The Haunted Island | by Leah D

General Summary

The group sailed through the night on their way to Augh-Chass, the haunted island, under the direction of the Adé of the Guardians. They arrived just as the sun started to peer over the horizon. They worked together to pull the outrigger canoe safely onto the beach. Teju and the other three shapeshifters remained behind on the boat, afraid to taunt the demons which they believed inhabited the island with their presence. Shanna also remained on the boat, too seasick to stand, with her faithful manservant Barlo.
Brute, Cooper, Dorian, and Tala traveled inland through the forest toward the abandoned city of Ces. As they got closer, they noticed strange humanoid beings of light walking through the crumbling, empty buildings. Upon further observation, the group noticed that the beings walked in predictable patterns, as if the beings were standing sentry, guarding something. Brute tossed a rock as a distraction but overcommitted to the throw. The group watched as one of the buildings crumbled in the distance, attracting the attention of several light beings, which glanced about for a few seconds before resuming their sentry patterns. Cooper hung back and investigated the path after one of the beings had passed by and discovered that the beings left no tracks or sign that they were ever there.
As they snuck across town, Brute and Tala walked a little too close to one of the beings and was discovered. They defeated the being easily, as well as its two reinforcements, and managed to escape the area before the beings finished reconstituting. The group decided to run for it, heading for a mysteriously hi-tech door on the other side of the city. Brute led the way, by far the fastest, leading a trail of his companions and irate light beings.
They reached the door, the light beings only a few hundred feet behind. Tala managed to figure out the door mechanism and unlock it. The group ducked inside the dark cave and the door shut behind them, leaving the light beings outside.
Brute and the others sorted through their packs for glowglobes and torches to light the way and proceeded along the stone passage. As they walked, they noticed the walls were intricately carved. The only images they could decipher were of nine female figures with crowns and what appeared to be a map of an island. They studied the map, which looked strangely familiar. After a few moments they realized that the map depicted Raskel Cays from long ago, back when it was a single volcanic island. Cooper used dirt from the cave floor to shade in the islands of Raskel as they knew it, and they discovered that the remaining two stations were on Angmorl and Omaris. Tala explained these deductions to Brute, who nodded and didn’t seem too interested.
They continued down the passage to find a set of stairs and an open room with a single glowing figure standing next to a button. They spoke to the being, who identified himself and the other light beings as holograms, servants of the nine princesses. As they continued to talk, he revealed the history of the island: how the princesses made a pact to rule together in unity instead of fighting for the top position, how they built the Temple of the One in the volcano’s crater and the three stations to power it, how an object fell from the sky and started a massive volcanic eruption which destroyed nearly all structures on the island and rewrote the island’s geography. He described how the seawater formed a whirlpool as it poured into the newly emptied magma chambers, heating up deep underground and releasing from the ocean floor as superheated steam, forming the dense fog layer around the archipelago. He also told them how the princesses gathered the survivors together but could not agree on how best to rule them, so the survivors split into nine different groups, each one ruled by one of the princesses.
The group thanked him for his help and proceeded up the narrow stairway, Brute walking sideways with his pack in his hand in order to fit. They ended up in the destroyed power station and set about to make camp, as it was now dark. They discovered an old chest in the corner with some cyphers and used one of them to press the button by the hologram without being noticed.
That night, Cooper left, leaving behind his hat and a note describing his work with the Gardeners, a group dedicated to the “pruning” and growth of the ruling class. The others looked about but could find no sign of him. There was nothing for it but to break camp and head back to the beach. As they walked along the cliff, they noticed that the holograms had begun milling about aimlessly instead of walking in patterns as before.
Meanwhile, Teju and her companions had been having a grand time playing and fishing and sleeping on the boat. As it began to grow dark, she grew concerned that the rest of the group had been killed, and she resolved to depart for home in the morning if they didn’t show up. Fortunately they did.
A few minutes before, Tess had shown up on the beach of Augh-Chass beside the group’s outrigger canoe, having sailed from Darnali after an involuntary excursion through time. She greeted Teju and the shapeshifters, who were wary of her at first, despite her reassurances that she meant no harm. But they grew to trust her and included her in their games. Once the rest of the group walked through the trees toward the beach, Tess ran toward them and greeted her grand-niece Tala.
The group gathered on the beach and talked about their next step. Most of the group agreed to head to the next station on Angmorl south of the Rysors. Teju and Tess decided to return to Darnali, Teju to give her mother the queen an update and Tess to do some additional research. Shanna decided to go inside the cabin to prepare for another long bout of seasickness.

Report Date

01 Mar 2021