Type
Lore
Sub-Type
Campaign

salt-mercenaries-campaign

![[Salt Mercs Art.jpg|900]]

Farfield

Vic, Kronka, Talithe, and Eitak escort Barney, a merchant from Highridge, to Farfield. More experienced mercenaries were pre-occupied with catching escaped convicts from a local jailbreak. The group came across fire-singed goblins just outside Farfield.

Kronka shacks up with Murf.

Hal Sleepwell asks them to investigate a late shipment from Summergate where they capture a goblin that says a fire wizard had taken over their tower and sent the goblins scattering. The party helps bring the shipment back to Farfield.

The next day, a farmer’s field is razed by flames and the party decides to investigate the tower the next day.

At the tower, they fought goblins and found a pyromancer in the basement, killing him in combat. They reasoned its one of the escaped convicts from Highridge. Vic takes Sirlon‘s head and sticks it in a head-sized barrel along with salt, to preserve it and perhaps collect a bounty on it in the future.

The next morning, Talithe moves on with his pilgrimage and Nero enters town. Broghen Mayweather, the sole town guard, asked them to watch over Farfield as he went on vacation to Summergate to visit family.

During their stint as town guards: they were directly attacked by a group of outsiders (Klod and Chops’ men, unbeknownst to them), they rooted out a band of goblins and bugbears from the woods to save Teddie Holt and Dob Walsh, threw a large feast for the town, and watched as Arwen Thatcher, the priest and son of Garland Thatcher and Jenny Thatcher, died of old age.

When Broghen returned, the party decided to head to Highridge where the hit squad seemed to have come from.

Highridge

Kronka, Shadowspawn, Eitak, and Nero travel to Highridge. There, they learn there is quarrels between the miners and members of The Trust (Highridge‘s local government). Corruption is rampant in Highridge and the people have turned against the The Trust.

Glen Correy and Herman Correy, brothers who control the Treasury and Mining within the city, are pushing the miners into dangerous work. The miners conspire against The Trust at The Temple of Moradin. Chief Snider is a kingpin amongst the good ol’ boys of the guard (like Borrin Rowtree) and uses his position within The Trust to enrich himself and his men. The famous dungeon of Highridge, which houses the worst criminals from all across Zatar, had it’s budget slashed repeatedly and is understaffed.

Speaking to Snider, the party is told there was a prison break recently. Bounties have been placed on each of the escaped prisoners, named "The Forgotten". Vic shows Snider the preserved head of Sirlon in the salt barrel and collects that bounty. This unique method of head storage/bounty collecting gives the group’s moniker, The Salt Mercenaries.

They decide to try and collect the Klod and Chops bounties as well. Should be just outside the city.

The Salt Mercenaries are able to sneak up on Klod‘s lair. In the ensuing fight, Chops tries to stealth fully murder them, shouting that he is trying to avenge the death of his brother, Sirlon. In Klod‘s possessions, they find notes written by Snider, warning him of incoming bounty hunters. Snider and these Forgotten had an arrangement; Snider directs hapless hunters into the cliffs to hunt for Klod and Chops, who take them out having been given specific details of who is coming and when, and they all split the loot.

Coming back to town, the party knew Snider was not expecting them and they may have incriminating proof about his arrangement with Klod. The miners instead took them in and hid them in The Temple of Moradin. From there, they executed a night operation of breaking into Snider‘s home to collect further proof of The Trust‘s corruption. In response, the town went up in chaos. Guards and miners were in open conflict on the streets. The Salt Mercenaries killed Snider and much of his men. Borrin Rowtree survives. The Trust was broken and as the dust settled, new members were selected for each department. The warden of the dungeon, Otto, took on the responsibility of the guards and promised the Salt Mercenaries that they would be compensated on any future bounties from The Forgotten.

Sirlon (male human, wizard)
Tall, white, aged, pale haired
Serial Arsonist, mentally unstable
Ran off

Chops (male human)
Short, white, aging, greying hair
Cutthroat bandit, sharpwitted
With Klod

Klod (Half-orc, male)
Tall, green-brown skin, dirty
Brutal savage, quick to anger
At his shit-hole

Silverside (Elf, male)
Light skinned, silver-tongued
Pirate, conspirator, rapist
Road to Gallyway

Kiviak (kenku, bird man, wizard)
Beaked, evil
Tyrant, feared in the south
Sump

????? (male human)
?????
?????
?????

The Salt Mercenaries decided to continue the bounty hunting in Gallyway to collect Silverside‘s head.

Gallyway

Gallyway was ran by a group that owned sections of the docks.

Arrival at Gallyway

On the road to Gallyway, the party came upon a slave caravan. They freed the slaves and captured the lead guard of the caravan, a man named Colt. Between the slaves and Colt, it was pieced together that Slatebran was receiving slaves from ships and sending them to Zatar to fight in the pits. Colt, telling the Salt Mercenaries about the politics of the city and that Silverside had actually been trying to reform it for the better before being sent to the dungeon, was shown mercy and sent east to find a way to live a better life.

At Gallyway, Kronka heard that heard that her grandfather was possibly in a group that came by then headed toward Sump. The party was approached by Bonahdren "Bone" Bonefist, a dock man for Gaine, saying Silverside is actually worse than they heard and offered a better bounty for his head than they’d get from Highridge.

Slatebran

Investigating The Mix district for Silverside, the party comes upon a Athena Deavatin, young lady who tells them of a warehouse her father guards. He is being paid a suspicious amount and won’t talk about the work. She asks that they spare his life, he will be wearing a red ribbon on his arm she asked him to wear for protection.

The Salt Mercenaries attack this warehouse, slaying Slatebran and his elven wife Xildove. Patten Deavatin, the man with the red ribbon on his arm is spared, walking away bloodied but alive. Xildove’s magical necklace is picked up by the party as they search the warehouse. This warehouse was used to store slaves before being sent to Zatar. The slaves are all released and sent to The Mix.

Murpian

Kronka ordered special armor from a blacksmith but Rylee, one of Gaine‘s men, took the armor and the gold before Kronka could pick it up.

At the tavern, the group is quietly signaled to follow Thexidor, an older high-elf. He leads them to The Mix and into a hideout where Silverside has been staying. Silverside says he and Nesp were conspiring to unseat the brutal Gaine but things went sideways and Silverside was sent to the Highridge dungeon. Nesp was able to cover his tracks and played straight since. Now, Silverside is back and wants the Salt Mercenaries to help take down the slave ring that’s been set-up. As a show of good-faith, he buys Xildove‘s necklace from them. He advises them to go meet Nesp.

Nesp sees them at his place where he confirms Silverside‘s intentions are mostly good for Gallyway. Murpian has been sneaking away to the Sunken District and it must be related. Nesp, wanting to protect his sons from Gaine‘s retribution, refuses to help until Murpian is either dead or revealed to be helping with the slave ring.

In the Sunken District, the Salt Mercenaries meet Lorzen, an ancient elf that wanders the ruins. After rambling on about The Mortal War, Titan’s roaming the lands, and the god’s destroying Tir na Nog, Lorzen points out a location within the ruins that he’s noted some activity in, a half-sunken building. The party clears out the building, taking out Sahuagin and Murpian. Murpian had been arranging slave trades and raids on outgoing ships to restock their slave inventory.

Gaine

Back at The Mix, Silverside gives Xildove‘s necklace back to the Salt Mercenaries, saying it’s been giving him terrible nightmares. They all plot ways to take out Gaine with the help of Nesp, such as killing Rylee and Bone, Gaine‘s officers. This would flip the power dynamic and Gaine‘s men would stand down. Before they decide, Gaine has sent Rylee and other men to raze The Mix, looking for Silverside. Gaine has finally pieced it together with Slatebran murdered and Murpian missing.

The party kill Rylee as The Mix is burned to the ground. At the tavern they’ve been staying, the party face off against Bone and Gaine himself. The fight spills out into the streets, alerting Grimler to join the foray as well. Grimler run’s Grimler Bakes Baked Goods Good, but is known for also keeping petty crime at bay with his wooden mallet and strong sense of justice.

Silverside

The Salt Mercenaries spare Silverside. He tells them what he knows about the remaining Forgotten. Kiviak is a powerful kenku leader that rallied The Forgotten together but it was the other guy that led the charge out of the dungeon. The other guy was in for various crimes but mostly seemed like a strung out junkie. After some time, he appeared to get much more powerful and started asking about kobolds, yuan ti, and other reptilian races. His name is Habushu. Kiviak and Habushu were pretty tight in the end so Kiviak might know more about where to find Habushu.

Silverside and Nesp regain control of Gallyway, eliminating all slave trade. Fleming Nesp, the eldest son, is takes over Gaine‘s port. Ryman Nesp gets their father’s, Martin, port.

Thexidor, the old but sly man serving Silverside, approaches Vic. He says they are both men of hidden honor. He gifts him a magic weapon, and says the good in some men shines brightest from the dark.

The Salt Mercenaries head for Sump to find Kiviak, hopefully learn where Habushu may have went, and perhaps find Kronka‘s grandfather.

Sump

Entering the swampy city, The Salt Mercenaries get the lay of the land through rumors.

While listening to these rumors, Martep approaches them. They are welcome to look for Kiviak but they have to keep him informed. Every time they meet Martep, he is belligerent, abusive to servants, just an unlikable asshole.

Shadowspawn sees markings of a thieves guild.

Undead Sightings

Going to the Hall for information and supplies, they learn of The Torn, a sect that is breaking away from the Hall of Robes. They are given a likely location to investigate the undead sightings.

Investigating the undead, they kill Gadin, one of The Torn who could not control his animated corpses. Gadin was holding down the fort at The Torn‘s original hide out. He had an unsent letter revealing the location of the rest of The Torn and hints that they may be working with Kiviak, namely Kronka finds her grandfather’s axe in the hideout.

Back in town for a rest, Martep berates them for being distracted by undead instead of finding Kiviak.

Shadowspawn meets the leader of the local thieves’ guild, Ouna. She gives him the book that Kiviak is looking for, saying he needs to give it to Dan McDowell in Highridge. It’s too hot in Sump.

Kiviak

Heading into the toxic necropolis, The Salt Mercenaries find Kronka‘s grandfather.

He had been taken over by a mysterious caravan north of Highridge. Under their spell, he led them south for supplies only to eventually be captured by Kiviak and The Torn who tortured him and the others of the caravan for the location of a dragon clutch.

They slay Kiviak and The Torn, placing the bird’s head in a small barrel of salt. Amongst Kiviak‘s nest, they find notes he had written where Habushu had promised him a reptile army to help reclaim Sump in exchange for the location of the clutch. Another body from the caravan is unfamiliar to them, it is a Dragonborn. Kiviak has extracted the clutch’s location from the captured caravan and messaged Habushu where to find it.

Habushu is in a pact with a banished dragon who gave him the power to escape the Highridge dungeon in exchange for resurrecting him via dragon eggs. The Salt Mercenaries must stop this incarnation before the dark dragon (Anu Bayawak Adobong Agwo) is released on the world, fulfilling Nero‘s god’s nightmare. Dragons are god killers and dragonborn their soldiers.

Zytaga, another thief, gets Shadowspawn alone, makes the gesture of The Men of Hidden Honor, and tells him to give the book to Lorzen instead. Ouna follows the goddess of choas and is just trying to stir the pot. Lorzen is a friend, he says, and can put the book to better use.

Habushu & Anu Bayawak Adobong Agwo

Highridge

As the party rushes north to stop Habushu, on the outskirts of Highridge, a band of refugees tell them that an army of reptiles plowed through, bursting through the northern gate. As the races of the army do, many were slain on the way for mere sport. Arriving at Highridge, the city was in ruins. Snider’s house, which they were promised, is destroyed. The bounties amount to a pittance as the remains of the city is in chaos.

Clutch

Entering the Treecracker mountains, Eitak is found bloodied and bruised. The army is searching the mountains and she’s been running interference, but she is only one person. She’s badly wounded and they’ve found the clutch and are fighting their way into the cave.

The Salt Mercenaries fight their way through the back end of the intrusion into the cave. Most of it is left unguarded, only eerie silence filled with dead bodies and distant eyes of dragonborn families hiding in their homes.

They party enters the main chamber to find Habushu, a wickedly enhanced warlock of the fell dragon, using a small pile of dragon eggs to summon the fell dragon. They slay Habushu, cutting the incarnation short and Nero deals the killing blow to the half-materialized dragon.

Epilogue

The dragonborn are freed from the control of the fell dragon and slowly emerge from their caves. They were never a soldier race to dragons, just slaves.

Kronka returns to her tribe with the head of the fell dragon. Having completed a great hunt, she takes over as leader of the Treecrackers.

Nero, having learned much during the adventure, establishes Nero's Arc, a small village linking Farfield and The Deep.

Shadowspawn brings the book to Lorzen, who immediately throws it into his fire saying it’s a forgery.