Brine Soldiers March/Night of the Snow Wight /done

The Brine Soldiers Angered

Background: The spirits of the ancient Apshai temple sense the Ashfall influence near the coast and begin to follow the Lizard Folk.

The Brine soldiers of the Sea Kings have begun to congregate on the north side of the town every few weeks.
Something has “moved” in the Dwindor Swamp. Some presence is stirring, moving and stirring up memories and power that is long dormant. With that a call has sounded in the unheard depths. Evil has answered, ancient evil.

Fortunes of War

Background:

DC 14 Perception: A thicker fog than normal is covering Torrelsons Ford.
DC 15 Perception: Weeds are growing at a faster rate; if spring/summer overgrowing flowers.
Rime Soldier spirits are seen at the east and north edge of town – a half mile away. Patrols are being sent out – never do they go that far. Mercs being hired to augment militia.

Communing with Nature

[If the PCs have a means.]
Commune with Nature: DC 10 Sanity check or D4 hard psychic damage. Nature screams – it is being pulled in multiple directions. A strong new presence is within 1 mile. There is a stench, like rotting vegetation.

Augury of Bella

  • She has auguried and the bones say the party should leave, it is a bad time for them (woe)
  • Something the barons ancient ancestor did bring it on.
  • She has seen Dwindor Moor Cats in town at night prowling in the shadows looking for something- nature is set against us!

Augury of the Green Church

Those in the Briarwood have noticed something… A foreign presence, of about a few months, no more. The will of animal creatures about town are suborned by its presence. The small furs nearby have holes in their memory, and a fog covers some moments. No specifics are discernable – normally we can sense the Feywild. None of the usual stuff. We have used common techniques to detect good and evil and nothing has revealed itself.

Augury of the Justicar

[If the Justicar is in town.]
Each night i sense a slithering like presence. It prowls, it reeks of a foul stench. Evil has answered the call of evil and it must be driven into the earth. I have fought the Rime Soldiers and killed them. No tracks, no blood, no source – infuriating but that is not the evil.

Augury of the Dwindor Witch

There was a disturbance. It is an echo from long ago – hundreds perhaps thousands of years ago. There is an ancient call, and some of the creatures of the area have obeyed – their minds are clouded.

The Land Revolts

Corpse Flower

Giant Bat

Giant Centipede

Rot Grub

March of the Brine Soldiers

Background:

Mayor, Josey, Bella, etc.
It started slow. There’s a ghost in the cold mist. Then the ghost casts a shadow in the dim street light. The fog rolls in in the evening and covers these shadows – protecting the soldiers who creep closer at night. Each night the soldiers get closer to the Inn and the central district of the north side of the town. It would appear that the goal is the population center on the north ridge of Torrelsons Ford.
Bella’s cottage = real target
Leaves no tracks
No blood in the ground or snow

March of the Rime Soldiers

Background: The Rime Soldier spirits are actually looking to protect the Lizard Folk.

Clash in the Wetlands

Background: The Brine Soldiers clash with the Lizard Folk.

The sun descends as it does on any night, but tonight there is something different. Watchers have reported that shadows like the spirit soldiers from the ruins of the ancient enclave to the east are seen to move in the fog. These though come from the west and north, and the fog seems to claw its way further into town each night.

At the base of an ancient cliff outside the north edge of town, whose peak long ago crumbled, a witchy nimbus of green-yellow light bleeds into the sky. Sibilant screams echo across the slough north of town. The fog encloses parts of the town and is driven back with the screams and lights of the townsfolk. After a half an hour, the light dies and the area north of town is left in silence.

A mob [20] forms with pitchforks and torches. They will either menace the north side of town and/or follow the PCs. Persuade DC 12 (Disadvantage) to disperse the crowd.

You make your way to the area of nimbus light.
There are tracks (DC 14) that indicate a fight. The tracks are zombies (booted feet of soldiers boots – all uniform) and lizard men. There is some sort of beaver dam or nest the soldiers tried to tear apart – back from the slough in the wetlands.
DC 10 Nature/monster lore = Lizard Folk origins
There are 3 lizard men left (of 8; 2 warriors and a shaman). Two of the dead are being used as food by the tribe, the others were taken by the soldiers. They can be treated with if approached with care (food offering, etc.). They speak Draconic and Elvish.
They lizard men were drawn by the scent in the wetlands of an ancient spirit – the Luminary of Belw’n (History DC 25). What it is is some religious figure as far as the PCs can tell. Someone important, and powerful. The lizard folk were bound by ancient blood to send some of their folk to guide the luminary back to them. The luminary will lead them to enrich their tribe in power. Though there are much fewer of them than thousands of years ago, they are still bound.

A Time of Salt and frost

1 on D6 per night that a townsperson disappears; 1-5 on D6 that someone is assaulted and escape.

Hillside Frost

The hillside is covered in blue frost. The blue-white lights of the Rime Soldiers eyes reveal they seem to be searching for something. As a few come over the slough, the fog covers their movement. Cold shadows are cast at the edge of town.

Swamp Visitors Below the Ridge

Up on the hillside of the collapsed ridge, a salty fog covers it and the eyes of the Brine Soldiers glow with feral purpose as they shuffle around the hillside.

Clash at Towns Edge

The spirits of soldiers begin to fight in earnest.
Militia doubled – some questionable people added
Baron paranoid locks himself up
Bella is seen trying to leave town on her nature walks and stopped. A mob forms and wants to stone her. She says she was performing one of her normal nature rituals, under the moonlight.
Thefts at the bella, the curiosity shoppe, merchants hall, some figure prowling around lucky ship
She will say watch out for lucky – he’s not as friendly and happy as he appears and there’s a faction in town who wants to take back the position he stole (hint – you may have allies if you move against him?)

Prowling Frozen Streets of Salt

Lizard folk send emissary
Shaman explains they have used up the ritual of human form. They have raided an encampment along the edge of the river delta. From a black boat waiting off the shore, they have stolen back the two brethren that were taken captive.

Zombies come from the west, reeking of brine. Six residents of Torrelsons Ford and killed and dragged away, a dozen or more are wounded with burning salt wounds.
PCs must talk down a mob looking to attack anyone who is an outsider.

The Return of Friends and Neighbors

The six killed and taken come calling on their friends and family.

The Night of the Snow Wight