C: What They Left Behind Part 2: Salmon Ferry

Synopsis: Someone is arming the local Orc tribe with high-quality weapons, in hopes of destabilizing the status quo on Bleak Isle. The investigation leads to new insights about the unholy altar the PCs found.

The PCs travel to the largest town on Bleak Isle, Salmon Ferry. En route they encounter Sea Orcs (UA water orcs with a vaguely Polynesian theme) wielding equipment well beyond their usual stone, tooth & bone tech level.

After collecting the bounty on the warlock in Salmon Ferry, a sergeant on the town Watch asks if the PCs can investigate a well-established merchant he suspects to be supplying the Sea Orc with the masterwork gear. The merchant has several town councilor sand Watch members on his payroll and the sergeant thinks 'independent investigators' would be more trustworthy.

Digging about leads the PCs to follow an employee of said merchant to the north end of Bleak Isle. The employee rows offshore and returns an hour later with a some crates which he loads into a cart and departs with. If confronted, he surrenders quickly, and spills the beans that a ship wrecked on a reef both of the island is where the gear comes from. He won't admit his boss is involved as the worst the PCs can do is just kill him.

A necrotic cyst (Libris Mortis) then bursts in the informant, killing him and the body is animated as a skulking cyst, which attacks the party (and if they fail throws, the PCs may unknowingly be infected with cysts themselves). A journey to the shipwreck finds a larger galleon loaded with weapons, and some nasty aquatic ghouls. The cyst-infected employee unknowingly was protected from these undead, but the PCs are not so lucky.

The captain's quarters have been smashed open and occupied by a large fiendish octopus which the ghouls avoid.

Defeated the ock will lead PCs to the semi-legible log of the ship. It reveals the ship was commissioned to off-load these weapons to a 'contact' on Bleak Isle. The final entry speaks of the wreck and an attack by undead. The rest of the log is water-damaged, but PCs can make out the port of origin (the fledgling Empire mentioned in part one synopsis) and a few lines warning to not go inland until the Idle is secured.

Once the PCs are done with the boat and return to shore, they are ambushed some appropriately challenging NPCs. Each of them too will let burst with a necrotic cyst if the PCs defeat them. Infected PCs will suffer ill effects as well.

They can be ID'd by the Watch sergeant as persons in the employ of the merchant, but a search of the merchant's home and business shows he has run off. The PCs get a reward, the contents of the ship are seized and the Watch and town council are purged of the corrupt elements.

If asked about why the aspiring-Empire-in-question is interested in the island, the sergeant suggests contacting one of the wild elves that periodically inhabit the island. The nomadic elves have inhabited the island for centuries and their long lives and memories might give more insights.

NOTE: I freely admit taking some liberties with how necrotic cysts are made and used in this adventure as Rule of Cool always trumps RAW for me.