Salvage Operation
General Summary
15th Ches, 1500 DR
two healer’s kits, six vials of antitoxin, two potions of healing, and two sacks for carrying treasure out of the ship.
19th Ches, 1500 DR:
8.
Corfyn Incinierated him with a Scorching Ray, and then Jaegus Mocked him and he died.
11. Galley
Emperor of the Waves is a lost ship belonging to the Zhentarim. Solmor receives information about it and hires the characters to recover the treasure aboard the ship. He is led to believe that the ship was once owned by his family. Upon hearing this Corfyn tells him this ship was linked to the Slave Trade and had ties to the Pirates of Nelanther. He professes ignorance, and explains that the ship holds a magic box containing promissory notes and property deeds worth a total of 100,000 gp. He offers the characters a fee of 10 percent (10,000 gp) to recover it. As a gesture of good faith, he offers them an advance payment of 200 gp. (Even if they try their best but still fail to recover the box, Aubreck cannot afford to pay them anything more.) He says that the ship was recently spotted adrift approximately five days out from land. It is packed inside a wooden crate branded with a large letter A. The crate can easily be pried or broken open, but the box can’t be opened except with a password known only to Solmor. It contains deeds and promissory notes, still sealed in waterproof wrappings. The notes are drawn from a Temple of Tyr that will pay them out only after the original owner of the assets gives permission, and their value will enable Solmor to rebuild his business once he redeems them for himself. (In reality it will allow him to pay off the Zhentarim debt that his ancestral family owes.Solmor has already arranged a ship, The Soul of Winter, Manned by a crew of sturdy dwarves. Soul of Winter is a sailing ship run by her captain, Wolgar Windrune (LN male dwarf veteran). To keep the characters from impeding his crew, he insists that they remain in their quarters, a cramped chamber below deck, during the voyage. The crew consists of thirty dwarf guards, all of whom remain aboard Soul of Winter during any exploration. They are hired from the Minng Company and though they view the Saltmarsh Six favorably they will not aid in any exploration. Solmor has purchased supplies for the characters’ mission aboard the derelict. This gear, already aboard, includes: studded leather armor for any character who wants it, two light crossbows with twenty bolts each, five 50-foot coils of rope, two grappling hooks, twelve torches,
After several days at sea, Soul of Winter comes in sight of the looming, shattered hulk of the derelict Emperor of the Waves. Wolgar Windrune brings Soul of Winter within 500 feet of the derelict along its starboard side, close enough to make out its major external features. Its masts have been shorn off, but the upper deck appears clear of debris, as if whatever hit the ship was strong enough to carry off the masts, sails, and rigging. Its figurehead, once a majestic angel in flight, has been hacked and disfigured.Captain Wolgar and the sailors aboard Soul of Winter express amazement that the Emperor is still afloat. Carcharius notes that the ship has suffered heavy damage across its upper decks, consistent with the effect of a typhoon or tidal wave. The vessel lists noticeably to port, evidence that the Emperor’s ballast has shifted, though the incline doesn’t appear severe enough to make moving around on deck hazardous. The ship rides low in the water, implying that the bilge and possibly even the lowest deck are flooded. Worvin also makes it clear that he suspects the ship is likely to sink during the ten days it would take to tow it back to port. Jaegus Notes that impact damage to the ship’s hull indicates it recently came under attack from a seagoing creature. Carcharius Agrees The captain orders two sailors to ferry the characters to the Emperor in a rowboat. They climb on board with Grappling Hooks. After taking the characters up to the ship, the sailors move 200 feet away from the Emperor and hold their position, waiting for the characters to reappear on the upper deck with the treasure from below. 1:
The Emperor’s upper decks slope gently down toward the ship’s port side. The forecastle and quarterdeck are empty, and short wooden stumps are all that remain of the ship’s masts. The double doors leading to cabins fore and aft appear intact, as does the metal grate in the deck that offers access to the lower decks. Aside from the rhythmic creak of the ship’s badly weathered timbers, all seems quiet.2:
A rough stone altar dominates this cabin. Strange markings cover its surface, dried mud cakes the floor around it, and humanoid skulls ring the wall above, each mounted on a wooden spike. The corners of this room are piled with garbage and debris — crudely cut wooden logs, smashed furniture, torn sacks, shattered crates, and small piles of dried palm fronds. A staircase descends from the southeast corner, and an acrid odor fills the air.Ambushed By Spiders and Ettercap Veenaira finds the ship’s ledger and the captain’s log, both written in Common. The log details the ship’s last voyage, including an account of the terrible storm that threw Emperor of the Waves off course and separated it from its escort. Running low on food and drinkable water, the ship was forced to drop anchor off an uncharted island. The last entry describes an attack by orcs that fought alongside goblins and monstrous vermin. Though the crew fended off this initial attack, they suffered heavy casualties. The final entry records the captain’s fear that this attack might have been the precursor to an even larger assault. Down the Stairs Narciara hits a web and they get ambushed.
The smashed wreckage of a bed, dresser, and desk covers the floor of this room. Thick webs extend from floor to ceiling, making it impossible to clearly see the walls beyond. Hundreds of tiny spiders move through the webs. All parts of this room are engulfed in sheets of webs. The cabin contains nothing of interest, and the spiders pose no threat.7.
Palm fronds are piled up in one corner of this room to make a crude bed. Nearby, a stone-tipped wooden spear and an oblong shield lean against the wall. The shield bears the symbol of a humanoid skull with spiders crawling from its eye sockets. Two weathered humanoid skulls hang from wooden pegs on the wall. Several well-gnawed humanoid bones are mixed in with the palm fronds.10. Unholy Shri
The floor of this chamber is covered with runes written in blood. A circle has been carved into the floor’s wooden planks and spiderwebs cover the walls and ceiling. Two humanoid-sized bundles attached to the ceiling writhe as hundreds of tiny spiders swarm over them.
Judging from the stove along one wall of this room, this was once the galley. Now the area is cluttered with bones and debris. Badly damaged metal knives and other cookware hang from hooks in the ceiling, while the choking stench of rotting flesh fills the air. A stairway leads up near the stern. Tiny spiders crawl over everything.6. Fight Maw Demons 12: Cargo Hold. Difficult terrain due to water. Corfyn Finds the Crate. They are attacked by Ghasts as somethign impacts the ship. The Ghasts are gone in 12 seconds of combat but there is definitely something attacking the ship!
The ship creaks and lists more severely as something assaults it from the outside, its timbers snapping and water pouring through the widening cracks in the hull. Within moments, octopus arms snakethrough breaches in the hull, grasping for anything they can wrap around.It takes about 30 Seconds to get to the Main Deck. The Rowboat is in sight and the characters swim to the boat including Carcharius with the box on his back. 20th Ches, 1500 DR They reach Saltmarch. Solmor demands they come to Dinner the next night and on 21st of Ches they are given their reward.
Rewards Granted
XP: 750+650+1150+1550+800+1800
- cp:
- sp: 199
- ep:
- gp: 507
- pp:
Gems: 10 Red Rubies: (100 gp) each
- Art Objects: fine silver bracelet (250 gp)
- silver bracelet sculpted to look like a twisted tongue (75 gp)
- gem-studded belt (400 gp)
Report Date
07 Aug 2024
Primary Location
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