Session 38 - So Many Skulls

General Summary

6 Lamashan (Oct), 4720 The water had barely retreated when Mayor/High Priest of Erastil Maelin Shreed hired the Saviors of Sandpoint to investigate the Skull's Crossing dam. It was an ancient structure, existing long before Turtleback Ferry had been settled. However, in the past, when storms threatened to spill over the dam, the structure’s floodgates opened automatically to release water pressure in a controlled flow. No one in Turtleback Ferry knew exactly how the mechanism for opening the floodgates worked, as Skull’s Crossing had long been the den of a tribe of trolls known as the Skulltakers. Yet as long as anyone can remember, the floodgates hade functioned without fault. If the floodgates were malfunctioning, Mayor Shreed would pay the Saviors of Sandpoint to find out what the issue was. Joined by Dilay and Kadrus Shieldwalker, the Saviors of Sandpoint headed out to Skull's Crossing. A few hours into their travel, as they approached the intersection that led to Fort Rannick, Kumiko and Mite noticed a thin wisp of smoke coming from the direction of Fort Rannick. Kumiko send her familiar Cloud to fly to Fort Rannick and investigate the source of the smoke. An hour later, Cloud returned and reported that the Order of the Black Arrows rangers Jakadros and Vale had recovered the escaped Kaven and tied him up. Judging from his physical condition, they were none too gentle with Kaven's apprehension. Dilay felt guilty for what had happened to Kaven. She believed that, as Lucrecia, she was to blame for twisting and manipulating him. Dilay offered to go to Fort Rannick to speak to the rangers and make them understand the situation. If the gods smiled on her, perhaps she could talk them into helping the group at Skull's Crossing. At Skull's Crossing, the party could see a damaged section on the eastern section of the dam where Black Magga had washed through. After fighting their way past an ettin guard, Kadrus detected an attempt to scry on him. Once they reached the top of the dam, the heroes found several ogres attempting to smash the dam with giant clubs. Gallious produced Zombie Jaagrath, prompting one of the exhausted ogres to recognize their "father" and fled in panic. The rest stayed and fought, but being as exhausted as they were there wasn't much of a fight. In the midst of combat, Cloud was scanning the battlefield. He turned back to where Kadrus has positioned himself and saw an elf step out of the cave they had emerged from to reach the top of the van. Kadrus didn't see him cast his spell, but a portal opened beneath him and tentacles dragged him into it. Kadrus managed to turn around and see the caster. He cried out "Lord Villastir!" before disappearing. Cloud alerted Kumiko, who turned and cast a spell on the elf. But as the ice spear struck him, a contingency spell teleported the elf away. Once the ogres had been dealt with, the heroes caught a glimpse of the ogre that had fled... about three hundred feet down the side of Skull's Crossing. Inside the dam, the Saviors of Sandpoint faced off against Skulltaker trolls and put them down. Delving further into the lair, they discovered stairs leading deeper into the dam. Graffiti, written nearby by the trolls in Giant, read: “BELOW DWELLS WET PAPA GRAZUUL! ALL HAIL WET PAPA GRAZUUL!” Curious as to what a "Wet Papa Grazuul" was, the Saviors of Sandpoint made their way deeper within Skull's Crossing.

Rewards Granted

The loot consists of 693 gp; 1,240 sp; a velvet pouch containing six 100 gp pearls
A phylactery of positive channeling
An ivory scroll tube inset with strips of jade (itself worth 300 gp) that contains a scroll of cone of cold, a scroll of hold monster, and a scroll of telekinesis
A Runestone of Power
[1,000 gp] unworked emerald (worth 500 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 25 to repair)
[650 gp] aquamarine
[550 gp] topaz
A bent gold comb that looks like a behir (with its legs comprising the comb’s teeth) with tiny pearls for eyes worth 850 gp
A pair of lacy pink gloves of swimming and climbing