The Chronicles of Kulgar Hakonson

A SCEPTER STOLEN AND A CROWN FOR SALE (PART 1) A SCEPTER STOLEN AND A CROWN FOR SALE (PART 2) DEPARTURES TREASURES OF KIDIAS ESCAPE FROM KIDIAS CHAPTER 4: TALES OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS A MYSTERY IN GARN QUARTZ TANGLED WEBS TORKK PEARLS OF THE KOALINTH THE CYCLOPS ISLE RETURN TO GARN Kulgar Circh Quartz Tharrison

A Scepter Stolen, and a Crown for Sale (Part 1) [Sunday 02 January 1983] [p99-101]

08 Jul 03 (CY 578): The party arrives back at Rol in the morning and finds that The Dragon's Clutch has already sailed north.  Tharrison returns to the temple [of Aegir] and has his broken leg healed.  Quartz and Circh are also healed.

The party rents rooms at the Mermaid's Lyre Inn.  They eat a meal and then Kulgar and Quartz leave.  Outside, Quartz successfully pickpockets a fat pouch off of a man.  They visit the Mother of the Pearl Inn where Quartz wins at a game of darts.  He then buys his defeated opponent a mug of ale, while secretly stealing the man's pouch.  The man tells them of "the Dartman", who apparently can fire darts from miniature crossbows worn on his wrists.  Quartz nudges Kulgar, who is almost asleep, and they leave the inn.

Kulgar and Quartz return to the Mermaid's Lyre.  Tharrison and Nahr are sitting together in the common room, but Circh is not there.  Kulgar unloads his heavy equipment (including his leather armor) in his room and then returns to the common room to find Circh sitting with Tharrison and Nahr.  She complains to Kulgar about having to move his spears and shovels off of the boat (Kulgar, Quartz and Tharrison didn't help unload the Silence).  She calls him irresponsible and he becomes angry and leaves.  Quartz follows him back to the Mother of the Pearl where the barbarian rents another room.  Upon request, he gives Quartz the key to his first room.  Quartz returns to the other inn and immediately lets himself into Kul's room, where he finds the barbarian's armor and equipment.  He begins looking through the stuff and messing around with it.

09 Jul 03: Kulgar rises early.  He eats and returns to the Mermaid's Lyre where he sits in the common room with Tharrison and Nahr.  Later, the barbarian leaves and walks through the city, visiting various taverns.  Circh finds Tharrison in the common room and leaves Kulgar's two spears with the half-elf.

Meanwhile, Kulgar spends all of his coins on food and drink in the various taverns.  As he sits in one tavern, he notices an arm wrestling contest taking place.  He decides to get in on the action and, as one man loses with a loud "snap!", Kulgar steps forward with a challenge.  The current champ readily accepts and Kulgar easily defeats him.  He discovers that he has unwittingly won 5 sp.  As he stands up to leave, another man sits down to challenge him.  This man is stronger, but Kul wins again (earning another 5 sp too!).  Afterwards, another man steps forward and challenges the barbarian.  This time for 8 sp!  Kulgar accepts the challenge, of course, and after a tough competition, manages to win in the end.  No-one else steps forth to challenge him, so Kul leaves and returns to the Mermaid's Lyre, where he knocks upon his own door.  Quartz answers and Kulgar asks the halfling for his key back.  Quartz, scowls, returns the key, and then leaves.  Kulgar then returns to the common room (with the key safely tucked in his pouch).

Night: Circh's angry voice is heard from outside.  She enters, slamming the front door behind her, and stomps onward to her room with fists clenched.  Tharrison begins to go investigate, but Nahr suggests that he wait until she has calmed down a bit.  In the meantime, Kulgar and Nahr step outside where Nahr teaches the barbarian the constellations again.

Later: Kulgar takes his spears to his room.  When he opens the door, Quartz comes running out.  Kulgar tosses in the spears and locks the door.  He then turns to Circh's door and gives a couple of knocks.  After receiving no answer he returns to the common room and relates this info to Tharrison.  Thar decides to check on her.  He knocks on the door and, after receiving no reply, enters.  He finds Circh lying on her bed asleep, fully dressed, and clutching her pillow.  Tharrison has the innkeeper lock her door and then rejoins Kulgar and Nahr in the common room.

A Scepter Stolen, and a Crown for Sale (Part 2) [Sunday 09 January 1983] [p101-104]

10 Jul 03: Kulgar rises at dawn and leaves the city to go running, taking only his knife with him.  The running, however, causes a couple of his recent wounds to reopen, so he stops and walks back to the city.

Meanwhile, Tharrison, Quartz and Nahr eat breakfast in the common room.  Afterwards, Quartz knocks on Circh's door, but receives no reply.  He attempts to pick the lock, but fails.  Kulgar returns and washes and rebandages his wounds.  He and Quartz then knock on Circh's door again, but still receive no answer.  Kulgar then proceeds to return to the common room, despite the halfling's objections.  Quartz remains at the door, attempting again to pick the lock [not realizing that he's unable to make a second attempt until next level], but the innkeeper spots him (as do both Kulgar and Tharrison) and all converge upon the halfling.  Kulgar pulls Quartz away from the door and the halfling quickly apologizes to the innkeeper.

Kulgar visits a jeweler's shop and then returns to the inn and finally eats breakfast.  Quartz also visits a jeweler where he sells the Crown of Brodargg.  He plans to have a pair of jeweled daggers made.  Forging the daggers at the weaponcrafter's shop will take a couple of days and then inlaying the jewels at the jeweler's will take about three days more.  Meanwhile, Nahr announces that he's leaving the city to explore a few of the area's islands.  Kulgar decides to join him.  Quartz returns just as they are leaving.  The halfling knocks on Circh's door again, and after yet again receiving no answer, runs back outside.  Tharrison follows him.  Quartz visits a dye mixer and orders some dye.  She tells him that she can have his order ready in a couple of days at double the price.  Quartz agrees and then buys a large melon (for later use).

Tharrison buys some food and brings it to Circh's room.  She eventually opens the door for him, letting him enter.  He finds out that she was robbed of everything (including the Scepter of Brodargg) except her enchanted dagger.  Tharrison reassures her that Quartz will help get her stuff back.  He informs Quartz, but the halfling says he wants to be alone and can't help today.  Tharrison visits the money-lender [to exchange some coins or gems?].  While the half-elf is gone, Quartz changes his mind and knocks on Circh's door.  She lets him in and gives him all the info she can.

Circh explains how, on the previous evening, as she was walking by a dark alleyway next to the Whale Inn in the north port, a man grabbed her.  A sword was pressed to her throat, and she was aware that a second man was present also, before being robbed, struck on the head and left on the ground.  She is able to give Quartz a partial description of the thief ["Uglio"], who, she says, had very smooth moves.

Circh meets Tharrison in the common room and they leave the inn to explore the city.

In the meantime, Kulgar and Nahr have boarded the Silence and rowed eastward from the harbor.  They continue by sailing eastward and stop at a small island in the afternoon.  The boat is anchored and they disembark to investigate the isle.  As they explore, the ground before them suddenly erupts as a giant spider emerges from the earth.  Kulgar leaps backward, straight into Nahr, and unsheathes Gashintain.  After a swift strike the spider retreats by leaping thirty feet backwards.  Kulgar resheathes the sword and they continue onward.

Tharrison and Circh arrive at the Whale Inn.  They sit at a table and wait for Quartz [who is expected to meet them there].  Quartz, meanwhile, buys two sweet water potions from an alchemist and then visits the temple [of Aegir] to receive some further healing, before finally arriving at the Whale Inn.  He seats himself, unsheathes his enchanted dagger, and begins flipping it in the air.  All eyes are upon him.  He eventually sheathes the weapon and leaves the inn.  Once outside, he decides to check out the nearby alleyway.  He finds two bums in the alley, but learns nothing useful upon questioning them.  He decides to climb to the roof of the inn, but only finds a trap door leading down into the second floor.  He then returns to the common room of the inn and sits apart from Tharrison and Circh.  He returns to the alleyway now and then just to check it out.

Tharrison asks the innkeeper if anyone has come across a large sum of money recently.  "Even if I did know," the innkeeper replies, "if I value my life, I would not tell."  Tharrison pays him to keep their conversation private.

Meanwhile, Kulgar and Nahr continue exploring the small isle.  After reaching the other side, they turn around and return to the Silence.  They sail back to Rol, arriving at sunset, and return to the Mermaid's Lyre.  Tharrison, Quartz and Circh are not there though.  Kulgar leaves and begins wandering from tavern to tavern along the wharves.  In the meantime, Tharrison and Circh leave the Whale Inn, returning to the Mermaid's Lyre.  Kulgar ends up in a very crowded, wild tavern, called Wharf 18.  He sits down and a drunken girl falls into his lap.  A man approaches Kulgar and states, "That's my wench."  Kulgar stands and they get into a lengthy fist fight!  The man is strong, but Kulgar eventually overcomes him!  He brings the wasted girl (who says she is the goddess Athena (but Kul doesn't even know who Athena is!)) upstairs to a room, but as they lay in bed together she passes out.  Kulgar sleeps there that night.

Back at the Whale Inn, Quartz returns to the alleyway and easily kills the two sleeping bums, to prevent them from telling anyone about his snooping around.  He then returns to the roof and climbs down through the trap door into the upper floor of the inn.  He successfully sneaks into a guest's room and in frustrated anger, assassinates a man sleeping in the bed.  Circh's stolen items are not here, though, so he backtracks out through the trap door and starts back toward the Mermaid's Lyre.  Along the way, he encounters a bunch of giant rats.  The halfling quickly climbs a wall to escape the rodents and then continues on after they have left.

Departures [Sunday 23 January 1983] [p104-105]

11 Jul 03: Kulgar awakens, washes and eats.  "Athena" is still asleep, so he leaves the key to the room on the table and leaves the inn.

Meanwhile, Quartz walks back to the Whale Inn and eats breakfast there.

Kulgar returns to the Mermaid's Lyre and finds Tharrison and Circh in the common room.  Circh fills in Kulgar, telling him everything that has transpired.  The barbarian only grunts in response.  Circh rises and leaves the inn.  Kulgar and Tharrison follow her down to the wharf and watch as she boards the Silence and disappears into the cabin.

Meanwhile, Quartz' food tastes terrible, so he plays with it instead of eating it.

Kulgar and Tharrison, sit on the wharf, still watching the Silence. Nahr greets them as he passes by and boards the boat.  He enters the cabin.  The barbarian and half-elf have been waiting and watching for nearly an hour and notice that the wharf is becoming busier.  A merchant ship docks nearby.  Nahr eventually emerges from the cabin, unties the boat, and, to Kul and Thar's surprise, rows away from the port.  Kulgar rises and walks away down the wharf.  He returns to "Athena's" room at the inn, but the door is now locked and there appears to be no-one there.  He then returns to the Mermaid's Lyre.  Tharrison also returns soon thereafter.

Quartz, meanwhile, has left the Whale Inn and searches in vain through the streets for Circh's mysterious attacker.  He eventually returns to the Mermaid's Lyre and knocks upon Circh's door, but receives no reply of course.  After learning from Kul and Thar that Circh has left the city, the halfling walks down to the wharf to await the return of the Silence.  As Quartz waits on the dock, Kulgar leaves the inn and once again tours Rol's many taverns.

The Silence finally returns and Quartz is there to meet Nahr at the dock.  Nahr informs him that Circh is resting in Sonda.  She needs some time alone.  Quartz tells Nahr that he also needs some time alone and asks the old man to sail him to Sonda also.  Nahr agrees, but advises the halfling to leave Circh alone and not bother her.

Night: Quartz tells Kulgar that he's going off on a lone quest for halflings and will be gone for about a week.  They agree to meet back in Rol in one week.  Kul also agrees to pick up Quartz' new daggers on order from the weaponcrafter and deliver them to the jeweler.

12 Jul 03: Everyone rises early at sunrise.  Quartz and Nahr leave and sail south to Sonda [a three hour voyage].

Kulgar waits at the wharf for Nahr to return.  Finally, in mid-afternoon, the Silence returns and Kulgar asks the old man to sail Tharrison and himself to the isle of Kidias.  Nahr agrees, but says that they'll have to use another boat to make their own way back to Garn where he can meet them after picking up Circh and Quartz.  The old man then admits that Circh has confided in him, but he is sworn to privacy and will not reveal what she has told him.  Kulgar returns to Wharf 18 and eats a meal.  He visits a few other inns, before finally picking up Quartz' daggers from the weaponcrafter and delivering them to the jeweler.

On his way back to the wharf, Kulgar is suddenly surrounded by twelve roughians!  Their leader steps forward and demands to know where "it" is.  He says that he has already obtained the other items and wants the last one.  Kulgar realizes that this is the same ugly thief ["Uglio"] that robbed Circh and that he now apparently wants Gashintain as well.  "Who's gonna take it from me?"  is Kulgar's only reply, as he unsheathes the diamond-bladed sword.  The roughians rush to the attack.  It is a long, hard battle.  Many of the thieves try to grapple Kul, but the barbarian manages to avoid them (flipping one man over to escape a headlock in the process).

Kulgar kills five of the thieves and the remaining seven retreat and scatter.  But "Uglio" has disappeared, so Kul chases after one of the wounded thieves.  He follows the man into a nearby tavern, but as Kul enters the building everyone inside suddenly stands up, scowling at the barbarian.  The wounded man points at Kulgar, yelling, "That's him!  That's the one!"  The entire roomful of people converges on Kul, but he quickly exits and manages to flee down a few streets and thus escape.  He returns to the Mermaid's Lyre and immediately informs Tharrison of the attack.

Meanwhile, Quartz is traveling outside of Sonda.  He finds a halfling village and spends the rest of the day and evening feasting with the halflings and telling stories of Kulgar's victories.  He learns of the village's protector/champion, Tymor, and is offered lodging in the house of a halfling named Kirm.

Treasures of Kidias [Sunday 06 February 1983] [p105-109]

13 Jul 03: Kulgar buys three weeks of iron rations and then he, Thar and Nahr leave the inn (Kul leaves behind his shield) and board the Silence.  They row out of port, northward towards Kidias.  They arrive later at the port town of Shoreside, on the isle of Noma, and stay at an inn for the night.

Meanwhile: Quartz awakens and walks through the halfling village.  He meets a beautiful young halfling woman, named Liona, and talks with her.  He makes plans to meet her again the next day and then returns to Kirm's cottage.

Suddenly, the halfling village is attacked by vicious mounted gnolls!  They begin throwing torches at the cottages.  Quartz fires his last two arrows and then enters hand to hand combat, felling a horse and its rider.  He avoids a lance wielded by a mounted gnoll charging by and then engages a gnoll with a battle-axe.  The lance wielder returns, but fails to hit Quartz with the lance, though the horse does hit him.  Quartz manages to sneak up on a gnoll wielding a two-handed sword and kills him in two strikes (very messy!).  Many of the village houses are burning now!  Quartz continues fighting.  He tries to rescue Liona from a mounted gnoll, but the gnoll carries her off as Quartz is forced to fight another.  Tymor is also fighting not far away.  Quartz kills his opponent and then turns to help Tymor, who is badly wounded.  After helping Tymor, he finds Liona and unties her (moments before, he unknowingly killed her dismounted captor).  Quartz gets everyone together to extinguish the flames as the surviving gnolls retreat.  He then returns to Kirm's cottage to bandage himself and rest.  All in all, Quartz killed nine of the twenty gnolls and Tymor slew seven.

14 Jul 03: Kul, Thar and Nahr rise and sail the Silence towards the Clusters (about a two day voyage).

Meanwhile: Quartz rests.  Liona visits him.

15 Jul 03: A fine sailing day for the Silence.  Good winds, but very humid and grey.

Evening: The Silence arrives at the Clusters, appropriately named, because it is a region consisting of countless small isles clustered together.  The capitol city, Crossport, itself is made up of many small isles separated by channels of water.  The folk of the city use these waterways regularly to get around. Nahr navigates through the Clusters to Crossport and docks the Silence on a bar with an inn.  Tharrison hitches a ride on a water-taxi to another isle in search of a jeweler's shop, while Kulgar and Nahr unload the boat.  Rooms are rented at the inn and Tharrison eventually returns from his excursion.  After eating some supper, Kul takes his own tour of the city.  He finds it to be very beautiful and alive, especially at night.  He is gone for about an hour and a half and returns to the inn very satisfied and happy.  They all rest comfortably that night.

Meanwhile: Quartz rests.

16 Jul 03: Kulgar, Tharrison and Nahr board the Silence and prepare to leave.  Nahr rows through the center of the city and they leave the Clusters.

Meanwhile: Quartz continues to rest.  Many of the halfling village folk visit him, bringing him food.  Liona visits him also, of course.

17 Jul 03: Very hot [98].  Sail northward.  Nahr stays in his cabin most of the day, while Kulgar tends to the rudder.

Meanwhile: Quartz continues to rest.

18 Jul 03: The weather cools off a bit [75].  Kulgar maintains their course during the morning, and Nahr takes over at mid-day.  Soon, Kidias comes into view.  Nahr circles the isle and then drops off Kulgar and Tharrison and all of their equipment.  Nahr promises to return for them after picking up Circh and Quartz in Sonda.  Kul and Thar find a good place at the edge of the small wooded area and make a campsite.  They gather some dead wood for a fire.  Kulgar finds the tracks of a very large three toed biped creature.  They hide their sacks in a high tree and then follow the tracks.  The prints lead through the woods and down a steep slope to a beach.  The tracks disappear however, and Kul and Thar return to the beach nearest to their campsite.

They walk north-west along the beach towards the higher cliffs and follow the shore as far as possible, but the beach eventually disappears.  Thar suggests that there might be an underwater cave, so Kul sheds his leather armor and sword and swims down armed only with his knife.  He soon discovers a dark underwater cave and immediately resurfaces with the news.  Kul straps on Gashintain and then leads Thar back to the cave.  They swim inside and follow the tunnel as it turns upward, but suddenly find their way blocked by a large, smooth rock.  They manage to slide the rock aside and, upon rising up through the opening, break through the surface of the water into a pitch black cavern.  They cover the hole and then proceed to stumble around in the darkness, exploring the cavern.  Ultimately, they discover three locked chests (one large one and two smaller ones).  They slide the rock aside again and Thar takes the two smaller chests back to the beach.  Kul follows with the large chest, replacing the rock behind him as he leaves.  Once back on the beach, they gather up their equipment and return to the campsite.

Once back at the campsite, Tharrison manages to break the lock of the largest chest and they find it full of folded tapestries and rolls of fine silk.  As they attempt to open one of the smaller chests, Kulgar suddenly spots a large (and apparently angry) troll [Mr. Pickle] approaching (thus explaining the odd tracks found earlier)!  Tharrison attacks it and attempts to keep it occupied, while Kul fastens on the chest piece of his armor.  Thar is successfully holding his own as Kul unsheathes Gashintain and sneaks around to attack the troll from behind.  Kul receives many wounds during the battle, and Thar takes even worse, but the troll is eventually defeated.  However, as Kul strikes it a final blow, a blinding flash of light refracts through Gashintain's diamond blade, almost striking the barbarian in the eyes (with potentially dangerous results!).  Kul sheathes the sword and retrieves a bottle of wine and their tinderbox.  They burn the troll (to prevent regeneration) and then rest, bandaging their wounds.

After resting for a while, Tharrison succeeds in opening the second chest.  Inside, they find little vials of ointments and sticks of incense.  Kulgar then saws off the lock of the last chest with Gashintain, revealing more creams and perfumes and a vial containing some red liquid (which tastes like stagnant water).  They watch the sunset and eat a meal before finally going to sleep.
 

Escape from Kidias [Sunday 13 February 1983] [p109-116]

18 Jul 03 cont: Morning in the halfling village: Quartz prepares to leave the village.  The halfling folk throw him a farewell celebration.  Lots of food and good wishes.  After a couple of hours, Quartz finally leaves and returns to Sonda.  He finds the inn where Nahr is to meet him and waits for the old man's return.

Night: Nahr has still not returned.  Quartz walks along the wharf, but there is no sign of the Silence, so he returns again to the inn and sleeps.

19 Jul 03: Kulgar and Tharrison awaken.  After eating a meal, Kul studies the vial found in the third chest and actually detects magic emanating from the red liquid within.  Tharrison suddenly realizes what Kul is frowning about, but not before Kul is able to hurl the vial into the ocean.  Thar calls the barbarian an idiot and swims out to retrieve it.  He tells Kul that he will sell it.  Kulgar searches through the forest for a fresh water hole, but finds none.  They rest for the remainder of the day.

Meanwhile, in Sonda: Quartz waits on the wharf for Nahr, but still does not see the Silence.  He sleeps at the inn again that night.

20 Jul 03: Quartz awakens and searches the wharf for Nahr, but there is still no sign of the old man.  A noble, accompanied by a sailor with a cutlass, passes by and Quartz overhears the noble talking about how expensive sailors are.  The halfling approaches the noble and introduces himself as "Kirm".  He claims to be a skilled sailor and offers his services to the noble for only 2 gp a week.  He also claims to be a musician and a fighter, and that he used to protect a ship called the Dragon's Tooth.  The noble, Lord Welmorth, tells Quartz to come to his estate on the following day.  Afterwards, Quartz returns to the inn.

Meanwhile, on Kidias: Kulgar sets a few traps in the wooded interior of the isle to catch some small animals for food.  He is in the process of making a box for a trap, when Tharrison approaches and warns him of a ship far off shore.  The ship appears to be a galley with its sails up and is heading north-east, right toward the isle.  Kul and Thar quickly don their armor, after which Thar runs back to the cliff to keep an eye on the approaching ship, as Kul hides the chests and their equipment.  Kul keeps his knife, spear, belt buckle and Gashintain on his person.  He leaves his sack (containing his money, gems and maps) hidden in the woods and then covers their tracks as he makes his way to join Thar on the cliff.

Kul and Thar watch as the ship finally stops about a half mile from the cliff.  A longboat with fifteen men (eight of them oarsmen) is lowered from the ship and travels the rest of the way to the isle.  It is now definitely apparent to Kul and Thar that these men are pirates and that they have come to reclaim their hidden treasure.  The barbarian and half-elf watch from only thirty feet above as six of the pirates dive into the water (presumably swimming down to the underwater cave).  Soon, one of the men resurfaces, exclaiming to a lieutenant, named Mr. Hawthorn, that the treasure is missing!  Hawthorn knows that the captain will be angry.

The pirates row the longboat around the isle into the lagoon and come ashore.  Their swords are drawn and they carry torches, though it is still full daylight.  Kulgar and Tharrison retreat back into the woods and climb to the top of two trees to spy on the pirates.  They watch as the pirates find the charred skull of the troll (which was apparently left behind by them to guard the treasure [this may also explain why they carry torches in full daylight -- to use fire to keep the troll at bay]).  Disappointed and angry, they begin searching the isle for intruders, but find no-one.  They soon row back out to the ship.  After a while, the longboat returns and two men dive down at the location of the underwater cave with a sack.  [The two men eventually return to the longboat and] afterwards, the boat returns again to the ship.  Soon, the ship raises sail and moves around the isle to the lagoon.

Afternoon: Four longboats leave the ship and forty-three pirates row ashore.  The pirates unload supplies and equipment for an overnight camp.  Kul and Thar are still hiding in the trees, not far away.

Evening: The pirates eat their meal and open two crates to reveal some well-aged wine that they apparently stole recently from a merchant ship.  Kul begins to get very thirsty!  Most of the pirates drink themselves into a drunken stupor and pass out, however, Kul notices one man stash a bottle in his sack for safe keeping.

Night: With all of the pirates asleep, Kulgar decides to sneak down from his hiding spot.  He has no intention of staying up there all night, and besides, he wants to sample some of that wine!  Very quietly, he unsheathes his hunting knife and sneaks into the pirate's campsite and over to the sleeping man with the wine bottle.  Tharrison notices what Kulgar is doing and watches helplessly, afraid of the possible results.  Kul discovers that the man is actually sleeping on top of the sack and impulsively slits the pirate's throat!  He takes the sack and succeeds in sneaking out of the campsite and back into the woods.  Tharrison only stares in disbelief, amazed at the barbarian's apparent stupidity.  Kulgar sneaks through the woods, descends a slope to the other beach and goes to sleep.

21 Jul 03: Tharrison fights off sleep and morning eventually arrives.  Mr. Hawthorn awakens and seems to momentarily glimpse the half-elf in the tree, but then disregards it.  Instead he goes about his business and begins rousing his men.  Kulgar is also awakened and, after tying the stolen sack to his belt, returns to the forest and climbs back up a tree to hide again.  Tharrison is, at first, very relieved at not being seen, but then suddenly realizes that he could be in big trouble once the pirates discover their murdered comrade.  Sure enough, they soon discover the dead pirate and, while everyone's attention is momentarily drawn, Thar swiftly climbs down from his hiding spot and then climbs up another tree deeper in the woods.

Kulgar, meanwhile, cannot hear what is being said in the pirate's camp, so he moves to another tree, closer to their campsite.  He finds that his tree is right next to Tharrison's tree!  Mr. Hawthorn apparently suspects that there is a traitor among his crew and searches through all of his men's equipment for evidence.  After finding nothing he inspects their weapons, but still finds nothing incriminating.  Finally, he remembers glimpsing a mysterious man in a tree earlier and immediately has his men chop it down.

Tharrison breathes a sigh of relief.  He realizes that the pirates will now likely begin an all-out search of the isle and suggests to Kulgar that they hide in the underwater cavern.  Kul agrees and they sneak away.  Soon, they surface inside the small cave and block the entrance with the rock.  Kulgar discovers the sack that the pirates recently left and opens it (breaking the beeswax seal in the process).  He finds that it contains a tinderbox and some torches.  Thar stops Kul as the barbarian begins to light up a torch.  The half-elf explains that the flame will consume their air more quickly, making it difficult for them to breathe in the confined space.

Kulgar and Tharrison sit in the darkness for uncountable minutes when a slight rumbling is felt.  At first, Kulgar thinks that the rock is being moved, but then the rumbling is felt again... and then a third time.  They continue to wait, but feel it no longer.  The air in the cave begins to get thin, however, so Kul grabs his spear and they exit the cave and swim to the surface.  Once back on the beach, Kul climbs up the slope to see what's going on.  He is quite taken aback by his discovery.  The whole forest has been set ablaze!

Kulgar spots a couple of pirates searching the area [and he and Thar quickly dispatch them].  As the barabarian and half-elf try to think of another safe place to hide, a longboat comes into view and a sailor yells, "There they are!  Get them!"  Upon hearing this, Kul and Thar exchange a quick glance and, without a word spoken, each realizes that the pirate's longboat represents their only opportunity to escape.  Kul immediately drops his spear and they both dive into the water.  Thar quickly pulls ahead of the barbarian, as his [+1] chainmail is much less cumbersome than Kul's leather armor.

Tharrison reaches the longboat first [and quickly dives underneath the water as if to swim to the other side of the vessel.  He fools the pirates, though, by remaining next to the same side of the boat.  As he surfaces, he finds that the four pirates are lined up on the opposite side, waiting for him to surface there.]  He swiftly grabs the side of the boat and rocks it hard causing one of the four men to topple out into the water.  The others quickly help him back in, though.  A harpoon just misses Thar and he unfortunately fails to grab the attached rope.

Kulgar, meanwhile, yells, "I can't swim!" and thrashes his arms as he allows himself to sink beneath the water.  Once under the surface, he swiftly cuts loose the weighty sack (with the wine bottle) from his belt and again swims towards the boat.  As Tharrison tries, but fails, to grab a pirate, the half-elf sinks into the water, narrowly avoiding an attack from the pirate's cutlass.

Meanwhile, Kulgar positions himself on the shallow bottom behind the boat.  The barbarian pushes off from the bottom with his legs and uses his arms to build up even more momentum.  As he breaks through the surface, he grabs the back end of the vessel and flips himself over into the boat, landing on one of the pirates.  Now in the boat, Kul unsheathes Gashintain and the bloodfest begins!  He evades a pirate's cutlass and his first strike with the diamond-blade cleaves open the pirate's chest [double damage].  As he throws the dead man overboard he is struck by a weapon, but not seriously.  Kul cleaves another man, while Gashintain suddenly blinds the third pirate with refracted sunlight.  The fourth pirate suddenly drops his harpoon and dives overboard to escape the carnage.

Kul mercilessly hacks down the blinded pirate and then throws the two bodies overboard.  [As Thar climbs aboard,] they notice that another longboat is approaching!  Thar and Kul begin rowing southward, away from the isle.  The other boat closes in and a pirate hurls a harpoon which strikes the bench next to Kulgar.  Kul quickly grabs and yanks the harpoon's rope (the other end of which is looped around the pirate's wrist) and the man topples overboard.  The pirate cuts the rope and is able to reboard his boat, though.  Kul meanwhile, takes up the harpoon and casts it back at the other boat, but he just misses his target, an oarsman [by only one lousy point!].  The harpoon man casts the weapon again, but this time misses the boat altogether.  He suddenly calls off the chase and Kul and Thar succeed in their escape.

After rowing a ways from the burning isle of Kidias, Kulgar and Tharrison decide that it would be a shorter voyage for them to row northward to the isle of Pitik, rather than southward to Pni.  They turn the boat around and row northward, giving the pirates and the isle a wide berth.  The contents of their hijacked longboat include a bucket, a pirate's cutlass, and a harpoon with a short rope.

During the escape, Kul and Thar lost a large portion of their personal belongings, which they had hidden with the treasure in the forest.  They managed to escape with only their clothing, armor, weapons (Asterlain, Gashintain, and perhaps a couple of hunting knives) and Kul's valuable belt buckle.

Among the items lost was Kul's sack which contained the following:

40 gp

8 sp

2 cp

5 gems (4 worth 100 gp and 1 worth 500 gp)

2 ruined maps of Baklune (maps A & B)

22-24 Jul 03: [23 Jul: Thar's 53rd birthday] Kulgar and Tharrison take shifts rowing northward towards Pitik.  The rowing is very tiring and they are forced to drink salt water (only handful a day).  By the 24th they are becoming very exhausted [and probably dehydrated also], but continue to row on relentlessly.

25 Jul 03: As Kul and Thar row onward, a storm moves in.  They both row for a while and then Kul stops to bail water from the boat.  Later, as the rain continues to fall and Kul takes up the oars for his shift, Thar spots an island ahead.  They row to the island and dock the boat to a pier.  As they climb onto the pier, a roundish woman comes out from a cabin.  Kul greets her and she invites them in to escape from the rain.  She feeds them some hot stew and gives them dry robes and blankets.  Kul explains to her that he and Tharrison just escaped from a shipload of pirates a few days earlier.  She introduces herself as Miandra and Kul and Thar both introduce themselves.  Upon hearing Kulgar's name, Miandra ponders for a moment.  She explains that her husband, a fisherman, has heard stories of a man named "Kulmar".  Kul says that the name must have gotten mixed up.  Tharrison sacks out in front of the hearth, while Kul is shown to a guest bedroom where he immediately falls asleep on the bed.

26 Jul 03: Kulgar and Tharrison sleep until the afternoon.  They eat a meal and Miandra shows them how to milk a cow.  They sleep comfortably again that night.

A Mystery in Garn [Sunday 20 February 1983] [p116-118]

27 Jul 03: Morning: Kulgar and Tharrison eat and prepare to leave.  First they must bail out the longboat, though.  Afterwards, they thank Miandra and row off, continuing northward towards Pitik.  They resume their rowing shifts, however, during Tharrison's night shift, the half-elf unknowingly loses his way and the boat gets turned around.

28 Jul 03: Morning: Kulgar awakens to discover that they are on a southward heading instead of northward!  He takes over the rowing from Tharrison and resumes their correct northerly heading towards Pitik.

Later: The isle of Pitik is finally spotted.  Kul and Thar dock the longboat at Garn.  Kul sells the boat (including the oars and harpoon with rope) to a trader in return for 25 gp and 3 weeks of lembas (a type of long-lasting elven bread).  He also sells the cutlass, while Tharrison trades in a gem for 50 gp at the jewelers.  Thar buys a well-crafted staff (for only 1½ gp) and they look for a suitable inn along the wharf.  Kul enters a very rowdy inn and Thar follows the barbarian inside.  Kul buys a meal consisting of crab, octopus, and two ales.  However, after eating, when he decides to pay for a rented-room, he suddenly finds that his pouch of recently acquired money is missing!  Angry as a demon from hell, the barbarian stands up and yells, "What scurvy, scum took my pouch!?"  All is deathly quiet for a moment as everyone turns to look at the barbarian, then the room returns to normal and Kul is left broke and seething.  Tharrison leaves to visit an armorer and have his [+1] chainmail repaired.  He tells Kulgar that he'll be staying at a quieter inn.

Soon after Thar has left, a scream is heard from upstairs in one of the inn rooms.  Kulgar and a few other men run up to investigate.  They discover that a woman has apparently found her fiancee dead in his room!  He was sloppily stabbed (rather than professionally assassinated).  Folk begin gathering outside the door.  Kul discovers that the man was a merchant who was going to buy some five-star wine (an extremely old (500 year?) vintage) from a recently docked merchant ship.  The barbarian decides to investigate a bit further.  He leaves the inn and finds the merchant vessel at pier five.

Two men stand guard next to the ship's gang-plank.  Kulgar approaches and asks the guards where he can find the city guard house.  The guard points him in the right direction, but as Kul leaves in that direction he can feel their eyes drilling into his back.  Suddenly, he stops in front of an inn.  He decides to find Tharrison and tell him what's happened.  Thar, meanwhile, can see the barbarian approaching the inn through his second floor window.  Kul enters and asks the innkeeper if he has seen Tharrison.  The innkeeper only replies, "Maybe..."  Kulgar turns and abruptly leaves.  However, before he gets very far, he hears Tharrison calling to him from his window.  The barbarian again turns about and goes back into the inn.  Meanwhile, the innkeeper has sent a man up to Tharrison's room to warn him that a barbarian is looking for him.

Kulgar soon finds Thar's room and enters.  Suddenly, though, he has a change of mind and decides not to mention the bizarre events at the other inn.  "Who cares?  It doesn't involve us," thinks the barbarian to himself.  Thar announces that he plans to travel north to Bis and visit Balane.  They agree that Kul will wait here in Garn to keep a look out for the Silence.  Kul then leaves, but as he passes through the common room, he pats his sword hilt and eyes the bartender.  "Better check on that guy upstairs... He might be hurt.  Heh-heh."

The innkeeper immediately sends two men up to Thar's room.  They burst into the half-elf's room with swords drawn.  "Are you hurt?" One of them asks.  "Not yet," replies Tharrison.

Quartz [Sunday 27 February 1983] [p114-118]

21 Jul 03 cont: Morning in Sonda: Quartz finds Lord Welmorth's estate in the wealthy section on the outskirts of town.  He is admitted through the gates and, once inside, meets Muriel, the lord's advisor.  Muriel interviews Quartz.  When the halfling fails to tie a sailor's knot upon request, he quickly explains that his primary job is a protector/warrior.  Quartz admits that he is only looking for temporary work in order to earn enough money for passage north to Rol.  Muriel agrees to hire him and they settle on a wage of 3 gp per week.  He tells the halfling to report in the morning [at 10 a.m.] in two days to Lord Welmorth's boat, "the Pike" at pier 5 in Sonda.  Afterwards, Quartz leaves the manor, gets a head shave, and returns to town.

22 Jul 03 cont: Quartz follows a man through town, planning to rob him.  The man enters a wine shop, so Quartz waits, but suddenly notices that the Silence is docked at a nearby wharf.  He ultimately fails to rob the man, and leaves him to search for Nahr instead.  He soon locates the old-man in a tavern, and Nahr agrees that he will be ready to leave the next day.  Quartz returns to Lord Welmorth's manor and explains that he will be able to work for a couple of months instead, but will need a couple of weeks of advanced wages to purchase some supplies.  Muriel agrees and gives him 6 gp.  Quartz smiles and returns to town again.

23 Jul 03 cont: Nahr and Quartz leave early in the morning.  Nahr explains that he was unable to find Circh in either Rol or Sonda.  They sail straight past Rol and head for Kidias, intending to pick up Kul and Thar.

24-26 Jul 03 cont: Nahr continues to sail the Silence northward.  They experience favorable wind conditions on the 26th.

27 Jul 03 cont: The Silence passes northward over the equator.
Evening: Quartz and Nahr arrive at Kidias, but find that the woods are completely burned.  They disembark and look over the isle, but find only a [troll] bone.  They then climb back aboard the Silence and row around the isle, but there is still no sign of Kulgar or Tharrison, so they decide to continue on to Garn and search for them there.

28 Jul 03 cont: Quartz and Nahr arrive in Garn in the afternoon.  They search through all the taverns and inns and finally find Tharrison in the evening.

Tangled Webs [Monday 14 March 1983] [p118-120]

28 Jul 03 cont: Kulgar, meanwhile, returns to his inn and rests in the common room.  Quartz eventually finds the barbarian and demands his jeweled daggers.  Kul doesn't have them, however (he never got back to Rol to pick them up).

Quartz arranges passage to Rol on a merchant ship (leaving in two days).  Kul and Thar also make plans to return to Rol [to look for Circh.  Nahr has explained that after dropping Kul and Thar off at Kidias he returned to Sonda for Circh, but she was no where to be found].  Thar insists on visiting Balane in Bis first, though, to see if she can locate Circh once again.  Nahr agrees to take Thar to Bis.  Kul and Quartz agree to meet in Rol in a few days.

[Gordon C. later leaves the game and Kulgar conveniently "forgets" his promise and never looks for Quartz in Rol.]

29 Jul 03: Nahr says farewell to Kulgar and they shake hands.  Nahr will be going his own way after dropping Tharrison off at Bis.  He and Thar board the Silence and row out of the port.

Kul finds himself with only 3 sp.  At first, he thinks of hiring himself out as a mercenary to the city guard, but then realizes that in doing so, Gashintain (his only sword) might draw too much attention.  He is somewhat reluctant to expose Gashintain here, as he is unsure how far "Uglio's" influence extends.  He finds a ship in port that will be sailing south to Rol in six days.  He ultimately decides to leave town northward to live off the land until Tharrison returns by road from Bis.

About ten miles out of town, Kul encounters a very aggressive warthog.  He defeats the beast and then skins and cooks it, dividing it into four days of food.  Afterwards, he continues his wandering (with no real destination) and eventually stops to make a camp for the night.

Meanwhile, the Silence arrives at Bis and Thar immediately walks to Balane's cottage on the outskirts of the village.  Upon arrival, he finds that Balane hardly remembers him.  He reminds her of his name and asks if she can help locate Circh again.  She agrees and asks him to return in a couple of hours.  Thar leaves and sits by the tranquil pond not far from the cottage.

As Thar relaxes by the pond, a giant (6' high) spider approaches.  Thar enters the water hoping to elude the beast, but the spider begins spreading its webs all around the pond.  Not wanting to be trapped, the half-elf returns to dry land again and battles the beast, eventually killing it.  He is struck a couple of times during the fight, but is not poisoned.  Thar finds the spider's lair and, after climbing a tree, begins to cut down the webbing with a dagger.  Inside a web-cocoon, he finds a crafted golden coffer and a large (coin-sized) emerald.  Inside the coffer are 4 gems and a small golden ring.

gem 1: uncut white with a pale-bluish glow
gem 2: uncut black
gem 3: cut watery-gold
gem 4: green

Later: Thar returns to Balane's cottage and the beautiful druid casts a spell over a large basin of water.  A vision in the water reveals to Balane that Circh is eating a meal in an inn or tavern.  She soon leaves the building.  The streets outside are very busy.  A sign on the outside of the building comes partially into her view, revealing the name to be the "------ Unicorn". The vision suddenly fades out, but as Balane describes the sign to Thar, the half-elf remembers the Silver Unicorn Inn in Greyhawk.  Circh is apparently back in Greyhawk!

Torkk [Saturday 19 March 1983] [p120-124]

29 Jul 03 cont: Tharrison says farewell to Balane and returns to the village.  He finds Nahr and tells him that Circh is apparently in Greyhawk.

30 Jul 03: Kulgar decides to turn around and head back towards Garn.  He also decides that he should have an alternate weapon (other than Gashintain) and fashions a crude club from a heavy tree branch.

Midday: Kul arrives back at Garn.  He finds the merchant ship scheduled to depart for Rol in two days and makes arrangements with the captain to work as a sailor for his passage southward.

Afterwards, Kul wanders through the streets and ends up buying a beer in the common room of an inn ["Barthron's Inn"].  He overhears the owner, Barthron, talking to a patron.  They are planning to hire a mercenary to rid the town of a man named, Torkk.  Kul approaches and offers his services.  Barthron agrees, but can only offer about 40 sp as payment.  Kul is desperate for some money and agrees.  The innkeeper then sweetens the deal a bit by offering Kul free room and drink for the duration of his stay.

Barthron describes Torkk to the barbarian.  He is about 5'9" with an average build and short blonde hair.  He carries a rapier and never seems to be accompanied by any guards.  The innkeeper says that Torkk should be returning sometime during the week and also adds that Torkk may be working for someone else.

Meanwhile, in Bis, Tharrison has a jeweler appraise his treasures.  The golden ring and emerald are apparently quite valuable.  He says farewell to Nahr and then buys a horse to speed up his return to Garn.  He then leaves Bis, riding southwards towards Garn.

31 Jul 03: Kulgar waits in the common room of Barthron's Inn all day, but Torkk doesn't show up.

Meanwhile: Tharrison continues riding south towards Garn.

01 Aug 03: Kulgar visits the public bath house.  Afterwards, on his way back to the inn, he looks in the gutter for stray coins.  A woman sees him and asks if he's lost something.  Kulgar lies, explaining that he's looking for an olive-sized gem that he's lost.  The woman and two passing city guards join the search, but while they are busy searching Kulgar sneaks away.  He returns to the inn and, by evening, a rumor of a lost gem has spread throughout the city.

Meanwhile: Tharrison continues riding south towards Garn.

02 Aug 03: Kulgar waits in the common room of Barthron's Inn all day, but, again, Torkk doesn't show up.

Meanwhile: Tharrison continues riding south towards Garn.

03 Aug 03: Kul waits in the common room.

Midday: Tharrison arrives at Garn.  He immediately sells the horse and soon finds Kulgar at Barthron's Inn.  [The half-elf then updates the barbarian as to Circh's whereabouts.]

Soon after, Torkk enters and he and Barthron disappear into the back room.  Kul explains to Thar that Barthron is being forced to pay Torkk money to remain in business.  Kul is almost broke, so Thar hands him a gem.  Torkk eventually leaves and Barthron explains that Torkk is raising his fee!  Kulgar groans and then he and Thar exit and follow Torkk to another inn.

Kul leaves Thar to keep watch over Torkk's inn.  The barbarian runs to a jeweler's shop and quickly trades in the gem that Thar gave him for 47 gp.  He then buys a new shoulder sack (since his old one was lost on Kidias) and returns to his room at Barthron's Inn.  He puts on his leather armor, takes all of his equipment (Gashintain, a club, a knife, some lembas, and his gold coins) and runs back to relieve Thar.  On the way, though, he stops at the wharves long enough to discover that there is a merchant ship in port that will soon depart and head eastwards towards the Bacho Reefs.

After Kul's arrival, he and Thar go around behind a tavern across the street from Torkk's inn.  Kul piles up a bunch of crates and then uses the stack to climb up to the roof of the tavern.  Thar then takes the stack of crates down and returns to Barthron's Inn.

Once back at the inn, Thar introduces himself to Barthron and explains that he is Kulgar's traveling companion.  He tells the innkeeper of their recent adventure to Posoe, but (not wanting to advertise Gashintain) states that the legendary sword of Brodargg was never found.  A crowd begins to gather and he tells of his various encounters with tunicians.  After many requests, he eventually agrees to give a demonstration of his skill with Asterlain.

Suddenly, a large unarmored tunician man wielding a scythe steps forth through the crowd to challenge Thar.  The battle begins as "the Reaper" takes an awkward swing and accidentally drops his weapon.  He quickly recovers the scythe, but Thar soon defeats him rather easily.  The half-elf quickly takes the tunician's scythe and replaces it with his longsword.  The city guards soon arrive and learn what has happened from the patrons in the common room.  They drag the unconscious tunician (whom Thar thought was dead) out of the inn and through the streets to the guard house.

Kulgar spots the guards passing by, dragging their prisoner, but pays little attention as he also spots Torkk emerging from the inn across the street.  The barbarian lowers himself down from the roof and follows Torkk to a tavern.  Torkk talks with the tavernkeeper (more price raising?) for a bit and Kul then follows him outside again.

As Kul turns a corner, a glowing, enchanted rapier is suddenly thrust forth towards his throat.  "Why are you following me?"  asks Torkk.  Kulgar, in turn, asks why he is taking money from the taverns and inns.  Torkk replies that it is none of his business.  Kul decides that the conversation is going nowhere fast and swiftly pushes aside the tip of the rapier as he steps back.  Torkk prepares for his attack, but Kul has already unsheathed Gashintain and the diamond-blade bites deep.  Kul is reluctant to kill Torkk too quickly, though.  He still wants some answers, especially since Barthron mentioned that Torkk may be working for someone else.  He punches the swordsman a couple of times, but Torkk, in turn, thrusts his rapier and catches Kul in the left shoulder.  Kul has had enough now!  He slashes at Torkk with Gashintain and the diamond-blade again cuts deep.  Torkk now seeks to escape.  He retreats from the barbarian, hobbling down the street and yelling for help!  Kul quickly silences the man with his club.  People are now approaching, however, so Kul drags Torkk into a nearby alleyway.  He takes Torkk's pouch and glowing rapier and then slits the man's throat.

Kulgar returns to Barthron's Inn with the good news.  Barthron is excited.  With Torkk gone, he can now lower his prices again!  He gives the barbarian 37 gp in reward and offers both Kul and Thar continuous free rooms and meals.  After the tavern has closed, Kul cleans the blood off of Gashintain and shows the diamond-bladed sword to Barthron, who is very amazed.

Soon, back in his room, Kul examines the contents of Torkk's sack and discovers 18 pp and a vial of liquid [healing potion].  He cannot figure out what the liquid is however, so he eats some lembas and drinks it.  His wounds miraculously heal over and he is suddenly feeling a whole lot better.  "With all of this newly acquired money," he thinks, "I don't even need to sell this crummy rapier."  He takes the enchanted rapier to the wharf and drops it into the water.

Meanwhile, Tharrison is talking with Barthron.  The innkeeper wonders how much an enchanted sword would be worth, wishing that he had one.  Tharrison anticipates Kulgar's actions and leads Barthron down to the wharves.  The half-elf easily finds the glowing enchanted rapier and, after retrieving it, gives it to Barthron, commenting on how stupid Kulgar is.

04 Aug 03: Kulgar and Tharrison awaken early to find it raining moderately hard.  Kul buys some new clothes and boots and visits the bath house again.  He and Thar then go to the wharves to look for the merchant ship that is bound for the Bacho Reefs, but they soon find that there are no sailors in sight upon her open decks.  Kul buys a well tailored cloak (with a hood) and a new scabbard for his knife and they return again to Barthron's Inn to relax.

05 Aug 03: The foul weather is gone, but Kul finds that the merchant ship is gone also!  He cannot find any other ships sailing eastward, so he suggests to Thar that they buy their own boat and sail eastwards to the Bacho Reefs themselves.

Barthron has told Kulgar and Tharrison that the Bacho Reefs are about 400 miles east by southeast from Garn.  There is an isle there named, Kunda, just off the coast of Hepmonaland and on the isle is a city called Meath.  On another nearby isle is a beast called the cyclops.  It is said to have a man's torso, walk upright on a pair of goat's legs, and have only one huge eye on its face.  The natives apparently worship and even sacrifice to this creature.

Kul and Thar buy a boat from a trader on the wharves (the same guy that Kul sold the pirate's longboat to).  It appears to be a good, solid sailing vessel.  The boat is 15' long with a 6' long, 5' high, 5' wide cabin and comes equipped with 2 oars, a single mast with a sail, [and an anchor].  [It can sail 5 hexes in a 24 hour period.]

Kulgar and Tharrison name the vessel, Harbinger, and set about stocking it with the appropriate gear.  Kulgar buys a fishing net (10x10), 2 harpoons, and 50' of good rope [from the same trader].  He then finds a weaponsmith and buys a spear [or a javelin].  With money to spare, he then visits a bow specialist and buys a good shortbow and 12 arrows.  Tharrison, meanwhile, buys 3 flasks of oil, 10 torches, 2 cots ,some tools, and a metal basin (1' diameter, ½' deep) for lighting fires on the boat.

[After struggling a bit with the dilemma of whether or not to search for Circh or the cyclops, Kul and Thar have decided to go in search of the cyclops first (hoping, perhaps, to find some treasure and make-up for their losses at Kidias).  They have no idea at this point why Circh has returned to Greyhawk without them.]

Pearls of the Koalinth [Wednesday 23 March 1983] [p124-127]

05 Aug 03 cont: Kulgar and Tharrison load up Harbinger and fix her up to their liking.

06 Aug 03: Kul and Thar arise early and say farewell to Barthron.  He wishes them luck and gives them a bottle of Five Star wine to drink after they kill the cyclops.

Sail east by southeast.  As they sail, Thar fishes, but doesn't catch anything.  Kul day-dreams about Circh all day [wondering, perhaps, why she went back to Greyhawk without them and possibly feeling a bit guilty that he hasn't gone to search for her].

07 Aug 03: Kulgar and Tharrison sail onward.
Later: An island is spotted off the starboard side.  Kul rows close and they anchor Harbinger and wade ashore.  Thar gathers some pineapples and coconuts and puts them in the boat.  Kulgar discovers and follows tracks of a dog-type animal, but loses them in a fresh water stream.  They explore the isle until nightfall and then find a good place to sleep.  During the night, Kul is awakened by something moving on his neck.  He is suddenly bitten on the cheek and swiftly jumps to his feet!  Thar is awakened by the commotion and rises to find a coiled, giant constrictor facing Kul.  The barbarian leaps back, unsheathing Gashintain.  Thar, meanwhile, already has Asterlain spinning, but misses the snake.  Kul hacks it a couple of times and Thar strikes it.  Kul finally kills the creature and cuts off its head.  He finds that it has no fangs and apparently no poison.  They both return to sleep.

08 Aug 03: Kul and Thar awaken and return to the boat.  They set sail and continue on eastward.  As they sleep aboard the boat, Harbinger reaches the Bacho Reefs, actually running into them and scraping its hull on the jagged rocks!  Kul quickly lowers the sail as Thar drops the anchor.  After regaining control of the boat, Thar swims around her to inspect the hull, but determines that no serious damage was done.  Kul rows them through the reefs and they row along the coastline of a large isle.

They soon, spot a small boat on a beach, so they drop anchor and swim ashore to investigate.  They follow humanoid footprints to a path leading into the jungle.  The path leads to a small clearing where they find a small treehouse suspended between four trees.  There is a table with three stools in the clearing and a pen holding three goats.  There seems to be no-one here, but they hear something or someone moving around in the house.  Kul finds some tracks leading down another path and they follow it to a waterfall.  As they approach the falls to investigate (thinking that there may be a cave behind it) they hear the voices of a man and a woman.  Kul and Thar back away and the barbarian yells, "Is anyone here?"  A bearded man, armed with a crossbow, appears from behind the waterfall.  Kul introduces himself and states that they have come in peace.  He thrusts his javelin into the soil nearby and steps forward to show is good intentions.

The man eases up and calls to his wife that it is safe to come out.  He is Fandral and his wife is Hatina.  Kul, being direct as usual, asks if he knows of a cyclops on one of the islands close by.  Fandral doesn't know what a cyclops is, but says he saw huge goat hoofprints on an isle about 20 miles southeast.  They all return to the clearing together and Fandral provides Kul and Thar with a good meal.  He asks Kul where he is from and about his past adventures.  Kul tells him of his travels and shows him Gashintain.  Fandral is speechless upon viewing the diamond-bladed weapon.

Fandral tells them of how he came to live on the isle.  He and his family were traveling on a merchant ship when a storm (the Will of Zeus) tossed the ship against the nearby reefs, tearing a hole the size of six men in the hull.  He and his family survived and have been living here on this isle for about five years.  He explains that there are numerous wild beasts on the isle.  One, a large tiger, comes by every so often in search of food (which explains their tree house).  He asks them if they would be willing to help him hunt this beast the next day and the two adventurers agree.

Fandral also has two children (a girl and a boy, which explains the noises heard from the house earlier).

Kul and Thar sleep on the porch of the house that night.

09 Aug 03: Kul rises early and walks to the waterfall to bathe in the pond.  He then returns to the camp and Thar leaves to take his turn.  As he bathes, however, the tiger comes to the pool to drink.  Thar slowly emerges from the water and carefully clothes himself.  Fandral arrives to bathe at this point and Thar tells him to return to camp and warn Kulgar.  They then both retreat and return to the camp.

After being alerted to the tiger's presence, Kul grabs his javelin and returns to the pond with Thar and Fandral.  The tiger is gone, but Kul easily finds its tracks leading into the forest.  After following the tracks for a bit, the tiger is spotted up ahead.  Thar circles around to the right, while Fandral goes left.  The tiger leaps at Thar and the battle begins.  Fandral gets off a few shots with his crossbow.  [After hurling the javelin, Kulgar draws Gashintain and] the diamond-bladed sword leaves its mark more than once.  In the end, it is Thar who kills the beast with Asterlain. They return to camp with the carcass.  Fandral skins it and they cook the meat.

10-11 Aug 03: Rest.  Kul fashions a crude wooden spear.

12 Aug 03: Kul and Thar say farewell to Fandral and begin sailing southeast in search of the isle of the cyclops.

13 Aug 03: Sail all day.
Evening: An island [the cyclops isle] comes into view.  Tharrison needs to rest more (still has wounds from the tiger), so they drop anchor.

14-15 Aug 03: Rest and eat fish.  Get tanned.  Kul practices with his club on the 15th [his intention being to teach himself to wield a simple blunt weapon so that, no matter where he is, he can always fashion a simple, but effective weapon].

16 Aug 03: Rest.  Kulgar swims a bit and finds what he thinks are clams.  After returning to the boat, he decides that they are worthless and tosses them back into the water.  Tharrison, however, recognizes them as oysters and they go pearl hunting.  Thar finds a fairly large pearl.  As Kul swims back with more oysters, he spots three humanoid figures swimming towards him.  He yells to Thar, who is on the boat, and the half-elf grabs a nearby harpoon.  Kul unsheathes his knife and a long battle takes place, with Thar pegging the water hobgoblins [koalinth] now and then from the boat, and Kul frequently surfacing for air!  The three koalinth are all killed and, [since Kul and Thar have taken all the pearls that they could find,] the oyster bed is left abandoned.

[As they continue to relax aboard Harbinger, examining their newly acquired treasure, Kulgar and Tharrison debate on the origin of the pearls themselves.  Kul explains that pearls are highly valued gems from high in the mountians.  His theory is that the pearls must roll into the mountain streams where they are then carried down to the ocean and gobbled up by the oysters (perhaps mistaking the pearls for some kind of food).  Kul stubbornly maintains that this must be true, though Thar insists that he is wrong.]

The Cyclops Isle [Sunday 27 March 1983] [p127-129]

17 Aug 03: Tharrison is feeling better, so they row towards the shore of what they hope is the cyclops isle.  After avoiding some reefs, they anchor just off the beach.  No footprints are found in the beach sand.  After Thar collects some fruit, they head north by north-east, towards high ground.  They still find no footprints and cut inland towards a volcanic mountain.  Soon, they begin their ascent.  After almost half a day of climbing, they reach the rim of the volcano.

Kul and Thar circle around the whole rim to get a good idea of the island's shape.  Thar spots a pass along the cliff-side far below them.  On the north-east side of the isle is a native village.  They rest and then descend into the volcano.  The volcanic pits here are large and black.  Kul tosses in a rock, but doesn't hear it hit bottom.  The sulfer smell soon gets to Thar and he returns to the rim, only to hear drums beating in the distance.

Evening: Kul ascends to join Thar and also hears the drums.  He finds Thar looking down towards the south where a procession of native people carrying torches are walking towards a platform near the base of the volcano.  Kul counts about 20 torches (let it be noted that Kulgar thought for a while and then estimated the amount of torches).  Thar watches as the natives put someone on the platform (as a sacrifice to the cyclops perhaps?).  The natives soon leave and journey back towards their village.  Thar and Kul watch for a long while, but nothing happens.  They each take turns sleeping.

18 Aug 03: Early Morning:  Tharrison spots the cyclops approaching from the north-west, headed straight towards the platform.  The beast is about twelve feet tall with goat's legs, three fingers on each hand, a single large horn on its forehead,  and, of course, one big eye.  Thar and Kul decide to get closer for a better view.  They plan to follow the beast back to its lair before confronting it.  They race down the steep slope towards the platform.  As they approach, they see that a young woman is chained to the platform, screaming.  Kulgar decides to launch an immediate attack!  He yells to the cyclops, drawing the beast's attention to himself, and charges, letting fly a javelin.  The javelin strikes its target and the cyclops becomes enraged.  Thar circles around to come from the other side.  After hitting a few times with Asterlain, the half-elf is struck by the cyclops' huge spear.  Kul attacks with Gashintain and the diamond blade cuts a deep mark into the cyclop's upper leg, causing the beast to fall to the ground where it is quickly dispatched.  Not a tough victory.

Upon Thar's request, Kul uses Gashintain to cut off the cyclops' horn.  Gashintain then easily cuts through the chains holding the whimpering girl.  She cowers, and then runs away crying in fear.  Kul retrieves his javelin.  He and Thar follow the cyclops' tracks back to its cave.  Inside, they find the skeletons of the cyclop's many victims, but they also find much treasure!

Kulgar runs [using his barbarian "double move rate" ability] back to Harbinger.  He sails the boat around to the cave and they load chests, vases, and sacks of gold and electrum coins onto the boat.  They also find many valuable treasures.  When all is loaded on [a couple of hours later] they raise anchor, hoist the sail and depart north-west, back towards Pitik.

Kulgar, curious as to what might be in the wine bottle given to them by Barthron (back on 06 Aug 03 [p124]), finally opens it in anticipation!  A rolled up piece of parchment is discovered!  It appears to be half of a map [map C].

Kul ties the tiller in place and he and Thar rest as Harbinger sails onward.

Return to Garn [Saturday 02 April 1983] [p129-130]

19 Aug 03: Kulgar and Tharrison separate and divide up the cyclops' treasures as Harbinger sails onward.

3 large vases containing 700 ep each (total of 2,100 ep)
2 small vases containing 350 ep each (total of 700 ep)
2 large chests full of electrum coins
1 large chest full of gold coins
2 small chests (1 full of electrum coins; 1 empty)
4 small sacks (3 full of electrum coins; 1 empty)
1 small sack (bag of holding) containing at least 1400 gp
3 large sacks (all empty)
 

Tharrison Kulgar gnomish longsword [+1 nm] eagle scepter bag of holding moonstone gem jeweled armband platinum ring black gem

20 Aug 03: Sail onward.  Kulgar studies the map [C] constantly, committing it to memory.

21 Aug 03: Sail onward.  Verry foggy early.  Later, the fog lightens up.

22 Aug 03: Sail onward and arrive at Garn.  Kul and Thar return immediately to Barthron's Inn.  Kul shows the map [C] to Barthron, but the innkeeper has never seen it before.  He doesn't recognize the area depicted either.  Kul thinks that the other half may be in another bottle of Five Star wine, but Barthron explains that he has already sold his last two bottles to three well-dressed men who asked specifically for that brand.

Kulgar and Tharrison travel south to a sage's house.  The sage, Balamaquer, is an old man with a long, grey beard.  He doesn't recognize the map at all and explains that it would also take a while to research it.

Kul and Thar decide to sail north to Sulward and then westward to Scant where they can bring the map to Trosco, the sage that owes Thar 9,700 gp.

23 Aug 03: Tharrison transports all of the gold and electrum from the boat to the jeweler's shop with his bag of holding and trades it in for a very expensive ivory model temple [worth 7,500 gp!]

After resupplying Harbinger with food, water and supplies, they set sail north towards the Lordship of the Isles.  From Sulward, Kulgar wants to sail north-west to Dullstrand, sell the boat, and ride on horseback to Scant.  After much discussion, Thar agrees (mainly because he cannot change Kul's stubborn mind, and is unable to man the boat himself).  Thar wants to make a stop at an island on their way to Sulward.  The isle of his training as a nargison guard.  Sail onward.  Very windy.  Good for sailing.  Kul must man the sail closely to maintain control of the boat.

A SCEPTER STOLEN AND A CROWN FOR SALE (PART 1) A SCEPTER STOLEN AND A CROWN FOR SALE (PART 2) DEPARTURES TREASURES OF KIDIAS ESCAPE FROM KIDIAS

A MYSTERY IN GARN QUARTZ TANGLED WEBS TORKK PEARLS OF THE KOALINTH THE CYCLOPS ISLE RETURN TO GARN