After the battle with the barbarians on horseback, the party takes a long rest in the Valley of Petrified Soldiers. After some debate, they decide to trek to the city of Paros to find a boat that can take them to Spire Island. They also decide to take Cora and Endir with them, with the plan to leave them in a relatively safe city environment where they'll (hopefully) be safe from marauding bands of barbarians.
Along the way, the party passes several travelers heading west. Many of these folk are traveling in pairs or small groups, and have carts of personal belongings. They seem eager to avoid interaction with the party as they continue on their way as unobtrusively as possible.
Traveling through the Naoussian Swamp, Owynka experiences déjà vu on the path to the city of Paros. She recalls with perfect clarity the Archangel Cahethal alighting upon the swampy hilltop just to the east of the roadway, its leonine figure glowing like a beacon of sunshine in this now-darkened Whorl. The hilltop, now vacant of the archangel’s majesty, seems cold and forlorn.
Approaching Paros in the dimmest of sunlight, the party begins to see the glow of the many fires illuminating the dreary stone buildings within the city's walls. The city gates are open, and no watchmen appear to be stationed there. Inside the gates, they see the fires burning in braziers along the city streets, but no people. Then, Carric spots several humanoid forms lying prone and unmoving beneath white sheets. These shrouded bodies litter the streets. Doors and windows are boarded up, the hastily affixed planks of some painted with white ‘X’s.
Up ahead, near what looks like a well and a statue of Pas, the party spots three gangly creatures hunched over a pair of humanoids on the cobblestone street. The creatures are wearing bulky backpacks and hold long metallic objects in their hands. The humanoids on the ground are wearing the white robes and silver masks that mark them as Defenders of the Whorl. The party decides to try sneaking past these insectoid-looking creatures and, miracle of miracles, actually succeeds.
Continuing on to the docks, the party finds several boats, barges, and skiffs that all look seaworthy, but very few that look as if they could brave the rougher waters of the Bay of Viron. But there is one 80-foot sloop docked at the far end of the wharf that looks hardy enough to make the journey. And fortunately, Roondar spent his early life among boats of all kinds, so he knows a thing or two about sailing. Maul pushes the boat away from the dock and the party enters the open waters of the bay.
After a half hour or so of sea travel, the rocking of the boat begins to take its toll on Carric, who begins to get seasick. Everyone else is fortunate enough to avoid this problem.
As the sloop nears the deepest part of the bay, it suddenly rocks violently to its starboard side, a shuddering creak of timbers accompanying the lurch. It seems that the sloop hit something--or, perhaps, that something hit the sloop. Twenty seconds pass, then the sloop shudders again, knocking everyone off-balance. Maul glances over the side and sees a massive, dark form slide through the water beneath the boat.
Moments later a pale, slimy looking creature with transluscent skin and a distended belly crawls over the side of the ship and flops onto the deck. It approaches Owynka and ensorcells her with an odd feeling of love. Then it moves toward an enlarged Maul as its belly pouch bursts open, spraying Maul with thousands of stinging larvae. But it takes only a few moments for the party to kill the creature and its spawn.
The remainder of the journey at sea passes without further incident, and as the sloop approaches the island the party spots a pier jutting out into the water, which looks like it should provide safe harbor for the sloop. After docking the boat and traveling down the length of the pier they find a stone stairway carved into the steep rock of the island’s sheer cliffs, leading upward. Roondar urges Cora and Endir to stay behind with the ship, which Cora reluctantly agrees to. But she requests that they hurry back, clearly recalling the terrifying encounter on the open water.
The party climbs the tremendous stone stairs, which rise several hundred feet. After what seems like ages, at the top of the stairway they see a massive metallic tower gleaming in the pale sunlight, its peak stretching ever higher into the darkened sky, pointing directly at the gibbous sun overhead.
No comments:
Post a Comment