Having recovered one part of the magic ring, and copious treasure besides, a week of relaxation commenced on the Naked Isle. Aderian and Ollie both gave generously to Zhargrave’s mission, and they both seemed to have benefited from the recent experience of delving into Hestrin’s tomb. Likewise, Hocuspo, devoted follower to Tienarth, discovered some new insight into the arcane practices. Meanwhile, the others busied themselves with mundane pleasures, including listening to a popular tale about hunters spotting a wild woman in the swamps who was chased but not caught. The tale ended with the discovery of a mutilated frog body.
Urgesh found himself in a fortunate situation when he attempted to sell the barrels of garlic left on The Ranger, the ship he’d purchased from the rest of the Raiders. Zhargrave himself was interested, having realized that since the islanders had been treated to a feast of garlic frog meat weeks prior that a strong demand was growing. Since he had plenty of donated wealth, he paid a generous sum for the garlic, using some to plant new fields and the rest to prepare free meals for the community. The garlic frog sticks handed out at the steadily-growing temple were a success. More elves found themselves enamored of The Anointed One. This wasn’t exactly what Urgesh hoped for, since he enjoyed the traditional lack of clothing.
Yet, the forces of balance imposed their influence in the form of the druids who had recently arrived on the island. They planned a feast of their own where 100 frogs would be sacrificed and used to prepare a vast quantity of frog curry. This plan had the hearty support of the traditionalist elves, particularly the male elves who were feeling the pressure of competition for mates. Many of Ephor’s sailors had decided to stay and settle down with a newly-indoctrinated elf maiden.
Ollie took the ring fragment to Silverfish who praised the team for completing the first task. Tienarth analyzed the ring and discovered it had strong anti-magic properties. Silverfish explained that the reassembled ring would be the only method for getting past the deadly protection of the entrance to the Workshop of Telescopes. Aderian decided to wear the ring, hoping it would protect him in some future encounter. A test was made by casting a hold person spell upon Aderian, and the ring did not prevent the spell from taking effect.
Setting Sail
On the 12th day of the 7th month, five more elves were hired on to fill out the crew of the Garlic Frog. They joined the two elves and three dwarves who already served in this capacity. So as to be clear that none of these sailors were slaves, a salary of 10 pieces of gold per month was promised. The agreement made, the ship sailed south once again with Aderian as captain. Along with him came Ollie, Saul, Tienarth, Hocuspo, Ferris and Nate. They hoped to find the Island of Lonesome Shoulders they saw on the tapestry hanging in the lich’s tower.
Over the course of days heading south, they passed by a ship flying a flag of three horizontal stripes: green, white, green. The next day, Aderian fell under the alluring song mermaids but was prevented from steering the ship into the rocks when Hocuspo dispelled the magic. This speedy solution was fortunate because in the next moment a water element crashed into the stern of the ship, splintering the wood of the railing. Enraged, Saul’s lion lept at the animated wave, then found himself struggling to swim. Saul transformed into a griffon and lifted his companion out of the water while Tienarth and the other damaged the elemental. Before long, the foe was banished from the world, but the ship had suffered real damage from a couple of hard hits.
Phakta, Living Goddess
On the 14th day, land was spotted, and it was investigated for being the island they sought. Verdant jungle cloaked the island which featured a tall peak in the center. A boat was rowed up a river, across a large lake and then farther up a mighty river. From the base of the mountain, they climbed up ancient stairs, eventually arriving at a temple green-skinned elves strolled beneath the shadows of stone guardians. They were led into a throne room to meet the goddess Phakta. She was pleased at her guests having done no violence to the wild inhabitants of her island, and she offered some assistance to their quest despite not understanding the trivial aims of mortals.
Ollie, still suffering from the effects of a vampire bite, asked for restoration, which Phakta granted for the cost of his everlasting devotion. Never again should he look to the human-centric religion of the Anointed One. Phakta was now his goddess.
The following day, they descended the mountain and returned to the Garlic Frog. Pirate ships were avoided, but on the 18th they faced another water elemental that pursued a merchant ship. Before the elemental could damage the other ship too severely, Saul and Tienarth destroyed the monster with lightning. The crew of the merchant vessel were thankful. They did not know of the Island of Lonesome Shoulders, but they had heard of the Naked Isle, and they were comforted to know of its recent religious conversion.
Death on the Island of Lonesome Shoulders
The next day (7/19), they reached their destination. The island was rocky, but not entirely barren. On the east side, a 30 foot statue could be seen from the water. On the west side was a beach that offered an easier landing. The statue was deemed dangerous and to be avoided. They landed on the beach where they found the landscape littered with headless bodies in various states of decay, most of them little more than than bones. Not a single skull was seen.
Presently, a gold dragon appeared and attempted to charm Tienarth, who resisted. Just as suddenly, the dragon disappeared. A voice commanded them to flee, but they remained. And then a white dragon appeared to their flank. It produced a cold of ice that bathed over the entire party. The icy hands of death snuffed out the lives of Hocuspo and Saul. The rest of them shivered under the strain of extreme cold. The call went out to flee. The fighters hauled the two lifeless bodies into the boat, and they furiously rowed back to the ship.
Once again, they were faced with the struggle to restore life to their fallen companions. It was certain that Zhargrave could raise them from the dead, but Saul did not follow the Anointed One. Accepting that assistance had greatly affected both Nate and Aderian. Perhaps Saul would cease being a druid if he did likewise. They wondered if the druids back at the Naked Isle could provide similar magic. Ollie, naturally, thought first of his goddess, Phakta.
End Notes
- Days
- 7/6 – 7/11 – Downtime on Naked Isle
- 7/12 Set sail for the Island of Lonesome Shoulders
- 7/14 – Find island of Phakta
- 7/19 – Deadly battle on the Island of Lonesome Shoulders
- Treasure
- none
- Combat: 6770 xp
- 2 Water Elementals 3,385 xp each
- Characters (5 shares of 1354 xp)
- Aderian (human, fight) 1,516 xp
- Ferris (human) 1,489 xp
- Hocuspo (died)
- Nate (human, fight) 1,503 xp
- Ollie (fight) 1,368 xp
- Saul and Lion (died)
- Tienarth (avoid combat) 1,368 xp
- Ships
- The Garlic Frog (Caravel)
- Crew/Passengers: 10/ 7
- Hit Points: 49/75
- Cargo: 52 of 75 tons
- Food: 120 man/weeks
- Water: 4940 gallons (20 tons)
- 22 tons of sugar, 5 tons of cocoa, 5 tons of cotton
- The Ranger (Caravel)
- Crew/Passengers: 0/ 0
- Cargo: 0 of 75 tons
- Food: – man/weeks
- Water: – gallons
- The Garlic Frog (Caravel)