On the 22nd day of the 7th month, the Garlic Frog set anchor at Phakta’s island. Saul’s ragged body, wrapped in sailcloth and bound with ropes, was loaded into the longboat and rowed up the Manrose River to the base of Mount Virlis. Ollie carried the body up the half-mile of stairs to Phakta’s temple at the top of the mountain. “Oh, my most devoted worshiper, Ollie, you have returned to ask another favor of me,” began Phakta, “I am a most benevolent goddess and will restore your friend to life in exchange for similar devotion and completion of a quest.” Her hand rested on an enormous pearl on which played various scenes. “I am saddened when men do evil against the innocent creatures of the world,” she explained. The visions on the pearl showed sailors hacking the flesh from a whale as it struggled against ropes.
“Yes, dear Saul, I will bring you back, but I must bargain with Haderax, for he demands payment. He will only exchange like for like. Thus, to release your soul, you must make an oath to sacrifice seven souls, seven people of the human races, which includes elves, dwarves and halflings. You must slay each one by a blunt blow you deliver with your own hand. Then the sacrifice must be weighed down and dropped into the ocean along with all his possessions. This will be a sweet savor to your lady Phakta. And these slayings must be carried out before a year has passed.” Ollie and the others heard her words and little doubted so had Saul, though his lifeless body now lay unbound upon a table made of smooth obsidian.
Finally, she said, “if you accept my terms, you may choose to return to this body, cured of all ills, or else I shall make for you a new body.”
The goddess alone heard his words from the spirit realm. “I accept, Lady Phakta, and I would like a new body, as this one is worn and marred by battle.”
The goddess waved her hands over Saul’s body. His cloths sank down as the body shrank and withered away. Presently, nothing was left but his possessions. The Saul of the past was no more. Suddenly, thunder cracked. The slim form of a sea elf walked up to the obsidian table and announced, “I am Saul.” Like all sea elves, Saul’s skin was a pale blue. Webbing spread out between this fingers and toes. He stood just over six feet tall (for none in all the world was exactly six feet tall but the Anointed One).
When they returned to the ship, the next day, Saul experimented with his new abilities to swim at rapid speed and to breath water.
Reviving Hocuspo
After two more days, the ship arrived once again to the Naked Isle. The Garlic frog drifted into the harbor in the afternoon and was tied fast to the wharf with heavy ropes. Tienarth’s Raiders disembarked, carrying the body of Hocuspo. The dockworkers gawked at the blue-skinned Saul. As they walked up the road to the village of Osrendell, they passed fields where farmers were placing bulbs of garlic into neat rows. Then, once inside the village itself, they came upon several pens that held frogs of many sorts. All were large, ranging from half to double the size of a man. Their skins varied from plain green, to mottled brown to black stripes. The sacrifice planned by the druids would be held that night.
One beast was set aside in its own cage, a frog-like creature with six legs. Its eyes glowed green in the low afternoon sun that filtered through the heavy tree canopy. An elf crone, wrinkled by age yet uncovered as was the custom, warned them off with a wave of a gnarled staff, mumbling “this abomination shall be destroyed tonight.”
Zhargrave greeted them as Hocuspo’s body was laid on the altar of his temporary chapel. It was merely a tent covering a low, wooden platform before rows of grass mats. “His soul lingers near,” the cleric explained, “but has almost given up on the toils of mortal life. I shall call him back.” Thus began a long ritual that included anointing of oil on the deceased mage’s forehead and the liberal waving of a censer distributing a sweet smoke. Great prayers were made to the Anointed One. When Zhargrave placed his palm over Hocuspo’s heart, a deep breath was drawn and he opened his eyes and began to speak. “Thank you, my brothers, for restoring my life. I carry a message from the angels that though evil surrounds us, yet we walk the path of righteousness. A great malevolent force lurks nearby and prods us along. Our destination is in all manners right, but we travel toward it for incorrect reasons.”
Zhargrave directed two of his attendants to take Hocuspo to hut for further recovery.
Druidic Sacrifice
Later, after the sun had set, a crowd gathered in the village square. An effigy of the World Tree had been constructed from tree branches, a latticework making a hollow basket with the shape of trunk supporting outstretched limbs. A robed figure climbed up the wooden edifice where the six-legged frog was bound inside. In a semi-circle around the tree, the other frog were held fast by a number of druids and naked elves. The druid inside the tree called out, “Release the blood of life so that this land may be consecrated once again!” Simultaneously, daggers were drawn across the baggy throats of the captive frogs. The fresh, crimson ichor was made to fill stone basins, and when one frog was drained, another was brought forward.
The crowd stepped forward to grab handfuls of blood, which was smeared over skin. Cries of exhilaration were exclaimed, and when hundreds of naked elves were all covered in blood, seemingly in a trance, they began to sing. The melody began low and built up in volume and pitch, as new voices added to a harmony unlike any human music. The rhythm droned as the singers performed a slow dance almost without a pattern.
“Ee-yah!” The chant halted with the cry of the arch druid who now stood at the foot of the tree-effigy, a blazing torch in his right hand. From out of the solemn silence, he began a prayer in a croaking voice. “Oh World Tree, from which all life grows and to which all life returns, hear now our prayers! One hundred beasts have we slaughtered for you. The blood revives us and the soil beneath our feet. Please restore the balance that we so desperately need. To this wet blood we bring the dryness of fire. And here,” he pointed at the foul, six-legged frog-thing inside the effigy, “we bring you two more gifts of balance. This unnatural beast is an insult to the perfection of your creation.” Several in the crowd uttered a low growl.
“Your servant, Heliraro, stands ready to deliver this beast to you!” The robed figure standing over the frog-beast threw back his robe and raised a scimitar-shaped dagger. The crowd let loose a thunderous cheer which quickly subsided back into reverent silence.
The arch druid brought the torch down to the foot of the tree-effigy where the flames instantly licked up the latticed trunk. Above, Heliraro plunged the dagger in the back of the bound frog-beast. It squealed out a cry unlike any made by a natural frog. The young druid drew out the blade to reveal green goo which dripped down over his bare arm. Black smoke poured upward around him as orange flames danced all around. With one swift motion, he plunged the dagger into his own breast. Obscured through the smoke and haze, his face showed a sense of satisfaction. He dropped to his knees, then tumbled over the frog-beast as the flames overtook him.
Soon after, the entire tree was engulfed, a tower of flame reaching at least thirty feet into the clear sky. The pallid moon, mostly full, looked down placidly. Then the crowd began hacking the legs of the frogs from their bodies, skewering them. When the tree was little more than a pile of coals, the meat was roasted and distributed amongst the celebrants. All seemed relieved to have endured a momentous ritual.
Return to the Island
On the 26th, preparations were made to return to the Island of Lonesome Shoulders. Some attention was paid to the message Hocuspo brought back from the grave. What was the malevolent force prodding them along? Tienarth concluded nothing could be done to escape fate. Saul wondered if the force was merely greed, which the old elf dismissed as naive. Aderian suggested sacrificing an animal, to which both Ollie and Saul reacted negatively.
The party that day included Tienarth, Hocuspo, Urgesh, Aderian, Saul, Ollie, Ferris, and Nate. With them they took their paid crew of dwarves and elves. And before long, they spotted a familiar ship. It flew the green-while-green flag of Yokrayga. Urgesh spied the men on the vessel through his glass, noting their yellow-toned skin covered in tattoos. Despite aggressive words in an unrecognized tongue, the Garlic Frog was made to approach. Eventually, a brief conversation was made in the common trade language. The Yokraygan merchants had no interest in trade. They warned Tienarth’s Raiders of the danger of the seas, evidently ignorant of their power. The ships parted without incident.
Two days later (7/28), they wondered at the luminescent waters trailing behind the ship in the fading light of dusk. Aderian spotted a bottle floating in the undulating water. Saul dove in and fetched the bottle with ease. Inside, kept dry by a cork, was a note. On parchment were words scratched out in charcoal. “Invisible horrors. They’ll take your head. Stay away.”
By sunrise, they had spotted the island, easily recognized by the 30 foot statue at the north end. Rather than get too close, Saul agreed to scout the waters around the island. His new sea elf body made it particularly easy and safe, though he was faced with the threat of an inquisitive orca. The druid began a ritual to befriend the killer whale who he named Huck.
Saul returned to describe many shipwrecks beneath the waves. Ollie convinced him to bring up a body for interrogation. Saul returned to a merchant ship lying on the sea floor, split in two. A body was held to the mast by rope. He cut the rope and brought the body, which was mostly skeletal, to the surface where Ollie applied this magic ring. The corpse sat up, ready for questions.
“How did your ship get destroyed?” he asked. “It was dashed on the rocks. My crew abandoned me. I was still tied to the mast against sirens. They abandoned the ship for the island and let me die, drowned in that watery grave.”
“What is a safe way to get the treasure from the old man on the island?” “I can’t be sure. We aimed to go undetected into the cave, little fearing an old man.”
“Where is the cave entrance?” “It’s on the hill above the beach.”
“How do we get past the illusion dragons on the beach?” “I don’t know about dragons. We didn’t think there was any protection.”
Meanwhile, Urgesh, who had been watching the island, noticed a large humanoid figure appear and then fly northward. He thought the creature had a horn on its head.
Aiming to confirm the location of the cave, Saul transformed into a falcon, flying over the island and spotting the cave entrance. With this news, Ollie argued vigorously for making another assault on the island by way of Tienarth’s dragon form. Hocuspo outright refused. In the end, Tienarth agreed to fly Nate and Ollie to the mouth of the cave. As they set down, they were surprised by three figures, ten feet tall and with monstrous faces. Two of the foes cast spells at Nate and Ollie, both of which failed, likely due to Nate’s ability to ward off mind-controlling magic. The third figure cast a spell that produced a icy blast, exactly as they had faced previously.
This damage was not sever enough to stop Nate, Ollie or Tienarth. Nate countered with a spell to hold the figures in place, and it worked on two of them. The remaining monster produced another cone of cold. This one hurt the three of them badly. Tienarth responded with a haste spell. Nate attempted to attack the unencumbered monster, but it turned invisible.
Ollie rushed forward and cut down the two paralyzed creatures. They toppled over as blood gushed from their opened necks. The next moment, Ollie made to begin searching the bodies, but Tienarth judged this as carrying too much risk. He grabbed his two companions and launched them all into the air with two strong strokes of his wings. The next moment, a cloud of magical darkness covered them, but Tienarth produced a magical doorway through which they plunged. They appeared many yards away and then flew with haste back to the ship.
Tienarth and Nate were seriously injured but not fatally. Neither had any desire to continue the fight, but Urgesh and Aderian certainly did. And Ollie was keen to return as well. They reasoned that only one foe remained, and its powers were diminished for the moment. They rode the back of the whale to a section of coastline where the cliff rose twenty feet. Aderian jumped to the top of the cliff and began fixing a rope when he was attacked. It was the monster, once again, and now swinging a huge curved sword. They could see clearly that it was something like an ogre, with a single horn and large teeth. The ogre’s sword clanged into the Aderian’s shield.
Ollie and Urgesh couldn’t wait for the rope. They began climbing up the cliff. A cloud of darkness surrounded Aderian, but his swing delivered sharpened steel to soft ogre flesh. The ogre made another failed attempt and the next moment, Aderian nearly cut it in two. The darkness dissipated, and they could examine the body closer. No valuables were found after a search. Urgesh cut the body and carried it with him. Next, they went straight back to the cave to look at the other two ogres. Urgesh removed those heads, as well.
Beyond the cave mouth was a cavern about fifty feed across with an exit going deeper into the hill on the south side. In the chamber were three beds and table on which was a half-eaten meal. There were a few other personal effects, as well as garbage, but nothing of particular value was found.
Perhaps weary from such excitement, the team agreed to retreat to rest and make new plans.
End Notes
- Days
- 7/20 – 7/21 At sea
- 7/22 – 7/23 Saul’s body is brought up to Phakta.
- 7/24 – At sea, arriving at the Naked Isle in the evening
- 7/25 – Zhargrave resurrects Hocuspo
- 7/26 – 7/29 Sailing to Island of Lonesome Shoulders
- Treasure
- none
- Combat: 1,350 xp
- 3 Ogre Magi 450 xp each
- Characters (8.5 shares of n xp)
- Aderian (human, fight) 176 xp
- Ferris (human) 175 xp
- Hocuspo (npc) 80 xp
- Nate (human, fight) 176 xp
- Ollie (rugged, greedy, fight) 164 xp
- Saul (outdoors) 161 xp
- Saul’s Lion and Whale
- Tienarth (avoid combat) 161 xp
- Urgesh (half-human, outdoors) 169 xp
- Ships
- The Garlic Frog (Caravel)
- Crew/Passengers: 10/ 7
- Hit Points: 75/75
- 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 Garlic Frog (Caravel)