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Session 40: Shatterhull Report

General Summary

10th of Haelynir 1524 Continued     At 5pm the group splits up.   Karl goes to see Erin. She is reading a book called “Rumour in the Rain” and relaxing in bed. They talk about Xeldarix’s true nature and the options for trying to defend against such a threat. Karl explains what Hallow is and what it does. Erin gives her consent to do the hallowing if it means keeping Karl safe. They also talk about blood and how the crew prefers to deal with blooded enemies. When even the options on Ports Karl thinks Trie would be the best option for safety.   Karl shows Erin the second statue from the sewer. They discuss options for it. Meanwhile Xeldarix, Simone and Lily all rest before dinner. Fargrim ponderings the idea of doing another Hallowing so soon after the last one.  
At 6pm dinner rolls round. Seems to be some mash potatoes, sausages and steamed vegetables for dinner. Everyone is here but Xeldarix and Ten. They discuss the hallowing and the different blessings that can be added to the boat as a result. The options of stopping the boat at Daugren or Trie is brought up for discussion so there would be less of a chance to be interrupted while doing the casting. Trie is safer and Daugren has more available.   Members of the Forged remember that people hunted by the Unchained are in Daugren from the contracts they burnt a month ago. Wave is disappointed, but Karl reminds him that he could get a song written about the fact he brought down a dragon.   After the dinner Lily has a private chat with Erin while Karl and Fargrim chat outside. Once Lily is done she goes to play cards with the crew. Fargrim moves in to have a chat with Erin while Karl heads into his cabin to look at the damage. Erin gives Fargrim some money to get Xeldarix back on her feet. They have a frank discussion about the crew and the nature of this vessel. Afterward Fargrim goes to find Lily and ends up playing cards with her and the crew.  
While Karl looks into the room and discovers a few things Xeldarix left behind when she was using the room to rest. Erin and Enna come into the room to assess the damage. The offer to assist with magical mending the repair of the room goes down from 600 gold to just 200 gold. Before bed Karl does some spendings while Lily and Fargrim have a heart to heart.   That night Fargrim and Karl both have a nightmare.  
A click is heard as Karl is able to pick open the lock of the chest and before him, is a wonderful chest of gold and gems. He opens his bag and starts moving the treasure to his bag that never seems to fill. He can hear Lily and Fargrim nearby grabbing things and putting them in their bags. Another successful raid on a treasure sight. He couldn’t help but smile knowing Erin would be pleased with their hull.   For what was a bit of a rough start has turned into a wonderful partnership. No ship has been able to stand before them and Erin takes them wherever they want to go. The crew has taken a real shine to the new team and even Xeldarix seems to have been enjoying herself. Simone has been looked after and seems to have the whole crew trying to do their best to keep her happy. They’ve even allowed her to learn how to give tattoos and they are all sporting one of her wonderful, childish yet grim creations. They wear it as a mark of honor.   “Back to the boat, your Majesty?” Lily asks with a teasing tone.   “What did I tell you about that and his head?” Xeldarix rolls her eyes. “You’re lucky his head hasn’t gotten so big that he can still get in his own cabin or we would have no peace.”   “Couldn’t resist.” Lily giggles. “Oh. Looks like we missed one.”   Lily kneels down to unlock and open the chest when Karl starts to see double for a moment as they feel like time is coming to a stop. There is the distant sound of a grandfather clock's pendulum swinging in his ears, slowing down and becoming louder as he starts to feel their hearts squeeze until the extreme pain of it bursting wakes Karl up from the sheer pain of it. The sound of the grandfather clock is still ringing in his ears.
   
Fargrim sits at a table in the Bloody Fang Inn. Michael hands him a drink, smiling as he goes back to help the Throri at the bar. Karl is dealing the cards for the next game. Lily is teasing Simone who has elected not to play as it wouldn’t be fair and Xeldarix is sitting near the fire relaxing. The city of Saarmen is doing better these days now that Morningsteel has been removed. It was strange, but he just stepped down. It’s good when people seem to see the error of their own ways. Less messy.   “Karl have you selected your next target?” Lily asks.   “What?” Fargrim asks.   “I asked if he selected his next card yet.” Lily gives Fargrim a smile.   “Oh. Right. It’s his turn.” Fargrim nods. He must have misheard Lily.   “King of Brechtur.” Karl says.   “Excuse me?” Fargrim frowns.   “King of clubs.” Karl frowns and shows Fargrim the card. “Are you okay, Fargrim?”   “Must have something in my ears.” Fargrim shakes his head and uses his little finger to clean out his ears.   “Maybe you need to lay down. I should be off anyway. I have some bodies to bury. Erin is waiting on me and it would be rude to keep her waiting for too long.” Karl says as he stands up.   As Karl stands up Fargrim can see the blood staining his friend’s hands and robes. Lily, Xeldarix and Simone do the same and their hands are equally stained. He looks down at his own and sees they are clean. For a moment it’s a relief until a drop of blood hits his hands. Slowly, Fargrim looks up and sees a burnt corpse stuck on the ceiling that drips blood onto Fargrim. Looking at his friends he no longer sees the innocent people he first met but wicked devils in mortal’s skin, grinning at him.
  11th of Haelynir 1524   It's another incredibly chilly morning. After training Fargrim and Lily catch Xeldarix before Enna and her start working. In the infirmary Fargrim and Lily cast Greater Restoration on Xeldarix so she is refreshed for the first time since the fight. She is grateful and goes about working with Enna. Karl helps to fix what he can with mending.   As the group comes out of the infirmary Lily and Fargrim notice on the nearby land that is now around the ship as it has pulled into an arm of water, there is a pale blue man standing and looking around floating about 100 ft above the ground. He seems to have spotted the ship and is flying this way.   A Djinni by the name of Bosug is looking for something fun to do. After a moment of talking up playing cards on the boat, Bosug almost tries to invite himself onto the boat but Lily redirects him towards Saarmen and Morningsteel. He bids everyone farewell as he flies South.   After that everyone goes about their business. Karl shadows Erin who is dealing with ship finances and shares her ledger with Karl as she prepares ship leave pay. Karl is shown their collection of items and helps with detecting and identifying magical items among the loot. They also look into how much shore leave Erin will allow for Karl given the risks.  
Fargrim talks with Ten and shows him his hammer. Telling Ten how he came across it. They discuss hallowing the boat. Ten makes Fargrim uncomfortable as they discuss loyalty and support on the boat. This turns to a conversation about the Captain and her temper. It seems to be connected to something that Fargrim offers his personal services on. They go to offer such things to the Captain but Fargrim stays outside.  
Karl and Erin are interrupted by Ten while having a private chat. When Ten tells Erin about the services Fargrim has offered and what Ten has shared with Fargrim without Erin’s consent sends her into a shouting rage at Ten. She forcibly removes Ten from her cabin. Karl consoles her on this without probing into whatever that was about.  
Upon being forced from the room Ten informs Fargrim him his offer was politely declined. Afterwards Fargrim checks in with Xeldarix to see what needs to be done on her part to prepare for the spell to hallow the ship.  
At 5pm the ship docks and the crew spends an hour wrapping up the ship so the crew may leave. Erin gives out pay to the crew. Each member of the Forged receives 6 silver and 2 copper in payment for their work as officers in training. Xeldarix and Fargrim start to hallow the boat. Lily heads for the mage guild while Erin takes Karl to book shops.  
Karl uses the dust of disguise to turn into a Vos man and Erin registers the boat at the dock before they head off to go see some book stores. They stop at a coffee shop so Karl can cast detect magic ritually. Between the two book stores Karl finds 5 scrolls. A half elf sees through Karl’s disguise which leads to some minor bribing. The two go for a dinner at the Fightened Flail before heading back to the ship.  
At the mage guild, the Grevesmühl Wizard, Lily sees a concrete simple building, with large windows that Lily can't seem to see through no matter how hard she looks. Upon stepping into the guild she is greeted by the strange site of taxidermied birds hanging from the ceiling and a feather and quill next to an unfinished recipe above the reception desk. A Halfling greets her and directs her to the shop where Lily buys some components and items.   Afterwards she heads into an oddity store to get some souvenirs from the port before heading to an inn for dinner. She stops by the Stuffy Salamander on the South Side. Then heads back to the boat after dinner.   There she waits for Karl to return to the boat so he can look at a walking stick she picked up that apparently has a prophecy on it according to the seller. Karl ritually casts Comprehend Languages to read out the words which say:   Breakdown causes an age of the furies. It shall be the path towards destruction as fire spreads and beings of fire will walk the plane.   Lily gives Karl some components. They talk for a bit before Karl retires to identify his scrolls. Lily fiddles with her puzzle before setting up a fire on deck in a braser to camp out there for the night.   12th of Haelynir 1524   The next day rolls round. It's the 12th of Haelynir. Fargrim and Xeldarix have been working all night through the cold and chill. The fact they are constantly moving and still in their gear has helped to keep them warm, taking their small breaks near Lily's fire.   Karl changes his appearance through mundane methods, sporting a new cloak. Erin escorts Karl off the boat and into town.   They head towards the mage guild, the Grevesmühl Wizard, they speak with the Halfling at the desk at 8:45am. She directs them towards the shop while she looks into an abjurer for the pair to speak to about a specific item they are looking for. Erin sells a scroll there while Karl buys some things. There is a circle there but it’s 5,000 gold a year to have access to it.   A high elf abjurer comes to talk to Karl about a necklace of nondetection, but the elf seems to look at Erin judgmentally. However the necklace is out of their price range. They leave, Karl unhappy with the service they received. Erin asks Karl how badly he wants that item. Karl tells her it could help prevent fiends from finding Xeldarix. Hearing about the danger this puts Karl in, she promises she will go and buy it for him once she has gotten funds off the ship. They head back together where Erin leaves Karl in the cabin once he has ritually cast Telepathic Bond so they can communicate.   Erin leaves at 9:30am. Before she can get to the guild, Karl casts Sending to the mage. He is able to warn Erin that she seems to know Erin was a slave. At 10:30 am Erin returns. She is quiet, but has the necklace that she gives to Karl. She goes and gets herself a drink.   At 1pm, Erin finally seems ready to talk and tells Karl that the mage attacked her with the intent of returning her to the slave market. Erin managed to subdue her, not killing her for concern of Karl being implicated as they had been seen together. They decide it is for the best that the boat leaves tonight with the tide rather than tomorrow like she intended to try and give Fargrim and Ten shore leave. Karl comforts Erin through this emotional time. Karl shares how he killed Albrecht and why. Erin tells Karl about how they could protect his bloodline to try and prevent someone taking his title from him. This way no one could undo any of the good work he manages to do as he works against slavery.  
Lily goes into the town again and visits some other districts. In Smuggler’s Fair she visits an oddity store where an Elf and a faerie cat are. She buys a few more things before heading to the park in the Isabbey Green.   She returns to the ship at 11am and relaxes on the ship. At 3pm Karl comes out to talk with Lily. He tells her about the mage attacking Erin and asks her to go and see how much of a problem this might be. Karl casts Telepathetic Bond on both of them.   Lily leaves Karl and arrives at the guild at 3:30pm and asks to speak to any abjurers, asking questions about dealing with fae and getting a tour when asked to keep the attack on Master Koppa a secret. Lily sneaks in after to see Master Koppa and see she is somewhat healed. She sips tea by her fire looking a bit shivealed. At 4:30pm Lily returns to the boat. At this point Karl finishes scribing one of his new spells.  
At 5pm Erin gives the crew extra pay but not any of the Forged. Then at 6pm Fargrim and Xeldarix finish their hallow spell.   Fargrim and Xeldarix are in the final stages of their ritual with blood symbols on their forehead and hands. They each place a hand on the helm.   Fargrim feels the familiar sensation from last time where his hand is glued to the helm as the blood symbols start to burnt. Fargrim focuses the blessing, courage for the followers of the Pirate King. Xeldarix sighs but doesn't say anything as they finish the blessing.   The burning continues to grow as the light around the pair slowly starts to glows brighter and brighter. A soft sound escapes out of Xeldarix as her wings appear and her eyes start to glow with white light. Her back arches as if she is being pulled up, but her hands are stuck to the helm still.   Everyone around hears a soft voice. "This vessel is under my protection. May the wind fill your sails."   After that the light fades very suddenly, Fargrim's hands become unstuck from the ground and Xeldarix staggers as if whatever was pulling her up has let go. She grabs the helm and nearby railing for support. She looks very tired.   The bowl that still had some blood is now completely empty. The blood and paint around the boat dissolves into a gold light and leaves no trace behind. Everyone notices the crew taking a step back and whispering among one another. A few point at Xeldarix who after a few moments realises her wings are out again, puts them away with a sigh.   Ten tells Fargrim they have to sail tonight, so they have a few hours to go into town. Fargrim is only interested in going to see the temple of Moradin. He quickly talks to his friends where he receives a Cloak of Protection from Karl and a Goodberry from Lily. Erin also gives him 1000 gp to pay for the cost of doing the spell on her ship. Then he heads off to visit the temple with Ten.   Meanwhile Lily has given Xeldarix a Goodberry but realises a little too late that this might not have been a great idea as Alexis appears. She is very grumpy, especially when she notices that everyone is staring at her. Karl is quick to try and smooth her ruffled feathers, explaining some things that have happened recently.   Karl and Erim discuss what they have observed.  
Fargrim and Ten go to the temple of Moradin where Fargrim is introduced to Father Eltum. Fargrim donates some gems and gives Eltum the book he found near the hammer. Upon his return to the ship he goes straight to bed as he is a very tired Dwarf.   13th of Haelynir 1524   Fargrim and Karl attend the first training session. After they grab their breakfast once training is over they are interrupted by cries from above as three winged creatures attack. They demand Xeldarix come out so they may return to hell. The crew gets ready for battle as arrows rain down on the crew.   Some of the crew are badly hurt by barrage of arrows, one even falling from the rigging as he loses consciousness. Fargrim rushes in and saves the man’s life. However it isn’t long before the crew with the Forged are able to gain the upper hand on the three devils that have shown up. Lily brings down two of the devils while Karl brings down one himself.   Once the battle is over, Fargrim tends to those who need it and Karl uses his wand to neutralise poison for those who also need it. Throughout the battle and afterward Wave is singing apparently his own song.   "Of tales, legends and stories untold The hero of the song is a sight to behold A bolt and a smile shining bright against the bronze Moving as graceful as a swan   A slayer of dragons, a seeker in the night No creature of evil can stand against his might Wave the dragon slayer, as handsome as he is strong We grace this hero with a song   One day, we will cast all our fears into the sea Our hero shall meet them, forever we’ll be free Till then, our hearts to you belong Farewell, our hero of a song"   It becomes apparent that Karl hadn’t yet given Xeldarix the amulet of nondetection due to the very sudden arrival of Alexis last night. Erin tasks Karl with dealing with this problem immediately which causes him and Lily to go see their immortal friend to see who was present today. Fargrim and Ten deal with the crew.   Xeldarix seems to be present today, but feeling off due to Erdad poisoning Alexis the night before to make her sleep. She is upset that no one came to got her in the attack and Karl removes the effects of the poison from Erdad. Karl gives her the amulet and explains the situation about it from yesterday. He also gets Simone to start daily casting Private Sanctuary on the back half of the ship. Xeldarix is left to attune to her new item while Karl and Lily go back to their respected officers.   Lily goes into the rigging with Wave. Fargrim continues working with Ten, doing the daily inspection. Karl goes to work with Erin after having a short rest.   At 10:30am Ten and Fargrim inspect the Captain’s cabin while Karl goes to join Lily up in the rigging. At 12pm Lily and Karl return to the deck where Fargrim grabs Karl for a quick chat while Lily goes with Wave to leave about the ship’s weaponry.   Fargrim talks to Karl about Erin, mentioning a condition the Captain might have and how it needs attention. Afterwards Fargrim goes to find Xeldarix and Simone to check in on them.   At 4pm Fargrim and Lily catch up to talk about the Captain’s condition in their cabin. They theories it might be due to her blood powers or linked to her weapon. Lily brings up how Erin has something hidden on her forehead and Fargrim explains that the strange holes in the bed frames are for manacles to restrain people.   Meanwhile Karl and Xeldarix have a chat where they discuss the Queen of the Erinyes. They also talk about what has happened due to the hallowing. Shatterhull comes up and Xeldarix is very upset to hear she was going to be left behind for this mission. Xeldarix is conflicted as she wants to keep the group safe but doesn’t want to leave Simone alone on the ship. Karl let’s slip about Lorenah’s attempts to sabotage Alexis’ rope which enrages Xeldarix as she realises how much she has missed in the last few days and how she is the last to know about everything including an attempt on her own life.   Afterwards Karl and Xeldarix collect Lily and Fargrim before going to see Simone. Simone is happy to stay on the ship and will be rooming with Erdad so she’s not alone while they are gone.   At dinner the group discusses some of the boat’s history. Simone is asked a question for their final reading before the day they might arrive.   Question: “How can we get to Shatterhull Isle undetected to kill the coven of hags?”   "To confront the injustice and start to create the change you want to see, you must face those on the island by approaching in one of the few ways their many eyes will not see you. The hags hold a lot of power in this tiny realm of theirs, above and below, and will control it to stop any ship they see approaching for miles in almost any direction which means a subtle approach is required. The hags are family, but this is a boon and a curse as siblings bond and fight, as their eyes are often drawn towards one another rather than through their many eyes that silent trespassers might take advantage of above or below."   Afterwards, with some discussions on tactics to arrive at the island and possible spell selection the group goes to practice some polymorphing on the deck with Enna and Fargrim. Lily pulls a bit of a prank and turns Fargrim into a frog before turning him into an actual giant eagle. Enna and Fargrim practice flying before Enna start to pick on the captain.   When the others leave Xeldarix and Lily have a private moment on deck where for a brief time Xeldarix can fly again before everyone heads to bed. Karl and Erin do some private studying about hags before they head to bed.   Overnight Lily dreams.  
Lily finds herself on the deck of the ship of Masela’s Fury. Lorenah stands over by the railing fiddling with some ropes that gives Lily the sense of deja vu. She runs forward and pushes the genasi out of the way and Lily pulls the ropes up, knowing who is on the other end. However, a sharp pain starting from her back and coming through to her front hits Lily as a sword appears through the front of her, the rope slipping from her hands.   There is a whisper in her ear from Lorenah. “No. She belongs down there. You can’t pull her up. Just let her fall back to where she belongs.”   Lily throws an arm back and catches Lorenah in the gut, forcing her back and the sword is pulled from Lily’s body. She falls to her knees for a moment, but Basaia’s healing blessing is quickly called upon to seal the wound as Lily turns to look at Lorenah. “No. Not if I have anything to say about it.”   “Well you don’t have a say.” Lorenah smirks as her illusion disappears. She looks like Lorenah, but has more devilish features now. “They’ll have her already.”   Lily can feel a deep pain that she knows comes from her connection to Xeldarix. She dives over the railing and into the sea before she can even think about it. She turns into an orca. Under the boat she can see a lifeless Enna floating and a chained up Xeldarix being dragged down into the depths by the devil of chains that tried to take her the other day.   Swimming as quickly as she can, Lily tries to catch up with them as they go down into a crevasse. A sharp pain hits Lily again as Lorenah drives a dagger into her side, hitching a ride.   “Yes. Let’s all go down together. After all, you are a soul hell is owed but she has tried to keep from us!” Lorenah laughs darkly. “Go on, little soul. Swim! Swim as fast as you can. No one can catch you, but yet the devil can!”   Lily swims faster into the depths to try and catch up to the devil dragging Xeldarix down. She looks up at Lily in desperation. Lily gets so close to catching up when she can feel the water getting warmer and warmer. However, as she gets closer and the water starts to burn, she can feel the blessing of Erik leaving her as she changes into a devilish imp without meaning to. After a brief moment of confusion, Lily tries to continue swimming towards Xeldarix when a cage closes around her. Lorenah grins at her through the bars.   “Don’t worry, little one.” Lorenah coos. “I won’t separate the two of you. You can suffer together. You can both break together.”   Lorenah’s laugh echoes in Lily’s ears as she wakes up.
  14th of Haelynir 1524   Everyone awakes and there is no training today in preparation for arriving at Shatterhull in the near future. The officers are rotating in four hour shifts to keep everyone as fresh as possible.   The group reconfirms the plans for Shatterhull. This includes teleporting away in an emergency or using Lily’s new boat. During the day Karl focuses his attention on his spellbook, taking a break to see Xeldarix about some Vos hymns. Lily plays cards and finds the crew uneasy about the mission to Shatterhull.   The day is quiet for the group. After dinner they do one final question with Simone.   Question: "What awaits the away party on Shatterhull island?"   "Shatterhull is a place of shelter and healing for some and a place of death and perversion of the nature flow of life to others. Something will feel missing as you explore as the island has many secrets as the residents will target your fear and self-hate as the realm protects the eyes they watch through, just remember thinking with two heads doesn’t necessarily make you smarter. Some things grow old while others do not as parts of them are replaced as they rot on the corpses that roam."   Afterwards Fargrim does a private sermon for himself and Karl, while Lily and Xeldarix hang out on deck with the Captain. After 8:30pm a fog rolls in and the temperature drops. By 9pm Erin is gathering people as the ship can no longer safely continue. Shatterhull is still about 5 miles away. Erin will be able to lead them through the fog as it doesn’t impede her vision. Karl casts Telepathic Bond so Erin will be able to direct the flying pair where to go.   What starts off as a lightly obscured night soon becomes heavily when the group has been flying for nearly 40 minutes. Lily can faintly see a large shape in the fog. It looks like a 75ft high object jutting out of the ocean. Erin is directing the eagle to fly a little lower as the group approaches a landmass to arrive at 10pm.  
When the eagles are within 60 ft everyone can vaguely see it, but it's a real strain. There is a small bit of beach the group can kind of see where the eagles can land. Karl, being the only one without Darkvision. Afterwards he renews his telepathy communication with the group. Lily sends off Xochitl the white bat to find entrances to the cave. He returns having found two. One is high up and it’s a steep approach. The other is further away but less steep an approach. The group chooses to go with the second one.   Heading in that direction Erin stops the group before long when a large ogre was spotted up ahead. The group sneaks around him in the fog and continue without issue. They approach the cave entrance that was originally furthest away which is very slippery due to slimy growths there, however the group is moving slowly as they sneak around.  
As the group ascends the slope they move into slightly clearer fog becoming lightly obscured. They can see above the cavern’s entrance is a strange creation formed of a trio of humanoid skulls wreathed by woven seaweed vines, feathers of seabirds, and other strange things such as sharp rocks and shark teeth. Set into the eye socket of the central skull is a gem. Xeldarix confirms the gem is a hags eye.   There is a brief discussion about boars and how they can effectively be used to destroy the gems, but they decide to not destroy it yet and continue into the first cavern where an ogre zombie covered in driftwood seems to be waiting for them. The group rushes in and quickly deals with the zombie without issue.   After the fight Karl grabs the gem in the skull of the humanoid and puts it in his pocket. Up ahead Fargrim sees the next room has an orange glow and that there is the sound of movement in there. Karl volunteers himself and Erin to go forward to talk to the old woman that is a hag waiting inside while everyone else waits ready. She introduces herself as Kurula. As they talk and dance around each other in talks of why the team has arrived and what the sisters could help them with. In the end Kurula reveals she was stalling for her sisters since the taking of the hags eye had alerted them that someone was where they didn’t belong.   Once it becomes apparent that they’re in a fight Karl pulls the hag’s eye gem from within his cloak, tosses it high on the air above Erin’s head and points at the gem as three red darts fly from his hand to strike the gem. Kurula is clearly hurt by this and blinded. There is a scream that comes from inside one of the walls of the cavern as a horrifying looking old woman with seaweed for hair comes running out at Karl. An ettin also comes running out to join the fight and the group sees Erin’s form change for the first time. Erin's eyes change , the irses come slit as her muscles start to grow, her skin grows more scaly like a shark in roughness, a second set of teeth growing in behind the first row but smaller.   A third sister also joins the fight, summoning a water elemental on top of Enna, Lily and Xeldarix. Xeldarix manages to resist the pull of the water and goes to help the bigger fight knowing Enna and Lily would be okay. Not long after that five Chained Ogres come running in. Karl makes a barrier to remove half of the enemies but drops the spell after being hurt and losing concentration.   The first sister of unknown name is struck down by her blind sister Kurula. Karl gets turned into a killer whale but later the effect is dispelled by Lily. He is then able to kill Kurula before taunting Ambraga into staying to fight. As Ambraga is killed there is a blood burst that sweeps through the team, causing Xeldarix to fall to her knees. The group is very quick to finish off the other minions.   Enna goes right into managing her Captain and trying to calm her down while she’s in this form. Karl approaches to check on the pair after giving Fargrim a hug. He offers Erin the physical comfort that she seeks as Enna continues working to calm her Captain.   Lily goes to check on Xeldarix only to find it’s Alexis who reacts with violence and seems to undergo a physical change as she causes great fear in Lily when her question is not answered to her liking. Fargrim is surprised by the argument. Alexis is quickly banished and Xeldarix returns as Lily’s fear grows and Fargrim yells. Xeldarix sees how scared Lily is and runs off after attempting an apology. Fargrim checks on Lily and she insists Xeldarix needs him more than her right now.   The chamber Xeldarix seems to have retreated to is horribly filthy, littered with the remains of past meals. In the southwest corner of her room upon a set of wooden pallets covered with cast-aside furs, tapestries, and blankets taken from the ships. Though many of these were once worth quite a bit of money, they are now filthy and tattered and worth nothing.   Xeldarix seems to be fighting one of the zombies Fargrim had turned. He offers his support but stays back. Lily goes to help. Meanwhile Karl explains how disorienting the switch is for Xeldarix and Alexis while preparing to cast detect magic ritually. Once the zombie falls, Xeldarix apologises to Lily and a hug is shared.   The group searches the room. Erin finds a sack with some treasure under the pallets and Karl finds another hags eye. Erin takes it all to put it in her bag.   The group continues, going back through the fight room and into a new room. The stench of this chamber is nearly overpowering, turning the stomach of most who enter. Seaweed is piled high—the hags have the zombies bring in armfuls of seaweed to cover and soak up the inevitable viscera that ends up in a chamber used for this kind of purpose. The chamber floor is slippery and foul crawling with all manner of scavenger crabs and other small creatures that have been inadvertently brought into the room with loads of seaweed.   The group quickly moves North into the next room as the smell is making many of them feel ill. In this room they can see a large fire pit over which a cauldron is hung dominates the cavern. This cauldron contains a foul-smelling soup of weird components. There seems to be a workbench in here too.   Looking around the room Karl is very distracted by a staff he spies near the cauldron (does not look magical as the last few minutes of Karl's detect magic tick away). He notices a brew in the cauldron bubbling away. Fargrim finds some clay jars that seem to have salts of some sort in them. Lily finds along the eastern wall is a shelf, carved out of the very rock, which contains the tools of a jeweler. Also here is a small locked coffer.   Fargrim looks at the jars and with Enna’s help they determine them to be alchemy salts. Lily unlocks the chest to find 10 semi precious gems and a pair of dragonscale gloves. She subtly pockets two gems but doesn’t realise Enna sees her doing this. Karl looks over the wooden staff which was hand carved and the cauldron that contains a foul-smelling soup of weird components. Semi Precious stones steep in this noxious boiling liquid.   Karl moves the cauldron with Erin to the other room with the idea that later they will use a blanket to catch the gems when they drain it. Karl catches sight of something magical on the last hag they killed at this point as he pulls out a blue pearl that was on her person.   The group continues exploring. They find a much cleaner bedding area and a chute of some sort that ends in water. They decide to leave this to explore last as they continue to find the last two of the zombies that Fargrim had turned during battle. Karl makes Enna very large during the fight, much to her delight, and she smashes both of them to re-dead.   Continuing onwards down a long corridor to a room with 4 chests and 5 children (aged 5-7) in cages. There is a section of the room where the ceiling continues up as if it were a large chimney. The children are incoherent and not super responsive to the questions of the party while Lily tries to unlock some of the cages. She manages three out of the five. Enna breaks open the other two. Karl uses his wand to neutralise the poison that was used to drug the poison within the children and they become a lot more alert.   Deciding to get the children somewhere warm, Xeldarix and Fargrim agree to keep an eye on them as Xeldarix has a headache. The children are unable to really articulate where they are from, but after taking them away Fargrim does talk with them more while Xeldarix rests.   Meanwhile Lily, Enna, Erin and Karl continue to look at the chests. Lily sends Xochitl up to see what’s up the chimney where she sees two large skeletons. They decide to leave them for the moment to open the first chest. As Lily unlocks and opens the chest a needle shoots out but bounces off of Lily's armour. Inside the chest is a lot of maps, a bag of coins, an Orrery, plus an elegantly crafted silver necklace and ring, both done in a wave-and-sunburst motif, with a sunstone set in both. On top of the map is a strange bit of paper with lots of symbols.  
  At this point Lily tries to pocket a ring when Enna makes it known she should stop. They get into a disagreement which ends with Lily giving up the ring and leaving. With Lily gone, Enna uses her sword to weaken the chests to break them open. This works okay for the first one. This one was also trapped but didn't hit Enna. In this chest is a bag of coins. There is also a Silver Sundial set with Golden Pearl and a scroll case made of wood.   Enna repeats the process but breaks something in the next chest. Before they can look into it a crate with old chains and crockery comes falling and hits the ground from the chimney area. Enna is hit by the needle in this chest this time. At this point they decide to go and deal with the skeletons. As they peak over the top they can see the large skeletons. There are two. The room has a light amount of fog from outside. Lightly obscuring the room. Erin runs over to attack one while Enna takes the other and Karl stands at the back of the room.   As Erin destroys one skeleton it falls apart and reforms as twelve separate normal sized skeletons. Enna isn’t looking good in her fight. Karl does a fireball on the twelve around Erin, allowing her to get to Enna. They bring it down until it becomes twelve like the other one. However Enna is hit hard, causing her to stumble back and fall off the edge, falling into the room below with a thud. This sends Erin into a rage as Karl does another fireball to remove most of the enemies as he goes to aid Enna, saving her with his magical ointment before she slips away.   When Erin is finished she jumps down into the room, still in her Divine Wrath form, clearly enraged by what happened. Enna is unable to be the calming influence in her condition as Erin starts smashing open the unopened chest. Karl uses his telepathy to communicate with her and calms her enough that the form drops and he comforts her through the highs and lows of the emotions that follow.   After having a moment with Enna and Karl, Erin decides they should move back to the room with the fire to rest. She tells Karl to get all the items out the chests and she’ll help Enna. Karl finds in the first chest coins, some glass that had fine filigree set with gemstones is in pieces but the gemstones look valuable. A staff with insects engraved on it and a gold cloth vest. The second chest had coins, a wand with prints of various elemental symbols burnt into the wood and an electrum cloth vest.   At 11pm telepathy bond fades as Karl, Enna and Erin return to Fargrim and the children to find Xeldarix asleep but Lily not there.   Karl uses the time to see if he is afflicted with any magic and identify some of the items while Enna counts coins and Erin checks the island for dangers after moving the bodies. He finds three scrolls in a wooden case: Arcanist's Magic Aura, Shadow of Moil, and Blight.  
There is the blue pearl: Pearl of Fey Magic: Wondrous Item Rare. Requires Attunement.   Contained within this blue pearl is a blood rune. This pearl has been imbued with fey magic by the great unseelie mistress, Karleta Dinmurrow. It was given to the venom troll, Zul'kaz, so that he may carry out Karleta's commands. Once attuned, this contaminated pearl allows the used to harness unique fey magic, letter them pass into the feywilds as they please, without repercussions. It also grants them several other abilities:   Innate Spellcasting. Once per day, you can cast the spells Invisibility and Misty Step.   Blood Pact. While carrying this pearl in your possession, your skin quickly seals wounds. Anytime you take slashing or piercing damage, you can reduce it by 1d4.   Rift Transport. You can activate and pass through Fey Rifts.
  Karl starts to feel too unwell to continue and casts the dome before going to sleep. Fargrim tries to look for Lily but she is nowhere to be found. In the end they settle in to sleep.   Late at night Lily returns and Erin has a discussion with her.   Overnight Karl dreams of the hags and what could of happened.  
Karl stands before Ambraga, taunting her in hopes to prevent her from leaving. “I really just wanted to talk. Now your sisters are dead and I’m going to burn your pets alive. Come and try to stop me.”   Ambraga smirks. “What makes you think them being dead is a problem?”   “Karl?!” Lily can be heard calling as Gakara stands back up.   “I’ve got this!” Fargrim calls out as he presents his holy symbol of Haelyn. “May Haelyn’s Might drive you back to where you belong you monsters!”   A wave of shining light comes off of Fargrim and goes around the room as Kurula also stands up. It doesn’t seem to affect either Kurula or Garkara. Ambraga laughs manically.   “Did you really think that would work?” She grins as snakes appear all around Karl, snapping at his heels. “Did you really think a pitiful little boy like yourself could really kill something like myself and my sisters?”   A lightning bolt flies from Kurula’s hands, striking down Lily and Gakara starts beating down Erin while the ettin pulverises Fargrim. Enna can be heard crying out in the previous room as Xeldarix flies at Ambraga. With a quick claw she grabs Xeldarix round the neck and holds her back. Karl reacts quickly and lets loose a barrage of magic missiles at Ambraga but she uses Xeldarix to shield herself. The immortal being goes slack in Ambraga’s grip. Xeldarix’s body crumbles to the ground as she is let go.   Karl reaches for his trusty wand, but finds his holster empty. His heart starts to beat a mile a minute in panic of it being gone.   “Looking for this?” Ambraga teases as she pulls out Karl’s best wand and he finds his heart stops. “So careless, boy. You tried to take my sisters from me… I should take everyone from you.”   She points the wand down at Xeldarix and a blast hits the immortal. Xeldarix arches in pain before going limp again. Her body slowly fading from sight until nothing remains.   “NO!!!!” Lily screams and comes running for Xeldarix only to be struck by another blast by the wand and her body crumbles.   “Stop this!” Karl demands as he fires off another spell only to be hit by the wand himself.   Pain hits him hard as his connection to his magic is broken. Karl tries in vain to summon any magic, but nothing happens.   “You will watch them die, boy.” Ambraga tells him as her next target, Fargrim, crumbles.   Karl tries to dart past the snakes, but they strike him and he loses feeling in his limbs, crumbling to the ground. The snakes wrap themselves around him, keeping him from going anywhere as Ambraga targets Erin as she runs towards Karl but she also falls to the wand. Enna hasn’t been heard for several minutes now.   Ambraga cackles as she starts to intone some arcane words. “Don’t despair. Your friends won’t leave you. In fact you will join them to take the place of my pets you cruelly removed from my service.”   Karl can only watch in despair as his friends all rise, but they are clearly not living. Ambraga moves up to Karl and grins down at him, pointing the wand at him. “Arise my pet and serve me until your body is no more and may your soul be forced to watch as my pet for all eternity.” She says as the last thing Karl sees before he wakes up is a blast of light from his own wand in her hand.
  15th of Haelynir 1524   At 8am when Karl wakes up he is still caught up in his dream and attacks Erin. She manages to restrain him while Fargrim does a greater restoration on Karl that seems to help some, but he is still clearly unwell. Fargrim decided that they needed to start taking steps to leave asap as the cave is harmful. Fargrim admits at this point he also feels unwell and makes the decision to go and start. Erin had moved all the bodies out to the beach the previous night.   Lily wakes up to Fargrim coming through to leave the cave. As he makes a pyre and starts getting ready to burn them when he notices one of the hags is missing. He comes back in and tells the others about the missing hag while getting the fire. This causes Karl to panic and Lily is confused about which hag is missing since one was definitely dead.   The whole group goes out to see Kurula and the eldest hag are still there but their heads have been malformed by a blunt object. They start to burn the bodies while Karl contacts Steve about possibly sending the children to Brechlen since Fargrim reports that they are most likely homeless. However, Karl learns the circle in the Wellmore Estate has been dismantled. Steve suggests Poden and he can pick them up tomorrow during his daily trip.   Fargrim casts Lessor Restoration on himself and feels so much better as his illness leaves him. Lily sets up to do a ritual to detect disease while Karl contacts Alynn Smeltbrow in Poden about the children. She is okay with taking them as long as they are picked up asap and don’t ruin the circle. Fargrim also does Lessor Restoration on Karl and he feels much better.   When they return into the cave they see three of the boys up to no good and two missing. Fargrim quickly gets them to fall in line and takes them on a mission to find the other two boys. They find they by the water chute where one has fallen in and the other was trying to help. Fargrim gets him out and gets them back to the room safely.   Meanwhile Lily uses her ritual to see the disease comes from the room that looked like it was used to prepare bodies and that Xeldarix is clearly infected with filth fever. She doesn’t really wake when Lily tries to get her to stir, still caught in the grips of a dream. They decide to wait until the children had been sent off safely before attempting to heal and wake her properly. Lily summons a spirit animal to lessen the light in the room to scare the children.   After a bit of breakfast from Fargrim and Karl making the meal more appealing, they send the boys off with one having a message for Alynn. Thankfully nothing comes through when Karl teleports the boys to Poden. Once they are gone Lily uses Lessor Restoration on Xeldarix with her blood ability. This causes Alexis to take control. She is still very unhappy to be here and just wants to get back to The Seer.   Lily convinces her to help double check the island for anything worth anything. In the hopes of getting the group to speed up she agrees to help as she doesn’t understand the hold up. Fargrim goes with them while Karl has a short rest. They head up to the second left of the cave system to see Enna has found the trophies of the hags. She gives Fargrim the Captain’s hat that likely was Cassie’s. He takes it back to Karl and uses his prayers to destroy the curse which destroys the hat. Fargrim is a little sad as he wanted to keep the hat.   When Lily gets a moment when Alexis isn’t looking she turns into an imp and goes to investigate the chute. She swims all the way through to discover where the chute comes out and is patrolled by sharks in the area. She quickly retreats and returns to continue her search. She discovers hidden passages that the hags use to get around unseen.   Alexis was searching outside and gets annoyed when Fargrim tries to tell her off for wondering around outside. Karl and Erin dump the pot and manage to get a few of the gems that seem salvageable. The group searches the Saucy Siren and finds some loot.   Once they have everything Enna and Fargrim are turned to giant eagles when Fargrim does a sending to Wave to learn where the ship went. By 11am they are back on the ship where Erin dismisses most of the group so she may work the numbers and have Karl identify the last few items.   The wand was a wand of conjuration and the staff was a Staff of Insect Swarm. After this Erin invites everyone back to give them the split of coin and invite them to the items available. Fargrim takes the smaller gems for donation purposes and Karl takes the Arcanist Magic Aura.   The group looks over the paper with the strange symbols. After spending some time they discovered that it was a contract that had four sections. One section implies that the hags were being paid in gems, components and children from Toothmark port as their payment. A slave auction happens on the new moon. General Kegsteeler and his iron fleet will be granted good weather, strong winds and safe harbour.   During this conversation Lily tactlessly asks Erin if she was sold on this island. This angers Erin as she looks at Karl in an accusatory manner. Lily explains she had put the information together herself and this includes the fact Erin is actually a minor Ehrsheghlien. She tells the group a bit more about her history including that this ship belonged to Kegsteeler but she stole it when she escaped with Erdad.   Fargrim asks where does this attack on other pirates stop and what are the goals here. Erin says she wants to remove the Generals. She tells the group a bit about the generals.  
  • Admiral Viona "Silverhair" Zarr and her sea devils. She has lived a long time, longer then what is natural. She was a general to the previous King like Kegsteeler. She believes in quality among her crew. She does very little to oppose slavery but doesn’t endorse it. She has Giblons on her crew that led to the name Sea Devils.
  • Captain Ranbur the Red and His Brazen Bulls. He has fire giants on his crew. Has a No Prey, No Pay policy. Will duel anyone who has wronged him.
  • Admiral Harek "The Kraken" Kayden and his storm surgers. The crew/officers are managed in a similar way to the Masela’s Fury. Officers are those with potential and special talents. Claims to be the sun of the Kraken and has wizard-like powers. Has many magical items.
  • Saghip Xenophoros and Her Stonecolds. An actual monster who turns people to stone. Insists all meetings happen on land and anyone carrying anything reflective is automatically turned to stone.
  When the group makes it clear they wish to continue to the South without distraction, Erin leaves to get the crew underway. Karl is asked what he wants, which is to live at a port in a wizard’s tower where he may keep an eye on his nation but not be directly involved in leading it.

Rewards Granted

279g, 6s and 7c

Missions/Quests Completed

Killed the hags and rescued the children with the possibility of freeing Cassie from her curse.

Notes

Name XP Running Total Level at end of the session
Fargrim 6,425 75,685 10
Karl 6,425 75,685 10
Lily 6,425 75,685 10
Simone 1,125 44,210 8
Campaign
Curse of the Unchained
Protagonists
Karl Moller
Level 7 Human (Brecht) Neutral Good Wizard
(Sage)
46 / 46 HP
Lyra Ulvendatter
Level 8 Elf Chaotic Neutral Ranger
(Outlander)
/ 53 HP
Lily Wulfsdotter
Level 7 Rjuven Half Elf CN Druid
(Urchin)
72 / 72 HP
Fargrim Hammerland
Level 8 Dwarf Lawful Good Cleric
(Soldier)
59 / 64 HP
Report Date
01 Aug 2021
Primary Location
Secondary Location

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