Morrow's Savage Tide Adventure Path

[Morrow]

The Lightless Depths part 2 (Dexter)

Dear Mom,

Sorry I did not rite you sooner. I meaned to but since I riting is hard and you can not read good I did not think you would mind so I waited til now cause we are gonna maybe die soon so I wanted too rite a letter now while I still can. Do not worry. Things are good. If we die it will be cause of a
bout a hundrid dozen evil creatures we are about to fight. So that is good.

Things in Farshore are good. We are still working for Lady Vandahborin. She sent us to give presents to a evil giant turtle so it would stop eating our boats. Remember those bad things I told you about that those bad guys are gonna use to do bad things to where you live and where I live? Garnham says I should not menshun names in my letter in case it is interseptid. We found out where they are from and are trying to fix it.

I made a new friend on the way here. He is part of the same church as me. I could not talk to him much because Maggie has a crush on him and she got jellis when he and me were talking about our favorit way to kill evil things. Speaking of killing evil things we killed a lot of them on the way here. Some of them were really neet. There were all these snake peepul that had dizeezis. And a spike with tennacles. And there were giant bugs and then other giant bugs and there was a brain with a beak and tennacles. You would have liked it. I know you do not approve of me always killing evil things
but most of the time they started it and I made sure none of them are your relatives.

We found an underground city of strange men. The longer I am a dwarf the more I like it underground. It is kind of strange. Sometimes if I put my head on the ground I can almost hear things in the rocks. I kind of like it. They were nice and we are bringing them to Farshore so they can live with us.

We are going to go kill a bunch of giant evil mind control fish and snaky tennacle faced evil cult guys now so I got to stop riting now.

I miss you. My girlfriend Rowan is doing good. You would like her because she is evil like your favorite aunt Mildrew. Not just like Great Aunt Mildrew though because she doesn’t try to kill me every time she sees me like Aunt Mildrew used to. Not every time anyway. Even though she is evil Rowyn is usually nice to me. She is really good at things that Garnham says it is not propreet to put in a letter to my mom so I will tell you all about it in person nest time I can get home to visit.

I will send you this letter as soon as I can unless I die furst.

Your son,

Dexter Black

 

[Morrow]

The Lightless Depths Part 3 (Garnham)

The Chroicles of K. Garnham Vanderboren-Black
as written by Conrad Horst

Golismorga, the unsunken city of the aboleth, lay before the Silver Beetles and the Jade Ravens in all it's fetid glory.

Under the glow of purple flame lit millenia ago by elder evils whose names are now lost to mortals lay buildings pulsing with the last gasps of twisted life. At the heart of the city sat the still festering wound inflicted by an ancient Ohlman god.

All the while cold blooded fiends sang hymns to two-headed Demo-gorgon. Nagas slithered and sacrificed in their throbbing tower.

It becomes increasingly obvious that I've drawn the short end of the stick with this assignment.

The Beetles and Ravens have spent two weeks scouting the anus of the Isle of Dread. They've killed about two hundred aboleth at this point and there's no end in sight to them.

On the 15th day in Golismorga the scouting ended.

We began the day expecting trouble. The wizard Sabine had sent out those eye things to scout ahead and lost a lot of them when exploring the crater that Tlaloc's Tear had fallen into. We got closer and the spellcasters boosted them with protections.

They ended up fighting some strange aberration. It was invisible at first. It drove Elyosha's dinosaur insane and paralyzed Garnham. Attacking didn't make it visible like you would have expected.

The spellcasters broke the invisibility. It was ugly. It had extra brains bobbing around. Sometimes it sucked down some of those extra brains. I think it may have been using them to power-up it's magics.

They killed it.

The investigation of the Tear itself showed that it's cracked and old. Dexter could probably cleave it in two with a lucky blow. Course if he does this place floods and we have a city full of aboleth trying to boss us around or kill us.

We then travelled to one of the pillars of flame.

If you even get close to one of these they make you sick. Maggie took a fly around one and left her trail rations over over a 20 foot line on the floor below.

Elyosha used her monocle and said that going inside would kill you and that only the most powerful magics could bring someone back after that.

We then went to the Kopru temple. The Ravens made a distraction and the Beetles assaulted.

The Beetles kicked some serious ass.

On making their way inside they met heavy resistance from a kopru priest of Demogorgon. Nearly killed Garnham.

Then there was the chamber below that held the shadow pearls themselves. What we found there is too horrible to put into words.

We are now returning to Farshore.

 

[Morrow]

City of Broken Idols 1 (Garnham)

Dearest Lavinia,
I hope this letter finds you well.

We have had our first encounter with Demogorgon's skinwalkers.

We came across a group of Noltus' converts. They told us that the cleric and a group of his followers had ventured out into a desecrated temple in order to defeat the demons that laired there. They revealed that Noltus had told them that certain spells were blocked for miles around this temple, spells that included Sending and Teleport.

While we spoke with Noltus' disciples the cleric himself seemed to return. Fortunately for us, Dexter was able to see into their souls and glimpse a bit of their true nature before they enmeshed themselves in the camp. "Noltus" turned out to be a powerful demon who (probably) had consumed the flesh and soul of Noltus. The others in the returning group of disciples turned out to be skinwalkers. Even the dog turned out to be a shapeshifted aberration.

The fight was difficult. We lost Sabine, my new scribe and a few of Noltus' real converts to the skinwalker's poison. We reincarnated Sabine and buried the rest.

We plan to assault the temple ourselves and are now preparing for the task.

There is one thing that has occurred to me that weighs heavily on my thoughts.

Aster has told us that we will encounter Vanthus again. Vanthus worked for the Fleet. The Fleet worked for Demogorgon. We're about to raid a stronghold of Demogorgon that is warded against the two spells that we are relying on in our plans to deal with his return.

I believe that it is likely that our attack on the temple will precipitate Vanthus' return and that we will not be in a position to join in Farshore's defense until after he has had ample opportunity to attack the town itself and you personally.

Sabine has decided to journey to Elyosha's homeland to help her discover her new elven nature. She has agreed to help with one final mission before she departs. I've asked her to stay in Farshore whilst the Silver Beetles launch our assault on the skinwalkers.

I've discussed strategy at length with Sabine. She can tell you what I've recommended. She also has some items that may be of some use to certain defenders. The final decision as to what defenses are made is up to you as mayor. If I were 100 percent certain that Vanthus would return at that time then I would be in Farshore myself. As it is I must choose the certain peril over the potential danger.

I want so much to be with you now, but I must be here.

I would also recommend that you appoint a Deputy Mayor in case the worst happens. Manthalay might try to step into any power vacuum created by your death or abduction. He would enslave the Ohlman and that is, in my view, intolerable.

Sabine knows when we will launch our assault.

Love,

Kai

 

[Morrow]

City of Broken Idols 2 (Dexter)

Dexters War Journal
FARSHORE, 1060, RAINY SEASON

My name is Dexter Black. I am a soldier in a war most people never even heard of. Nobody knows it but devles and demens are trying to take over our world. Me and people like me fight to make that stop. There are these peepel living in the stars who help some of us down here fight them. Do not think it wise to name them but one is better than the rest. She helps us down here. I got this fire in my blood on account my mom is a orc. Gwyn My patron helps me use that fire to burn evil instead of everything around me like can happen with lots of my people. Got some friends I travel with who help me lots. Maybe they do not know about the war. I do not talk to them about it except for Garnham and he is my brother too. Everyone calls him Garnham. He has a different name only his wife uses but no one else everyone else calls him Garnham. I called him the other name once and I thought even though he is so much smaller than me he was gonna kill me. It was funny but I will not do it again. He knows bad from good but is not in the war like me. Got another friend who IS in the war but he is not so tough so he does it different from me. His name is Catherly. Not as much blood his way. Not sure I get it but he is wise and good and helps me lots. He showed me letters. I told him I do not do magic and do not need the knowing of letters but he thinks it is good for me to write and told me he might have something I should read once. Says I need to be better with letters before he shows me. I said he could just read it to me but he said it is something I have to do myself. My friends and me were in a deemin temple. I was there to fight the war. They were there for their own reasons. I almost died again
but we made it. Lots of us almost died. Couple of us did die. My brother had two people following him around what died once. One of them even stayed dead. The other one woke up and went away to learn about being a elf. I do not miss her because I was never sure about her. I did not like her friends. After we were all almost dead Maggie made it better. She is good but she does not get the war. She thinks maybe we should not kill everything that makes my head hurt but I think it is OK for her to think that as long as she does not make me not kill something that needs killing. She is hard to understand sometimes but she is a good heeler. My other friend is Elyosha. She is also hard to understand sometimes but not because what she thinks is hard to understand even though it sometimes is but in a different way from Maggie. Elyosha is hard to understand because she is from far away and the words come out of her mouth all twisted up. She used to be a elf. She can be a big animal lots which is helpful. She is XXXxxxxx
XXXX also good with magic but not book magic so it is alright. Some book magic is alright but some of it is with deemins or devles so you have to be careful of it. Elyosha used to be a elf. Now she is a dwarf. I was a dwarf once. Did not like it. Do not understand why she likes it so much but she has a dwarf friend she sleeps with so maybe that is why. I have a human girlfriend but I do not want to be a human so I do not think that is why.
She makes my head hurt sometimes because she is evil. Rowyn makes my head hurt not Elyosha. Rowyn does not make Elyoshas head hurt she makes my head hurt. Words on paper are stoopid. Rowyn makes my head hurt by being evil. It is a hard thing to think about so I do not think about it that much. I think about the war instead. After the fight with men who wear skins of demons I almost died. I died a few times before. It is never fun. It is hard. War is like that. Words are hard to. Harder than war or being
dead. Being dead is easy. Getting dead is easy to. Not being dead is the hard part. I can only do it with help. After the big fight I found a book. Figure if I gotta right anyway I should keep a journal like I seen Garnham and those guys that follow him around do. Did not help the last one be not dead but whatever. If I die I guess maybe someone could find it. Maybe it will help them in the war. Found this book in the belly of a deemin temple. Figure I can use it. Garnham got upset when I started using it. Told
me it might be important. I tore out the pages with writing on them already and gave them to him. Did not seem to make him happy. After the big fight we went underground and found some deemins in the water. They made my head hurt and the fire in my blood got hot and I killed them. My friends helped. The deemins were very strong. I do not think it is good to fight without friends. Now we are taking a break so I am writing in this war journal for Catherly. If you are reading this it means I am probably dead or
this book is full. Look at the last page. If it is full of words that is why I am maybe not dead. I might be though. Because if I write this now and you read it later it could be lots later and I might be old and dead. Or I might have died fighting evil after this book was full. When I write in this book Garnham gives me dirty looks. He is usually good at knowing what is good and what is bad and if it makes him mad that I right in this book maybe writing is not good and I can stop. There are ten ways to say rite on paper and only one way to say it with your mouth which is why righting is dumb. I will ask Catherly next time I see him. So maybe if you are reading this and it is not full I am not dead. Maybe I stopped writing in here because Garnham is write about writning being a good thing to not do. I might be dead anyway though.

 

[Morrow]

City of Broken Idols 2 (Garnham)

From the journal of K. Garnham Vanderboren-Black, Seeker as translated from the Valossan.

I have just taken the time to review the journal entries made by my now deceased scribe.

What a mess.

Ten pages going into excruciating detail about the state of his bowels. Twelve pages devoted to his retirement plans. Thirty-eight pages of tawdry sexual fantasies that pretty much boil down to- Maggie, a jar of orange marmalade and a running start.

I trust that this explains the absense of the previous 60 pages of this journal.

We are currently on the second day of our assault on the skin-walker lair.

We've had mixed luck so far.

On our first day Maggie turned into a mist and reconned the lair. She was able to teleport us into the skinwalker chief's room. Unfortunately the chief was able to see the invisible, misty cleric and was able to get some backup into his room before she could teleport us there.

Unfortunately one of their spellcasters mindscrewed Elyosha. Unable to cast spells she turned into a rhino. We beat the skinwalkers, but their spellcaster's killed Elyosha and her dinosaur.

We waited the day out and Maggie brought Elyosha back from the dead and then restored her to her senses.

We will be continuing into the lair shortly.

I want to be finished with this place quickly, but that isn't likely to happen. I have to force myself to focus on the task
at hand, my thoughts constantly turning to Vanthus and Lavinia.

Dexter is working on his own journal. He found a partially empty journal among some of the discarded things in the chief's room. There's something about the book that rubs me the wrong way. I mentioned it to Dex and he tore out the used pages and handed them to me.

The pages don't make any real sense. The language of the piece changes with every word in no discernable pattern. Magical
translation reveals what each word means, but it's still nonsense. Here's a sample:

"Vision entry block third insurance rendering mine domain. Format trap crisis sock. Nonmanneristic pimpernel! Verdant saxaphonist
doll check menstruation. Forensic statement shipment; elaborated, cardigan vulgarity."

As I sit here writing this I suddenly know what disturbs me most about the book-the ideogram on the cover. I'm looking at the book now as Dexter writes furiously in his new war journal. I've seen that image before. In a dream.
I don't remember much about it. There was a gathering of people. The youngest were toddlers; the oldest maybe 50. All were human
or had human blood. I recognized Dexter, a half-elven shop assistant from Sasserine and a member of the Seekers currently part of the
Golismorga taskforce. I remember a score of other faces, but have no idea who they are or what connection they might have with one
another, myself or my brother.

There was a great sense of purpose to what we were doing, but my waking mind can't quiet grasp what it was.

I dimly recall that music played in the background.

And a smell like nutmeg on saltwater.

I saw blood being spilt and was dimly aware that it was my own although I may not have been me at the time. The blood spread out in a
circle on white sands. The pattern it fell in matches the one on Dexter's new book.

 

[Morrow]

City of Broken Idols 3 (Garnham)

From the Journals of K. Garnham Vanderboren-Black as translated from the Vallosan

So much has happened since my last writing. I feel a strong need to go directly into the gravest matter before us, to skip to the best part, but I will put that part of the story aside until it's proper time.

On our explorations of the caverns we encountered a trio of demonic defenders. Our encounter with them went much better than the fight with the skinwalker tribe.

Just after we defeated the final demon the cavern was rocked by a fairly strong quake. Elyosha determined that the cause was most likely volcanic and most likely in the direction that we were planning on heading down anyway.

We travelled for a time and came to an open stone room. At the far end stood a large stone throne. It was made of different stone than the rest of the room and it was well carved, unlike the rough stone about the place.

Upon the throne sat the dessicated corpse of some long dead monarch. Precious little remained to identify them. Time had robbed this corpse of race and sex. What clothing they had when they sat, for the final time, upon this cold throne was little more than colored dust and rust.

There still was a ring on a finger and a sword in it's sheath. Their obdurance in the face of centuries of decay told us that they were magical even before Elyosha confirmed what we already knew.

I have a steady hand and I was able to leave the dead monarch's corpse intact while removing ring and sword. At the time I did this to exercise my skill and out of no interest in honoring the dead. What we discovered later made me glad that I had done chosen now to practice my fingersmithing.

The ring was a treasure by itself. A ring of telekinesis. Rare, but not giving much indication as to the true nature of it's former wielder.

The sword on the other hand spoke volumes.

Elyosha revealed the bastard sword to be a Sun Blade, one of those rare golden swords dedicated to the destruction of evil. It's anathma to undead and creatures that live on dark energies. Nothing evil can wield it without weakening, at least a little. This probably explains why it was here for us to find after all these centuries, the demons and cultists didn't want to deal with it's toxic nature.

Leaving this place we came to another cavern and were attacked by more demo-gorgon worshipping Kopru. If it were not for my friends, whom I dearly love, I would have died in that fight.

As it was one of my cold-iron short swords was cleaved in two by a Kopru priest. He is the second of his ilk to call down his demon-gods damned power for unholy speed that I've encountered since coming to this island.

The kopru slain, we moved on.

We travelled on from this place for a time and eventually came to the lair of Khala, an aspect of Demogorgon.

Unfortunately Dexter took it upon himself to act as scout and, being the less stealthy Black brother, forced the fight before Elyosha and Maggie had the time to cast enhancement and defensive magics upon us.

We charged after Dexter. Khala stood on the other side of a moat. On our side stood a pedastle on which perched a black pearl the size of Dexter's head. In the moat lurked several lesser demons that swam and swarmed in the vile waters.

Dexter tried to leap the waters and challenge Khala directly, but he fell short and landed in demon-infested waters.

This brand of demons, we discovered, magically slowed all within their vicinity. Fortunately Dexter's boots allowed him to neutralize the effect.

Khala himself struck us with, what Elyosha later informed me of, a Greater Dispel Magic. Suddenly the few magical effects that we had up were further reduced.

It was hard to tell in the heat of battle, but it seemed that Khala's two heads provided him with a superior alacrity. A trait that I've heard was common in other two headed creatures such as the Ettin.

When we finally engaged Khala in melee his strength became obvious. His skin blunted some part of any physical attack that wasn't holy, magical cold iron.

At one point he spat a viscous blob of black venom at me that drained some of my lifeforce. Consultation with Elyosha after the battle confirmed the necromantic nature of the bile. She suggested that Death Ward would probably prevent it.

Surrounded on all sides by us and our summoned soldiers Khala disappeared and was replaced by a Westerlith demon. It was not the Westerlith demon's day however as he stood between my brother and me. At this point there is precious little in this world or the next that can survive for long in that position.

The westerlith disposed of, we awaited the return of Khala.

We prepared ourselves for his return, hoping that he would materialize where he departed, but this was not to be.

He returned and Elyosha used her magics to strip away some of the magics he had no doubt cast upon himself during his respite from battle.

In the end he fell and in so doing alerted Demogorgon.

As the corpse slunk down onto the cavern floor we became aware of four eyes focused upon us. We could feel them before we could see them and they were terrible.

After several moments regaining our composure we finished our explorations of the shrine and the remainder of the temple. Nothing was said, but it was obvious that we were too depleted from our battles to return to Farshore and render aid if my theory about Vanthus should be correct.

I can only hope that those in Farshore have the strength and the tools to face whatever threat may or may not be coming for them.

There was treasure to be found. And the oysters that birth the shadow pearls. There was an archive of clay tablets in Ohlman that appears to show the history of Thanaclan up to the time of it's fall. The Seekers will go over that when there is more time.

The gigantic pearl that was in Khala's shrine and the other pearls we came across had not been transformed into Shadow Pearls yet.

Once we had explored the entirety of the temple Maggie used her magics to get us to the prison block that Sabine had identified with her divinations. The tiefling and the skinwalkers had abandoned the place and the only thing that we found that was of any use was the tiefling's journal.

The tiefling, named Throgriff, represented Crimson Fleet interests here. It was his duty to make sure that the Shadow Pearls were harvested here and sent to Golismorga to be processed. The Crimson Fleet seems to have a colonialist view of the worshippers of Demogorgon native to the island; that they are savages and not the favored of Demogorgon.

Throgriff was of the opinion that the natives were quiet happy to provide Shadow Pearls to the Fleet and that his position was made as an excuse to punish him by sending him out to the boonies.

Throgriff records that the skinwalkers have sacrificed 160 victims, with 23 marked as “special” since his arrival a year ago. In that time 44 pearls have been “sent below” for completion. He has placed checkmarks next to several of these shipments, indicating that all but nine of the pearls have arrived at the Crimson Fleet headquarters in Freeport.

We have bunked down for the night. We return to Farshore in the morning.

In trying not to think about what is happening now in Farshore I have had another disturbing thought. Something manipulated us into getting the Tooth. There isn't a direct connection yet, but collecting the Tooth on the Isle of Dread, which was a stronghold of Demogorgon seems odd; too much of a coincidence. Someone wanted us to collect the Tooth, yet there has been no effort to collect it from us.

Are the two related? Is someone trying to steal this under Demogorgon's nose? Is someone trying to get us to stir up a hornet's nest?

If Vanthus does return the obvious suspect is Demogorgon or, more likely, one of his minions. What if the being that manipulated us earlier is trying to frame Demogorgon?

I'm thinking too much about things I either don't have enough information or can't control. In either event I'm not getting much sleep tonight.

 

[Morrow]

A Letter to Garnham

Dear Garnham,

I write to you because I wish to share my thoughts with you before sharing them with Lady Lavinia. In writing I can say what I mean without my difficulties with your southern dialect getting in the way. I have nothing but respect for Lavinia, but my meditations on the situation here on the Isle of Dread have made me doubt the goodwill of her late parents, especially her father and his family.

I find it all too convenient that Lord and Lady Vanderboren established a colony on the very island that happens to be the center of shadow pearl production for the Crimson Fleet. (This leads to the disturbing thought that there may be other shadow pearl factories, located in other remote corners of the earth.)

It is clear from reading Lady Vanderboren’s journals that she approached this project with the naive delight of the colonizer. It is my impression that among Sasserine’s elite, women are themselves oppressed and “protected” from the business that supports their lifestyle. They are put in the impossible position of being complicit with the very networks of colonialism and oppression that support their privileged place in society. Some women, like our employer, have chosen to face their family’s business interests head on. Judging from Lady Vanderboren’s journals, and especially her naive trust of her husband’s interest in pearl harvesting, I take it that she was not one of these women.

Why, exactly, did Lord Vanderboren establish a colony here? What was his intention toward the natives of the Isle? What was Lord Vanderboren’s brother’s involvement? Lady Lavinia reports that Vanthus was a good-hearted, if rascally, boy before he went to apprentice with his uncle. What happened to him to turn him into the psychopathic monster we now know him to be?

I have been impressed with Lady Lavinia’s willingness to partner with the native inhabitants of the Isle of Dread. Far from being an all-powerful colonial governor, she is a fair and democratic leader. I shudder to think what would have happened if Meravanchi had won the election for the mayoralty.

My druidic training among my people taught me to recognize patterns of power and oppression. There are powerful forces at work here who seek only to crush and dominate all who are different from them. From the bullywugs who worked with the Fleet in Sasserine, to the Mother of All, to Khala, we have encountered foes symbolic of a deep loathing for and fear of women and women’s sexuality. The Mother of All and Khala attacked male and female foes equally, of course; but it seems to me that our larger enemies attract allies whose bodies or agendas display a hatred of women.

Here on the Isle of Dread, we have found the native peoples co-opted for Demogorgon’s foul plans. We, along with the Common Folk of Sasserine, may now feel that we are not among the targeted groups. We must revise this opinion. I fear that Demogorgon, with the Fleet’s help, plans to embark on a campaign of genocide, through which they may make the Material Plane a home for demons bent only on dominance and power. I do not understand how the Crimson Fleet plans to protect itself from such an eventuality. I wonder if there is any way we can infiltrate their organization or spy on their plans. I fear we do not have as much time as we need to lay careful plans.

My first loyalties are no longer to Lady Lavinia, but to those in greatest danger of oppression and destruction here on the Isle. They have too much in common with my own people in Druzistan for the situation to be otherwise. Although I plan to continue working with the Lady, you, Dexter, and Maggie to thwart the Crimson Fleet and Demogorgon, I think it is time for me to leave Lavinia’s employment.

My last recommendation to Lady Lavinia as her employee will be that she remove the human colony here and return this land to its native inhabitants. Her intentions may be good, but this colonial enterprise is too tainted to continue. Her strong mind and will can be put to better use among the nobles of Sasserine, who must either be in danger themselves from Demogorgon and the Fleet, or complicit with them. I only hope we are in time to avert total disaster.

I remain,

your companion and friend,

Elyosha Tatanya Fyorovna.

 

[Morrow]

A Letter to Elyosha

Dear Elyosha,

Thank you for the letter. I appreciate you telling me what you are going to tell Lavinia and going into the other matters that you did. I find myself unable to sleep. Too busy thinking about those things that I can't effect that have happened in Farshore or soon will happen there.

I'm also concerned about the plans that the Fleet have for the Pearls. It has to be more than destroying any one place; according to the records we've seized they have enough to destroy whole civilizations.

Your idea of the Fleet trying to create a hell-on-earth both intrigues and frightens me. I think the answer to your question about the demons surviving the pearls was answered by Vanthus.

Vanthus has shown himself to be a coward most interested in saving his own skin. Yet he wasn't afraid to activate a Pearl at his feet. It seems safe to say that he was probably immune to the effect and sadistic enough to want to watch us warp before his eyes.

If Vanthus has an immunity then it's not hard to say that the other elite members of the Fleet (those who have been demonically enhanced) probably also share that defense. I doubt that they care if their underlings would survive.

Spying on the Fleet sounds like a good direction.

You raise a good point about other Shadow Pearl harvesting areas. I have been loathe to suggest asking Maggie to Commune again (it takes so much out of her and it feels like cheating), but knowing if this was the only place that Shadow Pearls were made might be important enough.

You probably have a better picture of Lavinia's mother than I do. Lavinia has told me of her parents and other family members, but it's her perspective, a journal allows you to get inside someone else's head and play with their memories.

I can't comment on the intentions of the elder Vanderborens in setting up this colony. The mention of pearl diving is ominous, knowing what we now know.

I do know that they were members of my organization and that the thought of what could be found here would be a great temptation to explore.

There is also the possibility that whatever force that has been occassionally manipulating us since before we arrived on this island also manipulated them.

And I accept the possibility of a dark motive on the part of Lavinia's parents.

Did the uncle turn Vanthus into the monster he is now? This of course opens the whole question of nature vs nurture. By the age that Vanthus had been shipped away to his uncle I had killed two men. Not in self-defense either, pure revenge. The rascal becomes the psychopath and the killer turns out.... alright (I hope.)

I'm trying to remember if that uncle is still alive.

I think that it's too late to remove Farshore. The sad truth is that there are other people (the Meravanchi's among several) who see the potential for this colony. If Lavinia choose to pull up stakes then others would take over. Other people who aren't interested in cooperating with the Ohlman.

Then there are the people of Farshore. I've gotten to know a good number of them. A lot of them grew up in the same slums that I did. They risked their lives getting here, survived without resupply for seasons and fought the Crimson Fleet. Not everyone is going to leave because we ask them to.

Even if the colony were to be destroyed tomorrow, I'd bet even money that it would be rebuilt inside my lifetime. If not someone from Sasserine, maybe the Scarlet Brotherhood.

It's a problem that has no easy solution. I propose speaking with the Ohlman themselves, the leadership and the common man. See what they want. What they don't want. I don't want to see them harmed.

Sasserine doesn't enjoy an even split of power between the sexes, it's true, but I think that you are selling the women of Sasserine short.

Heldrath Kellani is a woman just as corrupt as any man sitting on the Dawn Concil. In fact she'd be sitting there now if it weren't for our stopping Rowyn's plans. Heldrath is FAR from the only politically savvy/powerful woman in Sasserine.

I'd say that half the temples in town are headed by women. Including the temple of Aster.

The Witchwardens and the Church of the Whirling Fury are headed by women.

Still, it has to be said that more houses are lead by men and six of the seven seats on the Dawn Council are male. I could easily say that there are no impediments to a woman holding the highest positions in Sasserine, but the truth is that most office holders have external genitalia.

I'm not as familiar with Drusikstan's socio-political history. From our conversations I assume that your country was a matriarchy before the troubles occured.

How did your country's rulership work? Was there an even balance between the sexes? If so how was this achieved?

I've been thinking of something that I read a while back. It was in a book by Phillip Wylie called "The Disappearance." It involved a world that split into two copies, one populated only by men, the other only by women. Both wound up in total disaster.

There is a passage towards the end of the book that I will end this letter on.

"We-male and female- are the same flesh and the flesh is beautiful. We have all the same organs, differing only in speciality. The same chemicals course in us both. When we love each other it is the same love. When we lie together we are in solemn truth that One."

Yours truly,

Kai Garnham Vanderboren-Black

 

[Morrow]

Serpents of Freeport (Nadia Black)

The Exploits of Kai Garnham Vanderboren-Black as recorded by Nadia Black


And it came to pass that the Silver Beetles, the most feared and fearsome band of adventurers since Nate Black, Bloody Kate Sullivan, death-faced Bronson and dragon within a dream Tavaari last sailed, choose to attack the black heart of the Isle of Dread.

The black heart that was responsible for the fall of the Ohlman empire, the blackheart that had turned the island foul and had made a sanctuary in this world for demonsand those who wore their skins.

But before they made their final push forward they remembered the divine wisdom imparted from Aster (blessed be he/she/it) gained in holy Commune by the great clericMargaret Teech.

Aster had let it be known that the Beetles would one day see the vile wretch Vanthus Vanderboren again. Vanthus the cowardly cur who killed his parents and tried to destroy the life and works of his sister the fair and noble Lavinia.

In their last meeting the Beetles had put the demon-tainted Vanthus in a shallow grave in Hallowed ground. A simple marker the only ornamentation for his final restingplace.

Since that time Lavinia took the fingersmith and Silver Beetle Kai Garnham as husband and had begun to plan a family.

Concerned that their actions in confronting Khala, an aspect of the abominable demon-god Demogorgon, would bring about the anticipated return of Vanthus the Beetles sent the wizard Sabine and the Holy Serpent Tonatiuh back to Farshore to ready it's defenses.

Sabine, a scion of a Sasserine noble house, had recently died and been returned to the world of flesh by the lady Elyosha Tatanya Fyorovna a druid of great power and skill. Lady Fyorovna's magics had crafted Sabine a new body; where she was once human, she was now wore elven flesh.

The heroes of the hour would be the cream of those in Farshore.

There was Ilsa Baldrick a dwarven woman of stern contenance and unyielding dedication to those she called allies. Perhaps the only dwarf I've ever met who prefers mead to ale.
Her axe would shed blood by the gallons by the time the battle was over.

There was Kaskus Kell a dwarven druid and beloved of Lady Fyorovna. It was not fated that he meet Vanthus on the day of resurrection, but his actions saved countless lives in the fire and chaos that ensued.

There was Ntel a serpentfolk warlock who managed to remain free of the corruption that had overwhelmed and destroyed her society. She was the first to face Vanthus.

There was Jakara the Ohlman demonslayer. His muscular arms pulled the string of his bow with such precision and grace that there wasn't a man or woman who saw him who woldn't give up a prime year of their life to be held in his oh so capable arms.

The fifth defender was Sabine. Sixth was Tonatiuh. And I was seventh.

Watch was posted on the graveyard. At least one of the seven stalwarts and some members of the guard. Sticks with bells in them were planted in the ground to give some warning when Vanthus began to claw his way through the dirt.

Ntel was with the watch when he finally tore himself from the earth. The warlock confronted him, but his power was too great for her alone. We charged to her aid and the coward fleed on a demon horse he had summoned before we could intervene.

Wizard and warlock looked at the open grave and shivered. Their arcane senses showed them that some dark power had hammered through the divine wards that Margaret had so carefully laid down. Mostly they were intact, but there was a hole big enough for Vanthus to come back through.

It was believed that Vanthus would seek revenge on Lavinia so we gathered her and the priest Vesserin Catherly into the chapel and made good our defenses.

Most of the night passed until, in the wee small hours of the morning, we heard the sounds of commotion coming from the nearby tavern.

The Holy Serpent went out and saw that the tavern was ablaze and that fleeing citizens were beginning to spread fiery havoc throughout the town. Some dark force was compelling them to destroy all that they could touch.

Kaskus and Ntel worked on containing the mayhem. To their great credit they were able to do so without killing or even seriously harming anyone.

The Holy Serpent returned to the chapel to find Vanthus advancing upon it sitting astride a fire-snorting demon horse.

I've seen the portrait of Vanthus that Garnham holds. In life he was a handsome man with eyes that promised a woman many thrills and pleasures. I have walked this world for more than
forty years and I know that all things that are beautiful are not good and that many an uglyvisage covers a saintly soul.

What we saw then was Vanthus as he was. The fetid nature of his soul matched, in perfect reflection, his face and what few parts of his flesh not covered in dark armors.

As the four defenders inside the chapel cast spells and drew weapons Sabine became aware of an invisible presence among us. Into the chapel had crept four bar-lurga, the demon apes who rend the fabric of reality around them to charge from place to place.

The fight began in earnest.

The Holy Serpent reigned down holy wrath upon Vanthus. The death lord shrugged this off, but the holy attack revealed the presence of other invisible bar-lurga.

Sabine's warning came just in time. Ilsa pressed the beasts with her axe, drawing deeply of their blood. Arrows from the Ohlman man-god and puissant spells from Sabine laid the first wave low.

More came.

The Holy Serpent rushed to the interior of the chapel hoping to wisk Lavinia away to a place so pure, so good that the fiendish apes would dare not follow.

More bar-lurga fell to axe, arrow and arcane might. It had become obvious that the defenders were too much for the invisible brutes and the beasts switched to subtler tactics.

Three bar-lurga remained breathing in the chapel. Before another blow could fell them they each charged an opponent, grabbed them up and tried to take them through the rend in space that they create.

Sabine resisted. Ilsa and Lavinia could not.

The defenders turned their full attention to Vanthus and had their blows fall harmlessly off of his pitch black armor. Later Sabine would tell us that she didn't think that he was even there at all; just a projection of the coward.

The fires were put out, the city was safe, but it's mayor was now in the hands of her homicidal brother.

The Silver Beetles returned the next day.

You can imagine their feelings.

Between divinations and Communing with Aster (blessed be he/she/it) the party decided that they would take their time, heal, resupply and go after the kidnapped mayor with cooler heads.

Sabine decided to leave the company of the Beetles and to explore her new found elven nature in Druzikstan. The druids rebels lacked arcane spellcasters and the fledgling elf would have as much to teach them as they had to teach her.

She stayed on long enough to repair and reenchant a Caerdel Rose short sword sundered by a kopru warrior priest of Demogorgon and create some new items to aid their cause.

Lady Fyrovna travelled back to Druzikstan and obtained the services of one of the great white bears that populate that frozen land. Though I have not spoken to her of this, I strongly suspect that she uses her magics to keep the beast comfortable in these tropic climes.

Two weeks into planning Margaret had the strangest dream.

In it she saw Captain Harliss Ellis as she was when the Beetles last encountered her, fighting for her life against a hoarde of Savage Tide tainted sailors.

This time she spoke to Margaret of mutual interests in fighting the Crimson Fleet. The captain claimed to have intelligence of the Fleet that she was willing to share with the Beetles. We should meet her at Red Foam Whaling in Freeport and she would tell us more.

And so it was decided that the Bronze Dragon would sail to Freeport leaving myself and Sabine behind in Farshore to finish the enchantments we had begun. I would be collected by Margaret and Lady Fyrovna would return to bring Sabine to Druzikstan; their magics being stronger than the vast distances seperating the ship from land.

Warned of the dangers that now lurk in Freeport we arranged to have the Dragon concealed in a fog shrouded cove some miles from the main city.

It was decided to first contact the church of Aster (blessed by he/she/it) in the city. Margaret's attempts at teleport were initially foiled by powerful wards, but we managed to make our way to a a point just outside of their protections.

We spoke with the head cleric, a vampire thing of good taste and excellent manners. He told us of the depravity that now runs the streets of the city I once loved.

Bar-lurga openly walk the streets, the Crimson Fleet hold near dominion over all, cannibal monks prowl the streets in a grotesque parody of justice and no one is safe.

He also told us of a wizard who was a crony of Nathan Black. A man of some power who might be willing to offer intelligence to the heirs of his former sponsor.

The walk to the mage's tower was a nightmare. Cringing citizens, despotic beasts and everywhere the stink of death. As we grew nearer to the tower we found the source of that stench.

A whole street was festooned with chains upon which were strung up the dead and dying.

Upon one of these chains we found the lifeless form of Ilsa Baldrick.

We cut her down and placed her in a portable hole with the notion that we would reincarnate her later.

At the tower a few honeyed words from Garnham allowed us an audience with the mind of the great wizard hosted in an impish proxy-body.

We were told of the factions of the city. The Brotherhood, the Fleet, the Protectorate, the half-fiend owned brothel Proffery House, the Seventh Coil.

We learned that Nate, Kate, Bronson and Tavaari may have been lost fighting Demogorgon. That last bit cost us a future favor.

We went to Red Foam Whaling and found what appeared to be a wounded Captain Harliss. Dexter knew her to be a demoness in disguise and she was dead before Garnham could land his final blow.

The ambush was simple a handful of Yuanti assassins and a huge brute of a Yuanti wielding a great bow.

My two boys put the big one between them. Very little can survive coming between my two sons; Dexter with his impossible brute force and Kai with his surgical strikes.

A polar bear, a wildshaped dwarvish druid, a powerful cleric and yours truly proved too much for the lesser snakes and we won with barely a scratch.

And now we get to go to a brothel. And I was worried that I might not fit in.

 

[Morrow]

Who is Nadia Black?

Nadia Black is Garnham's new cohort. She's a bard and a member of the Seekers. She briefly claimed to be another child of Emil Black, the father of Dexter, Garnham, and Ressadriand (who appeared only briefly way back in Sasserine). The truth turned out to be a little more complicated. Garnham's player first explained it to me like this:

My thought involves Emil Black, the father of Dex and Garnham. If you have other plans for him then I'll change the background.

The idea I'm working with is that Emil Black ended up getting killed through misadventure. He ended up getting reincarnated by an old adventuring friend. Emil ended up coming back as a healthy young human.

Who happened to be female.

Emil adapted fairly quickly to the change. I pictured him as having a "Captain Jack" (from Doctor Who) view towards his sexuality so the transition went smoother than it would have for some.

With his new-found youth Emil decided to look up his/her old flames. Not out of a sense of responsibility, or inner reflection. Emil had burned bridges with a lot of his exes and a new face would let him renew relationships without having to come up with difficult explanations or making awkward apologies.

Eventually she found herself back in Sasserine. Of the ten lovers that Emil had played with 20+ years ago three were dead, eight had moved on and seven couldn't be found. The two he could find weren't interested.

While speaking with Livinda she noticed the family birthmark. When confronted about the mark Emil lied and claimed to be Nadia Black the daughter of Emil. Livinda thought that Nadia was looking for other cast-off children of Emil's. Livinda introduced her to Ressadriand Emily Black, Emil and Lavinda's daughter.

She also told the young bard about a pair of other children of Emil, a young human man who had a sword repaired at her smithy and his half-orc brother.

Nadia was curious and decided to find out more about her previously unknown children.

Her daughter had joined the local watch. Her sons were part of an adventuring group that had lit off to parts unknown. Nadia was about to move on to the next city on her list when her sons returned to Sasserine. She asked after them and discovered that they were involved in Seeker politics.

Emil had joined the Seekers before Garnham was born, but had gotten a couple decades behind in her dues. Not seeing any reason to pay those back dues, she neglected to tell them that Nadia and Emil are one and the same and rejoined the Seekers.

She heard about the Isle of Dread and the coalition that her sons were trying to form with the Seekers and the Church of the Holy Asskicking or some such. She decided to volunteer for the expedition to Golismorga.

Word has recently gotten to Nadia that Garnham's chronicler is dead. She's volunteered to take over as his chronicler. She's partly motivated by curiosity about her children, partially motivated by the adventure that this group seems to stumble across on a casual basis and partly motivated by the hot cleric of Aster who's a part of the group.