D&D Post game 10-6-2018 Part 2 "The End"

It took a bit of finagling and some gold to charter a small boat to take the trio to the small river island housing the tower of Del Garath.  As the little boat approaches the island the party can see it is wreathed in a thick mist that rises several feet off the ground. They can see small flickering multi-colored lights within the mist. As they approach they can see a small rickety looking dock along the southern shore and coax the boat owner to make actually sail up to it. The captain of the small boat tells them he won’t stay tethered to the dock. He will sail out a few hundred yards and wait for the party there.

The party stood on the dock and took in their surroundings. They first noticed that several of the boards on the old crumbling dock looked relatively new. They could just barely make out the silhouette of the a tower that looked like it was slowly falling backwards into the river. The island vegetation was thick, but it looked like someone or something had tromped through it recently and almost formed a path. They chose this “path” as their route and made their way inland.

What happens next is a series of unfortunate events.

• The trio are soon ambushed from the mist by a pair of trolls. As that fight ended the acidic breath of the dragonborn rouge and a few vials of the acid from the trap in their house made sure the trolls would stay dead.The strange lights were discovered to be set into the skulls of strange totems spread over the island. These totems were made from all manner of twig and the bones from small animals, humans and fish. The shapes and sizes were all a bit different, but they all shared the same characteristic. A large fish skull set atop each one. The empty eye sockets are where the multi-colored lights flickered through some magical means.

• The island was silent, save for the splashing and screaming that seemed to come from somewhere on the river.
• The watch tower was located. The river had risen over the years and had caused the tower to start to list to the side while slowly sinking into the waterlogged earth beneath it. They could also see what appeared to be scaffolding built along the side of the tower that lead into what would usually be the second floor.
• Here they split the party. The rouge went around the back of the tower and found he could swim up into it from the river. He did that!
• The rouge popped up in the sunken remains of the first floor. Here there was a pile of cast off clothes, gear, equipment and the occasional bone. He starting digging through it all, but failed to realize why this was all here. He soon learned that is where the trolls were keeping their “loot.” As a third troll swam up into the room and attacked! The rouge was able to escape and making an amazing stealth check ( vs a hideous perception check from the troll) and rushed up the stairs to the next floor.
• The archer and monk entered the tower via the scaffolding and found themselves in a room full of armed and angry fishmen! A skirmish ensued.

• Meanwhile the rouge, still hidden came up the stairs into a room full of fishmen performing some ritual. He could still hear the troll trashing about on the floor below searching for him. The rouge decided this ritual was probably bad, so he snuck behind what he thought was the leader of the fishmen and drove daggers into its back.

• The fight with fishmen vs the archer and monk ended after a few minutes. The noise from the battle was not heard below by the magic nonsense goings on there. The monk and archer cased the room and then rushed up the stairs to the floor above. The backstab on the fishman leader didn’t kill him and the rouge was now in another tight spot! He  sprinted off toward the basement I hopes of swimming out, but swathe angry troll rushing the stairs. He raced back across the room and made for the floor above!
• The monk and archer walked up to the next floor and discovered three more fishmen, two black clothed warriors and two humans in full plate wielding shields with a silver goblet on a blue chevron. Between the three was a large chest that looked to be a topic of some discussion. (insert record needle scratching noise here). The six figures in the room drew weapons and rushed the stairs. The monk and archer turned tail and ran back down to the previous floor toward the window they entered.

• Meanwhile….the rouge had rushed upstairs and dove into the shadows. He saw his companions rush by flowed by sprinting ninjas, knights and more fish people. The fishmen following him rushed the fleeing monk and archer as well. The troll had come up another floor and was still thrashing about looking for the dragonman who had escaped him.
• The monk and archer ran for their lives, but were set upon by the speedy ninja/monk looking fellows. They also were also assaulted by bolts of lightning from a spell casting (and wounded) fishman.
• The rouge, still in stealth mode, made his way up to the top floor. There he saw a wiry pale human covered in black tribal tattoos with a wicked chain flail on his hip. This figure was carrying the small chest up a ladder and out through a small wooden door in the ceiling. Being way too greedy for his own good, the dragonborn snuck after him hoping to get to the contents of that chest.

• The troll from the basement came rushing up the stairs, still trying to find his dragonborn meal that escaped him earlier.
• Meanwhile….outside the tower, the archer and monk were in dire straits. The ninja/monks fell upon the archer and brought him down with a flurry of Ki infused fists and punches. The monk rushed to aid the archer and fell the ninja/monk who killed his companion. He noticed the fishmen and second ninja/monk rapidly approaching. He checked his fallen companion and saw that his wounds were beyond any treatment he could give. The band of fishmen and the two armored knights were advancing quickly behind the second ninja, who was almost upon him. His archer friend was dead, the rouge was missing and, knowing his past history, was probably dead in the tower basement and he himself was too badly wounded. It seemed survival was now all that mattered to the monk. He turned and ran off with a pack of enemies quickly closing in behind him.

• The rouge managed to make it to the top of the tower without the pale tattooed human seeing him. This strange human was looking over the top of the tower at some event occurring on the ground below. The rouge snuck over to the chest, flipped it open and removed a small leather pouch from the myriad of strange contents within. It had some heft and jingled as he lifted it. He stashed the pouch, closed the chest, drew a pair of daggers and slowly advanced on the human at the tower edge.
• The monk was quickly rundown by the second ninja monk. They exchanged blows but the ninja was unwounded and fresh while our monk had several wounds and had no Ki power left to channel.
• The ninja monk’s fist began to glow and then flames erupted from them. His attacks  came faster and now had the additional heat from magical fire. Another bolt of lightning lashed the ground behind the two battling monks. As the monk dodged the lightning bolt, the ninja saw his chance and unleashed a combination of kicks and punches that were unlockable. Fiery fists broke ribs while a vicious spin kick snapped the monk’s neck. His eyes rolled back as his body went limp and fell to the ground.
• The fishmen quickly descended upon the fallen monk to finish him off with their crude spears.
• The rouge made his way behind the tattooed human and struck! One dagger drove into the human’s side, but the second  was turned away by and open hand. The tattooed human spun around and lashed out with his barbed and bladed chain weapon. The rouge blocked most of the damage from the first chain strike, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop the second attack hitting him. He pale human pulled the chain back and begun to spin it around his body like a strange protective shield. The rouge stepped aside preparing to rush in and strike the human again. That is when the pale attacked lashed out with two lightning fast strikes with the chain. The blades and barbs tore into the rouge slicing flesh and tearing scales free.

• The dragonborn stumbled back toward the tower edge facing the river.
• The pale human advanced swinging his chain around him.
• Knowing he was out matched in this combat, not knowing where his friends were and that a troll could come busting out onto the roof at any moment, the rouge knew he had on option. The turned and left off the tower into the river. The dove down several feet into the river and then swam for the opposite shore where he disappeared into foliage. He waited a while and then swam back to the island.
• While in the fog and thick grasses he made his way toward the sinking tower. He saw movement ahead.
• A group of fishmen were stringing up the bodies of his two friends. The spellcasting fishman, he had stabbed, and his followers appeared to be in a very animated discussion with the two human knights, two of Dark Moon looking monks and the pale human. 
• The rouge hung his head knowing it was too late for his friends. He reached into his cloak and retrieved the pouch he took from the chest. He poured the contents out in his hand. Pearls. About a dozen small pearls that might net him seventy-five gold crowns if he was lucky. All this for that. He dropped the pearls back into the bag and stealthily made his way to the dock. From there he swam back to where the fisherman and his boat were supposed to be waiting for the party. What he found instead was a boat slowly filling with water from a hole torn in the side. Inside the boat he found a few bloody bits of the fisherman who brought them to the island and several large claw marks on the sides of the small ship. Not sure what caused this, the rouge dove back into the water and swam toward the shore. Once there he struck off towards Stonekeep in hopes to find his eleven bard friend, if he was even still alive. Maybe the two of them could find safe haven in the dwarven city of Iron Spur or make a run for Bronislav in the Frost Peak mountains or anywhere that wasn’t Stonekeep. It wouldn’t be safe there for him any longer.

This ends the adventures of Ren (the human monk), Reginald Thrilby (half-orc barbarian), Geoffery (dragonborn rouge), Chet Jiff (human archer) and Varis (elven bard).