Savage Tide Session 10

Prior to the voyage, Zhedd requested the party's help in tracking down some spell research reagents. This led them to a site infested with archer bushes that the local logging company wanted cleared before they could work on the site. When the party arrived, another presence made itself known - an undead dryad return to wreak revenge on those that had cut down her tree, and had seeded the archer bushes to ward the site. The logging company were indifferent to the dryads plight and paid the party only for the simple task of removing the archer bushes. Zhedd and Mendel left a nasty surprise in the company director's garden that may come back to haunt them... Mendel recieved a parcel from the church of Asterius, containing a potion of longbreath, and a note to beware becoming mixed up in a recent 'unauthorised' heist in the city. The party also analysed the map they retrieved from the pale elf in league with Bargle- it depicted a map of the region, with a strange symbol highlighted in the depths of the forest northeast of Emerond (south of Sasserine). Back in the city, the party waited on the docks for the voyage to the Isle of Dread to begin. Lavinia introduced them to the passengers and new colonists bound for Farshore, in particular those that were investing in the expedition.

Urol Furol - Gnome historian, paying for the voyage and company to the Oltec ruins of Tamoachan. Previously been to the isle of Dread, albeit briefly.
Father Feres - Ageing priest of Ixion, looking to establish a new mission on the Isle
Lirith - an Alphatian warrior, looking for a wealthy companion
Avner Meravanchi - son of a Thyatian noble family, sending him to the Isle of Dread for his own betterment. His uncle was amongst the first colonists already at Farshore who sponsored Lavinia's parents in the expedition. Accompanied by his horse Thunderstrike, and his butlers Banaby and Quenge.
Thanti Sparrow - the Cynidicean masked man the party encountered on their first voyage into Sasserine, who was following his leads further still to the Isle of Dread.

Avner immediately caused problems but demanding his horse be housed in the cargo hold, and expecting a berth to himself, but Stephanie managed to persuade him that slumming with the rest of them would add to the experience. And so, the Sea Wyvern finally left the city of Sasserine behind for open waters. The voyage to the first destination of Tamoachan was largely uneventful, save for a straneg ooze that had collected flotsam from less fortunate ships and attached itself to the Sea Wyvern's hull. This was eventually dispersed, thanks in part to Koravel's kamikaze plunge into it's sticky mass.

At Tamoachan, the party rested overnight with a lavish meal courtesy of Lavinia, held aboard the Blue Nixie. On returning to the Sea Wyvern, the party spotted the rope seat back to the Sea Wyvern had been almost cut through. Beofre they could act, they heard a spell being cast and an irate Water mephit appeared on deck crawling out of a jar of formaldehyde and vinegar hidden amongst the ropes. This was fought off, but the party could find no obvious trace of the culprit on the Sea Wyvern - although Mendel's food had been tampered with.

The next morning, the party set out for Tamoachan through the jungle on the coast. IT was a short trek, until they found the base of thr Ziggurat Urol had described - an untouched chamber revealed after a recent earthquake. The chamber was the nest of a basilisk, which fortunately only two of the party fell prey to, as Urol only had two doses of stone salve. A gibbering mouther also attacked the party as it slither from its nest. After negotiating a flame-trapped room an a massive wall of iron that blocked their path, the party found a pristine central chamber, depicting what the Oltec belived was their nercopolis. Urol was left in his element as the party explored the rest of the rooms - past a calendar stone, to find a deep black pit lined with alcoves containing bones and offerings to the dead - including a large gold idol of a flaming bat. As Stephanie peered into the depths, an strange bat-like humanoid sprang out of an alcove and breathed fire over the party. The creature was resistant to most attacks of the party, until Mendel hooked the beast into their reach and allowed Stephanie to cut it down. The party then retrieved the idol, which they identified as a magical key of some sort. WHat was most puzzling, was it was from a much more recent age than its surroundings would otherwise suggest...

Savage Tide Session 9

The party, yet again, found themselves in a fake throne room in the depths of Bargle’s dungeon beneath the ruins of Mistamere. The two elves spotted a secret door in the southern wall, whilst Anthony checked a door in the west wall. Koravel flung open the secret door – to reveal the real throne room and multiple images of Bargle waiting for them. As Zhedd and Koravel ran forward, a wall of flame erupted around them, and two water elementals emerged from a pool to defend their master. Kathryn used the elemental gem to summon an earth elemental to dispatch the water elementals, as Koravel, Zhedd, Stefanie and Jardek closed in on Bargle. A lucky strike from Koravel caused Bargle to flee using a secret door behind the throne. The earth elemental was put to use smashing a hole in the wall to allow the pursuit to continue.

A dark winding passage behind the throne led down deeper to an underground lake. Jardek hurried ahead after Bargle, but was stopped by a voice calling from the water, claiming to have been asked by Bargle to waylay the party – but open to alternative offers from the party if a suitable tribute could be found. The stalemate was broken by the party letting slip they had a valuable gem, and Stefanie using a light spell to reveal a treasure hoard in the lake guarded by the dragon that was watching them. After a wet and treacherous battle, the dragon was dispatched by a combination of magic missiles, arrows and porpoises, allowing Jardek to get busy swimming to retrieve the hoard.

Bargles tracks only led a few paces outside the cave system, before they disappeared, a spent scroll all that was left of his passing. The party decided to go back and finish exploring the dungeon to retrieve the last bits of treasure – including solving the puzzle of the statue with the missing orb to reveal a magical sword.

Zhedd lost his companion Krieg in the battle with Bargle, and strove to find a replacement before returning to Sasserine. After an abortive encounter with three skeletons, he returned with help from the rest of the party and found that a horse had answered his call. A mysterious female voice from an invisible creature warned Zhedd not to defile the place any further, and the party were on their way. Back in the city, Jardek reported back to the Temple of Tarastia on their encounter with Bargle, as well as Katrhryn providing an amulet possibly attuned to the errant mage for which they were rewarded for their efforts in driving Bargle from the area.

Lavinina summoned the party to explain her plans for the voyage she had mentioned previously. Captain Amella Venkalie and a gnome by the name of Urol Furol were also present. Lavinina explained how she had had her mother’s journal translated, and it described her parents’ efforts to establish a colony on an island in the Thanegioth Archipelago named Farshore, from which the resources and riches of the Isle of Dread could be exploited. She asked that the party bring their ship, The Sea Wyvern, with hers The Blue Nixie, to re-establish contact with the colony and bring supplies. Lavinia would finance the voyage, but as her parent’s money was still largely tied up in unpaid debts to the family, she had had to take on paying passengers who were willing to invest in the colony. One of those was Urol, who had already visited the Isle of Dread and had asked that Lavinia use the voyage to journey to an ancient city of Tamoachan, to which he had uncovered a new map detailing an as-yet unexplored part of the ruined city. Lavinia was also happy to take this circuitous route to avoid adverse sea currents in the Sea of Dread, and the possibility that her brother Vanthus might be following her movements… The party had three weeks to make their arrangements.

Savage Tide Session 8

The party continued the expedition into the dungeons beneath the ruined plantation Mistamere in hunt of the wizard Bargle the Infamous. They started by burning out the spider webs in front of them to disturb a nest of giant spiders, which were quickly dispatched. Amongst the charred remains, they found what was left of a spellbook and what was left of a strangley enchanted pig with a medal inscribed 'Extra Healing'.

Before venturing into the lower levels, they retreated to clear out what remained in the upper levels first, dispatching a band of undead, and dealing with some vargoilles which were nesting in a disused chimney. Unfortunately, Antony became victim to their curse, and showed signs of starting the slow transformative degeneration into one of their kind. After more debate than Antony would have appreciated - including a protracted dialogue with a talking chest - the party retreated to Castle Rakin to find a means of removing the curse. The journey back included visitations from some fey, and some displacer beasts, and the party then descended to the lower levels to continue the hunt for Bargle. They found more imagery of the mage - a crude altar beneath a painting, an ornate tapestry, and several living crystal statues in Bargle's likeness that sprung to life. Several ogre guards were also present on this level, which, although cramped, battered the party around before giving Kathryn a new toy to play with - an ogre zombie - which proved a better pit trap detector than combatant.

The party ran into several copies of Bargle in the dungeon that turned out to be doppelgangers. The next challenge lay in a room with 4 sealed exits and a voice that threatened 'Choose correctly and you may live to face me'. All chambers appeared empty until a character stood inside them and was shut in. Stefanie found a strange oozing jelly within one, and Koravel the entrance to a throne room behaind another. The throne room was occupied by a strange albino elf figure and Bargle, who promptly altered his appearance to match Koravel's. Alone, Koravel managed to fend off the albino with some well timed critical hits until Zhedd arrived - to find two copies of Koravel grappling in front of him. In a disturbing display of masochism, with the doppelganger thwarting Antony's attempts to trick him into revealing himself, the doppelganger was dispatched.

Savage Tide Session 7

So the party had some time to themselves, and decided to follow upon the lead that the wanted criminal Bargle the Infamous was hiding out in an abandoned plantation house called Mistamere, 50 miles out of the city, and just north of the outpost Castle Rakin.

Stopping by the Church of Tartastia, the party picked up a wanted poster with Bargle's likeness and found out more about his crimes in league with the Black Eagle Barony, and his murber of the cleric Aleena. Then passage in a cart heading south to Castle Rakin was booked, and the party set off out of the city. The journey took 3 days, with interruptions from dire wolves and an irate owlbear, but eventually the party arrived unscathed at the castle - which turned out to be little more than a wooden fort and outpost for guards protecting the plantations and their workers. They holed up at the Lusty Wench tavern for the night, observing the trade in various illicit goods filling the courtyard.

The next morning the party left for Mistamere via an overgrown trail, arriving just before midday. The plantation house and surrounding defensive wall were i na poor state of repair, largely choked with weeds, and with several areas collapsed. Running up to the house, the party encountered two carrion crawlers which darted out of hiding. Whilst in battle with the tentacled vermin, a band of kobolds that were occupying the house rushed to close the gates to the courtyard and bar their entrance. The party avoided a bloody breach of the defences by managing to intimidate the kobolds into fleeing with their lives in a heated exchanged over the walls, allowing them to enter unscathed.

The entire upper floors of the house were collapsed. The party snuck in via a side window and found a room designed to appear trapped but actually harmless - a typical kobold ploy. The kitchen was inhabited by two harpies, who were quickly dispatched. The party moved through two strangely ornate bedrooms and obseerved some undead waiting in another room - and decided to avoid fighting them and head straight downstairs. Waiting in the basement were angry beetles that sprayed a caustic oil at those that disturbed their next. Making their way through the complex, they found a small army of kobolds hired by Bargle to defend against intruders. After several pitched battles, the party slew the kobold leader, and captured a kobold lackey to serve as a guide. Several traps and puzzles were also found - as well as the body of Flenser the rakasta that had set out on his own to find Bargle - and his demise.

Savage Tide Session 6

Back in the caves, the party set about heading back to Sasserine. Captain Javell filled the party in on a few more details about what had happened in the cove. Vanthus had tried to steal an unusual item from the pirate – a fist-sized black pearl. In his escape, the pearl was dropped, and broke open – somehow releasing the effect that had warped all the creatures and the pirates in the area. Jardek swam down and collected the remains of the pearl from the bottom of the sea floor in the cove – noticing that all plant life in a 30 foot radius around the remnants of the pearl had vanished. The pearl itself was found to radiate a fading strong evil transmutation magic, but trying to reassemble the pearl had no effect.

Captain Javell went her own way, after getting very suspicious and agitated at the PC’s questioning of the strange red steel and ore they had found. Two of the party went to collect Captain Amella Venkalie and the cabin boy Tavey from along the coast and, after reassuring them that they weren’t infected with the plague, managed to bring the captain back to the cove, and the new ship that lay waiting for them there – the Sea Wyvern. Amella drew in the party to help her pilot the ship back to the city, and dealt with an officious member of the guard that tried to waylay the party for bringing a known pirate vessel to the docks, whilst the party made their way to rescue Lavinia.

The city was in the throes of the festival, celebrating liberation and becoming an independent city-state a year ago. It was a struggle battling through the crowds enjoying the music, food and entertainment, with Kathryn and Mendel having the calm an agitated gnome and his tortle friend. Before they could reach the manor, however, they were attacked by a troupe of stiltwalkers and a gymnast assassin – later found to be hired by the Kellani family as a revenge attack for the death of their daughter, Rowyn – the head of the Lotus Dragons.

Breaking into the manor, the party found it occupied by strange frog-like creatures, which had spread muck and slime in their attempts to ransack the house. In the master bedroom at the top of the mansion, the lupin Drevoraz waited for the party; Lavinia bound at his feet and unconscious adventurers lying about the floor. The dead body of the Halfling housekeeper, Kora, lay broken on the bearskin rug. A fat bloated humanoid toad sat on the bed, wrapped in damp sheets. Drevoraz struck down Jardek with a flurry of blows, and snarled at Anthony – “Bring me Vanthus!”

Crisis was averted as the rest of the party arrived, and managed to convince Drevoraz to call the attack off at the behest of Captain Javell. The toad was having none of it, and demanded ‘Blood for Dagon!’ as he attacked. He was eventually defeated, after nearly bringing several party members low, and Lavinia was rescued. She explained that they had been caught by surprise by the creatures, who were awaiting the return of Vanthus to exact their revenge. The unconscious adventurers were her Jade Ravens, whom the party helped revive – yet more were elsewhere in the manor.

Further battles encountered a rust monster, which stripped Stephanie of her armour, and other amphibian warriors, but eventually the mansion was cleared. A distraught Lavinia helped the party arrange to be healed and restored, and rewarded them for their efforts. Over the next day, the party recovered, and helped nurse the Jade Ravens back to health. Lavinia was determined to leave the horrors of the mansion and Vanthus’ treachery behind her, and announced she was preparing an expedition, to leave Sasserine. The party had a month to themselves to do what they wanted.

The alchemist filled them in on the strange red metal they had found. Apparently it was unknown in this region – but found only in lands far far to the west, where it was fashioned into protective amulets to ward off a curse that afflicted those living in the lands. Without the metal, victims would succumb to a foul, corrupting, debilitating affliction, that could also grant strange powers. The ore was not natural – a magical creation – that had the ability to slowly replenish when buried in clay deposits. The alchemist warned about openly discussing the metal, for fear of people wanting to keep its existence secret – especially found so far from its native lands. The party resolved to spend the next month following up a lead to track the wanted criminal Bargle the Infamous – and set about making preparations.

Savage Tide Session 5

Lavinia dragged the party out of the dinner held in their honour back to her manor house for liqueurs, and to unwind before the voyage the next day. Captain Amella Venkalie was present, to clarify the schedule for the trip – she had procured a small fishing vessel with funds from Lavinia, which should be able to ferry the party to a beach near Kraken’s Cove. It’d be a cramped 16 hour trip to get there. Before the party left, Lavinia mentioned that several groups had spoken to her at the banquet about contacting them for possible work in the future – the Temples of Ixion, Nyx, and the enigmatic Lady Silvermane of the Church of the Whirling Fury. Also Zelkarune’s Horns, who runs the gladiatorial bouts in the arena and source monsters from the surrounding jungle to use in staged battles, were interested in their services. The Jade Raven’s (the adventuring party hired by Lavinia’s parents) was also due to return from their adventures to the south. Some opportunities for the party to mull over when they return…

Walking to the docks the next morning, the city was being prepared for the upcoming festival, the anniversary of Sasserine’s independence from Minrothad rule. The party found a skiff waiting for them at the docks and the cramped journey began, interrupted by violent rocking motions as Jardek struggled with the effects of the night before. Don’t take a drunk dwarf out to the deep.

Amella, aided by the cabin boy Tavey, took the ship along the shoreline to the east. Marshland and cobwebbed jungle filled the coastal view. Several other fishing vessels were about. A few hours out, a pair of devilfish were spotted, following the ship as it sped along the coast. Keeping a careful eye on these, the party decided not to act, and 2 hours later, the devilfish disappeared.

Dusk brought the party to Blood Bay, across which lay Kraken’s Cove. The water has a reddish brown colour – Amella explained the legends of a wounded kraken that lay bleeding somewhere in the depths of the bay. The party figured it was more likely some mineral rich sediment. Amella piloted the boat to a small beach about a mile north of the cove. As they drew near, the orange flicker of flames and the billowing smoke of a large fire came into view – somewhere in the shadows of the cove. The party hurried to shore and along the clifftops. It soon became clear that all was not right – there were no sounds of animals, and then twisted, warped bodies of small creatures were found littering the jungle floor. Examining the body of a dead dog, they found it warped, twisted, with a second vestigial head growing out of its neck, and tentacles writhing from its back. Suddenly, a pack of monkeys descended from the trees – each with the same twisted malformed bodies and second heads, screaming for flesh. The party fought them off, not before discovering that the dead creatures posed another threat by bursting into viscous pools of acid.

Pressing on to the cove, they found the waters ablaze with burning oil, and two ship wreathed in flame. A third vessel, the Sea Wyvern, was anchored further out and unharmed. Descending into the caves, the found the bodies of scores of pirates – being feasted upon by other pirates who seemed to have succumbed to whatever warped malady affected the animals in the area. Under the burning waters, a strange circular patch of barren seabed, clear of any form of plant life, was visible – with some dark fist-sized object at its centre. The party fought their way through the caves, encountering more twisted pirates, and other creatures they were smuggling, including a score of caged slaves, all screaming in their cages for the adventurers’ flesh. 

Deep in the caves, they came across a surviving member of the pirate crew – Captain Harliss Javell – desperately fending off the attacks of the savage creatures. As the party thinned the pirate numbers, Harliss was able to help them defeat the remaining few. Warily, she thanked them for their help and explained that Vanthus was all to blame for this mess – but then explained that she’d sent her first mate Drevoraz to the Vanderboren manor in Sasserine to exact revenge. The party would have to hurry back to try and stop Lavinia becoming an accidental victim.

Savage Tide Session 4

So the action started with the party still in the lair of the Lotus Dragons, discussing their tactics and options for getting out alive. The discussions were cut short with the sound of splashing from the flooded area west of them - and two more Rhagodessas emerging from their den, lured by the scent of dead bodies. The party fought them off, and then waded through the water to the chambers beyond. Not spotting the devilfish that swam past them in the murky waters, the party found themselves surrounded by the nasty snapping ray-like creatures, and a small boat of thieves. Scraping it through the skirmish, the party managed to capture the boat and a thief, ready for interrogation. The thief revealed that the Lotus Dragons had not fallen into disarray with the loss of the Dragon Mistress, but were currently being rallied by a man named Kersh, hidden elsewhere in the complex.

With a boat, and a passageway out to tthe waterways of Sasserine, the party took the opportunity to escape, heal at the Temple of Ixion, and plan the next steps. Lavinina was told of the full involvment of her brother Vanthus in their parents murder, and that he was currently headed towards a rendez-vous with some smugglers at Kraken's Cove. Healed and prepared, the party revisited the taxidermists guildhall, only to find it reoccupied. The taxidermist tried to hypnotise the party are they broke in, with two thieves guarding the front of the shop, but the party overwhelmed them. Descending back into the thieves den, they found a series of hidden corridors surrounding a large chamber beneath the well in Dead Dog's Plaza above - home to a group of theives waiting in ambush, and a nasty crocodile lurking in the waters. Two worgs had been placed on alert to guard possible entrances to the northern parts of the complex - allowing time for Kersh to attempt an ambush, posing as a captured merchant being tortured by the remaining thieves. The ruse was quickly seen through due to some experience with the fale knots used to restrain the 'prisoner'. Kersh was quickly surrounded and defeated. The remaining theives were captured - but set free after agreeing to tell the party where the wanted criminal Bargle the Infamous could be found (in an abandoned plantation house to the west of the city).

The Lotus Dragons defeated, the party reported back to Lavinina and were pointed in the direction fot eh city watch to explain what had been uncovered. Having rested, healed and recovered, with a little time for some shopping, the party were summoned before the Dawn Council to be rewarded for their efforts. Lavinia offered them some items from her parent's days as adventurers, and the party then travelled to the banquet held in their honour. Each member was awarded the Spire of Sasserine in recognition of their efforts (+2 diplomacy/gather information in the city), but perhaps more importantly, introduced to each head of the noble houses and the accompanying churches in the city. The session ended with the party rehiring Captain Amella Venkalie to pilot a ship to take them after Vanthus Vanderboren, headed for Kraken's Cove.

Savage Tide Session 3

Assault on The Lotus Dragons
The party were stranded on Parrot Island, their boat stolen, and with three tempting chests full of what they hoped was loot still in the dungeons beneath them. They managed to flag down a passing barge from the dwarf-run Dredger's Guild, and get passage to the Azure District. There, the first stop was the Temple of the sea god Protius, to retrieve some potions of swimming to make the recovery of the chests easier. The potion was readily available, along with the news that the old harbourmaster they had met a few days previously, Keltar Islaran, had been found 'assassinated. Returning to Parrot Island, the party carefully recovered the chests, finding them full of coins, potions, and some other interesting magical miscellany.

The note found on the dead body of Penkus the Smuggler had implicated Vanthus Vanderboren in imprisoning him on the island, and being involved in a group known as the Lotus Dragons - with a base of operations somewhere underneath the Taxidermist's Guildhall with 'the Lady of the Lotus'. With stops for purchasing equipment, and a new pet wolf, the party set about planning their next moves. Having told Lavinia of their suspicions about just how far Vanthus had fallen, the young noblewoman steeled her resolve and asked them to do what they could to bring her wayward brother home... by force if necessary.

The party examined the areas near the Taxidermists Guild in the Sunrise district; stopping by the local temple of the sun god Ixion to try and arrange for assistance should it be needed. The Taxidermist's Guildhall was located in Dead Dog Plaza, a residential district built around a triangular plaza with a well in the middle. It was noted that the well seemed to open up into a larger chamber below the plaza, 30 feet below.

The guildhall itself was run by Nemien Roblach, a flamboyant exotic human, who was taken in by the party's ruse to commission a specialist piece of work from an upcoming hunting trip. They arranged to deliver the specimen later that night, and try and force their way into the guild if necessary. Hidden under a tarp-covered wagon, the party waited for Nemien to unlock his workshop, at which point they leapt out and tried to subdue the taxidermist. A skilled illusionist, the taxidermist, went invisible, but finding his exits blocked, tried various other illusions to distract the party and get them to leave. After nothing worked, he reappeared to cast another more attacking spell, only to be injured and forced to surrender. He revealed the guildhall was used as a front for the Lotus Dragon;s thieves guild, who could be found past a trapdoor behind a secret door. Leaving him bound and gagged in the attic, the party went downstairs to explore A ladder led down into an underground complex, damp and stuffy, but largely made of worked stone. Through a door, they found the thieves den on alert, as poisoned crossbow bolts flew out from behind an upturned table. An empty barracks led them south to the mess hall and kitchens, where the resident kobold cook and poisonmaker had rigged a cauldron of boiling urchin poison to spray the door of any who entered. The kobold, a timid female named Churtle, offered little other resistance, informing the party that her 'mistress', could be found to the east past the training room. The training room was lined with dummies that a keen eye spotted were in fact disguised members of the guild, who sprung out of hiding to attack. This chamber led to two other guard rooms - one holding another Rhagodessa spider, and the other an undead bugbear zombie. Between these guards was a room lined with a map of the city, coloured pins stuck in various buildings - most notably from the locations the party knew - a red pin in the harbourmaster's office, a gold pin in the Vanderboren estate, and a blue pin in the temple of Austerius. Written on a slate board on the wall were messages in a script the party could not read, and the PC's names with the note - 'Vanthus - sort this now!'. Beyond this room, the furnishing decor were remarkably improved - freshly plastered and painted walls, silk drapes, and thick rugs. Here waited the stunningly beautiful 'Lady of the Lotus', with two nasty-looking pet small dragons - recognised by the elven party members to be crested felldrakes - normally a gentle guardian bred especially by elven sages. The Lady had an offer - perhaps the party would consider replacing the less efficient men they had killed and work for her. The offer was abruptly refused, and as the Lady tried to escape by turning into a cloud of vapour, the party managed to use enough magical means to strike her down. The Lady of the Lotus was no more.

Heavily wounded, the party then looked to rest up in the lavish bedroom. Then, a secret door to the probable treasure room was found - but sadly the trap that covered the hidden passage and the bedroom was not. Poisoned darts flew out from the walls, peppering the party. A second trap was more carefully dealt with, and the treasure vault was summarily ransacked. Meanwhile, a series of love letters to from Vanthus to the 'Lady' - named Rowyn - were found. In these Vanthus, boasted of killing his parent's in the staged boat fire, moaned about his sister undeserving of her inheritance, detailed his theft of the Vanderboren fortune from the Sasserine vaults, and hinted that he was currently en route to Kraken's Cove with Brissa Santos to try and con some pirates out of their goods, potentially burning their ship and recovering the items from the sea bed. The party rested for the night behind some secured doors, hoping to recover enough strength to escape in the morning. As they then sought to leave, they found the dead body of Churtle, spread-eagled and eyes burnt out on the training room floor. The ladder up to the trapdoor had been removed, and the trapdoor weighted down from above. The party then looked at other means of escape...

Savage Tide Session 2

The Blue Nixie
Lavinia Vanderboren had asked the party to recover her ship The Blue Nixie - currently impounded by the harbourmaster for 'unpaid' mooring fees - and find her father's signet ring, hidden on board. The party approached the harbourmaster, a sickly old man named Keltar Islaran, who directed them to a Soller Vark, who was currently responsible for affairs concerning the ship. He gave them a letter of introduction when he understood the party were interested in purchasing the ship. Approaching the Blue Nixie, the guards were reluctant to let them on board, but relented with the letter and called Soller Vark to meet with them. Soller was abrupt, stating that he was interested in selling or having the party on the ship, until tomorrow. The party could hear sounds of animals in the cargo hold. Soller had been appraising the party and thinking they had money, gave the nod for the guards to take them, down. During the fight, as Soller became injured, he shouted into the hold ‘Burn them!’, and smoke was visible coming from below. Investigating further, the party found the hold full of exotic animals, one of which was a large spider that was devouring the other creatures, and set its sights on the party. Once the ship was under control, the party questioned a captive who explained they were to be selling the animals to the Sea Reavers of the Crimson Fleet – the pirates that had chased them on their voyage south. The party recovered the signet ring and return it and the ship to Lavinia.

 The Vanderboren Vault
The signet ring was a key for the family vaults, and Lavinia, with the party now on a monthly retainer to work for her, went to recover her family’s wealth. The vault was guarded by two iron cobras, and a complex combination lock, that required the party managed to unravel. The coffers that they recovered, however were largely empty, and there were signs that someone else had visited recently – including two empty potion bottles, later found to have contained a dexterity-enhancing draught. Lavinia was distraught to realise that her brother Vanthus had visited the vault recently and taken the money. However, he had left her parents ledgers and accounts detailing business that owed her parents money, as well as her mother’s journal, strangely written in Sylvan.

Tracking down Vanthus Vanderboren
Lavinia then asked the party to help find her brother and bring him back to her. The only clue that had to go on was that he had been seen with a local pickpocket-turned-prostitute-turned-artist in the Azure district. Questioning the girls at the Sasserine Sleigh Ride brothel resulted in them buying a painting by this Brissa Santos, and finding out she used to live in the Shadowshore district. Further questioning led the party to the Coffinsquatters Inn in Shadowshore, where they knew little about Brissa, but had seen Vanthus recently with a known smuggler named Penkus. The two of them had bought a boat from a local store ‘It Still Floats!’, and there the party also boat a vessel of their own.

Returning to the Market District, the party were approached by a nervous elf named Shefton, who claimed to be able to take them to Vanthus. The next day, the party sailed to Parrot Island, where Shefton indicated that Vanthus had been operating out of some disused smugglers tunnels. Descending into the tunnels, Vanthus himself appeared above the party, crying ‘Serves you right for messing about with my sister!’ before shutting the party in the darkness below and sealing them in.

The dark dank, partly flooded complex was clearly quite old, but there were signs of recent passage – a newly dead body with the tattoo of a dragon and a flower on his back. Unfortunately it was not uninhabited, and a pack of ravenous zombie pirate, lead by a hecueva former cleric of Korotiku, the trickster god. Having fought off the undead, the party were free to explore the complex, and with the magical assistance of the elixirs of swimming, were able to send people to the surface to unseal the exit. They also found three chests that the agreed to recover later. But before the chests lay the body of Penkus – also with the dragon and flower tattoo – who had written a letter damning Vanthus for locking him in these tunnels. The letter also indicated that Vanthus had fallen in with a group calling themselves the Lotus Dragons, which were operating somewhere below the Taxidermists guild in the city, and Vanthus had designs on ‘The Lady of the Lotus’.

Savage Tide Session 1

copying here from other forum as backup - session report from my Pen and Paper Savage Tide Campaign

The party left Thyatis City on the Rose of Tel Akbir, sailing south over the Sea if Dread past the Thanegioth Archipeligo to Sasserine, on the northern coast of Davania

A week into the voyage, a passenger named Thanti Sparrow held a meal for the other passengers, to share the cuisine and culture of his home. The drink was drugged, and a recent addition to the crew attempted to subdue the party. He was fought off, but then the party was called to the top deck to find it ablaze. Attempts were made to put out the fire, only for strange fish-like humanoids to climb aboard and try to abduct crew into the sea. A large dark tentacled shadow was also seen passing under the ship. The boarders were repelled, but at the loss of four crew. When the ship had recovered, Thanti explained that this must have been staged by followers of Zargon, an evil cult that rules his home city of Cynidicia, somewhere in the deserts of Ylarum. Thanti was hunting several Zargonites that had recently left the city, hoping to find out what they are up to.

The ship sailed past the Thanegioth archipelago, large ominous beasts visible in the waters and skies in the distance. Further south, nearing the nation of Ochalea, other merchant vessels were also visible on the horizon. One ship came towards the Rose, sailing at suprising speed, and bearing a red skull and crossbones. These were the pirate Sea Reavers of the Crimson Fleet, who in the lady six months had started troubling the waters of the sea of Dread. The party spotted a secretive passenger, Santino Morella, a strange human with a red tingeto his skin, signalling to the pirates, who broke off their pursuit. But as the Rose has changed course into choppier waters to flee, the ship lurched and a crash was heard from below. Santino disappeared below decks, quickly followed by the party. Screams coming from his cabin, they found him killed by several magical effects in a cabin teeming with strange misshapen rats. The rats demonstrated a range of magical abilities, but seemed less interested in the party than they were in another crate across the room. The rats killed, this crate was found to be full of red orchids, two subtly different species, growing in a red-tinted soil. Two barrels were also found in the cabin to contain red clay, in which had been placed large biggest of a red metallic ore. An amulet belonging to Santino was made from a similar metal, and contained a vial of a strange red liquid.

Making port in the Azure district of Sasserine, the party bade farewell to the other passengers. They agreed to meet Lavinia Vanderboren, who said she had work for them if they were interested. She also agreed to look after the barrels of clay/ore and the crate of orchids. They party found room and board at the Bent Goblin inn, where the innkeeper Fazackerly mentioned a few detials of the city - and also the fact that Lavinia's parents had recently died in a big fire in their ship whilst in the harbour. They hurried to see Lavinia, who had already been informed of the news. She explained she needed the party's help in accessing her parent vaults, the doors of which are tied to a specific signet ring. The only remaining copy of the ring she knows is on board her family's ship, The Blue Nixie, hidden in her father's cabin. However, the ship has been impounded by the harbourmaster for unpaid fees, and some of the harbourmaster's men have taken the fee but are refusing to hand over the ship. Someone needs to go and recover the ship, find the ring, and help Lavinia access her family's fortune from the vaults....