Wreckshore: King Crimson
Wreckshore Beach, Duchy of Salinmoor — 11 Coldeven, 576 CY
Session 5 — August 9, 2026
Adventurers: Xahlen Thistlewacker, Cyr Baggins, Haldir Sorenson, Hugo Baudelaire, Galborn Valgwyn, Darrak Goldenforge, Brother Merrick
Level: 2nd
Adventure: RX02 — The Camp on Wreckshore Beach
Weather: Cool and windy along the coast; overcast near the sea stacks, with the season’s low tide exposing reefs, sandbars, and tidal pools
The immediate corruption beneath Wreckshore had been broken, and Tamily Tanderveil finally knew what had become of her uncle. Yet the party’s first investigation of the camp had revealed more than a ruined building and a buried fey horror. A hidden cove opened onto the coast below the cliffs, and beyond it stood two immense sea stacks that local fishermen called the Fangs of Wreckshore.
The lowest tide of the season gave the adventurers an opportunity to reach them on foot. With the sea drawn back and the reefs exposed, the party returned to Wreckshore to investigate what lay beyond the cabin and to determine whether the coast held dangers connected to the corruption they had already uncovered.
The Sea’s Retreat
At low tide, the shore below Wreckshore looked almost like another landscape. Water that normally separated the mainland from the two great sea stacks had pulled away, leaving behind a twisting route of exposed rock, sandbars, tidal pools, and shallow channels. The western stack rose broad and dark against the horizon, while the taller eastern fang stood beyond it like a broken tooth of stone.
The locals called the event the Sea’s Retreat. Twice each year, the tide fell far enough to expose a route toward the Fangs, and fishermen sometimes used those hours to gather shellfish, tidal herbs, and whatever the sea had left behind. The same stories that encouraged such expeditions also warned that the caves beneath the stacks were best avoided when the water was at its lowest.
The adventurers had another reason to cross. From the hidden cove beneath Wreckshore, they had seen wreckage scattered among the offshore rocks. With the tide still falling, Xahlen Thistlewacker, Cyr Baggins, Haldir Sorenson, Hugo Baudelaire, Galborn Valgwyn, Darrak Goldenforge, and Brother Merrick made their way toward the exposed reef.
Across the Tidal Flats
The crossing was slow. Slick stone shelves alternated with knee-deep water, and barnacles covered many of the rocks just beneath the surface. Seaweed shifted underfoot, and narrow channels forced the party to pick their way carefully rather than simply march toward the island.
The farther they moved from shore, the more wreckage they began to see. Broken planks rested in pools, tangled lengths of rope clung to the rocks, bits of netting had been wrapped around stone by repeated tides, and a few shattered barrels had lodged in the shallows.
Ahead, on the western sea stack, the remains of a small vessel lay broken across the rocks. It was the Sea Mew.
The Wreck of the Sea Mew
The vessel had been a small dhow, the sort commonly used by fishermen and coastal traders because it could work close to shore and navigate shallower water than larger ships. Now its narrow hull had been split nearly in two, the bow driven onto the rocks while much of the stern had been torn away by the sea.
The wreck showed signs that the storm had not been the only thing to destroy the crew. Deep claw marks scored the planking, some large enough that no ordinary shore crab could have made them. Faded bloodstains remained on protected sections of timber, and a broken spear shaft lay among the debris. Tracks and drag marks led away from the wreck toward the darker openings in the rocks.
A careful search revealed the name of the vessel and traces of its owner, Arlen Trask, a Saltmarsh fisherman who had also been running small amounts of contraband along the coast. A cracked Saltmarsh trade seal remained near the bow, and a hidden compartment beneath loose planks showed that the Sea Mew had been carrying more than fish.
Most of the cargo had already been scattered by tide and scavengers. Some ropes and netting remained salvageable, and a few ceramic jugs had survived, but the party’s attention was drawn toward the cave beyond the wreck. Whatever had attacked the crew had gone that way, and the tide would not remain low forever.
Into the Flooded Passage
The entrance narrowed quickly into a cold, half-flooded channel. Water rose from knee to waist height in places, and the stone beneath it was difficult to see. Broken wood and strands of rope drifted with the slow movement of the tide, while barnacles and sharp coral covered the submerged walls.
The passage was not empty. Four brine eels erupted from holes among the rocks, striking at exposed legs and arms as the adventurers waded through the channel. The creatures used the dark water and broken stone for cover, attacking and then disappearing into cracks too small for the party to follow.
The fight was awkward rather than grand. Weapons that worked well on dry ground were harder to use in waist-deep water, and every sudden movement risked a fall on the submerged stone. The eels were finally driven back or killed, allowing the party to continue deeper into the grotto.
Beyond the flooded passage, the tunnel widened and the sound of moving water changed. The adventurers had reached a much larger chamber.
The Grotto of King Crimson
The cavern beyond was broad and uneven, its floor broken into shallow pools, jagged stone ledges, and channels carved by the tides. Pieces of the Sea Mew had been drawn into the chamber over time, leaving splintered wood, netting, bones, and cargo scattered across the rocks.
The remains told the rest of the wreck’s story. The Sea Mew had not simply been lost to bad weather. The crew had survived long enough to reach the rocks, only to be hunted down by the creatures that claimed the grotto.
Seven huge red crabs moved among the tidal pools. They were far larger than ordinary shore crabs, their crimson shells blending with the wet stone and patches of seaweed. Some remained half-submerged until the party moved deeper into the chamber, while others scuttled forward from behind rocks and wreckage, closing the distance with startling speed.
Then the largest shape in the grotto began to move. King Crimson emerged from the deepest pool near a broad boulder. Its shell was dark red and scarred, thick with barnacles and old marks from years of fighting. Its claws were large enough to crush bone, and one was noticeably heavier than the other. Compared with the lesser crabs around it, the creature looked less like an oversized animal and more like a piece of the shoreline itself coming to life.
The party had crossed the reef looking for answers and salvage. Instead, they found themselves in a fight for survival.
Battle in the Tide Pools
The crabs attacked from several directions, using the pools and broken ledges to divide the adventurers. The confined terrain made it difficult for the party to maintain a clean formation, and the creatures’ low bodies and armored shells made them hard to strike effectively.
Darrak Goldenforge tried to hold one side of the chamber while Haldir Sorenson and Xahlen Thistlewacker fought among the shallows. Galborn Valgwyn searched for openings from higher ground, while Hugo Baudelaire, Cyr Baggins, and Brother Merrick worked to keep the party from being overwhelmed by the number of attackers.
The lesser crabs were dangerous, but King Crimson was something else entirely. Its claws struck with enough force to throw an adventurer from his feet, and once it closed around a target, breaking free became a struggle in itself. As the fight continued, the party began taking serious losses.
Xahlen was brought down during the fighting. Not long afterward, Haldir fell as well, and then Darrak. With three companions out of the fight, the remaining adventurers had to hold the line while the surviving crabs continued pressing through the pools.
Merrick worked to keep companions alive wherever he could, while Hugo and Galborn continued wearing down the crabs that remained. Cyr, moving through the confusion of claws, rocks, and shallow water, stayed close enough to strike whenever King Crimson exposed a vulnerable joint.
The monstrous crab was battered but still fighting when Cyr Baggins finally found the opening he needed. His blade slipped between the armored plates and struck home, bringing King Crimson down in the tide pool. With the great crab dead, the surviving creatures were finished off and the chamber finally fell quiet.
The Spoils of the Grotto
Once the fighting ended, the adventurers tended their wounded and searched the chamber. The grotto had become a collection point for years of wreckage, cargo, and objects dragged in by tide or carried there by the crabs.
Among the debris they recovered a sealed barrel containing six Potions of Water Breathing, valuable enough to explain at least part of the Sea Mew’s secret cargo. Nearby lay Arlen Trask’s chest, still holding 300 silver pieces, along with personal effects from the lost crew.
The party also found a coral idol of Xerbo, valuable both as a relic and as an object of religious interest, together with salvageable rope, netting, jugs, and other remnants of the wreck. None of it changed what had happened to Arlen and his crew, but the evidence made the final sequence of events clear enough: the Sea Mew had wrecked on the rocks, and the survivors had been taken by the crabs of the grotto.
By the time the party finished searching, the water was beginning to rise. They gathered what they could carry and began the return across the exposed reef before the Sea’s Retreat ended.
Reclaiming Wreckshore
The victory over King Crimson removed the most immediate danger from the waters around the camp, but Wreckshore itself still looked like a ruin. The deed was theirs, the corruption beneath the cabin had been broken, and the sea caves had been cleared, yet the property needed substantial work before it could serve as a true base of operations.
Over the following month, the adventurers turned their attention to rebuilding it.
At the lumberyard, Mayor Oseph Menhemes greeted the group with straightforward terms. Two wagon-loads of seasoned pine and driftwood planks were offered at half the normal price, and Oseph assigned four of his best millhands to help with the repairs. His gratitude was genuine, but he still handled the transaction as mayor and businessman, making sure the materials and labor were recorded properly.
Additional help came from the shipyard. Tarmon Menhemes, Merrick’s brother and an experienced foreman, organized another crew and oversaw much of the carpentry. Under his direction, rotten framing was removed, warped beams were replaced, and damaged sections of wall and roof were rebuilt rather than merely patched.
Worliwynn also returned to Wreckshore. Her work focused less on the building and more on the land around it. The remaining blighted growth was cut back or cleansed, unhealthy vines were removed, and the clearing was gradually restored to something resembling ordinary coastal ground. Her presence also helped ensure that whatever influence had twisted the Chikleek and the creatures around it was not simply returning unnoticed.
Day by day, the old camp changed. The porch was rebuilt, rotten boards stripped away, and new shutters hung to face the sea. The smokehouse was cleaned and made usable again. Nets were repaired, storage sheds were reorganized, and the pier was reinforced for small boats. Near the clearing, a small shrine to Obad-Hai was raised in recognition of the natural forces surrounding Wreckshore and of the corruption that had nearly consumed it.
As the work continued, townsfolk began bringing small gifts: baskets of smoked fish, bottles of rum, rope, nets, tools, and other practical items that helped turn the property from a work site into a home. The party had earned a degree of standing in Seaton’s Cove, and the restoration became a visible expression of that relationship.
By the end of the month, smoke rose from the chimney again. This time, it was a welcome.
A Home on the Salinmoor Coast
What had once been a leaning, half-rotten fishing camp now stood solidly above the Wreckshore. Its pier reached into the surf, the smokehouse and storage sheds were usable, and the main building offered the party something they had never possessed before: a secure place that belonged to them.
From Wreckshore, they could watch the coast, keep an eye on the Fangs, and travel inland knowing they had somewhere to return. The camp was close enough to Seaton’s Cove to remain connected to the town, but distant enough to give the adventurers privacy, storage, and room to plan future expeditions.
The deed Tamily Tanderveil had placed on the table at the Salty Net had finally become more than a promise. Wreckshore was now the party’s base of operations and a permanent foothold on the Salinmoor coast.
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