Chapter 13: Abbey Island Part 1

Written by Skarth Diem to Dronaet Klingstone

Having returned safely to Saltmarsh, we spent the next day or so doing a mixture of settling back into our normal lives and following up on issues that arose from our journey and subsequent attack.

We took the mechanism that the assassin had with her to the dwarves. A little group of them gathered around it and examined it with great interest. The consensus was that it was a very elaborate device that had been constructed by gnomes. But usually, such devices would have makerís marks and so on and this device had nothing. Manistrad Copperlocks suggested that they could send it back to the dwarvish city of Janderhoff. The dwarves there would be able to do a proper mineralogical examination and from that, they might be able to figure out where the metal was forged which might give us clues about where the device was made which could lead us to the base for the assassins. They also have artificers in Janderhoff who might be able to untangle how to control the device so that we could make use of it somehow.

After a quick discussion between ourselves, we agreed to this. So Manistrad organised for the device to be crated up and sent to Janderhoff with the next shipment. She told us it would take several weeks to get any sort of response about this so we shall have to be patient.

We kept the body of the assassin covered as we came into town but we did show it to Illiander, Captain of the Guard, and described our attack. Illiander didnít recognise the markings on the assassin.

Riellian talked to some of the marines she knew around the port. A couple of them mentioned having heard about a cult of mercenaries and hired killers called ìThe Faceless.î They are often referred to as the assassins of kings. Because of their very high fees, they tend to have very high-profile clients. Also, they tend to complete a job once it is commissioned so we should expect another attack soon ñ but not immediately as it would take time for the word to get back that the first attack had failed and then for them to send another assassin.

We sat around at the Fish ën Ships and looked at each other after Riellian had passed on all of this information. It was very concerning to know that another assassin was going to be coming with the direct intention of killing us. It seemed surprising that someone had paid such a huge fee to this cult. According to Jenny, there were only three genuinely wealthy families around Saltmarsh and their wealth was not anywhere near enough for them to be able to finance an assassin like this.

The only conclusion left was that there were some incredibly wealthy people backing the smuggling organisation that we disrupted.

The lock of hair that the assassin was carrying did not belong to any of us. We thought a ìfindî spell on that might give interesting results but since we donít trust Kaledek we do not easily have anyone that we can get to do that. Solmor is bringing someone in to open the magic box we found on the hulk and that person may be able to perform a ìfindî spell, so we decided to ask them when they arrive.

We went to visit Captain Xendros. Her shop has her name across the front in large letters. And then in smaller letters underneath, it says ìThe Quartermasters of Iuz.î I donít know if Iuz is a place or a person or a guild and I havenít ever asked. What I do know is that Captain Xendros is the one we go to when we want to buy or sell anything magical. We were feeling somewhat wealthy after our latest adventure and decided to investigate the possibility of buying something that would help us survive any future encounters. So we went to visit Captain Xendros. She told us that sheíd recently received a new shipment and she said we were welcome to have a look at what she had.

Xendros had a look at the deck of cards we found. She confirmed our suspicion that it was a deck of illusions. Each card could be thrown onto the ground and produce an illusion near the card of the creature depicted on the card and once the illusion was created, the card was used up. She told us that a full deck contains 34 cards, so our deck had 5 cards missing. The pack was therefore not worth as much as a new pack. Xendros suggested a price but it wasnít very much and we decided that maybe we should keep the pack as the illusions might come in useful at some point. Jenny agreed that she would carry the pack.

We had a look through the shipment. There was a maul and a scimitar that were both spelled to enhance their effectiveness. Kelshann bought the maul and Riellian bought the scimitar. Then I noticed a Moon-Touched Scimitar that would glow in the dark when drawn. This seemed to fit so neatly into my chosen path that I just had to buy it. I think the glow is brighter than the soft light of my star form so perhaps I will be able to see further at night when I am carrying my new scimitar.

Two days after we had returned to Saltmarsh, each of us was found by a runner carrying a message asking us to report to the City Council. When I arrived, my colleagues were already there, except for Wrack who arrived only moments after I did. All of the council members were there and we all sat down for a meeting. Eda Owland was running the meeting. She explained that they were worried about the attempt on our lives and the likelihood of another attempt. It wasnít just because of the danger to us, but they were also concerned that other people from the town would be placed in serious danger if we were attacked in the town.

Gellan Primewater suggested that following our normal routine within the town made us more predictable, and easy to attack. He said it would be better if we behaved in ways that were less predictable and went out of the town as a group. Moving around would make it harder for the assassins.

Then Eda told us that a situation has arisen and if we went to investigate it, then we would kill two birds with one stone ñ we would be out of reach of the assassins, and we would be able to help resolve the situation.

There is an island off the coast, Abbey Isle, a few miles to the south. It is not considered to be a part of Saltmarsh and is not counted as property of Korvosa. The island is a rocky tableland surrounded by cliffs. It has barely any vegetation and is considered to be most inhospitable. Some years ago, a group of religious types attempted to set up an outpost of their order out there. They set up a small abbey on the island and mostly kept to themselves. They occasionally sent a boat to Saltmarsh to pick supplies but apart from that, they didnít leave the island.

The townspeople considered them very strange and didnít want anything to do with them. The monks told the people of Saltmarsh that they didnít want anyone to visit. They warned the town that they had put enchanted traps on the trail leading from the landing up to the abbey.

Then a couple of months ago, a band of pirates raided the island and set fire to the abbey. Ships sailing past since then had reported that, from a distance, the abbey appears to be completely gone. There was no sign of inhabitants, but they had seen skeletons lying on the beach as well as the bodies of some pirates. On hearing that, Keledek the mage had suggested that the skeletons meant the traps were probably necromantic.

Eda told us that the council wants to know if there is anyone left alive on the island? If there are people still there, we are to encourage them to leave. Given the increased danger from the pirates and the Sauhagin, they want to install a watchtower or something on the island that could give early warning of danger coming from the south. But they couldnít do that if any of the monks are still occupying the island.