The Golden Ghost & The Lost Eldritch Key
For well over a century, The Golden Ghost has haunted the seas—a Ravaged Sea Corsairs vessel with ragged yellow sails and golden shields lining its gunwales, often appearing as a mere glint in the setting sun. Those who have managed to pursue it speak of a ship that does not sail on water, but on mist, gliding many fathoms above the waves, glowing with an eerie, unnatural light. Ships that venture too close find their hulls suddenly shattered, as if they had run aground in the open sea. Few survivors live to tell the tale.
Now, the legend has been confirmed along the frozen coast of Aranthia. In the barbarian village of Mursuth, the ship lies stranded upon an iceberg, caught in a shallow bay two miles from the village and resting only 500 yards offshore. The villagers who went to investigate never returned.
Most would dismiss it as another grisly folktale—but Kalaman, Wizard-High Priest of Ibis, knows better. He has long sought the Eldritch Keys of The Veiled Ones Vault, the six volumes that detail the unspeakable rites of Nyarlathotep. The final volume, Volume VI: The Apocalypse Manuscript, vanished over a century ago—lost aboard The Golden Ghost. And now, the ship has resurfaced.
Kalaman, weary but unshaken, has set his plan in motion. The temple has reached out through The Rasp, whispering to trusted agents and scholars.
“Find the book before another does. Find it before it is used.”
Mission
The Golden Ghost became cursed when its captain, Bruneval, attempted to plunder the tower of the wizard Viondor. The sorcerer froze the bay in vengeance, and in the chaos, Bruneval's own crew mutinied and slew him. Their treachery did not free them, however. The ship became cursed, never able to reach port, doomed to circle the Sea of Mists for eternity.
Most seek the ship for its fabled treasure—but Kalaman's interest lies beyond mere gold. If Volume VI truly rests within its hold, it must be recovered before it falls into the wrong hands. But there is an even greater prize—Viondor’s Lost Tower, buried in the ice, its contents untouched for over a century. It may hold clues to destroying the book—or worse, wielding its power.
Payment & Logistics
- Payment: Each participant receives ten white pearls (1,000 gp total) and a cut of any recovered treasure from the ship or the tower.
- Exclusive Reward for the Lead Scholar: The wizard or scholar leading the expedition will receive a copy of Ibis’s Infinite Codex, a prized arcane tome valued at 12,500 gp, as a token of Kalaman’s gratitude.
- Exclusive Rights: The Temple of Ibis claims first right to acquire all recovered artifacts at a fair price.
- Travel: Kalaman will charter an airship to Aranthia, covering the entire cost (normally 2,400 gp round trip). The journey takes three days each way.
The Stakes
The Eldritch Keys of the Veiled Ones Vault: Volume VI—The Apocalypse Manuscript—is not simply an old tome. It is a weapon.
Its pages writhe with forbidden knowledge, describing the conditions under which Nyarlathotep may fully manifest, along with the precise steps of a catastrophic ritual. The book is believed to be indestructible by conventional means, and worse—it whispers to those who read it, corrupting the mind with each page turned.
Many seek it, both scholars and cultists alike. But only one truth remains absolute:
If it falls into the hands of the Temple of Set, the Priestess of the Pallid Flower, or any other faction vying for power—Seregon, and perhaps the world itself, will not survive what follows.
Kalaman cannot go himself. But those who take on this mission must be prepared. The Golden Ghost is more than a haunted ship—it is a graveyard of treachery, frozen in time, and its curse has endured long enough that none know what terrible secrets now linger within its mist-cloaked decks.
And beyond the ship, the ice entombs Viondor’s Lost Tower, hiding magic so ancient that even the most learned scholars of Ibis do not dare speculate on what awaits within.
The Golden Ghost has returned. And so has the danger that went with it.