A few notable events occurred over an extended time of rest on the Naked Isle. The first happened the same day The Ranger returned to the Naked Isle (11/21). A Yokraygan nobleman arrived by ship along with an entourage of fighters and clerics plus assorted servants. Moving through the streets in advance of him, they announced his title and forced the commoners aside. “Make way for Prince Avikau!” Jerker asked about the purpose of the visit and was told it was a friendly diplomatic mission.
Ollie made himself busy by handing out sweet cakes and talking to people on the island. In particular, he spoke with farmers and hunters, asking them if they noticed anything unusual related to bugs since Tienarth’s Raiders arrived many months before. The answer was a conditional yes, for they had noticed beetles on the island when they had been seen rarely. Ollie also tried observing ants but didn’t learn much.
Conversations with Peran the Jeweler focused on his general welfare, the kind of idle chit-chat made with someone you wish to make a friend. Peran remained content with acquiring the pendant. He reassured Ollie that he’d help try reforging the ring again if sufficient magic could be obtained.
On the third day of new month (12/3), Ephor returned from Fort Whitevault with a new crew he’d hired there. The new sailors were sent directly to The Howl of the Demon and ordered to stay there lest they be distracted by the native elves. The ship set sail two days later. As Arianna was only ever seen on the deck the galley, the Raiders wondered if she’d left with the ship. She was seen nowhere, and asking about her was fruitless because most people were unable to see her.
Saul gathered information by speaking to animals. He spoke with Huck the orca if anything seemed different lately in the surrounding ocean. The answer was generally in the affirmative, but the whale provided only vague answers. Maybe something bad was going on, but it was hard to tell exactly what it was.
At Ollie’s urging, Saul also spoke with a beetle. Asked why the beetle was on the island, the bug identified himself as a warrior looking for a fight. The prospect of a fight, any fight, stirred the passions of the fighters in the group, even though they were getting this second hand from Saul. The beetle said he fought on the side of the six-leggers versus the eight-leggers.
Sailing for Sentinel Island
On the sixth (12/6), they made preparations to sail for Sentinel Island where by the tapestry they expected to find the entrance to the Workshop of the Telescopes. A row developed over the demand by Urgesh of 100 gp per passenger. He explained he was merely a captain operating a business, one that he invested a large sum of gold into. It had occurred to him that his comrades had taken too much from him, but regardless, the ship was his alone. Ollie, his greed surging, attempted to confuse the half-orc with a story that the purchase of the ship included a year of trips. This ploy was unsuccessful. After much arguing, Ollie relented and offered 1000 gp to cover the journey for all.
The next day (12/7) about five hours after dawn, a tiny desert island was spotted. This was approximately two days northeast of the Naked Isle. The island was not approached, but Aderian fished a bottle from the water as the passed by. A parchment, yellowed with age, was sealed within the glass bottle. The handwriting was elegant but cryptic.
Lost in the vast expanse of the sea, I, a creature of ancient lore, beseech your aid. A terrible darkness has fallen upon the sunken city of Mangamila. Its once-glorious halls now echo with the whispers of ancient evil. The city’s heart, a mystical artifact of immense power, has been corrupted.
Only those pure of heart and brave of spirit can reclaim this lost treasure. If you dare to venture into the depths, seek the ancient guardians. They will guide you to the heart of Mangamila, where the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
The final words of the note faded into a blot of ink.
The day after, they gave Green Dragon Island wide berth, and on the ninth they saw an electric eel. Urgesh pulled out a black drum fish, providing welcome variety to the usual frog jerky. On the tenth (12/10) three sperm whales spouted only 160 yards to starboard. This was a potential danger to ship, and while the whales seemed irritated at first, they seemed to think twice about attacking. There was no fight.
A Black Circle
Sentinel Island was soon after the next dawn (12/11). It was a barren rock with a few rises and little vegetation. Dangerous reefs lurked just below the churning waters, but at Saul’s direction, Huck guided a longboat around the sharp rocks. The island offered no beach. They had to climb out of the boat and up slippery rocks. Soon, they were marching over a field of stones towards a black circle, 400 feet across. Unlike the jagged rock covering most of the island, the circle was smooth, as if melted. The surface appeared like the surface of a pond in which a stone was cast and then frozen in time.
They left this ominous sight behind and trekked to where they knew to be an entrance at the southern foot of a small rise. Boulders were stacked up to fill an archway. The stone were moved aside, and they made their way into a large, dark chamber, past many runes that communicated warnings of danger. On the other side of the chamber was a passage leading deeper into the complex. A wall of force sealed the passage. It glowed faintly but resisted any force applied to it. This presented an insurmountable puzzle. They retraced steps and returned to examine the black circle.
Aderian first braved entering the circle. The moment he stepped inside, he felt a wave of energy pass over him. He stepped back, stumbling with nausea. He was then so ill as to be incapable of fighting or any other strenuous activity. Next, Ollie entered the circle. He could feel a sense of foreboding but was not struck ill like the former pirate. He trudged to the center the circle where he found two bootprints pressed into the stone. He tried standing in them to now effect.
Urgesh was keen to investigate the bootprints himself. He made a good search uneven terrain and at one point seemed to cry out as if he heard something. He made his way back to the group, muttering something about voices. At this point, Nate realized the circle itself glowed with evil as did Urgesh. Neither Aderian nor Ollie presented as evil to the young paladin. He tried getting close to Urgesh to provide protection against the evil to no effect, except the barbarian expressed disagreement with being crowded. Nate also tried curing Aderian of disease, but he remained ill.
Saul also tried entering the circle, and while he could feel some sort of powerful evil there, he did not become ill or glow with evil. Nate theorized Urgesh was possessed of an evil spirit, of which there was only one.
They all returned to the ship, quickly following after Urgesh, who might have left without them if they were slow. The ship was turned to the south for a return to the Naked Isle. After several hours, Aderian was relieve of his illness. Also, the glow of evil on Urgesh disappeared.
Doom from the Skies
One day into the return trip (12/12), a shadow passed over the ship. Some talk had been going on about picking a fight with the green dragon, but doom found them that day without them seeking it. A giant roc dived from the sky with a piercing screech. Saul called down a lightning bolt as it approached to little effect. It lit landed on the ship, wings spread longer than the ship itself. Iron talons splintered the deck and it’s beak tore through the sails.
The crew and passengers headed below deck. The fighters rushed to pummel the giant bird, aided by Elaria’s haste spell. In the first few moments, the roc was mostly unharmed, and it chose to snap at Ollie, but this opened the door to a torrent of pain delivered by the speedy fighters. Urgesh, enthused by battle gave in to his rage and dealt many blows, and the once-feared roc soon died a bloody mess on the deck the ship, then slipped into the water.
Yet the rage of the half-orc then presented a danger to everyone else. They wondered if he could just as quickly temper his rage rather than turning it against them. Jerker stepped up to wrap his arms around the barbarian, pushing him towards the water. Saul cast a spell to warp the wood of the ship up and around the two of them. Would Urgesh use his magical strength to break free of Jerker and of the wood curling around them? The question remained unanswered because in the next moment, Urgesh gained control of himself once again.
Before the roc’s body sank beneath the waves, Urgesh severed its head. Ferris gathered 100 feathers in hopes of someday using them to make potions.
Between the roc and the warping of the wood, the ship suffered serious damage, but not enough to prevent sailing. The rest of the day was uneventful. Once again, they avoided Green Dragon Isle, having no appetite for another fight. Two days after that, a storm blew, forcing them past the Naked Isle by many miles. The gail lasted nearly a day, but when the sun rose in the morning, Urgesh was able to orient the ship, turning it east. They arrived again at the Naked Isle on the 17th day of the month.
End Notes
- Days
- 11/21 – 12/5 Downtime on the Naked Isle
- 12/6 Sailing for Sentinel Island
- 12/11 Exploring Sentinel Island
- 12/12 – 12/17 Sail back to the Naked Isle
- Treasure:
- Roc head
- Roc feathers
- Combat: 14,250 xp
- Giant Roc 14,250 xp
- Characters (7 shares of 2036 xp)
- Elaria (hireling) 1018 xp
- Ferris (human) 2240 xp
- Jerker (human, fight, strength) 2280 xp
- Nate (human, key tenet) 2260 xp
- Ollie (greedy, fight) 2077 xp
- Saul and pets (in water, wilderness, clever use of warp wood) 2097 xp
- Urgesh (half-human, aggressive, action oriented, outdoors, fight, rage) 2240 xp
- The Ranger
- HP 43/75
- Cargo: 0 of 75 tons
- Food: 82 man/weeks
- Water: 0 gallons