Journal Posts

Captain Skiggs lay unconscious on a pew. "He's hurt badly, but he'll live...", no one needed Helan to finish his sentence, as they all thought the same, "...if we do".

The heroes, along with roughly twenty surviving councilmen, were all that stood between life and hell. An army of hungered ushered forth by demons advanced on the Teardrop. It was defiled, broken down, and not nearly defensable. Despair was setting in.

Khala took command of the situation. He rallied the soldiers and began setting up defenses. Elyas took a few men outside the temple to lay some traps in hopes of slowing down the hungered while Areothotis worked to consecrate the temple. Meanwhile, Glimwick found a cache of healing potions and distributed them to a number of the soldiers before taking a position on the second level. The Teardrop was barricaded and prepared for onslaught.

It was a bloodbath. Under Khala's command, however, the soldiers prevailed, fighting back the hungered and their demonic masters for many hours; long enough for Areothotis to cleanse the temple and awaken Melora from her imprisonment. The deluge returned to cleanse the island of taint, while Melora beckoned the heroes into her pool.

The battle was far from over, yet Eracha was confident in her men. The heroes entered the pool and were immediately whisked away in a waterspout. Soaring across the island they felt the warm embrace of Melora healing their wounds. Their destination became quickly clear as they descended upon the Navigator's Hall with ever increasing speed, smasing through the domed ceiling; through the floors; through the basements, eventually coming to a stop in a long-forgotten catacomb.

Their entrance alerted the villain behind the curtain, as Kedrick Lifedancer appeared. Knowing the heroes were not likely to join his cause, he introduced them to his cabal. A large number of cultists surrounded the party, ready to strike. Just then, the walls shuddered and the ground shook under the heavy weight of footsteps. The huge beast, Raganash, the hunger demon, exploded through a wall! He lunged toward the party, tearing into Khala!

Beneath the Navigator's Hall the heroes proved they were more than outcast scavengers. Each played their part in the victory; none was any more, or any less, worthy of the title hero. Areothotis and Glimwick worked fervently to deny their enemies safe ground, while providing allies with painted targets and weakened foes. Elyas took the most punishment from the cabal, standing between them and his allies until the last fell.

Believing them all dead Elyas lowered his blade a moment too soon. Raganash rushed from out of nowhere to crush Elyas! Khala brought him down with a blast of dragon's fire, but not soon enough to save his friend.

Once topside, they could see their victory. The island was awash with Melora's cleansing tide, sweeping the dead off the isle and clearing the memories of the islander's depraved acts. She appeared before the three survivors to thank them for their bravery.

Eracha and the surviving soldiers approached with a smile and a sigh. They won the day, but not without cost. The islanders were ever greatful for their sacrifice and offered up everything short of the island as payment.

In the days that followed, the heroes prepared for their return journey. Areothotis was not convinced he would leave with them, however. The Temple needed a high priest and the people needed guidance.

With heavy remorse, Khala and Glimwick said goodbye, leaving both Areothotis and Elyas back on Plenty.

The journey aboard Peacekeeper was not without conflict. The soldiers were outwardly hostile toward Elyas; the long struggle between the fey and the Trade Council was not easily forgotten. To make matters worse, the ship's mage was none other than Ghenna Tenser. Thankfully, she was less combative this time. Captain Skiggs proved he had firm control of his crew, reducing tensions and punishing those who ignored his commands.

The rest of the command crew, Eracha and Helan, spend much of their time with Khala and Areothotis, respectively. Eracha explained that she and Khala were trained by the same master, Sytheris Firebelcher. She was cast out for her heretical decision to worship the Battlelord. Meanwhile, Helan and Areothotis spent their time reflecting on the information at hand. How was Plenty attacked that Melora did not respond? The sheer comprehension of her inaction was impossible to grasp. Unfortunately, the answers could only be found on Plenty.

Just days before reaching the Razor Passage, Peacekeeper encountered a grain barge floating off course. The heroes were dispatched to investigate, as it appeared as though one of the hatches did not seal before passing through the falls. On board, their concerns were confirmed; all inside had drowned, locked inside the grain barge. The crew, however, suffered in such a way that their souls did not rest, creating a ship full of undead! The heroes made a quick escape, ordering the Peacekeeper to fire upon the grain barge until it fell from the sky.

The Razor Passage was tense, but uneventful. The mists did not clear, though, when they reached the port of Plenty. Through the haze they could see the citizens along the docks, waiting for any ship to arrive. The people looked emaciated, starved, and half-crazed. A large cargo ship with the name The Hunger left port on a collision course with the Peacekeeper. The crew took immediate action to brace for the impact. Khala and Areothotis assembled a make-shift bomb out of gunpowder and an island hopper while Elyas worked to get the sails unfurled. Glimwick and Ghenna conjured a wall of force to slow the ship, knocking it off a direct hit.

The Hunger slammed into the stern of the Peacekeeper, ripping a large hole in the hull. Across the deck of the Hunger lay the bodies and bones of other hapless sailors who entered the Razor Passage. Spilling out from the deck were the starving denizens, led by a crew of demon worshipping dwarves! The dwarven leader, Khedira brought forth fire and brimstone, igniting the deck of the Peacekeeper. It was all in vain, however, as Glimwick used his newly acquired knowledge to raise the very dead from Hunger's deck to enact their revenge! They ripped and tore at the flesh of the Hunger's crew, leaving few alive for Khala and Elyas to play with.

With the skirmish ended, the crew made plans to go ashore and uncover the fiends behind this plot. Areothotis and Helan were convinced the answers would be found at the Teardrop. Standing between them and the most holy of Melora's temple, however, was a sea of flesh hungry villagers.

Fighting through the mass, they slowly, made their way up the hill to the lifemother's temple. Upon entering, Areothotis and Helan fell to their knees in disbelief; the temple was desecrated! A priestess was hung, crucified, to the floating crystal Teardrop in the hall. The sight was too much to bear, and many of the soldiers sought to find another haven. Turning to leave, they saw hungered flowing toward the temple, along with glowmad and demons. There was no escape, they had to make a stand here...

"Where are you going?", Areothotis asked Glimwick, "Returning to the ship; we lost. She let us live, and I am making the most of that gift". Khala stood defiant, "She slaughters without honor, I cannot let this continue". Elyas just looked around, slightly confused, "And I thought I was going to be the odd man out. Look, we were ambushed by her; that will not happen again."

"Don't be so sure, Elyas." Miri stepped out of the shadows with Dee, "He wouldn't stay behind." Dee, now outfitted in leather armor and carrying Elyas' former blade, nodded to Elyas, "Too long have we sat idly by, allowing others to fight our battle. Today that changes".

Following Roe and Dee, the heroes used every ounce of energy to reach the next village first. They set up an effective ambush against Seeker, proving her undoing. The ferals were dispatched quickly, and her twigblight minions did nothing to slow the anger in the heroes.

However, it was not Glimwick, Khala, Areothotis, or even Elyas who won the day. Roe and the remaining wildlings faked their escape and surrounded Seeker, forcing her surrender and retreat.

With the day won, Dee was named Elfsorrow, bane of the fey, while Roe was honored as their champion. The heroes feasted and rested before making the week-long journey back to Timber.

Back onboard the Chance, Elfsorrow stated his plans to leave the crew once he reached Gateway. He intended to return to Heartland and help the resistance. The heroes, rejuvenated by victory, welcomed their return to the skies. Their smiles would not hold for long, however.

Mere weeks after leaving Timber, a small cloudskiff was spotted, listing in the wind. The insignia on the ship identified it as a courier's guild skiff. One lone survior, an orc, tried to keep the ship flying. The heroes helped him board the Chance, shortly before a much larger, iron-clad ship appeared! Hidden behind a veil of illusion, they made every attempt to reach the Chance.

Once again, their small ship proved to be the faster, and Khala's ever-improving pilot skills kept them beyond cannon fire. The Orc, Raggansh, plead with them to head for Shadowhaven, "The food is in danger! Demons on plenty! Hurry!"

Over the course of the next few weeks, after healing Raggansh, they received the full story. A fellow courier had a message he needed delivered to Shadowhaven;

A demonic influence has endangered the food supplies of Plenty. Please send help.

Unfortunately, his friend died, leaving Raggansh to deliver the message. Glimwick hoped there was a reward for this service.

Arriving on Shadowhaven, the Courier's Guild paid a princely sum of 2,000 cogs for this information, and Captain Skiggs of the Council ship, Peacekeeper, requested the heroes assist them on this trip. Accompanying the captain were two friends of his; Eracha Twofaiths, the dragonborn chosen and champion of Bane, and Helan Joye, provider of the Lifemother. Both were accomplished adventurers and skilled in their respective roles.

Elfsorrow and Miri opted out of this duty, choosing to finish the job for Jeche and Jerle and meet up with the heroes after.

On board the Peacekeeper, the heroes set out for Plenty, the fate of millions rested with the food supplies flowing...

The trip to Timber was a surprisingly fast one. After witnessing the effects of glowmadness on one of their own, the party made every effort for a speedy journey; Khala even opted to go through a rockstorm to cut some more time, despite the odds of survival.

Elyas spent much of the trip in solitude; his guilt weighed heavily upon his shoulders. He made many attempts to apologize, but found few words to convey his sorrow.

In eight weeks, the Chance docked in the port of Timber. The harbormaster, Erok, was their contact for the shipment. He also directed them to the supply store so they could trade their cargo. Before the heroes could pack up and leave, however, a small wildling burst through the town in search of Erok.

The wildling known as Roe had run for nearly three days in search of help. An elven shepherd was in the forest slaughtering wildlings. Without help, the wildling refugees would suffer for escaping Heartland.

Elyas was quick to suit up and march into the forest. The rest of the party fell in line, leaving Miri to watch the boat. Roe acted as their guide, taking them deep into the woods. Aided by the quick thinking of Glimwick and his magical staff, the party fashioned a passable raft and used the freefoam river to increase travel time. Unfortunately, Glimwick's geographical knowledge of Canopy was lacking. The river took them directly into a torrent of rapids that would consume them all--were it not for Areothotis' timely prayers. She is the the lifemother, after all, and what is a river, if not a giver of life to land? The raging waters calmed, allowing the party easy access to the shore, while Areothotis was lifted up along the water as buoyant as wood.

From there, tracking the path of destruction was easy. Roe found his friend Howler in a pit-trap, having used it to trap one of the shepherd's ferals. The heroes moved quickly through the village as Roe realized the wildlings would naturally hide in the hill-caves; where they go when the river floods.

It was a sight that sent Elyas into the same darkness he felt back on the Chance. The wildlings were perched on some rocky ledges, fending off ferals with naught but primitive spears. The Shepherd occasionally sniped any that successfully reached ground and made a run for the woods.

The heroes moved to act, with Elyas offering a diplomatic resolution, despite his surging anger. Seeker, as she called herself, ordered the heroes to leave. She was charged with culling the slaves and would not be stopped.

The ferals attacked quickly under her command, and proved why they're universally feared. Infused with the same primal magic as the elves, they blinked in and out of existance and seemed to occupy more than one location at a time. Along with Seeker's own command of the land, the heroes were grossly outmatched.

"I have no quarrel with you. Surrender, and I will let you leave with your lives. Stand against me, and you will suffer the wildlings fate."

She was right. They couldn't beat her. She had supreme command of the battlefield and took them in open combat. Khala gave the wildlings time to escape before lowering his blade to save Glimwick and Areothotis from the ferals. Elyas refused to give in, fighting until the ferals tore him down, leaving him bleeding.

Beaten. They had never been beaten. Whether it dragons, glowmad, demons, or pirates; the party had a strong might makes right mentality. Yet, now, despite their convictions and faith, they were defeated and the wildlings would suffer for their failure.

Khala spotted it first, but Areothotis shouted the warning, "Madness hulk!" Few things were more feared in the void; entire crews consumed with glowmadness, roam the skies looking for ships to sacrifice in service to Lightbringer.

Khala acted swiftly, seeking to avoid the oncoming collision. Grappling hooks were fired into the port side of the Chance before the hulk changed course, seeking to drag the heroe's ship into a small nearby islet. Everyone on board braced for impact while Khala strained at the wheel. Putting all of his strength into a tight maneuver, he forced the hulk into direct path with the islet! The hulk was severely damaged, but the Chance was still grappled.

The voidpriest mocked the small crew while ordering his glowmad warriors. A massive wyrmspawn flew in, searing all with his uncontrollable heat. The battle was grim, nearly costing Khala his life, but the heroes did pull through. Unfortunately, the voiders were successful in part of their plans; Khala was furious with anger, in part due to his already primal rage. Areothotis and Elyas were also abnormally angry. Glimwick was quick to point out this strange occurrance, and Areothotis did what he could to calm the crew, sensing their dive into glowmadness.

In the days that would pass, none would fully notice Elyas' continuing, seething, anger. Not until a sudden outburst had Elyas bludgeoning Dee into unconsciousness. The party was able to subdue Elyas and, with the gift of Areothotis' healing song, stave off the effects of glowmadness long enough to reason with him. Once he saw what he had done, He fell into despair. Elyas confined himself to his quarters for the remainder of the trip.

The incident had further ramifications; the wildlings now actively avoided the heroes, realizing that even Fey with noble intentions can inflict harm upon them.

Plenty was a welcome sight after such a journey. Khala expertly navigated the Razor Passage, and they made quite a financial haul selling the different salvage and building materials they had picked up. Glimwick also negotiated a haul of food supplies to Canopy, hoping to gain a bit more money for their trip. Meanwhile, Khala saw to the Chance's repairs.

Areothotis visited the Teardrop, seeking guidance from Kain Lifedancer, high priest of Melora. The high-priest was impressed with Areothotis' heroic tales, and advised that he should continue on his course, and not let the mad utterings of an insane god burden him.

With business settled, they set out for Timber. A Fey patrol ship was spotted, inciting fury in Elyas, who proposed they seek out and slaughter the fiends. Wisely, the party chose a more discrete method of avoiding the ship and heading on their way.

Jeche and Jerle had a simple proposition-deliver a cache of weapons to a boughbreaker in Roseport. It was an easy enough job; don't get caught and they get paid. They even setup the party with Geruld, a docksman skilled at retrofitting hidden cargospace.

To help hide their illicit trade, Glimwick also procured some buidling supplies headed for Plenty, while Elyas found a group of elven pilgrims seeking travel to Heartland.

Once the repairs were made, the ship set out-much heaver and slower than before. Not far out of Gateway, the ship suddenly slammed to a halt! The air was thick as gelatin. Panic was mounting. "Ship snares!", Glimwick was all too familiar with the traps of the dead. He reached Areothotis as quickly as possible, urging him to calm the crew. Areothotis, both a master of prayer and song, spun words of courage and hope, releasing the lost souls' grip on the terrified passengers.

Unfortunately, the snare was the least of the crew's problem; A Bright Cabal barge emerged from behind a small islet, hauled by zombie skylers! The undead pirates hooked the Chance and began to board; it would be the last time they assaulted any ship.

Khala and Elyas took quick control of the situation, bathing the advance guard in fire and acid. Areothotis kept the heroes standing, while Glimwick crushed what little was left of the undead minds.

The remainder of their journey was uneventful. The Chance arrived at Roseport five weeks from Gateway. Tension mounted. Sweat rolled off their collective brows. The portmaster welcomed the crew to Roseport. It was too easy. The party found their way to the Honeyhall where Khala calmed his nerves with ale... while running up a stiff bill paying for everyone's drinks.

Meanwhile, Glimwick and Elyas found Gereth and made arrangements to unload their cargo. Gereth had another proposal for them; a chance to double their money. Smuggle a small group of wildling refugees out of Heartland and he would see to it they received 3,000 cogs for the journey. With terms agreed upon, the ship was quietly loaded and Khala was carried from the Honeyhall. They were off to the port of Timber; far north on the isle of Canopy...

The party saw no benefit in matching sword with claw; choosing, instead, to seek a diplomatic resolution with the dragon. Auranos was hesitant, at first, due to his mistrust of the mammals. However, Khala's presence seemed to relax, and possibly shame him. It was agreed that the party would return the orb and leave without conflict. Unfortunately for them, Aelion had other plans.

Reunited with his crew, Aelion entered the tower to ensure the heroes succeeded in retrieving the iris. Much to his chagrin, they chose another path. When Aelion's men attempted to take the iris by force, Auranos aided the heroes. Amongst the chaos of battle, Glimwick knelt down and began scribing a ritual as fast as his skills would allow. Moments later, he had constructed a reasonable facsimile of the orb. Aelion moved to steal it and ordered his crew to back off.

With the fighting and commotion ended, Miri handed the iris back to Auranos. With the seals broken, he could leave the tower and destroy this horrid artifact. The heroes gathered up what salvage they could find and loaded up their ship. Much to their surprise, Aelion had left his slave wildlings onboard! Tweedle and Dee, so named by party, were granted freedom by Elyas. They agreed to stay on the ship as deckhands to repay this kindness. With their help, the trip back to Gateway was much less dangerous.

Upon arrival, the heroes made a quick visit to Tomas Hawkes, hoping their salvage job was good enough to repair the Chance. While at the clearing house, a group of pirates attacked the store over what seemed to be an extortion deal. Thankfully, the heroes drove off Rikardo Palmstorm's men, saving Tomas' life. He altered the original agreement of 10% off supplies to 20%, in light of their heroics.

Sadly, their salvage wasn't as impressive without the orb, gaining them a mere 750 cogs; barely enough to pay for repairs! Back onboard the Chance, Areothotis was haggling with Tomas for a slightly better percentage when the ship came under attack! Palmstorm had returned, this time with enslaved glowmad! The heroes fought fiercely, killing all of the glowmad, but were unable to capture Palmstorm.

According to Tomas, that was two heroic life-saving deeds in one day, which earned them a few rounds at the Windblown Flotsam. After hearing of the heroes exploits and of Elyas' noble actions towards the wildlings, Jeche offered them another job. Both risk and reward were high...

Lifemother forgive me. If I had more time, I could have cleared my name. Miri stood on the bridge, between the crew of the Chance and a group of Trade Council soldiers. I didn't mean for this to happen. Nice going, Miri, you always screw everything up!

"Lay down your weapons and prepare to be arrested." shouted the officer. Glimwick, from behind his taller, more intimidating allies, "On what charges?" The officer read a list of crimes Miri was associated with, "..Piracy, sedition, looting, murder, destruction of Trade Council property.... And you all are accomplices. Now, lay down your-" "-We do not have time for this!", Aelios muttered, grabbing Miris pistol and firing upon the officer.

The fight was intense; Khala spit flames about while Elyas cut down soldiers. Thanks to Miri's skill, they were able to jury-rig a lift and escape the onslaught.

Back on board the Chance, they prepared a hasty getaway. Glimwick provided an impressive illusion, making it appear as though they were crushed by an islet. The crew then turned their attention to Miri, looking for some truth.

"I am innocent. My father, Mikus Falco, owned a salvage ship that he captained with the aid of my uncle, Dreon. They didn't always see eye to eye, but usually worked through their differences. That ended when we came across a derelict ship; ripe for salvaging. Unfortunately, half way through the job, a Trade Council ship arrived and confiscated the ship. My father was irritated, but chose to surrender the cargo. Dreon disagreed. When the Trade Council ship moved to board, he fired upon the ship, which caused some alchemy kegs to explode, destroying the ship.

My father tried to stop him, but Dreon killed him. I snuck away on an island hopper. I stowed onto your ship in hopes of getting away and finding a crew to help me avenge my father's death.. I didn't mean to get you caught up in all of this."

The crew reluctantly accepted the appology, since beyond throwing her overboard, there wasn't really another option. Khala then turned to Aelion, "If I cannot kill anyone, you cannot either. Do not let it happen again."

The tension was thick, but there was work to be done, and boredom only leads to madness... Using his skills, Glimwick succesfully rigged the waysphere to read the earth he gathered, and they had their bearing.

The next multi-cycle was tedious, only broken by the horrifying revelation that the Chance was headed directly through a Firespout! It took the entire crew everything they had to survive the fiery storm; Were it not for Areothotis' answered prayers of rain, they might not have. They were alive, but the ship would require serious repairs.

Exiting the cyclones of fire, they spotted the Windswept Willow moving slowly toward their destination. "She must've been damaged in the firespout; we have a chance to beat them to the islet!", shouted Aelion. The crew worked hard to ensure their success.

They reached the monastery roughly a cycle before the Windswept Willow, providing them time to salvage and flee. All agreed that Aelion would wait aboard the ship for their return.

The islet itself was nothing more than the monastery, as if the land it was once on had been destroyed. It was a sight to behold, however; made of crystal, spiring into the sky. As they ascended the stairs, it became quickly apparent that this was no "normal" monastery. The crystal pilons along the path crackled with blue energy, firing upon any who drew near. The heroes quickly dispatched those. Miri's skills kept them safe from any future traps.

Walking through the corridors, they could now see that this was less a monastery and more a laboratory; rooms stocked with equipment, arcane symbols, and libraries of books.

While gathering what scrolls and books they could find, Miri held up a broken jar with a brain floating in some viscous liquid, "You wizards are creepy." she said. Just then, the jar floated out of her hands, zapping her and cackling with mad delight. "You, too, will suffer our fate!", it shrieked and nodes of power lanced across the room, breaking jars with a grayish liquid within. The liquid oozed off the table and moved to attack the scavengers!

The heroes moved on instinct, burning, corroding, and striking at the horrid creatures. It was over rather quickly, much to everyone's surprise. They gathered up the remaining valuables and continued on through the tower.

In the next chamber, they saw a large crystalline object in the center of a raised dias, surrounded by a crystal clear pool of water. Within the crystalline object was a small blue sphere. Glimwick recognized it as a wizard's orb and used his magic to pluck the orb out of the crystals. With the orb in his hands, the whole building shook, "I am the guardian of the Iris. You have taken that which is not ment to be held." The crystal object then morphed into a beastial form with wings; a Dragon! The golden dragon then looked across the chamber, "You have knowledge of the Iris and you have possessed it. You must be stopped..."

Before the heroes could venture out into the void, they required the aid of a skilled captain.

After some searching, Glimwick introduced the party to Aelios, an elf captain in search of a ship. Although he was as aloof and abrasive as any elf, his experience in the void was far to useful to ignore. The fact that he had a map leading to an ancient library didn't hurt his chances.

So, despite Elyas' misgivings, the crew agreed to contract Aelion for one voyage at 3 shares of whatever salvage is recovered. Aelion had his wildlings clean and prepare the Chance for departure.

Meanwhile, the party gathered supplies and Khala sought out Joseth Truthbearer. Anyone asked laughed off the request mocking the so-called priest as possibly glowmad due to his worship of Vecna as a goddess of love. Khala left a message for Truthbearer with the courier's guild and made his way back to the ship.

Shortly out of harbor, it became apparent that a stowaway was onboard. A human female named Miri had slipped aboard and requested passage to... wherever they were going. Although they were suspicious of her, she proved to be more than capable on a skiff and more than earned her bunk.

Their destination was Brideways. Aelion's map detailed a hidden monastery within one of the underisles. Unfortunately for the party, Aelion only had half of the map. His half depicted the location, but nothing more. The other half was stolen by his former partner, an elf named Caerok. If they could reach the monastery before Caerok's men, they might be able to stake a claim.

The journey was a long one; nearly five weeks in the void is no easy task. The party fought off boredom the best way they could: Khala focused on learning everything there was to know about sailing; Glimwick poured himself into his studies; Areothotis spent time learning about his new companions; Meanwhile, Elyas kept his sword-skills honed... even sparring with Aelion, in what was as much a show of character as skill.

Finally arriving in Bridgeways, they saw that Caerok's ship, the Windswept Willow was already docked. After a hurried rush through the city and a daring repell down the side of an isle, the party entered the caverns.

Reaching the monastery, Glimwick's magical light stole from them any chance of surprise; not that it would have helped, as Caerok was already exiting the small temple. "Do not let them follow me." was all he said, making a quick exit down another cavern.

Areothotis and the guild-wizard, Ghena, sought a diplomatic resolution, though no one else in the cavern wasted time with words. The skirmish was over quickly and, despite Areothotis' pleas to not kill, Khala thrust Caerok's first mate down a chasm to his death.

Ghena wisely surrendered, but warned them of their actions. She was officially contracted to this job, making their interference illegal. Glimwick shrugged, siting the age old adage, "In for a cog, in for some gears" before examining the temple.

It was much too small to house an ancient library, consisting of only one room with a small pedestal with a small amount of dust coating it. Glimwick quickly deduced that this room housed the earth used to locate the monastery. He quickly gathered up what was left, though it was not enough to use a waysphere.

Upon exiting, Miri--who had been on lookout--pointed to the Windswept Willow getting away. Before they could reach the Chance, however, they ran into a group of Trade Council soldiers; one of which recognized Miri and ordered her capture...along with her crew!

It took Luckfinder little more than a week to locate the Raven's wreckage. After securing the Chance, he prepped the party for their leave, "You have three days to return; that's the deal I made with Hawkes. Don't come back glowmad."

The scavengers climbed into the shore-skiff and latched themselves in. Khala and Elyas began rowing toward the shore, while Glimwick and Aerothotis looked for a good landing spot.

Before they could reach the isle, however, they were attacked by a small pack of barnacle apes, hurling rocks at the skiff. Khala and Elyas threw everything into their rowing; so much so, they nearly crashed the skiff into the isle!

Barnacle apes are dangerous, but also quite cowardly. A few quick strikes and a blast of magic later and the remaining apes were running for cover.

Once the area was secured, they set about finding a way inside the massive ship. It was lodged into a large stone tower, which had partially toppled onto the ship's deck. Khala flew up to a landing point and secured a rope for climbing. Once inside, they set about looking for Allon's body or, more importantly, some good salvage.

What they found, instead, was a den of barnacle apes! The ground was slick with their feces and littered with the skulls of the Raven's crew.

These apes were not so cowardly; led by a mutated glowmad ape, they charged headlong into the fray. Khala dove into a fearsome rage, lashing out at any nearby creature. Glimwick disappeared with a frightened squeal, though it proved to be more cunning than coward. Despite his best efforts, Elyas was brought down by the rhythmic hammering of the ape's fists. Were it not for Aerothotis' adept healing, he would have surely died.

With the beasts cleared out, the party could finally take a breather. Glimwick happily found some of the ship's old mast; it could be cleaned and sold for a decent price. Unfortunately, Allon's body was not located within the hold; the party would have to look elsewhere.

It was Aerothotis who found it-a small crack in the hull led into one of the tower's chimneys. It was just large enough for Glimwick to maneuver comfortably; unfortunately for the Khala. Once each squeezed through the chimney, they were greeted by the muffled sounds of crying coming from a jammed door, "It is possible some survived over the last seven years...though I am not hopeful for the condition they would be in...", Glimwick noted.

Khala forced the door open, revealing the horrid truth inside. The survivors grouped together in this tower, hoping to avoid the glow. Unfortunately, not all were so resilient. At the other end of the room sat an obesely large, foul-smelling creature. It cackled and cried and turned to see its next prey.

"Ahhh, fresh meat!" it squealed; tendrils of its engorged flesh erupted from the bulbous mound, latching onto some of the decaying bodies. "Crush them, my meat puppets!" it ordered, and lifted up the lifless bodies, forcing them to march on the scavengers.

This disgusting creature was far deadlier than anything they encountered on this trip. It nearly made Khala a meat puppet, forcing him to attack Aerothotis. Once again, however, Aerothotis' powers of healing cleansed the taint from Khala's mind. Glimwick proved his illusions were more than sufficient for any task, delightfully distracting and punishing the puppeteer while Elyas cut down the puppets.

Once backed into a corner, the puppeteer lost it's maniacal laughter in favor of savage desperation. Unfortunately for it, while rushing past Elyas, he opened it's flesh from stem to sternum, causing its putrid innards to spill about the room.

With the battle ended, Glimwick located Allon's body, while Aerothotis prepared it for travel. Elyas gathered up what salvage he could find; mostly rusted weapons. Meanwhile, Khala found a small trinket on the ground. It was a disk-shaped symbol of a huge behemoth over what appeared to be water. None recognized the pendant as any sort of religious symbol, but it would probably fetch a decent price.

Back aboard the ship, Luckfinder perused the salvage for his shares when he noticed Khala's pendant. He offered up his entire shares in exchange for the trinket; Khala reluctantly agreed.

Moments later, Luckfinder began to cackle wildly, before vomiting light! Within the massive voidglow a cacophonous voice inserted itself into the minds of the scavengers:

I am the god Lightbringer, but before my insanity I was Oceanius, Lord of Oceans.

The disk you found was holy symbol of my priests. I have not seen its like since before the dawn of this world.

Seek these artifacts of the souls in preparation for final battle. The fuel that burns in the Queen's barge; the armor of Orcbane; Festival's harp, ignored by my followers; the hammer of the damned dwarf; and the raven staff. REcover them all, for soon the Shield will fail again.

Begin your quest by seeking Joeseth Truthbearer in Gateway...

The glow then faded, leaving Luckfinder shrieking in glowmadness. He rushed to the starbord side of the Chance, then lept overboard; laughing to his death.

The journey back to Gateway was somewhat somber. Without a captain to pilot the skiff, the party had to work together ensuring their survival.

They delivered the body of Allon Hawkes to Tomas, and told the tale of Luckfinder's demise. Tomas was bittesweet about Allon's return; he had always kept a glimmer of hope that Allon would be alive.

Tomas was quite impressed with the party's efficiency and honesty, "Not to be crass, but I do have a business to run. Here is the agreed payment, along with a business offer; The Chance has no captain or crew, and I do not need another skiff at this time. Agree to work with me, exclusively, and I will provide a ten percent mark-up on all salvage, along with the title to the Chance. What say you?"

The party was too surprised with this offer to do anything but accept. Aerothotis tried to haggle for a little higher mark-up, but Tomas was a shrewd businessman and knew when he was giving a good deal and when he was being taken to the void.

Seven years ago a scavenger frigate, the Raven, went missing. Three months ago, Karr Luckfinder, captain of the Chance, found the ship and had the foresight to gather some earth from the isle it crashed into; without it, finding the island again would be next to impossible.

Tomas Hawke, a merchant, has sponsored a group of scavengers to accompany Luckfinder to the Raven's location. His son, Allon, was the first officer onboard the Raven. He is willing to pay the scavengers the princely sum of 1,000 cogs for the return of Allon's body.

Luckfinder is only to ferry these scavengers to and from the wreckage. In doing so, he is promised two shares of any salvage found.