Preparing to head for the Dark Island

General Summary

Having gotten the mission from Chenleigh Quickstep to go and find out what The Black Robes are doing on the Dark Island, and subsequently having had Razyle escape from a tower on the same island and lady Vandala Maz'Trawa putting two and two together warning them profoundly, the Scuffling Partizans have set their mind on setting out soon. However, Randy Jones is awaiting the dragon skull to be delivered to his home first, along with his armor, as was promised by Leroy Thorngage. Bilbo Barbarian wants to pay a visit to a certain god first, thanking him for services rendered. Randy therefor joins him to the Heart of the Dragon. Yorratra Melith Mitoré and Scaramouche Fan'dango want to try to talk to some wizards gathering info about the Dark Island. First they head for the Great Library however. Here they discover the history of the Silver Island and how it became the Dark Island. Such as is described in Darkness Descending, the famous work about the slow descent into darkness that the island went through. Leaving the docks with the Slobbering Herring under captain Ewan McGinty on Iluvatis the 13th of New Generations of the year 1254 E.G., the Scuffling Partizans set out for the Dark Island. With them are his son Andrew McGinty and his boatswain Samuel Hickory. The ship being a fishing vessel, the party has agreed with the captain to make the travel noticeably cheaper by helping him catch fish along the way. They find out soon enough though that they have little experience in fishing at sea, as they find their superiors in all three crewmembers. A week later the ship arrives at the Dark Island, where captain McGinty asks the group to board the rowboat he took along for this purpose, as was agreed before departure. Scaramouche Fandango however uses his persuasiveness to convince the captain to try to bring them all the way to the docks of the ruined town of Greenvale. Little does anyone know that this town is the present domicile of the death knight named Lord Soth. As the ship approaches the harbor, a lone rider is spotted galloping over the waves toward the ship. Soon the rider is recognized as wearing defaced and charred knight's attire, and within the shadows cast by his helmet, two bright red lights can be perceived in the place where his eyes should be. His mount is no less remarkable, not only for galloping a small distance above the ocean's surface, but moreover for having flames for hooves and manes. Distraught everyone aboard the ship looks on in horror. Randy Jones, having extensive experience with terrifying situations, is the first to regain some semblance of control and orders the crew to turn the ship around as he draws his weapon and takes position at the stern. The rider however, approaching with tremendous speed, faster than any normal horse would gallop across an open field, has by now come real close to the ship. As a deep feeling of dread and discomfort descends on the onlookers, he looks to Randy and a deep and creaky voice issues a simple command: "flee!" Randy quivers for a split second as he appears to wage some inner battle of wills. He quickly regains his posture however, and tries to fight fire with fire by issuing a similar command at the knight. But the rider shrugs this attempt away with disdain and turns his attention to the captain he has now discerned aboard the ship. He points a white, slender, bony finger from his shadowy sleeves and speaks another command: "Die!" Shocked, the Scuffling Partizans watch captain McGinty slump to the deck as a piece of cloth that slips from a clothes hanger. As his son calls out for his father in agony, it is now the boatswain that is quickest to act, rushing for the rudder and steering the ship further away from the dreaded island. Having escaped the threat of this strange monster and discovered there is no way to revivify the fallen captain, the partizans express their regret for the terrible events of this morning. They decide to sail south by southwest to find a part of the island clear of prying eyes from the ruins of Greenvale. Having made sure no longer to be subject to the prying eyes of the mysterious knight, the scuffling partizans say their goodbyes to the boatswain who is clearly affected by the loss of his captain, but seems clear minded enough to be trusted to return safely to Neverwinter. The adventurers row to the shore and for the first time get a full grasp of the strength sapping energies of the Dark Island. Noticing promptly that there is a clear shortage of signs of life on the island, they suddenly realize they have quite a ways to travel before getting to their destination. Being loathe to explore this island any more than is absolutely necessary, the group decides to follow the shore further southwest to cross the mountains where they meet the sea. Feeling miserable and uneasy they travel in silence and thought, albeit quickly to the peaks rising from the island in front of them. The sun is already low in the sky before the sandy beaches make way for the sharp and jagged rocks they need to cross. The group decides to tie themselves one to the other with rope to prevent accidents happening as the clamber on for as long as the light holds. Eventually the group reaches a small plateau sheltered by the surrounding rocks of the western cliff face when night is truly upon them and they make camp here, sheltered in the safety of a magical globe cast by Yorratra.

Campaign

Colonia's Hegemony

Protagonists