Player Characters

Ackrak Vassales

Ackrak is a 5th-level sorcerer/3rd-level abjurant champion.

Character Summary

Ackrak is the party's muscle. He's established himself as the most capable melee warrior, and both protects himself and augments his prowess with an array of powerful magic spells. Ackrak was once granted oracular powers by an enigmatic figure called The Lady in Orange, the guardian of the shrine on the Isle of the Strange Shifting Stones, but without access to the shrine, he has been unable to exercise them.

Followers

• Gycco; male goblin bard 4th/marshal 2nd

Character Details

More detailed information about Ackrak can be found here: Ackrak Vassales

Ghamor Shideus

Ghamor is an 8th-level gnome sorcerer.

Character Summary

Ghamor is a shady and opportunistic character. He takes what he wants and has no qualms with killing anyone who gets in the way (whether they put up a fight or not). He is quick to establish himself as the leader of any of the group's undertakings, and he leaps at every opportunity to increase his wealth or power. He seems quite the mercenary, it's hard to say if he cares about anyone ... or anything.

Ghamor is the current party-leader.

Followers

• Xiao Nan; female elf rogue 6th
• Unnamed; 6 mephit slaves

Character Details

More detailed information about Ghamor can be found here: Ghamor Shideus

Read Ghamor's Adventure Journal here: Ghamor Journal

Seikius Desinacles

Seikius is a 7th-level elf monk.

Character Summary

Seikius is a troubled ascetic and a misguided truth-seeker. He is burdened by his past, when he spent time as a slave, and often his poor sense of judgment clouds his decisions. He continues to search for the good in life, and where he can, protect it. His actions are often fruitless and his deeds are frequently thankless, though he quests on, in spite of setbacks. He has recently acquired two artifacts one, the Staff of Apollo and the other, the War Bracers of Ares, whose secrets he seeks to unlock.

Followers

• Unnamed; male human monk 1st
• Gin and Hosper; 2 male goblin (monk 1st)

Character Details

More detailed information about Seikius can be found here: Seikius Desinacles

Major NPCs

Itrix

Skilled architect, intrepid entrepreneur, and avid family man, Itrix sought to bring the party onboard with the next greatest architectural venture in the known world, the a massive subterranean labyrinth, commissioned by a wealthy king of Thrace. With the death of the king, money dried up, and if Itrix wanted to complete his masterstroke, he would need a new source of funding.

Enter the party. Ackrak, Ghamor, Omelete, Seikius, and Xero would visit different cities and kingdoms around the Mediterranean, using their combined knowledge, prowess, and negotiation abilities to secure whatever funding they could manage, to help keep the project rolling.

All this came crashing down around the party's ears in the blink of an eye. First came the death of Itrix, followed soon thereafter by their subsequent shipwreck on the Isle of the Strange Shifting Stones. Then, with the deaths of Omelete and Xero, this venture seemed truly doomed. Or is it? Finally the party has arrived at the island of Lemnos, the construction site, and work continues, without apparent funding.

Itrix recently appeared to the party as a ghost, to warn them of the titan that the impostor sent to destroy them and the city. He also informed the party that the rest of his family was slain, and that only his daughter, Liola, remained, though she was a prisoner of the impostor. He encouraged the party to destroy the impostor and rescue Liola.

Lady in Orange

The enigmatic spectre that guarded a shrine dedicated to a forgotten god, the Lady in Orange provided the PCs with some clues about where to locate the missing slaves, and later disappeared after restoring Ackrak from the edge of death in the fight with the boneskin knight.

Minor NPCs

The Kobold Slave

This unsavory creature has a pathological dislike of religion and gnomes, except as food. Captured and taken as a slave, he disappeared shortly after the PCs drifted to the Island of the Strange Shifting Stones. He hasn't been seen since then.

Goblin Slaves

A group of four slaves formerly owned by Xero, they have asked Seikius for protection, and he has offered to train them as his disciples. Two of them were dragged off by the frog-creatures during the ill-fated rescue of Liola from the pirate ship.

Omelete

One of the other business partners brought on by Itrix, Omelete's skills and abilities, as well as background and motives remain a mystery to the party.

Omelete was slain by Ackrak during a brief power struggle before Ghamor became the party's leader.

The Pleasure Ship Partiers

Hapless bystanders or perhaps cover for a darker scheme by the robed man, many of the partiers were killed outright or thrown overboard by the thrashing of the tentacled monster that emerged when the robed man was dispatched.

Rower Slaves

A group of approximately fifty slaves that row the ship crewed by the party. They are in good spirits despite a number of terrible losses and setbacks.

Some of these slaves were killed off during the frog-beach assault. Some more died when the ship was attacked by a vicious dragon turtle (burned to death by its breath weapon). Some were dragged away screaming by the man-shaped plant-creatures while the ship was trapped in the sargasso sea.

Twelve Crewmen Slaves

This group of twelve slaves is who the party mainly interacts with, and act as intermediaries between the party and the rest of the slaves. They are in fairly good spirits, despite being cowed by the party.

Xero

One of the other business partners brought on by Itrix, Xero's skills and abilities, as well as background and motives remain a mystery to the party.

Xero was slain, beheaded by the boneskin knight that appeared on the shore of the island, not far from where the PCs' ship was beached.

New Crew

Updated 3/17/2008

Cessar Cromius

An accomplished archer, he was one of several characters that escaped from the frog-creature's prison with Liola.

http://alanlathwell.deviantart.com/art/The-Mercenary-57411618

Hythia

http://vic-mon.deviantart.com/art/H-E-N-56027560

Krokius (or just Krok)

A vicious orc barbarian-fighter from Persia. He uses his claws and teeth to fight.

http://plotluck.pbwiki.com/f/krokus_sarvages.JPG

...

Liola

Liola is the daughter of Itrix, come to search for him after he disappeared. She revealed to the party that they have been missing for several weeks, as opposed to the few days that they believe they were gone.

http://kuroitora.deviantart.com/art/Hahahahaliya-69302974

Occela

There is something strange and insubstantial about this young woman. She seems to move his unearthly grace and walks on the ground like a cloud might float in the sky. She revealed to the party that the robed man that they fought was likely one of the Ferrymen, a minion of Charon.

http://jerrycai.deviantart.com/art/Little-Red-Riding-Hood-COLOR-69821882

Boss Fights

Aleska (Monster Form)

One of the party's more difficult battles to date, Aleska in her monster form was more than a match for the Ackrak, Ghamor, and Seikius, and very nearly defeated them. With Ghamor out of commission and Seikius badly wounded, Ackrak managed just barely to weaken the beast long enough for Seikius to destroy the figurehead (see below).

Though Ackrak had her at his mercy, he did not slay Aleska, instead he spared her life and enlisted her aid.

Aleska (Figurehead)

A magical figurehead designed to entrap the druid Aleska, this magical object took on a semblance of life and warped Aleska's magic, transforming her into a ravenous beast.

The figurehead was protected by powerful magic stolen from Aleska and was nearly indestructible while she was in her bestial form. Once defeated, however, the figurehead could not maintain its wards and was smashed by Seikius.

The Boneskin Knight

A powerful and fearsome warrior and magic-wielder, he posed a dire threat when he mysteriously appeared on the island. He slew Xero and used the man's head as a magical weapon against the party when he tried to collect their heads as well. He nearly slew Ackrak and he chased Ghamor and Seikius away from the beach, though Ackrak was able to defeat him... somehow.

Crab-Thing

http://zombie-ninja.deviantart.com/art/Crab-Monster-55943024

This horrible creature seemed to be leading some of the smaller frog-creatures as they searched for the party. It exhibited incredible strength and nearly slew Seikius, but was finally killed by Ackrak after a fearsome battle.

Dragon-Turtle

After being rescued from the Mirror of Life-Trapping by Liola and the rest of the crew, the party's ship was attacked by a vicious dragon-turtle. The dragon-turtle made several passes at the ship while Ghamor threw fireball after fireball, only further enraging the beast.

The battle ended when the party's ship crashed into the sargasso sea and became mired. The dragon-turtle hasn't been seen since the initial battle.

Nipple-Rings

This warrior appeared in a manner similar to the Boneskin Knight (see above) and was accompanied by a terrible sea monster (sea below) to attack the party at the end of the frog-beach assault.

Though his name was unknown, he was dubbed "Nipple Rings" by the party. The battle with him was straightforward, with the party quickly disarming him of both magic and weaponry and making short work of him.

Nipple-Rings' Sea Monster

This sea monster accompanied the boss referred to as "Nipple Rings" and attacked the party's ship while NR took on the party single-handedly. The beast retreated when NR was slain.

The Robed Man

An unsavory and unwholesome character that impaled Itrix with a spear after he and the others were lured below deck on the pleasure ship. It is assumed that he was the master of the flesh-eaters (see above entry) and that he transformed into the tentacled monster when he was smashed through the deck by Ackrak.

Occela seemed to know something about this man-creature, she referred to him as a "ferryman," a creature in service to Charon, the ferryman of dead souls to the Underworld.

The Tentacled Monster

This large-eyed, five-tentacled monstrosity appeared when the robed man was smashed through the deck of the pleasure ship by a mighty blow from Ackrak's axe. It's assumed that the robed man was the tentacled monster, given the circumstances of its appearance.

Sekius quickly pummeled the monster into submission with his fists and the creature blinded him with ink in retaliation. Reviving itself as the party searched the deck's hold for valuables, it made one last attempt to bite Sekius, but instead chewed a hole through the bottom of the ship, flooding it.

Emerging one last time to attack the party and destroy their ramshackle raft after the sinking of the pleasure ship, Ackrak dispatched the monster with a blow from his axe and it sunk into the depths of the sea.

Monsters

Bugbear Pirates

These vagabonds boarded the PCs' ship in the prologue of the story and were easily defeated and taken as slaves. They are currently working to help repair the ship. They are generally unruly and only somewhat helpful; they are skilled in ship repairs, however, and still valuable as labor.

Flesh-Eaters

These beautiful women invited the PCs onboard a pleasure ship during their initial business trip with Itrix. They then lured the party below deck where Itrix was impaled by the robed man, apparently their master, and they proceeded to eat Itrix as he lay dying from the spear wound.

When one of the flesh-eaters was slain by Ackrak, her flesh dissolved and a flaming skeleton appeared, which was also destroyed by Ackrak. The other two flesh-eaters that the party saw were thrown overboard by the thrashing of the tentacled monster that emerged when the robed man was dispatched.

Frog-like Creatures

These ugly, brutish creatures live in the caverns beneath the Island of the Strange Shifting Stones. They are strong and tough, and they speak a burbling, belching language.

They don't wear armor and use crude weaponry, primarily clubs and slings.

http://alanlathwell.deviantart.com/art/Siran-60491976

Gaunt Creatures

These hideous, corpse-like creatures abducted Ghamor's familiar and placed it in their nest to be devoured later. Ghamor quickly killed the creatures, however, by using his sleep spell to cause them to fall to their deaths.