DivineDetritusSeaCreeps
Contents
This is a chapter in Book 2
Prev: A Moments Respite
Next: A Sea's Life for Me
Summary
NPCs
Alvin
The only ferryman brave enough to take you to the haunted library. Wait, THIS Alvin says he was traveling to and from a funeral for the last several months- and he looks different from the other Alvin. Who was the other guy?
At least Alvin is willing to take you to a remote island.
Berrei Thromman
He owns a smithery and magical enchantment company on the island. He is protected by Baat's cultists, as well as some skeletal allies. He eventually admits Baat Daculon used his factory as an entry point on the island as a summer home.
Captain Limon
You stumbled upon the home of the Pirate King Captain Limon! His paraamour Lady Syrup and their Dragon Turtle all rambled on about protecting their mistress. You defeated them and moved on to fight their master.
When you brought him back, he asked you to spare Lady Syrup a brutal prison life on the surface. In exchange he told you everything he knew about Baat, and his "parents."
Cirri
An undine explorer who discovers the island of Sendrine. She traveled underwater with you.
Councilman Vorre
He doesn't like Lord Trout very much, and he's quite on edge over his first loss as a prosecutor.
Denerri
Tiefling who was on trial for a murder he didn't commit. After helping exonerate him, he referred you to his friend Alvin. He is now curator of the Grand Library at Sol Pequeño, and is researching Sendrine in its many ways.
He doesn't trust Lord Trout's goodwill, believing this to be a power play.
Lord Trout
He has offered to help finance the repairs to the Grand Library. He also invites you all and Denerri to his manor. He believes that no one should be restricted like he and Denerri were, and he plans to go into politics and lead the island of Sol Pequeño to a new age of prosperity.
Nidri doesn't trust him, and warns the Kolphans not to trust him either.
Melanie Mel
It's a fashion party, and she's hosting! It's the perfect opportunity to capture Baat Daculon's apprentices and allies!
She's so impressed with your progress, she offers you a ship.
Sal'nessee
She's attending Melanie Mel's party and enjoying the whole thing.
Velgin
One of the few living goons at the haunted Library. He's not too bright, either. He gives you all sorts of information on Baat Daculon.
July 9, 1236 AD
Afternoon at the prison
After shopping and training, you visit Velgin, the Shadowy Hood they captured in the library. He's a bit dim, although he's pretty cooperative. He remembers Baat Daculon wanted the library for its vast supply of books, and as a base of operations to seduce and convert nobles into vampires. He also knew a "demon chick" by the nickname "Sal", and wanted to mock her. Hawk recognizes a tattoo on Velgin, probably Baat's mark.
Afternoon at the Library
You go to the docks and meet with Denerri and a different ferryman named Alvin, who is apparently good friends with Denerri. Alvin's been at a funeral for the last few months. Lord Trout has offered to repair the damage done to the library (Denerri suspects this is a power play.)
Denerri reaches the office and offers a gift to the party - a compass that he says can track chemicals that outsiders are vulnerable to. He doesn't know the specifics of it, but he's certain it will be more safe in the party's hands than his. He grants the party full access to the library.
In private, the party updates Denerri on Sendrine, its findings and all the power players who are interested in it. He's quite worried, and decides to take inventory on what the vampires stole from the library. Many books on the Sendrine are missing, as well as the history of significant outsiders during the Wailing War.
Nidri decides to do some research on what she saw and nearby areas. She learns a bit about an undersea kingdom as well as an islet that may be near where Baat submerged.
Evening at Lord Trout's Manor
Lord Trout invited Denerri to a dinner to speak about the trial, and the party (and Darius) are invited. Trout detects some distrust from Denerri, but Trout still plans to use this trial to boost his political career. He feel that no one should be pinned like he was physically, or like Denerri was socially.
July 10, 1236 AD
Nidri spends more time analyzing the compass and realizes it can be used to focus on Sendrine if she concentrates on it. Suspicious of Lord Trout, she warns the Kolphans to keep an eye on him. With their business at the library concluded, they head to the docks to speak to Alvin the Ferryman.
Trout's ships are already en route to the library when the party meets Alvin. After paying him hazard pay, he agrees to sail the party out to the far island they desired.
As they approach the islet, they notice a blond woman taking a look around the island. She is of the water-touched Undines, and she's taking a lay of the islet. According to her, it's shaped like a cone, several hundred feet underwater. She has heard rumors of large, unidentified gems on the island and planned to find them. She finds a large wagon sized gem near the surface. Nidri confirms it is Sendrine and notices the compass is pointing right at it.
Nidri grants everyone the power to breathe underwater and they dive to the gem. The surface is like a shallow plate, with a cracked but otherwise solid coral floor. Fi notices his Sendrine arrows are drawn towards the large gem, and Nidri notes the compass is still pointing down. The party decides to break through the floor, so Cirri gets her explosive device and cracks a hole through the floor.
This large, artificial islet is home to a band of pirates- this is Captain Limon's home base! The party proceeds to attack the crew head on. After defeating them, they travel further underwater to face off against the Captain, his paraamor Lady Syrup, and the Dragon Turtle they met earlier. The party defeats them all. Hawk notices that they kept mentioning their urge to protect their mistress. He suspects they were compelled.
The party finally reaches the bottom of the cave, and it's pure Sendrine. A woman's voice tells them to leave immediately, because she's not surrendering. The party knows she is somewhere deep inside the cavern, so Hawk challenges her to a fight. Then he challenges her to a dance. They he springs the trap so they don't have to search for her. While they defeat her almost immediately, the water elementals don't back down. Even after beating her, her voice continues to speak. She falls asleep, and the cavern begins to snore.
By the time the party finishes off the elementals, the snoring destabilizes the cavern. The entire structure falls apart, and the party desperately swims to the surface with the pirate loot. The party contemplates saving the pirates, which would make the escape much more difficult. Despite a few failures the party survives and escapes with pirates and loot intact. Cirri offers to bring the first mate to justice while the party carries Captain Limon and Lady Syrup back to the island.
Alvin escorts the party back, and they awaken him in time for some interrogation. He remembers Lady Syrup and his pirates using the hideout and promising to protect a mysterious benefactor. The captain barely remembers her name, Pride. When asked about Baat Daculon, he mentions he stayed far away from him. He's well aware of that vampire's corruptive influence, and mentions several officials on the Isle he has corrupted in one way or another in the last two months. He is willing to speak more, provided they let Lady Syrup go.
The party agrees to let him and the Lady go, as well. He recognizes the party, and remembers Marki warned him not to fight them. He says Baat is part of a family, of sorts, all loyal to a "mother" and "father" figure. He knows of two others: the water spirit and the bird of living flame. He knows the bird lives in the Great Plains, near the village of Nalthaan.
The Kolphan estate is busy tending to the garden. The party gives an update, and Darius takes interest in the names. Melanie Mel's fashion show will attract many of them into one area, but maybe it will be better to find one person. Hawk seems adamant about targeting the most prominent official, and Darius spends his time selecting the best one. Sigurd and Kolphanir have a private argument about Hawk's fine line between Justice and Revenge.
July 11, 1236 AD
Berrei Thromman runs a smithery/magical enchantment business. Of the list of suspected worshippers, he is the highest ranking and would have the best information on Baat Daculon's wareabouts. The party decides to move quickly on this information - Darius notes many of the other suspects have left the island already, while others will be at Melanie Mel's party later that night.
Thromman's warehouse is busy with salesmen, but it looks like Thromman is downstairs behind a large door. After some failed politeness judo with the Gnome receptionist, Nidri simply frightens her into letting them past. Mr. Thromman lets them in and guides them to the meeting room, but Vegeta realizes something is wrong immediately. Mr. Thromman panics and flees towards his master: the actual Mr. Thromman.
An abandoned smithery, with molten iron poured form makeshift chokepoints. The real Mr. Thromman lies in the back, followed by some cultist and a gargoyle. Of import are the two cloaked skeletal creatures, calling each other brother. The duo seem to know about the party, and prepare against their assault. Still, the party remains victorious. The skeletons are destroyed utterly, and the false Mr. Thromman is reduced to a pile of brightly colored ash. The gargoyle reverts into an elf when he's defeated.
Before the party can loot the bodies, they hear a dozen guards approaching. Vegeta destroys the cultists while Fi and Fleir grab Mr. Thromman and his elven friend and hide. The guards don't suspect the party's involvement, but they are nosy (and very insightful.) Claire eventually defuses the situation, giving a very vague statement and convincing them to let them go.
The party decides to meet at the Kolphan estate, where Sigurd is already talking to a dozen guards. Darius tells the party that someone tried to attack Kolphanir in the morning with a wicked dagger. He was one of the housekeepers, and he has Baat's symbol on his thigh. With many questions and not enough answers, Kolphanir uses her magic to heal everyone and rouse the enemy.
Thromman is quite cooperative. Baat Daculon paid him very well to use his factory as Baat's point of entry. Thromman even received resources to help protect himself, which came in handy when divinations told him the party would attack. He had a pile of gems he used to mold into a facsimile of himself. He also had a coin of bone he could snap to summon two liches wearing brightly colored robes. They ranted about their family and knew about the party's identity and their abilities. They suggested a bodyguard, so Thromman hired the elven shapeshifting mercenary Zylith.
Baat referred to the Isle of the Sun as his vacation home. He referred to a village in the Great Plains called Deonsy that was near his family's residence, but Thromman wasn't clear on the details. Darius managed to charm him, so he won't plead his case to the guards. As a bonus, Thromman will attend Melanie's fashion party this evening.
Evening
Melanie's fashion party has attracted plenty of the rich and famous. Even some of the Councilmen are there. Darius mentions the goal: Keep the Daculon suspects here.
- Vegeta bores Lord Trout with tales of Sayan warfare.
- Nidri tries to not rouse suspicion but Thromman sees right through it.
- Hawk talks up Sal'nessee, tells her about the various quirks of the nobles, and convinces her to stay for something special.
- Fi goes backstage to talk to Melanie and tells her everything about their trip the Isle. She's impressed by his honesty.
- Claire realizes Councilman Vorre is on edge and manages to calm him down so he doesn't leave prematurely.
As the fashion show itself begins, it turns out there are more ways this party can fall apart.
- Hawk and Nidri fill in for some of the performers who are conspicuously missing.
- Vegeta scouts some of the guests and discovers some of them are nervous about the coming events.
- Fi and Fleir notice hidden exits that could be used as an escape route.
- Claire gives a beautiful speech, calming down Councilman Vorre and Lord Trout, ending their shouting match, and convincing everyone to sit down and enjoy the show. (Claire receives several invites for a late night tryst afterwards)
By now, the show is near the finale - the awards ceremony. Melanie cracks a few jokes at her own expense before announcing the winner. Before then she dedicates the show to a mysterious interloper - Baat Daculon, and all of his accomplices! Panic breaks out and the party helps keep the peace.
- Some have taken hostages. Fi, Fleir and Vegeta save them without trouble.
- Some are simply fleeing for a hidden exit. Hawk sticks most of the exits, but there was one exit he missed.
- The public is panicking, disrupting the guards. Claire tells them to sit down and shut up. Nicely.
- Some lackeys are resisting arrest. Nidri tells them to sit down and shut up. Not so nicely.
Most of Baat Daculon's lackets have been arrested, including Barrei Thromman and about one third of Councilman Vorre's legal counsel. Melanie asks the party to visit her in the villa tomorrow afternoon.
July 12, 1236 AD
Afternoon at Melanie Mel's villa
Melanie's villa is large and messy, in the process of cleaning. Melanie's excited by the whole thing, and she wants to know about the party's exploits on the island. They come clean and tell her everything, except the Sendrine compass. Impressed with their progress, Melanie offers them her ship to travel around the world. She figures they will make incredible envoys.
But first they have to take her back home, to Harvest Wharf.
GM Comments
Underwater Rules
You guys really want to chase Baat, eh? Oh well, I got to add more lore in the process, so I'm good. Man you guys went off the rails!
Thromman's Violence. On/Off
The encounter with Thromman was a way to generate social conflict as well as the good ol' physical violence. The gnome secretary has a good skill set meant to exhaust your options before she got suspicious and called for help. Then Nidri scared the crap out her.
Thromman's blessings of fervor spell let the enemy choose between bonus AC, better attacks, better movement, and standing from prone without provoking. The Zeels are... well they'll be back. The gargoyle jabbed Fi once then was pincushioned, lol.
The party could easily defeat the guards, but that would have made things worse. I like how socially inept Vegeta was and kept mentioning he was the fail state.
Ampitheater non-violent fun
It was meant to be a finale that didn't involve much combat, and I think it worked out well. Giving you 8d6 to spread between multiple tasks was fun.
