The Demons Of The Burning Night: Part One
General Summary
A sleek Elgata airship, The Lythander is put at the groups disposal and its small cargo hold is crammed with the supplies that the party gather together over the next day. A skeleton crew consisting of three airmen led by Captain Ollesander are willing to wait on the island if need be but are clearly relieved when the party vote to have the airship base itself on a small nearby rocky pinnacle called "Wistler's Island". The journey to Aranmor takes a day longer than anticipated; head winds and a violent storm of the southern coast of Jaiman cause the captain to deviate slightly from his intended course. However, the party arrive in good spirits and spotting the tell-tale sign of a camp fire, decide to set down near what looks like a stout wooden stockade.
The treacherous waters, lethal steam spouts and the menace of sea-serpents has helped isolate the tiny island for many thousands of years. The companions approach the camp cautiously through the steaming jungle in the late afternoon and are challenged by a burly giant named Aroth T'Kal. A hulking Fulcrumian seaman, the man eventually allows the party into the stockade and a meal is shared. According to Aroth, he and his 6 crew men are all that is left of his ship that was caught in a storm and smashed to pieces. Serpents feasted on the wreckage and from an original complement of almost three dozen mariners, only this small band remain. Marooned on the island, they renovated the crude palisade walls and stockade they found over the next month or so. Desperate to leave the island, Aroth interrogates Cran about their own vessel; Cran is tight lipped and implies that the ship has a sizable (and well armed) crew.
The stockade is centered around a tall featureless black obsidian spire. The crew claim that the edifice is probably some sort of "demon-ward"; there is no way into the 30 foot square construction and other shipwrecked sailors must have built the palisade around the thing for a reason. A quick search reveals little save the sailor's clear nervousness; they are definitely hiding something. As the evening draws on, Aroth and his men (save for two watchmen) retire to one of the two small shacks. Sylke, her curiosity getting the better of her, immediately makes herself invisible and investigates …
Gambling that the pinnacle is in fact hollow, her suspicions are supported by Numal's identification of an irregularity on one side of the obsidian block and a well worn (though disguised) patch of sand. Sylke, Long Doors into the heart of the stone block and discovers that the construct is a well used and habitable tower. Aroth and his crew clearly wanted to keep this secret. The ground floor boasts a single cot, a work area and a number of chests and barrels, possibly scavenged supplies. An iron ladder leads to a trap door in the ceiling. Sylke decides to return to her companions …
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