44: Nordwrack

Festag 21^st Sommerzeit

Meanwhile, Artur was working as a guard in the temple of Manaan in Nordwrack just a few miles to the north. He had been a river warden in Marienburg but was seconded to the temple for a four month stint. It was boring guard duty, with not much happening and listening to incessant chanties. Was it something he did, or was he just unlucky?

The temple was built on a small island just off the coast above some elven ruins and an elven sculpture of Manaan (Mathlann), and with a now destroyed elven bridge. The modern temple was a load of derelict boats and ships lashed together surrounding the rock.

Karl Inghal and his family turned up at the temple, having been turfed out of their farmstead by a band of goblins. Father Alsen was happy to shelter them in his temple and ordered Artur to take a look at the situation to see if there was anything to be done. Artur managed to convince Karl to escort him to the farmstead even though it was pretty clear the man didn’t want to go.

After about an hour’s travel along the coast they came to the farmstead, on a high headland about fifty yards from the cliff edge. There was no sign of the goblins, but they could see a group of Marienburger private marines, and some other random characters, looking out to sea. They were commanded by a woman who appeared to be a wealthy Marienburger merchant, and she had a clerk in tow, her marines, and a strange bunch of people. And you knew it was pretty common for Marienburger merchant houses to employ private armies.

Artur introduced himself and went to inspect the farmstead with Karl. The courtyard was a mess, with several dead sheep scattered around and a good number of dead goblins. Flosse Drakwald, who was clearly in charge, told Karl how she had cleared his farmstead of goblins, and he was very grateful.

And you noticed how there was a sort of goblin pirate ship sailing off the coast, sort of aimlessly. The group seemed to be wondering how to cross the strait and get to one of the small islands off the coast. And overhearing the others talking, Artur got the vague idea that there was something to do with a painting and a treasure.

While you couldn’t cross the strait, it was clear that the goblins couldn’t easily get to you. Even if they could land they would have trouble scaling a defended cliff. And they seemed to be sailing around pretty aimlessly. Gustav said he hadn’t told the goblins anything about the treasure. Max took a couple of pot shots at the helmsgoblin but didn’t hit him.

Flosse decided that she would send two of her marines back to Wulfhaven to fetch her ship, but it would take two or three days for it to get here. And Artur mentioned that the temple at Nordwrack was full of old boats but they weren’t particularly seaworthy. So you decided to head up there and see if you could use one of the boats. Max, having repaired a canoe, was confident he could do it with a bigger boat. You left Karl to clear up his blood spattered farmstead, and he said he would dump all the goblin bodies in Berta’s hole.

On the way to Nordwrack, Max spotted what he thought was an elf following you and decided Berta might have been correct about the elf thing. And when you got to Nordwrack, Artur was supposed to tell the Inghal family that they could return to their farmstead, but he decided with goblins sailing up and down the coast that it might be better for them to stay at the temple for a bit longer.

You had a look over the wrecks around the temple and realised it might be a bigger job than you thought to get one ready. Father Alsen agreed that you could have your pick of the vessels, and if it sunk to the bottom of the sea drowning everyone on board that would just affirm the will of Manaan.

Combing through the wrecks, Dietrich spotted a smaller one-masted boat that looked more intact than the rest and so Max supervised the marines in an effort to free it from the rest of the wrecks.

While they were working Dietrich noticed an elf-like figure trying to get his attention, beckoning him from further in land. And he reluctantly went to see what the elf wanted. They had a conversation in a bush, and the elf explained that he was called Mellori Deepmist and was a sea elf from Marienburg. He had been watching you and knew what you were after.

But he said that there was an elven artefact in the cave and he suggested that you could have all the treasure that you found, except he would have the first pick of a single item. Or he would hunt you to the ends of the earth and murder you painfully. Dietrich asked why he didn’t come and get it himself, and Mellori pointed out that he couldn’t very well just get in your boat, and that he didn’t, and you shouldn’t, trust Drakwald and her marines. So Dietrich agreed that the elf could have a single item from the trove.

You made a decent job of cutting the boat free, and you got the fanatical fish-smelling chantymen to rig her up, and she was soon ready to sail. The boat was a bit bigger than the Mudlark, or Rotter’s yellow boat, but a lot smaller than the goblin ship. Artur wasn’t used to sailing out to sea but he made a decent job of sailing the boat, and the marines were competent crew.

Within the hour you were approaching the island. Its beach was mostly treacherous rocks and you could see the ancient wreckage of another vessel on the rocks nearby. And you could see the goblin vessel was still there, sailing round in circles.

You decided you couldn’t match it in a fight, but Max said you could sail round it and warp in to the beach. And then he had to explain what warping was, and so his many days of sat around in Marienburg watching the sailing wasn’t completely wasted.

So Artur tried to sail inside the goblin ship, and did well, but the goblin helmsgoblin knew what he was doing and cut you off, and goblins were lining the gunwales ready to grapple you. And so Max shot the helmsgoblin dead and the goblin boat drifted away. The replacement helmsgoblin wasn’t as good, and Artur managed to get beach side of the goblin ship.

Meanwhile Dietrich was summoning lots of magical energy in case it was needed. But as it happened, all he needed to do was to drop the anchor in the right place so you could use it to pull yourselves to shore. But trying to do two things at once, he managed to drop the anchor in the wrong place and lose all his magic.

One of the marines retrieved the anchor and tried instead, but he wasn’t any better, and with the goblin ship closing in on you. Artur decided to just beach the boat on the rocks and hope for the best. And so the ship ran aground on the sharp rocks, and the goblin boat had to turn away and stay in the deeper water. But it wasn’t clear whether you would be able to sail your boat off the island again.

On the island, Flosse tried to give commands but it was pretty clear she didn’t know where the cave was, so Max took over and showed you a route along the cliff side up to what he calculated was the cave entrance. Max also spotted a bit of rock above the cave entrance and thought that it may have been the remains of a ruined tower, or something like that.

Flosse told two of the marines to stay behind and keep watch over the boat and the rest of you made your way up towards the cave, though it was damp and slippery and in places the path had been badly eroded.

Dietrich led the way and about halfway up he came to a stretch where the path was entirely gone and he needed to climb the cliff. He summoned some magical power to speed himself up, for no reason but to show off. In his head the climb was fraught and he saw himself falling to his death while the dark gods looked on laughing, but then in a moment, he had crossed the gap and scaled the rest of the path, and was standing far above at the cave entrance. Only Dietrich knows what happened.

The rest of you realised how risky that stretch was and Artur went back to the boat to fetch a grappling hook, and when he got back you managed to hook a bit of rock above the gap and you all used that to help you climb across.

Meanwhile Dietrich noticed that there were some carvings etched into the once finely-hewn rock around the cave entrance. He took a rubbing of them and thought they looked remarkably similar to some of the symbols on the sarcophagus he had brought from Altdorf all those weeks ago. And so he declared the carvings Nehekharan. He also decided that two bits of smooth rock guarding the entrance were weathered statues of cat-like creatures. And he pondered why there would be a Nehekharan structure so far north.

And once everyone had joined him at the cave entrance there was nothing for it but to go inside. After a bit of discussion, Max went first brandishing his blunderbuss, followed by Dietrich, and then Artur, and Balden followed with his light show, and Berta carried a lantern.

Following the finely hewn corridor for about twenty yards you came to a large chamber lined with pillars, that was collapsed in one corner. And strewn across the floor was about a dozen skeletal bodies, dressed like soldiers and sea farers. And one of the bodies was dressed more elven, and Artur spotted a sort of glass orb on the elf body.

And as you entered the chamber, the orb began to glow and the elven body seemed to stand, unnaturally, and then bits of bone and detritus from the rest of the bodies were drawn towards the orb. And it formed a sort of swirling mass of limbs, centred on the elven body that advanced towards you.