Session 3 - Drunks, Demons, Dangerous Animals

General Summary

Ten days have passed since the group sailed out of Grabstein. By the time they reach the ocean, the hull has taken a beating from the shallows. They dock in the port town of Saltstone Harbor, and while Bram negotiates the repair of the ship, the group aims to make some coin and hire a captain.
Ghostclaw and Aragon decide to talk to Ronove to get information. The Demon Lord is not dead as the magus have claimed for the last 5000 years; he is only trapped, frozen in time. They learn that three of the Demon Lord's seven generals have already been freed, and one of them was The Hooded One.
Roger, Arimanthos, and Skara see some doctors treating a woman who seems to be frozen in fear. Roger decides to help treat her and sends the other two out to find the cause of her mysterious ailment.
The rest of the group heads to the local tavern, The Bad Moon. Inside, they learn that the imperial guards have all been called back to Grabstein, allowing pirates to move in and drink without fear of reprisals. They find three captains without a ship: Browntooth a pirate abandoned by his crew, Commodore Foster a former naval man, and Iva a woman with a sad past. After interviewing a few potential candidates, they decide to hire Iva, but her price is expensive at 300gp.
Arimanthos meets a dwarven merchant named Yorber Boneforge. He has a salt shipment, but the pirates have scared off all the legitimate ships. Arimanthos haggled with him, and once Yorber learns that Iva will be the captain, he agrees to 150gp up front and another 150gp when they reach the destination.
Skara decides to go shopping and on his way into the shop, he meets a gnome who seems troubled. The well dressed gnome introduces himself as Farwin a collector of large wild animals. His Cockatrice has escaped and he fears it will hurt someone. He hired Skara to find it and bring it back alive if possible. Skara makes the connection, the Cockatrice is what petrified the woman. He runs back to Roger, who informs him that only way to cure the woman is to get the venom from a living specimen.
Amon and Aragon enter one of the shops and find a magical bracelet called a "glamour" that can make sentient beings appear human. They both feel drawn to this artifact and begin to devise a plan to steal it.
Skara decides that the best way to track down the Cockatrice is to get a hunter involved. He finds Ghostclaw, who knows that if you can get a Cockatrice to look at it's own reflection, it petrifies itself. Ghostclaw goes to the blacksmith shop to see Fenrir who has been repairing his shield. They take a piece of beef tallow and polish the shield until they can see their reflection in it.
Then he hears it. Outside the blacksmith shop, the Cockatrice stands perched on a house. Arimanthos grabs the shield and bangs on it to grab the creature's attention. It lunges at the paladin, and Ghostclaw shoots 5 arrows into the beast. Skara lets loose a ray of ice and a bolt of lightning before being slammed against the tavern's wall. Fenrir charges, as 3 more arrows fly. Arimanthos gets into position and raises the shield. The beast sees it's reflection and starts to petrify. Aragon casts 3 magic missiles and knocks the Cockatrice out.
With the bird out cold, Skara is able to harvest its venom, collect the reward for its capture and run to help Roger make the antidote. Arimanthos and Ghostclaw, however, are not amused by Farwin's reckless choice of pets. Arimanthos puts the suffering Cockatrice out of its misery, and the gnome attempts to flee on the back of Lucy, his pet lion. A perfect shot from Ghostclaw unseats Farwin, and he is put into the stocks to await the local magistrate.
Arimanthos is approached by a man wearing a turban. He claimed to be a bounty hunter from a far away land looking for a murderer. Upon hearing the description, Arimanthos realizes she is The Bartender from the bad moon. He goes to question her, and she pleads for her life. She claims to be innocent, and Arimanthos takes pity on her and lets her go. She gives him a small sack of money and a signet ring from Hatem as thanks.
Fenrir decides to try and make a bit of coin by challenging a pirate to a wrestling match, but unfortunately loses the game and most of his gold.
While Skara was out making money, Aragon and Amon make a few failed attempts to steal the bracelet. They watch sadly as Skara comes in and buys it with his newly acquired riches.
Alice finds Arimanthos and asks for his help. This town had once been her families seat of power, and she has located the crypts where they had hidden some valuables; however, something evil was down there and she needed help to retrieve it.
The group heads into the crypts and find The Hooded One, the demon who kidnapped Dram and was one of the Demon Lord's generals. Fenrir, enraged at the demon who kidnapped his best friend, charges in at the fiend and lands a blow with his sword. Arimanthos runs in after his friend and also slashes at him. Magical Missiles and melodies erupt into the room as Aragon and Amon provides support to their warrior friends. Ghostclaw shoots an arrow, and The Hooded One stumbles and falls. His skin peels away as he grows into his true form.
In an explosion of fire, the demon summons three Imps to fight the group. Ghostclaw and Skara continue to pepper The Hooded One with shots as the fighters change their targets to the Imps. The demon starts to summon a portal in an attempt to escape. Aragon arcs lightning to one of the Imps, who grabs a hold of Skara and blows himself up. Arimanthos takes another Imp down. Aragon casts a final magical missile and slays The Hooded One just as the demon attempts to jump through the portal and evade the group yet again.
Arimanthos and Alice investigate the altar The Hooded One seems interested in. As they approach it, an invisible force knocks them away. Only Skara, Fenrir, and Amon are allowed close. With a swing of his ax, Skara is able to destroy the magical barrier at the cost of his weapon, but the stone ax magically reforms onto the handle. On the alter is a box with a signet ring of Nirene inside it.
"With my mother and father dead, I am the new Baroness of Nirene. I want you to have my grandfather's ring, Arimanthos," says Alice.
As the group leaves the cave, Arimanthos sees two holes in the wall. He places the signet ring of Nirene and Hatem inside the slots and a hidden panel reveals itself; inside, 1000gp.
"In case of emergency," Alice explains. "The king and queen would have quick access to money if they ever needed to escape."
With the first of the 7 generals slain, and a bit more coin in their pockets, the group heads back up into Saltstone Harbor.

Report Date

13 Oct 2018

Primary Location

Saltstone Harbor