GM Thandiwe, ASGM of Events, posted a series of events occurring on Caligos Isle leading up to the opening of Ebon Gate. Our prequel setting to the storyline that will be taking place beginning October 2. Links directly to the Forum posts are contained on the dateline. Also related: do not miss the introductory verses to the theme of this Ebon Gate, A Tale of Death.
The Case of the…
Junderthal thought of himself as a leader in the small community of Caligos Isle. Caligos Proper, he liked to think of it as. He was always the first to greet new boats, to welcome new merchants, to find housing for someone, or to intimidate the bullies into better behavior. He was boisterous, loud, and full of life. He consulted with the Ezreshi, who was very well informed, and was, what he thought, the scion of all things religious.
He knew that Grinnyn had a bit of a crush on him. At first, he thought that the person she always talked about as bringing her to the island was Him, but slowly over the past few years, he’d realized it was him. Now, he was not the kind of dwarf to lead a lady on. Never that. But he had to admit that he rather liked her attentions. It boosted his already incredible ego.
And, frankly, it was nice to be fawned over.
Imagine his surprise when one night in late Phoenatos Grinnyn was found wailing to the moon. Had she gone mad? Had he inadvertently led her on? He climbed the ladder to what he liked to think of as “her domain” and was shocked at the mess he found!
Hundreds of broken helmets littered the ground! Tinkering tools were strewn all about! And in the center of it all was Grinnyn.
It took close to an hour to calm her enough to speak in anything other than a blubbering, spittle-inducing rant in gnomish, but he finally got her there.
Someone had sabotaged her workings. They had shattered the faceplates, torn open the tubing, and stolen her most precious of tools. That last part took a little decoding to figure out. For the better part of an hour, Junderthal kept thinking she said drool.
Junderthal reassured her that things would be fine. The gnome would have none of it. She begged him to help her get more tools and more wares. She also begged him to make whoever the saboteur was pay.
In the end, he asked one of the captains of a small three-man vessel to bring her to the mainland for more tools. While he assembled a work crew to clean up the mess.
… Shattered …
Grinnyn had been gone only a few days when they found the hammer. It was an odd thing, really, it was hidden under some debris that had floated up on one of the island’s many beaches. The sailor that found it brought it to Junderthal with a big smile on his face.
“Found him, Captain.” the man said.
Puzzled Junderthal said, “It’s a hammer, not a him.”
Laughing, the sailor said, “Don’t let Grinnyn hear you say that. She loves that thing and claims its what brought her to the island.”
Junderthal scowled. The gnome wasn’t in love with him, but a hammer. Sighing, he took the hammer and clean the powdered calcium off the handle.
They were almost done cleaning up the mess left in Grinnyn’s domain, but he didn’t know what they were going to do to replace the gnome’s adventurers. Or if the gnome would even be back in time for the opening festivities.
That night, horrid storms wreaked havoc on the small island. Thunder was on top of them, and as usually happened during those moments, the mist seemed to recede and every Ghezresh-fearing citizen hid in caves or behind locked doors. Thunder wasn’t the only sound that echoed across the island. The sound of metal and wood being rendered was prevalent, too.
… Helmets and …
Several things happened all at once the morning after the major storm. Bits and pieces of a ship were scattered along the rocky shoals on the leeward side of the island. There was no small amount of sadness when the nameplate of the ship Grinnyn had been on was found. This signaled that four more souls were lost to the accursed storm god.
The second was the discovery of a hulking mass off the western beaches. At first, the mists shrouded the monstrosity, causing the explorers with Junderthal to approach hesitantly. However, when the mists parted it’s warped and waterlogged mass was fully visible.
With a hoot of laughter, the captain sent one of the younger lads to go find the Ezreshi.
“She’s going to love this,” he said as a plan began to take shape.
… Souls …
Silvery indigo mist preceded two shadows as they traversed the rocky shoals leading down to the beach. The pair moved into the hulking mass that had washed up onto the beach, their breath clouding in the air despite the season.
“We will have to be quick,” a slow, dreamy voice said, her tone making it hard to imagine that she did anything quickly.
Her partner grunted as he struck a match and set its tiny flame to the wick of the tallow he held aloft.
“We will bind them to Ghezresh, and then they will be his,” the female said as she watched the dwarf’s face. Glancing down the long corridor, she pointed at each door. “We will need a candle at each door.”
Nodding, the dwarf set out to put a candle before each door, his back to the Ezreshi as she began her incantation.
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