The Ball and Chain from Hell

I settled down and cast a divination. to see how we could free the witch. Unfortunately, it failed. The witch was also less than helpful when we asked what she could cast and what hadn't worked for her in the past. She had attempted to dispel the chain, without success. Her magic was unrestricted except for shapeshifting.

Heavy rain started to fall. We built a shelter to rest for the night; I'd be able to try again the next day. The monkeys brought the witch food. The monkeys also didn't seem to want us to complete our shelter. Brennen & I built the shelter with surprising ease, despite the interference of the wild life. Coincidental or not, the rain stopped as soon as we completed the shelter.

We asked Barclay what he thought he could do. He figured it was worth trying to break it. I asked him to try his hand at identifying the chain. He refused to go alone, so we all went. He was able to tell us the chain was made of Hellsteel. That was a bit of a misnomer; the chain was made of negatively aligned spiritual material.

The next day, I attempted to divine again. I found that it couldn't be removed simply, as a curse. I cast again, asking how we could separate the chain from the witch without killing her. This answer seemed to come from a darker place.

"There are 2 ways to unmake this chain. The one who forged it can unforge it, or a blade or tool must be forged of the same metal to break it."

Barclay didn't know how to make the metal. We'd need to figure out how to create the metal, and then find a smith that could do it. The A'aloss worked with mystical substances, so we might be able to find a smith there that could make it. Alternatively we could try journeying to O'ritan to find the wizard that bound the witch.

Robert was eager to leave We struck a deal on the organs. He told us he would probably clear 1,000 gold on it, and offered us 400 gold up front. We accepted the deal, and split it between ourselves & Barclay.

Shatain also asked Barclay about contacting Ezekiel. He didn't think he could contact Ezekiel from the island, but if we sailed out a few days he should be able to do it. This seemed a good first step before taking a longer journey to O'ritan or A'aloss.

We looked back at the witch. She was poking a finger into the orb. She looked up, and suggested I divine whether the necromancer that made the chain was the same that was helping General Isador. It was a good question. The same dark voice responded with a simple yes.

The witch told us she thought her best course at this point was to drop the ludstone into the orb. She needed to inspect it from the inside to figure out how to fix it. She believed she could get back out when needed.

She was also comfortable continuing to examine the orb while we went to see if we could forge a weapon to break the chain. We returned to the woods, heading back to the town. In a sick twist, we weren't attacked by any monsters, but the insects and brush were far thicker than we remembered. It took a full day and night to return to down.

In the gloaming before dawn, we reached the clearing around the town. On the horizon, we could see 2 ships. One was burning. I cast my senses out onto the waves; I couldn't get all the way, but I could get close enough to tell the ship on fire was ours. There were several longboats in the water.

Behind us, we heard a familiar hail. Saigarn was back, with most of his youngsters. He told us the adventure had been a fine one. The missing A'aloss were in the town infirmary, recovering from their wounds. He didn't want me to heal them, but he did ask if I could make sure their wounds wouldn't kill them. They had to experience the pain of combat. I was happy to do so once we figured out what was going on with the ships.

Within a few minutes, the longboats were close enough for me to see them clearly with my extended senses. There were 6 longboats, 2 from our ship. The other 4 were Ku Rog vessels. Each longboat held about 10 people, and the groups were exchanging missile fire. The Ku Rog were likely attached to General Isador's army; he was known to have an excellent spy network. Regardless, we would need to kill the Ku Rog and take their ship if we wanted to leave the island.

We had about 5 minutes before the longboats reached the shore. I quickly went to the injured A'aloss. Saigarn revised his opinion; he wanted me to get them up & fighting in case they were needed.

There were only 2. I healed them first with a burst of holy energy, then directly cured one of them who had a broken leg. We all left the infirmary, and we formed ranks of archers on the beach. The fishermen on the beach hastily picked up their gear and went into town. The rest of the townsfolk closed their shutters and prepared to defend themselves if necessary.

I told Saigarn & Brennen to let me know when they were ready to start firing. I would bless them to help their arrows fly true. The A'aloss had about 30 arrows each, so we would have plenty of time for aimed fire. We could tell the Ku Rog did have their shields out; they'd been taking missile fire from the other longboats.

We heard creaking from behind us - the townsfolk were bringing out a catapult. It would still be a little while before they were ready to fire. It was very obviously pointed at the Ku Rog vessels. Once the closest Ku Rog boat was about 160' from shore (and the farthest away at 220') we prepared to loose.

We noticed the 2nd Ku Rog longboat seemed to have a human captain at the fore. He appeared to be wearing armor. We recommended to Barclay that he focus on that boat. He was ready with fire & lightning, though waiting for the best time.

We changed our plan - Brennen, Shatain & I all focused on the human among the Ku Rog. Shatain & I missed. Brennen made a direct hit, hitting the human in the chest. He was still standing, and in fact snapped the arrow off and dropped it into the water. Brennen fired his second shot at an orc, but it skipped off of armor. The Ku Rog moved their shields to the front, protecting the rowers. The human was pointing towards us and gesturing or giving commands. The A'aloss made 2 hits. Barclay loosed a magical ball of fire at the 2nd boat, doing 16 to most of the orcs on that boat. The human didn't seem fazed as the flames washed over him.

I dropped a burst of holy energy on the 2nd boat. I penetrated something's spell resistance and did 13. Some of them made their saves, but most of them took full damage and were blinded. A fireball came from the 3rd boat and hit our lines. The 4 of us got out of the way, but many of the A'aloss didn't. Everyone who failed took 30. Brennen fired a moonforged arrow at the armored human, and hit for 16. It still didn't seem to affect him. His 2nd arrow killed another Ku Rog on the 2nd boat; they were down 6 now.

Shatain fired at an orc on the 1st boat. She hit for 16, taking one of the rowers out of service. Brennen spotted the mage on the 3rd boat with 2 arrows for a total of 23. I channeled a burst of healing energy into us, healing everyone for 23. The A'aloss, back to full strength, fired at boat 2, killing 2 more rowers. The ship stopped. The armored human turned to the remaining 2 Ku Rog, who were barely alive, and commanded them to keep rowing. Barclay fired a lightning bolt at the ship with the mage, and appeared to kill him.

Shatain fired at the rowers on the armored human's (the captain) longboat, but missed. Brennen fired and killed one of them with a hit for 24. The captain sighed, took the rower's place, and started rowing. Brennen's 2nd shot killed the other rower. The captain sighed, and pointed at the shore in a clear threat. He maneuvered his longboat to jump onto another. I channeled more healing energy into our ranks, healing everyone back to full. We saw the mage's body flop out into the water as the rowers rid themselves of dead weight. The A'aloss fired again, hitting a few Ku Rog on the first boat.

Brennen fired at the first boat, but missed with both shots. Shatain fired at the first boat as well, but missed. I shot and hit 1 of the rowers on the first boat for 7. The townsfolk fired their catapult, clipping the first boat with a ball of flaming pitch. It ripped off a chunk of the longboat, and set it on fire. The Ku Rog started abandoning it. The A'aloss fired again, picking off 3 rowers on the third longboat.

Shatain fired at the third boat, picking off a rower with a hit for 7. Brennen fired at the third boat as well hitting 1 rower with a critical hit for 23. It killed a Ku Rog that had just dropped his shield to take up an oar. Brennen hit with the 2nd arrow for 15, killing the 2nd replacement. I fired, but completely missed. The A'aloss loosed again, killing 2 more rowers. There were only 2 rowers left, and they seemed to be stripping off their chainmail; they were getting ready to swim back to the ship. The captain had boarded the 4th boat, and it continued towards shore. It seemed it was a bit against their will.

Shatain fired at the 4th boat, hitting a rower for 6. I fired but missed. Brennen fired, hitting a rower for 13. The 2nd arrow hit as well for 8. The A'aloss fired at the 4th boat as well; only 1 hit. Saigarn hit 1 as well.

Shatain fired at the 4th boat, and killed a rower with a hit for 7. I fired but missed. The captain appeared to have acquired a crossbow. He couldn't tell that Brennen was the most accurate archer He fired at Shatain, hitting for 6. Brennen fired at boat 4, hitting a rower for 11. His 2nd arrow hit the same rower critically for 21. The rower was alive, but wasn't rowing. The A'aloss & Saigarn fired, peppering the 4th boat as well; another rower died.

Shatain fired at the 4th boat, hitting a rower for 5. I conjured a spiritual hammer, which attacked the Captain and hit for 3. I caught the Captain by surprise; he caught himself from falling off the boat. I couldn't tell what happened, but it seemed a gust of water knocked him off into the water. Brennen fired at the 4th boat; the first arrow hit for 11, the 2nd arrow missed. The A'aloss & Saigarn attacked; Saigarn hit with 2 arrows. The rest missed.

The 4th boat was now close; 40' away. Brennen hit a rower for 9, but missed with the 2nd arrow. I hit the Captain with my conjured warhammer critically for 12. I fired an arrow at the 4th boat, hitting a rower for 7 and finishing him off. Shatain fired and hit for 6. The Ku Rog on the 4th boat returned fire; 3 of them had crossbows. They all missed. The A'aloss all missed. Saigarn hit with both his shots.

The boat was at the beach, just 10' out. Shatain fired an arrow, killing another Ku Rog. The 3 Ku Rog fired their crossbows again. 1 fired at Shatain, but missed. Another fired at me, hitting for 7. The third hit an A'aloss for 1. Brennen fired 2 more arrows, hitting a Ku Rog for 13. The 2nd arrow hit for 14. I shot a Ku Rog for 24, killing it. My hammer missed the Captain. The A'aloss hit with 2 arrows, Saigarn hit with 1. Another Ku Rog fell. The longboats with our crew were just reaching the shore, with our Captain.

Brennen fired again, fumbling the first shot, but hitting with the 2nd for 13. One of the Ku Rog that hadn't been hit took that shot. My hammer missed the Captain. My bow hit a Ku Rog for 10. It was the same Ku Rog that Brennen had hit; he sat down in the longboat. The A'aloss dropped their bows and picked up their melee weapons. I dropped my bow and took up my warhammer and shield. The remaining 4 battle ready Ku Rog got out of the boat and rushed the beach. The A'aloss elbowed forward. Shatain bluffed one of the Ku Rog, but missed, scraping the Ku Rog's shield. 2 of the A'aloss were hit by the Ku Rog, taking solid hits.1 of the A'aloss hit the 4th Ku Rog.

Brennen attacked a Ku Rog with a 2-handed power attack, but fumbled. A Ku Rog took advantage, hitting him for 8. A Ku Rog attacked Shatain, hitting for 10. Shatain bluffed him in return, and hit with her longsword for 19. One of the A'aloss took a critical hit from a Ku Rog, and went down. I healed everyone for 11 with a burst of holy energy for 11. My spiritual warhammer struck the enemy Captain for 12.

The A'aloss attacked, getting in a few hits. The Ku Rog were looking pretty beaten. Shatain struck a Ku Rog for 18, killing it. The A'aloss almost looked offended at losing the killing blow. My conjured warhammer missed the enemy Captain. There was nothing for me to hit. Brennen attacked a Ku Rog with a 2-handed power attack, hitting for 14 and killing it. The last Ku Rog was completely surrounded by foes. He dropped his weapon and surrendered; the A'aloss groaned in frustration and were only kept in check by Saigarn. The Ku Rog was quickly stripped of armor and weapons.

My spiritual hammer missed once more and blinked out. Shatain asked the Ku Rog prisoner what their Captain was. The Ku Rog told us it would be the death of us. I placed a sensor underwater, near where the hammer had disappeared; the enemy captain had been moving towards the friendly longboats.

Our remaining crew was on the beach now, and very happy to see us. Our captain praised our quick action, and was effusive.

The water was murky, but I saw a glimmer of movement. The enemy Captain was 40' away from shore, moving in. He was walking across the reefs, which were very difficult to traverse. I imbued our cold iron weapons with good; Shatain chose to use her longsword.

The enemy Captain started coming out of the water - it was Galdeon, with a longsword at the ready. We all cursed, but got ready to face the undead.