Session Report 61 - A Foray Into The Isles of Ruin
General Summary
"Slightly less abominations to life than expected, but there's plenty of room to fix that."
-Nora
Phoenix Outpost
Sailing past the rubble surrounding the Temple of The Ages, The Drifters see on the horizon The Isles of Ruin. On one of the nearest isles to them, they see a strange sight - a camp of 20 or so individuals wearing Harpish regaila but dyed black and orange, and wearing overly large hats. A few members of the camp wave a flag towards the ship, beckoning The Drifters towards the isle. The pirates are cautious, but nonetheless approach on Rowboat. One of the "soldiers" introduces himself as Roger, and challenges any of the group to single combat with Albert - another one of these "soldiers". He explains that they are members of the Phoenix Guard, and they're trying to make sure nobody who can't handle the Isles of Ruin can go in. Upon the mention of single combat, the crew fetches Ouchie, who proceeds to trounce Albert. Roger admits the crew isn't incompotent, and wishes them god luck "by her grace!". When asked, he explains he serves the Phoenix Maiden. The group has no further questions, and departs, agreeing that those folks were rather strange, but preferable to eldritch monstrosities.Isle of The Alter
The next isle is a rocky cliff, jutting out of the sea. Around it wraps a crumbling set of stone stairs, leading to a henge made of stones and an ominous alter in the centre, which is stained black and red, and has the skeleton of a humanoid resting atop it. The skeleton clutches a journal, which has had all its pages ripped out. Written in a language archaic yet vaguely arcane, which Locke is able to decipher, is a message on each of the henges.Upon here is my birthrightLocke detects some foul magic about the henges and the alter. Laire touches the alter, and while it feels unsettling, it does not bring him harm or curses. After much consideration, the party elects to have Gunther touch the skeletal remains. As soon as his fingers touch the journal, the skeleton jumps to life, grasping for his neck - but it turns to dust before anybody has a chance to react. Despite it not having pages, it was trying to protect the journal.
To cast away a life of blight
Trust in Its blessing
Trust not in my musing
The group decides to push the henges over and destroy them. Most of the work is done by Grov and Gunther, though everybody contributes as much as they can. The fall of each henge leaves an increasingly awful feeling, but Laire starts playing some tonally dissonant music, which calms everybody's nerves despite the fact that the island itself is clearly beginning to act aggressively as each henge it toppled. The group high tails it as the last henge topples, deciding not to find out if the isle has any ways to get revenge.
Isle of Unseen Threats
Sorrow's Bridge now lies within sight. The Drifters stop at one more isle before they head to the bridge. This one contains a field, a small forest, and some ruins of the Ancients. A still lake rests in the centre of the isle. Venturing through the field towards the lake, the group notices a chest at its bottom. Those who touch the water of the lake are struck with a supernatural fatigue, but some have the will to resist. Nonetheless, the group agrees to let Gunther dive down and grab the chest. After doing so, mostly resisting the fatigue, he is assailed by an unseen adversary. The group springs into action, and Grov dives in to save him - in doing so becoming incredibly fatigued. The group works to retrieve the two from the water while Gunther attacks his adversary, seemingly destroying it for a time. But another unseen entity approaches Locke from behind, attacking him with thin but deep cuts made with invicible strings, presumably as sharp as piano string. Ramone punches back against this adversary, launching powerful radiant magics at it, but Locke is still seriously injured. Laire moves to heal. The group wrestles desperately with the invisible foe, taking several injuries in the process and burning through a few spells. Ramone is by far the most effective against the foe, summoning forth a beam of light upon the creature's location to hurt it and make it visible. Eventually the foe fades, escaping the isle with the contents of the chest - a potion which grants resistance to necrosis.Gambling and The Traveller
After the long day, the group kicks back and decides to gamble, since Finny wanted to do just that. The group sits down for some liar's dice (see Dice & Card Games). The game is going smoothly when, from the blue, a cloaked creature with a long neck sits down at the table and rolls the dice as well.
Report Date
02 Sep 2023
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