Wrap-Up - Hauling up the Hoard, the Sewing of the Succulents and Gimme Gold

TLDR;

* After defeating the wicked swimming goat fiends the group found the ship to be in almost pristine condition, except for it being in half and 200ft below water.
* Many members of the crew perished when it sank, but no evidence that Krieg Venusto was among them could be found.
* The group recovered the vast loot which was contained in this half of the ship. Later Dr T would estimate that this was two thirds or so of what was taken.
* The group searched far and wide for clues to determine how the ship sank, and where the rest of it may have gone. Tamsin  identified that this was the work of some kind of teleportation magic, but of a kind she had not seen before.
* They returned to Ilbidor  and Dr T declared the guild was saved. There was a huge and unmissable celebration.
* They were rewarded with a grand total of 1600gp for their services to the guild and for commission for the sword of Orm the Red.

Finally, with the weird swimming siren space goats defeated the party rejoiced. Thanks to the work of Azurial , young Scribbulus  did not become a permanent feature of the watery depths. Instead, much invigorated and after a short rest, his seahorse form was seen prancing and splashing amongst the waves.

The party explored the neat wreckage of the ship. All except Narko  whom decided that unlike Scribbles , he is not a sea-horse (a minor chokehold occurred when Leoven  made this jest).  Amongst all the floating and decaying “meatbags” which had become oasis for kippers and parasitic lamprey, the party searched for the remains of their old friend Krieg Venusto . After much time searching no such meatbag could be identified and the captain’s quarters were empty of any meaty remains. Unfortunately all maps and writings were destroyed by the merciless dampening powers of the sea.

In the hold of the ship, the party found a hoard of soaked treasure. However, the hold was distinctly cleaved by whatever force has split the guillotined the ship so neatly. In an “oh balls” moment the party realised that some of the loot was likely in the missing part of the ship. Scribbles  used his native swimming skills to survey the surrounding area for signs of the rest of the ship but alas all he found was a vast amount of saltwater.

The party together recovered the treasure from the ship. With 7PK-3R using his anaerobic capacity to move the loot crates out of the ship; Narko , Azurial  and Rocky  hauling it up using rope and their many horsepower strength; and Kaitlyn and Ashtai  swim-pushing it up. Meanwhile Tamsin  did that thing in the tldr and noted that the vertical scorched cut through the ship had the tell-tale signs of a teleportation slice and would have required some powerful magic. The sea-goats may have been left behind in some kind of two-way switcheroo.

The party returned to Ilbidor  to be greeted as heroes, but as they are only level 4 they were instead greeted as a bunch of people that were sent out to do a job which turned out to be easier than expected. Nevertheless Dr T decided that the returning of the guild’s assets called for a celebration. She declared that the quasiperiodic Sewing of the Succulents should be moved forward and celebrated the very next day. This is a joyous festival which is administered by the Archaeology Guild and celebrates the dawn of The Age of Succulents  when a huge boom in flora led to the development of agriculture. It is therefore representative of times of plenty. And of course with agriculture came a cultural shift and the development of bigger more prosperous civilisations and with more material swag which can now be archaeologised. The festival began at dawn with the Sucking of the Succulents, which naturally Bayul  loved. Following this was the competitive Clipping of the Cacti, the Slipping of the Sap, the Pickling of the Prickles, and the Aloe There parade. Upon the evening the festival goers ascended into the northern foothills to spread far and wide the seeds of the succulents and thus close the festival.

Following the festival the party regrouped with Dr T and told her in full all they had seen at the wreckage site. She did not know what kind of magic could have caused such a mess, but was happy it had stopped Venusto  in his tracks. Currently the guild scholars are researching into this anomaly, but with no real leads and with their vault less hollow they are mostly going back to their regular business.

As a reward for their service, and as compensation for the Sword of Orm the Red, the party were generously rewarded with 1600gp and a firm handshake from Dr T . She commented that this could be over the odds for the work done but she was too relieved to care.