DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
Abdul el Abdul (Fighter 4)
Kwinsea (Aquamancer 4), with familiar Hermes, and henchman Xavier (Swashbuckler 2)
Chaff (Vivimancer 4), with henchman "No. 7" (Halfling 1) with familiar Pretty Bird, and riding hound Stinky Dog
Torak (Cleric 3)
Beuford Bumbletoes (Halfling 3)
In spite of having to keep steady watch over their newfound wealth, the wait for passage to Xin was largely uneventful. They found the city now on a war footing, which was of little interest to the party, who were most concerned with using their new-found wealth to get a ship of their own. They first turned their coin into more portable forms (thanks to Phandar the moneychanger), then went shopping for a vessel. They passed on the haunted ship, the high speed privateer, the dilapidated hulk, and the boat with a real whale's tale grafted onto the back (although Kwinsea was tempted). In the end, they settled on the "Purple Haze", a small sailing ship that once plied the waters of the Cold Nar, and which was built to withstand the punishing ice of those northern waters. They figured the extra structural reinforcement could help given the trouble they tended to get into. With a vessel in hand, they next had to find a captain and crew (Abdul el Abdul convinced the rest of the party that he could act as navigator). They settled on a captain by the name of Lynessa; young, new in the role but with lots of previous experience as a first mate. And in spite of her youth, unwilling to take crap from anyone As she proved when Abdul el Abdul got a bit cheeky and she drove a dirk through his shirtsleeves and pinned him to the tavern wall. An impressed party hired her on the spot and set her to work hiring crew and provisioning their new ship. Chaff also picked up a new henchman, a cigar smoking lady halfling he affectionately nicknamed "No. 7".
A few days later, the party sailed the newly re-purposed "Purple Haze" out of Xin and around the Rock of Vexation, heading for the Anchorage and the Far Isles. They'd decided to forgo waiting for an escorted convoy, figuring they could handle any Chan'rk naval marauders all on their own. But they didn't expect trouble from gulls. Kwinsea was on watch in the crows-nest in the late afternoon when she spied a flock of seagulls approaching from the north. These headed straight for the ship, and ended up in among the rigging and sails, which they started to tear to pieces. Kwinsea shouted a warning to the deck, then cast
seasong to send a large proportion of the birds into a slumber and thence crashing to the desk or into the water. Chaff, meanwhile, had arrived on deck and lit a pistol. Dodging falling birds, he fired a shot that decapitated one gull, and the noise and smoke was enough to scare the rest away to the north west.
The rest of the this leg of the voyage passed uneventfully, and they arrived at the Anchorage late in the afternoon on the third day out of Xin. There they found the familiar "Divine Providence" and "Magnificent Marios", as well as the newcomer "Quall's Folly". And a vessel that made Chaff and Abdul el Abdul's blood boil; the "San Lorenzo", which had abandoned them on the island with the crazed cultists. There was some talk of storming the ship and killing the captain (whatever or whoever it was), but the cooler heads of the newer party members prevailed. Instead Kwinsea, Xavier, Torak and No. 7 rowed the ships' boat ashore to snoop around the shantytown for information on both the "San Lorenzo" and "Quall's Folly". "Quall's Folly", they learned, was owned and captained by a fellow named Quall, fifth son of a minor noble from the old Imperium lands. He'd taken his inheritance and bought this large vessel, and was now sailing the world trying to make his fortune. He was just back from a series of islands covered in ancient tombs, and his crew flashed weird coins and wove tales of the bejeweled grave goods their exploring crew had recovered. Next, tracking down a couple of sailors from the "San Lorenzo", they learned little had changed since Chaff and Abdul el Abdul had been marooned. Captain Higo de Moncada was still in charge (odd, since they seen him dead on the beach), although he had become a stricter disciplinarian in the intervening months. They too were now exploring the Far Isles, and were headed back to Xin after a trip to the Jungle Isles. Apparently they had a small dinosaur aboard which Captain de Moncada wished to sell to one of the uber-rich of Xin.
In the end, everyone decided to just ignore the "San Lorenzo", at least for the time being. While the crew repaired the damages caused by the gulls, Kwinsea paid a visit to Bellephrane. She asked the witch some information about shape-shifters and what they might be dealing with in "Captain de Moncada". The aquamancer also asked her about any as yet unexplored areas of the Far Isles. The witch replied with a grin that if Kwinsea brought a suitable gift next time she visited, there may be some information to be had on new lands to explore.
Business on land complete, the "Purple Haze" weighed anchor and headed towards the Magic Isles. Or at least they hoped so, since they were relying on Abdul el Adbul's navigation skill (and
directional crystal). Having traveled in the belly of the whale the last two times, they knew in general they had to head north east, but weren't really sure how far away the isles lay. And whales didn't have to deal with contrary winds, as they found themselves sailing close hauled into the wind for days on end. The monotony at least was relieved when Xavier, standing watch on the third day out, spied a box floating the the water, off their starboard bow. They had Lynessa bring the "Purple Haze" around to intercept the box, which when they got closer, looked very much like a coffin. No one was really keen on bringing that aboard, so Kwinsea used
rope trick to attach the coffin to the ship and left it trailing astern. While the captain and crew looked on bemusedly, the party discussed what to do with their discovery. Torak volunteered to go out atop the coffin and examine it, so the ship's boat was lowered and the dark cleric so placed. As Chaff and "No. 7" buzzed nearby on the
ebony fly, Torak cast
detect evil on the coffin, and to no ones surprise he announced that it was indeed evil. Nevertheless, he started to tear open the waterlogged coffin, and inside found a quite waterlogged corpse. Which sat up and spewed a vomitous stream on the cleric. Barely maintaining his balance, Torak lashed out at the undead creature, supported by Chaff and No. 7, and it was soon dead again. Searching the coffin before cutting it loose, nothing was uncovered but a strange pearl inscribed with a magicians sigil, found buried in the creatures flesh.
Continuing northeast, they ignored a pillar of smoke rising far to the west, and after several more days made landfall. Presumably the Magic Isles, but they didn't recognize the location. There were a couple of larger islands, several miles long. One was flat and swampy, the other hilly with a pair of mountain peaks linked by a high plateau. Circling the two isles, they found a small cove on the north side of the mountainous island, where they decided to drop anchor. A stream fell from the plateau and into the cove, so Chaff and "No.7" flew the
ebony fly up to explore. They found the plateau was covered in grass and shrubs, and seemed to be overrun by a species of three-eared rabbits. The stream ran out of a lake, and in the centre of the lake was a pile of massive stones, 30-50 feet on a side. Closer inspection showed they were ancient, covered in moss and lichen, but were obviously worked by intelligent hands. Numerous gaps led between the stones as well, so Chaff and "No.7 flew back to the "Purple Haze" to rouse the rest of the party to explore.
Reaching the lake after a slog up the mountain, they found that most of the gaps between the stones
ended after only a few feet. One, however, twisted deeper into the pile. The party headed into the darkness, squeezing single file down the winding passage. After a few minutes, the passage opened into a large chamber. Abdul el Abdul, at the front of the column, moved cautiously into the room. It was about 60' in diameter, and when halfway across, the fighter noted a throne at the far end. It was massive, and on it sat a giant skeleton. A muffled voice spoke, demanding to know who disturbed the darkness. Abdul tried to placate the voice, but it grew angry and insisted it would tear the souls from the intruders for their impertinence! At that, the massive skeleton stood, and two others (smaller, but still quite large) emerged from behind the throne. The trio advanced, and the party retreated, but not before the undead landed a few blows were landed on Beuford. Huddled back in the tunnel where their massive foes could not reach, the party discussed what to do next. Although leaving entirely was an option, they decided to turn and fight. Or rather, they sent one of the henchman to fight. Xavier was loaded down with every available flask of oil, then used his potion of
levitation to rise to the top of the chamber out of the skeletons reach. He proceeded to (ineptly) bombard the largest one with oil. Meanwhile, Chaff borrowed Torak's
ring of invisibility and crept into the chamber. Once Xavier was done, the vivimancer cast a cantrip to set the giant skeleton alight. Which worked well, and it went up like a giant torch. Unfortunately, it still 'lived', and turned, along with it's two companions, on the now visible Chaff. The little vivimancer tried to run, but was not fast enough. He was hit by three blows from the skeletons' giant mauls, throwing him all the way across the chamber, to lie broken and dying near the entrance. Kwinsea used a
rope trick to haul Chaff in and bind his wounds, while Xavier came back to load up on everyone's pistols, which he used to shoot the skeletons from his lofty location, until all were dead. With that, everyone entered the chamber to search for treasure. They found nothing except the helm worn by the giant; on the front was a starburst pattern made of gems. These were pried free (there being no way the helm would fit through the tunnel), and then the party picked up Chaff and headed back to the "Purple Haze" to rest and decide on their next course of action.
TOTAL XP
1599
GAINS
1 sigil inscribed pearl (100gp)
20 turquoise gems (25g each)
KILLS
1 Drowned Dead
3 Giant Skeletons
Approx. 150 seagulls
LOSSES
Chaff (temporarily)
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