Kragga curls her lip and gives a soft growl.
As Quatar and Pickle Tooth sneak onboard, Zarzuket tries to whoo the First Mate with some Thassilinian words. Seeing that his attempts are not capturing the attention of Janis, Kragga tries to intervene with an intimidating growl. Unfortunately, Janis appears either Zarzuket has mispoke and offended her or perhaps she's just in no mood to entertain the party's parley attempts. "Fools. Stop wasting my time and leave at once before you bring more trouble."
Meanwhile, onboard the ship, Pickle Tooth and Quatar are able to move about the ship without being caught. Quatar stumbles upon some navigational logs and notes that reveal the Swordfish as a mercenary ship that traditionally hires out to Thassilonian nobility, not a merchant’s ship.
Pickle Tooth is about to open a wooden coffer but accidentally bumps into a table, which knocks over several wooden crates that tumble around noisily. He doesn't make any discoveries, but does not appear that their cover is blown yet.
Zarzuket communicates with Quatar and Pickle Tooth via message spells.
”What have you found? They aren’t interested in what I have to say.”
Pushing his luck, Quatar continues to sneak around.
Message Response: "Almost done searching - I have an inkling once more around may prove to be fruitful"
Quatar finds himself in a room with a desk and what looks like a journal or log book. He tries to take a quick look at the contents, but it appears to be in Thassilonian. The entries are recent, though, and Zarzuket can likely make sense of the item, so he snatches it up and remains hidden out of sight.
—Winds brisk, skies clear. Lord Meitremar paid passage for himself, his entourage (including a quiet but unnerving sinspawn), and a large wooden case he declared as containing an “exotic pet” for a colleague stationed at an outpost on Thoska Isle.
—Winds brisk, overcast skies. Lord Meitremar approached me with an adjustment and promised a bonus upon return to Xin-Edasseril. We are no longer bound for Thoska, but the south coast of Chakikoth, to the squatter village of Iron Harbor.
—Winds brisk, rain. Lord Meitremar’s entourage has been disrupting morale. Elitist attitudes, disrespect for the ship and crew. Looking forward to being rid of him.
—Winds calm, overcast skies. Put crew to work on oars, but made good progress.
—Winds brisk, rain.
—Winds brisk, rain. Deckhand Telsen reported seeing Lord Meitremar’s sinspawn minion opening and closing a slat on the crate in the hold an hour before sunrise. Suspecting smuggling, I entered the hold to investigate. Movable slat in side of crate could be used to stash goods, but upon opening it I spied within a strange beast, some sort of lanky, six-legged wolf with a plantlike stalk growing from its body. The beast was sleeping, and there were no signs within the crate of smuggled goods. Disciplined Telsen for rumormongering.
—Winds brisk, rain. Arrived at sunset. Still strange to see the old spires in such a rusted state. Lord Meitremar met with Iron Harbor’s commander, then left with his entourage to the large stone structure at the edge of the village. Commanded the crew to remain on board and not to mix with local rabble.
—Another day at harbor. A few hours before dawn, several of Lord Meitremar’s people returned without him and loaded the “exotic pet” crate onto a cart and hauled it off around the peninsula toward Thunderhead Isle. Final straw. This mystery needs to end, and we need to head home. Tomorrow morning I shall debark and pay a visit to Stonehome and demand a swift leave.
"Quatar, did you find what you were looking for? Should I tell Pickle Tooth to leave now?"
"I think I got the goods" he says "Not in a language I can read, but, in a location that makes me think it is a journal or log book of some sort" he rubs his lucky stone and makes way to return to the party...
"Great!"
"Pickle Tooth, I think Quatar got what we need, so you can go now."
"This one was had less luck," Pickle said. "Retreating is probably a good idea."
After finding the journal, Quatar regroups with Pickle Tooth, and both retreat from the ship without being noticed.
Out front, First Mate Janis grows weary of Kragga and Zarzuket and disappears from sight.
”I guess we should go to Stonehome now. Best to leave the harbor area quickly, before they realize the log book is missing.”
Zarzuket trembles with excitement and nervousness as he quickly reads the log. ”This explains a lot! And also raises more questions. It looks like the captain of the Swordfish will be at Stonehome, asking Lord Meitremar for a swift leave. Good to know that they aren’t unconditionally on Lord Meitremar’s side. There’s a sinspawn with Meitremar; did he take it to Stonehome? And then there’s the wolf-plant-thing that they seem to have placed near Rusthenge; what even is that?”
Zarzuket hasn't heard of a sinspawn before, unfortunately, and can't recall any helpful information on them.
Zarzuket doesn't precisely know what's going on with the wolf creature, but the detailed statement about a plantlike stalk growing from its body does make him think about a fungal parasite called a cythnigot which can grow from the corpse of a creature. The cythnigot's most identifying feature is the long stalk of fungal material that extends from creature's body, ending in a surprisingly strong set of fanged jaws.
Quatar lightfingeredly snatches a single quill pen and stuffs into his satchel of collected trinkets...
Upon arriving back he expresses his concern for "Elder Ordwi, I would like to check up on her" and hands the Swordfish’s Log to Zarzuket, who seems to be the one to know what to do with it.
After reading the log, Zarzuket quickly puts it away in his pack. ”I just had an idea about the wolf thing. The plantlike part might be a fungal parasite called a cythnigot. The main wolf body might actually be a corpse the cythnigot is inhabiting. I’m not sure that fully explains it, though.”
Zarzuket agrees with Quatar on the need to check up on Elder Ordwi. ”She’s probably still at Stonehome, and there are some other people and things of interest there, so let’s go there.”
Quatar nods, looks around the pack "Did Pickletooth ever make it back?"
"This one made it safely off the ship, yes," Pickle said as he trotted up to the others. "This one, unfortunately, found nothing to help our investigation. Oh but Quatar may have?" He added with a glance to the logbook.
”He found some very important information. But I think you have some background knowledge that will also be valuable. Are you familiar with Lord Meitremar or with sinspawn?”
"Hmmm, this one might know something..."
Pickle Tooth can't recall anything on sinspawn. They do recall that Meitremar is not known for much of significance other than touting that he is descended from the great Theiltemar who supposedly snatched a relic from dying demon lord in a battlefield in Hell long ago.
Pickle scratched his chin as he spoke.
"Meitremar...descended from Theiltemar who stole a relic from a demon lord. Though this one shares the same doubts that many historians have."
"Thanks."
"Now let's get out of the harbor area and on the road to Stonehome quickly."
As the party arrives at Stonehome, they are immediately struck by the imposing and fortified nature of the Gorumite temple. The building itself is a two-story keep, standing tall and dominating the landscape to the north. The architecture is robust, with a sense of grim functionality about it, speaking to the martial nature of those who occupy it.
The front gate of Stonehome is securely locked, presenting a formidable barrier. It is clear that gaining entry through the gate would be no easy feat, requiring either exceptional thievery skills or brute force. Surrounding the keep, a twenty-foot-tall outer wall, topped with sharp iron spikes, further reinforces the stronghold's defensibility. The spikes on the wall not only serve as a deterrent to climbers but also pose a significant hazard to anyone attempting to scale them.
The courtyard, which lies before the main structure of Stonehome, is unkempt, covered in dirt and overgrown weeds. This lack of care contrasts starkly with the well-maintained defenses, suggesting a focus on security over aesthetics.
"It looks as though this Gate is significantly defensive - I wonder if I can gain entry with these" he pulls a few tools out of his back pocket.
Kneeling down, he looks this way, then that way "I believe the coast is clear" and gets to work picking the locks.
Quatar is not successful in opening the lock, despite an excellent attempt at it.
”Maybe we should have just tried knocking first. I don’t exactly trust the Gorumites, but it seems worth a try. Should we just knock and shout out now, or does someone object to the idea?”
Stowing his picks "No objections here. This lock is beyond my skill" he rises to his feet.
Zarzuket knocks on the gate. ”Hello! We’re here to see Elder Ordwi!”
Zarzuket's words do not get a response. They wait and wait, but no, there is no response from any of the Gorumites to his attempts to establish communication.
Quatar looks up at the spiked wall "I do not think I am brave enough to attempt to climb that" he remarks.
He looks towards Kragga, and wonders...
Kragga eyes the spikes dubiously. "Not looking to get myself impaled on those bad boys. Maybe somebody in town knows a better way in?"
”Elsie might have some alchemical method of getting in. Though the Gorumites might be upset if we dissolve part of their gate in acid, heh. If all else fails, we might end up coming back tomorrow; I could prepare a spell called helpful steps that could get us over the wall.”
Zarzuket then sits down. ”Before we go back to town, I’m going to take a few minutes to pray and think.”
After Zarzuket does his praying and everyone is ready, you return to Elsie's. She smiles and says "Back again so soon? Tell me, how are you finding your way around? Need any more supplies?"
"We found some information on what the ship is up to, although it raises as many questions as answers." Zarzuket shows Elsie the Swordfish's log and tells her about what it says.
"After we got the log, we went to Stonehome to see Elder Ordwi, but there was no response when we knocked. As the gate is sturdy-looking and securely locked, and the wall is twenty feet tall and topped with iron spikes, we had to give up on entering for now. Do you have any ideas?"
Quatar eyeballs the solvent that Zarzuket seems to indicate curiously...
Elsie listens attentively as Zarzuket shares the findings from the Swordfish's log and the party's attempt to visit Stonehome. Her expression shows a blend of concern and thoughtfulness as she processes the information.
"Well, that's quite a bit you've uncovered," she responds, her tone a mix of intrigue and worry. "It's concerning, all these mysteries piling up. As for Stonehome, that's a tricky one."
She pauses for a moment, clearly pondering the dilemma. "Before they locked down Stonehome, I used to visit the stables there daily. There's a rosethorn ram named Ida I've been tending to. Poor thing might be suffering without its medication by now." Elsie hands over a biscuit-shaped dose of medicine. "If you could feed this to Ida, it would help. But, if you can manage to rescue her and bring her back, that would be even better."
Elsie then shares a potentially useful piece of information. "I've never been inside Stonehome, but I've noticed a small well in the courtyard, opposite the stables. I suspect it connects to an underground stream that leads to Iron Harbor, just east of town. Maybe that's a way in?"
She also suggests another potential ally. "You might want to speak to Derrol. As an architect, he might have insights into Stonehome's structure that we don't."
"Thank you, Elsie! That sounds very useful. And we'll do our best to help Ida!"
Quatar perks up his eye, hearing of potentially another way in "How deep is the well?" he looks around the shop for climbing equipment.
"Would it be too late to bother Derrol at this hour?"
"To late? Hmmm. I wouldn't presume to know the hours that Derrol keeps. He stays mostly away from the locals and so I don't see him all that often."
Elsie does have climbing equipment and happily shows it to Quatar. "How deep you ask? Well, I've never measured! Deep enough you need a rope and bucket! The well itself is at least three or feet on the inside, so you should have enough to climb up if you can locate the outlet. It probably empties into the harbor, I'd imagine."
"I could probably find the tunnel." says Krachxton. "I'm a good diver."
Quatar negotiates "As you'd like your rosethorn ram, would you be willing to lend a climbing kit?" and supports "I am not fond of the water - I think it is a good idea that you should go, Krachxton"
Elsie considers Quatar's offer. She isn't in the business of giving away equipment; that's not how money is made. But these folks seemed to have the right way about them, so doesn't reject it outright. "Perhaps, yes. Leave me something of worth in exchange and I shall return it to you when you bring the kit back."
Quatar makes no such trade!
"I swear on my lucky amulet it will be done - but I will need all of my effects to make the venture tither and back, and frankly, will look into the matter whether or not either of us put up collateral" he smiles at the shrewd merchant with a thief's knowing glance, and tries to cut the deal with his "Father can balance the bill if it comes up short - nothing else would he owe me that I would not deign to ask" a little tricksy with his words, he attempts to confuse Elsie into agreement of the unbalanced terms!
"Uhh.." she stutters, clearly caught off guard. "I uhh, suppose so?" She scratches her head, "Alright. Don't be tellin' others I am passin' out free loaners now. And I want it back all together-like."
She hurries off into the storage room and returns with a climbing kit, handing it off to Quatar hesitantly.
Wrapping the rope around his body, Quatar reaffirms his pledge to "Find Ida we will, and make sure that she is in good health" looking ready to set out for the tunnel in the harbor.