A Return to Gullsnest

Eyre 16th-17th, 998 Y.K.

Eyre 16th, Mol

Shortly after sunrise the group venture back into the tunnels beneath the lighthouse. After some time they reach the Merchants Level once more and decide to try their luck down the stairs.

After some 50 feet or so they feel the darkness coalescing about them, thickening, becoming almost tangible. The pervasive feeling of being observed fills their senses and their worst nightmares sit on the peripheries of their consciousness.

Feeling somewhat under prepared due to the drained resources from the fight in the Lurker's lair, the party decide to head back out and perhaps head to Gullsnest to report their findings, sending word to Sharn so that should they not return then all they have done is not in vain.

It is decided that Ajax and Loric should run back to Gullsnest as they are the fastest members of the party and if they push themselves they can travel the 40 miles each way in a couple of days. And so a couple of hours before midday they begin to run back west along the coast, leaving Anvil, Katerina and Kapek on the imposing headland.

Gullsnest Revisited

The unlikely pair stagger into Gullsnest in the late afternoon after pushing themselves to the limit.

The pair head to the "Empty Nest" to secure a room for the night and to find out how to get a message to Sharn. They are informed that an Orien caravan comes to the town every 2 weeks and the next will be visiting in eight days, however thay are told that should they wish to pay a little more there is a gnome of House Sivis located in the Wayhouse who works primarily for the security of the southern coast, but is willing to sends messages for a few gold.

They head to the Wayhouse where a warrior unit of House Deneith's Defenders guild are stationed at the request of the Brelish crown. Due to the strategic importance of the location they have installed a sending stone and Hilbert d'Sivis sits by it day after day waiting for it to activate.

The pair have a letter that Anvil wrote, addressed to Aleal d'Lyrander, the elf that hired them. They are informed that the letter will take about three hours to arrive in Sharn and should the recipient choose to reply it will obviously take three hours for a return message. They inform the gnome of where they are staying so that he may deliver any reply.

The letter reads:

"Dear Aleal D'Lyrander,

We are the Crimson Fist sent to investigate the troubles at the lighthouse of Bluescar. The town has been wiped out and many of the bodies are missing. There were some signs of zombie creatures, we killed all we found.
The gem of the lighthouse is missing, the family that were there appear to have been scared to death, we have buried the bodies and marked the site.
We uncovered a vast tunnel complex under the lighthouse that appears to desend more than 1500 ft. We met with a non-hostile tribe of kobolds about 100 to 400 ft down, they helped to confirm that some kind of tentacular aberration had come to the surface, we guess that they may have taken the gem. We have fought and killed some of these blue-faced goblin like tentacular creatures.
We found the other adventuring group they are all dead.
We have killed a spider creature called the Lurker and a web golem said to be a great threat by the kobolds. We have also seen Volts in great number.
Magical darkness and an evil feeling has grown stronger the deeper we have gone down, the darkness seems now almost tangible.

Kindly direct any replies orfuther instructions to Lorric the Iron Fist care of the Gullsnest waystation."

Once the letter is sent the pair ask where they can buy Healing potions in the town. They are informed that Saulira d'Jorasco is comissioned by the crown to serve as healer and advisor to the patrols along this stretch of the coast and she divides her time between here and the outpost, luckily this week she is here. She sells the pair several potions, all stamped with the Jorasco Griffon. They ask if she has any repair potions for Anvil and they are directed to Harvath Brell the smith in the forge, they are told that if anyone has anything of that nature it will be him as he is licensed by House Cannith. So they head there before the sky begins to grow dim. They have a letter from Anvil to deliver to the smith with regards to his shield that he had set an unseen crafter to work on before he left.

The pair deliver the message to Harvath and in return he hands them a heavy shield, covered in spikes and an associated strange mechanism attached to the rear of the main body. He can sell them a few dusty old potions of repair oils but there is little demand for them here so he doesn't have many, the ones he does have are several years old. They ask where they can purchase some more obscure items such as alchemists fire and the like and they are directed to Grimshaw the alchemist. As the sun falls past the horizon they finalise their dealings with the grumpy old man, buying several alchemical flasks and items.

Lorric decides it is time for ale and the two head to the inn for the night. He also takes the opportunity to restock his own supplies of ale and spirits

As the ale flows Lorric begins his usual drunken antics and Ajax shows off his collection of ears. The locals are concerned that the group are here and not at the lighthouse so the drunken adventurers begin to recount their tale thus far.

They inform the locals of the growing darkness that is nestled beneath the headland and the strange tentacled goblin creatures that lurk within the nightmarish shadows, they tell them of the web golem and the giant tentacled spider that they slaughtered. The townsfolk show obvious concern as Lorric tries to allay their fears by letting them know that they seem to like the dark. Nervously glancing out into the night the locals begin to head home. He continues to try and ease their fears reminding them that it is forty miles away, Ajax helps by letting them know that they managed the journey in just a few hours and that there is every possibility that there are tunnels stretching this far, and if not then the depths of the sea can be quite dark. The bar soon empties as the terrified locals head to their beds.

Eyre 17th, Zol

The drunken duo head to their beds after some serious beer drinking and awaken the following morning to a knock on their door. Hilbert d'Sivis hands Lorric a message and bids them good day.

The letter reads:

"For the Attention of Lorric the Iron Fist,

Many thanks for your status report, it is most concerning.
I feel that perhaps it is associated someow with the curse of Yarhum Draal.
It pains me to inform you that in the last 3 weeks there have been five more vessels lost in the vicinity and I must therefore stress the imperative nature of the situation.

The Dragonshard from the lighthouse is practically one of a kind, making it almost impossible to replace with any kind of facsimile.
With your undoubted successful return I have been authorised to re-nogatiate your fee.

There are many people anticipating your safe return.

Kind regards,
Aleal d'Lyrander"

Shipping co-ordinater for Brelands southern coast.

As the sun is still low in the sky they set out on their run back to the lighthouse. By early afternoon they arrive at the lighthouse and distribute the goods they have acquired and let everyone read the note, Ajax seems reluctant to let Katerina read it as she has expressed deep concerns for the lives of those lost at sea and feels huge a responsibility to stop the deaths.

Anvil informs the group that he can not travel for the next day as he has to complete the work on his new shield and for the next 24 hours he concentrates soley on his new equipment, imbuing it with sentience and infusing it with a part of his own life essence.

The rest of the group take the time to spar and relax. Lorric in particular finds something inside himself that seems to surface after a few early ales, his movements and actions as he practises his daily kata find a new direction, the ale intensifies his ability and in a moment of pure alcohol induced clarity he turns the weaknesses of the drunk into the seemingly random, yet perfectly calculated motions of the martial master.

Katerina takes some time to bathe, using the softly scented soaps and oils that Ajax brought her back from Gullsnest, her suspicions about his motives ease as the hot water and sweet scents infuse her senses and temporarily wash her troubles away.

Kapek takes the time to tend his mounts and watches with unconcerned tedium as Ajax fixes his clawfoots gaze and begins to speak with it, as the dinosaur looks to it master Kapek asks Ajax, "Let me guess.... He's hungry."

*Ajax comments
Ajax has dreamed all his life of being able to talk to animals like his tribal shaman, Yulunga. So he is slightly disappointed when he uses it on Reaver only to discover the clawfoot mostly thinks about food.