Act 9 - Chimera Cove

The Age of Magic is ended, Bhall, the Goddess of Fire, has succumbed to the whispers of Agares and fallen into Hell. Her worshipers and creations driven mad, and fire, which has been a powerful ally to man, has turned against him. Each good god was charged with the opposition of an evil god. Bhall was responsible for balancing Mulcarn, the God of Winter. Finding himself unopposed Mulcarn has broken The Compact and moved into Creation.

Creation was on the verge of another open war between the gods, that which they had outlawed with The Compact. To keep that from happening a deal was struck and the gods agreed that one god would enter Creation to challenge Mulcarn. That was Sucellus, the God of Nature. The two gods battled across the face of Creation, entire civilizations still recovering from the Burning Skies that marked the fall of Bhall were destroyed by their power. In the end Sucellus was killed and Mulcarn remained.

The Eternal Winter has begun...
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Act 9 - Chimera Cove

Post by Vardaen » Tue Aug 13, 2019 4:25 pm

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Chimera Cove lies at the southern tip of a rocky and storm-swept cape projecting into the South Sea, in a no-man’s-land between the great nations of Icatia and Malakir. The three islands sitting just off shore do little to block the sea’s relentless swells, but they do effectively anchor the persistent coastal fog, making local navigation perilous. The fishermen who settled this grim seashore decades ago have a knack for maneuvering their catboats to and from their spindly docks, but no merchant ships dare use the treacherous cove, even with a launch. Few outsiders find the settlement’s steady decline in recent years surprising, wondering only at why the place was ever founded.
- - Sir Gromhelm's Geography Primer of the Icatian Empire
** January 7th, Boarderlands of Icatia, 53 Years after the Fall of Bhall, 10 Days From Springwell **

Its been ten days since you left Springwell and the the Blackthorn Dells. The trip has been easy enough, this far south the winter hasn't settled in with full force yet making travel on foot simple enough. You've left all you know behind, your companions, Celevan and Braedon, Drak and Mlion, they are no longer with you. The new quartet only has two of the old guard, "Dreams" and Torias, plus Nate and Lineos. You've had ten days now on the road to get to know each other, and you all seem to be getting along still. Even if Dreams is a bit preachy, and Lineos' constant preening is annoying to some.

The travel route has been fine, you have kept the River Foam on your left and followed it south, eventually it will empty into the sea and the dangerous coast and the are known as Chimera Cove. You crossed the Bright River without too much trouble, paying a ferry man a few silver for the use of his boat. The lands aren't devoid of life, besides the wildlife you've found pioneers, ranches, and a few small frontier hamlets no larger than an extended family or two. The people are hard people, they don't like strangers, and they don't trust stangers. Not here along the edge of the wild, any time you speak to them about supplies or directions, or anything they point to your Thornkeep to the north,"You traveling type can find what you want there."

Thornkeep however is well out of your way at this point. Still, you make the trip, the weather warming as you go south and as you near the sea. On a clear day you think you can see the great sand dunes of Malakim to the east and Lineos looks that way often. You are seated around your campfire, hopeful that in the morning you may finally reach Chimera Cove. The question of why you are going there has come up a few time from Nate or Lineos, and so you sit around the fire and go over it, 'one last time'.

From Baron Vendikon of Olfden's magical study...

Yet this is still one more thing other than the loot that grabs your eyes, laying on a table is a folded map, and tucked into the map is a letter. The map itself depicts some of Calabim, Icatia, and Olfden as well. It also shows the southeastern coastline of Icatia and Malakim with a red circle around a location called Chimera Cove. A notation in the baron’s handwriting next to the circled area reads “Poltur’s Expedition.” The letter reads:

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Dreams and Torias should maybe explain the purpose here. You found this note among the evil Baron's things, and are hoping to stop whatever doom it portents.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Act 9 - Chimera Cove

Post by Muskrat » Thu Aug 15, 2019 8:42 pm

Dreams sighs and says to Nate and Lineos, "I'm afraid we don't know much beyond what the letter says. Baron Vendikon was the ruler of the Icatian city of Olfden. Seeking to protect it, he fell in with dark forces and eventually turned to the worship of the evil gods. He was also planning to turn Olfden over to the Calabim Empire, before we helped the Icatian army put a stop to that. Torias and I fought Baron Vendikon ourselves and discovered that he had made pacts with devils. After we defeated him, we found this letter. We don't know what the Baron and this Poltur hoped to accomplish exactly or whether the Baron was able to send troops to him before we defeated him--but clearly evil things were set in motion. We aim to complete the work we started and stop them--if we can get to Chimera's Cove in time."

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Act 9 - Chimera Cove

Post by ManWithDoor » Fri Aug 16, 2019 1:43 am

Nate has his gunsmithing kit out while they camp for the night. While they talk he is heating up lead to melting to pour into molds. Shops with ammo and gunpowder tend to be rather rare, but fortunately his army training included how to manufacture such things. Sometimes one needs to be self-sufficient. "This Baron sounds like bad news. Good thing you took him down. The world is a bad enough place already, it doesn't need someone helping it along." He picks at the bullet mode with a small tool, clearing out any dirt or residual metal that could affect quality. "And I'm not exactly a theologian. But I thought Sirona was the goddess of ... good wisdom, yes? And Agares a god of darkness or nightmares or something. Is this a corruption thing then? That'll unleash something nasty?"
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Act 9 - Chimera Cove

Post by Muskrat » Fri Aug 16, 2019 7:26 pm

Dreams says, "That is a good question. I rather suspect we won't find out the answer till we are knee deep in the mystery. It could be some sort of key to unlock an artifact of Sirona, which they plan to corrupt." As she speaks, she searches her memory from her days as a scholar, in case anything relevant should occur to her.
Knowledge: Religion check. Take 10 or 20 if appropriate.

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Act 9 - Chimera Cove

Post by Grimbold » Sat Aug 17, 2019 7:45 am

Torias ponders over the letter as well. "Maybe they need something holy to destroy or sacrifice? Or it is a holy site of Sirona they want to enter and despoil? Anyway, releasing the terrible treasure seems a very distrurbing idea."
Use all sorts of knowledge skills to see if he can get any other idea:
k religion, k planes, k arcana, k history, k dungeon, k geography, spellcraft, ...

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Act 9 - Chimera Cove

Post by Vardaen » Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:16 pm

You guys are right, she's traditionally aligned on the positive side of things, one of the good goddesses. Your various theories all seem just as legit as any other thoughts.

Sirona the Wise - Goddess of Wisdom (Female); Domains: Knowledge, Good, Luck, Healing; Counters Esus.

Agares the Black - God of the Night (Male); Domains: Darkness, Strength, Destruction, Liberation; Counters Lugus.
Nate works on casting some bullets as the group ponders the note and the situation. When the wind blows hard from the south you can catch a faint smell of salt on the air, so you suspect tomorrow you should reach the coast and can start your investigations further then.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Act 9 - Chimera Cove

Post by Muskrat » Tue Aug 20, 2019 5:29 pm

Dreams nods at Torias' words. "I suppose we'll find out what's going on soon enough--hopefully, soon enough to stop it."

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Act 9 - Chimera Cove

Post by ManWithDoor » Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:13 pm

"Sounds good. Want any plan on how we approach the town? Want some cover story of being mercenaries or something? Or honestly, with the world as it is, people wandering from place to place looking for safety isn't exactly uncommon." He nods pointedly at Lineos, then returns his eyes to his work. "After all, who knows how long it will be until every city and town falls to shambles. Out here in the middle of nowhere might actually be a good place to be." Nate seems the pessimistic sort.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Act 9 - Chimera Cove

Post by Vardaen » Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:41 pm

Tomorrow eventually arrives and you near your destination that has taken so many months to reach. You come down through the terrain and about a mile away you can see the coast and the village.

Dwarfed by the bluffs behind and to either side, a dozen pathetic wooden buildings huddle along the shore within a small protective curve of the rocky coastline. Three imposing islands face the settlement through the fog. The largest, a nearly cubic block of stone, squats in the water like some stubborn beast. The second island sends columns of foam arcing high into the air with each breaker impacting its far side, focusing the onrushing wave into a vertical channel, and a sizzle echoes across the cove as the spray returns to the sea. The last and smallest island is remarkable only for its silhouette: two pointed boulders near its crest give it the look of a horned animal head.

From here you see no villages, but its nearly a mile away and through the fog at early morning so that's not to surprising.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Act 9 - Chimera Cove

Post by Muskrat » Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:53 pm

Dreams considers Nate's suggestion. "Whoever is behind this plot might be open to hiring mercenaries, so that might be a way in for us. However, ordinary locals are probably even less likely to talk to mercenaries than other outsiders. I would guess our foes are operating with some secrecy, so our best option might be to go in as wanderers, tell strange tales of our own, and see if anyone locally has tales to tell of unusual goings-on."

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