|
When Granitt and Ionic have finished healing everyone, Granitt speaks to Ionic. "Well Ionic, yer name Saltbeard, either of next missions should be right up your street, either dealing with necromantic hauntings or heading to the salty sea? You choose me old matey." The dwarf's red beard and moustache part in a smile.
|
You head to the [url=https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1C33gHL_tz2FaCddAo6yadKDy83Wp2zLTuna72-cgoQU/edit#slide=id.ga51c9b052e_0_20]Flotsam Graveyard[url] for Gorm
Following a faction leader’s instruction, the Pathfinders set out to explore a wrecked ship that possibly dates back to the Silent Tide invasion of the late 40th century. The ship has only recently washed up and snagged on a reef of other wrecked ships, leaving it partially out of the water. Despite its unstable situation and the fact that it’s been above water for only a few weeks, it’s become a favored waypoint for smugglers.
The Pathfinder Society has arranged for a small boat to transport the PCs to and from the wrecked vessel. Captain Semiri Balogog is a cheerful rainkin half-orc with sun-dark skin and thick braids of black hair adorned with gold rings. She has provided ferrying services for Pathfinder agents for over a decade and loves hearing about agents’ missions past and present.
On your way to the ship you hear rumors of some strange creature lurking on the ship. But no specific details.
|
Haechi looks about and as it appears that everyone is happy to go visit the shipwreck next, he readily agrees. "I'm not a big fan of water, but exploring a shipwreck does sound exciting."
On your way to the ship you hear rumors of some strange creature lurking on the ship. But no specific details.
Haechi reacts to the rumor of a strange creature onboard. "Oh dear. I do hope it isn't another crocodile, ...or was it an alligator?... the last one we ran into was a real handful. Isn't that so, Granitt?".
|
|
Granitt's face turns the colour of his red whiskers, as he guffaws and spurts out, "Oh no, not that again, not it can't be!" then the colour drains from his face as he remembers ....
His pace slows and his memories come flooding back of all his failures... of loosing a companion on the ice, of a near watery grave .....
Solemnly he just says, "Yes, I remember it well!" a tear in his eye, not for the injuries and near death he sustained, but for his companions he had failed to protect.
|
|
Ionic steps up next to Granitt and claps him soundly on the back. "Fought a few 'diles in m'time. Can handle one ifit shows up. No need ta get down 'bout it. Dough dey dislike such places, genrally."
Ionic then moves up to the prow of the ship and enjoys what little spray of water comes his way. It'd had been long, way way too long since he'd last been on a ship.
|
|
You make it to the ship and board the top deck. The weathered boards of the ship’s main deck are cracked, warped, and thoroughly covered in a thick, stinking carpet of algae, seaweed, and barnacles. The sodden mess squashes and scrapes underfoot, while squawking gulls circle overhead. The ship once boasted three masts, but they are now broken off only a few feet above the jagged railings. Whatever other distinguishing features might have once existed on this vessel are either long lost or utterly obscured. Empty doorways lead into cabins to the fore and aft, and a dark opening descends into the lower level.
|
|
Zelphari looks over at Granitt in concern. He sees a pain on his face that, although not exactly knowing the cause, is one he has often seen in his reflection.
He lays a hand on his shoulder. "Peace, my friend. Leave the past where it belongs, in the past. Come, we have a duty here." With that, Zelphari slowly moves ahead, keeping a lookout for danger.
|
|
Haechi looks at the dark opening leading down, and at the long treacherous stretch of deck leading to the bow. He then looks towards the stern where he sees a cabin door a mere 10 feet away.
"While you explore the, ha ha, pointy end, Granitt, I believe I'll have a quick look at what's behind the door here at the, um, blunt end."
|
|
Ionic shakes his head and starts pointing to the 'pointy end'. "'S called de bow, prow 'r fore. Dat's de stern 'r aft. Den left's port. Right's starboard. Understood? Hol' on, I'll come wid ya." Not quite comforatble on the slick and mossy deck like he'd be on a water slicked deck, Ionic slowly follows Granitt to the door at the bow of the ship.
|
|
Zelphari looks over at Granitt in concern. He sees a pain on his face that, although not exactly knowing the cause, is one he has often seen in his reflection.
He lays a hand on his shoulder. "Peace, my friend. Leave the past where it belongs, in the past. Come, we have a duty here." With that, Zelphari slowly moves ahead, keeping a lookout for danger.
Zaza scoffs.
"Ignore the past? Absurd. My ancestors would never hear of it."
|
|
The fore and aft cabins on this deck are completely wrecked, and seem to have already picked over of anything useful. Debris has been moved aside and cleared a bit as if someone had been here.
Looking below decks, you find a humanoid stitched from many parts sitting quietly in a corner. Looks like it is sorting things in to piles. The hold itself is oddly organized. You would expect it to have looked abandoned but broken crates pieces are piled together along with piles and stacks of similar objects together.
The creature has not noticed you yet.
|
|
Haechi looks askance at the creature upon first laying eyes on it. But watching it carefully categorizing everything in the hold, he thinks, "Ugly it may be, but anyone willing and able to organize things like this creature has done can't be all bad."
He leans over to Zelphari and Zaza and whispers, "Perhaps one of you two would do the honors of introducing us to this fellow? Maybe it won't try to kill us quite so quickly if we talk to it first."
|
|
Zelphari follows Haechi down to the hold, pausing behind the canons as he observes the strange creature quietly, uncertain how to proceed. At Haechi's urging though, he steps forward carefully, keeping his hands away from his weapons.
"Hello..." he breaks the silence in a calm, measured voice. "My name is Zelphari. These are my friends. We mean no harm. We're just here to look around. What's your name?"
|
|
Ionic heads below decks and then pauses as he sees the semi-clean, extremely orderly look of the place, and then the creature. He leans over next to Variel and Granitt, whispering, "Dang, Cap'in woulda killed for someone who kept ship half as clean. Won'er if he's interested in piratin'? 'Ssumin' he don't try kill us."
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Haechi leans over to Granitt and whispers, "It looks rather bored to me Granitt. I suspect that entertaining it may make it more friendly towards us." Haechi ponders for a second and a brilliant thought occurs to him. Excitedly, he turns back to the dwarf. "Granitt, you remember that silly little play that we put on for Zusgut back in the Puddles, don't you? I still remember the lines. Shall we put on an impromptu performance?"
Without waiting for acknowledgement, Haechi says, "You can play Zusgut, and I'll do a reprise as Ulthun. Don't worry, all the lines are mine; you just need to stand there looking goblinish."
Haechi moves next to Granitt so that the creature can see them both and clears his throat loudly to get its attention. "Ahem!" and before the creature can decide to attack them, Haechi puts on his theater voice and starts.
"For your entertainment today, kind creature, I, Haechi, and Granitt here, will put on a short performance of We be Heroes recently played to rave reviews at the new goblin theater in the Puddles."
Haechi turns to Grannit and in a low booming voice, starts...
"Oh mighty chief of the goblins, whose wit and skill are unsurpassed," He pauses long enough to make a deep bow before standing back up. He then shifts his right leg out and sets his arms akimbo facing the creature. Lifting his chin up, he puts his hand to his chest and says, "I am called Ulthun, Watcher-Lord of Lastwall." He shifts his features into an exaggerated look of anguish and brings the back of his hand up to his forehead to accentuate his despair. "Alas, that land has been overrun by undead and is no more!" He drops his chin onto his chest as if the effort to continue is too much for him to bear.
He waits a couple of beats before raising his head with a pleading look. With open palms facing forward at his sides, he turns back to Granitt and continues, "Please, my lord, we beseech you and ask the help of your mighty tribe." He shifts his hand back to his chest. "We are but mere humans and lack the cleverness and skill needed to escape the clutches of the undead." He then drops to one knee and stretches his hands out towards the king in supplication. "Will you aid us?" He then finishes by dropping his chin back down to his chest to await an answer.
"Why, I do believe that was even better than the first time." he thinks, congratulating himself. After a second or two in which he half expects the creature to be at his throat, he lifts his head to see how his performance went over.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Bored, you say?" Zelphari pauses here, thinking back to times past round the campfire, times when his band mates pushed him up for a song or two. Nonetheless, he waits politely for Haechi and Zaza to complete before he clears his throat, and with a clear tenor voice, breaks out into a slow measured song, a song bemoaning times past and innocence lost.
"What is a youth? Impetuous fire..."
|
|
Spedning some time entertaining the creature, it smiles? and claps along. Afterwards it turns its attention to some neat pile of debris and picks out a few pieces. They seem to be replaying the play, and adding the songs and some fire works as well.
You are free to explore the rest of the ship while the creature happily entertains itself.
|
|
Haechi sees that the creature not only decided not to try and kill them, but seems to have actually enjoyed their performances. "I'll take that as a good review of our performance my friends. Time to see if there is anything on this hulk that might interest Prince Gorm. I believe he specifically mentioned books and anything we can find out about the smugglers’ methods.
|
|
Granitt scratches his head at Haechi's request, all Granitt did in that play was howl like a dog, definitely not a King Zusgut. He turns back to see the creature happily playing and follows anyone going to the pointy end. "If you going to check out that pointy...bow end, I'll come help and keep any eye on jigsaw man."
|
|
The creature seems to understand you but itself is non-verbal. Working with them for a while and investigating the containers closer to it, the creature originated from Nex.
Also among the cargo are a few undamaged crates that have been placed to one side. Investigating them they contain various pieces of furniture.
[spolier=Deception or Thievery DC 15]
Many of the pieces have false bottom concealed drawers that would have been used by the smugglers for their activities
[/spoiler]
Forward: Crew Bunks
In stark contrast to the rest of the ship, this cabin has been somewhat cleared of algae and cleaned. Six simple beds, complete with fresh linens, are crammed into the space. A few small footlockers are shoved under some of the beds
You do find a discarded pair of magical talismans rolled up in a smelly, salt-crusted rag. These are two crying angel pendants
Aft: Map Room
This cabin’s floor has been cleared of the algae present everywhere else on the ship, and a simple table has been set up in the center of the room, with a few chairs pulled up around it. The aft wall bears a large carving of a coat of arms, visible even despite the wear of the elements. An antique lantern hangs above the carving, casting a faint light over papers strewn over the table.
It does not take long to notice the documents on the table. The first is a bundle of writs of inspection approving the cargo crates for export from the Nexian capital of Quantium. The other is a series of financial records, including notes of sizeable sums paid to the same individual whose name appears on the writs—a clear indication of bribery, and of interest to Gorm Greathammer.
|
|
Haechi looks at the various pieces of furniture, and...
... decides that they are not of interest.
He then examines the crying angel pendants and shrugs. "I'm sorry to say that these aren't of much use anyone who doesn't have some minimal training in the medical arts." Haechi hands them over to anyone who wishes to claim them.
Looking over the documents on the table, Haechi says, "Now this is more like it! I believe that this is exactly the type of thing that Prince Gorm was hoping we would find here. I am so very happy that we won't be returning to the lodge empty handed." Once they finish examining the documents, Haechi carefully rolls everything up and puts it in his backpack.
As they have been looking over the contents of the ship, Haechi has been taking copious notes, including quick sketches of the creature and the coat of arms in the Map Room. He also makes a rough sketch of the ship's layout with comments on where they found each object of interest.
Haechi finishes up his notes and says, "How satisfying. My favorite missions are those whose goals are reached without anyone getting hurt or killed."
He flicks back through his notes. "Hmmm, let's see. I believe all we have left on our list is the retrieval of a body from a haunted house for Faction Leader Barun. What say we go back to the lodge and drop off all these documents before heading over to the house in question?"
|
|
When Haechi mentions that the last mission is the retrieval of a body from a haunted house, Haetae rolls her eyes and in a rather sarcastic tone, says,
|
|
Granitt kicks one of the crates that Haechi says is of no interest, "You're right just empty old crates. No point looking into them now, now that you found those papers." He looks back to the creature, "What we gonna do with that? or him." he pulls at his beard. "Whatever we call him. Leave him here and he might turn dangerous to others that come exploring. So we should take him with us back to Gorm Greathammer. Not sure just talking to him works though Zaza."
"Hey, Zelphari you managed to get through to him. He seems to like you. See if you can encourage him to follow us. You magic folk might be able to help."
|
|
Ionic reaches over to Haechi and holds out a hand, motioning towards the pendants. "Could use one o'dose."
He takes a moment to examine the boxes around the cargo hold of the ship, curious as to what might be in them, and interested in seeing what the organizational patter behind the creature's stacking was. He gives a small smile watching the creature replay what Haechi performed, happy to see it found some joy.
"We sure dis contraband? Seems pretty benign. Dis box's just womin's knickers."
When the talk turns to what to do with the creature, Ionic gives its handiwork another glance and adds, "Ain't attacked us once. Seems house trained, good organizer, likes a good drama. Vote we take 'im back wid us. If not, former captain'd love ta have 'im."
|
|
Haechi watches as Zelphari and Zaza try to coax the creature into returning with them to the lodge. He's not entirely sure this is the right approach; quite the opposite in fact.
A little skeptically, he suggests, "Perhaps it would be best to leave the creature here where it appears to feel safe. We'll report its presence to Prince Gorm and Venture-Captain Kline and let then decide what to do with it. No doubt they have um... better trained resources at their disposal to handle this situation safely."
He turns to Granitt, "Also, Granitt, I don't look forward to us having to escort another potentially dangerous creature back to the lodge through the crowded streets of Absalom. If you'll remember, we barely made it back in one piece the last time we tried. Why, it took me a week to finally get that awful smell out of my cloak." He sniffs at his hood for emphasis.
|
|
Zaza scoffs at Haechi's concerns.
"Bah. They would just send another team just like us. Let's save them the trouble. Besides he's not going to give us any trouble."
She turns towards the creature.
"You want to come with us don't you? Come on. It's okay. You'll be fine."
She holds out her hand to the creature.
|
|
Ionic looks at the patch work creature and how happy he seems to be to have people around and a entertainment. "Say we test 'im'n'see how he does leavin' da ship. Don't wanna leave 'im here alone in case the smugglers come back. Also, bein' here alone's dangerous. If'n he don't wanna go, den we should leave 'im."
|
|
Granitt sniffs Haechi's coat and then the snout of his little friend, Haetae, as he pokes his head through the coat. "Smells fine to me! You never smelt better." Granitt then lifts his arm, and takes a long drawn out sniff. "Ya, definitely me. You too delicate Haechi, nothing wrong with a bit of a stink. It shows you been doing some real work." he swings his axe in great sweeps, almost like the hammer at the forge. "You know, we could take them back to the party and then go huntin' haunted houses. Look see, he's making friends with Zaza, ain't that nice."
"Hey Ionic, come here, what do you think of Haechi's aroma, seems pretty good to me!"
|
|
The creture seems excited to see new things and follows along. Back at the lodge Gorm raise an eye. "Well not what I was expecting from smugglers, but I think we can make use of them"
After checking in you head to the Manor House
The Mavedarus estate was built generations ago, and the series of disappearances and deaths in and around the house began before it was even completed. Despite the perpetual incidents, the house remained in the possession of the original Chelaxian family, passing down through the generations until it was abandoned after the earthquake that shook Absalom in 4698 ar, sending most of Beldrin’s Bluff into the sea. The couple in residence at the time both went missing in the quake. While rescue workers never found their bodies, they found many others within its walls—until a series of accidents eventually killed enough rescue workers that they simply boarded up the site and left it.
The Mavedarus home was once a grand, three-story structure with a rooftop veranda and manicured grounds. Now, only the first floor remains standing, the second and third stories having collapsed during the earthquake, and in the years of neglect since, the grounds have grown into a wild disarray.
|
|
Zelphari pauses to consider, then nods. "This creature appears to guileless for us to simply leave it abandoned here on its own. I trust those in the Society are better placed to understand his origins and give him the help needed."
Turning to the creature, he similarly holds out his hand together with Zaza, and gently urges it to follow.
"Well, this building certainly doesn't strike one with much confidence, does it," Zelphari exclaims with a wry smile. "Let's do a circuit round the building first and see what we can discover before heading in."
|
|
Haechi looks at the house with some trepidation. After their circuit of the exterior, Haechi jokes nervously, "If nothing else, it appears that we've been saved the trouble of searching the second and third floors. Ha ha."
Haechi stiffens his spine. "Well, this house isn't going to search itself I presume," and pointing up the two stairways, he adds, "This appears to be the main entrance, or more properly, was the main entrance." He then randomly picks the right stairway and starts climbing.
|
|
Ionic moves over to Haechi, gives a small sniff and then gives a small frown of negation. "Nope, ken only smell de slight damp algae here. Won't take much more den some sun ta get rid o'it!"
He gives a broad smile as he sees that the creature does want to come with the group and then an even broader one as Gorm takes them under his wing. "Glad ta hear he'll be seen ta!"
After the group walks around the place, Ionic pulls out his axe and looks to the rest the group. "Front door's good as any. Oi, 'old on there Haechi. I'll take point." He trundles up the stairs and tries to make sure the smaller and squishier kobold doesn't take the brunt of any traps or attacks that might fly his way.
|
|
"Yeah, you take that door, I'll take the other, on 3 we'll enter as a pincer movement, OK Ionic." Granitt runs up the stairs and takes the other turning, casting a glance though any windows as he goes. He gets ready for any nasty surprises the only way he knows how, with axe and shield ready. He looks at the door, his head slightly to one side as he eyes it up for any threats. Placing the axe head on the ground, he fingers the door knob, does it move, does it open?
Granitt turns the knob, slowly and as quietly as possible, opening it up so that the door is free to move. Picking up his axe, he calls loudly "1-2-3" and on the 3 kicks the door open and steps into the room. He looks across at the other door, with a smile and a nod.