Episode 06: Maiden Flight

3 months after the events on Norvaron...

  Montage   Phaze
Phaze goes to train at the Thellos Mageocracy for several months. During this time, He discovers a Treatise by the Archmage Verrin who has researched the Celestial Paths and includes the spell Detect the Celestial Paths. He has not discovered the follow up spell to open the paths, as it was damaged in the copy of the Treatise he discovered.     Myst Behaven
Myst Behaven goes to work with the Assassins guild, performing 3 assassinations, in exchange for a book given to her by the Guildmaster. It documents the voyage of a ship by its navigator, in which they land on an isle far spinward where 'Dark Skin Elves' were encountered. The book gives directions from the dock where the ship departed, on Baramore.   Katherine
Katherine visits her dragon several times during the downtime, and travels with Myst to do some quests while she is not killing people.   Jedrek
Jedrek is supervising the building of the new lords estate, on the grounds of the destroyed Madrarin house, but quickly realizes he is going to run out of money without draining all of House Verrin's funds. He will need to find a good supply of gold to continue its construction.     Windrunner
The BEG Skiff Windrunner is almost ready for launch.   Jedrek brings the party to see the vessel, which is still moored in its Shipward. They board the vessel, walk around it to see its structure, and admire its construction. Picking hammocks may be included.   Naming Ceremony
Two days later, the Windrunner is formally named in a naming ceremony attended by a large group of Merchant Lords, and hosted by BEG officials. The Merchant Lords present the BEG with a figurehead for the prow of the vessel, a well endowed mermaid. The ceremony is followed by a dinner, with dancing and socializing. During the party, Jedrek is approached by Lord Terius Madrarin, the head of House Madrarin. He greets Jedrek as a equal, and amicably discusses trade deals involving Madrarin's fleet utilizing the skydocks. It it obvious that he is pushing to have 2 docks dedicated to his vessels.   Shopping Katherine shops for a Bow that has more punch. She finds a +2 enchanted longbow and pays a lot of money for it, borrowing from Phaze.   Launch
The ship launches with much fanfare, and departs with its crew and its squad to fly to Camsdale, where they have an appointment to see the queen. The trip is expected to take 2d8 (6) days to complete.     Dragon Flight
On the third day of the journey, a small flight of Brass dragons can be seen flying in formation high above the Windrunner. The flight is flying towards the Spire.     Arrival
The Windrunner arrives at Camsdale. From a distance, the isle is covered with a patchwork of fields, forests, and occasional towns. From the Docks, a view of Camsdale proper can be seen, with stone walls and an immense castle at its center. A dockmaster greets them in the name of the Queen and states she will send a page with notification when she is ready to visit. The crew stay with the ship while the group decides to go see the city.   Prophet   *While in the city, they encounter a prophet. He is pronouncing to the crowd. "All should know that soon, the Star of Allanna shall rise. The worthy shall bear it into the heavens, and soon, the void shall spread. The end will appear, but the worthy shall lead us to the promised land, reunited with the Mother." After repeating it two times, guards appear to escort him away.   *The party goes to the Temple of the Gods, where the Prophet has been taken after his pronouncement by the guards. After paying a 5 gold donation, they enter the Temple's Library and can review the prophecies they have collected. They read the exact wording of the new prophecy. Jedrek had a "Cure Disease" spell cast on him, and he no longer itches.   *Myst Behaven shops for a Cloak to protect against Flames and Fire.   *2 days after docking, a page arrives, to inform them of the queens arrival this afternoon. Her retinue arrives, preparing the way for the visit with Queen Valencia. A Herald announces her and she approaches the vessel. She addresses Jedrek, with the group standing behind him. The crew of the vessel is standing at attention behind them. She wishes to see the vessel and the captain offers to escort her and the group around as she inspects it.   *Queen Valencia presents Jedrek with a scroll, containing a course and bearing to go explore an Isle.   Unnamed Isle   Later dubbed the Isle of the Statue   The Windrunner arrives at the Isle 3 days later. It is off of the trade route between Camsdale and Dorwin, but close enough to be spotted on exceptionally clear days. It is a rocky flat Isle, with ruins visible from the air.   Ruins   The party arrives at the ruins. They are of pre-sundering construction, made of smoothly worked stone which seems to flow. There are well preserved wooden doors and some furniture, but most of the buildings house only crumbled remains.   Statue   In the center of a square, there is a large statue, standing with on hand outstretched. In its hand it holds a cleverly carved fire that seems to move. In the other hand, pointed towards the ground, is a finely carved sword. At first it appears to be made of the same stone as the statue, but on closer examination, it appears to be a normal sword, coated with a thick layer of white dust.   On close examination, if touched, the sword seems to fall into the hand of the examiner. However, if a perception DC 20 is passed, it becomes clear that the stone hand of the statue let the sword go.  

Dusty Sword
1d8+4 Damage
+2 to Attack

Unidentified  

    Runes on the base of the statue translate as "The Mother".   Shadow Attack   After the sword is taken, deep shadows around the ruins seem to quiver and move. They take the shape of spiders or serpents, but are made of thickened shadow. They approach the party and attack in 3 waves.  

Shadow Creatures
Giant Shadow Spider x 5 --- CR: 3 700 xp each
Giant Shadow Snake x 2 --- CR: 4 1100 xp each
  Spell Like Abilities
Shadow Creatures have Vampiric touch as a spell-like Ability. They absorb the health of 1/2 the damage they cause.   Vulnerabilities
Shadow Creatures have a vulnerability to Fire - x2 damage
 
  Total XP : 5700