Eighteen days the Garlic Frog remained anchored north of the Island of Lonesome Shoulders. During this time, the party merely watched and waited. Twice they were battered by storms. The ship was grounded for safety and later freed from the rocks without damage. From a long distance, they saw a huge hump moving through the water as well as a group of rocs. They saw a ship flying a purple flag with a black X, and they saw what likely was a ghost ship. None of these came close to the island, perhaps reflecting a general knowledge of the terrible danger on the island. The most remarkable events were Urgesh pulling 8 flounders and 4 bluefish from the depths.
On the 16th day of the 8th month (8/16), they got into longboat and rowed to the island. They were Tienarth, Hocuspo, Urgesh, Aderian, Ferris, Nate, Ollie, Saul and his lion. Saul’s whale played no part in this incursion. After landing the boat on the beach, they scrambled up the incline to the cave entrance. Urgesh and Aderian went in first. They found the first chamber much as it had been two weeks before.
Urgesh went first, deeper into the caves. He came to a second chamber where he heard a low moan. It wasn’t an animal but instead a strong breeze playing over fissures in the ceiling. The barbarian and Aderian, the former pirate, went together into the chamber. The sand instantly stirred. Before they could react, the sand blasted them, abrading their skin even through seams in armor. The next moment, the swirling sand coalesced into a roughly humanoid form made of tan sand.
The two warriors readied to make battle. The creature expelled blast of fine sand. Urgesh turned away, but Aderian inhaled deeply, causing him to collapse in a coughing fit. Urgesh slashed at the monster, eventually dissipating it, though it soon began to reform. Ollie retrieved a scroll of protection from elementals. He moved into the room, and while he was unaffected by the renewed storm of sand, and the elemental was clearly not able to touch him directly, it was able to let loose a blast of sand. Like Aderian, Ollie fell into a coughing fit, unable to breath.
In the end, the entire party rushed pasted the elemental under the protection of the scroll, and the elemental did not pursue them. The dwarf and the pirate recovered from coughing and had the sense that they avoided the possibility of mortal danger.
They next came to a chamber decorated with luxurious silk pillows and wall hangings. Three bound captives expressed relief to be rescued. The bodies of three headless victims were discarded on the sandy floor. The captives explained they’d been held for weeks, being fed and tortured by the ogre magi. Urgesh did not accept this story. Suddenly, he thrust his spear directly into the chest of the first captive. Blood exploded as the man fell to his knees and transformed into the shape of an ogre. The other two captives vanished. Urgesh swung at them vainly.
Saul produced a fairy fire spell that illuminated everything in the cavern, including the three invisible ogres flying above them. Nate said a prayer to the Anointed One. Two of the the ogres hung in the air, unable to move. Hocuspo cast a similar spell that held the third foe. All three were easily dispatched, and their heads were severed as a precaution against regeneration.
Aderian, curious and ever seeking treasure, spent considerable time digging in the sandy floor of the chamber. He uncovered a large chest filled with coins and jewels which he scooped into his magic pouch, Irenduel. The bag was happy to be filled with treasure again. He also found a smaller box containing a ring, later analyzed by Tienarth to have the power to detect invisible objects.
The next room was long and narrow. Skulls filled many niches along both walls. Some seemed old, and other fresh. Jewels filled many of the eyes, and most were gilded. When they entered the room, the skulls began to sing a mournful turn that tore at the souls of the living. Aderian and Ollie fell to their knees in abject terror. The rest of the party, staying close to Nate, resisted the effects of haunting tune. Urgesh produced bee’s wax, which he stuffed in his ears. No longer hearing the song, he could leave the circle of protection to fetch Aderian, who recovered from his paralysis after a minute. He, too, plugged up his ears. The party tried to find a solution while Aderian began smashing skulls. After five minutes had passed, all the skulls were destroyed and the singing stopped. They moved on.
Now they came to the large chamber where a gigantic ape concealed itself near the shadowy ceiling. Urgesh reached into his magic bag to produce a baboon and ordered it to scout the room. When the party was most of the way through the chamber, the ape dropped down on top of Ollie who guarded the rear. Urgesh was able to injure the beast slightly with his spear before it climbed back up the wall, but when he recognized the sight of a giant ape, he was consumed by barely-controlled laughter. Tienarth responded with a haste spell. Saul transformed into a griffin.
The next moment, Aderian used his ring to leap up to the ape. He wrapped his arms around the beast’s legs. His crushing grasp wore the beast down as it struggled to escape. Ferris took the calculated risk of firing two arrows at the ape, which killed it. Its monstrous hands let go from the rock wall and the two tumbled 40 feet to the sandy floor. Aderian managed to twist away, avoiding any serious damage. The ape’s lifeless body landed on top of the baboon, who was completely crushed.
At that moment, the surge of energy from Tienarth’s haste spell still quickened their limbs. Aderian rushed out of the room and into the next. Urgesh, Ollie and Saul followed. Tienarth and the others held back, suspecting peril. Instantly, the four heroes faced an old man in tattered robes who stood up from a stone throne carved into the wall. Ollie attempted to rush the old man but felt waves of time hold him back. The old man raised his hands and the many skulls in the room flew towards them. Many crashed into them, biting and drawing blood.
They all felt the strange effect of time slowing down as they tried to engage the old man in melee, but Urgesh found that his hurled spear soared across the room at expected speed. Ollie pulled out his bow and fired an arrow. In less than a minute, the old man died. The undying prisoner of untold eons finally departed the mortal world. The skulls flying around the room tumbled to the sandy floor.
Ollie severed the old man’s head and then used his magic ring to quiz his dead body, asking four questions.
- “What is the greatest weakness of Carrassthinian the lich?” asked the dwarf. “Overconfidence,” was the reply.
- “Where is the lich’s phylactery?” “I don’t know.”
- “Why have you been collecting all these heads?” “Long ago, I heard a voice tell me, gather all the skulls you can to protect you from the beast with six eyes.”
- Finally, “How many ogre magi are on this island?” “Seven.”
They concluded that all ogre magi had been killed.
From the old man’s chamber they took the following treasure. 100,000 gp worth of coins and jewels. A flint dagger +3 (Vulk’s Razor) with the ability to cut the throats of foes. Two scrolls prepared by a 20th level magic user. The first scroll contained Flesh to Stone, Anti-Magic Shell and Disintegrate. The second scroll contained three copies of Dispel Magic, Wish, Prismatic Wall and Maze.
Wish, Prismatic Wall and Maze were spells of unimaginable complexity. Tienarth could scarcely believe any magic users would comprehend them. However, being written on a scroll, they could be recited and cast. (Transciption and memorization would require a magic user of greater than 20th level).
The magic items were identified by Tienarth on the trip back to the Naked Isle, which was uneventful and lasted three days. During this voyage, they rescued a castaway from a small island, Malain, who claimed to have survived a shipwreck. On the last day of sailing, Urgesh caught 12 flounders in succession, each of them escaping from the hook just as he was bringing them out of the water. It was a very unlucky day for fishing.
All the coins and jewels totaled 235,600 gp. Assuming 8 shares (giving Hocuspo a full share), that’s 29,450 gp for each PC.
The recovery of a ring fragment awards each player (not PC) 16,666 xp to spend directly as they wish.
End Notes
- Days
- 7/29 – 8/15 Anchored near the Island of Lonesome Shoulders
- 8/16 Defeat the Old Man and take the ring fragment
- 8/17 – 8/19 Return to the Naked Isle
- Treasure
- 8,500 gp from ogre chest
- 31,000 sp from ogre chest
- Jewels worth 79,000 gp from ogre chest
- Ring of Detect Invisible — At will, concentrate to reveal any invisible items within usual visual distance.
- Jewels taken from skulls worth 55,000 gp
- Old Man’s Treasure 90,000 gp worth of coins and jewels
- Vulk’s Razor — Flint Dagger +3, on a natural 19 or 20, victim’s throat is cut. Victim dies in 1d4+1 rounds unless healed with one cure serious wounds, two cure light wounds or equivalent. Healing only stops bleeding, providing no other healing of hit points.
- Combat: 6,985 xp
- 4 Ogre Magi 450 xp each
- Earth Elemental 945 xp
- Giant Ape 2,850 xp
- Old Man 1,390 xp
- Ring Fragment Recovery: 16,666 xp for each player. May be applied to any PC directly.
- Characters (8 shares of 873 xp)
- Aderian (human, fight, strength, in front) 986 xp
- Ferris (human) 960 xp
- Hocuspo (npc) 437 xp
- Nate (human, protects, fight) 978 xp
- Ollie (suspicious, underground, fight, in rear) 908 xp
- Saul (nil) 873 xp
- Saul’s Lion (but not the whale)
- Tienarth (acquires magic, avoids combat) 890 xp
- Urgesh (action-oriented, half-human, fight) 934 xp
- Ships
- The Garlic Frog (Caravel)
- Crew/Passengers: 10/ 7
- Hit Points: 75/75
- Cargo: 73 of 75 tons
- Food: 84 man/weeks
- Water: 4838 gallons (20 tons)
- 22 tons of sugar, 5 tons of cocoa, 5 tons of cotton
- The Garlic Frog (Caravel)