Session 30 - Escaping the Grasp of the Agile Hand Report

General Summary

Earthday - 20 Ready'reat - Wee Hours of Morning

The night before, the Try-hard Misfits had plied Elix the Saint with alcohol at the Tipsy Tavern in a vain attempt to persuade him to share a few additional bits of information about the Agile Hand. To their dismay, loyalty held his tongue firmly, and rather than sharing with them, he passed out en route to the guildhouse as Nar watched. Determining he had little use for it in his condition, the party relieved him of his master key that he might be more comfortable as he slept, and left to infiltrate the guild complex. After securing Guildmaster Dusk and her guards, they ascended the stairs and just as they were liberating a surprisingly animated portrait of King Skotti, they sprang a trap set for those putting their noses where they were not welcome. After a rushed escaped to the outside, they managed to wend their way back to Elix, still passed out against the tree....
Nar crouches down beside the snoring lieutenant of the Agile Hand, deftly returns the key to his pouch, then unties him. She pauses for a second and then slips a wooden Osprem trident token into the pouch alongside the key. Kyra stares at her as Nar looks up and remarks with a straight-face: "We promised to spread the word of Osprem....We have to keep our word, right?"
"I thought we were trying to make it look like a random robbery?" Kyra responds, astonished. "Never mind...let's just get going. We need to get out of here."
Hurrying back to  Redshore, the Misfits reach the gates in the twilight hours before dawn. From the darkened archway a voice challenges, "Who goes there and what business have you?"
Jane blusters back, "We were out walking and just returning to town. What business it is of yours?"
The guard waves the party through while responding, "No need to be rude. It's our job to challenge travelers at night." As the party heads through the gates, Karia hears the light flutter of wings approaching from the fields outside of town. The group walks inward and Karia hears additional wings pass by overhead. Suddenly, a guard screams from the gate house, "STOP! In the name of the mayor, you are under arrest!"
In the blink of an eye the party scatters. Kyra jumps into the air activating her boots and flies up into the darkness as Nar scales a nearby building, disappearing into the blackness of the roof. At the same time, Adlia dons her mask of the wild and melds into the shadows while Karia releases arcane energies summoning a cloud to obscure everyone. Leaving Wee Jane searching for her missing compatriats.
Karia grabs Jane by the hand and follows Adlia along the main road. As they get clear of the fog additional lamps are sighted around town as multiple groups begin scouring the city's byways. The trio darts to left, then follows a turn to the right. Heading mostly southward as they work toward Ol'town and the docks.
Nar watches from the darkness in the shadow of a chimney as her family leaves the area, heading deeper into town. As they round a corner into darkness, she starts darting from rooftop to rooftop working north by northwest into town. After a dozen roofs, she spiderwalks down a building and confirms the wooden sign for Ebb's Threadson's Threads and More. Silently, but quickly, she picks the lock on the front door and then enters the dark shop. Within mere moments, she recognizes a mannequin wearing her purple outfit with the claws upon each shoulder. She smiles at the craftsmanship and then drops three golden coins and another wooden Osprem trident at the mannequin's feet before stripping it and stuffing the outfit into her backpack. She then walks back out the front door and picks it back to a locked position before scaling the wall and rushing headlong toward the ship fearlessly skipping across the roofs.
Kyra takes a quick look to ensure her companions are heading toward the Sea Ghost and then she beelines for it. Landing softly on the deck, she startles the deckhand watching in the dark. She whispers that they need to get underway immediately as she makes her way inside to awaken Capt. O'Donahue. "O'Donahue! We're in a bind as it seems the whole town is looking for us. We need to get underway and out of the inlet as quickly as possible."
From behind his cabin door, he grunts, "Huh!? Never ye mind! Ah'll be up in a moment. It be the wrong hour to make steerage, but we'll get ye out of here right enough. Ah take it ye got wat ye came for though, right?"
Back among the streets, the trio rounds a corner and collides with a small group of people with laterns flaring. One of them catches Jane's eye as he calls to her, "Hey Jane! Stop where you're at!" while a taller scraggly guy whistles a signal. Karia quickly pulls up her bow shooting to wound the whistler, but the arrow strikes his eye dropping him to the ground. Wee Jane grapples with the villager that called out causing both of them to collapse in a tangle of arms and legs as they bowl Adlia over in the chaos.
Pushing free, the trio gets up and runs further south before Karia drags her companions into a narrow alleyway. As the search party pursues them, Adlia suggests getting above the fray and easily climbs onto the roof. Jane tries to follow, but struggles due to heavy armor before Karia assists. Once Jane reaches the roof, Adlia and Jane then help lift Karia up as the search party reaches the alley. As the townfolk scour the alley, the trio wait silently against the roof tile before slowly working their way from rooftop to rooftop toward the Sea Ghost.
On the Sea Ghost, Capt O'Donahue climbs up onto the poop deck where Kyra awaits. Following her gaze, he sees a lantern being lit near the entrance to the inlet as a rowboat leaves the pilot house. Turning toward her, "Looks like ye got into a wee spot of trouble. Do Ah need to be cutting the moorings or do we have a bit of time?"
"We don't have much time," Kyra responds, "but let's keep the moorings just in case so I'll help Chad and Chris with the lines as you and Junior get us moving." Kyra then joins the deckhands at the dock and frees the looped lines from the pilings. She then flits upward with her winged boots and searches for the rest of her compatriots.
Seeing a trail of torches and lanterns, Kyra quickly finds the trio moving carefully atop a line of buildings. Flying close, Kyra whipers to them, "We're getting the ship launched so you'll need to hurry. Any sign of Nar?"
"Haven't seen her since the gate," huffs Jane. "We're a bit pressed by those torches. Anything you can do?"
As the trio leaps over another gap crashing on the far side, Kyra recites the ancient tongue and darkness envelops the mob extinguishing all light around them. Seeing the lights wink out, Jane, Adlia, and Karia leap onto the wharf as the Sea Ghost starts a tight spin toward the inlet leaving about a thirty foot gap of water. Seeing this, Karia spins while summoning the eldritch powers and forms a solid bank of fog just behind the trio as a small figure leaps from a nearby roof onto Jane whispering, "Mind giving me a lift?"

Ship Deck by James RPGArt

Kyra speeds back toward the Sea Ghost, while the remaining group rushes toward the edge of the wharf. Adlia yells out, "Just keep running, the power of Ehlonna will lift you above the waves!" She then ferverently prays to her goddess to grant her essence to them and watches as everyone races across the wavetops toward the ship where the deckhands, Chris and Chad have lowered a rope ladder. As the party reaches the deck, Karia and Adlia spot a sandbar and guide the ship to deeper waters as Kyra flies toward the pilot's boat and again summons darkness onto its prow.
Slowly the Sea Ghost gains speed as it traverses the narrow inlet and then just as the first rays of light break the eastern sky, it speeds westward free of Red Shore. A ship follows for an hour or so, but can't match the magically full sails of the Sea Ghost and eventually disappears behind the horizon.

Freeday - 21 Ready'reat - Late Morning

After a quiet day traversing the The Azure Sea, Karia shouts from the crow's nest, "Debris!! Starboard Bow!!" Looking off the forecastle, Jane sees sections of a ship's hull, splintered staves, crates, barrels drifting along the waves. Then she sees movement over a barrel. An arm waving at the ship. She yells back, "Survivors! Come to starboard!"
The crew reefs the sails as the ship canters to the right slowing as it drifts up to the detritus. Everyone jumps into action assisting the two survivors on board and then a jolly boat is lowered to search the debris, recovering four barrels of elven wine.
As the crew winches the jolly boat aboard, Kyra asks the survivors what happened and Jacob relates the tale, "Two days past, we was makin' way toward Seaton when these creatures lept from the waves onto deck and started hacking at people. They was like sharks that were men sort. Damn Sea Devils if you believe those tales. Anyhow, we mustered a defense when a third lept out of the waves spewing fire from her fingers. And she, the ship that is, just went ablaze. Nothing to do then but jump o'erboard. Right into the teeth of sharks. Fought 'em off for an hour and then they just disappeared with no trace except the wreckage as proof."
Captain O'Donahue steps forward, "We be getting them below. They done had all the exposure they can handle." Kyra nods as he leads them under the forecastle towards the kitchen.
Hours slides by as the sun slowly treks across the sky as the sails billow everfull. Nar and Jane are chatting on the poopdeck when Karia suddenly shouts, "Fin!! Aft of us! My god look at the size of it!"

"To stations! And reef them damn sails NOW!" yells O'Donahue. Chad, Chris, and Jimmy Jr rapidly reef the sails, while O'Donahue hands the tiller off to Wee Jane so he can secure the still untied jolly boat.

Loud cracks ring out as the gigantic shark rams the stern causing Chad, Chris, Adlia, and Kyra to stumble and fall overboard.

As the ship settles, the massive shark dives below as two smaller sharks dart toward the swimmers while several sahuagin leap aboard. One Sea Devil engages Jane by the tiller while two more come aboard at amidships. Lastly, a huge beast of a sahuagin claims the forecastle next to Jimmy Jr as Junior quickly jumps to midships escaping the champion for a moment.

Adlia yells out, "Drop the ladder!" as she treads water next to the hull, then quickly adds, "And hurry!" as a shark starts heading toward her. Meanwhile, Jane trades strikes with the sahuagin while Kyra soars upward out of the water and unleases a scorching ray as her zombies, Steve and Bill, shuffle out of the underdeck and quickly engage a sahaugin. Nar rapidly sinks an arrow into that sahuagin, splashing its lifeless body back into the ocean as she flicks the rope ladder over the rails.
The chaos of battle rages as Adlia confronts the champion supported by Kyra, Bill, and Steve, while Jane deftly dispatches her opponent and Adlia climbs back aboard as the hunter shark sails under her rising feet and chomps Chad spilling blood into the water as his lifeless body slowly descends to the depths. Chris screams in rage as he hurriedly follows Adlia upward.

From the stern, Jane shouts, "BRACE!" just as the gigantic shark bites into the port midships of the Sea Ghost, gnawing a chunk from the hull. As the champion falters under the onslaught of Karia and Steve and Bill, a new sahuagin flies up onto the deck with rays of fire shooting forth that fortunately extinguishing harmlessly on the wet deck. She quickly realizes her mistake, but before she's able to escape the group quickly dispatch her. Only the sharks remain, but, as her control relents in death, the two smaller sharks lose interest and lazily drift back into the depths. Still enraged, the giant shark continues to attack the Sea Ghost, but multiple bursts of fireballs from Adlia and Kyra extinguish it.
As the party recovers from the chaotic fight, Kyra and Adlia quickly salvage teeth and gills from this monstrous shark before its carcass slips beneath the waves.

Rewards Granted

Experience Points:
XP/player = 692
Escape Redshore Bonus XP = 500
Nar needs an outfit bonus XP = 100
Total XP/Player = 1,292

Treasure Found:
4 Barrels of Elven Wine (200gp/barrel)
1 Dozen Giant Shark teeth
2 Gills from Giant Shark

Missions/Quests Completed

Nar Needs an Outfit

Good Eve to you all. How may Threadson Clothier assist you?

— Ebb Threadson

Related Reports

Session 29 - Infiltrating the Agile Hand Report

Session 31 - A Salty Homecoming Report

Incomplete Quests:

Shark God Sigil

I think it's some shark god. Don't know much though.

— Karyssa the Tipsy Tankard redheaded bartender

Retrieve the portrait of King Skotti

I see the glorious misfits have heard word of the rude and unpatriotic pilfering of my precious painting!

— Councilor Gellan Primewater

The Smuggling Ring in Saltmarsh

I'm positive that there's a huge smuggling operation here in town and I'm convinced that someone on the council runs it.

— Capt Eliander Fireborn

Smuggling Ring - Latest Lead

Many threads intertwine. Ah, but yes I see a leader that has smuggled across my domain. Many times this has occurred. Owing land. No that's not right, Oweland is the name within my view.

— Osprem

Eda Oweland's Request

Fireborn has been acting weird for months now and I know he's hiding something from me.

— Councilor Eda Oweland

Mina's Letter - the four Sigils

I saw three shields waver in front of the council.

— Mina Raijin

The Lizardfolk War

War yes, but not with town. We battle Sahuagin who took our home.

— Queen Othokent

Notes

Experience Point Calculation:

Creature	Qty	XP Per	Total Xp
Hulking Crab	1	1,800	1,800
Hunter Shark	2	450	900
Sahuagin	3	100	300
Sahuagin Champion	1	700	700
Sahuagin Priestess	1	450	450

Experience Points Summation: 1,800 + 900 + 300 + 700 + 450 = 4,150 /6 players = 692 xp/player

Campaign

Secrets of the Saltmarsh

Protagonists

Report Date

25 Jul 2024