Inlet of Avarnor

Janus sailed the ship around the island for the next day, giving everyone a day to rest before attempting to fight their way through the haunted shipwrecks and skeletons congregated on the shore. As they made their way around the shore they discovered the ships had been pushed away from the delta of a deep creek. They sailed up the delta, which was nice and deep according to Idril's request.

A vision of a pirate queen reflected off the running water and spoke. "Over the river is through the woods, and grandmother's house will glow."

"I hope we don't run into a sandbar," said Haden. The ship struck hidden ground. And then chaos broke out. A bunch of twenty-shaped clouds floated across the sky. "This doesn't make any sense!" shouted Janus as pennies dropped onto his head. They soon stopped wishing for money after coins sped like bullets down on their heads. "Oh crap," said Haden...and then wished he hadn't as a mud-colored golem surfaced for a moment. Laseda figured out the smartest thing to do, which was get the ship unstuck and properly moored.

Some unwished-for pixies then arrived on the scene, flourishing tiny bows and requesting help to defeat a large and dangerous jelly. Idril, Laseda, and Janella were thrilled with the tiny creatures and agreed to help after getting shot with an ineffectual arrow. "Just sail after us!" they said. Janus reluctantly turned the ship into the shore and found smooth sailing between mangrove trees.

The pixies escorted the ship to the entrance of a small vine-covered cave. Pixies frolicked outside and a large feasting table was set in the center - but it was covered with a thick yellow gelatinous slab. Idril and Laseda looked at it for a while and decided the best idea was to pull the roof down on it. After clearing this idea with the pixies, Idril directed her mangroves to take hold of the brilliant stalactites. The resulting crash smashed half of the jelly to bits. The rest of it regrouped angrily and started climbing the cavern wall. Laseda jumped in and smacked it with a new club from Idril, while Janus requested the same type of weapon. Janella magically dropped a shard on the thing's head, which made it slide back in reach for Haden to smack. Idril was busy fashioning wooden clubs for Janus, so the other members busily attacked it. Eventually, the thing fell into the water and was pulverized enough to stop moving, but not before Idril had sucked the poison from it and made it edible.

The pixies rejoiced in lemon jelly and their new expanded feasting hall. To thank the pirates, they gave them a small bag of emeralds from "up there" and pointed at the cavern roof. The small cracks were now opened to reveal the start of a tunnel system which the adventurers climbed up to investigate, using a trick rope or manly muscles, alternately.

In the cavern, they did a little "men in tights dance," at which Janus was so horrible that the pixies cast a dancing spell on him. Jogging along, they soon came upon the skeletons of six forlorn souls of the tunnels, also dancing from the pixies but still with sharp claws. These were soon struck down or eaten away, and the party continued until coming up against a blank wall.

A spell from Janella revealed it to be clear into a room of paints, pots, scrolls, and drawing tools. Laseda pushed Janus in and he made the unfortunate discovery that the magic door was one way only. So Janella pushed Laseda in to keep him company and then got pulled in herself, leaving Haden and Idril to collect some supplies from the ship before plunging after.

Experience

Speaking to the Water: 250
Figuring it out (Laseda): 50

Level 4's:
Jelly: 320
Skeletons: 120

Level 5's:
Jelly: 300
Skeletons: 120

Through the Mists to Avarnor

Haden, Janus, and Sabrina collected their small friends from the Drunken Betty to participate in the festivities below. They outfitted themselves handsomely for their upcoming voyage, taking advantage of the aquatic and acidic specialties of the local craftsfolk.

Sabrina, responding to the dual attractions of museums and the curator, opted to stay behind. On a farewell tour, the group gazed at ancient texts, reproductions of "The Sword of Nassenac" and small, glass-enclosed terrarriums. The halfling and the gnome decided to stretch their legs and run around on the soil. They examined squirrels and hummingbirds frolicking around miniature mountains and banzai trees. The caretaker was pruning them out, so he said they could take some. Janella took a mountain and an inadvertent hummingbird, and Laseda took a small flowering tree.

Back in the coach on their way back to the inn, Laseda started poking at the tree to determine how valuable it was. Idril, the tiny druid, stepped out of the tree and asked her to stop - or be menaced by a porpoise.

The next day, the party, minus a mermaid but plus a dryad, set out for the Island of Avarnor. They sailed north for many days, following their merman guide. At once they found themselves within a mist - which they soon discovered allowed them to proceed in only one direction. Sailing along, an old ship laden with gold approached them and chased them down. The red dragon figurehead came alive and spoke to them: "Go no farther!" When the Drunken Betty failed to come about, the dragon drew in a great breath of air. The pirates sprang into action, firing corrosive arrows and hacking into the huge head. He breathed flame onto them, burning himself but burning them much more. "Be afraid and listen to me. Listen to Captain Marcer. Do not continue to the cursed island. I wished for gold, to be the terror of the seas, to never be parted from my ship. And look what happened to me!" Janella promised that they would be careful. "And I'm hungry!" Instead of springing to fight again, Laseda and Janus hurried to get a barrel of hardtack, which Marcer begrudgingly accepted. He then sailed to stern of them. A few minutes later, Marcer appeared out of the mist again, this time woodenly asleep. Janus was more successful in his navigation this time - and the next - and they eventually sailed into a tangle of ships surrounding the shores of the island.

Many cursed ships were wrecked, so the shore was barely visible. Many were half-sunk, full of treasure; others had figureheads with varying degrees of sentience; many looked fierce. One of ships warned them that all the ships they could see were the wreckage of failed wishes.

With such a bleak sight, the pirate-actors retreated to discuss the wisdom of going further. Halfway through the discussion, Idril piped up that she could hear a ship approaching. One of the wild ships had sneaked up on them and was planning to stuff its bear-formed face with their fresh flesh. They sprang into action and hurt the figurehead enough that it became wooden again, and quickly hacked it off just before it could change back, fully healed - thanks to Haden's axe and Idril's performing porpoise.

Experience:

Museum, and Leaving the Mermaid City: 200
Mists of Avarnor: 100
Many Hungry Figureheads: 800
Taking a moment to Think: 200

Deep Chimelaine: City of the Ancient Mermaids

The actor-pirates sailed to Deep Chimelaine, the place of their only clue. They were greeted by a merman with a large glass disk and a sea turtle. The half-elves climbed into this strange conveyance, which closed around them and took them through the pearl gates of the city of Sabrina's people. (Janella and Laseda stayed with the ship, a hangover, and a play.) Sabrina went to visit a museum, where she found a whole room dedicated to the wishgold myth and a very charming docent named Philomel.

Meanwhile, Janus mentioned his desire to seek the Wishgold of Avarnor. Their cabbie told them that the city would send out no more guides to that dangerous place, "unless the Blade of Nassenac is returned." As they reached the university and received the same answer from one of the professors' assistants, Janus pulled out his sword Pearl and asked if they meant this one? The mermaid exclaimed and reached in to pluck the sword from Janus's surprised fingers, half-drowning him in the process. Janus proceeded to drain the water into his handy bottle while he pondered the fate of his weapon.

Sabrina learned much lore of the wishgold, and finally moved in the general direction of the hubbub which was centered on the palace. There the three adventurers were brought before the king of the merfolk to be rewarded for their return of the Blade of Nassenac. They were to spend the next day being outfitted for their voyage, and the next evening at a special banquet of the king. The three travelers left the throne room in a daze as weddings, movings, duels, deals, and promises being kept erupted noisily all over the city.

Experience:

City of the Ancient Merfolk (Sabrina, Haden, Janus): 500

Canny Candlesticks

The acting troupe sailed into Lalo and promptly entered merchant mode. They sold their foodstuffs and basic goods at market price and then ventured into the multi-segmented Port Lalo Inn to fetch a price on their seven golden candlesticks.

Janella and Sabrina (in a sedan chair) entered the upper-crust quadrant of the establishment. The host was enough impressed by Janella's gaudily rich costume to let her in, but drew the line at a mermaid companion. Janella was escorted to a table of politely trading gnomish nobility.

Meanwhile, Laseda entered the traders' tavern in the midst of an auction. She quickly got a base price on the candlesticks but was unimpressed by the offer.

Meanwhile, Sabrina joined the half-elves in the free-for-all Sailors' sector. The main draw - apart from the beautiful mermaid - was a long, in-progress drinking-and-betting game. The barkeep invited them in for their ship or five hundred gold. Janus immediately backed away from the high stakes.

Janella hit it off badly with the nobles, instantly betraying her sword-for-hire station in life. Gradually she managed to rectify that impression and started to get some handsome bids for the story-swathed candlesticks. She promised to deliver them and the music mephit's spirit box for three hundred fifty gold to an eccentric old man at eleven o'clock on the next day.

Laseda and Janella joined the rest of their group in the Sailor's quadrant of the inn. Most decided the chance of winning a ship was worth the risk, so they pooled their gold and entered the competition. The remaining combatants included a very tipsy halfling betting a small ship and a collected elf betting a chest of gold. Laseda had the best markmanship...but unfortunately for her, as she started to play, she realized she didn't hold her drink that well. Her aim got worse and worse and they lost to the elf.

The halfling, now very drunk, suggested another round with the pretty halfling rogue. Janus joined this time and managed to win a derelict ship before the halfling collapsed in a corner. Laseda picked his pockets.

The crew wended their way to their new ship and discovered it looking like it had been half-submerged for a few weeks. Something squelchy sounded from the hold. They trooped down and discovered a crusty old crustacean hiding in the murky bilgewater. Thinking it might taste nice, they surrounded and battered it to death it after gave them a few nasty pinches. They also discovered some sharkskin and chitin armor, too big for the halfling, stuck in the sludge.

Everyone ate roast lobster.

Experience

Port Lalo (All): 100
Hobnobbing with the Gnome Nobles (Janella): 100
Mercantile Savvy (Laseda): 50
Betting-Drinking-Dart Game: Laseda 200, Janus 100
Flirting with the halfling (Laseda): 50
Hammerclaw (All): Level 3's 360, Level 4's 320

Let's Be Friends!

The piratical theater company set sail the next day down to the city of Lalo. They spent an uneventful night, but the next day drifted into a solid mass of boats and barges. Sabrina swam ahead to see what the problem was, and discovered five sahuagin holding up each ship as it passed beneath a bridge. She watched one crew resist and the sahuagin overpowered them and started to mysteriously sink the ship. The next boat, needless to say, gave in.

Sabrina brought this news back to her crew. After some discussion, they decided to try and unite the other sailors and overwhelm the bandits through sheer force of numbers. Sabrina and Janella left to serenade the other ships and managed to convince eighteen out of twenty to join them. Laseda, meanwhile, organized a strike team under one of her shady new acquaintances. When everyone was organized into three flanks - one over the ships and one on each bank - they pushed forward and scared the sahuagin into fleeing and abandoning their loot. While everyone else set about dividing up the goods - the most interesting of which was a pet pseudodragon - Sabrina discovered the last sahuagin beneath the water. It knocked her unconscious and stole her whip. Haden noticed she was missing and jumped into the river, but his armor almost made him drown. Laseda rescued him with an animated rope she lifted off one of the bandits, and then used it to fish Sabrina out of the water.

That night everyone told stories and sang songs.

Experience

Oratory, Sabrina and Janella: 100

The Sahuagin: 720

Rescuing the Mermaid, Haden and Laseda: 75

Ranger-Animal Bond Bonus: 30

Mephit of the Opera

The newly-declared pirates sailed their little keelboat to the mouth of the lake and the town of Ferand. There they purchased a map of the Sureaste Islands and a nice hot dinner at the Inn of the Wishgold of Avarnor. They overheard the innkeeper telling another newcomer about the name:

"It's just an old legend, a pretty name. A piece of the wishgold of Avarnor is supposed to give you any one wish - if you can find the island and get off again, that is. One of those legends that conveniently makes the place almost impossible to find, and yet again almost impossible to get back alive to tell the tale. But it makes a nice play - they're doing it at the Nautilus tonight."

Rather than brave the river in a storm, the party decided to leave Sabrina to play tricks in the harbor, and take themselves to the opera. The play started off as a comedy of pirates finding brides, and then a mermaid lured them all one by one to the island of Avarnor. All but two had died at the end of Act I.

During the intermission Laseda went to the ladies' room, and the other patrons heard a scream from backstage. Soon the director came out to cancel the rest of the show and refund the tickets. Janus was eager to help, so the director told him that a hole had opened up in the lead actress's dressing room, and she'd fallen through to the basement, but she wasn't answering.

The party volunteered to look for her, and the director, after a warning of the dangers of the basement, sent them to the House Manager. The House Manager said that the way was safer if one played music, so Janella took out her silver flute, and the group started through the hallway.

The first door opened on an apparently harmless room, then another stretch of hallway.

The second room had loose bricks in the ceiling, but Janella's playing coaxed them into staying up.

The third room contained a net which everyone jumped across; it shot up in the air when they opened the door leaving the room, but thankfully everyone was past it.

The fourth room looked fine until a greataxe swung out of the wall and nearly took off Janus's shoulder. The party began to hear an eerie singing as they spiraled closer to the center of the Nautilus.

The fifth room, they noticed, had a fine series of holes in the doorframe; when Laseda poked a cautious arrow through, needles shot out of them. Janella magically animated her pack to go through the doorway until the trap had exhausted all of its needles; the group went through, and when they opened the far door, another wave went off.

The sixth room had a damp floor. Laseda again stuck her arrow through the door first, and the room started filling with water which started spilling into the hallway. Janus and Laseda quickly swam across the room and opened the far door, which only made the water pour in twice as fast on the floundering Haden and Janella. Haden finally made it across, and they threw a rope to Janella just as the room filled completely. They hauled her across and quickly shut the door from the other side. Now they could hear two singers.

The seventh room was ornate and beautiful, filled with statues. One statue, they noticed, looked like it would chop at them with its greataxes if they came too close. While they were discussing this, the Singer came to meet them. He hissed at them to leave him to his composing. They asked about the girl; a cry of "Help!" greeted their ears. Haden frightened the small spirit to letting them into the room, where they could see the actress in a cage.

Janus charged in and struck the muse mephit down. He released a death shriek which stunned Janus and Janella for a few seconds while the executioner statue activated. Laseda and Haden were both struck grievously as they battled it, but Haden managed to chop off one of its axes. Laseda frantically tried to turn it off as Janus hacked at the other axe. Eventually they disarmed it and turned it off, leaving them free to investigate the mephit's lair.

They found a key to free the actress, who thanked them profusely. They also discovered a necklace of twenty white pearls, a mephit music box, seven gold candlesticks, and a wealth of costumes and scenery and handwritten scores.

While Laseda and Janella decked themselves out in the costumes and made plans to become a traveling pirate acting troupe, Haden poked around a little more carefully. Inside the music box he found a blackened coin, engraved with a heart on a grasping hand. And in one of the statue's arms he discovered a faintly humming weapon; once he grasped it with both hands it changed form to suit his mind.

Rather than risking the horrors of the trapped rooms again, the half-elves stuffed the gnome actress and their two small friends up the hole again, and followed with the costumes and scenery. Janus wanted to take the moving statue as well, but it was just too heavy. Then Haden and Janus climbed up themselves.

The director was very glad to get his star back, and stared flabbergasted as they told of all the dangers beneath their feet and all the theatrical wealth they found in the basement. In high spirits the group hired a cart to haul all their new possessions, happily planning to make sails out of scenery and use their acting skills as a cover for heists. And they got Sabrina to heal them, and prepared to ask her if she, like the mermaid in the play, new how to reach Avarnor.

Experience

Hearing of the Wishgold (everyone): 200
Harbor Bonus (Sabrina): 50
Traps (Land Party): 1,613
Music Bonus (Janella): 100
Muse Mephit (Land Party): 225
Deciding to Become Actor Pirates (everyone): 500

What a Cute Little Keelboat!

Janus and Janella spent the next several weeks traveling over the gnomish countryside in the cause of Nassenac. One night, however, they awoke to find themselves tied up and being dragged to a small ship. They were forced to join the half-elf Haden and the halfling Laseda as galley slaves for the Willikens, a family of lake-trading merchants.

One night, the sorry folk were interrupted in their hard-earned sleep by the song of a mermaid, Sabrina. She saw their plight and agreed to free them for shining items and a promise of future help in return.

While considering this offer, Laseda managed to free herself and Haden in the prow of the ship, and quietly rummage through the merchandise to find their arms again. Janus was not so successful in being quiet, and woke Banny, the Williken uncle. Banny tied Janus up again, but then Sabrina struck him with her whip and held him in distraction while Janus pulled out Pearl. Janus struck Banny, and a melee broke out aboard ship. The other Willikens soon woke, attempting to help defend their merchant business from the upstart slaves, but Luc the father was the only other who put up a real resistance.

After Laseda had found the key, Haden had leapt the cabin amidships, Janus had sent Banny crashing overboard, Sabrina had both harmed and healed the enemies, and Janella had cheered everyone on with bagpipe, the prisoners were victorious and bound the Willikens in the manacles and ropes.

Though largely unskilled, the conscripts had learned enough about sailing to work together and make for shore, where they earned the favor of the townsfolk and sold the Willikens' goods, making a decent profit and buying a few furs to trade further. They settled part of their score with Sabrina, who agreed to accompany them. They dropped the Willikens off at their own village and then moored for the night. The next day, they resolved to steer down the river and out to the open sea.


Experience:

Ropes and Manacles: 80

The Willikens: 780

Sailing on a calm Lake: 20

Favor with the Townsfolk: 50