Das Boat
September 24, 2000
The Tale
The adventurers returned to town and, as adventurers with the clink of gold in their pockets often will, quickly disappeared. Of Durgrat, little is known for he is a man who values his prophecy. Little is know of Blatz, though that is because there is little to know. He found a convenient tavern and set to drinking then wenched a fine looking barbarian late in the evening; in the morning, he changed taverns and began the process again. Later, he joined Roland in his exploits.
Pazdul spent his money more wisely, on food and equipment. His only indulgence appears to have been the purchase of a pet rat named Miranda. To most eyes, Miranda is nothing more than an ill-tempered wharf rat. For some reason, Pazdul has taken a liking to her and has purchased her a gilded home and fine cheeses. He also met a travelling baud named Fizban who offered to escort him about town. He declined the offer, but did buy the man a meal.
Of the lot, Roland appears to have made the most productive use of his time. He investigate the Rose House and discovered that it was essentially a seller of indentured servants. The women are there for two years serving off their contract; during that time many cotillions are held; if any man takes a fancy to a woman, he can ask her to marry him. If she agrees, he pays off her servititude and they are wed. If she declines, then she continues to work.
Roland spent a great deal of time at the house and suffered greatly for it: his clothes were muddied and stained, he barely got a hint of sleep, and he was insulted by many servants of the household. In the end, he did not find anyone who would say that the Mistress had sold a woman to slavers, though he asked it rather plainly. He did find out that Miranda had been promised to a man named Troy, a miner from the town of Gypsum, and the two had left for Gypsum together to be wed. No more was known of her.
After spending a day and a night at the House, Roland, despite finding no evidence, remained convinced of the evils of Suclair Andrayande. He accosted her groundskeeper as both returned to the city, only to discover the man had been sent on an errand to the harbormaster. It seemed York, who often brought women to the House, was late and the lady wanted to know what word had been brought. Not trusting the groundskeeper, Roland followed him and was thus on hand to discover that York was, indeed, still missing and no one had heard any word of him.
Meanwhile, Pazdul, his rat Miranda, and Blatz were enjoying a quiet drink at a nearby inn. They were joined by Theron, an elf from the Old World who recognized them as men of action. The three (and the rat) agreed to go to a place nearby for a meal; en route, they met with Roland, who decided to join them and tell them of his adventures in the House, carefully leaving out the parts where he had been accused of voyeurism (among other things).
The four were eating when Fizban approached. He again offered to take them out carousing but his offer was rebuffed by Roland. Sensing the group needed some action, he told them of the arrival of one of York's sailors, who offered 500 gold to the men who could slay the monster which had grounded York's ship and left him stranded on a nearby uncharted island. The group, after some discussion, sought out the sailor and accepted the commission.
They sailed three days on the Bulldog before finding the island and the ship. They landed and were told by York, who turned out to be a peg-legged pirate, that the ship had been taken over by a monster. The group rowed over to the ship, prepared to deal with whatever evil lay aboard. They climbed on the deck, first Roland, then Blatz, then Pazdul and finally Theron. There were strange sounds from below, even more so when they threw open the hold and Theron summoned a light below.
Hoping to avoid being flanked, they moved to the back of the ship to enter the hold, figuring they'd be able to keep everything ahead of them. They went into the aftcastle, then down a rickety ladder to the crew's quarters. Roland was in the lead followed by Blatz and then Pazdul; Theron, pacing himself, again took the rear. Roland went into the dank hold and spotted two ghouls waiting; he struck at one and Blatz, eager for a fight, wedged his way into the hold and attacked the second.
Above them, Theron heard the sound of the aftcastle door being closed and then wedged shut and called out a warning. He leapt back up and kicked the door down; Pazdul went after the monster who had done it; it was not one he had seen before. The monster jumped down to their boat and began pushing himself off, towards the island. Ignoring the shark-filled cove, Pazdul launched himself through the air at the ghoul; he barely caught the boat. Theron called for aid and began killing some of the ghoul's other minions.
Theron jumped down to aid the fallen sorceror and the ghoul nearly removed his head with an oar. Instead, Theron ducked and the ghoul, spun by his own weapon, fell to the ground. Blatz and Roland, having killed the two ghouls below deck appeared on deck just in time to see the ghoul grab Pazdul and threaten to kill him. As Pazdul made peace with his god, Theron tried to negotiate. When Blatz tossed a line into the now drifting boat, the ghoul, recognizing that the group thought little of his hostage's life, rolled both of them out of the boat and into the water.
Heedless of his own safety, and the rapidly approaching sharks, Blatz dove in with a giant cargo net. Meanwhile, Pazdul, determined not to die, used his eldritch magics on the creature, shocking it repeatedly. Finally, the two struck simulatenous blows. Pazdul was paralyzed by the ghoul's ichor, but the ghoul himself was, at last, killed,
The groups signalled the Bulldog to approach and, with the help of its captain, York's ship was set free. York offered a bargain in lieu of the 500 gold he had promised, since he didn't actually have it with him. He offered to tell the group about an Old Ones ruin he had spotted. Pazdul, always looking for an angle, negotiated the deal.
In the end, York paid for the Bulldog (200 gold) and was promised half of the first 400 gold of treasure pulled from the ruins. He also had to give Miranda a gold. Almost as an afterhought, Pazdul got him to agree to pay the group another hundred gold not to mention the cargo he'd been carrying, for their investigation had revealed the ghoul had been cargo, taken from Drow elves for export to the New World.
Led by Tater, York's midget assistant, the group found and entered the tomb. In the first room, they were confronted with a strange suit of armor which, based on the corpses in the room, they expected to attack. At Pazdul's suggestion, they cut long spears from nearby trees and fire hardened them. The spears were only slightly effective, but it didn't matter much as Blatz struck a mightytm blow and felled the animated armor with a single hit.
They investigated further encountering several traps and two more suits of the armor. Rather than risk further difficulties while tired and wounded, the group decided to retreat for the night and recover from their days exertion.