Pursuit
After narrowly escaping from the Deathmaster Keep, the party took their small stolen ship, called the Shard of Bone, and fled the sea cave with great haste. The date was Icebreak 12 and it was a warm spring day. A fair wind sped them north along the Mercian coast. Callister kept close to the shore, skillfully sailing in between the many rocky islets off the coast to stay hidden as much as possible.
The group unfolded the giant map of the continent, wanting to see if anything had changed. And indeed it had. Without even needing to pass the gem over it, the party could see that the location of the two red lightbeams had changed. They now centered on a portion of country an entire continent away, the savage lands of what looked to be somewhere between western Myria and Karth. Far, far to the west.
Kramtha kept a constant vigil looking away south often to see the way they had come. After two hours of sailing, he glanced behind them and saw a small white sail unfurl on the horizon. About ten kilometers behind the Shard of Bone, very near to the island they had just left. It appeared to be a small oddly shaped ship with a square sail. Their sail was stretched taut by a strong wind and they were advancing. Throughout the afternoon, the ship drew closer. By five o' clock in the afternoon, it was only 500 yards behind the Shard of Bone. Over the wind, the party caught snatches of conversation, but could not make out the words.
A plume of white water 150 yards port caught the attention of our brave adventurers. The sharp eyed phellysians then saw a massive grey hump rises out of the water. The form slipped through the water exposing a huge tail. It was a whale. The party watched as it rose and dove, cresting every thirty yards, getting closer and closer. Stryfal leaned overboard with a piece of dry bread, hoping to lure the great beast to her. She thought it was cute. Callister rolled his eyes.
As it turned out, the food was not necessary. The sea mage on the other vessel had completely dominated the mind of the young whale with a charm spell. The whale slammed into the ship with a tremendous bang. The party felt the ship shudder as the beast passed under the keel, scraping its barnacled hide along the planks. The whale dove and then came up under the ship, lifting the bow clear out of the water with a gut wrenching impact. The party lost their footing. Amidst Callister's daring maneuvers, two of the freed prisoners, Lord Henricsen, (one of the King's vassals), and a dwarf named Angus, were swept overboard as the boom of the sail swept across the ship to the starboard side. The whale turned on the two and the dwarf vanished amidst churning water. Lord Henricsen swam furiously after the ship. Another impact from the whale sounded and the party heard the cracking of planks and the splintering of wood. Somehow, the dwarf managed the reach the surface of the water and struggled to stay affloat. With the whale temporarily distracted by the small amount of wreckage from the boat now floating about it, the party was able to yank the two men back on the boat. The whale soon circled around for another pass.
Martin Langstaff, a human mage the party just freed from the castle, had an idea to fashion a harpoon. He searched through what little equipment was aboard their stolen ship and found a grappling hook and a mop. He then gave this to Krodose, the freed ogre prisoner. Krodose broke off one tine and straightened it into a point. Martin then took the iron point, broke off the broom handle, and gave both to the dwarf, who lashed them together with twine and leather. The newly fashioned harpoon was given to Callister (who had some whaling experience). Callister threw the harpoon into the whale, just missing the heart. The battle between ship and beast continued.
Martin then attempted a spell - to shrink the whale. A difficult spell especially since he had never had the opportunity to truly study it. Only briefly peruse it in someone else's book long ago. The spell failed, naturely. It affected only a minor churning of water.
Fortunately for the party, the whale either shook off the charm spell or lost interest in its wooden plaything. The whale slowly swam away. The party looked southward and saw that the strange shaped ship with the square sail was also turning away and now heading south. Callister continued on to Freeport.
The City of Freeport
The next morning, the Shard of Bone passed several fishing vessels. Callister smelled familiar scents and recognized landmarks. He was finally home. Within the hour, the Shard of Bone sailed into the busy and bustling harbor of Freeport. Several of the group had never seen such a port city from the water and were pleased by the sights and sounds - the squawk of seagulls, the clang of bells, the shouts of dockhands, the laughter of sailors and the smell of the salty air.
Callister made a mental note of the ships already in port: the Black Wolf, the Stormhound, the Red Raven and the Warhammer. Docked at the Harbor Master's isle was the flagship Pride of Mercia. And to Callister's surprise, he saw the Warthog, Sancho's ship, docked to the west.
Callister docked near the Black Pearl and began answering the questions of the dockhands even as they tied the mooring ropes down. He was eager to check in with the mariner's guild, who probably still thought him dead, sunk with the Zealot. It had been several months, and Callister was still annoyed that he wasn't able to square his business away the last time they passed through. Plus, he had to make an appointment with a city official and warn of the Coalition's activity to the south. Just how much information should he disclose, he wondered. The party could make out very well if he played his cards right. He began to sign in as the rest of the party stepped off the boat, the phellysians happy as always to be back on dry land. Martin hopped onto the dock with plans to go check out his own local guild. He didn't get thirty paces before a posted bulletin on a wall stopped him in his tracks. It was a Wanted poster for Callister Draabyn, offering 1,000 gold for his capture. He snatched it down and jogged back to the boat and interupted Callister before he could register his name with the dockhand. "Excuse me, Captain Rodriguez..." The mage warned Callister of the price on his head and showed him the poster. Callister, much to his chagrin, assumed the false identity. Martin went off to the underworld to forge false documents for Draabyn, resisting the urge to find his guildhouse and take out the contract on the mariner himself. Dabbling in magic was fun but it didn't pay the bills. But...he did owe Draabyn his freedom. And a journeyman assassin had to have some scruples.
After dealing with port registration and docking fees, the party (except for Callister) was free to enjoy the city. Most of the prisoners returned to their families, some in other villages. Three decided to stay with the party and help them on their quest, mainly out of gratitude: Martin, Angus the dwarf and Krodose the ogre. Lord Henricsen bid the group farewell. He didn't know what to make of the warrant for Callister, but figured him to be an honorable man. Since he owed the group his life, he promised Callister that he would do what he could to clear his name. But first he had to report in with his own family, who probably had been fearing the worst. The mariner passed the journal from the Shard of Bone over to Henricsen's care, and the two agreed that this hard evidence of Coalition espionage would prove useful in convincing the Mercian government to take appropriate action. Henricsen swore to take it to the authorities right after checking in at Henricsen Manor, and to stress that it was the "Dread Pirate" Callister Draabyn and the rest of his group that brought these evils to light. He then parted with the group along with the other prisoners. Callister decided checking in with family wasn't such a bad idea, especially since Cassandra might have some idea as to what was going on with this warrant business.
Callister led the party to the Black Pearl. There they were welcomed with open arms by the entire bar, some proudly holding up copies of the Wanted poster and asking Callister to sign it. Cassadra allowed the party to stay in her "safe room" while they were in town. Callister was frustrated that they would cut again have to cut their stay short, two days at most, because of possible trouble with the authorities. And he was especially annoyed at having to hide and skulk about like a thief in his own home port.
While in town, the group was limited to immediate concerns, like selling their captured boat on thr black market and having items repaired. Stryfal and Martin did manage to ask a few questions of their contacts in the city. Stryfal was able the learn that the reward for Callister's capture had been put up by the Empire, possibly for the chaos at the excavation site. However, the bounty had only been as high as 200 as recently as a few days ago. A private citizen had just put up the extra eight hundred, to hopefully speed up the process. With a bit of flirting and a bribe of a gold piece or two, she was able to get the man's name: a Lord Hardesty of Freeport. Possibly a Coalition spy? Kramtha shook his head at the mariner upon hearing this, remembering his scribbling their name on the castle's bedchamber wall. Why did this man insist on leaving a trail for their enemies to follow?
Callister had to hole up at the Black Pearl for much of his stay. Earlier in the morning he was spotted by an old nemisis, a Captain Gorran of the Oakbridge village guard. Gorran had jailed him for minor offenses in Callister's younger days, and personally chased him out of the village two years earlier for dancing at a tavern with his daughter. Gorran, in Freeport on business, recognized Callister right away and sent for the city constables. Draabyn was now being actively pursued, and was angered and bitter at having to stay hidden. At one point, Gorran and his lieutinents sat for hours at the Black Pearl, knowing the mariner would show there eventually. Callister was livid at the notion of Gorran harassing his sister, and would have given himself away right there had Kramtha not restrained him.
The mage/assassin Martin performed several jobs while in town, continuing to ignore the lucrative price tag on Callister himself. During one assassination attempt on a tavern bouncer, he found himself outmatched and was captured. By a stroke of luck, Kramtha and Rothgar (who did not know where he had gone) happened to find him and rescued him with a quick bribe.
The single most important event that occurred while the party was in Freeport was the surprise arrival of Demetrius and Jerrod, the two sage/scholars whom the party had consulted previously. They revealed that they had tracked the party down with a spell. These two wise men met with the party secretly and unveiled all that they had learned from weeks of study.
They addressed the party thusly:
"My friends, I am so very glad that I have found you. For I bring with me news, both terrible and wonderful.
Using a spell well known to me, I tracked your progress southward to the coast. While you travelled, I studied the ancient grimoire which you left in my care. Many long nights did I pour over the book. I called upon fellow sorcerers, visited dusty libraries and even tried my hand at casting a few of the simpler dweomers held within this book. I then met with Jerrod, this fine elven sage with whom you met in Daven's Port. We exchanged information and he described to me your conversation and all that you had shown him.
For our efforts, we have learned much.
The gem you carry is not an emerald, as it would seem. Rather it is a rare mineral known to scholars as vertrillium. It is a valuable and necessary component used in many powerful spells of necromancy. This precious stone can be enchanted to contain within it the very soul of a living being. The tiniest shard can be magicked to suck up the life of a man and hold it fast. The stone you carry is very large and has the potential to store great power. This stone was a key element in the Demon War that occurred 140 years ago. The gem you carry has a name. It is called the Avisarr.
Long ago, during the Demon War, when man battled the goblin races, the dark sorcerers of Duthelm used this very stone to summon a being named Draxorith, a Lord of Demons. He is worshiped by the ogres as the Master of Darkness and Death.
The Conclave of Freedom, a group which fought on the side of good, was ruled by six men - three wizards and three priests. The Conclave manufactured a great chamber beneath their fortress, the very Hall which you described to me. Within this hall they created a gateway that led to the dreaded domain of demons, the place from which Draxorith himself had been summoned, known to sorcerers as the Abyss. The gateway was the circular pit in the floor which you saw. It was called simply… the Gate. With this magical Gate, they hoped to banish the Beast. And they would have succeeded had it not been for the Avisarr. The Banishing ritual worked by sending the demon lord back - body, mind and soul. But his soul was protected, in here. The Conclave did not know this at the time. Body and mind were torn asunder and trapped in the Gate. But Draxorith's soul, safe in this gemstone, remained outside the Gate. And so, Draxorith was not banished, but was caught between dimensions. Trapped as nothing more than shapeless green mist. Unable to explain why the banishing had failed, the six masters closed the Gate forever. The great fortress was later abandoned amidst a great battle. We do not have all the details, but this is what we have been able to piece together.
The Banishing spell remains active within the Great Hall and has been so for the last 140 years. Draxorith, trapped within the Gate for these long years, struggles against the spell that binds him there. And now, after a century and a half of the demon beating against the bars of his prison, the spell is beginning to unravel.
To prevent his return into our world, the Banishing Spell must be completed - the Third Rite, the banishment of spirit, must occur. In other words, the anchor, this gemstone, which harbored his soul, must be dealt with. To accomplish this, the Avisarr and Draxorith's soul must be thrown into the Gate.
However, the Gate is closed. Nothing can pass through it - in or out. The Avisarr can not be thrown in until the Gate is reopened. Just as a key can open and close a locked door, so too can the parts of this spell reopen the gate. Only when all parts of the original spell are back in their original positions will the Gate open. All parts of this spell are as they were when the spell was first cast over a century ago - all parts except one. The six masters themselves. The six masters, or I should say, the remains of the six masters, must be found and brought back to the Hall of Banishing. Then the Gate will reopen. Then and only then can the Avisarr be hurled in. And the Banishing, after a century and a half, will finally be complete.
So, in the end, it is bones you seek. The bones of long dead masters whose final spell remains unfinished. This is the journey that the gods of chosen to set before you. The journey may be long, but we doubt it will be difficult. You have only to locate and dig up each man's bones. And then return them to the ruins of the Conclave's Fortress. The Gate will open. Throw in the gemstone. And the Gate will close again… forever."
The party asked the two wise men to come with them and aid them on the long quest. They hesitated for a moment, and then responded: "Your quest may take you to distance lands. We are much too old to make such a journey. We have fought our battles for the Empire and Mercia. We have done our bit for King and Country. We traded in our swords for walking staves long ago. No, a younger generation must fight this battle."
However, the two wizards gave the party a valuable treasure - a magical scroll. It was one of two identical scrolls. The party would take one, and the wizards would keep the other. Anything written on one scroll would appear on the other. And the scrolls could be erased simply by sweeping the feathers of a quill across its surface. The scrolls could be used many times and would serve as a means of communication. Although the two mages could not accompany the party on their long journey, they wanted to lend the party their wisdom whenever it was needed. And with these two scrolls they would be able.
The party now had an answer to their questions. They knew what the gemstone was. They knew what had to be done to prevent a world-crippling war. The party discussed it amoungst themselves well into the night, and each accepted the quest that Fate had offered them for their own reasons. Kramtha turned to Callister Draabyn. "So...The Conclave Defiant, is it?"
"Hey, show some respect." The mariner flashed a brief grin. "It's the name of the crew that's saving the world." With that, Callister closed his eyes and slept well.
The party did various shopping the next morning, wrapped up their business in Freeport and then again set sail aboard the Warthog with Captain Sancho heading west to the realm of Myria, the next set of coordinates on the magical map.
In session eight: The party begins the long journey west.