Whorfin's Adventuring 3

Dopplegangbang (day 516 to 523)

I plan to journey south by boat. With difficulty, I contract a small boat with crew of 9 or so to take me and my cargo (wine and one rail) to Edheldor, the Elf Colony to the south. At about 30 miles a day, it'll take about 60 days to travel the 1,800 miles to the Elf Colony.

I agree to pay 334 gp up front, 333 gp on delivery, and 333 gp, held in trust at the Adventurers' Guild in New Avalon, will be given to the captain when he presents a letter from me authorizing it. The captain is amazed that I agree to such a large sum. I tell him he'll earn it.

Just before we put off, Nomad shows up at the pier asking to come along. He can't afford to chip in towards the cost of the charter, he says. I say, no prob.

I leave notes and items for Marvin to take to Shoal.

So we set sail south. In week two, a sailor goes AWOL, and a day's search turns up nothing.

After a patch of bad weather (Nomad is seasick), I encounter giant eels and sharks.

We continue south, stopping at intervals at small fishing villages. At one such, a mob chases two sailors, yelling that they are murderers. I use detect lie to tell that they are not lying. I go to the village alone to discover the truth. I use Speak with Dead on the victim, who reveals that the killer said his name was Lord John Whorfin!

I myself had to flee the mob, unfortunately killing one hostile villager to do so. Back on ship, I wanted answers. Nomad, even more reticent than usual, seemed suspiciously unwilling to lend his Eternal levels to mine. Putting him to the test, he revealed his true nature -- it was not Nomad, but a doppleganger! In fact, another was a sailor! Faced with both opponents, I began to fight. Then they took out magic wands and burning oils, and after managing to kill one (at great cost of personal injury), I fled underwater (with a water breathe spell to sustain me). I managed to cling to the underside of the boat, summon friendly dolphins, recover my health, and then renew my attack. In hand-to-hand combat, I managed to kill the second doppleganger.

Quickly I checked that no other dopplegangers remained. I healed the wounded and, the next day, raised the captain, who had been slain. I also raised one of my two eggs, which had been sucked dry by the beasts. This required great sacrifice of magic won from the monsters. All this required days of rest and boat repair.

The captain, damn his ungrateful soul, demanded that we turn back. I refused, and the next morning found that the entire crew, including the cpatain, had deserted! A magic mouth informed me in the captain's voice that they would not return until I had fled. And so I found myself, on Eternal Day 523, stranded at sea.

Site Map | 31 March 99