Duke Cristo asked you to go to Divik's Pass in the the Duvik mine to discover what was happening with the people and the mine. When you arrived Mayor Sendars told you the people were sick and dying. Also, something has moved into the mine and the raid party made up of miners has not come back.
You adventured through the mine to discover a plague (the Burning Plague) was ravaging the mine. You discovered a tribe of Kobalds in the mine who where hostile till you met the chief. You forced them to leave after killing most of them. You then discovered a ranger named Rapture who almost put a spear through Sorshara and Jemma. At the very end of the cave you found a disgruntled Orc Shaman named Jakk Tornclaw. He was using the dead mining bodies as hosts for the plague, and then infecting the wellspring water that fed most of the water to the valley. After your success you were rewarded handsomley and sent back to Featherhaven to report to the Duke.
Here is a map of Duvik's Pass Mine:
April 10
Dear High Paladin,
I hope this letter finds you and the Order well. As mentioned in my previous report, the original task you set out for me was successfully completed and the town of Featherhaven is returning to its normal day to day life. As you also requested, we have continued to assist the Duke with other necessary matters.
Featherhaven is beautiful. It is filled with quaint shops and normally bustles with commerce. The success of the town, of any town, really, can be directly attributed to the laws of its ruler. As minor royalty goes, Kristo is better than most I have seen. He appears to care deeply about his people and while no ruler is perfect, Kristo tries very hard to protect and aid the townsfolk. He is fair minded and while there are some that do not agree with everything he does, all agree that he is a just ruler given the problems and challenges of rule.
We were able to spend about a week recuperating from the mine adventure and then Kristo summoned me and requested that we investigate some problems on one of the trade routes. Featherhaven gets many of its supplies through the shipping lanes and several days had passed without a ship arriving at the port and Kristo feared that if much more time passed, it would cause undue hardships for Featherhaven.
I spoke with my companions (those I could find) and we set off by boat to the peninsula where the ships seemed to be vanishing.
When we left the shores of Featherhaven we anticipated a three day journey to the peninsula. By the Gods, I was so sick! The others (Noc, Rapture, Rotgut and Embersteele) seemed to handle the swaying of the ship far better than I, and could even eat the fish they caught. Even the mere smell made me ill.
My companions are… interesting. Our group is varied and at times it is difficult for us to all get along. Take, for example, Jemma, who I was unable to find anywhere in Featherhaven. She goes her own path and often disappears during travel, (or rest) only to reappear at the most opportune of times. Although she is a thief, I believe she has a good heart, and seems to be able to befriend creatures (as I will illustrate later) that I would not have believed possible had I not seen it with my own eyes.
Noc, however, became testier as the journey continued, making comments designed to illicit confrontation. I am unsure if he was doing this merely because he is half-Orc or if he was trying to appear strong and brave for Rapture as he seems to have feelings for her. It is an interesting match, to be sure; as if a half orc following the path of Pelor wasn't strange enough. He seems to genuinely want to battle the evilness of his Orc half and follow Pelor’s teachings, but it is difficult sometimes to give one’s life over to the Gods. It remains to be seen if he can tame that wild, evil part of him and become something worthy of Pelor.
In any case, Noc spent much of the time on the ship learning about maps from the captain, and I must say he has learned quite a bit in the time we sailed.
Rotgut too learned much on the journey; studying both maps and trying to learn about the strange hat he had obtained from Featherhanven’s witch woman.
We left Embersteele on the ship to help secure our getaway should we need such a precaution, and the rest of us arrived at the far side of the peninsula just before dawn. It was very dark and I was grateful for Noc’s ability to see in the dark. There were large, sheer cliffs on the tip of the peninsula and a lighthouse atop those cliffs. No light shone from the lighthouse, which gave me a sense of foreboding. Jungle stretched from the cliffs along the beach as far as we could see. And then we saw a light that looked like a campfire.
Landing as close to the cliffs as possible, we made our way into the jungle. After some discussion, we decided that Rapture and Thorn would scout their way to the fire. Noc wasn't very happy about that, but he had to admit that Rapture and Thorn were the ones with the best chance of going undetected, and they were perfectly capable of handling themselves.
We waited at the beach, doing our best to blend in with the jungle. We waited quite a while before a lizardman materialized out of the jungle, causing us to draw our weapons. He held in his hand a necklace and gestured us to follow. We looked at the necklace and I recognized it as Jemma’s. I hoped that she was okay, knowing that she would not willingly part with this particular piece unless it was really important.
We followed the small, green creature through what appeared to be dense parts of the jungle, but he seemed to know exactly where to go that was the most passable way, and within a short time we came upon a fire, Jemma, Rapture and Thorn.
I was very glad to see Jemma, fearing that she had somehow been hurt. I should have known better.
Rapture and Thorn described how they had made their way to the fire, at one point hearing voices and climbing the trees to avoid detection. To their eyes, the two humans appeared to be a guard patrol. Waiting until the patrol passed, they had continued to the fire found Jemma who had been waiting there with the fire hoping that we would spot it and come investigate (she knows us so well). She then had instructed our small green friend to bring us to her, and knowing that I would not simply follow a stranger into a strange area, instructed him to use her necklace to show it had come from her.
She spoke to lizardman briefly and he disappeared into the jungle. What was most interesting to me was the apparent genuine affection our little thief had for the scaly men.
We sat around the fire, and ate a meager breakfast while Jemma told us what she knew; that a group of pirates had taken over the beach on the far side of the peninsula and were attacking, destroying and plundering the incoming ships, killing everyone on board.
The patrol Rapture and Thorn had encountered were apparently one patrol of three, crisscrossing the peninsula each morning and night. So, we set up a trap for the two. Rotgut, using his usual deft magic hypnotized them. I tackled the second to the ground and held him fast.
The first so angered Noc that he planted his mace into the crotch of the second killing him instantly. The first one we questioned and learned that there were as many as 30 pirates on the beach – and they never ran patrols at night because of the local fauna. The pirates had constructed a tower of sorts on the beach and two guard towers which were manned day and night. The captain had planned on using the tower as a lighthouse to lure ships onto the beach.
High Paladin, I know we swear an oath to do no evil act, but I know you will agree with me when I say justice demanded penance from this man. The blood of the innocents he had helped to murder had to be answered for. Thus, I used my sword to take off the first one’s head after we had learned what we could about their operations.
At that point, I had an idea. Pirates, may the Gods curse them, were very superstitious. We packed the pirates head in a bag and Jemma immediately volunteered to take it into the pirates’ camp and leave it staked inside. The lizardmen seemed to be overjoyed at the prospect of bringing chaos to the pirates and readily volunteered to accompany her.
While Jemma and the lizardmen left to carry out their gruesome task, the rest of us decided to make our way to the lighthouse to see what could be learned there.
Night fell as we made our way through the jungle. It was difficult going as the jungle was thick. As I think back on those lizardmen I am amazed at how they seemed to simply float through that tangled mess.
We came closer to the lighthouse, when Thorn and Rapture heard something following us. Looking to the sides us, some of us spotted yellow eyes peering back at us from the jungle. We fired arrows at the closest set and five black panthers leaped at us from the darkness.
Once again, our magic using friend attempted to mesmerize them, being partially successful and crippling their attack making dispatching them an easier task than it otherwise could have been.
Another interesting tidbit I should mention here is that Rapture (being a ranger from the BlackOak tribe) has an affinity for animals. One of the panthers seemed to take a liking to her, even following us as though it were a dog, as though guarding us to where the jungle fell away and the cliffs began. When we came to the small opening leading into the cliffs, the presumed path to the light house, I shuddered to think what could have happened had we not detected the big cats before we reached that narrow pass. We could easily have lost some of our group.
We walked single file up the small path until it opened onto green lush grass. The moon was high and the grass rippled in the breeze creating a picturesque scene, had it not been for the unholy silence that lay over the area like a dense fog. Even Noc felt the evilness in that place. I concentrated, seeking out any evil still present, but detected none. Still, I had my mace at the ready.
We walked to the door and saw the first evidence of a struggle; blood and the door heavily damaged in its frame. Rapture entered first, using her unique skills to track and search. She found nothing but a thick layer of dust on the first floor, and footprints leading up the circular staircase.
At this point, we all entered and began to search the lighthouse floor by floor. It had been thoroughly ransacked, any useful items stolen or broken.
We found the bodies on the second and third; two small children and a woman. As we found each successive body, righteous anger filled me. Children, High Paladin. Their poor small bodies bloodied and left as though they were no more than objects. These pirates would answer for their crimes. Our group would provide the justice they so richly deserved. I wasn't sure how at the moment, but justice would be meted out, and meted out severely.
The one constant was the set of footprints leading up and up each set of stairs. We followed that trail wordlessly until we reached the top of the lighthouse. To my surprise, Embersteele lay wounded and unconscious next to the broken mirrors of the lighthouse light. Gently, we healed her as best we could and brought her to the only room without a corpse rotting in it, letting her sleep.
After we had secured Embersteele, we returned to the top of the lighthouse to see if there was any way to relight it in an effort to draw the pirates to us, however, the pirates had done a thorough job of ensuring that without new equipment, the lighthouse would remain dark.
Noc began digging graves for the bodies so brutally murdered and we buried them with a short ceremony. I gave my oath that their murders would be answered for; that those responsible would pay with their own lives for the evil acts done to this poor family.
We rested for the remainder of the night and before dawn, Embersteele awoke and told her tale of the Duke’s ship being attacked and overwhelmed by pirate forces. After fighting bravely, she barely escaped overboard with four of the crew, attempting to swim the cold, dark waters to shore. Two of the crew drowned on the way and the three of them reached the cliffs below the lighthouse and began to climb, trying to reach the lighthouse in the hopes of finding us there.
The remaining two crew members were unable to climb the rocky cliffs, perishing before they could reach the summit. Only by the Gods favor was Embersteele able to attain the top and reach the lighthouse, her body bruised and cut and exhausted beyond all human limits.
Fortunately, with Noc’s assistance and a good night’s rest, she healed quickly and was ready to accompany us by the time Jemma returned. Jemma reported that she crept into the pirate camp and planted the staked head undetected. Then she returned to the trees and watched the chaos ensue as the morning light revealed her grisly contribution to their camp.
As I had hoped, the camp had been thrown into disarray with the head as a reminder of what we would rain down on them, although I’m certain they were unaware of just how final our justice would be.
Then Jemma reported overhearing the captain, planning an attack on a ship that was coming into the bay; and to make matters worse, it was one of Duke Kristo’s ships.
We discussed our strategy as we made our way to the edge of the jungle and looked over the beach. Jemma and her green friends would be in the trees, safe from the swords of the pirates where they could use our dwindling oil supply to light arrows and rain down fire from the sky onto the pirates. The rest of us would be in the jungle, supporting with our bows and magic.
As we watched the beach, the majority of the pirates loaded into three boats and prepared to intercept the unsuspecting ship off the coast. Purposely waiting until they had begun to row out, the lizardmen and Jemma let loose fire arrows, starting one boat on fire and wounding some of the other pirates in the boats.
The rest of us fired at the captain. As often happens in battle, things moved very quickly. The boats tried to maneuver back to aid those left behind. Jemma ran up the tower to dispatch the pirate on watch. After her initial stab the pirate grabbed her arm. Using his own weight and momentum she thrust him off of the tower onto the captain. Embersteele charged the guards on the ground and fought with vigor. The rest of us used arrows and cross bows to cut down the pirates on the beach. , the lizardmen fired the second and last volley of fire arrows, lighting one boat on fire and wounding several pirates. The captain was dispatched early on, which saved us (as we later learned from examining her body) from particularly nasty magic in which we assume she was well versed. The second in command was pierced through the heart with a expertly aimed arrow by Rapture. Her focus and concentration is unmatched.
Embersteele rushed out to attack some of the pirates left behind on the beach, killing one and being badly wounded by other pirates. I tried to use my bow, but I still have not mastered the thing and could not strike any of the pirates attacking Embersteele, so hefting my mace, I rushed out and pulled her to cover, using the skills Paladin Keth taught me to repair some of the damage.
The lizardmen continued firing on the pirates in the boats until they reached shore where we took to melee combat. The lizardmen were very adept with the spear slaying many. I used the might of justice to slay those pirates with my mighty mace. Rotgut climbed the tower to gain the advantage of height. As Rotgut cast his powerful magic incapacitating many pirates he was almost dragged off of the tower by a pirate that had climbed up from behind. Jemma cut the pirate down with one swift dagger saving Rotgut. As the last pirate seeing his imminent demise, ran for his life into the jungle, he was dropped by a single arrow from the powerful bow of Rapture.
All in all, the battle was over far more quickly than even I had hoped, thank the Gods. We had not lost a single person (or lizardman) and had both saved the ship and destroyed the pirates in one stroke, leaving not one pirate alive. The Gods truly were watching over us that day and justice was satisfied.
The amount of plunder amassed by the pirates was staggering as was the cost in innocent lives lost. And while I’m sure Jemma secreted some valuable trinkets, I do not believe the Gods will begrudge her the small items due to her significant role in carrying out the justice they required. Nearly all of the treasure was returned to its rightful owners and we returned to Featherhaven victorious once again where Duke Kristo rewarded us handsomely.
As far as the remainder of the group, Jemma has once again disappeared and I hear that Noc has been praying to Pelor not only in thanks but also for redemption for some of his actions, which I shall not mention here as I believe it is between Noc and Pelor except that it has to do with his loss of control over his evil orc half. I have heard good things about him working with orphans and I am certain Pelor is watching. I have also seen Noc and Rapture sharing quiet meals at the inn where those of us that remain are residing. Perhaps with Rapture’s influence he will finally be able to conquer his demons. I pray to the Gods that this is so.
Rotgut has, for the most part, sequestered himself in his room to work on his incantations and determine exactly what role his enchanted hat will play in the adventures to come. His young dragon is his constant companion and Featherhaven’s people have grown used to the sight of it on his shoulder when he walks through the town.
Embersteele has taken up a room at the Inn and is recovering more fully from her wounds. She has lately been passing her time practicing her weapon skills and is becoming more and more adept with them.
As for me, I am enjoying whatever brief respite the Gods will allow us. As you know, before you sent me here, I was unsure if this was truly where the Gods wanted me. Now I know you were right to send me, that it is Their will that we remain in Featherhaven to aid the Duke in combating evil, whether from monsters or men, that is so prominent in this part of the world.
Please convey my greetings to the Order and let them know I pray for their safety and success on the many journeys they are compelled to undertake.
Your faithful servant,
Sorshara