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The Seamouse
The flight to the coast was uneventful, a few days of tending to ship’s chores and otherwise lounging. We waited till dawn to set out over open waters. A few hours into the journey, and with Visa Isle taking shape on the horizon, we spotted something odd in the water. A small boat, no bigger than a river barge, was floundering in heavy waves below. This craft had no business being this far out, so we descended to take a closer look.
Aboard were two tiny figures, who appeared to be struggling to keep the boat from sinking. Dracarys and Cail descended to assist, and learned that the two figures were gnomish children, Melody and Glib Mayfire, who were attempting to navigate to Visa Isle themselves to find their mother, Nyx. She had failed to return from a trip out there several weeks prior, and these kids thought taking a skiff named The Seamouse across the open ocean by themselves was their best route.
They initially resisted efforts to convince them to leave the craft behind and join us on the much safer Springfly… but then fate forced their hands. A sudden swarm of fishlike and lizardlike creatures emerged from the depths and swarmed both our crafts. In a ferocious battle that sapped the reserves of all our casters, we were able to fend them off and retrieve the children (along with a few personal effects including a sort of compass that always points towards their mother). Unfortunately, Dracarys was taken by the fish people.
As we rose back into the sky, The Seamouse succumbed to the ocean and sank beneath the waves. We spent the rest of the afternoon recovering as we finished our approach to the island and began circling around it from the north. Cail took the children below decks to learn more about what had happened to their mother, and to distract them with the wonders of the brumestone engine. I remained on deck to inspect what I could of the island.
It was an otherworldly sight. The shape of the island was normal enough - a volcanic mound emerging sharply from the ocean - but the northern half was dominated by the peak of the caldera. And above that peak, a storm. Dark clouds, swirling out for miles, covering most of the island and nearby ocean. A maelstrom of energy, through which we caught brief glimpses of a massive, serpent-like beast from which lightning crackled. We aimed the Springfly well below the storm as we began circling the island.
A Den of Snakes
It was too late in the day, and Visa Isle too large for us to circle it before nightfall. We’d barely made it halfway along the north shore before it was too dark to see. We set up watches and continued along. Before resting, Sylcaryn scried on Dracarys and realized he was being held along with Nyx. Cail convinced Melody and Glib to lend him the compass, since tracking down Nyx was not only one of our objectives, but now also the best way of finding Dracarys.
Not long before dawn, just as twilight was beginning to creep back into the sky and we were making our way down the channel at the western edge of the main island, Doros and Mitro heard a song on the wind. To Mitro, it was just that… but Doros was entranced by it and had to be restrained from walking overboard. We were still a few hundred feet in the air, so that would have been no mere dip in the ocean.
As daylight took hold, we rounded the southern point and found ourselves gazing upon the city of Palecrest. Clearly this had been a grand city… at some point. But the entire place was in a state of clear disrepair, and at the edges of the forest the trees and plant life had begun to encroach into the interior. We set down at the docks and the party disembarked. Lamora agreed to keep the Springfly airborne and away from shore by several hundred feet, and to keep mobile while we explored. We left Melody and Glib in the care of Lolen in the engine room. Glib had taken great interest in the workings of the engine. They’d be in good hands.
We entered the city. In a space so large, that had once held such a massive populace, the silence was deafening. In the gated canals traversing the blocks, the still water had grown rank with algae and foam. Unaware of why the populace was missing, we proceeded cautiously. As we approached the city center, we heard sounds of a scuffle. Rounding a corner, we spied someone in the central fountain, grappling with dozens of small snakes. We leapt into action to help, and dispatched the snakes quickly.
The person was a half-orc, an archaeologist by the name of Jorland Vohr. He’d been bathing in the fountain when the snakes swarmed out of the drain. He suggested we come back to his camp to discuss things. Once there, we learned of his objectives. He was attempting to learn what had happened here in Palecrest, and was preparing to attempt a ritual that would let him see with his own eyes. We volunteered ourselves to come along.
Into the Past
We proceeded across the city to a pair of towers connected by a bridge. These stood spanning the central river of the island, which descended from the caldera down to the bay where Palecrest had been built. We climbed the hundred or so feet up to that bridge, where there was a raised circular platform and dais. To Sylcaryn’s dismay, Jorland produced a set of elven bones from his bag and began laying them around to prepare the ritual. Jorland claimed the bones would be returned once the ritual was over, which did not calm Sylcaryn, but assuaged him enough to let the ritual continue. Once everything was in place, Jorland directed us to stand on the raised platform with him.
As the ritual began, the platform was enveloped in a sphere of shimmering energy. We could see out, but the world was a blur as we hurtled into history. When things finally slowed down, we found ourselves surrounded by several elves dressed in finery. They were discussing some sort of ritual of their own. None acknowledged our sudden appearance, or even our presence generally. One elf in particular, a tall man named Coratosh, seemed to be the most prominent figure. While they only spoke in vagaries, we got the sense that Coratosh had one plan, and the others weren’t quite sold on it. Ultimately, they split up to perform different tasks and it was clear that Coratosh had won the disagreement.
Jorland collected the bones from the ground, and handed one to each of us. The ends that had been nearest the edge of the circle had begun crumbling to dust, and he informed us that we had until the bones had fully crumbled (Sylcaryn was livid) to return to the platform. He was unspecific as to what would happen should we fail to be there on time, but it was clear it would be bad. We asked if we had actually traveled to the past, and learned that the ritual was sort of like a highly advanced form of scrying. We were “projected” into the past, as if we were our own scrying sensors, but were not truly present here and could not be detected by the creatures of the time.
We split up to follow each of the elves. Mitro and Jorland followed Coratosh, Doros and Sylcaryn followed one called Nasir, and Cail and myself followed the final one, Uthrym. The latter’s route took us to a smithy, Veriks’. Along the way, Cail picked up pebbles and tossed them at people, which created an odd distortion as the pebbles passed through the targets. At the smithy, he retrieved some lightning rods that had been prepared. The tone between Uthrym and the blacksmith was sorrowful. As we listened, Cail and I collected some white steel swords, which we were surprised to find we could handle.
When we left the smithy, I noticed something on the opposing wall attempt to push through what I can only describe as a rift in reality. It was as if the fabric of existence was overlaid on the surface of everything, and some creature from beyond it was pressing in. We decided not to mess with more things. Uthrym then began the long journey up to the caldera, utilizing a network of roots filled with rushing water that whisked him along (and beans bestowed with a water breathing spell, staged at the entrances to each root).
We rejoined the others at the caldera, and learned what they’d seen. Coratosh went to his home to collect some notes, then journeyed through caverns beneath the island where there lay an army of Yuan-ti cast in amber. Nasir went to a magic shop, Boris’, to collect spell components. Once they all met in the caldera, the trio began setting up their ritual. They placed a lightning rod at three peaks around the rough edge of the caldera. All the rest of the populace of Palecrest, an elven conclave called the Takari, filed in and began chanting. Coratosh took up a position at the center of the caldera in front of a massive tree.
The Sundered Heartwood Tree
When everything was in motion, Coratosh raised his sword aloft. Lightning crashed down to the rods, then bolted to the sword where it was absorbed. Then Coratosh dropped the sword. From his expression it was clear this was not part of the ritual, but it was too late. Several things happened then. The sword clattered to the ground. The lightning redirected into the tree, sundering it from root to canopy. A wave of some magical force emanated out from the sundering, petrifying all the Takari in the caldera. Except Coratosh, who was held in place by roots that wrapped around him as a rift opened to another plane and an Elder Tempest tore out into our world.
Knowing what had happened, we then checked the state of our timekeeping bones and realized we were running dangerously short. It was a long way back to Palecrest. We ran. As we drew within sight of the city, sluglike things started emerging out of rents in reality (much like those I’d seen at the smithy) and falling around us. As we reached the gates of the city, we heard something massive moving through the woods behind us. We met resistance in the streets from monsters, but barely slowed down. It was a good thing too, because as we passed the initial courtyard, and utterly gargantuan beast burst through the gateway behind us as if it offered no resistance.
Out of character:
Friends, this was an Astral Dreadnought and seeing it chasing us had exactly the effect you’d expect.
We ran. Dodging monsters left and right, losing ground to the behemoth behind us. Using magic only seemed to increase the instability of the world, so we used it sparingly. We had some close calls, but ultimately we made it to the platform on the tower bridge just in the nick of time and were whisked back to the present.
Our partnership with Jorland ended immediately. He left for his camp and Sylcaryn swore vile oaths should his path cross ours again. We took shelter for the night in a nearby house and planned for morning. In the past we’d visited two notable locations besides the caldera. First was Boris’ magic shop. Given that everyone had been petrified, it would likely still contain a wealth of valuable items. Second was Variks’ smithy. Sylcaryn believed that in order to complete the Wildmother’s task for Cail, we’d need to complete Coratosh’s ritual. If we could find some lightning rods at the smithy, those would help.
Beladindo’s Boys
In the morning we made for the magic shop. We were surprised to find it in almost perfect repair. We entered and could never have prepared for what we found. On the ceiling inside was a jade sculpture of a dragon, and as we entered it came to life. Loudly and with a heavy affect, it greeted us and introduced itself as Beladindo (heavy emphasis on the “i”, the “o” dragged out as if prompting for a response), the attendant of this shop. It announced that the shop’s owner, Boris, was away but that it could assist us perusing the store. We asked for a rundown of what was available and got a comprehensive list.
While the others distracted Beladindo (and/or remained enthralled by its antics… more the latter if I’m being honest), Mitro subtly turned me invisible. This caught me by surprise, and it opened up a world of opportunity. I broke out the trusty thieves tools and snuck into the back rooms where I discovered a ledger. Curiosity getting the better of me, I added a transaction to the ledger. Doros had “paid” for some breathing beans. From the other room I heard a gasp of delight from Beladindo, followed by it gaily congratulating Doros on his purchase. I tested the waters further. One of the items in the store was a Stingray Dagger which would poison those it struck. I added another transaction indicating I’d purchased it, and once again heard congratulatory wheedling from the main room.
At this point, I decided to clean the place out. Taking several minutes, I assigned the majority of the valuable items to one party member or another. Followed by peals of excited calls from Beladindo (“Booris! Booriiiiiiis! Such a profit! Booooriiiiiis!”), we left the shop. Next up was the smithy.
Next: The Caverns of Visa Isle