Chapter IV. Beyond Skeletons

General Summary

Axel called Scrimshaw's name in his sleep.   Tuesday Morning   The next morning, Lily and Helvella were too sad to order the modest breakfast they'd had the day before. On the other hand, Cailin decided to spring for it in Scrimshaw's memory.   "Scrimshaw kept talking about this place he always wanted to go, where he could sing for families...a place called Kokomo...I recorded him singing about it." -Axehlkan Howitzer   "We are in the Ring and Wren, we will not fail! I believe in us, if we work together." -Axehlkan Howitzer   At the neighboring table, listening attentively to the old fisherman who'd told Axehlkan about the talking fish was an out-of-place looking half-elf holding a quill and a piece of parchment. Lanky with a shock of shoulder-length red hair, sallow features and glaring eyes. He listened with interest, but as the old man's tale wore on, his quill dropped and the man looked annoyed as he realized he was listening to bunk. He caught someone's eye at our table.   "Did I hear a tale of death? If there's death, there is a tale. Please, this one is nothing. But the one you might tell to me..." -Kvæði Gorebeard   Everyone knows the name of the Ring & Wren.   I would love to accompany you.   "Treasure! Sorry, down here." -Ollin Wayworthy   A young tan-skinned halfling man with beachy blond waves. Disheveled in loose-fitting clothes, with a cutlass and a dagger. Looking like he hadn't eaten in a few days. His boots had holes in the toes.   Lily consulted her runes and said we should let them in.   "What can you do?" -Axehlkan Howitzer   "Oh, you know. I can get in places. I'm a quick little bugger." -Ollin Wayworthy   "Can you fight?" -Helvella Mossfoot   "I don't carry these for nothin', miss." -Ollin Wayworthy   "You're asking me if I know Jager Ironbeard. You're telling me you met him? Was he old? Was he tired? Was he thin? Weak? Or was he strong?" -Kvæði Gorebeard   "Are you guys like related or something?" -   "In blood, yes. But in our souls, we are sundered." -Kvæði Gorebeard   When asked about his abilities, Kvæði created a minor illusion of blood that formed the shape of a blade. Helvella made a minor illusion of a chicken in response.   "This kind of game can be most entertaining." -Kvæði Gorebeard   "The missions we're undertaking come with a considerable amount of danger. There's no guarentee of safety while you're writing your tales." -Kadias Trench "Fear is a fool's tale. I've never feared anything in my life." -Kvæði Gorebeard   "That's a lot. I just came cause I heard treasure, and can't pay for my lodgings." -Ollin Wayworthy   "Oh, really? If you're going to come with us, give me those shoes." -Axehlkan Howitzer   Axel sprayed some kind of mist on the shoes and the holes in the toes mended themselves.   "Thank you, but I liked the way they were before." -Ollin Wayworthy   "If there's anything you know about Ollin Wayworthy, it's that he likes nothing better than stealing treasure from pirates." -Ollin Wayworthy   "I like this man, a raider!" -Kvæði Gorebeard   Walk along the lone coastal road north. When the party arrived once more at the Hill House, they saw that the corpses of the giant venomous snakes they'd slain the day before were no longer there.   "I think goin' in the front door is a little bit of a silly idea." -Helvella Mossfoot   "I've never heard of a popular merchant." -Ollin Wayworthy   Axehlkan wanted to do his ritual again since he'd been interrupted the day before. While he did so, the rest of the party chatted.   "Are you the talking kind? Those are my least favorite." -Helvella Mossfoot   "It was the wish of my father that his son record the feats of our people. We are the only ones who follow a true path." -Kvæði Gorebeard   "Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but isn't Regen Wakerock the king of the Iron Islands?" -Ollin Wayworthy   "For your ignorance, friend, I will not draw blades. May all of them drown below the waves in the most cowardly way." -Kvæði Gorebeard   Lily and Cailín noticed skittering from the bushes and two sets of eyes from the burrow, snouts and sharp teeth. Two more medium creatures in the rose bush. They told everyone else. Helvella and Kvæði worked together to create the illusion of a bear, with Helvella creating its form and Kvæði making it roar. The creatures backed off but continued to watch.   Finally, the party agreed that walking in the front door would be the most straightforward way in and that at this point anyone inside would surely know they were here.   I’ve never heard of a popular merchant. Are you the talking kind? Those are my least favorite.   It was the wish of my father that his son record the feats of our people. We are the only ones who follow a true path.   For your ignorance, friend, I will not draw blades.   May all of them drown below the waves in the most cowardly way.   Do you know any jigs or anything more upbeat?   Lily and Cailín notice skittering from the bushes and two sets of eyes from the burrow, snouts and sharp teeth. Two more medium creatures in the rose bush. They tell everyone, Helvella and Kvaethi work together to create an illusion of a bear, intending to intimidate the animals away. The creatures back away, continue to watch us.   Lily guides Axel as he checks for traps and says “hello, anyone there?”   “It’s unlocked! Anybody home?”   Lily goes in first. Cailín goes in after her, then Ollin and Kvaethi, then Axel and Helvella, then Kadias.   Axel puts oil on Lily’s holy symbol to make it dimly glow. Musty dirty entrance hall. Smashed furniture, empty walls.   I always go left when I go somewhere new. -O   Lily and Ollin find two sets of humanoid tracks, one from the door to the north, another from the stairs to the east. Part of the   Do banshees make footsteps? -A   We choose to go East since no one has gone that way. Axel stays behind to keep an eye out. Two rooms at the end of the hallway. First door on the right. Lily listens at the door, hears nothing, goes in. Looks like a living room. Another door leading to the second direction. Tiny red mushrooms in a half circle around the fireplace. Helvella helps Kvaethi investigate them and find them to be harmless and edible.   “Oh! Mushrooms!” -Helvella   Lily goes to listen at the other door, hears nothing. Cailín checks the chimney, finds a loose stone with a cavity with a small leather pouch, 2 pieces of cut blue quartz worth 10 gp each. We go through to the next area. Similar room set up. Lily and Ollin look around and notice the floor in the room above seems weak, hence the fallen plaster. Kadias throws a javelin through the floor so we know which room is above us, it goes all the way through the floor into the ceiling in the room above. We return to the previous room and go west this time. Two doors at the end of the western hall. Lily and Ollin listen at the door, it’s quiet. Once a library, a pile of books.   This is a treasure in truth. -Kvaethi   All books are partially ruined, poems, histories, but there are three; Magical Properties of Gemstones by the Archmage Tenser, The Magical Properties of Herbs and Flowers by the Archmage Tenser, The Metaphysics of Mathematics by the Mage Nystul. Page inside the third Handwritten in common: beyond skeletons is the only text visible due to dampness. Lily takes the gemstone book, Cailín takes the herbs and flowers one, and Axel takes the metaphysics one.   We cross the hallway to the northern doorway. Lily listens, hears nothing. Writing room/study, writing table that had already been rummaged through except for one closed drawer. Axel checks for traps, Ollin uses thieve’s tools to pick the lock. Nothing but all valueless documents, receipts for ingredients, etc.   The footsteps that went west lead to the last door. Lily doesn’t hear anything. Another living area, a door in the north goes to a patio which is up against the cliffs and overgrown with weeds, and a pile of refuse in the corner. Ollin goes out onto the patio, Axel asks for help looking for footsteps, Cailín picks up the tracks, they walk over to the floor and then just end. Ollin looks down the edge, there’s a beautiful view. Ollin lingers when he goes outside. Under a rug is a trap door.   Creaking of wood as we approach, then booming laughter.   “Welcome fools! Welcome to your deaths!” It echoes through the house. Axehlkan and Kvaethi get terrified and get disadv. on all ability checks for the next hour.   Axel drops his glasses, Kvaethi jumps, backs against the wall and looks around nervously.   Never been scared my ass. -Ollin   Don’t worry Kvaethi, halflings are much braver than the average person. -Helvella   This kind of thing is not natural. I’ve never heard anyone talk so loudly. -Kvaethi   Torches light the room below. The marching order is Kadias, Cailín, Ollin, Kvaethi, Helvella, Axel, then Lily.   Kadias sees we are in some form of cellar, converted into living quarters with ten crude beds and lockers at the end of each. Evidence of humans living there and recently. Two doors. One is barred on our side, damaged and caved in from the other side. Helvella wedges a chair under the other one so it can’t be opened. The boys loot five of the lockers that Ollin unlocks, while the girls keep watch. The lockers have personal effects, and coin purses with 5 gold and 15 silver inside each. Helvella gives her crowbar to Kadias so he can try to pry the other lockers open. Axel loses his fear, but Kvaethi remains scared. Lily listens at the doors with Cailín’s help. Scrawled danger in common in chalk.   Lily goes through the door to the north. A nicer bedroom, Kadias thinks probably the captain’s quarters. Inside is Wooden locker, table and chair, candlestick, small wooden box, lantern, three books on shelf + wardrobe.   Axel investigates lockbox at foot of bed. It is not trapped, but is locked. Ollin fails to pick the lock, Kadias pries it open instead. They find a coin purse with 10g and 25 silver. Axel checks the next one for traps, but sees a hidden panel under the table. He checks it for traps and then finds a small, leather-bound spellbook containing: Dancing lights, minor illusion, ray of frost, charm person, color spray, magic missile, silent image, magic mouth and scorching ray. The small chest contains twelve candles, flint, steel, and parchment with interesting information, written in code. Axel takes 10 minutes to figure the code out. Kvaethi checks the wardrobe for traps, finds a fancy floor-length oilskin coat trimmed with iridescent green silk, there are multiple empty pockets sewn into the sleeves.   It’s might not be the best idea to wear that. The pirates might recognize it. -Kadias   Cailín looks at the books, the first is a fully illustrated erotic poetry book, the second is a naval almanac with tide times that cover 100 miles of coastlines around Saltmarsh, the last is a treatise about the demigod Youse and his followers. Inside is a sheet of parchment with simple words and phrases and their equivalents in goblin. stop, fight, lift, come.   Axel determines the code to be some sort of morse code with lantern.   Long short short short is it safe short long short long everything safe long long long ready to unload, come to the ship.   Cailín opens the centerfold. Ollin takes the naval almanac, Helvella takes the bullseye lantern, Axel takes the goblin commands:   Here, this ones’s about you! Between bouts of laughter, Helvella reads:   Next we check the barred door.   He talks to me when I dream.   Axel bangs on the door and yells “Come!” In goblin. nothing happens. Ollin walks into the dark room with the lit candelabra. He doesn’t see anything until he walks in. 6 musty skeletons rise up, bones reinforced with metal.   Kadias picked up Ollin and pulled him backwards, stepping back from the doorway, then shuts the door and braces himself against it.   Put the bar! -Kadias   A skeleton tries to break through. The door buckles, but Kadias holds the door. Another one breaks the door open despite Kadias. Ollin runs back past Kadias, draws his dagger, and attacks the skeleton that broke through, then disengages and runs back where Kadias put him.   “To show you gorebeards are not afraid, Vrthir the fighter shouted with a thousand sounds of horns!” -Kvaethi   Kvaethi casts thunderwave, the skeleton’s armor infusion protects them from damage but gets eaten away.   Lily, get behind me! -Axel   Axel runs forward, “get away from them!” Rages and hits one of the ones Kvaethi hit with the thunderwave with a rapier using strength.   Lily runs in, holds up her symbol, and turns undead. White light comes into her prism and comes out in rainbow beams to hit them.   “Return to the earth from where you came!” -Lily   Three skeletons get turned. One of the skeletons runs away toward the wall. Another runs up and attacks Lily with a rusty short sword.   Ow! Not cool! -Lily   One skeleton tries to attack Axel, but Axel blocks it. Helvella casts Eldritch blast at the one Axel attacked and shatters it. Cailín runs in and attacks the one that hit Lily with Shillelagh, hitting his armor with bludgeoning damage.   Those in the room noticed a blue light seems to emerge from the back of the room in the shape of a door.   Kadias cast protection from evil and good, then pushed into the room,   A light form with wings, these poor creatures, even after death they’re still chained. But those who are chained can never touch the light of those who are free. we must release them. A skeleton runs up to attack him, but the wings wrap around and protect Kadias.   Ollin runs in and kills the one Cailín attacked, then disengages and runs back. Kvaethi casts vicious mockery.   “You fight flesh and blood but you’re nothing but bones, return to the earth where bones shall lie.” -Kvaethi   Axel takes Scrimshaw’s rapier, grabs it by the blade and bludgeons the last unturned skeleton to death with the pommel.   Lily attacks one of the turned skeletons with sacred flame, but misses, so he stays turned. The skeletons keep running and dodging. Helvella tries to hit the same one, in the very back, with Eldritch blast. Cailín runs up to that one and tries to hit it with Shillelagh, but misses.   The door vanishes and beyond it, we see a hunched corpse wearing pointed hat and a robe with arcane symbols and thin wisps of beard   “Secrets found and lost then found again. Your paltry minds cannot fathom…” -Alchemist   In outstretched hand a green glob of acid and hurls it into Cailíns back, then another into Axel.   “You poor thing.” -Kadias   Kadias attacks him with his Warpick,   “Return to where you belong and rest!” -Kadias   “Never!” -Alchemist   Ollin runs in and throws a dagger at the alchemist, then dashed backward.   Kvaethi stays outside the   Vildr did not engage in acts of pain, the creatures that fight gorebeards died bloody corpses in the mud…casts dissonant whispers. The alchemist retreated into the blue room, Kadias hit him with a vicious attack on his way out.   Axel rage chases the alchemist, drops his rapier and punches him, hearing crack as the whole ribcage begins to collapse.   Lily ran into the room after Axel and casts sacred flame on the Alchemist, but missed.   The skeleton in front of Cailín attacks her, bringing her low.   Helvella missed with an Eldritch blast, then conjures a tentacle from the deep that looks like a mossy swampy vine to attack the same skeleton.   Cailín attacks the skeleton in front of her with Shillelagh again,   Alchemist missed Axel with bony claws.   Kadias! -Axel   Kadias rushed in to help Axel, misses with his war pick.   Ollin dashes in from the other room, jumps, lands on the Alchemist’s rib cage, then kills the Alchemist.   Undead creatures, you have been turned away, your master is dead!   Axel hits one of the other turned skeletons with his   Lily touches Cailín’s calf and cures her wounds with a hand covered in floating water.   The skeleton attacks Axel.   Helvella kills it with Eldritch blast. Cailín misses the last one with Shillelagh. Kadias misses with his war pick. Ollin readies an attack for when the skeleton finishes dodging. Kvaethi   There’s no reason to mock you, you’re mindless as it is.   Axel’s eye gets red lightning as he rages, but he misses, he clutches his head. Lily runs up and hits it with her quarterstaff. Helvella misses with Eldritch blast but hits with the tentacle, smashing it into the wall.   Axel is on his knees, still clutching his head. “What is happening?” -Axel Until his rage goes away.   Through the doorway we see, three small copper pots among broken glass. An empty bag at the alchemist’s waist, one rib bone on each of the six skeletons worth 5gp each. The alchemist is wearing a smooth stone around its neck, flat gray and black river stone, inscribed with an unknown arcane symbol.