Loose ends: the underwater pyramid; sealed sarcophagus of a kingly figure; an Undead 'family'; strange shared dreams of 'The Singer'; what / who stitched the scout Jerrold and Grindylows into a carrion golem?; Kobolds with no allegiance to the Watchers' Tribe
Participants: Vasilij Baronov, Showcase the Magnificent!, Varel, Armalon, Leyla
Locations: northern area of Avis River, Scouts' Graveyard, Greyspine Mountains
Short summary:
A group decided to track down a missing Guild scout called Jerrold. Along the way, they were plagued by mysterious shared dreams of an entity known as 'the Singer'. Many shenanigans ensued, including unaffiliated Kobolds squatting in the party's camp; sentient Undead in search of their 'family'; the discovery of an ossuary and an enigmatic, sealed sarcophagus of an unknown king with a complex way to open it; and finally, the carrion golem stitched together using the corpses of three Grindylows and Jerrold himself. At the end of the quest, the party also found an underwater, possibly metallic pyramid off the coast of Avis River's basin.
Practical and easier to read variant, though still long, can be found here.
Varel's actual document can be found here.
Full report: Varel
Coastal Report
The group gathered early in the morning to head towards the northern mouth of the Avis River. Showcase, Armalon, and I had decided to travel via the mountain pass to find the missing scout Jerrold. The group traveled without much issue until the first rest; during my watch I noticed that the lights bring all the nearby trees to life, pale bark, spotted with knots that keep each unique from the last. While the light brightens it also serves to make the remaining darkness all the more stark, all the harsher. A single note of what sounds to be a distant flute plays out, though it sounds like no flute material you have heard of. A voice echos out, in a voice at once familiar and all yet all too alien:
| "In the heart of darkness they await the sun. In the peaceful hills, where danger mills, they sing a song for one." |
The group also later that night had a dream which is shared by all of them:
The mountain vista is beautiful, but you are cold, nothing you haven't handled before. Your ears are coldest, the brass ensures that much, but no Dwarven son will live with less beauty than he has, so you march on. The trek back should be no difficulty, and there is much to report. The crystal tube in particular, floating just still in the tide as it was. You thought it an instrument, though if it is, only one note can be managed, a poor excuse for music. Though you feel....no, no, you know there are words, beautiful ones to accompany this song. But now you're cold, so so very cold, in a way that only darkness has been, in a way that only a lonely dying Dwarf could be. And the Singer is coming. |
This dream clearly being what could only be Jerrold’s vision which confirmed his mountain travel. The group hastened which led to the base of the mountain range with a curious set of tracks that traveled up the valley entrance and down to the base with no sign past it, upon study I discovered that there was a heavy sense of Necromancy on the location, and what seemed to be a barrier that faded once in contact with lichen from a rock, so presumably any living matter dispelled the barrier. A containment perhaps?
The group then discovered two curious beings, Unknown that were in control of themselves and civil which led to them discussing finding Jerrold in the mountain which they would help if we found their lost child. A child of a pair of Undead? They had said they all lived up in an area near the top of the mountain. The group decided to consider the request and travel on, finding tracks and eventually settling at the bottom of a cliff face sheltering from the winds and setting up camp once more. The group sleeped and shared one more dream:
| Dreams once more crowd the sleeping minds. Cold, dead cold, colder still. The vista the same, the flute in hand. And now the Singer is with me, bringing me back, now I am bringing him back. In turn in turn in turn again, mirror for mirror, reflection for reflection, but never whole. I play the flute again, a dead wind blowing through it, and the Singer sings the song, but it is not enough, not here. The coast the coast the coast the coast the coast the coast the coast the coast. Vasilij's watch passes without notice, without sound, though for perhaps the faintest shiver in the mouth of these cold mountains. |
Until a singular note flute as figured from the dream to be Jerrold is heard by Showcase above the cliff, in which the group climbs and discover the signs of travel, a fish, and a broken wayfinder belonging to the missing scout. Following its trail led back down and across the path the group had traveled up earlier that day leading back towards the Undead, until a noise was heard and a group of four rabid horses attacked and were quickly dispatched. The group rested to clear the wounds and check for rabies then upon traveling back to camp found that it had been fortified with wooden walls while they were gone and a caravan of Kobolds had squatted and taken rights to their supplies.
Naturally this didn’t stand with any of the prideful members of the group which I had tried desperately for the diplomatic approach which had failed, at the very least I had managed to learn that these Kobolds had no affiliation to the Village up north as to not break our treaty. Upon dispatching the enemies we had decided to travel after our missing man and his assailant after a rest.
The next day Leyla sadly had to leave us and recalled back, we decided to continue forward regardless and had come upon the area in question which happened to be an ossuary, with a select number of graves freshly dug to match our original group in number and size. This bringing boiling anger to the group and we decided to launch an attack which quickly got out of hand as the one Undead seemed to be a necromancer of some sort and had hearts inside her chest which seemed to summon and control more Undead she called her family.
We had managed to put them all down and in the ever curious and violently frustrating and impulsive nature that is Vasilij went down and found a sarcophagus which upon the general magic and feel of the location decided it was the best course of action to unleash whatever was inside while we were still wounded and tired from our battle, luckily his strength only revealed a relief which is documented below:
| A man, resplendent in silver, strong, youthful, a crown on his head, a staff in his hand. Three words Vasilij cannot make out are written on the lid, one on his crown which appears to be ancient Necril, one on a ring, which appears to be in a language that is reminiscent of Common, and a final word on his staff, in a language he does not recognize. Behind him stands a tree, with eight branches, each ending in a socket in the lid, a circular recess fit for a fist or something similar in size. A ninth slot sits at his feet, a sword depicted to stab into it. Each recess bears a single word inside, in a third language, a blend of all three other languages. |
Between the three of us we had determined the language to be archaic Draconic, Common, and Necril all blended together. The imagery suggests a leader or king of some sort, and a powerful arcane user. We then shortly found out where the majority of the scouts of this region had gone, their packs left in a pile on a lower level. Upon further inspection of the sarcophagus I had discovered info in the eight reliefs all written out as such. In the finest and most archaic Draconic is written, The Executioner. The next in archaic common as the Hunter, the Jester, and back to Draconic is the Knight. These recesses were small and imprinted for the hearts discovered, as noted when they started pumping blood vigorously. It was clear it released or empowered whatever was sealed in the sarcophagus. With the new information alight the blood pumping in the hearts we had heard another mixture of language which translated to "Family protect me, I will be nothing without you", and “Eat of them, Join me”.
Ignoring that report we followed down after one more night's rest to recuperate, it took days of travel to escape the catacombs which strangely left us by the waterfront of our original destination. Quickly we had found a carrion golem with the corpse of Jerrold holding a crystal flute in a cage and three Grindylows, including a larger variant. We had laid out a trap with oil and defeated them in a brilliant strategy. We finally managed to investigate the bubbles of said location and Showcase had seen an amazing and terrifying sight. An entire layered stone pyramid submerged just off the coast. A vast array of steps and layered stones, many decorated with glittering reflective surfaces, seemingly metallic. A large chunk can be seen blown into the top of it where water can be seen flooding in, and large bubbles can be seen pouring out.
Thus concludes our search and discovery. I will inquire others for research of this pyramid along with Showcase and Vasilij, as for the sarcophagus, it is best to remain sealed until what is inside can be destroyed, luckily the freeing mechanism seemed to have perished along with the hearts.