Interludes

The Tales

Warehouse Scuffle (May 07; lvl 1)

Selena--an orphan, accomplished wharf rat, and minor information broker--notices some strange behavior near one of the fisherman's wharfs in Saltmarsh. Investigating three men moving some crates leads to a scuffle and a chase through the warehouse. During the battle, Selena notices that one of the crates is from the Adelai--a ship know to have left Seaton to the south, but failed to arrive in Saltmarsh. Selena flees, leaving at least one of the smugglers bleeding on the ground.

Jewel of the Lost Pyramid (Jun 07; lvl 2)

Afraid she has stumbled upon a larger conspiracy and possibly killed a man, Selena flees town with the help of an old adventurer that runs a local general store. Putting out in a small sloop (the Kayla) about the size of rowboat, she hopes to discover more in Seaton. However, a storm blows up, washing her into the mangroves of the Hool Marshes.

Blundering around in the storm, she comes upon an old stone pyramid built by lizardfolk. A recent lightning bolt has split the top open, and Selena seeks shelter from the storm. Natural inquisitiveness leads her deeper into the pyramid, where she dispatches a giant spider and finds a bolted trapdoor over something that moans and thumps.

Reining in her curiosity for once, Selena continues along the coast in the morning after the storm. She finds a scarred and tattooed man washed up on the beach. He does not speak, but still seems to understand her. She convinces him to return with her to the pyramid, where they unbolt the trapdoor. Beneath is a lizardfolk zombie in priestly headdress with a glowing jewel in his chest. The battle is a long one, as the zombie is a poor fighter but steadily heals any damage the two adventurers do to it. Finally, the mute man trips the zombie and manages to hack the jewel from the zombie's chest. Dispatching it after that is short work. As they recover from the battle, the mute reveals he can talk after all by placing a hand on his own chest and saying, "Tor".

The two divide the loot from the zombie's cell--Selena taking the jewel and Tor taking a razor-lined whip he found. Selena locks the carcass beneath the trapdoor before they leave, just to be on the safe side.

Wrecker Scum (Jul/Aug 07)

Continuing along the coast, the two adventures spot a strange wooden tower on the beach. Pulling in to investigate, they encounter a young lizardfolk scout. Despite a few tense initial moments, they manage to avoid combat. The scout--Ithy--reveals that wreckers have killed the lighthouse keeper and his family (who were friendly to Ithy). The wreckers now use a light-tower further down the beach to lure ships into the reef at night, rowing out to kill the crews and loot the wrecks. Ithy proves willing to lead Tor and Selena to the wrecker's camp.

On the way, however, they run into a wrecker patrol. Selena tries to pretend that she has been sent to help them, but the encounter quickly descends to combat. They manage to kill the two wreckers before they can alert the main camp.

Ithy shows them the looted the lighthouse and the bodies of the lighthouse keeper's family. He also recruits his little sister and cousin to help assault the wrecker camp. Selena has Ithy's sister relight the lighthouse beacon while they watch the camp, in the hopes of dividing the wreckers. Although the plan works--and two of the thugs set out towards the lighthouse--they notice the party crouched on the top of the dunes as they pass. Battle erupts. It turns out the leader of the wreckers is a minor magic user, and she quickly gains an advantage by putting half of Selena's party to sleep. The battle ranges around the wreckers' tents, as everyone tries to use what cover they can and also wake their fallen comrades. In the end, only Tor is still standing.

When recovered, Selena shares some of the looted weapons with the lizardfolk for their aid. On a whim, she leaves a note with the bodies stating that they were vanquished by "the Sea Vixen". Leaving most of the wrecker's booty where they buried it, Selena and Tor continue on to Seaton. It proves too difficult to move their "acquired" goods without attracting notice in Seaton, so the two return to Saltmarsh.