carborundum
Adventurer
Oh, well played sir. Lovely stuff!
The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #136 Into the Mere of the Dead Men.
Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh
Session #136: Into the Mere of the Dead Men.
Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).
Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 9
Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 9
New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 9
Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/2
Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 9
DEAD PCs
NPCs
Ubdug (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 2 (When we remember)
*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.
Servants/Familiars
Gerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New Tricks
Owly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiar
Archimedes (very scruffy & old, Owl) Fellowyn’s familiar.
The Dark Squad’s to-do list-
- Find the other four Symbols of Ub, one was left in Deepbridge (Duergar fortress in the Underdark). The others need to be found, they belonged to- Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit (halfling killer from Lowhill), Antonio De La Crane (posh kid druid alchemist) & Giggles (crazy wood elf). All of these folk lived in the Saltmarsh region, the Dark Squad have found the De La Crane Manse (in the Dreadwood) and the De La Crane Crypt (in Saltmarsh Cemetery).
- Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood- except she's not there anymore, but a big red dragon is?
- Blackedge and the Goblin Stair?
- To join the Pact of the Wild Flame prepare the Witch's Tor for the coming of the starfall, the Witch's Tor is in the Drowned Forest, in the Mere of the Dead Men.
- To join the Pact of the Wild Flame track down the last member of the Pact, a wild elf adventurer called Giggles- and finally put her spirit to rest, and also recover her maze button. Location unknown. SEE 2. ABOVE.
Here we go… 2, 3, 4.
Last session the Dark Squad were midway through their mea cupla, a series of (anti) social events in the lizardfolk’s lair. It’s penance time, the walk of shame- so far, the Squad have been berated by the lizardfolk tribe (en masse) and then forced to make public apologies, Daktari has had to fight Chokko- a very large slice of lizardfolk render, and now… Sunda!
Basically, the lizardfolk shaman want to send the Dark Squad out into the swamp, for nine days- if they survive the ordeal then… well, Semuanya (the lizardfolk deity) must have let them live for a very good reason.
The lizardfolk shaman are sorely pissed at the Dark Squad.
So, Sunda it is- although the Dark Squad also have an alternative motive for taking the challenge, there’s a place in the swamp… I keep writing ‘swamp’, it’s the Mere of the Dead Men out there- not any old ‘swamp’. Anyway, the Dark Squad need to visit a place called the Witch’s Tor, it’s on their to do list- or else it was mentioned in one of the prophecies. So, the Witch’s Tor just happens to be approx. five days away from the lizardfolk’s lair- and the PCs must journey as far as they can into the Mere for five days, before making the return journey to the lair in only four days. That’s part of the challenge- Sunda!
So, the plan is- five days of stomping through the ick, do whatever needs to be done at the Witch’s Tor, then back to the lizardfolk’s lair for tea and crumpets. Job done.
The PCs depart the lair first light tomorrow.
But first, Othokent- before the shaman rudely interrupted her with their pleas for Sunda, was keen to get the Dark Squad to undertake another little task for her, the Dark Squad owe her (and the rest of the tribe) after all.
Othokent explains that at present there are representatives from two other undersea races visiting the lizardfolk lair, who need to be persuaded to take part in an attack upon the sea devils- they are potential allies. The Dark Squad are very quickly onboard with the idea, they like a bit of chatter.
And so…
Wendoline of the Merfolk, is easily persuaded to join the cause- even Newt puts on his best show and more remarkably makes many salient points- although some of them are near to the knuckle. The tabaxi paints apocalyptic pictures, the merfolk- according to him really have no choice… it’s fight or die.
Truth be told all of the Dark Squad pile in with the chatter here, even Ram has started to find his voice- it’s terse but emotive, and again- uncompromising. Vinnie, of course, makes a speech or two, and it’s pretty much all successes across the board.
Cyril of the Locathah is a tougher nut to crack, although the situation isn’t helped by Newt starting the encounter by making fish-based threats.
Vinnie, and others, are forced to steer the conversation quickly away from Newt’s rantings, and then pretty much repeat- although in different words (mostly) the arguments made to get the merfolk to join the gang.
It works, but only just- and eventually, we spend a good thirty minutes with Cyril and his friends, and it’s Daktari’s touch of the common man speech-
Dak “We are all same, Cyril. All the same”
Cyril- “I was raised in a puddle!”
Dak- “So was I, my friend, so was I- a very snowy puddle.”
Cyril- “!”
Dak “We are all same- on inside, in heart-piece, Cyril. This what I mean, we all yearn for big black-flying horsey and much much DIY. Yes!”
Eventually Cyril makes sense of the semi-intellectual barbarian’s ramblings, and then much more so when Dak rolls a ‘20’.
The Locathah are up for it.
Mission accomplished, although Othokent goes on to explain that there was a third group here for the talks, an emissary from a nearby koalinth (aquatic hobgoblins) tribe, but this group left the lair in a rush at pretty much the same time that the Dark Squad turned up.
Funny that.
It seems Oceanus and the Sea Elves did their job, or at least provided a modicum of a distraction.
Still, that’s one less ally for the fight against the sahuagin.
The Dark Squad are summarily thanked and then given a (guarded) room for the night… this after being allowed to send a message back to their ship (the Sea Ghost) delivered by Archimedes Fellowyn’s Owl familiar. I should add him to the list above.
In which much more chatter occurs, basically the guys (by which I mean the players) decide at this point to entertain themselves for a while, twenty minutes or more, and all in character. Every now and then it’s bloody marvellous. Questions for Newt mostly, a little back and forth, a few sharp words but all in character and in context, and with laughter (and jibes). Then, on to another precis of ‘where the f… are we at with the plot?’
They (the Dark Squad- in character) are having the above conversation more and more often these days- mainly because they’re starting to see (a little bit more) where they are going with this, or else work out a little more of what’s going on here.
I think.
During the chatter there are questions for Sauriv, remember him- he’s the elder lizardfolk, the wise man of the tribe, as it were.
The Dark Squad want to know what to expect from the Mere of the Dead Men- Sauriv catalogues the usual manner of terrors (and more) but insists that the worst that the Mere has to offer is poison, infection, and rot.
A single member of the Dark Squad voices his unequivocal disdain for Sauriv’s advice.
Long and loud- and insulting, of course.
By which I mean Newt.
Of course.
Sauriv answers a few more questions, but it’s late- Newt’s Tiny Hut is up and the Squad are safe, and excited at the prospect of another outing on the morrow.
To sleep, perchance…
Dak, a little later, takes a moment to chat with Sauriv on his own.
Remember cod Russian.
“You remember you say to me about Man and Crocodile, I interest peeky- I want to know this, what you mean? This man and crocodile important to me.”
Sauriv has had odd dreams- perhaps even visions, of late, he explains. Although, the elder confesses that he is not a devout worshipper of Semuanya, and yet… he has seen Daktari in his dreams, or else someone who looks exactly like him, and in the same dreams he hears a message, repeatedly- “the man and the crocodile”.
Daktari is of course a little flattered but still not sure what Sauriv is saying to him, or even talking about.
The lizardfolk elder explains that he believes that the vision is telling him that Daktari is…
“The man to carry the great crocodile across the river.”
Which sends a lot of the (earwigging) players scurrying back to the prophecies, and a story there about a man, a crocodile and a river. Daktari is still confused, but he knows he’s making progress here.
Sauriv explains further- to carry something (or someone) across the river is a euphemism (in the lizardfolk language), it means to kill a thing- to send it across the great river, across which all lizardfolk (and other creatures with souls) are sent to Semuanya at the end of their mortal journey.
“I euthanise euphemism. Yes!”
Daktari gets it.
He has to kill a crocodile.
Only, why exactly.
Sauriv enlightens- the lair the tribe inhabit now is actually their old lair- the sea devils kicked them out of their new lair (see previous session). The reason the tribe left this lair is that they had a severe crocodile problem hereabouts. A huge specimen had staked its territory close to the lair, and because crocodiles are sacred to the lizardfolk, well… they are forbidden to harm/kill the creatures.
And so the great crocodile feasted upon the tribe.
And now that they are back here… the great crocodile dines again.
Sauriv believes that Daktari (and his friends) have been sent to put an end to this problem, to kill the great beast and by doing so to save many more members of the tribe.
Dak’s up for it- he likes a challenge.
So, he’s the man in the story… the man who must carry the crocodile across the river.
That’s what it was all about.
Maybe.
Then Sauriv goes on to tell the barbarian that the tribe call the beast One Thousand Teeth, and… the prophecy detector begins squawking furiously-
“I am Latgun, I am terror- vell, I fort I waz.
The hands are within one thousand teeth.”
The Dark Squad need to find the hands- they have no idea what for but, they’re fairly certain that they are the hands of a mechanical clock, possibly manufactured by the gnomes, possibly a long time ago- and maybe at the behest of Ub.
Maybe.
Hang on.
A clock in a crocodile.
That rings a bell.
The Dark Squad are all grins when they head out into the swamp the next morning, finally- we’re getting somewhere.
First light and the Mere of the Dead men, not an ideal holiday destination, but… before we get to that.
On departure the PCs assemble before a good chunk of the lizardfolk tribe, there are lots of folk that want to see the Dark Squad off- and for a variety of reasons.
About eighty or so lizardfolk bystanders assemble for a gawp.
A large contingent of shaman (about a dozen of them) are here to dance around the Dark Squad, spit their prayers (and curses) to the heavens and then wish the PCs the pleasantest of journeys and bon voyage.
They do their bit.
And then the Dark Squad are given their moment.
They get another opportunity for a speech.
It’s Vinnie this time, speaking in draconic, and building on some of the themes first enunciated by Daktari (funny that) in his earlier speech to the Locathah.
By the time that he and Daktari are done nearly half the tribe are waving the Dark Squad off, however- the farewell (for the members of the lizardfolk tribe) turns into a swift retreat when…
Newt, with Fellowyn sitting behind him, rises into the air on the warlock’s flying broom, although not too far into the air- the broom is heavily laden with the two of them on board (we checked the weights/rules), and then putters off.
Ram activates his ring of water walking and sets off as if for a stroll.
While Vinnie does the actual terrifying of the tribe by transforming into a huge constrictor snake.
Note Daktari and Ubdug are alternatively attempt to travel using the following methods- balancing on the slithering back of Vincent G Squeezy Snake (yes, he’s back)- which now that I write it sounds even more improbable (I said so at the time). Or else the pair are being carried along on repeated (ritual) conjuring’s- Tenser’s Flying Disc, Spectral Mount etc. All from Fellowyn’s repertoire, he’s getting more Wizardy every week.
The Dark Squad departs (mostly) in style.
A series of skill checks follow, with a bit of description here and there, the main check needed is Survival of course, they need to keep heading in the right direction, and quickly.
Vinnie, Newt and Fellowyn all have flying familiars to help them with this activity, but the Mere is almost entirely, and almost always, obscured by a thick impenetrable (by the eye) mist/fog/miasma.
So, navigation is very important, and difficult.
The journey graphically brought to life.
Towards the end of the first day’s travel the Dark Squad get to here. They can of course just carry on, but… that’s not likely to happen is it.
It is a very active place of sacrifice; I say very active because a little while later blood is spotted in the pool to the northeast of the altar/sacrifice stone.
But then the dinner plate-sized mosquitos that also inhabit the pool hereabouts get into action.
They swarm.
Newt has three swarms on him trying to eat him up.
It gets very fighty for a while… but here’s the thing- they’re just swarms.
The Dark Squad are victorious, only a few of them with bites and scrapes. Newt is the worst off, but it’s hardly debilitating.
There’s blood in the water here, and after Ram has had a look- well, there’s an arm sticking up in the weed below.
The arm is attached, but only just, to the rest of the corpse- a middle-aged human, from what remains, with a pouch full of cheap gems and… more importantly, the triple lightning bolt strike tattooed/burnt into his chest, this was another Talos worshipper.
Curiouser and curiouser.
The hoods of the stone figures turn out to be hiding the scaled, snake-tongued visages of yuan-ti, the Dark Squad- after Vinnie explains all he knows about the yuan-ti (and he knows a lot his check was ‘28’) are a little more concerned about being out here in the Mere.
The yuan-ti, several players state, are very level appropriate villains, or else could be… could easily be.
More chatter, then another hour walking through the Mere, then a night spent on slightly higher ground and within Newt’s Tiny Hut.
All is fairly well with the world.
That is until the saving throws.
At which point it suddenly becomes apparent that Fellowyn is not quite with the world, he’s as white as a ghost, as cold as ice, and seemingly not always present in the here and now.
But the druid has nothing to help the wizard (who in-game is disadvantage everything- and more), and so Fellowyn has to suck it up for the night. The cure in the morning, and so it comes to pass- although Fellowyn is much worse (mostly unconscious) in the morning. The cure however is administered (Cure Disease, or else… something like it, I forget) and after a brief hiatus the Dark Squad are on again. Or else- off again.
Just to remind you Sauriv did say that the worst things about the Mere were… poison, infection, and rot.
Sauriv clearly knows what he is talking about.
The Squad make it to here, about an hour or two later- and they’re already behind on their daily schedule- because of having to wait for Fellowyn to get back to being compos mentis.
There’s a troll in the way.
What Troll?
The happy fellow is humming a tune (possibly ‘The Model’ by Kraftwerk) and every now and then wading into the pool of water it is otherwise sitting by to smash furiously at the wet until… it emerges with the broken stringy remains of a battered and broken crab.
Which it then eats.
Geography is in the way on the Dark Squad- the quick way is through, going round will take even more time out of their day.
Choices.
But that was the end of the session.
Much fun was had by all, as usual.
But no session for the Dark Squad next week, and so if I can get something built in time (and I can) then we’ll be playing the alt game which I invented for just such occasions, when one of the players has to be elsewhere.
I’ll probs write some of the alt game up when I get time on my summer break.
Stay safe and well you lovely people.
Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.
HalfOrc HalfBiscuit
Adventurer
Being at bit dense this morning (as most mornings) it took me a couple of seconds to realise what you (very obviously really) meant by this. For a second I thought you'd decided to name the troll "Geography" ... which I now think you should.
