Session 6

After making yourselves comfortable in your cabin, meeting the other guests and introducing yourselves, you’re invited to a formal dinner to be hosted by Gellan. You head to the dining table on the lower deck and are shown to your seats. The other guests, Skerrin, Andors, Carmilla, Commodore Wardell and Father Wyndham are already present with Gellan Primewater seated at the head of the table. Mormac and the Captain arrive shortly after and take up their seats. The meal is eventually served by Ugran and Gelland taps his glass and provides a formal welcome to all present, again thanking the party for their hard work at discovering the true nature of the "haunted house". You are inundated by questions from those present and tell your story of adventure and danger to those present.

 

As the meal is being served to those at the table, the captain speaks quietly to Gellan. Aemi has her familiar listen quietly into the conversation and hears the captain tell Gellan that the weather is fine, and she expects smooth sailing ahead.

 

Suddenly, the room goes completely dark!

 

You attempt to cast a variety of light spells; however you are unable to penetrate the unnatural darkness with any success. You hear shouting and the movement of several people as they struggle to come to terms with what is happening. You then hear a sickening gargling noise and then the darkness sudden disappears as fast as it appeared. You look across the table and see that Skerrin is laying lifeless on the floor, his neck slit wide open, blood gushing from the wound, obviously dead.

 

Father Wyndham reaches for his holy symbol, a diamond worn around his neck but shrieks wildly when he discovers it is no longer in place. The priest looks around the room hurriedly at the guests and shots for Carmilla to give him the diamond necklace that she is wearing around her neck. She gladly hands it over to him, and then you hear him chant what is obviously, a magic enchantment of some sort, and you look on with awe, as the wound in Skerrin's neck heals before your very eyes and Skerrin begin to cough and choke but is now back in the land of the living. He is not without issues though, as he starts to vomit, his body obviously coming to terms with what has just occurred.

 

Whilst all this is occurring, Beza takes the opportunity to examine her surroundings, in particular she looks under the table in the area where the priest and Skerrin were seated. She notes that there is an empty vial stuck under the table very near to where the priest was seated.

 

As Father Wyndham continues to check on the condition of Skerrin, he sudden clasps his own throat and begins to choke and gag. You rush to his aid, but he falls to the floor before you can help, his eyes wide open, obviously dead and lifeless. The table erupts in shock as everyone tries to revive him, but even without medical knowledge, you know that is not possible with your current skills.

 

Gellan is shocked that someone would take such an action on his ship and agrees to let you head up the investigation as to what just occurred. he is very specific though, these are important guests, and prominent members of society, you are to approach the investigation with the utmost sensitivity and respect the privacy of each of the guests aboard his ship, he will not tolerate any disrespect on his ship.

 

You continue your examination of the scene and note that there is bone handled dagger on the table covered in, what appears to be, Skerrin's blood. Perhaps the owner of this dagger will be able to assist you with your enquiries. Whilst you are looking at the dagger, you note that the captain is eying you cautiously. Beza reveals the existence of the empty vial, and everyone appears shocked by its presence and the Captain is able to identify the poison by its smell, "Silent Death", she calls it.

 

Beza and Aemi then begin a search of the cabins on the ship, using their spiders to avoid detection. Johama and Xigran decide to speak to the captain given her reaction when you examined the dagger. The captain is not in her cabin, but you decide to enter anyway, even though Gellan expressly told you not to treat his passengers like this. You start your search and locate a journal, which appears to be written by the captain, and note that one entry refers to a break and enter at her house in Saltmarsh, during which several of her personal daggers were stolen, including the one you found on the table now covered in Skerrin's blood. You also note that the dagger has the words "Ricky One-Eye" carved on the metal blade.

 

You then begin to search the other cabins, again without their occupants present, and find a small wand in Mormack's room, could he be a wizard of some sort?

 

You also search Skerrin's room, again without him being present, and find a secret compartment in his desk that contains a dagger, a vial of clear liquid, a pouch containing bat fur and a lump of coal, two small pouches of dust, and a third pouch containing bitumen and spiders. You also find a note written in very crude code, easily understandable, that you can translate.

   

A search of Father Wyndham’s cabin reveals a listing of names, some with check marks beside them. Johama remembers hearing rumors and stories about several of these names, and notes that the check marks are besides those names that indicate ships that have sunk.

 

You confront Captain Misty with your findings about the journal entry, and she admits that the dagger on the table was one that was stolen from her house. She tells you that Ricky One-Eye was the name of a pirate she defeated in one-on-one combat and took the dagger from his body as a prize. You also question her about organizations in Saltmarsh that might be capable of these actions, and she tells you of the Scarlet Brotherhood, a den of thieves, troublemakers and outcasts dating back many decades to the Old Empire.

 

You then approach Gellan and tell him that to continue your investigation, you will need to search the rooms of each of the passengers. He agrees, only on the grounds that Commodore Wardell is present as an independent observer. You suggest that you start with Gellan's room as a sign of solidarity, and he agrees with your suggestion.

 

During your search, you locate a secret compartment in his desk that contains various letters and notes, one of which is a love letter between him and Carmilla.

    Is there some type of love triangle between Gellan, Andors and Carmilla? You agree to tread carefully given the political implications associated with your discovery. Gellan is obviously very embarrassed at the finding and begs you to show discretion, and you agree. You also find a dagger and Father Wyndham's holy symbol in Gellan's footlocker. He is shocked and professes to have never seen these items before. You noted from the spell that was cast by Father Wyndham, that the diamond was consumed during the casting of the spell.   This web has just gotten a whole lot more complicated!   You then search Commodore Wardell's room and find notes concerning an investigation that he is conducting concerning suspected piracy and smuggling being conducted by Andors.   You then head down to Andors’ and Carmilla’s room and conduct your search. During the search, you find a letter addressed to Carmilla, from Gellan, in which he expresses his concerns that Skerrin knows about their affair and that he must be dealt with but does not offer any further detail.   You then head to Skerrin's room, but before you commence your search, Skerrin complains bitterly that his room has already been broken into. Even so, you "feign" your search, identify the hidden compartment, and display the evidence to Commodore Wardell. Skerrin continues with his objections, accusing you of planting this evidence seeing as his room was obviously searched previously, without anyone being present.   You search the priest’s room again, as well as Mormack's, however you also note that the wand is missing from his chest (taken by Beza perhaps?).   You continue to the lower deck and speak with Wexley, who agrees to let you search his room, he says that he has nothing to hide. You find spell books and a wand, nothing that he would have given his skills, but find nothing else of interest. You then proceed to the Ugran’s cabin, but again, find nothing of interest, he is obviously very loyal to Gellan.   Gellan refuses to let the voyage and orders Captain Misty to turn the vessel around and head back to Saltmarsh, and she obeys. With your evidence gathered, you ponder your next move and consider what you will tell Gellan given the complications with Skerrin's accusations and the fact that you acted in direct opposition to his wishes. You can tell that you have lost his trust and that of several of the passengers given your actions.