Dark Paths 35

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 35
September 1, 2013

Leaving Devil's Elbow

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

The Crew and Zincher's men spent the next hour or so making the camp as small and defensible as possible. Most of the others were quite spooked by the thought of a Drow assault in the night and they kept the watch fire burning brightly.

Fortunately though, no attack came and just as the sun was rising, Erix returned to the camp from a patrol and roused the Crew. He led them to a nearby cliff overlooking the southern shore of Devil's Elbow and pointed out to sea. There, about a mile from shore, sailed a low, dark ship, cutting swiftly through the waves away from the island. He said he had spotted it pulling away from some secret harbor in the dark, pre-dawn hours. He said that, thought it had sails, it seemed to move quicker and straighter than as if propelled by just wind.

Back at the camp, word that the Drow had possibly fled eased the tension somewhat, though everyone was still ready to be done with this accursed island. While the others finished breaking down camp and packing everything up, Snargash led the Crew back to the Drow lair in hopes of finding his missing staff and flute.

Back on the rocky ledge, it was clear that the Drow had another way in and out of their lair as Aethel's magical stone seal was still in tact. Some quick magic was all it took to undo his previous enchantment of the doorway and the Crew entered the dark caverns. Inside, there was barely any sign of any disturbance at all, it was almost as if the Drow had cleaned up after themselves. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Snargash's musical instruments, which saddened him because he could not access much of his music without those tools.

The Crew explored a little further into the cavern complex until they discovered a huge underground lagoon with a high waterfall splashing in at the rear. Access to the sea could be seen but it was mostly blocked by high tide. A series of platforms, bridges and ladders had been set up at the far end of the enormous chamber, but the Crew passed on exploring it due to their already wounded condition. Sight of a huge killer whale swimming about in the lagoon area helped make the decision to leave before anything dangerous or unexpected happened.

When the Crew arrived back at the camp, Erix informed them they were ready to move out. Everyone helped haul the gear back across the island toward the piers to await for Captain Creesy and the Flying Cloud to come and take them back to Riddleport.

After a few uneventful hours of waiting, the Flying Cloud finally arrived. Captain Creesy was surprised but willing to transport Zincher's men back to Riddleport seeing as they had been stranded. He also told of the anticipation of those back on the mainland for the arrival of the Noqual skymetal. He offered to buy the skymetal for the fair price of 200$ per pound. Erix, the current proprietor of Zincher's stash agreed to these prices and immediately doled out the profits to the men. The Crew deliberated and then eventually sold their meager amount of Noqual to Creesy as well, dividing their small reward among themselves.

Just after nightfall, the Flying Cloud made Riddleport Harbor. The Captain moored the ship out in the harbor and had his crew ferry the passengers ashore to try to avoid the throng of skymetal-crazy citizens potentially waiting on the docks.

Paal was invited to come stay at the Gold Goblin with the rest of the Crew and everyone made their way there as quick as possible, happy to be 'home.'

Continuing Story Doc

Continuing Story Summary

Everyone, including the newcomer Paal, gets them a hot meal from Hulger’s kitchen and then finds a soft, real bed in the staff quarters of the Gold Goblin.

The next morning, everyone awakes to the smell of fish and eggs being cooked down in the kitchen. Shayla is very interested in hearing how things went on the island. She informs the Crew that their new friend, Kwava, has been spending most of his time out of town, but has sent messages by way of his hawk companion, Ganmeed, wishing to be notified when they arrived back from Devil’s Elbow. Once down in the kitchen, she gives everyone a good look over and says, “The lot of you look pretty beat up, well, with the exception of air-boy there,” she motioned to Aethel, the Elven mage at this comment.

Aragon laughs. "Yes, when you're an air-head, few things leave an impression." He leans in. "But there were foes there, worthy ones!  Strange blue cats with tentacles, even a manticore!  And yes, more of the Drow. We fought well, well, some of us, but their numbers were great, and their magic was nearly a match for Aethel's!"

Guy joins Aragon in laughing and nods at her comment on the groups condition. "I think I could have done with a few less foes, especially towards the end there. I think I'm going to be up for a bunch of resting for a bit and maybe seeing about heading out fishing if nothing urgent comes up. In the meantime, how about that breakfast? It's been far too long since we've had a real meal!"

Hulger makes a loud hrrumph sound as he starts slopping breakfast on to plates, “So my dinner last night didn’t quite qualify as a real meal, ehh shorty? See where that gets you at lunch time!” He frowns and gets back to work, curiously forgetting to make Guy a plate.

"Ha!" Guy says. "After so long on such an unpleasant island? Not large enough by half!"

Aragon nods.  “I think I’m feeling well enough for another trip out there.  Maybe we will get through without more problems from ratmen!”

Looking up from his breakfast Snargash the monk asks the others, “By the way, would anyone object to my taking the crossbow we got of the Drow woman? I’ve been thinking that it would be helpful if I have some means of ranged attacks; although I’d need to practice.”

Everyone takes it easy for the day, resting and recuperating from their time on the island. Shayla seems to have a decent handle on things at the Gold Goblin as the casino is running smoothly. Guy spends the day fishing. Snargash starts working on building his new flute weapons. Later that evening, Kwava’s hawk companion, Ganmeed arrives and perches on a fence outside the back door. The bird carries no message with him, but squawks loudly when it sees several of the returned folk. It nods its head in acknowledgement and flies off only to return several hours later with a note from Kwava asking for a meeting at his camp in the swamp the following morning.

Session Notes:

We were missing 2 players this session (which is a lot for us to miss, my group normally has great attendance) and then struggled with some MapTools issues. RPTools.net was offline when we tried to play. Fortunately we were able to work around this by having everyone connect directly to my computer. It took a while, but we managed to make it work. I had several backup plans (roll20, G+ hangout with screen share) so we would have played regardless, but it did cause a little hiccup at the beginning.

Cast of Characters: 

Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed - Noble Elf wizard played by +Daniel White 
Aragon Whisperwind - Elven Bladedancer played by +Arne Jamtgaard 
Bodil "Bodi" Jantzen - suave and smooth swordsman played by +Mike Biancone 
Guy Greystone - Gnome telekinetic played by +Gren Drake 
Paal Ulfsun - Northman Human ranger played by +Ben Zittere 
Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Dark Paths 32

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 32
July 7, 2013

Following Zincher

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

After settling in at Zincher's camp and having some dinner, the Crew is ready to watch and follow Zincher if he leaves the camp, as Erix hinted at earlier. Erix has re-arranged the watch duties so that the Crew won't be missed if they spend the evening out trailing Zincher. Paal takes up a hidden spot just outside of camp to where he can see the back of Zincher's tent while Aethel took on his usual Body of Air form and floated above the camp, watching out of sight in the dark night sky. Aragon and Guy remained at the campfire while Snargash took care of some of the camp's wounded and Bodi spent some alone time with Samaritha Beldusk, the Cyphermage.

Guy Greystone - Telekinetic Gnome

Soon enough, the watchers saw someone sneak out of the back of camp and they followed him, though the figure was making no attempts to be stealthy at all. He skirted around the camp then came out onto the path about 300 yards away from camp and proceeded to head up toward Witchlight, the ruined settlement at the top of the islands ridge. Paal headed back to tell the others while Aethel continued to follow.

Back at camp, Paal told the others what he saw. They spoke to Erix, who confirmed that Zincher was no longer in his tent and then urged them to go out and find out what he had been up to.

Meanwhile, Aethel followed the man as he walked up the path for about a half a mile before turning off toward the steep cliffside and began climbing down a narrow and treacherous path to a ledge some 20 feet above the quiet, rocky surf below. Aethel watched his quarry disappear between to large outcroppings of rock, but did not approach any closer. After about 20 minutes, the figure reappeared and climbed back up the path to the road. Aethel was sure it was Zincher now and when he turned and headed back toward the camp, the Elvish wizard flew quickly back to camp to tell the others. 

Meanwhile, before Aethel could return, the rest of the group (minus Bodi, who was indisposed) got anxious and finally left to go seek Zincher on their own. Paal led them through the forest and to the road at the same spot where he saw the man get on the path. Aethel soon appeared and told them what he had seen. He also told them that he expected Zincher to be coming along the path toward the camp shortly. Aethel then flew back to camp and continued to watch over the quiet camp through the dark of night. 

Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, Zincher was seen walking quickly toward the camp. Everyone had taken up hiding  places to watch for him, though he spotted Snargash crouching awkwardly behind a

Snargash trying to hide behind a tree...

nearby tree. Snargash pretended to be praying and Zincher seemed agreeable to that charade. Zincher told the Half Orc to be careful and then headed back to camp, following his previous path through the forest. Snargash followed him back to camp while Paal, Aragon and Guy went on down the road, looking for wherever it was that he had gone. 

Realizing that Aethel had not given them good enough directions to sufficiently track where Zincher had gone, Paal, Aragon and Guy give up on their search after a few hours on the trail and return to camp.

The next morning, Erix asks them what they had discovered and is disappointed that they had not done a better job at following Zincher. He gives them their assignments for the day, which is to try to capture another of the strange creatures roaming the island while providing security for a skymetal excavation team near the crater. This was completely in the opposite direction of where they wanted to go, but they carried out their duties as assigned. Snargash remained at the camp and attempted to treat two men who had been ill due to bites received from some of the creatures. They were in bad shape and their wounds had become swollen and black. Taking his time, Snargash attempted to cure the disease on one of the men, but his ritual ended up taking too long and the man died. He quickly changed his tact and was able to heal the 2nd man without further incident. The first man was burned to prevent him from returning as a zombie.

That night, after dinner, Erix tells them that he has pushed their guard times back for several hours so if

Zincher's cliffside path

they wanted to go check out where Zincher had gone, they could, though they would be expected back soon to relieve others for guard duty. With Aethel showing the way, the path was easy to find and the Crew carefully made their way down the steep and narrow path. Bodi slipped and fell but caught himself before falling over the edge to the rocky shoreline below. Once on the beach, the group attempted a stealthy crossing, but that was not to be as several folk shuffled around and even knocked a small avalanche of rocks plummeting over the edge to the water below.

magical glyph - fire trap

They found the small alcove that Zincher had disappeared into the night before, and with some searching, Aragon was able to find what appeared to be a well hidden secret door and an opening latch for it. Asking Guy for assistance in opening the door, Aragon opened it and in doing so, triggered some sort of magical glyph trap which exploded in flames, searing Guy and Aragon, though the Elf was able to roll out of the way, staying out of the main focus of the blast.

The door was now open, and anyone inside potentially alerted by the explosion of magical flames.

Scenic ocean front ledge complete with secret door and FIRE TRAP!

Session Notes

We were plagued with all sorts of problems getting to this session. It was almost a month late due to computer and network issues. One player had MapTool connection issues due to an operating system upgrade (but eventually made it online), another could not connect to MapTool from work and another had to leave an hour early, so we were down one and a half players. I was also using a different setup than usual since my network was having problems, and continued having trouble throughout the session (which I think we got under control when we dropped the video feed from the hangout and just kept it to voice chat) though it did allow me to use dual monitors, which was nice for MapTool and Hangouts and having character sheets and PDFs of various references open at once. 

There will also not be a direct continuing story for this session due to being right on the brink of the campaign arc final encounter. Each player has the option of doing a 'flashback' type of continuing story if they wish.

Cast of Characters: 

Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed (265 pts) - Noble Elf wizard played by +Daniel White 
Aragon Whisperwind (270 pts) - Elven Bladedancer played by +Arne Jamtgaard 
Bodil "Bodi" Jantzen - suave and smooth swordsman played by +Mike Biancone 
Guy Greystone (259 pts) - Gnome telekinetic played by +Gren Drake 
Paal Ulfsun (256 pts) - Northman Human ranger played by +Ben Zittere 
Snargash Windblown (265 pts) - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Dark Paths 28

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 28
April 14, 2013

There's a Hole in the Bucket

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

After dealing with the threat of the manticore, the party decided to focus its search for skymetal in the actual water filled crater. Guy, using his Wave Bracelet that gave him the ability to move and breathe freely underwater, went into the crater lake in hopes to find more of the noqual. After about a half hour search, he came across a distinct hole in the bottom of the lake that seemed to have something in the bottom of it. Unfortunately it was too far down for his short, Gnome arms to reach, so he reached out with his psionic powers and grabbed the object and slowly but surely pulled it out. It turned out to be a 3lb chunk of the skymetal!

He returned to the shore to share his find and he was informed by the others that they had spotted something moving in the tree line 1000 feet away, but whatever it was did not show itself. Guy went back to work searching the bottom of the lake, and while he discovered several more possible locations of skymetal chunks, he was not able to actually see or retrieve any of them.

As the day was getting longer, several groups of the strange zombie like creatures presented themselves. The creatures slowly clambered toward the group on the shore of the crater lake. Due to the distance and difficult terrain, it took considerable time for each of the three groups to arrive. Some talk of making traps and other deterrents was had. Paal even built a trap involving bent back tree limbs, but when he tired to start a fire, and was unsuccessful, he gave up on the traps idea.

After some thinking, the Crew thought that these zombies might have some sort of vulnrability to water like the other strange creatures did and since the zombies were said to have risen from people bitten by these tentacled lion-dog creatures, it was worth a shot. Bodi had found a small chunk of wood that could hold a gallon or so of water. Aethel then cast a spell on him allowing him to fly. Bodi took off, resisted doing some loops in the air, then flew over to the slow-going zombies and dumped the water right in its face. The zombie fell to the ground hissing and screaming. The water had great affect on the zombies. Bodi flew back and Aethel used his shaping magic to great effect and crafts several bowls out of downed tree wood.

Everyone then stepped back into the water as the zombies approached and began splashing them. It seemed that the zombies were not scared to walk a little ways into the water, but when the water hit them in the face, they fell to the ground, dead again.

After some time, all three groups of approaching zombies were dispatched of with no injury to anyone. It seemed that the hour was very late and the Crew decided to head back to camp. Guy remembered the way and the hike back home was almost worse than the hike earlier that day.

Samaritha and the wounded Cyphermage, Harik, were still there, safe. Harik was feeling and looking a bit better. Samaritha said that Snargash's magical mist protected the camp but she thinks that some of the dog/lion/tentacle creatures had been nearby earlier that day.

Continued Story Doc

Continued Story Summary

After returning to the base camp and making sure their two guests are still safe, the group took a moment to examine the 2 chunks of skymetal they had recovered. It was a very tough, yet light material. It was pale green and seemed to sparkle or even be slightly translucent in bright light. It resembled a chunk of crystal more than metal.

Paal sits on a log and starts whittling shavings into a pile in case we need to start a fire. “So, with three days left before our ship arrives, what do we plan to do with the rest of our time?”

At Paal’s question, Aragon looks sideways at Bodi and Aethel.  He knows that ultimately, their quest is to find if there are more of the mythical Drow on the island.  But when is the right time to tell the newcomer?

Unaware of his teammates potential treachery, Paal continues to work for the good of the group.

Bodi looks around at his companions.   “Well we sure have run into our share of trouble on this rock.  The strange animals with tentacles, the manticore, zombies, and one can only imagine what else is here.      The bottom line is, there is a lot more at stake here than just star-metal.   But while we have 3 days left, I think it would be in our best interest to not only look for more star-metal, but also maybe uncover some other secrets yet unknown on this island.”

With that last comment Bodi flashes a wink towards Aragon and Aethel.

“I have heard some tales about this island and while we’re here, it may benefit us to scout them out.    Sure we have this massive crater, but we also had the Witchlight tower, which gave us that nasty tumble, and the lighthouse to check out as well.    I suggest we agree on something and continue to investigate, especially now that our two cypher mages are ready to roll.,

Bodi expected to see the male cyphermage flinch, and picks up on it right away.

“Oh don’t worry there (male mage who’s name I can’t remember), it’s all good.  I have played that wounded rabbit role once or twice before to get into a woman’s drawers, but Samaritha here is too smart for you to get away with it on her, so you may as well just man up and admit now that you’re healthy enough to travel with us.    Or, if you like, I can have Aragon inflict a real wound upon you that WILL keep you grounded.”   

The last line again said with a sneering smile and a darker tone than Bodi normally speaks with.

Bodi then considers his next set of statements.   “We all heard the story of the man and the woman and the Witchlight Tower and the Siren and the love story of death.    Well there are a few more things that may have happened on this island.    Remember folks, there were people who tried to make a community here.    Sure there are some random monsters around that could have made things hazardous, but some of these creatures seem more like they are ‘created’ by foul magic, which leads one to think that there is much more going on here than just random acts of violence by randomly fantastic critters”

“That star or rock or whatever it was that fell was directed to fall  and aimed to land here.   There is something more to this than a random falling piece of metal and rock.   I think the answers to all of that can be found here and we may be in for some surprises on what we find.   But the potential for profit, fame, and fortune are too good to pass up, if you catch my drift.”

Paal says, "Interesting Bodi, what sort of rumors have you heard? If we are to look for something specific we should probably pool all available knowledge on it.”

“The story was about a man who led a group here to settle. they built witch light but he had fallen in love with the Siren. The settlers got upset at this and killed the Siren cause she was a monster. The man got sad and killed himself as well. The settlement failed. that was several decades ago.”

Bodi shrugs.   “Though I have heard other tales.   Like that there are other things, best not named, possibly living or have infiltrated this island.   That alone may be worth more of our effort.”

Paal says, "Other tales like what, exactly? Do you believe them or are they best ignored? “

Aragon shrugs.  “Zombies, not unlike the creatures that attacked earlier.  Ghosts that haunt places where people have died, tragically.  

Once again, the camp is set and Snargash casts his Mystic Mist spell to protect the camp through the night. A watch is set and everyone settles in for the evening. Nothing happens during the night, though several folk report that they heard sounds of movement in the nearby forest during their watch, though nothing too close to the camp.

Taking a quick inventory of their supplies, it seems that with the addition of the Northman Paal and the two Cyphermages, their food stores are being depleted faster than they expected. Already, about half of the weeks supply of food is gone in just 3 days on the island and 4 of the 7 water barrels are already empty.

Paal says, "Well, we know there are buzzards on the island, and there are plenty of gulls to eat. Since there was a colony there must have been a source of fresh water. We should be able to restock our supplies fairly easily. If not, we should be able to survive on what we have with a little rationing."

Cast of Characters: 

Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed - Noble Elf wizard played by +Daniel White 
Aragon Whisperwind - Elven Bladedancer played by +Arne Jamtgaard 
Bodi Jantzen - suave and smooth swordsman played by +Mike Biancone 
Guy Greystone - Gnome telekinetic played by +Gren Drake 
Paal Ulfsun - Northman ranger played by +Ben Zittere 
Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Dark Paths 27

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 27
March 31, 2013

I Wanna (Space) Rock

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

It was a long way down!

With the help of Aethel's transforming magic and Guy's Wave Bracelet, those off the beach were able to join the rest on dry land. Snargash did what he could to stabilize the wounded Cyphermage, Harik. Once on the land, though, it was clear that there was no other way off the beach besides climbing back up the 200 foot
cliff that the tower had just rolled down. Undaunted, those capable of climbing started right up the side of the cliff. There were several close calls on the way up and Paal even managed to seriously injure himself in the climb and it took the group to get him up and over the edge. Guy, Aethel, Snargash and Samaritha all used their unique gifts (magic or psi) to get themselves to the top of the cliff.

At the top of the cliff, Guy did some aerial scouting of the area for some possible locations to camp but it was eventually decided to hike back down to the base camp near the docks and spend the night there before trying to move the camp. Harik was still very difficult to move, barely conscious at times. Snargash needed a few days to get him fully back to health due to the constraints of his divinely granted powers.

Camp was made, Snargash used the last bits of his divine magic to protect the camp. The next morning, the group decided to head out to the crater to at least get an idea of what they were dealing with in regards to the skymetal they were looking for. After 2 hours of tough hiking through very difficult terrain, they finally reached the crater. Everything within a half mile of the huge, water filled crater was flattened, making travel even more difficult. The group then paired off and spread out to look for this skymetal. After about an hour, Guy managed to find a small chunk, about half the size of his fist. It was pale green and almost looked more like 

crystal than metal, and though it seems light, it feels tough. Encouraged by their find, they group continues looking.

Continued Story Doc

Continued Story Summary

After some time, a dark, winged creature climbs up out of a hollow below some fallen trees and takes flight. It charges toward Aragon and Bodi, who were the closest to it. The creature, a manticore, hit Aragon with several long barbs shot from its tail before entering melee. During the scuffle, it managed to knock Aragon down and tried to pin him while Bodi, Aethel and Paal harassed it with their various attacks. Eventually, Aragon was able to get some distance from the creature and lash out, dealing the final blow to the beast.

Paal provided first aid to Aragon's hand while Snargash tended to the other wounds using his magic.

Players Present: 

+Amergin O'Kai as Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk
+Arne Jamtgaard as Aragon Whisperwind - Elven Bladedancer
+Ben Zittere as Paal Ulfsun - Northman ranger
+Daniel White as Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed - Noble Elf wizard
+Gren Drake as Guy Greystone - Gnome telekinetic 
+Mike Biancone as Bodi Jantzen - suave and smooth swordsman
+Jason Woollard as the DM

Dark Paths 25

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 25
March 3, 2013

I'm On an Island

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

This has been the longest week ever in Riddleport. The group awaits very impatiently for the arrival of their transportation, the Flying Cloud, to take them out to the Devil's Elbow. Two ships have already left port, presumably heading toward the island and the Flying cloud is still not due in for another 4 days. The next day, after the Dark Pearl mysteriously arrived and set sail in the night, the criers are all out on the streets..."Overlord Cromarcky has decreed that any further ships departing Riddleport without direct authorization from the Overlord will become the property of the City of Riddleport immediately!" Later that same afternoon, another ship, one that had appeared to be badly damaged, suddenly looks to be in perfect shape and quickly sails out of the harbor. The word on the street is that all ships going in or out of the port have to be cleared by the Overlord and he may or may not commandeer said vesselWord quickly gets around that the Cyphermages had been secretly repairing the ship under an illusion disguise and then sailed out in broad daylight, no doubt to send a message to the Overlord.

Eventually, a few days later, the Flying Cloud finally arrives and can take the party to the island. The Flying Cloud is captained by a former adventurer named Josper Creesy. He agrees to take them to Devil's Elbow and then return for them in a few days. Onboard, the group meets Paal, an Northman ranger who was picked up from a shipwreck north of Riddleport, no doubt caused by the tidal wave when the meteor hit the island. He expresses a desire to join the group on the island to look for skymetal.

When the ship arrives at the island, they are greeted by a bright flashing light from the tower atop the islands highest hill, some sort of signal. Upon landing, a group of Dwarves and Humans come forth saying they are from the expedition that Overlord Cromarcky sent from the Gas Forges. Gravin Goldhammer is the leader and tells them that there are dangerous things on the island and that he has lost most of his party to some dangerous, hard to spot creatures. The Goldhammer Expedition hitches a ride back to Riddleport.

Continuing  Story Doc

Continuing Story Summary

The group quickly makes a camp just off the docks at the base of the hill and debates on their next course of action. Snargash uses his music to create a protective veil over the encampment in the form of a mystic mist and several tactical points of magical alarms in case any one or anything attempts to sneak up in the night.

Players Present: 
+Amergin O'Kai as Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk
+Arne Jamtgaard as Aragon Whisperwind - Elven Bladedancer
+Ben Zittere as Paal Ulfsun - Northman ranger
+Daniel White as Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed - Noble Elf wizard
+Gren Drake as Guy Greystone - Gnome telekinetic 
+Mike Biancone as Bodil "Bodi" Jantzen - Human swashbuckler, sailor and lady's man
+Jason Woollard as the DM

Dark Paths 24

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 24
February 2, 2013

Come Sail Away

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

The damage to the wharf district is horrible. Aragon, Bodi and Snargash spend the rest of the afternoon helping folks. Many shops, piers and boats were severely damaged. In a strange turn of events, the normally self centered citizens of Riddleport all come together to help clean up the mess. Dead bodies litter the harbor where many unsuspecting folk were violently washed out to sea and drown. A large contingent of wounded have descended upon the Gold Goblin looking for help as promised from Snargash.

Those giving a helping hand do what they can then retire for the night after the Gold Goblin is secured. In the morning, there is an even larger crowd of wounded citizens in the Goblin's courtyard, having heard that there would be food and healing available there. Hulger, the gruff Halfling cook whips up pot upon pot of Bunyip stew and as much Reefclaw as he can boil. Fortunately there was a bountiful catch from the previous days flooding.

Snargash unofficially heads up the cleanup and emergency services on the docks. Aethel, Aragon and Kwava puzzle over the Dark Elf and her cryptic journal, eventually deciding to go to a local enchanter looking for a Scroll of Gift of Letters. Bodi and Guy work stick around the Goblin, cleaning up and taking turns guarding the prisoner. 

Some of the book seems to be a ledger of sorts kept by someone whos name is Depora that lists all of the money Saul had been funneling to her, along with several notes of what that money was spent on (mostly alchemical supplies, spell components, and exotic food to be shipped to a place called Devil’s Elbow—these shipments were always made at night and by different sailors from whom Depora was careful to hide her true nature). 

Most of the book seems to be a list of all of the strange and exotic weather effects and other unusual phenomena that have occurred in Riddleport over the past several months. All of these, including the Blot itself, are indicated in the journal as “strange and eldritch side effects from the charging of the glyphs on Devil’s Elbow,” and that “It would do to further refine the glyphs to minimize such blatant displays lest the enemy receive further warning of the impending apocalypse than we wish to reveal.” 

The journal goes on to theorize that as soon as the “glyphs are activated and the star is plucked,” the strange side effects such as the shadow in the sky should vanish immediately. The last journal entry indicates that Depora suspects that this event could occur as soon as "tonight"

Bodi and Guy take notice of the Elves translation of the journal and add that they have heard of Devil's Elbow before. Devil's Elbow is an island not far from Riddleport, near the mainland along the shipping lanes but just enough outside of it to not be a problem. There was a failed settlement there years ago called Witchlight and occasionally pirates are known to use it as a temporary base. The group discusses the potential meaning of the new information brought to light. Kwava wants to go back to his camp so he can send a magical message back to his superiors.

Indeed, it was the effects of the relatively small (but still destructive) tsunami that hit Riddleport after the star crashed that have been on the minds of the city’s denizens recently. When the wave surged ashore, dozens of ships were beached, with several washed inland and left stranded as far as Wharf Street. Many of Riddleport’s piers were ruined, and several of the smaller buildings along the waterfront were damaged. Over the days following the event, the crimelords and overlord of Riddleport mobilized in a way rarely seen in the lawless city, working together to put out fires, save citizens who were swept out into the harbor, and kill angry and disoriented reefclaws, sharks, bunyips, and other dangerous sea creatures that suddenly found themselves stranded in the city streets.

In the aftermath, the cost of the damage to buildings and structures rises into the tens of thousands of gold, and the total number slain or swept out to sea by the wave may never be known (thanks to the city’s inefficient census practices), although the more conservative estimates place the total number of victims between 150 to 200. Yet despite the disaster, Riddleport is quick to forget the trauma. Those who weren’t directly harmed by the wave have little compassion for those who do, while those who were affected are universally quick to turn the event from disaster into opportunity. In the days and weeks to follow, the chaos on the waterfront makes for ripe grounds for smugglers, looters, and other violent criminals. Ships that were further out to sea return to find many of their competitors no longer in a position to work against them, and the balance of power among the various pirate captains has shifted dramatically (not that many outside of that violent subculture would notice much difference).

The next day, when Kwava returns, he says he is to head to Devil's Elbow to search for more Drow and see what they were actually up to. He relays that he believes that his superiors may have known it was Drow he was tracking but had not shared that information with him before. The Crew agrees to join him on his trip to the nearby island. Shayla agrees to stay at the Gold Goblin and look after it and try to get it reopened.

It seems that the new day brings a new greed to Riddleport. This new greed continues to grow among Riddleport’s citizens—a greed for skymetal. After the initial shock of the falling star and its impact subsided, the implications of the event sunk in. Skymetal, in any of its seven known varieties, is a valued and much sought-after commodity in any society, but with Riddleport’s Gas Forges being one of Varisia’s only public operations capable of smelting such difficult metals, the convenience of the fallen star has many of Riddleport’s groups eager for a chance at the easy money.

Yet the damage done to Riddleport’s waterfront and to many of the ships owned by prominent locals has retarded the burgeoning Skymetal Rush. As the days drag on, the race to be the first to reach Devil’s Elbow slowly takes the city by storm, with those who don’t have access to ships scrambling to secure deals with those who do.

Several days have passed since the star fell from the sky, as the locals have been referring to it as,a nd no ships have presented themeslves for the Crew to book passage on.

Bodi finds an old contact, Axelrod Gunnarson, who is first mate on a ship called the Flying Cloud. The ship was not in port when the tsunami hit and should be arriving back in Riddlport in about a weeks time. He makes a deal to transport the Crew and their gear out to the island once the ship arrives. Axel tells the Crew the tales he knows of the island, referring to the abandoned settlement of years past and the Siren that was known to live there, now thought dead.

"Yaris, the man who led the settlement there, supposedly fell in love with the Siren. Fallen under her evil spell no doubt. The others on the island eventually found out and killed the Siren. Yaris then jumped from one of the lighthouses, killing himself. Both of their ghosts are still said to haunt the island to this day, which is why no further settlement was made there. There's also supposed to be giant centipedes there as well. Yuck!"

The thought of giant centipedes makes Aragon shudder.

Continuing Story Doc

Continuing Story Summary

The group spends the next several days preparing supplies for the trip. They plan to purchase enough supplies to camp on the island for at least a weeks time. News quickly spreads through town that Avery Sleyg, one of the more prominent crimelords has just had one of his ships return to port. He had a crew and supplies ready and hidden near the docks so no sooner had the ship tied its mooring lines, they had loaded and set sail again, being the first group to head off to Devil's Elbow. 

Slyeg's departure gets the docks buzzing and work on repairing the other ships kicks into high gear. Clegg Zincher makes a public statement saying that he will pay handsomely for the use of the next available ship and will even beat any previous offers the captain's may have had. It is even rumored that Overlord Cormarcky has thrown his (pirate) hat into the ring and is attempting to make arrangements to send a crew to the island. 

Talk of possible sabotague is passed around the Gold Goblin crew, but quickly dismissed as it becomes clear that the protection on the ships being repaired is quite serious and probably not worth the effort. Overlord Cromarcky decrees that the next available sailing ship is to be surrendered to the City of Riddleport for official City business. 

The following morning there is rumor on the streets that a pirate ship, the Dark Pearl, had arrived during the night. The crew never came ashore though some said they heard the sounds of a struggle on board right after making landfall. Shortly thereafter, some supplies were seen being loaded onto the ship and it quickly set sail under the early morning sky, several hours before sunup. 

Cast of Characters: 

Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed - Noble Elf wizard played by +Daniel White 
Aragon Whisperwind - Elven Bladedancer played by +Arne Jamtgaard 
Bodil "Bodi" Jantzen - suave and smooth swordsman played by +Mike Biancone 
Guy Greystone - Gnome telekinetic played by +Gren Drake 
Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM