After folding the monkmage into the party mix, it is decided to visit Kormier. After he stops laughing at Malchor the Magnificent’s new worldview he agrees that the Gal would be a good addition to the party as they cast about for ways to be good and profitable at the same time.
Eventually they settle on a hazard to the local trade routes as a way to benefit the many whilst possibly enriching the few. Making the journey is uneventful and upon arrival they quickly spot the item of interest – a flying castle surrounded by lumps of flying rock that in some cases carry remnants of structures upon them.
Some flying to investigate brings them into conflict with the many wyverns that have taken residence in the flying rock slabs and it is a matter of using the crown’s powers to support the party as they annihilate a half-dozen before the rest of the flock decides to seek a less hostile food supply.
The group enters one of the flying rocks and pokes around before uncovering a glowing green gemstone. When they remove it, the rock fragment is suddenly reacquainted with gravity and begins toi plummet earthward. The group escapes and makes a mental note to not do that again. They enter the second largest fragment and find a wyvern rookery within. They slay all the beasts and the eggs and the young before resuming exploration. They find a room with large piles of rubies – that are actually some kind of sentient ooze. They skip out of the place after finding little of magical worth. They resume exploration and decide to land on the largest fragment – the one with the partially collapsed castle upon it.
The following morning they begin investigating and it is all rather mundane until they passwall into the gatehouse, wherein they are attacked by ‘mud weirds’. They vanquish the creatures and set about exploring. A bit further on they are attacked by a strange creature that sucks the heat out of them and immolates itself in the process.
This terrible foe is eventually vanquished and exploration resumes. A bit of to and fro – a collapsed watchtower…a partially collapsed room…a mostly intact watchtower with mounds of wyvern scat inside it. A bit further on they find a nicely appointed hallway leading to bedrooms. They also find a deadly trap – well…not too deadly.
When The Gal enters the first room she is confronted by a crying ghost of a young child who wails about its deceased parents and the scary Leandro who won’t leave it alone. Attempts to banish it do not succeed so they leave it behind and find an adjoining room that has two corpses (presumably the parents) sprawled out upon the bed. In a strange turn of events, they do not pester the dead for information and instead decide to spend another few nights up the rope before resuming exploration.
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