==== Summary 235: Skaalhaft's Fate and The Shadow Over Coldwater (2020-01-25) ====
[[Giraine]] [[summaries-2020|Summaries]]
----
Hi,

Boamund held the doorway (backed up by Fraud) and shouted back and forth with the guards, who soon called for Gremheks to be set free. Ahappi heard this and threw her corpse out the window after waiting for a dramatic moment. The guards argued and bided their time as distant activity in the town grew. Miguel and Ahappi looted Gremheks's study of papers and scrimshaw. The guards tried firing some arrows in halfheartedly, stabbed a spear past the fire-ring then one brave man charged in and bashed into Boamund, stopping short. They exchanged a couple of blows and then Boamund dealt him a mortal wound to his shield-arm, pushing the bleeding man into the doorway and blazing flames. Shortly thereafter, the guards fell eerily silent after calling for more men, and Boamund's flames flickered. The lighthouse's flames had since gone out. Ahappi looked down to see blinding darkness surrounding the base of the tower and end of the bridge. Sensing a change in the tactical situation, he and Miguel carefully descended the stairs, wary of the crab familiar of the witch but never seeing it.

Boamund stepped back from the doorway as you planned your next move, thinking that you may have a way out of the lighthouse. Just then the cloaked nervous woman came in and thanked you for removing the flames. She seemed different and said that she knew Gremheks was dead and had been the one to curse her to suppress her magics; and that Gremheks had killed her father. Somehow, she always knew this. The locals called her The Poacher and barely tolerated her, and she had no love for Skaalhaft either,  but was consumed by her quest for justice yet stymied in never being able to see its endpoint herself. She thanked you for helping but urged you to flee, that Talar Svaad Ruun's revenge would be swift and merciless. She quickly explained before she slipped out, that she had sometimes worked with her father (Captain Kraylock; her real name was Alaina) aboard his ship which hunted the same waters as Skaalhaft's vessels. They were constantly harassed by the villagers for not abiding by the Talar's rules on hunting (they were foreigners from Ralios who would swear an oath to no Talar), so the Poacher could blame no one else when her father's ship went missing. In reality, Gremheks sent a storm to destroy the ship without the knowledge of the rest of the village, and enchanted Alaina to make her unable to use her darkness sorceries. Alaina looked to Fraud and said that the shadows beckoned her back to Ralios so she could not join you, and she left with her darkness daimone.

Outside, the guards had all been killed by the shade's fearshocking and lashing, freezing darkness; lying contorted in terrified poses. But more were coming. And then a wind kicked up and a heavy voice spoke on it, telling you to come to the House of Ruun to explain what you had done in Skaalhaft. Guards approached in a shield-wall and believed you when you said you'd been invited to their lord's house, so they warily escorted you there. A terrible ice storm blew in as dawn broke; the winds whipped and exposed skin was made raw and frigid. At the house, you were received in a main entry hall decorated with the carved bones of great monsters, including a giant bone table; all warmed by a great hearth. Svaad stood behind the table, still as a statue and making an imposing figure with his weathered, glowing rune-carved skin, rippling muscles, and noble bearing; somehow it did not matter that his left arm was just shrivelled flesh. An ice-fox; very exotic here; sat at his feet, also eyeing you coldly. He asked in simple words what you had done and Ahappi boldly explained his divine mission and judgement. Svaad quickly changed his approach, impressed by Ahappi's grim strength. He explained that when he was born, his mother nearly threw him into the sea. "A Talar with one arm is no Talar at all," she had said. But Svaad's father convinced his wife to stay her hand; he could still become a whole man and true Talar. Even without his arm, Svaad became the village's strongest hunter and just ruler. His mother relied on him for advice and passed easy knowing Skaalhaft was in his care. So he said that he knew justice and would make a deal here to keep it. You would be allowed to leave as long as you left now with no further disruption in Skaalhaft. Ahappi agreed, and so you departed.

But figures rushed after you in the awful weather as you made your way toward the north side of town. It turned out to be Frel the Wolf Pirate, mate of the Icewind, whom you'd met in Gothalos of Jrustela some time ago. He was there with some of his crew, the silent and ominous "The Three" newtlings, the huge bulk of the giant slarge called "The Muscle", who knitted incredibly elaborate wool clothing for itself and the crew, and a few other tough sorts. Frel was a Loskalmi (Hrestoli; northerner) who'd travelled the world with Harrek and now returned to this coastline with the rest of the fleet. He explained to Ahappi that he knew that the Wizard and Alchemist were up to no good at the Wayhouse, having gotten the Wizard very drunk that prior night and gleaned many facts from her by thus loosening her lips. You agreed to talk with them outside of town in a sheltered copse of trees. Frel said you might was well wait out the storm anyway, as no ship could enter or leave port in this weather.

The Wizard and Alchemist (foreigners who'd come here this year; they had other names, Frel said) worked together to procure various valuable reagents and supplies to conduct a ritual to bring back the sea demon Greignard ("grine-yard"), who Ahappi had heard of as an originally Waertagi spirit that the Ship of Life Church, which Frel said the Wizard was a Zzaburi of, had also accessed via a sorcerous node. Greignard was reputed to be dangerous and tricky; not a being contacted for benign deeds. Seldom had the Ship of Life Church used it except in desperate times and via bargains and contracts that often turned out to be bad choices. Much of these goods came from Skaalhaft's hunters of great sea beasts, and the two Zzaburi were said to be close to "resurrecting" this demon, whose latest incarnation had been slain by some hero. Frel mused that he'd heard from a Vadeli that accompanied the Wolf Pirates for a short (and ill-fated) time that the Ship of Life Church was a Vadeli invention. He'd been wondering about that ever since; it did make some sense to him.

Although Ahappi felt unsettled by this whole story, he agreed to try to put an end to the Zzaburis' meddling with Greignard, so you went with Frel's crew to the Wayhouse. Frel bade you to go ahead but you asked for an introduction to the Zzaburi; he shrugged and opened the door to the two-storey rickety shack, and you entered. There were tables forming a counter-top in front of a hallway with a few doors; and top the tables were all manner of junk and fluid-preserved specimens and papers and such. Frel then shouted for the Wizard to rouse herself from her hangover and speak with him and his visitors. Soon she came down- a Pithdaran in full Zzaburi getup, surprisingly well composed (she cast a Glamour spell before such meetings) and with a charismatic white flashing smile. A vigorous extrovert, she welcomed you and offered to sell her goods or buy yours but conversation via Ahappi swiftly turned to Greignard, which chilled her mood for just a moment. She said she'd prefer to keep her business with the "helpful spirit" private. As you discussed this and what she was up to, another person came downstairs- it was the Alchemist, heavily cloaked and bearing a plague-doctor's mask (Dropbox has a suitable pic), and issuing a strong aroma of sweet perfume as he made a high-pitched giggle.

Ahappi immediately shouted "Die, Vadeli!", surprising many of you, but the figure was quick, first trying a Befuddle spell to slow him as he tried to cross the tables, then tossing a green glass flask onto the ground to create a green cloud of choking, burning acrid gas. It fled upstairs as Ahappi was left helpless, sputtering. Boamund rushed to help while Fraud paused then, urged by Boamund, used his fan to blow away the gas. Frel had been watching this unfold, amused, then as Miguel trained his bow and black arrow on the Wizard, who'd been calling for everyone to stop, and Miguel warned her not to move, Frel shouted for him to "kill the bitch" and drew his own broadsword and main gauche as he stepped forward. Fraud looked out the window and saw the Alchemist fleeing; Boamund had reached the door upstairs but it had been Holdfasted-tight with green goo and would not budge. Ahappi finally spat out the last remnants of the gas in rage. Obeying Frel out of fear for what the Wizard might do next, Miguel shot the Wizard in the head and she fell unconscious with a surprised scream. Frel stepped in and beheaded her without hesitation, cursing the Zzaburi and their machinations (he'd previously expressed his hatred of that caste; Loskalmi eschew such rigid boundaries and as a Wolf Pirate he'd only had troubles with Zzaburi). Miguel conjured up his Firearrow and, at Ahappi's behest, shot a few arrows into the shop as you left.

Frel said he and his men would settle things with Svaad, since he had an "understanding" with that reasonable Talar, and said you should depart town and chase down that Alchemist if you could. So you parted ways in the storm. Boamund quickly found the Alchemist's tracks in the black gravel streets but they stopped suddenly further away. Miguel used his Sense Life and cleverly spotted a being floating away into the sky to the east, so you rushed in pursuit, with his Mobility spells aiding you to catch up. But the figure was already reaching the highlands above town, well ahead of you, and you still had to contend with the meandering, icy trails rather than ascend straight through the air. So, after frustrating time pursuing what you were sure was the escaping Vadeli, you finally gave up as Miguel's magics ended. Returning to the coast north of town, Boamund pitched a tent and you waited out the storm until nightfall, when it was calmer and you could signal Curly to fetch you. He brought the dinghy in banged up from the treacherous surf and rocks, but got you back on board the Shadow. Ahappi had stepped into the surf to mindspeak with Ouwashilombiss and tell her what had happened at Skaalhaft, but she responded coldly that she could not help, that he must judge if he had done his role as husband-protector and if he thought he had finished then he had.

Amur said that the mosasaur had brought back a mangled corpse of some hunchbacked woman and eaten it messily, so Ahappi was pleased. You set sail immediately for Coldwater, an easy day voyage to the east across the Fosnoir. You figured that Alchemist might be going there and hoped to waylay him. Ahappi knew well of Coldwater. Coldwater is a dump-the place is a dismal cesspit of the worst sort. The people are sullen and rude; most sailors say there is no reason to go there. The folk of Coldwater are of the worst moral fibre. Many are smugglers and rumours of an evil cult based in the village refuse to die. A nearby cove, foolishly called Devil's Cove by the locals (but having no known mythic tie to Wakboth) has a strange feature buried in its cliffs-a sunken staircase that only becomes visible at particularly low tides. The locals avoid it. Coldwater has some squabbling ruling family/s. The crew of the Shadow knew it had one terrible pub full of fleas and that the local fisherfolk; a town of less than 200 peasants; had little of value.

You did some reading of the witch Gremheks's documents; her curios seemed only of modest financial value or maybe as ritual objects and sorcerous ingredients. She did seem to have a talent with longlasting sorcerous enchantments; enhancing tattoos and crippling curses alike. Her journals and diaries related a different story, in ways, than you'd expected. In her writings, she sneered and complained of the slightest mistake others made to her, disliking almost every guest to her lighthouse. However, she was unendingly kind and patient with the local children, who loved her immensely. Unable to bear children despite decades of happy marriage, Gremheks was the last of the Vaydmar line; traced back to an early Third Age hero. She had since lived alone, tending to the light at the top of the lighthouse and assisting the villagers with healing magic or enchantments (e.g Svaad's). In recent years, Gremheks had gotten it into her head she deserved to be Talar. Luckily, few had taken her seriously except some children, and Svaad either never learned of it or never cared. Gremheks was crotchety, nasty and suspicious of outsiders. But she was fiercely loyal to the town-- she would do anything to protect Skaalhaft, including murder. In fact, she was responsible for the storm that killed "the Poacher's" father, and she confessed to this openly in her diary and wrote openly of her scheme to get rid of this thorn in the town's side, to aid her goals of becoming Talar. Finally, she'd had visions of late of one of Skaalhaft's greater hunting ships, the Sea Spite, which had vanished without a trace and presumed lost at sea. She was convinced its crew lived, with the ship wrecked but not lost, but she had failed to convince anyone of that tale and was growing bitter of it.

Gremheks had written nothing of the monster-hunting business in town, seeming to care little of its details. So her lighthouse had nothing to do with that, just a harbour-marker run by her family line, and now the town would need to decide what to do with it. Now you saw Gremheks as a tragic but still murderous figure in Skaalhaft. You figured the Wizard's death had ended the conspiracy to bring back Greignard, whatever end that might make, and now Svaad and presumably the Wolf Pirates would have full control of the town, uncomplicated by any Zzaburi.

You arrived at Coldwater early that next morning, passing through the cold Fosnoir waters, which had their share of new, unseasonal ice swept in from the northwest. It is an isolated place, perched upon the inhospitable Orninior coast at the head of a muddy coastal path, Coldwater is not an easy, or pleasant, place to visit; seemingly forever coloured a muddy brown and stinking of salted fish. The village huddles at the mouth of a steep-sided valley leading down to the sea. Here, the seabed quickly drops away into the Fosnoir (and thence to Hell) and the waters are deep, dark and cold. Rumours had it that the Dark Duke of Pithdaros has kept Coldwater active and alive via his hand in the smuggling trade; but for what reason?

Amur piloted the Shadow into the breakwater area for the harbour and anchored there. You saw a Seshnelan warship, which Miguel spotted was full of soldiers including marines and heavy infantry but no clear Zzaburi; anchored on the south side of the harbour. Across from that was the main harbour, busy with little local fishing vessels and traders. Ahappi took his mosasaur mount out to the "Devil's Cove" and saw it was a barren place; a rocky, flotsam-strewn beach of white sand running right up to lofty, precipitous and wind-blasted cliffs. No path runs down from the cliff tops to the beach far below; the only way to this cove is via the sea. Ahappi keenly spotted a cave buried deep in the cliffs near the low current sea level; a narrow fissure in the rock linked the cave to the surface. He also found the algae-matted stairs under the surf, and followed them as far as his mount would go until it felt too squeezed by the narrowing cleft that the stairs ascended. The stairs ended at something but he could not make it out in the blue-green cold murk and lashing surf. He returned to you, and you took the dinghy ashore.

At the waterside, the mercantile heart of the village, the harbour appeared always busy. Here, fishing boats jostled for position on the docks alongside merchantmen hailing from distant ports and other small craft of less obvious purpose and intent. A small line of shops stood hard upon the docks along the aptly named Smelly Alley. Here one could find fresh or salted fish, nautical supplies and so on. Several businesses also had rowboats and suchlike for hire-and could even provide a brawny rower for the right price, with some surly muscular types sitting around awaiting business. The people looked with interest at you strange visitors; you stood out; but then their attention quickly diverted-it seemed a place where people kept to their own business if they knew what was good for them.

You visited a nearby shop Holg's Locker, seeing also Addabar's (an apothecary?) nearby. This small shop abutted a large warehouse.
Holg was an old, foul-tempered tan-skinned man of uncertain ancestry, but as Ahappi spoke with him he found that he had a keen mind for business and had done well for himself-at least as well as anyone who has not yet left Coldwater-and his warehouse was bursting with goods (perhaps of dubious origin, as he kept mentioning "special" goods). Holg kept meticulous records near him and dutifully recorded what Ahappi needed to restock the Shadow. Business concluding, Ahappi asked what was wrong in Coldwater and Holg was initially elusive, then Ahappi chilled him with his imposing demeanour and the shopkeeper loosened his tongue. He said that two families feuded over Coldwater. Many of the Purho family were horribly disfigured; they took a perverse pleasure in their appearance and often drowned healthy babies born into the family, Holg said he'd heard. They had the house on the northeast coastal side of town, and were led by Atro Purho; Holg warned you of the guard dogs if you paid Atro a visit. They did go to the Ship of Life Church's "Chapel of the Mistress" on the edge of town sometimes-- but not as often as they should, Holg hinted. Holg had said something of the visiting ship from Seshnela being related to that Church but he wasn't clear on that himself.

Then, asked of any weapons or magical things trawled from the depths, Holg said it wasn't what he dealt in, being more of a mundane shopkeeper and such things were rare or of little interest to customers here. As Ahappi asked if Holg would say anything to anyone else, he grew increasingly uncomfortable, saying that it was time for him to close shop (in the morning!?) and he had nothing but his shop; no family or anything else. He confided soon that he knew Ahappi brought trouble to town and he didn't want to linger to see it. He would be going camping and fishing in the inland saltmarshes for a while. Ahappi said to "come back in a week" so Holg briskly locked up shop and departed. You headed toward Addabar's.

----