greatly. Trusting the others to finish off the giant shrimp, the tiefling reaches out a hand to steady her companion.
"Focus, it's almost dead."
Asuka picks up her katana and steps over towards the the remaining monster. "Die, villain! You don't belong in this world!" She slashes with a powerful, direct overhead chop.
Ruka blinks away a few frustrated tears as she continues slicing madly at the thing. She wants to figure out what's wrong with Ameiko. She wants to figure out what's going on with her family. She wants...she wants...
It doesn't matter what she wants. What's she's good at is killing things. Except apparently not, as her swings continue to go wide. Useless, worthless...
Kaji once again pulls forth two arrows, firing them in rapid succession as he tries to take down the final creature.
Sam's second attempt at hitting the creature was marginally more successful. But unfortunately success was rarely measured in margins.
Following up on her earlier success, Poppy fires off another bolt from her crossbow only to find that her earlier luck was just indeed that, luck. Her bolt lands on the ground in front of the sea monster, missing.
Ruka finally lands a strike and Kajiwara puts both of his on as well.
Though severely injured, the sharp-clawed monster fights on, undeterred. In violent, unpredictable motions the creature lashes out with its claws and once more rakes Ruka across the chest.