"Ay! I've run in with harpies during my time at sea! Wax is a great thing to have on hand, but in a pinch, I've found the odd carrot to be sufficient!"
Augustus will watch Vinn plug one of his ears with wax and look at the knight to see if this is usual behavior before leaning in and answering a bit too loud in response,
"Uh, no! I'm unfamiliar with this 'DeGray' fellow but we were brought here by one Captain Keeneseeker, of the Everwind! Perhaps you've heard of her? Apparently she's lost some mates of hers in these parts! I believe the name of the ship was the... COMPASS ROSE! (Sounded out especially loudly as Augustus stands on his tiptoes to get closer to Vinn's ear) Have you all heard any tales of a shipwreck by that name?"
”I was dispatched here by my order and know little of the sea. But I believe there is a graveyard of wrecked ships on the North side of the island cursed by the undead. Perhaps the sunken ship you speak of is there. When we have killed or driven off the Harpies we can investigate.”
As the path winds up the mountain side and becomes narrower, he forgets the length of his stride, moving ahead unconsciously. Realizing it, he stops and smiles back at the others.
”Do not watch only your feet, friends! Sune has scattered roses on the waves and if you look closely you may spot one! Eh, Vinn?”
"Never heard of your captain Everywind or a Campus Rose!" Vinn replies. "Honestly, we're new arrivals too and... it seems like everything here is almost, if not completely, a wreck."
Vinn fiddles with the wax, silently agreeing that pulling out an odd carrot would be much easier. Taking a deep breath, he pinches his nose and using his gust cantrip from within, blows his nose to pop the wax out. Vinn debates on what to do with it, before burying it in the sand.
"Sune might be scattering these roses, sir, but it's really hard to spot any. Maybe we're out of season?" The genasi then rubs his ear, not quite sure if he got everything out.
"Aye, that ship graveyard's probably the place to start! Apparently their old mate never made it to the Locker, and has remained in some form. If you're headed for harpies, I'd be happy to offer my help if you'd do the same with our ship mystery!"
Augustus looks out at the shore, looking for the aforementioned roses.
"I'm not sure the meaning of such an omen as roses on the waves, but I can only hope it's in our favor!"
Seeing that everyone is settling down a bit after the combat, Ziegler accepts the offered pieces of wax and nods to Sir Beauregard. "Ziegler is my name, " he says, with a bow at the waist to the others, "you say there are monks about?" He looks around at the others and behind them to try to catch a glance at these aforementioned monks. Seeing none, he checks himself to be sure he has all his gear and gets ready to follow the others.
(perhaps Ziegler heard wrong, but he thought "monks" were mentioned...however) "Ah, I see, " he says, glancing to where Sir Beauregard is pointing. Glancing about, he takes note of the others, shifting his pack to settle more evenly on his shoulders and using his spear to help him along the sands and hills. "Zombies. Harpies. What else does this strange island hold?"
Varnoth’s stride stutters when she hears the name The Compass Rose but says nothing.
She continues in silence until she hears Sir Beauregard’s question about the crossbow. “I do not, friend.” She replies. “But you might speak with Myla in the cell next to yours. She collects things. She tends to have a wide array of tools and weapons.”
Varnoth’s answer comes just as you turn a bend bringing Dragon’s Rest into view.
Your arrival quickly draws the attention of the entire population of the place—which consists mostly of kobolds. These small, reptilian folk eye you curiously while a couple of humans watch from a distance. All the cloister’s residents, (indeed, monk-like in their cloistered devotion to The Platinum Dragon) are dressed in simple clothes, and no one carries a visible weapon. A handful of kobolds immediately rush up to greet you as you arrive. The charming, if dimwitted Frub immediately runs to Vinn, pulling at his pant leg, pointing at Silver, Morlock and Ziegler and whispering, “Who they?”
All the others cluster around the newcomers, peppering them with questions—“Where are you from?” “What’s that?” “Why are you here?” and more that are lost in the din.
For Sir Beauregard and Vinn it’s a moment of déjà vu, reminiscent of your first arrival. As the chaos continues, Varnoth addresses the half-orc and the genassi (While still within earshot of the others). “I know you’ve been eager to deal with the menace on the northern archipelago.” She says. “This latest attack might be enough for the Mistress to finally grant her blessing to allow that. She’s up in the temple right now, in contemplation. Give me a few minutes to speak with her, help the new arrivals to settle in, then come up to meet us. We’ll discuss what can and must be done.”
With that, she turns and departs up the main road, leaving the rest of you to settle in and explore as you’d like until you’re ready to speak with Varnoth and Mistress Runara.
What would you like to do?
For all you newcomers, here’s the map of locations within Dragon’s Rest:
A1. Are the monastic cells where you’ll be sleeping (This is also where Myla is. She’s more than willing to trade with anyone who wants and, remarkably, she has everything you can find in the Player’s Handbook’s equipment section! How convenient!)
A2. The Winch House for bringing pallets of supplies up from merchant vessels
A3. The kitchen where communal meals are served.
A4. The cloister library
A5. The Temple of Bahamut
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM - Classic Adventures Reborn
Rylan - L1 Human Paladin - Barty's "Princes of the Apocalypse"
Silver will take note of Varnoth's pause at the name, but will not press it further for the time being.
When they reach the cloister, Silver has a particularly hard time working through the crowd of Kobolds, being only a bit taller than them, and does his best to answer questions that don't feel too personal. He seems excited to see the Kobolds and makes a comment about a Kobold of sea-faring legend named Klabautermann that is well known among sailors and only visits those aboard a doomed ship!
Augustus will take the opportunity to rest his legs after all the walking and will find a cell with an empty space for him to put down his pack and sit for a time. Looking for the nearest person who seems in charge, he'll ask if they have any rules about smoking inside. He'll then go inspect the Winch House, checking out the craftsmanship and quality.
Sir Beauregard offers a backward version of the tour to the new adventurers if the kobolds don’t cover everything, showing them each of the rooms from bottom to top, but first he stops by Myla’s cell to see if she has collected a crossbow or any other interesting weapons. If so he’ll offer her its value from the gems he and Vinn found. After all that he’ll make his way to the temple and bring those with him who are willing.
Sir Beauregard rummages through Myla’s pile and finds a heavy crossbow and bolts as well as a healing potion. He trades her some of the gems from the myconid caverns and straps the crossbow to his pack. “Just the thing for Harpies!” He then gives Morlock the tour and escorts Ziegler to the library. When everyone is ready, he leads them to the temple.
Vinn crouches low, his form almost blending into the swarm of chittering kobolds, if not for the bright blue of his skin. He cups his hand around his mouth and whispers back to Frub, "They're newcomers, searching for a lost ship called the Compass Rose on behalf of another captain. Zombies attacked them on shore, but fortunately, Sir and I saved them with the postulate here."
When Varnoth confirms with Sir Beauregard that the group might finally have the mistress's approval to address the encroaching harpies, Vinn gives a lazy thumbs up. "I'll help gather supplies," he says, and heads into the kitchen for a handful of odd carrots as the group tours. He soon meets them outside the temple.
"This is real generous for you all to help us out, when you just arrived here," Vinn says to the newcomers, handing each person a pair of baby carrots, and occasionally holds one up to their ears for quick measure. "You think the harpies had anything to do with the Compass Rose? They attacked the Platinum Plume, which brought me and Sir ashore, and it got pretty bad for a moment. We lost some decent men. The captain of that ship went back out to look for them."
Meeting up with the rest before heading to the temple, Augustus will respond to Vinn,
"Aye, it's possible they ran afoul of some harpies, what sent them to the depths. All we know is the ship has been located once through arcane means and was discovered to be here just a ways offshore and underwater, still visited by some version of the man that once crewed it. Stranger tales are told here on the seas, but it's often wise not to meddle with that which you do not understand."
He test fits the baby carrots which fall loosely out of his especially large ears. He squints at them disappointed before adding a bit of wax around them and refitting them, then storing the fashioned earplugs in a pouch on his belt.
Augustus will take the opportunity to rest his legs after all the walking and will find a cell with an empty space for him to put down his pack and sit for a time. Looking for the nearest person who seems in charge, he'll ask if they have any rules about smoking inside.
In response to Augustus's inquiries, he's directed to a stern looking kobold by the name of Agga who seems to be in charge of all the little creatures. She informs him that there's no smoking allowed inside. Not so much because of him but because, (indicating towards the other kobolds) "Deez knucklebrains'd set da whole place alight if dey was allowed ta do wot dey wants."
Sir Beauregard stops by Myla’s cell to see if she has collected a crossbow or any other interesting weapons. If so he’ll offer her its value from the gems he and Vinn found.
Sir Beauregard finds the kobold Myla in her chamber looking distracted, as if something weighs heavy on her mind. She looks slightly different than the others. Careful observation of her awkward movement and scars along her back suggest she might have actually sported wings at some point in the distant past.
The knight of the Ruby Rose has no trouble locating the crossbow. The healing potion he actually secures from Tarak at cost. He's rather offer the potions for free, but he needs to defer the expense of some of the ingredients that he imports from the mainland.
After making your preparations, you make your way up to temple, an impressive, ancient-looking open air structure with a magnificent view of the sea.
On your way up the trail, you pass by a small group of kobolds engaged in more serious conversation than your used to seeing from the puckish little creatures.
Arriving at the temple, you find Varnoth speaking with Mistress Runara, an older human woman with weathered brown skin, grey hair and kindly eyes, dressed in a simple white robe. The two women seem to be engaged in a conversation about something that poses a great concern to both of them.
Upon seeing your arrival, Mistress Runara turns to you, offering a friendly smile.
"Greetings... And welcome, newcomers, to Dragon's Rest. I am Mistress Runara, Elder and Keeper of this cloister. I'm so sorry that you had to arrive to such an unpleasant experience. Varnoth was just reporting what happened. I'm relieved to hear that you made it through the ordeal alive."
She turns her attention to Sir Beauregard. "My friend. For at least a tenday now you've been seeking to rid the northern reef of the harpies who nest there and for at least a tenday I have rebuffed those requests... I suppose the time has come to explain my position... You see, the nesting monstrosities are the least of the dangers in that region. Those waters have been the bane of approaching ships for centuries... since the death of a golden dragon left a tangle of bones beneath the waves.
"In that time, it's been considered a known but generally avoidable peril... until about a decade ago, when something dark began to emerge from the waters... a growing number of restless souls dredged from the depths began emerging on the shore. A few at a time, it seemed. Easily dealt with... but the source of the magic that brought them to this state has, thus far, eluded us.
"The oath of our order bids us to dedicate ourselves to the protection of this island... not what lies in the waters beyond... besides, I dared not risk encountering or unleashing a greater evil by toying with powers we did not understand.
"Lately, however.... It seems the number of undead seems to be swelling... be it from the recent crop of bodies brought in by the hunting harpies... or, perhaps from some greater power at hand. Either way, the threat can no longer be ignored... And now that you have all proven yourselves capable of handling an undead threat, I trust you to investigate the matter."
At this, Varnoth chimes in. "If you wish to take this on, you can make use of the rowboat tethered down at the beach where you all arrived. The journey to the northern reef is about two and a half miles away. You should be able to make it in just under two hours time.
Mistress Runara regards you all, "What say you?" She asks. "Would you be willing to investigate?
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DM - Classic Adventures Reborn
Rylan - L1 Human Paladin - Barty's "Princes of the Apocalypse"
Ziegler would be interested in any local history/theology on dragons, demons (specifically ley-lines), and any information on the Compass Rose. To Vinn, he asks, "What are these...carrots?...for?" To Sir Beauregard, he takes the opportunity for the tour (time permitting).
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"Ay! I've run in with harpies during my time at sea! Wax is a great thing to have on hand, but in a pinch, I've found the odd carrot to be sufficient!"
Augustus will watch Vinn plug one of his ears with wax and look at the knight to see if this is usual behavior before leaning in and answering a bit too loud in response,
"Uh, no! I'm unfamiliar with this 'DeGray' fellow but we were brought here by one Captain Keeneseeker, of the Everwind! Perhaps you've heard of her? Apparently she's lost some mates of hers in these parts! I believe the name of the ship was the... COMPASS ROSE! (Sounded out especially loudly as Augustus stands on his tiptoes to get closer to Vinn's ear) Have you all heard any tales of a shipwreck by that name?"
Sir Beauregard pauses to let the dwarf catch up.
”I was dispatched here by my order and know little of the sea. But I believe there is a graveyard of wrecked ships on the North side of the island cursed by the undead. Perhaps the sunken ship you speak of is there. When we have killed or driven off the Harpies we can investigate.”
As the path winds up the mountain side and becomes narrower, he forgets the length of his stride, moving ahead unconsciously. Realizing it, he stops and smiles back at the others.
”Do not watch only your feet, friends! Sune has scattered roses on the waves and if you look closely you may spot one! Eh, Vinn?”
"Never heard of your captain Everywind or a Campus Rose!" Vinn replies. "Honestly, we're new arrivals too and... it seems like everything here is almost, if not completely, a wreck."
Vinn fiddles with the wax, silently agreeing that pulling out an odd carrot would be much easier. Taking a deep breath, he pinches his nose and using his gust cantrip from within, blows his nose to pop the wax out. Vinn debates on what to do with it, before burying it in the sand.
"Sune might be scattering these roses, sir, but it's really hard to spot any. Maybe we're out of season?" The genasi then rubs his ear, not quite sure if he got everything out.
"Aye, that ship graveyard's probably the place to start! Apparently their old mate never made it to the Locker, and has remained in some form. If you're headed for harpies, I'd be happy to offer my help if you'd do the same with our ship mystery!"
Augustus looks out at the shore, looking for the aforementioned roses.
"I'm not sure the meaning of such an omen as roses on the waves, but I can only hope it's in our favor!"
Sir Beauregard asks Varnoth if she happened to keep a crossbow as a memento of the old days.
Seeing that everyone is settling down a bit after the combat, Ziegler accepts the offered pieces of wax and nods to Sir Beauregard.
"Ziegler is my name, " he says, with a bow at the waist to the others, "you say there are monks about?"
He looks around at the others and behind them to try to catch a glance at these aforementioned monks. Seeing none, he checks himself to be sure he has all his gear and gets ready to follow the others.
Sir Beauregard shakes his head. “Not monks, roses.” He points at the ocean.
(perhaps Ziegler heard wrong, but he thought "monks" were mentioned...however)
"Ah, I see, " he says, glancing to where Sir Beauregard is pointing. Glancing about, he takes note of the others, shifting his pack to settle more evenly on his shoulders and using his spear to help him along the sands and hills.
"Zombies. Harpies. What else does this strange island hold?"
“Monks!”
Sir Beauregard keeps walking staring out across the sea.
”The monks are hard to spot too.”
Varnoth’s stride stutters when she hears the name The Compass Rose but says nothing.
She continues in silence until she hears Sir Beauregard’s question about the crossbow. “I do not, friend.” She replies. “But you might speak with Myla in the cell next to yours. She collects things. She tends to have a wide array of tools and weapons.”
Varnoth’s answer comes just as you turn a bend bringing Dragon’s Rest into view.
Your arrival quickly draws the attention of the entire population of the place—which consists mostly of kobolds. These small, reptilian folk eye you curiously while a couple of humans watch from a distance. All the cloister’s residents, (indeed, monk-like in their cloistered devotion to The Platinum Dragon) are dressed in simple clothes, and no one carries a visible weapon. A handful of kobolds immediately rush up to greet you as you arrive. The charming, if dimwitted Frub immediately runs to Vinn, pulling at his pant leg, pointing at Silver, Morlock and Ziegler and whispering, “Who they?”
All the others cluster around the newcomers, peppering them with questions—“Where are you from?” “What’s that?” “Why are you here?” and more that are lost in the din.
For Sir Beauregard and Vinn it’s a moment of déjà vu, reminiscent of your first arrival. As the chaos continues, Varnoth addresses the half-orc and the genassi (While still within earshot of the others). “I know you’ve been eager to deal with the menace on the northern archipelago.” She says. “This latest attack might be enough for the Mistress to finally grant her blessing to allow that. She’s up in the temple right now, in contemplation. Give me a few minutes to speak with her, help the new arrivals to settle in, then come up to meet us. We’ll discuss what can and must be done.”
With that, she turns and departs up the main road, leaving the rest of you to settle in and explore as you’d like until you’re ready to speak with Varnoth and Mistress Runara.
What would you like to do?
For all you newcomers, here’s the map of locations within Dragon’s Rest:
A1. Are the monastic cells where you’ll be sleeping (This is also where Myla is. She’s more than willing to trade with anyone who wants and, remarkably, she has everything you can find in the Player’s Handbook’s equipment section! How convenient!)
A2. The Winch House for bringing pallets of supplies up from merchant vessels
A3. The kitchen where communal meals are served.
A4. The cloister library
A5. The Temple of Bahamut
DM - Classic Adventures Reborn
Rylan - L1 Human Paladin - Barty's "Princes of the Apocalypse"
If there is time, after introductions and securing a space for me to sleep and store my gear, Ziegler would very much like to visit the library.
Silver will take note of Varnoth's pause at the name, but will not press it further for the time being.
When they reach the cloister, Silver has a particularly hard time working through the crowd of Kobolds, being only a bit taller than them, and does his best to answer questions that don't feel too personal. He seems excited to see the Kobolds and makes a comment about a Kobold of sea-faring legend named Klabautermann that is well known among sailors and only visits those aboard a doomed ship!
Augustus will take the opportunity to rest his legs after all the walking and will find a cell with an empty space for him to put down his pack and sit for a time. Looking for the nearest person who seems in charge, he'll ask if they have any rules about smoking inside. He'll then go inspect the Winch House, checking out the craftsmanship and quality.
Sir Beauregard offers a backward version of the tour to the new adventurers if the kobolds don’t cover everything, showing them each of the rooms from bottom to top, but first he stops by Myla’s cell to see if she has collected a crossbow or any other interesting weapons. If so he’ll offer her its value from the gems he and Vinn found. After all that he’ll make his way to the temple and bring those with him who are willing.
Morlock greets his distant relatives; the kobolds. "Cousins. It is good to see you all are well. So this is your town? It looks like a nice place."
Morlock will take Sir Beauregard up for the tour.
D&D since 1984
Sir Beauregard rummages through Myla’s pile and finds a heavy crossbow and bolts as well as a healing potion. He trades her some of the gems from the myconid caverns and straps the crossbow to his pack. “Just the thing for Harpies!” He then gives Morlock the tour and escorts Ziegler to the library. When everyone is ready, he leads them to the temple.
Vinn crouches low, his form almost blending into the swarm of chittering kobolds, if not for the bright blue of his skin. He cups his hand around his mouth and whispers back to Frub, "They're newcomers, searching for a lost ship called the Compass Rose on behalf of another captain. Zombies attacked them on shore, but fortunately, Sir and I saved them with the postulate here."
When Varnoth confirms with Sir Beauregard that the group might finally have the mistress's approval to address the encroaching harpies, Vinn gives a lazy thumbs up. "I'll help gather supplies," he says, and heads into the kitchen for a handful of odd carrots as the group tours. He soon meets them outside the temple.
"This is real generous for you all to help us out, when you just arrived here," Vinn says to the newcomers, handing each person a pair of baby carrots, and occasionally holds one up to their ears for quick measure. "You think the harpies had anything to do with the Compass Rose? They attacked the Platinum Plume, which brought me and Sir ashore, and it got pretty bad for a moment. We lost some decent men. The captain of that ship went back out to look for them."
Meeting up with the rest before heading to the temple, Augustus will respond to Vinn,
"Aye, it's possible they ran afoul of some harpies, what sent them to the depths. All we know is the ship has been located once through arcane means and was discovered to be here just a ways offshore and underwater, still visited by some version of the man that once crewed it. Stranger tales are told here on the seas, but it's often wise not to meddle with that which you do not understand."
He test fits the baby carrots which fall loosely out of his especially large ears. He squints at them disappointed before adding a bit of wax around them and refitting them, then storing the fashioned earplugs in a pouch on his belt.
In response to Augustus's inquiries, he's directed to a stern looking kobold by the name of Agga who seems to be in charge of all the little creatures. She informs him that there's no smoking allowed inside. Not so much because of him but because, (indicating towards the other kobolds) "Deez knucklebrains'd set da whole place alight if dey was allowed ta do wot dey wants."
Sir Beauregard finds the kobold Myla in her chamber looking distracted, as if something weighs heavy on her mind. She looks slightly different than the others. Careful observation of her awkward movement and scars along her back suggest she might have actually sported wings at some point in the distant past.
The knight of the Ruby Rose has no trouble locating the crossbow. The healing potion he actually secures from Tarak at cost. He's rather offer the potions for free, but he needs to defer the expense of some of the ingredients that he imports from the mainland.
Sir Beauregard offers a version of the tour given to him & Vinn in Post #49
Zeigler definitely has an opportunity to visit the library (is there anything in particular he'd like to explore or attempt to research?)
DM - Classic Adventures Reborn
Rylan - L1 Human Paladin - Barty's "Princes of the Apocalypse"
This officially brings us to...
CHAPTER 3 - The Ballad of the Compass Rose
After making your preparations, you make your way up to temple, an impressive, ancient-looking open air structure with a magnificent view of the sea.
On your way up the trail, you pass by a small group of kobolds engaged in more serious conversation than your used to seeing from the puckish little creatures.
Arriving at the temple, you find Varnoth speaking with Mistress Runara, an older human woman with weathered brown skin, grey hair and kindly eyes, dressed in a simple white robe. The two women seem to be engaged in a conversation about something that poses a great concern to both of them.
Upon seeing your arrival, Mistress Runara turns to you, offering a friendly smile.
"Greetings... And welcome, newcomers, to Dragon's Rest. I am Mistress Runara, Elder and Keeper of this cloister. I'm so sorry that you had to arrive to such an unpleasant experience. Varnoth was just reporting what happened. I'm relieved to hear that you made it through the ordeal alive."
She turns her attention to Sir Beauregard. "My friend. For at least a tenday now you've been seeking to rid the northern reef of the harpies who nest there and for at least a tenday I have rebuffed those requests... I suppose the time has come to explain my position... You see, the nesting monstrosities are the least of the dangers in that region. Those waters have been the bane of approaching ships for centuries... since the death of a golden dragon left a tangle of bones beneath the waves.
"In that time, it's been considered a known but generally avoidable peril... until about a decade ago, when something dark began to emerge from the waters... a growing number of restless souls dredged from the depths began emerging on the shore. A few at a time, it seemed. Easily dealt with... but the source of the magic that brought them to this state has, thus far, eluded us.
"The oath of our order bids us to dedicate ourselves to the protection of this island... not what lies in the waters beyond... besides, I dared not risk encountering or unleashing a greater evil by toying with powers we did not understand.
"Lately, however.... It seems the number of undead seems to be swelling... be it from the recent crop of bodies brought in by the hunting harpies... or, perhaps from some greater power at hand. Either way, the threat can no longer be ignored... And now that you have all proven yourselves capable of handling an undead threat, I trust you to investigate the matter."
At this, Varnoth chimes in. "If you wish to take this on, you can make use of the rowboat tethered down at the beach where you all arrived. The journey to the northern reef is about two and a half miles away. You should be able to make it in just under two hours time.
Mistress Runara regards you all, "What say you?" She asks. "Would you be willing to investigate?
DM - Classic Adventures Reborn
Rylan - L1 Human Paladin - Barty's "Princes of the Apocalypse"
Ziegler would be interested in any local history/theology on dragons, demons (specifically ley-lines), and any information on the Compass Rose.
To Vinn, he asks, "What are these...carrots?...for?"
To Sir Beauregard, he takes the opportunity for the tour (time permitting).