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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mantreus" data-source="post: 1134581" data-attributes="member: 8669">From the Journal of GnorricI have come to Saltmarsh in the hope that they will receive my ideas more readily than Mellin. The need for more manual labour can only be a good thing. In Mellin, there were only labourers and teamsters. There was resentment from the existing workforce. This is where I went wrong, I see that now.From what I understand of Saltmarsh, they’re a fairly backward community that has had quite a bit of upheaval of late. They’ve lost a lot of their young population to the Fishmen invasion, so why not re-animate their bodies as zombies and skeletons and still have them toiling the fields and bringing in the nets?Why can’t people see past the rotting bodies and realise that the dead are being wasted!?My research must continue, so I will present my ideas to the town council of Saltmarsh and see if I can convince them to let me open a shop for unusual items. This will permit me to continue my research and fund it at the same time. Of course, I’ll be able to sell my ideas to the populace over time as well…____That would have to be the most bizarre town council this side of the ocean. I walked into the council meeting and I saw the innkeeper from the inn I’m staying at, a Priest of Pelor and a half-orc Priest of Hextor who was the size of a small house! I must make a note in my research to see if musculature can be translated into zombie form. I’m sure that someone of this clerics strength would prove as useful in death as he would in life.The town council was reluctant to allow me to set up business at first. I thought they were kidding when they asked for five thousand gold pieces to purchase the old abandoned shop, but it appears that they are not.I also informed them about my interests towards the necromantic, and the innkeeper and Pelorite where very reluctant. It was the half-orc Hextorite, Kull that vouched for me. He gave them the assurance that he would keep an eye on me. As my intentions are innocent, I have no problem with this.As I would need to raise just under five thousand gold, I offered my magical services to the town to help me raise sufficient funds to help me buy my shop. Kull informed me that we would talk about this and they sent me on my way with the caveat that I perform no necromantic experimentation in the town precincts.____Well, my arrival in this little town just gets more interesting! I was sitting in my room at the inn reading “Putrefaction – How The Body Rots”. An excellent read, I’m glad I picked it up before leaving. Some of the information in this book is proving invaluable. Most people have a problem with the way the dead smell, which is perfectly understandable, as they can get quite rancid. This book has given me ideas on how to reduce these effects and hopefully make the undead smell a bit nicer. Now to find a body… However, I digress. I was reading my book when a cry went up about the town and bells were ringing and shouts issued forth. Then the bell stopped ringing rather suddenly. I grabbed my gear and ran out of my room to be almost knocked over by a rather frightening looking fellow with a longspear and leather armour. After some very short introductions as we ran down the stairs (his name was Aramil I think and he is a Druid) we appeared outside where there was a great commotion.Townsfolk were running out to towards the bridge before the south road and setting up some hasty defences. Aramil asked the innkeeper (I must remember to ask his name) what the commotion was about and told us that the south guard post had probably been overrun. Aramil offered to investigate, and I joined him in the hope of proving useful in some way.As we moved away from the main crowd, a large crocodile appeared out of the underbrush. I leapt back and began to cast a simple bolt of energy at it before making room for the Druid to dispatch it, but Aramil stopped me with a simple “He’s with me.” With a snort of greeting, it came in step with us.We came to the guard shack and everything was quiet, however we could see some feet sticking out of the door in an obviously prone position. Aramil and I cautiously moved into the shack and were immediately pounced on by what can only be described as a huge bipedal newt!The druid obviously knew how to handle himself in a fight, but the newt creature seemed to be a match for him until the crocodile got involved.  It lashed out with its tail and slapped the newt knocking him against the door so violently it cracked, as did the back of the newts skull, rendering it lifeless. Aramil smiled and scratched his crocodile behind his eyes, to which it growled appreciably. These druid types are definitely a strange bunch.Suddenly, shouting and screams arose in the centre of town.  Instructing his crocodile to guard the body, Aramil took off to investigate.  I was tempted to stay and inspect the body of the newt-man, but I did not like the way the crocodile was eyeing me - most unnerving! - so I hurried after him to see what the commotion was about.</blockquote>

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