As per Elias Minch's agreement with Kiffag (see KA27. The Manor Grounds), the party returned to Sharn to arrange the transportation of the trolls to Droaam. After asking around, they eventually booked passage on the Moonbeam, a cargo vessel under the command of Captain Half-Tooth. She would take them as far as Grelick Cove; the party would have to go the rest of the way on land. While the boat was being prepared, the party noted that their previous encounter at Vinehold Manor was front-page news - it was in the Korranberg Chronicle issue on Troll Experiments.
The trolls did not do well at sea, and spent most of the voyage down in the hold fighting off sea-sickness. The journey was uneventful until the last night; then the party were roused in the middle of the night by the ship lurching from side to side. Rushing to the deck, they saw that a kraken had ensnared the ship, and the crew members were busy fighting off the tentacles that were trying to sweep them into the sea. The party rushed in; Elias Minch and Smith focusing on the nearest tentacles, while Daellin and Arc went for the further pair. Along the way, they had to contend with the movement of the ship, and some of the crates getting loose. Arc got close to one of the tentacles, but was surprised by one of the crew members revealing themselves as a changeling; announcing revenge for Arc deciding to leave the employ of the Dark Cabinet, the crew member used a Stunning Strike on Arc, which gave them the opportunity to push the pair of them over the side of the boat. Only Arc hit the water, however; as they passed through a shadow, the assailant disappeared.
Arc used Dimension Door to return to the deck; spotting the attacker, despite the changeling changing face again, Arc returned the favour and knocked them overboard. But the same thing happened again, and the next time Arc could not find them again. Meanwhile, Elias Minch was doing a devastating amount of damage to the tentacles; eventually all four tentacles were bloodied enough that the kraken decided to retreat, having clearly bitten off more than it could chew. The party immediately started to look for the changeling that had attacked Arc, but it was difficult due to not knowing who to look for, and the fact that several crew members were missing, having been thrown overboard during the fight. Their search was interrupted by a flight of harpies circling overhead; Daellin immediately reached for his bow to attack, but the others persuaded him to step down, suspecting that in Droaam harpies were representatives of the locals. This turned out to be correct; after a conversation with Kiffag in the language of the giants; the lead harpy instructed the party to meet the Lady of Stone, who would decide their fate.
The Moonbeam them docked at Grelick Cove. Arc went up to some goblins playing cards; joining in, the former spy found themselves able to win some money easily. The goblins were unhappy, but one was placated by Arc offering them the gold back in return for directing them to the garden where the Lady of Stone was said to reside. The goblin agreed, and lead them into the cliffside, following a weaving path of corridors in the darkness, until the party emerged on the top of the cliff. There, they found themselves in a garden; it was full of statues, most petrified in horror, though there were a few goblins, kobolds and harpies that appeared to have been turned to stone willingly.
Out of the darkness behind them, a medusa stepped forward. Introducing herself as Euryale, the Lady of Stone and warlord of this area, she thanked the party for their help returning the trolls. For this service to Droaam, she would not have them killed. She offered them a deal; she would ensure that the trolls would be employed on a trade caravan heading towards their home, getting there safely as well as earning some gold on the way. In return, she asked for the party's help in dealing with some intruders that had recently entered the wood that could be seen on the horizon, in the shadow of the mountain known as Widow's Peak. Euryale explained that the wood was haunted, so her people would not enter; none-the-less, she did not want invaders in her land. She wanted them removed, and she wanted to know why they were there to begin with. The party agreed to help, and Euryale pointed them at one of the statues as a demonstration of who the invaders were. Arc recognised a ring that the statue wore; it was the symbol of the Emerald Claw, who the party had encountered before. The party was then led to an inn to rest for the night.
The next morning, the party set out for the wood. There they found that the ghosts in the wood were no threat; they were merely echoes of the past that could be seen, frozen in battle, through the mists that lingered in the wood. They saw soldiers from Breland battling against kobolds and goblins, with only the moving air causing anything to change. Continuing on, the party found a structure built into the trees; stealthing in, they heard the sound of an encampment being packed up. They also overhead the people there mention that they had to catch up with the rest of their group. A brief debate ensued, whether it was best to investigate or merely follow the Emerald Claw agents when they moved onto their next destination; eventually, Elias Minch decided to climb up to the top of the structure, but was unfortunately unable to swing himself onto the platform. Arc elected to turn invisible and sneak up; this let them walk in, and manage to grab some paperwork that one of the Emerald Claw members was packing up. Reading the Letter from Drake Morgrave, Arc realised that the Emerald Claw were after a phylactery, which contained the soul of a lich. The party then decided to kill the Emerald Claw agents here, before continuing up Widow's Peak to find the remainder of the necromantic terrorists...