Narrative

Day 39 began when the party arrived back at the troops’ camp. Dirk’s jaw would remain changed for the next twenty-four hours. Hartwall queried what was going on at Goldenswell and wanted to speak to Lady Lyraine at Riversmeet. Dirk’s father and army were now in Sunset Vista on their way to fight the green dragon. Hartwall was sending Lady [rabbit] to speak to Lady Lyraine. The party went to Azureside to speak to the merfolk and gather information about the Goliath city. There was a statue to Hydrath.

Jin Woo teleported the party toward the cherry orchard at Azureside, but they arrived in Salvation instead, by a statue of a pregnant female cat lady holding a rose in one hand and a scythe in the other. They tried again but ended up in Coalmont Falls, a brown-green mining town with steam-powered mine carts. The waterfall occasionally turned black, and the locals did not know why. The party needed into town and found the Smokesblood Stout Brewery/Inn. Morgana turned into an octopus to investigate why the water turned black. She thought it came from the creature at the bottom of the waterfall, with black sediment, and that the black water began at the top of the falls a few times a day and came from the cavern. This was noted at 10:00.

The party took a room at the Fellspour & Prick Inn, which was not busy. The barman said black dragonborn came through occasionally. The town had been quiet, though he had heard about dragon attacks firewise. Pine Springs loggers were going missing, shutting down the logging industry. The wealthy Zigglecog mine-cart family was mentioned; their daughter had left town to become a monk at the monastery.

The cave was where the creature lived and what made the water turn black, at least according to the fish, who did not enter it. Morgana went into the cavern, where the water became choppy and hard to traverse. She came back out and investigated. A roar came from the cave, and the water turned black, moving faster than the normal river flow. Morgana took a sample; it smelled like water, did not stain anything, and left no residue. It had not done this when Jin Woo was there 100 or so years ago. The barkeep did not know how long it had been happening, though he had been there nine years. Pack keeper Hanner might know, so the party travelled down to the lake to speak with her.

Hanner said the black water had happened for the last thousand years. It used to occur about once a month but now happened twice a day. The pattern followed elemental schools of magic. Morgana communed with nature and sensed a large black creature with six arms, shackled by its arms under the water, apparently unconscious. Its chains led up through the ground into an alien material, an obsidian archway. The party suggested the merfolk investigate the cave, since they might get farther. Some water elementals were in the lake.

The party went upriver to investigate the black water. Merfolk, Hanner, and Morgana checked the river while the rest of the party and a merfolk named Derek investigated on land. On land, the shield crystal registered on the compass. The party tried to follow paths into the mountains but veered toward the compass reading. They found a mine, went through it, ran out of it, and found a good path to the lake at about 16:00. In the water, Morgana swam downriver until the water reached a “wall,” then stopped and became much easier to swim through. On land, the party found an ancient old road and an old sign pointing to “Dull Peake” / Dulpeake, the same direction as the compass. Dirk spotted a dark figure: a dragonborn with red eyes. When Eliana looked up, the figure noticed.

Underwater, Morgana came into an underground chamber with ledges leading into further darkness. Hanner used a light orb, revealing a twenty-foot statue with five runes hovering in a pentagram around it. The cyclone bottom sounded like one of the main prisoners: !Asmoorade! Morgana tried to touch a rune, and it threw lightning. On land, wingbeats sounded and the dragonborn walked into view. It had dull, deathly, sooty scales and a large overbite. Its name was Nelkish.

Nelkish walked confidently toward the party and announced the Domain of Anthrosite. He worked for Infestus and was Infestus’s son, guarding the doorway to Blackhold. The party told him they had returned his brother’s skull to their father, Infestus. He called Eliana pure blood, not half blood, like himself. He had no quarrel with their kind under the agreement made. In the water, Morgana continued down the stream, leaving the statue behind, and approached a barrier. Touching it did not hurt, but it crackled. On land, the party mentioned Garadule’s plans, and Anthrosite said he would allow them in to use the portal to speak to Infestus. Nelkish had not killed them on sight because Geldrin wore the wizards’ robes, which were part of the agreement; the wizards brought food and similar supplies.

Morgana tried to misty step through the underwater barrier and succeeded. She could see the merfolk but could not touch them, and dispel did not work. The cavern broadened to the left. Derek told the land party about the barrier, and that the others were close by but far below. Jin Woo thought they should have gone to see Infestus. The land party continued down the road, which seemed to stop suddenly. Morgana was stuck and could not misty step again. She tried to dry a torch to see farther into the cavern. Thorn whip struck a crack in the wall and seemed to open a door.

Beyond the crack, the mindless moss stopped dead, and the stone looked freshly cut. Morgana continued to a door with a ticking rune carved on it, but it would not open. On land, the party described Envi to Derek, and the carving looked like him. Morgana travelled farther down the river into a room opening in all directions, where all signs of life disappeared. A noise came from the prisoner, and the water turned black. On land, black snowflakes appeared; white turned white, and black flakes were in the scoop.

The cavern kept getting bigger and downhill, though the water had not changed direction. Morgana saw a giant jet-black figure, one hundred feet tall, standing in a hole in the ground with four large arms stretched out. Water came out of the pit and shot upward like a geyser. It seemed like a statue but felt alive. The party sent Errol to find a cave they could shelter in and went in out of the wind. Morgana went back and told Hanner about the figure. She said “winter roses” at the door, and it came to life.

The figure thought it was Ruby Eye. It could not open the barrier because that might let other people in. Rumplky opened the door, and Envi said it was probably best to come in. Morgana followed the corridor to a circular room with two suits of armour and a pillar with purple cores for automatons who would help with what she was there for: to revive him. She activated one. When she tried to leave, the door started to close, so she activated the other. The automatons did not detect any rings. The door between the automatons opened, revealing an upright hand on a plinth and a [strils] Envi in a tube of viscous fluid. Morgana let her out. The released figure would find the rings, and the robots followed. They left the chamber. One forced a hole in the barrier, and an automaton came through. The automaton introduced himself as Garadule, activated recall protocol, and they disappeared. The party headed back to Coalmont Falls in the merfolk lodge at 01:00.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

People and name-like figures mentioned include Hartwall, Lady Lyraine, Dirk’s father, Lady [rabbit], Jin Woo, Hydrath, Morgana, Hanner, Derek, Nelkish, Anthrosite, Infestus, Garadule, Envi, Rumplky, [strils], and Dirk.

Groups and factions mentioned include merfolk, black dragonborn, Pine Springs loggers, the Zigglecog family, water elementals, automatons, the wizards, and the party.

Places mentioned include the troops’ camp, Goldenswell, Riversmeet, Sunset Vista, Azureside, Salvation, Coalmont Falls, Smokesblood Stout Brewery/Inn, Fellspour & Prick Inn, Pine Springs, the monastery, the waterfall cave, the lake, the underwater obsidian archway, Dulpeake / Dull Peake, the Domain of Anthrosite, Blackhold, Infestus’s portal, the ticking-rune door, Envi’s circular room, and the merfolk lodge.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

Transport and communication resources included Jin Woo’s teleportation, the shield crystal compass reading, Errol finding a cave for shelter, and the merfolk lodge.

Magic, spells, and supernatural effects included Morgana’s octopus form, the black waterfall water, black sediment, the ancient elemental-school pattern, Morgana’s Commune with Nature, the six-armed black prisoner or statue, chains leading to an obsidian archway, the light orb, five runes in a pentagram, lightning from a rune, Morgana’s Misty Step through the underwater barrier, failed Dispel, Thorn Whip opening a crack, black snowflakes, winter roses waking the figure, purple cores powering automatons, and an automaton forcing a hole in the barrier.

Named objects and obligations included black water samples and sediment, the ancient Dulpeake sign, five runes in a pentagram, the upright hand on a plinth, Envi in a tube of viscous fluid, the automatons’ recall protocol, and the wizards’ food-supply agreement with Infestus’s side.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

Coalmont Falls has black water tied to elemental magic patterns and an underwater prisoner or facility. Morgana found a six-armed black creature, an obsidian archway, a five-rune statue, !Asmoorade!, a barrier, Envi, Rumplky, purple-cored automatons, and an automaton calling itself Garadule that forced a hole in the barrier and recalled the automatons away.

Anthrosite’s domain and agreement with the wizards protected the party because Geldrin wore wizard robes and because Nelkish recognized Eliana as pure blood. Infestus’s portal, Blackhold’s doorway, the food-supply agreement, and Garadule’s plans remain active threads.