DM: Despora's Journal

"...what the natives of Sandpoint have commonly called the Blot is itself is strange and eldritch sideeffects from the charging of the glyphs on Devil’s Elbow...”

"..it would do to further refine the glyphs to minimize such blatant displays lest the enemy receive further warning of the impending apocalypse than we wish to reveal...”

"...glyphs are activated and the star is plucked, the strange side effects such as the shadow in the sky should vanish immediately..."

Kythan: The Meet

"You're all here." Kythan states as you file in the open area of Sandpoint's Old Light.

The light house is virtually unaffected by the tsunami of days past being situated high upon the northern rocks of town. from where you are standing, the lighthouse provides a clear view of the destruction of the trsunami on the small town as well as that of a small speck on the western horizon which is Devil's Elbow.

"The falling meteor and the tsunami was no accident." The eladrin begins.

"While you were runninga fter Nualia, my own companions and I were following another lead." Kythan passes on a journal to Gryffin who is nearest to him.

"All of this is done by the drow." Kythan pauses waiting for your reaction. When confusion is evident in your faces he continues.

"Yes, the drows are real. They have simply gone in hiding before but now they are resurfacing and you can be assured that they are up to no good. I have come to you because we need your help to find out what they are up to and if possible to stop them."

DM: The Summons

Each one of you are busy with your individual lives and tasks. Even so an animal messenger finds each one of you.

Each of the messnger comes in a different form - such as a sparrow or a raven for some, a fox or even a carp for others. But each one bringing the same message:

"The star is just the beginning. More is at stake that what it seems. Meeting at the Sandpoint's Old Light just before Sunset. - Kythan Dayereth."

DM: Skymetal Rush

In the days that follow, the full effects and implications of the events sink in and Sandpoint feels the brunt of it.

Skymetal, in any of its seven known varieties, is a valued and much sought-after commodity in any society. The convenience of the fallen star has many of the prospector groups eager for a chance at the easy money.

Yet the damage done to Sandpoint’s waterfront and to many of the ships owned by prominent locals has retarded the burgeoning Skymetal Rush. Dozens of prospectors arrive in town and have taken refuge in the various Inns.

As the days drag on, the race to be the first to reach Devil’s Elbow slowly takes the town by storm, with those who don’t have access to ships scrambling to secure deals with those who do.

DM: Wipeout

After the tsunami strikes the Town, life goes on in Sandpoint. More than a hundred gold pieces worth of property damage was inflicted on the small town but it is the dozen or so lives that were lost which affected the town more.

For now the Sandpoint theater functions as a shelter to those who lost their homes - mostly those houses which are located along the western side of town. The Cathedral has once more served as an infirmary to those which have been hurt during the incident.

The Mayor and the Sheriff, and most of all the imporant people in town, have pooled their resources to those who are in need. Not everyone is surprised as this is expected from the people from sandpoint.

Arao: Season 2 prologue

Dear Abigail-senpai,

Greetings! I hope your convalescence is going as scheduled. Or at least I pray that you are currently in the same good spirits as I am right now. It has been only a short time since I left the nurturing confines of the Academy and got posted here in the village of Sandpoint, but already this place has grown on me.

You were indeed correct when you said that the outside world was a fascinating place. I believe you have read my earlier mails to you about the adventures I have experienced. I have somewhat developed my divine powers, and I thank the Father Sun everyday for the good fortune of having met comrades who share the same resolution as I do to defend the Light against the darkness of evil.

Indeed, it is very heartening to witness the resolve of the multitude of people who call Sandpoint their home. From the halfling baker across the street, to the dwarven smith down the road, to the half-elf minstrel at the village square, to the human farmer at the outskirts of town, and even to the neutral goblins in the next village -- their steadfast determination to protect those they hold dear, to preserve the peace, and to fight the fear of the encroaching darkness -- these beings truly deserve a rightful place under the Sun.

I also believe you have heard about my request to extend my stay here. What I have said above contributed to my decision to seek an extension. I fear the past encounters with the Cultists are still unresolved and they still pose a threat to the village. Even as we speak, strange occurences have been happening throughout the village. A freak hailstorm, a water spout so close to shore, cracks forming suddenly on the earthen ground, and many other extraordinary incidents. Albeit minor in nature, the frequency with which they occur has become alarming.

I feel as though there is an ill wind approaching the village. This sense of ominous foreboding I cannot shake from my thoughts. I wish that I will be wrong in my apprehension. I wish that these halycon days of peace would last longer. But I also know that it is far better to be prudent than to ignore these sinister signs. So I will stay here and help protect the village against any danger it might face.

Hopefully next time I write, it would be of happier news. Till then please rest well and may the light of Pelor shine on you always.

Your kouhai and friend,
Arao

guillaume: star of ill omens

i opened my eyes and felt the rumbling of the then calm waters. the uneasy bob of the rowboat awaken me from my meditation. i often go out boating just by myself. i enjoyed the solitary experience of just my voice in my head to keep me company. and a few times i even delude myself into thinking that corellon himself is talking to me when really it is just me. i heard shouting of the townsfolk back at shore. i see them, tiny little figures from where i was at, line up and point to the skies. i looked up and saw death and destruction.

it was a meteor. a fiery death sentence that divided the clear sky across and pass sandpoint. i thanked corellon that it went down far but perhaps not far enough. i may not be a seasoned seafarer but i knew all to well what was happening. the waters receded. i quickly grabbed the oars and paddles deeper into the sea with not a moment to loose.

i have read about it from ancient scrolls about giant waves that decimate entire cities. i didn't give it much thought at that time except that it was just a poet's way of bringing poetry to an otherwise mundane event. i did not expect that i would have the luck (or more aptly bad luck) of experiencing it first hand.

here i was sitting on a little row boat paddling for my life. but what of the towns people, my heart sank when i saw the destruction. the shore was littered with disarrayed boats and houses that have collided. i distinctly hear distant and scattered screams of the lost and the dying. i could not just stay offshore but what could i do. what could anyone do ..

DM: Star of Ill Omens

As crowds of people gather along the Cathedral and the Town Hall, a flash in the night sky attracts their attention. A streak of light arcs down from the sky, a falling star traveling a westward course. Yet the star does not burn out—indeed, the streak lengthens and soon seems almost as if it were hurtling directly at Sandpoint. As the streaming light draws near, panic grips the streets, but a moment later the falling star arcs over the town and out to sea, trailing behind it a smoky scar and the sound of thunder.

The star streaks out to the west, reflected by the sea below, and then a moment later it strikes the island of Devil’s Elbow out to sea. A strange false dawn seems to rise to the west as a brilliant blast of light fills the horizon. Several moments later, a tremendous explosion rolls through Sandpoint as a powerful earth tremor strikes. Several members of the crowds are knocked prone by the earthquake.

The quake isn’t enough to destroy buildings, but it is enough to knock some shingles from roofs, shake objects off of shelves, or crack the Sandpoint glass windows in several of the town’s structures. As the tremor continues, an angry orange ball of fire rises into the sky on the horizon over Devil’s Elbow, spreading in an ominous mushroom-shaped cloud.

By this time, much of Sandpoint has gathered at the wharves and western points of town for a better view of the distant holocaust. A few minutes later, the water of sea suddenly retreats into a bizarre and sudden low tide, revealing several sunken wrecks and flopping fish and more than a few stranded sharks.

Jarek shouts a warning as he realizes that this is an indication of an approaching tsunami from the impact. Several of the townsfolk run for their homes or take to the streets towards the opposite eastern side of town. Fortunately, the shape of Sandpoint’s harbor minimizes the impact of the tsunami, but still, only a couple of minutes later, the water comes rushing back in toward Sandpoint, a 7-foot-high wall of churning froth that slams into the beach with incredible power.

Several of the townsfolk were unlucky to get struck by the wave, and were carried inland by the wave’s power. A few moments later, these folks were pulled out into the harbor as the water recedes. Several smaller tsunamis strike Sandpoint in the surrounding minutes, but these are not severe enough to do much more damage.

In the end, the tsunami deals more damage to Sandpoint than the tremor. Dozens of ships are damaged, a few are sunk, but more are left stranded as far inland as Raven Street. Many of Sandpoint’s piers are ruined or damaged, and several of the smaller buildings along the beach are destroyed or partially collapse including that of the Brodert’s place. Over the next several hours, the Mayor and Guards of Sandpoint mobilize like before, working together to put out fires, save citizens who have been swept out into the harbor, or kill angry and disoriented reefclaws, sharks, bunyips, and other dangerous sea creatures that have suddenly become stranded in the town streets.

guillaume: strange days at sandpoint

"father guillaume! father!"

"wha .. ?!" have i really awaken or am i still dreaming. i seem to rememeber vivid details of it. some happy memory of my childhood spent with my cunning cousins back home or was it about something else, some dark looming memory that ebbed gradually until nothing of it remained except the knowledge that i was dreaming. the steady pounding and murmurs of several voices behind my bedroom door continued.

i stood up from the bed and secured the knot to my robes before opening it. i squinted from the barrage of light that came in.
it was several of the peasants each holding out a lamp. familiar faces notably regulars to the service. they flooded the opening with their anxious faces. noone spoke. but instead, they all looked to me expectantly as if i knew the answers to everything.

i had enough to sense to hold out a finger to hush them to silence.

"not here" i whispered with tiny hint of a groan at the end. "several of the acolytes sleep here as well. i do not want to DISRUPT their night's rest" i pointed to the dark hall way to the right where indeed we could hear from behind a door at the far end, several of the acolytes snoring. guilt was something common amongst the clergy as a means to manipulate the laity into doing something we wanted. personally, i never liked the practice. it seemed underhanded. but tonight i felt compelled.

i lead them out to the grand marble stairs outside the temple of corellon. i looked up to see the bright moon high up in the clear sky, the shadow mysteriously absent since early that afternoon.

"it must be midnight" i broke the silence of our little field trip. it must be very serious. these peasants would not bother me at this hour if it was not. i thought. the peasants stood quietly unsure if they were now permitted to talk.

"how can i help you?" becoming a little impatient

and in an instant i knew that my night's rest would have to wait and that these peasants for all their naivete had a torrent of strange happenings around town.

we require the council of the town elders for this - was all i could think of.

Rhonna: Strange Days in Sandpoint

Rhonna was having tea with her Aunt Mathel in the porch of the Merrid Mansion when they were disturbed by a numerous loud squawking coming from the beach. The young maiden stood up and searched for the source of the noise and noticed a flock of sea gulls suddenly take to the air and begin flying in a growing cacophonous spiral. The noise continues to grow for several minutes as large flocks wheel above the town in ever-gathering numbers.

Rhonna and her aunt, together with their neighbors stepped out of their houses to watch the spectacle. Eventually the seagulls’ erratic flight brings them into proximity to the Sandpoint lighthouse, where they crash into it violently by the hundreds before the few survivors continue their ragged flight out to sea.

"This is an ill omen." The young warlock whispered to herself.

For the next 2 days, crushed and broken bird carcasses wash up on the beaches around Sandpoint and cluster as flotsam beneath the port creating a horrible stench over the western portions of the town.

Arao: Strange Days in Sandpoint

Arao was in the streets of surrounded by a crowd of children beagging him to once more tell them stories about Magnimar and dragons. The dragonborn was in a middle of a story when a loud rattling and clatter is heard that proves to be tiny falling objects clattering on the roofs and streets of the city from a clear sky. At first the dragonborn assumed it to be hail, but examination reveals it to be tiny pieces of porous black rock— looking almost volcanic in nature but defying all identification.

The initial storm of pebbles does no noticeable damage, but after 2 minutes, the rocks increase in size and begin cracking shingles, ripping awnings, and pelting anyone who remains outside including the dragonborn and the children with him.

“Run for cover kids!” Arao shouted as he pointed towards the nearest building which happens to be Sandpoint Theater.

It was lucky that the paladin was in his armor and he used his body to shield the slower kids from the falling onslaught.

The rain lasts for just a little over a minute but when all is said and done, there are several dozen casualties and hundreds of gold pieces of damage to property and ships.

The stones themselves remain for a few more minutes, covering the ground before they suddenly evaporate into nothingness. Attempts to classify the material before it fades meet with failure—the stones feel like granite, but float in water and are strangely cold to the touch.

Gryffin: Strange Days in Sandpoint

"Does your spells normally do that?" Volioker asks as a purple mist fills up the living room.

"Ummm...no. It normally just summons a spectral floating hand lifts the object into the air and moves it where you wish." Gryffin states.

"There shouldn't have been any purple mist." The eladrin states as he further inspects the mists. "This is all very interesting."

The dwarf then moves towards and opens the nearest window. "Yes, it might be but it's filling up the house and I'm afraid it might stain the furniture!"

"I don't think its harmful dad." Gryffin stats as he casts a magic ball of light which is once more accompanied by the appearance of the same purple mist.

"If you're gonna keep doing that you might as well do it outside!" Volioker scolds his adopted son.

Gryffin absentmindedly moves out of the cottage still casting catnips and observing the strange mists.

He eventually notices that the mists remains around his for a few minutes before rising up towards the Blot.

"Hmmm... Brodert would need to hear about this." Gryffin states as he rubs his chin while staring up at Brodert's Shadow.

Lloyd: Strange Days in Sandpoint

"We ready?" Lloyd asks as he tightens the ropes holding his bags unto his mount. "I'd like to be on the road before the sun gets too high."

"I just need to have Das to check on the horse's shoes." Orik answered as the fighter looked on at the male human checked their mount's shoes.

Das ignores the two young men and continues to hammer the horseshoe while ranting about inpatient customers. The smith suddenly stops and gives a grunt.

"What's wrong?" Orik asks.

"The darn hammer and shoe's stuck to the anvil and refuses to move!" Das grunts as he pulls once more on the unyielding implement. The former mercenary gives it a try and likewise fails to budge it.

Lloyd hears the commotion and enters the small shop, ignoring the insistent barking of the large red mastiffs that the smith keeps. The former guardsman stops at his track as he spots numerous metal objects in the smithy begin to rise of its own - nails, hammers, chisels, even pieces of unfinished armor and weapons - which start to fly off and attach themselves to the bigger metal objects in the room and ricocheting along the way.

"Orik! Das! Get of the there!" Lloyd manages to shout.

The three occupants start to back out. Das manages to make it towards the door where Lloyd is. Orik, however, takes cover under a wooden table as the flying objects start to gain speed.

After a minute all is suddenly still once more and only the roaring flame of the smith could be heard.

"What was that all about?" Das states as he looks at the destruction within his shop and starts to pick up all his stuff while mutter curses along the way.