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<blockquote data-quote="Morrow" data-source="post: 2621992" data-attributes="member: 301"><p><strong>Session 9 - Terror and Madness in Freeport</strong></p><p></p><p>Tavaari's player couldn't make it, so I sent him the following synopsis:</p><p></p><p>When we began the session the party had just located the hidden temple of the Unspeakable One in the sewers beneath the home of Chief Counselor Verlaine. They had rescued Brother Egil and left the temple through the sewers.</p><p></p><p>Before they had left him the cultists had promised Brother Egil that after tonight neither the party nor the followers of Tinel would ever interfere again. Egil asked the party to accompany him back to the Temple of Tinel, but they decided to go to the lighthouse instead, so the cleric went back alone.</p><p></p><p>The party collected Bronson’s undead minions and then used Nate’s magical <em>feather token </em> to create a boat to transport them to the lighthouse. The harbor was patrolled by several boats packed with the Sea Lord’s guard, but the darkness, foul weather, and an excellent Profession (sailor) roll got the party to the lighthouse unseen. </p><p></p><p>The party found the lighthouse locked but unguarded. Tavaari easily bypassed the lock and the party quickly explored the lighthouse. The first two floors were entirely abandoned, but on the third the party encountered the towers single guardian, a Gibbering Mouther. The amorphous mass of eyes, mouths, and flesh oozed out of the darkness and the battle was joined. The creature nearly proved the group’s undoing. It’s gibbering, babbling call confused Nate and its acidic spittle nearly blinded Bronson. Things looked grim when the creature engulfed Nate, but the party slowly wore it down in spite of it’s resistance to blows. </p><p></p><p>After the creature was overcome the party explored the rest of the tower. The room at the top of the lighthouse was carved with numerous arcane sigils that the party was unable to identify. It contained a tall pillar, apparently intended to hold something at the level of the windows at the top of the lighthouse.</p><p></p><p>Unable to find anything more the party returned to the Temple of Tinel. Throughout their journey Nate brainstormed ideas for destroying the lighthouse, but it quickly became clear that the party simply didn’t have the resources to tear it down.</p><p></p><p>Upon reaching the Temple of Tinel the party found the doors open wide and heard the sounds of battle within. Cultists of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign had apparently entered the temple disguised as clerics of Tinel and proceeded to kill everyone they could find. The library was scatted with corpses, including the body of Brother Egil. The party saw a group of clerics, including Thuron and Norton, withdrawing before the onslaught of a group of cultists.</p><p></p><p>The party sprang into action. Tavaari advanced and shot down a pair of cultists before they noticed they noticed him. Nate cut loose a rope supporting a chandelier and rode it to a balcony overlooking the library while the chandelier crashed to the floor. There he engaged a female warrior who had been shooting the clerics below with her crossbow. Sully, Bronson, and his minions engaged the cultists on the ground floor. Sully leapt over tables and ran along the tops of bookshelves to reach her enemies. Tavaari flanked his foes and took them down with carefully placed dagger thrusts. Bronson used his wand to animate several fallen cultists as zombies to attack their former allies. More cultists arrived from other parts of the temple, but the party fought valiantly. When the ground floor was cleared Sully leapt from table to bookcase to balcony to help Nate against his foe. Bronson, Tavaari, and the undead swarmed over the final cultist. While she was able to rebuke one of Bronson’s zombies, the rest quickly closed in and tore her to pieces.</p><p></p><p>When the battle was over Thuron explained that the cultists had apparently murdered nearly a dozen clerics, librarians, and scribes and used magic to disguise themselves as their victims and enter the temple. Only a half dozen of the clerics of Tinel survived their attack. Without Brother Egil’s warning and the party’s timely intervention, all would have been lost. Thuron insisted that the party stay at the temple that night. They eagerly accepted when Norton was instructed to take them to the temple baths.</p><p></p><p>Later that night, Thuron took the party to the crypts beneath the temple and made a shocking confession. He is in fact K’Stallo, a serpent man and the last Cleric of Yig. (The party remembered learning that the followers of Yig had ruled Valossa, the ancient empire of the serpent folk, until it was destroyed by the Unspeakable One thousands of years ago.) K’Stallo explained that a few of Yig’s followers had survived the cataclysm that destroyed Valossa with their sanity intact. He had been born in a small farming village far to the north across the sea where descendents of those followers of Yig still lived. During his wanderings Lucius had found that village. K’Stallo realized that Lucius had collected information about the history of Valossa and the worship of Yig long thought lost. So when Lucius left the village, K’Stallo followed him. Those journeys eventually brought him to Freeport.</p><p></p><p>One fateful night K’Stallo slipped into the Temple of Tinel in hopes of examining the books and scrolls that Lucius had brought back from his wanderings. He happened up Thuron, dead at his desk. The old man’s heart had apparently given out in the night. In that moment, blinded by greed for knowledge of his people’s history, K’Stallo chose to take on Thuron’s form and stay in the temple.</p><p></p><p>For over a year K’Stallo has acted the part of Thuron, high priest of the temple. He should have spotted Milos immediately, but was too wrapped up in his own studies. K’Stallo begged the party to help him defeat the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign. He promised that if Freeport could be saved, he would contact the nearest Temple of Tinel on the mainland to send a new high priest and “Thuron” would disappear.</p><p></p><p>The party was initially quite mistrustful. In fact Nate almost struck down K’Stallo before he could tell his story. However, eventually they decided that what K’Stallo had told them matched what they already knew and he seemed to be telling the truth.</p><p></p><p>K’Stallo revealed that in three days there was to be a grand ball celebrating the new lighthouse and two days after that it would be lit. He explained that he had an idea how to strike back against the Brotherhood, but needed three days to complete his research.</p><p></p><p>During the following three days the party divided the treasure gained from the cultists and did some shopping. Bronson used magic to decipher the document Tavaari had found in the hidden temple. It was an announcement stating that the party had been hired by Councilor Verlaine to infiltrate the Temple of Tinel, which was actually a front for the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign. The party had double crossed and murdered Verlaine and then they died in the process of wiping out the Brotherhood. Most disturbing of all, the document was signed by Sea Lord Milton Drac and marked with the Yellow Sign.</p><p></p><p>The party soon learned that Verlaine had indeed been murdered, but with both the party and the clerics of Tinel still alive, the story that circulated was quite different. The party became known as heroes who had uncovered Verlaine’s treachery, defeated the Brotherhood, and saved the city. Councilor Verlaine’s name was ordered stricken from the rolls of the Captain’s Council and all of his lands and goods were seized. The party soon received an invitation to the grand ball, where they were to be guests of honor and recognized as heroes of the city.</p><p></p><p>The party decided to attend the ball. They went to the Sharp Needle, a shop on the Street of Dreams in the Old City. There Alcindar, a dwarven tailor, produced appropriate clothing to their specifications in record time. Sully was particularly pleased with her pink ball gown.</p><p></p><p>At the ball the party was honored for their heroism. They came face to face with Sea Lord Milton Drac for the first time when he presented them with the Order of Drac, an award named after his ancestor, the founder of Freeport. Drac made a speech about the heroes’ brave deeds and the wonder of the lighthouse, “Soon all the world will speak of the greatness of Freeport. As a flowing beacon, the lighthouse shall shine forth to all peoples, proclaiming the unspeakable power of our glorious city.”</p><p></p><p>The party enjoyed their newfound fame and recognition. Bronson danced with many young ladies who were so taken with his charisma they hardly noticed that he kept stepping on their toes. Most notably, be shared several dances with Margaret Roth, the beautiful dark haired daughter of Torsten Roth, head of the Guild of Merchants.</p><p></p><p>Nate spoke to “Thuron” and agreed to meet him after the ball. K’Stallo introduced him to Inquisitor Hess, the ancient head of the tiny church of Maal, god of justice and judge of the dead. The old crusader was very supportive of the party’s efforts, “On behalf of law and justice in Freeport.” Hearing the party’s adventures described in such a way may have made Nate reconsider his outlook on life for a split second, but probably not.</p><p></p><p>Sully danced with Sea Lord Drac, who assured her that after the lighthouse was lit, “Freeport would never be the same again.” She also met Nifur Roberts, the lovely blonde daughter of Captain Marcus Roberts of the Captain’s Council. Apparently Nifur was the de facto head of a group of young ladies of quality who were feeling somewhat stifled in their societal role. Apparently up to this point, their acts of rebellion had been restricted to disguising themselves and going to get drunk in a rough part of town. However, Nifur was clearly inspired by Sully and interested in learning some of her martial skills. On the spot Sully tried to teach a lesson in one of her other favorite skills, manipulating men. Nifur was clearly impressed, but the lesson may have lost some of its impact when Nate arrived and began flirting shamelessly with the young lady.</p><p></p><p>K’Stallo introduced Nate, Sully, and Bronson to several members of the faction who opposed Drac on the Captain’s Council: Lady Elise Grossette, Sister Gwendolyn of the church of Shalimyr, and Dirwin Arnig of the Jewelers and Gem Cutters Guild. They also met Petra Fricke, a noted sculptor who was Lady Grossette’s pick to replace Verlaine on the Council. The party was concerned about being seen together, so Sister Gwendolyn agreed to meet with them later at the Temple of Tinel.</p><p></p><p>The party also met Captain Lydon, who they had saved from an assassination attempt before they met Tavaari. The boisterous, uncouth captain was still angling for a place on the Council.</p><p></p><p>Sully collected a number of admirers during the evening. Perhaps most prominent among them is Buster Wallace, eldest son and heir to Captain Brock Wallace. Brock Wallace is a member of the Captain’s Council and a strong supporter of Sea Lord Drac. His son, however, seems like a very nice young man, and seemed quite taken with Sully. Besides, he’s rich, handsome, and has all his teeth.</p><p></p><p>As they were leaving, the party spotted Tavaari, who they had lost track of for most of the evening. He was having a wonderful time with Morgan Erendyl, the elven member of the rival adventuring party that the group met the same day that Tavaari joined them. While there had been some friction between the two groups, Tavaari and Morgan hit it off immediately. Morgan’s group, following their encounter with the party had been hired by a wizard from the Freeport Institute. They traveled to Windward, the island to the west of Freeport and journeyed to the interior in search of an ancient settlement there. They found the settlement and, after battling trolls and other creatures, returned to Freeport with the enchanted cloak that they had been sent to find.</p><p></p><p>Morgan Erendyl is from the same clan as Prince-Ambassador Lorrim Erendyl, the elven ambassador who negotiated a treat between the Empire of Thonia and the elven Kingdom of Alfheim more than twenty years ago. While not related to Lorrim, Morgan was able to confirm that the prince had been living in Alfheim the last time he had been home, nearly five years ago.</p><p></p><p>Nate, Sully, and Bronson left Tavaari at the ball and met with Sister Gwendolyn at the Temple of Tinel. Gwendolyn reported that the upper levels of the lighthouse had been closed off for the last two weeks. While initially the lighthouse had produced a lot of work for local labors, the upper levels had been completed entirely by foreign laborers brought in exclusively for that purpose. Dirwin Arnig had discovered that Drac had commissioned the cutting of a large crystal that apparently had some magical potential, but had not used members of the Jewelers and Gem Cutters Guild for the work.</p><p></p><p>Nate expressed some frustration that the Captain’s Council had not done more to thwart Drac. Sister Gwendolyn explained that until the party had brought forward their accusations, the Council had no reason to suspect anything beyond the normal level of corruption that is to be expected in Freeport. Drac may be evil, and probably doesn’t have the best interests of Freeport at heart, but that doesn’t make him any different from many of his predecessors. Before the party began their investigations, there was no reason for anyone to suspect that he was a member of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign seeking to spread madness and destruction is a new one.</p><p></p><p>The party, lead by Nate, negotiate aggressively with Sister Gwendolyn. In the end she agreed that if the party could prove Drac’s guilt and thwart his plans they would be well rewarded. The Temple of Shalimyr would grant them land in the Temple District where Bronson could construct a temple of Aster. Sister Gwendolyn would also encourage the Council to grant them one of the ships that was taken when Chief Councilor Verlaine’s property was seized.</p><p></p><p>When Sister Gwendolyn had left, K’Stallo explained his plan. His divinations had revealed that they did not have the means to stop the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign from using the lighthouse to complete their plan. However, they had also pointed to the solution- the Jade Serpent of Yig. The serpent is an artifact, the physical manifestation of Yig’s power on the prime plane. The Serpent was lost when Valossa sank. However, in his studies K’Stallo believes that he has found its location. </p><p></p><p>Black Dog was a brutal Freeport pirate who died mysteriously over 50 years ago. K’Stallo has found a log apparently written by a member of Black Dog’s crew that described the location of Black Dog’s secret lair, where he hid his treasure. The log also describes a great jade door carved with snakes and bizarre symbols that the pirates were never able to pass. K’Stallo believes that the door is the entrance to the temple that housed the Jade Serpent.</p><p></p><p>The party immediately collected Tavaari and headed to the docks where K’Stallo had arranged for a boat. The boat sailed along the coast of the island all night while the group slept. They arrived at their destination, an hour after dawn. The tide was low, revealing a sea cave between two great outcroppings of rock. At high tide the entrance would be underwater. The crew lowered a rowboat and the party rowed toward the opening. Tomorrow night the lighthouse will be lit. The party must find the Jade Serpent and return to Freeport in time.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Morrow, post: 2621992, member: 301"] [b]Session 9 - Terror and Madness in Freeport[/b] Tavaari's player couldn't make it, so I sent him the following synopsis: When we began the session the party had just located the hidden temple of the Unspeakable One in the sewers beneath the home of Chief Counselor Verlaine. They had rescued Brother Egil and left the temple through the sewers. Before they had left him the cultists had promised Brother Egil that after tonight neither the party nor the followers of Tinel would ever interfere again. Egil asked the party to accompany him back to the Temple of Tinel, but they decided to go to the lighthouse instead, so the cleric went back alone. The party collected Bronson’s undead minions and then used Nate’s magical [I]feather token [/I] to create a boat to transport them to the lighthouse. The harbor was patrolled by several boats packed with the Sea Lord’s guard, but the darkness, foul weather, and an excellent Profession (sailor) roll got the party to the lighthouse unseen. The party found the lighthouse locked but unguarded. Tavaari easily bypassed the lock and the party quickly explored the lighthouse. The first two floors were entirely abandoned, but on the third the party encountered the towers single guardian, a Gibbering Mouther. The amorphous mass of eyes, mouths, and flesh oozed out of the darkness and the battle was joined. The creature nearly proved the group’s undoing. It’s gibbering, babbling call confused Nate and its acidic spittle nearly blinded Bronson. Things looked grim when the creature engulfed Nate, but the party slowly wore it down in spite of it’s resistance to blows. After the creature was overcome the party explored the rest of the tower. The room at the top of the lighthouse was carved with numerous arcane sigils that the party was unable to identify. It contained a tall pillar, apparently intended to hold something at the level of the windows at the top of the lighthouse. Unable to find anything more the party returned to the Temple of Tinel. Throughout their journey Nate brainstormed ideas for destroying the lighthouse, but it quickly became clear that the party simply didn’t have the resources to tear it down. Upon reaching the Temple of Tinel the party found the doors open wide and heard the sounds of battle within. Cultists of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign had apparently entered the temple disguised as clerics of Tinel and proceeded to kill everyone they could find. The library was scatted with corpses, including the body of Brother Egil. The party saw a group of clerics, including Thuron and Norton, withdrawing before the onslaught of a group of cultists. The party sprang into action. Tavaari advanced and shot down a pair of cultists before they noticed they noticed him. Nate cut loose a rope supporting a chandelier and rode it to a balcony overlooking the library while the chandelier crashed to the floor. There he engaged a female warrior who had been shooting the clerics below with her crossbow. Sully, Bronson, and his minions engaged the cultists on the ground floor. Sully leapt over tables and ran along the tops of bookshelves to reach her enemies. Tavaari flanked his foes and took them down with carefully placed dagger thrusts. Bronson used his wand to animate several fallen cultists as zombies to attack their former allies. More cultists arrived from other parts of the temple, but the party fought valiantly. When the ground floor was cleared Sully leapt from table to bookcase to balcony to help Nate against his foe. Bronson, Tavaari, and the undead swarmed over the final cultist. While she was able to rebuke one of Bronson’s zombies, the rest quickly closed in and tore her to pieces. When the battle was over Thuron explained that the cultists had apparently murdered nearly a dozen clerics, librarians, and scribes and used magic to disguise themselves as their victims and enter the temple. Only a half dozen of the clerics of Tinel survived their attack. Without Brother Egil’s warning and the party’s timely intervention, all would have been lost. Thuron insisted that the party stay at the temple that night. They eagerly accepted when Norton was instructed to take them to the temple baths. Later that night, Thuron took the party to the crypts beneath the temple and made a shocking confession. He is in fact K’Stallo, a serpent man and the last Cleric of Yig. (The party remembered learning that the followers of Yig had ruled Valossa, the ancient empire of the serpent folk, until it was destroyed by the Unspeakable One thousands of years ago.) K’Stallo explained that a few of Yig’s followers had survived the cataclysm that destroyed Valossa with their sanity intact. He had been born in a small farming village far to the north across the sea where descendents of those followers of Yig still lived. During his wanderings Lucius had found that village. K’Stallo realized that Lucius had collected information about the history of Valossa and the worship of Yig long thought lost. So when Lucius left the village, K’Stallo followed him. Those journeys eventually brought him to Freeport. One fateful night K’Stallo slipped into the Temple of Tinel in hopes of examining the books and scrolls that Lucius had brought back from his wanderings. He happened up Thuron, dead at his desk. The old man’s heart had apparently given out in the night. In that moment, blinded by greed for knowledge of his people’s history, K’Stallo chose to take on Thuron’s form and stay in the temple. For over a year K’Stallo has acted the part of Thuron, high priest of the temple. He should have spotted Milos immediately, but was too wrapped up in his own studies. K’Stallo begged the party to help him defeat the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign. He promised that if Freeport could be saved, he would contact the nearest Temple of Tinel on the mainland to send a new high priest and “Thuron” would disappear. The party was initially quite mistrustful. In fact Nate almost struck down K’Stallo before he could tell his story. However, eventually they decided that what K’Stallo had told them matched what they already knew and he seemed to be telling the truth. K’Stallo revealed that in three days there was to be a grand ball celebrating the new lighthouse and two days after that it would be lit. He explained that he had an idea how to strike back against the Brotherhood, but needed three days to complete his research. During the following three days the party divided the treasure gained from the cultists and did some shopping. Bronson used magic to decipher the document Tavaari had found in the hidden temple. It was an announcement stating that the party had been hired by Councilor Verlaine to infiltrate the Temple of Tinel, which was actually a front for the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign. The party had double crossed and murdered Verlaine and then they died in the process of wiping out the Brotherhood. Most disturbing of all, the document was signed by Sea Lord Milton Drac and marked with the Yellow Sign. The party soon learned that Verlaine had indeed been murdered, but with both the party and the clerics of Tinel still alive, the story that circulated was quite different. The party became known as heroes who had uncovered Verlaine’s treachery, defeated the Brotherhood, and saved the city. Councilor Verlaine’s name was ordered stricken from the rolls of the Captain’s Council and all of his lands and goods were seized. The party soon received an invitation to the grand ball, where they were to be guests of honor and recognized as heroes of the city. The party decided to attend the ball. They went to the Sharp Needle, a shop on the Street of Dreams in the Old City. There Alcindar, a dwarven tailor, produced appropriate clothing to their specifications in record time. Sully was particularly pleased with her pink ball gown. At the ball the party was honored for their heroism. They came face to face with Sea Lord Milton Drac for the first time when he presented them with the Order of Drac, an award named after his ancestor, the founder of Freeport. Drac made a speech about the heroes’ brave deeds and the wonder of the lighthouse, “Soon all the world will speak of the greatness of Freeport. As a flowing beacon, the lighthouse shall shine forth to all peoples, proclaiming the unspeakable power of our glorious city.” The party enjoyed their newfound fame and recognition. Bronson danced with many young ladies who were so taken with his charisma they hardly noticed that he kept stepping on their toes. Most notably, be shared several dances with Margaret Roth, the beautiful dark haired daughter of Torsten Roth, head of the Guild of Merchants. Nate spoke to “Thuron” and agreed to meet him after the ball. K’Stallo introduced him to Inquisitor Hess, the ancient head of the tiny church of Maal, god of justice and judge of the dead. The old crusader was very supportive of the party’s efforts, “On behalf of law and justice in Freeport.” Hearing the party’s adventures described in such a way may have made Nate reconsider his outlook on life for a split second, but probably not. Sully danced with Sea Lord Drac, who assured her that after the lighthouse was lit, “Freeport would never be the same again.” She also met Nifur Roberts, the lovely blonde daughter of Captain Marcus Roberts of the Captain’s Council. Apparently Nifur was the de facto head of a group of young ladies of quality who were feeling somewhat stifled in their societal role. Apparently up to this point, their acts of rebellion had been restricted to disguising themselves and going to get drunk in a rough part of town. However, Nifur was clearly inspired by Sully and interested in learning some of her martial skills. On the spot Sully tried to teach a lesson in one of her other favorite skills, manipulating men. Nifur was clearly impressed, but the lesson may have lost some of its impact when Nate arrived and began flirting shamelessly with the young lady. K’Stallo introduced Nate, Sully, and Bronson to several members of the faction who opposed Drac on the Captain’s Council: Lady Elise Grossette, Sister Gwendolyn of the church of Shalimyr, and Dirwin Arnig of the Jewelers and Gem Cutters Guild. They also met Petra Fricke, a noted sculptor who was Lady Grossette’s pick to replace Verlaine on the Council. The party was concerned about being seen together, so Sister Gwendolyn agreed to meet with them later at the Temple of Tinel. The party also met Captain Lydon, who they had saved from an assassination attempt before they met Tavaari. The boisterous, uncouth captain was still angling for a place on the Council. Sully collected a number of admirers during the evening. Perhaps most prominent among them is Buster Wallace, eldest son and heir to Captain Brock Wallace. Brock Wallace is a member of the Captain’s Council and a strong supporter of Sea Lord Drac. His son, however, seems like a very nice young man, and seemed quite taken with Sully. Besides, he’s rich, handsome, and has all his teeth. As they were leaving, the party spotted Tavaari, who they had lost track of for most of the evening. He was having a wonderful time with Morgan Erendyl, the elven member of the rival adventuring party that the group met the same day that Tavaari joined them. While there had been some friction between the two groups, Tavaari and Morgan hit it off immediately. Morgan’s group, following their encounter with the party had been hired by a wizard from the Freeport Institute. They traveled to Windward, the island to the west of Freeport and journeyed to the interior in search of an ancient settlement there. They found the settlement and, after battling trolls and other creatures, returned to Freeport with the enchanted cloak that they had been sent to find. Morgan Erendyl is from the same clan as Prince-Ambassador Lorrim Erendyl, the elven ambassador who negotiated a treat between the Empire of Thonia and the elven Kingdom of Alfheim more than twenty years ago. While not related to Lorrim, Morgan was able to confirm that the prince had been living in Alfheim the last time he had been home, nearly five years ago. Nate, Sully, and Bronson left Tavaari at the ball and met with Sister Gwendolyn at the Temple of Tinel. Gwendolyn reported that the upper levels of the lighthouse had been closed off for the last two weeks. While initially the lighthouse had produced a lot of work for local labors, the upper levels had been completed entirely by foreign laborers brought in exclusively for that purpose. Dirwin Arnig had discovered that Drac had commissioned the cutting of a large crystal that apparently had some magical potential, but had not used members of the Jewelers and Gem Cutters Guild for the work. Nate expressed some frustration that the Captain’s Council had not done more to thwart Drac. Sister Gwendolyn explained that until the party had brought forward their accusations, the Council had no reason to suspect anything beyond the normal level of corruption that is to be expected in Freeport. Drac may be evil, and probably doesn’t have the best interests of Freeport at heart, but that doesn’t make him any different from many of his predecessors. Before the party began their investigations, there was no reason for anyone to suspect that he was a member of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign seeking to spread madness and destruction is a new one. The party, lead by Nate, negotiate aggressively with Sister Gwendolyn. In the end she agreed that if the party could prove Drac’s guilt and thwart his plans they would be well rewarded. The Temple of Shalimyr would grant them land in the Temple District where Bronson could construct a temple of Aster. Sister Gwendolyn would also encourage the Council to grant them one of the ships that was taken when Chief Councilor Verlaine’s property was seized. When Sister Gwendolyn had left, K’Stallo explained his plan. His divinations had revealed that they did not have the means to stop the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign from using the lighthouse to complete their plan. However, they had also pointed to the solution- the Jade Serpent of Yig. The serpent is an artifact, the physical manifestation of Yig’s power on the prime plane. The Serpent was lost when Valossa sank. However, in his studies K’Stallo believes that he has found its location. Black Dog was a brutal Freeport pirate who died mysteriously over 50 years ago. K’Stallo has found a log apparently written by a member of Black Dog’s crew that described the location of Black Dog’s secret lair, where he hid his treasure. The log also describes a great jade door carved with snakes and bizarre symbols that the pirates were never able to pass. K’Stallo believes that the door is the entrance to the temple that housed the Jade Serpent. The party immediately collected Tavaari and headed to the docks where K’Stallo had arranged for a boat. The boat sailed along the coast of the island all night while the group slept. They arrived at their destination, an hour after dawn. The tide was low, revealing a sea cave between two great outcroppings of rock. At high tide the entrance would be underwater. The crew lowered a rowboat and the party rowed toward the opening. Tomorrow night the lighthouse will be lit. The party must find the Jade Serpent and return to Freeport in time. [/QUOTE]
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