Jerome's Task (Mission)

* "We leave at 8:30 am
	+ We follow the coast, there’s snow now
	+ 4 hour mark we reach the cliffs and go left
	+ Laying face down in the snow is a body, dwarvish, very dead, killed by a rather large puncture wound in its back
		- Wearing much less clothes than expected, looks like body has been searched
	+ 7 hours in, cliffs recede
		- 5-10 miles ahead cliffs turn to mountains
		- The clouds grow heavier

* Next morning, new lake, large grey statue
	+ Left there is a break in the woods, hours walk
	+ We find a lake with a structure in the middle
* Big rock with fairly elderly looking man, leans on staff tipped with blade, long white beard
	+ It’s Jerome!
	+ Perhaps we could be successful since we haven’t died yet
	+ Inside is a beast
	+ Jerome’s “tickers tools” are inside
	+ Dead Island: Avlagsen (quite dangerous, source deep within the island)
	+ Hunters are fighters, they’re bold, they take on the biggest challenge they see, they don’t run

* ~~What’s the change Jerome’s a tiefling? (Maybe?) (Winged tiefling?)~~

* We start to walk across the bridge
	+ Building is roughly circular, 150’ diameter, 30’-40’ high
	+ Set of gates, 20’ high, two handles, one “Takrend height” and one about 10’ off the ground
		- Flotsam gently flowing in a clockwise direction
	+ Jerome got up and flew away during the night? He also stood up 7’ tall
	+ “Tinker’s tools” aren’t really his
	+ There’s a skylight on the back of the tower

* We open the door and look inside
	+ “The Grave within. Prove thyne worthy among the ranks of Skugga and find it” runes carved into an inner door
	+ Theodwin says it and they open
	+ Person sized staircase in the middle of giant staircase
	+ It goes quite a ways, curves very slowly

* At the bottom, we can’t see the ceiling from here
	+ Sarah explains it’s about a 150’ cube
	+ Double doors at the other side
	+ 4 alcoves, 2 on each side, skeletal figures with axes, 10’ high
		- Their bones are a deep grey or black, and they are totally picked clean

* They ask for our deeds
	+ They question the ring of Vox
	+ Is Resolve destroyed? (Vox’ echo, a hammer)
		- If Vox is in the ring, then Vox can’t be in Resolve, so Resolve must be destroyed
	+ The white dragon, was not Vathrimar, one of the few that is still alive after betraying the gods
	+ Hatha has been released, that is good news, she is not of this realm, she was once human
		- This is news worthy of speaking to the master
	+ Good news that Clostrum Scriptorum has been destroyed by dragons
	+ We can pass through the doors and keep going down the stairs
		- Bottom of stairs is a room with a troll statues, glimmering faintly
	+ We keep going down more stairs
		- Pool of water, spinning fast
		- We all go into the water, pulled downwards, twisting for minutes
	+ Dumped down into chamber of sorts, large pocket, dozens of feet across
	+ Across from us is an enormous thrown with a huge skeleton in ancient finery, crackling with electricity
	+ We are in the presence of Skugga

* We tell Skugga we released Hatha from a magically sealed room in old Iron Kingdom
	+ “Sanus Tersis should know better”
		- Sanus Tersis is no god
	+ Skugga believes Hatha is an ally while others of his kind do not
		- She holds more bitterness towards Sanus Tersis than giants
	+ Skugga wants to achieve vengeance on “The Paragons”
	+ Skugga was once called the Eastern King, ruler of Osterlok
	+ Urzog has a memorial, he was a mage, cowardly but he had his uses
		- Always had tricks and knew how to run
	+ Empire was founded in the 4th age of the old giant calendar
	+ Skugga is bound here after his last life, hidden in desperation when the Paragons came
	+ The Renegade built the Crystal Ship, was cast out by the Paragons
		- Their name is cursed, they guard it well
	+ Abandoned serve another god, one imprisoned
	+ Sanus Tersis and Iacto fought the most, another common one was Viribus was another
	+ The Paragons had the dragons on their side
	+ Garenag was unique, wizer than her siblings
	+ We should let Hatha know one of Skugga’s representatives will want to meet her
	+ We told Skugga neither iron or gold has taken the island
	+ Our map is wrong
		- Especially the lakes
	+ One Paragon died and created the echos, and those who wield them have their souls inside
	+ Message for Hatha: “Skugga will send a representative, but he wishes to meet her at the Island of the Crow’s Eye”
		- She’ll know when
		- “Haust” should let her know the message is from Skugga
	+ Jerome is Svikari
		- He’s a nuisance more than anything
		- A trickster after treasure
		- Only sometimes kills people
		- He is technically giant-kin, closer to an Ogre or an Oni
	+ Skugga says to destroy anything of the Paragons, that the Paragons are locked to this plane like us
	+ We told Skugga about the machine temple, and he thinks we should destroy it
		- He also knows of the staff of creation and destruction, but would be surprised if it was the true staff because of its relative lack of protection
	+ After we left Skugga’s court, we asked his chosen about the bag and tell them about Svikari
		- We can have the bag if we kill him
		- We try to kill him
			* We manage to get him out of human form, but then he turns into an Oni, turns invisible, and flies away"

*―Takrend Brooks' adventure log*