Mariana utilized her lockpicking and thief skills to allow us into the NE passage. After successfully disarming the trap we were warned of she directed us not to step on a stone pressure plate. The first room was full of ancient, adorned urns filled with quicksilver, rare plant juices and other alchemical preparations.
Bart and I immediately took turns blasting the little bastard, while it screamed in a high pitch whine, as an urn burst against the wall covering us in mercury. As we cleared our eyes we saw the little man fall down thanks to a pistol shot from our Cap’n and we quickly retrieved his spear, an earth spear (d8+1 dmg).
Finally using the voice, the final scorpion was held by our Cap’n who mercifully drove a knife into the creature’s brain.
After a long rest we returned to the ritual chamber where my distrust of Kenneth was confirmed. Mariana was able to secure our release from the depths and we left Kenneth and his remaining scorpions to themselves. After travelling west on the ridgeline we spotted smoke coming from the jungle and a large bleached skeleton to the north.
He wove his tale of objecting to VanHouten’s work for the Koslevs and was abandoned on this island where he swore revenge on his former captain.
We sailed back to Hollow Ground and discovered Lucinda Zachary has been kidnapped. We provided Kimona with the scorpion poison but she was deeply distressed.
Cue the weaponsmith montage (throwing knives! Grenades! Smoke bombs!). Properly geared we set sail for the grotto while the Cap’n got ash-blotto.
Pirate Björk 