Session 5

July 25, 2019

Saltmarsh 5: The Final Frontier

Gellan Primewater tasks the party with aiding Xandri. They head to the Eadro Rift where they are tricked into combat by a mermaid.

Synopsis
The morning finds Malcolm, Emmett and Dora in the Empty Net. They do their morning routines: a workout for Emmett, and prayers for Malcolm. Emmett asks Malcolm how he found Lathander, and learns that Malcolm was left at the Temple of Lathander and was raised there since he was ten. Both Malcolm and Emmett admit that they're not exactly close with their family, the latter especially, having not spoken to them in decades. Dora remains quiet during this conversation, but does speak up to announce she has named her familiar Bastille, meaning 'prison' in Elvish.

The party has breakfast at the Snapping Line Bar, where a hooded figure gives them a summons from a Mr. Primewater.

Everyone reunites at the local marketplace, where Malcolm, Emmett and Vel do some shopping. Emmett asks Vel if she knows who Primewater is and she starts laughing. Vel explains that Gellan Primewater is a known douchebag and crime boss. Vel takes them to Gellan's mansion, fully intent on leaving afterwards, but is told to stay by the enormous butler who let them in. While alone, the party attempts to keep Vel from stealing something from the living room. Gellan emerges and offers to give Emmett information and to introduce him to the Council if the party aids Xandri with some undead, which are blocking Gellan's 'trade routes'.

The party heads to the dock where Xandri's boat, the False Foil, is tied up, but Xandri is nowhere in sight. They go to check for him at the Empty Net, and find him drinking with John. Xandri is weary of heading out to sea after hearing word of the undead, but agrees to take the party out to sea.

Xandri and Vel launch the False Foil, and advise the others to avoid the ship's cabin when they hit rough water, because it makes the vertigo worse. The waters are pretty calm, though clouds are seen on the horizon.

The party encounters a boat of lizardfolk, and one named Grell warns them about Sahuagin in the area, who have caused several sailors to go missing. The rest of the day of sailing goes by undisturbed, though Emmett grows restless having not killed something in 3 days. Dora takes the time to watch the sun set over the sea, and is joined be Malcolm. Emmett asks Dora about her time in the war, and she tells him about her job as a scout, watching enemy camps. She asks about his job as a bounty hunter, and Emmett reveals to the party that he was wrongly imprisoned for five years for killing a noble’s son, Jessup Blake, and that he is looking for the real killer. Emmett and Dora do some fishing, and together manage to catch a man-size catfish. Malcolm is there too, entirely for moral support. Meanwhile Vel goes for a swim.

During their watch, Vel tells Malcolm more about her family, namely that she's been living with her mother and stepfather John for 25 years, and that she has a younger brother. Vel asks Malcolm when he's going to leave Saltmarsh, like most people do. Malcolm assures her that the right people don't leave. The sun creeps up, and Vel spots a long greenish serpentine creature in the water.

In the morning, the boat arrives at the Eadro Reef where the bones have been found. There's a deep hole in the sea shelf that light does not reach. A mermaid appears next to the boat, saying she's dropped her necklace in the hole. Vel speaks to the mermaid in Aquan, and asks what's really in the reef. The mermaid has heard of a monster in the hole. Vel is intent on helping the mermaid, but Dora won't let her go down alone, so she turns Bastille into an octopus to accompany them, with Dora watching through his eyes.

Vel, the mermaid, and Bastille dive down to the edge of the hole. Vel points out the piles of bones on the ground to the mermaid, who says that its a graveyard that Vel may soon be in. Dora, on the boat, alerts the party of the threat, and Malcolm ties a rope around Emmett, who dives into the water. A merman and a giant octopus appears. Combat ensues.

The party members that need to breathe resurface, while Vel continues to investigate the graveyard. She comes back up to the boat, to Emmett's disappointed look. The party comes to the conclusion that though they have found the source of the bones, the matter of clearing the area is out of their hands, and they return to Saltmarsh.

Featured Characters
Emmett

Velaeria

Malcolm

Theadora

NPCs
John

Xandri

Gellan Primewater

Grell

Trivia

 * Session Length: 3:39:24
 * This session covers 2 days in universe, the party has now known each other for 9 days
 * Continue Count: 10
 * This session is named after The Final Frontier, the 5th film in the Star Trek franchise