Bomfur and the Wraith Ship of Sullivan's Gauntlet

From the journal of Kaze:
– 1478 – The Year of the Dark Circle –
– The Wraith Ship of Sullivan’s Gauntlet –
I was sent on an expedition to explain the loss of several Eladrin trading vessels that carried supplies to Myth Drannor. Upon reaching the town where the caravans were supposed to meet with the ships, we saw it was nearly deserted. The only main players in the town were several town guards run by Thebes Diodun, the elf; the Jumallis farming family, all human; and McGregor, the dwarf merchant. The guards explained what was happening. Trading ships were being abandoned out on the seas. Small rescue boats would show up from time to time with people screaming “No! Not Sullivan’s Gauntlet!!” Supposedly, a ghostly pirate ship was showing up and scaring away the crew of these vessels. The guards had seen this ship a couple of times lately near the shore. The Jumallis family has stuck by because their land is too important. However, their local crops have been selling more now that imports are decreased. McGregor stuck by because he wanted the guards to hear him out. He felt that the taxes he had to pay on imported goods were hurting his caravan business. He wanted them to go to the lawmakers and support a decrease of these taxes. The next several days involved Bomfur and I watching as several ships became victim to the Wraith Ship. The more we watched, we thought up a plan. We would arrange for a ship to stay very close to the shore. Then, we would stay in the water, near the ship. As the Wraith Ship approached, we would cling to the side and climb up, boarding the vessel. Then, we would play it by ear. We set the plan in motion, and when the Wraith Ship showed up, we went to cling on the side. However, we immediately fell right through the ship and it completely vanished. We began looking all around to see what happened. Out by the shore, we saw a ghostly figure standing. We quickly swam toward it as it began to run. We chased after it for what felt like hours. We chased it into the forest, by a nearby lake, through a small series of caves, and a rocky mountain pass. We lost him as the pass emptied out into a small field near the sea again. However, one thing was askew. There was a set of brush under a tree that looked disturbed. We searched it more and found a hidden passage going down. It was now very dark out, but we could not afford to use light. We decided to take to the tunnel in the dark. There was just enough light through the rocks and such to see enough to move. As we continued down the hidden path we saw the wraith take, we heard screams of the people nearby. The ship must have appeared again. We saw a dim light at the end of the tunnel, so we followed it, thinking it was a way out. We finally reached an opening in the passage and saw a cloaked man sitting in a hidden grove overlooking the water. He was chanting as astral lights flew out towards the sea. Finally, we found the source of the Wraith Ship. It was Mr. McGregor, the caravan owner, the whole time. He was using an old wizard’s spell to cast an astral projection of a ghost ship out on the water to scare away merchant and pirate ships so that he could claim the spoils for himself. That old McGregor was always complaining about the increased taxes on imported goods due to pirate attacks. It looked like he tried to cheat the system to catch a break. I quickly grabbed him and tied him up. The moment I did, the ship vanished and the screaming stopped. On our way out, we explained to the guards that McGregor was also paying a salvage team to go into the abandoned ships and take all the merchant goods out. He was then selling these goods in town for huge profits. As we began handing him over, McGregor began to say, “And I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for…” in Dwarven. As he almost finished the sentence, Bomfur rushed up and stabbed him in the stomach with his dagger. Bomfur doesn’t understand Dwarven. He thought he was casting another wizard spell.
Category:Historical Events