Sundered Lands 58

The Sundered Lands of Palladium

Session 58
July 17 - August 5, 2017

Planning for a Trip

November 1st

Warning Essanos

Lavinia and the gathered companions make their plans to warn Essanos of the possible impending danger from the Savage Fever. Some ideas that have been floated about are going to the Dawn Council directly, contacting the Witch Wardens and alerting the local druids as well. 

Seeker eyes the team. “Based on what Brother and I have encountered, I think that Val, Silver, and Arn would do well going with Lavinia to talk to the Witch Wardens and Dawn Council. The folk here seem to distrust Wolfen. I could go talk to the druids, I guess. Sindri, you can give an eyewitness account of the terrible events at Kraken Cove to support the team. Ered, where do you see yourself fitting into all of this?”

Ered looks at Seeker with a quizzical look. “I go find Temple. Get sleep. Meditate.” With that he nods to everyone and smiles. He lingers near Silver for a moment, gazing upon her sparkling draconic scales. He bows slightly to her then walks on out the door. He stops and looks back over his shoulder, “Thanks to you,” he says and smiles before disappearing.

Lavinia speaks up again, “It has been a long couple of days, we have all been through a lot, let us rest and recover tonight before undertaking more stressful responsibility. Thank you all for your continued help and protection. I am sure I would not be here without your help.” She turns to Valinya and touches her arm softly. “Thank you again, so very much, for coming to my rescue. Thank you for saving Korra and driving those vile frogmen out of the manor. I am sorry that your big companion, Hrag, did not make it. I am sorry.” Tears fall from Lavinia’s eyes as she hugs the Elf sorceress.

Valinya keeps the hug a moment before holding Lavinia at arm’s length. “I’m glad I was able to help. I only wish I had come sooner. I’m truly sorry for all the losses.”

The druid considers how to address the problem and says, “First tonight I’ll hold council with my elders at the Bronzewood Lodge. The zombie worm infestation there that killed off Sings to Moon’s pack was similar in how it spread quickly through any species it infected - made the victims go crazy and attack everything around them and infected those they wounded. This at least can be cured - that couldn’t, but they managed to contain it and I believe wipe it out before it spread, so they should be able to offer advice on how to do the same here. Hopefully they can help contact others here in the region as well. I’ll be dreamwalking at night but able to help with things some during the day.” He looks at Lavinia and says, “I’m sorry miss but I think your neighbors are going to be a little irritable for a while. . .” He then turns to Valinya and asks, “Sis, we may need your insight in this - you know how to heal the fever and other healers may have questions for you that I won’t know how to answer. Please don’t be alarmed if we appear in your dreams these next few nights. It can take a little getting used to but it’s a very useful way to communicate over great distance.”

Valinya nods and says, “I am glad to explain what I can, though my form of weaving magic might not translate well into other styles. But anything I can do to help.”

Moonscar sets up his tent, draws his symbols, lays down and begins his ritual. Sings to Moon takes up a spot just outside the tent flap, as she commonly does when Moonscar is inside. The Kankoran Druid lays there, speaking the words and going through the motions of gathering the spirits he needs in order to Dreamwalk back to Bronzewood Lodge. Unfortunately, the spirits do not seem to be very helpful this evening. After close to 3 hours of trying, Moonscar finally gives up, realizing that tonight, this ritual will not happen. Dejected, he closes his eyes and goes to sleep.

November 2nd

A Busy Day Ahead

Moonscar wakes up the next morning feeling horrible. He experienced terrifying nightmares involving all his companions and loved ones, all infected with an extreme form of Savage Fever which included death by burning. The worst part was that Moonscar was the one infecting them all by smashing them in the head with an endless supply of Shadow Pearls! He tries to shake it as he rises and greets the day, but just cannot do it.

Seeker also experienced strange dreams during the night. He imagined being back in the north, near Nesme, hiking through the hills and forests of the area. He saw many of the rangers and hunters he had encountered there, though none of them paid him any mind as they seemed to be very busy and involved with something that Seeker could not figure out. Strangely, when Seeker awoke, he had some thistles stuck in the fur around his ankles.

Everyone else sleeps comfortably enough, though the thought of all the dead bodies to clean up this morning makes everyone just a bit uneasy. The large form of Hrag is going to be a difficult situation to deal with. And explaining the deaths of Red and her work crew may prove difficult to the authorities and their families.

Korra is busy putting together some food for breakfast and Lavinia is in the kitchen helping her, trying to keep the sadness from her face. Unfortunately, it seems as if the house itself, or at least all the dreadful things that have happened here recently, makes her sad. “Good morning, everyone,” she says with a false joy while bringing in a tray of fruit. “We have a busy day ahead of us, don’t we.” Her eyes dart to the nearby window that faces the small courtyard where Hrag’s large, black form can still be seen slumped near the small stream. Valinya noticeably sits so that her back is to the courtyard and does not look out there at all.

Seeker returns from his morning run as the breakfast commences. He bows slightly to Korra and takes a plate of Essanos breakfast to sit in a corner as the rest of the team assembles.



He rumbles his thoughts as he eats. He nods to Lavinia. “We do, indeed, ma’am.” He chews for a moment, his huge jaws and teeth making quick work of a small steak. “It seems like someone should go talk to the Watch as soon as possible. Once they are brought in, they will want to inspect the scene of the battle.” He clears his throat. “After that, they can help us take care of our fallen comrades.” He gets quiet as he reflects on their loss, and for a while the only sounds from Seeker involve chewing and swallowing.

Valinya remains quiet, eating slowly… but steadily as one plate then another disappears. Finally she gives a sigh. “I think I might, among other things, give some time to divining how we might be able to slow or avert a potential outbreak of the vile disease. It could be that I get a vision of a potential carrier and we can go prevent it from reaching here or spreading. If it does come, it could cause unimaginable chaos, especially given how rapidly it acts.”

Seeker sucks the marrow out of one last bone and ponders Valinya’s words. “Seems to me that the disease starts with the Shadow Pearl. Find the source of them, stop them, and the disease is not an issue.”

Valinya pauses before replying. “Maybe. It may have a magical origin but could easily be it’s own creation now, independent of needing to be sustained by some magic. Something like a thing that is summoned or created but doesn’t need constant magic to keep it around. I’d rather hedge on being careful.”

Seeker shrugs. “Makes sense. Sounds like a worthy project. Please let me know if I can assist you in it.” He stands and stretches. “I have some resupplying to accomplish before we leave. Should I tackle that this morning, be out of the manor when the guard arrives, or would you like me to stay for that? Lavinia?”

Silver, having shifted into her elven form first thing in the morning, seems interested in Seeker’s idea. “If you’d like company, I would prefer to stay clear of the guard as well.”

The rather haggard Kankoran gives up picking at his breakfast (he’d been chewing his tail at least as much as his food) and replies morosely, “I should go with you too. I need to pick up my knife from the enchanter’s.” He reaches out to lay his paw on Valinya’s hand saying softly, “Sis, I could sing the Resting Song or a more general farewell for our friend. I could also speak to him and ask what he would want since we don’t know his people’s customs. Let me know what you think.”

After finishing her meal Valinya slowly heads out towards the body of the slain Hrag. Steeling herself she forces herself to honor him by carefully looking at him. She stands there quite awhile, lost in thought before nodding to herself. Taking a deep breath and keeping her eyes fixed on Hrag’s remains she sings …

Valinya finishes her new song and a large, fur and spike covered gorilla type creature appears in the courtyard. It is a Grimbor, not Hrag, but very similar to him. The morning sun glints off it's purple tinged fur. It looks around and settles its gaze on Valinya, waiting for her to give him some instruction. Though this creature looks like Hrag, it does not seem to have the same intelligent spark in its eyes.

Seeker acquiesces to Silver’s company, and the two set out for the market. “I believe you crossed paths with a magic shop before. Could we go there first? I have some items that would be best identified before we attempt to sell them.”

Heading to Glittermane's

Seeker and Silver head out toward Glittermane’s Vault. Moonscar hurries out of the death filled Vanderboren Manor and follows them. As they leave, Arn shouts out after them, “Hey Seeker, make sure you bring back a receipt for that stuff! You are still over on your share of the loot from the other day!” The Dwarf goes back inside and finds some ale before beginning the depressing work of dragging dead bodies around.

As the three companions make their way through the morning market, they experience numerous incidents of nearby but unseen folk shouting things like “Go home, Wolfen!”, “Your kind isn’t welcome here!”, and “Furries are evil!” Many folk sneer and give nasty looks and glares as they hurriedly get out of the way of the walking trio. The feelings of Wolfen (and Kankoran) being welcome in Essanos have greatly diminished this morning. Though no one directly confronts the group, there are several times when a rock, stick or rotten piece of fruit comes flying their way out of the crowd.

Not every citizen in the market is being hateful toward the Canines. There are many sad and downcast eyes in the crowd while the majority just turns away quickly, avoiding making eye contact.

Eventually, they make it to Glittermane’s Vault and Silver rings the bell. After a few minutes, a large illusion of a Gnome’s face appears in front of the door. “Hey, what? Who’s there? I’m very busy today. Very busy. Oh, my dear Silver, how do you do? Good to see you again so soon. What can I do for you? Oh, I see you have some friends with you. Wolfen friends. Hmm.”

Glittermane agrees to identify the items, though has to charge an extra fee to jump them to the front of his work load. For 1200$, he will identify the 7 magical items. He does freely identify one potion as Alchemist Fire and the Smoke Bomb, both taken off of Rowyn Kellani. The other items he finds very interesting and explains them as follows:

• 2 Major Healing Potions valued at 350$ each
• Spellstone-Body of Air valued at 460$
• Wand of Charm Person 5 charges (20 total) valued at 65070$ Recharge Cost 2400$
• Wand of Create Stone 5 charges (20 total) valued at 29470$ Recharge Cost 2000$
• Varandil, The Stalwart Blade Enchanted Balanced Fine Large Falchion Kigante’s sword valued at 19000$,
• Devil’s Grace Enchanted Balanced Fine Edged Rapier Javell’s sword valued at 23000$

He offers to buy the wands and swords for 60% of their given value.

After leaving the Vault, the trio stops by and sells the jewelry and other valuables to a nearby merchant netting nearly 20,000$ more!

Cleaning up the Mess

Back at the manor, Arn, with the help of Valinya’s magical Grimbor, begins moving the bodies of the deceased for better disposal. It has been decided that Hrag should have a hero's funeral and his body should be burned. That can be done at nightfall right there in the courtyard. Arn and the magically created Grimbor begin cleaning up the dead bodies. Kora, Lavinia’s Gnome servant, begins cleaning up inside the manor.

Valinya was pleased with her new spell and the Grimbor servant. What he lacked in real intelligence he made up for with actually understanding the common tongue and no qualms about following her instructions. While having him do work she tried to assess the limits of his strength and coordination as well as running him through some practice combat using the boggard bodies. Might as well get some use out of them.

Arn and the magical Grimbor work hard to clean the mess in the manor up. A short while later, the guards show up, summoned by Lavinia. They take the bodies of the boggards and dispose of them and also take custody of the bodies of the work crew, promising to inform pertinent other parties if possible. They leave the body of Hrag there and give their blessings for a funeral pyre that evening.

Once the guards arrive and Arn is relieved of duty, he requests a break from his friends so that he can make his way to the armorer’s to do some repairs to his equipment before they make their way off to any new adventures.

Alerting the Authorities

Lavinia heads out with Valinya and Sindri the Gnome to alert the city guard and to try to talk to the Dawn Council and Witch Wardens about the many threats to the city.

She leads the way from the manor to the nearest Guard Station.

Valinya says, “We’re here to support you … just let us know if you need us to say or do anything.”

Lavinia leads Valinya and Sindri to first the guard station then over to Castle Teraknian to warn the Dawn Council. They are very appreciative and thankful for the warning. They then stop at the Witchwardens and Valinya explains what she knows to some of the mages there. They also thank them and say they will do what they can to protect the city and its citizens.

Come Together

Later that evening, everyone comes back together with their work for the day done. Everyone has gathered up their commissioned items from the various craftsmen that were working on them. Some coin has been gathered for sold loot and the authorities of Essanos have been warned. It feels that the general feeling in the city toward Wolfen (and Kankoran, those nightblind can’t tell the difference!) had taken a dive. Tomorrow the group plans to introduce Lavinia to Captain Tahir and planning for the voyage south will begin in earnest.

Cast of Characters: 

Arne J plays Seeker, a teenage Wolfen Warlord

Stephen K plays Valinya, an Elven Wildsong Mage

Mike B plays Arn, a surly Dwarven Warrior

Amergin O'K plays Moonscar, the esoteric Kankoran Druid

Daniel W plays Silver, a young and curious Dragon
Mike W plays Sindri Fetzil, an a Gnome rogue and alchemist
and Jason GURPS as the GM

Sundered Lands 57

The Sundered Lands of Palladium

Session 57
July 16, 2017

Rescuing Lavinia

Tuesday October 31

Back To Essanos

The group rests and recovers below decks after the crazy ordeal in Kraken's Cove. Wounds are tended to and some even find a moment to nap.
There is no sign of the two Red Sails ships that were spotted earlier headed into Kraken's Cove, which makes Captain Tahir quite happy.
Captain Alixandir Tahir says "So I'm not quite sure what to expect once we get back to Essanos, but the Titan definitely needs some repairs before she can do any more long distance sailing. Hit those rocks pretty hard earlier trying to hide from those pirate ships! "
Captain Alixandir Tahir says "You're lucky I like you lot, cause you sure seem to bring quite a bit of misery down upon my head when you're around!"
Seeker says, “And we appreciate all your efforts, Captain.”

Moonscar jokes, “I don't know where we'd be without you. Oh wait, back in Lopan City still”

Seeker turns to his Elf friend, “Now, Valinya, you mentioned teleporting to Essanos to see Lavinia. Can you still pursue that?”

Valinya says "Well, yes, I can,we're a bit far from there, but I could do it. It would tax me greatly though, to teleport all of us there."
Seeker says, “I understand that. Perhaps you could go and bring her back, this letting us talk to her sooner and keeping her safely with us? Or just use your mind-speaking, like you did with the captain, if that's easier.”
Valinya says "Do you think I should go on and go? I can send word back to let you know what I find, though after the Teleportation and Telepathy, I'll be tapped pretty low"
Valinya adds, "I could try the telepathy with her again first, to see if she's ok."

Silver seeing the discussion below, Silver climbs down out of the rigging to join in.
Seeker agrees, “Perhaps that would be a more judicious course.”
Silver asks, “What's the matter? It looks like something might be wrong?”
Valinya says "I'll try to contact her with Telepathy this time, last time I just sent her a message, this time I'll be able to talk to her."
Seeker responds, “Excellent”
Valinya sings a quick and soft song then closes her eyes as if resting.
Seeker reminds Valinya, “Warn her of the potential assassins, and that maybe she should lodge elsewhere for a while. What were those friends of hers called again?”
Silver adds, “Ask her what's up with the harbor. Is it still locked down? Will we be able to get in?”

Valinya says "I could not reach her, I think she may be asleep. Or..."
Moonscar says, “we may need to teleport in once we're close”
Valinya says "Seems a little early to be sleeping."
Arn says "But we won't arrive until close to noon tomorrow. If the lass is in trouble."
Valinya says "Ok, thats it, I will teleport into Essanos and find out whats going on."
Seeker says, “Oaky. Be careful and check in in an hour.”

Valinya says "Seeker, I will contact you in one hour, be ready for my communication, ok?"
Moonscar says, "Send up a smoke signal if there's trouble”
Seeker responds, “Yes, ma'am. That would be at nineteen hundred oh-five.”
Valinya gives Moonscar a glare.
Valinya sings another song and disappears.
Moonscar pleads, “What, I built a bonfire pile in her backyard just for that!”
After an hour, Seeker feels Valinya trying to contact him.
Valinya says "My warning was too late. It appears that her house has been overrun by, um, well, overrun by frogmen!"
Seeker says, “Frogmen? Whah?”

Valinya says "And the Half Orc pirate that Captian Javell said was her man in Essanos."
Seeker says to the group, "Val says her house is overrun with frogmen."

Seeker asks, “Can you get the city guard on it?”
Silver offers, “I could try to rush ahead, but I doubt I would get there in time.”
Moonscar asks Seeker, “Can Sis negotiate with them?”
Valinya says "I'm going to float around and try to get a better idea of whats going on first, then I will."
Moonscar says, “Once we can show them Vanthus' letters I think they'll be better disposed toward Lavinia”
Valinya 's voice becomes more frantic and upset in Seeker's head. "Oh no! They got Hrag! I think he is dead! I can't handle this! I'm going to make them pay!"
Seeker feels the mental connection with Valinya disappear.

The Tiny Titan sails on and there is no new word from Valinya for some time.
Finally after another hour or so, Seeker receives a message from her that she has saved Lavinia and driven off the frogmen, killing a few of them in the process.
Moonscar says, "How's Hrag?”
Valinya's last message was only a Mind Sending, not a two way conversation. It ended with her stating that her and Lavinia, and the servant woman Korra, were going to hide out and wait for the rest of you to return.

Moonscar mutters, "Sleep” but then adds, "Before sleeping I'll have a conversation with Rat to see how they're getting along with the crew. Moonscar finds Rat and he says they are content.

Wednesday November 1st

Lavinia is Safe

The rain stays away and the wind shifts nicely to be blowing out of the north west, helping the Titan make good time. At about 11am, the Captain announces that Essanos is near.

Moonscar's sleep is haunted by repeated encounters with pirates and monsters infected by the Savage Fever, ending with himself and Sings to Moon both being afflicted by the disease!

As the Titan gets closer to Essanos, you see more and more ships in the area.
It soon becomes clear that there is still some sort of closure in the harbor.

Sindri looks around at the others, "I'm not a great swimmer, really hoping we have a good option to get ashore"

Moonscar says jokingly, "Magic pogo sticks”

Seeker suggests, “Let's have Gorg take us in the ship's boat to shore and we can make our way from there”

Silver looks around for launches or other rowboats moving to or from the other ships.
Ered says, in broken Eastern, "I swim ok"

Moonscar says, "Think we can make landfall without getting arrested for being hairy? You know how they get here”
Close to the outer whaling harbor, there are many ships anchored. Lots of smaller craft are making their way back and forth between them here and there. Several ships flying the colors of the Essanos Harbor Patrol are moving about.
Captain Alixandir Tahir says "What shall we do? I can set you ashore but they might see you, and who knows what that might look like. "

Moonscar says, "We might get lucky - the harbor watch we met on the Nixie weren't particularly unreasonable”
Sindri asks the others, "did you get into some sort of trouble with the local constabulary?"
Gorg says "Yes, but that was before the Harbormaster was murdered and there was a huge fire in the city."
Moonscar says, "Yeah - brother and I look scarier than the law would like to allow.”
Arn boasts, “They would be fools to try and stop us.”
Looking way up at Seeker, asks, "I can see how some could think that about this walking carpet over here..."
Moonscar responds to Arn, "Uncle, they have badges. Did you hear the words you just said?”
Gorg Fools or not, I'll not risk my ship or future trade in Essanos!
Arn counters, “I may be able to pass us off as alternative military/law enforcement”

Silver adds, “They don't know about me either, and I would prefer it stayed that way.” She looks around at the group, as well as any sailors nearby that may have overheard.

Arn pleads innocently, “We didn't cause any problems”

After a few minutes, the Titan is hailed by one of the Harbor patrol ships

Sindri disappears into the background
Captain Alixandir Tahir says "Well, looks like we'll get our turn to talk to them. It looks like they are letting ships in, see there, that one is being escorted to the docks by one of the Harbor Ships. Maybe we just need to wait our turn?"
Captain Alixandir Tahir looks at the gathered group and sighs, face downturned.
Moonscar laughs softly, "Exactly. . ."
Seeker says, “One would hope so, Captain. Is there anything we can do to help the situation?”

Captain Alixandir Tahir says "Um, realistically, not be on my ship, but that's not ideal I get it. "
Arn states, “I know the law. We will set them straight. Bloody hell man, we wiped out a gang for the city!”
Moonscar scoffs, “When humans do that it's a public service. When we do it they call it savage canine murder and atrocity”
Seeker muses, “I can leave if it would help. Meet you in town?”
Silver adds, “I could swim also, in case they have a means of detecting me”
Gorg says "don't you think that will look suspicious, a wet Wolfen slinking out of the harbor while there is a blockade around the city?"
Seeker answers Gorg, “I can wait until it's dark…”

Gorg says "you'll smell wonderful by then."

Seeker laughs, “Bah, humans are noseblind. They won't notice.”
Captain Alixandir Tahir says "Just wait, we don't know how this is going to go. They aren't doing whole ship inspections it would seem. "

Moonscar mentions, “I can probably just not be noticed, but Little Sister here seems a strange ship's mascot”
Silver suggests, “We can wait below deck then perhaps”
The Harbor Patrol approaches and you immediately recognize it as the same ship you dealt with after the battle on the Nixie.
Seeker howls, "Arrr-rawr-raroo!"
The Sparrowhawk pulls up alongside the Titan.

Silver ducks below decks before the harbor patrol ship gets too close
Arn exclaims, “Bah! Ill face them man to man”
A familiar Human female voice calls over to the Titan, "Captain, may we board?"
It is Commander Diana Vilasek.

Arn adds meekly, “Okay ....man to woman”
Captain Alixandir Tahir calls her aboard.

Seeker stands behind and to one side of the captain as he greets Vilasek

Silver finds a bunk in one of the cabins below, cracks open the porthole and attempts to listen in on the conversation on deck
The Commander eyes up Seeker and the others still on the deck and tells the Captain that he will be allowed to dock but has to wait his turn and it probably won't be until the next day.
Seeker says "Commander, we have reason to be concerned for our employer, Lavinia Vanderboren. One of our number says her home has been attacked by er, frogmen. Might we take the ship's boat ashore so we can make sure things are all right?"
Seeker says this diplomatically
Commander Vilasek, "I remember you all, from that disturbance in the harbor the other night." She looks hard at Seeker, then at Arn, then at Moonscar.
Arn brags, “Yeah. We tend to be rather popular that way”
Commander Vilasek says "Frogmen? You mean like Boggards? In the city?"

Moonscar explains, “That would be them - working for the Red Sails”
Commander Vilasek asks "Red Sails?"
Moonscar continues, “Who appear to be extremely angry with her brother”
Commander Vilasek says "Here in Essanos? That is terrible"
Moonscar finishes, “Along with a lot of other people. They don't know that Lavinia is also at great odds with him and seem to be targeting her in retaliation for his recent actions.”
Commander Vilasek says "Well, the docking order is set by the order in which ships come in and can be properly checked out. There are crazy things going on in the city at this time. What with the Harbormaster being murdered and that big fire the other night. "
Commander Vilasek looks at Moonscar, then back at Arn and then once again to Seeker.
Thinking.
I can take you ashore in the Arrowhawk, if you like, I cant' take this ship out of order, it will cause a problem with the other captains I would think.

Seeker says, "That is most acceptable, Commander."
Silver sighs, “ah”
Arn says, “We would greatly appreciate it, and can possibly assist you with the Red Sails problem
We specialize in troubleshooting.”
Commander Vilasek says "Assist us with the Red Sails problem? Just keep them away from Essanos. They are devil pirates, dangerous murderers!"
Seeker calls below decks for the rest of the team. "Ered, Sindri? THis is not your fight, bt we could use any help we can get. Are you in?"

Ered comes back on deck and nods at Seeker.

Sindri steps out of the shadows near the group, "You bet, I'm in!"
Seeker informs the Commander, “Commander Vilasek, we are ready when you are"
Everyone but Silver boards the Arrowhawk and Commander Vilasek takes them to shore. Gorg remains on the ship with Captain Tahir and the rest of the crew. He waves goodbye as the Arrowhawk cuts through the water toward the docks.
Commander Vilasek says "There have been rumors about the city of a Dwarf and Wolfen causing some of this recent chaos. You haven't seen anyone around that fits that description, have you?"
Commander Vilasek winks at the group then heads back aboard the Arrowhawk.

Arn states, “Nope. Causing you say? Nope. Countering it, possibly may have heard a rumor or two”
Moonscar jokes, “Nobody here but us librarians”

Silver waits until the harbor watch ship is well underway again, and comes out onto the deck to look around. She says quietly to herself, "It seems they got a ride. I guess I'll swim then."
Gorg says "Um, the rest of them went ashore, Silver. What are you still doing here?"
Silver says, "I don't entirely trust the mages that the harbor watch employs. I'd rather avoid them."

The Dragon in Elf form casts Hold Breath on herself and says "I'll catch up to them in a bit."

Silver nods to the Captain and Gorg, then takes a deep breath and dives into the water on the far side of the Titan from shore. She swims straight down a ways, then shifts back into her natural form so she can see and swim better.

Silver eventually swims her way into the harbor, staying quite far down. She skips past the docks, and into the murky channels to find the inlet into Lavinia's mansion.

The sun is somewhere overhead, though it cannot be seen through the thick blanket of low, heavy clouds. The normally busy whaling docks on the outside of Essanos are strangely quiet and calm.

Moonscar says absent-mindedly, "Anybody else have thing to pick up from the enchanters on the way in?”

Everyone else stands on the quiet docks.
Arn thinks out loud, “Nope. But may armor could use repair”

Seeker shakes his head. "But finding Val and Lavinia should be our top priority. Let's head to Vanderboren Manor ASAP."

Moonscar says, "Did Sis say where they went to ground?
The main group heads off toward Vanderboren Manor. The streets are only sparsley populated today. The group gets many stares and second glances.
Arn says, “Agreed Seeker. Let's find our Ladies”

Sindri follows along behind the others, casually checking out the various shops as they pass by
As you arrive in the Merchant District and make your way to the Manor, Valinya hails you down from a nearby alleyway.
She has Lavinia and Korra with her.
Seeker greets them, "Ladies", Seeker bows.
Valinya says "We stayed in an inn last night, under assumed names."

Arn greets the ladies formally
Valinya has kept an eye on the manor house off and on and it appears that the Boggards have not returned.
Moonscar says, "Well, I know what assume means. So you were the Donkey twins, Ima and Ura?”
Seeker suggests, “Maybe we can track them”
Valinya says "Poor brave Hrag didn't make it. He was killed. As were Red and her work crew."
Arn cries out, “Those bastards!”

Moonscar lets loose with a string of Danzi profanity.
Valinya seems to ignore Moonscars comment though Lavinia coughs and blushes.
Valinya says "Let's get off the street. I think the manor is safe again. "
Moonscar says, "Yeah, we can track them”
Valinya says "There may be some dead frogmen around the place. I didn't have time to clean up much."
Arn laments, “Red reminded me of my Aunt Herra”
Everyone makes their way back to the manor and after a short time, Silver meets them there.

Seeker raises an eyebrow.

Lavinia says "Did you find my brother at that Kraken's Cove place? what did you learn?"

Seeker leads the way to the manor
Moonscar says, "Let's try to pick up the half-orc lieutenant's scent”

Seeker says "He was there, but left before we arrived. We are unclear where he has gone."
Valinya says "The half orc is dead too. Most of the boggards fled through the water. It looks like they came in similar to how Silver just arrived. There is apparently a sewer line that diverts into the basement or something . they came in that way."
Silver says, "Yeah, it's not pleasant down there. Didn't see any of them on my way in though," and then shivers a bit
Lavinia says "Hmm. Well, you know what, I'm done worrying about him. I thought I could save him. I thought that mattered, I dont think it does anymore. He is a lost soul. He will meet his end and I wont have anything to do with it. Let that coward run!"

Making New Plans

Lavinia says "But, you may be interested to know what I've learned over the last day or so. Ive been reading through my mothers old journals, some of the documetns you helped me recover from the vault. I've found where a bit portion of our family money went. It was invested. In the south. In the jungle!"

Seeker and Val exchange a knowing glance.
Seeker asks, "South, you say? Where would that be?"
Lavinia giggles and looks at Seeker. "Opposite of north?"
Arn sighs, “Finally some good news”
Silver looks perplexed, "Invested in a jungle? Invested how?
Lavinia says "Seriously though, about 15 y ears ago, they founded a colony along the shores of the Yin-Sloth Jungles, far to the south. When we were in hiding several years ago, I believe they were still in contact with the colony, making arrangements to send supplies and receive shipments of materials from there. "
Lavinia says "And now, with a new and closer water route to the Sea of Scarlet Waters, I think I could re-establish contact with the colony. It would save my family's name and legacy. "
Arn shouts, “Huzzah!”

Seeker nods "That is excellent news for you indeed."
Lavinia says "With the Blue Nixie back at my disposal, I can use that, though I will need another ship."

Lavinia smiles at Seeker. "Thank you!"

Valinya says "South you say? Hmm. South."
Seeker remembers Valinya's last vision showed her Essanos then Lavinia and following Lavinia to the south. All of the past visions have shown Lavinia being the key to stopping the pearls.
Moonscar says, "Never would have guessed”
Sindri is quiet, listening to the conversation and trying to follow along. At the mention of the jungle he shudders a bit, "Ugh, the jungle, that doesn't sound like much fun."

Moonscar says, "Okay, Sis, if we ignore the broken arrow for the time being, how fast do you think its effect will spread - it's very contagious - and who should we warn? you saw the monkeys”
Valinya says "What?"
Valinya says "Oh, you mean the disease released by the Pearl at Kraken's Cove?"
Moonscar says, "mmmhhhhmmm”
Valinya says "Well, assuming that we're not all carrying the contagion here to Essanos.. oh, oh my, what if we've carried it here without knowing it?"

Moonscar winces visibly as he says, "I should have considered that. We were so anxious to make sure that Lavinia was safe I overlooked the obvious.”
Valinya immediately sings a song and looks closely at Mooonscar. "Ok, good you're clean. I'm going to do a body reading on everyone, just in case!"”
Moonscar says softly, "Gorg is still back on the Titan
Seeker exclaims, “ig no! as we all know, plague is carried by fleas!” seeker hates fleas.
After a few moments, Valinya sighs. "None of us appear to be carrying the disease. I assume that it won't spread too far. There weren't a lot of creatures left with the sickness. I have no idea how long the lifespan is of one with the disease. Though there were those savage prisoners that we left in those cages.. and then the two ships of pirates that arrived as we left. Well, I suppose it could spread.
Valinya puts her hands to her face, looking paler than before. "What should we do? ""
Moonscar agrees, "Shhheeeiiiiii. . . yeah, I think we have to warn someone.”
Lavinia says "Maybe one of the temples? I can go to the Dawn Council and tell them. We don't have the resources to contain something as widespread and vile as that. Do we?"

Valinya says "I can send word to the Witchwardens, I am sure they can do something about it."
Silver reminds everyone, “The animals in the area were infected and roaming freely. I doubt we would be containing it ourselves.”
Moonscar agrees, “That's my worry - a troop of infected monkeys could spread it pretty rapidly”
Valinya says "What if that Shadow Pearl had been triggered here, in Essanos? Or in a bigger city, like Llorn? Can you imagine the amount of chaos that would be sown?"
Moonscar says, "Exactly - I think that was the intent. Like the first, partial failure.”
Valinya says "And now I'm curious. When we were first tapped for this mission, Colwyn Dray" her eyes darken and she looks down for a moment, pausing, "he told us that the destruction at Shinkasa was an earth shaking explosion that killed millions, but this time the pearl did something different. I'm throughly confused. And I dont like being confused."
Moonscar says, "The flip side though is that a city would be a somewhat enclosed environment - and more readily observed”
Silver says, “Although it seems like this one was kind of a dud compared to the ones that tore continents apart”
Moonscar says, "In the wild, it could spread for quite some time before it's noticed”
Silver muses, “hmm good point.”
Moonscar says, "In the long run, this could be worse”
Valinya says "Who are we fighting? The Chaos Lords, not the Destruction Lords or the Explosion Lords or the Murder Lords, though all of those things ALSO cause chaos. And if there are more of these Pearls, they have to be stopped. "
Moonscar says, "Okay, Miss Lavinia - how long before you want to sail? I have a lot of Dreamwalking to do between now and then”
Lavinia says "Oh, yes, well, I will need some time to plan. This is not a short trip. I will need to call in as many markers as I can, get some investors in on this, I dont think I can fund this trip on my own. I think it will need another ship. We will need to hire someone we can trust."
Lavinia says "So you'll come with me?" Her face lights up, "I was hoping I could convince you to come along!""
Seeker offers, “We might secure the Tiny Titan. We have traveled with them before.”
Lavinia says "Yes, your friend Gorg? The Ogre."
Lavinia says "You all are a strange lot, with stranger friends. "
Moonscar says, "Okay - Sis, leave warning the "civilized" healers to you. There have to be other druids and shamans in all this coastal wilderness. I'll work on finding them.” He shrugs and adds, “Don't know what else we can do. . .”
Seeker adds, “Sounds like a good start at least”
Lavinia says "Yes, we can alert all the powers that be about this threat. I will need to do a lot of planning and work to get this voyage put togethetr. We will be sailing through some dangerous areas, past the Western Empire and into even more dangerous areas! Scary. Is this what you all do every day?"
Moonscar says, "I have to wonder - Vanthus was heading toward the swamp and it appears that the Red Sails have some sort of arrangement with its denizens.”

Seeker shrugs. "Pretty much"
Lavinia listens to what Moonscar has to say.
Moonscar grins wickedly and says, "That may have been a very bad choice on his part”
Silver looks excited, "Sailing to the jungle sounds like fun. I don't think I've been there yet!"
Lavinia says "Well, Vanthus is going to have to figure that on on his own. Im no longer interested in worrying about it. I just cant."
Moonscar says, "Hmm, wonder if he can squeal like a pig. . .”
Arn laughs, ”I bet that i could make him…”

Cast of Characters: 

Arne J plays Seeker, a teenage Wolfen Warlord

Stephen K plays Valinya, an Elven Wildsong Mage

Mike B plays Arn, a surly Dwarven Warrior

Amergin O'K plays Moonscar, the esoteric Kankoran Druid

Daniel W plays Silver, a young and curious Dragon
Mike W plays Gorgukk Torgnaz, an Ogre sailor and mauler
and Jason GURPS as the GM

Sundered Lands 56

The Sundered Lands of Palladium

Session 56
June 6 - July 15, 2017

Learning New Things

Tuesday October 31

Scouring the Caves

Moonscar has gotten his ritual tent set up with Arn and Sings to Moon keeping him company. Valinya, Gorg and the Gnome, Sindri, have determined that a cleansing gust of air is not the answer to the mental assault seeming to originate from the botany chamber. Silver, Seeker and Erred have discovered a few items of interest in the chamber of the flayed man. There was a heavy, curved sword with a silver hilt with griffon carvings on it which Silver noticed was glowing with a magical aura and Seeker found a ring still on the finger of the deceased. The ring is gold with numerous light blue stones in it. Seeker noted that it appeared that several stones were missing from the ring. Silver did not see the ring as magical. Both items were deposited in Seeker’s amazing, bottomless satchel.

“Well,” Valinya sighs, “that’s disappointing.  If it’s not something in the air, then maybe it is something that radiates from the plants … like heat from a fire.  There’s definitely a zone for it that hasn’t really changed much. That leaves moving the source.” Looking at the gnome and ogre, she asks, “You were both closer to whatever is the source in there.  What plant like thing or things did you see that maybe be the source?”

Gorg describes what he, and Arn before him, had seen. Sindri confirms that is what he had seen as well. Sindri says he thinks he remembers examining one of the plants in a glass container before he blacked out. The room is covered with a  fairly even layer of sand and the air is very musty. Large pottery urns line the walls of the cave and within each grows a riot of strange mushrooms, fluted toadstools, phosphorescent molds, greasy looking fronds of pale lichens and all manner of strange fungi. Several large glass terrariums, their walls beaded with condensation, stand along the far wall. One of these is shattered, the loamy soil within spilling out onto the sand floor near a low table heaped with flasks, jars, bottles, and tools.

Frying Mushrooms

Having finished her search of the other room, Silver loses interest in continuing there.  “Well, do we think we’ve found everything here? I wonder if there’s more - would a pirate accountant really keep his important stuff on the top of his desk to get messed up like this?  Maybe someone with quicker fingers should search the desk more - or maybe just smash it up and see if more than wood falls out of it.”

Silver looks around the room once more, looking for something else of interest, but doesn’t seem to find it.  “I’ll leave the rest to you guys, I’ll go see how the others are doing.”

With that, Silver trots out of the room, and returns to the others still scratching their heads at the border of the pain field.  Silver sighs, continuing the chorus of sighs that seem to be going around.

Shortly after Silver vacates the area, Seeker and Erred follow her back to the main chamber where the others are pondering the mysteriously dangerous greenhouse room.

Silver’s eyes suddenly narrow, and she says “OK that does it…”  Silver coils herself momentarily, then rushes to the room in question. She looks around quickly, but finds it somewhat too dark to make out details, even for her.   She picks out a nearby pottery urn in the gloom and carefully breathes fire into it, causing a small “foof” of burning spores, but otherwise lighting its contents on fire for a few moments.  She looks about the room quickly and picks what she thinks is probably the problem plant. Remembering the spores that caught the gnome, she ensures her inner eyelids are firmly closed, takes a deep breath and holds it.  So prepared, she quickly moves up to the broken terrarium for inspection. Following the breakage, she ducks her head down to inspect the dirt spilled on the floor. Peeking under the table, she catches a face full of spores, but reacts instinctively by letting her fiery breath out to blast flame under the table at the source of the spores.

Still sitting on the floor recovering, Gorg watches incredulously as Silver bolts off to the deathcloud-room. "Umm, that might not end well.... Anyone up for a rescue mission?"  While waiting for any responses he adds in, "and maybe we just bypass this room after we get everyone clear?"

The sound of Silver’s fiery breath can be heard from the greenhouse room around the corner. A brief flash of reddish-orange light and then the sound of Silver coughing comes next. “Think I took care of it!” Silver announces when she realizes that the nearly-unbearable mental assault had ended. Small flames poked out from beneath the long table stretching across the wall of the room, giving Silver enough light to see all throughout the room. She sees more potted plants and glass jars all throughout the room. An overturned stool sits nearby and an unkempt bedroll lies along the side wall of the room.

Since the assault on her mind seems to have subsided, Silver makes sure the fire under the table doesn’t spread too far, going as far as casting Extinguish Fire before it gets out of hand.  She also has another peek under the table while waiting for the others to enter and look around. “Now what was it that caused such a problem?”

After using her magic to extinguish the fire before the whole room was filled with noxious black smoke, Silver pokes her head under and looks around. All she sees is a crispy mass of what was recently some plant like material, though no details can be discerned from the burnt mess. Valinya, Gorg and the Gnome, Sindri, join Silver in the now somewhat crowded chamber. The Gnome moves slowly and is clearly still quite injured from his previous encounter with the spores and mental assault.

Silver almost sniffs at the charred lump under the table, but thinks better of it at

the last moment. Having satisfied her curiosity, and not seeing much else of interest to her in the room, she steps back to make room for the others.  Trying to be out of the way - but not quite succeeding - she takes stock of how hurt she is.

As the others start poking about the room, she asks “It’s all boring plants and stuff. Are we ready to leave yet?”

The Gnome carefully slides past the other and goes to the unburnt parts of the table, examining the remaining plants. He carefully looks at them all before removing a knife and cutting some leaves, stems and other parts from a few of them. He then stuffs the acquired plant material in a pouch, wipes the knife off and re-sheathes the knife.

Seeker eyes the Gnome and his horticultural pursuits, and memorizes the plants that he took samples from. “So, Sindri, what are these plants? You seem to be taking an interest in them.”

Valinya notes the plants that the gnome find so interesting as well but says nothing as Seeker is already asking. Instead she searches through the remains for anything interesting.

Besides the plants, some ill-cared for gardening tools and the bedroll, all Valinya finds is a sack with some dirty clothes in it.

Arn continues to wait by Moonscar’s side making sure that his small furry companion is safe and undisturbed.   He takes stock of the noises and sounds he hears as Silver and Seeker and the others carry on. He calls out much later, “Well done Silver…..sounds like ye fixed our brain pain problem! We done indeed!” With that, the dwarf pours himself another ale and chews on some smoked pork he had handy.

Gorg eases into the room after everyone else, still cringing a bit thinking of his last visit, looking like an ogre that would rather be anywhere else but here.  "Anybody want to investigate that one remaining hallway, rather than stick around here?"

Sindri looks (way) up at Seeker, gesturing at a few of the plants as he speaks "Most are exotic herbs, with a few quite delicious fungi here and there, and this one's quite good as a poultice for rashes, but this one's the gem here, a rare emetic that really opens up the sluices at both ends."  Continuing to store the various goodies in his pack he looks around the room and asks the group, "So what brought you all to this side of town? I can't imagine it's hit Fodor's Guide yet, and you don't look like you've been in those back-room cages, so...."

As the Gnome and Seeker talk plants, Gorg peeks down the hallway and realizes that's the direction Arn had charged of earlier on his way to discovering the prison chamber and their new friend Erred.

Valinya chimes in quickly, “I think the more pertinent question at the moment is if we are done with our searching and exploration of these interesting but hauntingly sad caves.  If so I believe we have another journey to take … up river.”

The Captain’s Story

The group rests and contemplates their next move while Moonscar completes his ritual of speaking with the spirit of the female Captain Harliss Javell. Eventually, the Druid, accompanied by Arn and Sings to Moon, rejoins the group. He sits down on the sandy ground and explains what he learned. Moonscar explains that Captain Javell does not know where Vanthus ran off to after he caused all the commotion here at Kraken’s Cove. She says she confronted him when he was trying to steal the Shadow Pearl. She attacked him, he dropped it on the deck of another Captain’s burning ship. When he grabbed for it to make his escape, it cracked open and let out a billowing green smog which in turn caused her companions to mutate into degenerate pirates and attack her. Vanthus then took up the cracked parts of the Pearl and leaped overboard. The Captain had told Moonscar that she had not trusted Vanthus from the start and as an insurance measure, had sent one of her trusted mates back to Essanos to strike at him in the case of a double cross. She admits to having sent magical word to her mate, Denboraz, and she assumed he would make a move on Vanthus at his home, Vanderboren Manor. The Captain had no idea where the Shadow Pearl came from, only that Captain Kigante was bringing it in from the south and that it was destined somewhere else, possibly Essanos or Llorn. She was unaware that it was a dangerous item and only believed that it was a valuable treasure to be sold.

Silver listens intently to the story that Moonscar presents.  “Right, so it sounds like we have two options - try to follow Vanthus up the river, or rush back to Vanderboren Manor.  It sounds like a fight is going to go down there, although we’ll probably be late to that too.” Silver shakes out her wings a moment, then re-folds them.  “Either way, let’s get out of this awful cave first.”

“I agree with leaving these caves,” Valinya says, “but then let’s have a ‘what next’ discussion in private, away from those who have no need to know.”  With a meaningful glance at the boy and gnome she indicates who is not invited to the party. “So,” she says loudly, “let’s head for the surface lest some new menace erupts and becomes a problem.”

Moonscar states that he too would like to leave this place but says he wants to lay Captain Javell’s smoke to rest. It shouldn't take too long, his ritual space is already set up in there. Sings to Moon gives a mournful whine, possibly letting her companion know her thoughts on his proposition. The Druid’s eyes then sparkle and he asks if he should also try speaking to the spirit of the other deceased in the more lavishly appointed cave. He suggests that could be the other Captain that had been spoken of. Captain Kigante. The captain that brought the pearl here to Kraken’s Cove in the first place.

Gorg interjects, “it can't be much later than noon. The Captain isn't expecting us back till daybreak tomorrow, though there is the issue of the walkway out of here being destroyed and the mutant crocks and who knows what else out there to deal with.” He scratches his head, having just talked himself into and out of sticking around longer.

Arn concurs with Gorg vehemently. “Aye, we should keep moving while we can.  To hell with who can hear us or not…..maybe if they know we’re coming they will make a mistake in their haste to avoid us. We have the time, let’s use it wisely and get moving instead of wasting more time here. We already lost enough time dilly-dallying around this place.”

Silver asks Moonscar “How long would it take to talk to the dead Captain Kigante?  You have a point, he should know where his cargo came from -- who or where he got it from.  Yes, we need to hurry and chase down Lavinia’s idiot brother, but after that we should search for the source of these things.  That splatter on the floor may be our best clue. Should I drag what’s left of him here, or do you need to dance around where he died?”

The Gnome, Sindri, listened intently during Moonscar's retelling of the Captain’s story, quietly sitting back afterwards to observe the company's interactions. After Val's request to continue the talks away from the gnome and boy he finally speaks up. "So, Val I believe it was? A couple questions if I may, really more for the group as a whole...  What are your intentions with regard to me, and as a corollary, for this young lad here who's name I haven't quite caught? If you all plan on leaving us here and going about your business, I'm quite confident that I'll find my way out of here, after a quick inspection of a few other caverns I noted on my way in. The boy however may be another story. I would hope you see your way to assisting the lad in getting back to civilization, this really is no place for him to be.  On the other hand, if there is still some question in your minds as to how you should deal with us, let me at least interject my thoughts before a final decision is made. It occurs to me that I am greatly indebted to all of you for pulling me out of there, likely saving my life. After hearing the tale of this Vanthus character and his Shadow Pearl, it also seems likely to me that I could assist you in your quest. I have a few talents that could be useful in an endeavor like you're embarking upon."  With that he pauses to step over to Arn, returning the blade that had previously hung on his harness. "Additionally, from what I've seen this boy is a skilled healer, and...." glancing at Seeker, Arn and Gorg "you all look to need that help. Naturally I can't speak for the boy, perhaps he just wants to get back to whatever his life was. But as for me, I would be happy to assist if you'd have me."

At the mention of himself, Erred looks up and stands, “I am Erred of Dragonwright,” he says in the broken Eastern tongue that everyone else is conversing in.

Valinya nods.  “I appreciate your candor, Sindri, and my name is Valinya not ‘Val’.  I believe we should first exit this cursed place and then we can continue our discussion.  Shall we?” With a hand motion Valinya indicates leaving using the entrance through which the party entered.

“Roger that, Val. Brother, maybe some other time. While we’re on the move, Val, maybe you can think of a way to get a warning to Lavinia. If Vanderboren Manor is to be attacked, she could use all the warning we can give her.” He looks grim. “If they have already triggered their agent, there’s no way we could get back there in time.”

Silver interjects again  “Sindri, you sounded almost like you had an alternate way out of here?  You should know that the walkway out of the cave entrance was destroyed.  Valinya and I can fly out, but everyone else may have problems with the chaos-infused wildlife in the water there.”  

“I will think on the communication question, Seeker, an excellent idea,” responds Valinya.  “As to the incorporeal interrogation of the other captain, it would be very handy perhaps to know where the pearl came from.  It could be - just a conjecture - that there is a transformation the pearl goes though. Could it be the one that caused the initial problem?  And could this mutation situation be another phase? From what we know it was broken but perhaps that was part of its transformation to another phase or a rebirth.  If the shattering ended the threat I would think we would know. So any information could be helpful but we can’t afford to wait around. Could we … um … bring some bones or whatnot with us to do the questioning and summoning at a later time or is the shade or spirit tied more to the location of death rather than, say, the deceased body?”  

To the questions of speaking to the other dead captain, Moonscar replies, “I already have my tent set up back there, close enough to the body, shouldn’t be too much trouble to do it from the next room over, he hasn’t been dead long. Probably only half an hour, though I do want to lay both of their spirits to rest as well. Probably another half hour or so for that as well. Our ride won’t be here anytime soon. Should I go ahead and do this? Can we wait on leaving just a little longer? While I do this, maybe you all can try to figure out another way out of here since our boardwalk seems to have been destroyed!”

Several eyes go to Sindri and someone asks him again if he knows of another way out of the Cove, but he shakes his head and says no.

Don’t Miss the Boat

Silver nods hearing the time estimates.  “I can go get the rowboat while we’re waiting for the spirit interrogation.  Valinya, did you want to come along in case there’s trouble retrieving it?” Silver looks around at the rest of the group  “I’ll wait for everyone at or near the beach where the ships were burning. Although, it may take longer to bring the boat around the point than it will take for the rest to finish up here.”  

As Silver heads out, she says to Valinya “You should perhaps warn Lavinia while I start squeezing through the cracks to get out of here.  I’m sure you can catch up...”

Valinya nods and sings a short, melodic song then stands there, quietly mouthing some words. “Ok, warning sent to Lavinia.” She then agrees to go with Silver to get the boat, which will no doubt take some time, while Moonscar performs some further spirit talking rituals. The howling and screaming from the prison area reminds everyone that there are still some folks under the influence of the Savage Fever.

It takes Moonscar more than an hour to perform the ritual to summon and speak to Captain Kigante and the Druid seems to be frustrated during the ritual, as if things are not going as planned. He pauses for a moment and explains that Captain Kigante was not as pleasant or forthcoming as Captain Javell, though he did learn a few important things. He wants to complete one more ritual to lay both spirits to rest. He believes that with their proximity, both physical and time of death, he should be able to send both smokes on at once. He gets his stylus out and draws more symbols on the bodies themselves and then begins chanting and dancing one final time. After another half hour, he stops. He rejoins the party, panting and taking a long swig from his waterskin.

Just then, Valinya floats back in announcing that she and Silver, well Silver mostly, has returned with the boat in tow. Silver is resting on the beach watching over the craft. Moonscar gathers up his ritual tent and other gear and everyone makes their way back out to the beach where they find Silver resting quietly. Before piling into the boat, Moonscar tells what he learned from Captain Kigante.

Moonscar explains that the quite angry Captain Kigante was very uncooperative but he did leak some information that could be useful. He said he took possession of the Shadow Pearl in the city of Orisai located along the edge of the Old Kingdom, though officially part of the Western Empire and cut off from the Empire by the Straits of Shinkasa. He said he initially took the job as favor to Cold Captain Wynter, one of the leaders of the Red Sails. He would not give the name of his contact there but only said he “didn’t trust that snake farther than he coulda thrown em” He also admitted that he had been paid a good price to transport the Pearl, which he assumed was just a valuable bauble, albeit magical. He swears he did not know it was such a dastardly weapon. He says he does not know who this Vanthus character was but he plans on catching up with him at some point and dealing with him. Moonscar says he then attempted to explain to Captain Kigante that he was dead but the Captain didn’t seem to care about that much. Moonscar said he went out on a limb and asked the Captain what lied to the north of Blood Bay and he seemed confused. He said the north end of Blood Bay wasn’t much more than shallow marshland and even the rivers that fed into it were not navigable by any vessel deeper than a fishing skiff or raft. He said the only things up that way were bullywugs, troglodytes and other slime-sucking swamp dwellers. Moonscar was not able to get much else out of the deceased captain before his smoke turned into a flickering ball of flame that puffed out in a dark cloud of ash. The Druid said he was successfully able to lay both Captain’s souls to rest after that in another ritual.

Lots of Ideas But Which Direction

Everyone stands around on the beach, taking in the remainder of the information Moonscar had gleaned from Captain Kigante. Erred and Sindri standing quietly at the rear of the group while the others look around, hoping to find answers or at least ideas on the faces of their companions.

“So we have two basic questions … where do we go and who goes with us.  We get picked up soon, but from there, who knows? I could try to magically seek Vanthus again.  Maybe it would work. Otherwise we could choose to trek north through what we are told is bleak going and dangerous and hope to get lucky.  Or I could divine our next step. Thoughts?”

Gorg speaks up, "Seems to me that since we're already at the bay, we should get back on the boat and check out the shoreline, see if there's anything we can spot.  If we don't see anything worth investigating we head back to town."

Gorg considers his comment and then remembers that his Captain Tahir had stated that he would not take the Tiny Titan into the Blood Bay and in fact was wary of even being in the vicinity due to the high chance of pirate encounters. The Red Sails and other pirate organizations were known to frequent these waters.

Arn is starting to get impatient and grumbly. He growls out, “Well let’s decide to do something, even a bad decision at this point is better than no decision! We wasted way too much time dilly-dallying around here. Let’s get moving somewhere so we can at least pretend to be productive. Valinya, if ye want to use yer magics to help guide us, I urge you to speed it up before we give our quarry any further lead”

Rowing through Rough Waters

Everyone piles back into the rowboat, a much tighter fit this time with two additional passengers and begins to row out of the sea cave. Silver and Valinya accompany the boat nearby on wing and breeze.

The water is relatively calm while rowing through the sea cave but becomes much more rough and choppy as soon as the boat passes out into the Blood Bay. The rain from earlier this morning is still falling. A moderately strong wind from the north buffets the group as they row out and Valinya is blown away from the boat violently. Silver has to flap her wings hard to stay on course but is able to spread he wings a bit more and fly out to gain some altitude.

Seeker puts his back into it, struggling against the wind and current.

Silver swoops here and there as she makes wide circles about the rowboat.  She seems to be able to use the wind to her advantage, and doesn’t have any particularly serious issues.

Seeker’s muscles burn as he pulls on the oars of the overloaded craft. Those in the front of the small boat see rocks and obstacles all around through the choppy water, visible for one moment, then hidden the next. Seeker, toward the rear of the craft and sitting backward cannot see any of them and the prow rises and then slams down onto one of the rocks, sending the boat careening sideways. Seeker uses all of his skill to keep the boat righted, but it is quickly apparent that someone will need to keep an eye out front and navigate for him.

Seeing that the seas are getting rough, Arn calls back to Seeker, “Do ye want me to row or even take one of the oars for ye?” Seeker shakes his head, suggesting the dwarf that he can handle it. Nodding  his head toward the front, Seeker calls out to Arn, “See if you can guide me, steer me in the right direction and we should get through this!”.

Arn nods in agreement, and takes up point position in the bow of the rocking boat. Keeping an eye on the rocks as the waves hide and reveal them between swells, Arn uses his best judgement to try and guide Seeker as the young, strong Wolfen puts his back muscles into the rowing.

Seeing a pile of rocks revealed on the right, Arn yells out, “Hard to Port!  Hard to Port!” Seeker complies, dipping the left oar deep into the water, guiding the boat past one danger. More rocks ahead, Arn calls out, “A Quarter turn to starboard!”, and again Seeker complies, trying to avoid the rocks. The question will be if Arn and Seeker can manage to work as a team and navigate through the treacherous coast.

Moving as best she can against the wind Valinya tries to get in front of the boat to aid in navigation using her perceptive sight.  

Silver and Valinya both call out warnings about rocks and such from the air above the small boat but the whooshing of the wind and crashing of the waves makes their help go unnoticed. From the front of the boat, Arn is able to direct Seeker enough to avoid most of the larger rocks, though the boat occasionally grinds past something no one saw below the frothy waves. Gorg does his part, leaning from side to side of the boat and using an extra oar to push off rocks that are dangerously close.

This battle with the sea and rocks goes on for quite some time, and before the group is even halfway to the point, Silver sees a ship, probably a mile or two out, heading into Blood Bay. A moment later, she spies another one, just past the first. Both are heading in the general direction of the rowboat.

Not wanting to attempt to hover, Silver circles around and drops down to pass over the rowboat, and bellows her message out as she passes them above. “Two Ships a mile out coming our way, one after the other!” She loops around higher up, then makes another pass in case they want to yell something back but she cannot hear if they said anything or not.

Silver breaks from following the rowboat, and gains some altitude again, attempting to get a better look at the ships, and trying to identify if one or the other is the Tiny Titan.

Looking for a respite from the battle of the wind, Valinya floats to the boat and tries to huddle in the lee caused by Seeker, seeking asylum.  

Red Sails, Ahoy!

Valinya finds it quite difficult to remain in place on the boat as a body of air, the cold, wet wind blowing off the Blood Bay seems to push and pull her every direction. She quickly realizes that she will either tire herself out to exhaustion trying to fight against the wind if she remains gaseous or must solidify herself and trust in her companions to not let her drown. While she is accustomed to trusting her more than able friends in many cases of life or death, she finds herself balking at the thought of falling into the choppy waters beneath her. Another gust of wind that she feels might actually tear her airy form in half helps her make up her mind and she settles down into the the stern of the small craft, hunkering down and curling into a little ball to keep out of Seeker’s way as he works the long oars and to keep the sight of the aggressive waves from her eyes. She groans as she realizes how dirty and inelegant her current situation is.

Up above, Silver circles and tries to get a better look at the two ships. She does not have to get too close to realize that neither ship is the Tiny Titan. Both ships bear dark red sails. Pirates!

Seeing the sails are not what she expected, she is about to drop back down to report, but has a thought and mentally berating herself casts a spell instead.  

All who are aboard the rowboat clearly hear Silver’s voice, despite her maintaining her altitude much higher up.  “Both ships coming our way have dark red sails, looks like neither one is the Tiny Titan. I’ll let you know if I spot any activity or interactions between the ships.”

With that, Silver watches the ships for any notable activity.

Seeker continues to row the boat along the rocky shoreline while Arn and Gorg provide navigational assistance. Silver sees one of the two red-sailed ships alter its course a bit and turn back toward the point while the other one continues on toward Kraken’s Cove. Based on how fast Seeker is rowing and the ship is moving, Silver believes that the the two will cross paths just off the farthest east point of land. Hearing Silver’s warning from above, Seeker pulls on the oars even harder, trying to get the small craft behind one of the larger craggy islands nearby.

Upon the new information and dangers approaching, Arn continues to help Seeker guide the ship to a point where they can land upon one of the island shoals. Arn starts to concoct a plan. “Boarding them may be possible, I have a plan. Valinya, do ye have a spell that can move me through the water, or allow me to levitate? I have a water breathing potion, if needed I can function under water, sort of, or at least survive anyway.” Arn looks back at his friends, “Gorg, I have rope and a grappling hook in my backpack also, we could use that to secure ourselves to the other ship if needed, and find a way to get on board.”

“Does anyone else have any other ideas?”

Valinya replies, “I could levitate you, or change you into a body of water, though you’d be without all your equipment.  Oh - what about walking on air? That might be your best bet. It’s like flying or levitating only you walk … it’s actually fun.”

Gorg continues to assist in any way possible, but looks rather dubious about Arn's 'plan'... "Why don't we just stay behind these rocks and let them pass?  It doesn't look like they've spotted us, and I don't like the idea of taking on two ships full of pirates. Let's wait it out here, then continue south once they've gone."  A few moments later he continues under his breath, “Besides, I’ve seen you all getting around on the Titan, it didn’t exactly inspire confidence…”

Hearing none of the conversation about boarding actions, Silver projects her voice down to the rowboat again.  “I think it is possible that the pirates only see me circling about and the smoke coming from their cave. I’m going to loop around to the cave and then over-land out of sight.  Hopefully that leads them away from you guys. I’ll try to find you coming up the coast from the west in a bit. Oh, uh wave at me if you disagree…”

She continues to watch the pirates, but widens her circle and starts to arc her path to the north, back towards the cave and its plume of smoke.  She particularly watches to see if the pirate ships change course to follow.

At Gorg’s suggestion and Silver’s ploy to lead the ships away, Seeker maneuvers the rowboat behind one of the larger rocky spurs. As Silver predicted, the boat that had changed course turns back and follows the other one. After the the two ships are back on course for Kraken’s Cove, Seeker continues rowing back toward the beach on the other side of the point. Silver does a few loops in the rain, keeping in sight of the pirate ships but not getting close at all. She then flies out over the marshy point, keeping low to the ground and out of sight of the Red Sails. Eventually, everyone meets back up on the sandy beach where the troop of savage monkeys was encountered. Everyone is tired from the trip here but on the bright side, the rain is letting up a bit, down to a light drizzle at this point with some breaking up of the clouds above.

Beached

Gorg drags a few pieces of large driftwood over and tries to fashion a lean-to type shelter. “The Captain said to wait here until morning and he would be back to get us,” the Ogre explains, “unless of course he ran into trouble with those two Red Sails!” He seems to get a bit anxious and upset at this course of thought. “Do you think those ships could have found the Captain and the Titan? I’m sure he could have outrun them, but I don’t think they could have fought off two pirate ships, especially without me there.” He blushes a bit at this statement, realizing what he was saying. “Is there any way we can contact him, to make sure they are ok or even still around waiting for us. If they had to flee the pirates, there is no telling where they might be or how long it will take them to get back here to get us. We’re about 60 miles from Essanos, but that’s by sea. The land route, though, would probably be much longer. The coastline is pretty wild between here and there, lots of wetlands and marshes. It could take us two weeks to make that hike, and we don’t have the supplies for that at all!”

Valinya, glad to be back on solid ground again, says, “I could attempt to reach his mind and see.  It would be helpful to know whether we should wait or not.” Following up on her thought Valinya sits down and settles herself to focus and sing her magic, reaching out for the captain’s mind.

The Elf maiden sings her song and reaches out with her mind, trying to locate and connect with the mind of Captain Tahir of the Tiny Titan. After a moment, she encounters his mind. At first her communication seems to be resisted, then, realizing what is happening, the Captain opens up his mind to her. As she establishes communication, she senses that he is preventing her from probing past his active thoughts, though Valinya believes that she could overpower his meager mental defenses.

Broadcasting her thoughts to the Captain Valinya says, “Captain, this is Valinya.  We are at the rendezvous site. Are you on the way? We ran across some pirates here and are hoping you were not attacked.”

Captain Tahir, in a confused sort of mental voice, replies, “Yes we are fine, well, not fine, but well enough. We spotted two pirate vessels, possibly the same ones you saw, and in our attempts to hide, took some damage from the rocks. We are nearby but taking on some water, trying to fix the breach but really need to get back to Essanos to fully fix it. I am glad you have summoned us, I am not sure we could have weathered the night until our rendezvous with you in the morning. We are on our way and should be there within the hour.”

Valinya replies, “Thank you.” and cuts the connection. She then relays the message to the others.  

The group prepares to wait for an hour or so until they can be picked up by the Tiny Titan. Some thoughts go to what they will do once they arrive back in Essanos, whose harbor had been shut down abruptly just yesterday after the chaos that ensued after the death of the Harbormaster and fires in the Sunrise District. Will the Tiny Titan even be able to dock? Will the Guardians even be granted access to the city? And then the more pressing and upsetting thought, was Lavinia warned in time?”

“Well,” Valinya says into the sudden silence, “since we seem to be at a crossroads with how to proceed in our quest for the pearl, I think I’ll do a divination while we wait … see what the winds have to say about the future.”  So saying, she transforms into air herself then floats up to meditate and listen, singing her song of divination.

A Cloudy Vision

As Valinya floats high above her companions on the rocky beach, she sings her song of knowledge, hoping to find some answers as to the group’s next steps. As she floats, she looks around and watches as the light rain, now just a drizzle, falls down around and through her airy form. A light misty fog and low lying clouds swirl around her. Suddenly she cannot see her friends below her anymore and in a moment of panic, starts to descend, then she realizes that the fog and clouds beneath her have coalesced into a shape. It looks like a coastline. She follows the line of the coast back to a city, Essanos. Then the clouds swirl again and she sees the face of Lavinia once again. The young Human woman smiles at her, then turns and heads south, disappearing into darkness. A stiff gust of wind then blows the cloud fragments and fog away. Slowly Valinya floats back down to the beach to tell her friends what her vision showed her.

After descending and solidifying again Valinya shares her vision with the others. “I’m not sure of the details but we definitely need to go see Lavinia and after that… well, maybe something Lavinia has to say or share will give a clue about heading south.”

Sindri turns to Valinya, "Just so I'm clear on all of this, you're chasing Vanthus, who has a magical pearl that can turn people into mutated raving psychos, and who, after talking to a few spirits, we think is heading north of here. At the same time, you want to head south to Essanos to help this Lavinia lady, who I take it is Vanthus' sister, fend off an attack on her manor? Please don't get me wrong, I'm not critiquing, just trying to get it all straight. Truth be told, I'm loving this! This is a far cry better than my typical day-to-day drudgery, I'm all in! Tell me this though, as I think I was left out of some of the discussions back there in the cave... why do we think it's better to head south? Seems to me that we're not very likely to ever find this guy's trail again if we abandon it now, and there's a distinct possibility that we won't make it back to Essanos before this theoretical attack takes place. You've already warned Lavinia, sounds like she has the resources to take care of herself at this point. Why don't we continue to track this jerk and his anomalous jem?" A few of the group distinctly note a slight emphasis on the 'we' in the last sentence...

Valinya arches an eyebrow at the presumptuous gnome’s self-insertion.  Ignoring that though she says, “I agree, it seems odd but that was my divination. It clearly showed the path to be Essanos, Lavinia and then a southward journey. However, perhaps I can help clear things up. I could just take a quick trip to see Lavinia and talk to her. That may give some insight. I can do that and hopefully be back before the ship arrives. Teleportation, you know - it’s risky but also quite handy.” She pauses before continuing, “Though truth be told I haven’t actually gone that far before. I’d have to make some adjustments… probably go in vaporous form and shoot for an elevation of, say 50 feet above the manor to account for potential errors… still, it could save us a lot of time. Plus if we want to head north I’m not sure the captain would take us since his ship needs repairs in Essanos. A trek through the swamp or rowing a boat with pirates around doesn’t appeal to me very much. What do you think, my ‘old’ comrades?”  

Seeker nods. “We are in the dark here. Any information that could make our course clearer would be most helpful.”

The Titan Arrives

After a while, the Titan finally comes into view. As the rowboat launch is pushed back out into the frothy waves, the light drizzle finally subsides though the sky remains a dismal shade of gray. Silver does a quick flyover, checking for pirates, but sees none. Seeker, Arn and Gorg skillfully pilot the craft out to the waiting Titan and everyone makes their way back on board. Wasting no time, the Captain calls for sails and the voyage back to Essanos begins.

“Depending on this wind, and a hopeful shift, we should reach Essanos before noon tomorrow. That is if we don't run into any of those Red Sails,” the Captain says as he scans the mouth of Blood Bay as the Tiny Titan cuts through the choppy, gray water.

While her friends climb aboard, Silver swoops in to the bow deck of the Titan.  After pausing for a moment for the sailors to scamper out of the way, she lands softly.  Once stopped, she takes a few moments to concentrate. Her form blurs and shrinks into her smaller elven form.  Smiling at the nervous looking sailors, she takes her time wandering down to mid-ships where the rest gathered to listen to the Captain.

To the Captain she replies “I suspect there aren’t very many red sails about right now.  There were a several ships destroyed in the cave we explored. I presume they were red sails, although they were aflame and abandoned by the time we arrived.  Oh, and there were two red-sailed ships that were headed back to that cave a couple of hours ago. We didn’t check, but I think they are still there. We should probably be on our way quickly if we want to avoid them.”

After listening to the others for a few minutes, Silver wanders around the ship for a while.  She tries to stay out of the sailor’s way, but fails a few times, and eventually finds a quiet place out on one of the upper spars of the main mast.  Until nightfall she spends most of her time sitting or laying there, alternately watching the coastline and horizon and looking rather bored.

Cast of Characters: 

Arne J plays Seeker, a teenage Wolfen Warlord

Stephen K plays Valinya, an Elven Wildsong Mage

Mike B plays Arn, a surly Dwarven Warrior

Amergin O'K plays Moonscar, the esoteric Kankoran Druid

Daniel W plays Silver, a young and curious Dragon
Mike W plays Gorgukk Torgnaz, an Ogre sailor and mauler
and Jason GURPS as the GM