Diary of Captain Nomed Oppenheimer - Entry Number 11
Walking of the Dead, October 30th 907 of the Third Age
Another day, another island full of monsters who wish to kill us. Makes Haggelthorn Hall seem like a lovely place to settle down in comparison. And even when we find our objective, it always seems like the glass is half-empty. At least we’re not dead yet, right?
After the incident with the hags, I resolved to get to work in my lab, and that I was not to be disturbed until we reached the island. Apparently, that was too tall of a task, as after a day of sailing, the ship went off course, as Java saw a group of Will-o-the-wisps off in the distance, and the others thought it best to investigate. There was some sort of sandbar that the wisps were luring people to their doom, and there were survivors from their latest shipwreck, led by some pirate named Jack or some such who wore special goggles. Now, I didn’t really care that much about missing pirates, and continued with my work, until there was a disturbance outside my lab’s door. When I went out, I discovered that the sand bar was home to more than just lost pirates, but also home to a Bone Devil, and he was hungry.
The others, who had seen the creature get onboard, joined late to the party, as myself and Wrane were locked in combat with the creature. We brought it down with weight of numbers, and I drew from its venom before the body withered away into nothingness. The pirates were so grateful that they gave us everything they had in order to escape that place, including Jack’s special goggles. We also recovered from the shipwreck 6 arbalests, and several hundred gold pieces. With our loot in tow, we went around the death trap, and continued North towards Sorrowsong.
We reached Sorrowsong on the 30th, and it was a rather ominous sight. The place was abandoned, and the beach was filled with destroyed ships, lost to the ages, and the most recent was an orcish longboat. We told some of the crew to examine the ships while we made our way up a beaten path to what was left of an old castle.
We worked our way up, and only paused for a moment to examine a stone circle within a clearing of the dense underbrush. The circle was ancient, and inside were giant footprints that led to a nearby lake. Java followed the footprints and it led her straight to an ent taking a long drink. The ent called himself Mourntoon, and it was very clear that he was lonely. He started going on and on about the island and its inhabitants, namely a family of harpies led by one called Darksong, and an ettin by the name of Tim Tom, who all lived in the castle. The ent droned on for an eternity, but Java finally freed herself and told us of this threat.
Knowing what we were walking into, we went towards the postern gate of the destroyed keep, and attempted to open it. The noise caused Tim Tom to investigate, but intelligence was not his strong suit. Java tricked him into believing she was Mourntoon and so the ettin opened the way for us. We quickly dispatched him and two harpies that followed and entered into the courtyard.
We entered the kitchen to the keep and found two more harpies asleep inside. They had converted the area into a giant nesting ground. We quietly dispatched these creatures and had a look around. After searching the nest, we found a few hundred gold and some arcane perfume. We moved into the next room, and discovered the true purpose of the keep. It had been built by the rangers of old, and this was one of their strongholds. The great hall was a shadow of its former self, and the table was now the feasting area for a dozen harpies. There was a staircase that led up to the top of the keep’s tower, and we climbed it, finding the bedroom of Darksong, as well the chests for the pennant and for Elias Haggelthorn. The one we believed had the pennant was magically sealed, and we set to work on opening it.
We were so busy trying to open the chest that we didn’t hear the harpies come behind us on the ramparts. Their song was so beautiful that I couldn’t help but follow it outside and over the ramparts. When I came to, the regular harpies were battling the others inside the tower while Darksong hovered over my head. I did the only reasonable thing and spit on her, forcing her down to the ground where I proceeded to pummel her as best I could. Knowing the fight was lost, Darksong took her sisters and fled.
With Darksong away, we grabbed the chests, and made our way back to the beach. We found the crew we had left there, as well as a completely inebriated Cirark, who had fell asleep on one of the rafts. And as for the Wanton Wench, she was missing. No sight of her anywhere, even with Java circling the island. So now we are stuck on an island with monsters, and no way out that we can see. Par for the course.
