Entry 18: A Fight in the Sand
Well, That was Fun! After riding hard from Spearrow to the Caves of Madness, are group dispatched the guards at the mouth of the caves. The trip through the winding subterranean passages was surprisingly easy giving its sinister name. We emerged in a brightly lit day and immediately, I realized that we were back in Zhakara!
A winding trail stretched out before us ending at a large walled-off stronghold. Standing outside the gates was, I assumed, Dannigal Fireksy in his full fiery glory. Exhausted from our journey, we had a brief moment of pause to consider the wisdom of attacking such a large and powerful creature. Well, some of our group paused. Strom, and Grusk were already charging the giant, followed quickly by the knights and then the guardsmen and judging by the cloud of dust from an unseen rider, Shane as well. I began a loud melodic war chant which effectively countered our fatigue as I pulled out my wizard staff and rode forth.
Seeing our group, the giant let out a bellowing challenged and drew his massive sword. A few of the guardsmen faltered but the charge continued and what followed was a crash of lances, horse flesh and cries of pain and anger. The sword swept out and severely injured many of the attackers but none were killed in the initial melee.
The turning point came when a sudden thud of impact echoed over the sand as Shane hurtled from the back of his horse into the chest of the giant. He stumbled and went crashing to the ground and between before he could regain his feet, he was finished by a flurry of attacks.
During the brief but brutal fight, Lily and her rogue acquaintance snuck around the gate and with precise and deadly shots, the shot the goblin sentries on the wall surrounding the heavy gate. The fight came to a close and after creating the illusion of summoning a powerful genie, I called out for the remainder of those in the fortress to surrender. The native Zakharans did so immediately while the gnolls among them called out insults and prepared to fight on. The goblins seemed to be in a charge, a mercenary company hired by the slavers.
The mercenaries produced an official contract, so we let them go. The gnolls we allowed to run off into the hills rather than fight to the death. Finally, we took the Zakharans and their accomplices into custody and from the one known as the Wayfinder, we found a very pleasant surprise: the winch and wagon created by Fennick for the former owner of our gold mine! There was also a wand that I determined could summon a pair of phantom oxen which could pull the wagon, regardless of the size.
We put our prisoners into the wagon and shrunk it down. Then, we took control of the fortress to release and care for the slaves. Inside we also found a small fortune in gold and gems and a few other items of note. In particular was “rogue’s gem”; one of the components that the wizard in Crossing Dust needed to cure Shane. There was also a small sack full of dust that could cause amnesia in anyone who inhaled it.
We are spending the night in the fortress and preparing for the journey back through the caves to return the abducted citizens to their homes. Though Oslo’s tower is in Zakhara, it is strange to be in my homeland, free of his control. I hope that I can continue to travel through the Caves again in the future.
Chapter 19: Justice is Served and the Unseen is Seen
Our trip back through the caves was considerably less simple. Things crept through the side passages, dark and ominous. The route was almost impossible to trace, even with the skills of a cartographer from Qualm so it appears I will not be travelling easily back and forth between my homes. We divided the group at the main road with majority the guardsmen leading the slaver’s victims south while we traveled with the rest of the group, back to Westbrook so the Regent could pass judgment on our prisoners.
The men were very shocked and dismayed to find themselves back in the land they had attacked. I don’t know why they assumed we would put them on trial in Zakhara. I certainly didn't give them that impression, although, I never told them anything to contrary. The punishment for them all was execution, by hanging. I winced at the thought and one of the condemned requested a different method because such a death would result in a terrible corruption in his next life. Shane carried out the Regents orders to behead the man and it was extremely disconcerting when an invisible axe struck the man’s head from his shoulders.
After making sure everything was in order, we left Westbrook and traveled back to our headquarters in Spearrow for a refreshing rest. Taking the rogue’s gem and one of the gold bars, we headed back down the road to Crossing Dust. It was time to get Shane cured and after that, we could begin exploring some of the other places of interest on Shane’s map.
With a brief stop in the town of Myrt, we were cheered by the townsfolk. Word of our rescue of the barony’s kidnapped towns had spread. While moving through the town, Shane spotted a man that none of us could see. It was obvious from the ranger’s description that none of the townspeople could see him either – a survivor/victim from Riverton!
Shane approached him and after leading him away from others who might overhear, we questioned him. His name was Bernard and he tended to an apple orchard outside of town and had been there for more than 10 years. He had inspired a local legend of the “apple ghost”. He knew of other survivors as well and many of them lead tragic and lonely lives. (With the exception of the forest ghost who seduced village girls and convinced them he was some kind of woodland fae. Who knows how many children were sired by the invisible lech!) Feeling for the man, we took him with us as we continued on to Crossing Dust where the cure awaited.
We reached the town late in the evening so we had to delay our visit to Heratha for the next the morning. We got rooms at the Red Dolphin and I played up my role as a Wizard to cover for the fact that we had invisible companions. The night passed uneventfully and the next morning, we went to Heratha’s shop. The coin we recovered from the slaver’s fortress was enough to cover the cost after giving her the gem as well. The potion was enough to cure both and Bernard was extremely grateful (though definitely in need of some new clothes and cleaning up.
Shane wanted to pick up some seed for Spearrow to grow late crops and after loading into our new enchanted wagon, we asked about news in the region. Other than the obvious news of the missing towns being recovered, there was talk of a grave-robber in Qualm to the south – as if that town hadn’t had enough troubles lately. Since there were a few other places of interest in that area on Fennick’s map, we decided to go check that out.
Chapter 20: Don’t Visit Sky Lake
Unless you don’t mind being drugged by a pleasant, but demented cult and forced to breed with a ghoul. Seriously... That is what we found there. The grave robber’s tracks lead off in the direction of Sky Lake which was marked on the map. On the way there, we had to camp and were attacked in the middle of the night by Goblins. They were dirty, vicious and stupid but one of them did have an interesting wand that could sap energy from dying people, a spell known as Death Knell. As we cleared up our camp, I was teleported back to Oslo.
He admonished me about wasting the charge on my message ring but reset it with a new charge anyway. After hearing my report and getting a bundle of Fire Giant bits which Shane had helped me collect, he decided not to keep me longer. Hearing of my upcoming visit to Sky Lake, he did give me one thing before sending me back: a scroll of Mass Water Walk. I had a feeling it would come in handy but we didn’t end up using it. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
There was a village on the banks of the lake (which was strangely still and radiated magic along with the Island in the center). The villagers seemed friendly and welcoming, though a bit odd. Looking back now, I realize how much of an understatement that impression was. I did some trading with the people, getting a new book of stories and a nicely made eel-skin shirt. We discussed setting up a trade route Qualm. (Terrible idea!) We talked about the grave-robbing and the culprit was a dim-witted man who was tasked with getting material for fertilizing their crops. The lie was obvious but we still didn’t know the whole story.
They prepped a large celebration as the sun was beginning to go down but we realized that the food and drink was drugged. They seemed a bit too eager for us to enjoy the feast and decided to get away as quickly as possible. We loaded our horses inside our wagon and took the only boat on the docks and rowed out to a large island in the center of the lake. The island had Goodberries growing on enchanted bushes! Detecting magic, I was stunned to find five ley lines converging on the site.
We found a staircase and after Lily disabled the traps on the way down we descended into the earth. There were found the lair of Shanna’drina, a beautiful water sprite who guarded the area. She told us about the village which was the home of a cult that bred with ghouls. Everyone that lived there was descended from powerful undead. They collected dead people and animals in the area to feed their elders and any visitors were drugged and given to the ghouls for “pleasure” and reproduction. It makes my skin crawl to think of it.
Shanna’drinna allowed us to stay in her home for the night and while talking with her, I learned that she was actually a powerful druid. She told us of a goblin uprising in the area, tribes uniting under one banner and being more organized and aggressive than usual. She gave me a ring and told us that if she ever needed help, she would contact us. She also gave me a scroll of Aqueous Orb.
Tomorrow we will set out again and head back to Crossing Dust and decide where to explore next. I only hope that some goblin army doesn’t go rampaging through the area…
No comments:
Post a Comment