Session 11

October 14, 2019

Saltmarsh 11: The Spy Who Loved Me

The party speaks with a fortune teller at the Atrowa Festival, and Vel assigns crew positions on the ship. The party joins Vitaelius and his crew and then meets the slaver, Kasha at sea. When combat ensues, Vitae flees, and Kasha and the Doctor escape.

Synopsis
At midnight, the temple bell's chime signalling its now Atroa's birthday. The slavers' meeting is happening 24 hours for now.

The party returns to the Shooting Star, assigns bedrooms, and plots their journey to the meeting point. The party rests for the night, and Vel attunes to the Shooting Star's sails and is able to telepathically control the ship. Vel takes first watch, watching merchants and acolytes set up for the festival, hanging banners with Atroa's symbol; a white fish wrapped in a wheat stem on a blue field. She notices a light in Gellan's house that has been on all night.

Vel wakes Dora for the next shift, specifically telling her about the light, she watches a person, presumably Gellan snuff out the light. Dora takes in the sights of the festival preparations, and waves to Geoffrey in the window of the Snapping Line. She spends an hour to bring back Bastille.

Malcolm wakes and prays to Lathander on the deck, and receives a feeling of warning. Malcolm goes to over to talk to Dora, but Kayle pulls him away to talk downstairs in Kayle's room. Kayle has three things to talk about. First, is the suspicious council member with the daggers who reacted to the name Iuz. He mentions that Eda recommended talking to the gravedigger for more information. Second, Kayle brings up Malcolm's apparent interest in "the exotic pleasures" of love. Malcolm hightails it out of the room. Kayle yells after him that Randall knows Billy the Parrot. Randall glows and insists that Kayle shut up. Malcolm leaves and sends Emmett down to deal with Kayle. He attempts to talk to Billy in Common and Abyssal, but gets nothing out of him. Emmett doubts Kayle's concerns, and leaves with Billy. Randall makes it clear to Kayle that Billy needs to stay away from him. Malcolm returns to the deck, now with a headache. Xandri boards the ship, and invites the party to breakfast. Vel instructs the crew that they depart in two hours, and they depart to the Snapping Line.

Vel steps away to purchase some of the festival's food, explaining that she's never had it because her family is always out of town this time of year. Malcolm sits at the farthest corner of the table, which Kayle dismisses as a "human thing". Dora heads upstairs to Fraternus' room to tell him that the party will be leaving town, but hopes to be back in time to see his show at the festival. Malcolm asks Xandri about how he healed the party after the lightning strike, and tells him about the dreams he had about Lathander fighting Socola, the shark goddess. They come to the conclusion that something is coming.

Dora comes back down to the dining room, and sits with Malcolm. They finally have a moment to catch up. Malcolm expresses his concern after seeing Dora struggling after getting separated in the mines. Dora admits that she's getting by, but doesn't fully know what she's doing anymore, having hoped to stay in Oakhurst, and now living in Saltmarsh. She asks if he misses Oakhurst after living there for 10 years. He doesn't, instead feeling like he was hiding there; from decisions, the war, and himself. A sentiment Dora shares. They resolve to stick it out together. Dora also asks for a haircut if he has the time. They head out to the alley behind the Snapping Line. She asks for the one side to be shaved down, showing off her mangled ear and the surrounding scars. It's possibly the best haircut he's ever given. They leave the ally and find the rest of the party.

The first stand they come to serves only raw eggs attended by Deloris the nun, she shows the party how to eat the egg by creating a hole and slurping it out. Emmett shotguns around four eggs. Vel and Emmett set off to find games, Vel asks if there is dancing, but that's not until later that night. Emmett wants to sign up for the drinking contest, but it's not happening for a few hours. He and Dora play a strength testing game of High Striker. Emmett succeeds on the second try, but pays for a third because he didn't feel like he won hard enough. The third attempt actually cracks the bell. Dora also succeeds on the second try. They win a prize of a burlap fish stuffed with cotton.

They find a fortune teller's tent, Kayle sits down first, the teller already knows his name. She predicts that Kayle will find the man you seek. Vel sits next; someone is missing from her life, they are thinking of her, and may be in trouble. Malcolm sits; he will face a trial very soon. Kayle sits again, paying 15 gold for more information, but gets none. Dora sits; and presents her letter, and is told that time heals many wounds, she might be forgiven, and that it might be worth it.

The party returns to the Shooting Star, and Captain Vel assigns crew positions to the party; First Mate Xandri, Bosun Dora, Quartermaster and Surgeon Malcolm, Cook Emmett, Artillery Kayle. Vel gives the directions to the sentient ship, but stresses about the safety of her crew. With some encouragement from Dora, and a prayer from Malcolm, they set a plan. Kayle proceeds to clean the ship which elicits sounds of pleasure that only Vel can hear. Vel starts thinking of a new name for the ship. Vel says she's never double crossed someone on a job before, Malcolm believes her, but Dora and Emmett do not. Randall insists to Kayle that Billy cannot be trusted, but Kayle refuses to do anything about it until he explains how he knows Billy.

They plan to have Kayle use Disguise Self to look like Sanbalet, Vel walk in with Vitaelius and his team, with Emmett hiding in a barrel, while Dora and Malcolm remain outside, watching through Bastille.

The party arrives at the Haunted House, and waits an hour for a group of three figures to arrive, Vitaelius greets her, informing her that their mother is in town and was at dinner that way. Kayle, as Sanbalet, leads them back onto the Shooting Star. Vitaelius is accompanied by a man with a long, greasy blonde ponytail, who does not introduce himself, but knows Vitaelius well enough to call him Vitae, as Vel does, and a much larger man who has trouble fitting through the house's doors, and doesn't speak. Vel recognizes the large man as the one Vitaelius was with at the tanner's several days ago. Worried about Kayle's inability to be a convincing Sanbalet, Malcolm and Dora eventually join the rest of the party under the guise of being Vel's hired muscle. To pass time on the way to the drop location, the muscular man reveals a half finished tattoo on a seahorse on his bicep for Vitaelius to finish colouring. Emmett says that the muscular man should add Vitaelius' name to the tattoo, which the man does.

Vel reminds Kayle that less is more when in disguise, tying a scarf around his neck to give the impression of a sore throat, and taking over the communing with Kasha. Malcolm worries their plan involves selling Emmett, so that part of the plan gets scrapped. Kayle drops the Sanbalet guise, and explores the ship's weaponry, finding two loaded ballistas.

The party arrives at the drop point just before midnight, as heavy mist beings to roll in. Malcolm casts Light on his caduceus, and another ship emerges out of the clouds, and pulls up beside them. Three figures emerge on the new ship, one covered entirely in black robes and a veil, a human man wearing a plague doctor mask, with bare arms of patchwork skin of different pigments and a tattoo of the wonky cross Kayle knows, the third is a little girl who leads the group.

The little girl asks which of them is Sanbalet, Kayle answers, and the she introduces herself as Kasha. She carries a snake on her forearm, which she occasionally whispers to. She asks to see the barrels. Knowing combat is imminent, Malcolm and Vel survey the ship, seeing several other people all wearing black veils, and two ballistas. Kasha's crew drop a gangplank and the three figures disembark. Kasha's snake pops open one of the barrels by squeezing it, and bumps the lid open. Kasha pears in. Malcolm casts Bless on the party. Kasha appears unfazed. She instructs the man in the mask to begin loading the barrels, he'd also like to inspect the barrels. Kasha does not stop him. The man sees that the barrels are empty. Kasha gives a wink and a wave to the party, and disappears with a snap of her fingers. Combat ensues.

Vel warns Vitaelius not to leave again, but he grabs his boyfriend and departs via Shape Water at the first opportunity. The Captain of the other ship begins to pull out of the harbour. Dora casts Magic Missile at the crew, but is immediately Counterspelled, she jumps onto the other ship. Emmett joins her on the other ship, and attacks one of them. Xandri casts Ray of Frost on the ship's sails, which slows their escape. Vel orders her hired crew members to man the ballistas. Eventually, the man in the plague doctor mask steps forward, surrendering.

Kayle demands information on his cross tattoo, and learns that its the symbol of group known as the "Bluebloods". The man attempts to justify his role in smuggling dwarves by remarking that dwarves are "lesser people", which earns a swing and a miss from Emmett. He bargains for his life with information, but when he has nothing the party finds valuable, he creates a cloud of fog, and disappears into it. Only the minions are left on the ship. Vel approaches them, and attempts to communicate. The smallest minion steps forward and lifts its veil, revealing a singular floating eyeball, it speaks into Vel's mind, and stands down immediately.

Vel learns through the eyeball, that the minions appear to have no concept of free will or the morality of what they do. The man in the plague doctor mask is known as the Doctor, he created the minions with the express purpose to serve them, never even giving them names.

Malcolm, Emmett, and Kayle begins to search the ship. Behind the locked door of the Captain's Quarters, they find more black robes with the cross symbol, the robes give off necromantic magic. Kayle sets fire to the ship. The party reconvenes on Shooting Star. The minions, called the Sea Monkeys, begin dragging the dead bodies aboard. Vel objects, but the eyeball explains that the Sea Monkeys eat the flesh. Vel lets the Sea Monkeys join them, resolves to fish for their new food source, and turns to the direction that Vitaelius left and curses him.

Featured Characters
Emmett

Velaeria

Malcolm

Theadora

Kayle

NPCs
Xandri

Billy

Vitaelius

Vitaelius' Boyfriend (unnamed, though referred to as "Trouble" by Vel)

Kasha

The Doctor

The Sea Monkeys (unnamed)

Quotations
"Are they a thing?" -Duncan, referring to Kayle & Malcolm

"Exotic Pleasures" -Kayle

"This is going to be an easy part for Dora and I, because we can shut the fuck up. Kayle, we need you to be a semi-silent Sanbalet."-Malcolm

"Maybe the poop deck was the friends we made along the way." -Erynn

Trivia

 * Session Length: 4:32:39
 * This session covers 2 days in universe, the party has now known each other for 19 days


 * Continue Count: 6
 * This session is named after The Spy Who Loved Me, the 11th film in the James Bond franchise


 * Chat Names:
 * Duncan: Continue (x43)
 * Alie: Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
 * Marcus: Exotic Pleasures
 * Erynn: Carnival Queen
 * Zach: Bondage Barbarian