Welcome visitors from Freeport, travelers from the continent and regular patrons of Da Moisty Moist Inn. Here you can belly up to the long bar or find a table and await the bard's song. She's a large woman, usually dressed in something far too fancy for this venue.
Even without the glitter, she will command your attention though. Her words are spoken spell, captivating you to the point that you don't even care your coin is spilling into her pocket. And that is just the way she likes it, so shut your hole and listen.
Now, Da Moisty Moist used to be a place called the Rusty Hook, but who could find comfort in that name? It was purchased by the unnamed heroic party after they retrieved a pair of gifted gauntlets for the sea captain Karl Wine. He decided to return to the foamy waves surrounding the Serpent Isles and sold the property to our compatriots at a bargain price.
The party returns here now and then again. Less now than then. Who can blame them, though. They have been busy protecting the people of Freeport from the rising cults of Bane. When they do have the time to rest, they draft the pages you find here to document their travels and accomplishments. For that we are grateful, as it represents some of the only history we shall retain of their quests, triumphs and failures. Read on.
Bane, the Black Hand of the Iron General, desires a more secure footing among the gods. And by "secure" he intends "control". Wars have gained him little ground, though they do satisfy a lust for blood and battle. So the General set his wisest upon a trail of research and investigation to seek a means to sway the balance of power among the gods.
The discovery of an outpost called Ca'anid Xthyrile brought the Black Hand hope. Built by a race of travelers familiar with the Planes and ravenous in their quest for knowledge, Ca'anid Xthyrile was host to a ghostly apparition of that race whose death condemned him to be trapped in the world of Daeron. The dead told tales of power, immortality and domination.
Bane, unable to visit the worlds as the gods once did, required an emissary. He chose a particulary wicked woman named Ariel, sister to a madman of some noteriety in the city of Freeport. Ariel has designs of her own, though Bane expects such treacheries among his Lieutenants.
Ariel returned to the world after convincing the party she could aid them in their fight against Bane. She led them to the Ca'anid, where she had already prepared to steal its power for her own use. There in Xthyrile was a forge, long cold after being abandoned by its creators.
The party's search uncovered the lost name of those creators: Illithid. The horrorible history of that race and its treatment of the native inhabitants of Daeron was fearsome to behold in the frescoes and paintings they left behind. Their demise was inherent in their desire to subjugate and absorb the knowledge of their thralls. In their search for immortality, they had damaged their own race's ability to procreate. In an attempt to circumvent their curse, they constructed Ca'anid Xthyrile and the device it held.
Deep within the bowels of Daeron the Illithid built a Forge, designed to create construct bodies to house their immortal essences. Ariel's intent was to use the Forge to build herself a powerful and fearsome form, and she did just that. Born from that device was the shimmering Forge Dragon, whose every action now is focused upon rebuilding the Illithid devices left behind in their outposts to conclude their long dead plan.
What, exactly, that plan was and how Bane intends to make use of it, remains to be revealed to our heroes.
Somewhere within Black Dog's Cavern lies a soulgem filled with a trapped soul powerful enough to activate the Planar Portal to Moir, The Sinking City. Gitch hired Captain Duggan to garner the runestones of the Planar Portal for Ariel several weeks ago, and he proves willing and able to repeat the journey for the party so they may retrieve the soulgem.
Just reaching the hidden entrance is an epic task, for it can only be reached on the blackest of nights. The northern seas along the Serpent Isles are rough, reflected by the high cliff faces that line that coast. Wisdom, guile, timing and endurance are tested to their limits as the party drives their shoremans' boat into the waves and into the tiny mouth of Black Dog's Cavern.
Within, they slowly search the criss-crossing tunnels for any clues left behind by Gitch's goblins. There is a table at the head of the trail and a journal left there by Black Dog himself reveals that the pirate discovered another complex attached to his newly purchased treasure hideout. Displeased that the local northerners may have planned to rob him, the seaman took his men into the caverns to seal that back door and kill anything hiding behind it.
Now the party has followed Black Dog's path, reaching his treasure vault along the way. Incidental to finding the other complex mentioned, the vault proves to be filled with Black Dog's riches! The bulk of it may prove difficult to manage during their investigation ahead, but the wealth is too great to leave behind.
When the party arrives at the stone door leading to the last place Black Dog ever mentioned, they discover it is covered with familiar Illithid runes. Another Ca'anid, or something else? Whatever be the truth, beyond the stone door there will surely be pain.
Black Dog's last entry left in his personal journal showed concern for a possible back entry to his treasure trove. His pirates had come to him with the discovery. Beyond the vault they found a stone door that had inscriptions set on it in a language none of the seasoned travelers had ever seen. Black Dog wrote that he was going to search the portal, and if he found that the northerners were trying to dig their way into his cave then there would be death to pay for it.
It did not appear as though Black Dog ever returned from that search. Now the party has opened the stone door, recognizing it as one of the Illithid ruins left by that ancient race when they left the world over a thousand years ago. Frescos within have tipped the party off that this ruin was a temple to the Illithid god Ilsensine, somehow connected with a desire for knowledge. But before the stone reliefs could be examined in detail, the group entered a large chamber dedicated to hunting and feasting. There, they were set upon by a colony of spiders that had taken the wild growing brush within as their den.
The spiders cast poisonous webs down to snag individuals and then pulled them up off of the floor. Some, however, they cast into a pair of Illithid rune-circles that summoned tentacles to hold those near the circle. The spiders must have devoured prey caught in those traps before! Fortunately, Gannon and Andoras were able to burn and freeze the ceiling-bound spiders before too much harm could be done to the party.
Gannon, though, was still concerned with the health of the group and strongly recommended a lengthy rest to recuperate. The party conferred and agreed to the plan, but was interrupted by a ragged humanoid spying from one of the adjoining halls. The creature made its way back behind a bramble wall before anyone could react, and one can only speculate that the word of the party's presence will spread.
Wedging the doors closed tightly, the band decided to attempt to rest, relying upon a vigilant rotating guard to warn them of any possible intrusions. The mystical fires were allowed to die down and sleep came upon those who could calm themselves so near to a danger that probably killed Black Dog and certainly slew many of Gitch's goblins.
With the temple doors wedge closed, the party laid down to rest. Some did not require much sleep and meditated while the others tried to relax amidst the spiders and sneaking humanoids. Five hours into the rest the calm was broken when both doors were battered down by ragged humanoids, obviously allies of the one who snuck away hours before.
These creatures used rams to help them shatter the wooden doors, then rushed the heroes and attempted to catch them in their sleep. Some were older than the others, and wore tattered clothing from another era. Others appeared younger, dressed in pirate clothing only slightly dated. Many of the younger fell immediately to a series of ice storms and fire blasts cast by the wizards. The heartier elders remained and immediately turned their attention to the spellcasters, felling Gannon with quick cuts.
With one wizard down, they turn to those close at hand and continue their assault!
Gannon lay upon the moss surrounded by the Illithid thralls, whose black eyes now turned to Andoras. Two grabbed clay pots from their belts and hurled them toward the web-covered ceiling near the wizard. Fire erupted from them as they shattered against the stone. The webs began to burn and weaken, leaving Andoras no choice but to retreat from his hanging haven.
To the amazement of those who watched, one of the thralls took its long, curved blade and hacked the head from Gannon's shoulders, ensuring the spellcaster would not rise. The creatures of the wild did not possess such instincts during battle. They usually sought more live prey before returning to corpses to chew their flesh. These thralls think like men, somehow knowing that arcane and divine castings can revive those who fall. Gannon's spilling blood was evidence of their knowledge of man.
Vaughan, surrounded by several of the thralls, attempted to change into the form of a bat and fly away. However, the thralls were not dismayed by his alteration magic. They swatted at the fluttering bat-form until it, too, fell. Two of those near the vampire took up a charge to the resting platform in the chamber and began gathering from some of the gear. Andoras could see that they were searching for something, and that they soon found it. The Illithid rune stones used to make the planar portal were their goal.
As the two collected the stones, their fellow thrall plunged his sword into the black heart of Vaughan and dispatched him. Then he joined his allies to help them quickly steal the stones. Andoras called out to any left who could lend aid! Dra'Darius rushed to the end of a great dividing wall in the feeding chamber and pelted the three with a rain of arrows. But they remained standing even after the fearsome assault.
As Betriny continued to batter the will of those who stood against her, and wielded the Hammer of Storms with delight, the tide of battle seemed to be turning from the heroes. They had already lost two companions, and the Illithid Runestones were in the hands of the thralls. Gur was so desperate that he simply swung his mace over and over at the retreating foes. Hope began to wane.
The thrall leaders gave a silent, mental command to flee as they shouldered the sacks containing the runestones and dashed out of the feeding chamber. Their path was obscured to the Heroes, who were still reeling from their losses. However, the haze of grief was quickly cleared as Gur and Betriny gave chase.
The thralls had run through the Temple's central chamber of worship and through great wooden and iron doors sealed with a similar magic as that encountered at the Temple's entrance. This time, though, Andoras' summoned hound from the depths of the Nine Hells was there with fire to immolate the barrier.
Through the smouldering portal the Heroes continued to follow the thrall trail until they came to a crossing hall. The thralls had gotten far enough ahead that the direction they took could not be seen. Andoras, seeing one path lead into a large chamber, decided they must have attempted to hide rather than continue to run. He directed the others to search, and there they discovered a long-abandoned birthing chamber of the Ancient Illithids.
Two large ponds remained, their waters stagnant and vile. Each contained rotted remains of eggs soaked through with the cold cavern water. And as they investigated further, they spied two of the thralls hiding behind a low wall surrounding one of the ponds. Battle erupted again, and the third fleeing thrall joined the conflict from his hiding place along the wall covered in vines. That third thrall shouted out some nonsense in the Illithid tongue, and a calming hum began to fill the room coming from high above the Heroes.
On the vaulted ceiling there was a great crystal orb that sang as its glow intensified. The song reached into the Heroes and sought to overcome their will, dominating Betriny immediately and dazing the others as they resisted. Betriny could hear the song more clearly now, and it spoke of the Ancients and the Thralls. Their relationship of Master and Servant was clear to her, and the need to protect the runestones became her own.
The stones once formed the last portal the Ancients left upon this world, and would one day be they path they used to return to their thralls. It was a thrall duty to protect the path, so that the Illithid could return and devour the nourishing thralls and fulfill their desire to serve. Betriny understood this so well she brought down the Hammer of Storms upon Gurs delicate cranium.
The thralls, however, had become separated in their retreat and could not rejoin due to Andoras' wizardry blocking the narrow passages. The Heroes took the advantage and killed two thralls almost immediately, while Betriny fought between self-control and domination. Mekka focused on damaging the crystal orb, but was finding it to be protected by powerful eldritch wards. And more worrying, Mekka saw that it was building in power to release another attack upon their minds.
Before he could bring the orb down, it sang once again. This time, it turned the wills of all the Heroes except Andoras, who was outside the chamber holding the other thralls at bay. Fel Faren, familiar with the domination, shook it off with a tremendous effort of mind clearing. He then attempted to rattle the others into consciousness and brought the fight back to the last surviving thrall. But the crystal found a resurgence of energy now that it controlled nearly everyone in the room, and it burst out in song again.
Betriny lost her battle of wills and gave into the pleasant desire to simply serve the Illithid. She turned upon her former allies and swung the Hammer of Storms wildly as she began to weave a bardic tale of their downfall. Behind her, Gur fell into line and helped her gather the runestones. Fel Faren fled from the room as he realized the combat had taken a turn against the Heroes, and that the crystal orb was too powerful an artifact to contend with while holding battle with the thralls.
Fel Faren rejoined with Andoras and Mekka outside, conveying to them the dire fate of those still within the chamber. Their choices were limited now, and they would need to decide quickly to either attempt to save their companions or abandon them and save themselves.
A moment of confusion, perhaps spurred on by false hope, caused the heroes to remain a moment longer to continue the battle against the thralls. It was a choice they would regret.
Betriny, now completely under the domination of the Illithid crystal, battered Andoras with her commanding voice and he wavered deeper into the fight. Far enough, it turned out, for one of the older thralls to close with him and bring its Greataxe to bear. Andoras' body was cleaved open, and in a riposte the thrall severed the wizard's head. The spellcaster fell lifeless to the mossy stone floor.
Fel Faren, Mekka and Dra'Darius could no longer hold their own against the thralls. They had little energy left, and were devoid of hope. They sprinted in retreat down a long corridor they hoped would lead them to safety. To their surprise, the thralls gave no chase. It would seem the creatures were content to have retrieved their runestones.
The corridor turned and turned back again, eventually connecting to the great entrance hall for the temple. From there the party knew where to find the passage that lead back to Black Dog's cavern, and they ran quickly to ensure they could be free of the Temple to Ilsensine.
Retreating back to a chamber within the caverns, they discussed options. They were beaten, but they were loathe to leave companions in the clutches of Illithid domination. It was decided that they would return to the Wistful Seas and attempt to enlist Captain Duggan and his crew in a daring rescue and return to the temple. They knew the pirates would likely turn them down, but the gold and jewels they had recovered from Black Dog's treasure room would turn their minds.
And they were right. Duggan agreed to send some of his crew into the temple to help recover the heroes at a cost of half of Black Dog's treasure. But they could not waste time. The more the moon moved from its present position, the more difficult entering the caverns would become. The next night they all reboarded the longboat and made their way back to the temple.
The temple thralls had returned to their sole duty. They carefully laid the runestones back into their place within the portal chamber. They had lost many of their number, but they had succeeded at regaining the runestones and preparing the way for their Masters.
Gur and Betriny were pleased they could be so useful to the Illithid Masters. They lifted each runestone with care and placed it with precision. They began to lose their memories of allegiances to allies and dieties, leaving only room for the desire to await their Masters' return. Even Betriny's pangs of hunger did little to sway her devotion.
However, the thralls were completely unaware that the remaining heroes were skulking through the corridors of the Temple to Ilsensine once again. It was not long before two of the elder thralls were caught within their rank chambers by the revisiting party, cut off from those who were elsewhere within the temple resetting the runestones. Outnumbered and overpowered, the thralls fought desperately against hopeless odds. Why had their Masters deserted them? Had they not served loyally all these years?
The last remaining thralls ran as quickly as they could to join the battle. Betriny-thrall and Gur-thrall understood the importance of the planar portal, and fervently lended their skills to the conflict. Using a simple dividing tactic, the thralls separated the intruders into two groups split by a narrow hall. Neither smaller group could effectively support the other, so a small chance remained that the thralls would be able to vanquish these temple-raiders for good.
Gur-thrall successfully bottled up the northern hall and assisted Betriny-thrall battling back the fighters. The Thrall Servant and Commited in the south battered the cleric of Bahamut and the archer, forcing them to close quarters. However, they knew time would reveal any slight advantages and desperately hoped their Masters would provide them strength.
Sadly, the thrall hopes were not answered. The Ancients had truly left them on their own, and they began to faulter. Their one mind became clouded and their actions were weak. The balance was upset and they began to fall. Both Gur-thrall and Betriny-thrall were overcome. It was not long after that the remaining Servant and Committed were left back-to-back, caught in a crossfire that could only end with their deaths.
Blood pooled around the feet of the standing party members as they considered their next actions. They had yet to recover the Soulgem or the stolen Runestones. That was less of a priority, though, than recovering their fallen companions and retreating to Freeport where they could seek holy support raising them from the dead.
Recovering those lost to the world was not going to be cheap, or easy. Mekka believed that the Basilica could be of use, but was uncertain of the rituals involved breathing life back into the deceased. Such a thing was only rarely done, and almost always involved danger and costs delving deeply into one's soul.
The Temple to Ilsensine would wait. After all, Black Dog's Cave had gone undiscovered for more than half a century. What worried Mekka was the delay chasing Ariel into the Shadowfell. Twenty eight days is an eternity for her to delve into the Illithid creations buried in The Skull City. For every minute the Forge Dragon would have, the party would need to prepare equally for the eventually confrontation with her.
Mekka struggled for a week gathering the materials necessary to revive his fallen party members. Nothing was cheap, and the pirates of Freeport squeezed every coin from one's purse when they sensed desperation. Under the instruction of Rehunut he was able to master the ritual that would allow him to contact the land of the dead. But that ritual was no guarantee the Raven Queen would relinquish souls back to the world.
The Champion of Bahamut did not expect to entertain an audience with the Keeper of Souls herself, but that is what happened. The Raven Queen was concerned with Ariel's presence in her domain. She knew the Glittering Dragon was on the trail of something left behind by the Ancients. She had confronted them before and only barely forced them out of her domain. Whatever the Forge Dragon sought it could have a cataclysmic impact. Mekka heard the terms of The Raven Queen and agreed to them without hesitation if it meant having his friends returned to life. She asked only for first and exclusive knowledge of Ariel's activities. Mekka knew that what was truly important was removing the Forge Dragon from any realm. He cared little what she ultimately wanted to do with the Illithid magics.
The souls were returned to Mekka after days of fasting and chanting now that The Raven Queen had given her consent. Once they had rested the party began the arduous tasks of training bodies and fashioning weapons to enter the Shadowfell. Betriny sought out troubadours who could focus her tremendously loud voice into a powerful attack. Gur concentrated on his devotion to Kord and the all-powerful Lance of Faith. Gannon wove spells over precious items in the hope they would be the difference between defeat and victory in the coming battles. And Mekka? He prayed with his mentor and studied improved means to heal and revive the weary. The Dragonborn knew that wounds and death lay upon their horizon.
A month crawled by. Freeport found itself with a dying Captain's Council member and his replacement found in none other than Captain Duggan. Even though Captain Duggan was relatively new to the pirate city, he was able to sway votes in his direction. Perhaps 35,000 pieces of gold spoke loudly among the council members. Whatever the case, the connection might prove to be useful.
Now the party stood upon the deck of the Wistful Seas once again and prepared to sail back to Black Dog's Cave. Each knew that their survival depended upon what they held in their hands and what their hands could do. The Heroes had no idea how important their venture would be to the Realms.
Black Dog's Cavern had lost much of its mystery. There were no traps left behind by the pirate that remained hidden from the party. The Temple of Ilsensine was cleared of thralls hopelessly protecting the structure from enemies of the Ancients. All that was left to uncover were the hidden locations of the portal's runestones and the soul gem.
The heroes quickly traveled to the Illithid birthing chamber to destroy the Temple's mind-controlling crystal. They could not leave such a dangerous item active. The crystal presented no threat if attacked from a distance, and so the warriors set about destroying it from the safety of range. What they did not know was that a few years ago a Hydra had burrowed into the chamber's western end and found the gathering thralls quite nourishing.
The Hydra moved cautiously to the mouth of its den and saw the heroes firing upon the crystal. Such a thing was only interesting from the perspective that new food had arrived, and the Hydra decided to try and approach those it could see from the shadows surrounding the vast chamber. It's caution was rewarded with a surprise attack on the fleshy food, but it soon discovered there were more sacks of flesh than it had originally seen. Worse, these bags of food fought back and hit hard. Wind, frost and frozen earth confounded the Hydra until it was forced to retreat to salvage its life!
Unfortunately, the dull-minded lizard sought the dafety of its den too late. Before it could get away the heroes slaughtered it at the den's opening. Cutting open its belly in the hope that it had eaten something valuable recently, the warriors were rewarded finding several trinkets preserved in a leather sack within the creature's stomach.
With the last threat slain, locating the runestones and the soul gem was a simple matter. Gannon set about managing the planar portal's energy and infused it with the remaining energy inside the soul gem, thus extinguishing that life force forever. The sacrifice was difficult to accept, though the heroes believed that following the Forge Dragon was of such significance that a single soul would be a fair price to allow continued pursuit.
When Gannon's ritual was completed the runestones flashed and subsequently consumed all of the light within the chamber. The floor lurched and the warriors crouched to regain their balance as lightning flashed in an open sky above. Each looked around and discovered they had been transported to the Shadowfell and the city of Moir. Spires could be seen in the distance through the broken walls of the tower the heroes occupied. Just as suddenly the lightning's illumination faded and all that remained was a sensation that there had been something out there beyond the edge of vision...moving.