Chapter 15 - Voyage of Aklin

General Summary

In the hallway of Grechabod factory, Gilliam resorted to scouting ahead and found a dwarven statue. He attempted to hide in a crate, but he was spotted. The duergar began their assault on the party, with Wulfric getting into a rage. Slytoff shot off a lightning bolt, which killed both a duergar and a duergar hammerer in one shot. After the quick scrap, Wulfric, still in a rage, charged toward the next room while the rest of the Southern Stars tried to trail behind.
Slamming through the door, Wulfric saw Lady Qenlynn Millerstone and her associates working on a soul generator to power a clay golem. Wulfric charged and tried to kill her, but she teleported away before he could attack her. Instead, the party was left facing the Clay Golem. To their terror, whenever the golem hit them, the magic tugged at their souls. Hwoever, Gilliam and Tequila eventually took a risk and decided to shut off the generator. The risk paid off, with the Clay Golem shutting down and collapsing before the party. The party collected their share of soul ash, while Slytoff tried to experiment with a cauldron of souls. Wulfric would end up destroying it.
Outside, the party was greeted by Darunia and Lulachin, thanking them for their assistance. Darunia gifted the party with a cloak, and told them to go on their way. The party thus used their Spheres of Return to go back to Cemedri Magicus. The next morning they were thanked by Imin Aldir for their help, however he was uncertain about the party siding with the Drow. He told them to return within a week for his experiments to be completed with the soul ash. Riley asked how to get to the Dragonscale Mountains, and Imin told him a quick way would be heading down the Silver River to get to Kirkwall. Meanwhile, Gilliam succeeded in attuning to the Beads of the Zodiac. His eyes turned grey, like blindness, but he saw fine. The zodiac object changed him, giving him powers over judgement.
The party thus returned to Miweck, hoping to get licences for sailing, but first they stopped by the Han residence. The Hans referred them to a man named Morander looking for them. Morander snuck up on them, and offered the party a chance to eat dinner. The party accepted and went to the Monastary of St. Gavuk. They had a great meal with Morander and the head of the order, a female dwarf cleric named Oswilda. Oswilda explained to the party the truth of the Lady of the Lake, a female eldritch being called Vivian, or Vanu-Am in Dwarvish lore. They explained that she was the embodiment of choice, and that Riley had become her next champion. They wished to assist the party and offered them a ship to sail down the Silver River.
After gaining their licence, the party headed down the river in hopes of arriving toward Kirkwall. Along their way, they came across the Gate of Aklin. The gatekeepers turned hostile as Gilliam flew toward them, and they shot arrows and daggers to try and sink the party's ship. After Riley creating a large gaping hole of darkness to consume part of the gate, Slytoff shot fireballs toward the faux guards. The ship would sink after more shots, and the battle turned to the water. The Heroes of Southern Star won the battle, and with Riley turning one of the dead guards into a specter, learned that they were actually Black Dragon soldiers. The specter revealed that Lady Qenlynn was heading toward Keller's Coast. Slytoff also retrieved a note off the body of one of the black dragons:

Show spoiler

Instructions: Take control of the Gate of Aklin, the fortification on the Silver River in the Forest of Kirk. Disguise yourselves as Lysandan soldiers and turn away Lysandan ships, but allow passage of the Danen Longships to reach Miweck and Ebenwald.
Be watchful for the nuisances who wear the Sigil of the Southern Star, being called by commonfolk “The Southern Stars” and now the “Heroes of Feller’s Rock”. They are our newfound enemies. Turn them away at any cost, or if they turn hostile, kill them on sight.

-CS

Thus, taking the boats of the fallen Black Dragons, the party voyaged further down the river.

Rewards Granted

Because the party assisted the drow, they were rewarded with a Cloak of Elven Kind by the drow mage Darunia. They also retrieved gold from fallen enemies.

Character(s) interacted with

• Qenlynn Millerstone did not get a word in as Wulfric tried to kill her with his greatsword!

• Darunia, the drow mage matriarch, rewarded the party with a Cloak of Elven Kind for their efforts.

• Imin Aldir was a bit judgemental as ever, but he still thanked the party and is now assisting them in experimenting in soul ash.

• Morander, the Chronicler of Vivian and librarian of Silver Town. He is a man from Chunc.

• Oswilda, a dwarven woman who was a cleric of Vanu-Am. She was well-versed in the mysticism of Vivian.

Date (in world)

May 19th-20th, 5689.

Report Date

01 Apr 2020

Mwangi Male by Nemanja-S

Morander was the Chronicler of Vivian, who revealed to Riley he is the next champion of Vivian and for Lysandus.

Player Characters

Riley Woodhame: Riley Woodhame, human fighter and warlock, is a member of the Hearthstars (an organization based on gathering information under Amagus' teachings). His search for power and knowledge led him to find the Lady of the Lake, giving him an inkling of control over his own fate.

"The Amazing" Slytoff Han: Slytoff Han is a magician! A gnome wizard, he seeks to find funding to create a magic show and has traveled around County Ellis to show off his skills for potential audiences.

Wulfric Cisboren: Wulfric is a human fighter, who hails from Obesfeld, and a former housecarl. He appears to be a man of the north, covered in furs. Recently he has been talking more in a Norden accent, and has been behaving more like the Dwarves of North in his fighting style.

Gilliam Wulfstan Maydestone: Gilliam is an aakocra swashbuckler, as well as an urchin that grew up in the city of Ebenwald. With his skills with the blade, he seeks higher up contracts to fill his pockets.

Tequila "Teq" Cambow: Teq is a cleric of Amagus, devoting his life and services to the god. He was introduced to the party by the local bishop of Silver Town, searching for field experience and for building his faith.