Capellan
Explorer
Kull's 11th Report - Part 4
I told the creature - some kind of elemental - that I had come in search of quoitine. It became agitated, saying that I could not have any, and must leave. I challenged it to explain why it had allowed Swain to depart with quoitine, but not me, and it grew more angry, cursing Swain as a cheat and a liar.
When it had calmed enough to speak intelligibly once more, I learned that Swain had promised it freedom, in exchange for quoitine, but had never delivered on his promise. It seemed the beast wanted nothing more than to be returned to its home plane, a boon for which it would gladly give every ounce of quoitine.
I therefore invoked Our Lord's Will, and dismissed it from this plane.
With this accomplished, I returned to the village by the sea and warned them that the creature - a giant beast made of boulders - was still present, and that I would return on the morrow to destroy it. This, I calculated, would prevent anyone from disturbing the site in my absence. I then travelled back toward Cillau, to acquire a wagon with which to transport the quoitine.
En route, I passed Penrhys Castle. It appeared half ruinous, and I took a few moments to investigate. It swiftly proved that nothing lived within the ruins: the Lady of the keep had fallen into an undead state (and was swiftly destroyed), while there were only a few scattered bones left to mark the passing of the rest of the house.
More important than this, however, was the discovery of another of the strange orbs, in the cellar of the keep. Unlike the others, this one had not been activated - the agent sent to do so had fallen on a loose step, breaking his neck at the foot of the stairs. This augurs well for my plans to reverse the magic that cast down the land, for it means that the ritual is not wholly complete, and may thus be more easily undone.
With all this done, and the wagon acquired, I returned to the Village by the Sea and collected all the quoitine on hand. There were close to two tons of it: almost more than the wagon could bear, and sure to be more than sufficient for the wizard Gamist's purposes.
The return to Mellin took far longer than the journey down, for even with four large oxen to draw the wagon, the pace was slow. After two weeks on the road, however, I reached the town. The disasters of the previous months had led me to wonder if the defenders would still be holding by the time of my return, but it emerged that substantial reinforcements had come from the Duke of Durham, who rules to the south, and a new defence line had been formed.
Having delivered the quoitine to Gamist, I made preparations to return to Saltmarsh, and prepare the defences. When the passes close, the goblinoids will lose their supplies, and are likely to begin pillaging the lands. A small settlement like Saltmarsh would seem an easy target to them, and it was my intention that they would receive an unpleasant surprise.
With the roads in the hands of enemy troops, however, the overland route to Saltmarsh would be slow and dangerous. I therefore turned south, travelling along good roads to Durham, where I chartered a vessel to take me to Saltmarsh.
As I noted at the beginning of this report, upon my return I found that the militia had already fought one engagement, though it was only against limited numbers. I ordered the defences be reinforced, and increased the frequency of training for the troops, in preparation for any further attack.
It is now a week since my return, and a message has just arrived from Gamist: the passes have been sealed. With this act, the tide of the war has turned: but it will also bring a tide of foes down upon us.
Hextor rewards the strong. Saltmarsh shall be strong. I will accept nothing else.
In Hextor's Name,
Kull Redfist
I told the creature - some kind of elemental - that I had come in search of quoitine. It became agitated, saying that I could not have any, and must leave. I challenged it to explain why it had allowed Swain to depart with quoitine, but not me, and it grew more angry, cursing Swain as a cheat and a liar.
When it had calmed enough to speak intelligibly once more, I learned that Swain had promised it freedom, in exchange for quoitine, but had never delivered on his promise. It seemed the beast wanted nothing more than to be returned to its home plane, a boon for which it would gladly give every ounce of quoitine.
I therefore invoked Our Lord's Will, and dismissed it from this plane.
With this accomplished, I returned to the village by the sea and warned them that the creature - a giant beast made of boulders - was still present, and that I would return on the morrow to destroy it. This, I calculated, would prevent anyone from disturbing the site in my absence. I then travelled back toward Cillau, to acquire a wagon with which to transport the quoitine.
En route, I passed Penrhys Castle. It appeared half ruinous, and I took a few moments to investigate. It swiftly proved that nothing lived within the ruins: the Lady of the keep had fallen into an undead state (and was swiftly destroyed), while there were only a few scattered bones left to mark the passing of the rest of the house.
More important than this, however, was the discovery of another of the strange orbs, in the cellar of the keep. Unlike the others, this one had not been activated - the agent sent to do so had fallen on a loose step, breaking his neck at the foot of the stairs. This augurs well for my plans to reverse the magic that cast down the land, for it means that the ritual is not wholly complete, and may thus be more easily undone.
With all this done, and the wagon acquired, I returned to the Village by the Sea and collected all the quoitine on hand. There were close to two tons of it: almost more than the wagon could bear, and sure to be more than sufficient for the wizard Gamist's purposes.
The return to Mellin took far longer than the journey down, for even with four large oxen to draw the wagon, the pace was slow. After two weeks on the road, however, I reached the town. The disasters of the previous months had led me to wonder if the defenders would still be holding by the time of my return, but it emerged that substantial reinforcements had come from the Duke of Durham, who rules to the south, and a new defence line had been formed.
Having delivered the quoitine to Gamist, I made preparations to return to Saltmarsh, and prepare the defences. When the passes close, the goblinoids will lose their supplies, and are likely to begin pillaging the lands. A small settlement like Saltmarsh would seem an easy target to them, and it was my intention that they would receive an unpleasant surprise.
With the roads in the hands of enemy troops, however, the overland route to Saltmarsh would be slow and dangerous. I therefore turned south, travelling along good roads to Durham, where I chartered a vessel to take me to Saltmarsh.
As I noted at the beginning of this report, upon my return I found that the militia had already fought one engagement, though it was only against limited numbers. I ordered the defences be reinforced, and increased the frequency of training for the troops, in preparation for any further attack.
It is now a week since my return, and a message has just arrived from Gamist: the passes have been sealed. With this act, the tide of the war has turned: but it will also bring a tide of foes down upon us.
Hextor rewards the strong. Saltmarsh shall be strong. I will accept nothing else.
In Hextor's Name,
Kull Redfist
