Session 23: Salvage Operation Part II Report

General Summary

The Rancor is boarded by multiple Sahuagin, creatures that Ganbold recognizes being a marine who has sailed with the Elven Navy. He has fought them a handful of times. He knows they can be dangerous creatures, and the party deals with them accordingly. With Elitessa managed to stun the larger one. The party is quick to mop up the regular size Sahuagin along with a female Sahuagin spellcaster. Their attacks are brutal and efficient and they make short work, before turning their attention to the Sahuagin Baron. With a brutal attack from Hanz and Diala firing a large salvo of magic missiles into the back of it's head, it falls to the ground lifeless. The party manages to find some gold amongst their belongings and some spears. Ganbold takes the trident that the Baron was using and mounts it to their figurehead.   A few more days at sea they continue the journey with no further impudently. About mid afternoon they spot a ship in the distance. Wolgar Windrune, lets the party know that is the ship they seek. He is honestly surprised it is still floating given its condition. The ship has heavy damage across its upper decks, consistent with the effect of a typhoon or tidal waves. 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. Wolgar points out if the group plans on trying to tow it back to Freeport, it would never make the journey. Not surprising with the fact it has been floating around the Yearning Sea the past 5 years.   The group realizing just how bad of condition the Emperor is in, agrees with Wolgar's suggestion to take The Rancor's rowboat over, as it would give less chance of damaging what remains of the Emperor. As they climb onto the main deck with assistance of grappling hooks they continue to see just how much damage has happened to the ship, with all three masts completely shorn off, leaving only stumps.   The group decides to head towards the aft. As in most cases the captain's quarters is located in that direction. As they open the door and venture in they find a shrine to Lolth. The queen to all spiders, and one of the great demon queens of the Abyss. As they are in the room they are jumped by multiple spiders, and a grotesque spider like monstrosity. The party pushes them back, and manages to come out of the encounter with little damage accumulated. As they search the room they find a couple things. First an offering to the Lolth altar. A small sack containing ten red rubies worth 100 gp each. As well as the captain's log. It states the ship encountered a storm and was separated from it's escort. Running low on food and drinkable water they were forced to drop anchor off an uncharted island. Unfortunately this island was inhabited by orcs that fought alongside goblins and monstrous vermin. They managed to fend off the initial attack, but suffered heavy causalities. The final entry records the captain's fear that this attack might have been the precursor to an even larger assault.   Diala, decides at this point to cast Detect Magic to see if she can spot anything within the ship. She is able to see a lot of stuff, and senses multiple sources of magic. First about 30ft down towards midship she senses what appears to be a large box of abjuration magic. She also soon after senses what appears to be abjuration magic suddenly flaring into existence closer to their location in the shape of a man, she also senses Evocation, transmutation, and more abjuration magic roughly in the same area, She senses nothing else of magic on the ship.   The party decide to head to the room in the forecastle. As they open the room they find the navigator's room, its completely covered in spider webs, as Jorin shakes the spider's nest with his tentacle a large spider emerges, along with two more Spider like monstrosities that the group now recognizes as Ettercaps. As they begin to fight them, four more swarms of spiders join the fray from the stairs on the port side of the room. The party has little trouble fighting them all off however, Hanz and Jorin get swarmed by the spiders and receive a few new spider bites in the process.   The party now must decide which direction they wish to go...