Frost on the Water

Our ship was running the bare minimum crew. None of us were slipping more than 4 or so hours per night. I was using magic to purify our food and water as needed, but we only had so much. The rations were doing well enough along with catch from the sea. I was also using magic to keep the crew refreshed; we were able to keep the ship maintained and moving, but the possibility of starvation was always in the background. I could keep the crew going until they died, but they couldn't keep up the pace forever.

After about 3 weeks on the sea, we spotted another vessel. It became apparent it was going to attempt to intercept us; it had begun a wide slow turn to realign its course with us. Over the course of the next day, we set up cover for archers and prepared for a fierce battle. The other ship was better crewed, and had their share of archers as well. The dragon and rider was not currently in sight.

We found the ship to be well-equipped with shields and other defensive gear to put up. There weren't many of us, but our defensive position was good. I cast out a magical sensor, and located the captain on the aft deck. It looked liked he had an evil cleric with him. I notified the archers of this. Shatain had the potion of black tentacles ready. It looked like about 50 scruffy crew on deck.

Brennen fired 2 volleys of 3 at about 400', but didn't hit anything. The A'aloss fired as well, but only a few shots. He waited another minute, waiting for them to close about another 100', and fired another volley. 2 of the 3 arrows found their marks, knocking 1 pirate each off of the front line. The A'aloss opened up again, and took down 2 more pirates. Brennen continued firing, killing 1 pirate outright. His 2 additional arrows missed. The next volley hit 1 out of 3 as well, dropping another pirate down. The A'aloss continued firing as well, taking down 1 additional pirate.

At about 200', I checked with my magical sensor again. The cleric was still on the aft quarterdeck. A few pirates were dead, a few more were badly wounded, but they were pretty calm.

Brennen fired, dropping 2 more pirates. The A'aloss took out 2 more. The captain of the other ship issued some angry orders and they hunkered down farther, effectively removing any chance of further shots.

As the boat reached 180', I cast out a hammer of force to start attacking the cleric on the opposing ship. It attacked successfully, hitting for 8. The hammer struck again, hitting for 8 again, but missing with another attack. The cleric attempted to dispel the hammer, but failed. I also smote the back of the ship, including the cleric, captain, and as many crew as possible. It looked like the cleric failed the save, and took the full 15. The crew stayed down, so I couldn't tell how it affected them. The hammer fell again, striking for 4 and 6. I also dropped another burst of holy energy, hitting anyone that was evil and failed their save for 23.

The hammer fell again. It struck twice, killing the cleric. The dragon swooped in behind us, and landed on the aft deck of the pirate ship. It looked like a deliberately destructive landing; the captain was knocked aside, and the wheel house was destroyed. It used its breath weapon, finishing off the crew that were already injured, and quickly killing the rest of the crew.

Shatain lobbed the potion of black tentacles as the dragon prepared to lift off again. It hit the dragon, consuming it as it exploded and grew. The rider dropped to the deck as quickly as possible, but shortly the deck of the ship was covered in thick black tentacles. Remaining crew were grabbed and thrown; the rigging was dismantled quickly.

The ship was still on a bit of a collision course. Saigarn whipped the crew into action, doing his best to avoid a collision. It wasn't enough. The stern of the pirate ship clipped our stern; the tentacles grabbed a bit of our rigging, but we were able to avoid the worst of the collision.

Our crew cheered, though they were a little weirded out. Saigarn corrected our course to stay close to the ship so we could board it once the tentacles disappeared. The dragon reformed as the tentacles dissipated. The rider reappeared, somewhat haggard. He regained his mount and took to the air.

The dragon went about 100' up into the air, and then started gliding back towards our ship. This was not an attack run; we'd seen that. I told everyone to hold their fire but be ready. It landed gently on the aft deck.

The rider spoke. It was a woman. She told us that she'd toyed with us enough; we had something she wanted. We would either take it where she wanted or she would kill us. She strongly recommended we take the supplies from the other ship and get to a port. She would not clarify where she wanted us to go.

We boarded the opposing ship. The whole deck was covered with dead bodies; about 60. The dragon's breath weapon was frost; the bodies were gently smoking as ice evaporated. We checked the ship carefully, but there were no survivors; not even rats. The food was untouched and cold.

We retrieved the supplies and started looking for loot. There was a lot of miscellaneous gold and silver household goods. There was a chest with a little over 4,000 gold in it. Total haul including searching the bodies was about 5,000 gold.

I checked the body of the cleric. He had a rod that would let me maximize a lower spell three times per day. There wasn't much else. On the body of the cook (a mean looking, nasty man), I found a magical cloak. The cloak was hideously ugly; bright orange, with splotches and multicolored patches. The cloak would help the wearer avoid many of the pitfalls of life; avoiding explosions, resisting poisons, and increasing mental toughness. However, unless the ugly side was out and uncovered.

We split the gold evenly between us and the crew. There was about 4,000 gold worth of cargo; olives, silk, various good that we would need to sell off.

It's Raining Cockatrices

We rested for a few hours while we waited for the fires to burn out. As we started to think about trying to identify the magical items we'd obtained, and possibly interrogating the necromancer's spirit, we noticed something. Coming in from the Northwest, about 1000' away, we saw the shape of a dragon. It looked like it had a rider. We couldn't tell exactly what kind of dragon it was, but it was dark. The nearest land it could be from was A'aloss, but we weren't sure where it was coming from. It didn't look like it was coming directly to us.

The dragon flew over the town and the witch, staying at a height of roughly 2000'. It finally looped around and headed for the tower. We closed up around the door of the tower. The dragon banked back & forth in lazy swoops, affording the rider a clear view of the grounds. On its second swoop over us, I noticed the dragon had reins, bit, and bridle. The dragon appeared to be undead; most of its flesh was intact and it appeared to be flying naturally. The rider was heavily swathed in thick, dark robes. The robes were well-maintained and expensive, not tattered.

The dragon looped back around. The rider ran a knife along his arm and sprinkled some drops on the ground near us. I believed it wasn't a spell as such; more a magical effect of the blade. Another necromancer... I didn't recognize the monsters, but they were some kind of winged beast. There were about 10 of them. It didn't take long for them to orient themselves and start coming towards us, while the dragon circled overhead.

Shatain went for the tower; Brennen & I followed. We ran down the stairs, set out our lanterns and set the trap. We heard the creatures enter the tower, and start going down the stairs. They triggered the pit trap pretty quickly, and came tumbling down in a gaggle. They couldn't untangle to fly, and 6-7 tumbed into the pit trap. Some of them landed on top of the others that were already pinned. We also hear a few more coming down.

Shatain stabbed the first one to poke its head up, and hit it for 27. Her 2nd attack missed. 3 were into the room with us. C1 bit Shatain for 5, and removed 2 point of his Dexterity. We recognized these as cockatrices. C2 bit at me, but missed. C3 bit Brennen, doing 3, but avoided the poison. I waited for the others to appear in the room - 6 were with us. I dropped a burst of holy energy, but unfortunately they weren't actually evil creatures. Some took 6, some took 3. C4-C6 attacked Brennen; he took a total of 15 and 2 points of Dexterity. Brennen attacked C4, hitting for 16 and again for 15.

C2 attacked me, biting for 3; I wasn't affected by the poison. I summoned a hammer of spiritual force; it attacked C2 twice, hitting once for 7. Shatain bluffed C1, but missed with her attack. C3-C6 all attacked Brennen; he took 10 total, and was able to resist the poison. Brennen swung at C4, and killed it with an attack for 23. He then attacked C5, hitting for 16. C1 attacked Brennen but missed. C5 attacked late, hitting Brennen for 5 and taking another 2 points of Dex.

Shatain bluffed C1 again, and hit for 23 again. C1 died. Several attacked Brennen again, hitting for 10 total again. He resisted all the poison. C2 attacked me again, but missed. Brennen attacked C5, hitting for 19 and missing with his 2nd attack. My hammer hit C2 twice, for 15 total. My own attacks missed.

Shatain bluffed C6, and hit for 16. My spiritual hammer missed with the first attack, but hit on the 2nd for 10. I struck with my warhammer, missed, and fumbled on the 2nd attack. C2 attacked as the opportunity presented but missed. C2 attacked again, but missed again. C6 attacked Shatain, biting for 3. Shatain resisted the poison. Brennen attacked C5, hitting for 21 and killing it. Brennen then attacked C6, but barely missed. C3 bit Brennen for 2, and 1 point of Dex.

My spiritual hammer struck C2 again, hitting for 5, but missing with the 2nd attack. I attacked with my hammer, but missed critically. The beast bit me for 3, and I resisted the poison. Brennen attacked C6, hitting for 16. He critically missed his 2nd attack. C6 bit back for 4, but Brennen resisted the poison. Shatain bluffed C6 again, and hit for 16, finishing it off. C2 attacked me, but missed again. C3 missed as well.

C3 attacked Brennen & hit for 3. Brennen resisted the poison. Shatain bluffed C3, but missed with her attack. My hammer hit C2 with its 2nd attack for 3; my hammer hit for 11 on the 2nd attack and killed it. Brennen attacked C3, hitting for a total of 32. My spiritual hammer hit C3 twice for 12, and I hit it again for 9, finally finishing it off.

Brennen was pretty badly injured, and slow. Shatain was doing OK. I healed some of Brennen's Dexterity damage, and healed us all up to full. Peeking outside, we could see the fire elementals continuing to burn everything in sight. The dragon was still looping with its riders above us. We went back inside. I regained my spells, swapping out a few so I could heal Brennen & Shatain's Dexterity all the way back up.

Around nightfall, the fire had pretty much burnt out. There was a broad swath, around 100' wide or so, directly to the center of the island, about where the witch was. The destruction hadn't reached out much farther than that, and thankfully the town had been spared. We stayed to the edge of the burnt area and headed towards the witch. The dragon flew over us a few times, kind of keeping an eye on our progress.

There had been a light rain. The ground was still hot, but not really burning. It took us until about midnight to get to the witch's table. The stone table was lightly singed, and the orb was in the middle. There was no ball or chain left on the table. It seemed everything had just gone into the orb.

Brennen & Shatain heard rustling from the Northwest in the bushes. It didn't seem to be a critter. We drew our weapons, and we heard the voice of Robert in the bushes. He told us not to shoot and carefully exited the brush. He seemed a bit surprised to see us.

He'd received a note, telling him to collect the orb. He had no idea where it had come from; no one in his shop knew either. When pressed, he produced the note and handed it to me. All it said was to collect the orb and take it off of the island. I clambered up onto the table and took the orb. Brennen discussed any possible value of the cockatrice bodies; Robert offered us 200 gold for all 10 bodies.

Part way back to the tower, we could see the dragon & rider heading in to land. It seemed like the rider was staying away from us for the most part, so we decided to return to the town and assemble our crew. We arrived a few hours before dawn.

Everyone in the town had torches & lanterns going; it was very bright. There were a few people, looking very cautious, on porches. They asked us to stop about 30' away from the town. A man in his mid-40s, with a longsword & crossbow, was the one talking to us.

He told us about the events of the day - which we'd of course mostly seen. He told us a lot of the townsfolk were ready to leave the island. We said we were looking for crew, so that aligned well. He directed us to the inn; most of the people that wanted to leave were there.

There were armed guards at the inn. They let us in after a brief inspection. The townsfolk were discussing the pros & cons. They quieted down when we entered. We told them that the dragon didn't seem interested in confronting us; we could likely leave with minimal danger. Many of the townsfolk seemed ready to go. We told them we would row out to the ship and be back within an hour or so and talk more once we knew the status of the A'aloss & remaining crew. An older man stepped out of the crowd and told us that he knew how to captain a ship.

It seemed the man did know the basics; we offered to take him with us when we rowed out to the ship. As we conversed, Brennen believed the old man used to be a pirate. We weren't too concerned; he might be old, but he'd probably know how to fight the ship.

The A'aloss had lanterns burning brightly on the ship, and they spotted us pretty quickly. They welcomed us aboard after we identified ourselves. The kids woke up Saigarn, who was looking pretty groggy & stiff.

We asked about the status of the ship. Saigarn told us there was about a day's worth of repairs left. With more hands, it would be a lot faster. We introduced Saigarn to Jayden, who had volunteered to be our captain. Saigarn told us that the supply situation was bad; we'd need to bring in a full stock from the island. We could do some coastal hunting, but most of the nearby coast was the Demon Forest, so the game was a little suspect. Jayden walked through the ship with Saigarn, reviewing the remaining repairs and prioritizing them.

Saigarn told us he'd like to come back to town with us. We got back in the boat, and headed back towards town. Jayden told us that he wasn't sure how many people from town would accept his captaincy. We mentioned having Saigarn be the captain, with Jayden as the first mate. Jayden decided it would be best if we just didn't mention him and Saigarn would be the captain.

We entered the inn and explained we needed at least a dozen crew, but we could take pretty much anyone that could go, and we needed supplies. The unofficial leader of the townsfolk called on the people that wanted to go to stand up.

Only 6 stood. We continued extolling the need to leave the island; Oritan was likely coming, on top of the witch no longer being imprisoned and the dragon. We finally persuaded an additional 8 people to come. We told the townspeople we'd be back and forth throughout the next day while we gathered additional supplies.

Just before dawn, we picked up our 14 from the beach with their gear & supplies, and took them to the ship. The day passed uneventfully. The dragon continued to make long low sweeps over the island, occasionally returning to the tower. Robert decided to join us at the last minute.

We eventually hoisted anchor and sailed out. The dragon followed us, but stayed at a distance. We fished as much as we could. Jayden was very good as a quartermaster; he wasn't really in charge, but he was very helpful with everything going on to keep the ship moving. It seemed he was a little harsher than Saigarn, so having him as a consultant seemed to be the better option.

The dragon stayed with the ship the whole time. Every now and again, the dragon dipped into the Demon Forest for a few hours before returning to its observation post.

I had time to figure out the use of the magical items. The mace was unfiinished; it had a strong necromantic aura, but didn't actually do anything. It seemed it was intended to become a life draining mace. The chain shirt had a resistance to energy drains, and wasn't otherwise evil. The rubies from the mage were elemental stones containing fire elementals. The potion was an oil of black tentacles. We'd have to be careful with those. The wand was a wand of Scorching Ray, with 20 charges. I gave that to Shatain, as she was the only one who could use it.

I took a moment to cure the damage to my constitution, and heal myself up. We didn't see the mage nearby, so I took a moment to examine the different orb in the center of the main chamber.

The main chamber was south of the entrance. Side halls and chambers radiated out from the central room. They were roughly to the Northwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Northeast.

Unlike the silver orbs (2' across) in the other chambers and above ground, this was much larger and black. It was about 20' across, made out of some sort of stone. Examining it carefully, I couldn't pick up on everything, but it seemed to radiate energy into the other 4 chambers where there were cells. It reverbrated and amplified through the chambers. Likely this was what kept the prisoners shielded and suspended.

While I examined the orb, Shatain did her best to check out the chambers. Sound echoed very strongly in here; she was at a severe disadvantage. Brennen & I kept a somewhat loud nonsensical conversation to give her cover. She made it down to the end of the Northwest chamber, and was on her way back when we heard the voice of the mage - "It seems we are at an impasse."

Shatain pointed out that we wanted to speak to the mage, we didn't want to fight. I interjected with basic pleasantries - we gave our names, and he gave us his - Sapien. I explained that we had 2 goals - as the price of our entry, we had promised the elemental that we would turn over the means of control to the prison, and we needed to free the witch.

The mage told us that it was his job to maintain control over the elemental; he couldn't allow us to free it. The witch was not as large a concern, though freeing her would make us some very powerful enemies.

I spoke a bit more with the mage. He clarified that the witch was not part of his charge; he was only responsible for the facility we were in. The most he could do to assist us was to turn a blind eye. He was willing to do so if we left; it was completely possible for us to just walk away.

I could tell that the mage was probably within 50' of us. The corridors were about 80' long, with 15' arches. We kept up the conversation for a while, but didn't get much useful information out of him. For a while he played the game, but eventually he tired. We were pretty sure he was down the SW corridor.

The mage began invoking a magical item. I suspected the orb. I put a burst of holy energy down the corridor where we thought he was, but didn't catch him. We heard a large boom from the black orb; it developed a large crack. It wasn't enough to daze us, but we then heard the sound of hundreds of bodies hitting the floor. Whatever was keeping the prisoners just failed.

Shatain moved down the hallway. About half-way down, he stopped; we could all see firelight growing from all the chambers with silver orbs. Shatain could see that the bodies of the prisoners were catching with some sort of magical fire, without consuming them. The bodies were not animating. The fire grew quickly off of each body. The wizard told us that we would be privy to something no one else knew - the purpose of the facility.

The fires grew, and took on the semblance of fire elementals. The mage suggested that we flee. Shatain dropped caltrops into the room. Each of the fire elementals was a medium or small elemental, and there were different sizes.

The firelord came out of the black orb in the center, in his serpentine form. He charged down the Southwest corner, and we heard a scream from the mage. We charged down the corridor. Shatain increased his speed, Brennen & I increased our resistance to fire, and charged down the corridor.

The firelord was attacking. The mage was ill-equipped to fend off its attacks. Shatain moved up to within 30', and managed to avoid the attacks of any fire elementals in the room. She fired at the mage, hitting for 18. I manifested a warhammer of spiritual energy, and hit the mage for 9. Brennen fired a masterwork arrow, but missed with his shot.

Shatain fired again. She couldn't get flanked against the firelord, missed with the first shot, but hit with the 2nd for 7. My spritual warhammer hit him for 8. I then fired my bow, hitting critically for 14, then again for 6. The mage died.

The firelord wasn't eager to let go of the mage. The firelord spoke - "My brothers, you are free! Go forth and burn the world!" The elementals disappeared into the silver orb. He turned to us, told us we'd done well, and gave us the sword back. He warned us we were free of his wrath, but the others would not be so discriminating.

Shatain hoisted his sword and the mage's body. A slim rod of wood dropped and rolled across the floor. There was also an amulet with a small black orb, which was also cracked. I grabbed the rod with a glove. The entire area was clear of fire elementals and other magic; it was very dark. We took out our lanterns. The cloud of poisonous fog at the entrance was dissipating. I attempted to identify the wand while we waited, but failed.

Once we were out on top, we could tell that all the fire elementals were on the island, and beginning to light things on fire. It looked like we'd need to let things burn out before we could leave.

We inspected the mage's belongings. The amulet was no longer magical, but did have some gold and other precious items. There was a magical crystal ball, 3 rubies of decent size and magical, a small lantern about the size of a small breadbox also magical, and 2 potions which were also magical, in addition to the wand. His robes were somewhat magical, threaded with a form of sunforged metal. Shatain found a coin purse with 30 platinum, 90 gold, and a signet ring. She split it with us... by giving Brennen & I 5 platinum and 20 gold each. We estimated there was about 1.5 lbs. of gold in it.

The crystal ball was a standard crystal ball. I couldn't get anything off of the rubies. The lantern revealed invisible creatures as its light passed over them. One of the potions would protect the user from scrying. The other one was beyond my knowledge; it was black, oily, and sealed in a very difficult manner.

It would have to wait a day. I still needed to identify the wand, the 2nd potion, the rubies, and the mace.

A Cleric, a Rogue, and a Ranger walk into a tower...

With some trepidation, we entered the tower, now unopposed. The first room was small and circular, with no distinguishing features other than a stairwell leading down. Shatain went first, looking for traps. He quickly found one.

The stairs appeared to be a straightforward mechanical trap. It was designed to collapse the stairs into a slide, unless they were locked in place. There was no trigger upstairs, and no way to tell what was at the end. We roped up Shatain & sent her down first. While we rigged a simple harness, Shatain was able to get the rope tied to Brennen's ankle without him noticing.

About 20-30' down, sure enough, the stairs collapsed. Shatain didn't slide much, thanks to the rope. We inched her down slowly. At the bottom was a pit, with several skeletons impaled on spikes. Shatain also found the mechanism to raise the stairs again and lock them in place, and close the pit trap. (She figured.) I went down next; Shatain & Brennen held the rope taught as a guard rail just in case. I got down without any problems, and Brennen also followed safely.

The bottom of the stairs had a bit of a social feel; there was seating and decoration. This was arranged around the reset pit trap. There was a set of double doors on one end. Brennen looked for any sign that the room had been recently used. He found no dust, oddly.

Shatain looked about for traps. There were none other than the pit trap. Examining the door, it was well built with a complex lock. I checked for magic, but found nothing. Shatain tried the door, but it was locked. The lock was superior, and she had no luck opening it. Shatain & Brennen conferred, and decided the door had deadbolts at the top & bottom.

Brennen tried throwing a shoulder into it, but the door didn't budge. He was sure his shoulder would break before the door did. I sat down to rest and recover my spells, as well as learn a spell to shape stone.

Once I was ready, I removed about 6" of stone from around the edges of the door. The stone resisted a bit, but it worked. We gently lowered the door. It seemed the door was layers of wood and steel; we wouldn't have gotten through it any other way.

Down a long corridor into another room, we saw 2 figures lit by a dim, eery light. We immediately dropped the door and jumped to the sides of the doorway. The 2 figures did the same. The acoustics were very good; we could hear them whispering that they needed to be ready.

I recognized the wizard was conjuring black tentacles. Shatain danced free, but Brennen & I were grappled and took a little damage. (I took 7, Brennen took 8.) I attempted to dispel the tentacles; I got through the distraction of being grappled, but couldn't break the spell. Brennen broke free from the tentacles and charged as far as he could; he was almost to the edge. Shatain charged down the hallway as well, but got grappled by the tentacles.

I attempted to cast again, but couldn't get past the grasp of the tentacles. Shatain broke out and got down the hallway. The mage conjured a fog of poisonous gas that began rolling down the hallway; Brennen made his save and lost 1 point of Constitution. Shatain missed her save and took 2 points of Constitution. The necromancer shot a burst of unholy energy in the hallway, in between Brennen & Shatain - I was unaffected, but they were both in the middle of it. Brennen made his save and took 14. Shatain missed her save, took 17, and became sickened. She dipped her sword in poison. Brennen broke out of the tentacles fully, and got down the hallway a bit.

I attempted to cast again, but couldn't get around the tentacles. I was able to break their grip and get out of the area; unfortunately right into the poisonous fog. I made my save, but still took 2 points of Constitution. The necromancer tried to cast a curse on Brennen, but Brennen made his save. Shatain went for the mage, striking with her longsword but failing critically. Brennen attacked the necromancer, hitting critically with a 2-handed power attack for 28.

Brennen attacked necromancer again, but missed. The mage waved a spell I couldn't see and disappeared. The necromancer cast carefully, avoiding Brennen, and seemed to heal himself. I moved through the fog, avoiding any further damage, and cast a burst of holy energy in the room. Both the mage & necromancer made their saves, and took only 8. Shatain made a best guess on the invisible mage's location, but missed with 2 attacks.

Shatain dropped a smoke bomb one one side of the room, where another corridor entered. She was fairly certain she heard someone swear inside the fog, and leaped for it. The mage cast a lightning bolt at Shatain & I. Shatain dodged it, but I took 40. Brennen attacked the necromancer, but missed with both swings. I healed myself for 45. The necromancer cast another burst of unholy damage, hitting me for 31. Brennen & Shatain made their saves and only took 15. I would be sicked for about 3 rounds.

Shatain moved to the necromancer and struck with her longsword (which was still poisoned) for 7, and 1 point of Constitution. I channeled holy energy to heal the 3 of us for 18. The necromancer dropped another burst of unholy energy, hitting Brennen & I for 10. Shatain missed her save, and took 21. She would be sickened for 1 round. Brennen swung for the necromancer, but failed. The wizard cast a spell, but we couldn't see its effect.

The necromancer succeeded in his save against the poison. Shatain had him flanked now; she missed with the first attack, but hit with the 2nd for 17. The necromancer attempted to cast, but this time failed. Brennen followed up with a hit for 17. I healed the 3 of us again for 13. The mage cast a fireball; he found a pocket that would get us without hurting the necromancer. Brennen & Shatain took no damage since our fire resistance was still up; I took 16. Just before it exploded, we noticed the fireball came from above.

40' up, a ball of darkness, about 40' wide, appeared. The ball quickly descended to us, and we heard the clatter of a coin as we were engulfed. The poison killed the necromancer. I felt around for the necromancer and excluded him before channeling energy again to heal the 3 of us for 19. Meanwhile, Brennen & Shatain searched for the coin without success.

I healed us again, for 12. Brennen kept searching for the coin, but couldn't find it. The wizard said "well played" and didn't cast any spells at us. We assumed he left. Shatain searched for the coin again as well, but couldn't find it.

It took us a few more minutes, but we found the coin and cast it down the corridor, back where we entered. We searched the necromancer. He had a flanged mace that was very nice. I couldn't immediately identify it, but set it aside for later. There was a comfortably sized pouch of coins, which Shatain almost slipped out of sight; Brennen & I both noticed it. There was a thin, high-quality chain vest. It could be moonforged, but we weren't very sure. It was very light, and we knew it took a blade well. There was as signet ring, which I identified as a noble's signet from Oritan - the house of Prellian.. There was a non-magical ruby ring. The clothes were dark and nice; proper noble attire for travelling, if a bit cut up and bloody. There was also a ceremonial dagger, not magical. His non-magical necklace was strung together bones & small skulls; we left that alone.

We counted out the coin purse. It held 100 platinum, 56 gold, and 10 copper. We split that mostly evenly.

A Cleric, a Rogue, and a Ranger walk into a ship...

I gained the side of the ship. I immediately healed us all with a burst of holy energy for 18. I was then able to quickly heal Brennen & Shatain for 24 each. One of the A'aloss warned us there was a fire in the hold. Saigarn and his remaining A'aloss went into the ship, going after the mage and to fight the fire. Brennen, Shatain & I went down the opposite side; our target was the necromancer.

We heard calls for water as the A'aloss reached the hold. We reached the rowing decks and found nothing but tangled bones. We continued our search in the bow of the ship, but found nothing living. After checking the lower hold and the rest of the ship, we still didn't find anything. I settled down near the A'aloss and began a divination. Shatain & Brennen went through the ship again. They came up empty again.

The response I received was somewhat straightforward. "You will find them in the halls of the dead warden."

We thought about what we knew about the island. It seemed likely that when Oritan had constructed the magical defenses for the island, they had likely set up some sort of control system, like the tower we'd encountered when traveling with the Coastal Trading Company. We believed the mage & the necromancer were very likely the same people that had imprisoned the druid. We know that the people that crafted the druid's chains were likely very powerful - at least he mage likely had significant standing with Oritan. Therefore, the mage had probably prepared for this expedition by being made the warden of the island. We didn't know if that was simply an amulet or some other talisman, or if it required a ritual in Oritan.

Saigarn was comfortable guarding the ship with his remaining A'aloss. We would head back to shore in one of the longboats; we could all still walk on water, but it would be a lot easier with the longboat to hold onto. I would meditate in the prow, resting as much as I could on the way, and would finish my hour of rest once we reached shore.

Brennen joined me to rest while Shatain went into town. She went to our old guide; he told her that there were legends of catacombs under the island. Many people came to search them out. Overall, about 20% of all the expeditions that came to the island didn't return; no one had returned reporting they'd found the catacombs.

Shatain kept asking questions, but Robert refused to keep providing information without payment. Shatain gave him 20 gold, with promise of more if we found the catacombs. Robert told us that at the end of the battle, he saw an enormous bird flew off the back of the ship. It had a huge wingspan, and seemed like it was flying heavy. He saw it land at the top of the lighthouse and disappear. He didn't know much about Oritan, but he knew they built things big; the lighthouse was right up their alley.

After dithering over the 80 gold before Shatain could check Robert's information, Shatain left him the 80 gold and promised she'd come back for it if the information was false. Robert provided a quickly sketched map. Shatain rejoined Brennen & I just as we were done resting.

We believed the druid could fend for herself; we would set out for the lighthouse right away. We would have to go several hours up the main path around the island, and then head north through the jungle to get to the top of the cliff where the lighthouse stood.

We saw man animals on the way; some of them might even be worth bringing back. We didn't waste our hours. We bypassed an area infested with some sort of spider. We reached the lighthouse without incident.

The lighthouse was beautifully built; there were gazebos, columns, and other outbuildings, with the jungle cleared back about 500'. There seemed to be an indirect flickering of light near the base of the lighthouse. All the structures were roofless except for the lighthouse itself.

Brennen & Shatain moved towards the light quietly, while I stayed back. Once they got close enough, they saw the light was coming from a metal sphere that was glowing with magical fire. It was sitting on a column; it seemed like the same thing that was keeping the lighthouse lit. Looking around, they saw charred skeletons in the ground. All the skeletons were within about 20'-30' of the sphere. And of course the sphere was 20' out in front of the door to the lighthouse. There were no animal skeletons; just humanoids. None of their gear was intact beyond scorched hide and twisted metal.

Finally they waved me in. I looked for magical writings - and found runes encircling the base of the tower, the base of the column, and at 4 points in a square around the column. I recognized the symbols - the sphere was a binding for some variety of fire elemental. Something that could definitely kill us. The elemental was bound to the sphere at the base and we believed one at the top; it could travel freely between them. Fire elementals were intelligent; it could be watching us and waiting for its best opportunity to strike.

Further examination of the runes indicated there was a magical key. The bearer of an appropriate talisman would be able to pass freely. We moved back from the edge of the area by about 50'-60'. I suggested we look for any evidence of underground passages or previous attempts to dig down. If we could find something, I might be able to create a corridor if there was stone down to it.

We did a brief reconnoiter of the area. Brennen was able to find some interesting signs. This area was built in a time when Oritan seemed to have more money than they knew what to do with; the area was built grandly. He guessed there was a major passageway leading deeper, and likely ventilation shafts somewhere.

I used a magical sensor to view the tops of the columns. There were no obvious vents, but there was definitely a pattern to the columns. The columns were of a variety of geometric shapes; all the circular ones seemed to have pigeon-holes. However, there was no evidence of bird habitation. Half of the open gazebos were circular, with these pigeon-holes. It was quite likely these were the ventilation shafts.

Shatain looked over the cliff edge, and noted a few promising divots in the face. Brennen secured the rope for her and Shatain clambered down. He found a small tunnel in the rock, about 1' across. It seemed to be a sewer pipe. We pulled her back up.

I settled down to rest and memorize a few spells to shape stone. Brennen examined all the columns. They all seemed to be exactly the same. Brennen used a rope & grappling hook to get to the top of one of the columns. The top was gently sloped; it wasn't a challenge to stay on it. The pigeon-holes were about 5-6" across, and there was definitely air going in and out, and an earthy smell.

After my rest, I put my sensor into the column. There was a central shaft, but it was only about 8" in diameter. I sent my sensor farther down; it ended about 15' underground in a domed room. There was another flaming sphere in the center. The dome was about 80' up from the floor. There were people in small alcoves around the edge of the room. They were in some kind of magical stasis. About 40% of the alcoves had occupants.

We decided to prepare for a fight with the elemental, but try to reason with it. We would promise to free the elemental or bring it the talisman that controlled the lighthouse's defenses. I rested, and then made Shatain able to speak its language. Also I prepared us with spells to resist fire, and improve our hit chance.

Shatain called to the 'firelord'. A 40' lord of fire appeared, with armor, shield, sword and crown. I knew that this was and elder fire elemental; our worst nightmare. Brennen & I were shaken for a moment, but Shatain was badly intimidated.

Even so, she made a good show of kneeling and speaking gracefully to the elemental. She offered to get the talisman from the mage & necromancer and unbind the elemental. The elemental changed to a serpentine form. Still looming over Shatain, he asked who she was. Shatain told him we were great heroes who had experience with the Oritan wizards, and were happy to unbind him if we could find the mage & necromancer.

The elemental did not trust Shatain's word. Shatain offered his demon-slaying short sword as proof of his good intentions. The elemental accepted the deal, with the promise that it would kill us all if we did not deliver. It took the sword, phased it into its own substance, and disappeared into the orb. The doors to the lighthouse opened.

Were'd All The Crew Go?

Brennen & I lay down to rest a bit up the beach. Shatain & Saigarn, along with the A'aloss, watched our prisoner and interrogated him. Shatain started the interrogation. The prisoner told us there were "a lot" of people left on the ship and 4 casters. Shatain didn't think the prisoner was lying outright, but it seemed like he was overestimating the ship's complement. We also found out Captain Visk was in charge of the ship.

Note on Visk's ship: A modified warship about 100' long by 25' wide. The standard crew complement was 80, including rowers. About 150 soldiers could be crammed onboard in addition. It needs to stick mostly to coastlines, and so wasn't a true blue water ship.

Note on The Fairwinds: A modified sailing vessel. True blue water ship

The A'aloss shouted down at the longboats. They'd found another living Ku Rog; he had hidden under bodies, and tried to make a break for it. Shatain switched to the Ku Rog that was (apparently) smarter. He made a deal with the Ku Rog - if the Ku Rog told us everything we were looking for about the ship, he would be allowed a duel with Shatain (and thus a warrior's death). It would be guaranteed by Saigarn, the only person the Ku Rog respected.

Saigarn walked up to the prisoner and explained again how it was going to work - The Ku Rog would answer all our questions to our satisfaction; the Ku Rog would then be given the opportunity to die honorably in single combat against Shatain. The A'aloss gamely played along, pulling Shatain forward into a ring and setting her sword in the sand. They also took out a Ku Rog axe from the boats, ensured it was up to their standard, and set it at the ready for the Ku Rog prisoner.

The Ku Rog started to talk. He told us the rowers were undead skeletons. There was a necromancer and an apprentice on board; he couldn't give us names since the crew wasn't allowed to speak with them. There were about 40 Ku Rog left on the ship, but they weren't top line fighters. He wasn't sure the Captain Visk on the ship was the true Captain Visk. The Ku Rog thought the ship's Captain wasn't the actual Visk - just something the crew was told to keep their morale up and keep them in line. When asked, the Ku Rog told us that he had no respect for the Captain Visk on the shift, but he still followed orders. We also found out that there was a catapult on the ship.

The interrogation was done. The A'aloss seperated the Ku Rog prisoner and Shatain by about 60', and handed them their weapons. They saluted to each other, and began to advance.

The Ku Rog attacked first. He struck once for 11. Shatain bluffed, and struck the Ku Rog for 27.

The Ku Rog went again, trying to disarm Shatain. He failed twice, dropping his own axe in the process. Shatain backed off, allowing the Ku Rog to retrieve the axe, earning a cheer from the A'aloss.

Shatain bluffed the Ku Rog again, and struck for 28. The Ku Rog was still alive, but just barely. The Ku Rog tripped Shatain, spilling her to the sand. The Ku Rog laid in with his axe, but missed. Shatain offered to remove her armor if the Ku Rog stopped trying to trip & disarm.

The Ku Rog showed no interest in letting Shatain get up. She struck him for 21, killing the Ku Rog.

Shatain straightened out the body and laid the axe on the Ku Rog's chest with the axe. He called out for wood for a pyre. The A'aloss kids disarmed and took care of the other prisoner.

We decided our best course of action was to attack that night. Brennen, Shatain, Barclay & I would set out from the lighthouse, walking on water, to attack the ship from the seaward side. Our crew and the A'aloss would approach in the longboats from the shore. We would focus on the Captain and the Necromancer while the A'aloss would go for the Ku Rog crew.

Our plan went astray... at about noon, the Ku Rog ship hoisted sail. However, it looked like the druid was on our side - the wind shifted, pushing the ship towards shore. She was buying us time.

The crew & A'aloss loaded into the boats. We started moving across the water. Only Shatain was having an easy time with the waves; Brennen, Barclay & I were much slower. We decided to get in the boats instead, at least until we were past the breakers. Shatain tried to keep going on her own, stumbling once or twice. She wasn't much ahead of the boat once we got to the breaker line. Shatain made more progress after that; the rest of us stayed in the boats. Shatain got pretty far ahead, but ended up getting back into the boats since she was the only one making progress.

About 900' out from the ship, their catapult started firing. The first longboat was missed by about 10' by the ship's catapult. Shatain got out of the boats and started moving towards the ship. The catapult was sighted to each increment on 100'. At 800' out, the catapult hit the 4th longboat, full of crew from The Fairwinds. Thankfully, it didn't include our Captain.

The catapult fired again. It narrowly missed the 2nd boat. Brennen started planning bowshots. He couldn't quite see the loaders for the catapult yet. The catapult fired at the 3rd longboat when we were at about 600'; it just missed. (The 4 of us were in the third longboat.) At about 550', Brennen fired at the catapult loaders; both his arrows missed. 500'; the catapult fired at the first longboat, but failed. Brennen fired at the catapult loaders again, and hit with 1 arrow for 9. I fired a couple arrows, but missed. We closed to 400' and the catapult fired at boat 1 again; still missed. Brennen & I kept firing our bows, but continued to miss. The catapult fired at boat 2, but missed. Brennen & I returned fire with arrows; Brennen hit 1 for 8. We hit the minimum range of the catapult; the Ku Rog's last shot missed boat 2. Shatain fired a few arrows at the 200' mark, but also failed.

Arrows were raining down around us. At about 180', I put a burst of Holy energy into the area of the rowers. I couldn't tell how much damage I did, but some of the oars stopped moving.

I blessed my companions. Brennen made himself more dextrous. We heard commands from the Ku Rog bringing all bows to the side we were on. Shatain was hit with 1 arrow for 7.

Brennen made Shatain more dextrous. I fired 2 arrows at the archers on the ship, but missed. Shatain cast the sound of men clambering up the side of the boat at the bow of the ship. I took an arrow for 4. The necromancer entered the fray, dropping a burst of unholy energy on us. Most of the people on our boat did not make their saves, and were sickened.

Brennen fired a flurry of arrows at the archers. He hit with all 3 arrows, for 12, then 9, making one of the archers duck. The 3rd arrow hit for 9. 5 of the archers fired at Brennen; 1 hit for 7. 4 fired at me; 1 hit critically for 16. I healed all our people for 12 with a burst of holy energy. Shatain stabled herself at the stern of the ship & got a grappling hook in place.

Brennen hit a Ku Rog for 9 again, causing him to at least duck. He missed with the other 2 arrows. I healed our boat for 20. Shatain clambered up the stern of the ship, and gained the deck. The crew was still unaware of her presence. She could see a couple of people at the bow, investigating the sounds. There was a command - "SHOOT THE DWARF!" 10 archers fired at Brennen. Only 1 hit, for 6.

We were at the ship. Brennen stayed at the back of the longboat firing at the Ku Rog trying to cut lines. Shatain could see a figure at the wheel that looked like Visk; she attacked with poison on her blade. The Captain didn't see it coming. She hit for 22. The Captain was surprised and missed his save.

Brennen fired 3 arrows into one of the Ku Rog trying to cut lines; he hit for 11, 13 & 11. The Ku Rog dropped out of sight. I imbued myself with the fury of my deity. One grappling hook got up.

Brennen loosed another round of arrows at the line cutters. He hit a Ku Rog for 19, the 2nd shot hit for 12. The Ku Rog died. The 3rd arrow hit another Ku Rog for 14. The Captain turned to Shatain. She bluffed him and struck for 24. The Ku Rog at the wheel dropped. I dropped an arrow into a Ku Rog for 13. The 2nd shot hit for 9. That Ku Rog died. The archers on the ship fired back. 2 archers missed Brennen; 1 missed me but the other hit for 5. 3 crew on the deck dropped their crossbows and turned to Shatain.All 3 hit Shatain for a total of 21. Boat 1 got a grappling hook onto the side of the ship. Boat 3 (ours) got a 2nd hook up. The Ku Rog were unable to cut any of the lines.

I fired at another Ku Rog, and hit with 1 arrow for 10. Shatain fought defensively. She still bluffed 1 of the Ku Rog successfully, and hit critically for 32. The Ku Rog dropped, dead right out. She only faced 2 opponents now. They attacked back, but both missed. Ku Rog at the side made to cut our lines. Only 2 were able to try to cut the lines, but they failed. 3 archers fired at Brennen; 2 hit for 11. 2 archers fired at me, but both missed. our boats kept throwing up hooks, but they didn't catch. Brennen fired at the Ku Rog on the rails again; he hit the first critically for 26 and killed him outright. The 2nd shot hit another Ku Rog for 12, killing another Ku Rog. The last shot hit another for 16.

Shatain continued to fight defensively. She bluffed successfully and struck one of her attackers for 24. That Ku Rog also dropped outright. She told the last Ku Rog to jump. He believed her, and backed off. (He didn't jump off the ship though.) Brennen picked out the line cutters, and hit with the first arrow for 19, killing that Ku Rog. The 2nd shot hit another line cutter for 19, killing that one as well. He couldn't make out a line cutter for a 3rd shot, but picked out an archer, hitting for 16; that one died as well. I tried to fire, but couldn't get a good target. Another burst of unholy energy struck our boat, along with a fireball. I took full damage on both, taking 20 and 19. Brennen made his save. Our boats were not doing well; there was only 1 survivor on our boat, along with Brennen & I. Barclay failed both his saves, and died. Our Captain died as well. The A'aloss fared a bit better; there were 3 survivors and Saigarn.

Shatain looked for the mage, but couldn't spot him. Brennen & I spotted him though; there was an oarlock towards the stern where the mage seemed to be. Shatain attacked the Ku Rog that had backed off; she feinted successfully and struck for 30, dropping him in place. Brennen shot the mage, hitting critically for 20. The mage certainly got out of the window. His next shot pegged a line cutter for 12. I healed myself for 39. An archer almost hit Brennen, but it bounced off his armor. Another bounced off of mine. A Ku Rog turned to Shatain but missed.

Brennen waited for the mage. I healed everyone in the area (Ku Rog excepted) for 6. Shatain feinted the Ku Rog in front of her, and struck for 22. The Ku Rog died. The mage stayed under cover. Brennen fired at a line cutter, hitting for 13. That Ku Rog dropped as well. An A'aloss got up one of the ropes from boat 1; it would take a little longer to get to the deck. Boat 2 got a grapple up. Archers fired at us again; 1 missed Brennen, the other hit for 11. 2 fired at me; both missed.

Shatain moved to the main deck, and attacked a Ku Rog that was trying to hit an A'aloss scaling the ropes. She hit for 10. Brennen readied an action for the mage. I healed our crew for another 17. 1 of the crew got up. The other dead were beyond my ability to help. The mage stuck his head out from another port. Brennen let fly and shot the mage for 13. The mage dropped back out of sight. An A'aloss had gained the deck, and attacked the same Ku Rog Shatain was working on. He hit for 4. Another A'aloss gained the deck and would attack soon. 2 archers fired at Brennen; both missed. 2 more archers fired at me; 1 hit for 3. The line cutters didn't cut any of our ropes. The Ku Rog on Shatain attacked, but missed critically. The A'aloss missed his attack of opportunity. Shatain hit with hers for 11, killing the Ku Rog.

Shatain stepped to the next nearest Ku Rog, and dropped him with a hit for 20. I picked out a line cutter, hitting for 10 & 15. That Ku Rog died. Brennen was still looking for the mage, but he didn't poke out. Brennen instead shot a line cutter for 13. Shatain felt a spell wash over her, but she shrugged it off without effect.

I shot a line cutter for 9, killing it. I shot another Ku Rog for 9. Shatain moved to the next Ku Rog; she bluffed him and killed him with a hit for 21. The mage still didn't poke his head out. There were 3 A'aloss on the ship; the remaining archers were occupied. Brennen got onto a line, but didn't make a lot of progress. One of the Ku Rog attacked Shatain and hit for 10.

Shatain bluffed the Ku Rog that had attacked her, and hit for 26. The Ku Rog died. Brennen kept climbing, but still didn't make much progress. I tried to get up another line, but couldn't quite make it up. The 4 archers that had been on Brennen & I moved to the edge of the upper deck to shoot on the A'aloss & 2 more Ku Rog joined them. The archers missed Shatain & all the A'aloss. Saigarn & all the survivors were on deck, except for Brennen & I.

Shatain rushed the archers. She attacked the closest Ku Rog on the stairs up to the upper deck, & hit for 11. Brennen successfully ascended to the deck. The Ku Rog attacked Shatain; 1 hit for 7. All 4 archers fired at Brennen; 1 hit for 1. I climbed slowly but surely up the rope. The A'aloss moved around to the other side of the upper deck, trying to get behind the archers.

Another fireball came out - Shatain avoided it completly; Brennen took 11. The fireball was well placed & didn't hurt any of the Ku Rog. It caught the back end of the A'aloss, hitting 2 of them. The Ku Rog attacked Shatain, who was fighting defensively. The Ku Rog missed. The archers went for Brennen again, but missed. I didn't get any further on the rope. Shatain bluffed one of the Ku Rog and struck him for 25, killing him. Brennen looked for the mage, and spotted him. Brennen fired quickly, hitting for 10, the 2nd for 12, but missed with the 3rd.

I tried to climb again, but slid all the way back down into the boat. Shatain bluffed the other Ku Rog in melee and struck him for 21. He died. Shatain & the A'aloss now had the archers pinned at the bow. They jumped off the side. Shatain & a couple A'aloss ran to my rope to pull me up.

Another burst of unholy magic washed across the deck. I was out of its range, still hanging off the side of the boat. Shatain made her save, but Brennen did not. About half the A'aloss made theirs. They hauled me up and I healed everyone for 11.

It Just Won't Die

Galdeon rose out of the water. We tried to call out to him, but he ignored us and advanced. I attempted to use a spell to make him shaken, but it failed against his spell resistance. I backed up a bit and cast another spell to make myself more accurate and do a little more damage.

We tried to back up, but once we split up, Galdeon stopped. We closed on him and began our attack. I struck first, hitting with my warhammer for 10. It didn't seem to do much. Brennen attacked next, but missed with his axe. Shatain attempted to bluff, but failed. She still hit with her longsword for 9. Again, it didn't seem to damage him. Galdeon attacked Brennen, hit critically for 19. His 2nd attack missed.

Shatain attempted to bluff again, but missed again. She hit with her longsword again, and now that we were flanking him, she was able to get a sneak attack in. She hit for 21; it still didn't seem to damage him. He was showing gashes and cuts, it just didn't seem he was taking any serious damage. Saigarn, the A'aloss and the crew were coming up on the beach. He held everyone back to keep us from getting involved. We heard him tell the A'aloss kids that he'd send them in if any of us went down. Galdeon turn his attack to Shatain. He hit critically for 23, then hit again for 10. I reached out and touched Galdeon to learn what kind of creature he now was. I learned that Galdeon had been made into basically an intelligent zombie. He was under the control of the person who raised him, but he retained his intelligence from life and could act independently. These kinds of undead were notoriously hard to kill, and weren't especially vulnerable to anything. They just took a lot of punishment until the body couldn't hold together anymore. In addition, they could heal themselves by draining life from their victims. Brennen struck, hitting for 16.

Shatain bluffed Galdeon successfully and struck for 24. Galdeon drew a hand-axe from his belt for his off-hand. He missed several times, but hit one with the hand-axe for 3. I cast a spell to protect us with an aura of good, making us harder to hit. Brennen hit with his axe twice, for 35.

Shatain attempted to bluff again but failed. She still attacked, hitting for 15. I healed Shatain for 27. Galdeon continued to focus on Shatain, hitting for 19. He fumbled his last attack; I hit him for 13, Shatain hit for 11, Brennen hit for 7. Brennen then attacked, hitting for 17 and 28.

Shatain attempted to bluff, but failed, and missed with her attack. I healed everyone for 17 with a burst of holy energy. Brennen attacked, but missed with both attacks. Galdeon dropped his hand-axe and touched me, draining 16 from me.

Galdeon attacked Brennen with power attacks, but missed with both attacks. I struck with my warhammer for 7. Brennen attacked, hitting critically for 28; he missed with his 2nd attack. Shatain bluffed Galdeon successfully, and struck for 23.

Galdeon struck at Brennen again, hitting with 1 power attack for 18. I struck again with my warhammer for 8. Shatain bluffed Galdeon again and hit for 27. Brennen hit once with his axe for 17. He was visibly weakened; his natural dexterity was no longer in play.

I hit with my warhammer for 10. My attacks didn't seem to be doing much. Shatain struck again, hitting for 22. Brennen laid in with his axe again, hitting twice for 18 & 15. Galdeon attacked Brennen, missing once but hitting critically with his 2nd attack for 15.

Brennen hit twice with his axe for 22 & 18. I struck with my warhammer for 13. Shatain struck with her sword for 27. Galdeon turned his attention to Shatain, but missed her with both attacks.

Brennen's axe didn't slow down. He hit with both his axe attacks, the 1st for 17 & the 2nd critically for 38. Galdeon used drained life from all of us; Brennen & Shatain lost 12, I lost 25. Black, crackling energy was dumping out of his body. I disengaged from combat, and moved 30' away. Shatain exited combat as well.

Shatain fired a Sunforged arrow at Galdeon, but missed. Galdeon reached out and tried to grapple Brennen; Brennen avoided it barely and ran towards us. Black lightning exploded out of the body as Galdeon detonated, leaving a pit behind. The body was well destroyed. I recognized the black lightning was seeking significant sources of life to drain - thankfully, we were on the beach, so there were no large animals, etc. nearby. We figured he had approached the beach so slowly to pull in larger fish and come up fresh.

We rested, and prepared for our assault on the Ku Rog vessel.