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.