Act 3, Scene 5: The Isle of the Misty Monks

"I think we best be going." Orion replies, "Who knows who that dragon will tell of our presence."

As they leave the temple the monk turns towards the north, "First the fields, then we can enter the Tower with the secret of the Temple."

As Rune continues to have a conversation with himself the three of you leave the temple to make your way to the terraces. When exit the temple you immediately notice that the sky is much clearer and wind is calmer. It is still cold, but there was a biting chill to the air that is now gone.

The terraces have gone fallow and are covered in short dark grasses with small knots of purple flowers scattered across the fields. Searching the few buildings you find farming equipment and bags of seeds and fertilizer long since torn open by vermin. With the sky clearing and the cold wind gentle at your backs you take a moment to enjoy the bleak beauty of the farmland, but you find nothing else there.

Taking a moment to acknowledge Greil, Rune cannot help but give him a withering stare. Your pea-sized brain could not possibly understand the significance of this dagger. Can you not feel its power emanating from the blade? He will be able to help us fight these Frost Trolls. So keep your unimaginative comments to yourself until I can talk with himinn-eldur.

Now, sorry about my slow ally. We will gladly help you find a way to return to the sky. However as of right now I am not sure we can start. Do you need my promise first before you will help me, or shall we look around here and try to figure it out?

Orion, during your meditation, have you managed to glean any information about the monks here and an ability of drawing power from the stars and forge weapons? Is there any way to return said power to its natural form? My new companion here needs us to find a way to return him to the stars, but he will help us fight these Trolls. Perhaps the monks knew of something? Rune looks at Orion expectantly as he stays attentive to the Comet.

"I'm afraid not." the monk replies as they make their way to the Tower "We may find answers in the Library, but much of their traditions may have been spoken. Without a living Master much is lost."

To the Tower!

Returning to the Library Orion heads right for the door and Greil and Rune watch as he flicks the tablets and fingers into place. When he finishes he takes a step back, if you hadn't seen him move the pieces you would never have known it was possible.

Slowly you begin to hear ticks and tocks, then a thud and a chunk. The stone door moves and shakes clouds of dust free as it slides out of the way. It is dark inside the windowless tower, Greil retrieves three long candles from a nearby shelf as the three of them head into the library. It would appear that Orion's fears may be unfounded, the inside of the tower is not large, maybe only twenty to thirty feet across with a large wooden table in the middle but all four sides of the tower are lined with red-painted square shelves. A staircase barely two feet wide wraps around the outside of the tower some fifty feet all the way to the top past a number of narrow balconies every ten feet. Every shelf is packed with scrolls, books and even stone tablets. With a look from Rune to Greil to Orion you all realize you're in for a long candle-lit search.


It takes some time to search through the unfamiliar library takes time and your candles are almost entirely out by the time that Orion, Greil and Rune have collected the texts they believe relevant. Hidden among treatises on philosophy and morality are histories and journals from monks who lived through past invasions by the Frost Trolls.

To make things easier I'm going to divide some things up under Spoiler buttons rather than add more to the exposition above.

Documents from the initial construction of the Bastion that the Orc Chieftans believed, correctly, to be out in the Forræderiske Øer reveals that the Lighthouse you lit in Västervik was actually constructed at the same time as part of the same project. A series of such Lighthouses sit on islands in the Forræderiske Øer, lighting the way for ships to the Bastion at the edge where the Forræderiske Øer meets the Sea of Varde. Included in the documents you have are charts and directions that you believe will lead you to the Lighthouses and ultimately the Bastion itself.

Its unclear how many times the Frost Trolls have invaded, the Library contains numerous accounts but there appears to be lots of overlap and its unclear how many different invasions you now posses accounts of. It is easy enough to see which accounts are from prior to the construction of the Bastion and which are after. Another important milestone that you find is the creation of something referred to only as Endeløse Daggry [Endless Dawn], its not clear what Endless Dawn is actually is, but the way the histories talk about it it appears to be a weapon of some kind rather than an event. It was created at least thousand years prior to the construction of the Bastion and Lighthouses by a great Congress of Masters. Monks from temples all over the world, from cities and nations you have never even heard of across seas that you thought uncrossable gathered to collect their wisdom, Endless Dawn is the result of that congress and the Order of the Misty Monks was created to be its custodian.

Of the more mundane tomes in the Library is a record of the comings and goings of all pilgrims and monks since the foundation of the Misty Monks. The last entry from a month prior to the Ice Storm reads "Brother Izdera, left on pilgrimage to the Blue Mountain with a hjørnesten." It takes you sometime to translate the word but it appears to be "cornerstone" or "keystone" Orion realizes that the "Blue Mountain" the entry refers to is not mountain at all, but refers to the Temple of the Last Moon, a great complex built of blue clay on the plains far to the south.

After days of searching, reading, translating, and re-translating the wanderers have collected a small pile of tomes that encompass all the knowledge they have found in the library pertaining to the Frost Trolls. "We our now the sole possessors of this most valuable lore, which may yet save this world from the coming Trollkin. Our first task is to make it so that others learn of it. We must find some way of waterproofing these books, barrels or oilskins, and return with them to the mainland. Then we may take council and plan our next moves."

Perhaps we could have a separate "Ancient Lore" thread where we keep everything we learn?

Also I think Orion is ready to return to the Orcs. Probably bringing the mayor and some humans along with us. Their Congress of Masters was a good idea, even if we can't get that we should at least be sending ships and ambassadors to the closest ports.

At Orion's suggestion the three adventurers spend the next hour or so emptying the barrels in the Temple's kitchens and stores to serve as containers for their treasure trove of books and scrolls. With four barrels fully loaded it takes all three of you to get them down to the docks, Orion and Rune each hunched over with a barrel on their backs and Greil with a barrel on each shoulder. Gathering wood you light a bonfire and wait.

Its almost dark when the fishing boat from Västervik comes into view. The crew does not even bother to tie up to the dock but eyes you curiously as you load the barrels onto the ship. Without a word the crew shoves off back into the darkness, the way lit by the Västervik Lighthouse off in the distance. The boat pulls into Västervik late at night and you are ushered to Kjorn's tavern while the Captain sends one of his men to wake the Mayor and the other village elders. You relate to them the events that transpired on the Misty Isle and convince the Mayor, the Sheriff, Captain and two others to accompany you to the Orc's encampment the next day.

You set out at dawn the next day and arrive at the gates of the Orcs where you are greeted by the same Orc Sergeant who met you the last time, he explains that the Şefleri Konseyi [Council of Chiefs] has be awaiting your return. When you arrive at the meeting tent you find the Chiefs shuffling seats to accommodate the unexpected number of guests. The representatives of Västervik are understandably wary having never met an Orc who wasn't trying to kill them before. The Orc elder greets you warmly with hug and an offering of strong mead and smoked fish, "Hail arkadaş [friends] and Speakers for the Yumuşak Erkekler [City Foll]! What news of the Sisli Rahipler [Misty Monks]?"

I'm looking for two things from you here: A. What do you tell the Orcs and Humans and what do you try to get them to do? B. Where are you going to head next?

Orion takes his seat as he motions for the barrels to be brought in and opened before the council, "We bring tidings of good and ill, and much knowledge that was lost..." he then goes into the subject of the Bastion and the Endless Dawn, about how the Misty Monks were founded to protect and keep it, and that they are now lost. And that perhaps one remains, in possession of something of possibly great importance. After the Councillors are satisfied with the answers a debate beings on what should be done about it, and to that Orion also has a response, "Our tasks are many. The foremost is the preservation and spread of this knowledge, for if it is lost we are all in peril. We must copy it into every language we know. In fact a compilation should be made, of the most important pieces in a single book.

And that is key to your most important task. You must send ambassadors to every City, Nation, Tribe, and Realm you know of, every race and kind of people. They must be warned of their peril and convinced to join with us to turn it back. These codices will help in that quest. Then they in turn contact all that they know, so that the strongest and wisest join together to bring their disparate lore and knowledge together that we may be better defended." And again the council begins to debate.

So I want them copying and sharing the information we have, the message being:
1. The Frost Trolls Come!
2. There is a Bastion, it will protect us.
3. There is the Endless Dawn, a weapon that will turn them back.
4. Join with us to defeat them.
5. Tell us everything you make know about these things.

And I think we'd like to go to the Bastion first. I'd like to get a dedicated ship and crew for that.

Greil stands behind Orion eyeing everyone in the group, making sure that everyone is listening to the monk speak. The forrest will always out grow the tree. he says during a moment of silence. Divided we would fall just like the monks, together as a group we stand strong. He thumps his chest with a meaty feast to punctuate his point.

Insight on the group's leaders:
Dice Roll: 1d20+8
d20 Results: 15 (Total = 23)

Intimidate to keep people listening:
Dice Roll: 1d20+9
d20 Results: 12 (Total = 21)

Greil only incures a failure on this if he fails by more than 5.
Greil also believes in finding the Bastion, the diplomatic mission of gathering other groups and races can be left to more socialable folks. Finding something lost or hidden is more up Greil's alley.

The a hush falls over the Meeting Tent as the Şefleri Konseyi [Council of Chiefs] and Town Council of Västervik begin to page through the precious books looking for hidden nuggets of truth. Şef Maviateş [Chief Bluefire] summons one of the apprentices who begins to record page numbers of important passages. The Elder Chief of the Orcs and Mayor of Västervik sit on a pair of cushions in the corner discussing something heatedly over a rich smelling roast.

After a few hours of study and conversation they Elder again calls the meeting to order, "Arkadaş [friends], you have indeed brought us a great treasure, but out difficulties are still many. Very few of my people can write in the script of your Ortak Dil [Common Tongue]."

The Mayor continues, "Only myself, Lansidel the shopkeeper and Kjorn the Tavernkeeper can write well enough to be of help, so we will be of little help copying these texts. Your suggestion to send out messengers is an inspired one, but all of our ships are fishing vessels. They do not have the keels for the open ocean or the holds for the long journeys it will take to reach any of the Great Ports to the South."

"Şef Siyahdalga [Cheif Black Wave] and his Klan have a dozen fast longships, but the Kuzey Birleşik Klanlar [United Clans of the North] possess no other warships. We have wood and iron aplenty now, but no water in which to launch ships. It will take some time to begin construction of a fleet at Västervik. We have little to work with and less time, but these tomes will give direction to our efforts and purpose to our warriors. We will send half of Şef Siyahdalga's [Cheif Black Wave] longships South immediately with messengers for the Great Ports. One longship will be yours that you may find the other Lighthouses and the Bastion out in the Forræderiske Øer [Forbidden Isles], the rest will patrol the harbor of Västervik and scout Forræderiske Øer for Buz Canavar [Frost Troll] raids."

The Mayor's face is grim, "The townspeople will not welcome the Orcs into our midst, but I agree that we need their warships. Find those Lighthouse quickly, give them signs of hope before we tear ourselves apart in fear."