Laid to Rest

Hearing about a problem at a Warhaven alehouse, Garth and Walter decided to investigate. Outside the Face Punch Tavern, a guard suddenly appeared in front of them, seemingly teleported. Inside, seated at the bar, they found a cleric of Torm ordering another ale saying, "I'm good for it." The barkeep, not knowing what else to do, appealed to the adventurers for help.   Kyrnyn offered to leave if the party would hear his tale and agree to help him. A few years ago he was polymorphed into a two-headed giant, an ettin, but a party of adventurers saved him from a mob of villagers in New Saltmarsh. Kyrnyn became a wandering do-gooder, but always found shelter at the Drunken Sailor, a bar run by a dwarf and his grandchild, Temmet. When the hurricane drowned New Saltmarsh and saw many of the residents perish, Kyrnyn felt it was his duty to lay his friends to rest, but with the town underwater, the cleric found he was helpless. Accepting his offer, Kyrnyn promised them his magical greatsword in return for their help.   Heading south, they found that so much time had passed, let alone the Sovereign's Void, that the area was unrecognizeable to the cleric. The party tried to ask local fishermen for help, but the most they got was a bowl of fish stew and an old poem that made no sense:   Tonight we invite you to the feast But don't be late or you'll be least Just take off walking toward the   At her table you'll feed your mouth One day more, except you're heading   On your best behavior, don't bring no drama For now you're at the house of   Garth recognized an enchantment on the old man, and Walter remembered his last experience in the Forgotten Forest with a "witch" named Mama Oda. After deciphering the poem's directions and stumbling around for a bit, they eventually made it to Mama Oda's house, and were greeted by a symbol of fear and her vampire doorman. Oda informed them that it was by her will that New Saltmarsh stay hidden, and its ghostly denizens remain, though she wouldn't explain why. She offered them an exchange: The directions for the ectoplasmic ashes of a very specific ghost. As collateral, she demanded something valuable, and Walter gave her his entire jar of hand-crafted candy.   During the journey, Garth began to suspect that Kyrnyn was more than he seemed: The cleric said he only had one day's worth of spells left, never slept, and upon reaching the shore, refused any spells for navigating the ocean depths. Detect magic also revealed his sword and armor were likely enchanted with ghost touch, too. Kyrnyn refused to acknowledge any of this, but neither did he deny it.   In the ocean depths, the entrance to the ruins was guarded by a zombie megalodon which took a few good bites out of Walter and Kyrnyn, despite the latters incorporeal nature. Eventually defeating it, they moved past the ghost town and found the tavern guarded by ghosts of its own: Sahuagin. These beings aged Walter nearly to death, but he was healed by Kyrnyn's magic, before divine magic and Garth's magic missiles finished them off. Bringing the bodies to shore led them to send them off in a traditional West Haven burial: sent out to sea in a fishing boat and set ablaze. Kyrnyn thanked them, planted his sword into the ground, and returned to the afterlife, leaving his ashes behind.   Walter, worried about the spell that Mama Oda might use the ashes for, attempted to return to her tree house in the dried-up swamp, but the door refused to open until a full day had passed, and only did so when a different doorman handed the adventurer a note: "Get off my porch." Though he feared death from the old oracle, she instead settled for his candy.