(G594 31/05/2025 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI44

 

(G594 31/05/2025 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI44 

[Fenrir and Reinward are vaguely on the search for treasure in the Snare, an area of shallow seas to the east of our island. They have found some on a small island, but they thirst for more! They have been asking about the mysterious 'Dweller of the Deep' at the merfolk settlement of Meeflee.]


DAY 689(21st Hammer)(January)  cont ...

They were told by the druids of the Meeflee Merfolk:

'Go back to your island, landwalkers. We will put out the word for the Dweller.
He will come to you soon.'

Fenrir and Reinward accepted this and returned to Yag Island.


DAY 690(22nd Hammer)(January)

Today Hemma Bearclaw left the island, off on her adventures. She was one of the folk saved from Bone Island.


DAY 691(23rd Hammer)(January)

We got a report from 'King Raz' back in Westgate today. It sounds like being a monarch in a corrupt and vampire infested city is a pain in the arse!
Who could have possibly guessed?

The current annoyance was the Bastard of Cormaeril, someone who hated Raz and his friends with a fiery passion and had the cunning and power to be constantly moving against the crown.

It sounded like he needed the help of someone equally cunning to 'take care' of him!


DAY 692(24th Hammer)(January)

Fenrir's demons caused a 'minor outrage' in the village today. Several sailors were turned into pigs who then flew about the skies pooping on people.

This is how it starts though, as I recall. The demons tricks are almost funny to begin with, but they get nastier and more dangerous the more they are allowed to continue. Someone should do something.

Today the Dweller turned up, out on his travels again and came to talk to Reinward and Fenrir. He said:

''
I've heard of you two now. Powerful adventurers, but somewhat cavalier. One who carries the crown of a Broken God but who worships only gold. And one who has built a shell of magic around him to protect him from demons. This is what I have heard. The ancient ruins below the Snare are of importance to me. I do not take the sharing of its knowledge lightly.

I can tell you what I tell freely to anyone though. Ammathtar was once a small but powerful island kingdom. I am old enough to remember it in its glory and it makes me sad to know what it has now become. There are dungeons there, but many have already been cleared of their treasure and contain only monsters. There are many areas that are not flooded, and some areas that have been re-inhabited by beings that mean no harm, but desire only solitude.

There is also the Senatus, a huge building that is the home of a hidden Ammathari remnant.

They do not take kindly to visitors.

If it is treasure you seek, then come up with a cunning plan to gain entry via the Sahuagin trench the merfolk have told you about. It is the easiest way to get in. I can then give you directions to the Frumenti Forum. It is not flooded and you will find adventure there.
''

This sounds more like it! thought Fenrir and Reinward as gold gleamed in their eyes. After the Dweller had left they came up with a plan to get into the Ammathari ruins and had the idea to buy continuous affect magical items that bestowed Alter Self.

Towards this end they ordered two Shifter's Geese. 

DAY 693(25th Hammer)(January)    

I have a sort of clinic these days. I use a shack near the entrance to the Barrow Area. People from all over the island come for healing and medical advice and either me or Sylvia will meet them there. It buys us a lot of good will on the island.

I go by the name Rowan and Sylvia goes by the name Silke.

DAY 694(26th Hammer)(January)

The Shifter's Geese arrived today. I was interested to take a look at one. The instruction booklet that came with each goose says:

''
This 6-inch-long carved figurine of a smug, seated goose is made of polished ivory with inlaid opal eyes. When placed on your person (tied to a belt, stuffed in a pocket, or even carried in a pouch), the goose honks softly once as the magic takes hold — granting you the continuous effect of the Alter Self spell.
''

The lads saw no need to tarry, so packed some sandwiches and teleported to Meeflee. It was a further 12 miles to the Sahuagin settlement and although they could swim that distance disguised as Sahuagin, they would need a guide.

One of the merfolk druids volunteered.

DAY 695(27th Hammer)(January)

They set off at four in the morning, riding on the backs of dolphins. It was a gentle pace. This region was dangerous and it was best to be cautious.

The arrived at the Sahuagin rift at five in the evening, and descended into the depths to scout it out. The merfolk druid had been here many times and took them to an outcrop from which they could look down into the dimly lit rift.

They talked over a plan.
'Are they aggressive with each other? I mean are their multiple tribes that fight each other?' asked Fenrir.
'No, they are not like that. This settlement is part of a network of similar places. If you go in, even in disguise, you will be seen as strangers and they will be very wary of you.'
After that they came up with several ideas for tricking the guards (that they assumed would be down there), but in the end they opted for sneaking in.
They thanked the guide, who then left.
'One last thing,' he warned. 'Be wary of swimming at depth in your natural forms. If you ascend too quickly you will get decompression sickness. The Saughan are much better adapted to this, but be careful.'

Fenrir turned invisible and Reinward did his best to go unnoticed. As they got closer to the settlement they saw lamps showing the lines of the streets.
From a distance it was strangely pretty. The Saughan lived in the smaller caves and rock formations, but they could also see two large cave entrances. One was guarded and another was not.

They went to the unguarded one and skulked inside. It was pitch black but Fenrir had devil's sight and Reinward used his blindsight goggles.

The followed the large cave system for a mile, using the directions the Dweller had given them and arrived unmolested at the Frumenti Forum. This had once been the main square of one of the Ammathari cities. It was not underwater although it was certainly damp and was home to the usual sort
of aquatic Underdark denizens.

At the main entrance were a group of skum guards.
'Who goes there?' they demanded.
Remember that Fenrir and Reinward appeared to be Saughan.
'Jeff Vader and Billy the Fish!' came the facetious reply.
'Advance and be recognized!'
'This is not a game of who the fuck are you!'
'Advance and be recognised!' repeated the guard captain.

The lads shrugged and left. They returned later, disguised as skum and blagged their way in, successfully this time.

The Frumenti Forum was home to Skum, Kao-toa, Derro and even a few Tren. It was similar to Pedestal, but considerably smaller.

They spend the next few hours asking around for stories of dungeons stuffed full of treasure.

They eventually met S'ruurr Moonlightule, a Tren Ranger. She was the unofficial law enforcement of the Forum and offered to guide them to a 'juicy dungeon' in return for a finders fee.

The lads were in business!

(G593 24/05/2025 via Roll20 - JF, KT, AP(GM), AD) 5ED6

 (G593 24/05/2025 via Roll20 - JF, KT, AP(GM), AD) 5ED6

[This continues the story of Rogier the bard, a warforged called Gravedigger and a goliath paladin known as Uthmar Shatterstone. They are currently dealing with some annoying slimes.]

DAY 8 cont ...

Rogier cast mage armour on himself and the heroes went back down to the chamber at the bottom of the stairs.

Uthmar at this point was smoking something intoxicating in a clay pipe.

A door in the chamber had a sign on it that read:
    WOLLO'S WARRIN GIT LOOST!

While the others poked about for treasure Gravedigger went through the door. A bucket of rocks fell on his head and he was slightly injured. Still, a new room to explore drew the humans to him. It was a spacious chamber, full of ruined furnishings and a large ornate rug lay in its centre.

Everyone expected it to come alive, and it did! It first attacked Gravedigger and tried to smother him. The others entered the room and attacked it.
Gravedigger popped out of the carpet, was smothered again, then popped out again and give it a good whack with his mace, finishing it off.

The only things of any value in the room were three books on alchemy. Rogier and Gravedigger went to one door to explore beyond it, but Uthmar wandered off in a daze.

Eventually the all agreed on what door to go through and a new room was discovered.
This was an alchemist's chamber, and this time it was the cauldron that attacked them, shooting flames from its rim. Rogier cast a Swarm of Daggers spell and everyone stood back. Uthmar stood strangely close to Rogier.

'We should take Uthmar back to the pub and let him have a lie down,' observed Gravedigger.

After the Daggers had gone they all charged in again and Rogier got in the killing blow with a Firebolt spell.

They next door the came to was locked and Gravedigger took some time to bash it down with his mace. In the room was some crates and he went in and whacked them all to make sure they were not more annoying mimics. 
Inside one of them they found some 'Dust of Disappearance'.

On they went, into another small room that contained six large clay casks filled with fluid. Gravedigger saw a little blobby man in one of the casks, but no one was really interested and it was left alone.

The next room they came to was large and contained display cases, guarded by small pig men type creatures (known locally as snortlings!). They attacked, but the heroes dispatched them with relative ease.

The room was explored and they saw that plaques were affixed to each of the display mannequins in the room:
Stand 1. Robe of Gallahan the Great (A flowing blue mage’s robe)
Stand 2. Mantle of Tom the Foolhardy (Leather mantle covered in burns)
Stand 3. Armor of the fallen Quention Prit (Gleaming iron plate armor)

Next they went through a door in the west wall and found a fancy bedroom. Gravedigger poked at a pile of blankets, but nothing happened. There was another door in the bedroom which lead to a chamber containing six large copper tanks and a desk alone in one corner.
There was a strong acrid smell in this room.

They were getting deeper into the dungeon now and another door led to a corridor that led to a small room with an earth floor, where mushrooms were growing. Gravedigger dug into the earth and found stone about one foot down.

On the other side of the mushroom chamber there was a much larger room. Gravedigger was first to go in, and saw two figures standing at a vat which contained something that steamed and gave off a purple glow.
This was Wallo the kobold wizard and her oozling chum Patsy. There were also some pigmen further back in the chamber.

Gravedigger went to talk to Wallo, but Uthmar shoved past him and in his loud intoxicated voice bellowed, 'Hey you!'
Gravedigger snarled and went back to the mushroom chamber to continue digging the hole he had made. He measured it out to be seven feet long - enough to fit an annoying goliath paladin in.

Uthmar instantly forgot about Wallo and went to annoy Gravedigger.
'What's go into your head? Have your micro-wotsits all gone wrong?'
Rogier came to see what was going on too, and both men stood to watch as Gravedigger, with great speed and expertise continued to dig.
Rogier unslung his lute and started to play a song to inspire Gravedigger in his endeavors. Wallo and her minions had been completely forgotten about!

(G592 26/04/2025 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI43

(G592 26/04/2025 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI43

[In a rare moment, everyone is currently on Yag Island. Fenrir and Reinward are vaguely on the search for treasure in the shallow seas to the east of our island.]


DAY 687(19th Hammer)(January) cont ...

They couldn't sit around drinking free booze all day. Well they could if they wanted to, but their was treasure to be had! Booty to be snatched!

With only a description of a destinctive rock formation they teleported onto Big Elbow Island. Big Elbow was far from big though, being no more than 300 yards long at its longest point and a mere 50 yards wide.

It was a rare above-water-level fragment of the sunken civilisation of Ammathtar. It was just ruins, so the lads were not overly concerned about the history of the place and soon found themselves at a stone doorway at the highest point of the island. There were some fishy looking charms and fetishes about the place as well, made from skulls, sharks teeth, amd shells, woven together with seaweed.
Mostly likely artifacts left there by the sahuagin that inhabitied this part of the shallow sea.

They checked out the rest of the island, but this did not take long. In the end they had their lunch and went back to the door they had found on their first pass.

The door was at the top of some steps. They lead down for some time and the air became cooler as they went below sea level.

Much of this dungeon was half flooded, water ran down the walls, sea moss grew on the floor and feintly glowing fungus lit the rooms. In the first large chamber they came to was a stone golem. It was cracked and moss-grown, leaking salty water, and parts of it were fused with coral and barnacles.

It lumbered to attack and Fenrir blasted at it. It appeared to be immune to magic though so it was left to Reinward to through carefully aimed daggers at its vital joints until all its salty waters had flown out and the golem collapsed.

The next room they came to contained three fonts, each of which contained a jem at the bottom of the water. They talked over the likelyhood of traps for a while, but despite a search none were found.

In the end Reinward shrugged and reached into the first and pulled out a pearl. The next contained an emerald and the next a saphire. Something was going on for sure as he felt waves of magic washing over him, but whatever it was he was resistant to it.

The lads continued into the dungeon. The next room the came to contained a bunch of salty dried out corpses with big long centipede tongues. They attacked and Reinward was paralyzed.

Fenrir stepped back down the corridor to line up a blast, but the wiley morgh (for such they were) slammed the door shut and locked it! Fenrir took a moment to react - he had not expected this - but then blew the door open with his Ring of Knock and went into the room. Reinward was nowhere to be seen! Fenrir blasted away a couple of morghs and entered a side room. He found Reinward - being eaten by a pack of hungry morghs!

Fenrir killed off the morghs and got Reinward back on his feet. He was bleeding from bites all over and was missing his right pointer finger. He was also very annoyed at Fenrir!

Fenrir helped to heal up his friend, but it would take more than standard healing spells to grow back his finger.

After some discussion they teleported back to Yag Island and had Veddic cast Regenerate on Reinward to get his finger to grow back.

After that Reinward stormed off and found somewhere sulk. Fenrir didn't see what all the fuss was about, but I have to say when I heard of this I was on Reinward's side. Fenrir made a mistake - a rookie mistake - and he should have owned it instead of trying to shrug it off. Reinward was getting used
to not being killed off on a regular basis and he had no red bands left on his wrist - his blessing from Ilmater. 


DAY 688(20th Hammer)(January) 

Still, the next day they had made up enough to teleport back into where they had left off in the dungeon.

They moved through rooms full of cloth hangings, banners and tapesteries and were attacked by cloakers and mimics, but these were easily dispatched.

Another chamber had become the lair of a chuul. To quote from one of my books of Monster Lore:

''
A horrible mix of crustacean, insect, and serpent, the chuul is an abomination that lurks submerged  or partially submerged, awaiting intelligent prey to devour. Although amphibious, chuuls are not good  swimmers and actually prefer to be on land or in very shallow water when they attack.  A chuul is about 8 feet long and weighs 650 pounds. 
''

Basically a big nippy bastard, but again the two heroes easily dealt with it. Reinward even cut off one of its claws to give to me later.

There were other corridors in the dungeon but they were all blocked off. The lads looked about and did a bit of digging and searching for secret tunnels but in the end accepted that they had squeezed all the treasure out of this place they were likely to get.

They returned to the island and talked to Jonathan.
'Bit disappointed in the amount of loot,' they said to the seagull. Jonathan was far from an expert on dungeons and loot. He shrugged. 'Sorry to hear that humans. Perhaps they know more places back in Meeflee?'

Back in Meeflee they did indeed know more. They whole shallow sea area east of the village (known locally as 'The Snare') was all that remained on the surface of an  ancient civilisation known as Ammathtar. The people of Meeflee knew of an entrance to the ruins, but the catch was that it was in a rift that was also in a trench settlement of sahuagin.

The lads went back to Yag Island and talked to Sparkledingle, then later went into town and looked up Egnol Galeborn, and elven wizard and historian that had made his home in the pirate port.
He invited them in and made a pot of tea. They asked about the Snare and he told them what he knew:

''
Long ago, about 600 years before the present day, a proud and secretive human civilization thrived on a fertile tropical island about 30 miles across, located near the southern  reaches of what is now the Shining Sea. This land was called Ammathtar ("Blessed Crown" in old Chondathan), and its people were known as the Ammathari.

The Ammathari were master artisans, shipwrights, and scholars, drawing influence from  the ancient Netherese survivors who had migrated south centuries before.  They excelled particularly in sea magic — protective wards, weather control, water-shaping, and the taming of ocean storms.

In 734 DR ("Year of the Splendid Stag"), a great catastrophe struck. According to fragmented records and legend, the Ammathari attempted a grand ritual  to bind the storms of the Shining Sea permanently, ensuring safe trade and prosperity. Instead, something went horribly wrong.
A terrible maelstrom erupted, swallowing the entire island chain. The land was torn  apart and sank beneath the waves within a single day and night. Some say it was Umberlee's wrath at their hubris; others claim abolethic influence or a rift to the Plane of Water was unleashed. Survivors were few — scattered into Calimshan, Tethyr, and among sea elf enclaves along the coast.

Today, divers, sahuagin, and merfolk occasionally find broken mosaics, statues, and enchanted  relics buried among coral reefs and shallow ruins. Stories tell of undead Ammathari guardians, twisted by despair, and terrible creatures drawn to the Pearl Spire’s ruins.
Pirates and smugglers avoid the area, calling it "The Snare" and claiming the dead still whisper from below.
''

Engol also mentioned in passing the Dweller of the Deep, but also another entity known as the Dark Dweller. Apparently there are two.

The lads had met the Dweller of the Deep before so went in search of Jonathan (their local knowledge expert seagull) to see if he could be located.


DAY 689(21st Hammer)(January)

The lads teleported back to Meeflee again to ask about the Dweller. Shansar, the most senior merfolk druid of the settlement talked to them.
'The Dweller does a lot of good in the region,' said the merfolk. 'He keeps us reasonably safe from the sahuagin and gives us scrap metal that we can turn into tools and things.'

His current location was unknown, but the lads helped themselves to a seat at the bar and ordered some ice-cold pina coladas. 

(G591 19/04/2025 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI42

 (G591 19/04/2025 via Roll20  - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI42

[In a rare moment, everyone is currently on Yag Island. Fenrir and Reinward are back from their Ooze Adventure and I have just returned from the FAMP.]

DAY 686(18th Hammer)(January)

It's good to be home again. I enjoy spending time with Lavinia, my wife and my daughter, Evi. I like babies, I always have, and Evi is very cute and cuddly.

I hope I have chosen a good place to start a family. Will we settle down here on this tropical island? I'm not sure. I've always thought I would end up back at the Kryptgarden Estate at some point in my life - when my adventures were over. Are my adventures over? I don't think so - and they are not over for
Lavinia either I don't think. We employ a lizardfolk as a maid at the moment. She is good at what she does, but I think if we are ever leaving Evi by herself we'll need to get a more human looking one! 

Today I noticed Brodok standing at the top of the cliffs, watching the sea. I don't mind him, but he scares the locals, including most of our colonists. He and the Minotaur have been eyeing each other up as well, I sense there will be trouble between those two. He has ten thousand gold as well, from his share of the Caverns loot. I guess we'll wait and see what he does.

I had a conversation with Reinward about the three vampires, inside coffins, inside one of his bags of holding. They are the ones captured from Bone Island, namely:

Lord Sharrow - 400 years old. Head of the Sharrow Dynasty.
Lady Brinker - his wife.
Reverend Yarhammer - their former priest.

He has lots of wild idea of what to do with them. To torment them. To get information about treasure from them. All it ever seems to be is talk though. If it was me I would want to get rid of them, even if it was to free up some space in my bags!

Well, if he had planned something with the vampires, it was forgotten about later in the day, as he and Fenrir got talking to Jonathan (my talking seagull scout and fishing expert) and he had a request of them.

He told them:
''
There is another island, its tiny and no one lives there but I heard there  is treasure on it. I'll take you there for a barrel of fish guts and if you help my friend recover her comb.
''

He then took them down to the Barrow jetty, flew about until a mermaid came to the surface and then swam over to the men on the shore.

Her name was Neralyra and she said:

''
A sailor on the island has stolen my comb! I will be forever in your debt if you can retrieve it. His name is Jenkis Marpow.
''

The lads didn't see the harm in it, so they went off to Tamunzah to look for Marpow They tried Gyles's Inn first, but they found their man in Dak's pub - The Krusty Helmet. Marpow was a young, handsome and roguish pirate. He was drinking with some of his friends.

Fenrir was first to approach. 'Hello there, are you Jenkis?'
'Who the fuck... oh sorry ... what can I do to help my lord?'
Marpow took a moment to realise he was talking to probably the heaviest hitter on the island!
'Do you have a mermaid's comb?'
'I have no comb!' declared Marpow.
Fenrir sensed the lad was lying, so pulled up a chair and sat down.
Reinward started juggling daggers, carefully selected from his cutlery drawer.
'Ah now,' said Marpow, holding up his hands. 'I have great respect for you, but I'm  part of Captain Harpooners crew and we sail with The Rundeen. And we don't take threats
lightly.'

Of course, neither of them had any idea who the Rundeen where, so they came over to  talk to me (I happened to be having a couple of beers with Irritator and Jiggles at the time). I knew a little about them, but it Jiggles was my spy and had been collecting all this sort of information. She whispered to us:

''
The Rundeen were originally headquartered in Calimport, but are all over the place now.  They are a powerful smuggling and slaving consortium, they are not strictly a pirate crew,  but they are often hired by or work with pirate ships. They deal heavily in illegal goods  and slaves, especially here in the Shining Sea. They are very influential in Chult and Calimshan.
''

Fenrir rubbed his chin, then thought to himself - we need to find this Captain Harpooner fella, and get him to order Jenkis to hand over the comb. Faultless logic, eh, dear reader??

Asking about they discovered he would be in one of the four houses of disrepute in  Tamunzah - where are:

1. The Home of Akal Disanz - a dwarf tart 
2. The Home of Big Blirinda - a half orc tart
3. The House of Madame De Ploof - a large brothel
4. The Home of Mistress Vanderish, the Emporium of Mild Titillation

So, these brave fellows went from brothel to brothel until they found Harpooner at Madame De Ploof's. A bribe of five gold was paid and they were told that the Captain was in 'Room 3'.

Reinward magically 'blinked' his head through the door and saw a naked girl sat on the bed smoking a pipe and a big hairy man sleeping face down. The girl saw Reinward and screamed. Two big bruisers rushed into the scene and made to chuck Reinward and Fenrir out.
'We need to speak to the Captain!' protested Fenrir. The bouncers were having none of it, and they were chucked out.

The tomfoolery continued. Reinward went to talk to Sparkledingle about magic combs and Fenrir waited then went back in. Madame De Ploof accepted another small bribe and said, 'You've been very naughty. He's sleeping off a skin full so you'll not rouse him. We don't serve food here though, so he'll leave when he's hungry.'

Fenrir waited out side until Reinward appeared - he also had a new 'plan'.

It involved disguises, which I am always a big fan of. Fenrir disguised himself as a half orc bard called Maximillian (Max) Banjo. Reinward disguised himself as an anonymous mime who also did slight of hand tricks.

They entered The Crunky Wassit again and Dak did not recognise them. He told them;
'If you can bring in business you can have your drinks for free!'
'Any other bard's around?' asked Fenrir casually.
'There is a lovely lass up at the Barrow, but she's married to a twat!'

Fenrir resolved to ask less questions about himself and his wife from now on when in disguise. Still, he was very good with his guitar and he made nine copper and got his booze for free. Reinward was equally successful.

They finally remembered they were there to spy on Jenkis. He was still there with his friends. The lads performed and generally mucked about from around four o'clock until seven, when the pirates got up to go get some food.

The lads followed along, this time Fenrir was disguised as a half-elf lass and Reinward was a man in a dark cloak.

There is only one street in Tamunzah where food is served, it is always busy at night  and full of drunk pirates and sailors. Jenkis and his six pirate buddies sat at an open air home restaurant and ordered food.

Fenrir walked up to the table (as the half-elf lass!) and winked at Jenkis.
It got his interest but he didn't follow.
'Hoy! Are you a bender?' shouted Fenrir.
'Show us your tits!' the pirates shouted back.
Fenrir somehow magically did so, which got cheers all round.
'How much?' asked Jenkis.
'Depends what you are after,' answered Fenrir coyly.
'Come back later when we have eaten.'

Reinward, lurking in the shadows, watched on in horror. Fenrir turned his warlock charm onto maximum and easily persuaded Jenkis to come with him to an alley around the corner. Reinward, coming to his senses, whacked the amorous pirate over the head and laid him flat.

None of this was part of the plan though, and our heroes now argued about what to do next. In the end they robbed Jenkis of all his jewelry, including the mermaid's comb then legged it. After all that business with Harpooner and disguises and all the rest of it - it came down to a straightforward mugging.

Still, they felt that they wanted to go see Harpooner and talk to him about the situation. They went around town, asking about, but either people were keeping tight-lipped about it, or the fact that they had only seen his hairy arse and not his actual face, so it took a while to find him.

At ten o'clock he was located sat on a bench looking over the starlit sea. What happened next I really cannot fathom at all. Fenrir sat down beside Harpooner and talked about Jenkis and the comb.
'We have reason to believe Jenkis stole it,' said Fenrir stuffily.
'Oh dear dear!' declared Harpooner. 'Whatever next?'
'If he did not, you can find me at the Barrow. I am willing to give him a hundred gold for it.'

Given that Jenkis had been mugged and robbed of the comb a few hours earlier, what do you suppose Harpooner's thoughts were at this point? I should say, I know of this fellow. Harpooner is a blood thirsty, cunning, devious and treacherous bastard. His reputation for the most foulest of actions is well known. For instance, he has a habit of cutting  off the fingers and toes of his men when they displease him and he will happily drown slaves if he considers them valueless.

So when Reinward said in parting, 'Don't do anything stupid.'
'Har har, my fine young fellow. I can assure ye, old Harpooer never does anything before giving it a long hard think! Good evening to you gentlemen!'

After that, our brave adventurers when to wake up Jonathan. They were directed to the cliffs where they found him asleep.
'Wait until morning,' he squawked. 'I can't find mermaids at sea in the dark!'


DAY 687(19th Hammer)(January)

Reinward and Fenrir had Jonathan bring the mermaid to the shoreline and they handed over the comb.

She was delighted to get it back and invited them to her village, which was situated about five miles east of Yag Island. It was a collecting of reefs and sunken ships known as Meeflee.

Neither of them were sailor's so they decided to let the mermaid go home, scrye her, then teleport to her location. This worked and they found themselves in the rigging of a sunken ship. They then opened up Fenrir's magical folding boat and climbed down into it.

Meeflee is at the western edge of a large (about 30 miles wide) area of shallow sea to the east of Yag Island. In many areas a tall man can stand with his head above the water, and in some places you can simply roll up your trouser legs and walk. The village itself was home to about thirty or so merfolk. They kept to themselves, essential it was an enclave of hippy druids. Their were also friendly dolphins here and if you find yourself talking to a fish or a crab, then it was likely Awakened by a druid. 

They were offered food and drink and ate at an area in the wrecks that had been set up for dining above the water. So the lads stripped off and ate their lunch at a table above the water while sat on stools that were below it. It was a great way to keep cool and the ambience was so pleasant that after he had eaten Fenrir got out his guitar and plucked a tropical tune.

They asked about the Dweller, and were told that he was actually a sperm whale that took the form of a human while on land. He was considered a great hero in this part of the Shining Sea and greatly admired by the good peoples of all who dwelt in this shallow area.

Reinward found himself forgetting many of his worries while the sun shone down on his back and the sea lapped at his waste. He reached over and helped himself to another pina coldada.

(G590 12/04/2025 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI41

(G590 12/04/2025 via Roll20  - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI41

[Fenrir and Reinward are in the Dismal Caverns doing a quest on behalf of Xama the Priestess of Ghaunadaur. They are now in the Gauntlet of Zhaeryx. They are accompanied by Brodok, Cartet Murkor and Abriska, a jelly shaped fighter, a jelly shaped druid and a bucket of ooze respectively.
In their last battle Fenrir was driven insane and now wanders the caves in a delirium.]

12/04/2025

DAY 679 (11th Hammer)(January) cont...

Reinward waited eight hours, sat by himself in a dark corner lest he be attacked by a crazed Fenrir. The jelly people reformed and he talked it over with them all about what the best course of action was.

Ghaunadaur granted them a favour and teleported in a dark skinned psionic who cast Psychic Chirurgery for the low low price of 1700 gold and Fenrir was turned back to his old - slightly more sane - self.

While he was at it Reinward managed to buy a 'Dagger of the Slithering Void' from the psionic, to add to his already very impressive cutlery drawer.


DAY 680(12th Hammer)(January)

They had finally reached the penultimate chamber. The next after that they would face Zhaeryx himself.

Fenrir and Reinward were pretty nervous about this new challenge considering they had only survived the last one thanks to Reinward's blind luck.

This next chamber, then, was massive and contained the Maw of Ghaunadaur.

The winding tunnel finally opened into a vast chamber, and the first thing that struck them was the  smell — a cloying, oily stench like decaying meat left too long in a bog, undercut with a sharp, acrid tang that burnt their nostrils.

The cavern was enormous — easily hundreds of feet across—but oppressively low-ceilinged in places,  the stone sagging with clusters of ooze - like mineral growths and hanging strands of slime like  stalactites that wept. The walls seemed wet and alive, pulsing faintly with a dull mauve glow that  shifts as they moved, as though responding to their presence. Every surface glistens with translucent ooze, some of it still, some slowly creeping. Footing was treacherous; the stone beneath their boots  gave way with a sickening squelch, and in places, it was not stone at all — just layers upon layers of  dissolved matter.

At the centre of the chamber, a pit yawned, shallow but vast, a lake of sludge that pulsed as though  breathing. It was ringed by broken bones, rusted armour, and the half-digested remains of things too  strange to name. Occasionally, a towering pseudopod breached the surface, writhing and tasting  the air, before sinking back into the mire.

Strange, violet eyes opened and closed across the cavern walls, blinking independently. Some stared.  Some wept tears of acidic slime. One enormous eye opened at the far end, fixed directly on them — and  somewhere in their minds, they heard a voice without language, full of madness, hunger, and ancient wrath.

This place was not merely the lair of the The Maw of Ghaunadaur. It was The Maw.

Despite the horror of the being they faced, they all charged in bravely. Brodok was seized by a tentacle and Murkor summoned wave after wave of crocodiles that were pulled to pieces almost as soon as they arrived before the Maw.

Fenrir kept his distance and blasted away, but found that his blasts were either resisted or flew through the Maw with no effect as this cosmic horror blinked in and out of existence.

Reinward used his magical daggers to 'stagger' the maw several times, a magically aided effect that reduced its number of attacks.

Fenrir got closer, cursing as none of his blasts had any effect. Reinward having used all of his most powerful cutlery decided to run for it. Fenrir, slower to flee, was hit and hurt badly by the Maw's tentacles. Severly wounded, he limped out of the chamber as a wall of crocodiles moved up to screen the retreat.

Once they had reached safety, they trudged all the way back to the start of the Gauntlet. They felt they had done well to get so far, but the Maw was way too strong for them.  Fenrir had never managed to hurt it and it although Reinward had damaged it, it had not been nearly enough. Powerful as the lads are, I think beings as strong as the Maw need an army to defeat them - and not just an army of crocodiles!

In any event, Ghaunadaur had apparently thought they had done well enough to be rewarded. This included the item required by Xama, namely the Orb of Tristior. Borkulax the All-Seeing handed it to them with one of his noodly tentacles.

They all then had what passed for a decent meal in the Dismal Caverns and some mushroom ale at their inn and divided up the loot. Fair is fair and the three jelly people all got an equal share.

They talked about taking Brodok back with them, I think it was mainly so that Reinward could continue his ooze-based barrel experiments on him. Brodok seemed to be content to go with them.

They then teleported back to the miner's room and walked back through the portal into the Barrow.

Fenrir went to his house and told Giselle about everything that happened. I wasn't around when they arrived, but Lavinia let me know that they had arrived back safely.


DAY 681(13th Hammer)(January)

Anxious to hand over the Orb of Tristior to Xama and complete their quest Fenrir and Reinward were keen to get to the Descendants of Addar, but as is often the case  Fenrir wished to consult with my good self before doing something that may have proved rash in hindsight.

Alas, but I was not at the Barrow on this day, so they went to the next best  person (in their opinion) - Giselle to get some advice. She looked over the orb. She had no knowledge of it through her bardic circles, but she goes that it was a "key or something" in its function.

They talked to Sparkledingle as well, be he knew no more than anyone else.

I am also informed that today Reinward 'could not stop poking' Brodok. This strange jelly man had gravitated towards the cliffs where he had spent the whole day looking out to sea. He seemed almost content.

Fenrir's psychic skin had stopped talking - apparently it could only do so while in the Dismal Caverns.

Finally Fenrir went to Felia and ordered yet another item of cutlery - a Defending Dagger. This lad is worryingly addicted to buying blades if you ask me! 


DAY 682(14th Hammer)(January)

The lads decided to wait until Reinward's latest purchase arrived and took it easy today.

I should also note that today, the last two remaining members of "The Biscuits" left the island today. They were still very grateful for being rescued from Bone Island, but felt it was time to move on, and possibly even see if they could resurrect their dead former members.

So today, Glimmeria Brokenleaf, the Half-Elf Rogue and Keth, the Half-orc Fighter headed out.


DAY 683(15th Hammer)(January)

Fenrir and Reinward relaxed on Yag Island.

Note that at this time I was in the FAMP. I had taken the whole of the "Silver Blades"     adventure party with me. Lesent is a really nice fellow - they all are!
They've been really useful here. We have already raided a couple of dungeons and secured some shards.

DAY 684(16th Hammer)(January)

Our last day in the FAMP. Things are going well here. I had got hold of a lot of shards and handed most of them over to Avadeti.

Their lands are now about 20 square miles in size now. Not big, but a good start. They are bringing back people all the time and I think their are about 300 people here now. There are also two dragons, as well as several other fantastical beasts!

I let the Silver Blades keep all the loot. I have what I wanted from this trip.

DAY 685(17th Hammer)(January)

I arrived home today at the same time Reinward's new dagger did.

Almost as soon as I had arrived Reinward handed over a big bag of 'bits' he had collected for me. Apparently among other things it contained:
Giant Centipedes
Purple Worm Giblets
Parts from a Red Dragon

None of it was labelled, but it was a thoughtful gesture! There was nothing worth stuffing, but the centipedes would be interesting to study and the Red Dragon would be very interesting to compare to the other dragon parts I had so far collected.

After my kind gift they next gave me the Orb of Tristior to have a look at. Me and Sparkledingle got our books out and had a good puzzle over it. What we deduced that it could also be called the Orb of Sadness, it was indeed a key that could be used (in the right hands) to open a portal to the realms of Ghaunadaur. I also noted that while none of us could use it, Karkak's Kobold  Adapter could be cast on it to - well, open a doorway to the realm of Kobolds if such a thing existed? That was where myself and Sparkledingle ran out of knowledge or even educated guesses.

Fenrir and Reinward thanked me and teleported straight to Syrixbah (formerly the Lair of Queen Arachnia) and went to talk to Xama Niriwin, the Priestess of Ghaunadaur.

She was initially surprised to see that it was the real (as apposed to the oozy versions she had dispatched) Fenrir and Reinward that had came to see her, but she was very happy to see the Orb.

They were rewarded with treasure and gold, and also Fenrir's psychic skin was given to the Vicar who turned it into the "Skin of the Black Pudding" which granted the wearer powers associated with a black pudding.

Reinward were also given permission to take a figurine from the carnival collection of hardened objects in the Temple Knave of Ghaunadaur.

There were hundreds of animals, in dozens of colours and shades. In the end Reinward selected a red squirrel. Reinward has not yet revealed to me what magical powers it as although it surely must have them.

After that they left, which was very sensible as what was going to happen when Xama activated the Orb was anyone's guess. One way or the other I'm sure it was not going to be what she expected!

(G589 05/04/2025 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI40

 (G589 05/04/2025 via Roll20  - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI40

[Fenrir and Reinward are in the Dismal Caverns doing a quest on behalf of Xama the Priestess of Ghaunadaur. They are now in the Gauntlet of Zhaeryx. They are accompanied by Brodok, Cartet Murkor and Abriska, a jelly shaped fighter, a jelly shaped druid and a bucket of ooze respectively.]


DAY 678 (10th Hammer)(January) cont ...

Later that morning they moved on to their next cavern and their next challenge. A quick peak inside revealed this large chamber to be ram packed with Giant Purple Worms. I've encountered these things before, and so had Reinward, which was probably why he was nervous about them, knowing that they could easily swallow a person whole.

Which proved to be the case on their first attack. Brodok was eaten alive and Cartet was tossed around by the worms like dogs throwing around a rat. She managed to turn into a crow however, and flew from their grasp, and then summoned more crocodiles to confuse the worms. This worked enough to give 
Reinward and Fenrir time to kill off the worms one by one. It took some time, and it was very chaotic but in the end it was done. Brodok even managed to carve his way out of a worm's stomach.

They looted the cave and moved on. The next cavern was home to twelve greater earth elementals. Reinward's daggers just bounded off them - plink, plink, plink!
This time Brodok was slain in the combat. Fenrir was so heavily armoured that the elementals could do no damage, so Reinward held back around the corner while the warlock slowly whittled down the elementals one by one. Waves of crocodiles helped run interference for him, preventing them from catching him in a corner.

After the battle Brodok was put back in his barrel and Reinward gleefully added the following to the mixture:

1. some ooze from a gelatinous cube type creature
2. some greater earth elemental rocks
3. purple worm giblets
4. purple worm teeth

They then rested again for the rest of the day.


DAY 679 (11th Hammer)(January) 

Once they were back in business in the morning they moved on to the next chamber. This was home to a Deathmaw. Reinward rushed in with a dagger and then some more daggers. He was very nervous of the creature and kept his distance, throwing a whole cutlery draw full of blades at it.

Fenrir was there too, blasting away. Both were injured in the battle and when it was defeated then went to get their breath back again at their campsite.

The creatures that Ghaunadaur was throwing at them now were seriously powerful. Once they had healed up they moved on to the next, even larger, chamber. This was home to the Ooze Tyrant of Ghaunadaur.

A horrific mass of writhing sludge infused with divine malice, the Ooze Tyrant was a sentient gift of Ghaunadaur. Its gelatinous surface constantly shifted, revealing the half-digested remains of past victims, their faces frozen in silent agony. The creature existed to consume and corrupt in the name of That Which Lurks.

Brodok, as anxious as ever to finally polish himself off, charged in, was quickly killed and absorbed into the Tyrant.

Fenrir started blasting and doing damage. Reinward grabbed Murkor by the hand and ran off with her. He blinked through the wall and flew around the Tyrant. It seemed like they might defeat this horror, but then - calamity! - Fenrir was overcome by a madness, one of the several dastardly effects emanating from the Tyrant.

Insane, he now wandered off at random, then found Murkor in the previous cave and killed her. Reinward, recovering his bravery, soldiered on, throwing well placed daggers as he muttered, 'Just die you fiend!' He too was driven mad, and he wandered in confusion, but in his madness he threw more daggers at the Tyrant and more by luck than strategy this was enough to finally slay the dreaded abomination.

After a while Reinward recovered himself, and shaking his head took stock of the situation. Brodok and Murkor were slain. Abriska was still in his bucket. And Fenrir was somewhere in the earlier caverns, barking, howling and keening. His madness appeared to be more permanent and would require powerful magic to remove.

Reinward sat beside Abriska and put his head in his hands. He had a lot to deal with!

NPC GENERATOR for Version 3.5. (v142)

Seem to be really busy all the time, so just a wee update to the NPC Generator - ticking some things off the TO DO list :)

V142
Fixed some typos and bad characters
Druids and Rangers now get Animal Companions if they are rolled randomly.
Ophidian and Tren get their own names list
New names for races that had only a few or used other race

You can find it here:

https://roztov.epizy.com/dd/NPCDD.html

 

 

Karma Kingdom Beta 1.0 b218 Update

Karma Kingdom Beta 1.0 b218 Update

- All the 'Shop for your Cause' clicks now lead to: 'Unfortunately, click to donate is no longer available at Shop for your Cause.' - FIXED BUG #312 - avatar stuff did not load / save - Added New Page: Court Stats - so you can see what Court Cases have come up. Just for information. Will help build more. Maybe some dependencies. - Added New Page: Generate Stats - so you can see what charities you have specifically helped. I plan to make this a bit fancier at some point!

 

 Play here:

https://roztov.epizy.com/stw/generate.html