(G582 08/02/2025 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI37

 

(G582 08/02/2025 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) YI37

[Everyone is back on Yag Island. Fenrir and Reinward have a lot of gold on them after their most recent adventure down in the Chult area.]


DAY 667 (29th Nightal)(December) cont ...

Reinward arranged the manufacture of some very fancy boots that would allow him to leap, be hasty and do short range teleports. I am told they cost 20,000 gold.

He also ordered a very fancy belt, that had hidden pouches, allowed freedom from magic such as the web spell and other slowers of movement and allowed him to fly for a short time.  This Belt cost 30,000 gold.

Other items included a ring of deflection and dark hidden. Goggles of Blindsight, and a Wand of Solid.

All together everything cost him an eye-watering 88,000 gold!

This was sorted out with Orimander in Sasserine and would take about a week to arrive. All part of Reinward's campaign to apparently delete himself from every dangerous encounter!


DAY 668 (30th Nightal)(December)

Today Azazello was seen in the streets of Tamunza. You may remember that this is one of Fenrir's "Personal Demons".

Fenrir went down to talk to him. Azazello said;
''
Hey! what's the deal? We were all set up to take Westgate? What the flip are you doing sunning yourself on this island? You've so much power now you could conquer  a country! You could wipe out a city! Start thinking bigger. You're making us all look bad!
''

'I wouldn't want to tarnish your reputation,' said Fenrir sarcastically.

'Don't worry about that!' replied Azazello. 'Worry about what happens when you annoy the big boys back down in the pits!'


DAY 669 (1st Hammer)(January)

Today I received some interesting information from the High Forest. I will have to think on it.

DAY 670 (2nd Hammer)(January)

Some mermaids were seen swimming around the xebecs today.

Also Reinward received a Sending message from Sir Loric:

'Everything going ok, Oh chosen one? Your people in Westgate enquire after your well being. Also - send gold.'

Reinward Send a reply:
'S'all good man. Weather is good. Could use a church here. Gold on way.'

He also very generously had Irritator (who was his best friend after helping so much to return him to his natural state!) to take 500 gold over to the Temple to Ilmater in Westgate.

Later that day he brought back a letter from Sir Loric. In it he thanked Reinward for the gold, it would help with the rebuilding of the temple, and that if the Chosen One thought that Yag Island needed a church that he would send a missionary.

Reinward had only said it for something to say I think, but I gather after some further correspondence a missionary was arranged, and to be expected in the next few days.

Today I teleported to the High Forest. A fellow druid (even a friend perhaps?) called Basil told me of some hidden knowledge discovered there that I may find interesting. I should note that Basil is back in the Vast Swamp now having brought Sybil back to life and they are living once more in their mushroom filled cave east of the Lost Refuge.


DAY 671 (3rd Hammer)(January)

So, while I was away our small village was visited by some sort of powerful wizard that called himself 'the Dweller of the Deep'. He said some mermaids had told him about us.

Fenrir and Reinward met him at the gate. They would not let him into the Barrow Area, but let him socialise around the camps. He said he was a neigbour, from an area about five miles east of Yag Island.

I know from scouting around that there is an area of shallow sea about ten miles to the east where a few jagged outcrops have sunk ships who still sit there with their masts sticking out the water.

You'd have to go about twenty miles to get to the next decent sized island. It's smaller than Yag, a tangle of jagged rocks and jungle that I've been informed it 'stuffed full of monsters.' Let's hope he is not from there!

The Dweller then went to talk to the Dwarves at the Fortress, then went into Tamunzah and had a drink at Dak's Pub "The Itchy Fishfinger" and sorted through his bags of random loot while he had a pie and a pint.

For his listening pleasure, Dak sang some sea shanties. Sparkledingle was there and started up a conversation. The Dweller admitted he had no home to speak of and that he merely "wandered the sea".

He stayed the night in town, rending a room at Gyles' Inn.

How mysterious!


DAY 672 (4th Hammer)(January)

I heard that Veddic got a message from Jamella Dotrok today. She's basically his boss, an Eternal Flame of Kossuth.

His task was to 'keep an eye on Fenrir' and see what advantage the church could get out of his activities.

He gave her some waffle about 'Continuing investigations.'
And
'Fenrir continuing to build power and influence in the area. Continuing to monitor the situation.'

'Where are you?' she asked via Sending.

'Yag'harr island, middle of shining sea.'

'For how long?'

'Unknown, but have started a small mission.'
Which was maybe pushing it a bit in my opinion. He'd maybe said a few prayers here and there, but as far as I could see he mainly loafed about in my house eating all my food and drinking all my wine.

'OK, jolly good. Let me know if you need anything.'
This was the final word from Jamella on this day.


DAY 673 (5th Hammer)(January)

I have been away the High Forest for the last few days. I've been studying some ancient wisdom and also some newly discovered wisdom.

The first is ancient Greenbound magic, from the Siluvanedenn ruins of Telardon.

The second is Ashbound magic. From a different plane this is the magic of an extreme druidic order. However, a few of the scholars in the High Forest have knowledge of it.

I also brought back an amazing bow. One of the elves persuaded me to buy it. It's elven name translates to "Stormpiercer, the Thunderous Fang".

It is an incredibly powerful artifact that fires powerful arrows of lightning that split and divide to hit multiple enemies with one shot. It cost me so much I dare not admit it to my wife!


DAY 674 (6th Hammer)(January)

The Dwarves from the Fortress (which they have named "Squaremirror") made another small shack out of stone. One of the Barrow Area locals claimed it.

Today the Missionary from Ilmater arrived. She is a lizardfolk lady originally from the Vast Swamp by the name of Crae Swamprunner. She is a cleric of Ilmater.

Another thing, Orimander let Reinward all his magic stuff was ready to go.

I heard that the Dweller did something for the dwarves of Squaremirror. I'm not sure what it was, but they seemed happy.

I also heard that Fenrir and Reinward were interested in doing the task that Fenrir's 'Psychoactive skin' had been given by Ghaunadaur. Just to refresh your memory dear reader the skin had been told:

''
Understand that you belong to Ghaunadaur. I know that you are unpredictable beings but you have a task.  One of our spies has told us that an incredible powerful magical portal has opened up. It is on an  island somewhere in the Shining Sea. The Vicar will teleport you there. You must open the portal to the Dismal Caverns and then seek an audience with Ghaunadaur. He will then send his minions here to Syrax-bah and claim the city in the name of Ghaunadaur.
''

They reasoned, not unfairly, that the Barrow portal must have a setting for getting to the Dismal Caverns. They ended up talking to Sleyvasxa the Trickster in town and she showed them some symbols of this dark god which they then took to the big library in Sasserine to gain more knowledge on.

Late that night they thought they had found the setting they needed on the portal stones. Myself and Dak consider ourselves the custodians of the portal and gave permission for them to do what they wanted.

It seems an odd quest to me, but on their own heads be it.

DAY 675 (7th Hammer)(January)

In the morning Fenrir and Reinward fired up the portal, set it to "Dismal Caverns" and stepped through.

They didn't know it at the time, but they were in the wrong region, an area called the Caverns of Thought, a realm that was a labyrinth of tunnels, lit by the faint glow of fungus. They had come out in a single long tunnel cut into obsidian rock.

It lead for half a mile until it ended in a rough stone room with a stone door at the other side. There was some broken mining equipment lying about and a sign by the door that read:

'Safety equipment must be worn beyond this point' in Dwarfish.

They rooted about in the rubbish and found many wands with no charges left in them, but also:

1 wand with 1 charge of stone shape
1 wand with 1 charge mud to stone

Fenrir tried his Ring of Knock, but it had no effect. On closer inspection it appeared to be just the outline of a door carved into the rock.

Reinward put his hand on it and he could feel it move. He checked it out and saw that it was trapped, but it was a benign trap that activated some sort of magical seal. It was effectively a magical air lock.

Reinward slinked through. He immediately sensed inaudible yet clear and  powerful thoughts that were clearly trying to drive him mad.

Both him and Fenrir had Crystals of Mind Cloaking though, and since this seemed to help a bit, the decided to venture forth.

They roamed the Caverns of Thought for some time. They tested that they could teleport back to the miners room and they could, so they became less concerned of getting lost.

After four hours of wandering around in the labyrinth they had encountered a few mindless zombies but little else.

Growing frustrated Fenrir shouted 'I seek an audience with Ghaunadaur!' Nothing, of course, happened. They had no idea that Ghaunadaur didn't control all of the Dismal Caverns and that they were in region a thousand miles away that was the domain of Ilsensine, the god of Mind Flayers! They may  as well have stood in Neverwinter and shouted for the Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate!

Using his brain for the first time in a while, Fenrir activated his Psychoactive skin and discovered it could form itself into an ooze-like humanoid shape while in the caverns and could communicate with them.

'How can I help?' it asked.
Fenrir asked what was going on, confused why he wasn't instantly in the presence of Ghaunadaur.
'Oh, that's easy, go lick that fungus,' it said, pointing at some mushrooms.
As Fenrir approached them nervously it then said, 'Just kidding, chief!'
'Nah,' it went on, 'We aint in his realm boss, we are in the Caverns of Thought.'

Fenrir sighed. He realised they had gone off half-cocked again. He teleported back to the miner's chamber, then they went back through the portal to the island.

Next they went to Sasserine and after many hours of talking to bard's and scholar's paid 200 gold for a diagram of a teleport location in the Realm of Ghaunadaur.

It was well past midnight when they returned.


DAY 676 (8th Hammer)(January)

Today they tried again. This time they put Sparkledingle in the obsidian dwarf worker room to relay messages back to the Island if required.

The teleport location they had purchased worked a treat though and they ended up in a huge cavern that held an equally massive ziggurat carved out of the living rock.

They walked towards it and saw gangs of troglodytes going about their business. The denizens of the Caverns looked them over, but left them alone.

The Psychoactive skin formed as a separate entity again. They had nicknamed it 'Venom'. It formed an oozing image of Fenrir, with breasts and ten arms!
If evidently had a sense of humour.

It then walked to over to a group of troglodytes and talked to them.
'Ah,' hissed one of them. 'New arrivals? Come with us!'

Nearer the ziggurat they saw many different types of oozes, apparently citizens of this place, some formed into humanoid shapes, or that of animals and monsters. Some just large wobbling blobs, some more like moving puddles. Some of them came to sniff at Venom and talk to him in their own hidden language.

In part of the cavern not far from the ziggurat was a large filthy camp that seemed to be a sort of holding area for oozes, troglodytes, mindflayers and beholders that had recently died on the Material Planes and arrived here in what was their afterlife.

Venom brought them to a beholder called Borkulax the All-Seeing, who was one of the camp overseers.

'If you want to gain the interest of Ghaunadaur in the shortest and most efficient amount of time you may enter the Gauntlet of Zhaeryx.'

They agreed to that, and were given accommodation and food that was served to them by dark elves. Reinward remembered to update Sparkledingle on the situation before the day ended.