Hail and well met, Friends!
Reconvening for another Session of DnD is our following charge of brave adventurers:
Fiona: Lightfoot Halfling Rogue (Jenny)
Thalia: High Elf Wizard (Kurt)
Gallan (Sidekick): Wood Elf Fighter (Kurt)
Ahfa: Human Paladin (Brent)
Zulu (Sidekick): Dwarf Cleric (Brent)
It is the morning after a rousing evening at the Lighthouse Lounge, where a great drinking contest took place. Despite the valiant effort by Gallan the sturdy wood elf, each player must part with a gold piece to have Huey, Dewey, and Louie ferry them to Dragon’s Rest, where it seems many answers await. On the three-to-four-hour boat ride, the group makes small chitchat between themselves and the mariners. Zulu the cleric is relatively quiet this morning as he is still nursing a hangover from the night before.
Fiona introduces herself, she’s a friendly sort, and asks the three sailors if they might be able to name drop a contact on the island. Huey, Dewey, or Louie bid her to seek out a woman named Varnoth, that she’ll be glad to hear from them. There is various other idle conversation bits as well to pass the time.
Soon enough, the sailors come around the northern side of the island, amid quite foggy conditions, and they bring the boat to a halt just before coming into a snug bay leading into the main part of Stormwreck Isle. Here, they moor briefly and the party steps off onto the beach. They can see a narrow five foot wide path leading to the southeast as it hugs the coastline. It is also noted here that the path stays relatively close at present to the water but will eventually incline away from it.
Our party traipses along in this order: Gallan, Ahfa, Thalia, Fiona, and Zulu.
The group is about to reach the part in the path where the serious incline begins when a decent Perception check for Zulu, at the rear, means there are now ZOMBIES clambering up out of the waves, roughly ten to fifteen feet from them. Zulu quicky informs the others and the entire group scampers away to safety. The zombies do not follow and as the adventurers race around the corner, they began to see they are on a huge, dark, volcanic mountain island. To their left, the rock is steep and smooth, and they can just see evidence of a civilization ahead of them. Into the mountainside nearest them, the group sees six openings carved into it, as well as an immense bronze statue of a friendly-looking dragon. Thalia recalls that the metallic dragons are the friendly and helpful ones. Super good to know!
Not long after, an exuberantly shrill voice meets the party. A small koboldling is running towards them to welcome them to Dragon’s Rest. He introduces himself as Frub and he has many questions and comments and questions. He appoints himself as their hyperactive little tour guide and it is becoming obvious that Dragon’s Rest is not a great, exciting marketplace or pavilion or Government Center. Those who live and visit here come for peace and quiet and reflection. This is reiterated by Runara, the elder who resides on the island, who comes down to meet them as they near the open-air temple at the end of the path through the cloister. Thalia, seeking out this very person, asks about an observatory on the island. Runara is coy and claim that many answers await there, for certain, but that she must know they are worthy to seek its knowledge.
First, she asks, perhaps they would be willing to investigate a few things for her. Such as the upswing in recent zombie incursions. She speaks of a shipwreck at the north end of the island and wonders if that site might hold clues to the reason why zombies have frequented the island in recent days. Runara suggests the party speak with Varnoth, one of the humans who live at Dragon’s Rest. Incidentally, the party is standing in the open-air temple at that is at nearly the highest point in the cloister. There is a statue of an old man, pleasant-looking, with seven canaries perched on his shoulders. Runara explains this statue is homage to Bahamut, the father of all metallic dragons, It is noted by at least the cleric, paladin, and wizard that this temple is filled with some very, VERY good vibes. So, that’s good too.
In the meantime, Frub has run off to attend to his delinquent duties in the kitchen but tells the noble champions that they might have luck finding Varnoth in the library.
And indeed, they do. Varnoth is a gruff, battled-scarred woman and she is in the middle of reading a great tome. Thalia approaches her only to be brushed off rather brusquely by the woman, in the middle of reading. Then Fiona pipes in with her namedropping (Huey, Dewey, and Louie), Varnoth brightens and takes to speaking with Fiona civilly. Varnoth explains a strange phenomenon she witnessed a few nights ago when she spotted a ship at the other end of the island. Then, minutes later, she saw it sailing in the direction from whence it come…and then as she watched the horizon, she never saw the ship again. Varnoth does confess that shipwrecks have been known to occur here, as the island itself is fraught with a long and violent history of dragon conflict (which the party, probably Thalia, already knew).
Varnoth, Varnoth, Varnoth. The name keeps ringing a bell in Zulu’s still-bleary brain as she’s talking to them and then soon – BOOM! He reaches back into his mind’s archives and remembers that Varnoth might very well be General Varnoth Wender of the Azure Wolves mercenary group, quite famous, but disbanded now for some 15 years past. When Zulu asks her about it, she smiles wistfully and says she is here now to reflect and be at peace. But, she does say, she has certainly come to believe in redemption and second chances.
Soon, they leave her and realize the next step pf their quest lies in exploring the ruins of the shipwreck to the north. A easy-to-maneuver boat awaits them, one that does not need anyone who is proficient in water vehicles. Incidentally, as the brave coterie passes by the six cells they’d seen when they first arrived, they espy the first chamber (offered to them as a place to stay). However, Fiona wishes to poke her head into the cell of the human named Tarak. He’s been mentioned once or twice and Fiona is curious. However, she sees the room is fairly spartan and Tarak’s room could look exactly like Frub’s or Runara’s or theirs.
About an hour and a half later, they’ve boarded the small craft at the beach that brings them to the very northern edge of the boundary of Stormwreck Isle. This portion of the Isle is actually made up of islands that sort of…protrude out in a bony chain from the mainland. And the fog that accompanied them on the way in had lifted enough for the entire party to see that, yep! There’s a half-wrecked ruin of a boat here.
The company climb easily to the main deck, most of which is still above water. There are stairs at both ends, leading to two smaller upper decks. The mildew, rot, and decay would seem to indicate this ship has been here for quite some time. Ahfa busts into one of the rooms on the main deck, only to discover two zombies waiting for him. The paladin takes and does some damage, before running out of the room and back onto the main deck, where the rest of the party stands. Ahfa kills a zombie and Gallan takes one out as well. While exploration of this ship is JUST now getting underway, the players decide it is a good time to stop for the evening.
It’s been a busy morning and looks to be a rather exciting rest of the day!
Ever your favorite Wordsmith,
Heather