You feel a wave of relief wash over you when you finally see the shoreline and the Sea Ghost still floating where you left her not far at sea. Your jetty boat is where you left it too, which surprises you given the hardships you have endured since leaving it there.
You board the jetty boat and as you approach the Sea Ghost you are touched to hear the crew shouting excitedly that you have returned. As you get closer, however, you feel less moved by the crew’s excitement.
“You see lads, she’s alive!” yells Gundar Gunnarson, one of the two members of the Saltmarsh militia who have become crew aboard the Sea Ghost.
“Fuckin’ great news!” you can hear Foul Fritoff yell back.
“You should see what she’s wearing!”
“Gods be blessed! You’d never know she just came out of the swamp.”
“The others look like they’ve come from the swamp though. I can smell them from here.”
“Indeed lads, let’s get them cleaned up before we hear their story.”
When the jetty boat finally bounces off the hull of the Sea Ghost, the men clamour over each other to help Valaria with the short climb to board the ship. Only Elrik Solarman, the other of the two militiamen from Saltmarsh, has the sense to stick around to offer assistance to Nyneve as well, who graciously accepts instead of slapping him away like she feels like doing. The others are left to themselves.
“Welcome the fuck back, Captain Stormwind,” Foul Fritoff says to greet Janaar and crew. “Did you find what you was after out there in the swamp?”
The rest of the crew goes quiet, everybody interested in the Captain’s answer.
“That and more,” is all Janaar offers for now. “Let’s get cleaned up and gather back here after dinner.”
The others nod their agreement, suddenly more tired and sore than before. A rest and a meal sounds like exactly what you need.
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ZYMAAN finds himself exhausted from the ritual spellcasting he did in the troglodyte temple throne room. The full significance of that magical feat has not yet sunk in. He cast a spell he should not have been able to cast. Just to power that spell normally requires more mana than he has ever put into any spell before. And he did much more than just cast it normally. He raised an army of the dead! He opens the alchemist’s spellbook to see if he can read the writing easily now that he has succeeded in casting the spell once. Zymaan is dismayed to discover that the pages of the spellbook are now spent; browned and fragile as if burned.
RYPARIN washes himself and reflects on the battle in the throne room. He definitely felt an internal struggle during the most contentious moments of the battle. He felt as though he might unleash something barely held back if the battle had required it. As it was, the team had worked together for the most part and succeeded without any need for unleashed terror. When Ryparin rests, his mind is haunted by memories of the lantern he recovered and its purple light. When he awakens, he remembers how to turn the lantern on. He knows he should spend more time meditating; that meditating is the key to unlocking the secrets from his past.
JANAAR dives into the sea to wash himself not only of the grime upon his body, but also the thoughts spinning endlessly in his mind. He wants to keep his eye on the big picture. What had the group seen? And what burden fell to them now that Rowan was dead. Did they have any obligation to warn the people of Keoland that an army of lizardfolk is forming in the Hool Marshes under the leadership of an especially large black dragon? And what of the army of orcs in the great hole? Or did that flood when the waters came pouring into the throne room? Janaar’s thoughts continued to swirl in his head as he leaves the sea and retires to his cabin. He wants to clear his mind well enough to present options for the crew to vote on at the meeting after dinner.
KILDRAK loads buckets of sea water and hauls them on deck. He cleans himself, his warhammer and his armour in that order. When he is done, he lies on the deck and allows the sun to warm his dwarven bones. He has spent many years at a time away from the sun. In fact, as a child he did not leave his dwarven stronghold until he was 85. Still, the sun feels good. But as a cloud crosses the sun and brings darkness, Kildrak feels this is an omen for the times ahead.
NYNEVE and VALARIA go to their shared cabin and discuss their adventure in the swamp and in the underground troglodyte temple. As Valaria uses her magic to restore Nyneve to a state of pristine beauty, the two women agree they hope never to encounter stinky troglodytes ever again, and for that matter to never venture into any swamp ever again. When they rest, Valaria has a terrible dream and awakens with a start. “What is it?” Nyneve asks in a harsh whisper, springing up in bed, her hands instantly charged with deadly magics, her eyes darting around the room looking for an intruder. “My new sword has a name!” Valaria exclaims, clapping her hands. “OrcTracker,” she says dramatically, splaying her hands across the sky.
GRIM cleans up in a barrel of sea water on deck and retires to a hammock in the common room. He does not need a cabin or private space. He enjoys a good sleep, untroubled by the things he has seen and the death he has dealt. When he awakens, he goes to the kitchen and has a pre-dinner snack.
—————
After dinner, the group gathers on deck to discuss next steps. Captain Stormwind presents the options as he sees them <see Options email>. Then the group begins to debate.
Ryparin is the first to endorse returning to Saltmarsh to complete the loop and report to the town council on your findings about the fact that weapons have been sold through the pirate base beneath the haunted house to lizardfolk gathering into armies in the Hool Marshes.
Grim agrees and adds that the Saltmarsh town council might send word to Lord Gilead themselves, thus saving the group the burden of having to do it. “We are not responsible for saving the world,” Grim says.
Janaar makes a case for going after Icky Borbuz and his growing fleet of magically-enhanced pirate ships, but the argument appears to get little traction with the rest of the group. “Arrgh!” he yells, sounding very pirate-like. “Yer all a bunch of dirty landlubbers!”
Zymaan has his own reasons to want to go to Saltmarsh, but he remains silent about his views regarding sending word to Lord Gilead about the dragon and lizard army forming in the swamps.
Nyneve, Kildrak and Valaria are also quiet. The vote has yet to carry.