Third Tenday of Haya-Akirune

Day 21 - Ichidi 

After a hearty breakfast and short shopping trip the valiant party leave Fisher's Rest by boat, ably rowed by Thradal and Lanvor, with Oskar up front and Talisin near the back, manning the rudder is a somewhat overhung and not particularly keen Rainer Alder, but a promise is a promise.

Rowing away from Fishers Rest the group again noticed how glassy and mirror-like that lake was and how silent, Rainier explained Mizkagi means, in the old language, Mirror Lake and it has always been as such.

There was disquieting moment when the party noticed that as they rowed away from shore the visible distance started to look odd, as thought the shoreline could not decide just how far away it was. They decided to continue into the fog, which as they were closer now they could all observe the purple-yellow pulsing that emanated from within; although they could all feel it mor that actually see it.

One into wall of fog they noticed that it did not feel or act like normal fog, it was not chilled nor did it leave a dampness on skin or clothing. The feeling of passing through into somewhere different was apparent in all of the members of the group.

Upon feeling bumping on the bottom of the boat a very nervous Rainer started babbling about some of the fish in the lake were called 'Stupid Fish' as they would constant bump themselves upon the bottom of the fishing boats, and how much he, his father, and his father's father, would fish on the lake many many years ago.

The group tried fishing to pass the time as they were travelling though the fog and almost caught a fish but it manged to break free.

They suddenly heard some noises in the fog , which sounded like a ship and then broke though into a eye of clarity in the fog, not unlike the eye of a storm. They were all flabbergasted to see a huge sailing ship half-destroyed, around 75 feet front of them. It had been torn asunder by multiple different forces; so much so that it appeared to only be afloat by some miracle. Figures could be seen on board, tall humanoid, but somehow...different.

Communication as eventually established, first by one of the crew imitating what was said to him and then quickly being able to speak clearly in the common togue.

He introduced himself as Veyr-of-the-Last-Rope, captain of The Ninth Wake.

The ship’s crew (only 4 left out of a complement of 95 souls) are Coral-Boned Mariners from somewhere beyond Errae.

They are not undead.
They are not human.

The party are near The Ninth Wake, speaking with Veyr and the Coral-Boned Mariners, when the fog above begins to move.

Not wind.

Wings.

The attackers are:

Mourning Skreels

They are four-winged black-grey bat-like predators from the Coral-Boned Mariners’ realm.

They have:

• four leathery wings

• sharp teeth

• claws at the tips of their wings

• hooked talons

• black-grey wet hide

• skeletal ridges

• shrieking voices

Note

At first you think the rigging is creaking. Then the sound multiplies. A dry, rapid clicking from somewhere above the torn sails.

One of the coral-boned mariners looks up sharply. Another reaches for a hooked blade.

Veyr hisses through blue-lit teeth: “Down. Down now.”

Something drops out of the fog.

It is bat-like, but wrong — all wet membrane, hooked limbs, coral-white bone ridges and a long skull split by a mouth full of needle teeth. Four wings shudder from its body, each ending in a curved black claw.

Then another shape falls beside it.
And another.

The mist above the Ninth Wake is full of them.

Battle ensues and the Skreels are defeated although one member on The Ninth Wake crew is killed. Fighting on the rowboat is tough and Lanvor ends up on the water, but is still able to cast a magic Missile spell while clinging to the boat.

It is noticed that when a spell hits one of these creatures there is a chance that the differing realm energies coalesces and cause more damage to the creature.

As they party and the crew of The Ninth Wake draw breath after the battle a much larger movement can both seen, heard, and felt in the mist. Approaching on a glide path to the ship and the rowboat is a much larger Alpha Skreel, some 5 or 6 times the size of the other bat like creatures...

It was a long battle but very successful as the Huge Alpha Skreel disappears in an eldritch blue glow when Oskar's axe finds it's true home. Unfortunately, as told by Captain Veyr when the party clamours aboard the Ninth Wake, the creature is not dead and will return. Only a devastating blow can destroy the creature utterly; at least in their home realm, here, he says, who knows?

The team discuss the island with Veyr and find that it does not belon g to the world of Errae or the corral bound seaman's world either, but it is someplace else entirely, so the party must be careful. Veyr further explains that his crew has been so reduced that he now has no way to complete his mission to close the rift and asks if the group would undertake this onerous task, they have an item, which must be used by a magic user, that will help in the rift's closing and he is will to pass it on. He warns, though, that the item is dangerous, possibly the work of experimental magic users from his realm, and this coupled with the differences in magical frequencies between the two realms may cause unexpected results when used.

The group agree and Lanvor volunteers to take and attune to the item.

The Lantern of Closure.

A rare and Wonderous item, given to the party by the remaining Coral-Boned Mariners who crew the Asseelia battle ship 'The Ninth Wake'

Lantern of Closure
Rare wondrous item, requires attunement

• Senses rifts/soft places within 300 ft once per dawn.

• Grants advantage to allies within 15 ft against magical mist, disorientation, or planar misdirection.

• Has up to 3 charges / day

• Spend 1 charge to attempt to close a rift within 60 ft.

• Rifts require a DC 15 Wisdom ability check (CHARISMA)

• Failed closure deals 2d6 force damage.

• Regains 1d3 charges at dawn.

• Emergency use: spend all charges to physically seal a passage behind the party.

• Healing: Can heal up to 6 characters, 4d6 HP per day . The character must stare into the inner glow of the lantern for 1 minute. DC10 Wisdom check to succeed but on a 2, 3, or 4 the lantern causes 2d6 psychic damage. On a critical fail (1) the character permanently loses 1 point of Strength or Constitution or Dexterity (1d3 to decide which)

Words of Command (Any Language)

Retract - To close a rift

Heal - To Use the healing Power

Seal - To seal passage (must have floor, ceiling, and two walls)

Oskar offers the sailors a bottle of his whisky, which the take and try and enjoy. It is as happy parting and when the group are back on their boat the Ninth Wake sails of disapearing in a blue glow.

Soon they are on the approach to an island that is far far bigger than any island should be that belongs in Lake Miskagi, the group are in no doubt now that they are somewhere else entirely.

Rainer Alder beaches the boat on the nearest beach and promises to return on Godi the 25th day of the month, wishes the group well and hurredly rows back to Fishers Rest.

Lanvor and Thradal head in land to find a camping spot while Talisin decided to try to fish for the groups dinner, Oskar stays to watch. As luck would have it Talisin catches a large fish and they walk to join the others.

While walking to camp Lanvor and Thradal notice a heavy thumping sound coming from the east but as it is not close they continue on a find a good camping spot. Oskar, Talisin, an fat big fish john them soon after, and also hear the unusual notice.

After a nice dinner of fish they settle down to sleep and are left undisturbed.

Day 22 - Nidi

Day 1 on the island

During Thradal's watch he hears the thumping and cracking noises again, somewhat closer and he goes to investigate.

About a mile away from the camp on the other side of a large group of trees he sees two large creatures moving to the North, to Thradal's eyes they look like gigantic, and dangerous, lizards and move with a ponderous gait - he watches as they move further from his position.

Allosaurus, and there are two of them...

Deciding that the party are safe for now he returns and tells them what he has saw...

The party decides to stay at camp for the remained of their rest time and then have breakfast before moving out.

Following Thradal's directions they find their way though the trees and eventually spot the Allosauruses about 2 miles East of their position. While deciding what to do they Dinosaurs' decide for them and start charging the groups position.

The three of then climb trees, eventually, and when the creatures are in range they blast them with magic spells and crossbow bolts, killing one outright - Thradal getting a critical hit. The other creature flees and manages to escape but the party follow, quickly engage with it and kill it outright.

After the battel Lanvor communicated with his lantern to try to find in which direction they should travel to the portal. He feels drawn to the mountainous North of the island.

They find a large thoroughfare, possibly an old road or wide track, heading north through the middle of the trees and follow it to a lone hill, with the plan to climb the hill to get a better vantage point of the island. The track disappears into the trees near the foot of the lone hill and the party can hear loud buzzing sounds from behind the curtain of branches.

Oskar investigates and unfortunately trips over and bashed up against a tree which has, in its higher branches, a large wasps nest.

The wasps attack and Oskar retreats to where the rest of the team are, and they all attack.

It is a fight against a swarm so is both frustrating an confusing for the group, they defeat the swarm but not without a blue-on-blue hit from Oskar's axe to Lanvor, and then a fireball from Lanvor to Oskar, luckily that damage was minimal although the wasps were able to cause some damage to the party.

They were then attacked by a giant wasp which was defeated with no real issues.

They decided then to fireball the wasp's nest and, when burning, it disgorged its contents on the forest floor. Most of the items were a charred mess, including the body of a cocooned 3 1/2 foot tall humanoid, burned beyond all recognition and looting. Thradal did find a slightly charred wand of unknown use and provenance.

At this point they decide to sit down, rest, and have some lunch.

Deciding to continue their trek to the top of the nearest hill and get a decent view of the island, the party left soon after lunch and were soon following a well-defined path to the top.

On the path they soon started to see evidence of recent passage by others, and also started to find evidence of machinery, in the shape of small broken cogs and other mechanical detritus.

More footprints and drag marks were found as the climb progressed.

From the summit they party found they could see a great deal of the island, including a wiry bat-like creature flying in figure-of-eight patterns around 2 - 3 miles to the North

Their attention at the summit, though, was quickly drawn to a device of strange construction. They soon discovered it was a make-it-look-closer device that had been built (or stolen) by goblins who were now nowhere to be seen, the device required rebuilding and instructions for doing so were soon found.

After a fair bit of 'Engineering' the party soon managed to get the device working, although they found that it rapidly heated up, started smelling like burnt oil, and made an increasingly alarming ticking noise from it's internals.

However they could use the device to make things look closer and they were able to see:

The location of a great power funnel in the mountains to the North.
The location of frog-like humanoid creatures to the East.

The machine started to act like it was about to blow up, but a couple of hard smacks by Thradal seems to clam it down a little.

It then also revealed:

The location of a sea-cave mouth and giant headless statue on the coast to the South East.
The location of some dog-like humanoids to the North West.

The machine then started to rattle and smoke uncontrollably and Thradal decided at this point to pull the big red lever marked as "DO NOT PULL".

Several things then happened:

The machine went suddenly quite,
Every bell and whistle on the machine started blaring,
The machine fired off a massive Green Flare
A voice from the machine shouted, in a really really loud voice, "SURVEY COMPLETE! BIG CLEVER GOBLINS HERE!"
The machine folded up and collapsed, giving off a terrible burning smell and a lot of smoke and heat.

They party could see the noise had attracted the bat-like creature, which turned out to the the Alpha Skreel, and there were howling noises from the trees below the hill, where they ran for cover.

In a small clearing the party are attacked by the Alpha Skreel and some wolf-like creatures, they dispatched the almost-wolves and then fought a valiant fight with the Alpha Skreel from under the protection of the trees.

The Skreel was again vanquished and disappeared in a flash of purple light.

The party then trudged back up the hill past the make-it-closer-device which was nothing more now that a heap of molten metal in the grass. They continued down the other side and discovered some dead, very dead, goblins.

They moved North through the trees to find a camping spot away from the dead bodies, did so and made camp for the night.

During Lanvor's watch there were some spectacular, but silent, lightning flashed and on drawing out the lantern, he was made to feel that there was a connection between the power of the lighting and the power of the lantern. Eventually there was a huge burst of forked lightning which hit the ground behind a hill some miles to the North, then the lightning ceased.

Day 23 - Sandi 

In the morning they discovered that where the lightning hit the ground, now stood a tower surrounded by magical lights. The bright tower stands out massively from the mundane surrounds of hills and trees.

Working North and West the party notice that there appear to be subtle changes in the island; nothing obvious, but the trees and hill look slightly...different. Soon they come upon a small camp, with one extinguished campfire and a tent.

From the tent they could hear annoyed mutterings that did not make a lot of sense "This is not right, 10 miles? 30 miles? but it was different yesterday..."

They shouted an introduction to the inhabitant how turned out to be a Dragonborn mapmaker called Kava Stormscale.

![[Kava Stormscale.png]]

Kava turns out to be quite the upper class academic from a land called Umska. Whilst on a cartographic expedition she, her tent, and her campfire were all transported to the island two nights ago and she has no idea how she is going to get back to her expedition, her students, her bottle of brandy, and eventually home.

She elects to join the party as she is alone and quite frightened (although she would never admit to being so) and hungry; although she cannot fight she does have the skill of healing hands and she is adept at healing disease and poison effects as well.

The party agree to protect her until they can find her a way of getting home. She also admits that she frightened away a small Kobold and is concerned that others may be on the way.

Moving further North the party eventually see a small party of humanoid figures making there way Westward along the ridge of the hills to the North West, they elect to head North East to avoid confrontation.

Close to dusk they eventually hear a noise coming from the trees in front, the noise is of bashing and crashing and bad tempered low mutterings and growls. Lanvor immediately recognises this as the sounds of an Ogre.

The continue carefully making there way North West and see the Huge Ogre climbing the hill to a cave mouth and entering it as darkness falls.

Oskar and Kava elect to make camp while Lanvor (who has cast his night vision spell on himself) and Thradal track the Ogre to it's refuse-strewn cave mouth.

They find a slime encrusted cave and eventually stumble upon the sleeping Ogre 'Bigun', which they fight, and with the help of Oskar who grew concerned, they defeat.

They then proceed to rob his cave finding piles of frog-like skulls and a number of of different things including a necklace and a small porcelain duck which seemed to hold some special place the the now-dead Ogre's heart.

After more stumbling around and, in Oscar's case, actually falling down a crevasse, they return to camp and spend a restful night. Yet again they experience the weird silent lighting, which this time hits the ground 2 miles North of their position.

Day 24 - Yondi

The group decide to investigate where the silent lighting struck north of there current position and eventually find themselves looking at the massive bole of a tree, with a door in it.

They eventually venture inside and find a series of puzzling artifacts, not in the least signs that seem to point to this beings some kind of magical stash with what look like old versions of the OldSun/NewSun emblems on them.

Much fun was had solving the puzzles and some loot was gained by the party...but too much loot and for being 'The Greedy People' they had a bunch of somewhat puzzled looking Goblins attack them. The party quickly dispatched the goblins, and discussed where to go next.

It feels like the longer one stays on this island, the weirder it becomes....

It is now early afternoon.

The group then decide to work their way north, but finding it is dark and late they decide to rest.

Day 25 - Godi

After a restful sleep they climb their way to the west edge of a giant caldera, in the middle of which is the rift.

Climb down...enter cave.

In cave first 2 chambers, return to camp for long rest.

Day 26 - Rokdi

The Swamp That Wasn't Quite Right

Having escaped the strange and dangerous confines of Mistcutter Isle through the rift, Oskar, Lanvor and Thradal found themselves travelling through an unfamiliar stretch of marshland.

From the mountainside, the landscape had appeared almost beautiful. Down amongst the reeds and stagnant pools, however, it was an altogether different experience.

The air was oppressive, unnaturally warm for the autumn season, and thick with the unpleasant smells of the swamp. Worse still, magic permeated the entire area.

Lanvor's attempts to investigate revealed little beyond the presence of powerful but apparently benign enchantments.

Never one to pass up an opportunity for a grand declaration, the sorcerer stood tall and addressed the surrounding wilderness.

He announced himself as Lanvor Firemite, a Draconic Sorcerer, come to bring peace to Errae. He assured any unseen magic users that he and his companions meant no harm, and invited them to reveal themselves.

The swamp remained resolutely unimpressed.

His companions, thoroughly accustomed to Lanvor's speeches, suggested they continue walking.

Three Monsters in the Marsh

Their progress was interrupted by a terrible noise from somewhere ahead.

Three enormous creatures emerged from the reeds, each towering several times the height of a man. Their massive bodies appeared part crocodile, part something altogether more unnatural. Green ichor dripped from their jaws, vanishing before it reached the ground.

They were monstrous, menacing, and unmistakably interested in the three adventurers.

As the creatures began lumbering towards them, the party considered its options.

Oskar, displaying the particular brand of courage for which dwarves are rightly famous, announced his intention to charge the nearest monster at full speed and smash into it with his shield.

A brief discussion followed concerning the actual size of the creatures.

Upon discovering that his intended opponent was not merely a particularly large dog but an enormous beast towering over him, Oskar reconsidered.

Perhaps, he suggested, they should back away and demonstrate that they meant no harm.

It was an admirable example of tactical flexibility.

Diplomacy, Ducks and Other Desperate Measures

The adventurers began experimenting with different approaches.

Lanvor suspected that the creatures might be magical guardians, possibly controlled by someone protecting the region. Rather than attack, he called out to their unseen masters, explaining that the party were themselves magic users and had no hostile intentions.

Thradal, meanwhile, searched through his belongings for something useful.

Amongst the objects produced was the Ceramic Duck of Ordinariness, a curious possession that seemed unlikely to impress three enormous swamp predators.

It didn't.

A skull was also presented, with equally disappointing results.

The creatures reacted aggressively whenever weapons were raised or displayed, but became less threatening when the party laid their weapons down.

This suggested that their behaviour was responding directly to the adventurers' intentions.

Lanvor attempted another diplomatic gesture, using Minor Illusion to conjure a miniature version of one of the creatures, hoping that the appearance of a harmless youngster might establish some connection.

The guardians paid it absolutely no attention.

Eventually, the party adopted a simpler approach.

With weapons put away and hands raised, they walked towards the creatures, refusing to show aggression despite their increasingly threatening behaviour.

The guardians came closer.

Twenty feet.

Ten feet.

Five feet.

Then, as the enormous creatures entered the adventurers' personal space, they simply vanished.

No battle. No bloodshed. No triumphant charge from Oskar's shield.

Just three adventurers standing in a swamp, considerably wiser than they had been a few minutes earlier.

A Changing Landscape

The oppressive heat began to lift.

Although the peculiar magical presence remained, the swamp gradually became more pleasant. The air cooled, birdsong returned, and the ground seemed less hostile.

After searching the area for signs of whoever might have summoned the creatures, the party found nothing.

They stopped for provisions beside a pool of water, discussing the unusual nature of their surroundings.

Lanvor remained convinced that much of what they were experiencing was illusory.

Thradal wondered whether the changing landscape signified that they were drawing closer to the source of the magic.

Whatever the explanation, the adventurers pressed onwards.

And soon discovered that the swamp had considerably more to offer.

The Giants Amongst the Trees

Ahead stood a large gathering of trees.

From behind them rose two colossal figures, each perhaps fifty or sixty feet tall.

These were not merely larger versions of the earlier creatures. They were towering, stag-like monstrosities, their bodies seemingly formed from twisted roots, shadow and pale fungus. Great branching antlers crowned their heads, while their almost featureless faces bore narrow slits of golden light.

They moved through the trees as though the solid trunks offered little resistance.

The earth trembled beneath their steps.

Having learned something from their previous encounter, the adventurers resisted the temptation to attack.

Lanvor again proclaimed their peaceful intentions, explaining that they understood the need to protect the region and particularly those magical children who might be sheltered nearby.

Oskar kept his weapons away and approached with his hands raised.

Thradal, apparently possessed of an impressive disregard for his continued existence, advanced steadily towards one of the giants.

As the creatures bore down upon them, even the party's courage began to falter.

But Thradal held his nerve.

The enormous figure continued its approach until it entered his personal space.

And then, just as before, it disappeared.

The second guardian vanished with it.

Thradal turned towards his companions.

"Cowards."

It was, under the circumstances, difficult to argue with him.

The Village That Appeared from Nowhere

With the final guardians gone, the air shimmered.

Before the astonished adventurers, an entire village emerged from concealment.

Behind an enormous wooden palisade stood a settlement unlike anything they had encountered in their travels.

Its houses were giant mushrooms, some small, others surprisingly substantial, with an almost storybook quality to their appearance.

The place seemed impossibly cheerful after the horrors of the surrounding swamp.

Then came a voice.

Friendly, bright and unmistakably amused, it expressed disappointment that the illusions had failed to frighten the visitors away.

A small gnomish figure appeared before them.

Rivali the Tinkerer, leader of Bumbleweed Township, welcomed the party with considerable enthusiasm.

He was a curious little fellow, festooned with belts holding an extraordinary assortment of tools. A pipe occupied one hand, a screwdriver the other, and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

Here was a gnome who clearly enjoyed making things, regardless of whether those things would necessarily work.

Rivali explained that the creatures were protective illusions, designed to discourage goblins, orcs and other unwelcome visitors.

Those who approached without violence would find them harmless.

Those who attacked, however, would discover that the illusions could bite.

It was a remarkably effective defence.

Rivali welcomed the adventurers as friends, though with a cheerful warning that his creations would be considerably less accommodating should their intentions prove dishonourable.

Then, with a mischievous grin, he invited them into the village, suggesting there were things he could show them and work they might undertake to prove their friendship.

The Power Beneath the Mushrooms

The gates opened, revealing a peaceful community enclosed within a formidable oak palisade.

Gnomes went about their business amongst the colourful mushroom dwellings, while Rivali proudly conducted his new guests through the settlement.

Everything about Bumbleweed seemed whimsical, friendly and almost absurdly charming.

But the adventurers could feel something else.

Power.

An extraordinary magical presence surrounded the settlement. It was not dark or malevolent. Quite the opposite: there was something gentle, almost comforting, about it.

Yet its strength was unmistakable.

It reminded the adventurers of the great concentrations of magic they had encountered before, particularly the strange underground places of power from their earlier travels.

Rivali himself seemed to radiate that same energy, calling to mind the connection to power they had previously sensed in Biarn.

Behind the little gnome's joyful eyes and eccentric appearance lay something profoundly formidable.

He led them towards the central building, which served as his workshop, meeting place and home.

And there, in the heart of a village that looked as though it belonged in a children's fairy tale, the adventurers found themselves confronted by a new mystery.

What was the source of this immense magical power?

Why was such a peaceful settlement protected by guardians capable of inflicting terrible harm?

And what, exactly, did Rivali the Tinkerer intend to ask of his unexpected guests?

For now, the adventurers had earned their welcome.

Their adventures in Bumbleweed Township were only beginning.

Day 27 - Nadi

Day 28 - Hachidi

Day 29 - Kudi

Day 30 - Judi (The Orin day of rest)**