The Island of Storms
General Summary
The sun shown brightly on the beach that afternoon as the group considered here they should sail next. Alastair wanted to go after the pirate Radnyck the Rabble Rouser for the Áde’s bounty. However, Sailyar and Brute voted that they should sail straight for the next Waystation. Shanna was too seasick to have much of a vote. Barlo grudgingly took care of his mistress but inevitably turned up his nose at the smell. In the end, Tala, Dorian, Teju, and the rest who hadn’t gone back to Darnali decided to travel to Gorth’s Secrets off the coast of Angmorl.
The trip was a little unnerving. Brute sensed something moving in the water next to the outrigger canoe but couldn’t identify it. Within minutes, a giant mouth emerged from the ocean only to eat half of a stabilizer! The crew continued, albeit wobbly, to their destination. They tied the canoe to a rock on the shore of Gorth’s Secrets.
To the natives of Angmorl, Gorth’s Secrets had another name: the Island of Storms. The adventurers were unaware of this. But as they passed through a semblance of a road surrounded by high cliffs, they came into a large, barren park inhabited only by three high towers. The superconductive structures created never ending storms. Each member of the group had to dodge quickly to evade the rogue strikes of lightning.
The group reached the foot of the first tower. Roaring braziers, lit by an unseen hand, only contrasted the dimness of the interior. A small gnome-like person, about ten inches tall, slept at the base of one of the braziers. He was disturbed from his slumber by the arrival of the party.
Digby, as the “grounder” from Angmorl was called, had no clue who he himself was, let alone how he came to be sleeping at the base of the tower. He greeted the travelers back grudgingly and follows Brute and the rest inside the Waystation.
The interior was a large cavern-like space. The bones and artifacts of giants littered the floor. The light was dim, making it difficult to see. Sailyar, looking for a way to illuminate the space, accidentally disturbed a group of chance moths. Once they were dealt with, she realized the lichen she has found on the walls gave her fingers a helpful glow. Brute simply took out a glowglobe.
A large door, easily twenty feet tall, stood immovable and closed at the end if the large room. Two other doors, on the left and the right, stood open. When Shanna peered inside, she saw a huge pool of water reaching to nearly the end of the room. Only small ledges on the side kept the group from falling in.
Sailyar decided she needed a swim. With a “cannonball!” she jumped into the water. She immediately began to shrink. When the group finally got her out, she was one-fifth of her precious size. She began squeaking immediately - Brute picked her up and put her on his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Digby had asked to be perched on Shanna’s shoulder. She immediately acquiesced and asked Barlo to carry him. Reluctantly, the aged servant carried the grounder and experienced Digby’s scorching pinprick attacks from his staff whenever he was referred to as “small.”
Back at the large door, the party examined the lock again. It seemed that they needed a small object, about the size of a coin, with a lightning bolt stamped on it to open the lock. Sailyar had a brilliant idea.
“Take me to the other room!” She squeaked. The party entered the room on the right and found a near identical room to the one they had just been in. Except this room had a giant coin at the end!
Sailyar immediately jumped into the water and regained her normal size. Brute stepped into the water and grew to 50 feet! He used his large size to roll the big coin back to the other room. Once shrunk, the coin fit inside the large door’s lock perfectly.
The party found another large chamber. This one contained a pedestal at the end with a silver button. They moved forward to press it. Unfortunately, a shimmering blue shield sprung up about it. Then a blue, glowing hologram appeared in front of the pedestal. It was a tall being with a nearly indecernible face. It held a glittering trident and was dressed in unfamiliar robes and armor. The language it spoke seemed familiar to Dorian. He listened to the message and realized after around ten minutes that the language was an ancient form of the Guardian’s tongue on Darnali.
“One who is worthy must meet our challenge.”
Brute, who was still fifty feet tall, accepted the challenge.
“Will it be of might, intellect, or speed?”
“Might,” Brute replied.
The hologram nodded. It immediately grew in size to match Brute’s size. Four more holograms appeared, hovering around Brute like the points of a star. The glowing warrior in front raised his trident to the sky and summoned lightning. Brute absorbed the blow but grunted from the impact.
The clash of titans continued. Brute managed to make contact with two or three of the holograms, wiping them from the playing field with a single touch if his blades. But he grew weary and injured from the uneven combat.
Sailyar, still her normal size, stepped onto the battle arena, followed by Shanna. Together they drew the blows of the holograms by taunting them. Aided by his friends, Brute eventually defeated the final glowing warriors.
The first hologram reappeared with a flash.
“You have succeeded in this trial of honor. We in this station will no longer fight you. But beware of others - we are not all at peace with you.”
The hologram vanished as did the shimmering, blue field around the button. The group pressed it. That made two out of three Waystations powered!
The adventurers gathered artifacts and shins from the tower before leaving. They took their boat to Vesym on Angmorl to drop off Digby the grounder, whim was very happy to see his family again.
Only one Waystation remained! It was time for the group to travel to Omaris -there the Forbidden Fortress awaited them!
The trip was a little unnerving. Brute sensed something moving in the water next to the outrigger canoe but couldn’t identify it. Within minutes, a giant mouth emerged from the ocean only to eat half of a stabilizer! The crew continued, albeit wobbly, to their destination. They tied the canoe to a rock on the shore of Gorth’s Secrets.
To the natives of Angmorl, Gorth’s Secrets had another name: the Island of Storms. The adventurers were unaware of this. But as they passed through a semblance of a road surrounded by high cliffs, they came into a large, barren park inhabited only by three high towers. The superconductive structures created never ending storms. Each member of the group had to dodge quickly to evade the rogue strikes of lightning.
The group reached the foot of the first tower. Roaring braziers, lit by an unseen hand, only contrasted the dimness of the interior. A small gnome-like person, about ten inches tall, slept at the base of one of the braziers. He was disturbed from his slumber by the arrival of the party.
Digby, as the “grounder” from Angmorl was called, had no clue who he himself was, let alone how he came to be sleeping at the base of the tower. He greeted the travelers back grudgingly and follows Brute and the rest inside the Waystation.
The interior was a large cavern-like space. The bones and artifacts of giants littered the floor. The light was dim, making it difficult to see. Sailyar, looking for a way to illuminate the space, accidentally disturbed a group of chance moths. Once they were dealt with, she realized the lichen she has found on the walls gave her fingers a helpful glow. Brute simply took out a glowglobe.
A large door, easily twenty feet tall, stood immovable and closed at the end if the large room. Two other doors, on the left and the right, stood open. When Shanna peered inside, she saw a huge pool of water reaching to nearly the end of the room. Only small ledges on the side kept the group from falling in.
Sailyar decided she needed a swim. With a “cannonball!” she jumped into the water. She immediately began to shrink. When the group finally got her out, she was one-fifth of her precious size. She began squeaking immediately - Brute picked her up and put her on his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Digby had asked to be perched on Shanna’s shoulder. She immediately acquiesced and asked Barlo to carry him. Reluctantly, the aged servant carried the grounder and experienced Digby’s scorching pinprick attacks from his staff whenever he was referred to as “small.”
Back at the large door, the party examined the lock again. It seemed that they needed a small object, about the size of a coin, with a lightning bolt stamped on it to open the lock. Sailyar had a brilliant idea.
“Take me to the other room!” She squeaked. The party entered the room on the right and found a near identical room to the one they had just been in. Except this room had a giant coin at the end!
Sailyar immediately jumped into the water and regained her normal size. Brute stepped into the water and grew to 50 feet! He used his large size to roll the big coin back to the other room. Once shrunk, the coin fit inside the large door’s lock perfectly.
The party found another large chamber. This one contained a pedestal at the end with a silver button. They moved forward to press it. Unfortunately, a shimmering blue shield sprung up about it. Then a blue, glowing hologram appeared in front of the pedestal. It was a tall being with a nearly indecernible face. It held a glittering trident and was dressed in unfamiliar robes and armor. The language it spoke seemed familiar to Dorian. He listened to the message and realized after around ten minutes that the language was an ancient form of the Guardian’s tongue on Darnali.
“One who is worthy must meet our challenge.”
Brute, who was still fifty feet tall, accepted the challenge.
“Will it be of might, intellect, or speed?”
“Might,” Brute replied.
The hologram nodded. It immediately grew in size to match Brute’s size. Four more holograms appeared, hovering around Brute like the points of a star. The glowing warrior in front raised his trident to the sky and summoned lightning. Brute absorbed the blow but grunted from the impact.
The clash of titans continued. Brute managed to make contact with two or three of the holograms, wiping them from the playing field with a single touch if his blades. But he grew weary and injured from the uneven combat.
Sailyar, still her normal size, stepped onto the battle arena, followed by Shanna. Together they drew the blows of the holograms by taunting them. Aided by his friends, Brute eventually defeated the final glowing warriors.
The first hologram reappeared with a flash.
“You have succeeded in this trial of honor. We in this station will no longer fight you. But beware of others - we are not all at peace with you.”
The hologram vanished as did the shimmering, blue field around the button. The group pressed it. That made two out of three Waystations powered!
The adventurers gathered artifacts and shins from the tower before leaving. They took their boat to Vesym on Angmorl to drop off Digby the grounder, whim was very happy to see his family again.
Only one Waystation remained! It was time for the group to travel to Omaris -there the Forbidden Fortress awaited them!
Report Date
13 Mar 2021