November 2, 2002 – IV, Isach, Tim, Rick, and Lisa

Managing to travel to Serpent Isle without too many problems, the captain drops off the group and moves out a short way to anchor and wait for their return. The tropical isle has a beautiful beach, which slowly gives way to a jungle-like rainforest. Moving into the jungle the group begins looking for the legendary Rainbow Viper. Using Sione’s wilderness skills they begin the search, but with little luck. As they continue on, they begin to hear movement in the foliage around them. Suddenly Lirrim spies the outline of a humanoid figure moving through the brush. Oddly, he can only see the general outline of the creature, as it appears to be using some form of camouflage to hide itself from the group.

Sione manages to find tracks of humanoid footprints with large claws at the toes. She also catches the trails of several large snakes, at least 15-20 feet in length. Now on their guard, the group moves further into the jungle and sees a clearing ahead. Deciding it may be safer in the clearing, the group breaks through the last portion of brush and trees to find themselves in a large, barren strip of land. Off in the distance ahead, a large hill covered with trees and brush rises towards the sky. To their left, the group sees what looks like a village in the distance. However, as they move closer, they realize that this is not an ordinary village. Heavily fortified with a moat, large guard towers housing ballista, and sharpened poles jutting out from the base of the wall at all angles, the structure does not appear too inviting.

The group is startled by the suddenly sound of a catapult. Looking up, they see a huge net streak toward them from the top of the nearest guard tower. The group scatters, but it’s too late, the net ensnares all of them with the exception of Xifias. Before he can help the rest of them, a large section of the guard tower wall falls outward, and fifty heavily armed men come streaming out toward the party. Many of them are pushing a large cart, while the rest surround our heroes. Shoving Xif back under the net, and then loading the group, net and all, onto the cart, the men take the party inside the tower.

Once inside, the group attempts to speak with their captors, but is greeted only by silence. As the guards take away the group’s possessions, and throw them in a darkened room, they can hear someone whisper in the background, “Those cold-blooded devils are getting more and more clever every day.” Pitch black is all they can see while they attempt to feel their way around their cell, looking for a possible way out. Suddenly blinded by light emanating from the ceiling, the group struggles to see as the door to the their cell opens and a voice rings out, “ So let’s see what Laurus has sent us this time.” As their vision clears, the group sees a man I his mid forties with salt and pepper hair and wearing a long white robe and a holy symbol for the god of magic, Boccob. He holds a large copper ring in this hand, raising it near each of them in turn. Before anyone has the chance to speak, he turns and walks out of the room, saying to the guard as he passes, “Bring them their belongings and take them through the initiation.”

The guard beckons the group out of the room, handing them their possessions as they pass. It’s immediately obvious that while their belongings have been gone through, nothing is missing from their packs. The guard smiles and says “I know this is all very confusing, but Laone will explain everything over dinner. For now, gather your things and put these on.” He hands each of the a large copper ring just like the one Laone raised in front of each of them in the cell. It is only now that the group realizes that everyone around them appears to be wearing them as bracelets. Lirrim immediately attempts to detect magic on the item, finding a divination of some sort upon it. The guard explains that the bracelets detect cold-blooded creatures and are used to ferret out the Serpentine. When questioned further, the guard tells the group that he would prefer to let Laone explain at dinner.

A detailed tour of the village follows and the group is shown the armory, the infirmary, etc. Ending in the barracks, each of the party is given a bunk and footlocker. Looking around, it dawns on the group that none of the footlockers have locks of any sort on them. Finally on their own until dinner, the group talks with a group of men playing card in one corner of the barracks. They answer many of the group’s questions, but defer just as many to Laone to answer later that evening. As everything they have seen starts to settle in, the party begins to realize that the village actually resembles a military compound, highly efficient, with little wasted space or materials. Strangely enough, even though the village itself is quite large, the group estimates that it only really sustains about 300-350 inhabitants, who are of various races and creeds. Dwarves, elves, halfling, gnome, and human alike are all represented here.

Later in the evening, the guard returns and leads the group to dinner. Laone is there and greets them, leading them through a mess hall style food line. Finally settling down at a table, the group eats while Laone attempts to ease much of their confusion, “I apologize for your rude welcome, but unfortunately around here we must be careful. I know you have a lot of questions, but if you’ll indulge me, I think I can answer most of them. What you see about you are the remnants of the various expeditions sent to this island throughout the years. In fact, many of the people here, myself included, are second or third generation. You see, my grandfather came to this island in search of the legendary Rainbow Viper. He and his companions were ambushed by the Serpentine, the island’s native inhabitants. Luckily, they were able to hold off the attackers long enough to allow my grandfather to use a powerful item he had with him. The item created a large magical shield around them that allowed them to build the basic structure that would become this village in the years to come. The Serpentine continued to attack them, finally using a huge snake they called the Great Serpent to devour my grandfather, and the item, in a sneak attack. Fortunately, they cannot control the beast as well as they would like, and it fled the battle after having its meal. The rest of the village was able to drive of the cold-blooded devils, and we’ve been playing that game of cat and mouse ever since.”

“We’ve managed to fight them off for so long that they have started to try and infiltrate our village through magic and disguise, thus the bracelets.” He goes on to answer as many of the groups’ questions as best he can, explaining that they have cleared as much of the island’s vegetation as they can to reduce the effectiveness of the Serpentine’s camouflage. Many attempts have been made at escape, but they are simple far too outnumbered to manage to make it off the island. The Serpentine capture and sacrifice those they can in bloody rituals to their unholy deity. He also confirms the existence of the Rainbow Vipers, revered by the Serpentine and kept as pets, believed to bring good luck. Unfortunately, none have been found outside of the Serpentine city, which winds its way around the outside of the hill in the center of the island.

He also explains that because of problems with the Serpentine controlling the minds of some of those who traveled to the city and made it back, he cannot guarantee that they will be let back into the village should they choose to try to sneak into the city and retrieve a viper. As the discussion continues, suddenly a halfling that has inched his way closer and closer to the table speaks up and says, “If you’re leaving the village, take me with you, I have no desire to spend the rest of my days here.” He introduces himself as Tobias, and explains that he ventured here with another group. They were attacked in the outer ring of trees and he was the only one who managed to escape. He was then taken in by the village in much the same way that they were.

Now trying to decide what to do, the group discusses its options, asking further questions of Laone to try and get a better idea of what they may be up against. Laone does not paint a hopeful picture, telling the group that the Serpentine number in the thousands. Hoping to gather as much information as possible and figure out a good plan of attack, the discussions go on late into the night.

November 9, 2002 – IV, Isach, Rick, Lisa, and Tim

Deciding to make a break for the Serpentine city shortly after the departure of the village’s hunting group, our heroes make the 2-mile dash to the inner ring of jungle. So far, so good, and it doesn’t appear as if they’ve been spotted by any guards to this point. Hopefully, the Serpentine are busy paying attention to the hunting party and the group will be able to find a Rainbow Viper and get back to the village. They make it to the base of the city before they even have to worry about any guards. However, it now sounds like at least two of the Serpentine are heading their way from the inner ring of jungle. The only place for the group to go now is either up, or into one of the dwellings. Opting for the later, the group ducks into an abandoned home and wait for the guards to pass. Making their way further up into the city the group once again hears the guards coming their way, and again decide to jump into a dwelling to avoid being noticed. However, this time it does not work out as well, as the home is occupied and the group now has to fight one of the Serpentine. The party is victorious, and luckily hasn’t alerted any of the city’s other inhabitants yet, so they move on in search of the elusive Rainbow Viper.

Ducking into another home the group once again comes face to face with one of the Serpentine, and another battle ensues. The group is once again in luck because this home also contains a Rainbow Viper, which they manage to snatch up as the battle rages. However, luck is only on their side for a short time, as the battle has dragged on long enough to alert the guards and the alarm goes out. Suddenly the group not only has to deal with a danger inside the home, but it is now swarming with the snake men outside, and the group is forced to retreat back into the home to prevent getting attacked from all sides at once.

The party manages to hold their own, even taking down quite a few of their foes, but the Serpentine now have spell casters among them, as well as sheer numbers and it’s only a matter of time before our heroes are captured by the monsters. Now captives of the Serpentine, they are unsure what to expect next, however, they are sure it will not be good. Strangely enough, despite what Laone had mentioned, they are not stripped of their belongings, or submitted to cruel tortures as part of the Serpentine’s wicked sacrifices. Instead they are taken to a large open-air temple with three large altars surrounding a huge pit in the middle. Positioned partially over the pit, stands a large stone slab, almost looking like the plank on a ship. Just like the proverbial plank, our heroes are forced out onto the slab, and are soon forced off the end into the pit. What lies below is anyone’s guess, for about ten feet down, the pit is completely black, almost as if covered by a cloth or film of some sort.

The group passes the “film” and plummets down, splashing into a large pool of water in the middle of a large natural cavern. As they pull themselves from the water, they can see that there are three passages leading off of the main cavern, one to the northeast, one to the south, and one to the west. Deciding to try and scout around a little, the group goes as far down the passages as they dare and listens for any clues as to what may lie beyond. The western cavern suddenly echoes of movement, the movement of something rather large. As the sound subsides, the group can hear regular breathing from the same direction. Guessing that the “Great Serpent” from Laone’s stories probably lies down that passage, they decide to look elsewhere for now. The only clue to what may lie down one of the other corridors is the sound of dripping water coming from the south.

After resting to replenish their strength, the group decides it is now time to try and find a way out. The southern passage leads into a huge natural cavern almost completely filled with clear water. A strange light seems to emit from beneath the surface, promising a possible way out for the party. However, the light also illuminates a large, ominous shadow swimming about in the water. Deciding there may be an easier way out, the group heads back to the main cavern and head up the northeast passage. Their hearts suddenly pound as they begin to see the all too familiar sight of black crystal walls. They’ve found another underground city, and this one appears to be in better condition than any of the others they’ve seen so far. Something is different though, as this city is much smaller in scale than the others, and only consists of a handful of buildings. As they investigate one of the structures, they realize that it closely resembles a dojo, even containing several weapons and a shield the group readily takes with them.

Moving on, they begin to realize that this appears to almost be a capital, or holy city of some sort. The primary structure is still a mausoleum, but another building, almost as large, and furnished with carvings of exceptional quality. The group even manages to find a few items of value they decide to take with them. The mausoleum houses several tombs, the largest of which has a carving of the amulet engraved into the stone of the door. Curious, the group opens the door and instantly recognizes that it does not lead to the interior of the tomb, but opens a gate into another plane. A void stretches out as far as the eye can see, swallowing all detail. The only living thing is a swirling mass of black a distance away from the door. As the group looks on, the mass begins to turn toward them, and they are surprised by two large, glowing red eyes floating in the center of the mass as it turns to regard them. Not wanting to find out if the gate allows travel in either direction, the group slams the door closed and begins looking at the other tombs and chambers.

The other tombs hold bodies much like those they found in the other cities, however, the deceased here are obviously of higher social standing as they wear elaborately decorated jewelry and tattoos cover their bodies. Attempting to remove one of the pieces of jewelry, the group is surprised by the suddenly jolt of pain they experience from the attempt. While they do manage to retrieve a few items of value, it costs them so dearly they decide not to try any further. Having little else to explore, the group heads back to the main cavern to brave the final passage.

Deciding that stealth is the best approach, the group elects Lirrim to sneak down the passage to find out what is there. He finds the “Great Serpent” coiled up and sleeping quietly on one side of the large cavern the passage opens into. The other side holds what looks, and smells like a large dung heap, apparently the area the beast uses to dispose of the indigestible bits of its victims. Along side the dung pile another passage opens into a smaller room. To his amazement, Lirrim spots a large pile of items inside the smaller cavern he finds there. Also in the room is a large clay golem, apparently oblivious to his presence at the moment. Taking a second to try and determine if any of the variety of items in the pile are magical, Lirrim is almost blinded by the auras emanating from the pile. While not all of the items in the pile are magical, a good portion of them are. Suddenly his attention is drawn to a strange circle engraved with runes carved into the floor. It is also radiating magic, appearing to be some sort of teleportation device.

Lirrim heads back to report his findings to the others, and they devise a plan to attempt to grab a few items off of the pile and then jump on the teleportation circle. Lirrim, uses an item from the pile to lure the golem as far away as they can in an attempt to make their getaway easier. One by one they grab two items from the pile and jump onto the circle. They all manage to grab something without getting caught by the golem, and suddenly find themselves in a small building of some sort. It appears to be the dwelling the Serpentine high priest came out of just before they were forced into the pit. Luckily, it has been hours since the ritual and the building is now empty, so the group sneaks out into the empty, open-air temple and makes a break for the inner ring of jungle.

Their passing is not unnoticed, but the group manages to get out of the city, past the jungle and to the base of the village’s walls, where the guards stop them. After much discussion, the guards agree to let the group back in as long as they submit to being disarmed and watched for several hours. The group agrees, and they are once again snared by a large net, loaded onto a cart and rolled into the city. Thrown in a darkened cell, the group waits for a chance to try and cure Nori so they escape the island. They don’t have to wait long, as Laone opens the door to the cell and holds up the large silver ball Sione had found in the Golem’s pile. “Do you know what this is?” he says, holding up the ball. “This is my grandfather’s item, and now we can use it to escape the island.”

The group rests as the village makes preparations for their escape. Soon it is time to leave the isle, and with the help of the large shield the ball creates, getting through the outer ring of jungle proves fairly easy. Soon, the village is at work building boats to make it to the mainland, while the group sets sail back on their waiting ship. Giving the captain a dose of the Rainbow Viper venom as promised, the group then tries to cure themselves with the anti-venom. Milking the viper can only be done every other day, so the bulk of the trip passes before the group can be cured. Unfortunately, the snake dies in transit, apparently unable to survive off of the island for long. Everyone is able to be cured, with the exception of Sione, but with Nori now back to normal, he soon teleports them back to the isle to capture another viper.

The journal is easily proven as false now that Nori is back, and the group’s name has been cleared. However, Irithan seems smug about the whole thing even though he lost this round. Maybe he was able to complete his dark plans while the group was gone, or maybe he’s glad the group is where he can keep an eye on them. Who knows, but now with the party back to good health, with viper venom to spare, and with several new magic items, the group must now decide what to do next.

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Main - Back to main page/menu.

Chapters - Find out what's happened so far.

Chapter One – Shapeshifters in Our Midst

Chapter Two – A Prophecy Fulfilled?

Chapter Three – The City of Black Crystal

Chapter Four – Poachers? No, Murderers!

Chapter Five – The Vast Swamp

Chapter Six – Delivery for Quarion

Chapter Seven – Evil Afoot in the Menowood

Chapter Eight – An Item in Naerie

Chapter Nine – Back in Malwander…

Chapter Ten – A Journey Into Madness

Chapter Eleven - Serpent Isle

Chapter Twelve – The Return of Maj

Chapter Thirteen – The Hestmark Highlands

Chapter Fourteen – A Spy Among Us?

Chapter Fifteen – The Bonewood

Chapter Sixteen – Return to Rook's Roost