Freeport Campaign

Rewards Earned

• Experience Points: 1080
• Treasure: Unidentified magical saber, amulet

The group talked with Thuron about the Jade Serpent. He informed them that the item probably rested in the nearby sunken temple of Yig. The High Priest shared a page from a log written by the infamous pirate Black Dog detailing a huge stone doorway carved with serpents. Thuron suggested that the party ask around in town to find any of Black Dog’s surviving crew members.

The group poked around and discovered an old sea dog named Gareth living in the Old City. The party paid the wizened sailor a quantity of gold in exchange for the location of the strange door mentioned in Black Dog’s journal, and set off to secure a rowboat for the short journey up the coast of A’val.

Right around low tide, the group found the distinctive rock formation Gareth mentioned, and manuevered into Black Dog’s Caves. The strong current in the narrow tunnel beyond the cave entrance caused the boat to lurch violently, knocking Gor-bob into the water. The half-orc washed quickly into a large cave, and was immediately attacked by a large turtle-like creature. The party killed the tojanida before it could consume the cleric, but Gor-bob was not in very good shape after the encounter. With their friend safely back on board, the party examined the rest of the cave.
On a beach to the left of the entrance, Chow discovered an untarnished saber stuck in the sand. When he plucked the weapon from the beach, a ghostly figure appeared from the wall of the cave and set upon him. While the party attempted to dispatch the undead assailant, another tojanida attacked from the lake. Gor-bob soon dealt with the allip, and the rest of the party took out the turtle.

The group followed the first tunnel to the left out of the lake, discovering a small shrine to Shalimyr, the God of the Sea. The tunnel continued around to a grisly sight on another beach – three skeletons impaled on large stakes jutting out of the ground. The party opted to ignore this beach for the moment and allowed the boat to follow the increasing current in the tunnel. Spike navigated the craft past a lengthy side passage and into a tunnel whose entrance was boarded up, with the warning, “DANGER! KEEP OUT!” written across the barrier.

Beyond the rotted wood, the group discovered the massive serpent-carved doors mentioned in Black Dog’s journal. Will deciphered the Valossan script on the doors: “All those who would enter the temple must pass the test of the fangs. Reach into the mouth of Yig, and your courage will be rewarded.” Will placed his hand in the mouth of the poised cobra carved into the wall and winced as the snake bit him. When the rest of the party seemed confused by his reaction, Will realized that the bite was an illusion. He reached further into the mouth of the serpent, grabbed the doorknob, and opened the door into the sunken Temple of Yig.

The first floor of the temple consisted of a single chamber dominated by a 15-foot high marble statue of a coiled snake. The continuous mural on the walls of the circular room was marred by scrawled Valossan graffiti: “Beware brethren, for Yig will abandon us.”

A ramp led from the first floor to the second, which was completely inundated with water. The party enacted some magical waterbreathing effects and plunged into the murk. Chow spotted a statue of a serpent person near the far wall. When he lifted the amulet he found around the statue’s neck, the rogue was attacked by a strange shadow in the shape of a serpent person. The party dispatched the shadow serpent, and followed Chow down the ramp to the floor. Incredibly, the water filling the second floor did not flow down the ramp, but simply stopped halfway down.

On the third floor, the group met another shadow serpent, a former priest of Yig named Alistar. The shadow informed the party that he could give them the Jade Serpent, if they would agree to act as his corporeal hands to recover four items from the rest of the Temple and help him complete a ritual of supplication to Yig. He believed that the ritual would appease Yig and allow Alistar and his shadowy brethren to rest after centuries of unlife. The party showed the priest the Amulet of the Serpent that they had found previously, and agreed to recover the Fangs of the Serpent, the Venom of the Serpent, and the Scales of the Serpent.

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