Chapter 27: On the High Seas
The hellraisers rescued a dwarf adventurer from the immortal lotus monks and defeated their leader Bak Mei, killing the remaining monks and retrieving the stolen pages from the book of inner alchemy. After returning the pages to the monks of oghma in Suzail, they were handsomely rewarded for their work. Days later, the expedition began to take shape at the royal docks. The knights of the mark arrived and loaded up the ships, and before long the group set sail on the sea of fallen stars (joined by 2 cultists of Melegaunt Tanthul Nalzmyr had recruited during his downtime). During the voyage, a group of Sahuagin attacked with the aid of a dragon turtle. Though the turtle damaged one of the ships heavily and two sailors were slain, the ambushers were beaten back and the dragon turtle slain. Kathra used her magic to repair the ship and they went on their way towards Thay.
As they passed the kingdom of Aglarond, they witnessed the massive magical barrier surrounding the forest kingdom and long-hated neighbor of Thay. The shield was put up to stop the thaycreep and its undead hordes. Days before arriving, a violent storm blew one of the ships off course (along with a company of knights). In the night, the group dreamed of a black robed and hooded man with a gaunt skull-like face pointing to a mountain in the distance, with 4 snakes eating their own tails beneath him. When they arrived at Escalant, the expedition started setting up the outpost. The group began planning their foray with the knights, choosing to head straight to Thaymount via the river Lapendrar first. Kathra tried to scry on Szass Tam but found herself blocked. On the road, they were haranged by ash storms. As they rested by the river, the robed man from their dreams appeared before them. He asked what they were doing there, and Melegaunt revealed to Nalzmyr that he was none other than Myrkul, god of death. He explained that Szass tam had long been a faithful servant, but he feared what he might be planning as his vision of him has been blocked for the last century. He told them that Szass Tam's time to join him in the bone tower had come, and charged them with his destruction. He instructed them to find and destroy his 4 phylacteries, and that he had cursed Tam's lieutenants with the knowledge of the phylacteries' locations. Only then could they destroy the lich. As he spoke, he was suddenly cut off as he turned to ash and blew away in the wind.
Seeking the lich's lieutenants, the hellraisers headed for the Umber Marsh. On the way, they came through a strange village filled with people from different times and places. They feared lights outside the village, and seemed content to stay there forever. When asked about a mayor or leader, they were pointed to high wizard Escobel. The group went to visit him at the town hall, and found a red robed wizard who was expecting them. When Dorn grew violent, the wizard slammed his staff into the ground 3 times and the group lost consciousness. They awoke in a large coliseum floating in some pocket dimension. The wizard (seemingly a living red wizard of Thay) charged them with answering questions and showing off their martial prowess so that he could "study" them. He asked of them a riddle, and when they answered correctly he seemed pleased and conjured forth an ancient white dragon for them to battle.
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