A Heart of Stone, Part 1

Written by RealmsDM

21 Marpenoth (1st Day, Worship and Rest), The Year of Twelve Warnings (1494 DR)   Town of Saltmarsh, The Sword Coast  
The day after arriving in the fishing town of Saltmarsh, Timmorn, a male longtooth shifter from Neverwinter Woods met Garrick Seaworthy, a male aquatic elf who had been a sailor until he settled down in Saltmarsh nearly two years ago after falling in love with a local woman.   Garrick was the fiancé of Holly Rist, a lovely young woman who came from a family of well-known lobster catchers. She inherited The Snapping Line, one of the town's popular inns and taverns, from her parents.   The Snapping Line was where Timmorn's fellow adventuring partner, Sethra La'mourne was staying as well. Russel Crow, the kenku monk who also adventures with Timmorn in the Haunted House, left early in the morning. He said he had business matters in Baldur's Gate and left before dawn.   It was still early in the morning when Timmorn and Garrick noticed a lone man sitting in the tavern's main room. He was dressed in tattered clothing and wore a red cloak and hood. The man seemed depressed, Holly noticed.   When Garrick approached the lone patron and introduced himself, in a raspy voice the man said his name was Slate. Garrick asked Slate what was the matter. Slate told Garrick a strange tale of both joy and sadness.   Slate said his life was ending and he needs the help of stalwart adventurers. He said over twenty years ago, a reclusive alchemist who lived in the abandoned house north of town, accidentally brought a statue to life. The alchemist named the new man Slate, but soon enough lost interest and focused on other experiments. Slate left to learn more of the world and found his way to Saltmarsh. Thanks to a stolen formula for potions of water breathing, Slate became a respected fisherman. He even married and fathered children, never revealing the details of his past to his beloved family.   Garrick knew the abandoned house Slate spoke of had to be the Haunted House which lay some four miles north of town. It had been abandoned for over twenty years after the wizard who lived there was said to have died or been murdered. Garrick recalled seeing a group of five adventurers in Saltmarsh about two rides ago. As the rumor went, one of the adventurers was a descendent of the wizard who owned the house. Word was, the adventurers went to the old house to rid it of any ghosts or whatever was haunting the place and lay claim to it. Supposedly, Gellan Primewater offered the wizard's descendant 7,000 gold coins to sign over the house to him. But the adventurer declined which infuriated the pompous merchant.   Garrick couldn't understand why anyone would turn down that much money. Especially since the abandoned house was in such disrepair. Garrick had seen it once, from afar. It did look dilapidated and, yes, even haunted. Garrick would have taken the money. He figured any smart person would have.   The five adventurers never did return. Timmorn himself said he and the other two with him had been in the house just yesterday. They never saw any other adventurers in the house, nor signs of them having been in the house.   Slate went on to say that the alchemist’s transmutation magic is fading and as a last act, Slate wants to help his family financially. Several weeks ago, he discovered the wreck of the Selûne; a ship with a cargo of coins and jewels lost to pirates years ago. Aggressive sharks prevented Slate from exploring the wreck, but rumors persist that the ship went down before the pirates finished unloading the silver.   In exchange for a share of the treasure, Slate offered to take the party to the wreck of the Selûne.   Slate explained that he is missing one ingredient to finish brewing enough potions of water breathing for the group: the ink of a giant octopus. Fortunately, Slate knows a maimed octopus called One-Eyed- Sally with a fondness for spicy fish head stew lairs just off the coast. The Snapping Line, sells a pot of the stew which they could use to lure the octopus and extract the ink they needed.   Garrick, along with Timmorn, agreed to help Slate.
The latest session was played on November 18, 2021

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