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• Aros – Lightfoot Halfling, Rogue
  • Rubber Ducky of Inspiration
• Galiena Erenaeth – Half Elf, Celestial Warlock / Druid
  • Dearbhán – NPC, Fairy Dragon (Galiena’s pet)
  • NPCs:
    • Waesyn Oakenpath – Human (Fighter)
    • Balgun Sternrest – Elf (Ranger)
    • Darko Wintersage – NPC, Undead Wizard (Flame Skull)

• Looking around, the party finds themselves, along with the liberated slaves on the south side of a river bed.

• Reminder: The liberated slaves are:
  • Renoll, Talanor, Everith, Grenthor, Crestmoore, and Sarauan.
  • Renoll is the one who knows Balgun from their doomed voyage to Eagle Rock.
• Galiena looks around and sees the young boy, whom they’d originally gone into the caves to rescue, Grotte Stonespring, is also with them
• “Are there any towns near us?” Aros asks. “I think Chalice is along the coast.”
• “I don’t want to go along the coast,” Galiena warns
• “Well, I mean I think it’s close by,” Aros amends.
• “Just south of us is Eventide,” Balgun explains. “I’d gone there looking for people from the ship who fled the caves… However, when things began to go wrong, we were quickly blamed as an ill omen. The town of Eventide is a … very suspicious lot. If an acorn falls differently on the ground, they believe it’s an omen of ill things to come and look around to see what the latest thing that’s changed is – and blame that.”
• Aros’ eyes were wide. “Maybe we should just avoid Eventide. Maybe if we can’t go along the coast,” Aros begins.
• “Why can’t we go along the coast?” Renoll asks.
• “Sahuagin,” Galiena explains. “Same ones that attacked us in the lake. They patrol the shores looking for people to drag beneath the tide.”
• “Why would people build towns along the shore then? Like Eventide?” Talanor asks
• “Because, even if you go inland, there are horrors there,” Aros explains. “This whole island is cursed. There is ‘nowhere’ safe, really.”
• Aros continues, “I think we should stick to the edge of the forest. Not go too deep inside, but just along the tree line… so we can keep an eye on the clearing and not draw any real attention from the things in the woods. From there, I think we can make our way to Chalice and talk to John Tallbane about finding shelter.”
• The party agrees and begins moving up through the woods; and after traveling for a few hours, needing to move slow, due to the condition of the liberated slaves – the party decides to take a long rest inside the woods, when they’re roughly parallel to Eventide.

• Galiena uses Plant Growth to try and create a shelter, however, being exhausted as she is, she’s not able to make a magificent fort (there was no DC, just a d20 to see how good it was – but she rolled an 11)

• The party also realizes that they actually don’t have bedrolls. Sleep is not comfortable
  • The party begins expending hit dice to recover some health.
• In the camp, Renoll explains that as a trader, he’d learned the Dwarven language. He explains that the Duergar were speaking a “bastardized” version of the Dwarven tongue. He explains that the Duergar were mentioning how “Razathorn has us mining these metals so the surface dwellers don’t get it… but we’ve not heard from him in a long time… we use some of the metals to make our own weapons and armor… when is he going to come back and pay us for all the metal we have…”
• Renoll explains that he knows where the metal is in the cave… because he’d been forced to push some of the carts there… and there’s a forge that the Duergar use… and that at their forge there’s a Fire Elemental in their service… and that there may be a wizard in their service… and that he’s seen the Wizard’s servant – a homunculus in the caves… and that perhaps capturing the creature could provide some information… and there’s a whole colony of gray ooze that the Duergar encountered… that the dwarves had closed off that part of the mines… but something could be done…” He also explains, “There’s underground gnomes… and they’ve mostly stolen food from the Duergar… but from time to time, they will steal gems, but the Duergar don’t seem too concerned about them… they’re not allies… because the Duergar will from time to time throw spears at them to drive them off… and there’s also another beast that the Duergar keep fighting – an invasive, large worm, with beaks, called ‘gricks’….”
• Aros asks about the gray ooze, and Renoll explains, “The Duergar hate the gray ooze, because the creature’s ooze is extremely acidic to metal…”
• Renoll looks around to the party, “We are going to rescue the others, right? After we drop off the boy?”
• Galiena looks to Aros and Aros looks back at Galiena. She clears her throat, “That does sound like a good plan. We might need to make a plan.” Renoll nods and eventually he and the other liberated slaves fall asleep one by one.
• Aros whispers, “If we use the gray ooze, they could damage the metals, which our feathered friends with the dragon could use… or we use the gricks to create some chaos and we try to leave with as much ore as possible. The wizard that’s there could be a problem… especially if the wizard there is actually Razathorn.”
• Galiena points out, “Well, Renoll did say that they’ve not seen Razathorn in awhile. So maybe it’s not him? Maybe it’s another wizard?”
• Aros puts his hand on the back of his neck, “Wouldn’t these go away? If he was dead?”
• Galiena moves her hair to the side, “Is it still there?”
• Aros nods, “Oh, it’s still there and it’s glowing blue, still.”
• They recall the last time they’d seen Razathorn – it’d been at one of his towers here on Eagle Rock (DM Note – All the way back in Session 14!) Aros recalled being pulled away by Razathorn to do some work (Session 22) and returned (Session 23) to mention that Razathorn had sent Aros to investigate who was messing with his things in Eagle Rock, specifically who dared attack his tower.
• Finally Aros, Balgun and Waesyn all go to sleep leaving Galiena to keep watch
• Galiena is startled to see Everith get up and sit next to her. He’s silent for a moment, then asks, without looking at her, “How long have you been stuck on this island?”
• Galiena shrugs, “Truthfully, I am not even entirely certain. The clouds over the island are magical, and linger here… the only true way to keep track of time is to be on the beach and watch the sun rise and set in the distance, beyond the clouds… but being on the shores, as I said before, is dangerous, because the Sahuagin. I presume that they’re close enough to the island to get the ‘benefit’ of not aging, and so the island is probably surrounded by thousands of them.”
• Everith looks at his hands, “I have not gotten older. I have been here for a thousand or more sleeps… but I have not aged.”
• Galiena nods. “That’s what I was talking about the ‘benefit’ of the island. From what I know, gathered from the various locals, that once you reach puberty, you simply cease aging while you’re on the island. It all happened at the same time… a dark cloud… people stopped aging… but then people began to disappear. When you hear the town bells ring – it means it’s roughly 10pm – and that’s what known as ‘the hunting hour’ – anything from there, until the bell rings again which is roughly 6am – is ‘the hunting hour’ – and it’s called that because it seems that is the most likely time that people suddenly seem to go missing.”
• They speak for a little while longer, before Everith goes to lay back down. As Galiena is sitting there – she listens – and hears all the sounds she’d expect – owls hooting, rabbits skittering in the underbrush – but then she hears a sound coming from the west – a sound she’s all too familiar with. Though it sounds like laughter, she knows it to belong to hyenas, but also more than likely – gnolls. She thinks back to the recent gnoll encounter (Session 48) and the odd gnoll that they encountered. She continues to listen – and they are far to the west – but loud – very loud, especially for gnolls.
• Galiena pets Dearbhán and asks if he heard the gnolls too; to which he nods his head. He then telepathically asks her for food – but instead, she asks him to turn invisible and scout the area; he sighs, turns invisible and yet his footfall can be heard since he still can’t fly due to his weight (DM Note – Back on Session 47, it was revealed that Ramgor had no idea how to take care of Dearbhán so he just fed him food, making him considerably overweight)
• When Dearbhán returns, confirming there’s no gnolls close by, but he could hear it; Galiena awakens Aros at the end of her shift and she tells him that she heard gnolls in the distance

• On Aros’ shift, he sits down and double checks the alarms he’d set up. He settles against a tree, and on his shift Renoll wakes up and comes over to sit next to Aros. He looks over at the halfling. “So, how long have you known Balgun for?”
• Aros shrugs, looking over at Balgun, then over to Galiena who has Waesyn and Balgun both sleeping close to her. “I don’t really know him. She does. All I know is that he’s currently on a date with her.”
• Renoll seems to pause for a moment before speaking, processing what Aros has just said. “Wait. So… I, and some of the crew, have been slaves to the evil Duergar, seemingly not aging ever, and he’s been on a date? With her?” He looks over at the sleeping Galiena.
• Aros stammers over the answer, “Well, he may have. I mean. I don’t know.” (DM Note – Aros actually did know – Balgun explained how he went hunting for the survivors after they fled the cave when the stirges came out back in Session 49) Aros goes on to explain how he and Galiena – and another companion whom they’d not seen in awhile – named Baldur – all had to jump off a boat and washed ashore on Eagle Rock – and they met Balgun in Felhorn.
• Aros goes on to explain the curse on the island, and the lack of aging once reaching maturity
• Renoll asks Aros how long he’s been on the island, and Aros realizes, they’ve roughly been on the island for three years. Renoll asks if there’s town where they can gather a rebellion to fight the forces of darkness; and Aros explains that weapons are outlawed, except for standard hunting weapons such as spears and bows and arrows; and Renoll growls that there must be a way to rescue the slaves and attack the Duergar; Aros assures Renoll that they will work out a plan
• Aros and Renoll talk; and Aros explains the island is dangerous; because when the town bells toll – that means it’s roughly 10pm – and that’s the ‘hunting hour’ – and that’s when people tend to disappear… He goes on to explain he’s encountered wererats, wereboars, wereravens, werewolves, and even werebats. He also tells Renoll about the hag that has found herself trapped on the island, and thriving off the misery and sorrow that’s found on the island.
• While they’re talking, Sarauan, suddenly stands up – almost inhuman-like, the way he sits upright, throws off the meager blankets, and rises to his feet, his gaze, unblinking as he stands at the edge of camp and faces east. Aros looks at Sarauan – and his eyes do not blink. Aros turns to Renoll, “What’s up with him?”
• Renoll whispers, “The Duergar mind-benders… they took great pleasure in tampering with Sarauan’s mind… they did horrible things… made him so he could not sleep… made him experience endless nightmares… have endless hallucinations… when they finally stopped, they only did so because they’d grown bored of him… he’s never been the same. He swears, from time to time, he hears the voice of a woman… a woman he doesn’t know… but she calls out to him.. When he does, he’s always in this trance… he won’t remember getting up like this, he will remember a dream he had where he sees or talks to her…”
• After about thirty minutes, still without blinking, Sarauan lays down. That’s when Aros notices that Everith is watching Aros. Aros waves, and Everith waves back and rolls over. But Aros has a feeling that Everith is still watching him somehow.
• Getting up the following ‘morning’ – about five hours into the journey – Aros picks up on the sound of gnolls to the west – and hears a lot of them. Aros grabs Galiena’s hand, “I hear more of them. Much more of them.”
• The party quickens their pace; sometimes needing to slow down for the former slaves; and eventually the familiar tower near the graveyard in Chalice, where they’d fought an undead Beholder comes into view (back in Session 41!)
• Making their way through the town; they can see very little progress has been made, but they eventually find John Tallbane. Aros explains that they were on a mission to rescue a young boy – and he gestures towards Grotte Stonespring – and explains that he was in a cave; and in that cave were some evil dwarves – he introduces Renoll – and explains that Renoll calls them Duergar – and John explains he knows what the Duergar are. Aros goes on to explain that they rescued some of the slaves of the Duergar – one of which knows Galiena’s date – er, male friend – Balgun (who bows before John). It’s at that moment that Aros suddenly catches Sarauan’s odd behavior again – Sarauan seems to be very intently locked on staring at John Tallbane – turning his head left and right, similar to how a dog might look at someone who is making voices at them and the dog is trying to comprehend what he’s hearing.
• Aros quickly pauses his story to explain, “The former slaves have been through a lot. And I think they need rest. Lots of it. They’ve been through a lot. Would you by chance have a room they can rest in? Sooner rather than later? And I can catch you up.”
• DM Note – I made them roll a Survival check with the DC of 25 total combined between the two players; they both rolled 19s!

• John nods, “The Inn has been repaired. It had taken the least amount of damage from the dead curse that washed over the town. So we’ve focused there on rebuilding, so the people left in Chalice have a place to sleep. I will get you the rooms you need. There’s two beds per room. There’s ten of you. How many beds would you like?”
• “Five,” Galiena says, “and we will be glad to donate to Chalice’s rebuilding.”
• “Wait,” Waesyn growls. “Who gets to sleep in the same room as you?”
• “She’s my date,” Balgun replies.
• Renoll looks at Aros, who clears his throat.
• “Fine!” Waesyn growls. “I demand a game of Rock, Paper, Long Sword.“
• “It’s scissors,” Balgun corrects.
• “Mine is too big to be just scissors, it’s a long sword,” Waesyn growls.
• Balgun rolls his eyes. “Fine.”
• DM Note – Galiena the player represents Balgun, while Aros represents Waesyn

• Round one: Waesyn breaks out rock, believing rock is powerful; but Balgun drops paper
• Waesyn growls, “Who puts out paper first? Paper is puny!”

• Round two: Waesyn thinks he’s clever by putting out rock again; but Balgun knows Waesyn too well and puts out paper again
• Waesyn screams, “Your elf ears can hear my fist clench! You can tell I am not putting out any fingers!”
• As he complains the entire time; their conversation is interrupted as one of Chalice’s patrol guards, out of breath, and nearly collapsing from exhaustion, coughs, “Gnolls… several packs of them… all… marching… towards… Greenhaven…”

To Be Continued?