Jerome's Task (Mission)


 * "We leave at 8:30 am
 * We follow the coast, there’s snow now
 * 4 hour mark we reach the cliffs and go left
 * Laying face down in the snow is a body, dwarvish, very dead, killed by a rather large puncture wound in its back
 * Wearing much less clothes than expected, looks like body has been searched
 * 7 hours in, cliffs recede
 * 5-10 miles ahead cliffs turn to mountains
 * The clouds grow heavier


 * Next morning, new lake, large grey statue
 * Left there is a break in the woods, hours walk
 * We find a lake with a structure in the middle
 * Big rock with fairly elderly looking man, leans on staff tipped with blade, long white beard
 * It’s Jerome!
 * Perhaps we could be successful since we haven’t died yet
 * Inside is a beast
 * Jerome’s “tickers tools” are inside
 * Dead Island: Avlagsen (quite dangerous, source deep within the island)
 * Hunters are fighters, they’re bold, they take on the biggest challenge they see, they don’t run


 * What’s the change Jerome’s a tiefling? (Maybe?) (Winged tiefling?)


 * We start to walk across the bridge
 * Building is roughly circular, 150’ diameter, 30’-40’ high
 * Set of gates, 20’ high, two handles, one “Takrend height” and one about 10’ off the ground
 * Flotsam gently flowing in a clockwise direction
 * Jerome got up and flew away during the night? He also stood up 7’ tall
 * “Tinker’s tools” aren’t really his
 * There’s a skylight on the back of the tower


 * We open the door and look inside
 * “The Grave within. Prove thyne worthy among the ranks of Skugga and find it” runes carved into an inner door
 * Theodwin says it and they open
 * Person sized staircase in the middle of giant staircase
 * It goes quite a ways, curves very slowly


 * At the bottom, we can’t see the ceiling from here
 * Sarah explains it’s about a 150’ cube
 * Double doors at the other side
 * 4 alcoves, 2 on each side, skeletal figures with axes, 10’ high
 * Their bones are a deep grey or black, and they are totally picked clean


 * They ask for our deeds
 * They question the ring of Vox
 * Is Resolve destroyed? (Vox’ echo, a hammer)
 * If Vox is in the ring, then Vox can’t be in Resolve, so Resolve must be destroyed
 * The white dragon, was not Vathrimar, one of the few that is still alive after betraying the gods
 * Hatha has been released, that is good news, she is not of this realm, she was once human
 * This is news worthy of speaking to the master
 * Good news that Clostrum Scriptorum has been destroyed by dragons
 * We can pass through the doors and keep going down the stairs
 * Bottom of stairs is a room with a troll statues, glimmering faintly
 * We keep going down more stairs
 * Pool of water, spinning fast
 * We all go into the water, pulled downwards, twisting for minutes
 * Dumped down into chamber of sorts, large pocket, dozens of feet across
 * Across from us is an enormous thrown with a huge skeleton in ancient finery, crackling with electricity
 * We are in the presence of Skugga


 * We tell Skugga we released Hatha from a magically sealed room in old Iron Kingdom
 * “Sanus Tersis should know better”
 * Sanus Tersis is no god
 * Skugga believes Hatha is an ally while others of his kind do not
 * She holds more bitterness towards Sanus Tersis than giants
 * Skugga wants to achieve vengeance on “The Paragons”
 * Skugga was once called the Eastern King, ruler of Osterlok
 * Urzog has a memorial, he was a mage, cowardly but he had his uses
 * Always had tricks and knew how to run
 * Empire was founded in the 4th age of the old giant calendar
 * Skugga is bound here after his last life, hidden in desperation when the Paragons came
 * The Renegade built the Crystal Ship, was cast out by the Paragons
 * Their name is cursed, they guard it well
 * Abandoned serve another god, one imprisoned
 * Sanus Tersis and Iacto fought the most, another common one was Viribus was another
 * The Paragons had the dragons on their side
 * Garenag was unique, wizer than her siblings
 * We should let Hatha know one of Skugga’s representatives will want to meet her
 * We told Skugga neither iron or gold has taken the island
 * Our map is wrong
 * Especially the lakes
 * One Paragon died and created the echos, and those who wield them have their souls inside
 * Message for Hatha: “Skugga will send a representative, but he wishes to meet her at the Island of the Crow’s Eye”
 * She’ll know when
 * “Haust” should let her know the message is from Skugga
 * Jerome is Svikari
 * He’s a nuisance more than anything
 * A trickster after treasure
 * Only sometimes kills people
 * He is technically giant-kin, closer to an Ogre or an Oni
 * Skugga says to destroy anything of the Paragons, that the Paragons are locked to this plane like us
 * We told Skugga about the machine temple, and he thinks we should destroy it
 * He also knows of the staff of creation and destruction, but would be surprised if it was the true staff because of its relative lack of protection
 * After we left Skugga’s court, we asked his chosen about the bag and tell them about Svikari
 * We can have the bag if we kill him
 * We try to kill him
 * We manage to get him out of human form, but then he turns into an Oni, turns invisible, and flies away"

―Takrend Brooks' adventure log