Session 41 - A Town Beseiged

Freeday - 7 Sunsebb - Evening

  After rounding the point to enter Saltmarh's harbor, Karia shouts a warning that there are guard towers along the docks along with a Sea Prince flag hoisted above the Town Council. Captain O'Donahue quickly turns the Sea Ghost southward as a lighter sailing ship turns to intercept the Sea Ghost. However, the Sea Ghost using her Everfull Sails quickly outdistances the Sea Prince raider ship.
  Down on the deck, Karia joins the rest of the party to review the situation, "The town's been overrun by the Sea Princes. Did you see the ships blockading the port and the docks are heavily guarded. Any ideas what's really happening there?"
  "Have you asked the painting if it saw anything," Kyra asks.
  "I completely forgot," responds Karia, then reaches out with her mind finding the hidden link and thinks, "We saw Sea Prince naval ships in the harbor, did you see anything?"
  The painting quickly responds, "Several days after you left, armed men marched into Town Hall and hauled out all of the councillors. It seemed like the armed men knew the council was in a special session. The importance of the meeting can not be overstated as the council was clarifying details on tariffs of food shipments to outlying countries."
  Karia releases the connection, then relays what she learned before stating, "We must do something. We can't leave it like this."
  Kyra responds, after sunset I could fly into town and find out where the councillors are being held which is most likely the jail. We could then free them before rallying the town and our allies."
  Nar quips, "I'm not staying on the ship while you have all the fun. While you fly, I'll glide underneath their ships and meet you in town." The rest of the Misfits quickly make similar declarations.
  "Alright," responds Kyra, "I'll fly over the town while you all travel under the waves and, once I'm done with my recon, we'll meet up at.. hmm.. "
  Karia interrupts, "I hate suggesting it, but let's meet beneath Sharkfin Bridge."
  Kyra studies Karia for a moment, then nods, "This sounds like a plan. Once I've surveyed everything, we'll know what needs to be done to set the town to rights."
  The Sea Ghost turns back northward as the sun settles in the western sky and just as Saltmarsh rises over the horizon, Kyra mutters an incantation as her boots sprout wings lifting her from the deck. The Sea Ghost turns eastward before any of the Sea Prince ships break formation and the rest of the Misfits dive into the cool waters of the Azure Sea.
  With the sun settled below the horizon, Kyra becomes almost invisible as she flies upward and out of sight. Once darkness fully settles, she drifts lower as she approaches the docks. Sweeping above the docks, she counts four different guard towers and notices armed guards along the boardwalk outside Primewater Mansion. Climbing into the air again, she counts multiple patrols through the dark and empty streets of Saltmarsh, usually four or five guards to a group. Heading north across town, she sees another hastily erected wooden tower on the open fields between Sharkfin Bridge and the Barracks. As she crosses over, she notes that both the Lizardfolk and Merfolk are contained within wooden corrals as guards watch over them as well as two different patrols circling the open field.
  Kyra continues quietly past the open field and then settles to the ground next to the barracks to peak within the ground floor window where she sees a dozen or so Sea Prince guards milling or sleeping on cots. Peeking into a lower window she also confirms that at least Fireborn is locked within the jails below. She flies back upward twenty or thirty feet and swiftly heads under Sharkfin bridge as the rest of the party treads upon the surface awaiting her as she quickly relates her reconnaissance.
  The Misfits climb out of the Kingfisher river along the southern edge of the field as Karia brings forth powerful magic aura allowing the group to move silently and without a trace across the field. The party quickly moves past the Merfolk corral while indicating for silence while Karia quietly unlatches the pen before heading up to the single tower which surveys the entire field.
  Without breaking her stride, Nar walks up the vertical struts of the tower while on the other side Kyra slowly descends flanking the tower. The rest of the party starts to ascend the ladder drawing the attention of the defenders, then Nar and Kyra surprise the Sea Princes dispatching two of them before the others know they've been flanked. Karia bursts through the trap door taking out another as Jane quickly dispatches the remaining ones as silence returns to the night.
  The party quickly scans the two roving patrols before descending to the meadow and approaching the Lizardfolk corral. Jane passes out spears from Karia's bag of holding as the latch is released. Kyra whispers to not attack until surprise has been lost. The group then intercepts the patrol along the northern edge taking them by surprise and quickly dispatching them. From there, the party heads to the Barracks and Jail where the councillors are imprisoned.
  The party throws open the door stunning the mass of soldiers and then quickly overwhelm them even to the point where one guy smashes through a window trying to escape, but instead ran into Nar who finished him off. After collecting themselves from the battle, Kyra pulls on the door leading down to the jail, but finds it won't move. Turning around, she asks "There's no lock for this, right?"
  Jane grunts that door must just be stuck and yanks on it dragging a soldier holding onto the handle into the room. "See! Stuck with body attached."
  The raider looks up from the floor and begs, "Don't kill me! I can help! I've got information."
  Kyra immediately looks askance as she asks, "Oh? And what do you think is valuable enough?"
  "I know who leads us," responds the raider. "I know where he's resting even now. Surely that's enough to let me live."
  Kyra bluffs with a sneer, "It matters no where the leader hides, so what value is that to us?"
  "It's all I've got. Our leader is Ferdinand D'Maurth and he's in that big house at the bend in the docks."
  "Tie him up," responds Kyra. "Then let's go ask a few questions for a our fearless leaders."
  As the party descends into the basement, they see each councillor in a separate cell except Oweland and Copperlocks share a cell. Kyra greets them all with a question, "Well how did you fall into this mess?" and the room breaks out into pandemonium as everyone starts shouting different responses. Slowly Kyra gains control again and starts, "Fireborn, why don't you start us off. What happened?"
  Over the next several minutes, Fireborn and the other councillors retell the situation where an emergency meeting had been called to discuss duties on shipments to Iuz and beyond. Along the way, Fireborn shouts at Primewater for betraying everyone, while Primewater sincerely denies any actions on his part. Eventually, Kyra stops the bickering and weaves the arcane hand motions while reciting the strange words of magic opening her mind. As she concludes the ritual, she focuses on each councilor while asking, "Who helped the Sea Princes invade? Who told them of the meeting?" Each councilor immediately denies any knowledge, but Primewater's frustrated that it occurred now and appears to be interrupting him from something. On the other hand, Kyra senses the fury emananting from Fireborn as he failed to protect the town.
  Deciding that this doesn't help the town, Kyra switches questions, "We know that the leader of the Sea Princes is hold up in Primewater Mansion. We'll break the front door down if we have to, but perhaps there's a more obscure path. Can you help us Primewater?"
  Primewater denies other entries as Fireborn retorts, "Look I'm positive you are smuggling. I might not know what or how, but I know you are. Give it up and tell them how to get into your house."
  Kyra stares at Primewater and summons the eldritch energies surrounding her and her voice unnaturally booms, "Now is the time to come forward. If you are innocent, then you'll help us free Saltmarsh."
  Primewater sighs as he responds, "If it wasn't for the danger to the town, you'd never figure it out Fireborn. However, to help Saltmarsh, I'll tell. Swim beneath the docks just to the west of my house and you'll find a partially submerged corridor that leads into the basement. From there, you can find your way upstairs."
  Fireborn looks aghast as he responds, "Wait! You mean all this time I've been looking for your secrets and it's just a stupid tunnel right in front?!! I was looking for all these complex schemes and you just sneak it under the water?"
  The party shoves the raider into the cell with Fireborn and then head back up and outside the barracks into the cool night air. They quickly head down to Sharkfin bridge to silently slip under the water while crossing the bay. As they reach the docks, the party quietly swims into the corridor that ends with a trap door overhead. The door opens with only light pressure and the group enters a basement filled with boxes of various sizes. Poking through the boxes, they find one that has a large indent in the packing material. It's marked as shipping from the Land of Iuz. Another nearby has markings from the Amedio Jungle and is also empty. Crossing the room, the party carefully opens a door to short hallway that leads to stairs heading up a level.
  After climbing the stairs, Nar carefully opens another door and peeks into a wide corridor leading to a wide foyer and see several Sea Prince men guarding the stairs leading upward. She motions for silence behind her as she carefully steps into the hallway and inches forward. The rest of the party tries to join, but Jane's armor clinks a bit too loudly as one of the scouts looks into the darkened hall before moving closer.
  As the Sea Prince scout steps into the darkness, Nar and Karia quickly dispatch him, but the rest of the guards shout an alarm as the two forces join into battle. The party rushes into the foyer dodging arrows shot from hallways on either side of the stairs. Nar reacts and spider climbs along the walls returning arrows at the guard down the hallway. Meanwhile Jane and Karia rush the center raider while a scrawnier man dashes up the stairs and away from the battle.
  Within seconds, the Sea Princes are down and out as Karia, Jane, Adlia, and Kyra start ascending the stairs. Nar finishes off her foe and then continues around the hallway finding another guard at the opposite corner.
  Upstairs, the party pauses at the landing while evaluating the hallway splitting toward multiple doors. Suddenly, a door off toward the left flings open and two guards come rushing forward into the teeth of the party. Other Sea Prince soldiers file out of additional doors and join the growing melee at the top of the stairs. Then, the double doors in front of the land fling wide as a large man dressed in Sea Prince family livery strides forward yelling, "Begone knaves! We now own this town and all within it!" and then engages Jane and Karia in a duel of swords and fists.
  Before long, the party slowly gains control of the chokepoint and begin pushing deeper into the hallway allowing Adlia and Kyra to bring more attacks into the battle which then overwelms the defenders and they quickly dispatch even Lord D'Maurth. After another few moments, Nar reaches the top of the stairs and says, "One snuck out the back door, but it looks like you have things under control."
  After clearing the bodies from the landing, the party enters Primewater's office above the docks and quickly search through his desk and office. They find a receipt of an artifact titled "Mock's Lick". They also find an empty box with an oblong indent in the packing almost like a finger had been stored there.