Session 40: The Sea

NPC's
Dichroma, Morgan, Smoke-bird

Location
Unnamed village, Eltica

Summary
The party begins to drive down toward Eltica. Cryllos first looks or the Tigales for permission, but they are not there, the only signs being wagon wheel tracks going toward Lighthouse 1. The others stop him from investigating, so he keeps driving.

The party passes over mountains, lighthouses, the moor, and temple crater before reaching the shore. There, the sky clouds over, and it's windy, chilly, and damp. The entire shore is cliffs, except for a small village along a coast. It has seaside shacks, a port, docks. Far away, beneath a dark, overcast sky, is a smallish island. It is almost engulfed in storms, lightning, rain, and rough seas crashing around. In the middle stands a craggy old stone castle, with a tower sticking into the eye of the storm. The sea looks odd and lacks monsters. They land in the almost desolate village, and Nonamé immediately asks Cryllos to shoot a hunk of meat into the ocean. He obliges, and she runs to shore, passing the boat warehouse. She pathetically throws another hunk while Cryllos and Alastor talk to a grumpy group, gathered a good distance from the boathouse. Alastor asks what's going on. A woman in a raincoat responds, "an economic crisis, that's what." They've been locked out of the boathouse by pirates, one of whom has a contrasting color scheme. Cryllos instantly rushes to a window and raps against it. Dichroma dramatically throws open the door and demands, "who dares challenge me– oh it's you." Cryllos asks, "Mom, why are you committing crimes..." She ushers him and Alastor to show her plan inside, where Morgan is inspecting the boats with a paint bucket. The largest sailboat has Lady Dichroma III and a purple racing stripe painted on it. Dichroma plans on going to the Island of No Return, as the stories surrounding it intrigue her. She is also following an ornate compass she bought at a reputable magic item black market at Lighthouse 18 as it supposedly points towards destiny. The needle points to the island. She wants to get to the bottom of the mystery because the compass was very expensive. She is the only one that can split the clouds and penetrate to the island. Cryllos asks about her crew, and she responds that they split up after the incident with Aster. Cryllos mentions the car alchemic carriage, which Dichroma finds interesting. She reveals that she knows how to use alchemy and used it to repair ship parts. She was taught by a crew member. Dichroma looks around the carriage and takes a beer. Nonamé uses Dichroma's telescope to look at the castle but does not find what she's looking for. The party notices the villagers converging the boathouse with pitchforks. Dichroma dashes to them and barks something, scaring them off. She drags Morgan to safety. Before filing into the carriage, Cryllos mutters, "Road trips but you might die," to which Dichroma responds, "I know, isn't that life?"

They ride the carriage above the water, which has no monsters. Suddenly, Dichroma grabs a paint bucket, preparing to paint the carriage with a name (Lady Dichroma IV). As they keep flying, Dichroma raises her hands, peeling away a path through the stormcloud. Nonamé looks at the compass, which has "destiny" written on it. It points towards the island regardless of the holder, making Nonamé think that they were ripped off. Dichroma struggles to keep the clouds open, and Alastor goes ahead. He hears a somewhat deep and familiar woman's voice singing. As they keep going, the voice stops, everyone's hair starts floating, and the air buzzes. Nonamé goes into the lightning pose, which Oliver thinks is funny. Suddenly, a huge boom and flash of light hit the car. Due to the material, everyone is safe except for Cryllos and the crystal. It stutters before going out. The carriage starts sinking, but Cryllos manages to possess it, to slow the fall. Nonamé starts to take wood planks out in case of the carriage sinking. There is a talking mouth from the side of the carriage. Annora finds an inflatable raft in her suitcase. Through the clouds, the party finally sees the island, shielded by spiky rocks and whirlpools.

Cryllos manages to safely fly over the obstacles and gently land before getting violently ejected. They all hear singing. Dichroma and Morgan agree to stay behind to fix the carriage, under the condition that if there are mountains of gold, to tell her where. The party sees a clear path between some cliffs, which, as they pass, are revealed to be stone walls. Behind it is a courtyard, which has a stone monolith with two sets of words and a triangle with a 1 inside engraved into it. They say, "Steady count and racing minds are the only way you will survive. Take heed, count to five, and perhaps, my friends, you will survive." and "Tufbez dpvou boe sbdjoh njoet bsf uif pomz xbz zpv xjmm tvswjwf. Ublf iffe, dpvou up gjwf, boe qfsibqt, nz gsjfoet, zpv xjmm tvswjwf." This is revealed to be a caesar cipher, with the letters moving up one.

Inside is a split path, and behind is another set of words and a triangle with a 2, "Ngv vjg ykpf dg aqwt iwkfg, hqt vjg Ncdatkpvj ku pqv mkpf vq urkgu." This, a Caesar cipher moving up two, translates to, "Let the wind be your guide, for the Labyrinth is not kind to spies." Nonamé tests for wind, which is blowing to the right.

As they walk through the corridor, it winds until a curve leads to a lake of black water. On the was is a triangle with a 3 and "Zdqghulqj vrxov zloo vxuhob gurzq... vr zkb qrw zdon ehorz wkh jurxqg?" It translates to, "Wandering souls will surely drown... So why not walk below the ground?" Nonamé dips her finger into the pool, then the water ripples toward her, when suddenly the water rises. A mouth filled with rows of teeth leaps from the water before diving back in. Nonamé goes to do it again, but Oliver stops her. Cryllos picks up some surprisingly light stones, revealing a ladder leading to a tunnel.

It leads to a blank room with five exits, each with a mark next to the door: a holographic circle, an Illuminati-esque triangle, a glassy, obsidian-like spot, a bell, and a crystal. On a monolith is a triangle with a four and "Qc jvmirhw, nywx aepo xli fpmrh qer'w texl, erh tivletw csyv ribx fviexl asrx fi csyv pewx." It says, "My friends, just walk the blind man's path, and perhaps your next breath won't be your last." Behind is a very long tunnel leading to another ladder going up.

They climb into a courtyard with no exit. In the wall is a triangle with a 5 and "Qttp gjmnsi dtz." It says, "look behind you" Behind them, a wall opens, behind which are rows of shining teeth of many animals. Nonamé freezes time, using it to push Annora, Cryllos, and Shade away and wedge Annora's sword into the closing trapdoor. She sees some concrete shape behind and another stone door before time unfreezes. Everyone immediately hears a scraping noise. The being springs into combat. It extends its smoky tendrils then retracts when Cryllos steps away from it. It then faces Alastor, though no face is visible. He suddenly feels a deep loathing before scaring it, which it finds disgusting. It shoots towards him and misses, punching a perfectly circular hole into the wall. No matter the other's actions. After a direct hit, some of the smoke dissipates, revealing a humanoid shape. Cryllos tries to communicate with it, and it seems to understand what he's saying. When asked his purpose, it points its shadowy tendril points to the castle. When asked if it knows Alastor, it nods. Nonamé demands her scalpel back, and it obliges, though it has blood on it.

Misc.

 * Dichroma's stories of Eltica
 * Any ship that heads out there doesn't return.
 * During nights of the full moon, one can hear an ethereal song.
 * There are Mountains of treasure there.
 * When Cryllos talks as a carriage, a mouth opens on the side of the carriage.
 * The compass perpetually points east.
 * The castle looks to be hued from the stone of the island, and looks like the castle from the last unicorn.