Act 3, Scene 5: The Isle of the Misty Monks
The walk back to Västervik is as arduous as the walk out, but the swamps are quiet and the Orc's great encampment quickly fades from view. It is an hour before dusk when you return to the salt-sprayed town, when you head down to the ancient stone quay to inquire about a boat to take you out into the Forræderiske Øer [Treacherous Islands] you find many a captain willing to take you, grateful for your lighting of the ancient Lighthouse, but none that will set sail before the following dawn. Passage to the Island of the Misty Monks on the morning tide secured, you return to Kjorn's tavern to take dinner and rest for the morrow.
Dining on fish stew alongside the sailors and fishermen of Västervik tell how in years past many a pilgrim paid good coin for passage to and from the island where the Misty Monks reside. The name strikes you as one that was given rather thank chosen, but it seems apt enough, the monks are a reclusive order. Some say they are fearsome warriors, others that they are bookish and meek, hiding in the fog from the horrors of the world, but none can say for sure, neither the pilgrims or the monks ever stayed in Västervik longer than they had to.
The fog is thick as you set out the next morning, taking oars in a fishing boat setting out at dawn. The Isle of the Misty Monks is not far, but is much easier to find thanks to the Lighthouse. The fog is thick, but no matter how far you get you can clearly spot the Lighthouse behind you, which the Captain deftly uses to navigate the dangerous channels. By mid-morning you reach the Isle, but its high cliffs force you to circle around to the far side to make landfall.
On the far side you find a small dock, the wooden planks rotten with age. A trio of small ships were once moored to it, but their sails and hulls have long since rotted and all you can see are rough skeletons where they settled onto the shallow sands. When your boat can go no further you jump out into the surf, the water is cold as you make your way to shore. The Captain promises to return to the island's docks at nightfall each day, and tells you to light a bonfire when you wish him to land.
Ahead of you are a handful warehouses that fell apart long ago, and a long staircase leading up to the monastery proper. Seawater squelches out of your boots as you make your way up the long staircase. At the top you are greeted by a wall some fifteen feet high which once had a great oaken door in a painted archway. The painted splinters of the door crumble under your feet as you enter the great plaza. The plaza itself is empty, save for a wide ring of red paving stones in the center, and so wide that one of the great Legions of Vendhya could easily stand for inspection upon it. The plaza is surrounded by buildings the likes of which you have never seen, which would be beautiful if not for years of neglect, towers with great sloping tile roofs that reach high into the sky.
The monastery appears to be completely abandoned.
Dining on fish stew alongside the sailors and fishermen of Västervik tell how in years past many a pilgrim paid good coin for passage to and from the island where the Misty Monks reside. The name strikes you as one that was given rather thank chosen, but it seems apt enough, the monks are a reclusive order. Some say they are fearsome warriors, others that they are bookish and meek, hiding in the fog from the horrors of the world, but none can say for sure, neither the pilgrims or the monks ever stayed in Västervik longer than they had to.
The fog is thick as you set out the next morning, taking oars in a fishing boat setting out at dawn. The Isle of the Misty Monks is not far, but is much easier to find thanks to the Lighthouse. The fog is thick, but no matter how far you get you can clearly spot the Lighthouse behind you, which the Captain deftly uses to navigate the dangerous channels. By mid-morning you reach the Isle, but its high cliffs force you to circle around to the far side to make landfall.
On the far side you find a small dock, the wooden planks rotten with age. A trio of small ships were once moored to it, but their sails and hulls have long since rotted and all you can see are rough skeletons where they settled onto the shallow sands. When your boat can go no further you jump out into the surf, the water is cold as you make your way to shore. The Captain promises to return to the island's docks at nightfall each day, and tells you to light a bonfire when you wish him to land.
Ahead of you are a handful warehouses that fell apart long ago, and a long staircase leading up to the monastery proper. Seawater squelches out of your boots as you make your way up the long staircase. At the top you are greeted by a wall some fifteen feet high which once had a great oaken door in a painted archway. The painted splinters of the door crumble under your feet as you enter the great plaza. The plaza itself is empty, save for a wide ring of red paving stones in the center, and so wide that one of the great Legions of Vendhya could easily stand for inspection upon it. The plaza is surrounded by buildings the likes of which you have never seen, which would be beautiful if not for years of neglect, towers with great sloping tile roofs that reach high into the sky.
The monastery appears to be completely abandoned.
