Knight Captain Dawes will note my unease in the following report. Our experience with alternating time-lines or dimensions or however Sanji might define it does not appear to be localized, affecting even the great factions of the Oerth.
Father Cassian saw to each of us over the weeks since our last adventure, restoring our missing kidneys through the loving light and healing rays of Pelor. Those of us strong in Pelor's favor recovered as good as or better than before. June the Heathen suffered a mild rebuke by the Sunlord, almost certainly a result of her continued denial of his power.
We had several items on the docket for this adventure but chose to investigate the missing gem for the khajit Danconia. It offered a significant reward and was the most interesting to our adventurous natures. Rumor had it that a red-robed individual had recovered a gem of some sort from the mine and was lording it over the slaves-turned-miners, who had revolted against their masters and barricaded themselves within the facility. This immediately smacked of the Scarlet Brotherhood to me, who we had a brief and bloody encounter with in the streets of Bonevale so long ago.
The injustices perpetrated by that foul organization over the last few decades are well-documented and I will not rehash them here. Suffice it to say I was eager to retrieve the gem while also striking a blow against evil. We booked passage immediately to Monmurg, with our final destination of Port Julio further south.
The ghost vessel The Shadow was active in the area, terrorizing the shipping lanes all along the coast and raising prices of any passage booked to exorbitant levels. We encountered a strange mist before our arrival to Monmurg but the captain of our ship was able to evade it. I circulated among the shaken men of the vessel's crew to raise their spirits, with a few of them converting on the spot. Pelor's light will shine in the darkest of places and show you the way, if you will only let it.
Zimon hired these converts on as informants with the intent to keep abreast of the events along the coast. With The Shadow active, local captains were being overly cautious so we put the word out to our prior associate Bandit to get us quickly south. It would be some days before we expected a response. I suggested to our group that we keep a low profile in the known pirate den of Monmurg to mixed results.
We did some shopping and otherwise stayed to our inn. One evening, a group of city watchmen barged into the common room obviously in search of someone. We maintained our calm and evidently were not the target of their investigation as they gathered themselves to leave. Zimon chose to put his new informants on the case to figure out what they were looking for. One of them caught the ire of the patrol and was taken out to the alley and beaten by the corrupt lawmen.
Zimon intervened and being a puissant warrior drubbed the entire squad single-handedly. For reasons unknown to anyone but the bounty hunter, he tied each man's wrists to his dropped trousers and pinned a message on their corporal warning them to see to their corruption under the light of Pelor. When he informed us of this, I knew we were likely to catch suspicion considering both Fr. Cassian's and my attire. I suggested to Zimon to take his people and find a bolt hole until we could get out on a ship and waited for the inevitable return of the city watch.
Their captain barged in, surveyed the room, and chose the weakest of us to harass in Gaia the elf. Immediately showing himself a coward, he proceeded to bully and insult our weird little Spellsword, who made matters worse with his peculiar way of speaking. Fr. Cassian should be proud to note that I did not immediately relieve the captain of his duty, and head, and instead persuaded the corrupt officer that we were not responsible for his squad's assault, which the victims confirmed. A bit of coin spent to make him go away and a prayer said for Zimon's ability to lay low and we were clear of that unpleasantness.
The Bandit arrived and agreed to carry us on his strangely equipped ship. We departed at dusk, Zimon's people hustling up the gangway as we readied to depart. I am told that we passed a fishing vessel as we were outrunning yet another instance of strange mist. Charlie the Explorer witnessed The Shadow overtake and destroy the vessel despite his attempts to warn them. The Bandit was noncommittal and the rest of us were asleep.
Port Julio was a squat, shell-brick fort with a shanty town huddled in its shadow. It was not difficult to learn about Bob the Red-robed and his slave revolt at the local copper mine. He was trading for food and equipment at advantageous rates that merchants were eager to take advantage of. Both Port Julio and the inland stronghold of Hokar were claiming the mine, and apparently this tension was delaying any actual action. Naturally we sped off to investigate.
Negotiations with Bob went well, eventually coming to the agreement that we would try to smuggle his several hundred escaped slaves out of the region in exchange for the gem that we sought. I demanded to see the gem when he simply offered a drawing of it. I am no fool. It is a sight to behold, a most glorious specimen of its kind, and it act as a symbol to bolster my armies to victory over evil in the battles to come.
Invigorated, I questioned Bob about his affiliation with the Scarlet Brotherhood after Gaia confirmed the cut of his robes signified a middling rank in the organization. He gave a queer story about the entire organization losing focus some time ago, apparently around the time that the dimensional oddities began. The local cell had taken it upon themselves to free the slaves of the region and were instigating uprisings wherever possible. Sowing chaos among Chaos made me laugh.
I asked of Fr. Cassian what the Church had to say about redemption and was assured that the healing light of Pelor shines brightest on those in need. I suggested to Bob that instead of taking noble actions under the guise of a known, heinous organization that he do so under the faith. Such was the passion of my appeal that he immediately tore off his robes and was converted by Fr. Cassian on the spot.
We retired towards Port Julio to attack the logistical problem of smuggling so many people out of a small port while Bob stayed to hold down the fort, so to speak. We encountered another band of freed slaves and directed them to Bob. A third band of freed slaves, led by Bill in Red, converted to our cause. The power of Pelor's word was amplified by the prospect of my new gem and truly shone on us, as Bill happened to have smuggling contacts in town. He went to work immediately upon our arrival, where we remain to help facilitate the transport.
Yours under Pelor's shining gaze,
Knight Justicar Percival, Lord of Horizon
Port Julio
