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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 9413582" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dark Squad in the Secrets of SaltmarshSession #142b: Six More Months in Castle Argentriver.Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 9Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 9New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 9Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/2Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 9DEAD PCs<s>Nicholai Barbaros Kostyiev/Nicky (played by George) Male Dhampir Cleric of Twilight Lvl 8 </s>RIPNPCs<s>Inverna Nightbreeze (played by George) Female Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 8 (Sidekick) </s>RETIRED<s>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 </s>RIP*<s>Tarbin Tul (played by goonalan) Male Human Bard </s>RETIRED<s>Ubmo (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 1</s> EXPLODEDUbdug (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 2 (When we remember)*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.Servants/FamiliarsGerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New TricksOwly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiarArchimedes (very scruffy & old, Owl) Fellowyn’s familiar.The Dark Squad’s to-do list-<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">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).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood- except she's not there anymore, but a big red dragon is?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Blackedge and the Goblin Stair?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">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.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">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.</li> </ol>This is session 142b, and more of the same… only, well- you’ll see.And apologies in advance, it’s a long one- and with just one (I think) picture in it.So, the big secret gets out- Vinnie and Ram have been making enquiries and… Castle Argentriver, potentially, is a time and space machine/vehicle. In short, if the Dark Squad can figure out how to control it- well, the world (and other places) is their bivalve mollusc (oyster). They can go where and when they please, or else- well, something like that.And so, the entire gang are now on the task- to figure out how Castle Argentriver works.The answer (which takes just short of six months to arrive at) is both obvious, and problematic.The answer involves the maze buttons, the Symbols of Ub.Of course.When the PCs first arrived at the Castle they had to trace the maze on their buttons, or any maze really (because only two of the Dark Squad have maze buttons), while all the while thinking about… well, the Castle (initially in a very non-specific way, at the time remember the Dark Squad had not seen the Castle, they’d only been told about it by the whispering voice in the Mere).The Dark Squad had problems getting through whatever planar barrier exists between reality and Castle Argentriver. While they were tracing their various mazes, I had the PCs make (numerous) wisdom saves.It took a while for all of them to get to the Castle.Because they kept rolling low and the DCs were high. The PCs didn’t figure the whys and wherefores of this at the time.So, the maze buttons can be used control and move the Castle through space and time.It seems.The issue the Dark Squad are facing is this- the Castle works best when all of its inhabitants possess a maze button/Symbol of Ub.In fact, the presumption is- all members of the adventuring party in the Castle have maze buttons, how else could they have got to the Castle.It further becomes apparent that not only is controlling the Castle problematic, as complicated is the procedure for disembarking… and should they want to- getting back aboard the Castle.All these activities involve using the maze buttons (and making more wisdom saves- the DCs very high because…) of which the Dark Squad have only two.Bugger.It takes the Dark Squad six months- and a lot of checks, some of them with high DCs, most of them needing multiple successes, to figure all the above out. But they get there, although mainly because they have time on their hands.But that’s not all- it seems that Castle Argentriver is not supposed to be anything more than a stop-over, a one-off away from the world chance to get rested and ready for what comes next…Using the Castle as a time and space machine has another drawback, as discovered during their research.If a person exits Castle Argentriver and, for example, does a brief bit of adventuring- let’s say they spend six hours at some heroic task, if and when they step back aboard Castle Argentriver then… they (the individual PC) lose six hours from their lives. Six hours of memories, experiences, of… everything, anything, something?So, this is the DM making things clear.There is a 1% chance/hour spent outside the Castle that some change (minor or major- as determined by the DM, and another dice roll) will take place if you get back on board Castle Argentriver.The longer you are away from the Castle, the greater the chance that something about you changes.The change could be something simple- for instance a small change to the PCs appearance, or accent, or mannerisms, or… well, we’ll figure it out.The change, if you roll really badly, could be significant.Vinnie could re-enter the Castle after a brief excursion and discover that everything about him is the same- except that he is no longer a 9th level druid, devoted to Celune; he is instead a 9th level warlock- devoted to some foul demon, and just like his favourite puddy-tat, New Tricks.So, things can go wrong.Particularly if you don’t have five maze buttons.To make clear-The more maze buttons you have, the more/better control you have over Castle Argentriver.And if you have an increased control over Castle Argentriver, there’s less chance that a PC will suffer some sort of change when they get back aboard the time-machine.From all of which the Dark Squad further conclude- as the chatter spirals, the owner/maker of Castle Argentriver must be a creature or being blessed with a very long lifespan.Or else it must have full and absolute control over the Castle.Because, if the original owner/maker of Castle Argentriver had significantly abused its time and space moving abilities, and failed a few saving throws along the way… well, they’d be a very old, and very confused individual by now.Probably.Possibly.They might even forget to wear their trousers.Every now and then.But we go on…So, that’s not all- while the Dark Squad are about this task- figuring things out, they happen to stumble upon this message. Which was, they are certain, intended to be played to them as and when they disembark the Castle.Here it is, with translation, and interspersed with the various Dark Squad discussions it generates.Apologies, we’re in the land of plot and story atm.Vous êtes de retour, bienYou are back, good.J'ai pensé profiter de ce moment, de cette rencontre, pour m'assurer de votre cap.I thought I would use this moment, this meeting, to make certain your course.Mais d’abord un récapitulatif de ce que vous savez.But first a recap of what you know.Which is handy.Ashardalon, le rejeton bâtard d'Ub et du Grand Serpent, est à l'étranger et la course est en cours.Ashardalon, the bastard spawn of Ub and the Great Serpent, is abroad and the race is running.WTF?There follows a good twenty minutes of sometimes heated discussion with regards to the nature of Ashardalon, and also the meaning of the words- ‘bastard spawn’.Is the voice saying that Ashardalon is the child produced by the union of Ub and the Great Serpent?The chatter rattles on for quite a while- although in no particular direction. I think the Dark Squad were just collectively caught out by this revelation.Eventually, we go on…Les Stormchasers et les Deathwatchers cherchent votre fin, ils seront avec vous jusqu'à la fin, à moins que vous ne puissiez mettre fin à leurs intérêts plus tôt.The Stormchasers and the Deathwatchers seek your end, they will be with you until the end- unless you can end their interests early.Check, and there follows yet another discussion- all the Dark Squad know who the ‘Les Stormshasers’ are, they’re the bastard Talos worshippers that have been dogging their tracks for quite a while now.But… ‘les Deathwatchers’, takes a little more chatter- Vincenzo remembers the vampire spawn, Skeel- all the way back in <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-dark-squad-in-the-secrets-of-saltmarsh-142a-six-months-in-castle-argentriver.672536/post-8536279" target="_blank">session #78</a>.Then they collectively remember that they have just fought a metric ton of undead, a necrotic gas breathing Chimera called Ashbreath, with an assassin/rogue type rider, and various deathmask wearing flunkies. The assassin/rogue leader, when questioned, said she served ‘Death.’The clues were out there.So, ‘les Stormchasers’ and ‘les Deathwatchers’- check, the Dark Squad are aware they’ve not been making friends.We move on.Ils recherchent le chaos et l'ombre qu'apporte le Grand Serpent. Ils veulent la fin.They seek the chaos and the shadow that the Great Serpent brings. They want the end.That’s nice- you’ve got to have goals/hopes/dreams.Les cinq boutons du labyrinthe, un chacun que vous utilisez, vous amènent ici et vous emmènent jusqu'au bout. Sans cela, vous êtes perdu. Ils vous protègent même maintenant.The five maze buttons, one each that you wield now, brought you here and take you to the end. Without these you are lost. They keep you safe even now.Ah, and this is the part in which it starts to dawn on the Squad, that, well… we should be further on with this…Le sixième bouton reste à trouver.The sixth button is still to find.Got it- find the first five buttons, one for each PC. The sixth button is to be found later…Souvenez-vous des paroles que le Roi des Profondeurs vous a adressées au bas de l'escalier du gobelin.Remember the Deepking's words to you at the bottom of the Goblin's Stair.WTF?Only…It goes a little like this from the players after the translation of the sentence above.“Which one was the Deepking?”“He said at the bottom of the Goblin’s Stair.”“What was that goblin chief called all the way back in the Sunless Citadel?”“He said at the bottom of the Goblin’s Stair.”“It was a hobgoblin chief in the Sunless Citadel, and the kobolds…”“What was his name?”“He said at the bottom of the Goblin’s Stair.”“Did the mad gnome at the end of the big long one for the alchemist, the one with the gnomes- Arty something. What was the bad guy at the end of that called?”“He said at the bottom of the Goblin’s Stair.”This conversation rattles on, and goes in circles, for a good ten more minutes, until…“He said at the bottom of the Goblin’s Stair.”“We’ve not done the Goblin Stair- that’s the one we keep putting off.”Then silence for ten seconds, and…“Oh… bugger.”So, there’s a Deepking at the bottom of the Goblin’s Stair, and the Dark Squad are going to have a chat with him, and… well, promise him something (see below). That’s nice.But we go on, or else the message does-Vous devez lui tenir votre promesse.You must keep your promise to him.To make clear- the promise you have not (yet) made to the Deepking, well… you must keep your word (although you’ve obviously not given your word yet so you’ve no idea what your word is... about/for/something).This time thing- it’s complicated.So, that’s easy to understand.Les démons sous la saumure ont été vaincus - et le repaire des Stormchasers trouvé - vous devez tous les détruire.The devils from beneath the briny have been defeated- and the Stormchasers lair found- you must destroy them all.“Bugger… we’ve not done this yet either.”Mais la tâche à accomplir est très importante, assurez-vous de bien vous reposer avant de vous y lancer.But the task in hand is all important, make sure you rest well before you attempt it.Allumez la balise du Witch's Tor, marquez l'endroit sur votre carte - vous devrez revenir ici lorsque la marée descendra.Light the beacon at the Witch's Tor, mark the place on your map- you will need to return here when the tide goes out.Après votre deuxième visite au Tor, l'étoile tombera.After your second visit to the Tor the Star will Fall.Vous trouverez le Sky Pony dans la Mere, vous connaîtrez l'endroit. Vous l'aurez ressenti. C'est fermé.You will find the Sky Pony in the Mere, you will know the place. You will have felt it. It is close.The above translation produces a very special moment for Daktari.Daktari, it is official, is getting a (Sky) Pony.The Dark Squad know where this place is (where the Star will Fall), only… it was a few weeks ago and now they’re not so sure. Where was it the Squad saw/imagined a star (or something similar) falling from the sky?Bugger.I hope they made a note on their map.C'est précisément pour cette raison que le château d'Argentriver a été construit ici.Castle Argentriver was built here for that very reason.So, the Star Fall is close by.Alors...Then...Vous devez me trouver, vous aurez besoin d'un bateau, d'un voilier, je suis perdu, je suis prisonnier, ils me possèdent maintenant.You must find me, you'll need a boat- a sailing ship, I am lost- I am prisoner, they own me now.Sauvez-moi, l'un de vous est... connu de moi, il doit utiliser son bouton. Pensez à votre maison, Argentriver.Save me, one of you is... known to me, he or she must use their button. Think of home, Argentriver.The Dark Squad figure that Fellowyn Silverstream needs a maze button, Silverstream = Argentriver, so there’s a rescue mission- at sea or else involving sea travel- sometime in their future.The message goes on-Oh...Oh...Attends... j'ai presque oublié...Wait... I almost forgot...L'homme.The Man.L'Homme et le Crocodile, vous devez trouver les mains pour ouvrir la porte. Ub a laissé quelque chose pour toi là-bas... même moi, je ne le sais pas.The Man and the Crocodile, you must find the hands- to open the door. Ub left something for you there... not even I know.L’Homme et le Crocodile est d’une importance vitale.The Man and the Crocodile is vitally important.Tu peux le trouver....You can find it....PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!Bugger.The Man and the Crocodile is vitally important, it seems.Then the tape ran out… or else, well- the message ended.So, after all of the above there begins a much larger discussion.In essence it is this- where (and when) do we want to in Castle Argentriver?This turns out to a long, and at times- seemingly, very random discussion.The first suggestion is, of course, for the Dark Squad to go all the way back to the Sunless Citadel and not open the sarcophagi that contained Ashardalon, but…The DM has an answer to this.In the event of the above the Dark Squad, when they disembark Castle Argentriver, will manifest (back in the Mere of Dead Men, or wherever) and find themselves stood next to another adventuring party, with very similar looking/sounding members who did let Ashardalon out of the sarcophagi…Let’s roll for your new PCs.The point being- the DM will reward clever suggestions as to what to do with Castle Argentriver, suggestions that move us forward with the plot/story. Attempts to re-rail the plot will not be allowed, unless you can outsmart me, or else… it’s just more fun (your suggestion).So, the Dark Squad have a time and space machine that requires maze buttons to use (easily/easier).The solution then is obvious… go and get the other maze buttons.DM Interlude.Why am I doing this, you ask?The solution then is obvious… go and get the other maze buttons.DM Interlude Ends.Are we all on the same page, good- let us proceed.Although, as it turns out Castle Argentriver is not going anywhere else just yet the Dark Squad still have more downtime style activities that they wish to pursue.Oh, one last thing- Bear, playing Newt, said- we need our sports almanac, obviously referencing the movie/franchise Back to the Future.The DM said- I already gave you a sports almanac.Go back to the prophesies, <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-dark-squad-in-the-secrets-of-saltmarsh-142a-six-months-in-castle-argentriver.672536/post-8157571" target="_blank">here</a>, in session 29b.Here’s the text-Ancestor #4-“I am Spetznaz, and I am the mercenary.When three-and-a-half bells sound,Put one hundred crowns,On the one with the big nose.”So, the one with the big nose is going to win the three thirty… somewhere, and most likely somewhere the PCs are going to be sometime in the future.Funny how that happened.If you are interested, in the first part (142a) bit of this session Ram was trying to investigate the Duergar and Hgraam, the strange stone giant the Dark Squad met in the Underdark. That all happened back in session <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-dark-squad-in-the-secrets-of-saltmarsh-142a-six-months-in-castle-argentriver.672536/post-8230966" target="_blank">#40</a>.At the end of session #40 the PCs had a vision.Here it is, exactly as it appeared back then in the write up-[ATTACH=full]373970[/ATTACH]"What's that?" asks Buggles. "That's a tor", Vinnie replies, sagely. He's not wrong.It’s the Witch’s Tor, the Dark Squad’s present quest.Funny that.More of this kind of idiocy next time.Stay safe and well you lovely people.Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</blockquote>

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