To Parts Unknown

7/23/2019 To Parts Unknown

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To Parts Unknown

The party is offered a contract by the Seafoam Company to gather rare spell componentsfor a local mage. Arriving at the mage’s home, he details the components he needs and

tells them that the material is on the Continent. The mage is unwilling to tell the party

what the components will be used for, but he is honest about their location and othermatters involving their contract.

The mage needs the components quickly so, to expedite matters, he plans to use a magic

mirror to teleport the party where they need to go. When they are finished, a device hegives them will contact him and he will bring them back. If the PCs are unwilling to

travel this way, he thanks them for their time and dismisses them.

Assuming the party agrees to his stipulations, the mage begins the ritual necessary to

transport the party to the Continent. After a few minutes, the face of the mirror changes

and takes the appearance of water. At this point, he tells the party to step through. He

assures them that, once they’re in the mirror, only a couple more minutes will benecessary to complete the spell.

While in the mirror, the PCs can see everything going on outside, but can’t hear anything.A minute later, the PCs see the door burst open, and in storms half a dozen men pointing

their loaded crossbows at the mage. They’re dressed like the local law enforcement

organization (Bluffside Regulars, Sea Lord’s Guard, Driftwatch Guard, etc.). Anunrecognized figure emerges from behind the guards. Drawing a longsword, the man

appears to menace the mage. In response, the mage stops the teleportation ritual and

begins casting a different spell. Those with Spellcraft can see that he is preparing afireball. Before he can complete his spell, the guards loose their crossbows, hitting the

mage with all six shots and killing him.

Trapped in the mirror, the PCs can only watch in horror as the scene unfolds in front of

them. The guards see the party through the mirror and begin to approach. Suddenly, the

PCs feel themselves being pulled through the mirror. With the ritual incomplete, the party

teleports to parts unknown.

The PCs appear in a deep forest on the Continent, in the right place, but at the wrong

time. The geography of the area has changed substantially since the Great Cataclysm, sothe region should be unrecognizable to the party. In case they ask, the spell components

the PCs seek are nowhere to be found.

The weather in this area is unbearably hot, and those with metal armor will soon begin to

feel the effects of fatigue. Wandering through the forest for a while, the party hears a

deep, throaty growl as they approach a clearing. Continuing, they shortly spot a large,

three-horned, armored beast (a triceratops) growling as it feasts on the remains of a fallenenemy (a tyrannosaur). The creature is bloody but still looks formidable. It looks up at

the group, snarls, and returns to its meal.



Whether they confront the monster or not, the party will eventually continue travelling

through the forest. After another day, they hear the sounds of combat ahead. Reaching

another clearing, the PCs see five humans holding off a group of vicious two-leggedlizards (velociraptors). The small group isn’t faring too well, as four of their number are

already down and the few remaining are badly wounded. Assuming the PCs intercede,

after killing a few of the raptors, the remainder flee back into the forest.

With the battle over, everybody takes stock of the situation. The humans are dressed in

ragged hide armor with loincloths, and are armed with simple iron spears and daggers.

After watching the PCs for a moment to make sure the party won’t attack them, thewarriors then tend to their wounded. It is too late for two of the humans, but the other two

are still alive – for now. Without the help of the party and some timely healing magic,

one of the others will die soon. The party can help if they choose.

The language barrier prevents effective communication between the two groups, but the

warriors can tell that the PCs don’t belong here and, if the PCs indicate they need help in

some way, the tribesmen will debate amongst themselves for a moment before agreeingto take the party to their village. If PCs helped with healing, the reactions of the warriors

will become significantly more positive, and they will be happy to take the party to their

home.

At the village, the reaction to the party is different depending on their actions. If the party

simply helped fend off the raptors, they are greeted with some suspicion, but no hostility.If they helped heal some of the warriors, the party is treated as heroes, with the warriors

spreading the word of the PCs’ valiant actions to their tribesmen. Either way, the party

shortly meets the tribe’s chief and shaman. At this point, if language is still a barrier (andit should be), the shaman casts comprehend languages so the party can speak with the

chief.

The warriors relate the party’s actions to their leaders and, depending on what the PCs

did earlier, the chief either demands that the party does a job for the tribe as payment for

their services, or they politely ask the PCs to do them a favor before the tribe helps them.

The result winds up being the same either way. If the chief asks a favor and the partyrefuses, he will still help the PCs but will be insulted, and the party will have a negative

(but not hostile) reaction with the tribe thereafter. After the PCs do (or don’t do) what the

tribe asks of them, the village shaman will conduct a ritual through which the PCs willlearn what needs to be done to get them back home.

With the aid of a scrying pool, the shaman will relate the legend of the demon Estrigarand his fairy, while the pool illustrates the tale as he speaks. The legend says that,

millennia ago, Estrigar glimpsed the fairy bathing at a pool and was enraptured by her

beauty and her singing voice. The demon captured her and has held the poor fairy captive

in his cavern home ever since, forcing her to sing nightly for his pleasure. The legendsays that anyone who frees the fairy is entitled to one wish from her. Many have

attempted to defeat Estrigar, but all have failed.



The shaman’s pool will show an image of the demon’s lair and he can give the group

directions. The journey is long and dangerous, but he wishes the PCs good luck and sends

them on their way. Many adventures follow as the party ultimately reaches the cave anddefeats the demon, releasing the fairy who, as the tale foretold, grants the party’s wish to

return home.

Arriving back in the modern era, the party needs to secure transportation back to their

home port. Once there, they find that they are wanted for questioning in connection with

illegal cult activity. Whether they turn themselves in or are ratted out by greedy residents,

the party will ultimately find themselves in front of the guard captain who led the attackon the mage’s compound.

After some questioning, the captain determines the party to be innocent dupes and asksfor information regarding the components the PCs were hires to gather. Doing some

research of his own, the captain soon learns the purpose of these components is to

summon a demon. This puts the PCs on the trail of the Esoteric Order of the Starry Sky

and begins their mission to stop the cult’s activities.

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To Parts Unknown