(G613 24/01/2026 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) EVL8

 
(G613 24/01/2026 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) EVL8

[Dark forces are gathering on Yag Island, manifesting as an undead cleric of Umberlee known as Salt's Wake and a Dread Necromancer called Vaelis Crowe. They are currently having a home invasion from a group of good-aligned adventurers. This is documented by Ganbar, Priest of Kelemvor.]


DAY 718 19th Alturiak (Feb)

My Lord,

Here I document what else I know of the attack on the house of the necromancers on Yag Island. They were beset by a group of adventurers that consisted of a paladin,  a cleric, a ranger, a rogue and a wizard.

Crowe, either wanting to make an escape by himself or wanting to lead the attackers away from the house, gathered together the remaining undead and made a break for it.

They charged up the cellar stairs and through the kitchen. Many of the undead were  slain and Crowe, heavily wounded, staggered through the kitchen door and out into  the night. The sight of the remaining undead and a necromancer firing off spells woke the street, and the goodly adventurers at first tried to calm things down but found themselves embroiled in explanations and accusations, so they quickly exited the scene.

Where Crowe went to is unknown to me. I will seek to find out where he ended up but my suspicions are that he left the island and thus, my area of investigation.

Salt's Wake however, remained in the house. He snuck upstairs and found both  Dondlepart and Keletch "dead", but much to his delight Guppy and Cod-Piece (the undead Koa-toa) were still on their feet.

Later, he went out into the night, to skulk in the shadows and listen at the tavern doors for rumours. He heard tell of Julia Yenessa, the daughter of a rich Calimport nobleman who had traced her whereabouts to Yag Island. She was believed dead but he still wanted her body. The adventurer's must have heard that some unsavoury necromancers lived at Wake's house and drawn a mistaken conclusion.


DAY 719 20th Alturiak (Feb)

Wake returned to his house as dawn arrived and lay low for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, a sellsword known as Korinth, a rough fellow with a long scar across his face, had arrived on the island. He wore full plate armour that had seen a lot of action and carried a long sword and longbow.

He had been inhabiting one of the dockside taverns since his arrival and it was there that he came to the attention of Egnol Galeborn. Galeborn was an elven historian that had lived on the island for many years. He was definitely up to something, but as of the time of writing I have yet to deduce exactly what.

Galeborn hired Korinth to join his expedition and his first task was to go and known on the door of Wake's house and recruit him.

Wake was not expecting visitors so put on a high pitched voice when talking from behind the door. 'Just a second young man!' he screeched as he waved his fishy friend up to protect him.

When he finally opened the door a crack, Korinth stepped back at the smell that was half grave and half rotten fish assaulted his nostrils.
'Oh don't mind those two,' remarked Wake. 'Old Guppy and Cod-piece mean no harm.'

Korinth explained his purpose and after much deliberation Wake agreed to meet Galeborn in a private room in a nearby tavern.

Galeborn explained that he wanted to go to Jundarwood, a forest on the east coast of the Shining Sea. It would be 350 miles to Urbeth, then 250 to Jundarwood. He had contracted a stealthy ship from a local merchant for the purpose.

Wake was concerned about his own smaller ship. It would be too slow to join the expedition but was too big to take onboard the merchant ship.
'Don't worry, I'll set someone to watch it,' said Galeborn.
Next Wake wanted a valet service. 'Here is a hundred gold my man! Have them scrub her to tip top condition!'
'Err... Very well, I will arrange that,' agreed Galeborn, if only to get the meeting back on track.

He wanted to leave in eight hours. Wake asked about 'his fishies' and Galeborn assured him that bringing undead on the ship would 'not be a problem'.

With the deadline set Korinth went to the general store to get supplies, but Wake held off for now, reasoning that Urbeth was a larger port and would have more choice.


DAY 720 21st Alturiak (Feb)

In the twilight of dawn Galeborn's expedition to Jundarwood sailed out of Tamunzah port.
 
The people on this adventure were:

Egnol Galeborn - an elven wizard and historian.

Nukillas - a Yian-ti pureblood cleric. She was known to consort with demons but was willing to work with undead if the price was right. It was her that Wake and Crowe had disturbed in the Devil's Cauldron.

Bozor - a half-elf sellsword, of which I know little other than he was dedicated to Galeborn's cause (whatever that was).

Wrunas the Minotaur - hired as extra muscle. Until recently had been hanging out at the Barrow after being rescued from a dungeon.

Korinth and Salty made the passenger manifest up to six. Galeborn told them they would meet more of the expedition when they arrived.

The ship was small, but was magically fast and invisible when it wanted to be, which made it perfect for missions such as Galeborn's, who definitely appeared to want to keep what he was doing as secret as possible.

The ship sailed on and in the darkness Wake prowled the deck. At the prow he spied a dark sinister figure looking out to sea. He approached.
'Hey, I was going to be the dark sinister figure standing at the rail on this trip!' he griped.
Nukillas turned and hissed at him, 'you! You are the one that killed all my undead and fish followers!'
'Oh, but...!'
'Ha! Ha!' she laughed. 'Just kidding, I don't care.'
Wake was momentarily baffled. In the dim light he could see she was attractive, if you didn't mind
the slightly scaly quality of her skin, the yellow eyes and the fact that she was clearly mad.
'Where is the other one?' she asked.
'Oh, I've not seen Crowe recently. He maybe left town.'
'Ah well, he'll miss all this fun then, hehe! I wonder what old Eggy want's with two evil clerics
do you suppose?'
Wake shrugged. She sniffed him.
'Undead eh? A creation of Umberlee I expect. Does your thingy still work?'
'How dare you!'
'Rotted off has it?'
'In full working order, young lady, you can rest assured on that point!'
'Whip it out then.'
Wake tried to rejoin with his own banter, but she was better practised in the art. He realised she was a "wind up merchant" of considerable skill and in the end he bid her good morning and returned to his cabin.

Dawn arrived and it was Korinth's turn to be on deck. He noticed Galeborn at the rail, looking seasick, and went over to talk to him. Galeborn was happy to talk but didn't reveal the exact reason for the expedition, only that it was going deep into the Jundarwood, that was full of undead, hence the need for clerics.

Korinth then talked to Wrunas, who seemed a stupid but powerful creature. He was friendly enough but had no idea really what was going on, only that he was being paid to guard Galeborn.

The ship he was on seemed to be primarily crewed by gnomes. Korinth played cards with two of them and the Minotaur. They were using 'gnome cards' and they played a version of Snap for a while, but when Wrunas left they played poker. Korinth won some money, but then played until the gnomes won it back.

Korinth chatted to the captain, who told them that the ship they were on - "The Black Cat" was magical, in that it could turn invisible and go faster than a normal ship could if it wanted to. The captain wasn't the owner, it was owned by people back on Yag Island, an outfit called the LVTC. Galeborn had rented it from them.

Salty came out later on, but every time he bumped into a gnome it squeaked and ran away.

[Rollo note: Today I went on a "shard hunt" around the Guildgate on the Wasteworld side. I took Sylvia, Jiggles and Kaylar Kaysh with me. We managed to get 5 shards from a nearby dungeon.]


DAY 721 22nd Alturiak (Feb)

Today was a day of good sailing east. Wake learned from the captain that there were three other ships like The Black Cat, all owned by the LVTC Company. 

Korinth sat on deck through the day, enjoying some rest. Nukillas came and talked to him a couple of times. She was friendly, but he got the impression she was mad. She was a cleric of Asmodeus and told Korinth.
'I don't usually do undead you know. No, devils is my thing. I love devils. devils are where it is at! Devils! Devils!! Mwah-Hahahahahaha!!!!'


DAY 722 23rd Alturiak (Feb)

Today they arrived at Urbeth, an island port in the eastern Shining Sea, with a population of about ten thousand.

Korinth went into town and bought a Masterwork Warhammer.

Salty couldn't make up his mind what to do, but in the end he joined Korinth. Korinth noticed that Wake was looking more presentable these days. He had scraped some of the barnacles off and in a dim light he might even be mistaken for a living person. Before going anywhere Wake also activated his Hat of Disguise and turned into a dashing young man.

In actual fact Wake had been casting Gentle Repose on himself as much as he could to stop the process of decay. It's effects were marginal, and the problem of the terrible smell he produced was still present. The first place he went to was a Perfumery where he bought some strong scent to mask the smell of putrescence. 

At some point he left Korinth and went off by himself, trying to find a temple to Umberlee.
Even when he paid for directions he kept on getting lost and in the end he paid someone the princely sum of two gold to take him there.

He finally entered the Shrine of the Drowned Lady and donated 10 gold for an appeasement 
ritual.

In the evening Wake and Korinth went to the The Salt & Star. They had a some good food and drink and Korinth chatted up a tart. Wake tried too as well, but he was still a bit too 'undeady' to stand any chance.

Instead he butted in on Korinth's arrangements. His new lady friend was called Veronia and she charged five gold for a very pleasant night. Wake paid her an extra five gold to make sure Korinth got a premium service. 

Korinth went off upstairs, leaving Wake to do his best to blend in with the other seafarers in the tavern.


DAY 723 24th Alturiak (Feb)

The Black Cat set off in the morning and had another day of fast and steady sailing.

Korinth chatted to the crew, while Salty amused himself by frightening the gnomes.


DAY 724 25th Alturiak (Feb)

The Black Cat arrived at the shores next to the Jundarwood late in the night. There was a base camp set up here already, lit with torches.

Everyone was dropped off at the beach by row boat. There were tents already set up for them to sleep in.


DAY 725 26th Alturiak (Feb)

In the light of dawn they could not see the Black Cat, she was either out at sea or around one of the headlands.

Korinth noticed that there were also about a dozen porters in the camp, mainly humans and half-elves. He went and found Egnol in his tent, reading books and looking at maps.

He had nothing for Korinth or Salty to do on this day so they took a walk down the coast. They discovered the bones of humans, large animals and monsters, as well as old rusty armour and scraps of leather. If this was what the edge of the forest was like, what would it be like further in, wondered Korinth.